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AUTHOR: 


TYRRELL  HENRY 


TITLE: 


HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA 


PLACE: 


LONDON 


DA  TE : 


[1 879-80] 


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PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

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THE 


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HISTORY    OF 


FROM    THE   FOUNDATION    OF   THE    EMPIRE 


TO   THE 


WAR    WITH    TURKEY    IN    1877. 


BY 

H.  TYRRELL., 

AND 

HENRY    A.    HAUKEIL, 

Late  Press  Correspondent  in  the  East, 


Mit|  IHustratifliis  aiiii  ||U]ps. 


\ 


THE   LONDON   PRINTING  AND   PUBLISHING  COMPANY,   LIMITED, 

LONDON   AND   NEW  YORK.  t 


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THE 


HISTORY  OF   RUSSIA 


FROM  THE   FOUNDATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE 


TO  THE 


1' 


I  i 


WAR  WITH  TURKEY  IN  1877-'T8. 


yd 


ii 


BY 


H.    TYRRELL, 


AND 


HENRY    A.    HAUKEIL, 

Lafe  Press  Correspondent  in  the  East, 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS   AND   MAPS. 


VOL.  1. 


THE  LONDON  PRINTING  AND  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  LIMITED, 

LONDON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


'\ 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


^f7 


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C^i 


en 


ex? 


VOL.    I. 

Peter  the  Great  Beheading  the  Strelitz.     (Frontispiece.) 

VinxFTTE  Title— Russian  Cavalry  Encounter.  ^  ^  rt       ^ 

Map  OF  EussiA  in  Europe,  showing  Acquisitions  since  the  Time  of  Peter  the  Great 

Tower  of  Ivan  and  Velekoi 

The  Kremlin     . . 

The  Battle  of  Pultowa  

The  Nevskoi  Prospect,  St.  Petersburg 
The  Column  of  Alexander,  St.  Petersburg 
Napoleon  I. 


•  • 


Battle  of  Eylau 


TO  FACE  page 

1 

51 

60 
152 
152 
379 
396 
399 


•  • 


VOL.    IL 


Alexander  II.,  Emperor  of  Eussu.    (FmitispieceJ 

The  Kremlin,  Moscow 

The  Battle  of  Moscow  

The  Eetreat  from  Moscow 

Eeturn  OF  the  French  Army  FROM  Moscow 

Battle  of  Citate 

Map  of  the  Crimea 

General  Todleben        

Britis^L^ght  cIvalry  Ittacmng  the  Eussian  Guns  at  the  Battle  of  Balaclava 
Battle  of  Inkermann  . . 

Bombardment  of  Odessa         

Bombardment  of  Odessa  by  the  English  and  Irench 

Cronstadt 

sweaborg 

Attack  on  Bomarsund  . . 

General  Mouravieff 

Bombardment  OF  Kars 

Battle  of  Eupatoria    . . 

Nicholas  I.,  Emperor  of  Eussia        

Coronation  of  Alexander  II 

Eetreat  OF  THE  EussiANS  from  South  Side  OF  Sebastopol 

General  Windham  in  the  Eedan 

Cemetery  of  the  Smolensk©  Church,  near  St.  Petersburg         

Map  of  Eussia  in  Europe        *  *  mr 

The  Church  of  the  Protection  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  Moscow 

The  Church  of  Yasili  Blagennoi,  Moscow 

Interior  of  the  Grand  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption 

The  Smolnoi  Convent,  St.  Petersburg         

Interior  of  the  Kazan  Church,  St.  Petersburg  

The  Haymarket,  St.  Petersburg 

The  Exchange  and  part  of  the  Fortress,  St.  Petersburg         

•  Moscow 
The  Grand  Duke  Constantine  


VOL.    IIL 

Prince  Gortschakoff.     f Frontispiece.) 

Vignette  Title — Tower  of  the  Nikolskoi  Church,  St.  Petersburg. 

Map  of  the  Baltic  Sea 

Count  Orloff     . . 

Map  of  the  Black  Sea  . , 

Map  of  Turkey  in  Asia 

Map  of  Turkey  in  Europe 

Adrianople 

Map  of  Eussia  in  Asla.  . 


1 


S81L 


27 
28 
28 
40 
110 
130 
135 
137 
139 
140 
145 
145 
146 
147 
147 
151 
155 
167 
168 
170 
173 
173 
182 
200 
208 
209' 
213 
213 
214 
222 
225 
300 
316 


1 

17 

19 

34 

137 

321 

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INTRODUCTION. 


With  the  abolition  of  serfdom,  Old  Russia  disappeared  for  ever,  and  New  Eussia  arose 
from  its  grave.    The  old  distinction  of  classes  into  nobles  and  bondsmen  was  merged 
into  that    beautiful  weapon   of  constitutional   despotism,  known  on  the  continent  as 
universal  compulsory  service  in  the  army.     Henceforth,  instead  of  fighting  for  their 
king,  emperor,  or  czar,  the  people  of  such  happy  lands  now  fight  for  their  country 
only.     It  is  true,  the  common  populace  is  so  blinded  by  its  prejudices,  that  it  is  apt 
not  to   understand  the  difference  as  long  as  the  country  is  under  the  immediate  and 
irresponsible  control  of  its  whilom  sovereign;  and  Russia  forms  no  exception  to  this 
rule.     Consequently,   though  the  form   has  somewhat  changed,   the  material  remains 
the  same  ;  and  where  it  has  altered  it  has  been  sagaciously  made  use  of  to  fit  into  the 
new  order  of  things,  and  to  form  an  integral  portion  of  the  new  system.    Thus  the 
result  of  abolishing  serfage  was  the  creation  of  a  fresh  national  feeling ;   the   e^-boi'ds- 
man  felt  that  he  had  a  stake  in  his  newly-acquired  soil  j  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
noble  felt  that  a  new  danger  was  threatening  him   by  the  growth   of  this   national 
consciousness  and  the  growing  conviction  of  the  ex-serf  that  he  really  was  a  unit  in  the 
empire,  and  that  many  units  piled  up  on  the  top  of  the  other,  amounted  to   a  very 
considerable  sum,  and  no  mean  force  if  united  in  action.     To  counterbalance  these  ideas 
it  was  necessary  to  shape  certain  grooves  for  the  new  national  feeling  to  run  m.    Thus 
three    principal   channels   were   fashioned.     1.   Compulsory   military   service.     2.  The 
instituUon   of  communal  self-government.     3.  The  reunion    of    the  Schismatics   and 
other  dissidents  under  the  paternal  care  of  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church,  as  represented 
by  the  Holy  Synod,  as  represented  by  the  czar,  who  in  turn  represents  the  Deity  himself, 
in  Russia.    These  grooves  having  been  duly  fashioned,  the  next  thing  to  be  done  was 
to  furnish   a  reservoir  for  them  to  run  into-a  vast   reservoir  that  would  contain  the 
national  flood  for  long  years  to  come,  and  prevent  its  overflowing  the  channels  cut  for 
it,  and  causing   serious   damage   at  home.     This  great  goal  was  set  up  m  the  shape   o 
pLnslavism ;  the  object  of  Panslavism  being  the  reunion  of  all  the  various  Slav  races 
in  Austria,   in  Prussia,  and  in  Turkey,  under   the   sceptre  of  him  who  rules    at  St. 
Petersburg      The  attention  of  the  freshly-made  freeman  was  thus  to  be  diverted  from 
home  matters  to  foreign  affairs,  and  his  black  bread  spread  with  the  butter  of  glory 
abroad  rather  than  with  the  fat  of  the  land  at  home,  for  which  it  appears  that  the  noble 
has  a  remarkable  fancy     Of  the  working  of  this  new  system,  of  the  bad  that  exists,  and  the 
Ld  that  is  latent  in  the  communal  system;  of  the  atrocities  of  the  Holy  Synod  ;  of 
L  burden  the  army  imposes  upon  the  nation,   we  shall   speak  in  the  proper  pace. 
The  above  rapid  sketch  is  simply  designed  to  give  in  a  few  words  the  character  of  the 
change  that  has  come  over  Russia,  and  made  her  again  an  enemy  and  a  standing  menace 
to  tht  peace  of  Europe,  and  the  cause  of  liberty,  commerce,  and  progress.     And  if,  as 

Goethe  says,  ^  _  ^^^  ^^^^  against  ignorance  battle  in  vain," 

it  may  well  be  imagined  what  a  task  Europe  has  before  her,  when  she  is  called  upon 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ill 


11 


INTRODUCTION. 


to  war  against   tho  bottomless  ignorance  of  eighty  million  souls,  all  well  armed  with 
breech-loaders  and  Krupp  guns.     Under  such  circumstances,  it  may  well  be  asked  why 
Europe  should  submit  to  a  continual  threat  in  order  to  enable  the  Muscovite  nobility 
to  preserve  their  station   against    those  principles  of  individual  liberty  and  local  self- 
government   they   are  so  proud   of    pointing  to  as  the  lever  that  is  to  raise   Slavonic 
Russia  on  the  ruins  of  an  effete  western  civilisation,  and  to  regenerate  the  sluggish  blood 
of  worn-out  Europe  ?     In  short,  why  should  Europe  allow  the  Russian  leaders  and  rulers 
to  impede  the  development  of  liberty  at  home,  by  imposing  a  tyrannic  rule  on  races 
abroad,  under  the  catchpenny  title   of  national  glory  ?     Is  the  country  too  small  and 
too  poor  to  support  its  teeming  population  ?     Is  it  a  kind  of  magnified  Montenegro,  that 
must  perforce  extend  its  boundaries  to  feed  its  starving  population  ?     If  so,  there  would, 
perhaps,  be  some  excuse   for  its  periodical  attacks  on  somebody  or  other — on  the  Khan 
of  Khiva  yesterday,   the  Sultan  of  Turkey  to-day,  and  probably  the   Shah  of  Persia 
to-morrow.     But  we  find  exactly  the  contrary  to  be  the  case ;  for  whilst  we  in   Europe 
count  our  inhabitants    to  the  square  mile  in  some  cases  by  thousands,  and   in    most 
cases   by  the  hundred,  we   find  in   Russia  a    population   of  about  ten  to  the  square 
mile.     Let  any   Englishman  try  to  stretch  his  imagination  to  the  wonderful  extent  of 
fancying  himself  in  the  possession  of  more  than  309,7G0  square  yards  of  soil— or  the  use 

of  it and  he  will  have  an  accurate  idea  of  the  position  of  the  Russian  in  his  native 

land.      Is  there  any  biped,  be  he  white,  yellow,  or  black,  belonging  to  the  working 

classes to  the  classes  to  whom  labour  is  a  necessity — who  would  not  be  satisfied  with 

such  a  possession,  or  at  any  rate  be  content  to  increase  it  by  legitimate  means,  and  thus 
in  possession  of  material  independence,  would  not  also  be  in  possession  of  his  moral 
independence,  and  defy  tho  intrigues  of  those  who  will  not  work  themselves,  but  buy 
up  streams  of  living  blood  and  bushels  of  money  in  exchange  for  a  few  tinsel  tatters  of 
impalpable,  evanescent  glory  ? 

The  reply  is  self-evident*;  so  self-evident  that  the  Russian  government  has  never 
propounded  the  question,  and  works  upon  a  system  by  which  they  hope  it  will  never  be 
proposed.     What  this  system  is  we  now  propose  showing,  for  it  is  the  most  important 
element  foreign  nations  have  to  consider  in  their  relations  with  Russia.    It  is  the  govern- 
ment that  does  everything,  without  consulting  the  people.     There  is  no  appeal  to  the 
nation.     What  the  czar  and  his  nobles  decree  has  to  be  performed,  and  is  performed,  in 
the  same  unreasoning,  slavish  spirit  of  obedience,  which  the  liberation  of  the  serfs  has 
in  no  way  changed.     In  dealing  with  Russia,  we  have  to  deal  with  a  crafty,  unprincipled, 
Asiatic  government,  and  a  mass  of  ignorance  in  all  things  that  concern  the  Russian's 
relations  with  foreign  nations  and  ideas.    Not  that  there  are  not  communities  upon  com- 
munities who  cultivate  the  soil  in  peace,  and  successfully ;  whose  villages  are  all  that 
could  be  desired  from  an  agricultural  and  social  point  of  view.    Of  these  there  are  many ; 
'and  there  is  an  amount  of  good-nature  and  common  sense  in  the  Russian  peasant  that  only 
needs  time  and  opportunity  for  development  to  make  him  one  of  the  most  peaceable 
and  industrious  of  men.     But  just  for  this  very  reason,  because  he  has  the  capacity  for 
attaining  material  and  moral  independence,  the  vast  army  of  drones  do  all  they  can  to 
stifle  these  good  qualities  in  a  mass  of  bigotry,  ignorance,  and  superstition.     Be  it  well 
understood— what  we  protest  against  is  not  the  existence  of  the  people  of  Russia,  but  of 


the  Russian  government,  which  is  worse  than  the  Turkish  rule,  for  the  reason  that  the 
Russian  government  has  not  the  excuse  which  the  Turkish  has,  of  being  a  weak  govern- 
ment that  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews  and  Greeks. 

As  we  shall  show  in  a  future  chapter,  the  Russians  discovered  that  the  Crimean  war 
had  opened  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  fact,  that  Russia  was  not  altogether  the  blessed 
paradise  her  rulers  tried  to  make  them  believe,  and  that  an  entire  re-constitution  of  the 
government  system  was  necessary  to  satisfy  the  growing  discontent.  How  to  do  this 
and  yet  alter  nothing;  how  to  give  liberty  and  yet  at  the  same  time  to  curtail  it,  was 
no  easy  task.     But  it  was  accomplished. 

The  czar,  whose  official  title  is  Autocrat-Self-ruler-of  all  the  Russias,  is 
the  fountain-head  of  all  legislation.  All  laws  proceed  from  him;  he  alone  makes 
them ;  he  alone  can  unmake  them.  This  is  done  as  follows  :-All  decrees  of  the  czar 
published  by  the  Senate  are  Laws;  all  decrees  published  by  other  departments  of  the 
State  are  only  to  be  regarded  as  Decrees ;  and  theoretically,  disobedience  to  these  decrees, 
or  ukases,  can  only  be  punished  when  such  punishment  can  be  legally  justified,  and  it  is 
proved  that  the  ukase  in  question  was  known  to  the  culprit.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there 
is,  practically,  no  distinction  between  the  two.  Administrative  ukase,  or  imperial  senato- 
rial law,  they  both  amount  to  the  same  thing,  and  centre  in  the  irresponsible  czar. 

The  executive  power  is  also  in  the  hands  of  the  czar,  and  all  departments  act  in 
his  name.     The  Minister  of  Police,  for  instance,  is  responsible  to  no  one  but  the  czar. 
A  man  disappears;  inquiries  show  that  he  has  been  arrested  by  the  police;  there  the 
matter  ends,  and  it  depends  entirely  upon  the  police  or  the  czar  whether  he  ever  reappears. 
Life  under  such  circumstances  would  be  insupportable,  were  it  not  that  the  communes 
retain  a  species  of  self-government  that  invests  them  with  a  show  of  liberty.   Of  the  nature 
of  this  liberty  we  shall  speak  in  the  proper  place;  suffice  it  to  say  now,  that  the  system  is 
based  on  the  principle,  not  of  a  division  of  property,  as  the  Socialists  try  to  make  out, 
but  upon  the  division  of  the  use  of  the  soil,  which  is  a  very  different  matter  altogether. 
It  is  in  short,  a  system  that  fully  employs  the  spare  time  and  all  the  spare  brains  of  the 
peasantry  to  carry  out,  and  prevents  them  from  agitating  for  that  representation  of  the 
people  in  the  councils  of  the  nation  which  is  the  first  step  to  liberty.     To  keep  the 
peasantry  in  this  circumscribed  oasis  of  local  liberty  in  the  commune,  or  mir,  and  prevent 
their  union  with  each  other  in  the  cause  of  universal  and  general  liberty,  is,  of  course,  the 
chief  object  and  aim  of  the  nobility.     Compulsory  service  is  one  of  these  means.     The 
church  affords  another.     To  bring  all  the  various  sects  of  Russia  under  the  control  of 
the  parish  priest,  who  is  under  the  control  of  the  Holy  Synod,  and  who  can  command 
the  assistance  of  the  civil  authorities— aye,  and  even  of  the  military  authorities,  if  he 
sees  fit— is  the  great  object,  for  the  attainment  of  which  such  measures  have  been  taken  as 
those  that  furnished  the  material  for  the  Blue  Book  published  recently  by  the  British 
government.     An  imperial  ukase  was  published  in  1871,  subjecting  all  the  heterodox,  or 
dissenting,  churches  to  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Synod.     This  is  equivalent  to  an  act 
of  parliament,  in  England,  placing  all  the  Nonconformists,  Catholics,  and  Jews  under 
the  administration  and  authority  of  the  Church  of  England.     Thus  the  Uniates  were 
ordered  to  conform  in  all  respects  to  the  habits  of  the  Orthodox  clergy— to  alter  their 
churches  in  conformity  with  the  system  adopted  by  the  Orthodox  church.    Priests  obeying 


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INTRODUCTION, 


INTRODUCTION. 


these  instnictions  were  to  be  compensated  for  any  pecuniary  losses ;  disobedient  priesta 
to  be  transferred  to  some  other  place,  or  banished.  An  inquisitorial  commission  sat  in 
permanence  at  Siedlce,  before  which  the  clergy  were  summoned  from  time  to  time,  and 
examined  as  to  their  conduct.  These  measures  were  energetically  enforced,  but  met 
with  great  resistance,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chelm,  Lublin,  Popil, 
and  Siedlce.  On  hearing  of  tliis.  Count  Tolstoi  gave  strict  orders  that  the  necessary 
measures  were  to  be  enforced  with  the  utmost  rigour,  and  no  benches,  organs,  rosaries, 
mass-bells,  &c.,  to  be  allowed  in  the  churches  under  any  pretence  whatever.  Most  of 
the  clergy  yielded :  the  peasantry,  however,  refused  to  obey  this  tyrannical  order,  and 
many  conflicts,  resulting  in  loss  of  life,  occurred  in  many  places.  At  Myncievicz,  the 
peasants  defended  their  church  by  force,  but  were  defeated  by  the  Cossacks,  and  every 
one  of  the  congregation  summoned  to  sign  forthwith  a  declaration  of  his  conversion  to 
the  Orthodox  church.  On  their  refusing,  each  man  received  fifty  strokes  of  the  knout, 
every  woman  twenty-five,  and  every  child,  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  ten  blows. 
One  woman,  who  was  especially  energetic  in  her  refusal,  received  more  than  one  hundred 
blows,  and  is  described  as  having  her  flesh  completely  mashed.  These  brutalities  were 
taking  place  just  at  the  time  of  the  wedding  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Edinburgh, 
and  created  so  painful  a  feeling  at  St.  Petersburg  that  they  were  suspended  for  a  time. 
In  fact,  so  great  was  the  indignation  aroused  amongst  the  foreign  community,  that  it 
was  openly  wondered  at  that  an  English  prince  could  ally  himself  with  a  power  guilty  of 
such  atrocities ;  and  it  is  said,  on  apparently  good  authority,  that  the  coolness  existing 
between  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Russian  royal  family  is  due  to  a  very  energetic 
expression  of  opinion  by  the  duke  on  the  subject.  This  was  in  January,  1874.  In 
February  the  atrocities  recommenced;  villages  were  occupied  by  troops  of  Cossacks, 
who  plundered  the  wretched  peasants,  and  "hunted  them  down"  when  they  took 
refuge  and  bivouacked  in  the  forests.  Fines  to  a  large  amount  were  imposed  upon  the 
congregation,  their  crops  trampled  down,  and,  in  one  case,  six  hundred  married  men 
banished  to  Cherson  (on  the  14th  February,  1876),  and  employed  in  hard  labour— stone- 
breaking — all  day  long,  whilst  their  wives  and  families  remained  at  home,  with  a  number 
of  Cossacks  quartered  upon  them.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  not  surprising  to 
read,  in  Count  Tolstoi's  report  (1877),  that  no  less  than  237,000  Russian  subjects  saw 
the  error  of  their  ways  in  1876,  and  were  converted  to  the  Orthodox  faith. 

Having  thus  undergone  a  preliminary  preparation  for  their  subsequent  complete 
subjection  to  the  autocrat  government,  which  is  supposed  to  represent  paternal  solicitude 
and  authority,  the  Russian  is  then  put  into  the  drilling  machine  provided  by  the 
military  system,  and  which  ever  afterwards  holds  him  in  its  iroc  grasp.  When  the  man 
who  stole  a  loaf  excused  the  act  by  saying  he  must  live,  the  magistrate  appropriately 
replied,  that  he  did  not  see  the  necessity  at  all.  On  the  same  principle,  the  existence  of 
the  Russian  is  only  regarded  as  a  necessity  in  so  far  as  he  forms  an  element  in  the  army 
which  keeps  the  government  and  its  friends  on  its  legs.  Consequently  it  is  necessary 
that  the  army  should  be  subjected  to  the  strictest  discipline,  and  be  as  perfect  as 
possible.     A  sketch  of  the  machine  is  therefore  necessary  to  understand  the  working  of 

the  system. 

Thus   we   find   that   the  Russian   infantry  consists  of  forty-eight  divisions,  each 


division  comprising  two  brigades  of  two  regiments  each.  In  ten  of  these  divisions  the 
regiments  have  four  battalions  of  1,000  each ;  in  the  other  thirty-eight  the  regiment  has 
only  three  battaUons,  or  3,000  men.  Thus  the  effective  strength  of  the  infantry 
amounts  to  616  battalions  of  1,000  men  each,  or  616,000  men.  It  is,  however,  intended 
to  extend  the  four-battalion  system  to  all  the  regiments,  whereby  another  152,000  men 
will  be  gained.  To  this  effective  must  be  added  eight  brigades  of  Rifles,  with  an 
effective  of  28,000,  and  a  special  corps  described  as  "line  battalions."  Of  these  there 
are  thirty-four,  pretty  widely  scattered :  thus  there  are  two  in  the  province  of  Orenburg, 
ten  in  Siberia,  fifteen  in  Turkestan,  and  seven  in  the  Caucasus.  Several  have,  however, 
been  incorporated  with  infantry  regiments  to  form  fourth  battalions.  These  line 
battalions  have  done  excellent  service  during  the  last  campaign  in  Central  Asia.  Their 
total  effective  amounts  to  35,650  men.  Recapitulating  the  totals  given  above,  we  find 
for  the  regular  infantry  a  general  total  of  682  battalions,  with  679,600  men.  Of 
irregular  infantry,  there  is  extremely  little-viz.,  the  nine  Orenburg  battalions  and  two 
battalions  of  Kuban  Cossacks.  The  former  can,  in  case  of  need,  be  employed  in 
Turkestan  and  Central  Asia.  The  Kuban  battalions,  the  number  of  which  could 
be  increased  in  time  of  war,  are  chiefly  made  use  of  m  Russian  expeditions  to  Asia 

The  regular  cavalry  consists  of  fifty-six  regiments,  each  comprising  four  field 
squadrons  and  one  reserve  squadron.  The  strength  of  the  field  squadron,  whether  on 
war  or  peace  footing,  is  invariably  the  same— sixteen  non-commissioned  officers,  four 
trumpeters  and  128  men:  the  effective  of  the  regiment  (officers  included)  is  629  men; 
and  therefore  the  total  strength  of  the  regular  cavalry  is  35,224.  This  number  is  smaU 
when  compared  with  that  of  the  infantry ;  and  the  War  Office  itself  seems  to  admit  a^ 
much,  as  it   has  supplemented  the   fifty-six  regular  horse   regiments   by  twenty-two 

regiments  of  Cossacks. 

In  the  event  of  mobilisation  the  Don  Cossacks  have  to  supply  sixty-two  regi- 
ments: sixteen  of  these  are  incorporated  with  the  divisions  of  regular  cavalry,  four 
form  a  separate  division,  and  two  remain  available.     A  Cossack  regiment  consists  of 
894  men,  four  sotnias  (the  two  regiments  of  Cossacks  of  the  Guard  to  be  formed 
in  the  event  of  mobilisation  are   1,134   strong).    The  addition  of  the  Cossacks  to 
the  regular  cavalry  brings  up  its  strength  to  55,372  men.     Of  late  years  the  Russian 
government  has  laboured  hard  to  assimilate  the  Cossacks  to  the  regulars  as  regards  driU 
and  tactics-an  experiment  the  value  of  which  has  yet  to  be  tested,  for  the  free-and- 
easy  habits  of  the  Cossacks,  who  may  be  regarded  as  the  Bashi-Bazouks  of  Russia, 
are  ill-adapted  to  the  strict  discipline  of  the  rest  of  the  army.    The  additional  forty 
regiments  of  Don  Cossacks  are  never  called  out  save  in  time  of  war.    They  are  divided 
into  two  categories.     The  twenty  regiments  which  form  the  first  category  must  have 
their  arms,  horses,  and  equipment  in  constant  readiness,  so  as  to  be  able  to  take  the  field 
at  a  moment's  notice;  the  men  of  the  twenty  regiments  forming  the  second  category  are 
not  subjected  to  any  such  obligation.     In  addition  to  the  above  sixty-two  regiments 
forming  the  contingent  of  the  Don  Cossacks,  there  are  ten  regiments  of  Kuban  Cossacks, 
five  regiments  of  Terek  Cossacks,  nine  of  Ural  Cossacks,  fifteen  of  Orenburg,  and  three 
of  Astrakhan  Cossacks,  besides  several  contingents  from  provinces  too  distant  to  be 


4 


Tl 


INTEODUCTION. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Vll 


available  in  a  European  war.     Here  then  we   have   the   total   mass   of  the  Russian 
cavalry : — 


Regular  Cavalry     . . 
Cossacks  embodied  with  the  regulars 
Don  Cossacks,  1st  and  2nd  categories 
Other  Cossacks 


Squadron!!  or  Sotnias. 

224 
132 
240 
236 


832 


Sabres. 

35,000 
20,000 
36,000 
35,000 

126,000 


Without  going  into  technical  details,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  Russian  artillery 
is  so  organised  as  to  provide  a  proportion  of  three  guns  for  every  1,000  infantry. 
The  following  tabular  statement  will  give  a  view  of  its  effectives ; — 


Foot  Artillery 

Horse  and  Cossack  Artillery 

Sundry  Cossack  Artillery 


Batteries. 

288 
84 
24 


Guns. 
2,304 

204 

164 


346 


2,672 


Men. 

73,500 
7,650 
6,150 

■  ^ 

87,300 


The  guns  of  the  foot  artillery  are  akin  to  those  of  the  French  artillery  before  the 
war :  they  are  of  two  calibres,  four-pounders  and  nine-pounders.  The  guns  are  not  to 
be  compared  with  those  of  either  Germany  or  Austria.  The  organisation  of  the  force 
also  leaves  much  to  be  desired. 

There  are  eleven  battalions  of  sappers  and  miners,  six  half-battalions  of  pioneers, 
parks  of  field  engineers,  two  parks  siege  ditto,  nine  telegraph  parks,  and  four  battalions 
of  reserve  sappers.  The  total  efficiency  of  the  scientific  corps  is  14,340  men ;  thus 
bringing  up  the  total  of  the  army  to  907,000  men.  In  addition,  there  are  about  254,000 
"local  troops,"  for  garrison  duty,  and  to  keep  order  at  home. 

As  regards  the  armament  of  this  huge  force,  it  is  far  from  uniform.  The  infantry 
have  two  different  kinds  of  muskets;  some  corps  having  the  Berdan  rifle,  others  the  Krnka 
musket.  Each  man  is  supposed  to  go  into  action  with  sixty  rounds  of  ammunition.  It 
has  been  recently  ordered  that  an  ammunition  cart,  with  reserve  ammunition,  should 
follow  every  battalion  into  the  field.  A  cart  carrying  a  few  trenching  tools  is  attached 
to  each  company.  The  armament  of  the  cavalry  is  peculiar  to  Russia.  In  every  corps, 
with  the  exception  of  the  dragoons,  the  first  rank  are  armed  with  lances  ;  the  second 
rank  have  neither  lance  nor  revolver,  but  a  Berdan  rifle.  The  dragoons  alone  have  the 
Krnka  musket.  The  Cossacks  are  armed  with  lance,  sabre,  and  musket.  The  men  armed 
with  rifles  have  twenty  rounds  of  ball-cartridge ;  those  armed  with  revolvers  only 
eighteen  rounds. 

The  training  of  the  Russian  army  leaves  much  to  be  desired,  and  the  drill  seems  in 
a  transition  state—between  the  close  order  of  former  days,  and  the  loose  formation  which 
long-range  fire-arms  have  rendered  necessary.  The  men  are  fairly  trained  in  marksman- 
ship. Their  sang-froid  is  admirable ;  their  movements  are  possibly  not  rapid;  but  they  will 
follow  their  officers  anywhere  with  unquestioning  docility,  will  take  good  aim,  and  not 
fire  without  orders.     Whoever  encounters  them  will  have  to  deal  with  a  formidable  foe. 


Nevertheless,  there  is,  unquestionably,  a  falling-off  in  the  rigid  bearing,  in  the  smart 
performance  of  movements  that  used  formerly  to  be  a  characteristic  feature  of  Russian 
infantry.     There  is,  perhaps,  a  little  too  much  of  the  French  laisser-aller ;  and  as 
regards  the  drill  for  action  in  loose  order,  it  is  performed  without  either  the  precision  or 
dash  of  the  Prussian  or  Austrian  armies.     Respecting  the  cavalry,  all  that  can  be  said  is, 
that  the  addition  of  the  Cossacks  has  deprived  it,  to  some  extent,  of  its  gallant  and  soldierly 
bearing.     The  regulars  have  learnt  from  the  Cossacks  their  bad  habits.     The  teams  of  the 
artillery  are  excellent,  and  the  movements  rapid.     There  is,  however,  a  great  dearth  of 
men  able  to  lay  a  gun.     The  distinction  between  divisional  and  corps  artillery  appears  to 
be  unknown. — The  most  important  element  in  an  army  is  its  officers ;  and  here  great 
changes  have  been  effected  of  late  years.     Formerly,  a  great  many  officers  got  a  commis- 
sion through  mere  favour ;  but  this  abuse  has  been  reformed  by  the  able  war  minister, 
General  Milutine.     No  man  can  now  obtain  a  commission  without  undergoing  a  strict 
examination.     To  promote  the  means  of  military  education.  General  Milutine  created 
"  Junker,"  or,  as  we  should  say,  cadet  schools.     These  schools,  since  their  creation,  have 
turned  out  upwards  of  10,000  candidates  for  commissions,  and  2,000  cadets  duly  qualified 
for  commissions  now  pass  through  them  every  year :  they  remain  at  the  disposition  of  the 
State,  and  get  appointments  as  vacancies  occur.     In  spite  of  many  praiseworthy  efforts 
to  raise  it,  the  intellectual  level  of  the  officers  is  not  high  ;  but  they  know  the  routine  of 
their  business  thoroughly  well,  and  are  regarded  generally  with  respect  and  affection  by 
their  men.     As  to  the  question,  "  Has  Russia  a  general  ?  "  it  would  be  difficult  to  answer 
it.     The  march  to  Khiva,  and  the  more  recent  campaign  in  Central  Asia,  has  not  revealed 
the  existence  of  any  man  of  genius  in  the  Russian  ranks. 

In  time  of  peace  the  Russian  infantry  has  no  ready-formed  reserve,  with  the  exception 
of  the  skeleton  of  a  battalion  of  the  Reserve  Regiment  of  the  Guard,  which  has  to  be  created 
in  time  of  war.  There  is  something  quite  peculiar  about  this  regiment  which  requires 
little  detail  to  be  made  intelligible.  When  the  decree  is  issued  for  the  mobilisation  of  the 
army,  it  becomes  necessary  to  create  164  battalions  of  reserves — that  is  to  say,  one 
battalion  for  each  infantry  regiment,  with  the  exception  of  the  Guards  and  the 
Grenadiers.  This  latter  is  the  sole  four-battalion  reserve  regiment  to  be  created  in  case 
of  war :  it  consists  of  twelve  line  companies  and  four  companies  of  Rifles,  the  reserve 
battalions  having  no  Rifle  companies.  Up  to  the  present  time,  there  exists  no  machinery 
in  the  Russian  service  for  the  formation  of  infantry  reserves  in  peace-time :  all  that  is 
provided  is,  that,  in  the  event  of  the  formation  of  a  reserve  being  deemed  advisable,  a 
field-officer,  and  four  officers  of  lower  rank,  together  with  a  quartermaster  and  two  clerks 
belonging  to  the  active  or  local  troops,  should  be  transferred  to  these  reserve  battalions. 
An  intention,  however,  is  entertained  of  drawing  up  the  cadres  thoroughly  on  paper  in 
time  of  peace ;  but  as  there  are  really  no  cadres  at  the  command  of  the  government,  the 
question  yet  remains  unsettled.  The  strength  of  the  reserve  battalions  of  the  line  and 
the  Guards  is  estimated  at  960  men.  To  provide  the  requisite  reserves  in  the  event  of 
mobilisation  would  require  168  battalions,  and  an  effective  of  168,000  men.  When  the 
mobilisation  is  decreed,  192  depot  battalions  are  created  for  the  supply  of  men  to  the 
line,  and  nine  depot  battalions  for  the  Rifles.  But  a  mobilisation  in  Russia  is  a  matter 
of  no  small  difficulty,  on  account  of  the  extent  and  scanty  population  of  the  territory. 


VIU 


INTEODUCTION. 


the  scarcity  of  communication,  and  the  precautions  which  require  to  be  taken  against  the 
population  in  Poland  and  other  provinces.  The  country,  indeed,  is  divided  into  a  certain 
number  of  recruiting  districts ;  but  as  the  corps  belonging  to  these  districts  are  generally 
quartered  elsewhere,  when  the  order  for  mobilisation  goes  forth,  there  is  a  chassez-croisez 
of  men  and  horses  all  over  the  empire.  As  regards  the  artillery,  its  mobilisation  requires 
a  supplement  of  40,000  horses.  Under  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  the  mobili- 
sation of  the  Kussian  army  cannot  be  effected  under  from  five  to  six  weeks. 

Such,  in  few  words,  is  the  character  of  official  Kussia.  But  there  is  another  Eussia 
— the  Eussia  of  the  masses, — unofficial  Eussia,  which  slowly,  but  surely,  is  modifying 
and  influencing  the  government  and  its  principles  ;  so  that,  even  in  the  army,  there  is  a 
marked  difference  between  the  old  generation  and  the  younger,  that  is  much  in  favour 
of  the  latter. 

Down  to  the  time  of  the  Crimean  war,  Eussia  was  an  earthly  paradise  for  diplo- 
matists of  the  old  school.  Enjoying  great  social  consider  don,  and  living  in  an  almost 
constant  round  of  splendid  festivities,  they  had  only  very  light  and  very  simple  duties  to 
perform.  They  never  required  to  undertake  such  complicated  operations  as  calculatino^ 
the  strength  of  political  parties  or  the  force  of  public  opinion.  All  the  springs  of 
government  were  to  be  found  within  a  radius  of  a  mile  from  the  Winter  Palace ;  and 
beyond  this  small  enchanted  circle  there  was  nothing  for  a  diplomatist  to  observe.  The 
czar  and  his  ministers  worked  the  great  machine  as  they  pleased,  free  from  control  and 
extraneous  advice,  and  the  nation  confined  itself  to  unquestioning  obedience.  If  any 
voice  did  happen  to  rise  from  the  crowd,  it  was  very  soon  silenced.  Once,  in  a  moment 
of  heroic  self-forgetfulness,  a  rash  newspaper  editor  ventured  to  hint  that  some  new  seats 
in  the  imperial  garden  were  not  quite  in  perfect  taste ;  but  the  all-seeing  eye  of  the 
press-censor  was  upon  him,  and  he  was  severely  punished  for  venturing  to  criticise  seats 
that  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  the  imperial  approval ! 

These  halcyon  days  for  old-fashioned  diplomatists  and  statesmen  of  the  Metternioh 
type  are  now  beginning  to  be  numbered  amongst  the  things  of  the  past.  The  czar, 
though  still  as  autocratic  as  ever  in  the  legal  sense  of  the  term,  no  longer  drives  the 
machine  by  his  own  unaided  energy.  There  are  still,  it  is  true,  no  regularly  constituted 
political  parties,  no  National  Assembly ;  but  the  great  silent  inert  mass,  composed  of 
eighty  millions  of  human  beings,  has  begun  to  show,  here  and  there,  symptoms  of  human 
intelligence  and  human  will,  and  the  government  is  no  longer  at  liberty  to  act  entirely  as 
it  pleases.  Eussia  has  now,  in  fact,  many  of  the  blessings  which  belong  to  advanced 
political  development,  and  which  complicate  enormously  the  art  of  government.  There 
is  a  press  which,  though  liable  to  be  gagged  occasionally,  criticises  things  much  more 
important  than  rustic  seats  in  imperial  gardens  ;  and  a  public  which,  though  enthusiasti- 
cally loyal  to  the  head  of  the  State,  insists  sometimes  on  having  opinions  of  its  own. 
There  was  a  Slavonic  Committee  which  supplied  the  Servians  with  a  commander-in-chief, 
and  sent  several  thousand  volunteers  to  fight  the  Turks ;  and  there  are  even  secret  societies 
which  aim  at  overthrowing  the  government  and  inaugurating  a  Socialistic  millennium. 
In  a  word,  this  is  the  unofficial  Eussia,  which  exercises  a  certain  influence  on  the  govern- 
ment, and  which  must  therefore  be  taken  into  consideration  by  diplomatists  and 
statesmen  in  their  endeavours  to  forecast  th^  policy  'of  the  country. 


INTEODUCTION. 


IX 


_  t 


This  new  political  factor,  and  the  part  it  has  played  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
will  be  described  in  its  proper  place ;  but  we  may  give  here  a  short  account  given  on 
excellent  authority  by  the  Examiner,  of  that  section  of  official  and  unofficial  Eussia  which 
has  its  centre  in  Moscow,  and  which  has  recently  played  a  prominent  part. 

"  Between  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  there  exists  an  antagonism  of  long  standing. 
Ever  since  its  foundation,  St.  Petersburg  has  striven  to  be  a  European  city,  and  to  adopt 
all  the  products  of  West-European  civilisation.  Moscow,  on  the  contrary,  strives  to  be 
distinctively  Eussian,  and  afifects  to  look  down  on  her  younger  rival  as  a  half-caste 
parvenu.  Abandoned  by  the  imperial  family  and  the  heads  of  administration,  she 
glories  in  her  ancient  monuments  and  her  ancient  spirit,  and  boasts  that  she  still  holds 
the  first  place  in  the  veneration  and  love  of  the  Eussian  people.  All  Moscovites  are 
more  or  less  imbued  with  this  Platonic  hostility  to  the  capital  on  the  Neva,  and  love  to 
reproach  its  inhabitants — the  ministers  and  other  official  dignitaries  not  excepted — with 
gross  ignorance  of  Eussia  l  d  the^true  Eussian  character ;  but  when  they  come  to  discuss 
the  present  and  future  of  their  country,  they  are  by  no  means  unanimous.  We  easily 
distinguish  amongst  them  two  groups  or  coteries,  holding  peculiar  views,  which  distin- 
guish them  from  each  other.  The  one  is  composed  of  the  Slavophils,  the  other  may  be 
called  the  Moscovites  proper.  These  groups  are  often  confounded,  and  the  confusion  is 
excusable,  for  many  worthy  Moscovites  themselves  do  not  clearly  distinguish  between  the 
two,  and  consider  that  they  belong  to  both ;  but  in  reality  there  is  a  decided  distinction, 
for  the  leaders  are  by  no  means  at  one,  and  do  not  generally  entertain  very  friendly  rela- 
tions. The  chief  difference  may  be  briefly  stated.  The  Slavophils  are  the  representa- 
tives of  the  old  Eussian  orthodox  spirit.  They  idealise  and  admire  ancient  Eussia, 
condemn  the  sweeping  reforms  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  the  foreign  principles  of  admin- 
istration in  vogue  since  his  time,  profess  an  inordinate  admiration  for  the  uneducated, 
uncorrupted  peasantry,  aspire  to]  the  creation  of  a  specifically  Eussian  culture  on  the 
basis  of  the  Slavonic  character  and  Eastern  orthodoxy,  are  deeply  imbued  with  Slavonic 
patriotism,  and  hope  to  see  some  day  a  great  Slavonic  federation  or  Panslavonic  empire. 
With  regard  to  questions  of  home  policy,  they  are  adherents  of  the  Mir,  or  Eural  Com- 
mune, with  its  periodical  reallotment  of  the  land,  advocate  the  fostering  of  native 
industries  by  means  of  protective  tariffs,  desire  the  elimination  of  the  Grerman  element 
and  German  influence  from  the  administration,  and  would  like  to  see  the  church  eman- 
cipated from  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  State.  The  party  of  the  Moscovites 
proper  is  at  once  more  modern  in  its  conceptions  and  more  modest  in  its  aims.  Though 
desiring  equally  to  see  the  German  influence  eliminated  from  the  administration,  it  has 
no  feeling  of  hostility  to  Peter  the  Great  and  Western  culture,  and  no  sentimental  love 
of  ancient  Eussia.  It  thinks  that  Eussia  ought  to  adopt  all  manner  of  civilisation  and 
enlightenment  from  Western  Europe,  and  shows  no  sympathy  with  institutions  simply 
because  they  are  specially  Eussian.  On  the  contrary,  it  holds  that  the  social  and  poli- 
tical development  of  the  country  must  be  fundamentally  the  same  as  that  of  the  West- 
European  nations,  and  hails  with  delight  all  reforms  conceived  in  the  West-European 
spirit.  Whilst  the  Slavophils  believe  that  the  mission  of  Eussia  is  to  develop  certain 
very  abstruse  principles  which  are  supposed  to  be  hidden  in  the  Slavonic  nature  and  in 

Greek  orthodoxy,  this  party — less  dreamy  and  wiser  in  its  generation — think  that  Eussia 

b 


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1(i 


4. 


,1 1 


INTRODUCTION. 


INTKODUCTION. 


should  develop  her  institutions  by  the  light  of  modem   experience,  and  extend  her 
political  influence  by  the  same  means  as  other  nations. 

"In  ordinary  times  the  influence  of  the  Moscovite  spirit,  as  represented  by  these  two 
parties,  is  very  small.  The  Petersburgians  look  upon  it  with  kindly  condescensions  as  an 
amiable  provincialism,  and  some  Russians  are  rather  proud  of  it,  as  they  are  of  the  old 
picturesque  buildings  of  the  Kremlin ;  but  it  has  little  practical  significance.  The 
Slavophils,  with  their  mystical  principles,  which  have  an  interest  for  those  who  study 
the  philosophy  of  history  rather  than  for  practical  administrators,  stand  apart  from  the 
busy  crowd  in  a  region  of  philosophical  abstraction.  If  they  indulge  in  any  practical 
activity,  it  takes  the  form  of  educating  young  Bulgarians  or  sending  ecclesiastical  vest- 
ments and  sacred  vessels  to  the  Slavs  of  Turkey  and  Austria.  All  this,  however,  is 
changed  when  certain  political  complications  arise.  As  soon  as  the  Eastern  question  is 
raised,  and  Russia  finds  herself  in  antagonism  with  Western  Europe,  Moscow  always 
comes  prominently  to  the  front,  as  the  representative  of  Holy  Russia  and  of  the  genuine 
national  spirit.  Words  which  at  ordinary  seasons  would  only  provoke  a  smile  are  now 
listened  to  with  attention  and  respect.  For  the  moment  the  two  sections  of  Moscovite 
society  combine.  The  Slavophils  declare  that  the  time  has  come  for  emancipating  the 
oppressed  Slavonic  brethren,  and  protecting  them  against  the  insidious  influences  of 
Western  Europe  ;  whilst  the  more  moderate  party  urge  ^the  government  to  uphold  the 
honour  of  the  country,  and  maintain  legitimate  Russian  influence  in  the  Slavonic  world. 
In  view  of  the  national  danger,  the  government  thinks  it  necessary  to  know  the  real 
sentiments  of  the  people,  and  considers  that  Moscow  is  the  truest  representative  of  these 
sentiments.  The  czar  visits  the  ancient  capital,  and  the  inhabitants  show  him  the  most 
unbounded  devotion — humbly  urging  him,  in  more  or  less  disguised  language,  to  im- 
pregnate himself  with  the  genuine  national  spirit,  to  close  his  ears  to  the  seductive  voice 
of  foreign  counsellors,  and  to  act  as  a  czar  who  can  rely  implicitly  on  the  boimdless 
devotion  and  self-sacrifice  of  his  loyal  subjects.  Though  his  majesty  may  be  a  man  of 
cool  head  and  unimpulsive  character,  he  cannot  remain  wholly  impervious  to  the 
patriotic  excitement.  It  was  during  one  of  those  visits  that  Alexander  II.  pronounced 
the  famous  speech,  in  which  he  pledged  himself  to  act  independently,  if  the  powers 
would  not  act  with  him,  for  the  protection  of  the  Christians  in  Turkey." 

Thus  we  see,  though  autocracy  is  still  unshaken  in  Russia,  that  section  of  unoflBcial 
Russia  which  is  represented  by  Moscow  exercises  a  certain  influence  on  the  imperial 
government,  and  consequently  its  views  and  aims  are  deserving  of  attention.  Now  the 
bulwark  of  unofficial  Russia — of  the  masses — is  undoubtedly  the  Zemstvo.  It  is  im- 
possible to  translate  this  word  Zemstvo  by  any  other  phrase  than  local  government. 
But  the  very  existence  of  such  an  institution,  hedged  in  as  it  is,  and  as  we  have  already 
seen,  by  the  government  and  its  autocratic  principles,  is  in  itself  a  most  remarkable 
feature ;  and  it  is  from  this  institution  that  the  future,  not  only  of  Russia,  but  of  all 
the  Slavonic  races,  is  expected  to  blossom  forth  in  a  perfection  so  far  distant  that  it  must 
be  re^^arded  as  Utopian — at  any  rate,  as  far  as  Europe  is  concerned,  as  it  presupposes 
the  possession  of  an  abundance  of  ground  that  does  not  exist  in  Europe  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  allow  of  each  individual  holding  his  own  acres,  whether  personally  or  com- 
munally. 


The  Zemstvo  was  instituted  in  1864.  There  is  a  provincial  Zemstvo  and  a  district 
Zemstvo.  Each  district  Zemstvo  consists  of  a  Zemstvo  assembly  and  a  Zemstvo  executive. 
The  assembly  consists  of  the  landowners  of  the  district  and  members  chosen  by  the  muni- 
cipal and  country  communities.  Neither  the  governor  nor  vice-governor  of  the  district 
can  be  a  member  of  the  Zemstvo.  Nor  can  any  member  of  the  government  nor  lawyers 
be  elected.  The  term  of  office  is  three  years.  The  executive  is  chosen  by  the  assembly, 
and  consists  of  a  president  and  two  assistants,  who  are  paid  by  the  assembly.  The  execu- 
tive thus  has  to  carry  out  the  orders  of  the  assembly,  and  depends  upon  it  entirely. 

The  provincial  Zemstvo  is  constituted  in  a  precisely  similar  manner,  divided  into 
an  assembly  and  an  executive.     Both  Zemstvos  meet  once  a  year. 

By  this  means   the  government  has  transferred  a  great  burden  from  its  own 
shoulders  to  those  of  the  people,  which  has  accordingly  no  small  sum  to  pay  for  the 
privilege.     The  people  are  placed  in  a  condition  thereby — and  it  is  part  of  their  duty — 
to  provide  for  their  material  and  moral  progress ;  but  at  the  same  time,  in  making  these 
concessions,  the  government  has  not  ceded  one  jot  of  its  own  rights.     The  Zemstvo  may 
build  hospitals,  appoint  surgeons  and  doctors,  construct  roads,  and  open  schools,  all  at 
its  own  expense.     But  further  than  this  it  cannot  go.     On  the  policy  of  the  central 
government,  it  has  but  the  smallest,  if  indeed  any,  influence.     Still,  as  we  said  before, 
the  development  of  the  Zemstvo  is  the  only  hope  the  Russian  has  of  progressing ;  and, 
though  slowly,  it  is  doing  its  work.     Thus  there  was  a  debate  recently  in  one  of  the 
Ural  Zemstvos,  when  a  proposal  was  brought  forward  by  a  Colonel  Steinfeldt,  to  award 
an  increase  to  the  school  funds  of  15,000  roubles.     The  proposal  was  supported  by  one 
peasant  only,  and   that  peasant  an  ex-serf.     He  said — "  It  has  been  fully  proved  that, 
with  the  education  of  the  labourer,  his  wealth  also  increases.     Even  for  this  reason  alone, 
it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  Zemstvo  to  promote  the  cause  of  education,  by  all  the  means 
in  its  power.     Those  who  say  that  the  existing  town  schools  suffice,  and  that  we  have  no 
need  of  primary  village  schools,  forget  that  the  case  is  the  same  for  us  as  with  the 
buffet  here  in  the  ante-chamber.     It  is  open  to  all :  quite  true  I     But  it  does  not  suit 
our  pockets.     We  do  not  want  champagne  and  Strasburg  pies."     But,  in  spite  of  the 
sturdy  peasant's  good  common  sense,  the  proposition  wss  almost  unanimously  rejected. 
Nor  are  such  matters  confined  to  the  remote  districts  of  the  Ural.     The  Zemstvo  of 
Odessa,  for  instance,  can  only  boast  of  thirteen  schools,  with  500  pupils,  upon  which  it 
expends  a  sum  of  6,000  to  7,000  roubles ;  whilst  the  sale  of  playing-cards,  which  is  a 
monopoly  of  the  Zemstvo,  brought   in  a  nett  profit  of   32,000  roubles.       But  then 
gambling  is  a  vice  to  which  the  Russians,  especially  the  higher  classes,  are  notoriously 
addicted,  more  so  than  in   any  other   country.      Still  it  is  satisfactory  to  find  even 
one  peasant  endeavouring  to  promote  the  cause  of  education.     Some  of  the  seed  has 
fallen  on  good  ground.     On  the  other  hand,  nothing  exemplifies  the  spirit  in  which  the 
government  instituted  and  regards  the  Zemstvo  so  much  as  the  fact,  that  when  several 
Zemstvos  endeavoured  to  introduce  compulsory  education,  the  home  ministry  placed  its 
veto  on  the  proposal,  saying—"  All  compulsion  prevents,  but  does  not  forward,  the 

development  of  the  good ! " 

Of  the  country  which  is  thus  governed,  we  find  that   European  Russia  comprises 
2,261,657  square  miles,  with  a  population  of  78,281,447;   Asiatic  Russia,  6,170,882 


I'itJ 


\ 


zu 


INTRODUCTION. 


INTRODUCTION. 


xiu 


square  miles,  with  a  population  of  7,229,495  :  forming  a  total  of  8,432,549  square  miles, 
with  a  population  of  85,510,942.  Gifted  with  an  almost  boundless  territory,  with 
enormous  tracts  of  land  yet  unreclaimed  from  the  primitive  wilderness,  with  mines 
which  yield  prolific  stores  of  wealth,  what  a  power  of  expansion  such  a  population  must 
necessarily  possess !  What  will  that  population  be  within  a  century  ?  What,  even  in 
the  year  1900  ?  Evidently  an  enormous,  perhaps  irresistible,  power  for  good  or  for  evil. 
A  solid  foundation  for  European  despotism,  or  a  glorious  aid  to  that  rationally  free  and 
constitutional  government  which  appears  to  be  so  safe  and  wise  in  action.  Russia  may 
abandon  a  policy  which  exhausts  the  energies  of  the  people,  in  adding  to  its  already 
overgrown  dominions  countries  it  cannot  benefit  by ;  but  its  present  czar  does  not  seem 
to  have  forgotten  the  ambitious  lessons  of  Peter  and  of  Catherine,  whilst  directing  his 
attention  to  promoting  the  prosperity  of  the  vast  empire  he  possesses.  Russia,  with  all 
her  craft  and  crime,  has  yet  been  the  pioneer  of  civilisation  in  the  sterile  and  savage 
north :  it  is  now  time  that  she  should  rest  in  her  dazzling  and  feverish  progress,  and, 
turning  back  her  eyes  on  the  lands  and  peoples  she  has  subdued,  devote  herself  to  culti- 
vating the  one,  and  elevating  the  other.  Her  nobles  and  officers  are  among  the  most 
polished  gentlemen  of  Europe ;  but  her  people  are  yet  scarcely  more  than  semi- Asiatic 
hordes,  deeply  plunged  in  barbarism  and  superstition,  and  almost  as  much  an  anomaly 
in  Europe  as  the  Turks.  In  political,  as  well  as  in  social  progress,  it  may  be  certainly 
pronounced  that 

"  The  bells  of  time  are  ringing  changes  fast." 

The  present  age  is  one  of  transition  for  Russia.  She  cannot  continue  into  the  future 
that  which  she  was  in  the  past.  Nature  cries  aloud,  in  tones  of  commanding  eloquence, 
to  empires  as  well  as  to  men — "Advance,  or  perish  ! "  The  statesmen  of  Russia  are  too 
wise  to  remain  insensible  to  an  injunction  which  is  as  unalterable  as  destiny,  as  "un- 
shunnable  as  death."  Should  their  successors  be  blind  to  the  great  problem  which  will 
stand  before  them  for  solution,  the  work  of  an  empire's  progress  and  redemption  will  be 
done  in  other  ways.  Czardom  is  not  necessarily  eternal ;  and  revolution  may  accomplish 
what  the  slow  and  silent  progress  of  genial  reforms  could  not  effect.  In  spite  of  political 
statistics  and  ominous  inferences,  we  have  great  hope  for  the  future  of  Russia.  The 
young  giant  is  wilful  and  sullen,  but  we  think  he  is  growing  wiser,  though  it  may  not 
appear  so  at  the  present  moment. 

We  shall  here  speak  particularly  of  European  Russia  only ;  the  Asiatic  portions 
of  that  empire  we  shall  briefly  describe  when  we  state  how  they  were  annexed  to  the 
dominant  power.  European  Russia  comprises  the  north-eastern  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent most  distinguished  for  power  and  for  civilisation.  The  long  range  of  the  Ural 
Mountains  and  the  river  Ural  divide  it  from  Asia.  From  thence  it  is  bounded  by  the 
waters  of  the  Caspian,  the  snow-clad  mountains  of  the  Caucasus,  and  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea.  On  the  west,  Russia  extends  to  the  frontier  of  Roumania  ;  while  further 
north,  between  Austrian  Galicia,  Silesia,  and  Prussia,  no  natural  boundary  can  be 
said  to  exist.  On  reaching  the  Baltic,  the  confines  of  the  empire  are  marked  by  nature 
by  the  gulfs  of  Riga  and  Finland,  and  up  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Grulf  of 
Bothnia.      Still  farther  north,  it  touches  Sweden  and  Norway.     On  the  extreme  north, 


V 


this  gigantic  empire  is  washed  by  the  Arctic  Ocean,  which,  at  that  point,  forms  the 
extensive  gulf  known  as  the  White  Sea. 

Russia  is,   for  the  most  part,   one  extensive  plain ;  much  of  which  is  covered  with 
bogs,  and  swamps,  and  forests ;  while  in  other  districts  there  exist  dry,  woodless,  and 
indeed  desert  tracts,  called  steppes.     In  some  places  the  swamps  are  from  fifty   to  one 
hundred  miles  in  width,  though  frequently  interrupted  by  tracts  of  drier  and  more 
elevated  land.      Other  portions  are  covered  with  interminable  forests  of  pine  and  fir, 
and  are  nearly  uninhabited.     Some  tracts  of  the  soil  are  almost  as  sterile  as  the  Great 
African   Desert;    while  in   others   its   fertility  will   bear   comparison   with   the   most 
favoured  spots  of  nature.     Bordering  upon  Archangel  is  the  largest  forest  in  Europe, 
if  not  on  the  entire  globe  :  it  is  said  to  cover  150,000  square  miles,  and  consists  chiefly 
of  different  kinds  of  pine,  mingled  with  fir,  larch,  and  birch.     Here  and  there  occurs  a 
cultivated  spot,   on  which   rye,  barley,  oats,  peas,  hemp,   and   flax   are  grown ;    but 
as  the  brief  summer  which  prevails  in  this  gloomy  region   is  frequently  interrupted 
with  fogs  and  rain,    the   crops  often  fail.     West  of  the  river  Onega  lies  the  region 
of  rocks  and  lakes  which  extends  over  the   immense  tract  between  the  gulfs  of  Finland 
and  of  Bothnia  on  the  west  and  south,  and  the  White  Sea  on  the  north-east.     The  land 
is  level  and  very  swampy,  and  though  not  devoid  of  fertility,  requires  great  labour  for 
its  successful  cultivation.      The  consequence   is,   that  most  of  it  is  left  in  its  natural 
state  ;  and  even  within  twenty  miles  of  the  extensive  and  gorgeous  city  of  St.  Petersburg 
(where,  notwithstanding  the  trying  severity  of  the  climate,  the  refinements  of  magnifi- 
cence and  the  delights  of  all  that  is  rare  and  elegantly  sensual  in  civilisation  find  a 
home),  those   forests  commence  which   spread  over  nearly  the  whole   of  the  country. 
They   consist   almost   entirely  of  fir,  pine,  and   birch;    among    which   are    dispersed 
immense  boulders  of  granite.     To  an  imaginative  mind,  their  vast  and  gloomy  grandeur, 
and  wild,  savage  sublimity,  may  be  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  the  empire  itself. 

The  most  important,  and  in  many  respects  the  most  fertile,  portion  of  the  empire, 
is  the  basin  of  the  great  river  Volga,  which  occupies  about  650,000  square  miles,  and 
is  equal  in  extent  to  three  times  the  area  of  France.  All  connected  with  this  interesting 
empire  is  on  a  scale  of  rude,  uncultivated  greatness.  The  lower  course  of  the  Volga 
traverses  an  immense  steppe  or  desert,  which  stretches  out  eastward  to  the  banks  of 
the  river  Ural.  This  region,  extending  over  about  336,000  square  miles,  is  unfit  for 
cultivation,  and  merely  supplies  a  scanty  pasture  for  the  wandering  tribes  which 
inhabit  it.  Coarse  tall  grass  grows  in  turfs  several  feet  apart ;  a  few  wild  plants,  such 
as  wormwood  and  salsola,  are  also  found ;  but  with  the  exception  of  these,  the  soil 
consists  of  a  bare  yellow  clay,  without  vegetation.  The  Kirghiz  steppe,  east  of  the 
river  Ural,  has  a  similarly  desert  and  forbidding  aspect ;  and  it  is  conjectured  that  the 
whole  region,  as  far  as  the  lake  of  Aral,  was  once  covered  by  the  waters  of  a  now 
shrunken  and  diminished  sea.  The  soil  is  still  impregnated  with  salt ;  while  saline 
plants  and  short  wormwood  are  the  vegetation  most  commonly  met  with. 

The  principal  rivers  of  European  Russia  are  the  Volga,  the  Dwina,  the  Duna, 
the  Niemen,  the  Neva,  the  Dnieper,  the  Dniester,  the  Danube,  Don,  Vistula,  and  the 
Ural.  On  account  of  the  flatness  of  the  country,  they  present  a  greater  line  of  inland 
navigation  than  those  of  most  other  countries ;   though  necessarily,  all  are  not  equally 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION. 


subservient  to  the  interests  of  man  in  this  respect.  The  Volga  is  navigable  to  its 
greatest  length,  extending  as  it  does  more  than  2,000  miles  over  a  course  devoid  of 
cataracts,  rapids,  or  whirlpools.  Lakes  are  numerous  in  some  parts  of  the  empire, 
especially  in  the  north-west  and  south-east.  Those  of  Ladoga  and  Onega  are  the  most 
important ;  the  former  being  the  largest  in  all  Europe. 

The  severity  of  the  climate  in  Russia,  though  it  has  retarded  the  civilisation  of  its 
people,  has  yet  braced  them  up  to  a  vigorous  manliness.  Her  prolonged  winters,  and 
her  snowy  deserts,  have  been  the  nurseries  of  a  race  hardened  by  privations  and  inured 
to  suffering.  Though  her  people  may  be  apathetic,  they  spring  to  action  at  the  call  of 
their  rulers.  The  North  has  ever  been  the  cradle  of  conquering  races ;  and  its  dreary 
plains  produce  the  simple  man,  neither  contaminated  nor  unnerved  by  the  enervating 
pleasures  and  vices  of  a  higher  civilisation.  But  the  soldiers  of  Russia  are  debilitated 
by  the  crushing  despotism  of  their  government,  apparently  to  a  greater  extent  than 
they  are  strengthened  by  the  bracing  severity  of  their  climate.  Happily,  the  thinking 
citizen-soldiers  of  the  West  are  fully  a  match  for  the  ignorant,  machine-like,  hardy 
warriors  of  the  North. 

With  regard  to  climate,  Russia  is  divided  into  what  is  termed  the  Arctic  region, 
the  cold  region,  and  the  temperate  region.  Russian  Lapland,  and  the  broad  district  of 
Archangel,  are  comprised  within  the  first,  over  a  considerable  portion  of  which  the  mean 
annual  temperature  is  below  32  degrees.  Near  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  Pechora  and 
Mezen  the  temperature  is  much  lower,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  shrub  a  few  inches 
high,  vegetation  is  rarely  met  with.  To  the  south  of  this  locality  lies  the  cold  region, 
in  which  the  mean  annual  temperature  varies  between  32  and  40  degrees.  The  southern 
limit  of  this  region  begins  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  on  the  Gulf  of  Riga,  and  runs 
thence  east-south-east  to  the  confluence  of  the  Moskwa  and  Oka,  whence  it  continues  in 
the  same  direction  towards  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Ural  Mountains,  terminating 
south  of  Uralsk,  on  the  river  Ural.  In  this  latitude  the  winter  lasts  from  seven  to  eight 
months  in  the  northern  districts,  and  from  five  to  six  in  the  southern.  Spring  and 
autumn  are  both  short,  and  the  transition  from  cold  to  heat  is  rapid ;  the  latter  is  very 
great  for  two  or  three  weeks  during  summer,  the  thermometer  rising  to  86  and  even  90 
degrees.  Both  heat  and  cold  are  greater  in  the  interior  than  on  the  coast.  The  tem- 
perate region  commences  at  the  boundary  just  mentioned,  and  extends  over  the  southern 
provinces.  It  is  distinguished  by  severe  though  short  winters,  and  by  long  and  very  hot 
summers.  The  mean  annual  temperature  varies  between  40  and  50  degrees ;  though  in 
the  Crimea,  and  the  country  adjacent  to  it,  it  rises  occasionally  to  56  degrees. 

Russia  exports  a  large  amount  of  grain,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important 
storehouses  in  Europe.  Grreat  crops  of  rye  are  produced  in  all  parts  of  the  empire, 
except  the  steppes  and  the  Arctic  region.  Oats  do  not  succeed  so  well,  but  wheat  is 
extensively  cultivated  in  the  fertile  tracts  along  the  rivers  in  the  southern  districts.  Flax 
and  hemp  are  grown  more  largely  than  in  any  other  country  in  Europe.  Along  the  river 
Don,  and  even  on  the  steppes  of  the  Volga,  they  are  found  in  a  wild  state.  Tobacco  is 
cultivated  in  the  Ukraine ;  and  in  some  parts  of  southern  Russia,  millet  and  maize  are 
grown  in  large  quantities.  Fruit-trees  are  rare,  except  in  the  south ;  but  in  the  most 
favoured  portions  of  this  district  there  are  peaches,  apricots,  quinces,  mulberries,  and 


INTRODUCTION. 


XT 


walnuts.  The  orchards  of  the  Crimea  also  produce  almonds  and  pomegranates.  Grapes 
are  also  found,  but  the  wine  produced  from  them  is  generally  badly  made,  and  of  inferior 
quality.  Hops  and  asparagus  are  found  growing  wild,  and  liquorice  thrives  luxuriantly 
on  the  banks  of  the  Volga.  Potatoes,  cabbages,  turnips,  and  carrots  are  grown  abundantly; 
while  melons,  especially  water-melons,  are  very  numerous  in  the  hot  and  dry  countries 
near  the  steppes.  The  forests  of  Russia,  gloomy  and  impenetrable  as  they  seem,  also 
constitute  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  its  wealth.  Large  quantities  of  timber,  fire- 
wood, tar,  pitch,  pearlash,  and  potash  are  exported.  Horses  are  numerous  in  Russia,  but 
are  of  a  small  breed,  The  horses  of  the  Cossacks,  which  pasture  on  the  steppes,  and  are 
almost  wild  in  their  nature,  are  famous  for  their  power  of  sustaining  the  greatest  fatigue 
upon  a  very  scanty  allowance  of  food.  Cattle  are  abundant ;  and  although  the  home 
consumption  of  both  tallow  and  hides  is  great,  yet  large  quantities  of  both  are  exported. 
Sheep  are  even  more  numerous ;  and  although  the  wool  is  mostly  of  an  indifferent  quality, 
the  skins  form  the  common  dress  of  the  peasantry  during  the  winter.  Goats  are  plentiful 
in  Russia;  hogs  are  largely  reared  (especially  where  oak  forests  are  to  be  found); 
buffaloes  are  found  at  Astrakhan ;  while  the  nomadic  tribes,  which  wander  about  the 
steppes,  keep  a  great  number  of  camels.  In  the  extreme  north  reindeer  are  found. 
Where  there  is  so  much  uncultivated  land,  wild  animals  necessarily  exist.  The  bison 
roams  in  the  forests  of  Bialoviza ;  while  in  those  of  the  north  are  to  be  found  elks,  deer, 
hares,  wild  hogs,  bears,  gluttons,  badgers,  wolves,  foxes,  martens,  polecats,  weasels, 
ermines,  otters,  squirrels,  and  marmots.  In  the  steppes,  besides  wolves  and  foxes,  wild 
asses,  saiga  antelopes,  konsaks,  and  the  dipus  jerboa,  prowl  and  prey — like  nations — the 
stronf^er  on  the  weaker.  Fierce  contests  are  waged  where  perhaps  the  foot  of  man  never 
left  its  impress,  and  the  jaws  of  the  tyrants  of  the  forest  and  the  desert  drip  with  the 
blood  of  the  weak  or  the  defenceless.  Nearly  all  the  birds  met  with  in  England  are  to 
be  found  in  Russia,  and  the  pelican  is  sometimes  seen  on  the  lonely  and  romantic-looking 
shores  of  the  Caspian  and  the  Euxine.  Fish,  though  plentiful,  are  not  largely  exported, 
but  isinglass  and  caviare  are  sent  to  foreign  markets.  In  the  steppes  serpents  and  lizards 
are  common,  while  the  districts  adjoining  these  sterile  spots  are  occasionally  infested  by 
swarms  of  locusts.  Wild  bees  are  found  near  the  large  forests ;  and  wax,  though  largely 
used  in  the  churches,  is  exported.  Scorpions,  millipedes,  tarantulas,  and  the  scorpion 
spider  are  among  the  noxious  insects  to  be  found  in  Russia. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  Russia  is  very  great.  Its  European  mines  produce  gold, 
platinum,  copper,  and  iron ;  while  from  those  of  Siberia  silver  is  obtained.  The  mines 
most  extensively  worked  are  in  the  government  of  Perm,  which  lies  on  both  sides  of  the 
Ural  Mountains.  Here  most  of  the  inhabitants  are  employed  in  the  mines,  of  which 
there  are  200  of  different  kinds  in  operation ;  while  7,200  furnaces,  and  above  180,000 
men,  are  engaged  in  different  branches  of  metallurgy.  Besides  iron,  copper,  and  platinum, 
they  produce  lead,  graphite,  gold,  silver,  salt,  marble,  jasper,  agates,  amethysts,  loadstone, 
and  some  diamonds.  The  mines  of  the  Ural  Mountains  yield  annually  about  300  poods 
(a  pood  is  thirty-six  pounds)  of  gold,  200,000  poods  of  copper,  and  5,500,000  poods  of 
iron.  The  neighbouring  government  of  Viaka  and  Orenburg  are  also  important  mining 
districts.  In  addition  to  the  metals  we  have  enumerated,  quicksilver,  arsenic,  nickel, 
cobalt,  antimony,  and  bismuth  are  found.    Marble,  granite,  and  malachite  are  quarried 


"  '',1 


i 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION. 


at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Lake  of  Onega,  and  on  the  northern  shores  of  Lake 

Ladoga. 

With  this  extent  of  territory,  of  population,  and,  to  say  the  least,  latent  wealth,  it 

is  not  surprising  that  every  fresh  attempt  of  Russia  to  extend  her  boundaries  should  be 
regarded  with  something  very  like  dismay  by  a  large  party— perhaps  the  majority  of 
people— in  this  country.     At  once  we  are  loudly  warned  that  every  advance  of  Russia 
towards  Constantinople,  or  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  is  a  menace  to  British  rule  in 
India.     It  would  be  well  to  inquire  what  amount  of  truth,  and  how  much  exaggeration, 
there  is  in  these  warnings ;  and  this  we  shall  do  in  a  chapter  devoted  to  the  subject. 
We  shall  then  find  that  it  is  quite  true  that  the  interests  of  the  British  mercantile  com- 
munity would  be  threatened  and  seriously  injured  as  soon  as  the  Russians  show  that 
aptitude  for  trade,  commerce,  and  manufacture  of  which  they  have  as  yet  certainly  given 
but  slight  proof.     When  the  Russian  shall  have  become  the  equal  of  the  British  mer- 
chant, then,  no  doubt-premising  that  the  British  merchant  remains  stationary  whilst 
the  Russian  progresses— the  annexation  of  considerable  portions  of  Asia  Minor  would 
materially  affect  British  commercial  interests.     But  that  is  a  question  for  the  very 
remote  future.     What  we  now  have  to  consider  is,  whether  we  are  commercially  in  need 
of  further  centres  of  raw  produce,  and  whether  we  are  prepared,  if  we  have  that  need, 
not  simply  to  refuse  Russia  the  exclusive  possession  of  any  large  portion  of  Asia  Minor, 
but  to  acquire  a  share  of  it  for  ourselves  also.     As  for  the  poUtical  interests  involved,  we 
are  quite  unable  to  see  any  cause  for  alarm  until  Russia  makes  such  progress  as  to 
threaten  the  Persian  Gulf.     That  would  certainly  be  a  step  which  would  render  counter- 
action  on  our  part  imperative.     But  until  then,  we  hold  that  the  outcry  of  the  mihtary 
party  can  only  be  explained  by  the  fact-as  a  simple  arithmetical  fact-that  the  propor- 
tion of  privates  killed  to  officers  killed  is,  at  least,  as  fifty  to  one,  and,^  consequently,  that 
each  surviving  officer,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  benefits  by  the  value  of  the  work  of 
which  fifty  lives  are  the  equivalent.     We  commend  this  view  to  the  notice  of  those  who 
are  inclined,  from  ignorance  or  vanity,  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  war-at-any-price  people. 


/ 


W{ 


r-       ~ 

^  ^  1^  #" 

\3  ■%  W^" 

^ 

f^f: 


■  ■  % 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  AKCIENT  INHABITANTS  OF  RUSSIA  ;   KIEF  AND  NOVGOROD,  THE  NUCLEUS  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE  ;  THE 
PIRATES  OF  THE  BALTIC ;   RURIC'S  CONQUEST,  AND  HIS  ASSUMPTION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  NOVGOROD. 


*'What  is  history/' said  the  emperor  Na- 
poleon, "but  a  fable  agreed  upon?''  Though 
we  are  by  no  means  inclined  to  admit  of 
the  extensive  application  of  this  aphoristic 
inquiry,  which  was  doubtless  intended;  yet 
it  is  certainly  true  with  regard  to  the  re- 
mote records  of  most  nations.  The  early 
chronicles  of  all  European  nations  are 
clouded  by  the  mists  of  antiquity,  and  dis- 
torted by  the  national  vanity  of  those  who 
have,  perhaps,  returned  to  the  dust  centu- 
ries ago.  Rays  of  truth  struggle  faintly 
through  clouds  of  suspicious  traditions;  and 
it  is  ever  difficult  to  say  where  fable  ends 
and  actual  history  begins. 

This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  Russian  empire.  Its  early 
chroniclers  were  the  monks,  whom  we  are 
probably  guilty  of  no  injustice  in  describing 
as  partial,  credulous,  careless,  and  ignorant 
of  the  importance  of  the  labour  they  had 
undertaken.  The  jealousy  of  its  despotic 
princes,  also,  led  them  rather  to  withhold 
information  concerning  the  states  they 
ruled ;  and  although  manuscript  chronicles 
"were  deposited  from  age  to  age  in  the  pub- 
lic libraries,  yet  permission  to  inspect  them 
was  rarely  to  be  obtained.  Unfortunately, 
also,  these  records  are  written  in  the  ancient 
Slavonic  dialect,  which  has  become  obso- 
lete; and  labour  in  this  mine  of  informa- 
tion has  rather  bewildered  than  enlightened 
those  who  have  attempted  to  profit  by  it. 
Under  these  circumstances,  a  modern  his- 
torian observes,  that  "commentators  some- 
times grew  bold,  from  the  very  want  of 
materials,  which  made  detection  doubtful 
or  impossible,  and  sometimes  obscure,  by 
leaving  the  enigmas  of  dates,  names,  and 

VOL.  I.  B 


events,  as  unsolved  as  they  found  them.'' 
Happily,  the  mystery  of  doubt  hangs  only 
over  the  early  portion  of  Russian  history : 
for  the  record  of  its  marvellous  progress 
and  proceedings  in  modern  times,  we  have 
generally  ample  materials.  Necessarily, 
the  vital  interest  of  Russian  history  com- 
mences with  the  time  when  that  state  first 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  great  drama 
of  European  politics.  Prior  to  that  time, 
it  has  the  interest  of  a  wild  romance  of 
barbarous  life ;  subsequently  it  possesses  a 
more  sober  tone,  but  is  yet  crowded  with 
startling  adventure  and  gigantic  events,  and 
is  pregnant  with  that  wisdom  which  the 
observing  mind  gathers  from  the  recital  of 
the  great  actions,  the  vices,  the  errors,  and 
the  virtues  of  the  past. 

There  are  satisfactory  reasons  for  the 
supposition,  that  the  greatest  part  of  the 
numerous  tribes  that  inhabited  Russia  be- 
fore the  ninth  century  (about  the  middle  of 
which  its  history  may  be  said  to  commence), 
sprang  from  the  Slavonic  stock.  The  rest 
were  composed  chiefly  of  the  Fins,  who 
occupied  the  north,  and  the  Scythes  or 
Scvthinns,  who  dwelt  in  the  south.  Of  the 
latter  race  very  little  is  known ;  and  a  mist 
of  doubt  surrounds  even  the  country  from 
which  they  came.  Some  writers  speak  of 
them  as  sweeping  into  Europe  from  the 
savage  wilds  of  Tartary ;  but  various  tracts, 
both  in  Asia  and  Europe,  have  been  spoken 
of  as  the  ancient  Scythia — a  country  of 
which  the  exact  site  is  unknown,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  which  have  been  extinct  as  a 
people  for  ages.  The  antiquity  of  the  Slave 
race  in  Europe  is  such,  that  no  clue  remains 
to    show   when    they  first    settled    in    it. 


THE  SLAVONIANS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[the  SLAVONIANS. 


Equally  uncertair  are  the  speculations  as  to 
whence  they  came.  Asia  is  presumed  to 
have  been  theii  cradle,  though  what  portion 
of  it,  is  unki)  iwn.  It  is  probable  that  they 
were  settled  in  Europe  before  Rome  was 
founded,  or  the  progress  of  nations  placed 
upon  record.  Attempts  have  been  made  to 
trace  their  descent  from  Japhet,  the  third 
son  of  Noah;  but  the  authors  of  such 
speculations  are  guided  rather  by  idle 
imaginings  than  stern  facts.  The  name 
Slave,  or  Slavi,  is  supposed  to  signify  '*glory" 
or  "glorious,"  one  which  it  was  natural  for 
a  warlike  and  ambitious  race  to  assume. 
Other  antiquarians,  however,  consider  it  to 
1)C  derived  from  the  terra  Slovo,  which 
means  'Svord"  or  "speech."  Either  they  had 
earned  great  fame  by  heroic  achievements, 
of  which  no  records  remain;  or  their  lan- 
guage was  distinguished  by  its  power  or 
copiousness.  In  remote  times  they  appear 
to  have  subjugated  every  country  into  which 
they  pushed  their  arms ;  and  the  extent  of 
dominion  they  acquired  assumes  propor- 
tions almost  incredible.  From  the  shores 
of  the  Adriatic  (says  an  historian)  to  the 
coast  of  the  Frozen  Ocean,  and  from  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic,  through  the  whole 
length  of  Europe  and  Asia,  as  far  as  Ame- 
rica, and  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Japan, 
we  evervwhere  meet  with  Slavonian  nations 
either  ruling  or  ruled. 

From  the  pages  of  a  writer  Avho  appears 
to  have  spent  much  labour  on  this  part  of 
his  subject,*  we  extract  the  following  ac- 
count of  a  race  which  was,  as  we  have  said, 
for  the  most  part  the  parent  of  the  modern 
inhabitants  of  Russia: — "The  character  of 
this  people  was  such  as  the  uncertainty  and 
peril  of  their  habits  were  calculated  to  pro- 
duce.    They  were  courageous  and  reckless 
of   life ;    cruel   and  rapacious ;    prompt  to 
secure,  by  any  means,  the  conquest   that 
was  nccessarv  to  their  wants ;  but  as  their 
excursions  were   undertaken  from   meaner 
motives  than  aggrandisement  or  ambition 
(being  chiefly  to  make  provision  for  their 
immeiliate   necessities,   or   to    procure    re- 
sources for  a  future  supply),  their  intervals 
of  repose  were   passed   in  supineness  and 
indolence.      They  were   hospitable  to  the 
excess  of  that  virtue.     It  was  a  law^  amongst 
them,  that  a  poor  man  might  steal  from 
his  rich  neighbour  the  means  of  entertain- 
ing his  guest.     The  debasing  usages  of  the 
East,  respecting  the  treatment  of  females, 
they  carried  >Yith  them    into   the  North. 
•  Bell's  History  of  JRussia, 


Women   were   considered  as   drudges   and 
slaves.     Polygamy  was   allowed ;    and   the 
power  of  the  husband  asserted  beyond  the 
grave.    Widows  were  consumed  at  the  funeral 
pile  ;  and,  as  if  to  complete  the  last  show  of 
household  authority,  a  female  slave  was  sacri- 
ficed on  the  body  of  her  master.     This  cus- 
tom  arose   from   the  notion,  that  women, 
wives,  and  slaves,  were  destined   to  serve 
their  lords  in  the  next  world  as  well  as  in 
this,    and    they   were    accordingly    put    to 
death,  iu  order  that  their  lord  should  not 
be  left  in  want  of  their  attendance.     It  is 
probable  that  the  suttee  of  the  Indians  may 
be  traced  to  the  same  origin.     All  the  male 
children  of  the  Slavi  were  dedicated  to  war; 
but  the  curse  of  proscription  awaited   the 
females,  even  at  their  birth.     Whenever  it 
happened  that  the  number  of  female  infants 
in  a  family  appeared  to  exceed  the  probable 
wants  of  the  community,  they  were  at  once 
destroyed.     These  inhuman  customs  of  the 
parents   generated   a   corresponding   inhu- 
manity  in   their   offspring.     The   old    and 
feeble  were  deserted  by  their  children,  and 
left  to  expire  of  hunger  and  disease.     These 
revolting  practices  were  to  be  attributed  to 
the  unsettled  and  migratory  habits  of  the 
people.     Their  mode  of  life  required  that 
they  should  always  be  prei)ared  for  action. 
They  struck  off  the  incumbrances  of  age 
and   superabundant  infancy,  in  order  that 
their  motions  might  be  free  to  rove  wherever 
their  vagrant  desires    pointed.     The  same 
inordinate    thirst    after    new    scenes    and 
strange  adventures   that  enabled  them  to 
conquer   those    sacred    associations   which, 
under  a  different  organisation  of  society, 
are    universally   reverenced,    also    enabled 
them   to  surmount   the  physical   obstacles 
that  constantly  lay  before  them.     We  know 
that  the  Scythians  removed  their  families 
from   place   to   place   in  waggons,  covered 
with   hides,  to  protect  them  from  the  in- 
clemency of  the  weather ;  but  we  have  no 
means  of  ascertaining  how  the  Slavi  crossed 
seas  and  rivers,  traversed  vast  deserts,  pene- 
trated untrodden  forests,  and  made  their 
way  over  trackless  mountains. 

"  It  was  amongst  such  a  people,  who  lived 
in  a  constant  state  of  excitement,  that 
poetrj^  may  be  believed  to  have  originated. 
The  earliest  Slavonian  records  describe 
them  as  practising  the  arts  of  music  and 
poetry.  In  the  sixth  century,  the  Winidse, 
a  northern  extended  branch  of  the  Slavi, 
informed  the  Emperor  of  Constantinople 
that  their  highest    pleasures  were  derived 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  SLAVI.]  RUSSIAN    EMPIRE.  [tHE  RELIGION  OF  THE  SLAVI. 


from  music ;  that  in  their  journeys  they 
seldom  encumbered  themselves  with  arms, 
but  always  carried  lutes  and  harps  of  their 
own  workmanship.  There  were  other  musi- 
cal instruments,  too,  which  are  still  retained 
amongst  their  descendants.  In  their  war- 
like expeditions  they  never  appeared  with- 
out music*  Procopius  informs  us,  that 
they  were  once  so  much  engrossed  by  their 
amusements  within  sight  of  the  enemy,  as 
to  have  been  surprised  by  a  Greek  general, 
before  they  could  arrange  any  measures  of 
defence.  Many  of  the  war  odes  and  ballads 
of  the  Slavi  are  still  in  existence.  They 
exhibit  a  wild  and  original  spirit ;  are  re- 
plete with  mythological  allusions ;  and  those 
that  are  of  a  peaceful  cast,  are  particularly 
remarkable  for  the  quiet  sweetness  of  their 
character,  of  a  kind  quite  distinct  from  the 
elaborate  and  artificial  felicity  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  pastorals. 

"  The  religion  of  the  Slavi  resembled,  in 
all  essentia]  respects,  the  mythology  of  the 
Romans,  to  which  were  superadded  some 
features  of  a  more  superstitious  and  cruel 
nature.  They  offered  up  human  victims  to 
their  Jupiter,  who,  built  up  with  a  trunk  of 
hard  wood,  a  head  of  silver,  ears  and  mus- 
tachios  of  gold,  and  legs  of  iron,  was  called 
Perune.  Like  all  other  rude  nations  of  an- 
tiquity, they  trembled  before  thunder,  which 
they  received  as  the  voice  of  the  god  in 
anger.  But  their  notions  of  a  supreme 
deity  were  very  vague ;  for,  although  they 
entertained  some  half-formed  idea  of  the 
existence  of  a  First  Cause,  they  yet  incon- 
sistently attributed  all  events  to  chance. 
They  personified  the  elements  in  a  similar 
way.  They  had  their  sacred  rivers  and 
forests.  They  had  their  god  of  the  waters, 
and  attendant  dryads  and  sea-nymphs  :  also 
a  benevolent  god,  who  presided  over  their 
games  and  festivals  ;  a  goddess  of  love  and 
marriage  ;  a  pastoral  divinity ;  and  a  goddess 
of  the  chase ;  nor  did  they  omit  some  hiero- 
glyphical  Penates,  whom  the  boors  of  Rus- 
sia, to  this  day,  scrawl  in  uncouth  figures 
on  the  walls  of  their  houses.  The  outline 
of  the  Slavonian  mythology  was  not  desti- 
tute of  imaginative  qualities.  All  the 
leading  or  chief  deities  had  subordinate 
ones,  to  perform  the  functions  identified 
with  the  elements  or  objects  to  which  they 
were  assigned.  Their  fauns,  and  satyrs, 
s.Qd  forest  spirits,  and  demons  of  fire,  and 
ot  midnight  dreams  and  pestilence,  were  all 
conceded  distinctly  enough,  and  helped  out 
a  sort  of  system  tha.'-  was  well  calculated  to 


act  upon  the  fears  of  a  superstitious  race. 
There  were  innumerable  idols,  of  various 
degrees  of  power,  and  all  differing  in  par- 
ticular attributes.  The  ceremonies  by  which 
these  were  propitiated  were  usually  very 
costly,  as  were  the  temples  in  which  they 
were  performed,  and  the  apparel  of  the 
priests  who  officiated.  These  ceremonies 
were  generally  closed  by  horrible  immola- 
tions to  the  frenzy,  or  abandoned  festivals 
to  the  honour,  of  the  god.  The  mixture  of 
the  sanguinary  and  the  ridiculous,  of  the 
poetical  and  the  animal  nature,  of  the 
elevated  and  the  degraded,  were  visible 
throughout  all  their  rites.  Not  a  solitary 
want  or  enjoyment  cf  mankind  appears  to 
have  escaped  the  fertile  invention  of  the 
Slavi,  in  the  corresponding  application  of 
their  image-worship.  They  had  gods  for 
all  possible  occasions,  and  gorgeous  pre- 
liminaries to  their  invocation.  But  this 
kind  of  religion  wanted  unity.  It  was  in- 
complete, both  in  its  materials  and  its  pur- 
pose. It  made  the  savage  more  savage, 
and  the  timid  more  timid.  To  quail  before 
the  storm,  or  to  dare  it,  were  the  only 
effects  it  produced.  It  never  softened  fero- 
city, nor  inspired  its  believers  with  rever- 
ence for  eternal  wisdom.  It  was  the 
rudest  religion  of  external  nature,  and  ex- 
acted servitude  without  love,  or  reason,  or 
hope.  In  this,  of  course,  the  Slavonian 
superstition  was  not  singular;  but,  perhaps, 
it  was  the  most  complicated  and  compre- 
hensive that  prevailed  amongst  the  bar- 
barous tribes  that  flourished  iu  the  age  of 
the  world  in  which  it  arose. 

"  The  Slavi,  in  the  original  state  in 
which  we  find  them,  admitted  no  particular 
form  of  authority  in  the  government  of 
their  affairs.  Their  paramount  doctrine  of 
chance  had  much  to  do  in  settling  the  mode 
by  which  their  domestic  concerns  were 
managed.  The  people  at  first  met  in  large 
bodies  in  some  of  their  temples  or  holy 
places.  Gradually  the  national  concerns 
fell  into  the  hands  of  particular  persons, 
who,  according  to  their  superior  military 
talent,  and  the  amount  of  individual  esteem 
in  which  they  were  held,  insensibly  acquired 
the  ascendancy.  Out  of  this  unconscious 
delegation,  at  last,  sprung  the  hereditary 
tenure :  fathers  who  had  deserved  well  of 
their  countrymen,  bequeathed  their  honours 
to  their  children ;  that  which  was,  m  the 
beginning,  but  a  personal  distinction,  ulti- 
mately became  a  permanent  dignity;  and 
finaUy,  the  formless  chaos  assumed  a  shape; 

3 


NUCLEUS  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.]     HISTORY    OF   THE 


Fa  BOUT  700. 


chiefs,  and  civil  judges,  and  petty  magistrates, 
springing  up  rapidly  enough  when  once  the 
lawlessness  of  the  great  body  had  been 
overcome.  But  the  Slavi  were  slow  to 
yield  the  right  of  election.  They  asserted, 
for  a  long  time,  the  privilege  of  electing 
and  deposing  their  rulers.  7^he  principal 
seats  of  power  were,  however,  rendered 
hereditary  by  force;  and  the  popular  pre- 
rogative, thus  extinguished  by  one  decisive 
innovation,  could  never  again  be  recalled. 
The  manner  of  the  election  of  a  voyvodc,  or 
duke,  in  Carinthia,  may  be  taken  as  a  proof 
of  the  tenacity  with  which  the  people  clung 
to  their  electoral  privileges  as  long  as  they 
could.-  When  the  duke  was  elected,  he  was 
ordered  to  appear  before  his  constituents, 
clothed  in  the  poorest  attire.  A  throne, 
formed  of  a  huge  stone,  was  placed  in  the 
centre,  upon  which  was  seated  a  common 
labourer.  Before  this  organ  of  the  multi- 
tude the  new  governor  took  the  oaths  of 
office,  which  bound  him  to  respect  truth 
and  religion,  and  to  support  the  friendless. 
This  temporary  magistrate  then  descended ; 
the  duke  ascended  ;  and  the  vows  of  fidelity 
were  immediately  subscribed  by  the  people. 
Such  was  the  simple,  but  impressive  form, 
by  which  rulers,  in  the  early  stages  of 
society,  were  pledged  to  the  interests  of 
their  subjects.^' 

The  Slavonians  in  Europe  suffered  many 
vicissitudes.  Overthrown  in  turn  by  other 
races  of  barbarians,  they  appear  to  have 
lost  something  of  their  original  vigour  and 
ferocity,  or,  at  least,  of  their  conquering 
power,  and  the  close  of  the  seventh  cen- 
tury found  them  located  chiefly  in  Rus- 
sia and  in  Poland.  In  the  former  country 
they  were  cast  away  into  a  variety  of  widely 
separate  settlements ;  and,  as  time  rolled 
on,  became  known  by  distinct  appellations. 
The  aboriginal  population  of  Russia  was, 
however,  swelled  from  other  sources,  and 
the  Fins,  the  Tartars,  and  the  Mongols, 
contributed  to  the  roots  of  what,  after  a 
succession  of  wars  and  revolutions,  was  to 
become,  perhaps,  the  mightiest,  though 
rudest,  state  of  modern  Europe. 

These  various  tribes  were  known  bv  the 
common  name  of  Russians,  prior  to  the 
time  of  Ruric,  the  founder  of  the  first 
dynasty  of  the  present  empire ;  and  many 
conjectures  have  been  formed  as  to  the 
origin  of  this  term.  One  is,  that  the  name 
was  derived  from  a  tribe  called  Rhoxolani 
or  Rhoxani,  and  thence  corrupted  into  Rus- 
sian ;  another,  that  a  prince  called  Russus ' 


gave  his  name  to  the  people.  It  has  been 
attempted  to  be  shown,  that  the  followers 
of  Ruric,  the  northern  pirate  (of  whom  we 
shall  speak  presently),  called  themselves 
Russians,  and  transferred  the  name  to  a 
state  which  they  had  a  large  share  in  found- 
ing. Again,  it  has  been  somewhat  fancifully 
conjectured,  that  the  nymphs  or  goddesses 
called  Russalki  (with  which  the  vivid  Sla- 
vonian imagination,  fertile  as  that  of  the 
ancient  Greeks,  peopled  the  waters  and  the 
forests),  might  have  had  their  names  assumed 
by  their  devotees,  as  a  token  of  regard  and 
veneration.  M.  Levesque,  in  his  interest- 
ing essay  on  the  religion  of  the  Slaves, 
observes — "  The  Russalki  were  nymphs,  the 
subordinate  goddesses  of  waters  and  forests. 
They  possessed  all  the  graces  of  youth,  en- 
hanced by  the  charms  of  beauty.  They 
were  frequently  seen  sporting  on  the  banks 
of  rivers  and  lakes ;  sometimes  bathing  in 
the  limpid  streams,  or  swimming  on  the 
surface ;  and  in  this  exercise,  some  of  their 
charms  were  only  concealed  from  the  pry- 
ing view  for  the  sake  of  presenting  more 
enchanting  attractions ;  to  attitudes  full  of 
grace  succeeded  movements  still  more  volup- 
tuous. Sometimes  they  were  seen  on  the 
margin  of  the  waters,  combing  their  fine 
long  azure  locks ;  at  others  swinging,  now 
with  a  rapid  motion,  now  with  a  gentle 
vibration,  on  the  flexible  branches  of  the 
trees.  Their  light  drapery,  flowing  to  the 
sport  of  the  winds,  in  its  varied  undula- 
tions alternately  concealed  and  displayed 
the  treasures  of  beauty.  Sacrifices  were 
made  to  these  amiable  beings.^' 

We  have  said  that  the  nucleus  of  the 
Russian  dominions  was  comparatively  small. 
The  first  Slavonian  state  was  established 
on  the  banks  of  the  Dnieper  (the  ancient 
Borysthenes),*  and  possessed  a  chief  city 
called  Kief,  from  Kivi ;  a  Sarmatian  word, 
signifying  mountain.  The  capital  of  the 
Slavi  who  had  settled  in  the  north,  on  the 
river  Volkhof,  was  called  Novgorod  or  New 
Town,  and  stood  a  hundred  miles  from  the 
site  of  the  present  city  of  St.  Petersburg. 
Its  early  annals,  like  those  of  Kief,  are  in- 
volved in  obscurity.  It  is,  however,  suffi- 
cient that  we  are  enabled  to  arrive  at  the 
conclusion,  that  the  kingdoms  or  settle- 
ments of  which  these  cities  were  the  capi- 
tals, constituted    the  germ  of    the   future 

•  The  name  Borysthenes  signifies  a  rampart  formed 
by  a  forest  of  pines.  It  is  derived  from  the  word 
W,  a  forest  of  pines,  and  stena^  a  wall.  The  banks 
of  the  Dnieper  are  still  in  many  parts  li  ordered  with 
dense  pine  forests. 


A.D.  860.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ruric  the  riRATE. 


empire  of  Russia.  So  powerful  were  the 
resources  of  Novgorod,  and  so  great  its  dis- 
tinction above  rival  states,  that  it  gave  rise 
to  a  proverbial  expression  of  remarkable 
arrogance  and  audacity.  ''  Who,"  said  its 
inhabitants  and  their  dependents,  "  shall 
dare  to  oppose  the  gods  and  great  Nov- 
gorod !"  It  extended  its  commercial  in- 
tercourse to  Persia,  and  even  to  India,  in 
one  directi(m,  and  to  the  settlers  on  both 
shores  of  the  Baltic  in  another.  Its  govern- 
ment was  a  republic,  and  its  people  were 
bold  and  hardy.  Its  prosperity,  however, 
excited  the  jealousy  of  its  neighbours ;  dis- 
sensions arose  within  its  walls,  and  the 
famous  city  was  at  length  torn  hj^  distrac- 
tions from  within,  and  surrounded  by  ene- 
mies without. 

At  this  period  the  waters  of  the  Baltic 
were  hannted  by  Scandinavian  pirates,  who 
necessarily  were  a  great  impediment  to  the 
commerce  of  the  people  of  Novgorod,  which 
their  depredations  threatened  altogether  to 
annihilate  in  that  direction.  Tlie  North- 
men, inhabiting  that  large  peninsula  an- 
ciently known  as  Scandinavia,  but  now  com- 
prising Norway  and  Sweden,  and  located 
chiefly  in  the  vicinity  of  rivers,  friths,  and 
bays,  where  the  climate  was  severe  and  the 
soil  unproductive,  became  pirates,  just  as 
the  wandering  Arabs  of  the  desert  became 
robbers — from  a  stern  necessity.  In  bar- 
barous times,  when  agriculture  was  little 
understood,  and  even  when  practised  ren- 
dered comparatively  unproductive  by  the 
barrenness  of  the  soil  and  the  severity  of  the 
elements,  it  may  be  supposed  that  many 
seasons  of  famine  occurred.  These  drove 
the  hardy  Scandinavians,  who  were  no 
strangers  to  the  sea  (which  they  loved  to 
brave  in  its  fiercest  moods),  to  seek  from  its 
waters  by  fishing,  that  sustenance  which 
the  hardened  land,  irresponsive  to  their 
rude  efforts,  appeared  to  deny  them.  Once 
upon  the  sea,  the  conversion  of  these  fierce 
people  from  fishermen  into  pirates  was  a 
very  rapid  one.  It  was  easier  to  take  a 
vessel  laden  with  fish,  than  to  discharge  the 
patient  labour  of  catching  fish  for  them- 
selves. Piracy,  from  an  accident,  became 
a  vocation;  and,  by  degrees,  vessels  were 
equipped  for  that  purpose  alone :  then  the 
villages  on  the  coast  were  plundered ;  and 
any   trading  vessel   that   was    unfortunate 

•  The  term  Varangian  seems  rather  to  indicate  a 
profession  than  a  tribe.  It  was  synonymous  with 
a  pirate;  but  an  old  author  says,  that  there  were 
Swedish,  Norman,  English,  and  Kussian  Varangians. 


enough  to  come  in  the  way  of  the  rovers, 
made  a  prize.  The  inevitable  dangers  at- 
tending such  a  profession  did  not  damp  the 
spirif  of  adventure.  Courage  was  a  part  of 
the  religion  of  the  Northman ;  and  if  he 
died  fighting  against  his  fellow-men,  and 
with  his  weapons  stained  with  the  blood  of 
his  adversaries,  his  superstition  induced  him 
to  believe  that  he  entered  at  once  on  the 
enjoyments  of  the  halls  of  Odin — the  Scan- 
dinavian paradise  of  the  brave. 

The  dominant  tribe  of  these  Baltic  pirates 
were  the  Varangians;*  and  the  citizens  of 
Novgorod,  oppressed  and  enfeebled  by  the 
attacks  of  many  enemies,  made  overtures  to 
them  for  assistance.  The  hardy  Northmen, 
ever  ready  for  war,  and  as  mercenary  as 
they  were  fierce  and  brave,  sold  their  ser- 
vices  to  the  wealthy  traders  of  Novgorod. 
Thus  reinforced,  the  latter  were  enabled 
efiectually  to  subdue  their  surrounding 
enemies.  Tranquillity  was  restored,  the 
mercenaries  rewarded  for  their  assistance, 
and  it  was  then  expected  that  they  would 
return  to  their  ships  and  their  former 
occupations.  Like  many  other  reasonable 
expectations,  however,  this  was  not  fulfilled. 
The  pirates  were  pleased  with  the  locality 
of  their  recent  exploits,  while  a  sense  ol 
power  made  them  ambitious.  They  had  no 
desire  to  depart.  They  felt  also  that  a 
wealthy  body  owed  its  safety  to  their 
arms,  and  that  they  could  not  be  too  largely 
rewarded  for  their  services.  The  feeling 
was  natural,  and  the  consequences  result- 
ing from  it  immense.  A  resolve  to  settle 
on  the  banks  of  the  Volkhof  was  soon 
formed ;  and  under  the  direction  of  Ruric, 
their  leader,  a  town  was  built,  and  called 
Ladoga.  To  secure  themselves  in  this 
position,  the  intruders  surrounded  it  with  a 
rampart  of  earth.  Ruric  also  established 
his  brothers,  Sinaus  and  Truvor,  in  a  similar 
manner;  and  the  alarmed  Novgorodians 
saw  that,  in  inviting  assistance,  they  had 
created  a  fresh  enemy.  They  repented  of 
the  confidence  they  had  shown,  but  it  was 
too  late ;  the  new-comers  had  seen  their 
weakness,  and  were  resolved  to  hold  by 
force  what  they  had  acquired  by  stratagem. 

Enfeebled  as  the  Novgorodians  were  by 
dissensions  and  long-continued  conflicts, 
they  yet  resolved  to  expel  their  uncere- 
monious invaders  by  force  of  arms.     Such  a 

General  Count  Segur,  in  his  History  of  Russia^  ob- 
serves, that  everything  leads  us  to  believe  that  these 
Russian  Varangians  were  Normans.  Perhaps  they 
were  a  confederation  of  outcasts  of  the  Baltic  shores. 


RtTRIC  SUBDUES  NOVGOROD.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  862. 


step  was  doubtless  expected  by  the  Varan- 
gians, who,  fearless  and  desperate,  at  once 
turned  their  swords  against  those  whom  they 
had  so  recently  succoured.  A  conflict  took 
place,  in  wliich  the  republican  traders  were 
defeated,  their  leader  slain,  and  themselves 
thrown  into  confusion.  Ruric  and  his  fierce 
associates  followed  up  their  advantage,  and 
advanced  upon  Novgorod;  for  an  ambitious 
project  had  arisen  in  the  mind  of  the 
Scandinavian  pirate; — might  not  this  fine 
and  well-reputed  city  become  in  his  hand 
the  nucleus  of  a  kingdom,  and  he  the 
founder  of  a  regal  dynasty?  It  was  a  bril- 
liant  day-dream,  which    his    courage   and 


energy  enabled  him  to  convert  into  a 
reality.  When  he  and  his  ruthless  bands 
appeared  before  Novgorod,  the  inhabitants 
were  thrown  into  despair.  Demoralised 
by  recent  defeat — without  leaders,  and  with- 
out hope — they  anticipated  the  result  of  a 
siege,  and  submitted.  Ruric  entered  the 
city  a  conqueror ;  and  assuming  the  reins 
of  goremment,  converted  the  trading  re- 
public into  an  absolute  monarchy.*  Thus, 
in  the  year  86.2,  was  laid  the  foundation- 
stone  of  the  Russian  empire.  Little,  how- 
ever, did  Ruric  dream  of  the  mighty  work 
he  was  beginning ;  or  of  the  vicissitudes  to 
which  his  descendants  would  be  subject. 


CHAPTER  II. 

REIGN  AND  DEATH  OF  RURIC  ;  THE  REGENT  OLEG  ;  HE  SUBDUES  KIEF  AND  INVADES  CONSTANTINOPLE  ;  HE 
IS  SUCCEEDED  BY  IGOR ;  HIS  FEROCIOUS  EXPEDITION  TOWARDS  CONSTANTINOPLE,  AND  RETALIATIVE  VEN- 
GEANCE OF  THE  GREEKS  ;  HIS  SECOND  INVASION  OF  GREECE  ;  HIS  OPPRESSION  OF  THE  DREVLIAN8,  AND 
ASSASSINATION. 


The  people  of  Novgorod,  tired  of  a  form  of 
government  where  individual  ambition  had 
latterly  pushed  the  forms  of  democracy 
to  the  verge  of  anarchy,  submitted  pas- 
sively to  the  new  mode  of  rule  forced  upon 
them,  in  the  hope  that  it  would  be  better 
than  the  late  one.  Ruric  assumed  the  title 
of  Grand  Prince,  which,  as  it  recognised 
other  princes  subordinate  to  himself,  was 
calculated  to  satisfy  the  ambition  of  his  own 
immediate  chieftains,  and  also  to  soothe  the 
national  feelings  of  the  people  who  had  sub- 
mitted to  his  sway :  since  by  such  an 
arrangement  minor  princes  might  still  arise 
from  amongst  them.  Ruric's  government 
was  of  a  military  character ;  and  the  Varan- 
gians regarding  themselves  as  conquerors, 
and  having  swords  in  their  hands,  naturally 
seized  upon  all  posts  of  honour  or  profit. 
From  this  period  the  country,  under  the 
sway  of  Ruric,  took  the  general  name  of 
Russia.  That  which  the  new  sovereign  had 
acquired  by  force,  he  preserved  with  firm- 
ness, and  governed  with  some  wisdom.     He 

•  An  ancient  chronicle,  to  which  no  authority  is 
attached,  represents  the  Novgorodians  as  soliciting 
the  powerful  Ruric  and  his  brothers  to  assume  a  sove- 
reign power  over  them.  The  principal  citizens  are 
reported  to  have  sought  an  interview  with  the  Va- 
rangian princes,  and  observed,  "  Our  country  is  large 
6 


gave  laws  to  the  people,  enlarged  the  boun- 
daries of  the  city,  and  endeavoured  to  re- 
store its  former  prosperity  and  reputation. 
Having  established  his  authority,  he  re- 
turned to  Ladoga,  which  he  made  the  chief 
seat  of  the  infant  empire. 

Ruric,  in  his  capacity  as  grand  prince, 
claimed  the  right  of  granting  separate  prin- 
cipalities to  his  two  brothers,  who  in  return 
were  to  do  him  homage,  and  to  be  held  as 
his  vassals.  By  a  decision  of  Ruric's,  or 
perhaps  in  consequence  of  a  custom  existing 
among  the  Varangians,  the  right  to  grant 
was  accompanied  by  the  right  to  resume, 
and  also  to  remove  the  subordinate  ruler 
from  principality  to  principality.  At  the 
same  time,  any  of  these  subordinate  princes 
who  were  left  undisturbed  in  their  pos- 
sessions at  the  death  of  the  grand  prince, 
acquired  in  consequence  an  hereditary  title 
and  power.  The  result  was  extremely  in- 
jurious to  the  consolidation  of  the  empire 
contemplated  by  Ruric.  In  course  of  time 
these   princes  became    small    independent 

and  fruitful,  but  it  is  without  order;  come  and 
govern  it  according  to  our  laws."  It  is  added,  thai 
Ruric  hesitated,  for  he  knew  the  licentiousness  of  the 
people,  but  that  he  eventually  complied  with  their 
desires.  Perhaps  a  few  citizens  were  bribed  or  inti- 
midated into  this  surrender  of  their  independence. 


A.b.  879.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  RURia 


eovereigns,  and  instead  of  one  powerful, 
united  state,  there  existed  many  feeble, 
jealous,  and  even  antagonistic  principali- 
ties. The  curse  of  division  was  to  aflfect  the 
new  state,  but  not  yet.  Sinaus  and  Truvor, 
the  brothers  of  Ruric,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  government  of  chief  towns 
in  dependent  territories,  both  died  childless 
before  the  demise  of  the  head  of  their 
family,  who,  as  if  conscious  of  the  error  he 
had  made,  then  reunited  their  territories  to 
his  own. 

Ruric,  doubtless,  was  a  man  of  superior 
talents,  and  of  a  firm  and  resolute  character. 
He  appears  not  only  to  have  been  respected 
by  his  subjects,  but  to  have  been  looked  up 
to  with  admiration  by  the  inhabitants  of 
surrounding  territories.  He  had  not  swayed 
his  iron  sceptre  for  any  length  of  time  be- 
fore another  city  appealed  to  him  for  assis- 
tance against  its  enemies.  The  inhabitants 
of  Kief,  the  other  Slavonian  city  we  have 
mentioned  as  standing  on  the  banks  of  the 
Dnieper,  appealed  to  him  for  protection 
against  the  Khazares,  and  desired  him  to 
appoint  a  prince  of  his  own  blood  to  be 
their  ruler.  This  was  an  opportunity  for 
the  extension  of  his  rule,  which  he  was  far 
too  active  a  man  to  neglect.  Confemng 
the  new  sovereignty  on  his  step-son,  Oskold, 
he  sent  him  at  the  head  of  a  considerable 
force  on  the  mission  of  aid  and  annexation. 
Oskold's  sword  was  not  drawn  in  vain ;  he 
defeated  the  Khazares,  and  assumed  the 
sovereignty  of  Kief,  which  thus  became 
subordinate  to  the  growing  power  at  Nov- 
gorod. Dir,  a  Scandinavian  warrior,  was 
united  with  him  in  the  government 

Ruric  reigned  in  peace  during  a  period 
of  seventeen  years,  and  died  in  879.  His 
iron  determination  awed  his  fierce  depen- 
dents into  tranquillity,  and  the  firmness  of 
his  rule  restored  to  the  state  that  security 
without  which  commerce  must  ever  decline 
until  it  hovers  on  the  verge  of  dissolu- 
tion. His  only  son,  Igor,  was  but  a  child ; 
and  although  the  right  of  the  infant  prince 
to  the  throne  was  acknowledged,  the  affairs 
of  the  government  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  Oleg,  his  guardian  and  relative,  until  the 
young  prince  was  of  an  age  to  administer 
them  himself. 

Oleg,  though  possessed  of  many  of  those 
qualities  which  are  commonly  found  in  the 
characters  of  successful  rulers,  was  cunning, 
unprincipled,  and  savage.  Count  Segur, 
the  historian,  himself  a  soldier,  estimates 
this  barbarian  as  a  great  man;  a  circum- 


stance which,  he  truly  remarks,  is  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  most  remarkable  events. 
"  Oleg,"  he  says,  "  seems  to  have  possessed 
in   a   high   degree    the    qualifications,   the 
vices,  and  all  the  passions  most  suitable  to 
the  age  in  which  he  lived.     A  true  speci- 
men of  barbaric  greatness :    brave,  crafty, 
insatiable,  adventurous,  indefatigable ;  faith- 
ful, as  with  respect  to  Igor,  his  ward,  yet 
with  others  occasionally  treacherous."     To 
such  a  man  it  was  not  sufficient  that  he 
should   rule   the   dominions   committed   to 
him  in  peace  and  wisdom.     He  desired  the 
excitement  arising  from  war,  and  from  un- 
justly  despoiling    his   neighbours   of  their 
possessions.     The  habits  of  the  pirate  were 
not  forgotten  in  the  dignity  of  the  ruler, 
and  he  remembered  with  pleasure  the  savage 
exploits  of  earlier  days.      Similar  feelings 
dwelt    in   the    minds   of   the   Varangians. 
Their  love  of  the  sea  and  of  daring  adven- 
tures was  not  extinguished;  and  a  citizen's 
life   was   doubtless   irksome  to  these   wild 
spirits.      Even  the  warlike   and  ambitious 
feelings   of  the  Novgorodians  were  again 
awakened;  and  a  desire  for  war  animated 
the    whole    people.     No    enemy  required 
chastisement — no    necessity    existing    for 
taking  up  arms  in  self-defence;    but  war 
was  wanted  merely  for  the  excitement  of 
the  pursuit  and  the  love  of  plunder.     Oleg 
was   the  very  man  to   respond   to  such  a 
feeling;    and  he  speedily  planned  a  cam- 
paign that  promised  employment  for   the 
idle,  and  reward  for  the  discontented.    That 
it  was  wickedly  aggressive  and  unjust  was  a 
matter  totally  disregarded  by  his  followers. 
Semi-barbarians  never    seem    to    look    at 
events  from  that  point  of  view.      To  the 
state  of  mind  apparently  inseparable  from 
such  a  stage  of  existence,  that  which  pro- 
mises  success  is   to   be   undertaken — that 
which  proves  successful  is  deemed  right. 

The  city  of  Kief  owned  the  supremacy 
of  the  grand  prince  of  Novgorod ;  while 
Oskold  and  Dir,  its  rulers,  had  been  fol- 
lowers of  Ruric,  and  appointed  by  him  to 
the  authority  they  held.  Yet  against  Kief 
did  Oleg  resolve  to  direct  his  arms ;  and 
trampling  upon  the  rights  of  the  subordi- 
nate princes,  annex  it  to  the  dominions  he 
governed  as  regent.  Such  was  his  ambition, 
that  he  even  looked  upon  Kief  only  as  a 
step  forward  in  the  direction  of  the  gorgeous 
and  wealthy  city  of  Constantinople,  then 
the  seat  of  the  Greek  emperor,  and  the 
capital  of  the  great  empire  of  the  East.  In 
such  a  direction  conquest  was  perhaps  not 


THE  REGENT  OLBG.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  879—904. 


dreamed  of;  but  a  sudden  attack  upon  the 
rich  city  promised  great  opportunities  for 
plunder*  Oleg  soon  collected  a  numerous 
army,  consisting  certainly  of  discordant 
materials;  for  it  was  composed  of  frag- 
ments of  tribes  of  different  languages,  cos- 
tumes, and  habits,  but  all  animated  by  one 
feehng — a  love  of  Tiolence  and  plunder. 
Taking  with  him  the  young  prince  Igor, 
he  directed  his  march  towards  Kief,  cap- 
turing Smolensk,  the  capital  of  the  Kri- 
vitches,  in  his  way,  and  spreading  terror 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  small  towns 
and  villages  through  which  he  and  his  army 
of  marauders  passed. 

Oleg  did  not  rely  for  success  on  force 
alone,  but  had  recourse  to  cunning  and 
treachery.  On  approaching  Kief  he  hid  his 
troops  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  river 
Borysthenes,  or  Dnieper,  and  disguising 
himself  as  a  merchant  of  Novgorod,  pro- 
ceeded up  the  river  with  a  few  followers 
only  to  the  gates  of  the  city.  He  had  pre- 
viously sent  a  messenger  to  the  two  princes, 
to  request  permission  to  travel  through 
their  territory  into  Greece.  The  messenger 
added,  that  illness  prevented  his  master 
from  attending  to  pay  his  respects  to  them 
in  person,  and  begged  that  they  would  come 
and  honour  him  with  an  interview,  Oskold 
and  Dir,  not  suspecting  villany,  and  de- 
sirous of  paying  respect  to  a  powerful  mer- 
chant of  Novgorod,  consented,  and  shortly 
arrived  at  the  rivers  bank,  attended  only 
by  a  very  few  followers.  When  they  ap- 
peared, the  soldiers  of  Oleg  sprung  from 
their  vessel,  and  the  ruffian  chief  holding 
aloft  the  young  Igor  in  his  arms,  shouted, 
"  You  are  neither  princes,  nor  sprung  from 
princes;  but  I  am  a  prince;  and,  behold, 
here  is  the  son  of  Ruric  V'  The  ferocious 
soldiers,  who  had  doubtless  been  instructed 
in  the  part  they  were  to  take  in  this  repul- 
sive tragedy,  rushed  upon  the  unarmed 
chiefs,  and  laid  them  dead  upon  the  spot. 
While  the  bodies  of  the  victims  were  dis- 
torted with  the  convulsions  of  dying  agony, 
and  their  blood  yet  dripped  from  the  swords 
of  the  murderers,  Oleg  shouted  exultiugly, 
"  Let  Kief  be  the  mother  of  all  the  Russian 
cities  V  An  observation  which  revealed  the 
extensive  schemes  of  territorial  extension 
his  ambitious  nature  had  engendered. 

The  inhabitants  of  Kief,  struck  with 
amazement,  and  unprepared  for  defence, 
opened  their  gates  to  the  regent  of  Nov- 
gorod; and  the  two  Slavonian  states  were 
60on  united  under  one  government.  Oleg 
8 


transferred  the  seat  of  his  government  to 
the  city  he  had  so  unjustly  obtained,  and 
fixed  his  residence  there.  His  object  in 
doing  so,  was  chiefly  that  he  might  be 
nearer  to  Constantinople,  with  the  promised 
spoils  of  which  he  bought  the  mercenary 
loyalty  of  his  wild  followers.  His  energy 
raised  new  towns  in  the  vicinity  of  Kief, 
and  subdued  or  won  over  all  the  neigh- 
bouring tribes  who  had  previously  been 
under  subjection  to  the  feeble  khans  of  the 
eastern  Khozars.  He  was  a  man  wise  in 
his  generation,  and  eminently  fitted  to  rule 
the  diverse  tribes  of  barbarians  whom  fear 
or  interest  induced  to  acknowledge  his 
authority.  In  their  estimation,  a  just  man 
would  have  appeared  an  insipid  character, 
and  a  merciful  one,  an  imbecile.  The  savage 
nature  of  Oleg  won  their  respect,  while  his 
subtlety  attracted  their  attachment.  He 
wisely  relaxed  the  severity  of  the  laws 
within  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city  where 
he  resided,  and  reduced  the  amount  of 
tribute  money. 

He  pursued  his  cherished  design  of  the 
invasion  of  Constantinople  with  remarkable 
tenacity.  The  vanquished  tribes  flocked 
readily  to  his  standard ;  for  they  were  all 
animated  by  a  greedy  desire  of  gain,  and  a 
thirst  for  the  excitement  of  war  and  its  un- 
bridled gratifications.  In  those  barbarous 
times,  an  army  rather  resembled  an  aggre- 
gate of  bands  of  robbers,  each  individual  of 
which  followed  his  own  lawless  and  savage 
desires,  than  the  rigidly  disciplined  and 
machine-like  masses  of  life  which  modern 
military  art  has  found  to  be  most  efficient. 
Oleg  collected  an  army  said  to  amount  to 
80,000  men,  whom  he  embarked  on  board 
2,000  of  the  primitive  vessels  which  the  rude 
constructive  skill  of  his  artisans  enabled 
them  to  build.  Leaving  Igor  to  rule  at 
Kief  during  his  absence,  the  robber- warrior 
and  his  hordes  sailed  down  the  waters  of 
the  Borysthenes,  or  Dnieper,  in  their  pro- 
gress to  the  Black  Sea.  Elated  with  excite- 
ment, and  mad  with  the  thirst  for  spoil  and 
blood,  they  met  and  overcame  obstacles 
which  appear  almost  insurmountable  even 
in  these  days  of  science,  when  so  many  of 
the  forces  of  nature  are  rendered  subservient 
to  the  designs  of  man.  For  a  considerable 
distance  the  navigation  of  the  river  was  im- 
peded by  cataracts,  where  its  waters  fell 
in  foam  and  spray  over  seven  rocks.  Bar- 
barian energy  was  equal  to  this  emergency. 
Unloading  their  small  vessels,  the  followers 
of  Oleg  dragged  them  by  sheer  strength  over 


A.D.  904.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [oleg  invades  Constantinople. 


the  rocks ;  an  enterprise  attended  by  her- 
culean labour,  and  great  risk  of  life.  Other 
difficulties  also  lay  in  their  path.  On  the 
banks  of  the  river  dwelt  hostile  tribes 
adverse  to  the  advance  of  the  marauders, 
who  had  frequently  to  fight  their  way  on- 
ward, and  leave  behind  them  many  ghastly 
evidences  of  their  destructive  trail.  At 
length  they  emerged  into  the  waters  of 
the  Euxine,  or  Black  Sea ;  and  then  their 
vessels  entered  the  Bosphorus,  and  took  up 
a  position  near  the  walls  of  the  queen  of 
cities,  and  the  seat  of  the  power  and  mag- 
nificence of  the  East. 

The  inhabitants  of  Constantinople  were 
almost  taken  by  surprise  at  this  formidable 
visitation.  The  emperor  Leo,  surnamed  "the 
philosopher,"  though  without  much  justice, 
as  he  employed  his  time  rather  in  specu- 
lating on  abstruse  theological  questions  than 
in  attending  to  his  duties  as  a  sovereign, 
had  made  no  other  defensive  preparations 
than  that  of  ordering  a  heavy  iron  chain  to 
be  slung  across  the  harbour,  for  the  purpose 
of  preventing  ships  from  entering  it.  This 
obstacle  Oleg  is  said  to  have  overcome  by  a 
laborious  scheme,  which  in  its  singularity 
has  an  air  of  incredibility  to  modern  ears. 
Unable  to  break  or  pass  the  chain,  he 
ordered  his  2,000  vessels  to  be  drawn  up  on 
land.  Then  placing  their  flat-bottoms  on 
wheels,  he  caused  all  sails  to  be  spread,  and 
actually  proceeded  in  his  ships  on  land  up 
to  the  gates  of  the  city.  As  they  passed 
along,  his  ruffian  troops  committed  every 
sort  of  atrocity.  They  massacred  the  in- 
habitants in  mere  wantonness,  and  left  their 
habitations  in  flames.  They  even  appeared 
to  be  actuated  by  a  frenzy  of  cruelty ;  and 
not  content  with  putting  their  victims  to 
death,  subjected  them  to  every  torture  and 
indignity  which  a  brutal  nature  could  sug- 
gest. These  atrocities  produced  the  in- 
tended effect.  Oleg  and  his  ruffian  troops 
created  such  terror,  that  on  their  arrival  at 
Constantinople,  it  submitted ;  and  the  in*- 
vader  having  proudly  hung  his  shield  over 
the  gate  as  a  symbol  of  conquest,  entered 
the  city  in  triumph.  Thus  the  lance  of 
this  warrior,  "cut  from  the  forests  of 
Lagoda,  penetrated  the  gates  of  Byzan- 
tium." 

The  emperor  Leo  attempted  to  accom- 
plish by  artifice  what  he  had  been  unable 
to  effect  by  force.  Inviting  Oleg  to  a  feast, 
he  endeavoured  to  remove  him  by  poison. 
The  plot  failed,  and  the  baffled  emperor 
was  compelled  to  purchase  the  retirement 

VOL.  I.  c 


of  his  enemies  by  a  disgraceful  peace.  He 
bound  himself  to  pay  a  large  tribute  to 
every  vessel  sailing  under  the  flag  of  Oleg ; 
or,  according  to  other  accounts,  to  give  a 
considerable  gratuity  to  each  of  his  fol- 
lowers. In  addition  to  this,  he  was  to 
remit  all  duties  upon  Russian  merchants 
trading  in  the  Greek  empire,  to  support 
them  for  half  a  year,  and  to  furnish  them^ 
on  their  departure  with  means  to  prosecute* 
their  journey  homewards.  Such  terras  form 
a  painful  comment  on  the  insolence  of  the 
aggressor,  and  the  helplessness  and  humility 
of  his  victims.  The  treaty  being  ratified, 
Oleg  and  his  barbarians  returned  in  triumph 
to  Kief,  laden  with  plunder  and  trophies. 
The  people,  astonished  at  the  ease  with 
which  he  had  accomplished  so  great  a 
victory,  received  him  on  his  return  with 
an  enthusiasm  approaching  to  veneration. 
Their  superstitious  minds  at  once  yielded  to 
the  spreading  belief,  that  a  chieftain  who 
conquered  so  readily  must  be  a  favourite  of 
the  gods. 

For  some  years  the  victor  seems  to  have 
rested  contented  with  the  blood-stained 
laurels  he  had  acquired.  During  this  period 
the  Greeks  observed  the  galling  treaty  to 
which  they  had  bound  themselves ;  and  the 
Russians  enjoyed  all  the  advantages  arising 
from  it.  Oleg  then  exhibited  a  fresh  in- 
stance of  his  power,  by  extorting  the  ac- 
quiescence of  the  emperor  Leo  to  a  fresh 
treaty,  embodying  several  stipulations  which, 
he  said,  he  had  omitted  on  the  former  oc- 
casion by  inadvertence.  These  conditions, 
relating  chiefly  to  the  terms  on  which  inter- 
course should  be  conducted  between  the 
two  nations,  were  moderate,  and  might  have 
been  regarded  as  inoffensive,  but  that  they 
were  so  couched,  as  to  imply  indirectly  the 
supremacy  of  the  Russian  sovereignty  in  all 
matters  over  that  of  Greece.  Oleg  gov- 
erned nominally  as  regent,  but  he  was  in.> 
reality  an  actual  sovereign  during  the  whole 
of  his  life.  Such  a  man  was  too  powerful 
to  be  displaced  from  an  authority  it  did  not 
please  him  to  resign;  and  Igor  passively 
consented  to  wear  a  shadowy  crown,  while 
the  real  one  encircled  the  brows  of  his 
relative.  Resistance  would  have  endangered 
his  safety,  and  probably  have  led  to  his 
death.  He  did  wisely  in  leaving  the  real 
power  in  the  hands  of  Oleg,  whose  iron 
despotism  and  fierce  energy  cemented  and 
enlarged  the  infant  state  laid  by  the  pirate 
Ruric.  Oleg  ruled  for  three-and-thirty 
years,  and  died  in  913.     The  ancient  chro- 

9 


■1( 


SUCCESSION  OF  IGOR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  913—941. 


nicle    of   Nestor   contains    an    account   of 
the  mode  of  his  death,  which,  however,  has 
all  the  air  of  a  fable,  and  has  been  applied 
to  other  characters  in  more  modern  times. 
According  to  this  narrative,  he  possessed  a 
favourite  horse  which  he  had  ceased  to  use, 
as  the  diviners  had  foretold  it  would  be  the 
cause  of  his  death.    After  a  lapse  of  five  years 
something  reminded  him  of  the  prediction, 
and  inquiring  for  the  horse,  he  was  informed 
that  it  was  dead.    With  a  natural  feeling  of 
exultation,  in  consequence  of  the  presumed 
failure  of  the  prophecy,  he  desired  to  see  the 
body  of  the  animal.     On  being  conducted 
to  it,  he  placed  his  foot  upon  the  skull,  and 
exclaimed,  "  So,  this  is  my  dreaded  enemy  !" 
No  sooner  were  the  words  uttered  than  a 
serpent,   which  had  lain   concealed  in  the 
cavity  of  the  head,  darted  out  and  inflicted 
a  mortal  wound  on  the  foot  of  the  sovereign, 
whose   death   in   consequence   verified   the 
truth    of    the   prediction.     The  world    has 
outlived   a  belief  in   diviners   and  secular 
prophets,   and   will    doubtless    accept   this 
tradition  for  no  more  than  it  is  worth.     The 
wild  fancies  of  romance  have  ever  a  ten- 
dency to  intrude  themselves  into  the  early 
history  of  nations. 

Igor  I.,  the  son  of  Ruric,  now  ascended 
the  throne,  which   had   long  been  his  by 
inheritance,  though  not  in  fact.     Arrived  at 
the  mature  age  of  forty,  he  had  been  for 
some  time  married  to  a  Slavonian  lady  of 
great  personal  attractions;  a  union  wisely 
intended  to  promote  the  gradual  fusion  of 
the  two  races.     As  might  be  expected  in  so 
young  and  unsettled  a  state,  a  new  rule  was 
not  commenced  without  some  disturbances. 
The  recently  subdued  tribes  evinced  symp- 
toms of  insubordination,  and  resisted  pay- 
ment of  the  tributes  imposed  upon  them. 
Igor    enforced    his    authority    with    some 
energy,  and  succeeded  in  reducing  to  sub- 
mission  those   who   dared   to    oppose    his 
authority.     One  tribe,  occupying  the  south- 
ern branch  of  the  Dnieper,  prolonged  its 
opposition  during  a  period  of  three  years ; 
but  was  then  subdued  by  the  gallantry  of 
one  of  his  chieftains.     Events  of  this  kind, 
however,  brought  neither  distinction  to  the 
prince,  or  plunder  to  his  followers.     Their 
military  ardour  was  excited  by  the  riches  of 
the  capital  of  the  eastern   empire,   where 
wealth  abounded,   and  commerce   and  arts 
flourished.     It  was  but  a  small  and  unpro- 
ductive triumph  to  reduce  tributary  nations, 
composed   of  poor   tribes,   living   by  their 
cattle   and   rude    methods    of  agriculture. 
10 


Igor  also  had  made  an  inglorious  peace  with 
the  Petchenegans,  a  fierce  people  who  had 
descended  on  Russia  from  their  lairs  on  the 
Yaik  and  the  Volga;  and  his  subjects  chafed 
under  the  indignity.  Grown  used  to  con- 
quest, and  feeling  the  necessity  of  the  ex- 
citement produced  by  war,  they  felt  no 
regard  for  a  sovereign  who  did  not  seek  to 
extend  his  rule  by  conquest,  and  impress 
surrounding  countries  with  the  terror  of  his 
arms,  while  he  converted  them  into  fields  of 
spoil  for  his  followers.  Igor  seems  to  have 
felt  this;  and  in  an  unhappy  moment  he 
resolved  to  imitate  the  aggressive  career  of 
Oleg,  by  again  directing  the  arms  of  Russia 
against  the  Grecian  empire. 

A  considerable  period  must  have  been 
occupied  in  preparing  for  this  wanton  and 
uncalled-for  war,  which  was  undertaken  with 
no  other  object  than  that  of  plunder.  It 
was  not  until  the  year  941  that  Igor  had 
completed  his  arrangements.  These  were  of 
a  gigantic  nature.  It  is  said  that  he  had 
collected  an  army  of  400,000  troops  on  board 
10,000  barks.  This  is  doubtless  a  great 
exaggeration;  for  it  seems  incredible  that 
such  a  sovereign  could  have  raised  and 
maintained  an  army  of  a  fourth  part  of  that 
number.  AYe  may,  however,  fairh^  assume 
that  Igor  sailed  for  Constantinople  with  a 
force  which  was  regarded  as  not  only  power- 
ful, but  almost  invincible. 

His   course  was  marked    by  barbarities 
which  far  exceeded  those  of  his  predecessor 
Oleg.     He  displayed  all  the  ferocity  of  a 
mean   nature,   intoxicated    with    the   fatal 
possession    of    irresponsible     power.       He 
overran  and  ravaged  Paphlagonia,  Pontus, 
and  Bithyuia.     Unhappily  for  the  inhabit- 
ants of  these  countries,  the  troops  of  the 
empire  were  at  a  distance,   and   therefore 
unable  to  protect  them.     Such  a  circum- 
stance might  have  elicited  the  forbearance 
of   generous  foes;    but  it  only  aggravated 
the   ferocity   of  Igor   and  his   savage   fol- 
lowers.    None  of  the  unfortunates  who  fell 
into  their  hands  were  spared.    The  Russians 
gave  themselves  up  to  the  most  revolting 
excesses  of  what  may  be  termed  a  carnival 
of  blood.      Some  of  their  helpless  victims 
they    crucified;    many   they    impaled,    de- 
liberately  cut   to   pieces,  or   buried   alive. 
Others  were  suspended  by  the  arms  from 
trees  or  gibbets,  and  then  used  as  a  target 
for  the  arrows  of  these  predatory  fiends,  to 
whom    their    agonies   afi'orded   a    horrible 
amusement.    The  wretches  especially  sought 
out  the  priests,  whom  they  bound  and  then 


A.D.  941—944.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,     [igor's  expeditions  to  greeck. 


put  to  a  dreadful  death,  by  driving  with 
their  iron  maces  long  nails  into  the  heads 
of  their  miserable  victims.  Everywhere  the 
track  of  the  invaders  was  marked  by  burn- 
ing villages  and  mutilated  corpses.  The 
ferocious  Igor,  instead  of  restraining,  en- 
couraged his  troops  in  these  shameful  out- 
rages upon  a  defenceless  people. 

Reports  of  these  terrors  soon  reached 
Constantinople.  The  awe -struck  Greeks 
were  roused  from  their  apathy,  and  resolved 
this  time  not  to  resort  to  the  miserable  ex- 
pedient of  purchasing  a  peace,  but  to  meet 
their  invaders  in  the  field,  and  extirpate 
them,  or  hurl  them  back.  While  Igor  and 
his  ruffians  were  leisurely  wallowing  in 
])lood,  the  Greeks  prepared  for  vengeance. 
Marching  their  troops  from  all  parts,  they 
succeeded  in  surrounding  the  invaders, 
whom  they  fell  upon  and  slew  with  as  little 
mercy  as  they  had  shown  during  the  time 
of  their  unopposed  triumph.  Igor  lost  great 
numbers  of  his  followers,  and  was  scarcely 
able  to  reach  his  ships  with  the  remainder. 
There  new  and  unexpected  terrors  awaited 
them.  Theophones,  who  commanded  the 
Grecian  fleet,  attacked  them  by  surprise  in 
sight  of  the  Pharos,  and  threw  amongst 
them  that  unquenchable  preparation  known 
as  the  Grecian  fire,  the  art  of  composing 
which  is  lost,  but  which  was  ever  regarded 
with  terror  in  ancient  times.  It  was  an 
inflammable  substance,  which  spontaneously 
kindled  on  falling,  and  consumed  everything 
near  it.  Water  made  it  burn  with  renewed 
fury  ;  and  only  vinegar,  wine,  or  sand  were 
supposed  to  have  the  power  of  restraining 
its  ravages.  Its  motion  is  said  to  have  been 
contrary  to  that  of  natural  fire,  and  always 
followed  the  direction  in  which  it  was 
thrown — whether  downwards,  sideways,  or 
in  anv  other  manner. 

The  followers  of  Igor,  terrified  by  a  mode 
of  warfare  with  which  they  were  unac- 
quainted, leaped  into  the  sea  to  avoid  the 
fires  that  appeared  to  threaten  and  pursue 
them.  Their  dispersed  vessels,  left  to  them- 
selves, were,  many  of  them,  consumed  and 
sunk ;  others  were  run  on  shore ;  and  the 
remains  of  the  Russian  army  who  escaped 
death  from  fire  and  water,  reached  the 
coasts  of  Bithynia,  along  which  they  fled  in 
panic-stricken  confusion.  In  this  situation 
they  were  fallen  upon  by  the  Greek  patri- 
cian, Phocas,  at  the  head  of  a  small  but 
efficient  army.  The  invaders  had  lost  faith 
in  themselves ;  to  use  a  modern  word,  they 
were  altogether  "  demoralised  :"  great  num- 


bers perished  beneath  the  weapons  of  the 
Greeks,  and  the  rest  again  fled  in  disorder. 

Regaining  the  remains  of  their  fleet,  they 
p\it  out  to  sea  under  cover  of  the  darkness 
of  night,  but  were  pursued  by  Theophones, 
who  again  attacked  them,  and  burnt  and 
sunk  several  of  their  remaining  barks.  In- 
deed, such  were  the  retributive  terrors  of 
this  unprovoked  aggression,  that  when  Igor 
reached  his  own  territories,  scarcely  a  third 
of  his  immense  army  survived. 

Disgraced  and  weakened,  and  advanced 
in  years,  it  might  be  supposed  that  this 
fee))le  prince  would  have  sought  only  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  peaceful 
repose.  Such  was  not  the  case;  his  vin- 
dictive nature  prompted  him,  by  another 
eff'ort,  to  obliterate  the  stigma  he  had  drawn 
upon  himself  and  his  people.  He  devoted 
his  energies  to  the  collection  of  a  fresh 
army ;  and  even  purchased  the  mercenary 
services  of  his  natural  enemies,  the  Petche- 
negans. The  latter  eagerly  consented ;  for 
mutual  hatred  was  for  the  time  forgotten 
in  the  common  hope  of  plunder.  In  the 
year  944,  Igor  again  advanced  against  the 
capital  of  the  Grecian  empire.  On  this 
occasion  the  savage  monarch  met  with  a 
fortune  he  did  not  deserve.  On  arriving  at 
the  Chersonesus  Taurica,  now  named  the 
Crimea,  he  was  met  by  messengers  from 
Romanus,  the  Greek  emperor.  That  poten- 
tate having  usurped  the  throne  of  the 
Caesars,  felt  more  anxious  to  consolidate  his 
power  than  to  repel  the  external  enemies 
who  threatened  him.  With  an  almost  in- 
credible meanness,  he  off"ered  to  resume  the 
payment  of  the  tribute  which  had  been  im- 
posed on  his  predecessors  by  the  conquering 
Oleg.  Igor  was  not  disposed  to  accept  this 
off*er ;  for  barbarians  appear  to  consider  it  a 
sort  of  disgrace  to  obtain  their  demands  with- 
out bloodshed.  His  followers,  humbled  by  a 
remembrance  of  the  issue  of  their  last  expe- 
dition, were  more  reasonable  than  their  chief. 
"  Is  it  not  better,"  said  they,  "  to  get  gold, 
silver,  and  precious  stuff's  without  fighting? 
Can  we  tell  who  will  be  the  victor,  and  who 
the  vanquished  ?  and  can  we  enter  into  a 
covenant  with  the  sea?  We  march  not  on 
land ;  we  are  borne  upon  the  abyss  yf  the 
waters,  and  are  menaced  by  one  common 
fate."  Igor  yielded  to  these  re})resenta- 
tions,  accepted  the  off'ers  of  the  Greek  em- 
peror, and  withdrew  his  army.  The  Pet- 
chenegans, who  would  not  remain  satisfied 
without  slaughter  and  plunder,  he  sent  to 
ravage  the  country  of  the  Bulgariaus. 

11 


''L  (I 


t: 


DEATH  OF  IGOR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  945. 


Haunted  by  a  restless  desire  for  excite- 
ment, or  by  the  insatiable  rapacity  of  the 
leaders  of  his  troops,  Igor  now  resolved  on 
a  less  dangerous  project,  and  turned  his 
arms  against  the  Drevlians,  a  people  who 
had  already  submitted  to  his  authority.  He 
met  witli  little  resistance  from  a  foe  unable 
to  oppose  his  power  with  much  hope  of  suc- 
cess, and  returned  loaded  with  the  addi- 
tional contributions  he  had  exacted.  His 
mean  and  grasping  spirit  urged  him  again 
to  smite  or  terrify  an  unresisting  people. 
Despising  the  Drevlians  as  a  spiritless  peo- 
ple incapable  of  resistance,  he  dismissed  a 
great  part  of  his  army,  and  returned  with 
but  a  small  body  of  troops  to  desolate  their 
country,  iu  the  hope  of  extorting  further 
advantages.  He  demanded  a  double  tribute, 
and  it  was  paid.  This  ready  compliance 
rather  excited  than  satisfied  his  cupidity, 
and  he  insisted  on  a  threefold  payment. 
To    enforce    his    orders,    he    imprudently 


pushed  forward  into  the  country,  blind  to 
danger  in  his  thirst  for  gain.  The  oppressed 
Drevlians,  rendered  desperate  by  repeated 
outrages,  resolved  to  assassinate  him.  "  He 
is  a  mere  wolf,^'  said  they,  "  who  begins  by 
stealing  the  sheep  one  by  one,  and  then 
comes  to  fetch  away  the  whole  flock.  He 
must  be  knocked  on  the  head."  A  number 
of  the  Drevlians  lay  in  ambush  for  their 
oppressor,  and  rushing  out  upon  him  sud- 
denly, left  him  dead  and  weltering  in  his 
blood.  This  act  of  retribution  took  place  in 
the  year  945,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  town 
called  Korosten.  There  he  was  buried, 
and  his  widow  afterwards  raised  a  gigantic 
mound  or  high  hill  over  his  grave.  The 
close  of  his  inglorious  reign  of  two-and- 
twenty  years  terminates  what  is  commonly 
regarded  as  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Russia.  The  next  period  was  distinguished 
by  the  introduction  into  the  country  of  the 
Greek  form  of  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BEGENCY  OF  OLGA  ;  SHE  AVENGES  HER  HUSBAND's  ASSASSINATION  ;  BECOMES  A  CHRISTIAN  ;  RESIGNS  THE 
THRONE  TO  HER  SON  SVIATOSLAF  ;  DANGER  OF  KIEF  ;  SVIATOSLAF  DIVIDES  HIS  TERRITORIES  BETWEEN 
HIS  THREE  SONS;  PROCEEDS  TO  BULGARIA  J  INVADES  GREECE;  IS  DEFEATED  AND  SLAIN. 


Igor  left  a  son,  named  Sviatoslaf ;  but  as 
he  was  very  yoimg  at  the  time  of  his  father^s 
death,  Olga,  his  mother,  assumed  the  gov- 
ernment during  his  minority.  She  was  the 
Slavonian  lady  whom  Igor  had  married  at 
the  desire  of  his  predecessor  Oleg.  Her 
real  name  is  said  to  have  been  Prekrasna, 
which  signifies  "very  beautiful;"  but  she 
assumed  that  of  Olga  out  of  compliment  to 
Oleg,  who  desired  her  to  do  so  as  a  mark  of 
the  friendship  he  entertained  towards  her. 
She  was  a  woman  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability,  and  possessed  of  a  more  than  com- 
mon portion  of  the  savage  temper  charac- 
teristic of  those  times.  Her  first  act  of 
power  was  to  avenge  the  murder  of  her 
•worthless  husband ;  and  this,  not  upon  the 
assassins,  but  upon  the  whole  people  to 
"which  they  belonged. 

The  Drevlians  were  a  Slavonian  people, 

who,  dwelling  in  a  locality  thickly  studded 

with    forests,    derived    their   name,   which 

signifies  "a  wood/'  from  the  land  they  inhab- 

12 


ited.  This  extended  along  the  river  Pri- 
pet,  where  several  of  the  towns  once  belong- 
ing to  them  are  still  to  be  found.  They 
were  long  regarded  as  the  most  savage  of 
Slavonic  tribes,  and  lived  like  barbarians, 
without  any  form  of  government,  or  even 
any  idea  of  the  social  and  civilising  rite  of 
marriage.  The  great  teacher  Time  had, 
however,  modified  their  barbarism ;  and  in 
the  period  of  which  we  are  now  speaking 
they  cultivated  the  land,  dwelt  in  towns  and 
villages,  and  were  governed  by  a  prince, 
named  Male.  Influenced  by  ambition  (for 
it  cannot  be  supposed  that  he  was  smitten 
with  the  faded  charms  of  a  princess  advanced 
in  years),  Male  sent  ambassadors  to  Olga  to 
make  an  off'er  of  his  hand.  The  subtle 
tigress  listened  with  a  seeming  pleasure  to 
the  description  they  gave  of  the  person  and 
qualities  of  their  master,  and  then,  aban- 
doning her  dissimulation,  caused  them  to  be 
hurled  into  a  pit  and  buried  alive.  The 
'  savage  act  "was  carefully  concealed,  and  a 


A.D.  945—955.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[regency  of  olga. 


second  and  more  considerable  deputation, 
the  attendance  of  which  had  been  requested 
by  herself,  shared  a  similar  fate.  On  their 
arrival,  the  treacherous  woman  sent  a  mes- 
senger, who  desired  them  to  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  a  bath  before  they  entered  her 
presence.  They  complied;  and  while  in  the 
bath  the  doors  were  made  fast,  the  house  set 
on  fire,  and  the  whole  of  the  unsuspecting 
men  perished  in  the  flames.  Still  using 
every  conceivable  precaution  that  a  report 
of  these  murders  should  not  reach  the  ears 
of  the  Drevlians,  she  set  out  on  an  expedi- 
tion to  their  country,  attended  by  a  small 
army.  Arrived  there,  she  dressed  her  face 
in  smiles,  and  invited  some  hundreds  of  the 
principal  citizens  to  a  solemn  banquet. 
Solemn  indeed  was  this  entertainment ;  for 
death  hovered  in  the  air,  and  murder  lurked 
behind  the  seat  of  every  guest.  At  a  given 
signal,  they  were  surrounded  and  massacred 
by  the  orders  of  the  regal  demon,  who,  with 
a  dreadful  sense  of  enjoyment,  thus  off'ered 
up  a  sacrifice  to  the  memory  of  her  hus- 
band. 

Her  vengeance,  however,  was  not  ap- 
peased by  this  act  of  wholesale  slaughter ; 
for  she  next  proceeded  to  ravage  the  whole 
country,  and  especially  to  direct  her  arms 
against  Korosten,  the  city  near  which  Igor 
was  slain  by  those  whom  his  oppressions 
had  provoked  past  endurance.  Though  she 
had  ravaged  the  surrounding  country,  she 
was  unable  to  take  the  capital  by  force  of 
arms.  As  usual,  therefore,  Olga  had  re- 
course to  artifice.  She  sent  a  message  to 
the  Drevlians  to  this  eff'ect : — "  Why  do  you 
hold  out  so  obstinately?  All  your  other 
towns  are  in  my  power;  the  rest  of  your 
people  are  peacefully  tilling  the  fields  whilst 
you  persist  in  dying  of  hunger.  You  have 
no  more  to  fear  from  me  ;  I  have  sufiiciently 
revenged  the  death  of  my  husband.'^  The 
unfortunate  Drevlians  fell  into  the  snare, 
and  off*ered  her  a  tribute.  Olga  pretended 
to  disregard  it,  and  said  she  would  accept 
nothing  but  a  present  of  three  sparrows 
and  a  pigeon  from  each  house.  The  birds 
were  sent  readily,  and  the  implacable 
princess  having  caused  lighted  matches  to 
be  attached  to  their  tails,  immediately  set 
them  at  liberty.  Flying  back  to  the  nests 
under  the  eaves  of  the  wooden  houses  of  the 
city,  they  set  it  on  fire  in  a  thousand  places. 
The  inhabitants  rushed  forth  in  terror,  and 
perished  by  the  swords  of  the  enemy,  who 
lay  beneath  the  walls  awaiting  the  result  of 
the   catastrophe.     The   prince   and  all  the 


chief  citizens  were  among  the  victims ;  the 
common  people  only  being  spared  from  mo- 
tives of  policy.  The  whole  country  of  the 
Drevlians  was  thus  subjugated  and  incorpo- 
rated with  the  territories  of  Russia. 

The  regal  fury  then  visited  the  northern 
part  of  her  dominions,  where  she  built  towns 
and  villages,  constructed  bridges  and  roads, 
and  left  many  traces  of  a  superior  administra- 
tive ability.  At  this  period,  Christianity  had 
penetrated  into  pagan  Russia,  and  obtained 
a  few  converts  at  Kief,  where  they  were  not 
only  tolerated  but  respected.  It  may  seem 
strange  that  the  merciless  Olga  should  have 
been  attracted  by  its  doctrines ;  but  such  was 
the  fact.  It  has  been  acutely  observed,  that, 
perhaps,  the  very  fanaticism  of  mind  which 
produced  such  enormous  crimes  in  the 
satisfaction  of  what  she  deemed  a  pious 
revenge,  led  her,  by  a  somewhat  similar 
impulse,  to  indulge  in  the  consolations  of 
religion.  However  that  may  be,  she  re- 
solved to  become  a  Christian ;  and,  in  order 
to  do  so  with  a  becoming  dignity,  she  pro- 
ceeded in  955  to  Constantinople  to  be  in- 
structed in  its  doctrines,  and  to  receive 
baptism  from  the  hands  of  the  Greek  patri- 
arch. The  numerous  atrocities  of  which 
she  had  been  guilty,  formed  no  obstacles  in 
the  estimation  of  the  Greek  emperor  and 
priesthood,  who  were  pleased  to  receive  as  a 
convert  the  chief  of  a  powerful  and  bar- 
barous nation,  which  they  had  hitherto  re- 
garded only  as  a  scourge.  Constantine 
Porphyrogeneta,  the  historian,  then  occupied 
the  throne  of  the  empire  of  the  East,  and  he 
himself  led  Olga  to  the  baptismal  font,  and 
introduced  her  into  the  Christian  commu- 
nion under  the  name  of  Helena.  During 
her  stay  at  Constantinople,  she  was  treated 
with  an  imperial  ceremony  and  honour,  and 
on  her  departure  the  emperor  made  her 
some  valuable  presents,  consisting  of  vases 
and  beautiful  stuff's,  of  a  kind  only  to  be 
procured  in  the  East.  She,  in  return,  pro- 
mised to  send  him  furs,  wax,  and  soldiers; 
for  the  troops  of  her  nation  were  held  in 
great  estimation  by  the  Greeks;  but  she 
never  kept  her  word. 

The  conduct  of  Olga  was  not  of  a  kind 
likely  to  induce  her  subjects  to  follow  her 
example  with  respect  to  religion.  The  mild 
precepts  of  Christianity  were  despised  by 
such  of  the  fierce  Russian  chieftains  who 
understood  anything  of  them,  and  disre- 
garded by  those  who  did  not.  Sviatoslaf, 
Olga's  son,  considered  them  as  calculated  to 
effeminate  a  soldier  and  make  him  a  coward. 

13 


Iviir 


i 


RULE  OF  6VIAT0SLAF.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  955—968. 


To  the  appeals  of  his  mother  he  returned 
the  inquiry,  "  Wouhl  you  have  me  be  a 
iaugliint^-stock  to  my  friends?"  It  is 
worthy  of  remjirk,  that  the  people,  thouo^h 
they  j^enerally  held  aloof  from  tlie  new  reli- 
gion, (lid  not  attempt  to  resist  it  by  persecu- 
tion. To  that  very  circumstance  may  be 
attributed  the  tardiness  of  its  progress. 
Had  the  new  converts  been  made  martvrs  to 
their  faith,  it  would  liave  taken  a  rapid  root 
in  the  sympathy  and  superstition  of  the 
multitude.  Olga  founded  churches  and 
encouraged  the  residence  of  priests  in  her 
capital  with  no  better  success.  The  Rus- 
sian people  were  not  prepared  for  Christi- 
anity, and  as  yet  it  took  no  root.  Olga's 
new-born  zeal  for  religion  appears  to  liave 
dictated  her  next  })ubhc  act,  which  was  the 
resignation  of  the  throne  to  her  son.  Some 
uncertainty  exists  as  to  the  time  when  this 
event  took  place ;  but  it  followed  rapidly 
upon  lier  conversion,  which  appears  to  have 
exercised  a  beneficial  influence  upon  her 
ferocious  nature. 

Sviatoslaf  I.  was  a  princely  barbarian, 
M'ho  revived  the  predatory  and  savage 
habits  of  the  Varangians,  together  with  the 
ambitious  feelings  of  the  Skivi.  He  was  a 
remarkable  character ;  animated  witli  a  pas- 
sion for  war,  and  a  defiance  of  fatigue  and 
hardships.  Segur  terms  him  the  Achilles, 
the  Charles  XII.  of  that  epoch.  The 
social  and  moral  progress  of  a  state,  its  ad- 
vancement in  agriculture,  commerce,  or 
other  primitive  arts,  he  neither  understood 
or  regarded.  War,  without  any  suitable 
cause;  conquest,  for  the  sake  of  extending 
his  authority; — these  were  the  cherished 
aims  of  his  existence.  Regarding  the  regal 
palace  at  Kief  as  little  better  than  a  magni- 
ficent prison,  he  abandoned  it,  and  took  to 
the  field  with  an  army  composed  of  the  most 
reckless  and  savage  of  his  people.  For  the 
future,  the  camp  was  his  home;  and  he  ap- 
peared ambitious  of  exhibiting  the  hardi- 
hood and  rough  self-denial  of  his  nature. 
Emulating  the  roving  Kalmuks,  he  lived 
chiefly  upon  horseflesh,  which  he  cut  up 
himself  with  his  sword,  and  broiled  upon  the 
naked  fire.  He  used  no  vessels  for  culinary 
purposes,  and  dined  in  common  with  his 
guards.  The  use  of  horseflesh  was  conve- 
nient to  one  wliose  life  was  devoted  to  war, 
since  the  same  animal  that  carried  the  sol- 
dier, served  in  times  of  extremity  for  his 
food.  The  other  habits  of  the  new  sove- 
reign were  as  rude  and  as  severely  simple  as 
his  diet.  He  disdained  to  sleep  in  a  tent ; 
14 


but,  braving  the  inclemency  of  the  Russian 
sky,  passed  his  nights  upon  the  bare  earth, 
with  a  saddle  for  a  pillow,  and  a  saddle-cloth 
or  a  cloak  for  a  covering.  In  matters  of 
personal  indulgence,  he  abolished  all  dis- 
tinction, and  shared  the  hardships  of  the 
meanest  of  his  followers.  Such  a  leader 
was  necessarily  popular;  and  his  soldiers 
were  ])rc|)ared  to  follow  and  obey  him  with 
a  rigid  sul)mission  amounting  to  devotion. 
One  point  of  the  character  of  Sviatoslaf  is 
deserving  of  honourable  notice.  Unlike  liis 
subtle  mother,  he  did  not  avail  liimself  of 
the  advantages  likely  to  result  from  unex- 
pected attacks,  but  always  prefaced  active 
liostilities  by  a  declaration  of  war. 

For  some  time  the  warlike  prince  was  at 
a  loss  to  find  an  enemy  upon  whom  he  could 
exhibit  his  prowess.  At  length  he  turned 
his  arms  against  the  Kozans,  a  people  who 
l]ad  poured  down  from  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Euxine,  and  subdued  some  of  the  Sla- 
vonic tribes  dwelling  in  the  south  of  Russia. 
The  khan  of  the  Kozans  was  defeated  in  a 
sanguinary  l)attle,  and  his  capital,  a  fortified 
city  on  the  Don,  taken  possession  of  by  the 
victor  in  the  year  964.  Other  successes 
over  these  people  followed ;  and  thenceforth, 
it  has  been  dramatically  said,  the  name  of 
the  Kozans  disappears  from  the  page  of 
history. 

The  warlike  services  of  Sviatoslaf  were 
next  purchased  by  Nicephorus  Phocas,  the 
Greek  emperor.  The  repeated  incursions  of 
the  Hungarians  upon  the  territories  of  the 
latter  had  been  secretly  assisted  by  the 
Bulgarians,  and  it  was  against  them  that 
Nicephorus  derived  the  aid  of  the  Russians. 
Sviatoslaf  eagerly  embraced  the  design,  and 
entering  the  Danube  with  a  fleet  contain- 
ing 60,000  men,  captured  the  chief  towns 
that  lay  along  the  banks  of  that  extensive 
river.  His  success  inspired  him  with  the 
idea  of  annexing  these  newly  acquired  pos- 
sessions to  his  Russian  dominions.  To  ac- 
complish this  ambitious  but  unwise  design, 
he  resolved  to  transfer  the  seat  of  his  gov- 
ernment to  the  city  of  Yamboly. 

While  the  grand  prince  was  in  the  pur- 
suit of  conquest  abroad,  his  own  territories 
were  subjected  to  the  rude  feet  of  invaders. 
Those  ancignt  enemies  of  the  Russians,  the 
Petchenegans,  taking  advantage  of  his  ab* 
sence,  desolated  the  whole  country  in  the 
direction  of  Kief,  and  then  set  down  before 
the  city  in  great  force.  Though  it  was 
strongly  built  and  enclosed  within  fortifica- 
tions,  yet   the   garrison    it   contained   was 


A»D.  968—972.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [sviatoslaf  in  Bulgaria. 


feeble;  and  the  inhabitants,  amongst  whom 
were  the  mother  and  sons  of  Sviatoslaf,  were 
in  the  most  imminent  danger.  Besides,  the 
city  was  not  supplied  with  provisions  neces- 
sary to  enable  it  to  stand  a  siege ;  and  the 
only  choice  of  its  inhabitants  appeared  to  lie 
between  famine  and  the  swords  of  the  inva- 
ders. They  contrived,  however,  by  a  stra- 
tagem to  inform  Prititch,  a  Russian  general, 
who  was  posted  with  a  small  army  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Dnieper,  of  the  position  in 
which  they  were  placed  ;  and  he  resolved  on 
making  an  effort  for  their  relief.  Embark- 
ing at  daybreak,  he  commanded  his  soldiers 
to  blow  their  trumpets  and  raise  their  voices 
in  tumultuous  shouts.  These  were  answered 
from  within  the  city  by  the  clang  of  military 
instruments  and  joyous  shouts  of  welcome. 
The  stratagem  succeeded;  the  Petchenegans, 
believing  that  the  victorious  army  of  Svia- 
toslaf was  approaching  to  the  rescue,  were 
seized  with  terror,  and  scarcely  restrained 
by  their  leader  from  taking  to  an  ignomini- 
ous flight.  Requesting  an  interview  with 
Prititch,  he  inquired  whether  he  was  the 
grand  prince.  The  Russian  leader  adroitly 
replied  that  he  was  but  the  commander  of 
the  vanguard  of  Sviatoslaf,  who  was  liimself 
advancing  with  a  formidable  army.  After 
h  courteous  interview,  and  an  exchange  of 
gifts,  the  two  leaders  parted ;  the  prince  of 
the  Petchenegans  retired  with  his  followers, 
and  Kief  was  saved. 

On  receiving  information  of  the  danger  of 
his  capital,  Sviatoslaf  hurried  from  his  con- 
quests in  Bulgaria,  and  following  the  re- 
treating Petchenegans,  overtook  and  defeated 
them.  After  the  infliction  of  this  punish- 
ment, he  generously  permitted  them  to  re- 
turn to  their  homes  without  further  chas- 
tisement. Soon  afterwards  the  aged  princess 
Olga,  or  Helena,  was  gathered  to  that  silent 
resting-place  to  which,  during  her  turbulent 
career,  she  had  sent  so  many  of  her  enemies. 
History  has  accorded  to  her  the  merit  of 
being  an  able  ruler ;  yet  it  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible, in  its  numerous  records,  to  find  a 
woman  more  vindictive,  savage,  and  remorse- 
less. Her  crimes  did  not  prevent  the  Rus- 
sian church  from  bestowing  upon  her  memory 
the  inappropriate  honour  of  canonization; 
and  the  name  of  St.  Olga  was  long  cherished 
as  that  of  the  princess  who  introduced 
Christianity  into  Russia. 

Sviatoslaf  now  resolved  on  returning  to 
Bulgaria,  and  concluding  there  the  conquest 
he  had  begun.  The  Bulgarians  were  at  this 
period  rising  rapidly  into  importance  as  a 


trading  nation,  and  they  carried  on  extensive 
commercial  operations'  with  Persia,  India, 
Greece,  France,  and,  through  Russia,  with 
the  countries  that  lay  to  the  north.  Their 
wealth  aroused  the  avarice  of  Sviatoslaf; 
and  telling  his  chieftains  that  he  preferred 
Yamboly  to  Kief  as  a  residence,  he  prepared 
for  a  second  expedition,  with  the  intention 
of  converting  the  Bulgarian  city  into  the 
capital  of  Russia.  Before  departing,  he 
committed  an  error  that  might  have  led  to 
the  utter  ruin  of  the  state,  and  which  was 
not  rectified  without  much  bloodshed.  Con- 
sidering the  claims  of  his  family,  and  regard- 
less of  the  interests  of  his  people,  he  divided 
the  Russian  territories  between  his  three 
sons,  retaining  in  himself  only  the  nominal 
sovereignty.  Yaropolk  he  installed  in  the 
government  of  Kief;  Oleg,  that  of  the  coun- 
try of  the  Drevlians  ;  and  Vladimir,  a  natu- 
ral son  by  one  of  Olga's  attendants,  in  the 
ancient  throne  of  Novgorod.  In  addition 
to  the  danger  of  thus  partitioning  a  state, 
the  principle  was  introduced  that  the  grand 
prince  had  a  right  to  divide  his  territories, 
and  regulate  as  he  pleased  the  order  of  the 
succession. 

Having  provided  for  the  government  of 
his  dominions,  Sviatoslaf,  in  970,  set  out  on 
his  second  expedition  to  Bulgaria,  from 
which  he  was  destined  never  to  return. 
Advancing  upon  Yamboly,  his  troops  were 
attacked  with  great  bravery  and  driven  back 
with  terrible  loss.  Deeming  their  destruc- 
tion certain,  they  determined  to  sell  their 
lives  as  dearly  as  they  could.  Tiiis  resolve 
once  taken,  they  fought  with  such  ferocity 
as  to  strike  terror  into  their  assailants,  and 
to  turn  the  scale  of  victory.  The  efl'orts  of 
the  Russians  appeared  almost  superhuman ; 
the  astonished  Bulgarians  were  defeated, 
and  yielded  their  capital  to  the  enemy,  who 
once  more  was  master  of  the  fertile  territory 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Danube. 

Submission  did  not  restore  peace  to  Bul- 
garia: that  country  was  yet  to  be  the 
theatre  of  more  important  struggles.  The 
Greek  emperor  Nicephorus,  who  had  origi- 
nally engaged  Sviatoslaf  to  descend  upon 
Bulgaria,  had  been  succeeded  on  the  throne 
by  his  assassin,  John  Zimisces.  The  latter  at 
once  perceived  the  error  his  predecessor  had 
committed  in  attracting  the  ambitious  Rus- 
sians to  the  banks  of  the  Danube ;  for  they 
were  a  far  more  dangerous  enemy  than  the 
less  warlike  Bulgarians.  Findmg  that  a 
pledge  had  been  given  to  Nicephorus  that 
the  Russians  should  not  occupy  the  con- 

15 


DEATir  OF  SVIATOSLAF.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  973. 


It 


» t 


quered  territory,  Ziraisces  demanded  of  Svia- 
toslaf  the  immediate  evacuation  of  Bul- 
garia. The  Russian  prince  not  only  refused 
compliance,  but  added,  that  lie  would  shortly 
come  to  Constantinople  and  drive  the 
Greeks  into  Asia.  On  receiving  this  defiant 
answer,  Zimisces  instantly  prepared  for 
war;  for  he  was  a  man  who,  to  quote  the 
language  of  Gibbon,  "in  a  diminutive  body 
possessed  the  spirit  and  abilities  of  a  hero/' 
The  Russian  prince  was  secretly  encouraged 
in  his  breach  of  treaty  by  a  Greek  patrician, 
named  Kolokir,  who  aspired  to  the  throne 
of  Constantinople  himself,  and  hoped  to  ob- 
tain it  by  the  assistance  of  the  Russians, 
whom  he  intended  to  bribe  by  the  relin- 
quishment of  Bulgaria.  Sviatoslaf  fell  in 
with  the  schemes  of  the  traitor ;  for  it  was 
important  to  him  to  place  an  emperor  of  his 
own  choosing  on  the  throne  of  the  Eastern 
world. 

Sviatoslaf  commenced  the  war.  Com- 
pelling the  conquered  Bulgarians  and  other 
nations  to  join  his  forces,  he  succeeded  in 
raising  an  army,  said  to  amount  to  the 
enormous' number  of  300,000  men.  Ad- 
vancing into  Thrace,  he  ravaged  the  country 
as  far  as  Adrianople,  where  his  vast  host 
was  defeated  through  a  stratagem  of  the 
commandant  of  that  town,  and  driven  back 
upon  Yamboly.  He  was  followed  and  be- 
sieged there  the  following  year  by  a  Greek 
army,  under  Zimisces  in  person.  The  assault 
was  rapid  and  successful,  and  the  city  taken 
by  the  Greeks.  Eight  thousand  Russians 
threw  themselves  into  the  royal  citadel; 
though  held  to  be  impregnable,  it  was  soon 
set  on  fire  by  Zimisces,  and  the  greater 
part  of  these  wretched  men  perished  in  the 
flames.  Sviatoslaf,  however,  kept  the  field 
with  a  remnant  of  his  army,  whose  fidelity 
he  attempted  to  secure  by  the  ferocity  with 
which  he  punished  disaffection.  Victory 
still  sat  upon  the  standards  of  the  Greeks, 
and  most  of  the  towns  of  Bulgaria  sur- 
rendered to  them.  The  Russian  prince, 
after  pursuing  a  wandering  and  predatory 
career,  shut  himself  and  his  followers  up  in 
Durastole,  the  last  important  town  which 
had  not  yet  submitted  to  the  Greeks.  There 
he  was  followed  by  the  energetic  Zimisces, 
and  defeated  in  an  obstinate  combat  in 
which  he  ventured  to  engage.  Blockaded 
by  land  and  sea,  the  Russians  were  threat- 
ened with  the  horrors  of  starvation.  In  vain 
did  they  frequently  rush  out  upon  their 
foes,  and  exhibit  the  most  despairing 
courage.      They  were  constantly  repulsed; 


and  the  advisers  of  Sviatoslaf  implored  him 
to  sue  for  peace.  The  undaunted  prince  re- 
jected this  advice,  and  resolved  to  risk  every- 
thing upon  one  last  effort.  Placing  himself 
at  the  head  of  his  troops,  he  made  a  final 
sortie;  and  having  no  hope  but  from  the 
desperation  of  his  followers,  ordered  the 
gates  of  the  city  to  be  closed  the  moment 
they  had  left  it,  thus  leaving  no  alternative 
but  death  or  victory.  The  battle,  thcjugh 
obstinate  and  sanguinary,  was  but  a  brief 
one,  and  ended  in  the  total  defeat  of  the 
Russians. 

Their  prince  was  now  compelled  to  beg 
for  peace,  which  the  victors  had  the  mode- 
ration or  prudence  to  grant.  Having  bound 
himself,  by  the  oaths  he  regarded  as  most 
sacred,  to  observe  the  conditions  dictated 
to  him,  Sviatoslaf  turned  his  steps  towards 
Russia,  attended  by  the  half-clothed  and 
half-starved  remnant  of  his  army.  Notwith- 
standing the  entreaties  of  those  by  whom 
he  was  surrounded,  this  wilful  man  insisted 
on  embarking  on  the  Borysthenes,  the 
shores  of  which  were  inhabited  by  his 
ancieut  foes  the  Petchenegans.  The  latter, 
aware  of  the  deplorable  condition  of  the 
retreating  Russians,  assembled  in  great 
force,  and  awaited  their  approach  near  the 
rock  of  the  cataracts.  The  vear  was  closing 
when  the  grand  prince  arrived  near  that 
spot ;  and  there  he  was  compelled  to  pass 
the  winter,  beset  by  the  miseries  of  cold 
and  famine.  On  the  return  of  spring  he 
endeavoured  to  cut  a  passage  through  the 
ranks  of  his  enemies;  but  defeat  again 
attended  him,  and  this  time  he  himself 
perished  in  the  encounter.  The  prince  of 
the  Petchenegans  had  his  skull  converted 
into  a  goblet,  and  encircled  it  with  gold,  on 
which  this  moral  reflection  was  inscribed — 
"  In  the  attempt  to  seize  the  property  of 
others,  thou  didst  lose  thine  own."  Svia- 
toslaf fell  a  victim  to  his  own  turbulence  in 
the  year  973. 

Again  are  we  about  to  enter  upon  what 
is  justly  regarded  as  another  phase  in  the 
history  of  the  Russian  state.  "The  five 
sovereigns,^'  says  a  writer  whom  we  have 
previously  quoted,  "  Ruric,  Oleg,  Igor, 
Olga,  and  Sviatoslaf,  reigned  alone  and 
dominant.  In  each  of  these  cases  there 
was  but  a  single  heir  to  the  throne,  so  that 
the  country  was,  in  its  infancy,  auspiciously 
saved  from  the  evils  of  partition,  and  en- 
abled to  accumulate  strength  and  coherence. 
The  only  instances  of  delegated  rule — those 
of  the  two  brothers  of  Ruric — lapsed  before 


A.D.  973—977.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[partition  of  RUSSIA. 


the  death  of  the  sovereign;  the  accession 
was  therefore  regulated  by  an  accident 
that  confirmed  the  conservation  and  power 
of  the  state.  During  these  reigns  the  cha- 
racter of  the  sovereigns,  with  the  exception 
of  the  feeble  Igor,  harmonised  admirably 
with  the  demands  of  the  time.  The  firm- 
ness of  Ruric,  the  boldness  of  Oleg,  the 
wild  devotion  and  ferocity  of  Olga,  and  the 
savage  valour  of  Sviatoslaf,  contributed  seve- 
rally to  enlarge,  to  bind,  and  to  establish 
the  empire.  Many  mistakes  were  doubtless 
committed ;  but  the  science  of  government 


was  then  young;  and  better  tempers  and 
more  consistent  laws  might  have  failed  to 
preserve  the  allegiance,  as  they  could  hardly 
have  permitted  the  lawlessness,  of  the 
banded  savages  that  prowled  over  the  face 
of  the  country.  But  with  the  partition 
of  the  land  amongst  three  princes  of  unequal 
capacity  came  a  long  train  of  misfortunes, 
which  we  shall  find  alternately  averted  and 
exasperated  by  circumstances  quite  as  for- 
tuitous as  those  by  which  the  first  struggles 
of  this  formidable  power  were  rendered  suc- 
cessful.^' 


If 

h 


m 


CHAPTER  IV. 

YAROPOLK  SEIZES  XJTOS  THE  DOMUfTDNS  OF  HIS  BT^OTHERS;  IS  DRTTENPROM  THE  THRONE  BY  VLADIMIR  L  ; 
HE  PUNISHES  THE  TRAITOR  BLUDE ;  EXTENDS  HIS  DOMINIONS;  INORDINATE  LICENTIOUSNESS  OP 
VLADIMIR ;  HE  ADOPTS  CHRISTIANITY,  AND  INTRODUCES  THAT  FORM  OF  RELIGION  INTO  RUSSIA :  HIS 
SUBSEQUENT  WEAKNESS  AND  DEATH. 


Russia  was  now  governed  by  three  princes. 
The  title  of  grand-duke  no  longer  existed, 
and  with  it  the  paramount  sovereignty  was 
destroyed.  Yaropolk  ruled  in  Kief,  Oleg 
in  the  country  of  the  Drevlians,  and  Vladi- 
mir in  Novgorod.  Yaropolk  is  described  as 
of  a  weak,  inactive  nature,  ever  prone  to  be 
led  into  wrong  by  the  counsels  of  his  subor- 
dinates. Oleg  was  rash,  vindictive,  and  un- 
principled; while  Vladimir  was  ambitious, 
romantically  brave,  inordinately  licentious, 
original  in  genius,  and  energetic  in  action. 
Under  such  circumstances,  it  was  not  diffi- 
cult to  predict  which  of  these  princes  would 
become  paramount;  if  even  he  did  not  sub- 
due his  brothei-s  ana  reunite  their  territories 
to  his  own.  < 

Svenald,  an  old  warrior,  who  had  been 
the  esteemed  friend  of  Sviatoslaf,  followed 
the  fortunes  of  Yaropolk.  The  savage  Oleg 
had,  either  from  provocation  or  caprice, 
conceived  a  dislike  for  the  son  of  Svenald. 
Meeting  the  young  man  in  a  wood  during 
a  hunting  party,  Oleg  fell  upon  and  assassi- 
nated him.  The  father  resolved  on  revenge, 
and  instigated  the  feeble-minded  Yaropolk 
to  raise  an  army  and  invade  the  country  of 
the  Drevlians.  The  fierce  Oleg  collected 
his  forces,  and  the  brothers  met  in  battle. 
The  Drevlians  were  defeated;  and  in  the 


VOL.  I. 


D 


confusion  of  flight,  Oleg  was  hurled  over  the 
broken  parapet  of  a  bridge,  and  either 
drowned  or  crushed  to  death  by  the  multi- 
tude of  horses  and  troops  that  fell  upon 
him.  Yaropolk  pretended  to  mourn  for  his 
brother's  fate ;  but  he  took  possession  of  his 
territory. 

Vladimir  is  described  as  giving  way  to 
such  a  passionate  grief  in  consequence  of 
the  violent  death  of  Oleg,  that  he  retired 
from  Novgorod;  and  crossing  the  sea  in  a 
fit  of  despondency,  took  up  his  abode  with 
the  Varangians.  It  is  far  more  probable 
that  he  feared  the  power  of  his  surviving 
brother,  and  fled  to  provide  for  his  own 
safety.  Yaropolk,  finding  Novgorod  left 
without  a  ruler^  yielded  to  the  importunities 
of  his  followers,  and  seized  that  also.  Thus 
the  Russian  dominions  became  again  united 
under  the  sway  of  a  single  prince. 

Vladimir  remained  a  fugitive  among  the 
Varangians  for  a  period  of  two  years,  during 
which  he  occupied  himself  in  collecting  a 
band  of  adventurers  sufficient  to  enable  him 
to  recover  his  lost  territory.  Returning 
suddenly  to  Novgorod,  he  was  received  by 
the  people  with  joy.  The  chiefs  who  gov- 
erned in  the  name  of  Yaropolk  were  taken 
by  surprise,  and,  without  attempting  resist- 
ance,  sought  their  safety  by  submission, 

17 


I 


rl 


1 1  *i> 
1.  I 


H 


VLADIMIR  I.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  980.. 


Vladimir  dismissed  them  with  a  message  to 
his  brother,  that  he  would  soon  see  him  at 
Kief. 

While  Vladimir  was  preparing  to  seize 
his  brother's  throne,  he  was  attracted  by  the 
charms  of  the  daughter  of  Rogvolode,  prince 
of  Polotsk.  Yaropolk  also  was  a  suitor  for 
the  hand  of  the  lady ;  and  the  father,  fear- 
ing to  offend  either  of  the  brothers,  referred 
them  to  his  daughter.  The  lady's  choice 
was  rapid,  and  her  answer  coarsely  uncour- 
teous.  Vladimir  was  the  son  of  one  of  the 
attendants  of  the  princess  Olga ;  and  in  re- 
ference to  this  stain  on  his  birth,  and  also 
to  a  custom  which  then  existed  for  brides  to 
pull  off  the  boots  of  their  husbands  on  the 
wedding  night,  she  replied,  "I  will  never 
unboot  the  son  of  a  slave.  I  choose  Yaro- 
polk." This  insulting  answer  naturally 
aroused  the  anger  of  Vladimir,  and  he  re- 
solved on  a  revenge  in  the  severity  of  which 
we  forget  the  offence.  He  marched  against 
Rogvolode,  defeated  him  in  battle,  slew  him 
and  his  two  sons  with  his  own  hand;  and, 
while  reeking  with  their  blood,  compelled 
the  indiscreet  princess,  who  had  been  the 
cause  of  these  calamities,  to  become  his 
wife. 

Flushed  with  this  savage  triumph,  Vladi- 
mir led  his  army  against  Kief.  The  city 
was  capable  of  prolonged  resistance,  and  its 
inhabitants  were  faithful  to  their  ruler. 
The  feeble  mind  of  Yaropolk,  however,  was 
influenced  by  the  suggestions  of  a  villanous 
counsellor,  named  Blude.  Though  this 
traitor  had  received  the  highest  marks  of 
distinction  from  his  prince,  yet,  influenced 
by  promises  of  reward,  he  entered  into  a 
conspiracy  with  Vladimir  for  his  destruction. 
He  persuaded  Yaropolk  that  the  people  were 
treacherously  disposed  towards  him,  and 
convinced  the  shallow  prince  that  his  only 
chance  of  safety  lay  in  flight.  The  latter 
adopted  this  suggestion;  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Kief,  finding  themselves  deserted,  were 
induced  to  submit  to  Vladimir.  The  timid 
Yaropolk  did  not  by  flight  secure  the  safety 
he  coveted.  The  traitor  Blude  accompanied 
him,  and,  as  the  wretched  prince  fled  from 
place  to  place  like  a  hunted  hare,  informed 
Vladimir  of  his  hiding-place  and  his  designs. 
Yaropolk  was  at  length  rendered  desperate 
by  a  fear  of  his  pursuers  and  the  sufferings 
he  endured,  and  resolved  to  throw  himself 
on  the  mercv  of  his  brother.  He  trusted  to 
a  man  devoid  of  fraternal  emotions :  as  he 
was  advancing  to  throw  himself  into  the 
arms  of  Vladimir,  he  was  assassinated  by| 
18 


some  of  the  attendants  of  the  latter.  Again 
the  Russian  dominions  were  united  under 
one  prince,  who,  despite  his  crimes,  possessed 
the  ability  to  govern  them. 

The  throne  was  now  filled  by  Vladimir  I. 
His  first  act  was  to  seize  and  debauch  the 
widow  of  his  brother  Yaropolk,  a  lady  far 
advanced  in  pregnancy.  As  a  reward  for 
her  submission  to  his  desires,  he  adopted 
the  infant  of  which  she  subsequently  became 
the  mother.  His  next  was  to  punish  the 
traitor  Blude,  notwithstanding  that  he  de- 
rived the  advantages  arising  from  the  guilt 
of  this  northern  Judas.  Vladimir  knew 
that  a  man  who  was  so  ungrateful  and 
treacherous  to  one  master,  was  incapable  of 
faithfully  serving  another.  For  three  days 
he  entertained  the  miscreant  at  his  court 
with  a  royal  magnificence,  and  conferred  on 
him  the  chief  dignities  of  the  stafe.  On  the 
fourth,  Blude  was  summoned  to  the  pre- 
sence of  his  sovereign,  who  said — "  I  have 
kept  my  promise  strictly.  I  have  received 
you  with  welcome,  and  heaped  unwonted 
honours  upon  your  head.  This  I  have  done 
as  your  friend.  To-day,  as  judge,  I  con- 
demn the  traitor  and  assassin  of  his  prince." 
This  sentence  was  followed  by  immediate 
execution,  and  the  traitor  expiated  his  guilt 
with  his  blood. 

The  fierce  Varangians,  by  whose  assistance 
Vladimir  had  recovered  his  authority,  were 
clamorous  for  the  reward  of  their  services, 
and  desired  that  he  would  compel  the  inhab- 
itants of  Kief  to  pay  them  a  tribute.  The 
grand  prince  had  a  wise  objection  to  subject 
his  people  to  any  oppression  but  his  own. 
Though  unprepared  to  resist  the  demands  of 
his  greedy  dependents,  he  hesitated  to  com- 
ply with  their  demands,  and  fed  them  with 
promises,  while  he  avoided  giving  any  deci- 
sive answer  to  their  applications.  During 
the  delay  thus  created,  he  so  strengthened 
himself  that  the  Varangians  became  con- 
vinced of  the  hopelessness  of  pressing  their 
claims.  He  was  too  powerful  to  be  influ- 
enced by  intimidation,  too  crafty  to  be  de- 
ceived into  compliance,  and  too  firm  to  yield 
to  solicitation.  Perceiving  this  state  of 
things,  the  Varangians  requested  his  per- 
mission to  make  an  incursion  into  Greece, 
and  pay  themselves  by  plunder.  To  this  he 
consented,  after  selecting  the  bravest  of 
them  for  his  own  service.  Still  unwilling 
to  convert  the  Greek  emperor  into  an  enemy, 
he  secretly  informed  that  potentate  of  the 
designs  of  the  desperadoes,  and  desired  him 
to  arrest  them  and  disperse  them  over  his 


I* 


a:d.  985.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [vladimir  seeks  a  reliqiox. 


dominions,  so  that  thus  divided,  they  should 
cease  to  be  an  object  of  alarm  to  either  gov- 
ernment. 

The  brave  and  subtle  Vladimir  was  now 
firmly  seated  upon  his  throne,  the  authority 
of  which  he  greatly  extended  by  his  ability 
and  warlike  exertions.  He  subdued  many 
neighbouring  peoples,  and  enlarged  his  do- 
minions on  almost  every  hand.  Inflated  by 
success,  he  appears  to  have  been  inspired 
with  a  sense  of  gratitude  towards  the  pagan 
gods  of  his  nation,  though  it  is  not  unlikely 
he  was  desirous  of  captivating  the  people  by 
a  pompous  display  of  religious  ceremonies. 
He  caused  a  new  statue  of  the  god  Perune, 
with  a  silver  head,  to  be  erected  near  his 
palace,  and  announced  his  intention  of  pro- 
pitiating the  image  by  a  sacrifice  of  some 
prisoners  taken  in  war.  His  followers  sug- 
gested that  the  god  would  be  better  pleased 
with  the  blood  of  a  victim  selected  from  his 
own  people.  Vladimir  consented  to  this  ar- 
rangement ;  and  the  lot,  probably  by  design, 
fell  upon  a  young  Varangian,  who  had  been 
educated  by  his  father  in  the  Christian 
faith.  Great  preparations  were  made  for 
the  savage  ceremonial ;  but,  at  the  appointed 
hour,  the  aflaicted  father  not  only  refused  to 
surrender  his  son,  but  denounced  the  pro- 
ceeding as  a  sanguinary  superstition.  The 
priests  and  people,  enraged  equally  by  the 
disappointment  and  the  insult  to  their  carved 
deity,  rushed  into  the  house,  and  put  both 
father  and  son  to  death.  The  unfortunate 
men  were  eventually  canonised,  and  remain 
the  first  and  only  martyrs  of  the  Russian 
church. 

Vladimir  indulged  in  an  inordinate  licen- 
tiousness. He  had  married  six  wives ;  and 
had  so  many  establishments  of  concubines, 
that  these  female  ministers  to  his  pleasure 
are  said  to  have  amounted  altogether  to 
eight  hundred.  Still  his  lustful  nature  was 
not  satisfied ;  every  fresh  pleasing  face  and 
form  attracted  his  attention,  and  he  violated 
the  honour  of  the  wives  and  daughters  of 
many  of  his  subjects.  An  ancient  chroni- 
cler remarked,  that  no  woman  of  any  per- 
sonal beauty  was  safe  frpm  the  lust  of  this 
second  Solomon,  He  did  not,  however, 
perceive  the  incongruity  of  this  reckless 
gratification  of  his  passions  with  his  zeal 
for  any  religion  that  recognised  even  the 
scantiest  moral  duties.  A  wild  zeal  for  the 
religion  of  his  country  filled  his  mind,  and 
communicated  itself,  in  some  degree,  from 
the  ruler  to  the  people.  He  built  new 
temples  in  honour  of  the  pagan  gods  recog- 


nised by  his  nation,  and  enriched  them  with 
a  magnificence  new  to  their  barbarous  wor- 
shippers. The  valour  of  the  Russian  sove- 
reign in  war,  his  power  over  his  dominions, 
and  his  awakened  zeal  in  favour  of  his  reli- 
gion, attracted  the  notice  of  distant  states ; 
the  representatives  of  four  of  whom  sought 
to  convert  him  to  the  faith  they  followed. 
The  eastern  Bulgarians  solicited  his  attri- 
tion to  the  sensual  and  warlike  religion  of 
Mohammed.  The  voluptuous  mind  of 
Vladimir  dwelt'  with  pleasure  upon  the  de- 
scription of  its  paradise,  where  rose-lipped 
houris  ministered  to  the  pleasures  of  the 
faithful ;  but  he  was  repelled  by  the  doctrine 
of  circumcision  and  the  interdiction  of  wine. 
The  Germans  unfolded  to  him  the  doctrines 
of  the  Roman  church ;  but  this  he  rejected 
on  account  of  its  pope,  whose  asserted  power 
over  princes  he  regarded  as  not  only  inad- 
missible, but  monstrous.  The  laws  of  Moses 
were  laid  before  him  by  the  professors  of 
Judaism ;  but  this  he  rejected,  because  he 
thought  it  irrational  to  accept  a  religion 
from  a  people  without  a  country,  who  were, 
moreover,  wanderers  under  the  curse  of 
heaven.  A  priest  from  Constantinople  de- 
scribed to  him  the  doctrines  and  ceremonials 
of  the  Christian  church  of  the  East,  and 
these  did  not  seem  open  to  any  apparent 
objection. 

Discussion  and  reflection  had  shaken  the 
faith  of  Vladimir  in  the  ancient  supersti- 
tions of  his  people;  but  a  conflict  took 
place  in  his  mind  as  to  the  religion  he 
should  adopt  in  lieu  of  them.  In  this 
situation,  he  composed  a  commission  of  ten 
of  the  most  thoughtful  of  his  chiefs,  and 
sent  them  into  the  several  countries  where 
the  various  religions  were  received,  to  in- 
vestigate the  arguments  on  which  they  were 
based,  and  to  report  which  was  the  most 
worthy  of  adoption.  The  envoys  proceeded 
on  their  journey.  The  church  of  the  Ara- 
bian prophet  was  not  to  their  taste,  because 
it  made  too  many  demands  upon  their  self- 
control.  The  Roman  churches  in  Germany 
repelled  them,  on  account  of  the  meanness 
of  their  decorations  and  the  tawdry  finery 
of  their  priests.  When,  however,  they 
beheld  the  minarets  of  St.  Sophia  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  the  extravagant  magnifi- 
cence of  the  Greek  religion,  they  were 
touched  with  emotions  of  wonder  and  awe, 
and  concluded  that  they  had  at  length 
found  the  true  mode  of  worship.  Return- 
ing home,  they  made  a  highly  favourable 
report  of  it  to  Vladimir,  and  added — "  K  the 

19 


'f'! 


ir 


11 


].'  'V. 

I 


!  ^i 


ill 


P 


it 


I 


1. 


VLADIMIR  ADOPTS  CHRISTIANITY.]    HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  988. 


Greek  religion  was  not  the  best,  Olga,  your 
ancestress,  the  wisest  of  women,  would 
never  have  thought  of  adopting  it."  The 
imagination  of  the  grand  prince  was  excited 
by  the  narratives  to  which  he  listened ;  and 
after  some  deliberations  with  his  council,  he 
resolved  to  adopt  the  Greek  form  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  undergo  the  public  ceremony  of 
baptism. 

Here,  however,  a  difficulty  arose ;  for 
Vladimir  would  not  be  made  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church  unless  the  baptismal 
rite  was  performed  by  an  ecclesiastical  digni- 
tary of  the  highest  order,  and  none  such  were 
to  be  found  in  Russia.  To  solicit  from  the 
Greek  emperors,  Basil  and  Constantine,  the 
assistance  of  their  archbishops,  seemed  de- 
rogatory to  his  imperious  nature ;  and 
therefore  he  resorted  to  a  singular  and  cir- 
cuitous mode  of  obtaining  that  which  he 
would  not  condescend  to  accept  as  a  favour. 
Actuated  even  in  this  matter  by  the  fierce 
spirit  of  his  times,  he  declared  war  upon 
Greece,  that  he  might  extort  from  her 
that  service  he  was  too  haughty  to  obtain 
by  the  readiest  means  !  Having  assembled 
a  numerous  army,  he  proceeded,  by  sea,  to 
the  rich  and  powerful  city  of  Kherson,  in 
the  Taurica  Chersonesus,  now  called  the 
Crimea.  Laying  siege  to  the  city,  he  put 
up  this  strange  prayer  to  the  Deity  : — *^  O 
God,  grant  me  thy  help  to  take  this  town, 
that  I  may  carry  from  it  Christians  and 
priests,  to  instruct  me  and  my  people,  and 
to  convey  the  true  religion  into  my  do- 
minions !" 

The  siege  was  prolonged  over  six  months, 
and  a  terrible  destruction  of  human  life  took 
place,  to  satisfy  the  whimsical  pride  of  a 
pagan  prince.  So  obstinate  was  the  resist- 
ance, and  so  numerous  the  reverses  expe- 
rienced by  the  army  of  Vladimir,  that  he 
would  have  been  compelled  to  retire  from 
the  walls  of  Kherson,  but  that  a  treacherous 
priest  within  the  city  betrayed  it  to  him. 
This  traitor,  either  from  malignity  or  a 
mad  excess  of  zeal  in  favour  of  his  religion, 
contrived,  by  means  of  a  letter  tied  to  an 
arrow,  and  shot  into  the  Russian  camp,  to 
inform  Vladimir  that  the  water-springs  from 
which  the  subterranean  pipes  of  the  city 
were  supplied,  were  situated  immediately  in 
his  rear.  The  springs  were  discovered,  the 
water  diverted  into  other  channels,  and  the 
citizens,  after  suffering  the  horrors  of  ex- 
treme thirst,  were  compelled  to  surrender. 

Vladimir  could  now  be  baptized  with 
such  an  amount  of  ceremony  as  he  deemed 
20 


becoming  his  dignity.  But  his  religious 
emotions,  though  probably  sincere,  were 
not  unmixed  with  political  motives  of  a  very 
worldly  nature.  He  demanded  from  the 
Grecian  emperors  the  hand  of  their  sister 
Anna  in  marriage,  and  accompanied  his 
message  by  a  threat,  that  he  would  lay 
siege  to  Constantinople  in  the  event  of  re- 
fusal. It  was  his  intention,  by  this  match, 
to  acquire  an  indirect  claim  upon  the 
throne  of  the  Greek  empire,  which,  at  some 
favourable  time,  he  or  his  successors  might 
enforce.  The  emperors  Basil  and  Constan- 
tine were  not  in  a  condition  to  refuse  com- 
pliance ;  and,  after  some  hesitation,  they 
yielded — stipulating,  howe^rer,  that  he  should 
embrace  the  Christian  faith.  Accordingly, 
in  the  year  988,  Vladimir  was  received  into 
the  bosom  of  the  Greek  church,  under  the 
name  of  Basil,  and  united  to  the  Princess 
Anna,  who  is  reported  to  have  been  by  no 
means  flattered  with  the  conquest  she  had 
made.  The  Russian  sovereign,  in  return, 
restored  the  territory  he  had  so  recently 
captured,  listened  to  an  exposition  of  his 
new  creed,  and  returned  to  Kief,  carrying 
with  him  priests,  relics,  vases  of  holy  water, 
and  images  of  saints. 

The  royal  convert  resolved  on  at  once 
forcing  upon  his  subjects  the  religion  of 
which  he  had  so  recently  become  a  member, 
and  with  which  he  must  necessarily  have 
been  very  imperfectly  acquainted.  With 
a  decision  natural  to  a  despotic  barbarian, 
he  resolved  on  the  disgrace  and  destruction 
of  the  pagan  gods,  from  the  worship  of 
whom  he  had  fallen  so  lately.  Perune,  the 
silver-headed  and  golden-whiskered  father 
of  the  gods,  first  excited  his  anger.  He 
caused  the  image  to  be  stripped  of  all  its 
costly  ornaments,  and  after  exposing  the 
naked  log  to  the  people,  had  it  tied  to  the 
tail  of  a  horse,  beaten  with  cudgels  by 
twelve  stout  soldiers,  and  then  thrown  into 
the  Borysthenes,  amidst  the  shouts  and 
groans  of  the  multitude.  No  divine  ven- 
geance followed  this  seemingly  impious  act; 
and  the  people  began  to  think  that  Perune 
was  but  a  wooden  and  powerless  god  after 
all.  A  belief  in  his  divinity  was  not,  how- 
ever, universally  extinguished.  For,  some 
time  afterwards,  a  legend  related,  that  when 
the  statue  of  Perune  at  Novgorod  was 
hurled  into  the  river,  the  figure  of  the  god 
rose  from  the  water,  and,  casting  his  staff 
amongst  the  people,  exclaimed,  *'  Citizens, 
I  leave  you  that  in  remembrance  of  me  1" 
The  minor  gods  of  Russia  were  disposed  of 


^JPtiffclJIlA     .. 


_s#: 


.t4-SP'TPN* 


A.D-.  993.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [war  with  the  petchenegans. 


in  a  similarly  arbitrary  manner;  and  Vladi- 
mir then  issued  a  proclamation,  command- 
ing all  his  subjects  to  assemble  on  a  certain 
day  at  Kief,  and  be  baptized  there,  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.  ^  The  people  appear  to 
have  entertained  but  little  affection  for  the 
ancient  faith,  as  they  offered  no  opposition. 
"  That  must  be  a  good  religion,^'  said  they, 
"  which  is  adopted  by  the  prince  and  the 
boyards.^'  In  the  remote  districts  of  Rus- 
sia, however,  paganism  lingered  for  some 
centuries ;  it  was  more  in  acordance  than 
the  new  faith  with  the  rude  and  wonder- 
loving  barbarians  of  those  northern  forests. 

Not  satisfied  even  with  these  vigorous 
proceedings,  Vladimir  zealously  endeavoured 
to  enforce  Christianity  wherever  he  had  for- 
merly enjoined  the  superstitions  of  paganism. 
He  lavished  the  revenues  of  his  state  in 
building  churches  and  houses  for  pious  pur- 
poses, and  instituted  public  repasts,  in  imi- 
tation of  the  love-feasts  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians. Certainly,  it  must  be  admitted,  that 
the  religion  he  adopted  exercised  a  soften- 
ing influence  upon  his  mind,  and  induced 
him  to  lead  a  purer  life.  He  dismissed  his 
trains  of  concubines,  and  is  reported  to  have 
become  a  pattern  of  conjugal  fidelity.  In- 
stead of  the  avidity  he  had  shown  to  shed 
blood  in  unjust  wars,  he  hesitated  even  to 
condemn  a  criminal  to  death.  He  also  in- 
troduced some  good  judicial  regulations, 
and  effected  many  improvements  in  the 
various  towns  throughout  the  country. 

Always  prone  to  go  to  extremes,  Vladi- 
mir now  became  effeminate  and  almost 
imbecile  in  his  mildness.  The  Petchene- 
gans,  taking  advantage  of  this  state  of  the 
Russian  prince,  made  frequent  incursions 
into  his  dominions.  In  one  of  these,  the 
two  armies  lay  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
river  Sula,  the  waters  of  which  fall  into 
the  Dnieper.  ^*i.  battle  appeared  inevitable; 
when  the  Petchenegan  chief  proposed  to 
Vladimir  to  spare  the  blood  of  their  res- 
pective troops,  by  deciding  the  quarrel  by 
single  combat  between  two  champions,  one 
chosen  from  each  army ;  the  people  whose 
representative  should  perish  in  the  strife, 
binding  themselves  to  abstain  from  hostili- 
ties for  the  space  of  three  years.  Vladimir's 
pride  forbade  him  to  reject  the  proposal; 
but  he  acceded  to  it  unwillingly;  for  he 
knew  not  where  to  find  a  man  of  sufficient 
strength  and  courage  to  cope  with  the 
gigantic  champion  of  th3  Petchenegans. 
On  the  day  appointed  for  the  combat  he 
was  compelled  to  request  a  delay.     During 


the  interval  thus  obtained,  an  old  man,  who, 
together  with  his  four  sons,  had  long  served 
in  the  Russian  army,  came  forward  and 
offered  the  services  of  a  fifth  son,  who, 
though  but  a  youth,  was  gifted  with  pro- 
digious strength.  Before  the  offer  was  ac- 
cepted, the  aspirant  was  ordered  to  exhibit 
his  prowess  in  an  encounter  with  an  infu- 
riated bull.  The  animal  was  irritated  with 
red-hot  irons,  and  then  set  at  liberty.  The 
young  athlete  struck  the  bull  down,  and 
speedily  dispatching  the  animal,  tore  off  his 
skin  as  a  trophy.  Vladimir  was  satisfied, 
and  surveyed  the  beardless  champion  with  " 
feelings  of  hope.  The  day  of  trial  arrived, 
and  the  combatants  met  in  an  open  space 
between  the  two  camps.  The  bulky  Petche- 
negan looked  contemptuously  on  the  unde- 
veloped yet  well-proportioned  and  muscular 
frame  of  his  adversary.  His  feeling  of 
triumph  was,  however,  premature;  his  an- 
tagonist rushed  upon  him  at  once,  brought 
him  to  the  earth  with  a  well-directed  blow, 
and  there  dispatched  him.  It  is  said  that 
the  Petchenegans  fled  in  terror  on  seeing 
the  fall  of  their  champion  :  this  is  doubtful ; 
but  they  observed  the  agreement  into  which 
they  had  entered,  and  abstained  from  ag- 
gression for  the  space  of  three  years.  The 
young  victor,  who  followed  the  humble 
occupation  of  a  currier,  was,  together  with 
his  father,  raised  to  the  rank  of  nobility, 
and  a  town  erected  as  a  memorial  of  his 
honourable  encounter. 

During  the  three  years,  the  weakness  of 
Vladimir  appeared  to  increase ;  and  on  the 
expiration  of  that  period,  the  Petchenegans 
again  took  to  the  field.  They  laid  siege  to 
Vassilef,  a  town  built  by  the  grand  prince, 
who,  in  endeavouring  to  succour  it,  was  de- 
feated and  wounded,  and  only  saved  his  life 
by  hiding  under  the  arch  of  a  bridge,  over 
which  his  victorious  enemies  passed  in  pur- 
suit of  him.  This  was  in  996;  and  in  the 
following  year  he  was  subjected  to  fresh  in- 
dignities by  his  untiring  foes. 

The  latter  years  of  the  once  fierce  and 
powerful  monarch  were  bereft  of  the  bril- 
liancy which  attended  the  earlier  period  of 
his  reign,  and  his  life  was  extinguished  in 
gloom  and  bitterness.  Perplexed  as  to  the 
mode  in  which  he  should  provide  for  his 
numerous  sons,  he  adopted  the  weak  and 
fatal  expedient  of  partitioning  his  dominions 
amongst  them.  This  he  did  during  his  life; 
and,  while  parting  with  his  provinces,  re- 
tained only  the  title  of  grand  prince,  and  a 
tribute   from  each  of  his   sons.     Yaroslaf, 

21 


M 


f 


A 

li 

Li*' 
hi  J 

I  I'll 

■-f    '!    I 


DEATH  OF  VLADIMIR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1016. 


the  one  to  whom  he  had  given  Novgorod, 
refused  the  tribute,  and  prepared  to  resist 
the  paramount  authority  of  his  father.  The 
aged  parent,  though  struck  to  the  heart  by 
this  ingratitude,  yet  retained  enough  of  his 
former  energy  to  collect  an  army  and  march 
upon  Novgorod,  with  the  object  of  reducing 
his  rebellious  son  to  submission.  The 
effort,  however,  was  above  his  strength ; 
and  the  contemplation  of  the  unnatural 
conflict  was  as  a  sword  in  his  heart.  Un- 
able to  reach  the  scene  of  expected  strife, 
he  expired  of  grief  on  the  road.  His  death 
took  place  in  1015,  after  a  protracted  reign 
of  five-and-forty  years. 

Notwithstanding  his  serious  defects  of 
character,  it  must  be  granted  that  Vladimir 
was  no  common  man.  Bold,  resolute,  subtle, 
and  gifted  with  an  acute  though  not  pene- 
trating intelligence,  the  force  of  his  mind  was 
confined  by  caprice  and  unregulated  im- 
pulsiveness. A  fratricide  and  a  despot,  he 
might  elicit  our  severest  reprehension ;  but 
we  ought  not  to  judge  his  conduct  in  these 
respects  by  our  modern  estimates  of  morality 
and  duty.  He  was  tinctured  with  the  bar- 
barity of  the  age  in  which  he  dwelt,  and 
acted  in  compliance  with  its  ferocious  in- 
stincts. Yet  in  some  respects  he  was  in 
advance  of  his  time.     He  rejected  the  effete 


idolatry  of  his  country,  and  replaced  it  by 
the  purer  spirit  of  Christianity.  He  estab- 
lished schools  for  the  education  of  different 
classes  of  the  community,  and  placed  them 
under  the  direction  of  learned  men  from 
Greece.  These  efforts  were  regarded  with 
repugnance  by  his  people,  who  considered 
educational  arts  as  identified  with  sorcery.' 
So  great  was  their  dislike  to  the  instruction' 
introduced,  that  Vladimir  could  only  obtain 
scholars  for  these  institutions  by  the  unjus- 
tifiable means  of  compelling  the  attendance 
of  the  children  of  his  people.  He  also  strove 
to  improve  the  taste  of  his  people  by  em- 
ploying the  architects  of  Greece  to  erect 
palaces,  churches,  and  other  buildings,  and 
to  redeem  his  dominions  from  the  native 
desert  by  felling  forests,  and  erecting  towns 
on  spots  which  previously  harboured  only 
wolves  and  other  beasts  of  prey.  Though 
many  of  his  reforms  were  vehemently  re- 
sisted by  his  people,  yet  they  mourned  his 
loss,  and  he  obtained  from  them  the  title  of 
the  Great,  on  account  of  his  abilities  as  a 
ruler;  while  the  infant  Christian  church  of 
Russia  canonised  him  as  a  saint,  and  pro- 
nounced him  as  coequal  with  the  apos- 
tles. Nearly  eight  centuries  afterwards 
the  empress  Catherine  instituted  an  order 
of  knighthood  to  his  honour. 


CHAPTER  V. 

8VIAT0P0LK,  BY  TREACHERY  AND  MURDER,  UNITES  THE  PRINCIPALITIES  OF  RUSSIA  UNDER  HIS  SCEPTRE ; 
HE  IS  SUPPORTED  BY  THE  DUKE  OF  POLAND,  BUT  DRIVEN  FROM  THE  THRONE  BY  YAROSLAF  ;  THE  LATTER 
BECOMES  GRAND  PRINCE  j  HIS  CODE  OF  LAWS ;  HE  PARTITIONS  RUSSIA  AMONGST  HIS  SONS,  AND  DIES. 


The  deatn  of  Vladimir  was  followed  by  a 
period  of  confusion  and  unnatural  warfare. 
Sviatopoik,  the  adopted  son  of  the  late  grand 
prince,  born  of  the  beautiful  widow  of  Yaro- 
polk,  resolved  on  the  immediate  execution 
of  a  design  he  had  long  entertained  of  setting 
aside  his  half-brothers  and  re-establishing 
the  divided  country  under  his  own  authority. 
With  this  view  he  caused  three  of  them  to 
be  assassinated ;  and  the  other  sons  of  Vla- 
dimir, with  one  exception,  fearing  a  similar 
fate,  refrained  from  opposing  so  reckless  and 
remorseless  a  man. 

Yaroslaf,  the  Prince  of  Novgorod^  resolved 
22 


on  making  a  stand  against  the  ambitious 
projects  of  the  usurping  fratricide.  So 
vigorous  were  the  efforts  of  Yaroslaf,  and  so 
ably  was  he  seconded  by  his  subjects,  whose 
affection  he  had  won  by  the  clemency  of  his 
rule,  that  he  soon  drove  his  unprincipled 
brother  out  of  Kief,  and  compelled  him  to 
take  refuge  with  his  father-in-law,  Boleslas, 
the  Duke  of  Poland.  The  latter  yielded  to 
the  solicitations  of  the  fugitive,  and  advanced 
into  Russia  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  force, 
with  the  intention  of  restoring  Sviatopoik  to 
the  throne.  Yaroslaf  was  prepared,  and  met 
the  invaders  on  the  banks  of  tl\e  Bug.     For 


A.D.  1015—1026.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[rule  of  yaroslaf. 


,jP^^*, 


some  days  each  army  remained  encamped 
within  sight  of  the  other,  neither  caring  to 
commence  the  conflict.  At  length  a  Russian 
soldier  stood  upon  the  bank  of  the  river  and 
mimicked  the  corpulent  size  and  gait  of  the 
Polish  duke.  Boleslas,  whose  intrepidity 
had  obtained  for  him  the  surname  of  the 
Lion-hearted,  was  incensed  beyond  the 
bounds  of  prudence  by  this  insult.  Plunging 
into  the  water,  he  commanded  his  soldiers  to 
follow  him,  and  the  Poles  soon  landed  on 
the  other  side,  and  stood  face  to  face  with 
their  foes.  A  protracted  battle  followed,  but 
the  Russians  were  defeated,  and  Sviatopoik 
re-seated  on  the  throne  he  had  won  by 
treachery  and  murder. 

The  disheartened  Yaroslaf  fled  to  Nov- 
gorod, and  was  preparing  to  retire  across 
the  Baltic,  but  the  loyalty  of  his  subjects 
restrained  him.  Destroying  the  ships  that 
were  to  take  him  away,  they  laid  heavy  taxes 
upon  themselves  for  the  sake  of  engaging 
mercenary  troops  to  assist  his  cause.  The 
prosperity  of  Sviatopoik  was  of  brief  dura- 
tion. Influenced  by  a  mean  jealousy  of  the 
Poles  who  had  succoured  him^  he  conceived 
a  design  for  their  destruction.  This  trea- 
cherous scheme  was  discovered  by  Boleslas, 
who  proceeded  to  take  a  decisive  revenge. 
He  gave  Kief  over  to  be  plundered  by  his 
followers,  who,  infuriated  at  the  baseness 
of  their  allies,  could  with  difficulty  be  re- 
strained from  reducing  the  city  to  ashes. 
Loaded  with  spoil,  they  then  returned  to 
their  own  country.  They  were  followed  by 
Sviatopoik,  who,  maddened  by  wrath,  sought 
to  obtain  vengeance  for  the  desolated  capital ; 
but  he  was  defeated  in  a  battle  on  the  banks 
of  the  Bug,  and  compelled  to  return  to  Kief 
in  confusion.  Yaroslaf  seized  this  opportu- 
nity of  hurling  the  usurper  from  his  throne. 
Marching  rapidly  against  the  fratricide,  he 
defeated  him  in  a  fiercely  contested  engage- 
ment. Sviatopoik  deserted  his  troops  before 
the  battle  was  ended,  and  perished  in  a 
miserable  condition  on  the  road. 

Yaroslaf  now  ascended  the  throne  as  grand 
prince,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  that 
the  government  could  not  be  in  better  hands. 
His  claim,  however,  was  disputed  by  his 
brother  Motislaf,  the  seventh  son  of  Vladi- 
mir, and  Prince  of  Tmutaracan,  who  had 
gained  some  distinction  as  an  able  soldier. 
Motislaf  desired  Yaroslaf  to  cede  to  him  a  part 
of  the  fraternal  appanage  he  governed.  The 
latter  consented ;  but  t'le  territory  he  gave 
did  not  satisfy  the  exp'jctations  of  his  bro- 
ther, who  immediately  resorted  to  arms  to 


obtain  by  force  that  which  he  was  unable  to 
get  by  supplication.  In  the  war  which  fol- 
lowed, Motislaf  was  triumphant;  but  he 
generously  divided  the  Russian  dominions 
between  himself  and  his  brother,  with  whom 
he  continued  to  remain  in  amity  until  his 
death,  which  took  place  seven  years  after- 
wards. The  Russian  dominions  were  then 
again  united  under  one  ruler. 

The  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Yaros- 
laf was  rendered  unsettled  by  numerous 
wars,  in  most  of  which  he  was  successful. 
He  carried  hostilities  into  Finland,  Livonia, 
Lithuania,  and  Bulgaria,  and  even  pene- 
trated into  Greece,  where  he  suffered  a 
defeat.  He  did  not,  however,  seek  to  ac- 
quire distinction  by  feats  of  arms ;  he  sel- 
dom sought  war,  and  usually  entrusted  the 
command  of  his  armies  to  his  lieutenants. 
Notwithstanding  his  ingratitude  to  his  aged 
father,  he  behaved  well  to  his  people.  He 
governed  with  wisdom,  and  addressed  him- 
self to  the  noble  task  of  exalting  the  cha- 
racter of  his  subjects.  Especially  devoting 
himself  to  the  spread  of  education  and  the 
promotion  of  religion,  he  caused  the  Scrip- 
tures to  be  translated  into  the  Slavonian 
language,  and  even  accomplished  the  labo- 
rious task  of  transcribing  several  copies 
with  his  own  hand.  But  the  great  work  of 
his  life  was  the  construction  of  a  code  of 
laws,  which,  though  it  may  read  strangely 
to  modern  ears,  was  doubtless  adapted  to 
the  wants  of  the  time.  Hitherto,  written 
laws  were  rare,  and  always  liable  to  be  in- 
terpreted by  the  strong  in  their  own  favour. 
Princes  had  been  occupied  rather  in  protect- 
ing their  dominions  from  aggression  than 
in  administering  justice  to  their  subjects. 
The  result  was  a  state  of  society  in  which 
life  and  property  was  insecure,  the  arts  un- 
known, and  commerce  almost  stagnant. 

A  rapid  glance  at  this  code  of  laws  will 
give  some  insight  into  the  character  of  the 
Russian  people  at  this  period.  It  was 
couched  in  a  spirit  of  paternal  despotism. 
"  Respect  this  ordinance,"  said  the  prince ; 
"  it  must  be  the  rule  of  your  conduct. 
Such  is  my  will."  Its  first  article  consti- 
tuted the  law  the  public  avenger  only  in 
cases  where  the  friends  of  the  murdered 
man  were  unable  to  retaliate  on  the  crimi- 
nal themselves.  This,  doubtless,  was  but  the 
reduction  of  an  existing  practice  into  a 
written  law,  and  the  legal  permission  of 
outrages  the  ruler  felt  it  impossible  to  re- 
strain. Though  life  was  taken  in  retalia- 
tion, the  law  was  not  broken,  and  order 

23 


;» 


15     ;  ' 


li 


n 


I' 


\l  } 


yaroslaf's  code  of  laws.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1030. 


appeared  to  exist.  To  have  made  the  laws 
widely  different  to  all  established  customs, 
would  have  been  to  run  the  risk  of  their 
being  laid  aside  altogether.  If  there  were 
no  relatives  to  revenge  the  death  of  a  mur- 
dered man,  the  assassin  was  to  pay  a  fine 
regulated  according  to  the  rank  of  his  vic- 
tim. In  this  scale,  the  life  of  a  woman  was 
estimated  at  only  half  the  value  of  that  of  a 
man — a  circumstance  which  showed  how 
highly  mere  brute  strength  was  regarded; 
while  no  fine  was  imposed  on  the  murderer 
of  a  slave.  In  this  case,  the  shedder  of 
human  blood  was  to  pay  to  the  owner  the 
Talue  of  the  slave,  if  he  had  been  killed 
wantonly;  but  if  the  victim  had  insulted 
his  assassin,  the  law  required  nothing  at  the 
hands  of  the  latter.  It  is  also  significant  of 
the  scarcely  disguised  contempt  which  was 
cherished  against  the  pursuit  of  learning, 
that  while  for  the  murder  of  the  prince's 
cook,  or  other  domestic,  a  penalty  of  forty 
grivnas  was  to  be  paid  to  the  state,  only 
twelve  grivnas  was  the  fine  demanded  in  the 
event  of  the  victim  being  a  schoolmaster  ! 

Though  Yaroslaf's  code  of  laws  paid  so 
small  a  respect  to  the  lives  of  slaves  that  it 
would  not  deprive  the  rich  of  the  savage 
gratification  of  slaying  one  on  any  caprice, 
yet  it  held  the  honour  of  free  Russians  in 
great  estimation.  For  striking  a  blow,  a 
fine  was  exacted  equal  in  amount  to  that 
imposed  for  the  murder  of  a  schoolmaster  or 
artisan.  The  ofi'ence  of  pulling  a  man  by 
the  beard,  or  knocking  out  one  of  his  teeth, 
was  visited  with  a  similar  penalty.  Many 
regulations  were  framed  for  the  security  of 
property ;  but  one  law  seemed  made  as  if 
with  the  intention  of  favouring  dishonest 
men.  If  a  man  lent  money  to  another  who 
denied  the  loan  on  oath,  the  latter  was  re- 
leased from  the  debt.  Such  an  enactment 
in  a  country  where  the  legal  interest  of 
money  was  forty  per  cent.,  was  calculated 
to  create  fraud,  and  to  extinguish  trading 
transactions. 

The  code  divided  the  population  into 
three  classes  :  namely,  the  nobles,  the  free- 
men, and  the  slaves.  Of  these,  the  latter, 
chiefly  prisoners  of  war  and  their  descen- 
dants, were  left  wholly  unprotected.  The 
law  did  not  recognise  the  humanity  of  these 
unhappy  men,  but  placed  them  in  the 
same  category  with  the  inferior  animals. 
The  freemen,  composed  of  citizens,  farmers, 
landholders,  and  hired  servants,  were  fenced 
in  from  the  encroachments  of  the  nobles. 
They  were  subdivided  into  centuries,  each 
24 


of  which  elected  its  representative,  or  tri- 
bune, who,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  took  equal 
rank  with  the  boyards  or  nobles.  The  latter 
were  regarded  as  the  voyevodes,  or  military 
leaders  of  the  state,  and  the  direct  coun- 
sellors of  the  prince.  The  hereditary  rights 
of  property  were  preserved  unconditionally 
in  their  families  alone.  Thus  arose  a  class 
of  rich  patricians,  identified  with  the  in- 
terests of  property,  while  commerce  and  the 
popular  privileges  were  represented  in  the 
assemblies  of  the  elected  representatives  of 
the  people.  Here  were  the  germs  of  a  legis- 
lative system  which,  but  for  subsequent  cir- 
cumstances which  swept  over  and  extin- 
guished them,  might  have  ripened  into  a 
wise  mode  of  government  and  a  just  social 
balance.  It  must  be  added,  that  the  people 
paid  no  taxes  for  the  support  of  their  prince. 
His  revenue  was  derived  from  the  fines  im- 
posed for  infractions  of  the  law,  from  the 
tribute,  in  kind,  which  he  received  from 
the  cultivators  of  his  estates,  and  from  the 
voluntary  oflferings  of  his  subjects.  The 
boyards  did  not  pay  taxes ;  their  allegiance 
consisted  in  rendering  military  service  when 
called  upon  to  do  so.  The  position  of  the 
grdnd  prince  was  necessarily  a  difficiilt  one, 
which  could  scarcely  be  filled  except  by  a 
man  of  severe  temper  and  of  commanding 
will.  The  throne  stood,  as  it  were,  in  a 
plain  surrounded  by  forests,  from  which 
frequently  issued  hordes  of  ruthless  savages, 
whose  violence  threatened  to  overturn  the 
dawning  institutions  of  civilisation.  Under 
such  circumstances,  it  was  a  great  matter  to 
maintain  any  advance  that  had  been  made, 
and  not  again  to  recede  into  the  darkness  of 
barbaric  life.  It  was,  indeed,  difficult  to 
civilise  barbarians  surrounded  by  barba- 
rians. The  antipathy  entertained  towards 
the  Greeks  by  the  people  was  a  great  ob- 
stacle to  their  progress,  as  it  extended  itself 
to  the  arts,  the  sciences,  and  the  manners 
introduced  by  these  foreigners.  Christi- 
anity, as  being  to  a  Russian  mind  essentially 
a  Greek  religion,  bore  some  share  of  this 
dislike. 

Very  little  is  recorded  of  the  reign  of 
Yaroslaf;  which  circumstance,  connected 
with  his  reputation  for  wisdom,  leads  to  the 
inference  that  Russia  enjoyed  peace  and 
prosperity  under  his  sway.  Towards  the 
close  of  his  life,  he  committed  a  serious 
error  in  abandoning  the  city  of  Novgorod  to 
his  son  Vladimir.  Scarcely  had  the  latter 
ascended  the  throne  of  the  once  republican 
state,  than,  with  all  tl  e  ardour  of  a  barbarian 


f  A.b.  1054.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  yaroslaf. 


in  quest  of  plunder,  he  led  an  army  into  the 
Grecian  empire,  under  pretence  of  obtaining 
satisfaction  for  the  death  of  a  Russian  who 
had  been  killed  there.  The  iniquity  of  this 
act  elicited  an  appropriate  but  terrible  retri- 
bution. Fifteen  thousand  of  the  invaders 
were  left  dead  upon  the  plains  of  Greece, 
and  the  aggressor  driven  back  with  disgrace 
to  his  own  dominions.  Undeterred  by  the 
criminal  folly  of  one  of  his  sons,  Yaroslaf, 
before  his  death,  followed  the  evil  example 
of  his  predecessors,  and  partitioned  the 
whole  of  Russia  amongst  his  sons,  only  or- 
daining that  the  younger  ones  should  be 
subordinate  to  the  eldest,  who  was  autho- 
rised to  reduce  them  to  obedience  by  force 
of  arms,  should  they  exhibit  a  disposition 
to  dispute  his  authority — of  course,  if  he 
was  powerful  enough  to  do  so.  This 
arrangement,    enforced    by    death-bed   ad- 


monitions, he  trusted  would  sufficiently 
secure  the  empire  from  the  afflictions  of 
civil  commotion  and  disputes  concerning 
the  succession.  Such  a  confidence,  placed 
in  the  fleeting  honour  of  ambitious  and 
greedy  semi-barbarous  princes,  shakes  our 
faith  concerning  his  possession  of  that 
wisdom  which  the  ancient  chroniclers  attri- 
bute to  him.  Often,  however,  the  wise  in 
one  direction  are  guilty  of  folly  in  others; 
the  purest  golden  ore  is  frequently  found 
mingled  with  baser  metals  and  with  mire. 
Yaroslaf  died  in  1054,  after  a  prolonged 
reign  of  thirty-four  years.  Before  he  had 
long  lain  in  his  grave,  Russia  became  the 
prey  of  internal  dissensions  and  of  servile 
war ;  the  fatal  result  of  that  partitioning  of 
the  empire  which  he  had  not  the  wisdom  to 
foresee.  This  tragic  error  almost  led  to  the 
dissolution  of  the  infant  empire. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ISIASLAF  SUCCEEDS  TO  THE  GRAND  PRINCEDOM  ;  HE  IS  TWICE  DRIVEN  FROM  THE  THRONE,  AND  TWICE 
RESTORED  TO  IT  BY  THE  POLES;  THE  LATTER  RECALLED  FROM  KIEF  BY  THE  INCONSTANCY  OF  THEIR 
WIVES;  CONFUSION  ARISING  FROM  THE  WEAKNESS  OF  ISIASLAF;  HIS  DEATH  ;  REVERSAL  OF  THE  ORDER 
OF  SUCCESSION  ;  VSEVOLOD  SUCCEEDS  ;  IS  FOLLOWED  BY  SVIATOPOLK  ;  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JEWS  FROM 
RUSSIA  VLADIMIR  MONOMACHUS  CALLED  TO  THE  THRONE;  HE  ARRESTS  THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  STATE- 
HIS  FAREWELL  ADMONITION  AND  DEATH.  '' 


Isiaslaf  I.,  the  eldest  of  the  five  sous  of 
Yaroslaf,  succeeded  as  grand  prince  to  the 
regal  seat  of  Kief,  which,  from  its  magnifi- 
cence and  civilisation  in  comparison  with 
the  other  important  towns,  had  really  be- 
come, in  accordance  with  the  words  of  Oleir. 
the  mother,  or  chief,  of  Russian  cities. 

It  is  one  matter  to  have  a  presumed  au- 
thority over  other  princes,  and  quite  a  dif- 
ferent one  to  maintain  it.  The  wisest  and 
most  powerful  sovereigns  have  been  per- 
plexed in  such  positions,  and  have  commonly 
been  compelled  to  enforce  their  claims  with 
the  sword.  Isiaslaf  was  too  feeble  to  pre- 
serve his  paramount  authority,  and  its  be- 
queathment  to  him  embittered  his  life  and 
distracted  the  country.  Ucheslaf,  Prince  of 
Polotsk,  was  the  first  of  the  brothers  of 
Isiaslaf  who  set  him  at  defiance.  Nor  did 
1)0  stop  at  defiance :  advancing  with  a  well- 
disciplined  army  against  Kief,  he  compelled 
the  inhabitants  to  submit,  and  drove  Isiaslaf  j 

VOL.  I.  J 


from  his  throne.  The  unfortunate  })rince 
sought  the  protection  of  Boleslas  II.,  grand- 
duke  of  Poland,  justly  called  the  Bold,  on 
account  of  his  fearlessness  and  skill  in  war. 
Boleslas  received  the  fugitive,  to  whom  he 
was  distantly  connected  by  marriage,  with 
sympathy,  and  at  once  adopted  his  cause. 
His  ostensible  motive  was  of  the  purest  and 
most  generous  kind.  "  I  am  obliged  to 
succour  that  prince,"  said  he,  "by  the  blood 
which  unites  us,  and  by  the  pity  so  justly 
due  to  his  misfortunes.  Unfortunate  prince's 
are  more  to  be  commiserated  than  ordinary 
mortals.  If  calamities  must  necessarily 
exist  on  earth,  they  should  not  be  allowed 
to  aff*ect  such  as  are  exalted  for  the  happi- 
ness of  others." 

This  seeming  nobility  of  conduct  was, 
however,  but  a  cover  forVeelings  of  a  selfish 
character.  His  secret  motive  was  the  re- 
covery of  the  possessions  which  his  prede- 
cessors had  held  in  Russia,  and  of  the  do- 

25 


,(i5f«#|r^ 


! 

! 
J 

PI' 

h 


■1 

I'  • 


u  •'  •'■ 


:i  ) 


^^;!» 


AVEAKNESS  OF  ISIASLAF.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1066—1077. 


mains  he  conceived  he  had  a  right  to 
inherit  through  his  mother  and  his  queen, 
both  of  whom  were  Russian  princesses. 

Boleslas  the  Bold,  therefore,  entered 
Russia  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army 
inured  to  victory,  and  full  of  confidence  in 
their  leader,  and  advanced  within  a  few 
leagues  of  Kief  before  he  was  opposed  by 
Ucheslaf  and  his  troops.  Such  was  the 
martial  appearance  and  undaunted  mien  of 
the  Poles,  that  Ucheslaf  s  heart  sank  within 
him  ;  and,  quitting  his  tent  secretly,  he  took 
to  flight.  He  had  not,  however,  proceeded 
far  before  he  experienced  the  natural  shame 
arising  from  the  dishonourable  course  he 
•was  pursuing.  He  felt  the  inevitable  con- 
viction, that  not  only  would  his  conduct 
lead  to  a  loss  of  his  dominions,  but  that  it 
might  also  expose  him  to  the  vengeance  of 
his  betrayed  and  irritated  followers.  Col- 
lecting his  resolution,  he  returned  to  the 
camp  l»e  had  so  shamefully  abandoned,  and 
gazed  once  more  upon  the  formidable  enemy 
arrayed  against  him.  His  dastard  spirit 
could  not  bear  the  sight,,  and  again  he  fled. 
His  troops  being  without  a  leader  and  with- 
out a  purpose,  speedily  dispersed,  leaving 
Kief  unprotected.  The  city  was  infested  by 
the  Poles,  and  no  choice  left  to  the  inhabit- 
ants but  to  receive  the  late  fugitive  Isiaslaf 
as  their  prince.  Polotsk  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  Kief,  and  submitted ;  but  Ucheslaf^ 
who  had  taken  refuge  there  after  his  igno- 
minious flight,  contrived  to  escape. 

Boleslas,  though  a  brave  soldier,  was  an 
abandoned  sensualist.  He  and  his  troops 
remained  some  time  at  Kief,  and  gave  them- 
selves up  to  the  pleasures  of  this  compa- 
ratively polished  city.  During  their  stay, 
it  was  the  scene  of  a  continued  round  of 
profligacy.  Fortunately  for  the  Russians, 
the  aft'airs  of  Boleslas  demanded  his  pre- 
sence in  Hungary,  whither  he  and  his  army 
departed,  leaving  Isiaslaf  again  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  throne  and  the  dangerous 
claim  to  paramount  authority  bequeathed  to 
him  by  his  father. 

For  seven  years  Isiaslaf  contended  against 
his  brothers  and  their  kindred,  who  asserted 
unjust  claims,  or  prosecuted  predatory  ad- 
ventures. The  spirits  of  contention,  exac- 
tion, and  misrule  swept  over  the  land  like  a 
triple  pestilence ;  and  the  empire  seemed 
abandoned  to  anarchy.  At  the  end  of  the 
seven  years,  the  unfortunate  prince  was 
again  expelled  from  Kief  by  Ysevolod,  a 
prince  of  one  of  the  tributary  liefs.  It 
would  have  been  better  if  a  sovereign  so  in- 
26 


capable  of  standing  alone  as   Isiaslaf  had 
shown  himself  to  be,  had  accepted  his  fate, 
and  reconciled  himself  to  the  tranquil  secu- 
rity of  private  life.     The  annals  of  history 
do    not   record    many    instances    of    moral 
heroism   of  this   kind ;    and   certainly  the 
again  fugitive  Prince  of  Kief  did  not  possess 
it.     He  applied  for  aid  to  several  European 
mouarchs;  and  at  length  implored  the  in- 
terference of  Pope  Gregory  VIIl.    The  pope 
eagerly  caught  at  an  ofi'er  which  he  thought 
might  ultimately  lead  to  the  transference  of 
the  faith  of  the   Russian  people  from  the 
Greek  church  to  that  of  Rome ;  but  he  gave 
assistance  in  a  second-hand  and  equivocal 
manner.     In  other  words,  he   did  nothing 
himself;    but   he    instructed  the   Duke  of 
Poland  to  support  Isiaslaf  to  the  utmost  of 
his  power.     This  Boleslas,  actuated,  as  we 
have   shown,   by   secret  views  of  his  own, 
consented  to  do.     Necessarily,  these  selfish 
views  rose  in  proportion  to  the  urgency  of 
the  demand  upon  his  services.     This  time, 
though  he  resolved  to  restore  Isiaslaf  to  his 
throne,  he  was  no  less  resolved  to  make  him 
tributary  to  Poland.     With  this  design,  he 
speedily  subjugated  the  whole  of  Volhynia, 
as  a  place  of  retreat  in  case  he  experienced 
a  reverse  of  fortune.     This  done,  he  a  second 
time  marched  against  Kief.     His  progress 
was  arrested  by  the  forces  of  the  reigning 
prince,  Vsevolod,  and  a  terrible  battle  en- 
sued, in  which  the  army  of  the  latter  was 
almost   annihilated.      Kief,    however,    was 
ably    prepared   for  resistance.      Well   gar- 
risoned and   provisioned,  it  withstood   his 
efi'orts ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  subj'ect  it  to 
the  tedious  process  of  a  siege.     As  Boleslas 
was  as  impatient  as   he   was   valorous,  he 
might  have  retired  in  consequence  of  this 
obstinate  resistance,  but  that  an  unsought 
and    unseen    ally    played    into   his  hands. 
This  was  a  contagious  fever,  which   broke 
out  amongst  the  inhabitants,  and  led  them  to 
open  the  gates  in  terror,  that  they  might 
escape  the  eflects  of  the  pestilence.     Just  as 
the   latter   had    exhausted    itself,    Boleslas 
poured  in   his   troops ;    and   the  enfeebled 
citizens  submitted  with  patience  to  a  fate 
they   could   no   longer    avert.      Thus    was 
Isiaslaf  restored  to  a  throne  from  which  he 
had   been    twice   expelled.     Boleslas   acted 
with  the  generosity  of  a  noble  nature.     In- 
stead of  incorporating  the  territories  of  Kief 
and  its  dependent  provinces  with  his  own 
dominions,  he  preferred  leaving  friends  ra- 
ther than  enemies  behind  him;  he  merely, 
exacted  a  tribute  from  these  territories,  and 


^B.  1078.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[evil  state  of  RUSSIA. 


caused  himself  to  be  acknowledged  as  sove- 
reign paramount. 

The  generous  and  afl'able  bearing  of  Bo- 
leslas soon  rendered  him  a  favourite  with 
the  people  of  Kief;  and  he  and  his  com- 
panions plunged  into  a  dissipation  even  ex- 
ceeding their  former  revels  in  that  city. 
His  days  were  occupied  in  feasting  and 
drinking,  while  his  nights  were  devoted  to 
the  society  of  such  of  the  frail  ones  of  Kief 
as  possessed  more  charms  than  virtue.  His 
followers,  down  even  to  the  humblest,  soon 
imitated  the  conduct  of  their  chief,  and  all 
ordinary  business  appeared  superseded  by 
the  wild  vortex  of  incessant  sensuality, 
which  drew  both  Poles  and  Russians  into  its 
debilitating  embrace.  The  gratitude  of 
Isiaslaf  prompted  him  not  to  off'er  opposition 
to  the  desires  of  his  restorer ;  but  he  sought 
to  win  him  from  the  numerous  debaucheries 
to  which  the  Polish  duke  surrendered  him- 
self. Desiring,  on  one  occasion,  to  obtain 
a  visit  from  Boleslas,  the  Russian  prince 
offered  him  as  many  marks  of  gold  as  his 
horse  should  take  steps  in  making  the  jour- 
ney from  one  residence  to  the  other.  The 
gift  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  a  surpris- 
ingly liberal  kind. 

While  the  Poles  were  thus  wallowing  in 
the  grossest  sensuality  at  Kief,  they  received 
information  which  filled  them  with  a  violent 
desire  to  return  to  their  homes,  from  which 
they  had  been  absent  in  Russia  and  Hun- 
gary for  the  space  of  seven  years.  During 
this  period,  their  wives  and  children  had 
never  seen  them.  The  former,  weary  of 
their  cheerless  condition,  which  was  worse 
than  widowhood,  forgot  their  chastity  in 
their  desolation,  and  submitted  to  the  em- 
braces of  their  slaves.  A  rage  for  these 
base  amours  seized  the  Polish  women.  De- 
bauchery of  this  nature  became  the  rule; 
and  it  is  said  that  but  one  of  the  wives  of  the 
absent  warriors  had  the  virtue  to  refrain 
from  it.  This  is  probably  an  exaggeration ; 
but  a  fashionable  frenzy,  in  any  direction, 
commonly  overpowers  every  opposing  feel- 
ing, and  dominates  alike  over  reason  or 
honour.  We  shall  not  follow  other  writers 
in  any  cheaply  virtuous  indignation  respect- 
ing the  conduct  of  these  unfortunate  women ; 
for  men  too  often  utter  pompous  rhapso- 
dies in  favour  of  a  rigid  chastity  which 
they  never  observe.  The  Polish  women, 
wounded  bv  the  evident  indifference  of  their 
husbands,  deprived  of  those  social  endear- 
ments and  words  of  affection  which  enter 
so  largely  into  the  happiness  of  the  fairer 


sex,  and  incensed  by  the  licentious  conduct 
of  their  partners  (rumours  of  which  must 
have  reached  them),  adopted  the  often-erring 
principle  of  lex  talionis,  and  returned  like 
for  like.  The  Polish  warriors,  however,  did 
not  reflect  on  the  provocations  of  their  ab- 
sence and  their  infidelity ;  and  on  hearing 
of  this  unexpected  depravity  on  the  part  of 
their  wives,  they  were  distracted  with  shame 
and  fury,  and  begged  permission  of  their 
sovereign  to  return  home.  Actuated  by  a 
confidence  in  his  queen,  or  entranced  by 
the  libidinous  pleasures  into  which  he  was 
plunged  at  Kief,  Boleslas,  though  he  pro- 
mised his  troops  that  he  would  return,  made 
no  preparation  for  doing  so.  Many  of  his 
irritated  followers  lost  all  patience,  and  de- 
parted without  his  permission ;  and  Boleslas 
was  soon  compelled,  by  this  multitudinous 
desertion,  to  follow  their  example.  When 
the  Poles  arrived  at  their  homes,  they  found 
their  slaves  presiding  at  their  boards,  and  in 
possession  of  all  their  privileges.  In  some 
instances  they  were  resisted  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity, and  in  others,  they  were  pacified 
by  submission  and  entreaties  for  pardon. 
Some  of  the  women  and  their  paramours 
fled,  and  others  were  put  to  death  by  the 
enraged  husbands. 

Isiaslaf,  left  without  his  protectors,  soon 
showed  his  inability  to  use  the  authority  be- 
queathed to  him.  The  subordinate  princes 
refused  to  recognise  his  supremacy,  and  se- 
parated themselves  from  the  grand  prince- 
dom. Fierce  dissensions  swept  over  the 
empire,  which  was  rapidly  falling  to  pieces, 
in  consequence  of  the  suicidal  fury  of  con- 
tending governments.  Such  a  state  of 
things  encouraged  the  hostile  incursions  of 
the  barbarous  nations  and  tribes  that  lay 
upon  its  borders.  Poles,  Hungarians,  and 
Tartars  swept  like  a  pestilence  over  the 
Russian  borders,  and  marked  their  track  by 
burning  villages,  the  women  of  which  they 
had  violated;  while  they  put  the  men  to 
death,  or  carried  them  away  into  slavery. 
The  wretched  Isiaslaf  died  in  1078,  after  a 
reign  of  twenty-four  years. 

The  discord  that  existed  did  not  perish 
with  him,  and  even  the  order  of- succession 
was  reversed.  No  ancient  custom  was  res- 
pected; and  the  interests  of  the  strong 
towered  over  the  rights  of  the  weak.  Isias- 
laf was  not  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son,  but 
by  his  brother  Vsevolod,  who  ascended  the 
throne  with  the  consent  of  the  children  of 
the  deceased  prince.  Such  a  case  was  with- 
out precedent  in  Russia ;  for  although  the 

27 


REVERSAL  OF  THE  SUCCESSION.]         HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1078—1114. 


i  ■"■■) 


»  i 


n  11 


wrarrior  Oleg  absolutely  exercised  the  regal 
power  during  his  life,  he  did  so  with  the 
title  of  regent.  But  Vsevolod  endeavoured 
to  perpetuate  the  example  he  had  intro- 
duced, by  fixing  the  order  of  successioii  from 
brother  to  brother  as  the  law  of  the  .and. 
He  wore  a  tottering  crown  during  a  period 
of  fifteen  years.  History  is  almost  silent 
concerning  him.  It  has  been  well  remarked, 
that  his  reign  is  "  an  agitated  canvas,  in 
which  the  observer  can  discern  nothing 
niore  than  the  chaos  of  the  elements,  with 
a  single  star  of  promise  glittering  distinctly 
in  the  person  of  the  prince.^'  He  is  most 
remembered  on  account  of  the  virtues  and 
wisdom  of  his  son  Vladimir  Monomachus,  in 
whose  arms  he  breathed  his  last,  and  to 
whom  he  bequeathed  the  throne  of  Kief,  in 
contravention  of  tlie  very  rule  of  succession 
he  had  himself  introduced  as  law. 

Vladimir,  influenced  by  a  noble  self- 
denial,  refused  to  accept  the  regal  legacy. 
The  peace  of  his  country  was  dearer  to  him 
than  personal  honours  and  interests.  To 
the  entreaties  of  the  citizens,  he  replied, 
he  would  not  violate  the  recently  established 
order  of  succession,  which  conferred  the 
title  and  position  of  grand  prince  upon  his 
cousin  Sviatopolk.  ''  His  father,^'  reasoned 
Vladimir,  "was  my  father's  senior,  and 
reigned  first  in  the  capital.  I  wish  to  pre- 
serve Russia  from  the  horrors  of  civil  war.^' 

Sviatopolk  was  a  splenetic  and  feeble- 
minded prince,  who  not  only  owed  the 
throne  of  Kief  to  the  moderation  of  Vladi- 
mir, but  was  preserved  in  it  solely  by  the 
wise  counsels  of  the  latter,  which,  neverthe- 
less, he  ventured  frequently  to  disregard. 
The  reign  of  Sviatopolk  is  as  barren  in  in- 
cident as  that  of  his  predecessor,  and  is 
neglected  alike  by  ancient  chroniclers  and 
modern  historians.  It  appears  to  have  been 
chiefly  passed  in  fierce  but  uninteresting  con- 
tentions between  the  rival  Russian  princes, 
each  one  of  whom  seems  to  have  neglected 
his  own  territories,  and  turned  all  his  atten- 
tion towards  seizing  that  of  his  neighbours. 
Sviatopolk  died  in  1113,  after  a  reign  of 
twenty  years,  leaving  Kief  and  the  Russian 
empire  generally  in  a  state  of  apparently  in- 
extricable disorder. 

The  death  of  Sviatopolk  was  followed  by 
a  savage  outbreak  of  the  citizens  of  Kief 
against  the  Jews.  These  unfortunate  peo- 
ple having  excited  there  a  feeling  of  enmity, 
probably  by  the  exhibition  of  a  selfishly  ac- 
quisitive temper,  a  cruel  design  was  formed 
for  a  general  massacre  of  them.  Some,  it 
28 


appears,  fell  victims  to  the  popular  fury; 
but  it  would  seem  that  many  of  the  citizens 
hesitated  to  slaughter  unarmed  men  in  cold 
blood ;  and  Vladimir  was  appealed  to  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  the  savage  tumult. 
Order,  however,  was  only  restored  by  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  the  whole  of  the 
Russian  territory — a  banishment  which  en- 
dured for  six  centuries,  Vladimir,  though 
he  could  not  save  them  from  this  doom, 
protected  their  retreat,  and  caused  their 
exile  to  be  respected. 

Above  all  the  clamour  that  shook  the 
ancient  city  of  Kief,  there  rose  a  wild  de- 
mand that  Vladimir  Monomachus  must  now 
assume  the  sceptre,  for  that  he  was  the  only 
man  who  could  restore  tranquillity  to  the 
state.  Again  he  refused.  He  maintained 
that  the  princedom  was  not  elective,  and 
that  he  was  not  the  true  heir  to  it  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  succession  established  by 
his  dead  father.  As  he  appeared  fixed  iu 
this  resolution,  the  citizens  broke  into  open 
revolt,  and  declared  that  they  would  not 
acknowledge  any  sovereign  but  the  one 
they  had  elected.  Vladimir  now  saw  that 
further  resistance  would  be  merely  irrational 
obstinacy,  and  tend  to  plunge  the  country 
still  further  into  that  anarchy  from  which 
he  had  sought  so  earnestly  to  save  it. 

The  accession  of  Vladimir  to  the  throne 
of  Kief  in  1114,  gave  a  promise  of  coming 
peace,  and  a  hope  of  again  binding  together, 
in  a  bond  of  union,  the  now  discontented 
states  of  the  empire.  Such  a  work  was, 
however,  one  both  of  time  and  difficulty,  and 
Vladimir  was  in  the  fall  of  life.  During 
the  twelve  years  he  bore  the  sceptre,  he  was 
occupied  with  those  important  but  unobtru- 
sive labours  which,  though  of  inestimable 
value,  afford  but  a  narrow  theme  for  the  his- 
torian. He  appeased  jealousies,  satisfied 
conflicting  claims,  repressed  disorderly  pas- 
sions, maintained  justice,  and  restored  con- 
fidence. To  these  labours  he  devoted  himself 
with  an  efficiency  which  was  not  only  ap- 
preciated by  his  subjects,  but  obtained  lor 
him  the  esteem  of  foreign  courts.  It  even 
elicited  from  the  Grecian  emperor  a  com- 
pliment the  most  distinguished  such  a  mo- 
narch could  pay.  Recognising  iu  Vladimir 
a  greatness  of  mind  worthy  of  the  noblest 
station,  he  sent  him  the  ensigns  of  imperial 
dignity,  as  a  sign  that  he  considered  him 
his  equal. 

Shortlv  before  his  death,  Vladimir  ame- 
liorated  the  laws;  softening  the  rigour  of 
some,  and  rendering  others  more  exact  and 


A.D.  1125.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [fareavell  advice  of  vLADimR. 


comprehensive.  The  last  public  act  of  his 
life  was  to  leave  a  farewell  admonition  to 
his  subjects  or  children,  as  he  called  them, 
which  is  interesting,  as  being  illustrative  of 
the  habits  and  principles  of  one  of  the 
heroes  of  an  age  struggling  slowly  and  labo- 
riously from  a  barbarism  which  it  was  neither 
prepared  to  leave  or  to  remain  satisfied  with. 
This  testament  appears  derived  from  a  re- 
membrance of  his  own  actions,  and  offered 
to  his  subjects  as  a  guidance  to  theirs. 

"  My  dear  children,^'  ran  the  document, 
"praise  God  and  love  men;  for  it  is  neither 
fasting  nor  solitude,  nor  monastic  vows,  that 
can  give  you  eternal  life;  it  is  beneficence 
alone. 

"  Be  fathers  to  the  orphan;  be  yourselves 
judges  for  the  widow.  Put  to  death  neither 
the  innocent  nor  the  guilty,  for  nothing  is 
more  sacred  than  the  life  and  soul  of  a 
Christian. 

"  Keep  not  the  priests  at  a  distance  from 
you ;  do  good  to  them,  that  they  may  offer 
up  prayers  to  God  for  you. 

"  Violate  not  the  oath  which  you  have 
sworn  on  the  cross.  My  brothers  said  to 
me,  •  Assist  us  to  expel  the  sons  of  Rotislaf, 
and  seize  upon  their  provinces,  or  renounce 
our  alliance.'     But  I  answered,  '  I  cannot 


forget  that  I  have  kissed  the  cross.' 

"  Bear  in  mind  that  a  man  ought  to  be 
always  employed :  look  carefully  into  your 
domestic  concerns,  and  fly  from  drunken- 
ness and  debauchery. 

"  Love  your  wives,  but  do  not  suffer  them 
to  have  any  power  over  you. 

"  Endeavour  constantly  to  obtain  know- 
ledge. Without  having  quitted  his  palace, 
my  father  spoke  five  languages;  a  thing 
which  wins  for  us  the  admiration  of  fo- 
reigners. 

"  In  war  be  vigilant ;  be  an  example  to 
your  boyards.  Never  retire  to  rest  without 
having  posted  your  guards.  Never  take  off 
your  arms  while  you  are  within  reach  of  the 
enemy ;  and,  to  avoid  ever  being  surprised, 
always  be  early  on  horseback. 

"  When  you  travel  through  your  pro- 
vinces, do  not  allow  your  attendants  to  do 
the  least  injury  to  the  inhabitants.  Enter- 
tain always,  at  your  own  expense,  the  master 
of  the  house  in  which  you  take  up  your 
abode. 

'*  If  you  find  yourself  affected  by  any  ail- 
ment, make  three  prostrations  down  to  the 
ground  before  the  Lord ;  and  never  let  the 
sun  find  you  in  bed.  At  the  dawn  of  day, 
my  father,  and  the  virtuous  men  by  whom 


he  was  surrounded,  did  thus :  They  glorified 
the  Lord.  They  then  seated  themselves  to 
deliberate,  or  to  administer  justice  to  the 
people,  or  they  went  to  the  chase ;  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  day  they  slept;  which 
God  permits  to  man,  as  well  as  to  the 
beasts  and  birds. 

"  For  my  part,  I  accustomed  myself  to  do 
everything  that  I  might  have  ordered  ray 
servants  to  do.  Night  and  day,  summer 
and  winter,  I  was  perpetually  moving  about. 
I  wished  to  see  everything  with  my  own 
eyes.  Never  did  I  abandon  the  poor  or  the 
widow  to  the  oppressions  of  the  powerful. 
I  made  it  my  duty  to  inspect  the  churches 
and  the  sacred  ceremonies  of  religion,  as 
well  as  the  management  of  my  property, 
my  stables,  and  the  vultures  and  hawks  of 
my  hunting  establishment. 

"  I  have  made  eighty-three  campaigns, 
and  many  expeditions.  I  concluded  nine- 
teen treaties  with  the  Polovtzy.  I  took 
captive  one  hundred  of  their  princes,  whom 
I  set  free  again;  and  I  put  two  hundred 
of  them  to  death,  by  throwing  them  into 
rivers. 

"  No  one  has  ever  travelled  more  rapidly 
than  I  have  done.  Setting  out  in  the 
morning  from  Tchernigof,  I  have  arrived  at 
Kief  before  the  hour  of  vespers. 

"  In  my  youth,  what  falls  from  my  horse 
did  I  not  experience  !  wounding  my  feet  and 
my  hands,  and  breaking  my  head  against 
trees.     But  the  Lord  watched  over  me. 

"  In  hunting,  amidst  the  thickest  forests, 
how  many  times  have  I  myself  caught  wild 
horses,  and  bound  them  together!  How 
many  times  have  I  been  thrown  down  by 
buffaloes,  wounded  by  the  antlers  of  stags, 
and  trodden  under  the  feet  of  elks!  A 
furious  wild  boar  rent  my  sword  from  my 
baldrick ;  my  saddle  was  torn  to  pieces  by  a 
bear;  this  terrible  beast  rushed  upon  my 
courser,  whom  he  threw  down  upon  me. 
But  the  Lord  protected  me. 

"  O,  my  children,  fear  neither  death  nor 
wild  beasts.  Trust  in  Providence;  it  far 
surpasses  all  human  precautions.'^ 

The  perusal  of  this  experience  of  a  wise 
and  good  barbarian  (for  we  think  that  is 
the  most  appropriate  description  of  this 
prince),  leads  back  the  imagination  to  an 
imperfect  realisation  of  the  country  and 
state  of  society  in  which  he  lived.  It  shows 
us  man  yet  dwelling  on  the  borders  of  dense 
forests,  and  contending  with  beasts  of  prey 
for  the  possession  of  the  soil.  It  shows 
cities  enjoying  peace,  only  in  consequence 

29 


\i\ 


.J] 


DEATH  OF  VLADIMIR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1125. 


of  the  indolence  or  forbearance  of  hordes  of 
barbarians,  with  whom  war  was  an  occupa- 
tion and  murder  a  revolting  pastime.  What 
promise-breaking  and  treachery  is  recorded 
by  the  simple  fact,  that  the  truthful  Vladi- 
mir had  to  conclude  nineteen  different  trea- 
ties with  the  Polovtzy  Tartars  ;  every  one  of 
which  these  human  wolves  broke  through  as 
soon  as  it  suited  their  convenience  to  do  so. 
What  a  revelation  of  their  cruelty,  also,  is 
contained  in  the  circumstance  that  this 
simple-minded  prince,  who  shrunk  from 
taking  human  life,  was  compelled  to  put 
200  of  these  Tartar  chiefs  to  death  bv 
drowning;  a  doom  which  their  treachery 
and  depravity  no  doubt  justly  deserved.  It 
shows  us  Vladimir  himself  as  a  just,  merci- 
ful, active,  and,  indeed,  indefatigable  ruler. 
Temperate,  chaste,  and  industrious;  in  the 
latter  respect  a  slave  to  duty.  Earnestly 
pious,  yet  strongly  impressed  with  what  we 
may  designate  the  coarse  materialism  of 
religious  formula,  rather  than  penetrated  by 
a  spirit  of  devout  aspiration.  There  is 
something  approaching  even  to  the  low 
idolatry  of  fetish  worship  in  the  superstition 
which  dictated  three  prostrations  before  the 
Deity  as  the  means  of  curing  the  ague  or  a 
fever.  But  Vladimir  would,  indeed,  have 
been  in  advance  of  his  time  if  he  had  recog- 
nised the  important  truth,  that  spiritual 
evils  must  be  cured  by  spiritual  remedies, 
and  material  evils  by  material  remedies.  A 
patient  suffering  from  consumption  or 
paralysis,  does  not  apply  to  a  clergyman  for 


aid;  or  a  sinner,  writhing  under  the  pangs 
of  an  outraged  and  awakened  conscience, 
proceed  to  a  physician.  In  the  first  case, 
prayer  is  a  secondary  instrument  of  allevia- 
tion ;  in  the  second,  the  same  may  be  said 
of  medical  attention.  There  is  an  odd  sim- 
plicity, also,  in  the  mode  in  which  the  good 
Vladimir  connects  the  inspection  of  the 
churches  and  the  management  of  his  stables ; 
but  his  evident  good  faith  utterly  exonerates 
him  from  intentional  levity  on  a  serious 
theme.  His  inoffensive  vanity,  too,  in  re- 
cording the  trivial  acts  of  his  life — his  fall 
from  his  horse,  and  his  conflicts  with  stags, 
wild  boars,  and  buffaloes — in  a  document 
addressed  as  a  solemn  admonition  to  his 
people,  is  amusing.  Altogether,  we  should 
estimate  Vladimir  as  a  man  of  the  purest 
integrity,  a  benevolent  temper,  and  a  mind 
considerably  above  the  average  of  his  coun- 
trymen, but  not  as  one  possessing  genius 
for  government.  His  well-known  virtues 
caused  men  to  have  confidence  in  him  ;  and 
that  produced  its  natural  results — tranquil- 
lity and  a  return  in  the  direction  of  national 
prosperity.  We  say  in  the  direction  of  na- 
tional prosperity,  for  his  rule  was  too  brief 
to  permit  him  to  consolidate  the  noble  work 
he  had  so  happily  began.  He  died  in  1125, 
after  a  reign  of  twelve  years.  He  had  been 
thrice  married,  and  left  five  children  behind 
him.  Motislaf,  the  eldest,  who  succeeded 
him  as  grand  prince,  was  the  son  of  Gyda, 
daughter  of  Harold,  the  last  Saxon  king  of 
England. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PERIOD  OF  ANARCHY  ;  IGOR  OF  SUZDAL  ;  HIS  SON  ANDREW  ATTEMPTS  THE  CONSOLIDATION  OF  RUSSIA  ;  HE 
IS  MURDERED;  THE  AGE  OF  WEAKNESS  AND  DARKNESS;  GHENGIS  KHAN  AND  THE  TARTAR  INVASION  OF 
RUSSIA  ;  BATOU  AND  HIS  TARTAR  HOST  RAVAGE  THE  COUNTRY,  AND  PERPETRATE  GREAT  ATROCITIES  ; 
"WHILE  OCCUPIED  IN  MARCHING  UPON  NOVGOROD,  THEY  SUDDENLY  TURN  AND  ABANDON  RUSSIA. 


On  the  aeath  of  Vladimir  Monomachus, 
Kief  and  its  dependent  dominions  com- 
menced a  backward  motion  to  that  state  of 
confusion  and  decay  from  which  he  had 
partially  rescued  them.  Motislaf,  who  in- 
lierited  the  virtues  of  his  father,  retained 
the  broken  sceptre  during  six  years  only; 
when  his  death  gave  the  signal  for  a  series 
of  selfish  struggles  which  exhausted  the  life- 
30 


blood  of  the  country,  and  prepared  it  for 
that  state  of  miserable  and  prolonged  servi- 
tude which  ensued.  A  period  followed  which 
partook  of  the  nature  of  an  interregnum. 
Government  and  the  protection  of  the 
people  was  at  an  end,  and  the  throne  of 
Kief  was  seized  by  an  adventurer  one  year, 
who  was  displaced  by  another  the  next. 
History  recoils  from  the  wearisome  task  of 


A.D.  1154—1160.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ANDREW  OF  SUZDAL. 


chronicling  the  contests,  the  murders,  the 
treacheries,  and  the  insane  ambitions  of 
these  paltry  actors  in  the  tragedy  of  a 
country's  ruin.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that 
in  the  course  of  thirty-two  years,  eleven 
princes  mounted  the  tottering  throne,  which 
each  forfeited  directly  another  arose  armed 
with  sufficient  power  to  tear  it  from  him. 
A  curse  had  fallen  upon  Kief;  its  streets 
ran  with  blood  from  the  frequent  contests 
between  rival  factions  which  took  place  in 
them.  Its  people  were  reduced  to  poverty ; 
its  soldiers  became  thieves  and  ruffians, 
wandering  about  in  search  of  food  and 
plunder ;  and  its  merchants  trembled  for  the 
wealth  which  they  scarcely  dared  employ  in 
its  natural  channels.  The  neighbouring 
provinces  were  seized  by  whoever  was  strong 
or  daring  enough  to  grasp  them ;  and  the 
fields,  once  devoted  to  agriculture,  were 
wasted  by  fire  and  sword.  This  state  of 
things  continued  until  the  grand  princi- 
pality had  dwindled  to  little  more  than  the 
city  of  Kief.  "  Its  paramount  authority,^' 
said  Segur,  "  was  nothing  but  a  vain  title  ; 
and  yet,  whether  it  arose  from  the  influence 
of  a  name,  or  that  it  was  still  looked  upon 
as  the  Capua,  the  Babylon  of  the  Russians, 
the  metropolis  of  their  religion,  the  empo- 
rium of  their  commerce,  the  source  of  their 
civilisation,  it  is  certain  that  all  the  anarchy 
of  the  princes  continued  to  be  obstinately 
bent  against  Kief;  and  the  eye  becomes  be- 
wildered in  gazing  upon  the  confusion.^' 

One  figure  at  length  became  the  most 
prominent  among  the  crowd  of  rulers  whose 
fatal  ambition  had  struck  upon  the  heart  of 
their  country.  This  was  Igor,  the  Prince  of 
Suzdal,  an  immense  territory,  occupying 
the  centre  of  Russia.  But  this  vast  appa- 
nage was  to  him  only  a  source  of  discontent. 
His  dominions,  he  said,  were  distinguished 
only  by  an  inclement  climate,  uncultivated 
deserts,  gloomy  forests,  and  a  people  sunk 
in  ignorance.  This  barbarian,  therefore, 
longed  to  possess  himself  of  the  once  polished 
but  now  humbled  city  of  Kief,  to  which,  at 
this  gloomy  period,  might  almost  be  applied 
the  mournful  language  which  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  uttered  concerning  the  abject  de- 
solation of  Jerusalem — "  How  doth  the  city 
sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of  people  !  how  is 
she  become  as  a  widow  !  She  that  was 
great  among  the  nations,  and  princess 
among  the  provinces,  how  is  she  become 
tributary ! '' 

Igor  of  Suzdal  marched  upon  the  dis- 
tracted city  of  Kief,  and  the  helpless  citizens 


surrendered  to  the  power  he  brought  with 
him.  Seated  upon  a  throne  he  had  so  easily 
acquired,  the  barbarian  abandoned  himself 
to  an  amount  of  riotous  sensuality  that 
speedily  ended  his  worthless  life.  Such  a 
mere  warlike  libertine  would  neither  have 
deserved  nor  received  notice,  but  for  the 
perilous  and  important  part  afterwards  played 
by  his  son,  known  as  Andrew  of  Suzdal. 
This  prince  was  not  disposed  to  follow  the 
example  of  his  father,  but  remained,  at 
least  for  a  time,  contented  with  his  paternal 
dominions.  ^  "  There,''  he  observed,  with 
the  placid  spirit  of  a  philosopher,  "  still 
abide  simplicity  of  manners,  the  obedience 
of  the  people,  and  the  devoted  fidelity  of  the 
boyards ;  while  at  Kief,  a  city  which  is  on 
the  frontier  of  the  Hungarians,  the  Poles, 
and  the  Polovtzy,  all  is  pillage,  murder, 
servile  and  foreign  war." 

Remaining  at  home,  Andrew  devoted 
himself  to  the  duties  of  the  principality 
which  had  descended  to  him  from  inheri- 
tance ;  and  there  he  frequently  gave  himself 
up  to  reflection  upon  the  calamities  of  his 
country.  Those  calamities  were  still  pro- 
longed at  Kief,  which  continued  the  prey  of 
men  whose  ambition  ever  exceeded  their 
power.  Chief  after  chief  entered  its  gates 
in  petty  triumph,  rested  for  a  brief  time  on 
the  royal  seat,  and  was  as  speedily  ejected. 
Andrew  at  length  saw  the  principal  cause 
of  the  misery  of  Kief  and  the  disunion  of 
Russia.  That  cause  was  the  partitioning 
the  empire  into  separate  governments,  and 
the  establishment  of  feudal  principalities. 
Satisfied  of  the  correctness  of  this  important 
political  truth,  he  determined  to  avoid, 
within  his  own  territory,  that  error  of  which 
he  saw  so  abundantly  the  fatal  eff'ects  else- 
where. He  therefore  peremptorily  abolished 
the  system  of  granting  territorial  tracts, 
even  to  his  relations  and  favourite  boyards ; 
and  pronounced  an  opinion  condemnatory 
of  princes  dividing  their  dominions  into 
appanages  for  their  sons.  The  wisdom  of 
his  conduct  was  soon  apparent:  Vladimir, 
his  chief  city^  became  worthy  of  being 
the  Russian  capital ;  Moscow,  a  town 
created  by  his  father,  rose  into  distinction ; 
and  a  portion  of  the  population  of  the  south 
was  attracted  to  his  dominions,  where  they 
sought  refuge  from  the  horrors  of  war  and 
confusion. 

Andrew  at  length,  lured  from  the  unam- 
bitious simplicity  of  his  early  life,  felt  en- 
couraged to  attempt  the  regeneration  and 
consolidation  of  Russia.     As  Kief  declined, 

31 


Andrew's  designs  and  death.]     HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1174. 


if' 

III 

if, 
7  4' 


Novgorod,  the  earliest  Russian  city,  rose  in 
prosperity.  It  had  recently  been  admitted 
into  the  Hanseatic  league,  and  was  become 
the  emporium  of  the  commerce  of  the  East. 
The  bravery  of  its  people  maintained  its 
independence,  while  the  extent  of  its  com- 
mercial transactions  was  a  fertile  source  of 
continually  increasing  wealth.  We  have 
now  to  record  what  must  be  regarded  as  a 
dark  stain  upon  the  character  of  Andrew. 
Influenced  by  a  base  jealousy  of  the  pros- 
perity of  Novgorod,  which  he  was  desirous 
should  not  eclipse  Vladimir,  the  capital  of 
his  principality,  he  collected  a  powerful 
army,  and  advanced  upon  the  former  city. 
The  motive  appears  an  insufficient  one,  but 
it  sprung  from  an  ambitious  self-love. 
Vladimir,  he  was  resolved,  should  be  the 
new  capital  of  Russia;  then  it  would  be 
identified  with  his  name  and  reputation, 
and  must  therefore  stand  unrivalled.  To 
have  raised  it  to  an  isolated  elevation  by 
securing  its  tranquillity,  extending  its  com- 
merce, encouraging  the  arts  practised  within 
it,  and  adorning  it  with  noble  buildings, 
would  have  been  a  lofty  way  of  accomplish- 
ing this  object;  to  weaken  and  humiliate 
a  prosperous  rival,  was  a  dastardly  and  vile 
one. 

His  first  expedition  against  Novgorod  ter- 
minated in  disgrace;  his  troops  were  op- 
posed by  the  citizens  with  great  intrepidity, 
and  hurled  back  from  the  gates  of  the  proud 
city.  Disappointed  in  not  being  able  to  smite 
the  powerful,  he  turned  his  arms  against 
the  weak,  and  led  his  beaten  soldiers  in 
an  attack  on  the  forlorn  city  of  Kief. 
Against  a  dispirited  foe  they  fought  brutally 
and  fiercely  enough,  and  the  city  was  taken 
by  storm  and  rendered  dependent  upon  this 
prince  of  yesterday,  who  had  achieved  vic- 
tory without  honour.  The  following  year 
he  again  led  an  enormous  army  against 
Novgorod,  and  was  again  defeated  by  its 
spirited  and  hardy  citizens  !  What  he  could 
not  win  from  them  by  force  of  arms,  he  had, 
however,  sufficient  address  to  acquire  by 
policy.  We  are  told  the  Novgorodians  saw 
the  advantages  of  the  system  he  proposed, 
and  consented  to  acknowledge  the  supre- 
macy of  a  prince  whose  principles  of  govern- 
ment seemed  calculated  to  bind  together 
the  now  severed  appanages  of  the  empire. 
We  must  confess  to  an  incredulity  that  any 
arguments  he  could  use  would  be  likely  to 
produce  so  remarkable  an  eflect.  Perhaps 
his  gold,  judiciously  administered  to  the 
chiefs  of  Novgorod,  removed  diflficulties  his 
32 


sword  could  not  hew  down.  However  this 
may  be,  he  was  now  acknowledged  as  occu- 
pying the  throne  of  the  grand  princedom. 

Andrew's  success  induced  him  to  depart 
still  further  from  the  moderation  and  wisdom 
of  his  youth,  and  to  push  forward  his  scheme 
of  consolidation  with  a  dangerous  rapidity. 
Great  works,  if  intended  for  endurance, 
must  not  be  suddenly  or  violently  accom- 
plished. That  which  is  hastily  constructed 
is  often  even  more  rapidly  demolished. 
Man,  the  most  highly  organised  of  animals, 
is  the  slowest  in  arriving  at  maturity ;  while 
it  is  computed  that  a  thousand  years  must 
elapse  before  the  soft  and  comparatively 
worthless  charcoal  becomes,  by  the  subtle 
chemistry  of  nature,  transmuted  into  the 
hard  and  dazzling  diamond.  Thus,  with 
governments  and  peoples,  unnaturally  hasty 
reforms  are  followed  by  an  inevitable  reac- 
tion, which  plunges  them  back  still  further 
into  the  darkness  from  which  an  effort  was 
made  to  emerge.  Andrew's  design  embraced 
the  subjection  of  every  independent  prince, 
each  of  whom  then  began  to  regard  him 
with  suspicion  and  hatred.  It  was  his  in- 
terest to  destrov  that  which  it  was  theirs  to 
maintain.  Each  prince  had  boyards  and 
troops  dependent  upon  him,  and  was  neces- 
sarily more  or  less  formidable.  One  princi- 
pality after  another  revolted  against  the 
authority  of  the  grand  prince;  and  the  people 
so  disliked  the  new  system,  that  they  were 
ever  ready  to  take  to  arms  at  the  call  of 
their  leaders. 

Andrew's  authority,  beyond  his  own  ap- 
panage, soon  extended  only  where  he  could 
enforce  it  with  his  sword.  Not  only  did  he 
refuse  districts  to  his  own  kindred,  but  even 
banished  some  of  them  for  their  resistance 
to  his  will.  His  authority  declined  ;  and  the 
troops  he  once  employed  to  reduce  refrac- 
tory princes,  were  now  occupied  in  fencing 
in  his  own  immediate  dominions  from  at- 
tack. Kief  and  Novgorod,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  weakness  of  the  man  who  had 
humbled  them,  declared  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  his  authority.  The  example  was 
followed  by  other  cities;  and  the  flame  of 
insurrection  at  last  made  its  appearance  in 
Andrew's  own  capital  of  Vladimir.  The 
result  may  be  conjectured:  in  1174,  six 
years  after  his  first  descent  upon  Novgorod, 
the  grand  prince  was  murdered  by  his  own 
subjects.  He  had  committed  the  common 
error  of  ambitious  princes — that  of  under- 
taking tasks  beyond  their  strength  to  ac- 
complish, and  then  urging   them   forward 


A.D.  1175—1220.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[anarchy  IX  RUSSIA. 


with   a   blind,  unreasoning   energy.      Had 
Andrew   possessed   the   integrity  and  self- 
denial  of  the  good  Vladimir  Monomachus, 
he  might  have  been  regarded  as  an  illustri- 
ous reformer.      But  he  lacked  the  patient 
perseverance   of    the   true    hero,    and     his 
efforts  were  corrupted  by  selfishness.     When 
he  thought  he  was  serving  his  country,  he 
was,  perhaps  unconsciously,  bent  on  exalting 
himself.     The  selfish  nature  does  not  recoir- 
nise  its  own  vice,  and  so  Andrew  might  not 
see  the  obstacle  that  lay  in  his  path.     The 
subordinate  princes  would  naturally  exclaim, 
'*  Who  is  this  man,  that  we  should  surrender 
our  rights  and  interests  to  him?'*     Neces- 
sarily, he  was  not  identical,  in  their  minds, 
with  Russia.     They  did  not  esteem  him  as 
essential  to  binding  up  the  wounds  of  the 
empire.     His  claim  to  the  grand  princedom 
was  only  a  usurped  one  ;  right  he  had  none. 
Any  other  powerful  prince  might  exclaim, 
"  Why  not  /  as  well  as  this  man  of  yester- 
day?"    If  Andrew  had  proposed  his  theory 
for   the  regeneration  of  the   country,  and 
offered,  at  a  convention  of  the  princes,  to 
support  it  in  the  person  of  another,  that 
would  have  been  the  act  of  a  hero.     As  it 
was,  he  resolved  on  beating  down,  with  an 
iron  hand,  all  opposition  to  a  plan  for  the 
execution  of  which  he  had  not  obtained  the 
consent  of  those  whose  interests  were  af- 
fected by  it — that  was  the  part  of  a  despot. 
In  the  hardness  of  a   selfish   and  wrong- 
headed   will,   he   adopted    the   least   noble 
course ;  and  the  harvest  he  reaped  was  the 
natural  fruit  of  the  seed  he  sowed.     Some 
writers  have  recorded  his  assassination  in 
the  language  of  pity :  we  waste  no  emotion 
on  any  such  event;    but  regard  it   as  the 
inevitable  result  of  natural  law^ ! 

The  successors  of  Andrew  abandoned  a 
design  at  once  so  difficult  and  unpopular. 
They  even  followed  the  old  practice  of  sub- 
dividing their  dominions,  and  thus  promoted 
the  impending  ruin  of  the  state.  The 
prince  who  first  succeeded  Andrew  parcelled 
out  the  dominions  of  Suzdal  into  inferior 
appanages  ;  the  next  permitted  a  dependent 
to  dispute  with  him  his  title  to  the  sove- 
reignty ;  while  the  third  released  the  tribu- 
tary princes  from  the  obligation  of  their 
recognition  of  his  power  as  their  superior 
lord,  and  declared  that  they  were  not  res- 
ponsible to  him,  but  only  accountable  for 
their  trusts  to  God. 

•  His  real  name  was  Temugin  ;  but  he  discarded 
it  when  barbarous  victories  over  opponents  had  con- 
ferred power  upon  him.     His  birth  was  noble ;  but,  in  I 
VOL.  T.  F 


The  Russian  empire  now  no  longer  ex- 
isted, and  anarchy  prevailed  throughout  the 
north  of  Europe.  Government,  commerce, 
and  civilisation  were  alike  becoming  rapidly 
extinct.  The  population  of  the  borders 
sought  the  protection  of  the  neighbouring 
states;  while  their  room  was  supplied  by 
the  barbarian  vagabondage  that  swept  over 
tracts  which  yielded  but  little  to  the  plun- 
derer. Russia  was  ripe  for  bondage,  and 
its  doom  was  at  hand. 

Ghengis,  or  Zingis  Khan,  whose  adopted 
name*  signified  the  "  most  great,"  and  who 
boasted  of  a  divine  right  to  the  conquest 
and  dominion  of  the  whole  earth,  having 
laid  Asia  at  his  feet,  now  turned  his  eyes 
upon  the   adjoining  continent   of  Europe. 
This   fearful    barbarian,  who,   according  to 
the  calculation  of  oriental  historians,  had 
destroyed  in  the  East  no  less  than  five  mil- 
lions of  human  beings,  was   the  son  of  a 
Mogul   chief,  who   reigned   over  thirty  or 
forty  thousand  families  of  shepherd-warriors. 
Ghengis,  by  the  aid  of  craft,  bravery,  and 
superstition,   contrived  to  get  himself  pro- 
claimed  Great   Khan,  or   emperor   of  the 
Moguls  and  Tartars.     As  the  savage  race 
who  followed  Ghengis  are  inseparably  inter- 
woven with  the  next  period  of  Russian  his- 
tory, we  will  quote  from  the  well-digested 
pages  of  Gibbon  a  sketch  of  these  scourges 
of  the  earth.     To  our  mind  the  colours  em- 
ployed  are   too   favourable    (the    historian, 
disgusted  with  the  vices  of  civilisation,  looked 
with  a  too  lenient  eye  upon  the  atrocities  of 
barbarism) ;  but  an  antidote  will  be  supplied 
to  this  error  by  the  subsequent  and  painful 
facts  we  have  to  relate. — ''  The  code  of  laws 
which  Zingis  dictated  to  his  subjects  was 
adopted   to   the   preservation    of    domestic 
peace,  and  the  exercise  of  foreign  hostihty. 
The  punishment  of  death  was  inflicted  on 
the  crimes  of  adultery,  murder,  perjury,  and 
the  capital  thefts  of  a  horse  or  ox  ;  and  the 
fiercest  of  men  were  mild  and  just  in  their 
intercourse  with  each  other.      The  future 
election  of  the  Great  Khan  was  vested  in  the 
princes  of  his  family  and  the  heads  of  the 
tribes;    and   the  regulations  of  the   chase 
were  essential  to  the  pleasures  and  plenty  of 
a  Tartar  camp.     The  victorious  nation  were 
held  sacred  from  all  servile  labours,  which 
were  abandoned   to  slaves   and   strangers ; 
and  every  labour  was  servile  except  the  pro- 
fession of  arms.     The  service  and  discipline 

the  pride  of  triumph,  he  or  his  people  declared  that 
his  seventh  ancestor  was  born  from  the  immaculate 
conception  of  a  virgin. 

33 


A.D.  1237.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


IXVASION  BY  THE  TARTARS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1221—1223. 


[great  tartar  ixvastox. 


iM, 


f  I 


of  the  troops,  who  were  armed  with  bows, 
scimitars,  and  iron  maces,  and  divided  by 
hundreds,  thousands,  and  ten  thousands, 
were  the  institutions  of  a  veteran  com- 
mander. Each  officer  and  soklier  was  made 
respo!isible,  under  puin  of  death,  for  the 
safety  and  honour  of  Iiis  companions ;  and 
tlie  spirit  of  conquest  breathed  in  the  law, 
that  peace  shouhl  never  be  jjjranted  unless 
to  a  vanquished  and  suppliant  enemy.  But 
it  is  the  rcli«i;ion  of  Zingis  that  best  deserves 
our  wonder  and  applause.*  The  catholic 
inquisitors  of  Europe  might  have  been  con- 
founded by  the  example  of  a  barbarian  who 
anticipated  the  lessons  of  philosophy,  and  es- 
tablished by  his  laws  a  system  of  pure  theism 
and  perfect  toleration.  His  first  and  only 
article  of  faith  was  the  existence  of  one  God, 
the  author  of  all  good  ;  who  fills  by  his  pre- 
sence the  heavens  and  the  earth,  which  he 
lias  created  by  his  power.  The  Tartars  and 
Moguls  were  addicted  to  the  idols  of  their 
pecuhar  tribes  ;  and  many  of  them  had  been 
converted  by  the  foreign  missionaries  to  the 
religions  of  Moses,  of  Mohammed,  and  of 
Christ.  These  various  systems,  in  freedom 
and  concord,  were  taught  and  practised 
within  the  precincts  of  the  same  camp;  and 
the  Bonze,  the  Iman,  the  Rabbi,  the  Nesto- 
rian,  and  the  Latin  priest,  enjoyed  the  same 
honourable  exemption  from  service  and 
tribute.  In  the  mosque  of  Bochara,  the  in- 
solent victor  might  trample  the  Koran 
under  his  horse*s  feet;  but  the  calm  legis- 
lator respected  the  prophets  and  pontiffs  of 
the  most  hostile  sect.  The  reason  of  Zingis 
was  not  informed  by  books  ;  the  khan  could 
neither  read  nor  write;  and,  except  the 
tribe  of  the  Ingours,  the  greatest  part  of  the 
!Mognls  and  Tartars  Avere  as  illiterate  as 
their  sovereign.  The  memory  of  their  ex- 
ploits were  preserved  by  tradition;  and  sixty- 
eight  years  after  the  death  of  Zingis,  these 
traditions  were  collected  and  transcribed." 

The  first  descent  of  the  Tartars  and  Mo- 
guls upon  Russia  took  place  in  1221  ;  but 
the  information  we  possess  concerning  it,  is 
both  meagre  and  contradictory.  It  was 
conducted  not  by  Ghengis  himself,  but  by 
a  son  of  that  formidable  barbarian,  named 
Joodgee  Khan.  The  invaders  made  them- 
selves masters  of  the    Caucasus,    the  rich 

•  Scarcely  so,  we  think,  if  it  is  to  be  estimated  by 
the  conduct  of  the  Mogul  conqueror  and  his  army  of 
butchers.  But  this  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
guided  by  any  bonds  of  religion  or  morality  ;  and  the 
historian  alludes  to  his  speculative  opinions.  Such 
men,  or  monsters,  as  Ghengis  Khan,  may  be  in- 

34 


valleys  of  the  river  Ural,  and  swept  over 
and  destroyed  many  Russian  towns  and 
villages.  After  this  they  retired,  leaving 
the  startled  Russians  astonished  at  the 
seemingly  almost  supernatural  visitation. 
It  was  not  until  1223  that  the  Tartars  again 
made  their  appearance.  Then,  traversing 
the  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  they  reached 
the  river  Dnieper,  and  subdued  the  Circas- 
sians who  dwelt  there.  The  latter  had 
united  with  the  Polovtzy,  for  the  sake  of 
opposing  their  common  enemy.  But  the 
Tartars,  whose  craft  was  nearly  equal  to 
their  ferocity,  separated  them  by  bribes, 
and  then  defeated  them  singly.  Had  Russia 
been  united  under  one  head,  it  might  have 
successfully  resisted  the  hordes  of  bar- 
barians that  fell  upon  it;  but  the  insane 
discord  of  its  princes  betrayed  their  country 
to  the  enemy.  Still  they  were  aroused  from 
their  apathy  by  alarm,  and  appear  to  have 
made  some  overtures  for  a  union,  for  their 
common  protection.  The  wily  Tartars,  who 
always  sought  rather  to  slaughter  their  vic- 
tims than  encounter  them  fairly,  resorted 
to  the  arts  of  intrigue,  to  prevent  the  junc- 
tion of  those  Russian  princes  whose  forces, 
taken  singly,  would  fall  by  their  swords  like 
ripe  wheat  before  the  sickle  of  the  reaper. 
With  this  treacherous  object,  they  even  sent 
ambassadors  into  Russia  with  instructions 
to  off'er  terms  of  alliance  and  friendship. 
These  barbarian  diplomatists  met  the  fate 
they  deserved,  though  its  infliction  was  ex- 
tremely impolitic.  The  Russian  princes 
saw  through  the  snare ;  and,  feeling  con- 
vinced that  the  enemy  was  not  to  be  bound 
by  oaths  and  treaties,  they,  in  a  moment  of 
exasperation,  put  the  Tartar  ambassadors 
to  death,  and  then  prepared  for  hostilities. 

The  act  was  both  a  crime  and  a  mistake. 
Unless  the  person  of  an  ambassador  is  held 
secure  from  injury  or  insult,  all  communi- 
cation between  hostile  forces  must  neces- 
sarily terminate.  These  murders  were,  more- 
over, a  serious  error,  because  they  gave 
the  Tartars  and  Moguls  an  excuse  for  the 
ravages  of  war  and  the  attempt  at  conquest. 
Even  in  this  hour  of  common  danger,  the 
Russian  princes,  though  both  their  country 
and  themselves  stood  on  the  verge  of  des- 
truction,   could   not   subdue   their    mutual 

fluenced  by  superstition,  but  can  scarcely  be  said 
to  possess  a  religion.  We  know  of  none — Pagan, 
Boodist,  Jewish,  Christian,  Mohammedan,  Deist,  or 
Pantheist — that  does  not  recognise  moral  duties  as  a 
sequel  to  religious  faith ;  necessarily  including  self- 
denial  and  forbearance. 


jealousies.  They  were  still  unwilling  to 
co-operate,  and  their  troops  were  for  the 
most  part  disorganised  and  worn  out  by 
domestic  contentions.  The  Tartars  were 
not  slow^  to  avail  themselves  of  this  advan- 
tage, and  the  Russians  were  defeated  with 
great  slaughter  on  the  banks  of  the  Kalka, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Don.  While  the 
forces  of  the  Prince  of  Galitsh  were  being 
thrown  into  confusion  and  beaten  down  by 
their  adversaries,  those  of  the  Prince  of  Kief 
stood  aloof,  and  looked  with  indiff'erence,  or 
with  secret  satisfaction,  at  the  carnage  which 
was  proceeding.  His  mahcious  and  idiotic 
gratification  w^as  of  very  brief  duration ;  the 
enemy  having  destroyed  his  rival,  soon 
trampled  him  and  his  forces  beneath  their 
victorious  feet.  After  the  battle,  the  Tar- 
tars entered  the  country,  and  ravaged  the 
whole  of  its  southern  side ;  and  then,  leaving 
it  a  desert,  withdrew  their  armies. 

Thirteen  years  elapsed  before  these  scourges 
of  humanity  reappeared.  During  this  period 
the  Russian  princes  remained  inactive,  and 
neglected  to  fortify  the  vulnerable  points  of 
approach,  or  to  concert  together  means  of 
defence  against  the  terrible  enemy  who 
might  at  any  time  return.  The  princes 
could  not  abandon  their  dissensions  ;  and 
the  people  in  the  border  districts  seemed 
passive  and  bewildered,  like  men  exposed  to 
a  fate  against  which  it  was  useless  to  struggle. 
Other  afflictions,  of  a  no  less  appalling  cha- 
racter, also  fell  upon  the  unhappy  land; 
and  a  famine,  a  plague,  and  an  earthquake, 
added  to  the  horrors  which  racked  it.  The 
measure  of  its  woe  seemed  full;  and  yet, 
even  in  these  times  of  terror  and  darkness, 
when  the  night  of  history  seemed  descending 
with  a  starless  and  profound  blackness  upon 
Russia,  and  the  grave  of  empires  seemed 
yawning  for  a  yet  infant  though  decrepid 
state,  a  greater  woe  was  to  come ! 

Batou,  a  grandson  of  Ghengis  Khan,  with 
a  force  said  to  consist  of  500,000  Tartars 
and  Moguls,  had  started  on  a  great  expedi- 
tion of  conquest  and  destruction,  bent  on 
accomplishing  what  the  family  of  Ghengis 
affected  to  consider  the  conquest  and 
punishment  of  the  whole  earth.  In  1237 
Batou  fell  upon  the  Bulgarians,  the  imme- 
diate neighbours  of  the  Russians,  who  natu- 
rally applied  to  the  latter  for  assistance. 
It  is  astonishing  that  it  was  not  granted  at 
whatever  sacrifice  !  Such,  however,  was 
the  fact;  a  selfish  policy  prevailed  in  the 
counsels  of  the  Russian  princes,  and  they 
declined  to  assist  the  Bulgarians.     Yet  the 


grand  prince  of  Vladimir,  in  this  time  of 
probable  national  extinction,  occupied  him- 
self in  adorning  the  churches,  bestowing 
alms  on  beggars,  and  purchasing  the  prayers 
of  monks.  So  buried  was  he  in  the  barren 
formularies  of  his  religion,  that  he  had  no 
time  for  the  performance  of  secular  duties. 

When  Batou  and  his  hordes  had  van- 
quished the  Bulgarians,  and  wasted  their 
country  with  fire  and  sword,  they  entered 
Russia.  The  latter  appeared  almost  too 
exhausted  for  resistance.  The  principality 
of  Riazan  fell  at  the  approach  of  the  Tartars; 
and,  in  many  places,  the  people  came  forth 
and  surrendered  themselves  to  the  invaders, 
in  the  hope  of  thus  obtaining  a  merciful 
treatment.  In  this  anticipation  they  were 
fatally  deceived.  The  brutal  habits,  and  the 
almost  entirely  carnivorous  diet  of  the  shep- 
herd-soldiers, had  closed  their  hearts  to  the 
approach  of  compassion.  The  sentiment  of 
pity  is  imperceptibly  weakened  by  the  sight 
and  practice  of  domestic  cruelty.  Those 
horrid  objects  which  are  disguised  by  the 
arts  of  European  refinement,  were  exhibited 
in  their  most  naked  and  disgusting  simpli- 
city in  the  tent  of  a  Tartar  shepherd.  The 
ox  or  the  sheep  were  slaughtered  by  the 
same  hand  from  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  receive  their  daily  food,  and  the  bleeding 
limbs  were  served,  with  very  little  prepara- 
tion, on  the  table  of  the  unfeeling  slaughter- 
man. As  the  wandering  habits  of  these 
hordes  did  not  permit  of  the  pursuit  of 
agricultural  arts,  their  food  consisted,  there- 
fore, almost  entirely  of  milk  and  of  flesh  in 
the  state  to  which  we  have  alluded.  Such 
a  diet,  and  a  life  spent  in  war,  gradually 
converted  the  natural  man  into  a  ferocious 
creature,  more  akin  to  the  brute  than  to  the 
human  race. 

We  are,  therefore,  prepared  to  believe 
that  much  cruelty  was  committed  by  the 
Tartars  on  the  submissive  people  who  sought 
to  win  their  pity.  Even  then,  reality  out- 
strips imagination.  Mercy  was  an  emotion 
unknown  to  the  Tartars;  and  they  com- 
mitted the  most  revolting  atrocities  on  men 
and  women,  age  and  infancy.  All  men 
capable  of  bearing  arms  were  butchered  in 
cold  blood,  and  young  girls  and  children 
were  tortured  before  the  eves  of  their 
agonised  parents.  Plunder,  violation,  and 
carnage  succeeded  each  other;  and  when  a 
town  or  village  had  been  rendered  little 
more  than  a  collection  of  open  sepulchres, 
the  Tartars  gave  the  houses  to  the  flames  or 
razed  them  to  the  earth.     They  only  re- 

35 


MMn 


ATROCITIES  OF  THE  TARTARS.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1238. 


quired  liunting-grounds.  They  dwelt  in 
rude  tents,  and  liad  no  need  of  cities  ;  there- 
fore they  would  not  spare  what  might  be- 
come the  nucleus  of  an  armed  population, 
and,  perhaps  in  time,  an  instrument  of  re- 
tribution. When  u!iable  to  o])tain  admis- 
sion into  a  fortified  town,  they  promised 
safety  to  the  inhabitants  if  they  would  sub- 
mit; and  when,  by  this  means,  they  had 
obtained  an  entrance,  they  immediately  vio- 
lated their  promises,  and  put  the  deceived 
Russians  to  death.  Indeed,  the  particulars 
of  their  progress  is  an  awful  catalogue  of  all 
that  is  wanton  and  revolting  in  crime ;  all 
that  is  appallingly  refined  in  cruelty.  One 
is  tempted — we  trust  not  irreverently — to 
wonder  that  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty  w^is 
not  aroused  to  manifest  itself  by  some 
miraculous  deed  of  retribution,  in  which 
the  destroying  angel  should  have  smitten 
dead  every  one  of  that  vast  horde  of  trea- 
cherous assassins  and  torturers  ! 

The  Prince  of  Riazan,  compelled  to  aban- 
don his  principality  to  the  ravages  of  the 
foe,  solicited  the  assistance   of  Yurv,    the 
grand  prince  of  Vladimir;  but  this  monk- 
like    simpleton    was    still    busy    painting 
churches,   testing  the   sound  of  bells,   and 
buying  tlie  prayers  of  his  retinue  of  priests 
with  gold.     Tiie  application  was  made   too 
late;    the    small   force    that   circumstances 
permitted  him  to  send  was  totally  iuadc- 
quatc  to  perform  the  gigantic  task  required 
at  their  hands.      The  unhappy  men  were 
massacred  by  the  Tartars,   and   Riazan  left 
in  flames.     Onward,  like  a  surging  torrent, 
went  the  dark  tide  of  invasion  and  murder. 
Town   after   town   fell  before  the  hosts  of 
human   fiends;    and   in   each   were   perpe- 
trated many  of  those  terrible  tragedies  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.     Soon  the 
country  was  laid  waste  up  to  the  very  gates 
of  the  citv  of  Vladimir.     Yurv,   finding  it 
necessary  now  to  adopt  some  stringent  mea- 
sures, and  being  utterly  unequal  to  the  task, 
confided   the  defence  of  the  city  to  one  of 
his  chieftains,    and   then   sought    his    own 
safety  by  retiring  to  a  fortified  camp  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Sit. 

The  inhabitants  of  Vladimir  had  lost  all 
confidence  in  themselves,  and  were  para- 
lysed with  fear  in  consequence  of  the  pre- 
sence of  Tartars  before  their  walls.  The 
officer  to  whom  the  command  of  the  city 
had  been  entrusted  shared  the  general  feel- 
ing of  dread;  and  the  inhabitants,  aban- 
doning themselves  to  terror,  neglected  all 


36 


rational  means  of  defence,  and,  crowding 
to  the  churches  and  the  sanctuaries,  pros- 
trated themselves  before  the  images  of  the 
saints,  and  implored  assistance.  Many, 
looking  upon  death  as  inevitable,  embraced 
some  holy  order,  and,  entering  the  cells  of 
some  house  devoted  to  the  services  of  reli- 
gion, resolved  to  die  at  least  in  the  exercise 
of  their  faith. 

The  Tartars  soon  discovered  the  abject 
state  of  their  victims,  whom  they   accord- 
ingly  despised  for  cowardice.     A  party  of 
them  having  s^aleJ  the  walls  almost  without 
resistance,  opened  the  gates  to  their  coun- 
trymen, who  rushed  in,  and,  with  an  almost 
incredible  thirst  for  blood,  slaughtered  every 
person  they  found.     It  is  actually  said,  that 
not    one    Russian    survived    the    massacre. 
Tlie  wife  and  two  sons  of  Yury  were  among 
the  victims;  the  former,  together  with  her 
attendant  ladies,   being   massacred   on  the 
steps  of  the  sacred  altar,  to  wliich  they  had 
fled  in  the  vain  hope  that  within  its  shadow 
they  would  be  secure  from  the  murderers. 
While  yet  reeking  with  the  blood  of  those 
whom  thev  had  slain  so  remorselesslv,  the 
Tartars  set  Vladimir  on  fire,  and  left  it  the 
mere  blackened  and  crumbling  skeleton  of  a 
city.     This  atrocity  was  perpetrated  in  the 
February  of  1238.     The   phlegmatic   Yury 
was  roused  at  last ;  but  it  was  now  too  late. 
He  awaited  the  Tartars  in  his  fortified  posi- 
tion, where,  early  in  the  following   month, 
he  Avas   attacked  by  overwhelming  forces, 
and  fought  bravely,  until  he  was   slain  in 
the  heat  of  the  battle.     His  scanty  band  of 
followers  were  annihilated  by  their  ruthless 
foes. 

After  a  brief  rest,  Batou  and  the  Tartar 
host  directed  their  steps  towards  Novgorod ; 
but,  when  within  sixty  miles  of  the   city, 
they   suddenly   halted    and   retraced   their 
steps.    Whether  the  climate  was  not  agree- 
able to  them,  or  they  were  wearied  with 
lon«r  marches  in  a  countrv  which  did  not 
repay  the   toil    of   conquest,    is   unknown. 
Many   of  the   Russians  attributed  the  de- 
liverance to  the  intercessions  of  their  fa-\ 
vourite  saints.     Certain,  however,  is  it,  that 
turning  their  backs  upon  Novgorod,  the}' 
abandoned  the  empire.     During  their  pro- 
gress they  had  destroyed  fourteen  fortified 
cities,  and  a  great  number  of  inferior  towns 
and  scattered  villages.     Those  whom  they 
put  to  death  have  been  so  variously  esti- 
mated, that  no  confidence  can  be  placed  in 
anv  of  the  statements. 


A.D.  1240—1242.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  golden  horde. 


CHAPTER  Vni. 

REAPPEARANCE  OF  THE  TARTARS  ;  AFTER  DESOLATING  A  PART  OF  RUSSIA,  THEY  CARRY  THEIR  ARMS  INTO 
POLAND  AND  HUNGARY  ;  THEY  RETURN  TO  RUSSIA,  WHERE  THEIR  CHIEF,  BATOU,  ESTABLISHES*  A  GOV- 
ERNMENT ON  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  VOLGA,  UNDER  THE  NAME  OF  THE  GOLDEN  HORDE-  THE  T4RT\R 
POLICY;  MEANNESS  AND  WEAKNESS  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  PRINCES;  RISE  OF  ALEXANDER  NEVSKY  ■  RESIST- 
ANCE TO  THE  TARTAR  TAX-GATHERERS  ;   DEATH  OF  ALEXANDER;  EXECUTION  OF  THE  GRiND  PRINCE 


The  respite  of  the  unhappy  people  of  Russia 
was  but  a  brief  one.     Early  in  1240,  Batou 
and  his  Tartar  hordes  again  made  their  ap- 
pearance.    Such  was  the  terror  with  which 
they  were   regarded,   that   the  inhabitants 
fled  at  their  approach,  and  sought  for  safety 
in  hiding-places  and  remote  retreats.     Batou 
passed  through  a  solitude  of  deserted  towns 
and  villages;  and  his  fierce  barbarians,  dis- 
appointed in  their  thirst  for  blood,  gave  the 
silent  habitations  to  the  flames.    The  fortress 
of  Kief,  which  was  strongly  built  and  well 
garrisoned,  resisted  the  invaders  for  a  time. 
It    was   defended   by   a  fearless   and   expe- 
rienced oflficer,  who  repelled  the  first  assaults 
of  the  Tartars  with  great  intrepidity.     But 
the  contest  was  too  unequal  for  contfnuance, 
and  their  number  too  great  to  be  long  with- 
stood.    With  one  tremendous  assault  they 
broke  through  the  defences;    and,   having 
obtained  an  entrance  into  the  city,   com- 
menced their  usual  work   of  slaughter  and 
destruction.     Having  reduced  Kief  to  heaps 
of  blackened  and  smouldering  ruins,  between 
which  stood  the  charred  walls  of  palaces  and 
churches,  they  deliberated  upon  some  more 
than  usually  cruel  way  of  putting  to  death 
the  Russian  officer  who  had  resisted  them. 
Yet  such    was   the 'dignified    and    fearless 
bearing  of  this  man,  that  it  won   respect 
even  from  the  barbarian  Batou;  Mho  spared 
his  life,  and  even  admitted  him  to  his  confi- 
dence.     The    Russian   represented    to   the 
Tartar  chieftain,  that   the   country  was   so 
impoverished  that  scarcely  anything  was  to 
be   gained   by   a   prosecution   of  the   war. 
With  a  view  of  getting  rid  of  the  aggressor, 
he  also  pointed  out  Poland  and  Hungary, 
which  had  been  accumulating  wealth  during 
a  long  interval  of  comparative  repose,   as 
fields  w^here  far  more  abundant  spoil  could 
be  obtained. 

Batou  was  convinced;  and,  abandoning 
Kief,  he  and  his  vast  army  forced  a  passage 
into  Poland.  Its  king,  Boleslas  V.,  struck 
with  terror,  fled  into  Hungary ;  and,  when 
danger  approached  that  country,  retreated 


to  a  monastery  in  the  heart  of  Moravia. 
Poland,  rent  by  domestic  factions,  became 
an  easy  prey  to  the  invaders.  Its  towns 
were  taken  and  destroyed ;  its  rivers  stained 
with  the  blood  of  its  people;  and  its  fields 
desolated.  Some  of  the  Polish  nobles  made 
a  resolute  stand,  but  they  were  crushed  by 
the  overwhelming  numbers  of  their  foes. 
After  the  battle  of  Lignitz,  in  which  the 
dukes  of  Silesia,  the  Polish  palatines,  and 
the  Teutonic  knights  were  defeated,  the 
Tartars  filled  nine  sacks  with  the  right  ears 
of  the  slain.  Thence  the  mighty  tide  of 
barbarism  rolled  forward  into  Hungary, 
which  fell  before  their  fury;  cities  and 
towns  were  given  to  the  flames,  and  the  soil 
whitened  by  the  bones  of  its  inhabitants. 
Such  was  the  savage  insolence  of  the  Tartars, 
that  they  assigned  but  eighteen  years  for 
the  conquest  of  Europe  !  The  Roman  pon- 
tiflf  made  an  attempt  to  soften  and  convert 
these  barbarians  by  a  mission  of  Franciscan 
and  Dominican  friars;  but  Batou  fiercely 
replied,  that  the  sons  of  God  and  of  Ghengi*s 
were  invested  with  a  divine  power  to  subdue 
or  extirpate  the  nations,  and  that  the  pope 
would  be  involved  in  the  universal  destruc- 
tion, unless  he  visited  in  person,  and  as  a 
su])pliant,  the  royal  Horde. 

On  his  return  from  Poland  and  Hungary, 
Batou  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Volga.  Having  declared  himself  indepen- 
dent of  the  parent  authority,  he  here  estab- 
lished the  empire  of  the  khans  of  Kapts- 
chak,  or  the  Golden  Horde;  a  name  derived 
from  the  gorgeous  tapestry  and  sumptuous 
appearance  of  the  tent  of  the  Tartar  prince. 
Russia,  as  an  independent  state,  no  longer 
existed ;  all  its  principalities  were  subjected 
to  the  iron  supremacy  of  the  Tartar  khan. 
The  Russian  princes  could  only  purchase 
peace  by  a  humble  attendance,  with  tribute, 
at  the  Golden  Horde,  where  they  were  also 
compelled  to  submit  to  ceremonies  of  the 
most  humiliating  kind.  The  Horde,  form- 
ing but  one  of  five  divisions  of  the  empire 
of  the  Mogul  Tartars,  derived  its  subsistence 

37 


y 


POLICY  OF  THE  TARTARS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1243. 


from  the  revenues  it  extorted  from  tlie  Rus- 
sians. Its  power,  as  will  be  seen,  ^vas  pre- 
served by  a  mixture  of  craft  and  cruelty. 

It  was  part  of  the  Tartar  policy  to  weaken 
and  humiliate  the  Russian  princes,  probably 
that    no    patriot   should   arise   froni   among 
them  and  succeed  in  throwing  off  the  op- 
])ressive  yoke  they  were  made  to  bear.     The 
Russian  people  had  been  reduced  to  such  a 
state  of  national  prostration,  that  they  were 
no    longer   able   to   drive   back   the    border 
nations,   who   at  intervals   poured   in   upon 
their  desolated  districts;  and,  in  their  misery, 
they  were   comi)elled   to  look   even  to   the 
khan  for  protection  from  the  Lithuanians, 
the  Swedes,  the  Livonians,  the  Poles,  and 
the  Hungarians.     The  Tartars,  also,  encou- 
raged that  tendency  to  religious  observances 
which  despair  had  engendered  in  the  Rus- 
sian people.     This  they  did  w  ith  the  subtle 
intention   of  gradually  weaning   the   latter 
from  warlike  habits,  and  making  them  sub- 
rait  i)assively  to  the  exactions  of  a  grinding 
and  insulting  tyranny.    With  this  view  tliey 
conferred  honours  on  the  church,   and  in- 
creased its  revenues,  while  they  used  it  as 
an  instrument  for  effeminating  the  people. 
So  far  did  they  carry  this  assumed  respect, 
that    they   condescended    to    listen    to   the 
petitions    of    metropolitans    and     bishops: 
while  similar  applications,   on  the  part  of 
princes,  were  disdainfully  rejected.     Sacri- 
lege they  punished  with  death ;  and  they 
released  the  ecclesiastical  domains  from  the 
payment  of  taxes,  either  to  themselves  or  to 
the  native  princes.     The  influence  of  the 
church   thus  became  very   great;    the   dis- 
lieartened    Russian    nobles    retired   to   its 
cloisters  to  spend  the  close  of  their  lives, 
and  enriched  its  revenues   with   their  pro- 
perty.     A   pious   resignation    to    calamity 
became  general :  Russians  acquired  a  habit 
of  leaving  their   property   to    the   church; 
while  numbers  of  the  wealthy  devoted  their 
means   to  the  erection  of  religious  houses ; 
so  that,  eventually,  it  came  to  be  observed, 
that  more  churches  and  monasteries  were 
built  during  the  sway  of  the  Tartars  than  at 
any  other  period  of  Russian  history.     In  no 
other  point  of  domestic  government  did  the 
Tartars  think  it  worth  their  while  to  inter- 
fere.    They  were  satisfied  with  having  de- 
graded the  princes  by  an  inordinate  patron- 
age of    the   church,   and  of    reducing   the 
former  to  puppets ;  while  the  latter,  seem- 
ingly honoured  as  it  was,  only  existed  by 
their  forbearance. 

Russia  had  still  a  grand  prince,  although 
38 


his  dignity  was  but  a  name,  and  his  autho- 
rity a  delusion.     This  was  Yaroslaf,  who,  on 
the  death  of  his  brother  Yury,  had  resigned 
Novgorod  to  his  son,  and  taken  possession 
of  the  principality  and  ruined  city  of  Vladi- 
mir.      Though    the    empty    title    of  grand 
prince  attached  to  this  locality,  yet  Yaroslaf 
could  not  obtain  permission  to  assume  it, 
without  first  paying  a  large  sum  to  the  ava- 
ricious   Baton/     By    the    means   of  lavisli 
bribes    he     obtained    the    indulgence    he 
sought,   and  was  nominated  grand  prince, 
on  condition  that  he  acknowledged  the  khan 
of  Kaptschak   as  his   feudal  lord,   and  the 
supreme  or   head  khan    of  all    the   Tartar 
hordes  as  his  sovereign  in  chief.     His  hol- 
low dignity  only  provoked  the  jealousy   of 
his    fellow-princes,    who,    irritated    at    his 
selfishness,  refused  to  acknowledge  his  sove- 
reignty.    They  would  even  have  made  war 
upon  him,  but  that  they  feared  he  would  be 
supported  by  the  power  of  the  khan.     Sooner 
than  acknowledge  the  paramount  authority 
of  Yaroslaf,  the  i)rinces  voluntarily  tendered 
their  obedience  to  the  Tartars  !     The  word 
of  the  khan  settled  all  disputes  as  to  terri- 
tory and  other  matters,  and  from  his  deci- 
sion   there    was   no   appeal.      Each    prince 
strove  to  win  the  favour  of  the  Tartar  chief 
by  bribes ;  and  all  of  them  earned  his  con- 
tempt, by  their  base  endeavours  to  induce 
him  to  place  them  in  the  scat  of  the  grand 
princedom  instead  of  Yaroslaf.     It  is  impos- 
sible to  bestow  even  a  passing  thought  of  pity 
upon  these  unprincipled  men,  whose  insolent 
despotism  and  cruelty  in  prosperity,  was  only 
to  be  equalled  by  their  abject  humility  and 
greediness  in  adversity.     Not  one  of  them 
seems  to  have  been  actuated  by  an  active 
sense  of  patriotism ;   country  to  them  was 
but  as  the  quivering  carcase  whose  scarcely 
lifeless  limbs  are  torn  asunder  by  a  horde  of 
wolves.     National  spirit  seemed  for  a  time 
extinct  in  the  Russian  princes  and  nobles; 
the   highest   dignity  of  manhood   appeared 
crushed  beneath  the  starless  darkness  of  a 
stifling  tyranny ;  and,  for  a  while,  nothing 
remained  but  the  meanness  of  abject  minds 
and  the  weakness  of  helpless  ones. 

The  terrible  desolation  inflicted  by  the 
Tartars  had  caused  the  little  land  that  had 
been  placed  under  cultivation  to  remain  a 
desert ;  and  now  a  series  of  famines  added  to 
the  calamities  of  the  people.  Border  nations 
also  proceeded  to  appropriate  to  themselves 
portions  of  the  territory  of  a  people  who 
seemed  incapable  of  defending  themselves. 
Amongst  these  ungenerous  foes  who  warred 


A.D.  1244—1256.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[alexandp:r  neysky. 


upon  misery,  w^ere  the  Swedes,  Danes,  and 
Livonians,  who  made  preparations  for  a 
descent  upon  Novgorod.  »  This  ancient  city 
had  not  been  reached  by  the  Tartars,  and 
had  suffered  comparatively  little  from  the 
calamities  that  had  fallen  on  the  rest  of 
Russia.  Something  of  the  ancient  spirit 
yet  remained  among  its  people ;  and  at  the 
call  of  their  prince,  Alexander,  they  prepared 
to  resist  the  march  of  the  intruders.  All 
difficult  emergencies  require  men  of  decision 
and  stren^h  of  character  to  grapple  with 
them.  Alexander  was  a  man  of  this  kind. 
Without  waiting  for  an  assistance  which  the 
grand  prince  was  unable  to  afford,  he  col- 
lected an  army,  and,  marching  out  of  the 
city,  met  his  advancing  foes  on  the  banks 
of  the  Neva,  where,  after  a  fierce  contest,  he 
gained  a  decisive  victory.  Erecting  strong 
forts  on  the  spot  to  check  future  aggression, 
he  returned  in  triumph  to  Novgorod,  where 
his  delighted  people  bestowed  upon  him  the 
name  of  Nevskv,  in  commemoration  of  his 
victory  on  the  banks  of  the  Neva. 

Alexander  Nevsky  was  but  in  the  early 
summer  of  life,  and  consequently  easily  ac- 
cessible to  the  dangerous  promptings  of 
ambition.  The  attachment  evinced  towards 
him  by  his  army,  and  the  honours  offered 
by  his  people,  made  him  desirous  of  extend- 
ing his  dominions.  Novgorod,  though  gov- 
erned by  a  prince,  still  retained  much  of  its 
original  republican  character  and  mode  of 
administration.  Its  citizens  enjoyed  a 
proud  exclusiveness.  They  had  a  strong 
antipathy  to  be  mixed  with  the  people  of 
neighbouring  principalities,  and  being  also 
apprehensive  that  their  prince  might  abuse 
his  advantages,  they  vehemently  opposed  his 
design  of  territorial  extension.  Finding 
their  remonstrances  disregarded,  they  at 
length  broke  into  open  rebellion,  and  Alex- 
ander retired  in  disgust  from  the  city,  and 
proceeded  to  Novgorod,  where  he  begtjed 
from  his  father  a  sufficient  force  to  enable 
him  to  chastise  his  refractory  subjects. 
Yaroslaf  wisely  refused  the  mad  request,  and 
appointing  another  of  his  sons  to  rule  over 
Novgorod,  conferred  upon  Alexander  the 
inferior  principality  of  Pereislaf. 

This  state  of  things  did  not  last  long. 
The  new  prince  soon  demonstrated  his  in- 
capability of  defending  Novgorod  from  those 
attacks  which  were  encouraged  by  the 
absence  of  Alexander.  The  citizens  im- 
plored the  latter  to  return  to  them  and 
resume  the  reins  of  government.  At  first 
he  refused  indignantly;  but  he  yielded  to 


the  entreaties  of  a  second  deputation. 
Taking  up  arms,  he  was  again  victorious 
against  the  invaders  of  his  country,  whom 
he  assailed  in  their  turn,  and  defeated  them 
so  decisively  that  his  reputation  spread 
throughout  Russia,  and  even  elicited  the 
real  or  assumed  approbation  of  the  Golden 
Horde. 

Yaroslaf,  the  titular  grand  prince  of 
Russia,  went  to  an  inglorious  tomb  in  1246, 
on  which  occasion  the  Tartar  khan  sum- 
moned Alexander  to  make  his  appearance 
at  the  Golden  Horde.  The  young  soldier 
obeyed ;  and  there  he  met  many  of  the  Rus- 
sian princes,  contending  against  each  other 
with  valuable  offerings  for  the  favour  of  the 
khan,  and  each  hoping  to  obtain  from  him 
the  empty  dignity  of  grand  prince.  Alex- 
ander would  not  solicit  a  title  to  which  he 
felt  he  had  a  right  not  possessed  by  any  of 
the  selfish  triflers  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
rounded. His  frank  and  fearless  manner 
elicited  the  admiration  of  the  khan,  who 
treated  him  with  unusual  respect.  But 
the  Tartar  chief  was  anxious  to  show  his 
power,  and  to  keep  the  order  of  succession 
to  the  grand  princedom  in  a  state  of  uncer- 
tainty ;  therefore  it  was  not  until  Alexander 
made  a  second  journey  to  the  Golden 
Horde,  in  1252,  that  that  dignity  was  con- 
ferred upon  him. 

On  attaining  this  new  title,  Alexander 
led  an  expedition  into  Sweden,  chiefly  with 
the  object  of  inflicting  chastisement  upon  a 
foe  who  seemed  ever  ready  to  harass  his 
frontier  districts.  Success  attended  his 
arms,  and  he  returned  home  laden  with 
prisoners,  spoil,  and  trophies.  Such  was  his 
military  talent  that,  added  to  the  favourable 
impression  he  had  made  upon  the  khan,  it 
raised  the  grand  princedom  to  an  actual 
dignity.  When  dissensions  arose  amongst 
the  princes,  and  they  sought  the  adjudica- 
tion of  the  khan,  he  either  referred  the 
adjustment  of  their  differences  to  Alexander, 
or  confiscated  their  dominions  and  annexed 
them  to  the  grand  princedom.  The  princes 
of  Kief  and  Vladimir,  probably  influenced 
by  some  agents  of  the  pope,  signified  their 
submission  to  that  potentate,  and  their 
adoption  of  the  Roman  religion.  This 
fickleness  was  offensive  to  the  khan,  who 
patronised  the  Greek  church;  and,  in  his 
anger,  immediately  deprived  them  of  their 
territories,  which,  also,  he  bestowed  upon 
the  favoured  grand  prince. 

Hitherto  the  khan  had  been  satisfied  by 
receiving  from  each  of  the  princes  a  large 

39 


jiffl.- 


alexa:<der*s  career  and  death.]    HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1256—1264. 


sum  as  tribute  money,  which  he  left  them 
to  collect  from  their  subjects  in  the  way 
most  in  consonance  with  their  feelings. 
Now,  however,  he  adopted  a  more  strin- 
gent metliod,  and  appointed  Tartar  offi- 
cers to  collect  a  tax  imposed  upon  every 
Russian  according  to  his  means,  with  the 
exception  of  the  clergy.  This  burden,  in 
the  shape  of  direct  taxation  by  a  foreign 
power,  was  heavily  felt,  and  produced  great 
discontent  among  the  people.  The  Tartar 
tax-gatherers  were  regarded  with  aversion, 
and,  in  some  places,  even  received  with 
execration.  Resistance  produced  increased 
severity  on  their  part.  A  spirit  of  opposi- 
tion led  to  one  of  insurrection,  in  which  the 
citizens  of  Novgorod  took  the  lead  by  re- 
fusing to  pay  the  tax,  and  threatened  with 
death  those  who  were  appointed  to  collect 
it.  The  city  was  now  governed  by  one  of 
Alexander's  sons,  who  sanctioned  this  out- 
break of  popular  feeling.  The  grand  prince, 
knowing  that  neither  the  people  of  Nov- 
gorod, nor  those  of  any  other  part  of  the 
Russian  dominions,  were  able  to  resist  the 
power  of  the  khan,  hurried  to  Novgorod  to 
appease  the  tumult.  Rebuking  the  citizens 
for  having  perilled  the  safety  of  the  country, 
he  punished  the  advisers  of  his  son,  and  ar- 
ranged the  payment  of  the  tax,  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  Tartar  collectors.  Still  the 
people  were  discontented,  on  account  of  the 
inequality  of  the  tax ;  nor  could  Alexander 
pacify  them,  until  he  personally  undertook 
the  responsibility  of  the  payment. 

Novgorod  was  no  sooner  tranquillised 
than  the  spirit  of  resistance  broke  out  else- 
where. The  despotic  insolence  of  the  Tartar 
tax-gatherers  provoked  retaliation  from  the 
Russians,  who  sometimes  drove  them  from 
their  cities,  and  at  others  put  them  to  death. 
Such  events  necessarily  came  to  the  ears  of 
the  khan,  who  resolved  on  at  once  crushing 
the  insubordination  by  a  terrible  example. 
To  accomplish  his  vengeance,  he  craftily 
summoned  all  the  Russian  princes  to  appear 
before  him  at  the  head  of  their  troops,  say- 
'  ing  that  he  required  their  aid  for  a  distant 
campaign  he  was  about  to  undertake.  His 
real  object  was  to  sweep  over  the  land  with 
his  barbarians,  during  the  absence  of  its 
armed  population.  Alexander  detected  the 
treachery,  and  he  resolved  to  go  alone  to 
the  Horde,  and,  at  the  risk  of  exciting  the 
anger  of  the  khan,  endeavour  to  avert  his 
vengeance.  On  arriving  there,  he  was 
treated  with  great  contumely  by  the  Tartar 
chieftains.  Persevering  in  his  patriotic  en- 
40 


deavours,  he  remained  a  whole  year  at  the 
Horde,  before  he  was  able  to  appease  the 
wrath  of  the  khan.     Then  he  was  allowed 
to  return  home,   with  a  promise  that  the 
Tartar  prince  would  forgive  the  insubordi- 
nation of  the    Russians,  and  abandon  his 
designs  of  vengeance.     He  set  out  on  his  re- 
turn to  his  dominions  in   the   year   1264; 
but  he  had  not  proceeded  far  before  he  ex- 
pired suddenly  upon  the  road.     His  death 
is  attributed  to  poison,  administered  by  the 
Tartars,    who   had    become  jeal^s    of  the 
great   influence   he   had  acquired  over  his 
countrymen.     The  Tartars,  in  dealing  with 
their    enemies,   recognised    no    obligations 
either    of    honour,    religion,    or    humanity. 
They  were  butchers  in  practice,  Jesuits  in 
principle,  and  resorted  to  the  profoundest 
dissimulation  in  cases  where  they  deemed 
open  violence  to  be  injudicious  or  danger- 
ous.    On  subsequent  occasions,  also,  they 
administered  poison  to  some  of  the  Russian 
princes  whom  they  wished  to  remove.      A 
modern  writer  has  acutely  observed  of  these 
Tartar  oppressors,  that  "  the  system  of  open 
outrage  had  been  gradually  abandoned  as 
the  sphere  of  their  settled  possessions  be- 
came determined.     The  excuse  for  putting 
the  vassal  princes  to  death,  which  a  war  of 
extermination   yielded,  no   longer  existed ; 
and  they  could  not  hope  to  maintain  their 
authority  in   Russia  without  an  enormous 
expenditure  of  blood,  and  an  incessant  ap- 
peal to  arms,  unless  they  observed  some  ex- 
ternal  respect   for    the   forms    of   justice. 
Other    causes,    too,    had   imperceptibly  di- 
minished the   passion  for  slaughter  which 
marked   their  predatory  mode  of  life.     A 
love  of  luxury  was  springing  up  amongst 
them.     The  change  from  a  roving,  maraud- 
ing, and  wild  state,  to  that  of  permanent 
location,  brought  with  it  a  corresponding 
desire  for  ease,  and  a  cultivation  of  luxu- 
rious habits.     Public  breaches  of  good  faith 
would   have  been  attended  with  vexatious 
consequences  and  endless  disturbance;  and 
it  is  likely  that,  in  such  a  frame  of  mind, 
the  Tartars  preferred  the  secret  assassina- 
tion, which  entailed  no  results,  to  the  open 
murder  of  the  Russian  princes,  which  must 
have  produced  an  attempt  at  retaliation.'^ 

To  the  memory  of  Alexander  Nevskv 
must  be  accorded  the  painful  honour,  that 
he  was  the  only  distinguished  Russian 
patriot  of  his  time.  Amongst  a  crowd  of 
worthless  princes  he  stands  alone,  as  a  man 
who  often  risked,  and  finally  lost  his  life,  in 
an  endeavour  to  raise  the  depressed  energies 


A.D.  1264—1319.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [depressed  state  of  rdssia. 


of  his  country.  A  wise  statesman,  and  a 
gifted  soldier,  his  rule  was  distinguished 
alike  by  victories  abroad  and  improvements 
at  home.  Had  the  jealousy  of  the  Russian 
princes  permitted  them  to  acknowledge  him 
as  their  superior  sovereign,  and  to  serve 
under  his  command  with  all  the  forces  they 
could  raise,  the  oppressive  sway  of  the  Tar- 
tars might  have  been  broken,  and  the  inde- 
pendence of  Russia  restored.  But  the  petty 
dissensions  of  a  class  which  had  brought 
upon  the  country  the  curse  of  a  foreign 
yoke,  now  prevented  it  from  rising  from  the 
dust,  and  again  taking  its  place  among  the 
nations.  Alexander,  however,  was  deeply 
mourned  by  tiie  people,  who  felt  that  a 
great  one  had  departed  from  them.  So 
impressed  were  men's  minds  with  his  death, 
that  supernatural  events  were  believed  to 
have  accompanied  it.  It  was  said,  that  the 
approaching  decease  of  the  grand  prince 
was  announced  to  the  metropolitan  by  a 
voice  from  heaven;  and  that,  while  the bod}^ 
lay  in  the  coffin,  the  dead  man  opened  one 
of  his  hands  as  the  prayer  of  absolution  was 
spoken  over  him.  Such  narrations,  false 
and  puerile  as  they  may  seem  to  us,  are  not 
to  be  regarded  as  idle  inventions.  In  times 
of  national  calamiry,  marvellous  tales  arise 
from  the  mind-mists  of  popular  superstition 
and  ignorance,  as  new  and  strange  births 
are  supposed  to  have  done  from  the  reeking 
slime  of  an  infant  world.  The  circum- 
stances attending  Alexander's  death,  neces- 
sarily caused  him  to  be  canonised  as  a  saint. 
Centuries  later,  when  Tartar  oppression  had 
faded  into  a  dim  tradition  among  the  masses 
of  the  Russian  people — when  the  empire  was 
born  anew  under  the  gifted  Peter  the  Great, 
that  monarch  erected  a  monastery  to  the 
memory  of  Alexander,  and  caused  his  relics 
to  be  removed,  with  much  devotional  cere- 
mony, to  St.  Petersburg.  His  name  was 
further  honoured  by  being  connected  with  a 
new  order  of  knighthood,  which  compre- 
hended some  of  the  monarchs  of  Europe 
among  its  members. 

Once  again  Russia,  during  the  period  of 
its  darkness,  was  without  a  single  star  which 
might  serve  for  guidance  and  for  hope.  AVe 
have  no  glimpses  of  the  people;  who,  per- 
haps, despised  and  disregarded,  may  still 
have  been,  for  the  most  part,  exempt  from 
those  terrors  and  suff'erings  which  fell  upon 
them  in  the  advent  of  the  Tartar  bondage. 
Rut  the  princes  presented  the  same  paltry 
-spectacle  as  ever.  Each  neglectfnl  of  his 
own  snbjects,  and  perfectly  oblivious  of  the 

VOL.  I.  G 


duties  attaching  to  his  station,  was  fighting 
or  intriguing  for  the  shadowy  honour  ot 
the  grand  princedom.  This  internal  confu- 
sion was  increased  bv  a  division  which  arose 
among  the  Tartars.  Nogay,  a  powerful 
chieftain,  declared  himself  independent  of 
the  khan  of  Kaptschak,  or  the  Golden 
Horde ;  and  setting  up  his  sovereignty  in  the 
southern  provinces,  contended  with  his  rival 
for  the  tribute,  or  rather  taxes,  of  the  Rus- 
sians. Here  was  a  great  opportunity  for 
the  princes  of  the  latter  people;  for,  by 
united  action,  they  might  have  aided  one 
division  of  the  Tartars  to  exterminate  the 
other,  and  then  have  turned  their  arms  un- 
expectedly against  those  who  remained. 
Instead  of  this,  the  princes  paid  court  to 
whichsoever  ol)tained  an  ascendancy  for  the 
time,  and  thus  incurred  the  anger  of  the 
other  when  his  day  of  power  came. 

Constant  dissensions  so  enfeebled  the 
Russian  princes,  that  at  length  most  of 
them  fell  into  obscurity,  and  the  struggle 
for  the  grand  princedom  lay  between  tw  o  of 
them  only — the  princes  Michael  of  Twer  ana 
Yury  of  Moscow ;  the  latter  city  having 
been  rebuilt,  and  erected  into  a  separate 
appanage,  since  it  had  been  destroyed  by 
the  Tartars.  Yury,  as  the  weakest,  must 
probably  have  submitted,  but  that  he  ha(i 
the  address  so  to  insinuate  himself  into  the 
favour  of  the  reigning  khan,  Usbek,  as  to 
gain  the  hand  of  the  sister  of  the  Tartar  in 
marriage.  This  connection — a  closer  one 
than  had  hitherto  existed  between  the  Rus- 
sians and  their  masters — encouraged  Yurv 
to  make  war  upon  Michael,  who  had  as- 
sumed the  title  of  grand  prince.  A  battle 
followed,  in  which  Yury  was  defeated,  and 
his  new-made  wife,  the  Tartar  princess, 
taken  prisoner.  The  unfortunate  lady  soon 
after  expired  at  Twer,  under  circumstances 
that  led  to  the  suspicion  that  her  death  was 
the  result  of  violence.  Yurv  accused  Mi- 
chael  of  having  poisoned  the  princess,  and 
Usbek-Khan  summoned  the  victor  to  the 
Golden  Horde,  to  answer  to  the  crime  laid 
to  his  charge. 

It  is  generally  assumed  that  the  accusa- 
tion was  a  calumny,  or,  at  least,  that  if  the 
Tartar  princess  did  come  unfairly  by  her 
death,  vet  that  Michael  was  innocent  of  the 
crime.  Distrustful  of  the  intentions  of  the 
khan  towards  him,  the  prince  sent  one  of 
his  sons  to  the  latter  to  assure  him  of  his 
devotion,  and  to  explain  the  malignant 
motives  of  the  Prince  of  Twer.  The  khan 
was  not  to  be  appeased,  and  insisted  on  the 

41 


y\ 


I 


EXECUTION  OF  MICHAEL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.p.  1319—1339. 


•r 


A.D.  1339—1341.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[iVAN  KALITA. 


personal  appearance  of  the  grand  prince  to 
meet   the  charge.     After   some  hesitati^on, 
Michael  departed,  conscious  of  his  inability 
to  resist  the  will  of  the   oppressor  of  his 
country.     With  a  presentiment  of  coming 
evil,  he  made  his  will  before  he  started  on 
his  journey  to  the  Horde,  and  carried  with 
him  rich  presents,  by  which  to  modify  the 
anger   of  his   self-constituted  judge.     The 
implacable  Yury  had  been  there  before,  and 
striven   to   prejudice  the  Tartar  chieftains 
against  his  own  countryman.      A  court  was 
formed— the  Tartar  general  who  had  been 
defeated  by  Micliacl  was  at  its  head,  and 
Yury  was  the  accuser.     Under  such  circum- 
stances, the  trial  which  followed  was  a  judi- 
cial mockery ;  and  a  grand  prince  of  Russia 
was  sentenced  to  death  by  a  foreign  court ! 
Such  a  proceeding  was  a  startling  one  ;  and 
even  Usbek-Khan  hesitated  before  carrying 
it   to  extremities.     Either   to  satisfy   some 
scruples  that  might  have  arisen  in  his  seared 
mind,  or  to  make  an  idle  parade  of  pretended 
justice,  he  ordered  the  case  to  be  again  tried 
before  a  new  court.     The  same  spirit  per- 
vaded both,  and  the  same  result  followed. 
Michael  was  kept  in  chains   for    five-and- 
twenty  days,  during   which   his    sons    and 
friends  were  permitted  to  visit  him ;  and  he 
then   suffered   death    at   the    hands   of  the 
headsman.    This  insulting  exercise,  or  rather 
abuse,  of  Tartar  authority  occurred  in  the  ye:ir 
1320.     A  deeper  humiliation  could  scarcely 
have  been  inflicted  on  either  prince  or  people. 
The   implacable   Yury   of    Moscow    suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  of  the  grand  prince ; 
but  he  had  only  enjoyed  his  dignity  a  few 
years    when    he    was    assassinated     by    the 
eldest  son  of  ISIichael,  who,  at  the  command 
of  the  khan,  shared  the  fate  of  his  father, 
and  was  put  to  death  for  the  deed. 

Michael's    second   son,    Alexander,    suc- 


ceeded, in  1326,  to  the  grand  princedom. 
Scarcely  a  year  had  elapsed  since  his  acces- 
sion, when  a  report  reached  him  that  the 
Tartars  living  in  Twer  had  formed  a  con- 
spiracy to  murder  him.     It  is  supposed  that 
no  such  design  was  entertained  by  them; 
but  that  the  calumnious  report  was  spread 
by  Ivan,  the  Prince  of  Moscow,   who  had 
succeeded  to  all  his  brother  Yury's  implaca- 
ble hatred  to  the  family  of  the  unfortunate 
Michael.     But  even  on  the  assumption  that 
the  Tartars  were  guilty  of  the  treacherous 
design  attributed  to  them,  justice  and  pru- 
dence both  demanded  a  calm  investigation 
into  their  conduct,  that  only  those  who  were 
really  involved  in  the  guilty  intention  should 
suffer  the  punishment  due  to  them.     In- 
stead of  this,  the  grand  prince  acted  like  a 
despot  and   a   madman,   and  caused  every 
Tartar  resident  within  his  principality,  who 
would   not    adopt    Christianity,   to    be    put 
to  death.     Such  a  wanton  atrocity  naturally 
aroused  the   anger  of  Usbek-Khan,  whose 
power,  fortunately  for  the  subjects  of  the 
grand   prince,   was  on   the    decline,   or   he 
would  probably  have  executed  an  appalling 
vengeance.     Still  he  drove  Alexander  from 
his  throne  ;  gave  his  dominions  to  his  rival, 
Ivan  of  Moscow,  whom  he  bound  to  pursue 
the  outlawed  prince  wherever  he  went,  and 
to   deliver  him   a    prisoner  to  the  Tartars. 
He  was  eventually  captured,  together  with 
his  son  ;  and  both  of  tlieni  being  sent  to  the 
Golden   Horde,  peiished  by  the  weapon  of 
the  headsman. 

We  now  approach  a  })eriod  when  Russia, 
still  feeble  and  humbled,  and  threatened 
with  another  terrible  Tartar  visitation,  was 
yet  slowly  and  insensibly  collecting  its 
energies,  prior  to  its  resurrection  to  a 
national  lite  more  promising  than  any  it 
had  yet  enjoyed. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

IVAN  I  •  HIS  WFALTK.AND  CUNNING;  SIMEON  THE  PROUD,  AND  IVAN  II.;  THE  MOSCOW  LINE  OF  SUC- 
cL'ioN  SUSPENDED-  RESTORED  IN  THE  PERSON  OF  DMITRY  DONSKOI  ;  HIS  CONFLICTS  WITH  THE 
PRINCE  OF  TWER;  DMITRY  DEFEATS  THE  TARTARS  AT  THE  GREAT  BATTLE  OF  THE  DON;  THE  TARTARS 
BURN  MOSCOW  AND  RECOVER  THEIR  ASCENDANCY;  DEATH  OF  DMITRY;  HE  IS  SUCCEEDED  BY  VASSILY  ; 
INVASION  OF  RUSSIA  BY  TAMERLANE;   VASSILY  THE  BLIND;   HIS  WILFULNESS,  TROUBLES,  AND  DEATH. 

The  grand  princedom  now  fell  to  Ivan  I.,  I  having  a  purse  carried  before  him,  to  relieve 
who  obtained  the  surname  of  Kalita,  or  the  j  the  ^ants  of  the  poor;  but  chiefly  because 
Purse ;    partly,  perhaps,  on  account  of  his   of  the  immense  wealth  he  eventually  ac 
42 


quired.  He  was  a  covetous,  crafty,  and 
unprincipled  man,  who  still,  however,  had 
the  wisdom  to  perceive  that  his  interests 
were  identical  with  those  of  his  country ; 
and  that,  in  promoting  the  one,  he  was 
extending  the  other. 

The  wealth  of  Ivan  enabled  him  to  pur- 
chase  entire    domains   and   appanages,  the 
protection   of   Usbek-Khan,  and   the   pre- 
ference of  the  primate  of  the  Russian  church, 
who,  by  removing  his  residence  from  Vladi- 
mir to  Moscow,  made  the  latter  the  capital 
of  the   empire.      It  is  important  to  show 
liow   Ivan   became    possessed   of  so   much 
wealth,  as  his  mode  of  acquiring  it  reveals 
a  trait  in  his  character.     He  paid  such  as- 
siduous and  flattering  attention  to  the  khan, 
as  to  become  appointed  the  representative 
in  Russia  of  the  Tartar  chief,  and  collector 
of  the  taxes  imposed  by  that  foreign  poten- 
tate.   From  the  people  he  extorted,  through 
the  terror  of  the  Tartar  name,  far  more  than 
he  was   authorised  to  do ;    and  even  sub- 
jected to  the  tax  the  inhabitants  of  parts  of 
Russia  who  had  not  hitherto  paid  it  at  all. 
As  it  may  well  be  supposed,  the  latter  sums 
never  reached  the  Tartar  exchequer;   and 
the   careful   Ivan  went   on   increasing  his 
wealth,  and  extending  his  dominions  every 
year.      Such   was    his    extortion,    that    he 
sometimes  exacted  a  double  tribute,  under 
the  pretence  that  it  was  the  command  of 
the    khan.     He    soon    became    far    more 
powerful  than  his  rival,  the  Prince  of  Twer ; 
while  the  distance  between  him   and   the 
ordinary  princes  of  Russia  was  constantly 
increasing.     The  Prince  of  Twer  sometimes 
courted  the   Tartar   power,  and   at   others 
treated   it   with   insulting    neglect.      Ivan 
hated   the   Tartars    quite    as    much    as   his 
rival  did ;  but  he  saw  that  it  was  only  by 
the  aid  of  the  khan  that  he  could  ever  hope 
to  consolidate  Russia  under  his  own  sway, 
and  therefore  he  made  frequent  journeys  to 
the  Horde,  and  ever  sought  to  propitiate 
the  favour   of  the  khan  by  flatteries   and 
costly   presents.      The    Tartar    power   was 
useful   to   Ivan,   because   he   had   cunning 
enough  to  direct  it  in  such  a  way  as  pro- 
moted his  interest ;  and  he  was  too  skilful 
an  actor  on  the  wide  and  varied  theatre  of 
actual  life,  to  betray  any  emotion  he  deemed 
it  prudent  to  conceal.     It  is  not  surprising 
that   a   man   so   subtle   and    unprincipled, 
should  succeed  in  procuring  the  ruin  of  his 
rival,   the   Prince   of  Twer.      He   brought 
about    a    union    of    most   of  the   Russian 
princes,   who   now   acknowledged  the   au- 


thority of  a  ruler  whose  wealth,  dominions, 
and  administrative  abilities  so  far  exceeded 
their  own.  Directing  their  power  against 
the  Prince  of  Twer,  Ivan  drove  him  as  an 
outcast  from  Russia,  and  finally  hunted 
him  to  death. 

The  crafty  Ivan  Kalita  beheld  with  a 
profound  satisfaction  the  almost  daily  in- 
crease of  his  power.  In  his  hands  the 
grand  princedom  was  becoming  what  it  had 
never  been  before  in  Russia,  and  its  para- 
mount authority  was  indisputable.  Petty 
princes  regarded  him  with  a  deep  respect ; 
the  people  looked  upon  him  with  awe  ;  and 
his  name  was  a  terror  in  the  ears  of  his 
enemies.  He  settled  all  disputes  between 
the  inferior  princes ;  and,  as  he  had  the 
power  to  enforce  his  decisions,  they  were 
respected.  Success  attended  his  footsteps  ; 
the  clergy  favoured  his  designs ;  the  boyards 
submitted  placidly  to  his  authority ;  and  he 
might  be  said,  in  efi'ect,  to  rule  over  the 
whole  of  Russia. 

Despotism  is  preferable  to  anarchy ;  and 
under  the  tortuous  rule  of  Ivan — who  pur- 
sued even  kinsmen  who  off*ended  him  with 
as  much  ferocity  as  he  would  have  displayed 
towards  external  enemies — the  country  be- 
came tranquil,   and,  to   some   extent,  pros- 
perous.     He   held   his   iron    sceptre    with 
firmness,  and  awed  down  the  host  of  petty 
tyrants  who  were  ever  ready  to  prey  upon 
tlie  people.     Though  with  one  hand  he  ex- 
torted   heavy  imposts,    with   the    other    he 
conferred  protection  on  what  he  left.     The 
depredations  to  which  the  country  had  been 
a  prey  were  repressed ;  commerce  rose  from 
the  dust;  and  markets  and  fairs  appeared 
in  many  parts  of  the  country ;  even  in  some 
where   they  had    been   hitherto    unknown. 
At  these  fairs  the  produce  of  the  East,  of 
Greece,  and  of  Italy,  were  bought  or  bar- 
tered for  by  the  Russians,  whose  comforts 
were  thus  enhanced,  while  the  revenues  of 
the  grand  prince  were  promoted  by  the  tax 
arising  from   these  commercial  gatherings. 
Kamenevitch,  an  old  Russian  chronicler,  in 
describing  the  great  mart  of  Mologa,  on  the 
Volga,  where  the   commerce  of  Asia   and 
Europe  met  in  the  seventy  inns  of  its  Slavo- 
nian suburbs,  says,  that  at  that  place  alone, 
7,200  pounds'   weight  of  silver   were    col- 
lected for  the  regal  treasury.     Ivan  dimly 
perceived  that  the  commercial  prosperity  of 
a  people  promoted  the  power  of  their  sove- 
reign, and  he  encouraged  fairs  and  markets, 
on  account  of  their  golden  results.     As  in- 
creasing wealth  to  some  extent  emancipated 

43 


y 


DMITRY  DONSKOI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1341—1362. 


A.D.  13G7.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[policy  of  DMITRY. 


liim  from  the  declining  power  of  the  khan, 
he  laid  heavy  taxes — or  what  were  then  so 
reprardedj— upon  all  spJeable  articles. 

The  Russian  chronicles  relating  to  this 
period  are  extremely  meagre.  Notwith- 
standing the  power  acquired  by  Ivan,  his 
reign  was  but  a  brief  one,  and  he  expired  in 
or  about  1341.  He  left  two  sons — Simeon 
(surnamed  the  Proud)  and  Ivan.  These 
princes  vowed,  on  the  grave  of  their  father, 
to  agree  to  a  peaceable  division  of  his  do- 
minions; and,  strange  to  say,  they  ke})t 
their  oath.  Simeon  took  the  dignity  of 
grand  prince,  and  one-half  the  revenues  ; 
Ivan  contented  himself  with  the  other  half, 
and  became  Prince  of  Moscow.  Simeon 
had  to  purchase  his  paramount  title  from 
the  khan,  who  guaranteed  him  in  the  pos- 
session of  it  for  an  enormous  pecuniary 
consideration.  Simeon  pursued  the  policy 
of  his  father  ;  but  his  reign  of  thirteen  years 
remains  a  blank  on  the  scroll  of  history. 
This  silence  mav  at  least  be  received  as  in- 
direct  evidence  that  no  great  war  or  ca- 
lamity fell  upon  Russia  while  he  bore  the 
chief  sway  in  it. 

Simeon  died  childless  in  the  vear  1353, 
and  Ivan  purchased  the  grand  princedom  of 
the  khan,  and  became  paramount  ruler, 
under  the  title  of  Ivan  II.  Neither  his 
brother  nor  he  possessed  the  subtle  talents 
of  their  father ;  but  the  influence  of  the 
latter  was  felt  long  after  he  had  been  in  his 
grave.  His  shadow  yet  rested  upon  the 
land,  and  tranquillity  was  preserved.  Some 
uf  the  minor  princes  attempted  to  promote 
Their  ambition  at  the  sacrifice  of  their 
country's  peace ;  but  the  paramount  power 
was  strong  enough  to  punish  their  unprin- 
cipled presumption. 

Ivan  reigned  during  six  eventless  years; 
and  then  the  design  of  his  father,  to  pre- 
serve the  sovereign  authority  in  the  line  of 
the  princes  of  Moscow,  was  for  a  time  in- 
terrupted. Naurus-Khan,  the  Tartar  chief- 
tain, then  gave  the  grand  princedom  to 
Prince  Dmitry,  of  the  Nevsky  branch  of  the 
descendants  of  Ruric.  So  brief  and  feeble 
was  his  reign,  that  it  had  neither  influence 
nor  result.  For  a  few  years  he  sat  in  the 
regal  seat  rather  than  governed,  and  list- 
lessly held  a  sceptre  he  could  not  wield. 
In  1362  he  was  put  down  by  one  khan  just 
as  he  had  been  set  up  by  another,  and 
Dmitry  Donskoi,  the  son  of  Ivan  11.,  made 
grand  prince  in  his  stead. 

The  new  sovereign  was  a  man  well  adapted 
to  the  exalted  but  dangerous  position  he  was 
41 


called  to  occupy.  With  an  ambitious  temper 
he  united  a  calm  and  strong  judgment.  Con- 
vinced that  the  restoration  of  Russian  inde- 
pendence depended  upon  the  unity  of  the 
empire,  and  the  rigid  maintenance  of  the 
natural  order  of  succession  from  father  to 
son,  he  convened  a  meeting  of  the  sub- 
sidiary princes,  and  obtained  their  consent 
to  this  important  measure.  Won  for  once 
to  an  act  of  reason  and  self-denial,  thev 
sisrned  a  treatv  renouncing  the  disastrous 
mode  of  succession  from  brother  to  brother, 
and  engaging  themselves  "to  recognise  the 
authority  of  the  grand  prince,  and  that  of 
his  son  and  grandson  after  him.  Vladimir 
the  Brave,  uncle  to  Dmitry  Donskoi,  and 
one  of  the  most  influential  of  Russian 
princes,  first  placed  his  name  to  the  treaty, 
and  his  example  was  readily  followed.  This 
self-denial  produced  an  abundant  reward. 
By  such  attention  to  general,  in  preference 
to  individual  interests,  a  power  was  rising 
which  was  eventually  to  break  the  galling 
voke  of  the  Tartars,  and  to  raise  the  seem- 
iug  corpse  of  Russian  independence  to  a 
second  and  a  better  life. 

"  Such,''  says  a  modern  writer, ''  were  the 
circumstances  under  which  Dmitrv  ascended 
the  throne.  He  clearly  perceived  the  ex- 
traordinary progress  towards  a  concentra- 
tion of  the  resources  of  the  empire  that  had 
been  made  in  the  two  previous  reigns,  and 
his  earliest  care  was  to  carry  it  still  farther, 
by  securing  the  right  of  succession  in  a 
direct  line,  so  that  the  same  course  of  policy 
might,  with  the  more  certainty,  be  trans- 
mitted without  deviation.  This  wise  mea- 
sure was  useful  in  everv  wav.  It  had  the 
effect  of  consolidating  the  common  interests, 
which  had  hitherto  been  sacrificed  to  un- 
seemly contentions  ;  while  it  gave  to  the 
reigning  prince  a  greater  stake  in  tranquil- 
lity and  conservation,  since  he  felt  that  the 
labours  of  government  were  directed  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  rights  of  his  children, 
which,  of  course,  were  dearer  to  him  than 
the  rights  of  nephews,  or  brothers,  or 
strangers.  The  heir,  too,  had  the  example 
of  his  father  tg  emulate,  and  a  similar 
motive  actuated  him  on  behalf  of  his  suc- 
cessor. The  establishment  of  the  heredi- 
tary principle  was  also  more  acceptable  to 
the  nobles,  who,  dwelling  about  the  court, 
were  solicitous  to  cultivate  the  favour  of  the 
acknowledged  heir,  in  order  that  the  per- 
sonal attachments  which  grew  out  of  habi- 
tual intercourse,  should  descend  to  their 
children,  who  might  tlius,  in  turn,  succeed 


to  the  dignities  enjoyed  by  their  fathers. 
In  fiict,  the  old  order  of  succession,  from 
brother  to  brother,  w^as  hateful  to  the 
boyards  of  the  grand  principality,  as  the 
new  prince  was  always  attended  by  the 
boyards  of  his  own  appanage,  for  whom  he 
was  forced  to  provide  by  displacing  all 
those  whom  he  already  found  stationed  at 
the  capital." 

Such  was  the  liberal  policy  observed  by 
Dmitry  towards  the  boyards  of  the  empire, 
that  thev  became  more  attached  to  him 
than  to  their  own  immediate  princes.  In 
the  last  address  he  made  to  tliem,  he  ob- 
served, *'  Under  v(\j  reign,  you  were  not 
boyards,  but  really  Russian  princes."  By 
raising  the  power  of  the  bovards  he  de- 
pressed  that  of  the  princes,  until  both  were 
verging  into  an  order  of  nobility  in  which 
there  were  but  small  degrees  of  distinction. 
Dmitry  saw  that  if  unity  was  to  exist,  the 
grand  prince  must  hold  an  unshared 
sceptre;  that  all  appanaged  princes  must 
be  actually  subordinate  to  him  as  well  as  in 
theor}^;  and  that  he  must  have  no  power- 
ful and  half-independent  subject  near  the 
throne.  Dmitry  pursued  his  plans  with  a 
cautious  wisdom ;  and  so  successful  was 
he,  that,  in  1392,  the  boyards  of  Roris,  the 
last  Prince  of  Suzdal,  surrendered  him  and 
his  dominions  to  the  grand  prince. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Dmitry  was 
enthroned  on  roses,  and  permitted  to  carry 
out  his  plans  of  family  advancement  and 
national  regeneration  without  opposition. 
He  had  to  contend  with  foes  both  at  home 
and  abroad.  The  Prince  of  Twer,  the  old 
rival  of  his  family,  could  not  quietly  aban- 
don the  struggle  for  supremacy.  Michael, 
or  Mikhail,  of  Twer,  assisted  by  his  son-in- 
law  the  fierce  Olgnerd,  Prince  of  Lithuania, 
rose  in  arms  four  times  against  him.  Dur- 
ing this  suicidal  conflict,  Moscow  itself  M'as 
twice  subjected  to  siege,  and  would  have 
been  taken  but  for  the  great  strength  of 
the  stone  walls  which  had  been  recently 
erected  around  it.  For  a  time,  victory 
seenled  to  favour  the  insurgent  prince;  but, 
at  last,  Olguerd  died ;  and  Dmitry,  leading  a 
confederation  of  his  kinsmen  against  Mi- 
chael, defeated  him,  and  finally  induced 
him  to  submit  to  a  power  he  could  no 
longer  hope  successfully  to  resist. 

The  most  distinguishing  event  of  Dmitry's 
reign  was  a  war  of  a  more  dangerous  and 
important  kind.  The  decline  of  the  Tartar 
power  in  Russia  was  still  further  accelerated 
by  the  breaking  up  of  the  Golden  Horde 


into  rival  factions.  Several  of  the  chiefs 
set  themselves  up  as  khans,  and  the  vast 
forces  of  the  Tartars  were  broken  into  de- 
tached bodies,  following  their  own  imme- 
diate chief,  and  as  likely  to  make  war  on 
each  other  as  to  unite  against  a  common 
foe.  A  dissatisfied  prince  who  was  disposed 
to  seek  the  aid  of  the  Tartars  against  his 
sovereign,  knew  not  to  which  khan  to 
apply.  The  Tartars  were  unable  to  conceal 
their  constantly  increasing  weakness,  and 
the  princes  were  driven  by  necessity  to  seek 
assistance  from  Dmitry,  when  their  posses- 
sions were  invaded  by  bodies  of  vagrant 
Tartars,  or  other  foes.  The  grand  prince 
yielded  aid,  on  condition  of  the  return  of 
implicit  submission ;  and  thus  eventually  all, 
or  nearly  all,  the  princes  of  the  empire*^  be- 
came his  vassals. 

Though  the  Tartars  were  broken  up  into 
several  hordes,  each  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  the  chief  wdiose  standard  they  fol- 
lowed, yet  the  paramount  authority  was 
claimed  by  Mamai,  the  khan  of  the  Tartars 
of  the  Don,  who  exacted  tribute  from 
Dmitry.  Mamai,  with  the  quick  perception 
of  his  race,  saw  that  the  Russians  were 
making  rapid  strides  towards  independence. 
Aware  that  this  would  lead  to  the  final 
expulsion  or  submission  of  the  Tartars,  he 
resolved  to  re-establish  his  despotic  sway 
by  the  same  ferocious  means  by  which  it 
was  at  first  imposed.  Dmitry  had  many 
spies  at  the  Horde,  who  revealed  to  him 
the  intentions  of  the  khan,  and  he  prepared 
for  the  coming  struggle,  by  collecting  around 
him  the  dependent  princes  and  their  armed 
followers.  Mamai  also  appears  to  have  had 
his  informants,  and  each  side  became  con- 
scious of  the  designs  of  the  other.  The 
khan  sought  to  gain  time  for  the  concentra- 
tion of  his  strength  by  sending  an  embassy 
to  the  grand  prince,  with  complaints  about 
the  insufficiency  of  the  tribute  money. 
Dmitry  did  not  object  to  a  delay,  which  he, 
also,  could  devote  to  increasing  his  strength, 
and  drawing  around  him  all  those  princes 
of  Russia  who  could  be  convinced  of  their 
common  danger.  He  therefore  sent  a 
counter-embassy  to  the  khan,  the  members 
of  which  referred  to  a  treaty,  by  which  it 
was  arranged  that  the  tribute  should  be  re- 
duced. Mamai,  baffled  in  diplomacy,  re- 
sorted to  intimidation,  and  commanded  the 
grand  prince  to  appear  before  him  in  person. 
Had  the  latter  obeyed  this  despotic  injunc- 
tion, he  would  doubtless  have  fallen  a 
victim  to  the  fury  of  his  oppressor,  and  have 

45 


I 


BATTLE  OF  THE  DON.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1380. 


A.D.  .1382.] 


EUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [the  tartars  burn  Moscow. 


been  openly  put  to  death,  after  a  judicial 
mockery,  on  some  concocted  charge,  or  have 
been  munlered  secretly  by  the  subtle  arts 
of  the    poisoner.       Dmitry   had    proceeded 
with  prudence,  and  was  in  a  condition  to 
resort  to  tbc  only  alternative  which   a  re- 
fusal to  obey  the  command  of  the  khan  left 
open  to  him.     The  princes  of  Russia  were 
at  length   resolved  to  make  a  great   effort 
in   vindication    of    the    liberties    of    their 
country;    the   people  were   possessed  of  a 
painful   remembrance    of  the    atrocities    of 
the  Tartars,  and  inspired  by  a  bitter  hatred 
of  them;    and   the   clergy   feared   that    if 
Tartar  violence  was   again   lot   loose  upon 
the  land,  Christianity  would  be  overthrown, 
for  the  sake  of  seizing  the  large  possessions 
of  the   chiirch.      They    consequently   pro- 
claimed the  coming  struggle  to  be  a  holy 
war — a  war  for  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
safety  of  man — a  war  alike  for  the  church 
of  Christ  and  the  nationality  of  the  empire 
— a  war  to  preserve  the  altars  of  God  from 
desecration,   and  the  homes  of  the  people 
from  outrage   and   destruction.     Such  was 
the   natural   and    becoming    ardour  of  the 
priesthood  for  the  war,  that  they  declared 
the  crown  of  martyrdom   would  be  placed 
by  angels  on   the   head   of  every   Russian 
who  perished  in  the  conflict,  and  that  the 
gates  of  heaven  would  open  of  themselves 
to  receive  his  soul. 

Such  was  the  spirit  pervading  both  princes 
and    people,    that   Dmitry  was    enabled  to 
take  the  field  with  a  power  said  to  amount 
to    200,000  men;    a  force  which,   fighting 
on   its   own   territory  for  its   religion   and 
nationality,  ought  to  be  invincible.    Dmitry 
did  not  permit  the  Tartars  to  ravage  the 
country  between  them  and  Moscow;  but  he 
led  his  troops  at  once  to  the  river  Don,  to 
the  point  where,  at  no  great  distance,  the 
Tartars  were  encamped  on  the  opposite  side. 
After  addressing  his  soldiers,  he  gave  them 
the  choice  of  awaiting  the  assault   of   the 
enemy,  or  of  crossing  the  river  and  them- 
selves commencing  the  attack.     Animated 
by  patriotic  ardour,  they  unanimously  de- 
cided for  the  latter;    and  seemed  to  long 
impatiently   for    the    hour    which    should 
decide  the  fate  of  their  country.     Having 
transported  his  battalions  across  the  river, 
the  grand  prince  set  the  vessels  adrift,  so  as 
to  cut  off  all  hopes  of  retreat,   and  excite 
that  ferocity  of  valour  which  is  the  result  of 
desperation.     The  measure  appears  to  have 
been  a  necessary  one :  not  only  were  the 
Russians  opposed  to  a  race  whom  they  had 
46 


been   accustomed   to  regard   as  conquerors 
and  masters,  but  the  Tartars  far  exceeded 
them  in    numbers.      The    old    chroniclers 
assert   that    the   Tartars    were    thrice    the 
number  of  the  Russians ;  but  this  statement 
bears    an    air    of  incredibilit)%   and    is,    we 
suspect,    merely   a   flourish    of    pardonable 
trium})h.     The  Russians,  who  had  genera- 
tions of  oppression  to  avenge,  commenced 
the  assault  with  ungovernable  fury.     Such 
was  their  impetuosity,  that  numbers  even  of 
their  own   troops  were  thrown    down    and 
trampled  to    death    in    the    mighty  shock. 
The  astonished  Tartars  reeled  for  a  moment, 
and  then  dashing  onward,  met  the  assault 
with  equal  fury.    Terrible  was  the  slaughter 
on  each  side ;  but  the  superior  numbers  of 
the  Tartars  enabling  them  to  fill  up  every  gap 
that  was  made  in  their  ranks,  and  continually 
to  pour  down  fresh  supplies  of  men   upon 
the   field,    seemed    to    promise    them    the 
victory.    Apparently  overwhelmed,  the  Rus- 
sians seemed  to  waver,  and  would  probably 
have  fled,   but  that  the  river  was  at  their 
backs,  their  ships  were  gone,  and  flight  was 
impossible.      Nothing    remained    for   them 
but   to    conquer   or   to  perish   nobly  after 
having  avenged  their  fall  by  the  slaughter  of 
many  of  their  foes.     Wrought  to  an  excite- 
ment scarcely  short  of  madness,  it  is  related 
that  they  fought  rather  with  the  ferocity 
and  strength  attributed  to  demons  than  as 
if  animated  with  the  common  passions  of 
men.     The   slaughter  of  the    Tartars   was 
enormous;    but   their   great   numbers  and 
stolid  bravery  might  yet  have  won  them  the 
victory,   but   for    one    of    those   incidents 
which,  occurring  in  the  moment  of  exhaus- 
tion, so  often  decide  the  result  of  battles. 
Dmitry,  with  the  wisdom  of  an  able  soldier, 
had  kept  back  a  considerable  detachment 
from  his  army,  to  be  called  into  action  only 
if  their  presence  was  urgently  required.    At 
a  critical  time  this  reserve  fell  unexpectedly 
upon  the  rear  of  the  Tartars,  whom  their 
attack   threw  into   confusion   and   dismay. 
The  apprehensions  of  the  Tartars  magnified 
the  number  of  these  fresh  foes,  and  they 
fell  into  that  disorder  which  precedes  panic. 
The    Russians    perceived   their   advantage, 
and   renewed   the    assault   with    a   fury   at 
once  led  by  hope  and  pricked  forward  by 
despair.     Mamai  and  the  Tartars  fled  head- 
long from   the  well-contested  and   bloody 
field,  and  the  Russians  had  obtained  a  great 
victory  over  their  oppressors.     Terrible  was 
the  loss  of  life  at  which  it  was  achieved; 
but   no   price   could  be  *oo  great  for  the 


glorious  result  that  had  been  obtained. 
The  spell  of  Tartar  invincibility  had  been 
broken,  and  the  infant  liberty  of  Russia 
baptized  in  blood ;  while  the  same  red 
stream  had  wiped  away  the  shame  of  gene- 
rations of  national  slavery.  Eight  days 
were  passed  in  bestowing  the  rites  of 
sepulture  upon  the  Russian  dead ;  but  the 
bodies  of  the  Tartars  were  regarded  with 
such  aversion,  that  they  were  left  unburied, 
to  become  the  prey  of  birds  and  beasts. 
Those  heaps  of  Tartar  bones,  which  long 
whitened  the  banks  of  the  river,  were  an 
eloquent  though  silent  warning  against 
aggression,  and  an  insolent  scorn  of  the 
claims  of  the  helpless.  It  was  in  honour  of 
this  victory,  that  the  grand  prince,  Dmitry, 
received  from  his  applauding  people  the 
surname  of  Donskoi,  by  which  he  stands 
distinguished  in  the  records  of  his  country. 
Great  was  the  joy  of  the  Russians,  but 
their  national  independence  was  not  estab- 
lished. The  work  was  begun,  and  well 
begun,  but  it  remained  to  be  completed ; 
and  calamitous  reverses  were  yet  to  be 
experienced.  Russia,  exhausted  by  the 
great  effort  it  had  made,  was  unable  to 
follow  up  the  blow ;  and  the  defeated  Tar- 
tars had  time  to  recover  themselves.  Bent 
on  vengeance,  they  cautiously  prepared  for 
a  renewal  of  the  struggle,  but  they  did  not 
dare  again  to  provoke  hostilities  until  the 
hordes  of  the  Don  and  the  Volga  had  effected 
a  union.  The  battle  of  the  Don  was  fought 
in  1380,  and  it  took  the  Tartars  two  years 
to  recover  from  the  effects  of  it.  But  in 
1382  they  swept  with  a  mighty  power  over 
the  frontier  provinces,  and,  ravaging  the 
country  as  they  went,  penetrated  to  the 
strong  walls  of  Moscow.  The  fortifications 
of  the  city  had  lately  been  strengthened ; 
the  ramparts  were  powerful;  and  the  pon- 
derous gates  were  of  iron.  Dmitry  looked 
upon  them  with  pride  and  hopefulness,  and 
anticipated  another  victory  over  his  despotic 
and  barbarous  foes.  Such  was  his  confi- 
dence, that  he  left  the  charge  of  the  city  to 
one  of  his  generals,  while  he  went  further 
into  the  interior  to  recruit  his  army.  The 
act  was  an  unfortunate  one ;  for  the  people 
had  more  confidence  in  their  sovereign  than 
in  themselves.  Yet  all  might  have  been 
well  but  for  the  meanness  and  cowardice 
of  the  priesthood.  Had  they  placed  a  vital 
trust  in  the  Deity  whose  providence  they 
preached,  they  would  have  cheered  the 
fainting  hearts  of  the  timid,  have  roused 
the  fearful  from  their  apathy,   and    have 


strengthened  the  feeble  to  the  heroism  of 
endurance.  The  calm  and  inspiring  bear- 
ing of  a  brave  priest  might,  at  such  a  time, 
do  more  than  the  brawnv  arm  of  the 
soldier.  Heroes  impart  their  spirit  to  all 
around  them;  and,  in  like  manner,  the 
craven  temper  of  the  coward  cot  ru})ts  and 
def)resses  even  the  brave.  The  metro- 
politan and  priests  of  Moscow,  accompanied 
by  a  number  of  base  and  wealthy  citizens, 
taking  advantage  of  the  absence  of  Dmitry, 
abandoned  the  city  on  the  approach  of  the 
Tartar  host.  The  act  was  contagious ;  those 
who  should  have  remained  in  the  city  to  the 
last,  offering  the  consolations  of  religion  to 
the  dying,  and  the  incitements  of  patriotism 
to  those  who  yet  lived  to  wreak  the  fury  of 
an  injured  people  on  the  foe,  had  slunk 
silently  away,  preferring  to  secure  the  safety 
of  their  worthless  lives  to  the  discharge  of 
their  duties  on  earth,  and  the  attainment  of 
that  bliss  which  awaits  the  just  in  heaven ! 

The  priesthood  fled,  and  a  sense  of  terror 
sunk  deep  into  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
The  garrison  made  a  feeble  show  of  resist- 
ance upon  the  walls ;  and  the  Tartars,  be- 
holding the  strength  of  the  defences,  treache- 
rously held  out  promises  of  pardon  to  the 
inhabitants  if  they  would  submit  without 
further  hostilities.  Experience  must  have 
taught  the  Russians  that  their  foes  were  as 
false  as  they  were  cruel;  that  their  words 
were  as  unstable  as  water,  and  as  deceitful 
as  the  sultry  air  oppressed  by  the  coming 
storm.  Many  a  terrible  tradition  must 
have  told  as  to  what  had  been  the  fate  of 
those  who  had  trusted  to  Tartar  mercy ! 
They  must  have  known  that  it  was  better 
to  die  with  weapons  in  their  hands,  dripping 
with  the  blood  of  an  implacable  and  unprin- 
cipled foe,  than  have  trusted  to  a  horde  of 
robbers  who  never  forgave,  and  who  actually 
experienced  a  satanic  delight  in  slaughter. 
But  fear  dulls  the  senses  and  blinds  the 
perception.  The  people  of  Moscow  trusted 
to  the  promises  of  their  foes,  and  threw 
open  their  gates  to  them.  The  result  might 
have  been  anticipated.  The  Tartars  rushed 
in,  massacred  every  person  they  met  in  the 
streets,  and  then  set  the  citv  on  fire.  Hav- 
ing  accomplished  the  revenge  they  meditated 
for  their  defeat  on  the  banks  of  the  Don,  the 
barbarians  returned  to  their  haunts,  flatter- 
ing themselves  that  they  had  eflectually 
trodden  down  the  rising  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence and  recovered  their  tottering 
power  over  the  Russians.  For  a  time  they 
had  so ;  but  no  mortal  means  could  stay  the 

47 


■    i 


H 


1 


PEATH  OF  DMITRY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1382—1389. 


decline  that  was  consuming  their  power,  and 
the  time  of  their  own  doom  was  approach- 
ing. "All  they  that  take  the  sword,  shall 
perish  with  the  sword,"  is  a  divine  truth, 
even  more  applicable  to  nations  than  to 
individuals.  Injustice  and  violence  pro- 
voke the  spirit  of  retaliation  ;  and,  if  not  in 
one  age,  yet  in  another,  the  day  of  vengeance 
will  inevitably  come. 

When  Dmitry  returned  to  his  smitten 
capital,  nothing  was  left  him  but  to  purchase 
safety  by  an  ignoble  submission  to  the  foe 
over  whom  he  had  so  recently  triumphed  as 
a  victor.  His  great  heart  must  have  swelled 
with  intense  and  suffocating  emotion  when 
he  had  to  propitiate  the  forbearance  of  the 
khan,  and  once  again  perforin  the  bitter 
humiliation  of  begging  his  dignity  at  the 
hands  of  the  Tartar  potentate.  The  empire 
that  had  been  within  his  grasp  was  shat- 
tered into  fragments;  the  glorious  dream  of 
national  independence  liad  melted  like  the 
early  frosts  of  autumn  before  a  yet  powerful 
sun ;  the  hopes  of  a  life — a  life  of  wisdom, 
toil,  and  heroism — were  gone  like  the 
memory  of  a  chaotic  and  uneasy  dream, 
which  has  left  behind  it  only  a  sense  oi 
gloom  and  impending  evil. 

Russian   independence,  though   checked, 
was  not  destroyed  :  the  wounds  on  its  infant 
liberty  began  to  heal  even  with  the  resto- 
ration of  Moscow.     Princes,  boyards,   and 
people  were  alike  roused   to   the  necessity 
of  unity,  and  all  hoped  for  the  time  which, 
though   deferred,   they  yet   expected.     The 
grand  princedom  was   still    acknowledged, 
and  the  consolidation  of  the  empire  remained 
unbroken.     The  recent  outrage  of  the  Tar- 
tars had  excited  still  more  bitterly  against 
them  the  hatred   of  those  whom  they  op- 
pressed.      During   his  reign  of   seven-and- 
twenty  years,  Dmitry  was  unable  again  to 
make  head  against  the  Tartar  power ;  yet 
lie  silently  pur.sued  his  plans  of  raising  the 
power  of  the  grand  princedom,  and  of  con- 
solidating the   empire.     He   died  in  1389, 
leaving  a  solemn  injunction  to  his  sou  to 
persevere  in  his    policy,  and   to   direct    all 
liis  efforts  to  the  eventual  expulsion  of  the 
Tartars  from  Russia.     Dmitry  was  a  wise 
prince ;    and,  but  for  the   sad   mistake  of 
once    depending    upon    otliers    where    he 
should  have  relied  only  upon  himself,  would 
have   been  regarded  as  a  great  one.     The 
recreant    priests    who    fled   from    Moscow 
trampled  the  glory  of  their  sovereign  be- 
neath their  feet;  and  his  fame  was  sullied 
by  the   flames  which   enveloped   the   city. 
48 


Yet  is  the  name  of  Dmitry  Donskoi  hon- 
oured in  the  scroll  of  history  ;  as,  indeed,  it 
truly  deserves  to  be.  The  successful  are  the 
most  applauded  by  posterity ;  but  those  who 
aim  highly,  and  labour  wortliily,  even  in 
failure  scarcely  deserve  less. 

Vassilv,  the  son  of  Dmitry,  succeeded  to 
the  throne  of  the  grand  princedom  without 
opposition.     Of  a   haughty   character   and 
unbending  turn  of  mind,  Vassily  was  fitted 
to  wield  a  sceptre  in  barbarous  times.    Stern, 
even  to  ferocity,  to  his  princes  and  people, 
he  was  patient  and  pliant  to  his  Asiatic  and 
European  neighbours.    He  was  resolved  not 
to  waste  his  strength  in  contentions  with 
them,  but  to  reserve  it  in  case  of  another 
collision   with  the    Tartars.     Though  of   a 
remarkably  aristocratic  and   imperious  na- 
ture, he  felt   it   necessary  to   humble   his 
pride  so  far  as  to  proceed  to  the  Golden 
Horde,  and    purchase  of  the   Tartar  khan 
the  right  to  his  dignity.     At  the  same  time 
he  acquired  permission  to  assume  the  sove- 
reignty   over    seven    appanages,    which   he 
had  wrunjiT  from  as  many  of  his  kinsmen, 
whom   he  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  rain- 
gling  in  the  ranks  of  his  courtiers,  or  of  dying 
in    exile.     The    Lithuanians,  who    had    for 
some  time  harassed    his   western   frontier, 
he  opposed  rather  by  policy  tlian  by  force 
of  arms ;  and  he  contrived  to  obtain  from 
their  prince,   who  was  his  father-in-law,  a 
forbearance  it  would  have  been  inconvenient 
to  extort. 

A  few  years  were  passed  in  comparative 
tranquillity,  when  Russia  was  threatened 
by  two  fierce  and  powerful  foes  in  opposite 
directions.  These  were  Vitovt,  the  prince 
of  the  Lithuanians,  in  the  west,  and  the 
barbarous  conqueror  Tamerlane,  and  his 
hordes  of  Tartars,  in  the  east.  Tim  our,  or 
Tamerlane,  was  one  of  those  romantic  bar- 
barians who,  though  of  humble  birth,  yet 
cherished  the  ambitious  and  brutal  dream 
of  universal  conquest.  Though  reported  to 
have  been  merely  an  Asiatic  shepherd,  yet 
he  came  of  a  tribe  regarded  as  noble.  Born 
in  unsettled  and  revolutionary  times,  bred 
to  the  use  of  arms  from  his  infancy,  at  the 
aire  of  five-and-twenty  he  stood  forth  as  the 
most  distinguished  man  of  his  country. 
Reverses,  however,  came  upon  him :  he 
experienced  vicissitude  of  a  romantic  kind ; 
and,  for  some  time,  led  the  life  of  a  vagrant 
and  an  outlaw.  Again  did  he  become  the 
favourite  of  fortune.  At  the  age  of  thirty- 
four,  he  was  invested  with  that  imperial 
command   supposed  to  reside  only  in  the 


'(/ 


1 


i\ 


A.u.  1398—1420. 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[invasion  by  TAMERLANE. 


descendants  of  Ghengis  Khan.  Zagatai, 
the  kingdom  of  the  usurper,  was  a  fertile 
territory,  five  hundred  miles  in  length  and 
in  breadth ;  but  this  was  so  far  from  satis- 
fying his  ambition,  that  it  was  but  one  of 
seven-and-twenty  crowns  which  he  seized 
and  wore  before  his  death.  After  the  con- 
quest of  Persia,  Tamerlane  resolved  to  re- 
duce to  submission  those  of  the  Tartars 
who  had  proclaimed  their  independence  of 
the  parent  authority.  In  the  execution  of 
this  project,  he  marched,  in  1398,  at  the 
head  of  400,000  soldiers,  upon  the  Golden 
Horde,  or  that  branch  of  the  Tartars  who 
had  so  long  settled  on  the  banks  of  the 
Volga.  He  fell  upon  the  combined  Tartars 
there,  and  inflicted  upon  them  a  severe 
chastisement.  To  use  the  language  of  his 
own  chronicler,  he  gave  them  to  the  wind 
of  desolation.  Some  of  the  Tartars  who 
fled,  lured  the  victor  on  in  the  direction  of 
Moscow.  His  course  was  marked  by  ruin 
almost  to  the  walls  of  the  city,  which,  at 
the  same  time,  was  threatened  in  another 
direction  by  Vitovt,  and  an  enormous  army 
of  Lithuanians.  The  Russians  were  in 
despair;  the  capital  of  their  empire  was 
threatened  with  destruction  from  opposite 
quarters,  and  stood  between  two  fires ;  while 
the  people  themselves,  enervated  by  bon- 
dage and  frequent  defeat,  placed  all  their 
trust  in  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  to  which 
miraculous  powers  were  attributed.  The 
desponding  Vassily  beheld  approaching  de- 
struction on  every  hand;  and  it  seemed  as. 
if  the  extinction  of  the  empire  was  at  hand. 
Under  these  circumstances,  their  impending 
doom  was  averted  by  an  unforeseen  event,  of 
a  kind  which  gave  an  apparently  rational 
colour  to  the  statements  of  the  Russians — 
that  it  was  the  result  of  the  merciful  inter- 
ference of  the  Virgin  in  their  favour. 
Tamerlane,  recalled  by  his  ambition  to  the 
south,  suddenly  retraced  his  steps;  while 
Vitovt  and  his  Lithuanians  pushed  ! forward 
towards  the  Golden  Horde.  The  invading 
armies  met,  and  fell  upon  each  other. 
Russia  was  thus  relieved  from  the  presence 
of  two  terrible'  foes,  neither  of  whom  she 
had  the  power  or  spirit  to  encounter. 
"When  Tamerlane  had  subdued  the  Lithua- 
nians, he  turned  towards  the  vast  peninsula 
of  India,  where  a  period  of  conquest  and 
plunder  was  followed  by  his  assumption  of 
the  title  of  emperor. 

Happily,  Tamerlane  was  too  much  occu- 
pied elsewhere  to  permit  him  to  return; 
and,  in  this  invasion,  the  Russians  suffered 

VOL.  I.  H 


far  less  than  the  Tartars  of  the  Golden 
Horde.  Their  wealth  had  been  pillaged, 
their  forces  scattered,  and  their  military 
reputation  humbled.  Notwithstanding  the 
tenacity  with  which  they  cluns:  to  the  des- 
potic  power  they  had  acquired  by  the 
sword,  it  was  evident  that  this  blow  must 
rapidly  accelerate  their  decline.  The  as- 
cendancy of  the  princes  of  the  Moscow  line 
continued  to  increase ;  but  vet  Vassilv  was 
not  able  to  set  the  Tartars  at  defiance. 
Some  years  afterwards,  he  made  an  experi- 
ment in  that  directidh ;  but  it  only  led  to 
his  own  humiliation.  Without  consulting 
the  khan,  he  caused  himself  to  be  crowned 
at  Moscow,  M'ith  all  the  splendour  of  impe- 
rial dignity.  Not  only  was  the  act  a  breach 
of  treaty,  but  it  was  regarded  by  the  Tai- 
tars  as  an  insult  to  their  supremacy.  The 
anger  of  the  khan  was  aroused;  and  his 
power,  broken  as  it  had  been,  was  yet  such 
that  the  Russians  feared  to  brave  it.  Vas- 
sily  acknowledged  that  he  had  committed 
an  error,  and  sued  to  the  khan  for  pardon. 
The  Tartars  had  no  desire  to  appeal  to 
arms,  and  the  Russian  prince  was  permitted 
to  retain  his  dignity  as  grand  prince,  on 
condition  that  he  again  tendered  fealty  to 
the  khan  as  his  superior  lord. 

Vassily  died  in  1425,  after  a  reign  of  six- 
and-thirty  years,  which  he  had  devoted 
chiefly  to  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of 
the  grand  princedom.  Though  destitute  of 
the  great  talents  of  his  father,  he  had  car- 
ried out  his  principles  with  much  persever- 
ance. At  the  close  of  life,  he  compelled 
the  Russian  princes  and  boyards  to  acknow- 
ledge his  infant  son  as  the  indisputable  heir 
to  the  throne.  He  also  exacted  from  them 
a  vow  that  they  would  have  no  communica- 
tion whatever  with  the  Tartars  or  Lithua- 
nians, but  preserve  against  them  a  spirit  of 
implacable  resentment.  With  the  temper 
of  a  despot,  he  banished  all  those  who  re- 
fused to  comply  with  these  demands.  It 
was  during  the  reign  of  Vassily  that  money 
was  first  coined  in  Russia.  Prior  to  this 
time,  mention  had  been  made  of  grivnas ; 
but  the  term  did  not  refer  to  a  coin,  but  to 
a  certain  weight  of  silver.  Foreign  com- 
merce was  carried  on  either  by  barter,  or  by 
gold  and  silver  weighed  in  exchange  for  the 
corresponding  articles.  Pieces  of  marten 
skins,  or  other  scraps  of  fur,  were  the  cur- 
rent money  in  petty  transactions.  At 
length,  a  Tartar  coin  came  into  circulation 
at  Moscow  and  at  Twer.  Polish  and  German 
coins  also  found  their  wav  into  use  among 

49 


n 


^ 


VASSILY  THE  BLIND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Ta.d.  1425—1462. 


the  Russian  people;  and,  in  1420,  a  mint 
was  established  at  Novgorod. 

Vassily   Yassihevitch,   the  infant  son  of 
the  late  sovereign,  succeeded  to  the  throne ; 
but  not  without  difficulty.     Yury,  Prince  of 
Galitsch,  relying  upon  his  own  power,  en- 
deavoured to  restore  the  old  and  disastrous 
order  of  succession  from  brother  to  brother. 
Claiming  the   throne,   he    appealed    to   his 
followers  for  support.     The-  time  for  a  suc- 
cessful opposition  of  this  kind  had  passed, 
and  the  principle  of  succession  from  father 
to  son  had  taken  a  firm  root  in  the  nation. 
The  clergy  took  the  alarm ;  and  the  primate, 
Avho  had   proclaimed  the  young  sovereign, 
summoned  the  princes  to  sui)port  his  au- 
thority, and  pronounced  an  excommunica- 
tion against  the  rebellious  Yury.     It  is  pro- 
bable that  the  feeble  thunder  of  the  church 
might  have  been  disregarded,   but  that  it 
happened    to   be  followed   by  a  pestilence, 
■which  alarmed  the  malcontents,  and  checked 
their  hostile  preparations.     The  effect,  how- 
ever, was  but  transitory ;  and  when  the  con- 
tagious sickness  passed  away,  Yury  returned 
to  his  demand.     An  appeal  to  tlie  Golden 
Horde  was  considered  requisite,   and  both 
the  infant  prince   and  his  turbulent  uncle 
proceeded   Avith   their    dependents    to   the 
banks  of  the  Volga,  and  laid  their  claims 
before  the  khan.     So  strong  was  the  assem- 
blage of  boyards  on  the  side  of  the  legiti- 
mate sovereign,  and  so  powerful  were  their 
arguments,    or   bribes,  that   the   khan   re- 
jected  the   pretensions  of  Yury,  and  con- 
firmed the  succession  of  the  infant  Vassily. 
The  Tartar  chief  even  went  so  far  as  to  re- 
lease the  latter  from  the  payment  of  tribute 
to  the  Horde,  and  to  decree  that  Yury  should 
hold  the  bridle  of  his  nephew^s  horse,  on 
the  entrance  of  the  latter  into  his  capital. 

The   decisions  of  the  Tartar  khans  were 
no  longer  regarded  as  inevitable,  and  exempt 
from  all  appeal.     Yury  put  on  a  semblance 
of  submission ;  but  he  resolved  speedily  to 
seize  by  force  Avhat  he  had  been  nnable  to 
obtain  by  his  representations.     Collecting 
his    forces,    he   appeared    suddenly   before 
Moscow,    took   the   city   by    surprise,    and 
compelled  it  to  surrender.     This  done,  he 
banished   Vassily,    and    seized   the   throne 
which  was  the  cause  of  his  conspiracy.     But 
a  public  opinion  had  now  grown  up  in  ]Mos- 
^     cow;   and   the   moral   influence    of   public 
opinion  is  more  powerful  than  the  sword. 
It   soon   neutralised   the   triumph    of    the 
usurper;  and  that,  too,  without    shedding 
one  drop  of  blood.     Every  one  declared  for 
50 


the  rights  of  the  deposed  prince ;  the  au- 
thority of  Yury  was  disavowed  by  the 
nobles,  priests,  and  people  :  and  the  whole 
population  of  the  capital,  in  solemn  proces- 
sion, followed  their  legitimate  sovereign  into 
banishment.  An  appalling  silence  reigned 
in  the  streets  of  Moscow,  which  seemed  as 
if  it  had  been  smitten  and  depopulated  by 
the  plague.  Yury  found  himself  deserted ; 
and  even  his  own  son  had  left  him.  This 
painful  isolation  struck  terror  to  his  heart, 
and  he  felt  how  dependent  a  prince  was 
upon  the  submission  of  his  people.  Of 
what  value  was  a  sceptre  that  could  be  held 
only  in  a  desert,  or  a  throne  that  stood 
amidst  a  silent  wilderness  of  dwellings? 
Yury  was  vanquished  by  this  passive  oppo- 
sition ;  and  in  a  few  days  he  descended 
from  his  solitarv  throne,  and  restored  it  to 
the  legitimate  heir. 

The  devotion  of  the  boyards  and  citizens 
of  jNIoscow  was  not  personal  to  the  infant 
grand  prince  ;  it  was  merely  an  attachment 
to  the  principle  of  legitimacy.  Vassily  was 
imprudent,  perverse,  and  obstinate.  Un- 
able to  direct  his  own  steps  with  wisdom, 
he  yet  impatiently  rejected  the  advice  of 
those  who  had  proved  their  attachment  to 
his  interests,  and  their  ability  to  profiler 
valuable  counsels.  A  calamity  of  after-life 
procured  for  him  the  melancholy  title  of 
Vassily  the  Blind,  which  was  applied  to  him 


in  a  double  sense.     Then  sightless  in^body 
and  dark  in  mind,  this  wilful  i)rince  was  in- 
debted to  the  compassion  of  his  people  for 
that  support  which  he  could  not  have  ob- 
tained from  their  respect.     His  caprice  led 
him  into  such  errors  as  excited   alike  the 
suspicion    both   of    Russians    and   Tartars. 
He  is  described  as  seeming  to  vacillate  fron 
choice,  or  in  obedience  to  some  infatuation 
that  was  always  leading  him  into  crooked 
paths  of  policy,  and  perplexing  and  pervert- 
ing   his   views.     Once   the   Tartars   liurled 
him  from  the  throne;  but  they  permitted 
him  to  resume  his  regal  dignity.     Another 
time  the  son  of  Yury,  encouraged  by  the 
discontent   which   prevailed,   unfurled    the 
banner    of    insurrection.    -  Vassily    was    a 
second  time  deposed ;  and  his  brutal  cousin 
put  out  the  eyes  of  the  unfortunate  prince. 
Hence  his  surname— the  Blind.     The  bar- 
barity of  the  deed  produced  a  reaction  o. 
popular   feeling   in    favour    of    the    down- 
trodden monarch.     Some  emotion  of  pity 
was  mingled  with  an  almost  idolatrous  res- 
pect for  the  principle  of  hereditary  succes- 
sion.    Tradition  had  much  to  say  of  do- 


A.D.  1462.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  VASSILY. 


«n 


/«•%«,•. 


^v 


X^ 


mestic  conflicts  waged  by  rival  claimants  of 
the  grand  princedom;  of  Russian  blood, 
shed  in  torrents  by  Russian  hands,  to  settle 
questions  in  which  the  people  had  no  in- 
terest, and  no  part.  Thus  the  principle  of 
succession  from  father  to  son  had  become 
dear  to  the  people ;  for  they  regarded  it  as 
a  source  of  peace.  True,  by  this  means  the 
crown  might  descend  upon  the  head  of  a 
perverse  prince  like  Vassily ;  or,  indeed, 
upon  one  hopelessly  devoid  of  intellect :  yet 
it  was  not  the  blindly  obstinate  man,  or 
the  drivelling  idiot,  the  people  reverenced, 
but  the  principles  of  order,  peace,  and  jus- 
tice. It  mattered  little  by  what  machinery 
they  were  obtained,  so  that  the  nation 
reaily  enjoyed  them.  Idiotic  prince,  if  it 
must  be  so  ;  yet  even  that  painful  alterna- 
tive, rather  than  servile  war. 

Thus  the  usurpation  of  the  son  of  Yury 
was  as  hateful  to  the  people  as  that  of  his 
father.  Even  in  Russia,  rude  as  its  society 
yet  was,  the  time  had  passed  when  any 
powerful  chieftain  could  seize  with  impunity 


that  which  he  desired  to  possess.     Neither 
nobles  nor  people  would  tolerate  the  would- 
be  sovereign.     All  fell  from  his  side,   and 
declared  for  their  blind  monarch.     Trem- 
bling for  his  unworthy  life,  the  usurper  fled 
to  Novgorod,  where  he  was  poisoned  by  his 
own  attendants ;  a  fate  which,  sombre  as  it 
was,  he  well  deserved.     The  city  that  had 
sheltered  him  was  compelled  to  pay  a  heavy 
fine  for  having  done  so.     No  other  incident 
of  importance  diversified  the  long  reign  of 
Vassilv  the  Blind,  who  went  unregretted  to 
his  grave  in  the  year  1462.     But  the  prin- 
ciple of  hereditary  succession  Mas  now  es- 
tablished ;  and  his  son,  Ivan  III.,  ascended 
without   opposition   a  throne   the  power  of 
w^iich  he  was  to  consolidate,  and  the  dignity 
of  which  he  was  to  exalt  in  the  eyes  of  Europe. 
One  hundred  and  thirty  years  had  elapsed 
since  Ivan  Kalita  commenced  his  reign ;  and 
the  people,  during  that  period,  had  come  to 
regard  the  right  of  the  princes  of  the  Mos- 
cow line  to  the   sovereignty  of  Russia  as 
something  unimpeachable,  if  not  divine. 


CHAPTER  X. 

IVAN  TIT  KNOWN  AS  THE  GREAT  ;  HIS  CRAFTY  POLICY  ;  HE  TAKES  THE  TARTAR  CITY  OF  KASAN  ;  SUBDUES 
NOVGOROD  AXD  ANNEXES  IT  TO  HIS  DOMINIONS  ;  TARTAR  INVASION  AND  COWARDICE  OF  THE  GRAND 
PRINCE  •  BRFAKING  UP  OF  THE  GOLDEN  HORDE  AND  ANNIHILATION  OF  THE  TARTAR  POWER ;  IVAN 
SUBDUES  YIATKA  AND  PSKOF,  AND  THE  INDEPENDENT  PRINCES  OF  RUSSIA;  CAUSES  THE  DEATH  OF  HIS 
BROTHER-  AVRESTSA  LARGE  TERRITORY  FROM  THE  LITHUANIANS;  ASSUMES  THE  TITLE  OF  CZAR;  HIS 
POLICY  TO  THE  COURTS  OF  EUROPE  ;  DISCO.^TENT  OF  THE  BOYARDS ;  IVAN  CAUSES  HIS  GRANDSON  DMITRI 
TO  BE  CROWNED  AS  HIS  SUCCESSOR,  BUT  AFTERWARDS  EXCLUDES  HIM;  JEWISH  HERESY  IN  THE  RUSSIAN 
CHURCH  ;  IVAN'S  REFORMS  AND  DESPOTISM ;  HIS  DEATH  AND  CHARACTER. 


The  time  we  are  now  approaching  has  been 
justly  termed  the  period  of  despotism.  As 
the  principle  of  strengthening  the  power  of 
the  grand  prince  met  with  fewer  obstacles, 
it  went  beyond  the  point  at  which  it  should 
have  been  restrained,  and  eventually  pro- 
duced a  government  in  which  unmitigated 
despotism  was  supported  by  frightful  cruelty. 
Ivan  III.,  known  as  Ivan  the  Great  (a 
surname  he  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have 
deserved),  ascended  the  throne  of  Moscow  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-two.  At  this  time 
of  life,  the  fresh  mind  of  youth  is  seldom 
contaminated  by  the  sinister  principles  of 
statecraft;  but  the  new  grand  prince  was 
one  of  those  passionless  natures  who  may 


be  said  never  to  have  been  influenced  by 
the  feelings  of  youth.  Before  the  bounding 
elasticities  of  boyhood  had  ceased  in  other 
men,  he  was  an  adept  in  casuistry,  and 
gifted  with  the  power  of  mental  conceal- 
ment. A  worshipper  of  the  autocratic  prin- 
ciple, the  labours  of  his  long  reign  of 
forty-three  years  were  devoted  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  Russian  independence  and  of 
an  unmitigated  despotism ;  and  the  princi- 
ples established  by  Ivan  still  cast  their 
heavy  shadows  over  the  broad  territories  of 
the  Russian  empire.  He  was  prepared  to 
sacrifice  everything  to  his  interests ;  and  no 
lofty  emotions  appear  to  have  ever  animated 
his  bosom.     So  intensely   selfish  was  he, 

51 


\ 


•• 


ACCESSION  OF  IVAN  III.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  14G2— 1469. 


A.D.  1470.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [designs  against  Novgorod. 


that  the  contemplation  of  mucli  of  his  con- 
duct excites  emotions  of  disgust.  Pro- 
foundly crafty,  he  obtained  all  his  objects 
in  some  indirect  and  frequently  ignoble 
manner.  His  perseverance  bordered  upon 
greatness;  but  his  prudence  degenerated 
into  abject  cowardice.  Such  was  the  cau- 
tion with  which  lie  proceeded,  that  the 
early  acts  of  his  reign  are  described  as  more 
resembling  the  subterfuges  of  a  coward  than 
the  crafty  artifices  of  a  despot. 

He  was  placed  in  trying  circumstances, 
which  required  all  the  exercise  of  his  subtle 
talents  ;  of  which,  as  yet,  he  knew  not  the 
extent.  Enemies  abroad  were  to  be  met, 
while  independence  at  home  was  to  be 
created.  On  one  hand  were  the  Tartars, 
and  on  the  other  the  Lithuanians;  while 
within  the  Russian  frontiers  were  the  inde- 
pendent states  of  Novgorod,  Viatka,  and 
Pskof,  besides  other  unsettled  appanages, 
the  princes  of  which  did  not  yet  recognise 
his  authoritv.  Trulv  there  was  work  enouj'h 
both  for  diplomacy  and  the  sword ;  but  the 
subtle  and  sometimes  seemingly  perplexed 
Ivan  was  equal  to  the  position  it  was  his  lot 
to  fdl.  Those  evils  he  had  most  resolved  to 
check,  he  pretended  at  first  to  entirelv  ae- 
quiesce  m.  His  cold  smile  fell  ofteuest  upon 
the  man  he  meant  at  some  future  time  to 
crush.  Thus  he  bctraved  his  enemies  into 
carelessness,  and  patiently  awaited  for  a 
favourable  hour  in  which  he  could  exter- 
minate them.  He  first  practised  upon  the 
khan  by  withholding  the  customary  tribute, 
but  without  any  appearance  of  hostility  or 
opposition.  He  merely  evaded  the  payment, 
while  he  acknowledged  the  right  of  the 
khan,  who  was  induced  to  believe  that  the 
grand  prince  was  still  his  vassal.  Such  was 
the  seeming  humility  of  Ivan,  that  he  even 
induced  the  khan  to  withdraw  the  Tartar 
residents  and  their  retinues,  together  with 
the  Tartar  merchants,  from  Moscow.  A 
little  briuery  contributed  to  this  result ;  and 
the  haughty  strangers,  who  insulted  even 
the  precincts  of  the  palace  with  the  insolent 
bearing  of  masters,  were,  in  eifect,  banished 
from  the  city.  Such  was  the  seeming 
humility  of  this  designing  man,  that  his 
wife,  a  high-spirited  lady,  had  much  diffi- 
culty in  persuading  him  to  abandon  the 
humiliating  and  even  disgusting  ceremo- 
nials with  which  Russian  princes  had  been 
compelled  to  receive  the  Tartar  envoys. 
Hitherto  they  had  advanced  to  meet  the 
barbarian  ambassadors — spread  a  carpet  of 
fur  beneath  the  feet  of  his  horse — gone  upon 
52 


'  their  knees  while  the  khan's  letter  was  read 
to  them — presented  to  the  envoy  a  cup  of 
koumiss,  and  licked  from  the  mane  of  the 
horse  any  drops  of  the  beverage  that  might 
have  fallen  upon  it  ! 

Kasan,  the  first  and  most  important  of 
Tartar  cities,  was  a  standing  insult  and  a 
perpetual  source  of  irritation  to  the  Rus- 
sians. Its  inhabitants,  rather  thieves  than 
citizens,  subsisted  chiefly  by  predatory  ex- 
cursions. So  general  and  indiscriminate 
were  their  licentious  proceedings,  that  even 
neighbouring  liordes  of  Tartars  were  not 
unwilling  to  witness  their  humiliation. 
Here,  then,  was  an  opportunity  which  in- 
vited even  the  cautious  Ivan  to  action.  Col- 
lecting all  his  available  forces,  he  marched, 
about  the  year  14G8,  against  Kasan,  with 
the  intention  of  driving  out  those  restless 
men  who  had  brought  the  habits  of  robbers 
within  the  walls  of  a  city.  At  the  time 
Ivan  conducted  this  movement,  the  armies 
of  the  Golden  Horde  were  advancing  into 
Russia,  doubtless  with  the  hope  of  restoring 
that  power  which  the  khan  must  have  seen 
was  crumbling  into  nothingness.  Ivan's 
army  was  not  only  numerous,  but  it  con- 
sisted of  the  flower  of  the  Russian  popula- 
tion. So  imposing  was  its  appearance,  that 
the  army  of  the  khan  retired  at  its  approach. 
Thus  Ivan  had  all  the  honour  ofhavinjrwon 
a  victory  without  the  hazard  of  striking  a 
single  blow;  a  kind  of  triumph  quite  iu 
harmony  with  his  timid  and  fox-like  nature. 

Instead  of  being  encouraged  to  decisive 
action  by  this  fortuitous  success,  Ivan  de- 
ferred his  attempt  on  Kasan  until  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Even  then  he  held  back  his 
impatient  soldiery,  and  acted  in  a  strangely 
hesitating  and  equivocal  way.  Resolved  not 
to  return  without  plunder,  the  Russians 
attacked  the  city,  even  against  the  orders  of 
Ivan  to  the  contrary.  Electing  a  leader  of 
their  own,  they  fell  upon  Kasan,  and  utterly 
defeated  its  defenders.  The  spiritless  grand 
prince,  perceiving  that  the  enemy  was  no 
longer  capable  of  resistance,  poured  his 
enormous  forces  upon  the  fallen  city,  and 
once  again  obtained  the  semblance  of  a- 
victory.  Yet  even  in  this  proceeding,  where 
the  Russian  force  was  so  overwhelming  that 
danger  was  almost  an  impossibility,  Ivan 
kept  far  from  the  scene  of  action,  and  issued 
his  orders  from  Moscow. 

The  attention  of  the  grand  prince  was 
now  called  to  the  three  independent  states 
of  Novgorod,  Yiatka,  and  Pskof.  Nov- 
gorod, as  the  most  wealthy  and  powerful^ 


openly  exhibited  its  distrust  of  his  inten- 
tions. Its  citizens  solicited  the  assistance 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Pskof,  and  expressed 
their  intention  to  march  at  once  against  the 
grand  prince,  as  a  measure  of  anticipation. 
They  had  detected  his  cowardice,  and  be- 
lieved they  could  inspire  him  with  a  sense 
of  terror.  Still,  to  protect  themselves 
against  his  power,  they  submitted  to  Casi- 
mir.  Prince  of  Lithuania,  and  became  his 
subjects.  The  politic  Ivan  sought  by  every 
means  to  win  over  Pskof  to  his  interests, 
that  he  might  deal  with  Novgorod  alone. 
So  artfully  did  he  proceed,  that  he  suc- 
ceeded iu  this  design,  and  even  contrived  to 
neutralise  all  the  opposition  he  had  reason 
to  fear.  AVhen  fully  prepared,  he  demanded 
that  the  citizens  of  Novgorod  should  ac- 
knowledge his  authority.  As  he  anticipated, 
the  reply  was  conveyed  in  the  language  of 
scorn  and  defiance.  He  had  obtained  the 
pretext  he  desired,  and  his  next  messengers 
to  Novgorod  were  three  powerful  armies, 
who  entered  the  territories  of  the  state  in 
different  directions.  Such  was  their  over- 
whelming superiority  to  the  forces  of  Nov- 
gorod, that  resistance  was  hopeless.  The 
more  so,  as  the  troops  of  Ivan  possessed  lire- 
arms  and  cannon — a  recent  acquisition,  the 
use  of  which  he  had  learned  from  Aristotle 
of  Bologna,  an  Italian,  whom  he  had  taken 
into  his  service  as  an  architect,  mint-master, 
and  founder.  After  a  brief  and  gallant 
struggle,  the  opposition  of  the  Novgoro- 
dians  was  trampled  into  the  dust.  Swarms 
of  peasantry,  following  in  the  rear  of  the 
army  of  the  grand  prince,  succeeded  the 
soldiers  in  the  work  of  plunder  and  license. 
Ivan  had  really  encouraged  these  outrages ; 
but  with  an  aff'ectation  of  compassion,  he 
pretended  to  repress  them.  He  said  he 
grieved  for  the  people,  and  wished  to  pro- 
tect them  from  unnecessary  violence;  but, 
in  secret,  he  gloated  over  the  severit}^  of  the 
wound  he  had  caused  to  be  inflicted.  Weak- 
ened as  Novgorod  was,  the  victor  did  not  at 
once  attach  it  to  his  dominions.  That  would 
have  involved  its  partition  among  those 
princes  by  whose  aid  he  had  subdued  it. 
He  had  made  promises  to  that  eff'cct ;  but 
without  the  least  intention  of  fulfilling  them. 
He  therefore  affected  a  generous  and  mag- 
nanimous tone,  and  merely  exacted  a  rich 
ransom  and  an  act  of  submission  from  the 
conquered  city.  Enfeebled  as  it  had  been, 
he  knew  that  it  must  fall  into  his  hands 
whenever,  at  some  future  time,  he  extended 
them  to  receive  it.      Still  he  seized  upon 


some  of  its  tributaries,  under  the  transpa- 
rent pretext  of  relieving  an  exhausted  state 
from  some  of  the  toilsome  duties  of  govern- 
ment. Bv  this  means  he  transferred  much 
of  the  commerce  of  Novgorod  to  his  own 
city  of  Moscow. 

Availing  himself  of  that  feeling  of  discon- 
tent and  jealousy  ever  felt,  to  some  extent,  by 
the  poor  towards  the  rich,  Ivan  succeeded  in 
sowing  dissension  between  the  nobles  and  the 
people  of  Novgorod.  That  done,  he  induced 
the  latter  to  appeal  to  him  for  justice — an  ap- 
plication which  he  at  once  answered  by  pro- 
ceeding to  their  city  with  great  magnificence. 
The  people  were  dazzled  by  the  almost 
oriental  splendour  of  his  numerous  retinue, 
and  captivated  by  the  generous  interest  he 
appeared^  to  take  in  their  affairs.  The  no- 
bles and  wealthy  citizens  of  Novgorod  whom 
they  accused,  he  loaded  with  chains,  and 
sent  as  prisoners  to  Moscow.  Thus  the 
crafty  despot  got  rid  of  those  who  alone 
could  efficiently  oppose  his  selfish  designs 
upon  the  city.  The  blind  animosity  of  the 
people  induced  them  to  overlook,  that,  in 
this  proceeding  of  the  grand  prince,  one  of 
those  laws  which  had  for  centuries  been  the 
basis  of  their  libertv,  was  violated.  The 
ancient  law  of  the  state  was,  ''that  none  of 
its  citizens  should  ever  be  tried  or  punished 
out  of  the  limits  of  its  own  territory."  Yet 
Ivan,  in  trampling  down  this  safeguard  of 
the  freedom  of  the  citizens  of  Novgorod, 
acted  with  such  profound  duplicity,  that 
he  even  won  the  popular  favour  by  his  vio- 
lation of  the  charter  of  their  independence. 

Gradually  the  inhabitants  of  Novgorod 
referred  all  their  disputes  to  the  decision  of 
the  grand  prince.  Profiting  by  this  disposi- 
tion, he  at  length  summoned  offenders  to 
appear  before  him  at  Moscow.  The  Novgo- 
rodians  hesitated;  submission  seemed  a 
surrender  of  their  national  independence; 
and  vet  they  were  won  to  submission  bv 
the  artful  representations  of  Ivan.  His 
penetrating  gaze  was  always  bent  deep  into 
the  future.  For  seven  years  did  this  perse- 
vering despot  labour  to  lure  them  from  those 
distinctive  habits,  and  that  original  charac- 
ter, which  separated  them  from  the  rest  of 
the  empire. 

At  length  he  deemed  events  ripe  for  the 
disclosure  of  the  design  he  had  so  long 
veiled.  An  envoy  from  Novgorod,  in  an 
interview  with  the  grand  prince,  either  in- 
advertently or  in  consequence  of  having 
been  bribed  to  do  so,  addressed  him  by  the 
title  of  liege  lord,  instead  of  by  that  of 

5a 


^ 

\ 


\ 


IVAN  SUBDUES  NOVGOROD.l 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1470—1478. 


A.D.  1479.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [apprehensions  from  the  tartars. 


master,  which  liad  hitherto  been  the  custom. 
Ivan  grasped  eagerly  at  the  mistake,  or 
treachery,  and  at  once  claimed  all  the  privi- 
leges of  an  absolute  master.  He  demanded 
that  the  republican  city  should  take  an  oath 
to  him  as  a  legislator  and  its  judge;  that  it 
should  receive  his  bovards  with  full  autho- 
rity  to  exercise  their  almost  irresponsible 
control  :  that  it  should  yield  to  them  the 
revered  palace  of  Yaroslaf,  esteemed  as  the 
sacred  temple  of  Novgorodian  liberty,  and 
where,  for  more  than  five  centuries,  their 
public  assemblies  had  been  held  ;  and,  finally, 
that  each  citizen  should  abdicate  his  share 
of  the  sovereignty  for  the  sake  of  the  general 
good. 

The  ])eoplc  of  Novgorod  were  filled  with 
astonishment  and  rage;  for  hitherto  they 
appear  not  to  have  entertained  any  suspicion 
that  the  extinction  of  their  independence 
was  aimed  at.  The  great  bell  of  the  city 
summoned  the  people  to  the  market-place. 
Thither  thev  rushed  in  furious  crowds  ;  and, 
having  seized  on  their  imprudent  envoy, 
they  placed  liim  on  his  trial  for  treason 
against  the  state;  and  on  his  being  con- 
demned, tore  him  limb  from  limb  on  the 
spot.  Some  of  the  nobles,  whom  they  also 
suspected  of  being  accessory  to  the  sur- 
render of  their  freedom,  they  murdered  in 
the  streets,  and  they  then  again  solicited 
the  aid  of  the  Prince  of  Lithuania,  and  ac- 
knowledged him  as  their  sovereign.  The 
crafty  Ivan  was  quite  prepared  for  this 
storm  of  passionate  excitement;  but  when 
the  intelligence  reached  his  ears,  he  pre- 
tended to  be  overcome  with  surprise  at 
what  he  called  the  treachery  and  ingrati- 
tude of  the  people.  This  man,  who  was 
impenetrable  to  any  other  feeling  than  that 
of  the  most  concentrated  selfishness,  affected 
much  emotion,  and  groaned  repeatedly.  It 
was  not  they,  he  declared,  but  he  who  had 
been  deceived.  With  well-assumed  vehe- 
mence, he  broke  out  into  lamentations, 
which  blinded  even  those  who  knew  his 
habitual  hypocrisy.  He  accused  the  people 
of  Novgorod  of  having  spread  a  snare  for 
him.  It  was  they,  he  said,  who  sought 
him  for  their  sovereign ;  and  when,  yielding 
to  their  wishes,  he  had  assumed  that  title, 
they  disavowed  him — they  had  the  impu- 
dence to  give  him  the  lie  formally  in  the 
face  of  all  Russia — they  had  dared  to  shed 
the  blood  of  their  compatriots  who  remained 
faithful,  and  to  betray  heaven  and  the  holy 
land  of  the  Russians,  by  calling  within  its 
limits  a  foreign  religion  and  domination. 
54 


These  crafty  lamentations  were  addressed 
by  Ivan  to  his  priests,  nobles,  and  people, 
and  to  all  his  subordinate  princes,  whom  he 
sought  to  unite  in  a  crusade  against  Novgo- 
rod. Many  entered  warmly  into  the  scheme, 
which  was  supported  strongly  by  the  clergy. 
The  republic  of  Pskof  and  the  principality 
of  Twer  alone  stood  aloof;  but  the  crafty 
tyrant  withdrew  their  military  power,  under 
the  form  of  a  contingent,  and  left  them 
helpless.  The  citizens  of  Novgorod  were 
alarmed  at  the  cloud  which  hung  over  them, 
and  endeavoured  to  obtain  conditions. 
These  were  refused  by  Ivan,  who  demanded 
a  surrender  of  everything.  *'  I  will  reign 
at  Novgorod,^'  he  exclaimed,  "  as  I  do  at 
Moscow  V^  At  the  same  time,  as  if  to 
temper  his  despotic  bearing,  he  promised 
to  respect  the  liberties  of  the  citizens ; 
though  he  carefully  took  away  every  means 
of  defending  them. 

The  Novgorodians  were  in  despair.  Seve- 
ral times  they  armed  themselves,  and  ap- 
peared resolved  to  risk  a  conflict  which  the 
overwhelming  number  of  their  foes  rendered 
hopeless.  Then,  terrified  by  the  desperate 
nature  of  their  afi'airs,  they  sunk  into  a 
hopeless  despondency.  For  a  month  the 
armies  of  Ivan  remained  stationary,  but 
yet,  as  it  were,  with  swords  uplifted,  as  if 
in  the  act  to  strike.  He  cared  nothing  for 
military  glory,  but  merely  wanted  the  ac- 
complishment of  his  purpose.  To  him  the 
mode  was  nothing;  his  mind  regarded  only 
the  end.  He  sought  to  domineer  by  terror 
rather  than  by  arms,  and  shrunk  even  from 
encountering  that  loss  which  might  attend 
upon  victor3\  He  was  patient ;  and  he  had 
collected  so  powerful  a  military  force  only 
that  he  might  avoid  war.  His  calculations 
were  correctly  made;  Novgorod,  weakened, 
oppressed,  and  distracted,  at  length  sub- 
mitted without  a  blow.  The  liberty  of 
Novgorod,  held  in  his  murderous  embrace, 
suff'ered  the  agonies  of  protracted  sufl*oca- 
tion,  and  at  length  died  in  despair.  On  the 
15th  of  January,  1478,  the  national  assem- 
blies ceased,  and  the  people  took  the  oath 
of  servitude.  Three  days  later  the  boyards, 
and  the  most  influential  of  the  inhabitants, 
passively  entered  into  the  service  of  the 
grand  prince,  who  showed  his  now  unim- 
peachable power  by  confiscating  the  vast 
revenues  of  the  clergy,  and  bestowing  them 
upon  the  boyards  and  their  followers,  by 
whose  assistance  he  had  smitten  the  pros- 
trate and  abject  city.  Nor  did  he  go  with- 
out his  own  share  of  the  spoil ;  for,  in  such 


a  distribution,  he  was  not  the  man  to  forget 
himself.  He  desired  to  bleed  Novgorod  of 
its  treasure,  until  the  once  prosperous  city 
-should  be  so  exhausted  as  never  to  be  able 
again  to  make  head  against  his  power. 
With  this  view,  quickened  by  the  inordinate 
selfishness  which  possessed  him  like  an  evil 
spirit,  he  seized  upon  everything  valuable  to 
which  he  could  establish  the  faintest  shadow 
of  a  claim.  An  estimate  may  be  formed  of 
the  rapacity  of  this  regal  vulture,  from  the 
fact,  that  he  is  said  to  have  conveyed  to 
Moscow  300  cart-loads  of  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones,  besides  an  enormous  quan- 
tity of  furs,  cloths,  and  other  valuable  mer- 
chandise ! 

Ivan  had  not  long  enjoyed  his  insidious 
triumph  before  he  himself  was  assailed  by 
terrors  similar  to  those  which  he  had  so 
remorselessly  inflicted.     News  reached  him 
that  the  Tartars  of  the  Golden  Horde  were 
preparing  for  another  invasion  of  Russia, 
with  the  hope  of  recovering  their  expiring 
power  over   it.      Russia,  concentrated  and 
prepared   with  a  powerful   army,  was   un- 
daunted ;    and  Ivan  had  no  cause  for  fear. 
Two  hundred  thousand  soldiers  awaited  his 
command,  and  felt  themselves  fully  equal  to 
encounter  the  weakened  Tartars.   His  troops 
panted  for  distinction,  and  longed  to  avenge 
themselves    on    their    ancient    oppressors; 
while  the  princes  of  the  empire  were  warmly 
devoted  to  his  cause.     Even  civilians   and 
women  spoke  with  an  auger,  mingled  with 
contempt,  of  the   barbarous  foe.     A  prince 
of  a  martial  and  enthusiastic  nature  might 
have  enlisted  in  his  cause  every  able  man 
among  his  subjects,  and  by  one  merciless 
and  well-directed  blow,  have  extinguished 
the  Tartar  army  in  a  sea  of  blood.     Yet, 
under  these  circumstances,  there  was  but 
one  man  in   Russia  who  trembled  at   the 
danger,  and  that  man  was  the  sovereign. 
When    his  vast   power,   full  of    spirit    and 
confident  of   victory,  marched  forward   to 
meet   the   enemy,  this   miserable  recreant 
deemed  himself  conquered.     Overcome  by 
his  shadowy  terrors,  he  sent  his  princess  to 
find  an  asylum  in  a  remote  district  of  the 
north;  and  then,  deserting  the  army,  shut 
himself  up   within   the   walls  of  Moscow. 
He  even  recalled  his  son  to  the  capital ;  but 
the   prince,   humiUated   at   beholding    the 
abject  fears  of  his  father,  properly  refused 
to  leave  his  post  with  the  army.     Even  the 
people  became  indignant ;  and,  amidst  por- 
tentous   murmurs,   demanded,    *^  Why   he 
had  overburdened  them  with  taxes,  without 


paying  the  khan  his  tribute?  And  why, 
when  he  had  brought  the  enemy  into  the 
heart  of  the  country,  did  he  refuse  to  fight 

them?" 

The  grand  prince  knew  not  how  to 
answer  these  reproaches,  which  he  could 
not  altogether  avoid  hearing.  The  mur- 
murs of  an  indignant  people  added  to  his 
terrors,  even  in  his  remote  and  well-guarded 
chambers.  Casting  vainly  about  for  ex- 
cuses, he  convoked  a  meeting  of  the  bishops 
and  boyards,  for  the  purpose,  he  said,  of 
asking  their  advice.  Their  counsel  was 
conclusive :  even  the  ouccessors  of  those 
timid  and  selfish  priests  who  had  betrayed 
Moscow  to  destruction  in  the  time  of  the 
brave  Dmitry  Donskoi,  were  decided  now. 
''  Does  it,"  said  they,  "  become  mortals  to 
dread  death  ?  It  is*^in  vain  to  fly  from  fear. 
March  boldly  against  the  enemy;  such  is 

our  advice !" 

The  reluctant  autocrat  was  compelled  by 
a  sense  of  shame  to  rejoin  his  army ;   but 
his  unconcealed  fears  diminished  the  ardour 
of  his   troops.     He   remained   behind  the 
river   Lugra,    and   secretly   opened    a   dis- 
graceful communication  with  the  Tartars,  in 
which  he  treated  for  pardon.     The  baseness 
of  fear  could  not  be  carried  further :    the 
soldiery   and    the   people   of    Moscow,   on 
hearing    of  his  conduct,    grew    turbulent. 
The  primate  of  Moscow,  animated  by  des- 
pair, sought  his  presence,  and  endeavoured 
to    rouse    him   to   a   sense   of    manliness. 
"  Moved  by  our  tears,"  said  the  head  of 
the  church,   "you  set  out   once   more   to 
combat  the  enemy  of  the  Christians ;  and 
now  you  implore  peace  from   that  infidel 
who  scorns  your   prayer  !     Ah,  prince,  to 
what  counsels  have  you  lent  your  ear  !     Is 
it  not   to    throw    away   your    shield,   and 
shamefully  take  to  flight?     From  what   a 
height  of  grandeur  are  you  not  descending  ! 
Would  you  give  up  Russia  to  the  sword, 
and    the     churches     to     plunder  ?      And 
whither  would  you  fly?     Can  you  soar  like 
the  eagle  ?     Will  you  fix  your  nest  amidst 
the  stars?     The  Lord  will  cast  you  down 
even  from  that  asylum  '     No  !  you  will  not 
desert  us ;    you  will  blush  at  the  name  of 
fugitive,  and  traitor  to  your  country  !" 

Even  these  forcible  expostulations  pro- 
duced no  effect.  Surrounded  by  an  enor- 
mous army  swelled  by  constant  reinforce- 
ments, nothing  could  inspire  him  with 
confidence.  So  paralysed  was  he  with 
cowardice,  that  when  the  ice  of  a  premature 
winter  had  frozen  over  the  river  between 

55 


?     :- 


I 


'■■      (1 


5. 


I 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TARTARS.]       HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1479. 


A.D.  1480.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[designs  of  IVAN. 


'.'f 


him  and  the  enemy,  he  took  to  a  disgraceful 
and  disorderly  flight.  Fortunately  for  him, 
his  motives  were  not  transparent  to  the 
multitude,  who  were  removed  too  far  from 
their  prince  to  he  able  to  judge  critically  of 
his  conduct.  Even  had  thev  beheld  the 
abject  despot  trembling  with  fear  while 
victory  was  within  his  grasp,  yet  their 
reverence  for  autocracy  was  so  great,  that 
they  could  not  have  felt  anger  or  bitterness 
towards  tlie  throned  representative  of  the 
race  of  Ruric. 

Fortune  conferred  upon  the  dastard  that 
success  which  brave  and  deserving  men 
have  too  often  failed  to  obtain.  When  his 
disgraceful  flight  threatened  to  bind  faster 
upon  the  Russians  those  Tartar  chains  they 
had  nearly  cast  aside,  an  unexpected  in- 
cident turned  the  scale  of  victory.  His 
lieutenant  of  Svcnigorod,  and  his  ally,  the 
khan  of  the  Crimea,  advanced  suddenly 
upon  the  Golden  Horde,  and  carried  their 
victorious  arms  into  the  very  den  of  the 
Tartars.  News  of  this  movement  soon 
reached  the  invading  army,  which  made  a 
precipitate  retreat,  with  the  object  of  averting 
the  destruction  which  threatened  the  seat  of 
its  power.  The  khan  and  his  forces  were 
too  late;  the  Russians  had  fallen  like 
avengers  upon  the  Golden  Horde,  slaughter- 
ing the  Tartars  they  found  there,  and 
carrying  oft'  the  treasures.  No  sooner  had 
they  retired  than  a  band  of  marauding 
Tartars  entered,  and  completed  the  work 
of  devastation.  «  They  carried  away  the 
women,  together  with  what  wealth  yet  re- 
mained; and  then  retired,  leaving  the 
palace  and  other  dwellings  of  the  Golden 
Horde  in  flames.  Yet  another  and  still 
greater  disaster  fell  upon  the  discomfited 
khan.  His  army  was  attacked,  during  its 
retreat,  by  a  hetman  of  the  Cossacks  and 
the  Murza  of  the  Nogays,  who  fell  upon 
its  disorderly  ranks  with  such  fury,  and 
used  the  sword  with  so  merciless  a  severity, 
that  scarcely  a  remnant  of  the  invaders 
escaped.  As  an  army  they  were  destroyed ; 
nothing  was  left  of  them  but  a  disorganised 
and  starving  rabble.  The  Golden  Horde 
was  annihilated ;  the  Tartar  yoke  was 
trampled  into  the  dust ;  and  the  scourge  of 
Russia  was  no  more. 

It  might  be  supposed,  that  though  Russia 
was  jubilant,  yet  that  the  people  regarded 
their  sovereign  with  the  scorn  his  cowardice 
merited.  The  very  reverse  was  the  case. 
Though  his  pusillanimity  had  almost  brought 
ruin  upon  the  empire, to  him  was  given  all  the 
56 


honours  of  the  unexpected  success.  It  was 
even  attributed  to  his  wisdom  and  foresight. 
His  credulous  people  believed  that  he  had 
devised  it  all ;  and  that  even  his  fliglit  was 
merely  a  snare  to  delude  the  foe.  With  a 
blind  stupidity  which  excites  astonishment, 
they  now  regarded  Ivan  as  a  man  of  pro- 
found genius;  gifted  alike  in  the  field  or 
the  council-chamber.  In  the  joy  they  felt 
at  their  deliverance  from  two  centuries  and 
a-half  of  national  slavery,  they  were  dis- 
posed almost  to  worship  the  grand  prince  as 
an  incarnation  of  their  new-born  liberty  I 

The  crafty  Ivan  resolved  to  profit  by  this 
error  of  his  people.  It  enabled  him  to 
draw  the  bands  of  government  tighter,  and 
to  increase  his  wealth  and  power.  His 
fears  vanished  with  the  danger  that  caused 
them,  and  his  ambitious  acquisitiveness  re- 
turned. He  now  directed  his  eff'orts  to  the 
subjugation  of  the  republics  of  Viatka  and 
Pskof,  both  of  which  he  accomplished  with 
little  bloodshed,  and  rather  by  stratagem 
than  power.  Novgorod,  enfeebled  as  it  had 
been,  was  still  occasionally  agitated  by  re- 
collections of  its  former  liberty.  Its  citizens 
could  not  wear  their  chains  patiently ;  and 
sometimes  the  crushed  republic  smouldered 
with  the  suppressed  fires  of  revolution. 
Ivan  resolved  to  tranquillise  it  after  his  own 
fashion.  To  do  this,  he  seized  every  pre- 
text for  removing  Novgorodian  families  to 
other  parts  of  the  empire,  and  supplying 
their  places  with  parasites  of  his  own.  The 
city  was  at  length  exhausted  of  its  original 
inhabitants,  and  filled  by  men  penetrated 
with  feelings  of  abject  submission  to  the 
grand  prince.  Novgorod  was  quite  trans- 
formed by  this  process.  The  city  stood  as 
before;  but  the  proud  freemen  who  once 
trod  its  streets  had  departed,  and  the  groups 
who  now  traded  and  chafi'ered  in  them  were 
slaves.      Amidst   all  this  craft  and  crueltv 

• 

the  interests  of  Russia  were  advancing;  its 
consolidation  was  being  promoted.  It  was 
necessary  that  the  petty  tyrants  of  the 
difi'erent  principalities  should  fall  before  one 
great  tyrant,  that  union  might  take  the 
place  of  discord,  and  a  great  empire  arise 
out  of  a  number  of  small  and  ever-jarring 
states.  It  has  been  truly  observed,  that 
unless  Ivan  had  broken  all  the  ties  of 
honour  and  humanity,  and  sacrificed  the 
best  feelings  of  his  nature,  he  could  not 
have  subdued  the  insurgent  population  so 
efi'ectually  as  to  have  bound  up  the  whole  in 
one  sentiment  of  common  national  interest. 
Mean,  unprincipled,  and  worthless  as  was 


the  man,  the  monarch  accomplished  an  im- 
portant labour,  of  a  kind  that  better  men 
would  probably  have  failed  to  eff'ect. 

Some  powerful  and  independent  princes 
yet  existed  in  Russia,  and  Ivan  now  re- 
solved to  weave  his  snares  around  them. 
He  would  have  no  independent  appanages  ; 
he  must  reign  supreme  :  Russia  he  desired  to 
see  one  and  undivided,  and  yet  merely  his 
footstool.  Ivan  had  long  foreseen  and  pre- 
pared for  the  contest  on  w^hicli  he  was 
.•ibout  to  enter;  but  his  habitual  cunning 
and  deceptive  bearing  had  prevented  his 
intended  victims  from  entertaining  a  sus- 
picion of  his  purpose.  This  cold-hearted 
man  ever  smiled  on  those  he  meant  to  ruin  ; 
and  disarmed  them  by  a  well-simulated 
bearing  of  gentleness,  and  even  humility. 
For  three-aud-twenty  years  his  Machiave- 
lian  patience  recognised  the  right  and  in- 
dependence of  those  princes  whom  he 
meant  to  despoil,  and,  if  necessary,  to 
crush.  He  would  not  encumber  himself 
with  quarrels  at  home  while  the  Tartar 
power  remained  unbroken.  When  two  of 
his  brothers  revolted,  and  withdrew  with 
what  forces  they  could  collect  into  Lithu- 
ania, he  implored  their  return  with  the  most 
humble  supplications.  The  motives  for  hypo- 
crisy in  this  direction  were  now  at  an  end, 
and  he  resolved  to  adopt  a  very  difi^er- 
ent  course.  He  did  not  wear  a  lion's  robe, 
and  patch  it,  when  necessary,  with  the  skin 
of  the  fox;  but  he  wore  a  mantle  of  the 
skins  of  foxes,  to  which  he  added,  when  it 
was  perfectly  prudent  to  do  so,  some  portions 
of  the  hide  of  the  lion. 

Throwing  aside  the  mask  he  had  worn  so 
many  years,  Ivan  commenced  his  desisrns 
upon  the  Prince  of  Twer,  the  most  formi- 
dable  of  those   who   vet    assumed   a   vain 

w 

rivalry  with  the  power  and  splendour  of  the 
grand  princedom.  In  early  life  he  had 
married  a  princess  of  the  house  of  Twer, 
and  a  son  was  the  result  of  the  union.  The 
tie  had  done  much  to  restrain  him  in  this 
direction ;  but  Ins  wife  and  son  were  both 
dead,  and  the  thread  of  connection  was 
severed.  He  had  since  married  a  Greek 
princess  ;  and  there  was  nothing  now  to  ex- 
cite emotions  of  kindliness  or  forbearance. 
The  principality  of  Twer  was  fiturrouuded 
by  his  possessions,  and  he  could  threaten 
and  strike  at  it  from  all  sides.  Having  by 
some  injustice  goaded  the  Prince  of  Twer 
into  the  desperate  resort  of  seeking  assist- 
ance from  the  now  enfeebled  state  of 
Lithuania,  he  charged  its  prince  with  trea- 

VOL.  I.  I 


son,  and  terrified  him  with  the  exhibition 
of  an  armed  confederacy  ajirainst  him. 
Appalled  by  the  armies  that  surrounded 
them  on  all  sides,  the  inhabitants  appealed 
to  Ivan  for  forgiveness ;  which  he  consented 
to  grant  only  on  the  paym.ent  of  a  tribute 
that  enfeebled  the  whole  territory.  Thus, 
though  he  held  the  sword  aloft  and  did  fiot 
strike,  yet  he  drained  away  the  wealth  and 
strength  of  his  intended  victim.  He  then 
excited  disputes  between  the  Muscovites 
and  the  Twerians ;  and  made  the  latter  feel 
their  helplessness  and  insecurity  to  such  an 
extent,  that  they  were  at  length  glad  to 
purchase  the  protection  of  Ivan  at  the 
price  of  their  independence.  Their  prince, 
robbed  of  his  heritage  and  driven  to  despair, 
fled  to  Lithuania,  where  he  died  in  exile, 
and,  fortunately  for  the  prosperous  Ivan, 
without  children  to  claim  his  dominions. 

Ruler  of  Twer,  the  appanage  of  the 
powerful  rivals  of  his  house,  the  grand 
prince  became  an  unapproachable  autocrat. 
Those  princes  who  yet  retained  their  inde- 
pendence, saw  that  resistance  was  unavail- 
ing and  submission  unavoidable.  Ivan  no 
longer  wore  a  mask  of  humility,  but  spoke 
in  a  voice  of  thunder.  He  knew  his  power, 
and  he  was  inflexible.  The  terror  of  his 
name  procured  the  immediate  submission 
of  the  rulers  of  Rostof  and  Yaroslaf.  Ivan 
extended  his  sceptre  over  their  principali- 
ties, but  permitted  them  still  to  retain 
their  authority  as  governors  appointed  by 
him.  The  Prince  of  Vereia,  in  a  vain  at- 
tempt to  avoid  this  confiscation,  fled  into 
Lithuania ;  but  the  autocrat  punished  his 
flight,  by  compelling  the  dying  father  of  the 
fugitive  to  disinherit  him  of  several  cities, 
which  Ivan  appropriated  to  himself.  Among 
the  independent  princes,  were  two  brothers 
of  the  tyrant,  on  the  annexation  of  whose 
dominions  he  was  as  much  resolved  as 
though  the  owners  had  been  strangers  to 
his  blood.  One  of  them  surrendered  his 
appanage  sooner  than  expose  himself  to  the 
dark  machinations  of  so  treacherous  and  re- 
morseless a  despot.  The  other,  a  man  of 
an  active  nature  and  less  disposed  to  sub- 
mission, was  invited  by  the  grand  prince  to 
his  court.  There  the  unsuspicious  guest, 
though  received  with  smiles,  was  suddenly 
arrested  and  loaded  with  chains.  In  this 
painful  position,  he  sunk  ulider  a  too  acute 
sense  of  impatience  and  the  ignominy  of  the 
insult  that  had  been  ofi*ered  to  him,  and  ex- 
pired. Ivan  was  seized  with  remorse  when 
this  intelligence  was  conveyed  to  him,  and 

57 


IVAN  INVADES  LITHUANIA."!  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  148.2. 


ii 


he  is  said  even  to  have  wept  over  his  mur- 
dered brother.  It  is  with  shame  and  anger 
we  add,  tiiat  the  awakened  voice  of  con- 
science was  stifled  by  his  bisliops,  who 
readily  pacified  his  religious  fears,  and 
granted  him  a  plenary  absolution. 

Ivan  now  sat  upon  an  absolute  throne. 
Tliose  princes  who,  at  the  commencement 
of  his  reign,  were  almost  as  much  sovereigns 
as  himself,  were  either  dead  or  banished,  or 
had  become  transformed  into  obsequious 
servants.  They  mingled  with  the  boyards 
— became  in  effect  bovards  themselves,  and 
did  not  dare  even  to  refer  to  that  descent 
from  Ruric  which  had  once  placed  them  on 
an  equality  with  Ivan  himself. 

The  life  of  the  grand  prince  was  one  of 
ceaseless    activity,   and    another   opponent 
remained   for  him   to  subdue.      This  was 
Casimir,   Duke  of  Poland,  who,   though  a 
man  of  feeble  character,  had  been  the  con- 
stant, though  often   indirect,  adversary  of 
Ivan  for  many  years.     While  the  hands  of 
the  latter  were  full  of  other  business,  he  had 
let  Casimir  proceed;    but  he  only  delayed 
retribution  that  he  might  effect  it  with  the 
greater  certainty.     Casimir  had  encouraged 
both  Livonians  and  Tartars  in  their  efforts 
against  Russia,  and  had  promoted  rebellion 
in  many  of  the  Russian  principalities,  whose 
prince  or  people  disliked  the  supremacy  of 
Ivan.     Indeed,  the  Polish  duke  pursued  the 
same  indirect  policy  as  that  followed  by  the 
Russian  grand  prince,  and  w  ith  a  consider- 
able  amount  of  success.     Ivan   now  com- 
menced a  war  of  artifices  on  the  Duke  of 
Poland,  against  whom  he  contrived   alter- 
nately to  excite  many  neighbouring  poten- 
tates.    His  superior  ability  in  the  work  of 
artifice  was  soon  apparent.     Casimir,  how- 
ever, died  before  he  felt  the  full  weight  of 
his  adversary's  hand.     On  his  demise,  the 
•duchy  of  Lithuania  was  divorced  from  the 
parent  state,  and  separately  organised  under 
Prince  Alexander;    while  the   rest   of  the 
Polish   territories    were    re-formed    into   a 
distinct   government.     Ivan    saw   that  the 
time  had  now  arrived  for  more  decisive  ac- 
tion.    Poland  weakened  by  division ;  Russia 
strengthened   by  concentration;— this   was 
the  time  to  recover  those  possessions  which, 
in    former    times,    the     Lithuanians     had 
wrested  from  his  ancestors. 

Having  collected  an  enormous  army, 
Ivan  advanced  towards  Lithuania.  As 
usual,  he  avoided  fighting;  but  attempted 
to  terrify  his  foes  by  the  display  of  an 
overwhelming  militarv  superiority.  At  the 
58 


same  time,  his  allies,  Menghli-Ghirei,  the 
khan  of  the  Crimea,  and  the  hospodar  of 
Moldavia,  assailed  Lithuania  in  other  direc- 
tions. The  device  succeeded,  and  the  un- 
fortunate Prince  of  Lithuania  was  terrified 
into  submission.  A  treaty  was  entered 
into,  and  Ivan  bestowed  the  hand  of  his 
daughter  upon  his  fallen  adversary.  Tliis 
apparent  generosity  was  only  for  the  pur- 
pose of  weaving  a  closer  snare  around  his 
intended  victim,  and  with  the  object  of 
I  extirpating  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
I  from  Lithuania,  and  planting  the  Greek 
i  form  of  Christianity  in  its  place.  The  lady 
was  a  zealous  member  of  the  Greek  church, 
and  she  effectually  executed  the  intention 
of  her  father;  which  was,  by  seeking  all 
occasions  to  introduce  her  own  faith,  to 
produce  religious  dissensions  between  her 
husband,  his  people,  and  the  Russians.  As 
Prince  Alexander  was  an  ardent  catholic 
and  a  man  of  narrow  understanding,  the 
result  may  be  readily  divined.  He  entered 
into  some  violent  measures  to  defeat  the 
designs  of  his  wife,  and  thus  gave  the  in- 
sidious Ivan  a  pretext  for  waging  against 
him  a  war  in  the  name  of  religion.     This 


time  the  sword  was  not  only  drawn,  but 
used.  Ivan  obtained  a  decisive  victory, 
and  then  wrested  from  the  defeated  bigot 
the  country  as  far  as  Kief  and  Smolensk, 
which  had  been  taken  from  his  ancestors  by 
the  then  prosperous  and  powerful  Lithua- 
nians. 

It  was  now  that  Ivan,  naturally  elated  by 
his  many  triumphs,  adopted  a  title  which 
was  regarded  as  more  august  and  important 
than  that  of  grand  prince.     It  was  that  of 
Tzar,  or,  as  custom  now  almost  universally 
renders   it   in   other    European    countries. 
Czar.     Some  obscurity  rests  upon  the  origin 
and  precise   meaning   of  this   Asiatic   and 
semi-barbarous  sounding  title.     It  was  gen- 
erally   presumed   to  have   been   a   corrup- 
tion'of  the  word  Caesar;  but  this  supposi- 
tion is  laid  aside.     Philological  critics  have 
now  pronounced  that  it  is  an  old  oriental 
word,  which  the  Russians  acquired  through 
the  Slavonic  translation  of  the  Bible,  and 
which  they  at  first  bestowed  upon  the  Greek 
emperors,' and  afterwards  upon  the  Tartar 
khans.     In  Persia,  it  signifies  a  throne,  or 
supreme  authority  ;  and  it  is  to  be  found  in 
the  termination  of  the  names  of  the  kings! 
of  Assyria  and  Babylon ;  such  as  Phalossar,! 
Nabonassar,   Nebuchadnezzar,    Belshazzari 
To  the  Russian  subjects  of  Ivan's  time,  aj 
of  ours,  supreme  authority,  or  power  derive^ 


A.D.  1482.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[rkflections. 


from  God,  and  onlv  controllable  bv  him,  was 
the  signification  of  the  term.  It  is  strange 
that  this  pusillanimous  monarch  should  not 
only  have  raised  the  power  of  the  Russian 
sovereignty  to  a  height  that  his  predecessors 
seem  scarcely  to  have  contemplated,  ])ut 
should  have  established  a  religiously  guarded 
despotism  on  the  part  of  the  prince,  and  a 
sense  of  the  religious  duty  of  passive  obe- 
dience on  that  of  the  people,  Avhich  have 
existed  to  this  hour.  How  true  is  it,  that 
institutions  are  but  the  lengthened  shadow 
of  one  man.  A  crafty  despot  prepares  his 
people  for  passive  slavery;  w'hile  a  lilieral 
monarch  inspires  them  with  a  love  of  ra- 
tional freedom,  and  a  desire  for  advance- 
ment in  those  arts  which,  on  the  one  hand, 
create  magnificence  and  abundance,  and  on 
the  other,  tend  to  the  amelioration  both  of 
poverty  and  disease. 

*'0n  looking  back,''*  said  a  modern  histo- 
rian, "at  the  progress  of  Ivan's  career  to- 
wards this  unexampled  elevation,  while  we 
discover  much  that  is  referable  to  that  com- 
bination of  favourable  accidents  which  usu- 
allv  occurs  to  those  who  least  stand  in  need 
of  extraneous  help,  we  also  find  much  that 
was  produced  by  a  calm  and  persevering 
spirit  incessantly  engaged  in  the  calculation 
of  the  chances  of  every  movement,  and 
Avhich  took  advantage  of  the  most  trifling 
circumstance  that  could  be  turned  to  the 
credit  of  the  great  account.  Pusillanimous 
by  nature,  Ivan  had  the  larger  leisure  for 
maturing  his  intrigues  ;  and,  by  the  exercise 
of  a  system  of  stratagems  in  an  age  when 
physical  force  was  the  common  appeal  of 
nations,  he  vanquished  his  antagonists  by 
bearing  down  on  those  points  where  they 
were  the  least  prepared  for  resistance.  Nor 
did  he  lose  sight  of  the  leading  features  of 
national  superstition.  He  carefully  sounded 
the  depths  of  the  Russian  character ;  and, 
availing  himself  of  the  weaknesses  of  the 

*  In  the  pages  of  Gibbon,  the  historic  reader  will 
find  a  gorgeous  word-picture  of  the  fall  of  Constan- 
tinople, and  abundant  accounts  of  the  selfishness, 
timidity,  and  superstition  of  its  people  We  quote  a 
brief  but  remarkable  passage  : — *'  On  the  assurance 
of  the  public  calamity,  the  houses  and  convents  were 
instantly  deserted ;  and  the  trembling  inhabitants 
flocked  together  in  the  streets,  like  a  herd  of  timid 
animals,  as  if  accumulated  weakness  could  be  pro- 
ductive of  strength,  or  in  the  vain  hope  that,  amid 
the  crowd,  each  individual  might  be  safe  and  in- 
visible. From  every  part  of  the  capital  they  flowed 
into  the  church  of  St.  Sophia ;  in  the  space  of  an 
hour  the  sanctuary,  the  choir,  the  nave,  the  upper 
and  lower  galleries  were  filled  with  the  multitude  of 
fathers  and  husbands,  of   women  and  children,  of 


people,  did  not  suffer  a  solitary  occasion  to 
pass  away  without  reaping  from  it  some  per- 
sonal benefit  under  the  mask  of  the  public 
good.     Thus,  when  he  hung  back  on  the 
banks  of  the  Lugra,  and  fled  from  an  infe- 
rior force,  he  converted  his  disgrace  to  a 
glory,  and  M-as  rewarded  by  the  admiration 
and  idolatry  of  his   countrymen,  who  con^ 
ferred  upon  him  all  the  applause  of  a  signal 
triumph,  in  which  he  not  only  had  no  share, 
but  from  which  he  turned  in  dismav.     There 
was  less,  too,  of  cruelty  than  of  artifice  in 
his  nature ;  for  although  he  never  scrupled 
to  execute  summarv  and   sanguinarv  ven- 
geance  where   other   means   failed,   yet  he 
always  deferred   the  adoption  of  such   an 
alternative  to  the  last  extremity.      This  ex- 
hibition of  placidity,   which   really   sprang 
from  a  secret  misgiving  as  to  results,  con- 
tributed in  a  great  measure  to  check  any 
ebullitions   of  popular   distrust,    if  not   to 
establish  his  empire  more  firmly  in  the  good- 
will  of  the   people.      Even    the    violation 
of  his  promises,  usually  justified  by  some 
plausible  pretext  of  a  patriotic  description, 
and  his  reckless  conduct  towards  the  ene- 
mies of  his  throne  and  his  religion,  were 
easily  excused  by  a  population  that  began 
to  be  accustomed  to  the  apparent  interposi- 
tions of  Divine  Providence  on  behalf  of  their 
sovereign.      They    were    induced,   without 
much  trouble,  to  believe   that   the   prince 
who   was    so   highlv   favoured   bv   heaven, 
could  not  receive  too  much  confidence  and 
gratitude  from  man." 

We  have  alluded  to  the  marriage  of  Ivan 
with  a  Greek  princess.  This  union  was  the 
result  of  his  subtle  policy  and  farseeing 
views.  When,  in  1453,  Constantinople 
had  fallen  before  the  power  of  the  sultan, 
!Mahommed  II.,  and  the  last  of  the  Greek 
emperors,  after  exhibiting  a  nobility  of 
conduct  which  contrasted  painfully  with 
the  miserable  cowardice  of  his  people,*  fell 

priests,  monks,  and  religious  virgins :  the  doors  were 
barred  on  the  inside,  and  they  sought  protection 
from  the  sacred  dome,  which  they  had  so  lately 
abhorred  as  a  profane  and  polluted  edifice.  Their 
confidence  was  founded  on  the  prophecy  of  an  en- 
thusiast or  impostor — that  one  day  the  Turks  should 
enter  Constantinople,  and  pursue  the  people  as  far  as 
the  column  of  Constantino,  in  the  square  before  St- 
Sophia ;  but  that  this  would  be  the  term  of  their 
calamities :  that  an  angel  would  descend  from 
heaven,  with  a  sword  in  his  hand,  and  would  deliver 
the  empire,  with  that  celestial  weapon,  to  a  poor 
man  seated  at  the  foot  of  the  column.  *  Take  this 
sword,'  would  he  say,  '  and  avenge  the  people  of  the 
Lord.'  At  these  animating  words  the  Turks  would 
instantly  fly,  and  the  victorious  Greeks  would  drive 

59 


/ 


POLICY  OF  IVAN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1482. 


beneath   the  swords  of  the  Janizaries,  the 
last  priMC(  bs  of  tlie  imperial  family  had  lied 
for  shelter  to   what   were  regarded   as  the 
8acrcd  walls   of   Home.       Ivan  sought    the 
hand  of  the  lady,  and  entreated  the  pope's 
consent  to  tiieir  union.     He  was   not  un- 
aware of  the  possible,  though  remote,  ad- 
vantages  of  the  connection.     The  example 
of    vFadimir    I.    was    not    lost    upon    him: 
though  Constantinople  had  passed  from  the 
posse.«'sion  of  the  effeminate  Greeks  into  the 
hands  of  a  fierce    and    warlike   race,   who 
should    say   what   the   future    might    bring 
forth  V     It  would  be,  at  least,  well  that  his 
descendants   should  be   capable   of  putting 
lorward  a  claim  to  be  the  representatives  of 
the   family  of  the  last    Greek   emperor  of 
Constantinople.     So  Ivan  sought  and  gained 
the   hand   of  the   Greek  princess,  content 
though  her    only    dowry  was    the  imperial 
..effigy  of  the  two-headed  eagle— the  symbol 
'  of  autocratic  power.     Such  a  thing  might 
seem  trifling  and  worthless,  but  it  was  not 
so  in  the  estimation  of  the  self-created  czar. 
He   designed    that    the    Grecian    princess 
should  introduce   into  the  regal  palace  at 
Moscow  the  haughty  hierarchy  of  the  sump- 
tuous court  of  Constantino,  and  its  pompous 
ceremonies  ;  in  a  word,   that   despotism  of 
divine  right  by  which  the  slavish   devoted- 
ness  to   the   prince    who   then    reigned  in 
Russia  should  be  strengthened  and  sancti- 
tied.     The  Russian  priesthood,  dehghted  to 
receive  a  royal  fugitive  from  the  now  broken 
fountain   whence   they   had    derived    their 
religion,   welcomed   her   with    a   chorus    of 
adulation,   and  declared  that  she  was  sent 
by  the  Deity.     "  God  sends,  lum/'  said  they 
of  Ivan,  ''  this  illustrious  spouse,  an  offset  of 
that  imperial  tree,  the  shadow  of  which  was 
formerly  spread  over  all  orthodox  Christian 
brothers.     Fortunate  alliance  !  w^ich  brings 
to  mind  that  of  the  great  Vladimir,  and 
which    will   make    another    Byzantium    of 
Moscow,  and  give  to  its  grand  princes  all 
the  rights  of  the  Greek  emperors  !" 

The  craft  of  Ivan,  and  the  flatteries  of  his 
priests  and  courtiers,  tended  to  inspire  their 
descendants  with  dreams  of  conquest  and 
aggrandisement,  which  it  had  been  better, 
both  for  them  and  for  Europe,  had  never 
risen  in  the  cradles  of  their  souls.  Yet  the 
presence  of  the   Greek  princess  gradually 


exerted  a  favourable,  and  probably  almost 
unsuspected,  influence  upon   Russia.     The 
triumph  of  the  Turks  over  Constantinople 
had  destroyed  the  commerce  of  that  mighty 
city,  and  of  the  empire  of  which  it  was  tht^ 
head.     The  polished  Greeks  who  fled  from 
their  native  city,  now  sought  protection  in 
the  capital  whose  sovereign  had  received  to 
his  couch  the  daughter  of  their  fallen  em- 
peror.    With  them  they  brought  those  arts 
and  sciences,  for  the  exercise  of  which  their 
nation  was  so  distinguished.     Russia  thuN 
received  an  impetus  in  civilisation,  in  ele- 
gance  of  taste,    and   in   commercial  pros- 
perity.    She  was  drawn  closer  to  her  Euro- 
pean  neighbours,  who   had  hitherto   disre- 
garded her  as  a  chaotic  power,  utterly  sunk 
in  barbarism.      Ivan   had    been   altogether 
occupied   in   snaring   or   crushing   enemies 
abroad   and   at  home.     At  length  he  had 
leisure  for  a  task  probably  more  in  accord- 
ance   with     his     un  warlike     nature.       He 
dreaded    bloodshed,    and    used    his    sword 
rather  as  statesmen  do  the  pen.     He  used 
it  less  as  a  weapon  to  smite  with,  than  as 
an  instrument  to  terrify  and  circumvent  his 
foes.     Now,   this  necessary  labour  accom- 
plished,   he    turned    his   attention   to   the 
study  of  the  policy  of  European  courts,  and 
to   pondering   on    the   mode   by  which   he 
should    elevate   his  throne  to   an  equality 
with  the  proudest  and  most  powerful  among 

them. 

To   forward    this    design,   he    employed 
great  numbers  of  architects  and  artists  to 
erect  the  magnificent  regal  residence  called 
the  Kremlin— a  city  of  palaces  and  churches, 
which  still  stands' the  glory  and  pride  of 
the  people  of  [Moscow,  and  the  admiration 
of  all  strangers.     The  Kremlin  has  neces- 
sarilv  been   much  enlarged  and  added   to 
since  its  first  erection  ;  but  the  original  de- 
sign had  much  of  grandeur  in  its  gigantic 
massiveness.     *'If,''  says  a  modern  traveller, 
"  the  giant  whom  we  call  the  Russian  em- 
pire had    a  heart,  I  should    say    that    the 
Kremhn  w^as  the  heart  of  this  monster." 
Men  gifted  in  the  arts  and  sciences  were 
invited  from  Germany  and  Italy.    Amongst 
them  were  miners  and  engineers,  architects, 
founders,    and    minters.       The    mines    of 
Petchora  were  worked  for  the  first   time, 
and  new  money,  in  silver  and  copper,  coined 


them  from  the  west,  and  from  all  Anatolia,  as  far  as 
the  frontiers  of  Persia.  It  is  on  this  occasion  that 
Ducas,  with  some  fancy  and  much  truth,  upbraids 
the  discord  and  obstinacy  of  the  Greeks.  *  Had  that 
angel  appeared,"  exclaims   the  historian— '  had  he 

60 


offered  to  exterminate  your  foes  if  you  would  con- 
sent to  the  union  of  the  church  {i.e.,  the  Greek  and 
Pwoman  forms  of  Christianity),  even  then,  m  that 
fatal  moment,  you  would  have  rejected  your  satety, 
or  have  deceived  your  God.'  " 


I 


I. 


A.D.  14S4.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[policy 


OF  IVAN. 


•!| 


at  Moscow.  The  arts  and  sciences,  though 
not  destined  to  flourish  for  centuries  in  the 
cold  regions  of  Russia,  yet  took  a  shallow 
and  feeble  root  there.*  "  A  new  idea  of  life 
was  opened  to  the  rude  minds  of  the  people 
by  gorgeous  public  entertainments,  pageants, 
and  processions. 

In  his  communications  with  the  polished 
courts  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  Ivan 
was  extremely  anxious  to  convey  an  idea  of 
his   power   and   dignity.     He   carried   this 
feeling  so  far,  as  sometimes  to  offend  where 
lie  wished  to  conciliate.     For  a  slight  omis- 
sion of  formalities  he  refused  to  receive  the 
envoy  of  Austria,  and  even  drove  him  from 
his  presence.     He  eventually  compelled  the 
emperor  to  treat    him  as  his  equal ;    and 
when   that   monarcli  offered   to  confer   on 
him  the  title  of  king,  he  replied  haughtily, 
''  that   he  would   not   degrade   himself  by 
receiving  titles  from  any  prince  on  earth, 
and    that    he    held    his   crown   from    God 
:iione!'^      His    powerful    neighbours,    the 
Turks,  then  a  source  of  dread  to  nearly  all 
Europe,   he   would    not   suffer   to   commit 
wrong  in  any  way  towards  him  or  his  sub- 
jects without  reproof.     Some  Russian  mer- 
chants having  been  injured  by  the  Turks  of 
Kaffa,  he  demanded  redress  from  the  Sultan 
Bajazct,  to  whom  he  sent  this  message  : — 
"  Whence  do  these  acts  of  violence  arise  ? 
Are  you  aware  of  them,  or  are  you  not  ? 
One  word  n^ore.     Mahommed,  your  father, 
was  a  great  prince;    he  intended  to  have 
sent  ambassadors  to  me  to  pay  me  a  com- 
pliment, but  God  prevented  the  execution 
of  his  project.     Why  should  it  not  now  be 


accomplished  ?"  At  a  later  period,  he  com- 
manded his  ambassador  at  the  court  of  the 
sultan  carefully  to  avoid  compromising  the 
dignity  of  his  master ;  to  address  the  sultan 
standing,  and  not  upon  his  knees,  as  had 
been  the  custom ;  and  never  to  yield  pre- 
cedence to  the  representative  of  any  other 
nation. 

Although  Ivan  had  degraded  the  boyards 
bv  employing  them  in  servile  offices  about 
his    person,   yet    he    sometimes    found    it 
necessary  to  make  them  feel  the  extent  of 
his  power,  and  of  their  weakness  in  com- 
parison  with   it.      When    they   contended 
together  for  offices  and  for  precedence,  he 
checked  their  restless  vanity  with  the  re- 
mark, that  **  they  ought  to  submit  without 
a  murmur  to  the  will   of  their  sovereign, 
and  that  when  the  question  related  to  his 
service,  every  office  was   good.^'     But  the 
discontents  of  the  boyards  were  not  confined 
to   trifles   of  this   nature.     The   privileges 
they  had  enjoyed  through  the  dissensions 
of  the  princes   had   been  enormous;    and 
they   became   aware    that    much   of    their 
power  was  melting  away  beneath  the  firm 
rule  of  Ivan.     This  feeling  was  cautiously 
shown  on  many  occasions ;  and  on  one,  it 
burst  out  into  something  more  than  a  vio- 
lent remonstrance  against  the  continuance 
of   a    state    of    things   which    was    slowly 
changing  the  form  of  government  in  Rus- 
sia.    On  the  death  of  the  czar's  eldest  son, 
the  result  of  his  first  marriage,  they  ad- 
dressed Ivan  in  what  he  deemed  a  tone  of 
unseemly  vehemence,  and  implored  him  to 
confer  the  succession    upon   his   grandson 


*  Sir  Archibald  Alison  appears  to  think  that  lite- 
rature, the  arts  and  sciences,  will  never  flourish  in 
Jlussia,  but  that  that  empire  will  for  ages,  if  not  for 
ever,  remain  a  nursery  of  military  strength,^  ready  to 
be   used   as  "the  scourge   of  vicious   civilisation." 
His  opinion,  from  which  we  entirely  dissent,  is_  thus 
expressed:— ''What,  then,  is  the  destiny  of  Russia  ?— 
fur  a  destiny,  and  that  a  great  one,  she  evidently 
has.      Her   rapid   growth    and    ceaseless   progress, 
through  all  the  mutations  of  fortune,  in  the  adjoining 
states,  clearly  bespeak  not  only  consummate  wisdom 
of  general  internal  direction,  but  the  evolutions  of  a 
mighty  design.      She  is  probably  not  intended  to 
sliine  in  tlie  career  of  civilisation.     Her  sons  will 
not,  at  least  for  long,  rival  the  arts  of  Italy  or  the 
chivalry  of  France,  the  intellect  of  England,  or  the 
imagination  of  Germany       There  will  be  no  Shakes- 
peares  or    Milton?,    no  llacines  or  Corneilles,  no 
Tassos  or  Kaphaels,  no  Schillers  or  Goethes,  amidst 
the  countless  millions    of  her  boundless   territory 
Ithis  is  hold  and  baseless  pro}}hecy,  merely  the  idle 
declamation   of  an  accomplished  mind']  ;  but  there 
may  be — there  will  be — an  Alexander,  an  Attila,  a 
Timour.      Literature,  science,  the  arts,  are  the  efllo- 
rescence  of  civilisation  j  but  in  the  moral,  not  less 


than  in  the  physical  world,  efflorescence  is  succeeded 
by  decline,  the  riches  of  the  harvest  border  on  the 
decay  of  autumn.     There  is  a  winter  in  nations  as 
well  as  in  seasons." — History  of  Europe  (Continua- 
tion, vol.  ii.)     In  the  same  passage  in  which  Sir  A. 
Alison  so  confidently  predicts  that  Russia  will  re- 
verse the  action  of  natural  laws  which  govern  the 
progress  of  nations,  and  go  backward  into  the  past, 
instead  of  forward  into  the  future,  he  speaks  of  that 
great  empire  as  saved  from  the  corruption  of  that 
civilisation  to  which  it  has  not  attained,  and  the 
vices  of  which  it  is  from  time  to  time  to  correct  by 
means  of  brute  power.     Russia  the  teacher  of  politi- 
cal virtue !     Russia  spared  from  the  corruption  of 
civilisation  !     Why,  political  and  judicial  corruption, 
in  their   meanest  and  most  abject  forms,  are  the 
curse  of  the  Russian  empire  ;  while  its  history,  from 
the  time  of  Catherine  to  the  present  hour,  shows  its 
social   life  blasted   by   sensuality   and    dishonesty. 
Russia  has  yet  much  to  learn  from  civilisation  be- 
fore she  need  fear  being  corrupted  by  it ;  and  she 
must  study  to  restrain  and  govern  herself,  before  she 
assumes  the  task  which  properly  belongs  to  Deity 
alone— that  of  scourging  the  vices  of  surrounding 
nations. 

61 


if 


HERESY  IN  THE  CHUllCH.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d. 


148S. 


A.D.  1488— 1505.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  IVAN  ni. 


Dmitri,  whom  they  doubtless  hoped  to  be 
;ible  to  mould   according   to  their  desires. 
The  czar  angrily  refused,  and  even   threw 
his    grandson    into    prison.       The    boyards 
then  resorted  to  stratagem   and   calumny, 
and    spread   many  evil  reports  concerning 
the  Greek  czarina,  the  mother  of  the  second 
son.    So  craftily  were  they  framed,  that  even 
the  far-seeing  Ivan  was  for  a  while  led  to 
believe  them.     Acting  upon  this  conviction, 
he  publicly  disgraced  his  wife,  and  releasing 
his   grandson  Dmitri   from   prison,   caused 
him  to    be   solemnly   crowned  as  his   suc- 
cessor.    The  czar,  however,  soon  discovered 
the  designs  of  the  boyards,  and  the  inno- 
cence of  the  Greek  princess,  and  he  at  once 
restored  lier  to  liberty  and  his  favour.     He 
also  excluded  the  grandson  who  had  so  re- 
cently been  crowned  as  his  successor,  and 
proclaimed  his  son  to  be  his  heir.     There 
was  a  whimsical  rapidity  about  these  pro- 
ceedings that  was  not  calculated   to  allay 
disaffection.      The    boyards   were   not    in- 
clined to  abandon  the  struggle;  and  they 
succeeded  in  stirring  np  the  inhabitants  of 
Pskof  to  expostulate  with  the  czar  in  behalf 
of  the  elder  branch,  against  the  heir  whom 
he  had  chosen.     Ivan  inquired  haughtily, 
"Am  I  not   then  at   liberty  to   act   as  I 
please  ?'"'     Then  he  added,  in  the  spirit  of 
that  unreasoning  despotism  which  regards 
itself  as  above  the  judgment  of  men,  "I 
will   give  Russia  to  whom  I  think  proper, 
and  I  command  you  to  obey." 

The    boyards   who    had    been   most   ac- 
tively concerned  in  the  conspiracy  against 
the   czarina,  were   seized   by  command    of 
Ivan,  and  several  of  them  were  beheaded. 
The  high  rank  of  their  order  had  hitherto 
protected  its  members  from  such  summary 
violence,  and  the  people  beheld  with  asto- 
nishment acts  which  showed  the  vast  power 
of  the  czar,  and  the  apparently  inevitable 
fate  of  those  who  had   the  temerity  to  op- 
pose  it.     The  rest  who  had  incurred  his 
displeasure  he  degraded  in  their  rank,  and 
reduced  to  a  situation  of  court  servitude. 
Amongst  other  means  of  limiting  their  con- 
sequence, he  took  away  their  ancient  privi- 
lege  of  transferring   their   service   to   any 
other  prince  possessed  of  an  appanage,  and 
rigidly   forbade   their   removal    from   such 
offices  about   his  own  court,  or  elsewhere, 
as  he  thought  proper  to  select  for  them. 

One  of  his  latest  acts  of  public  interest 

was  a  collision  with  the  Russian  priesthood. 

Few  sovereigns  have  been  able  to  overcome 

clerical  opposition,  and  many  have   fallen 

62 


before   it;    but   the  wise    autocrat   proved 
himself  equal  to  this  emergency  also.     It 
has  been  well  said,  that  "  if  in  the  field  he 
betrayed  a  lack  of  nerve,  in  the  cabinet  lie 
showed  a  degree  of  imperturbability  which 
invested  him  with  impunity.     The  waive  of 
his  hand,  and  the  sound  of  his  voice,  were 
decisive.     No  impediments  retarded,  no  re- 
sistance repelled  him.''     He  effected  some 
reforms    in   the   manners   of    the   Russian 
priesthood;    but     the    particular    occasion 
which    brought   him   into   opposition   with 
them,  was   the   appearance   of  a   startling 
Jewish  heresy  amongst   them.     Its  tenets 
were  remarkable,  and,  to  the  dispassionate 
critics  of  our  time,  have  an  air  of  grotesque 
absurdity.     But  it  is  wise  to  judge  chari- 
tably in  these  matters;  for  all  history  shows 
us,  that  religious  fanaticism  and  its  atten- 
dant extravagancies,  frequently  enter  even 
into  the  highest  order  of  intellects,  and  leave 
their  votaries,  on  this  point,  the  victims  of  a 
'••loomy  and   immovaljle  monomania.     The 
Mosaic  novelties  which  had  stolen  into  the 
Russian  church  were   indeed  of  a  serious 
nature,   and    altogether    incompatible  with 
the  profession  of  the  Christian  faith.     They 
consisted   in   a   denial   of    the   divinity   of 
Jesus,  and  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  in  the  un- 
seemly acts  of  spitting  on   the  images  of 
saints,  and  tearing  them  with  the  teeth ;  in 
a  disbelief  of  paradise  and  a  resurrection  of 
the  dead;  and  in  placing  an  implicit  faith 
in  a  certain  book,  which  it  was  audaciously 
said  had  been  given,  by  the  Deity  himself, 
to  Adam.     From  that  book  the  credulous 
advocates  of  the  new  principles  maintained 
that  Solomon  had  derived  all  his  wisdom ; 
and  Moses,  Joseph,  Elias,  and  Daniel,  their 
power   over    the    elements    and    monsters, 
their  skill  in  the  interpretation  of  dreams, 
and  their  faculty  of  looking  into  futurity. 
The  Messiah,  it*^  was  declared,  was  yet  to 
come,  as  the  Hebrew  prophecies  concerning 
him    remained    unfulfilled.      Zosimus,   the 
primate,  was  understood   to   be   the   chief 
professor  of  these  heresies,  in  which  he  was 
followed  by  the  great  bulk  of  the  Russian 
priesthood. 

Some  of  those  who  yet  remained  true  to 
the  Christian  faith  as  it  had  hitherto  been 
generally  received  in  the  country,  pro- 
claimed their  horror  and  indignation.  A 
pious  fanatic  of  some  distinction,  known  as 
St.  Joseph  of  Volok,  thus  vehemently  de- 
manded the  punishment  of  the  misbe- 
lievers :— "  We  see,"  he  exclaimed,  "  a  son 
of  Satan  seated  on  the  throne  of  the  holy 


1 


prelates ;  we  see  a  devouring  wolf  under 
the  garb  of  a  simple  shepherd !  They  are 
no  more;  thev  have  flown  to  the  bosom 
of  Christ,  those  daring  eagles  of  religion, 
those  godly  bishops,  Avho  would  have 
pitilessly  torn  out  with  their  talons  every 
eye  that  was  bold  enough  to  look  askance 
on  the  divinity  of  the  Saviour.  Now,  in 
the  garden  of  the  church,  we  hear  nothing 
but  the  hiss  of  a  horrible  reptile,  which 
vomits  forth  blasphemy  against  the  Lord, 
and  against  his  blessed  Mother.'' 

The  czar  had  far  too  much  prudence  to 
permit  him  to  go  to  any  of  the  extremities 
indicated  in  this  theological  denunciation. 
Had  he  persecuted  the  new  doctrines  with 
any  great  degree  of  severity,  they  would  in- 
fallibly have  taken  root,  and  endured  for  at 
least  many  generations.  He  probably  cared 
but  little  for  the  purity  of  the  church ;  but 
he  had  certain  political  reasons  for  wishing 
to  extirpate  the  strange  heresies  which  had 
appeared  within  it.  If  the  most  vital  doc- 
trines of  religion  were  disregarded,  he  knew 
that  the  throne  could  not  easily  retain  its 
alleged  sanctity.  Novelties  were  the  nurse 
of  restlessness  and  change,  alike  in  religion 
or  politics ;  and  Ivan  desired  no  changes 
except  such  as  he  himself  had  brought 
about.  These  were  all  of  an  autocratic 
character,  in  which  the  person  of  the  sove- 
reign was  invested  with  something  akin  to 
divine  power,  and  the  church  was  converted 
into  a  sort  of  pious  outwork  around  the 
throne.  Ivan  therefore  caused  the  heresy 
to  be  anathematised ;  appointed  a  new  pri- 
mate, whose  inauguration  he  himself  some- 
what significantly  performed;*  and  banished 
the  heretics  from  the  empire,  after  confis- 
cating their  property,  and  adroitly  convert- 
ing it  to  his  own  use.  Such  measures, 
severe  though  calm,  no  doubt  created  great 
excitement ;  but  the  clergy  were  awed,  and 
submitted.  The  Eastern  doctrine  of  fatal- 
ism permeated  through  their  religious 
tenets;  and  of  what  use  would  it  be  to 
resist  a  man  whose  supremacy,  they  rea- 
soned, was  preordained  by  Him  "who 
layeth  the  beams  of  his  chambers  in  the 
waters ;  who  maketh  the  clouds  his  chariot ; 
who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind  ! " 

Ivan  did  not  neglect  the  internal  condi- 
tion of  the  empire.     A  system  of  order  and 

•  Implying  thereby  that  the  church  derived  its 
power  and  dignity  from  him,  not  he  his  power  and 
dignity  from  the  church.  Ivan  professed  to  receive 
his  authority  directly  from  the  hands  of  God,  or,  as 
he  said  at  another  time,  from  the  Holy  Trinity. 


classification  was  made  to  extend  to  every- 
thing. A  more  equitable  system  of  taxation 
relieved  the  people  of  those  burdens  to  which 
they  had  been  frequently  subjected  by  the 
caprice  of  their  immediate  lord.  The  roads 
were  repaired,  and  the  police  and  army 
more  regularly  organised.  The  right  of  the 
peasantry  to  change  their  servitude  from 
one  lord  or  fief  to  another,  on  payment  of  a 
certain  tax,  was  clearly  defined.  This  was 
an  important  matter ;  for  it  was  the  subse- 
quent abolition  of  this  privilege  by  Boris 
Grodunof  that  led  to  the  conversion  of  the 
Russian  peasantry  into  serfs — an  act  preg- 
nant with  mischief,  which  at  the  time  re- 
mained unseen.  The  power  of  the  boyards 
over  their  followers  was  limited,  by  asso- 
ciating with  them  in  their  judicial  rights  the 
elders  of  the  districts  and  the  established 
civil  functionary.  Thus,  though  Russia  was 
far  behind  the  rest  of  Europe,  yet  some  faint 
colouring  of  civilisation  began  to  appear  in 
it.  In  1497,  Ivan  collected  the  existing  or- 
dinances and  customs  of  the  country  into  a 
code,  of  which,  though  it  was  probably  suited 
to  the  age,  it  has  been  observed,  everything 
partook  of  the  keenness  of  the  sword,  which 
was  brought  into  action  in  every  part  of  it. 
The  majority  of  criminal  oftences  were  de- 
cided by  the  ancient  and  unreasonable  prac- 
tice of  single  combat,  and  torture  was  used 
for  the  extortion  of  evidence.  Other  punish- 
ments chiefly  consisted  in  the  knout,  confis- 
cation of  the  criminal's  property,  condemna- 
tion to  slavery  in  the  mines,  and  death.  So 
little  hesitation  was  there  to  proceed  to  the 
latter  extremity,  that  when  a  thief  was 
detected  in  a  second  ofi'ence,  iie  was  exe- 
cuted at  once  without  any  formality. 

Ivan's  reign  was  prolonged  for  three-and- 
forty  years,  a  length  of  time  which  enabled 
him  to  accomplish  all  the  reforms  and 
changes  he  eff'ected  in  the  state.  He  died 
in  1505,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven.  Though 
a  contemplation  of  his  character  may  make 
us  recoil  with  disgust  as  we  would  from 
some  venomous  reptile,  yet  it  must  be  con- 
ceded that  this  heartless,  unprincipled,  and 
monstrouslv  selfish  man  had,  in  some  indi- 
rect  way,  a  claim  upon  the  title  of  Great, 
which  was  conferred  upon  him  by  his 
people,  and  even  admitted  by  foreigners. 
Yet,  perhaps,  paradox  as  the  assertion  may 
seem,  there  never  existed  a  man  whose 
mind  was  more  deficient  in  the  elements  of 
true  greatness.  Insincere,  indeed  false  to 
everything  but  himself  and  the  one  great 
idea  which  he  laboured  all  his  life  to  pro- 

63 


CHARACTER  OF  IVAN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.p.  1505. 


/ 


mote-actually  loving  falsehood  rather  tlian 
truth— the  man  was  a  living,  aggregate,  in- 
carnate lie.     A  coward  in  adversity,  a  des- 
pot  in  prosperity,   a  shuffler  at   all  times. 
Yet  this   strange  man  went   patiently  for- 
ward, and  laboured  incessantly  at  the  ex- 
altation of  his   country !— did   it  also,  not 
only  with  craft,  but  with  wisdom  !     Yet  all 
his  work   was   contaminated   by  his  vices, 
and,  most   of  all,  by  his   cold,   unmovable 
selfishness.     He   created   order   m  Russia; 
but  it  was  the  order  resulting  from  a  sense 
of  fear,  and  a  habit   of  abject  submission. 
He  had  no  thought  of  bringing  into  being 
a  great  people ;  for  them  he  had  no  feeling, 
save   that   thev  were  to  be   ruled   for  his 
advantage  and  that  of  his   successors.     A 
crreat  empire  was  what  he  had  hiboured  for— 
Cue  of  such  extent  and  resources,  that  its 
sovereigns  should  not  stand  second  to  any 
of  the   potentates   of   the    civilised   world. 
His  plans  were  often  promoted  by  a  favour- 
able combination  of  circumstances ;  but  he 
had  the  facultv  of  pursuing  them  with  an 
unwearied    tenacity.       Russia    owed    him 
much ;  but  she  also  owed  to  him  that  ser- 
vile,  broken  spirit,  which  to  this   hour  is 
prevalent   among  the  lower  orders  of  the 


people.     Two  centuries  and  a-half  of  Tartar 
tyrannv  had  doubtless  done  much  to  debase 
the  character  of  the  masses,  and  cxtin-uish 
their  spirit ;  but  the  policy  of  Ivan  finished 
what  tiie  hand   of  an  enemy  had   begun. 
He  wanted  subjects,  but  not  a  people ;  and 
he  obtained  his  wish  at  the  price  of  the  ex- 
tinction of  popular  spirit.     He  wanted  em- 
pire   and  he  obtained  it :  during  his  reign 
19  000  square  miles  and  4,000,000  subjects 
were  added  to  the  already  immense  territories 
of  Russia.     He  strove  also  to  promote  the 
arts  and  to  forward  civilisation,  and  his  cha- 
racter was  not  tainted  by  cruelty.     He  was 
despotically  severe  at  times,  but  he  generally 
seemed  to  shrink  from  shedding  blood.    1  he 
sword  and  the  axe,  if  it  must  be ;  but  they 
were   his    last    alternatives.      That  was   a 
negative  virtue,  certainly ;  and  it  may  also 
be  said  that,  in  some  measure,  the  tune  had 
need   of  the   man.      Evil,   oppressive,    and 
even  mean  work  was  to  be  done  for  the 
good  of  Russia;  and  he  did  it  with  a  will. 
For  the  rest,  he  was  a  wise  sovereign— much 
in  the  same  way  that  a  crowned  I  ago  would 
have  been  one :  he  pursued  the  interest  of 
Russia  just  so  far  as  it  was  identical  with 
his  own. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

HELENA  i  HER  EXCESSES  AND  ASSASSINATION  !  I^^■™;^f  ^  f^^^^^  INSURRECTION  AT  MOSCOW  J  REEORMA- 
SBRNAMED  "THE  TERRIBLE  ;"  ™^,^.°"'7,'-^.'^^^^'c"^t-ERlf S  1^0  CHRISTIAN  CULRCHES  ; 

HON  OF  lYAN ;  HE  ADVANCES  AOAI^^T  ^f -^^' *^."  f^Jl'^^^'ig^KIA  ;  PRINTING  INTRODUCED  INTO  rXS- 
ANNEXATION  OF    ASTUACAN  ;  DISCOVERT  ^'^i'^^^^'^^^",^  °.'    ''^^^^^^^  TO  DEATH;  HE  RETIRES  TO 

SIA;  KETURNOFTHEFEROCITVOF  IVAN;  he  puis  H^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  ,,ASSACRES 

THE  FORTRESS   OP  ALEXANDRO^  ^Kl  ;   l'»-^0"^,';=j'  ™^ ':":^,s    '    pjiivKD    OF  TERRITORIES  BY  FOREIGN 

foErHTsTEksT»"HA^-r«^-^  -—  ^^''^  ='^ 

DEATII  AND  CHARACTER. 


No  opposition  was  offered  to  the  succession 
of  the  son  of  the  late  monarch,  nor  was  any 
effort   made    on    behalf    of    his    grandson 
Dmitri.      Vassili   Ivanovitch,    the    son    ot 
Ivan,  by  the  czarina  Sophia,  of  Byzantium, 
ascended  the  throne  of  the  grand  prince- 
dom in  1505,  and  occupied  it  for  eight-and- 
twenty  comparatively  uneventful  years.    His 
character  appears  to  have  borne  some  re- 
semblance to  that  of  his  father,  whose  prin- 
ciples of  government  he  addressed  himseit 
64 


to  carrying  out.     It  may,  however,  be  in- 
ferred, that  he  did  not  possess  the  profound 
craft,  restless  energy,  and  political  wisdom 
of  his  predecessor;   for  history  is   almost 
silent  concerning  him.     No  great  act,  or 
remarkable  saying,  is  recorded  of  him  ;  and 
he  either  possessed  a  mind  which,  except  in^ 
the  exhibition  of  a  serpent-like  and  venom- 
ous   cunning,     scarcely    rose    above    the 
almost  stagnant  level  of  mediocrity,  or  the 
I  chroniclers  of  his  nation  have  been  unjust 


A.D.  1505—1523.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [cx)^tests  with  the  tartars. 


to  his  memory.  Still,  whatever  were  his 
deficiencies,  he  has  drawn  from  the  his- 
torian Segur  the  flattering  comment,  ''That 
lie  maintained  the  dignity  of  the  empire 
bequeathed  to  him  by  his  father,  and  en- 
larged its  extent."  Perhaps  it  would  be 
more  correct  to  say,  that  the  fabric  of  Ivan's 
government  stood  and  worked  well  for  a 
time  by  virtue  of  its  own  strength. 

For  some  years  before  Ivan  the  Crafty 
(a  far  more  appropriate  surname  for  him 
than  that  of  Great)  went  to  his  grave,  he 
was  disturbed  bv  the  turbulence  of  the 
Tartars  of  Kasan.  These  people  submitted 
with  an  ill-will  to  his  authority,  which  they 
resolved  to  cast  off  on  the  first  opportunity. 
Not  caring  to  conceal  their  rebellious  tem- 
per, they  proceeded  so  far  as  to  set  up  a 
new  khan,  in  defiance  of  the  authority  of 
the  czar.  Ever  averse  to  a  resort  to  the 
sword,  and  probably  influenced  by  unplea- 
sant reminiscences  of  Tartar  strength  and 
ferocity,  Ivan  pretended  to  acquiesce  plea- 
santly in  this  disregard  of  his  power ;  but, 
with  his  customary  duplicity,  appointed  a 
Russian  boyard  with  the  nominal  duty  of 
assisting  the  khan  in  the  administration, 
but  with  the  real  one  of  neutralising  his 
authority.  The  Tartars  understood  this 
well  enough;  but,  awed  by  the  increasing 
power  of  Ivan,  they  sullenly  submitted  to 
what  they  could  not  readily  avoid.  The 
calm  produced  by  such  a  state  of  things, 
however,  resembles  the  oppressive  tranquil- 
lity which  precedes  the  eruption  of  a  volca- 
nic mountain;  and  the  rule  of  the  prince 
who  holds  his  authority  by  so  uncertain  a 
bond,  is  about  as  secure  as  the  peasant  who, 
on  the  eve  of  the  fiery  outburst,  sleeps  in 
apathy  in  his  cot  at  the  mountain's  base. 
The  death  of  Ivan  gave  the  Tartars  of 
Kasan  the  opportunity  they  desired,  and 
the  repressed  feelings  of  animosity  burst 
forth.  This  turbulent  people  rose  in  insur- 
rection, and  murdered  the  representative  of 
Russian  authority. 

Vassili  liad  no  alternative  but  to  resort  to 
arms :  his  father  might  plot  and  equivocate 
with  safety;  but  it  was  necessary  for  a  prince 
who  had  yet  to  acquire  distinction,  to  act. 
Accordingly,  in  1508,  he  sent  a  great  army, 
under  the  command  of  his  brother,  to  reduce 
the  Tartars  of  Kasan  to  obedience.  At 
first  the  Russians  gained  a  doubtful  victory 
over  their  foes;  but  a  second  battle  was 
fought,  in  which  they  sustained  an  unequi- 
vocal defeat.  The  Tartars,  inflated  with 
the  consciousness  of  victory,  were  encou- 

VOL.  I.  K 


raged  to  attempt  some  more  daring  exploit. 
Having  induced  the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea 
to  join  them,  they  invaded  Russia  in  great 
strength,  and  even  penetrated  as  far  as  the 
gates  of  Moscow.  During  this  marauding 
expedition,  it  is  said  they  made  prisoners  of 
the  unarmed  population  to  the  almost  in- 
credible number  of  300,000,  whom  they 
afterwards  disposed  of  as  slaves  to  the 
Turks.  We  are  inclined  to  suspect  exag- 
geration in  this  statement;  but  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  this  horde  of  semi-savages, 
whose  chief  object  was  plunder,  inflicted  an 
enormous  amount  of  misery  upon  the  un- 
happy Russians,  whom  Vassili  left  without 
protection.  The  czar,  whose  cowardice  and 
meanness  on  this  occasion  almost  went 
beyond  that  of  his  father  in  early  life,  pur- 
chased the  forbearance  and  departure  of 
the  Tartars  by  costly  bribes  and  dishonour- 
able promises  of  submission !  Yes,  incre- 
dible as  it  may  seem  in  an  independent 
sovereign,  he  had  the  abject  baseness  to 
promise  that  he  would  take  a  new  oath  of 
allegiance  to  them.  We  scarcely  think  it 
lessens  his  offence  against  common  manli- 
ness, and  his  treason  against  the  prostrate 
dignity  of  his  people,  that  he  never  intended 
to  keep  his  word.  Vile  and  worthless  as 
were  the  Tartars — a  race  whom  it  would 
have  been  a  mercy  to  mankind  to  extermi- 
nate, as  the  pioneers  of  civilisation  do 
droves  of  famished  wolves — yet  it  is  almost 
a  matter  of  regret  that  this  man  eventually 
neutralised  his  own  submission,  and,  by 
falsehood  and  cunning,  triumphed  over  his 
foes.  More  by  stratagems  than  force  of 
arms,  he  eventually  recaptured  Kasan,  and 
made  severe  examples  of  the  most  distin- 
guished insurgents.  This  event  did  not 
take  place  for  many  years,  during  which 
time  the  regal  coward  patiently  nursed  his 
auger.  In  1523  he  attempted  to  wreak  his 
vengeance  upon  the  Tartars,  but  his  army 
was  repulsed  with  disgrace.  Seven  years 
later  he  was  more  fortunate :  Kasan  was 
taken  by  his  troops ;  the  fortress  destroyed 
by  fire;  and,  it  is  affirmed,  no  less  thau 
60,000  of  the  Tartars  massacred. 

During  the  continuance  of  this  struggle, 
the  city  of  Pskof  exhibited  expiring  signs  of 
independence,  and  made  some  efforts  to 
separate  itself  from  the  empire.  It  was  in 
vain;  the  time  of  petty  princedoms  and 
small  republican  states  was  past  in  Russia. 
The  tendency  of  events  had  set  in  towards 
consolidation  and  despotism;  and  resistance 
on  the  part  of  small  states  was  useless.     It 

65 


M- 


\ 


DEATH  OF  VASSILI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1533—1538. 


A.D.  1538—1542.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


showed  no  statesmanlike  skill  on  the  part 
of  Vassili,  that  he  was  able  to  reduce  the 
feeble  city  which  strove  vainly  to  rear  itself 
against  him.  Even  this  poor  exploit  was 
done  by  stratagem.  He  drained  away  the 
flower  of  the  population  by  exhausting  mili- 
tary levies ;  he  absorbed  the  wealth  of  the 
citizens  by  burdensome  taxes,  and  crushed 
their  commerce  by  heavy  restrictions.  Pskof, 
utterly  debilitated,  sunk  still  deeper  beneath 
that  Muscovite  rule  from  which  she  had 
thoughtlessly,  and  without  calculation,  at- 
tempted to  emancipate  herself.  The  only 
other  event  of  importance  during  this  reign 
was  the  annexation  of  Severia,  the  last  prin- 
cipality which  maintained  an  independent 
existence.  Having  sat  for  eight-and-twenty 
years  in  the  seat  of  the  czar,  and  sullied  the 
title  during  that  period  by  the  meanness  of 
his  nature,  Vassili  died  in  1533.  Insignifi- 
cant as  he  appears  to  have  been,  his  reign 
tended  to  the  consolidation  of  the  empire ; 
for  the  machinery  of  government  set  in 
action  by  his  father,  was  permitted  silently 
to  take  its  course.  For  himself  he  would 
have  been  one  of  those  who  come  and  go 
upon  the  earth  unhonoured  and  unheeded 
— mere  living  bubbles,  floating  for  a  brief 
space  in  the  sunlight — but  for  the  accident 
of  his  having  been  born  to  wear  a  crown. 

Vassili  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ivan 
Vasilovitch,  an  infant  of  only  three  years 
old.  The  early  years  of  this  young  prince 
were  rendered  miserable  by  those  who  little 
deemed  that  he  would  extort  a  merciless 
revenge  for  the  indignities  and  suff'erings 
they  then  heaped  upon  him.  Who,  in  a 
handsome  child,  could  have  recognised  the 
future  Nero  of  Russia — the  monster  whose 
atrocious  cruelties  appalled  his  people,  and 
astonished  those  of  surrounding  states? 
But,  unhappily,  Ivan  is  far  from  being  the 
only  instance  in  which  an  oppressed  infancy 
has  ripened  into  a  depraved  manhood. 

The  tender  age  of  the  czar  rendered  a 
regency  imperative ;  and  Helena,  his  mother, 
assumed  the  actual  responsibility  of  govern- 
ment. She  was  an  unprincipled  and  worth- 
less woman,  who  off'euded  the  boyards  by 
her  insolence,  and  disgusted  the  nation  by 
her  licentiousness.  Her  dignity  she  shared 
with  a  paramour,  whose  injudicious  eleva- 
tion to  such  a  rank  was  naturally  regarded 
as  an  insult  by  the  princes  and  nobles  of 
the  empire.  To  the  education  and  future 
interests  of  her  son  this  sensual  woman  was 
altogether  indifierent :  she  lived  but  for  the 
pleasures  or  the  passions  of  the  passing  hour^ 
66 


and  he  was  but  a  gilded  property  bv  which 
she  obtained  their  gratification. 

A  feeling  of  discontent  was  general  among 
the  princes  and  boyards.  They  were  not 
reconciled  to  the  loss  of  that  inordinate 
authority  which  had  been  wrung  from  them 
by  Ivan  the  Crafty,  and  kept  from  them  by 
his  less  able  son.  What  was  the  consolida- 
tion and  peace  of  the  empire  to  them,  who, 
regardless  of  the  claims  of  country,  or  the 
feelings  of  patriotism,  sought  only  for  in- 
dividual distinction  and  aggrandisement? 
"  Formerly,"  says  Segur,  "  the  whole  empire 
was  the  theatre  of  their  ambition;  its  par- 
tition into  appanages,  their  end ;  civil  war, 
their  means :  but  now  that  was  all  concen- 
trated in  the  prince,  their  sole  arena  was  his 
court ;  their  end,  the  precarious  power  de- 
rived from  favouritism;  their  means,  in- 
trigue." They  longed  for  a  pretext  to  take 
advantage  of  the  infancy  of  the  czar,  so  that 
they  might  seize  upon  the  empire,  and  divide 
it  amongst  themselves.  Such  a  pretext  was 
furnished  bv  the  dissolute  conduct  of  the 
regent,  and  a  conspiracy  was  formed  amongst 
many  of  the  princes  and  boyards.  Favour- 
able as  the  time  seemed  for  a  movement  of 
this  nature,  no  opportunity  ofi'ered  for  a 
general  outbreak.  The  overbearing  conduct 
of  the  conspirators  led  to  a  betrayal  of  their 
designs,  and  the  regent  was  enabled  to  strike 
the  first  blow.  Three  uncles  of  the  infant 
czar  were  the  principal  plotters  against  his 
interests,  and  these  Helena  seized,  on  the 
ground  that  they  entertained  designs  upon 
the  throne.  Once  in  her  power,  they  were 
thrown  into  loathsome  prisons,  in  which  they 
soon  breathed  their  last,  whether  in  the 
course  of  nature,  or  in  consequence  of  secret 
outrage,  is  known  but  to  God.  They  died  ; 
and  the  most  active  of  their  followers  were 
punished  by  torture,  death,  or  imprisonment. 
The  other  conspirators,  alarmed  at  a  degree 
of  energy  they  did  not  anticipate,  fled  for 
safety  to  Lithuania  or  the  Crimea. 

For  five  years  of  anarchy  the  regent 
maintained  her  position  by  the  exercise  of  a 
ferocious  cruelty.  During  this  time  she 
showed  herself  a  fitting  mother  of  the  child 
whom  her  neglect  was  assisting  to  mature 
into  a  monster.  It  has  often  been  said,  that 
those  men  whom  the  world  regards  as  its 
great  ones,  have  usually  been  born  of  gifted 
women.  The  same  rule,  doubtless,  holds 
good  in  cases  of  most  abandoned  depravity 
or  gigantic  crime.  In  this  instance,  the 
wretch  whose  diabolic  cruelty  earned  for 
him  the  repulsive  title  of  "  The  Terrible," 


was  the  son  of  a  woman  who  was  not  onlv  a 
libel  upon  her  sex,  but  a  disgrace  to  huma- 
nity.    It  was  her  delight  to  appal  and  agonise 
her   enemies  by  torture   before  she   extin- 
guished them  in  death.     But  her  five  years 
ot  power  ended,  and  the  hour  of  retribution 
came.     She  died  suddenly !     Yes,   indeed, 
suddenly;    but   her  death   was    anticipated 
and    designed.     The    boyards,    whom    the 
high-placed   wanton    had   terrified   by   her 
cruelty,    had    poisoned   her.     If  by   some 
superhuman  power  we  could  learn  aueht  of 
the  dark  secrets  of  the  buried  past,  it  would 
be  an  instructive  thing  to  know  something 
of  the  last  hours  and  words  of  such  a  woman 
as  this  :  a  wild  sermon  that,  we  think ;  which 
might  cause  a  shudder  in  the  guilty  whom 
hitherto  no  precept  could  reach,  no  warning 
touch.  ^ 

The  czar  was  still  in  his  infancy,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  appoint  some   person  or 
party  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  empire. 
It  was  confided  to,  or  rather  seized  upon  by 
a  member  of  the  factious  boyards,  who  di^' 
nified    themselves   with    the    title    of   the 
''supreme  council."     The  president  of  this 
body  was  Prince  Schuisky,  a  coarse-minded, 
brutal    noble,    in    whom    vulgar    audacity 
struggled  for  pre-eminence  with  dangerous 
ambition      The  turbulent  disposition  of  the 
family  of  this  man  had  long  made  them  dis- 
liked  and  shunned  by  the  czar  as  enemies  of 
the  state ;  and  Schuisky  now  resolved  to  re- 
sent, upon  a  mere  child,  the  supposed  injuries 
his  relatives  had  received  from  former  sove- 
reigns.    He    brought  up    the   young  Ivan 
altogether  without  education ;  subjected  him 
to  numerous  insults;  even  lolled  upon  his 
bed  ,•  and,  on  one  occasion,  insolently  placed 

nl^^^  !l!  1^^  ^^P  ^^  ^^^  b«7  sovereign. 
Child  as  the  latter  was,  he  felt  these  slights 
bitterly,  and  resolved  to  repay  them  when 
time  should  really  place  the  power  of  the 
sceptre  in  his  hands. 

The    supreme    council    of   the    boyards 
speedily  showed  themselves  unequal  to  the 
successful  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  state 
The  feeling  of  patriotism  was  a  stranger  to 
the  bosoms  of  these  rude  and  selfish  men 
Each  pursued  his  own  interest,  and  confusion 
and  mutual  distrust  was  the  result  of  their 
deliberations.     Everywhere  the  people  be 
came  a  prey  to  petty  tyrants;  and  it  seemed 
as  if  Russia  would  recede  to  that  barbarism 
from  which  she  had  been  so  slowly  emerging 
1^^  treasury  of  the  young  czar  was  plun- 
dered, his  dominions  encroached  upon  and 
himself  only  tolerated  in  his   own   palace 


[the  youth  of  ivax. 


where  not  he,  but  the  boyards  were  masters. 
In  this  state  of  things  the  country  was  in- 
fested  by  large  bodies  of  wandering  Tartars, 
who  robbed  and  murdered  the  unprotected 
people.  1  hese  unchecked  excesses  encou- 
raged the  Tartars  to  attempt  an  invasion 
on  a  sea  e  of  actual  warfare;  but  the  coun- 
cil startled  at  the  danger,  united  for  once; 
and  the  Tartars,  who  were  but  the  shadow 
ot    their    ancient    power,    were    repulsed. 

fl'^'f  .?^^'^^   ^""^   ^^'^   ^^ssian   primate, 
who  both  appear  to  have  been  actuated  by 
honourable  motives,  endeavoured  after  this 
to  restore  order,  and  for  a  time  they  were 
successful— for   a   brief  time    only:"  their 
patriotic   exertions   elicited   the   hatred   of 
their  compeers;    for  even  the   presence  of 
virtue  IS  a  reproof  to  those  who  are  devoid 
ot  It.     A  cabal  was  formed  against  the  pri- 
mate and  the  prince.     The  former  was  ill- 
treated  and  deposed;  and  the  latter  thrown 
into  prison  and  murdered  there. 

The  turbulent  Prince  Schuisky  and  his 
companions  had  been  displaced  from  their 
power  on  the  invasion  of  the  Tartars ;  but 
shortly  before  the  overthrow  of  the  primate 
and  the  murder  of  Belsky,  they  reappeared 
and  recovered  their   influence  by  force  of 
arms.    In  the  month  of  January,  1542,  they 
surprised   Moscow  in   the   dead   of  night 
made  themselves  masters  of  the  city,  and 
entering    the    palace,   penetrated    even   to 
the  bedside  of  the  young  czar,  and  rousing 
him    suddenly   from    sleep    with    alarming 
shouts,  endeavoured  to  overthrow  his  intel- 
lect through  the  influence  of  sudden  terror 
Such  was  the  early  life  of  one  bom  to  the 
eventual  possession  of  absolute  power !    The 
young  czar,  neglected,  insulted,  and  treated 
with  brutality,  was  an  object  of  pity.    When 
he  exhibited,  for  a  short  time,  some  natural 
and  genial  feeling  of  early  life,  his  perse- 
cutors   scoffed    at    the    generous   emotion. 
Crrief  for  his  dead  mother  was  for  Schuisky 
and   his    satellites    a    theme   for  laughter. 
When,  on  one  occasion,  he  formed  an  at- 
tachment to  a  young  boyard,  they  fell  upon 
the  latter  in  the  presence  of  Ivan,  and  beat 
him  with  a  malignant  fury.    These  cruelties 
were  producing  their  natural  result.     The 
young  Ivan  became  at  first   morose,  then 
savage  and  vindictive.     All  that  was  evil  in 
the   boy  ripened  with  a  diseased  rapidity : 
his  wholesome  feelings  seemed  to  freeze  up 
and   perish  within   him;    while   a   natural 
tendency  to  brutal  actions  was  encouraged 
by   his   abandoned   misleaders.      He   soon 
began  to  love  mischief  and  brutality  for  the 

67 


J 


\ 


FEROCITY  OF  IVAN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1542—1547. 


A.D.  1547—1554.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [a  period  of  prosperiit. 


excitement  tliey  alTorded  him.    The  develop- 
ment of  sucU  a  mind  must  be  a  curious 
psychological  study  for  the  philosopher ;  but 
the  pursuit  of  so  speculative  a  theme  would 
be  out  of  place  here.     His  childhood  had 
been   cheerless   enough;    and    the    earliest 
amusements  in  which  he  indulged  were  dis- 
gusting.    They  consisted  in  riding  furiously 
over  old  men  and  women,  and  trampling 
even  children  beneath  the  feet  of  his  horses ; 
in  throwing  stones  at  the  passers-by ;    in 
tormenting   wild    animals,  and   in   hurling 
cats  and  dogs  from  the  summit  of  his  palace. 
These   barbarities  were   applauded   by  the 
brutal   Prince    Schuisky,  who   trusted,    by 
encouraging  such  debasing  deeds,  to  bring 
up   the   czar   to   be  an  idiotic  tool  in  his 
hands.     The  wretch  was  mistaken :  he  was 
but  sharpening  a  weapon  of  which  he  was  to 
be  the  earliest  victim ;  and  digging  a  pit  for 
another,  which  was  destined  to  become  his 
own  grave  ! 

The  uneducated  Ivan  possessed  far  more 
intellect   than    the    dull    Prince    Schuisky 
imagined.     The  latter  appears  to  have  been 
a   man   not    distinguished  in  any   way  for 
ability,    and   who    procured    his   transient 
supremacy    merely    by    audacity   and    the 
exercise  of  brutal  force.     Ivan  had  carefully 
treasured  up  a  remembrance  of  the  insults 
he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  this  man ; 
and  at  length  the  hour  of  repayment  ar- 
rived.    Schuisky  had   not   the  intellect  to 
appreciate  the  force  of  that  fierce  yet  boyish 
will  which,   now  rapidly  developing   itself, 
was  soon  to  crush  him.     He  was  blind  to 
the  meaning  of  the  ferocious  glare  which 
sometimes  lighted  up  the  eyes  of  the  young 
czar  when  engaged  in  his  diabolical  sports. 
Ivan  was  only  in  his  thirteenth  year;  but 
royal  children' are  usually  almost  unnaturally 
precocious.     One  day  he  was  engaged  at  a 
hunting  party,  which  comprised  amongst  its 
members    Schuisky   (the   president   of   the 
council)  and  a  Prince  Gluisky,  who  regarded 
him  with  emotions  of  jealousy  and  hatred. 
Gluisky  was  anxiously   on   the   watch   for 
some  incident  which  might  be  used  to  pro- 
mote  the   ruin   of  his   rival.     During  the 
chase  he  prompted  the  young  czar  to  ad- 
dress Schuisky  in  words  of  command  and 
insult.      The     astonished     president,    who 
thought  he  had  effectually  intimidated  his 
sovereign,   replied    in    an    angry   manner. 
Backed  by  his  new  friend,  Ivan  exhibited 
the  native  fury  of  his  disposition.     He  gave 
the  command  to  his  followers,  who,  rushing 
upon   Schuisky,   hurled  him   amongst   the 
68 


dogs.  The  fierce  brutes,  encouraged  by  the 
hunters,  tore  the  guilty  wretch  limb  from 
limb,  and  speedily  devoured  him.  Thus  the 
ruffian  who  depraved  the  mind  of  a  youthful 
sovereign,  and  exposed  his  infancy  to  con- 
stant insults  and  terrors,  met  with  a  fate 
which,  despite  its  appalling  nature,  we  are 
compelled  to  say  he  deserved. 

Though  rid  of  an  oppressor  and  master, 
the  boy-czar  fell  beneath  the  ascendancy  of 
another   too   powerful   subject.      This    was 
Prince  Gluisky,  who  now  became  the  leader 
of  the  administration.     This  man  and  his 
associates  were  as  worthless  as  their  pre- 
decessors.    They  sought   to  confirm   their 
influence  over  Ivan  by  the  encouragement 
of  his  excesses ;  and  even  seduced  him  into 
the   commission   of   the  most   extravagant 
atrocities.     They  constantly  impressed  upon 
his  mind,   that  the  only  way  to  make  his 
authority  respected  was  by  the  exercise  of 
severity,  and  that  power  consisted  in  op- 
pression.    He  was  an   apt   pupil   in   such 
pernicious  lessons ;  and  the  ferocity  he  ex- 
hibited elicited  the  applause  of  his  barbarous 
advisers.     These  abandoned   men   actually 
pandered  to   the  love  of  cruelty  of  their 
young  master,  by   murdering,  in  his  pre- 
sence, any  unfortunate  person  who  was  so 
unhappy  as  to  offend  him. 

Tilings  went  on  thus  for  three  or  four 
years,  when,  in  his  seventeenth  year,  Ivan 
was  crowned  Czar  of  Russia.     His  minority 
had  been  disfigured  by  such  acts  of  blood- 
shed as  converted  the  latter  part  of  it  into 
a  reign  of  terror.     His  conduct  produced 
that  reaction  which  frequently,  though  we 
regret  not  always,  attends  upon  tyranny. 
The  citizens  of  Moscow,  maddened  by  the 
bloodthirsty   caprices    of    their    sovereign, 
resorted  to  one  of  those  material  protests 
against  his  conduct,    with   which   the   op- 
pressed commonly  warn  their  despots.    One 
night  they  set  the  city  on  fire  in  several 
places ;  and  with  the  early  dawn  the  young 
tyrant  was  aroused  from  his  slumbers  by 
the  roaring  of  flames,  the  hurried  trampUng 
of   excited   crowds,  and  the  curses  of  the 
multitude.     The  sudden  terrors  to  which  he 
had  been  subjected  in  his  infancy  had  made 
him   the   slave   of    fear.      A   sensation   of 
hoiTor   seized   him,   which   was   much    in- 
creased when  he  learned  that  the  infamous 
Prince  Gluisky  had  been  torn  in  pieces  by 
the  furious  mob.     Struck  to  the  heart,  the 
young  tyrant  feared  that  he  himself  might 
fall  a  victim  to  the  just  anger  of  his  incensed 
people.     In  this  state  of  mental  disorder, 


and  while  the  fierce  outcries  of  the  excited 
crowds  who  thronged  the  streets,  and  the 
Rtifling  smell  of  fire  penetrated  to  his  cham- 
ber,  he  was    approached    by  a  wandering 
monk,  named  Sylvester,  whose  piety,  bold- 
ness, and  rude  eloquence  had  obtained  for 
him,  among  the  people,  the  reputation  of 
being   a  prophet.     Carrying   the   Bible  in 
one  hand,  and  extending  the  other  in  an 
attitude  of  warning,  while  his  eyes  flashed 
with  that  excitement  which  hovers  on  the 
verge  of  insanity,  the  monk  arrested  the 
attention  of  the  czar  ;  as  he  predicted,  from 
certain  appearances  of  the  stars,  his  speedy 
ruin,  if  his  courses  of  cruelty  and  tyranny 
were  not  abandoned.   He  succeeded  in  making 
a   deep  impression  on  the  scared  mind  of 
the   czar;    whose   crimes,   he  assured  him, 
had  aroused  the  vengeance  of  heaven.     The 
efforts  of  the  monk  were  seconded  by  the 
entreaties  and  exhortations  of  the  virtuous 
Alexis  Adascheff,  and  by  the  persuasions  of 
the  young  and  beautiful  Anastatia,  to  whom 
Ivan   had    been    but   recently   united.      A 
change  was  thus  effected  in  the  mind  of  the 
juvenile  despot;  and  for  a  time  he  became 
human  in  his  conduct. 

Ivan  appeared  to  delight  in  astonishing 
his   counsellors   and   his   people;    and  the 
seeming  change  in  his  nature   created   as 
much    surprise    as    his    recent    atrocities. 
Under  the  influence  of  his  new  advisers,  he 
sanctioned  an  entire  change  in  the  system 
of  government.     His  evil  companions  were 
dismissed  from  all  posts  of  authority,  and 
their  places  supplied  by  able  and  upright 
men.     Everything  was 'reduced   to   order, 
and  tranquillity  re-established  throughout 
the  country.     The  army  was  reorganised, 
the    pay   of    the   soldiery  increased;    the 
proprietors   of  estates   compelled    to    con- 
tribute, according  to  their   means,  to  the 
military  strength  of  the  empire,  which  rose 
to  a  height  it  had  never   reached  before. 
Amongst  the    new   military   arrangements 
was  the  institution  of  the  afterwards  turbu- 
lent and  infamous    Strelitz,  a  permanent 
militia   of  fusileers,   who   were   eventually 
regarded  as  the  Janizaries  of  Russia.     Such 
was  the  extent  and  population  of  the  em- 
pire, that  its  available  military  power  was 
estimated  at  300,000  men  !     The  possession 
of  so   much    power    roused    the    military 
ardour  of  the  czar,  and  stimulated  him  to 
action.     In  the  year  1552,  he  marched,  at 
the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  against  the 
turbulent    Tartars    of    Kasan,   who   never 
remained  in  tranquillity  except  when   the] 


( 


sword   was    suspended    over    their    heads. 
Ivan  commenced  his  campaign  in  the  depth 
of  winter,  to  the  disgust  of  his  soldiers  ; 
whose    complaints,  however,  he    soon    ex- 
tinguished  by  the   severity  of  his  punish- 
ments.    He  took  Kasan  in  consequence  of 
his  engineers  springing  a  mine  before  it ;  a 
mode  of  warfare  with  which  both  his  troops 
and  that  of  the  enemy  were  unacquainted, 
and   which  accordingly  gained   him   much 
reputation.      Having   entered  the   city  in 
triumph,  he  caused  the  Tartar  mosques  to 
be  converted  into  Christian  churches;  and 
compelled  the  khan  to  submit  to  the  rite  of 
baptism.    Notwithstanding  the  questionable 
source  from  which   these  acts  of  religious 
ardour  proceeded,  they  won  for  the   czar 
some   popularity    among  the   people,   who 
were  not  given  to  the  analysis  of  motives. 
One  wise  measure  of  Ivan's  was  the  erec- 
tion of  fortresses  to  keep  the  Tartars   in 
check.      He  was  further   successful  in  re- 
ducing   the    kingdom    of   Astracan,   then 
much   esteemed   for  its   vines    and    other 
valuable   productions,  and  annexing  it   to 
the  Russian  empire.     Indeed,  during  this 
period    of    grace,    everything    seemed    to 
prosper  with  him,  and   he  basked  in  the 
sunshine  of  fortune.     The  sultan,  Selim  II., 
apparently  surprised  at  the  approach  of  the 
Russians  to  the  shores  of  the  Caspian,  sent 
an  army  of  80,000  Turks  against  Astracan. 
The  Turks  were  then  almost  in  the  zenith 
of  that   dazzling   power  which   astonished 
and  awed  all  Europe.     Their  troops  were 
flushed  with  repeated  victories,  and   their 
statesmen  and  generals  accustomed  to  re- 
gard with  disdain  the  most   distinguished 
of  European  soldiers.   Had  they  encountered 
the  Russians,  just  shaking  off  the  enervating 
effects  of  two  centuries  and  a-half  of  bon- 
dage to  the  Tartars,  there  can  be  but  little 
doubt    they   would    have    been    the    vic- 
tors.    But  the  prolonged  contests  between 
these   antagonistic   races  were  not  yet  to 
commence ;  they  were  unborn  events,  slowly 
germinating   in    the   mystic   body  of   the 
future.      Turkey   was   to    be   weaker,   and 
Russia  stronger,  before  these  great  powers 
crossed  each  other's  path.     The  formidable 
army  which  Selim  II.  sent  against  Astracan, 
perished  miserably  in  the  desolate  steppes 
by  which  it  is  surrounded. 

Some  writers  attribute  to  this  period  the 
accidental  discovery  of  Siberia,  and  its  an- 
nexation to  Russia.  Much  uncertainty, 
however,  reigns  over  the  actual  date  of  this 
circumstance;  and  if  Siberia  was  discovered 

69 


J  \ 


.Vv. 


DEATH  OF  ANASTATIA.T 


HISTORy  OF  THE 


[a.d.  15G0. 


at  this  time,  it  was  disregarded— a  probable 
circumstance,  as  the  czar  had  already  more 
territory  than  he  could  govern  efficiently,  or 
his  subjects  use  advantageously.  Russia 
was  already  too  extended  ;  her  power  would 
have  been  greater  had  her  subjects  been 
confined  within  a  smaller  arena.  The  dis- 
covery of  Siberia  is  attributed  to  a  wander- 
ing Cossack  chief  of  the  Don,  called  Yermak 
Timofeyew ;  but  though  some  accounts  re- 
present him  as  penetrating  into  these  deso- 
late regions  during  the  early  part  of  the 
reign  of  Ivan,  others  state  that  that  event 
took  place  in  1581,  only  three  years  before 
Ivan's  death.  The  entire  subjugation  of 
Siberia,  which  was  accomplished  by  private 
adventurers,  and  without  expense  to  the 
government,  occupied  a  period  of  about 
eighty  years.  Those  warlike  people,  the 
Don  Cossacks,  to  whom  we  have  just 
alluded,  gave  in  their  voluntary  adhesion  to 
the  Russian  government  in  the  year  1549. 

During  this   early   period   of  his   reign, 
when  the  ferocious  nature  of  Ivan  appeared 
to  be  softened  and  subdued  by  the  amia- 
bility of  his  beautiful  consort  Anastatia,  the 
young  czar  seems  earnestly  to  have  desired 
to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  empire. 
In  1547  he  dispatched  an  embassy  to  the 
eccentric  Charles  V.,  emperor  of  Germany, 
to  obtain  his  permission  for  the  engagement 
of  artisans  and  engineers  for  the  instruction 
of  the  Russians.     The  request  was  refused ; 
but  as  we  are  told  that  a  number  of  German 
artists   were    shortly   afterwards    imported 
into  Russia,  it  must  be  assumed  that  the 
decision  of  the  emperor  was  evaded.    Certain 
it  is  that  Ivan  has  the  honour  of  having  in- 
troduced the  art  of  printing  into  the  empire. 
Russia  was  at  this  time  beginning,  in  some 
measure,  to  hold  out  her  hands  in  amity  to 
distant  countries.     During  the  reign  of  our 
boy-king,  Edward  VI.,  whose  unripe  buds 
of  promise  were  so  prematurely  withered, 
Russia  opened  a  trade  with  England  through 
the  inhospitable  port  of  Archangel.     Some 
English  navigators  having,   while  attempt- 
ing to  find  a  north-east  passage  to  China 
and  India,  penetrated  into  the  White  Sea, 
and   been  compelled   to   put   in   at   Arch- 
angel, were  so  kindly  received  by  the  Rus- 
sian people,  and  by  the  czar  himself,  into 
whose  presence   they  were  graciously   ad- 
mitted, that  they   brought  home  a  report 
which  led  to  the  immediate  formation  of  a 
company   of    merchant   traders   with  that 
nation. 

This  period  of  tranquillity  for  Russia  was 
70 


about  to  terminate.  The  virtuous  czarina 
died  in  the  year  1560,  after  having  succcss- 
I  fully  restrained  the  furious  passions  of  her 
1  husband  during  a  period  of  thirteen  years. 
With  her  died  the  moderation  and  calmness 
of  the  czar;  and  the  ferocity  which  she  had 
charmed  into  inaction,  burst  forth  with  an 
increased  force  and  an  appalling  rapidity. 
Some  years  before,  Ivan  had  consulted  an 
old  bishop,  who  had  been  banished  from 
court  on  account  of  his  crimes.  In  reply, 
the  woridly  prelate  observed—"  If  you  would 
become  truly  an  absolute  monarch,  never 
seek  a  counsellor  wiser  than  yourself;  never 
receive  advice  from  any  man.  Command, 
and  never  obey;  then  you  will  be  a  real 
sovereign,  and  a  terror  to  the  boyards. 
Bear  in  mind,  that  the  counsellor  of  the 
wisest  prince  always  ends  by  being  his 
ruler."  The  czar  at  once  recognised  the 
subtle  policy  expressed  in  these  words,  and 
kissing  the  hand  of  the  prelate,  exclaimed — 
"  My  own  father  could  not  have  given  me 
more  wholesome  advice."  These  precepts,^ 
though  they  probably  slept  in  the  mind  of 
the  czar,  never  altogether  faded  from  it. 
During  the  life  of  Anastatia  he  had  pa- 
tiently received  the  advice  of  Adascheff  and 
Sylvester,  who  acted  with  virtue  and  wisdom; 
but  their  ascendancy  was  doomed,  and  the 
czar  resolved  henceforth  only  to  take  council 
of  his  own  mind  and  passions. 

From  this  period  to  the  fortunate  hour 
which  saw  the  death  of  Ivan,  he  rioted  in 
every  excess  of  cruelty  which  a  morbid  im- 
agination could  suggest,  or  a  monster  put 
into  execution.     His  life  was  but  one  pro- 
longed gigantic  crime.     Lord  Bacon  truly 
observed — "  Nature  is  often  hidden ;  some- 
times overcome ;  seldom  extinguished."  The 
atrocities   of    Nero  or    Caligula   were   ex- 
ceeded by  this  northern  tyrant ;  while  those 
of  our  eighth  Henry  seem  actually  mild  in 
comparison.      It   has   been  well   observed, 
that  "if  the  narrative  of  his  crimes  could 
be  spared  from  the  page  of  history,  it  would 
rescue  us  from  a  series  of  details,  the  very 
relation   of   which   must   sicken   the   least 
susceptible  mind.     But  there  was  a  passion 
so  unearthly  in  this  paragon  of  monsters — ^ 
he  was  so  elevated  in  atrocity,  and  reached' 
so  sublime  a  height  in  the  perpetration  of 
cruelties— that  his  life,  incredible  and  dis- 
gusting as  it  is,  fills  too  great  a  space  in  the 
annals    of    despotism    to    be    passed    over 

lightly." 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Anastatia,  Ivan 
banished  his  prudent  advisers,  and  then  en- 


A.D.  1560—1568.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[iVAN  ABANDONS  MOSCOW. 


couraged  the  vilest  calumnies  against  them. 
Some  worthless  court  parasites  charged  them 
with  having  brought  about  the  death  of  the 
czarina   by   violent    means— a    transparent 
falsehood  which  Ivan  pretended  to  believe. 
Nothing  could  save  them  from  his  fury,  and 
they  soon  fell  victims  to  his  thirst  for  blood. 
Even  those  who  had   been  associated  with 
them  were  either  put  to  the  torture  or  to 
death ;  or,  when  a  milder  temper  influenced 
the  despot  for  the  hour,  imprisoned  or  ban- 
ished.    While  these  indiscriminate  severities 
were  going  on,  the  court  was  the  scene  of 
the  wildest  excesses.     A  boyard,  who  pre- 
sumed to  remonstrate  with  one  of  the  new 
favourites,  was  murdered  on  the  spot  by  the 
hand  of  Ivan  himself;  while  another,  who 
refused  to  join  in  the  lascivious  pleasures 
of  his  sovereign,  was  stabbed  to  the  heart 
while  on  his  knees  in  church  at  prayer. 

The  prince  Andrew  Kurbsky,  who  had 
rendered  important  services  to  the  country, 
learnt   that   he   was   one   of  the   intended 
victims  of  the  czar.    Knowing  that  integrity 
would  avail  him  nothing  against  false  accu- 
sations, or  the  furious  whims  of  his  sove- 
reign,   he  fled  to   Poland   for   safety,    and 
placed    himself    under    the    protection    of 
Sigisraund  II.,   the  king  of  that  country, 
and  most  inveterate  enemy  of  Russia.    From 
this  asylum  he  wrote  an  accusatory  letter  to 
the  czar,  in  which   he   charged    him    with 
being  the  cause  of  all  the  miseries   which 
their  common  country  then  endured ;  with 
having  shed  the  blood  of  Israel's  elders  in 
the  temples  of  the  Lord;    and  threatened 
him  with  eternal  vengeance  for  his  crimes. 
When  this  epistle  was  presented  to   Ivan, 
he,  on  learning  from  whence  it  came,  struck 
the  messenger  across  the  legs  with  an  iron- 
bound  staff"  which  he  usually  carried ;   and 
then,  while  the  blood  flowed  rapidly  from 
the  man's  wounds,  composedly  perused  the 
document.     The  czar  was  not  destitute  of 
abilities:    neglected  as  his   education    had 
been,  he  could  write  with  freedom,  and  was 
proud  of  his  literary  attainments.     He  him- 
self replied  to  Kurbsky,  in  a  vein  of  mingled 
anger  and  sarcasm.   *  The  letter  is  still  pre- 
served.    In  it  the  czar  thus  addresses  th^ 
fugitive  prince—"  Why,  thou  wretch,   dost  ^ 
thou  destroy  thy  traitor  soul  in  saving  bv 
flight  thy  worthless  body  ?    If  thou  art  really 
honest  and  virtuous,  why  not  die  by  the  hand 
of  thy  master,  and  thereby  obtain  the  crown 
of  the  martyrs?     What  is  life?     What  are 
earthly   pomps    and    riches?      Vanity!     a 
shadow  ! — What  thou  assertest  of  mv  as- 


sumed cruelties  is  an  impudent  lie.  I  do 
not  destroy  the  elders  of  Israel,  nor  do  I 
stain  with  their  blood  the  Lord's  temples : 
the  peaceful  and  religious  live  happily  in 
my  service.  Against  traitors  alone  I  am 
severe;  but  who  ever  spared  them?  Did 
not  Constantine  the  Great  sacrifice  his  only 
son?— Thou  tellest  me  that  I  shall  never 
again  see  thy  Ethiop  face.  Heavens  I  what 
a  misfortune !"  Finally,  the  letter  says— 
"  But  I  am  silent,  for  Solomon  forbids  us 
to  waste  words  with  fools  like  thee." 

Scornfully  as  the  czar  treated  the  accusa- 
tions and  enmity  of  Prince  Kurbsky,  the 
result  of  the  flight  of  the  latter  soon  made 
itself   apparent.      Sigismund   gathered   an 
army  for  the  invasion  of  Russia,  and  insti- 
gated the  Tartars  to  make  a  descent  upon 
its    southern   provinces.      On    finding    the 
fugitive  not  so  helpless  as  he  expected,  Ivan 
was  seized  with  fits  of  passion  and  paroxysms 
of  cruelty.     He  regarded  every  one  with 
distrust,  and  treated  all  around  him  as  if 
they   were    the    accomplices    of    Kurbsky. 
Many  he  put   to  the   rack,   or  to   death, 
merely  from  motives  of  suspicion.     He  con- 
stantly charged  the  boyards  with  entertain- 
ing evil  designs  against  him  and  the  state, 
and  then  confiscated  their  property.    Racked 
by  an  unsatisfied  vengeance,  he  frequently 
lamented  that  he   could   not   find   victims 
enough  to  allay  his  wrath.     Haunted  by  a 
real  impression  that   a   conspiracy  against 
him  was  in  progress,   or  influenced    by  a 
cunning  desire  to  extend  his  power  over  his 
people,   he  next  performed   a  trick   of  so 
whimsical  a  nature,  that  it  gives  some  slight 
colouring  to  the  charitable  suggestion  that 
he  was  insane.     Early  one  winter  morning 
in  the  year  1568,  he  left  the  Kremlin  in' 
his  travelling  sledge,  and,  together  with  his 
family,  his  attendants,  and  a  regiment  of 
cavalry,  abandoned  Moscow.     Prior  to  his 
departure,  he  ordered  the  metropolitan  to 
celebrate  mass   in   the  church  of  the  As- 
sumption, where,  having  prayed  with  great 
apparent  devotion,  he  solemnly  left  the  city. 
Why  he  had   departed,    or  where   he    was 
going  to,  was  kept  a  profound  secret. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Moscow  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  his  pre- 
sence, even  though  but  for  a  short  time. 
The  reverse  was  the  case :  they  were  seized 
with  astonishment  and  despondency  at  his 
inexplicable  absence.  Cruel  as  he  was,  he 
had  acquired  something  of  popularity 
amongst  the  people.  His  severities  had 
been  exercised   rather   against  the   nobles 

71 


I  > 


f 


IVAN  AT  ALEXANDROVSKY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1568. 


and  the  clergy  thcan  against  them ;  and  as 
they  had  frequently  been  the  victims  of  the 
tyranny  of  their  masters,  they  often  secretly 
rejoiced  at  the  calamities  which  fell  upon 
the  latter.  They  had  also  gradually  come — 
in  consequence  of  the  pretensions  of  the 
czar,  and  the  servile  if  not  blasphemous 
teachings  of  the  priesthood — to  regard  their 
sovereign  as  the  representative  of  God ;  as 
indeed  standing  between  them  and  Deity; 
and  even,  in  some  inexplicable  way,  per- 
forming some  of  the  beneficent  functions  of 
the  Supreme  !  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
these  unreasoning  barbarians  had  ever 
looked  to  the  czar  for  that  protection  which 
cultivated  and  devout  minds  expect  only 
from  the  Almighty  Power  which  creates 
and  sustains  all  things.  So  far  was  this 
perverted  feeling  carried,  that  the  people 
began  to  believe,  that  in  being  deserted  by 
Ivan,  they  were  deserted  by  Omnipotence. 

It  was  a  month  before  the  inhabitants  of 
Moscow  learned  what  had  become  of  their 
sovereign.  It  is  probable  that,  by  that  time, 
lie  had  no  intention  either  to  abandon  his 
authority  or  to  prolong  his  absence.  Two 
letters  arrived  from  him — one  addressed  to 
the  metropolitan,  and  the  other  to  the 
people.  From  these  letters  it  appeared  that 
he  had  taken  up  his  abode  at  Alexandrovsky, 
a  distant  fortress,  surrounded  by  a  gloomy 
forest.  The  letter  to  the  metropolitan  de- 
nounced the  clergy  and  the  boyards,  but 
especially  the  former,  as  the  cause  of  all  the 
disorders  wliioh  had  afflicted  the  country 
dur.ug  his  minority;  and  he  asserted  that 
they  were  even  then  promoting  similar 
sources  of  evil.  So  great,  he  added,  was 
the  evil  influence  of  the  primate  and  the 
priesthood,  that  he  had  abandoned  the 
management  of  the  affairs  of  state,  and  left 
Moscow  to  wander  a  fugitive  upon  the 
earth.  Ivan's  epistle  to  the  people  was  in  a 
different  style,  and  showed  the  art  with 
which  the  despot  influenced  their  childish 
minds.  He  concluded  a  strain  of  mingled 
flattery  and  melancholy  by  an  assurance 
that  he  had  no  cause  of  complaint  against 
them,  and  by  bidding  them  farewell  for 
ever. 

On  hearing  these  letters,  the  spiritless 
people  broke  out  into  senseless  lamenta- 
tions. Closing  their  shops,  they  assembled 
in  groups  in  the  streets.  Everywhere  busi- 
ness was  suspended ;  and  the  burden  of 
everv  conversation  was,  "The  czar  has  for- 
saken  us,  and  we  are  lost.  Who  will  now 
delend  us  against  the  enemy?  What  arc 
73 


sheep  without  the  shepherd  ?"  So  great 
was  their  blind  attachment  to  the  regal 
power,  and  the  legitimate  possessor  of  it, 
that  they  proceeded  in  crowds  to  the  metro- 
politan, and  urged  him  to  solicit  Ivan  to 
return  to  his  faithful  people.  "Let  him," 
they  exclaimed,  "  punish  all  those  who  de- 
serve it;  has  he  not  the  power  of  life  and 
death?  The  state  cannot  remain  without  a 
head,  and  we  will  not  acknowledge  any 
other  than  the  one  God  has  given  us.'' 
They  added,  "Who,  without  him,  could 
preserve  the  purity  of  religion?  who  could 
save  millions  of  souls  from  eternal  perdi- 
tion ?"  The  opinion  of  the  people  was  too 
general,  and  too  vehemently  expressed,  to 
be  disregarded.  After  much  consultation, 
it  was  decided  that  a  body  of  prelates  and 
boyards  should  proceed  to  the  retreat  of  the 
czar,  and,  humbling  themselves  before  him, 
implore  him  to  return  to  Moscow. 

Ivan  beheld  the  abasement  of  the  depu- 
tation with  a  secret  emotion  of  pleasure, 
and  affected  to  accede  to  their  prayers  with 
reluctance.  Before  doing  so,  he  extorted 
from  the  clergy  a  condition,  that  they  would 
never  interfere  to  avert  those  punishments 
which  he  considered  it  necessary  to  inflict 
on  such  of  his  subjects  who  entered  into 
conspiracies  either  against  the  state  or  him 
and  his  famil3\  On  his  return  to  Moscow, 
the  czar  was  received  with  enthusiastic 
acclamations ;  but  the  slavish  population 
were  welcoming  a  scourge  which  was  to  fall 
like  a  curse  upon  their  abject  servility. 
The  appearance  of  Ivan,  on  his  entrance 
into  the  city,  struck  the  beholders  with  sur- 
prise and  pity.  The  Russian  chroniclers 
observe — "  Only  a  month  had  elapsed  since 
his  absence,  yet  they  hardly  knew  him 
again.  His  large  and  robust  body,  his 
ample  chest,  his  broad  shoulders,  had 
shrunk  ;  his  head,  which  had  been  shaded 
by  thick  locks,  was  become  bald ;  the  thin 
and  scattered  remains  of  a  beard,  which  w^as 
lately  the  ornament  of  his  face,  now  dis- 
figured it.  His  eyes  were  dull,  and  his 
features,  marked  with  a  ravenous  ferocity, 
were  deformed."  This  appearance — whether 
the  result  of  a  debilitated  state  of  body,  pro- 
ceeding from  mental  anguish ;  or,  w  hicli  is 
far  more  probable,  intentionally  brought 
about  for  the  sake  of  producing  an  effect — 
elicited  a  strong  feeling  of  sympathy  from 
the  people. 

Addressing  the  assembled  multitude,  he 
dwelt  upon  the  crimes  of  the  boyards,  and 
insisted  on  the  necessity  there  existed  for 


a.d.  1568.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [eccextricittes  of  the  c; 


CZAK. 


his    possession    of    the   absolute   power   to 
punish  where  he  thought  fit  to  do  so.     He 
concluded  with  an  exhortation,  couched  in 
the  language  of  piety,  on  the  vanity  of  the 
world,   and  the  worthlessness  of  life;   the 
object  of  which  was  to  reconcile  the  people 
to  the  wholesale  sacrifice  of  it,  which   he 
contemplated.     He   then   desired   and   ob- 
tamed   from   the   populace    permission    to 
institute  a  new  body-guard,  to  be  composed 
of  a  thousand  men  of  noble  birth,  who  were 
to   bear   the   title   of  the   Opritshnina,    or 
Select  Legion.     This  body  of  men,  when 
actually  formed,  instead  of  being  composed 
of  the  nobly  born,  was  a  collection  of  per- 
sons of  the  lowest  class  and  most  degraded 
character,   whose  real   business   soon    con- 
sisted  of  acting   as   spies,    informers,    and 
assassins.     They  were  commissioned  to  find 
out  and    denounce   disaffected   persons,  of 
whom  they  afterwards  became  the   execu- 
tioners.    As  the  property  of  the  victims  fell 
to  these  ruffians,  it  may  be  supposed  that 
they  were  diligent  in  their  infamous  voca- 
tion;   and  that,  where  a  crime  could  not 
always  be  discovered,  one  was   sometimes 
invented. 

The  next  act  of  the  despot  was  to  erect 
for  himself  a  new  palace,  or  rather  fortress, 
outside  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin  ;  for  a  fear 
of  assassination  seems  to  have  made  a  deep 
impression  upon   his   mind.     To   obtain  a 
site   for   this    building,    he    desolated    the 
streets,  and  instructed  his  ruffian  guard  to 
drive  to  a  distance  those  who  had  been  thus 
shamefully  despoiled  of  their  property.     No 
less  than  12,000  of  the  citizens  are  said  to 
have  been  dispossessed  of  their  habitations, 
for  the  sake  of  erecting  his  regal  prison. 
Though  the  new  palace  was  regarded  as  im- 
pregnable, yet  the  terrors  of  the  czar  did  not 
permit  him  to  reside  in  it  in  tranquillity. 
Haunted  by  a  constant  sense  of  that  retri- 
bution which  he  knew  he  had  provoked,  he 
left  this  building,  and  retired  again  to  the 
gloomy  fortress  of  Alexandrovsky,  around 
which  a  considerable  town  was  in  course  of 
erection.     This   no   one  was   permitted   to 
enter  or  leave  without  his  express  permis- 
sion, and  a  guard  was  stationed  to  enforce 
the  regulation.     In  this  seclusion  an  extra- 
ordinary whim  entered  into  the  mind  of  the 
despot.     With  a  theatrical  burlesque  of  the 
formularies  of  religion,  he  assumed  the  habit 
and  title  of  an  abbot,  and  bestowed  upon 
his  depraved  body-guard  the  vestments  and 
name  of  mouKS.     They  wore  black   robes 
over  their  military  dress,  and  were  compelled 


VOL.  I. 


to  adopt  a  mode  of  life  resembling  that  prac- 
tised  in  the  cloisters.     This  did  not  consist 
of  any  light   duties,   but   was   remarkably 
rigid.     A  religious   service   commenced  at 
the  early  hour  of  three  in  the  morning,  and 
was  prolonged  until  seven.     An  hour  later 
mass  was  performed ;  and  at  ten  the  mili- 
tary brotherhood,  with  the  exception  of  the 
czar,  sat  down  to  a  bountiful  repast.    During 
this  the  eccentric  Ivan  stood  and  read  aloud 
from  some  book  on  a  religious  topic.     Ever 
influenced  by  a  desire  to  conciliate  even  the 
lowest  of  the  people,  he  caused  the  remnants 
of  the  meal  to  be  distributed  to  the  neigh- 
bouring poor.     After  dinner  the  tyrant  de- 
scended to  the  dungeons  of  the  fortress,  to 
superintend   the   infliction  of   the    torture 
upon  some  of  his  victims;    and  at  night, 
after  the  reading  of  prayers,  he  retired  to 
rest,  and  was  lulled  to  sleep  by  three  blind 
men.     Such  was  his  disregard  of  the  spirit 
of  the  Christian  religion,  while  intent  upon 
the  letter,  that  his  most  sanguinary  orders 
were  frequently  given  during  prayers. 

Always  terrified  by  the  dread  of  insurrec- 
tion or  assassination,  the  tyrant  increased 
his  recent  body-guard  from  one  to  six  thou- 
sand men.  Those  who  were  added  to  it 
consisted  of  the  most  infamous  and  blood- 
thirsty wretches  that  could  be  procured. 
They  paraded  the  streets,  armed  with  dag- 
gers and  hatchets;  and  the  victims  of  their 
suspicion  or  ferocious  wantonness  are  said 
to  have  averaged  a  score  daily.  As  types  of 
their  office,  these  wretches  bore  a  dog's-head 
and  a  broom  suspended  from  their  saddle- 
bow ;  the  former,  to  signify  that  they  w^orried 
the  enemies  of  the  czar;  the  latter,  to  indi- 
cate that  they  swept  them  from  off  the  face 
of  the  earth. 

No  rank  preserved  its  possessors  against 
the  fury  of  the  tyrant.  Prince  Schuisky 
and  his  son,  relatives  of  the  worthless  man 
who  fell  a  victim  to  the  first-awakened  wrath 
of  the  czar  while  in  his  boyhood,  were  seized 
and  beheaded.  The  same  day  four  other 
princes  shared  the  same  fate,  and  a  fifth  was 
impaled.  Subsequently  a  great  number  of 
victims  perished  by  the  axe,  impalement,  or 
poisoning,  while  their  wives  and  children 
expired  under  the  scourge,  or  were  driven 
naked  into  the  forests,  where  they  perished 
from  cold  and  hunger.  The  passion  of  the 
tyrant  for  blood  increased  with  its  gratifica- 
tion, and  the  horrors  of  each  new  day  ex- 
ceeded that  of  its  predecessor.  The  mangled 
bodies  of  the  dead  lay  in  the  public  streets 
and  squares;  and  such  a  terror  fell  upon  the 

73 


■A 


•  •■ 


REIGN  OF  TERROR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1569. 


V 


•urvivors,  that  few  dared  to  give  the  rites 
of  burial  to  these  terrible  evidences  of  a 
diabolical  tyranny. 

Executions,  even  though  numbers  were 
put  to  death  together,  soon  failed  to  supply 
ihe  bloodthirsty  excitement  which  this  awful 
man  longed  for.  The  axe,  the  scourge,  and 
the  instrument  of  impalement,  were  too 
slow  to  meet  his  fearful  wishes.  His  con- 
stant demand  was  for  blood  ! — more  blood  ! 
and  his  chief  pleasure  appeared  to  consist  in 
dwelling,  with  a  horrible  malignity,  upon 
the  agonies  of  his  fellow- men.  He  soon 
sought  for  excuses  to  give  up  whole  towns  to 
the  operations  of  his  army  of  ruffians  and 
executioners.  One  day,  a  few  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Torjck  had  the  misfortune  to 
quarrel  with  some  of  his  legionaries.  The 
czar  seized  upon  the  incident  with  avidity, 
declared  all  the  inhabitants  to  be  rebels,  and 
caused  them  to  be  tortured  to  death,  or 
drowned  in  crowds.  The  inhabitants  of 
another  town  were  exposed  to  a  similarly 
dreadful  fate,  because  they  were  the  depen- 
dents of  a  nobleman  to  whom  he  had  con- 
tracted a  dislike.  Infancy,  womanhood,  and 
old  age  were  no  protection  from  the  hellish 
wrath  of  the  czar.  He  delighted  in  com- 
pelling ladies  of  rank  to  stand  in  indelicate 
positions  in  the  public  streets,  while  others, 
after  being  exposed  in  a  state  of  nakedness, 
were  shot  in  the  presence  of  the  horrified 
spectators. 

Frightful  as  were  these  atrocities,  they 
were  exceeded  by  the  subsequent  deeds  of 
the  tyrant.  His  proceedings  at  Novgorod 
are  perfectly  frightful  to  relate.  A  criminal 
of  that  city,  wishing  to  take  revenge  upon 
the  authorities  who  had  punished  him,  in- 
formed the  czar  that  the  archbishop  and 
inhabitants  of  the  city  designed  to  break 
their  allegiance  to  Ivan,  and  to  place  Nov- 
gorod under  the  protection  of  the  King  of 
Poland.  The  villain  further  informed  the 
czar  that  a  letter  to  the  Polish  monarch,  of 
a  nature  to  prove  the  guilt  of  the  accused, 
would  be  found  concealed  behind  an  image 
of  the  Virgin,  in  the  church  of  St.  Sophia. 
This  was  true ;  as  the  scoundrel  had  written 
such  a  letter,  and  placed  it  there  himself, 
where  it  was  subsequently  found  by  Ivan^s 
messengers.  A  proper  investigation  would 
have  exposed  the  treachery  of  the  fellow, 
who  pretended  to  discover  a  plot  which  had 
no  real  existence ;  and,  indeed,  the  accusa- 
tion bore  an  air  of  improbability  upon  the 
face  of  it.  But  the  czar  cared  little  for  its 
truth.  He  longed  for  an  opportunity  to 
74 


indulge,  on  a  gigantic  scale,  his  morbid  appe- 
tite for  slaughter,  and  this  circumstance 
afforded  one.  His  march  of  devastation  to 
Novgorod,  and  his  awful  massacres  there, 
are  regarded  as  the  most  appalling  acts  of 
his  career  of  blood. 

Accompanied  by  his  son,  and  followed  by 
his  legion  of  monsters,  Ivan  left  the  dismal 
fortress  of  Alexandrovskv  in  the  December 
of  1569,  and  marched  towards  Novgorod. 
At  the  town  of  Klin,  where  he  paused  for  a 
while,  his  army  of  executioners  extermi- 
nated  the  whole  of  the  population.  On 
arriving  at  the  ancient  city  of  Twer,  he  sent 
his  soldiers  ^into  the  streets  with  permission 
to  murder  and  plunder  as  they  pleased. 
The  wretches  availed  themselves  of  this 
diabolical  license  to  such  a  dreadful  extent, 
that  the  horrors  enacted  were  compared  by 
the  miserable  people  to  the  terrible  cruelties 
inflicted  upon  their  ancestors  by  the  Tartar, 
Usbek-Khan.  The  czar  himself  assisted  in 
the  work  of  slaughter ;  and  his  confidential 
minister,  Skaratof,  entering  the  cell  where 
the  deposed  metropolitan  was  confined, 
strangled  him  with  his  own  hands. 

The  czar  continued  his  march,  and  de- 
populated all  the  towns  and  villages  that 
lay  in  his  way  to  Novgorod,  which  mise- 
rable city  was  entered  by  his  advanced 
guard  on  the  2nd  of  January,  1570.  In 
conformity  with  the  commands  of  Ivan,  the 
dog's-head  legion  closed  all  the  convents, 
and  demanded  from  each  of  the  monks  the 
sum  of  twenty  roubles.  The  unfortunate 
creatures  who  could  not  comply  with  this 
extortion,  were  mercilessly  scourged,  from 
daybreak  until  evening.  Guards  were  placed 
at  the  entrances  of  the  city,  to  prevent  any 
one  from  escaping,  and  the  principal  inhab- 
itants were  placed  in  fetters,  to  await  their 
doom. 

Four  days  elapsed  in  this  state  of  uncer- 
tainty and  terror,  and  then  all  the  wretched 
monks  who  could  not  pay  the  sum  de- 
manded of  them  were  beaten  to  death  with 
clubs,  and  the  disfigured  corpses  returned 
to  their  respective  monasteries  for  burial. 
On  the  fifth  day,  Ivan  solemnly  entered  the 
city,  at  the  head  of  a  large  body  of  troops. 
The  terrified  archbishop  and  the  clergy, 
carrying  all  the  worthless  images  and  relics, 
in  which  they  placed  so  much  faith,  met 
him  in  a  body,  and  the  primate  endea- 
voured to  pronounce  the  customary  bene- 
diction. The  despot  interrupted  him  with 
a  fierce  address,  in  which  expressions  of 
aff'ected   piety  were  mingled  with    furious 


A.D.  1569.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


-xecrations   against    the   primate   and    his 
order.     Then    entering   the  church  of  St. 
bophia,  Ivan  commanded  mass  to  be  per- 
formed, during  which  he  prayed  with  great 
apparent  fervour.     This  ceremony  over,  he 
entered  the  episcopal  palace,  and  sat  down 
to  dmner,  surrounded  by  his  boyards.     Per- 
haps the  agitated    primate   thought   after- 
wards, by  pathetic  and  pious  appeals  to  the 
czar,  to  allay  that  furious  and  maniacal  ex- 
citement which   seemed   rapidly  transform- 
ing him  into  a  demon.     If  so,  the  unhappy 
prelate  was  painfully  deceived.     During  the 
meal,  the  tyrant  started  up,  and,  with  eyes 
flashmg  with  an  excitement  that  trembled 
upon  the  brink  of  insanity,  uttered  a  wild 
and   piercing  cry.     It  was  a  preconcerted 
signal;  and,  in  a  moment,  the  chamber  was 
filled  with   his    military  executioners,  who 
seized  the  archbishop,  priests,  and  servants. 
No  crime  was  urged  against  them ;  not  even 
a  faint  mockery  of  the  forms  of  justice  were 
observed ;  and  the  doomed  archbishop  was 
cast   into   confinement,   until   the   crowned 
demon  had  leisure  to  gloat  over  his  dying 
agonies.      The   episcopal   palace,    and  "the 
neighbouring   cathedral,    were    then   aban- 
doned to  plunder ;  and  everything  valuable 
and    regarded   as   sacred— rich    yestments, 
plate,  images— were  carried  away  by  ruffians. 
The  churches  and  monasteries  of  the  city 
were  also  given  up  to  spoliation,  and  soon 
cleared  of  everything  yaluable,  by  the  im- 
pious hands  of  these  abandoned  depredators. 
A  darker  tragedy  followed;   for  plunder 
was  but  the  ominous  prologue  to  the  work 
of  blood.     By  the  commands  of  Ivan,  an 
unsparing  and  even  systematic  massacre  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  took  place.     The 
wretch  sat  in  judgment  with  his  son  by  his 
side,  who,  it  would  seem,  was  averse  to  the 
atrocities  which  he  was  powerless  to  check. 
Every  day,  from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand 
of  the  miserable  inhabitants  of  the  city  were 
hurried   from  the  presence  of  the  tyrant, 
and   put   to  death    by  torture  or   fire.     A 
reign  of  terror  prevailed ;  and  almost  every 
mode  of  butchery  and  torture  were  resorted 
to.      A    number   of  the   inhabitants    were 
huddled    together    in    a    large    enclosure, 
where  the  czar  put  many  of  them  to  death 
himself.     When,  however,  his  fury  had  ex- 
hausted him,  he  gave  up  the  rem'ainder  to 
be  murdered  by  his  guard,  or  torn  to  pieces 
by   his    dogs.      Immense    numbers    of   the 
people  (including  women  with  their  infants) 
were    thrown    into  the   river  Volkhof,  and 
drowned.     Those  who  strove  in  their  mor- 


[massacre  at  XOyOOROD. 


tal  agony  to  escape  by  swimming,  were  dis- 
patched by  soldiers,   who  sailed  about  on 
the  water,  armed  with  long  spears  for  that 
purpose      For  more   than    a   month,  hun- 
dreds  of  unhappy  creatures  perished  daily 
m  the  freezmg  waters  of  the  Volkhof:  and 
then  the  work  of  murder  was  checked   by 
the  scarcity  of  victims.     But  the  fury  of 
Ivan  was  not  yet  satiated ;  and  he  and  hi^ 
troops  of  monsters  desolated  the  surround- 
ing   country    and    monasteries,    where     in 
addition  to  the  work  of  indiscriminate  mur- 
der and  plunder,  they  wantonly  gave  houses 
to  the  flames,  destroyed  the  cattle,  and  de- 
vastated  the  springing  corn. 

Returning  to  Novgorod,  he  feasted  his 
eyes  on  the  terrible  spectacle  the  smitten 
city  presented.     All  the  yaluable  goods  that 
remained,  such  as  silks  and  furs,  he  caused 
to   be  divided   among   his  soldiers;    while 
such   as    they  could    not   carry  away  with 
them,  were  either  burnt  or  thrown  into  the 
river.     Wearied  at  length   with   bloodshed 
and    rapine,  the   czar   prepared   to   depart. 
Before  he  did  so,  he  issued  a  general  par- 
don  to  the  surviving  population,  and  sum- 
moned    them   to   appear    before   him       A 
mournful    assembly   of    spirit-broken*   and 
despairing  wretches  obeyed  the  command, 
and  stood— the  mere  shadows  of  men  and 
women— in  the  presence  of  the  slayer  of 
their  fellow-countrymen.     It  was  a  painful 
sight  to  see  these  wretched  creatures,  whose 
passive     dullness     bordered    upon    idiotcy 
and  whose  lank  forms  were  emaciated   by 
famine  and  the  incessant  apprehensions  of 
death  and   of  tortures,  to  which  a  speedy 
death    would   have    been    mercy.      Such   a 
mournful  spectacle  might  have  touched  the 
hardest  heart;  and  perhaps  it  did  make  a 
momentary  impression  on  the  Satanic  in- 
carnation who  had  gathered  them  together. 
Whether  in  a  transient  spirit  of  compassion, 
or  from  a  diabolical  irony,  he  spoke  to  them 
m  the  mildest  language,  and  bidding  them 
farewell,  desired  them  to  pray  to  God  that 
his  reign  might  be  a  long  and  happy  one. 
The  monster  then  abandoned   the  city  he 
had    converted   into    a   slaughter-house,    a 
grave-yard,  and  a  place  of  wailing.     It  was, 
indeed,  almost  depopulated;  for  60,000  of 
the  inhabitants  had    fallen   victims  to  his 
capricious   fury.     To  complete  the  misery 
of  the  survivors,  the  rotting  remains  of  the 
unbuned  dead  produced  a  pestilence,  which, 
m  consequence  of  the  destruction   of  the 
crops  and  cattle,  was  followed  by  famine. 
The  czar  having  visited  the  city  of  Pskol, 

76 


I' 


EXECUTIONS  AT  MOSCOW.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


A.D.  1570. 


H: 


where  he  contented  hinnself  with  terrifying 
and  plundering  the  inhabitants,  directed 
his  steps  towards  Moscow.  He  carried  in 
his  train  the  Archljishop  of  Novgorod,  and 
other  distinguished  prisoners  whom  he  had 
resolved  to  put  to  death  with  a  solemn 
parade  of  horror.  To  increase  the  number 
of  the  victims  to  be  offered  up  at  this 
bloody  carnival,  he  caused  many  of  the 
bovards  of  Moscow  to  be  arrested  :  even 
including  among  them  a  number  of  his 
personal  favourites,  or  those  who  were 
deemed  so.  Some  suspicion  of  treason  was 
assigned  as  the  cause  of  these  arrests ;  but 
it  was  known  to  be  a  mere  pretence.  A 
day  was  appointed  for  the  execution  of  the 
whole  number ;  and  when  the  light  dawned 
upon  it,  spectators  were  horrified  at  the 
sight  of  eighteen  gibbets,  erected  in  the 
market-place,  while,  in  the  centre  of  them, 
a  huge  copper  cauldron  was  suspended  over 
a  blazing  fire.  In  addition  to  these  fright- 
ful preparations,  instruments  of  torture  lay 
about  in  every  direction.  When  the  news 
spread,  a  panic  seized  the  people,  and  they 
fled  from  the  city,  or  hid  themselves  in 
terror.  In  a  few  hours  Moscow  was  de- 
serted, and  no  one  was  to  be  seen  but  a 
troop  of  the  select  legion  arranged  around 
the  gibbets  and  the  cauldron.  At  length 
the  oppressive  silence  was  broken  by  the 
roll  of  drums.  It  heralded  the  approach  of 
the  czar,  who  came  on  horseback,  attended 
by  his  son,  and  followed  by  a  regiment  of 
his  torturers.  After  them,  the  executioners 
brought  along  a  troop  of  about  300  wretched- 
looking  men,  pale  and  haggard,  and  many 
of  them  stained  with  blood  from  recent  in- 
juries, and  scarcely  able  to  walk.  These 
were  the  destined  victims. 

The  tyrant  was  disappointed  on  finding 
that  there  was  not  any  audience  to  witness 
the  awful  pageantry  he  had  provided.  He 
therefore  commanded  his  soldiers  to  compel 
the  attendance  of  the  people.  Finding  that 
the  latter  assembled  very  slowly,  he  went 
on  the  same  errand  himself;  and,  assuring 
them  of  his  good-will,  desired  their  presence 
at  the  spectacle  he  had  provided  for  them. 
The  territied  citizens  dared  not  disobey,  and 
soon  the  market-place  was  filled  with  spec- 
tators, even  to  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  The 
czar  then  addressed  them  upon  what  he 
termed  the  righteous  justice  of  the  punish- 
ments, and  elicited  from  tliem  insincere  ex- 
pre>sions  of  approval.  They  knew  that  to 
have  crossed  his  will  would  have  been  to 
court  instant  destruction.  This  prelimi- 
76 


nary  over,  120  pallid  creatures  were  se- 
lected from  the  group  of  destined  vic- 
tims, and  pardoned,  on  account,  said  the 
despot,  of  their  being  less  guilty  than 
the  others.  The  rest  were  given  into  the 
hands  of  the  executioners,  who  put  them 
to  death  in  the  most  revolting  manner. 
Some  were  cut  to  pieces,  or  plunged  half 
alive  into  the  boiling  cauldron.  We  cannot 
dwell  longer  on  these  disgusting  atrocities  : 
it  must  be  sufficient  to  say  that  the  execu- 
tions lasted  about  four  hours,  and  that 
nearly  200  innocent  persons  were  put  to 
deaths  of  the  most  repulsive  and  protracted 
kind.  The  monster  endeavoured  to  recon- 
cile his  subjects  to  his  mad  career  of  blood, 
by  asserting  that  his  authority  over  them 
was  divine.  "  I  am,"  he  said,  "  your  god, 
as  God  is  mine ;  whose  throne  is  surrounded 
by  archangels,  as  is  the  throne  of  God." 

It  may  be  supposed  that,  under  this  time 
of  progressive  horror,  the  Russian  people 
lost  all  public  spirit,  and  were  no  longer 
formidable  to  surrounding  enemies.  The 
distracted  country  soon  became  a  prey  to 
those  foes  who  were  ever  ready  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  its  weakness.  Sweden  made 
itself  master  of  Esthonia ;  the  Livonian 
knights  seized  upon  Courland  and  Semi- 
gallia.  Towards  the  close  of  Ivan's  reign, 
Stephen  Bathori,  who,  though  of  a  noble 
family,  had  been  raised  by  his  merits  and 
military  reputation  to  the  rank  of  King  of 
Poland,  defeated  the  czar  in  many  engage- 
ments, and  deprived  him  of  Livonia,  which, 
on  account  of  its  being  washed  by  the 
waters  of  the  Baltic,  was  justly  regarded  as 
a  highly  important  part  of  his  dominions. 
It,  as  well  as  Courland,  was  an  outlet  for 
the  commerce  of  Russia,  and  a  point  from 
which  communication  with  the  more  civilised 
nations  of  Europe  could  be  opened.  The 
Polish  king,  who  was  a  wise,  brave,  and 
just  man,*  viewed  the  conduct  of  Ivan  with 
disgust ;  and  acted  with  such  decision,  as  to 
throw  the  tyrant  into  the  greatest  trepida- 
tion. Bathori  charged  him  with  the  com- 
mission of  the  grossest  of  crimes,  with 
falsifying  treaties,  with  revolting  inhu- 
manity to  his  people,  and,  finally,  chal- 
lenged him  to  single  combat. 

Ivan  not  only  shrunk  from  the  proffered 
duel,    but    carefully   kept    back    from    all 

*  An  instance  of  his  just  and  tolerant  nature  is 
contained  in  the  following  fact.  On  being  urged  to 
adopt  severe  measures  for  the  su])pression  of  certain 
religious  nonconformists,  he  replied,  "  1  reign  over 
persons ;  but  it  is  God  who  rules  the  conscience." 


A.D.  1570—1580.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[further  horrors. 


danger  in  the  contests  between  his  troops 
and  the    Poles.     This  man,  so  reckless  of 
human  life,   was  himself  the   slave  of  the 
most  abject  fears.    He  dreaded  assassination, 
as  well  he  might ;  and  it  is  strange  that  he 
did  not  fall  a  victim  to  the  fury  and  despair 
of  some  bereaved  father  or  maddened  son, 
who  had  been  deprived  of  those  dearest  to 
them  by  his  wanton  cruelties.     He  feared 
death  even  in  the  course  of  nature ;  as  well 
he  might,  if  he  believed  in  the  doctrines  of 
that  religion  of  the  forms  of  which  he  made 
so  ostentatious  a  parade,  and  ever  had  visions 
of  judgment  and  the  wrath  of  an  avenging 
God.     It  has    even   been  stated,  that   the 
very  cruelties  of  this  Russian  monster  were 
chiefly   the    result    of    the    terrors    which 
haunted  him  like  evil  spirits  by  day  and  by 
night,  and  made  him  dread  an  assassin  in 
every  one  who  approached  him. 

Awed  by  the  courage  of  the  Polish  mon- 
arch, Ivan,  for  a  time,  held  back  from  repel- 
ling his   aggressive  actions.       Impelled    at 
length  by  the  urgency  of  the  position,  and 
the  entreaties  of  his  boyards,  he  was  in- 
duced  to  take   the  field.     But  he  took  no 
share  in  the  conflicts  that  followed,  and  in 
which  his  troops  were  generally  defeated. 
Such  was  his  aversion  to  the  war,  that  he 
actually   bought    the    intercession    of    the 
pope's  envoy  by  lying  promises  that,  in  the 
event  of  his  proving  successful  in  disarming 
the   animosity   of   Bathori,    he    would   en- 
deavour to  convert  the  Russian  people  to 
Catholicism.      When   any  of  the   Poles  or 
Livonians  were  taken  prisoners  by  Ivan's 
soldiers,  the  wretch  caused   the  captives  to 
be  put  to  death  in  some  shocking  manner. 
Some   he   had    spitted    on    lances;     while 
others  were  thrown  into  boiling  cauldrons, 
or   slowly   consumed    at    fires,    which   the 
monster  often  amused  himself  by  stirring 
lip   while    the   execution  was   in  progress. 
These    atrocities    Bathori    had    resolved    to 
avenge ;  and  he  was  occupied  in  preparing 
for  a  vigorous  campaign,  when  he  died  sud- 
denly, and  thus  relieved  the  czar  from  the 
fear  of  a  well-merited  retribution. 

Among  his  other  tyrannies,  Ivan  op- 
pressed his  people  with  the  most  exorbi- 
tant taxes.  Next  to  cruelty,  a  selfish 
desire  for  accumulation  seemed  his  master- 
passion.  Not  content  with  the  imposition 
of  taxes,  which  were  enormous  for  those  times, 
he  established  the  most  offensive  monopo- 
lies, and  even  robbed  his  people  by  the 
frequent  confiscation  of  their  property  on 


and   resistance   was    unavailing:    to    have 
offered  it,  would  have  been  a  suicidal  ex- 
posure  to   his   fury.      Accustomed   in    all 
things  to  obey  his  appetites,  he  disregarded 
the  customs  of  Rnssia  and  the  precepts  of 
the  Greek  church,  and  married  seven  wives. 
Notwithstanding,  he  even  sought  the  hand 
of  Queen  Elizabeth  of  England,  who  politely 
declined  it.     Thinking  that  a  refuge  from 
the  fury  of  his  subjects  would  be  necessary, 
in  the  event  of  their  awakening  from  the 
state  of  apathetic  terror  into  which  he  had 
plunged  them,  he    solicited   and   obtained 
from  Elizabeth  a  promise  that  she  would 
grant  him  an  asylum  in  England,  "  should 
his  ungrateful  subjects  render  it  necessary 
for  him  to  retire   from   Russia.''      Disap- 
pointed in  obtaining  the  hand  of  EHzabeth, 
he   desired  to   add  an  eighth  lady  to  his 
matrimonial  circle,  and  that  she  should  be 
from  the  English  court.      Elizabeth,   who 
was  devoid  of   womanly  delicacy  in   such 
matters,  had  no  objection  ;  and  the  daughter 
of  the  Earl  of  Huntingdon  was,  at  her  own 
desire,  and   with    the    permission    of    the 
queen,    offered    to   the    inspection    of    the 
Russian  ambassador.     Statements  of  Ivan's 
atrocities,  however,  reached  the  ears  of  the 
lady  before  the  match  was  concluded,  and 
she   begged    Elizabeth    to    spare   her   the 
perilous  honour. 

The  czar's  appetite  for  cruelty  increased 
as  he  advanced  in  life.     All  ordinary  modes 
of  slaughter,  and  even  wholesale  massacres, 
at  length  failed  to  arouse  that  sanguinary 
excitement  from  which  he  derived  delight. 
He  broke  at  length  into  an  eccentricity  of 
murder,  in  which  he  compelled  his  victims 
to  trample    upon  the   most   sacred   bonds 
which  unite  society.     He  required  his  sub- 
jects to  become  fratricides  and  parricides. 
One    man    he    compelled    to    become    the 
executioner  of  his  own  father;  another,  of 
his  brother  !     Then  he  caused  no  less  than 
800   unhappy  women  to  be  drowned,  and 
put  their  relatives  to  the  torture  until  they 
pointed  out  the  places  in  which  their  wealth 
was  hidden.     Amongst  the  lesser  atrocities 
of  this  abandoned  wretch,  was  the  keeping 
a  number  of  bears,  who,  when  hungry  and 
irritated,  he  would  let  loose  in  the  public 
streets ;    especially  when   he   happened  to 
see  from  his  windows   a  group  of  citizens 
collected  in  them.     The  struggles  and  cries 
of  those  who  were  injured  by  the  brutes 
elicited  from  him  uncontrollable  shouts  of 
laughter. 


\  .' 


any  pretext,  or  on  none.     It  was  his  will,  |      This  frightful  man  had  other  moments  of 

77 


IVAN  KILLS  HIS  SON.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[ad.  1584. 


A.D.  1584.] 


HUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


h 


grim  mirth  when  he  required  a  number  of 
jesters,   whom  he  retained  to  amuse  him. 
This  was  commonly  both  before  and  after 
executions,  at  which  times  he  was  more  than 
usually    disposed   for   hilarity.     Sometimes 
these    professional    fools    were    beaten     or 
severely  injured  by  their  capricious  master, 
if  their  jests  did  not  happen  to  please  him. 
The  most   distinguished   of   these  jesters, 
who  bore  the  name  of  Goosdef,  met  with  a 
sterner  fate.     Failing  one  day  to  amuse  the 
tyrant,  the  latter  poured  a  basin  of  scalding 
soup  on  his  head.     The  unhappy  jester  at- 
tempted to  retreat,  when  Ivan  struck  him 
in  a  vital  part  with  a  knife,  and  he  dropped 
senseless.     A  feeling  of  momentary  regret 
followed  the  act,  and  a  surgeon  was  imme- 
diately summoned.     "  Preserve  my  faithful 
servant,''  exclaimed  the  czar,  "I  have  jested 
a  little  too  hard  with  him  !"     "  So  hard," 
was  the  sycophantic  and  blasphemous  reply, 
*'that   only    God   and    your    majesty   can 
restore  him  to  life ;  he  breathes  no  more." 
Ivan  threw  a  glance  of  contempt  on   the 
corpse   of  the   murdered    jester,   bestowed 
upon  it  the  name  of  dog,  and  returned  to 
his  pastimes.     Even  the  merriment  of  this 
terrible  man  was  frightful ;   and  those  to 
whom  he  seemed  most  attached  were  not 
safe    from    his   whimsical    cruelties.      On 
another  occasion  a  boyard,  who  is  described 
as  one  of  his  favourites,  visited  the  czar. 
No   sooner   had   he   made   the   reverential 
bow  which  the  etiquette  of  the  court  ex- 
acted, than  the  czar  exclaimed,  "  God  save 
thee,  my  dear  Boris,  thou  deservest  a  proof 
of  my  favour."     As  he  spoke,  he  seized  a 
knife  and  cut  off  one  of  the  boyard's  ears. 
The  miserable  sycophant  uttered  no  cry  or 
word  of  complaint ;  but  concealing  the  pain 
he  endured,  thanked  his  persecutor  for  his 
gracious  favour,   and   wished  him  a  happy 
reign.     There  was  something  of  policy,  as 
well  as  brutal  instinct,  in  this  conduct  of 
the  czar.     He  lost  no  opportunity  of  im- 
pressing upon  the  Russians  that,  as  their 
ruler,  he  was  something  more  than  human — 
something  even  akin  to  Deity ;  that,  indeed, 
to   repeat   the  impiously  arrogant    expres- 
sion of  his  we  have  already  quoted,  "  he 
was  their  God,  as  God  was  his."     Such  a 
point  once  admitted,  it  necessarily  followed 
that  even  injuries  or  death,  at  his  hands, 
were  to  be  received  with  submission,  and, 
if  possible,   with  gratitude.      Repulsive   as 
this  may  seem,  it  was  merely  carrying  to 
the  extreme  that  effete  doctrine  of  divine 
right    and    passive    obedience   which    the 
78 


Stuarts  afterwards  struggled  so  long  to 
establish  in  England.  There  was  a  wide 
difference  between  the  dispositions  of 
Charles  I.  and  Ivan  the  Terrible ;  so  wide 
a  one,  that  some  will  be  surprised  at  my 
establishing  a  comparison  on  any  point 
between  them;  but  the  principles  which 
actuated  them  were  the  same. 

The  blood-red  catalogue  of  Ivan's  crimes 
was  nearly  complete,  and  the  close  of  his 
awful  life  was  approaching.  One  dark  deed 
yet  remained  to  be  performed,  and  then  the 
sadly  imperfect  work  of  retribution  com- 
menced. His  eldest  and  favourite  son,  ac- 
companied by  several  of  the  boyards,  one 
day  entered  his  presence,  and  desired  to  be 
entrusted  with  the  command  of  a  body  of 
troops,  that  he  might  proceed  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  city  of  Pskof,  which  was  then 
being  besieged  by  the  Poles.  The  sus- 
picious czar,  always  apprehensive  of  con- 
spiracy and  assassination,  believed  that 
even  his  own  son  was  implicated  in  some 
insurrection  against  his  government,  and 
that  the  troops  were  perhaps  wanted  for 
the  purpose  of  deposing  him.  A  wild  gust 
of  rage  broke  over  him ;  and,  with  a  furious 
voice,  he  replied,  "  Rebel !  you  are  leagued 
with  the  boyards  in  a  conspiracy  to  dethrone 
me."  As  the  words  left  his  mouth  he 
struck  the  prince  several  severe  blows  with 
the  iron-bound  staff  he  carried.  Each  in- 
flicted a  severe  wound,  and  the  last  felled 
the  unfortunate  man  to  the  earth,  where 
he  lay  in  a  pool  of  blood.  This  frightful 
result  was  unintentional — the  consequence 
of  giving  way  to  that  madness  of  passion 
which  years  of  unchecked  cruelty  had  made 
a  tyrant  over  the  tyrant.  Nothing  was 
further  from  Ivan's  intention  than  to  slay 
the  only  one  of  his  three  sons  who  was 
capable  of  succeeding  him  on  the  throne. 
Indeed,  it  will  shortly  be  seen  that,  in  effect, 
those  mad,  thoughtless  blows,  destroyed  the 
regal  race  of  Ruric,  and  extinguished  his 
dynasty. 

On  seeing  the  tragic  consequence  to  which 
his  unbridled  fury  had  led,  Ivan  was  in- 
stantly seized  with  remorse.  Struck  with 
horror  and  despair,  and  trembling  violently, 
he  threw  himself  upon  the  body  of  his  son, 
and,  with  mingled  words  of  endearment  to 
his  victim,  of  self-reproach  and  passionate 
appeals  to  heaven  for  assistance,  he  endea- 
voured to  stop  the  crimson  tide  with  which 
the  life  of  the  prince  was  issuing.  It  was 
too  late :  he  who  had  ever  been  deaf  to  the 
agony  of  others,  was  now  himself  to  expe- 


rience the  torture  of  heedless  supplication. 
Whatever  might  have  been  the  character  of 
the  victim,  had  he  succeeded  to  power,  he 
had  at  least  the  merit  of  being  a  remarkably 
dutiful  and  even  affectionate  son.     At  this 
sad  moment,  his  chief  care  was  to  soothe  the 
Jigony  of  his  father.     Clasping  the  hand  of 
the  repentant  wretch,  he  implored  him,  with 
tears  of  tenderness,  to  be  patient,  and  not 
to  distress  himself  for  an  unintentional  deed. 
His  next  thought  was  to  exonerate  himself 
from  the  unjust  suspicions  which  had  by 
this   time  vanished  from  the  mind  of  the 
czar.     "  I  die,"  he  exclaimed,  "  an  obedient 
son  and  a  faithful  subject."     For  four  days 
the  wretched  prince  lingered,  and  the  now 
more  wretched  father  sat  by  the  bedside  of 
his  murdered  son.     Then  the  latter  breathed 
his  last  in  a  chamber  of  that  gloomy  fortress 
of  Alexandrovsky,  whose  dungeon  walls  had 
otten  re-echoed  with  the  groans  and  wailing 
cries  of  those  whom  the  tyrant  had  tortured 
m  reckless  wantonness. 

The   calamity  which   Ivan   had   brought 
upon  himself,  he  felt  with  a  poignancy  which 
could  scarcely  have  been  expected  from  his 
hardened   and   brutal   nature.     His   heart 
which  had  so  long  been  inaccessible  to  the 
iaintest  eniotion  of  pity,   seemed  riven  in 
twain.     His  conscience,  so  long  seared  and 
closed    was  awakened  into  a  condition  of 
morbid  activity.     His  mind  was  filled  with 
horrible  imaginations,  and  his  sleep  disturbed 
by  dreadful  dreams.     Sometimes  he  started 
from  his  bed  during  the  solemn  hours  of 
night,  and  appalled  his  attendants  by  his 
cries  of  terror;  nor  would  sleep  again  visit 
him   until  exhaustion  followed  the  excite- 
ment.   So  greatly  did  he  suffer  from  remorse 
that  he  expressed  an  intention  of  leaving ' 
Moscow  and  spending  the  remainder  of  his  I 
Jite  in  some  monastery.     The  accomplish- 
ment of  this  desire  was  prevented  by  his 
subjects,  who  entreated  him  not  to  desert 
them.   These  strange  people,  who  thus  wooed 
the  scourge  and  the  gibbet,  must  have  been, 
as  it  has  been  acutely  expressed,  "  fascinated 
by  the  very  cruelties  that  appalled  them." 

The  tyrant  did  not  long  survive  his  son  • 
withm  a  few  months  both  were-  laid  in  the 
grave.  The  exhaustion  resulting  from  con- 
stant nervous  excitement,  induced  a  de- 
clining state ;  and,  iu  the  spring  of  1584,  his 
illness  assumed  a  form  which  indicated  that 
the  career  of  this  curse  of  the  peace  of  his 
country  was  near  its  close. 

The  approaching  death  of  Ivan  had  been 
predicted   by   some   astrologers,   whom   he 


[death  of  IVAN. 


threatened  to  burn  alive  for  their  officious- 
ness.     Yet  he  felt  the  coming  shadows  ot 
dissolution,  and  seemed,  at  times,  disposed 
to  die  in  peace  with  a  world  he  had  so  fear- 
tul  y  outra-ed.     He  appointed  wise  coun- 
sellors to  watch  over  tlie  actions  of  his  son, 
Feodor  or  Theodore,  who,  though  twenty- 
seven    years   of   age,    was   very   feeble    in 
intellect.     He  commanded  that  all  prisoners 
not  charged  with  capital  offences  should  be 
iberated,  and  that  the  enormous  taxes  he 
had  extorted  from  his  subjects  should  be 
reduced.     Yet  this  conscience-smitten  man 
had  his  hours  of  repose  from  self-accusation 
and    mental    disquiet.     There   were   times 
when  the  expiring  czar  forgot  with  what  a 
Irantic  violence  he  had  murdered  his  son 
and  massacred  his  people.     On  one  of  these 
occasions  he  caused  himself  to  be  carried 
to  the  chamber  where  his  treasures  were 
accumulated,  that  he  might  feast  his  eyes 
upon  the  glittering  store.     To  an   English 
gentleman  who  accompanied  him,  he  dwelt 
at  some  length  on  the  qualities  of  diamonds 
and  other  precious  stones,  pointing  out  to 
him  the  marks  by  which  their  genuineness 
could  be  ascertained,  and  their  value  esti- 
mated.    At  other  times  his  fancies  were  not 
so  innocent.     Only  two  days  before  his  death 
he  attempted  to  violate  the  person  of  his 
daughter-in-law,  who  rushed  terrified  from 
his  chamber,  and  thus  avoided  the  violence 
of  the  hbidinous  savage,  who  persevered  in 
crime  even  to  the  verge  of  the  grave. 

The  last  few  days  of  his  hfe  he  suffered 
from  fever  and  delirium,  and,  in  this  con- 
dition,   fancied    himself    in    the     presence 
of  his  murdered  son,  whom  he  sometimes 
seemed  to  converse  with  in  accents  of  ten- 
derness, and  whose  name  he  at  other  periods 
shouted    aloud    in    tones   of  terror.     The 
astrologers  had  predicted  that  he  would  die 
on  the  18th  of  May.     Having  taken  a  warm 
bath  on  the  17th,  and  feeling  himself  better 
in  consequence,  he  gave  orders,  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  that  they  should  be  put  to 
death.    The  supposed  prophets  begged  delay, 
on  the  ground  that  the  time  spoken  of  by 
them  had  not  yet  expired.     Ivan  then  re- 
sorted to  the  remedy  which  had  benefited 
him  the  preceding  day,  and,  entering  the 
bath,  remained  in  it  three  hours.     He  in- 
dulged in  a  sleep  after  his  bath,  and,  upon 
awaking,  called  for  his  chess-board.     It  was 
brought,  and  the  czar,  sitting  up  in  bed, 
busied  himself  in  arranging  the  pieces.  Wliile 
thus  occupied  a  sudden  pang  seized  him, 
and  he  fell  backward,  and  expired  almost 

79 


T.STIMATE  OF  HIS  CHAKACTER.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1584. 


A.D.  1584.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


instantly.   The  prophecy  was  accomplished : * 
the  world's  worst  monster  was  no  more. 

Thus,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  age, 
perished  Ivan  the  Terrible,  who,  into  a  life 
of  but  moderate   length,   had    compressed 
the   atrocities    of  centuries    of    crime.      A 
nominal   monarch    from    infancy,     he   was 
crowned  czar  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and 
ruled  for  thirty-seven  years  after  that  period. 
To  sum  up  the  character  of  such  a  wretch 
is  almost  a  superfluity :  the  darkness  of  his 
crimes  is  not  irradiated  by  one  sunbeam  of 
goodness ;  and  in  speaking  of  him,  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  prevent  the  sobriety  of  judgment 
from  merging  into  the  bitterness  of  invec- 
tive.    It  might  be  supposed  that  he  was  a 
madman,    but    that    he    steadily    pursued, 
throughout  his  whole  reign,  a  prudent  and 
crafty  policy.     His  object  was  to  exalt  the 
czar   at   the   expense   of   the   princes   and 
boyards ;  and  he  accomplished  this  so  per- 
fectly,  that  those  who  at  the  commence- 
ment of  his   reign    aspired   to   divide  the 
empire,  had,  at  the  close  of  it,  sunk  into  the 
abject  courtiers  of  a  tyrant.     Notwithstand- 
ing his  career  of  murder  and  oppression, 
Russia,  in  some  respects,  prospered  under 
his  rule ;  for,  while  he  smote  his  people,  his 
policy  bound  more  closely  together  the  yet 
unamalgamated    portions    of    the    empire. 
We  cannot  explain  the  crimes  of  Ivan  on 
the   theory   of    madness.      His   brain   was 
rather  malformed  than  diseased.     That  fury 
led   occasionally   to   a    state    of    transient 
disease,  and  produced  brief  aberration,  is 
probable,  nay,  almost  certain ;  but  we  must 
seek  for  the  source  of  his  crimes  not  in 
madness,  which  is  the  result  of  a  diseased 
brain,    but    in    an     originally    darkly-evil 
nature  proceeding  from  a  deformed  brain. 
These  distinctions  may  not  be  heeded  by 
the   cursory  reader,   but  they  will  be  re- 
garded with  interest  by  the  reflective  one. 
A  wicked  mother,  and  a  persecuted  infancy, 


will  serve  also,  in  some  degree,  to  explain 
the  awful  nature  of  this  man  :  the  fountain 
of  his  being  was  evil,  and  the  early  progress 
of  the  stream  contaminated  by  severity, 
neglect,  and  polluting  influences. 

During  some  part  of  his  reign  he  was  the 
promoter   of  civilisation,    and   appeared  to 
take  an  interest  in  the  prosperity  and  ad- 
vancement of  his  people.     Notwithstanding 
his  neglected  education,  his  natural  abilities 
were  good,  and  his  understanding  far  above 
the  average  of  those  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
rounded.    Nor  was  he  destitute  of  accom- 
plishments.    We  have  referred  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  proud  of  his  talent  as  a  letter- 
writer  ;  and  his  epistles  show  a  considerable 
power  of  sarcasm  and  a  freedom  of  language. 
His  behaviour  with  respect   to  religion   is 
difficult   to   be   accounted  for.     A  believer 
even  down  to  the  coarsest  superstitions  of 
his  church,  yet  he  frequently  burlesqued  its 
most  venerable  forms  and  its  sacred  princi- 
ples, in    a   manner   which,    in    most   men, 
would  have  been  regarded  as  profane,  even 
to  the  height  of  blasphemy.     We  do  not, 
however,  think  that  his  conduct  ever  ap- 
peared to  him  in  that  light.     He  had  pro- 
claimed,  and   heard   others   maintain,    his 
serai-divinity   so   long,    that   he   no   doubt 
came  in  a  large  measure  to  believe  it.     He 
endeavoured  to  prove  himself  the  god  of 
Russia,   by   trampling    upon   those   things 
which  other  men  held  sacred,  and  by  disre- 
garding   those    laws   which    common    men 
must  obey.    When  he  condemned  the  inno- 
cent to  deaths  of  torture,  and  when  he  sur- 
veyed their  dying  agonies  undisturbed,   he 
appears  to  have  believed  that  he  was  imi- 
tating  the    Divine   wrath    and   immovable 
calmness.      Awfully    arrogant    as    such    an 
idea  is,  and  painful  as  it  must  appear  to  the 
bulk  of  English  readers  in  this  age,  yet  it 
was  pandered  to  by  his  priesthood — fostered 
by  that  very  clergy  against  whom  he  after- 


[feodor  IVAXo\^aI. 


*  Concerning  uninspired  prophecies,  Lord  Bacon 
observes—"  My  judgment  is,  that  they  ought  all  to 
be  despised,  and  ought  to  serve  but  for  winter  talk 
by  the  fireside.  Though  when  I  say  despised,  I 
mean  it  for  belief;  for  otherwise,  the  spreading  or 
publishing  of  them  is  in  no  sort  to  be  despised  ;  for 
they  have  done  much  mischief;  and  I  see  many 
severe  laws  made  to  suppress  them."  The  prediction 
in  the  czar  Ivan's  case  is  remarkable ;  yet  it  is  one  of 
those  which  have  an  especial  tendency  to  bring 
about  their  own  fulfilment.  The  monarch  whose 
life  has  been  by  one  of  his  historians  described  as 
one  Ions:  scene  of  fear,  might  have  had  the  feeble 
flickering  of  life  extinguished  by  the  nervous  excite- 
ment arising  from  such  a  prophecy.  A  living  writer, 
of  more  merit  than   orthodoxy,  insists  on  the  ex- 

80 


istence  of  prophecy— or,  we  should  rather  say,  of 
natural  insight  into  the  future— in  these  days,  and 
instances  many  curious  examples  in  support  of  his 
opinion.     He  explains  it  upon  the  principles  of  mes- 
merism—an unproved  science,  which  we  neither  be- 
lieve nor  disbelieve,  for  the  very  sufficient  reason  that 
we  have  not  addressed  ourselves  to  a  serious  exami- 
nation of  it.    Credulity  is  not  our  failing ;  yet  are  we 
ready  to  confess  we  think  society,  for  the  most  part, 
is  too  ready  dogmatically  to  condemn  new-born  and 
unestablished  matters.     AVhen  on  such  themes  we 
hear  totally  uninformed  persons  say,  with  an  air  of 
authority,  "  /  think  this,"  and  "  /  think  that,  &c.," 
we  are  almost  disposed  to  say  aa  Coleridge  did  once 
to  a  superficial  fellow— "You  think,  sir!  you  only 
think  you  think." 


wards  so  prominently  directed  his  cruelties ; 
and  who,  in  his  capricious  furv,  found  the 
punishment  of  their  parasitical  parodv  of 
the  sacred  tenets  of  their  Divine  Master. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  Ivan's  life  was  a 
prolonged  outrage  against  both  God  and 
man;  the  former,  he  beheved,  he  propi- 
tiated by  his  reiterated  prayers,  while  the 
latter  he  terrified  by  the  recklessness  of  his 
cruelty.  His  nerves  of  steel,  and  his  utter 
absence  of  feeling,  awed  his  superstitious 
and  brutal  people  into  that  abject  obe- 
dience on  which  his  power  was  based.  His 
sceptre  was  a  sword  which  ever  ran  with 
the  blood  of  his  subjects.  His  very  ferocity 
was  by  them  regarded  as  greatness;  and 
the  people  of  Moscow  deplored  his  absence 
whenever  he  withdrew  himself  from  their 
city.  Truly,  barbarous  nations  are  the 
nurseries  of  tyrants ;  and  Ivan  was  made 
worse  by  the  base  adulation  of  his  courtiers, 


and  the  dull,  superstitious  reverence  of  his 
people.     We  dismiss    the  consideration  of 
this  bloodthirsty  and  capricious  wretch  by 
saying,  that  he  was  a  concentration  of  the 
darkest  vices  which  disfigure    our  nature; 
brutally  savage;  utterly  remorseless,  sparing 
neither  helplessness  nor  innocence;  revel^ 
Img  in  carnage  with  more  than  the  ferocity 
of  a  beast ;  abandoned  to  a  gross  licentious- 
ness, which   spurned  even  the  commonest 
forms  of  decency;  rapacious  and  avaricious; 
a  crafty  hypocrite  and  a  trembling  coward. 
In  a  word,  he  went  beyond   the  greatest 
tyrants  of  the  earth  in  tyranny ;  and  in  the 
number  and  diversity  of  his  crimes,  outdid 
its  most  infamous  criminals.     Such  was  the 
man,  that  until  the  records  oi  Russia  are 
forgotten   in   the  dreamy  lapse  of  distant 
centuries,  the  name  of  Ivan  the  Terrible 
will  be  pronounced  by  all  posterity  either 
with  a  shudder  or  a  malediction. 


CHAPTER  Xir. 

"^"'orTnE^'EMPTlf  TA?xf«™  ™^'^^^'     ^^^'^  ^^^^^'^^  ^^^«^^ES  CH^^F  MINISTER  AND  ACTUAL  RULFB 
TO  ™.  1'  xfo^TED   THE   CKiTe'  TTHOrrV^ ''^'^  "'  ^''^  CZAREVITCH  DMITRI  ;     BORIS    IS  BEUEVED 


The  royal  house  of  Ruric  was  virtually  ex- 
tinguished on  the  death  of  Ivan  IV.,  though 
that  event  did  not  absolutely  take  place 
until  seven  years  later.  The  deceased  mon- 
arch left  two  sons,  Feodor  and  Dmitri,  or 
Demetrius;  the  latter  the  offspring  of' his 
father's  seventh  marriage,  and  an  infant 
only  two  years  of  age. 

Feodor  Ivanovich,  though  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  twenty-seven,  was  altogether  in- 
capable  of  directing   the   affairs   of   state. 
Extremely  feeble,  both  in  body  and  mind, 
he  seems  to  have  been  not  far  above  that 
point    from   which   feebleness   of    intellect 
degenerates    into    idiotcy.      Phant,    timid, 
superstitious,   and   devout,   he   was    better 
fitted    to   be   an   obscure   monk   than   the 
sovereign  of  a  vast  empire.     In  early  life, 
his    chief  amusement   was   to   ascend    the 
towers  of  churches,  and  ring  or  strike  the 
bells;    a   silliness   in  which  he   frequently 

TOL.  I.  ^  -^  J 


passed  hours  of  his  time.  Though  this 
miserable  creature  was  married,  such  was 
his  state  of  debility,  that  there  was  but  little 
expectation  of  his  having  children  to  suc- 
ceed him.  He  had  been  united,  in  1580, 
to  Irene,  the  sister  of  Boris  Godunof. 

As  this  remarkable  man  was  in  reality 
the  new  sovereign  of  Russia,  and  swayed 
the  sceptre  which  the  feeble  Feodor  could 
scarcely  grasp,  it  is  necessary  to  bring  him 
forward  upon  the  canvas.     He  was  born  in 
1552,  of  a  noble  family  of  Tartar  descent. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  was  attached 
to  the  court  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  in  conse- 
quence of  having  married  the  daughter  of 
^laloota  Skooratoff,  a  favourite  of  the  czar, 
and    the    leading   actor   in    his   atrocities! 
Though  Boris  ayoided  taking  any  part  in 
the  monstrous  cruelties  which  disgraced  the 
reign  of  Ivan,  yet  he  contrived  to  insinuate 
himself  into  the  good  graces  of  that  mon- 

81 


I 


DESIGNS  OF  BORIS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1585—1590. 


arch.  So  much  so,  that  he  was  made  one 
of  the  five  members  of  the  supreniC  council 
of  state,  which  Ivan  appointed  to  watch 
over  and  direct  the  actions  of  his  imbecile 
successor.  To  an  untiring  activity,  Boris 
united  a  more  comprehensive  mind  than 
fell  to  the  lot  of  any  of  his  coadjutors. 
Versed  in  business  and  in  the  ways  of  men, 
possessed  of  an  inordinate  ambition — which 
he  concealed  under  a  veil  of  religion — and 
a  grave  and  noble  presence,  he  soon  became 
the  paramount  member  of  the  council,  and 
acquired  a  complete  ascendancy  over  it. 
By  the  exhibition  of  an  assumed  tenderness 
for  the  feeble-minded  czar,  Boris  gained  a 
yet  more  decided  power  over  him,  and  the 
able  minister  soon  became  regarded  as  the 
real  ruler  of  the  empire.  He  received  from 
the  czar  the  highest  titles  ever  bestowed 
upon  a  subject,  and  such  enormous  estates, 
that  his  wealth  has  been  estimated  as 
amounting  to  ^150,000  a-year ;  though 
other  writers  set  it  down  as  being  less  than 
a  third  of  that  sum — which  last  would  have 
been  a  magnificent  fortune  in  those  days. 
His  wealth  enabled  him  to  secure  numbers 
of  active  partisans  and  followers,  amongst 
whom  were  many  of  the  poorer  nobility. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  such  a  man,  at 
such  a  period,  should  aspire  to  obtain  the 
sceptre  which  he  really  wielded,  and  to 
become  the  acknowledged  czar  of  the  em- 
])ire  as  well  as  its  secret  ruler.  What  stood 
between  him  and  the  throne  ?  An  idiotic 
and  childless  sovereign,  and  his  infant 
brother.  To  an  ambitious  and  unprinci- 
pled man,  the  temptation  was  irresistible. 

Boris  Godunof  ruled  the  empire,  under 
the  name  of  Feodor,  with  an  absolute  sway; 
and,  for  a  while,  he  exercised  his  unlimited 
power  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  boyards 
and  people.  Some  jealousy  necessarily 
existed ;  but  the  court  and  the  first  offices 
of  the  state  were  filled  with  his  adherents, 
and  all  attempts  to  overthrow  him  were 
speedily  and  severely  repressed.  He  had  a 
politic  aversion  to  public  executions,  as 
being  calculated  to  deprive  him  of  that 
popularity  which  lie  laboured  constantly  to 
attain.  But  those  who  were  opposed  to 
him  were  driven  into  exile,  or  thrown  into 
prison,  where  they  died  suddenly,  or  were 
at  other  times  poisoned  by  domestic  trai- 
tors. It  was  soon  apparent  to  close  ob- 
servers that  Boris  aimed  at  the  crown,  and 
that  he  was  reckless  as  to  the  means  by 
which  he  obtained  it. 

The  boy  Dmitri  was  the  most  serious  im- 
82 


pediment  to  the  designs  of  Boris,  and  the 
latter  soon  resolved  upon  removing  him. 
Soon  after  the  accession  of  Feodor,  the 
subtle  minister  had  removed  Dmitri  and  his 
mother  from  the  court  of  Moscow  to  a 
distant  and  obscure  town  called  Uglitch, 
where  they  lived  in  a  state  resembling  hon- 
ourable banishment.  For  some  time,  Boris 
thought  of  branding  the  boy  Dmitri  with 
illegitimacy,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  the 
son  of  Ivan's  seventh  wife — it  being  con- 
trary to  the  canons  of  the  Greek  church  for 
any  one  to  marry  more  than  thrice.  He, 
however,  abandoned  this  idea;  because, 
although  the  marriage  of  the  czarina  was 
unquestionably  illegal  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  church,  yet,  as  it  had  been  sanc- 
tioned, or  at  least  tolerated,  by  the  eccle- 
siastical authorities,  they  could  not  now 
pronounce  it  to  be  so  without  a  serious 
loss  of  credit.  Boris  had  too  much  need  of 
the  assistance  of  the  priesthood  to  drive 
them  to  a  confession  of  weakness  or  of 
shame.  Besides  this,  he  knew  that  even  if 
the  young  prince  was  declared  to  be  ille- 
gitimate, the  people  were  so  attached  to  the 
race  of  Ruric,  that  they  would  still  regard 
the  boy  as  the  true  czarevitch,  and  rightful 
successor  of  Feodor. 

Boris  therefore  resolved  upon  another 
and  more  pitiless  course.  He  decided  on 
the  murder  of  the  boy.  As  a  preliminary, 
he  spread  evil  reports  over  the  country  con- 
cerning his  intended  victim.  To  inspire 
the  people  with  a  disgust  for  the  young 
prince,  the  crafty  minister  caused  it  to  be 
reported  that  the  boy's  disposition  exactly 
resembled  his  father's ;  that  he  was  per- 
verse, whimsical,  and  savage ;  that  he 
manifested  a  precocious  delight  in  blood 
and  the  sight  of  torture,  and  that  his 
favourite  amusements  consisted  in  putting 
domestic  animals  to  death.  Another  story 
was  spread  abroad  among  the  nobles  to 
excite  their  antipathy  to  the  boy.  It  was 
related,  that  while  playing  on  the  ice  one 
day  with  other  children,  he  gave  orders 
that  twenty  images  of  men  should  be  made 
of  snow.  To  each  of  these  he  gave  the 
name  of  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
state,  and  the  largest  of  them  he  called 
Boris  Godunof.  Then,  armed  with  a  wooden 
sword,  he  began  to  hack  and  hew  at  them 
all.  Having  cut  off  the  head  of  GodunoPs 
image,  he  stabbed  at  the  rest,  or  lopped  off 
their  feet  and  hands,  exclaiming  as  he  did 
so,  "  This  is  what  you  will  have  when  I  am 
czar.''     If  this  tale  was  true,  it  showed  that 


A.D.  1591.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


the  boy  possessed  an  evil  disposition ;  and 
It  has  an  air  of  probability  when  related  of 
a  child  of  Ivan's—especially  of  one  born 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  life  of  that 
monster.  We  have,  however,  no  means  of 
judgmg  as  to  its  truth  or  falsehood ;  but 
we  know  that  it  was  freely  circulated  in 
Moscow  by  the  agents  of  the  man  who  had 
an  interest  that  it  should  be  believed. 

When  the  minds  of  the  people  had  been 
sufficiently  prepared,  the  tragical  catastrophe 
followed.     Dmitri,  now  ten  years  old,  was 
playing  one  afternoon  in  May,  1591,  with 
four  other  boys,  in  the  courtyard  of  the 
palace  of  Uglitch~a  large  enclosure  contain- 
ing several  detached   dwellings,  irregularly 
placed.      His    governess    and    two    other 
women  were  also  near  him  at  the  time;  but 
all  of  them  lost  sight  of  him  for  a  moment. 
When  last  seen    before  the  event  we  are 
about  to  speak  of,  he  had  been  amusin- 
iiniself  by  cutting  a  piece  of  wood  with  a 
knife.      Suddenly  one  of  the  women  saw 
him  struggling  on  the  ground   bathed  in 
blood,    which   was    flowing   from    a    lar^e 
wound   in   his   throat.     The  unhappy  boy 
unable   to   articulate,    died    almost   imme- 
diately,  of  course  without  being  able  to  ex- 
plain hovv  he  came  by  so  terrible  an  injury. 
I  he   shrieks   of    the   women   brought   the 
mother  of  the  prince  to  the  spot,  who  at 
once  denounced  one  Michael  Bitiagofski  a 
man  whom  Boris  had  placed  in  the  palace 
ot    Uglitch,   as   the  murderer  of  her  son 
The  alarm-bell  was  rung,  and  in  a  short 
time  the  courtyard  was  thronged  with  ser- 
vants and  townspeople,  who,  supposing  the 
palace  to  be  on  fire,  had  hurried   to  the 
place  with  forks  and  hatchets.     Bitiagofski 
his  son,  and  some  of  his  followers,  came 
among  the  rest.     Raising  his  voice  above 
the  tumult,  he  shouted  that  the  prince  had 
killed  himself  by  falling  on  his  knife  in  a 
fit  of  epilepsy ;  a  disorder  to  which  he  was 
known  to  be  subject.     This  ready  explana- 
tion   of  an    event    concerning    which    he 
could,    if    innocent,   know   no    more   than 
others,  instantly  aroused  the  suspicions  of 
the    distracted    mother,      "No,   no!"  she 
cried :  "  There"— pointing  to  Bitiagofski— 
"  there  is  the  murderer  !"     The  accusation 
was  at  once  believed,  and  the  excited  crowd 
rushed  upon    him  with    uplifted  weapons. 
The  startled  assassin  (for  very  little  doubt 
can  be  entertained  that  he  was  such)  fled  to 
one   of   the  houses  in  the  courtyard,  and 
barred  himself  in.     He  could  not,  however, 
elude  the  fury  of  the  mob,  who  burst  the 


[murder  of  DMITRI. 


door,  and  massacred   him  and  his  son  on 
the  spot.      The  excitement  of  the  crowd 
was   uncontrollable;    and   they  hacked   to 
death  every  one  who  was  known  to  belong 
to  the  presumed  murderer,  or  who  dared 
to  say  a  wc^rd  in  his   hehalf.  J  Even  the 
daughters  of    Bitiagofski  were  with  great 
difficulty  rescued   from   the   mob    by   the 
priests    of   the    neighbouring    church,    to 
which    the   blood-bedabbled  corpse  of  the 
young  prince  was  carried.     His  governess 
was  savagely  beaten;  and  her  son,  who  was 
on  friendly  terms  with  Bitiagofski,  cruelly 
murdered. 

So    tragical    an    event    demanded    the 
strictest  investigation  ;  but  the  weak  Feodor 
left   the   niatter  entirely  in   the   hands  of 
Uoris.    This  minister  immediately  appointed 
a  commission,  consisting  of  two  boyards  to 
conduct  the  inquiry.     Unfortunately  for  his 
good  name,  they  were  both  men  entirely 
devoted  to  his  interests.     The  inquiry  was 
conducted  m  secret,  without  any  examina- 
tion  of  the  body,  or    comparison  of    the 
wound  with  the  weapon  said  to  have  in- 
flicted it,  or  indeed  any  rigid  attempt  to 
ascertain  the  truth.     Under  such  circum- 
stances, it  is  difficult  to  resist  a  suspicion 
that  the  verdict  had  been  prearranged.     It 
was,  that  Prince  Dmitri  had  met  his  death 
in  the  way  declared  by  Bitiagofski ;  that  is 
by  a  wound  accidentally  inflicted  upon  him' 
self  during  a  fit  of  epilepsy. 

The  czar  Feodor  remained  satisfied  with 
this   report;    and   the  easy  patriarch   and 
bishops  unanimously  adopted  it.    The  latter 
even  added,  that  the  people  of  Uglitch  de- 
served to  be  put  to  death  for  their  treason 
in  murdering  the  czar's  officers;*   though 
this,  they  said,  was  a  matter  which  con- 
cerned the  secular  jurisdiction.      Some  of 
the  persons  thus  prejudged  were  brought  to 
trial  before  the  supreme  council.    Amongst 
them  were  the  two  brothers  of  the  dowager- 
czarina.      The   object   to   be   obtained   by 
these  trials  was  to  clear  the  name  of  Bitia*^- 
gofski  (and,  necessarily,  that  of  his  high- 
placed  master)  from  the  suspicion  of  having 
murdered  the  czarevitch,  and  to  convince 
every  one  interested  in  the  aff'air,  that  the 
boy  came  to  his   death  in  the   course   of 
nature.      Certain   witnesses  ^deposed   that 
Michael  and  Gregory,  the  brothers  of  the 
czarina,  influenced  by  a  fraudulent  desire  to 


•Bitiagofski  and  his  followers  held  in  the  house- 
hold of  the  prince  appointments  which  had  been 
conferred  upon  them  by  Boris;  that  is,  nominally  by 
the  czar.  '    ' 

83 


ATROCITIES  AT  TGLITCH.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1591. 


A.D.  1592. 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,   [serfdom  forced  ox  the  teasanis. 


prove  that  the  young  prince  had  been  mur- 
dered, had   produced    knives,    sabres,    and 
other  weapons,  smeared  with  the  blood  of  a 
fowl,  and   pretended   that   they  had    seen 
them  iu  the  hands  of  the  persons  put  to 
death  in  the  tumult  at  Uglitch.     The  trial 
was  as  unsatisfactory  as  the  investigation ; 
and  both  were  doubtless  instigated  for  the 
same  purpose.     The  brothers  of  the  czarina 
were  sent  to  distant  prisons ;  and  she  her- 
self to  adopt  the  dismal  seclusion  of  a  con- 
vent.    As  to  the  inhabitants  of   Uglitch, 
they  were  punished  with  an  atrocious  and 
indiscriminate  severity.     More  than  200  of 
them  were  executed,  and  many  others  had 
their  tongues  cut  out,  or  were  incarcerated 
in  dungeons.     Some  fled  in  terror  :  but  the 
remainder  were  sent  to  the  newly-discovered 
country  of  Siberia,  there  to  pass  their  lives. 
Thus  a  town,  said  to  contain  30,000  persons, 
was  converted  into  a  desert ; — a  wild  act 
of  fury,  which  gave  rise  to  rumours  that 
Boris  had  exterminated  a  people  who  were 
too  numerous  to  suborn,  and  destroyed  a 
whole  city  to  deface  even  the  mute  memorial 
of  his  guilt.     He  had  overacted  his  part ; 
and  from  that  time  was  generally  regarded 
as  an  assassin. 

While  those  who   dared   to   express  the 
suspicions  they  entertained  of  the  guilt  of 
Boris  were  seldom  able  to  elude  his  ven- 
geance, he  showed  a  great  anxiety  to  reward 
his  adherents,  and  to  gain  new  ones.    Nearly 
every  powerful   offender   against  the  laws, 
who  applied  to  him,  was  sure  of  protection. 
The  documents  granting    pardon   to   such 
persons,  always  declared  that  these  acts  of 
grace  were  due  to  his  intercession  with  the 
czar ;  but  his  name  never  appeared  in  the 
decrees   of    condemnation,    where    it    was 
always  declared  that  the   punishment  was 
ordered  by  the  boyards.      The  regent  (for 
so  Boris  was  in  effect)  adopted  many  other 
modes  of  procuring  popularity.     The  same 
year   that   his   erroneous  policy  converted 
Uglitch  into  a  collection  of  deserted  ruins, 
a  tremendous  fire  broke  out  at  Moscow  and 
destroyed   a   considerable    portion    of    the 
city.     Boris  expressed  great  sympathy  with 
the  sufferers  from  this  calamity,  distributed 
pecuniary    assistance    amongst    them,   ex- 
empted them  from  taxes,  and  even  rebuilt 
whole  streets  at  his  own  expense. 

Before  this  eventful  year  (1591)  passed 
awav,  Russia  was  invaded  bv  Kassim  Gherei, 
khan  of  the  Crimea,  who,  at  the  head  of  a 
powerful  army,  directed  his  march  upon 
Moscow.  The  Russians  were  in  a  state  of 
84 


despair ;  for  their  army  was  in  a  neglected 
state,  and  there  was  no  commander  of  repu- 
tation to  lead  it.     The  vacant-minded  Feo- 
dor,  when  applied  to  concerning  what  should 
be  done,  replied,  that  "  the  saints  who  pro- 
tected Russia,  would  fight  for  her."     Boris 
stood  aloof  sufficiently  to  make  the  people 
feel  their  weakness   and  their  dependence 
upon  him.     He  then  showed  himself  fully 
equal  to  the  emergency.     Reanimating  the 
drooping  courage  of  the  people,  and  impart- 
ing something  of  his   own  activity  to  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  he  effected 
wonders  in  the  space  of  a  few  days.    Within 
that  brief  space,  Moscow  was  surrounded  by 
palisades   and   redoubts,  and   defended   by 
numerous  forces  and  a  formidable  artillery. 
A  new  spirit  animated  the  people ;   and,  in- 
fluenced  by   him,    cowards    became    men. 
When  the  Tartars  attacked  the  city,  they 
were  repulsed  with  so  severe  a  loss,  that 
they  dared  not  attempt  a  second  assault. 
After  several  days  spent  in  hesitation,  the 
invaders  turned  to  depart.     They  were  not 
suffered   to   go   scathless.      The   troops   of 
Boris  attacked  them  during  their  retreat, 
and   converted   it   into   a   disorderly   rout. 
Confusion   was   followed   by   carnage,   and 
scarcely  a  third  of  the  Tartar  army  reached 
home  again.     The  imbecile  Feodor,  though 
grateful  to  his  preserver,  thought  that  the 
saints  had  discomfited  the  foe;   while  the 
common  people  said  that  Boris  had  brought 
in  the  Tartars,  in  order  to  efface  the  re- 
membrance of  the  death  of  the  boy-prince 
Dmitri. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  feeble  constitu- 
tion  of  the   czar  had  led   his   subjects  to 
believe  it  to  be  impossible  for  him  to  be- 
come a  father,  yet,  in  the  year  1592,  it  was 
unexpectedly   announced    that   the    czarina 
Irene  had  given  birth  to  a  daughter.     This 
circumstance  was  a  formidable  obstacle  to 
the  designs  of  Boris.     The  people  ever  sus- 
pected him  of  acting  treacherously,  and  even 
w^orse  when  it  answered  his  purpose.     At 
first  it  was  rumoured  that  he  had  caused 
a  female  child  to  be  substituted  for  the  male 
of  which  it  was  averred  his  sister  had  become 
the  mother.     After  a  few  days  the  infant 
died,  and  then  it  was  said  he  had  poisoned 
it.     It  is  probable  that  both  of  these  reports 
were  idle  calumnies.     Certainly,  if  the  last 
was  true,  the  first  was  false ;  for  it  is  not 
likely  so  acute  a  man  would  have  committed 
a  crime  which  the  necessity  of  several  ac- 
complices rendered  easy  of  detection,  at  the 
very  time  when  he  contemplated  another 


crime  which  would  have  rendered  the  first 
quite  unnecessary.    No  motives  of  humanity, 
or  feelings  of  conscience,  would  have  de- 
terred Boris  from  the  murder  of  an  infant 
which   stood   in   his   path   to   power;    but 
nothing  is   more    probable   than   that   the 
child  of  a  father  whose  debility  of  nature 
hovered  on  the  verge  of  exhaustion,  should 
expire  soon  after  birth.     Though  the  czar 
was  merciless  when  under  the  influence  of 
his   master-passion — ambitlbn — yet  he  did 
not,  like  Ivan  the  Terrible,  love  crime  for 
its     own     sake.       There    were    occasional 
touches   of  softness   in   that   iron  nature; 
and,    like    the    remorseless    and    sensual 
Egyptian  in  one  of  our  modern  romances, 
Boris  would  have  stepped  out  of  his  path  to 
avoid  crushing  a  worm,  though  he  had  but 
just  consigned   one  whom  he  deemed   his 
enemy  to  a  lingering  death.     Such  are  the 
dark  enigmas  of  human  nature  ! 

The   year  1592  was   memorable   for   an  j 
event  which,  though  not  very  seriously  re-  ' 
garded  at  the  time,  was  fraught  with  deep  I 
and  calamitous  mischief  for  the  future  ;  an  i 
event,   the   effects   of  which,  even   at   this 
hour,  rankle  deeply  in  the  social  condition 
of  the  Russian  people,  and  which  has  pro- 
duced a  state  of  things  at  once   perplexino- 
to  the  government,  dangerous  to  the  security 
of  society,  obstructive  to  national  advance- 
ment, and  formed  a  reproach  to  the  empire 
over  the  rest  of  Europe.     We  allude  to  that 
measure  which   converted  the   peasants  of 
Russia  into  serfs,  and  which  was  deliberately 
framed  by  Boris  as  a  [bribe  to  the  boyards 
and  landed  proprietors,  as  it  increased  the 
wealth  of  the  rich  at  the  price  of  the  per- 
sonal liberty  of  the  poor.     Up  to  this  time 
the  Russian  peasantry  enjoyed  that  freedom 
which  arises  from  the  absence  of  oppressive 
restrictions.     They  had  the  natural  right  of 
being  enabled  to  leave  the  estate  on  which 
they  lived  or  had  been  born,  and  enter  the 
service  of  another  master,  if  they  desired  to 
do  so.    Certainly  the  liberty  of  the  peasantry 
was  of  a  passive  and  negative,  rather  than 
active  and  positive  character.     They  did  not 
enjoy  liberty  on  any  reasonable  basis ;  but 
were   free   rather  because   they   had   been 
overlooked;  because  no  powerful  party  in 
the  state  saw  any  reason  for  restraining  or 
extinguishing  the  barren  freedom    enjoyed 
by  them.     The  thinness  of  the  population, 
and  the  vast  distances  which  separated  the 
towns  and  villages,  and  almost   prevented 
communication,  rendered  co-operation  among 
the  peasantry  an  impossibility,  and  public 


opinion  scarcely  more  than  an  imagination. 
Thus  the  peasants  were  politically  nothing ; 
and  though  not  slaves,  they  did  not  possess 
the  privileges  of  freemen.'    The  peasantry 
had  not  uufrequently  availed  themselves  of 
their  slender  right  of  moving  from  place  to 
place,  with  the  natural  hope  of  impronng 
their  condition;   but  their  doing  so  dimi- 
nished the  wealth  and  personal  influence  of 
the  noble  on  whose  estates  they  dwelt,  and 
who  had  already  but  a  very  small  part  of 
his  lands  subjected  to  any 'profitable   use. 
When  land  was  so  cheap*  as  to  be  almost 
worthless,  men   came    to    be    regarded    as 
valuable.     Without  them  the  soil  was  unre- 
claimed  desert ;    but   if  they   surrendered 
ever  so  small  a  portion  of  what  they  raised 
^  from  it  to  the  owner,  their  presence  was  iu 
j  some  measure  productive  of  wealth.     Boris, 
I  therefore,   to   conciliate   the    bovards— and 
I  especially  that  inferior  order  of 'them  who, 
j  without  ancestral  distinctions,  had  risen  by 
j  craft  or  merit  to  their  position— made  a  law 
I  by  which  the  peasant  was  bound  to  the  soil, 
I  and  thus   sunk  into  the  serf.     Before  this 
;  there  had  been  domestic  slaves  in  Russia,  as 
I  we  have  already  stated ;  but  from  this  time 
I  only  is  the  existence  of  the  predial  serfs  to 
be  dated.    Boris  coloured  his  tyranny  by  an 
excuse  which  bore  an  air  of  soundness.  'The 
peasantry  of  Russia  were  in  the  habit  of 
migrating  towards  the  south,  in  consequence 
of  the  mildness  of  the  climate  and  other 
presumed    advantages   to   be   found    there. 
This  was  necessarily  injurious  to  the  less 
favoured  bulk  of  the   country— a   circum- 
stance which  was  put  forward  by  Boris  as 
the  cause  of  his  new  decree,  rendering  the 
people  irremovable  from    the    domains   on 
which  they  were  located.     The  immediate 
result  was,  however,  the  very  reverse  of  that 
anticipated   by  the  regent.     The   peasants 
fled  by  thousands  to  escape  slavery — an  act 
to  which  they   were  encouraged  by  those 
landed  proprietors  who  wanted  hands  to  cul- 
tivate   their    estates.      Unjust    legislation 
seldom  promotes  the  end  for  which  it  was 
designed ;  its  reaction  is  always  dangerous, 
and  its  remote  working  pregnant  with  un- 
foreseen evils. 

We  alluded  to  the  patriarch  of  the  Rus- 
sian church— an  ecclesiastical  dignity  which 
was  first  used  in  the  reign  of  Feodor.  Prior 
to  this  time,  the  Russian  church  derived 
what  was  assumed  to  be  its  divine  power 
through  the  medium  of  the  patriarch  of 
Constantinople,  who  consecrated  the  metro- 
politan of  ]\Ioscow.     But  the  supremacy  of 

85 


/ 


DEATH  OF  FEODOH,] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1592—1598, 


A.D.  1598.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


the  Greek  patriarch  was  almost  a  titular 
affair  after  the  city  of  Constantinople  had 
passed  by  conquest  into  the  hands  of  the 
Turks.  Boris  had  need  of  the  services  of 
the  church  to  assist  him  in  carrying  his  ambi- 
tious designs  to  a  successful  result.  Jeremy, 
the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  having  ar- 
rived at  Moscow  to  collect  alms  for  the 
erection  of  churches,  it  occurred  to  Boris 
that  it  would  be  an  excellent  thing  to 
induce  him  to  consecrate  a  Russian  patri- 
arch who,  of  course,  the  regent  took  good 
care  should  be  entirely  the  creature  of  his 
will,  and  devoted  to  his  interests.  He 
accordingly  induced  the  childish  and  devout 
Eeodor,  who  was  delighted  at  the  presence 
of  the  Greek  patriarch,  to  load  him  with 
honours  and  rich  donations.  The  head  of 
a  once  powerful,  but  then  comparatively 
ruined  church,  showed  his  gratitude  by 
acceding  to  the  suggestions  of  Boris.  Mos- 
cow accordingly  had  its  patriarch — a  dignity 
which  lasted  until  the  time  of  Peter  the 
Great,  who  abolished  it,  and  blended  the 
chief  authority  of  the  Russian  church  with 
the  absolute  power  of  the  czar. 

Russia    prospered    under    the    shadowy 
domination  of  Feodor.     This   must   neces- 
sarily be  attributed  to  the  able  administra- 
tion of  Boris,  who  was  czar  in  all  but  the 
name,  and  wanted  but  the  claim  of  a  legiti- 
mate sovereign  to  have  been  an  illustrious 
one.     Commerce   was   protected   and   ren- 
dered secure.     Smolensk  was  fortified  to  a 
state    of    presumed    impregnability.      The 
Tartars    were    confined   within    their   own 
domains    by   strong   military  posts.      For- 
tresses were  erected  at  the  foot  of  the  Cau- 
casian  range,   into   the   regions   of  which 
Russia  made  her  first  abortive  attempt  to 
penetrate;    and  the  arts  and  arms   of  the 
empire,  rude  though  they  were,  carried  into 
the   wilds   of   Siberia.     The    Swedes   were 
driven   into   Narva,   and  closer  diplomatic 
relations   were   entered   into   with   foreign 
courts,  and  especially  with  that  of  England. 
But  one  of  the  most  remarkable  events  of 
the   reign   of  Feodor  was   the  attempt  of 
Boris  to  get  his  master,  or  rather  creature, 
the  czar,    elected   king   of  Poland.     Boris 
proposed   to  the   states   of  Lithuania   and 
Poland,  that  if  they  elected  Feodor  their 
king,  he  would  unite  all  the  forces  of  Russia 
with  those    of    Poland,   and   conquer  the 
Crimea  for  the  former  power;  and  Walla- 
86 


chia,  Moldavia,  and  Hungary  for  the  latter. 
The  proposed  union  would  probably  have 
created  a  power  perfectly  capable  of  accom- 
plishing the  projected  conquests.  The  pro- 
posals of  the  czar  also  found  many  partisans 
among  the  Poles,  and  were  readily  accepted 
by  the  Lithuanians.  The  union  might,  in 
fact,  have  been  accomplished,  but  that  the 
Poles' were  disgusted  with  the  overbearing 
conduct  of  the  Muscovite  ambassadors, 
which  induced  *them  to  elect  Sigismund 
Vasa,  Prince  of  Sweden,  as  their  king,  in- 
stead of  Feodor. 

Boris  had  dazzled  the  boyards  by  his 
power,  and  the  people  by  an  assiduous  prac- 
tice of  the  arts  of  popularity.  He  had  been 
long  regarded  as  the  actual  ruler  of  the 
empire,  whose  interests  he  had  promoted, 
and  whose  reputation  he  had  raised  in  the 
estimation  of  Europe.  The  bulk  of  the 
Russian  people  looked  to  him  as  the  na- 
tural successor  of  the  childish  and  childless 
czar.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  when, 
early  in  the  year  1598,  Feodor  died  !  With 
the  death  of  this  nonentity  the  dynasty  of 
Ruric  expired,  after  having  yielded  no  less 
than  fifty-two  sovereigns  to  part  or  the 
whole  of  Russia.  It  now  terminated  in 
weakness,  in  mystery,  and  perhaps  in  vio- 
lence. It  is  impossible  to  say  absolutely 
that  the  feeble  Feodor  did  not  come  by  his 
death  naturally;  but  it  is  equally  difficult 
not  to  suspect  that  his  life  was  shortened 
by  treachery.  It  is  at  least  a  startling 
coincidence,  that  the  impotent  czar  lived 
until  all  the  schemes  of  Boris  were  matured, 
and  that  he  died  exactly  at  the  time  when 
the  interests  of  that  ambitious  man  required 
that  he  should  die.  A  reasonable  presump- 
tion therefore  exists,  that  the  life  of  Feodor 
was  practised  upon,  and  that  the  crafty 
minister  was  the  assassin. 

Some  comparatively  obscure  members  of 
the  race  of  Ruric  still  existed,  but  they 
were  in  no  condition  to  set  up  a  claim  to 
the  vacant  throne;  they  had,  in  fact,  be- 
come private  persons.  Virtually  the  family 
was  extinguished.  No  powerful  prince 
existed  who  could  legally  claim  the  Russian 
sceptre;  and  the  succession  being  thus 
broken,  the  people  were  at  liberty  either  to 
change  the  form  of  government,  or  elect  a 
new  czar  from  themselves.  With  this  event 
terminates  a  natural  era  of  the  history  of  the 
I  empire  of  whose  progress  we  are  writing. 


[BORIS  ELECTED  CZAR. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

BORIS   OODUNOF   ELECTED    CZAR;  HE  OVERAWES  THF    TAT?tapq    nr.  o^t.^ 

PART  OF  HIS  rule;  HE  BECOMES  DISLIKED;  rDREADFuf  F^MTvf pp™"' '  ^^«^«^^  ^^  ^HE  EARLY 
COUNTRY  INFESTED  BY  FORMIDABLE  BANDS  OF  ROBBERS  BORl^BEpLpfn^'f  ^""^  "'^"'^  ^^^^«  '  ^°« 
CLAIMS    TO    BE    PRINCE   DMITRI,  THE  SON  OF   1x7^17 !  uTIItTrT^^^^^^ 

ARMY;   OBTAINS   A   VICTORY  AT   NOVGOROD-   IS    DFFFATPn    a-t    J  ^^^^^  '^^   "^^^   ^^^^   OF   A  SMALL 

FAVOUR;  SUDDEN  DEATH  OF  THE  CZAR  mssovppn^.S  ^  DOBRYNITCHI;  GENERAL  FEELING  IN  HIS 
AND    DMITRI   PROCLAIMED   CZAR^  TO    POPU^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^  ^  HE  IS  DEPOSEd! 

WIDOW  OF  IVAN  AS  HER  SON;  HIS  IMPRuSe  mIkfs  m^  rrJn  '  "^  ''  ACKNOWLEDGED  BY  THE 
HIS  MARRIAGE;   INSURRECTIoi,  AND  MURDeIof  D^^^^^^  ^   UNPOPULAR;   CONSPIRACY  AGAINST   HIM; 


Boris  Godunof  was  well  prepared  for  a 
state  of  things  which  he  had  at  least  antici- 
pated  if  not  brought  about.     He,  however 
affected  to  be  quite  overcome  with  grief  on 
account    of   the   death   of   the   last   lineal 
descendant    of    Ruric.      In   this   assumed 
despair  he  retired  to  a  monastery,  and  de- 
clared   his   intention  of  spending   the   re- 
mainder of  his  life  in  religious  seclusion. 
Ihe  late  czar  had  bequeathed  the  throne  to 
his  widow  Irene,  who  was  immediately  pro- 
claimed   sovereign.      But    she    appears   to 
have  shrunk  from  a  responsibility  she  felt 
herself  unable  to  bear;    and,    after  a  few 
days,  she  followed  her  brother  into  retire- 
ment,  and  expressed  a  firm  resolution  to 
take  the  veil.    She  was  sincere,  and  resisted 
all  entreaties  to  alter  her  determination. 

The  eyes  of  the  people  and  of  the  lesser 
nobles  were  now  turned  towards  Boris  as 
the  most  fit  person  to  fill  the  vacant  throne, 
liie  greater  nobles,  the  ancient  princes  of 
Kussia,  looked  for  advice  at  this  juncture  to 
the  patriarch,  who,  in  addition  to  the  autho- 
rity necessarily  attaching  to  his  holy  office 
and  dignity,  had  acquired  a  considerable 
influence  over  both  nobles  and  people.  In- 
deed, so  much  was  he  respected,  that  no 
opposition  was  anticipated  to  the  election  of 
the  noble  whom  he  nominated. 

It  would  seem  that  the  election  was  by 
no  means  a  general  act  of  the  people ;  for 
those  permitted  to  express  an  opinion  must 
have  been  very  few  in  number.     The  depu- 
ties of  the  towns  of  Russia,  and  the  princes 
and  boyards  of  the  empire,   assembled  in 
the  house  of  the  patriarch  six  weeks  after 
the  death  of  Feodor.     The  greatest  anxiety 
existed  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  know 
whom  the  patriarch  would  recommend  to 
their  choice  as  the  future  czar.     Most  of 
the  nobles,  however,  were  prepared  for  the 
result  that  followed;  for  they  knew  that  the 
patriarch   was   but  a  creature  of  the  late 


minister,  and  would  act  according  to  his 
instructions.     After   a   pious    prelude,    he 
named  Boris  as  the  wisest  man  in  the  coun- 
try, and  the  one  most  deserving  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people.     The  name  was  hailed 
with  clamorous  applause,  which  was  repeated 
m  other  places  by  mercenary  agents,  as  soon 
as  the  news  was  known.     No  one  was  bold 
enough  to  offer  opposition;  and  thus,  on  the 
17th  of  February,  1598,  was  Boris  Godunof 
(notwithstanding  his  Tartar  descent)  elected 
Czar  of  Russia !     With  a  remembrance  of 
his  declared  intention  of  devoting  his  life 
m  seclusion,  to  the  exercise  of  piety,  public 
prayers  were  offered  that  he  might  be  in- 
duced to  accept  the  throne. 

When  Boris  was  informed  that  he  was 
chosen  to  wield  the  sceptre  of  the  empire,  he 
declined  to  accept  it.   Like  our  Richard  III, 
to  whom  he  has  been  compared,  he  affected 
to   despise   the   prize   he  longed  for.     He 
thanked  the  people  for  so  distinguished  an 
honour,  but   he   begged  with  humihty  to 
decline  it.     This   stratagem   was   perfectly 
understood  by  the  patriarch  and  his  other 
friends,  who  were  not  so  dull  as  to  take  the 
ambitious  schemer  at  his  word.     The  next 
day  the  systematic  priest  returned,  accom- 
panied by  the  principal  clergy  and  nobility, 
and  followed  by   immense   crowds   of  the 
people.     Entering  the  church  of  the  con- 
vent, preceded  by  a  train  of  monks  carry- 
mg  the  cross  and  a  multitude  of  saintly 
relics,  the  patriarch  performed  a  religious 
service,  and  then  again  requested  Boris  to 
accede   to   the   wishes   of  the  nobles   and 
people,  and  accept  the  throne.  t^The  answer 
was  another  refusal,  which  was  persisted  in, 
notwithstanding  the  entreaties  and  tears  of 
the  chief  clergy,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people  who  surrounded  the  convent.     The 
crafty  Boris  was  so  certain  of  the  game  he 
was  playing— had  grasped  with  so  firm  a 
hand  all  the  links  of  power,  that  he  seems 

87 


BORIS  RULES  'VVISET.Y.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1600- 


I 


,  i 


to  have  felt  a  pleasure  in  obstinately  refusing 
II  sceptre  he  so  ardently  desired.     For  nearly 
six  weeks  he  kept  up  the  excitement  of  the 
people,  and  repeated,  at  intervals,  the  farce 
of  refusal.    At  length  his  sister,  the  widowed 
Irene,  added  her  entreaties  to  those  of  the 
patriarch  and  the  populace.     Then,  with  an 
appearance    of    the   greatest   humility,   he 
exclaimed— " The  will  of  God  be  done!' 
and   appeared  rather  resigned  to  make  a 
sacrifice  than  to  accept  a  position  of  great 
])Ower   and   dignity.      Boris   ascended   the 
throne  amidst  a  chorus  of  adulation  from 
the  deceived  people ;  but  he  continued  to 
show  himself  so  able  a  ruler  as  to  justify 
their  apparent  choice.     His  first  act  was  to 
repay  the  populace  for  their  enthusiasm  by 
means  of  pageantries,  public  shows,  and  acts 
of  grace  to  offenders.     He  outdid  all  his 
predecessors   in  the  splendour    and   hospi- 
tality of  the  entertainments  which  he  pro- 
vided for  the  people  and  the  soldiery,  and 
in  the  affability  of  his  bearing  in  public. 

Successful  usurpation  commonly  depraves 
the  character  of  the  man  who  profits  by  it, 
and  brings  evils  upon  the  people  who  suffer 
it.    Of  this  particular  instance  of  triumphant 
political  intrigue,  it  has  been  observed—"  A 
crown,  obtained  by  indirect  and  fraudulent 
measures,  could  not  be  preserved  without 
tyranny.     Boris,  conscious  of  the  jealousies 
which    his    elevation    engendered    in    the 
minds  of  the  nobles,  and  especially  in  the 
family  of  the  Romanoffs,  who  were  allied  to 
the  race  of  Ruric,  but  not  to  the  Moscow 
line,  was  constantly  haunted  by  apprehen- 
sions, and  sought  to  lose  them  in  the  revel, 
and  to  propitiate  them  by  the  sacrifice  of  all 
persons  whom  he  suspected.     Had  he  been 
a  legitimate  sovereign,  he  would  have  con- 
ferred lasting  benefits  upon  his  country ;  be- 
cause he  was  a  wise  and  paternal  ruler  in 
all  matters  apart  from  his  personal  affairs. 
He  bestowed  considerable  pains  on  many 
laudable   measures   of    improvement;    but 
these  were    so   sullied  by    acts  of   merci- 
less revenge,  to  which  he  was  moved  by  the 
danger  in  which  he  was  placed  by  his  usur- 
pation, that  it  is  difficult  to  separate  his 
merits  from  his  crimes.^' 

At  first  the  new  czar  seemed  likely  to 
retain  the  popularity  he  enjoyed  on  ascend- 
ing the  throne.  Scarcely  had  his  coro- 
nation taken  place  before  the  Tartars  of 
the  Crimea  threatened  a  descent  upon  the 
southern  part  of  Russia.  The  people  stood 
in  awe  of  these  turbulent  and  savage  foes  ; 
but  Boris  promptly  assembled  so  numerous 
88 


an  army,  that  the  Tartars  were  dismayed  in 
their  turn,  and  abandoned  their  intended 
enterprise ;  and  the  khan,  instead  of  attack- 
ing him,  sued  for  a  continuance  of  peace. 
This  incident  won  for  Boris,  at  least  to  some 
extent,  the  gratitude  of  the  people,  and  the 
admiration  of  the  soldiery.        ,  ^  ,     ,     , 

While  on  one  side  Boris  hurled  back  the 
savage  barbarism  of  Asia,  on  the  other  he 
courted  the  arts  and  civilisation  of  Europe. 
Before  his  whole   time  was   engrossed   by 
troubles  at  home,  he  strove  earnestly  to  ex- 
tend the  relations  of  Russia  with  the  great 
powers   of  the    continent.      He   was   also 
anxious  to  establish  himself  on  the  throne, 
and   secure  it  to  his   descendants  by   pro- 
moting a  matrimonial  alliance  between  his 
own  family   and   some   reigning   house   ot 
Europe.     With  this  object  he  invited  Gus- 
tavus,  son  of  Eric,  the   deposed  king   ot 
Sweden,   to   his    court,   where   he    treated 
that  accomplished  prince  with  great  honour. 
Extensive  estates  were  even  conferred  upon 
him;  but  as  the  prince  was  unwilling  to 
become   a  tool   of   the    Muscovite    pohcy 
against  his  native  country,  he  fell  into  dis- 
grace,  and   was   exiled.      Boris  then  pro- 
posed    an   alliance    between   his   daughter 
Xenia,  a  princess  of  great  beauty,  and  the 
Duke  John,  brother  of  the  King  of  Den- 
mark and  of  the  queen  of  James  I.  of  Eng- 
land.    This  proposal  was  assented  to  both 
by  the  king  and  the  duke;    but  it  could 
not  be  carried  into  effect  on  account  of  the 
premature  death  of  the  latter.     Amongst 
the  diplomatic  negotiations  of  Boris   with 
foreign   powers,  should   be  mentioned  his 
frequent,  though  desultory  communications 
with    Austria,    to    bring    about   a  league 
against  the  Turks.    Some  negotiations  with 
Persia  on  the  same   subject  were  equally 
unsuccessful.     Like  the  fierce  Ivan,  Boris 
exhibited  a  decided  partiality  towards  the 
government  and  people  of  England.     This 
seems  to  have  been,  at  least  to  some  extent, 
reciprocated;  for,  in  the  year  1603,  Queen 
Elizabeth  proposed  to  the  czar  a  marriage 
between  his  son  and  a  young  English  lady 
of  rank,  then  only  eleven  years  old. 

The  first  two  years  of  the  reign  of  Boris 
were  attended  with  remarkable  prosperity 
to  the  empire.  Though  the  character  of  the 
czar  has  been  variously  drawn,  and  he  has 
even  been  represented  as  a  savage  tyrant, 
yet  during  this  period  he  ever  leaned 
rather  towards  clemency  than  severity.  He 
laboured  to  raise  Russia  in  the  scale  of 
nations,  by  importing  into  it  the  civilisation 


A.D.  1601—1603.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[a  terrible  famine. 


of  the  most  polished  of  the  neighbouring 
states.     He  conceived  the  plan  of  estab- 
lishing universities,  where  the  young  Mus- 
covites should  be  instructed  in  foreign  lan- 
guages  and   the  sciences.      He  even  sent 
into  Germany  for  teachers  for  the  intended 
schools;  but  his  project  failed  on  account 
of  the  vehement  opposition  of  the  clergy, 
who  considered  the  measure  as  an  innova- 
tion dangerous  to  religion.     Notwithstand- 
ing this  obstruction  from  a  quarter  whence 
it  ought  not  to  have  arisen,  he  sent  eighteen 
young  men  of  noble  families  to  be  educated 
in   Germany,   England,   and    France.      He 
further  showed  his  desire  to  promote  the 
elevation  of  the  empire  and  people  by  an 
anxiety   to    attract    to    Russia    all    gifted 
foreigners,  such    as    physicians,  engineers, 
and  able  artisans.     lu  these  agents  of  the 
country's  progress   he   placed   great  confi- 
dence, and  frequently  conversed" with  them 
with  familiarity.     Indeed,   this  must   have 
been  a  period  of  calm,  if  not  of  happiness 
to   him,  as   well   as   of   prosperity  to   the 
country ;  but  unfortunately  it  was  not  des- 
tined to  last,  and  a  darker  time — a  time  of 
calamity  and  terror — was  at  hand. 

Jealousies  against  the  elected  sovereign 
had  existed  from  the  first;  but  this  wasl;o 
be  expected,  especially  in  a  country  which 
contained  a  nobility  so  turbulent  as  that  of 
Russia.     Boris  constantly  experienced  some 
incident  which  reminded  him  that  he  was 
not   regarded   as    altogether    a    legitimate 
sovereign ;    that  he  could  not  plead  either 
divine   right   or    ancestral    claims    to    the 
throne.     From  this  feeling  arose  the  resist- 
ance of  the  clergy  to  his  educational  inno- 
vations.    It  was  natural  for  ignorant  and 
narrow-minded  men  to  oppose  the  spread  of 
information  among  the  people;  for  persons 
of    this   description   ever   dread    novelties, 
however  wise  or  brilliant,   and   "cling  to 
error  like  a  bat  to  a  dead  bough."     But  it 
did  not  proceed  from  this  alone ;  but  from 
the  fact  that  the  clergy,  released  from  the 
presence  of  a  sovereign  who  ruled  them  by 
a  presumed  mission  from  heaven,  and  in- 
fluenced by  the  jealousy  of  which  we  have 
spoken,   began   to   exhibit   uneasiness  and 
impatience  of  control.      A  similar  feeling 
animated  the  boyards,  some  of  whom  were 
accused  by  their  slaves  of  being  ill-disposed 
to   the  czar.      Boris   punished   them   with 
merciless  severity;    some   he    banished   or 
imprisoned,  while  others  were  consigned  to 
the  hands  of  the  executioner,  and  that  fre- 
quently without  trial  or  other  preliminary 

VOL.  I.  N 


ceremony.     These  actions  turned  indiffer- 
!  ence  or  ill-feehng  into  hatred ;  and  he  Avho 
[had  been  regarded  as  an  adventurer,  was 
now  secretly  denounced  as  a  tyrant. 

In  countries  where  agriculture  has  scarcely 
risen  to  the  dignity  of  an  art,  where  com'- 
merce  only  just  exists,  and  communication 
between  distant  parts  is  so  difficult  as  to  be 
impracticable  for  all   ordinary  purposes,  a 
scanty  harvest   is   necessarily  followed   by 
severe  distress,   and  a   repetition  of  it  by 
famine.     A  heavy  calamity  of  this  nature 
now   fell   upon   Russia.     The   harvests   of 
1601  and  1602  were  meagre  in  the  extreme. 
A  general  famine  was  the  result ;   a  famine 
so  terrible,  that  its  horrors,  as  described  by 
eye-witnesses,  seem  almost  incredible.     As 
IS  commonly  the  case,  its  ravages  were  fol- 
lowed by  those  of  pestilence,  both  of  which 
afflicted  the  people  for   a  period  of  three 
years.     In  this  time  of  prolonged  misery, 
Boris  acted  in  a  most  commendable  manner,' 
and  showed  himself  not  only  the  sovereign' 
but  the  father  of  the  nation.     He  employed 
himself  incessantly  in  inventing  modes  of 
relief,  and  he  caused  immense  quantities  of 
provisions  to  be  distributed  daily.     These 
were  paid  for,  to  a  large  extent,  out  of  his 
own  private  wealth,  which  we  stated  to  be 
very  great.     He  also  levied  a  kind  of  rate 
upon  the  rich,  to  ameliorate  the  miseries  of 
the  poor.     The  nobles  and  clergy,   so  far 
from  imitating  his  noble  example,  displayed 
a  grasping   avariciousness,    which    induced 
them   not    only    to    hold    aloof   from   the 
miseries  that  surrounded  them,  but  to  take 
advantage   of  those   very   miseries  by  ex- 
acting enormous  prices  for  their  stores  of 
grain.     Boris  punished  them  for  this  selfish 
conduct  by  compeUing  them  to  dispose  of 
their  stores  of  grain  to  him  at  a  low  price, 
the  better  to  enable  him  to  distribute  it 
gratuitously  among  the  starving  people. 

Means  of  this  nature,  necessarily  limited 
and  inefficient,  were  eventually  exhausted. 
Still  the  terrible  famine  prevailed  ;  and  the 
number  of  its  victims  increased.    Half  a  mil- 
lion of  people  are  computed  to  have  died  of 
hunger  in  Moscow  alone.     The  attenuated 
dead  lay  unburied  in  the  streets  and  squares, 
rotting  in  loathsome  heaps.     The  mouths 
of  many  of  the  shrunken  corpses  were  full 
of  hay,  straw,  or  the  filthiest  offal,  which 
they  were  vainly  endeavouring  to  eat  when 
death   terminated    their   terrible   and    de- 
grading  misery.      The  pangs  arising  from 
prolonged  hunger  must  indeed  be  dreadful; 
for  they  induce  men  and  women  to  cast 

89 


MISERIES  OF  THE  PEOPLE.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1603. 


A.D.  1604.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  .^SUMED  DMITRI. 


Aside  those  antipathies  which  are  so  deeply 
woven  into  our  instincts  as  to  be  regarded 
as  natural,  and  therefore  unalterable  laws. 
Not  only  was  strange  and  loathsome  food 
consumed  at  Moscow,  but  the  frightful 
practice  of  cannibalism  arose  in  that  city. 
In  many  houses,  the  person  who  had 
suflfered  least  from  the  effects  of  the  famine, 
.was  secretly  slain,  to  furnish  food  for  the 
rest.  So  far  was  this  terrible  practice  car- 
ried— so  far  had  the  tyrannical  cravings  of 
liunger  subdued  the  natural  bonds  of  affec- 
tion, that  parents  devoured  their  own  chil- 
dren, and  children  their  parents ;  or,  still 
worse,  sold  them  for  the  same  revolting 
purpose  to  others,  that  they  might  purchase 
bread  with  the  price  of  the  blood  of  those 
who,  till  hunger  had  made  them  mad,  were 
dearest  to  them.  A  Russian  chronicler  re- 
lates, that  he  saw  a  woman  in  the  open 
street  tearing  with  her  teeth  the  flesh  of  a 
living  child  she  carried  in  her  arms. 
Another  mentions,  that  four  women  having 
decoyed  a  peasant  into  their  house  under 
pretence  of  purchasing  food  from  him, 
killed  him  and  his  horse,  and  dragged  the 
two  carcases  into  their  ice-pit,  to  serve 
them  as  food. 

At  length  this  time  of  horror  passed 
away,  and  the  diminished  population  was 
relieved  from  the  incessant  cravings  of  hun- 
ger by  the  return  of  nature  to  her  cus- 
tomary beneficence.  But  so  severe  a 
calamity  had  produced  a  general  disorgani- 
sation, and  the  country  was  infested  by 
bands  of  robbers,  who  had  taken  to  that 
lawless  life  in  consequence  of  the  drying  up 
of  the  regular  channels  of  industry.  The 
chief  of  these  gangs  of  ruffians,  who  was 
named  Khlopko,  became  so  formidable, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  send  an  army  to 
subdue  him^  He  was  defeated  and  cap- 
tured in  a  regular  battle  not  far  from  Mos- 
cow, in  which  the  commander  of  the  czar's 
forces  was  killed.  -  This  engagement,  how- 
ever, by  no  means  exterminated  the  rob- 
bers, who  continued  their  depredations  and 
outrages  to  a  great  extent,  especially  in  the 
border  provinces,  where  they  were  further 
from  the  avenging  arm  of  authority.  But 
the  existence  of  this  social  scourge  must 
not  be  attributed  to  the  famine  alone.  It 
arose  partly  from  unwise  and  unjust  legis- 
lation. The  ordinance  by  which  Boris  had, 
during  the  reign  of  Feodor,  bound  the 
peasant  to  the  soil,  and  converted  him  from 
a  state  of  negative  freedom  to  that  of  abso- 
lute serfdom,  had  induced  great  numbers 
90 


to  take  to  flight.  Of  these,  many  doubtless 
settled  down  peaceably  upon  the  lands  of 
other  proprietors ;  but  many  also  joined 
the  wandering  bands  of  robbers  which 
famine,  pestilence,  and  a  stoppage  of  the 
ordinary  business  of  society  had  engen- 
dered. This  circumstance  led  to  verv 
severe  measures  against  these  barbarous 
but  miserable  mer.  An  inquisitorial  search 
after  runaways  was  established,  and  the 
bitterness  of  despotic  rule  was  felt  even 
down  to  the  lowest  link  of  the  social  chain. 
This,  too,  to  such  an  extent,  that  it  has 
been  plaintively  observed  by  a  sympathetic 
writer,  that  "the  Russian  nation  was 
now  no  longer  anything  but  a  hierarchy  of 
slaves.  Thenceforth  there  was  no  inter- 
course ;  none  of  those  public  meetings  in 
which  the  youthful  part  of  society,  at  least, 
orally  acquired  knowledge ;  no  compacts  to 
protect  the  weak,  no  asylum  for  them. 
Russia  became  sad  and  sullen ;  the  min- 
strels, who  had  been  wont  to  traverse  the 
country,  now  disappeared ;  their  songs  of 
war  and  the  chase,  and  even  of  love,  were 
heard  no  longer.  It  is  only  in  the  chroni- 
cles of  the  time  that  we  discover  the  traces 
of  those  perished  manners,  those  forgotten 
songs  :  on  meeting  with  them,  the  national 
historian  is  surprised  and  affected,  and 
mournfully  exclaims,  'that  in  these  recol- 
lections, the  Russia  of  the  present  day, 
mute  and  enslaved,  finds  but  the  image  of 
an  object  which  no  longer  exists — the  echo 
of  a  voice  which  no  longer  vibrates  on 
her  ear.''' 

Boris  was  driven  into  despotism  by  the 
disaffection  of  the  nobles  and  people  whom 
he  ruled.  His  benevolent  exertions  during 
the  period  of  the  famine,  were  regarded 
with  malice  by  the  former,  who  set  them 
down  to  the  score  of  a  subtle  policy.  Their 
murmurs  were  no  longer  uttered  in  private, 
but  even  assumed  a  threatening  tone.  The 
signs  of  disaffection  were  no  longer  to  be 
misunderstood.  In  this  position  Boris  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  Ivan,  and  resolved  to 
appal  those  whose  confidence  he  could  not 
win.  Many  of  the  proudest  grandees  were 
consigned  by  him  to  the  hands  of  the  exe- 
cutioner, and  a  number  of  capital  punish- 
ments were  crowded  into  a  short  space  of 
time.  The  danger  to  which  he  was  un- 
donbtedly  exposed  was  magnified  by  alarm, 
and  thus  all  the  latent  cruelty  of  his  nature 
brought  into  action.  He  even  rose  up 
from  table  at  his  own  banquets,  and  de- 
nounced some  of  his  guests  as  traitors,  who 


were  immediately  seized  upon  by  his  fol- 
lowers, and  dragged  away  to  dungeons  or 
to   death.      Despotism   thus    became   uni- 
versal, and   noble  and  peasant  were  alike 
oppressea ;  not  from  any  desire  of  the  czar 
for  such  a  result,  but  as  an  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  the  disorder  arising  from  usur- 
pation.    Some  measures  of  this  period  were 
remarkably  severe  and  sanguinary.     With 
an  unreasoning  and  capricious  ferocity,  it 
was   enacted,  that   all   the  members   of  a 
family   were   held    to    be   involved   in   the 
punishment  of  a  single  member.     To  re- 
strain the  peasantry  in  their  natural  exodus 
from   bondage,  every  Russian  who   passed 
beyond  the  frontiers  was  denounced  as  a 
rebel  and  a  heretic.     One  of  the  injudicious 
measures  of  Boris,  and  that  which  perhaps 
more  than  anything  else  contributed  to  his 
unpopularity,    was   the   whimsical    one    of 
punishing  drunkenness  with  death. 

Something  of  the  despotism  of  the  crown 
was  transferred  even  to  the  heads  of  fami- 
lies; probably  with  a  view  to  win  their 
allegiance  by  sanctioning  existing  barbarous 
practices.  The  peasant  within  his  own  hut 
was  invested  with  all  the  powers  of  a 
despot.  Not  only  was  he  permitted  to  in- 
flict summary  chastisement  upon  his  wife 
and  children,  but  also  to  sell  the  latter  into 
slavery— privileges  which  were,  however, 
restrained  by  the  edict  which  converted 
the  father  himself  into  a  serf.  Yet  the 
merciless  sway  of  Boris  must  be  regarded 
as  a  consequence  of  his  situation,  which 
exposed  him  to  hazards  from  which  he 
could  not  escape  except  by  some  such  de- 
cisive and  terrible  measures. 

Throughout   the  whole  of    Russia  there 
prevailed  that  sort  of  feeling  which  so  often 
precedes  insurrections.     In  1604,  a  singular 
rumour  was  brought  from  the  frontiers  of 
Lithuania,  and  spread  with  surprising  ra- 
pidity throughout  the  empire.     It  was  to 
the   effect,  that    Prince   Dmitri,  who   was 
supposed   to  have  been  murdered  at  Ug- 
litch,  was  alive,  and  making  preparations  in 
Poland  to  recover  the  throne  of  his  ances- 
tors.    Several  versions  exist  as  to  the  way 
in  which  this  presumed  discovery  was  first 
made.      The    one    generally   regarded    by 
Russian  historians  as  authentic,  runs  thus. 
A  stranger  having  fallen  seriously  ill  in  a 
Polish  town,  sent  for  a  confessor,  and  in- 
formed him  that  he  was  the  youngest  son 
of  the  czar  Ivan,  and  consequently  legiti- 
mate  heir   to   the   Russian   throne.      This 
information  the  confessor  communicated  to 


Prince  Adam  Wiszniowiecki,  who,  on  the 
recovery  of  the  stranger,  sent  for  him  to 
substantiate    his    statement.      The    latter 
obeyed,    and    stated    that    his    physician, 
Simon,   having    been    tampered    with    by 
Boris,    had   affected    to   comply   with    the 
regent's  designs  against  the  life  of  the  heir- 
presumptive,  but  only  that  he  might   the 
more  effectually  frustrate  them.      With  a 
forgetfulness  of  the  actual  circumstances  of 
the  case,  he  added,  that  on  the  night  ap- 
pointed  for   the   murder,    Simon   put   the 
child  of  a  serf  into  his  young  master's  bed, 
and  it  was  this  unhappy  boy  who  fell  a  vic- 
tim  to   the    assassin.     Simon,    satisfied   of 
the  uselessness  of  appealing  to  the  feeble- 
minded czar  Feodor    against    so   powerful 
and  unscrupulous  a  man  as  Boris,  fled  with 
Prince  Dmitri  from  Uglitch,  and  committed 
I  him  to  the  care  of  a  loyal  gentleman,  who, 
for  his  better  protection,  made  him  enter  a 
monastery.      The   stranger   admitted    that 
this  gentleman  and  the  physician  were  both 
dead ;  but  in  confirmation  of  his  narrative 
he  produced  a  Russian   seal,   bearing   the 
arms  and  the  name  of  the  czarevitch,  and  a 
gold  cross,  adorned  with  jewels  of  great  value, 
which  he  said  was  the  baptismal  gift  of  his 
godfather,  the  Prince  Ivan  Mstislavski. 

Notwithstanding  the  suspicious  nature  of 
this  story,  the  Polish  noble  was  convinced 
of  its  truth.     The  plausible  manner  of  the 
stranger   won   upon   him,    and    the   costly 
diamond  cross    seemed  an  irresistible  evi- 
dence in  favour  of  the  truth  of  the  preten- 
sions of  the  young  man ;  for  how,  he  rea- 
soned, could  such  a  jewel  have  come  into 
his  hands  unless  he  really  was  the  czare- 
vitch ?     Prince    Wiszniowiecki    was    con- 
vinced.     He  treated  his  mysterious  visitor 
with  great  distinction,  presented  him  with 
money,    raiment,    horses,    and    a    retinue 
suitable  to  his  supposed  birth.     On  taking 
him  to  the  residence  of  his  brother  Prince 
Constantine,  a  Russian  fugitive,  named  Pie- 
trovski,  made  a  voluntary  statement,  that 
he  had  formerly  been  in  attendance  on  the 
czarevitch  Dmitri,  of  whose  identity  with 
the  youth  before  him  he  was  perfectly  con- 
vinced.    These  coincidences  were  certainly 
remarkable.     The  murdered  czarevitch,  if 
alive,  would   have  been  about  twenty-two 
years  old ;  which  was  the  apparent  age  of 
the  stranger.     The  latter  had  a  wart  on  the 
forehead,  another  under  the  right  eye,  and 
one  arm  a  little  longer  than  the  other  :  the 
son  of  the  czar  Ivan  was  said  to  have  been 
marked  in  the  same  wav. 

91 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  DMITRI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1604 


ii 


The  pretender— for  such  he  assuredly  was 
— soon  subdued   all  doubts  in    the   Polish 
nobles,   who  thronged   to  Prince   Constan- 
tine's  niiinsion,  to  be  presented  to  the  man 
they  regarded  as  the  rightful  czar  of  Russia, 
and   to   offer   their   services  to  hira.     The 
bold  intriguant  performed  his  assumed  part 
with  consummate  skill — a  representation  in 
which  he  was  assisted  by  nature.     Even  his 
gestures  and  tone  of  voice  were  said  to  have 
resembled  those   of  the   murdered    prince. 
His  deportment  was  perfectly  in  accordance 
with  his  alleged  rank.     Possessed  of  a  fine 
figure,  an  insinuating  manner,  and  a  ready 
speech,  he  was  always  perfectly  at  his  ease 
amongst  the  noble  'persons  with  whom  he 
now  associated.    He  had  been  liberally  edu- 
cated for  those  days  ;  spoke  both  Polish  and 
Russian,  had  a  slight  smattering  of  Latin, 
wrote  a  bold  and  rapid  hand,  was  well  versed 
in  the  history  of  Russia,  and  in  the  genealo- 
gies of  all  the  great  families.     In  addition  to 
this,  he  ingratiated  himself  not  only  with  the 
Pohsh  nobles,  but  with  the  Roman  pontiff, 
by  representing  that  he  was  disposed  to  em- 
brace the  catholic  faith ;  and  that,  should  he 
be  so  fortunate  as  to  recover  the  throne  of 
his  ancestors,  he  would  endeavour  to  bring 
his   subjects   into   the   communion   of  the 
Roman  church.     Such  was  the  success  of 
the    assumed    Dmitri,    that    the    Palatine 
of    Sandomir,    a    Polish    noble    of    great 
wealth   and   influence,    promised   him   the 
hand   of    his    daughter    Marina   when    he 
should   become  czar — a   promise  to  which 
the  lady  cheerfully  assented.     The  palatine 
even  presented  the  young  adventurer  to  the 
King  of  Poland  (Sigismund  III.),  who  was 
delighted  with  an  incident  which  promised 
an  opportunity  of  gratifying   a  dislike  he 
entertained  towards  Boris.     Sigismund  hav- 
ing received  the  youth  at  a  solemn  audience, 
and  listened  to  a  statement  of  his  pretended 
birth    and    misfortunes,    observed — "God 
preserve  thee,  Dmitri,  Prince  of  Muscovy ; 
thy  birth  is  known  to  us,  and  attested  by 
satisfactory  evidence  :  we  assign  thee  a  pen- 
sion of  40,000  florins ;  and,  as  our  friend  and 
guest,  we  permit  thee  to  accept  the  counsels 
and  services  of  our  subjects." 

In  the  May  of  1604,  Dmitri  (as  we  must 
call  him)  signed  a  promise  of  marriage  to 
Marina,  the  daughter  of  the  Palatine  San- 
domir, in  which  he  engaged  to  confer  on 
her  the  towns  of  Novgorod  and  Pskov  as  a 
wedding  gift,  and  to  pay  her  father  a  million 
of  Polish  florins  (about  £160,000)  as  soon 
as  he   should  have  ascended    his   throne. 


The  following  month  he  signed  another 
document,  by  which  he  engaged  to  cede  the 
province  of  Severia  to  the  palatine  and  the 
Kin"-  of  Poland ;  and  at  the  same  time  he 
privately  abjured  the  Greek  faith,  and  was 
admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Roman  church 
in  the  palace  of  the  nuncio.  By  these 
equivocal  acts  he  secured  the  services  of  a 
small  Polish  army ;  but  they  eventually 
assisted  in  destroying  his  reputation. 

News  of  Dmitri's  proceedings  soon  reached 
Boris,  who  had  excellent  reasons  for  knowing 
that  he  was  an  impostor,  and  that  the  true 
prince  had  long  lain  in  his  grave.    The  czar 
denounced  Dmitri  as  an  impostor,  and  stated 
that  he  was  a  renegade  monk,  named  Gregory 
Otrepief,  who,  on  account  of  his  bearing  an 
accidental  resemblance  to  the  dead  prince, 
had  been  led  into  the  idea  of  personating 
him.     Some  mystery  hangs  over  this  ques- 
tion, and  many  inquiries  have  been  made 
concerning  it,  but  without  any  satisfactory 
result.     The  distinguished  modern  Russian 
historian,  Karamsin,  considers  that  Otrepief 
was  the  spurious  Dmitri ;  other  writers,  who 
have  had  the  advantage  of  being  able  to 
compare   all    the    circumstances    (many   of 
them  minute,  and  necessarily  uninteresting 
to  an  English  reader),  are  of  opinion  that 
the   assumed  Dmitri  was  neither  what  he 
pretended  to  be,  nor  what  Boris  asserted— 
a  negative  conclusion,  which  leaves  us  as 
much  in  doubt  as  before  as  to  the  man's 
actual  origin. 

The  first  proceeding  of  the  czar  Boris, 
with  respect  to  Dmitri,  was  an  unwise  one. 
He  off'ered  a  heavy  bribe  to  Prince  Wisznio- 
wiecki  and  his  brother  Constantine,  if  they 
would  give  the  impostor  up  to  him.     This 
they  indignantly  refused,  and  the  circum- 
stance only  had   the   efl*ect   of  confirming 
their  belief  in  the  representations  of  their 
prottgt.     Boris  then  proclaimed  Dmitri  to 
be  an  adventurer ;  and  employed  a  numbei- 
of  spies,  who  were  artoed  with  authority  to 
seize  and  put  him  to  death.     He  proceeded 
further,  by  prohibiting  all  intercourse  be- 
tween the  Poles  and  the  Russians,  compelled 
the  patriarch  to  anathematise  "  the  rascally 
disrobed  monk,  the  apostate  rebel  and  magi- 
cian, who  wished   to  introduce  the  Latin 
heresy  into  Russia,  and  to  build    catholic 
churches  in  the  orthodox  land."'*     Boris  also 
procured  the  testimony  of  the  living  mother 
of  the  murdered  prince  to  her  son's  death, 
and  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Polish  monarch, 
entreating  his  majesty  to  withdraw  his  pro- 
tection from  the  impostor.     These   eftbrts 


92 


/ 


A.D.  1604.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[dMITRI  enters  RUSSIA. 


failed  to  produce  the  desired  effect,  and 
indeed  only  more  eff'ectually  aroused  the 
curiosity  of  the  Russian  people,  who,  tired 
of  what  they  regarded  as  an  illegitimate 
government,  were  disposed  to  give  credence 
to  a  claim  which  might  overturn  it.  For 
this  reason,  also,  the  discontented  nobles 
lent  an  ear  to  a  tale  which  thev  did  not 
really  believe. 

Dmitri  was  unabashed  by  the  denuncia- 
tion of  Boris,  which  he  aff'ected  to  treat  with 
calm  contempt.  He  again  asserted  his  claim 
to  the  Russian  throne,  and  detailed  the 
whole  story  of  his  life,  which  he  said  Boris 
endeavoured  to  discredit  from  motives  of 
selfish  fear.  He  spoke  of  the  extraordinary 
interposition  of  Providence,  which  had,  he 
said,  preserved  him  for  the  sacred  purpose  of 
rescuing  his  faithful  subjects  from  the  thral- 
dom of  usurpation ;  and  reiterated  his  de- 
termination never  to  cease  in  his  efforts  to 
restore  the  throne  of  Muscovy  to  the  race 
of  Ruric. 

Unquestionably,  the  pretender  was  a  man 
of  remarkable  talents  and  activity.  While 
Boris  was  vainly  endeavouring  to  blacken 
his  reputation,  he  was  busily  occupied  in 
gathering  recruits  to  his  standard.  He 
knew  that  the  Russian  people  were  favour- 
ably disposed  towards  him,  and  likely  to 
rise  in  his  favour  if  he  appeared  among 
them.  Accordingly,  on  the  31st  of  October, 
1604,  he  crossed  the  Russian  frontier  with 
)iis  little  army,  which  consisted  of  about 
3,000  Polish  horse,  500  foot  of  the  same 
nation,  and  a  few  thousand  Russian  refugees. 
It  would  have  been  an  act  of  madness  to  in- 
vade so  vast  an  empire  with  such  a  petty 
force,  had  not  Dmitri  reallj'-  won  the  attach- 
ment of  the  common  people,  most  of  whom, 
by  this  time,  firmly  believed  that  he  was 
the  son  of  the  czar  Ivan.  His  forces  in- 
creased rapidly  on  his  march,  and  town 
after  town  received  him  with  enthusiasm. 
The  barbarian  inhabitants  not  only  pre- 
sented him  with  bread  and  salt,  as  tokens  of 
allegiance,  but  placed  their  governors  and 
other  officers,  bound  and  gagged,  in  his 
hands.  The  pretender  immediately  liberated 
these  unfortunate  gentlemen,  and  behaved 
to  them  with  great  courtesy — a  policy  which 
brought  with  it  its  own  reward. 

Boris  had  been  unwilling  to  increase  the 
importance  of  his  rival  by  making  any 
great  military  preparation  ;  and  it  was  not 
until  the  23rd  of  November,  by  which  time 
Dmitri  had  arrived  before  the  walls  of  Nov- 
gorod, that  he  met  with  any  opposing  force. 


Peter  Basmanof,  an  able  general,  had 
thrown  himself  into  that  city  with  a  body 
of  no  more  than  500  Strelitz.  On  being 
summoned  to  surrender  in  the  name  of  the 
czar  and  the  grand  prince  Dmitri,  he  re- 
plied, "The  grand  prince  and  czar  is  at 
Moscow,  and  your  Dmitri  is  a  robber,  who 
shall  be  impaled,  and  his  accomplices  with 
him.  Be  off",  if  you  value  your  lives." 
Basmanof  was  not  to  be  won  ;  and  the  in- 
vaders were  unable  to  take  the  citadel,  into 
which  he  and  his  troops  had  retired.  Several 
weeks  were  passed  before  the  fortress,  and 
the  besiegers  repulsed  with  considerable  loss 
in  an  attempt  to  storm  it.  Their  enthusiasm 
was  rapidly  cooling,  when  it  was  revived  by 
the  capture  of  a  sum  of  80,000  ducats, 
which  the  czar  was  sending  to  the  governors 
of  the  towns  that  adhered  to  him.  The 
siege  was  renewed;  and  Basmanof,  aware 
that  an  army  was  on  its  march  from  Moscow 
for  his  relief,  had  the  address  to  obtain  a 
truce  for  a  fortnight,  by  promising  to  sur- 
render at  the  end  of  that  time,  if  he  was 
not  succoured. 

The  usurping  czar  had  proved  himself  an 
able  soldier;  and  if  he  had  the  energy  that 
marked  his  actions  in  earlier  years,  would 
no  doubt  have  destroyed  his  opponent.  But 
he  was  no  longer  the  man  he  had  been ; 
his  health  was  broken,  and  his  spirits 
crushed  by  the  opposition  with  which  he 
had  had  to  contend.  He  is  said  to  have 
laboured  under  the  pangs  of  a  guilty  con- 
science; and  it  is  possible  that  his  mind 
was  to  some  extent  diseased.  Confiding  to 
others  the  command  he  should  have  assumed 
himself,  he  trusted  men  who  were  at  least 
cold  in  his  cause,  if  not  absolutely  averse 
to  him. 

Mstislavski,  the  general  entrusted  by 
Boris  with  the  command  of  a  largre  armv, 
which  he  had  much  difficulty  in  collecting, 
arrived  at  Novgorod  towards  the  close  of 
December.  Some  days  were  passed  in 
inactivity.  The  sanguine  Dmitri  hoped  to 
see  the  hostile  army  adopt  his  cause,  and 
arrange  itself  beneath  his  banner;  while 
Mstislavski  expected  that  the  adherents  of 
the  pretender,  who  scarcely  amounted  to 
15,000,  would  disperse  without  coming  to 
hostilities.  Both  were  disappointed ;  and  on 
the  31st,  Dmitri,  whose  army  was  not  more 
than  a  third  as  numerous  as  that  opposed 
to  him,  boldly  led  his  troops  into  an  open 
plain,  and  placed  them  in  array  of  battle, 
Such  a  challenge  was  of  course  accepted, 
and  the  adversaries  were   soon  drawn  up 

93 


PROGRESS  OF  DMITRI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.u.  1605. 


A.D.  1605.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [the  people  favour  dmitri. 


face  to  face.  Before  the  battle,  Dmitri 
prayed  aloud  before  his  soldiers,  and  then 
addressed  them  in  tones  of  the  most 
animating  eloquence.  ''Almighty  God!" 
cried  he,  in  conclusion,  "  if  my  cause  is  un- 
just, may  thy  wrath  fall  on  me  alone  !  But 
thou  knowest  my  right,  and  will  make  my 
arm  invincible  !''  The  strife,  though  fierce, 
was  brief;  for  there  were  many  among  the 
army  of  Boris  who  trembled  lest  they  should 
be  fighting  against  the  czarevitch.  The 
brave  and  well-armed  Polish  lancers,  by  a 
desperate  charge,  broke  the  right  wing  of 
the  Russian  army,  and  drove  it  upon  the 
centre,  which  soon  fell  into  confusion. 
Prince  Mstislavski  strove  in  vain  to  rally 
his  dismayed  troops;  and,  after  receiving 
fifteen  wounds,  was  borne  from  the  field. 
This  was  conclusive ;  the  victory  fell  upon 
Dmitri ;  and  the  Russians  would  have  been 
utterly  routed,  but  that  Basmanof  made  a 
sortie  in  their  favour,  set  fire  to  the  camp  of 
the  conquerors,  and  thus  drew  them  from 
the  field.  By  means  of  this  rusty  the 
humbled  troops  of  Boris  were  enabled  to 
escape  beneath  the  cover  of  the  woods. 

The  pretended  Dmitri  conducted  himself 
after  the  battle  with  princely  moderation, 
and  a  policy  which  would  have  done  credit 
to  an  older  man.  The  prisoners  taken  were 
addressed  by  him  with  kindly  familiarity, 
and  treated  as  mistaken  subjects,  instead  of 
as  foes.  He  also  commanded  his  followers 
to  conduct  themselves  with  humanity — a 
circumstance  which  rendered  them  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  brutal  Russian  soldiers,  who 
ruthlessly  slaughtered  the  inhabitants  of 
those  districts  which  had  exhibited  a  dis- 
position to  favour  the  cause  of  the  adven- 
turer. Dmitri  also  actively  spread  abroad 
the  idea,  that  his  victory  had  been  due  to 
the  fact  that  Providence  fought  upon  the 
side  of  truth,  and  that  it  should,  therefore, 
be  accepted  as  an  indication  from  heaven 
that  he  was  undoubtedlv  the  son  of  Ivan  IV. 
This  belief  rapidly  made  way  among  the 
ignorant  peasantry,  who  were  ready,  at  the 
first  opportunity,  to  hail  him  as  their  sove- 
reign. 

Still  the  position  of  Dmitri  was  but  a 
desperate  one ;  and  he  knew  that  he  could 
not  obtain  any  permanent  success  unless 
the  people  fell  away  from  Boris  and  adopted 
his  cause.  Shortly  after  the  battle,  a  man- 
date came  from  the  King  of  Poland,  com- 
manding his  subjects  to  return  home  im- 
mediately. It  had  been  drawn  from  him 
by  Boris  before  Sigismund  knew  of  the 
94 


victory  obtained  by  Dmitri,  and  while  he 
was  influenced  by  disgust  at  the  incon- 
ceivable prolongation  of  the  siege  of  such  a 
petty  fortress  as  that  of  Novgorod.  The 
command  was  obeyed  by  the  palatines  and 
the  principal  Polish  gentlemen;  and  within 
a  fortnight  after  the  battle,  but  400  soldiers 
of  that  nation  remained  with  Dmitri.  Feel- 
ing that  nothing  but  a  daring  stroke  could 
save  him  from  destruction,  and  that  hesi- 
tation would  be  death,  he  abandoned  the 
siege  of  Novgorod ;  and  after  refreshing 
his  troops  by  a  i^vf  days'  rest,  again  took 
the  field  with  a  force  which,  in  consequence 
of  the  Russians  w^ho  had  joined  him,  still 
amounted  to  about  15,000  men. 

Prince  Mstislavski  was  disabled  bv  his 
wounds  from  resuming  the  command  of  the 
czar's  army.  Basmanof  was  summoned  by 
Boris  to  Moscow  to  receive  the  honour  he 
had  won  by  his  bravery,  and  the  royal  troops 
were  committed  to  the  direction  of  Vassili 
Schuisky,  Avho,  though  brave,  did  not  pos- 
sess those  other  and  more  important  quali- 
ties which  aid  in  forming  an  accomplished 
general.  On  the  20th  of  January,  1605, 
the  czar's  forces,  amounting  to  70,000  men, 
were  drawn  up  on  the  plain  of  Dobrynitchi. 
Dmitri,  with  his  army  of  only  15,000  men, 
did  not  hesitate  to  attack  them.  Having 
addressed  his  troops  and  prayed  aloud  be- 
fore them,  he,  with  one  division  of  his  army, 
gallantlv  chargred  the  centre  of  the  cnemv. 
He  was  received  with  a  fire  from  fourteen 
C!».nnons  and  16,000  muskets,  which  might 
have  done  terrible  execution  had  it  not  been 
hurried  and  ill-directed.  As  it  was,  it 
proved  almost  harmless,  and  a  few  moments 
afterwards  Dmitri's  horse  had  broken  the 
line  of  their  opponents.  Once  again  victory 
might  have  favoured  the  pretender  but  for 
the  cowardice,  or  more  probably  treachery, 
of  8,000  mounted  Zaporogues,  who  formed 
the  main  body  of  his  array.  Instead  of 
seconding  their  brave  young  leader,  these 
men  stood  still  until  the  troops  of  Boris 
were  enabled  to  rally,  and  then  wheeling 
round,  they  quitted  the  field  without  strik- 
ing a  blow.  It  is  said  that  they  were 
bribed  bv  Boris ;  but  whatever  was  tlie 
cause  of  their  misconduct,  its  result  was  the 
defeat  of  their  companions.  Dmitri  per- 
ceived that  the  dav  was  irredeemably  lost : 
his  Cossack  infantry,  numbering  4,000  men, 
withstood  for  a  time  the  wliole  Russian 
army,  and  perished  on  the  field  to  a  man. 
The  scanty  remnant  of  Dmitri^s  army  took 
to  a  flight  in  which  he  was  compelled  to 


join.  It  is  said,  that  they  might  have  been 
all  put  to  the  sword,  but  that  Schuisky  and 
his  officers,  though  they  fought  on  the  side 
of  the  czar,  had  no  intention  of  altogether 
removing  a  man  through  whom  they  could 
keep  Boris  in  a  state  of  constant  agitation 
and  necessity  for  their  services.  For  this 
reason,  they  gave  orders  to  check  the  pur- 
suit, saying,  "  The  fowl  is  in  the  pof — a 
familiar  phrase  by  which  the  soldiers  under- 
stood that  Dmitri  was  either  slain  or  taken 
prisoner. 

The  pretender  had  no  longer  an  army. 
He  and  the  miserable  remnant  of  his  fol- 
lowers fled  to  a  town  named  Putivle,  near 
the  frontiers,  which,  on  account  of  its  strong 
defences,  off'ered  an  asvlum  he  deemed 
tolerably  secure.  Schuisky,  instead  of  at- 
tempting to  secure  his  person,  remained  at 
Dobrynitchi,  where  he  occupied  himself 
with  hanging  or  shooting  the  prisoners  he 
had  taken.  Then,  after  several  subterfuges 
for  avoiding  action,  he  placed  his  troops  in 
winter  quarters,  and  sent  word  to  the  czar 
that  no  more  could  be  done  that  season. 

Boris,  delighted  with  the  recent  victory, 
expected  a  very  different  result.  He  ex- 
pressed his  displeasure  in  so  severe  a  man- 
ner as  altogether  to  alienate  from  him 
many  of  those  ofiicers  who  had  before  been 
lukewarm  in  his  service.  Animosity  to  the 
czar  naturally  engendered  a  favourable 
feeling  towards  his  opponent;  which  only 
needed  some  return  of  good  fortune  to 
Dmitri  to  induce  the  disaffected  to  desert  to 
him.  Though  stimulated  by  the  reproaches 
of  the  czar  to  some  further  exertions,  such 
as  besieging  the  town  of  Kroury,  which  had 
declared  for  Dmitri,  Schuisky  merely  de- 
ceived his  master  by  idle  efforts,  which  had 
not,  and  wTre  not  intended  to  have,  any 
result.  Dmitri,  who  remained  unmolested, 
still  preserved  an  undaunted  spirit  and  a 
hopeful  mind.  He  made  use  of  the  time 
which  the  delays  of  Schuisky  created  for 
him,  by  sending  manifestos  and  letters 
throughout  the  country.  He  had  many 
a^rents  also  at  work  in  the  army  of  the  czar: 
and  the  result  was  soon  seen  in  the  deser- 
tion to  him  not  only  of  many  common 
soldiers,  but  also  of  some  persons  of  rank. 
The  alarmed  Boris  again  attempted  to  ac- 
complish by  stratagem  that  which  he  could 
not  effect  by  the  open  hand  of  power.  He 
sent  three  monks  to  the  town  of  Putivle 
with  letters  from  himself  and  the  patriarch, 
offering  to  the  townspeople  a  full  pardon, 
and  a  magnificent  reward,  if  they  would  give 


up  the  impostor  to  him  alive  or  dead.  The 
inhabitants  disdained  the  bribe,  and,  arrest- 
ing the  monks,  put  them  to  the  torture. 
One  of  them  then  confessed  that  he  carried 
about  him  a  subtle  poison,  which  was  to  be 
administered  to  the  supposed  czarevitch  by 
two  boyards,  who  had  insinuated  themselves 
into  his  confidence  for  that  purpose.  The 
monks  were  put  to  death ;  and  the  exposure 
of  the  attempt  of  Boris  on  the  life  of  his 
rival,  did  much  mischief  to  the  cause  of  the 
former.  Dmitri  turned  it  to  advantage  by 
writing  a  haughty  letter  both  to  the  patri- 
arch and  the  czar.  He  reproached  them 
with  the  dastardly  and  criminal  means  to 
which  they  had  resorted,  and  boasted  of  the 
especial  protection  of  Divine  Providence. 
With  a  calm  audacity,  he  told  Boris  that 
he  was  disposed  to  act  mercifully  towards 
him.  "Let  him,^'  he  said,  "descend  from 
the  throne  he  has  usurped,  and  seek  in  the 
solitude  of  the  cloisters  to  reconcile  himself 
with  heaven ;  in  that  case  I  will  forget  his 
crimes,  and  even  assure  him  of  my  sove- 
reign protection.'^ 

The  arrogance  of  Dmitri  was  extremely 
politic.  To  a  populace  who  were  daily  be- 
coming more  impressed  that  his  claim  was 
a  just  one,  his  haughty  language  seemed 
but  natural  to  a  person  of  such  distin- 
guished birth.  At  this  period  all  things 
seemed  to  favour  him,  and  to  frown  darkly 
upon  the  fortunes  of  the  troubled  czar.  The 
northern  lights  having  appeared  with  un- 
usual brilliancy,  and  a  comet  being  visible, 
the  superstition  of  the  people  interpreted 
these  events  into  a  mystic  indication  of  the 
ruin  of  the  czar.  Others  went  further,  and 
believed  that  these  appearances  were  signs  of 
the  anger  of  God,  and  warnings  to  them  to 
come  forward  in  support  of  their  rightful 
sovereign ;  and  that,  unless  they  abandoned 
the  usurper  who  had  attempted  the  life  ot 
the  last  descendant  of  the  royal  race,  the 
phials  of  the  divine  wrath  would  be  poured 
out  upon  the  country.  In  consequence  of 
the  prevalence  of  this  feeling,  Dmitri  re- 
ceived so  many  offers  of  allegiance,  that  he 
was  soon  at  the  head  of  a  very  formidable 
party. 

Boris  appears  to  have  been  quite  un- 
nerved at  the  progress  of  the  defection,  and 
it  is  very  probable  that  he  was  now  the 
victim  of  great  mental  excitement,  if  not 
disease.  It  is  said  that  sometimes,  during 
periods  of  despondency  or  terror,  he  fancied 
that  the  forces  of  the  pretender  were  led  by 
the   disinterred  skeleton  of  the  murdered 

95 


b 


1i 


DEATH  OF  BORIS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1605. 


prince.  Surrounded,  as  usual,  by  a  court 
reputed  for  its  splendour,  and  directing  as 
hitherto  the  councils  of  the  nation,  yet  he 
knew  that  he  was  environed  by  hypocrites 
and  traitors.  He  was  still  the  autocrat ; 
but  he  knew  that  amongst  his  courtiers  were 
some  who  feared  his  fall,  and  others  who 
secretly  rejoiced  at  the  probability  of  such 
an  event. 

Such  was  the  aspect  of  affairs  when  the 
Russian  people  were  startled  by  the  news  of 
the  sudden  death  of  the  czar  !  This  unex- 
pected event  took  place  on  the  13th  of 
April,  1605.  Boris  had  that  day  risen  ap- 
parently in  his  usual  state  of  health,  which, 
though  seriously  impaired,  was  not  such  as 
to  excite  alarm  of  immediate  danger.  He 
had  presided,  according  to  custom,  at  the 
council-board,  and  afterwards  dined  with 
some  distinguished  foreigners  who  had  been 
presented  to  him.  Before  leaving  the 
<lining  apartment,  he  was  seized  with 
sudden  sickness,  and  effusions  of  blood 
from  his  nose,  ears,  and  mouth.  Every 
assistance  was  rendered,  but  he  sank  slowly 
into  a  state  of  insensibility,  and  expired 
within  two  hours.  Before  lie  became  un- 
conscious, he  desired  to  enter  the  church  as 
a  monk,  and  was  accordingly  consecrated 
by  the  name  of  Bogolep,  which  means, 
agreeable  to  God.  Thus,  after  a  reign  of 
.six  years,  died  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
rulers  of  Russia,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his 
age.  His  death  was  generally  attributed  to 
poison  administered  by  his  own  hand ;  and 
some  writers  affirm,  without  any  qualifica- 
tion, that  such  was  the  fact.  Such  an  end 
to  the  life  of  a  man  who  had  won  his  path 
to  power  by  hypocrisy  and  murder,  seems  so 
poetically  just,  that  many  will  not  wish  to 
sift  its  accuracy.  But  however  we  may 
feel  on  such  points,  experience  instructs  ns 
differently.  The  great  criminals  of  the 
Avorld  too  often  escape  the  doom  to  which  a 
moral  justice  would  condemn  them  ;  and  the 
faith  of  the  weak  is  vexed  by  events  in 
which  they  strive  in  vain  to  discern  the  in- 
visible hand  of  Deity.  Perhaps  Boris,  the 
murderer  and  tyrant,  did  commit  suicide  in 
a  paroxysm  of  despair,  in  which  case  popu- 
lar belief  would  be  confirmed,  and  moral 
justice  vindicated.  But  the  circumstances 
of  his  death  are  perfectly  consistent  with 
natural  dissolution.  It  might  have  arisen 
from  apoplexy,  or  from  the  bursting  of  a 
large  blood-vessel;  either  of  which  events 
would  have  been  promoted  by  the  long 
nervous  excitement  which  the  czar  had  en- 
96 


dured.  Certainly  there  are  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  a  belief  that  he  was  the  volun- 
tary cause  of  his  own  death.  It  has  been 
well  reasoned,  "That  so  long  as  the  czar 
lived,  and  the  army  had  not  actually  re- 
volted, the  pretender's  aspiring  fortunes 
were  not  secured  from  all  chance  of  failure. 
The  existence  of  Boris  was  the  only  safe- 
guard of  his  family.  Would  so  cool  a  cal- 
culator have  thrown  away  a  chance  however 
faint  ?  Would  a  man  of  such  energy  and 
resolution,  so  noted  for  the  depth  and 
tenderness  of  his  domestic  affections,  have 
wilfully  hastened  the  triumph  of  his  foe, 
and  abandoned  his  wife  and  children  to  in- 
evitable destruction — to  destruction  onlv 
rendered  inevitable  by  his  own  act  ?"  To 
this  it  may  be  replied,  that  if  Boris  suffered 
from  sickness,  despair,  and  partial  insanity, 
he  would  be  unable  to  reason  upon  his  mis- 
fortunes, or  to  feel  for  the  position  of  those 
dependent  upon  him.  Despair  excludes 
with  clouds  of  impenetrable  gloom  all  but 
one,  and  that  the  most  painful,  view  of  a 
case  ;  while  insanity  is  incapable  of  reason- 
ing upon  it. 

But  to  whatever  circumstance  we  must 
attribute  the  death  of  the  czar  Boris  Godu- 
nof,  or  however  sternly  we  may  denounce 
his  many  crimes,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
he  was  a  sovereign  of  remarkable  abilities. 
Russia  prospered  under  his  administration 
when  the  simple  Feodor  sat  in  the  seat  of 
the  czar ;  and  Boris,  during  the  early  part 
of  his  own  reign,  acted  in  many  matters 
like  the  father  of  his  people.  His  strong 
arm  swept  back  the  Tartars ;  his  acute 
sense  encouraged  a  civilisation  which  might 
have  produced  brilliant  results  but  for  the 
barbarous  opposition  of  the  priesthood ; 
and  benevolence,  or  policy,  induced  him  to 
pour  out  his  mighty  hordes  of  wealth  at  the 
feet  of  the  people,  to  avert  the  horrors  of 
famine.  Such  was  his  administrative  abilitv 
and  mental  vigour  during  the  early  part  of 
his  reign,  that  he  has  even  been  compared 
with  his  illustrious  successor,  Peter  the 
Great.  He  was  assuredly  a  murderer  and 
a  tyrant ;  but  he  was  no  common  criminal. 
His  earlv  crimes  arose  from  a  dazzling:  am- 
bition,  and  his  later  ones  from  a  constantly 
oppressive  sense  of  insecurity.  Such  are  the 
evils  of  usurpation. .  Had  he  been  a  legiti- 
mate sovereign,  he  would  have  proved  not 
only  a  wise  one,  but  most  probably  have 
descended  to  his  grave  in  honour,  and  left 
an  unsullied  reputation  for  the  contempla- 
tion of  a  sad  yet  grateful  people. 


U  > 


A.D.   IGOO.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[dMITRI  enters  MOSCOW. 


The  death  of  Boris  was  so  sudden,  that 
Dmitri  was  not  prepared  to  take  instant 
advantage  of  it.  A  hurried  council  of  the 
principal  nobility  took  place  at  Moscow,  at 
which  it  was  decided  that  Feodor,  the  son 
of  the  late  czar,  should  succeed  him  on  the 
throne.  Feodor,  who  was  but  sixteen  or 
eighteen  years  old,  was  proclaimed  without 
opposition.  General  Basmanof  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  the  army, 
which,  notwithstanding  its  disaffection,  pas- 
sively took  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  new 
czar. 

His  day  of  power  was  but  a  brief  one. 
Basmanof  proved  false,  and  opened  a  secret 
correspondence  with  Dmitri,  which  he 
shortly  afterwards  followed  up  by  pub- 
licly declaring  for  him,  and  proclaiming  the 
adventurer  as  czar  of  Moscow.  Most  of 
the  troops  received  the  proclamation  with 
enthusiasm,  and  the  rest  were  overawed  by 
superior  numbers.  On  the  8th  of  May, 
Prince  Galitzin  presented  himself  at  Putivle, 
to  tender  to  Dmitri  the  submission  of  the 
army.  The  pretender  received  him  with 
great  affability,  and  sent  a  command  to 
Basmanof  to  prepare  to  march  to  Moscow. 
Dmitri  also  dispatched  envoys  to  the  capi- 
tal, who,  backed  by  a  number  of  the  bo- 
yards  and  wealthy  merchants,  assembled  the 
people  in  the  grand  square,  and  called  upon 
them  to  acknowledge  and  proclaim  their 
lawful  sovereign.  The  people  were  ripe  for 
the  desired  change;  and  with  vociferous 
shouts  they  declared  for  Dmitri.  Thoroughly 
excited,  they  then  hurried  to  the  Kremlin, 
which  they  forced,  and  bursting  into  the 
royal  apartments,  seized  Feodor,  his  sister 
Xenia,  and  his  mother,  and  placed  them  as 
prisoners  in  the  house  which  Boris  had 
occupied  before  he  ascended  the  throne. 
The  other  distinguished  members  of  the 
Godunof  family  were  put  in  chains,  and 
sent  to  the  camp  of  Dmitri. 

The  latter  had  now  almost  attained  the 
summit  of  his  wild  ambition :  he  had  but 
to  advance  and  seize  the  crown,  for  which 
lie  had  played  so  boldly.  The  priuces 
Galitzin  find  Massalski  preceded  him  to  the 
capital  as  his  plenipotentiaries.  There  they 
arrested  the  patriarch  who,  in  the  time  of 
Boris,  had  anathematised  Dmitri  as  a 
rebel  and  "rascally  monk."  The  time- 
serving old  priest  now  professed  his  willing- 
ness to  crown  the  man  whom  he  had  jfor- 
merly  denounced ;  but  this  suppleness  did 
not  save  him  from  deprivation  and  im- 
prisonment. For  deposed  princes  there  is 
VOL.  r.  o 


but  a  step  between  the  prison  and  the 
grave,  and  the  unfortunate  Feodor  and  his 
mother  soon  ceased  to  live.  It  was  re- 
ported that  they  had  destroyed  themselves 
by  poison;  but  a  chronicler  of  the  time 
stated,  that  when  their  bodies  were  exposed 
in  public,  he  himself  saw  on  their  necks 
the  livid  marks  of  the  cords  with  which 
they  had  been  strangled.  The  murder  was 
generally  attributed  to  the  commands  of 
Dmitri ;  but  doubts  are  entertained  on 
that  point.  "  The  zeal  of  his  agents,"  says 
Merimee,  "  doubtless  had  no  need  of  posi- 
tive instructions.  The  sequel  of  this  young 
adventurer's  history  shows  that,  far  from 
being  cruel,  he  was  goodnatured  and  gene- 
rous to  a  degree  which  was  very  rare  in 
those  days,  even  among  the  most  civilised 
nations.  I  am  more  inclined  to  believe 
that  men  who,  within  a  month,  had  taken 
two  oaths,  and  successively  betrayed  Boris 
and  Feodor,  eagerly  seized,  without  orders, 
the  opportunity  to  remove  enemies  out  of 
their  new  master's  way,  and  objects  of  re- 
morse out  of  their  own."  Indeed,  the 
blood  of  but  one  other  person  was  shed  in 
the  accomplishment  of  this  remarkable 
revolution.  Semen,  the  head  of  the  secret 
police  under  Boris,  was  put  to  death,  ap- 
parently more  from  the  general  odium  he 
had  incurred,  than  from  any  vindictive 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  new  czar. 

Dmitri  behaved  with  a  princely  compo- 
sure, and  avoided  any  undignified  haste  in 
grasping  the  sceptre  which  fortune  had  laid 
at  his  feet.  At  length  he  complied  with 
the  entreaties  of  his  subjects;  and  on  the 
20th  of  June,  1605,  he  entered  Moscow  in 
great  state,  amidst  the  enthusiastic  con- 
gratulations of  enormous  throngs  of  people. 
No  heir  of  the  house  of  Ruric  had  ever 
been  received  by  his  subjects  with  such 
demonstrations  of  affection.  Yet  even  in 
this  hour  of  triumph,  there  were  to  be  dis- 
cerned slight  indications  of  that  popular 
fickleness,  the  bitter  cup  of  which  the  new 
sovereign  was  to  drain  to  the  dregs.  As  the 
procession  crossed  the  great  square  before 
the  Kremlin,  a  sudden  whirlwind  arose, 
which  almost  deprived  the  horsemen  of 
their  seats,  and  hid  the  czar  and  his  cortege 
for  a  short  time  from  the  spectators,  beneath 
clouds  of  dust.  This  natural  event  was  re- 
garded by  the  superstitious  people  as  an  omen 
of  evil ;  and,  making  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
they  whispered  to  each  other,  "  God  keep 
us  from  harm."  Other  incidents  occurred 
which   the  fickle  Muscovites    beheld  with 

97 


RULE  OF  DMITRI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1605. 


displeasure.  The  new  czar  was  attended 
by  a  large  body  of  Poles,  who,  at  the  mo- 
ment he  dismounted  from  his  horse  to  kiss 
the  relics  with  which  the  clergy  advanced 
to  meet  him,  struck  up  a  flourish  of  mili- 
tary music,  which  drowned  the  chaunt  of 
the  75?  Deum.  The  Poles,  or  "  Pagans," 
as  the  Russians  contemptuously  called  all 
foreigners  who  were  not  of  the  Greek 
church,  entered  the  cathedral  with  him — a 
circumstance  which  was  regarded  as  a  pro- 
fanation. Afterwards,  Dmitri  knelt  in  tears 
before  the  tomb  of  Ivan,  and  kissing  it  in 
a  welUaflected  transport,  exclaimed,  "  O 
father  !  thy  orphan  reigns ;  and  this  he 
owes  to  thy  holy  prayers!^'  At  this  sight 
the  spectators  were  affected  with  a  conta- 
gious emotion,  and,  weeping  with  him,  ex- 
claimed, "  He  is  indeed  the  son  of  the 
Terrible.'' 

Notwithstanding  the  natural  doubts  en- 
tertained by  many  of  his  subjects,  and  their 
superstitious  regard  to  omens,  the  reign  of 
the  new  sovereign  began  auspiciously.    The 
nobles  rejoiced  tliat  Boris  was  no  more ;  and 
the  people,  that  events  promised  a  return  of 
tranquillity.     Dmitri's  manners  were  cour- 
teous and  attractive — a  circumstance  which 
won  for  him  the  attachment  of  those  who 
approached  him.     He  was   also   extremely 
generous,    and    conferred   with    a    profuse 
hand  benefits  upon  all  who  had  helped  him 
to  the  throne,   and   sometimes  even    upon 
those  who  had  been  his  enemies.  With  a  libe- 
rality approaching  to  wantonness,  he  doubled 
the  pay  of  the  army,  and  the  salaries  of  all 
public  functionaries.     He  also  created  some 
siensation   by   an    announcement    that    he 
would  pay  all  the  debts  contracted  by  his 
father  the  czar,  Ivan  IV.     Corrupt  judges 
he    punished   with    severity ;    and    sternly 
admonished  others  in  whose   decisions  he 
detected  any  partiality.     In  order  to  insure 
a  better  administration  of  justice,  he  adopted 
the  Eastern  practice  of  sitting,  twice  a-week, 
in  the  portico  of  his  palace,  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  the  petitions  of  the  poorest  of 
his  subjects,  and  redressing  their  grievances. 
He  also  accomplished  many  important  re- 
forms ;  remitted  many  taxes  which  had  pre- 
viously fettered  commerce  and  made  justice 
unattainable  by  the  needy ;  and  modified 
the  unjust  enactment  of  Boris,  which  con- 
verted the  peasantry  into  serfs.     The  noble 
was  authorised  to  reclaim  his  fugitive  serf, 
but  restrained,  under  severe  penalties,  from 
fraudulent  claims  of  ownership.     All  serfs, 
also,  who  had  been  abandoned  by  their  lords 
98 


during  the  late  famine,  were  enfranchised* 
upon  the  principle  that  the  master's  right 
of  property  was  inseparable  from  the  serf's 
right  of  maintenance.  Where  freemen,  who 
liad  hired  out  their  services  for  a  period 
only,  were  retained  as  serfs  against  their 
wili,  Dmitri  visited  the  oppressor  with  a 
severe  punishment.  Proceedings  of  this 
nature  induced  the  people  to  anticipate  that 
his  reign  would  be  a  period  of  prosperity 
for  the  empire.  His  supporters,  also,  were 
highly  gratified ;  for  he  had  shown  himself, 
in  no  small  degree,  a  brave  and  skilful 
soldier  in  the  field,  and  an  efficient  states- 
man at  the  council  table. 

The  new  czar  had  yet  to  pass  through  one 
remarkable  trial  before  his  presumed  identity 
with  the  murdered  son  of  Ivan  could  be  said 
to  be  confirmed.     The  mother  of  the  true 
Dmitri  was   yet  Hying   in   the  convent   to 
which   Boris  had  compelled  her  to    retire. 
If  she  acknowledged  him  as  her  son,  it  was 
naturally  assumed  that  even  the  most  scep- 
tical would  be  satisfied.     A  month  elapsed 
after  the  entrance  of  Dmitri  into  Moscow 
before  the  interview  took  place — a  circum- 
stance that  created  some  remark.     A  meet- 
ing with  the  lady  before  she  had  been  pre- 
pared and  won  over  to  countenance  the  de- 
ception, would  have  been  fatal  to  his  claims. 
Her  own  brother,  however,  undertook  the 
delicate  task  of  eradicating  any  scruples  she 
mijj;ht  entertain  against  a  compliance  with 
what  was  required  of  her.     It  was  pretty 
certain  what  course  a  woman,  of  no  great 
strength  of  mind  or  loftiness  of  principle, 
would  take  in  such  a  matter.    If  she  refused 
to  acknowledge  the  czar  as  her  son,  her  life 
was  in  danger;   if  she  consented,  she  ex- 
changed a  position  of  obscurity  for  one  of 
distinction  and  brilliancy. 

At  length  the  widow  of  Ivan  left  her  con- 
vent at  Vyska,  and  proceeded  to  Toiuinsk, 
where  she  was  to  meet  her  supposed  son. 
Dmitri  started  from  Moscow  with  a  nume- 
rous and  magnificent  retinue,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  multitudes  of  people  anxious  to 
behold  the  result.  The  first  interview  took 
place  in  a  sumptuous  tent  erected  for  the 
occasion.  Dmitri  and  the  widow  of  Ivan 
each  entered  alone;  for  it  was  cunningly 
assumed  that  the  first  emotions,  at  such  a 
meeting,  were  too  tender  and  sacred  to  be 
beheld  by  common  eyes.  A  brief  time 
elapsed ;  and  then,  emerging  from  the  tent, 
they  threw  themselves  into  each  other's 
arms  with  every  appearance  of  intense  aftec- 
tion.    The  multitude  shouted  with  joy  :  they 


A.D.  1605.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [dmitri  becomes  unpopular. 


were  now  thoroughly  convinced  that  Dmitri 
was  the  true  son  of 'ivan  the  Terrible.  He 
then  escorted  the  princess  to  Moscow  with 
the  profoundest  respect,  walking  during 
part  of  the  distance  bare-headed  by  the 
3ide  of  her  carriage.  On  their  arrival,  he 
conducted  her  to  the  convent  of  St.  Cyril,  in 
the  Kremlin,  where  she  was  to  reside  until 
he  should  have  built  a  magnificent  convent 
expressly  for  her.  He  also  assigned  her  a 
revenue  and  household  suitable  to  her  rank, 
visited  her  every  day,  consulted  her  on 
affairs  of  state,  and  even  associated  her 
name  with  his  own  in  the  ukases  he  issued. 
The  coronation  of  Dmitri  followed  her  ar- 
rival, on  which  occasion  the  favour  shown 
by  him  to  the  Poles  again  excited  the 
jealousies  of  his  subjects. 

It  was  necessary,   at  least  in  the  com- 
mencement of  his  reign,  for  the  new  czar  to 
be  more  circumspect  than  other  monarchs. 
Unfortunately  for   the   permanence  of  his 
sway,  he   was   less   so.     It  has  frequently 
been   observed,  that   perhaps  no  man   can 
effectually  fulfil  the  duties  of  a  ruler,  unless 
his  education  has  been   directed  into  that 
channel.     The  habits  of  private  life,  of  un- 
restrained intercourse,  and  of  commonplace 
associations,  form  an  incompetent  prepara- 
tion  for   the   novelty   of  a   station    which 
admits  of  no  equality,  and  is  removed  from 
the  sympathies  and  influences  affecting  the 
rest  of  mankind.     The  new  czar  had  been 
intoxicated  with  the  splendour  of  his  fortune 
and  the  rapidity  of  his  success.     This,  com- 
bined with  his  intrepid  spirit  and  a  supersti- 
tious confidence  in  his  destiny,  rendered  him 
indifferent,  if  not  averse,  to  the  counsels  of 
prudence.     The  Russian  people  were  then, 
as  now,  animated  by  a  powerful  feeling  of 
nationality,  which  is  usually  attended  with 
a  contempt  or  disUke  for  the  inhabitants  of 
other   countries.     Prudence   required   that 
the   new  czar  should    be,  or  affect  to  be, 
eminently  national  in  his  habits  and  predi- 
lections.    So  far  from  this  being  the  case, 
his  subjects   soon  began  to  perceive,  with 
uneasiness,  that  their  sovereign  was  influ- 
enced  by   foreign   notions ;    that    he    sur- 
rounded himself  with  Polish  guards,  pre- 
ferred them  to  all  offices  of  importance,  and 
laughed    at   many   of  the   customs   of  his 
people,  which  he  deemed  uncouth,  and  even 
barbarous.     In  the  council-chamber  he  as- 
tonished the  Russian  nobles  by  his  superior 
knowledge  and  capacity,  and  offended  them 
by  his  sarcastic  observations  and  his  prefer- 
ence of  foreigners.     "  Go  and  travel,"  said 


he  to  the  boyards ;  '^  observe  the  ways  of 
civilised  nations ;  for  you  are  no  better 'than 
savages."  The  very  truth  of  this  and  similar 
remarks,  made  them  the  more  bitter  and 
less  easy  to  be  forgiven.  The  marked  pre- 
ference Dmitri  gave  to  the  Poles,  had  the 
effect  not  only  of  making  the  Russians  dis- 
contented, but  also  of  encouraging  the 
haughtiness  and  insolence  of  the  former. 
His  private  secretaries  were  Poles;  while 
the  only  Russian  on  whom  he  bestowed  his 
confidence  was  General  Basmanof,  a  man 
not  liked  by  the  nobles  of  his  nation. 

This  imprudence  on  the  part  of  the  czar 
revived  the  controversy,   which  had  never 
altogether  slept,  concerning  the  questioned 
royalty   of  Dmitri's   birth.     The   assumed 
proofs  of  his  royal  origin  had  never  been 
examined  by  any  competent  tribunal.    They 
were  accepted,  without  examination,  during 
the  wild  tumult  of  revolt;  and  as  important 
evidence  of  the  fact  of  the  murder  of  the 
young   prince  was  still  extant,  very  little 
persuasion    was    requisite    to    induce    the 
people  to  adopt  any  opinion  in  accordance 
with   their   political   bias.      Latent   doubts 
were  called  into  activity  by  Dmitri's  neglect 
of  the  national  prejudices.     These,  once  en- 
couraged, were  carried  to  an  absurd  extent. 
Even  his  mode  of  riding  was  quoted  to  show 
that  he  was  not  of  royal  blood.     He  de- 
lighted to  leap,  without  help,  upon  the  back 
of    a  wild   stallion,   and   ride   the   animal 
furiously  hke  a  Cossack ;  while  the  czars,  in 
imitation  of  oriental  custom,  were  in  the 
habit  of  being  lifted  into  the  saddle,  and 
riding  with   slowness  and   gravity.     Other 
insignificant  matters  in  the  personal  habits 
of  the  czar  were  cited  in  disproof  of  the 
distinguished  origin  to  which  he  laid  claim. 
He  frequently  passed  the  images  of  saints 
without  saluting  them ;  he  ate  veal  (which 
was   considered   an    unclean   meat),   dined 
without  having  his  table  blessed  and  sprinkled 
with  holy  water,  and  even  so  far  neglected 
pious  conventionalities,  as  to  rise  from  it 
without  washing  his  hands.     Then  he  never 
slept   after   dinner,   according    to    Russian 
custom,  but  selected  that  period  for  walking 
about  the  city,  alone  or  with  one  companion, 
greatly  to  the  astonishment  of  the  people, 
who,  being  accustomed   only  to   see   their 
sovereigns  when  surrounded  by  a  pompous 
equipage,  not  unnaturally  considered  such 
conduct   undignified,   and   indicative   of  a 
humble  origin.    In  addressing  the  clergy,  it 
was  noticed  that  he  spoke  of  ^^  your  reli- 
gion,"  and  ''your  ritual;"   which  gave  a 

99 


CONSPIRACY  AGAINST  DMITRI.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1605. 


A.D.  1606.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


Tmarina  mniszek. 


I 


further  colour  to  the  suspicion  that  he  had 
adopted  the  religion  of  the  church  of  Rome. 
One  day,  during  a  sitting  of  his  ministers, 
he  was  told  that  something  he  had  just  pro- 
posed was  prohibited  by  the  seventh  general 
council  of  the  church.  He  replied — "  Well, 
what  matter?  very  likely  it  is  allowed  by 
the  eighth."  This  flippant  response,  which, 
at  the  worst,  was  but  an  unbecoming  levity, 
was  condemned  by  the  clergy  as  an  abomi- 
nable blasphemy. 

The  circumstance,  however,  which  most 
excited   the   nationality  and  anger  of  the 
Russiaus,  was  the  approaching  marriage  of 
the  czar  with  Marina  Mniszek,  the  daughter 
of  the  Palatine   Sandomir.     **  Could  it  be 
possible,"  said  they,  "  that  a  heretic  woman, 
an  unbaptized  Pole,  was  to  be  raised  to  the 
throne  of  orthodox  Russia  ?"     Such  was  the 
state  of  public  feeling  when  Dmitri  ventured 
upon   an  expedient  which  led  to  his  ruin. 
Ambitious    by   nature,    he   aspired   to   the 
glory  of  conquest:  he  contemplated,  by  a 
combination    of  the    Polish   and    Russian 
forces,  to  reduce  to  insignificance  those  ag- 
gressive and  insolent  powers  the  Turks  and 
Tartars.     The  enterprise  would  be  glorious, 
but  it  presented  numerous  difficulties,  some 
of  which  were  of  a  kind  to  be  encountered 
rather  by  the  statesman  than  by  the  warrior. 
It  was  necessary  to  conciliate  the  King  of 
Poland,  whose  assistance  he  desired ;  and  to 
amuse  the  pope,  against  whose  decision  that 
monarch  would  not  enter  into  the  scheme. 
The  vastness  of  the  military  preparations, 
also,  were  such,  that  the  resources  of  the 
Kremlin  were  found  to  be  altogether  inade- 
quate to  the  expense.     Here  was  the  point 
which   led   the    inconsiderate   czar   to   his 
doom.     He  reasoned,  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  the  clergy  to  bear  part  of  the  cost  of  an 
expedition  to  be  undertaken  for  the  glory 
and  triumph  of  Christianity.     He  therefore 
demanded  an  exact  account  of  the  revenues 
of  the   numerous   monasteries   throughout 
the  empire,  and  bluntly  affirmed  that  he 
would  not   suff'er   so  many  monks  to  live 
in  idleness,  when  a  part  of  Christendom  was 
to  be  delivered  from  Mussulman  bondage. 
Reform  in  this  direction  was  needful,  but  not 
judicious  at  the  time.    Dmitri,  however,  went 
beyond  reform,  and  proceeded  to  confisca- 
tion, which  was  manifestly  unjust.     With 
arbitrary    severity   he    suppressed    several 
monasteries,    and    seized    the   wealth   be- 
longing to  them.     The  rest  of  the  priesthood 
lived  in  fear  of  a  similar  proceeding  towards 
their  religious  houses,  and  a  clerical  con- 
100 


spiracy  was  soon  formed  against  him. 
Segur  observes — "His  other  offences  and 
irregularities  might  have  been  endured ;  the 
enmity  of  other  classes  he  might  have 
assuaged  or  curbed ;  but  when  he  laid  his 
sacrilegious  hand  upon  the  ark  of  the  Lord, 
that  is  to  say,  upon  the  coff"ers  of  the  clergy, 
he  raised  up  against  himself  'egions  of  im- 
placable foes,  whose  malice  baffled  resist- 
ance, for  they  fought  with  the  impalpable 
but  deadly  weapons  of  calumny  and  super- 
stition. The  priests  and  monks  became  the 
industrious  propagators  of  every  false  or 
exaggerated  rumour  that  could  poison  the 
minds  of  the  people  against  the  czar.  They 
compared  him  to  Julian  the  Apostate ;  and 
all  the  truly  royal  qualities,  which  they  could 
not  but  recognise  in  Dmitri,  they  turned 
to  his  vilification,  as  so  many  points  of 
resemblance  to  the  persecutor  of  the  Chris- 
tians." 

The  clergy  promoted  a  conspiracy  against 
the  czar,  which  many  of  the  boyards  readily 
joined.    They  had  assisted  his  cause,  without 
caring  whether  or  not   he  was  the  son  of 
Ivan.     All  they  wanted  was  some  one  whom 
they  could  set  up  against   Boris.     It  was 
their  intention  to  make  a  puppet  of  the  new 
czar,  and  to  grasp  the  reality,  while  he  held 
the   shadow,   of  regal   authority.     In  this 
they  were  disappointed.     Dmitri  had  far  too 
much  intelligence  to  be  made  a  tool  of;  and 
they  found  that,  notwithstanding  the  gen- 
eral mildness  of  his   nature,   he    could  be 
quite  as  absolute  as  ever  Boris  was. 

Prince  Schuisky  was  the  principal  of  the 
conspirators;  for,  as  the  nearest  collateral 
heir  of  the  Rurics,   he   looked  forward  to 
obtaining  the    crown  for    himself,  in   the 
event  of  the  deposition  or  death  of  Dmitri. 
Schuisky  advised  the  delay  of  the  execution 
of  the  plot  until  the  arrival  of  the  intended 
czarina  from  Poland — a  circumstance  which 
led  to  its  detection,  and  the  arrest  of  himself 
and  his  two  brothers.     The  latter  were  con- 
demned to  be  banished  to  Siberia,  and  the 
former  to  death.     They  were,  however,  all 
subsequently  pardoned — Schuisky  himself, 
at  the  very  moment  when,  having  knelt  upon 
the  scaffold,  the  axe  was  uplifted  over  him. 
The   traitor  then   behaved  with   so   much 
humility   as   to   disarm   the    suspicions    of 
Dmitri;  but  his  danger  had  only  made  him 
the  more  cautious ;  and,  in  reality,  he  di- 
rected the  proceedings  of  the  malcontents 
with  as  much  authority  as  ever.     To  those 
who  advised  the  generous  czar  not  to  spare 
a  convicted  traitor,  his  reply  was — "  I  have 


sworn  not  to  shed  Christian  blood,  and  I 
will  keep  my  oath.  There  are  two  ways 
of  governing  an  empire — tyranny  and  gen- 
erosity. I  choose  the  latter.  I  will  not  be 
a  tyrant.  I  will  not  spare  money;  I  will 
scatter  it  on  all  hands." 

Before  the  arrival  of  Marina  from  Poland, 
a  new  pretender  to  the  throne  made  his  ap- 
pearance among  the  Cossacks  of  the  Volga ; 
and,  assuming  the  name  of  Peter  Feodoro- 
viteh,  represented  himself  to  be  the  son  of 
the  czar  Feodor  and  his  consort  Irene.     The 
clumsy  tale  he  told  was,  that  immediately 
after   birth   he   had   been  taken  from   his 
mother,   and   placed  with   some  Cossacks; 
while  the  female  infant,  which   had  been 
substituted  at  the  command  of  Boris,  died 
in  its  cradle.     This  statement  found  Cos- 
sacks simple  enough  to  believe  it;  and  a 
few  thousand  of  them,  having  proclaimed 
Feodorovitch  as  the  lawful  czarevitch,  aban- 
doned themselves  to  the  congenial  occupa- 
tion of  plundering.     Dmitri  acted  with  a 
dignity    befitting   his    presumed   rank;    he 
addressed  a  letter  to   the   new  pretender, 
ssaying,  that  if  he  would  come  to  Moscow 
and  prove  his  parentage,  he  should  receive  a 
pension  suitable  to  his  high  birth ;  but  that, 
if  he  knew  himself  to  be  an  impostor,  he  had 
better  retire   at  once,  while  he  might   do 
so  with  safety.     The   hint  was  taken,  and 
Feodorovitch  and  his  followers  disappeared 
for  the  time  among  the  barren  wilds  of  the 
steppes. 

Notwithstanding  the   impatience  of  the 
czar  for  the  arrival  of  his  bride,  to  whom  he 
appears  to  have  been  sincerely  attached,  the 
nuptial  journey,  from  Cracow  to  Moscow, 
was   conducted  with   so   much   pomp   and 
ceremony,  that  it  extended  over  a  period  of 
three  months.     It  was  not  until  the  12th  of 
May,  1606,  that  she  made  her  public  entry 
into  the  Russian  capital.     So  numerous  was 
her  retinue,  that  the  offended  people  com- 
pared it  to  an  invading  army ;  and  such  was 
the  haughty  bearing  of  the  Poles,  that  they 
rather  gave  themselves  the  airs  of  victors 
than    assumed    the   courteous    bearing   of 
guests.     Consequently,   amidst  all  the  ex- 
ternal demonstrations  of  loyalty  and  glad- 
ness, there  was  a  deeply-seated  and  widely- 
spreading  spirit  of  discontent.     "Is  it  the 
custom  in  your  country,"  said  the  jealous 
Musco.'ites  to  their  armed   and  uninvited 
guesto,  "  to  go  to  a  wedding  cased  in  steel, 
as  if  you  were  going  to  a  battle?"     The 
feelings  of  the  citizens   grew  more   bitter 
when  they  beheld  the  Poles,  who  had  come 


with  the  expectation  of  a  campaign  against 
the  Tartars,  unloading  whole  arsenals  from 
their  waggons.  The  conspirators  turned 
this  uneasiness  to  account.  Mingling  with 
the  people,  they  spread  a  report  that  the 
czar  had  sent  for  the  Polish  allies  for  the 
purpose  of  massacring  the  orthodox  Chris- 
tians, and,  by  this  terrible  exhibition  of 
his  power,  seat  himself  more  firmly  on  the 
throne.  The  idle  calumny  was  believed;  a 
general  though  suppressed  hatred  to  Dmitri 
followed ;  and  even  the  grim  passiveness  of 
the  people  indicated  the  coming  storm.  A 
less  unreasonable,  though  equally  unfounded 
report  was,  that  the  real  object  of  the  Polish 
ambassadors  who  came  in  the  equipage  of 
the  elect  czarina,  was  to  receive  from  the 
czar  the  cession  of  a  considerable  portion  of 
Russian  territory. 

During  the  week  that   elapsed  between 
the   arrival  of   Marina  and  her  marriage, 
her  conduct  was  not  of  a  kind  to  conciliate 
those  among  whom  she  had  come  to  dwell. 
Though  lodged  in  the  convent  occupied  by 
the   dowager-czarina,  she  could  not,  even 
for  so  brief  a  period,  behave  with  the  de- 
corum which  was   considered   due   to   the 
character  of  the  place.     She  pettishly  com- 
plained of  the  tiresome  babble  of  the  Greek 
priests,  and  the  long  litanies  of  the  nuns. 
She  induced  the  czar  to  bring  her  musicians, 
and  the  convent  was  profaned  with  concerts, 
balls,   and   masquerades.      She   would   not 
even   place  any    restraint   upon   her   most 
frivolous  caprices ;    and  in  this  temper,  in- 
sisted on  having  a  set  of  Polish  cooks  in- 
stead of  the  Russian  ones,  as  she  protested 
she  could  not  eat  the  food  prepared  by  the 
latter.      These    circumstances    were    soon 
spread  abroad,  and  added  considerably  to 
her  unpopularity.     Even  so  comparatively 
unimportant  a  thing  as  the  rejection  of  the 
Russian  cooks  was  converted  into  a  religious 
question;    and   the    offended   people   said, 
that  the  czar  and  his  betrothed  had  brought 
in  pagan  cooks,  that  they  might  break  the 
commands   of   the   orthodox    church   with 
respect  to  forbidden  meats  and  fast  days. 
She   also   insisted   in   being    married    and 
crowned  in  a  Polish  dress,  though  no  czarina 
ever  went  through  those  ceremonies  except 
in  the  national  costume,   consisting   of   a 
head-dress,  called  kokoshnik,  a  gown  hanging 
straight   down  from  above  the  bosom,  and 
boots  with  great  iron-shod  heels.  Marina  de- 
clared that  she  would  never  consent  to  be 
made  such  a  fright  of;  but  the  affair  was 
taken  up  so  seriously,  that  it  was  brought 

101 


INSURRECTION  AT  MOSCOW.]  HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1606. 


A.D.  1606.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[murder  of  DMITRI. 


before  the  council  for  their  decision.  This 
was  against  the  petulant  girl,  who  was  thus 
compelled  to  conform  to  the  national  usages 
for  a  single  day. 

The  marriage  and  coronation  took  place 
on  the  18th  of  May ;  but  the  czarina  did 
not  abjure  the  Romish  form  of  Christianity, 
or  the  Latin  heresy,  as  the  Russians  termed 
it,  as  they  had  fully  expected  her  to  do.  The 
Poles,  who  were  admitted  into  the  cathedral 
on  the  occasion,  excited  great  scandal  by 
the  levity  of  their  behaviour.  Some  sat  on 
tombs  that  contained  revered  relics,  others 
laughed  and  talked  aloud,  and  derided  the 
ceremonies  of  the  Greek  church.  Their  in- 
tercourse with  the  Russians  was  altogether 
marked  by  great  insolence  and  barbarity  of 
manners.  "It  is  we,''  said  they  to  the 
citizens,  "  who  have  given  you  a  czar." 
During  the  festivals  that  followed  the  mar- 
riage, the  Poles  often,  while  in  a  state  of 
intoxication,  drew  their  swords  upon  peace- 
ful persons  in  the  streets,  and  behaved  with 
disgusting  effrontery  to  their  wives  and 
daughters.  Even  the  wives  of  the  boyards 
suffered  insults  from  them,  and,  on  some 
occasions,  were  actually  pursued  to  the 
doors  of  their  husbands. 

The  chief  conspirator,  Schuisky,  rightly 
conjectured  that    the  fitting  time  for  the 
execution  of  his  villany  had  arrived.    Secret 
meetings  were  held  at  his  house,  and  im- 
mediate   action    resolved    upon.      Agents 
were  chosen  to  go  about  among  the  people, 
and    declare    Dmitri   an    impostor    and    a 
heretic,  and  that  the  indiscriminate  massacre 
of  the  people,  to  which  we  have  alluded, 
was  to  take  place  on  the  27th  of  the  month. 
One   fellow  was    arrested   while   spreading 
these  reports;    but   his   examination   took 
place  before  some  of  the  boyards  who  were 
in  the  conspiracy,  and  they  informed  the 
czar  that  the  language  of  the  prisoner  was 
the  incoherent  raving  of  a  drunkard.     The 
unsuspecting  czar  believed  a  report  which 
corresponded   with    his    own    impressions. 
He  believed  that  his  troops  were  attached 
to  him,  and  that  he  was  perfectly  secure 
against  any  attempts  to  shake  his  power. 
Even  the  warnings  of   General  Basmanof 
and  the  Polish  officers  were  utterly  disre- 
garded by  him.     So  far  from  deeming  that 
danger  was  near,  he  seemed  to  think  him- 
self eminently  secure.      "I  hold  Moscow 
and  the  empire  in  my  hand,"  he  remarked, 
"  and  nothing  shall  be  done  in  it  but  my 
will." 

The  insurrection  began  during  the  night 
103 


of  the  28th  of  May,  only  teii  days  after  the 
ill-fated  marriage  which  had  drawn  down 
on  Dmitri  his  ruin.  At  daybreak  on  the 
following  morning  the  whole  city  was  in  a 
savage  tumult.  In  the  great  square.  Prince 
Schuisky  and  a  number  of  boyards  were 
assembled  on  horseback,  and  arrayed  in 
armour.  The  people,  still  further  inflamed 
by  the  monks  who  mingled  with  them,  were 
assembling  in  vast  numbers,  and,  with  bar- 
barous shouts  and  cries,  preparing  to  storm 
the  Kremlin.  Violence  in  this  direction 
was  needless ;  the  guards  within  had  been 
tampered  with,  and  at  a  signal  from 
Schuisky,  one  of  the  gates  was  thrown  open. 
The  armed  boyards  and  their  followers 
entered,  followed  by  countless  throngs  of 
the  people,  bearing  axes  and  clubs. 

Rebellion,  to  be  successful,  must  ever  be 
associated  with  religion.     In  this  case,  the 
Russian   prelates  were  among  its  chief  in- 
stigators.     The  crafty  Schuisky,  however, 
resolved  to  avail  himself  of  every  advantage 
that  might  be  derived  by  throwing  the  veil 
of  religion  over  a  deed  which,  in  him  at 
least,  was  selfish  and  criminal.     Proceeding 
to  the  church  of  the  Assumption,  he  leapt 
from  his  horse,  and  falling  on  his   knees 
before  an  image  of  one  of  the  saints,  appeared 
for  a  few  moments  as  if  absorbed  in  prayer. 
Then   rising   suddenly,  as  if    inspired,  he 
brandished  his  sword  with  one  hand,  while 
he  grasped  the  crucifix  with  the  other,  and 
shouted  aloud,  "  Orthodox  Christians,  death 
to  the  heretic  I"     The  shout  was  re-echoed 
by  the  people,  accompanied  by  furious  yells 
and  discordant  shouts  of  execration.      At 
the  same  time  the  great  bell  of  Moscow 
rung  out  a  solemn  note  of  alarm,  which  was 
responded  to  by  all  the  church  bells  of  the 

city. 

At   this   signal,   the  people   yet   in   the 
streets  began  to  break  into  the  houses  of 
the  Poles,  and  to  massacre  the  inhabitants 
as  they  started  from  sleep  in  alarm.     The 
czar,   who  was   aroused   by   the   sound  of 
the  bells,  inquired  the  cause  of  the  con- 
fusion.    It  happened  that  one  of  the  con- 
spirators was  on  duty  at  the  palace,   and 
he  replied  to  his  unsuspicious  master,  that 
a  great  fire  had  broken  out  in  the  city ;  and 
then  hurried  off  to  join  his  comrades.     But 
the  increasing  uproar  soon  comduced  Dmitri 
that  something  more  serious  than  a  fi-e  had 
taken  place.     Having  hastily  dressed  him- 
self, he  sent  General  Basmanof  to  ascer- 
tain the  actual  state  of  affairs.     The  latter 
beheld  the  outer  court  filled  with  an  armed 


and  furious  mob,  who  constantly  yelled  out 
"  Death   to    the    impostor !    death   to   the 
heretic  !"     Commanding  the  halberdiers  to 
stand   to   their   arras,   the   faithful   soldier 
liurried   back   to  his  prince.     He  was   fol- 
lowed by  one  audacious  conspirator  into  the 
apartmeiit  of  the  czar.     "  Well !    unlucky 
emperor,"   exclaimed    the  fellow,   "at   last 
thou   art   awake.     Come   and   give   an  ac- 
count of  thyself  to  the  people  of  Moscow." 
Basmanof  cleft   the  skull   of  the  insolent 
rufiian ;  and  then  he  and  the  czar  prepared 
to  cut  their  way   through  the  rebels  who 
were  assembled  around  the  peristyle  of  the 
palace.     Dmitri   slew   several  Avho   assailed 
him,  and  appealed  to  others  who  had  for- 
merly been  his  adherents.     Basmanof  also 
vainly  attempted  to  recall  the  conspirators 
to  a  sense  of  their  duty.     While  thus  en- 
gaged,  one  whom    he   had   recently  saved 
from  banishment  stabbed  him  to  the  heart, 
exclaiming,  as  he  did  so,  ''  Go  to  hell,  vil- 
lain, with  thy  czar." 

Dmitri  and  his  guards  were  compelled  to 
retire  into  the  interior  of  the  palace,  where 
they    barricaded    themselves    in    chamber 
after   chamber,   as    the   latter   successively 
yielded  to  the  violence  of  the  insurgents. 
When   the  last  apartment  was  forced,  and 
the  guards  compelled  to  surrender,  it  w^as 
discovered  that  the  czar  had  escaped.     The 
unfortunate  man,  hunted  like  a  wolf,  and 
seeing  the  hopelessness  of  resistance  to  the 
overwhelming   multitudes    of    his    howling 
pursuers,  laid  down  his  sword,  and  leaped 
from  the  window  of  a  room  in  a  retired 
part  of  the  palace.     It  was  thirty  feet  to 
the  ground,  and  in  the  fall  he  broke  his 
\g^.      No   one   was  near;    but   the  groans 
which  agony  elicited  from  Dmitri  brought 
some  soldiers  to  the  spot.     These  men,  who 
Avere  not  in  the  conspiracy,  on  recognising 
the  czar,  swore  that  they  w^ould  defend  him 
with   their   lives.     The  rebels   soon   found 
out  the  retreat  of  the  miserable  prince,  and 
thronged  tumultuously  to  the  spot.     They 
induced  the  guards  to  lay  down  their  arms 
by  a  threat  of  slaughtering  their  wives  and 
children  unless  they  did  so.     Dmitri  was 
then  dragged  back  into  the  palace,  which 
by  this  time  had  been  sacked  by  the  mob. 
His  captors  having  torn  off  his  royal  gar- 
ments,   insultingly   placed    upon   him    the 
dress  of  a  menial,  and  brought  him  before 
the   assembled   chief    «onspirators,    to   un- 
dergo  the   mockery   of  a   trial.     But   the 
brutal    impatience  of   these  men  defeated 
their  object,  and  shortened  the  agony  of 


their  victim.  "Bastard  dog,"  said  one  of 
their  number,  "  tell  us  who  thou  art,  and 
whence  thou  art  come?"  Collecting  his 
strength,  the  persecuted  man  replied,  "  You 
all  know  that  I  am  your  czar,  the  legitimate 
son  of  Ivan  Vassilovitch.  Ask  my  mother. 
If  you  desire  my  death,  give  me  time  at 
least  to  collect  my  senses."  On  this,  one 
of  the  numl)er,  by  rank  a  Russian  gentle- 
man, named  Valuief,  exclaimed  passionately, 
"  What  is  the  use  of  so  much  talk  with  the 
heretic  dog?  This  is  the  way  I  confess 
this  Pohsli  fifer!"  As  he  thus  spoke,  the 
traitor  shot  Dmitri  through  the  breast,  and 
laid  him  a  corpse  upon  the  floor. 

Not  satisfied  with  this  savage  act,  the 
conspirators  abandoned  the  body  to  the 
mob,  w  ho  exhibited  their  barbarous  fury  by 
hacking  it  with  axes  and  sabres.  Then 
rolling  it  down  the  palace  steps,  they  threw 
it  contemptuously  upon  that  of  his  faithful 
general  Basmanof.  "You  were  friends  in 
life,"  shouted  the  ruffians,  in  their  savage 
exultation;  "go  along  to  hell  together." 
The  frenzy  of  the  mob  was  not  yet  satisfied. 
Eventually,  they  carried  the  bodies  to  the 
place  of  execution,  and  exposed  them  upon 
a  table.  There  one  man  placed  a  set  of 
bagpipes  on  the  breast  of  the  murdered 
czar,  and  thrust  the  pipe  into  the  mouth  of 
the  corpse,  remarking,  "  You  played  upon 
us  long  enough  ;  now  play  for  us."  Other 
brutes  lashed  the  mangled  body  with  their 
whips ;  while  the  women,  in  the  exhibition 
of  a  frantic  fury,  even  went  beyond  the 
obscene  ferocity  of  the  men. 

The  murder  of  Dmitri  was  followed  by 
a  frightful  massacre  of  the  Poles,  who, 
wherever  they  were  met,  were  slaughtered 
on  the  spot.  Polish  priests,  musicians, 
domestics,  and  other  defenceless  persons, 
were  murdered  without  mercy;  but  the 
nobles  and  their  armed  adherents  barri- 
caded themselves  within  their  strong-built 
houses,  and  repelled  their  assailants  with 
volleys  of  musketry.  About  mid-day  the 
confusion  abated,  and  Prince  Schuisky  and 
the  chief  boyards  of  the  council  rode 
through  the  streets,  attended  by  a  body  of 
troops,  and  pacified  the  people.  They  also 
promised  the  Poles  that  their  lives  and  pro- 
perty should  be  respected,  provided  they 
would  remain  within  their  houses  until  the 
popular  excitement  had  subsided.  Amongst 
those  who  escaped  the  slaughter  was  she 
whose  wanton  caprices  had  partly  occa- 
sioned it.  Marina,  whose  marriage  festivi- 
ties had  terminated   so  tragicallv,  eluded 

103*^ 


X 


SCHUISKY  BECOMES  CZAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1606. 


the  fury  of  the  mob,  who  would  probably 
have  toVn  her  limb  from  limb.  When  the 
insurgents  first  burst  into  the  palace,  she 
ran,  in  her  night-dress  only,  to  hide  in  the 
cellars  Unable  to  reach  them  on  account 
of  the  mob,  who  fortunately  did  not  recog- 
nise her,  she  returned  to  her  own  apart- 
ments. There  she  was  for  a  time  concealed 
by  the  grand-mistress  of  the  palace,  be- 
neath the  wide-hooped  skirts  of  her  dress, 
while  the  door  was  defended  by  a  Polish 
chamberlain,  sabre  in  hand.  The  door  was 
at  length  shattered  by  a  volley  of  musketry, 
which  killed  the  Pole  and  one  of  the  ladies  of 
the  czarina's  suite.  The  rufTians  then  poured 
in  and  gratified  their  brutal  appetites  by 
subjecting  the  trembling  women  to  the 
most  insulting  violence.  Some  of  the  chief 
conspirators  entering  the  chamber,  drove 
out  the  savages,  and  having  detected  Ma- 
rina, placed  her  in  secure  custody. 

The  mangled  body  of  Dmitri  was  exposed 
for  three  days,  in  the  place  of  execution,  to 
the  gaze  of  the  people.  This  was  done 
that,  at  least,  no  doubt  might  exist  as  to 
his  death.  But  the  disgusting  fury  of  the 
assassins  had  defeated  their  purpose.  The 
corpse,  bruised,  mangled,  and  misshapen, 
covered  with  blood  and  dirt,  bore  but  little 
resemblance  to  humanity.  Certainly,  no 
one  could  recognise  in  that  shocking  mass 
the  handsome  young  man  who,  but  a  few 


days  before,  had  been  seen  glittering  with 
gold  and  jewels,  and  wearing  on  his  open 
brow  the  imperial  crown.    As  the  disfigured 
features  could  not  be  identified,  conjecture 
was   speedily   at   work ;    and   some  of  the 
people   suggested    that    Dmitri   had    again 
escaped,  and  that  some  one  else  had  fallen  a 
victim  by  mistake.    Some  persons  even  said 
that  the*  dead  man  had  a  beard;  while  it 
was  well  known  that  Dmitri  had  none.     On 
the  third  night  a  blue  flame  was  observed 
playing   over   the   body,    and   this   natural 
result  of  putrefaction  inspired  the   people 
with  a  feehng  of  superstitious  terror.     The 
corpse  was  therefore  buried  in  a  cemetery 
beyond   the   city   walls.      As   a   hurricane 
blew   when    Dmitri    entered    Moscow,    so 
another  followed  his  mangled  corpse  out  of 
it.    It  was  reported  that  supernatural  events 
followed  even  after  the  body  had  been  placed 
in   the    grave;    and   the   affrighted   people 
whispered    to   each    other,   that    the    dead 
Dmitri   was    a   vampire,    or   one    of    those 
wizards  who,  bv  means  of  hell- born  arts, 
can  rise  at  intervals  from  the  grave,  and 
resume   the  functions   of  life.      This   wild 
superstition  was  so  generally  believed,  that 
the  authorities  caused  the  body  to  be  ex- 
humed and  burnt.     The  ashes  were  then 
collected,  mixed  with  gunpowder,  rammed 
into  a  cannon,  and  fired   down   the   road 
leading  to  Poland. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PKINCE  SCHUISKY  IS  PROCLAIMED  CZAR ;  IT  IS  RUMOURED  THAT  DMITRI  IS  ALIVE  ;  INSURRECTION  IN  HIS 
FAVOUR  ;  SIEGE  OF  TOULA  ;  APPEARANCE  OF  A  SECOND  FALSE  DMITRI  ;  MARINA  ASSERTS  HIM  TO  BE  HER 
HUSBAND  ;  THE  KING  OF  POLAND  INVADES  RUSSIA,  AND  LAYS  SIEGE  TO  SMOLENSK  ;  SCHUISKY  IS  DEPOSED  ; 
MURDER  OF  THE  PRETENDER  DMITRI  J   AN  INTERREGNUM  ;  THE  POLES  COMPELLED  TO  ABANDON  RUSSIA. 


AVe  now  approach  a  period  of  anarchy  and 
national  danger.  Russia  was  to  pass  through 
one  of  those  fiery  ordeals  in  which  nations 
are  sometimes  extinguished  ;  while  at  others 
they  emerge  from  them  endued  with  a 
renewed  strength  and  a  better  life.  The 
overjoyed  Muscovites  neglected  to  proceed 
at  once  to  the  election  of  a  new  sovereign : 
^or  several  days  they  were  entirely  occupied 
in  celebrating  their  brutal  triumph.  The 
ambitious  Prince  Schuisky  then  directed 
his  adherents  to  proclaim  him  as  the  czar — a 
104 


result  with  which  bribes  and  intimidations 
induced  the  council  to  comply.  Imme- 
diately upon  his  assumption  of  the  regal 
authority,  Schuisky  took  an  oath  not  to 
punish  any  one  without  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  boyards ;  not  to  visit  the  offences 
of  the  fathers  on  the  children ;  and  never  to 
revenge  himself  in  any  way  on  those  who 
had  offended  him  dmring  preceding  reigns. 
Dreading  the  anger  of  the  Poles,  Schuisky 
also  sent  an  ambassador  to  Sigismund  III., 
witli  directions  to  represent  the  late  czar  as 


A.D.  1606.] 


an  impostor,  who  had  deceived  both  Poland 
and  Russia.  But  Sigismund  had  deter- 
mined to  revenge  the  recent  slaughter  of 
his  subjects  at  Moscow,  and  he  would  not 

even  permit  the  ambassador  to  approach 
him. 

By  his  irregular  assumption  of  the  crown, 
Schuisky  had  taken  both  the  Russian  people 
and  nobles  by  surprise.    He  had  never  been 
popular  with  the  latter,  who  now  felt  that 
they   had    merely   been    used   as   steps   to 
enable  him  to   ascend   the   throne.     They 
felt  that,  had  the  people  been  allowed  to 
elect  a  czar  for  themselves,  they  mij<ht  have 
competed  with  him  for  that  illustrious  posi- 
tion.    The  new  sovereign  also,  despite  the 
oath  he  had  taken,  was  unable  to  conceal 
his  dislike  to  old  opponents ;  and  he  showed 
that  he  was  ready  to  become  a  tyrant  as 
soon  as  he  could  assume  a  despotic  bearing 
with  safety.    Like  many  other  utterly  worth^ 
less  persons,  Schuisky  affected  a  great  devo- 
tion   to   orthodox    religion,    and   he   made 
large    promises    to    the   clergy,    bv   whicii 
means  he  obtained  their  support  ;*^ but  this 
did  not  balance  the  indifference,  if  not  dis- 
hke,  of  the  people,  and  the  bitter  animosity 
of  the  nobles.     The  latter  actively  dissemi- 
nated their  feelings  of  antipathy  to  the  czar, 
which  soon  became  almost  universal  through- 
out the  country  ;  and  he  who  had  been  the 
chief  of  the  late  conspiracy,  appeared  likely 
to  become  the  victim  of  a  new  one.     So 
fleeting  is  popular  favour,  so  rapid  its  re- 
actionary power  ! 

Credulity  and  ignorance  are  natural,  and 
indeed    inseparable,   companions.      In   the 
unsettled  state  of  society  which  now  existed 
in  Russia,  the  people  were  disposed  to  credit 
the   wildest   assertions,    and  tlie  nobles  to 
encourage  any  reports  which  threatened  to 
endanger  the  throne  of  the  czar,  whom  they 
hated  and  burned  to  depose.     It  might  be 
supposed  that  the  last  had  been  heard  of 
Dmitri,  and  that  the  memory  of  that  unfor- 
tunate pretender  was  scon  to  be  engulfed  in 
oblivion.      Had  he  survived   the   insurrec- 
tion, it  would  be  supposed  that  death  would 
be  the  penalty  of  his  making  himself  known. 
Such   does  not   seem   to  be  the  case;    for 
rumours  that  Dmitri  was  still  living  were 
received  with  avidity  and  satisfaction.  ''Many 
denied  that  the  mangled  body  exposed  in 
the  place  of  execution  was  that  of  the  late 
czar,  and  affirmed  it  to  be  the  corpse  of  an 
officer  who  had  been  accidentally  murdered 
instead    of  him    by   mistake.     Some   swift 
horses  were  missed  from  the  royal  stable, 

VOL.  I.  p 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [dmitri  reported  living. 

from  whence  they  had  no  doubt  been  stolen 
by  the    mob;    but   it   was   supposed   that 
Dmitri,    by   means   of  them,   had    escaped 
during    the    tumult    of    the    insurrection. 
Three    strangers    in    Russian    attire,    but 
speaking  the  Polish  language,  crossed   the 
Oka  in  a  boat ;  and  one  of  them  gave  the 
ferryman  six  ducats,  observing,  as  he  did  so, 
"  You  have  ferried  the  czar ;  when  he  comes 
back  to  Moscow  with  a  Polish  armv,  he  will 
not  forget  this  service."     Similar  language 
was  held  by  the  same  party  at  an  inn  m 
the  direction  of  Putivle.     It  was  eventually 
ascertained  that   one  of  them  was   Prince 
Shakhofskoi,  who,  upon  the  death  of  Dmitri, 
had,  in  anticipation  of  a  revolution  of  popu- 
lar feeling,  immediately  conceived  the  idea 
of  finding  a  new  impostor  to  personate  the 
dead  one— a  device  which  might,  perhaps, 
enable  the  prince  to  place  a  creature  of  his 
own  upon  the  throne. 

The  incompetent  Schuisky  held  the  sceptre 
with  so  feeble  a  grasp,  that  the  laws  were 
openly  violated,  and  confusion  prevailed 
throughout  the  empire.  The  nobles,  who 
regarded  the  new  czar  not  only  with  feel- 
ings of  anger  and  jealousy,  but  considered 
him  also  as  a  political  trickster,  pretended 
to  believe  the  rumours  concerning  Dmitri 
with  the  hope  that  they  might  yet  be  able 
to  dethrone  Schuisky,  and  set  up  some 
puppet  in  his  stead,  whom  they  would  permit 
to  reign  until  they  had  come  to  a  better  ' 


understanding  amongst  themselves. 

The  startled  czar  devised  a  plan  which, 
he  trusted,  would  at  once  silence  these  idle 
but  dangerous  reports.     He  had  the  grave 
of    the    real    Prince    Dmitri,    at    Uglitch, 
opened,   and  the   body  of  the  unfortunate 
boy  removed  to  Moscow,  and  canonised  by 
the  patriarch.     It  w^as  remarked  that  the 
corpse,  though  it  had  lain  in  the  grave  for 
fifteen  years,  was  in  a  state  of  perfect  pre- 
servation ;  that  the  hue  of  life  was  upon  it; 
and  that,  in  its  hands,  it  held  some  nuts— an 
incident   which    seemed   inconsistent    with 
the   received   details    of  the    boy's    death. 
This  circumstance  eventually  led  to  the  no 
doubt  calumnious  report,  that  Schuisky  had 
substituted   the  body  of  a  newly-murdered 
boy   for   that   of  the   decomposed   Dmitri. 
For  the  present,  however,  it  was  reported 
that  miracles  were  performed  by  the  remains 
of  the  martyred  prince ;  but  these  gross  in- 
ventions took  no  root  in  the  behef  of  the 
people,  and  were  soon  disregarded.    Another 
proceeding  of  the  czar  would  probably  have 
had  considerable  effect,  if  his  conduct  had 

105 


f--\ 


INSURRECTION  TO  RESTORE  DMITRI.]     HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1607. 


A.D.  1607.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  second  false  dmitri. 


not  been  such  as  to  destroy  his  character 
for  truth  and  honour.  He  obtained  from 
the  czarina  (the  widow  of  Ivan),  a  declara- 
tion that  the  impostor  Gregory  Otrepief, 
the  late  czar,  had  threatened  to  put  her  and 
all  her  family  to  death,  unless  she  acknow- 
ledged him  as  her  son;  so  that  she  had 
merely  supported  his  false  claims  for  the 
sake  of  saving  her  life.  She  was  not  be- 
lieved; but  it  was  assumed  that  she  acted 
under  intimidation  rather  on  this  occasion 
than  on  the  former  one. 

A    popular   belief    in    the   existence    of 
Dmitri   still   existed,   and    an   insurrection 
was   actually   got   up   in    the   cause   of    a 
phantom.     Of  this,  Prince  Shakhofskoi  was 
the  chief  mover.     He  excited  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Putivle  to  rise  in  arms;    and,  with 
the  assistance  of  a  body  of  Cossacks  and 
peasants,    successfully    resisted    the    forces 
which  Schuisky  sent  against  them.     Though 
this  success  wonderfully  increased  the  num- 
bers of  the  insurgents,  still  no  czar  Dmitri 
made  his  appearance  to  lead  them.     Not- 
withstanding    this,    one     Ivan    Bolotnikof 
arrived   from   Poland   with   a   commission, 
bearing,   he   asserted,   the  imperial  seal  of 
Dmitri,  and  conferring  on  the  bearer  the 
command   of  the   insurgent   forces.      This 
adventurer  had  been  a  serf,  who  had  suffered 
imprisonment    amongst    the    Turks,    and, 
having  escaped  from  them  to  Venice,  had 
acquired   some  military  knowledge   in  flie 
service   of  the   republic.     His   commission 
-was   recognised;    he   was   installed  in   the 
command;    and,  shortly    afterwards,   twice 
defeated  the  forces  of  the  incompetent  czar. 
But   the    non-appearance   of  the   supposed 
living   Dmitri   damped   the   ardour  of  the 
rebels,  and  many  of  them  deserted  from  the 
visionary  cause,  which  they  began  to  feel 
they  had  too  readily  embraced.     In  conse- 
quence  of  this    defection,    Bolotnikof  was 
defeated  by  Skopin   Schuisky,  the  nephew 
of  the  czar,  and  compelled  to  take  shelter 
in  the  fortress  of  Kaluga. 

Prince  Shakhofskoi  appears  to  have  been 
unable,  during  this  period,  to  meet  with 
any  unprincipled  person,  suited  by  nature 
and  education,  to  personate  the  murdered 
czar  Dmitri.  Under  these  circumstances, 
the  impostor,  who  had  taken  the  name  of 
Peter  Feodorovitch,  and  assumed  to  be  the 
son  of  the  czar  Feodor  and  his  consort 
Irene,  made  his  appearance  at  Putivle,  and 
offered  himself  to  Shakhofskoi  and  the 
people  as  regent,  during  the  absence  of  his 
uncle.  Under  other  circumstances,  the 
106 


audacious  adventurer  would  probably  have 
been  put  to  death  for  his  traitorous  and 
insolent  pretensions ;  but  as  the  rebels  were 
terribly  in  want  of  some  colouring  for  their 
conduct,  any  royal  name  was  acceptable.  The 
offer  was  received,  and  the  assumed  czare- 
vitch, Peter,  welcomed  with  acclamations. 

The   czar   Schuisky  resolved   to  make  a 
decisive  effort  to  crush  a  rebellion  which 
distracted  the  empire  and  poisoned  his  peace 
of  mind.     Collecting  an  army  of  100,000 
men,  he  took  the  field  in  person,  and  be- 
sieged the  rebel  chiefs  in  the  strongly-forti- 
fied town  of  Toula,  where  they  had  taken 
refuge.     The  rebels,  despairing  of  pardon  if 
they  were  defeated, 'fought  with  a  reckless 
fury  which  drove  their  assailants  to  a  re- 
spectful distance,  and  prevented   Schuisky 
from  being  able  to  take  the   place.     The 
czar  began  to  despair  of  success,  when  one 
day  a  priest,  named  Kravkof,  presented  him- 
self before  the  council,  and  said  he  would 
communicate   a   plan    which,    if  followed, 
would  drown  both  the  inhabitants  and  gar- 
rison of  Toula.     On  being  desired  to  explain 
himself,  he  called  their  attention  to  the  fact 
that  Toula  is  situated  in  a  valley,  and  that 
the  little  river  Cupa  ran  through  the  town. 
This  river  he  ingeniously  proposed  to  dam 
up  below  the  town ;  and  he  pledged  himself 
that,  within  a  few  hours  after  that  operation, 
it  would  be  under  w^ater.     The  scheme  was 
adopted,  and  a  bank  of  earth  raised  across 
the  stream.     The  project,  though  partially 
successful,  was  not  entirely  so.     An  inunda- 
tion which  did  much  mischief  was  produced, 
but  the  water  did  not  rise  in  the  town  to 
such  a  height  as  to  destroy  the  lives  of  the 
inhabitants.     Still   the    garrison   held   out 
manfully,  though  suffering  from  famine  and 
a  severe  epidemic.     Besiegers  and  besieged 
laboured  incessantly  at  the  dam ;  the  first  to 
maintain  it,  and  the  latter  to  break  it  down. 
The    superstitious    inhabitants   believed   it 
could  not  have  been  raised  without  the  as- 
sistance of  niagical  power,  and  they  attempted 
to  resort  to  the  same  supernatural  means  for 
its  destruction.     Wizards  and  exorcists  are, 
in  barbarous  times,  soon  found  when  they 
are  wanted ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  men 
have  actually  believed  themselves  to  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  spirit  of  concentrated  evil,  or 
to  have  power  over  him.     A  monk  of  Toula 
presented  himself  before  the  rebel  chiefs, 
and  boasted   that   he  possessed  the  power 
of  controlling  the  agents  of  darkness.     He 
made  the  somewhat  suspicious  offer  of  over- 
throwing the  infernal  schemes  of  the  enemy 


on  consideration  of  a  reward  of  a  hundred 
roubles.  His  proposal  was  accepted,  and, 
stripping  off  his  clothes,  he  plunged  into  the 
swollen  river,  and  was  lost  to  sight.  As 
some  time  passed  without  his  reappearance, 
he  was  given  up  for  dead.  After  the  lapse 
of  an  hour,  however,  he  rose  to  the  sur- 
face, with  his  body  covered  with  scratches. 
These  he  accounted  for  by  saying,  *'  I  have 
just  had  to  do  with  the  twelve  thousand 
devils  at  work  on  Schuisky's  dam.  I  have 
settled  six  thousand  of  them,  but  the  others 
are  the  worst  of  all,  and  will  not  give  in.^^ 

The  garrison  and  inhabitants  of  Toula 
still  held  bravely  out,  despite  the  inunda- 
tion, and  the  terrible  effects  of  famine, 
which  were  felt  more  severely  every  day. 
Rumours  that  Dmitri  was  coming  to  their 
assistance  with  an  army,  supported  and  sus- 
tained them  ;  but  it  is  needless  to  say,  that 
he  did  not  make  his  appearance.  Yet  such 
was  the  indomitable  spirit  of  the  Cossacks, 
that  when  Prince  Shakhofskoi,  the  principal 
conspirator,  proposed  to  capitulate,  they  in- 
dignantly thrust  him  into  a  dungeon.  At 
length,  all  the  horses,  dogs,  and  carrion  of 
the  town  were  consumed,  and  the  hour 
of  inevitable  submission  approached.  The 
town  was  surrendered  to  the  czar  on  con- 
dition of  an  amnesty  being  granted  to  the 
garrison  and  inhabitants ;  but  the  leaders  of 
the  insurrection  were  not  included  in  this 
act  of  grace.  Bolotnikof,  though  a  rebel, 
was  at  the  least  a  brave  man,  and  such  a 
one  as  a  generous  sovereign  would  have 
pardoned.  He  approached  the  czar  with 
an  undaunted  air,  and  presenting  his  sword 
with  the  edge  turned  towards  his  neck, 
said — "  I  have  kept  the  oath  I  swore  to 
him  who,  rightfully  or  wrongfully,  calls 
himself  Dmitri.  Deserted  by  him,  I  am  in 
thy  power.  Cut  off  my  head  if  thou  wilt ; 
or  if  thou  wilt  spare  my  life,  I  will  serve 
thee  as  faithfully  as  I  served  him.''  This 
manly  appeal  did  not  affect  Schuisky.  He 
sent  the  bold  rebel  to  a  distant  prison, 
where  he  was  soon  after  put  to  death. 
As  to  the  impostor  Peter  Feodorovitch, 
Schuisky  caused  him  to  be  hanged  at  once ; 
but  Shakhofskoi,  whom  he  found  in  a 
dungeon,  had  the  address  to  obtain  his 
liberty,  by  persuading  the  czar  that  he  had 
been  so  treated  iu  consequence  of  an  at- 
tempt to  induce  the  rebels  to  return  to  their 
allegiance. 

While  Schuisky  was  engaged  in  the 
attempt  to  crush  rebellion  at  Toula,  it  ap- 
peared   in   a  more   dangerous    form   else- 


where. A  new  impostor  arose  in  the  fron- 
tier town  of  Starodub,  and  boldly  pro- 
claimed himself  to  be  the  czar  Dmitri. 
The  audacity  of  the  attempt  was  remark- 
able ;  for  the  new  speculator,  in  a  game 
where  the  stakes  were  a  crown  or  the 
scaffold,  did  not  bear  any  resemblance  to 
the  unfortunate  man  whose  name  he 
assumed.  Dmitri  was  at  least  a  prince  in 
his  appearance,  manners,  and  education ; 
but  the  new  candidate  for  a  sceptre  or  a 
grave  was  a  vulgar  and  ignorant  fellow, 
whose  numerous  deficiencies  for  the  part  he 
assumed  to  play,  were  supplied  only  by  a 
daring  effrontery.  The  original  position  of 
the  man  was  a  humble  one,  though  some 
doubt  exists  as  to  its  exact  nature.  Some 
writers  aver  that  he  was  a  Russian  school- 
master; others,  that  he  was  a  Polish  Jew, 
named  Michael  Moltchanof. 

Such  was  the  unsettled  state  of  the 
country,  the  knavery  of  some  of  the  people, 
and  the  credulity  of  others,  that  the  new 
twice-murdered  Dmitri  not  onlv  obtained 
numerous  adherents,  but  was  even  received 
with  enthusiasm.  Zurucki,  a  Polish  adven- 
turer, who  had  become  a  leader  of  the 
Cossacks  of  the  Don,  and  had  won  distinc- 
tion in  the  service  of  the  first  Dmitri, 
entered  that  of  the  new  pretender,  and  im- 
pudently declared  that  he  recognised  him 
as  the  late  czar.  Miechawiecki,  another 
Pole,  who  had  held  a  distinguished  position 
in  the  court  of  the  first  Dmitri,  also  affected 
to  recognise  his  master  in  the  new  in- 
triguant. Indeed,  the  latter  was  secretly 
instructed  by  Miechawiecki  in  the  details 
connected  with  his  assumed  character. 

Dmitri — as,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
circumlocution,  we  shall  call  the  new  im- 
postor— grew  rapidly  in  popularity  and  in 
strength.  He  defeated  a  considerable  force 
sent  against  him  by  the  czar,  and  advanced 
as  far  as  the  town  of  Kozelsk,  on  the  road 
to  the  capital ;  though  he  was  compelled  to 
retire  when  Schuisky  had  made  himself 
master  of  Toula.  Still  adherents  flocked  to 
the  adventurer;  and  many  Polish  officers 
of  distinction  joined  his  standard,  together 
with  large  bodies  of  their  countrymen. 
Amongst  them  was  Prince  Adam  Wiszino- 
wiecki,  who  brought  with  him  2,000  armed 
horsemen.  This  unprincipled  noble  knew 
at  a  glance  that  the  new  pretender  was  not 
the  Dmitri  whom  he  had  been  the  first  to 
assist ;  still  he  countenanced  the  deception, 
in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  place  a  puppet 
of  his  countrymen  on  the  throne  of  Russia. 

107 


ffTRUGGLE  FOR  THE  SCEPTRE.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1608—1609. 


A.D.  1609—1610.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[fall  of  schuiskt 


Schuisky  directed  his  forces  against  his 
new  antagonist ;  and  in  the  month  of  April, 
1608,  they  were  defeated,  with  great 
slaughter,  by  those  of  the  pretender,  near 
the  banks  of  the  Volkhof.  The  routed 
forces  of  the  czar  fled  in  disorder  to  Mos- 
cow ;  and  the  capital  itself  was  in  danger  of 
falling  into  the  hands  of  Dmitri  and  his 
followers.  It  had  been  suggested,  that  the 
Polish  leaders  were  not  disposed  to  bring 
the  war  to  a  speedy  conclusion.  Whatever 
was  the  cause,  they  halted  about  twelve 
versts  from  Moscow,  at  the  village  of 
Tushino,  where  Dmitri  established  both  his 
camp  and  court.  From  this  circumstance, 
his  opponents  gave  him  the  name  of  "  the 
Robber  of  Tushino." 

We  mentioned  that  Marina,  the  young 
wife  of  the  czar  Dmitri,  had  escaped  the 
massacre  that  accompanied  the  insurrection 
to  which  her  husband  fell  a  victim.     She 
and  her  father,  the  Palatine  Sandomir,  had, 
since  that  period,  been  kept  in  confinement 
by  Schuisky,  who  now  thought  it  politic  to 
liberate  them ;  only  exacting  a  pledge  that 
they  would  not  bear  arms  against  Russia, 
or   favour   the   new   pretender.      He   then 
allowed  them  to  depart,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  a  small  escort.     It  was  intercepted 
by   a  body   of  Poles    from   Tushino,   who 
brought  to  the  disgraced   czarina  and  her 
father  a  letter  from  the  assumed  Dmitri. 
"  Come,"  said  the  document,  "  both  of  you 
to  me,  instead  of  going  into  Poland  to  hide 
yourselves    from   the  world^s    scorn."     No 
doubt  little  choice  was  left  to  the  humbled 
girl  and  her  father,  as  they  were  in  effect 
prisoners    to   the   band   who    had    crossed 
their  path ;    but  they  went  without  much 
unwillingness  to  pay  a  visit  to  "the  Rob- 
ber."    Marina,  frivolous  and  wanton,  long- 
ing for  the  pleasures  which  she  associated 
with  the  enjoyment  of  royalty,  and  burning 
for  revenge  upon  those  who  had  murdered 
her  husband  and  harled  her   from  splen- 
dour  to    desolation,    was   willing    even    to 
acknowledge   a  vulgar  impostor  to  be  her 
husband,  and  to  share  the  bed  of  one  who 
might,  perhaps,  be  able  to  replace  the  im- 
perial  diadem  upon  her  brow.     On  being 
brought  into  the  presence  of  the  man  whom 
she  was  to  acknowledge  as  the  husband  to 
whom  he  bore  no  resemblance,  the  natural 
womanly  emotions  of  Marina  made  her  re- 
coil from  so  impudent  a  deception.     What 
delicacy  she  possessed  rose  within  in  insur- 
rection against  the  abandoned  part  she  was 
playing.     It  was  a  painful  thing  at  once  to 
108 


lay  aside  her  modesty,  and  to  become, 
morally  speaking,  a  harlot,  though  the  re- 
ward for  her  offence  might  be  grandeur  and 
revenge.  But  she  had  made  her  choice;  and, 
at  a  second  interview,  she  publicly  embraced 
the  impostor  as  her  husband,  and  apolo- 
gised for  her  former  coldness,  which  she 
said  arose  only  from  a  doubt  that  what  she 
beheld  was  perhaps  but  a  delusion,  and 
that  she  could  not  at  once  believe  her  dear 
Dmitri  to  be  alive  again. 

This   recognition   of  the   adventurer   by 
Marina    greatly   assisted    his    cause.     The 
people  reasoned  that  it  was  not  possible  that 
a  wife  could  be  deceived  as  to  the  identity 
of  her  husband ;  and  as  they  were  not  dis- 
posed to  suspect  her  of  falsehood,  they  con- 
cluded that  the  present  Dmitri  was,  indeed, 
the  czar.     But   the   chief  strength   of  the 
pretender  lay  in  his  Polish  adherents,  who 
were  disliked  by  the  Russians,  and  divided 
amongst  themselves.     Such  was  the  jealous 
feeling  with  which   their   commanders  re- 
garded each  other,  that  it  became  necessary 
to   resort   to   the    dangerous   expedient   oi 
separating  them.     Dmitri  sent  Sapieha  with 
a  force,  amounting  to  30,000  men  and  sixty 
cannon,  to  reduce  the  monastery  and  for- 
tress  of  the  Trinity,  near   Moscow.     This 
place  conferred  a  considerable  moral  support 
or  sanction  to  whoever  held  it.     The  monks 
adhered  to  Schuisky ;  and  so  valuable  was 
their  aid  in  influencing  the  loyalty  of  the 
people,  that  it  was  considered  the  loss  of  the 
monastery  would  go  far  towards  promoting 
his  ruin.  , 

Sapieha  and  his  Poles  were,  notwith- 
standing their  numerical  force,  unable  to 
take  the  monastery.  Subjected  to  harassing 
attacks  from  the  surrounding  peasantry, 
they  were  at  length  defeated  in  a  sanguinary 
engagement,  and  compelled  to  retire  for 
shelter  within  the  walls  of  Dmitrof.  Skopin. 
Schuisky  and  James  de  la  Gardie,  assisted 
by  5,000  Swedish  auxiliaries,  had  taken  the 
field  for  the  czar  in  the  spring  of  1609,  and 
gained  many  successes,  by  which  the  aspect 
of  the  war  was  changed.  It  was  Skopin 
who  defeated  Sapielia;  but  the  jealousy  o* 
the  czar  induced  him  to  recall  his  brave 
relative  to  the  capital,  where,  two  months 
aftei  wards,  he  died  suddenly — a  circum- 
stance which  brought  upon  Schuisky  the 
odium  of  having  poisoned  him. 

The  Kmg  of  Poland,  though  he  had  de- 
ferred his  design  of  revenge  for  the  massacre 
of  his  subjects  at  Moscow,  had  not  abandoned 
it.     In  September,  1609,  Sigismund,  having 


declared  war,  entered  Russia  with  a  small 
army,  and  laid  siege  to  the  important  town 
of  Smolensk.  Most  of  the  Poles  who  had 
'  hitherto  followed  Dmitri,  obeyed  the  com- 
mand of  their  sovereign,  and  flocked  to  his 
standard — a  circumstance  which  reduced  the 
pretender  to  great  distress  and  danger, 
though  he  yet  held  possession  of  Kaluga, 
Toula,  and  other  places. 

Amidst  all  this  confusion  and  crash  of 
selfish  interests,  the  country  was  falling  into 
a  distracted  state.  Governed  by  a  powerless 
czar,  torn  by  an  unprincipled  and  factious 
nobility,  furrowed  by  the  tracks  of  opposing 
armies,  it  naturally  followed  that  commerce 
was  oppressed,  civilisation  driven  back,  and 
the  coherence  of  the  empire  itself  endan- 
gered. Those  calamities  also  arose  which  are 
ever  found  in  a  disordered  state.  Bands  of 
Polish  mercenaries  offered  their  services  to 
the  highest  bidder,  and  lived  upon  plunder, 
until  they  were  hired  to  slay  their  fellow- 
men  for  any  reason  whatever.  A  powerful 
and  worthless  Russian  noble,  Procope  Lia- 
punof,  also  indulged  his  appetite  for  blood 
und  plunder  at  the  expense  of  his  suffering 
country.  Having  no  valid  claim  to  put  for- 
ward, he  assumed  to  be  greatly  interested  in 
religion,  and  proclaimed  himself  the  defender 
of  the  faith :  his  pretensions  were  of  little 
importance;  but  what  he  did  was  to  carry 
on  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  ad- 
herents of  either  Schuisky  or  Dmitri.  This 
necessarily  placed  him  in  a  hostile  position 
towards  the  great  mass  of  the  people ;  and 
such  was  the  brutality  of  his  nature,  that  a 
Russian  chronicler  applied  to  him  the  re- 
mark which  had  been  in  past  times  made 
use  of  concerning  Attila :  *'  No  grass  grew 
where  his  horse's  hoof  had  trod." 

During  the  seven  years  that  the  unprin- 
cipled and  incompetent  Schuisky  occupied 
the  throne,  Russia  was  a  prey  to  desolating 
anarchy  and  civil  war.  Ill-fortune  almost 
constantly  attended  the  proceedings  of  this 
poor  shadow  of  an  imperial  ruler.  An  army 
of  nearly  60,000  men,  consisting  partly  of 
Swiss  mercenaries,  whom  he  sent  to  the 
relief  of  Smolensk,  was  disgracefully  de- 
feated at  Tushino  by  the  veteran  Polish 
general  Zolkiewski,  at  the  head  of  a  very 
small  army  of  his  countrymen. 

Smolensk  surrendered  to  Sigismund :  the 
power  of  the  czar  Schuisky  had  been  anni- 
hilated by  the  Poles,  who,  led  by  Zolkiewski, 
directed  their  march  upon  the  capital,  where 
the  people  were  in  a  state  of  insurrection. 
The  fortunes  of  the  pretended  Dmitri  were 


thus  again  raised  from  the  dust,  for  the 
Poles  advocated  his  cause,  and  claimed  for 
him  the  Russian  sceptre.  The  citizens  of 
Moscow,  finding  the  Polish  army  thundering 
at  their  gates,  were  thrown  into  a  state  of 
consternation.  In  this  position  they  resorted 
to  cunning,  and  rested  their  hope  of  escape 
from  destruction  in  an  attempt  to  create 
division  between  Dmitri  and  the  Poles. 
They  accordingly  opened  their  gates  to  the 
latter;  and,  delivering  their  czar  Schuisky 
and  his  two  brothers  to  Zolkiewski,  professed 
their  willingness  to  place  Uladislas,  or  Ladis- 
las,  the  son  of  Sigismund,  the  Polish  king, 
upon  the  throne  of  Russia.  The  offer  was 
accepted,  and  the  prince  proclaimed.  The 
deposed  Schuisky,  fearing  that  assassination 
might  follow  on  his  fall  from  power,  obtained 
permission  to  retire  into  a  monastery.  The 
Poles,  however,  did  not  long  leave  him  even 
in  this  obscure  retreat.  As  a  punishment 
for  the  indignities  he  had  heaped  upon  the 
husband  of  Marina,  they  threw  him  into  a 
prison,  where  he  lingered  out  the  remainder 
of  his  worthless  life. 

The  pretended  Dmitri  was  scarcely  more 
fortunate.  The  Poles  abandoned  his  cause 
when  Uladislas  was  proclaimed  czar  of 
Russia,  and  the  adventurer  then  became 
little  better  than  a  robber  and  a  public 
pest.  Having  lost  all  hope  of  ascending 
the  throne  of  Moscow,  he  kept  up  his 
camp  at  Kaluga,  surrounded  by  ferocious 
gangs  of  Cossacks  and  Tartars,  who  ob- 
tained their  support  by  plundering  the 
neighbouring  country.  At  length  he  was 
murdered  by  a  Tartar  chieftain,  in  revenge 
for  having  taken  the  life  of  one  of  the 
countrymen  of  the  latter.  Shortly  after 
the  death  of  the  impostor,  Marina  became 
the  mother  of  a  son,  to  whom  the  followers 
of  the  late  Dmitri  swore  allegiance.  That 
poor  infant,  however,  was  not  to  become  a 
brand  of  discord  in  the  country  of  its  birth ; 
its  little  life  was  soon  to  be  tragically  ex- 
tinguished. 

After  the  deposition  of  Schuisky,  Russia 
had,  in  fact,  no  ruler,  and  an  interregnum 
existed.  Pretenders  arose  almost  daily, 
and  disappeared  with  as  much  rapidity ; 
the  Russian  nobles  abandoned  themselves 
to  the  most  grasping  avarice;  universal 
disorder  prevailed ;  and  the  empire  was 
swayed  by  an  incessant  fluctuation  of 
names  and  authorities.  Not  only  Poland, 
but  Sweden,  also,  aimed  at  becoming  mas- 
ters of  this  immense  territory.  The  son  of 
the  Polish  sovereign  had  been  proclaimed, 

109 


!  ^ 


INTERREGNUM.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1612. 


A.D  1612.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  ROMANOFFS. 


f«! 


and  even  invited  to  Moscow  to  assume  the 
imperial  dignity.  But  here  a  difficulty 
arose :  a  condition  had  been  made,  that 
before  Uladislas  could  ascend  the  Russian 
throne,  he  should  adopt  the  Greek  form  of 
Christianity.  Sigismund,  though  he  had 
agreed  to  this  condition,  was  not  disposed 
to  fulfil  it.  He  first  hesitated,  and  then 
refused.  His  motives  might  have  been  con- 
scientious ones ;  but  it  is  said  that  he  re- 
pented having  nominated  his  son  to  the 
sovereignty  of  Russia,  instead  of  having 
secured  the  crown  of  the  northern  empire 
for  himself.  Whatever  was  the  cause,  his 
vacillation  was  fatal  to  his  ambition.  Zol- 
kiewski,  incensed  at  the  conduct  of  his 
master,  and  still  more  so  that  he  could  not 
obtain  money  for  the  payment  of  his  troops, 
returned  in  disgust  to  Poland,  leaving  his 
countrymen  in  Moscow  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  leader  of  little  or  no  military 
talent. 

The  people  of  Moscow  now  began  to  re- 
flect  upon   their   conduct   in   reference  to 
recent   events.      They  saw  that   their   na- 
tionality was  at  stake :  a  revulsion  of  feel- 
ing took  place ;  and  a  sense  of  something 
approaching  to  patriotism  sprung  up  amongst 
them.     Was  Russia  to  remain  a  powerful 
empire,    or   become    a   dependency   of   the 
comparatively   little   kingdom    of   Poland? 
No  less  a  question  was  now  to  be  decided. 
Moreover,  its  religion  was  at  stake ;  for  the 
Russians  soon  began  to  perceive,  that  after 
the  election  of  a  catholic  czar,  there  was  no 
security  for  the  Greek  religion.     This  re- 
flection   decided    the    clergy;    who,    as    if 
roused    from   a   strange   slumber,   devoted 
themselves  with  untiring  energy  to  arousing 
the  national  feelings  of  the  people.     At  the 
call    of    the    patriarch    Hermogenes,   they 
armed    themselves   arid    rose    in    hostility 
against   the   Polish   garrisons.      A   furious 
contest  followed,  and  great  slaughter  took 
place  on  both  sides.     After  burning  down  a 
considerable  part  of  Moscow,  the  Poles  took 
refuge   within   the    Kremlin.      There,    en- 
compassed by  the  walls  of  this  old  heart  of 
the   empire,   which    the   Russians   deemed 
polluted    by   the   presence   of    foreign   in- 
truders, the  Poles  were  besieged  by  three 
armies   from   the    Russian   provinces.      Of 
these,  the  only  really  formidable  one  was 
that  led  by  Procope  Liapunof — the  turbu- 
lent noble  who  had  hitherto  plundered  and 
slaughtered  both  Poles  and  Russians  alikcj 
110 


in  the  name  of  religion,  of  which  he  as- 
sumed himself  to  be  the  defender.  But 
this  human  nuisance  was  assassinated, 
and  his  disheartened  followers  dispersed. 
Still  the  siege  of  the  Kremlin  was  main- 
tained, though  the  country  generally  seemed 
abandoned  to  irretrievable  confusion,  and 
almost  inevitable  partition.  Kasan  and 
Viatka  proclaimed  the  infant  son  of  Marina 
as  their  sovereign ;  the  citizens  of  Nov- 
gorod, out  of  hatred  to  the  Poles,  offered 
the  crown  to  Charles  Philip,  the  second  son 
of  the  reigning  king  of  Sweden ;  while  at 
Plcskof,  another  impostor  arose,  and  calling 
himself  Dmitri,  claimed  the  Russian  sceptre: 
the  knavery  of  this  fellow,  however,  soon 
became  apparent :  he  was  identified  as  a 
fugitive  monk:  and  after  adding  for  a 
while  to  the  distraction  of  his  country, 
met  the  fate  he  deserved,  and  was  hanged. 

But  in  the  career  of  nations,  as  in  that  of 
men,  the  hour  of  the  blackest  darkness  is 
commonly   followed    by   that   of  the    gray 
streaks  of  dawn;  the  time  of  the  severest 
danger  and  most  painful  trial,  by  one  of  at 
least  tranquillity  and  repose.     Thus,  when 
the   fate   of  the   empire   seemed    doomed, 
there  arose  a  man  of  the  people,  w^ho,  in- 
fluenced by  a  powerful  sense  of  patriotism, 
succeeded  in  reviving  the  drooping  energies 
of  his  countrymen,  aroused  their  nationality, 
and   induced    them   to  unite  their  efforts. 
Once    again    the  cry  rang  throughout  the 
land,  of  '^  Russia  for  the  Russians.^'     This 
man,  Kozma  Miuin,  was  merely  a  butcher ; 
but  his  unselfish  energy  obtained  him  so 
much  popularity,  that   he  was  called  "the 
Elect  of  the  whole  Russian  empire.''  Through 
his  exertions,  a  Russian  army,  under  Prince 
Pojarski,  took  the  field,  dislodged  the  Poles 
from  the  Kremlin,  and,  after  a  severe  strug- 
gle, forced   them  to  abandon  the  empire. 
The  Polish  monarch  now  saw  the  mistake 
he  had  made,  and  was  willing  that  his  son 
should  adopt  the  Greek  faith,  so  that  he 
might  rule  the  great  empire  of  the  north. 
It  w^as    too  late ;    the  Russians  were   now 
thoroughly  aroused,  and   they  treated   his 
offers  to  that  effect  with  disdain.      Sigis- 
mund would  have  renewed  the  conflict,  and 
endeavoured  to  force  the  Russians  to  sub- 
mit  to  his  wishes ;    but  his  own   subjects 
were  not  disposed  to  enter  into  another  war, 
and  he  was  very  unwillingly  forced  to  sub- 
mit, at  least  for  a  time,  to  a  state  of  things 
which  he  could  not  avert. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ASSEMBLY  OF  DEPUTIES  TO  ELECT  A  NEW"  CZAR ;  THE  ROMANOFF  FAMILY ;  MICHAEL  ROMANOFF  ELECTED  AS 
CZAR  ;  AN  OATH  LIMITING  HIS  AUTHORITY  IS  REQUIRED  FROM  HIM  ;  THE  SETTLING  DOWN  OF  THE  ELE- 
MENTS OF  DISCORD ;  UNSUCCESSFUL  WARS  WITH  SWEDEN  AND  POLAND  ;  MICHAEL  CONFERS  THE  DIGNITY 
OF  PATRIARCH  UPON  HIS  FATHER,  AND  SHARES  THE  GOVERNMENT  WITH  HIM  ;  CHARACTER  AND  DEATH 
OF  MICHAEL. 


The  seven  years  of  discord  which  had  pre- 
vailed in  Russia  were  drawing  to  a  close. 
The  expulsion  of  the  Poles  left  the  nation  at 
liberty  to  proceed  as  it  pleased  with  respect 
to  the  formation  of  a  government.  Anarchy, 
and  the  misery  which  ever  attends  it,  had 
exerted  a  purifying  influence  upon  the 
nobles  and  people ;  and  the  emotion  of 
patriotism  obtained  that  sway  over  them 
which  it  commonly  has  over  all  civilised 
states.  It  has  been  observed,  that  the  Rus- 
sians "  felt  that  the  last  spring  of  hope  was 
within  themselves.  That  it  was  worse  than 
fruitless  to  place  any  trust  in  the  protec- 
tion and  fosterage  of  neighbouring  states, 
who  only  made  their  necessities  an  excuse 
for  preying  upon  the  last  fragments  of 
their  means;  and  that  security  for  life  or 
property  could  not  be  obtained  through 
an^  other  measure  than  the  establish- 
ment of  the  sovereignty  in  the  person  of 
some  man  who  should  combine  the  qualities 
of  the  statesman  with  that  loftiness  of  cha- 
racter which  should  elevate  him  above  the 
reach  of  faction.'' 

Rulers  of  this  kind  are  at  all  times  de- 
sirable ;  but  they  are  not  commonly  to  be 
found.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  vicious 
nobility  of  Russia  could  furnish  one.  But 
the  attempt  must  be  made;  and  in  the 
month  of  November,  1612,  the  boyards  of 
the  council  summoned  the  inhabitants  of 
every  town  throughout  the  empire  imme- 
diately to  send  deputies  to  Moscow,  to  meet 
in  national  council,  and  proceed  to  the  elec- 
tion of  a  new  czar.  To  render  the  occasion 
the  more  solemn,  and  also  with  the  object  of 
obtaining  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon  it,  a 
national  fast  of  three  days  was  proclaimed, 
and  most  rigorously  observed. 

The  election  took  place  during  Lent,  in 
the  year  1613;  but  the  new  czar  had  pre- 
viously been  chosen.  Two  of  the  ancient 
princes  of  Russia  declined  to  put  forward 
any  claim  for  a  crown,  the  possession  of 
which  would  probably  expose  them  to  the 
iealous  animosity  of  their  peers.    Few  others 


were  able  to  obtain  the  confidence  of  the 
people ;  while  it  was  useless  for  any  candi- 
date to  start  from  the  ranks  of  the  latter,  as 
the  nobility  would  have  instantly  combined 
to  dethrone  him,  on  account  of  the  humility 
of  his  origin.  After  much  debate  and  hesi- 
tation, the  name  of  Michael  Romanoff  was 
generally  pronounced  as  the  person  to 
whom  the  destinies  of  his  country  were  to 
be  entrusted. 

This  Romanoff  was  a  youth  only,  in  his 
seventeenth  year;  and  the  election  by  the 
people  of  such  a  person  did  not,  as  Voltaire 
has  observed,  seem  to  be  the  surest  way  of 
putting  an  end  to  their  troubles.  His  fitness 
for  the  distinguished  position  of  ruler  of  the 
Russian  empire  was  somewhat  of  a  negative 
character,  and  consisted  largely  of  his  not 
being  obnoxious  to  the  nobility,  and  less 
likely,  therefore,  to  excite  their  jealousy. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remarked,  that 
he  came  of  a  family  which  enjoyed  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people,  and  of  a  father  who 
was  generally  esteemed  by  them.  On  the 
female  side  the  Romanoffs  were  distantly 
related  to  the  extinct  dynasty  of  Ruric. 
Michael  was  himself  too  young  to  have  any 
strongly-marked  character,  or  to  be  at  all 
known  to  the  people;  but  great  reliance 
was  placed  on  his  father  Philaretes,  who  had 
inflexibly  asserted  the  independence  of  the 
empire  under  the  least  hopeful  aspects. 
One  circumstance  might  have  militated 
against  the  general  feeling  in  favour  of  the 
young  Michael.  The  family  was  not  of  a 
Russian  stock.  Its  founder  is  said  to  have 
been  an  obscure  Prussian,  who  settled  in 
Russia  about  1350;  but,  for  two  centuries 
and  a-half,  all  who  bore  the  name  had  been 
distinguished  for  public  virtue,  national 
zeal,  and  brilliant  achievements.  At  the 
time  of  the  election,  Philaretes  was  a  captive 
in  Poland ;  for  he  was  one  of  several  ambas- 
sadors whom  Sigismund,  regardless  of  the 
generous  fiction  which  deems  the  persons 
of  such  officers  to  be  sacred,  had  carried 
away  with  him  when  he  abandoned  Russia. 

Ill 


MICHAET.  ELECTED  CZAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


AD.  1613. 


X.D.  1616—1620.] 


"Hfi 


Though  Philaretes  contrived  to  communi- 
cate with  the  council  of  the  boyards,  and 
use  his  influence  in  the  election,  it  is  said 
that  he  had  no  idea  the  imperial  honour 
would  be  conferred  upon  his  son. 

The  day  of  election  came,  and  the  choice 
fell  upon  Michael  Romanoff.  His  name 
was  received  with  acclamation,  and  he  was 
chosen  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  as- 
sembly. Certain  conditions  considered 
requisite  were  fulfilled  in  him.  "There 
were  but  three  surviving  members  in  his 
family,''  says  Strahlenberg ;  "  he  had  not 
been  implicated  in  the  preceding  troubles ; 
his  father  was  an  ecclesiastic,  and  in  conse- 
quence, naturally  more  disposed  to  secure 
peace  and  union,  than  to  mix  himself  up  in 
turbulent  projects.'' 

Michael  Romanoff  was  unwilling  to  ac- 
cept the  crown ;  he  remembered  the  fate  of 
Boris,  Dmitri,  and  Schuisky,  and  declined 
the  offered  dignity.  He  had  lived  in  strict 
retirement  with  his  mother;  and  that  lady, 
on  the  arrival  of  the  deputies,  entreated 
them,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  to  spare  her 
son  the  intended  distinction.  Decisions  of 
this  kind  are,  however,  seldom  persevered 
in ;  and  upon  the  repetition  of  the  offer,  it 
was  accepted.  While  the  power  was  yet  in 
the  hands  of  the  people,  they  wisely  re- 
solved to  obtain  some  recognition  from  the 
newly-elected  czar,  of  the  duties  as  well  as 
of  the  right  of  his  exalted  position — some 
guarantee,  or  at  least  solemn  promise,  that 
lie  would  not  abuse  the  sacred  trust  reposed 
in  him.  With  this  object,  they  proposed  to 
him  the  following  oath,  which,  as  it  placed 
a  rational  limitation  on  the  hitherto  abso- 
lute power  of  the  czar,  would,  if  rigidly  ob- 
served, have  transformed  the  government 
from  a  despotism  to  something  resembling 
what  in  England  we  call  a  constitutional 
government.  The  oath  which  was  proposed 
to,  and  accepted  by  Michael,  ran  thus  : — 
"  That  he  would  protect  religion ;  that  he 
would  pardon  and  forget  all  that  had  been 
done  to  his  father ;  that  he  would  make  no 
new  laws,  nor  alter  the  old,  unless  circum- 
stances imperatively  required  it;  and  that, 
in  important  causes,  he  would  decide  nothing 
by  himself,  but  that  the  existing  laws,  and 
the  usual  forms  of  trial,  should  remain  in 
force  ;  that  he  would  not  at  his  own  pleasure 
make  either  war  or  peace  with  his  neigh- 
bours; and  that,  to  avoid  all  suits  with 
individuals,  he  would  resign  his  estates  to 
his  family,  or  incorporate  them  with  the 
crown  domains." 
112 


The  throne  which  the  young  czar  ascended 
had  been  stripped  of  much  of  its  power  and 
magnificence.  A  Russian  writer  thus  de- 
scribes the  internal  condition  of  his  country 
at  this  period  : — "  Bands  of  Cossacks,  from 
the  Don  and  the  Zaporogues,  and  whole 
divisions  of  Poles  and  Tartars,  ravaged  the 
villages  and  the  convents  that  were  still 
entire,  where  there  were  hopes  of  finding 
booty.  The  country  was  wasted,  soldiers 
were  dying  of  hunger,  the  land-tax  was  no 
longer  collected,  and  not  a  kopeck  was  in 
the  treasury.  The  state  jewels,  crowns  of 
great  price,  sceptres,  precious  stones,  vases — 
all  had  been  plundered  and  carried  into 
Poland.  The  young  prince  was  surrounded 
by  persons  belonging  to  twenty  different 
factions.  There  were  to  be  found  the  friends 
of  Godunof,  the  defenders  of  Schuisky,  the 
companions  of  Uladislas,  and  even  partisans 
of  the  brigand  of  Tushino ;  in  a  word,  men 
professing  the  most  various  opinions  and 
aims,  but  all  equally  ambitious,  and  in- 
capable of  yielding  the  smallest  point  as 
regarded  precedence.  The  lower  class,  irri- 
tated by  ten  years  of  misery,  were  become 
habituated  to  anarchy ;  and  it  was  not  with- 
out difficulty,  and  resistance  on  their  part, 
that  thev  were  reduced  to  obedience." 

Notwithstanding  these  deplorable  and 
trying  circumstances,  the  young  czar  was 
successful  in  restoring  tranquillity  to  the 
country ;  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  cor- 
rect to  say,  that  his  election  having  silenced 
all  other  claims,  tranquillity  naturally  suc- 
ceeded to  a  state  which  bordered  upon 
exhaustion.  Michael  himself  was  not,  even 
in  mature  life,  the  sort  of  man  to  rule  the 
storm,  and  awe  the  turbulent  into  sub- 
mission. 

Michael  Romanoff  had  soon  to  contend 
against  a  formidable  foreign  foe.  This  was 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  young  king  of 
Sweden,  who  afterwards,  by  his  holy  struggle 
of  thirty  years  in  favour  of  religious  liberty, 
obtained  the  honourable  title  of  "  the  Lion 
of  the  North,  and  the  Bulwark  of  the  Pro- 
testant Faith."  Gustavus  was  one  of  the 
most  just  and  honourable  men  that  ever 
wore  a  crown ;  and  his  proceeding  against 
Russia  did  not  arise  from  any  attempt  to 
profit  by  its  misfortunes.  The  war  arose 
chiefly  from  the  dishonesty  of  the  Russians, 
who  refused  to  repay  to  Sweden  a  sum  of 
money  advanced  to  her  in  a  period  of  dis- 
tress. Gustavus  was  greatly  offended  at 
this  dishonesty;  and  leading  a  powerful 
army  across  the  Russian  frontier,  he  took 


possession  of  the  province  of  Ingria.     This 
success  was  followed  by  others,  remarkable 
alike  for  their  rapidity  and  brilliancy.    They 
brought  Gustavus,  however,  httle  else  than 
reputation;    and   in   the  year   1617,  peace 
was  restored  between  Sweden  and  Russia. 
The  latter  country  purchased  the  cessation 
of  hostilities   at   a   heavy  price.      She  was 
compelled  to  submit  to  the  cession  of  Ingria 
and  Karelia,   and    once   again   to  give   up 
Esthonia  and  Livonia.     Though  dishonesty 
oftener   succeeds    with    nations    than  with 
individuals,  it  sometimes,  as  in  the  present 
case,  meets  with  the  punishment  it  deserves. 
The  year  before  peace  was  concluded  with 
Sweden,  the  frivolous  and  unhappy  Marina, 
the  widow  of  the  two  Dmitris,  closed  her 
chequered  and  restless  career.     Influenced, 
probably  more  by  a  mother's  affection  than 
by  personal  ambition,  she  contrived  to  get 
up  an  insurrection  in  favour  of  her  infant 
child,  the  son  of  the  "  Robber  of  Tushino," 
whom  she  announced  to  be  the  true  heir  to 
the  throne.     Schemes  of  this  kind  had  had 
their  day  ;  they  were  now  almost  worthless, 
for  popular  credulity  no  longer  ran  in  the 
direction  of  resuscitating  murdered  princes, 
or  finding  new  and  suspicious  claimants  to 
the  throne.     The  people  did  not  second  the 
mad   attempt,    and   the   chief   conspirators 
were  seized.    No  mercy  was  shown  to  them. 
Zurucki,  the  leader  of  the  insurrection,  was 
impaled ;  Marina  thrown  into  a  prison,  where 
she  was  eventually  murdered ;  and  her  child, 
the  poor  infant,   who  was  but  three  years 
old,  hanged  or  strangled  !     Such  a  circum- 
stance is  painful  and  revolting;  but  it  must 
be  recollected  that  we  are    speaking  of  a 
semi-barbarous  people,  in  an  age  altogether 
barbarous. 

Sigismund,  the  king  of  Poland,  was  un- 
able long  to  acquiesce  in  the  recent  decision 
of  the  nobles  and  people  of  Russia;  and  he 
still  cast  longing  glances  towards  the  throne 
he  had  lost  by  his  irresolution  and  equivocal 
conduct.  He  therefore,  in  1617,  sent  his 
son.  Prince  Uladislas,  across  the  Russian 
frontiers  with  an  army.  The  latter  pene- 
trated even  to  the  walls  of  Moscow,  but  ob- 
tained no  satisfactory  results.  In  fact,  the 
struggle  was  soon  discovered  to  be  profitless 
and  exhausting  to  both  sides;  and,  after 
many  Poles  and  Russians  had  perished  by 
the  sword,  and  more  by  the  severity  of  the 
weather,  an  armistice  was  entered  into  on 
the  1st  of  December,  1618.  It  was  to  last 
for  fourteen  years,  and  was  accepted  by 
each  nation  as  a  present  necessity,  which 

VOL.  I.  Q  * 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [philaretes  made  patrl^rch. 

they  intended  to  disregard  as  soon  as  they 
had  the  power  to  do  so  without  involving 
too  heavy  a  sacrifice.  In  this  instance,  also, 
Russia  purchased  peace  at  the  price  of  ter- 
ritory; for  she  abandoned  Smolensk  and 
several  other  towns  to  the  enemy,  not,  how- 
ever, without  a  secret  intention  of  getting 
them  back  again  on  the  first  favourable  op- 
portunity. 

On  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Poland, 
Philaretes,   the   father   of  the   young  czar 
Michael,   was  restored  to  liberty,  and   re- 
turned to  his  native  land.     He  arrived  at 
Moscow  in  June,  1619,  and  was  immediately 
raised  by  his  son  to  the  oflace  of  patriarch, 
which  had  been  vacant  for  several  years. 
The  affection  of  the  czar  even  led  him  to 
associate  his  father  with  him  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  divide  with  the  venerable  pontiff 
the  dignity  of  the  sceptre.     Henceforth  his 
ukases,   or  imperial  edicts,  were  headed — 
"  Michael  Feodorovitch,  sovereign,  czar,  and 
grand  prince   of  all   the   Russias,   and   his 
father   Philaretes,   mighty  lord,    and   most 
holy  patriarch  of  all  the  Russias,  &c."    Such, 
indeed,  was  the  influence  of  the  father,  that 
he   sometimes    issued    ukases   in   his   own 
name  alone;    and  the   power  he  exercised 
was  more  absolute  than  that   of  his   son. 
At  solemn  audiences  he  sat  on  the  right- 
hand  of  the  czar,  and  all  foreign  ambassa- 
dors were  specially  presented  to  him.     He 
held  his  own  court,  and  raised  the  patri- 
archate  to   such   a   height   of    power   and 
splendour,  as  to  cause  it,  in  after-times,  to 
excite  the  jealousy  of  Peter  the  Great,  who 
consequently  abolished  it.    Fortunately,  the 
vast  influence  of  Philaretes  was  exercised 
for   good;    and   to   him  is   attributed   the 
endurance   of  the   tranquillity  which   pre- 
vailed  during  the   reign   of  his  son.     He 
appears,  indeed,  to  have  been  a  very  esti- 
mable character;  and  he  revived  that  feeble 
civilisation  which  discord  had  almost  extir- 
pated from  the  land.     Among  many  other 
useful  labours,  he  re-established  a  printing- 
press  at  Moscow,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  many  copies  of  the  Liturgy  issued 
from  it. 

The  czar  himself  appears  to  have  had 
neither  a  large  amount  of  mind  or  prin- 
ciple. It  was  dishonesty  which  brought 
upon  him  a  chastisement  from  Sweden; 
and  he  now  resorted  to  some  equivocal  con- 
duct towards  Poland.  The  amnesty  with 
that  nation  was  approaching  a  termination, 
and  Michael  busied  himself  in  collecting 
a  powerful   army,   that    he    might  imme- 

113 


Vi 


\ 


REIGN  OF  MICHAEL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1620—1645. 


4. p.  1645.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[alexis  becomes  czar. 


!     f. 


r  :^' 


1 1 


diately,  upon  its  expiration,  reconquer  the 
provinces  he  had  been  compelled  to  cede  to 
Sigismund.  That  monarch  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Uladislas ;  and  Michael, 
taking  advantage  of  the  disorders  attending 
the  installati(m  of  the  new  sovereign,  com- 
menced hostilities  even  before  the  close  of 
the  armistice,  on  the  pettifogging  pretext 
that  he  had  entered  into  it  with  Sigismund, 
and  not  with  his  successor.  This  vile 
quibble,  unworthy  of  a  monarch  of  any 
position,  again  brought  punishment  and 
disgrace  upon  its  inventor. 

Uladislas,  though  surrounded  by  difTicul- 
ties,    and    at    a   loss    both   for   money  and 
troops,  was  an  able  soldier,  and  the  idol  of 
his  peo))le.     Seconded  by  the  declared  wish 
of  his  council,  he  took  the  field  against  the 
Russians,  who,  after  several  destructive  in- 
cursions into  his  territories,  were  engaged 
in  the  military  investment  of  Smolensk,  pre- 
paratory to  laying  siege  to  it.     Tin;  Russian 
army  of  50,00b  men  was  under  the  command 
of  a  general  named  Michael  Sekin,  who  had 
earned  a  reputation  in  the  field  for  prompt- 
ness, activity  and  courage.     These  qualities 
seemed   at    length   to   have   deserted    him. 
Having  remained  in  complete  inaction  for 
two  whole  years,  encamped  within  sight  of 
Smolensk,  he  fled   before   the  far   inferior 
force  of  Uladislas.     Sekin  took  refuge  in  an 
intrenched  camp  Avithin  the  depths  of  the 
neighbouring    forests ;    but    there   he   was 
pursued  by  the  Polish  king.     The  Russians 
resisted  their  assailants  for  five  months,  and 
trusted  to  the  extreme  severity  of  the  Avinter 
to  rid  them  of  the  Poles.     The  ranks  of  the 
latter  were  rapidly  thinned  by  the  bitterness 
of  the  weather.    The  soldiers,  however,  were 
nerved  to   endurance  by  the  heroism  and 
self-denial  of  their  king,  who  took  up  his 
abode  in  a  wretched  hut,  and  submitted  to 
the  same  privations  as  those  endured  by  the 
meanest  of  his  followers.     Sekin  at  length, 
not  daring  to  encounter  his  hardy  enemies, 
submitted  ;  and   surrendering  his  camp  to 
Uladislas,  purchased  safety  by  entering  into 
an  engagement  not  to  take  any  further  part 
in  the  war.     For  this  unsoldierly  behaviour, 
Sekin  and  several  of  his  officers  were  brought 
to  account,  and  suffered  the  punishment  of 
decapitation. 

The  beheading  of  a  few  unsuccessful  or 
timid  soldiers,  did  not  bring  Russia  any 
nearer  to  a  triumph  over  her  foes.  The 
Poles  proceeded  in  their  energetic  course, 
and  took  possession  of  many  places,  of 
which  Viazma  was  the  most  cousiderable. 
114 


The  czar  Michael  was  alarmed ;  for  he 
feared  a  decent  upon  Moscow,  and  the 
probable  loss  of  his  capital,  and  perhaps  of 
liis  throne.  He  therefore  resolved  to  shuffle 
out  of  this  war,  into  which  he  had  been  so 
dishonestly  eager  to  enter.  He  had  suffi- 
cient cause;  for  the  Russian  troops  were 
not  a  match  for  those  of  Poland,  of  whom 
they  stood  in  awe  :  consequently,  all  the 
victory  was  upon  one  side,  and  the  suffer- 
ance upon  the  other — a  distribution  of 
matters  extremely  unsatisfactory  to  the 
weaker  party.  So  Michael  sued  to  Ula- 
dislas for  peace,  which  the  latter  only 
granted  at  the  price  of  the  cession  of  a 
large  extent  of  territory.  The  Polish  mon- 
arch was,  on  his  part,  to  renounce  all 
claims  upon  the  throne  of  Russia,  and  to 
return  tlie  diploma  of  election  which  had 
been  sent  to  him :  but  as  he  thought  the 
latter  might,  some  time  or  other,  be  useful, 
he  pretended  it  was  lost,  and  the  Russians 
were  obliged  to  close  the  treaty  without  re- 
ceiving it. 

.Michael  had  a  long  reign,  extending  over 
a  period   of  thirty-two    years ;    but   it   was 
neither  eventful  nor  illustrious.     Historians 
have    pronounced  it   as  *'  distinguished  by 
moderation."     It  would  have  been  better  to 
have  said  characterised  by  moderation  ;  for 
it  was  not  distinguished  in  any  sense,  ex- 
cept in  the    altogether    accidental    circum- 
stance, that  Michael  was   the  founder  of  a 
new  dvnastv.    The  first  czar  of  the  Romanoff 
line  was  a  feeble,  tepid,  no-character  sort  of 
man;  Hpparentlycomposed,as  one  of  our  poets 
very  ungallantly  said  of  the  opposite  sex,  of 
"  matter  too  soft  a  lasting  mark  to  bear." 
In  the  early  part  of  his   reign,  he  rushed 
into  quarrels  without   any  regard  for  their 
justice  or  injustice ;   but  he  afterwards  got 
very  much  more  prudent,  and  warily  avoided 
entering  upon  wars  wliicli  he  was  incapable 
of  conducting.      At  all  times   he  had   the 
negative  merit  of  being  able  to  see  his  own 
mistakes,  and   to   retreat  from  the    conse- 
quences    before     the     latter     became    too 
serious.     Yet  such  an  insipid  ruler  as  this 
was  an  advantage  to  the  country.     Russia 
wanted   peace  and  leisure  to  recover  from 
the  terrible  ravages  to  which  she  had  been 
subjected.       The    empire     enjoyed     peace 
under  a  czar  who  was   unable  to  conduct 
war ;    for    it    fortunately     happened     that 
neighbouring   nations  were    too    much  en- 
gaged with  their  own  affairs,  to   think  of 
aggressions.    The  length  of  Michael's  reign, 
also,  gave  the  count^-y  that  leisure  which 


was  necessary  for  the  restoration  of  order, 
security,  and  an  approach  to  the  proper  ad- 
ministration of  justice.  Russia  re«:ained 
strength  during  the  passive  reign  of  Michael ; 
and  he  obtained  the  credit  of  a  change  due 
only  to  the  undisturbed  action  of  n  atural  laws. 
It  has  been  well  observed,  that  "  his  reign 
was  the  term  of  convalescence ;  that  which 
followed  was  the  development  of  restored 


strength."  True;  but  Michael  was  like  the 
wily  physician  who,  observing  the  restoring 
influence  of  nature  upon  his  almost  ex- 
hausted patient,  takes  credit  for  the  cure  lie 
was  unable  to  accomphsh.  Michael  expired 
on  the  12th  of  July,  1645,  and  left  the 
throne  to  his  son,  Alexis  Michaelowitz,  by 
his  second  consort  Eudokia  Lukianownk 
Streshnew. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ALEXIS  BECOMES  CZAR ;  COUNCIL  OF  HEGENCY  ;  ITS  AVARICE  AND  EXTORTIONS  ;  INSURRECTION  IN  CONSE- 
QUENCE ;  A  NEW  PRETENDER  TO  THE  THRONE  ;  THE  COSSACKS  OF  THE  UKRAINE  ;  COSSACK  INSURRECTION 
UNDER  BOGDAN  CHMIELNICKI  ;  BOGDAN  SOLICITS  AID  FROM  ALEXIS,  AND  PROFFERS  IIIS  ALLEGIANCE; 
TRIUMPHS  OF  ALEXIS  OVER  THE  POLES  ;  CHARLES  GUSTAVUS  OF  SWEDEN  SNATCHES  POLAND  FROM  THE 
GRASP  OF  RUSSIA;  BRIEF  AND  PROFITLESS  WAR  AVITH  SWEDEN;  RUSSIA  OBTAINS  POSSESSION  OF  THE 
UKRAINE,  AND  THE  COSSACKS  ACKNOWLEDGE  THE  SWAY  OF  THE  CZAR  ;  PEACE  RESTORED  ;  DEPRECIATION 
OF  THE  CURRENCY,  AND  CONSEQUENT  INSURRECTION;  SEVERITY  OF  THE  CZAR;  HE  GOVERNS  WISELY; 
BUILDS  THE  FIRST  RUSSIAN  VESSELS;  INSURRECTION  OF  STENKA  RADZIN ;  OUTRAGES  COMMITTED  BY 
HIM ;  HE  IS  TREACHEROUSLY  SEIZED  AND  EXECUTED  ;  DISPUTE  AVITH  TURKEY ;   DEATH  OF  ALEXIS. 


Alexis,  who  uas  born  at  Moscow  in  1630, 
was  therefore  but  in  his  sixteenth  year  at 
the  death  of  his  father.  In  consequence  of 
the  youth  of  the  new  czar,  he  was  guided 
in  all  government  affairs  by  a  council  nomi- 
nated by  his  deceased  parent.  These  were 
three  grasping  and  worthless  persons.  The 
chief  of  them  was  Morosof,  a  noble  of  an 
ambitious  and  intriguing  temper,  who  was 
tutor  and  brother-in-law  of  Alexis,  and  was 
suspected  of  a  desire  to  tread  in  the  steps  of 
Boris  Godunof.  The  others  were  Milos- 
lawskoi  and  Plessow;  the  latter  a  judge  in 
one  of  the  high  courts  at  Moscow. 

Morosof  took  the  lead  in  the  administra- 
tion, and  showed  both  ability  and  energy  in 
the  introduction  of  military  reforms,  and  in 
strengthening  the  Russian  frontiers  against 
Poland  and  Sweden.  He  also  erected 
manufactories  for  arms,  in  which  he  em- 
ployed a  number  of  foreign  artisans.  In- 
deed, for  a  while  Morosof  ruled  Russia  in 
the  name  of  the  czar,  and  might  have  con- 
tinued to  do  so  much  longer,  but  for  the 
imprudence  of  himself  and  his  compeers. 

Avarice  was  the  ruling  passion  of  the 
whole  three,  and  they  were  incessantly  bent 
upon  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  without 
the  slightest  compunction  as  to  the  means 
by  which  they  did  so.  The  base  dishonesty 
with  which  they  acted,  was  as  mean  as  it  i 


was  unbecoming  in  men  of  high  position. 
The  records  of  most  European  nations,  even 
at  so  comparatively  modern  a  period  as  that 
of  which  we  now  speak,   reveal   incidents 
which  often  make  us  blush  for  humanity. 
Yet  remembering  this,  there  does  still  ap- 
pear  to   have  been  a  more  than  ordinary 
addiction  to  petty  vices  in  Russian  nobles 
and  ministers,  and  a  more  incessant  grasp- 
ing after  bribes  and  penalties,  than  is  to  be 
heard  of  in  other  countries  laying  claim  to 
civilisation.     Under   the    direction  of  Mo- 
rosof,  the   most   flagrant   enormities   were 
committed,  especially  in  the  administration 
of  justice.     The   public  courts  were  made 
mere    instruments    of  extortion ;    and   the 
judges,  whom  Morosof  appointed,  sold  their 
decisions  with   a  more   than  common  au- 
dacity and  openness,  and  shared  the  tainted 
produce  with  their  high-placed  accomplice. 
These  men  scarcelv  concealed  the  infamons 
trade  they  carried  on   in  selling  the  sen- 
tences  they   so   gravely   pronounced;    and 
such  was  the  extent  to  w  hicii  thev  carried 
their   shameless   profligacy,   that   many   of 
them  kept  a  number  of  depraved  vagabonds 
in  their  pay,  who  were  ready  at  all  times, 
for   a   trifling  sum,   to   come   forward    and 
afiirm   or   deny   anything.      These   fellows 
were    also    employed    as    spies    upon    the 
wealthy,   whom   they   would    get    arrested 

115 


y 


( 


INSURRECTION  AT  MOSCOW.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1648. 


A.D.  1648.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [cossacks  of  the  ukr.une. 


m 


upon  some  real  or  concocted  charge,  for 
which  the  unfortunate  accused  could  only 
get  exonerated  by  the  payment  of  heavy 
fines.  In  some  cases  persons  unjustly 
charged  were  sentenced  to  death  and  exe- 
cuted, merely  that  the  villanous  judge  and 
his  ruffian  assistants  might  seize  the  pro- 
perty of  the  presumed  criminal. 

Oppression  of  this  galling  kind  had  a 
most  demoralising  and  injurious  effect  upon 
the  people,  whom  it  was  rapidly  converting 
into  two  classes — the  plundered  and  the 
plunderers.  But  not  only  was  the  fountain 
of  justice  polluted  for  the  basest  of  purposes, 
but  the  whole  system  of  government  was 
used  as  a  means  of  extortion.  Monopolies 
were  created,  and  the  heaviest  taxes  laid 
even  upon  the  necessaries  of  life.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  those  officials  who  plundered 
the  people  most,  behaved  to  them  with  an 
insolent  haughtiness  which  caused  great 
offence. 

Murmurs  were  giving  place  to  curses ;  and 
the  temper  of  the  people  of  Moscow,  who 
were  the  greatest  sufferers  from  the  prevail- 
ing iniquities,  grew  threatening.    They  first 
addressed  a  number  of  petitions  to  the  czar, 
imploring  a  reform  of  abuses,  and  plainly 
exposing  the  oppressive    dishonesty  of  the 
council  of  regrencv.    Morosof  took  care  that 
none  of  these  petitions  reached  the  young 
monarch,  and   things   went   on    as  before. 
But  the  fraudulent  minister  had  not  rightly 
estimated  the  perseverance  and  the  power  of 
a  goaded  and  insulted  people.    Guessing  the 
fate  of  their   petitions,  they  resorted  to  a 
more  effective  way  of  reaching  the  ear  of 
their  sovereign.    Wavlavingr  him  one  dav  as 
he  was  returning  from  church  to  his  palace, 
they  reiterated  their  complaints,  and,  with 
loud  outcries  and  fierce  gestures,  demanded 
the   appointment  of  righteous  judges  and 
officers,  instead  of  those  who  were  merely 
instruments  of  knavery  and  extortion.  Alexis 
listened  with  patience,  promised  to  make  a 
strict  inquiry  into  the  grievances  complained 
of,  and  to  inflict  punishment  on  the  guilty. 
At    an    earlier    period,    such    an    assurance 
would  have  calmed  the  popular  excitement ; 
but  now  it  came  too  late.     The  people  had 
learned   to  distrust  judicial  inquiries ;  and 
they  believed  that  their  oppressors,  if  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  law,  would  be  suffered  to 
escape,  if  not  to  plunder  them  still.     The 
limits  of  passive  endurance  had  been  past, 
and  affairs  had  arrived  at  that  point  where 
discontent  merges  into  insurrection.  Leaving 
the  czar,  they  proceeded  in  a  state  of  furious 
116 


tumult  to  the  houses  of  the  public  officers 
who  had  incurred  their  displeasure.  These 
they  broke  into  and  plundered ;  while  the 
principal  magistrate  and  a  few  others  they 
put  to  death.  Even  Morosof  himself  would 
have  fallen  a  victim  to  their  fury,  but  that 
he  was  saved  bv  the  entreaties  of  the  czar, 
who  implored  the  mob,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  to  spare  the  guilty  minister.  This 
they  consented  to  do,  on  condition  that 
Alexis  put  another  corrupt  judge  to  death 
and  promised  to  remit  some  of  the  recent 
oppressive  taxes.  The  young  monarch  was 
wise  enough  to  see  and  avoid  the  precipice 
upon  the  verge  of  which  he  had  been  so  un- 
consciously standing.  Though  he  had  saved 
the  life  of  Morosof,  yet  he  prudently  dis- 
missed that  worthless  man,  together  with  his 
associates,  from  the  imperial  councils. 

This  event  occurred  in  1648,  in  the  third 
year  of  the  young  czar's  reign;  and  not  long 
after,  disturbances  scarcely  less  violent,  and 
arising  from  similar  causes,  broke  out  at 
Novgorod  and  at  Pskof.  Salutary  measures 
were,  however,  instantly  taken;  the  guilty 
instruments  of  corruption  were  restrained 
or  dismissed,  and  tranquillity  soon  returned. 
Necessarily,  the  cause  of  discontent  being 
removed,  the  effect  ceased. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  no  one  had  the 
effrontery  again  to  personate  the  thrice-mur- 
dered Dmitri.  This  source  of  imposture 
seemed  utterly  exhausted ;  but  let  none  pre- 
sume to  set  bounds  to  the  extravagances 
of  credulitv  and  knaverv.  An  obscure  and 
worthless  young  man,  the  son  of  a  draper  in 
the  Ukraine,  suffered  himself  to  be  made  the 
tool  of  a  scheming  Polish  nobleman,  named 
Danilovski,  who  hoped,  by  troubling  the 
political  waters,  to  be  able  to  fish  in  them 
with  ease  and  profit.  One  day,  when  the 
young  draper  was  bathing,  certain  natural 
marks  were  observed  on  his  back,  of  so 
peculiar  a  kind  that  it  was  surmised  they 
resembled  letters  in  some  unknown  tongue. 
The  circumstance  coming  to  the  ears  of  the 
Polish  intriguer,  he  resolved  to  create  a 
conspiracy  out  of  it,  which  might  lead  to 
the  overthrow  of  the  Russian  government. 
Sending  for  the  young  man,  he  had  the 
marks  examined  by  a  Greek  priest,  whom  he 
had  prepared  and  paid  for  the  expected  expo- 
sition. The  vagabond  priest,  after  looking 
intently  upon  the  marks,  exclaimed,  "A 
miracle  1 ''  and  then  added,  in  explanation, 
that  they  were,  indeed,  mystic  words,  and 
that  their  signification  was,  "  Dmitri,  son  ot 
the  czar  Dmitri."     The  murder  of  Marina's 


infant  child  was  notorious,  for  the  atrocious 
barbarity  had  been  done  in  public,  under 
the  pretence  of  a  legal  execution;  the  diffi- 
culty, however,  was  clumsily  evaded  by  the 
stale  device  of  an  alleged  change  of  children. 
Both  Poles  and  Swedes  were  invited  to  sup- 
port the  cause  of  the  pretender,  and  some  of 
the  former  nation  offered  their  services.  But 
the  plot  utterly  failed  to  create  a  sensation 
in  Russia;  and  the  impostor,  after  leading  a 
life  of  forlorn  misery  for  a  time,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  czar,  who  executed  the  unfortu- 
nate wretch  by  quartering  him  alive. 

The  hatred  borne  by  the  Russians  to  the 
Poles  was  not  diminished  by  the  reverses 
which   the  former  suffered  from  the   latter 
during  the  reign  of  Michael.     Uladislas  died 
in  1648,  and  Alexis  became  one  of  the  can- 
didates for  the  throne  of  Poland  ;  but  he  was 
rejected   by  the  people,  who  elected  John 
Casimir,  one  of  the  sons  of  Sigismund  III., 
who  resigned   his   dignity  of  cardinal,   and 
succeeded  at  once  to  his   brother's  throne 
and  the  hand  of  that  brother's  widow.     This 
rejection  ^vas  a  fresh  source  of  irritation  to 
Alexis,  who  soon  had  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
pressing his  displeasure. 

The   Ukraine  (a  name  derived  from  the 
Polish,  and  signifying  boundary)  is  the  title 
of  that  vast  and  fertile  tract  of  land  lying 
on  the  banks  of  the  broad  Dnieper,   and 
extending  to  those  of  the  Don.     This  wild 
district  had  been  peopled  by  the  Cossacks, 
a  race  of  mixed  origin,  but  derived  chiefly 
from   Poles   and    Tartars. ^    The   nucleus  of 
this  singular  people  were  deserters  from  the 
armies    maintained    by   Poland    near    the 
banks  of  the  Borysthenes,   or  Dnieper,   to 
arrest  the  incursions  of  the  Tartars.     The 
almost  inaccessible  islands  of  that  river,  and 
the  vast  steppes  of  the  Ukraine,  served  for 
places  of  retreat.     The  course  of  nature,  and 
the  constant  arrival  of  fresh  fugitives,  rapidly 
increased  their  numbers.    They  opened  their 
arms  to  recruits  from  every  nation,  and  w^ere 
joined  by  all  the  outcasts  whose  crimes  com- 
pelled  them  to  abandon   civilised    society. 
In   this   manner   they  ceased  to  be   mere 
fugitives,  and  became  a  people.     As  may  be 
supposed,   their   hal)its    revealed    the    taint 
which  sullied  their  origin.     Plunder  became 
a  recognised  pursuit   amongst  them.     Thev 
frequently  made  predatory  incursions  into 
the  Ottoman  territories,  sometimes  venturinsr 
even  as  far  as  the  suburbs  of  Constantinople. 
Such  was  their  boldness,  that  they  trusted 
themselves  on   the    stormy  surface  of  the 
Black  Sea  in  mere  boats  of  very  primitive ) 


construction,  consisting  only  of  trees  hol- 
lowed out;    and   thus    they  ravaged  every 
shore  of  that  great  inland\'ater.     As  the 
richness  of  the  soil  they  occupied  made  it 
produce   without  much 'labour,   they  were 
consequently  at  liberty  to  pass  their  time 
mostly  in  plunder,  piracy,  or  open  war.    "  As 
they  were  Christians  in  their  origin,  they 
preserved  a  sort  of  Christianity  among  thein- 
selves;    but  so  mingled  in  time  with  idola- 
trous and  Mohammed  annotions,  that  its  fair 
characters    were    almost    lost.     The   Polish 
gentleman,  whom   infamy  had   branded  or 
justice  threatened ;  the  PoHsh  serf,  who  fled 
from  the  iron  despotism  of  a  haughty,  rapa- 
cious master;  the  Greek  schismatic,  the  per- 
secuted Lutheran,  either  imperfectly  remem- 
bered, or  but  negligently  practised*^  the  rites 
of  their  respective  churches  ;  hence  a  sort  of 
mongrel   w^orship   prevailed,    of  which   the 
leading  features  more  resembled  the  Eastern 
than  the  Western  church.     But  they  did  not 
much   trouble  themselves    with   either  the 
doctrines   or    the    duties   of    Christianity. 
Robbers  by  profession,   and  cruel  by  habit, 
they  were  the  terror  of  surrounding  coun- 
tries :  strong,  hardy,  of  indomitable  courage, 
fond  of  war,   even   more  for   the    dangers 
which  attended  it  than  for  the  plunder  it 
procured  them,  their  alliance   was   eagerly 
sought  by  •  Lithuanians,  Poles,  Muscovites, 
Tartars,  and  Turks.     To  the  former  people, 
as  the  stock  whence  the  majority  were  de- 
rived, they  long  bore  sentiments  of  affection ; 
indeed,  they  acknowledged  themselves  vas- 
sals of  the  republic,  though  their  chief  obe- 
dience was  owing  to  their  own  grand  hetman. 
Ostafi  Daskiewitz,  a  peasant  on  the  estates 
of  a  Lithuanian  noble  (many  nobles,  both  of 
the  crown  and  the  grand-duchy,  had  exten- 
sive estates  in  the  Ukraine),  Was  the  first 
who  divided  them  into  regiments,  and  taught 
them  discipline.     As  a  reward  for  his  exer- 
tions, he  was   presented   by  Sigismund  L, 
who    Pwppeared  sensible   of  the    advantages 
which  these  formidable  warriors  might  pro- 
cure  for   the    kingdom,    with   the  starosty 
of  Tserkassy,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  some 
fortresses  near  the  Borysthenes.     Had  the 
advice  of  this  simple  but  strong-minded  man 
been  taken,  Poland  would  have  been  effec- 
tually screened  against  the  incursions  of  the 
Tartars.    He  counselled  Sigismund  to  main- 
tain 10,000  armed  men  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  who  in  their  rude  rafts  could  easily 
prevent   the  enemy  from    crossing:    a  few- 
troops  of  horse   might  forage  for   this  sta- 
tionary little  army.     A  still  more  im.portant 

117 


BEVOLT  IN  THE  UKRAINE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1648. 


A.D.  1650.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [bogdan  asks  aid  from  alexis. 


BUggestion   was   to   build    forts    and    little 
towers    on    the   islets    of   that    magnificent  , 
stream.    What  Sigismund  had  not  the  spirit, 
perhaps  the  means  to  accomplish,  Bathori 
might  and  should  have  effected.     Tlie  latter 
monarch,    however,    did    much    towaids    so 
desirable  an  end.     He  diligently  cultivated 
the  affection  of  the  Cossacks ;  and  they  are 
among  the  most  grateful  of  men.     He  gave 
them  the  city  of  Tryclitymirow,  which  be- 
came their  chief  magazine,  and  the  residence 
of  their  grand  hetraan  ;  he  introduced  among 
them  the  useful  arts  of  life,  and  greatly  im- 
proved their  discipline  ;  he  formed  them  into 
six  regiments,  each  consisting  of  1,000  men 
(ten  companies  of  100),  and  commanded  by 
a  hetraan  [hattaman.)     Each  grand  hetman, 
whom  the  whole  force  obeyed,  received  his 
investiture  at  the  hands  of  the   king;  the 
symbols  were  an  ensign,  a  horse-tail  [bonzuk), 
a  baton  resembling  a  club,   and  a  looking- 
glass.     The  Cossacks,   being  thus  attached 
by  those  of  new  ties— those  of  gratitude  and 
allegiance— to  the  republic,  were  well  dis-  | 
posed  to  fulfil  the  purpose  assigned  them :  j 
their    fidelity    was    striking;    until,    from 
friends,  they  were  transformed  into  enemies 
by  the  most  intolerable  wrongs.''  ^ 

Of  these  wrongs  we  must  speak  briefly, 
that  it  may  be  seen  why  the  czar  Alexis 
became  engaged  in  a  war  with  Poland.     The 
nobles  of  that  country  long  behaved  towards 
the  Cossacks   with   great    haughtiness    and 
inhumanity.     Many  grants  of  land  in  the 
Ukraine    had     been    bestowed    upon    these 
nobles,  who  seldom  visited  their  new  pos- 
sessions,   which    they    abandoned    to    the 
direction  of  Jews— who,  in   Poland,  as,  in- 
deed,   elsewhere,    were   the    most    exacting 
and    unpopular   of  stewards.      These    men 
usually    advanced    money    on    the    forth- 
coming  produce  of  the  soil,  and  they  were 
therefore    naturally    anxious    to    make    the 
most  of  it,  and  less  likely  to  show  any  in- 
dulgence in  its  collection.     The  fierce  Cos- 
sacks would  not  submit  in  patience  to  this 
system    of  oppression  ;    and   they  insisted, 
not  only   on  the  entire  abolitii)n  of  their 
grievances,  but  also  that  their  chiefs  should 
have  a  seat  in  the  Polish  diet.     Their  de- 
mands not  being  complied  with,  they  rose 
in   insurrection.      They    were    at    first    de- 
feated,   and   reduced    to   the   condition    of 
serfs;  and  the  insolent  Polish  nobles  even 

•  Dunham's  History  of  Poland.  Also  Chevalier, 
Histoire  de  la  Guerre  des  Cossacs  coutre  la  Pologne, 
&c.,  p.  302,  &c.  Malte-Brun,  Tableau  de  la  Pologne 
ancienne  et  modernei  torn,  i.,  p.  464,  &c. 

118 


resolved  to  extirpate  them  and  their  reli- 
gion if  they  attempted  to  throw  off"  the 
bondage  thus  forced  upon  them.  Again 
the  Cossacks  rose  in  arms,  and  presented  so 
formidable  an  appearance,  that  a  promise 
was  given  that  their  privileges  should  be 
restored  to  them.  The  Polish  rulers  had 
no  intention  of  keeping  this  promise;  and 
the  Cossacks  knew  as  much,  and  no  longer 
refrained  from  depredations  on  the  territory 
of  the  former. 

Such   was  the   state  of   things,   when   a 
shameful    outrage    incensed    the  Cossacks, 
and   drew   down  much    trouble  upon  their 
oppressors.      A    veteran     Cossack    named 
Bogdan   Chmielnicki,   who  was   famous   for 
the   valour    he    had   displayed    against    the 
Tartars,  possessed    a   mill   and   some   land 
near  the  banks  of  the  Dnieper.     This  small 
estate  was  coveted  by  the  steward  of  a  Polish 
noble,  who  resolved*  to  obtain  it  by  ruining 
the  owner.     Preferring  some  petty  charge 
against  the  Cossack,  the  latter  was  thrown 
into  prison,  but  liberated  through  the  inter- 
ference of  the  castellan  of  Cracow,  to  whom 
he   had    rendered    some   service.     But   the 
protector  of  Bogdan  died  ;  and  then  Czapa- 
linski,  the  covetous  steward,  seized  the  poor 
Cossack's   mill   and   land.     The   latter,  un- 
able to  obtain  redress,  fled  to  the  Tartars 
for    assistance.       In    his    absence,    the    in- 
famous Czapalinski  violated  and  murdered 
Bogdan's    wife,    and    then    set    fire    to    his 
house,  the  flames   of  which  consumed  his 
infant  son.     Another  son,  a  young  man,  the 
rutfian  procured  to  be  publicly  scourged,  for 
expressing  a  natural  indignation.     Some  ac- 
counts state,  in  explanation  of  the  diabolical 
malice  of  the  steward,  that  on  one  occasion 
he  had  been  ignominiously  whipped  by  the 
servants  of  Bogdan. 

The  hour  of  retribution  soon  arrived. 
The  infuriated  Bogdan  succeeded  in  interest- 
ing the  Tartars  in  his  behalf;  and  at  the 
head  of  40,000  of  them,  he   commenced  a 


march  against  the  Poles.  His  force  was 
soon  trebled  by  the  number  of  Cossacks 
who  flocked  to  his  aid,  in  answer  to  a  call 
to  unite  themselves  in  a  great  eflbrt  for 
liberty.  Two  successive  Polish  armies, 
which  endeavoured  to  stem  the  tide  of  in- 
undation, were  swept  away  by  it,  their 
generals  and  officers  led  away  captives,  and 
70,000  peasants  consigned  to  bondage.  In 
a  short  time  Bogdan  was  in  possession  of 
the  whole  of  the  Ukraine.  At  this  time, 
Uladislas  died;  and  a  brief  interregnum 
followed,    which    necessarily    favoured    the 


progress   of  disorder.      Bogdan,  breathing 
threats    of    vengeance    as     he    advanced, 
directed    his    steps    towards    Ked    Russia. 
In  his  destructive  march  through  Podolia 
and  Volhynia,  the   excesses  committed   by 
him  and  his  followers  were  of  a  frightful 
and  repulsive  kind.     He  had  been  joined 
by    crowds    of    Mussulmans,    Greeks,    and 
Socinians,  who    all,   equally   with    himself, 
detested  the  Roman  church ;  and  his  cru- 
sade of  vengeance  assumed  something  of  a 
religious    nature.      The    Jesuits,   who   had 
been  notorious  for  their  animosity  to  the 
Greek   church,    and   the    Jews,   whose   ac- 
quisitiveness in  their  capacity  of  stewards 
to  the  Polish  landowners  had   excited  the 
people  against  them,  were  visited  with  un- 
relenting vengeance.     The  Roman  churches 
and  monasteries  were   laid   in   ruins,   and 
the  nuns   forced   to  satisfy  the  brutal  ap- 
petites of  the  infuriated  followers  of   this 
fierce   avenger   of   a   people's   wrongs    and 
an  irreparable  private  injury.     Some  priests 
were  forced,  under  threats  of  instant  death 
should  they   refuse,   not  only   to  contract, 
but   also  to  consummate,  a  marriage  with 
the    trembling    inmates    of    the     cloister; 
and  frequently  they  were  both  afterwards 
slaughtered.     But  it  was  upon  the  recently 
insolent    and    oppressing    nobles   that   the 
chief  weight  of  vengeance  fell.     Those  who 
were  unfortunate  enough  to  fall  into  the 
hands   of   the   Tartars    and   the    Cossacks, 
were   put   to    death   in   various   cruel   and 
lingering  ways;    their  unhappy  wives  and 
daughters  also  suffered  even  an  aggravated 
doom.     Thev  were  stripped  naked   before 
their  husbands  or  fathers,  and  after  being 
violated,  were  mercilessly  flogged  to  death. 
Terrible  as  were  these  atrocities,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  they  were  the  inevitable 
retribution  of  an   ignorant  and  infuriated 
people,  lashed  into  desperation  by  a  painful 
accumulation  of  wrongs. 

But  though  the  chivalry  of  Poland  fled  in 
dismay  before  the  fierce  hosts  of  Bogdan, 
yet  the  latter  experienced  a  great  reverse  of 
fortune  in  the  desertion  of  his  Tartar  allies ; 
who,  being  well  loaded  with  plunder  and 
captives,  retired  to  their  own  country  to 
enjoy  the  proceeds  of  their  expedition.  On 
the  election  of  John  Casimir  to  the  throne 
of  Poland,  that  monarch  admitted  the  jus- 
tice of  the  complaints  of  Bogdan,  and 
opened  negotiations  with  the  Cossack  chief. 
While  these  were  in  progress,  and  Bogdan, 
relying  upon  the  honour  of  the  king,  exer- 
cised less  than  his  customary  vigilance,  his 


camp    was    attacked   by   Wiszinowiecki,   a 
Polish   general,  who  committed  a  terrible 
slaughter  amdngst  his  followers.      Bogdau 
was  compelled  to  retreat ;  but  it  was  with 
a  stern  resolve  to  punish  this  perfidy  at  the 
earliest  opportunity.     When   he    returned, 
he  was  reinforced  by  a  large  body  of  Tar- 
tars,   and    then    invested    the    intrenched 
camp    of    the    treacherous    general.      The 
combined    forces   under    the   command   of 
Bogdan,    are    said   to    have   amounted    to 
160,000  men.      The    army  which  Casimir 
advanced    to  relieve   his  besieged    general 
was  but  20,000  strong,  and  he  was  unable 
to  efl*ect  a  junction  with  those  shut  up  m 
the  camp.     In  this  position,  policy  accom- 
plished for  him  what  valour  could  not  eff'ect. 
He  bribed  the  khan  of  the  Tartars  to  with- 
draw his  followers  from  the  Cossack  host ; 
and  Bogdan,    weakened   by   so   vast  a  de- 
sertion,  thought  it   prudent  to   accept  the 
terms  of  peace  proposed  by  the  king. 

This  enforced   tranquillity  did  not   last. 
Instead  of  being  grateful  for  their  escape 
from  utter  destruction,  the  Polish   nobles 
felt  irritated  by  the  shame  of  receiving  a 
boon  from  a  people  whom  the  long  habit  of 
oppressing  had    made  them    despise.     The 
nobles  became  the  aggressors,  and  the  war 
was  renewed.     The  Poles  collected  an  army 
of  100,000  men ;  and  the  contending  forces 
met  near  Beresteeko,  in  Red  Russia.     Here, 
it  has  been  observed,  was  at  length  decided 
the  conflict  between  schism  and  orthodoxy— 
between  slavery  and  tyranny.    An  obstinate 
and  furious  battle  ensued,  and  terminated 
in  the  defeat  of  Bogdan,  nccompanied  by  a 
terrible  slaughter  of  his  followers.    Though 
they  retire4  from  the  field,  it  was  with  a 
threatening  face  towards  the  foe.     Several 
contests  took  place ;  and  in  one  of  these,  a 
bodv  of  nearly  40,000  Poles  were  almost 
exterminated   bv    a   sudden   and   sweeping 
onslaught  of  the  insurgents-     The  balance 
of  success  was  thus  kept  nearly  equal;  tor 
if  Bogdan  had  been  staggered  by  defeat, 
Poland  was   thrown   into  terror  and  con- 
fusion.    It  was  in  this  state  of  things  that 
Bogdan,  further  incensed  by  the  death  ot  a 
brave  son,  applied  for  assistance  to  Russia, 
and  offered  to  become  the  vassal  of  the  czar 
Alexis,  on  condition  that  200,000  Musco- 
vites were  poured  into  Lithuania. 

Alexis  hesitated,  for  he  could  not  forget 
how  Poland  had  chastised  Russia  during 
the  reign  of  his  father  Michael.  Urged 
forward,  however,  by  the  patriarch,  he  re- 
solved first  to  seek  the  opinion  of  Heaven, 


•>  M 


WAR  WITH  POLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1650—1661. 


by  means  of  a  strangely  superstitious  ap- 
peal to  it.     He  caused  two  wild  bulls,  one 
of  which  he  named  Poland,  and  the  other 
Russia,  to  be  opposed  to  each  other  in  an 
arena,  and   determined   to  enter  upon  the 
war   if  the   representative   of  his  country 
should  succeed  in  the  strife.     He  had  the 
mortification  to  see  the  brute  which  repre- 
sented Poland  triumphant ;  but  the  patriarch 
removed  his  superstitious  fears,  and  repre- 
sented to  him  that  the  interests  of  religion 
required  that  he  should  declare  war  against 
catholic    Poland.      But   the    acquisition  of 
the  vast  territory  the  czar  obtained  by  the 
submission  of  Bogdan,  no  doubt  influenced 
the  Russian  potentate  more  than  the  pre- 
tended   interests    of    the    Greek    church. 
Such  was  the   distracted   state  of   Poland, 
that  success  against  it  was  a  matter  of  com- 
parative certainty.       The  Russian  triumphs 
were  rapid;    and  if    accomplished   at   any 
other  time,  they  might  have  been  deemed 
brilliant.        Smolensk,    Witepsk,     Polotsk, 
Mohilof,  Severia,  and  Semigallia  were  taken 
by  the  armies  of  Alexis,  while  his  Cossack 
ally    was    subjugating     Haman,    Bratslaw, 
and  other  fortresses  on  the  Moldavian  fron- 
tier.    The  doom  of  Poland  semed  at  hand ; 
and  it  appeared  that  its  independence  would 
be  crushed  beneath  the  iron  heels  of  the 
Russian  and  Cossack  armies. 

But  Poland  was  saved  from  the  disgrace 
of  conquest  by  Russia,  in  consequence  of 
the  natural  jealousy  entertained  by  Charles 
Gustavus,  king  of  Sweden,  of  the  power 
and  growth  of  his  great  northern  neigh- 
bour. Charles,  at  the  head  of  60,000 
Swedes,  landed  in  Pomerania.  His  march 
was  one  triumphant  career  to  the  walls, 
first  of  Warsaw,  and  next  of  Cracow,  which 
submitted  without  resistance.  A  panic 
seized  both  the  nobles  and  people  of  Poland  ; 
John  Casimir  fled  into  Silesia;  and  the  whole 
country,  from  the  Carpathian  mountains  to 
the  duchy  of  Courland,  submitted  to  the 
conquering  Swede. 

The  czar  Alexis  paused,  and  felt  that  the 
prey  he  had  hoped  to  seize  was  thus  wrested 
from  him  by  another.  He  accused  Charles 
Gustavus  of  having  hindered  the  operations 
of  his  troops ;  the  accusation  ripened  mto  a 
quarrel,  and  led  to  a  fierce  warfare  between 
the  Russians  and  the  Swedes. 

The  irritated  czar  next  poured  his  troops 
into  Sweden,  where  they  plundered  many 
villages,  and  put  the  unarmed  inhabitants 
to  the  sword.  This  was  during  the  absence 
of  the  warlike  Charles;  but  the  Russians 
120 


soon  found  themselves  unequal  to  contend 
with  the  experienced  Swedish  veterans, 
trained  to  service  amidst  the  victories  of  the 
famous  thirty  years'  war.  Alexis  obtained 
neither  advantage  nor  credit ;  and  he  with- 
drew his  troops,  and  concluded  a  truce  for 
three  years.  It  was  signed  on  the  23rd  of 
April,  1658 ;  and  three  years  after,  on  the 
21st  of  June,  1661,  was  converted  into  a 
treaty  of  peace  at  Karelis,  by  which  their 
former  possessions  were   mutually  secured 

to  each  party. 

Alexis,  satisfied  with  the  military  glory 
he  had  acquired  in  Poland,  had  withdrawn 
his  troops  from  that  distracted  country.     A 
revulsion  took  place  in  the  feelings  of  the 
Poles  :  a  resolve  to  make  a  great  eftbrt  to 
recover    their    national   independence   suc- 
ceeded the  fierce  religious  disputes  between 
catholic    and  Lutheran,    which    had    made 
those  involved  in  them  almost  indifferent  to 
the    claims    of  their    country.      Thousands 
flocked  into  Silesia,  and  rallied  round  the 
standard  of  their  fugitive  monarch.     The 
great  powers  of  Europe  also  showed  them- 
selves favourable  to  the  causjC  of  the  Poles, 
from  a  mixed  feeling  of  commiseration  for 
a  gallant  people,  and  a  dread  of  the  aspiring 
views    of  the    Swedish    monarch.     Poland 
rose  against  the  king  whose  foot  had  been 
placed  upon  her  neck,  and,  recovering  her 
ancient  spirit,  defeated  the  troops  of  Charles 
in  several  engagements.     It  is  difficult,  in- 
deed it  is  almost  impossible,  to  conquer  a 
people   resolved   to   be   free.      After   some 
severe  contests,  Charles  thought  proper  to 
retire    from    Poland;    his    conduct    being 
further  influenced  by  the  circumstance  that 
Sweden  itself  was  invaded  by  the  King  of 
Denmark.     The  war,  however,  lingered  in 
Pomerania   and   along   the   shores    of   the 
Baltic  until  the  death  of  Charles,  when  a 
peace  was  concluded  between  Poland  and 
Sweden  at    Ohva.     The    only  state    which 
derived  any  sohd  advantages  from  all  these 
fierce  contentions  was  Russia.     By  the  sub- 
mission of  Bogdan  and  the  Cossacks,  Alexis 
had  obtained  possession  of  that  portion  of 
the  Ukraine  which,  lying  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Dnieper,  had  hitherto  not  been  in- 
cluded in  the  empire.     This  comprised  many 
provinces, together  with  the  important  border 
fortresses.      As   Poland,  in   her  enfeebled 
state,  saw  the  hopelessness  of  attempting  to 
recover  this  broad  territory  from  the  power- 
ful grasp  of  Russia,  the  Ukraine  became  a 
part  of  that  vast  empire,  and  the  Cossack* 
acknowledged  the  sway  of  the  czar.  Bogdan, 


A.D.  1662—1668.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[CX)SSACK  INSURRECTION. 


whose  wrongs  caused  this  revolution,  and 
whose  untiring  pursuit  of  revenge  mMnly 
produced  it,  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
life  in  tranquillity,  and  went  to  his  grave  in 
the  course  of  nature — a  somewhat  remark- 
able circumstance,  when  we  consider  how 
few  public  men  in  these  turbulent  times 
escaped  a  violent  death. 

Peace  was  welcome  to  Russia;  for  the 
wounds  which  anarchy  had  inflicted  upon 
her  were  yet  scarcely  healed.  Her  com- 
merce was  much  depressed,  and  her  treasury 
nearly  exhausted.  The  silver  money  had 
almost  disappeared  from  circulation,  and 
Alexis  caused  copper,  of  the  same  nominal 
value,  to  be  coined  and  put  in  circulaticm. 
This  depreciated  money  was  received  with 
readiness,  until  the  court  itself  destroyed 
the  confidence  of  the  people  in  it,  by  its 
greedy  efl'orts  to  secure  all  the  sterling 
money,  and  leave  only  the  new  coin  for  the 
use  of  commerce.  It  fell  rapidly  in  public 
estimation,  and  great  general  distress  ensued. 
Distress  led  to  discontent,  and  in  1662  a 
rebellion  broke  out  at  Moscow.  No  attempt 
was  made  to  pacify  the  poor  ignorant  people, 
but  the  disaftection  was  extinguished  with  a 
severity  amounting  to  savage  fury.  The 
rioters  who  were  captured  were  hanged  or 
drowned  by  hundreds;  and  others  were 
punished  with  torture  or  mutilation.  It  is 
estimated  that  the  number  who  suff'ered 
death,  in  consequence  of  this  arbitrary  alter- 
ation of  the  currency,  amounted  to  upwards 
of  7,000;  while  15,000  more  wretched  vic- 
tims were  tortured  or  maimed. 

But  Alexis,  though  merciless  in  his  mode 
of  government,  was  by  no  means  indifi'erent 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  empire.  He  courted 
every  opportunity  which  off"ered  itself  of 
forming  or  strengthening  connections  with 
the  courts  of  Europe — a  wise  policy,  which 
led  to  the  introduction  into  Russia  of  foreign 
arts  and  manufactures.  With  a  natural 
and  not  altogether  ungraceful  sympathy, 
he  offered  kindnesses  to  the  worthless  fugi- 
tive Charles  Stuart,  and  sent  a  special  am- 
bassador to  congratulate  him  on  his  accession 
to  the  English  throne.  Charles  II.  recipro- 
cated these  civilities,  and  proposed  a  com- 
mercial treaty  between  England  and  Russia; 
but  this  was  declined  hy  Alexis,  on  account 
of  its  not  being  sufficiently  favourable  to 
the  interests  of  his  nation. 

Whether  Alexis  saw  the  necessity  which 
his  famous  son  Peter  eventually  so  power- 
fully felt,  of  extending   the   boundaries  of 
Russia  until  they  reached  the  sea,  we  are 
VOL.  I.  a 


unable   to   say.     It   is   not  an  improbable 
assumption,  that  he  felt  convinced  that  an 
outlet  to  the  sea  and  a  considerable  navy 
was  necessary,  not   only  to  the  commerce, 
but  also  to  the  greatness  of  Russia.     This 
idea  naturally  presents  itself  to  the  mind, 
when  we  learn  that  the  two  first  Russian 
vessels  that  ever  were  built,  were  constructed 
under  the  personal  superintendence  of  the 
czar  Alexis.     Certainly  he  was  an  observant 
and  reflective  man,  and  he  strove  to  excite 
among  his  subjects  a  desire  for  progress  and 
the   arts   of  civilisation.     On   all  questions 
of  great  public  interest,  he  called  the  states- 
general  together  to  assist   him  with   their 
counsels.     This  circumstance,  so  adverse  to 
the  spirit  of  despotism,  showed  a  desire  to 
bestow    upon    the    people    something    ap- 
proaching to  a  representative  voice  in  the 
affairs  of  state.     But  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances  of  the   empire,  its  vast   extent  of 
territory,  and  the  fluctuations  to  which  it 
was  exposed,  both  from  within  and  without, 
discouraged  this  advance  in  the  direction  of 
popular  government,  and   caused   it  to  be 
abandoned. 

Russia  was  not  long  permitted  to  enjoy 
the  repose  so  requisite  to  the  development 
of  her   prosperity.      The    Cossacks    of  the 
Don  had  been  treated  with  harshness  and 
injustice — a  circumstance  which  led  to  in- 
subordination  amongst   them.      Several   of 
them  were  put  to  death — an  act  of  severity 
which  produced  great  irritation  in  the  minds 
of  these  turbulent  men.     Stenka  Radzin,  a 
brother  of  one  of  the  victims,  instigated  his 
countrymen  to  revolt,  and  offered  himself  as 
their  leader.    They  placed  themselves  under 
his  banner,  with  the  avowed  objects  of  re- 
venging the  past,  and  securing  their  liber- 
ties for  the  future ;  though  no  doubt  can  be 
entertained  that  many  of  them  were  ani. 
mated  only  by  a  hope  of  plunder.    Thi^  wa* 
so  well  known  to    Radzin,  that   he   lured 
great  numbers,  not  only  of  Cossacks,  but  of 
discontented  Russians,  to  him  by  a  promise 
of  piratical  expeditions  on  the  Caspian,  and 
on  the  Persian  shores  of  that  sea,  where  it 
was   supposed  that   great  wealth   might  be 
gained  at  the  point  of  the  sword.    Other  Rus- 
sians were  won  to  join  the  insurrection  bv 
a  promise  of  the  immediate  redress  of  all 
popular  grievances.     Radzin   also   denomi- 
nated  the   nobles   as   the   enemies  of  the 
people;  and  he  even  had  the  audacity  to 
give  out,  that  the  czar  felt  himself  so  power- 
less against  the  factious  conduct  of  the  selfish 
grau  dees,  that  he  had  applied  to  him  for  the 

121 


A.D.  1676.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  ALEXIS. 


SEVERITY  OF  THE  CZAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1671. 


means  of  crushing  them.  Such  was  the 
■uccess  of  these  expedients,  that  the  rebel 
Cossack  found  Inmself  the  leader  of  a  pro- 
miscuous army  of  200,000  men. 

Radzin  commenced  operatitms  by  seizing 
a  fleet  of  boats  belonging  to  the  czar,  while 
on  its  way  to  the  city  of  Astracan  ;  of  which 
province  *he  talked  of  making  himself  the 
sovereign.     With  these  boats  he  descended 
into  the  Caspian,  the  shores  of  which  were 
ruthlessly  plundered  by  him  and  his  com- 
panions.     Though    the   rebels  were  rather 
banditti   than    soldiers— irregularly    armed, 
and  influenced  more  by  a  desire  for  spoil 
than    bound    together    by    anything    which 
deserved  the  name  of  a  principle—yet  they 
possessed  themselves  of  Astracan  in  1670, 
and  became  really  a  formidable  body.     For 
three  years  was  Radzin  enabled  to  continue 
his  wild  career  of  insurrection  and  plunder ; 
during  which  period  he  repeatedly  defeated 
the  forces  sent  against  him.     At  length  he 
received  so  severe  a  check,  that  he  promised 
to  lay  down  his  arms,  on  condition  that  a 
pardon  was  given  both  to  himself  and  his 
followers.     The   general  who  had  brought 
him  to  bay,  knowing  that  the  Cossack  was 
still   formidable    if   driven   to   desperation, 
accepted  these  terms,  and  they  were  con- 
firmed  by   the    czar.     The    Cossacks    and 
other   rebels  were   permitted   to  return  to 
their   homes   with    the    plunder   they    had 
acquired,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  insurrec- 
tion was  at  an  end. 

This  was  not  the  case.     Either  in  conse- 
quence of  his  own  restless  nature,  or  from  a 
suspicion  that  treachery  was   intended   to- 
wards him,  Radzin  was  soon  at  his  piratical 
employment  again,  at  the  head  of  a  great 
body  of  his  old  followers.    The  banks  of  the 
Volga  were   swept  by  them  with   reckless 
audacity,  and  numerous  instances  of  infa- 
mous cruelty  occurred.    As  before,  he  raised 
the  cry  of  liberty  and  the  natural  rights  of 
man;  and  the   oppressed  and  discontented 
crowded  to  his  aid.     Even  large  numbers  of 
the   soldiers   murdered    their   officers,    and 
joined  a  leader  who,  to  such  popular  war- 
cries,    combined    an    unlimited    license    to 
plunder.     Had  Radzin  been  a  man  of  com- 
prehensive talents,  and  fitted  by  nature  to 
be  the  leader  of  a  great  popular  movement, 
he  might  have  revolutionised  Russia.     He 
had  no  such  quahties,  and  was  altogether 
unable  to  direct  the  power  he  raised.     In 
fact,  the   extent  of  his  own   success   awed 
him  :  he  did  not  understand  the  next  step ; 
and  feeling  the  peril  of  his  own  position, 
122 


feared  to  perish  in  the  storm  which,  wizard- 
like, he  had  created.     In  the  very  height  of 
his  power,  he  was  snared  by  an  assurance 
that  the  czar  desired  to  see  the  famous  chief 
of  the  Don  Cossacks  in  the  capital,  where 
he  would,   in    admiration    of  his   boldness, 
again  extend  to  him  a  pardon.     The  delu- 
sion would   have  been  seen  through  by  a 
man  of  ordinary  intelligence ;  but  Radzin, 
flattered  by  what  he  regarded  as  so  great 
a  distinction,  was   deceived  and  entrapped 
by  it.     His  friends  urged  him  not  to  go; 
and  represented  that,  even  if  treachery  was 
not    intended,    the    czar    had    perhaps    not 
made  the  promise  attributed  to  him.     Re- 
gardless of  remonstrances,  the  devoted  man 
pressed  thoughtlessly  and  eagerly   forward 
towards  the  pit  that  had  been  dug  to  engulf 
him.    As  he  approached  Moscow,  he  beheld 
a  gallows  on  a  cart,  which  had  been  sent 
forward  to  meet  him  as  a  prognostic  of  his 
fate.     Whether  it  was  too  late  to  recede,  or 
that  he  was  blinded  by  infatuation,  we  can 
not  say ;  but  he  still  went  on,  and  entered 
the  city.     No  sooner  had  he  done  so,  than 
he  was  seized,  and  shortly  afterwards  expi- 
ated his  crimes  upon  the   scafl'old.     After 
his    departure   from   Astracan,    it    was   in- 
vested and  taken  by  the  Russian  troops  :  a 
o-reat  number  of  his  followers  perished  be- 
neath the  swords  of  their  assailants ;  while 
no  less  than   12,000  of  them  were   subse- 
quently gibbeted  on  the  high  roads  of  the 
disturbed  districts.     This   terrible   severity 
struck  awe  into  the  rebels  ;  the  wild  dreams 
of  liberty  of  some,  and  the  habits  of  plunder 
of  others,  were  abandoned ;  the  storm  of  in- 
surrection subsided,  and  peace  was  restored 
in  the  district  of  the  Ukraine  ;  but  in  many 
places  it  was  the  peace  of  desolation  and  of 
the  charnel-house. 

Another   war    was    impending.     Turkey 
beheld  with  emotions  of  jealousy  the  ex- 
tending territory  and  power  of  Russia.     The 
recent  subjugation  of  the  Cossacks  placed  a 
barrier  between  the  great  northern  empire 
and   the   dominions   of  the    sultan,   which 
Mohammed  IV.  considered  it  expedient  to 
remove.     The  Saporogian  Cossacks,  led  by 
their    hetman   Dorenseusky,   had  revolted 
against  the  Poles,    and   made   a  treaty  of 
alliance  with  the  sultan.     This  circumstance 
naturally  led  to  a  dispute  between  Poland 
and  Turkey;  and  the  haughty  Porte,  used 
to  conquest,  conceived  the  bold  design  of 
first  crushing  Poland,  and  then  descending 

upon  Russia. 

Mohammed  poured  a  Moslem  army  ot 


80,000   men    into   Poland,    where   he   was 
bravely    withstood    by    the     heroic     John 
Sobieski,  at  the  head  of  a  force  not  amount- 
ing to  a  fourth  part  of  that  of  the  invaders. 
Yet   the   ultimate   success   of  Turkey  was 
evident,     unless     assistance    was    given    to 
Poland.     Alexis  was  bound,  both  by  treaty 
and  by  a  wise  policy,  to  assist  the   Poles 
against   an    enemy  dreaded    by   all   Chris- 
tendom.    He  was  further  induced  to  oppose 
himself  to  the  great  representative  of  Mo- 
hammedanism   by  a   haughty    message    he 
received  from  the  sultan,  requiring  him  to 
evacuate    his   possessions   in   the    Ukraine. 
The  sultan,  in  his  communication,  treated 
Alexis  as  if  he  had  been  only  a  Christian 
hospodar,  while,  with  Asiatic  vanity,  he  en- 
titled himself  "Most  glorious  majesty,  king 
of  the  world."     The  answer  of  the  czar  was 
a  memorable  one,  and  sternly  indicative  of 
the  growing  power  as  well  as  reputation  of 
tlie  vast  empire  he  governed.     The  message 
he  returned  was,  that  "  he  was  above  sub- 
mitting to  a  Mohammedan  dog;  but  that 
his  sabre  was  as  good  as  the  grand  seignor's 
scimitar." 

Not  only  did  Alexis  prepare  for  war,  but 
he  endeavoured  to  create  a  Christian  league 
agauist  the  Turks.  With  this  object  he 
sent  ambassadors  to  the  pope  and  to  almost 
all  the  great  sovereigns  in  Europe,  except 
Prance,  which  was  in  alliance  with  Turkey : 
but  the  monarchs  of  Europe  were  fully  occu- 
pied with  their  own  quarrels  and  interests, 
and  were,  consequently,  not  disposed  to  give 
anything  but  their  good  wishes. 

The  exertions  of  the  Russians  were  fore- 
stalled by  the  unexpected  and  brilliant  suc- 
cess of  the  Poles.     Sobieski — now  raised  to 
the  throne  of  Poland,  after  having,  at  the 
head    of    only    10,000   men,    opposed    the 
Turks,   who   had   an  army,  raised  by  rein- 
forcements to  300,000— at  length,  on  the 
morning  of  the  14th  of  October,  1676,  had  the 
audacity  to  lead  his  followers  from  their  in- 
trenchments,  and  offer  battle  to  the  over- 
whelming hosts  before  them  1     The  Turks 
were  not  only  astonished,  but  a  superstitious 
fear  fell  upon  them.     They  could  not  believe 
that  ordinary  men  could  be  capable  of  such 
reckless     and     seemingly    hopeless    daring. 
They  declared  that  the  Poles  were  assisted 
by  magic,  that  their  leader  was  Sheitan,  or 
the  devil,  and  that  it  was  useless  to  fight 
against  them.     The  Turkish  pasha,  though 
above  this  superstition,  knew  the  debilitating 
influence  it  would  have  upon  his  troops ;  and 
knowing,   also,  that  Polish   succours  were 


approaching,  he  offered  an  honourable  peace, 
which  Sobieski  was  glad  enough  to  accept. 
Though  not  victory,  it  was  at  least  triumph, 
and  won  for  the  brave  Polish  monarch  the 
admiration  of  Europe. 

Before  this  event  occurred,  the  czar 
Alexis  was  no  more.  He  died  on  the  10th 
of  February,  1676,  in  the  forty-sixth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-first  of  his  reign. 
His  death  was  hastened  by  the  ignorance  of 
an  old  woman,  to  whose  medical  skill  he 
trusted  in  preference  to  that  of  his  physi- 
cians ;  at  least  the  latter  said  so,  though  if 
he  had  died  while  under  their  treatment,  it 
would  have  been  discovered  that  nature  had 
succumbed   to   the  resistless   force   of  the 

disease. 

Alexis  was  mourned  for  by  his  subjects, 
and  in  some  respects  he  deserved  this  hon- 
ourable tribute  to  his  memory.     The  fault 
of  most  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  house  of 
Romanoff"  was  want  of  heart,  or  of  that  be- 
coming gentleness  which,  in  those  who  hold 
the  issues  of  life  and  death,  tempers  the 
severity  of  justice  with   the   sweetness   of 
mercy.     From  this  Alexis  was  not  exempt ; 
and   though    not   wantonly   cruel,    yet   he 
crushed  opposition  and  insurrection  with  a 
severity  that  bore  an  aspect  of  vindictive- 
ness  and  brutality.    Certainly  the  barbarous 
people  whom  he  ruled  did  not  seem  to  un- 
derstand any  other  mode  of  correction  :  but 
it  was  not  tried  with  them.     Yet,  setting 
aside  the  exercise  of  an  unnecessary  severity, 
which  must  be  regarded  as  a  vice  of  the 
times,  Alexis  was  an  able  and  an  estimable, 
prince.     His    prudence    and    his    firmness 
consolidated    the    throne    of   the    empire, 
and  bound  up  deep  wounds  which,  though 
closing,  were  far  from  being  healed.    Though 
not  deficient  in  the  qualities  of  the  warrior, 
yet  his  courage  was  balanced  by  a  sagacious 
statesmanship  which  counselled  him  to  mo- 
deration and  prudence.     Ou.    noble   point 
of  his  character  must  not  be  forgotten :  he 
abolished   the   inhuman   custom    by  which, 
in  Russia,  all  prisoners  taken  in  war  were 
consigned  to  slavery.     He  felt  that  brave 
men  ought  not  to  be  punished  for  serving 
their  sovereign ;  and  all  military  captives  he 
sent  into  the  uncultivated  parts  of  the  em 
pire,  for  the  purpose  of  colonising   those 
remote  districts.      He  never  lost  sight  of 
the  improvement  of  his  country,  and  de- 
voted himself  especially  to  the  promotion 
of  agriculture  and  manufactures.     He  in- 
duced many  foreigners  of  ability  to  settle  in 
Russia,  and  treated  them  with  great  libe- 

123 


' 


ACCESSION  OF  FEODOR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1676. 


rality.  In  the  same  spirit,  he  caused  works 
on  mathematics,  military  science,  tactics, 
fortification,  geography,  and  other  valuable 
subjects,  to  be  translated  into  the  Russian 
language.  He  introduced  important  re- 
forms in  the  laws,  and  attempted  others  in 
the  church.  The  city  of  Moscow  was  en- 
larged, and  two  suburbs  built  by  him.  His  at- 
tention was  also  turned  to  ship-building;  but 
in  this  direction  he  only  commenced  a  work 
which  was  left  for  a  greater  man  to  carry 
out.     He  was  twice  married.     By  his  first 


wife,  Maria  Iljinishna  Miloflafskoi,  he  had 
two  sons  and  four  daughters  ;  though  some 
writers  say  six,  and  others  seven:  his  second 
wife,  Natolia  Kirillowna  Narishkin,  brought 
him  one  son  and  one  daughter — the  for- 
mer being  Peter  Alexeiewitz,  afterwards  so 
famous  as  to  acquire  the  title  of  Peter  the 
Great.  We  may  briefly  sum  up  the  cha- 
racter of  Alexis,  by  quoting  the  judgment 
of  a  distinguished  writer  concerning  him; 
that  is,  that  he  was  worthy  of  being  the 
father  of  so  distinguished  a  son. 


Hi 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

ACCESSION  OF  FFODOR  ;  HE  EXECUTES  MINOR  REFORMS;  IIIS  BENKVOLENCE;  HE  ABOLISHES  THE  MESTNI- 
CHESTVO-  IIIS  MAURIAGH  AND  DEATH;  AMBITION  OF  THE  PRINCESS  SOPHIA,  AND  RKVOLT  OF  THE  STRE- 
LITZ-  IVAN  AND  PETER  ARE  CROWNED  AS  JOINT  SOVEREIGN  ;  SOPHIA  BECOMES  REGENT;  REBELLION  OF 
KOVANSKOI;  UNSUCCKSSFUL  WAR  WITH  THE  TARTARS  OF  THE  CRIMEA;  THE  BOYHOOD  OF  PETER;  IIIS 
MARRIAGE;  SOPHIA  ENDEAVOURS  TO  PROCURE  THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  PETER;  HE  COMPELS  HER  TO 
ABDICATE  THE  REGENCY,  AND  RETIRE  INTO  A  CONVENT;   PETER  BECOMES  SOLE  SOVEREIGN. 


Feodor,  the  eldest  son  of  Alexis,  was,  at  the  ! 
time  of  his  father's  death,  only  nineteen  years 
of  age.     Some  objections  were  urged  against  ^ 
his   succeeding   to   the  throne,  on   account  j 
of  the  extreme  delicacy  or  feebleness  of  his  • 
constitution.     These  objections  would  have 
had  more  force  if  they  had  not  proceeded 
from   the   Narishkins,    the    family   of    the 
second  wife  of  the  late  czar,  who  were  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  place  the  infant  Peter, 
then  only  three  years  of  age,  on  the  throne 
instead  of  Feodor ;  who,  it  was  pretended, 
was  weak  in  intellect  as  well  as  in  bodily 
frame.     Ivan,  the  brother  of  Feodor,  was 
undoubtedly  almost  imbecile;  but  the  subse- 
quent acts  of  the  latter  showed  him  to  pos- 
sess considerable  mental  power,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  a  resolute  will. 

Alexis  had  bequeathed  to  his  successor 
one  dangerous  legacy,  namely,  his  dispute 
with  Turkey  on  the  subject  of  the  territory 
of  the  Ukraine,  and  the  sovereignty  over 
the  Cossacks  of  that  region.  Neither  em- 
pire cared  to  prolong,  or  rather  to  enter 
upon,  an  active  state  of  hostilities;  and 
three  years  after  the  accession  of  Feodor, 
an  armistice,  which  was  to  last  for  twenty 
years,  was  entered  into  between  the  Porte 
and  the  czar,  by  which  the  contested  terri- 
tory was  surrendered  to  the  latter. 
124. 


Feodor,  young  as  he  was,  entered  with 
avidity   upon    the   task    of    promoting   the 
civilisation    of   the   empire.      This   he   for- 
warded by  the  minute  attention  he  paid  to 
the   administration   of   its    internal  aflfairs. 
That    of   justice   particularly    occupied   his 
attention ;  and  he  laboured  hard  to  extir- 
pate the  corruption  which  infected  its  de- 
cisions.    Then,  and  unhappily  even  now — 
for  the  villanous  practice  has  lasted   from 
that  time  to  the  present — the  verdicts  of 
judges  were  given,  or  rather  sold,  to  the 
litigant  who  bribed  the  highest.     It  is  said, 
in  apology  for  this  gigantic  evil,  that  judges 
and  other    highly  responsible   officials   are 
paid  so  small  a  sum,  that  men  of  high  posi- 
tion and  irreproachable  character  will  not 
accept   such    positions,    and   that   the   dis- 
honesty of  those  who   do,  is   consequently 
winked   at    by   the    imperial    government. 
The  statement   as    to    the    insufficiency  of 
remuneration  is  at    least   correct;    for  we 
have   already   stated,  that   at   the   present 
time,    the    highest    legal    functionaries    of 
Russia  receive  only  £160  a-year  !     Bribery, 
or  the  acceptance  of  presents,  as  it  is  termed 
by  the  Russians,  is  therefore  almost  a  neces- 
sary consequence  among  a  people  where  the 
tone  of  public  morality  is  by  no  means  a 
high  one.     We  may  be  allowed  to  question 


•,4.T\  1680.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [abolition  of  the  mestnichestvo. 


the  sincerity,  or  at  least  the  earnestness, 
of  the  government  in  its  endeavours  to  ex- 
tinguish this  vile  trading  in  that  which 
should  be  above  all  price,  because  it  has 
never  adopted  the  most  evident  means  of 
putting  an  end  to  it ;  that  is,  the  awarding 
of  such  stipends  to  those  who  administer 
the  law,  as  to  place  them  at  least  beyond 
the  cares  of  poverty  and  its  accompanying 
temptations.  The  Russian  peasants  have  a 
proverb  which  expresses  their  conviction  of 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  justice.  They 
say,  "  God  is  in  heaven,  and  the  czar  is  far 
off."  That  is,  that  both  are  so  above  them, 
and  so  inaccessible  to  their  approach,  that 
they  must  submit  to  oppression  with  pa- 
tience. Nikolay  Gogal,  a  Russian  author 
of  the  present  century,  who  has  acquired 
great  celebrity,  and  occupies,  in  the  litera- 
ture of  the  northern  empire,  a  position 
something  resembling  that  of  Mr.  Charles 
Dickens  in  the  literature  of  England,  wrote 
a  comedy  on  the  subject  of  judicial  corrup- 
tion, called  The  Revisor,  which  not  only 
met  with  the  most  brilliant  success,  but 
was  witnessed  more  than  once  by  the  late 
emperor  Nicholas,  who  gave  it  his  marked 
applause.  A  revisor,  in  Russia,  is  the  title 
of  a  high  government  officer,  dispatched  to 
a  province  to  ascertain  and  report  on  the 
character  of  its  administration.  The  plot 
and  moral  of  the  play  is,  that  an  impostor 
who  makes  his  appearance  at  a  provincial 
capital,  assuming  this  title,  finds  such  uni- 
versal peculation  and  misconduct  among  all 
the  government  officials,  that  when  he  is  at 
last  discovered,  they  are  glad  to  let  him  off 
scot-free,  and  hush  up  the  whole  affair. 

To  return  from  this  momentary  digres- 
sion. The  young  czar  Feodor  found  the 
task  he  had  undertaken  was  too  great  for 
him.  He  did  not  remove  the  cause  (pro- 
bably did  not  recognise  it),  and  the  effect 
remained.  The  underpaid  and  crafty  judges 
devised  wavs  to  evade  his  enactments  ;  and 
all  he  found  it  expedient  to  do,  was  to 
punish  flagrant  cases  with  severity.  The 
young  among  the  wealthy  are  seldom 
thoughtful  of  the  poor ;  but  Feodor  gave 
much  of  his  attention  to  their  sufferings, 
and  the  mode  of  alleviating  them.  With 
more  of  philanthropy,  perhaps,  than  wis- 
dom, he  caused  the  price  of  provisions  to  be 
regulated  by  what  was  regarded  as  an  equi- 
table standard,  and  made  enactments  with 
the  object  of  preventing  the  dealers  in  such 
commodities  from  oppressing  the  indigent. 
He  even  took  such  a  kindly  interest  in  the 


affairs  of  the  people,  as  to  lend  sums  of 
money  to  small  tradesmen  and  ingenious 
artisans,  to  assist  them  in  their  business, 
and  received  the  payment  in  small  instal- 
ments. He  reformed  the  police  arrange- 
ments of  Moscow,  and  gave  attention  to 
many  matters  which,  though  they  gene- 
rally escape  the  observation  of  princes,  yet 
do  much  towards  constituting  the  content- 
ment and  prosperity  of  a  people. 

One  reform  Feodor  accomplished  which 
made  his  name  memorable.  It  was  the 
abolition  of  a  troublesome  custom,  called 
Mestnichestvo  or  placeship,  from  Mesto^ 
place.  Every  family  amongst  the  nobility 
kept  a  book  containing  its  genealogy;  and 
pride  of  ancestry  was  carried  to  an  ex- 
tent that  caused  many  inconveniences  and 
quarrels.  No  nobleman  would  serve  in 
a  post  subordinate  to  another  whose  an- 
cestry had  stood  at  any  time  in  an  inferior 
position  to  his  progenitors.  As  the  genea- 
logical books  contained  an  account  of  all 
the  positions  held  at  any  time  by  those 
mentioned  in  them,  it  w^as  easy  for  a  dis- 
contented boyard  to  find  out  at  once  what 
had  been  the  appointments  of  the  ancestors 
of  any  rival  who  was  raised  to  some  posi- 
tion above  him.  This  foUv  was  carried  to 
such  lengths,  that  it  seriously  interfered 
with  the  progress  of  public  business,  being 
a  source  of  incessant  discords.  A  public 
office  had  been  instituted  at  Moscow,  in 
which  exact  copies  of  the  genealogical  table 
and  service-register  were  deposited.  Feodor 
consulted  with  his  minister.  Prince  Vassili 
Galitzin,  on  the  best  means  of  putting  au 
end  to  this  pride-engendered  confusion ; 
and  they  soon  devised  a  curious  and  rather 
dramatic  expedient. 

The  czar  issued  a  proclamation,  requiring 
that  all  noble  families  should  deliver  into 
court  faithful  copies  of  their  service-rolls, 
that  certain  errors  might  be  erased  from 
them.  The  command  was  obeved;  and  at 
the  appointed  time  the  czar,  the  patriarch, 
the  superior  clergy,  and  the  nobles  were 
assembled  together.  The  patriarch,  who 
had  been  informed  concerning  the  real 
object  of  the  meeting,  first  delivered  an 
animated  address  against  the  Mestnichestvo 
and  the  jealousies  and  inconveniences  caused 
by  it.  These  prerogatives,  said  he  in  con- 
clusion, '^  are  a  bitter  source  of  every  kind 
of  evil ;  thev  render  abortive  the  most 
useful  enterprises,  in  like  manner  as  the 
tares  stifle  the  good  grain  ;  they  have  intro- 
duced, even  into  the  heart  of  families,  dis- 

125 


IkLAJlRIAGE  OF  FEODOR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1680. 


V  ' 


sensions,  confusions,   and  hatred  ;   but   tlie 
pontiff   comprehends  the    {<raud    desi^m   of 
his  czar.     God  alone  can  have  inspired  it !" 
The  nobles  expressed  their   satisfaction   at 
the  yet  unrevealed  intention,  by  the  utter- 
ance of  servile  acclamations,  in  the  midst  of 
which  Feodor  proposed,  that  all  the  papers 
relative  to  the   positions  they  or  their  an- 
cestors hud  held,  should  be  at  once  burnt, 
in  order  that  the  feuds  arising  from  them 
might  be  altogether  forgotten.     The  nobles 
were  extremely  unwilling ;  but  their  assent 
had  been  given,  and  could   not  readily  be 
recalled.     The  records  were  thrown  into  a 
fire,    prepared    in    the    courtyard    of    the 
palace,    and    soon   reduced    to    ashes.     In 
conclusion,    the    patriarch    pronounced    an 
anathema  against  every  one  who  presumed 
to  contravene   this  ordinance  of  the  czar ; 
and  the  humbled  nobles  joined  the  rest  of 
the    assembly   in    a   response   of  ''Amen/' 
The  importance  of  this  reform,  and  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  accomplishing  it,  may 
be   inferred   from   the   fact,  that   Ivan  the 
Terrible,    who    had    deluged    Russia   with 
blood  and   decimated  its  nobility,  was  un- 
able to  abolish  the  Mestnichestvo.     That  it 
might  not  be  supposed  that  he  was  inimical 
to  an   order  of  nobility,  Feodor  ordered  a 
new  set  of  books  to  be  made,  in  which  the 
names  and  rank  of  the  noble  families  were 
duly    inserted;    but    the    old    distinctions, 
arising  from  the  accidental   occupation   of 
place,  were  altogether  abolished. 

Even  in  such  a  circumstance  as  his  mar- 
riage, the  young  czar  exhibited  his  thought- 
fulness  and  his  care  for  the  prosperity  and 
enlightenment  of  the  empire.     It  was  the 
custom   for   the    Russian   czars   always   to 
marry  a  subject ;  as  it  was  said  such  a  prac- 
tice   shut   out   of  the  empire  the  evils  of 
foreign  influence.     This  might  be  the  case  ; 
but  it  also  excluded  the  benefits  of  foreign 
alliances,  and  checked  that  intercourse  be- 
tween nations  so  productive  of  the  exten- 
sion  of  civilisation,  and   of  which   Russia 
stood  so   pre-eminently  in   need.     Besides 
this,  a  peculiar  honour  was  conferred  upon 
the  family  from  whose  circle  the  consort  of 
the   czar   was    selected,   which    commonly 
encouraged  ambitious  views  in  it,  and  ex- 
cited a  feeling  of  jealous  irritation  against  it 
on  the  part  of  the  other  nobles.     In  cases 
also  where  the  sovereign  married,  twice,  it 
created    rival    factions,   whose    animosities 
might   disturb   the   peace   of  the  country. 
An  incident   of  the   latter   kind  was   ob- 
servable when  Feodor  ascended  the  throne, 
126 


and  the  Narishkin  family,  the  relations  of 
the  second  czarina,  endeavoured,  on  the 
false  plea  of  his  being  of  feeble  intellect,  to 
set  him  aside  in  favour  of  the  infant  Peter. 
In  the  event  of  their  being  successful,  the 
Narishkins  would  have  enjoyed  the  chief 
offices  and  emoluments  of  the  state,  which, 
as  they  failed,  were  probably  to  no  small 
extent' filled  by  the  members  of  the  house 
of  Miloflafskoi,  a  daughter  of  the  head  of 
which  was  the  mother  of  Feodor. 

These  considerations  induced  the  czar  to 
resolve  upon  not  selecting  a  cotisort  from 
the  daughters  of  the  Russian  nobles,  but  to 
look  abroad  for  a  partner  of  his  crown  and 
bed.     Probably  a  more  personal  and  imme- 
diate  motive   also  influenced   him  ;    for  he 
chose  a  Polish  lady  for  whom,  we  learn,  he 
had    conceived    a    passionate    attachment. 
The    noblt's    objected    to    the    match;    and 
those  who  had  marriageable  daughters  were, 
we  may  not  unfairly  presume,  decidedly  ad- 
verse   to    a   departure   from    old    customs. 
But   the    chief  opposition    came   from    the 
clergy,    who    nevertheless    uttered    remon- 
strances, warnings,  and  anathemas  in  vain. 
Feodor  replied   that   he   should   marry  the 
lady  of  his  choice,  whether  the  church  ap- 
proved of  it  or  otherwise ;  and  marry  her  he 
(lid — a  circumstance  which  we  are  sure  that 
our  lady  readers,  at  least,  will  not  censure 

him  for. 

Feodor    endeavoured    to    withdraw    the 
people  from  many  prejudices,  and  pernicious 
or   barbarous    habits.     His    reign    was  too 
brief  to  permit  of  any  great  success  in  this 
direction ;  for  it  takes  years,  and  sometimes 
even   generations,  to  effect  changes  in  na- 
tional  customs.     To  vulgar  minds   it  is  a 
sufficient    reason  fur   anything,   that   their 
fathers  and  forefathers  did  it.     So  strongly 
dues  this  feeling — a  wholesome  one  under 
proper  restrictions — influence  the    Russian 
peasantry,  that  even   to  this  day  they  can 
scarcely   be  induced  to   adopt   agricultural 
improvements.     Their  ancestors  followed  a 
plan  which,  with  greater  labour,  yielded  a 
smaller  produce ;  and  they  will  do  as  their 
ancestors  did.     Inertness  of  mind  and  con- 
stitutional apathy  has  much  to  do  iu  bring- 
ing   about    this    obstructive    temper    in    a 
people ;  and  the  Russian  peasant  was  and 
is,  notoriously  idle  and  uureflective.    Feodor 
tried  hard  to  raise  the  people  from  their 
slothful  ways,  and  to  show  them  the  value 
of  intellectual  energy.     It  is  very  possible 
that  his  exertions  softened  the  severity  of 
the  subsequent  labours  of  Peter  in  the  same 


A.D.  1682.] 


RUSSIxVN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  feodor. 


path ;  indeed,  but  for  his  premature  death, 
he  might  have  accomplished  much  of  what 
was  eventually  effected  by  his  illustrious 
half-brother.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable, 
that  he  endeavoured  to  reform  the  common 
dress  of  the  people,  and  to  induce  them  to 
adopt  a  costume  resembling  that  worn  by 
the  inhabitants  of  other  European  nations, 
instead  of  one  of  an  Asiatic  character. 

The  reign  of  this  amiable  and  wise  young 
czar   was   a  very   brief  one.     It  extended 
over  a  period  of  six  years  only  ;  when  his 
feeble  constitution   sunk   under  some  dis- 
order, and  he  died  early  in  1682,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-tive.      During  the  time  he  hela 
the  sceptre,  he  accomplished  a  considerable 
amount   of    good   in    those    small   matters 
which    bring   more   benefit   to   the    people 
than  reputation  to  the  sovereign.     His  was 
the  work   of  preparation;    and    he   proved 
himself  a  worthy  forerunner  of  the  national 
regenerator  who  was  to  effect  that  which  he 
had  laid  his  hand  upon.     Reformer  as  he 
was,    the   Russians   regretted   their   young 
czar,    and    mourned    his    death.     Though 
they  disapproved  of  many  of  his  designs, 
they  were  conscious  that  he  laboured  ear- 
nestly in  the  cause  of  his  country. 

Feodor,   shortly    before    his    death,   ap- 
pointed his  half-brother  Peter  to  succeed 
to  the  empire ;    for  he  knew  that  the  in- 
firmities of  Ivan  were  such  as  to  prevent 
the  possibility  of  his  discharging  the  duties 
of    the   government.      The   unhappy   boy, 
besides    being   of    defective   intellect,    was 
subject  to  epileptic  fits,  and  nearly  bhnd. 
Sensible  of  his  own  unfitness  for  a  post  of 
such    serious    responsibility,   Ivan    readily 
consented  to  the  proposition  of  Feodor,  and 
resigned  a  crown,  the  weight  of  which  he 
had  not  strength  to  bear.  ^ 

The   princess  Sophia,  a  sister  of  Ivans, 
distinguished  alike  for  her  beauty,  her  am- 
bition, and  her  reckless  want  of  principle, 
was   much   incensed   at  this   arrangement. 
It  was   her    desire  that  Ivan  should   sue- 
ceed  to  the  throne,  that  she  might  be  able 
to  rule  through  the  instrumentality  of  her 
feeble  brother.     The  members  of  the  house 
of  Miloflafskoi,  or  the  family  of  the  mother 
of  Ivan,   were    all    ready   to    second   any 
scheme  she   might  conceive  for  that  pur- 
pose ;    while  the  Narishkins,  the  family  of 
Peter,  were  equally  as  ready  to  oppose  it. 
Much   excitement   was    produced    by   this 
division   in  the  imperial  family;    and  ad- 
•herents    to    both    parties    arose   in   every 
quarter  of  the  city. 


The  Miloflafskois  had  the  advantage  that 
arose    from    the    possession   of    authority. 
The  officers   of  state  were   in  their  confi- 
dence, the  kevs  of  power  in   their  hands, 
and  the  bands  of  the  Strelitz  under  their 
command,   or   at   least   nominally    so;    for 
these  turbulent  and  ferocious  troops  were 
scarcely  to  be  controlled  by  any  power  m 
the  state.     The  designing  Sophia  resolved 
to  make  these  men  the  instruments  of  her 
approach  to  power.     She  addressed  herself 
to  them  even  before  Feodor  had  breathed 
his   last,    and    pleaded    in    behalf    of    her 
brother  Ivan;    knowing,  that  if  this  poor 
puppet  was    placed    upon   the  throne,   she 
would  have  the  field  to  herself,  and  could 
do   as    she   pleased.     It   is   said,    that   her 
beautv  made  a  great  impression  upon  the 
Strelitz;  but  it  is  more  likely  that  ner  in- 
fluence arose  solely  from  the  bribes  which 
she   scattered    amongst    them   with    great 
liberalitv.     Within  two  days  after  the  fune- 
ral   of  'Feodor,  the    Strelitz   assembled   m 
arms  to  the  number  of  14,000,  and  pro- 
ceeded in  a  body  to  the  Kremlin.     They 
had  received  their  instructions;  which  were, 
in  the  tumult  of  insurrection  to  assassinate 
the  chief  members  of  the  Narishkin  family, 
and   to   take,  if  possible,   the   life   of  the 
young  prince  Peter.     To  give  a  false  colour 
to    their    objects,    a    report    was    spread 
throughout   the  city,  that  the  Narishkins 
had    poisoned    Feodor    to    make   way   for 
Peter;    that   some   foreign  physicians  had 
been  the  guilty  agents ;  and  that  a  similar 
act  of  treachery  was  contemplated  towards 

Ivan.  cf^    V 

On  arriving  at  the  Kremhn,  the  Strelitz 
broke  out  into  insurrection.     They  began 
by  accusing  nine  of  their  colonels  of  de- 
frauding them  of  their  pay,  and  demanding 
the  sums  that  had  been  taken  from-  them, 
and  that  the  nine  officers  should  be  given 
up  to  them.     Both  demands  were  complied 
with,  and  the  defaulters  subjected  to  the 
punishment  of  the  bastinado.     Subordina- 
tion once  broken,  furious  excesses  soon  lol- 
lowed.      These   were    encouraged    by    the 
princess   Sophia,   who   had    given    to    the 
chiefs  of  the  Strelitz  a  list  of  forty  nobles, 
whom  she  declared  to  be  enemies  of  the 
state,   and   deserving   of    death.      Forcing 
their  way  into  the  palace,  the  Strelitz  de- 
manded the  lives  of  the  Narishkins.     The 
princes  Dolgorouki  and  Maffeof  were  the 
first  victims.     These  unfortunate  men  were 
thrown  out  of  the  windows  of  the  palace  by 
the  Strelitz,  and  received  on  the  pikes  of 

127 


m 


mi 


TV  AN  AND  PETER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1682, 


their  comrades  beneath.  Athanasius  Narish- 
kin,  a  brother  of  the  widow  of  the  czar  Alexis, 
and  uncle  of  Peter,  was  also  murdered, 
together  with  most  of  those  denounced  by 
the  fierce  and  ambitious  Sophia.  Tliree  of 
the  proscribed  were  dragged  from  the  altar 
of  a  neighbouring  church,  stripped  naked, 
and  then  cut  to  pieces.  In  their  fury,  the 
ruffian  soldiers  murdered  a  young  noble- 
man, by  mistake,  for  one  of  the  uncles  of 
Peter,  of  whom  tliey  were  in  search.  AVhcn 
the  deed  was  done,  they  disc(3vcred  they 
had  slain  a  member  of  the  house  of  Soltikof, 
who,  so  far  from  incurring  their  vengeance, 
had  ever  been  a  great  favourite  with  them. 
To  show  their  regret,  they  respectfully  car- 
ried the  body  of  the  young  noble  to  liis 
father,  who,  influenced  by  fear,  gave  them 
a  considerable  reward  for  so  doing.  The 
ladies  of  his  household  reproached  him  for 
his  weakness.  *'  Let  us  wait,"  responded 
the  bereaved  noble,  "for  an  opportunity  of 
being  revenged."  The  retiring  soldiers 
overheard  the  words,  and  returning,  they 
dragged  the  aged  man  by  the  hair  into  the 
street,  and  cut  his  throat  at  his  own  door. 

A  Dutch  physician  named  Daniel  Von- 
gad,  had  been  accused  of  poisoning  the 
czar  Feodor — a  crime  of  which  the  unfor- 
tunate man  was  undoubtedly  innocent. 
While  searching  for  Vongad,  they  met  his 
son,  and  murdered  him,  because  he  would 
not  inform  them  where  his  father  was. 
Shortly  afterwards,  a  German  physician  fell 
into  their  hands,  and  was  instantly  put  to 
death  by  these  ruffians;  who  said  to  him, 
"You  are  a  doctor;  and  if  you  have  not 
poisoned  our  master  Feodor,  you  have 
poisoned  others,  and  therefore  you  merit 
death." 

Vongad  was  at  length  discovered,  con- 
cealed in  the  palace  in  the  disguise  of  a 
beggar.  The  princesses  (sisters  of  the  re- 
morseless Sopliia)  implored  the  soldiers  to 
spare  him,  assuring  them  that  he  was  a 
very  skilful  man,  and  had  taken  great  care 
of  their  brother  Feodor.  The  wretches, 
thirsting  for  blood,  replied,  that  he  deserved 
to  be  put  to  death  for  sorcery;  for  that 
they  had  found  the  skeleton  of  a  large  toad, 
and  the  skin  of  a  snake,  in  his  cabinet. 
Having  discovered  John  Narishkin,  another 
brother  of  the  mother  of  Peter,  they  put 
him  and  the  poor  physician  to  a  mock  trial, 
and  condemned  them  to  be  cut  to  pieces. 
After  the  execution  of  this  savage  sentence, 
the  heads,  feet,  and  hands  of  the  two  vic- 
tims were  exposed  upon  the  iron  points  of 
128 


a  balustrade  of  the  palace.  Happily  the 
mother  of  Peter  escaped  with  that  young 
prince  from  this  scene  of  horror.  She  fled 
with  her  boy  in  her  arms;  but  the  Strelitz 
were  soon  upon  her  track.  When  almost , 
exhausted,  she  could  hear  the  yells  of  her 
pursuers  and  the  tramp  of  their  feet.  She 
had  just  time  to  gain  the  sanctuary  of  the 
convent  of  the  Trinity,  and  to  place  her 
child  upon  the  altar,  when  two  of  the 
ruffians  entered.  One  of  them  seized  the 
prince,  and  raised  his  weapon  to  dispatch 
the  boy.  At  this  moment,  a  noise  of  horse- 
men, joined,  perhaps,  to  a  feeling  of  super- 
stitious terror,  caused  him  to  hesitate.  A 
strange  panic  had  fallen  upon  his  comrades 
in  the  other  part  of  the  church;  it  extended 
itself  to  him :  the  ruffian  released  the 
prince,  and  fled  ;  and  the  future  regenerator 
of  Russia  was  saved. 

The  result  of  all  this  violence  was,  that 
the  feeble  Ivan  was  declared  czar.  The 
poor  boy  shrunk  from  a  responsibility  to 
which  he  felt  himself  unequal,  and  desired 
that  his  half-brother,  Peter,  might  be  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  government.  This 
proposition  was  considered  reasonable,  and 
brought  about  a  compromise.  The  partisans 
of  the  princess  Sophia  thought  it  prudent 
to  consent :  and  on  the  6th  of  May,  1682, 
Ivan  and  Peter  were  crowned  as  joint 
sovereign,  she  herself  being  appointed  as 
regent.  The  ambitious  princess,  though 
thus  in  possession  of  the  imperial  power, 
was  not  satisfied  without  being  recognised 
as  ruler  in  name  as  well  as  in  fact.  She 
enjoyed  all  the  honours  of  sovereignty ;  her 
features  were  stamped  upon  the  public  coin, 
she  signed  all  despatches,  had  the  first  seat 
in  the  council,  and  enjoyed  an  authority 
which  knew  no  control. 

To  preserve  the  power  of  the  sceptre  in 
her  own  family,  she  married  her  brother 
Ivan  to  a  young  lady  of  the  house  of 
Soltikof.  The  way  in  which  the  consort  of 
the  czar  was  selected  at  this  period,  was 
remarkable  and  romantic.  Voltaire  ob- 
serves, that  on  these  occasions  it  seems  as 
if  we  were  reading  the  history  of  Ahasuerus, 
or  that  of  Theodosius  the  younger.  The 
ceremony  was  conducted  according  to 
Asiatic  precedents.  The  most  beautiful 
girls  of  the  country  were  diligently  sought 
for,  and  when  a  sufficient  number  were 
collected,  they  were  invited  to  the  palace, 
and  dressed  in  their  most  costly  appareL 
Each  had  an  apartment  provided  for  her, 
but  they  dined  together  at  a  general  table. 


A.D  1684.  J 


On  these  occasions,  the  czar  attended  either 
publicly  or  incognitOj  and  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  comparing  their  beauty,  and 
listening  to  their  conversation.  Some 
authors  assert,  that  he  watched  them  upon 
other  and  unsuspected  occasions,  and  even 
sometimes  visited  their  chambers  at  night, 
to  see  which  of  them  slept  quietest.  When 
he  had  made  his  selection,  he  presented 
the  chosen  lady  with  a  handkerchief  and  a 
ring,  as  tokens  of  his  afifection  and  accept- 
ance of  her.  The  rest  were  honourably 
dismissed  with  presents,  and  returned  to 
their  respective  homes.  The  chosen  beauty 
was  then  declared  in  public,  and  had  the 
title  of  grand  princess  conferred  upon  her. 

Having   induced   her    brother    Ivan    to 
marry,  Sophia  sent  Peter   to   an    obscure 
village,  where,  by  causing  his  education  to 
be  neglected,  and  surrounding  him  with  low 
companions,    she    trusted    to    render   him 
unfit  to  attain  and  direct  the  powers  of  the 
state.      Thus,   with   two    czars    upon    the 
throne,  the  one  almost  an  idiot,  the  other  a 
mere  child,  the  regent  Sophia  might  have 
been  an   absolute  sovereign  but  for  other 
difficulties  which  arose  in  her  path.     Men's 
minds  were  unsettled,  and  a  fresh  insurrec- 
tion broke  out.  The  Strelitz  were  especially 
turbulent.     They  first  broke  into  rebellion 
on  the  subject  of  rehgion ;  and,  in  defence 
of  some  new  doctrine,  drove  the  patriarch 
and   his   clergy   from    the    cathedral   with 
stones.      After  much  confusion   this   out- 
break was  subdued,  the  leaders  beheaded, 
and  the  soldiers  pacified  or  intimidated. 

But  the  Strelitz  did  not  long  remain 
quiet;  they  felt  that  they  had  given  the 
sceptre  into  the  hands  of  Sophia,  and  that 
she  could  not  sufficiently  repay  them  for 
such  an  important  service.  Like  the  prae- 
torian guards  of  the  Roman  emperors,  they 
assumed  the  right  of  dethroning  as  well  as 
enthroning;  and  the  regent  soon  became 
sensible  that  she  must  awe  them  into  sub- 
mission, or  become  merely  a  slavish  instru- 
ment of  their  desires.  Prince  Kovanskoi, 
their  commander,  had  been  the  confidant  of 
the  ambitious  princess,  and  was  necessarily 
in  possession  of  dangerous  secrets.  At  first 
he  appears  to  have  been  merely  jealous  of 
the  superior  ascendancy  of  Prince  Basil 
Galatzin,  the  favourite  and  lover  of  the 
princess,  whom  she  had  created  general- 
issimo, minister  of  state,  and  lord-keeper. 
Soon,  however,  he  enlarged  the  horizon  of 
his  ambition,  and  even  aimed  at  the  im- 
perial dignity.     With  this  view  he  proposed 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [insurrecttion  of  the  strelitz 

to  the  regent,  that  she  should  marry  one  ot 
her  sisters  to  his  son.  The  acute  princess 
suspected  the  design  of  Kovanskoi,  and 
returned  a  haughty  refusal.  Irritated  by 
her  reply,  he  resolved  on  revenge,  and  de- 
termined to  clear  a  path  to  the  throne  by 
the  murder  of  the  two  czars,  Sophia,  and  all 
who  were  attached  to  the  imperial  family. 
At  the  instigation  of  Kovanskoi,  the  tur- 


VOL.  I. 


bulent  Strelitz  again  broke  out  into  insur- 
rection. On  this  occasion,  also,  the  name 
of  religion  was  perverted  into  an  excuse  for 
outrage.  The  soldiers  demanded  certain 
changes,  but  the  object  of  their  chief  was 
merely  ambitious.  Moscow  was  thrown 
into  a  state  of  confusion;  and  the  czars  and 
the  princesses  having  no  power  at  hand  to 
oppose  the  insurgents,  fled  to  the  fortified 
monastery  of  the  Trinity,  within  twelve 
leagues  of  the  capital.  This  retreat  was  at 
once  a  convent,  a  palace,  and  a  fortress; 
and  was  encompassed  with  deep  ditches  and 
brick  ramparts,  on  which  were  planted  a 
numerous  artillery.  Ensconced  within  these 
walls,  the  imperial  party  prepared  to  defend 
themselves  to  the  last  extremity. 

Prince  Kovanskoi  possessed  far  more  am- 
bition than  talent;    and   he    soon   showed 
that  he  was  no  match  for  the  crafty  princess 
against  whom  he  had  conspired.    She  opened 
a  negotiation,  and  having   prevailed  upon 
him  to  meet  her  half-way,  she  came  to  the 
spot  with  a  considerable  body  of  soldiers, 
and  seizing  Kovanskoi  and  the  thirty-seven 
Strelitz  who  attended  him,  caused  them  to 
be   instantly   beheaded.     The    rebels   were 
furious  on  learning  the  fate  of  their  leader, 
and  advanced  upon  the  monastery,  threat- 
ening death  to  everyone  within  it.     While 
they  were   approaching,  they  received   in- 
formation  that   troops   were   marching   on 
all  sides  against  them  ;  and  their  fury  was 
succeeded,  first   by    fear,   and   next    by  an 
absolute  panic,     taking  advantage  of  this, 
the  regent,  reassured  by  the  assistance  that 
was  at  hand,  demanded  that  all  the  ring- 
leaders should  be  delivered  up  to  her,  and 
that   every   tenth    man    in   each   regiment 
should  also   be    surrendered   as   a  security 
for  the  behaviour  of  the  rest.    The  dispirited 
rebels  at  once  complied,  and  the  selected 
victims  having  taken  leave  of  their  wives 
and  families,  went   in   a  long  melancholy 
procession   to   the  monastery.     Two-thirds 
of  the  number  carried  blocks ;    while  the 
remainder  bore  axes — the  intended  instru- 
ments of  their  own  execution.     On  arriving 
at  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  building, 
^  ,  129 


«-'*'»«- 


WAB  WITH  niE  TARTARS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1687. 


A.D.  1689.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[marriage  of  peter. 


they  laid  their  heads  upon  the  blocks  they 
had  brouj^ht  with  them,  and  passively 
awaited  their  doom.  The  court  and  the 
spectators  were  touched  by  this  exhibition 
of  abject  submission.  The  most  guilty  only 
were  put  to  death;  while  the  rest  were 
pardoned  and  distributed  among  the  frontier 
regiments. 

This  last  was  the  act  of  the  prince 
Galitzin,  who  sent  the  most  mutinous  corps 
of  the  Strclitz  into  the  Ukraine,  Kasan,  and 
Siberia.  Sophia,  who  now  recovered  the 
regal  power,  was  fortunate  in  the  possession 
of  this  man  as  her  minister.  The  Polish 
envoy  then  in  Russia  described  him  as 
superior,  in  every  respect,  to  any  other 
person  in  that  tempestuous  court — as  being 
not  only  })olitc,  but  magnificent;  full  of 
grand  designs,  and  learned  beyond  any  of 
Ids  countrymen ;  being  a  master  of  the 
Latin  tongiie,  at  that  time  almost  unknown 
in  Russia — a  man  of  an  active  spirit,  of  in- 
defatigable application;  in  short,  a  genius 
superior  to  the  times  he  lived  in,  and  capable, 
liad  he  leisure  and  power  as  he  had  inclina- 
tion, of  refurniing  the  manners  of  Russia. 

The  partisans  of  the  young  czar  Peter, 
discerning  in  him  some  touches  of  mental 
vigour,  lived  in  hopes  of  eventually  securing 
for  him  the  sole  power  of  the  state.  With 
this  object  they  watched  anxiously  for  an 
opportunity  of  weakening  the  regent  Sophia, 
and  of  bringing  her  minister,  Galitzin,  into 
disgrace. 

It   was   known    that   Galitzin   had   more 
talent  for   the   cabinet  than  for  the  field; 
and  for  this  reason  his  enemies  clamoured 
for  a  war  with   the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea, 
who  still   exacted   from    Russia    an    annual 
tribute  of  ()(),0()0  roubles.    Such  a  condition 
was  very  humiliating  to  Russia;  but,  under 
the  circumstances,  with  an  unsettled  gov- 
ernment, and  an  almost  exhausted  treasury, 
it  was  not    prudent  to  enter  upon   a   war. 
Yet  the  Narishkin  faction  induced  Galitzin 
to  take  the  field,  in  the  year  1687,  at  the 
head   of  the    army,   with  the  hope   that  a 
disaster  minht  prove  his   ruin;  or  that,  at 
least  during  his  absence,  they  might  more 
effectually  advance  the  claims  of  Peter. 

The  armv  is  said  to  liave  amounted  to 
300,000  nien;  but  they  were  undisciplined 
and  ill-armed.  Galitzin  was,  moreover,,  en- 
cumbered with  an  enormous  quantity  of 
baggage,  and  he  wasted  the  strength  of  his 
men  in  marches  and  counter-marches,  which 
failed  to  produce  any  equivalent  results. 
The  war  was  prolonged  over  two  campaigns, 
130 


attended  with  a  loss  of  40,000  soldiers,  and 
ended  without  victory.  The  enemies  ol 
Galitzin  had  calculated  correctly :  the  un- 
successful general  incurred  general  odium, 
from  which  the  regent  Sophia  by  no  means 
escaped. 

In  the  meantime  Peter  grew  up  towards 
manhood  in  his  retirement.     Left  as  far  as 
possible  without  education,  the  regent  had 
placed  around  him  a  number  of  dissolute 
voung  Russians,  many  of  whom  were  mere 
adventurers,  who,  though  but  lads  in  years, 
possessed  the  vices  of  men,  and  had  become 
reckless  of  honour,  and  even  of  reputation. 
Sophia  naturally  supposed  that  Peter  would 
sink  to  the  level  of  this  depraved  set,  and 
never  afterwards   rise   above   it.     She  was 
both  right  and  wrong  :  partly  right,  because 
Peter  imbibed  from  these  dissolute  lads  evil 
habits  which   never  left   him;    and    partly 
wrong,  because  she  had  not  recognised  in 
her  half-brother  the  ori|2;inality  of  character 
and  firmness  of  will  that  led  him  to  attain 
an    ascendancy   over   them.      He   acquired 
their   vices;    but   he   attracted    both   their 
affection  and  esteem.     Much  of  their  time 
was  passed  in  those  profligate  amusements 
to  which  Peter  ever  remained  attached ;  but 
the  military  taste  of  the  young  czar  soon 
became  apparent,  and  he  formed  his  com- 
panions into  a  corps  of  soldiers.     In  this 
mimic  military  community  he   set   an  ex- 
ample   of    discipline    himself,    by    entering 
the  ranks  first  as  a  drummer,  and  becoming 
successively  a  private  soldier,  an  officer,  and, 
finally,  commander  of   the    troop.      While 
engaged  in  these  instructive  sports,  Peter 
erected  fortifications,   and  himself  wheeled 
the  earth  from  the  trenches  in    a  barrow 
constructed  by  his  own  hands.     The  spirit 
of  the  thing  was  contagious,  and  in  a  short 


time  the  whole   village   became   a   sort  of 
military  school.     But  the  time  of  the  young 
czar  was  not  wholly  occupied  in  this  man- 
ner.   Amongst  his  companions  was  a  young 
Genevese,   named     Fran9ois    Lefort,    who, 
having  quitted  his  father's  house  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,   had,   after   many   vicissitudes, 
entered  the  military  service  of  Russia  during 
the  reign  of  the  czar  Feodor,  and  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  against  the  Tartars.     At 
length  he  obtained  an  introduction  to  the  czar 
Peter,  who  took  a  liking  to  him,  and  en- 
gaged him  to  be  one  of  his  companions,  or 
amusers,  as  they  were  called.     Lefort  was  a 
self-educated  man,  and  not  deeply  versed  in 
literature,  the  arts,  or  the  military  sciences. 
But  young  as  he  was,  he  had  seen  the  world, 


and  profited  by  what  he  had  seen.  Though 
not  deep,  he  was  versatile,  and  possessed 
very  agreeable  manners.  He  was  something 
of  a  linguist  also,  and  not  unacquainted 
with  mathematics;  and  it  was  under  his 
instructions  that  Peter  made  a  ran^d  pro- 
gress in  the  elenxentary  branches  of  litera- 
ture and  science.  Probably  the  irregular 
genius  of  the  young  czar  would  have  re- 
volted against  the  drudgery  of  a  systematic 
education;  but  information  thus  acquired 
by  snatches,  and  to  some  extent  by  stealth, 
possessed  an  air  of  fascination  extremely 
attractive  to  him. 

Sophia  beheld   with   pleasure  her  half- 
brother  occupied  with  dissipated  and  seem- 
ingly boyish  pursuits.    The  military  displays 
of  his  troops  she  regarded  as  the  idle  frolics 
of    boys,    and    fancied   that   the   midnight 
carousals  and  premature  habits  of  the  young 
czar,  would,  in  a  few  years,  induce  a  bodily 
and  mental  weakness  which  would  render 
him  incapable  of  governing.     She  was  de- 
ceived.    Peter,  though   dissolute,  was   not 
wholly  so :  though  his  education  had  been 
purposely  neglected,  his  great  natural  ca- 
pacity enabled  him  to  acquire  and  digest 
every  useful  information  that  came  in  his 
way.     A  sense  of  the  dignity  and  responsi- 
bility  of  the    position   that   was   withheld 
from  him,  crossed  his  mind,  or  rather  pene- 
trated  it,   and   dwelt  there.     Though   his 
position  was  such  as  a  boy  might  submit  to, 
yet    a   man    could    not    endure   it   without 
shame.     Animated  by  a  hope  of  obtaining 
the  reality  of  that  sceptre  of  which  he  and 
Ivan  scarcely  touched  the  shadow,  and  en- 
couraged by  his  friends,  he  made  his  appear- 
ance  occasionally  in  the  city  of  Moscow, 
and  also  in  the  senate,  where  he  took  his 
seat  by  the  side  of  his  feeble-minded  brother. 
Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when,  in  the 
June  of  1689,  the  friends  of  Peter  brought 
about  a  marriage  between  him  and  Eudoxia 
Federowna   Lapuchin,   the   daughter   of  a 
Russian  noble.     This  union  was   intended 
not  only  to  allure  Peter  from  the  dissipa- 
tion to  which  he  was  so  much  addicted,  but 
also  to  defeat  the  scheme  of  the  princess 
Sophia  with  respect  to  Ivan/s  wife,  who  was 
supposed  to  have  sullied  the  purity  of  the 
marriage  bed,  and  to  be  in  a  state  of  criminal 

pregnancv. 

The  decided  bearing  of  Peter  in  the  senate 
startled  Sophia,  who  saw  that  she  had  been 
deceived  in  her  estimate  of  his  mental 
powers.  Several  contentions  took  place  be- 
tween them.;   and  each  recognised  in  the 


other  an  enemy  whom  it  was  necessary  to 
remove.     Accounts  of  the  promising  cha- 
racter of  Peter  had  gone  al)road,  and  he 
was    gaining    ground    in    popular    favour. 
Sophia  felt  that  her  choice  lay  between  some 
imrre<:^&t*^  and  d'isperate  step,aud  her  speedy 
removal  from  the  power  she  had  usurped. 
So  remorseless  a  woman  probably  felt  no 
compunction  in  consequence  of  the  resolu- 
tion at  which  she  arrived,  which  was,  to  pro- 
cure  the   assassination   of  her  rival.     She 
appears  to  have  been  steeled  to  this  base 
purpose  by  an  open  quarrel,  of  a  serious 
kind,  which  took  place  between  them.     On 
the  occasion  of  some  religious  festival,  So- 
phia insisted   on   attending  as  regent,  tr, 
according  to  some  authorities,   as   czarina. 
We  should   presume  the  latter  to  be   the 
case,   as  the  regency  of  the    princess  had 
been  long  admitted,  and  Peter  had  never 
questioned  it.     On  this  occasion  he  vehe- 
mently denied  her  claim,  and  an  angry  alter- 
cation was  the  result.     The  imperious  So- 
phia, accustomed   to   command,  and  more 
irritated  than  convinced  by  the  expostula- 
tions of  the  young  czar,    persisted   in  her 
pretensions.     As  there  was  no  umpire   to 
whom  the   quarrel   could   be   referred  for 
decision,    Peter  withdrew  from   the   cere- 
mony, and  protested,  in  the  name  of  the 
sovereign  power,  against  an  act  of  assump- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  princess,  which  he 
regarded  as  an  usurpation. 

Once  again  Sophia  resorted  to  the  Stre- 
litz  as  the  instruments  of  her  vengeance ; 
and  a  body  of  600  of  these  desperate  men 
was  sent  during  the  night  to  the  residence 
of  Peter,  with  orders  to  seize  or  dispatch 
him.     The  friends  of  the  young  czar  were 
on  the  alert :  he  had  received  information 
of  the  murderous  design  against  him,  and 
had  secretly  left  the  city,  and  retired  to  the 
fortified  monastery  of  the  Trinity.     There 
he  summoned  all  the  nobles  of  his  party 
and  the  friends  of  Russia,  and  entreated 
their   assistance    to   set    aside    an    oppres- 
sive usurpation.      His    call    was   generally 
responded  to,  for  the  Russians  are  remark- 
ably "orthodox"  in  their  devotion  to  the- 
true  sovereign ;  and  Sophia,  if  she  had  not 
excited  disgust  by  her  assumption  of  im- 
perial power,  had  at  least  failed  to  attract 
the  affections  of  the  people. 

Peter  soon  had  a  considerable  force  at  his 
command ;  and  the  Strelitz,  disappointed  in 
their  attempt  on  his  life,  were  alarmed  at 
the  danger  they  had  incurred,  and  aban- 
doned an  enterprise  which  gave  no  promise 

131 


•I 


(M' 


OVERTHROW  OF  SOPHIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1689. 


of  success.     The   princess    Sophia,   feeling 
herself  deserted,  sent  commissioners  to  her 
half-brother,  to  propose  terms  of  accommo- 
dation, and  express  a  hope  that  their  differ- 
ences might  be  amicably  adjusted.     Hesi- 
tation  at   this   time,   on   the   part   of   the 
young  czar,  would  probably  have  had  an 
evil  influence  on  the  whole  of  his  life.     But 
he  felt  himself  master  of  the  position,  and 
refused  all  terms  except  those  he  dictated, 
which    were,   the    immediate    and    entire 
abandonment,    by    the    princess,    of    her 
authority   as    regent.      The   commissioners 
themselves,  on  hearing  Peter's  statement  of 
the   misconduct   and  treachery  of   Sophia, 
abindoned  their  trust,  and  attached  them- 
selves to  his  cause.     The  princess  then  left 
Moscow   at    the    head    of    a  considerable 
guard,  and  proceeded  towards  the  convent 
of  the  Trinity,  with  the  hope  of  being  able 
to  soften  Peter,  or,  by  her  beauty  and  in- 
trigues, regain  her  lost  influence  over  the 

soldiery. 

She  was  met  by  messengers  from  the 
czar,  who  forbade  her  approach,  and  de- 
manded, in  the  name  of  the  czar,  the  sur- 
render of  Scheglovitoi  (the  commander  of 
the  Strelitz),  the  banishment  of  her  minister, 
Prince  Galitzin,  and  her  full  resignation  of 
all  right  and  title  to  the  throne  of  Russia. 
These  terms  were  a  death-blow  to  the  am- 
bition of  the  princess ;  but  she  was  helpless. 


and   compelled  to   submit   to   them.     Not 
only  was  she  deserted  by  her  former  sup- 
porters, but  the  anger  of   the  people  was 
excited  against  her  on  account  of  her  recent 
attempt  on  the  life  of  Peter.     Galitzin  was 
banished,    nis   wealth   confiscated,    and   an 
allowance  made  to  him  scarcely  sufficient  for 
the  support  of  life.     The  chief  of  the  Strelitz, 
together  with  many  of  his  followers,  suff*ered 
the   punishment   of  the   knout,   and   were 
then    beheaded.      Nor    did    the    princess 
escape  with  the  forfeiture  of  her  power ;  for 
Peter  compelled    her  to  enter  a  convent, 
where    she   was   confined   during    the   re- 
mainder of  her  life.     This  was  in  Septem- 
ber, 1689,  in  which  mouth,  the  young  czar 
issued    a    proclamation,    stating,    that    the 
name  of  the  late  regent  would  no  longer  be 
mentioned  in  any  public  document :  at  the 
same  time,  her  image  was  struck  from  the 
coinage,   and    her  favourites    and   servants 
dismissed  from  the  Kremlin. 

Peter  and  his  supporters  then  made  a 
solemn  entrance  into  Moscow,  where,  in 
the  sight  of  the  assembled  people,  he  em- 
braced his  brother  Ivan,  who  left  all  the 
power  in  his  hands.  From  this  period 
Peter  reigned  alone  ;  for  his  brother  had  no 
share  in  the  regal  authority.  Sensible  of 
his  unfitness  for  the  duties  of  his  high  posi- 
tion, Ivan  led  a  retired  life,  and  died  in  the 
year  1696. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

NEW  ERA  IN  RUSSIAN  HISTORY  ;  PETER  THE  SOLE  RULER;  HE  RAISES  AN  ARMY  ON  THE  EUROPEAN  PRIN- 
CIPLE •  ADDRESSES  HIMSELF  TO  THE  CREATION  OF  A  NAVY  ;  PETER  DECLARES  WAR  AGAINST  TURKEY ; 
AFTER  BEING  REPULSED  FROM  AZOFF,  HE  SUCCEEDS  IN  TAKING  IT;  HIS  TRIUMPHAL  ENTRY  INTO  MOSCOW; 
THE  CZ\R  RESOLVES  TO  TRAVEL,  THAT  HE  MAY  CIVILISE  RUSSIA  BY  TRANSPLANTING  INTO  IT  THE  ARTS  OF 
OTHER  NATIONS  ;  CONSPIRACY  TO  MURDER  PETER;  HIS  FEROCIOUS  REVENGE  ON  THE  BAFFLED  ASSASSINS. 


We  commence  a  new  era  in  Russian  his- 
tory. At  this  point  there  is  a  gulph  placed 
between  the  past  and  the  future  of  the 
empire.  The  past  is  Asiatic,  the  future 
European:  the  past  is  a  blind,  unsteady 
struggle  from  barbarism ;  the  future  a  pro- 
gress— slow,  but  full  of  purpose — towards 
civilisation.  Russia  had  gone  through  a 
long  probationary  period  of  political  discord 
and  social  abasement;  a  period  necessarily 
long,  in  consequence  of  the  barbarism  of 
132 


her  people,  and  the  numerous  races  from 
which  they  sprung ;  but  she  was  now  ready 
for  the  iron  hand  that  was  to  break  the  chains 
of  the  past,  and  mould  her  into  a  better 
and  a  softer  future.  The  wild  races  of  which 
that  scattered  population  was  composed,  had 
become  an  empire.  They  had  been  bound 
together  into  a  people,  and  become  a  bul- 
wark, which  broke  off  from  Europe  the  savage 
inundations  of  the  robber-hosts  of  Asia. 
The  Tartars  had  exhausted  their  dangerous 


A.D.  1689.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [peter  the  sole  sovereign. 


power  by  dashing  themselves  blindly  against 
the  territories  and  cities  of  the  north:  the  time 
was  coming  when  the  Turks  were  to  do  the 
same.  The  Russian  empire  both  was,  and  is, 
an  imperious  necessity.  Her  supposed  dream 
of  European  conquest  was  a  dek^siou,  which 
would  have  led  to  her  ruin  and  probable 
partition;  but  her  natural  work  is  in  the 
East.  In  that  direction  she  has  much  of 
inert  barbarism  to  crush  beneath  her  iron 
feet.  Imperfect  as  her  own  civilisation  is 
even  to  this  hour,  she  is  yet  the  pioneer  of 
progress,  and  will  share  with  England  the 
gigantic  labour  of  regenerating  the  Asiatic 
world.  It  is  the  very  similarity  of  the 
destiny  of  these  two  great  empires  that 
created  a  jealousy  between  them,  and  at 
length  led  to  war.  But  the  governments  of 
England  and  Russia  had  very  little  inten- 
tion of  permanently  injuring  each  other ; 
they  know  that  the  decrepid  Eastern  world 
has  spoil  enough  for  each  of  them,  and  that 
they  were  wasting  their  efforts  by  attacking 
each  other. 

During   the  remarkable  reign  of  Peter, 
Russia  was,  to  speak  metaphorically,  reborn; 
and  from  this  period  dates  her  greatness, 
and,   indeed,   her   history,  as   a   European 
state.     Empires    must   progress   or   decay. 
It    has    been   well    observed,   that    poHcy 
would   have   drawn  Russia   into  an   inter- 
course with  Europe,  even  if  necessity  had 
not  compelled   her  to   advance.     A  writer 
whom  we   have  frequently  quoted,   says — 
"What  appeared  at  this  crisis  to  be  wanted, 
was  a  master  mind  that  should  break  up 
old    customs,    and    enlighten    the    empire 
against   its  will.      Bound  on  all  sides   by 
mountains  and  arid  plains,  except  where  a 
wild  sea,  that  for  three-fourths  of  the  year 
was  locked  up  in  ice,  interrupted  the  mono- 
tonous girth  with  a  no  less  repulsive  barrier, 
Russia  presented  a  spectacle  of  moral  and 
physical  exclusion,  which  could  not  be  made 
to  yield  unless  before  some  gigantic  power 
that  should  be  capable  of  creating  a  new 
people    out    of   the    sturdy   and    hitherto 
changeless  elements  of  the  old.     The  nian 
who   should  effect   this  mighty  revolution 
required  many   qualities,   as   rare   in  their 
separate  existence  as  they  are  almost  un- 
known    in    their    combination :    a    mind 
springing  far  beyond  its  age;  a  judgment 
sound  and  rapid;  a  spirit  of  self-devotion 
to   the   interests   of  humanity;    herculean 
bodily  strength ;  firmness  of  purpose ;  and 
indomitable   energy.      All    these    qualities 
were  comprehended  in  Peter,  and,  fortu- 


nately, he  dedicated  them  with   inflexible 
zeal  to  the  benefit  of  his  country." 

When,  in  1689,  Peter  obtained  the 
government,  and  really  commenced  his 
chequered  but  brilliant  reign,  he  was  but  ^n 
his  eighteenth  year.  In  person  he  was  tail 
and  well  made.  He  had  a  robust  constitu- 
tion, and  a  countenance  which  regular  fea- 
tures and  eyes  that  sparkled  with  vivacity, 
gave  some  claim  to  the  term  handsome. 
When  grave,  the  expression  of  his  face 
often  indicated  great  severity ;  but  at  other 
times  he  was  lively  and  sociable,  and  always 
full  of  energy  and  activity. 

Young  as  Peter  was,  he  immediately  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  task  of  reforming  the 
entire  government  of  the  country  and  the 
manners  of  the  people.     He  began  with  the 
army ;  for  the  art  of  war,  as  practised  by 
the  more  civilised  nations  of  Europe,  was 
almost  unknown  in   Russia.      The  empire 
had  no  regular  army,  nor  any  regular  troops 
except  the  Strelitz;  and  they  were  turbulent 
in  times  of  peace,  and  little  to  be  depended 
on  in  those  of  war.     Having  devoted  him- 
self assiduously  to  a  study  of  the  principles 
of  military  science,  Peter  resolved  to  raise  a 
standing  army  on  the  European  principle. 
With  this  object,  he  appointed  two  of  his 
early  companions  (Lefort  the  Genevan,  and 
General   Patrick  Gordon,  a  Scotchman)  to 
raise  and  drill  some  regiments  of  foreign 
troops.      They    were    readily    enabled    to 
execute   their   commission,    on   account   of 
the   troubles  which  at   that   time  agitated 
both  France  and  Scotland.     Lefort  raised 
a  regiment  of  12,000  men,  of  which  force 
he  was  made  the  general,  and  five  colonels 
were  appointed  to  serve  under  him.     The 
troops  raised  by  General  Gordon  increased 
this  force  to  20,000  men,  who  were  intended 
to  balance  the  power  of  the  Strelitz,  and,  if 
necessary,  extinguish  them  as  enemies  to 

the  state. 

While  thus  surrounding  himself  with  a 
well-organised  army,  Peter  did  not  lose  sight 
of  the  great  necessity  of  Russia — a  navy,  and 
outlets  to  the  sea.  Without  them  the  em- 
pire would  be  a  lonely  giant  dwelling  in 
the  midst  of  deserts,  and  shut  out  from  com- 
munication with  the  rest  of  the  world.  To 
speak  without  a  metaphor,  Russia,  with- 
out ships  and  sea-coasts,  would  be  without 
commerce  and  civilisation.  Her  people  were 
isolated  to  an  extent  that  made  them 
barbarous  and  unsocial.  An  ancient  law 
had  prohibited  them  from  leaving  the  coun- 
try :  and,  in  their  ignorance,  they  despised 

•^  133 


PETER  RESOLVES  TO  CREATE  A  NAVY.]     HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.i.  1690— 1694. 


I 


the  inhabitants  of  other  lands.  This  isola- 
tion not  only  kept  them  ignorant  and  boor- 
ish, but  was  an  almost  insurmountable  ob- 
stacle in  the  path  of  national  improvement. 
Peter  resolved  this  should  be  changed — that 
Russia  Jihould  have  ships  and  harbours, 
commerce  and  intercourse  with  nations  of 
more  enlarged  ideas  and  polished  manners 
— that  his  country  should  take  her  place 
amongst  the  greatest  empires  of  the  earth, 
and  become  all  that  her  vast  territory  and 
immense  natural  resources  would  permit ! 

The  creation  of  a  navy  in  such  a  country 
as  Russia,  whose  only  outlets  were,  at  that 
time,  into  the  two  inland  seas— the  Euxine 
and  the  Caspian,  and  the  inclement  waters 
of  the  Arctic  ocean — was  a  work  of  almost 
insuperable  difficulty ;  the  more  so  to  a  man 
who,  it  is  said,  on  account  of  some  acci- 
dent which  occurred  in  liis  infancy,  enter- 
tained such  a  dread  of  the  water  as  to  be 
seized  Avith  a  shuddering,  and  sometimes 
with  convulsions,  even  if  obliged  to  pass  over 
a  brook.  The  authenticity  of  the  story  has 
been  questioned ;  but  if  it  is  true,  the  future 
reformer  utterly  subdued,  if  he  did  not 
altogether  extinguish,  this  antipathy. 

It   has   been   said   that,   in   every   task, 
nothing  is  so  difficult  as  the  beginning.     One 
day  Peter  was  walking  in  the  gardens  of 
Ismaelof,    a   summer   palace    built    by    his 
grandfather,  when  he  saw  the  wreck  of  a 
small  English  sailing-boat  lying  rotting  in 
the  grounds.     Turning  to  Timmerman,  his 
master  of  mathematics  and  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, he  inquired  how  that  little  boat  came 
to  be  of  a  different  construction  from  those 
which  he  had  seen  on  the  Moska?     The 
mathematician  explained  that  it  was  made 
to  go  with  sails,  the  use  of  which  was  not 
then  known  in  Rnssia.     The  czar  desired  to 
make  atrial  of  it,  anfl  directed  that  the  boat 
should  be  repaired  and  rendered  fit  for  ser- 
vice.    Here  lay  a  difficulty:  where  was  a 
workman  to  be  found  able  to  undertake  the 
task  ?     Peter's  father,  Alexis,  had  imported 
a  ship-builder  and  a  number  of  carpenters 
from  Holland,  for  the  purpose  of  building 
vessels  to  trade  down  the  river  Volga  to  the 
Caspian   Sea;    but  the  piracies   of   Stenka 
Hadzin  and  his  followers  extinguished  this 
budding   commerce   "^  The    Dutch    artisans 
left   the   country — all   except    one,   named 
Brandt,  a  master-carpenter  and  very  good 
ship-builder.     After  a  considerable  search, 
this   man  was    discovered   in   obscurity  at 
Moscow,  and  employed  to  restore  the  wreck. 
This    he    did    so   successfully,   that   Peter 
134 


ordered  him  to  build  two  frigates  and  three 
yachts,  which,  when  completed,  were  placed 
on  a  large  lake,  and  occasionally  navigated 
bv  the  czar  himself,  who  soon  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  the  duties  of  a  pilot.  Here, 
then,  was  the  beginning  small  enough,  it  is 
true,  but  one  which  led  to  great  results 
nevertheless.  In  all  remarkable  projects,  it 
is  not  the  bulk  of  the  germ  we  have  to  con- 
sider, but  the  capacity  of  growth. 

A  few  years  later — that  is,  in  1694 — Peter 
visited  Archangel,  the  chief  town  on  the 
shores  of  the  White  Sea.     He  took  Brandt 
with  him;  and,   after  inspecting  the  mer- 
chant vessels  that  lay  in  the  harbour,  ordered 
the  Dutchman  to  build  him  another  vessel 
larger  than  the  previous  ones.     Peter  care- 
fully inspected  the  progress,  and  frequently 
assisted  the  workmen.     When  his  ship  was 
built,  he  embarked  in  it  upon  the  White  Sea, 
and    acted   in   the    capacity   of  steersman. 
Peter  had,  no  doubt,  visited  Archangel  with 
the  object  of  personally  observing  how  far 
it   was  adapted   by  nature   for  becoming  a 
great  commercial  port.     He  soon    became 
convinced  that  it  was  too  remote  from  the 
centre  of  Russia,   and  also  from  the  chief 
ports  of  other  countries,  to  command  any 
great  trade,  or  be  a  convenient  outlet  for 
the  commerce  or  fleets  of  the  empire.     His 
thoughts,   therefore,    naturally    reverted  to 
the  Black  Sea,  the  Caspian,  and  also  to  the 
Baltic.     Then  it  was  that  he  saw  the  policy 
of  Ivan  the  Terrible  in  his  constant  endea- 
vours to  obtain  possession  of  Livonia,  which 
necessarily  gave   to  those   who   held   it  an 
outlet  to  the   Baltic.     Probably  from   this 
time  dates  the  conception  of  those  gigantic 
projects  of  territorial  extension  which  Peter 
afterwards   so   steadily  pursued,    and   even 
bequeathed  to  his  successors. 

The  czar  left  Archangel  to  put  a  part  of 
his  views  into  immediate  execution.     Turkey 
and  Poland  were  still  at  war,  and  the  sultan 
was    also    engaged    with    other   formidable 
enemies.     Taking   advantage  of  these  cir- 
cumstances,   Peter  declared  war  upon  the 
Ottoman  Porte.     This  was  not  from  caprice, 
or  love  of  military  glory :  war  with  this  re- 
markable man  was  not  an  exciting  pastime, 
but  always  a  means  to  some  definite  end 
which   could   not  be  obtained   without   it. 
In  this  instance  he  desired  to  extend   his 
southern  frontier  to  the  shores  of  the  Black 
Sea ;  and  for  this  purpose  he  desired  to  ob- 
tain possession  of  Azoflf,  which  was  then  an 
important  fortress  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks. 
It  will  be  seen,  by  referring  to  a  map  of 


A.D.  1696.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[capture  of  azoff. 


Russia,  that  Azoff  stands  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Don,  where  that  river  pours  its  waters 
into  the  little  sea  which  bears  the  same 
name  as  the  town.  Peter  had  ordered 
vessels  to  be  constructed,  with  which  he 
intended  to  sail  down  the  river  and  attack 


Azoff  once  in  the  hands  of  the  czar,  he 
made  preparations  for  keeping  it  there. 
With  this  view  he  improved  the  fortifica- 
tions, erected  a  large  harbour,  and  prepared 
to  augment  his  fleet.  His  design  was  to  fit 
out  a  fleet  to  act  against  the  Turks,  con- 


Azoff  by  water,  while  his  troops  assailed  it    sisting  of  nine  60-gun  ships,  and  of  forty- 


by  land.  Many  difficulties  necessarily  lay 
in  the  way  of  projects  to  which  his  people 
were  so  unused,  and  the  vessels  could  not 
be  got  ready  in  time.     The  czar,  therefore. 


one  more,  carrying  each  from  thirty  to 
fifty  pieces  of  cannon.  The  principal  no- 
bility and  the  wealthiest  merchants  were 
obliged  to  contribute  to  the  fitting-out  of 


was  compelled  to  conduct  this  his  first  cam-   this  fleet;  and  as  Peter  thought  that  the 


paign  by  land  only. 

The  Russian  army  commenced  its  march 
in  the  summer  of  1695.  Conscious  of  his 
own  inexperience  in  military  matters,  and 
desirous  of  setting  an  example  of  subordina- 
tion to  his  nobility,  Peter  served  in  the  army 
as  a  volunteer,  and  gave  the  command  to 
Generals  Lcfort,  Gordon,  Scheremetof  and 
Schein.  The  fortress  of  Azofi'  was  very 
strong,  and  defended  by  a  powerful  garrison. 


estates  of  the  clergy  ought  to  bear  a  pro- 
portion in  the  service  of  the  common  cause, 
orders  w^ere  issued  that  the  patriarch,  the 
bishops,  and  heads  of  the  church,  should 
find  money  to  forward  this  new  expedition, 
in  honour  of  their  country,  and  for  the 
general  advantage  of  Christendom.  He 
also  obliged  the  Cossacks  to  build  a  number 
of  light  boats,  such  as  they  were  in  the 
habit    of    using,    with   which    they   might 


After^'a  long  encampment  before  the  walls, '  easily  infest  the  whole  coast  of  the  Crimea, 
and  a  vain  attempt  to  storm  them,  the  Rus-  I  His  object  was,  to  drive  both  Tartars  and 
sians   were   compelled   to   raise   the    siege.    Turks    from     this     fertile     peninsula— the 


This  circumstance  was  largely  attributable 
to  the  conduct  of  a  native  of  Dantzic, 
named  Jacob,  who  had  the  direction  of  the 
artillery  under  the  command  of  General 
Scheim  The  latter  had  condemned  Jacob 
to  the  terrible  and  disgraceful  punishment 
of  the  knout.  The  Russians  submitted  to 
this  humiliation,  and  remained  in  the  ser- 
vice; but  Jacob  resolved  to  be  revenged. 
Accordingly  he  spiked  the  Russian  cannon, 
deserted  to  the  Turks,  turned  Mohammedan, 
and  defended  the  town  with  great  success. 


present  Italy  of  Russia — and  to  establish, 
through  Georgia,  a  trade  with  Persia. 

The  changes  Peter  had  made,  notwith- 
standing their  evidently  beneficial  nature, 
had  excited  some  uneasiness,  if  not  discon- 
tent, among  the  slothful  and  superstitious 
people.  This  was  not  unobserved  by  the 
czar,  who  endeavoured  to  counteract  it  by 
deeds  of  a  benevolent  and  parental  kind. 
He  had  already  mitigated  the  suffering  re- 
sulting from  a  season  of  great  scarcity,  by 
his  exertions  in  procuring  such  a  supply  ot 


Though   baffled    in    this    attempt   upon    corn  as  sufficed  for  the  most  urgent  wants 
Azoff-,  Peter  renewed  it  in  the  spring  of  the   of  the   people.     He   now  resolved,  on  his 


following  year,  1696.  By  that  time  his 
little  fleet,  consisting  of  twelve  armed  ves- 
sels, was  ready  ;  and  he  had  remedied  many 
defects  which  action  had  rendered  apparent 
in  his  army.  Instead  of  separating  it  into 
divisions  independent  of  each  other,  he 
placed  it  under  the  sole  command  of  Gen- 
eral Schein.  •  its  numerical  strength,  also, 
was  increased,  and  several  foreign  engineers 


return  to  Moscow,  to  gratify  the  national 
vanity  and  the  love  of  amusement  of  his 
subjects,  by  making  a  magnificent  triumphal 
entry  into  the  capital,  after  the  manner  of 
the  ancient  Romans.  If  something  of  per- 
sonal pride  and  ostentation  was  mingled 
with  the  motives  that  actuated  him  in 
taking  this  step,  we  may  yet  .believe  the 
assertion   of  his   biographers,    that   it  was 


employed  to  give  greater  effect  to  the  artil-   intended   less   as   a  memorial  ot   his   own 
lery  department.    This  time  Peter  was  more   triumph,  than  to  re\yard  the  soldiers  b^  a 


fortunate ;  his  vessels  defeated  the  Turkish 
saicks  that  had  been  sent  from  Constanti- 
nople; the  fire  of  his  cannon  also  proved 
superior  to  that  of  the  enemy ;  and  on  the 


public  token  of  admiration,  and  to  inspire 
the  spectators  with  patriotic  enthusiasm. 
Peter  gave  the  foremost  places  in  the  pro- 
cession to  General  Schein  and  to  Lefort, 


28th   of  July  the  Turks   surrendered  the  I  whom  he  had  created  admiral  of  the  fleet, 
town  to  the  victors,  and  even  complied  with    He  himself  mingled  with  the  other  officers. 


Peter's  demand  that  they  should  deliver  up 
the  traitor  Jacob. 


endeavouring  by  this  example  to  convince 
the  nobility  that  merit  ought  to  be  the  only 

135 


li 


PETER  RESOLVES  TO  TRAVEL.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1697. 


A  D.  1697.] 


i 
■I 


road  to  military  preferment.  Jacob,  the 
artillery  officer  who  had  deserted  to  the 
Turks,  was  drawn  along  in  the  procession  in 
a  cart,  together  with  the  gibbet  to  which  his 
body  had  been  fastened  after  he  had  been 
broken  upon  the  wheel.  Fireworks  and 
other  rejoicings  attended  this  military  fes- 
tival, and  a  medal  was  struck  to  commemo- 
rate it.  On  one  side  it  bore  the  inscrip- 
tion, *'  Peter  I.,  the  august  Emperor  of 
Muscovy ;"  on  the  reverse  was  a  represen- 
tation of  AzofT,  and  the  words,  "  Victorious 
by  fire  and  water.'' 

Peter  was  not  the  monarch  to  rest  satis- 
fied with  military  triumphs  and  the  applauses 
of  his  people.     The  entrance  he  had  ob- 
tained into  the  Black  Sea  was  useful,  but 
insufficient  as  an  outlet  for  commerce  and 
an   opening   for   civilisation.     The    Euxine 
did   not  make   a  passage  to  the  arts  and 
commerce  of  Europe.     Savage  and  unculti- 
vated Asia  lay  stretched  along  its  shores, 
and  the  cannon  of  Constantinople  closed  up 
the   mouth   of   the   Bosphorus   to   all   but 
friendly  vessels.     The  thoughts  of  the  czar 
reverted  to  the  Baltic — it  alone  could  con- 
nect Russia  with  the  rest  of  Europe;  but 
the  way  to  its  indurated  coasts  lay  through 
a  country  then  in  the  possession  of  the  war- 
like Swedes,  and  thickly  studded  with  strong 
fortresses.     Yet  the  end  to  be  accomplished 
balanced  the   dangers   to   be   encountered, 
and  Peter  resolved  to  overcome  all  obstacles 
that  shut  out  his  country  from  intercourse 
with  those  European  nations  which,  in  man- 
ners, knowledge,  and  the  arts,  were  so  much 
beyond  it. 

Matters  were  not  yet  ripe  for  the  daring 
experiments  he  contemplated.  Suppose 
that  he  was  master  of  Livonia,  the  Baltic 
would  be  almost  valueless  to  him  till  he  was 
well  prepared  to  turn  its  advantages  to 
account.  Unless  he  could  cover  its  waters 
with  an  efficient  fleet,  they  were  but  as  a 
thunderbolt  in  the  hands  of  a  child.  Truly 
great  minds  are  ever  patient,  and  recognise 
the  fact  that  haste  and  rashness  are  weak- 
ness. Peter  resolved  first  to  gain  from  other 
countries  that  information  on  naval  and 
other  topics  which  did  not  exist  in  his  own. 
With  this  object  he  sent,  in  the  year  1697, 
sixty  young  Russians  of  Lefort's  regiment 
to  Venice  and  Leghorn,  to  learn  the  art  of 
navigation.  Forty  more  he  sent  to  Holland, 
to  instruct  themselves  in  the  art  of  building 
and  working  large  vessels ;  while  he  di^ 
patched  others  to  Germany,  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  military  discipline  of 
136 


that  nation.  The  expense  attending  upon 
these  circumstances  he  provided  for  by 
raising  the  custom-house  duties  from  five  to 
ten  per  cent. 

Peter  was  not  yet  satisfied  with  his  efforts 
to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  arts  of  other 
nations.     He  desired  to  see  with  his  own 
eyes  that  civilisation  he  longed  to  introduce 
into  Russia.     He  was  now  four-and-twenty 
years  of  age — one  admirably  fitted  for  the 
endurance  of  fatigue  and  the  habit  of  obser- 
vation.    *'The  period,''  says  an  interesting 
writer,  "  was  one  when  popular  opinion  had 
revolutionised  nearlv  the  whole  surface  of 
the    civilised    world.      It    was    admirablv 
adapted  to  his  purposes.     In  England,  the 
people  had  just  deposed  a  weak  and  bigoted 
monarch,  who  attempted  to  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  mind ;  and  William  III.,  the  in- 
trepid stadtholder  of  the  house  of  Orange, 
filled  the  throne.     In  France,  Louis  XIV. 
was  on  the  point  of  closing  the  memorable 
treaty  of  Ryswick;  Charles  XII.  had  just 
ascended  the  throne   of  Sweden,  and   the 
elector  of  Brandenburg   had   assumed  the 
regal   honours.     In   Poland,  the   death   of 
Sobieski   opened    a   contest   for   the    sove- 
reignty, which  lay  between  the  Prince  of 
Conti  and  Augustus  of  Saxony ;  the  latter 
of  whom,  for  politic  reasons,  was  favoured 
by   Peter ;    while   Mustapha   II.,    quailing 
before  mightier  arms,  was   overthrown   by 
the  emperor   Leopold.      At  this  juncture, 
while  other  powers  were  engrossed  in  the 
agitations  consequent  upon  improved  civili- 
sation, Peter  the  Great  left  Moscow  to  go 
forth  into  Europe,  and  glean  the  ripe  ears 
of  the  harvest  for  his  own  empire." 

Before  the  czar's  departure,  an  alarming 
outbreak  occurred,  in  which  Peter  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life.  Notwithstanding  his 
recent  triumph  at  Azoff,  he  was  unable  to 
win  the  affections  of  the  people.  Ignorant, 
bigoted,  and  slavish,  there  was  scarcely  an 
act  of  his  life  that  did  not  grate  against 
some  of  their  prejudices.  He  had  brought 
foreign  artisans,  and  even  foreign  troops, 
into  Russia ;  sent  young  men  out  of  the 
country — an  act  which  the  clergy  regarded 
as  both  dangerous  and  profane;  and  had 
even  resolved  to  travel  abroad  himself.  His 
manners,  also,  were  displeasing  to  his  dull- 
minded  subjects,  and  quite  inconsistent 
with  those  which  they  thought  becoming  in 
a  czar.  The  solemn  pomp  and  ostentatious 
haughtiness  to  which  they  were  accustomed, 
were  not  to  be  seen  in  Peter.  His  manners 
were  familiar  even  to  vulgarity.     Instead  of 


'!' 


appearing  but  seldom  in  public,  and  then 
surrounded  by  guards,  he  was  to  be  seen 
almost  every'  lay  in  the  square  of  the 
Kremlin,  exercising  the  troops;  or  to  be 
met  with,  in  the  plainest  dress,  in  the 
streets,  on  his  way  to  visit  some  private 
citizen;  or  in  the  workshops  of  the  artisans, 
where  he  passed  a  great  deal  of  his  time. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  unpopu- 
larity produced  by  such  inoffensive  acts  as 
these,  would  be  but  slight  and  transient. 
It  was  not  so.  The  nobles  felt  their  dig- 
nity lessened  by  a  novel  system  which 
made  rank  dependent  upon  intellectual 
strength ;  and  the  clergy  were  vehemently 
opposed  to  Peter's  innovations,  because 
they  knew  their  power  was  based  upon  the 
ignorance  of  the  multitude,  and  it  therefore 
became  their  interest  to  keep  down  the 
spirit  of  inquiry.  As  for  the  people  them- 
selves, generations  of  barbarism  and  igno- 
rance, added  to  their  constitutional  indo- 
lence, made  them  regard  all  improvement 
with  detestation.  The  comprehensive  mind 
of  the  czar  perceived  and  understood  all 
this.  He  knew  that  he  should  have  much 
opposition  to  overcome,  and  he  resolved  to 
overcome  it,  even  though  it  was  necessary 
to  crush  those  who  offered  it.  He  saw  that 
it  was  imperative  that  he  should  grasp  and 
wield  all  the  power  of  the  empire,  for  that 
tlie  state  of  Russia  required  a  wise  despot 
for  its  regeneration.  He  saw  that  a  mild 
exercise  of  power  would  not  always  serve ; 
and  he  resolved,  if  necessary,  to  terrify  the 
people  into  submission  by  deeds  of  appalling 

severity. 

Influenced  by  the  prevailing  discontent, 
the  turbulent  Strelitz,  who  had  been  sup- 
])lanted  by  the  regiments  disciplined  after 
the  European  fashion,  entered  into  a  con- 
spiracy to  murder  the  czar.  Tsikler  and 
Sukanim,  two  leaders  of  the  Strelitz,  were 
at  the  head  of  the  plot.  The  design  of 
these  men  was,  to  set  the  city  on  fire  at 
night,  and  when  Peter  hastened  to  assist  in 
extinguishing  it,  as  they  were  convinced  he 
would,  to  murder  him  in  the  confusion. 
After  this,'»they  intended  to  massacre  all 
the  foreign  soldiers,  release  the  princess 
Sophia  from  her  convent,  and  place  her 
upon  the  throne. 

On  the  evening  of  the  night  appointed 
for  this  sanguinary  outbreak,  the  principal 
conspirators  assembled  at  a  banquet  held  at 
the  house  of  Sukanim.  Here  they  stimulated 
their  courage  with  large  draughts  of  wine, 
and  prepared  themselves  by  this  means  for 

VOL.  I.  T 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [conspiracy  to  murder  peter. 

the  work  of  slaughter  that  was  to  follow. 
Two  of  tht  number,  however,  quailed  before 
a  contemplation  of  the  approaching  mas- 
sacre. On  the  plea  of  having  drank  too 
much,  they  obtained  permission  to  return 
home  and  sleep  until  midnight ;  but  on 
leaving  the  place  of  rendezvous,  they  hur- 
ried to  the  czar,  and  revealed  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  conspiracy.  Peter  imme- 
diately sent  an  order  to  the  captain  of  one 
of  his  regiments,  to  proceed  with  his  troop 
to  Sukanim's  house,  and  silently  surround 
it  exactly  at  the  hour  of  ten  ; — that  is,  ten. 
was  the  hour  Peter  intended  to  write,  and 
believed  he  had  written ;  but  in  the  con- 
fusion of  the  moment  he  wrote  eleven. 

Shortly  after  ten,  Peter  went  alone  to 
the  dweUing  of  Sukanim,  expecting  to  find 
the  conspirators  already  in  the  hands  of  iiis 
guards.  The  soldiers  were  not  to  be  seen ; 
but  the  doors  of  the  house  were  open,  and  a 
considerable  noise  was  heard  from  within. 
Peter  supposed  that  this  proceeded  from 
the  struggle  and  confusion  attending  the 
arrest  of  the  rebels ;  and  acting  on  the  im- 
pulse of  the  moment,  he  at  once  entered. 
To  his  astonishment,  he  found  himself 
alone  in  the  midst  of  the  men  who,  in  an 
excited  and  half-intoxicated  state,  were  at 
that  moment  vociferating  an  oath  that  they 
would  put  him  to  death.  At  his  unex- 
pected entrance  they  rose  in  confusion, 
and  would  probably  have  rushed  upon  him 
at  once,  in  the  belief  that  they  had  been 
betrayed;  but  Peter's  presence  of  mind 
saved  him.  Though  surprised  and  angry 
that  his  commands  had  not  been  obeyed, 
he  assumed  a  cheerful  air,  and  advancing 
unhesitatingly  among  the  throng  of  con- 
spirators, greeted  them  with  familiarity. 
Having,  he  said,  seen  a  light  in  the  house 
as  he  was  passing  by,  and  hearing  the 
sounds  of  revelry,  he  entered  with  a  view 
of  sharing  in  their  pleasures,  and  begged 
leave  to  join  them  at  their  table. 

The  intended  assassins,  deceived  by  the 
cordiality  and  apparent  unsuspiciousness  of 
his  manners,  returned  his  greeting,  and 
gave  him  as  unconstrained  a  welcome  as 
they  could.  Putting  the  wine  about,  they 
drank  his  health;  but  soon  the  leaders 
amongst  them  began  to  exchange  looks  and 
signals  concerning  the  expediency  of  dis- 
patching him  at  once.  Peter  saw  his  dan- 
ger, and  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon  their 
movements,  though  without  seeming  to  do 
so.  The  restraint  which  each  party  felt, 
soon  produced  an  uneasiness  in  the  com 

137 


II  - 


PUNISHMENT  OF  THE  CONSPIRATORS.]    HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1697. 


pany;  and  one  of  the  conspirators,  leaning 
over  'the    table    to    Sukanim,   whispered, 
"Brother,  it  is  time?"     The  latter  hesi- 
tated, and  muttered,   "Not  yet  P'  feehng, 
no  doubt,  an    additional    responsibility  as 
master   of   the   house,    and   perhaps   some 
sense  of  shame  that  one  who  had  entered 
beneath    his    roof   as    a    guest,  should    be 
inhospitably  murdered  there.     Peter  heard 
the  whisper ;  but  fortunately,  at  the  same 
time,  he  caught  the  tramp  of  his  approach- 
ing  guards.      Starting   from   his   seat,    he 
felled  the  traitor  to  the  ground  with  a  blow 
upon  the  face,  and  shouted,  "  Not  yet,  vil- 
lain ;  if  it  is  not  yet  time  for  you,  scoun- 
drel, it  is  for  me!"     At  the  same  moment 
the  guards  entered  the  apartment,  and  the 
startled  conspirators  fell  upon  their  knees 
and    implored    pardon.      Peter    was    im- 
movable, and  ordered  them  all  to  be  in- 
stantly put  in  chains.     Then  turning  sternly 
to   the   captain   of  the  guards,   he   struck 
him  on  the  face,  and  reproached  him  for 
his  want  of  punctuality.     The  officer,  who 
was  exact  to  the  time  he  had  been  com- 
manded, produced   his   written   order,  and 
the  czar  found  the  error  was  his  own.     He 
at   once   acknowledged   it,   proclaimed   the 
fidelity  of  the  officer,  and  endeavoured  to 
atone  for  the  blow  he  had  inflicted  by  kiss- 
ing him  upon  the  forehead,  and  embracing 
him  in  his  arms. 


Peter's  vengeance  might  have  been  poli- 
tic,   but   it   was    barbarous   and   revolting. 
He  sometimes  expressed  an  admiration  for 
the  imperial  savage,  Ivan  the  Terrible ;  and 
on   this   occasion   he   rivalled   him   in   the 
exercise   of   a   merciless   administration   of 
justice.     The  wretches  first  had  their  limbs 
dislocated  upon  the   rack;  then  separately 
severed  from  their  bodies;  after  which,  the 
maimed    and   mostly  lifeless    trunks    were 
decapitated.     The  heads  were  subsequently 
exposed  on  the  summit  of  a  column,  around 
the   base  of  which   the  limbs  of  the  trai- 
tors were  piled  with  disgusting  symmetry. 
With    all    Peter's   greatness    of    mind,   he 
had,   when   provoked,    a   ferocious   love   of 
cruelty,    even    for    its   own   sake.      When 
he  surrendered   himself  for   a  time  to  the 
savage  instincts  of  his  nature,  he  actually 
experienced  gratification  from  the  sight  of 
humanity   writhing   in  torture,  or  pouring 
out  its   life-blood   on  the   scaffold.     Much 
he  did  in  aftertimes  that  was  utterly  inde- 
fensible ;  but  for  this  exhibition  of  revenge- 
ful justice   some    excuse   may    be   offered. 
It  was  his  first  stern  lesson   to   a   people 
who  would  not  be  governed  except  by  the 
sword;    his  first  intimation,  that   if  mild- 
ness  could   not   win    them   to   submit    to 
beneficial   changes,  severity   should  coerce 
them   into  doing  so — a  sad  but  inevitable 
I  necessity. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

TTTP  CZKU  TRAVELS  •   VISITS  THE  DOCKYARD  OF  SARDAM  ;  ENGAGES  HIMSELF  AS  A  COMMON  CARPENTER  ;  HE 

"^'isiTS  England; A^^^^^^^^^^  received  with  great  courtesy  by  william  ni;  peter  ^^^^^l^^^^^^^', 

LAND,  AND  THEn'  VISITS  VIENNA  ;  HE  RETURNS  TO  RUSSIA  ON  ACCOUNT  ^^^  J^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ' 

VRTPiTTFTTT    SFVFRITIES  OF   PETER:   DEATH  OF   LEFORT ;   SOCIAL   AND  LEGISLATIVE   REFORMS   Ot    ^^^'^'^ 
HE  TOLERATErATZ-OMINrxiONS  OF  CHKISTIANS  I.N  BUSSIA;  ALTERS  IHE  CALENDAR ;  PROGRESS  OF 

REFORM. 


Having  struck  terror  into  the  discontented 
people,  and  appalled  the  turbulent  Strelitz 
by  the  fearful  example  he  had  made  of  their 
traitorous  leaders,  the  czar  commenced  his 
journey  in  the  month  of  April,  1697.  He 
travelled  incognito  in  the  train  of  General 
Lefort  and  the  boyards  Mentschikoff  and 
Golowin,  whom  he  appointed  ambassadors 
to  the  countries  he  intended  to  visit.  An 
old  boyard,  of  iron  resolution  and  inflexible 
honesty,  named  Romodanovsky,  together 
138 


with  another,  were  entrusted  with  the  gov- 
ernment during  the  absence  of  the  czar, 
who  directed  them  to  consult  with  the  rest 
of  the  nobility  in  maUers  of  importance. 
General  Gordon  also  remained  at  Moscow 
with  Peter's  foreign  troops,  whose  very  lives 
depended  upon  their  fidelity  to  their  master. 
Hated  as  they  were  by  the  nobles,  the 
Strelitz,  and  the  people,  they  could  only 
repose  in  security  under  the  shelter  of  his 
favour. 


A.D. 


1697.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[peter  at  sakdam. 


Peter  and  his  ambassadors  left  Russia  by 
the  way  of  Novgorod,  and  proceeded  from 
thence  through  Esthoniaand  Livonia,  which 
were    at    that   time    in   the    possession    of 
Sweden.     At  Livonia  he  desired  to  see  the 
fortifications  of  Riga,  its  capital— a  wish  the 
governor  of  them  refused  to  grant;  which 
slight  Peter  did  not  readily  forget.     Indeed, 
from  that  time  he  resolved  to  annex  Livonia 
to  his  dominions.     He  then   proceeded  to 
Prussia,  the  alliance  of  which  growing  power 
he  thought  it  prudent   to    cultivate.     The 
Elector,   Frederic,  who   afterwards  assumed 
the  title  of  king,  received  the  czar  with  an 
ostentatious   magnificence;    and    the    most 
costly   presents   were    exchanged   on   both 
sides.      Peter     dressed     in     the     German 
fashion;    but    the    contrast    between    the 
Erench    costume,    which    prevailed    at   the 
court  of  Berlin,  and  the  long  Asiatic  robes 
of  the  Russians,   with   their  caps   adorned 
with  pearls  and  diamonds,  and  their  scimi- 
tars hanging  by  their  sides,  had  a  remark- 
able  effect.      During    his    stay   at    Berlin, 
Peter,  in    a  fit   of  intoxication,    drew  his 
sword  upon  his  favourite    general,   Lefort; 
but,   happily,  he   was  pacified  before  mis- 
chief ensued. 

At  length  the  Russian  party  arrjved  at 
Amsterdam,  where  Peter  assumed  the  dis- 
guise of  a  Dutch  skipper,  and  went  to  the 
great  ship-building  village  of  Sardam.     He 
was  much  surprised  at  the  number  of  work- 
men   constantly   employed,    the   order   and 
exactness  observed  in  their  several  depart- 
ments, the  dispatch  with  which  they  built 
and  fitted  out  ships,  the  quantity  of  stores, 
and  the  various  machines  for  the  purpose  of 
economising  labour.     He  was  incessant  in 
his  inquiries  and  observations,   and   some- 
times placed  himself  in  positions  of  danger  ; 
as,  in  order  to  see  everything  himself,   he 
climbed  the  rigging  of  vessels,  and  inspected 
those  parts   of  them  where  only   an  expe- 
rienced sailor  could  expect   to  be   secure. 
On  these  occasions  he  was  greatly  annoyed 
by  the  vulgar  curiosity  of  the  people,  who 
not  only  came  in  crowds  to  see  a  powerful 
sovereign  in  the  habit  of  a  seaman,  but  im- 
peded his  progress  by  thronging  upon  him, 
and  even  frequently  subjected  him  to  rude 
exclamations  and   remarks.     At   times   he 
was  so  irritated  by  this  annoyance,  that  his 
rage  brought  on  one  of  those  epileptic  fits 
to  which  it  is  said  he  was  subject  from  in- 
fancy.    They  were  sometimes  even  excited 
by  the  sight  of  any    object   to   which   he 
entertained   an   antipathy,   such    as  black- 


beetles,  and  certain  reptiles  which  he  held 
in  abhorrence. 

The  czar  purchased  a  boat,  made  a  mast 
for  it  himself,  worked   at   the   forgets,  the 
rope-yards,  the  mills  for  timber-sawing,  and, 
by  degrees,  educated  himself  as  a  working 
ship-builder.     Then  he  engaged  himself  as 
a  common  carpenter,  that  he  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  impressing  upon  his  mind  all 
he  had  learnt.     He  took  the  name  of  Peter 
Timmerman,    though    his    fellow-workmen 
generally  called  him  Master  Peter,  or  Peter- 
bas.     While   in   this   strange   position,    he 
scrupulously  attended  his  work  at  the  re- 
quired   hours,    prepared    his    own    meals, 
worked  hard  from  morning  till  night,  and 
received   his   wages   like   the   rest   of    the 
workmen.     The  latter  were  at  first  greatly 
astonished  to  see  a  sovereign   their   com- 
panion, but  they  gradually  got  used  to  it. 
Here,  for  seven  weeks,  the  ruler  of  a  vast 
empire  lived  in  a  little  shingle-hut,  on  the 
proceeds  of  his  own  labour,  in  the  intervals 
of  which  he  corresponded  with  his  ministers 
at  home.     During  this  period,  the  famous 
English  warrior,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough, 
visited  Sardam,  and  put  himself  in  the  way 
of  Peter.     The  great  soldier,  who  was  proud 
of  his  handsome  person,  and  almost  a  dandy 
in   the   matter   of  dress,   beheld   the   czar 
habited  in  a  red  woollen  shirt,  duck  trow- 
sers,  and  a  sailor's  hat ;  and  seated,  adze  in 
hand,  on  a  rough  log  of  timber,  which  lay 
on  the  ground.     His  dark-brown  hair  fell 
in  natural  curls  about  his  bare  neck,  while 
his   keen  eyes  glanced  from  one  object  to 
another  with  singular  rapidity,  as  he  con- 
versed  with    great   earnestness    and   much 
gesticulation  with  some  strangers.     Marl- 
borough approached,  and  contrived,  in  some 
measure,  to  engage  the  czar's  attention  by 
some  remarks  on  ship-building.    They  were 
interrupted  by  the  appearance  of  a  stranger 
in  a  foreign  costume,  who  respectfully  pre- 
sented an  official  letter  to  the  seeming  work- 
man.     Peter  rose  instantly,   snatched  the 
letter,  tore  off  the  seals,  and  read  it  eagerly. 
The  duke,  who   had   achieved    so    great    a 
military  reputation  in  Europe,  and  exercised 
almost  more  political   influence   than   any 
man  not  seated  on  a  throne,  walked  unre- 
garded away.     It  was  from  his  miserable 
hut  at  Sardam  that  Peter  issued  instruc- 
tions to  his  army  in  the  Ukraine,  under  the 
command  of  General    Schein   and   Prince 
Dolgorouki,  then  acting  against  the  Turks, 
which  resulted  in  a  victory  over  the  latter, 
and  the  conquest  of  the  town  of  Perekop. 

139 


i'^l 


rn 


PETER  VISITS  ENGLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1698. 


' '  V' 

J*' 


Peter  desired  Lefort  and  the  other  am- 
bassadors to  disguise  themselves  also  as 
working-men,  and  follow  his  example ;  but 
they  by  no  means  relished  the  scheme,  and 
contrived  to  evade  partaking  the  severe  and 
unromantic  toils  of  their  master.  Treating 
his  desire  as  a  royal  jest,  they  dwelt  h\  a 
comfortable  house,  and  enjoyed  all  the 
luxuries  of  their  station  ;  while  he  lived  in  a 
hovel,  and  subsisted  upon  fare  of  the  coarsest 
description.  During  this  period,  he  went 
frequently  from  Sardam  to  Amsterdam,  to 
hear  the  anatomical  lectures  of  the  cele- 
brated Ruish,  from  which  he  derived  so 
much  bencMt,  as  to  be  able  to  perform  som€ 
surgical  operations  in  case  of  necessity. 
He  also  studied  natural  philosophy,  under 
Vitsen,  a  man  celebrated  for  his  patriotic 
virtue,  and  for  the  noble  use  he  made  of  his 
immeuL  fortune.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
indefatigable  czar  attended  the  hospitals, 
where  he  learned  to  bleed  and  draw  teeth; 
visited  nearly  every  literary,  scientific,  or 
charitable  institution;  together  with  all 
extensive  manufacturing  establishments, 
which  he  examined  carefully,  with  the  in- 
tention of  introducing  similar  ones  into 
Russia.  Whenever  he  beheld  anything 
new,  he  made  inquiries  concerning  its  na- 
ture and  use,  and  his  active  mind  did  not 
rest  until  he  obtained  an  explanation. 

Having  passed  about  nine  months  in 
Holland,  Peter  left  that  country,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  England,  where  he  was  very  hos- 
pitably received  by  William  III.  These 
two  remarkable  men  appear  to  have  had  a 
generous  and  enlarged  estimation  of  each 
other.  The  czar  arrived  in  this  country  in 
the  January  of  1698;  his  object  being  to 
learn  the  theory  of  ship-building,  and  to 
visit  the  dockyards  of  Deptford,  Woolwich, 
and  Chatham.  King  William  appointed 
the  Marquis  of  Carmarthen  to  attend  upon 
him,  who  agreed  so  well  with  the  whims  of 
the  autocrat,  that  they  are  reported  to  have 
sat  up  together  late  into  the  nights,  drink- 
ing brandy  and  pepper.  William  also  placed 
two  vessels  at  the  command  of  the  czar 
whenever  he  should  think  proper  to  sail  on 
the  Thames. 

Having  lodged  for  a  short  time  in  London, 
he  hired  the  house  at  Deptford  of  the 
famous  John  Evelyn,  who  bitterly  com- 
plained of  the  havoc  which  the  czar  and  his 
attendants  made  in  his  elegantly  laid-out 
garden.  One  of  Peter's  favourite  amuse- 
ments was  to  be  driven  in  a  wheelbarrow 
through  a  holly-hedge  of  which  Evelyn  was 
140 


verv   proud.     The    dirtiness   of  the   czar's 
habits  were  such  as  to  excite  the  disgust  of 
the  gentlemanly  and  gossiping  old  royalist. 
Peter  spent  much  of  his  time   at  Rother- 
hithe,  where  a  ship  was  building  for  him. 
He  often  went  out  on  the  Thames   in   a 
sman-aecked   boat,     accompanied   only    oy 
Mentschikoff  and  three  or  four  others  of  his 
suite,    who   worked   the   vessel,    while    he 
steered  it.     His  object  in  these  excursions 
was  to  teach  his  companions  how  to  com- 
mand ships  when  they  returned  home.     In 
the  evening  they  usually  went  to  a  tavern 
in    Great    Tower-street,    near    Tower-hill, 
where  they  smoked  their  pipes,  and  drank 
beer  and  brandy.     During  his  sojourn  in 
this  country,   Peter   went   to   Portsmouth, 
and  visited  a  grand  naval  review  and  sham 
fight.     The    university   of  Oxford   compli- 
mented   him   by   conferring    upon   him   a 
doctor's  degree.     In  England,   as  in   Hol- 
land, the  czar  visited  the  public  institutions 
and  great  manufactories,  and  seemed  ever 
intent  upon  acquiring  such  information  as 
would  tend  to  the  promotion  of  the  civilisa- 
tion of  his  people.     His  attention  was  par- 
ticularly attracted  to  the  art  of  engineering, 
and  he  took  into   his    service   upwards  of 
five  hundred  persons,  comprising  engineers, 
officers,  surgeons,  and  artisans.     Amongst 
the  former  was  Captain  Perry,  who  after- 
wards wrote  a  life  of  the  czar ;  in  which  the 
author  asserts  that  there  was  not  so  much 
as  a  single  article  belonging  to  a  ship,  from 
the  castmg  of  cannon   to   the   making  of 
cables,  but  what  Peter  minutely  observed  and 
set  his  hands  to.     Mr.  Ferguson,  a  mathe- 
matician and  astronomer  of  some  distinc- 
tion, also  accompanied  the  Russian  reformer 
back  to  his  own  country.     Ferguson  intro- 
duced  the   arithmetical   mode   of   keeping 
accounts  into  the  Russian  exchequer,  where, 
before  that  time,  they  had  made  use  only  of 
the  Tartar  method  of  reckoning  with  balls 
strung  upon  a  wire ;   a  method  which  its 
primitive  simplicity  made  extremely  imper- 
fect and  perplexing. 

The  czar  left  England  in  April;  but 
before  doing  so,  he  was  presented  by 
William  with  a  beautiful  yacht.  Peter 
returned  the  compliment  by  making  Wil- 
liam a  present  of  a  ruby  of  the  value  of 
£10,000,  which,  in  a  thoroughly  character- 
istic manner,  he  took  from  his  waistcoat 
pocket,  wrapped  up  in  a  bit  of  brown  paper. 
He  also  conferred  a  valuable  privilege  on 
the  Marquis  of  Carmarthen,  by  granting 
I  him  a  right  to  license  every  hogshead  of 


A.D.  1698.] 


tobacco  exported  to  Russia.     The  habit  of 
smoking  had  hitherto  been  condemned  m 
Russia  bv  the  patriarch,  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  unclean  and  sinful.     Peter  thought 
otherwise,  and  resolved  on  its  introduction 
into  the  country.*     During   his   stay,   he 
was  much  struck  by  that  magnificent  build- 
ing which  a  generous  nation  has  erected  at 
Greenwich  for  its    superannuated  seamen. 
Until   Peter   had   actually   visited   it,    and 
seen  the  pensioners,  he  could  scarcely  be 
persuaded  but  that  it  was  a  royal  palace. 
William  having  one  day  asked  him  how  he 
liked  his  hospital  for  decayed  seamen,  the 
czar  replied,  "  If  I  were  the  adviser  of  your 
majcstv,  I  should  counsel  you  to  remove 
vour  court  to  Greenwich,  and  convert  St. 
James's  into  a  hospital." 

Leaving  England,  Peter  returned  to  Hol- 
land ;  from  whence,   after  a  brief  stay,  he 
proceeded  to  Vienna,    with   the   object   of 
making  himself  acquainted  with  the  dress, 
discipline,    and    tactics    of    the   emperor's 
army,  then  considered  the  best  in  Europe. 
''  During  his  stay  at  Vienna,"  observes  his 
biographer  Voltaire,  "there  happened  no- 
thing remarkable  except  the  celebration  of 
the  ancient  feast  of  *  Landlord  and  Land- 
lady,'which  Leopold  thought  proper  to  revive 
upon  the  czar's  account,  after  it  had  been 
disused  during  his  whole  reign.   The  manner 
of  making  this  entertainment,  to  which  the 
Germans  give  the  name  of  wirthschaft,  was 
as  follows:— The  emperor  is  landlord  and 
the  empress  landlady,  while  the  king  of  the 
Romans,    the    archdukes     and    the    arch- 
duchesses,   are    generally   their   assistants. 
They  entertain  people  of  all  nations,  dressed 
after  the  most  ancient  fashion  of  their  re- 
spective countries.     Those  who  are  invited 
as  guests  draw  lots  for  tickets,  on  each  of 
which  is  written  the  name  of  the   nation 
and  the  character   they  are  to  represent. 
One  has  a  ticket  for  a  Chinese  mandarin ; 
another  for  a  Tartarian  mirza ;  another  for 
a  Persian  satrap,  or  a  Roman  senator.     A 
princess   may  happen  to  draw   lots   for   a 
gardener's  wife,  or  for  a  milkworaan,  and  a 
prince   may   act   the    peasant    or    soldier. 
They  have  dances  suited  to  these  different 
characters ;  and  the  landlord  and  landlady, 
with  their  family,  wait  at  table.     Such  was 
the  old  custom ;  but  on  this  occasion,  Joseph, 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [peter  returns  to  moscow. 

king  of  the  Romans,  and  the  Countess  ot 
Traun,  represented  the  ancient  Egyptians ; 
the  Archduke  Charies  and  the  Countess  of 
Walstein  were  dressed  like  the  Flemings  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  V. ;  the  Archduchess 
Mary  Elizabeth  and  Count  T-aun  were  in 
the    habit    of    Tartars;    the    Archduchess 
Josephine  and  the  Count  of  Vorkla  appeared 
in  a  Persian  dress ;  the  Archduchess  Mari- 
amme  and  Prince  Maximilian  of  Hanover, 
acted    the    character    of     North    Holland 
peasants.     Peter   assumed   the   habit  of  a 
Friesland  boor,  and  in  this  character  was 
addressed  by  everybody ;  at  the  same  time 
that  they  talked  to  him  of  the  great  czar  of 
Muscovy.     These  are  indeed  minutenesses; 
but  whatever  revives  the  memory  of  ancient 
customs,  is,  in  some   measure,   worthy   of 
being  recorded." 

The  czar  intended  to  pass  throu^^i  Italy 
homewards;  but  just  as  he  was  about  to 
leave  Vienna,  he  received  information  from 
Moscow  that  the  Strelitz  had  again  broken 
out  into  rebellion.  He  instantly  departed 
in  secret,  and,  passing  through  Poland, 
arrived  at  Moscow  in  September,  1698, 
before  any  one  there  knew  of  his  having 
left  Germany. 

During  the  absence  of  Peter,  the  discon- 
tented  had   recovered  their  courage;    and 
the  clergy,  together  with  some  of  the  old 
nobles,    longed   for   the    destruction    of    a 
prince  whose  reforming  spirit  they  detested. 
During  the  czar's  stay  in  Holland,  he  signed 
an  edict  commanding  a  body  of  Strelitz  to 
proceed  to  the  frontiers  of  Poland,  to  be 
ready,  if  necessary,  to  support  the  claims  of 
Augustus,  the  elector  of  Saxony,    against 
those  of  the  French  prince  de  Conti,  both 
of  whom  had  been  chosen  to  fill  the  throne 
of  Poland.     The  Strelitz  were  averse  to  this 
duty ;  and,  instead  of  discharging  it,  they 
proceeded    in    the    direction    of    Moscow, 
under  the  pretence  that  the  czar  had  died 
abroad,  and  that  it  was  necessary  for  them 
to  secure  the  succession  to  his  son  Alexis. 
Their  real  object,  however,  was  to  place  the 
plotting  princess  Sophia  on  the  throne,  and 
to  exclude  Peter,  who  they  considered  had 
violated  the  laws  and  customs  of  his  coun- 
try by  daring  to  travel  for  instruction  among 
foreign  nations.     Prince  Romodanovsky,  the 
regent,  dispatched  General  Gordon  with  his 


*  Voltaire,  in  his  Life  of  Charles  XIL,  while 
speaking  of  Russia  at  this  period,  observes— "  A 
person  of  undoubted  veracity,  assured  me,  he  was 
present  at  a  public  disputation  where  the  question 
"was,  ♦  Whether  the  practice  of  smoking  tobacco  was 


\ 


a  sin  ?'  The  respondent  maintained  that  it  was  law- 
ful to  get  drunk  with  brandy,  but  not  to  smoke,  be- 
cause the  Holy  Scriptures  saith,  '  That  which  prc^ 
ceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  a  man  defileth  him,^an(l 
that  which  entereth  into  it  doth  not  defile  him. 

141 


"»r 


FEROCITY  OF  THE  CZAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


lA.D.  1698. 


K-ii' 


foreign  troops,  with  directions  to  crush  this 
insubordination  at  once.  The  latter  tried 
to  persuade  the  rebels  to  return  to  their 
duty,  but  they  were  secretly  urged  on  by 
the  priests,  who  infamously  pronounced 
their  cause  to  be  sacred.  Gordon,  finding 
mildness  to  be  useless,  gave  battle  to  the 
Strelitz,  and  vanquished  them,  after  ^  short 
contest.  The  prisoners  were  immediately 
chained  and  thrown  into  dungeons,  to  abide 
the  judgment  of  the  czar. 

Thus,  on  Peter's  arrival  at  Moscow,  he 
found  the  rebellion  extinguished,  and  him- 
self welcomed  by  a  people   who  had   been 
taught  to  stand  in  awe  of  his  commanding 
intellect    and    his   relentless    severitv.     He 
first  rewarded  the  foreign  troops,  and  then 
addressed  himself  to  take  such  a  ferocious 
revenge  upon  the  rebels,  as  should  for  the 
future   effectually    intimidate    the    discon- 
tented among  his  subjects.     The  accounts 
existing  of  some  of  the  details  which   fol- 
lowed have   been   disputed,   and  no   doubt 
many    exaggerated   statements    concerning 
the  savage  severity  of  the  czar,  obtained  a 
currency  throughout  Europe.     Still  enough 
is  known  with  certainty  to  warrant  us  in 
the  expression  of  emotions  of  wonder  and 
horror.     Strange  is  it,  that  so  great  a  man 
should  have  been  actuated  by  the  wildest 
excesses  of  brutality,  and  have  derived  the 
ferocious  pleasure  of  an  infuriated  tiger,  in 
rending  and  crushing  those  who  had  offended 
him.     The  only  excuse  that  can  be  framed 
for  him,  is  the  necessitv  he  was  under  of 
reducing  to  obedience  the  insolent  barbarity 
of  the  Strelitz,  and  of  intimidating  the  fac- 
tious and  ignorant  priesthood  and  their  dull 
followers,  who  hated  and  opposed  the  re- 
forms he  had  resolved  to  effect. 

The  czar  did  not  satisfy  himself  with 
putting  the  offenders  to  death,  but  he 
spared  no  torture  that  could  prolong  their 
dying  agonies.  An  immense  number  were 
put  to  the  rack  in  his  presence,  and  the 
cries  and  moans  of  the  unhappy  wretches 
were  mingled  with  his  questions  and  re- 
proaches. Several  were  put  to  death  by 
the  horrible  process  of  being  broken  upon 
the  wheel ;  and  two  women,  who  had  played 
an  active  part  in  the  conspiracy,  were  buried 
alive.  As  to  the  common  offenders,  it  is 
said  that  no  less  than  7,000  of  them  were 
executed  over  a  period  of  several  months. 
Of  these,  2,000  were  hanged  by  his  guards, 
and  the  rest  beheaded,  kneeling  in  rows  of 
fifties,  before  trunks  of  trees  laid  on  the 
ground.  At  these  frightful  scenes  Peter 
142 


was  also  present,  and  sometimes  assisted  at 
them  himself,  being  proud  of  the  dexterity 
with  which  he  could  strike  off  the  head  of 
the  victim.  Occasionally  he  was  maddened 
with  wine,  as  well  as  with  blood;  and  he  i^ 
reported  to  have  struck  off  twenty  heads 
within  an  hour,  and  drank  a  draught  of 
wine  between  each  blow.  This  anecdote  is 
related  on  the  authority  of  M.  Printz,  the 
Prussian  ambassador,  who  states  tliat  he 
was  present,  and  that  the  czar  invited  him 
to  try  his  skill — a  proposal  which,  of  course, 
he  declined. 

The  executions  lasted  during  a  period  of 
five  months,  and  the  whole  empire  was  struck 
with  terror.  Hundreds  of  bodies  were  left 
to  moulder  and  drop  from  their  gibbets, 
and  the  rest  remained  unburied  on  the  spot 
where  they  had  been  decapitated.  Stone 
monuments  were  afterwards  erected,  with 
inscriptions,  describing  the  punishment  and 
the  crime  that  led  to  it.  In  consequence  of 
the  connection  of  the  princess  Sophia  with 
the  insurrection,  the  czar  had  a  number  of 
the  rebels  hanged  around  the  convent  in 
which  she  was  confined.  The  Strelitz  had 
deputed  three  of  their  number  to  present  an 
address,  soliciting  her  to  accept  the  crown. 
These  three  were  gibbeted  before  the  single 
grated  window  of  her  cell,  and  the  fatal 
document  was  held  out  to  her  by  the 
stiffened  arm  of  one  of  the  dead  men.  This 
cruel  punishment  crushed  the  hopes  and 
shortened  the  life  of  this  ambitious  and 
worthless  woman;  whom  a  sense  of  justice 
forbids  us  to  pity.  She  became  a  nun ; 
changed  her  name  to  that  of  Morpha;  and 
died  in  1704.  The  widows  and  children  of 
the  victims  of  the  czar's  anger  were  sent  to 
wild  and  remote  spots,  where  a  certain  ex- 
tent of  land  was  assigned  to  them,  out  of 
which  they  and  their  descendants  were 
never  to  pass. 

Peter  now  wisely  resolved  utterly  to 
abolish  a  body  of  men  who  were  ever  ready 
to  break  out  into  disorder  and  insurrection. 
From  this  time  the  Strelitz  ceased  to  exist 
as  a  military  body,  and  their  place  was  sup- 
plied by  regular  regiments,  clothed  and 
disciplined  after  the  fashion  of  other  Euro- 
pean nations.  Within  three  mouths  twenty- 
seven  new  regiments  of  infantry  and  two  of 
cavalry  were  disciplined  and  brought  into 
marching  order. 

The  severity  of  the  czar,  though  it  gene- 
rally produced  its  designed  effect  of  intimi- 
dating the  disaffected,  yet  produced  some 
amount  of  rebellious  reaction.     A  number 


A.D.  1699.] 


KUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  lefort. 


I 


of  the  Strelitz  had  escaped,  after  their  body 
had  been  defeated  by  General  Gordon,  and 
dispersed  in  different  directions.  Peter  for- 
bade any  one,  on  pain  of  death,  to  har- 
bour one  of  them,  or  render  him  the  slight- 
est assistance.  This  severity  was  ill-judged  ; 
for  it  made  the  fugitives  desperate,  and 
ready  for  any  extremities.  Besides,  it  ex- 
cited sympathy  in  their  favour ;  and  in  the 
following  year  (1699),  fresh  insurrections 
broke  out  in  distant  parts  of  the  empire. 
Peter  had  resolved  to  crush  this  rebellious 
temper,  even  at  the  cost  of  his  throne  itself. 
Eighty  of  the  Strelitz,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoners,  were  brought  to  Moscow  and  be- 
headed ;  it  is  said  by  the  hands  of  the  czar 
himself;  assisted  in  this  repulsive  work  by 
one  of  his  boyards,  who  held  the  victims 
by  their  hair. 

This  terrible  severity  was  not  without  its 
effect :  the  superstitious  and  ignorant  obsti- 
nacy of  the  people  was  broken ;  they  were 
sooner  wearied  of  rebellion  than  Peter  was 
of  remorselessly  punishing  it.  He  appears 
to  have  been  convinced  that  the  life  of  a 
great  reformer  must  be  a  prolonged  struggle 
against  open  opposition  and  secret  enemies. 
Expecting  resistance,  he  was  prepared  for 
it;  and  even  persevered  in  forcing  upon 
Russia  the  civilisation  she  vainly  strove  to 
reject.  That  civilisation  has  been  de- 
nounced as  a  spurious  one;  and  it  is  said, 
that  while  he  promoted  the  material  inter- 
ests of  his  country,  he  neglected  the  moral 
progress  of  his  people.  Perhaps  he  did; 
but  he  was  not  indifferent  to  it;  and  no 
doubt  he  felt  that  it  was  not  the  sort  of 
work  he  was  most  fitted  for.  Peter  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  accomplishment  of 
that  which  he  could  do  best ;  and  though, 
perhaps,  his  reforms  might  have  been  effected 
too  rapidly,  we  think  he  began  at  the  right 
end.  He  broke  up  the  apathy  of  the  people 
by  the  material  benefits  and  changes  he 
forced  upon  them.  This  was  more  likely  to 
create  a  tendency  to  thoughtfuluess,  and  a 
teachable  temper,  in  the  people,  than  all  the 
moral  influence  in  the  world.  Indeed,  with 
an  ignorant  priesthood,  fanatically  opposed 
to  the  new  order  of  things,  reform  could 
not  have  made  any  perceptible  progress 
through  the  door  of  moral  teaching.  The 
people  would  have  viewed  it  with  suspicion, 
and  closed  their  ears  and  hearts  against  it. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  Peter  lost  his 
early  friend,  Lefort,  who,  after  having  been 
for  some  time  in  a  declining  state,  died  on 
the   12th  of  March,   1699,  at  the  age  of 


forty-six.  The  czar  bestowed  a  magnificent 
funeral  upon  the  man  who  had  been  his 
early  instructor,  and  his  faithful  assistant 
in  the  regeneration  of  the  empire.  Peter 
lamented  him  as  a  brother,  and  walked  in 
the  procession,  with  his  pike  in  his  hand, 
behind  the  captains,  and  in  the  rank  of  a 
lieutenant,  which,  for  the  purpose  of  setting 
an  example  of  subordination  to  the  nobles, 
he  had  held  in  the  late  general's  regiment. 
Though  as  a  foreigner  and  a  reformer  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  Lefort  was  popular, 
yet  the  excellence  of  his  character  won  him 
a  certain  amount  of  respect.  Considera- 
tions of  self-interest  were  always  sacrificed 
by  him  to  the  public  good  and  the  glory  of 
his  sovereign,  and  his  whole  career  was 
marked  by  a  noble  contempt  of  everything 
mean  or  mercenary. 

The  death  of  Lefort  did  not  suspend  the 
reforms  which  the  active-minded  czar  had 
resolved  to  carry  into  effect.  Having  passed 
through  the  lowest  degrees  in  the  army 
himself,  he  commanded  that  the  sons  of  the 
nobility  should  serve  in  the  capacity  of  com- 
mon soldiers  before  they  became  officers. 
Other  young  nobles  he  sent  on  board  his 
ships,  and  compelled  them  to  serve  an 
apprenticeship  to  the  navy.  These  com- 
mands were  extremely  arbitrary ;  but  such 
was  the  awe  with  which  the  czar  was  re- 
garded, that  none  dared  refuse  to  obey  them. 

But  Peter  did  not  confine  his  reforms  to 
the  army,  and  to  the  creation  of  a  navy ;  he 
resolved  to  modify  the  government,  the 
church,  and  to  change  even  the  costume  and 
customs  of  the  people.  The  dress  of  the 
Russians  was  of  an  Asiatic  kind,  consisting 
of  a  long  robe  or  petticoat,  which,  together 
with  the  practice  of  wearing  long  beards, 
gave  them  an  Eastern  look.  The  beards 
were  a  convenience,  if  not  almost  a  necessity, 
on  account  of  the  severity  of  the  climate ; 
but  Peter  set  himself  against  both  beard  and 
robe,  as  being  associated  with,  and  likely  to 
preserve,  the  barbarous  manners  he  desired 
to  polish.  Certainly  the  dresses  worn  in 
other  European  countries  admitted  a  freer 
exercise  of  the  limbs,  and  tended  to  the 
introduction  of  variety  and  elegance  of  cos- 
tume. Yet  the  people  had  the  greatest  ob- 
jection to  abandon  their  loose  and  graceless 
style  of  dress,  and  opposed  a  passive  resist- 
ance to  the  will  of  the  czar.  Peter  would 
not  suffer  his  decisions  to  be  evaded,  and  he 
laid  a  heavy  tax  upon 'wearing  beards  and 
long  petticoats.  Many  parted  with  their 
money  sooner  than  conform,  but  poverty 

143 


J 


Peter's  reforms.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1699. 


-1 ' 


^.h 


h 


compelled  others  to  submit.  As  the  people 
fell  in  very  slowly  with  the  czar's  regulations 
in  this  respect,  he  began  to  quicken  their 
progress  after  his  own  eccentric  but  very 
decisive  fashion.  He  placed  tailors  and 
barbers  at  each  of  the  gates  of  Moscow,  with 
directions  to  cut  off  the  beard,  and  shorten 
the  dress,  of  every  man  who  entered.  The 
tenacitv  with  which  many  of  the  people, 
especially  the  aged,  clung  to  their  old  cos- 
tumes, had  something  of  superstition  in  it. 
It  is  related  that,  on  one  occasion,  the  czar 
met  an  old  citizen  coming  from  the  barber's, 
and,  addressing  him,  observed  that  he  looked 
quite  like  a  young  man,  now  that  he  had 
lost  his  beard.  With  a  mournful  look,  the 
aged  man  drew  from  his  bosom  the  beard 
which  had  been  cut  off,  and  with  tears  in 
his  eyes  told  the  czar  he  should  preserve  it 
during  life,  and  have  it  placed  in  his  coffin 
after  death,  that  he  might  be  able  to  produce 
it  to  St.  Nicholas  in  the  next  world. 

One    reason   why   the   czar    insisted   so 
earnestly  in  an  endeavour  to  make  his  sub- 
jects dress  themselves  like  Europeans,  in- 
stead of  Asiatics,  was  to  abolish  the  fanatical 
odium  in  which  foreigners  were  held.     As 
the  priests  pronounced  it  to  be  an  act  of 
profanation  for  strangers  to  wear  the  native 
garb,   foreigners  were  instantly  recognised 
as  such  by  their  dress,  and,  consequently, 
compelled   to  have   a  quarter  of  the   city 
appropriated  to  themselves,  as  a  protection 
against  the  dislike  with  which  the  Russians 
regarded  them.     Peter's  cosmopolitan  mind 
had,  therefore,  another  cause  for  putting  an 
end  to  an  external  and  odious  distinction. 
The  czar   himself  dressed  plainly,  even  to 
eccentricity  and  slovenliness.     A  diplomatic 
agent  at  his  court  gave  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  this   peculiarity,  which,  though  it 
refers  to  a  later  period  of  his  reign,  may  be 
quoted  here  as  illustrative  of  his  general 
habits :— "  On  all  the  solemn  festivals,"  ob- 
serves the  writer,  "  he  only  wore  the  uniform 
of  the  Presbrazinski  regiment  of  guards.  *    I 
saw  him,  in  1721,  give  a  public  audience  to 
the  ambassador  of  Persia.     He  entered  the 
hall  of  audience  in  nothing  more  than  a 
surtout  of  coarse  brown  cloth.     When  he 
was  seated  on  the  throne,  the  attendants 
brought  him  a  coat  of  gros-de-Naples,  em- 
broidered with  silver,  which  he  put  on  with 
great  precipitation,  because  the  ambassadors 
were  waiting  for  admittance.     During  this. 


•  So  called  from  the  body  of  soldiers  which  the 
czar  had  raised  during  boyhood,  in  his  retreat  at  Pres- 
brazinski, during  the  regency  of  his  sister  Sophia. 
144 


he  turned  his  eyes  towards  a  window,  where 
the  czarina  had  placed  herself  to  observe  the 
ceremony.  Catherine  was  heard  repeatedly 
to  burst  into  loud  fits  of  laughter,  as  the 
czar  seemed  to  her  to  be  astonished  at 
seeing  himself  so  finely  dressed;  and  the 
czar  laughed  at  it  himself,  as  also  did  all 
the  spectators.  As  soon  as  the  ambassadors 
were  gone,  Peter  threw  off  his  embroidered 
coat,  and  put  on  his  surtout." 

The  system  of  the  government,  and  the 
collection  of  the  revenue,  were  placed  upon 
quite  a  new  basis.     Hitherto  every  boyard 
paid  a  stipulated   sum  for  his  lands,    and 
raised  it  from  his  dependents  and  bonds- 
men.     Sensible   that   he   was   greatly   de- 
frauded by  this  means,  the  czar  appointed 
citizens  as  his  collectors ;    men  who  were 
not  powerful  enough  to  claim  the  privilege 
of  paying  into  the  public  treasury  only  just 
what  they  pleased.     Rank  he  resolved  to 
build   upon    merit,   and  title  upon  desert. 
He  abolished  the  old  council  of  boyards, 
which  had  frequently  acted  with  a  despotism 
that  enthralled  even  the  sovereign,  and  estab- 
lished a  senate  instead.    He  also  suppressed 
the  titles  of  boyards,  of  okolnitchi,  and  of 
dumnie-diaki ;  substituting  the  modern  and 
more  expressive  titles  of  presidents,  counsel- 
lors, and  senators.    All  persons  holding  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  crown,  he 
divided  into  fourteen  distinct  classes,  which 
prevail  to  the  present  time. 

An  attempt  to  reform  the  priesthood  has 
been  an  effort  fatal  to  many  sovereigns;  but 
such  was  the  resolution  of  Peter,  and  the 
terror  that  he  had  inspired,  that  he   was 
enabled  to  accomplish  this  dangerous  task 
with  comparative  ease.     The  patriarchs  had 
divided  and  frequently  opposed  the  im})erial 
authority,  while  the  bishops  assumed   tlie 
right  of  condemning  people  even  to  death. 
Peter  resolved  to  limit  the  power  of  both, 
as  occasion  offered ;  but,  at  first,  he  struck 
only  at  those  prejudices  which  obstructed 
intellectual  improvement,  and  poisoned  the 
social  intercourse  of  the  people.    Only  those 
Christians  who  adopted  the  Greek  church 
were  permitted  to  reside  in    Russia;    nor 
were  the  Russians  allowed  to  marry  with 
persons  of  a  different  communion.     Peter 
abolished  these  interdicts,  and  estabhshed  a 
perfect  toleration  to  all  denominations  of 
Christians — Jesuits  only  excepted,  as  he  had 
seen  so  much  of  their  mischievous  activity 
during  his  travels,  as  to  cause  him  to  enter- 
tain an  aversion  towards  them.     Strangers 
he  permitted  to  build  churches,  and  contract 


A.D.  1700.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[SOCLVL  REFORMS. 


marriages  with  the  native  Russians.  To 
enlighten  the  obtuse  ignorance  of  both 
priests  and  people,  the  czar  also  caused  the 
Bible  to  be  translated  into  the  Russian 
language,  and  diffused  among  the  people. 
The  clergy  were  furious :  they  resorted  both 
to  maledictions  and  prophecies  ;  but  Peter 
was  unmoved.    .^ 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1700, 
the  first  of  a  new  century,  the  czar  altered 
the  calendar,  in  order  to  assimilate  it  to 
that  of  modern  Europe.     Before  that  time, 
the  Russians  began  their  year  on  the  1st  of 
September,    because    they    considered    the 
world  was  no  doubt  created  in  autumn,  the 
season  when  the  fruits  of  the  earth  were  in 
their   full   maturity;    never  suspecting,    as 
has  been  observed,  that  the  autumn  of  one 
part  of  the  world  might  be  the  spring  of 
another.     Peter  ordained  that  in  future  the 
year  should  commence,  as  in  other  parts  of 
Europe,   on, the  1st  of  January.     He  did 
not  introduce  the  Gregorian  calendar,  be- 
cause it  was  at  that  day  rejected  by  the 
English   mathematicians,   but   adopted   in- 
stead the  old  Julian  one;    an  unfortunate 
circumstance,  by  which  a  disparity  of  eleven 
days  now  exists  between  Russian  dates  and 
those   of   other  European  nations.     Peter 
celebrated  this  alteration   by  some   public 
festivities    and    solemnities.      The   people, 
however,  were  averse  to  it,  as,  for  a  time,  it 
introduced  confusion  into  their  calculations 
and  commercial  accounts.     The  peasantry 
were  astonished  at  the  power  of  the  czar, 
who  they  fancied  had,  in  some  inexplicable 
way,   altered  the  course  of  the  sun;    and 
some  old-fashioned  folks  obstinately  adhered 
to  the  former  mode  of  computing ;    but,  at 
length,  a  uniformity  was  attained. 

The  Russians  were  a  heavy  and  unsocial 
people.      In  conformity   with    the   Asiatic 
custom,  they  kept  their  wives  and  daughters 
in  a  state  of  complete  seclusion.     Married 
women   were   not   permitted  to   appear  in 
public   without   their   husbands;    while   at 
home  they  were  shut  up  in  the  back  part  of 
the  house.  Necessarily,  women  degenerated, 
both  morally  and  intellectually;    and  the 
softening  influence  which  in  other  countries 
they  shed  upon  society,  was  altogether  lost. 
Indeed,  in    Russia,    at   this   period,    social 
intercourse  may  be  said   to   have   had  no 
existence.     The   marriage   customs   of   the 
people,  also,  were  remarkably  barbarous  and 
Asiatic.     Young  people  were  married  with- 
out  any  previous    acquaintance   with   each 
other;   and  the  bridegroom  was  not  even 
VOL.  I.  u 


allowed  to  see  his  bride  until  the  ceremony 
was  over.     Mutual  affection  was,  of  course, 
rendered  an  impossibility  before  marriage, 
and  merely  a  chance  after  it.     The  parties 
had  been  united  from  convenience,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  will  of  the  parents,  who 
sometimes  even  sold  the  bride  to  her  future 
husband.     The  many  small  sweet  courtesies 
which,  in  civilised  society,  form  the  current 
coin  between  the  sexes,  and  exert  an  im- 
mense influence  in  the  way  of  humanising 
and  elevating  them,  had  no  place  in  such  a 
system.     In  fact,  marriage  could  only  have 
been  regarded  as  a  license  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  those  passions  which  the  young  had 
hitherto  been  taught  to  restrain. 

The  czar  abolished  this  uncouth  and  un- 
reasonable custom,  and  decreed  that  mar- 
riages   should    not    take    place   without   a 
previous  acquaintance  of  at  least  six  weeks 
between  the   bride  and  bridegroom.     But 
little  opposition  was  offered  to  this  change, 
and  the  young  people  were  highly  pleased 
with  it.      It   gave   them   a  choice   where, 
hitherto,  none  existed,  and  raised  them  in 
the  social  scale.     It  was  now  necessary  to 
give  the  opposite  sexes   an  opportumty  of^ 
meeting  and  becoming  acquainted  with  each 
other.     For  this  purpose,  Peter  established 
regular   evening    assemblies    amongst    the 
families  of  the  aristocracy  and  the  wealthy, 
knowing  that  the  custom  once  introduced, 
would  find  its  way,  in  some   form,   down 
even  to  the  lowest  circles  of  society.     For 
the  government  of  these,   Peter  issued   a 
code  of  regulations.     The  assemblies  were 
to  commence  at  four  in  the  afternoon,  and 
close  at  ten  at  night ;  and  to  be  free,  not 
only  to  all  persons  of  rank  and  respecta- 
bility, but  also  to  their  wives  and  daughters. 
The  guests  were  at  liberty  to  come  and  go 
as    they   pleased;    but   the   host   was   not 
obliged  to  receive  or  wait  upon  them.     Still 
he  was  to  provide  them  with  chairs,  lights, 
and  refreshments.     One  apartment  was  to 
be  set  aside  for  dancing ;  another  for  cards, 


chess,    and    draughts;    and    a    third    for 
smoking.      The   code   also    instructed   the 
visitors  to  bow  on  entering  or  leaving  the 
room,   and   many   minute   directions   were 
given  on  the  subject  of  personal  behaviour. 
The  penalty  for  violating  any  of  these  was  a 
boorish  one,  the  offender  being  compelled 
to  drink  the  contents  of  a  large  tumbler  of 
brandy,  called  the  ''great  eagle.^'     These 
changes  won  over  the   women,  who   from 
that  time  exerted  themselves  to  bring  the 
czar's  innovations  into  favour. 

145 


>      IS 


CONFEDERACY  AGAINST  SWEDEN.]    HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1700. 


A.D.  1700.] 


KUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  BATTLE  OF  N.UIVA. 


p. 


11,. 


The  mind  of  Peter  was  a  comprehensive 
one,  and  few  tilings  escaped  his  observation. 
Anything  which  he  felt  would  tend  to  the 
improvement  of  the  people,  he  introduced 
into  the  country.  He  established  an  obser- 
vatory and  a  public  theatre  at  Moscow;  for, 
prior  to  his  time,  nothing  but  the  puerile 
and  vulgar  miracle  plays  were  performed  in 
Russia.  He  improved  the  roads,  and  caused 
posts,  marking  the  distances,  to  be  placed 
on  them  at  stated  intervals.  He  erected 
hospitals,  almshouses,  and  other  humanising 
institutions ;  and  reforms  came  so  rapidly, 
chat  the  slow  Russian  mind  was  almost  in  a 


state  of  bewilderment.  The  people  hardly 
knew  what  was  right  and  what  was  wrong; 
but,  though  they  parted  from  their  old 
customs  with  regret,  they  gradually  per- 
ceived that  the  new  ones  were  calculated  to 
add  both  to  their  social  happiness  and  com- 
mercial prosperity.  The  clergy  were  the 
most  strenuous  opponents  of  this  great 
social  reformation,  and  preached  and  argued 
vehemently  against  it ;  but  Peter  exposed  the 
shallowness  of  their  reasoning,  and  turned 
them  into  ridicule.  He  afterwards  retaliated 
in  another  way :  but  of  his  great  church  re- 
forms we  shall  speak  presently. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PETER  ENTFRS  INTO  AN  UNJUST  LEAGUE  AGAINST  CHAELES  XII.  OF  SWEDEN  ;  CHARLES  INFLICTS  A  TERRIBLE 
DEFKAT  ON  THE  RUSSIANS  AT  NARVA;  THE  CZAR  IMPKOVKS  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  HIS  TROOPS;  THE 
RUSSIANS  OBTAIN  A  VICTORY  OVER  THE  SWKDKS  ;  SACK  OF  MARIKNBURG;  MARTHA  THE  ORPHAN,  WHO 
AFTKRWAllDS  BECAME  THE  EMPRESS  CATHERINE;  MENTSCHIKOFF ;  CAPTURE  OF  ROTTKBURG  AND 
NIENTSCHANTZ;  THK  CZAR  FOUNDS  ST.  PETERSBURG  ;  HE  FORTIFIES  OTHER  CITIES;  DORPT  AND  NARVA 
ARE  TAKEN  BY  THE  RUSSIANS. 


To  a  period  of  social  reform  succeeded  one 
of  warlike  struggle.  Peter  had  concluded 
a  truce  of  thirty  years  with  the  Turks,  and 
he  was  thus  left  free  to  pursue  his  ambi- 
tious views  in  reference  to  extending  his 
dominions  to  the  shores  of  the  Baltic.  At 
this  time,  certain  events  were  in  progress 
which  afforded  the  czar  some  shadowy  sort 
of  excuse  for  aggression. 

In    the   year    1697,   Charles   XII.,   then 
only  in  his  fifteenth  year,  and  not  suspected 
of  possessing  those  great  military  talents, 
and  that  fearless  audacity,  by  which  he  for 
so  long  kept  the  north  of  Europe  in  a  state 
of  tumult,  ascended  the  throne  of  Sweden. 
On  his  accession,  he  found  himself  not  only 
the    absolute    and    undisturbed    master   of 
Sweden  and  Finland,  but  also  of  Livonia, 
Carelia,     Ingria,    Wismar,    Wibourg,     the 
islands  of  Uugen  and  Oesal,  and  the  fiuest 
part  of  Ponierauia,  together  with  the  duchy 
Lof  Bremen   and  Verdun — all  of  them   the 
conquests  of  his  ancestors,  secured  to  the 
crown  by  tl»e  fact  of  possession,  by  the  trea- 
ties of  Munster  and  Oliva,  and  supported 
by  the  terror  of  the   Swedish  arms.     All 
this  in  the  hands  of  a  mere  bov  !  and  one 
who  had  revealed  so  little  of  his  real  cha- 
racter, that  he  was  presumed  to  be  indolent 
146 


and  of  a  mean  capacity.  The  temptation  was 
great  to  surrounding  sovereigns;  for  princes 
seldom  consider  the  injustice  of  an  act 
which  enriches  them  at  the  expense  of  their 
neighbours.  By  the  time  Charles  had 
reached  his  eighteenth  year,  a  league  was 
formed  against  him  by  Frederick  IV.,  king 
of  Denmark;  Augustus,electorof  Saxony  and  / 
king  of  Poland;  and  the  czar  Peter  of  Russia; , 
their  object  being  to  dismember  Sweden,' 
and  to  take  back  from  that  country  all  that 
had  been  obtained  from  them  by  conquest 
or  ceded  by  capitulation.  Poland  wanted 
Livonia  and  Esthonia ;  Denmark,  the  pro- 
vinces of  Holstein  and  Schleswig;  while  the 
czar  desired  to  obtain  possession  of  Ingria 
and  Carelia,  which  lay  in  his  way  to  the 
Baltic. 

This  triple  confederacy  was  entered  into 
in  the  year  1700.  The  Swedes  were  an 
eminently  courageous  people ;  but  so  for- 
midable a  league  against  them,  created 
alarm  in  the  council  and  the  nation,  the 
more  so  as  all  their  distinguished  generals 
who  had  attained  celebntv  under  Gusta- 
VU8  Adolphus  were  since  dead.  One  day, 
when  the  council  were  deliberating  on  their 
dangerous  situation,  the  young  king  Charles 
rose,  and  observed,  with  a  grave  and  assured 


air — "Gentlemen,  I  am  resolved  never  to 
begin  an  unjust  war;  but  never  to  finish 
an  unjust  war  but  with  the  destruction  of 
my  enemies.  My  resolution  is  fixed;  I 
will  march  and  attack  the  first  who  shall 
declare  war;  and  when  I  have  conquered 
him,  I  hope  to  strike  terror  into  the  rest.'' 

Charles    more    than    fulfilled   this  proud 
assertion  :  he  first  turned  his  arms  against 
Denmark,  besieged  Copenhagen,  and  within 
six  weeks  compelled  Frederick   to  sue  for 
peace.      At   the   same   time,    Augustus   of 
Poland  laid  siege  to  the  town  of  Riga,  the 
capital  of  Livonia;  but  was  so  vigorously 
opposed,  that  he  caught  eagerly  at  a  trans- 
parent pretext  for  retiring.     The  struggle, 
therefore,  lay  chiefly  between  Charles  and 
Peter,  the  two    most   remarkable  men   in 
E^irope. 
'       The  czar  led  an  army  of  60,000  men  into 
Ingria,  and  laid  siege  to  the  small  town  of 
Narva.     The  time  Avas  ill-chosen,  for  it  was 
during  the  month  of  October,  in  a  climate 
of  remarkable  severity,  within  thirty  degrees 
of  the  Pole.     Notwithstanding  the  apparent 
strength  of  Peter's  army,  it  contained  but 
12,000    disciplined    soldiers,   who,    though 
robust  and   personally   brave,  were  far  in- 
ferior to  the  Swedes  in  all  those  matters 
which  distinguish  veteran  troops.     In  fact, 
they  were  untried   on   the  field,   and  had 
been  used  chiefly  as  a  military  police.     The 
rest   were    mere    barbarians,    drawn    from 
forest  villages,  clothed  with  the  skins  of  wild 
beasts,  and  many  of  them  armed  only  with 
bows  and  arrows,  or  with  clubs.     The  czar's 
army  was  also  attended  by  150  pieces  of 
cannon ;  but  there  was  not  one  person  who 
well  understood  artillery  to  direct  it.     Thus, 
though  Narva  was  almost  without  fortifica- 
tions'^  and    contained    only   a   garrison   of 
1,000  men,  it  successfully  resisted  the  at- 
tacks of  the  barbarian  host  which  lay  in- 
trenched before  it. 

Ten   weeks    passed  away,   and  then  the 
czar  learned  that  Charles  was  approaching 
to   Che   rehef    of   the  town.      The   young 
Swedish    monarch   was    followed    only   by 
8,000  men  ;  but  they  were  veteran  soldiers, 
and  flushed  with  recent  victory.     Notwith- 
standing his  immense  numerical  superiority, 
Peter  exhibited   more   prudence   than  was 
quite  consistent  with  the  natural  fearless- 
ness of  his  nature.     Not  satisfied  with  the 
forces  he  had  already  with  him,  he  ordered 
the  advance  of  another  considerable  body  of 
troops,  then   stationed  at  Novgorod.      As 
they  did  not  arrive  so  soon  as  he  desired. 


he  left  the  camp  to  hasten  their  movements, 
resigning  the  command  to  the  Duke  de 
Croi  (a  Flemish  officer)  and  Prince  Dol- 
gorouki.  Perhaps  he  was  satisfied  that  he 
might  leave  the  progress  of  the  siege  with 
perfect  safety,  as  Charles  would  have  to  cut 
his  way  through  three  small  Russian  armies 
before  he  coidd  arrive  at  Narva.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  his  absence  assisted  to  bring  de- 
feat and—considering  the  nature  of  the  de- 
feat— disgrace  upon  his  troops  and  nation. 

Charles  and  his  8,000  Swedes  dispersed 
the  first  of  Peter's  advanced  posts,  consist- 
ing  of  5,000  men,  who,  falling  back  in  con- 
fusion, threw  the  others  into  a  panic,  and 
all  fled  precipitately  to  the  intrenched  camp. 
Charles,  immediately  on  his  arrival,  notwith- 
standing the  fatigue  of  his  troops,  gave  orders 
for  the  attack  of  a  camp  consisting  of  more 
than  60,000  Russians,  and  defended  by  150 
pieces  of  cannon.      The   famous   battle  of 
Narva  occurred  on  the  30th  of  November. 
It  was  commenced  during  a  blinding  snow-/ 
storm,  which  blew  directly  in  the  faces  of 
the  Russians,  and  eff'ectually  concealed  the 
smallness  of  the  Swedish  force.     Jealousies 
existed  between  the  Russian  commanders  : 
the   Duke    de   Croi    issued    orders   which 
Prince  Dolgorouki  refused  to  execute ;  and 
their   troops  were  in  a  state  of  confusion 
before   the   conflict    began.      To   such   an 
extent  was  this  carried,  that  the  Russians 
rose  against  the  German  officers,  and  mas- 
sacred several  of  them.     No  man  was  at  his 
post,  and  the  Russian  army  became  little 
more  than  an  armed  mob.      The   Swedes 
opened  the  battle  with  a  furious  cannonade, 
and  soon  succeeded  in  making  a  breach  in 
the  Russian  intrenchments.     They  charged 
with  their  bayonets;  and   for  half-an-hour 
the   Russians    fought    from    behind    their 
trenches;    but  then  they  began  to    yield. 
Charles  was  struck  in  the  neck  by  a  spent 
bullet,  and  had  his  horse  killed  under  him 

incidents  which  in  no  way  disturbed  his 

c^iposure.      The   engagement    lasted    for 
about  three  hours,  when  the  intrenchments 
were  forced  upon  every  side,  and  the  Rus- 
sians, seized  with  panic,  fell  into  irredeem- 
able  confusior.      Many   threw   themselves 
into  the  river  Narva,  where  great  numbers 
were   drowned;    others    flung    away    their 
arms  and  begged   for  quarter  upon   their 
knees.     The  Duke  de  Croi  and  the  German 
officers,  as   much   afraid   of  the   mutinous 
Russians  as  they  were  of  the  Swedes,  sur- 
rendered  themselves   to   Charles.      Prince 
Dolgorouki  and  the  principal  Russian  offi- 
^  147 


If""    ^ 

*  ,1 


PETER  IMPROVES  HIS  ARMY.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1701. 


A.D.  1702."! 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  with  the  swedes. 


u 


^ 


cers  did  the  same.  Charles  received  them 
with  politeness;  and  with  an  affected  dis- 
dain of  the  power  of  Russia,  only  detained 
the  generals  as  his  prisoners.  The  subal- 
tern officers  and  soldiers  were  disarmed, 
conducted  to  the  banks  of  the  Narva,  and 
directed  to  return  into  their  own  country. 
This  was  an  error  which  it  is  probable  that 
Charles  afterwards  repented  of:  the  Rus- 
sians, whom  he  now  so  contemptuously 
dismissed,  afterwards  became  disciphned 
and  formidable  troops.  The  Swedish  victor 
captured  all  the  Russian  artillery  and  majija- 
zines,  toj^cther  with  120  transports  laden 
with  provisions.  The  Russians  lost  C,000 
men,  the  Swedes  but  1,200.  Narva  was 
delivered,  and  Charles  entered  it  in  triumph. 
The  shattered  remains  of  the  recently  con- 
fident army  of  the  czar  dared  no  longer 
show  themselves. 

Charles,   instead  of  pursuing  his  advan- 
tage, which  might  have  led  him  as  a  victor 
even  to  the   gates   of  Moscow,    where   he 
could  have  dictated  any  peace  he  pleased, 
turned  off  into  Poland  to  punish  Augustus 
for  the  part  that  monarch  had  taken  in  the 
confederacy  against  him.     The  news  of  the 
Russian    defeat   reached   Peter   as    he  was 
approaching  to  Narva  with  the  additional 
forces — amounting  to  40,000  men — that  he 
had  been  in  quest  of.     He  would  not  risk 
the  loss  of  this  army  also,  but  resolved  on 
jeturning  to  Moscow.     He  bore  his  reverse 
as  great  minds  almost  always  bear  calamity 
— with  fortitude.     He  had  been   defeated, 
hut  not  necessarily  ruined ;  and  he  resolved 
to  persevere  incessantly  in  raising  his  troops 
to  a  higher  state  of  discipline.     His  designs 
on  Ingria  were  not  altered  by  the  severe 
check    he   had    received.      "1   know   very 
well,''  he  observed,  "  that  the  Swedes  will 
beat  us  for  a  long  time;  but,  in  the  end, 
they  themselves  will  teach  us  to  beat  them.'' 
The   inhabitants  of  Moscow  did  not  re- 
ceive  this    national   chastisement   with   so 
much  dignity  and  resignation.     Such  ti^^s 
the  ignorant' vanity  of  the  people,  that  they 
supposed  that  those  who  conquered  them 
must    have     been    assisted    by    diabolical 
agency,  and  that  the   Swedes  were  magi- 
cians.'   So  general  was  this  opinion,    that 
a  Russian  bishop  composed  a  form  of  prayer 
to  St.  Nicholas,  imploring  him  to  baffle  the 
infernal  arts  of  their  enemies.     This  docu- 
ment was  read  in  all  the  churches ;  and  we 
introduce  it  here  as  an  instance  of  the  igno- 
rance and  superstition  of  the  Russian  people 
and  clerjicv  at  the   commencement  of  the 
148 


'  seventeenth  century  : — "  O  Thou  !  who  art 
I  our  perpetual  consoler  in  all  our  adversities, 
great  St.  Nicholas  !  infinitely  powerful !  by 
what  sin  have  we  offended  thee  in  our  sacri- 
i  fices,  kneelings,  bowings,  and  thanksgivings, 
that  thou  hast  thus  abandoned  us  ?  We 
have  implored  thy  assistance  against  these 
terrible,  insolent,  enraged,  dreadful,  and 
unconquerable  destroyers ;  when,  hke  lions 
and  bears  who  have  lost  their  young, 
they  have  attacked,  terrified,  wounded,  and 
killed  by  thousands,  us  thy  people.  As  it 
is  impossible  that  this  can  be  done  without 
sorcery  and  enchantment,  we  beseech  thee, 

0  great  St.  Nicholas !  to  be  our  champion 
and  our  standard-bearer,  to  deliver  us  from 
this  tribe  of  sorcerers,  and  to  drive  them  far 
from  our  frontiers,  with  the  recompense 
that  is  their  due."  The  Russians  have 
made  some  progress  during  the  last  century 
and  a-half.  They  would  no  longer  write 
such  barbarous  stuff  as  the  preceding. 

Charles's  expedition  into  Poland  gave 
Peter  time  to  recover  himself,  and  repair(| 
the  losses  he  had  experienced.  Returningf 
to  Moscow,  he  occupied  himself  during  the! 
winter  in  raising  and  drilling  troops.  He 
also  had  143  pieces  of  cannon  cast,  to  re- 
place those  which  were  lost  at  Narva. 
Metal  was  requisite  to  furnish  this  new 
artillery;  and,  to  obtain  it,  he  ordered  a 
number  of  the  bells  of  churches  and  monas- 
teries to  be  melted  down,  and  converted 
into  instruments  of  war.  Such  was  his 
activity  in  this  direction,  that  in  the  spring 

1  of  1701   he  had  an  artillery  consisting  of 
100    pieces    of    cannon,    142    field-pieces, 
twelve  mortars,  and  thirteen  howitzers.    All 
these  preparations  for  renewing  the  war  he 
superintended  in  person ;  and  the  most  in- 
dustrious man  in  the  empire  was  the  czar. 
But  this  military  activity  did  not  withdraw 
Peter's    attention   from   those    arts   Avhich 
seldom  flourish  except  in  times  of  peace. 
At  the  same  time  he  imported  sheep  and 
shepherds  from  Saxony,  erected   establish- 
ments for  the   manufacture   of  linen   and 
paper,  fostered  the  civilising  art  of   print- 
ing, and   invited  to   Russia   many   foreign 
artisans,  consisting  of  smiths,  braziers,  and 
artificers    of  every    description.      He    also 
employed  workmen  to  explore  the  mines  of 
Siberia.     Thus,  at  the   same  time,   endea- 
vouring  both   to   enrich    and    defend    his 
dominions. 

During  this  period,  Peter  entered  into  a 
further  treaty  with  the  King  of  Denmark, 
who  engaged  to  assist  him  with  three  regi- 


ments of  foot  and  three  of  cavalry — an  un- 
dertaking which  his  fear  of  Charles  XII. 
never  permitted  him  to  fulfil.     As  soon  as 
this  treaty  was  signed,  the  czar  hurried  to 
Birzen,  on  the  frontiers  of  Courland  and 
Lithuania,  where  he  had  an  interview  with 
Augustus,    king   of  Poland.     It   was   con- 
ducted  without   any   of   those    formalities 
which  usually  interrupt  the  intercourse  of 
monarchs,  and  prolong  the  business  to  be 
settled   between   them.      Engagements  for 
mutual  assistance  were  entered  into;    but 
such  was  the  precarious  position  of  Augus- 
tus, that  he  was  unable  to  fulfil  his  part  of 
the  contract.     The  Polish  diet,  jealous  both 
of  the  Saxon  troops  of  Augustus  and  the 
Russian  troops  of  the  czar,  refused  to  sanc- 
tion a  league  that  they  felt  must  involve 
them  in  difficulties.     Peter  soon  saw  that 
he  must  depend  upon  himself  alone,  and  he 
resolved  to  do  so.     After  five  days  passed 
in  revelry   (for  the  czar  could  never  over- 
come his  tendency  to  excess  and  debauchery), 
the  monarchs  parted.     The  king  of  Sweden, 
having  left  a  body  of  forces  on  the  Russian 
frontiers  of  his  dominions  to  preserve  them 
from   attack,  pursued   a  course  of  victory 
and  intrigue  in  Poland,  where  he  had  re- 
solved  to    dethrone    King   Augustus,    and 
then  push  his  way  to  Moscow,  and  punish 
the  czar. 

While  Charles  was  occupied  in  ravagmg 
Poland,  Peter  was  employed  in  strengthen- 
ing Russia.  During  the  year  1701,  the 
czar  caused  150  half-galleys,  each  carrymg 
about  fifty  men,  to  be  built  on  the  great 
lake  Peipus,  in  order  to  prevent  Swedish 
vessels  from  insulting  the  province  of  Nov- 
gorod, and  to  be  within  a  proper  distance 
for  making  a  descent  up(m  the  Swedish 
coasts.  These  vessels  were  also  intended 
as  a  nursery  for  seamen— a  service  in  which 
they  were  exceedingly  useful.  The  year 
1701  was  a  time  of  preparation  with  Peter : 
his  troops  were  learning  war  as  an  art ;  and 
they  made  so  great  a  progress,  that  in  some 
border  skirmishes  which  took  place  between 
them  and  the  Swedes,  they  sometimes  had 
the  advantage.  The  czar  himself  was  inde- 
fatigable. He  travelled  constantly  between 
Pleskow,  Moscow,  and  Archangel,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  imparting  to  his  recently-defeated 
troops  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm. 

In  the  following  year  (1702)  the  war  was 
actively  renewed;  for  on  the  1st  of  January 
a  battle  took  place  near  Dorpt,  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Livonia;  when  the  Russians,  after  a 
conflict  of  four  hours,  obtained  a  victory 


over  the  Swedes.     It  is  said  that  3,000  of 
the  latter  perished;  while  the  Russians,  who 
took    four    colours,  lost    but    1,000   men. 
General  Schereraetof,  who  commanded,  was 
made   a    fleld-marshal ;    and    the    Russian 
clergy,    conceiving   that    St.  Nicholas    was 
reconciled  to  them,  off"ered  a  public  thanks- 
giving accordingly.     Several  petty  engage- 
ments  took    place   by   water    between   the 
Russian  and  Swedish  vessels  on  the  lakes 
Peipus    and    Ladoga.      Though    commonly 
terminating  in  favour  of  the   Swedes,  yet 
the    Russians    had     the    advantage    occa- 
sionally;   and   in  the   month   of    May,   a 
Swedish    frigate    was    captured.      During 
July,    Peter   received    intelligence    that   a 
Swedish  fleet  was  on  its  way  to  the  North 
Sea,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  Arch- 
angel.    Starting  instantly  for  that  remote 
citv,  he  put  it  into  a  state  of  defence ;  and 
having  prevented  the  landing  of  the  Swedes, 
drew  the  plan  of  a  citadel,  called  the  New 
Dwina;  and  after  laying  the  first  stone,  re- 
turned to  the  seat  of  war. 

]Marshal  Scheremetof  having  obtained 
another  triumph  over  a  body  of  Swedes 
commanded  by  Schlippenbach,  acquired  the 
reputation  of  being  a  great  general.  Taking 
advantage  of  his  success,  he  laid  the  whole 
country  under  contribution,  and  marched 
upon  Marienburg,  a  little  town  on  the  con- 
fines of  Livonia  and  Ingria.  The  garrison, 
satisfied  that  resistance  would  be  useless. 


immediatelv  capitulated,  on  condition  that 
they  and  the  inhabitants  should  be  allowed 
to  'depart  unmolested.  The  terms  were 
granted;  but  an  intemperate  Swedish  officer 
set  fire  to  the  powder-magazine,  which,  m 
exploding,  killed  many  both  of  the  Russians 
and  of  his  own  countrymen.  The  former, 
irritated  at  this  act  of  treachery,  fell  upon 
the  garrison,  destroyed  the  town,  and  car- 
ried off  the  inhabitants. 

Among  these  unfortunate  people  was  a 
voung  peasant  girl  named  Martha,  of  about 
sixteen  vears  of  age.  She  was  an  orphan, 
and  had  been  brought  up  by  the  Lutheran 
minister  of  Marienburg,  in  whose  house- 
hold she  fulfilled  the  duties  of  a  servant. 
It  is  said,  that  only  the  day  before,  she  had 
been  married  to  a  sergeant  m  the  Swedish 
army,  who  was  killed  in  the  contusion,  and 
that  when  she  was  brought  into  the  pre- 
sence of  one  of  the  Russian  generals  named 
Bauer,  she  was  in  tears  for  tlie  loss  of  her 
new-made  and  early-lost  husband.  Martha 
was  graceful  and  interesting,  and  had  a 
neculiarly  soft  and  fascinating  expression  of 
^  ^  149 


•LtMn  I 


\ 


\ 


!   ^ 


I 


I 


MARTHA  AND  MENT^^HIKOFF.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1702. 


countenance.     Bauer  was  struck  with  her 
appearance,  and,  being   a   single    man,  h e  ^ 
took  her  to  his  home,  where  she  became  his  j 
housekeeper,   and,   as   it  is   generally   sup-  i 
posed,  his  mistress.     The  general  afterwards 
denied  this  circumstance;  but  it  was  when 
lie  had  powerful  motives  for  doing  so.     The 
world  believed  that  Martha  lived  with  the 
general    on   terms   of  more  than   common 
familiarity ;  and  we  do  not  see  any  reason 
to  suppose  that,  in  this  instance,  the  world 
was  wrong.    Prince  Mentschikoff,  seeing  the 
pretty  widowed  orphan  at  the  house  of  the 
general,    was    likewise    impressed    by   her 
beauty  and   amiability,  and  begged   Bauer 
to  part  with  her.     The  general  was  not  dis- 
posed  to  deny  anything  to  a  prince,  espe- 
cially to  a  rising  prince,  who  stood  high  in 
the  favour  of  the  czar.     He  acceded  to  the 
request,  and  Martha  then  became  the  avowed 
mistress  of  Mentschikoff.     In  this  capacity 
she  remained  until  the  year  1704,  when  the 
czar  accidentally  beheld   her,   and  was    as 
much  struck  with  her  appearance  as  either 
Bauer  or  Mentschikoff.     Entering  into  con- 
versation   with    Martha,    Peter    soon    felt 
strongly  attracted  towards  her:  the  first  im- 
pression was  not  only  sustained,  but  height- 
ened ;  and  the  Livonian  orphan  left  the  bed 
of  Mentschikoff  to  share  that  of  the  czar. 
In  the  vear  1696,  Peter  had  put  away  his 
wife  Eudoxia  Lapuchin,  whose  jealousy  and 
bigoted   opposition  to   his  reforms  excited 
his  disgust  and  anger;  and  he  eventually 
married  Martha,  to  whom  he  gave  the  more 
dignified  name  of  Catherine.     "  There  had 
been  instances  before  this,''  says  Yoltaire, 
"of   private   persons   being   raised   to   the 
throne.      Nothing   was   more   common   in 
Russia,   and  in  all  the  Asiatic  kingdoms, 
than    marriages    between    sovereigns    and 
their  subjects.     But  that  a  poor  stranger, 
who  had  been  discovered  amidst  the  ruins 
of   a  plundered  town,  should  become  the 
absolute  sovereign  of  that  very  empire  into 
which  she  was  led  captive,  is  an  incident 
which  fortune  and  merit  have  never  before 
produced  in  the  annals  of  the  world." 

The  rise  of  Prince  Mentschikoff  was  only 
something  less  remarkable  than  that  of 
Martha— or  rather  of  Catherine,  as  we 
must  henceforth  call  her.  His  parents 
were  extremely  humble  people,  vassals  of 
the  monastery  of  Cosmopoli.  When  their 
son  had  reached  the  age  of  thirteen,  they 
sent  him  to  Moscow  to  get  his  living  as 
best  he  could.  Being  received  into  the 
■ervice  of  a  pastrycook,  he  went  about  the 
150 


i*'*v 


streets  to  sell  puffs  and  cakes.     Having  an 
a^Tceable   voice,  he  used  to  attract  notice 
to  his  humble  dainties  by  singing  ballads. 
One  day  the  czar  happened  to  hear  the  l)oy, 
and  being  pleased  with  his  appearance  and 
voice,  sent  for  him,  and  asked  if  he  would 
sell  his  pies  and   his  basket.     The   young 
itinerant    pastrycook    answered    modestly, 
that   his  pies  were   for  sale,   but   he  must 
ask  his  master's  leave  to  sell   his  basket; 
though,    as    everything    belonged    to    his 
prince,  he  needed  only  to  lay  his  commands 
upon    him.      This    answ^cr   further    pleased 
the  czar,  who  ordered  the  boy  to  come  to 
court,  where  he  was   at  first   employed   in 
some  mean  station.     As  he  exhibited  con- 
siderable address  and  capacity,  Peter  made 
him  groom  of  his  bedchamber ;  and  thence 
gradually  raised  him  to  the  highest  prefer- 
ments.    As  if  this  career  was  not  in  itself 
sufficiently  romantic,  a  wild  story  has  been 
related    of    Mentschikoff    having,    while   a 
pastrycook's  boy,  saved  the  czar  from  being 
poisoned  by  a  discontented  boyard ;  but  it 
bears  an  air  of  improbability,  and  is  geue- 
rallv  discountenanced.  ^^  . 

\Ve  have,  though  indeed  inevitably,  been   | 
digressing  slightly  from  the  strict  chrono- 
logical  march    of   historic   facts.      This   is  / 
sometimes  necessary  for  the  sake  of  grace  ' 
and  pictorial  effect,  and  also  for  the  avoid- 
ance of  repetition ;  but  woe  be  to  the  writer 
who  does  not  keep  his  facts  in  good  chro- 
nological   order:    then,    like    ill-disciplined 
troops,  they  fall  into  confusion,  perplex  the 
general  who  has  assumed  to  arrange  them, 
and  bring  him  to  disgrace  and  defeat.      ^^ 
We    diverged    at    the    point    where,    in 
the  year  1702,  Marshal    Scheremetof  had 
marched  upon  and  destroyed  the  town  of 
I^Iarienburg,    on   the   confines   of    Livonia 
and  Ingria.    After  this  success,  Peter  pushed 
forward  his  operations  in  the  direction  of 
the  river  Neva,  which  connects  Lake  Ladoga 
with  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  at  the  mouth  of 
which   now    stands  the  large   and  elegant 
city,  the  foundations  of  which  Peter  was  so 
soon   to  lay.     Near  that  point  where  the 
river  Neva  left  the  lake,  was  an  island,   on 
which  stood  Rotteburg,  a  strongly-fortified 
town,    commanding   the   lake.     This   town 
was  indispensable  to  Peter  in  carrying  out 
the  extensive  design  he  had  formed,  aud  he 
resolved  to    obtain    possession    of  it.     His^ 
troops  besieged  the  town  from  the  18th  of 
September    until    the     12th    of    October. 
Three  breaches  having  been  made,  the  Rus- 
sians gave  the  assault;  but  such  was  the 


A.D. 


1703.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [capture  of  fort  nientschaxtz. 


desperate  valour  of  the  Swedish   garrison, 
that  though  reduced  to  only  eighty-three 
effective  men,  they  yet  obtained  an  honour- 
able   capitulation,    even   when  victory  was 
almost   in   the    grasp    of    their   assailants. 
Peter  gained  what  he  wanted  ;  but  the  siege 
was  by  no  means  a  very  brilliant  triumph, 
in  a  military  sense.     He,  however,  chose  so 
to  consider  it,   and  distributed  rewards  to 
the  officers   and   soldiers  by  whom  it  was 
conducted.      Others,    who   had   run    away 
during  the  assault,  were  subject  to  a  severe 
punishment.     They  were  put  to    a  whim- 
sically-ignominious death:    their   comrades 
spat  in  their  faces,  and  then  shot   them. 
The  czar  caused  the  fortifications  of  Rotte- 
burg to  be  repaired;  and  changed  its  name 
into  that  of  Schliisselburg,  or  City  of  the 
Key,  because  it  was  regarded  as  the  key  of 
Ingria  and  Finland.     Prince  Mentschikoff, 
formerly  the  pie-boy,  but  now  grown  a  very 
good  officer,  was  made  the  first  Russian  gov- 
ernor of  the  conquered  town.    Charles  XII. 
thought  very  little  of  this.     He  regarded 
the   Russians  with  contempt,    and   fancied 
that  he  could  readily  drive  them  out  as  soon 
as  he  returned  froni  Poland.     His  easy  con- 
quest at  the  battle  of  Narva  had  given  him 
a  false  estimate  of  his  enemies. 

The  depth  of  winter  produced  some  brief 
pause  in  the  execution  of  the  czar's  designs 
with  respect  to  his  intended  city  near  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic.     He  therefore  spent 
the  early  part  of  the  year  1703  at  Moscow, 
where,  however,  he  by  no  means  gave  hinri- 
self  up  to  luxurious  ease,  but  employed  his 
time  in  seeing  that  his  new  regulations  were 
carried   into   effect,   and  in  improving  the 
civil  as  well  as  military  government.      Even 
in  his  amusements  he  promoted  those  more 
social  and  rational  customs   which   he   de- 
sired to  introduce   amongst   his   unwilUng 
subjects.     At  the  marriage  of  one  of  his 
jesters,  he  caused  all  the  nobles  and  their 
Indies  to  be  invited;  and  gave,  at  the  same 
time,  a  command  that  everybody  should  be 
dressed  in  the  ancient  fashion.     The  dinner 
was  placed  on   the   table   in   the   uncouth 
manner  that  was  customary  a  hundred  years 
before.      Mthough  the  cold  w^as  intense,  he 
would  not  permit  a  fire  to  be  kindled,  be- 
cause there  had  formerly  been  a  superstitious 
custom  of  not  lighting  a  fire  on  a  wedding- 
day.     Neither  was  any  wine  permitted,  be- 
cause the  Russians,  in  old  times,  used  only 
to  drink  mead  and  brandy;  and  he  would 
not  suffer  any  other  liquoV.     The  shivering 
and  disgusted    guests    complained   to  the 


czar  of  this  cheerless  treatment;  but  he 
replied,  in  a  jocular  tone,  "  Your  ancestors 
did  so,  and  surely  ancient  customs  are 
alw^ays  the  best."  This  covert  sarcasm, 
added  to  the  practical  lesson  which  pre- 
ceded it,  discouraged  the  complaints  of 
those  who  were  always  ready  to  prefer  the 
customs  of  the  past,  and  taught  them  to 
believe  that  changes  might  possibly  be  im- 
provements. 

Returning  to  the  frontiers  of  Sweden, 
the  czar  visited  the  dockyards  of  Olonetz,  to 
inspect  the  ships  he  had  directed  to  be 
built  there,  and  the  foundries  he  had  estab- 
lished in  that  town  for  the  manufacture  of 
arms.  The  object  of  Peter  was  to  obtain 
the  secure  occupation  of  both  shores  of  the 
Neva.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  expel 
the  Swedes  from  all  places  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  to  take  or  destroy  all  the 
fortified  posts  they  held  in  Ingria  and 
Carelia.  The  most  important  of  the  latter 
was  a  fortress  called  Nientschantz,  situated 
near  Lake  Ladoga,  and  not  far  from  the 
Neva.  As  Peter  laid  seige  to  this  fortress 
by  land,  and  prevented  its  receiving  supplies 
by  water,  it  surrendered  on  the  12th  of 
May.  Two  Swedish  vessels  that  came  too 
late  to  relieve  the  garrison,  were  also  cap- 
tured by  the  ships  of  the  czar. 

Peter  now  resolved  at  once  to  erect  the 
new  capital  of  his  empire,  although  the  very 
ground  on  which  it  was  to  stand  did  not 
belong  to  him,  and  would  have  to  be  con- 
tested for  with  a  powerful  rival,  who  knew  no 
sense  of  fear,  and  loved  war  as  a  pastime. 
Advancing  up  the  Neva,  in  the  direction  of 
the  sea,  he  selected  a  wild  and  marshy 
island,  covered  with  brushwood,  and  in- 
habited only  by  a  few  fishermen.  The  place 
was  unpromising,  and  extremely  ill-adapted 
for  the  purpose  for  which  the  czar  intended 
it.  So  low  was  it,  as  to  be  little  better 
than  a  muddy  swamp  in  summer,  and  a 
frozen  pool  in  winter.  Such  a  situation 
was  necessarily  unhealthy;  and  the  sur- 
rounding country  was  covered  with  marshes, 
and  almost  impenetrable  forests— the  haunts 
of  wolves  and  bears.  The  place  was  also 
subject  to  inundations  when  the  tide  set  in 
more  fiercely  than  usual  from  the  Baltic: 
but  all  these'  considerations  were  overlooked 
by  Peter  in  his  anxiety  to  obtain , a  great 
fortified  seaport. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  1703,  was  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  fortress  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, the  nucleus  of  the  magnificent  cit;^ 
which  now  bears  that  name.     The  difl&cul- 

151 


|(K#«it«iltMie<4Mli»«fW#'>NMMWa!9W 


FOUNDATION  OF  ST.  PETERSBURG.]     HISTORY    OP    THE 


[a.d.  1703. 


f*.-. 


i.i 


ties  to  be  overcome  were  stupendous.     The 
neighbouring  country  was  one  vast  morass, 
intersected  by  numerous  branches    of  the 
Neva,  and  countless  pools  of  water.*    Every- 
where there  was  water,  and  deadly  miasma 
arising  from  it ;  while  the  soft  spongy  soil 
seemed  to  defy  the  skill  of  man  to  convert 
it  into  a  solid  foundation.     As  fo^  stone, 
the  neighbouring  country  was  actually  des- 
titute of  it ;  and  the  new  fortress  was  built 
with  the  stone  taken   from   that   recently 
captured  at  Nientschantz.    Again,  the  popu- 
lation  was   so   scanty,    that   it   could   not 
furnish   labourers;    and   such   as   were    at 
once  obtained,   did   not   possess   the   tools 
necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  their 
work.     But  Peter  was  not  to  be  baffled,  and 
his   energy   soon    overcame    all    obstacles. 
Workmen  were  sent  for  from  all  parts  of 
the  empire;   and  a  vast   concourse  of  la- 
bourers was  soon  collected,  including  in  its 
motley  groups,  Russians,  Tartars,  Cossacks, 
Calmucks,  and  Finns.     These  poor  people 
were  employed  in  deepening  the  channels  of 
the  river,  and  raising  the  levels  of  the  land 
destined  for  the  site  of  the  city.     Unhappy 
men  !  the  new  capital  may,  without  a  meta- 
phor, be  said  to  be  constructed  upon  their 
/\    bones.    Such  was  the  severity  of  the  weather, 
the  unhealthiness  of  the  place,  the  hard- 
ness of  the  toil,  and  the  scarcity  of  provi- 
sions, that  no  less  than  100,000  of  them 
perished  during  the  first  year.     But  such  a 
powerful  fact  as  this  did  not  afifect  the  iron 
nerves  of  the  czar.     He  was  eager  and  in- 
flexible, and  the  work  went  rapidly  on.     The 
fortress  was  completed  within  five  months ; 
and,  at  the  expiration  of  a  year,   30,000 
wooden  houses  and  huts  had  arisen  from 
the  dreary  swamp,  whose  yielding  soil  was 
hardened  with  human  bones.     The  begin- 
ning was  humble  enough ;  and  few,  even  of 
the   idealists  and   dreamers  of  the   world, 
could  have   conceived   that   this   new-born 
city  was,  at  no  distant  time,  to  challenge 
the  admiration  of  the  world  for  its  gorgeous 
palaces,  its  magnificent  cathedrals,  its  im- 
perial academies  and  libraries,  its  gigantic 
squares,  its  massive  quays,  its  superb  thea- 
tres, its  pleasure-gardens,  and  all  that  con- 
duces to  the  brilliancy  of  an  exotic  civili- 
sation !     Yet  St.  Petersburg  was  but  slowly 


populated;   and  even   now  its   inhabitants 
can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  numerous. 

At  the  time  of  Peter's  death,  in  1725,  it 
contained  75,000  inhabitants :  these  had 
increased  to  110,000  on  the  accession  of 
Catherine  II. ;  and  it  is  now  about  500,000 ; 
of  which  number  two-thirds  are  males^ 
Some  authorities  add,  that  the  men  are  re-\ 
markable  for  their  good  looks,  and  the 
women  for  the  contrary.  v^x^ 

While  Peter  was  struggling  to  subdue 
the  wildness  of  nature  in  this  locality,  and 
wooden  houses  were  daily  rising  above  the 
swamp,  he  devoted  his  attention  to  securing 
the  safety  of  his  new  city.  Charles  XII. 
was  not  a  monarch  from  whom  territory 
could  be  filched  or  wrested  with  impunity ; 
and  other  enemies  might  strike  at  the  un- 
finished sea-cradle  of  Russia,  if  it  remained 
undefended.  The  czar,  therefore,  diligently 
examined  the  neighbourhood  himself,  and, 
selecting  a  little  island  lying  near  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Neva,  he  gave  it  the  name  of 
Cronstadt;    and,   making   a   model   of  the 


*  Lady  Eastlake  remarks—"  No  one  can  judge 
of  the  daring  position  of  St.  Petersburg,  who  has 
not  mounted  one  of  the  artificial  heights  (such  as 
the  gilt  spire  of  the  admiralty),  and  viewed  the  im- 
mense body  of  water  in  which  she  floats  like  a  bark 
overladen  with  precious  goods;  while  the  autumn 

152 


fortifications  he  designed  to  be  erected 
there,  employed  Prince  Mentschikoff  to 
carry  the  works  into  execution.  With  what 
success  this  was  accomplished,  the  present 
world-famous  seaward  defences  of  St.  Peters- 
burg attest. 

In  the  month  of  November  the  czar  re- 
turned to  Moscow,  where  he  had  again  to 
encounter   the   discontent    of    the   people. 
Noble,  priest,  and  citizen  were  alike  dis- 
satisfied at  the  erection  of  a  new  city  on  so 
unfavourable  a  site ;  where  winter  predomi- 
nates over  eight  months  of  the  year;    in 
which  rye  was  an  article  of  garden  culture, 
and  a  bee-hive  an  absolute  curiosity.     The 
nobles  dreaded  that  the  wealth  and  dignity 
of   Moscow   would   be    transferred   to   the 
dismal  islands  of  the  Neva ;  while  the  poor 
looked  upon  the  place  with  a  superstitious 
horror,  on  account  of  the  enormous  amount 
of  life  sacrificed  in  its  erection.     The  new 
city,   however,   prospered,   notwithstanding 
the  many  ominous  predictions  that  it  would 
soon  be  engulphed  beneath  the  waters  of 
the  Neva.     Five  months  from  the  day  of  its 
foundation,  a  Dutch  vessel,  freighted  with 
merchandise,  entered   the   river.     Presents 
were   made   to   the   captain    to    encourage 

waves,  as  if  maddened  by  the  prospect  of  winter's 
long  imprisonment,  play  wild  pranks  with  her  re- 
sistless shores,  deriding  her  false  foundations,  and 
overturning  in  a  few  hours  the  laborious  erections 
of  as  many  years."  St.  Petersburg  has  been  com- 
pared to  a  floating  city  of  palaces. 


r"'. 


) 


I  ■**!*■ 


,  -'^o^wj^imiaimii^uttMiKm'mum^,^ 


y 


L.v.  1704.] 


RUSSIAIS  EMPIRE. 


[the  siege  of  narta. 


others  to   follow   his   example,  which  they 
speedily  did.     The  third  ship,  however,  that 
entered  the  port  was  from  England.     These 
commercial  visits   gave   some   hope  to  the 
downcast    inhabitants,    whose    compulsory 
residence  in  the  new  city  was  by  no  means 
to  their  taste.     Indeed,  after  the  departure 
of  Peter  for  Moscow,  the  priests  tried  their 
hands  at  a  miracle,  which  was  intended  to 
be  a  visible  expression  of  the  assumed  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Omnipotent.     A  church  was 
amongst  the  earliest  of  the  buildings  erected  ; 
and  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  with  which  it 
was   adorned,   was   seen  to   shed  tears,    in 
pity — so  said  the  pious  men — for  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  people.     It  caused  great  excite- 
ment   until    the    return  of  the  czar,   who, 
being   a   little   sceptical  in   such    matters, 
caused  the  image  to  be  taken   down  and 
carefully  examined.     The  vulgar  fraud  was 
soon  exposed;    and  the  mechanical  contri- 
vance  by  which   the   figure  was   made  to 
appear  to  weep,  shown  to  the  simple  people. 
The  czar  could  afford  to  despise  opposi- 
tion even  of  a  more  serious  kind  than  this. 
His  power  was  rapidly  increasing;  and  not- 
withstanding his  great  outlays,  his  personal 
expenditure    was    so    trivial,    that    he   was 
enabled  to  accumulate  wealth.     Almost  at 
the  same  time  that  he  was  employed  in  the 
erection  of  a  new  capital,  he  fortified  Nov- 
gorod, Pleskow,  Kief,  Smolensk,  Azoff,  and 
Archangel.     He  also  bestowed  a  consider- 
able subsidy  upon  Augustus,  the   king  of 
Poland,  to  enable  him  to  oppose  the  Swedish 
monarch.     Yet   he  informed   Cornelius   de 
Bruyer  (a  Dutch  traveller,  with  whom  Peter 
would  frequently  converse  with  familiarity), 
that  after  providing  for  all  the  expenses  of 
the  war,  he  had  still  300,000  roubles  in  his 
coffers. 

The  Swedish  gladiator  Charles,  who  still 
preserved  his  contempt  both  for  the  Rus- 
sians and  their  ruler,  said  that  Peter  might 
amuse  himself  as  he  thought  fit  in  building 
a  city,  as  he  should  soon  take  it  away  from 
him,  and  set  fire  to  his  wooden  houses. 
The  Turkish  government,  however,  took  a 
different  view  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
czar:  the  fortifications  he  had  erected  at 
Azoff  and  in  its  neighbourhood  excited  their 
alarm ;  and  the  sultan  sent  an  ambassador 
to  complain  of  these  warlike  preparations. 
Peter  replied,  that  he  was  as  much  a  sove- 
reign in  his  own  dominions  as  the  great 
signior  was  in  Turkey,  and  that  it  could  be 
no  violation  of  the  peace  to  render  Russia 
respectable  on  the  Euxine. 

VOL.  I.  X 


A  reference  to  the  map  will  show  tlie 
reader  that  Narva,  where  Peter's  forces  hj 
been  so  ignominiously  defeated  by  tl 
Swedes,  lay  in  dangerous  proximity  to  th| 
new  capital.  To  secure  the  safety  of  th< 
latter,  and  to  wipe  off  the  disgrace  he  hac 
formerly  received  at  Narva,  the  czar  re- 
solved  on  another  attempt  to  make  himselt 
paster  of  that  town.  In  the  spring  of  1704,1 
he  divided  the  military  force  of  Russia  into 
three  portions.  One  he  sent  to  the  assist- 
ance of  King  Augustus,  whom  Charles  had 
succeeded  in  driving  from  his  throne ;  a 
second  he  led  in  person  to  accomplish  the 
reduction  of  Narva ;  while  a  third  he  placed 
under  the  direction  of  General  Schere- 
metof,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  siege  to 
Dorpt,  a  town  in  Esthonia,  in  which  the 
famous  Gustavus  Adolphus  had  estabhshed 
a  university. 

Dorpt,  after  holding  out  for  six  weeks,^ 
was  taken  by  a  stratagem.  The  Russian 
general  disguised  two  regiments  of  infantry 
and  one  of  cavalry  in  Swedish  uniforms. 
These  pretended  Swedes  attacked  the 
trenches,  and  the  Russians  feigned  a  flight. 
The  garrison  of  the  town,  believing  that 
some  succour  had  arrived,  were  deceived 
into  making  a  sortie,  when  the  false  attackers 
and  the  attacked  united  their  forces,  and 
fell  upon  the  astonished  Swedes.  So  great 
was  the  slaughter  which  followed  this  sur- 
prise, that  the  town  capitulated  on  the  23rd 
of  Julv,  1704,  and  thus  avoided  the  horrors 
of  an  assault.  y 

The  czar  was  equally  successful  at  Narva ; 
for  he  was  a  far  more  formidable  enemy 
than  when  his  troops  had  been  so  severely 
chastised  there  by  Charles  in  1700.  "He 
not  only,"  says  Voltaire,  "  began  to  be  a 
good  soldier,  but  he  likewise  taught  the  art 
of  war  to  the  Muscovites;  discipline  was 
established  throughout  his  troops;  he  had 
able  engineers,  an  artillery  well  served,  and 
many  good  officers ;  and  he  likewise  knew 
the  art  of  subsisting  his  armies.  Some  of 
his  generals  had  learned  both  how  to  fight, 
and  also,  as  occasion  required,  to  decline 
fighting."  The  siege  of  Narva  was  con- 
ducted under  the  personal  superintendence 
of  Peter;  and  when,  on  the  20th  of  August, 
it  was  taken  by  assault,  three  famous  bas- 
tions, respectively  called  Victory,  Honour, 
and  Glory,  were  carried  sword-in-hand. 
Bursting  into  the  town,  the  besiegers  de- 
voted themselves  to  plunder,  obscenity,  and 
slaughter,  without  the  slightest  pity  or  com- 
punction. Such  were  the  atrocities  of  the 
^  153 


\ 


f 


HUMANITY  OF  THE  CZAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1704. 


Russian  troops,  that  even  the  stern  czar 
was  moved  to  disgust  and  indignation.  To 
his  honour  it  must  be  recorded,  that  he  ran 
from  place  to  place  to  stop  the  massacre. 
He  saved  unhappy  women  from  the  hands 
of  his  brutal  soldiers,  who,  after  having  vio- 
lated them,  were  about  to  cut  their  throats. 
Several  of  these  ruflaans,  blinded  by  their 
beastly  fury,  perhaps  did  not  recognise  the 
czar ;  and  refusing  to  obey  his  commands, 
he  cut  them  down  with  his  own  hands. 
Then  entering  the  town-house,  where  great 
numbers  of  the  citizens  had  retired  for 
shelter,  he  threw  his  reeking  weapon  upon 
the  table,  and  exclaimed,  "  My  sword  is  not 
stained  with  the  blood  of  the  inhabitants, 
but  with  that  of  my  own  soldiers,  which  I 
have  spilt  to  save  your  lives." — "If,"  re- 
marked one  of  his  biographers,  "the  czar 
had  always  observed  this  humanity,  he 
would  have  been  the  first  of  men."  On  this 
occasion,  he  seems  to  have  been  much  im- 
pressed by  the  horrors  of  war,  especially  as 
waged  by  barbarous  troops.  It  is  reported, 
that  when  Count  de  Horn,  the  governor  of 


the  town,  was  brought  before  Peter,  the 
czar  angrily  struck  him  on  the  face,  and 
observed,  "  It  is  you,  and  you  only,  who 
are  the  cause  of  so  many  calamities.  Ought 
you  not  to  have  capitulated  when  you  had 
no  hope  of  assistance  ?" 

This  last  acquisition  made  Peter  master 
of  the  whole  of  Ingria,  the  government  of 
which  province  he  conferred  upon  Ments- 
chikoff,  now  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  prince. 
The  elevation  of  this  man  from  the  streets 
of  Moscow  to  so  exalted  a  position,  was  not 
merely  a  point  of  eccentricity  in  the  czar. 
He  intended  it  as  a  reproof  to  his  ignorant 
and  indolent  nobility,  and  as  an  assurance 
to  them  that  merit  and  assiduity  were  the 
only  passports  to  his  favour.  Under  him, 
the  old  system  of  conferring  honours  and 
rewards  had  ceased  to  exist.  The  ancient 
nobility  were  discontented  ;  but  a  spirit  of 
emulation  was  at  length  excited  among  the 
people,  who  began  to  perceive  that  the  path 
to  affluence  and  distinction  was  open  to 
the  gifted,  no  matter  how  humble  their 
origin  or  obscure  their  station. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

ST  PETERSBUHG  threatened  by  a  SWEDISU  fleet  ;  CAMPAIGN  IN  COURLAND  ;  BATTLE  WITH  THE  SWEDES  ; 
MURDFROF  GENERAL  PATKUL ;  AFFAIRS  OF  POLAND;  CHARLES  XII.  RESOLVES  TO  INVADE  RUSSIA  AND 
DFTIIRONE  THE  CZAR;  THE  LATTER  DRIVEN  FROM  GRODNO;  ENGAGEMENT  AT  BEREZINA;  THE  RUSSIANS 
RETREAT  FOLLOWED  BY  THE  SWEDES ;  ENGAGEMENT  NEAR  MOHILO  ;  CHARLES  ENTERS  THE  UKRAINE; 
BRILLI\NT  CONFLICT  OF  THE  SWEDES,  UNDER  GENERAL  LEWENIIAUPT,  WITH  THE  RUSSIAN  ARMY;  CHARLES 
DISVP-^OINTED  OF  HIS  SUPPLIES,  AND  OF  THE  AID  HE  EXPECTED  FROM  MAZEPPA ;  CHARLES  LAYS  SIEGE  TO 
PULTOWA;  PETKR  ADVANCES  TO  ITS  ASSISTANCE;  THE  FAMOUS  BATTLE  OF  PULTOWA,  AND  RUIN  OF 
CHARLES  /  MILITARY  SOLEMNITY  AT  MOSCOW 


It  was  Peter's  policy  to  keep  Charles  XII. 
as  long  as  possible  in  Poland,  in  the  hope 
that  he  might  exhaust  his  strength,  or  per- 
haps  even    receive   a   check   which   would 
cripple  his  power.     With  this  design,  he  had 
no  sooner  secured  himself  in  Ingria,  than 
he  made  an  offer  of  further  assistance  to  the 
dethroned  king,  Augustus.     In  the  August 
of  1704,  Peter  sent  General  Repnin  from 
the  borders  of  Lithuania  to  the  assistance 
of  Augustus,  with  a  body  of  6,000  horse 
and  6,000  foot.     The  autumn  of  this  year 
the  czar  spent  in  improving  his  new  city,  or 
rather  colony — for  it  was  as  yet  no  more— 
of  St.  Petersburg  :  the  winter  he  passed  in 
Moscow  j  on  his  return  into  which,  accord- 
ing   to    his    general    custom,  he   made   a 
triumphal  entry. 
154 


As  the  winter  of  I704-'5  melted  into 
spring,  Peter  prepared  to  take  the  field  him- 
self in  Poland,  for  the  double  purpose  of  as- 
sisting his  helpless  ally  Augustus,  and  of  weak- 
ening his  warlike  rival  Charles.  While  thus 
engaged,  Cronstadt  and  St.  Petersburg  were 
threatened  by  a  formidable  Swedish  fleet, 
consisting  of  two-and-twenty  ships  of  wai, 
carrying  from  fifty-four  to  sixty-four  guns 
each,  besides  six  frigates,  two  bomb-ketches, 
and  two  fire-ships.  The  Swedes  landed 
their  troops  on  the  little  island  of  Kotin, 
but  were  received  with  so  unexpected  and 
precise  a  fire,  that  they  retreated  in  con- 
fusion, abandoning  their  dead,  and  leaving 
300  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Two  other  descents  were  made;  but  they 
were  equally  unsuccessful.     At  length  the 


A.D.  1706.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  with  SWEDEN. 


" 


f/ 


hostile  fleet,  which  had  hovered  about  the 
coast,  seeking  for  an  opportunity  of  striking 
at  St.  Petersburg,  being  thus  baffled  and 
repulsed,  retired;  and  the  new  city,  yet  only 
rising  from  its  swampy  bed,  was  saved. 

In  the  meantime  Peter  had  marched - 
into  Courland,  where  he  was  encountered^ 
and  defeated  by  a  Swedish  army  under 
General  Lewenhaupt.  So  severe  was  this 
check,  that  the  czar  lost  about  5,000  mer/, 
together  with  all  his  artillery.  Notwith- 
standing this  and  other  reverses,  Peter  pre- 
served the  discipline  of  his  forces,  pene- 
trated to  Mitau,  the  capital  of  Courland, 
and  compelled  it  to  surrender  by  capitula- 
tion. His  troops  were  beginning  to  show 
the  results  of  that  superior  training  to 
which  they  had  been  subjected.  Since  the 
taking  of  Narva,  Peter  had  so  repressed  the 
plundering  propensities  of  his  troops,  that 
when  the  Russian  soldiers  were  appointed 
to  guard  the  vaults  in  the  castle  of  Mitau 
(the  usual  burying-place  of  the  dukes  of 
Courland),  they,  on  finding  that  the  bodies 
of  those  princes  had  been  dragged  out  of 
their  tombs,  and  stript  of  their  ornaments, 
refused  to  undertake  the  charge  until  they 
had  sent  for  a  Swedish  colonel,  and  in- 
duced him  to  sign  a  certificate  that  these 
depredations  were  the  acts  of  his  own  coun- 
trymen. 

.     At  the  approach  of  winter  the  czar  again 
returned   to   Moscow,  where   his   presence 
was  required  in  consequence  of  an  insur- 
rection of  an  insignificant  character.     This 
he  soon  quelled ;  and  then  he  might  have 
obtained  some  repose  from  those  incessant 
toils  to  which  he  was  subjected,  but  that  he 
received  intelligence  that  Charles  XII.,  at 
the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  was  advancing 
upon  Grodno,  where  the  combined  Russian 
and  Saxon  armies  in  the  service  of  Augus- 
tus were  encamped.     Peter  hurried  to  the 
spot   occupied    by  the   Swedes.      A  battle 
took  place  at  Frauenstadt  on  the  12th  of 
February,  1706.     It  scarcely  lasted  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour,  by  which  time  the  Swedes 
were  victors.-  So  great  was  the   disorder, 
and  so  sudden  the  panic  in  the  ranks  of 
the  allied  Russians  and  Saxons,  that  7,000 
loaded  fusees  were  found   on  the  field  of 
battle,  which  they  had  thrown  down  with- 
out firing.     The  victory  of  the  Swedes  was 
complete;  the  slaughter  of  their  foes  ter- 
rible.     Of   6,000    Russians    in    the    army 
of  Augustus,  scarcely   any  escaped.     The 
Swedes  gave  no  quarter  to  the  fallen,  and 
v/ere  guilty  of  great  atrocities.     The  czar 


asserted,  in  a  manifesto  he  published, 
that  many  of  his  soldiers  who  had  been 
taken  prisoners  were  murdered  in  cold 
blood  three  days  after  the  battle.  Doubt 
less,  a  savage  spirit  predominated  on  each 
side,  and  war  was  made  even  more  than 
commonly  terrible  by  the  brutal  passions  of 
a  barbarous  soldiery. 

Peter  was  not  disheartened;  misfortune 
lost  its  usually  enfeebling  influence  when  it 
assailed  him.  He  raised  more  troops,  and 
encouraged  the  dispirited  Augustus  to  take 
advantage  of  the  absence  of  Charles  in 
Saxony,  and  again  to  enter  Poland.  Augus- 
tus yielded ;  but  terrified  by  the  success  of 
the  fierce  Swede,  he  at  last  wrote  a  letter 
with  his  own  hand  to  Charles,  begging  him 
to  grant  a  peace.  The  terms  of  the  latter 
were  severe ;  the  chief  of  them  being,  that 
he  should  for  ever  renounce  the  throne  of 
Poland  and  the  Russian  alliance.  To  the 
expostulations  of  the  plenipotentiaries  of 
Augustus,  the  minister  of  Charles  replied, 
"  Such  is  the  will  of  the  king,  my  master; 
and  he  never  changes  his  mind.'' 

While  these  negotiations  were  being  pri- 
vately   carried    on.    Prince    Mentschikoff 
joined  the  forces  of  Augustus  with  20,000 
men,  much  to  the  confusion  of  the  fugitive 
monarch,  who,  having  resolved  on  submis- 
sion,  wished  to  be  left   to  himself.      Not 
only  had  he  been  dethroned  by  his  enemy, 
but,  should  the  negotiations  be  discovered, 
he  was  in  danger  of  being  taken  prisoner 
by  his  ally.     At  this  crisis,  the  consterna- 
tion of  Augustus  was  increased  by  the  in- 
telHgence  that  10,000   Swedes,  under  the 
command  of  General  Meyerfeldt,  were  ap- 
proaching to  give  him  battle.     To  attack 
the  Swedes,  and  either  to  win  or  lose  the 
battle,  would  add  to  the  complexities  of  his 
situation.     He  therefore  sent  a  secret  mes- 
senger to  Meyerfeldt,  informing  him  of  the 
expected  peace,  and  begging  him  to  retire. 
Even  this  incident  produced  a  result  exactly 
the   reverse   of  what   was   intended.     The 
Swede  thought  that  a  snare  was  being  laid 
to  intimidate  him,  and  therefore  resolved 
on  the  attack.     The  battle  took  place ;  the 
Russians    were    the   victors,   and    entered 
Warsaw  in  triumph.     There  the  irresolute 
and  humiliated  Augustus  was  met  by  his 
own  plenipotentiaries,  who  presented  to  him 
the   treaty   they   ha4    just    concluded,    by 
which  he  promised  to  give  up  all  claim  to 
the  crown  of  Poland,  and  to  abandon  for 
ever  his  alliance  with  the  Russians.     Feel- 
ing that  he  could  not  struggle  for  any  time 

155 


I      ^3 


MURDER  OF  PATKUL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1707. 


A.D.  1707.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [charles  resolves  to  in^\\de  Russia. 


effectually  aj^ainst  the  power  of  Charles,  he 
signed  the  treaty,  and  then  set  out  to  apolo- 
gise in  person  to  that  monarch  for  having: 
defeated  his  troops,  and  to  endeavour  to  pro- 
pitiate his  favour.  The  two  monarchs  met 
without  ceremony  at  a  place  called  Guters- 
dorff.  "  Charles  was,  as  usual,  in  his  jack- 
boots, with  a  piece  of  black  taffeta  tied 
round  his  neck  instead  of  a  cravat ;  his 
clothes  of  coarse  blue  cloth,  with  gilt  copper 
buttons.  He  had  a  long  sword  by  his  side, 
which  had  served  him  in  the  battle  of 
Narva,  and  on  the  pommel  of  which  he  fre- 
quently leaned.  The  conversation  turned 
wholly  upon  those  jack-boots ;  Charles  in- 
formed Augustus  that  he  had  not  laid  them 
aside  for  six  years,  except  when  he  went  to 
bed.  These  trifles  were  the  only  subjects 
of  discourse  between  the  two  kings,  one  of 
whom  had  just  deprived  the  other  of  his 
crown  !  Augustus,  especially,  spoke  with 
an  air  of  complaisance  and  satisfaction, 
which  princes  and  men  accustomed  to  the 
management  of  great  affairs  know  how  to 
assume  amidst  the  most  cruel  mortifica- 
tions. The  two  kings  dined  together  twice. 
Charles  always  affected  to  give  Augustus  the 
right-hand  ;  but  so  far  from  mitigating  the 
rigour  of  his  demands,  he  OLly  increased 
their  severity.^'* 

Augustus  not  only  surrendered  his  crown, 
but  he  gave  up  to  Charles  the  brave  and 
unfortunate  Livonian  general,  Patkul.  This 
gentleman  had,  in  consequence  of  a  shameful 
injustice  he  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the 
father  of  Charles,  left  the  military  service  of 
Sweden  for  that  of  Russia;  which,  as  he 
was  not  a  native  of  either  country,  he  had  a 
right  to  do,  if  such  was  his  desire.  At  this 
time  he  was  acting  with  Augustus  in  the 
capacity  of  ambassador  from  the  czar,  in 
which  character  his  person  ought  to  have 
been  regarded  as  secure  from  all  outrage. 
The  ungrateful  Augustus  arrested  and  gave 
him  up  to  the  vindictive  Charles,  whose 
troops  had  been  beaten  by  his  military 
genius;  and  the  Swedish  monarch  not  only 
condemned  him  to  deaths  but  caused  him  to 
be  executed  by  the  horrible  and  lingering 
mode  of  being  broken  on  the  wheel !  The 
pretence  for  this  shameful  murder — the 
darkest  blot  on  the  character  of  Charles — 
was  that  Patkul  was  a  rebel;  which  military 
authorities  have  decided  he  was  not.  What- 
ever had  been  his  offence,  his  position  as 
general  and  ambassador  of  the  czar  of 
Russia,  ought  to  have  exempted  him  from 
•  Voltaire's  Life  of  Charles  XIL 

156 


such  cruel  ignominy.  The  fate  of  Patkul  was 
as  romantic  as  it  was  horrible:  he  'Was  en- 
gaged to  be  married  to  a  lady  of  high  birtli 
and  great  heauty,  about  the  very  time  that 
this  calamity  came  upon  him.  The  brave 
man  who  had  faced  death  with  intrepidity 
in  so  many  battles,  melted  into  tears  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  chaplain,  as  he  confided  to 
him  the  portrait  of  his  beloved,  entreat- 
ing him  to  wait  upon  her,  and  impart  all 
the  consolation  that  lay  in  his  power.  The 
condemned  officer  had  only  been  informed 
that  he  was  to  die;  and  when  he  saw  the 
wheel  to  which  he  was  to  be  bound,  and  the 
frightful  nature  of  his  punishment  shot 
across  his  mind,  he  fell  into  convulsions, 
and  dropt,  shuddering,  into  the  arms  of  the 
pitying  and  weeping  minister. 

The  czar  was  disj^usted  at  the  weakness 
of  Augustus,  and  furious  at  the  conduct  of 
Charles.  The  surrender  of  his  ambassador 
by  one  monarch,  and  liis  execution  by  an- 
other, were  violations  of  the  law  of  nations, 
and  insults  to  him  as  a  sovereign.  Prior  to 
the  death  of  General  Patkul,  the  czar  com- 
plained bitterly  of  these  indignities  to  the 
several  courts  of  Europe,  and  tried  to  induce 
them  to  interpose  their  mediation  to  pro- 
cure the  restoration  of  his  ambassador,  and 
to  avert  the  aflront  which,  in  his  person, 
was  about  to  be  oflered  to  crowned  heads. 
_Uiese  appeals  werg.without  avail ;  Oermany-y... 
England,  and  Holland  were  then  engaged 
in  a  ruinous  war  against  France,  with 
the  object  of  restraining  the  ambition  of 
Louis  XIV.  :  the  monarchs  of  these  coun- 
tries also  felt  that  Charles  was  a  dangerous 
person  to  interfere  with.  Not  one  of  the 
princes  of  Europe  interposed  in  behalf  of 
the  unhappy  Patkul,  who  was  abandoned  to 
the  fate  that  the  vengeance  of  Charles  had 
condemned  him  to.  Justly  did  Voltaire 
observe — "  There  is  not  a  civilian  in  Euro})e, 
nay,  there  is  not  a  slave,  but  must  shudder 
with  horror  at  this  barbarous  act  of  injus- 
tice." He  added — "  The  splendour  of  high 
achievements  used  formerly  to  cover  such 
cruelties;  but  now  they  are  an  indelible 
stain  to  military  glory." 

Poland  had  at  this  time  two  monarchs, 
and  each  of  them  almost  powerless; — Augus- 
tus, whom  Charles  XII.  had  driven  from 
the  throne,  and  Stanislaus,  whom  he  had 
placed  upon  it.  The  latter,  though  a  prince 
of  many  virtues,  was  not  willingly  sub- 
mitted to  by  the  distracted  nation  on  which 
he  had  been  forced,  and  he  was  threatened 
with  dethronement  by  Peter,  who  had  re- 


solved on  the  restoration  of  Augustus.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  Polish  nobles,  the  throne 
was  declared  vacant;  and  it  was  agreed  that 
a  diet  should  be  assembled  for  the  purpose 
of  electing  some  one  to  fill  it.  So  that 
Poland  was  on  the  point  of  having  three 
kings  at  once,  and  under  circumstances 
which  would  have  perplexed  the  people 
as  to  whom  their  allegiance  was  due.  As 
Augustus  had  renounced  the  protection 
of  the  czar,  the  latter  favoured  the  project 
of  a  new  election.  Peter  had  obtained  a 
considerable  influence  over  many  of  the 
Polish  nobles,  and  much  weight  was  attached 
to  his  advice.  It  was  therefore  agreed  that 
an  interregnum  should  be  declared,  and  the 
primate  invested  as  regent  until  the  result 
of  the  election  was  known. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when,  in  the 
July  of  1707,  Stanislaus,  who  had  been 
acknowledged  by  most  of  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe,  advanced  into  Poland,  accompanied 
by  the  famous  general  Renschild  and  sixteen 
regiments  of  Swedes.  Wherever  he  came 
he  was  acknowledged  as  sovereign;  and  the 
discipline  of  his  troops,  which  made  the  bar- 
barity of  the  Russian  soldiers  more  keenly 
felt,  conciliated  the  affections  of  the  people. 
Besides  this,  the  great  affability  of  Stanis- 
laus won  to  his  side  most  of  the  different 
factions ;  and  a  large  sum  of  money  he  had 
brought  with  him,  secured  the  greatest  part 
ofthe  army  of  the  crown. 

harles,  in  his  camp  at  Altranstad,  was 
caressed  and  feared  by  nearly  every  sove- 
reign of  Europe.  His  intentions  were  matter 
of  speculation  to  all  the  politicians  of  Europe. 
It  was  reported  that  he  intended  to  join 
with  France  in  humbling  Austria ;  and  our 
famous  soldier,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough, 
visited  the  Swedish  hero,  to  use  his  influ- 
ence in  preventing  a  design  which  would 
have  been  fatal  to  the  interests  of  England 
_^id  her  allies  in  the  war  against  France. 
Charles  was  not  communicative.  He  thought 
the  distinguished  English  general  too  cour- 
tier-like in  his  manners,  and  too  foppish  in 
his  dress,  for  a  soldier.  But  though  Charles 
would  not  at  all  reveal  his  mind,  the  acute 
Marlborough  divined  it.  "  He  detected,  in 
the  brief  observations  of  the  Swede,  a  dis- 
like to  France;  and  he  observed  that  the 
eyes  of  Charles  kindled  at  the  name  of  the 
czar,  while  a  map  of  Russia  also  lay  on  the 
table  before  him.  The  Englishman  was 
convinced  that  the  real  design  and  ambition 
of  Charles  was  to  dethrone  the  czar,  as  he 
had  already  done  the  king  of  Poland.     In- 


/-Ci 


deed,  Charles,  who  was  prepared  to  take  the 
field  with  an  armv  of  45,000  men  trained 
upon  the  battle-field,  scarcely  concealed  his 
intention  to  make  Russia  the  theatre  of  war. 
Afterwards  he  was  remarkably  explicit.  To 
an  attempt  of  the  French  ambassador  to—^ 
bring  about  a  peace  between  Sweden  and     )  ^ 

Russia,  Charles  answered  proudly,  that  he  /      4^* 
would  treat  with  the  czar  in  the  city  of^     ^ 
Moscow.     When  this  insulting  remark  was 
repeated  to  Peter,  he  observed,  "  My  brother 
Charles  wants  to  act  the  part  of  Alexander, 
but  he  shall  not  find  me  a  Darius." 

Charles  was  at  length  ready  to  leav^ 
Saxony.  While  there,  he  had  intimidated 
the  pope,  whom  he  treated  with  contempt ; 
humbled  the  emperor  Joseph;  protected 
the  Lutheran  religion  in  the  midst  of  the 
catholics;  dethroned  one  king,  crowned  \ 
another,  and  made  himself  the  terror  of  all 
the  princes  around  him.  Voltaire,  in  his 
life  of  this  distinguished  monarch,  remarks — 
"  The  pleasures  of  Saxony,  where  he  had 
remained  inactive  for  a  whole  year,  had  by 
no  means  abated  the  austerity  of  his  mode 
of  living.  He  rode  out  thrice  a-day;  rose 
at  four  in  the  morning;  dressed  himself 
witli  his  own  hands ;  drank  no  wine ;  sat  at 
table  only  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  exercised 
his  troops  every  day;  and  knew  no  other 
pleasure  than  that  of  making  Europe  trem- 
ble." He  left  Saxony  in  the  September  of 
1707;  his  troops  so  enriched  by  its  spoil, 
that  it  is  said  every  soldier  carried  with 
him  fifty  crowns  in  ready  money.  It  was 
his  intention  to  invade  Russia  and  dethrone 
the  czar,  many  of  whose  subjects,  disgusted 
with  his  innovations,  Charles  believed  would 
welcome  him  rather  as  a  friend  than  oppose 
him  as  a  foe.  In  this,  however,  he  deceived 
himself;  for  the  Russian  people  were  rapidly 
becoming  sensible  of  the  wisdom  of  their 
ruler,  and  patient  with  respect  to  his 
changes,  many  of  which  they  perceived  to 
be  beneficial. 

The  news  of  Charles's  intention  to  ad- 
vance on  Russia,  drew  Peter  from  Moscow, 
where  he  had  retired  to  pass  the  winter. 
The  Swede  had  fixed  his  winter  quarters  in 
Lithuania;  and  the  czar  hurried  to  Grodno, 
in  that  country;  where,  with  a  very  small 
force,  he  established  his  head-quarters. 
Charles,  on  hearing  of  his  arrival,  dashed 
forward  with  only  800  men  to  besiege  the 
town,  which,  on  account  of  the  rapidity  of 
his  movements,  he  took  by  surprise.  A 
German  officer,  who  had  the  command  of  a 
body  of  troops  at  one  of  the  gates  of  the 

157 


Vi 


\^ 


i 


THE  RUSSIANS  RETIRE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


fA.D.  1708. 


town,  on  seeing  the  king  of  Sweden,  imme- 
diately concluded  that  he  was  followed  b}' 
his  army.  Struck  with  consternation,  he 
fled  from  his  post,  and  left  the  passage  open 
to  the  enemy.  The  alarm  spread  through- 
out Grodno,  and  the  few  Russians  who  at- 
tempted to  make  a  stand  were  cut  to  pieces 
by  the  Swedish  guards.  Peter,  and  the 
officers  who  surrounded  him,  shared  the 
panic  and  retreated  from  the  town;  and 
Charles  planted  a  guard  of  thirty  men  at 
the  very  gate  by  which  the  czar  had  retired. 
During  the  night,  some  Jesuits,  whose  house 
had  been  allotted  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  king  of  Sweden,  contrived  to  repair  to 
the  czar,  and  acquaint  him  with  the  actual 
state  of  affairs.  Peter  immediatelv  returned 
with  1,500  horse,  in  the  hope  of  capturing 
Charles.  Having  forced  the  Swedish  guard, 
an  engagement  ensued  in  the  streets  and 
public  square;  but  during  it  the  Swedish 
army  arrived,  and  the  czar  was  a  second 
time  compelled  to  abandon  the  city. 

The  position  of  Peter  was  a  dangerous 
one ;  but,  fortunately  for  him,  Charles  could 
not  make  a  rapid  progress,  in  the  depth 
of  winter,  through  a  swampy  and  famine- 
smitten  country.  The  Russians  retired  by 
forced  marches,  followed  by  the  Swedes, 
whose  king  had  resolved  to  carry  matters  to 
extremity.  The  czar  strengthened  the 
principal  posts  where  the  enemy  were  to 
pass,  and  adopted  every  expedient  in  his 
^ower  to  stop  their  progress. 
^  His  chief  movement  was  a  masterly  one. 
Seeing  that  Charles  was  resolved  to  pursue 
him,  he  did  not  retire  towards  Moscow,  but 
withdrew  into  a  part  of  the  country  where 
the  invader  could  not  procure  supplies  for 
his  army,  or  make  good  his  retreat  in  case 
of  disaster.  Proceeding  to  the  country  of 
the  Ukraine,  he  established  himself  behind 
sheltered  lines,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Dnieper.  In  June,  1708,  before  he  had 
effected  this  movement,  lie  was  overtaken 
by  Charles  at  the  little  river  Berezina.  The 
latter  threw  a  bridge  across  the  river,  forced 
a  passage  under  unfavourable  circumstances, 
and  formed  in  order  of  battle.  The  Rus- 
sians now  proved  the  value  of  that  discipline 
to  which  Peter  had  subjected  them.  They 
sustained  a  fierce  contest  of  some  hours  with 
the  Swedes.  2!ertainly  the  latter  obtained 
the  advantage,  but  it  was  not  until  they 
had  attacked  the  Russian  intrenchments 
seven  times.  Charles  was  in  the  greatest 
personal  danger  during  this  battle;  and 
though  he  was  regarded  as  the  victor,  it 
158 


was  no  discouragement  to  Peter.  The  saga- 
cious czar  saw  the  truth  of  the  observation 
he  had  made  after  the  terrible  defeat  of  his 
troops  at  Narva — that  the  Swedes,  in  time, 
would  teach  the  Russians  to  beat  them. 
Under  the  guidance  of  the  indefatigable 
czar,  they  were  learning  that  important 
lesson  rapidly. 

The  Russians  continued  their  retreat  to 
the  banks  of  the  Dnieper,  and  were  still 
followed  by  the  Swedes,  who  entertained  no 
apprehension  of  danger,  and  seemed  scarcely 
sensible  of  fatigue.  Skirmishes  occasionally 
occurred  in  the  rear  of  the  Russians,  on 
which  the  Swedes  hung  like  a  cloud;  but 
though  the  latter  generally  obtained  the 
advantage,  yet  they  were  weakened  even  by 
this  profitless  sort  of  victory.  Peter  could 
etter  bear  loss  in  this  way  than  could 
harles;  because  his  army  was  numerically 
arger.  It  consisted  altogether  of  nearly 
00,000  men;  comprising  about  38,000 
infantry,  a  similar  force  of  cavalry,  20,000 
Cossacks,  and  6,000  Calmucks.  The  Swe- 
dish army  did  not  exceed  80,000  men ;  but 
^rs*tliey  were  veteran  soldiers,  hijjhly  disci- 
plined and  accustomed  to  victory,  the 
chances  were  in  their  favour.  Peter's  con- 
sciousness of  the  superiority  of  the  enemy, 
deterred  him  from  deciding  the  struggle  by 
an  open  battle,  and  he  trusted  to  harass  and 
starve  Charles  into  retiring.  The  expecta- 
tion was  a  highly  rational  one ;  for  winter 
was  approaching,  the  country  was  desolate, 
the  roads  bad,  and  the  Swedes  were  short  of 
provisions.  Moreover,  scarcely  any  oppor- 
tunity remained  for  obtaining  the  latter; 
for  Peter  had  laid  waste  the  surrounding 
country  in  the  direction  of  Moscow,  as  far 
as  Smolensk. 

At  length  Charles  arrived  at  the  banks  of 
the  Dnieper,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a 
small  town  called  Mohilo.  On  the  22nd  of 
September  he  attacked  a  large  body  of 
Russian  and  Calmuck  cavalry.  The  latter, 
used  to  a  desultory  mode  of  warfare,  fled 
through  hollow  and  rugged  ways,  from 
which  they  often  unexpected Ij'  reappeared 
and  renewed  the  conflict.  By  this  means 
they  cut  off"  the  regiment  at  the  head  of 
which  Charles  fought,  from  the  rest  of  the 
Swedish  army.  The  king's  life  was  in  the 
greatest  danger;  two  aides-de-camp  fell  dead 
at  his  feet,  and  his  horse  was  killed  beneath 
him.  He  then  fought  on  foot,  surrounded 
by  his  officers;  so  many  of  whom  were  cap- 
tured or  slain,  that  he  was  left  with  no 
more  than  live  attendants.     Yet,  though  he 


A.D  1708.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [charles  in  the  ukra^ine. 


killed  twelve  of  the  enemy  with  his  own 
hand,  he  himself  escaped  without  a  single 
wound.  At  length  he  was  succoured  from 
this  dangerous  position  by  a  colonel  named 
Dardof.  The  Calmucks  were  mostly  put  to 
the  sword,  and  the  Russian  cavalry  sought 
safety  in  flight. 

Charles  was  still  in  the  great  road  to  the 
capital  of  Russia ;  but  the  country  was  so 
wasted  and  depopulated,  that  his  army  be- 
gan to  be  in  serious  want  of   provisions. 
His   minister.  Count   Piper,  earnestly  en- 
treated   the    king    to   halt   until    General 
Lewenhaupt,  who  was  expected  with  sup- 
plies and  a  reinforcement  of  15,000  men, 
should  arrive.     Charles  rejected  this  reason- 
able  advice,    and,   quitting   the   road   that 
led  to  the  capital,  turned  his  steps  towards 
the  barren  and  inhospitable  wastes  of  the 
Ukraine.     This  wild  movement  disheartened 
his  troops,  and  astonished   the   czar,  who 
knew  that  neither   shelter   nor    provisions 
could  be  obtained  in  that  desolate  region, 
and    that    the   country   was    defended    by 
30,000  Cossacks,  under  their  hetman  Ma- 
zeppa.     "  This  person,''  says  Voltaire,  '^was 
a  Polish  gentleman,  born  in  the  palatinate 
of  Podolia ;  he  had  been  educated  as  page 
to  John  Casimir,   and   had  received  some 
tincture  of  polite  learning  in  his  court.     An 
intrigue  which  he  had  had   in  his   youth 
with  the  lady  of  a  Polish  gentleman,  having 
been  discovered,  the  husband  caused  him  to 
be  whipped  with  rods,  to  be  bound  stark 
naked  upon  a  wild  horse,  and  turned  adrift 
in  that  condition.     The  horse,  which  had 
been  brought  out  of  the  Ukraine,  returned 
to  his  own  country,  and  carried  Mazeppa 
with    him,    half    dead    with    hunger    and 
fatigue.     Some  of  the  country-people  gave 
him  assistance,  and  he  lived  among  them 
for    a    long    time,    signalising    himself   in 
several  excursions  against  the  Tartars.     The 
superiority  of  his   knowledge   gained   him 
great   respect   among    the   Cossacks ;    and 
his  reputation  greatly  increasing,  the  czar 
found  it  necessary  to  make  him  prince  of 
the  Ukraine.     Being  one  day  at  table  with 
the  czar  at  Moscow,  the  latter  proposed  to 
him  the  task  of  disciplining  the  Cossacks, 
and  rendering  them  docile  and  dependent. 
Mazeppa  replied,  that  the  situation  of  the 
Ukraine,  and  the  genius  of  those  people, 
were  insuperable  objects  to  such  a  scheme. 
The  czar,  who  began  to   be    heated  with 
wine,  and  had  not  at  all  times  the  com- 
mand of  his  passions,  called  him  a  traitor, 
and  threatened  to  have  him  impaled.     Ma- 


zeppa, on  his  return  to  the  Ukraine,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  a  revolt,  the  execution  of 
which  was  greatly  facilitated  by  the  Swedish 
army,  which  soon  after  appeared  on  the 
frontiers.  He  was  determined  to  render 
himself  independent,  and  to  erect  the 
Ukraine,  with  some  other  ruins  of  the  Rus- 
sian empire,  into  a  powerful  kingdom. 
Brave,  enterprising,  and  indefatigable,  he 
entered  secretly  into  a  league  with  the 
king  of  Sweden,  to  accelerate  the  ruin  of 
the  czar,  and  to  convert  it  to  his  own  ad- 
vantage.'^ 

Charles  reposed  an  imprudent  confidence 
in  the  promises  of  Mazeppa,  and  proceeded 
to  the  river  Desna,  where  the  latter  had  ar- 
ranged to  meet  him  with  30,000  Cossacks, 
together  with  a  considerable  amount  of 
treasure,  ammunition,  and  provisions.  The 
Swedish  monarch  also  sent  a  command  to 
General  Lewenhaupt,  to  bring  his  troops 
and  provisions  into  the  Ukraine,  where  he 
proposed  to  pass  the  winter.  Charles  was 
a  creature  of  impulse.  He  did  not  pause 
to  reflect  whether  the  Cossack  chief  was  in 
a  condition  to  fulfil  his  engagements,  or 
how  he  should  provision  his  army  in  case  of 
any  disappointment.  In  fact,  the  king  had 
fallen  into  a  fatal  error,  which  the  czar  re- 
solved to  omit  no  opportunity  of  pushing 
forward  to  extremities. 

Peter  suffered  the  Swedes  to  march  with- 
out molestation  upon  their  fate  ;  but  it  was 
natut-e  rather  than  man  against  whom  they 
had  now  to  contend.  A  marshy  forest  of 
fifty  leagues  had  to  be  traversed  :  here  the 
Swedes  mistook  their  way,  which  it  cost 
them  a  four  days'  weary  march  to  recover ; 
and  even  then  they  lost  most  of  their  artil- 
lery and  waggons,  which  either  stuck  or 
sank  in  the  morass.  When  they  arrived,  in 
a  state  of  exhaustion,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Desna,  they  were  almost  without  provisions. 
There  Mazeppa  was  to  have  met  the  king, 
and  brought  the  necessary  succours  for  the 
troops.  No  news,  however,  was  heard  of 
him ;  and  hunger  began  to  blanch  the 
cheeks  and  shrink  the  bold  figures  of  the 
Swedes.  Charles  shared  all  the  hardships 
and  privations  of  his  followers,  and  by  his 
dauntless  bearing,  sustained  their  spirits  ; 
but  though  they  admired  his  courage,  they 
condemned  his  conduct. 

Instead  of  falling  upon  the  main  body  of 
the  Swedes,  the  czar  prudently  resolved  to 
prevent  a  junction  between  that  and  the 
troops  under  General  Lewenhaupt.  He 
was  charged,  not  only  with  the  conduct  of 

159 


f*  1 


i 


REVERSE  OF  THE  SWEDES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1708. 


A.D.  1709.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[siege  of  PULTOWAv 


15,000  men,  but  with  great  stoves  of  pro- 
visions, ammunition,   and    treasure.     Peter 
suffered  him  to  cross  the  Dnieper,  though 
the  rear  of  the  Swede  had  been  harassed  by 
a  Russian  force  under  General  Bauer.     The 
czar  also  followed  with  a  powerful   army ; 
and,  in  the  month  of  October,  the  Swedes 
found  themselves  pressed  upon  by  a  power- 
ful army,  the  numerical  strength  of  which 
has   been   variously   stated.      Lewenhaupt, 
with   the   fearlessness    of  his   country,  re- 
solve<l  to  attack  the  czar,  and  a  furious  con- 
flict took  place  on  the  7th  of  the  month. 
So  fierce  was  the  first  attack  of  the  Swedes, 
that  they  killed  1,500  of  their  foes,  threw 
the  Russians  into  confusion,  and  put  num- 
bers   of  them    to   flight.      The    astonished 
czar   feared  defeat,   which,  under  the   cir- 
cumstances, would  have    been   utter   ruin. 
Rushing  to  the  rear-guard,  where  the  Cos- 
sacks and  Calmucks— the  most  ferocious  of 
liis   soldiery — were    stationed,  he   shouted, 
*'  I  command  you  to  fire  upon  every  one 
that    runs    away,    even    upon   me    myself, 
should  I  be  so  cowardly  as  to  fly.''     The 
Russians    recovered    themselves,    but    the 
battle  was  not   at    first  resumed ;    for    the 
Swedish  general,  who  had   received   strict 
orders  to  rejoin  liis  master,  chose  rather  to 
continue  his  march  than  to  resume  the  strife. 
The  following  morning  the  czar  attacked 
the  Swedes  upon  the  borders  of  a  morass. 
The  conflict  raged  for  some  time  with  great 
fury  ;  but  though  the  loss  of  the  Russians 
was  three  times   greater  than  that  of  the 
Swedes,    the   victory    remained   undecided. 
At  four  in  the  afternoon  the  struggle  was 
renewed  for  the  third  time,  when  the  supe- 
rior numbers  of  the  Russians  gave  them  the 
advantage;    and    the    Swede's    lines    were 
broken,    and    the   men    driven   back   upon 
their    baggage.      Though    conquered,    they 
would    not    submit;    Lewenhaupt     rallied 
them  behind  the  waggons,  and  the  men  ex- 
hibited a  readiness  again  to  meet  the  foe. 
At  daybreak,  the  czar  attacked  the  Swedes 
again;    and  a  fifth    battle  was   fought,  as 
sanguinary  as  any  of  the  preceding  ones: 
of  the  9,000  Swedes  that  were  left,  one-half 
perished,  and  the  remainder  were  still  un- 
broken.    These  pursued  their  march  during 
the  night,  after  having  spiked  their  cannon, 
and  burnt  a  portion  of  their  baggage-wag- 
gons;    the   rest,   containing  the   provisions 
for  Charles's  army,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  czar.     The  latter  lost  about  10,000  men 
in   these   desperate   engagements;    but   he 
succeeded  in  crippling  the  king  of  Sweden. 
160 


Lewenhaupt,  though  defeated,  obtained  the 
credit  of  disputing  a  victory  for  three  days 
against  an  immensely  superior  force ;  and 
of  having  effected  an  honourable  retreat. 
In  this  condition  he  reached  his  master, 
with  a  miserable  remnant  of  his  troops, 
scarcely  amounting  to  4,000  men,  and  des- 
titute alike  of  the  expected  provisions  and 
ammunition. 

Much   about   the   same    time    Mazeppa 
arrived;    and  he,  too,   came  rather  like  a 
fugitive    than    a   powerful    ally;     bringing 
with  him  only  7,000  followers.     The  Cos- 
sacks thought  he  was  leading  them  against 
Charles;  and  when  he  disclosed  his  design 
of  joining  that  monarch,  the  bulk  of  them 
deserted  him,  and  returned  home.     Those 
who  remained  with  him   were  fallen  upon 
by  the  Russians,  and  great  numbers  cut  to 
pieces.     Thirty  of  the  principal  friends  of 
the  hetman  had  been  captured  and  broken 
on  the  wheel;  his  towns  had  been  burnt, 
his  treasures  plundered,  and  the  provisions 
he  had  collected  for  the  king  of  Sweden 
seized.     He  himself  escaped  with  diflicnlty 
with  the  remnant  of  the  Cossack  force ;  and 
the  enraged  czar  had  conferred  his  dignity 
of  hetman  on  another. 

Charles   did    not    give  way  under   these 
accumulated   misfortunes,  or   permit  them 
to  alter  his  designs.     Neither  Mazeppa  nor 
Count  Piper  could  induce  him  to  relinquish 
his    intended    progress    towards    the    little 
fortified  town  of  Pultowa,  the  capital  of  the 
Ukraine.     To  the  suggestion  of  the  latter, 
that  he  should   pass  the  winter  in  a  small 
town  of  the  Ukraine,  called  Rom  an  a,  the 
king    answered    that    it   was    beneath    his 
dignity  to  shut  himself  up  in  a  town.     To  a 
further  entreaty  that  he  would  march  back 
into   Poland  to  obtain  for  his   troops  that 
refreshment  of  which  they  stood  so  greatly 
in  need,  he  responded,  that  this  would  be 
the  same  thing  as  flying  before  the  czar; 
that  the  season  would  grow  milder,  and  that 
he  must  subdue  the  Ukraine,  and  march  on 
to  Moscow.      In  the  meantime,  the  Swedish 
army  was  reduced   to   about   25,000  men, 
and'  these    were    gradually    melting    away. 
The   winter   was    remarkably   severe,    and 
great  numbers  of  the  Swedes  perished  from 
cold  and  want.     In   one  of  these  terrible 
marches,  about  2,000  men  fell,  almost  frozen 
to  death,  before  the  eyes  of  their  sovereign. 
These  brave   soldiers  were  without   shoes, 
and   their  ur.iforms   were  reduced  to  rags. 
Almost  their  only  food  w;  s  bread,  and  this 
of  the  coarsest  kind.     Yet  Charks  assumed 


an  air  of  indifi*erence.  A  soldier  ventured, 
in  the  presence  of  the  whole  army,  to  pre- 
sent to  him,  with  an  air  of  complaint,  a 
piece  of  bread  that  was  black  and  mouldy, 
made  of  barley  and  oats.^The  king  received 
it  without  the  least  emotion,  ate  every  mor- 
sel of  it,  and  then  coolly  said  to  the  soldier, 
"  It  is  not  good,  but  it  may  be  eaten."  Such 
conduct  contributed  to  make  the  Swedes 
support  hardships  which  would  have  been 
intolerable  under  any  other  general. 

The  czar  had  advanced  into  the  Ukraine 
to  harass  an  enemy  whom  he  wisely  con- 
cluded must,  in  the  end,  be  ruined,  as 
his  army  could  not  receive  reinforcements. 
Yet  such  was  the  intense  cold  of  the  winter 
of  1708-'9,  that  the  rival  forces  were  com- 
pelled to  remain  in  a  state  of  inaction.  But 
the  positions  of  the  two  armies  were  widely 
diff'erent.  The  Russians  had  a  fertile  country 
to  fall  back  upon  for  subsistence  ;  while  the 
Swedes  were  almost  perishing  from  want. 
Indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  influence  of 
Mazeppa  in  procuring  provisions,  they  must 
liave  been  exterminated  from  the  combined 
action  of  cold  and  famine.  Notwithstanding 
the  usual  discipline  of  the  Swedes,  their 
necessities  drove  them  to  ravage  the  sur- 
rounding country;  they  thus  became  a 
terror  to  the  scanty  population,  and  con- 
stantly narrowed  the  field  from  which  they 
could  obtain  supplies. 

Charles  resumed  his  march  in  the  month 
of  February,  1709;  and  proceeding  across 
the  Ukraine  in  a  south-easterly  direction, 
entered  the  sandy  deserts  lying  westward  of 
the  territory  of  the  Don  Cossacks.  Finding 
progress  almost  impossible,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retrace  his  steps  over  the  country 
just  desolated  by  the  progress  of  his  starving 
troops,  who  burnt  all  the  villages  on  the 
road,  because  the  poor  peasants  hid  their 
flocks  in  caves  and  retired  places,  and 
struggled  hard  with  the  invaders,  who 
wanted  to  deprive  them  of  their  means  of 
subsistence.  Destitute  alike  of  guide  or 
shelter,  the  obstinate  Charles  lost  three 
months  in  marching  and  counter-marching 
through  cold  and  barren  solitudes ;  during 
which  time  his  army  was  slowly  mouldering 
^way. 

^he  fortified  town  of  Pultowa  was  well 
supplied  with  provisions,  and  would,  if 
taken  by  Charles,  have  enabled  him  to  rest 
and  feed  his  wretched  troops  until  he  could 
obtain  reinforcements  from  Poland  and 
Sweden.  His  only  resource  lay  in  the  cap- 
ture of  Pultowa ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
«„  VOL.  I.  r 


it  was  of  immense  consequence  to  the 
Russians,  as  it  commanded  a  mountain- 
pass  communicating  with  the  main  road  to 
Moscow.  This  defile  the  czar  had  had  the 
precaution  to  render  almost  impenetrable; 
yet  to  the  sanguine  Charles  nothing  seemed 
impossible ;  and  with  his  usual  enthusiasm 
and  contempt  of  danger,  he  depended  on 
marching  to  Moscow  after  he  had  made  / 
himself  master  of  Pultowa.  J 

The  Swedes — now  reduced  to  about  18,000 
men,  exclusive  of  their  Cossack  allies — felt 
reanimated  as  they  threw  up  trenches  before 
the  batteries  of  Pultowa ;  for  they  felt  sure 
of  taking  it,  and  thus  terminating  the 
miseries  they  had  so  long  endured.  The 
czar  was  soon  aware  of  this  movement ;  and 
he  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
threatened  town  on  the  15th  of  June,  with 
an  army  of  about  )60,000  inen,  well  provided 
with  artillery,  ammunition,  and  provisions. 
He  first  reinforced  the  garrison — an  act 
which  he  accomplished  by  a  manoeuvre 
which  showed  that  he  had  made  some  ad- 
vance in  the  practice  of  military  tactics. 
•Having  by  a  feint  attack  drawn  the  be- 
siegers out  of  their  trenches,  he  took  advan- 
tage of  the  circumstance,  and  poured  fresh 
troops  into  the  town.  "^h_l!i-exclaimed  __ 
Charles,  as  he  beheld  the  success  of  this  -^ 
expedient,  "  I  see  well  that  we  have  taught 
the  Muscovites  the  art  of  war!" 

The  river  VorsMa  flowed  between  the 
rival  armies.  This  Peter  crossed  with  his 
whole  force,  and  intrenched  himself,  in  a 
single  night,  within  view  of  the  enemy. 
The  czar  then  posted  his  cavalry  between 
two  woods,  and  covered  them  with  several 
redoubts,  lined  with  artillery.  Several  skir- 
mishes took  place  while  these  measures 
were  in  progress.  In  one  of  them  Charles 
received  a  shot  from  a  carbine,  which  shat- 
tered the  bone  of  his  heel.  Though  the 
pain  was  extreme,  he  did  not  mention  that 
he  was  wounded  until  an  attendant  per- 
ceived that  his  boot  was  covered  with  blood. 
So  severe  was  the  injury,  that  the  surgeons 
were  of  opinion  that  the  leg  must  be  ampu- 
tated. One,  however,  affirmed  that  he  could 
save  the  limb  by  making  deep  incisions. 
"Fall  to  work,  then,  presently,"  replied 
the  king;  "cut  boldly,  and  fear  nothing." 
Then  holding  the  leg  himself,  he  beheld 
the  operation  with  as  much  calmness  as  if 
it  had  been  made  upon  another  person. 

While  confined  to  his  bed,  Charles  was 
informed  that  the  Russians  intended  to 
attack  him ;  and  though  himself  unable  to 

161 


C. 


1 


•i 


\i 


>;i 


BATTLE  OF  PULTOWA,] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1709. 


^ 


l?aa-inir-gTmf  into  the  field,  lie   resolved 
upoa    anticiputing    the    enemy.     Voltaire^ 
draws  a  comparison  hctween  the  rival  kings, 
who  at  this  time  excited  the  attention  of  all 
Europe.      He    observes— "  On    the    8th    ot 
July,  1701),  tlie  decisive  battle  of  Pultowa 
was  Vought   between  the  two    mo^t   extra- 
ordinary monarchs  that  were  in  the  world. 
Charles  XII.,  illustrious  in  consequence  of 
a  succession  of  victories  during  nine  years  ; 
and  the  czar  Peter,  distinguished  by  nine 
years  of  labour,  taken  to  form  troops  equal 
to  those  of  Sweden.     The  one  glorious  for 
having    given   awav   dominions ;    the  other 
for  having  civilised  his  own.     Charles,  fond 
of   dangers    and   fighting   for  glory   alone  ; 
Peter,  not  avoiding  danger,  and  making  war 
only  for  advantage.     The  Swedish  monarch, 
liberal  from  greatness  of  soul  ;  the  Musco- 
vite,   never    giving   but   with    some    great 
design.     The  one,  master  of  a  sobriety  and 
continence  bevond  example;  of  a  magnani- 
mous disposition,  and  never  cruel  but  once : 
the  other,  not  having  yet  divested  himself 
of  the   barbarism  of  his  education   and  of 
his  country;  as  much  the  object  of  terror 
to  his  subjects  as  of  admiration  to  strangers  ; 
and  too  prone  to  excesses,  which  even  short- 
iened   his  days.     Charles  bore  the  title  of 
'Invincible,'    of  which    a    single    nu)ment 
might  deprive  him:  while  the  neighbcmring 
Inations  had  given  Peter  the  name  of  '  Great,' 
/which,  as  he  did  not  owe  it  to^  his  victories, 
.  he  could  not  lose  by  a  defeat.'' 

\. rpj^g  battle  commenced  at  half-past  four 

in  the  morning,  with  a  desperate  attack  on 
the  Russian  redoubts.     Charles  was  carried 
in  a  litter  at  the  head  of  his  infantry  ;  and 
his  troops,  cheered    by  his   presence,  took 
two  of  the  redoubts  sword-in-hand.    Indeed, 
so  furious  was  the  first  charge  of  the  Swedes, 
that  the    Russian  squadrons  were    broken, 
and   in    danger   of   being  defeated.     Peter 
dashed    forward   to   rally   his    men,   and    a 
musket-ball   passed    through    his    hat:    an 
inch  difference  in  the  flight  of  that  bullet 
would   have  altered  the  destinies  of  Russia. 
Mentschikoff  also  fought  as  though  he  felt 
that  life,  fortune,  fame,  country— all   hung 
upon  his  sword ;  and  such  was  the  danger 
to  which  he  was  exposed,  that  three  horses 
fell    dead    beneath    him.     The    inspirited 
Swedes   shouted   "Victory!"   ai»d   Cliarles, 
who  was  still  intoxicated  with  the  remem- 
brance of  Narva,  concluded  that  the  battle 

was  won. 

He  was  deceived.    General  Creuts,  whom 
be  had  sent  with  5,000  horse  to  take  the 
162 


enemy  in  flank,  missed  his  way,  and  failed 
to  execute  the  duty  assigned  to  him.     This 
gave   the    czar   time    to   rally    his   cavalry, 
which  now  fell  upon  the  Swedes,  and  threw 
them  into  disorder.     At  the  same  time  th« 
Russians  kept  up  a  fire  from  seventy-two 
pieces  of  cannon  upon  the  Swedish  cavalry  : 
the  latter  were  almost  destitute  of  artillery ; 
it  had  been   abandoned  during  their  long 
and    painful   marches.      Mentschikoff  had 
Been  detache3~by  the  czar  to  take  up  a 
position  between "Pultowa  and  the  Swedes; 
and  this  command  he  executed  with  such 
dexterity,  as  to  surround  a  Swedish  corps  of 
reserve,'  amounting  to  3,000  men,  and  cut 
them  to  pieces.     The  Russian  infantry  now 
advanced  from  their  lines  in  order  of  battle ; 
the   Swedes   also   prepared   for    a    general 
engagement ;  and  a  pause  ensued. 

Peter  rode   from    rank   to   rank^   encou- 
raging the  soldiers  and  captains,  and  pro- 
mising   rewards    to    them    all.      At    nine 
o'clock  the  conflict  recommenced,  and  the 
horses  of  Charles's  litter  were  almost  imme- 
diately killed  by  a  cannon-ball.     A  second 
shot  broke  the' litter  in  pieces,   and  over- 
turned the  king.     So  dangerous   was   the 
position  he  occupied,  that  of  the  four-and- 
twenty  soldiers  who  afterwards  relieved  each 
other  by  carrying  him  upon  their  pikes,  no 
less  than  one-aud-twenty  were  killed.  At  the 
same  time  the  cannon  of  the  Russians  made 
terrible   execution  upon   the  Swedes,  who 
were    struck    with     consternation    at    the 
slaughter  to  which  they  were  exposed.     At 
length  their  first  line  w'as  driven  back  upon 
their   second,    which,    struck    with    panic, 
broke  and  fled.     The  battle  was  prolonged 
for  two  hours  with  great  fury,   when  the 
Swedes  were  altogether  thrown  into  confu- 
sion,  and  slaughtered  in  heaps.     According 
to  the   Russian   calculation,  9,224   Swedes 
were  left  dead  upon  the  field,  and  two  or 
three  thousand  were  taken  prisoners.     The 
loss  of  the  victors  was  comparatively  small. 

Charles  was  not  only  defeated,  but  ruined. 
Though  perfectly  helpless,  he  refused  to  fly. 
In    this    position,    Poniatowski,    a    Polish 
officer    who    had    followed   the    king    from 
atfectiou,  caused  two  soldiers  to  hft  him  on 
a  horse.     Then  rallying  a  body  of  500  cav- 
alry around  the  king,  Poniatowski  dashed 
through   the   Russian  regiments,   and  con- 
ducted   Charles    to    the    baggage    of    the 
Swedish  army.     During  his  flight,  he  suf- 
fered extreme  agony  from  the  wound  in  his 
heel,  which   led   to   suppuration,    attended 
with  fever ;  but,  though  sometimes  insen- 


A.D.  1709.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [victory  of  the  Russians. 


sible,  he  never  complained.  On  inquiring 
for  Count  Piper, his  minister,  and  for  his  most 
distinguished  generals,  he  was  informed  they 
had  been  made  prisoners.  ^^  Prisoners  to 
the  Russians  !"  he  responded,  with  a  shrug 
of  the  shoulders ;  "  come,  then,  let  us 
rather  go  to  the  Turks."  This  he  and  his 
followers  did ;  for  after  almost  unexampled 
sufferings,  they  reached  the  Turkish  town  of 
Bender,  in  Bessarabia,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  hospitality  by  the  seraskier. 

The  remains  of  the  Swedish  armv,  under 
General  Lewenhaupt,  were  pursued  by 
Prince  Mentschikoff,  at  the  head  of  20,000 
m-en.  In  consideration  for  the  miserable 
condition  of  his  men,  the  Swede  surren- 
dered, and  the  whole  army  was  made  pri- 
soners of  war.  Many  of  these  brave  men, 
however,  sooner  than  become  captives  to 
the  Russians,  threw  themselves  into  the 
Dnieper,  and  were  drowned.  The  rest  wxre 
sent  to  colonise  Siberia,  where  they  sup- 
ported themselves  by  a  mechanical  ingenuity 
for  which  they  eventually  became  distin- 
guished. As  to  the  Cossacks  who  were 
captured,  the  czar  regarded  them  all  as 
traitors;  and,  with  that  vindictive  ferocity 
which  commonly  characterised  him,  had 
them  broken  on  the  wheel. 

On  the  evening  of  Peter's  victory  at 
Pultowa,  he  honoured  the  captive  Swedish 
generals  with  an  invitation  to  dine  with 
him.  He  was  much  disappointed  that  he 
could  not  extend  a  similarly  unwelcome 
hospitality  to  their  king.  As  the  prisoners 
were  brought  to  him  in  crowds,  after  the 
battle,  he  frequently  inquired,  "  Where, 
then,  is  my  brother  Charles?"  At  table, 
the  czar  asked  General  Renschild,  "  What 
might  be  the  number  of  his  master's  troops 
before  the  battle?"  The  Swede  answered, 
"  That  the  king  alone  had  the  muster-roll, 
and  would  never  communicate  it  to  any 
one ;  but  that  he  imagined  the  whole  might 
be  about  30,000,  of  which  18,000  were 
Swedes,  and  the  rest  Cossacks."  In  a  tone 
of  surprise,  the  czar  theu  inquired,  "  How 
they  durst  venture  to  penetrate  into  so  dis- 
tant a  country,  and  lay  siege  to  Pultowa 
with  such  a  handful  of  men  ?"  "  We  were 
not  always  consulted,"  replied  the  Swedish 
general;  "but,  like  faithful  servants,  we 
obeyed  our  master's  orders  without  ever 
presuming  to  contradict  them."  *^Ah!" 
exclaimed  Peter,  turning  to  some  of  his 
courtiers  who  were  formerly  suspected  of 
having  been  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  against 
him — *^  see  how  a  king  ought  to  be  served." 


Then,  filling  his  glass,  he  said  as  he  raised 
it  to  his  hps,  "  To  the  health  of  my  masters 
in  the  art  of  war."  General  Renschild 
asked  who  were  the  persons  honoured  with 
so  high  a  title.  "  You,  gentlemen,"  replied 
the  czar;  "the  Swedish  generals."  The 
general  responded,  "Your  majesty  is  very 
ungrateful,  then,  for  having  handled  your 
masters  so  rudely." 

The   war   between    Sweden    and   Russia 
may  be  said  to  have  terminated,  in  fact,  with 
the  battle  of  Pultowa,  the  results  of  which 
were  of  the  highest  importance  to  Russia, 
and  of  no   small   consequence   to   Europe. 
The  victory  of  Peter  was  the  triumph  of 
patience  and  forethought  over  mere  reckless 
daring;  Jjia  exaltation   of   the    refpuatng 
statesman  over  the  Avarrior  who^preferred 
personal  fame  to  the  advancement  of  his 
subjects.     Peter  was  the  original  aggressor; 
but  he  had  since  been  disposed  to  make 
restitution,  and  to  conclude  peace  with  his 
foe.     On  the  other  hand,  Charles  indulged  ^ 
in  the  dream  of  dethroning  the  czar,   aud 
conquering  the  Russian  empire.      In  this 
position  the  original  aspect  of  the  quarrel 
was  reversed ;  Charles  became  the  aggressor, 
while  Peter  was  the  defender  of  his  own 
territories   against   one   whose    career   was 
desolation,    and  whose  success  brought  no 
good  either  to  victors  or  vanquished.    J£cqjqj_ 
,this--^mtms  battle  the  Russian  empire  has 
derived  its  present  prosperity  and  cultiva- 
tion; which,  had  Charles  been  successful, 
would  have  been  thrown  back  to  an  indefi- 
nite period.     If  Peter  had  been  defeated,  or 
had  he  fallen  amidst  the  victory  of  his  sol- 
diers, Russia  would  again  have  become  the 
prey  of  civil  wars  and  domestic  convulsions, 
from  which   she   would   not   have   escaped 
until  some  other  giant  in  the  art  of  ruling 
came  to  liberate  her. 

Qth^r~and  more  immediate  results  arose 
out  of  the  defeat  of  Charles  at  Pultowa. 
When  the  Swede  was  flushed  with  the  glory 
of  conquest,  he  compelled  the  emperor 
Joseph  to  eject  the  catholics  out  of  105 
churches,  in  favour  of  the  Silesians  of  the 
confession  of  Augsburg:  the  latter  were 
now  ejected  in  their  turn,  and  the  churches 
restored  to  the  catholics.  Augustus,  the 
dethroned  king  of  Poland,  protested  against 
an  extorted  abdication,  and  was,  before  the 
close  of  the  year,  restored  by  Peter.  The 
senate  of  Sweden  supposed  their  king  to  be 
dead;  but,  on  account  of  the  uncertainty 
on  this  point,  both  they  and  the  nation 
were  thrown  into  confusion.     A  new  treaty 

163 


MILITAKY  FESTIVAL  AT  MOSCOW.]     HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1710. 


against  Sweden  was  entered  into  between 
the  czar  and  the  kings  of  Poland,  Denmark, 
and  Prussia.  Its  design  was  to  restore  to 
each  of  those  states  the  conquests  obtained 
from  them  by  Gustavus  Adolphus.  The 
czar  thus  acquired  a  title  to  Livonia, 
Ingria,  and  a  part  of  Finland;  and  he  was 
not  slow  in  attempting  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  these  territories.  In  the  month  of 
November  he  bombarded  and  afterwards 
blockaded  Riga,  the  capital  of  Livonia, 
which  submitted  to  the  Russians  after  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  thousand  of  them  had 
})erished  by  a  plague  that  was  raging  there. 
Kexholm,  Pernau,  Revel,  and  other  towns 
also  surrendered  ;  and  the  whole  of  Livonia 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  czar. 

The  czar  in  the  meantime  had  visited  St. 
Petersburg,  to  inspect  the  progress  of  that 
city,  from  whence  he  proceeded  to  Moscow, 
and  superintended  the  preparations  which 
were  making  for  a  grand  military  festival  in 
celebration  of  the  triumph  over  the  Swedes. 
The  first  day  of  the  new  year  (1710)  was 
ushered  in  with  this  solemnity,  by  which 
the  czar  sought  to  inspire  his  subjects  with 
military  enthusiasm  and  ideas  of  conquest. 
The     artillery    of    the    vanquished,    their 
colours  and  standards,  the  litter  in  which 
their  wounded  king  was  carried  on  the  field 
of  battle,  the  soldiers,  officers,  generals,  and 
ministers  of  the  captive  Swedes,  all  on  foot, 
moved   in  solemn  procession   under  seven 
magnificent  arches,  attended  with  the  ring> 
ing  of  bells,  the  braying  of  trumpets,  the 
booming  roar  of  a  hundred  pieces  of  can- 
non, and  the  wild  joyous  shouts  of  a  living 
sea   of  people.     The   victors,  preceded   by 
their  generals,  mounted  upon  war-chargers, 
closed   the   procession.     The    czar,   as   was 
usual  with  him,  took  his  position  according 
to  the  rank  he  held  in  the  anny,  which  was 
then  that  of  major-general.     At  each  tri- 
umphal   arch   stood    the   deputies   of    the 
several  orders  of  the  state ;  and  at  the  last, 
a  number  of  young  noblemen,  attired  in 
the   garb  of  Roman   patricians,  presented 
the  victorious    monarch  with  a  crown    of 
laurel.     At  every  pause  made  in  this  gor- 
geous progress,  the  people  rent  the  air  with 
acclamations  of  ''Long  live  the  emperor  our 
father!"     It  has  been  truly  said,  that  this 
imposing  s])lendour  augmented  the  venera- 
tion   the   Russians    entertained    for    their 
monarch,  and   perhaps   made    him   appear 
greater  in  their  eyes  than  the  real  advan- 
tages they  derived  from  him. 


164 


The  following  month   another  ceremony 
took    place,    which    was     doubtless    more 
agreeable  to  the  czar  than  any  festival  imi- 
tated  from   the   military   pageants   of  the 
ancient  Romans,  for  it  showed  the  respect 
in  which  he  began  to  be  held  by  the  old 
and   powerful   states    of  Europe.      In   the 
year  1708,  Mateof,  his  ambassador  at  the 
court  of  London,  was  arrested  in  the  streets 
for  debt,  at  the  suit  of  some  Enghsh  mer- 
chants, and  obliged  to  give  in  bail.     The 
merchants  contended  that  the  privileges  oi 
ambassadors  must  yield  to  the  laws  of  com- 
merce; while  Mateof  and  the  foreign  minis- 
ters who  advocated   his  cause,  maintained 
that,  under  any  circumstances,  their  per- 
sons ought  to  be  regarded  as  sacred.     Peter 
was  greatly  off'ended  at  what  he  considered 
as  a  slight  off'ered  to  himself  in  the  person  of 
his  representative,  and  he  wrote  to  the  queen 
of  England,  and  insisted  upon  satisfaction. 
Anne  was  perplexed.     She  could  not  com- 
ply with  his  desire  to  have  the  merchants 
punished,   because,   by   the   laws   of    their 
country,  they  had  a  right  to  sue  for  their 
just  demands ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  no 
law   existed    to   exempt    foreign   ministers 
from  being  arrested  for  debt.     The  irrita- 
tion of  the  czar  was  increased  by  a  sus- 
picion, that  the  ambassadors  of  Russia  were 
not  respected  in  other  countries;  for  only 
the  preceding  year,  the  unfortunate  General 
Patkul,  his  plenipotentiary  in  Saxony,  had 
been  tortured  to  death  at  the  command  of 
Charles  XII.      Anne   induced   her   parlia- 
ment to  pass  an  act  rendering  it  no  longer 
lawful  to  arrest  an  ambassador  for  debt; 
and  with  this  Peter  was  obhged  to  be  con- 
tented.    But  the  great  victory  of  Pultowa 
rendered   the  czar  a  more  illustrious  and 
powerful   prince   in   the   estimation   of   his 
neighbours;  and  in  England  it  was  thought 
necessary  to  make  a  further  public  satisfac- 
tion to  the  hero  of  that  famous  contest.    Mr. 
Whitworth  was  selected  to  proceed  to  Russia 
and  offer  a  ceremonial  apology.    This  gentle- 
man was  commissioned  to  address  the  czar 
as  "  Most  high  and  most  mighty  emperor," 
and   to    inform   him   that   the   queen   had 
imprisoned  the  persons  who  presumed  to 
arrest  his  ambassador,  and  that  they  had 
been  rendered   infamous.      The  statement 
was  an  untruth ;  but  the  czar  accepted  the 
compliment,  Avhich  was  an  indication  of  the 
rising   importance   of  Russia.      Peter   had 
not   been   called   emperor    by  any  foreign 
state  until  he  won  the  battle  of  Pidtowa. 


a.d.  1711.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  with  turkey 


^  V  ^ 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

WAR  WITH  TURKEY;  PETER  AND  HIS  ARMY  ADVANCE  INTO  MOLDAVIA;  ENGAGEMENTS  ON  THE  B4NKS  OF 
THE  PRUTH,  AND  DESPERATE  SITUATION  OF  PETER;  HE  OBTAINS  A  PEACE,  AND  IS  ALLOWED  TO  RETIRE  • 
MARRIAGE  OF  THE  PRINCE  ALEXIS,  AND  PUBLIC  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  CZAR'S  MARRIAGE  WITH  CATHERINE  ' 
PETER  ENTERS  INTO  A  FRESH  LEAGUE  AGAINST  SWEDEN ;  ACTIVE  HOSTILITIES  WITH  THAT  COUNTRY  ■ 
PETER  DEFEATS  THE  SWEDISH  NAVY,  AND  BECOMES  MASTER  OF  FINLAND;  NATIOxNAL  REJOICINGS  OF  THE 
RUSSIANS. 


Charles  XII.,  in  his  retreat  at  Bender, 
strained  every  nerve  to  induce  the  sultan, 
Achmet  III.,  to  take  up  arms  against 
Russia.  His  endeavours  were  seconded  by 
the  mother  of  the  sultan,  who,  though  she 
had  never  seen  Charles,  was  influenced  by 
a  great  admiration  for  this  extraordinary 
man.  "  When  will  you,^'  she  would  some- 
times say  to  her  son,  '^assist  my  lion  to 
devour  this  czar  T^ 

Though  Charles  and  his  followers,  amount- 
ing  altogether  to  1,800  persons,  were  all 
hospitably   entertained   at   Bender,   at   the 
sole  expense  of  the  sultan,  yet  it  is  not  very 
probable  that  monarch  would  have  been  in- 
duced to  take  any  active  part  against  the 
czar,  but  that  his  own  interests  were  in- 
volved.     The  Ottoman  Porte    seemed   in- 
stinctively to  recognise  a  growing  enemy  in 
the  rising  empire  of  Russia,  and  to  regard 
it  with  jealousy,  if  not  with  aversion.     The 
sultan  viewed  with  suspicion  the  fortifica- 
tions which  the  czar  had  erected  at  Azoff 
and  Taganrog,   and    the    increasing    naval 
power  of  Russia  on  the  waters  of  Azoff  and 
the  Euxine.     He  discerned  a  spirit  of  rest- 
less encroachment  in  Peter,  which  he  con- 
sidered it  necessary  to  check;  and  he  was 
confirmed  in  this  resolution  by  the  repre- 
sentations   of    the    khan    of    the   Crimea, 
whose  independence  was  overshadowed  by 
the  increasing  might  of  Russia. 

When,  therefore,  Charles  presented  me- 
morial after  memorial  to  the  sultan,  and  his 
favourite.  Count  Poniatowski,  backed  them 
with  all  the  insinuating  arts  of  an  accom- 
plished statesman,  the  Ottoman  Porte  re- 
solved on  war.  The  sultan  presented 
the  count  with   a   purse  containing  1^000 


*  « 


The  Seven  Towers — that  celebrated  prison  of 
which  the  very  name  is  a  spell  of  power — are  rapidly 
crumbling  to  decay,  but  must  continue  to  be  amongst 
the  most  interesting  of  the  antiquities  of  Constanti- 
nople, as  long  as  one  stone  remains  upon  another. 
*  *  *  Instruments  of  torture — racks,  wheels  and 
oubliettes — are  rife  within  this  place  of  gloom  and 
horror.  One  chasm,  upon  whose  brink  you  stand, 
is  called  the  '  Well  of  Blood ;'  and  is  said  to  have 
overflowed  its  margin  with  the  ensanguined  stream 


ducats;   and  the  grand-vizier  said  to  him, 
''  I  will  take  your  king  in  one  hand,  and 
a  sword  in  the  other,  and  will  lead  him  to 
Moscow   at    the   head   of    200,000   men.'* 
Though   the  distribution  of   Russian  gold 
among  the  ministers  of  the  sultan  deferred 
the  coming  storm,   it  was  unable  to  avert 
it.      The  chief  vizier  was  changed,  and  hos- 
tile feelings  towards  Russia  influenced  the 
councils  of  the  Porte.     As  a  preliminary  to 
a   declaration   of  war.    Count  Tolstoi,    the 
czar's  ambassador,  was  arrested  in  the  pub- 
lic   streets    at    Constantinople,  and    com- 
mitted, together  with  thirty  of  his  followers, 
to  the  gloomy  state  prison  called  the  Seven 
Towers.*     This  was  in  accordance  with  a 
barbarous  custom  then  prevaihng  at  Con- 
stantinople,  arising  from  the  contempt  in 
which  the  Turks  held  foreign  ministers. 

Peter  was  much  irritated  at  this  indig- 
nity, and  he  resolved  to  avenge  it.     In  the 
January  of  1711   he  appointed   a  kind  of 
senatorial   regency   to   govern   during    his 
absence ;  issued  a  conscription  for  the  pur- 
pose of  recruiting  his  army,  one  division  of 
which  he  sent  to  Moldavia ;  besides  putting 
his  ships  at  Azoff  and  the  Black  Sea  in 
readiness.     But  before  the  czar  left  Mos- 
cow, he  made  a  public  acknowledgment  of 
his    marriage    with   the   Livonian   orphan, 
which   had    been   privately   solemnised    in 
1707.      "The   young   captive   of   Marien- 
burg,''  observes  Voltaire,  ''  was  superior  to 
her   sex,    as   well   as   to    her   misfortunes. 
Her  behaviour  had  rendered  her  so  agree- 
able, that  the  czar  would  always  have  her 
near  his  person.     She  attended  him  in  his 
travels  and   in   his   most   toilsome  expedi- 
tions, sharing  his  fatigues,  and  soothing  his 

which  was  once  warm  with  life.  A  small  court, 
designated  the  'Place  of  Heads,'  is  pointed  out  as 
having  been  cumbered  with  the  slain,  until  the  re- 
volting pile  was  of  sufficient  height  to  enable  the 
spectator  to  look  out  from  its  summit  upon  the 
waves  of  the  glittering  Propontis ;  and  more  than 
one  stone  tunnel  is  shown,  in  which  the  captive  was 
condemned  to  crawl  upon  his  hands  and  knees,  and 
there  left  to  die  of  famine." — Miss  Pardee's  City  <^ 
the  Sultan, 

165 


r 


BATTLE  OF  THE  PRUTH.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.u.  1711, 


A.D.  1711.] 


cares,  with  the  cheerfulness  of  her  disposi- 
tion and  complaisant  behaviour.  She  was 
quite  a  stranger  to  all  that  fastidious  pomp 
and  ceremony  which  the  rest  of  the  sex 
have  now  converted  into  a  real  necessity. 
But  what  rendered  her  a  more  extraordi- 
nary favourite,  was  her  neither  being  envied 
nor  opposed ;  nor  was  any  other  person 
sacrificed  to  make  room  for  her  promotion. 
Often  did  she  appease  the  emperor's  wrath, 
and  add  to  his  greatness  by  inspiring  him 
with  clemency."  The  tie  between  Cathe- 
rine and  the  czar  was  doubtless  strengthened 
by  the  fact,  that  she  had  already  borne  him 
two  daughters. 

Peter  left  Moscow  for  his  expedition  to 
Turkey  on  the  17th  of  March,  attended 
bv  the  devoted  Catherine,  who  could  not  be 
prevented  from  accompanying  him  on  a 
campaign  which  it  was  justly  anticipated 
would  be  an  arduous  one.  The  czar  pro- 
ceeded to  Jassy,  the  capital  of  Moldavia, 
with  an  army  of  only  40,000  men.  The 
princes  or  hospodars  of  Moldavia  and  Wal- 
lachia,  though  acknowledging  the  supremacy 
of  the  Porte,  were  intriguing  with  the  czar, 
through  whose  instrumentality  they  hoped 
to  accomplish  their  independence.  Canti- 
mir,  the  prince  of  Wallachia,  had  made 
liberal  promises  of  troops  and  provisions  to 
the  czar,  but  he  afterwards  pleaded  that  he 
was  unable  to  fulfil  them  on  account  of  the 
attachment  his  subjects  bore  towards  the 
Porte.  As  for  the  Prince  of  Wallachia,  he 
shrunk  from  the  coming  storm,  and  dread- 
ing the  vengeance  of  the  Turks,  abandoned 
his  secret  alliance  with  Russia,  and  returned 
to  his  duty.  These  defections  placed  the 
czar  in  a  position  of  serious  difficulty ;  for 
he  found  himself  in  a  wild,  uncultivated 
country,  where  the  herbage  that  should 
have  supplied  forage  to  his  horses,  had  been 
destroyed  by  swarms  of  locusts,  and  provi- 
sions for  his  troops  could  scarcely  be  ob- 
tained. The  men  pursued  their  way  across 
a  mere  desert,  oppressed  by  the  scorching 
heat  of  the  sun,  and  greatly  in  want  of 
water.  Desertion  and  hunger  told  heavily 
upon  his  army. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  the  czar,  when 
he  received  intelligence  that  the  Turkish 
vizier,  Baltagai  Mahomet,  had  crossed  the 
Danube  at  the  head  of  100,000  men,  and 
was  directing  his  march  towards  Jassy, 
along  the  banks  of  the  Pruth.  Peter  held  a 
council  of  war,  and  decided  upon  marching 
towards  the  Pruth,  and  attacking  the 
enemy,  despite  his  superiority  of  numbers. 
166 


This  resolve  was  put  into  execution,  and 
the  czar  arrrived  at  the  banks  of  the  river 
by  the  18th  of  June.  He  was  too  late  to 
dispute  the  passage  of  the  Turkish  army, 
which,  joined  by  the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea 
and  other  reinforcements,  was  swelled  to 
the  formidable  strength  of  200,000  men. 

The  disparity  of  numbers  between  the 
rival  forces  was  alarming;  the  situation  of 
the  Russians  extremely  critical.  Peter's 
position  resembled  that  of  Charles  at  Pul- 
towa.  He  was  almost  destitute  of  provi- 
sions; while  an  array  of  Turks  in  front  pre- 
vented his  advance,  and  an  army  of  Tartars 
behind  cut  off  his  retreat.  Seeing  his 
safety  to  consist  solely  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  latter  movement,  Peter  de- 
camped during  the  night  of  the  20th  of 
July.  It  was  too  late;  for  at  daybreak  the 
Turks  fell  upon  his  rear.  The  Russians 
were  compelled  to  pause,  and  intrench 
themselves  behind  their  baggage  and  heavy 
waggons.  In  this  position  they  met  the 
attack  of  the  Turks  with  firmness,  and  even 
compelled  them  to  retire.  Peter  had  formed 
his  army,  which  consisted  of  30,000  in- 
fantry and  about  7,000  cavalry,  into  a  hol- 
low square,  in  the  centre  of  which  he  placed 
Catherine  and  the  women;  and  in  this  posi- 
tion the  Russians  received  several  furious 
but  irregular  onslaughts  from  the  Turks. 
Yet  the  situation  of  the  czar  was  desperate ; 
for  his  enemies  had  only  to  maintain  their 
position,  and  the  Russians  must  either  sur- 
render or  perish  from  hunger.  In  the  pro- 
tracted sort  of  engagement,  extending  over 
three  days,  the  loss  of  both  Turks  and  Rus- 
sians was  terrible. 

In  this  painful  state  of  affairs,  the  czar^s 
spirits  began  to  give  way.  To  the  Rus- 
sian senate,  whom  he  had  appointed  to  rule 
in  his  absence,  he  addressed  this  decla- 
ration ; — "  I  announce  to  you,  that  deceived 
by  false  intelligence,  and  through  no  fault 
of  mine,  I  am  here  shut  up  in  my  camp  by 
a  Turkish  army  four  times  more  numerous 
than  my  own;  our  provisions  cut  off;  and 
on  the  point  of  being  cut  to  pieces  or  taken 
prisoners,  unless  Heaven  comes  to  our  aid 
in  some  unexpected  manner.  If  it  befall 
that  I  am  taken  by  the  Turks,  you  will  no 
longer  consider  me  your  czar  and  lord,  nor 
pay  regard  to  any  order  that  may  be 
brought  you  on  my  part ;  not  even  though 
you  may  see  my  hand  signed  to  it;  but  you 
will  wait  until  I  come  myself  in  person. 
If  I  am  destined  to  perish  here,  and  you 
receive  well-confirmed  news  of  my  death, 


then  you  will  choose  for  my  successor  the 
worthiest  among  you." 

To  hide  the  torture  of  his  mind,  Peter 
retired  to  his  tent  on  the  advance  of  night, 
and  gave  orders  that   no    one    should    ap- 
proach  him.      He   subsequently   admitted 
that,  in  his  whole  life,  he  never  experienced 
such  agitation  as  racked  him  in  that  hour  of 
danger  and  apparent  ruin.     He  revolved  in 
his  thoughts  all  that  he  had  been  doing  for 
so  many  years  to  promote  the   glorv  and 
happiness  of  his  country,  and  that  he'  must 
now  either  see  his  army  exterminated  by 
lamme,  or  encounter  another  of  such  supe- 
rior force  that  defeat  would  be  almost  in- 
evitable      Yet,  even  in  this  distraction,  he 
decided  for  battle;  and  sending  for  General 
bcheremetof,  commanded  him  to  have  everv- 
thmg  ready,  at  break  of  day,  for  attackin- 
the  Turks  with  fixed   bavonets.     He   also 
ordered  the  baggage  to  be' burnt,  to  prevent 
Its  falhng   into    the   hands  of  the  enemy. 
Ihe  czar  repeated  his  prohibition  that  he 
should  be  undisturbed,  and  again  he  was 
left  alone.     But  there  was  one  who,  in  this 
night   of  consternation,  dared   to   disobev 
ins  commands.     Catherine  felt  that,  in  the 
time  of  trial,  the  place  of  the  wife  was  bv 
the  side  of  her  husband.     la  spite  of  hi^ 
prohibition,    she   entered   the   tent   of  the 
czar,  and  found  him  in  strong  convulsions. 

Peter  was  subjec't  to  these  fits ;  and  Cathe- 
rine, more  than  any  other  person,  had  the 
power  to  soothe  and  restore  him.     Having 
applied  the  necessary  remedies,  she  assumed 
a  cheering  tone,  and  suggested  that,  instead 
ol  fighting  under  such   desperate   circum- 
stances,  he  should  try  what  could  be  effected 
by  negotiation.     This   proposition  was  the 
result  of  a  council  she  had  just  before  held 
with    General  Scheremetof  and  the  other 
officers.     It   was   impossible   to   anticipate 
any  terms   that  were   not   of  a  most  un- 
favourable  kind,  even  if  they  did  not  involve 
dishonour.     Peter  was  perplexed  ;  the  pros- 
pect was  dark  every  way ;  but  the  entreaties 
and  tears  of  Catherine  prevailed,  and   he 
consented. 

It  has  been  said  that  Catherine  bribed 
Baltagai  Mahomet,  the  Turkish  minister 
and  general,  and  thus  procured  favourable 
terms  for  the  czar.  The  assertion  appears 
to  be  an  idle  calumny.  It  originated  in 
.hp  circumstance  that  the  czarina,  in  com- 
phaace  with  Oriental  custom  (which  enjoins 
that  a  suitor  should  never  approach  a  minis- 
ter  empty-handed),  sent  to  Baltagai  all  her 
jewels,  mouey,  and  whatever  valuables  she 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [dangerous  position  of  pbteh. 


had  with  her  in  the  camp.    This  was  merelv 
a   customary  tribute,   and   never   designed 
nor  accepted  as  a  bribe.     It  is  indeed  ab 
surd,  to  suppose  that  a  man  who  had  the 
control  of  the  vast  wealth  of  the  Ottoman 
treasury,   would    have    sold    a    favourable 
peace  to  a  prostrate  foe  for  a  few  iewels 
which,  had  he  reduced  the  czar,  he  could 
still  have  obtained  as  spoil.     Other  causes 
were  a  work.     Baltagai  had  been  disgusted 
with  the  ingratitude  and  insolence  of  the 
Swedish  exile,  Charles,  whom  he  did  not, 
therefore,    wish    to    see    too    triumphant! 
Moreover,  he  was  no  soldier,  and  did  not 
care  to  risk  a  battle,  although  victory  ap- 
peared   certain:    and   as    to   the   alarming 
power  of  the   czar,  he   doubtless   thought 
hat  would  be  sufficiently  checked  bv  the 
humiliation  Peter  must  experience  in  soli- 
citing    peace    under    circumstances   which 
showed  that   his  influence  had  been  over- 
rated.     Much   has  been  written  upon  this 
point;  and  it  is  certainly  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  Peter  obtained  such  favourable 
errns  as  he  did;  yet  we  think  Baltagai  may 
fair  y  be  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  having 
sold  the  interests  of  his  country. 

After  some  delay,  a  suspension  of  arms 
was  declared,  and  a  favourable  answer  re- 
ceived   from   Baltagai.     He   required   that 
the  Russians  should  deliver  up  Azoff,  and 
burn  the  galleys  which  lay  in  that  harbour  • 
demolish  the  important  citadels  built  upon 
the  Pal  us  Maeotis,  and  surrender  the  ammu- 
nition and  cannon  contained  in  them  to  the 
sultan.     The  czar  was  also  to  renounce  all 
further  interference  in  the  affairs  of  Poland 
and   the    Cossacks;    and   to   promise   that 
Charles  XII.  should   not   be  molested  on 
his  return  to  Sweden.     In  addition  to  these 
terms,   it   was   proposed   that   the   ancient 
tribute   of   Russia   to   the   Tartars   of  the 
Crimea  should  be  renewed;  but  this  offen- 
sive condition  was  abandoned.     The  Turks 
also  insisted  that  Cantimir,  the  prince  of 
Wallachia,  who  had  promised  assistance  to 
Peter,    should    be   delivered    up    to   them. 
This  the  czar  steadily  refused,  saying    "I 
will  rather  cede  to  the  Turks  the  country  as 
far   as    Kursk;    I  should   still  have   some 
hopes  of  recovering  it :  but  my  word  once 
broken  cannot  be  restored.     Honour  is  all 
that    we   have   peculiar   to   ourselves;    re- 
nouncing that,  is  ceasing  to  be  a  monarch  " 
To  the  other  conditions  Peter  assented, 
and  a  treaty  of  peace  was  begun,  concluded 
and  signed  all  in  one  day,  the  21st  of  July. 
Ihe   Turks   furnished   their   starving    foes 

167 


t 


1 


.1 


in 


THE  CZAR  OBTAINS  A  PEACE. 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1711. 


A.D. 


1713.] 


with  provisions,  and  the  czar  was  allowed  to 
retire  with  his  army,  artillery,  colours,  and 
baggage.  As  the  czar  commenced  his  march, 
the  king  of  Sweden  spurred,  hot  and  impa- 
tient, into  the  Turkish  camp.  He  had  come 
to  see  the  ruin  of  his  rival ;  and  on  hearing 
of  the  escape  of  Peter,  he  ran  to  the  tent  of 
the  vizier,  and  angrily  reproached  him  for 
having  signed  the  treaty.  "  I  have  a  right,'^ 
replied  Baltagai,  "  to  make  war  or  peace.'^ 
**  But,''  inquired  the  king,  "had  you  not 
the  whole  Russian  army  in  your  power?" 
"  Our  law  orders,"  returned  the  Turk,  "  to 
give  peace  to  our  enemies  when  they  implore 
our  mercy."  "And  does  it  command  you," 
exclaimed  the  king,  passionately,  "  to  make 
a  bad  treaty  when  you  may  impose  what 
conditions  you  please  ?  Did  it  not  depend 
upon  you  to  lead  the  czar  prisoner  to  Con- 
stantinople?" With  a  meaning  sarcasm 
the  vizier  replied,  "And  who  would  have 
governed  his  empire  in  his  absence  ?  It  is 
not  proper  that  all  kings  should  leave  their 
dominions."  Stung  to  the  quick,  Charles 
threw  himself  upon  a  sofa,  and  entangling 
his  spur  in  the  robe  of  the  vizier,  purposely 
tore  it.  Then,  rising  up,  he  disdainfully 
quitted  the  tent;  and,  remounting  his 
horse,  returned  in  rage  and  despair  to 
Bender.  It  has  been  well  observed,  that 
the  Turkish  general,  in  overlooking  the  in- 
dignity he  received,  showed  himself  greater 
than  the  impetuous  king  who  offered  it. 
Charles  afterwards  employed  himself  in 
endeavouring,  by  intrigues  at  the  Ottoman 
court,  to  have  the  vizier  displaced ;  but  his 
activity  only  led  to  the  withdrawal  of  the 
sum  allowed  by  the  sultan  for  the  main- 
tenance of  himself  and  his  followers,  and 
his  being  ordered  to  quit  the  empire. 

Peter  returned  to  Russia  by  way  of  Jassy; 
and,  in  compliance  with  the  treaty  he  had 
so  recently  made,  caused  the  fortresses  of 
Samara  and  Kamienska  to  be  demolished. 
He,  however,  raised  some  difficulties  about 
the  destruction  of  his  harbour  and  works  at 
Taganrog,  and  the  restitution  of  AzofF. 
The  sultan  became  impatient  to  receive  the 
keys  of  the  latter  city,  and  negotiations 
were  opened  afresh.  AzofF  was  then  re- 
stored to  the  Turks — a  circumstance  by 
which  the  progress  of  Russia  in  the  south, 
towards  the  sea,  was  driven  back.  At  the 
same  time  the  Ottoman  Porte,  notwith- 
standing its  habitual  contempt  for  Christian 
states,  constituted  itself  the  arbiter  between 
Russia,  Poland,  and  Sweden.  The  sultan 
desired  the  czar  to  withdraw  his  troops 
168     . 


from  Poland,  to  which  Peter  consented,  on 
condition  that  Charles  should  be  compelled 
to  retire  from  Turkey.  The  sultan  was  by 
no  means  averse  to  this  arrangement,  for 
he  was  tired  of  the  whims  and  intrigues  of 
his  ungrateful  guest,  whom,  nevertheless, 
he  found  it  extremely  difficult  to  get  rid  of. 
The  czar's  health  had  been  seriously  im- 
paired by  the  mental  anxiety  he  had  expe- 
rienced, and  he  therefore  went  to  Carlsbad, 
in  Bohemia,  to  drink  the  medicinal  waters 
for  which  it  is  famous.  Peter  had  for  some 
time  occasionally  felt  some  mental  uneasi- 
ness from  another  cause.  His  first  wife, 
Eudoxia  Lapuchin  (whom,  on  account  of 
her  uncongenial  temper  and  her  bigoted 
opposition,  he  had  thought  necessary  to 
divorce),  brought  him  a  son,  who  was  born 
in  the  convent  to  which  she  had  been  com- 
pelled to  retire.  This  prince,  though  he 
has  been  described  as  accomplished  (an 
assertion  which  is  extremely  apocryphal), 
showed  a  headstrong  disposition  from  his 
boyhood,  and  an  attachment  to  low  plea- 
sures. His  time  was  spent  with  vulgar  and 
vicious  companions;  and,  what  was  far 
worse,  he  inherited  all  his  mother's  bigotry 
and  her  aversion  to  those  reforms  which  it 
was  the  great  object  of  Peter's  life  to  effect. 
Few  things  could  have  more  deeply  wounded 
the  czar  than  the  reflection  that  his  successor 
might  overturn  his  labours,  and  let  the  em- 
pire relapse  into  barbarism.  It  is  probable 
that,  even  at  this  period,  Peter  had  formed 
the  idea  of  excluding  his  son  from  the 
throne,  in  the  event  of  its  being  found  im- 
possible to  reform  him.  The  czar  felt  him- 
self the  parent  of  an  empire,  as  well  as  the 
father  of  a  dull  and  graceless  youth. 

With  a  view  of  reforming  his  son  Alexis 
Petrovitz,  the  czar  married  him,  in  the  Oc- 
tober of  1711,  at  Dresden,  to  the  princess 
of  Wolfenbuttle,  sister  to  the  empress  of 
Germany.  The  match  had  a  political  value 
to  the  czar,  who  was  glad  to  strengthen  his 
connections  by  so  distinguished  an  alliance ; 
but  Alexis  entered  into  it  with  reluctance. 
After  the  ceremony  the  czar  returned  to 
St.  Petersburg,  where  he  publicly  celebrated 
his  marriage  with  the  czarina  Catherine,  to 
whom  he  had  been  previously  united  pri- 
vately. The  solemnity  was  conducted  with 
great  splendour;  and  Peter  not  only  de- 
signed the  festivities,  but  personally  laboured 
at  the  preparation  of  them.  This  ceremo- 
nial was  intended  by  him,  and  regarded  by 
his  subjects,  as  an  act  of  grateful  acknow- 
ledgment for  the   services   Catherine   had 


lately  rendered  when  the  czar  was  hemmed 
m  by  his  foes  on  the  banks  of  the  Pruth. 
The  amiable  nature  of  the  czarina,  and  her 
utter  devotion  to  her  distinguished  husband, 
neutralised  any  feeling  of  envy  or  ill-will 
which  might   otherwise   have    been   enter- 
tained   towards    her    on    account    of    her 
humble    origin.      But   either    in    times   of 
grief  or  cheerfulness,  the  activity  of  the  czar 
never   forsook   him.     He  followed   up   the 
public   rejoicings    with    which    the    double 
marriage  of  his  son  and  himself  were  cele- 
brated,   by  planning  and  executing  many 
national   improvements.     New  roads  were 
laid  down,  and  new  canals  were  dug.     His 
city  of  St.  Petersburg,  now  rapidlv  increas- 
ing m  importance,  was  the  favourite  child 
of  his  brain.     He  finished  the  foundry  and 
the  admiralty,  and  caused  an  exchan-e  and 
warehouses  to  be  built  there.     Further  than 
this   he  removed  the  senate  from  Moscow  to 
bt.  Petersburg;  and  thus  made  the  latter,  in 
some  degree,  the  capital  of  the  empire 

At  peace  with  Turkey,  Peter  determined 
to  strip  Sweden  of  every  place  which  could 
be  an  annoyance  to  his  new  capital.     He 
even  designed  to  take  from  Sweden  all  its 
Irerman  provinces ;  and  in  order  to  eff'ect 
this,  he  entered  into  a  league  with  the  elec- 
tors of  Brandenburg  and  Hanover,  and  the 
kmg  of  Denmark.      Charles,  in  his  exile, 
showed  the  same  inflexible  pride  which  had 
ever   characterised   him.     From   his   lonely 
dwelling  in  the  deserts  of  Bessarabia,  he 
hurled  defiance  at  the  czar  and  his  allies- 
and  without   attempting   to  break  up  the 
league  formed  against  him,  sent  commands, 
that  the  most  vigorous  resistance  should  be 
made   both    by  land   and   sea.      Notwith- 
standing the  impoverished  state  of  Sweden 
both  with  respect  to  men  and  mouev,  his 
orders  were  obeyed.     The  senate  of  Stock- 
holm fitted  out  a  fleet  of  thirteen  ships  of 
the  line;  and  a  considerable  land  force  was 
raised,  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Count  Stem  bock,  a  general  whose  unques- 
tionable courage  and  militarv  skill  were  ex- 
ceeded by  his  cruelty.     Steinbock  attacked 
the  Danish  and  Saxon  troops  near  a  place 
called  Gadebusch,  before  the  Russians  were 
able  to  join  them.     The  battle  was  fought 
with  great  fury ;  for  such  was  the  hatred 
existing  between  the  Swedes  and  the  Danes 
that  m  many  cases  the  officers  rushed  furi- 
ously upon  each  other,  animated  by  a  mad 
thirst  for  their  adversaries'  blood,  and  fell 
dead  from  the  wounds  received  from  this 
recklessness.     Steinbock    gained    the    vic- 

VOL.  I.  2 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [wak  hexewed  .vith  s^^dex. 


tory;    but    that    circumstance   merely  de- 
ferred his  ruin.     The  Swedish  general  fol- 
lowed up  his  transient  triumph  by  an  act  of 
mfamous  cruelty.     Because  the  Danes  had 
reduced  the  town  of  Stade  to  ashes,  he  re- 
taliated on  that   of  Altona,   a  commercial 
town  below  Hamburg,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jilbe.      The  unfortunate    inhabitants  were 
compelled  to  quit  their  houses  at  midnight 
on  the  9th  of  January,  1713,  and  to  wander 
torth  into  the  open  country  during  a  winter 
ot  more  than  usual  severity.     "Men  and 
women,^'    observes     a    modern     historian, 
weeping  and  wailing,  and  bending  under 
the  weight  of  their  furniture,  fled  to  the 
neighbounng  hills,  which  were  covered  with 
snow.     Many    palsied    men    were    carried 
thither   on    the   shoulders   of    the    young. 
Women  with  newly-born   infants  in  their 
arms,  fled  and  perished  with  them  from  the 
cold,  throwing  their  last  looks  towards  the 
flames  which  were  consuming  their  homes. 
All   the  inhabitants   had  not  time  to  quit 
the  town  before  the  Swedes  set  fire  to  it. 
The  conflagration  continued  from  midnight 
till   ten  m   the   morning ;    almost   all    the 
houses  being  wood,  were  entirely  consumed- 
and   the   next   day,  scarcely   anything   re- 
mained to  indicate  that  there  had  been  a 
town  upon  that  spot  r     All  Germany  pro- 
tested  against  this  wanton  cruelty ;  and  the 
generals  of  the  Polish  and  Danish  armies 
wrote  to  Count  Steinbock,  reproaching  him 
with  his  enormous  cruelty,  for  the  perpetra- 
tion of  which  no  military  necessity  could 
be  alleged.     The  Swede  retorted,  that  the 
allies  were  guilty  of  as   great  atrocities  in 
desolating  Pomerania,  and  that  he  had  only 
endeavoured  to  teach   the  enemies   of  his 
master  not  to  make  war  for  the  future  like 
barbarians.      The  reproof  was,   no   doubt, 
merited;    but   the  retaliation   was   an   ig- 
noble one. 

Steinbock's  success  was  extremely  tran- 
sient.    The  Saxons  and  the  Danes  were  soon 
joined  by  the  Russians;  and  he  was  compelled 
to  retire  before  the  troops  he  had  recently 
defeated,  and  shelter  himself  and  his  army 
m  Tenningen,  a  fortified  place  in  Holstein 
into  winch  he  obtained  admission  by  arti- 
fice.    The  allied  army  then  went  into  win- 
ter quarters ;  but  on  the  renewal  of  hostili- 
ties, the  Swedes,  amounting  to  11,000  men 
were   compelled    to    surrender    themselves 
prisoners  of  war.     As  to  Steinbock,  unable 
to  repay  the  ransom  which  was  demanded 
tor   his  liberation,  he  languished  out  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  prison  at  Copen- 

169 


f 


^  'I 


/ 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  SWEDISH  FLEET.]    HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1714. 


hagen.  Thus,  at  least  on  this  occasion,  his- 
torical truth,  and  what  is  called  poetical 
justice,  went  hand-in-hand. 

Everything  seemed  adverse  to  the  absent 
king  of  Sweden,  whose  turbulent  behaviour 
in  the  Turkish  dominions  had  made  him 
the  inmate  of  a  prison.  Nearly  the  whole 
of  Pomerania  was  overrun  and  partitioned 
amongst  the  allies.  With  the  exception  of 
Stralsund,  scarcely  a  place  remained  in  the 
possession  of  the  Swedes ;  and  that  was  be- 
sieged by  the  llussians.  The  czar,  satisfied 
that  it  must  fall,  left  the  operations  against 
it  in  the  hands  of  Prince  MentschikofF. 
He  then  (May,  1713)  returned  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  proceeded  with  a  powerful  squad- 
ron of  galleys,  and  16,000  troops,  to  pur- 
sue his  career  of  conquest  in  the  Gulf  of 
Finland.  Helsingfors,  Bergo,  and  Abo,  the 
latter  the  capital  of  Finland,  successively 
yielded  to  the  czar,  who  commanded  the 
whole  coast  of  the  gulf  up  to  the  city  he 
thus  easily  subdued.  There  was  nothing  of 
fighting  for  the  love  of  glory  about  this : 
military  vanity  seems  never  to  have  been 
the  moving  principle  in  the  mind  of  the 
czar.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  any 
one,  that  if  St.  Petersburg  was  to  be  main- 
tained as  the  capital  of  Russia,  the  posses- 
sion of  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland 
was  a  geographical  necessity.  On  be- 
coming master  of  Abo,  the  czar  robbed  it 
of  its  magnificent  library,  which  he  con- 
veyed to  St.  Petersburg,  and  erected  a 
building  for  its  reception. 

The    insulted    and    fallen    Swedes,   who 
were  learning  by  painful  experience,  that 
no  nation  can  long  pursue  a  course  of  con- 
quest without  eventually  suffering  bitterly 
from   that   retaliation  which   seems  a  law 
of  nature,  resolved,  in    spite  of  their   im- 
poverished condition,  to  resist  this  last  act 
of  aggression.      Collecting  all  their  naval 
power,   they   put    to   sea  in   the   Gulf    of 
Bothnia,   with    a    considerable    squadron. 
The  czar,  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  dis- 
tinguishing his  infant  navy,  set  sail  with 
sixteen  ships  of  the  line,  and  180  galleys 
fit  for  navigating  the  shallow  waters  of  the 
inlets  of  the  gulf.     The  hostile  fleets  met 
near  the  Aland  Isles  :  that  of  the  Swedes 
was  stronger  in  large  ships,  but  inferior  in 
galleys.      Under    such   circumstances,   the 
wisdom  of  the  czar  was  apparent  in  bring- 
ing the  enemy  to  an  engagement  among 
the   rocks   and  shallows  which  lie   in   the 
neighbourhood  of  Aland,  where,  though  gal- 
leys could  act,  large  vessels  could  not.     The 
170 


Swedes  were  defeated  with  terrible  slaugh- 
ter, their  admiral  captured,  and  many  of 
their  vessels  sunk  or  taken.  The  rest 
escaped  ;  but  so  great  was  the  consterna- 
tion, that  even  the  inhabitants  of  Stock- 
holm did  not  think  themselves  safe.  This 
triumph  at  Aland,  Peter  regarded  as  the 
most  glorious  action  of  his  life  after  the  vic- 
torv  at  Pultowa.  It  made  him  master  of 
Finland,  the  government  of  which  he  gave 
to  Prince  Galitzin,  and  then  returned  to 
St.  Petersburg,  where  he  was  received  with 
public  rejoicings  and  festivities.  These 
were  rendered  more  brilliant  to  celebrate 
the  birth  of  a  daughter,  of  which  the  czarina 
had  been  confined.  In  honour  of  her, 
Peter  instituted  the  order  of  St.  Catherine, 
which  dignity  she  alone  could  bestow. 

The  Russian  people  were  delighted  with 
the   spectacles  with   which  the    czar   occa- 
sionally entertained  them  ;  and  not  the  less 
so  because  they  were  all  highly  flattering  to 
their  national  emotions.     On  this  occasion 
the  cannon,  colours,  and  standards   taken 
from  the  captured  Swedish  ships,  were  car- 
ried to  St.  Petersburg,  accompanied  by  the 
Russian  army,  marching  in  order  of  battle. 
The  triumphal  arch  which  the  czar,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  had  himself  designed,  was 
decorated  with  the  emblems  of  his  victories. 
Admiral    Apraxin,    who    commanded    the 
Russian    fleet,  headed   the   procession   be- 
neath the  arch,  and  was  followed  by  the 
czar  as  rear-admiral,  and  the  other  officers, 
according   to   their  rank.     Erenschild  (the 
Swedish  admiral)   and  his  officers  followed 
their  conquerors.     Gold  and  silver  medals 
were  then  distributed  to  all  Russians  en- 
gaged in  the  battle ;  and  the  czar,  ascend- 
ing a  throne  which  had  been  prepared  tor 
the  occasion,  thus   addressed    his  subjects 
and  companions-in-arms  : — "  Countrymen  ! 
is  there  any  one  among  you  who,  twenty 
years  ago,  could  have  thought  of  fighting 
under  me  in  the  Baltic,  in  ships  built  by 
yourselves,  and  that  we  should  be  settled  in 
those  countries  which  we  have  conquered 
by  our  great  toils  and  courage  ?     The  an- 
cient seat  of  sciences  is  said  to  have  been  in 
Greece ;    they  afterwards   moved  to  Italy, 
whence  they   spread    themselves    to   most 
parts  of  Europe.     Now  it  is  our  turn,  if 
you  will   second   my  design,  and   to  obe- 
dience add    study.     Arts   circulate   in  the 
world  as  does  blood  in  the  body ;  and  per- 
haps they  will  settle  their  empire  amongst 
us  in  their  return  to  Greece,  their  ancient 
country.     I  dare  hope  that,  by  our  achieve- 


I 


A.D.  1714.] 


ments  and   solid  glory,  we  shall  one  day 
make  the  most  civilised  nations  blush.'' 

Though  many  of  the  old  boyards  listened 
to  this  manly  harangue  with  indifference,  if 
not  with  actual  dislike,  the  young  nobles 
were  affected  by  it  even  to  tears.     To  them 
It  opened  up  new  paths  to  distinction,  and 
seemed,  m  raising  the  dignity  and  power  of 
their  country,  to  add  a  greater  brilliancy  to 
the  rank  they  bore.^   But  whatever  of  dis- 
content lingered  amongst  those  who  loved 
ever  to  look  back  to  the  dead  past,  rather 
than  to  press  forward  with  the  living  pre- 
sent—to collect   fading  laurels  from  half- 
torgotten  graves,  rather  than  to  gain  fresh 
ones  by  deeds  of  heroic  activity— it  dared  no 
longer  show  itself.     The  czar  had  won  the 
people   and  he  reigned  now  doubly  abso- 
lute-by  the  law  of  the  empire,  and  by  the 
force  of  genius      Real  joy  dwelt  for  a  while 
at    bt.  Petersburg,    and    public    festivities 
were    prolonged    by    private    hospitalities. 
I  he  czar  gave  a  series  of  public  dinners, 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,   [chakles  retuhns  i^  s^veden. 


to  which  all  classes  of  the  people  were  in- 
vited ;  and  the  illustrious  monarch  went 
from  table  to  table  amongst  his  guests,  and 
conversed  freely,  even  with  those  of  the  most 
humble  condition,  concerning  their  trades 
and  occupations.  The  nobles,  in  their  turn, 
gave  balls  and  pubhc  entertainments  on  a 
very  grand  scale;  the  mercantile  classes 
had  their  social  festivals  also ;  even  the 
artisans  and  serfs  drank  their  bad  brandy 
with  an  air  of  triumph;  and  St.  Petersburg 
presented  a  scene  of  rejoicing  which  had 
never  been  known  beneath  its  cold  skv 
before      Yet  under  and  around  the  great 

fi  ^  fnn  nr.r^^'P  ^^^  *^^  '^^^^s  of  more 
than  100,000  men,  victims  of  its  creation; 
sacrificed  to  the  iron  will  of  the  brilliant 
despot,  whose  restless  energy  and  deep- 
seeing  genius  remoulded  his  people,  and,  in 
this  wild  spot,  even  changed  the  face  of 
nature !  How  great,  sometimes  how  ter- 
rible  is  the  power  of  one  large  and  original 
mind!  &    *" 


I 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  noCTOKS  O.  THB  SOKBON.E  ;   P.TEK  ^..ZZ'^^^'.'H  ^^^  [  ^^T^^^/^TolZL:  "^"  '^ 


Sweden,  exhausted  by  its   efforts,  sought 
peace  with  Russia.     The  regency  of  Stock- 
holm, despairing  of  the  return  of  the  kin^r 
came   to    a   resolution   to    consult  him  no 
longer,  and  to  make  pacific  proposals  to  the 
czar.     This  resolution  was  interrupted  bv 
the  sudden  reappearance  of  the  king  afteV 
a    stay    of   five    years    and   some    months 
m    Bessarabia.      Having    passed    through 
the    most    extraordinary    adventures,    and 
endured  severe  sufferings,  Charles,  on  the 
^Ist  of    October,   1714,  presented  himself, 
during  the  night,  at  the  gates  of  the  town 
ot  Stralsund,  in  the  disguise  of  a  courier. 
He    had   not   been    in   a   bed   for   sixteen 
nights,  and  his  legs  were  so  swollen  from 
extreme  fatigue,  that  his  boots  were  obliged 
to   be   cut   off.     The   fugitive   king  found 
i^urope  in  a  very  different  condition  to  that 
in  which  he  had  left  it.     The  war  between 
1?  ranee,  England,  and  Holland,   was   over. 


Anne  of  England  having  made  peace  with 
the  aged  Loms  XIV,  had  just  gone  to  that 
bourne  where  warrior  and  politician,  queen, 
subject  or  beggar,  alike  remain  in  tranquil- 
lity.    George  I,  elector  of  Hanover,   had 
been  called  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain 
and  had  taken  from  the  territories  of  Sweden 
the  duchy  of  Bremen  and  Verden.     Frede- 
ric William,  the  new  king  of  Prussia,  had 
seized  on  Stettin  and  part  of  Pomerania;. 
while  the  czar  had  enriched  himself  enor- 
mously at  the  expense  of  his  former  rival, 
Charles.     In   the   north   of  Europe,  Peter 
had  acquired  an  uncontrollable  ascendancy  • 
and  all  the  neighbouring  princes  referred 
their  claims  to  him. 

The  spirit  of  the  fallen  Charles  had  not 
sunk  with  his  fortunes ;  but  his  subjects 
were  now  too  feeble  to  second  his  daring 
projects.  They  had  lost  their  confidence, 
and  were  no   longer   disposed   to   seek   in 

.     .171 


PETER  AGAIN  VISITS  EUROPE.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1716. 


A.D.  1717.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


M 


't 


battle  nobler  terms  than  they  could  obtain ' 
by  arbitration.  But  when  Charles  applied 
to  the  citizens  of  Stockholm  for  money  to 
raise  a  force  equal  to  nis  necessities,  his 
generous  people,  who  pitied  their  wild  king 
even  while  they  blamed  him,  complied,  as 
far  as  possible,  with  his  wishes.  His  rash 
conduct  has  been  described  as  resulting  not 
from  the  fury  of  despair,  but  rather  from 
the  gallantry  of  a  nature  that  never  could 
be  penetrated  by  despair.  Shutting  himself 
up  in  Stralsund,  which  was  made  celebrated 
by  his  connection  with  it,  he  undertook  its 
defence,  with  a  garrison  of  about  9,000 
men,  against  the  combined  army  of  Prus- 
sians, Danes,  and  Saxons,  amounting  to 
36,000  men.  Charles  defended  the  place 
inch  by  inch  ;  and  when  it  was  at  length 
reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins,  he  succeeded  in 
escaping  before  it  surrendered  to  the  assail- 
ants.* He  made  his  way  to  Carlscrona; 
and,  though  so  near  his  capital,  he  yet 
resolved  'never  to  enter  it  again  until  he 
had  obtained  some  signal  victory.  Regard- 
ing his  people  only  as  born  to  become 
soldiers  to  carry  out  his  projects,  he  issued 
orders  for  raising  men  throughout  his  whole 
kingdom.  Miserable  Sweden !  infatuated 
King  ! 

While  the  sun  of  Charles  was  thus  set- 
ting, the  power  of  Peter  was  approaching 
its  utmost  height.  Livonia,  Esthonia,  Ingria, 
and  nearly  all  Finland,  had  been  acquired 
by  him.  He  was  ready  to  protect  them  by 
war  if  necessary ;  but  not  averse  to  peace, 
if  his  adversaries  desired  it.  Almost  every 
day  he  created  some  new  regulations  or 
establishments  in  connection  with  the  navy, 
army,  the  commerce,  or  the  laws.  About 
400,000  men  were  employed  in  the  public 
works  at  St.  Petersburg,  which  rapidly 
became  a  place  of  great  commerce  and 
wealth.  The  czar,  however,  in  his  anxiety 
for  its  prosperity,  committed  an  act  of  folly 

•  The  daring  and  energy  of  this  extraordinary 
man  during  this  period,  is  thus  graphically  described 
by  his  biographer  Voltaire : — "  Nothing  was  able  to 
move  him  ;  he  employed  the  day  in  making  ditches 
And  intrenchments  behind  the  walls,  and  in  the  night 
he  sallied  out  upon  the  enemy  In  the  meantime 
Stralsund  was  battered  in  breach,  the  bombs  fell  as 
thick  as  hail  upon  the  houses,  and  half  the  town  was 
reduced  to  ashes.  The  citizens,  however,  so  far  from 
complaining,  were  filled  with  the  highest  veneration 
for  their  royal  master,  whose  fatigues,  temperance, 
and  courage  astonished  them.  He  inspired  them 
with  similar  qualities;  and,  under  him,  they  all 
became  soldiers  :  they  accompanied  him  in  all  his 
sallies,  and  served  him  in  the  place  of  a  second 
garrison.  One  day,  as  the  king  was  dictating  some 
172 


and  injustice;  for  he  prohibited  all  goods 
imported  into  Russia  at  Archangel  from 
being  sent  to  Moscow. 

Peter  now  resolved  to  undertake  a  second 
journey  through  the  principal  countries  of 
Europe.     The  time  was  eminently  favour- 
able for  such    an    expedition ;    for  he  had 
established   his   reforms    at   home   upon   a 
secure  basis,  and  he  had  notliing  to   fear 
from  enemies  abroad.     He  had   performed 
his  first  journey  with  the  view  of  obtaining 
information  concerning  the  arts  and  manu- 
factures of  the  places  he  visited ;  but  in  the 
second  he  desired  to  examine  the  secrets  of 
foreign  courts,  and  the  political  systems  of 
Europe.     He  left  Russia  in  1716,  accom- 
panied by  the  czarina  Catherine,  and  fol- 
lowed by  the  gratitude  of  his  people.     His 
journey  was  a  kind  of  triumphal  progress, 
and  he  was  generally  received  with  public 
rejoicings  and   festivities.     Catherine,  who 
was  approaching  her  confinement,  was  com- 
pelled to  rest  for  a  short  time  at  Schwerin, 
while  Peter   pursued  his  way  to   Holland. 
The  czarina   soon   followed   him,   but   was 
compelled  to  pause  at  Wesel,  where  she  was 
delivered   of  a  son,  whose   bmef  existence 
only  disappointed  the  hopes  of  his  father. 
Such  was  Catherine's  anxiety  to  rejoin  her 
husband,  that,  ten  days  after  her  confine- 
ment, she  accompanied  him  to  Amsterdam. 
The  czar  went  to  Copenhagen,  and  had 
an  interview  with  the   king  of  Denmark, 
who   received   him  with   great    distinction. 
He  then  visited  the  king  of  Prussia,  and 
paused  at  many  places,  either  from  motives 
of  pleasure  or  for  the  sake  of  making  obser- 
vations.    All   this   time   he  travelled  in  a 
very  simple  mauner,  avoiding  all  show  or 
parade    whatever.     An    amusing    incident 
arose  out  of  this  love  of  simplicity  in   so 
great  a  man.     He  arrived  late  one  night  at 
Nymegen,  in   a  common  post-chaise,  and 
accompanied  by  only  two  attendants.     As 

letters  to  his  secretary,  to  be  sent  to  Sweden,  a  bomb 
fell  on  the  house,  penetrated  the  roof,  and  burst  near 
the  apartment  where  he  was.  One-half  of  the  floor 
was  shattered  to  pieces.  The  closet  where  the  king 
was  employed,  partly  formed  out  of  a  thick  wall, 
resisted  the  explosion ;  and,  by  an  astonishing  piece 
of  fortune,  none  of  the  splinters  that  flew  about  in 
the  air  entered  at  the  closet  door,  which  happened 
to  be  open.  The  report  of  the  bomb,  and  the  noise  it 
occasioned  in  the  house,  which  seemed  ready  to  fall, 
made  the  secretary  drop  his  pen.  'What  is  the 
matter  ? '  said  the  king,  with  a  placid  air,  '  why  do 
you  not  write  ? '  The  secretary  could  only  exclaim, 
♦  Ah,  sire !  the  bomb ! '  •  Well,'  continued  the  king, 
'  what  has  the  bomb  to  do  with  the  letter  I  am  dic- 
tating to  you  ?    Go  on.* " 


[peter  in  HOLLAND, 


his  frugal  supper  consisted  only  of  poached 
eggs  and  a  little  bread  and  cheese,  he  was 
much  astonished  when,  the  next  morning, 
the  landlord  presented  a  bill  of  one  hundred 
ducats  for  his  entertainment.  Peter  re- 
monstrated, and  asked  if  eggs  were  so 
very  scarce  in  that  neighbourhood.  "No,"' 
answered  the  landlord;  "but  emperors 
are."  The  czar  settled  the  bill;  for  he 
must  have  felt  that,  statesman  as  he  was,  he 
had  for  once  been  overreached. 

On  reaching  Amsterdam,  Peter  was  re- 
ceived with  an  exhibition  of  feeling  which 
surpassed   enthusiasm.     There   the   honest 
ship-builders  regarded  him  as  their  pupil; 
and  the  workmen  looked  upon  him   as   a 
great  man  who  had  given  additional  dignity 
to  labour;  and  they  remembered  the  "time 
he  performed   the   like   work   with   them- 
selves.      They    found     his     manners    un- 
changed:   the    great    emperor  of    Russia 
talked    to    them    as    familiarly   as,    about 
eighteen    years    before.    Master   Peter   the 
amateur   carpenter   had   done.     The   little 
cottage  at  Sardam,  in  which  he  had  dwelt, 
though   scarcely  more   than   a   hovel,   had 
been  improved  and  carefully  preserved.     It 
was  known  as  "  The  Prince's  House.''     On 
re-entering   it,   after   so   long   an   absence, 
Peter  desired  to  be  left  alone;  and  there, 
for  a  while,  he  remained  absorbed  by  reflec- 
tion of  a  kind  it  is  not  difficult  to  divine. 
Wonder  for  the  past,  and  grateful  joy  for 
the    present,    no   doubt   filled   that    strong 
mind,  as,  reflecting  upon  the  strange  vicissi- 
tudes of  life,   he  beheld   the  scene  of  his 
early  labours  ;  while  his  imagination,  speed- 
ing  to   the   tideless   Baltic,   saw   upon   its 
broad  basin  their  result  in  the  triumphant 
fleet  of  Russia. 

The  czar  remained  three  months  in  Hol- 
land, chiefly  because  the  Hague,  then  re- 
garded as  the  centre  of  the  negotiations  of 
Europe,  and  crowded  with,  travellers   and 
foreign  ministers,  aff*orded  him  an  opportu- 
nity  of  making   certain   political   observa- 
tions.   A  cunning  adventurer,  named  Baron 
Goertz,  who  had  acquired  the  confidence  of 
Charles  XII.,  and  desired  to  bring  about  an 
alliance   between  that  fallen  monarch  and 
the  czar,  had  projected  a  great  revolution 
throughout  Europe ;  and  many  secret  com- 
munications concerning  it  were  passing  in 
the  diplomatic  circles  of  that  place.     This 
project  was  of  a  remarkable  kind,  for  kings 
and  chief  ministers  were  the  conspirators. 
Amongst  other  wild  plans,  it  was  designed 
to  drive  George  I.  from  the  throne  of  Eng- 


land, and  to  set  the  son  of  James  II.  in  his 
place.     Charles  XII.,  on  being  reconciled 
to  Peter,  was  to  make  a  descent  upon  Soot- 
land,  and  carry  the  plan  into  execution  by 
calling   to   arras   all   the    partisans   of  the 
Stuart  family.     It   appears   that   the   czar 
was   favourable    to    the     designs   of    these 
diplomatic  revolutionists,  and  that  he  with 
difficulty  avoided   becoming   implicated   in 
them.     Happily  these  plans  were  discovered, 
and  communicated  to  the  king  of  England; 
and,  at  his  desire,  the  States-general  placed 
Baron  Goertz   under  arrest.     George   also 
put  the  Swedish  ambassador  at  London  into 
confinement;  and  the  two  were  examined 
like  some  great  criminals;  as  indeed  they 
were.     Charles  was  indignant  that  his  am- 
bassadors had  been  so  insulted,  and  main- 
tained a  disdainful  silence  towards  England 
and  Holland.     Peter,  on  the  detection  of 
the  conspiracy  with  which  he  was  not  iden- 
tified, though  he  was  favourable  to  it,  wrote 
a  long  letter  to  George  L,  full  of  compli- 
ments and  congratulations,  and  assurances 
of  a  sincere   friendship.     George   did   not 
believe  a  word  of  these  protestations;  but  it 
was  not  politic  to  quarrel  with  so  powerful 
a  monarch  as  the  czar;  and  he  assumed  a 
satisfaction  which  he  did  not  feel. 

In  the  meantime  Peter  left  Holland,  and 
proceeded  on  a  visit  to  Paris,  where  great 
preparations  were  made  for  receiving   him 
with  a  becoming  splendour.     Marshal  Tesse, 
with  many  of  the  nobility,  a  squadron  of  the 
guards,  and  the  king's  coaches,  advanced  to 
meet  him.     The  czar,  actuated  by  a  real  or 
pretended  contempt  for  splendour,  rode  on 
so  rapidly,  that  he  left  the  escort  far  behind, 
and  entered  Paris,  attended  only  by  four 
gentlemen.     The  retiring  habits  of  the  czar 
must  have  disappointed  the  French  people, 
who  had  prepared  maaj files  and  entertain- 
ments in  his  honour,  which  were  rendered 
nugatory   by  the   rapidity   with   which    he 
travelled.     The  Duke  of  Orleans,  then  regent 
during  the  infancy  of  Louis  XV.,  received 
Peter  at  the  Louvre,  where  the  state  apart- 
ments were  prepared  for   himself  and  his 
retinue.  -^  The  czar  declined  this  grandeur. 
"I  am  a  soldier,"   said   he;    "bread   and 
beer   are  all  I  want;   I  like  small  rooms 
better  than  large.     I  do  not  wish  to  move 
about  in  state,  and  tire  so  many  people." 
The  same  evening  he  took  up  his  lodgings 
at  the  other  end  of  the  town,  at  the  Hotel 
Lesdiguiere,    which    belonged    to   Marshal 
Villeroy.     Here   he  was  visited,  the  next 
day,  by  the  regent,  and,  the  one  following, 

173 


PETER  IN  FRANCE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1717. 


I 


I 


by  the  infant  king.  This  visit  courtesy 
obliged  the  czar  to  return ;  but  he  did  so  in 
the  evening,  in  as  quiet  a  manner  as  pos- 
sible. The  household  troops  were  placed 
under  arms,  and  the  young  king  brought  to 
the  czar's  coach.  So  great  was  the  crowd 
that  thronged  about  the  royal  child,  that 
Peter  felt  uneasy  for  his  safety,  and,  taking 
liim  into  his  arms,  carried  him  for  some  time. 

However  averse  the  czar  might  be  to 
ceremony  or  ostentation,  he  could  not  but 
be  pleased  with  many  of  the  delicate  atten- 
tions he  met  with  in  France.  On  dining 
with  the  Duke  d'Antin,  at  his  seat  three 
leagues  from  Paris,  Peter  observed  that  a 
handsome  portrait  of  himself  had  been  re- 
cently put  up  in  the  dining-room.  Touched 
by  the  compliment,  it  is  said  he  felt  that 
true  politeness  was  an  ingredient  in  the 
nature  of  the  French.  Another  incident 
of  the  same  kind  must  have  given  him  a  far 
greater  satisfaction.  On  going  to  see  medals 
struck  in  that  gallery  of  the  Louvre  devoted 
to  the  artists  of  the  kings  of  France,  one 
dropping  from  the  die,  fell  at  the  feet  of  the 
czar.  He  stooped,  picked  it  up,  and  found 
it  to  be  a  medal  of  himself,  with  a  figure 
representing  fame  on  the  reverse.  Peter 
and  all  his  attendants  were  presented  with 
copies  of  this  medal  in  gold.  On  visiting 
the  other  artists  in  the  Louvre,  all  their 
finest  efforts  were  laid  at  his  feet,  with  a 
request  that  he  would  deign  to  accept  of 
them.  When  he  went  to  see  the  tapestry 
of  the  Gobelins,  the  carpets  of  the  Savonnerie, 
the  ateliers  of  the  king's  sculptors,  painters, 
goldsmiths,  and  mathematical  instrument- 
makers,  whatever  engaged  his  eye  was 
offered  to  him  in  the  name  of  the  sovereign. 
On  his  visit  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  he 
with  his  own  hand  corrected  several  errors 
in  old  maps  of  the  Russian  dominions.  He 
even  became  a  member  of  the  academy,  and 
afterwards  kept  up  a  correspondence  con- 
cerning experiments  and  discoveries  with 
that  distinguished  body. 

The  most  earnest  minds  in  France  ad- 
mired the  experienced  glance  and  skilful 
hand  with  which  he  selected  such  objects 
as  he  designed  to  carry  back  with  him  to 
Russia,  and  the  masters  whom  he  engaged 
for  the  instruction  of  his  people.  Artists 
and  manufacturers  were  surprised  at  his 
knowledge  of  their  professions.  They  ob- 
served, that  "  his  questions  uniformly  gave 
proof  of  his  knowledge,  and  excited  admira- 
tion of  the  sagacity  of  an  enlarged  mind, 
which  was  as  prompt  to  comprehend  in- 
174 


formation  as  it  was  eager  to  gain  it.  "While 
travelling  through  France  on  his  return, 
the  czar  would  often  leave  his  carriage,  and, 
entering  the  fields,  fall  into  conversation 
with  the  labourers.  He  desired  them  to 
explain  the  use  of  their  agricultural  instru- 
ments, and  took  sketches  of  them  with  his 
own  hand.  One  day  hit  attention  was 
attracted  by  seeing  a  person  of  a  different 
dress  and  superior  appearance  working  with 
the  labourers.  The  czar  immediately  inter- 
rogated this  man ;  and  then,  turning  to  his 
attendants,  observed — "Look  at  this  good 
country  priest !  With  the  labour  of  his  own 
hands  he  procures  cider,  wine,  and  money 
to  boot.  Remind  me  of  this  when  we  are 
in  Russia  again.  I  will  endeavour  to  stimu- 
late our  priests  by  this  example,  and,  by 
teaching  them  to  till  the  soil,  rescue  them 
from  their  sloth  and  wretchedness.'' 

The  occasion  on  which  the  czar  exhibited 
the  greatest  excitement  while  in  France, 
was  at  his  visit  to  the  tomb  of  Cardinal 
Richelieu.  But  it  was  not  the  beauty  of 
the  design  or  sculpture  that  attracted  him. 
His  thoughts  were  rather  with  the  dust  that 
lay  beneath  that  magnificent  mausoleum. 
His  mind  dwelt  upon  the  character  of 
the  great  statesman,  which  these  things 
were  designed  to  perpetuate.  Giving  way 
to  a  transient  enthusiasm,  Peter  exclaimed 
earnestly — "  Thou  great  man  !  I  would  have 
given  thee  one-half  of  my  dominions  to 
have  learnt  of  thee  how  to  govern  the  other  !" 
Thus  do  the  truly  great  ever  recognise  and 
admit  the  claims  of  each  other. 

When  the  czar  visited  the  mausoleum  of 
the  wise  priest  and  statesman,  the  doctors  of 
the  Sorbonne  placed  a  memorial  in  his 
hands,  with  the  object  of  bringing  about  a 
reunion  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches, 
by  inducing  Peter  to  recognise  the  spiritual 
authority  of  the  pope.  The  division  of  the 
Christian  church  into  that  of  the  West  and  the 
East,  was  completed  about  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century,  when  the  pope  at  Rome,  and 
the  patriarch  atfconstantinople,  severally  ana- 
thematised each  other,  and  all  fnrther  com- 
munion between  their  respective  churches 
ceased.  This  schism  the  theological  doctors 
of  the  university  thought  to  heal  at  the 
expense  of  a  piece  of  parchment ;  as  if  such  a 
monarch  as  the  czar  would  be  at  all  likely 
to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  pope  in 
any  shape  whatever.  His  path  lay  in  quite 
a  different  direction ;  and  it  is  not  rational  to 
suppose  that  Peter  would  throw  his  country 
into  confusion,  and  encounter  the  enmity  of 


A.D.  1717.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[peter  in  francb. 


the  Russian  clergy,  and  perhaps  the  whole 
population  of  his  empire,  to  bring  about  an 
event,  the  result  of  which  would  be  to  intro- 
duce an  authority  into  it,  differing  from,  and 
claiming  to  be  superior  to,  his  own.     The 
wily  doctors  artfully  confined  their  memo- 
rial almost  entirely  to  softening  down  this 
point.     They  spoke  of  the  liberties  enjoyed 
by  the  Gallican  church;   from  which  they 
concluded  that  the  Russian  church  would 
forfeit  nothing  in  that  respect,  should  the 
proposed    union    take    place.      They    also 
asserted  that  the  popes  were  subject  to  the 
councils,  and  that  a  decree  of  the  supreme 
pontiff  was  not  a  rule  of  faith.     Peter  cared 
nothing  for  these  matters ;  and  he  had  no  in- 
tention of  placing  a  yoke  upon  his  shoulders, 
though  it  might  be  a  very  light  one,  and  fit 
so  well  as  not  to  gall  the  wearer  in  any 
direction.     Never  mind  the  lightness  :  why 
wear  a  yoke  at  all,  especially  when  there 
was  no  necessity  for  doing  so  ?     Still  the  czar 
received  the  memorial  with  good  humour  ; 
and,  answering  that  he  was  a  soldier,   un- 
accustomed   to   disputations  of  that   kind, 
referred  the  matter  to  the  Russian  bishops! 
They,  it  may  be  anticipated,  at  once  indig- 
nantly rejected  it.     The  pope,  also  offended 
that  the   overture  had  failed,  expressed  a 
dissatisfaction  at  its  having  been  attempted ; 
and   the   meddlers   of  the    Sorbonne  were 
blamed  on  all  sides;  as  meddlers  generally 
are,  and  always  deserve  to  be. 

However  pleasantly  the  czar  treated  this 
application    at    the    time,    he    afterwards 
thought  it  proper  to  express  his  real  feeling 
towards   the   papal   authority,  in  order   to 
dissipate  any  needless  apprehensions  which 
his  subjects  might  entertain  on  such  a  matter. 
With  this   object,  when,  in   1718,  he   ex- 
pelled the   Jesuits   out   of  his   dominions, 
he   instituted   a   burlesque   ceremonial   for 
the  entertainment  of  the  people,  in  ridicule 
of  the  pontiff  of  the  Roman  church.     At 
the  Russian    court  was  a  vain   old    man, 
named   Jotoff   or    Sotoff,  who,   in    earlier 
years,  had  taught  the  czar  to  write,  but 
who,  in  the  dechne  of  his  life,  occupied  a 
position   analogous   to   that  of  a   buffoon. 
On  this  dotard,  the  czar  whimsically  said 
that  he  would  confer  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent dignities  in  the  known  world.     Jotoff 
accordingly  had  the  title  of  pope  bestowed 
upon  him,  together  with  a  salary  of  2,000 
roubles,  and  a  house  at  St.  Petersburg  in 
the  quarter  of  the  Tartars.     Jotoff  was  en- 
throned by  the  mob,  led  by  buffoons,  and 
harangued  by  four  men  who   stammered.) 


His  mock  holiness  then  created  a  body  of 
mimic   cardinals;    and   after   they   had  all 
drank  themselves  into  a  state  of  staggering 
intoxication,  paraded  the  streets  in  proces- 
sion, accompanied  by  rough  music  playing 
out  of  time,  and  the  clattering  of  pots  and 
pans,  to  the  intense  delight  of  the  mob,  to 
whose  not  over-refined  taste  this  drunken 
carnival  was  admirably  adapted.     A  mili- 
tary   procession   and    solemnity   for    some 
great  victory,  would  scarcely  have  pleased 
them   so   much.     This    satirical    ceremony 
was  retained  for  some  years  after  the  death 
of  Jotoff,  and  performed  both  in  St.  Peters- 
burg and  Moscow.     Though,  at  first  sight, 
it  appeared  only  a  mere  popular  orgie,  yet 
it  had  the  effect  of  confirming  the  national 
aversion    to    a   church   which    assumed    a 
power  of  control  and  anathema  over  kings 
and  nations. 

Before  the  czar  left  France,  he  expressed 
a  desire  to  have  an  interview  with  the  cele- 
brated Madame  de  Maintenon,  the  widow 
of  Louis  XIV.,  then  in  the  decline  of  her 
chequered  life.     The  similarity  that  existed 
between  the  marriage  of  Louis  and  his  own, 
excited  his  curiosity.     Yet  there  was  almost 
as  much  difference  between  the  two  ladies 
as  between  their  respective  husbands,  who 
were  the  most  unlike  of  men.     Catherine 
was  altogether  uneducated ;  while  the  mind 
of  Madame  de  Maintenon  had  been  culti- 
vated up  to  that  exotic  point  where  luxu- 
riance sinks  into  weakness.     The  first  was 
a  child   of  nature;    the   second   lived  the 
artificial  life  of  an  over-refined  court.     The 
first  was  in  some  respects  a  heroine ;   the 
last  merely  a  fascinating  woman.    Peter  had 
not  taken  Catherine  with  him  to  France, 
because,  with  a  delicacy  of  feeling  scarcely 
to  be  expected  in  him,  he  feared  that  the 
rigid  ceremony  of  the  French  court  might 
embarrass   her,   and    that    its    frequenters 
might  not  suflBciently  estimate  the  merits  of 
a  woman  who,  from  the  banks  of  the  Pruth 
to  the  shores  of  Finland,  had,  at  her  hus- 
band's side,  faced  death  both  by  sea  and 
land. 

The  czar  discerned  in  the  luxurious  ex- 
travagance of  the  French  court,  a  sign  of 
the  unhealthy  condition  of  a  nation  which 
was  then  silently  floating  towards  the  ter- 
rible convulsion  in  which  an  infuriated 
people  trampled  king,  government,  church, 
religion— everything  beneath  their  feet. 
Peter  felt  so  strongly  on  the  subject,  that 
he  observed,  he  was  sorry  for  France  and 
for  its  infant  king,  and  believed  that  the 

175 


"f 


1 


I  i 


PEl'EB  AT  BERLIN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1717. 


1 1 


latter  was  on  the  point  of  losing  his  king- 
dom   through    luxuries    and    superfluities. 
While    the   czar   condemned    the   extrava- 
gance, and   despised   the   high-breeding,  of 
the   French    courtiers,   yet    many   amongst 
them  formed   a  generous    estimate  of    his 
character.      The    following    description   of 
Peter,  by  an  author  attached  to  the  court, 
we  will  quote,  on  account  of  the  value  of 
contemporary    criticism    respecting   so   re- 
markable a  man  : — "  His  deportment  is  full 
of  dignity  and  confidence,  as  becomes  an 
absolute  master.     He  has  large  and  bright 
eyes,  with  a  penetrating,  and  occasionally 
stern  glance.     His  motions,  which  are  ab- 
rupt and  hasty,  betray  the  violence  of  his 
passions,  and  the  impetuosity  of  his   dis- 
position.     His  orders   succeed  e«ch  other 
rapidly    and     imperiously.      He    dismisses 
with  a  word,  with  a  sign,  without  allowing 
himself  to   be   thwarted   by  time,  place,  or 
circumstance,  now  and  then  forgetting  even 
the  rules  of  decorum  ;  yet  with  the  regent 
and  the  young  king  he  maintains  his  state, 
and  regulates  all  his  movements  according 
to  the   points  of  a   strict   and   proud  eti- 
quette.    For  the  rest,  the  court  discovered 
in  him  more  great  qualities  than  bad  ones ; 
it  considered  his  faults  to  be  merely  trivial 
and  superficial.     It  remarked,  that  he  was 
usually  sober,  and  that  he  gave  way  only 
now  and  then  to  excessive  intemperance ; 
that,    regular   in    his   habits   of  living,   he 
always  went  to  bed  at  nine  o'clock,  rose  at 
four,  and  was  never  for  a  moment  unem- 
ployed ;  and,  accordingly,  that  he  was  well- 
informed,    and    seemed   to   have    a    better 
knowledge  of  naval  affairs  and  fortification, 
than  any  man  in  France." 

On  leaving  that  country,  the  czar  induced 
many  French  artists  and  other  skilful  per- 
sons to  follow  him,  with  the  object  of  pro- 
moting the  exercise  of  their  professions  in 
Russia.  No  government  seemed  actuated 
by  any  ungenerous  feelings  towards  him  in 
this  matter.  "  All  nations,''  observes  Vol- 
taire, "where  he  travelled,  prided  themselves 
in  seconding  his  design  of  transporting  the 
arts  into  a  new  country,  and  in  concurring 
to  this  kind  of  creation." 

The  czar  rejoined  Catherine  at  Amster- 
dam, and  they  proceeded  together  to  Berlin, 
to  pay  a  visit  to  Frederic  William,*  the 
king  of  Prussia,  who,  to  use  the  expressive 
language  of  Mr.  Macau  lay,  "  must  be  al- 
lowed to  have  possessed  some  talents  for 
administration,  but  whose  character  was 
•  The  father  of  Frederic  the  Great. 
176 


disfigured  by  odious  vices,  and  whose  eccen- 
tricities were  such  as  had  never  before  been 
seen  out  of  a  madhouse."     Though  Frederic 
was  so  mean  that  he  half-starved  his  chil- 
dren, and  frequently  had   food  in  a  state 
unfit   to   be   eaten   placed  upon  the  royal 
table,  yet  he  received  his  illustrious  visitors 
with  as  much  respect  as  his  rude  nature 
could  be  capable  of.      /he  czar,  on  arriving 
at  Berlin,  drove  to  a  private  lodging,  where 
he  received  a  message  that  the  king  would 
wait  upon  him  the  next  day,  at  noon.     Be- 
fore the  appointed  time,  a  cortege  of  royal 
carriages   came  to  bring   the   czar   to   the 
palace;  but  the  officers  who  accompanied 
them  were  told  that  he  was   already  with 
the  king.     He  had  gone  out  privately  by 
another  door,  with  a  view  of  avoiding  that 
ceremony  which  he  regarded  as  obstructive 
of  freedom,  and  a  waste  of  time.     A  king 
who  dressed  like  a  common  soldier,  and  sat 
in  an  old-fashioned  wooden  arm-chair,  pos- 
sessed a  recommendation  to  the  good-will  of 
the  eccentric  czar.     Peter,  Catherine,  and 
Frederic  William  were  a  strange  trio.    "  Had 
Charles  XII.  been  with  them,"  says  Voltaire, 
"  four  crowned  heads  would  have  been  seen 
together,    with    less     fastidiousness    about 
them  than  a  German  bishop   or  a  Roman 
cardinal."     Though  the  boisterous  king  was 
sufficiently  well  pleased  with  his  guests,  yet 
the  manners  of  Peter  and  Catherine  were 
by  no  means  refined  enough  for  the  then 
petty  court  of  Berlin,  which,  in  this  respect, 
was  more  critical  than  that  of  Paris.     The 
queen  thought  Peter  rough,  and  Catherine 
homely;   and,   therefore,   the  ladies  of  the 
court  thought  so  too.     One  of  the  latter, 
the  Margravine  de  Bareith,  gave  an  account 
in  her  memoirs  of  the  reception  of  the  illus- 
trious strangers  at  court.    From  this  descrip- 
tion it  may  be  seen  how  difficult  it  is  for 
little  minds  to   estimate   great  ones.     The 
margravine  remarked,  that  when  Peter  ap- 
proached  to   salute   the    queen,    that    her 
majesty  looked  as  if  she   would  rather  be 
excused.     On  another  occasion  he  took  her 
hand  so  heartily,  that  the  royal  prude  de- 
sired  him   to   be   more    respectful.     Peter 
laughed,  and  said  that  she  was  more  delicate 
than  his  Catherine.     But  the   supercilious 
description  of  the  latter  by  the  margravine, 
while  it  is  a  bit  of  odd  and,  probably,  truth- 
ful portrait-painting,  exhibits  the  hypercriti- 
cal spirit  in  which  the  czarina  was  observed. 
**  She  is,"   says  the   narrator,    "  short  and 
lusty,  remarkably  coarse,  and  without  grace 
or  animation.     One  need  only  see  her  to  be 


AD.  1717.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [peter  returns  to  Russia.  " 


satisfied  of  her  low  birth.    At  the  first  blush 
one  would  take  her  for  a  German  actress. 
Her  clothes  looked  as  if  bought  at  a  doll- 
shop;  everything  was  so  old-fashioned  and 
so  bedecked  with    silver  and   tinsel.     She 
Avas  decorated  with  a  dozen  orders,  portraits 
of  saints  and  relics ;  which  occasioned  such 
a  clatter,  that  when  she  walked,  one  would 
suppose  an  ass  with  bells  was  approaching." 
Peter,  during  his  tour,   purchased  great 
quantities  of  pictures,  chiefly  of  the  Dutch 
and  Flemish  school ;  cabinets  of  birds  and 
insects,   a  large   collection   of  books,   and 


whatever  appeared  likely  to  ornament  the 
new  city,  to  which  he  had  given  his  name. 
Aniongst  these  valuables  was  a  great  hollow 
globe,  eleven  feet  in  diameter,  whose  inside 
represented  the  celestial,  and  the  outside 
the  terrestrial,  sphere.  This  was  presented 
to  him  by  the  king  of  Denmark.  With 
these  treasures  of  art  and  literature  he  sub- 
sequently laid  the  foundation  of  the  Imperial 
Academy  of  Sciences,  the  idea  of  which  he 
took  from  that  of  Paris,  of  which  he  had 
been  elected  a  member  during  a  visit  to 
that  capital. 


»»s 


L 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

rROTECTION  OF  THE  EMPEROR-  THE  cLrpro.^^^^^^  ""  °°^^  ™  ^'^NNA,  AND  CLAIUS  THE 

DOES  SO,  AND  IS  ARRESTETlMpCo>TD%'/D™fl.:v%?:cro'rHr  "=^" 

DEMNATION  AND  DEATH.  rny^i^i^x  ri.ALhD  ON  HIS  TRIAL  FOR  TREASON;  HIS  CON- 


The  czar  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg,  from  his 
foreign  tour,  on  the  21st  of  October,  1717, 
and  his  attention  was  soon  engaged  by  an 
incident  of  a  peculiar  character. 

His  son,  the  czarevitch  Alexis,  now  nine- 
and-twenty  years  of  age,  had  long  been  a 
source  of  anxiety  to  Peter.     Alexis,    even 
from  his  youth,  had  shown  an  aversion  to 
the  reforms  of  his  father,  and  selected  his 
friends  and  advisers  from  among  the  disaf- 
fected nobles  and  priests,  who  were  opposed 
to  all  change.     These  bigoted  persons  con- 
firmed m  the  mind  of  the  czarevitch  the 
lessons   of  his   ignorant   and   superstitious 
mother,    who   had    taught    him    that    the 
changes  the  czar  effected  in  the  government 
and  manners  of  the  people,  were  acts  off"en- 
sive  to  God.     The  obstinate  mental  blind- 
ness  of  Eudoxia  induced  Peter  to  repudiate 
her ;  an  act  which  he  followed  by  taking  a 
mistress  to  his  bed.     The  czarina's  desire 
for  revenge  was  greater  than  the  piety  of 
which  she  made  so  much  parade,  and  she 
chose  a  lover  to  supply  the  place  of  a  dis- 
gusted husband.     The  czar  discovered  her 
misconduct,  and,  with  his  customary  seve- 
nty, caused  her  paramour  to  be  im'paled; 
after  which  he  solemnly  divorced  his  dis- 
honoured wife,  and  condemned  her  to  pass 
her  life  in  the  cloisters. 


VOL.  I. 


2a 


Peter's   active   life   prevented   him   from 
paying  much  personal  attention  to  his  son ; 
but  he  caused  able  foreign  preceptors  to  be 
placed  about  him.       So  intense  were   the 
prejudices  which  had  been  instilled  into  the 
mind  of  the  young  prince,   that  he  hated 
these   persons   merely   because   they   were 
foreigners.     Yet,  though   weak-minded,  he 
was  not  without  capacity,  and  seems  to  have 
profited  to  some  extent   by  the  tuition  he 
received  from  them.     He  wrote  and  spoke 
German  readily,  and  had  made  some  pro- 
gress   m   mathematics.      Though   removed 
from   the  influence  of  his  mother,   it  yet 
hung  about  him,  and  exerted  a  power  over 
him ;  and  the  ecclesiastical  books  which  the 
priests  put  in  his  hands  were  his  ruin.     He 
placed  an  implicit  confidence  in  these  works, 
the    composition   of   narrow-minded  men; 
and  fancied  that  he  read  in  their  pages  so 
many  execrations  of  the  labours  in  which 
his  father   was   engaged.      Indeed,  priests 
were   the  frequent   companions   of  Alexis, 
and  they  acquired  an  absolute  ascendancy 
over  him.      They  persuaded  him  that  the 
whole  nation  abhorred  his  father's  innova- 
tions ;  that  from  the  fits  to  which  the  czar 
was  subject,  it  might  be  concluded  that  he 
would  not  live  long ;  and  that  the  way  to 
conciliate  the  aff'ections  of  the  people  was 

177 


5,.  '•#  1 


REtROSrECT.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1707—1717. 


( 


.! 


ii 


;  I 


to  show  an  aversion  to  novelties.  Alexis 
listened  with  satisfaction  to  these  insidious 
suggestions;  and  by  so  doing,  became  a 
passive  conspirator  against  his  father. 

The  marriage  of  the  czar  with  Catherine 
in  1707,  and  the  fertility  of  that  marriage, 
still  further  irritated  the  mind  of  the  prince, 
and  he  gave  himself  up  to  habits  of  drunkeh- 
uess  and  dissipation.  His  marria«;e,  in  1711 , 
with  the  Princess  of  Wolfenbuttle,  failed  to 
exercise  any  reforming  influence.  The  un- 
fortunate lady,  ill-treated  by  her  husband, 
destitute  of  all  comfort,  and  even  of  those 
things  which  to  the  high-born  are  regarded 
as  necessaries  of  existence,  lingered  in 
suffering  until  the  November  of  1715.  She 
left  a  son,  who  afterwards  ascended  the 
throne  which  his  father  forfeited  by  his 
offences. 

The  czar  appears  to  have  been  touched 
by  the  death  of  his  daughter-in-law ;    and 
he  beheld  with  great  grief  the  unaltered 
mind  and  temper  of  his  son.     What  course 
would  he  pursue  when,  in  the  natural  suc- 
cession of  events,  he  ascended  the  throne? 
Peter  resolved  that  he  would  not  permit  a 
graceless  boy  to  overthrow  the  labours  of 
his  life.     After  the  death  of  the  princess, 
the  czar  addressed   a  letter  to  Alexis,  in 
which,  after  reviewing  the  charges  brought 
against   him,   and    censuring   the    ruinous 
course  he  was  following,  thus  concluded : — 
"  I  will  still  wait  a  while  to  see  if  you  will 
amend.     If  not,  know  that  I  will  deprive 
you  of  the  succession  as  a  useless  limb  is 
cut  off.     Do  not  imagine  I  am  only  fright- 
ening you,  nor  would  I  have  you  to  rely  on 
the  title  of  being  my  eldest  son ;  for  since  I 
do  not  spare  my  own  life  for  the  good  of  my 
country  and  the  prosperity  of  my  people, 
why  should  I  spare  yours  ?     I  would  prefer 
to  transmit  the  crown  to  an  entire  stranger 
who  merited  it,  than  to  my  own  son  who 
had  proved  himself  unworthy  of  the  trust." 
This  menacing  letter,  in  which  the  father 
yet  mingled  with   the  statesman  and   the 
judge,   elicited  from   Alexis    only   a    brief 
reply,  and  that  of  so  strange  and  submis- 
sive a  kind,  as  to  create  an  instant  doubt  of 
the  sincerity  of  the  writer.     "  God  is  my 
witness,^'   said  the  prince;    "and  I   swear 
upon  my  soul,  that  I  will  never  claim  the 
succession.      I   commit   my  children*  into 
your   hands;    and   for   myself,    I    ask    for 
nothing   more    than   a   subsistence   during 
my  life." 

•  Alexis  had  but  one  son  by  the  Princess  of  Wol- 
fenbuttle J  but  he  had  also  illegitimate  children. 

178 


The  czar  doubted  the  good  faith  of  his 
son,   and  suspected  dissimulation ;    he  was 
also  deeply  pained  that  he  could  not  gain 
the    confidence    and    co-operation    of    his 
natural  successor.  He  wrote  again  to  Alexis 
a   letter,   in   which    pathos,    entreaty,    and 
threats  were  combined.     "I  observe,"   he 
said,  "  that  all  you  speak  of  in  your  letter 
is  the   succession,  as  if  I  stood  in  need  of 
your  consent.      I  represented  to  you   the 
grief  your  behaviour  has  given  me  for  so 
many  years,  and  you  do  not  speak  of  it. 
The  exhortations  of  a  father  make  no  im- 
pression on  you.     I  have  brought  myself  to 
write  to  you  once  more ;    but  for  the  last 
time.     If   you   despise  my  counsels  while 
I  am  living,  what  regard  will  you  pay  to 
them  after  my  death  ?     Though  you  may  at 
present  intend  to  keep  your  promises,  yet 
those  bushy  beards    {i.e.,   priests)    will    be 
able  to  wind  you  as  they  please,  and  induce 
you  to  break   your   word.      It   is   you  on 
whom   these   people   rely.      You  have    no 
gratitude  to  him  who  gave  you  life.     Since 
you   have   been    of    proper   age,    did    you 
ever  assist  him  in  his  labours  ?     Do  you  not 
blame,  do  you  not  detest  everything  I  do 
for  the  good  of  my  people  ?     I  have  all  the 
reason  in  the  world  to  believe,  that  if  you 
survive  me,  you  will  destroy  all  that  I  have 
done.      Amend;    make  yourself  worthy  of 
the  succession,  or  become  a  monk.     Let  me 
have  your  answer,  either  in  writing  or  per- 
sonally, or  I  will  deal  with  you  as  with  a 
malefactor." 

Alexis  might  easily  have  conciliated  his 
father  by  a  promise,  made  in  evident  sin- 
cerity, that  he  would  change  his  conduct 
and  dismiss  his  evil  advisers.     This  he  was 
unwilling  to  do ;  and  his  obstinacy  must  have 
confirmed  the  suspicions  of  the  czar,  that 
his  son  only  waited  for  his  death  in  order  to 
commence  the  destruction  of  the  cherished 
labours  of  his  life.    Alexis  pretended  illness, 
and  wrote  a  short,  cold  letter  to  his  father, 
merely  stating  that  he  intended  to  embrace 
the  monkish  life,  and  desiring  the  consent 
of  the  czar  to  that  effect.     Such  a  decision 
did  not  appear  natural  in  a  young  man , 
and  must  have  been  regarded  by  the  acute 
Peter  as  an  evasion.     Still  the  disquieted 
father  visited  his  son  prior  to  setting  out  on 
his  travels  to   Germany   and  France;    and 
gave   him   six   months  to  reflect  upon  his 
future  conduct,  and  to  abandon  his  monastic 
intentions,  if  he  desired  to  fit  himself  to  be- 
come an  emperor.     Yet  the  very  day  that 
the  czar  left  the  capital,  Alexis  rose  from 


A.D.  1717.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


the  bed  to  which  he  pretended  that  illness 
had  confined  him,  and,  in  a  riotous  banquet, 
celebrated  with  his  evil  advisers  the  depar- 
ture of  his  father ! 

During  the  absence  of  the  czar,  Alexis 
never  wrote  a  line  to  him— a  circumstance 
which  caused  him  both  disappointment  and 
irritation.     At  Copenhagen  Peter  received 
information    that   his    unworthy    son    only 
admitted  into  his  presence  such  evil-minded 
persons   as   humoured    his   prejudices   and 
fostered     his     discontent.     The     outraged 
father   forthwith   wrote   to   his    ungrateful 
son,  that  he  must  at  once  choose  the  cloister 
or  the  throne;  but  that  if  he  valued  the 
latter,  to  meet  him  at  Copenhagen.     The 
czarevitch  wrote  that  he  would  come ;   but 
his   priestly  counsellors   suggested  to  him 
that  It  might  be  dangerous  to  put  himself 
into  the  hands  of  a  provoked  and  vindictive 
father.    Acting  upon  this  sinister  advice  lie 
resolved  on  a  step  of  the  most  suspicious 
and   fatal  kind.     Drawing   a   considerable 
sum  of  money  from  Prince  Mentschikoff 
under  the  pretext  of  paying  the  expenses  of 
Ills  journey  to  his  father,  he  departed ;  but 
on  reaching  the  borders  of  Livonia,  took 
the  road  to  Vienna,  and  threw  himself  on 
the  protection  of  the  emperor,  Charles  VI 
at  whose  court  he  trusted  to  remain  until 
the  death  of  the  czar. 

The   enaperor   was   displeased   at  a  step 
which  if  he  countenanced,  would  place  him 
ma  false  position  with  respect  to  a  powerful 
neighbour.     He  would  not  keep  Alexis  at 
ins  court;  and,  as  he  could  not  deny  him 
the  shelter  he  sought,  sent  him  to  a  fortress 
m  the  Tyrol,  from  which  AlexisVent,  under 
a  feigned  name,  to  the  castle  of  St.  Elmo  at 
Naples.     The  czar  traced  the  fugitive,  and 
sent   M.    Tolstoi,    a   privy   councillor,    and 
Komanzoff,  a  captain  of  the  guards,  to  him 
with  a  letter.     This  communication,  dated 
from    Spa,    July    10th,    1717,   ran   as   fol- 
lows :— "  I  now  write  to  you,  and  for  the 
last  time,  to  let  you  know  that  you  had  best 
comply  with   my  will,    which   Tolstoi   and 
Komanzoff  will   make   known  to  you      If 
you  obey  me,  I  assure  you,  and  I  promise 
before  God,  that  I  will  not  punish  you ;  so 
far  from  it,  that  if  you  return,  I  will  love 
you  better  than  ever.     But  if  you  do  not 
by  virtue  of  the  power  I  have  received  from 
trod,  as  your  father,  I  pronounce  against 
you  my  eternal  curse;   and  as  your  sove- 
reign    I  assure  you,  I  shall  find  ways  to 
punish  you ;  in  which  I  hope,  as  my  cause 
w  just,  God  will  take  it  in  hand,  and  assist 


[misconduct  of  ALEXIS. 


me  m  revenging  it.  Remember  further, 
that  1  never  used  compulsion  with  you 
Was  I  under  any  obligation  to  leave  you  to 
your  own  option?  Had  I  been  for  forcin- 
you,  was  not  the  power  in  my  hand  ^  It 
was  but  to  speak  the  word,  and  I  should 
have  been  obeyed."  Alexis  was  induced  to 
return,  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  his 
tather--a  circumstance  to  which  it  seems  he 
was  led  by  the  persuasions  of  his  mistress, 
Aphrosma,  who  had  been  bribed  by  Tolstoi 
to  exert  her  influence  over  him  to  that 
eiiect. 

Alexis  reached  Moscow  on  the  13th  of 
February,  1718,  and  the   very  day  of  his 
arrival  he  went  and  paid  his  respects  to  his 
father    and   had   a  long  private  interview 
with   him.      The   citizens   believed   that  a 
reconciliation  had  taken  place  between  the 
father  and  the  son,  and  that  everything  was 
forgotten.     But    the    next    morning    they 
were  startled  by  the  deep  notes  of  the  great 
bell  of  Moscow,  which  tolled  solemnly;  and 
by  seeing  the  regiments  of  guards  under 
arms.     The  members  of  the  senate,  and  the 
nobles  of  the  highest  rank,  were  summoned 
to   meet   the  czar  at  the  castle ;    and  the 
bishops,  archimandrites,  and  professors  of 
divinity,  met  in  the  cathedral.     When  these 
solemn  preliminaries  were  over,  Alexis  was 
brought  before  his  father,  deprived  of  his 
sword,  and   a  prisoner!     In  this   circnm- 
stance  the  czar  appears  to  have  been  guilty 
of  a  breach  of  faith,  as  he  had  promised  to 
pardon   his   son   if   the    latter  would   but 
return   and    submit    himself.     Alexis    had 
returned,   and    instead    of   procuring    the 
pardon    and    tenderness   which    had    been 
promised,    found     himself    under     arrest. 
This   event   has    created   a   strong  feeling 
against   the   czar   in    the   minds   of  many 
historic    writers,    who     have     done     their 
utmost  to  blacken  his  character,  as  though 
he  was  the  offender  in   this   painful  case. 
Up  to  this  point  he  had  exhibited  more  for- 
bearance  than   could    have   been   expected 
from  a  man  of  his  impulsive   and  violent 
nature,  and  he  deserves  rather  the  compas- 
sion, than  the  censure  of  the  world.     It  was 
no  small  crime  to  set  at  nought  a  father's 
love — to  practise  year  after  year  upon  his 
heart— to  exhibit  the  blackest  ingratitude— 
and   to   torture   such  a  monarch  with  the 
fear  that  all  his  labours  for  the  advancement 
of  a  great  empire  would  be  trampled  into 
the  dust  by  a  bigoted  and  triumphant  sue- 
cessor,   who   would   openly   rejoice   over  a 
parent's  grave  amid    the  acclamations  of 

179 


J 
t 


I  •  f 


PROCEEDINGS  AGAINST  ALEXIS.]       HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1718. 


!>• 


servile  and  ignorant  priests  and  low  disso- 
lute fellows,  who  would  delight  in  rending 
to  pieces  that  growing  civilisation  which 
their  base  natures  could  not  comprehend. 
Certainly,  in  causing  the  arrest  of  his  son, 
the  tortured  father  broke  his  word;  but  it 
is  difficult  to  censure  this  inconsistency  in 
the  conduct  of  a  distracted  monarch. 

Alexis,  on  being  brought  as  a  prisoner 
into  the  presence  of  his  father,  threw  him- 
self at  his  feet,  and  with  a  flood  of  tears 
presented  to  him  a  paper,  in  which  he  ac- 
knowledged his  off'ences,  declared  himself 
unworthy  of  the  succession,  and  only  soli- 
cited his  life.  The  czar  raised  the  ingrate, 
and  taking  him  into  an  adjoining  cabinet, 
questioned  him  as  to  his  advisers,  or  rather 
his  accomplices,  in  what  he  regarded  as 
an  incomplete  and  baffled  conspiracy,  de- 
claring that  if  he  concealed  anything  re- 
lating to  his  escape,  his  head  should  answer 
for  it. 

Peter  then  returned  with  his  son  into  the 
council-chamber,  where  the  czar  read  a  public 
declaration,  in  which  he  reproached  the 
prince  with  his  indolence  and  his  dissolute 
habits ;  for  his  intimacy  with  those  who  ad- 
vocated ancient  abuses;  for  his  bad  conduct 
to  his  wife,  and  his  violation  of  conjugal 
faith,  by  forming  a  connection  during  her 
lifetime  with  a  woman  of  low  birth ;  and  for 
going  to  Vienna,  and  placing  himself  under 
the  protection  of  the  emperor,  by  which  he 
had  slandered  his  father,  declaring  that  his 
life  was  not  safe  in  Russia  unless  he  re- 
nounced the  succession,  and  even  going  so 
far  as  to  desire  the  emperor  openly  to  defend 
him  by  force  of  arms. 

After  these  charges  the  czar  proceeded  to 
pass  the  following  sentence  of  deposition 
against  the  offender : — "  Such  was  the 
manner  in  which  our  son  returned ;  and 
though  his  flight  and  his  calumnies  de- 
served death,  those  crimes  our  fatherly 
affection  forgives.  But  his  notorious  un- 
worthiness  and  immorality  will  not  allow 
us,  in  conscience,  to  leave  him  the  succes- 
sion to  the  empire ;  it  being  too  manifest  that 
his  conduct  would  subvert  the  glory  of  the 
nation,  and  occasion  the  loss  of  all  the 
provinces  recovered  by  our  arms.  Our 
subjects  would  be  extremely  to  be  pitied; 
since,  leaving  them  under  such  a  successor, 
would  be  plunging  them  into  a  condition 
much  worse  than  any  that  they  have  ever 
experienced.  Accordingly,  by  our  paternal 
power,  in  virtue  of  which,  according  to  the 
laws  of  our  empire,  every  private  subject  of 
180 


ours  can  at  pleasure  disinherit  a  son,  and 
pursuant  to  our  prerogative  as  sovereign, 
and  in  regard  to  the  welfare  of  our  do- 
minions, we  for  ever  deprive  our  said  son, 
Alexis,  of  succeeding  after  us  to  the  throne 
of  Russia,  on  account  of  his  crimes  and 
unwortliiness ;  even  though  not  a  single 
person  of  our  family  should  exist  at  the 
time  of  our  decease.  And  we  constitute, 
appoint,  and  declare,  in  the  want  of  a  m or 
aged  successor,  our  second  son,  Peter,* 
young  as  he  is,  successor  to  the  said  throne 
after  us.  Accursed  be  our  son  Alexis,  if 
ever,  at  any  time,  he  shall  claim  the  said 
succession,  or  go  about  to  procure  it.  We 
also  require  our  faithful  subjects  that,  pur- 
suant to  this  appointment  and  our  will, 
they  acknowledge  and  consider  our  said 
son  Peter  as  our  lawful  successor,  and  that 
they  confirm  the  same  by  oath  at  the  altar 
on  the  holy  gospels,  and  kissing  the  cross. 
And  all  those  who  shall,  at  any  time  what- 
ever, oppose  this  our  will,  and  dare  to  con- 
sider our  son  Alexis  as  successor,  or  assist 
him  to  that  end,  we  declare  traitors  to  us 
and  to  their  country  ;  and  we  have  ordered 
these  presents  to  be  everywhere  published, 
that  no  person  may  plead  ignorance." 

After  this  document  had  been  read,  the 
prince  signed  an  act  of  renunciation,  in 
which  he  acknowledged  his  exclusion  to  be 
just,  on  account  of  his  unworthiness,  and 
took  an  oath  to  submit  himself  in  everv 
particular  to  his  father's  will.  The  czar 
then  proceeded  to  the  cathedral,  where 
these  documents  were  read  to  the  assembled 
ecclesiastics,  who  testified  their  approbation 
by  affixing  their  signatures  to  copies  of 
them.  An  oath  recognising  the  renuncia- 
tion and  order  of  succession,  was  afterwards 
administered  to  the  army  and  navy,  and  to 
every  subject  of  the  czar. 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  dis- 
graced and  disinherited  Alexis  was  now  set 
at  liberty ;  but  such  was  not  the  case.  The 
czar  had  solemnly  called  God  to  witness, 
that  if  his  son  would  return  to  Moscow,  he 
would  not  only  pardon  him,  but  even  love 
him  better  than  ever.  The  extorted  renun- 
ciation might  be  justified  on  the  ground  of 
political  expediency ;  but  by  his  submission 
in  this  respect,  Alexis  had  purchased  his 
pardon  and  his  freedom.  These  were  his 
right,  as  he  had  not  committed  any  new 
offence  to  justify  the  revocation  of  his 
father's  promise  of  mercy.     Yet,  instead  of 

•  Son  of  the  empress  Catherine;  but  who  died 
15th  April,  1719. 


A.D.  1718.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [examixatiox  of  alexis. 


obtaining  his  freedom,  he  was  led  away  into 
close  confinement,  where  no  one  but  the 
agents  of  the  czar  were  permitted  to  ap- 
proach him.     In  this  condition  the  dejected 
Alexis    underwent    a   second    examination, 
first   by  his  father,  and   secondly  by  com- 
missioners.    Peter  felt  that  he  had  no  ordi- 
nary  difficulty  to  deal  with;  and  he  feared 
that  Alexis,  if  set   at   liberty,  might  again 
become  the  tool  of  the  factious  party  which 
had  already  poisoned  his  mind  against  the 
improvements  of  his  father.     Thus,  in  the 
event  of  the  czar's  death,  the  prince  would 
probably  be  induced  to  revoke  his  renun- 
ciation   of  the    crown,    and   a   servile   war 
might  ensue,  in  which  the  recent  reforms 
might    be  overthrown.      Again   Peter    felt 
the  necessity  of  crushing  the  disaffection  of 
which  the  weak  prince  was  the  instrument 
and  the  centre,  by  ascertaining  the  names 
of  his  ill-advisers,  and   punishing  them  as 
conspirators,    if    their    offence    could    be 
brought  under  such  a  term.     The  old  party 
yet  possessed  a  power  in  the  state,  and  the 
czar  resolved  to  administer  such  a  correc- 
tion  as  should    strike    its    adherents  with 
a  salutary  terror. 

To  obtain  the  necessary  information  for 
this  proceeding,  the  czar  had  placed  his 
son  m  confinement,  and  subjected  him  to  a 
constant  inquisition,  under  a  threat  that  he 
should  be  punished  with  death  if  he  con- 
cealed or  misstated  any  facts  that  were 
known  to  him.  The  mind  of  the  miserable 
prince  was  still  further  weakened  by  the 
influence  of  terror,  and  he  seems  to  have 
attempted  to  save  his  life  by  making  such 
confessions  as  he  thought  were  desired. 

One    subject   on   which    the   prince*  was 
questioned,  was  concerning  a  letter  written 
from  St.  Petersburg,  after  the  flight  of  the 
pnnce  Alexis,  by  M.  Beyer,  the  emperor's 
resident  there.     The  substance  of  it  was, 
that  a  mutiny  was  in  progress  in  the  Rus' 
sian    army  in  Mecklenburg,  and  that  the 
officers  talked  of  sending  Catherine  and  her 
infant    son   to   the   prison  where    the   re- 
pudiated    czarina    was    confined,    and    of 
placing   Alexis   upon   his   father's    throne. 
There  had  been  a  sedition  in  the  Russian 
troops  alluded  to,  and  though  speedily  sup- 
pressed, it  gave  an  air  of  probability  to  the 
design  spoken  of  in  the  letter.     Yet,  if  this 
design   existed,  the  prince   was  not  impli- 
cated  in  it,  nor  was  the  letter  addressed  to 
nim ;  he  had  only  received  a  copy  of  it,  sent 
irom  Vienna.     Still  the  czar  put  this  ques- 
tion  to  the  prince—"  When  you   saw,  bv 


Beyer's  letter,  that  there  was  a  revolt  in 
the  Mecklenburg  army,  you  was  glad  of  it. 
I  apprehend  you  had  some  view,  and  tha*- 
you  would  have  declared  for  the  rebels  eveu 
in  my  lifetime?"     This  was  interrogating 
the   prince   as    to   his    secret    sentiments, 
which,  if  they  may  be  owned  to  a  father 
who,  by  his  counsels,  would  rectify  them, 
may  be  concealed  from  a  judge,  who  is  to 
determine  only  from  attested  facts.     The 
hidden   sentiments   of    the    heart   are   not 
within  the  cognizance  of  a  court  of  judica- 
ture.    Alexis  might  have  concealed  or  dis- 
owned   his   thoughts;    but,  with  an  inex- 
plicable infatuation,  he  answered  in  writing, 
"  Had  the  rebels  invited  me  in  your  life- 
time, I  should  probably  have  joined  them, 
had  they  been  strong  enough." 

By  this  strange  and   most   unnecessary 
confession,   elicited   by  a  mode  adverse  to 
the  judicial    proceedings  of  the  most  en- 
lightened countries  of  Europe,  Alexis  fur- 
nished the  ground  of  a  charge  of  treason 
against   him.     But  other  evidence  existed, 
of  a  kind  calculated  to  criminate  the  now 
bewildered  prince.     The  rough  draught  of 
a  letter,  written  by  him  from  Vienna  to  the 
senators  and  archbishops  of  Russia,  was  dis- 
covered amongst  his  papers.     It  contained 
this  passage— "The  continual  injuries  which 
I  have  undeservedly  suffered,  have  obliged 
me  to  quit  my  country.     It  was  very  nar- 
rowly  I  escaped  being  shut  up  in  a  convent; 
they  who    have  confined  my  mother  were 
about  using  me  in  the  same  manner.     I  am 
under  the  protection  of  a  great  prince,  until 
it   please  God   that  I  may  return   to   my 
country.     It  is  my  desire  you  will  not  for- 
sake   me    at    present."      The    concluding 
words,  at  present,  which  might  be  supposed 
to   cover    some    treasonable   project,    were 
drawn  through  with  a  pen— afterwards  re- 
stored—then again  crossed  out ;  which  suffi- 
ciently showed  the  writer  to  be  in  a  state 
of  perturbation;  giving  himself  up  to  his 
resentment  one  minute,  and   repenting  of 
it  the  next.     Moreover,    this   letter   never 
reached   its   destination,   as   it   was    inter- 
cepted by  the  court  of  Vienna,  which  had 
no  intention  of  embroiling  itself  in  a  dis- 
pute with  that  of  Russia. 

Several  witnesses  were  brought  forward 
whose  depositions  proved  the  sullen  oppo- 
sition and  the  hostile  mind  which  Alexis 
entertained  towards  his  father;  but  thev 
proved  nothing  of  a  more  criminal  nature. 
A  man  named  Afanassief  maintained  that, 
on  one  occasion,  he  heard  the  prince  de- 

181 


"i 


'•,..r.  .":uug;;:V--»'~'----'-  • 


SEVERITY  OF  THE  CZAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1718. 


A.D.  1718.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[trial  of  ALEXIS. 


li    ' 


I 


i"l 


a;     I 


I 


clare — "  I  will  say  something  to  the  bishops, 
and  they  will  repeat  it  to  the  priests,  and 
the  priests  will  tell  it  to  their  parishioners, 
and  I  shall  be  placed  upon  the  throne,  even 
though  it  were  against  my  will."  His  own 
mistress,  Aphrosina,  gave  evidence  of  a 
similar  kind.  But,  observes  Voltaire,  "  none 
of  the  accusations  were  very  precise.  In- 
stead of  a  digested  plan,  a  connected  in- 
trigue, a  conspiracy,  or  an  association,  and 
still  less  any  preparatives,  here  was  only  a 
discontented,  unruly  son,  complaining  of  his 
father,  flying  from  his  presence,  and  even 
wishing  for  his  death.  But  this  son  was 
heir  to  the  greatest  monarchy  of  our  hemis- 
phere ;  and,  in  liis  situation,  no  fault  was 
small." 

The  mother  of  Alexis,  and  his  sister,  the 
Princess   Mary,    were   implicated   in   these 
proceedings.     The  prince  was  charged  with 
consulting  them  respecting  his  flight ;  and 
the  Bishop  of  Rostof,  who  was  in  the  con- 
fidence of  all  three,  on  being  arrested,  de- 
posed that  the    imprisoned  princesses   had 
expressed  some  hopes  of   a  change  which 
would  set  them  at  liberty ;  and  that  it  was 
by  their  advice  that   the   prince  fled   into 
Germany,  instead  of   joining  his  father  at 
Copenhagen.    It  must  be  admitted,  that  the 
examination  was   conducted  in  an  inquisi- 
torial and  merciless  manner.      Everything 
was   collected  that    could   in   any  way  tell 
against  the  prince,  and  assist  in  composing 
a   charge   of    constructive   treason   against 
him.     Thus,  a  priest,  named  Jacques,  was 
seized  and  put  to  the  torture,  with  the  ob- 
ject of  wringing  from  him  any  secrets  which 
the  prince  might  have  poured  into  his  ear 
during  the  solemn  confidence  of  the  con- 
fessional.    Under  these  circumstances,  the 
priest  acknowledged  that  Alexis  had  accused 
himself  before   God   of  having   wished    his 
father's  death,  to  which  he  (the  confessor) 
liad  responded,  "  God  will  forgive  you;  it  is 
no   more   than   what   we   all    wish."      The 
spectacle  of  a  confessor  accusing  his  peni- 
tent was  a  strange  one.     All  proofs  derived 
from  auricular  confessions  are,  by  the  canons 
of  the  church,  not  to  be  received  in  a  court 
of  justice.    Such  statements  are  regarded  as 
secrets  between  God  and  the  penitent ;  this 
rule  and  belief  holds  equally  in  the  Greek 
and    Roman    churches.      But   Peter   con- 
sidered that  the  welfare  of  the  empire  was 
concerned,  and  he  conducted  his  inquiries 
rather  in  the  temper  of  a  wronged  and  un- 
forgiving parent,   than  with   the    dignified 
calmness  and  rigid  impartiality  of  a  judge. 
182 


The  czar  appears  to  have  thought  that 
sufficient  was  proved  against  the  prince,  not 
only  to  justify  the  reversal  of  the  promise  of 
pardon  extended  to  him,  but  even  to  make 
it  expedient  to  place  him  on  his  trial.  But 
first,  Peter  wreaked  his  vengeance  on 
the  misleaders  of  his  wretched  son.  Two 
bishops,  two  nobles,  and  fifty  priests  were 
put  to  death,  and  their  heads  exhibited  in  a 
ghastly  circle  around  the  scaff'old.  During 
this  period,  the  public  excitement  was 
greatly  increased  by  Moscow  being  declared 
in  a  state  of  siege,  and  no  citizen  permitted 
to  leave  it  under  pain  of  death. 

When  Peter  had  made  a  terrible  example 
of  the  bigots  whose  influence  had  corrupted 
and   ruined   his   son,   he   took  the  captive 
prince  to  St.  Petersburg,  where,  four  months 
afterwards,  he   was   subjected  to  fresh    ex- 
aminations.    At  Moscow  he  had  been  ques- 
tioned as  to  what  communications  had  passed 
between  him  and  the  emperor  at  Vienna. 
That  potentate  had  not  admitted  the  prince 
to  his  presence ;  but  the  latter  had  applied 
to   Count    Schonbron,  a  lord   of  the  bed- 
chamber, who  said,  "  The  emperor  will  not 
forsake  you  ;  and  that,  at  the  proper  season, 
after  your  father's  death,  he  will  assist  you 
with  an  armed  force  to  ascend  the  throne." 
"  My  answer  was,"  added  the  prince,  "  that 
is  not  what  I  ask.     All  I  desire  is,  that  the 
emperor  will  be  pleased  to  grant   me   his 
protection."     On  the  resumption  of  the  in- 
terrogations  at   St.   Petersburg,   this  point 
was  revived,  and  a  rigid  inquiry  instituted 
into  all  particulars  concerning  it.     Whether 
the  prince  had  forgotten  his  former  state- 
ment, or  whether,  in  his  disordered  state  of 
mind,  he  had  gradually  accustomed  himself 
to  believe  in  the  truth  of  assertions  which 
were  constantly  put  before  him  in  the  shape 
of  affirmative  queries,  or  whether  the  answer 
was  merely  extorted  from  his  fears,  cannot 
positively  be  determined.    Certain  it  is,  that 
he  now  made  a  statement,  in  writing,  which 
greatly  diff'ered  from   his  first  simple  and 
highly  probable  explanation.    It  ran  thus  : — 
"  Intending  in  nothing  to  imitate  my  father, 
I  sought  to  obtain  the  succession  by  any 
means  whatever.     I   was  for  having  it  by 
foreign  assistance ;  and  if  I  had  got  my  ends, 
and  the  emperor  had  done  what  he  promised 
me,  to  procure  the  crown  of  Russia,  even  by 
open  force,  I  would  have  spared  nothing  to 
have  secured  mvself  in  the  succession.     For 
instance,    had   the   emperor   asked   me,  in 
return,  some   of  my  country's   troops   for 
service  against  any  of  his  enemies,  or  large 


sums  of  money,  I  would  have  willingly  done 
everything  he  wished,  even  to  the  giving 
great  presents  to  his  ministers  and  generals. 
I  would,  at  ray  own  expense,  have  main- 
tained the  auxiliary  troops  with  which  he 
would  have  supplied  me,  to  put  me  in  pos- 
session of  the  crown  of  Russia;  and,  in 
short,  I  would  have  refrained  from  nothing 
to  have  accomplished  my  object." 

This  deposition  has  every  appearance  of 
having  been  extorted   from  the  prince  by 
threats,   or   drawn  from    him   by  hopes  of 
pardon.  >  It  has  also  an  air  of  falsehood ; 
for  it  directly  contradicts  the  former  state- 
ment on  the  same  subject,   made   by  the 
prince  at  Moscow.     This  discrepancy  seems 
to  have  been  fatal  to  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
tracted Alexis.     The  czar  had  commanded 
him  to  make  a  full  confession  of  the  names 
of  all   the   accomplices   of  his  elopement; 
and,  from  this  statement,  it  was  certain  the 
prince  had  been  guilty  of  prevarication,  if 
not   of    concealment.      It    would,   indeed, 
have  been  no  more  than  honourable  to  sup- 
press the  names  of  those  persons  who  were 
in  his  confidence ;  for  to  disclose  them,  was 
but   to   send   these   unhappy   men   to   the 
scaff'old;  yet  it  was  none  the  less  a  disobe- 
dience to  the  commands  of  the  czar,  and  a 
crime  in  the  sight  of  that  inflexible  parent. 
Peter  resolved  to  punish  his  son  for  these 
suppressions;  to  bring  him  before  a  solemn 
tribunal,  composed  of  the  great  officers  of 
state,  the  judges,  and  the  bishops  ;  to  charge 
him  with  high  treason,  and  to  leave  the  de- 
cision of  the  case  in  their  hands. 

It  is  not  easy  to  sanction  this  severe  and 
painful  resolve.  The  conduct  of  the  czar 
has  found  many  to  condemn,  and  but  few 
to  apologise  for  it.  Though  we  must  disap- 
prove of  Peter's  proceedings,  we  cannot  join 
in  the  vehemence  of  invective  that  has  been 


•  Bell,  in  his  critical  and  reflective  work  on  Russia, 
has  the  following  remarks  on  these  opinions  of  the 
great  French  writer :— «  It  would  hardly  lead  to  any 
profitable  conclusion  to  discuss  the  subtle  doctrine 
which  a  modern  historian  has  laid  down  in  reference 
to  this  extraordinary  trial.  If  the  question  really 
lay  between  the  life  of  one  individual  and  the  safety 
of  an  empire,  political  expediency  would  pronounce 
a  sentence  that  would  be  irreconcilable  with  Chris- 
tian equity  This  is  the  only  ground  upon  which 
the  conduct  of  Peter  will  admit  of  justification— if, 
indeed,  there  be  any  justification  for  making  a  state 
necessity  paramount  to  domestic  obligations,  and 
those  immutable  principles  of  justice  which  regulate 
the  punishment  by  the  measure  of  the  offence.  But 
we  must  not  venture  to  judge  of  the  actions  of  this 
monarch  by  a  reference  either  to  the  laws  of  any 
other  nation,  or  to  any  abstract  code  of  right  and 
wrong.     He  was  the  apostle  of  a  mighty  reformation.  I 


used  against  him.    Voltaire  has  placed  both 
aspects  of  the  case  in  what  we  regard  as  a 
tolerably  impartial  light ;  and  we  cannot  do 
better  than  quote  his  sentiments  upon  it. 
He  observes— '' In   this   last  interrogation 
Alexis  says  what  he  believes  he  should  have 
done  in  case  of  a  contest  for  his  inheritance; 
an  inheritance  which  he  had  not  judicially 
renounced  before  his  journey  to  Vienna  and 
Naples.     Now    we    see    him    deposing    a 
second   time,  not  what  he  has  done,  and 
what  may  be  made  obnoxious  to  the  rigour 
of  the  law,  but  what  he  fancies  he  might 
one  day  have  done ;  which  of  course  comes 
not  within  the  cognizance  of  any  court  ot 
justice.    We  see  him  accusing  himself  twice 
of  secret  thoughts  which  he  might  have  had 
hereafter.     The  whole  world  does  not  aflford 
a  single  instance  of  a  man  tried  and  con- 
demned for  transitory  ideas  starting  up  in 
his  mind,  and  never  communicated  to  any- 
one living.     There  is  not  a  court  of  justice 
in  Europe,  where  a  man  accusing  himself  of 
a  criminal  thought,  would  be  minded ;  and 
it  is  said  that  God  himself  does  not  punish 
them,   unless    accompanied   with   a   deter- 
mination of  the  will.     To  these  considera- 
tions, however  natural,  it  may  be  answered 
that  Alexis,  by  his  concealing' several  of  the 
accomplices  of  his  elopement,  had  given  his 
father  a  right  to  punish  him.     His  pardon 
was  annexed  to  a  general  confession;  and 
this  he  did  not  make  till  it  was  too  late. 
In  fine,  after  such  a  procedure,  it  did  not 
seem  possible,  according  to  human  nature, 
that  Alexis  would  ever  pardon  a  brother  for 
whose  sake  he  had  been  disinherited;  and 
it  was  said — '  Better  a  delinqnent  be  punished, 
than    a    whole    empire    endangered.'     The 
rigour  of  justice   also    corresponded   with 
reasons  of  state.^^* 

The    tribunal    summoned   by  the   stern 

He  stood  alone  against  the  prejudices,  the  ancient 
customs,  and  the  superstitions  of  his  subjects.  Had 
he  observed  a  strict  system  of  morals  in  legislation, 
and  in  his  heroic  resistance  to  the  popular  will ;  or, 
rather,  had  he  not  constantly  sacrificed  minor  con- 
siderations of  that  nature  in  his  efforts  to  accomplish 
the  great  objects  to  which  he  dedicated  his  life,  he 
certainly  never  would  have  succeeded  in  reclaiming 
Russia  from  the'  state  of  barbarism  in  which  he 
found  her,  and  linking  her  in  spirit,  in  knowledge, 
and  by  national  treaties,  to  the  states  of  Europe. 
With  reference,  however,  to  the  case  of  the  unfortu- 
nate Prince  Alexis,  the  historian  is  spared  the  pain- 
ful task  of  analysing  the  mere  legal  propriety  of  the 
proceedings  adopted  by  the  czar ;  for,  by  the  law  of 
Russia,  the  sovereign,  in  common  with  all  parents, 
possessed  the  dangerous,  but  incontestable,  right  of 
life  or  death  of  his  son.  Peter,  therefore,  did  not 
infringe  the  law  of  the  country.     He  calmly  availed 

133 


TRIAL  OF  ALEXIS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1718. 


A.D.  1718.] 


1 

t, 

I  i 


father  for  the  trial  of  his  son  for  high 
treason,  met  on  the  24th  of  June,  1718. 
The  court  presented  a  solemn  spectacle. 
The  criminal,  wasted,  haggard,  and  utterly- 
subdued  from  mental  excitement  and  im- 
prisonment, was  so  changed  that  even  his 
friends  scarcely  recognised  in  him  the  once 
wild  and  profligate  czarevitch.  On  the 
other  hand  was  the  accuser,  who,  crushing 
in  his  bosom  the  emotions  of  parental  feel- 
ing, stood  there  to  arraign  his  son.  The 
robust  frame  of  the  czar  stooped  slightly 
from  the  weight  of  yeai's  and  care ;  but  his 
stem  face  and  eagle  eye  were  stamped  with 
the  expression  of  judicial  rigour.  On  the 
faces  of  the  solemn  and  in  part  venerable 
auditory,  sat  looks  of  expectancy,  pain,  and 
pity. 

After  the  preliminary  proceedings  of  the 
court  had  been  passed  over,  the  czar  com- 
menced a  narrative  of  the  offences  of  his  son ; 
and  having  detailed  them,  he  added  that  his 
own  joy  in  the  success  of  his  arms  and 
internal  reforms,  was  overbalanced  by  the 
deep  sorrow  he  experienced  in  consequence 
of  the  profligate  conduct  of  the  prince.  He 
then  continued  in  the  following  strain : — 
"Though  by  all  laws,  human  and  divine, 
and  especially  by  those  of  Russia,  which 
exclude  all  interposition  of  the  civil  power 
between  father  and  son,  even  among  private 
persons,  we  have  a  full  and  sufficient  power 
of  sentencing  our  son  according  to  his 
crimes  and  our  will,  without  consulting  the 
opinions  of  any  persons  whatsoever ;  yet, 
as  men  are  not  so  clear-sighted  in  their 
own  affairs  as  in  those  of  others,  and  as  the 
most  skilful  and  experienced  physicians 
trust  not  to  their  own  judgment  concerning 
themselves ;  so,  fearing  lest  I  should  bring 
some  sin  on  my  conscience,  I  state  my  case 
to  you,  and  require  a  remedy.  For  if,  igno- 
rant of  the  nature  of  my  distemper,  I  should 
go  about  to  cure  it  by  my  own  ability,  the 
consequence  may  be  eternal  death;  seeing 
that  I  have  sworn  on  the  judgments  of  God, 
and  have  in  writing  promised  my  son  his 
pardon,  provided  he  tells  me  the  truth ;  and 
afterwards  confirmed  that  promise  with  my 
mouth.  Though  he  has  broke  his  promise, 
yet,  that  I  may  not  in  anything  depart 
from  my  obligations,  I  desire  you  to  con- 

himself  of  the  fatal  jurisdiction  which  was  reposed 
in  his  hands.  Posterity  will  not  accuse  the  monarch 
of  having  strained  any  legal  principle,  or  of  having 
prevented  any  legal  right,  to  achieve  his  purpose ; 
but  it  will  unhesitatingly  condemn  the  father  for 
having  resorted  to  a  prerogative  which  he  was  not 

184 


sider  this  affair  with  the  greatest  attention, 
to  see  what  he  has  deserved.  Do  not  flatter 
me,  or  fear  that,  should  he  deserve  only  a 
slight  punishment,  and  you  deliver  your 
opinion  accordingly,  you  will  offend  me ; 
for  I  swear  to  you  by  the  great  God,  and  by 
his  judgments,  that  you  have  nothing  at  all 
to  apprehend.  Let  it  not  give  you  uneasi- 
ness that  you  are  to  try  your  sovereign's 
son;  but  do  justice  without  any  respect  of 
persons,  and  destroy  not  both  your  souls 
and  mine.  Lastly,  let  not  our  conscience 
have  anything  to  reproach  us  with  on  the 
terrible  day  of  judgment,  and  let  not  our 
country  be  hurt." 

The  czar  having  delivered  this  address  to 
the  judges,  transmitted  another  to  the 
clergy,  which  concluded  with  these  observa- 
tions : — "  Though  this  case  does  not  come 
within  the  spiritual,  but  rather  the  civil, 
jurisdiction,  and  we  have  this  day  brought 
it  before  the  secular  court;  yet, recollecting 
that  passage  in  the  Word  of  God  which  re- 
quires us  to  consult  the  heads  and  elders  of 
the  church,  that  we  may  be  informed  in  the 
will  of  Heaven,  and  being  anxious  of  re- 
ceiving all  possible  instruction  on  so  impor- 
tant an  occasion,  we  desire  of  you,  the 
bishops  and  the  whole  ecclesiastical  power, 
as  propounders  of  the  Word  of  God,  not  to 
pronounce  any  judgment  in  this  case,  but 
to  examine  it,  and  give  us  your  opinions 
according  to  the  sacred  oracles,  from  which 
we  may  be  best  instructed  as  to  the  punish- 
ment our  son  deserves  ;  which  opinions  you 
will  deliver  to  us  in  writing  under  your 
hands,  so  that,  being  rightly  informed 
therein,  we  may  not  lay  any  burden  upon 
our  conscience.  We  therefore  repose  im- 
plicit confidence  in  you,  that,  as  guardians 
of  the  divine  laws,  as  faithful  pastors  of  the 
Christian  flock,  and  as  promoters  of  your 
country's  good,  you  will  act  with  dignity 
suited  to  your  station ;  and  we  conjure  you, 
by  that  dignity  and  the  holiness  of  the 
functions  you  discharge,  to  proceed  without 
fear  or  dissimulation.'' 

The  clergy  delivered  their  response  to 
this  solemn  appeal  on  the  1st  of  July. 
After  a  preamble,  stating  that  the  case  did 
not  come  within  the  scope  of  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction,   followed    several    texts    from 

enforced  to  employ,  and  which  it  would  have  well 
become  him  to  have  relinquished.  He  was  superior 
to  his  age,  but  of  a  severe  temper,  and  not  always 
magnanimous  in  the  exercise  of  those  powers  with 
which  he  was  invested  by  nature  and  by  his  posi- 
tion." 


'•*l 


Scripture,  having  reference  both  to  the  exe- 
cution of  justice  and  the  beauty  of  mercy. 
They,  however,  drew  particular  attention  to 
the  passage  in  Leviticus,  in  which  it  is  said, 
that  whoever  curseth  his  father  or  mother 
shall  be  put  to  death;    and  to  a  verse  in 
the  gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  which  gives  the 
sanction  of  Christianity  to  this  rigid  Judaical 
law.     After  these  and  similar  citations,  the 
document  concluded  witli  these  remarkable 
words:— "If    his    majesty   is    inclined    to 
punish   the    cTelinquent    according    to    his 
actions  and  the  measure  of  his  guilt,  he  has 
before  him  examples  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.    If  he  be  inclined  to  show  mercy,  he 
has   the  pattern  of  Christ  himself,  kindly 
receiving  the  penitent  prodigal ;  dismissing 
the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  who,  by  the 
law,  was  to  be  stoned;  and  delighting  in 
mercy  more  than  in  sacrifice.     He  has  like- 
Wise  the  example  of  David,  who  was  solici- 
tous  for   the   safety   of  his    son  Absalom, 
although  he  had  rebelled  against  him  ;  who 
recommended   him  to  the  commanders  of 
his  army  when  they  went  forth  to  give  him 
battle,  saying,   'Spare  my  son  Absalom!' 
The  father  was  for    showing  mercy;    but 
divine  justice  did  not  spare  the  offender. 
The  czar's  heart  is  in  the  hands  of  God;  let 
him  choose  that  to  which  God  shall  incline 
him." 

The  merciful  tendency  of  this  answer  has 
drawn  down  considerable  admiration  upon 
the  body  from  whom  it  emanated.     Even 
Voltaire  has  a  sentence  of  generous  com- 
mendation    upon    them    in    consequence. 
Our   judgment,   however,  rather   coincides 
with  that  of  another  writer,  who  arrives  at 
a  very  different  conclusion  with  regard  to 
the  merit  to  be  attributed  to  the  clergy  in 
this   matter.      "If/'   says   he,    "they   had  i' 
been  sincerely  disposed  to  impress  upon  the  ' 
mind  of  the  czar  a  merciful  construction  of! 
the  case,  and  if  they  had  been  sufficiently 
courageous     to     have    tendered     such     an 
opinion  unreservedly,  it  is  quite  clear  that 
their   answer   would    have   been   very   dif- 
ferently prepared,  j  The  fact   seems  to  be 
that  they  were  afraid  of  committing  them- 
selves to  one  side  or  the  other;  and  that 
m  order  to  escape  all  responsibility,  they 
placed    a   sufficient   number   of    examples 
bearing  both  ways,  before  the  czar,  so  that 
whatever   course    his    majesty   mii'ht   ulti- 
mately pursue,  should  be  justified  V  satis- 
factory precedents.     The  reforms  that  Peter 
had  effected  in  the  church  had  already  ren- 
dered   the  clergy  subservient   to   his  will 
VOL.  I.  2  B 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  ^        [condemnation  of  alexis. 


They  felt  that  they  were  no  longer  an  inde- 
pendent body.     Their  arrogance,  which  for- 
merly had  kept  the  throne  in  awe,  was  now 
sunk  into  servility ;  and  it  is  therefore  not 
surprising,  that,  thus  called  upon  to  give  an 
opinion  on  a  question  respectiiig  which  it 
is  scarcely  assuming  too  much  to  say  that 
the  czar's  mind  was  already  made  up,  or 
had,  at   all    events,  exhibitccl   so  strong  a 
feelmg    against   the    prince  as   to   warrant 
them  in  believing  that  he  desired  to  punish 
and  not  to  spare  his  son— it  is  not  surprising 
tnat  they  should   have  submitted   so  equi- 
vocal a  statement  to  his  majestv.     But  it  is 
a   source   of  no    slight   surprise,  that    any 
commentators   on    this   event    should    have 
traced  to  the  Christian  benevolence  of  those 
ecclesiastics  a  document  which  was  dictated 
by  their  fears. ^^ 

On  the  day  in  which  the  clergy  delivered 
their  opinion  to  the  czar,  the  Prince  Alexis 
was  examined  for  the  last  time.     He  then 
signed  a  written  confession,  in   which    he 
acknowledged  himself  to  have  been  a  bigot 
in  his  youth,  to  have  kept  the  company  of 
monks  and  priests,  and  drunk  intemperately 
with  them:    to    have  received   from    them 
those  impressions  which  first  alienated  him 
from  the  duties  of  his  condition,  and  even 
created   in   him   a   hatred   of   his   father's 
person.      He    further    admitted,   that    he 
would  have   used  any  means   whatever  to 
I  have  secured  the  succession. 

Several   days   elapsed;  and  then,  on  the 
5th  of  July,  the  ministers,  senators,  mili- 
,  tary  and  civil  officers,  whom  the  czar  had 
j  constituted  the  judges  of  his  son,  delivered 
I  their    judgment.      The    document    stated, 
j  that  having  put  the  case  to  the  vote,  they 
unanimously,   and   without   any    contradic- 
tion, agreed  and  resolved  that   the  czare- 
vitch, Alexis,  deserves  death  for  his  many 
capital    crimes    and    offences    against    his 
sovereign  and  father.     After  an   enumera- 
tion of  these,  the  document  concluded ; 

''  It  is  with  grieved  hearts  and  eyes  full  of 
tears,  that  we,  being  servants  and  subjects, 
pronounce  this  sentence,  seeing  that,  as  such^ 
it  does  not  belong  to  us  to  take  cognizance 
of  so  momentous  a  concern ;  and  especially 
to  pronounce  a  sentence  against  the  son  of 
our  sovereign  and  most  bountiful  lord,  the 
czar.  However,  it  being  his  will  that  we 
should  pass  our  judgment,  we  by  these  pre- 
sents declare  our  real  opinion,  and  we  pro- 
nounce this  condemnation  with  a  clear  and 
Christian  conscience,  as  we  shall  answer  for 
it  before  the  just  and  impartial  tribunal  of 

185 


I 


1 ;  i 


li, 

i  It 
i 

•J 


DEATH  OF  THE  CZAREVITCH.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1718. 


God.  Submitting,  withal,  this  sentence  and 
condemnation  to  the  supreme  power,  will, 
and  merciful  revision  of  his  czarish  majesty 
and  most  gracious  sovereign/'  This  sentence 
is  open  to  the  same  censure  as  the  opinion 
of  the  clergy;  it  was  not  impartial.  The 
servile  senators  understood  the  wishes  of 
the  czar,  and  they  obeyed  them.  They 
would  willingly  have  spared  the  prince,  but 
they  had  a  still  stronger  desire  to  please  the 
czar. 

Sentence  was  pronounced  on  the  6th; 
and  on  hearing  it,  the  wretched  Alexis  was 
seized  with  convulsions,  and  carried  in  a 
state  of  insensibility  from  the  court.  The 
next  morning,  the  czar  received  word  that 
his  son  was  dangerously  ill,  and  implored  to 
see  him.  Peter,  attended  by  the  principal 
officers  of  his  court,  immediately  went  to 
visit  the  miserable  prince.  During  this 
tragic  interview,  both  father  and  son  shed 
tears.  The  condemned  prince  then  asked 
his  father's  pardon,  which  the  latter  gave 
him.  The  czar  took  his  leave;  but  in  the 
evening  a  second  message  was  sent,  inform- 
ing him  that  the  prince  was  in  mortal  ex- 
tremity ;  but  before  the  father  could  arrive 
at  the  bedside  of  his  son,  Alexis  was  no 
more. 

There  is  nothing  in  these  circumstances 
inconsistent  with  the  supposition  that  the 
prince  died  a  natural  deatli  ;  but  suspicions 
to  the  contrary  prevailed  throughout  Europe; 
and  the  czar  has  been  charged  with  the 
shocking  crime  of  murdering  his  own  son  ! 
This  charge  has  never  been  conclusively 
refuted,  nor  definitely  established,  as  we 
think  it  must  have  been,  had  it  been  true. 
Most  historians  have  written  on  the  sub- 
ject with  a  palpable  bias  against  the  czar, 
and  an  evident  desire  to  believe  him  guilty 
of  so  great  a  crime.  The  wildest,  most  im- 
probable, and  revolting  stories  were  cir- 
culated at  the  time,  and  Peter  was  said  to 
have  personally  put  his  son  to  death  in 
many  different  ways.  According  to  one  of 
them,  the  czar  first  knouted,  and  then  be- 
headed the  prince  with  his  own  hands;  and 
the  head  was  so  carefully  sewed  on  to  the 
body  again  by  a  lady  of  the  court,  that 
although  the  corpse  lay  in  state  during 
four  days,  the  mode  of  death  was  never 
detected  ! 

Another  narrative,  though  scarcely  less 
improbable,  is  entitled  to  more  considera- 
tion, because  it  is  related  on  the  authority 
of  a  person  who  was  in  the  service  of  the 
czar,  and,  moreover,  himself  an  actor  in  the  I 
186 


A.D  ]718.] 


incident  he  describes.      Captain   Bruce,   a 
military   officer   in   the  service    of    Russia, 
Prussia,   and  Great  Britain,  after  alluding^ 
in  his  Memoirs,  to  the  trial  of  Prince  Alexis,' 
thus  co!itinues  : — "The  trial  was  begun  on 
the  25th  of  June,  and  continued  to  the  6th 
of  July,  when  the  supreme  court,  with  una- 
nimous consent,  passed  sentence   of   death 
upon  the  prince,  but  left  the  manner  of  it 
to  his  majesty's  determination.     The  prince 
was  brought  before  the  court,  his  sentence 
read  to  him,  and  he  was  reconveyed  to  his 
prison  in  the  fortress.     On  the  next  day  his 
majesty,  attended  by  all  the  senators  and 
bishops,  with  several  others  of  high  rank, 
went   to   the  fort,   and   entered  the  apart- 
ment where  the   czarevitch  was  kept  pri- 
soner.    Some  little  time  thereafter.  Marshal 
Weyde  came  out,  and  ordered  me  to  go  to 
Mr.  Bear's,  the  druggist,  whose  shop  was 
hard  by,  and  tell  him  to  make  the  potion 
strong  which  he  had  bespoke,  as  the  prince 
was  then  very  ill.     When  I  delivered  this 
message  to  Mr.  Bear,  he  turned  quite  pale, 
and  fell  a  shaking  and  trembling,  and  ap- 
peared in  the  utmost  confusion,  which  sur- 
prised me  so  much,  that  I  asked  him  what 
was  the  matter  with  him ;  but  he  was  un- 
al)le   to   return   me   any  answer.      In   the 
meantime    the   marshal    himself    came   in, 
much  in  the  same  condition  with  the  drug- 
gist, saying,  he  ought  to  have  been  more 
expeditious,  as  the  prince  was  very  ill  of  an 
apoplectic  fit.     Upon  this  the  druggist  de- 
livered him  a  silver  cup  with  a  cover,  which 
the  marshal  himself  carried  into  the  prince's 
apartments,  staggering  all  the  way  he  went 
like  one  drunk.     About  half-an-hour  after, 
the  czar  with  all  his  attendants  withdrew, 
with  very  dismal  countenances :   and  when 
they  went,  the  marshal  ordered  me  to  attend 
at  the  prince's  apartment;   and  in  case  of 
any  alteration,  to  inform  him  immediately 
thereof.      There   were   at    that    time    two 
physicians    and    two    surgeons    in    waiting, 
with   whom    and   the   officers   on   guard  I 
dined   on   what    had   been  dressed  for  the 
prince's  dinner.    The  physicians  were  called 
in  immediately  after  to  attend  the  prince, 
who  was  struggling  out  of  one  convulsion 
into  another ;  and,  after  great  agonies,  ex- 
pired  at  five   o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     I 
went  directly  to  inform  the  marshal,  and  he 
went  that  moment  to  acquaint  his  majesty, 
w  ho  ordered  the  corpse  to  be  embowelled ; 
after  which  it  was  laid  in  a  coffin  covered 
with  black  velvet,  and  a  pall  of  rich  gold 
tissue  spread  over  it;   it  was  then  carried 


out  of  the  fort  to  the  churcb  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  where  the  corpse  lay  in  state  till  the 
11th  in  the  evening,  when  it  was  carried 
back  to  the  fort,  and  deposited  in  the  royal 
burial  vault,  next  the  coffin  of  the  princess, 
his  late  consort;  on  which  occasion,  the 
czar  and  czaritza,  and  the  c'^ief  of  the  no- 
bility, followed  in  procession  Various  were 
the  reports  that  were  spread  concerning  his 
death.  It  was  given  out  publicly,  that  on 
hearing  the  sentence  of  death  pronounced, 
the  dread  thereof  threw  him  into  an  apo- 
plectic fit,  of  which  he  died.  Very  few  be- 
lieved he  died  a  natural  death ;  but  it  was 
dangerous  for  people  to  speak  as  they 
thought.  The  ministers  of  the  emperor  and 
the  states  of  Holland  were  forbid  the  court 
for  speaking  their  minds  too  freely  on  this 
occasion ;  and  upon  complaint  against  them, 
both  were  recalled."* 

This  strange,  and  to  us  incredible  nar- 
rative, is  adopted  by  Leclerc,  a  French 
writer,  who  was  then  at  St.  Petersburg,  but 
who  is  admitted  to  be  careless  in  the  selec- 
tion of  his  facts.  Had  the  czar  resolved  to 
poison  his  son,  would  he  have  disclosed  his 
design  to  so  many  persons  as  this  account 
states  he  did,  some  one  of  whom  would  have 
been  certain,  after  the  death  of  Peter,  to 
have  revealed  the  secret  ?  It  is  scarcely  less 
than  ridiculous,  to  suppose  that  the  czar 
should  have  sent  a  marshal  of  the  empire  to 
the  shop  of  a  neighbouring  druggist  for  a 
draught  of  poison  for  the  prince  !  A  man 
of  honour  would  scarcely  have  performed 
an  office  fit  only  for  a  hangman ;  nor  would 
two  persons  have  been  sent  to  the  druggist's 


*  Captain  Bruce  adds  the  following  passage  eluci- 
datory   of  the    character   of  the   prince.      Though 
entitled  to  no  further  confidence  than  the  extract 
above,  it  is    certainly  far  more  probable  : — "  Thus 
died  Prince  Alexis,  undoubted  heir  to   that  great 
monarchy ;  little  regretted  by  people  of  rank,  as  he 
always  shunned  their  acquaintance  and  company.     It 
was  said,  the  czar  had  taken  uncommon  pains  in  the 
education  of  this  prince,  but  all  in  vain;  indolent 
and  slovenly  by  nature,  he  kept  the  lowest  of  company, 
with  whom  he  indulged  himself  in  all  manner  of  vice 
and  debauchery.  His  father,  to  put  a  stop  to  this,  sent 
him  abroad  to  see  foreign  courts,  thinking  thereby 
to  reclaim  him,  but  all  to  no  purpose ;  on  which  he 
ordered  him  to   attend   him  in  ail  his  expeditions, 
thereby  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  over  him  himself;  but 
the  prince  evaded  this  by  continually  pretending  to 
be  sick,  which  might  probably  be  the  case,  as  he  was 
most  part  of  his  time  drunk.      The  czar,    at   last, 
thought  to  reclaim  him  by  marrying  him   to  some 
foreign  princess;  what  effect  that  had  has  been  already 
mentioned.     After  the  death  of  his  amiable  princess, 
his  majesty  ordered  him  to  attend  him  in  his  expe- 
dition to  Germany  ;  and  being  on  his  journey,  under 
pretence  of  going  to  join  him  in  Mecklenburg,  he 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [speculations  concerning  it. 

for  the  poison,   when   one   was   sufficient. 
Again,  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  the 
four  physicians  and  surgeons  attending  at 
the  bedside  of  the  prince  would,  unless  they 
also  were  accomplices  in  the  murder,  have 
permitted  an  unknown  potion  to  be  given 
to  their  patient ;  and  quite  impossible  that 
they  would  not  have  detected  the  symptoms 
of  poisoning.     The  only  object  to  be  gained 
by  the  czar,  if  he  had  deprived  his  son  of 
life,  was  to  avoid  the  odium  which  might 
attach  to  him   on   account  of   his  want  of 
parental  emotion.     Peter  was  not  a  man  to 
care  much  for  the  opinions  of  others ;  but 
had  this  been  the  case,  his  object  was  only 
to  be  gained  by  the  prince  appearing  to  die 
a  natural  death,  and  the  fact  of  violence 
being  kept  a  profound  secret.     Yet,  accord- 
ing to  this  account,  the  czar  had  not  only  a 
number  of  unnecessary  accomplices,  but  the 
murder  was   committed   almost   in    public 
If  Peter  had,  indeed,  resolved  upon  violently 
terminating  the  life  of  his  son,  it  would  have 
been  more  political  to  have  left  him  to  the 
axe  of  the  executioner,  than  to  have  com- 
mitted a  crime  which  could  scarcely  have 
escaped  detection,  and  must  for  ever  have 
left  the  name  of  its  author  exposed  to  the 
abhorrence   of   mankind.      The    objection, 
that  the  pride  of  the  czar  would  have  pre- 
vented him  from  sending  his  unworthy  son 
to  the  scaflPold,  has  not,  to  our  mind,  the 
weight  which  has  sometimes  been  attributed 
to  it.     Peter  would  not  have  felt  disgraced 
by  having  his  name  for  ever  associated  with 
that  of  the  heroic  and  unbending  Brutus. 
The  czar  acted  openly  in  the  matter ;  and. 


fled   privately,   and   sought  the    protection   of   his 
brother-in-law,  the  emperor  of  Germany,  whom  he 
endeavoured  to  engage  in  a  war  against  his  father. 
It  was  made  appear  on  his  trial,  that  he  threatened, 
whenever  he  came  to  the  throne,  to  overturn  all  his 
father  had  done,  declaring,  that  he  would  be  re- 
venged on  Prince  Mentschikoff  and  his  sister-in-law, 
by  impaling  them  alive,  as  also  the  great  chancellor. 
Count  Galatkin,  and  his  son,  for  persuading  him  to 
marry  the   Princess  AVolfenbuttle ;  that   he   would 
send  all  his  father's  favourites  into  banishment,  and 
expel   all   foreigners   out  of  the  country;   that   h 
would  release  his  mother  from  confinement,  and  put 
dame    Catherine    and    her    children    in   her   place; 
after  this  he  would  form  his  court  of  people  who  had 
the  ancient  manners  and  customs  of  Russia  most  at 
heart,  for  he  hated  all  innovations.     Nothing  could 
have  touched  the  czar  more  sensibly  than  threaten- 
ing to  overthrow  all  he  had  been  doing  for  so  many 
years  for  the  welfare  and  glory  of  his  country,  with 
so   much   danger,    toil,    and    labour,    without   ever 
sparing  his  own  person ;  which  made  him  say  with 
great   emotion,  that  he  would  rather  give  his  do- 
minions to  a  worthy  stranger,  than  be  succeeded  by 
so  worthless  a  son." 

187 


1 


STATEMENT  OF  THE  CZAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1718. 


with  «i  view  to  correct  any  misrepresenta- 
tion of  his  conduct,  caused  a  report  of  the 
whole  trial  to  be  printed,  and  copies  sent  to 
the  various  courts  of  Europe.     It  was  ac- 
companied by  a  letter  from  the  czar,  stating 
the  reasons  which  had  induced  him  to  bring 
his  son  to  trial,  and   giving  the  following 
account  of  the  last  moments  of  the  prince  : — 
*'  While,"  said  Peter,  **  we  were   debating 
between    the    natural   feelings   of  paternal 
clemency   and   the  duties  we   owed   to  the 
security  of  our  kingdom ;  and  while  we  were 
pondering  on  what  resolution  we  ought  to 
*ftkc  in  an  affair  of  such  difficulty  and  im- 
portance, it  pleased  the  Almighty  God,  by 
his  especial  will  and  his  just  judgment,  and 
by  his  mercy,  to  deliver  us  out  of  that  em- 
barrassment,  and    to    save    our  family  and 
kingdom  from  the  shame  and  the  dangers, 
by  abridging,  yesterday,  the  life  of  our  said 
sou  Alexis,  after  an  illness  with  which  he 
was  seized  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  sentence 
of  death   pronounced   against   him.     That 
illness  appeared   at  first  like  an  apoplexy  ; 
but  he  afterwards  recovered  his  senses,  and 
received  the  holv  sacrament  as  a  Christian ; 
and  having  desired  to  see  us,  we  went  to 
him  immediately,   with  all  our  councillors 
and  senators;    and   then  he  acknowledged 
and   sincerelv  confessed  all  his   said  faults 
and    crimes    committed    against   us,    with 
tears,  and  all  the  marks  of  a  true  penitent ; 
and  begged  our  pardon,  which,  according  to 
Christian    and   paternal   duty,  we    granted 
him.     After  which,  on  the  7th  of  July,  at 
six  in  the  evening,  he  surrendered  his  soul 
to     God."       This     account     was     received 
throughout   Europe   as    a    satisfactory    ex- 
planation   of    the    sudden    death    of    the 
prince;  and  it  is  certainly   far   more  pro- 
bable than  the  one  given  by  Captain  Bruce, 
or  the  rumours  that  the  unfortunate  Alexis 
was  beheaded  either  by  his  own  father  or  by 
Marshal  Weyde.     An  accusation  has  even 
been  brought  against  the  amiable  Catherine, 
that  she  urged  on  Peter  to  destroy  Alexis, 
in  order  that  her  own  son  might  succeed  to 
the  throne.     Lamberti,  the  writer  who  re- 
lates this,  also  infers  that  Catherine  poisoned 
her  husband  Peter — a  supposition  notori- 
ously in  opposition  to  the  known  facts.    Vol- 
tairc,who  must  have  been  well-informed  upon 
this  point,  remarks — "  No  foreign  minister, 
188 


residing  at  the  Russian  court,  has  ever 
accused,  or  so  much  as  suspected,  Catherine 
of  having  taken  the  least  step  against  a 
son-in-law  from  whom  she  had  everything 
to  fear.  If  it  is  not  said  that  she  inter- 
ceded for  his  pardon,  all  the  memoirs  of 
that  time,  especially  those  of  Count  Basse- 
witz,  agree,  that  she  pitied  his  misfortunes. 
I  have  before  me  the  memoirs  of  a  public 
minister,  in  which  I  find  these  very  words  : 
— '  I  was  present  when  the  czar  said  to  the 
Duke  of  Holstein,  that  Catherine  had  en- 
treated him  to  hinder  sentence  being  pro- 
nounced against  the  czarevitch ;  only,  said 
she,  compel  him  to  become  a  monk;  as  the 
disjrrace  of  a  sentence  of  death  will  reflect 
on  your  grandson.' " 

Had    the    czar  acted  with   perfect    good 
faith  to  his  unworthy  and  unfortunate  son, 
we    should    have    said    that    his    conduct, 
though  stern,  was  unimpeachable.     To  lose 
the  father  in  the  patriot,  is  an  act  of  noble- 
ness.    But  patriotism  sliould  be  pure  in  its 
integrity,  and  perfectly  free  from  reproach. 
Peter  violated  a  solemn  promise  of  pardon 
when  he  arrested  his  son ;  and  the  reasons 
he  assigned  for  placing  him  upon  his  trial 
were    strained   and    insufficient.     Whether 
Peter,   after   the    condemnation    of  Alexis, 
anticipated  the  office  of  the  executioner  by 
the  administration  of  poison,  must  perhaps 
for   ever   remain   a  mystery.     For    reasons 
already  assigned,  we  are  inclined  to  believe 
that  such  was  not  the  case  ;  though  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  well-known  ferocity  of 
the  czar's  character  gives  an  air  of  remote 
probability  to   the   inference   that    he  was 
guilty  of  procuring  the  murder  of  his  son. 
But  many  writers  have  acted  on  this  subject 
in   a   manner   as   illogical  as  it  is  unjust. 
They  first  argue  that  it  is  highly  probable 
the  czar  caused  poison  to  be  administered  to 
his  son;  then  assume  that  he  actually  did 
so;  and  conclude  by  heaping  on  the  memory 
of    Peter   that   invective   which   he   would 
deserve  if  guilty.     Even  Count  Segur,  who 
adopts  this  course,  and  luxuriates  in  a  storm 
of  dramatic  eloquence,  based  on  so  unjust  a 
ground,  observes — ''  But  it  must  be  owned 
that  the  blood  which  was  shed  was  not  shed 
in  vain  :    the   last  hope  of  barbarism  was 
destroyed,  and  the  regeneration  of  the  Rus- 
sians was  secured." 


A.D.  1718.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[further  reforms. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

DOMESTIC  REFORMS  ;  DEATH  OF  CHARLES  XTI.  ;  RUSSIA  HARASSES  SWEDEN  ;  IMPOTENT  INTERFERENCE 
OF  ENGLAND  ;  SUCCESSFUL  MEDIATION  OF  FRANCE;  CONGRESS  OF  NEUSTADT,  AND  PEACE  WITH  SWEDEN  • 
GREAT  REJOICINGS  IN  RUSSIA;  CLIMAX  OF  THE  GLORY  OF  PETER;  THE  SENATE  BESTOW  UPON  HIM  THE 
TITLES  OF  GREAT,  EMPEROR,  AND  FATHER  ;  PETER  PUNISHES  PUBLIC  OFFICERS  WHO  HAVE  BEEN  GUILTY 
OF  CORRUPTION;  FINAL  ABOLITION  OF  THE  PATRIARCHATE;  THE  CZAR  COMPELS  THE  MONKS  AND  NUNS 
TO  ADOPT  SOME  USEFUL  OCCUPATION  ;  THE  CZAR's  EXPEDITION  TO  PERSIA  ;  EXTENSION  OF  THE  RUSSIAN 
FRONTIER  IN  THAT  DIRECTION;  CORONATION  OF  THE  EMPRESS;  STRANGE  CHARGE  CONCERNING  HER; 
LAST  ILLNiiSS  AND  DEATH  OF  PETER  ;   HIS  CHARACTER  AND  PRESUMED  POLICY. 


The  gloomy  year  (1718)  which  witnessed 
the  trial  and  death  of  Prince  Alexis,  was 
yet  distinguished  by  the  number  and  extent 
of  the  improvements  the  czar  effected  in 
Russia.  His  mind  was  not  engrossed  by 
the  trouble  which  his  son's  misconduct  had 
hrought  upon  him;  for  he  had  in  truth 
become  the  father  of  the  empire;  all  the 
inhabitants  of  which  he  regarded  as  his 
family.  The  punishments  he  inflicted  he 
considered  as  sacrifices  which  a  stern  neces- 
sity obliged  him  to  offer  up  for  the  welfare 
of  the  state. 

Thus,  in  a  year  which  was  certainly  one 
of  sadness  and  suffering,  the  czar  appointed 
a  general  police  throughout  the  empire, 
under  control  of  an  office  at  St.  Petersburg. 
Luxury  in  apparel  and  games  of  chance 
were  prohibited;  the  streets  cleared  of 
the  swarms  of  beggars  who  used  to  infest 
them ;  and  schools,  almshouses,  and  hospitals 
built  and  endowed.  At  St.  Petersburg  the 
wealthy  were  compelled  to  erect  houses  of 
a  regular  construction,  the  materials  for 
which  the  czar  caused  to  be  brought  there 
free  of  cost  by  such  vessels  and  other  con- 
veyances as  were  returning  empty  from  the 
neighbouring  localities.  In  this  favourite 
city  the  streets  were  paved  and  lighted  with 
lamps  in  imitation  of  those  established  at 
Paris  by  Louis  XIV.  Regulations  were 
made  for  preserving  order  and  cleanliness 
in  the  streets,  and  for  the  speedy  extinction 
of  fires.  Weights  and  measures  were  fixed 
and  rendered  uniform,  and  an  erroneous 
attempt  was  made  to  benefit  the  poor  by 
fixing  the  price  of  provisions. 

Peter  gave  much  attention  to  the  promo- 
tion of  trade  and  manufactures;  improving 
many  of  the  latter,  and  creating  new  ones. 
He  went  in  person  to  give  directions  to  the 
managers  of  corn,  powder,  and  saw-mills; 
rope-yards,  sail-cloth,  and  linen  manufac- 
tories, brick-kilns,  and  slate  quarries.  He 
instituted  a  commercial  court  of  justice,  or 
board  of  trade,  of  which,  that  no  injustice 


might  be  done  to  strangers,  one-half  were 
natives,  and  the  other  foreigners.  The  czar 
encouraged  the  production  of  cloths  and 
woollen  stuffs  by  liberal  bounties,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  Moscow  came  to  make 
linen  equal  to  that  of  Holland  ;  while  at 
St.  Petersburg,  the  silk  of  Persia  was  manu- 
factured as  finely  as  at  Ispahan.  He 
caused  the  mines  to  be  worked  with  in- 
creased energy,  built  the  city  of  Ladoga, 
and  connected  the  great  lake  of  that  name 
with  the  Neva,  by  means  of  canals  and 
sluices.  At  the  making  of  this  and  another 
canal  in  the  same  localitv,  the  czar  fre- 
quently  laboured  with  his  own  hands.  He 
measured  the  ground,  and  then  mingling 
with  the  labourers,  threw  up  the  earth  into 
a  barrow,  and  wheeled  it  awav  himself. 
This  example  was  occasionally  followed  by 
his  courtiers;  and  thus  labour  was  dignified, 
and  the  workmen  stimulated  to  increased 
exertion.  At  the  same  time  he  commis- 
sioned a  body  of  engineers  to  prepare  cor- 
rect maps  of  the  whole  empire,  for  the  con- 
venience of  Russians,  and  the  information  of 
the  rest  of  Europe. 

The  conspiracy  which  had  been  originated 
by  the  adventurer,  Baron  Goertz,  had  not 
been  abandoned.  Latterlv,  the  sligrht  hos- 
tilities  the  czar  had  undertaken  against 
Sweden,  had  been  less  with  a  view  of  in- 
juring her  than  from  a  desire  of  compelling 
her  to  purchase  peace  by  the  cession  of  the 
provinces  he  had  conquered.  A  congress 
for  the  promotion  of  peace  even  took  place; 
and  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  its 
conclusion  would  have  been  followed  by  an 
alliance  between  Peter  and  Charles,  who,  in 
conjunction  with  Cardinal  Alberoni,  in- 
tended then  to  address  themselves  to  carrv 
out  certain  schemes  which,  in  the  event  of 
their  being  successful,  would  have  revolu- 
tionised the  face  of  Europe.  AVe  have  men- 
tioned that  a  part  of  this  conspiracy  was  the 
restoration  of  the  Stuarts  to  the  throne  of 
England.     But  Charles  was  not  permitted 

189 


f  • 


DEATH  OF  CHARLES  XII.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


to  light  up  the  flames  of  war  in  this  country. 
On  the  evening  of  the  11th  of  December  of 
this   eventful   year    (1718),    he   was   killed 
before  the  town  of  Frederickshall,  in  Nor- 
way.    A  ball  struck  him  on  the  right  temple, 
passed  through  his  head,  and,  in  an  instant, 
he  was  a  disfigured  corpse.     Thus  perished 
this  "  heroic  madman,''  in  his  thirty-seventh 
year;  who  must,  to  quote  the  language  of 
his    celebrated    biographer,     be    considered 
"  rather  an  extraordinary  than  a  great  man, 
and  more  worthy  to  be*  admired  than  imi- 
tated."     Suspicions    were    very    generallv 
entertained  at  the  time,  that  Charles  was 
shot  by  one  of  his  own  officers,  and  not  bv 
the  enemy.     Voltaire  discredits  them,  and 
says  that  the  shot  which  struck  Charles  was 
much  too  large  to  have  entered   a  pistol, 
which  must  have  been  the  instrument  used 
if  the  king  was  really  assassinated.     Other 
writers  take  a  different  view  of  the  matter; 
and   Dr.   Clarke,    the   celebrated   traveller, 
who  spared  no  trouble  to  ascertain  the  facts 
of  the  case,  observed— ''That  he  (Charles) 
was  really  assassinated,  seems  so  clear,  that 
it  is  marvellous  any  doubt  should  be  enter- 
tained as  to  the  fact ;  and  yet,  with  a  view 
to  ascertain  the  truth  as  to  the  manner  of 
his  death,  every  succeeding  sovereign  has 
thought  it  right  to  open  his  sepulchre  and 
inspect  his  embalmed  remains.'^* 

It  is  said,  that  when  the  czar  heard  of 
the  death  of  his  former  rival,  he  shed  tears, 
and  exclaimed— "  My  dear  Charles,  how 
much  I  lament  you!"  If  this  grief  was 
really  sincere,  it  found  few  to  share  it. 
Sweden  was  glad  to  be  rid  of  a  man  whose 
restless  excitement  had  brought  her  to  the 
verge  of  ruin.  The  senate  insulted  his 
memory  by  seizing  and  beheading  the  crafty 
Earon  Goertz,  to  whom  they  attributed 
many  of  the  ill-deeds  of  Charles.  The  con- 
spiracy for  remodelling  Europe  in  the  inter- 
ests of  despots  was  thus  blown  to  the  winds, 
and  the  contemplated  alliance  between 
Russia  and  Sweden  abandoned.  Though 
Ulrica  Eleonora  (the  sister  of  Charles,  and 
new  sovereign  of  Sweden)  sought  to  heal 
the  wounds  of  her  country  by  the  repose 
of  peace,  yet,  instead  of  becoming  the 
ally   of  Russia,  she   entered   into  friendly 


"  The  character  of  this  extraordinary  man  requires 
nA  further  illustration.  We  shall  merely  observe, 
that  whatever  the  admiration  excited  by  his  earlier 
military  successes  and  his  indomitable  courage,  he 
was  really  a  madman:  that,  as  the  cause  of  his 
country's  ruin  (for,  since  his  day,  it  has  never  been 
more  than  a  fourth-rate  state  in  European  affairs), 

190 


[a.d.  1718. 

- — -^ 
negotiations  with  England,  which  was  only 
not  openly  hostile  to  the  czar. 

Sweden  sought  for  peace,  and  was  ready 
to  make  considerable  sacrifices  to  obtain  it. 
Prussia  and  Denmark  she  disarmed  by 
large  concessions,  and  she  purchased  from 
George  I.  the  protective  presence  of  an 
English  fleet  in  the  Baltic.  But  Russia 
was  the  giant  foe  of  Sweden;  and  the  terms 
on  which  the  czar  was  willing  to  grant 
peace  were  extravagantly  large.  As  Sweden 
hesitated,  Peter  put  a  fleet  to  sea,  and 
threatened  the  coasts  of  that  country.  His 
vessels  even  engaged  a  Swedish  squadron, 
captured  a  ship  and  two  frigates,  and  drove 
the  rest  into  port. 

At  this  period    (1719)  the  English  fleet 
which  George  I.  had  promised  for  the  pro- 
tection of  Sweden,  made  its  appearance  in 
the   Baltic.     Peter,   who   was   serving  with 
his  own  ships  as  vice-admiral,  sent  a  message 
to   Admiral   Norris,    who    commanded   the 
English  fleet,  desiring  to  know^  whether  he 
came  only  as  a  friend  to   Sweden  or  as  an 
enemy  to  Russia.     Norris  answered,  that  as 
yet  he  had  no  positive  orders.    This  answer, 
which   might   be   interpreted    as    a   threat, 
rather   incensed    than    intimidated    Peter. 
When,  therefore,  the  English  admiral  shortly 
afterwards  sailed  for  Copenhagen,  the  Rus- 
sian  vessels   made   some   descents   on    the 
Swedish  coast,  even  in  the  very  neighbour- 
hood of  Stockholm,  destroyed 'hundreds  of 
villages  and  castles,  together  with   all  the 
copper  and  iron-works,  and  spread  desola- 
tion in  every  direction.    The  neij^hbourhood 
of  the  English  fleet  proved  worse  than  use- 
less.   Admiral  Norris,  unauthorised  to  resent 
the  outrages  of  the  Russians,  was  compelled 
to  let  the  English  flag  bear  part  of  the  dis- 
grace thus  heaped  upon  Sweden.     TIjc  czar 
showed  his  contempt  of  this  impotent  inter- 
ference, by  capturing  aiid  carrying  off  four 
Swedish    frigates,    almost   in   sight    of  the 
English  fleet.     We  were  said  to  have  done 
too  much,  if  only  mediators;  and  too  little, 
if  enemies. 

The  severe  inflictions  which  the  Swedes 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Russians,  made 
them  solicit  a  suspension  of  arms,  for  the 
purpose  of  concluding  a  peace.     As  Enghsh 


A.D.  1721. 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[peace  with  SWEDEN. 


he  deserves  the  execration,  not  the  applause,  of  man- 
kind. If  he  was  really  assassinated,  we  cannot, 
indeed,  praise  the  deed  or  the  doer,  since  both  must 
be  held  in  everlasting  odium ;  but  we  may  observe, 
that  no  deed  could  have  been  so  useful  to  Sweden, 
or  even  to  Europe."--Z)?/wAa»i'5  History  of  Berf 
markf  Sweden^  and  Noricay. 


interference  had  failed,  Sweden  now  sought 
the  mediation  of  France,  and  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  (the  regent)  succeeded  in  bringing 
about   the    long-negotiated    reconciliation. 
Accordingly,  a  congress  was  held  at  Neu- 
stadt,  a  small  town  in  Finland,  where  the 
czar  had  an    army  ready    to   overrun   the 
country  in  the  event  of  the  terms  he  dic- 
tated  being  rejected.      Sweden  was  in  no 
condition  to  dispute  with  him,  and  nothing 
was  left  to  her  but  to  consent  to  his  propo- 
sals.    The  peace   of  Neustadt   was   finally 
signed  on  the  10th  of  September,  1721,  and 
by  it  Peter  retained  possession  of  all  the 
provinces  he  had  conquered,  from  Courland 
to  the  extremity  of  the  Gulf  of  Iceland,  and 
from  thence  through  Kexholm  and  a  narrow 
slip  of  Finland;    leaving   him   undisputed 
master  of  Livonia,  Esthonia,  Ingria,  Carelia, 
Wybourg,  and  the  neighbouring  isles;  the 
whole   occupying   a   space    of    about    300 
leagues  in   unequal  breadths,  and  equal  in 
extent  to  a  large  kingdom.     Great  was  the 
satisfaction  of  the  czar;   and  he  wrote  to 
his  plenipotentiaries— «  You  have  drawn  up 
the  treaty  as  if  we  had  done  it  ourselves 
and  sent  it  to  you  to  cause  it  to  be  signed 
by  the  Swedes.     This  glorious  event  will  be 
ever  present  to  our  memory.'' 

Peace,  though  not  necessary  to  Russia, 
was  highly  welcome  both  to  the  people  and 
the  sovereign.     The  former  were  delighted 
at   the   prospect   of  a  relief,    after   twenty 
years  of  incessant  strug^'e  and  warfare.    The 
latter,    now  relieved  from  the  necessity  of 
maintaining  large  armies  on  the  borders  of 
Sweden,  and  at  peace  with  those  other  na- 
tions from  whom  he  had  any  reason  to  ap- 
prehend hostilities,  hailed  with  gratification 
that   leisure  which  enabled   him  to  devote 
himself  entirely  to  the   reformation  of  his 
empire,  which,  even  amidst  the  occupations 
of  war,  he  had  cultivated  with  such  restless 
solicitude. 

This  peace  was  regarded  by  the  subjects  of 
the  czar  as  the  most  glorious  of  his  triumphs, 
and  it  was  celebrated  by  public  festivities,' 
which,  for  their  splendour  and  the  enthu- 
siasm with  w^hich  they  were  received  by  the 
people,  surpassed  anything  of  the  kind  that 
had  previously  taken  place  in  Russia.  Peter, 
touched  by  the  joy  and  gratitude  of  the 
people,  granted  a  remission  of  all  taxes  due 
to  the  royal  treasury,  and  a  pardon  to  all 
prisoners,  except  those  confined  for  robbery, 
murder,  and  high  treason.  Always  the 
teacher  of  his  subjects,  he  also  exhibited  to 
them  the  little  sailing-vessel  which,  in  his 


young  days,  had  suggested  to  him  the  idea 
ot   building  a  navy.     This  was   a  striking 
lesson  on  the  results  of  industry  and  per- 
severance.    The   czar   had    preserved   this 
little  boat  with   aff"ectionate  care,  and   he 
would   sometimes   amuse  himself  with  de- 
corating it  and  arming  its  miniature  decks 
with  silver  cannon.     This   period,    indeed, 
must  be  regarded  as  the  climax  of  the  glory 
of  this  extraordinary  man.     The  peace  fes- 
tivities were  prolonged  during  a  period  of 
fifteen  days,  and  the  senate  took  advantage 
of  the  general  happiness  of  the  people  to 
confer   on    Peter   the   honourable   titles  of 
Great,  Emperor,  and  Father  of  his  country. 
The  chancellor  addressed  him  in  the  cathe- 
dral, m  the  name  of  all  the  orders  of  the 
state,    after  which  the   assembled  senators 
thrice  shouted,  ''Long  live  our  emperor  and 
our  father"— shouts  which  were  taken  up 
and  heartily  re-echoed  by  the  people  without. 
The  same  day  the  foreign  ministers  at  St. 
Petersburg  congratulated  the  czar  on  these 
honours,  and  addressed  him  by  his  new  title 
of  emperor,  which  was  recognised  bv  all  the 
courts  of  Europe,  except  that  of  Poland  and 
the  pope ;  the  former  being  convulsed  with 
factions,  and  the  latter  sunk  into  an  insig- 
nificance which  rendered  its  sufi*rage  of  verv 
little  importance.     When  the  rejoicings  at 
St.  Petersburg  were  over,  they  were  renewed 
at   Moscow,   into  which  the  czar  made  a 
triumphal  entry  under  decorated  arches. 

Yet,  during  this  visit  to  Moscow,  Peter 
appointed  a  military  commission  to  inquire 
into  the  truth  of  certain  complaints  which 
had  been  made  against  those  entrusted  with 
the  administration  of  affairs  during  his  ab- 
sence.    Prince  Gagarin,  governor  of  Siberia, 
was  found  guilty  of  having  robbed  his  ma- 
jesty's caravan  from  China,  and  of  murder- 
ing the  persons  by  whom  it  was  conducted, 
by  which  and  other  crimes  he  had  acquired 
enormous    wealth.       Prince    Mentschikoff, 
(now  the  first  subject  of  the  empire).  Prince 
Volkonski (governor  of  Archangel),  Admiral 
Count  Apraxin,  and   General  Bruce,  were 
also  convicted  of  peculation.     Gagarin  was 
hanged,   like    Haman,   on  a  gallows   fifty 
cubits  high,  and  Volkonski  was  shot;   the 
rest  were  let  off  with  pecuniary  fines  and 
castigation  from  the  czar  with  his  walking- 
stick,  which   he  never  failed    to   use   very 
freely  over  the  shoulders  of  any  one  he  was 
displeased  with.     As  to  Prince  Mentschikoff, 
he  had  so  often  been  detected  in  peculation, 
that  the  czar  had  come  to  regard  him  as  an 
incorrigible  rogue,  with  whom,  nevertheless, 

191 


Akim 


ABOLITION  OF  THE  PATRIARCHATE.]    HISTORY    OF   THE 


[ad.  1721. 


A.D.  1724.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ecclesiastical  reforms. 


he  did  not  wish  to  part.  On  one  occasion 
the  senate,  who  possessed  many  proofs  of  liis 
depredations,  drew  up  a  tabular  statement 
of  them,  and  placed  it  on  the  table  opposite 
the  czar's  seat.  Peter  glanced  at  the  paper, 
and,  discerning  its  contents,  seemed  to  pay 
no  further  attention  to  them.  Tliere  it 
remained,  day  after  day,  in  the  same  con- 
spicuous place ;  until  at  length  Count  Tolstoi, 
who  was  sitting  in  the  senate  beside  the 
czar,  ventured  to  ask  him  what  he  thought 
of  that  document.  "Nothing,"  replied 
Peter,  "but  that  Mentschikoff  will  be  al- 
ways  Mentschikoff." 

The  year  which  brought  peace  to  Sweden, 
and  gave  repose  to  Russia  (1721),  witnessed 
also  the  consummation  of  Peter's  reforms  in 
the  church.  Though  many  years  had  elapsed 
since  the  death  of  the  last  patriarch,  the 
czar  had  found  means  to  evade  appointing 
a  successor.  "He  was,"  he  said,  "greatly 
occupied  by  business;  and  therefore,  for 
the  present,  he  desired  the  metropolitan  of 
Rezan  to  take  upon  himself  the  ecclesiastical 
affairs  of  the  empire."  In  the  years  1718 
and  '19  the  czar  caused  a  perpetual  synod, 
composed  of  members  always  to  be  nomi- 
nated by  the  sovereign,  to  be  erected  for  the 
direction  of  the  church.  It  was  to  inquire 
into  and  decide  all  matters  connected  with 
religion;  but  its  decisions  were  to  be  re- 
ferred to  the  czar  for  confirmation ;  who  be- 
came, in  effect,  supreme  head  of  the  churcli. 
He  thus  explained  his  motives  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  this  institution,  Avhich,  with 
some  alterations,  exists  even  at  this  day. 
"  Under  the  administration  of  a  svnod  of 
priests,  none  of  those  disturbances  and  in- 
discretions are  to  be  feared  which  might 
happen  under  the  government  of  one  sole 
ecclesiastical  chief;  that  the  people,  seeing 
on  one  side  a  head  of  the  state,  and  on  the 
other  a  head  of  the  church,  might,  from  the 
superstition  natural  to  them,  come  to  ima- 
gine that  there  are  in  reality  two  supreme 
powers."  In  illustration  of  this  important 
point,  Peter  cited  instances  of  long  dissen- 
sions between  the  crown  and  the  priesthood, 
"which  every  reader  of  history  well  knows 
have  ever  been  a  prolific  source  of  bloodshed 
and  miserv.  He  further  stated,  "  That  the 
notion  of  two  distinct  powers,  founded  on 
the  allegory  of  two  swords,  which  the  apostles 
happened  to  have  in  their  possession,  was 
absurd  and  extravagant." 

For   theology,    as    a  separate   branch  of 
learning,  Peter  had  but  little  respect ;  and 
though,  in  a  general  sense,  a  believer  in  the 
192 


sacred  character  of  the  inspired  writing's,  vet, 
in  practice,  he  seems  only  to  have  regarded 
the  precepts  of  morality  and  those  of  natural 
religion.  On  one  occasion,  the  synod  repre- 
sented to  the  czar,  to  whom  they  should 
have  brought  a  person  whom  they  recom- 
mended to  his  notice  as  a  bishop,  that  as 
yet  they  knew  of  none  but  illiterate  men. 
"  Well,"  answered  Peter,  "'  it  is  but  choosing 
the  man  of  the  best  life ;  and  he  will  do  full 
as  well  as  the  most  learned  scholar."  Yet 
Peter  respected  revealed  religion ;  and, 
despite  the  well-known  tolerance  of  his  cha- 
racter, exclaimed,  one  day — "  The  irreligious 
cannot  be  tolerated,  because,  by  sapping 
religion,  they  turn  into  ridicule  the  sacred- 
ness  of  an  oath,  which  is  the  foundation  of 
all  society." 

The  year  1721  witnessed,  we  said,  the 
consummation  of  the  czar's  reforms  in  the 
church.  On  presiding  at  a  meeting  of  the 
synod,  some  of  the  superior  clergy  presented 
to  him  a  petition,  praying  him  to  appoint  a 
patriarch.  The  hour  had  now  arrived  for  a 
conclusive  expression  of  opinion.  Rising 
suddenly  from  his  seat,  Peter  diew  his 
sword,  and,  striking  the  table  violently  with 
it,  while  with  the  other  hand  he  smote  his 
breast,  exclaimed  vehemently — "Here  is 
your  patriarch!"  Then  casting  a  stern 
glance  on  his  startled  listeners,  lie  hastily 
quitted  the  room.  None  of  the  clergy  con- 
sidered it  prudent,  subsequently,  to  Vcnew 
the  subject ;  and  from  that  time  the  office 
of  patriarch  was  no  more. 

Russia  swarmed  with  monks  and  nuns,  who 
were  for  the  most  partVery  idle  and  ignorant 
persons,  and  often  no  better  than  they  should 
have  been  in  many  other  respects.  '  On  the 
31st  of  January,  1724,  Peter  issued  an  ordi- 
nance with  respect  to  them,  which  had  been 
drawn  up  by  himself,  in  conjunction  with  an 
enlightened  dignitary  of  the  church.  Its 
object  was  to  discourage  people  from  be- 
coming idle  dreamers  in  monasteries,  in  a 
country  where  the  thinness  of  the  population 
was  such,  that  no  man  could  be  well  spared 
from  the  labour  of  improving  the  land. 
Notwithstanding  the  gross  ignorance  of  the 
monks,  many  of  them  could  write — an  ac- 
complishment of  which,  in  the  early  part  of 
Peter's  reign,  they  had  made  but  a  mis- 
chievous use.  This  was  to  slander  the  sove- 
reign who  was  labouring  so  zealously  for 
the  good  of  his  country.  One  priest  even 
proceeded  so  far  as  to  publish  that  Peter 
was  antichrist,  because  he  would  have  no 
patriaich.     Upon  this^  another  priest  of  a 


more  courtly  nature,  printed  a  reply,  in 
which  he  contended  that  it  was  impossible 
for  the  czar  to  be  antichrist,  because  the 
number  666  was  not  to  be  found  in  his 
name,  and  he  had  not  the  mark  of  the  beast. 
Peter  at  once  showed  that  mischievous 
theological  speculations  concerning  him, 
intended  to  foster  conspiracy,  or  whet  the 
knife  of  the  assassin,  were  not  to  be  per- 
petrated with  impunity.  He  put  the  slan- 
derous priest  to  death,  and  rewarded  with  a 
bishopric  the  one  who  refuted  him.  This 
was  in  an  early  part  of  the  czar's  reign :  he 
had,  since  that  time,inspired  the  discontented 
among  the  priests  with  so  much  awe,  that 
they  had  at  least  ceased  to  revile  him  openly. 
Latterly  they  had  confined  their  efforts  to 
poisoning  the  mind  of  his  son — a  circum- 
stance which  brought  disgrace  and  death 
upon  the  prince,  and  a  terrible  retribution 
upon  themselves.  It  is  strange  that  igno- 
rance and  superstition  will  not  learn  that 
the  civilisation  which  ameliorates  the  condi- 
tion, and  elevates  the  nature  of  mankind,  is 
not  to  be  hurled  back  by  human  might,  and 
that  they  who  oppose  its  progress  are  crushed 
beneath  its  iron  tread. 

Peter  was  himself  the  most  industrious 
man  in  the  Russian  empire,  and  he  regarded 
it  as  an  outrage  both  upon  morals  and  com- 
mon sense,  that  a  multitude  of  young  men 
and  women  should  make  a  vow  to  live  a  life 
of  uselessness,  and  to  become  a  public  bur- 
den. Impressed  with  this  feeling,  he  at 
first  decreed  that  no  person  should  enter 
upon  a  monastic  life  until  he  had  attained 
the  age  of  fifty ;  at  wTiich  period  the  habits 
of  life  are  so  thoroughly  formed,  that  it  is 
probable  very  few  would  desire  to  make  so 
great  a  change.  At  the  representation  of 
the  clergy,  however,  the  monastic  age  was 
reduced  to  thirty,  before  which  no  person 
was  permitted  to  devote  themselves  to  a  life 
of  religious  seclusion  and  veiled  pauperism. 
Military  men,  and  occupiers  of  land,  were 
prohibited  from  adopting  the  life  of  the 
cloister  at  any  period,  without  an  express 
permission  from  the  emperor  or  the  synod. 
The  same  rule  applied  to  any  person  in  the 
service  of  the  state.  The  monks,  who  had 
hitherto  passed  their  time  chiefly  in  day- 
dreams and  gluttony,  were  each  of  them 
compelled  to  work  at  some  trade,  or  to 
employ  themselves  in  attending  to  the  sick 
poor,  or  the  disbanded  and  disabled  soldiers 
who  were  distributed  amongst  the  monas- 
teries. The  life  of  the  monks  being  thus 
made  one  of  labour,  and  stripped  of  that 


TOL.  I. 


2c 


respect  which  might  previously  have  dig- 
nified it,  many  of  these  persons  turned  from 
it  in  disgust,  and  sought  occupations  in 
which  they  could  render  themselves  more 
useful  to  society.  As  to  the  nuns,  such  of 
them  as  had  not  long  passed  the  meridian  of 
life,  were  exhorted  to  marry.  Those  who 
declined,  or  were  unable  to  do  so,  were  all 
set  to  perform  work  suitable  to  their  sex. 
Some  were  taught  to  make  laces,  by  work- 
women brought  from  Brabant  and  Holland 
for  that  purpose;  others  to  labour  in  the 
convent  grounds,  or  tend  upon  the  sick,  or 
keep  schools  for  the  instruction  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  poor.  Certain  monasteries  were 
also  assigned  for  the  admittance  and  educa- 
tion of  orphans  of  each  sex.  Unhappily,  the 
life  of  Peter  was  not  suflSciently  prolonged 
to  render  these  improvements  permanent. 

The  czar  was  naturally  proud  of  his 
power  over  a  body  of  men  whose  influence 
has  usually  ruined  all  monarchs  who  en- 
deavoured to  reform  the  abuses  existing 
amongst  them.  On  one  occasion,  a  paper 
from  the  well-known  English  periodical, 
TTie  Spectator,  the  subject  of  which  was  a 
parallel  between  Peter  and  Louis  XIV., 
being  read  to  him,  the  czar  observed — "  I 
cannot  think  that  I  deserve  the  preference 
given  to  me  above  that  monarch;  but  it 
has  been  my  happiness  to  go  beyond  him 
on  one  point,  and  that  an  essential  one.  I 
have  brought  my  clergy  to  be  submissive 
and  quiet,  and  Louis  XIV.  suffered  his  to 
get  the  better  of  him." 

Peter  never  lost  his  relish  for  the  coarse 
pleasures  which  had  been  the  occupation  of 
his  early  youth.  Even  at  this  grave  period, 
when  the  tragic  fate  of  his  son  could  not 
have  been  effaced  from  his  memory,  and  his 
time  was  chiefly  occupied  in  ecclesiastical 
reforms,  he  yet  abused  himself  and  the 
people  with  a  vulgar  revel,  of  a  nature  so 
strange,  that  it  is  wonderful  how  such  a 
mind  as  his  could  possibly  be  diverted  by 
it.  We  must,  however,  regard  the  most 
illustrious  men  as  a  compound  of  strength 
and  weakness,  and  none  the  more  separated 
from  the  wants  and  propensities  of  the 
meanest  of  men  on  account  of  their  own 
mental  power  in  some  other  direction. 
Shortly  after  the  extinction  of  the  patri- 
archate, the  czar  caused  Buturlin,  the 
second  mock  pope  of  his  creation,  to  be 
married  to  the  widow  of  his  predecessor 
Jotoff.  The  bridegroom  was  in  his  eighty- 
fifth  year,  and  the  bride  much  about  the 
same  mature  age.     The  messengers  who 

193 


IP 


\ 


THE  PERSIAN  EXPEDITION.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1722. 


carried  the  invitations  to  the  ceremony 
were  four  stutterers.  Four  decrepid  old 
men  attended  the  bride,  and  the  runninsr 
footmen  were  four  of  the  most  corpulent 
fellows  that  could  be  found.  The  orchestra 
was  placed  on  a  waggon  drawn  by  bears, 
who  being  goaded  with  iron  spikes,  their 
hideous  roarings  formed  a  bass  suitable  to 
the  tunes  played  in  the  waggons.  As  to 
the  nuptial  benediction,  that  was  bestowed 
by  a  blind  and  deaf  priest,  with  spectacles 
on.  The  procession,  the  wedding  feast,  the 
ceremony  of  undressing  the  bride  and 
bridegroom,  and  putting  them  to  bed,  were 
all  in  accordance  with  the  rest  of  this 
strange  buffoonery.  The  czar  and  his 
courtiers,  who  followed  in  the  marriage 
procession,  and  witnessed  the  subsequent 
fooleries,  seemed  to  enjoy  them  with  im- 
mense gusto. 

Peter^s  last  great  public  act  was  an  expe- 
dition to  Persia,  which  empire  was  then 
falling  to  pieces  under  the  feeble  rule  of  the 
imbecile  Hussein  Shah.  The  throne  of  the 
iovereign  was  almost  wrested  from  him  bv 
a  usurper,  while  the  empire  was  invaded  on 
one  side  by  the  Affghans,  and  on  the  other 
by  the  Lcsghians,  who  resided  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Caucasus.  The  latter 
nation  poured  into  the  province  of  Shirvan, 
sacked  the  city  of  Shamaki,  and  put  the 
inhabitants  to  the  sword,  including  about 
300  Russian  traders,  whose  warehouses  they 
also  plundered  of  goods  estimated  at  the 
value  of  4,000,000  roubles.  Peter  was 
greatly  irritated,  for  he  had  himself  induced 
the  Russian  merchants  to  settle  at  Shamaki, 
where  they  were  carrying  on  a  very  pros- 
perous trade.  He  therefore  demanded 
satisfaction  for  the  outrage  that  had  been 
inflicted.  The  Persian  monarch  was  wil- 
ling, but  unable,  to  grant  it ;  he  therefore 
pleaded  his  helpless  condition,  and  entreated 
the  czar  to  aid  in  subduing  the  foes  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded. 

To  this  Peter  had  no  disinclination,  for 
he  had  long  entertained  a  project  for 
making  himself  master  of  the  Caspian  Sea, 
with  the  object  of  directing  the  commerce 
of  Persia  and  a  portion  of  India  through  his 
own  dominions.  On  the  15th  of  May,  1722, 
the  czar,  accompanied  by  Catherine,  set 
sail  with  a  considerable  expedition.  They 
proceeded  down  the  broad  Volga  as  far  as 
the  city  of  Astracan,  where  Peter  paused  to 
await  the  arrival  of  his  forces  and  materiel 
of  war.  During  this  enforced  leisure,  he 
occupied  himself  in  examining  the  works 
194 


for  the  extensive  canals  designed  to  join 
the  Caspian,  Baltic,  and  White  seas.  His 
troops  arrived  while  he  was  contemplating 
these  gigantic  projects.  The  army  con- 
sisted of  22,000  foot,  9,000  dragoons,  15,000 
Cossacks,  and  3,000  seamen.  The  project 
of  the  czar  was  full  of  difficulties ;  for  he 
commanded  that  the  horses  should  proceed 
over  land,  through  deserts  which  are  fre- 
quently without  water;  and  beyond  them 
they  were  to  pass  the  mountains  of  the 
Caucasus,  where  300  men  might  check  the 
progress  of  a  whole  army.  But  to  this 
movement  the  czar  was  encouraged  by  the 
distracted  state  of  Persia,  which  rendered  it 
almost  helpless  against  aggression. 

Sailing    from   Astracan,   the    expedition 
proceeded  as  far  as  the  little  fortified  town 
of  Andreof— a  town  founded  by  the  Geor- 
gians.    This  was   soon  captured,  and    the 
Russians  then  advanced  by  land  into  the 
province  of  Daghestan,  where  Peter  caused 
manifestos,    in    the   Persian    and    Russian 
languages,  to  be  circulated.     This   was  to 
avoid  giving  offence  to  the  Ottoman  Porte, 
which,  besides  its  subjects  the  Circassians 
and  Georgians,  had  in  these  districts  some 
considerable  vassals,  who  had  lately  placed 
themselves  under  its  protection.      One  of 
the  principal  of  these  was  Mahmoud  d'Ut- 
mich,  who,  assuming  the  title  of  sultan,  had 
the   imprudence    to    attack   the    Russians. 
He  was  utterly  defeated ;  and,  according  to 
the   account  of  the  victors,  "his  country 
was   made   a   bonfire."     The   intense  heat 
was  a  source  of  great  suffering  to  the  Rus- 
sian troops ;  but  Peter  exhibited  the  same 
attention    to   discipline,   and    disregard   of 
personal  fatigue  and  discomfort,  which  had 
characterised    him    in    his    earlier   under- 
takings.    He  shared  the  toil  of  his  army, 
and  constantly  either  rode  or  walked  by  the 
side  of  his  troops.     At  this  time,  his  cus- 
tomary dress  was  a  short  dimity  waistcoat 
and  a  white  nightcap,  with  a  plain  flapped 
hat  over  it.     He  seems,  however,  to  have 
thought  this  odd  costume  more  easy  than 
dignified;    for  he  prepared  himself  to  re- 
ceive   any   deputation   by   putting   on   his 
regimentals. 

The  march  of  the  Russians  was  protracted 
over  the  summer  months,  and  in  the  middle 
of  September  they  reached  the  city  of  Der- 
bend—known  by  the  Persians  and  Turks  as 
Demir  Capi,  or  Iron  Gate,  because  it  once 
had  such  a  gate  towards  the  south.  The 
city  was  regarded  as  impregnable,  for  the 
upper  part  of  it  joins  a  steep  branch  of  the 


JL.V.  1723.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [dismemberment  of  persia. 


Caucasus,  while  its  walls  at  the  other  side 
are  washed  by  the  sea,  which  in  stormy 
weather  breaks  over  them.  Yet  on  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Russians,  the  governor  volun- 
tarily came  forth  to  meet  the  czar,  and 
presented  him  with  the  silver  keys  of  the 
city  and  the  castle,  and  invited  him  to 
enter.  Peter  took  peaceable  possession  of 
the  place,  and  encamped  his  troops  within 
the  walls  on  the  sea-shore.  Mahmoud  the 
usurper,  who  had  seized  the  crown  of  the 
shah,  hastened  with  an  army  of  Tartars  to 
save  Derbend  from  falling  into  the  power  of 
the  Russians ;  but  he  was  too  late — it  was 
already  in  their  hands. 

Though  Peter  had  been  triumphant  thus 
far,  he  doubted  of  the  ultimate  success  of 
an  expedition  which,  on  account  of  the 
many  natural  difficulties  to  be  overcome, 
he  began  to  perceive  had  been  somewhat 
rashly  undertaken.  To  provide  for  the 
wants  of  a  large  army,  in  its  passage  through 
vast  sterile  tracts  and  regions  where  not 
even  a  village  varied  the  profound  solitude 
of  nature,  was  no  common  task.  The  czar 
understood  the  tremendous  responsibility  of 
a  position  where,  perhaps,  one  false  step  was 
destruction.  In  this  state  of  mind  he  re- 
ceived news  that  thirteen  vessels,  containing 
provisions,  stores,  horses,  and  recruits  for 
his  army,  had  been  wrecked  in  their  passage 
from  Astracan.  This  heavy  loss,  combined 
with  the  fact  that  the  season  was  then  un- 
favourable for  military  operations,  induced 
Peter  to  abandon  the  expedition.  Retracing 
his  steps,  he  returned  to  Moscow,  which  he 
re-entered  on  the  5th  of  January,  1723. 
He  celebrated  his  return  from  this  un- 
profitable campaign  with  a  triumph,  beneath 
the  forced  festivities  of  which  he  must  have 
concealed  the  mortification  he  really  felt. 

The  prizes  of  the  world  commonly  fall  to 
the  strong ;  and  even  now,  Peter  derived 
advantage  from  the  distracted  state  of 
Persia.  The  shah  Hussein,  and  the  usurper 
Mahmoud,  struggled  hard  for  supremacy. 
Hussein  implored  the  support  of  the  Rus- 
sian emperor ;  while  Mahmoud  feared  him 
as  an  avenger,  who  might  wrest  from  him 
all  the  fruits  of  his  rebellion.  He  there- 
fore used  every  endeavour  to  excite  the 
Ottoman  Porte  to  hostilities  against  Peter, 
by  statements  concerning  the  devastations 
the  latter  had  committed  in  Daghestan. 
The  apprehensions  of  the  sultan  were  aroused 
concerning  the  safety  of  Georgia,  then  a 
part  of  the  Ottoman  dominions ;  and  he 
was  on  the  point  of  declaring  war  against 


Russia — a  circumstance  from  which  he  was 
diverted  by  the  interference  of  the  courts  of 
Vienna  and  Paris.  In  the  meantime,  the 
dethroned  shah  of  Persia  supplicated  assist- 
ance both  from  Russia  and  Turkey;  and 
with  the  blind  selfishness  of  a  despot,  offered 
each  of  them  one  part  of  his  dominions,  if 
they  would  secure  for  him  the  remainder, 
Russia  and  Turkey,  therefore,  instead  of 
commencing  hostilities,  entered  upon  a 
treaty  with  each  other,  and  with  the  shah, 
by  which  it  was  arranged  that  Russia  should 
take  possession  of  the  provinces  of  Ghi- 
lan,  Astaraboth,  and  Mazandaran,  the  three 
principal  provinces  of  the  ancient  kings  of 
the  Medes ;  w  hile  Turkey  was  to  have 
Casbin,  Tauris,  and  Erivan.  Thus  was  the 
fine  kingdom  of  Persia  dismembered,  through 
the  weakness  of  its  sovereign  and  the  tur- 
bulence of  its  people.  Peter  thus  extended 
his  empire  from  the  extremity  of  the  Black 
Sea  to  the  southern  limits  of  the  Caspian. 
"  One  single  man,'^  observes  Voltaire,  ''  by 
his  active  and  resolute  genius,  raised  his 
country;  while  in  Persia,  one  single  man, 
being  weak  and  indolent,  occasioned  the  fall 
of  his.^' 

Russia  was  again  in  a  state  of  repose,  and 
silently  carrying  into  action  the  great  re- 
forms which  its  illustrious  ruler  had  often 
made  too  abruptly  for  endurance,  except 
under  favourable  circumstances.  The  em- 
pire had  become  a  great  power  in  Europe, 
and  Peter  was  the  undisputed  arbiter  of  the 
north.  He  seems  now  to  have  desired  that 
rest  from  toil  and  excitement  which  his 
long  life  of  effort  had  deserved.  Within 
the  period  of  his  reign  he  had  compressed 
the  events  of  a  couple  of  centuries ;  and  it 
was  wise  to  rest  upon  his  laurels,  and  watch 
the  working  of  the  new  state  of  society  he 
had  created. 

It  was  now  that  Peter  resolved  to  bestow 
upon  the  partner  of  his  anxieties  that  illus- 
trious reward  which  he  derived  as  much 
honour  from  bestowing  as  Catherine  did  in 
accepting.  In  the  spring  of  1724,  he  pro- 
claimed his  intention  of  crowning  "the 
empress  Catherine,  our  dearly  beloved  con- 
sort.^^  In  this  document,  Peter  again  re- 
ferred to  her  services  on  the  banks  of  the 
Pruth,  which  had  evidently  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  him.  "  It  was  in  this 
desperate  exigency,^^  said  he,  "that  she 
especially  signalised  a  zeal  and  fortitude 
above  her  sex;  and  to  this  all  the  army 
and  the  whole  empire  can  bear  witness. 
For  these  causes,  and  in  virtue  of  the  power 

195 


J 


CORONATION  OF  CATHERINE.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1724. 


A.D.  1724.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [illness  of  the  emteroiu 


which  God  hath  given  us,  we  have  resolved, 
in  acknowledgment  of  all  her  fatigues  and 
good  offices,  to  honour  our  consort  with  the 
imperial  crown."  The  ceremony  was  per- 
formed with  great  solemnity  at  Moscow,  on 
the  28th  of  May.  Peter  had  not  alluded  to 
his  intention  of  making  Catherine  his  suc- 
cessor ;  but  it  is  probable  that  this  corona- 
tion was  intended  to  prepare  the  people  for 
such  a  result.  The  idea  gained  strength  from 
the  fact,  that  the  emperor  walked  on  foot 
before  Catherine  in  the  procession  as  captain 
of  a  new  company,  which  he  had  created 
on  that  occasion,  with  the  title  of  the 
"  Kuights  of  the  Empress."  On  arriving 
at  the  cathedral,  Peter  himself  placed  the 
crown  upon  the  head  of  his  consort.  Cathe- 
rine was  much  affected,  and  sank  on  her 
knees  before  him,  but  he  raised  her  with 
much  gentleness,  and  calmed  her  agitation. 
On  leaving  the  cathedral,  the  globe  and 
sceptre  were,  at  his  command,  carried  be- 
fore lier. 

Peter  had  taken  the  family  of  his  late 
enemy,  Charles  XII.,  into  his  protection, 
and  invited  the  Duke  of  Holstein,  that 
monarch's  nephew,  to  the  Russian  court. 
Soon  after  the  coronation  of  Catherine,  the 
emperor  bestowed  upon  this  prince  the  hand 
of  his  eldest  daughter,  Anne  Petrowna. 
This  princess  bore  a  considerable  resem- 
blance to  her  father,  and  united  a  majestic 
stature  with  great  beauty.  The  marriage 
was  celebrated  without  much  show ;  for  the 
health  of  the  czar  was  now  giving  way 
before  a  painful  disorder  from  which  he 
had  for  some  time  suffered. 

A  strange  story  is  related  concerning 
Catherine  at  this  period,  and  treated  by  some 
writers  as  more  than  apocryphal ;  but  it  is 
supported  by  the  authority  of  Leclerc, 
Levesque,  and  other  writers.  Voltaire 
alludes  to  the  circumstance,  but  omits  the 
darkest  portion  of  it,  which  he  might  have 
done  from  motives  of  policy.  If  it  is  true, 
Peter  was,  with  difficulty,  restrained  from 
sending  to  the  scaffold  the  woman  upon 
whose  head  he  had  so  recently  placed  the 
crown.  It  is  to  be  wished  that  the  story  is 
false ;  but  the  subsequent  licentiousness 
and  intemperance  of  the  empress,  give  to  it 
a  strong  colouring  of  probability.  Peter, 
though  much  attached  to  the  sex,  was  ever 
rather  a  sensualist  than  a  lover ;  and,  except 
in  the  case  of  Catherine,  never  seems  to 
have  won  the  affection  of  any  of  the  rather 
numerous  list  of  ladies  with  whom  he  had 
lived  on  terms  of  more  than  ordinary 
J  96 


familiarity.  If  this  narrative  be  true,  we 
must  believe  that  she  also  never  regarded 
him  with  that  pure,  elevating  emotion  which 
is  known  as  love.  In  that  case  she  might 
have  regarded  him  with  gratitude,  or  with 
admiration;  but  assuredly  never  with  love. 
The  narrative  of  which  we  speak  runs  thus : 
— Catherine  had  amongst  her  chamberlains 
a  very  handsome  young  jjentleman,  of  agree- 
able manners,  named  Moens  de  la  Croix, 
whose  sister,  many  years  previously,  had 
for  a  short  time  been  the  mistress  of  the 
czar.  This  sister — then  the  widow  of  a 
Russian  general  named  Balk — was  also  em- 
ployed at  court  in  the  capacity  of  first 
dresser  to  the  empress.  Both  brother  and 
sister  possessed  great  influence  with  the 
empress  ;  and,  after  a  time,  a  guilty  passion 
sprung  up  between  Catherine  and  the  hand- 
some chamberlain.  So  unguarded  was  their 
conduct,  that  the  suspicions  of  Peter  were 
aroused,  and  he  caused  the  empress  and  her 
supposed  paramour  to  be  watched.  The  court 
at  this  period  was  held  at  Peterhoff;  and 
early  one  morning  Prince  Repnin,  president 
of  the  war  department,  who  slept  not  far  from 
the  czar,  was  roused  from  his  sleep  by  the 
door  of  his  chamber  being  violently  thrown 
open.  Starting  up,  he  beheld  some  one 
enter  abruptly,  and  soon  recognised  the 
czar,  who  stood  by  the  bedside,  his  eyes 
sparkling  with  rage,  and  his  features  livid 
and  distorted  with  convulsive  fury.  Repnin 
remained  for  a  time  speechless  from  as- 
tonishment and  terror,  and  fearing  that  he 
had  in  some  way  excited  this  storm  of 
passion  in  the  czar,  gave  himself  up  for 
lost.  After  a  pause,  the  czar,  in  a  hoarse 
and  broken  voice,  exclaimed — '^  Get  up  ! 
speak  to  me !  there's  no  need  to  dress 
yourself."  The  marshal  obeyed  ;  and  then 
learned  that  the  czar,  acting  upon  informa- 
tion conveyed  to  him  by  his  spies,  had 
suddenly  entered  the  chamber  of  Catherine, 
and  discovered  her  in  the  arms  of  her 
paramour.  Peter,  struck  with  so  monstrous 
an  ingratitude  on  the  part  of  one  to  whom 
he  had  borne  so  much  affection,  expressed 
his  determination  of  consigning  the  em- 
press, at  daybreak,  to  the  hands  of  the 
headsman.  Marshal  Repnin,  having  by 
this  time  recovered  his  composure,  ventured 
to  expostulate  with  his  sovereign.  The  un- 
expected treachery  of  the  empress  was,  he 
said,  shocking ;  but  he  suggested  to  the 
czar  that  her  crime  was  yet  known  to  no 
one,  and  that  it  would  be  highly  impolitic 
to  make  it  public.    He  made  bold  to  remind 


the  czar  of  the  massacre  of  the  Strelitz,  and 
that  every  sfibsequent  year  had  been  en- 
sanguined with  executions ;  ^hat,  in  fine, 
after  the  imprisonment  of  his  sister,  the 
condemning  of  his  son  to  death,  and  the 
imprisonment  of  his  first  wife,  if  he  should 
likewise  cut  off  the  head  of  the  second,  the 
inhabitants  of  other  countries  might  come 
to  regard  him  as  a  ferocious  sovereign,  who 
thirsted  for  the  blood  of  his  subjects,  and 
even  for  that  of  his  own  kindred.  He 
added,  that  the  czar  might  punish  Moens  by 
delivering  him  to  the  sword  of  the  law  upon 
some  other  charge ;  and  also  find  means  to 
get  rid  of  the  empress,  without  any  stain 
upon  his  honour  or  his  glory. 

Peter  listened  in  gloomy  silence ;  and 
then,  suffering  frightfully  from  the  convul- 
sions which  commonly  attacked  him  while 
under  powerful  excitement,  he  went  into 
the  adjoining  room,  and  walked  hurriedly 
backwards  and  forwards  for  about  two 
hours.  Then,  being  somewhat  subdued,  he 
returned  to  the  marshal,  and  said — "  Moens 
shall  die  immediately ;  and  I  will  watch  the 
empress  so  closely,  that  her  first  slip  shall 
cost  her  her  life  !" 

Moens  and  his  sister  were  arrested  the 
next  morning,  upon  an  ideal  charge  of 
having  received  bribes  from  the  enemies  of 
the  country,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  the 
empress  to  act  upon  the  mind  of  the  czar  in 
a  way  injurious  to  the  interests  of  Russia. 
With  a  hope  of  saving  the  life  and  honour 
of  the  empress,  Moens  pleaded  guilty  to  the 
false  charge  brought  against  him,  was  con- 
demned, and  beheaded.  His  sister,  who 
had  acted  as  a  pander  to  his  guilt,  received 
five  strokes  with  the  knout,  and  was  banished 
to  Siberia;  while  her  sons — one  a  chamber- 
lain, and  the  other  a  page — were  compelled 
to  serve  in  the  army  as  common  soldiers, 
and  sent  in  that  capacity  to  the  Persian 
frontier.  Marshal  Repnin  adds,  that  the 
emperor  never  after  spoke  to  Catherine, 
except  in  public ;  but  this  is  certainly  un- 
true, as  she  attended  him  most  assiduously 
during  his  last  illness  ;  and  he  died  in  her 
arms.  Probably  the  narrative  we  have  just 
related,  and  which  we  do  not  wish  our 
readers  to  accept  without  suspicion,  is  a 
mingling  of  truth  with  falsehood.  It  is 
known  that  Moens,  his  sister  and  her  sons, 
were  punished  in  the  way  we  have  mentioned, 
on  a  charge  of  accepting  guilty  bribes. 
Perhaps  Peter  suspected  Moens  of  being  the 
paramour  of  the  empress,  instead  of  detect- 
ing him  in  her  chamber  at  an  hour  which 


left  no  doubt  of  guilt.  A  suspicion  would 
have  been  enough  for  so  vindictive  a  man 
as  the  czar  to  have  acted  upon  ;  and  he  was 
not  at  all  likely,  having  once  entertained  a 
suspicion  of  the  fidelity  of  his  consort,  to 
remain  almost  in  indifference  until  indis- 
cretion ripened  into  her  guilt  and  his  dis- 
honour. We  are  inclined  to  believe  that 
Moens  fell  a  victim  to  the  jealous  fears  of 
the  czar;  that  Catherine  might  have  been 
either  guilty  or  innocent  (and  there  is 
much  to  favour  either  supposition),  but 
that  she  had  the  address  to  make  Peter 
believe  her  the  latter,  and  to  regain  the 
tottering  place  she  held  in  his  affections. 
Certainly,  in  the  almost  uxorious  passion 
which  the  czar  entertained  for  her,  she  had 
a  powerful  advocate. 

The  health  of  Peter  had  for  some  time 
been  seriously  impaired;  but  he  had  con- 
cealed his  disorder  from  his  physicians,  and 
suffered   in    silence.     It   was   a   strangury, 
from  which  he  sought  relief  by  fits  of  intem- 
perance, which,  while  they  brought  a  mo- 
mentary alleviation,  tended  in  the  end  to  ag- 
gravate the  severity  of  his  complaint.     Dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1724,  his  sufferings  from 
this  cause  became  so   severe,  that  he  was 
induced,  despite  his  reluctance,  to  seek  the 
advice  of  his  physicians.     They  found  him 
in  a  very  dangerous  state,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled  to   keep   his   room   for   nearly  four 
months.     Late  in  the  autumn,  finding  him- 
self much  better,  he  resolved  to  visit  the 
works   on   Lake  Ladoga,  which   were   not 
proceeding  so  rapidly  as  he  wished.     His 
medical  attendants  expostulated  against  this 
imprudence,  but  in  vain.    During  the  whole 
of  October  he  traversed  the  fetid  marshes  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  lake.     Feeble  as 
he  was  physically,   he  had  lost  nothing  of 
his  former  mental  energy.     He  discharged 
the   unskilful    engineer   whose   blundering 
had   retarded    the    progress   of   the   work. 
"  Pisaref,"  said  he  to  him,  "  there  are  two 
kinds  of  faults — the  one,  when  we  err  from 
ignorance ;  the  other  (which  is  more  inex- 
cusable) when  we  do  not  make  use  of  our 
five  senses.     Why  are  not  the  banks  of  this 
canal   prevented   from    giving  way?     Why 
are  there  so  many  windings?     Where  are 
the   hills  which  you   made   an   objection? 
Truly  you  are  an'absolute  knave!"     Turn- 
ing to   the   engineer  whose   plans   he   ap- 
proved, the  czar  addressed  him  with  the  title 
of  ''  friend,"  and   placed  25,000  workmen 
under  his  orders. 

Impelled  by  a  restless  and  feverish  ac- 

197 


\ 


DEATH  OF  PETER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1725. 


A.D.  1725.] 


tivity,  the  czar  proceeded  to  the  extremity 
of  Lake  Ilmen,  and  also  to  the  salt-works  of 
Starai  Roussa.    On  his  return  to  St.  Peters- 
burg  he   turned  from  the   road    and  pro- 
ceeded to  Finland,  to  inspect  some  manu- 
factories he  had  established  there.     Enter- 
ing the  port  of  Lachta  when  the   sea  was 
rough  and  the  weather  threatening,  he  saw 
a  small  vessel,  filled  with  soldiers  and  sailors, 
stranded    on   a   shoal,    and    in    danger   of 
perishing  from  the   ignorance   of  the   un- 
skilful mariners.     Peter  was  an  able  pilot, 
and  he  shouted  to  the  men  the  course  they 
should   pursue;  but  his  voice  was  drowned 
by  the  wind  and  the  roaring   of  the  sea. 
He  then  sent  a  shallop  to  assist  them;  but 
those  who  manned  it  were  timid  sailors,  and 
failed    to   render   the   required    assistance. 
Resolved    to   save   the   poor  fellows  whose 
perilous  situation  had  excited  his  compas- 
sion, the    czar   entered   a   skiff,    and   him- 
self pushed  off  for  the  spot.     As  his  boat 
could   not  reach   the   shoal,  he  leaped  into 
the  sea,  and  wading  to  the  boat,  succeeded 
in  saving  those  on  board  of  it,  and  convey- 
ing them  to  the  shore. 

For   this   noble   act    he    paid    a    severe 
penalty.     He  took  a  violent  cold,  and  during 
the  night  his  disease  returned  with  all  its 
former    severity.      A    burning    fever    also 
seized  him,  and  he  suffered  acute  agonies. 
He  was  removed  to  St.  Petersburg,  where 
liis  alarmed  physicians  feared  that  gangrene 
and  its  fsital  results  were  not  to  be  averted. 
Even  in  this  alarming  situation,  the   czar 
attended  to  business   in   every  interval  of 
suffering.     He  laboured  to  the  last;  and, 
as  it  has  been  finely  said,  he  paused  only  to 
die.     Two    months   he   languished   in   this 
condition ;  at  times  prostrate  with  suffering, 
and   at   others   seeming    to    triumph   over 
disease  and  impending  death,  by  the  force 
of  a  will  accustomed  to  subdue  everything. 
About   the   middle   of  January,    1725,   he 
even  braved  the  severity  of  the  weather; 
and,  venturing  out,  attended  the  ceremony 
of  blessing  the  water.     The  following  day 
his   most    distressing    symptoms    returned 
with  all  their  force;  and  he  suffered  also 
from  a  difficulty  of  breathing. 

The  most  distinguished  physicians  that 
could  be  procured,  not  only  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, but  also  from  Leyden  and  Berlin, 
were  collected  around  his  bed.  They  used 
every  means  known  to  them  to  allay  his 
terrible  malady;  but  it  is  said  they  only 
tortured  the  illustrious  patient,  whom  they 
sought  in  vain  to  save.  His  agonies  were 
198 


sometimes  so  great,  that  he  filled  the  palace 
with  his  cries ;  then,  ashamed  of  this  in- 
voluntary expression  of  his  tortured  frame, 
he  mournfully  exclaimed,  that  "in  him 
might  be  plainly  seen  what  a  wretched  ani- 
mal is  man  V* 

The  czar  lingered  until  about  the  end  of 
the  month,  and  a  few  days  before  his  death 
he  resigned  himself  to  his  approaching  fate ; 
for  at  first  he  did  not  appear  to  think  that 
his   disorder  would  terminate  fatally.     On 
the  26th  he  received  the  last  consolations  of 
religion,  and  observed—"  I  dare  hope  that 
God  will  look  upon  me  with  a  merciful  eye  for 
all  the  good  that  1  have  done  to  my  countrv !" 
To  the  last  he   thought   of  his    beloved 
reforms;  and,  in  intervals  of  ease  and  reason 
(for  he  was  frequently  in  a   state   of    de- 
lirium),  he   directed   Catherine   to   protect 
his  academy  of  sciences,  and  to  invite  to  it 
the  learned  men  of  Europe.     Then,  point- 
ing out  the  virtuous  and  able  Count  Oster- 
mann  to  her,  he  exclaimed—"  Russia  cannot 
do  without  him;  he  is  the  only  man  wlio 
knows  her  real  interests.^'     Ever  occupied 
with  the  labours  of  life,  Peter  had  neglected 
to  write  his  will.     He  now,  when  it  was  too 
late,  sought  to  remedy  this  oversight.     He 
attempted  to  write,  but  his   hand  was  no 
longer  sufficiently  steady  for  that  purpose, 
and,   after   tracing   a   few   almost   illegible 
words,  he  was   compelled   to   give    up   the 
attempt.     When  the  paper  was  examined, 
nothing  further  could  be  made  out  from  it 

than  the  words — "Give  all  to /' 

Signifying  his  desire  that  his  favourite 
daughter,  the  Princess  Anne,  should  attend, 
he  thought  to  dictate  to  her  that  which  his 
powerless  fingers  could  not  set  down.  Be- 
fore she  arrived,  he  was  seized  with  a  fit 
which  rendered  him  speechless,  and  pa- 
ralysed his  left  side.  For  fifteen  hours  he 
remained  in  this  sad  state,  almost  between 
the  living  and  the  dead.  Catherine  watched 
anxiously  by  his  bedside,  which  she  had 
scarcely  left  during  three  successive  nights. 
At  length,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1725, 
about  four  in  the  morning,  he  breathed  his 
last  in  her  arms.  Thus,  in  the  fifty-second 
year  of  his  life,  and  the  forty-third  of  his 
reign,  died  the  most  remarkable  and  gifted 
monarch  that  Russia  has  ever  possessed. 

The  body  of  the  deceased  emperor  was 
removed  into  the  great  hall  of  the  palace, 
followed  by  the  imperial  family,  the  senate, 
and  an  immense  number  of  persons  of  dis- 
tinction. It  was  there  laid  on  a  bed  of  state, 
and  the  people  adn:'ned  to  kiss  the  cold 


hand  of  the  potentate  who  had  effected  such 
mighty  changes  in  the  empire.     His  funeral 
was  conducted  with  a  magnificence  worthy 
of  his  great  achievements,  and  the  most  dis- 
tinguished honours  were  paid  to  his  memory 
by  a  people  who  had  at  length  learned  to 
value   the   greatness  of  their  imperial   re- 
former; the  true  founder  of  modern  Russia. 
Since  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  an 
aggressive  and  absorbing  policy,  with  respect 
to  other  nations,  has  been  observable  in  the 
Russian    government.     This   has   probably 
arisen  from  the  necessity  it  felt  for  the  ex- 
tension of  its  seaboard,  and  the  multiplica- 
tion of  its  outlets  into  the  great  trading  seas 
of  Europe ;  but  it  has  generally  been  attri- 
buted to  directions  said  to  be  bequeathed  by 
the  czar  Peter  to  his  successors,  and  since 
then  handed  down  as  a  cabinet  secret  from 
sovereign  to   sovereign.     These   directions, 
contained  in  a  document  denominated  the 
"  Will  of  Peter  the  Great,''  contain  a  plan  for 
the  subjugation  of  Europe  beneath  Russian 
supremacy,  and   the  erection  of  a  colossal 
empire,  extending  over  the  whole  civilised 
and  semi-civilised  world.     We  have  given 
the  text  of  this  "  will"  elsewhere,  *  and  have 
in  the  same  place  reiterated  the  doubt  gen- 
erally expressed  as  to  its  authenticity.     That 
doubt  we  now  repeat;  for,  upon  a  further 
consideration  -of  the  contents  of  this  paper, 
we   are   inclined   to   believe   it   a  forgery; 
though  we  will  admit  that  it  has  never  un- 
dergone such  an  investigation — at  least  such 
a  known  and  open  investigation — as  the  sub- 
ject appears  to  demand.     It  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible  that   so  important   and  dangerous  a 
cabinet  secret  should  have  been  allowed  to 
become  public ;  for  the  promulgation  of  it 
might  have  roused  all  the   rest  of  Europe 
into  a  crusade  against  a  neighbour  whose 
policy  they  must  have  regarded  as  incom- 
patible with   general   tranquillity,  or  even 
safety.     But  how  do  the   believers  in  this 
state   paper    account   for   its    being    made 
public?     They  say  that  the  empress  Eliza- 
beth, enamoured  of  the  notorious  Chevalier 
d'Eon  (a  creature  of  tainted  character  and 
doubtful  sex,  who  was  sent  from  the  court  of 
France  to  Russia  as  a  secret  agent),  allowed 
him  extraordinary  opportunities  for  making 
iniportant  discoveries,   and  that    he  trans- 
mitted this  document  to  Louis  XV.  in  1757. 
The  tale  is  a  romantic  and  suspicious  one. 
Certainly  the  will  first  became  public  through 
the  medium  of  D'Eon;  and  what  more  pro- 
bable than  that  he  composed  it,  taking  as 
•  History  of  the  War  tcith  Russia,  vol.  ii.,  p.  83. 


RUSSIAN  EiMPIRE.  [supposed  policy  of  peter. 


his  cue  some  vague  hints  dropped  by  Russian 
statesmen  or  politicians,  whose  ambition  and 
national  vanity  were  much  greater  than  their 
prudence  and  their  wisdom. 

But  apart  from  the  suspicious  nature  of 
the  external  evidence  given  in  support  of  the 
authenticity  of  this  paper,  we  do  not  think 
that  an  examination  of  the  contents  of  it 
favours  the  supposition  that  it  represents  the 
matured  thoughts  of  Peter  the  Great.     A 
scheme  of  universal  conquest  bv  a  man  who 
never  fought  a  single  battle  for  the  sake  of 
glory,  but  ever  regarded  war  only  as  a  means 
to  some  useful  and  profitable  end  !     It  has 
an  air  of  incredibility.     Of  what  use  would 
the   sovereignty  of  Europe   have   been  to 
Peter  or  his  successors  ?    To  achieve  it,  would 
exhaust  the  strength  of  Russia  in  incessant 
wars;  to  maintain  it,  would  be  to  convert 
half  her  population  into  a  military  pohce, 
and  to  engage  her  in  the  continual  sup- 
pression  of    revolutions,   which,    by   their 
number,   and  the  bloody  fury  with  which 
they  would  inevitably  be  conducted,  would 
probably  ultimately  triumph,  from  the  in- 
ternal  feebleness    and    inanition    of  their 
despot.     European    dominion   would    have 
distracted  Russia  from  itself,  and  it  would 
have  fallen  back  towards  barbarism,  and  pro- 
bably been  broken  up  again  into  petty  and  in- 
significant states.     Such  extensive  rule  could 
not  be  grasped  by  any  ordinary  hand,  nor  con- 
ducted by  any  merely  human  head.    Beneath 
a  powerful  sovereign  such  an  empire  would 
be  always  threatened  with  disruption;  and 
the  accession  of  a  weak  one  would  inevitably 
be  followed  by  confusion,  war,  and  ruin.     In 
later    days   the    great   Napoleon    tried   to 
realise  the  day-dream  of  European  conquest, 
and  the  result  was  ruin  to  himself,  prostra- 
tion  to   France.     Peter    understood   these 
views.     "It  is,''  said  he,  on  one  occasion, 
'*  not  land,  but  ivater,  that  Russia  wants.'' 
Russia  had,  in  his  time,  more  land  than  her 
population  could  reclaim  from  the  barren 
wildness  of  nature;  and  such  is  yet  the  case. 
Russia  requires  concentration  and  compres- 
sion, not  extension;  for  assuredly  any  great 
extension  would  lead  to  its  widely-separated 
parts  falling  asunder,  and  becoming  divided, 
and  perhaps  antagonistic  states. 

As  to  the  idle  rant  which  the  "will"  attri- 
butes to  Peter,  about  Russia  regenerating 
worn-out  Europe,  a  very  little  reflection 
will  show  that  the  attempt  at  Russian  supre- 
macy would  be  far  more  likely  to  barbarisc 
Europe.  The  great  czar  knew  this,  and  he 
regarded  the  old  states  of  Europe  with  ad- 

199 


«  T  < 


i» 


CHARACTER  OF  PETER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1725. 


I 


{' 


miration.    He  studied  civilisation  from  them, 
and  ever  held  them  up  to  his  nobles  and 
people    »H    models.     He   was    aware    that 
Europe  had  nothing  to  learn  from  Russia, 
but    that    Russia    had   everything  to  learn 
from  Europe.     So  strongly  did  this  convic- 
tion appear  in  his  actions,  that  he  has  been 
reproached  as  having  forced  upon  the  Rus- 
sians  an  imitative   civilisation   unsuited  to 
their  national  character,   in   preference  to 
letting  their  better  qualities  slowly  develop 
themselves.     We  do  not  share  this  opinion, 
for  Peter  had  to  do  with  a  vast  nation  of 
semi-savages,  whom   he  was   compelled  to 
rend  abruptly  away  from  their    barbarous 
habits,  and  to  coerce  into  decency  and  hu- 
manity.    It  was  necessary  to  tell  them  what 
to  do,   and   how  to  think;   to  open  their 
minds ;  and  reform,  nay,  altogether  recreate, 
their  manners.     With  this  object,  he  com- 
pelled  them  to  dress,  and  live,  mingle  to- 
gether, and  marry  like  the  inhabitants  of  the 
most  polished  states  of  Europe.     Yet  we  are 
told  that  the  far-seeing,  deep-thinking  czar, 
who  never  talked  for  display,   and  was  as 
plain  in  his  speech  and  writing  as  he  was  in 
his  dress,  babbled  about  Russia  fertilising 
and  regenerating  worn-out  Europe.*  Peter's 
own  opinion  of  his  subjects  was  not  a  flatter- 
ing one ;  assuredly  he  did  not  regard  them  as 
civilizers.    To  those  around  him,  he  would  ex- 
claim— "  You  may  make  war  on  wild  beasts ; 
it  is  a  pleasure  which  is  not  unbecoming  to 
you ;  but  as  for  me,  I  cannot  amuse  myself 
in  such  a  manner,  while  I  have  so  many  to 
combat  in  my  obstinate  and  intractable  sub- 
jects.   Uiey  are  animals  whom  I  have  dressed 
like  men,    I  often  despair  of  overcoming  their 
pertinacity,  and  eradicating  their  wickedness 
from  their  hearts.     Let  me,  therefore,  be  no 
longer  painted  as  a  cruel  tyrant  by  those  who 
are   unacquainted    with   the   circumstances 
which  have  imperiously  directed  my  conduct: 
what  numbers  of  persons  have  thwarted  my 
designs,  rendered  abortive  my  most  beneficial 
plans  for  the  country,  and  compelled  me  to 
use  the  utmost  rigour.     I  sought  for  their 
assistance,  and  appealed  to  their  patriotism. 
Those  who  have  comprehended  and  seconded 
me,  and  have  been  the  most  useful  to  my 
people,  I  have  loaded  with  rewards;  they 
have  been  my  only  favourites  !'' 

•  That  the  existing  military  despotisms  of  Europe 
will  be  comparatively  short-lived,  is  probable  ;  that 
they  must  eventually  perish,  is  certain ;  but  the  re- 
generating power  will  not  come  from  without,  but 
arise  from  within.  Nations  become  decrepit,  but 
man  is  ever  young.    The  worn-out,  expiring  empire 

200 


The  character  of  Peter  was    a   complex 
one;   made  up  of  diverse,  and  in  some  re- 
spects discordant,  qualities.     Few  men  arc 
wholly  good  or  wholly  evil :  almost  all  are 
both  good  and  evil,  according  to  the  passion 
or  appetite  which  predominates  at  the  time; 
for  our  virtues  and  our  vices  spring  from  the 
same  germ ;  and  the  last  are  but  a  morbid 
exaggeration  of  the  first.  -  Though  a  great 
and  most  original  man,  Peter  was  still  but 
an  extraordinary  barbarian,  who  all  his  life 
offered  a  noble  homage  to  the  civilisation 
which  he  admired,  but  did  not  possess.    He 
once  observed,  after  a  fit  of  intoxication, 
during  which  he  had  been  guilty  of  some 
violence,  that  he  could  reform  his  subjects, 
but  he  could   not  reform  himself — an  ad- 
mission as   sad   as   it  was   evidently  true. 
Such  was   the  vehemence  and  untameable 
energy  of  this  great,  wild  man — this  Samp- 
son, who  pulled  down    the  temple  of  bar- 
barism, and  crushed  its  obstinate  votaries 
beneath  its  ruins — that  his  habitual  industry 
extended  to  his  vices.     He  was  a  drunkard, 
even  to  the  glaring,  wolfish  madness  of  in- 
toxication;   and  a  coarse   sensualist,  even 
to  that  point  where  depraved  appetite  sinks 
into   pruriency.       His    ferocity   was    such, 
that,  when   thoroughly  aroused,  he  panted 
for   blood  ;    and   the   sighs   and  agonizing 
moans  of  wretches  on  the  rack,  the  wheel, 
or   the   impaling   stake,   were    as    horrible 
music  to  his  ears.     Such  were  his  vices,  and 
they  are  terrible  ones ;  but  every  allowance 
should   be   made  for   this   great   creature, 
whose  boyhood  was  purposely  exposed   to 
contamination,  whose  education  was   such 
as  he  himself  gathered  without  any  guide  on 
whom  he  could  rely,  and  who  was  exposed 
to  obstacles  which  would  have  overwhelmed 
almost  any  other  man.     The  frantic  oppo- 
sition he  had  to  subdue  in  his  crusade  of 
civilisation,  is  an  acceptable,  if  not  altogether 
sufficient  apology  for  his  cruelty ;  while  his 
drunkenness  and  licentiousness  were  merely 
personal  vices,  and  did  not  affect  his  people. 
Great  as  were  the  vices  of  this  illustrious 
sovereign,  his  noble  qualities  far  outshone 
them.      He   was   the   most   industrious   of 
men,  and  commonly  both  frugal  and  self- 
denying.     He  idolised  his  country,  lived  for 
it  utterly,  laboured  for  it  incessantly,  and, 

which  is  torn  asunder  by  revolutions,  or  divided  by 
the  swords  of  conquerors,  yields  in  its  dying  struggles 
those  germs  which,  in  the  grand  career  of  time, 
ripen  into  young  and  more  teachable  nations.  Na- 
ture is  ever  employed  in  renewing  the  youth  of  the 
world. 


A.D.  1725.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[character  of  peter. 


by  his  almost  superhuman  exertions,  raised 
it  from  a  distracted,  barbarous,  and  despised 
state  to  a  powerful  empire,  with  a  numerous 
and  a  highly-disciplined  army;  a  navy  which 
was  not  only  promising,  but   powerful;    a 
commerce  which   was   rapidly  becoming  a 
broad  and  inexhaustible  source  of  wealth ; 
and  a  reputation  for  national  dignity  and 
influence  second    to    no    state   in   Europe. 
Never  did  he  abandon  his  exertions  for  the 
exaltation  and  benefit  of  his  native  land. 
We  are  struck  with  wonder  and  admiration 
at  the  number  and  extent  of  his  labours, 
and  the  untiring  perseverance  with  which 
he  urged  them  into  practice.     He  greatly 
enlarged  the  boundaries  of  the  empire,  and 
gave  it  an  outlet  to  the  sea,  both  in  the 
north  and  in  the  south.     His  navies  arose 
with  a  rapidity  that  resembled  the  fabulous 
works  of  enchantment,  and  his  fleets  feared 
no  foe,  either  upon  the  waters  of  the  Baltic 
or   the   Euxine.      Hitherto    the    army   of 
Russia  had  been  little  better  than  a  savage 
and  riotous  mob  ;  this  he  exterminated,  and 
supplied  its  place  by  one  organised  upon 
the  systems  pursued  by  the  most  military 
nations   of  Europe.     He  established  many 
institutions  for  the   cultivation  of   science, 
literature,  and  the  arts,  and  also  for  humane 
and   charitable    purposes.      Above    all,    he 
modified  and  improved  the  character  of  the 
people;    softened  their  sullen    and    brutal 
manners;  gave  touches  of  social  grace  to 
their  domestic  life ;   did  something  towards 
breaking  up  their  apathetic  ignorance  and 
superstition;   and,   indeed,   raised   them  in 
the  scale  of  existence.     These  things  make 
the  impartial  mind   look  with  a  glance  of 
regret  upon  his  ferocity,  his  storms  of  pas- 
sion, his  wild  impulses,  and  his  vulgar  riots. 
It   is   difficult   to   dwell   harshly  on   these 
painful  topics,  when   we   contemplate   the 
character  of  the  heroic  sovereign  to  whom 
his  people  gave,  with  acclamations,  the  title 
of  Father,  and  whose  grateful  descendants 
regard    him   with    a    feeling    approaching 
adoration,  as  the  embodiment  of  the  tute- 
lary Genius  of  the  Empire. 


Here  we  shall  introduce  a  few  anecdotes 
and  remarks  concerning  Peter,  which  are 
rather  illustrative  of  his  character  than  of 
the  history  of  his  country.  He  was  an 
early  riser,  commonly  leaving  his  bed  at  the 
hour  of  four,  even  during  the  winter,  and 
lighting  his  own  fire.  He  dined  at  one; 
and  though  not  a  large  feeder,  would  eat 
anything  except  fish,  to  which  he  had  an 

VOL.  I.  2d 


antipathy.  He  altogether  discarded  the 
solitary  state,  during  meals,  of  his  prede- 
cessors on  the  imperial  throne,  and  loved 
to  dine  with  Dutch  and  English  skippers, 
with  whom  he  conversed  familiarlv,  and 
enjoyed  his  clay  pipe  and  mug  of  quass. 

Sometimes  the  czar  would  pilot  the  foreign 
vessels  that  came  to  Cronstadt ;  on  which 
occasions  he  always  took  his  pay  like  other 
pilots,  chiefly  because  he  desired  to  render 
the  service  honourable      He  commonly  re- 
ceived   the    ambassadors    sent   to   Russia, 
wherever  he  chanced   to   be,  without   any 
ceremony;     because,    he    said,    thev   were 
accredited  to  his  person,  and  not  *^to  any 
hall   or   palace.      M.  Printz,  the  Prussian 
ambassador,  was  taken  on  board  a  ship  to 
be  introduced  to  the  czar,  where  Peter,  who 
was  aloft,  shouted  to  him  to  climb  up  into 
the  maintop,  though  the  eccentric  sovereign 
came   down    to    the    quarter-deck,    on   his 
visitor  pleading  his  want  of  practice  as  an 
excuse  for  not  complying  with  so  unusual  a 
request.     Occasionally,  the  czar's   humours 
placed  those  who  shared  them  in  dangerous 
positions.      One    day    he    invited    several 
foreign  ministers  to  accompany  him  on  a 
trip  by  water  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Cron- 
stadt.     About    half-way    the    vessel    was 
caught   in   a   sudden   storm.     One   of  the 
ambassadors  implored   the   czar,   who  was 
steersman,  to  make  for  the  shore.     "  We 
shall  all  be  lost,"  he  added,  in  accents  of 
terror,    "and   your    majesty   will   have   to 
answer  for  my  life  to  the  king  my  master.'' 
Peter  laughed  as  he  replied,  "  Sir,  if  you 
are  drowned,  we  shall  all  go  to  the  bottom 
with  you,  and  there  will  be  nobody  left  to 
answer  to  your  court  for  your  excellency's 
life." 

The  czar  usually  indulged  in  an  hour's 
sleep  after  dinner.  When  he  was  from 
home  he  would  lie  down  for  this  refresh- 
ment on  the  deck  of  a  ship,  the  floor  of  a 
hut,  or  even  the  bare  ground,  if  no  more 
convenient  resting-place  was  to  be  had. 
When  disposed  to  sleep,  the  officer  in  at- 
tendance upon  him  had  to  he  down  and 
support  his  mastei-'s  head  on  his  belly,  in 
which  position  he  was  expected  to  remain  as 
still  as  the  pillow  he  represented.  If  by  a 
motion,  cough,  or  sneeze,  he  woke  the  czar, 
the  latter  kicked  or  thumped  him  for  liis 
restlessness.  Indeed,  no  one  about  him 
was  secure  from  personal  violence,  as,  when 
offended,  he  frequently  struck  or  caned  his 
principal  officers  or  nobles,  even  in  pubhc. 
So  common  had  this  become,  that  the  sense 

201 


't 


.v:i 


ANECDOTES  OF  PETER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1725. 


A.D.  1725.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [m.^nners  of  the  Russians. 


I 


of  degradation  attending  it  was  lost  sight  of, 
and,  by  a  pleasant  fiction,  those  who  suffered 
such  chastisement,  regarded  it  as  a  sort  of 
fatherly  correction.  Having  on  one  oc- 
casion beaten  some  of  his  ministers  for  a 
fault  which  they  afterwards  satisfied  him 
liad  not  been  committed,  he  rendered  a  sort 
of  apology  by  acknowledging  his  mistake, 
and  promising  to  make  an  allowance  the 
next  time  they  deserved  chastisement.  With 
.this  impetuous  irritability,  he  was  patient 
and  courteous  to  all  persons  who  desired  to 
lay  some  useful  project  before  him.  He 
caused  the  requisite  experiments  to  be  made 
in  his  presence,  and  liberally  rewarded  those 
who  devised  anything  new,  and,  not  unfre- 
quently,  even  those  who  deceived  themselves. 
To  the  latter,  he  would  kindly  explain  the 
causes  of  their  mistake ;  because,  he  said, 
he  wished  to  encourage  them  to  do  some- 
thing better.  In  the  same  generous  temper, 
he  would  stand  godfather  to  the  children 
even  of  the  poorest  persons  who  had  the 
confidence  to  request  such  a  favour  at  his 
hands.  He  would  also  occasionallv  dine 
and  talk  familiarly  with  the  common  soldiers, 
and  behave  towards  them  with  so  much 
simplicity,  that  he  seemed  for  the  time 
rather  their  companion  than  tlieir  sovereign. 
Such  popular  manners,  as  soon  as  they  were 
understood  by  the  then  unsocial  Russian 
people,  much  endeared  the  czar  to  his  sub- 
jects. 

With  all  Peter's  manual  labours  he  did 
not  neglect  mental  cultivation.  He  not 
only  ordered  a  number  of  useful  works  to 
be  translated  into  the  Russian  language, 
but  also  translated  several  himself.  Amongst 
the  latter  were  U Architecture  de  Sebastien 
Iteclerc,  UArt  de  Tourner,  par  Plumier  (the 
fizar  was  a  very  skilful  turner),  and  UArt 
des  Ecluses  et  des  Moulins,  par  Sturm.  The 
manuscripts  of  these,  in  the  handwriting  of 
the  emperor,  are  still  preserved  at  St. 
Petersburg.  In  any  Russian  version  which 
he  ordered  to  be  made  of  a  foreign  work,  if, 
as  sometimes  happened,  the  translator  modi- 
fied passages  which  reflected  upon  the  Rus- 
sians, Peter  would  severely  rebuke  him,  and 
have  the  passage  literally  rendered.  "  He 
did  not,^'  he  observed,  "want  to  flatter  his 
subjects,  but  to  instruct  them ;  and,  espe- 
cially, to  show  them  what  they  had  been, 
and  what  foreigners  thought  of  them,  that 
he  might  stimulate  them  to  change,  by  their 
exertions,  the  opinion  of  Europe." 

In  the  gusts  of  passion  to  which  the  czar 
was  subject,  a  manly  and  fearless  expostu- 
202 


lation  would  sometimes  disarm  his  fury. 
One  day,  while  on  board  a  boat,  he,  in  a 
fit  of  anger,  seized  a  senator  who  had 
offended  him,  and  was  about  to  hurl  him 
into  the  water,  when  the  other  exclaimed 
— "  You  may  drown  me,  but  your  history 
will  tell  of  this."  Peter  felt  the  reproof, 
and,  admiring  the  self-possession  of  the 
man  who  gave  it,  set  him  down  unhurt. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  with  a 
curious  picture  of  the  manners  of  Peter  and 
his  court  while  at  table.  Assuredly  the 
Russians  of  that  period  were  disgustingly 
coarse  in  their  habits  ;  and  their  conduct,  as 
here  described,  forms  a  striking  contrast  to 
the  highly-polished  manners  and  personal 
dignity  of  the  Russian  nobles  and  gentry  of 
the  present  day.  The  following  description 
is  taken  from  a  manuscript  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Dr.  Birch,  contained  among  the 
Sloane  papers  in  the  British  Museum  : — 
"  There  are  twenty-four  cooks  belonging 
to  the  kitchen  of  the  Russian  court,  who 
are  all  Russians;  and  as  people  of  that 
nation  use  a  great  deal  of  onions,  garlic, 
and  train  oil  in  dressing  their  meat,  and 
employ  linseed  and  walnut  oil  for  their 
provisions,  there  is  such  an  intolerable  stink 
in  their  kitchen,  that  no  stranger  is  able  to 
bear  it,  especially  the  cooks  being  such 
nasty  fellows,  that  the  very  sight  of  them  is 
enough  to  turn  one's  stomach;  these  are 
the  men  who,  on  great  festivals,  dress  about 
seventy  or  eighty  or  more  dishes.  But  the 
fowls  which  are  for  the  czar's  own  eating 
are  very  often  dressed  by  his  grand  mar- 
shal, Alseffiof,  who  is  running  up  and  down, 
with  his  apron  before  him,  among  the  other 
cooks  till  it  is  time  to  take  up  dinner,  when 
he  puts  on  his  fine  clothes  and  full-bottomed 
wig,  and  helps  to  serve  up  the  dinner.  The 
number  of  persons  invited  is  generally  two 
or  three  hundred,  though  there  is  room  for 
no  more  than  above  a  hundred  at  four  or  five 
tables ;  but  as  there  is  no  place  assigned  to 
anybody,  and  none  of  the  Russians  are  wil- 
ling to  go  home  with  an  empty  stomach, 
everybody  is  obliged  to  seize  his  chair  and 
hold  it  with  all  his  force,  if  he  will  not  have 
it  snatched  from  him. 

"The  czar  being  come  in,  and  having 
chosen  a  place  for  himself,  there  is  such 
scuffling  and  fighting  for  chairs,  that  nothing 
more  scandalous  can  be  seen  in  any  com- 
pany, though  the  czar  does  not  mind  it  in 
the  least,  nor  does  he  take  care  for  putting 
a  stop  to  such  disorder,  pretending  that  a 
ceremony,  and  the  formal  regulations  of  a 


marshal,  make  people  sit  uneasy  and  spoil 
the  pleasure  of  conversation.    Several  foreign 
ministers  have   complained  of  this  to  the 
czar,  and  refuse  to  dine  any  more  at  Court, 
but  all  the  answer  they  got  was,  that  it  was 
not  the  czar's  business  to  turn  master  of 
the  ceremonies,  and  please  foreigners,  nor 
was  it  his  intention  to  abolish  the  freedom 
once  introduced ;  this  obliged  strangers  for 
the  future  to  follow  the  Russian  fashion,  in 
defending  the  possession  of  their  chairs,  by 
cuffing    and   ^boxing    their    opposer.     The 
company  thus  sitting  down  to  table  without 
any  manner  of  grace,  they  all  sit  so  crowded 
together,  that  they  have  much  ado  to  lift 
their    hands   to   their    mouths;    and   if  a 
stranger  happens  to  sit  between  two  Rus- 
sians, which  is  commonly  the  case,  he  is 
sure  of  losing  his  stomach,  though  he  should 
have  happened  to  have  eaten  nothing  for  two 
days    before.     Carpenters   and   shipwrights 
sit  next  to  the  czar ;  but  senators,  ministers, 
generals,    priests,    sailors,    buffoons   of    all 
kinds,  sit  pell-mell  without  any  distinction. 
The  first  course  consists  of  nothing  but  cold 
meats,  among  which  are  hams,  dried  tongues, 
and  the  like,  which,  not  being  liable  to  such 
tricks    as    shall    be    mentioned    hereafter, 
strangers  ordinarily  make  their  whole  meal 
of    them,    without   tasting    anything    else, 
though  generally  speaking,  every  one  takes 
his  dinner  beforehand  at  home. 

"Soups    and    roasted    meats   make    the 
second  course,  and   pastry  the   third.     As 
soon   as  one  sits   down,   one  is  obliged  to 
drink  a  cup  of  brandy,  after  which  they  ply 
you  with  great  glasses  of  adulterated  Tokay, 
and    other    vitiated    wines,    and    between 
whiles,  a  bumper  of  the  strongest  English 
beer,  by  which  mixture  of  liquors  every  one 
of  the  guests  is  fuddled  before  the  soup  is 
served    up.      The   company   being   in   this 
condition,  make  such  a  noise,  racket,  hal- 
looing,   that   it  is  impossible  to   hear   one 
another,  or  even  to  hear  the  music,  which  is 
playing  in  the  next  room,  consisting  of  a 
sort  of  trumpets  and  cornets ;  for  the  czar 
hates  violins ;  and  with  this  revelling  noise 
and  uproar  the  czar  is  extremely  diverted, 
particularly  if  the  guests  fall  to  boxing  and 
get  bloody  noses. 

Formerly  the  company  had  no  napkin 
given  them,  but  instead  of  it  they  had  a 
piece  of  very  coarse  linen  given  them  by 
a  servant,  who  brought  in  the  whole  piece 
under  his  arm,  and  cut  off  half  an  ell  for 
every  person,  which  thev  are  at  liberty  to 
carry  home  with  them,-   for  it  had   been 


observed  that  these   pilfering   guests  used 
sometimes  to  pocket  the  napkins;  but  at 
present  two  or  three  Russians  must  make 
shift  with  but  one  napkin,  which  they  pull 
and  haul  for,  like  hungry  dogs  for  a  bone. 
Each  person  of  the  company  has  but  one 
plate  during  dinner;   so  if  some  Russian 
does   not   care   to   mix'  ^he  sauces   of  the 
different  dishes  together,  he  pours  the  soup 
that  is  left  in  his  plate  either  into  the  dish 
or  into  his  neighbour's  plate,  or  even  under 
the   table,  after  which   he   licks   his   plate 
clean  with  his  finger,  and,  last  of  all,  wipes 
it  with  the  tablecloth.     The  tables  are  each 
thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  and  ten-and-a-half 
broad ;  three  or  four  messes  of  one  and  the 
same  course  are  served  up  to  each  table; 
the  dessert  consists  of  divers  sorts  of  pastry 
and  fruits,  but  the  czaritza's  table  is  fur- 
nished with  sweetmeats  :    however,  it  is  to 
be  observed  that  these  sweetmeats  are  only 
set  out  on  great  festivals  for  a  show,  and 
that  the  Russians  of  the  best  fashion  have 
nothing  for  their  dessert  but  the  produce  of 
the  kitchen-garden,  as  peas,  beans,  &c.,  all 
raw.     At  great  entertainments  it  frequently 
happens  that  nobody  is  allowed  to  go  out  of 
the  room  from  noon  till  midnight ;  hence  it 
is  easy  to  imagine  what  a  pickle  a  room 
must  be  in,  that  is  full  of  people  who  drink 
like  beasts,  and  none  of  them  escape  being 
dead  drunk. 

"  They  often  tie  eight  or  ten  young  mice 
in  a  string,  and  hide  them  under  green 
peas,  or  in  such  soups  as  the  Russians  have 
the  greatest  appetite  to,  which  sets  them  a 
kicking  and  vomiting  in  a  most  beastly 
manner,  when  they  come  to  the  bottom  and 
discover  the  trick;  they  often  bake  cats, 
wolves,  ravens,  and  the  like,  in  their 
pastries,  and  when  the  company  have  eaten 
them  up,  they  tell  them  what  they  have 
devoured. 

"  The  present  butler  is  one  of  the  czar's 
buffoons,  to  whom  he  has  given  the  name  of 
Wiaschi,  with  this  privilege,  that  if  any  one 
else  calls  him  by  that  name  he  has  leave  to 
drub    him   with    his    wooden    sword.      If, 
therefore,    anybody,    by  the   czar's    setting 
them  on,  calls  out  '  Wiaschi !'  as  the  fellow- 
does  not  know  exactly  who  it  was,  he  falls  a 
beating   them    all   round,    beginning   with 
Prince  Mentschikoff  and  ending  with  the 
last  of  the  company,  without  excepting  even 
the  ladies,  whom  he  strips  of  their  head- 
clothes,  as  he  does  the  old   Russians  with 
their  wigs,  which   he   tramples   upon;    on 
which  occasion  it  is  pleasant  enough  to  see 

-^203 


/ 


STRUGGLES  OF  FACTTOX.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1725. 


A.D.  1725.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [accession  of  Catherine  i. 


Ni 


the  variety  of  their  bald  pates.  Besides 
tlicse  employments  or  entertainments,  the 
said  Wiaschi  is  also  surveyor  of  the  ice,  and 
executioner  for  torturing  people,  on  which 
occasion  he  gives  them  the  knout  himself; 


and  his  remarkable  dexterity  in  this  de- 
testable business  has  already  procured  him 
above  30,000  thalers,  the  sixth  part  of  the 
confiscated  estates  of  the  sufferer  being  hia 
perquisite/^ 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ATTF.MPT  TO  PLACE  PETER's  GRANDSON  ON  THE  THRONE;  CATHERINE  BECOMES  EMPRESS;  POPULARITY  OF 
HKR  EARLY  PROCEEDINGS;  IIER  LICENTIOUSNESS ;  LIBELS  CONCERNING  HER;  HER  DEATH;  PETER,  THE 
SON  OF  ALEXIS,  ASCENDS  THE  THRONE;   DISGRACE  OF  MENTSCHIKOFF ;   PREMATURE  DEATH  OF  THE  CZAR. 


The  old  party,  which  clung  to  the  perishing 
customs  of  the  past,  was  not  extinct  in 
Russia.  Peter  had  awed  the  factious  among 
the  nobles,  and  the  perversely  bigoted  among 
the  people,  into  silence;  but  he  had  not 
convinced  them  of  the  efficacy  of  his  re- 
forms. The  czar  knew  this,  and,  doubtless, 
looked  to  the  next  generation  for  an  appre- 
ciation of  his  changes. 

While  the  speechless,  delirious,  and  pa- 
ralysed emperor  lay  on  his  bed  awaiting 
the  moment  which  released  him  from  his 
sufferings,  secret  cabals  were  in  progress 
for  the  purpose  of  bestowing  the  sceptre  on 
the  party  identified  with  the  interests  of 
those  who  composed  these  political  con- 
claves. The  old  party,  amongst  whom  were 
many  of  the  principal  nobility,  desired  to  place 
Peter  Alexievitch upon  the  throne;  to  arrest 
Catherine  ;  to  abolish  the  institutions  that 
had  been  established  by  the  dying  czar ;  to 
banish  all  the  foreigners  who  had  assisted  in 
the  introduction  of  novelties ;  and  to  restore 
the  empire  to  its  primitive  barbarism.  The 
mean  origin  of  Prince  Mentschikoff,  added 
to  the  insolence  of  his  bearing,  made  them 
resolve  to  include  him  in  the  ruin  of  the 
empress.  It  was  therefore  the  intention  of 
the  conspirators  to  send  her  to  the  dreary 
solitude  of  a  convent,  and  him  to  the  frozen 
deserts  of  Siberia. 

Mentschikoff  was  informed  of  these  de- 
.signs,  and  his  interests  were  thus  more  com- 
pletely identified  with  those  of  Catherine. 
His  measures  were  prompt  and  effective.  As 
soon  as  he  knew  that  the  czar  was  actually 
^yi"&>  lie  seized  the  royal  treasures,  caused 
them  to  be  conveyed  into  the  citadel,  and 
secured  the  officers  of  the  guards  to  his 
interest  bv  bribes  and  promises.  Then 
204 


assembling  a  council  of  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal clergy,  senators,  and  officers  in  the 
palace,  he  led  Catherine  into  their  presence. 
Briefly  addressing  them,  she  claimed  the 
throne  in  right  of  her  coronation  at  Mos- 
cow ;  referred  to  the  dangers  which  might 
be  anticipated  should  it  be  occupied  by  a 
minor ;  and  promised  that,  "  so  far  from 
depriving  the  grand-duke  of  the  crown,  she 
would  receive  it  only  as  a  sacred  deposit,  to  be 
restored  to  him  when  she  should  be  united, 
in  another  world,  to  an  adored  husband, 
whom  she  was  now  upon  the  point  of 
losing.^'  This  address,  the  utterance  of 
which  was  broken  by  tears,  had  consider- 
able effect ;  yet,  when  Catherine  withdrew 
and  left  the  meeting  to  deliberate,  the 
general  opinion  was  not  altogether  favour- 
able to  her  claim. 

As  soon  as  Peter  was  dead,  the  great 
nobles  and  the  most  influential  of  the 
clergy  thronged  to  the  palace,  with  the  in- 
tention of  carrying  out  their  views  respect- 
ing the  proclamation  of  the  new  sovereign. 
The  adherents  of  the  son  of  Alexis  were 
confident  of  success,  and  the  cause  of 
Catherine  seemed  doomed.  Yet  it  was 
stronger  than  her  enemies  believed.  Count 
Bassevitz,  one  of  her  most  active  partisans, 
whispered  to  a  chief  of  the  opposite  party — 
"  The  empress  is  mistress  of  the  treasure 
and  the  fortress ;  she  has  gained  over  the 
guards,  the  synod,  and  many  of  the  chief 
nobility.  Even  here  she  has  more  followers 
than  you  imagine.  Advise,  therefore,  your 
friends  to  make  no  opposition  as  they  value 
their  heads.'' 

j  The  rapid  circulation  of  this  statement 
I  produced  a  considerable  effect  among  the 
j  worldly,  the  timid,  and  the  irresolute  mem- 


bers   of  that  distinguished   meeting.     The 
signal  Avas  then  given  for  the  two  regiments 
of  guards — who,  won  by  heavy  bribes,  had 
declared  for  Catherine,  and  were  stationed 
around   the   palace — to   beat   to   arms.     A 
pause  of  excitement  and  consternation  was 
followed    by   some    angry   words    between 
Marshal  Repnin  (the  commander-in-chief) 
and   General   Butterlin,   who    had    ordered 
out  the  troops,  as  he  said,  "  in  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  my  most  gracious  mis- 
tress."    At  this  moment  Catherine  entered, 
preceded   by  Mentschikoff,  and   supported 
by  her    son-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Holstein. 
After  some  struggle  to  subdue  her  emotion 
(which  we  have  no  right  to  assume  was  not 
perfectly  sincere),  she  said — "  I  come,  not- 
withstanding   the    grief   which    now  over- 
whelms me,  to  assure  you  that,  submissive 
to  the  will  of  my  departed  husband,  whose 
memory  will  be   ever   dear  to  me,  I   am 
ready  to   devote   my  days   to   the   painful 
occupations    of    government,   until    Provi- 
dence  shall    summon  me   to  follow  him.'' 
Then,  after  a  brief  pause,  she  added — "  If 
the  grand-duke  will  profit  by  my  instruc- 
tions, perhaps  I  shall  have  the  consolation, 
during  my  wretched  widowhood,  of  forming 
for  you  an  emperor  worthy  of  the  blood  and 
the  name  of  him  whom  you  have  now  irre- 
trievably   lost."      Mentschikoff    then    ob- 
served— *^As  this  is   a  crisis  of  such  im- 
portance  to  the   good  of  the  empire,  and 
requires  the  most  mature  deliberation,  your 
majesty  will   permit  us  to  confer  without 
restraint,  that  this   great  business  may  be 
transacted  without   reproach,  not    only  in 
the  opinion  of  the  present  age,  but  also  of 
posterity."      Catherine    readily    assented ; 
and  having  gratuitously  promised  to  submit 
to  the  decision  of  the  assembly,  whatever  it 
might  be,  she  retired. 

Mentschikoff,  who  had  arranged  what 
followed,  then  demanded  of  the  secretary  of 
the  deceased  emperor,  whether  his  late 
master  had  left  any  written  declaration  of 
his  intentions  with  respect  to  who  should 
succeed  him.  The  secretary  answered  ac- 
cording to  his  instructions.  He  said — 
''  That  the  emperor,  a  little  before  his  last 
journey  to  Moscow,  had  destroyed  a  will, 
and  that  he  had  frequently  expressed  his 
design  of  making  another ;  but  had  always 
been  prevented  by  the  reflection,  that  if  he 
thought  his  people,  whom  he  had  raised 
from  a  state  of  barbarism  to  a  high  degree 
of  power  and  glory,  could  be  ungrateful,  he 
would  not  expose  his  final  inclinations  to 


the  insult  of  a  refusal;    and  that  if  they 
recollected  what  thev  owed  to  his  labours, 
they  would  regulate  their  conduct  by  his 
intentions,   which    he    had   disclosed   with 
more  solemnity  than  could  be  manifested 
by  any  writing."      This   ambiguous   reply 
was  not  generally  regarded  with  satisfac- 
tion; some  confusion  arose,  and  several  of 
the   nobles   of  the   old   party   opposed   the 
accession    of    Catherine.      At    this    point, 
Theophanes,  one  of  the  high  dignitaries  of 
the   church,   reminded   all    present   of  the 
oath   which   thev   had   taken   in    1722,   to 
acknowledge  the  successor  appointed  by  the 
late   emperor;  whose  sentiments,  just  de- 
livered by  his  secretary,  clearly  pointed  to 
Catherine  as  the  person  whom  he  desired 
to  fill  the  throne  after  him.     The  opposite 
party  declared  the  sentiments  of  the  late 
emperor,    as   enunciated   by  his   secretary, 
were  not  so  clear  as  he  assumed  them  to 
be ;  and  maintained,  that  as  Peter  had  failed 
to  nominate  his  heir,  the  election  of  the 
new  sovereign  should  revert  to  the  empire. 

The  archbishop  Theophanes  again  inter- 
fered in  favour  of  Catherine,  and  testified, 
that  the  evening  before  her  coronation  at 
Moscow,  he  had  heard  the  czar  declare  that 
he  should  place  the  crown  upon  her  head 
with  no  other  view  than  to  leave  her  mis- 
tress of  the  empire  after  his  death.  This 
statement  was  confirmed  by  other  persons 
present ;  and  Mentschikoff  then  cried  aloud, 
"What  need  have  we  of  any  testament? 
A  refusal  to  conform  to  the  inclination  of 
great    sovereign,    thus    authenticated, 


our 


would  be  both  unjust  and  criminal.  Long 
live  the  empress  Catherine  !"  This  shout 
was  repeated  by  the  majority  of  those  pre- 
sent, and  vehemently  responded  to  by  the 
troops  without,  to  whom  Catherine  pre- 
sented herself  at  the  windows  of  the  palace, 
while  Mentschikoff  scattered  handfuls  of 
money  amongst  them.  Thus,  it  has  been 
observed,  was  the  empress  raised  to  the 
throne  by  the  guards,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Roman  emperors  by  the  praetorian 
cohorts,  without  either  the  appointment  of 
the  people  or  of  the  legions. 

The  accession  of  the  low-born  Catherine 
to  the  imperial  throne,  though  it  was  greatly 
in  opposition  to  the  desires  of  the  proud 
old  nobility  of  the  empire,  was  yet  wel- 
comed with  acclamations  by  the  people. 
The  late  emperor  had  been  much  attached 
to  her,  and  she  had  repaid  his  affection  by 
an  entire  devotion  to  him,  and  also  by 
such    heroic   services   as   are   seldom    per- 

205 


1 


DISSIPATION  OF  THE  EMPRESS.]         HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1726. 


I. 


I    ' 


formed  by  women.  What  so  natural  as  for 
them  to  transfer  to  her  the  loyalty  they 
bore  towards  him.  Besides,  the  army  loved 
her;  for  she  had  often  accompanied  the 
soldiers  in  their  marches,  and  shared  their 
toils. 

The  satisfaction  of  the   people  was  aug- 
mented by  the  popularity  and  humaneness 
of  the  early  acts  of  the   reign  of  the   new 
sovereign.     The  annual  capitation-tax,  which 
was  regarded  as  a  heavy  burden,  she  reduced 
one-eighth.     Most    of    the    persons   wliom 
Peter  had  banished  to  Siberia  she  pardoned 
and    permitted  to   return.     The   numerous 
gibbets  which,  during  the  late  reign,  had 
been  erected  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
were  cut  down,  and  the  decaying  bodies  sus- 
pended upon  them,  buried.     The  army  was 
paid  all  the  arrears  due  to  it,  and  many  pri- 
vileges of  which  the  Cossacks  had  been  de- 
prived by  Peter,  were  restored  to  them.     The 
various  officers  of  state  were  retained  in  their 
situations,  and  all  parties  conciliated.     Thus 
every  precaution  was  taken  to  secure  peace 
within  the  empire ;  while,  as  a  defence  against 
external  enemies,  Catherine  augmented  the 
army,   maintained   the   navy  in  a  state   of 
efficiency,  and,  in  the  first  year  of  her  reign 
(1726),  contracted  a  treaty  with  the  emperor 
of  Germany,  by  which  these  two  potentates 
reciprocally  guaranteed  to  assist  each  other 
with  an  army  of  30,000  men  in  case  of  ne- 
cessity.    By  the  last  arrangement  Catherine 
hoped  to  obtain  for  her  daughter's  husband, 
the  Duke  of  Holstein,  the  succession  to  the 
throne  of  Sweden,  and  to  compel  the  king 
of  Denmark  to  restore  to  him  the  duchy  of 
Schleswig.    She  even  contemplated  resorting 
to  arms  to  obtain  for  the  duke  those  posses- 
sions to  which  she  considered  him  entitled ; 
but  she  was  induced  to  forego  these  threat- 
ened hostilities  by  the  indifference  of  her 
senate  to  a  dispute  which  they  considered 
merely  personal. 

The  brief  reign  of  Catherine  was  not  dis- 
tinguished by  any  event  which  can  be  re- 
garded as  important  by  the  historian.  In- 
deed, it  has  been  designated  the  reign  of 
Mentschikoff ;  for  that  active  and  ambitious 
minister  directed  the  chief  affairs  of  state, 
which  the  empress  herself  showed  neither 
ability  nor  inclination  to  guide.     Mentschi- 

*  Voltaire  says  that  Peter  was  acquainted  with 
this  presumed  brother  of  Catherine;  and  on  the 
authority  of  a  person  at  that  time  in  the  service  of 
the  czar,  he  relates  the  following  story,  which  though 
usually  discredited,  has  in  it  nothing  improbable,  or 
inconsistent  with  the  character  of  such  a  sovereign 
M  Peter : — "  An  envoy  from  King  Augustus  to  the  I 

206  ' 


koff  had,  to  some  extent,  been  the  means  of 
introducing  her  to  fortune,  and  she  placed 
the  most  implicit  confidence  both  in  his 
ability  and  his  faithfulness  to  her  interests. 
But  it  was  not  to  indolence  alone  that 
Catherine  now  gave  way.  Either  from  the 
influence  of  early  habits,  or  powerful  pas- 
sions, from  which  the  check  of  a  husband's 
presence  was  now  removed,  she  became  very 
irregular  and  dissipated  in  her  conduct. 
Extremely  intemperate,  she  frequently  in- 
dulged to  excess  in  Tokay  wine,  while  from 
among  the  gentlemen  of  her  court,  she 
selected  two  favourites  at  once,  on  both  of 
whom  she  bestowed  her  caresses.  So  open 
was  this  licentiousness,  that  the  rival  can- 
didates for  her  favours  met  each  other  with- 
out reserve,  made  it  their  sole  business  to 
please  their  mistress,  and  alternately  received 
proofs  of  her  tenderness,  without  suffering 
their  tranquillity  to  be  marred  by  mutual 
jealousy. 

This  unbecoming  behaviour  strengthened 
the  dislike  borne  to  Catherine  by  the  old 
anti-reform  party,   and   gave  their  cause  a 
fictitious  appearance  of  being  associated  with 
that   of  public   morality.     Satirical   papers 
were  constantly  circulated,  with  the  ol)ject 
of  depriving  her  of  the  respect  of  the  people, 
and  the   grossest   observations    were   made 
concerning  her  birth,  her  familv,  and  her 
early  career.     So  bitter   and    offensive  did 
these    slanderous   papers   become,   that   at 
length  the   empress,   stung   into   a  resent- 
ment scarcely  natural  to  her  whose  sweetness 
of  temper   had  become   almost   proverbial, 
threatened  to  punish  with  death  any  person 
who  spoke  or  wrote  disrespectfully  of  herself 
or  her  family.     This  threat  did  not  silence 
the  libellers  of  the  empress,  whose  irregu- 
larities of  life  further  excited  the  enmity  of 
her  traducers.     One  circumstance  that  gave 
a  colour  to  the  popular  scandals,  was  the 
arrival  at  St.  Petersburg  of  her  brother,  who 
had  never   been   heard  of  before,    and    on 
whom,  for  the  sake,  it  was  supposed,  of  avert- 
ing further   discoveries,    she   conferred  the 
title  of  Count   Skavronski.     Something  of 
suspicion  attached  to  this  event,  in  conse* 
quence  of  the  general  belief  that  prevailed, 
that  the  empress  had  no  knowledge  whatever 
of  the  members  of  her  family.* 

czar,  returning  to  Dresden  through  Courland,  over- 
heard in  an  inn  a  man,  whose  apparel  betraying 
necessitous  circumstances,  was  the  cause  of  his  being 
treated  with  that  contempt  and  insult  to  which  such 
a  condition  is  too  often  exposed.  The  stranger,  with 
proper  resentment,  said  to  them,  that  could  he  but 
once  come  to  the  speech  of  the  czar,  they  who  made 


A.D.  1727.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  CATHBRINE  I. 


During  the  reign  of  Catherine  two  im- 
postors arose,  each  assuming  the  name  of 
the  deceased  Prince  Alexis,  and,  in  imitation 
of  the  Dmitris,  attempting  to  dispute  the 
claim  of  the  empress  to  the  throne.  Their 
claims  were,  however,  too  transparently  im- 
pudent to  obtain  credence,  and  the  authors 
of  them  both  expiated  their  vulgar  fraud 
upon  the  scaffold. 

The  life  of  Catherine  was  doubtless  short- 
ened by  dissipation ;  but  the  atmosphere  of 
slander  and  ill-will  with  which  she  was  sur- 
rounded, preyed  upon  her  mind,  and  pro- 
bably increased  those  intemperate  habits 
which  proved  so  fatal  both  to  her  reputation 
and  her  life.  The  rise  of  Prince  Mentschi- 
koff  from  the  streets  to  be  the  most  powerful 
man  in  the  empire ;  the  insolence  of  his  be- 
haviour to  the  old  aristocracy ;  the  story  of 
his  former  connexion  with  the  empress,  and 
his  present  position  near  her  person — all  con- 
tributed to  aggravate  the  malice  of  the  dis- 
contented, and  to  give  greater  bitterness 
and  point  to  their  sarcasms.  During  the 
life  of  Peter,  Catherine  exhibited  many  vir- 
tues ;  but  her  character,  exalted  by  her  con- 
nection with  him,  seemed  to  lose  strength 
when  he  was  removed  from  her.  It  has 
been  correctly  said,  that  the  latter  period  of 
her   short   reign   discovered  not    only   the 

so  free  with  him,  would  change  their  note,  as  at  that 
prince's  court  he  should  find  greater  friends  than  was 
imagined.  At  this  the  envoy  had  the  curiosity  to 
question  the  person  who  pretended  to  such  interest 
at  court;  and  on  his  vague  answers,  viewing  him 
more  attentively,  he  thought  that  in  many  of  his 
features,  he  discerned  some  resemblance  to  the  em- 
press. Arriving  at  Dresden,  he  could  not  forbear 
writing  to  a  friend  of  his  at  St.  Petersburg,  about  this 
adventure.  The  letter  was  shown  to  the  czar,  who 
sent  instructions  to  Prince  Repnin,  governor  of  Riga, 
to  make  an  inquiry  after  the  man  mentioned  in  the 
letter ;  and  by  the  diligence  of  a  person  whom  the 
prince  dispatched  to  Mittau  in  Courland,  he  was 
found  out.  His  name,  he  said,  was  Charles  Scav- 
ronski ;  he  was  son  to  a  Lithuanian  gentleman  who 
had  been  killed  in  the  Polish  wars,  leaving  two 
children  in  the  cradle,  a  boy  and  a  girl ;  both  had  no 
education  but  from  nature,  being  destitute  of  every 
thing.  Scavronski  having  been  separated  from  his 
sister  in  their  childhood,  all  he  knew  of  her  was,  that 
she  had  been  taken  at  Marienburg  in  1704,  and  he 
believed  her  still  to  be  with  Prince  Mentschikofi",  in 
whose  family  he  imagined  she  might  have  mended 
her  condition.  Prince  Repnin,  according  to  express 
orders  from  his  master,  had  Scavronski  brought  to 
Riga  under  pretence  of  some  state  crime  ;  and  a  kind 
of  charge  being  drawn  up  against  him,  he  was  sent 
under  a  strong  guard  to  St.  Petersburg,  but  with  direc- 
tions that  he  should  be  well  used  on  the  road.  At  St. 
Petersburg,  he  was  immediately  carried  to  a  steward 
of  the  czar's,  named  Sheplefi",  who  being  instructed 
in  the  part  he  was  to  act  drew  from  this  man  several 


abandonment  of  that  admirable  line  of  con- 
duct which  had  secured  to  her  the  attach- 
ment of  the  nation,  but  the  adoption  of 
habits  which,  if  death  had  not  removed  her 
from  the  throne,  must  have  ultimately  ren- 
dered her  unfit  to  sustain  the  imperial  duties. 
It  is  probable  that,  had  she  continued  much 
longer  to  preside  over  the  affairs  of  the 
empire,  she  would  have  committed  herself  to 
such  acts  of  impropriety  as  would  have 
finally  led  to  her  dethronement. 

Catherine  expired  on  the  17th  of  May, 
1727,  a  little  more  than  two  years  after  her 
accession  to  the  throne,  and  about  the  thirty- 
ninth  year  of  her  age.  Her  death  is  usually, 
and  most  likely  correctly,  attributed  to  a 
cancer  and  a  dropsy,  induced  by  her  irregu- 
larities. Suspicious  rumours,  however,  pre- 
vailed concerning  the  cause  of  her  demise, 
which  some  writers  attribute  to  poison.  It  is 
commonly  supposed  that  the  diseases  brought 
on  by  her  intemperate  habits,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  her  eccentric  custom  of  passing 
whole  nights  in  the  open  air,  either  walking 
or  riding  in  sledges,  produced  the  fatal 
result. 

In  person,  the  empress  was  below  the 
average  height  of  women.  She  was  delicate 
and  graceful  in  youth,  but  became  rather 
corpulent  as  she  advanced  in  life.     With 

particulars  relating  to  his  condition,  after  which  he 
told  him,  that  the  charge  sent  against  him  from  Riga 
was  of  a  very  serious  nature,  but  that  he  should  have 
fair  play ;  that  his  best  way  would  be  to  present  to 
his  majesty  a  petition,  which  should  be  drawn  up  in 
his  name,  and  that  ways  and  means  should  be  found 
out  for  him  to  deliver  it  himself.  The  next  day  the 
czar  dining  with  Shepleff,  as  had  been  concerted, 
Scavronski  was  brought  before  him :  his  answers  to 
the  czar's  questions  being  perfectly  natural  and  con- 
sistent, Peter  was  fully  convinced  of  his  being  the 
very  brother  of  the  czarina.  In  their  childhood  they 
had  both  been  in  Livonia ;  all  Scavronski's  answers 
to  the  czar's  questions  perfectly  coincided  with  what 
his  spouse  had  told  him  about  her  birth,  and  the 
early  misfortunes  of  her  life.  The  czar  having  now 
no  longer  any  doubt  about  Scavronski,  proposed  to 
his  spouse  the  day  following  to  go  and  dine  at  Mr. 
Shepleff 's :  after  dinner,  he  ordered  Scavronski  to  be 
brought  in ;  he  appeared  in  the  same  clothes  which  he 
had  worn  in  his  journey,  it  being  the  czar's  order 
that  he  should  not  be  seen  in  any  other  garb  than 
that  to  which  his  misfortunes  had  habituated  him. 
He  again  questioned  him  before  his  consort,  and 
according  to  the  manuscript,  on  finishing  his  ques- 
tion, he  said  these  very  words : — *  This  man  is  thy 
brother ;  come  Charles,  kiss  the  empress's  hand,  and 
embrace  thy  sister.'  The  author  of  this  account  adds, 
that  the  empress  fainted,  and  that  on  her  recovery 
the  czar  said  to  her,  *  There  is  nothing  in  this  that  is 
in  the  least  mysterious.  This  gentleman  is  my 
brother-in-law :  if  he  has  merit,  we  will  make  some- 
thing of  him ;  if  not,  we  must  leave  him  as  he  is.* " 

207 


m 


CHARACTER  OF  CATHERINE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1727. 


f 


dark  eyes,  she  possessed  a  fair  complexion 
and  light  hair,  which  she  had  the  bad  taste 
to  dye  black.  It  is  asserted  that  she  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  and  that  Count 
Ostermann  signed  lier  name  to  all  the 
despatches.  Her  natural  abilities  did  not 
rise  much  above  the  average  of  those  of 
women  generally;  but  in  her  connection  with 
Peter,  she  exhibited  much  of  that  fidelity, 
self-denial,  and  personal  fearlessness  wliich 
ever  mingles  largely  with  the  heroic.  Her 
influence  over  the  czar  arose  from  a  source 
purely  womanly ;  it  was  the  soft  charm  of 
sweetness  of  temper,  not  the  proud  spell 
of  mental  power.  Men  of  such  laborious 
habits  as  Peter,  and  whose  minds  are  almost 
always  stretched  upon  the  rack  of  excitement, 
usually  love  those  women  in  whose  society 
they  can  find  repose.  Stern  as  they  may 
be  to  the  world,  yet,  in  the  brief  placid 
hours  they  yield  to  domestic  life,  they  also 
perhaps  inwardly  murmur,  "  Blessed  is  the 
woman  who  consoles."  This  was  the  part  of 
Catherine ;  to  cheer  the  great  man  in  those 
gloomy  hours  when  his  strong  nature  yielded 
to  sadness,  or,  almost  overwhelmed  with 
difficulties,  staggered  with  uncertain  steps 
near  the  sharp  precipice  of  despair.  When 
enclosed  within  living  walls  on  the  banks  of 
the  Pruth;  when  tortured  by  the  mental 
blindness  and  ingratitude  of  a  son  whom 
he  sought  in  vain  to  convert  into  a  worthy 
successor ;  or  racked  by  an  agonising  dis- 
ease which  wrung  groans  from  his  iron 
frame — the  czar  ever  found  Catherine  at 
hand  to  speak  those  soothing  words,  render 
those  tender  courtesies,  which  tranquillise 
and  console.  It  was  to  this,  and  not  to 
strength  of  intellect  or  quickness  of  imagina- 
tion, that  she  owed  the  affection  borne  to 
her  by  her  illustrious  husband.  Motraye 
observed — *^  She  had  in  some  sort  the  gov- 
ernment of  all  the  czar's  passions;  and 
even  saved  the  lives  of  a  great  many  more 
persons  than  Lefort  was  able  to  do.  She 
inspired  him  with  that  humanity  which,  in 
the  opinion  of  his  subjects,  nature  seemed 
to  have'  denied  him.  A  word  from  her 
mouth  in  favour  of  a  wretch  just  going  to 
be  sacrificed  to  his  anger,  would  disarm 
him ;  but  if  he  was  fully  resolved  to  satisfy 
that  passion,  he  would  give  orders  for  tlie 
execution  when  she  was  absent,  for  fear  she 
should  plead  for  the  victim."  The  cele- 
brated Munich  also  declared,  that  "  she  was 
the  mediatrix  between  the  monarch  and  his 
subjects." 

It  is  much  to  be  rpgretted  that  the  later 
208 


incidents  of  the  career  of  Catherine  should 
sully  the  period  of  her  life  which  had  been 
passed  without  reproach.  The  irregularities 
of  her  early  life  it  requires  no  great  exercise 
of  charity  to  pardon,  but  those  of  her  later 
days  do  not  admit  of  apology.  ''  The 
power  of  early  habits,"  says  a  writer  to 
whom  we  have  been  much  indebted,  "  unless 
it  be  restrained  by  strong  motives,  or  curbed 
by  the  presence  of  overruling  authority,  ex- 
tends to  the  last  moments  of  life,  even 
should  it  have  been  suppressed  during  a  long 
interval  of  vears.  Such  seems  to  have  been 
the  case  with  the  empress  Catherine;  nor 
shall  we  find,  upon  a  close  analysis  of  her 
history,  that  she  was  exactly  placed  in  a 
situation  to  discourage  the  lurking  propen- 
sities of  the  class  from  which  she  si)rung, 
until  a  very  short  period  before  her  death. 
Her  connection  with  Peter,  if  not  actually 
ambiguous,  was  at  least  private,  and  graced 
by  none  of  the  privileges  of  the  nominal 
eminence  to  which  it  apparently  elevated 
her.  Her  coronation  invested  her,  for  the 
first  time,  with  authority;  previously  to 
that  event  she  was  the  chamber  confidant  of 
the  czar,  the  creature  of  his  will,  and  the 
nurse  of  his  distempers.  It  is  true  that  he 
married  her  privately;  but,  unlike  Madame 
Maintenon,  she  could  not  confer  upon  that 
secret  union  those  ennobling  embellishments 
of  feeling  and  of  intellect  that  would  have 
rendered  it  respectable.  The  blemishes  of 
her  private  life,  worse  than  the  blemish  on 
her  birth,  could  never  be  obliterated.  It 
cannot,  therefore,  excite  much  wonder  that, 
when  she  came  at  last  into  the  possession  of 
unbounded  authority,  released  from  the  sur- 
veillance of  a  rigid  sovereign,  and  left  to 
the  free  play  of  her  natural  tendencies,  she 
should  have  terminated  her  course  in  a  way 
consistent  with  the  spirit  of  its  opening." 

Catherine,  by  will,  bequeathed  the  throne 
to  the  grandson  of  her  late  husband,  and 
son  of  the  bigoted  and  unfortunate  Alexis. 
Thus,  in  the  year  1727,  Peter  Alexievitch, 
then  in  the  eleventh  year  of  his  age,  became, 
both  by  hereditary  right  and  the  will  of  the 
late  sovereign,  emperor  of  Russia  under  the 
title  of  Peter  II.  By  the  will  of  Catherine, 
the  young  czar  was  placed  under  the 
guardianship  of  the  princesses  Anne  and 
Elizabeth,  the  Duke  of  Holstein,  and  certain 
members  of  the  council,  until  he  should 
attain  his  sixteenth  year.  The  will  had 
evidently  been  drawn  up  either  by,  or 
under  the  dictation  of,  Mentschikofi*,  for  he 
was  appointed  president  of  the  council  of 


A.D.  1727.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ruin  of  MENl^XJHIKOFF. 


regency ;  and  it  also  provided  that  the 
young  emperor,  when  of  proper  age,  should 
be  united  to  his  daughter.  The  commission 
of  regency  soon  became  powerless  and  in- 
operative ;  no  member  dared  to  vote  except 
as  Mentschikofif  desired,  and  he  continued 
to  sway  the  almost  absolute  power  he  had 
held  during  the  life  of  Catherine. 

Prince  Mentschikoff  paid  great  court  to 
the  young  emperor,  and  adopted  a  parental 
tone  towards  him,  labouring  earnestly  at 
the  same  time  to  obtain  an  absolute  ascen- 
dancy over  the  boy-czar.  By  this  means 
ne  embittered  still  further  the  jealous  feel- 
ings entertained  towards  him  by  those 
nobles  of  high  birth  whom  he  kept  at  a 
distance  from  the  person  of  their  sovereign. 
Many  of  these  had  long  looked  with  anxiety 
for  his  fall ;  and  several  incidents  now  com- 
bined to  promote  it.  Indeed,  a  secret 
cabal  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  per- 
sons at  court  was  formed  against  him,  and 
his  eventual  ruin  became  almost  a  matter  of 
certainty.  They  placed  about  the  person 
of  the  emperor  a  youth  named  Ivan  Dol- 
goruki,  a  member  of  one  of  the  most  an- 
cient families  in  Russia.  This  lad,  as  it 
was  anticipated,  obtained  the  confidence  of 
Peter,  and,  in  hours  of  familiarity,  poured 
into  his  ear  those  feelings  of  bitterness 
against  Mentschikoff  which  the  old  aristo- 
cratic party  entertained.  Young  Dolgo- 
ruki  represented  that  the  low-born  adven- 
turer usurped  an  authority  which  it  was 
neither  becoming  nor  safe  for  him  to  pos- 
sess ;  that  he  kept  the  sovereign  in  a  state 
of  vassalage ;  and  that  both  the  nobles  and 
people  expected  the  emperor  would  release 
himself  from  an  authority  which  degraded 
him  and  injured  the  state.  These  argu- 
ments were  the  more  effective  from  the  fact 
that  Peter  had  taken  a  dislike  to  his  pro- 
posed bride,  Maria  Mentschikoff,  and  sought 
to  be  released  from  her  by  any  means  that 
offered.  Every  action  of  the  hated  presi- 
dent was  watched,  and  he  was  soon  detected 
in  appropriating  to  himself  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  which  Peter  had  sent  as  a 
present  to  one  of  his  relatives.  He  unex- 
pectedly taxed  Mentschikoff  with  this 
offence,  and  observing  the  confusion  of  the 
minister,  angrily  ordered  him  from  his  pre- 
sence. A  sentence  of  confiscation  and 
banishment  was  immediately  pronounced 
against  the  arrogant  and  grasping  states- 
man. His  enormous  wealth,  accumulated 
by  corruption  and  oppression,  and  consist- 
ing of  9,000,000  roubles  in  bank  notes  and 

VOL.  I.  2  B 


obhgations,  1,000,000  in  cash,  105  lbs.  of 
gold  utensils,  420  lbs.  of  silver  plate,  and 
precious  stones  to  the  value  of  about 
1,000,000,  besides  his  estates,  his  palace, 
and  his  costly  furniture,  were  all  seized  for 
the  advantage  of  the  imperial  treasury. 
He  himself,  together  with  his  family,  in- 
cluding even  the  betrothed  wife  of  the 
young  emperor,  were  compelled  to  leave 
Russia  in  September,  1727,  for  Beresof,  in 
Siberia.  The  miserable  statesman  bore  his 
merited  punishment  with  fortitude,  and  died 
two  years  afterwards,  poor  and  forlorn,  in 
his  place  of  exile. 

The  young  emperor  only  got  rid  of  one 
faction  to  fall  beneath  the  influence  of 
another.  The  Dolgoruki  family  now  grasped 
the  principal  authority  of  the  state,  and 
even  contrived  to  engage  the  affection  of 
Peter  to  Catherine,  a  young  lady  of  that 
house,  to  whom  he  was  soon  afterwards 
publicly  affianced.  It  is  probable  that  this 
attachment  hastened  the  ruin  of  Prince 
Mentschikoff ;  for  it  was  arranged  that  the 
coronation  should  take  place  early  in  the 
following  year  to  that  in  which  he  departed 
for  the  wastes  of  Siberia. 

The  education  of  Peter  had  been  en- 
trusted to  the  able  Count  Ostermann,  of 
whose  talents  and  integrity  the  illustrious 
grandfather  of  the  young  sovereign  had, 
while  on  his  death-bed,  expressed  so  high 
an  opinion.  The  count  laboured  to  dis- 
charge his  high  responsibility  with  that 
zeal  and  wisdom  which  usually  charac- 
terised him.  He  led  the  young  sovereign 
through  a  course  of  instruction,  consisting 
chiefly  of  history,  political  codes,  the  rights  of 
magistrates,  the  relations  existing  between 
the  ruler  and  the  ruled,  international  obli- 
gations, and  military  art. 

But  from  these  studies  Peter  was  decoyed 
by  the  members  of  the  Dolgoruki  family, 
who  did  not  desire  him  to  become  personally 
either  very  accomplished  or  powerful.  They 
sought  to  save  him  the  labour  of  think- 
ing for  himself,  by  preventing  him  from 
acquiring  the  power  of  doing  so.  It  was 
their  intention  so  to  train  him,  that  he 
should  lean  upon  them  for  support,  and 
that  they  should  transact  the  affairs  of 
state.  With  this  object  they  lured  him 
into  excesses,  especially  with  regard  to  the 
sports  of  the  field,  to  which  he  was  greatly 
attached.  To  such  an  extent  did  they  in- 
duce him  to  indulge  in  these  exhausting 
pastimes,  that  his  strength  began  to  sink 
beneath  the  fatigues  he  encountered.    In 

209 


■t'l 


\ 


DEATH  OF  PETER  II.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1730. 


this  condition  Peter  was  attacked  by  the 
small-pox,  which  made  hasty  ravages  in  his 
enfeebled  frame,  and  terminated  his  life  on 
the  29th  of  January,  1730. 

We  are  inclined  to  believe  that  his  death 
was  a  fortunate  event  for  Russia.  The 
Dolgoruki  belonged  to  the  old  nobility,  and 
were  prejudiced  against  the  reforms  of  Peter 
the  Great.  Though  it  is  impossible  to  say, 
with  absolute  certainty,  what  course  the 
czar  would  have  taken,  yet  the  future  of 
this  young  monarch,  had  his  life  been 
prolonged,  may  be  inferred.  The  Dolgoruki 
had  obtained  his  confidence,  and  he  was 
continually  subject  to  their  influence.  They 
still  resided  at  Moscow ;  and  the  czar  had 
already  expressed  an  intention  of  restoring 
to  that  city  the  distinction  arising  from  the 
imperial  residence.     This  would  have  been , 


materially  to  injure  the  prospects  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  to  retard  the  progress  of 
the  empire.  From  this  incident,  it  is  t(?be 
feared  that  the  errors  of  the  father  might 
have  reappeared  in  the  son ;  and  Peter, 
like  Alexis,  have  striven  to  overthrow  the 
reforms  of  their  distinguished  progenitor. 
This  was  no  improbable  apprehension; 
though,  on  the  other  hand,  the  young  em- 
peror might  perhaps,  in  maturer  years,  have 
thrown  off  the  debilitating  tutelage  to  which 
he  was  subjected,  and  been  aroused  to  a 
just  appreciation  and  a  worthy  imitation  of 
the  virtues  of  his  grandfather.  The  death 
of  Peter  II.  was,  notwithstanding,  much 
regretted  in  Russia;  and  doubtless  the 
more  so,  from  the  fact  that  he  was  the  last 
male  representative  of  the  line  of  Ro- 
manoff". 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ANNA,  DTJCHESS  OF  COURLAND,  BECOMES  EMPRESS;  CONDITIONS  EXACTED  FROM  HER;  SHE  ANNULS  THEM  • 
SHE  CONFIDES  GREAT  POWER  TO  HER  FAVOURITE  BIREN  ;  RUSSIA  PLACES  IIER  CHOSEN  CANDIDATE  ON 
THE  THRONE  OF  POLAND  DESPITE  THE  OPPOSITION  OF  FRANCE  ;  JEALOUSY  AND  INTRIGUES  OF  THE  LATTER 
POWER  ;  RUSSIA,  IN  CONJUNCTION  WITH  AUSTRIA,  WAGES  A  PROFITLESS  WAR  AGAINST  TURKEY ;  AUSTRIA 
MAKES  A  PRIVATE  AND  DISHONOURABLE  PEACE  WITH  THE  SULTAN;  RUSSIA  ALSO  MAKES  PE\CE  WITH 
TURKEY;  COURT  OF  THE  EMPRESS;  SAVAGE  AND  CAPRICIOUS  DESPOTISM  OF  BIREN:  DEATH  OF  THE 
EMPRESS  ANNA. 


Russia  was  again  agitated  by  the  question 
— "  Who  should  wield  the  sceptre  of  the  em- 
pire?" The  Dolgoruki  family  made  a  vain 
and  foolish  attempt  to  secure  the  imperial 
crown  for  Catherine,  the  young  lady  of 
their  own  family,  who  had  been  affianced  to 
the  late  emperor.  One  of  them  forged  a 
document,  which  he  pretended  to  be  a  will 
of  Peter  II.,  wherein  Catherine  was  named 
as  the  successor.  With  this  spurious  instru- 
ment in  one  hand,  and  a  drawn  sword  in 
the  other,  the  shallow  schemer  rushed  into 
the  hall  where  the  senators  were  assembled, 
and  shouted,  "  Long  live  the  empress  Dolgo- 
ruki !"  As  he  observed  nothing  but  looks 
of  cold  and  stern  reproof  upon  the  faces  of 
those  present,  he  abandoned  his  fraudulent 
design,  and  withdrew  the  forged  will.  This 
baffled  attempt,  however,  eventually  brought 
a  heavy  penalty  upon  himself  and  his 
family. 

The  Russian  nobles  and  counsellors  re- 
210 


solved  to  be  guided,  in  the  matter  of  suc- 
cession, by  the  will  of  the  empress  Cathe- 
rine I.  By  this  it  was  arranged,  that  if 
Peter  II.  should  die  without  heirs,  Anne, 
Duchess  of  Holstein  (eldest  daughter  of 
Peter  the  Great),  and  her  heirs  should  suc- 
ceed, or,  on  failure  of  them,  the  Princess 
Elizabeth,  second  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Catherine.  Anne  had  died  two  years  before 
in  Germany,  where  she  and  her  husband 
had  retired  in  consequence  of  the  persecu- 
tions to  which  they  were  subjected  by 
Mentschikoff'.  Though  Anne  had  left  a 
young  prince,  yet  as  he  was  a  foreigner  on 
the  father's  side,  and  the  council  entertained 
a  great  aversion  to  the  introduction  of 
foreigners  into  the  state,  they  decided  that 
his  claim  should  not  be  even  taken  into 
consideration.  As  to  the  Princess  Eliza- 
beth, she  had  no  desire  to  ascend  the 
throne;  and  notwithstanding  some  en- 
treaties to  that    eff'ect,  she    declined  the 


A.D.  3730.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[accession  of  anna. 


a 


sceptre,  preferring  to  resign  herself  to 
private  life,  in  which  indolence,  sensuality, 
and  piety  were  incongruously  mingled. 

It  was  therefore  necessary  for  the  council 
to  look  in  some  other  direction  in  this  search 
for  an  imperial  sovereign.  There  were  other 
female  members  of  the  Romanoff*  family  vet 
living.  The  feeble  and  imbecile  Ivan,  who 
during  his  short  life  shared  the  throne  with 
his  subsequently  illustrious  brother,  Peter  I., 
had  left  three  daughters.  Catherine,  the 
eldest,  had  been  married  to,  and  afterwards 
separated  from,  the  turbulent  Duke  of  Meck- 
lenburg; the  second,  Anna,  Duchess  of 
Courland,  was  a  widow,  residing  at  Mittau ; 
while  the  third  was  unmarried,  and  had 
made  St.  Petersburg  her  home.  Of  these 
three  princesses,  the  council  resolved  to 
off'er  the  throne  to  the  second,  Anna  of 
Courland.  This  council  was  a  body  estab- 
lished by  Catherine,  with  the  assumed  ob- 
ject of  off'ering  advice  to  the  sovereign  ;  but 
it  soon  proved  itself  to  be  both  intriguing 
and  despotic.  Its  members  now  hoped  to 
obtain  an  empress  who  should  be  their  in- 
strument, and  permit  them  to  enjoy,  in 
fact,  the  power  which  they  intended  her  to 
possess  only  in  name.  With  this  object 
they  drew  up  the  following  conditions, 
which,  if  carried  into  operation,  would  have 
materially  diminished  the  imperial  power; 
and,  in  fact,  changed  it  from  an  absolute 
into  a  limited,  and,  in  some  respects,  con- 
stitutional monarchy  : — *^  That  the  empress 
should  govern  solely  by  the  resolves  of  the 
high  privy  council;  that  she  was  not,  of 
herself,  to  declare  war  or  to  conclude  peace ; 
that  she  should  not,  of  her  own  authority, 
impose  any  new  tax  upon  the  people ;  that 
she  should  not  dispose  of  any  important 
office,  or  inflict  capital  punishment  on  any 
nobleman,  or  confiscate  his  estates,  unless 
he  had  been  previously  convicted  of  the 
crime  laid  to  his  charge ;  that  she  should 
not  alienate  any  lands  belonging  to  the 
crown;  and  that  she  should  not  marry, 
or  nominate  an  heir,  without  first  obtain- 
ing the  consent  of  the  council.'^  Another 
stipulation  was  added,  to  the  eff*ect  that 
her  chamberlain  and  favourite,  Ernest  Von 
Biren,  should  not  accompany  her  into 
Russia. 

These  conditions  were  not  intended  to 
soften  the  rigour  of  the  government  with 
respect  to  the  people,  but  merely  to  con- 
vert an  unlimited  monarchy  to  an  irre- 
sponsible oligarchy.  This  aim  was  soon 
understood  by  the  great  bodv  of  the  nobles 


who  did  not  form  a  part  of  the  council  of 
seven.  They  saw,  also,  that  the  Dolgoruki 
had  the  chief  voice  in  the  council,  and  they 
resolved  not  to  permit  their  interests,  and 
those  of  the  empire,  to  be  sacrificed  to  a 
family  compact.  A  rapid  reaction  took 
place,  in  which  the  army  and  the  people 
sided  with  the  nobles  against  the  restrictive 
conditions;  and  declared  that  they  would 
rather  have  one  master  than  seven.  The 
Princess  Anna,  however,  accepted  the  con- 
ditions; for  General  Yagujinski  had  sent  a 
secret  message  to  her,  advising  her  to  do  so, 
and  assuring  her  that  means  would  soon  be 
found  for  having  them  annulled. 

Anna  speedily  arrived  at  Moscow,  bring- 
ing with  her  her  obnoxious  favourite,  Biren ; 
bv  which  circumstance  she  broke  the  con- 
ditions  on  the  very  moment  of  her  appear- 
ance. Had  the  council  been  strong  enough 
to  insist  on  the  instant  expulsion  of  the 
low-born  adventurer,  and  either  to  dismiss 
or  awe  the  guards  who  were  opposed  to 
their  views,  they  might,  at  least  for  a  time, 
have  exercised  the  imperial  power.  But,  as 
they  were  unable  to  do  this,  their  over- 
whelming influence,  and  consequently  that 
of  the  Dolgoruki,  was  doomed.  The  down- 
fall of  the  usurping  oligarchy  was  a  rapid 
one.  Scarcely  had  Anna  passed  through 
the  ceremony  of  coronation,  before  a  peti- 
tion, signed  by  several  hundred  noblemen, 
was  presented  to  her,  entreating  her  to 
abolish  the  restrictions  placed  upon  her 
authority  by  the  council,  and  to  assume  the 
unhmited  power  that  had  been  exercised  by 
her  predecessors.  The  empress  understood 
the  proceeding,  and  called  an  assembly  of 
the  deputies  and  representatives  of  the 
nobles  and  the  army.  Presenting  herself 
before  them,  she  caused  the  conditions  to 
be  read,  and  then  desired  to  know  whether 
they  were  in  accordance  with  their  desires. 
The  great  majority  of  those  present  re- 
sponded in  the  negative,  and  demanded  the 
restoration  of  the  old  form  of  government. 
Anna  expressed  great  surprise  that  the  con- 
ditions forced  upon  her  were  so  opposed  to 
the  wishes  of  the  Russian  people ;  and  taking 
the  objectionable  document,  she  tore  it  to 
pieces  before  the  assembly,  saying,  "Then 
there  is  no  further  need  of  this  paper.'' 
Shortly  afterwards  a  proclamation  was  issued, 
which  declared  that  the  empress  ascended 
the  throne  not  by  election  but  by  here- 
ditary right,  and  exacted  an  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  her  as  unlimited  sovereign. 

The  first  use  the  empress  made  of  her 

211 


I' 


¥'K 


AFFAIRS  OF  POLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1733. 


'  J  ■■■ 


unfettered  authority  was  to  abuse  it,  by 
raising  her  unworthy  favourite,  Biren,  to 
the  post  of  grand  chamberlain,  and  con- 
fiding to  his  hands  the  chief  power  of  tlie 
state.  This  man  was  the  grandson  of  a 
groom ;  but  having  contrived  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  Anna's  master  of  the  house- 
hold when  she  was  Duchess  of  Courland, 
he  obtained  a  position  near  her  person. 
His  liandsorae  figure  and  polite  address  at- 
tracted her  attention,  and  she  made  him  her 
secretary  and  chief  favourite.  Biren  soon 
acquired  an  unbounded  influence  over  her 
mind,  and  became,  in  fact,  an  absolute 
tyrant  to  his  mistress. 

Anna  abolished  the  council  of  seven,  and 
resigned  herself  to  the  directions  of  a  cabinet 
composed  of  Biren,  Count  Ostermann,  and 
General  Munich.  Ostermann  was  the  pre- 
sumed head  of  this  cabinet;  and  Munich,  a 
soldier  of  great  ability,  was  appointed  gen- 
eralissimo of  the  army.  The  favourite  be- 
haved with  courtesy  to  these  two  able  men ; 
for  he  was  aware  that  his  own  abilities  were 
not  of  a  character  to  enable  him  successfullv 
to  direct  the  affairs  of  a  great  empire.  The 
latent  ambition,  insolence,  and  ci'uclty  of 
this  man's  nature,  were  not  vet  fully  de- 
veloped  :  for  a  time  he  acted  with  discre- 
tion :  and  the  first  three  years  of  the  new 
reign  were  regarded  as  those  of  a  mild 
sovereign,  who  justly  enjoyed  the  attach- 
ment of  her  people.  Anna  admired  the 
wisdom  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  desired,  as 
far  as  her  capacity  permitted  her,  to  follow 
in  his  footsteps.  In  this  temper  she  en- 
couraged the  military  reforms  of  Marshal 
Munich,  who  completely  remodelled  the 
army ;  and,  amongst  other  valuable  altera- 
tions, placed  the  emoluments  of  Russian 
ofl&cers  on  an  equality  with  those  of  fo- 
reigners, which  had  hitherto  been  double, 
and  thus  proved  an  incessant  source  of 
enmity  and  discontent.  He  established  a 
corps  of  engineers,  which,  until  that  time, 
was  unknown  in  Russia;  and  founded  a 
military  institution  for  the  instruction  of 
cadets  of  noble  families,  with  a  view  to  the 
formation  of  a  body  of  able  commanders. 

Poland  was  still  convulsed  by  the  struggles 
of  rival  candidates  for  the  throne ;  and  these 
were  of  a  kind  that  threatened  not  only  to 
disturb  the  peace  of  Russia,  but  that  of 
France  and  Sweden  also.  The  Russian 
cabinet  still  maintained  the  cause  of  Au- 
gustus, the  elector  of  Saxony,  whom  Peter 
the  Great  had  placed  upon  the  throne  of 
Poland,  which  France  desired  to  see  in  the 
212 


possession  of  Stanislaus  Leczinski,  the 
father-in-law  of  Louis  XV.  But  the  in- 
fluence of  Russia  over  Poland  was  greater 
than  that  of  France,  and  Stanislaus  was 
compelled  to  fly  the  country  and  abandon 
the  throne  to  his  more  fortunate  rival. 
This  circumstance  excited  a  sense  of  irrita- 
tion on  the  part  of  France  against  Russia; 
added  to  which,  she  had  other  cogent 
reasons  for  desiring  to  restrain  the  still 
increasing  power  of  that  empire.  France 
had  long  desired  to  place  on  the  throne  of 
Poland  a  monarch  who  should  be  the  in- 
strument of  her  will ;  and,  although  hitherto 
baffled,  she  vet  trusted  ultimately  to  ac- 
complish  her  design.  Besides,  the  French 
government  were  jealous  of  the  rise  of  so 
powerful  an  empire  as  Russia,  which  threat- 
ened to  surmount  and  destroy  the  influence 
they  had  hitherto  exercised  over  a  con- 
siderable part  of  Europe.  Actuated  by  these 
motives,  France  stirred  up  Sweden — j^et 
bleeding  from  her  recent  wounds — against 
Russia,  to  which  the  people  of  that  despoiled 
and  humiliated  countrv  entertained  emotions 
of  the  bitterest  hatred.  So  successful  were 
the  diplomatic  arts  of  the  French  court,  that 
Russia  was  compelled  vigilantly  to  watch 
the  movements  of  a  dangerous  neighbour. 

Frederic  Augustus  died  in  the  February 
of  1733,  after  a  reign  which  had  been  one 
prolonged  scene  of  misery  to  the  Polish 
people.  The  philosophical  Stanislaus,  then 
residing  at  the  peaceful  court  of  Lorraine, 
was  reluctantly  induced  by  the  French 
court  to  proceed  to  Warsaw,  where  he  was 
received  with  acclamation ;  while  in  the 
diet  of  election,  60,000  voices  pronounced 
him  king  of  Poland.  But  Russia,  backed 
by  the  power  of  Austria,  declared  in  favour 
of  the  son  of  the  late  king,  and  arbitrarily 
interfered  to  displace  a  sovereign  who  was 
the  choice  of  the  majority  of  his  people.  A 
Russian  army,  consisting  of  50,000  men 
under  the  command  of  Marshal  Munich, 
entered  Poland;  and,  under  their  protec- 
tion, a  party  of  nobles,  opposed  to  the 
French  interest,  proclaimed  Frederic  Au- 
gustus II.  as  their  king.  Frederic  shortly 
afterwards  entered  Cracow  in  triumph, 
where  he  and  his  queen  were  crowned. 
Stanislaus  was  driven  forth  as  a  fugitive, 
and  pursued  by  the  Russian  troops  to 
Dantzic,  in  which  town  the  bravery  of  the 
inhabitants  enabled  him  to  stand  a  siege  of 
five  months.  He  relied  upon  receiving  aid 
from  France;  but  when  it  arrived,  it  was 
too  small  to   render  any  material  service. 


A.D.  1735.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,   [surrender  of  Persian  territory. 


The  city  was  at  length  compelled  to  capitu- 
late; and  then  the  dethroned  Stanislaus 
stole  away  in  disguise,  and  after  many  sur- 
prising adventures  and  escapes,  contrived  to 
reach  the  Prussian  territories.  The  phleg- 
matic and  incapable  Frederic  Augustus 
gave  himself  up  entirely  to  his  favourite 
occupations  of  smoking  and  hunting,  and 
scarcely  bestowed  a  thought  upon  the 
miserable  people  whose  welfare  had  been 
committed  to  his  charge.  France  was 
baffled,  and  Russia  triumphant.  The  em- 
press Anna  also  received  a  private  gratifica- 
tion, the  obtainment  of  which  had  been 
her  chief  motive  for  interfering  so  capri- 
ciously in  the  internal  arrangements  of 
another  nation.  In  consequence  of  the 
influence  thus  gained,  her  favourite,  Biren, 
was  shortly  afterwards  chosen  Duke  of 
Courland  by  the  nobles  of  that  duchy ;  and 
thus  he  acquired  a  distinction  which  the 
wealthy  and  able  MentschikofF  had  sought 
for  in  vain. 

The  territories  which  Peter  the  Great 
obtained  by  treaty  from  Persia,  had  been 
found  to  be  a  burden  rather  than  an  acqui- 
sition. The  Russian  government  discovered 
that  it  was  quite  possible  to  be  embarrassed 
by  an  extension  of  the  empire  in  an  un- 
profitable direction.  Peter,  in  his  desire  to 
possess,  had  for  once  overlooked  the  neces- 
sity of  ascertaining  whether  the  new  pro- 
vinces were  likely  to  produce  advantages  in 
the  way  of  revenue,  or  to  add  strength  to 
the  frontiers.  To  retain  the  possession  of 
them,  it  was  necessary  to  keep  a  consider- 
able garrison  in  the  interior,  even  in  times 
of  peace.  These  were  exposed  to  frequent 
attacks  and  desultory  warfare ;  and  the  cli- 
mate  was  so  injurious  to  the  Russians,  that 
they  lost,  in  a  few  years,  no  less  than  130,000 
men.  Such  a  drain  as  this  began  to  be 
seriously  felt ;  and  Anna  wisely  resolved  on 
relinquishing  her  Persian  dependencies  to 
the  shah  on  the  best  terms  she  could  get  for 
them.  She  therefore  opened  a  negotiation, 
and  proposed  to  restore  the  ceded  provinces, 
on  condition  that  the  Persian  monarch  would 
conclude  a  commercial  treaty  of  an  advan- 
tageous kind  to  the  Russians.  The  offer 
was  accepted;  and,  in  1735,  Anna  formally 
surrendered  her  Persian  territories  to  the 
shah.  At  the  same  time,  the  two  countries 
entered  into  a  defensive  treaty;  Russia 
being  induced  to  propose  this,  because  she 
was  about  to  commence  a  new  war  with  the 
Turks.  Peter  I.  had  himself  contemplated 
such  a  war,  with  the  object  of  effacing  the 


disgrace  he  had  sustained  at  the  Pruth,  and 
of  recovering  the  valuable  territory  he  had 
been  compelled  to  sacrifice  on  that  occasion. 
The  czar  had  been  further  irritated  by  the 
haughty  refusal  of  the  Porte  to  acknowledge 
the  imperial  title  which  his  people  had  con- 
ferred upon  him.  As  a  necessary  prepara- 
tion for  his  hostile  design,  he  had  fortified 
the  Russian  frontiers  in  the  direction  of 
Turkey;  but  his  death  arrested  the  exe- 
cution of  his  project,  which  was  entirely 
laid  aside  by  his  successors,  Catherine  and 
Peter  11. 

The  empress  Anna  had  many  induce- 
ments to  attempt  to  carry  into  execution 
the  design  of  her  illustrious  predecessor. 
The  Tartars  of  the  Crimea,  who  were  under 
the  protection  of  the  Turks,  had  for  some 
time  made  many  predatory  inroads  upon 
the  Russian  territory;  the  loss  of  Azoff, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  fortifications  at 
Taganrog,  had  the  effect  of  destroying  the 
Russian  trade  on  the  Black  Sea;  the  inso- 
lence of  the  Ottoman  government  also 
rankled  in  the  minds  of  the  Russian  autho- 
rities ;  and,  most  important  with  the  empress, 
Biren  was  anxious  for  the  war.  His  desire 
for  it  has,  by  some  waiters,  been  attributed 
to  a  wish  to  preserve  the  Russian  army  in 
the  high  state  of  discipline  to  which  it  had 
been  brought ;  but  the  suggestion,  that  it 
rather  arose  from  a  jealousy  he  entertained 
towards  Marshal  Munich,  and  a  hope  to 
send  him  to  a  distance,  is  far  more  probable. 

Anna  was  further  encouraged  to  hope  for 
success  in  her  intended  hostilities  against 
Turkey,  in  consequence  of  the  treaty  of 
alliance  existing  between  Russia  and  Aus- 
tria, by  which  either  nation  was  to  assist 
the  other  with  30,000  men  against  any  foe. 
The  first  step  of  the  empress  was  to  remon- 
strate with  the  sultan  on  the  subject  of  the 
ravages  made  by  the  Tartars,  and  to  demand 
satisfaction.  As  was  anticipated,  the  sultan 
declined  to  interfere,  and  excused  himself 
from  doing  so  on  the  pretence,  that  although 
the  Tartars  were  under  his  protection,  yet 
that  it  was  impossible  to  keep  these  preda- 
tory people  under  the  desired  restraint. 
This  was  what  was  desired,  because,  as  the 
sultan  refused  satisfaction,  the  Russians 
had  a  pretext  for  endeavouring  to  obtain  it 
for  themselves. 

Before  the  year  1735  had  expired,  a  Rus- 
sian army  marched  into  the  Crimea,  where 
t.)ey  overrun  a  part  of  the  country,  and 
slew  a  great  number  of  the  Tartars.  Their 
success  led  them  to  penetrate  further  than 

213 


I 


WAR  IX  THE  CRIMEA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1736—1739. 


I. 

I!    i' 


■,  .tt  , 


M 

*4 


w 


was  prudent;  where,  from  want  of  provi- 
sions and  incessant  attacks,  they  experienced 
a  loss  of  10,000  men,  and  were  compelled 
to  retire. 

Notwithstanding  this  reverse.  Marshal 
Munich,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army, 
scoured  the  Ukraine,  and  entered  the 
Crimea  in  the  following  year  (173G),  with 
a  free  commission  to  retaliate  upon  the 
Tartars.  The  latter,  unable  to  compete 
with  the  now  disciplined  Russians  in  the 
open  field,  fled  before  them,  and  took  refuge 
behind  some  formidable  intrenchments  they 
had  erected,  and  Avhich  extended  from  the 
Sea  of  AzofF  to  the  Euxine.  As  these  lines 
had  been  raised  to  protect  the  Crimea  from 
any  attack  on  the  land  side,  and  were 
strongly  fortified  with  cannon,  the  Tartars 
regarded  them  as  impregnable.  This  illu- 
sion was  soon  dispelled.  The  impetuosity 
of  the  Russian  troops  enabled  them  to  burst 
through  the  intrenchments,  and  to  slay  or 
scatter  the  hordes  that  defended  them. 
But  a  short  time  elapsed  before  a  great  part 
of  the  Crimea  was  in  the  hands  of  the  vic- 
tors. The  Russians  could  not  retain  what 
they  had  seized  so  rapidly.  The  Tartars,  as 
they  fled,  devastated  the  country  they 
passed  through,  and  the  Russians  again 
began  to  feel  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
provisions.  Marshal  Munich,  therefore, 
found  it  necessary  to  return  to  the  Ukraine, 
where  he  took  up  his  winter  quarters. 

During  the  expedition  of  Munich  to  the 
Crimea,  General  Lascy  had  proceeded  with 
another  army  against  Azoff*,  to  which  he 
laid  siege,  and  reduced  to  submission  on 
the  1st  of  Jul  v.  The  Porte  was  roused 
from  a  contemptuous  apathy,  and  compelled 
to  employ  some  measures  to  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Russian  arms.  Not  desirous  of 
entering  on  a  war  with  a  powerful  enemy, 
the  sultan  endeavoured  to  enlist  the  media- 
tion of  Austria  for  the  restoration  of  peace. 
Russia,  however,  was  not  disposed  to  listen 
to  pacific  overtures,  and  therefore  de- 
manded the  fulfilment  of  the  treaty  existing 
between  her  and  Austria,  by  which  the 
latter  power  was  bound  to  furnish  30,000 
men  to  fight  against  the  Turks.  Austria 
was  unwilling  to  supply  a  contingent  which 
would  have  the  efl'ect  of  enabling  Russia  to 
extend  its  conquests  without  the  production 
of  any  advantages  to  herself.  She  there- 
fore decided  on  making  war  on  the  Turks, 
in  alliance  with  Russia ;  as  a  result  of  which 
arrangement,  any  conquests  would  have  to 
be  divided  between  the  victors. 
214 


Though  such  a  formidable  alliance  neces- 
sarily imperilled  the  safety  of  Turkey,  the 
sultan  felt  that  it  must  be  resolutely  encoun- 
tered for  the  maintenance  of  the  honour  of 
the  Ottoman  empire.  He  therefore  raised 
new  levies,  put  his  army  on  a  war  footing, 
and  equipped  a  fleet  for  the  protection  of 
the  Black  Sea. 

The  Russian  and  Austrian  forces  entered 
on  their  campaign  against  Turkey  in  the 
year  1737,  but  the  efficiency  of  it  was  marred 
by  the  jealousies  and  dissensions  existing 
between  the  respective  commanders  and 
officers  of  these  novel  allies.  The  Russian 
army  was  divided  into  two  portions,  one  of 
which,  under  the  command  of  General 
Lascy,  again  penetrated  into  and  desolated 
a  portion  of  the  Crimea.  The  other  was 
led  by  Marshal  Munich,  who  carried  his 
aversion  to  the  Austrians  to  such  a  dan- 
gerous extreme,  that  he  stood  almost  aloof 
from  active  proceedings;  and,  although 
Russia  lost  about  50,000  soldiers  during 
this  campaign,  yet  all  that  she  obtained  in 
recompense  was  the  fortress  of  Otchakoff", 
on  the  Black  Sea.  The  condition  of  the 
Austrian  army  was  worse ;  for,  besides  en- 
countering severe  losses,  it  scarcely  escaped 
untouched  by  disgrace.  The  Turks  poured 
out  their  strength  against  the  German 
army,  broke  through  its  ranks  on  several 
occasions,  and  obtained  many  advantages. 

Some  attempts  were  made  to  bring  about 
a  peace ;  but  the  Turks,  encouraj^ed  by  the 
results  of  the  campaign  of  1737,  took  so 
high  a  tone,  that  the  war  was  resumed, 
though  with  very  little  animation  on  the 
part  of  Austria.  During  1738,  Marshal 
Munich  seemed  anxious  to  redeem  his  repu- 
tation ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  some 
vigorous  marches  through  the  territories  of 
the  Tartars,  he  eff'ected  nothing  of  any  im- 
portance. General  Lascy  was  not  more 
fortunate  in  the  Crimea,  where  he  found 
the  country  desolated  in  every  direction 
as  he  approached;  and  his  troops  snff"ered 
from  a  terrible  mortality,  which  thinned 
their  ranks  with  a  far  greater  rapidity  than 
the  swords  of  the  enemy  could  have  done, 
and  at  length  compelled  them  to  retire. 

The  campaign  of  1739  opened  more  fa- 
vourably for  the  Russians.  Marshal  Munich, 
with  a  larger  army  than  before,  penetrated 
into  Moldavia,  where  he  engaged  and  en- 
tirely defeated  an  array  of  Turks  and  Tar- 
tars, capturing  forty  pieces  of  cannon,  and 
the  whole  camp  of  the  enemy.  The  fortress 
of  Khotzim  surrendered  on  the  approach  of 


a.d.  1739.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[peace  with  turkey. 


the  Russians,  who  also  made  themselves 
masters  of  Jassy,  the  capital  of  Moldavia, 
the  whole  of  which  territory  was  awed  by 
the  terror  of  their  arms.  Returning  into 
Bessarabia,  Munich  then  prepared  for  a 
descent  upon  Binder,  when  his  further 
progress  was  arrested  by  the  intense  disgust 
he  experienced  on  learning  that  Austria 
liad  concluded  a  separate  peace  with  the 
Turks,  and  dishonourably  left  Russia  to 
carrv  on  the  war  alone. 

Jealous  of  the  triumphs  reaped  by  their 
rivals,  and  suff'ering  from  a  contagious  dis- 
ease, which  tended  greatly  to  paralyse  their 
activity,  the  Austrian  troops  were  heartily 
tired  of  the  war.  At  the  same  time  the 
emperor,  Charles  VI.,  was  suff*ering  from  a 
dangerous  illness ;  and  his  daughter,  shrink- 
ing with  apprehension  from  the  future,  was 
anxious  by  any  means  to  make  peace  with 
Turkey.  Proposals  were  therefore  made 
by  Austria,  which  the  sultan  was  glad  to 
accept,  and  a  treaty  of  peace  between  them 
was  Imrriedly  drawn  up,  and  signed  at 
Belgrade  on  the  1st  of  September,  1739. 
By  this  disgraceful  treaty,  Austria  escaped 
from  all  further  responsibility  in  the  war; 
but  she  purchased  peace  at  a  price  which, 
but  a  short  time  before,  would  have  been 
regarded  as  incredible.  Austria  restored  to 
Turkey  Belgrade,  Shabatz,  the  whole  of 
Servia,  a  portion  of  Bosnia,  and  Austrian 
Wallachia.  It  has  been  remarked,  that 
"  the  infatuation  which  tempted  Austria 
into  this  step,  can  be  referred  only  to  her 
jealousy  of  Russian  aggrandisement.  She 
desired,  above  all  things,  to  embarrass  that 
power,  whose  ambition,  stretching  to  all 
points,  appeared  to  be  boundless.  Had  she, 
however,  preserved  her  good  faith  with 
Russia,  she  might  have  shared  in  the  spoils 
which  she  feared  her  growing  rival  would 
monopolise,  and  partitioned  with  the  em- 
press the  fields  of  their  mutual  victories. 
But  it  was  fortunate,  perhaps,  that  the 
jealousies  of  the  Austrian  army,  and  the 
timidity  of  the  court,  led  to  this  unexpected 
result ;  for,  had  the  combining  powers  pro- 
secuted their  design  with  unanimity,  they 
might  have  ultimately  established  a  league 
subversive  of  the  repose  and  independence 
of  the  rest  of  Europe.'' 

Russia  did  not  feel  inclined  to  carry  on 
the  war  alone  against  the  formidable  power 
of  the  Porte,  the  more  especially  as  she 
feared  that  while  her  armies  were  engaged 
with.  Turkey,  she  might  be  exposed  to  an 
attack   from    Sweden,    which   was   secretly 


urged  to  that  course  by  the  French  court ; 
Russia  therefore  followed  the  example  of 
Austria,  and  that,  too,  with  such  promptness, 
that  by  the  18th  of  September,  she  too  had 
concluded  a  peace  with  Turkey.  Though 
the  conditions  of  this  treaty  involved  some 
sacrifices  on  both  sides,  yet,  as  a  whole, 
they  were  highly  favourable  to  the  sultan. 
Azoff  and  the  territory  surrounding  it, 
together  with  Kabardia,  were  to  be  aban- 
doned, and  remain  uncultivated,  as  a  neu- 
tral boundary  between  the  two  empires. 
It  was  settled  that  Russia  should  be  allowed 
to  erect  a  fortress  on  the  Don,  and  Turkey 
another  in  the  Kuban.  The  Russians  also 
surrendered  some  minor  conquests,  and 
consented  to  the  exclusion  of  their  fleets 
from  the  Palus  Maeotis  and  the  Black  Sea ; 
and  to  the  irritating  condition  that  all  their 
commerce  in  the  latter  should  be  carried  on 
in  Turkish  ships.  Such  was  the  abrupt 
and  disastrous  termination  of  a  war  which 
had  cost  the  Russian  empire  upwards  ot 
100,000  men,  and  an  enormous  expenditure 
of  money.  All  that  Russia  gained  was  an 
increase  of  reputation  for  her  troops,  who, 
under  the  improved  discipline  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected  by  Marshal  Mu- 
nich, had  become  both  efficient  in  attack 
and  enduring  in  suffering.  The  Turkish 
government  supposed  the  Russian  soldiers 
had  degenerated  during  the  interval  of 
peace  that  had  elapsed  since  the  death  ot 
Peter  I.;  but  they  now  admitted  that  the 
Russians  were  not  baffled  by  the  superior 
courage  or  skill  of  the  Turkish  troops,  but 
by  excessive  fatigues,  want  of  provisions, 
and  exposure  to  a  climate  altogether  un- 
suited  to  them. 

The  restoration  of  peace  enabled  the  em- 
press to  pay  more  attention  to  those  inter- 
nal reforms,  in  the  carrying  out  of  which 
she  strove  to  imitate  the  example  of  Peter 
the  Great.  The  canal  from  the  Lake  ot 
Ladoga,  designed  to  facilitate  the  transport 
of  provisions  to  St.  Petersburg,  was  finished 
in  the  year  1738.  Anna  also  dispatched  an 
expedition  from  Kamschatka  towards  the 
north,  with  the  object  of  discovering  whether 
Siberia  was  connected  with  North  Ame- 
rica. She  attracted  to  Russia  great  num- 
bers of  artisans,  who  were  skilful  in  such 
trades  and  arts  as  her  people  were  most 
ignorant  of.  She  also  entered  into  a  com 
mercial  treaty  with  England,  with  the  ob- 
ject of  furthering  this  view  ;  and  by  obtain- 
ing the  submission  of  the  Kirghises,  a  wan- 
dering   tribe    on    the    borders    of    China, 

215 


Ir  , 


IH 


■  'J 


C»URT  OF  THE  EMPRESS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1739. 


j'-ii' 


■'I  ■-* 
u 

I 

'I 


In. 


I 


! 


II 


i 


f, 


i: 


li 


extended  her  commercial  intercourse  with 
that  ancient  empire. 

The  empress,  during  her  residence  in 
Courland,  had  imbibed  tastes  of  a  character 
more  refined  than  those  which  prevailed 
at  the  yet  uncouth  Russian  court.  The 
social  improvement  introduced  by  Peter, 
though  not  of  a  very  exalted  kind,  had  not 
altogether  superseded  the  barbarous  old 
customs.  Drunkenness,  even  amongst  the 
highest  aristocracy,  including  the  female 
members  of  it,  was  still  not  unfrequent,  and 
the  revels  of  the  palace  frequently  degene- 
rated into  coarse  and  offensive  orgies.  In- 
deed, traces  of  the  grossest  barbarism  con- 
tinually mingled  with  the  greatest  splendour 
and  the  most  immeasurable  extravagance. 
Anna  was  greatly  averse  to  this  vulgar 
rioting ;  and  with  the  natural  emulation  of 
a  woman  in  matters  of  ceremonial  ob- 
servance, she  entertained  the  ambition  of 
making  her  court  the  most  brilliant  in 
Europe.  By  fostering  music,  dancing,  the 
courtesies  inseparable  from  intellectual  in- 
tercourse, and  the  tranquil  pleasures  of 
social  life,  she  diffused  a  somewhat  softer 
tone  of  society  around  her,  and  contrived 
to  curb  the  boisterous  and  licentious  amuse- 
ments in  which  the  Russian  nobles  had 
hitherto  indulged.  Yet  social  improvement 
is  necessarily  a  matter  of  slow  growth ;  it 
cannot  be  raised  suddenly;  and  it  is  not 
until  past  barbarism  slowly  perishes  and 
moulders  away,  that  the  gracefulness  of  re- 
fined manners,  and  that  high  tone  of  cour- 
tesy and  honourable  feeling  which  prevails 
in  the  best  society,  can  effectually  take  its 
place.  This  it  requires  the  lapse  of  more 
than  one  generation  to  accomplish ;  and 
therefore  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  should 
have  been  said,  that  the  empress  only  suc- 
ceeded in  gathering  around  her  an  incon- 
gruous display  of  profusion  without  elegance, 
finery  without  taste,  and  pomp  sometimes 
without  even  personal  cleanliness.  Gross 
gluttony  and  drunkenness  disappeared  from 
her  court ;  but  dissipaMon  of  every  other 
kind,  ruinous  gambling,  and  uncouth  ex- 
travagance, supplied  their  places,  and  rioted 
without  any  check  except  that  which  nature 
ever  lays  on  vice.     v. 

Even  the  empress  Anna  herself  was  de- 
ficient in  that  refinement  of  mind  which  is 
almost  invariably  exhibited  by  ladies  occu- 
pying positions  of  exalted  rank  in  these 
days.  A  sense  of  humanity  is  the  basis  of 
the  highest  courtesy;  and  the  empress, 
during  the  latter  part  of  her  reign,  suffi- 
216 


ciently  showed  that  she  was  not  influenced 
by  any  active  emotions  of  benevolence. 
This  was  sometimes  even  perceptible  in  her 
amusements.  She  preserved  the  ancient 
custom  of  keeping  buffoons,  and  had  six 
attached  to  her  household.  Some  of  these 
were  men  of  high  rank,  who  were  con- 
demned to  the  exercise  of  a  feigned  mirth 
and  folly,  as  the  expiation  of  some  real  or 
presumed  offence.  If  these  victims  of  a 
capricious  tyranny,  overcome  by  some  re- 
collection of  their  past  dignity,  refused  to 
perform  the  fooleries  that  were  required  of 
them,  they  were  sometimes  severely  beaten, 
with  the  object  of  stimulating  their  wit, 
and  dispelling  their  melancholy  or  unwil- 
lingness. 

Prince  Galitzin,  for  having  changed  his 
religion,  was  punished  by  being  deprived  of 
his  rank,  and  reduced  to  the  position  of  a 
buffoon.  In  his  case,  the  degradation  was 
made  the  more  bitter  by  the  coarse  and 
eccentric  cruelty  with  which  it  was  accom- 
panied. As  he  had  lost  his  wife,  the  em- 
press commanded  him  to  be  married  to 
a  girl  of  the  lowest  birth ;  and  herself 
sanctioned,  if  she  did  not  devise,  the  ex- 
travagances attending  the  wedding.  Though 
it  took  place  in  a  winter  of  more  than 
customary  severity,  yet  a  house,  built  en- 
tirely of  ice,  was  prepared  for  the  reception 
of  the  married  couple.  The  furniture,  even 
to  the  nuptial  bedstead,  was  composed  of 
the  same  frozen  material.  Four  cannons 
and  two  mortars  of  ice  were  also  placed  in 
front  of  the  house,  and  fired  several  times 
without  bursting.  The  governors  of  all  the 
provinces  in  the  empire  were  commanded 
to  send  some  persons  of  both  sexes,  chosen 
from  all  the  nations  subject  to  Russia,  and 
dressed  in  the  costume  of  their  respective 
countries.  The  procession,  consisting  of 
more  than  300  persons,  passed  before 
the  imperial  palace,  and  through  the  prin- 
cipal streets  of  the  city.  The  unfortunate 
prince  and  his  bride  were  placed  in  a  great 
cage  on  the  back  of  an  elephant.  Some  of 
the  guests  were  mounted  on  camels,  while 
others  were  drawn  in  sledges  by  reindeer, 
dogs,  oxen,  goats,  pigs,  and  other  animals. 
At  the  dinner  which  had  been  prepared 
for  the  guests,  each  of  them  were  treated 
to  their  food  cooked  in  the  manner  which 
prevailed  in  their  own  country.  A  ball 
followed,  at  which  the  representatives  of 
each  nation  had  their  own  music  and  their 
own  style  of  dancing.  AH  this  practical 
joking,  though  low  and  foolish,  need  not  ex- 


A.D.  1740.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[tyranny  of  BIREN. 


cite  censure,  if  the  object  of  the  merriment 
had  not  been  to  heap  degradation  on  a 
victim  of  intolerant  and  unjust  legislation. 
But  the  conclusion  of  this  proceeding  was 
both  offensive  and  cruel.  The  degraded 
prince  and  his  bride  were  conducted  to  the 
ice-house,  and  with  derisive  ceremoniousness 
shown  to  the  frozen  bed ;  and  in  this  dismal 
place  they  were  compelled  to  pass  the  night, 
though  their  lives  might  have  paid  the 
penalty  of  exposure  to  so  much  cold  in 
such  a  climate.  It  was  also  during  the 
reign  of  this  princess,  who  has  been  com- 
mended for  her  gentleness,  that  a  Russian 
nobleman  who  had  embraced  Judaism,  was 
Durnt  at  the  stake  with  a  gag  in  his  mouth, 
along  with  the  wretched  Jew  who  had  been 
the  means  of  his  conversion. 

Indeed,  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of 
the  empress  Anna  was  a  period  of  terror, 
in  consequence  of  the  savage  and  furious 
despotism  which  she  permitted  her  favourite, 
Biren,  to  exercise.  Such  was  his  influence 
over  the  empress,  that  it  is  affirmed,  that 
though  she  often  fell  on  her  knees  before 
him  in  the  hope  of  moving  him  to  clemency, 
yet  that  both  her  entreaties  and  tears  were 
alike  unavailing.  After  the  first  three  years 
of  Anna's  reign,  the  dictatorial  temper  of  this 
low  and  bad  man  broke  out  into  the  ex- 
cesses to  which  he  afterwards  gave  himself 
up  without  restraint.  So  vindictive  was  he, 
and  to  such  an  extreme  was  his  tyranny 
carried,  that  it  diffused  terror  throughout 
the  empire.  On  the  disgrace  of  the  Dolgo- 
ruki  family,  they  were  banished;  but  the 
bitter  hate  of  Biren  pursued  them  even  in 
the  sad  loneliness  of  their  exile.  To  satisfy 
his  revengeful  nature  they  were  recalled, 
and  then  accused  of  forging  the  pretended 
will  (to  which  we  have  already  alluded)  of 
Peter  I.,  in  favour  of  Catherine  Dolgoruki ; 
and  also  of  a  conspiracy,  with  the  object  of 
placing  the  Princess  Elizabeth^  daughter  of 
the  last-named  monarch,  on  the  throne. 
Being  found  guilty,  some  of  the  family 
were  beheaded,  and  two  unhappy  members 
of  it  broken  upon  the  wheel.  Biren  brooked 
no  opposition,  and  regarded  it  as  an  un- 
forgivable offence.  In  the  year  1740,  a 
cabinet  minister  named  Boluinski,  ventured, 
at  a  council  in  which  Biren  took  the  part  of 
the  Poles,  to  observe  sarcastically,  that  as 
he  was  not  a  vassal  of  Poland,  he  did  not 
think  himself  obliged  to  defend  the  cause 
of  the  enemies  of  Russia.  Biren  felt  that 
this  remark  was  directed  against  him,  as 
holding  from  Poland  the  fief  of  Courland, 
VOL.  I.  2  F 


the  dukedom  of  which  his  mistress  had  pro- 
cured for  him.  In  retaliation  he  brought  a 
number  of  petty  charges  against  Boluinski, 
one  of  which  was,  that  he  had  dared  to  pre- 
sent a  Russian  translation  of  Machiavelli's 
Prince  to  the  empress.  Such  was  the  in- 
fluence of  Biren,  that  he  procured  the  re- 
cord  of  a  sentence  of  death  against  the 
minister.  The  empress  justly  refused  to 
confirna  the  warrant  for  the  execution,  and 
burst  into  tears  when  it  was  repeatedly 
brought  for  her  signature.  Biren  at  length 
obtained  it  by  a  threat,  that  if  it  was  longer 
withheld  he  would  leave  Russia  for  ever. 
The  weak  empress  granted  it  with  many 
tears,  and  the  upright  Boluinski  perished 
on  the  scaffold. 

By  this  exhibition  of  reckless  vindictive- 
ness,  Biren  crushed  any  opposition  that 
might  have  been  offered  to  him  in  the 
cabinet.  Abandoning  himsfelf,  therefore,  to 
extravagance  and  tyranny,  he  became  so 
grasping,  and  accumulated  so  much  treasure 
in  his  own  coffers,  that  the  plundered 
revenues  of  the  state  were  insufficient  to 
support  the  requisite  expenditure;  and 
taxes  were  collected  by  the  most  violent 
means.  Soldiers  were  directed,  instead  of 
receiving  pay,  to  live  at  free  quarters.  Whole 
villages  were  laid  waste ;  many  were  burned, 
and  the  inhabitants  sent  to  Siberia.  It  is 
estimated  that,  during  the  period  of  Biren'a 
authority,  no  less  than  20,000  persons  were 
driven  into  this  species  of  exile.  This  came 
even  to  be  regarded  almost  as  a  mild 
punishment :  many  unfortunate  persons  who 
incurred  the  anger  of  the  savage  favourite 
were  punished  with  the  knout ;  numbers 
had  their  tongues  cut  out;  many  perished 
beneath  the  axe  of  the  executioner;  and 
not  a  few  were  broken  on  the  wheel.  The 
number  of  persons  put  to  death  in  conse- 
quence of  the  tyranny  of  this  monster  is 
computed  at  11,000. 

The  empress  was  distressed  at  the  perpe- 
tration of  the  cruelty  which  she  was  weak 
and  wicked  enough  to  permit  to  be  trans- 
acted in  her  name.  It  is  said  that  her 
conscience  was  wounded  by  the  death,  or 
rather  murder,  of  Boluinski,  whom  she  much 
respected,  knew  to  be  innocent,  and  yet 
sacrificed  to  the  malice  of  the  incarnate 
fiend  who,  through  the  instrumentahty  of 
a  coarsely  sensual  affection,  had  obtained 
such  a  tyrannous  influence  over  her.  It  is 
supposed  that  her  remorse  at  the  sacrifice 
of  Boluinski  was  so  acute,  as  to  bring  her 
to  the  grave.     She  died  at  St.  Petersburg, 

217 


f;l 


*  k 


DEATH  OF  TIIE  EMPRESS.] 


HISTORY  OP  THE 


[a.d.  1740. 


If, 


"J 


on  the  29th  of  October,  1740,  in  the  forty- 
seventh  year  of  her  age,  and  the  tenth  of 
her  reign.  Shortly  before  she  expired  she 
bequeathed  the  crown,  by  the  advice  of 
Biren,  to  the  infant  prince,  Ivan,  the  grand- 
son of  her  elder  sister  Catherine,  and  son 
of  the  Princess  Anne  and  Ulric,  Duke  of 
Brunswick.  The  little  prince  had  been 
born  only  in  the  August  preceding,  and 
Biren  directed  the  dying  empress  to  nomi- 
nate him,  instead  of  his  mother,  to  the  im- 
perial crown,  because  he  calculated  that, 
under  those  circumstances,  there  must  in- 1 


evitably  follow  a  long  minority,  during 
which,  by  the  will  of  the  empress,  he  was 
to  act  as  regent  and  guardian  of  the  prince ; 
in  case  of  whose  death  he  might,  perhaps, 
be  enabled  to  mount  the  throne  himself. 
This  gorgeous  day-dream,  promising  as  it 
seemed,  was  not  to  be  fulfilled ;  the  long- 
silent  but  unresting  spirit  of  retribution 
was  at  work;  the  clouds  were  gathering 
around  the  ferocious  and  insolent  man  who 
grasped  the  executive  power  of  the  empire, 
and  the  storm  was  ready  to  burst  over  his 
head. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


■ 


BIREN  ASSUMES  THE  REGENCY  DURING  THE  MINORITY  OF  IVAN  ;  FALL  OF  BIREN,  AND  EXALTATION  OF  THE 
PRINCESS  ANNE  TO  THE  REGENCY  ;  WAR  WITH  SWEDEN  ;  CONSPIRACY  TO  RAISE  THE  PRINCESS  ELIZABETH 
TO  THE  THRONE;  OVERTHROW  OF  TIIE  REGENT  ANNE  AND  THE  INFANT  EMPEROR  j  ELIZABETH  PRO- 
CLAIMED EMPRESS. 


Ivan,  the  infant  to  whom  the  empress 
Anna  had  bequeathed  the  imperial  sceptre, 
was  but  two  months  old.  The  ambitious 
Biren  had  attempted  to  prevent  the  mar- 
riage of  the  father  and  mother  of  this 
unfortunate  babe — the  Princess  Anne  and 
Ulric,  Duke  of  Brunswick  ;  but  as  he  failed 
in  this,  his  next  object  was  to  derive  advan- 
tage from  it,  by  persuading  the  empress  to 
nominate  the  new-born  Ivan  as  her  suc- 
cessor, instead  of  his  mother  (the  daughter 
of  Anna's  elder  sister  Catherine,  and  grand- 
daughter of  the  imbecile  Ivan,  elder  brother 
of  Peter  I.),  through  whom  he  derived  such 
imperfect  right  as  he  possessed. 

The  father  and  mother  were  the  natural 
protectors  of  the  baby  emperor,  and  should 
have  been  chosen  to  act  together  as  a  joint 
regency ;  but,  as  we  have  mentioned,  the 
crafty  Biren  had  induced  his  doting  mistress, 
the  late  empress,  to  appoint  him  regent 
during  the  minority  of  Ivan.  By  the  will 
of  Anna  it  was  further  arranged,  that  if  the 
young  emperor  died  before  attaining  his 
seventeenth  year,  Biren  should  continue 
guardian  to  his  brethren  born  after  him, 
who  should  succeed  him  on  the  throne ; 
but  in  the  event  of  none  of  them  surviving, 
then  the  regent,  with  the  concurrence  of 
the  state,  was  to  elect  and  confirm  a  new 
218 


emperor,  as  unlimited  monarch.  This 
opened  up  a  brilliant  view  to  the  ambitious 
Biren,  who  immediately  assumed  the  title  ot 
*'  his  highness,  regent  of  the  Russian  empire/' 
laid  his  grasping  hand  upon  the  revenues  ot 
the  state,  and  resolved  to  uphold,  by  the 
exercise  of  despotic  cruelty,  that  dazzling 
position  which  he  had  acquired  by  fraud. 

The  Russian  nobles  and  people  were  irri- 
tated at  this  assumption  on  the  part  of  a 
foreigner;  discontent  became  general,  and 
a  large  party  was  formed  against  the 
tyrannical  upstart.  Biren  endeavoured  to 
awe  his  opponents  into  passive  submission 
by  an  exhibition  of  the  most  savage  and 
wanton  cruelty.  He  had  a  legion  of  spies 
under  his  direction ;  and  all  who  were  de- 
tected in  any  act  adverse  to  his  government 
were  exiled  to  Siberia,  cast  iato  dungeons, 
or  tortured  with  the  knout.  Such  was  his 
vindictiveuess,  that  he  was  dreaded  as  much 
as  he  was  detested.  But  now  that  the  pro- 
tecting hand  of  the  empress  was  removed, 
his  ruin  was  even  more  rapid  than  could 
have  been  anticipated.  A  cabal  was  secretly 
formed  against  him,  and  Marshal  Munich, 
whom  he  had  offended,  took  the  lead  in  it. 
Measures  were  concerted  for  the  arrest  of 
the  regent,  and  he  was  seized  in  his  house, 
during  the  night,  by  a  detachment  of  the 


A.D.  1741.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  with  SWEDEN. 


guards.     The  following  morning  Anne  was 
acknowledged    by    the    senate    as    grand- 
duchess  of  Russia,  and  guardian  of  her  son 
the  infant  emperor.     Thus,  within  a  month 
after  the  death  of  the  empress  Anna,  Biren 
fell  from  power,  and  not  a  hand  was  raised 
in  his  defence.     The  wretch  had  made  him- 
self so   detested,   that    scarcely  a  Russian 
existed  who    did  not  rejoice   in   his  ruin. 
One  of  the  conspirators  observed,  that  the 
secret  means  by  which  the  arrest  was  ac- 
complished  were    quite     unnecessary,    for 
that  Biren  might  just  as  safely  have  been 
publicly   arrested   in   open   day.      Hurried 
from  his  bed  to  the  castle  of  Schlusselburg 
as  a  prisoner,  he  was  afterwards  placed  on 
his   trial   on   the    charges    of   having   im- 
properly obtained  the  regency;   of  having 
squandered  the  imperial  treasures,  treated 
the  parents  of  the  emperor  with  contumely, 
and  violated  the  statutes  and  ordinances  of 
the  empire.    Being  found  guilty,  he  received 
sentence  of  death,  which,  by  an  undeserved 
lenity,   was   mitigated   to   exile  for  life  to 
Siberia.     Thus  he  shared  the  fate  to  which 
he  had  consigned  many  thousands  of  his 
victims,  to  whose  vengeance  it  is  surprising 
he  did  not  fall  a  sacrifice.     Yet,  strange  to 
say,  he  was  afterwards  restored  to  liberty  by 
Peter  III.;  while  Catherine  II.  gave  back 
to  him  the  duchy  of  Courland. 

Biren  was  arres-ted  on  the  28th  of  No- 
vember, 1740,  and  the  Princess  Anne 
became  regent;  yet,  within  a  year  and  a 
few  days,  power  had  passed  from  her  hands 
also ;  and  she,  her  husband  and  her  child, 
were  numbered  among  the  ranks  of  the 
obscure  and  the  unfortunate  ! 

Anne  commenced  with  the  sad  mistake 
of  placing  the  duke,  her  husband,  at  the 
head  of  the  army,  instead  of  Marshal 
Munich.  The  latter  was  naturally  very 
discontented ;  and,  to  appease  him,  she 
removed  Count  Ostermann,  and  made  Mu- 
nich first  minister  in  his  place.  This  was  a 
second  error,  by  which  the  services  of 
another  able  man  were  lost,  and  a  new 
enemy  created.  Duke  Ulric  was  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  Austria;  and  Munich 
detested  Austria,  and  desired  to  enter  into 
a  close  alliance  with  Prussia  :  therefore  dis- 
sensions arose  between  them ;  and  when 
the  veteran  soldier  (in  March,  1741)  ten- 
dered his  resignation,  it  was  accepted. 
Thus  Anne  thoughtlessly  threw  away  the 
second  great  support  of  her  regency. 

In  the  August  following,  Sweden  de- 
clared war  against  Russia — a  proceeding  to 


which  it  was  incited  by  the  court  of  France, 
and  by  a  belief  that  the  Russians  them- 
selves, discontented  with  their  government, 
were  ripe  for  revolution.     Notwithstanding 
all  that  the    Swedes  had   suffered   at   the 
hands  of  the  Russians  during  the  time  of 
Peter  I.,  they  were  so  confident  of  success, 
that  before  a  sword  was  drawn  or  shot  fired, 
they  drew  up  the  articles  on  which  they 
would  grant  peace  to  the  enemy,  who,  they 
concluded,  would   be  ready  to   accept  the 
terms  they  were  prepared  to  impose.     Rus- 
sia, they  presumed,  should  be  compelled  to 
surrender    Carelia,    Ingria,   and    Livonia; 
that  she  should  not  be  allowed  to  keep  any 
vessels  on  the  Livonian  or  Esthonian  coasts ; 
and  that  she  should  be  made  to  grant  the 
free  importation  of  corn.     To  enforce  these 
extravagant  ideas,   Sweden  had  an   empty 
treasury,   a   fleet   not   seaworthy,    and    an 
army  clamorous  for  pay,  and  almost  desti- 
tute of  provisions.     But  the  Swedish  gov- 
ernment trusted  to  enlist  on  its  side  the 
antipathy  which  the  Russian  people  enter- 
tained towards  foreigners.   With  this  object 
it  issued  a  manifesto,  which  thus  appealed 
to  the  emotions  of  nationality  of  the  Rus- 
sian population  : — "  The  sole  intention,  on 
the  part  of  Sweden,  is  to  defend  herself  by 
arms    against    the    oppressions    exercised 
against  her  by  the  arrogant  foreigners,  the 
ministers  of  the  Russian  court ;  and  at  the 
same  time  to  deliver   the    Russian   nation 
from  the  yoke  which  these  ministers  have 
imposed  on  it,  by  assisting  the  Russians  to 
regain  their  right  of  electing  for  themselves 
a  lawful  ruler."     This  document,  peculiarly 
calculated  to  arouse  a  sensitive  people,  either 
was  unable  to  overcome  the  stolid  apathy 
of  the  Russians  and  their  indiflFerence   to 
liberty,  or  it  was   counteracted  by  a   na- 
tional jealousy  at  the  interference  of  other 
countries  in  their  affairs.     At  any  rate,  it 
fell   perfectly  harmless — was   disseminated 
and  forgotten. 

Notwithstanding  the  discord  that  pre- 
vailed in  the  Russian  cabinet,  the  forces  of 
the  empire  anticipated  the  efforts  of  the 
Swedes ;  and  General  Lascy,  advancing 
against  the  Swedish  army,  which  was  en- 
camped under  Wrangel,  near  Vilmanstrand, 
attacked  and  defeated  it  on  the  3rd  of  Sep- 
tember, 1741.  The  fortress  of  the  place 
immediately  surrendered  to  the  Russians; 
but  the  latter  were  compelled  to  withdraw  on 
the  approach  of  winter,  in  consequence  of 
the  rapid  reinforcements  of  the  Swedes. 
Before  the  next  campaign  a  new  change 

219 


■  I 

*  _ 


1< 


f 

r 

k. 


[ 


1 


If 


Is 


COKSPIRACT  AGAINST  THE  REGENT.]    HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1741. 


had   been   effected   iu  the   government   of 
Russia;    but  it  was  not  accomplished  by 

.  the  people,  but  by  a  court  faction.  The 
Russian  populace  felt  no  attachment  to  the 
infant  emperor,  whose  father  was  a  German  ; 
or  to  his  mother,  who,  though  descended 
from  a  member  of  the  house  of  Romanoff, 
was  yet  the  daughter  of  a  German  prince. 
A  jealousy  of  German  influence  already 
existed  among  the  Russian  nobles ;  but  had 
the  regent  been  a  woman  of  enlarged  un- 
derstanding, she  would  have  succeeded  in 
reconciling  them  to  the  sway  of  her  family. 
But  the  conduct  of  the  Princess  Anne  was 
such,  that  the  people  had  nothing  to  divert 
them  from  the  fact,  that  neither  she  nor  her 
son  were  true  Russians.  She  was  a  woman 
whose  mildness  of  temper  merged  into 
apathy.  Once  installed  as  regent,  she 
neglected  the  duties  of  her  high  position, 
and  allowed  them  to  be  performed  by  the 
advisers  of  her  husband,  from  whom,  never- 
theless, she  seemed  almost  estranged.  She 
created  great  dissatisfaction  by  withdrawing 
for  weeks  from  public  affairs,  and  shutting 
herself  up  with  a  Countess  Mengden,  who 
had  obtained  a  remarkable  ascendancy  over 
her.  The  aversion  which  the  Russians 
entertained  towards  foreigners  broke  out 
with  increased  violence,  and  complaints 
were  made  by  the  disappointed  nobles,  that 
the  administration  of  affairs  had  passed 
altogether  out  of  the  hands  of  their  country- 
men. When  the  indolence  of  the  regent 
permitted  her  to  display  her  inclinations, 
they  were  found  to  tend  to  a  discourage- 
ment of  Russian  customs,  and  a  lavish 
patronage  of  foreigners. 

Under  these  circumstances,  some  eyes 
were  again  turned  towards  the  Princess 
Elizabeth,  the  surviving  daughter  of  Peter 
the  Great.  She  was  Russian  by  birth ;  re- 
garded as  national  in  her  habits  and  ideas ; 
nearer  by  blood  to  the  throne  than  the 
infant  Ivan ;  and  the  immediate  descendant 
of  an  illustrious  and  popular  sovereign. 
Yet  she  had  lived  so  retired  a  life,  that  she 
was  without  a  party  in  the  country,  and  her 
friends  were  few  in  number.  Indeed,  so 
limited  were  they,  that  the  chief  agent  in 
the  conspiracy  which  was  set  on  foot  in  her 
favour,  was  her  French  physician,  Lestocq ; 
and  the  money  required  to  conduct  it,  was 
supplied  by  the  Marquis  la  Chetardie,  which, 

^  at  the  direction  of  his  government,  he  gave 
with  the  object  of  distracting  Russia  with 
internal  commotions. 

Elizabeth,  during  her  previous  life^  ap- 
220 


peared  to  be  devoid  of  ambition;  and  she 
had  even  refused  the  imperial  sceptre.  Oc- 
cupied by  her  amours  and  her  devotions, 
she  either  did,  or  at  least  seemed  to,  prefer 
the  irresponsibility  of  a  private  station  to 
the  gorgeous  uncertainty  of  a  throne  in  a 
great  but  unsettled  empire.  While  the  em- 
press Anna  occupied  the  throne,  Elizabeth 
was  indifferent  to  politics,  and  avoided  the 
society  of  the  statesmen  of  the  day.  The 
empress  reposed  in  her  a  confidence  which 
appears  not  to  have  been  misplaced.  But 
when  Elizabeth  beheld  an  infant  emperor 
consigned  to  the  regency  of  an  unprincipled 
and  cruel  foreigner,  the  small  amount  of 
ambition  existing  in  her,  and  which  had 
hitherto  remained  latent,  became  aroused. 
It  was  not  checked  by  the  ruin  of  Biren ; 
for  then  the  guardianship  of  the  baby-czar 
was  transferred  to  its  parents,  of  whom  the 
father  was  a  German  by  birth,  and  the 
mother  by  descent.  Elizabeth  was  doubt- 
less further  stimulated  to  the  adoption  of 
the  course  which  had  been  suggested  to 
her,  by  the  rumour  that  the  Princess  Anne 
(the  mother  of  the  infant  Ivan)  intended  to 
cause  herself  to  be  proclaimed  empress,  and 
to  establish  the  succession  in  the  line  of  her 
daughters. 

Elizabeth  was  without  a  party,  but  she 
was  the  representative  of  a  principle — that 
which,  springing  from  the  nationality  of  the 
people,  demanded  that  the  sovereign  should 
be  a  native  of  the  empire  he  ruled.  Les- 
tocq (Elizabeth's  physician),  Grimstein,  a 
corporal,  and  Schwartz,  a  trumpeter,  were 
the  active  agents  of  the  conspiracy  in  her 
favour.  The  latter  two  were  instrumental 
in  gaining  over  to  Lestocq's  purpose  a 
strong  party  of  the  guards;  the  French 
Marquis  la  Chetardie,  as  we  have  said,  sup- 
plying the  money  required  to  bribe  the 
latter.  The  means  appeared  strangely  in- 
sufficient for  the  end  proposed ;  and  Eliza- 
beth, influenced  by  a  natural  timidity, 
hesitated  and  shrunk  back  from  the  dangers 
which  stood  between  her  and  the  imperial 
sceptre.  Delays  thus  arose,  and  rumours 
were  spread  abroad  concerning  the  existence 
of  the  plot.  Count  Ostermann  warned  the 
regent  Anne  of  her  danger,  who  received 
similar  instructions  from  the  English  and 
Austrian  ambassadors.  Anne  was  incredu- 
lous, and  would  not  take  any  step  to  frus- 
trate the  design  of  those  who  were  preparing 
for  her  overthrow.  Her  indolent  and  un- 
suspecting nature  wae  not  even  aroused  by 
I  her  receiving  an  anonymous  letter,  denounc- 


A.D.  1741.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[fall  of  the  regency. 


ing  the  conspirators.  Instead  of  causing 
them  to  be  instantly  arrested,  she  merely 
read  the  letter  before  her  court,  and  in  the 
presence  of  Elizabeth,  who,  bursting  into  a 
flood  of  tears,  asserted  her  innocence  with 
such  an  appearance  of  sincerity,  that  the 
regent  was  satisfied,  and  made  no  further 
inquiry. 

Lestocq  saw  that  unless  the  conspiracy 
was  put  into  instant  practice,  failure  and 
would    be   inevitable.      He   therefore 


ruin 


urged  Elizabeth  to  fix  the  following  night 
for  the  execution  of  the  scheme,  which,  if 
successful,  was  to  place  her  on  the  throne. 
She  still  hesitated,  when  he  drew  from  his 
pocket  a  card,  on  one  side  of  which  was  a 
representation  of  herself,  in  the  costume  of 
a  nun,  while  the  reverse  bore  a  portrayal  of 
her  wearing  the  imperial  crown.  He  then 
demanded  which  fate  she  preferred,  and 
added  that  the  choice  depended  entirely 
upon  herself,  and  the  promptitude,  or  other- 
wise, with  which  she  then  acted.  This 
argument  was  conclusive,  and  Elizabeth 
consented  to  fulfil  her  part  in  the  plot, 
which  was  to  be  carried  into  execution  on 
the  following  night,  the  5th  of  December, 
1741. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  having  first  made 
a  vow  before  the  crucifix  that  no  blood 
should  be  shed  in  the  attempt,  Elizabeth 
entered  a  sledge,  attended  by  Lestocq  and 
her  chamberlain,  and  drove  to  the  barracks 
of  the  guards.  On  arriving  there  she  ad- 
vanced amongst  the  soldiers  with  the  cross 
in  her  hand,  and  addressed  them  at  some 
length,  stating  her  claims  to  the  throne, 
reminding  them  that  she  was  the  daughter 
of  their  great  emperor  Peter,  that  she  had 
been  illegally  deprived  of  the  succession, 
that  an  infant  of  foreign  birth  had  been 
placed  upon  the  throne,  and  that  native  Rus- 
sians were  excluded  from  the  highest  offices 
of  the  state,  which  were  conferred  alone  on 
foreigners.  Elizabeth  was  well  known  to 
the  guards,  and  a  great  favourite  with 
them.  They  had  been  extensively  bribed, 
and  intoxicating  liquors  were  distributed 
freely  amongst  them.  The  result  was,  that 
the  great  majority  responded  to  the  address 
with  enthusiasm,  and  placed  in  confinement 
those  who  adhered  to  their  duty.  Then, 
with  the  Princess  Elizabeth  and  her  attend- 
ants, they  marched  to  the  palace,  where  the 
regent,  her  husband,  and  her  infant  son 
resided.  Seizing  the  sentries  at  the  gates, 
they  rushed  into  the  sleeping  apartments  of 
the  regent  and  her  family,   and  dragging 


them  out  of  their  beds,  scarcely  allowed 
them  time  to  dress  before  they  were  hurried 
away  as  prisoners  to  the  palace  of  Elizabeth. 
The  infant  emperor,  when  roused  from 
sleep,  on  hearing  the  shouts  of  the  soldiers 
in  front  of  the  palace,  clapped  his  little 
hands,  and  endeavoured  to  imitate  their 
vociferations.  Elizabeth  was  touched,  and 
exclaimed,  "  Poor  babe !  thou  knowest  not 
that  thou  art  joining  in  the  noise  that  is 
raised  at  thy  undoing." 

During  the  night,  many  persons  con- 
nected with,  or  supposed  to  be  favourable 
to,  the  government  of  the  regent,  were  ar- 
rested, and  amongst  them  Count  Ostermann 
and  Marshal  Munich.  The  news  spread 
rapidly  through  the  city ;  the  troops,  gene- 
rally, declared  for  Elizabeth,  and,  by  eight 
in  the  morning,  she  was  proclaimed  em- 
press, and  the  revolution  was  accomplished. 
A  manifesto  was  then  issued  to  the  people, 
to  explain  what  had  taken  place.  It  con- 
tained the  following  passage  : — "  The  em- 
press Anna  having  nominated  the  grand- 
son of  her  sister,  a  child  born  into  the 
world  only  a  few  weeks  before  the  empress's 
death,  as  successor  to  the  throne;  and 
during  the  minority  of  whom  various  per- 
sons had  conducted  the  administration  of 
the  empire  in  a  manner  highly  iniquitous, 
whence  disturbances  had  arisen  both  within 
the  country  and  out  of  it,  and  probably,  in 
time,  still  greater  might  arise;  therefore, 
all  the  faithful  subjects  of  Elizabeth,  both 
in  spiritual  and  temporal  stations,  particu- 
larly the  regiments  of  the  life-guards,  had 
unanimously  invited  her,  for  the  prevention 
of  all  the  mischievous  consequences  to  be 
apprehended,  to  take  possession  of  the 
throne  of  her  father,  as  nearest  by  right  of 
birth ;  and  that  she  had  accordingly  resolved 
to  yield  to  this  universal  request  of  her 
faithful  subjects,  by  taking  possession  of  her 
inheritance  derived  from  her  parents,  the 
emperor  Peter  I.  and  the  empress  Cathe- 
rine." 

Thus  easily  was  an  unpopular  govern- 
ment swept  away,  and  a  revolution  efi'ected 
in  the  succession.  Even  in  the  most  des- 
potic countries,  public  opinion  is  an  instru- 
ment of  remarkable  power.  Such  public 
opinion  as  existed  in  Russia  at  that  period 
was  averse  to  German  influence  and  a 
foreign  rule,  and  it  welcomed  Elizabeth  as 
the  representative  of  a  national  government. 
It  was  only  necessary  for  her,  therefore,  to 
grasp  the  imperial  sceptre,  and  the  empire 
recognised  her  as  its  sovereign.     As  to  the 

221 


ELIZABETH  BECOMES  EMPRESS.]        HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1741. 


h 


regent  Anne  and  the   infant  emperor,  no 
weapon  was  drawn  in  their  favour,  no  voice 
raised  in  their  behalf.     Tliey  passed  away 
like  a  shadow,  and  were    soon    almost  as 
unremembered   as    they   were   unregarded. 
Elizabeth   stated    that   she   had    sent    the 
Princess    Anne   and    her    husband,    Duke 
Ulric,  back  to  their  native  land  ;   but  this 
was  not  the  truth..     They  were  thrown  into 
captivity,  and  removed  from  fortress  to  for- 
tress  at   her   pleasure   or   caprice.      Their 
child,  the  late  baby-emperor,  was  allowed  to 
remain   with   them   until    he   attained   his 
eighth  year,  after  which  he  was  consigned 
to  solitarv  confinement :  first  in  the  fortress 
of  Oranienburg,  and  then  in  that  of  Schlus- 
selburg.      The   consequences   of   a   life   of 
confinement  rendered    him   almost   idiotic, 
and  he  was  eventually  murdered,  in  con- 
formity with  a  conditional  order  given  by 
the  empress   Catherine   II.,    who  regarded 
him   as   a   pretender  to  the  throne  whom 
circumstances    might    render    dangerous.* 
The  parents  of  this  most  unfortunate  youth 
lingered   out    their  lives  in  captivity ;    the 
mother   dying   after   a  few    years,   during 
childbirth;  and  the  father  surviving  her,  and 
reaching  a  sad  and  embittered  age.     As  to 
the  Oidvisers  and  friends  of  the  regent  and 
her  husband,  most  of  them  were  exiled  to 
Siberia.      Amongst    them    was    the'  wise 
statesman  Ostermann,  and  the  able  general 
Munich.      The    latter   was,    after   a   mock 
trial,  condemned  to  death  as  a  traitor ;  but 

•  The  following  touching  account  is  given  of  a 
visit  subsequently  paid  by  the  emperor,  Peter  III., 
to  the  dungeon  of  this  unhappy  prince  : — "  General 
Ungern  Sternberg  was  aide-de-camp  to  Peter  III., 
and  accompanied  him  in  a  secret  visit  to  the  unfor- 
tunate Ivan  at  Schlusselburg,  where  he  had  been 
confined  by  Elizabeth.  They  found  this  wretched 
young  man  in  a  dungeon,  the  window  of  which  ad- 
mitted but  a  faint  gleam  of  day,  the  light  being 
intercepted  by  piles  of  wood  heaped  up  in  the  court. 
He  was  in  a  very  dirty  white  jacket,  with  a  pair  of 
old  shoes  on  his  feet.  His  hair  was  very  light,  and 
cut  short  like  that  of  a  Russian  slave.  He  was 
tolerably  well-made,  and  his  complexion  had  a  pale- 
ness which  showed  that  the  sun  had  never  shone  on 
his  face.  He  was  then  upwards  of  twenty,  and  had 
been  confined  ever  since  he  was  fourteen  months 
old ;  but  he  had  received  some  impressions  and  ideas 
■which  he  still  retained.  Peter  III.,  afiected  at  his 
condition,  put  several  questions  to  him ;  among  the 
rest,  ♦  Who  are  you  ?' — *  I  am  the  emperor.* — *  Who 
put  you  into  prison,  then  ?' — *  Vile,  wicked  people.* 
— *  Would  you  like  to  be  emperor  again  ?' — *  To  be 
sure;  why  not.  I  should  then  have  fine  clothes, 
and  servants  to  wait  upon  me.' — *  But  what  would 
you  do  if  you  were  emperor  ?' — '  I  would  cut  off*  the 
hfiads  of  all  those  who  have  wronged  me.'  Peter 
HI.,  having  then  asked  whence  he  learned  what  he 

222 


Elizabeth  commuted  his  sentence  into  one 
of  perpetual   imprisonment.     His  captivity 
was  of  a  mild  kind — he  being  confined  in 
an  astrog  or  prison,  of  which  he  himself 
had  drawn  the  plan,  and  ordered  to  be  con- 
structed  for  the   reception   of  Biren,   the 
ferocious   favourite   of  the  empress  Anna. 
It  was  an  area  about  170  feet  square,  and 
enclosed  with  high  palisades.     Within  was 
a  wooden  house,  inhabited  by  himself,  his 
wife,    and   a   few    servants ;    and    a    small 
garden,  which  he  cultivated  with  his   own 
hands.     He  received  a  daily  allowance  ot 
twelve   copecks    (about    sixpence)    for    the 
maintenance  of  himself,  his  wife,  and  do- 
mestics ;    which  miserable  pittance  he  in- 
creased by  keeping  cows  and  selling  part  ot 
their  milk,  and  by  instructing  lads  in  geo- 
metry and    engineering.     Strange   are  the 
vicissitudes  which  attended  those  who,  in 
unsettled   times,   fulfilled  the   highest    and 
most  responsible  offices  of  the  state.      In 
this  case,  the  hand  which  had  forced  a  king 
upon  Poland,  and  carried  on   a  fierce  war 
against  the  might  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  was 
employed  in  tracing   mathematical  figures 
for  children.     It  is  much  to  the  honour  of 
the  veteran  soldier,  that  he  bore  his  misfor- 
tunes with  tranquillity,  and  proved  himself 
a  moral  no  less  than  a  military  hero.     He 
was  ultimately  recalled  by  Peter  III.,  whom, 
it  will  be  seen,  he  faithfully  served;  enjoyed 
the   favour   of  Catherine  II.,  and  died   in 
1767,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year. 

told  him,  he  answered,  that  he  had  it  from  the  Vir- 
gin and  the  angels ;  and  began  to  enter  into  long 
stories  of  these  pretended  visions.  Though  alone, 
and  confined  from  his  infancy,  he  did  not  appear 
terrified  at  the  sight  of  the  emperor  and  his  officers. 
He  examined  his  dress  and  weapons  with  much 
curiosity  and  pleasure,  as  a  bold  child  would  have 
done.  The  emperor  asked  him  again  what  he  wished 
for,  and  he  answered  in  his  vulgar  Russian  dialect, 
*  To  have  more  air.'  Ungern  was  left  some  time  at 
Schlusselburg  to  gain  his  confidence,  and  find  out 
whether  his  apparent  imbecility  were  only  assumed. 
He  was  soon  convinced,  however,  that  it  was  the 
natural  consequence  of  his  mode  of  life.  He  gave 
him,  from  the  emperor,  a  silk  morning  gown.  Ivan 
put  it  on  with  transports  of  joy,  running  about  the 
room,  and  admiring  himself  as  a  savage  would  have 
done  who  had  never  been  dressed  before.  As  all 
his  wishes  centred  in  the  requisition  of  more  air, 
Peter  III.  sent  the  plan  of  a  little  palace,  in  the 
centre  of  which  was  to  be  a  garden,  with  orders  to 
have  it  built  for  Ivan  in  the  court  of  the  fortress. 
It  was  cruel  that  this  act  of  humanity  towards  an 
innocent  man  should  have  served  as  a  pretext  against 
the  unfortunate  Peter.  He  was  charged  with  having 
intended  to  build  a  prison  for  his  wife  and  son, 
and  this  was  made  a  pretext  for  his  own  assassi- 
nation." 


A.D.  1741.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[court  of  the  empress. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

CLEMENCY  OF  THE  EMPRESS  ELIZABETH  AT  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  HER  REIGN;  BRIEF  WAR  WITH 
SWEDEN  ;  THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR  AND  ITS  ORIGIN  ;  ELIZABETH  JOINS  A  LEAGUE  AGAINST  FREDERIC  OP 
PRUSSIA;  PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR;  THE  GRAND-DUKE  PETER  FEDOROVITCH ;  HIS  MARRIAGE  WITH  THE 
PRINCESS  SOPHIA  AUGUSTA  OF  ANHALT-ZERBST,  AFTERWARDS  CATHERINE  II.;  BATTLE  OF  KUNERSDORF  ; 
ILLNESS,  DEATH,  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ELIZABETH. 


Elizabeth  became  possessed  of  the  im- 
perial power  on  the  6th  of  December,  1741. 
Though  she  punished  all  who  had  been  in- 
strumental in  keeping  her  from  the  throne, 
she  liberally  rewarded  those  by  whose 
agency  she  had  been  placed  there.  Lestocq 
was  made  head  physician  of  the  court,  pre- 
sident of  the  college  of  the  faculty,  and 
privy  councillor,  with  a  magnificent  income. 
Grinstein,  the  corporal,  was  first  created 
adjutant,  and  then  major-general;  and 
Schwartz,  the  trumpeter,  received  the  rank 
of  colonel,  and  a  considerable  estate.  The 
favourites  and  paramours  of  the  new  em- 
press, who  were  mostly  incapable  and 
vulgar  persons,  were  all  handsomely  pro- 
vided for.  RasumofFski,  her  most  favoured 
admirer,  she  afterwards  privately  married; 
Vorontzoff  (whose  descendants  are  generally 
called  Woronzow),  another  of  them,  showed 
a  considerable  capacity  for  business,  and 
became  vice-chancellor,  and  finally  high 
chancellor.  All  the  grenadiers  who  had 
obtained  the  smiles  of  the  new  empress, 
received  the  rank  of  officers,  and  were 
formed  into  a  body-guard,  of  which  she 
herself  became  captain.  But  the  conduct 
of  these  people  was  so  intolerable,  that  most 
of  them  fell  into  disgrace  and  were  ruined. 
Even  Lestocq,  the  physician,  in  consequence 
of  his  avarice  and  arrogance,  was  eventually 
banished.  Grinstein  shared  the  same  fate; 
and  Schwartz  was  ordered  to  retire  to  his 
estates. 

Elizabeth  soon  confided  the  business  of 
the  state  to  those  who  were  able  to  direct 
it,  instead  of  to  the  incompetent  crowd  of 
unknown  and  mostly  uneducated  persons 
by  whom  she  was  surrounded.  The  grand- 
chancellor,  Bestuchef,  became  her  chief 
minister,  and  the  principal  affairs  of  the 
empire  were  managed  by  him.  One  inci- 
dent shed  a  lustre  over  the  advent  of  Eliza- 
beth's reign,  and  caused  great  expectations 
to  be  raised  of  her  clemency.  She  par- 
doned and  liberated  more  than  20,000  per- 
sons who  had  been  banished  or  imprisoned. 
Yet,  strangely  enough,  an  enormous  num- 


ber of  people  were  exiled  during  her  sway. 
This  arose  from  her  having  made  a  vow  not 
to  sanction  the  death  of  any  criminal ;  but 
this  measure,  even  if  wise  in  itself,  was  too 
much  in  advance  of  the  ideas  and  habits  of 
the  Russian  people.  The  judges,  deprived 
of  the  power  of  directly  sentencing  a  male- 
factor to  death,  adopted  the  practice  of 
awarding  such  severe  inflictions  of  the 
knout,  and  other  punishments,  as  amounted 
to  an  indirect  sentence  to  that  effect;  for 
the  sufferer  often  died,  as  a  result  of  the 
merciless  chastisement  which  he  had  been 
made  to  endure.  Minor  punishments,  of  a 
savage  and  revolting  kind,  also  came  much 
into  use ;  dislocation  of  the  arms,  slitting 
of  the  tongue,  cutting  off  the  ears,  and 
other  mutilations,  were  extremely  common 
under  the  reign  of  an  empress  to  whom 
many  have  awarded  the  praise  of  clemency, 
but  of  whom,  in  justice,  scarcely  more  on 
this  point  could  be  said,  than  that  she 
was  good-tempered  to  those  who  had  the 
fortune  to  please  her.  When  personally 
offended,  she  could  be  both  cruel  and  re- 
morseless. Women,  and  even  ladies  of 
rank,  were  made  to  feel  the  severity  of  her 
vengeance,  by  being  condemned  to  the 
hideous  torture  of  the  knout.  Some  crude 
conspiracy,  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  the 
infant  Ivan  to  the  throne,  was  discovered 
soon  after  her  accession,  and  those  implicated 
in  it  were  first  punished  with  the  knout, 
and  then  exiled  to  Siberia.  Amongst  the 
victims  was  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  court, 
whose  personal  beauty  had  inspired  the  em- 
press with  feelings  of  jealous  envy,  and  who 
thus  permitted  the  law  to  mangle,  and  for 
ever  to  sweep  from  her  path,  both  the  rebel 
and  the  rival. 

Through  the  wisdom  of  Bestuchef,  France 
soon  found  herself  entirely  deceived  con- 
cerning the  advantages  she  had  expected 
to  derive  from  the  revolution  which  raised 
Elizabeth  to  the  throne.  No  national 
'commotion  or  popular  discontent  had  fol- 
lowed;  and  the  secret  cabals  of  France 
I  were  met  and  neutralised  by  the  superior 

223 


'J 


■;■>  j 
i  .1. 


WAB  WITH  SWEDEN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1742—1743. 


ill 


11 


11  < 


state-craft  of  Bestuchef.  The  French  cabi- 
net, however,  succeeded  in  exciting  Sweden 
to  a  renewal  of  hostilities  with  Russia. 
Frederic  I.  demanded  the  restoration  of 
Finland;  which,  as  he  must  have  antici- 
pated, was  refused.  Hostilities  were  there- 
fore resumed ;  but  the  military  glory  of 
Sweden  seemed  to  have  departed,  and  her 
sons  possesses!  neither  the  territory,  wealth, 
population,  or  vigour  of  former  years. 
Sweden,  indeed,  suflfered  from  the  influence 
of  the  gold,  as  well  as  the  sword,  of  Russia, 
and  she  was  slowly  sinking  into  a  position 
not  much  above  that  of  a  province  of  her 
great  imperial  neighbour. 

The  war  recommenced  in  the  spring  of 
1742.  The  Russian  forces  were  under  the 
chief  command  of  Marshal  Lascy  ;  those  of 
the  Swedes  were  headed  by  Lewenhaupt 
and  Buddenbrock.  The  latter,  by  their 
want  of  readiness,  betrayed  the  interests  of 
their  country,  and  sacrificed  the  fortress  of 
Fredericshaum,  together  with  all  their 
stores  and  munitions  of  war ;  which,  in  the 
impaired  condition  of  the  Swedish  finances, 
it  was  impossible  to  replace.  As  if  labour- 
ing under  some  infatuation,  the  Swedes  left 
the  passage  of  the  Kymene  undefended, 
and  retired  rapidly  to  Helsingfors,  whither 
they  were  pursued  by  the  Russians.  The 
Swedes,  imagining  themselves  secure  on 
account  of  the  woods  by  which  they  were 
surrounded,  neglected  any  further  precau- 
tions. Under  these  circumstances,  a  Fin- 
lander  who  was  much  incensed  against  the 
Swedes,  led  the  Russians  to  a  path  cut  by 
Peter  I.,  but  since  completely  overgrown  by 
bushes,  which  enabled  them  to  surround 
and  cut  oft*  their  enemies.  The  Swedish 
generals,  after  their  troops  had  sufi'ered  a 
blockade  of  fourteen  days,  abandoned  them, 
under  pretence  of  yielding  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  the  diet.  They  trusted, 
through  their  influence  in  the  council,  to 
evade  the  penalty  of  this  desertion;  but 
such  was  the  irritation  both  of  their  sove- 
reign and  their  countrymen  at  their  un- 
worthy conduct,  that  they  sufl*ered  death 
for  it.  Their  deserted  troops  were  com- 
pelled to  conclude  a  capitulation  with  the 
Russians,  and  the  whole  of  Finland  fell  into 
the  power  of  the  latter. 

The  Swedes  perceiving  that  the  war  was 
a  hopeless  struggle,  which  they  had  not  the 
means  of  contiuuiug,  endeavoured  to  con- 
ciliate the  empress  Elizabeth.  In  order  to 
induce  the  Russians  not  to  insist  on  the 
cession  of  Finland,  they  had,  at  an  earlier 
224 


period,  off'ered  the  crown  of  Sweden  to  her 
relative,  the  young  Duke  of  Holstein-Got- 
torp,  the  grandson  of  Peter  the  Great,  by 
his  favourite  daughter  Anne  Petrovna,  who 
had  been  married  to  the  Duke  of  Holstein 
shortly  before  the  death  of  her  illustrious 
father.  Charles  Peter  Ulric,  the  young 
duke  (afterwards  the  unfortunate  Peter  III.), 
declined  the  off'er,  in  consequence  of  his 
having  been  summoned  to  Russia  by  the 
empress  Elizabeth,  who  announced  her  in- 
tention of  making  him  her  successor. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  Swedes 
purchased  peace  from  the  Russian  empress, 
by  adopting  a  recommendation  to  elect  her 
relation,  the  Bishop  of  Liibeck,  as  their 
king;  in  consequence  of  which,  that  prelate 
ascended  the  Swedish  throne  on  the  death 
of  Frederic  I. 

The  majority  of  the  Swedish  people  were, 
however,  so  dissatisfied  with  this  arrange- 
ment, that  the  peace  negotiations  were  de- 
layed, and,  in  the  year  1743,  Russia  again 
resorted  to  hostilities,  and  a  Russian  fleet 
made  some  descents  upon  the  coasts  of 
Sweden,  though  without  producing  as  much 
eff'ect  as  was  anticipated.  In  the  same  year 
peace  was  concluded  at  Abo.  Adolphus 
Frederic,  duke  of  Holstein  and  bishop  of 
Liibeck,  was  elected  king  of  Sweden.  Fin- 
land, then  in  the  possession  of  the  Russian 
troops,  was  restored  to  Sweden,  which  was 
only  compelled  to  cede  the  province  of 
Kymmenegard,  together  with  the  branches 
and  mouths  of  the  river  Kymene  Nyslot, 
and  all  the  district  around  it  in  the  province 
of  Savolar.  Yet,  in  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  Russian  policy,  which  enfeebles 
that  which  at  some  future  time  it  may  be 
necessary  to  engulph,  the  Russian  troops, 
before  quitting  Finland,  took  care,  accord- 
ing to  Mannstein,  "to  squeeze  from  it 
everything  they  possibly  could ;  the  inten- 
tion of  the  court  being  to  ruin  that  province 
totally,  and  reduce  it,  notwithstanding  the 
peace,  into  so  wretched  a  condition  as  not 
to  be  able  for  a  long  time  to  hold  up  its 
head  again ;  the  generals  had  even  repeated 
orders  not  to  fail  of  attending  to  this  point. 
The  empress,  however,  feigning  a  desire  to 
restore  a  good  harmony  with  her  neigh- 
bours, ordered  some  thousands  of  bushels  of 
grain  out  of  the  magazines  which  had  been 
established  in  Finland,  to  be  distributed  to 
the  peasants  of  that  country  for  sowing  their 
grounds.'' 

Several  uneventful  years  rolled  on,  and 
proved  barren  of  incidents  of  value  or  interest 


A.D.  1756.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  seven  years'  war. 


to  the  historian.  EHzabeth  then  engaged 
in  that  celebrated  struggle  known  as  the 
SEVEN  years'  war,  which  shook  and  seri- 
ously aff'ected  the  interests  of  the  whole  of 
Europe.  A  history  of  it  is,  in  fact,  the  his- 
tory of  Europe  during  the  period  over  which 
it  extended.  It  must  be  sufficient  that  we 
mention  the  cause  from  which  it  arose,  and 
relate  the  part  that  Russia  took  in  it. 
Frederic  II.  of  Prussia,  who  won  from  his 
contemporaries  and  from  posterity  the  title 
of  "  the  Great,"  had  wrested  Silesia  from 
Maria  Theresa,  archduchess  of  Austria,  who 
had  succeeded  her  father,  Charles  VI.,  on 
the  imperial  throne.  "  Maria  Theresa"  (we 
quote  the  brilliant  language  of  Macaulay) 
*'  had  never  for  a  moment  forgotten  the 
great  wrong  which  she  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  Frederic.  Young  and  delicate, 
just  left  an  orphan,  just  about  to  be  a  mo- 
ther, she  had  been  compelled  to  fly  from  the 
ancient  capital  of  her  race;  she  had  seen 
her  fair  inheritance  dismembered  by  rob- 
bers, and  of  those  robbers  he  had  been  the 
foremost.  Without  a  pretext,  without  a 
provocation,  in  defiance  of  the  most  sacred 
engagements,  he  had  attacked  the  helpless 
ally  whom  he  was  bound  to  defend.  The 
empress-queen  had  the  faults  as  well  as  the 
virtues  which  are  connected  with  quick  sen- 
sibility and  a  high  spirit.  There  was  no 
peril  which  she  was  not  ready  to  brave,  no 
calamity  which  she  was  not  ready  to  bring 
on  her  subjects,  or  on  the  whole  human 
race,  if  only  she  might  once  taste  the  sweet- 
ness of  a  complete  revenge.  Revenge,  too, 
presented  itself,  to  her  narrow  and  super- 
stitious mind,  in  the  guise  of  duty.  Silesia 
had  been  wrested  not  only  from  the  house 
of  Austria,  but  from  the  church  of  Rome. 
The  conqueror  had,  indeed,  permitted  his 
new  subjects  to  worship  God  after  their  own 
fashion;  but  this  was  not  enough.  To 
bigotry  it  seemed  an  intolerable  hardship 
that  the  catholic  church,  having  so  long 
enjoyed  ascendancy,  should  be  compelled  to 
content  itself  with  equality.  Nor  was  this 
the  only  circumstance  which  led  Maria 
Theresa  to  regard  her  enemy  as  the  enemy 
of  God.  The  profaneness  of  Frederic's 
writings  and  conversation,  and  the  frightful 
rumours  which  were  circulated  respecting 
the  immorality  of  his  private  life,  naturally 
shocked  a  woman  who  believed  with  the 
firmest  faith  all  that  her  confessor  told  her ; 
and  who,  though  surrounded  by  tempta- 
tions, though  young  and  beautiful,  though 
ardent  in  all  her  passions,  though  possessed 

VOL.  I.  2  G 


of  absolute  power,  had  preserved  her  fame 
unsullied  even  bv  the  breath  of  slander. 
To  recover  Silesia,  to  humble  the  dynasty 
of  HohenzoUern  to  the  dust,  was  the  great 
object  of  her  life.  She  toiled  during  many 
j'cars  for  this  end,  with  zeal  as  indefatigable 
as  that  which  the  poet  ascribes  to  the 
stately  goddess  who  tired  out  her  immortal 
horses  in  the  work  of  raising  the  nations 
against  Troy,  and  who  offered  to  give  up  to 
destruction  her  darling  Sparta  and  Mycenae, 
if  only  she  might  once  see  the  smoke  going 
up  from  the  palace  of  Priam.  With  even 
such  a  spirit  did  the  proud  Austrian  Juno 
strive  to  array  against  her  foe  a  coalition 
such  as  Europe  had  never  seen.  Nothing 
would  content  her  but  that  the  whole 
civilised  world,  from  the  White  Sea  to  the 
Adriatic,  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay  to  the  pas- 
tures of  the  wild  horses  of  the  Tanais,  should 
be  combined  in  arms  against  one  petty  state." 
The  exertions  of  Maria  Theresa  led  even- 
tually to  a  secret  alliance  against  Frederic, 
and  that  monarch  learned  from  his  agents 
at  foreign  courts,  that  an  alarming  league 
was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  ruining  him 
and  partitioning  his  dominions.  With  this 
view  he  was  to  be  attacked  at  once  by 
Austria,  France,  Russia,  Saxony,  and  Swe- 
den. "It  was  not,"  says  the  eloquent 
writer  from  whom  we  have  just  quoted,  "  to 
any  political  theory  that  the  strange  coali- 
tion between  France  and  Austria  owed  its 
origin.  The  real  motive  which  induced  the 
great  continental  powers  to  forget  their  old 
animosities  and  their  old  state  maxims,  was 
personal  aversion  to  the  king  of  Prussia. 
This  feeling  was  strongest  in  Maria  Theresa ; 
but  it  was  by  no  means  confined  to  her. 
Frederic,  in  some  respects  a  good  master, 
was  emphatically  a  bad  neighbour.  That 
he  was  hard  in  all  dealings,  and  quick  to 
take  all  advantages,  was  not  his  most  odious 
fault.  His  bitter  and  scoffing  speech  had 
inflicted  keener  wounds  than  his  ambition. 
In  his  character  of  wit  he  was  under  less 
restraint  than  even  in  his  character  of  ruler. 
Satirical  verses  against  all  the  princes  and 
ministers  of  Europe  were  ascribed  to  his 
pen.  In  his  letters  and  conversation  he 
alluded  to  the  greatest  potentates  of  the  age 
in  terms  which  would  have  better  suited 
Colle,  in  a  war  of  repartee  with  young  Cre- 
billon  at  Pelletier's  table,  than  a  great 
sovereign  speaking  of  great  sovereigns. 
About  women,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  ex- 
pressing himself  in  a  manner  which  it  was 
impossible  for  the  meekest  women  to  for- 

225 


h 


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11 

t 


if 


'M'f 


ill''' 


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It 

1*1 


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'^ 


RUSSIA  JOINS  THE  COALITION.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1756—1757. ' 


give;  and,  unfortunately  for  him,  almost 
the  whole  continent  was  then  governed  by 
women  who  were  by  no  means  conspicuous 
for  meekness.  Maria  Theresa  herself  had 
not  escaped  his  scurrilous  jests.  The  em- 
press Elizabeth,  of  Russia,  knew  that  her 
gallantries  afforded  him  a  favourite  theme 
for  ribaldry  and  invective.  Madame  de 
Pompadour,  who  was  really  the  head  of  the 
Prench  government,  had  been  even  more 
keenly  galled.  She  had  attempted,  by  the 
most  delicate  flattery,  to  propitiate  the  king 
of  Prussia;  but  her  messages  had  drawn 
from  him  only  dry  and  sarcastic  replies. 
The  empress-queen  took  a  very  different 
course.  Though  the  haughtiest  of  prin- 
cesses, though  the  most  austere  of  matrons, 
she  forgot,  in  her  thirst  for  revenge,  both 
the  dignity  of  her  race  and  the  purity  of 
her  character,  and  condescended  to  flatter 
the  low-born  and  low-minded  concubine, 
who,  having  acquired  influence  by  prosti- 
tuting herself,  retained  it  by  prostituting 
others.  Maria  Theresa  actually  wrote  with 
her  own  hand  a  note,  full  of  expressions  of 
esteem  and  friendship,  to  her  dear  cousin, 
the  daughter  of  the  butcher  Poisson — the 
wife  of  the  publican  D'Etioles — the  kidnap- 
per of  young  girls  for  the  harem  of  an  old 
rake :  a  strange  cousin  for  the  descendant 
of  so  many  emperors  of  the  West !  The 
mistress  was  completely  gained  over,  and 
easily  carried  her  point  with  Louis,  who 
had,  indeed,  wrongs  of  his  own  to  resent. 
His  feelings  were  not  quick ;  but  contempt, 
says  the  eastern  proverb,  pierces  even 
through  the  shell  of  the  tortoise;  and 
neither  prudence  nor  decorum  had  ever  re- 
strained Frederic  from  expressing  his  mea- 
sureless contempt  for  the  sloth,  the  imbe- 
cility, and  the  baseness  of  Louis.  France 
was  thus  induced  to  join  the  coalition;  and 
the  example  of  France  determined  the  con- 
duct of  Sweden,  then  completely  subject  to 
French  influence." 

The  ruin  of  Frederic  was  confidently  an- 
ticipated, and  he  himself  expected  no  less. 
Yet  he  was  not  dismayed,  but  acted  with 
that  energy  which  is  ever  characteristic  of 
great  minds.  Having  resolved  to  anticipate 
his  enemies,  he  demanded  an  explanation 
from  Maria  Theresa ;  and  on  receiving  a 
haughty  and  evasive  one,  he,  on  the  24th  of 
August,  1756,  invaded  the  rich  electorate  of 
Saxony  with  an  army  of  60,000  men.  Thus 
commenced  "  the  seven  years'  war" — a  con- 
test the  most  extraordinary  and  important 
in  modern  times,  previous  to  those  of  the 
226 


French  revolution.  Frederic  defeated  Au- 
gustus at  Pima,  and  then  captured  Dresden, 
where,  among  the  state  papers,  he  discovered 
abundant  evidence  of  the  secret  designs  of 
the  coalition  against  him.  Some  of  these 
documents  he  published,  and  thus  showed 
the  statesmen  of  Europe  that,  whatever 
might  have  been  the  character  of  his  former 
proceedings,  he  was  now  the  injured  party,, 
and  had  merely  anticipated  a  blow  intended 
to  destroy  him. 

It  was  not  Elizabeth's  interest  to  take 
part  against  Frederic ;  but,  as  has  been 
observed,  she  was  animated  by  a  personal 
dislike  towards  him,  on  account  of  the 
satires  in  which  he  had  indulged  respecting 
her  irregularities.  Moreover,  she  professed, 
and  perhaps  entertained,  a  feeling  of  com- 
miseration for  the  Polish  king,  whose 
Saxon  dominions  the  Prussian  monarch 
treated  as  a  conquered  and  enslaved  pro- 
vince. Another  of  Elizabeth's  reasons  for 
entering  on  a  war  which  she  might  wisely 
have  viewed  as  a  spectator,  instead  of  taking 
part  in  as  a  principal,  was  the  prospect  of 
certain  ulterior  advantages  which  she  hoped 
to  derive  with  respect  to  Courland  and  other 
Polish  provinces. 

The  second  year  of  the  war  (1757),  Fre- 
deric advanced  into  Bohemia ;  and,  on  the 
5th  of  May,  gained  a  great  victory  over  the 
Austrians,  led  by  Prince  Charles  of  Lor- 
raine and  Marshal  Brown.  Frederic  pur- 
chased his  triumph  at  the  terrible  cost  of 
a  loss  of  1 8,000  men ;  but  no  less  than 
24,000  of  the  enemy  were  killed,  wounded, 
or  taken.  Part  of  the  defeated  armv  took 
refuge  within  the  walls  of  the  city.  There 
they  were  relieved  by  the  approach  of 
another  Austrian  army  under  Marshal 
Daun,  who,  however,  on  Frederic's  ad- 
vance to  meet  him,  sheltered  his  troops 
within  an  intrenched  camp  at  Kolin.  There 
he  awaited  the  attack  of  the  Prussians  ;  and 
on  the  18th  of  June — "a  day  which,  if  the 
Greek  superstition  still  retained  its  in- 
fluence, would  be  held  sacred  to  Nemesis" — 
Frederic  was  defeated  with  a  frightful 
carnage  ;  no  less  than  13,000  of  his  soldiers 
having  perished  before  he  could  be  per- 
suaded to  quit  the  field.  Abandoning  the 
siege  of  Prague,  he  was  compelled  to  retire 
hurriedly  from  Bohemia,  and  his  enemies 
concluded  that  his  final  ruin  was  at  hand. 
He  himself  was  so  depressed,  that  his  health 
was  seriously  impaired,  and  he  contemplated 
suicide  as  an  escape  from  the  heavy  troubles 
which  environed  him  on  all  sides.    He  even 


A.D.  1742.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[retrospect. 


carried  a  certain  and  speedy  poison  about 
his  person. 

But  Frederic  never  lost  his  courage  or  his 
energy,  which  enabled  him  to  retrieve  his 
apparently  desperate  aff'airs.  "  At  this  very 
time  the  scanty  leisure  of  the  illustrious 
warrior  was  employed  in  producing  odes 
and  epistles,  a  little  better  than  Gibber's, 
and  a  little  worse  than  Hayley's."  The 
autumn  seemed  as  if  about  to  bring  with  it 
the  pall  that  should  cover  both  the  fortune 
and  the  life  of  the  heroic  Prussian.  Silesia 
was  overrun  by  the  Austrians;  a  great 
French  army,  under  Marshal  Soubise,  was 
advancing  from  the  west ;  and  a  Russian 
army,  under  Marshal  Apraxin,  was  in  the 
field.  Frederic  first  marched  against  the 
French,  and,  on  the  5th  of  November,  ob- 
tained a  brilliant  victory  over  them  at  Ros- 
bach.  He  then  marched  into  Silesia ;  and, 
one  month  after  his  triumph  at  Rosbach, 
defeated  60,000  Austrians  under  Prince 
Charles  of  Lorraine  at  Breslau.  This  battle 
was,  in  later  times,  pronounced  by  the 
great  Napoleon  as  a  masterpiece,  and 
sufficient  of  itself  to  entitle  Frederic  to  a 
place  in  the  first  rank  amongst  generals. 
The  Austrians  lost,  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  prisoners,  27,000  men,  together  with 
60  stand  of  colours,  100  guns,  and  4,000 
waggons.  Silesia  was  reconquered,  and 
Charles  of  Lorraine  retired  to  Brussels  to 
hide  his  shame  and  sorrow.  As  for  the 
Russians  under  Apraxin,  they  invaded 
Prussia,  took  Memel,  were  guilty  of  shame- 
ful cruelty  to  the  poor  inhabitants  of  the 
districts  through  which  they  passed,  and 
defeated  a  body  of  Prussians  under  the 
aged  field-marshal,  Lehwold.  But  having 
done  this,  Apraxin  not  only  omitted  to  fol- 
low up  his  success,  but  even  retired  precipi- 
tately across  the  Russian  frontiers. 

For  this  remarkj^Ue  proceeding  there  was 
a  double  cause.  Elizabeth's  nephew — the 
grand-duke  Peter,  and  successor  to  the  im- 
perial throne — entertained  a  romantic  and 
most  extravagant  attachment  to  Frederic, 
and  the  Russian  officers  knew,  that  to  in- 
flict defeat  upon  the  Prussians,  was  to  incur 
the  displeasure  of  one  who,  ^  ^rhaps,  at  no  very 
remote  date,  would  become  their  emperor. 
The  other  cause  of  Apraxin's  retreat  was  a 
secret  order  from  the  chief  minister,  Bestu- 
chef,  commanding  him  to  do  so.  The  motive 
of  the  chancellor  was  hatred  to  the  grand- 
duke  Peter,  to  whom  he  rightly  conjectured 
this  movement,  so  discreditable  to  the  Rus- 
sian arms,  would  be  attributed.     Bestuchef 


was  plotting  to  induce  the  empress  to  de- 
prive the  grand-duke  of  the  succession; 
and,  as  Elizabeth  was  earnest  in  the  war, 
it  was  likely  that  she  would  be  seriously 
off'euded  with  Peter,  to  whose  secret  inter- 
ference she  would  attribute  the  disappoint- 
ment of  her  hopes,  and  the  loss  of  credit  by 
her  troops.  Bestuchef  is  also  supposed  to 
have  expected  the  death  of  the  empress, 
and  to  have  desired  the  presence  of  the 
troops  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  the  con- 
spiracy by  which  he  hoped  to  exclude  the 
grand-duke  Peter  from  the  throne. 

It  is  here  necessary  to  retrace  our  steps, 
and  to  dwell  briefly  on  the  career  of  this 
well-meaning,  but  unwise  and  unfortunate 
prince.     In  1742,  when  only  in  his  four- 
teenth year,  he  obeyed  the  summons  of  the 
empress  Elizabeth,  and  went  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, where  he  adopted  the  Greek  form  of 
the   Christian   religion,   and    received    the 
name    of    Peter    Fedorovitch.      EHzabeth 
assigned  him  the  palace  of  Oranienbaum, 
not  far  from  the  capital,  where  he  resided 
when  not  at  court.     The  empress — or,  more 
probably,  those   about   her — excluded    the 
young  grand-duke  from  any  participation  in 
pubhc  affairs.     Though  his  youth  and  neg- 
lected education  by  no  means  qualified  him 
to  take  part  in  matters  of  such  importance, 
yet  Peter  felt  a  dissatisfaction  which  he  did 
not   care   to    conceal.      He    exhibited    an 
aversion  to   study,    and   devoted   his   time 
chiefly  to   training   some   Holstein  troops, 
whom  he  had  obtained  permission  to  keep 
at  Oranienbaum.      He  had  a  perfect  pas- 
sion for  military  exercise;   but  he  gave  a 
preference  to  the  Prussian  system  over  that 
of    Russia;    and,    indeed,    showed    plainly 
enough  that  all  his   sympathies  were  Ger- 
man, and  that  he  held  in   contempt  the 
people  whom  he  would  be  called  upon  to 
rule.     His  companions  were  young  German 
officers — men  of  low  birth   and  dissipated 
and  sensual  habits.     In  their  society  Peter 
indulged,    without    control,    in     excessive 
drinking,  smoking,  and  licentious  amours. 
He  was  encouraged  in  this  course  by  Bestu- 
chef, who  hated  him ;  and  some  add,  by  the 
empress  also,  with  the  view  of  preventing 
her  successor  from   acquiring  a  popularity 
which  might  be  displeasing  to  her.    It  would 
be  difficult  to  credit  this  statement  if  the 
conduct    of   Elizabeth   did   not   give  it   a 
colouring;  for  Peter's  German  partialities 
and  known  dislike  of  all  those  customs  and 
ideas  which  Russians  regarded  as  national, 
had  made  him  more  than  sufficiently  un- 

227 


MARRIAGE  OF  THE  GRAND-DUKE.]    HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1745. 


A.D.  1754.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [Catherine's  first  amour. 


popular   for   that    purpose.      The   empress 
appears  to  have  been  somewhat  attached  to 
him  ;  and,  dissipated  as  she  herself  was,  she 
endeavoured    to   withdraw    him    from    his 
career  of  thoughtless  sensuality,  by  inducing 
him  to  marry.     But  towards  Peter,  as  in 
other   cases,    she    exhibited    a   remarkable 
capriciousness.*     The  lady  she  selected  was 
Peter's  cousin,  the  Princess  Sophia  Augusta 
von  Anhalt,  daughter  of  the  Prince  of  An- 
halt-Zerbst,   governor  of   Stettin,  in  Prus- 
sian Pomerania.     The  marriage  took  place 
in  1745;  the  lady  also  being  received  into 
the  Greek  communion,  and  taking  the  name 
of  Catherine  Alexiewna. 

The   princess  was   born   on   the  2nd  of 
May,   1729,  and  brought  up  in  the   most 
simple   manner  by  her  mother,  who   was, 
notwithstanding,    a    scheming    and    artful 
woman.     It  is  said  that,  in  girlhood,  good 
humour,  intelligence,  and   spirit,  were  the 
most  striking  features  of  the  young  princess 
who  was  afterwards  to  play  so  distinguished 
a  part  as  the  imperial  ruler  of  a  great  people. 
A  lady  of  quality,  who  frequently  saw  her 
during    this    phase    of    life,    has    left    the 
following    sketch   concerning   her:— "Her 
deportment,   from   her   earliest   years,  was 
always    remarkably    good :    she    grew   un- 
commonly handsome,  and  was  a  great  girl 
for  her  years.     Her  countenance,  without 
being    beautiful,    was   very   agreeable;    to 
which  the  peculiar  gaiety  and  friendliness 
which  she  ever   displayed   gave   additional 
charms.     Her  education  was  conducted  by 
her   mother   alone,  who  kept  her  strictly, 
and  never  suffered  her  to   show  the   least 
symptoms  of  pride,  to  which  she  had  some 
propensity;     accustoming    her,    from    her 
earliest  infancy,  to  salute  the  ladies  of  dis- 
tinction who   came   to   visit   the   princess, 
with  all  the  marks  of  respect  that  became  a 
child." 


The  marriage  between  this  young  princess 
and  the  grand-duke  was  an  ill-assorted,  un- 
happy, and,  indeed,  fatal   one.     Catherine, 
as    we    shall   for   the  future    call   her,   was 
handsome,   inordinately    fond   of    pleasure, 
possessed  of  considerable  talents,  ambitious, 
bold,  and  unprincipled.     She  was  a  most 
unlikely  woman  to  have  effected  the  refor- 
mation of  Peter,  even  had  there  been  an 
affection    between    them.      But    such    an 
emotion  did  not  exist  on  either  side.    Peter, 
when  first  introduced  to  his  affianced  bride, 
was  just   recovering   from    the    small- pox, 
which  had  terribly  disfigured  a  countenance 
originally  plain  almost  to  ugliness.    Though 
Catherine  was   carefully  prepared   for   the 
interview,  yet  her  disappointment  and  re- 
pugnance were  so  great,  that,  though  she 
fell  on  his  neck  and  embraced   him   with 
affected   joy    for    his    recovery,  no    sooner 
had    she   returned   to  her  own   apartment 
than,  unable  to   keep    up    the    deception, 
she  fainted  away,  and  remained  for  three 
hours  in  a  state  of  insensibility.     But  am- 
bition prevailed;    the  lady  suppressed  her 
feehngs  of  dislike,  and  the  union  was  ac- 
complished.    Peter's  manners  were  so  un- 
polished, and  even  vulgar,  that  Catherine 
frequently  blushed  for  him  in  society,  while 
he  himself  often  felt  deeply  pained  at  her 
superiority  in  this  respect;    and  although 
he  was  neither  without  good  qualities  nor 
deficient    in    understanding,   yet    she   was 
greatly  his  superior,  both  in  intellect  and 
resolution.      This   was    soon    discerned    by 
the  courtiers,  who,  perceiving  that  though 
Peter  might  be  emperor,  yet  that  the  im- 
perial power  would  be  grasped  by  his  more 
able  consort,  were  even  more  assiduous  in 
their  attentions  to  her  than  to  him. 

Naturally,  this  widened  the  gulf  between 
the  ill-matched  pair.  Peter  turned  with  in- 
difference from  the  society  of  a  wife  who. 


•  Tooke  observes — "  By  one  of  those  strange  per- 
versions of  judgment  which  often  appear  in  the  un- 
cultivated mind,  Elizabeth  pretended  to  think  that 
her  nephew  was  too  well-informed,  and  that  he  was 
in  danger  of  becoming  too  amiable  by  his  manners, 
and  too  enviable  by  his  knowledge.     From  the  very 
moment  of  her  choosing  him  for  her  successor,  she 
regarded  him  as  a  rival.     For  this  reason  it  proba- 
bly was  that  she  took  him  from  under  the  tuition  of 
the  enlightened  Brummer,  who  had  begun  his  edu- 
cation in  Holstein,  and  placed  about  him  Tshoglo- 
koff,  a  man  of  mean  talents  and  a  narrow  mind.     In 
vain  did  a  few  disinterested  persons  at  the  court  of 
St  Petersburg  (for  there  are  some  such  in  all  courts) 
— in  vain  did  some  estimable  women  (for  there  were 
some  such  even  about  Elizabeth) — in  vain  did  these 
persons,  lamenting  the  ignorance  and  the  sort  of  de- 
sertion in  which  the  young  Peter  was  left,  endea- 
228 


vour  to  represent  to  his  aunt  the  danger  he  m- 
curred.  The  empress  was  deaf  to  their  remonstrances, 
and  even  on  some  occasions  repulsed  them  with  harsh- 
Among  many   examples   one   need   only  be 


ness 


mentioned— that  of  a  woman  of  the  bedchamber,  who 
had  the  spirit  to  ask  this  princess  why  she  kept  the 
grand-duke  from  all  the  deliberations  of  the  council. 
'If  you  permit  him  not  to  know  anything  of  what  is 
necessary  for  governing  the  country,  added  she, 
'what  do  you  think  will  become  of  him,  and  what 
do  you  think  will  become  of  the  empire  ?  All  the 
answer  she  got  was,  that  Elizabeth,  looking  at  her 
angrily,  said,  '  Johanna,  knowest  thou  the  way  to 
Siberia?'  However,  the  generous  Johanna  escaped 
with  only  the  fright,  and  took  care  for  the  future  to 
make  no  more  remonstrances  on  that  head  to  her 
mistress."  Thus,  by  an  assumption  of  anger,  Jiliza- 
beth  evaded  a  disagreeable  topic. 


to  him,  possessed  no  charm,  and,  mingling 
again  with  his  boon  companions,  sought  to 
forget  his  disappointment  in  renewed  dissi- 
pation.    Neglect  turned  Catherine's  indif- 
ference into   absolute   dislike,   and   the  in- 
sulted wife  became  the  ambitious  schemer. 
While  Peter  was  strengthening  his  unpopu- 
larity, she   was    forming    a   political   party 
around  her.     But  she  did  not  give  herself 
entirely  to  ambition.    Those  powerful  animal 
passions  which  eventually  made  her  conduct 
the  astonishment  of  Europe,  soon  manifested 
their  influence  over  her.     For  a  time  her 
behaviour  was  at  least  outwardly  decorous ; 
but  the  unchaste  examples  set  before  her  in 
the  court  of  the  lascivious  Elizabeth,  fostered 
and  ripened  the  germs  of  voluptuous  aban- 
donment in  the  young  and  neglected  wife. 
She  received  into  her  favour  a  person  of 
humble  birth  and  fortune,  named  Soltikoff, 
who  was  one  of  her  husband's  chamberlains 
and  boon  companions,  and  who  had  obtained 
such   a  reputation  for  his  gallantries,  that 
the   husbands  of   St.  Petersburg   regarded 
him  as  the  most  agreeable  and  most  danger- 
ous man  in  town.     With  this  man,  the  first 
of  her  known  lovers,  Catherine  soon  sulUed 
the  purity  of  the  nuptial  couch.     As  this 
person  was  the  immediate  cause  of  Cathe- 
rine's entrance  upon  that  strange  career  of 
sensuality  by  which  her  name  is  sullied,  we 
will  quote  from  the  pages  of  Tooke,*  who 
relates  them  at   length,   and  in  a  manner 
pregnant  with  interest,  some  particulars  of  his 
intimacy  with  the  grand-duchess: — "Solti- 
koff was  not  long  ere  he  lifted  his  eyes  even 
to  the  spouse  of  his  master ;  and  vanity  yet 
more  than  love  led  him  to  conceive  the  bold 
design  of  captivating  her  heart.     He  began 
by  sedulously  studying  the  inclinations  of 
the  princess.     He  perceived  that,  notwith- 
standing the  constraint  in  which  she  lived, 
Catherine  had  always  a  propensity  to  plea- 
sure;   and  that   the    solitude   of   Oranien- 
baum  rendered  dissipation  necessary  to  her. 
He    accordingly   procured    her    some    new 
amusement  with  every  returning  day.     He 
engaged  the  grand-duke   to   give  frequent 
entertainments;    he  took  upon  himself  the 
task    of    inventing    and    directing    them, 
secretly  giving  the  grand-duchess  to  under- 
stand   that    she   was   the   sole   object   for 
which  they  were  made,  and  that  it  was  to 
him    alone    she   was    indebted   for    them. 
Catherine  was  not  insensible  to  such  gallant, 
such  continued  attentions.      The  seducing 
figure  of  Soltikoff,  and  the  vivacity  of  his 
•  Life  of  the  Empress  Catherine  IL,  vol.  L 


wit,  had  made  an  impression  on  her  mind. 
His  assiduities  made  him  master  of  her 
affections;  but  Soltikoff,  sensible  that  the 
heart  of  the  grand -duchess  was  no  ordinary 
conquest,  was  afraid  of  betraying  himself 
by  an  imprudent  explanation.  It  is  even 
not  impossible  that,  at  first,  he  meant  only 
to  feign  a  passion  which,  in  the  sequel,  grew 
up  into  a  real  attachment.  In  short,  for  a 
considerable  time  their  fondness  was  mutual, 
without  any  declaration  on  the  part  of 
either. 

"  An  unfortunate  event  was  the  occasion 
of  accelerating  this  declaration.  Soltikoff 
lost  his  father.  His  duty  obhged  him  to 
repair  to  Moscow.  He  obtained  the  grand- 
duke's  permission  to  depart ;  and  at  taking 
leave  of  Catherine,  he  was  not  sufficiently 
master  of  his  feelings  to  prevent  his  dis- 
covering how  much  this  parting  cost  him. 
The  princess,  who  saw  his  tears,  was  no 
less  touched  herself  at  the  cause  whence 
they  flowed;  and  fixing  her  eyes  with  a 
look  of  extreme  significance  on  Soltikoff, 
she  conjured  him  to  shorten  his  absence  as 
much  as  he  could,  and  to  return  and  forget 
his  grief  in  the  midst  of  a  brilliant  court, 
where,  without  him,  there  could  be  no  such 
thing  as  pleasure. 

"The  character  of  Soltikoff  renders  it 
easy  to  judge  what  effect  these  words  must 
have  produced.  He  thought  he  perceived 
that  he  was  beloved,  and  his  conscious  pride 
redoubled.  His  journey  occupied  him  but 
a  few  days.  What  were  domestic  concerns 
when  balanced  with  the  felicity  he  expected? 
What  was  Moscow  to  him  in  comparison  to 
St.  Petersburg?  He  abandoned  all  for  the 
sake  of  returning  to  secure  his  triumph. 

"However,  on  approaching  the  grand- 
duchess,  all  the  flattering  ideas  with  which 
he  had  regaled  his  delighted  imagination 
began  suddenly  to  dissolve  and  vanish.  His 
audacity  forsook  him.  He  found  himself  a 
prey  to  the  most  serious  and  gloomy  reflec- 
tions. He  saw  at  once  all  the  danger  of 
his  amour.  He  could  no  longer  presume  to 
flatter  himself  that  Catherine  would  so  far 
forget  what  she  owed  to  her  rank,  to  her 
spouse,  as  to  accept  the  assiduities  of  a 
simple  chamberlain.  But  if  he  were  so 
happy  as  to  see  her  vouchsafe  to  correspond 
to  his  passion,  could  he  imagine  that  he 
should  deceive  the  penetrating  eyes  of  the 
jealous  and  humiliated  courtiers  by  whom 
she  was  surrounded  ?  In  a  word,  how  risk 
a  confession  which  might  be  repaid  by  a 
perpetual  imprisonment,  or  even  with  the 


YOUTH  OF  CATHERINE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1756, 


A.D.  1758—1759.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[progress  of  the  war. 


loss  of  life  !  He  shuddered,  he  trembled  ; 
he  had  resolved  to  renounce  the  fallacious 
hopes  his  unbounded  arrogance  had  made 
him  cherish. 

"  In  this  state  of  perturbation  and  des- 
pondency, Soltikoff  no  longer  displayed 
that  brilliant  gaiety  for  which  he  had 
hitherto  been  always  distinguished.  In 
vain  did  he  sometimes  affect  an  air  of  easy 
elegance  which  he  now  no  more  possessed. 
A  settled  melancholy  corroded  his  heart, 
and  was  depicted  on  his  face;  his  health 
was  visibly  declining.  The  grand-duchess 
took  the  alarm;  and  one  day,  on  finding 
herself  alone  with  him,  desired  him  to  reveal 
the  cause  of  so  sudden  an  alteration.  Solti- 
koff, unable  at  that  moment  to  stifle  or 
resist  a  passion  thus  preying  on  his  vitals, 
avowed  it  in  expressions  of  the  tenderest 
emotion.  Catherine  heard  him  without 
anger;  she  seemed  even  to  pity  him;  but, 
with  a  collected  air,  she  counselled  him  to 
renounce  an  inclination  of  the  irregularity 
and  danger  of  which  he  ought  to  be  sensible. 
Although  still  very  young,  Soltikoff  knew 
but  too  well  the  female  heart  to  be  ignorant 
that  she  who  allows  herself  to  listen  to  a 
lover  has  already  began  to  approve  him. 
He  took  courage.  He  threw  himself  at  the 
knees  of  the  grand-duchess,  and  embraced 
them  with  boldness.  The  princess  was 
agitated ;  she  let  fall  some  tears ;  and  re- 
tiring precipitately  from  the  transports  of 
Soltikoff  to  go  and  shut  herself  in  her 
cabinet,  she  addressed  to  him  that  verse 
which  Monimia  speaks  to  Xiphares  in  the 
tragedv  of  Mithridates : — 


»• 


"  *  Et  meritez  les  pleurs  que  vous  m'allez  coiiterJ 

From  that  moment  the  chamberlain  re- 
sumed his  wonted  gaiety  with  returning 
hope ;  and  the  alteration  in  his  behaviour 
was  ifelt  by  all  around  him.''  The  con- 
clusion of  this  adventure  may  be  more 
readily  conceived  than  described. 

Peter,  blinded  for  a  time,  at  length  sus- 
pected this  domestic  treachery,  and  com- 
plained to  the  empress  of  the  man  who  had 
dared  to  inflict  this  dishonour  upon  him. 
Ehzabeth  was  incensed,  and  would  have 
banished  the  offender  to  Siberia;  but,  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  chancellor  Bestuchef, 
Soltikoff  was  sent  abroad  under  the  veil  of 
an  honourable  embassv. 

Catherine  did  not  long  regret  the  absence 
of  her  paramour,  whose  place  was  soon  sup- 
plied by  another.    This  was  Count  Stanislaus 
•  And  merit  those  tears  you  are  about  to  cost  me. 
230 


Poniatowski,    a    Polish    adventurer,    whose 
grandfather  had  been  a  steward  on  a  small 
estate  of  one  of  the  nobles  of  his  country, 
but  whose  father  had  acquired  distinction  by 
the   services  he  rendered  to  Charles  XII., 
whom,  as  we   have   related,    he   led,  when 
wounded  and  helpless,  off  thefield  at  Pultawa, 
through  the  ranks  of  the  opposing  Russians. 
The  archduchess,  in  writing  to  the  old  count, 
observed — ''  Charles  knew  how  to  distinguish 
your  merit;  I  also  can  distinguish  that  of 
your  son,  whom  I  may  one  day  raise,  per- 
haps, even  above  Charles  himself."     To  dig- 
nify her  new  lover  she  contrived  to  obtain 
for  him  the   post  of  ambassador  from  the 
king  of  Poland  to  the   empress  Elizabeth. 
The  open  sensuality  of  the  latter  was  con- 
tinually  increasing — a   circumstance   which 
tended  to  make  Catherine  less  guarded  in 
her  amours.     Her  husband,  who  lived  apart 
from    her,    now    acknowledged    Elizabeth 
Vorontzoff  as  his  mistress;  an  event  which 
the  archduchess  rather  rejoiced  in,  as  fur- 
nishing some  indirect  apology  for  her  own 
irregularities.     So  careless  did  she  become, 
that  she  was  surprised  by  Peter  in  a  situation 
with  Poniatowski  which  left  no  doubt  of  her 
guilt.     Irritated  at  this  painful  confirmation 
of  what  he  had  previously  merely  suspected, 
the  grand-duke  complained  to  the  empress, 
and,  when  exhorted  to  moderation,  threat- 
ened to  cudgel  Poniatowski  to  death.     The 
latter,  fearing  the  consequences  of  his  crime, 
fled  from  St.  Petersburg,  and  returned  to 
Poland. 

Catherine's  estrangement  from  her  hus- 
band had  ripened  from  dislike  into  hatred. 
He  had  the  imprudence  to  talk  of  repudiating 
her  as  soon  as  he  came  to  the  throne — a  cir- 
cumstance which  she  resolved  to  anticipate 
by  a  bolder  movement.  Assisted  by  the 
wily  Bestuchef,  and  by  several  of  the  Rus- 
sian nobles,  she  lent  herself  to  a  conspiracy 
for  the  purpose  of  excluding  her  husband 
from  the  succession,  and  the  elevation  of 
herself  as  regent  during  the  minority  of  her 
infant  son  Paul.  It  was  with  this  object, 
then,  that  Bestuchef  had  laboured  to  make 
the  grand-duke  unpopular,  and  had  reported 
to  the  empress  every  indiscretion  he  com- 
mitted, every  hasty  expression  he  uttered. 

Cautious  as  the  high  chancellor  was,  he 
had  proceeded  in  his  criminal  design  with 
too  much  rapidity.  General  Apraxin  was 
tried  for  his  retreat  from  the  Prussian  troops 
whom  he  had  defeated,  but  acquitted — only, 
however,  to  die  immediately  afterwards. 
But  the  intrigues  of  Bestuchef  were  revealed, 


and  he  was  arrested.  His  letter,  directing 
Apraxin  to  retreat,  was  produced  against 
him,  and  found  to  be  written  in  the  name  of 
the  empress,  though  it  was  dispatched  with- 
out her  knowledge,  and  in  contravention  of 
ner  will.  Amongst  his  papers,  also,  was  found 
a  copy  of  the  deed  of  renunciation,  which  he 
intended  to  compel  Peter  to  subscribe  in  the 
event  of  the  conspiracy  being  successful. 
His  guilt  was  evident,  and  he  was  sentenced 
to  banishment. 

In  the  spring  of  1758,  the  Russian  army 
again  invaded  the  Prussian  dominions.  By 
his  successes,  towards  the  close  of  the  pre- 
ceding year,  Frederic  had  to  some  extent 
retrieved  his  fortunes,  and  he  received  an 
enormous  subsidy  from  England,  where  his 
heroism  had  excited  as  much  enthusiasm  as 
it  had  elicited  from  his  own  subjects.  After 
some  operations  against  the  Austrian s,  Fre- 
deric marched  to  meet  the  Russians,  who 
slaying,  burning,  and  destroying  wherever 
they  went,  had  penetrated  into  the  heart  of 
his  realm.  Frederic  attacked  them  at  Zorn- 
dorf,  near  Frankfort,  on  the  Oder.  The 
battle  was  a  long  and  bloody  one;  for  not 
only  were  the  Prussian  soldiers  irritated  by 
the  wanton  ravages  of  their  half-savage  in- 
vaders, but  a  feeling  of  deep  animosity 
existed  between  them  and  the  Russians. 
The  loss  on  both  sides  was  immense,  but  that 
of  the  Russians  was  the  most  severe.  Yet 
both  armies  claimed  the  victory,  and  the 
Russians  maintained  their  position  for  several 
days  after  the  battle ;  but  they  gave  Frederic 
no  further  trouble  that  campaign. 

Elizabeth  still  resolved  on  the  ruin  of 
Frederic.  In  the  fourth  campaign  (1759), 
the  most  disastrous  of  all  during  this  fiercely- 
contested  war,  the  Russians,  under  Count 
Soltikoff  (not  the  banished  paramour  of 
Catherine),  spread  themselves  over  the  Prus- 
sian territory,  and  commenced  their  cus- 
tomary devastations.  The  Russian  army, 
consisting  of  nearly  70,000  men,  and  aided 
by  a  powerful  artillery,  was  intercepted  in  an 
attempt  to  effect  a  passage  of  the  Oder  by  a 
Prussian  army,  consisting  only  of  30,000 
men,  under  General  Wedel.  Besides  this 
inferiority  in  numbers,  the  position  of  the 
Prussians  was  very  disadvantageous.  They 
had  to  pass  a  bridge  and  a  defile,  so  narrow 
that  scarcely  the  third  of  a  battalion  could 
march  in  front.  From  the  nature  of  the 
ground,  also,  the  cavalry  could  not  support 
the  infantry.  Yet  the  engagement  was  reso- 
lutely maintained,  though  it  terminated  in  a 
defeat  of  the  Prussians,  who  lost  4,700  men 


in  those  killed  and  taken  prisoners,  while 
the  wounded  were  estimated  at  3,000  more. 
The  disheartened  Prussians  were  compelled  to 
retire :  their  victorious  adversaries  seized  on 
the  towns  of  Krossen  and  Frankfort,  effected 
a  junction  with  12,000  Austrian  cavalry 
and  8,000  infantry,  under  General  Laudohn, 
and  intrenched  themselves  strongly  at  Ku- 
nersdorf. 

Frederic,  joined  by  the  discomfited  forces 
of  General  Wedel,  and  by  some  other  rein- 
forcements, was  at  the  head  of  an  army  of 
50,000  men.  That  of  the  Russians,  since 
the  junction  of  General  Laudohn,  was  up- 
wards of  90,000,  whose  intrenched  camp 
was  defended  by  a  prodigious  number  of 
cannon.  Yet  Frederic  hastened  to  attack 
them;  and  notwithstanding  the  disadvan- 
tages arrayed  against  him,  it  was  imperative 
that  he  should  give  them  battle.  Berlin 
was  threatened  by  the  Austrians,  under 
General  Daun  ;  Saxony  was  also  exposed  to 
the  ravages  of  the  imperial  troops;  while 
the  Russians  were  encamped  before  his 
eyes  in  Silesia,  the  best  and  richest  part  of 
his  dominions.  It  has  been  observed,  that 
"  the  sanguine  temper  of  other  generals  has 
often  obliged  them  to  fight  under  disad- 
vantages ;  but  the  king  of  Prussia's  cir- 
cumstances were  such,  that,  from  the  mul- 
titude of  his  enemies,  he  was  neither  able 
to  consult  times  nor  situations.  Rashness 
could  hardly  dictate  anything  which,  in  his 
condition,  would  not  have  been  recom- 
mended by  prudence.^' 

The  battle  was  fought  on  the  I2th  of 
August,  and  after  a  fierce  cannonade,  Fre- 
deric's troops  attacked  the  left  wing  of  the 
Russian  army  with  an  impetuosity  which  car- 
ried everything  before  it.  Great  slaughter 
ensued,  the  Russian  intrenchments  were 
forced,  and  seventy-two  pieces  of  cannon 
captured.  Several  redoubts  which  covered 
the  Russian  camp  were  successively  attacked 
and  taken  by  the  Prussians.  The  former 
fought  with  extraordinary  obstinacy ;  but 
they  were  driven  back  with  immense  loss ; 
and  Frederic  concluded  that  the  day  must 
be  his  own.  So  satisfied  was  he  of  this, 
that  he  dispatched  a  courier  to  Berlin  with 
a  note  to  the  queen,  saying,  "  Madam,  we 
have  beat  the  Russians  from  their  intrench- 
ments. In  two  hours  expect  to  hear  of  a 
glorious  victory.^'  The  king's  conclusion 
was  a  precipitate  one ;  the  Russians,  shat- 
tered and  almost  defeated  as  they  were, 
rallied  and  made  a  stand  at  a  redoubt 
which  had  been  erected  in  a  position  re* 

231 


It" 


P 


k*. 


PEOGRESS  OF  THE  WAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1759. 


A.D.  1761.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [last  days  of  Elizabeth. 


garded   as  almost    impregnable.     Frederic 
saw  that  if  he  could  drive  them  from  this 
point,  that  utter  defeat  must  await  them. 
But  with  an  army  which,  though  beaten, 
was  still  numerically  superior  to  his  own, 
and   prepared    to    dispute    every   inch    of 
ground  with  a  dodged  courage  that  seemed 
insensible    of    danger,    the   enterprise   was 
both  hazardous  and  uncertain.     Frederic's 
generals  expostulated  with   him ;    as   they 
were  unanimous  in  their  opinion  that  it  was 
unwise  to  attempt  to  push  any  further  the 
advantages  they  had  obtained.     They  repre- 
sented to  him  that  the  enemy  was  still  very 
numerous,  their  artillery  considerable,  and 
the  post  they  occupied  one  of  great  strength; 
that  his  troops,  who  had  been  engaged  for 
some  hours  in  a  severe  action,  during  an 
exceedingly  hot  day,  were  too   much   ex- 
hausted for  a  new  attempt,  especially  one  of 
such  difficulty  as  might  daunt  even  troops 
that  were  fresh.     They  added,  that  he  would 
reap  all  the  effects  of  a  victory,  as  the  enemy 
would  be  obliged  to  retire  into  Poland,  and 
thus  leave  him  free  to  act  in  other  quarters 
where  his  presence  was  just  as  necessary. 

Admitting  the  force  of  these  arguments, 
Frederic  yet  decided'  upon  hazarding  a  blow 
which  might  effectually  scatter  the  Russian 
forces.     His  infantry,  almost  fainting  from 
'  heat  and  the  fatigue  of  six  hours'  fighting, 
were  again  led  to  the  attack,  but  repulsed 
with   great    slaughter.      Frederic   led    two 
charges  in   person,  had   two  horses  killed 
beneath  him,  and  his  coat  pierced  by  several 
bullets.     It  was   in   vain;    and   so   fearful 
was  the  massacre,  that  a  feeling  of  terror 
began    to    spread    through    the    Prussian 
ranks.     Frederic  then  put   the   matter  in 
the  hands  of  his  cavalry,  who  spent  their 
remaining   strength   in    several   unavailing 
attacks.     When  on  the  point  of  abandon- 
ing their  fruitless  efforts,  a  large  body  of 
Russian   and   Austrian   horse,   which    had 
been    hitherto    unengaged,    charged    their 
jaded  ranks.      The   Prussian   cavalry   was 
broken,  hurled  back  upon  the  foot,  and  the 
whole    army    thrown    into    confusion.     A 
panic  spread  from  rank  to  rank,  and  the 
men  fled  in  disorder.     The  king  acted  with 
wonderful  energy  and  heroism,  and  nearly 
fell  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies.     The 
approach  of  night,  and  a  judicious  use  of 
some  eminences,  alone  saved  the  Prussian 
army   from    total    destruction.      All    their 
artillery    was    lost,    20,000   of   them   had 
perished  or  been  taken  prisoners,  and  many 
thousands  more  were  hopelessly  scattered. 
232 


Exhausted  in  body,  and  shattered  in  mind, 
Frederic  reached  a  ruined  and  deserted 
farmhouse,  where  throwing  himself  on  a 
heap  of  straw,  he  dictated  another  despatch 
to  the  queen.  This  second  missive  differed 
widely  from  the  one  sent  earlier  in  the  day, 
and  ran  thus  : — "  Remove  from  Berlin  with 
the  royal  family.  Let  the  archives  be  car- 
ried to  Potsdam,  The  town  may  make 
conditions  with  the  enemy."  So  complete 
did  the  king's  ruin  appear,  that  he  again 
thought  of  suicide,  and  even  wrote  a  fare- 
well to  some  of  his  friends.  In  one  of 
these  letters  he  observed—"  I  have  no  re- 
sources left ;  all  is  lost.  I  will  not  survive 
the  ruin  of  my  country.  Farewell  for 
ever ! " 

The   Russians   and  Austrians  lost  some 
time  in  congratulations  and  rejoicings,  and 
more  in  disagreements  arising  from  jealousy. 
Marshal  Daun,  the  Austrian  general,  was 
for  pushing  forward  and  passing  the  Oder; 
but  Soltikoff,  the  Russian  general,  said  he 
had  done  enough,  and  declined  to  move  far 
from  Poland  for  fear  he  should  be  without 
the  means  of  provisioning  his  troops.     He 
therefore   retired   into   winter   quarters   in 
Poland,  while  his  soldiers  committed  such 
atrocities  in  their  progress,  that  Frederic, 
on    learning    the   particulars,    exclaimed — 
"  We  have  to  do  with  barbarians  who  are 
digging  the  grave  of  humanity."     The  king 
so  profited  by  the  delays  and  dissensions  of 
his  enemies,  that,  at  the  close  of  1759,  he 
still  stood  on  the  defensive,  with  a  consider- 
able army  at  his  command;  but  his  pros- 
pects  for   the  future  were  gloomy  in  the 
extreme. 

Some  fruitless  negotiations  for  peace  took 
place  in  the  following  spring  (1760.)     Hos- 
tilities  were   therefore   resumed,    and    the 
campaign  opened  unfavourably  for  Frederic. 
The  Russians  and  Austrians  entered  Berlin, 
took  up  their  quarters  in  the  royal  palaces, 
emptied  the  arsenal,  and  levied  contribu- 
tions on  the  inhabitants ;  but  they  deemed 
it  prudent  to  retire  on  the  approach  of  the 
king.     As  his  presence  was  no  longer  re- 
quired at  Berlin,  Frederic  entered  Saxony, 
where   he   was   induced,   by  the  desperate 
situation  of  his  affairs,  to  attack  the  Aus- 
trians  under  Marshal  Laudohn  at  Lignitz, 
'  where,  after  an  obstinate  battle,  he  gained 
'  a  victory,  and  compelled  them  to  retreat. 
'  Shortly  afterwards  he  gained  a  sanguinary 
'  triumph  over  another  Austrian  army  under 
I  General   Daun,  which   compelled   the   im- 
perial  troops  to  retire  from  his  dominions. 


Their  example  was  followed  by  the  Russians, 
to  the  dissatisfaction  both  of' Elizabeth  and 
the  Austrian  court,  who  were  each  surprised 
that  the  combined  imperial  forces  had  not 
accomplished  more.  A  feehng  prevailed, 
both  at  Vienna  and  St.  Petersburg,  that  the 
fault  lay  with  the  Russian  general ;  there- 
fore Soltikoff  was  recalled,  and  the  com- 
mand given  to  Count  Butterliu. 

At  the  commencement  of  1761,  it  was 
evident  that  the  position  of  the  king  of 
Prussia  was  most  critical;  and  probable 
that  the  great  soldier  who  liad  so  long  held 
at  bay  a  most  formidable  and  ungenerous 
combination,  would  soon  be  hunted  to  his 
The  resources  of  Prussia  were   be- 


ruin. 


coming  exhausted;  and  though  in  this  cam- 
paign no  great  battle  was  gained   by  the 
enemy,    yet,    "in    spite   of    the    desperate 
bounds  of  the  hunted  tiger,   the  circle  of 
pursuers  was  fast  closing  round  him."     Oc- 
cupying a  strong  camp  in   Silesia,  he  re- 
mained watching,  with  rage  and  bitterness 
of  heart,   the  proceedings  of  his   enemies, 
who,  spread  over  his  defenceless  territories, 
carried  on  the  work  of  extortion  or  desola- 
tion.    His  strong  mind  was  much  affected 
by  the  seemingly   desperate  nature  of  his 
position,  and  he  felt  his  misfortunes  more 
heavily   than   ever.     He    became   reserved, 
and  seldom  talked  even  with  his  most  con- 
fidential   officers;    indeed,    he    afterwards 
admitted  that  he  began  to  look  around  him 
with  blank  despair  at  the  desolated  state  of 
the  country,  unable  to  imagine  where  re- 
cruits,   horses,    or   provisions    were   to    be 
found.     Towards  the  close  of  the  year  his 
misfortunes   received   an    addition    by   the 
death  of  George  II.,  king  of  England,  who 
expired  suddenly  on  the  25th  of  October, 
and  the  abandonment  of  the  Prussian  in- 
terests by  his  youthful  and  narrow-minded 
successor.     The  first  Mr.  Pitt  was  compelled 
to  retire  from  the  ministry,  and  his  succes- 
sors sought  to  make  peace  with  France,  and 
to  shake  off  any  continental  alliance  that 
interfered  with  their  project.     "  The  policy 
then   followed,"    observes    Mr.    Macaulay, 
''  inspired  Frederic  with  an  unjust  but  deep 
iind  bitter  aversion  to  the   English  name, 
and   produced   effects   which    are    still    felt 
throughout   the   civilised   world.      To  that 
policy  it  was  owing  that,  some  years  later, 
England  could  not  find  on  the  whole  conti- 
nent a  single  ally  to  stand  by  her,  in  her 
extreme  need,  against  the  house  of  Bourbon. 
To  that  policy  it  was  owing  that  Frederic, 
alienated  from  England,  was  compelled  to 
VOL.  I.  2  u 


connect  himself  closely,  during  his  later  years, 
with  Russia,  and  was  induced  to  ass'ist  in 
that  great  crime— the  fruitful  parent  of  other 
great  crimes— the  first  partition  of  Poland.'' 
But  the  despondency  of  Frederic  was 
greatly  lightened  by  another  event  which 
occurred  shortly  after  the  death  of  George  II 
and  the  defection  of  England.  This  was  the 
death  of  his  powerful  and  persevering  enemy 
the  empress  Elizabeth,  which  took  place  on 
the  25th  of  December,  1761,  after  a  reign  of 
twenty  years. 

The  health  of  the  empress  had  been  for 
some  time  declining ;  and  she  doubtless  ac- 
celerated the  progress  of  natural   decay  in 
vain  endeavours  to  evade  the  results  of  illness 
by  a  recourse  to  her  customary  dissipation. 
Festivities,  balls,  masquerades,  "^and  brilliant 
shows  still  yielded  a  faint  amusement;  and, 
dreading  to  lie  down  upon  a  restless  pillow, 
she  frequently  went  to  the  opera  or  play  at 
eleven,  passed  the  rest  of  the  night  at  table, 
and  went  to  bed  at  five  in  the  morning.     At 
other  times  she  listened  with  avidity  to  the 
idle   tales    brought   to   her  concerning   the 
amorous   revels   of  the    grand-duke    Peter 
with  his  mistress,  the  coarse,  ugly  Countess 
Vorontzoff,   to    whom    she    scornfully   gave 
the  nickname  of  la  Pompadour :  and  in  such 
amusements   as   these   did    the    empress   of 
Russia  seek  for  some  alleviation  of  the  in- 
firmities that  were  rapidly  terminating  her 
life.    As  the  close  of  her  existence  approached 
she  was  tormented  with  violent  pains  in  the 
stomach,  which  no  medicines  had  power  to 
alleviate.     To   procure    some   respite   from 
suffering  she  had  frequent  recourse  to  her 
usual  means  of  stifling    sensibility  in    the 
stupefaction  brought  on  by  the  use  of  strong 
waters.     In  vain  did  her  physicians  represent 
to  her  that  she  herself  was  contributing  to 
frustrate  their  efforts,  and  accelerating  the 
period  of  her  days.     In  vain  did  her  attend- 
ants,   by  sacrificing  obedience  to  afi'ection, 
secretly  remove  or  destroy  the  intoxicating 
beverage ;  she  would  constantly  have  a  case 
of  it  in  her  chamber,  of  which  the  key  was 
always  kept  within  reach. 

The  enemies  of  the  grand-duke  had  re- 
cently so  blackened  his  character  to  the  em- 
press, that  she  was  even  induced  to  entertain  a 
ridiculous  fear  that  he  might  be  led  to  acce- 
lerate her  death  by  poison.  Influenced  by 
this  feeling,  she  ordered  him  to  be  denied  ad- 
mittance to  her  apartment,  and  also  extended 
this  prohibition  to  Catherine,  with  whom 
she  had  been  for  some  time  displeased.  li 
Elizabeth  died  without  seeing  the   grand. 

233 


CHARACTER  OF  ELIZABETH.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1761. 


duke  and  his  consort,  it  was  feared  injurious 
rumours   miglit   be   circulated    among   the 
people.   Count  Panin,  therefore,  the  governor 
of  Catherine's  infant  son,  Paul  Petrovitch,  de- 
voted himself  to  bringing  about  an  interview 
aud  a  reconciliation.  ^  The  count,  therefore, 
concerted  arrangements  with  the  confessor 
of  the  empress,  who,  approaching  the  bedside 
of  his  mistress,  commenced  a  religious  dis- 
course to  her.     He   spoke  of  the  Supreme 
Sovereign  by  whom  earthly  monarchs  reign — 
of  his  justice,  his  clemency,  and  his  tribunal, 
before  which  only  they  who  forgive  can  ob- 
tain forgiveness;    and  of  that  kingdom  of 
God,  of  which  the  terrestrial  paradise  was 
but  a  faint  resemblance;  but  where  only  the 
charitable  can  obtain  admission,  where  only 
the  merciful  can  hope  for  mercy.     Touched 
by  fears  for  her  salvation,  the  dying  empress 
consented  to  see  her  nephew  and  his  consort. 
At   this   instant   the    grand-duke    entered, 
leading  Catherine   by  the  hand,   and   they 
both  fell  upon  their  knees  by  the  bedside. 
Then  Elizabeth,  in  an  indistinct  tone  of  voice, 
and  as  if  her  lips  only  spoke  the  words, 
uttered  whatever  was  dictated  to  her  by  the 
priest.     Addressing    herself  to   the   prince 
and  princess,  she  said,  "  that  she  had  always 
loved  them ;  and  that,  with  her  dying  breath, 
she   wished  them   all   kinds  of  blessings." 
Every  witness  of  this  scene  saw  that  the 
pardon    came    only   from   the   lips    of  the 
empress;  but  Peter  was  satisfied  with  the 
appearance  of  a  reconciliation,  and  his  par- 
tisans repeated,  through  the  city,  the  affec- 
tionate words  pronounced  by  the  empress, 
together  with  several  additional  embellish- 
ments of  their  own. 

The  partiality  of  the  grand-duke  Peter  to 
Frederic  we  have  alluded  to  :  it  was  more 
than  a  friendship ;  it  amounted  to  a  perfect 
infatuation  in  favour  of  the  monarch  he  ad- 
mired and  sought  to  imitate.  He  even  went 
so  far,  amongst  his  Holstein  associates,  as  to 
allude  to  him  by  the  title  of  ''  the  king  ?}iy 
master/*  Frederic  knew  that,  from  Russia, 
he  had  no  more  to  fear  during  this  terrible 
struggle,  and  he  was  at  liberty  to  direct  his 
efiforts  entirely  against  his  other  enemies. 

Elizabeth  died  during  the  autumnal  phase 
of  life,  in  her  fifty-second  year.  She  was 
one  of  those  comparatively  negative  cha- 
racters who  do  little  harm,  and  less  good. 
The  business  of  the  empire  was  conducted 
for  her  by  others  ;  for  she  was  too  indolent  to 
arrive  at  any  judgment  of  her  own.  When, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  war  with  Prussia,  she 
formed  any  strong  opinion,  it  arose  not  from 

234 

\ 


a  dispassionate  examination  of  conflicting 
facts,  but  from  motives  of  an  entirely  per- 
sonal nature.  Though  not  deficient  in  in- 
tellect, yet  her  mental  power  was  paralysed 
by  her  constitutional  indolence.  >  This  was 
so  great,  that  even  for  months  together 
she  could  not  be  induced  to  give  the 
least  attention  to  the  affairs  of  state. 
Sometimes,  for  a  considerable  period,  she 
refused  even  to  sign  her  name.  The  three 
great  points  in  her  character  were  indolence, 
voluptuousness,  and  superstition.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  harm  she  did,  was  the  immoral 
example  she  set  to  the  ladies  of  her  court  and 
empire— an  example  which,  sustained  as  it 
afterwards  was  by  the  empress  Catherine, 
produced  abundance  of  pernicious  fruit. 

The  oppressions  and  tyranny  carried  on 
during  her  reign,  were,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, rather  permitted  than  transacted  by 
her.  Such  was  her  superstition,  that  the 
most  abandoned  licentiousness  and  the 
most  shameless  orgies  were  alternated  with 
prayers  and  devotional  exercises.  The  viola- 
tion of  a  fast  threw  her  into  pangs  of 
remorse;  and  the  sight  of  a  person  in 
mourning  awoke  in  her  very  painful  emo- 
tions. Profligacy  of  the  most  abandoned 
kind  remained  unchecked  by  her ;  for  how 
could  she  reprehend  that  which  her  own 
example  created?  But  she  punished  with 
great  rigour  the  assumed  offence  of  eating 
an  egg  on  a  day  which  the  church  had 
appointed  for  abstinence. 

"  The  empress  Elizabeth,"  observes  Tooke, 
"had  insensibly  proceeded  from  moderate 
pleasures  to  the  extravagance  of  sensuahty ; 
and  her  taste  for  devotion  augmented  with 
her  voluptuousness.     She  continued  whole 
hours  on   her  knees  before  the  picture  of 
some  saint,  to  which  she  spoke,  which  she 
even  consulted ;  and  passed  alternately  from 
acts  of  bigotry  to  the  intemperance  of  lust, 
and  from   scenes    of  lasciviousness   to   the 
opiates  of  prayer.     She   would   frequently 
drink  to   excess;   and,   at   such  times,  too 
sensual,    too   impatient   for    the    delays   of 
unlacing,   her   women   used    to    effect   the 
same  purpose  by  means  of  the  scissors.     In 
what   manner  such  nights  were  passed,   it 
becomes  not  the  historian  to   undraw  her 
curtains  to  reveal." 

Amongst  her  follies — for  the  word  vice  is 
perhaps  too  harsh  for  these  minor  imperfec- 
tions of  character — were  the  girlish  vanity 
and  wanton  extravagance  of  the  empress. 
She  regarded  it  as  a  crime  against  the  state, 
if  one  of  the  ladies  of  her  court  presumed  to 


\ 


A.D.  1761.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[anecdote  of  ELIZABETH. 


wear  dresses  of  the  same  pattern  as  those 
which  adorned  her,  or  received  the  newest 
French  fashions  before  she  did.  After  the 
death  of  Elizabeth  between  fifteen  and 
sixteen  thousand  dresses  were  found  in  her 
wardrobe;  some  of  which  had  been  worn 
but  once,  while  others  had  never  been  put 
on  at  all.  In  addition  to  these  were  two 
large  chests  full  of  silk  stockings,  two  others 
of  ribands,  some  thousand  pairs  of  shoes, 
and  several  hundred  pieces  of  French  and 
other  rich  stuffs.  These  were  neither  given 
away  nor  sold,  although  the  empress  was 
constantly  in  pressing  want  of  money ;  but 
left  undisturbed  until  they  spoiled. 

The  greatest  virtue  of  Elizabeth  was  her 
aversion  to  the  shedding  of  blood  ;  but  her 
much-praised  clemency  was  sullied  by  many 
acts  of  oppression,  and  even  of  cruelty.  If 
she  did  not  sanction  the  infliction  of  death, 
she  permitted  that  of  torture,  which  was 
used  to  a  frightful  extent  during  her  reign; 
she  also  established  a  detestable  system  of 
espionage,  which  crushed  all  public,  and 
poisoned  all  private,  freedom.  It  is  com- 
puted that,  every  year,  about  1,000  of  her 
subjects  were  privately  arrested  and  con- 
signed to  prison.  It  was  an  easy  thing  for 
one  of  the  numerous  favourites  and  parasites 
who  swarmed  around  the  empress,  to  obtain 
a  secret  order,  granted  without  inquiry, 
for  the  arrest  of  some  one  who  had  incurred 
their  displeasure.  Even  if  one  of  the  ladies 
of  the  court  considered  herself  slighted,  she 
could  obtain  an  order  by  which  the  object 
of  her  anger  was  forced  out  of  bed  at 
night,  gagged,  blindfolded,  and  hurried 
away  to  some  dungeon,  where  such  unhappy 
victims  frequently  dragged  out  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives  without  being  charged 


with  any  crime,  or  even  knowing  in  what 
part  of  the  country  they  were.  It  was 
dangerous  for  the  family  to  pursue  inquiries 
after  the  lost  one.  "  He  has  disappeared," 
was  held  to  be  a  sufficient  answer  to  their 
distracted  questions.  Probably  much,  if  not 
all,  of  this  dark  tyranny  was  transacted 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  empress,  who 
was  generally  goodnatured,  and  even  amia- 
ble, to  those  who  had  the  address  to  please 
her,  but  unforgiving  and  vindictive  when 
offended.  Even  her  good  temper  was 
chilled  and  largely  neutralised  by  a  vivid 
consciousness  of  what  was  due  to  her  as 
empress.  It  is  related  of  her,  that  one 
day  she  was  waited  on  at  her  toilet  by  a 
lady  of  the  court,  who  remained  stand- 
ing  only  at  the  expense  of  great  and  visible 
effort.  This  was  at  length  discerned  by 
Elizabeth,  who  inquired  what  was  the 
matter  with  her.  "  My  legs  are  very  much 
swelled,"  was  the  reply.  "  Well,  well," 
returned  the  empress,  'Mean  against  that 
bureau;  I  will  seem  as  if  I  did  not  see 
you."  Notwithstanding  her  personal  indo- 
lence, she  had  some  taste  for  literature,  and 
established  a  university  at  Moscow,  and  an 
academy  for  the  fine  arts  at  St.  Petersburg. 
She  also  exerted  herself  to  forward  the 
compilation  of  a  code  of  laws  for  the  Rus- 
sian empire — a  task  which  was  begun  under 
Peter  the  Great,  but  not  completed  until 
the  reign  of  Catherine  II.  Though  Eliza- 
beth was  never  married,  she  left  several 
natural  children.  One  of  these  was  the 
unfortunate  Princess  Tarrakanoff,  to  whom 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  allude  hereafter, 
and  whose  sad  fate,  brought  about  by  the 
jealousy  of  Catherine  II.,  forms  one  of  the 
I  most  touching  episodes  of  Russian  history. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ACCESSION  OF  PETER  III.  ;  HE  MAKES  PEACE  WITH  PRUSSIA  ;  HE  EFFECTS  RAPID  BUT  IMPORTANT  REFORMS ; 
RECALL  OF  MARSHAL  MUNICH  AND  OTHER  EXILES  FROM  SIBERIA ;  PETER'S  CONDUCT  TO  HIS  CONSORT 
CATHERINE;  HE  SEIZES  ON  THE  PROPERTY  OF  THE  CHURCH  ;  CONSPIRACY  AGAINST  THE  EMPEROR  ;  HE 
MAKES  PREPARATIONS  FOR  A  HOSTILE  EXPEDITION  TO  DENMARK  ;  OUTBREAK  OF  THE  CONSPIRACY,  AND 
APPEAL  OF  CATHERINE  TO  THE  ISMAELOFFSKI  GUARDS  ;  SHE  IS  PROCLAIMED  EMPRESS  ;  VACILLATING 
CONDUCT  AND  COWARDICE  OF  THE  CZAR  ;  HE  SURRENDERS  TO  CATHERINE  ;  SIGNS  A  FORM  OF  ABDICA- 
TION ;  TRIUMPHAL  ENTRANCE  OF  CATHERINE  INTO  ST.  PETERSBURG  ;  REACTION  OF  THE  POPULAR  FEEL- 
ING ;  MURDER  OF  PETER  IIL  ;   ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER. 


The  conspiracy  against  the  grand-duke 
Peter  was  not  sufficiently  ripe  to  be  carried 
into  execution.     No  sooner,  therefore,  were 


the  eyes  of  Elizabeth  closed  m  death,  than 
the  courtiers  pressed  in  crowds  around 
Peter,  and  accosted  him  as  their  sovereign. 

235 


ACCESSION  OF  FE^ER  III.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1561. 


A.D.  1762.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[imprudence  of  peter. 


Laying  aside  the  weakness  and  indecision 
which  so  frequently  characterised  him,  he 
accosted  them   with   dignity,   and   at  once 
received   the   oaths    of  the    officers    of   his 
guards.     He  then  rode  through  the  streets 
of  St.  Petersburg,  and  distributed  money  to 
the   people,   who,   notwithstanding   the   at- 
tempts that  had  been  made  to  bring  him 
into  contempt,  received  him  with  acchima- 
tions.     The  sokliers  also  mixed  their  shouts 
with  those  of  the  populace;    and,  fiocking 
arouYid  the  new   monarch,  exclaimed,   "  If 
thou  take  care  of  us,  we  will  serve  thee  as 
faithfully  as  we  served  our  good  empress/' 
Still  it   was  plainly  observable  that  there 
was  no  enthusiasm  or  affection  on  the  part 
of  the  people  towards  Peter;  none  of  that 
real  joy  which  is  commonly  manifested  by  a 
people  on  the  accession  of  a  young  prince 
to  the  throne.     The  absence  of  this  feeling 
was  universal,  and  the  new  sovereign  did 
not   find  any  more  affection  in  the  larger 
circle  of    his   court,    than   in   the   smaller 
one  of  his  family.     An  ill-feeling  towards 
foreigners  prevailed  in  Russia ;  and  although 
the  blood  of  Peter  the  Great  ran  in  the 
veins  of  the  new  emperor,  and  he  had  so  far 
a  claim  upon  the  national  affection,  yet  he 
was  a  German  on  the  father's  side,  and  had 
resided  so  little  in  Russia,  that  he   was  re- 
garded as  almost  a  foreigner.     Unhappily, 
also,   his    confidence    and    familiarity    were 
confined  to  the  Germans  from  his  dukedom  ; 
and  neither  in  manners,  language,  nor  in 
religious  profession,  did  he  seem  a  complete 
and   genuine  Russian.     He  was  also  sus- 
pected of  a  design  to  remodel  the  whole 
system  of  the  empire,  and  to  put  everything 
on  a  German  footing.     In  addition  to  this, 
it  was  believed  by  the  friends  of  his  consort 
Catherine,  that  he  intended  to  divorce  her, 
deprive  her  son  Paul  of  the  succession,  and 
raise  his  mistress,  Elizabeth  Vorontzoff*,  to 
the  imperial  throne. 

The  young,  energetic,  brilliant,  but  we 
fear  unprincipled  Princess  Daschkaw,  who 
was  the  chief  agent  of  the  conspiracy  which 
80  soon  deprived  Peter  of  his  throne  and 
life,  in  a  work*  written  for  the  purpose  of 
vindicating  herself  from  the  aspersions  cast 
upon  her,  especially  by  the  French  authors, 
assigns  no  reason  for  the  part  she  took  in 
conducting  this  conspiracy,  further  than  her 
attachment  to  Catherine,  and  her  fears  that 
Peter  might  divorce  his  erring  consort,  or 
consign  her  to  a  convent  or  other  prison. 

•  Memoirs  of  the  Princess   Daschkaw,  Lady   of 
Honour  to  Catherine  II. ;  written  by  herself. 
236 


A  few  days  after  the  accession  of  the  em- 
peror,    he    sought   an   interview    with   the 
princess,  whose  sister  was,  as  we  have  men- 
tioned,  his    mistress,    and   a  singular  con- 
trast in  manners  and  intellectual  culture  to 
herself.      The   princess   thus   relates    what 
passed  : — ''  The  emperor,  as  soon  as  I  had  ap- 
peared in  his  presence,  began  to  address  me 
on  a  subject  which   seemed   very   near  his 
heart,  and  in  a  manner  which  confirmed  all 
my  suspicions  and  alarm  on  account  of  the 
empress.     He  spoke  in  a  low  voice  and  in 
half-sentences,  but  in  terms  unequivocally 
expressive  of  his  intentions  to  displace  heVy 
as  he  indicated  the  empress,   and  to  raise 
Romanovna,  as  he  said,  when  speaking  of 
my  sister,  to  the  throne.     Having  thus  de- 
clared himself,   he   proceeded   to   give   me 
some    salutary    cautions.       '  If,    my   little 
friend,'  said  he,  'you  will  take  my  advice, 
pay  a  little  more  attention  to  us;  the  time 
may  come  when  you  will  have  good  reason 
to  repent  of  any  negligence  shown  to  your 
sister;  believe  me,   it  is  for  your  interest 
alone  I  speak  ;  you  have  no  other  way  of 
making  yourself  of  any  consequence  in  the 
world  than  by  studying  her  disposition,  and 
striving  to  gain  her  countenance  and  pro- 
tection.'"    Without  aspersing  the  truthful- 
ness of  the  Princess  Daschkaw,  it  is  evident 
that  she  wrote  with  a  strong  bias  against 
the  unfortunate   Peter,   and  she   omits  no 
relation  that  can  place  him  in  a  contempti- 
ble light.     "To  act  as  corporal-major  every 
morning  on   the   grand    parade,"    she    ob- 
serves,   "  to  eat  a  good   dinner,    to   drink 
Burgundy,    to   spend   the    evening    among 
buff*oons  and  a  certain  set  of  ladies,  and  to 
do  everything  which  the  king  of  Prussia 
ordered  him  to  do,  was  what  formed  the 
felicity  and  glory  of  Peter  III.,  and  is  an 
epitome  of  his  mode  of  life  for  the  seven 
months  which  constituted  his  reign." 

Peter   announced   his    accession   to   the 
king  of  Prussia   before    he    communicated 
this   important   information    to   any   other 
power.     He  even  liberated  all  the  Prussian 
prisoners,  and  gave  them  money  to  defray 
their  expenses  home.      An   armistice  with 
Prussia  was  soon  concluded,  attended  by  a 
manifesto,  in    which   Peter    declared,  that 
his   first    duty   being    the    welfare    of    his 
people,  that  welfare  could  not  be  consulted 
so  long  as  hostilities  were  continued;  that 
the    war   had   produced    no    advantage   to 
either  party,  but  done  incredible  harm  to 
both ;  that  he  would  no  longer  sanction  the 
wanton  destruction  of  his  species;  that,  in 


conformity  with  the  divine  injunction  rela- 
tive to  the  preservation  of  the  people  com- 
mitted to  his  charge,  he  terminated  the 
unnatural  and  impious  strife;  and  that  he 
was  resolved  to  restore  the  conquests  made 
by  the  Russian  troops.  The  emperor  would 
deserve  high  commendation  for  these  gene- 
rous sentiments,  but  that  they  were  uttered 
to  colour  the  peace  he  was  about  to  conclude 
with  Frederic,  and  not  from  any  abstract 
love  of  peace  itself.  At  this  very  time  he 
was  not  only  loud  in  his  expressions  of 
enmity  to  Denmark,  but  he  had  resolved  on 
war  with  that  kingdom  to  resent  some  in- 
jury done  to  his  father,  and  to  wrest  from 
it  the  duchy  of  Schlesvvig,  which  he  regarded 
as  being  his  by  inheritance.  Frederic  gave 
his  admirer  some  good  advice,  and  urged 
him  not  to  engage  in  a  war  with  Denmark, 
or  to  leave  the  empire  before  he  was  firmly 
seated  upon  the  throne;  but  Peter  never 
listened  to  good  counsel  until  it  was  too 
late  to  follow  it. 

The  emperor  was  regardless  of  the  in- 
terests and  intentions  of  his  allies.  The 
Austrian  court  was  merely  informed  that  he 
was  about  to  conclude  peace  with  the  king 
of  Prussia.  Peter  hurried  forward  the  pro- 
ceedings ;  and,  on  the  5th  of  May,  the  treaty 
was  signed  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  shortly 
afterwards  proclaimed  in  Berlin.  By  it  the 
emperor  not  only  concluded  such  a  peace 
with  Frederic  as  the  latter  could  only 
have  hoped  for  after  a  series  of  victories, 
but  entered  into  an  offensive  and  defensive 
alliance  with  him ;  and  15,000  Russian 
troops  were  sent  to  join  the  shattered  Prus- 
sian army,  against  which  they  had  been  so 
recently  opposed.  Frederic  made  great  use 
of  this  timely  assistance.  He  reconquered 
Silesia,  gave  the  Austrians  a  defeat,  and 
soon  presented  to  the  forces  of  Maria 
Theresa  a  front  as  formidable  as  before  the 
great  reverses  of  1759.  Sweden  followed 
the  example  of  Russia,  and  concluded  a 
peace  with  Frederic  shortly  after  the  czar 
had  done  so. 

Peter's  conduct  towards  Frederic  was 
both  precipitate  and  unwise,  when  we  con- 
sider the  strong  anti-German  feeling  exist- 
ing among  the  Russian  people.  It  was 
well  to  make  peace  with  the  Prussian 
monarch,  with  whom  the  empress  Eliza- 
beth had  gone  to  war  without  a  sufficient 
cause;  and,  indeed,  for  hardly  any  other 
reason  than  that  of  personal  animosity. 
But  that  peace  should  have  been  concluded 
with  sobriety,  and,  if  possible,  in  conjunction 


with  the  allies  of  Russia.  Assuredly  Peter 
should  have  abstained  from  rendering  direct 
assistance  to  Frederic,  and  from  permitting 
his  troops  to  act  against  those  of  his  ally, 
Austria.  To  such  an  imprudent  extent  did 
he  carry  his  admiration  of  that  monarch, 
that  one  evening,  when  he  had  been  drink- 
ing to  excess,  he  directed  his  conversation, 
according  to  custom,  upon  the  great  soldier- 
king.  Fixing  his  eyes  suddenly  on  Volkoff", 
one  of  the  ministers  of  state,  he  exclaimed — 
"  You  must  agree  that  he  is  a  magician,  a 
sorcerer,  that  king  of  Prussia  !  He  knew 
all  our  plans  for  the  campaign  as  soon  as  we 
had  resolved  on  them."  Volkoff  coloured  ; 
but  Peter  resumed — "  Whv  that  embarrass- 
ment?  You  have  no  longer  any  need  to 
fear  Siberia.  Is  it  not  true  that,  notwith- 
standing the  dread  you  had  of  it,  you  com- 
municated to  me  all  the  plans  and  projects 
that  were  resolved  on  in  the  council,  and 
that  I  sent  them  off  to  his  majesty  the 
king  ?" 

Other  circumstances,  also,  contributed  to 
place  the  emperor  in  a  false  light  with 
respect  to  his  people.  Instead  of  remaining 
at  home  to  win  their  aff'ections,  he,  at  this 
critical  period,  made  preparations  for  a  visit 
to  Germanv,  merelv  for  the  sake  of  obtain- 
ing  an  interview  wdth  the  distinguished 
monarch,  the  contemplation  of  whose  genius 
seems  to  have  disturbed  the  balance  of  his 
intellect.  It  was  observed,  also,  by  the 
numbers  who  were  interested  in  the  fate  of 
Catherine  and  her  son,  the  grand- duke 
Paul,  that  neither  of  them  were  mentioned 
in  the  manifesto  by  which  Peter  proclaimed 
his  accession  to  the  throne.  This  circum- 
stance strengthened  the  suspicions  of  those 
who  believed  that  he  intended  to  repudiate 
Catherine  and  deprive  Pitul  of  the  succes- 
sion, and  gave  additional  activity  to  the 
discontented  courtiers  who  were  conspiring 
against  him.  He  had  also  neglected  to  make 
preparations  for  his  coronation  at  Moscow, 
which  ceremony  was  viewed  as  deriving  a 
peculiar  sanctity  from  its  being  performed 
in  that  ancient  city,  which  the  people  re- 
garded with  something  of  superstitious 
reverence. 

Yet  Peter's  errors  were  such  as  produced 
little  or  no  injury  to  the  empire ;  while  he 
possessed  some  estimable  qualities.  Though 
he  censured  the  late  empress  for  having 
abolished  capital  punishment,  and  declared 
that  it  was  necessary  to  put  great  off'enders 
to  death,  yet  he  was  one  of  the  mildest  and 
least  revengeful  of  sovereigns  who  ever  occu- 

237 


,      I 


1 1 


1 1 


REFORMS  BY  PETER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


i 


pied  the  Russian  throne.     Though  he  had 
many  personal  enemies,  he  pardoned  them 
all  on  his  assumption  of  the  imperial  crown, 
and  seemerl,  in  his  capacity  of  emperor,  to 
have  forgotten  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  the  ' 
grand-duke.     Though  some  of  his  notions  j 
of  reform  were  extravagant,  yet  he  effected 
many   changes    of    a   beneficial    character. 
He   abolished   that   hateful    system   of  es- 
pionage   which,   under    the    name    of    the 
"  Secret  Chancery,^'  was  the  terror  of  every 
family  in  Russia.     He  prohibited  the  use  of 
torture — a  very  necessary  regulation,  after 
the  frightful  extent  to  which  it  had  been 
carried  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.     He 
made  a  generous  sacrifice  to  the  interests  of 
his  nobility,  by  making  them  independent 
of  the  caprices  of  the  sovereign.     Prior  to 
his  reign  no  boyard  could  enter  on  any  pro- 
fession, or  forsake  it  when  once  embraced, 
or  retire  from   public  to  private  life,  or  dis- 
pose  of  his   property,  or   travel   into    any 
Ibreign  country,  without  the  permission  of 
the  czar.     Peter  resigned  these  checks  upon 
the  liberty  of  his  nobles,  and  thus  added  an 
important  step  to  the  career  of  social  eman- 
cipation.    Though  in  the  army  he  endea- 
voured to  introduce  many  changes  which 
were  considered  objectionable — such  as  the 
introduction  of  the  Prussian  drill  and  cos- 
tume— yet  he  enhanced  the  dignity  of  the 
officers,    by   rescuing   them   from    the   de- 
grading   punishments   to   which   they   had 
been  previously  subjected.     He  instituted  a 
court   to   take   cognizance   of    all   off'ences 
committed  against  the  public  peace,  and  to 
punish  the  delinquencies  of  those  who  were 
entrusted  with  the   general    police   of  the 
empire.      He   made   arrangements   for   the 
promotion  of  commerce,  and  he  constantly 
showed   himself   the   protector   and   friend 
of  the   poor.     An    elaborate    historian    of 
this  period  remarks,  that  a  complete   and 
sudden    transformation    occurred     in     the 
character,  or  rather  the  behaviour,  of  the 
new  monarch.     *^  Gentleness  and  humanity 
took    the    place    of    violence,    and    reflec- 
tion   succeeded    to    passion.     The    grand- 
duke  had  been  inconsistent,  impetuous,  and 
wild  :  Peter  III.  now  showed  himself  equit- 
able, patient,  and  enlightened.''    Unhappily, 
this  seeming  reformation  was  very  transient, 
and  the  czar  soon  acted  as  if  he  actual  Iv 
desired  to  win  the  contempt  of  his  nobles, 
and  the  indifierence,  if  not  dislike,  of  his 
people. 

Peter  also  recalled  from  Siberia  most  of 
those  who  had  been  sent  there  during  the 
238 


reign  of  Elizabeth.  Amongst  the  exiles 
who  returned  was  Marshal  Munich,  then 
eighty-two  years  of  age.  The  venerable  old 
soldier  was  met,  on  his  approach  to  the 
capital,  by  his  one  remaining  son  and  thirty- 
two  of  his  grandchildren  and  great-grand- 
children. Accompanied  by  them,  he  pre- 
sented himself  before  the  emperor,  dressed 
in  the  rough  sheepskin  pelisse  which  he  had 
worn  in  the  deserts  of  Pelim.  Peter  re- 
stored to  the  aged  soldier  his  rank  of  field- 
marshal  ;  and  expressed  a  hope  that,  not- 
withstanding his  advanced  age,  he  might 
still  serve  him.  "  Since  your  majesty,"  re- 
plied Munich,  "  has  brought  me  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  and  called  me  from  the  depths 
of  a  cavern  to  admit  me  to  the  foot  of  the 
throne,  you  will  find  me  ever  ready  to 
expose  my  life  in  your  service.  Neither  a 
tedious  exile,  nor  the  severity  of  a  Siberian 
climate,  have  been  able  to  extinguish,  or 
even  to  damp,  the  ardour  I  have  formerly 
shown  for  the  interests  of  Russia  and  the 
glory  of  its  monarch." 

Notwithstanding  the  clement  temper  of 
the  emperor,  Catherine  entertained  a  dread 
that  he  might  punish  her  for  her  infidelities 
towards  him.  Though  she  had  long  ceased 
to  reside  with  him  as  his  wife,  yet  she  was 
compelled  to  wear  a  peculiar  dress  at  the 
time  of  his  accession,  in  order  to  conceal  her 
pregnancy.  But  Peter  was  remarkably  for- 
giving, and  appeared  not  to  discern  those 
faults  in  her  which  were  patent  to  every  one 
else.  He  appeared  to  forget  the  wrongs  he 
had  suff'ered,  in  the  attractions  of  her  per- 
son and  the  power  of  her  mind.  He  fre- 
quently passed  many  hours  in  her  apart- 
ments, and  discoursed  with  her,  in  a  confi- 
dential manner,  on  important  matters.  Yet, 
with  the  inconsistencv  which  ever  character- 
ised  him,  he  would  sometimes  refer  with 
bitterness  to  the  wrongs  she  had  done  him, 
and  treat  her  with  harshness  and  disrespect. 
At  one  time  he  would  bestow  on  her  the 
most  profound  marks  of  respect;  and  at 
another,  treat  her  in  a  manner  which  no 
lady  could  bear  with  patience.  Thus,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  benediction  of  the  waters, 
which  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  sacred 
ceremonies  of  the  Russian  church,  he  made 
her  appear  adorned  with  all  the  marks  of  im- 
perial dignity ;  while  he  followed  in  her  train 
as  a  simple  colonel.  Not  long  after,  while 
seated  with  Catherine  at  a  public  entertain- 
ment, he  called  to  his  mistress,  the  Countess 
Vorontzofl*,  who  was  passing  by,  and  made 
her  come  and  sit  down  beside  them.     The 


A.D.  176.2.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [seizure  of  church  lands. 


empress  immediately  retired,  and  Peter 
made  no  attempt  to  detain  her.  The 
same  evening,  while  at  supper,  he  loudly 
called  her  a  fool  before  a  number  of  guests. 
Catherine  burst  into  tears;  and  Peter  in- 
jured himself  more  in  the  estimation  of  the 
spectators  by  this  one  act  of  temper  than 
he  would  have  done  by  some  public  tyranny. 

Scenes  of  this  kind  kept  alive  the  dislike 
which  Catherine  bore  towards  her  husband, 
and  revived  her  hopes  of  supplanting  him 
on  the  throne.  She  made  it  her  chief 
business  to  gain  those  hearts  which  he  was 
losing.  A  perfect  mistress  of  the  art  of 
dissimulation,  it  cost  her  no  eff*ort  to  as- 
sume, when  in  the  presence  of  the  multi- 
tude, sentiments  the  most  opposed  to  her 
own  secret  convictions.  Though  a  student 
of  the  sceptical  philosophy  of  France,  and 
an  admirer  of  Voltaire,  she  assumed  the 
manners  of  a  fanatic.  Every  day  she  sedu- 
lously repaired  to  the  churches  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  prayed  with  all  the  semblance  of 
a  fervent  devotion.  She  became  punctual 
in  the  performance  of  the  most  superstitious 
practices  of  the  Greek  church.  She  accosted 
the  poor  with  benignity,  and  treated  the 
priests  with  reverence.  As  a  natural  result 
of  this,  the  latter  proclaimed  her  praises 
from  house  to  house,  and  the  populace 
regarded  her  as  a  benevolent  princess. 
Catherine  also  kept  her  court  with  a  mixture 
of  dignity  and  afl'ability  which  charmed  all 
who  approached  her.  Peter,  on  the  other 
hand,  soon  relapsed  into  his  old  dissipated 
habits.  To  such  an  extent  did  he  forget 
his  rank,  as  to  live  familiarly  with  buff'oons, 
and  to  allow  them  to  sit  at  table  with  him. 
One  evening,  while  at  the  Countess  Narish- 
kin's,  after  having  attended  the  theatre,  he 
caused  the  comedians  to  sit  down  promis- 
cuously with  the  ladies  and  grandees  of  the 
court,  and  seated  himself  beside  a  dancer, 
whom  he  called  his  little  wife.  These  acts 
of  imprudence  not  only  displeased  his 
nobles  and  people,  but  caused  injurious 
reports  to  be  made  by  the  ambassadors 
from  foreign  courts. 

But  the  most  dangerous  of  the  emperor's 
indiscretions  was  the  sudden  and  sweeping 
alterations  he  effected  with  respect  to  the 
property  of  the  church.  He  seems  to  have 
been  bent  upon  following  the  example  of 
his  illustrious  grandfather,  without  reflect- 
ing that  he  had  neither  the  power  nor  the 
patience  that  was  possessed  by  the  wise 
czar.  Great  was  the  difl:erence  between 
the  conduct  of  the  two  monarchs  with  re- 


spect to  the  church.  Peter  I.  did  not  en- 
deavour to  abolish  its  notorious  abuses 
until,  by  a  long  career  of  great  and  brilliant 
actions,  he  had  laid  the  foundations  of  his 
throne  in  the  hearts  of  his  people.  Peter  III. 
had  no  sooner  laid  his  hand  upon  the  im- 
perial sceptre  than  he  struck  at  the  root  of 
all  the  power  of  the  church,  by  depriving  it 
of  its  wealth — an  act  which,  as  it  was  of  the 
nature  of  a  confiscation,  he  had  no  right  to 
do  unless  the  priesthood  had,  by  some  great 
offence,  deserved  to  lose  what  was  taken 
from  them,  and  which  even  then  would 
have  been  imprudent  and  dangerous,  when 
the  intensely  superstitious  character  of  the 
Russian  people  is  remembered. 

Without  reflecting  on  these  matters,  the 
emperor  seized  the  vast  possessions  of  the 
church,  and  made  them  into  domains  of  the 
crown.  The  clergy  he  placed  upon  yearly 
salaries,  varying  from  5,000  down  to  100 
roubles.  He  even  proceeded  still  further 
to  irritate  the  clergy,  by  taking  from  the 
churches  the  figures  of  the  saints,  which 
both  priests  and  people  regarded  as  objects 
of  profound  veneration,  and  made  certain 
arbitrar}^  regulations  concerning  the  beards 
and  costume  of  the  secular  clergy.  The 
Bishop  of  Novgorod,  who  exclaimed  against 
this  conduct  as  an  impious  violation  of  the 
sanctuary,  he  condemned  to  banishment, 
but  afterwards  showed  his  weakness  by  re- 
calling in  obedience  to  popular  clamour. 
Peter  cared  but  little  for  religion;  but  he 
had  exhibited  a  bias  towards  Lutheranism 
rather  than  to  the  Greek  form  of  Christianity 
used  by  the  Russian  church.  The  incensed 
priests  therefore  spread  a  report  throughout 
the  empire,  that  the  emperor  had  only  pre- 
tended to  embrace  the  Greek  communion 
to  qualify  himself  for  filling  the  throne,  but 
that  he  was  still  a  Lutheran  at  heart,  of 
which  he  was  every  day  giving  proofs  by 
showing  a  profound  contempt  for  the  rites, 
the  ceremonies,  and  the  religion  of  the 
Russians.  Frederic  of  Prussia,  with  whom 
Peter  constantly  corresponded  and  informed 
of  all  he  did,  recommended  him  to  be  cau- 
tious with  respect  to  the  possessions  of  the 
church,  and  not  to  meddle  with  the  dress  of 
the  monks,  as  small  matters  were  of  great 
consequence  in  the  eyes  of  the  ignorant  and 
fanatical.  Fearing  what  miglit  happen, 
Frederic  also  urged  him  to  maintain  the 
respect  which  was  due  to  his  consort,  the 
more  especially  so  for  his  own  security. 
The  unsuspicious  Peter,  who  was  sur- 
rounded by  traitors,  and  breathing  an  air 

239 


\ 


SITTTATION  OF  CATHERINE.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1762.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [conspiracy  against  peter. 


tainted  by  duplicity  and  conspiracy,  replied, 
*'In  regard  to  the  concern  you  take  in  my 
safety,  I  beseech  you  to  give  yourself  no  un- 
easiness. The  soldiers  call  me  their  father, 
and  say  that  they  had  rather  be  governed 
by  a  man  than  by  a  woman.  I  take  my 
walks  alone  about  the  streets  of  St.  Peters- 
burg; if  any  one  designed  to  do  me  harm, 
he  would  have  executed  his  purpose  long 
ago.  But  I  am  continually  doing  good  on 
all  occasions  that  ofier,  and  I  trust  in  the 
protection  of  God  alone.  With  that  I  have 
nothing  to  fear." 

The    Countess   VorontzofF,    Peter's   mis- 
tress, had  obtained  a  considerable  amount 
of  influence  over  him,  and  she  now  had  the 
address  to  cause  him  to  renew  the  promise 
he  had  made  when  only  grand-duke — that 
he  would  marry  her,  and  place  her  on  the 
throne  instead  of  Catherine.     Elated  with 
the  prospect  of  this  distinction,  she  had  the 
imprudence  to  boast  of  it — a  circumstance 
which  led  to  her  own  ruin,  and  accelerated 
that  of  the  czar.     The  latter,  equally  indis- 
creet, seemed  to  authorise  by  his  conduct 
the  reports  she  spread,   and   appeared   no 
longer  to  take  any  pains  to  conceal  his  in- 
tention of  repudiating  Catherine,  and  pro- 
claiming the  illegitimacy  of  the  grand-duke 
Paul,  whom  it  is  commonly  supposed  was 
the  son,   not  of  the  emperor,    but  of  liis 
handsome    chamberlain,     Soltikoff.      Peter 
imagined  that,  by  publishing  the  proofs  of 
Catherine's  infidelity,  she  would  sink  in  the 
estimation  of  the  people,  and  that  his  con- 
duct would  elicit  the  approbation,  not  only 
of  his  subjects,  but  of  every  court  of  Europe. 
With  this  view  he  recalled  Soltikoff  from 
Hamburg,    where   the   latter    had    resided 
since  his  dismissal  from  the  court  of  Eliza- 
beth; and,  loading  him  with   caresses  and 
benefits,  put  every  stratagem  in  practice  to 
draw  from  him  an  authentic  avowal  of  the 
criminal    interviews    which    had    formerly 
passed  between  him  and  the  empress.     It 
was  at  this  period  that  Peter  visited  the  un- 
fortunate prince,  the  dethroned  Ivan  III., 
at  the  fortress  of  Schlusselburg.     It  is  pre- 
sumed that  the  emperor  designed  to  adopt 
Prince  Ivan — to  declare  him  his  successor, 
and  to  unite  him  in  marriage  with  the  young 
Princess  of  Holsteiu-Beck,  then  resident  at 
St.  Petersburg,  and  whom  he  cherished  as 
a  daughter.     As  it  may  excite  surprise,  and 
perhaps  incredulity,  that  Peter,  yet  in  the 
summer  of  life,  should  adopt  a  stranger  for 
his  heir,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  although 
lie  had  an  ardent  passion  for  women,  yet  he 
240 


suffered  from  some  physical  disquabfication 
which  he  appeared  convinced  incapacitated 
him  from  again  becoming  a  father. 

On  leaving  the  cell  in  which  the  unhappy 
Prince    Ivan   was    confined,    the    emperor 
directed  that  a  new  edifice  should  be  con- 
structed,   in   which   the    prince    could    be 
lodged  in  a  manner  more  befitting  his  ex- 
alted rank.     ''  Let  the  building,"  said  Peter 
to  the  commandant,  "  run  in  a  straight  line 
from  one  wall  to  the  other  of  this  angle  of 
the  fort,  so  as  to  form  nine  rooms  in  front ; 
and  the  rest  of  the  space,  to  the  extremity 
of  the  angle,  may    be   made  into   a   little 
erarden,  with  which  he  mav  amuse  himself 
in  the  air,  and  find  some  alleviation  of  the 
severity    of   his   confinement.      When   the 
building  is  finished,  I  will  come  myself  and 
put  the  prince  in  possession."  This  building, 
it  was  surmised,  was  not  for  the  confine- 
ment of  Ivan,  but  intended  for  the  recep- 
tion  and   imprisonment  of  Catherine  after 
her   disgrace   and    divorcement.     The  sup- 
position,   though   probable,  was  not,   how- 
ever satisfactorily  established.     Peter  caused 
Ivan,  for  the  meantime,  to  be  removed  to 
the  fortress  of  Kexholm,  which  stood  on  an 
islet  in  the  great  lake  of  Ladoga,  and  was 
much  nearer  to  the  imperial  residence  than 
Schlusselburg. 

The  suspicions  of  the  empress  were  now 
converted  into  alarm.     Peter  dismissed  her 
from  the  court,  and  caused  her  to  be  lodged, 
though  not  in  actual  confinement,  in  one  of 
the  most  retired   apartments  at  Peterhoff", 
where  she  passed  her  time  in  meditating 
how  to  escape  from  the  fate  that  threatened 
her,    by   hurling    her   liusband    from    the 
throne.     It  was  here  that  she  was  assisted 
by  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  conspira- 
tors, her  yet  secret  lover  Gregory  Orloft'. 
This   man   was  descended   from   one    Ivan 
Orel,  or  Eagle,  who,  in  the  reign  of  Peter 
the  Great,  was  a  private  soldier  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Strelitz.     When  this  body  of  troops 
was  broken  up  in  1698,  in  consequence  of 
its  insubordination  and  repeated  rebellions, 
an  immense  number  of  the  men  were  be- 
j  headed ;  the  czar  himself,  as  we  have  re- 
I  latcd,  occasionally  acting  the  part  of  execu- 
tioner.    It  is   a   current   story   in    Russia, 
that  this  Ivan  Orel,  on  being  called  to  kneel 
down  to  receive   his   death-stroke,   kicked 
away  a  head  which  still  remained  on  the 
beam  of  timber  on  which  the  victims  were 
decapitated  in  rows,  coolly  observing  as  he 
did  so,  "  If  this  is  my  place,  it  ought  to  be 
clear."     Peter,  struck  with  the  courage  of 


the  man,  spared  his  life,  and  placed  him  in 
a  regiment  of  the  line,  where,  by  his  bravery, 
he  won  his  way  to  the  rank  of  officer,  which 
brought  with  it  that  of  noble.  His  son  rose 
to  be  governor  of  Novgorod,  and  had  five 
sons,  of  whom  Gregory,  the  lover  of  the 
empress,  was  one,  and  Alexis,  who  after- 
wards rendered  himself  infamous  as  the 
chief  of  the  murderers  of  the  unfortunate 
Peter  III.,  was  another. 

Gregory  OrloflT,  though  he  was  destitute 
of  the  advantages  of  birth  and  education, 
yet  possessed  Considerable  courage  and 
great  personal  beauty.  To  such  an  extent 
was  he  favoured  by  nature,  that  although 
he  only  possessed  a  post  in  the  artillery,  the 
Princess  Kourakin,  one  of  the  handsomest 
women  of  the  court,  bestowed  upon  him 
her  embraces.  The  discovery  of  the  amour 
made  some  noise:  and  the  curiositv  of 
Catherine  led  her  to  wish  for  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  young  oflficer  who  had  become 
the  topic  of  public  discourse.  An  inter- 
view was  brought  about  by  an  ingenious 
and  unscrupulous  waiting-woman,  to  whom 
Catherine  confided  the  management  of  her 
intrigues  of  this  nature.  Gregory  Orlofi" 
was  introduced  to  the  empress,  and  it  is 
said  that  several  interviews  took  place  before 
he  was  acquainted  with  the  name  and  rank 
of  the  fair  lady  who  had  bestowed  her  afi'ec- 
tion  upon  him.  After  a  time,  Catherine, 
pleased  with  the  boldness  and  apparent  dis- 
cretion of  her  inamorata,  disclosed  to  him 
who  she  was,  and  unveiled  to  hirn  her  am- 
bitious designs.  Orloff  entered  readily 
into  the  conspiracy,  into  which  he  soon 
after  drew  his  companion  BibikoflP,  Lieu- 
tenant Passik,  and  other  officers.  By  this 
means  he  was  enabled  to  win  over  some 
companies  of  guards,  though  without  impart- 
ing to  them  his  secret  design.  Catherine's 
real  character  now  rapidly  disclosed  itself. 
Not  content  with  the  attentions  of  her  new 
lover  Orlofi^,  she  pursued  other  intrigues 
with  no  less  art  than  success.  Her  duenna, 
Ivanova,  behaved  with  so  much  address,  that 
those  whom  she  presented  to  the  empress, 
enjoyed  her  favours  without  knowing  who 
she  was.  At  the  very  time  that  she  re- 
ceived the  attentions  of  Gregory  Orlofi*, 
she  carried  on  amours  with  several  other 
oflScers  and  courtiers;  but  as  she  did  not 
expect  to  find  in  them  the  devotedness  and 
genius  that  she  required,  she  never  disclosed 
her  secret  to  them. 

During  this  time  the  Princess  Daschkaw 
kept  up  a  correspondence  from  St.  Peters- 

VOL.  I.  2  I 


burg  with  the  empress  in  her  retirement  at 
Peterhoff.  In  this  she  gave  an  account  of 
all  that  was  passing  at  court,  and  suggested 
such  means  as  she  considered  should  be 
employed  for  preventing  the  designs  of  the 
czar.  The  Princess  Daschkaw  does  not 
herself,  in  her  Memoirs,  give  a  satisfactory 
reason  for  the  enmity  which  she  entertained 
towards  Peter,  and  the  vehemence  with 
which  she  participated  in  the  conspiracy 
against  him.  "  Her  attachment  to  Cathe- 
rine,"  says  Tooke,  "  was  not  the  sole  motive 
which  excited  her  zeal.  She  was  principally 
jealous  of  the  glorious  elevation  that  awaited 
her  sister ;  and  neither  the  menaces  of  that 
sister  and  of  her  father,  nor  the  authority 
of  the  chancellor  her  uncle,  in  whose  house 
she  had  been  brought  up,  were  able  to  de- 
tach her  from  a  party  of  which  she  fondly 
made  it  her  pride  to  be  the  prime  mover. 
She  had  studied  the  languages,  and  read 
many  of  the  works  of  foreign  authors, 
during  her  sojourn  at  Moscow,  which  aug- 
mented her  natural  vanity,  and  taught  her 
to  despise  the  ignorance  of  the  nation  to 
which  she  belonged.  In  the  hope  of  arriv- 
ing at  the  slippery  honour  of  directing  a 
conspiracy,  she  openly  braved  the  resent- 
ment of  her  family :  she  would  have  braved 
every  danger,  and  even  boldly  looked  death 
in  the  face." 

A  considerable  party  was  soon  engaged 
to  promote  the  views  of  the  empress,  chiefly 
through  the  active  instrumentabty  of  the 
Princess  Daschkaw.  Amongst  them  were 
the  hetman  Cyril  Rasumoffski,  brother  of 
the  secret  husband  of  the  late  empress 
Elizabeth;  the  subtle  Count  Panin,  tutor 
of  the  young  grand-duke  Paul ;  Prince  Vol- 
konski,  major-general  of  the  guards;  and 
the  Archbishop  of  Novgorod,  who  only 
waited  for  an  opportunity  of  signalising  his 
vengeance  for  the  impotent  sentence  of 
banishment  the  emperor  had  pronounced 
against  him.  To  these  were  added  many 
officers,  who,  either  disliking  Peter's  intro- 
duction of  the  Prussian  drill  and  costume 
into  the  army,  or  hoping  to  acquire  fortune 
in  the  storm  of  revolution,  were  ready  to 
enlist  in  any  conspiracy  against  the  em- 
peror. 

To  depose  Peter  was  an  enterprise  of 
great  danger  and  difficulty,  and  the  con- 
spirators were  divided  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  It  should  be  accomplished.  Orloff, 
and  some  others,  thought  it  best  to  begin 
by  seizing  on  his  person  at  Peterhoff,  at  the 
conclusion   of  one   of  those   orgies   which 

241 


AIMS  OF  THE  CONSPIRATORS.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d*1762. 


A.D.  1762.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [progress  of  the  conspiract. 


1  t 


they  felt  satisfied  would  take  place  on  his 
arrival  there  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  Lieutenant  Passik 
proposed  to  stab  him  to  the  heart  in  the 
midst  of  his  court ;  and  this  ruffian  actually 
lay  in  ambush  for  two  days,  that  he  might 
accomplish  this  diabolical  purpose,  but 
without  meeting  him.  The  conspirators 
also  differed  as  to  who  ought  to  succeed  the 
czar  when  he  should  be  disposed  of.  Orloff 
and  the  Princess  Daschkaw,  who  were  in 
the  entire  confidence  of  the  empress,  pro- 
posed that  she  should  succeed  her  husband 
on  the  throne.  Count  Panin,  and  the 
Letman  Rasumoffski,  considered  that  she 
sliould  be  appointed  regent,  and  that  the 
title  of  emperor  should  devolve  ou  the 
young  grand-duke  Paul. 

Panin  had  the  courage,  at  a  meeting  of 
the   principal  conspirators,  to  represent  to 
Catherine   the   objections    that   existed   to 
placing    the    crown   upon   her   head.       "  I 
know,  madam,''   said  he,  ^Svhat  you  would 
have,  and  what  you  are  able  to  do ;  but  I 
know  also  where  your  ambition  should  stop. 
You  have  repeatecl  it  a  hundred  times, while 
as  yet  grand -duchess,   that  you  were  only 
desirous  of  the  title  of  mother  of  the  em- 
peror.    Does  that  title  at  present  seem  too 
diminutive  to  you?      You  would  now  re- 
move your  son  from  the  throne  of  Russia ; 
but   what  right  have  you  to  seat  yourself 
upon  it  alone?     Are  you  of  the  blood  of 
the  czars?     Are  you  even  a  native  of  the 
empire?     Think  you  that  this  ancient  and 
warlike  nation  will   acknowledge  for  their 
sovereign   a   countess    of   Anhalt?     Think 
you  that  they  will  not  be  incessantly  plotting 
in  favour  of  the  descendants  of  Peter  the 
Great,  while  one  of  them  lies  languishing  at 
the  foot  of  the  throne,  and  others  continue 
to  groan  in  dark  and  loathsome  dungeons  ? 
Ah,  madam,   give   up  your   pretensions   to 
what  you  can  never  obtain.     Think  it  your 
greatest  happiness  to  be  able  to  escape  the 
extreme  danger  that  presses  upon  you ;  and 
that  the  only  means  of  justifying  our  violent 
undertaking,  is  to  convince  the  Avorld  that 
your  son  is,  more  than  yourself,  the  object 
of  your  concern.'' 

The  conspirators  were  struck  with  the 
sense  and  firmness  of  this  address,  and,  for 
a  short  time,  all  remained  in  silence.  Cathe- 
rine herself  was  the  first  to  break  it.  Turn- 
ing towards  Panin,  she  said,  "  Count,  your 
arguments  are  full  of  force;  but  they  are 
not  sufficient  to  produce  any  alteration  in 
my  sentiments.  I  know  the  Russians ;  and 
242 


you  yourself  are  so  well  acquainted   with 
them  as  to  know,  that,   provided  they   are 
governed,  they   care   but   little   about   the 
origin  of  those  by  whom  the  government  is 
administered.     This  nation   knows   of  no- 
thing but  obedience,  even  when  the  hand 
that  rules  it  leans  heavily  on  it.     Mentschi- 
koff,  Bireu,  Munich,  may  serve  as  proofs  of 
this  truth.     But  it  is  not  thus  that  I  design 
to  reign;    far  from   it.     I   shall    act   with 
lenity,  with  justice,  and  in  such  manner  as 
not  to  give  the  slightest  pretext  to  discon- 
tent.    But  you,  who  tell  me  of  murmurs 
and  rebellions,  do  you  forget  that  it  is  chiefly 
under  regencies  that  rebellions  break  out  ? 
Nay,  should  we  ever  have  had  a  thought 
of  that  we  have  now  been   contriving,   if 
Peter  III.    were  capable   of  guiding   with 
firmness  the   reins   of  government?     You 
are  alarmed  for  my  son ;  but  had  you  rather 
abandon  him  to  the  fantastic  humours  of  a 
father,  by  whom  he  is   already   disowned, 
than  trust  his  fortune   to   a   mother   who 
loves  him  ?    And,  if  I  aspire  to  the  supreme 
command,  is  it  not  for  the  welfare  of  that 
child?  is  it  not  that  I  may  be  the  better 
able  to  recompense   those   who,   like   you, 
assist  me  to  defend  him  ?     Doubtless,  they 
may  all  rely  on  my  everlasting  gratitude; 
but,  in  order  to  prove  it  to  my  heart's  con- 
tent,  I  must   have   the   power;    and   that 
power  is  what  I  expect  from  you."     The 
conspirators  were  divided  in  opinion,  and  no 
absolute   decision  was  arrived   at  by  them. 
Catherine,  however,  discerned   the  motive 
which   dictated    the    opposition   of    Count 
Panin.     He  desired  to  place  his  pupil,  the 
grand-duke  Paul,  on  the  throne,  only  that 
he  might  himself  occupy  the  second  place 
in  the  empire,  and  govern  in  the  imperial 
name. 

Catherine  therefore  endeavoured  to  allure 
Panin    to    the  entire  advocacy  of  her  in- 
terests, by  a  promise  to  appoint  him  prime 
minister   when    she   ascended    the  throne ; 
and  it  is  most  probable  that  this  promise 
led  him  to  adopt  the  advocacy  of  her  am- 
bitious  views.      It  is   said,   however,   that 
his  conversion  was  effected  by  tlxc  Princess 
Daschkaw,  who  obtained  an  influence  oyer 
him   in   consequence   of  an   illicit   passion 
which  he  entertained  for  her.     She,  how- 
ever, received  the  declaration  of  his  love 
with  coldness,  and    gave   him  no  hope  of 
success.      One  of  the  conspirators  named 
Odart,  a  scheming,  unprincipled  Piedmon- 
tese,  is    reported   to   have   undertaken    to 
remove  her  scruples,  and  that  he  actually 


did  so  by  representing  that,  if  she  thought 
it  a  fault  to  yield  to  the  solicitations  of  the 
count,  that  fault  would  be  ennobled  by  the 
motive  that  impelled  her  to  commit  it ;  that 
no  sacrifice  should  seem  too  dear  in  the 
cause  of  friendship ;  and  that  it  would  be 
the  triumph  of  heroism  to  brave  the  dis- 
grace of  making  her  charms  subservient  to 
her  ambition.  It  is  added,  that  the  roman- 
tic imagination  of  the  princess  was  excited 
by  this  representation,  and  that  she  con- 
sented to  the  proposals  of  the  count ;  who 
thereupon  withdrew  all  opposition  to  the 
designs  of  the  empress.  It  is  probable  the 
princess  did  exercise  some  influence  over 
the  count ;,  but  we  do  not  credit  the  state- 
ment that  attributes  a  want  of  chastity  on 
her  part  with  respect  to  him.  She  her- 
self treated  the  accusation  with  indignant 
scorn.* 

It  was  necessary  to  gain  over  the  sol- 
diers ;  but  Catherine  had  not  the  requisite 
funds  for  bribing  them.  Her  situation  at 
this  time  was  one  of  great  danger ;  and  had 
not  Peter  have  acted  with  perfect  infatua- 
tion in  disregarding  the  warnings  that  were 
given  him,  the  conspiracy  must  have  been 
discovered  and  crushed ;  in  which  case  arrest, 
dethronement,  and  perpetual  imprisonment, 
or,  perhaps,  death  itself,  would  probably 
have  been  her  doom.  Disregarding  the  in- 
timations he  received  of  the  plot  against 
him,  the  czar  made  ready  to  depart  with 
the  expedition  he  had  prepared  against  Den- 
mark. One  division  of  the  fleet  equipped 
for  this  purpose  remained  at  Cronstadt, 
while  the  other  lay  waiting  for  it  at  Revel. 
Some  of  the  land  forces  were  already  in 
Pomerania,  and  others  were  on  their  march  to 
join  them ;  while  the  czar  had  fixed  his  own 
departure  for  the  day  following  the  festival, 
which,  according  to  custom,  was  to  be  cele- 
brated at  Peterhoff,  and  at  the  end  of  which 
he  designed  to  have  the  empress  arrested 
on  a  charge  of  being  implicated  in  the  con- 
spiracy against  him.f 

In  the  meantime  the  emperor,  absorbed 
in  indolent   security,   had    gone   to   enjoy 

*  In  her  Memoirs  she  says — "  I  seldom  saw  M. 
Odart,  and  not  once  during  the  three  weeks  pre- 
ceding the  revolution.  I  was  glad  to  procure  him 
a  livelihood,  but  I  never  asked  his  advice  on  any 
occasion  ;  and  I  believe  he  knew  me  a  great  deal 
too  well  to  dare  to  make  any  such  proposals  to  me 
on  the  part  of  M.  Panin,  as  some  French  writers, 
in  their  libellous  and  senseless  pamphlets,  have 
thought  fit  to  charge  him  with." 

t  Such  was  the  blindness  of  this  doomed  monarch 
to  all  that  was  passing  around  him,  that  frequently, 


himself  in  the  company  of  some  of  the 
handsomest  women  at  his  court,  at  his 
country  palace  of  Oranienbaum.  The  con- 
spirators who  had  agreed  to  seize  and  carry 
him  off  on  his  return  to  St.  Petersburg, 
considered  it  more  prudent  to  hasten  their 
movements,  and  carry  this  plan  into  execu- 
tion on  the  appearance  of  the  czar  at  Peter- 
hoff. Suddenlv,  an  event  occurred  which 
threatened  instant  discovery  and  destruc- 
tion to  all  engaged  in  the  plot.  The 
ruffian  Passik,  who  had  offered  to  murder 
Peter,  had  gained  the  soldiers  of  the  corn- 
pan}^  of  the  guards  in  which  he  was  lieu- 
tenant. One  of  them  supposing  that  Pas- 
sik did  nothing  but  in  concurrence  with  his 
captain,  asked  the  latter  on  what  day  they 
were  to  take  up  arms  against  the  emperor. 
The  captain  had  the  dexterity  to  conceal 
his  astonishment,  and,  by  giving  vague 
answers  to  the  questions  of  the  soldier,  he 
drew  out  from  him  the  secret  of  the  con- 
spiracy, and  at  once  reported  it  to  the  chan- 
cery of  the  regiment. 

Passik  was  immediately  arrested,  and  at 
first  placed  in  a  room,  where  he  contrived 
to  write  with  a  pencil,  on  a  scrap  of  paper, 
"  Proceed  to  execution  this  instant,  or  we 
are  undone."  Giving  this  to  a  man  who 
presented  himself  at  the  door,  and  who, 
though  a  stranger  to  him,  the  desperate 
nature  of  his  situation  made  him  trust  to, 
he  told  him  that  if  he  ran  with  it  to  the 
hetman  Rasumoffski,  he  would  be  hand- 
somely rewarded.  The  fellow  was  a  spy  in 
the  employ  of  the  Princess  Daschkaw, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  watch  Passik,  and  see 
that  he  did  not  betray  his  fellow-conspira- 
tors. The  man,  therefore,  hurried  with  the 
paper  to  his  mistress.  He  found  her  with 
Count  Panin,  who  did  not  regard  the  arrest 
of  Passik  as  an  incident  that  threatened 
danger,  but  thought  it  was  probably  the 
consequence  of  some  mifftary  offence.  The 
princess  entertained  a  different  opinion,  and 
desired  Orloff  to  go  to  the  barracks  of  the 
regiment,  and  ascertain  whether  Passik  was 
guarded  as  a  state  criminal,  or  merely  under 

when  in  a  state  of  partial  -jitoxication,  he  talked  of 
schemes  of  conquest  and  gave  himself  up  to  the 
transports  of  an  extravagant  ambition.  Two  days 
before  the  revolution  that  hurled  him  from  the 
throne,  he  held,  it  is  said,  the  following  discourse : — 
"  Of  what  use  are  all  those  petty  sovereigns  of 
Europe  ?  What  are  they  ?  I  am  resolved  that,  in 
future,  there  shall  be  but  three  powers  in  this  part 
of  the  world — Russia,  Prussia,  and  France.  I  will 
have  all  the  north ;  the  king  of  Prussia  shall  havo 
all  Germany ;  and  the  king  of  France  the  rest.** 

243 


CATHERINE  ENTERS  ST.  PETERSBTTRG.]    HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1762.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  RE^'OLUnOX 


i 


arrest  as  a  military  offender.  The  informa- 
tion they  received  was,  that  Passik  was 
under  arrest  as  a  prisoner  of  state,  guarded 
by  four  sentinels  at  the  door,  and  two  at 
each  of  the  windows  of  his  room. 

Disguising  herself  in  a  man's  great-coat, 
the  energetic  princess  hurried  forth,  and 
caused  orders  to  be  conveyed  to  the  ofi&cers 
in  the  conspiracy  to  repair,  without  a  mo- 
ment's delay,  to  their  regiment,  the  Ismael- 
offski  guards,  and  remain  at  their  posts  in 
order  to  receive  the  empress  at  the  suburbs 
of  the  city.  She  also  desired  Orloff,  or  one 
of  his  brothers,  to  fly  like  lightning  to 
Peterhoff,  and  entreat  the  empress  to  place 
herself  instantly  in  a  post  carriage,  which 
she  would  find  in  readiness,  and  drive  to 
the  quarters  of  the  Ismaeloffski  guards, 
whom  she  would  find  waiting  to  proclaim 
her  as  sovereign,  and  to  escort  her  into  the 

capital. 

After  some  hesitation,  Alexis  Orloff"  under- 
took the  dangerous  commission  of  going  to 
bring  the  empress  from  Peterhoff*.     During 
his   absence    the    princess   yielded   to   the 
terrors  of  her  situation.      "Plunged  in  a 
desponding  train  of  thought,"  she  observes, 
"  scarcely  an  image  presented  itself  but  of 
the  most  appalling  nature.     My  imagina- 
tion, however,  constantly  at  work,  would  at 
some  moments  anticipate  the  triumphs  of 
the  empress  ;  and  all  these  pleasing  illusions 
were   hastily    succeeded   by   others    which 
made  me  shudder  with  horror.     The  least 
sound  startled  me,  and  presented  Catherine 
to  my  view — that  idol  of  my  fancy— pale, 
disfigured,   dying — the  victim,    perhaps,  of 
our  imprudence.    This  dreadful  night,  which 
appeared  to  me  a  whole  life  of  suff'ering,  at 
length  passed  away.'' 

It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  when 
Catherine  was  roused  from  a  profound  sleep, 
and  found  a  soldier  standing  by  her  bed- 
side.    To  enable  lier   the   more   easily   to 
escape  in  the  event  of  the  discovery  of  the 
conspiracy,  she  had  taken  up  her  lodging  at 
a   summer-house   in   the    grounds    of    the 
palace.     At  the  foot  of  this  building  ran  a 
canal,  communicating  with  the  river  Neva. 
Near  the  door  a  small  boat  was  fastened,  as 
if  without  design,  but,  in  reality,  with  the 
twofold  object,  that  it  might  be  of  service  in 
the  secret  visits   of  her  favourites,  and  to 
facilitate    her    own    escape    into    Sweden, 
should  such  a  step  become  necessary.     Gre- 
gory Orloff"  had  given  his  brother  Alexis  a 
key  to  this  summer-house,  and  he  it  was 
who  had  aroused    the    empress.      "Your 
244. 


majesty  has  not  a  moment  to  lose,"  he  ex- 
claimed; "get  ready  to  follow  me;"  and 
then  instantly  retired. 

Notwithstanding  the  astonishment   and, 
perhaps,  alarm  which  seized  the  empress, 
she   called  her  confidant,    Ivanova.     They 
hastily  dressed  themselves  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  avoid  being  recognised  by  the  senti- 
nels about  the  palace ;  and  no  sooner  had 
they  done  so  than  Alexis  Orloff  returned, 
and  told  the  empress  that  a  carriage  was 
waiting  for  them  at  the   garden-gate.     It 
was  a  coach  which,  under  pretence  of  having 
change  of  horses  for  an  excursion  into  the 
country,  the  Princess  Daschkaw  had  kept 
for  several  days  in  readiness  at  a  house  in- 
habited by  one  of  her  peasants,  a  few  miles 
from  Peterhoff",  and  which  Orloff  had  sent 
one  of  his  comrades  to  fetch. 

Catherine  trusted  her  safety  to  the  con- 
spirator.    She  and  her  companion  reached 
the  carriage  unobserved.     Orloff  then  took 
the  reins,  and  drove  off  with  the  speed  of  a 
madman.     So  relentlessly  did  he  urge  the 
horses  forward,  that  after  a  time  they  fell 
exhausted   upon   the   road,    and   remained 
unable    to    move.     Every   effort   to   rouse 
them  to  renewed  exertions  failed;  and  al- 
though  the  distance  from   St.  Petersburg 
was  still  considerable,  such  was  the  immi- 
nent danger  of  delay,  that  they  resolved  to 
proceed  on  foot.     Before  they  had  gone  far 
they  met  a  peasant  driving  a  light  country 
cart.     Alexis  Orloff  seized  the  horses;  the 
man  ran  away  in  alarm;  the  empress  and 
her   attendant   got   into   the   vehicle;  and 
again  they  started  with  such  speed  as  they 
could  urge  the  animals  to  accomplish.  Soon 
they  were  met  by  another  carriage,   con- 
taining Gregory  Orloff,  who,  on  the  rack  of 
expectation,  and   alarmed   at   the   non-ap- 
pearance of  the  empress,  had  hurried  forth 
to  meet  her.     Recognising  her  in  an  in- 
stant, he  called  out  that  the  conspirators 
only  waited  for  her  presence  to  proceed  to 
action,  and  then  hastily  drove  on  before  to 
receive  ner  at  St.  Petersburg.     There  Cathe- 
rine arrived  at  seven  in  the  morning,  almost 
exhausted  with  fatigue  and  anxiety,  but  re- 
taining  sufficient   command   of   herself  to 
assume  a  sedate  and  tranquil  air. 

She  proceeded  immediately  to  the  bar- 
racks of  the  Ismaeloffski  guards,  where,  on 
the  report  of  her  arrival,  about  thirty  sol- 
diers, onlv  half-dressed,  ran  out  and  received 
her  with  shouts  of  joy.  Struck  with  alarm 
at  seeing  so  small  a  number,  Catherine  re- 
mained silent  for  a  few  moments.     But  the 


decisive  step  had  been  taken,  and  there  was 
no  choice  but  to  go  forward.  Addressing 
the  soldiers  in  a  tremulous  voice,  she  said 
that  her  danger  had  driven  her  to  the  neces- 
sity of  coming  to  ask  their  assistance ;  that 
the  czar  had  intended  to  put  her  to  death 
that  very  night,  together  with  her  son  ;  that 
she  had  no  other  means  of  escaping  her 
doom  but  by  flight;  and  that  she  had  so 
much  confidence  in  their  dispositions  as  to 
put  herself  entirely  in  their  hands. 

The  auditors  were  greatly  excited  at  these 
words,  and  swore  to  defend  her  to  the 
utmost  of  their  lives.  The  numbers  of  the 
soldiers  collected  around  the  empress  in- 
creased every  moment,  and  before  long  the 
hetman  Rasumoffski  made  his  appearance. 
The  chaplain  of  the  regiment  was  then 
called,  and,  fetching  a  crucifix  from  the 
altar,  he  received  on  it  the  oath  of  the 
troops  of  fidelity  to  Catherine.  In  the 
tumult  some  voices  were  heard  proclaiming 
her  as  regent ;  but  these  were  soon  stifled 
by  the  threats  of  the  conspirators,  and  the 
far  more  numerous  shouts  of  "  Long  live 
the  empress !" 

Other  regiments  of  guards  tacitly  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  those  of  Ismaeloffski ; 
the  officers  placing  themselves  at  the  head 
of  their  companies  with  as  much  docility  as 
if  they  had  been  engaged  in  the  conspiracy. 
General  Villebois  and  the  artillery  were 
also  gained  over ;  and  in  less  than  two  hours 
she  was  followed  by  about  2,000  soldiers, 
and  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city,  who  applauded  the  troops,  and  ap- 
peared favourable  to  her  pretensions.  With 
these  she  proceeded  to  the  church  of  Kazan, 
where  the  Archbishop  of  Novgorod  (who  was 
animated  by  a  bitter  hatred  of  Peter),  arrayed 
in  sacerdotal  costume,  and  a  great  number 
of  priests,  stood  at  the  altar  to  receive  her. 
Placing  the  imperial  crown  upon  her  head, 
he  proclaimed  her  sovereign  of  all  the  Rus- 
sias,  by  the  name  of  Catherine  II.,  and  de- 
clared the  young  grand-duke  Paul  her  suc- 
cessor. To  render  this  ceremony  the  more 
imposing,  a  Te  Deum  was  chanted ;  the 
solemn  sound  of  the  music  being  broken  in 
upon  by  the  excited  shouts  of  the  multitude 
without.  Catherine  then  proceeded  to  the 
palace  that  had  been  occupied  by  the  late 
empress  Elizabeth,  where,  for  several  hours, 
the  crowd  was  indiscriminately  admitted. 
Many  of  the  people,  under  the  influence  of 
fickleness  and  excitement,  fell  on  their 
knees  before  her,  and  took  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance. 


The  conspirators  were  incessantly  active 
in  preparing  for  any  resistance  from  the 
friends  of  the  emperor,  but  none  was  offered. 
He  seems  for  a  time  to  have  been  perfectly 
ignorant  of  the  revolution  that  was  being 
effected  at  St.  Petersburg.  Such  was  his 
simplicity,  that  he  had  that  morning  caused 
a  faithful  officer  to  be  arrested,  who,  the 
evening  before,  having  had  some  intimation 
of  the  conspiracy,  had  hastened  in  the 
night  to  Oranienbaum  to  inform  him  of  it. 
The  emperor  then  set  out  in  a  calash,  with 
his  mistress,  his  favourites,  and  the  women  of 
his  court,  for  Peterhoff,  that  he  might  be 
present  at  the  grand  festivities  designed  to 
take  place  on  the  following  day. 

The  Princess  Daschkaw  was  one  of  the 
first  to  congratulate  the  impsrial  traitress, 
who  had  so  easily  snatched  the  sceptre 
from  the  feeble  grasp  of  her  husband.  It 
was  with  much  difficultv  that  she  contrived 
to  reach  the  palace,  so  entirely  was  every 
approach  to  it  blocked  up  by  soldiers.  But 
on  being  recognised  by  some  of  the  officers, 
she  was  borne  off  the  ground,  and  passed 
over  the  heads  of  all  before  her,  until,  with 
a  giddy  head  and  a  tattered  robe,  she  was 
set  down  safelv  in  an  antechamber.  From 
thence  she  reached  the  presence  of  the  em- 
press. "  We  were  soon,"  says  the  prin- 
cess, "in  each  other's  arms.  *  Heaven  be 
praised !'  was  all  we  could  either  of  us  for 
some  moments  utter." 

After  some  rest  and  refreshment,  the 
empress  resolved  on  proceeding,  at  the  head 
of  the  troops,  to  Peterhoff,  and  proposed  to 
the  princess  to  accompany  her  on  the  expe- 
dition. The  latter  joyfully  consented,  and 
they  both  equipped  themselves  in  the  uni- 
form of  the  guards,  having  borrowed  the 
requisite  costume  of  two  young  officers  of 
diminutive  figure.  It  was  on  this  occasion 
that  Potemkin  (afterwards  so  distinguished 
as  favourite,  and  eventually  minister  of  the 
empress,  but  then  only  a  lad  of  sixteen,  and 
ensign  in  the  regiment  of  horse-guards),  ob- 
serving that  Catherine  had  no  plume  in  her 
hat,  rode  up,  and  presented  her  with  his. 
The  horse  on  which  he  was  mounted,  being 
accustomed  to  form  into  the  squadron,  was 
some  time  before  it  could  be  brought  to 
quit  the  side  of  that  of  her  majesty — a  cir- 
cumstance which  afforded  her  an  opportu- 
nity of  noticing  the  manly  grace  and  hand- 
some features  of  him  who  eventually  gained 
such  an  influence  over  her.  The  troops, 
who  had  been  incessantly  supplied  with 
beer  and  brandy,  expressed  their  pleasure 

245 


-i^TEAKNESS  OF  PETER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1762.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [irreso:  ution  of  the  czar. 


\u 


I 


on  beholding  the  empress  in  her  male 
attire,  by  reiterated  shouts  of  their  national 
cry  hourra,  and  by  hurling  their  hats  and 
caps  into  the  air.  One  regiment  of  cavalry, 
of  which  Peter  III.  had  been  colonel  when 
only  grand-duke,  preserved  a  sullen  silence ; 
but  its  officers,  who  refused  obedience  to 
Catherine,  were  placed  under  arrest,  and 
the  men  were  too  few  to  offer  opposition. 

The  emperor,  while  on  his  way  to  Peter- 
hoff,  was  informed  of  the  flight  of  Catherine. 
When    he    received     the    intelligence    he 
turned  pale,  and  betrayed  considerable  agi- 
tation.    On  arriving  at  Peterhoff,  he  ran  to 
the  pavilion  that  had  been  occupied  by  the 
empress,  and,  in  his  confusion,  looked  about 
for  her  as  if  she  might  have  been  concealed 
under  the  bed,  or  in  one  of  the  cupboards. 
Every  one  he  met   he   overwhelmed   with 
questions,  but  without  obtaining  any  satis- 
factory information.     Turning  to  his  mis- 
tress, the    Countess  Vorontzoff,   whom   he 
beheld   approaching   up   the  walks   of  the 
garden,  he   called    out    "Romanovna,    will 
you  believe  me  now  ?     Catherine  has  made 
her  escape.     I  told  you  that  she  was  capable 
of  anything!"      Rumours   of    evil   passed 
among  the   servants    and   the   women    by 
whom  Peter  was  surrounded,  and  a  gloomy 
presentiment   prevailed   among   them.     At 
length  a  countryman  approached,  and,  with 
a  profound  bow,  delivered  a  note   to   the 
emperor,  without   uttering  a  single   word. 
Peter  read  it  to  the  alarmed  courtiers;  it 
was  from  one  yet  faithful  to  him,  who  had 
contrived  to  evade  the  guards  placed  on  the 
road  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Peterhoff,  and 
send  him  information  of  all  that  had  oc- 
curred in  the  capital. 

Peter  was  greatly  dejected ;  the  courtiers 
uttered   insincere    consolations  and   assur- 
ances that  all  w^ould  yet  be  well ;  and  the 
wily  chancellor,  Vorontzoff,  represented  that 
this  popular  excitement  could  not  be  really 
dangerous,  and  that,  with  the  czar's  permis- 
sion, he  would  proceed  to  St.  Petersburg, 
and  soon  return  with  the  empress.     Peter 
consented,  and  the  chancellor  hastened  to 
Catherine,  who  assured  him  that  she   was 
only  yielding  to  the  ardent  desires  of  the 
nation.     Vorontzoff  concluded   by  offering 
her  his  services,  but  begged  that  she  would 
place  him  under  a  guard  in  his  own  house, 
that  he  might  not  seem  to  have  abandoned 
his  duty  to  the  emperor.     After  the  depar- 
ture of  the  chancellor,  Peter  strode  anxiously 
about  the  gardens;  formed  many  different 
plans,  and  abandoned  them  as  soon  as  he 
246 


had  formed  them ;  sometimes  uttering  vio- 
lent imprecations  against  his  faithless  con- 
sort, and  at  others  dictating  useless  mani- 
festoes. The  only  really  useful  thing  he 
did  was  to  dispatch  a  command  to  the  3,000 
Holstein  troops  whom  he  had  left  at  Ora- 
nienbaum,  to  come  immediately,  and  bring 
their  artillery. 

The   aged   Marshal   Munich  soon  after- 
wards   made    his    appearance,     and    offered 
advice  which,  if  acted  upon,  might  yet  liave 
effectually  crushed  the  insurrection.    "  Your 
majesty's   troops    are    arriving,''     said    the 
veteran ;  "  let  us  put  ourselves  at  their  head 
and  march  straight  to  St.  Petersburg.     You 
have  still  many  friends  there ;  immediately 
on  your  appearance  they  will  arm  in  your 
defence.     The  principal  part  of  the  guards 
are    only    under    a   momentary    alienation, 
into  which  they  have  been  misled,  and  will 
soon  range  themselves  under  your  standard. 
Besides,  if  we  are  forced  to  come  to  action, 
be  assured  that  the  rebels  will  not  long  dis- 
pute with  you  the  palm  of  victory .''     Peter 
consented  to  follow  this  advice;  but,  before 
long,  news  arrived  that  the   empress   was 
approaching  with  an  army,   said  to  consist 
of  22,000  men.     The   courtiers   trembled, 
the  women  wept,   and  the  timid  emperor 
seemed  resolved  not  to  expose  himself  to 
danger.      Munich   then   urged    that    they 
should   retire   to   Cronstadt.      "  You   have 
there,"    said   he  to   Peter,    '^a   formidable 
fleet  and   a  numerous   garrison.     It  is,   in 
short,  from  Cronstadt  that  you  will  find  it 
an  easy  matter  to  bring  St.  Petersburg  back 
to  its  duty." 

Peter  again  consented,  and  two   yachts 
were  hurriedly  prepared  for  the  departure 
of  himself  and  his  court,  who  at  once  em- 
barked.    But  this  step  was  taken  too  late. 
Catherine,    aware    of    the    importance    of 
securing  the  fleet  in  her  favour,  dispatched 
Admiral  Talitzen  to  take  the  command  of  it 
in  her  name.     Having  obtained  admission 
into  the  fortress  under  the  supposition  that 
he   was    a   loyal   subject   of    the   emperor, 
Talitzen  excited  the   sailors  to  declare  for 
the  empress,  distributed  money  and  brandy 
amongst  them,  and  induced  them  to  arrest 
the  commandant  and  place  him  in  confine- 
ment.     Many  of   the   soldiers   joined  the 
sailors,  and   Talitzen,  assuming    the   com- 
mand, ordered  the  artillery  to  stand  with 
lighted  matches  at  their  guns.     As  soon  as 
the  yacht  containing  the  unfortunate  mo- 
narch  cast   anchor,    a   sentinel   demanded, 
"Who   comes   there?"      "The  emperor," 


was  the  answer.  "  There  is  no  emperor," 
replied  the  sentinel.  Peter  advanced  on 
deck,  and  throwing  back  his  cloak,  to  show 
the  badges  of  his  rank,  exclaimed,  "  What ! 
do  you  not  know  me  ?"  A  thousand  voices 
responded  simultaneously,  "No,  we  know 
of  no  emperor.  Long  live  the  empress 
Catherine!"  At  the  same  time,  Talitzen 
threatened  to  sink  the  yacht  if  it  did  not 
instantly  retire.  Gudovitch,  the  emperor's 
aide-de-camp,  took  his  startled  master  by 
the  arm,  and  then  grasping  one  of  the  tim- 
bers at  the  entrance  of  the  mole,  said, 
"  Place  your  hands  by  the  side  of  mine,  and 
let  us  leap  on  shore.  None  will  dare  to  fire 
upon  you,  and  Cronstadt  will  still  belong  to 
your  majesty."  Marshal  Munich  reiterated 
this  advice ;  but  the  spiritless  czar  shrunk 
from  all  appearance  of  danger,  and  retreat- 
ing to  the  cabin  of  the  yacht,  hid  himself 
among  the  terrified  women.  The  cables 
were  then  cut,  and  the  yachts  departed  from 
Cronstadt. 

It  was  a  fine  starlight  night,  and  Munich 
and  Gudovitch  sat  upon  deck,  gazing  upon 
the  calm  surface  of  the  sea,  and  reflecting 
sorrowfully  upon  the  ruinous  indecision  of 
the  czar.  After  a  time  the  vessels  were 
stopped,  and  Peter  summoned  Munich  to 
his  presence.  "Marshal,"  said  he  to  the 
old  man,  "  I  perceive  that  I  was  too  late  in 
following  your  advice  ;  but  you  see  to  what 
extremities  I  am  reduced.  *^You,  who  have 
escaped  from  so  many  dangers,  tell  me,  I 
beseech  you,  what  I  ought  to  do."  "  Pro- 
ceed immediately  to  join  the  squadron  at 
Revel,"  returned  Munich;  "there  take  a 
ship,  go  on  to  Pomerania,  put  yourself  at 
the  head  of  your  army,  return  "to  Russia, 
and  I  promise  you,  that  in  six  weeks  St. 
Petersburg  and  all  the  rest  of  the  empire 
will  be  in  subjection  to  you."  This  sound 
advice  was  frustrated  by  the  fears  of  the 
timid  women  and  the  abject  courtiers,  who 
cried  out,  that  the  rowers  would  never  have 
strength  to  reach  Revel.  "  Well,  then,"  re- 
joined the  generous  Munich,  "we  will  all 
row  with  them."  Peter  was  more  disposed 
to  listen  to  the  representations  of  the  women 
and  the  women-like  men  who  formed  his 
companions.-   They  persuaded  him  that  his 

•  The  unfortunate  czar  conducted  himself  with  an 
utter  absence  of  dignity.  The  Princess  Daschkaw, 
who  saw  this  note,  says—"  He  declared,  in  distinct 
and  express  terms,  his  abdication  of  the  crown  ;  and 
after  naming  some  persons  whom  he  wished  to  ac- 
company him,  he  spoke  of  the  supplies  necessary  for 
his  table,  among  which  he  did  not  forget  to  stipulate 
M  a  plentiful  supply  of  Burgundy,  pipes,  and  to- 


danger  was  not  so  great  as  he  imagined; 
that  Catherine  would  rapidly  come  to  an 
accommodation  with  him ;  and  that  it  was 
better  to  negotiate  than  to  fight.  The  czar 
fell  in  with  this  cowardly  counsel,  and  gave 
directions  to  the  rowers  to  proceed  to 
Oranienbaum. 

Peter  arrived  there  at  four  m  the  morn- 
ing; and,  after  commanding  the  servants 
who  received  him  not  to  mention  his  return 
to  any  one,  shut  himself  up  in  his  apart- 
ments. There  he  wrote  a  submissive  note 
to  the  empress,  acknowledging  his  miscon- 
duct, and  promising  to  share  the  sovereign 
authority  with  her.  Catherine  had  no  in- 
tention  of  sharing  her  newly-acquired  power 
with  any  one ;  she  therefore  detained  the 
messenger,  and  left  the  letter  unanswered. 
At  ten  o'clock  the  emperor  emerged  from 
his  apartments,  and  was  received  with  en- 
thusiastic aff'ection  by  his  Holstein  guards. 
These  faithful  men  shed  tears  of  joy  at 
seeing  him  again;  they  even  kissed  his 
hands  and  embraced  his  kness,  and  begged 
him  to  lead  them  against  the  army  of  the 
empress,  declaring  that,  to  a  man,  they 
were  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in  defence 
of  his.  Brave  old  Marshal  Munich,  also, 
again  strove  to  rouse  the  czar  to  adopt  some 
spirited  course.  "  Come,"  said  he,  "  march 
against  the  rebels.  I  will  go  before  you, 
and  their  swords  shall  not  reach  you  till 
they  have  pierced  my  body." 

The  pusillanimous  and  irresolute  mo- 
narch seemed  incapable  of  taking  any  bold 
course.  Learning  that  the  empress  and 
her  troops  were  still  in  a  hostile  attitude, 
he  ordered  one  of  his  horses  to  be  saddled^ 
with  the  mad  design  of  escaping  alone,  in 
disguise,  towards  the  frontiers  of  Poland. 
He  also  wrote  a  second  and  most  abject 
letter  to  Catherine,  in  which  he  implored 
her  pardon,  offered  to  resign  to  her  the 
crown  of  Russia,  and  only  desired  that  she 
would  grant  him  a  pension,  with  liberty  to 
retire  into  Holstein.*  General  Ismaeloff 
was  the  bearer  of  this  communication ;  and 
he  readily  entered  into  the  service  of  Cathe- 
rine, and  even  allowed  himself  to  be  seduced 
into  an  attempt  to  snare  Peter  into  her 
power.     The  traitor  returned  to  the  czar, 

bacco  r  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  princess,  who 
was  a  woman  of  astonishing  spirit,  and  one  who 
would  have  faced  death  rather  than  submit  to  per- 
sonal indignity,  should  have  added  with  disgust— 
"  But  enough  on  the  subject  of  this  ill-fated  prince, 
whom  nature  had  formed  for  the  lowest  walks  of 
life,  and  whom  fortune  had  unhappily  placed  on  a 
throne." 

247 


Peter's  imprisonment.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1762.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[CATHERINE  SOLE  RULER. 


If 


and  coniured  him   to   abandon  his  troops  I  manner,  to  the  Russian  empire  and  to  the 


and  to  repair  to  the  empress,  assuring  him 
that  he  would  be  well  received,  and  obtain 
all  that  he  desired.  Peter  hesitated;  but  on 
the  assurance  of  IsmaelofF  that  delay  was 
most  prejudicial  to  his  interests,  and  that 
his  life  was  in  danger,  he  entered  a  car- 
riage, and,  accompanied  by  the  Countess 
Vorontzoff,  his  mistress,  and  Gudovitch, 
his  aide-de-camp,  proceeded  to  PeterhoflP, 
where  the  empress  and  her  supporters  were 
staying  for  a  time. 

Peter  trusted  that  he  would  be  enabled 
to  move  the  heart  of  the  empress ;  but  he 
was  not  permitted  to  see  her.     As  his  car- 
riage drove  through  the  ranks  of  the  army, 
most  of  the  men  preserved  a  gloorny  silence, 
while  others  vociferated,  "  Long  live  Cathe- 
rine ;  long  live  the  empress!"     The  hope- 
fulness he  had  encouraged  was  succeeded 
by    despondency,   which    was    greatly    in- 
creased  when  coarae  insults  were  added  to 
neglect.     His  mistress,  on  stepping  out  of 
the  carriage,  was  hurried  away  by  the  sol- 
diers,  who  tore  off  the  riband   and  order 
with  which  she  was  decorated.     Gudovitch 
received  the  insults  of  the  soldiers  with  a 
dignified  tranquillity,  and  reproached  them 
for   their   insolence    and    treason.      As   to 
Peter,  he  was  led  up  the  grand  staircase. 


whole  universe,  that  I  for   ever   renounce 
the  government  of  the  said  empire,  never 
desiring  hereafter  to  reign  therein,  either  as 
an  absolute  sovereign  or  under  any  other 
form    of    government;    never    wishing    to 
aspire  thereto,  or  to  use  any  means,  of  any 
sort,    for    that    purpose      As    a    pledge   of 
which,  I  swear  sincerely,  before  God  and 
all  the  world,  to  this  present  renunciation. 
Written    and    signed    this    29th   of    June 
(o.s.),  1762."     The  imbecile  monarch  was 
thus  worked  upon,  through  the  medium  of 
his  unworthy  fears,  to  become  the  assassin 
of  his  own  reputation ;  for  Catherine  well 
knew  that  although  such  an  extorted  docu- 
ment as  this  would  not  bind  Peter  if  he  had 
the  power  to  disregard  it,  yet  that  it  would 
draw  upon  him  the  contempt  of  the  people, 
and   bury   what  little   was  left  in    him   of 
the  emperor  beneath  a  load  of  self-created 
obloquy.    Peter  appeared  more  composed  in 
mind  after  he  had  signed  the  deed  of  renun- 
ciation, by  which  act  of  submission  he  be- 
lieved  he  had  purchased  the  favourable  con- 
sideration of  the  false  wife  who  had  become 
his  sovereign.     He  was  deceived.     Prudent 
policy  united  in  her  mind  with  bitter  per- 
sonal dislike  towards  him,  and  she  had  no 
intention  of  restoring  him  to  liberty.     The 


and  then  stripped  of  the   imperial   orders   very  evemngofthe  daym  which  he  had  signed 


f 


that  decorated  him,  and  even  of  his  clothes. 
For  some  time  he  remained  in  his  shirt, 
subjected  to  the  outrages  of  a  barbarous 
soldiery.  After  having  robbed  him  of  all 
his  jewellery,  they  threw  an  old  morning 
gown  over  him,  and,  shutting  him  up  in  a 
room   by   himself,  placed   a   guard   at  the 

door. 

There   he   was   waited    upon    by   Count 
Panin,   who,   after   a    conference   of    some 
length,  in  which  he  assured  him  that  the 
empress  would  not  keep  him  long  in  con- 
finement, induced  him   to   write   out   and 
sign  the    following  form   of  abdication: — 
"During  the  short  space  of   my  absolute 
reign  over  the  empire  of  Russia,  I  became 
sensible  that  I  was  not  able  to  support  so 
great  a  burden,  and  that  my  abilities  were 
not  equal  to  the  task  of  governing  so  great 
an  empire,  either  as  a  sovereign,  or  in  any 
other   capacity  whatever.      I  also   foresaw 
the    great    troubles    which    must    thence 
have  arisen,  and  have  been  followed  with 
the  total  ruin  of  the  empire,  and  my  own 

eternal   disgrace.     After  having,  therefore,    ^ .,  ,  . 

seriously  reflected  thereon,  I  declare,  with-   made   so  imprudent  and  ^"P^?^^^^./^  V'^' 
out   constraint,   and    in  the  most    solemn  I  no  longer  than  six  months.     His  wite,  wiin- 

248 


his  abdication,  he  was  removed,  with  a  strong 
escort,  as  a  prisoner,  to  the  castle  of  Ropscha, 
distant  about  twenty  versts  from  Peterhoff. 
No  presentiment  of  coming  danger,  no  fear 
of  secret  assassination  or  of  open  violence, 
seems  to  have  struck  upon  the  mind  of  the 
czar.     He  supposed  that  he  should  shortly 
be  liberated  and  sent  into  Germany.     To 
amuse  himself  during  this  period,  he  sent  a 
message   to   Catherine,   desiring    that    she 
would  permit  him  to  have  a  favourite  negro, 
who  diverted  him  with  his  singularities,  to- 
gether with  a  dog  he  was  fond  of,  his  violin, 
a  bible,  and  a  few  romances ;  at  the  same 
time   teUing    her    that,    disgusted    at    the 
wickedness  of  mankind,  he  was  resolved,  in 
future,  to  devote  himself  to  a  philosophical 
life.     Perhaps  this  modest  application  never 
reached  Catherine;  certainly  it  was  never 
complied  with. 

"Thus,"  it  has  been  observed,  "was  a 
revolution  of  such  immense  importance 
effected  in  one  day,  and  without  shedding  a 
single  drop  of  blood.  The  unfortunate  em- 
peror enjoyed  the  power,  of  which  he  had 


out  any  hereditary  title,  was  sovereign  mis- 
tress of  the  Russian  empire ;  and  the  most 
absolute  power  on  earth  was  now  held  by 
an  elective  monarch." 

Two  manifestoes  were  published  by  the 
empress,  both  filled  with  the  strongest  de- 
clarations of  affection  towards  the  Russian 
people,  their  interests,  and  their  religion; 
and  interspersed  with  such  strains  of  piety 
as  must  have  proved  extremely  edifying  to 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  senti- 
ments of  pure  religion  by  which  great 
princes  are  generally  animated  on  occasions 
of  this  nature.  Enumerating,  in  exag- 
gerated terms,  all  the  faults  of  her  fallen 
husband,  Catherine  observed — "  Inconsider- 
ately and  incessantly  bent  on  pernicious 
regulations,  he  so  alienated  the  hearts  of  his 
subjects,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  single 
person  to  be  found  in  the  nation  who  did 
not  openly  express  his  disapprobation,  and 
was  even  desirous  to  take  away  his  life ; 
but  the  laws  of  God,  which  command  sove- 
reign princes  to  be  respected,  being  deeply 
engraved  on  the  hearts  of  our  faithful  sub- 
jects) restrained  them,  and  engaged  them  to 
wait  with  patience  till  the  hand  of  God 
struck  the  important  blow,  and  by  his  fall 
delivered  an  oppressed  people." 

The  day  after  the  removal  of  the  de- 
throned Peter  to  the  castle  of  Ropscha,  the 
booming  of  cannon  announced  the  trium- 
phal entrance  of  Catherine,  as  an  absolute 
sovereign,  into  St.  Petersburg.  The  citi- 
zens, glad  to  have  escaped  from  the  dangers 
of  a  prolonged  revolution,  and  the  horrors 
of  a  military  struggle,  perhaps,  in  their  very 
streets,  received  her  with  acclamations  which 
were  more  noisy  than  sincere ;  for  Peter 
had  many  friends  in  the  city  who  would 
readily  have  declared  for  him  if  he  had 
been  bold  enough  to  have  made  his  appear- 
ance at  the  head  of  a  small  force  and  de- 
manded their  assistance.  Now,  however, 
the  air  was  filled  with  shouts  and  the  peals 
of  church  bells,  the  strains  of  military 
bands,  and  the  dull  roar  of  cannon,  in 
honour  of  Catherine.  She  well  understood 
the  little  arts  by  which  popularity  is  won. 
Entering  the  city  on  horseback,  she  re- 
turned the  shouts  of  the  crowd  by  giving  her 
hand  to  many  of  the  people  to  kiss.  Near 
the  palace  a  great  number  of  priests  were 
assembled,  and  as  she  passed  by  them,  she 
stooped  to  salute  the  cheeks  of  the  principal 
clergy  while  they  were  kissing  her  hand ;  a 
custom  which  prevailed  in  that  country, 
and  was  significant  of  the  highest  respect. 

VOL.  I.  2  k 


While  the  neglected  Peter  passed  his  time 
in  obscurity,  and  almost  in  solitude,  the 
empress  was  receiving  the  homage  of  the 
principal  nobility,  who  came  flocking  around 
her,  and  even  of  the  members  of  the  little 
court  which  the  dethroned  czar  had  held  at 
Oranienbaum.  Amongst  the  lattfer  was 
the  aged  Munich,  who,  now  no  longer  able 
to  aid  a  master  who  could  not  be  in- 
duced to  help  himself,  came  to  make  his 
peace  with  the  ruling  power.  Catherine, 
on  seeing  him,  called  out,  "  Field-marshal, 
it  was  you,  then,  who  wanted  to  fight  me  ?" 
"Yes,  madam,"  repHed  the  veteran  in  a 
firm  and  manly  tone,  "  could  I  do  less  for 
the  prince  who  delivered  me  from  captivity? 
But  it  is  henceforward  mv  dutv  to  fi^ht  for 
you;  and  you  will  find  in  me  a  fidelity 
equal  to  that  with  which  I  had  devoted  my 
services  to  him." 

For  some  days  Catherine  laboured  inces- 
santly to  ingratiate  herself  with  the  different 
ranks  of  the  people.  She  enchanted  the 
multitude  by  the  sweetness  of  her  smiles 
and  the  condescension  of  her  manners  ;  she 
attended  the  senate,  and  listened  to  the 
causes  that  were  tried  there ;  she  held  her 
court  with  a  graceful  and  easy  dignity  that 
did  much  towards  effacing  the  remembrance 
of  the  means  by  which  she  had  acquired  the 
throne ;  and  she  had  audiences  with  all  the 
foreign  ministers,  during  which  she  ad- 
dressed them  in  the  most  flattering  terms. 
Nor  did  she  forget  the  services  of  the  con- 
spirators who  had  obtained  for  her  the 
sceptre  she  was  so  well  able  to  grasp. 
Panin  was  made  prime  minister;  the  title 
of  count  was  bestowed  upon  both  Gregory 
and  Alexis  Orloff :  and  the  fiurmer,  who  was 
for  the  time  the  favoured  lover  of  the  em- 
press, was  also  appointed  lieutenant-general 
of  the  Russian  armies,  and  chevalier  of  St. 
Alexander  Nevski.  Promotion  was  be- 
stowed upon  many  oflficers  of  the  guards, 
and  four-and-twenty  of  them  obtained  con- 
siderable estates.  The  finances  of  the  em- 
press were  not  sufficient  to  permit  of  any- 
thing further  than  a  distribution  of  brandy 
and  beer  amongst  the  soldiers ;  but  Cathe- 
rine behaved  towards  them  with  the  greatest 
affability.  She  sometimes  even  subjected 
herself  to  restraint  to  please  them.  A  sin- 
gular instance  of  this  occurred  three  days 
after  the  revolution.  A  soldier  who  had 
drunk  himself  into  a  state  of  intoxicated 
sleep,  probably  at  the  expense  of  the  em- 
press, dreamed  that  she  had  been  seized 
and  carried  away.     Starting  up  under  this 

249 


L 


REACTION  IN  FAVOUR  OF  PETER.]     HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1762.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[murder  of  peter  III. 


impression,  he  ran  about  the  barracks  cry- 
ing out  that  the  Holsteiners  and  the  Prus- 
sians had   got  possession  of   the  empress. 
The  alarmed  troops  took  up  arms,  and  hur- 
rying   to    the    palace,    insisted    on   seeing 
her   majesty.      The    hetraan    Rasumoffski, 
on  learning  the  cause  of  the   disturbance, 
made  his  appearance  at  a  window,  and  as- 
sured  the   soldiers  that  the  report  was    a 
false  one,  and  that  the  empress  was  then 
taking   that   repose  which    the   fatigues  of 
the  few  preceding    days   had   rendered   so 
necessan, .     The  soldiers  were  not  satisfied  ; 
they  redoubled  their  clamours,  and  refused 
to  retire  without  seeing  their  imperial  mis- 
tress.    Rasumoffski   therefore  went  to  the 
chamber  of  the  empress,  and  causing  her  to 
be  aroused,  begged  her  not  to  be  frightened. 
"  You  know,"  answered  she  boldly,  "  that  I 
am  frightened  at  nothing :  but  what  is  the 
matter  V     "  The  soldiers  imagine  that  you 
are  not  here,"  was  the  reply ;  "  they  insist 
on   seeing    you."     "Well,   they   must    be 
satisfied,"  responded  Catherine ;  and  hastily 
dressing  herself,  she  called  for  her  carriage, 
and  ordered  it  to  be  driven  to  the  Kasanskoi 
church.     As  the  vehicle  passed  on  through 
the  crowds  of  soldiers,  they  glanced  anxiously 
into  it,  exclaiming,  "  Is  that  indeed  the  em- 
press ?     Is  that  indeed  our  mother  ?"     On 
arriving  at  the  church,  she  showed  herself; 
and  addressing  the  soldiers,  thanked  them 
for   their   solicitude,   and    dismissed    them, 
greatly  satisfied. 

Catherine  not  only  rewarded  her  friends, 
but  she   had   the   policy   to   forgive   those 
whom    she    might   have   regarded   as   her 
enemies.     As   yet  no  blood  was   shed  in 
this  rapid  revolution.     Some  few  of  the  offi- 
cers and  friends  of  Peter  were  forbidden  to 
appear  at  court,  and  three,  including  Gudo- 
vitch,  the  emperor's  aide-de-camp,  were  im- 
prisoned ;  but  there  the  anger  of  the  sove- 
reign stopped.  Peter's  mistress,  the  Countess 
VorontzoH;  who  had  at  first  been  roughly 
treated  by  the   soldiers,    was   sent   to   the 
house   of  her   father.     She   shortly    after- 
wards retired   to   a  country   place   in   the 
neighbourhood  of  Moscow,  and  eventually 
married  a   M.  Palianski,    with   whom   she 
took  up  her  residence  at  St.  Petersburg. 
Catherine  forgot  the  wrongs  of  the  wife  so 
far  as  to  stand  godmother,  in  person,  to  the 
eldest   son   of  this   woman.      Many   years 
afterwards   her   daughter,  also,  was  nomi- 
nated by  the   empress   to   be   one   of  her 
maids  of  honour. 

Peter  III.,  though  he  had  made  himself 
250 


many  enemies,  had  yet  no  small  number  of 
friends  among  the  people,  who  could  not 
long  forget   that    he    had   ever   been  the 
friend  of  the  poor,  and  to  whom  he  was 
perhaps  even   endeared  by  that  very  vul- 
garity of  manners  which  had  disgusted  so 
many   of  his   nobles   and   courtiers.      The 
revolution  had  been  almost  too  rapid  for  its 
endurance,  and  the  safety  of  those  engaged 
in  it.     A  reaction  took  place  in  favour  of 
the  deposed  monarch,  and  his  clemency  was 
remembered,  while  his  vices  were  forgotten. 
The  people  pitied  his  sad  reverse  of  fortune ; 
and,   even   in   the   army,    some   regiments 
murmured,  and  began  to  repent  the  part 
they  had  taken  against  their  lawful  sove- 
reign.    As  to  the  sailors,  they  openly  re- 
proached the   guards   that   they   had    sold 
their  master  for  brandy   and   beer.     Men 
seemed  as  if  aroused  from  a  sense  of  intoxi- 
cation, and,  reflecting  gloomily  upon  what 
had  passed,  they  doubted  the  probity  and 
wisdom  of  their  own  conduct.     It  was  ob- 
served that  many  of  the  citizens  who  had 
been  exceedingly  active  in  the  tumult  of  the 
revolution,  were   seized   with   a   deep   and 
painful  remorse,  and  lamented  the  suffer- 
ings they  had  brought  upon  their  monarch. 
Many  of  the  soldiers,  accusing  themselves 
of  treason  towards   their   deposed   master, 
cursed  those   who  had   led   them  into   it. 
From   abuse    and   imprecations   they   pro- 
ceeded to  blows,  and  several  lives  were  lost 
in  the  furious  altercations  which  took  place. 
It   only   wanted   some    able    and   resolute 
leader  to  have  replaced  Peter  on  the  throne 
from  which,  but  a  few  days  before,  he  had 
been   so    suddenly   precipitated ;    and   the 
minds  of  the  conspirators  were  filled  with 
apprehensions  of  a  new  insurrection. 

While  discontent  prevailed  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, a  still  more  dangerous  state  of  feeling 
existed  among  the  military  at  Moscow.    The 
governor  of  that  ancient  city,  on  hearing  of 
the  revolution  which  had  placed  Catherine 
on  the  throne,  assembled  the  troops  there, 
consisting  of  five  regiments,  in  the  great 
square  before  the  palace  of  the  czars.     He 
at  the  same  time  invoked  the  presence  of 
the    people,   who   assembled    in    immense 
crowds.     Having  read  the  ukase  by  which 
the  empress  announced  her  accession  and 
the  abdication  of  her  husband,  he  shouted, 
"  Long  live  the  empress,  Catherine  II. !" 
No  response  followed  either  from  people  or 
soldiers,  and  a  sullen  and  ominous  silence 
prevailed.     This  was  at  length  broken  by 
1  low  murmurs,  and  then  the  troops,  gaining 


courage,  complained  that  the  regiments  of 
the  guards  hac^  insolently  dared  to  dispose 
of  the  throne.  The  startled  governor  then 
called  upon  the  officers  to  join  the  cry  of 
"  Long  live  the  empress  !"  and,  having  done 
so,  the  multitude  was  dismissed,  and  the 
soldiers  marched  back  to  their  barracks. 

Catherine  felt  much  uneasiness  and  alarm 
at  these  indications  of  popular  feeling,  so 
threatening  to  her  interest.  To  such  an 
extent  was  she  haunted  by  the  spectres  of 
her  imagination  during  this  period,  that 
sleep  scarcely  afforded  her  any  repose ;  and 
several  times  in  the  course  of  the  night  she 
would  quit  her  bed,  and  occasionally  even 
her  palace.  It  was  not  difficult  to  foresee 
to  what  dark  catastrophe  such  a  temper  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  and  such  a  state  of 
mind  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign,  would 
eventually  lead. 

The  deposed  emperor  liad  been  placed  in 
the  custodv  of  Count  Alexis  Orloff  and  the 
two  brothers  Baratinski,  one  of  whom  was 
marshal  of  the  court,  and  the  other  was 
afterwards  sent  as  envoy  from  Russia  to  the 
court  of  France.  Peter  had  been  six  days 
in  his  obscure  retreat,  when  Alexis  Orloff, 
and  an  officer  named  Teploff,  entered  his 
apartment,  assured  him  of  his  speedy  libera- 
tion, and  requested  permission  to  dine  with 
him.  The  unsuspicious  monarch  readily 
consented,  and,  according  to  the  Russian 
custom,  wine-glasses  and  brandy  were 
brought  in  before  dinner.  While  Teploff 
amused  the  czar  with  some  trifling  dis- 
course, Orloff  secretly  poured  some  poison 
into  the  glass  intended  for  the  czar.  Peter 
drank  the  deadly  potion  offered  to  him 
without  mistrust,  and  was  immediately 
seized  with  most  acute  pains.  The  assas- 
sins offered  him  a  second  glass,  saying  that 
it  would  give  him  relief;  but  the  unhappy 
man,  who  then  discerned  their  diabolical 
object,  refused  it,  and  burst  into  reproaches 
against  them.  Racked  with  pain,  he  called 
loudly  for  milk,  when  the  two  monsters 
offered  him  poison  again,  and  urged  him  to 
take  it.  Attracted  by  the  noise,  a  French 
valet,  to  whom  Peter  was  much  attached, 
ran  into  the  apartment  The  czar  threw 
himself  into  the  arms  of  his  servant,  and 
said,  in  a  faint  voice,  "  It  was  not  enough, 
then,  to  prevent  me  from  reigning  in  Sweden, 
and  to  deprive  me  of  the  crown  of  Russia ! 
I  must  also  be  put  to  death !" 

The  valet  interceded  for  his  master,  but 
the  murderers  forced  the  man  from  the 
apartment,  and  renewed  their  ill-treatment 


of  the  czar.  A  struggle  followed,  during 
which  the  younger  of  the  brothers  Bara- 
tinski entered.  Orloff,  who  was  a  man  of 
great  strength,  had  thrown  the  emperor 
on  to  the  ground,  and  was  kneeling  upon 
his  breast  with  both  knees,  while  with  one 
hand  he  firmly  grasped  his  throat.  Peter 
struggled  with  the  force  arising  from  des- 
pair, and  inflicted  a  mark  on  the  face  of 
Baratinski,  which  that  villain  long  retained ; 
but  he  was  rapidly  losing  strength,  when 
the  other  ruffians,  throwing  a  napkin  round 
his  neck,  terminated  his  life  by  strangula- 
tion. 

Some  writers  have  expressed  a  belief  that 
the  empress  Catherine  was  not  implicated 
in  this  revolting  murder ;  but  it  is  difficult 
to  arrive  at  that  conclusion.  Perhaps  the 
crime  was  not  committed  in  consequence  of 
any  command  from  her;  but  the  assassins 
evidently  knew  that  its  commission  would 
be  agreeable  to  her.  The  fact  that  she 
attempted  to  conceal  the  cause  of  her  hus- 
band's death,  and  so  far  from  punishing  the 
murderers,  retained  them  in  her  service 
and  her  favour,  is  sufficient  evidence  that 
she  sanctioned  the  crime,  if  she  did  not 
command  it.  The  Princess  Daschkaw, 
though  evidently  struggling  at  the  time 
with  a  suspicion  she  had  much  difficulty  in 
repressing,  yet  vehemently  denies  that  the 
empress  directed  or  connived  at  the  murder. 
Her  own  language,  however,  shows  that  she 
was  not  so  satisfied  on  this  point  as  she 
desires  her  readers  to  believe.  "  I  was 
shocked,"  she  observed,  ''at  the  news  of 
this  catastrophe — so  indignant  at  such  a 
winding  up  of  this  glorious^  revolution, 
that,  although  I  spurned  the  idea  of  the 
empress  being  in  any  degree  an  accomplice 
in  the  crime  of  Alexis  Orloff,  I  could  not 
bring  myself  to  enter  the  palace  until  the 
following  day.  I  then  found  the  empress 
with  a  dejected  air,  visibly  labouring  under 
much  uneasiness  of  mind.  These  were  her 
words  when  she  addressed  me : — '  My  horror 
at  this  death  is  inexpressible ;  it  is  a  blow 
which  strikes  me  to  the  earth.'  'It  is  a' 
death  too  sudden,  madam,'  replied  I,  '  for 
your  glory,  and  for  mine.' " 

No  sooner  was  the  murder  effected,  than 
Alexis  Orloff  mounted  his  horse,  and  dashed 
off  at  full  speed  to  inform  the  empress  that 
her  husband  had  breathed  his  last.  He 
imparted  the  news  to  her  just  as  she  was 
about   to   make   her   appearance   at  court. 

*  Perhaps  infamous  would  be  a  more  appropriate 
epithet. 

251 


CONDUCT  OF  CATUERINE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1762.1 


KITS  STAN  E^IPIRE.  [character  of  peter  iil 


c: 


m 


She  received  it  tranquilly,  and  then,  shut- 
ting herself  up  with  Panin,  Gregory  OrlofF, 
Rasumoflski,  and  some  other  of  her  minis- 
ters, she  deliberated  with  them  whether  the 
senate  and  the  people  should  be  immediately 
acquainted  with  the  death  of  the  emperor, 
or  the  news  withheld  until  the  following 
day.  The  latter  plan  was  adopted  as  the 
most  prudent  one ;  and  Catherine,  wearing 
her  customary  smiles,  dined  in  public  as 
usual,  and  lield  a  court  in  the  evening. 

The   following   day  it  was   publicly    an- 
nounced that  the  emperor  was  dead.     The 
information  was  communicated  to  the  court 
while  Catherine  was  at  table.     Rising  from 
her  seat,  with  her  eyes  full  of  tears,  she  dis- 
missed her  courtiers  and  the  foreign  minis- 
ters, and,  retiring  to  her  apartment,  appeared 
for  several  days  to  be  plunged  in  the  most 
profound  grief.     During  this  time  she  pub- 
lished the  following  declaration  : — "  By  the 
grace  of  God,   Catherine  II.,  empress  and 
autocratrix,  &c.  *  "^  *  The  seventh  day  after 
our  accession  to  the  throne  of  all  the  Rus- 
sias,  we  received  information  that  the  late 
emperor,  Peter  III.,  by  means  of  a  disorder 
to  which  he  was  subject,  was  attacked  with 
a  most  violent  griping  cholic.     That,  there- 
fore, we  might  not  be  wanting  in  Christian 
duty,  nor  disobedient   to  the  Divine  com- 
mand by  which  we  arc  enjoined  to  preserve 
the  life  of  our  neighbour,  we  immediately 
ordered  that  the  said  Peter  should  be  fur- 
nished with  everything  that  might  be  judged 
necessary  to  prevent  the  dangerous  conse- 
quences of  that  accident,  and  to  restore  his 
health  by  the   aids  of  medicine.     But,  to 
our   great   regret    and   affliction,    we   were 
yesterday    evening    apprised    that,    by   the 
permission  of  the  Almighty,  the  late  em- 
peror departed  this  life.     We   have  there- 
fore ordered  his  body  to  be  conveyed  to  the 
monastery  of  Nevski,  in  order  to  its  inter- 
ment  in   that   place.     At   the    same   time, 
with  our  imperial  and  maternal  voice,  we 
exhort  our  faithful  subjects  to  forgive  and 
forget  what  is  past,  to  pay  the  last  duties  to 
his  body,  and  to  pray  to  God  sincerely  for 
the  repose  of  his  soul;   willing  them,  how- 
ever, to  consider  this  unexpected  and  sudden 
death  as  an  especial  elieet  of  the  providence 
of    God,    whose   impenetrable    decrees    are 
Morking  for  us,  for  our  throne,  and  for  our 
country,    things    known   only  to  His  holy 
will." 

The  body  of  the  murdered  emperor  was 
brought  to   St.  Petersburg,  and   exhibited 
for   three   days   in   ac    open   coffin   in  the 
252 


church  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Alexander 
Nevski.     The  deceased   was  attired  in  his 
Prussian  uniform,  and,   according   to   cus- 
tom, persons  of  all  ranks  were  admitted  to 
kiss  his  hand.     But  even  the  corpse  seemed 
to   bear  silent  witness   to   the   manner  in 
which  the  life  of  the  unfortunate  czar  was 
terminated.     The    face    was    nearly    black; 
extravasated  blood  oozed  through  the  skin, 
and  even  stained  the  gloves  worn  by  the 
body.     So  violent  was  the  poison  adminis- 
tered, that  some  persons  who,  from  motives 
of  affection,  kissed  the  mouth  of  the  dead 
czar,  returned  with  swollen  lips.     Catherine 
and    her   ministers  were    aware   that    such 
dreadful  intimations  might  lead  to   a  dis- 
covery of  the  means  by  which  the  unhappy 
monarch   had    been   deprived   of  life;    but 
they  were  less  interested  in  saving  appear- 
ances,  than  in  preventing   the   excitement 
which  would  have   arisen  in  the  event  of 
a   supposition    getting   abroad   among   the 
people  that  Peter  was  still  living.     On  the 
21st  of  July,  the  very  day  that  the  late  em- 
peror had  fixed  for  his  departure   on   the 
expedition  against  Denmark,  his  body  was 
consigned  to  a   grave   within    the   church ; 
but  no  monument,  or  even  inscription,  was 
placed   to   mark   the   spot.     The   court   of 
Sweden  went  into  mourning  for  him  ;    but 
in   no   other   nation   was   much   sympathy 
shown   for  his   tragic  fate.      The   Russian 
people  pitied  their  murdered  czar;  and  the 
day  of  his  funeral  was  a  melancholy    one 
in    St.  Petersburg.     Masses  of  the  people 
thronged  around  the  church,  and  reproached 
the    soldiers    of    the    guards    with   having 
basely  shed  the  last  drop  of  the  blood  of 
Peter  the  Great. 

The  character  of  Peter  III.  cannot  com- 
mand our  respect,  but  his  dismal  fate  excites 
our  pity.  He  Avas  misplaced  in  life,  and 
had  neither  the  mind  nor  manners  requisite 
for  one  holding  so  exalted  and  highly  respon- 
sible a  station.  Vulgar  in  his  demeanour, 
sensual  in  his  habits,  and  trifling  in  his  be- 
haviour, he  lacked  even  the  ordinary  refine- 
ment of  a  private  gentleman.  It  is  probable 
that  he  gave  way  to  coarse  and  unbecoming 
manners,  and  selected  vulgar  associates  in 
imitation  of  Peter  the  Great;  but  that  illus- 
trious man,  who  redeemed  all  his  vices  by 
far  greater  virtues  as  a  ruler,  could  venture 
on  acts  which  it  was  dangerous  for  common 
men  to  perform.  The  deposed  czar,  though 
painfully  deficient  in  energy  and  resolution, 
and  totally  unable  to  confound  his  enemies 
by  the  exhibition  of  a  commanding  will  that 


would  brook  no  opposition,  or  a  subtle  intel- 
lect capable  of  detecting  and  frustrating 
their  schemes,  yet  had  the  imprudence 
to  effect  with  rapidity  a  change,  with  respect 
to  the  property  of  the  church,  more  sweeping 
than  that  which  his  wise  ancestor  had  con- 
sidered it  well  to  delay  until  the  latter 
phase  of  his  reign.  The  great  wants  of 
Peter  III.  were  the  lack  of  discretion,  bv 
which  he  was  led  into  danger,  and  the  lack 
of  a  courage  which  would  have  extricated 
him  from  it.  During  his  latter  days,  con- 
tempt for  his  cowardice  often  checks  the 
rising  pity  which  we  feel  for  his  misfortunes. 
It  has  been  conjectured  that  he  was  of  un- 
sound mind,  but  we  do  not  think  that  this 
supposition  can  be  at  all  established.  He 
was  mentally  feeble,  and  rather  eccentric; 
but  a  weak  mind  is  not  a  diseased  one ;  nor 
is  the  extravagance  of  conduct  which  arises 
from  w  ant  of  reflection,  and  from  frequent 
intemperance,  to  be  dignified  with  the  name 
of  madness.  Yet  Peter  had  gleams  of  light 
in  the  ordinary  dimness  of  his  mental  facul- 
ties. He  saw  desirable  results,  but  had  no 
clear  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
to  be  arrived  at.  During  his  brief  sway  he 
effected  many  valuable  reforms,  and  it  can- 
not be  doubted  that  he  would  have  accom- 
plished many  more  had  his  reign  been  pro- 
longed. Personally,  he  was  amiable  even  to 
a  fault ;  and  most  of  those  who  composed  his 
more  intimate  circle  of  acquaintance  were 
much  attached  to  him.  His  gentleness  was 
in  excess  for  a  monarch,  for  he  was  deficient 
of  the  sternness  required  to  crush  an  enemy 
or  punish  a  traitor.     His  conduct  to  Cathe- 


rine was,  however,  an  exception  to  the  amia- 
bility of  character  usual  with  him  :  from  the 
first  he  subjected  her  to  occasional  rudeness 
and  neglect,  and  contrived  to  convert  her 
indifference,  first  into  disgust,  and  then 
into  fear  and  hatred.  Yet,  beyond  petty 
vices,  he  committed  no  crime; 'his  inten- 
tions were  benevolent,  though  they  were 
mostly  deformed  by  that  thoughtlessness 
and  utter  want  of  discretion  which  enabled 
a  few  obscure  conspirators  to  hurl  him  from 
his  throne,  and  led  him  to  that  tragic  death 
by  which  he  obtained  a  place  among  those 
illustrious  unfortunates  of  the  earth  who 
must  ever  be  regarded  with  deep  emotions 
of  pity. 

Frederic  of  Prussia,  who  had  foreseen  the 
probable  fate  of  the  unfortunate  Peter  III., 
and  endeavoured,  by  the  frequent  offer  of 
good  advice,  to  prevent  it,  formed  a  tolerably 
accurate  estimate  of  his  character.  Shortly 
after  the  revolution,  the  Prussian  monarch 
thus  wrote  to  Count  Finkenstein,  one  of  his 
favourites  :—'^  The  emperor  of  Russia  has 
been  dethroned  by  his  consort:  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected. That  princess  has  much  good  sense, 
and  the  same  inclinations  as  the  defunct. 
She  has  no  religion,  but  acts  the  devotee. 
It  is  the  second  volume  of  Zeno,  the  Greek 
emperor,  of  his  wife  Adrian  a,  and  of  Mary 
de  Medicis.  The  late  chancellor,  Bestuchef, 
was  her  greatest  favourite,  and  as  he  has  a 
strong  propensity  to  guineas,  I  flatter  myself 
that  the  attachments  of  the  present  period 
will  be  the  same.  The  poor  emperor  wanted 
to  iniitate  Peter  I.,  but  he  had  not  the 
capacity  for  it.^' 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  EMPRESS  CATHERINE  CONFIRMS  THE  PEACE  WITH  PRUSSIA  ;  HER  COROXATIOX  AT  MOSCOW  ;  SHE  REFUSES 
TO  RESTORE  THE  PROPERTY  OF  THE  CHURCH  ;  DANGEROUS  INSURRECTIONS,  AND  INTREPIDITY  OF  THE 
EMPRESS;  GREGORY  ORLOFF  ;  REFORMS  EFFKCTED  BY  CATHERINE,  AND  MILDNESS  OF  HER  ADMINISTRA- 
TION ;  SHE  INVITES  FOREIGNERS  TO  COME  TO  RUSSIA,  AND  PRP:SENTS  THEM  WITH  LAND  ;  COUNT  PANIN 
DESIRES  HER  TO  SURRENDER  HER  ABSOLUTE  POWDER  INTO  THE  HANDS  OF  AN  ARISTOCRATIC  SENATE  ;' 
INTRIGUE  TO  INDUCE  HER  TO  MARRY  HER  FAVOURITE  ORLOFF,  AND  CONSEQUENT  IRRITATION  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  ;  TERMINATION  OF  THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR. 


It  was  supposed  that  the  peace  and  alli- 
ance which  the  late  emperor  had  concluded 
with  Prussia  would  not  long  be  observed  by 
Catherine.  It  was  unpopular  throughout 
the  empire;  and  as  none  of  the  conquests 
which   Peter   had   stipulated  to  restore  to 


Frederic  were  yet  abandoned  by  the  Russian 
troops,  they  might  yet  be  retained  in  the 
event  of  a  renewal  of  hostilities  being  de- 
termined upon.  Catherine  was  tempted  to 
pursue  this  course,  but  chiefly  because  she 
believed  that  Frederic  had  encouraged  the 

253 


POLICY  OF  CATHERINE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1762.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[popular  DISAFFECnOX. 


I      ' 


tiv 


i 


late  emperor  in  the  severe  measures  lie  con- 
templated against  her.  When,  however,  she 
discovered  some  letters  among  the  papers  of 
her  late  husband,  counselling  him  to  act  with 
more  consideration  and  kindness  towards 
liis  consort,  she  abandoned  her  intention  of 
renewing  the  war.  She  was  indeed  fully 
aware  that  the  crown  as  yet  stood  so  loosely 
upon  her  head,  that  it  was  wise  to  confine 
her  attention  for  a  time  almost  entirely  to 
her  own  safety.  She  saw  that  it  was  expe- 
dient to  collect  within  itself  all  the  forces  of 
the  empire,  that  she  should  be  able  to  oppose 
the  designs  of  malcontents  who  might  ven- 
ture on  some  attempt  to  revenge  the  fate  of 
the  late  czar,  or  seek  their  own  advancement 
in  the  tumult  of  a  fresh  revolution.  Under 
these  circumstances,  she  informed  the  minis- 
ters of  the  king  of  Prussia,  "that  she  was 
resolved  to  observe  inviolably,  in  all  points, 
the  perpetual  peace  concluded  under  tlie 
preceding  reign ;  that,  nevertheless,  she  had 
thought  proper  to  bring  back  to  Russia,  by 
the  nearest  roads,  all  her  troops  in  Silesia, 
Prussia,  and  Pomerania." 

Towards  the  empress-queen,  Maria  The- 
resa,   Catherine    behaved    with    coldness. 
Louis  XV.,  of  France,  who  had  calculated 
on  deriving    advantage  from  her   supposed 
attachment  to  his  country,  was  surprised  at 
discovering  that,   notwithstanding  her  ad- 
miration  of  French   literature,    she   mani- 
fested a  feeling  of  aversion  towards  the  court 
of  Versailles.     Mr.  Keith,  the  English  am- 
bassador, though  he  did  not  enjoy  the  same 
freedom  of  access  to  the  empress  to  which 
his   predecessor  was  admitted,  was  treated 
as   the  minister  of  a  friendly  power,    and 
Catherine    soon  renewed  the  treaty  which 
had  given  to  England  the  chief  part  of  the 
commerce  of  Russia.     To  the  king  of  Den- 
mark,   against   whom    the    Russian   troops 
were  on  their  march  at  the  time  of  the  revo- 
lution  by  which   Peter   was   deposed,   she 
gave  the  assurance  that  he  might  make  him- 
self easy  on  the  subject  of  Holstein,  as  it 
was  her  intention  always  to  keep  up  a  good 
understanding   with    liim.     Catherine   was 
wisely  desirous  of  establishing  peace  abroad, 
that  she  might  preserve  it  within  the  em- 
pire, for  she  knew  that  she  had  more  to  fear 
from  her  own  subjects  than  from  foreign 
potentates. 

The  distribution  of  bribes  and  brandy 
among  the  soldiery  at  Moscow  effected  some 
change  in  their  feehngs  towards  the  empress, 
and  it  was  diflacult  for  them  to  refuse  to 
acknowledge  so  liberal  a  sovereign.  Cathe- 
254 


rine,  therefore,  started  for  that  city,  for  the 
purpose  of  celebrating  her  coronation  in  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  empire.  She  took 
with  her,  as  her  attendants,  Gregory  Orloff, 
whose  influence  was  daily  increasing;  the 
old  chancellor,  Bestuchef,  whom  she  had 
recalled  from  exile ;  the  greater  part  of  the 
nobles  who  had  shown  themselves  devoted 
to  her  interest,  the  prmcipal  ladies  of  the 
court,  and  the  younj*  Grand-duke  Paul. 
She  bestowed  the  government  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, during  her  absence,  on  Count  Bruce, 
of  whose  fidelity  she  felt  satisfied ;  while  the 
regiments  of  the  guards,  to  whom,  before 
leaving,  she  gave  further  assurances  of  her 
approbation,  she  left  under  the  command  of 
the  hetman  Rasumoffski  and  Prince  Vol- 
konski,  while  Alexis  Orloff  was  charged  to 
watch  over  all  with  his  usual  activity. 

Catherine  and  her  court  entered  Moscow 
with  great  pomp,   were   she  was,  notwith- 
standing,   received    with    much    coldness. 
Few  acclamations  welcomed  her;  and  those 
shouts  which  were  raised  at  her  appearance 
were  suspected  of  being  purchased.     Silent 
as  the  people  mostly  were  at  the  presence  of 
the  empress,  they  hailed  the  appearance  of 
the  young  Grand-duke  Paul,  and  showed, 
by  the  affection  they  displayed  towards  him, 
their   regret    for    the    misfortunes    of    his 
father.       Catherine    was    crowned     at    the 
chapel  of  the  czars  on  the  22nd  of  Septem- 
ber, in  the  presence  of  the  soldiers  and  the 
court.       She   lavished   the   most    attractive 
flatteries  on  the  archbishop  and  the  priests, 
and  prolonged  festivities  were  held  for  the 
gratification  of  the  people.     She  also  issued 
a  proclamation,  praising  the  troops  that  had 
fought  against  Prussia,  and  awarded  half  a 
year's   pay  to  the  subalterns  and  common 
soldiers  who  had  been  present  at  the  vic- 
tories obtained  over  the  armies  of  that  state. 
Her  friends  also  were  gratified  by  a  number 
of  promotions  and  presents ;   and  the  em- 
press herself  assumed  the  rank  of  colonel  in 
each  of  the  four  regiments   of  life-guards. 
Yet  all  these  arts  did  not  win  the  people  or 
soldiers  into  the  expression  of  any  enthu- 
siasm  ;  and  Catherine  soon  left  Moscow  in 
disgust,  and  returned  to  St.  Petersburg. 

The  empress  had  other  diflficulties  to  sur- 
mount before  she  was  firmly  seated  upon 
the  throne  at  which  she  had  arrived  by 
such  sinister  and  tortuous  ways.  But  she 
felt,  and  soon  proved,  herself  equal  to  the 
dangerous  task.  It  was  not  only  because 
the  priesthood  were  deceived  by  her  habits 
of  assumed  devotion  that  they  had  favoured 


the  revolution  which  deposed  her  husband 
and  placed  the  sceptre  in  her  hand.  They 
expected  to  obtain,  as  a  return  for  their 
services,  the  restoration  of  the  possessions 
of  which  Peter  III.  had  deprived  them ;  and 
they  now  reminded  her  of  the  promises  she 
had  made  to  that  effect.  Catherine  had 
sought  popularity  by  joining  in  the  outcry 
against  the  spoliation  of  the  church ;  but 
still  she  secretly  knew  that  it  was  prudent 
to  reduce .  the  great  wealth  and  conse- 
quent power  of  the  priesthood,  which  had 
been,  and  might  again  be,  employed  against 
the  person  or  interests  of  the  sovereign. 
She  therefore  resolved  to  profit  by  the  very 
deed  she  had  denounced  as  sacrilege :  her 
rash  husband  had  incurred  the  odium  of 
the  act,  and  she  determined  on  reaping  the 
benefit  arising  from  it.  Instead,  therefore, 
of  revoking  the  edict  of  Peter  III.,  she 
referred  it  to  the  examination  of  a  synod, 
composed  of  prelates  whom  she  took  care 
should  be  implicitly  subservient  to  her  will. 
The  opposition  of  the  principal  members  of 
the  clergy  was  then  disarmed  by  the  secret 
distribution  of  heavy  bribes,  and  the  in- 
terests of  the  rest  were  sacrificed. 

The  great  mass  of  the  priests  were  accord- 
ingly actuated  by  a  feeling  of  fury  against 
the  empress;  and  as  they  had  assisted  to 
place  her  on  the  throne,  they  resolved  on 
seeing  if  their  influence  could  not  prevail  to 
hurl  her  from  it.  Wherever  discontent 
existed  among  the  populace,  there  they 
fanned  the  embers  of  sedition,  and  they  suc- 
ceeded, in  some  measure,  in  introducing  an 
insurrectionary  feeling  among  the  soldiers. 
They  declared  that  the  imprisoned  prince, 
Ivan,  was  the  only  lawful  heir  to  the  throne; 
and  they  found,  or,  what  is  far  more  pro- 
bable, forged,  the  copy  of  a  manifesto,  which 
it  was  said  Peter  III.  had  caused  to  be 
drawn  up,  and  then  signed  with  his  own 
hand.  In  it  he  enumerated  all  the  weak- 
nesses and  faults  of  Catherine,  accused  her 
of  adultery,  and  declared  that  he  would  not 
acknowledge  the  young  grand- duke  for  his 
son,  since  he  was  the  fruit  of  the  scandalous 
commerce  of  his  wife  with  Soltikoff.  The 
exasperated  priests  dispersed  copies  of  this 
document  amongst  the  people  and  the  sol- 
diers, of  whom  many  repented  the  part  they 
had  taken  in  the  recent  revolution,  and 
pitied  the  sad  fate  of  a  prince  whose  life 
had  paid  the  penalty  of  his  errors. 

Many  were  soon  disposed  to  avenge  the 
fate  of  one  whom  they  could  not  restore ; 
and  there  was  some  danger  of  a  new  revolu- 


tion. But  Catherine  was  far  more  vigilant 
than  her  ill-fated  husband,  and  her  emis- 
saries quickly  discerned  the  signs  and  the 
sources  of  the  spreading  discontent.  An 
imperial  proclamation  was  issued,  forbid- 
ding the  soldiers  of  the  guards  to  assemble, 
except  on  receiving  orders  to  do  so  from 
their  officers.  Some,  whose  violence  had 
betrayed  them,  were  arrested,  and  suffered 
the  punishment  of  the  knout,  or  were 
banished  to  Siberia.  As  an  intimation  to 
the  priesthood,  the  empress  also  dismissed 
the  Archbishop  of  Novgorod  from  the  court, 
and  he  retired,  with  a  heart  bursting  with 
rage,  to  the  clergy,  who  hated  him  for 
having  sold  their  interests.  Several  of  the 
officers  and  courtiers  also  experienced  the 
displeasure  of  Catherine,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  retire  from  their  posts. 

But  the  spirit  of  insurrection,  though 
encountered,  was  not  suppressed.  The 
priests  were  still  active  in  exciting  discon- 
tent among  the  people  and  the  soldiery. 
They  were  so  far  successful,  that  great  dis- 
turbances prevailed  in  the  barracks;  and  the 
danger  became  so  serious,  that  for  a  whole 
day  it  was  regarded  as  probable  that  the 
empress  would  experience  a  fate  similar  to 
that  of  her  husband.  But  the  high  spirit 
of  Catherine  never  forsook  her ;  and  with- 
out calling  her  council,  she  took  private 
measures  for  calming  the  revolt.  On  her 
ministers  testifying  their  uneasiness,  she 
spoke  to  them  with  great  confidence,  and 
with  a  dignity  that  was  peculiar  to  her. 
"Why  are  you  alarmed?"  she  inquired. 
"  Think  you  that  I  am  afraid  to  face  the 
danger,  or  rather,  are  you  afraid  that  I 
know  not  how  to  overcome  it  ?  Recollect 
that  vou  have  seen  me,  in  moments  more 
terrible  than  these,  in  full  possession  of  the 
whole  vigour  of  my  mind ;  and  that  I  can 
support  the  most  cruel  reverses  of  fortune 
with  as  much  serenity  as  I  have  supported 
her  favours.  A  few  factious  spirits,  a  few 
mutinous  soldiers,  are  to  deprive  me  of  a 
crown  that  /  accepted  with  reluctance,  and 
only  as  the  means  of  delivering  the  Russian 
nation  from  the  miseries  with  which  it  was 
threatened  !  I  know  not  with  what  pre- 
tence thev  colour  their  insolence ;  I  know 
not  on  what  means  they  rely ;  but,  I  say  it 
again,  they  cause  me  no  alarm.  That  Pro- 
vidence which  has  called  me  to  reign,  will 
preserve  for  me  the  glory  and  the  happiness 
of  the  empire;  and  that  Almighty  arm 
which  has  hitherto  been  my  defence,  will 
now  confound  my  foes." 

255 


FIRMNESS  OF  CATHERINE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1762. 


A.D.  1763.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [Catherine  invites  immigrants. 


I    I 


The  two  Orloffs  were  incessantly  active 
in   pacifying   the   guards   by  presents    aiid 
promises ;  and  when  they  had  succeeded  in 
reducing  the  prevalent  irritation,  four-and- 
twenty  of  the  disaffected  oflficers  were  ar- 
rested  and  placed  on   their  trial   for  lii^h 
treason.    Four  of  them  were  declared  guilty, 
and  conaemned  to  be  quartered;  but  Cathe- 
rine, who  desired   rather   to  awe  than   to 
punish,  mitigated  the  terrible  sentence  into 
banishment  to  Siberia,  though,  prior  to  their 
expatriation,  the  offenders  were  scourged  by 
the  hand  of  the  common  executioner.    Com- 
bining   policy  with    firmness,  the  empress 
stooped  to  soothe  the  most  dangerous  of  the 
priests,  and   contrived  to    stop   the   cabals 
of  the   monks.       The   soldiers   and  people 
soon  discovered  that  they  were  ruled  by  a 
vigorous  hand,  and  they  learned,  first  sub- 
mission, and  eventually  admiration.     Cathe- 
rine delighted  the  young  and  gay  among  her 
courtiers  by  her  attachment  to  pleasure;  and 
the  older  and  more  grave  of  them  by  her  devo- 
tion to  the  business  of  the  state.    She  assisted 
at  all  the  deliberations  of  the  council;  read 
the  despatches  from  her  ambassadors ;  dic- 
tated the  answers  that  were  to  be  sent  to 
them  ;  and  took  every  pains  to  observe  that 
her  commands  were  executed.     Aiming  at 
the  acquisition  of  fame  as  well  as  that  of 
power,    she   contemplated    the   example    of 
those    illustrious    monarchs    who,    by    the 
grandeur    of    their     actions,     effaced    the 
memory  of  their  crimes  or  follies.     She  saw 
that  elevation  of  purpose  and  firmness  of 
execution  were  essential  to  the  character  of 
a  *^reat  ruler.     "  We  should  be  constant  in 
ou^i'  plans,''  she  would  observe;  "it  is  better 
to    do    amiss    than   to   alter   our    purpose. 
None  but  fools  are  irresolute.'^ 

Among  the  courtiers  who  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  the  empress  was  her  friend, 
as  she  called  her,  the  Princess  Daschkaw. 
A   mutual    aversion   existed    between    this 
lady  and   the  two    Orloffs,  who   doubtless 
misrepresented  her  to  Catherine.     The  era- 
presshad  refused  to  the  princess  the  title 
of    colonel    in    the   Presbrazinski    guards, 
which  carried  with  it  certain  social  distinc- 
tions   she    was    anxious   to   possess.      The 
princess  murmured  at   the   ingratitude   of 
her  imperial  mistress,  to   whose    cars   her 
complaints  were  carried.     The  latter  first 
warned  the  princess,  and   afterwards  kept 
her  at  a  distance.     Desirous  of  throwing  as 
much  light  as  possible  on  the  interesting 
subject  of  the  personal  character  of  Cathe- 
rine,  we   will   quote   a  passage   from    the 
256 


Memoirs  of  the  princess,  having  reference  to 
this  period  : — "  As  the  days  of  my  illusions," 
she  observes,  "  respecting  the  friendship  of 
sovereigns   are   about  to  cease,  I   may  be 
allowed  to  dwell  a  moment  longer  on  the 
recollection  of  those  hours  of  intimacy  which 
the  fascinating  powers  of  the  empress  could 
often    diversify    with    the    sportiveness    of 
childhood    itself.      I    was    enthusiastically 
fond  of  music,  but  she  was  far  from  being 
so;    and    Prince    Daschkaw,   though   with 
some  taste  for  it,   was   as  little  of  a  per- 
former as  the  empress.     She  was,  neverthe- 
less, fond  of  hearing  me  sing;    and  some- 
times, when  I  had  done,  secretly  passing  a 
sign  across  to  Prince  Daschkaw,  she  would 
gravely  propose  a  duet ;  which  she  used  to 
call  the  music  of  the  spheres,  and  which, 
without   either    of   them    knowing  how   to 
sing  a  note,  they  both  performed  in  concert. 
A  sudden  burst  of  the  most  exalted   and 
ridiculously  discordant  tones  was  the  conse- 
quence ;    one    seconding    the    other   with 
scientific  shrugs,  and  all  the  solemn,  self- 
complacent  airs  and  grimaces  of  musicians. 
From   this,  perhaps,  she  passed  to  the  cat 
concert,  and  imitated  the  purring  of   poor 
puss  in  the  most  droll  and  ludicrous  manner, 
always  taking  care  to  add  appropriate  half- 
comic,    half-sentimental   words,    which    she 
invented  for  the  occasion ;  or  else,  spitting 
like  a  cat  in  a  passion,  with  her  back  up, 
she  suddenly  boxed  the  first  person  in  her 
way,  making  up  her  hand  into  a  paw,  and 
mewing    so    outrageously,   that   instead    of 
the  great  Catherine,  nothing  but  the  wrongs 
of  a  grimalkin  remained  upon  one's  mind. 
I  really  believe  there  never  was  any  one  in 
the  world,  and  certainly  never  any  sovereign, 
who  equalled  her  in  the  magic  versatility  of 
her  mind,  the  exhaustless  variety  of   her 
resources,  and,  above  all,  the  enchantment 
of  her  manner ;  that  in  itself  could  give  a 
lustre  to  the  commonest  words  and  most 
trifling  matters." 

Catherine's  Polish  lover,  Poniatowski,  had 
kept  up  a  correspondence  with  her ;  while 
she,  on  her  part,  aff'ected  a  romantic  con- 
stancy in  her  attachment  towards  him. 
Delighted  at  the  exaltation  of  the  empress 
to  the  throne,  he  advanced  to  the  frontiers 
of  Poland,  and  requested  the  permission  of 
her  majesty  to  pay  a  visit  to  her  court. 
Catherine,  who  had  long  transferred  her 
favours  to  Gregory  Orloff",  answered  that  his 
presence  was  not  necessary  at  St.  Peters- 
bursc,  and  that  she  had  diff'erent  views  in 
his  ^behalf.     Yet,  unwilling  that  he  should 


be  informed  of  her  new  connections,  she 
continued  to  write  to  him  in  an  affectionate 
style,  and  sometimes  even  carried  her  dis- 
simulation so  far,  as  to  shed  tears  when  in 
the  presence  of  his  confidants.  Orloff", 
however,  had  no  scruples,  and  no  longer 
concealed  the  intimacy  which  existed  be- 
tween him  and  tliC  empress.  As  he  did 
not  now  fear  the  result  of  the  discovery  of 
his  amour,  he  would  not  submit  to  any 
inconvenient  precaution  to  prevent  its  dis- 
closure. Coarse  in  his  manners,  he  even, 
wlien  in  his  cups,  boasted  of  his  influence 
over  the  empress,  and  his  power  in  the 
state.  Such  was  the  arrogance  of  this  man, 
and  the  favour  with  which  she  regarded 
him,  that  she  even  permitted  insolence  from 
liim  to  pass  by  unregarded.  One  evening, 
when  he  w'tis  at  supper  with  the  empress, 
the  hetman  Rasumoffski,  and  some  others 
of  the  court,  he  talked  of  the  influence  he 
had  over  the  guards,  and  boasted  of  his 
having  solely  brought  about  the  revolution  ; 
adding,  "  that  his  power  was  so  great,  that  if 
he  chose  to  abuse  it,  he  could  in  one  month 
destroy  his  own  work,  and  dethrone  the 
empress."  The  courtiers  looked  offended, 
and  the  hetman  thus  rebuked  the  braggart; — 
**  You  might  do  so  in  one  month ;  but,  my 
friend,  within  a  fortnight  afterwards  we 
should  have  hanged  you  !"  Catherine  did 
not  resent  Orloff*'s  rudeness  :  she  knew  the 
value  of  his  services;  and  the  attachment 
which  commenced  in  aff'ection,  and  still  had 
an  influence  over  her,  she  maintained  in- 
violate through  policy. 

When  early  dangers  were  past,  the  em- 
press did  not  relax  her  eff'orts  for  the  con- 
ciliation of  her  subjects.  Most  of  the  re- 
forms that  Peter  III.  decreed,  she  sanctioned 
and  caused  to  be  carried  into  execution. 
She  confirmed  the  abolition  of  the  secret 
inquisition  chancery,  and  commanded  that 
all  its  acts  should  be  brought  into  the 
senate,  "  and  there  sealed  up  in  the  archives 
consigned  to  everlasting  oblivion."  She 
also  ordained  that  torture  should  never  be 
employed  in  the  examination  of  criminals. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  Catherine, 
with  all  her  faults,  was  not  a  severe  or  cruel 
sovereign:  a  spirit  of  mildness  was  usually 
exercised  in  the  administration  of  the  laws ; 
Hud  throughout  her  reign,  the  punishment 
of  death  was  rarely  inflicted.  She  devoted 
herself  with  great  assiduity  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  her  vast  estates,  the  advancement 
i'\'  commerce,  the  augmentation  of  the  navy, 
and  to  the  means  of  recoverinjr  the  finances 


VOL.   I. 


2l 


of  the  empire  from  those  derangements  into 
which  they  had  fallen.  She  published  a 
manifesto,  assuring  foreigners  that  they 
should  find  welcome  and  support  in  her 
dominions,  and  instituted  a  court  especially 
for  their  protection.  She  pointed  out  to 
them  unoccupied  districts  adapted  for  culti- 
vation, and  offered  free  lands,  suflficient  for 
some  hundred  farms,  to  foreigners  who 
would  come  to  Russia  and  cultivate  them. 
Not  agriculturists  alone.  Out  merchants, 
artificers,  and  workmen  of  any  kind  were 
invited.  The  proclamation  is  in  some  re- 
spects curious;  and  the  example  of  the  em- 
press might  be  advantageously  followed  by 
some  states  in  Europe,  and  especially  in  Asia, 
at  the  present  time.  The  document  set  forth, 
that  "  any  one  who  is  destitute  shall  receive 
money  for  the  expenses  of  the  journey,  and 
shall  be  forwarded  at  the  charge  of  the 
crown.  On  his  arrival,  he  shall  receive  a 
competent  assistance;  and,  if  he  want  it, 
even  an  advance  of  a  capital,  free  of 
interest  for  ten  years.  All  that  he  brings 
for  his  own  use  is  dutv  free  ;  even  for  sale, 
a  family  may  introduce  to^the  value  of  300 
roubles.  The  stranger  is  exempt  from  all 
service,  either  military  or  civil ;  even  from 
all  taxes  and  imposts  tor  a  certain  time:  in 
Moscow,  St.  Petersburg,  and  the  Livonian 
towns,  he  enjoys  five  free  years;  in  the 
inland  towns,  ten ;  on  the  hitherto  unculti- 
vated districts,  thirty.  In  these  new  tracts 
of  land,  the  colonists  live  according  to  their 
own  good-will,  under  their  own  jurisdiction, 
without  any  participation  or  cognizance  of 
the  imperial  officers.     All  religions  are 

TOLERATED." 

This  proclamation  was  the  cause  of  au 
extensive  immigration,  chiefly  from  the 
German  states,  though  settlers  came  also 
from  Poland,  Sweden,  and  even  from  France. 
Thousands  of  Germans,  dissatisfied  with 
their  government  and  the  religion  to  which 
they  were  forced  to  conform,  hastened  to  ac- 
cept the  invitation  of  the  empress.  Obscure 
literary  men,  artificers,  mechanics,  projectors, 
vagabonds,  and  beggars,  old  and  young,  set 
out  in  haste  to  take  ship  at  Llibeck  and  other 
Baltic  ports.  Some  of  the  petty  sovereigns 
of  Germany  issued  prohibitions  against 
these  emigrations,  which  they  regarded  with 
a  jealous  and  uneasy  feeling,  forgetful  that, 
in  many  instances,  it  was  their  misgovern- 
ment  which  had  driven  their  subjects  to 
seek  a  home  in  a  foreign  land.  But  after 
manv  thousand  families  had  settled  in  Rns- 
sia,  the  movement  received  a  check  by  the 

257 


m 


f\ 


COURT  OF  TlIE  EMPRESS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1763. 


A.D.  1763.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [scheme  of  count  panin. 


{■ 


!     W 


reports  sent  back  by  the  colonists   them- 
selves.     Starting  with  inordinate  expecta- 
tions, they   naturally   experienced    a    sense 
of  disappointment.      Ignorant  of  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  feeling  the  want  of 
their  customary  accommodation,  and  some- 
times exposed  to  the  harshness  of  persons  in 
onice,  many  repented   the    step   they  had 
taken.     Others,  who  only  wanted  to  live  in 
idleness,  wondered  that  they  were  to  begin 
again  to  work,   as  it  was  exactly  on  thtit 
very  account  that  they  had  abandoned  their 
native   country.     Catherine,   however,  suc- 
ceeded in  planting  a  population  in  districts 
which  had  been  hitherto  uninhabited  ;  and 
although  many  of  the  new-comers  were  but 
the  offscourings  of  neighbouring  states,  and, 
perhaps,  never  became  indnstrious  and  esti- 
mable subjects,  yet,  in  the  next  generation, 
they  probably  became  respectable,  and,  in 
the  one   following,  were   merged  into  the 
general  population  of  the  empire.     Cathe- 
rine also  encouraged  many  tribes  from  the 
east  of   Europe  and  from  Asia,  who  were 
dissatisfied  with  their  position  or   govern- 
ments, to  come  and  settle  in  her  dominions. 
Fully  aware  that  the  latent  power  of  Rnssia 
could  only  be  developed  as  its  population 
increased,  and  also  with  a  view  to  eradicate 
n  physical  and  moral  cause  of  depopulation, 
she  erected  a  foundling  and  lying-in  hos- 
pital at  Moscow,  and  also  another  at  St. 
Petersburg.     In  the  November  of  the  year 
ill  which  she  ascended  the  throne  (1762), 
she  also  founded   the  medicinal  college  of 
the  empire  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Catherine  had  a  correct  estimate  of  her 
own  peculiar  talents,  and  of  the  influence 
she  was  likely  to  exercise  on  the  empire  and 
on  Europe.     In  conversing  with  a  foreign 
minister  who  had  complimented  her  on  her 
political  sagHcitv,  she  observed— "You  think, 
then,  that  Europe  has,  at  present,  its  eyes 
fixed  on  me,  and  that  I  have  some  weight 
in    the    principal    courts?"      The    answer 
could  not  fail  to  be  in  the  affirmative.     "  I 
believe,  indeed,"  she  continued,  with  that 
miperial  dignity  of  manner  which  she  could 
assume  with    so  much  ease,  "that   Russia 
merits  attention.     1  have  the  finest  army  in 
the  world.     I  am  rather  short  of  money,  it 
is  true;    but  I    shall   be   abundantly  pro- 
vided with  it  in  a  few  years.     If  I  gave  the 
reins  to  ray  incUnation,   I  should   have  a 
greater  taste  for  war  than  for  peace ;  but  I 
am   restrained    by   humanity,  justice,    and 
reason.     However,  I  shall  not  be  like  the 
empress  Elizabeth.     I  shall  not  allow  my- 
258 


self  to  be  pressed  to  make  war.  I  shall 
enter  upon  it  when  it  will  prove  advan- 
tageous to  me;  but  never  from  complai- 
sance to  others.''  Catherine  added,  that 
the  world  could  not  properly  begin  to  form 
a  judgment  of  her  until  five  years  had 
elapsed,  as  it  required  at  least  that  time  to 
reduce  her  empire  to  order,  and  to  gather 
the  fruit  of  her  care. 

The    empress   was    frequently   reminded 
that  the  people  had  not  forgotten  the  tragic 
death  of  her  unhappy  husband.     Petty  con- 
spiracies frequently  broke  out;  and  although 
they   were   detected    and    defeated    by   the 
vigilance  of  her  government,  yet  Catherine 
knew  that  it  was  impossible  to  remove  the 
cause  of  them,  and  she  frequently  suffered 
much  uneasiness  in  consequence.     Anxious 
to  conciliate  her  people,  and  to  cause  them 
to  forget  the  past,  she  neglected  no  means 
of    winning     their     attachment.      Though 
generous   by  nature,  she  was  still  more  so 
by  policy.     She   also  acted  with   kindness 
to  the  friends  of  the  deceased  emperor,  and 
released  from  prison  those  few  of  his  imme- 
diate adherents  who  had  been  sent  there  on 
account  of  their  exertions  in  his  favour. 

Another  source  of  grief  to  the  empress 
was,   that   the    most   distinguished    of    the 
Russian  nobles  held  aloof  from  her  court. 
Disgusted  with  the    arrogance  of  Gregory 
Orloff,  and  jealous  of  his  influence  over  the 
empress,  they  would  not  mix  in  an   arena 
where  he  was  paramount.     The  courtiers  ot 
Catherine  were  mostly  rough  soldiers  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  conspiracy,  and  now 
abused  the  claims  they  imagined  they  had 
to  her  gratitude.     She  would  willingly  have 
dismissed  many  of  them  from  her  presence, 
but  that  she  knew  not  how  soon  and  how 
urgently  she   might  require   their  services. 
Occasionally  she  blushed   at  the  deference 
she  felt  compelled   to  show  them  ;   and  to 
excuse   their   defects   of  manners,   she   at- 
tributed   to   them    a   fidelity    wliich    many 
were    far    from    possessing.      "The    life  I 
lead  is  far  from  agreeable  to  me,"  said  she 
one  day ;  "  I  know  that  I  am  surrounded 
by  people  of  no  education  ;  but  that  I  am 
indebted    to  them    for    being  what  I   am. 
They  are  men  of  courage  and  probity,  and 
I  am  sure  that  they  will  never  betray  me." 

Count  Panin  was  almost  the  only  one  of 
the  courtiers  of  Catherine,  at  this  time,  who 
was  distinguished  by  polished  manners  and 
a  cultivated  mind.  But  Panin  injured  his 
influence  with  the  empress  by  preferring  his 
own  ambition  to  her  interests.      He    had 


/ 


desired  Peter  III.  to  place  the  real  power  of 
the  empire  in  the  hands  of  an  aristocratic 
senate,  and  to  resign  the  absolute  power 
which  was  supposed  to  reside  in  the  hands 
of  the  czar.  Panin's  scheme  would  have 
rendered  the  nobles  independent  of  the 
sovereign,  and  have  placed  the  people  under 
the  rule  of  many  tyrants  instead  of  one ; 
yet  he  endeavoured  to  induce  Catherine  to 
adopt  it.  Observing,  one  day,  that  she 
laboured  under  some  anxiety  in  conse- 
quence of  the  dangers  to  which  her  position 
exposed  her,  he  took  the  opportunity  of 
explaining  to  her  the  principles  of  the 
system  of  government  which  he  desired  to 
see  established.  "  The  sovereigns  of  this 
empire,"  he  remarked,  "  have  hitherto  uni- 
formly enjoyed  an  unlimited  power ;  but  it 
is  the  very  extent  of  that  power  which  ren- 
ders it  dangerous  to  him  in  whom  it  is 
lodged,  sinc5^  it  may  at  any  time  be  usurped 
by  some  bold  pretender,  and  the  usurper  is 
thenceforth  above  the  laws.  Trust  me, 
madam,  make  the  sacrifice  of  an  absolute 
authority.  Create  a  fixed  and  permanent 
council,  which  will  secure  to  you  the  crown. 
Solemnly  declare  that  you  renounce,  for 
yourself  and  for  your  successors,  the  power 
of  depriving  at  pleasure  the  members  of 
that  august  body.  Declare,  that  if  they 
commit  any  crime  or  high  misdemeanor, 
their  peers  alone  shall  have  the  right  to 
judge  and  to  condemn  them,  on  accurate 
and  severe  informations.  From  the  mo- 
ment you  shall  adopt  this  prudent  measure, 
it  will  be  forgotten  that  you  obtained  the 
crown  by  violence,  in  the  sentiment  that 
you  intend  to  preserve  it  only  by  justice." 
Catherine  was  at  first  pleased  with  the 
novelty  of  the  idea,  and  the  hope  that,  by 
adopting  it,  she  would  render  her  name 
illustrious,  and  conciliate  the  love  of  her 
subjects.  She  told  her  minister  to  commit 
his  plan  to  paper,  and  implied  that  she  might 
probably  adopt  it.  Reflection,  however,  con- 
vinced her  that  to  do  so  would  be  to  divide 
the  authority  it  had  cost  her  so  much  to  ac- 
quire, and  which  she  would  never  recover  if 
she  once  suffered  to  be  taken  from  her.  In 
a  subsequent  interview  with  Panin,  she 
praised  him  for  his  zeal  in  her  service,  but 
said  that  it  was  impossible  she  could  adopt 
his  suggestions.  "  If  the  empress  is  deter- 
mined to  rule  alone,"  said  the  disappointed 
minister  to  his  friends,  "  you  will  see  what  a 
sad  reign  we  shall  make  of  it."  But  Panin 
had  not  yet  formed  a  correct  estimate  of  the 
abilities  of  his  imperial  mistress 


Before  long,  Catherine  had  another  dan- 
gerous proposal  made  to  her,  which,  also, 
she  had  the  discretion  to  decline.  The 
aged  ex-chancellor,  Bestuchef,  with  the  ol)- 
ject  of  rendering  himself  of  more  impor- 
tance in  the  state,  and  probably  sinking 
into  dotage,  informed  the  favourite  Orloff 
that  he  should  be  glad  to  see  him  emperor. 
With  all  the  subtle  eloquence  he  possessed, 
the  old  statesman  urged  his  listener  to 
aspire  to  the  hand  of  his  mistress.  "  She 
knows,"  he  observed,  "  with  how  much  zeal 
and  intrepidity  you  have  acted  in  her  ser- 
vice. She  knows  from  what  dangers  you 
freed  her  to  invest  her  with  a  sovereign 
power.  She  cannot,  then,  worthily  reward 
you  but  by  giving  you  a  share  in  that 
throne  which  she  owes  to  your  prowess. 
Indeed,  why  should  she  refuse  it  ?  Who  is 
better  able  than  you  to  support  that  throne 
against  all  attempts  of  conspirators  to  over- 
turn it  ?  Who  would  be  more  agreeable  to 
the  sovereign  in  the  twofold  capacity  of  her 
admirer  and  her  defender  ?"  Orloff  was 
delighted,  and,  embracing  the  ex-chancellor, 
promised  to  do  whatever  he  desired. 

Bestuchef  soon  sounded  the  empress  on 
the  subject ;  but  Catherine  answered,  that 
even  if  she  was  inclined  to  favour  the  pro- 
posal, she  could  never  resolve  on  taking  a 
step  that  might  meet  with  so  many  difficul- 
ties. To  obviate  these,  the  ex-chancellor 
proposed  a  petition  in  the  name  of  the  Rus- 
sian empire,  in  which,  after  eulogising  all 
that  the  empress  had  done  for  the  happi- 
ness of  her  people,  he  referred  to  the  feeble 
constitution  of  the  young  Grand-duke  Paul, 
and  the  anxieties  caused  by  the  frequent 
alterations  in  his  health,  and  conjured 
Catherine  to  give  the  empire  an  additional 
testimony  of  her  love,  by  sacrificing  her 
own  liberty  to  its  welfare  in  taking  a  hus- 
band. Perhaps,  notwithstanding  its  ob- 
vious imprudence,  Catherine  might  have 
been  disposed  to  accede  to  the  design  ;  for 
she  induced  Maria  Theresa,  the  empress- 
queen,  to  dignify  Orloff  by  the  grant  of  a 
diploma  of  prince  of  the  empire,  which  it 
was  her  own  intention  to  follow  up  by 
decorating  him  with  the  titles  of  Duke  of 
Ingria  and  of  Carelia. 

The  ex-chancellor  presented  the  petition 
to  the  clergy,  and  induced  twelve  bishops  to 
put  their  signatures  to  it,  specifying  that 
the  empress  ought  not  to  marry  Prince 
Ivan  (whom  Bestuchef  had  artfully  pro- 
posed as  her  husband,  merely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  at  first  concealing  his  object),  and 

259 


SUSPECTED  CONSPIRACIES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1763. 


A.D.  1763.] 


n 


f  1 


M 


addinjij  a  request  that  her  majesty  would 
condescend  to  choose,  from  among  her  own 
subjects,  him  whom  she  might  deem  most 
worthy  to  participate  in  her  throne.  A 
great  number  of  general  officers  adhered  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  bishops ;  but  when 
Bestnchef  made  known  his  proposition  to 
the  chancellor  Vorontzoff,  the  latter  inter- 
rupted him  by  saying,  "  By  what  conduct 
have  I  merited  the  degradation  of  such  a 
confidence  as  you  now  dare  to  propose/' 
Then,  leaving  the  room,  he  ordered  his  car- 
riage, and  hurrying  to  the  empress,  remon- 
strated with  her  against  the  indecency  and 
danger  of  such  a  proceeding,  advising  her 
to  retain  OrlofF,  if  such  was  her  pleasure, 
as  her  lover,  and  to  load  him  even  with 
riches  and  honours ;  but  not  to  think  for  a 
moment  of  a  marriage  which  could  only 
disgrace  herself  and  the  nation.  Catherine 
probably  saw  the  peril  of  the  step  which,  it 
appears,  she  contemplated,  and  answered, 
"I  never  authorised  that  intriguing  old 
man  to  do  what  he  has  done ;  and  as  to 
yourself,  I  discover  in  the  frankness  and 
loyalty  of  your  conduct,  too  much  attach- 
ment to  my  person  ever  to  mistake  its 
motive."  Count  Panin  and  the  hetman 
Rasumoffski  gave  similar  advice  to  the 
empress,  and  its  wisdom  was  soon  ap- 
parent ;  for  the  project  of  the  marriage 
having  transpired,  the  populace,  in  the 
utmost  indignation,  tore  down  one  of  the 
images  of  the  empress,  and,  after  publicly 
whipping  it,  dashed  it  to  pieces. 

Catherine  was  not  displeased  with  Bestn- 
chef, nor  pleased  at  the  interference  of  the 
chancellor  Vorontzoff.  Indeed,  the  latter 
was  treated  both  by  her  and  Orloff  with 
such  marked  coldness,  that,  under  pretext 
of  failing  health,  he  asked  and  obtained 
permission  to  travel  abroad  for  two  years. 
The  empress  feigned  a  regret  at  his  de- 
parture, and  paid  great  respect  to  him 
when  in  public,  desiring  him  to  hasten  his 
return  to  resume  the  functions  of  an  ad- 
ministration which,  she  said,  he  filled  so 
successfully  for  the  happiness  of  the  empire. 

The  empress  had  much  difficulty  in 
silencing  the  murmurs  which  her  rumoured 
marriage  with  Orloff  had  occasioned.  A  bold 
attempt  was  even  made  to  seize  the  person 
of  the  latter.  A  guard  stood  at  the  door 
of  his  bedchamber,  and  one  of  the  sen- 
tinels was  induced  by  a  bribe  to  consent  to 
deliver  him,  while  asleep,  into  the  hands  of 
three  of  the  conspirators.  Fortunately  for 
the  favourite,  a  mistake  was  made  in  the 
200 


hour;  and  when  the  latter  presented  them- 
selves, the  sentinel  who  was  their  accom- 
plice had  been  relieved  by  another.  On 
seeing  three  strangers  about  to  enter  into 
Orloff's  chamber,  the  man  gave  the  alarm  ; 
other  soldiers  soon  arrived  on  the  spot,  ancl 
the  conspirators  had  only  time  to  escape 
under  cover  of  the  uniform  they  wore. 
Catherine  was  alarmed ;  and  reports  of 
plots  were  constantly  brought  to  her  ears. 
Count  Panin  and  the  hetman  Rasumoffski, 
and  even  her  once  intimate  friend  the 
Princess  Daschkaw,  were  suspected  of  being 
implicated  in  them.  The  empress  contem- 
plated the  arrest  of  them  all ;  but  having 
no  evidence  against  them  on  which  she 
could  rely,  and  fearing  to  incur  further 
odium  by  an  ill-timeJ  severity,  she  thought 
it  better  rather  to  act  the  part  of  the  fox 
than  the  lion,  and  to  conciliate^those  whom 
she  could  not  venture  to  crush.* 

The  empress  knew  that  the  Princess 
Daschkaw,  notwithstanding  her  high  spirit 
and  her  great  abilities,  was  both  precipitate 
and  imprudent.  She  therefore  trusted  to 
be  able  to  draw  from  her  some  information 
which  would  clear  up  her  doubts.  With 
this  view,  she  addressed  a  long  letter  to 
her,  lavishing  upon  her  many  tender  epi- 
thets, and  conjuring  her,  in  the  name  of 
friendship,  to  reveal  to  her  what  she  knew 
of  the  recent  conspiracies,  assuring  her,  at 
the  same  time,  that  she  would  grant  a  free 
pardon  to  all  concerned  in  them.  Tlie  prin- 
cess discerned  Catherine's  motive,  and  angry 
that  she  should  endeavour  to  use  her  as  an 
instrument  of  vengeance,  replied,  in  a  brief 
note,  as  follows  :— "  Madam,  I  have  heard 
nothing;  but  if  I  had  heard  anything,  I 
should  take  good  care  how  I  spoke  of  it. 
What  is  it  you  require  of  me?  That  I 
should  expire  on  a  scaffold  ?  I  am  ready 
to  mount  it."  Though  unsuccessful  in  her 
attempt  with  the  princess,  Catherine  yet 
disarmed  the  disaffection  of  Panin  and 
Rasumoffski,  and  bestowed  upon  them  fur- 
ther distnictions.  Though  not  able  to  un- 
ravel the  web  of  conspiracy  which  she  knew 
existed,  she  prevented  its  being  carried  into 
effect.  She  threatened  those  who  should 
be  detected  in  treasonable  designs  with 
severe  measures,  and  declared  that,  for  the 
future,  she  would  not  conform  to  the  edict 
of  the  empress  Elizabeth,  by  which  that 
potentate  had  promised  never  to  put  a 
criminal  to  death.  At  the  same  tune, 
Catherine  was  aware  that  the  best  mode  of 
conciliating  a  people  was  to  promote  their 


interests ;  and  with  this  view  she  founded 
colleges  and  hospitals  in  every  part  of  her 
empire,   encouraged  commerce  and    indus- 
try, and  took  many  steps  for  the  enlighten- 
ment of  her  people.     Sensible  of  the  great, 
and  yet  undeveloped,  natural  advantages  of 
Russia,  she  issued   an  imperial   edict  con- 
tammg    regulations    for   the    promotion  of 
commerce,  in  which  she  thus  enumerated 
them:—'' On     the   whole    surface    of    the 
earth,  there  is   no  country  better  adapted 
for  commerce  than  our  empire.     Russia  has 
spacious    harbours   in  Europe;    and,  over- 
land,  the  way  is  open  through   Poland  to 
every  region.     Siberia  extends,  on  one  side, 
over  all  Asia,  and  India  is  not  very  remote 
from  Orenburg;   but   on  the  other  side  it 
seems  to  touch  upon  America.     Across  the 
Euxine  is  a  passage,  tliough  as  yet  unex- 
plored, to  Egypt  and  Africa;  and  bountiful 
Providence  has   blessed  the  extensive  pro- 
vinces  of  our   empire   with   such    gifts   of 
nature  as  can  rarely  be  found  as  they  are 
wanted    in    all    the   four   quarters   of    the 
world."      The    measures   which   Catherine 
took  for  the  promotion  of  the  commercial 
interests  of  the  empire,  consisted  chiefly  in 
the    abolition    of  a   number   of    oppressive 
monopolies,  and   of  the  permission  to  her 
people  to  export  corn  free  of  duty,  except  in 
times  of  scarcity  at  home. 

We  may  here  mention,  that  the  famous 
Seven  Years'  War  was  brought  to  a  close  at 
this  time.  Russia  being  no  longer  opposed 
to  Frederic,  that  able  soldier  soon  repaired 
his  losses,  reconquered  Silesia,  and  inflicted 
heavy  blows  on  the  Austrian  forces.     Peace 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,   [exd  of  the  sevex  years'  war. 


having    been  concluded    between  En^^land 
and    France,   they  paired   off,   and   France 
abandoned  the  cause  of  the  empress-queen, 
as  England  had  done  that  of  the  Prussian 
monarch.     The  quarrel  thus  stood,  as  it  at 
hrst   began,  between  Austria  on   one  side 
and  Prussia    on    the  other.      Though   the 
former  country  had  greater  means  than  the 
latter,  she  could  not  hope  to  succeed   in  a 
war  unaided,  which,  even  when  supported  bv 
powerful   allies,    she    had    been    unai)le    to 
bring  to  a  successful  conclusion.     Austria 
too,  was  threatened  by  a  formidable  enemv 
in  another  qua/ter;  the  standing  enmitv  of 
the   Ottoman    Porte  was   roused  into  acti- 
vity, and  300,000  Turks  were  gathered  on 
the  frontiers  of  Hungarv.     The  bitterly-re- 
vengeful  spirit  of  ]\Iaria  Theresa  was  com- 
pelled  to    yield;    and   in   the   February  of 
1763,  the  peace  of  Hubertsburg  terminated 
a  war  which,  for  seven  years,  had  devastated 
Crermany.      After    immense     sacrifices    of 
human    life    and     treasure,    the     political 
balance    of    Europe    remained   unchanged. 
"The  whole  continent  in  arms,"  observed 
an  eloquent  writer,  "had   been  unable   to 
tear  Silesia  from  that  iron  grasp.     Frederic 
was  safe.     His  glory  was  beyond  the  reach 
of  envy.     If  he  had  not  made  conquests  as 
vast  as  those  of  Alexander,  of  Csesar,  and  of 
Napoleon— if  he  had  not,  on  fields  of  battle, 
enjoyed    the    constant     success    of    Marl- 
borough and  Wellington,  he  had  yet  given 
an   example,  unrivalled  in  history,  of  what 
capacity  and   resolution  can  effect  against 
the  greatest  superiority  of  power  and  the 
utmost  spite  of  fortune?'* 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


It  was  not  long  before  Catherine  had  an 
opportunity  of  exhibiting  her  power  and 
decision  to  the  great  states  of  Europe 
Augustus  III.,  king  of  Poland,  died  on  the 
5th  of  October,  1763;  and  the  empress  of 
Russia,  who  desired  that  .the  future  monarch 
of  that  country  should  be  subservient  to 


her  wishes,  resolved  to  raise  her  former 
lover.  Count  Poniatowski,  to  the  vacant 
throne.  This  was  not  agreeable  to  the 
great  majority  of  the  Poles,  who  desired  to 
elect  a  Piast,  one  of  the  descendants  of 
their   ancient   kings.      The   Polish   nobles, 

*  Macaulay. 

261 


It* 


AFFAtBS  OF  POLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1764. 


also,  naturally  indignant  at  the  prospect  of 
being  governed  by  a  young  man  whose 
birth  was  not  illustrious,  and  who  had  not 
those  great  natural  gifts  which  enable  their 
possessors  to  command,  as  it  were,  by  a 
patent  derived  direct  from  nature  herself, 
viewed  the  proposed  elevation  of  Count 
Poniatowski  with  great  aversion.  What 
services,  inquired  they,  had  he  rendered 
the  country,  to  entitle  him  to  so  glorious  a 
reward  ? 

Poniatowski  is  described  as  endowed 
rather  with  those  qualities  which  are  adapted 
to  conciliate  the  friendship  of  individuals, 
than  to  fit  him  for  wearing  a  crown.  Tall, 
well-made,  of  a  figure  at  once  commanding 
and  agreeable,  he  spoke  and  wrote  with 
fluency  the  principal  languages  of  Europe ; 
but  he  possessed  only  a  sliglit  knowledge  of 
those  affairs  with  which  it  is  necessary  for  a 
statesman  to  be  familiar.  Rather  weak 
than  gentle,  rather  prodigal  than  generous, 
he  might  easily  dazzle  a  thoughtless  multi- 
tude, but  not  persuade  men  of  calm  judg- 
ment. He  possessed  more  personal  grace 
than  mental  strength,  and  was  better 
adapted  to  mingle  with  the  polished  crowds 
of  a  court  than  to  occupy  the  solitary  dig- 
nity of  a  throne.  But  Catherine  spared  no 
effort  or  political  intrigue  to  effect  his  elec- 
tion. Some  one  at  St.  Petersburg  had  the 
boldness  to  tell  her  that  Poniatowski  was 
not  of  a  rank  sufficiently  dignified  to  entitle 
him  to  the  Polish  throne,  as  his  grandfather 
had  been  steward  of  a  little  estate  belong- 
ing to  the  Princess  Lubomirski.  "  Though 
he  had  been  so  himself,''  retorted  the  em- 
press, "I  will  have  him  to  be  king,  and 
king  he  shall  be.''  She  kept  her  word; 
Poland  was  pressed  upon  by  Russian 
armies ;  and  on  the  7th  of  June,  1764,  an 
action  took  place  between  the  latter  and  a 
body  of  Polish  troops  under  Prince  Radzivil, 
in  which,  after  a  fierce  contest,  the  Poles 
were  defeated.  Finally,  Poniatowski  was 
elected,  and,  on  the  7th  of  September,  pro- 

•  Frederic  of  Prussia  sent  a  communication  of  this 
kind  to  the  Polish  sovereign,  which,  from  the  sound- 
ness of  its  political  views,  should  be  remembered  by 
princes  and  admired  by  their  subjects.  "  Your  ma- 
jesty must  reflect,"  said  the  great  soldier-king,  ♦♦  that, 
as  you  enjoy  a  crown  by  election  and  not  by  descent, 
the  world  will  be  more  observant  of  your  majesty's 
actions  than  of  any  other  potentate  in  Europe ;  and 
it  is  but  reasonable  that  it  should  be  so.  The  latter 
being  the  mere  effect  of  consanguinity,  no  more  is 
looked  for  (though  much  more  is  to  be  wished) 
from  him  than  what  men  are  endowed  with  in  com- 
mon. But  from  a  man  exalted  by  the  voice  of  his 
equals,  from  a  subject  to  a  king,  from  a  man  volun- 

262 


claimed  king  of  Poland  and  grand-duke  ol 
Lithuania,  under  the  name  of  Stanislaus 
Augustus.  The  nobles  who  had  opposed 
his  election  now  thronged  to  do  him 
homage,  and  he  began  his  reign  with  as 
much  tranquillity  as  if  he  had  not  been 
raised  to  the  throne  by  unjust  and  violent 
means.  Europe  submitted  to  Russian  dic- 
tation in  Poland,  and  the  new  sovereign 
received  letters  of  congratulation  from  most 
of  the  great  continental  courts.* 

Prior  to  the  conclusion  of  this  election, 
the  empress  Catherine,  attended  by  her 
favourite.  Count  Orloff,  and  a  small  retinue 
of  nobles,  had  started  on  a  tour  through  the 
provinces  of  Esthonia,  Livonia,  and  Cour- 
land ;  and,  during  her  absence,  a  tragic  in- 
cident, which  is  yet  involved  in  some  mys- 
tery, occurred  at  the  fortress  of  Schlussel- 
burg,  to  which  prison  the  unfortunate  Prince 
Ivan  had  been  again  conveyed.  This  victim 
of  his  illustrious  birth  was  the  object  of 
considerable  sympathy  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  and  of  concern  on  that  of  the  sove- 
reigns who  had  successively  occupied  the 
throne  which,  while  an  infant,  he  had  for  so 
brief  a  time  occupied.  The  empress  Eliza- 
beth once  caused  him  to  be  brought  in  a 
covered  cart  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  she 
saw  and  conversed  with  him.  On  that  oc- 
casion, it  is  said  that  the  graces  of  his  figure, 
the  plaintive  accents  of  his  voice,  and  the 
touching  complaints  he  uttered,  awakened 
the  sensibility  of  all  present,  and  even  drew 
from  the  empress  abundance  of  tears.  She, 
however,  directed  him  to  be  taken  back  to 
his  prison,  and  did  not  soften  the  dreary 
misery  of  his  confinement.  Peter  HI.,  as 
we  have  already  described,  visited  Ivan,  and 
probably  contemplated  restoring  him  to 
liberty,  and  naming  hira  as  his  successor. 
Catherine  also  had  an  interview  with  hira 
soon  after  the  commencement  of  her  reign, 
in  order,  according  to  her  own  statement, 
to  judge  of  his  understanding  and  talents, 
and  to  procure  him  an  agreeable  and  quiet 

tarily  elected  to  reign  over  those  by  whom  he  was 
chosen,  everything  is  expected  that  can  possibly  de- 
serve and  adorn  a  crown.  Gratitude  to  his  people  is 
the  first  great  duty  of  such  a  monarch ;  for  to  them 
alone  (under  Providence)  he  is  indebted  that  he  is 
one.  A  king  who  is  so  by  birth,  if  he  acts  in  a  man- 
ner derogatory  to  his  station,  is  a  satire  only  on  him- 
self; but  an  elected  one,  who  behaves  inconsistently 
with  his  dignity,  reflects  dishonour  also  on  his  sub- 
jects. Your  majesty,  1  am  sure,  will  pardon  this 
warmth.  It  is  the  effusion  of  the  sincerest  regard. 
The  amiable  part  of  the  picture  is  not  so  much  a 
lesson  of  what  you  ought  to  be,  as  a  prophecy  of 
what  your  majesty  will  be." 


\ 

\ 


A.D.  17C4.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [conspiracy  of  mirovitch. 


situation,  suitable  to  his  character  and  the 
education  he  had  received.  To  her  great 
surprise,  she  said,  she  found  him  suflfering 
from  an  impediment  of  utterance  which 
rendered  his  discourse  almost  unintelligible, 
and  a  total  privation  of  sense  and  reason. 
He  was  unable  to  read,  knew  no  one,  and 
could  not  distinguish  between  right  and 
wrong.  The  empress,  therefore,  felt  com- 
pelled to  leave  him  where  she  found  him, 
with  an  order  that  he  should  be  supplied 
with  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences  that 
his  melancholy  situation  would  admit  of. 

This  statement  has  been  suspected  of  un- 
truth, and  as  being  merely  made  in  accord- 
ance with  a  policy  attributed  to  Catherine 
of  calumniating  the  unfortunate  object  who 
had  a  claim  to  the  throne  on  which  she  sat. 
Certain  it  is,  that  the  Russian  «?ourt  circu- 
lated many  doubtful  stories  about  the  un- 
liappy  prince.     At  one   time  it   was   given 
out  that  he  was  stupid,   and  incapable  of 
uttering  articulate  sounds;  at  another,  that 
he  was  a  drunkard,  and  as  ferocious  as  a 
savage ;  then  it  was  rumoured  that  he  was 
subject. to  fits  of  madness,    and    supposed 
himself  to  be  inspired.     But  these  reports 
were  not  generally  believed,  and  the  dis- 
contented regarded  them  as  the  result  of  a 
malignant  policy.    Almost  all  the  numerous 
conspiracies    which,   in   the  early  reign  of 
("atherine,  constantly  threatened  her  over- 
throw, had  for  their  object  the  restoration 
of  this  unfortunate  captive  to  the  throne. 
It  was  for  his  sake  that  men  who  had  never 
seen    him,  and   whose   very    existence   was 
utterly  unknown   to   him,  were  continually 
braving  the  scaffold.     That  Ivan  was  igno- 
rant is  certain,  from  the  way  in  which  he 
was  brought  up  in  a  fortress,  confined  with- 
out any  means  of  obtaining  even  the  most 
simple  education;   but  it  does  not  appear 
that  he  was  either  mad  or  simple;  and,  in- 
deed, the  conversation  he  held  with  Peterlll. 
would  exonerate  him  from  the  latter  asper- 
sion. 

Catherine  certainly  had  an  interest  in 
the  death  of  the  imprisoned  Ivan ;  and  she 
is  suspected,  though  perhaps  wrongfully,  of 
promoting  the  incident  we  are  about  to 
relate,  which  led  to  it  under  very  painful 
circumstances.  The  regiment  of  Smolensk 
was  stationed  in  the  town  of  Schlusselburg, 
and  a  company  of  about  one  hundred  men 
guarded  the  fortress  in  which  Ivan  was  con- 
fined. In  this  regiment  was  a  young  officer, 
named  Vassili  Mirovitch,  whose  grandfather 
had  been  implicated  in  the  rebellion  of  the 


Cossack  chief  IMazeppa,  and  had  fought 
under  Charles  XII.  against  Peter  the  Great, 
at  Pultowa.  The  estates  of  the  family  of 
Mirovitch  had,  therefore,  been  forfeited  to 
the  crown,  and  the  young  soldier  had  fre- 
quently urged  his  preltensions  to  have  them 
restored.  In  answer  to  his  application, 
hopes  were  held  out  to  him  that  the  estates 
might  probably  be  restored,  if  he  would 
show  himself  active  in  securing  the  tranquil- 
lity  of  the  empire.  The  answer  leads  to  the 
suspicion,  that  the  services  required  from 
him  were  the  adoption  of  some  means  for 
the  assassination  of  Prince  Ivan  in  such  a 
manner  as  would  not  implicate  the  em- 
press and  her  government.  In  what  other 
way  could  a  subaltern  oflUcer  promote  the 
security  of  the  Russian  empire? 

We  have  nothing  but  surmises  to  guide 
us  in  this  matter;  but  Mirovitch  was  soon 
engaged  in  a  mad  attempt  to  set  the  prince 
at  liberty.  Whether  the  ease  with  which 
the  late  revolution  had  been  accomplished, 
induced  him  to  suppose  that  the  work  ot 
dethroning  a  sovereign  was  one  of  but  little 
difficulty,  and  to  lead  him  to  seek  for  for- 
tune in  the  convulsion  of  an  empire;  or 
whether,  on  the  other  hand,  his  attempt  to 
deliver  the  prince  was  a  mockerj^  in  collu- 
sion with  the  emissaries  of  the  empress, 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  the  death 
of  the  unhappy  Ivan,  is  more  than  can  be 
conclusively  established. 

Two  officers.  Captain  Vlassieff  and  Lieu- 
tenant Tschekin,  slept  with  the  imprisoned 
Ivan  in  his  cell.  These  men  were  in  pos. 
session  of  a  discretionary  order,  signed  bv 
the  empress,  by  which  they  were  enjoined 
to  put  the  imperial  captive  to  instant  death 
on  any  insurrection  that  might  be  made  in 
his  favour,  supposing  that  it  could  not  be 
suppressed  in  any  other  way. 

The  door  of  Ivan's  prison  opened  into  a 
sort  of  low  arcade,  which,  together  with  it, 
formed  the  thickness  of  the  castle  wall 
within  the  ramparts,  and  in  this  arcade 
eight  soldiers  usually  kept  guard  ;  the  others 
were  in  the  guard-house,  or  at  their  re- 
spective stations.  This  little  force  within 
the  fortress  was  commanded  by  an  officer  ot 
the  regiment,  who  was  changed  every  week. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  exciting  cause, 
it  is  certain  that  Mirovitch  contemplated  a 
conspiracy  for  the  release  of  the  prince,  or, 
at  least,  for  enabling  him  to  obtain  posses- 
sion of  the  person  of  the  royal  captive. 
Under  the  influence  of  irresolution,  he  had 
allowed  his  period  of  duty  to  pass  without 

203 


MURDER  OF  PRINCE  IVAN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  17G4. 


'f  I- 


»:■  1 


'.     I 


rf^f 


IHi 


M 


m 


% 


r 


r 


making  the  attempt  he  contemplated. 
Under  these  circumstances,  he  solicite  I  and 
obtained  permission  to  remain  on  guard  for 
one  week  longer.  Feeling  that  he  must 
make  instant  use  of  the  time  allotted  him, 
he  admitted  one  Jacob  Pishkoff  into  his 
C(mfidence,  and  then  began  to  tamper  with 
tliree  corporals  and  two  common  sohliers. 
These  men  also  were  won  to  his  purpose, 
aud,  between  one  and  two  in  the  morning, 
they  assembled  again,  and  induced  about 
forty  of  the  soldiers  on  guard  to  join  them 
in  their  desperate  purpose. 

Mirovitch  then  led  thera  at  once  towards 
the    prison    of  Prince    Ivan.      Beredinkoff, 
the  governor  of  the   fortress,   roused  from 
his  sleep  by  their  noise,  suddenly  made  his 
ai)pearauce^  and    authoritatively   demanded 
of  Mirovitch  the  reason  of  his  appearing  in 
arms  at  the  head  of  the  soldiers  ?    Mirovitch, 
without  answering    a    word,    knocked   him 
down    with    the    butt-end    of    his    firelock, 
and  giving  directions  to  some  of  the  men 
to  secure  him,  continued   his  march.     Ar- 
rived at  the  corridor  into  which  the  door  of 
Prince  Ivan's  chamber  opened,  he  attacked 
the  eight  soldiers  who  guarded  that  avenue. 
These  men  drove  him  back,   on   which  he 
ordered  his  followers   to   fire   upon   them. 
The   guard  returned  the  fire,   and   though, 
strange   to   relate,    no    one    was    killed    or 
wounded  on  either  side,  yet  the  conspirators 
retired  in  dismay.     Mirovitch  endeavoured 
to  bring  them  again  to  the  attack,  but  they 
hesitated,  and  insisted  on  seeing  the  order 
which  lie  said  he  had  received  from  St.  Pe- 
tersburg,    authorising    his    conduct.      The 
schemer  was  provided  for  this  emergency, 
and  he  immediately  took  from  his   pocket 
and  read  to  them  a  forged  decree  of  the 
senate,  recalling  Prince  Ivan  to  the  throne, 
and  excluding  Catherine  from  it,  because, 
it   averred,    she  was   gone  into   Livonia  to 
marry  Count  Poniatowski.     The  simple  sol- 
dierswere  deceived,  and,  falling  into  order, 
prepared  to  resume  their  attempt   to  gain 
possession  of  the  prince.     To  render  oppo- 
sition useless,  and  to  cause  the  inmates  of 
the  cell  to  open  the  door,  Mirovitch  caused 
a  piece  of  artillery,  which  had  been  brought 
from  the  ramparts,  to  be  planted  against  it. 
Having  threatened  to  batter  down  the  door, 
it  was  thrown  open,  and  Mirovitch  aud  his 
followers  entered  without  opposition.     The 
sight  that  met  their  gaze  was  the  bleeding 
aud  lifeless  body  of  the  prince,  on   whose 
pallid   face   the    convulsive   struggles   of  a 
violent  death  yet  lingered.     By  the  corpse 
2C-1 


stood  the  two  officers  who  had  slept  in  the 
cell  of  the  unfortunate  young  man,  and 
who,  from  his  companions,  had  become  his 
butchers. 

These   men   had,    in   the   first    instance, 
called  out  to  the  sentinels  to  fire;  but  when 
they  heard  the  cannon  placed   against  the 
door,    and    preparations    made    for    its   dis- 
charge, they  held  it  impossible  to  resist  the 
force  opposed  to  them,  which  was  greatly 
magnified    by  their  fears.     Conscious  that 
the  peace  of  the  empire  would  be  endangered 
by  the  liberation  of  their  prisoner,  and  fear- 
ful of  the  punishment  they  might  incur  in 
the    event    of   their    charge    being    wrested 
from   them,  they   held   a  hurried  consulta- 
tion, and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  their 
duty  required   from  them  the  performance 
of  the  conditional  command  they  had  sworn 
to  execute — that  of   putting  the   wretched 
captive   to    death.      The  prince   had   been 
awakened   by  the  report  of  the  fire-arms ; 
and  hearing  the    shouts    of  the    assailants 
without,    and    the   threats    of    the    officers 
within   his   cell,  he  implored   the   latter  to 
spare    his    miserable    life.       Regardless    ot 
these  entreaties,  they  proceeded  to  execute 
their    horrible    design;    but    Ivan,    though 
unarmed   and   in    his    night-dress,    fought 
with   his    murderers   with    the    strength   of 
despair.      In   a  short  time  his  right  hand 
was  pierced   through,  and   he  had   receivec' 
several  wounds.     Still  he  grasped  the  swor;: 
of  one  of  the  assassins,  and  broke  it;  but. 
at  that  moment,  the  other  stabbed  him  from 
behind,  and   threw  him    down.     There  the 
ruffian  whose  sword  he  had  broken,  plunged 
a  bayonet  several  times  into  his  body,  and 
the  wretched  prince  soon  expired. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  they  opened 
the  door,  and  showed  Mirovitch  the  new- 
made  corpse,  and  the  order  by  which  they 
were  authorised  to  perpetrate  the  fright- 
ful deed  they  had  just  committed,  in  the 
event  of  any  attempt  being  made  to 
liberate  their  captive.  Mirovitch  appearec? 
struck  with  horror,  and  throwing  himseii 
upon  the  body,  exclaimed,  "  I  have  missed 
my  aim ;  I  have  now  nothing  to  do  but  to 
die.''  He  made  no  attempt  to  escape,  or  to 
avenge  the  fate  of  the  prince  by  ordering 
his  followers  to  shoot  the  murderers;  but, 
on  rising,  he  went  passively  to  the  spot 
where  he  had  left  the  governor  in  the  hands 
of  the  soldiers,  and  surrendering  him  his 
sword,  coolly  observed,  "  It  is  now  I  that  am 
your  prisoner." 

The  following  day  the  corpse  of  the  iT- 


A.D.  1764.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [punishment  of  MiRovrrcH. 


fated  Ivan   was   exposed   before    a  timber 
church  within  the  castle,   and  the   people 
admitted  to  see  it.     Enormous  crowds  came 
for   that   purpose   from    the    neighbouring 
towns,  and  even  from  St.  Petersburg.     On 
beholding    the    mangled    body,    their    ex- 
pressions of  grief  and  indignation  were  un- 
bounded.    Ivan  was  full  six  feet  in  height, 
and  was  finely  formed.     His  features  were 
regular,  and  his  complexion  extremely  fair; 
he  had  very  light  hair,  and  a  red   beard. 
The  partial  absence  of  colour  from  his  face 
and  hair,  was  no  doubt  the  result  of  his 
having  lived  the   greater   part   of  his   life 
where  he  never  beheld  the  natural  light  of 
day,  or  felt  the  cheering  rays  of  the  sun. 
At  the  time  when  his  gloomy  life  was  ter- 
minated by  the  hands  of  assassins,  he  had 
not  completed  his  twenty-fourth  year.     The 
body  of  the  ill-starred  captive,  who  in  his 
babyhood  had  sat  upon  the  imperial  throne 
of  the  most  powerful  empire  in  Europe,  was 
wrapped   up   in    a   sheepskin,    and   buried 
without  ceremony.     VlassiefiF  and  Tschekin, 
the  murderers,  were  compelled,  in    conse- 
quence of  the  murmurs  of  the  people,  to 
hurry  on  board  a  vessel  then  about  to  start 
for  Denmark,  where,  on  their  arrival,  they 
were  taken  into  the  protection  of  the  Rus- 
sian minister.     Shortly  afterwards  they  re- 
turned,  and    were  rewarded   by  promotion 
for  their  sanguinary  fidelity  to  the  empress. 
The  governor  of   Sehlusselburg  sent  an 
account  of  the  catastrophe  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, together  with   a  manifesto  discovered 
on  the  person   of    Mirovitch,    which   con- 
tained  many  scurrilous   invectives   against 
Catherine,  and  represented  Prince  Ivan  as 
the   sole  legitimate  emperor;   and  was  to 
have  been  published  at  the  moment  when 
the  prince,  having  been  set  at  liberty,  was 
making  a  public  entry  into  St.  Petersburg. 
A  courier  was  immediately  dispatched   by 
Count   Panin    to    the   empress,    who    was 
then   at  Riga;    suff'ering,  it  was  observed, 
under  a  visible  impatience,  and  frequently 
inquiring    for    news.       So   great    was    her 
irritability  and    disquietude,    that   she   oc- 
casionally rose  in  the  night  to  ask  whether 
any   courier   had    arrived.     These    circum- 
stances were  remembered  to  her  disadvan- 
tage by  those  who  suspected  that  the  con- 
spiracy of   Mirovitch  was   originally  insti- 
gated by  her  or  her  ministers;  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  her  agitation  was  by 
no  means  unnatural,  when  we  consider  that 


*  '^'^6  Princess  Daschkaw,  always  the  apologist  of 

Catherine,  thus  endeavours  to  clear  the  character  of 

VOL.  I.  2  M 


she  had  for  some  time  been  suffering  from 
apprehensions  of  the  conspiracies  which,  she 
had  reason  to  believe,  were  ever  fermenting 
around  her. 

Catherine  pubhshed  a  long  manifesto,  in 
which  she  gave  an  account  of  the  affair,  and 
commended    the   conduct  of  the  assassins 
"  who  had  nipped  this  rebeUion  in  the  bud.'' 
The  trial  of  Mirovitch  and  his  confederates 
she  referred  to  the  senate,  in  conjunction 
with  the  synod  and  the  presidents  of  the 
colleges.     It  was  conducted  with  great  for- 
mality;   but   the   conspirator   himself  pre- 
served   a    calm   and    easy   air.      He    even 
replied  in  a  frivolous  and  sometimes  insolent 
naanner  to  the  questions  which  were  put  to 
him,  as  if,  it  has  been  urged,  he  knew  the 
trial  to  be  a  mockery,  and  felt  secure  of  a 
pardon  whatever  might  be  the  verdict.     If 
such  was  the  case— if  he  had  really  acted  in 
collusion  with  the  government,  he  was  now 
cruelly  deceived.      Sentence  of  death  was 
passed  upon  him  as  a  disturber  of  the  public 
peace.     He  received  it  unmoved,  and  even 
walked    with   indifference   to    the   scaffold. 
Probably  his  demeanour  was  the  result  of  a 
contempt  of  life,  since  all  his  attempts  to 
advance  himself  had  been  failures ;  but  if  he 
had   l)een   the   instrument  of  a  barbarous 
policy,  he  was  now  its  victim.     So  far  from 
any  pardon  being  extended  to  him,  the  time 
fixed   for    his    execution   was    accelerated. 
Indeed,  if  the  empress  was  guilty  of  a  com- 
plicity with  Mirovitch,  how  could  she  have 
shielded    him    from    punishment    without 
drawing  upon  herself  the  charge  of  having 
prompted  his  crime  ?    Besides  this,  she  would 
have  preserved    a   dangerous   witness,  who 
might  have  proved  extremely  troublesome. 

Public  opinion  was  much  divided  on  this 
matter ;  and  on  the  return  of  the  empress 
to  St.  Petersburg,  many  persons  endea- 
voured, by  watching  her  countenance,  to 
discover  if  they  could  read  in  it  any  confir- 
mation of  their  suspicions.  In  this  they 
were  disappointed.  Catherine,  always  mis- 
tress of  herself,  wore  a  face  of  smiles,  and 
had  a  demeanour  as  serene,  and  a  step  as 
firm,  as  those  whose  minds  knew  no  care, 
and  whose  hearts  were  unoppressed  by  guilt. 
There  is,  indeed,  just  room  to  hope  that  the 
empress  was  not  implicated  in  the  crime  of 
Mirovitch;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
are  heavy  reasons  for  suspicions  against 
her.*  Though  Mirovitch  was  the  only 
person  put  to  death  in  consequence  of  this 

her  imperial  mistress.     We  append  her  observatiors 
from  a  sense  of  justice  to  the  empress,  whose  grea^ 

265 


;  i 


la 


1»RUDENCE  OF  CATHERINE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


l< 


[a.d.  1764 


l!  i 


I- 


I>  i  i 


tnii 


■H 


..  i 


conspiracy,  no  less  than  fifty-eight  were 
punished,  and  some  of  them  with  great 
severity  Pishkoff,  as  the  most  guilty,  was 
sentenced  to  run  the  gauntlet  twelve  times 
through  a  line  of  a  thousand  men.  The 
three  corporals  and  the  two  soldiers,  who 
were  the  next  seduced  by  Mirovitch,  were 
each  flogged  ten  times,  and  then  con- 
demned to  labour  at  the  public  works. 
The  rest  were  whipped  through  the  ranks, 
and  sent  into  distant  garrisons.  This 
severity  was  calculated  to  obviate  the  sus- 
picions that  were  entertained  concerning 
the  existence  of  any  eminent  participators 
in  their  crime. 

Whether  or  not  Catherine  or  her  minis- 
ters were  implicated  in  the  events  which 
terminated  in  the  murder  of  Prince  Ivan, 
the  stability  of  her  throne  was  established 
by  that  dismal  event.  Under  her  rule  the 
empire  was  gradually  becoming  more  Euro- 
pean in  its  nature,  more  polished  in  its 
population,  and  more  developed  with  respect 
to  its  resources.  It  was  observed  by  one 
of  her  biographers,  that  she  had  not  only  the 
supreme  authority  which  in  Russia  was  the 
source  of  the  law,  but  also  the  judgment 
which  knew  when  to  show  that  authority, 
and  how  to  employ  it.  Few  monarchs 
understood  so  well  the  art  of  being  bohnti- 
ful  at  the  most  fitting  time,  and  of  making 
presents  with  such  significance  as  to  fix  the 
gratitude  of  the  receiver,  and  elicit  the 
sense  of  affectionate  loyalty  which  is  com- 
monly acquired  by  beneficent  princes. 
**  While  Catherine,*'  observes  her  biogra- 
pher Tooke,  "  was  giving  law  to  Poland, 
amusing  Austria,  conciliating  the  friendship 
of  Prussia,  and  treating  with  England,  she 
was  also  tampering  with  the  other  courts  of 
Europe,  and  labouring  efficaciously  towards 
very  soon  making  herself  dreaded  by  them. 
She  exerted  herself  to  the  utmost  in  giving 
new  spirit  to  the  commerce  of  her  country, 
in  augmenting  her  navy,  and,  above  all,  in 
softening  the  manners  of  her  people,  as  yet 
not  far  advanced  in  civilisation.     But,  badly 

talents  as  a  sovereign  must  ever  act  in  modifying 
our  censure  of  her  offences.  "  It  has  been  said,  and 
affected  to  be  believed  in  several  countries  of  Europe, 
that  this  whole  affair  was  neither  more  nor  less  than 
a  horrible  intrigue  on  the  part  of  the  empress,  who 
had  gained  over  Mirovitch  to  act  the  part  he  did, 
and  had  afterwards  sacrificed  him.  During  my 
travels,  in  1770,  I  frequently  introduced  in  conver- 
sation the  subject  of  this  conspiracy,  in  order  to  ex- 
culpate Catherine  from  the  twofold  wickedness  of 
such  a  charge.  I  everywhere  found,  that  nations, 
viewing  with  a  jealous  eye  the  growing  preponderance 

266 


seconded  by  the  great  personages  of  the  em- 
pire, and  even  by  such  as  were  about  her,  the 
progress  of  her  institutions  was  at  first  but 
slow.  The  spirit  of  division  continued  to 
reign  in  St.  Petersburg.  The  outrages  that 
weretobe  prevented  or  punished,  always  made 
it  necessary  for  Catherine  to  keep  well  with 
the  conspirators  to  whom  she  was  indebted 
for  the  throne.  But  the  favours  she  was 
incessantly  heaping  on  that  greedy  and  in- 
solent crew,  were  so  many  additional  sources 
of  hatred  and  discontent.  Some  new  plot 
or  conspiracy  was  forming  every  day ;  and 
every  day  the  good  fortune  of  the  empress, 
or  rather  her  prudence,  delivered  her  from 
danger.  Punishments  were  secret  and  ter- 
rible. The  authors  of  one  plot  could  but 
rarely  undertake  a  second. '^ 

Dissensions  existed  between  Catherine's 
chief  minister,  Count  Panin,  and  her  favourite. 
Prince  Gregory  Orloff.  The  latter,  con- 
sidering himself  permanently  established  in 
the  favour  of  the  empress,  was  regardless  of 
those  assiduities  by  which  he  had  won  it, 
and  even  neglectful  of  his  attendance  at 
court,  from  which  he  would  absent  himself 
for  several  weeks  at  a  time,  engaged  in 
the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  The  astute 
Panin,  therefore,  with  the  view  of  depriving 
Orloff'  of  the  favour  of  his  imperial  mistress, 
placed  near  her  a  young  officer,  named 
Vissenski,  whom  he  had  observed  her  re- 
gard with  apparent  interest.  Vissenski  was 
admitted  by  the  empress  into  her  favour, 
and  Panin  trusted  that  Orloff  would  soon 
be  discarded.  But  the  latter,  hearing  what 
was  going  forward,  suddenly  appeared  at 
court,  and  became  so  assiduous  in  his 
attentions  to  the*  empress,  that  the  latter 
felt  her  cooling  affections  for  him  revive ; 
and  the  new  favourite  was  loaded  with  bril- 
liant presents,  and  dismissed  to  an  employ- 
ment that  settled  him  in  a  province  remote 
from  the  capital. 

Catherine  employed  many  means  for  the 
detection  of  the  conspiracies  which  con- 
tinually disturbed  her  repose,  and  for  ascer- 

of  Russia,  made  it  a  common  interest  to  establish 
into  truth,  as  a  sort  of  political  equipoise,  every 
calumny  against  its  active  and  enlightened  sovereign. 
I  remember,  when  speaking  of  this  subject  at  Paris, 
expressing  my  astonishment,  as  I  had  before  done, 
to  M.  and  Madame  Necker,  at  Spa,  that  a  nation 
like  the  French,  which  had  had  a  Cardinal  Mazarin 
for  its  minister,  should  puzzle  itself  by  accounting 
for  such  an  action  in  such  a  manner,  when  their  own 
annals  must  have  so  readily  suggested  the  efficacious 
expedient  of  a  well-mixed  cup,  for  arranging  these 
matters  with  greater  secrecy  and  expedition." 


H 


A.D.  1764.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [liberaliit  of  catherixe. 


taining  the  names  of  those  who  were  dis- 
affected to  her  government.  For  this  pur- 
pose she  intercepted  the  correspondence  of 
the  foreign  ministers;  and  unsuccessful 
insurrection  thus  increased  the  vigilance  of 
despotism,  and  called  into  being  a  dan- 
gerous system  of  espionage.  She  succeeded 
in  purchasing  the  letters  of  the  French 
charge  d'affaires,  and  also  in  obtaining  a 
copy  of  his  key  to  those  written  in  a  secret 
cipher.  In  this  correspondence  she  fan- 
cied she  detected  a  knowledge  of,  if  not  a 
participation  in,  the  traitorous  schemes 
which  existed  around  her.  This  increased 
her  aversion  to  the  court  of  Versailles,  and 
caused  her  to  treat  the  French  minister 
with  so  marked  a  coldness,  that  he  deemed 
it  expedient  to  return  to  his  native  country. 
Louis  XV.  replaced  him  by  the  Marquis  de 
Beausset,  who  arrived  in  St.  Petersburg, 
and  was  presented  to  the  empress  on  the 
1st  of  May,  1765. 

This  gentleman  was  unable  to  conciliate 
the  favour  of  Catherine,  whom  he  presumed 
to  be  actuated  by  a  jealousy  of  the  glory  of 
the  French  nation.  Some  such  feeling  pro- 
bably existed  ;  but  the  coldness  of  the  em- 
press appears  to  have  arisen  from  a  sense 
that  the  French  government,  and  all  per- 
sons appointed  by  it,  were  inimical  to  her 


interests,  and  ready  to  encourage  any  in- 
surrection which  might  shake  or  overturn 
her  throne.     As  to  the  French  nation,  she 
held  It  in  esteem,  and  greatlv  admired  the 
distinguished  authors  who  graced  its  litera- 
ture.    She  corresponded  witli  Voltaire  and 
D'Alembert,  and  solicited  the  latter  to  ac- 
cept the  situation  of  governor  to  her  son 
the  Grand-duke  Paul.     She  offered  the  phi- 
losopher a  salary  of  24,000  livres  a-vear, 
and  every  convenience  for  finishing  the'  En- 
cycloptdie  at  St.  Petersburg.     D'Alembert 
declined,  and  Catherine  wrote  him  a  kindly 
letter,  in  which  she  endeavoured  to  win  him 
to  a  reconsideration  of  his  decision.     Learn- 
ing that  the  affairs  of  Diderot  were  not  pros- 
perous, and  that  he  wished  to  sell  his  library 
to  provide  for  his  daughter,  she  generously 
purchased  it,  left  it  in  his  own  possession, 
and  bestowed  on  him  a  handsome  income  as 
her  guardian  of  it.     To  the  famous  surgeon, 
Morand,  she  sent  a  collection  of  gold  and 
silver   medals   which   had   been    struck   in 
Russia,  as  a  token  of  her  satisfaction  with 
the  anatomical  subjects  and  surgical  instru- 
ments he  had  procured  for  her.     Indeed, 
almost  all  the  distinguished  men  of  letters, 
and  artists  of  Paris,  received  some  proofs  of 
her  princely,  and  it  must  be  added  politic, 
munificence. 


\' 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

INTERFERENCE  OF  THE  EMPRESS  WITH  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  POLAND  ;  SHE  ASSUMES  THE  PROTECTION  OF  THE 
DISSIDENTS.  AND  THE  CATHOLIC  POLES  SEEK  AID  FROM  TURKEY;  CATHERINE  EXCLUDES  THE  ENGLISH 
MINISTER  FROM  HER  COURT,  IN  CONSEQUENCE  OF  AN  AFFAIR  OF  GALLANTRY  ;  TOURNAMENTS  AND  FESTI- 
VITIES AT  ST.  PETERSBURG;  CATHERINE'S  LEGAL  REFORMS  AND  ATTEMPT  TO  REGENERATE  THE  LEGISLA- 
TURE OF  THE  EMPIRE;  ASSEMBLY  OF  DEPUTIES  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  AT  MOSCOW;  HER  FAMOUS  INSTRUC- 
TIONS FOR  THE  FORMATION  OF  A  NEW  CODE  OF  LAWS ;  THE  DEPUTIES  VOTE  HER  THE  TITLES  OF  GREAT 
WISE,  PRUDENT,  AND  MOTHER  OF  THE  COUNTRY  ;  SHE  NARROWLY  ESCAPES  ASSASSINATION ;  HER  ASSI- 
DUITY IN  THE  PROMOTION  OF  THE  SCIENCES  j  SHE  INTRODUCES  THE  PRACTICE  OF  INOCULATION  INTO 
RUSSIA. 


Catherine  did  not  place  her  former  lover. 
Count  Poniatowski,  on  the  throne  of  Poland 
in  consequence  of  any  affection  she  enter- 
tained towards  him.  She  was  actuated 
by  a  motive  which,  at  the  time,  she  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  reveal.  The  empress  of 
Russia,  rather  than  the  king  of  Poland,  was 
the  actual  ruler  of  that  country.  But  this 
was  not  all;  and  Catherine  now  put  forward 
pretensions  of  a  kind  she  knew  could  only 


be  enforced  by  the  power  of  the  sword.  She 
altered  on  the  map  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween Russia  and  Poland,  and  insisted  that 
the  limits  of  the  two  countries  should  be  so 
fixed  according  to  her  dictation.  She  also 
demanded  that  Poland  should  contract  with 
her  a  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defen- 
sive, and  that  all  who  did  not  profess  the 
Roman  form  of  Christianity  should  enjoy 
the  same  rights  with  those  who  did.     The 

267 


; 


III ,  *■ 

In ' 


I : 


AFFAIRS  OF  POLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


f'f'i 


.« 


HI 


i 

f  I  ■ 


[a.t).  1765. 


A.D.  1766.] 


Poies   hal    adopted    the  Cliristian    religion, 
aecording  to  the  church  of  Rome,  between 
the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries;  and  as  men 
were  then  governed  much    more  by  forms 
than  principles,  and  accepted  the  new  mode 
of  worship   without    much    inquiry,   a  uni- 
formity of  opinion,  or  rather  of  faith,  pre- 
vailed.    But,  in  the  course  of  time,   many 
neighbouring  states,  either  by  conquest,  by 
right  of  succession,  or  by  marriage,  became 
united   to  the  kingdom  of  Poland.     These 
new  provinces,  in  which  the  prevailing  reli- 
gion was  chiefly  that  of  the  Greek  church, 
were  upon  an  exact  equality  with  the  old  in 
every  respect,  and  each  was  protected  in  the 
observance  of  its  own  mode  of  worship.     So 
late  as  the  commencement  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  it  was  thought  a  happiness  peculiar 
to  Poland,  that,  while  other  countries  have 
at  different  times  been  distracted  by  intes- 
tine feuds  and  rancour  arising  from  diversity 
of  religion,  yet  that  the    great  variety  of 
opinions    on   that   subject   never   produced 
any  strife  or  animosity  among  this  nation. 
Under    these   favourable   circumstances,    it 
might  be  anticipated  that,  after  the  Reforma- 
tion,   protestantism  would  make  rapid  ad- 
vances in  Poland.     In  the  year  1563,  Sigis- 
mund  Augustus  passed  a  law,  by  which  all 
sects,  whether  protestant,  Greek,  or  Arian, 
were  permitted  the  full  enjoyment  of  exer- 
cising their  worship,  together  with  the  right 
of  voting  in  the  diets,  and  of  holding  the 
same  offices  as  the  catholics.     No  one  was 
offended    by  this  noble   act  of  justice  and 
wisdom ;  indeed,  so  amicable  a  spirit  existed, 
that  all  men  were  glad  to  see  that  the  differ- 
ence of  religion  produced  none  in  the  poli- 
tical and  civil  rights  of  the  several  members 
of  the  community.     As  a  mark  of  distinction, 
the  followers  of  the  different  modes  of  reli- 
gion were  called  Dissidents,  a  term  which, 
though  afterwards  unhappily  converted  into 
a  signal  for  proscription,  did  not  then  convey 
any  injurious  imputation. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  Roman  catholics 
of  Poland  acquired  the  ascendancy,  and, 
breaking  through  the  law  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  robbed  the  Dissidents  of  the  rights 
to  which  they  were  entitled  by  it.  The 
Romanists  first  persecuted  the  Arians,  and  di- 
vested them  of  ail  their  privileges — a  process 
which  the  Greek  and  protestant  Cliristian 
beheld  with  great  complacency.  Their  want 
of  charity  and  co-operation  was  a  fatal  error. 
As  might  have  been  foreseen,  they  were  next 
attacked;  and,  in  1733,  the  Romanists  suc- 
ceeded in  entirely  excluding  them  from  the 
268 


diets,  and  even  deprived  them  of  the  natural 
privilege  of  building  any  new  churches. 
Thus  pressed,  many  of  the  Dissidents  re- 
turned to  the  church  of  Rome;  but  those 
who  retained  their  principles,  cherished  them 
the  more  dearly  on  this  very  account.  They 
referred  to  the  treaty  of  Oliva,  of  which  so 
many  monarchs  were  the  gnarantees,  as 
securing  them  the  rights  of  which  they  had 
been  despoiled.  In  consequence  of  this  the 
diet,  then  composed  only  of  catholics,  passed 
a  decree,  attaching  the  guilt  of  high  treason 
to  such  Dissidents  as  should  have  recourse 
to  foreign  powers  for  obtaining  the  execution 
of  the  infringed  treaty,  and  the  re-establish- 
ment  of  the  law  so  despotically  repealed. 

This  produced  a  reaction,  and  the  Dissi- 
dents were  furious.  Those  of  the  Greek 
church  at  once  sought  the  protection  of  the 
court  of  St.  Petersburg,  while  the  protest- 
ants  entreated  the  interference  of  England, 
Denmark,  and  Prussia.  The  sovereigns  of 
the  latter  countries  promised  their  support 
—a  circumstance  which  Catherine  and  her 
ministers  regarded  as  a  sufficient  pretext  for 
the  military  interference  of  Russia.  Such 
was  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  close  of  the 
year  1765. 

When  the  Polish  diet  assembled  in  the 
autumn  of  1766,  the  ministers  of  the  pro- 
tecting courts  presented  their  memorials  on 
behalf  of  the  Dissidents.  This  proceeding 
produced  much  dissatisfaction,  and  the 
catholic  bishops  were  extremely  violent. 
Salty k,  the  bishop  of  Cracow,  not  satisfied 
with  the  iniquitous  law  passed  against  the 
Dissidents,  proposed  that  new  ones  of  a 
more  severe  character  should  be  adopted. 
His  example  was  followed  by  others  among 
the  Romanist  priesthood  and  nobles  :  violent 
clamours  took  place ;  and,  despite  the  protest 
of  a  few  enlightened  members,  the  recent 
intolerant  enactments  against  the  Dissidents 
were  confirmed. 

In  the  meantime  a  Russian  army,  under 
the  command  of  Prince  Repnin,  had  entered 
Poland,  and  advanced  to  the  very  gates  of 
Warsaw.  The  Russian  general  then  de- 
manded, in  the  name  of  the  empress,  not 
only  a  toleration  secured  by  law  in  behalf 
of  the  Dissidents,  but  a  complete  political 
equality  with  the  catholic  party.  This  the 
latter  furiously  rejected  ;  and  the  Dissidents 
formed  themselves,  under  the  Russian  pro- 
tection, into  a  confederation,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  by  force  what  they  could 
not  obtain  by  reason.  Romanist  tyranny 
thus  led  to  a  servile  war,  which  soon  raged 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


in  all  its  horrors,  and  additional  bodies  of 
Russian  troops  were  constantlv  entering  the 
Polish  territories.    King  Stanislaus  Augustus 
assembled    a  diet-extraordinary,    with    the 
hope  of  pacifying  the  contending   parties. 
His  object  was  frustrated  by  the  violence  of 
the  Bishop   of  Cracow  and   his  adherents, 
who  made    speeches  utterly  in  defiance  of 
reason  and   of  prudence.    'Prince   Repnin, 
who   had    now   quite   invested    the   city  of 
Warsaw,  caused  the  bishops  of  Cracow  and 
of  Kief,    and    several   of  the   most  violent 
catholic  nobles,  to  be  seized  and  hurried  off 
to   Siberia.     He   offered   the    confederated 
Dissidents    an  excuse  for  this  outrage,   by 
assuring  them  that   he   had   only  violated 
the  liberty  of  the  Poles  for  the  benefit  of 
Poland;  and  when  the  king,  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  diet,  desired  the  release  of  the 
prisoners,    Repnin   treated   the   application 
with  disdain;  nor  were  these  offensively  in- 
tolerant persons  permitted  to  return  from 
their  exile  in  the  deserts  of  Siberia,  until 
the  lapse  of  a  period  of  six  years. 

The  diet   was   overawed,   and  adopted  a 
more  moderate  tone.     It  even  appointed  a 
committee   for   settling  the   rights   of  the 
Dissidents,  in  concert  with  the  ministers  of 
the  courts  which  had  undertaken  the  advo- 
cacy  of  their   cause.      Prince    Repnin,   in 
consequence  of  the  powerful  armv  he  had  at 
hand,  ruled  almost  absolutely  at  Warsaw, 
and  the  Dissidents  obtained  whatever  the 
Russian    ambassador    demanded    in    their 
behalf.     The    ancient    law,    enforcing    not 
only  toleration,  but  equal  political  rights, 
for  those   who    professed    other   than   the 
Roman  form  of  Christianity,  was  restored ; 
and  other  enactments,  stillmore  favourable 
to  the  Dissidents,  were  passed.     This  was 
but  justice ;  but  it  was  a  notorious  calamity, 
that  such  a  result  was  brought  about  by  the 
armed  interference  of  Russia.     Roman  in- 
tolerance gave  a  plausible  pretext  for  that 
foreign  dictation  which   eventually  led  to 
the  extinction  of  Poland  as  a  nation.    More- 
over, a  number  of  regulations  were  enforced 
by  the   orders   of  the   empress  Catherine, 
which  tended  to  promote  the  troubles  and 
anarchy  of  that  distracted  country,  and  to 
leave  it  without  defence  against  the  usurpa- 
tions she  contemplated. 

The  catholic  nobles,  though  intimidated 
for  a  time,  soon  raised  a  loud  outcry  against 
the  Dissidents ;  formed  themselves  into  con- 
federations for  the  defence  of  the  Roman 
religion;  and  even  solicited,  and  obtained 
the  protection  of  the   Turks!     As  to  the 


[affairs  OF  POLAND. 


king  whom  Catherine  had  placed  upon  the 
1  ohsh  throne,  he  was  altogether  powerless 
and   resided   at   Warsaw  more  like  a   pri- 
soner than  a  prince.     The  courts  of  Europe 
regarded  the  conduct  of  the  Russian  empress 
with  amazement ;  but  she  addressed  herself 
with  consummate  art  to  the   task   of  dis- 
arming any  opposition  they  might  be  dis- 
posed to  give.     She  was  sure  of  Frederic  of 
Prussia ;    for   she    knew   that    he    desired 
nothing  better  than  to  share  with  her  the 
provinces    of    Poland.     Sweden    she    kept 
quiet  by  her  intrigues;  while  she  humoured 
Denmark  by  holding  out  to  it  a  hope  of  the 
cession  of  Holstein.     England  she  flattered 
by  a  favourable  treaty  of  alliance  and  com- 
merce; while  France  alone  seems  to  have 
refused  to  be  blinded  as  to  her  secret  views. 
The  court  of  that  country,  in  order  to  defeat 
the   projects   of  Russia   by   dissipating  its 
means,   addressed   itself  to   the   design   of 
involving  the  empress  in  a  war  with  Turkey. 
The  French  ambassador  at  Constantinople 
represented  to  the  Porte,  how  unjust  and 
dangerous  it  was  that  Russia  should  dare  to 
violate  the  rights  of  the  Poles,  and  invade 
their  territory.     He   assured   the   Moslem 
cabinet  that  the  demarcation  of  the  limits 
exacted   by   the    court   of   St.   Petersburg, 
would  be  attended  with  consequences  fatal 
to  the  security  of  the  Euxine ;  and  he  ad- 
vised  them   resolutely  to  oppose   it.     The 
Turkish  minister,  therefore,  sent  a  note  to 
the   king   of  Poland,   requesting   that   the 
regulation  of  the  limits  might  be  suspended 
till  some  explanations  should  be  given  the 
sultan   of  a   nature  to  remove  his  alarms 
concerning  the  danger  with  which  the  ces- 
sion of  the  Polish  territory  threatened  the 
Ottoman  empire.    Stanislaus  Augustus,  fear- 
ful of  offending  Catherine,  and   most  soli- 
citous of  regaining  her  friendship,  answered 
that  there  was  not  the  least   proposal  for 
altering    the    limits    between    Russia   and 
Poland.      The  Porte  having  received   this 
assurance,  returned  for  a  time  to  its  cus- 
tomary apathy.    "  Notwithstanding  which,'' 
observes  a  modern  historical  writer,  ''the 
great  empires  of  Russia  and  Turkey— the 

most  powerful  in  Asia  as  well  as  in  Europe 

were  soon  to  be  engaged  in  a  bloody  conflict. 
Religion  had  entered  into  the  quarrel,  and 
added  to  its  bitterness.  The  miserable 
country  of  Poland  was  the  theatre  of  a 
contention  not  more  destructive  in  its  con- 
sequences than  singular  in  its  causes  and 
pretexts.  The  despotic  power  of  Russia 
became   the   guardian   of  Polish  freedom; 

269 


Ir 

11 : ;! 

REFORMS  OF  THE  EMPRESS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1767. 


A.D.  1768.] 


I' 


Iff  J 


r^i 


'  s 


f"' 


and  the  catholic  religion  fled  for  protection 
to  the  standard  of  Mohammed/' 

The  favourable  treaty  of  alliance  and 
commerce  into  which  the  court  of  Russia 
entered  with  that  of  England,  was  conchided 
in  the  Decerhber  of  1767.  Yet,  notwith- 
standing the  partiality  which  the  empress 
displayed  towards  this  country,  she  was 
induced  to  exclude  the  British  minister  for 
some  time  from  her  court.  This  was  in 
consequence  of  an  affair  of  gallantry  be- 
tween him  and  one  of  the  maids  of  honour, 
which  became  so  public,  that  Catherine 
deemed  it  requisite  to  interfere.  She  there- 
fore dismissed  the  offending  lady,  and  pro- 
liibited  the  presence  of  the  ambassador.  It 
might  be  supposed  that  a  consciousness  of 
her  own  frailties  would  induce  the  empress 
to  regard  deviations  from  the  path  of  a 
stern  chastity  with  feelings  of  peculiar 
leniency.  Such,  iiowever,  was  not  always 
the  case;  and  she  occasionally  assumed, 
even  in  the  presence  of  those  who  best 
knew  her,  as  great  an  appearance  of  aus- 
terity in  manners  as  of  attachment  to  reli- 
gion. On  one  occasion,  when  two  ladies  of 
her  court  were,  at  a  masquerade,  talking 
loudly  concerning  one  of  their  admirers, 
the  empress  went  up  to  them,  and  com- 
manded them  to  leave  the  ball-room,  since 
they  knew  no  better  than  to  pay  so  little 
regard  to  decorum. 

During  the  winter  of  1767,  Catherine 
endeavoured  to  divert  the  disaffection  which 
yet  existed,  by  the  excitement  of  public 
festivities.  A  spacious  amphitheatre  was 
erected  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  several  tour- 
naments took  place,  in  imitation  of  those 
common  in  the  civilised  countries  of  Europe 
during  the  middle  ages.  On  these  occa- 
sions the  ladies  of  the  court  jousted  as  well 
as  the  chevaliers;  and  all,  both  ladies  and 
knights,  wore  upon  their  gorgeous  dresses 
of  silk  or  velvet,  a  profusion  of  gold  and 
silver,  pearls,  and  other  precious  stones. 
The  entertainments  lasted  during  several 
days  ;  and  then  the  company,  amounting  to 
several  hundred  persons,  sat  down  to  a 
splendid  supper,  the  dessert  at  the  con- 
clusion of  which  represented  the  circus  in 
which  the  carousal  had  taken  place.  At 
night  the  imperial  summer  gardens  were 
illuminated,  and  the  walks  lighted  with 
numerous  arches  of  lamps  burning  with 
naphtha,  radiant  temples,  and  illuminated 
fountains.  The  pyrotechnic  art  lent  its  aid 
to  the  display,  and  the  festival  terminated 
with  a  masquerade  in  the  gardens. 
270 


Catherine  had  a  purpose  in  this  gorgeous 
trifling,  which  did  not  draw  her  attention 
from  the  solid  duties  of  her  exalted  station. 
She  was  incessantly  occupied  in  the  erec- 
tion of  useful  institutions,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  those  reforms  which  most  soft- 
ened the  manners  of  her  subjects.  Ever 
prepared  to  crush  conspiracy,  and  active  to 
conciliate  disaffection,  she  yet  aimed  at 
dazzling  the  judgment  of  mankind,  and 
taking  captive  their  admiration.  The  crude 
state  of  the  laws  of  the  Russian  empire  had 
for  some  time  been  notorious  ;  and  previous 
sovereigns  had  directed  their  attention  to 
the  subject.  Though  absurdly  voluminous, 
they  were  yet  found  insufficient  in  practice, 
extremely  perplexing,  and  containing  many 
contradictions.  In  addition  to  this,  they 
were  so  loaded  with  precedents,  reports, 
cases,  and  opinions,-  that  they  produced 
constant  altercations,  and  could  scarcely  be 
reconciled  or  understood  by  the  very  pro- 
fessors of  them. 

The  empress  resolved,  by  one  great  legis- 
lative act,  to  re-create  the  laws  of  the 
country  in  such  a  manner  that  they  should 
be  impregnated  with  the  spirit  of  justice 
and  clemency.  The  senate  and  the  col- 
leges she  formed  into  separate  departments, 
each  of  which  was  to  address  itself  to  one 
sort  of  business  only,  by  which  the  latter 
was  executed  with  more  dispatch,  and  fewer 
opportunities  given  for  artifice  and  venality. 
To  obviate  the  well-known  dishonestv  of 
the  judges,  she  augmented  the  emoluments 
of  their  offices,  openly  observing,  in  the 
ukase  she  published  on  the  occasion — "  In- 
digence may,  perhaps,  hitherto  have  given 
you  a  propensity  to  self-interest ;  but  now 
the  country  itself  rewards  your  labours: 
and,  therefore,  what  might  heretofore  have 
been  pardonable,  will  henceforward  be  cri- 
minal." Besides  increasing  the  salaries  of 
the  judges,  the  empress  made  some,  though 
an  insufficient,  provision  for  them,  when 
that  period  of  life  should  arrive  at  which 
increasing  infirmities  dictated  their  retire- 
ment from  active  duties. 

These  were  merely  preliminary  matters; 
and  Catherine  now  aimed  at  the  glory  of 
giving  a  new,  and,  as  far  as  circumstances 
would  permit,  perfect  code  of  laws  to  the 
empire.  With  this  object  she  commanded 
all  the  provinces  of  Russia,  even  the  most 
remote  and  barbarous,  to  send  deputies  to 
Moscow,  competent  to  represent  their  ideas 
as  to  the  laws  most  fitted  for  their  respective 
conditions.     The  empress  then  proceeded  to 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [Catherine's  instructions. 


that   ancient   city,  to  welcome   this   novel 
convention.     The  assembled  deputies  repre- 
sented many  nations  and  tribes,  and  differed 
from  each  other  widely  in  manners,  in  dress, 
and  in  language.     It  might  be  supposed  that 
so  heterogeneous  an  assembly — the  greater 
part  of  which  had  never  even  thought  about 
laws,   much  less  the  responsible  task  of  con- 
structing them — would  merely  listen  to  their 
instructions,  and  obey  them.     Such,  we  may 
not  unfairly  assume,  was  the  intention  of 
the  empress;  and  her  object  in  convening 
the  assembly  was  to  give  at  least  the  appear- 
ance of  a  popular  sanction  to  what,  in  reality, 
she  designed  to  be  her  own  act. 

When   the   deputies  were   assembled  in 
the  hall  appointed  for  their  deliberations, 
the  business  was  commenced  by  the  public 
reading  of  a  work  written,  or  rather  com- 
piled, by  the  empress  herself,  and  entitled. 
Instructions  to  the  Commissioners  appointed 
to  frame  a  new  Code  of  Laws  for  the  Rus- 
sian Empire."^     These    instructions,    preg- 
nant  with   a  humane    and   exalted   spirit, 
were  borrowed  chiefly  from  the  writings  of 
Montesquieu,  and  others  of  the  French  phi- 
losophers.    Catherine,  therefore,    does   not 
deserve  the  praise  which  was  so  profusely 
lavished  upon  her  as  their  authoress.     Yet, 
though   the   merit  of  originality   must   be 
denied  to  her,  she  deserves  no  small  com- 
naendation  for  having  compiled,   and  thus 
given  her  sanction  to,  principles  tending  to 
destroy  despotism  and  enlighten  a  people. 
In  them  she  recognised  no  legitimate  autho- 
rity but  that  which  was  founded  upon  jus- 
tice; she  aimed  at  the  destruction  of  arbi- 
trary legislation,  and  the  prevention  of  those 
who  governed  under  her  from  exercising  a 
capricious  or  cruel  authority.     The  instruc- 
tions to  the  deputies  were  read  to  them  in 
the  Russian  language ;  but  the  original  was 
written  in  French,  almost  entirely  in  the 
handwriting  of  the  empress.     It  has  since 
been   deposited,   inclosed  in  a  magnificent 
case,  in  an  apartment  of  the  Imperial  Aca- 
demy of  Sciences  at  St.  Petersburg. 

The  assembled  deputies  frequently  inter- 
rupted the  reading  of  the  instructions  by 
their  bursts  of  applause;  and  all  present 
extolled  the  wisdom  and  humanity  of  the 
sovereign.  These  expressions  of  admiration, 
though  no  doubt  proceeding,  in  some  in- 
stances, from   conviction,   were,  in  others, 


•  Tliis  work,  considered  the  most  remarkable  of 
those  which  proceeded  from  the  pen  of  the  empress, 
was  translated  into  English  by  M.  Tatischeff,  and 
published  in  London  in  1768. 


merely  the   result   of  adulation.     Yet   the 
meetings  did  not  pass  without  some  opposi- 
tion to  the  imperial  will,  and  a  threatening 
appearance  of  affairs  without.     Much  con- 
versation took  place  about  the  right  of  the 
serfs  to  liberty ;  and  many  thousands  of  this 
unfortunate   class    prepared   to   obtain    by 
force  that  which  they  correctly  feared  would 
not  be   granted  to  them  by  equity.     The 
nobles  dreaded  an  insurrection,  in  the  event 
of  the  system  of  serfdom  being  continued; 
but  they  dreaded  still  more  a  falling-off  of 
their  revenues  if  it  should  be  abolished.     So 
strong  were  their  feelings  on  the  subject, 
that  some  of  them   threatened  to  poniard 
the  first   man  who  dared  to  move  for  the 
enfranchisement  of  the  serfs.     Stdl,  Count 
Scheremetoff,  the  wealthiest  man  in  Russia, 
declared   his  wiUingness  to  accede  to  this 
measure;  and  the  debate  was  carried  on  with 
so  much  warmth   that   fatal   consequences 
were   apprehended,   and   the  deputies  dis- 
missed to  their  respective  homes. 

Though  the  benefit  intended  for  the  people 
of  Russia  was  thus  unhappily  frustrated,  it 
was  suggested  that  it  should  not  be  equally 
lost  to  the  sovereign  who  had  projected  it ; 
therefore,    before   the    deputies   separated, 
they  decreed  to   the   empress,   by  general 
acclamation,  the  titles  of  Great,  Wise,  Pru- 
dent,   and  Mother  of  the   Country.     This 
was,  doubtless,  very  agreeable  to  'the  em- 
press ;  yet,  when  she  was  solicited  to  accept 
those  titles,  she  replied,  with  an  assumption 
of  modesty,  "That  if  she  had  rendered  her- 
self worthy  of  the  first,  it  belonged  to  pos- 
terity to  confer  it  upon  her;  that  wisdom 
and  prudence  were  the  gifts  of  heaven,  for 
which  she  daily  gave  thanks,  without  pre- 
suming to  derive  any  merit  from  them  her- 
self; that,  lastly,  the  title  of  Mother  of  the 
Country  was  the  most  dear  of  all  in  her 
eyes — the  only  one  that  she  could  accept, 
and  which  she  regarded  as  the  most  benign 
and  glorious  recompense  for  her  labours  and 
solicitude  in  behalf  of  a  people  whom  she 
loved.'' 

Yet  Catherine  was  naturally  proud  of  the 
flattering  adulation  which  had  been  offered 
to  her ;  a  luxury  for  which  she  possessed  a 
great  and  eager  appetite.  She  commanded 
copies  of  her  instructions  to  be  sent  to  those 
sovereigns  whose  applause  she  most  desired. 
She  received,  in  return,  many  compliments 
on  her  literary  performance,  and  assurances 
that  it  would  be  an  eternal  monument  to  her 
glory.  The  great  soldier-statesman  of  Prus- 
sia dazzled  the  empress  by  the  incense  he 

271 


NATURE  OF  Till:  INSTRUCTIONS.]      HISTORY    OF    THE 


Fa.d.  1768. 

I. 


A.D.  1768.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [nature  of  the  instructions. 


thus  offered,  and  bound  her  still  more  closely 
to  a  regard  to  his  interests.  Writing  with 
his  own  hand  to  the  Russian  minister  Panin, 
he  observed — "  I  have  read  with  admiration 
the  work  of  the  empress.  I  was  not  willing 
to  tell  her  all  that  I  think  of  it,  because  she 
might  have  suspected  me  of  flattery ;  but  I 
may  say  to  you,  with  due  deference  to  mo- 
desty, that  it  is  a  masculine  performance, 
nervous,  and  worthy  of  a  great  man.  We 
are  told  by  history  that  Semiramis  com- 
manded armies.  Queen  Elizabeth  has  been 
accounted  a  good  politician.  The  empress- 
queen  has  shown  great  intrepidity  on  her 
accession  to  the  throne ;  but  no  woman  has 
ever  been  a  legislatrix.  That  glory  was 
reserved  for  the  empress  of  Russia,  who 
deserves  it." 

The  construction  of  the  articles  was  a 
work  of  considerable  extent,  even  though 
we  exclude  the  preparatory  labour  of  study 
and  reflection  which,  had  the  document 
been  entirely  original,  must  necessarily  have 
preceded  its  execution.  Yet,  as  an  ingenious 
compilation,  it  was  not  a  light  task,  consisting 
as  it  did  of  no  less  than  525  articles.  In- 
deed, though  it  failed  to  produce  the  eff'ect 
intended,  yet  even  the  publication  and  dis- 
persion of  such  a  work  throughout  the  em- 
pire, could  scarcely  have  failed  to  produce 
valuable  civilising  and  educational  results. 
Though  not  in  itself  a  law-book,  but  merely 
a  number  of  instructions  as  to  the  spirit  in 
which  laws  should  be  made,  it  must  have 
exercised,  and  no  doubt  still  exercises,  a 
considerable  influence  over  Russian  legisla- 
tion. We  subjoin  a  few  of  the  articles,  in 
the  tolerably  confident  hope  that  they  will 
not  be  without  interest  to  the  intelligent 
reader. 

*'The  spirit  of  the  nation,  the  nation 
itself,  ought  to  be  consulted  in  the  framing 
of  laws. 

"These  laws  should  be  considered  no 
otherwise  than  as  a  means  of  conducting 
mankind  to  the  greatest  happiness. 

"It  is  our  duty  to  mitigate  the  lot  of 
those  who  live  in  a  state  of  dependence. 

"The  liberty  and  the  security  of  the 
citizens  ought  to  be  the  grand  and  precious 
objects  of  all  laws ;  they  should  all  tend  to 
render  life,  honour,  and  property  as  stable 
and  secure  as  the  constitution  of  the  govern- 
ment itself. 

"  The  liberty  of  the  subjects  ought  only 
to  be  restricted  concerning  what  it  should 
be  disadvantageous  to  them  to  do. 

"  In  causes  purely  civil,  the  laws  should 
272 


be  so  clear  and  precise,  that  the  judgments 
resulting  from  them  be  always  in  perfect 
unison  in  the  same  cases,  in  order  to  remove 
that  jurisprudence  of  decisions  which  is  so 
often  a  source  of  uncertainties,  of  errors,  or 
acts  of  injustice,  according  as  a  cause  has 
been  well  or  ill  defended  at  one  time  or  at 
another,  gained  or  lost,  according  to  in- 
fluence or  circumstances." 

With  respect  to  legislation  for  crime,  the 
empress  gave  the  following  humane  and 
enlightened  instructions : — 

"  It  is  incomparably  better  to  prevent 
crimes  than  to  punish  them. 

"The  life  of  the  meanest  citizen  is  of  con- 
sequence, and  no  one  should  be  deprived  of 
it,  except  when  it  is  attacked  or  required  by 
the  country. 

"In  like  manner  his  liberty  should  be 
respected,  by  being  cautious  about  imprison- 
ment, by  carefully  distinguishing  the  cases 
in  which  the  laws  will  dispense  with  it,  as 
also  those  in  which  the  public  safety  requires 
arrest,  detention,  or  formal  imprisonment; 
and  in  this  case  even  concerning  diff'erent 
prisons. 

"  In  the  methods  of  trial,  the  use  of 
torture  is  contrary  to  sound  reason.  Hu- 
manity cries  out  against  this  practice,  and 
insists  on  its  being  abolished. 

"  A  prisoner  is  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  the 
torrent  of  opinions.  Judgment  must  be 
nothing  but  the  precise  text  of  the  law; 
and  the  office  of  the  judge  is  only  to  pro- 
nounce whether  the  action  is  conformable 
or  contrary  to  it." 

Concerning  punishments,  she  said — 
"The  aim  of  punishment  is  not  to  tor- 
ment sensible  beings. 

"  All  punishment  is  unjust  when  it  is  not 
necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  the  public 
safety. 

"The  atrocity  of  punishments  is  repro- 
bated by  the  compassion  that  is  due  to 
human  nature;  whenever  it  is  useless,  it  is 
a  sufficient  reason  to  regard  it  as  unjust, 
and,  as  such,  to  reject  it. 

*'In  the  ordinary  state  of  society,  the 
death  of  a  citizen  is  neither  necessary  nor 
useful." 

Nothing  in  relation  to  government  was 
left  untouched  in  these  instructions,  which 
were  replete  with  the  most  noble  and  liberal 
sentiments.  "  Contrive,"  said  the  imperial 
writer,  "  that  the  laws  favour  less  the  dif- 
ferent orders  of  citizens,  than  each  citizen 
in  particular.  Let  men  fear  the  laws,  and 
nothing  but  the  laws.     Would  you  prevent 


crimes  ?  provide  that  reason  and  knowledge 
be  more  and  more  diff'used  among  mankind. 
To  conclude :  the  most  sure,  but  the  most 
difficult,  method  of  making  men  better,  is 
by  rendering  education  more  complete." 

Some  writers,  sinking  from  the  historian 
into  the  mere  moralist,  have  felt,  or  affected, 
so  much  indignation  at  the  vices  of  Cathe- 
rine, that  they  have  resolutely  denied  her 
the   admiration   which   was    her   due,    and 
have  endeavoured  to  place  her  most  meri- 
torious deeds  in  the  meanest  possible  light. 
The  cause  of  virtue  will  never  be  served  by 
conduct  like  this  ;  which  is  neither  truthful 
nor  honourable.    The  character  of  Catherine 
must  be  contemplated  with  sober  judgment, 
and  not  with  intemperate  invective.    It  is  a 
psychological  problem,  not  difficult  of  solu- 
tion to  the  student   of  the   human   mind. 
The    private  vices  of  the  woman  must  be 
separated   from   the   public  virtues  of  the 
sovereign,  and  the  latter  acknowledged,  not 
grudgingly,    but   in    a    tone    of    generous 
appreciation.     Attempt  to  write  or  compile 
history  in  any  other  frame  of  mind,  and  it  is 
in  danger  of  becoming  not  only  partial  in 
its  views,  and  low  in  its  estimate   of  hu- 
manity, but  altogether  worthless.     The  in- 
structions of  Catherine,  like  all  else  she  did, 
have,  by  some  writers — and  those  among 
the  most  recent  on  the  subject — been  con- 
demned in  the  carping  spirit  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  which,  unhappily,  is  usually 
more  ready  to  censure  than  to  deliberate; 
more  prone  to  the  utterance  of  easy  ob- 
loquy, than  addicted  to  habits  of  generous 
forbearance.     With  respect  to  this  literary 
and  legislatorial  performance  of  the  empress, 
we  are  ourselves  inclined  to  agree  with  the 
favourable  estimate  of  her  biographer  Tooke, 
who  says — "  The  whole  performance  is  an 
excellent   compendium   of   choice   observa- 
tions,   of   just   maxims,    and    of    generous 
sentiments ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  beau- 
tiful collection  of  striking  passages  from  the 
celebrated    philosophers    of     Greece     and 
Rome ;  of  apt  examples  from  ancient  and 
modem  history,  from  the  manners  of  cul- 
tivated and  savage  nations,  and  even  from 
such  nations  as  are  not  very  much  known 
to  the   rest   of  Europe,   the   Chinese   and 
other  Asiatics.     Whoever  would  make  him- 
self acquainted  with  the  philosophy  of  legis- 
lation, might  reap   considerable   advantage 
by  taking  it  as  his  manual." 

Catherine  laboured  zealously  to  establish 
her  fame  by  the  services  she  rendered  to 
material  as  well  as  to  legislatorial  science. 
VOL.  I.  2  N 


Prior   to  the  transit  of  the  planet  Venus 
over  the  sun,  in  the  summer  of  1769,  she 
wrote  a  letter  with  her  own  hand  to  the 
director*   of    the  Academy  of  Sciences  at 
St.  Petersburg,  in  which  she  desired  to  be 
informed  of  the  most  proper  places  in  hei 
dominions  for   making   observations;    and 
off'ered  to  send  workmen  and  artists^  and  to 
construct  buildings  in  all  such  places  as  the 
academy  might  think  proper  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  to  grant  every  assistance  requisite 
to  the  undertaking.     At  the  same  time  she 
desired,  that   if  there  were   not   sufficient 
astronomers  in  the  academy  to  make  obser- 
vations in  all  t-he  favourable  localities,  that 
notice  might  be  given  her,  and  she  would 
send  a  proper  number  of  the  officers  of  her 
marine   to   qualify   themselves,  under    the 
direction  of  the  professors  of  the  academy, 
for  that  undertaking.     Such  is  the  extent 
of  the    Russian  empire,   that  the  observa- 
tions "which  were  made,  both  on  the  transit 
and  exit   of  this   planet    (the   one   in   the 
frozen  regions   towards  the  Pole,  and  the 
other  on  the  borders  of  the  Caspian),  were 
carried  on  within  its  own  limits;  to  some 
part  of  which,  astronomers  from  every  part 
of  Europe  went  to  behold  that  remarkable 
occurrence.     It  is  interesting  to  add,  that 
the  instruments  used   by  the  members  of 
the  academy  on  this  occasion,  were  specially 
procured  for   them  from   London,  by  Mr. 
Short,  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society,  who 
was  so  successful  in  his  efforts,  and  in  the 
suggestions  he  offered,  that  he  teceived  the 
thanks  of  that  body,  and  a  letter  containing 
a  confession  of  the  doubt  they  entertained 
of  being  able  to  comply  with  the  desires  of 
the  empress  without  his  assistance. 

In  the  year  1768,  Catherine  narrowly 
escaped  perishing  by  the  hand  of  an  as- 
sassin. The  fate  of  Peter  III.  had  not  been 
forgotten  by  the  people,  who  now  regarded 
the  memory  of  that  unfortunate  monarch 
with  a  feeling  approaching  to  affection. 
Amongst  the  malcontents  who  mourned  the 
murder  of  the  late  emperor,  was  a  young 
officer  named  Tschoglokoff,  who  appears  to 
have  been  of  a  highly  excitable,  if  not 
disordered  mind.  He  entertained  a  super- 
stitious belief  that  he  was  directed  by 
heaven  to  avenge  the  fate  of  Peter,  by- 
depriving  the  empress  of  life.  After  brood- 
ing for  some  time  ou  this  idea,  he  resorted 


*  Vladimir  OrloflF,  the  youngest  brother  of  Gre- 
gory and  Alexis;  the  eldest,  Ivan,  lived  a  retired 
life,  and  received  from  Catherine  the  nickname  of 
"  the  Philosopher." 

273 


PATRONAGE  OF  SCTENCE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1768. 


to  the  palace  for  several  days  in  succession, 
and  lurked  about  in  the  ill-lighted  passages 
leading  to  the  apartments  to  which  Cathe- 
rine retired  when  she  wished  to  be  alone. 
In  one  of  these  passages,  through  which  she 
was  shortly  about  to  pass,  was  the  intended 
assassin   arrested,    in    consequence    of    his 
having  rashly  confided  his  design  to  another 
officer,  whose  friendship  for  him  he  incor- 
rectly  supposed   to   be   stronger   than    his 
duty  to  his  sovereign.     When  TschoglokoflF 
was  seized,   a  long  poniard  was  found  on 
him,  and  he  confessed,  without  hesitation, 
the  use  for  which  it  was  designed.     Cathe- 
rine   concealed    the    fear    with   which   we 
may  reasonably  suppose  such   a   discovery 
inspired  her:   she  also  suppressed  her   in- 
dignation, and  generously  spared  the   life 
of  the   enthusiast  who  would   have   taken 
her's.     Commanding    him   to   be   brought 
into  her  presence,  she  mildly  expostulated 
with  him  on  the  enormity  of  the  crime  he 
had  striven  to  commit.     Instead  of  being 
hurried  to  the  scaffold,  he  was  at  first  sent 
to    prison,    and   afterwards    exiled    to    the 
heart  of  Siberia.     Something  of  policy  was 
doubtless  mingled  with  this  mercy;  but  it 
was  mercy,  nevertheless ;  and  such  as  per- 
haps no  other  potentate  in  Europe,  at  that 
time,  would  have  been  wise  enough  to  ex- 
tend to   any  similar   criminal.      Catherine 
desired   not    publicly   to    punish    a   crime 
which,  if  it  had  been  much  talked  of,  might 
soon  have  had  imitators. 

In  order 'to  carry  out  those  national  im- 
provements to  which  the  empress  addressed 
herself  with  so  much  energy,  she  gave 
orders  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  to  select 
a  number  of  learned  and  able  men,  for  the 
purpose  of  travelling  over  the  empire  and 
reporting  concerning  the  capacities  of  the 
land  and  the  wants  of  the  people.  Her 
commands  were  executed  in  a  manner  that 
did  much  honour  to  the  academy.  Several 
very  distinguished  men  were  amongst  those 
engaged  in  this  vast  labour,  and  their 
journals  contained  a  vast  amount  of  valu- 
able information.  At  this  period  the  court 
of  Catherine  obtained  the  illustrious  dis- 
tinction of  being  regarded  almost  as  the 
home  of  the  sciences ;  for  to  it  she  invited 
distinguished  learned  men  from  every  part 
of  Europe. 

The  empress  had  the  acuteness  to  per- 
ceive that  it  is  less  by  the  power  of  the 
Bword,  the  roar  of  artillery,  and  the  fierce 
parade  of  war,  than  by  precedence  in  the 
sciences  and  the  arts,  that  nations  obtain 
274 


an  illustrious   place   in   the  annals  of  the 
world.     She  therefore  encouraged  artists  of 
all   kinds,  and  scholars  of  all  views ;    and 
while  granting  new  privileges  to  the  Aca- 
demy of  Sciences  with  a  noble  liberality, 
exhorted  its  members  to  add  the  names  of 
several  celebrated  foreigners  to  those  which 
already  conferred  a  lustre  on  their  society. 
She  also  assigned  an  annual  sum  of  5,000 
roubles  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  transla- 
tions of  the  literature  of  other  nations  into 
the   Russian   language.     Nor  did  she   less 
cherish   the   interests   of  the  Academy   of 
Arts.     She    increased  the    number   of    its 
pupils,   whom   she   directed   were    not,   in 
future,  to  be  received  after  the  age  of  six 
years,    that   their    tempers    might    not   be 
spoilt,  or  their  manners  corrupted  by  the 
influence  of  a  bad  education.     When  ad- 
mitted,  the   boys   were    placed    for    three 
years  under  the  care  of  women ;  after  which 
thev  were  delivered  to  the  more  advanced 
tutors ;  and  they  were  finally  instructed  in 
the  art  for  the  acquirement  of  which  they 
displayed  the  most  aptitude.     Some  became 
painters,  sculptors,  architects,  watchmakers, 
or  engravers  ;  while  others  learnt  the  art  of 
casting   in   metals,   or   of   making   mathe- 
matical and  optical  instruments.     All  these 
lads  were  clothed,  fed,  and  lodged   at  the 
public    expense;    and,    during    the   whole 
period  of  their  residence  at  the  academy, 
their  parents  were  not  at  any  expense  for 
them  whatever.     They  remained  for  fifteen 
years  at  the  institution ;  and,  on  leaving  it, 
those  who  carried  off  the   highest   prizes, 
received  a  sum  of  money  for  the  purpose  of 
travelling  for  three  years  over  Europe. 

At   this   period,  that  once  terrible,   but 
now  disarmed  malady,  the  small-pox,  made 
great   ravages  amongst  the   inhabitants  of 
St.  Petersburg.     Neither  rank  nor  fortune 
secured  to  its  possessors  any  security  from 
the  assaults  of  this  frightful  disease.     The 
beautiful    Countess     Scheremetoff  was   at- 
tacked and  carried  off  by  it  on  the  very  eve 
of  her  intended  marriage  to  Count  Panin. 
Considerable  alarm  prevailed,  and  the  em- 
press and  her  son,  the  Grand-duke  Paul, 
avoided  the  capital,  and  remained  at  Tzarsko- 
selo.     Under  these  circumstances  a  proposal 
was  made  for  introducing  the  practice  of 
inoculation  into  the  empire.     A  remedy  was 
anxiously  desired ;  but  a  natural  antipathy 
existed  against  submitting  to  an  operation 
which,  on  a  first  reflection,  appeared  both 
repugnant    and   unnatural.      The   empress 
and  the  Grand-duke  Paul  (the  latter,  doubt- 


A.D.  1768.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [introduction  of  inoculation. 


less,  influenced  by  the  decision  of  his  distin- 
guished mother)  resolved  themselves  to  set 
an  example  by  first  submitting  to  an  opera- 
tion still  regarded  as  both   hazardous  and 
experimental  in  its  nature.     Inoculation  had 
been  most  practised  in  En[^land,  where  it 
was   introduced,   about  forty  years  before, 
from    Turkey,   by  the  famous  Lady   Mary 
Wortley   Montague.*      In   the   summer  of 
1768,  Dr.  Thomas  Dimsdale,  an  able  phy- 
sician of  London,  was  invited  by  Catherine 
to  St.  Petersburg.     On  being  introduced  to 
her  majesty,  she  showed  great  perspicuity  in 
the  questions  she  put  to  him  concerning  the 
practice  and  success  of  inoculation,  and  then 
invited  him  to  dine  with  her.     The  following 
is  the   doctor's   description  of  the   repast, 
which,  as  presenting  a  picture  of  imperial 
life  in  Russia  at  the  court  of  this  famous 
sovereign,   is    not   destitute    of  interest   to 
those  who  find  a  pleasure  in  efforts  of  the 
imagination  at  realising  the  scenes  of  past 
times  and  the  habits  of  the  famous  ones  of 
the  earth : — "  The  empress  sat  singly  at  the 
upper  end  of  a  long  table,  at  which  about 
twelve  of  the   nobility  were   guests.     The 
entertainment  consisted  of  a  variety  of  ex- 
cellent dishes,  served  up  after  the  French 
fashion ;  and  was  concluded  by  a  dessert  of 
the  finest  fruits  and  sweetmeats,  such  as  I 
little  expected  to  find  in  that  northern  cli- 
mate.    Most  of  these  luxuries  were,  how- 
ever, the  produce  of  the  empress's  own  do- 
minions.   Pine-apples,  indeed,  are  chiefly  im- 
ported from  England ;  though  those  of  the 
growth  of  Russia,  of  which  we  had  one  that 
day,  are  of  good  flavour,  but  generally  small. 
Water-melons  and  grapes  are  brought  from 
Astracan;    great    plenty   of    melons   from 
Moscow,    and   apples   and   pears  from  the 
Ukraine.     But   what    most    enlivened   the 
whole    entertainment   was    the    unaffected 
ease  and  affabihty  of  the  empress  herself. 
Each  of  her  guests  had  a  share  of  her  atten- 
tion and  politeness;  the  conversation  was 
kept  up  with  a  freedom  and  cheerfulness  to 
be  expected  rather  from  persons  of  the  same 
rank,   than  from  subjects  admitted  to  the 
honour  of  their  sovereign's  company." 

Dr.  Dimsdale  afterwards  desired  the  em- 
press to  grant  him  the  assistance  of  her 
court   physicians,   to   whom   he  wished  to 

•  When  we  occasionally  descant  with  so  much 
fluency  upon  the  barbarism  and  prejudices  of  other 
nations,  it  would  be  as  well  to  reflect  upon  the  igno- 
rant and  superstitious  opposition  with  which  the 
beautiful  and  witty  Lady  Mary  was  encountered  in 
her  benevolent  attempt  to  introduce  the  practice  of 


communicate  his  mode  of  proceeding,  and 
the  medicines  he  administered  to  his  distin- 
guished patients.     To  this  Catherine  would 
not  consent,  and  stated  her  reasons  at  length. 
"  You  are  come  well  recommended  to  me,'' 
said  she;  "the  conversation  I  have  had  with 
you  on  this  subject  has  been  verv  satisfac- 
tory, and  my  confidence  in  you  is  increased. 
I  have  not  the  least  doubt  of  your  abilities 
and  knowledge  in  this  practice,  while  it  is 
impossible   that    my   physicians   can    have 
much  skill  in  this  operation.     They  want 
experience ;  their  interposition  may  tend  to 
embarrass  you,  without  the  least  probability 
of  giving  any  useful  assistance.     My  Hfe  i*s 
my  own;  and  I  shall,  with  the  utmost  cheer- 
fulness, rely  on  your  care  alone.     With  re- 
gard to  my  constitution,  you  could  receive 
no  information  from  them.     I  have  had,  I 
thank  God,  so  good  a  share  of  health,  that 
their  advice  has  never  been  required;  and 
you  shall,  from  myself,  receive  every  infor- 
mation that  can  be  necessary.     I  have  also 
to  acquaint  you  that  it  is  my  determination 
to    be   inoculated    before  the   grand-duke, 
and  as  soon  as  you  judge  it  convenient.     At 
the  same  time  I  desire  that  this  may  remain 
a  secret  business ;  and  I  enjoin  you  to  let 
it  be   supposed   that,  for   the   present,   all 
thoughts  of  my  own  inoculation  are   laid 
aside.     The  preparation  of  the  great  experi- 
ment on  the  grand-duke  will  countenance 
your  visits  to  the  palace ;  and  I  desire  to  see 
you  as  often  as  it  may  seem  necessary,  that 
you  may  become  still  better  acquainted  with 
what  relates  to  my  constitution,  and  also  for 
adjusting  the  time  and  other  circumstances 
of  my  own  inoculation." 

The  empress  was  much  pleased  with  the 
satisfactory  manner  in  which  Dr.  Dimsdale 
performed  the  operation,  both  upon  herself 
and  upon  the  grand-duke.  She  rewarded 
the  successful  experimentalist  with  a  pre- 
sent of  ^10,000,  together  with  a  pension  of 
£500  a-year,  to  be  paid  him  in  England, 
and  by  creating  him  a  baron  of  the  Russian 
empire.  On  Dr.  Dirasdale's  son,  who  ac- 
companied and  assisted  his  father,  she  con- 
ferred a  similar  title,  and  presented  with  a 
superb  gold  snuff-box,  richly  set  with  dia- 
monds. Before  Dr.  Dimsdale  left  Russia, 
the  empress  purchased  a  house,  and,  under 

inoculation  into  this  country.  The  clergy  actually 
preached  from  their  pulpits  on  the  impiety  of  thus 
seeking  to  take  events  out  of  the  hands  of  Providence; 
and  the  people  were  taught  to  hoot  at  her,  as  an  un- 
natural mother  who  had  risked  the  lives  of  her  own 
children. 

.   275 


TURKEY  DECLARES  WAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1767. 


A.D.  17G9.] 


his  able  directions,  converted  it  into  a  hos- 
pital for  the  purposes  of  inoculation,  which, 
under  these  favourable  circumstances,  was 
soon  resorted  to  bv  the  most  sensible  of 
the  Russian  people.  In  a  grand  thanks- 
giving service  for  the  recovery  of  the  em- 


press, which  was  performed  in  the  chapel 
of  the  palace,  the  metropolitan  observed,  in 
the  course  of  his  sermon,  "that  the  Rus- 
sians liad  borrowed  assistance  from  Britain; 
that  island  famed  for  wisdom,  bravery,  and 
virtue.^' 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

AFFAIRS  OF  POLAND;  WAR  BETWEEN  RUSSIA  AND  TURKEY;  VISIT  OF  PRINCE  HENRY  OF  PRUSSIA  TO 
CATHERINE;  AN  IMPERIAL  FETE;  REVERSES  OF  THE  TURKS;  WALLACHIA,  MOLDAVIA,  AND  BESSARABIA 
ACKNOWLEDGE  CATHERINE  AS  THEIR  SOVEREIGN  ;  NAVAL  VICTORY  OF  THE  RUSSIANS  IN  THE  BAY  OF 
TSCHESME;  SCHEME  FOR  THE  SUBJECTION  OF  GREECE  AND  EGYPT  TO  RUSSIA  J  FATE  OF  THE  YOUNG 
PRINCESS  TARRAKANOFF. 


Poland,  though  retaining  a  delusive  sem- 
blance of  independence,  was  in  fact  but  little 
more  than  a  province  of  Russia.  Its  king 
had  been  elected,  and  its  laws  were  framed, 
by  Russian  influence,  while  its  states  were 
governed  through  the  instrumentality  of  a 
Russian  array.  The  intolerant  and  tyraii- 
iiical  conduct  of  the  Polish  priesthood  and 
catholic  nobles  had  given  Catherine  an  ex- 
cuse for  interference;  but  the  Poles  saw 
that  their  national  independence  was  perish- 
ing, and  the  Ottoman  Porte  became  reason- 
ably jealous  of  the  almost  absolute  influence 
over  Poland  which  its  great  northern  neigh- 
bour had  acquired.  Catherine  did  not  seek 
for  war  with  Turkey ;  and  when  that  power, 
in  consequence  of  the  appeal  made  to  it  by 
the  Poles,  and  in  accordance  with  a  policy 
usually  regarded  as  a  wise  one,  first  assumed 
a  menacing  attitude,  she  suspended  the 
settlement  of  the  limits  between  Russia 
and  Poland,  without,  however,  abandoning 
her  idea  of  eventually  seizing  on  a  portion 
of  the  latter  country. 

Poland  was  distracted  by  a  furious  servile 
war  between  the  united  catholic  nobles 
and  priesthood  and  the  Dissidents.  Almost 
everv    conceivable    horror   reigrned   in    that 

1  CD 

miserable  country ;  and  the  fields,  instead  of 
being  devoted  to  the  culture  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  were  often  covered  with  the 
unburied  bodies  of  those  who  used  to  till 
them.  The  catholic  confederates  again  im- 
plored assistance  from  the  Turks — a  requisi- 
tion which  was  supported  by  the  influence 
of  France.  The  sultan  resolved  on  war; 
and  causing  the  Russian  ambassador  to  be 
276    . 


arrested,  had  him  (in  October,  1767)  placed 
in  confinement  within  the  walls  of  the 
famous  prison-fortress,  called  the  Castle  of 
the  Seven  Towers.  At  the  sajne  time  a 
temperately- written  manifesto,  by  the  sultan, 
explanatory  of  the  cause  of  the  hostile  de- 
meanour to  Russia,  was  delivered  to  the 
foreign  ministers  residing  at  Constantinople. 
In  it  the  empress  was  charged  as  a  breaker 
of  treaties ;  with  having  "  set  up  for  a  king  a 
private  Polish  officer,  in  whose  family  there 
had  never  been  any  king,  and  to  whom 
loyalty  was  not  becoming ;''  and  with  in- 
vading a  frontier  of  the  territories  of  the 
Porte,  and  there  massacring  upwards  of  a 
thousand  Mussulmans. 

Though  Catherine  had  not  desired  war 
with  an  enemy  so  powerful  as  the  sultan, 
yet  she  had  prepared  for,  and  no  longer 
sought  to  avoid,  a  contest  which,  sooner  or 
later,  was  inevitable.  Catherine  issued  a 
declaration  to  the  courts  of  Europe,  in  which 
she  declared  that  the  intentions  of  Russia 
had  been  calumniated;  and  complained,  in 
a  tone  of  dignity,  of  the  insult  offered  to  her 
ambassador.  "  The  honour  and  glory  of  her 
imperial  majesty/^  said  this  document,  "the 
regard  to  her  empire,  point  out  the  part  it 
is  right  for  her  to  take.  Confiding  in  the 
justice  of  her  cause,  she  appeals  to  all  Chris- 
tian courts  on  the  situation  she  finds  herself 
in  with  regard  to  the  common  enemy  of 
Christianity."  Immense  preparations  were 
made  in  Turkey  for  the  war,  and  the  Porte 
gave  out  that  they  intended  to  open  the 
campaign  with  an  army  of  500,000  men. 

The  empress  was  not  behindhand;   and 


she  gathered  a  formidable  armv,  or  rather ' 
series  of  armies.     Indeed,  on  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  the  general  voice  of  Europe 
seemed  to   presage  victory  to   Russia,  and 
many   persons   expressed    an   opinion   that 
that  power  would  be  in  possession  of  Con-  I 
stantinople  before  the  end  of  the  first  cam-  | 
paign.     Early   in    1769   her   troops   began 
their  march,  and   soon  extended   from  the 
banks  of  tiie  Danube  to  those  of  the  Kuban. 
Azoff"  and  Taganrog  were  also  put  in  a  state 
of  defence;  and  Catherine  caused  her  fleet 
in  the  Euxine  to  be  augmented.  The  Tartars 
of  the  Crimea,  so  long  dreaded  by  the  Rus- 
sians, were  the  first  who  now  felt  the  weight 
of  their   arms.     The    Russian   forces  next 
laid  siege  to  the  fortress  of  Choczim,  re- 
gardcd  as  the  key  of  the  Turkish  empire. 
The  Moslems  knew  the  advantage  of  this 
stronghold,    and    they    concentrated    their 
whole  power  in  its  defence.     Many  furious 
engagements    followed,    attended     by    im- 
mense loss  to  both  sides,  and  not  produc- 
tive of  any  great  advantage  to  either. 

Catherine  and    Frederic  of  Prussia  sur- 
mised each  other's  intentions  with  respect 
to  the   partition   of  Poland;    but  each   of 
them  felt   the  necessity  of  conferring   to- 
gether on  that  great  design.     Yet,  as   an 
interview  between  them  might  excite  sus- 
picions in  the  minds  of  the  other  monarchs 
of  Europe,  Frederic  determined  on  sending 
his  brother,  Prince  Henry,  into  Russia,  to 
represent  his  views  to  the  empress.     This 
prince   was    one    of    the    most   celebrated 
generals  of  the  age ;  and  so  great  were  his 
military    talents,    that    even    his   illustrious 
brother,  never  prone  to  pay  comphiiients, 
said  of  him,  that,  in  commanding  an  armv, 
he   was  never  known   to   commit   a   fault 
Professor    Richardson,  then   at   St.  Peters- 
burg with  the  family  of  Lord  Cathcart  (the 
English  ambassador),  gave  the  following  viva- 
cious description  of  the  Prussian  prince  :— 
"To  judge   of  him    by   his    appearance,    I 
should  form  no  high  estimate  of  his  abili- 
ties.    But  the  Scythian  ambassadors  judged 
in  the  same  manner  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
He  is  under  the  middle  size;  very  thin  ;  he 
walks  firmly  enough,  or  rather  struts,  as  if 
he  wanted   to  walk  firmly;   and  has  little 
dignity  in  his  air  or  gesture.     He  is  dark- 
complexioned,  and  wears  his  hair,  which  is 
remarkably  thick,  clubbed  and  dressed  with 
a  high  toupte.     His  forehead  is  high,   his 
eyes  large,  with  a  Httle  squint;  and,  when 
he  smiles,  his  upper  lip  is  drawn  up  a  little 
in  the  middle.     His  look  expresses  sagacity 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [prixce  henry  visits  Catherine. 


and  observation,  but  nothing  very  amiable- 
and   his   manner  is  |rave  and  stiff",  rather 
than  affable.     He  was  dressed,  when  I  first 
saw  him,  in  a  light-blue  frock,  with  silver 
rogs;    and  wore  a  red  waistcoat  and  blue 
breeches.     He  is  not  very  popular  among 
the  Russians ;   and  their  wits  are  disposeil 
to  amuse  themselves  with  his  appearance, 
and  particularly  with  his  toupee.     Thev  say 
he  resembles  Sampson ;  that  all  his  strength 
lies  in  his  hair ;  and  that,  conscious  of  this 
and   recollecting    the   fate   of    the   son   of 
I  Manoah,  he  suffers  not  the  nigh  approaches 
I  of  any  deceitful  DaHlah." 
i      Some  artifices  were  resorted  to  to  make 
the  visit  of  Prince  Henry  to  the  Russian 
court   appear   a   matter  rather  of  accident 
than  of  design.    On  his  arrival  at  St.  Peters- 
l)urg,   he  was,  however,  received   with   the 
honours    which    are    usually    paid    only   to 
monarchs.     On  the  day  of  his   being  pre- 
sented to  the  empress,  he  dined  in  public 
with    her;    and   all   that   passed  was   con- 
ducted with  the  most  rigorous  attention  to 
ceremony:    but,    on    subsequent   occasions, 
the  empress  and  the  prince  met  and  dis- 
coursed together  without  the  least  restraint. 
Catherine  entertained  her  guest  with  trulv 
imperial  magnificence  and  hospitality.     No't 
a  day  passed  without  some  new  festivity; 
and  one  entertainment,  at  Tzarsko-selo  (the 
palace  of  the  czars,  and  the  fixed  summer 
residence  of  Catherine),  has  been  deemed 
worthy  of  a  lengthened  description  by  many 
writers.    The  palace  stands  at  the  extremity 
of  a  thick  forest,  and  is  built  in  the  form  of 
an  amphitheatre.     The   exterior   impresses 
the  observer  with  a  sense  of  grandeur  from 
its  magnitude;  while  he  is  dazzled  with  the 
profusion    of    its    gilded    ornaments.      The 
gardens— laid  out  in  the  English  fashion- 
are  of  great  extent  and  beauty,  and  contain 
a  collection  of  antique  and  modern  statues, 
picturesque   ruins,   baths,   lakes,   pyramids, 
and  a  spacious  hall  for  musical  entertain- 
ments. 

It  was  in  this  magnificent  palace  that 
Catherine  gave  to  the  Prussian  prince  one 
of  those  extravagantly  gorgeous  entertain- 
ments with  which  she,  at  times,  delighted 
and  astonished  her  court.  On  the  approach 
of  evening,  the  empress,  the  Grand-duke 
Paul,  and  Prince  Henry,  entered  an  im- 
mense sledge  drawn  by  sixteen  horses,  and 
set  out  from  St.  Petersburg,  followed  by 
upwards  of  2,000  sledges,  filled  with  cour- 
tiers in  masquerade  costumes.  Along  the 
road  were  triumphal  arches,  lit  up  in  the 

277 


SUCCESSES  OF  RUSSIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  17G9. 


A.D.  1770.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[successes  of  RUSSIA. 


most  brilliant  manner ;  illuminated  temples, 
pyramids  of  lamps,  displays  of  fireworks, 
vaulting  and  tumbling,  and  rustic  dances 
by  shepherds  and  shepherdesses.  On  ap- 
proaching the  palace,  an  artificial  mountain 
was  seen  through  an  avenue  in  the  wood, 
pouring  out  from  its  summit  torrents  of 
flames,  in  imitation  of  Vesuvius  during  an 
eruption.  On  arriving  at  the  palace,  the 
company  danced  for  two  hours  in  a  suite  of 
apartments  lit  by  an  enormous  number  of 
wax- candles.  Then  came  a  roar  of  cannon ; 
the  ball  was  suspended ;  the  lights  were  all 
extinguished ;  and  the  company  ran  to  the 
windows,  from  which  they  enjoyed  a  magni- 
ficent exhibition  of  fireworks.  When  these 
were  terminated,  another  discharge  of  artil- 
lery took  place,  the  wax-candles  were  sud- 
denly relit  as  if  by  magic,  and  a  splendid 
supper  was  already  served  up,  and  only 
waiting  the  attack  of  the  guests.  After 
this  refreshment,  dancing  was  resumed, 
and  continued  until  a  late  hour  in  the 
morning.  Indeed,  all  the  entertainments 
of  the  empress  were  conducted  with  a  mag- 
nificence not  exceeded  by  any  court  in 
Europe. 

Among    the    numerous    presents    which 
Catherine  bestowed  upon    the   prince,  was 
the  star  of  the  order  of  St.  Andrew,  full  of 
very  large  brilliants,  and  containing  a  single 
diamond    valued    at   40,000    roubles.      AH 
these   pleasures  did   not   arrest  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  secret  object  of  the  journey 
of  the    brother  of  the   Prussian  monarch. 
The  dismemberment  of  Poland  was  resolved 
upon  ;  and  it  was  determined  that  Austria 
should    be    bribed    into    acquiescence    by 
making    her   a    sharer    in    the    spoliation. 
Prince  Henry  was  so  satisfied  of  the  con- 
sent of  Joseph  II.,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Maria  Theresa,  that  he  even  settled  with 
Catherine  the  conditions  to  be  observed  in 
the    dismemberment   of  Poland,  and  fixed 
the    extent   of  territory  that    each    of  the 
powers  engaged  in  this  iniquitous  scheme 
should    appropriate   to   itself.     The  treaty, 
however,  was   not  signed  until   two   years 
afterwards. 

The  war  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
raged  with  fury  on  the  frontiers  of  the 
latter  country.  The  results  were  variable ; 
and  the  Russians  were  twice  repulsed  from 
the  fortress  of  Choczim;  and  even  driven, 
for  a  time,  into  Poland.  But  though  the 
Turks  fought  with  great  courage,  the  igno- 
rance of  their  generals  drew  upon  them 
many  reverses;  and,  after  ten  months  of 
278 


war,  their  once  numerous  army  was  almost 
destroyed,  and  Choczim  eventually  sur- 
rendered to  a  very  small  force.  The 
ofi'ended  sultan  not  only  caused  his  un- 
successful general  to  be  deprived  of  the 
command,  but  also  to  be  put  to  death. 

Catherine,  satisfied  with  the  attitude  or 
her  fleet  on  the  Black  Sea,  boldly  resolved 
to  strike  a  blow  at  her  enemies  even  in  the 
Greek  islands.  With  this  object,  she  com- 
manded a  number  of  new  vessels  to  be  con- 
structed;  and  the  dockyards  of  Cronstadt, 
Revel,  and  Archangel  swarmed  with  work- 
men from  all  parts  of  the  country.  She 
laboured  strenuously  to  keep  up  a  good 
understanding  with  England  and  Denmark, 
then  the  two  most  important  maritime 
powers;  and  she  doubled  the  number  of 
English  naval  ofiicers  engaged  in  her  ser- 
vice. Amongst  the  experienced  British 
naval  officers  who  at  this  period  entered 
the  service  of  Catherine,  may  be  mentioned 
the  names  of  Elphinstone,  Greig,  Tate,  Dug- 
dale,  and  Admiral  Knowles.  The  empress 
also  requested  the  maritime  powers  to  give 
a  friendly  reception  and  assistance  to  her 
ships  of  war.  England  complied  with  this 
desire ;  but  other  states  regarded  it  un- 
favourably;  and  France,  Spain,  Venice, 
and  Naples,  would  only  consent  to  admit 
the  merchant  vessels  of  Russia  into  their 
ports. 

By  the   September   of  1769,  a  Russian 
fleet,   consisting  of  twenty  sail-of-the-line, 
together  with  six  frigates,  and  several  trans- 
port vessels  containing  troops,  steered  their 
course     into     the     Mediterranean,     whose 
waters  had  never  before  been  breasted  by 
the  war  vessels  of  the  great  northern  power. 
It  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Alexis 
Orloff*,  assisted  by  Admiral  Spiridoff*.     Eu- 
rope gazed  with  astonishment  on  the  spec- 
tacle   thus    presented.     A    nation    which, 
prior  to  that  century,  was  scarcely  known 
but  on  the  map,  had  sent  a  fleet  to  agitate 
the  remotest  parts  of  the  Mediterranean ;  to 
excite  and  support  the  insurrections  of  the 
Greek  Christians  against  their  Mohamme- 
dan masters;  and  to  create  confusion  and 
alarm  in  this  distant  part  of  the  vast  empire 
of  its  Ottoman  enemies.     Indeed,  this  expe- 
dition is   regarded    as   a   not   unimportant 
era  in  naval  history.     Catherine  was  aware 
that  the  fate  of  Poland,  and  the  considera- 
tion in  which   Russia  should  in  future  be 
held  in  Europe,  depended  on  the  result  of 
the  war  against  the  Turks,  and  she  there- 
fore exerted  herself  to  the  utmost  to  ensure 


its  success.  For  some  time  before  the  sail- 
ing of  the  Russian  expedition,  the  emis- 
saries of  the  empress  had  been  at  work 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  isles  of 
Greece,  with  the  object  of  exciting  a  general 
revolt  against  the  authority  of  the  Porte; 
but  the  Greeks  were  soon  found  to  be  fickle 
and  unprincipled,  deficient  both  in  dis- 
cipline and  courage,  and  far  more  devoted 
to  plundering  than  to  fighting. 

Prince   GaUtziu  was   superseded  in   the 
command   of  the   Russian   army  by  Count 
Roraantzoff".      General   Panin   and    Prince 
Dolgoruki  had   each   another   army   under 
their  directions.     The  Russians  opened  the 
campaign  of  1770  by  laying  siege  to  Bender, 
in  Bessarabia — a  place  which  had  acquired 
some  distinction  as  having  been  the  refuge 
of  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden.     Their  eff'orts 
were  unsuccessful,  chiefly  in  consequence  of 
the  harassing  attacks  to  which  they  were 
exposed  from  the  Tartars.     But  the  Rus- 
sians were  far  more  than  compensated  for 
this  disappointment  by  being  victorious  in 
two  pitched  battles  with  the  Turks.     The 
first  was  fought  on  the  banks  of  the  Pruth, 
where  a  Turkish  army,  amounting  to  80,000 
men,  was  stationed.    As  General  RomantzoflF 
was  unable,  for  some  time,  to  bring  them 
to   an   engagement,  he   made   such   move- 
ments  as   induced   the   enemy  to  imagine 
that  he  was  about  to  retreat.     The  Turks 
were  deceived,  and  detached  20,000  men  to 
pursue    him.      These    were    repulsed    with 
great  loss,  and  fled  back  in  terror  to  their 
camp.     The    Russians  followed  them;    the 
engagement  was  renewed;  and  the  Turks 
finally  abandoned  their  intrenchments  and 
a  great  part  of  their  baggage  and  artillery. 
The  Turks  retired  towards  the  Danube, 
where  they  were  joined  by  large  detach- 
ments from  the  grand  Ottoman  army.     The 
Russian   general,  uninformed   of  this,   and 
supposing  that  he  was  in  pursuit  of  an  army 
in  confusion,  followed  them  rapidly  with  a 
force    of  only  18,000   men,    and   suddenly 
found   himself  confronted  by  an   army  of 
150,000  Turks.      The  grand- vizier  saw  his 
advantage,    and    surrounded    the    Russian 
army  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cut  off  all 
possibility  of  retreat.     The  following  morn- 
ing the  Russians  were  attacked  on  all  sides 
at  once ;  and  notwithstanding  the  immense 
disparity  of  numbers,  the  firing  was  kept  up 
for   five    hours   without    any   decided    ad- 
vantage to  either  of  the  adversaries.     The 
Russian   general   then   seems  to   have   re- 
membered, that  as  the  enemy  could  afford 


to  lose  eight  men  to  his  one,  a  contest  thus 
conducted  must  terminate  in  his  defeat, 
and  the  probable  destruction  of  his  troops. 
There  was  but  one  chance  of  escape— to 
charge  with  the  bayonet,  and,  by  a  despe- 
rate effort,  burst  through  the  ranks  of  the 
foe.  This  plan  was  adopted,  and  the  Turks 
gave  way  before  the  furious  charge  of  their 
assailants,  and  retreated  within  their  in- 
trenchments. Encouraged  by  this  success, 
the  Russians  renewed  their  efforts  with 
redoubled  energy.  The  Turkish  host  was 
thrown  into  confusion,  and  took  to  flight, 
leaving  an  immense  number  of  dead  and 
wounded  upon  the  field  of  battle,  and 
abandoning  143  pieces  of  brass  cannon,  and 
7,000  waggons  loaded  with  provisions. 

Other  successes  followed.  Bender,  which 
had  been  a  sfecond  time  besieged,  sur- 
rendered, after  a  resistance  of  nearly  three 
months,  to  General  Panin.  On  the  fall  of 
this  fortress,  the  Tartars  of  Budziak  and 
Otchakof  submitted  to  the  Russian  rule. 
Indeed,  so  great  were  the  triumphs  of  the 
imperial  arms,  that  the  provinces  of  Wal- 
lachia,  Moldavia,  and  Bessarabia,  acknow- 
ledged the  Russians  as  their  masters,  and 
sent  deputies  to  do  homage  to  Catherine. 

By  sea  the  Russians  obtained  a  success  of 
which  they  were  far  more   proud  than  of 
their  triumphs  by  land.     The  squadron  of 
Admiral  Spiridoff,  in  the  Archipelago,  was 
joined   by  another  under  Elphinstone,  an 
English  naval  officer,  who  held  the  rank  of 
vice-admiral  in  the  Russian  service.     The 
Turkish  fleet  opposed  to  the  united  Russian 
squadron   was   under   the   directions    of    a 
capudan-pasha,  whose  skill  and  valour  had 
obtained  for  him  the  surname  of  Gazi,  or 
*'  the  Victorious."    He  had  won  some  advan- 
tage over  the  Russians,  and  compelled  them 
to  retire  from  Lemnos ;  but  he  was  soon  to 
experience  the  superior   power  of  his  foe. 
On  the  5th  of  July,  1770,  the  rival  fleets 
met  in  the  channel  that  separates  the  Isle 
of  Scio  from  Natolia.     The  Turkish  fleet, 
besides  being  superior  in  point  of  number 
to   that    of    the    Russians,    was    stationed 
behind  some  small  islands  and  rocks,  which 
formed  for  it  a   sort  of  natural   intrench- 
ment.     Yet  the  Russians  had  the  spirit  to 
accept  the  offered  battle,  and  the  engage- 
ment commenced.     The  Sultan,  a  ship  of 
90   guns,   bearing    the    flag  of    the   capu- 
dan-pasha, challenged  that  of  Admiral  Spiri- 
doff, and  the  two  vessels  were  soon  side  by 
side  in  furious  combat.     Desperate  efforts 
were  made  on  each  side,  and  showers  of 

279 


THE  BATTLE  OF  TSCHESME.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1770. 


balls  and  grenades  crossed  the  deck  of  each 
vessel.  At  length  the  Turkish  ship  caught 
fire;  and  as  the  Russian  one  could  not  be 
disengaged  from  it,  they  both  blew  up 
together,  and  covered  the  sea  with  their 
smoking  fragments.  The  admirals  and  a 
few  officers  were  rescued;  but  the  crews 
perished. 

A  pause  in  the  engagement  ensued  while 
the  ships  were  burning ;  and  the  other 
vessels,  struck  with  terror  for  a  time,  aban- 
doned the  fight.  It  was  soon  renewed ; 
but  the  approach  of  night  separated  the 
combatants.  The  Turks  then  committed 
an  error  which  led  to  their  destruction. 
They  had  the  imprudence  to  enter  the  nar- 
row and  slimy  bay  of  Tschesme,  where 
some  of  their  vessels  ran  aground,  and  the 
confined  space  deprived  the  rest  of  the 
power  of  action.  The  following  morning 
Vice-admiral  Elphinstone  stationed  himself 
at  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  to  prevent  the 
egress  of  the  Turks.  He  then  directed 
that  four  fire-ships  should  be  prepared, 
placed  under  the  protection  of  the  English 
Lieutenant  Dugdale,  and  protected  by  the 
vessels  of  another  Englishman — Vice-admi- 
ral Greig.  The  day  passed  away;  and  as 
midnight  approached,  Greig  attacked  the 
Turks  with  four  ships  of  the  line  and  two 
frigates.  Under  cover  of  this  diversion, 
Dugdale  approached  the  Turkish  fleet  with 
his  fire-ships.  Braving  the  vigorous  fire  of 
the  enemy,  and  encouraging  the  hesitating 
Russians  by  his  example,  he  himself  fas- 
tened the  grapplings  of  a  fire-ship  to  one  of 
the  Turkish  vessels,  and  then,  with  his 
hands,  face,  and  hair  all  burnt,  threw  him- 
self into  the  sea,  and  swam  to  the  Russian 
squadron.  So  effectual  was  the  fire,  and  so 
crowded  were  the  Turkish  vessels,  that 
within  five  hours  the  whole  fleet  was  de- 
stroyed. Only  one  man-of-war  and  a  few 
galleys  escaped  the  devouring  flames  ;  and 
this  was  in  consequence  of  their  being  towed 
off  by  the  Russians.  The  Turkish  sailors 
made  no  efforts  to  stop  the  conflagration, 
and  sought  only  to  secure  their  own  safety. 
Some  got  away  in  boats,  and  others  leaped 
into  the  sea  and  endeavoured  to  save  them- 
selves by  swimming;  but  the  Russians, 
with  an  unnecessary  ferocity,  sent  out  boats 
to  knock  these  poor  struggling  wretches  on 
the  head,  or  dispatched  them  by  grapeshot 
from  the  ships.  An  English  officer  who 
was  in  command  of  a  Russian  boat,  struck 
with  horror  at  this  massacre,  endeavoured 
to  put  a  stop  to  it ;  but  he  was  told  by  the 
280 


Russians  that  it  was  Count  Orloff's  order 
that  no  quarter  should  be  given.  The 
Turks  who  reached  the  shore  dispersed 
themselves  about  the  country,  and  com- 
mitted  such  excesses,  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  send  out  a  body  of  troops  to 
put  an  end  to  their  ravages.  If  it  had  not 
been  for  the  explosion  of  Admiral  Spiridoff's 
ship,  which  involved  the  destruction  of  six 
or  seven  hundred  persons,  the  Russians 
would  have  purchased  this  victory  very 
cheaply,  as,  with  that  exception,  they  had 
not  fifty  men  killed  and  wounded.  Indeed, 
the  greater  part  of  the  ships  had  never 
come  into  action,  and  Orloff  himself  had 
kept  at  a  distance,  which  preserved  him 
from  all  chance  of  danger.  The  loss  of  the 
Turks  was  very  severe,  and  estimated  by 
their  victorious  enemies  at  10,000  men ; 
but  this  was  a  gross  exaggeration.  Still 
the  slaughter  was  terrible ;  for  this  Russian 
victory  was  little  else  than  a  conflagration 
and  a  massacre;  and  for  many  weeks  the 
bay  and  its  shores  were  covered  with  dead 
bodies,  putrefying  beneath  the  burning  heat 
of  a  summer^s  sun.  When  the  work  of 
blood  was  over,  and  while  the  Russians 
were  yet  reeking  with  the  steam  of 
slaughter,  Orloff  ordered  a  general  thanks- 
giving to  the  Deity  for  the  success  of  the 
Russian  arms;  and  the  applauding  Greek 
priests,  who  had  put  off  in  boats  from  the 
villages  of  Scio,  Samos,  and  Anatolia, 
sprinkled  the  ships  with  holy  water,  and 
gave  their  blessings  to  the  crews.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  infuriated  Turks  massacred 
every  Greek  they  could  find — man,  woman, 
or  child — between  Tschesme  and  Smyrna. 

After  the  destruction  of  the  Turkish 
fleet,  the  Russians  entered  the  harbour  and 
bombarded  the  town,  and  a  castle  which 
protected  it,  w^ith  so  much  success,  that 
both  were  reduced  to  a  heap  of  rubbish. 
The  conflagration  of  the  Turkish  vessels 
was  the  result  of  the  exertions  of  the  Eng- 
lishmen— Elphinstone,  Greig,  Dugdale,  and 
Mackenzie ;  but  the  empress  gave  the 
credit  of  the  idea  of  it  to  Alexis  Orloff. 
The  Russian  fleet  then  anchored  at  Paros, 
from  which  point  they  commanded  all  the 
Greek  seas,  and  where  they  did  not  permit 
a  single  vessel  to  approach  without  lower- 
ing its  topsails. 

Orloff  dispatched  a  courier  with  the  news 
to  the  empress  Catherine,  who  was  the  first 
person  in  St.  Petersburg  made  acquainted 
with  the  victory  of  Tschesme.  Information 
of  the  event  was  received  with  extreme  joy, 


A.D.  1771—1772.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[alexis  orloff. 


and   magnificent  festivities   given  to   cele- 
brate it.     When,  in  the  spring  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  Alexis  Orloff  returned  to  St. 
Petersburg  to  enjoy  his  triumphs,  the  re- 
joicings  were   renewed;    and   he   was    de- 
corated  by   the   empress   with   the    grand 
riband  of  St.  George.     He  then  laid  before 
the  council  a  scheme  for  the  subjection  of 
Greece    to    the   Russian   sceptre,  and   the 
rescue  of  Egypt  from  the  dominion  of  the 
Porte.      To   accomplish   this,   he    said    he 
would  force  the  passage  of  the  Dardanelles ; 
and   that   to   effect   all    these   designs,   he 
desired  only  ten  millions  of  roubles.     "I 
grant  you  twenty,''  was  the  reply  of  the 
ambitious  Catherine,   ''for   I   am   resolved 
that  you  shall  want  for  nothing.''     At  the 
same  time  she  issued  a  command  for  the 
equipment  of  a  new  squadron,  to  reinforce 
that  which  was  already  in  the  Archipelago ; 
and  the  Russians,  intoxicated  by  an  acci- 
dental success,  vainly  dreamed  of  becoming 
a   great   naval   power.     Catherine,   in   the 
height  of  her   success,   even   contemplated 
the  expulsion  of  the  Turks  from  Europe. 

The  Ottoman  empire  was  not  only  humi- 
liated by  the  serious  reverses  it  had  expe- 
rienced, but  distracted  by  internal  misfor- 
tunes.    Egypt  was  in  a  state  of  rebellion, 
under  the  able  Ali  Bey.      Constantinople 
was    ravaged    by   the   plague;   where,   for 
several   weeks,   about    a   thousand    people 
died    daily   from    this    terrible    visitation. 
The   runaway   sailors   from   the    destroyed 
fleet   also,  united  with    all    the  vagabonds 
and  rufiians  who  chose  to  join  them,  filled 
the  city  with  dread,  in  consequence  of  their 
plundering  and  violence,  and  made  several 
attempts  to  set  it  and  the  suburbs  on  fire. 
So    powerful    did    these   dissolute    ruffians 
become,  that   they   ventured    on   an   open 
engagement  with  the  Janissaries,  who  cut 
many  thousand  of  them  to  pieces,  and  dis- 
persed   the    rest.     Notwithstanding    these 
calamities,   the   Porte   adopted   every   pre- 
caution for  the  security  of  the  Dardanelles. 
The  Turkish  government  collected  the  ships 
still  in  its  possession,  and  fitted  them  out  to 
assist    in   defending   that  famous  passage; 
new  batteries  were  erected   on  the  straits, 
and  the  castles  put  into  a  proper  state  of 
defence. 

In  1771,  Count  Alexis  Orloff  left  St. 
Petersburg,  crowned  with  honours  and 
loaded  with  rewards,  in  order  to  return  to 
the  Archipelago.  On  his  way  he  passed 
some  time  at  Vienna,  where  he  gave  him- 
self up  to  a  luxuriousness  so  extravagant  as 

VOL.  I.  2  o 


to  excite  general  surprise.  One  evening, 
while  at  supper  with  the  Russian  ambas' 
sador  and  a  numerous  company,  he  spoke 
of  the  revolution  which  had  'placed  the 
empress  Catherine  on  the  throne.  From 
motives  of  delicacy  no  one  questioned  him 
concerning  the  death  of  the  unfortunate 
Peter ;  but  he  created  a  sensation  of  horror 
throughout  the  company  by  calmly  relating 
the  particulars  of  it  himself.  Perceiving 
the  shudders  of  disgust  that  he  excited,  the 
dull  and  strong-nerved  ruffian  endeavoured 
to  excuse  himself  by  saying,  "That  it  was 
a  lamentable  thing  for  a  man  of  so  much 
humanity  as  he  possessed,  to  be  forced  to 
do  what  he  had  been  commanded." 

On  leaving  Vienna,  Orloff  proceeded  to 
'  Leghorn,  where,  in  obedience  to  the  com- 
mands of  the  empress,  he  engaged  a  cele- 
brated German  artist,  named  Philip  Hackert, 
to  represent  the  engagement  of  the  Russian 
and  Turkish  fleets,  and  the  destruction  of 
the   latter   at   Tschesme.      The   artist   was 
unable  satisfactorily  to  represent  the  blow- 
ing-up   of   the   Turkish  vessels;    and    on 
Orloff  complaining  of  this,  he  replied  that 
he  had  never  seen  a  ship  destroyed  by  ex- 
plosion.    To  obviate  this,  Orloff  furnished 
him  with  the  most   expensive  model  that 
was  ever  made  for  an  artist.     In  the  month 
of  May,  1772,  he  caused  a  Russian  frigate 
to  be  blown  up  in  the  roads  of  Leghorn,  in 
the  presence  of  the  painter  and  of  thou- 
sands  of   persons   who   had   assembled   to 
witness  this  novel  sight.     The  artist  caught 
the  character  of  the  evanescent  spectacle, 
and  the  picture  was  then  completed  entirely 
to  Orloff's  satisfaction. 

The   empress   Elizabeth   had    left    three 
children,  regarded  as  illegitimate,  the  result 
of    her   clandestine    marriage   with   Alexis 
Rasumoffski.     The  youngest  of  these  was  a 
girl,  who  had  been  'brought  up   under  the 
name  of   the  Princess    Tarrakanoff.      This 
young  lady  was,  when  about  twelve  years 
old,  carried    away   to    Rome    by   the    per- 
sons to  whom  her  education  had  been  en- 
trusted ;  an  act  performed  at  the  instigation 
of  the  Polish  prince  and  patriot,  Radzivil, 
who,  irritated  at  Catherine's  trampling  on 
the  rights  of  his  countrymen,  entertained 
the  idea,   that   the   daughter  of  Elizabeth 
might  furnish  him  with  a  signal  means  of 
revenge.     He  conceived,  that  it  would  not 
be  in  vain  to  oppose  to  the  sovereign  whose 
armies  were  spreading  desolation  over  his 
unhappy  country,  a  rival  whom  her  mother's 
name  would  render  acceptable  to  the  Rus- 

281 


IHE  PRINCESS  TARRAKANOFF.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1772. 


A.D.  1771. J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[fate  of  the  princess. 


i 


sians.  It  is  probable  that  he  also  flattered 
himself,  that  he,  perhaps,  might  one  day  be 
enabled  to  mount  the  throne  on  which  he 
desired  to  place  the  young  princess. 

Catherine  was  a  dangerous  foe,  especially 
wheu  the  secret  agency  of  craft  was  to  be 
resorted  to.  On  the  ground  of  Prince 
Radzivil  being  chief  of  the  confederacy  of 
the  malcontents,  she  caused  all  his  estates 
in  Poland  to  be  seized,  and  reduced  him  to 
the  necessity  of  living  on  tlic  produce  of  the 
diamonds  and  other  valuables  he  had  brought 
with  him  to  Italy.  "When  these  were  ex- 
hausted, he  left  the  Princess  TarrakanofF  at 
Rome  in  extremely  narrow  circumstances, 
and  returned  to  Poland  to  learn  what  he 
could  with  respect  to  his  own  affairs.  Here 
an  offer  was  made  to  restore  to  him  his 
estates,  on  condition  that  he  would  take  his 
ward  to  Russia.  To  this  baseness  he  would 
not  consent;  but  he  committed  the  lesser 
wrong  of  purchasing  his  confiscated  pro- 
perty by  engaging  to  take  no  further  heed 
of  the  unfortunate  daughter  of  Elizabeth. 

But  the  empress  was  resolved  on  securing 
the  person  of  the  Princess  Tarrakanoff;  and 
Alexis    Orloff    undertook    to    become    the 
means  of  luring  that  young  lady  into  her 
power.       Having  engaged   an   unprincipled 
Neapolitan,  named  Ribas,  he   sent  him   to 
Rome,  where  this  subtle    agent  soon    dis- 
covered the  lodgings  of  the  young  princess, 
and  introduced  himself  to  her  as  a  Russian 
officer.     Affecting  a  profound  grief  at  the 
state  of  destitution  in  which  he  found  her, 
he  said  that   he  had  waited  upon  her  with 
the  sole  desire  of  paying  homage  to  a  prin- 
cess whose  fate   and  fortunes  were  highly 
interesting  to  all  her  countrymen.     Finally, 
he     offered    that    pecuniary   assistance    of 
which  the  unfortunate  lady  stood  in  so  much 
need;  while  she  and  her  female  attendant 
regarded  him  almost  as  a  messenger  sent 
from  heaven  for  their  relief.     Ribas  soon 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  deserted  women ; 
and  he  then  informed  the  princess,  that  he 
was  commissioned  by  Count  Alexis  Orloff 
to  offer  to   her  the   throne  that  had   been 
occupied  by  her  mother.     He  added,  that 
the  Russian  people  were  averse  to  the  rule 
of    Catherine;    that    Orloff    himself  hated 
her,  on  account  of  her  ingratitude  and  her 
tyranny  ;    and  that,  if  the  young  princess 
would  accept  of  the  services  of  that  general, 
and  recompense  him  for  them  by  the  grant 
of  her  hand,  it  would  not  be  long  before  she 
haw  the  breaking-out  of  the  revolution  he 
bad  prepared.      The  snare  was  successful, 
282 


for  the  inexperienced  girl  had  no  suspicions 
of  the  worthlessness  of  the  human  viper 
who  was  luring  her  to  her  fate.  Her  high 
birth  was  no  secret  to  her  :  Prince  Radzivil 
had  dazzled  her  with  hopes  of  a  brilliant 
destiny ;  and  she  seemed  now  upon  the  eve 
of  realising  the  gorgeous  day-dreams  which 
had  made  her  recent  poverty  and  neglected 
condition  the  more  bitter. 

When  Alexis  Orloff  himself  arrived  at 
Rome,  he  was  received  by  the  princess  as 
her  benefactor.  Some  friendly  persons 
warned  her  and  her  gouvernante  against  a 
man  who  was  notorious  for  the  reckless 
wickedness  of  his  character.  It  was  in 
The  deluded  grirl  would  not  mistrust 


vaui. 


her  supposed  benefactor,  and  even  com- 
municated to  him  the  cautions  she  had  re- 
ceived; but  he  justified  himself  with  so 
much  ease,  that  her  confidence  was  rather 
confirmed  than  shaken.  Having  removed 
her  transient  distrust,  he  entreated  her  to 
consent  to  their  speedy  marriage.  The 
trusting  victim  yielded  to  his  wish ;  the 
ceremony  was  performed  by  some  of  his 
attendants,  disguised  as  priests  and  lawyers; 
and  the  princess  fancied  herself  secure  in  the 
arms  of  a  husband  who  had  contracted  a 
mock  marriage  only  that  he  might  betray. 

Orloff  conducted  his  bride  to  Pisa,  under 
the  pretence  that  they  would  be  exposed  to 
too  much  observation  at  Rome,  and  that  it 
would  be  better  to  wait  in  some  other  Italian 
city  for  the  breaking-out  of  the  expected 
revolution  in  Russia.  At  Pisa,  Orloff  lodged 
the  princess  in  a  magnificent  palace,  and 
treated  her  with  every  apparent  respect 
and  tenderness ;  but  he  did  not  suffer  her 
to  be  approached  by  any  persons  except 
those  wlio  were  entirely  devoted  to  his 
interests.  At  the  theatre,  or  on  the  public 
promenades,  he  always  accompanied  her 
himself  One  day,  Orloff  told  the  prin- 
cess that  a  division  of  the  Russian  fleet  had 
just  entered  the  port  of  Leghorn,  and  that 
his  presence  was  consequently  necessary  in 
that  city.  He,  however,  offered  to  take  her 
with  him,  to  which  she  readily  consented, 
more  especially  as  she  had  heard  much  com- 
mendation of  the  beauty  of  the  port  of 
Leghorn,  and  the  magnificence  of  the  Rus- 
sian ships. 

On  her  arrival  at  Leghorn  she  was  re- 
ceived with  the  greatest  consideration, 
lodged  in  the  house  of  the  English  consul, 
and  soon  surrounded  by  a  little  court,  in 
consequence  of  the  great  number  of  persons 
who  came   to   pay   their   respects   to   her. 


Every  one  seemed  anxious  to  study  and  to 
anticipate  her  wishes.     In  the  streets,  the 
people  crowded  to  see  her ;  at  the  theatre, 
all  eyes  were  directed  to  her  box.     Every- 
thing tended  to  lull  her  into  a  fatal  security, 
and  to  dispel  any  thought  of  fear  or  sus- 
picion.    So  strong  was  the  confidence  she 
placed  in  her  betrayer,  that  after  a  Hew  days 
spent  in  amusements,  she  herself  requested 
to  be  shown  over  the  Russian  fleet.     Pre- 
parations were   immediately  made   for   re- 
ceiving her  ^yith  becoming  state,   and  she 
was  handed  into  a  boat  with  magnificent 
awnings.     Vice-admiral  Greig,  who  was  in 
command   of    the    Russian   squadron,    and 
Alexis  Orloff,  entered  a  second  boat ;  while 
a  third  followed,   filled  with  Russian  and 
English  officers.      They   pushed   off    from 
the  shore  in  the  sight  of  an  admiring  multi- 
tude, and  were  received  by  the  fleet  with 
shouts,  music,  and  salutes  of  artillery.     A 
splendid  chair  was  let  down  from  the  vessel, 
on  which  the  princess  was  to  go  on  board, 
and  in  this  manner  she  was  hoisted  upon 
deck.     It  was  also  told  her,  that  these  hon- 
ours were  bestowed  in  recognition  of  her 
distinguished   rank.      No   sooner  had  the 
unfortunate  girl  stepped  on  board  than  this 
dissimulation   ceased.      In   a   moment  she 
was   rudely   seized   and   handcuffed.      She 
then  saw  that  she  had  been  deceived ;  but 
she  knew  not  the  deep  villany  of  her  be- 
trayer.    She  yet  called  him  husband,  im- 
plored his  interference,  threw  herself  at  his 
feet,  and  watered  them  with  her  tears.     It 
was  in  vain.    He  was  silent,  and  his  despair- 
ing victim  was  torn  away  and  carried  down 
into  the  hold.      The  next  day  the  vessel 
sailed  for  Russia.    On  arriving  at  St.  Peters- 


burg, the  princess  was  shut  up  in  the  for- 
tress there;  and  her  subsequent  fate  re- 
mains a  mystery.  Some  affirm  that  she 
was  drowned  six  years  afterwards,  by  the 
waters  of  the  Neva  entering  her  prison 
during  the  inundation  of  1777;  others  say, 
that  she  w^as  secretly  put  to  death  bv  the 
hands  of  the  executioner ;  but  neither  state- 
ment has  been  confirmed  by  any  unexcep- 
tionable evidence. 

The  inhabitants  of  Leghorn  were  horri- 
fied at  the  treachery  which  had  been  prac- 
tised towards  the  unhappv  victim  of  Russian 
policy.    The  Grand-duke  of  Tuscanv,  whose 
territory  had   been  so  shamefully  insulted, 
complained   both  to   the   courts   of  Vienna 
and  St.  Petersburg,  of  the  outrage  that  had 
been  committed,  but  he  was  unable  to  ob- 
tain   any   satisfaction;    and    the    Russian 
traitor  braved  both  his  indignation  and  that 
of  the   public.     A  circumstance  which  oc- 
curred during  the  stay  of  Alexis  Orloff  at 
Rome,   tends  to  illustrate  the  coarse  man- 
ners of  this   brutal    man.       One    evening, 
when  at  supper  at  the  house  of  the  Mar- 
chioness Gentili   Bocca  Paduli,  he  desired 
to   exhibit    some    instances   of    his   extra- 
ordinary  strength.      He   first,    with    great 
ease,  broke  in  his  hand   several  pieces  of 
crystal  and  iron;    then,   taking   an   apple 
between  two  of  his   fingers,  he  crushed  it 
into  bits  by  tightly  compressing  them.    One 
of  the  pieces  flew  with  force  into  the  face  of 
a  royal  duke  who  was  at  table.     Every  one 
present,  except  Orloff,  used  some  expression 
of  regret ;  he  alone,  as  if  disdainful  of  the 
courtesies  ever  current  amongst  gentlemen, 
viewed  the  accident  unmoved,  and  did  not 
even  make  the  slightest  apology. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

'^'l.TrT.rn?^''^'^^  ^^  ™  ^^''''''^'   SUPERSTITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  CONSEQUENT  RIOTS-   ACTIVITY 

fL^Lcp  BPTWe'eN  TUR^^^^^  '""^'^  "^   ^^^  PESTILENCE;   UNSCC^CESSF^f  ^EGOTIATmNl 

*UK  FhACE  BETWEEN  TURKEY  AND  RUSSIA;   ORLOFF  IS   DISMISSED,  AND  VASSILTSCHIKOFF  ^^VCC^^J^v<  ttti, 
FAVOURITE  OF  THE  EMPRESS  j  THE  FIRST  DISMEMBERMENT  OF  POLAND.      "^ ''^^^^^^^^^^''^^  BECOMES  THE 


During  the  whole  of  1771,  the  city  of 
Moscow  was  subjected  to  the  ravages  of  the 
plague.  The  Russian  army  was  first  in- 
fected, in  consequence  of  the  soldiers  re- 
siding in  the  Turkish  towns  which  they  had 


captured  ;  the  Turks  being,  either  from  want 
of  cleanliness,  or  from  some  other  cause, 
more  subject  to  that  dreadful  malady  than 
any  other  people  in  Europe.  The  Russian 
general  at  Jassy,  where  the  pestilence  raged 

283 


THE  PLAGUE  AT  MOSCOW.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1771. 


A.D.  1771.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[pestilence  and  riot. 


I 


K 


in  the  winter  of  1770,  endeavoured  to  arrest 
its  fatal  influence  by  diverting  the  minds  of 
his  soldiers  from  the  contemplation  of  it. 
He  therefore  issued  a  peremptory  order  that 
its  name  should  not  be  pronounced,  and 
even  obliged  the  military  surgeons  to  draw 
up  a  declaration  in  writing,  that  it  was  only 
a  spotted  fever.  This  artifice  did  not  avail ; 
several  thousand  soldiers  died,  and  great 
numbers  of  the  citizens  perished.  Even 
the  general  fell  a  victim  to  the  pestilence 
as  the  summer  advanced.  The  infection 
was  also  spread  to  a  far  greater  extent  by 
the  insane  folly  of  the  soldiers  themselves, 
who  persisted  in  robbing  the  houses,  and 
even  the  persons  of  the  infected  dead. 

From  the  army  the  dreadful  distemper 
spread  into  Russia,  and  went  on  with  a 
steady  and  deadly  advance  until  it  reached 
Moscow.  Here  the  authorities  either  de- 
ceived themselves,  or  in  the  hope  of  allaying 
the  fears  entertained  upon  the  subject,  issued 
an  ukase,  assuring  the  people  that  there  was 
no  pestilence,  and  that  a  false  alarm  had 
been  wickedly  raised  among  the  citizens. 
In  Kief,  where  also  the  terrible  scourge  had 
made  its  appearance,  similar  language  was 
held  respecting  it;  and  as  none  of  the 
physicians  or  surgeons  there  had  ever  seen 
cases  of  the  plague,  they  pronounced  it  to 
be  a  putrid  spotted  fever. 

The  principal  families  of  Moscow  hurried 
away  from  the  city  and  went  into  the 
country.  Their  flight  was  useless ;  they 
carried  the  contagion  with  them,  and  spread 
it  through  the  neighbouring  towns  and  vil- 
lages, where  it  destroyed  at  least  30,000 
persons.  But  its  ravages  were  far  more 
terrible  in  Moscow  itself;  for  before  it  sub- 
sided, it  was  estimated  that  only  a  fourth 
part  of  the  ordinary  number  of  inhabitants 
were  left  alive.  Such  was  the  want  of 
labour,  and  the  apathy  produced  by  fear, 
that  the  dead  often  lay  for  three  or  four 
days  in  the  streets,  on  the  spot  where  they 
had  dropt  and  died.  The  empress,  on 
hearing  the  news,  did  not  shut  her  eyes  to 
the  real  nature  of  the  calamity.  She  issued 
a  proclamation,  containing  certain  direc- 
tions to  be  observed,  and  sent  Gregory  Orloff" 
to  Moscow  with  unlimited  power  to  adopt 
whatever  expedient  he  considered  necessary 
for  checking,  and,  if  possible,  terminating 

•  "  It  is  difficult  to  imagine,"  says  Tooke,  "  to 
■what  length  the  Russians  carry  their  fanaticism  for 
th^  pictures  of  the  saints,  which  they  call  bohgs  or 
gods.  The  figure  of  some  saint  is  painted  in  gaudy 
colours  on  a  {)iece  of  board,  and  the  silver,  gold,  or 

284 


the  evil.  The  conduct  of  the  favourite  upon 
this  occasion  was  bold,  active,  and  efficient ; 
and  it  gained  him  great  distinction.  Orloft 
appointed  a  commission  of  health,  com- 
prising the  most  skilful  physicians  amongst 
its  members.  He  converted  monasteries 
and  palaces  into  lazarets;  appropriated  a 
building  for  the  reception  of  children  whose 
parents  had  perished  of  the  plague ;  turned 
several  of  the  public  offices  into  houses 
of  quarantine  for  suspected  persons;  and 
adopted  other  salutary  measures.  By  these 
means,  the  further  spread  of  the  pestilence 
was,  to  a  considerable  extent,  arrested  ;  but 
no  efficient  mode  of  cure  was  discovered. 
Most  of  those  who  were  attacked  died,  and 
the  plague  only  subsided  as  winter  ap- 
proached. It  carried  oflf  in  Moscow  alone, 
at  the  beginning  of  September,  800  persons 
every  day ;  while  in  the  middle  of  October, 
five,  six,  or  seven  hundred  were  the  daily 
number  of  victims.  By  the  15th  of  No- 
vember, the  number  had  decreased  to  150: 
while,  on  the  30th,  but  seventy-five  perished. 
On  the  4th  of  December  only  ten  died; 
and  then  the  number  diminished  until  the 
6th  of  January,  1772,  when  the  plague 
ceased. 

The  folly  or  wickedness  of  men  com- 
monly steps  in  to  aggravate  those  afflictions 
which  arise  from  the  sickness  of  nature  or 
the  decree  of  an  offended  Deity.  In  this 
case,  it  was  not  sufficient  that  the  invisible 
power  of  death  floated  on  every  breeze,  and 
rose  with  the  dews  of  night  into  the  still 
air,  broken  only  by  the  moans  of  agony, 
the  low  wailings  of  despair,  or  the  fierce 
imprecations  of  the  maniac  and  the  blas- 
phemer. To  these  terrors  must  be  added 
the  double  curse  of  ignorance  and  its  twin- 
brother,  fanaticism.  The  dull  and  brutal 
populace  could  not  be  induced  to  observe 
the  precautions  recommended  to  them  by 
the  government;  and  so  far  were  they  from 
following  the  prescriptions  of  the  physicians, 
that  they  charged  the  latter  with  being  the 
cause  of  the  pestilence,  and  subjected  them 
to  insult  and  violence.  Foreign  medical 
men,  especially,  could  not  pass  through  the 
streets  without  peril  to  their  lives.  The 
ignorant  people  maintained,  that  the  only 
true  mode  of  cure  was  continual  prayer  to 
the  pictures  of  the  saints  ;*  and  this  super- 
diamonds  about  the  hands  and  face  of  it,  constitute 
its  value.  When  a  Russian  enters  a  room,  the  first 
thing  he  does  is  to  salute  the  god,  which  is  placed 
against  the  wall  in  one  corner,  by  bowing  and  cross- 
ing himself.     St.  Nicholas,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  St. 


stitious  delusion  was  not  long  before  it  led    refuge  in  the  Donskoi  monastery  without 


to  a  criminal  tragedy. 

During  the  month  of  September,  shortly 
before    the    arrival    of    Gregory   Orloff*,   an 
impostor,  or  a  madman,  stood  by  one  of  the 
gates  of  the  city,  and  declared  to  every  one 
■  who  passed  by,  that  a  picture  of  the  mother 
of  God,  placed  near  the  gate,  had  appeared 
to    him,   complained   that   its  worship   had 
been  neglected,  and  promised  to  quell  the 
pestilence  by  a  miracle,  if  that  worship  was 
zealously   revived.     Both  priests  and  peo- 
ple listened;  and  without   questioning  the 
honesty  or  sanity  of  the  fdlow,  they  spread 
his  story  by  relating  it  to  every  one  they 
met.     With  the  mass  of  the  people,  to  hear 
was  to  believe ;  for  the  terrors  of  the  plague 
had  created  so  much  dismay,  that  they  were 


the  city;  but  he  was  tracked  bv  the  rabble, 
who  rushed  into  the  church,  and  found  him 
engaged  in  the  celebration  of  divine  worship. 
Unawed  by  the  sanctity  of  the  place,  the 
venerable  appearance  of  the  man,  or  the 
nature  of  his  employment,  thev  beat  the 
unfortunate  prelate  to  the  ground,  and  then 
dispatched  him  with  their  knives. 

Leaving  the  mangled  body  lying  before 
the  gate  of  the  sacred  building,  the  mur- 
derers ran  back  into  the  city,  where  they 
plundered  the  residence  of*  the  primate, 
turned  the  sick  out  of  the  lazarets,  ill- 
treated  the  surgeons,  and,  breaking  into 
some  wine-cellars,  soon  added  the  madness 
of  drunkenness  to  that  of  fanaticism.  Some 
public  officers  who  endeavoured  to  calm  the 


m  the  frame  of  mmd  best  adapted  for  the  f  tumult  were  severely  beaten;  and  the  tide 
reception  of  the  narratives  of  the  wonderful  of  popular  fury  turned  against  the  medical 
and  the  miraculous.  Multitudes  flocked  to  men,  who  were  accused  of  having  occasioned 
St.  Barbara  s  gate,  and  bringmg  with  them  the  pestilence.  Meeting  with  an  Italian 
trinkets  to  hang  about  the  picture,  they  dancmg-master,  whom  they  took  to  be  a 
addressed  it  in  passionate  entreaties  or  doctor,  they  broke  both  his  arms  and  his 
vehement   cries.      Processions    then    com-    '  


menced,  and  the  pestilence  was  aggravated 
in  consequence  of  the  concourse  of  people 
always  congregated  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  picture.     Ambrosius,  the  primate  of 
Moscow,  desired  to  put  an  end  to  this  con- 
fusion.    Having  procured  the  assistance  of 
five  soldiers,  he  sent  them,  late  in  the  even- 
ing, to  take  down  and  bring  away  the  picture 
that  had  been  the  object  of  so  much  excite- 
ment.    But  neither  by  night  nor  day  was 
the  gate  free  from  a  fanatical  tumult  before 
the  painted  mother  of  God.     The  soldiers 
were  driven  oflf,  and  the  incensed  mob  de- 
nounced the  primate  as  a  heretic.    Eunning 
to  the  churches,  they  rang  all  the  bells,  on 
which  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
rushed  into  the  streets,  supposing  it  to  be 
an  alarm  of  fire.     On  the  fanatics  informing 
them  of  the  intended  removal  of  the  holy 
picture,  the  majority  joined  in  the  riot,  and, 
swearing   vengeance    against    the   primate, 
went  in  pursuit  of   him.      He   had   taken 

Sergius,  and  St.  Alexander  Xevski,  are  the  figures 
in  most  request,  excej)t  the  bohgoroditza,  the  Mother 
of  God.  Every  one  has  his  particular  patron  to 
^'hom  he  applies  in  cases  of  need.  When  his  neigh- 
bours see  that  he  succeeds  in  the  culture  of  his 
fields  or  in  trade,  they  borrow  or  hire  his  god,  to 
which  they  attribute  his  prosperity.  They  then  pay 
the  borrowed  figure  all  sorts  of  reverence  and  offer- 
ings. There  are  in  some  towns  god-markets ;  and 
the  sole  diff"erence  between  the  chaff'ering  is,  that  in 
this  the  word  'money'  must  never  be  pronounced. 
Some  people  will  never  go  to  their  daily  labour,  or 


legs,  and  left  him  lying  in  that  shocking 
condition  in  the  street.  Having  attacked 
and  plundered  the  house  of  a  well-known 
physician,  they  pressed  forward,  staggering, 
shouting,  and  filling  the  air  with  wild  cries, 
to  the  principal  hospital.  At  their  approach, 
a  hundred  soldiers,  who  had  been  placed 
there  to  protect  it,  took  to  their  heels ;  the 
doctors  and  attendants  had  all  previously 
consulted  their  safety  by  retreating  into  the 
country. 

For  a  few  hours  Moscow  was  not  only- 
smitten  with  the  plague  which  struck  in- 
visibly, and  removed  its  victims  from 
amongst  the  living  with  a  rapidity  that 
engendered  a  mysterious  awe,  but  it  also 
lay  at  the  mercy  of  a  fanatical,  desperate, 
and  drunken  mob.  Few  situations  could 
be  more  calamitous,  when  the  destructive 
powers  of  nature,  and  the  blind  wrath  of 
brutal  men,  combined  to  spread  death  and 
terror  throughout  its  dwellings.  But  the 
sanguinary  carnival  that  furious  ignorance 

them  ;  and  if  a  stranger  call  at  their  house  in  the 
meantime,  and  asks  to  salute  the  hohg,  the  wife  replies 
that  he  is  gone  into  the  fields,  or  on  a  journey.  St. 
George  is  a  j)rotector  of  horned  cattle.  The  horses 
are  looked  after  by  St.  Anthony,  and  the  fish  by  St. 
Jonas  ;  one  cures  one  disease  and  one  another.  But 
perhaps  it  is  unjust  to  deride  any  religion  for  its 
superstitions;  all  national  religious  establishments 
have  them  under  one  form  or  another.  The  Russian 
peasants,  notwithstanding,  are  extremely  tolerant. 
*  Your  God,'  say  they  to  those  who  are  not  of  the 

■of  «.,*      -      •  •  V  ,  . ;  •'. '  ^'  I  ^^^^  religion  with  them — 'your  God  commands  vcu 

•et  out  on  a  journey,  without  taking  their  god  with  «  to  serve  him  thusj  our  God  orders  us  differently.'" 

285 


NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  TURKEY.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1772. 


A.D.  1772.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


i 
\'f. 


carried  on  within  the  city  of  the  plague,  1 
was  suppressed  in  the  evening  by  General 
Yerakin,  who  arrived  witli  150  soldiers  and 
two  field-pieces.  Encouraged  by  the  sniall- 
ness  of  this  force,  the  rioters  encountered 
it,  and  a  furious  fight,  which  was  prolonged 
until  midnight,  ensued.  By  that  time  250 
of  the  insurgents  lay  dead  in  the  street, 
300  were  taken  prisoners,  and  many  more 
crawled  away,  desperately  wounded,  and 
died  in  their  miserable  homes.  The  de- 
cision of  General  Yerakin  restored  peace  to 
Moscow ;  and  the  governor  and  officers 
who  had  fled  from  their  duty,  speedily  re- 
turned to  it. 

Soon  after  this  wild  outbreak,  Gregory 
Orloff  arrived  in  Moscow  with  absolute 
authority  to  adopt  any  means  he  considered 
expedient  for  the  reduction  of  the  pesti- 
lence. His  fearlessness  and  activity  con- 
tributed much  to  that  result.  Some  of  the 
means  he  put  in  practice  were  admirable 
ones.  When,  in  the  spring  of  1772,  a 
return  of  the  calamity  was  apprehended,  he 
proclaimed  throughout  the  city,  that  who- 
ever kept  in  concealment  any  goods  or 
other  things  in  houses  that  had  been  in- 
fected, even  though  they  were  stolen,  might 
freely  produce  them,  and  instead  of  punish- 
ment, should  receive  from  ten  to  twenty 
roubles ;  and  that  such  articles  as  had  been 
in  the  possession  of  infected  persons,  and 
must  therefore  be  burnt,  should  be  paid  for 
according  to  their  full  value.  The  re^jult  of 
this  proclamation  was,  that  all  the  infected 
garments  and  other  articles  which  a  revolt- 
ing avarice  had  filched  from  the  dead,  even 
at  the  risk  of  themselves  speedily  following 
in  the  same  dark  path,  were  collected  and 
destroyed.  Happily  the  plague,  which,  ac- 
cording to  a  Russian  estimate,  had  cost  the 
empire  the  lives  of  133,299  persons,  did  not 
return.  Such  had  been  the  exertions  of 
Gregory  Orloff  in  promoting  this  end,  that 
the  empress  Catherine  caused  a  triumphal 
arch  to  be  erected  to  his  honour,  bearing 
the  inscription,  "  Moscow  delivered  from 
^the  contagion  by  Orloff.''  Medals  also 
were  struck  as  memorials  of  the  service  he 
'had  rendered  his  country. 

During  this  period  Poland  continued  a 
prey  to  confusion ;  and  on  the  3rd  of  Sep- 
tember, 1771,  its  powerless  monarch  nar- 
rowly escaped  assassination,  in  consequence 
of  the  belief  which  prevailed  amongst  his 
subjects,  that  he  was  acting  in  concert  with 
the  empress  Catherine,  who,  from  day  to 
day,  was  adding  to  the  weight  of  the  yoke 
286 


she  had  forced  upon  their  unhappy  country. 
The  danger  from  which  Stanislaus  Augustus 
had  escaped,  gave  Catherine  a  new  pretext 
for  pursuing  the  confederates  of  Bar,  as  the 
intolerant  catholic  party  were  called,  and 
for  preparing  for  the  dismemberment  of 
Poland. 

Turkey  had  suffered  much  in  the  wai 
with  Russia,  and  desired  peace;  Russia,  who 
had  not  sought  the  conflict,  felt  it  to  be  a 
heavy  and  dangerous  responsibility,  and 
was,  therefore,  not  averse  to  peace.  The 
more  so,  as  the  Russian  squadron  in  the 
Archipelago  was  devastated  by  an  epidemic 
which  threatened  to  carry  off  every  sailor 
in  the  fleet.  Consequently,  when  the  minis- 
ters of  Austria  and  Prussia  intervened  to 
bring  about  a  peace,  an  armistice  was 
agreed  upon,  and  a  congress  appointed  to 
meet  at  Fokshiani.  Gregrory  Orloff  saw  in 
this  what  he  deemed  a  favourable  oppor- 
tunity for  promoting  his  ambition.  Could 
he  obtain  a  favourable  peace  for  Russia,  he 
conceived  that  the  gratitude  of  the  empress 
might  induce  her  to  make  him  her  partner 
on  the  throne,  and  that  popular  opposition 
to  such  a  step  would  be  abandoned  in  the 
general  joy  at  the  restoration  of  tran- 
quillity. 

The  empress  had  been  greatly  attached 
to  Orloff;  but  the  feeling  he  entertained 
towards  her  was,  it  has  been  conjectured, 
not  affection,  but  the  result  of  gratitude 
and  ambition.  Proud  of  the  favour  of  his 
sovereign,  he  showed  himself  zealous  to 
deserve  it;  but  when  once  he  thought  he 
had  acquired  sufficient  grounds  for  his  pre- 
tensions, his  ardour  began  to  cool,  and  he 
even  assumed  a  distant  behaviour.  The 
more  Catherine  wished  to  bring  him  back 
to  his  usual  attentions,  the  more  he  seemed 
inclined  to  retreat,  and  to  seek  his  amuse- 
ment in  the  company  of  other  ladies.  The 
empress  could  not  but  resent  this  ungrateful 
conduct,  and  feel  hurt  at  the  insensibility 
from  which  it  proceeded.  However,  on 
account  of  the  fondness  for  her  child,  of 
which  Orloff  was  the  father,*  she  did  not 
at  once  discard  him.  The  offspring  of  the 
adventurer  and  his  imperial  paramour  was 
brought  up  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  the 
city,  where  Catherine,  deeply  disguised, 
and  under  a  false  name,  frequently  visited 
him.  It  is  said,  that  from  affection  to  this 
chdd,  and  with  the  object  of  remedying  the 
inconstancy  of  Orloff,  the  empress  made 
him  an  offer  of  a  clandestine  marriage,  but 
*  A  boy,  afterwards  known  as  the  Count  Bobrinski. 


that  he  rejected  it  with  disdain,  as  he  pre- 
sumed  himself  not  unworthy  of  sharino- 
with  her  a  throne  gained,  to 'no  small  ex^ 
tent,  by  his  boldness,  and  upheld  by  his 
mfluence.  Catherine,  though  surprised, 
masked  her  displeasure;  but  considering 
that  the  ambition  of  Orloff  was  not  only 
humiliating  to  her,  but  might  give  rise  to 
dangerous  consequences,  she  resolved  to 
subdue  her  attachment  to  her  aspiring  and 
ungrateful  lover. 

Catherine's  chief  minister.  Count  Panin, 
was  acute  enough  to  discern  the  intentions 
of  his   mistress.      He   had   long   regarded 
Orloff  with  secret  aversion  ;  and  now  that 
the  favourite  had  departed  on  his  mission  to 
the  East,  again  endeavoured  to  supplant  him 
in  the  estimation  of  the   empress.     Panin 
watched  her  majesty  closely,  and  soon  per- 
ceived   that   she   often    looked   with   com- 
placency on  a  sub-lieutenant  of  the  guards 
named   Vassiltschikoff.      This   person   was 
young,  handsome,  and  of  a  good  figure  ;  but 
he  had  not  more  than  the  average  intel- 
lect or  talent,  was  deficient  in  a  knowledge 
of  the  world,  and  in  that  courage,  or  rather 
confidence,   which   is   commonly   indispen- 
sable in  forwarding  addresses  where  a  dis- 
parity   of    rank    or    fortune   exists.      But 
Count  Panin,  and  the  courtiers  who  seconded 
his  design,  played  up  to  this  new  fancy  of 
the  empress,  and   blackened  the  name  of 
Orloff,  while  they  bestowed   praises   upon 
his  timid  rival.     In   this  case,  the  docility 
of  the  latter  was  useful  to  him ;  he  did  as 
he  was  directed  by  the  more  accomplished 
intriguers  who  were  interested  in  his  suc- 
cess, and  soon  was  appointed   by  the  em- 
press as  her  chamberlain ;  in  which  situa- 
tion her  smiles  and  her  magnificent  presents 
left   no   doubt    concerning   the   famiharity 
which  existed  between  them. 

When  Gregory  Orloff  learnt  that  a  rival 
had  supplanted  him  in  the  affections  of  the 
empress,  he  was  filled  with  rage  and  asto- 
nishment. Trusting  that  his  presence  would 
revive  a  passion  which  his  pride  forbade 
him  to  belieye  altogether  extinguished,  he 
abandoned  Fokshiani  without  the  permis- 
sion of  the  empress,  and  giving  up  the 
peace  negotiations,  hastened  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. On  arriving  at  the  gates  of  that 
city,  an  officer  approached  his  carriage,  and 
presented  him  with  an  imperial  order  for- 
bidding him  to  enter.  The  discarded  favour- 
ite regarded  it  with  silent  astonishment,  and 
directed  his  servants  to  drive  him  to  Gat- 
shina,  one  of  his  countrv-^eats. 


[orloff  is  discarded. 


i-  ^^^^^""^''^tlierme,  who  knew  the  violence 
ot    Orloff  s    temper,    received    intelligence 
that   he    had    quitted    Fokshiani,    she    ex- 
perienced some   alarm;    and   apprehensive 
that  he  might  make  his  appearance  in  spite 
ot  her,  gave  orders  to  double  the  guard  of 
the  palace,   and  to  place    sentinels   at   the 
gate  of  the  new  favourite.     As  Orloff  had  a 
key  to  his  apartments,  she  even  caused  the 
locks   to  be   changed.      These   precautions 
were  needless;    nothing  was  to  be  feared 
irora  the  once  powerful  and  arrogant  cour- 
tier.    No  sooner  was  it  known  that  he  had 
lost  the  favour  of  the  empress,  than  he  had 
not  a  follower  left;    while  those  who  had 
hitherto  been  his  enemies  in  secret,  showed 
themselves  on  all  sides.     He  at  first  braved 
the  anger  of  the  empress    by  refusing  to 
surrender  his  employments;   but  Cathenne 
had  no  desire  to  punish  where  she  had  once 
loyed.  With  a  politic  indulgence  she  entered 
upon  a  compromise  with  him;  and  Orloff; 
overcome  by  her  bounty,  consented  to  leave 
Russia,    and    set   out   on   a    tour    throu'^h 
various  parts  of  Europe.     The  empress  re- 
warded his   submission   with  a   present   of 
100,000  roubles,  the  brevet  of  a  pension  of 
150,000,  a  magnificent  service  of  plate,  and 
an  estate  with  6,000  peasants  upon  it.     He 
had  already  obtained  a  patent  of  prince  of 
the  Roman  empire,  and  Catherine  desired 
that  he   should   take   the   title,   no   doubt 
wishing  that  her  former  favourite  should  ap- 
pear before  the  world  with  a  magnificence 
befitting  the  position  he  had  once  held. 

The  arrogant  demands  of   the  Russians 
led  to  the  rupture  of  the  congress  of  Fok- 
shiani, but  negotiations  for  peace   between 
Turkey  and  Russia  were  afterwards  resumed 
at  Bucharest.     While   they  were  pending, 
the   Russians  concluded  with  a  new  khan 
of  the  Crimea  a  treaty,  by  which  he  de- 
clared himself  independent  of  the  sultan, 
and  placed  himself  under  the  protection  of 
the  empress.     He  at  the  same  time   sur- 
rendered to  her  the  forts  of   Kertch   and 
Yenikale,  together   with   the   territory  be- 
longing to  them.     The  Porte,  incensed  at 
this,  sent  a  squadron  into  the  Black  Sea  to 
oppose  the  war  ships  of  the  empress,  which 
already  breasted  its  waters. 

Catherine's  attention  was  now  particularly 
directed  to  Poland,  where  she  saw  herself 
about  to  reap  the  result  of  the  political 
intrigues  she  had  so  patiently  carried  on. 
Frederic  the  Great  was  her  accomplice  in 
the  design  of  partitioning  that  miserable 
country,  which  fell  a  prev  to  the  ambition 

287 


DISMEMBERMENT  OP  POLAND.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1772—1773. 


!■ 


of  its  neighbours  through  the  vices  of  its 
nobles  and  its  priesthood,  the  weakness  of 
its  kings,  and  the  slavery  of  its  people. 
Frederic  had  drawn  Austria  into  the  scheme ; 
and  the  emperor,  Joseph  II.,  was  perfectly- 
willing  to  share  in  the  plunder.  England 
had  been  deluded  by  a  highly  profitable 
commercial  treaty,  which  bound  up  her 
interests  with  those  of  Russia,  and  ensured 
her  neutrality.  France — then  in  the  op- 
pressed and  exhausted  condition  which, 
twenty  years  later,  produced  that  terrible 
revolution  which  astonished  the  world — she 
disregarded.  The  nations  of  the  Baltic, 
though  they  felt  jealous  of  the  growing 
preponderance  of  Russia,  were  not  in  a  con- 
dition to  oppose  her  designs ;  and  the 
Turks  had  enough  to  do  to  defend  their 
own  territory  without  sending  assistance  to 
Poland. 

Prussia  and  Austria  both  seized  some 
pretext  for  pouring  their  troops  into  Poland, 
which  was  already  occupied  by  those  of 
Russia.  The  rest  of  Europe  looked  on  in 
silence,  and  wondered  why  three  formidable 
powers,  in  a  time  of  peace,  should  seize 
upon  a  country  the  independence  of  which 
had  been  guaranteed  by  the  most  solemn 
treaties.  They  were  not  long  kept  in  sus- 
pense. The  treaty  that  had  been  entered 
into  by  the  three  powers  was  avowed,  and 
the  ambassadors  of  each  of  them  presented 
to  the  king  and  the  diet  of  Poland  declara- 
tions in  support  of  it.  The  internal  troubles 
of  Poland,  it  was  said,  were  productive  of 
danger  to  neighbouring  states,  who  were 
consequently  obliged,  at  a  great  expense,  to 
take  measures  of  precaution,  in  order  to 
secure  the  tranquillity  of  their  own  fron- 
tiers. Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria  were 
therefore  resolved  on  terminating  the  dis- 
sensions of  Poland,  and  at  the  same  time,  of 
satisfying  certain  claims  they  had  upon  that 
country,  by  taking  possession  of  such  parts 
of  its  territory  as  would  serve  to  fix  more 
natural  and  certain  bounds  between  it  and 
them.  Tn  the  autumn  of  1772,  each  of  the 
three  partitioning  powers  issued  a  specifica- 
tion of  the  particular  territory  which  they 
had  respectively  agreed  to  appropriate.  In 
these  documents,  the  sovereigns  of  Prussia 
and  Austria  merely  commanded  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  districts  to  which  they  laid 
claim,  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  them, 
and  to  conduct  themselves  as  loyal  subjects. 
The  inclination  of  the  people  as  to  this 
sudden  transference  of  their  loyalty  was  not 
taken  into  consideration.  Catherine  acted 
288 


with  a  greater  liberality.  She  solemnly 
promised  her  new  subjects  the  free  and 
public  exercise  of  their  religion,  together 
with  the  perfect  security  of  their  property. 
She  added,  that  looking  upon  them  now  as 
her  dear  children,  she  gave  them  equal 
shares  in  all  the  rights,  liberties,  and  pre- 
rogatives enjoyed  by  her  ancient  subjects. 
In  return  for  these  graces,  she  expected 
they  would  render  themselves  worthy  of 
them  by  a  sincere  love  of  their  new  country, 
and  an  inviolable  attachment  to  its  sovereign. 
Catherine,  at  the  same  time,  commanded 
them  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  her  in 
the  course  of  a  month ;  but  she  allowed  any 
of  the  nobility  or  landholders  who  were  not 
disposed  to  do  so,  three  months  to  sell  their 
lands  before  they  left  the  country. 

Stanislaus  Augustus,  the  king  of  Poland, 
while  his  country  was  thus  being  torn 
asunder  by  strangers,  was  a  sort  of  honour- 
able prisoner  in  his  capital,  which  was  sur- 
rounded with  foreign  troops.  He  v»  as  re- 
quired by  the  representatives  of  the  par- 
titioning powers  to  give  a  sort  of  sanction 
to  their  act  of  spoliation.  They  insisted 
that  a  diet,  presided  over  by  the  sovereign, 
should  solemnly  cede  to  them  the  provinces 
of  which  they  had  already  possessed  them- 
selves. On  the  19th  of  April,  1773,  a  diet 
met  to  deliberate  with  the  bayonet  at  its 
bosom.  Bribes  and  threats  were  used  to 
influence  the  votes  of  the  deputies,  and  that 
so  successfully,  that  after  some  resistance, 
the  diet  confirmed  the  dismemberment  of 
the  country.  No  sooner  was  this  done, 
than  several  of  the  principal  members  of 
the  diet  went  to  the  king,  and  reproached 
him  with  the  ruin  of  their  country;  for 
though  he  had  declared  loudly  against  the 
partition,  he  was  suspected,  by  those  who 
knew  his  former  devotion  to  the  empress 
Catherine,  of  still  being  the  creature  of  her 
will.  At  first  he  answered  his  irritated 
nobles  gently ;  but  as  his  moderation  only 
encouraged  them  to  use  expressions  of  in- 
sult, he  rose  from  his  seat,  and  throwing 
his  hat  upon  the  floor,  said  haughtily — 
"Gentlemen,  I  am  weary  of  listening  to 
you.  The  partition  of  our  unhappy  coun- 
try is  a  consequence  of  your  ambition,  of 
your  dissensions,  and  your  eternal  disputes. 
It  is  to  yourselves  alone  that  you  ought  to 
attribute  your  misfortunes.  As  for  me,  if 
no  more  territorv  should  be  left  me  than 
could  be  covered  by  this  hat,  I  should 
nevertheless  be  still,  in  the  eyes  of  all 
Europe,  your  lawful  but  unhappy  king.^' 


A.D.  1773.] 


Py    t^is,    the    first    dismemberment    of 
Poland,  It   lost  an  extent  of  territory  in- 
habited  by   nearly   5,000,000   of    persons, 
and  comprising  more  than  one-third  of  its 
whole    extent.      Of  this   territory,    Russia 
took  3,444  square  leajj^ues  ;  Austria,  2,700  • 
and   Prussia,   900;  but   Frederic's  portion' 
though  the  smallest  and  least  populous,  was 
also   the    richest    and  most   enterprising.* 
Some  nobles  of  the  usurped  provinces  pub- 
lished protests  against  this  proceeding ;  but 
these  were  of  no  avail  in  a  country  overrun 
with   foreign   armies.      The    three   powers 
then  brought  forward,  and  induced  the  diet 
to  adopt,  the  plan  of  a  new  constitution 
which  was  to  obviate  the  defects  of  the  old 
one.     Its  real  object,  and  its  actual  efi*ect, 
was  to  confirm  the  dangerous  privileges  of 
the  nobility,  and  aggravate  the  confusion 
from  which  the  country  suffered.      These 
were,  indeed,  calamitous;  much  of  the  land 
was  reduced  to  a  mere  desert,  the  inhab- 
itants being  either  exterminated  or  forcibly 
carried   off  into    Russia   or   Prussia.     The 
extortions  imposed  by  Frederic,  durin^r  the 
occupation  of  Poland  by  Prussian  troops 
were  enormous  ;  and  the  actual  sovereignty 
of  Poland,  so  far  as  any  could  be  said  to 
exist,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Russian  am- 
bassador, who   never  neglected   an   oppor- 
tunity of  treating  its  legitimate  monarch 
with  the  most  galling  insult. 

The  violent  dismemberment  and  parti- 
tion of  Poland,"  said  an  author  who  wrote 
a  few  years  after  the  events  we  have  just 
narrated,  *'  without  the  pretence  of  war,  or 
even  the  colour  of  right,  is  to  be  considered 
as  the  first  very  great  breach  in  the  modern 
political  system  of  Europe.     It  is  not,  said 
the  politicians  of  the  continent,  sapping  by 
degrees  the  constitution  of  our  great  western 
republic,  it  is  laying  the  axe  at  once  to  the 
root,  m   such  a  manner  as  threatens  the 
total  overthrow  of  the  whole.     The  surprise 
of  a  town,  the  invasion  of  an  insignificant 
province,  or  the  election  of  a  prince  who 
had  neither  abilities  to  be  feared  nor  vir- 
tues to  be  loved,  would   some   years   ago 
have  armed  one-half  of  Europe,  and  elicited 
the  attention  of  the  other.     We  now  be- 
hold the  destruction  of  a  great  kingdom, 
with    the    consequent    disarrangement    of 
power,  dominion,  and   commerce,  with   as 
much    indifference    as   we   could   read   an 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [dismemberment  of  poi.ind. 


cr 


^  Notwithstanding  the  smallness  of  the  tract  ac- 
quired by  Frederic,  its  importance  to  him  M-as  im- 
mense, for  it  united  the  kingdom  of  Prussia  with 
i:'omerania  and  the  marches  of  Lrandenburff,  which  it 

VOL.  1.  2  P 


account  of  the  extermination  of  one  horde 
ot  lartars  by  another,  in  the  days  of  Ghen- 
gis  Khan  or  Tamerlane. 

yihe  idea  of  considering  Europe  as  a 
vast  commonwealth ;    of  the  several  parts 
being  distmct  and  separate,  though  politi- 
cally and  commercially  united;  of  keeping 
them   independent,   notwithstanding    their 
inequahty   in   power;    and    of   preventing 
any  one  by  any  means,  from  becoming  too 
powerful  for  the  rest,  was  great  and  liberal, 
and  though  the  result  of  barbarism,  founded 
upon  the  most  enlarged  principles  of  the 
wisest  policy.     It  is  owing  to  this  system, 
that  this  small  part  of  the  world  has  ac- 
quired so  astonishing  a  superiority  over  the 
rest  of  the  globe.     The  fortune  and  glorv 
of  Greece  proceeded  from  a  similar  system 
of  policy,  though   formed  upon  a  smaller 
scale.     Both  her  fortune  and  glory  expired 
along  with  the  system. 

"  Some  of  the  most  desert  provinces  in 
Asia  have  been  repeatedly  the  seats  of  arts, 
arms,    commerce,    and     literature.      These 
potent  and  civiHsed  nations  have  repeatedly 
perished  for  want  of  any  union  or  system  of 
policy  of  this  nature.     Some  Scythian  or 
other    barbarian    has    been    suffered,    un- 
noticed, to  subdue  his  neighbouring  tribes ; 
each  new  conqnest  was  made  an  instrument 
to  the  succeeding,  until  at  length  become 
irresistible,  he  swept  whole  empires,  with 
their  arts  and  sciences,  off  the  face  of  the 
earth.     In  the    same  manner,  a  banditti, 
who  were  afterwards  called  Romans,  were 
suffered  to   accumulate   power,   until  thev 
had  subdued  the  bravest  and  fiercest  nal 
tions,  and  become  the  masters  of  the  best 
part  of  the  worid.     Each  state  looked  on 
with  indifference,  or  enjoyed  a  malignant 
pleasure  at  the  ruin  of  its  neighbour,  with- 
out reflecting  that  the  weapons  and  power 
of  which  he  was  deprived  would  be  quickly 
employed  to  its  own  destruction. 

"It  will  not  be  denied,  that  the  idea 
of  supposing  a  balance  of  power  has  in 
some  cases  been  carried  to  an  extreme  ; 
that  by  artfully  employing  it  to  operate 
upon  the  passions  and  jealousies  of  man- 
kind, it  has  been  made  an  engine  subser- 
vient to  the  designs  of  interested  and  am- 
bitious persons ;  and  has,  perhaps,  thereby 
been  productive  of  some  unnecessary  wars. 
The  same  objections  might  be  made  to  that 


had  previously  separated  in  a  very  awkward  man- 
ner, so  that  Voltaire  was  accustomed  to  compare 
his  illustrious  friend's  dominions  to  a  Ion?  pair  of 
gaiters.  *^ 

289 


r.f 


THE  WAR  WITH  TURKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1773. 


glorious  jealousy  with  respect  to  civil 
liberty,  which  has  been  the  admiration  and 
envy  of  all  ages ;  which,  for  the  happiness 
of  mankind,  should  subsist  in  full  vigour  in 
every  state  in  the  world,  and,  to  their  mis- 
fortune and  punishment,  is  scarcely  alive  in 
a  few ;  even  that,  the  noblest  quality  of  the 
human  mind,  has  been  productive  of  wars 
and  other  evils." 

We  may  mention  that,  so  perfectly  was 
England  seduced  by  her  commercial  in- 
terests to  a  connivance  at  the  aggression  of 
Russia  and  the  other  partitioning  powers, 
that,  when  George  III.  met  his  reassembled 
parliament  on  the  26th  of  November,  1772 
(a  time  when  the  dismemberment  of  Poland 
was  known  to  all  the  world),  his  speech  did 
not  contain  a  single  allusion  to  that  startling 


innovation.  As  if  approving  all  that  had 
been  done,  George  expressed  his  satisfaction 
at  seeing  there  was  reason  to  hope  that  the 
war  which  had  so  long  unhappily  prevailed 
in  one  part  of  Europe,  was  drawing  to  a 
close;  and  he  added,  that  although  there 
was  no  probability  of  England  being  in- 
volved in  these  troubles,  yet  their  discon- 
tinuance would  afford  a  fairer  prospect  for 
the  duration  of  peace,  which  he  trusted  would 
not  be  affected  by  recent  alterations  in 
Europe.  Both  houses  of  parliament  gave  a 
formal  and  empty  response  to  his  speech, 
and  neither  of  them  said  a  word  about  the 
political  annihilation  of  Poland,  the  Russian 
proceedings  in  the  Archipelago,  and  the 
growing  power  and  expanding  territory  of 
the  empress  Catherine ! 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

HOSTILITIES  BETWEEN  RUSSIA  AND  TURKEY;  FIRST  MARRIAGE  OF  THE  GRAND-DUKE  PAUL;  PEACE  OF 
KAINARDSHI ;  PUGATSCHEF  THE  IMPOSTOR,  AND  THE  GREAT  COSSACK  REBELLION  ;  PUGATSCHEF  IS  BE- 
TRAYED AND  EXECUTED;  CONCILIATORY  "MEASURES  OF  THE  EMPRESS. 


While  the  attention  of  the  empress  Cathe- 
rine was  chiefly  occupied  in  the  division  of 
Poland,  her  army  and  her  fleet  were  engaged, 
with  variable  success,  with  those  of  the 
Turks.  The  Danube,  which  formed  the 
boundary  between  the  hostile  armies,  was 
the  scene  of  many  furious  encounters,  which 
not  unfrequently  terminated  in  favour  of  the 
Ottoman  arms.  The  Russians,  harassed  bv 
frequent  attacks,  and  suffering  greatly  from 
the  climate,  were  losing  immense  numbers  of 
their  best  troops  in  ineffectual  service.  The 
empress,  on  learning  this,  sent  despatches 
to  Marshal  Romantzoff,  desiring  to  be  in- 
formed why  he  did  not  give  battle  to  the 
enemy.  The  answer  the  general  returned 
was,  that  the  grand-vizier  had  three  times 
more  people  than  he,  and  might  easily  find 
his  advantage  in  such  an  event.  Catherine, 
in  reply,  wrote  with  a  proud  impatience — 
"  The  Romans  never  asked  after  the  number 
of  their  enemies,  but  where  they  were,  m 
order  to  fight  them.'' 

Neither  on  land  or  by  sea  were  the  Rus- 
sians so  successful  as  they  anticipated  being. 
Some  trifling  engagements  took  place  be- 
tween the  hostile  fleets  on  the  Black  Sea; 
290 


but  such  was  the  badness  of  the  vessels,  and 
the  inexperience  of  the  sailors  on  both 
sides,  that  their  contests  did  little  more  than 
show  that  Russia  was  about  as  ill  suited  to 
acquire,  as  Turkey  was  to  defend,  the  do- 
minion of  those  boisterous  waters.  In  the 
Archipelago  the  career  of  the  Russian  fleet 
was  a  chequered  one ;  some  hollow  successes 
were  obtained,  and  some  exhausting  reverses 
suffered.  In  the  spring  of  1773  the  Russian 
fleet  made  an  unsuccessful  descent  upon  the 
island  of  Negropont,  in  which  they  suffered 
great  loss ;  the  Turks  cutting  off  all  the  men 
that  were  landed.  Chiefly  in  consequence 
of  the  numbers  of  their  sick  the  Russians 
quitted  the  isle  of  Paros,  and  sent  a  part  of 
their  fleet  to  Leghorn,  where  they  refitted 
their  ships,  and  fixed  a  hospital.  The  other 
vessels  were  employed  in  desultory  expedi- 
tious of  a  piratical  character.  They  made 
several  descents  upon  the  islands  of  Cyprus, 
Candia,  and  others,  which  were  attended 
with  no  further  advantage  than  the  accumu- 
lation of  plunder.  They  were,  however,  so 
far  from  being  always  successful  in  these 
aftairs,  that  four  sacks,  full  of  Russian  heads, 
were  sent  from  Stanchio  to  Constantinople, 


A.D.  1773—1774.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [peace  with  the  porte. 


as  a  proof  of  the  reception  they  had  met 
with  in  that  island. 

Catherine  had,  for  some  time,  desired  to 
see  her  son,  the  Grand-duke  Paul,  contract 
an  alliance  which  should  result  in  ensuring 
the  continuance  of  the   imperial   dynasty. 
Paul  was  weak  in  constitution  and  cold  in 
temperament ;  and  the  empress  entertained 
some  fears  that  he  might  be  indisposed  or 
incapable   of  giving   heirs   to   the   empire. 
Some  of  her  confidants  undertook  to  dispel 
her  doubts.     For  this  purpose  they  engaged 
an  attractive  Polish  lady,  a  widow,  named 
Sophia  Ossipovna,  to  melt  the  coldness  of 
the  prince,  and  win  him  to  her  endearments. 
Paul  was  captivated;  the  lady  bore  him  a 
son,*   and  the   empress  was   satisfied   and 
convinced.     She  shortly  afterwards  caused 
Paul  to  be  married  to  the  Princess  Wilhel- 
mina,  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  landgrave 
of  Hesse-Darmstadt.     As  a  preliminary,  the 
lady  embraced  the  Greek  mode  of  worship; 
and  the  marriage,  which  was  conducted  with 
great  magnificence,  took  place  on  the  10th 
of  October,  1773. 

Catherine  was  fond  of  communicating  with 
distinguished  men  of  letters,   and  Voltaire 
and  Diderot  were  the  correspondents  whom 
she  most  distinguished.     She   had  several 
times  invited  them  to  visit  her  at  St.  Peters- 
burg.    Voltaire  had  ever  declined ;  but  this 
year  Diderot  accepted  the  hospitahty  of  the 
empress,    and  travelled  to  St.  Petersburg, 
where  he  was  received  with  much  distinction 
and  liberality.     The  apostle  of  materialism 
wrote  to  a  friend,  that  "  while  in  a  country 
called  the  land  of  freemen,  he  felt  as  a  slave; 
but  now,  in  a  land  called  the  country  of 
slaves,  he  felt  like  a  freeman.''     Every  day, 
after  dinner,  Catherine  conversed  with  him  on 
philosophy,  legislation,  or  politics.     Diderot 
unfolded  his  principles  concerning  the  rights 
of  nations,   with   his   usual  eloquence  and 
enthusiasm.     The   empress   used   to   make 
him  sit  beside  her;  and,  in  his  warmth,  he 
sometimes  hit  her  on  the  knee  with  the  back 
of  his  hand — a  familiarity  which  she  never 
resented   or   seemed    displeased    at.     But, 
though  she  seemed    dehghted  to  converse 
with  the  philosopher,  he  did  not  often  win 
her  to  the  adoption  of  his  principles.    "  Mon- 
sieur Diderot,''  she  remarked,  "  is  a  hundred 
years  old  in  many  respects;  but,  in  others, 
he  is  no  more  than  ten." 


Immense  preparations  were  made,  both 
by  the  Turks  and  the  Russians,  for  the  cam- 
paign of  1774.  The  army  of  the  grand- 
vizier,  on  the  Danube,  was  reported  to 
amount  to  no  less  than  400,000  combatants, 
while  the  Porte  also  fomented  rebellions 
amongst  the  Cossacks,  and  troubles  with 
the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea.  The  Russians 
also  had  a  powerful  army  on  the  Danube, 
under  the  command  of  Marshal  Romantzoff, 
beneath  whom  served  Generals  Soltikoff' 
buwarrow,  and  Kamenskoi. 

Notwithstanding  the  enormous  numerical 
force  of  the  Turks,  they  were  defeated  in 
several   engagements;    and  the   severe  re- 
verses they  suffered  led,  as  was  usual,  to  a 
spirit    of   insubordination   amongst    them. 
They  not    only  fought   furiously   amongst 
themselves,  but  deserted  by  whole  detach- 
ments.    Their  general  had  fixed  his  camp 
at  Shumla,  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  main  body  of  his  army.     Romantzofi 
soon   discerned   this  vital   error,  and,  sur- 
rounding the  camp  of  the  vizier,  he  cut  off 
the  communication  of  that  thoughtless  gen- 
eral with  the  great  body  of  his  troops,  and 
also  with   his  magazines.     The  vizier,  un- 
able to  obtain  any  succours,  to  retire,  or  to 
stand  a  battle,  resolved  to  sue  for  peace. 

The  Russians  had  no  objection  to  peace, 
but  they  would  abate  nothing  of  their  pre- 
vious demands.     To  these  the  Turks  now 
agreed,  and   the   treaty  was   concluded   at 
Kutschuk-Kainardshi,  in  Bulgaria.     By  it 
Russia  obtained  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Black   Sea,   and  all  other  Ottoman   seas, 
together  with  the   passage  of  the  Darda- 
nelles, with  the    sole  restriction   that   she 
should  never  have  more   than  one   armed 
vessel  in  the  Bosphorus.     Russia  retained 
Azoff,    Taganrog,    Kertch,   and    Kinburn, 
but    restored    the  rest   of  her  conquests. 
But  the  condition  which  perhaps  most  of    ' 
all  galled  the  pride  of  the  Porte,  was  the 
declaration    of    the    independence    of   the 
Crimea ;  though  that  government  does  not 
appear  to  have  foreseen  that  Catherine  only 
desired  to  obtain  the  independence  of  the 
Crimea,    that    she    might    be    the    better 
enabled   to    incorporate    it   with   her   own 
dominions,  to  which,  indeed,  in   a  geogra- 
phical sense,  it  properly  belongs.     Besides 
these    concessions,    the    empress    obtained 
from  the  Porte  that  tract  of  land  lying  on 


*r      4 


m 


Hp  1«  nf       '^^^f  ^^^^  ,^^«  "f  "^^  ??  Simeon  Velikoi.  press  Catherine  to  learn  the  art  of  navigation  la 

li  elrlv  1p  !n t    %'^.^  T^'''  disposition^  and  at  England.     While  in  this  country  he  volunte^ered  in  o 

an  early  age  entered  the  Russian  navy.     He  after-  the  Enghsh  navy,  and  died  in  the  West  Indies  in 

wards  formed  one  of  twelve  officers  sent  by  the  em-  1797. 

291 


r 


STATE  OF  THE  EMPIRE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.p.  1773. 


\* 

I 


the  Euxine  between  the  Bug  and  the 
Dnieper,  a  pecuniary  equivalent  for  the 
expenses  of  the  war,  and  a  recognition  of 
her  imperial  title.  By  this  treaty,  there- 
fore, she  derived  the  twofold  advantage  of 
increasing  her  own  power  and  decreasing 
that  of  her  enemy.  The  commerce  of  the 
Euxine,  and  the  mart  of  the  Levant,  opened 
to  her  a  source  of  immense  riches.  The 
protection  which  she  granted  the  Tartars 
furnished  her  with  the  means  of  dividing 
them,  and  of  conquering  their  country. 
The  acquisition  of  the  Polish  Ukraine  put 
her  in  a  capacity  of  more  easily  carrying  on 
a  war  in  the  regions  of  the  Danube,  of 
overawing  the  Ottoman  empire,  and  of 
completing  the  ruin  of  Poland.  The  estab- 
lishment of  discipline  among  the  Cossacks 
added  to  her  armies  an  excellent  cavalry  ; 
and  the  empress  beheld  her  influence  and 
her  reputation  extending  throughout  Europe. 
Great  joy  prevailed  at  St.  Petersburg  in 
consequence  of  the  conclusion  of  peace,  and 
eight  days  were  devoted  to  public  festivities. 
That  the  spirit  of  gladness  might  be  uni- 
versal, all  prisoners,  except  those  charged 
with  high  treason,  were  released,  and  many 
of  the  unfortunate  outcasts  who  had  been 
exiled  to  Siberia  permitted  to  return. 

In  fact,  peace  Avas  almost  as  requisite  to 
Russia  as  to  Turkey.  The  finances  of  the 
empress  were  in  a  dilapidated  state;  Mos- 
cow and  the  adjacent  country  had  not 
recovered  the  ravages  of  the  plague,  which 
had  made  its  appalling  appearance  in  the 
armies  of  the  empress,  and  had  even  ex- 
tended to  her  fleet  in  the  Archipelago.  An 
insurrection,  to  which  we  shall  presently 
refer,  was  rife  in  the  provinces  of  Kazan, 
Astracan,  and  Orenburg;  while  from 
seventy  to  one  hundred  thousand  Kal- 
muck families  had,  in  consequence  of  some 
oppression  to  which  they  had  been  sub- 
jected, abandoned  the  steppes  of  Russia, 
and  sought  the  protection  of  the  emperor  of 
China.  Catherine,  who  could  ill  afford  to 
lose  so  considerable  a  number  of  the  in- 
habitants of  her  thinly-populated  domi- 
nions, demanded  the  restitution  of  the  run- 
aways. To  this  she  received  a  dignified 
refusal;  the  supreme  tribunal  of  Pekin 
saying — "  Their  sovereign  was  not  so  un- 
just a  prince  as  to  deliver  up  his  subjects  to 
foreigners,  nor  so  cruel  a  father  as  to  drive 
away  children  who  returned  to  the  bosom 
of  their  family.  That  he  had  no  intimation 
of  the  design  of  the  Kalmucks  till  the 
moment  of  their  arrival;  and  that  then, 
292 


without  delay,  he  caused  to  be  restored  to 
them  the  habitations  that  had  belonged  to 
them  from  time  immemorial.'' 

Catherine  herself,  also,  though  equal  to 
immense  exertions,  yet  desired  repose. 
Though  triumphant  over  her  enemies,  the 
admiration  of  Europe,  idolised  by  her  cour- 
tiers, she  was  still  frequently  a  prey  to 
secret  disquietudes  of  great  severity.  Though 
constantly  projecting  an  extension  of  her 
large  dominions,  she  yet  dreaded  the 
thought  of  being  hurled  from  the  throne. 
Sometimes  trembling  for  her  life,  yet  she 
gaily  discoursed  of  the  long  career  she  had 
probably  still  to  run.  On  one  occasion  she 
found  a  paper  in  her  cabinet,  in  which 
mention  was  made  of  a  threatened  assas- 
sination; but  never  did  she  show  herself 
more  confident  and  sedate  than  on  that 
day.  Though  sometimes  distracted  with 
doubts,  she  never  abandoned  those  pleasures 
to  which  she  had  always  been  so  much  de- 
voted. She  frequently  went  from  the 
council  to  the  ball-room  and  the  theatre, 
and  from  important  sittings  of  the  senate 
to  the  most  frivolous  amusement. 

Catherine  was  growing  weary  of  her 
favourite  VassiltschikofF,  who,  though  he 
did  not  abuse  the  trust  placed  in  him,  and 
conducted  himself  with  much  moderation, 
was  yet  rather  a  passive  and  insipid  cha- 
racter. At  this  point,  Prince  Orloff  re- 
turned unexpectedly  from  his  travels ;  and 
although  the  empress  at  first  refused  to  see 
him,  she  commanded  Vassiltschikoff  to  retire 
to  Moscow,  and  loaded  him  with  presents 
for  his  complaisant  obedience.  Orloff  soon 
made  his  appearance  at  court,  where  the 
empress  received  him  with  cheerfulness. 
He  aspired  to  gain  his  old  ascendancy  over 
the  heart  of  the  empress ;  but  he  was  de- 
ceived in  this  respect.  She  only  desired 
his  presence  and  his  influence,  that  she 
might  be  the  better  able  to  oppose  a  faction 
which  she  feared  was  forming  under  the 
auspices  of  her  son  the  Grand-duke  Paul. 

Clouds  appeared  to  be  gathering  in  the 
horizon  of  Catherine.  For  some  time  discon- 
tent had  reigned  among  great  bodies  of  the 
people,  on  account  of  their  sufferings  from 
the  plague  and  the  war,  and  the  boors 
were  almost  desperate  at  seeing  their  sons 
successively  taken  from  them  to  perish  by 
the  sword  of  the  Turks,  or  the  pestilence 
which  raged  among  the  Russian  armies  on 
the  Danube.  The  empress  had  never  been 
a  favourite  with  the  ancient  nobility  of  the 
empire,  while  the  priesthood  secretly  hated 


A.D.  1773.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [pugatschef  the  impostor. 


her,  on  account  of  the  wealth  and  privileges 
she  withheld  from  them.     The  latter,  ready 
to  adopt  any  means  of  vengeance,  privately 
spread  abroad  a  report  that  Peter  III.  was 
still  living,  and  would   soon  make  his  ap- 
pearance to  claim  the  throne  which  was  his 
right.     So  early  as  the  year  1767,  a  shoe- 
maker of  Voronetch  declared  himself  to  be 
the  deceased  czar ;  but  he  was  soon  taken, 
and  executed  as  an  impostor.     Three  years 
afterwards,  a  Russian  soldier,  who  had  de- 
serted from  his  regiment,  made  the  same 
dangerous  assertion;    and  although  he  re- 
ceived  a    great   deal   of  support   from  the 
priests,  shared  the  same  fate  as  his  prede- 
cessor.    Stefano  Piccolo,  a  foreigner,  who 
had  served  among  the  Austrian  irregulars 
in   the   Seven   Years'  War,  and  afterwards 
entered  into  the  Russian  service,  was  the 
third  adventurer  in  this  direction.     An  in- 
surrection followed,  and  his  claim  was  soon 
exposed  ;    but    he   himself    was    fortunate 
enough  to  escape.     A  fourth  and  fifth  im- 
postor, who  each  claimed  to  be  the  mur- 
dered Peter,  perished  by  the  hands  of  the 
executioner.    These  miserable  attempts  were 
but  a  gloomy  prelude  to  the  tragedy  that 
was  to  follow. 

The  next  attempt  to  personate  the  de- 
ceased czar  was  made  in   1773,  and  with 
remarkable  success.     The  chief  actor  in  it 
was  Ikhelman  Pugatschef,  the  son  of  a  Cos- 
sack of  the  Don.     In  early  life  he  served  as 
a  common  soldier  in  the  Russian  army,  and 
fought   against   Frederic   of  Prussia.      He 
afterwards  served  in  the  campaign  of  1769 
against  the  Turks,  and  was  present  at  the 
siege  of  Bender.     "When  that  town  surren- 
dered he  applied  for  his  dismission,  and  on 
its  being  refused  him,  deserted  and  fled  to 
Poland.     There  he  was  concealed  by  some 
hermits   of   the    Greek   church,   whom    he 
sometimes  entertained  by  narrations  of  his 
various  adventures.    One  day  he  mentioned, 
that  while  he  was  in  the  Russian  service,  an 
officer,  after  contemplating  him   for   some 
time,  observed,  "  If  the  emperor  Peter  III., 
my  master,  were  not  dead,  I  should  believe 
that  I  saw  him  once  more  in  thee."     The 
hermits    paid    but   little   attention    to   this 
anecdote,    but     a    circumstance    occurred 
shortly  afterwards  which  recalled  it  vividly 
to  their  minds.     One  of  their  companions 
who  had  been  absent,  seeing  Pugatschef  on 
his   return,    exclaimed   suddenly,    "Is   not 
that  the  emperor,  Peter  III.  ?"    On  this  the 
monks  conceived  the  project   of  inducing 
Pugatschef  to  assume  the  character  of  the 


murdered  czar,  and  found  no  difficulty  in 
winning  him  to  a  participation  in  the  pro- 
posed deception. 

As  soon  as   the   monks   considered   the 
deserter  to  be  sufficiently  prepared  in  the 
details  of  the  character  he  was  to  assume, 
he  proceeded  to  Little  Russia,  and  putting  on 
the  garb  of  a  patriarch,  bestowed  his  bene- 
dictions on  the  people  with  all  the  solemnity 
of  a  new  apostle.     He  had  no   desire,   he 
told  them,    to   recover   his   lost   dignities; 
declared  that  he  was  entirely  weaned  from 
the  vanities  of  the  world ;  that  his  life  had 
long  been   devoted   to   piety;    and  that  as 
soon  as  he  had  placed  his  dear  son  upon  the 
throne,  he  would  again  retire  to  terminate 
his  days  in  mortification  and  prayer.     The 
ignorant  and  superstitious   people  listened 
with  wonder  and  belief!  Pugatschef  was  soon 
at  the  head  of  a  great  number  of  followers, 
and  was  even  countenanced  by  many  of  the 
nobility  of  that  locality. 

From  Orenburg,  where  the  revolt  began, 
Pugatschef  went  to  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don, 
where  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  ex- 
citing the  people  to  sedition,  and   sent  to 
take  his  trial  at  Kasan.     There  the  discon- 
tented priests    supplied   him   with   money, 
with  which  he  corrupted  his  guards,  and 
then  made  his  escape.     Gathering  a  few  of 
his   old   comrades   around   him,   they  went 
down  the  Volga  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Irghis,  proceeded  up  that  river,  and  pene- 
trated into  the  desert.     There,  from  day  to 
day,  his  followers  increased,  and  soon  be- 
came  sufficiently  formidable  to  encourage 
him  publicly  to  declare    that   he   was   the 
emperor  Peter  III.,  and  had  been  dehvered 
by  a  miracle  from  the  hands  of  his  assassins ; 
that  a  soldier,  who  greatly  resembled  him, 
had  been  substituted  as  a  victim  to  their 
fury ;  and  that  the  report  of  his  death  was 
a  fiction  coined  by  the  court  to  compose 
the  minds  of  the  people,  and  reconcile  them 
to  the  usurpation  of  Catherine. 

Serious  discontents  prevailed  among  the 
Cossacks,  especially  those  who  resided  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  river  Yaik.  The 
chief  of  these  arose  from  religious  differences, 
for  the  Cossacks  of  that  locality  belonged  to 
a  party  of  separatists  known  as  Roskolniki, 
or  heretics ;  though  they  called  themselves 
Starovertzi,  or  believers  according  to  the 
old  faith.  The  pretext  on  which  Peter  III. 
had  been  dethroned,  was  his  attempt  to 
alter  the  dress  and  rites  of  the  priests,  and 
to  curtail  the  splendid  revenues  of  the 
church.     The  Cossacks,  therefore,  now  be- 

293 


P 


Id' . 


hi 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  REBELLION.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1773. 


lit* 


I,* 

I'M 


li. 


\k 


I 


\l 


lieved  that  he  was  a  true  Roskolnik,  who 
had  been  deprived  of  his  crown  on  account 
of  his  adherence  to  their  tenets.  What, 
then,  more  natural  than  that  believing  him 
to  be  alive,  they  should  receive  him  with 
open  arms  ? 

In  the  month  of  September,  1773, 
Pugatschef  and  his  followers  made  their  ap- 
pearance before  the  town  of  Yaitsk,  which 
contained  5,000  Cossacks  and  two  field 
regiments,  and  summoned  it  to  surrender. 
To  these  troops  the  impostor  issued  a  mani- 
festo, in  which  he  declared  ''that  he  was 
Peter  III.,  who  had  escaped  from  Ropscha 
at  the  instant  when  his  assassins  were  about 
to  murder  him ;  that  the  traitors  who  had 
dethroned  him,  and  dreaded  his  return,  had 
falsely  invented  and  propagated  the  report 
of  his  death;  that  he  had  been  obliged  to 
put  on  the  disguise  of  a  Cossack,  to  bear 
arms  for  his  persecutors,  and  afterwards  to 
conceal  himself  among  the  true  and  faithful 
believers,  to  whom  he  had  made  himself 
known;  that  having  learnt,  at  length,  that 
the  brave  Cossacks  of  the  Yaik  were  re- 
solved to  free  themselves  from  the  yoke  of 
the  usurpatrix,  he  was  come  to  put  himself 
into  their  hands,  and  to  offer  to  march  with 
them  to  victory  and  to  vengeance."  Imme- 
diately 500  of  the  Cossacks  came  over  to 
him,  accompanied  by  eleven  of  their  officers ; 
many  of  the  others  soon  followed  their  ex- 
ample; and  the  commander  of  the  place, 
who  remained  true  to  bis  duty,  Pugatschef 
seized  and  hanged. 

It  would  be  both  wearisome  and  unneces- 
sary to  follow  the  steps  of  this  barbarian  in 
his  career  of  conquest  and  of  cruelty.  He 
acted  with  great  boldness  and  some  military 
skill,  and  defeated  many  bodies  of  troops 
sent  against  him.  Lured  by  the  hope  of 
plunder  and  the  excitement  of  a  warlike 
life,  immense  numbers  joined  his  standard  ; 
and,  during  the  winter,  a  body  of  10,000 
Kalmucks  revolted,  and  went  over  to 
him.  At  first  Pugatschef  conducted  him- 
self with  an  appearance  of  moderation ;  he 
wore  an  episcopal  robe,  gave  his  benedic- 
tion to  the  people,  and  constantly  repeated 
that  he  was  destitute  of  all  ambition,  and 
that  he  only  desired  to  place  his  son,  the 
grand-duke,  on  the  throne,  and  then  end 
liis  days  in  religious  retirement.  Though 
this  mode  of  conduct  attracted  to  him  many 
followers,  he  soon  became  tired  of  it,  and 
the  real  character  of  the  man  revealed  itself. 
He  omitted  no  opportunity  for  extending 
the  terror  of  his  arms,  and  shrunk  from  no 
294 


cruelty  that  might  promote  that  end.  He 
availed  himself  of  every  exhibition  of  weak- 
ness or  imprudence  on  the  part  of  the 
authorities,  and  displayed  so  much  activity, 
that  scarcely  had  he  reduced  a  town  to  sub- 
mission, before  he  led  his  followers  to  engage 
some  force  sent  against  him.  Continued 
success  rendered  him  arrogant,  and  throw- 
ing aside  all  restraint,  he  gave  free  scope  to 
his  savage  temper  and  his  licentious  pas^ 
sions.  While  besieging  Orenburg  he  caused 
all  the  officers  and  gentry  of  the  surround- 
ing country  to  be  massacred,  together  with 
their  wives  and  children ;  resolving,  as  he 
said,  to  shed  the  very  last  drop  of  blood  of 
the  haughty  and  tyrannical  nobility. 

The  spirit  of  rebellion  extended  itself  as 
far  as  Moscow.  Catherine  felt  alarmed  at 
its  extent,  and  recalling  General  Bibikoff 
from  the  frontiers  of  Turkey,  gave  him  the 
command  of  a  considerable  army,  with 
orders  to  march  agamst  the  insurgents.  At 
the  same  time  she  issued  a  manifesto,  which 
was  circulated  through  the  principal  towns  of 
the  empire.  It  promised  a  pardon  to  all  de- 
serters— especially  to  those  of  the  Cossacks  of 
the  Don  and  the  Yaik — who  should  return 
to  their  duty,  and  offered  a  reward  of  100,000 
roubles  for  the  head  of  Pugatschef.  The 
rebel  chief  also  published  his  manifestoes, 
and  affixed  to  them  the  name  of  Peter  III. 
By  one  of  these  documents  he  declared  all 
the  serfs  of  the  empire  to  be  eniancipated. 
He  even  caused  roubles  to  be  coined,  bearing 
an  impress  of  his  likeness,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion, "  Peter  III.,  emperor  and  autocrator  of 
all  the  Russias." 

General  Bibikoff  led  an  army  of  35,000 
men  against  the  rebels,  and  obtained  several 
successes  over  them,  but  without  much  af- 
fecting their  number  or  decreasing  their 
atrocities.  His  good  fortune,  however,  soon 
abandoned  him;  for,  having  detached  Prince 
Galitzin  with  a  considerable  body  of  troops, 
he  was  unexpectedly  attacked  by  Pugatschef, 
and  lost  his  life  in  the  severe  engjigement 
which  followed.  Prince  Galitzin,  on  his 
return,  attacked  the  rebels,  who  fought  des- 
perately for  a  period  of  six  hours,  when, 
after  a  great  number  had  perished,  Pugats- 
chef and  the  rest  took  to  flij<ht,  and  escaped 
to  the  shelter  of  the  Ural  Mountains. 

Notwithstanding  this  heavy  reverse,  the 
active  rebel  soon  reappeared  at  the  head 
of  a  considerable  force,  and  made  himself 
master  of  several  towns  to  the  east  of  the 
mountains.  Such  as  offered  any  resistance 
he  gave  to  the  flames.     Here  he  was  again 


111 


% 


A.D.  1774.] 


attacked  and  defeated;  and  after  being 
hunted  from  place  to  place,  though  not 
without  occasionally  inflicting  sanguinary 
checks  upon  his  pursuers,  he  crossed  the 
Volga,  and  regained  the  desert  with  no 
more  than  300  followers,  in  whose  bravery 
and  fidelity  he  placed  his  last  hope. 

Fortune  had  not  yet  deserted  him,  and 
every  day  he   was  joined   by  numbers   of 
Cossacks,    Kalmucks,    and  boors,  who,  at- 
tracted by  the  name  of  liberty,  had  aban- 
doned  their   labour   and    taken    to    arms. 
Elated  by  his  popularity  and  the  seeming 
attachment   of  his   people,   he  resolved  to 
march  upon  Moscow,  where  the  populace, 
never  perfectly   reconciled  to  the   sway  of 
the  empress,  waited  for  him  as  a  redeemer 
and  champion  of  their  cause.     Fortunately, 
as  he  was  beginning  his  march,  he  received 
information  that  the  empress  had  just  con- 
cluded a  war  with  the  Turks;  and,   appre- 
hensive that  he  should  have  to  contend  with 
the  greater  part  of  the  returning  army  of 
Marshal   Romantzofi",  he   thought  it  more 
prudent  to  turn  his  arms  in  another  direc- 
tion.    Learning   that   some   Russian  regi- 
ments were  encamped  on  the  shores  of  the 
Volga,  he  descended  that  river,  fell  upon 
them  by  surprise,  and  routed  them  utterly. 
Pugatschef  also  took  several  forts,  and  the 
town  of  Drnitressk,  the  governor  of  which 
he  inhumanly  caused  to  be  impaled.     The 
rebel  chief  here  showed  himself  as  a  ruffian 
altogether  destitute  of  merciful  or  generous 
emutions.      Hearing  that   the    astronomer 
Lovitch,  member  of  the  Imperial  Academy 
of  Sciences  at  St.  Petersburg,  was  employed 
in  the  neighbourhood  in  taking  levels  for  a 
projected  canal,  he  commanded  the  unof- 
fending man  of  science  to  be  brought  before 
him.     As  soon  as  the  astronomer  made  his  i 
appearance,  Pugatschef  ordered  his  men  to  ' 
lift  him  on  their  pikes,    in  order,  said  he 
derisivel}^    "  that   he   may   be    nearer    the ' 
stars.''     The  unfortunate  man  was  then  cut 
to  pieces  by  the  attending  Cossacks.  | 

The  career  of  the  successful  ruffian  was 
approaching  to  a  conclusion.     The  empress  | 
had  sent  General  Panin  to  arrest  his  pro- 
gress ;  and  an  intimate  associate  of  Pugats- 
chef,  who  had.   been   taken   prisoner,  '^was  ' 
suborned   to  betray  him.      But  it  was  to 
the   indefatigable   exertions    of    a   Colonel 
Mikelson    that    Catherine    was    peculiarly 
indebted  for  the  suppression  of  this   dan- 
gerous rebelliou.     He  pursued   the   insur- 
gents without  intermission,  marching  over 
deserts  of  trackless  snow  without  a  guide, 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [capture  of  pugatschef. 


and,   at   times,   almost   without   food.     lu 
every   collision  he  had  with  the  rebels  he 
was  always  successful ;  and  not  only  did  he 
surprise  and  defeat  them,  while  encumbered 
with  baggage  m  a  mountain  pass,  but  cut 
on  their  convoys,  and  reduced  them  to  a 
state   of  famine.     Again   deserted   bv  the 
great  bulk  of  his  followers,  Pugatschef  had 
sought  for  safety  in  the  deserts  beyond  the 
Volga.     His  miserable  associates,  suffering 
from  hunger  and  thirst,  and  no  longer  able 
to  hope  for  any  change  in  his  fortune,  re- 
solved to  betray  him,  and  to  purchase  their 
own  safety  with  the   life  of  their   leader. 
As  he  was  seeking  a  meal  by  gnawing  the 
bones  of  a  horse,  the  only  food  left  him 
several  of  his  associates  approached,  and  the 
first  observed,  ''  Come,  thou  hast  been  em- 
peror long  enough."     Pugatschef  shattered 
the  arm  of  the  foremost  of  his  assailants  by 
a  pistol-shot,  but  he  was  soon  overpowered 
and   bound  by  them.     They   then   sent   a 
message  to  the  Russian  authorities,  relatin^^ 
what  they  had  done.  ° 

Pugatschef  was  at  first  placed  in  close 
confinement,  together  with  several  of  his 
principal  accomplices,  but  he  was  afterwards 
carried  to  Moscow  in  an  iron  cage.     The 
baffled  rebel  refused  all  sustenance,  and  ap- 
peared resolved  on  self-destruction ;  but  his 
keepers  found  means  to  compel  him  to  eat. 
He  afterwards  counterfeited  madness,    but 
without  producing  the  eff'ect  he  intended. 
He  was   subjected    to   many   examinations 
lor  the  purpose  of  discovering  if  his  career 
of  imposture  had  been  suggested  or  aided 
I  by  any  distinguished   persons.     Both   the 
I  Turkish  and  the  French  governments  were 
I  suspected  of  having  excited  this  formidable 
I  insurrection  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the 
j  emprciis   full   employment  at  home.   °In  a 
letter   which   Catheriue   wrote  the   French 
monarch,  informing  him  that  the  leader  of 
'  the  revolt  was  in  her  power,  she  said,  "I 
^  shall  keep  his  depositions  secret,  that  they 
I  may  not   aggravate  the  disgrace  of  tliose 
who  set  him  on." 

The  delinquent  was  tried  by  the  senate, 
assisted  by  a  special  commission;  and  the 
empress  recommended  them  to  be  satisfied 
with  a  simple  confession  of  his  crime,  and 
not  to  apply  the  torture  for  the  purpose  of 
extracting  the  names  of  his  accomplices. 
She  was  prudently  apprehensive  lest  his 
declarations  might  oblige  her  to  multiply 
punishments,  and  plunge  the  empire  into 
fresh  excitement.  The  empress,  however, 
departed  from  her  customary  lenity  on  this 

295" 


<  !' 


l:>  f- 


SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  REBELLION.]    HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1775. 


r  * 


u. 


;i: 


4 


,^'■1' 


$' 


Li 
i  t, 


occasion.      Pugatschef  was    condemned  to 
have  his  hands  and  his  feet  cut  oflF,  and  then 
to  be  quartered  alive.     Several  of  his  asso- 
ciates were  to  be  hanged  at  tlie  same  time. 
He  was  taken  to  the  place  of  execution  in  a 
cart  painted  black,  and  compelled  to  hold  a 
lighted  candle  in  his  hand.     A  priest  sat  on 
each  side  of  him,   and   behind   stood   the 
executioner  with  two  large  axes  placed  on  a 
block.      The   preparations    that   had   been 
made  created  a  great  sensation  in  the  minds 
of  the  spectators,    but   Pugatschef  himself 
beheld   them    with    an    undaunted    aspect. 
With  a  strange  insensibility  respecting  the 
atrocities   he   himself   had    committed,    he 
uttered  a  wish,  as  he  was  driven  through  the 
crowd,  that  if  he  had  done  aught  amiss,  the 
people  would  pardon   him   for  the  love  of 
God  !     He  ascended  the  scaffold  with  per- 
fect calmness  and  self-possession  ;  but,  hap- 
pily,   the   revolting   sentence   passed   upon 
him  was  not  literally  fulfilled.     Either  from 
an  error  on  the  part  of  the  executioner,  or 
from  a  sense  of  humanity  in  the  man,  he 
struck  off  the  head  of  the  rebel  first,  and 
severed    the    hands    and    feet    afterwards. 
Some  persons  have  said  that  the   punish- 
ment of  Pugatschef  was  thus  mitigated  in 
consequence  of  a  secret  order  from  the  em- 
press to  that  effect ;  but  that  is  not  probable, 
as    the    unfortunate    executioner   had   his 
tongue  cut  out,  and  was  sent  to  Siberia,  for 
presuming  to  alter  the  nature  of  the  punish- 
ment to  which  so  notorious  a  criminal  was 
condemned.    Five  of  the  principal  associates 
of    Pugatschef   suffered    with    him,   while 
eighteen  more  underwent  the  knout,  and 
were  exiled  to  Siberia.     His  rebelHon  had 
cost  the  destruction  of  a  great  number  of 
towns,  and  of  upwards  of  250  villages,  be- 
sides interrupting  the  works  at  the  mines  of 
Orenburg,  and  the  whole  trade  of  Siberia. 
The  empress,  to  efface  all  memorial  of  the 
revolt,  changed  the  name  of  the  river  Yai'k 
into  that  of  the  Ural;    and  the   town   of 
Yaitsk,   where   Pugatschef  commenced   his 
rebellion,  into  that   of  Uralsk.     She   also 

•  That  is,  not  estimable,  but  having  a  certain  air  of 
grandeur  from  their  being  absolutely  and  widely 
removed  from  littleness  and  meanness.  Great  crime 
lias  often  so  dazzled  the  world  by  its  brilliancy,  that 
men  regard  the  author  with  emotions  of  admiration  ; 
but  the  criminal  who  crawls  through  life  heaping 
296 


prohibited  the  discussion  of  the  particulars 
of  this  prolonged  insurrection,  forbade  any 
reproaches  to  be  used  on  its  account,  and 
pronounced  a  decree  of  silence  and  oblivion 
on  all  matters  concerning  it. 

After  the  suppression  of  this  rebellion, 
which  had  threatened  to  shake  her  throne, 
Catherine  adopted  many  measures  of  a  na- 
ture calculated  to  produce  contentment  in 
the  minds  of  the  people,  and  to  win  their 
attachment.  She  abolished  a  number  of 
the  ancient  taxes,  especially  such  as  were 
considered  discouraging  to  agriculture,  or 
oppressive  to  particular  provinces  or  orders 
of  the  people.  With  a  remarkable  generosity 
she  also  lent  considerable  sums  of  money, 
without  interest,  for  a  specified  term  of  years, 
to  those  provinces  which  had  been  devastated 
by  the  rebels,  and  were  consequently  suffer- 
ing from  famine.  Those  criminals  who  had 
undergone  long  periods  of  imprisonment,  or 
had  otherwise  suffered  severely  for  their 
offences,  she  set  at  liberty.  The  same  hu- 
manity was  shown,  under  certain  restric- 
tions, to  imprisoned  debtors;  while  the  heirs 
of  those  who  lay  under  pecuniary  obliga- 
tions to  the  crown,  were  released  from  them. 
These  prudent  measures  were  so  far  suc- 
cessful that  the  disturbed  districts  were 
tranquillised,  and  the  insurgents  everywhere 
returned  to  their  duty. 

"Thus," it  has  been  well  observed,  "Russia 
enjoyed  her  power,  influence,  and  glory,  with 
a  noble  and  splendid  magnificence.  All  her 
affairs  were  conducted  upon  a  great  and  ex- 
tensive system,  and  all  her  acts  were  in 
a  grand  style.  She  sat  supreme  between 
Europe  and  Asia,  and  looked  like  the  dictator 
of  both.  In  her  was  seen  a  great  but  still 
growing  empire,  which,  not  having  reached 
the  summit  of  her  destined  power,  felt  life 
and  vigour  glowing  in  every  part.  The  suc- 
cesses and  consequences  of  the  war  enlarged 
the  spirit,  extended  the  views,  and  dignified 
the  minds  of  the  people.  In  such  a  state 
everything  is  bold  and  masculine.  Even  its 
vices  and  crimes  are  great."* 

meanness  upon  meanness,  and  doing  villanous  work 
from  vile  and  utterly  selfish  considerations,  is  not 
only  wicked,  but  disgusting.  No  sane  man  can 
apologise  for  that  which  is  vicious  ;  but  yet  even 
Edmund  Burke  exclaimed,  "that  vice  list  half  its 
evil  by  losing  all  its  grossness." 


A.D.  1774.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,      [potemkin  becomes  favourite. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

POTEMKIN  BECOMES  FAVOURITE  OF  THE  EMPRESS;  STATE  VISIT  OF  CATHEEINP  TO  MOSCOW  POTRMriv 
ENDEAVOURS  TO  INDUCE  THE  EMPRESS  TO  MARRY  HIM  ;  HE  IS  DISCARDED  AS  tJe  "ovER  BUT  REM  U^^ 
AS  THE  FRIEND  OF  HIS  MISTRESS;  DEATH  OF  THE  GRAND-DUCHESS;  PAUL  mIrRIK,  THF  PRIV-TsS  OF 
^.fn^n'r"""  CATHERINE'S  THIRST  FOR  DISTINCTION  ;  HER  INTRIGUES  IN  SWEDEN  DHTIRBANxK  W 
TIE  CRIMEA  i  CLAIMS  OF  RUSSIA  WITH  RESPECT  TO  MOLDAVIA  AND  WALLACHUrNEW  TReItT  BETWEEN 
CATHERINE       '""'"'   ''"''"^''  ""  ™^  ^"^^^'^^   ^^^ARDS   ENGLAND;   SPLENDOUR  OF   t'L   COURT  OF 


When  the  empress  dismissed  her  lover 
Vassiltschikoff,  Prince  Gregory  Orloff  was 
again  taken  into  favour.  But  this  was  but 
for  a  short  time,  for  Catherine  had  been  im- 
pressed with  the  manly  beauty  and  noble 
air  of  Potemkin.  She  remembered  with 
pleasure  that,  on  the  day  of  entrance  into 
St.  Petersburg,  during  the  revolution  of 
1762,  Potemkin,  then  a  mere  youth,  on  ob- 
serving her  to  be  without  a  plume  in  her 
hat,  had  gallantly  ridden  up  and  presented 
her  with  his. 

The  coarseness  of  Orloff's  manners  were 
not  calculated  to  revive  a  cold  attachment, 
and  the  empress  secretly  bestowed  her  smiles 
on  the  handsome  Potemkin.     Elated  by  this 
prosperity,  he  one   day  boasted   to   Alexis 
Orloff  of  the  favour  he  enjoyed,  and  even 
ventured  to  assert  that  he   could   remove 
from  court  any  person  to  whom   he   had 
taken  a  dislike.     Orloff  returned  a  haughty 
reply;  sharp  words  ensued,  and  Potemkin 
received  a  blow,  which  eventually  deprived 
him  of  an  eye.     In  addition  to  this,  the  em- 
press yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  Gregory, 
and  Potemkin  was  compelled  to  abandon  the 
court.     Retiring  to  Smolensk  he  remained 
almost  a  year  in  solitude,   suffering  much 
from  vexation   and  from  the  injury  to  his 
eye.  *     Sometimes  he  expressed  his  intention 
of  turning  monk,  as  thousands  of  worldly 
and    disappointed   men    have   done   before 
him ;   at  others,  he  gave  way  to  the  most  ex- 
travagant hopes.     At  length  an  ardent  and 
submissive   letter,   which  he  wrote  to   the 
empress,  had  the  effect  not  onlv  of  producing 
his  recall,  but  of  restoring  to  him  the  full 
possession  of  her  favour.     He  arrived  during 
the  absence  of  Gregory  Orloff  on  a  hunting 
excursion ;  and  the  latter,  on  his  return,  soon 


It  has  been  said  that  he  might  have  been  cured 
of  the  injury  done  to  his  eye,  but  that,  in  his  im- 
patience, he  burst  a  slight  tumour  that  had  formed 
close  to  the  ball,  and  deprived  himself  of  the  sight 


VOL.  I. 


2q 


discovered  that  his  reproaches  ana  his  com- 
plaints were  alike  unavailing. 

Potemkin  was  installed  into  the  office  of 
favourite  during  the  year  1774,  with  cer- 
tain formalities,  which  were  afterwards  ob- 
served  towards   all  on   whom  the  imperial 
smiles  were  lavished.     Some  account  of  these 
proceedings  is,  at  the  least,  curious.     When 
Catherine  cast  her  eyes  on  one  of  her  sub- 
jects with   the  intention  of  raising  him  to 
the   post  of  favourite,    he   was   invited    to 
dinner  by  some  lady  in  her  confidence,  and 
she  herself,  as  if  accidentally,  joined  the 
party.     During  the  entertainment  she  en- 
tered into  discourse  with  the  new-comer,  to 
ascertain  if  he  was  worthy  of  the  favours  she 
contemplated  bestowing  upon  him.     A  sign 
to  the  confidant  expressed  her  satisfaction, 
or  the  reverse ;  and,  in  the  event  of  a  favour- 
able judgment,   that    discreet  person  took 
care  to  inform  the  fortunate  courtier  of  the 
honour  that  was  intended  for  him.     The  fol- 
lowing day  he  received  a  visit  from  one  of 
the  physicians  of  the  court,  who  came  to 
inquire  into  the  state  of  his  health;  and,  in 
the  evening,   he  accompanied  the  empress 
to   her    palace   called  the    Hermitage,   and 
took  possession  of  the  apartment  which  had 
been  prepared  for  him.     This  was  situated 
immediately  beneath  that  of  the  empress,  to 
which  it  communicated  by  a  private  staircase. 
The  position  of  general  aide-de-camp  to  her 
majesty  was  bestowed  upon  him,  in  order 
that  he  might  accompany  her  everywhere 
without  attracting  reproach  or  inviting  ob- 
servation.    On  the  day  of  his  being  received 
into  favour  he  was  presented  with  100,000 
roubles,    and    every  succeeding   month    he 
found  12,000  on  his  dressing-table.     In  ad- 
dition to  this,  the  marshal  of  the  court  was 
ordered    to   provide    him   with   a   table   of 
twenty-four  covers,   and  to  defray  all  the 
expenses  of  his  household.     The  paramour 
of  the  empress,  or  rather  her  favourite  (for 
that  was  the  polite  term  in  use  at  the  Russian 

297 


M 


^ 


!'• 


ru 


CATHERINE  VISITS  MOSCOW.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1775. 


court),  attended  her  at  all  parties  of  amuse- 
ment, at  the  opera,  and  on  the  promenade, 
and  was  not  permitted  to  leave  the  palace 
without  express  permission.  He  was  like- 
wise given  to  understand,  that  it  would  not 
be  well  received  if  he  conversed  familiarly 
with  other  women ;  and  if  he  went  to  dine 
with  any  of  his  friends,  the  mistress  of  the 
house  was  always  absent.  When  the  fa- 
vourite no  longer  possessed  the  power  of 
making  himself  agreeable  to  the  empress, 
he  received  orders  to  travel,  and  from  that 
time  he  was  excluded  from  all  further  access 
to  her.  But  Catherine  never  dismissed  her 
paramours  with  anger,  or  behaved  to  them 
otherwise  than  with  a  generosity  truly  im- 
perial. The  discarded  favourite  received 
such  lavish  tokens  of  her  past  affection  as,  to 
some  extent,  consoled  him  for  the  loss  of  her 
presence. 

The  spring  of  the  year  1775  saw  the 
Russian  empire  recovering  from  the  ex- 
haustion caused  by  its  war  against  the 
Turks,  and  the  internal  discord  and  misery 
resulting  from  the  great  Cossack  insurrec- 
tion under  Pugatschef.  The  time  of  the 
empress  was  divided  between  those  sensual 
and  extravagant  pleasures  to  which  she  was 
attached,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of 
peace  and  the  improvement  of  the  country. 
In  these  efforts  she  found  an  efficient  second 
in  Potemkin,  who,  notwithstanding  his  fri- 
volity and  waywardness,  possessed  consider- 
able abilities,  and  of  such  a  character  as 
enabled  him  to  gain  a  remarkable  ascen- 
dancy over  the  empress.  So  conscious  was 
he  of  this,  that  he  grew  wanton  in  the 
exercise  of  his  power,  and  constantly  de- 
manded, and  obtained,  some  new  dignity  or 
accession  of  revenue.  When  any  desire  he 
had  formed  was  disappointed,  he  grew 
sullen,  and  occasionally  angry.  By  such 
means  he  entered  the  council,  and  sup- 
planted a  more  able  man  than  himself  in 
the  post  of  vice-president  at  war.  Such 
presumption  necessarily  created  him  a  host 
of  enemies,  and  he  was  reproached  for 
undertaking  all  things,  yet  completing 
nothing;  and  of  making  indiscriminate 
promises  which  he  never  fulfilled.  The 
empress,  though  much  captivated  with  him, 
was  still  conscious  of  his  failings;  and  it 
was  partly  with  a  view  to  check  his  petu- 
lance and  audacity  that  she  retained  her 
discarded  lover  (Prince  Orloff)  at  court, 
and  strove  to  preserve  peace  between  the 
new  favourite  and  the  two  fiery  brothers. 
Gregory,  regardless  of  the  pleasures,  but 
298 


jealous  of  the  honours  of  Potemkin,  had 
sullenly  requested  permission  to  retire  ;  but 
to  this  the  empress  would  not  consent. 
He  then  obtained  an  interview  with  her, 
during  which  he  recalled  to  her  mind  the 
obligations  which  she  owed  to  him ;  spoke 
of  his  zeal  and  fidehty ;  and  observed,  that 
she  had  nothing  to  reproach  him  with  but 
the  circumstance  of  his  not  being  so  young 
as  his  rival.  Catherine  listened  with  gentle- 
ness ;  and,  without  denying  the  wrongs  of 
which  he  complained,  assured  him  she' 
should  ever  be  his  friend.  The  discon- 
tented prince  was  subdued,  and  still  re- 
mained at  court  her  trusted,  because  pro- 
bably hopeful,  servant. 

Early  in  1775,  the  empress  paid  a  visit 
in  great  state  to  Moscow,   chiefly  for  the 
purpose  of  exterminating  by  her  presence, 
her  favours,  and  her  liberality,  the  traces  of 
disaffection    and  sympathy  with  the   rebel 
Pugatschef,  which  lingered  there.     Though 
she  held  in  contempt  the  childish  bigotry  of 
the   ignorant    people,    and    almost   equally 
ignorant  priesthood,  and  regarded  the  latter 
as  dangerous  subjects,  she  did  not  disdain 
to  appeal  to  this  very  bigotry,  and  to  use 
the  priesthood,  for  the  purpose  of  regaining 
the  alienated  minds  of  her  subjects  in  the 
city  and  neighbourhood  of  Moscow.     With 
this  object,  she  carried  with   her   a   great 
number  of  little  figures  of  saints,  and  dis- 
tributed them  in  the  churches  and  chapels 
on  the  road.     She  also  carried  a  large  pic- 
ture, richly  decorated  with  gold   and   dia- 
monds, for  presentation  to  the  cathedral  of 
Moscow.     She  was  preceded  into  that  city 
by  600  soldiers  from  each  regiment  of  the 
guards,  and  followed  by  a  brilliant  retinue. 
Two  triumphal  arches  had  been  erected,  at 
a  cost  of  40,000  roubles,  for  the  procession 
to   pass  under,   and   everything   connected 
with  the  entrance  of  the  empress  into  the 
ancient  city  was  grand  and  gorgeous.    Only 
one  tiding  was  wanting— but  it  was  the  one 
least  indispensable  in  displays  of  this  nature 
— the  acclamations  and  enthusiasm  of  the 
people.      Catherine    was   unable   to   charm 
them  into  any  exhibition  of  loyalty,  or  to 
dispel  the    dishke   which    the    citizens   of 
Moscow   had    always    entertained    towards 
her.     They  gazed  on  the   gorgeous   cavaU 
cade  with  silence,  and  permitted  the  em- 
press to  pass  without  the  least  demonstra- 
tion of  welcome.    To  the  Grand-duke  Paul, 
whom  they  regarded  as  the   son  of  their 
murdered  sovereign,  they  displayed  a  marked 
contrast  of  feeling.     Such  was  the  euthu- 


A.D.  1775.] 


siasm  with  which  he  was  received,  that  it  is 
said,  a  courtier,  either  anxious  to  ascertain 
his  sentiments,  or  influenced  by  a  treasonous 
feeling  towards  the  empress,  observed  to 
him—'^Your  imperial  highness  sees  how 
much  you  are  beloved.  Oh,  if  you  would 
"      The    speaker    paused    for    en 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [cathbrine  and  her  love,s. 


couragement  to  pursue  his  daring  remark  • 
but  Paul  only  responded  with  a  look  of 
reprimand,  which  implied  that  he  had  no 
intention  of  plotting  against  a  mother  whom 
he  neither  loved  or  was  loved  by. 

Catherine  carried  out  her  assumption  of 
devotion   at  Moscow   bv  performing  a  pil- 
grimage  on   foot,   attended    by  her  whole 
court,  to  a  convent  situated  at  a  distance  of 
forty   versts.      Her   chief  minister.   Count 
Panui,  was  the  only  one  not  invited  to  take 
part  m  this  laborious  and  dramatic  piece  of 
pretended  piety.     This  might  have  been  a 
slight  to  the   minister,   who  now  troubled 
himself  about   little  but  ease  and  amuse- 
ments.     He  was  a  great  glutton,   a  great 
gamester,    and   a   great   sleeper;    and   had 
become  so  enormously  fat,  as  to  render  it 
extremely  doubtful  whether  he  could  walk 
the  distance  of  forty  versts,  however  gently 
the  task  might   have  to  be  accomplished 
So  negligent  had  he  become,  that  an  urgent 
despatch  from  Marshal   Romantzoff   (then 
commanding    the    expedition    against    the 
Turks)     was,    after     an     interval     of    four 
months,  found  unanswered  in  the  pocket  of 
Panin's   dressing-gown.      Such   dangerous 
inattention    to    the    duties   of   his   highly 
responsible  position,  raised  him  up  enemies 
and  rivals,  amongst  whom  was   Potemkin, 
who  strove  to  supplant  the  minister. 

The  favourite   had   also   another   and  a 
higher   aim.      Like   Orloff,    he   sought   to 
become  the  husband  of  the  imperial  mis- 
tress  whose   favour   he   enjoyed.      During 
the  stay  of  the  court  at  Moscow,  Potemkin, 
who  was  so  far  from  being  influenced  by 
religious  emotions  that  he  treated  all  modes 
of  faith  with  a  daring  and  impartial  ridi- 
cule,   put    on   a   semblance    of    the    most 
austere  piety.     During  Lent  he  abandoned 
the  luxurious  hving  to  which  he  was  much 
attached,  and  fed  upon  nothing  but  roots 
and   water.     Every  day  he   went  to   con- 
fession, and  remained  for  some  hours  before 
the   pictures  of  the  saints   in   prayer.     It 
was  the  confessor  to  the  empress  that  this 
crafty  schemer  selected  to  listen  to  the  list 
ot  his  transgressions  also.     With  a  penitent 
air,   Potemkin  entreated  the   priest  to  in- 
form his  imperial  mistress  that  his  alarmed 


conscience  would  no  longer  allow  him  to 
indulge  in  an  intercourse  that  was  criminal 
when    not    sanctioned   by   marriage.     The 
monk    performed    his    mission;     but    the 
shrewd  empress  at  once  divined  the  nature 
of  Potemkin^s  scruples,  and  the  object  he 
was  aimmg  at.     Sending  for  him,  she  said, 
with  a  dignity  tempered  by  tenderness,  that 
though  she  had  a  regard  for  him,  she  was 
sufficiently   mistress    of   herself  to   subdue 
her  passion;  and  that,  if  he  was  disincHned 
to  hll  the  post  of  favourite,  slie  could  easilv 
resolve  to  put  another  iu  his  place.     The 
disappointed  schemer  was  much  humiliated 
and  even  talked  of  entering   the   church' 
and  causing  himself  to  be  consecrated  arch- 
bishop :  but  he  soon  forgot  both  his  devotion 
and  his  resentment  in  the  mingled  pursuits 
of  pleasure  and  ambition. 

Whether  this  trifling  and  duplicity  cost 
Potemkin  the  affection  of  his  mistress,  or 
Catherine    had    merely   vielded    to    a   new 
impression,  we  cannot  say.     Certain  it  is, 
that,  not  long  after  this  event,  the  empress 
transferred  her  smiles  to  a  young   officer 
named  Zavadofski,  whom  she  first  appointed 
her  secretary,  and  afterwards  bestowed  upon 
him  the  title  of  favourite.      Potemkin,  on 
whom  she  had  recently  showered  gifts  and 
dignities,   received  the  usual   command   to 
set  out  upon  his  travels.     This  command 
he  evaded,  even  while  pretending  to  obey. 
Having  prepared  for  his  departure,  he  left 
the  palace ;  but  the  very  next  day  returned, 
and,    with   the   utmost    composure,    placed 
himself  opposite  the  empress  just  as   she 
was   sitting  down  to  her  customary  whist 
party.     Perhaps  the  discarded  favourite  had 
received  secret  permission  to  remain  in  the 
character  of  friend ;  certain  it  is,  that  the 
empress  did  not  appear  displeased,  but  in- 
vited him  to  join  the  table,  saving  that  he 
always  played  luckily.     The  subject  of  tra- 
velling  was   not    resumed,   and   Potemkin 
retained  all  his  posts,  his  honours,  and  his 
influence,  and,  from  the  lover,  became  the 
friend  of  his  mistress.     His  abilities,  which 
bore  some  resemblance  to  her  own,  enabled 
him  to  retain  an  ascendancy  over  her.     The 
amazed    courtiers    beheld    two   favourites; 
and  not  understanding  the  somewhat  equi- 
vocal arrangement  entered  into,  they  could 
not   divine  which   lover   the   empress   pre- 
ferred.     They   did   not   suppose   that   Po- 
temkin had  resigned  the  latter  character; 
not  reflecting  that  love  is  usually  silent  in 
the  presence  of  ambition. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Catherine  should 

299 


i  ; 


I' 

1*. 


l,i 


DEATH  OF  THE  GRAND- DUCHESS.]    HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1776. 


entertain  some  jealousy  of  the  popularity  of 
her  son  the  Grand-duke  Paul,  especially 
as  a  party  existed  who  were  desirous  of 
seeing^  him  lay  claim  to  a  throne  which, 
assuminjij  him  tG  be  really  the  son  of 
Peter  III.,  undoubtedly  belonged  to  him. 
The  empress  viewed  with  distrust  all  per- 
sons whom  she  deemed  capable  of  instilling 
ambitious  thoughts  into  the  grand-duke,  or 
who  were  in  a  condition  to  arm  on  his  be- 
half. Catherine's  apprehensions  were  dis- 
cerned and  turned  to  account  by  Frederic 
of  Prussia.  Aware  that  it  would  be  scarcely 
possible  for  Paul  to  succeed  in  any  design 
upon  the  Russian  throne  without  his  assist- 
ance, he  always,  when  desiring  any  conces- 
sion from  the  empress,  testified  great  con- 
cern about  her  son.  The  alarmed  Catherine 
immediately  made  any  sacrifices  whatever 
for  preserving  the  friendship  of  the  Prussian 
monarch. 

Paul  lived  in  habits  of  close  companion- 
ship with  Count  Andrew  Rasumoffski,  who 
had  been  brought  up  with  him.  The  count 
possessed  a  bold  and  enterprising  spirit; 
and  Catherine,  therefore,  resolved  to  effect 
a  division  between  him  and  her  son.  Watch- 
ing Rasumoffski  with  this  object,  she  ob- 
served some  expressive  looks  pass  between 
him  and  the  grand-duchess,  the  consort  of 
Paul;  and,  with  a  woman's  quickness  in 
such  matters,  she  at  once  concluded  that 
the  count  had  presumed  to  form  some 
rash  design  upon  the  princess.  Catherine 
at  once  communicated  her  suspicions  to  her 
son,  who,  though  he  imagined  them  to  be 
without  foundation,  resolved  to  keep  an 
eye  upon  his  friend,  and  desired  his  consort 
to  be  more  reserved  in  her  behaviour.  That 
the  grand-duchess  entertained  a  partiality 
for  Rasumoffski,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  she  kept  up  a  secret  correspond- 
ence with  him.  Some  surmise  that  she 
went  further,  and  entered  into  certain  poli- 
tical intrigues  for  the  purpose  of  being 
revenged  upon  the  empress  for  having 
brought  her  virtue  into  suspicion.  If  so, 
she  had  no  time  to  execute  her  designs,  as 
she  soon  afterwards  expired  in  childbed.* 
Rumour,  probably  engendered  from  ca- 
lumny,    attributed     her     death    to     some 

•  On  the  26th  of  April,  1776. 

t  We  are  not  inclined  to  credit  this  suspicion  ;  but 
Tooke  observes— •' What  served  to  add  credibility 
to  these  surmises  was,  that  the  midwife  who  attended 
the  grand-duchess  very  soon  made  a  great  fortune. 
She  lived  on  a  familiar  footing  with  the  empress,  and 
talked  with  Prince  Potemkin  and  Count  Besborodko, 
who  often  went  to  dine  with  her,  in  the  style  of  thee 
300 


criminal  intervention  of  the  empress.f 
Paul  was  much  affected  by  the  sudden 
demise  of  his  consort ;  but  when  his  grief 
had  somewhat  subsided,  he  examined  lier 
papers,  and  found  among  them  letters  from 
the  count.  Presenting  them  to  the  empress, 
he  demanded  vengeance  :  but  she  had  at- 
tained her  object — the  separation  of  Paul 
and  Rasumoffski ;  and,  desirous  of  avoiding 
an  unpleasant  publicity,  she  sent  the  count 
as  her  envoy-extraordinary  to  Venice. 

In  Poland,  the  commissioners  of  Russia, 
Austria,  and  Prussia,  could  neither  agree 
among  themselves  nor  with  the  Poles, 
respecting  the  exact  demarcations  of  that 
country.  Frederic,  therefore,  expressed  a 
wish  that  his  brother.  Prince  Henry,  might 
go  and  confer  with  the  empress,  for  the 
purpose  of  settling  such  differences  as 
might  have  been  raised  in  the  matter  be- 
tween the  courts  of  St.  Petersburg  and 
Berlin.  The  prince  arrived  in  Russia  a 
few  days  before  the  death  of  the  grand- 
duchess,  and  was  received  with  as  much 
distinction  as  on  his  first  visit.  The  prince 
frequently  discoursed  in  private  with  the 
empress  on  the  affairs  of  Poland ;  and,  on 
one  occasion,  when  Catherine  had  made 
some  objections,  he  replied — *'  Madam,  I 
see  one  sure  method  of  obviating  all  diffi- 
culty. It  may,  perhaps,  be  displeasing  to 
you,  on  account  of  Poniatowski;  but  you 
will,  nevertheless,  do  well  to  give  it  your 
approbation,  since  compensation  may  be 
offered  to  that  monarch,  of  greater  value  to 
him  than  the  throne,  which  is  continually 
tottering  beneath  him.  The  remainder  of 
Poland  must  be  partitioned.''  The  idea, 
if  not  preconcerted,  was  at  least  welcome 
to  the  ambitious  empress;  and  the  extinc- 
tion of  Poland  as  an  independent  nation 
was  resolved  upon. 

Scarcely  had  the  grave  closed  over  the 
Grand-duchess  Natolia,  the  consort  of  Paul, 
than  the  empress  directed  her  attention  to 
providing  a  second  wife  for  her  son,  as  his 
first  had  died  without  leaving  a  heir  to  in- 
herit the  empire.  She  selected  the  princess 
of  Wirtemberg-Stutgard,  niece  to  the  king 
of  Prussia,  and  engaged  Prince  Henry  to 
negotiate  the    marriage.      Frederic   gladly 

and  thou.  Dr.  Almann  was  the  official  accoucheur; 
but  upon  being  asked  by  a  friend  afterwards  why  he 
was  not  present  at  the  delivery,  he  replied,  *  Because, 
on  a  previous  visit  to  her  imperial  highness,  the  em- 
press said  to  me,  *  Sir,  if  anything  disastrous  should 
happen,  you  will  answer  it  with  your  head.'  *  Upon 
which,'  continued  the  doctor,  ♦  I  made  my  obeisance, 
retired,  and  have  never  been  at  court  since.' " 


A.D.  1776.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[domestic  incidents. 


accepted  a  proposal  which  would  lead  to  a 
closer  alliance  between  Prussia  and  Russia ; 
and  the   young  lady  herself  gave   up  the 
Prince  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  to  whom  she 
was  engaged,  in  order  to  accept  the  offer  of 
the  hand  of  an  embryo  emperor.     Towards 
the  close  of  the  summer  of  1776,  Paul  and 
Prince   Henry,   attended   by  Marshal    Ro- 
mantzofF  and  a  numerous  suite,  set  out  on 
this  errand  to  Berlin.    Paul  was  received  by 
the   great   Frederic  with   all   the   honours 
due  to  the  heir  of  the   imperial  house  of 
Russia.     On  being  presented  to  the  famous 
soldier,    the    grand-duke    observed — "The 
motives  which  bring  me  from  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  north  to  these  happy  dominions, 
are  the  desire  of  assuring  your  majesty  of 
the  friendship  and  alliance  to  subsist  hence- 
forth for  ever  between  Russia  and  Prussia ; 
and  the  eagerness  to  see  a  princess  destined 
to  ascend  the  throne  of  the  Russian  empire ; 
who,  by  my  receiving  her  at  your  hands,  I 
dare  to  promise  you,  will  be  the  more  dear 
to  myself  and  to  the  nation  over  which  she 
is  to  reign;  and  chiefly  to  see  that  boon 
granted  me  for  which  I  have  been  ardently 
wishing   so   long— the  satisfaction  of  con- 
templating the  greatest  of  heroes,  the  ad- 
miration of  our  age,  and  the  astonishment 
of  posterity .^^ 

"  Instead  of  which,"  responded  Frederic, 
"you  behold,  my  prince,  a  gray-headed 
valetudinarian,  who  could  never  have  wished 
for  a  superior  happiness  than  that  of  wel- 
coming within  these  walls  the  hopeful  heir 
of  a  mighty  empire,  the  only  son  of  my  best 
friend,  the  great  Catherine." 

Paul  was  then  introduced  to  the  Princess 
of  Wirtemberg,  and  the  ceremony  of  the 
nuptial  contract  took  place  the  same  day. 
Great  festivities  followed ;  and,  on  the  3rd 
of  August,  the  grand-duke  took  leave  of  the 
king,  and  returned,  loaded  with  presents,  to 
St.  Petersburg.  The  princess,  shortly  after, 
followed,  and  was  united  to  him  on  the  13th 
of  October.  At  the  same  time  she  embraced 
the  Greek  religion,  and  assumed  the  name 
of  Maria  Feodorovna.  Twenty  years  after- 
wards this  imperial  couple  ascended  the 
throne  of  the  Russian  empire. 

Prince  Potemkin  had  forgotten  the  lover 
in  the  minister,  and  now  occupied  the  first 
place  about  the  throne  of  Catherine.  Proud 
of  his  political  influence  and  abilities,  he  left 
the  empress  in  the  tranquil  indulgence  of 
her  inclination  for  Zavadofski.  The  latter 
had  filled  the  post  of  favourite  for  about  a 
year  and  a-half,  when  he  also  became  ambi- , 


tious  of  political  distinction,  and  endea- 
voured to  supplant  Potemkin  in  his  capacity 
of  mmister.  By  so  doing  he  entered  on  an 
antagonism  with  a  rival  of  far  greater  talents 
than  himself,  who  at  once  resolved  on  his 
expulsion  from  court.  ^  Potemkin  had  per- 
sonal  experience  both  of  the  sensuality  and 
the  inconstancy  of  the  empress,  and  he 
therefore  placed  in  her  way  a  young,  tall, 
and  handsome  Servian  named  Zoritch,  ari 
officer  in  a  regiment  of  hussars,  who  had 
come  to  St.  Petersburg  in  search  of  promo- 
tion. The  artifice  succeeded ;  the  fancy  of 
Catherine  was  ensnared;  Zavadofski  was 
abruptly  dismissed,  loaded  with  presents; 
and  Zoritch  was  installed  as  favourite! 
The  latter  was  a  man  of  neither  education 
nor  experience,  and  in  no  way  calculated  to 
interfere  with  the  projects  of  the  ambitious 
Potemkin. 

Russia  now  enjoyed  more  internal  repose 
than  had  fallen  to  its  lot  since  the  accession 
of  the   empress.     The  flames   of  rebellion 
were  extinguished;  and  disappointed  con- 
spiracy, never  revealing  itself  except  to  be 
crushed,  was  content  to  submit  in  silence 
to  a   governnoent  it  could  not  overthrow. 
Catherine  might  herself  have  rested   con- 
tent  with  what   she   had   done,  and    have 
devoted  most  of  her  time  to  those  pleasures 
by  which  she  was  so  much  attracted.     But 
she  was  ever  grasping  after  personal  fame 
and   the   aggrandisement    of    the    Russian 
empire.     There  was  nothing  she  would  not 
sacrifice  in  the  pursuit  of  glory,  or,  indeed, 
of  that  celebrity  which  is  not  always  real 
fame.     As  her  armies  had   ceased  to  gain 
victories    beyond    her   frontiers,    she   made 
Europe  resound  with   the  brilliant  acts  of 
her  munificence,  the   encouragements   she 
afforded  to  the  arts  and  sciences,  the  prizes 
she    assigned    to   talent,   the   bounties    she 
showered  upon  foreigners,  and  the  numerous 
institutions  she  created  for  augmenting  the 
industry  and  the  riches  of  her  people.    Ever 
intent  upon  carrying  out  that  regeneration 
of  the    empire   commenced   by    Peter   the 
Great,  she  constantly  addressed  herself  to 
the  extension  of  education  and  the  erection 
of  institutions  for  national  improvement.    In 
the  various  public  schools— most  of  which 
had  been  established  by  the  empress — about 
6,800  children,  of  both  sexes,  were  boarded, 
clothed,  and  educated  at  her  expense. 

Catherine  was  too  ambitious  a  sovereign 
not  to  be  a  dangerous  neighbour.  It  has 
been  seen  how  Poland,  distracted  by  its 
own  dissensions,  fell  a  victim   to   her  ab- 

301 


i:f; 


11 

>   1 


II'*,  1 

' '1?  ■■ 

<•'  ' 

I ;  'i  ■  • 


It  ' 


1 


ii 


If 


I. 


A 


RUSSIA  AND  TURKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1777—1779. 


sorbin g  policy.  Denmark  liad  fallen  under 
l»er  influence,  and  she  carried  on  intri«^ues 
in  Sweden,  with  the  object  of  still  further 
weakening  a  power  whose  armies,  in  the 
time  of  Charles  XII.»  had  made  Russia 
tremble.  By  promoting  the  internal  dis- 
sensions of  Sweden  (the  nobles  of  which 
■were  divided  into  two  factions,  called  the 
"Caps"  and  the  "Hats"),  Catherine  trusted 
to  reduce  that  country  to  such  a  condition 
as  would  enable  her  to  subjugate  it  at 
some  future  period.  Her  efforts,  however, 
were  interrupted  by  the  abilities  and  deci- 
sion of  Gustavus  III.  Early  in  1777,  Gus- 
tavus,  alarmed  at  seeing  that  the  empress 
had  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  galleys  from  Cron- 
istadt,  demanded  what  might  be  the  cause  of 
this  armament.  He  received  an  unsatisfac- 
tory answer ;  and,  although  the  Russian  fleet 
took  no  steps  against  Sweden,  Gustavus 
liiraself  proceeded  to  St.  Petersburg,  under 
the  name  of  the  Count  of  Gothland,  to 
confer  personally  with  the  empress  upon 
the  subject.  Catherine  received  him  with  a 
sumptuous  hospitality,  and  a  hollow  cor- 
diality was  exhibited  on  both  sides.  The 
visit  did  not,  however,  raise  the  empress  in 
the  esteem  of  Gustavus ;  while  it  confirmed 
in  her  the  desire  of  humbling  her  youthful 
rival. 

By  the  late  peace  with  Turkey,  the 
Crimea  had  been  declared  independent; 
but  the  Tartars  of  that  peninsula  had  now 
two  khans — the  one  supported  by  the 
Turks,  the  other  by  the  Russians.  The 
latter  desired  to  place  the  whole  of  the 
Crimea  under  the  khan  who  enjoyed  their 
insidious  protection,  in  order  that  they 
might  the  more  readily  despoil  him  of  it. 
They  therefore  furnished  him  with  a  guard 
of  Russian  soldiers,  who,  being  viewed  by 
the  ferocious  Tartars  with  jealous  feelings, 
were  attacked,  and  the  greater  part  of  them 
massacred. 

The  empress  immediately  poured  fresh 
troops  into  the  Crimea.  The  Russians 
attacked  and  defeated  the  Tartars  opposed 
to  the  khan  who  had  received  the  sanction 
of  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg;  and  his 
competitor,  Selim,  was  compelled  to  seek 
for  refuge  in  the  mountains.  As  the 
Turkish  government  refused  to  acknowledge 
Sahim-Gueray  as  the  khan  of  the  Crimea, 
the  Porte  was  given  to  understand  that  that 
country  had  placed  itself  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  empress,  who  would  rather 
rekindle  the  flames  of  war  than  abandon 
the  cause  of  the  khan  whom  she  supported. 
302 


The  Turks  were  exasperated  at  this  haughty 
message,  and  seemed  resolved  to  put  the 
dispute  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword. 

France  and  other  powers  interfered  to 
prevent  hostilities,  for  they  had  no  wish  to 
see  Russia  further  exalted,  by  fresh  victories, 
over  its  eastern  neighbour.  But  the  divan 
continued  undetermined  and  wavering  be- 
tween the  diflperent  impressions  it  received. 
The  people  of  Constantinople  called  loudly 
for  war;  and  the  Porte  could  not  easily 
prevail  on  itself  to  pardon  Russia  for  her 
successes  and  her  invasions,  which  made  it 
remember  the  many  defeats  it  had  suffered, 
and  the  humiliating  peace  it  had  been 
forced  to  sign.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  Turkish  ministers  could  calmly 
behold  the  Russian  supremacy  on  the 
Euxine,  the  flag  of  that  empire  displayed 
even  under  the  walls  of  Constantinople, 
and  its  commerce  extending  from  sea  to 
sea.  The  independence  of  the  Crimea,  also, 
was  a  subject  of  annoyance ;  but  its  pro- 
bable subjugation  by  the  Russians  exceeded 
their  patience.  Some  other  differences  had 
arisen  between  the  ministers  of  Catherine 
and  the  Ottoman  Porte.  By  the  recent 
treaty  of  peace,  the  Russians  had  obtained 
several  privileges  for  the  Greek  Christians, 
who  were  dispersed  in  great  numbers 
throughout  the  Turkish  provinces  of  Mol- 
davia and  Wallachia.  Since  that  period 
many  inhabitants  of  the  opposite  shore  of 
the  Danube,  who  professed  the  Greek  reli- 
gion, abandoned  their  country,  and  passed 
over  into  those  localities  in  which  they 
exchanged  toleration  for  protection.  These 
persons  were  naturally  more  attached  to 
the  power  to  which  they  were  indebted  for 
the  new  advantages  they  enjoyed,  than  to 
that  by  which  they  had  been  so  long  op- 
pressed. But  Russia  aimed  at  more  than 
this.  She  was  secretly  contriving  to  render 
these  provinces  entirely  independent  of  the 
Porte ;  and  to  accomplish  that  object,  she 
insisted  that  the  princes  or  hospodars  of 
Moldavia  and  Wallachia  should  not  be  liable 
to  be  deposed  on  any  pretence  whatever. 
This  interference  the  Turks  regarded  as  not 
more  justifiable  than  that  with  respect  to 
the  Crimea;  but  the  good  offices  of  the 
French  ambassador  prevailed  over  the  desire 
for  war.  He  induced  the  divan  to  release 
several  Russian  vessels  which  had  been  de- 
tained for  more  than  a  year  in  the  Turkish 
harbours.  This  courtesy  led  to  the  expres- 
sion of  a  less  hostile  feeling ;  and,  in  the 
March  of   1779,   a    new  treaty  was  signed 


A.D.  1779.1 


through  his  mediation.    By  this  the  Russians 
gave  up  some  of  their  unjust  claims  with  re- 
spect  to  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  and  agreed 
to  withdraw  their  troops  from  the  Crimea, 
the  independence  of  which,  however,  was 
again  acknowledged.      The  Porte  likewise 
granted    its    subjects    who    professed    the 
Greek  religion  the  privileges  they  desired 
and  enlarged  the  liberty  already  granted  to 
the  Russians,   of  navigating   the   Ottoman 
seas      With  this  treaty  Catherine  was   so 
satisfied,  that  she  sent  magnificent  presents 
both  to  her  minister  at  Constantinople,  to 
the   French  ambassador,  the   grand-vizier, 
and, the  principal  members  of  the  divan. 

The  French  ambassador,  while  thus  ser'vin'' 
the  interests  of  Turkey  and  propitiating  the 
favour  of  Russia,  had  also  laboured  to  deprive 
England   of  the    support  it   derived   from 
Russia.     This  attempt  met  with  some  suc- 
cess, and  the  close  alliance  that  had  so  long 
subsisted    between   the   courts   of  London 
and    St.  Petersburg  was   much  weakened. 
Catherine,  free  to  navigate   so  many  seas, 
and  the  dominatrix  of  some,  could  not  endure 
that  any  other  power  should  pretend  to  a 
right  of  mastery  in  them.     One  of  the  causes, 
therefore,  that  contributed  to  raise  a  cold- 
ness on  her  part  towards  this  country,  was 
the  jealousy  she  experienced  at  its  attempt 
to  force  from  every  power  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  superiority  of  the  British  flag, 
btill  the  commerce  with  England  was  too 
advantageous  to  be  discountenanced.    Cathe- 
rme  looked  on  with  secret  satisfaction  while 
the   English    were   losing   a   part   of  their 
colonies,  and  with  an  oppressive  civility  she 
mvited  them  to  come  and  fetch  from  her 
ports  the  productions  they  could  no  longer 
obtain  from  the  continent  of  America.     At 
the  same  time  she  welcomed  the  vessels  of 
the  new-born  republic,  and,  in  opposition  to 
the   solicitations   of  the    British    minister, 
granted  to  them  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Baltic. 

Catherine  had  by  degrees  polished  the 
rough  soldier-like  court  by  which  she  had 
been  at  first  surrounded,  until  its  splendour 
surpassed  that  of  any  neighbouring  po- 
tentate. Indeed,  it  united  the  profusion  of 
Asiatic  pomp  with  the  ingenious  invention 
of  European  luxury.  On  court-days  the 
quantity  of  jewels  worn  by  both  sexes,  and 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [splendour  of  the  court. 


Instituted,  our  readers  will  remember,  by  Peter 
the  Great,  in  honour  of  the  assistance  he  received 
trom  his  consort  in  the  camp  on  the  banks  of  the 
-Truth.  This  distinction  is  bestowed  upon  ladies 
only,  and  consists  of  a  narrow  red  ribbon,  edged  with 


the  brilliant  colours  of  the  varied  costumes 
to   be  seen   there,   produced  a  remarkable 
ettect.     On  these  occasions  both  ladies  and 
gentlemen  were,  with  the  exception  of  the 
mrlitary,  dressed  according  to  the  prevailincr 
modes  at  Paris.     To  a  foreigner  nothing  was 
more  remarkable  than  the  number  of  dia- 
monds and  precious  stones,  worn  as  much 
I  ^^"^  ^l  ^^'  women,  who  appeared  to  have 
challenged    one   another   which   should    be 
most   covered   by  these   costly   ornaments. 
As  to  the  nobihty,  their  buttons,  buckles 
the  scabbards  of  their  swords,  and  even  their 
epaulets  often  consisted  of  diamonds,  in  ad- 
dition  to  which  many  even  wore  a  triple  row 
of  precious  stones  round  the  borders  of  their 
hats.     When,  on   days   distinguished  by  a 
more  than  ordinary  amount  of  ceremony 
the  empress  dined   in  public,    she  usually 
wore  a  diamond   crown  of  immense  value 
the  ribbons  of  St.  Andrew  and  of  St.  Geor-e' 
both  over  one  shoulder,  with  the  collars^'of 
St.  Alexander  Nevski,  St.  Catherine,*  and 
bt.  Vladimir,  and  two  stars,  one  above  the 
other,  on  her  bosom.     This  imparted  to  her 
a   very   brilliant    appearance,    and,    as   her 
courtiers  were  equally  fond  of  display,  the 
result  presented  was  exceedingly  gorgeous. 
During  the  winter  the  empress  gave  mas- 
querades at   the  palace,  to  which   persons 
of  all  ranks  were  invited.     Sometimes  the 
number  of  tickets  issued  amounted  to  8,000 : 
yet  inconvenient  crowding  seldom  existed  • 
as  twenty  magnificent  halls,  splendidly  illu- 
minated,   afi^orded   sufficient   room  for  this 
multitude.     One  of  these   spacious   apart- 
ments contained  an  enclosure  more  adorned 
than  the  rest,  and  appropriated  to  the  nobi- 
lity and  the  most  favoured  courtiers.     At 
these  entertainments  Catherine  usually  made 
her  appearance  about  seven  in  the  evening, 
and  retired  at  eleven. 

The  Servian  officer,  Zoritch,  had  filled  the 
post  of  favourite  about  a  twelvemonth,  when 
suddenly  he  received  the  usual  orders  to 
travel.  He  immediately  went  and  com- 
plained to  Potemkin,  who  supported  him, 
with  the  object  of  excluding  any  more  able 
and  dangerous  man  from  a  position  which 
necessarily  carried  with  it  a  certain  amount 
of  influence  over  the  empress.  Potemkin 
ventured  to  ask  her  for  what  reason  she  had 
discarded  her  humble  friend.     "1  was  fond 


silver,  to  which  the  figure  of  thesam^r^^is  suspended, 
set  with  diamonds  and  a  silver  star  of  eight  points, 
on  the  left  breast,  with  the  inscription,  *' Afnore  ct 
fdehtate:  The  empress  was  the  grand-mistress  of 
the  order. 

303 


^  >tfii. 


N 


'• !.  f. 


KIMSKl  KORZAKOFF.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1780. 


of  him  yesterday,  and  to-day  I  am  not," 
replied  Catherine;  "perhaps,  if  lie  were 
somewhat  more  informed,  I  might  love  him 
still ;  but  his  ignorance  puts  me  to  the  blush. 
He  can  speak  no  other  language  than  Russ. 
Let  him  travel  into  France  and  England  to 
learn  foreign  hmguages." 

Prince  Potemkin  was  not  long  in  ascer- 
taining the  cause  of  the  dismission  of 
Zoritch  That  evening,  at  the  Hermitage, 
he  perceived  with  astonishment,  behind  the 
chair  of  Catherine,  a  chamberlain  of  whom 
he  had  no  knowledge.  It  was  the  new 
favourite  Rimski  Korzakoff,  who,  though 
afterwards  distinguished  as  an  able  general. 
Lad  been  suddenly  raised  from  the  humble 
rank  of  a  sergeant  of  the  guards  to  that  of 
aide-de-camp  of  the  empress.  Korzakoff  had 
a  handsome  face  and  an  elegant  figure ; 
but  if  the  ignorance  of  Zoritch  had  disgusted 
Catherine,  she  was  not  likely  long  to  remain 
satisfied  with  her  new  lover.  His  want  of 
that  common  information  which  most  men 


moving  in  good  society  possess,  is  amusingly 
evident  in  the  following  incident.  He  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  a  man  who  occupied  the 
distinguished  position  to  which  he  had  been 
advanced,  ought  necessarily  to  provide  him- 
self with  a  library.  Sending,  therefore,  for 
the  principal  bookseller  of  St.  Petersburg, 
he  said  that  he  wanted  a  great  number 
of  books  to  put  up  in  a  house  of  which 
the  empress  had  just  made  him  a  present. 
"  What  books  would  he  please  to  have  ?" 
was  the  natural  inquiry  of  the  dealer  in  these 
dumb,  yet  eloquent  productions ;  not  at  first 
comprehending  that  they  were  ordered  only 
like  tables  and  chairs,  as  articles  of  furniture. 
"  You  understand  that  better  than  I,"  replied 
the  favourite  ;  "  that  is  your  business.  You 
know  the  proper  assortments;  I  have  destined 
a  large  room  to  receive  them.  Let  there  be 
large  books  at  the  bottom,  and  smaller  and 
smaller  up  to  the  top ;  that  is  the  way  they 
stand  in  the  empress's  library."*  The  book- 
seller bowed,  and  retired. 


>  1  • 


it 


«!' 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE  ARMED  NEUTRALITY ;  LANSKOI ;  POTEMKIN^S  DESIGNS  ON  CONSTANTINOPLE  ;  MEETING  OF  CATHKIIINE 
AND  JOSEPH  II.;  STATUE  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT;  RETURN  OF  TIIK  PRINCESS  DASCHKAW  TO  ST.  PETERS- 
BURG ;  CATHERINE  MAKES  HER  DIRECTOR  OF  THE  ACADEMY  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  ;  CATHERINE  AND 
THE  EMPEROR  JOSEPH  AVOW  THEIR  INTENTION  OF  SUPPORTING  EACH  OTHER'S  CLAIM  UPON  TURKEY; 
ANNEXATION  OF  THE  CRIMEA  TO  RUSSIA  ;  DEATH  OF  COUNT  PANIN  AND  PRINCE  GREGORY  ORLOFF ;  RELI- 
GIOUS TOLERATION  ;   GRAND  PROGRESS  OF  CATHERINE  TO  THE  CRIMEA  ;  ANECDOTES  OF  THE  EMPRESS. 


The  war  in  which  America  wrung  her  inde- 
pendence from  England,  produced  a  con- 
siderable agitation  throughout  the  south  of 
Europe;  and  England,  France,  Spain,  and 
Holland  were  continually  sending  forth  their 
armaments  to  decide  whether  America  should 
become  a  free  republic,  or  remain  a  mere 
colony  of  Great  Britain.  This  war  neces- 
sarily gave  an  impetus  to  the  commerce  of 
the  north,  which  supplies  the  bulk  of  the 
commodities  required  for  the  construction 

*  "  But  how  did  you  contrive  to  find  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  the  large  books  for  the  bottom  rank, 
since  folios  are  now  so  much  out  of  fashion  ?"  said  a 
person  who  happened  to  call  at  the  bookseller's  shop 
while  his  counters  and  fioors  were  loaded  with  the 
books  just  come  from  the  binders  for  executing  this 
curious  order.  ^  Oh,  I  went  to  my  warehouse,  and 
brought  out  a  number  of  old  German  commentators 
on  the  Bible,  and  writers  on  jurisprudence,  where 
they  had  lain  in  quires  ever  since  they  were  sent  to 
304 


of  naval  armaments,  as  well  as  the  stores  of 
corn  for  the  sustenance  of  the  trading  and 
manufacturing  nations.  The  Dutch,  who 
then  possessed  a  great  part  of  the  commerce 
of  the  Baltic,  endeavoured  to  save  the  vessels 
they  employed  in  it  from  the  English  cruisers 
by  navigating  them  under  the  neutral  flag 
of  Denmark.  Nevertheless,  their  ships  were 
frequently  captured  by  our  privateers,  and 
carried  into  the  ports  of  London  or  Ply- 
mouth.    The  vessels  of  Hamburg,  Bremen, 

my  predecessor  for  a  bad  debt  of  a  bankrupt  book- 
seller at  Leipsic.  There  they  are.  See  how  gay 
they  look  in  their  new  coats.  I  have  only  taken 
care  to  put  up  a  set  of  Voltaire,  of  Rousseau,  of 
BufTon,  and  other  fashionable  French  authors,  in 
conspicuous  parts  of  the  library,  to  be  at  hand  in 
case  some  inquisitive  reader  should  ask  for  them ; 
and  as  for  the  rest,  their  elegant  outsides,  as  is  com- 
mon in  the  world,  must  be  a  passport  for  any  defi- 
ciency within." 


A,D.  1780.] 


and  Liibeck  often  met  with  a  similar  fate. 
The  merchants  of  those  towns,  therefore, 
implored  the  protection  of  the  empress,  and 
were  fortunate  enough  to  secure  her  atten- 
tion. 

Catherine  desired  to  extend  the  maritime 
trade  of  her  own  people,  and  her  pride  was 
hurt  in  consequence  of  the  little  respect  the 
English  paid  to  ships  freighted  in  her  ports, 
and  sometimes  even  to  those  which  sailed 
under  her  flag.     Instij^ated  also  by  France, 
and   solicited  to  that  effect  by  the  ministers 
of  Denmark  and   Sweden,  she  adopted  the 
|)lan  of  an   armed  neutrality;   and,  in  the 
July  of  1780,   a  treaty  to   that   eff'ect  was 
signed  by  the  powers  we  have  mentioned. 
.  The    principal    claims    of  the    confederate 
powers    were   thus    specified:—!.  That   all 
neutral  vessels  may  freely  navigate  from  one 
port  to  another  on  the  coasts  of  the  nations 
at  war.     2.  That  the  effects  of  the  belligerent 
powers  shall   be  safe  in  all  neutral  vessels, 
with  the  exception  of  prohibited  mercantile 
goods.     3.  That  the  empress  understands, 
by  prohibited  mercantile  goods,  such  as  are 
specified  in  the  Articles   10  and  11  of  her 
treaty  of  commerce  with  Great  Britain,  ex- 
tending her  obligation  in  that  respect  to  the 
other  powers  at  war.     4.  Tliat  by  a  block- 
aded port,  is  to  be  understood  only  a  port  so 
strictly  watched  by  the  ships  of  the  powers 
which  attack  it,   that  to  enter  it  would  be 
dangerous.     5.  That  these  principles  should 
be  admitted   as  the   sole  rule  whereby  to 
decide  the  legality  of  prizes.— The  empress 
added,  that,  to   enforce  the   observance  of 
these  articles,  to  protect  the  honour  of  her 
flag,  the  secnrity  of  her  commerce,  and  the 
navigation  of  her  subjects,  she  was  about  to 
arm  the  greater  part  of  her  naval  forces; 
but  that  this  measure  should  not  in  anvwise 
injure  the  neutrality  which  she  intended  to 
observe  as  long  as  she  was  not  provoked  to 
exceed  the  bounds  of  a  just  moderation  and 
the  most  perfect  impartiality. 

Prussia,  Austria,   and  even  Portugal  con- 
curred  with  the  other  neutral   states;  and 
thns  a  great  power  was  seen  dictating  a  new 
code  of  maritime  laws  to  mankind,  essen- 
tially different  from  those  which  for  several 
hundred  years  had  been  established  among 
commercial  nations,  and  tending  directly  to 
the  overthrow  of  that  sovereignty  or  pre- 
eminence on  the  ocean,  which  had  been  so 
long  claimed  and  maintained  by  Great  Bri- 
tain.    The  English  minister  at  St.  Peters- 
burg exerted  himself  in  vain  to  break  the 
league  of  the  neutral  powers;  his  expostula- 
VOL.  I.  2  k 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  armed  neutrality. 


tions  were  disregarded  ;  and,  for  a  short  time, 
the  friendly  alliance  between  this  country 
and  Russia  was  jeopardised. 

The  able  Prince    Potemkin    acquired  al- 
most absolute  power  at  the  Russian  court. 
His  riches  were  immense,  the  dignities  he 
enjoyed  were  numerous;  and  the  court,  the 
army,  and  the  navy  were  all  submissive  to 
him.     Marshal  Roraantzoff  alone  would  not 
humble  himself  before  the  haughtv  minister 
—a  circumstance   for  which  the 'latter  re- 
venged  himself  on  the  Countess  Bruce   the 
sister  of  Romantzoff,  by  encouragin-  a  fancv 
she  had  taken  to  Korzakoff,  the  favourite  of 
the  empress,  and  involving  her  in  an  intricrue 
with    that    person.     Catherine's    pride   was 
hurt   at    the    inconstancy  of  the    presumed 
lover,  on  whom,  as  usual,  she  had  showered 
presents  of  the   most   extravagant   nature. 
She  dismissed  Korzakoff,   and  commanded 
the  countess  to  retire  to  Moscow.     Though 
now  at  an  age  when,  in  most  persons,  the 
sexual  passions  are  "humble,  and  wait  upon 
the  judgment,^'*  yet  the  amorous  empress 
was  unable,  even  for  a  brief  period,  to  dis- 
pense with  the  society  of  a  favourite. 

The  very  day  that  she  discarded  Korzakoff 
Catherine  fixed  her  choice  on  Lauskoi,  one 
of  the  chevalier  guards— a  youth  of  delicate 
and  almost  womanly  features,  and  of  a  re- 
markably graceful  figure.  This  person  after- 
wards acquired  the  distinction— if  so  it  can 
be  called— of  being  the  one  of  the  empress's 
favourites  to  whom  she  was  most  attached. 

Catherine's  ambition  had  long  caused  her 
to  turn  her  eyes  to  the  east;  but  to  Prince 
Potemkin,  whose  views  with  respect  to  con- 
quest in  this   direction  coincided  with  those 
of   his  imperial   mistress,  is  attributed   the 
bold  idea  of  causing  Catherine  to  be  crowned 
in  "  the  queen  of  cities,''  the  capital  of  the 
Ottoman  empire  !     Catherine  acquiesced  in 
this  extravagant  idea,  which,  if  practicable, 
could  only  be  accomplished  by  a  long  and 
sanguinary  war;   but  Potemkin  was  more 
desirous  than  herself  to  carry  it  into  execu- 
tion.     As  a  preliminary  he  proposed  taking 
possession  of  the  Crimea,  to  which,  as  a  mea*^ 
sure  almost  ripe  for  execution^  the  empress 
at  once  consented. 

Before  entering  on  this  project,  Cathe- 
rine felt  the  necessity  of  securing  the  good- 
will of  her  most  powerful  neighbours.  De- 
sirous of  an  interview  with  the  emperor 
Joseph  II.,  she  requested  him  to  join  her 
in  Poland ;  and  on  the  30th  of  May  these 
two  illustrious  potentates  met  at  Moliilef. 
•  Catherine  was  in  her  fifty-first  year. 

305 


'^^.^j 


CTATUE  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT.]        HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1782. 


Catherine  was  surrounded  by  a  most  gor- 
{jeous  court ;  but  the  German  emperor, 
who  travelled  under  the  title  of  the  Count 
Von  Falkcnstein,  afifected  a  whimsical  sim- 
plicity in  dress  and  manner,  and  begged  liis 
imperial  friend  to  spare  him  tlie  necessity 
of  all  vain  etiquette  and  constraining  cere- 
mony. In  the  private  conversations  which 
ensued  between  them,  they  agreed  to  unite 
in  an  attack  on  the  Ottomans — to  share  a 
part  of  the  spoils  between  them,  to  drive 
the  Turks  out  of  Europe,  and  to  re-estab- 
lish the  ancient  republic  of  Greece.  Cathe- 
rine, also,  forgetful  of  her  ally  Frederic, 
engaged  to  support  the  emperor  against  all 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  king  of 
Prussia  and  the  other  princes  of  the  Ger- 
man empire.  These  stipulations  were  after- 
wards confirmed  by  a  treaty,  signed  at  St 
Petersburg,  which  capital  Joseph  accepted 
an  invitation  to  visit.  During  his  brief 
sojourn  there,  it  is  said  that  he  was  equally 
astonished  at  that  mixture  of  refinement 
and  barbarism  which  the  Russian  nation 
presented  to  his  view,  and  the  varied  and 
seemingly  contradictoiy  disposition  of  the 
empress.  He  could  not  conceive  how  a 
woman,  who  seemed  formed  by  nature  for 
leading  the  whole  world  in  chains,  could 
submit  to  be  governed  by  two  favourites  at 
her  own  court. 

The  year  1782  is  in  some  respect  memo- 
rable at  St.  Petersburg,  in  consequence  of 
the  inauguration  of  the  famous  statue  of 
Peter  the  Great,  executed  by  Stephen  Fal- 
conet, who  came  from  Paris  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  was  engaged  for  nine  years  in  the 
production  of  this  colossal  work  of  art. 
Falconet  proposed  that  the  pedestal  of  the 
statue  should  consist  of  a  huge  and  rugged 
rock,  to  indicate  symbolically  to  posterity 
the  barren  point  from  which  the  heroic 
reformer  started,  and  the  tremendous  ob- 
stacles he  surmounted.  Catherine  was 
pleased  with  the  idea ;  and,  after  consider- 
able search,  a  rock  was  found,  partly  sunk 
in  a  vast  morass,  in  a  village  near  the  shore 
of  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  The  weight  of  this 
enormous  stone  was  estimated  at  3,200,000 
pounds,  and  it  lay  at  the  distance  of  eleven 
versts,  or  about  41,250  English  feet  from 
the  spot  where  the  monument  was  to  be 
erected.  During  its  passage,  it  had  to  be 
carried  over  heights,  across  rivers,  morasses, 
and  swampy  places ;  then  down  the  river 
Neva,  and  finally  to  be  disembarked,  and 
drawn  by  land  to  the  place  of  its  destina- 
tion. The  serious  difficulty  of  moving  such 
306 


a  mass  was  sufficient  to  deter  many  per- 
sons from  the  attempt ;  but  Catherine  de- 
lighted to  triumph  over  difficulties ;  and 
although  nearly  four  months  elapsed  before 
the  stone  was  raised  from  the  earth,  the 
concentration  of  industrv,  and  the  utter 
disregard  of  expense  in  the  erection  of 
mechanical  appliances,  enabled  the  labourers 
to  accomplish  their  task.  It  was  noticed  as 
a  remarkable  circumstance,  that  neither  in 
the  morass,  or  for  some  distance  around  it, 
was  another  stone  to  be  found,  or  anv  other 
kind  of  subtance,  analogous  to  this  stupen- 
dous rock.  Another  circumstance  respect- 
ing it  struck  the  beholders  with  astonish- 
ment. One  side  of  it  had  been  struck  and 
damaged  by  lightning.  On  knocking  off 
the  shattered  fragment,  a  collection  of  many 
kinds  of  precious  stones  was  discovered ; 
crystals,  agates,  topazes,  cornelians,  and 
amethysts,  presented  to  the  eyes  of  the 
curious  a  sight  not  less  unexpected  than 
magnificent,  and,  to  the  naturalists,  an  object 
of  interesting  investigation.* 

The  statue,  of  which  this  rock  formed  the 
base,  was  generally  considered  as  a  master- 
piece of  art.  The  features  are  regarded  as 
being  an  admirable  likeness  of  the  illus- 
trious original.  The  artist  has  represented 
the  hero  on  horseback,  in  the  act  of  sud- 
denly arresting  the  impetuous  career  of  his 
steed,  on  the  overhanging  verge  of  a  steep 
precipice  which  he  has  ascended.  The  czar 
is  attired  in  the  Asiatic  dress  which  he 
discarded  and  condemned — an  erroneous 
conception,  we  think,  of  the  sculptor.  The 
head  of  the  statue  is  appropriately  crowned 
with  laurels,  and  the  right  ^rm  is  extended 
with  dignity,  while  the  left  grasps  the 
bridle  of  the  horse,  whose  beauty  of  form 
and  elegant  attitude  commands  the  admira- 
tion of  most  spectators.  The  fiery  courser 
is  represented  as  trampling  on  a  serpent, 
which  writhes  with  anguish  beneath  its  feet; 
a  type  of  the  fate  of  those  who,  from  mo- 
tives of  malignity,  opposed  the  will  of  the 
iron-handed  and  imperious  Peter.  The 
statue  is  gigantic  j  the  figure  of  the  mo- 
narch being  eleven  feet  in  height,  and  that 
of  the  horse  seventeen  feet.  The  expense 
of  this  monument  was  truly  imperial, 
amounting  to  424,610  roubles,  of  which  no 
less   than   70,000   were   expended    on   the 

♦  Thousands  of  these  gems,  as  well  as  other  parts  of 
the  stone,  were  cut  and  polished  into  bracelets,  rings, 
necklaces,  snuff-boxes,  heads  of  canes,  &c. ;  and 
found  a  very  rapid  sale,  not  only  among  people  of 
fashion,  but  throughout  the  empire. 


A.D.  1782.] 


^  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  prixcess  dasciikaw. 


transport  of  the  rock  from  the  morass  near 
the  village  of  Lachta  to  St.  Petersburg. 
Still,  a  work  which  so  prominently  chal- 
lenges attention,  has  necessarily  elicited 
much  criticism ;  and  a  recent  French  tra- 
veller observes,  that  it  is  neither  antique 
nor  modern,  but  a  Roman  of  the  time  of 
Louis  XV.  On  the  7th  of  August,  the 
ceremony  of  the  disclosure  of  the  statue  to 
the  public  took  place;  and  the  empress, 
making  her  appearance  in  the  balcony  of 
the  senate-house,  solemnised  the  event  by 
the  distribution  of  gold  and  silver  medals. 
She  also  issued  an  ukase,  terminating  every 
process  of  more  than  ten  years'  standing,  dis- 
charging all  debtors  who  had  suffered  a  five 
years'  captivity,  and  remitting  all  debts  to 
the  crown  below  the  sum  of  500  roubles. 

During  this  summer,  the  Princess  Dasch- 
kaw  returned  to  St.  Petersburg  from  her 
travels  in  Germany,  Italy,  France,  and 
England.  She  was  welcomed  and  again 
received  into  favour  by  the  empress,  who 
appears  to  have  missed  her  vivacious  so- 
ciety and  the  assistance  of  her  strong  in- 
tellect. Catherine  treated  her  with  great 
kindness,  advanced  her  son  in  the  army, 
and  bestowed  upon  the  princess  an  estate 
having  on  it  about  2,500  peasants.  The 
empress  shortly  afterwards  expressed  the 
eccentric  desire  of  appointing  the  princess 
directress  of  the  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  ! 

That  lady  declined  the  unexpected  honour, 
and    then    said    jestingly— "  Appoint    me 
directress  of  your  majesty's  washerwomen, 
and   you   shall   see  with  what   zeal   I    am 
capable   of  serving  you."     Catherine   per- 
sisted ;    and    the   princess,    on   her   return 
home,  wrote  a  serious  letter  of  expostulation 
to  the  empress  on  the   subject.     "I  told 
her,"  says  the  princess,  "without  reserve, 
that  the  private  life  of  a  sovereign  might 
pass  unnoticed  in  the  pages  of  history ;  but 
that  an  injudicious  and  hurtful  nomination 
to  a  public  office  never  would ;  that  nature 
herself,  in  making  me  a  woman,  had  dis- 
qualified me  for  the  direction  of  an  academy 
of  science;  and  that  feeling  as  I  did  my 
own    literary    insufficiency,    I    had    never 
sought   the  distinction  of  being   admitted 
into  any  learned  society  whatever,  not  even 

*  The  inaugural  discourse  delivered  by  the  princess 
on  this  occasion  will,  we  fancy,  be  perused  with  in- 
terest, from  motives  which  may  vary  according  to 
the  sex  or  taste  of  the  reader.  The  learned  lady 
Bpoke  or  read  as  follows  :— "  Gentlemen,— A  new 
instance  of  the  solicitude  of  our  august  empress  for 
tue  instruction  of  her  subjecU  has  this  day  assembled 


when  the  opportunity  offered  at  Rome  of 
purchasing  it  for  a  few  ducats." 

The  princess  requested  Potemkin  to  de- 
I  liver  this  communication  to  the  empress ; 
I  but,   to   her   astonishment,    he    tore   it    in 
!  pieces.     Then,  to  an   angry  inquiry  as  to 
the  cause  of  his  conduct,  he  replied — "  Be 
composed    princess,    and    hearken    to   me. 
You  are  sincerely  attached  to  her  majesty ; 
nobody  doubts  it;  why  will  you,  then,  dis- 
tress and  grieve  her  on  a  subject  which,  for 
the  last  two  days,  has  occupied  her  thoughts 
exclusively,   and   on  which   she   has   abso- 
lutely fixed  her  heart?     If  you  are  really 
inexorable,  here   is   pen,  ink,  and    paper; 
write  your  letter  anew ;  but  believe  me,  in 
expostulating   thus,  I  am  only  acting  the 
part  of  a  man  devoted  to  your  interest.     I 
ought,  besides,  to  add,  that  in  urging  your 
acceptance  of  the  place  proposed,  her  ma- 
jesty  has    the    further   object   in    view   of 
securing  your  residence  in  St.  Petersburg, 
and  of  making  it  the  occasion  of  a  more  fre- 
quent and  more  immediate  intercourse  be- 
tween you;    for,  to  say  the  truth,   she  is 
worn  out  with  the  society  of  those  fools  by 
whom    she   is    eternally    encircled."       The 
princess  therefore  consented,  according  to 
her  own  account  very  unwiUingly,  to   the 
desire  of  the  empress,  who  was  really  serious 
in  this  strange  appointment.     Setting  aside 
the  accidental  circumstance  of  the  sex  of 
the  princess,  which  certainly  must,  in  such 
a  matter,  be  regarded  as  a  disqualification, 
she  seems  to  have  made  an  active  and  verv 
excellent   directress.     She    put    an   end  to 
much  of  that  peculation  which  is  the  worm 
that  eats  into   the  heart  of  most  Russian 
institutions;  relieved   it  by  good  manage- 
ment from  pecuniary  difficulties ;  increased 
the  number  of  students;    and  established 
three   new  courses   of  lectures   in   mathe- 
matics, geometry,  and  natural  history,  which 
were  delivered  in  the  Russian  language  by 
a  native  professor,  gratuitously  to  all  who 
chose  to  attend  them.     The  following  year 
the  princess  was  also  appointed  to  preside 
over  a  new  academy,  of  a  purely  national 
character,  founded  by  the  empress  for  the 
purpose  of  perfecting  the  Russian  language, 
and  the  advancement  of  its  literature.*     In 
connection  with  it,  she  conducted  the  com- 


us  together.  That  genius  which  has  already  dif- 
fused so  many  benefits  over  Kussia  has  now  given  a 
proof  of  its  protective  energy  in  behalf  of  the  Rus- 
sian language,  the  parent  and  source  of  so  many 
others.  You  will  surely  appreciate,  gentlemen,  the 
gift  which  our  great  sovereign  has  conferred  on  our 
country  and  on   this  assembly.      The  riches  and 

307 


AKSEXATlOy  OF  THE  CRIMEA.]         HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1782.  • 


pilation  of  a  dictionary  of  the  Russian  lan- 
guage, the  first  that  had  been  accompHshed. 
It  was,  however,  subjected  to  much  adverse 
criticism  ;  and  it  did  not  satisfy  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  empress,  on  account  of  its  being 
arranged,  not  in  an  alphabetical,  but  in  an 
etymological  order. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1782,  the 
emperor  of  Germany  laid  aside  the  mask, 
and     avowed    his    intention    of    supporting 
both    his   own  claims   and  those  of  Russia 
against  the  Turkish  empire.     At  the  sam'e 
time  the  courts  of  Vienna  and  St.  Peters- 
burg   issued     memorials,    in    which    they 
peremptorily  insisted  that  the  Porte  should 
not  in  future,  under  any  pretence,  interfere 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Tartars ;  that  the  privi- 
leges   of    the    provinces   of    Moldavia   and 
Wallachia  should  not  be  infringed,  nor  the 
free    navigation    of    the   Euxine    and    the 
Archipelago    in    any    way    be    obstructed. 
The  consequences  of  a  failure  with  respect 
to  these  demands  could  not  be  more  fully 
explained   than   they  already  were,   by  the 
appearance  of  large  Russian  and  Austrian 
armies  on  the  frontiers,  and  the  vast  pre- 
parations for  war  made  by  both  those  em- 
copiousness  of  our  language  are  well  known  to  you. 
They  are  such  as  will  render  justice  to  the  varied 
treasures  of  antiquity.     Transposed  into  our  tongue, 
the  nervous  eloquence  of  Cicero,  the  measured  gran- 
deur of  Virgil,  the  attractive  sweetness  of  Demos- 
thenes, the  easy  eloquence  of  Ovid,  and  the  thunder- 
ing flashes  of  the  lyre  of  Pindar,  will  lose  nothing  of 
their  respective  beauties.     Our  mother-tongue  unites 
not  only  these  advantages,  gentlemen,  but  even  in 
all  the  subtleties  of  philosqphy,  in  their  affinities  and 
oppositions,  it  furnishes  appropriate  expressions,  and 
terms  the  most  applicable  and  descriptive.     But  with 
such  resources,  we  have  to  lament  the  want  of  de- 
terminate rules ;  rules  for  the  inflections  of  words, 
as  well  as  an  authorised  definition  and  limitation  of 
their  meaning.     Hence  have  arisen   those  varieties  , 
of  construction,  those  improprieties  of  imitation  and 
foreign   idiom,  which  have  hitherto  disfigured  and 
depressed  our  language.     The  object  of  the  Imperial 
Russian  Academy  is  to  render  it  perfect,  to  raise  it 
to  a  standard  of  elevation  suitable  to  the  glorious 
age  of  Catherine  II.     This,  gentlemen,  must  be  the 
end  and  aim  of  the  labours  of  a  society  founded  and 
supported  by  her  gracious  protection.     The  difi'erent 
memorials  of  antiquity  spread  over  the  vast  surface 
of  the   Russian   empire,   our   numerous    chronicles, 
those  precious  records  of  the  great  actions  of  our 
ancestors,   of  which  few  of  the  nations   of  Europe 
now  existing  can  boast  an  equal  number,  present  a 
vast  field  for  our  exertions,  upon  which  we  are  led 
to  advance  under  the  guidance  of  the  enlightened 
genius  of  our  august  protectress.     The  high  deeds 
of  our  princes,  the  exploits  of  the  past  and  the  pre- 
sent ever-memorable  age,  present  an  almost  bound- 
less range  of  su^ects  worthy  of  our  labour.     But, 
gentlemen,  the  first  fruits  of  our  endeavours,  the 
first  offering  to  be  laid  at  the  feet  of  our  immortal 

308 


pires.  The  Porte,  though  it  acted  with 
dignity,  yet  felt  it  necessary  to  submit. 
The  following  year,  Catherine  poured  her 
troops  into  the  Crimea,  where,  after  many 
intrigues,  the  khan  was  deposed,  and  the 
principal  Tartars  compelled  to  take  an  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  empress.  Turkey, 
though  extremely  irritated,  was  not  in  a 
condition  to  prevent  this  annexation,  which 
Catherine  justified  in  a  manifesto  addressed 
to  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe.  It  is 
fashionable  to  denounce  the  aggressive 
policy  of  Russia ;  but  we  think  there  is  no 
necessity  for  any  indignant  declamation  in 
this  case.  Geographically,  the  Crimea  must 
be  regarded  as  a  portion  of  the  Russian 
empire,  to  which  it  naturally  belongs.  It 
is  utterly  dissevered  from  the  Turkish  do- 
minions; and  for  the  sultan  to  exercise  a 
paramount  and  protecting  power  over  it, 
must  have  been  an  indignity  and  a  cause 
of  uneasiness  to  Russia.  As  to  the  Tartars 
themselves,  they  deserved  no  consideration 
whatever:  they  had  obtained  the  Crimea 
by  conquest,  and,  during  the  time  of  their 
power,  had  ever  been  restless,  marauding, 
vindictive,    and    bloodthirsty     neighbours. 

sovereign,  is  a  grammar  of  our  language,  exact  and 
methodical,   and    a    rich    and    copious    dictionary. 
Allow  me  to  flatter  myself,  gentlemen,  that  you  will 
not  hesitate  to  give  me  credit  for  the  sentiments  with 
which  I  am  penetrated  in  the  honour  of  being  asso- 
ciated with  you  by  my  generous  sovereign,  to  concur 
in  the  good  of  an  establishment  so  useful  to  our 
country.     Believe  me,  gentlemen,  that  the  zeal  which 
enkindles  in  my  heart  the  love  of  that  country  will 
never  be  extinguished,  and  that  in  everything  which 
may  tend  to  render  our  society  flourishing  and  suc- 
cessful, I  shall  endeavour  to  supply,  by  indefatigable 
application,  the  deficiency  of  other  qualifications  of 
which  I  am  most  sensible.     I  deem  it  an  indispen- 
sable duty,  on  this  first  occasion  of  our  meeting,  to 
place  before  you  a  sketch  which  I  have  had  the 
honour  of  submitting  to  the  consideration  of  her 
majesty,  in  order  that  it  may  have  the  benefit  of 
your  remarks,  and  the  addition  of  whatever  may  be 
considered  further  necessary  to  establish  the  basis 
of  our  constitution.     Any  imperfections  which  here 
present  themselves  will  not  surely  escape  your  pene- 
tration ;  but  there  are  two  considerations  which  solicit 
your  indulgence.     The  first  is,  that  I  have  contracted 
the  habit  of  exposing  to  our  incomparable  sovereign 
my  ideas,  however  undigested  and  unarranged  they 
may  be,  with  entire  confidence  and  sincerity,  which 
she  is  pleased  to  receive  with  kindness,  from  a  per- 
suasion of  the  purity  of  my  intentions.     The  other, 
that  it  never  entered  my  contemplation  (and  I  trust 
such  a  vain  idea  never  can),  that  I,  though  placed  at 
the  head  of  this  academy,  should  be  capable,  in  my 
own  person,  of  upholding  the  labours  and  glory  of 
such  an  institution.     It  is  on  your  aid,  gentlemen, 
that  I  count;  and  the  confidence  which  I  place  in  it, 
is  the  strongest  proof  I  can  give  of  my  profound 
esteem  for  you." 


A.D.  1783.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [death  of  Gregory  orloff. 


They  were,  indeed,  little  better  than  a  na- 
tion of  robbers,  whose  independence  was 
not  consistent  with  the  safety  of  peaceable 
people.  Russia  did  wisely  in  annexing  the 
Crimea,  and  governing  her  turbulent  people 
by  the  sword:  under  such  circumstances 
England  would  have  acted  in  the  same 
manner. 

The   empress   assured   the   Tartars   that 
they  should  be  placed  on  an  equality  with 
the  ancient  subjects  of  Russia;    that  they 
should  enjoy  the  most  absolute  liberty  of 
conscience,  with  the  full  exercise  of  their 
public   worship   and   religious    ceremonies. 
She  also  exhorted  them  to  imitate  the  sub- 
mission and  zeal  of  the  rest  of  her  people. 
The  Tartars  were  not  aflfected  by  these  exhor- 
tations, and  resolved  to  free  themselves  from 
the  yoke  just  imposed  upon  them.     Prince 
Potemkin,  informed  of  their  design,   gave 
orders  to  General  Prozoroffski  to  seize  on 
the   principal    persons  concerned,   and  put 
them  instantly  to  death.     That  officer  re- 
coiled from  a  charge  which  he  regarded  as 
inconsistent  with  the  honourable  duties  of  a 
military  man,  and  replied,  that  he  was  not 
calculated  for   an  assassin.     General   Paul 
Potemkin,  cousin  to  the  minister,  was  less 
scrupulous ;  and  under  his  directions  no  less 
than   30,000  Tartars,  of  both  sexes,  were 
massacred  in  cold  blood.     Such  terrible  in- 
cidents are,  we  fear,  ever  the  inseparable  at- 
tendants of  conquest,  even  in  humane  times. 
While  Russia  was  engaged  in  this  work 
of  annexation,  she  preserved  an  attitude  so 
formidable  that  Turkey  despaired  of  being 
able  to  encounter  her  in  arms  with  any  hope 
of  success.     An  army  of  70,000  men,  under 
the  orders  of  General  Potemkin,  was   as- 
sembled  on   the   frontiers   of  the  Crimea. 
These  Prince  Repnin  was  ready  to  support 
with   another  army  of  40,000  men ;   while 
Marshal  Romantzoff,  with  a  third  army,  held 
his  general  quarters  at  Kief.     The  squadrons 
of  the  Euxine  were  armed;  and  ten  sail- 
of-the-line,  with  several  frigates,  were  only 
waiting  the  signal  for  proceeding  from  the 
Baltic  to  the  Mediterranean.     Under  these 
circumstances  France  had  no  great  difficulty 
in  inducing  Turkey  *o  negotiate,  rather  than 
fight,  with  Russia.      On  the  9th  of  January, 
1784,  a  new  treaty,  between  the  empress  and 
the  sultan,  was  signed  at  Constantinople,  by 
which  the  entire  sovereignty  of  the  Crimea, 
of  the  Isle  of  Taman,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
Kuban,  was  ceded  to  Russia.    To  these  places 
the  empress  restored  their  ancient  names: 
the  Crimea  was  called  the  Taurica,  and  the 


Kuban  the  Caucasus — titles  which  never  fail 
to  remind  us  of  the  fables  of  ancient  Greece; 
Iphigenia  in  Tauris;  the  race-ground  of 
Achilles;  the  cities  Pantikapaura,  Bos- 
phorus,  and  Tanais;  of  the  chained  Prome- 
theus ;  and  of  the  tribes  of  Caucasus  and 
Circassia,  still  famous  for  the  beauty  of  their 
women. 

Before  Catherine  obtained  this  accession 
of  territory,  she  had  lost  two  of  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  conspiracy  that  had  placed  her 
on  the  throne.     Count  Panin  and   Prince 
Gregory  Orloff  died  within  a  very  short  time 
of  each  other ;  the  first  at  St.  Petersburg, 
the  other  at  Moscow.     Panin,  supplanted  bv 
Prince  Potemkin,  had  fallen  a  prey  to  grief 
and  vexation,  and  died  on  the  31st  of  March, 
1783:  he  left  behind  him  the  character  of 
an  honest  and   generous  man,  though  he 
certainly  did  not  always  merit  the  first  of 
these    epithets.     The   close   of  the   life   of 
Gregory  Orloff  was  in  gloomy  accordance 
with  that  poetical  justice  of  which  we  hear 
more  than  we  see.     Though  in  the  possession 
of  an  immense  fortune,   and  married  to  a 
young  and  handsome  wife,  he  was  rendered 
miserable  by  the  knowledge  that  the  smiles 
of  the  empress  were  lavished  upon  younger 
favourites.     During  the   latter   part  of  his 
life  he  travelled  almost  incessantlv,  and  a 
despondency  into  which  he  had  fallen  was 
increased  to  a  profound  melancholy  by  the 
loss  of  his  wife,  at  Lausanne,  in  1782.     He 
returned  to  St.  Petersburg,  in  the  hope  of 
recovering   his   serenity  by  mixing  in  the 
scenes  of  his  past  pleasures.     The  court  itself 
afforded  him  no  rehsf,  and  he  soon  startled 
his  friends   by  conduct  which  indicated  a 
disordered  intellect.     He  would  sometimes 
give  himself  up  to  an  extravagant  gaiety, 
and  then  as  suddenly  burst  out   into  re- 
proaches against  the  empress.     After  a  time 
he  retired  to  Moscow,  where  he  became  the 
victim  of  a  consuming  remorse.     He  was 
incessantly  haunted  by  a  vision  of  the  mur- 
dered Peter  III.;   and,   in   the   month  of 
April,   1783,  he  expired  in  the  agonies  of 
despair. 

The  empress  had  long  lost  her  affection 
for  Orloff;  but  she  was  deeply  moved  in  the 
following  year  by  the  loss  of  her  favourite 
Lansko'i.  To  him  Catherine  was  so  greatly 
attached,  that  she  addressed  herself,  per- 
sonally, to  remove  the  defects  of  his  educa- 
tion, and  that  with  so  much  success,  that  he 
soon  became  as  distinguishable  for  his  ac- 
quirements and  the  elegance  of  his  manners, 
as  he  was  already  by  the  graces  of  his  person! 

309 


THE  DIKXER  OF  TOLERATION.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1784. 


"Whether  her  love  for  Lanskoi  would  have 
been  more  enduring  than  that  which  she 
entertained  for  her  previous  favourites,  it  is 
difficult  to  say,  as  he  was  attacked  with  a 
violent  fever,  and  perished  in  the  flower  of 
his  age,  in  the  arms  of  his  imperial  mistress, 
who  lavished  upon  him,  to  the  very  last  mo- 
ment, all  the  tenderness  the  most  passionate 
affection  could  inspire.  After  his  death 
Catherine  abandoned  lierself  to  the  most 
l)oignant  sorrow.  For  some  days  she  refused 
all  food,  and  remained  three  months  within 
the  walls  of  her  palace.  She  afterwards 
erected  a  superb  mausoleum  to  his  memory 
in  the  gardens  of  the  palace  of  Tzarsko-selo. 
Two  years  afterwards,  while  walking  acci- 
dentally near  this  monument,  she  burst  into 
tears  on  beholding  it. 

Many  persons  at  court  were  ambitious  of 
fdling  the  post  left  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Lanskoi;  and  the  Princess  Daschkaw  has 
the  reputation  of  endeavouring  to  obtain  it 
for  her  son.  This  she  denies.  Certain  it  is 
that  the  young  Prince  Daschkaw,  though 
possessed  of  a  face  and  a  figure  calculated 
to  make  an  impression  on  the  heart  of 
the  susceptible  empress,  was  not  successful. 
Catherine  at  length  selected  a  lieutenant 
of  the  name  of  Yermoloff,  on  whom  to  con- 
fer her  favours. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  spirit  of 
toleration  which  prevailed  during  the  reign 
of  the  empress  was  a  remarkable  feature  in 
a  despotic  government.  Throughout  her 
long  reign  she  never  permitted  any  person 
to  suffer  punishment  on  account  of  his  reli- 
gious opinions.  She  /;ould  not  be  induced 
to  visit  those  denounced  as  heretics  with  the 
signs  of  her  displeasure.  "  Poor  wretches,'^ 
said  she  once,  with  a  meaning  smile,  "since 
we  know  that  they  are  to  suffer  so  much 
and  so  long  in  the  world  to  come,  it  is  but 
reasonable  that  we  should  endeavour,  by  all 
means,  to  make  their  situation  here  as  com- 
fortable to  them  as  we  can/'  A  writer  on 
this  subject  aptly  remarks — "  The  intolerant 
of  more  polished  nations  might  go  to  the 
provinces  of  Esthonia,  Livonia,  Finland,  and 
Russia,  to  take  lessons  of  moderation  and 
Christian  forbearance.  But  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, the  general  and  peculiar  feature  in  the 
public  character  is  toleration — a  virtue  which, 
in  some  sense,  has  long  since  taken  root  in 
the  nation  at  large ;  but,  from  the  confluence 
of  such  numbers  of  people  of  various  persua- 
sions and  the  most  diversified  systems  of 
faith,  has  acquired  so  general  and  extensive 
a  sway,  that  certainly  it  is  not  easy  to  find  a 
310 


spot  of  earth  upon  the  globe,  where,  in  this 
respect,  a  man  may  more  quietly  pass  his 
days  than  at  St.  Petersburg.  It  is  to  be 
understood,  moreover,  that  the  word  *  tolera- 
tion' is  not  here  confined  to  that  narrow 
meaning  in  which  it  is  usually  taken,  in 
speaking  of  an  extorted  and  commanded 
forbearance  in  matters  of  religion,  or  of  the 
permission  for  the  weaker  party  to  exist  by 
a  stated  law.  The  idea  here  connected  with 
the  term  includes  a  voluntarily  and  univer- 
sally-diffused  forbearance,  in  every  place, 
and  towards  every  person,  his  manner  of 
thinking  and  acting.  It  therefore  compre- 
hends not  only  rehgion,  but  also  political 
and  social  toleration;  and  is  remarkable, 
not  as  the  characteristic  of  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment, but  as  entirely  that  of  the  public.'' 

The  liberality  of  Catherine  was  displayed 
by  the  sanction  of  a  seminary  of  Jesuits*  at 
Mohilef,  and  by  the  protection  of  Moham- 
medanism in  the  Crimea.  Indeed,  almost 
every  year  she  exhibited  to  her  people  some 
remarkable  instance  of  the  protection  she 
granted  to  the  liberty  of  worship.  On  the 
day  of  the  benediction  of  the  waters  of  the 
Neva,  her  confessor,  at  her  orders,  invited  to 
his  house  the  ecclesiastics  of  all  commu- 
nions, and  gave  them  a  grand  entertainment, 
which  the  empress  called  the  "Dinner  of  Tole- 
ration." It  was  commonly  attended  by  the 
priests  of  no  less  than  eight  different  forms 
of  religion  ;  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  re- 
past, the  metropolitan  usually  said,  with  a 
loud  voice,  either  in  Russ  or  Latin,  "  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest ! — On  earth  peace  !— 
Good-will  towards  men !" 

It  was  not  in  religion  alone  that  the  em- 
press displayed  an  active  liberality.  Her 
labours  for  the  diffusion  of  instruction 
amongst  her  people  were  unremitting.  She 
had  already  opened  many  schools  in  the 
large  towns ;  but  she  now  resolved  to  spread 
these  benefits  to  the  future  men  and  women 
of  Russia,  as  far  as  practicable,  throughout 
the  empire.  With  this  object  she  opened  a 
commission  of  public  instruction,  for  the 
institution  of  normal  schools,  which  were 
established  on  the  same  principle  as  those 
then  existing  in  Austria.  Catherine  took 
much  interest  in  her  schools,  and  gave  her- 
self a  great  deal  of  trouble  about  them. 
Occasionally  she  visited  them  herself  during 

♦  However,  to  guard  against  the  danger  com- 
monly apprehended  irom  this  order  of  monks,  they 
were  not  permitted  to  leave  the  two  or  three  towns 
which  had  been  assigned  to  them  as  places  of  resi- 
dence. 


i.n  1787.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[progress  to  KHERSON. 


the  hours  of  instruction.     It  was,  indeed,  a 
pleasing  trait  in  the  character  of  the  em- 
press, that  she  was  always  fond  of  children, 
and   frequently  bestowed   great  care   upon 
them.  She  generally  had  a  number  of  them  in 
her  apartments,  where  they  enjoved  the  same 
liberty  with  her  grandchildren,' and  she  re- 
turned  their  caresses  with  extreme  kindness. 
Catherine's  favourite,  Yermoloff",  contrived 
to  make  himself  obnoxious  to  Prince  Potem- 
kin,  to  whom  he  is  said  to  have  behaved  with 
ingratitude.    The  irritable  minister  at  length 
said  to  the  empress—-''  Madam,  there  is  but 
one   alternative;    you   must  either  dismiss 
Yermoloff"  or  me ;  for  so  long  as  you  keep 
that  white  negro,*  I  shall  not  set  my  foot 
within  the  palace."     The  empress  yielded ; 
Yermoloff"  was    dismissed,  and    a    new  fa- 
vourite of  the  name  of  Count  Momonoff" 
succeeded  him. 

On  the  18th  of  January,  1787,  Catherine 
started  on  a  magnificent  progress  to  Kher- 
son   and   the  Crimea.     So   extensive  were 
the  preparations  that  had  been  made  for 
this  journey,  that  it  was  reported  the  Cleo- 
patra of  the  North  intended  to  be  crowned 
queen  of  Taurida,  and  to  be  declared  pro- 
tectress of  all  the  nations  of  Tartars.     Cathe- 
rine had  an  important  political   object  in 
this  intended   display  of  magnificence  and 
power.     She  proposed,  after  having  taken 
the  sceptre  of  the  Crimea,  and  awed  the 
surrounding    nations    into    submission,    to 
conduct  her  grandson  Constantine  to  the 
gates  of  that   Oriental  empire  over  which 
she  had  designed   him   to   rule.     So   fixed 
was  this  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  empress, 
that  Constantine,  from  his  birth,  was  placed 
m  the  hands  of  Greek  nurses,  dressed  in 
the  Greek  costume,  and  surrounded  by  the 
children  of  that  nation,  that  he  might  ac- 
quire their  language,  which  he  soon  spoke 
with  great  facility. 

The  illness  of  the  young  prince,  which 
compelled  the  empress  to  leave  him  at  St. 
Petersburg,  together  with  some  other  cir- 
cumstances, induced  Catherine  to  abandon 
the  idea  of  the  coronation,  the  assumption 
of  new  titles,  and  to  dispense  with  the 
large  military  force  which  it  was  intended 
should  accompany  her.  Yet,  to  give  dig. 
nity  to  the  occasion,  Catherine  had  induced 
the  emperor,  Joseph  II.,  to  consent  to  meet 
and  confer  with  her  at  Kherson.  Stanis- 
laus, the  poor  shadow-king  of  Poland,  the 


•  Potemkin  called  Yermoloff  by  that  name,  because 
ne  was  thick-lipped  and  extremely  fair. 
t  Memoirs  and  Recollections, 


last  of  the  monarchs  of  that  divided  coun- 
try, also  swelled  the  triumph  of  the  auto- 
cratrix  by  joining  this  distinguished  party. 
The  Porte  took  the  alarm;    and   a  storm 
was  gathering  throughout  the  Ottoman  em- 
pire   to  burst  forth  at  no  distant  period. 
Catherine,    however,    either    despised,    or 
aff^ected  to  despise,  the  eff'eminacy  and  the 
Ignorance  of  the  Mussulmans,  and  the  dull 
hfe  of  their  sultans,  whose  horizon  did  not 
extend   beyond   the  walls  of  their  harem. 
"These  imbecile  despots,"  said  she,  "weak- 
ened by  the  pleasures  of  the  seraglio,  ruled 
over  by  their  ulemahs,  and  captives  to  their 
Janizaries,  can  neither  think,  speak,  fio-ht 
nor  administer  pubUc  aff"airs ;  their  infancy 
is  perpetual." 

The  empress  started  on  her  journey  in 
the  depth  of  winter,  attended  by  a  brilliant 
suite,  and  a  cavalcade  composed  of  fourteen 
carriages   and   18i  sledges.      "The  cold" 
said   Count   Segur,t  who,   in    his    capacity 
of  ambassador   from  France,  accompanied 
the  empress,  "rose   to  seventeen  degrees; 
the  road  was  excellent,  and  our  carriages' 
mounted   on  a   sort  of  lofty  skates,   were 
drawn  along  with  such  rapidity,  that  they 
seemed  to  fly  through  the  air.     To  protect 
us  from  the  cold,  we  were  wrapped  up  in 
furs    of    bear-skin,    which    we    wore    over 
pelisses   finer   and   more  valuable,  and  we 
had   on   our  heads   caps   of  sable.      With 
these  precautions  we  did  not  feel  the  cold, 
even  when  it  rose  to  twenty  or  twenty-five 
degrees.     In  the  houses  where  we  lo'd^^ed 
the  stoves  gave  us  reason  to  fear  an  excess 
of  heat  rather  than  of  cold.     At  this  time 
of  the  year,  when  the  days  were  shortest, 
the  sun  did  not  give  us  light  till  very  late,* 
and,  at  the  end  of  six  or  seven  hours,  he 
disappeared,  and    the   darkest   night    suc- 
ceeded.    Eut  in  the  midst  of  this  darkness 
we  were  not  left  in  want  of  light.     At  short 
distances    from   each   other,   and   on    both 
sides  of  the  road,  enormous   piles   of  fir, 
cypress,  birch,  and  pine  had   been  raised' 
which  were  set  on  fire,  so  that  we  posted 
through  a  range  of  fires  more  brilliant  than 
the  rays  of  daylight.     It  was  thus  that  the 
proud  empress  of  the  North,  in  the  midst 
of  the  deepest  night,  willed  and  commanded 
that  there  should  be  light." 

Away  went  the  imperial  cortege,  with  an 
almost  incredible  celerity,  over  vast  plains 
covered  with  snow,  across  frozen  marshes, 
and  through  forests  of  fir,  whose  dark 
branches,  hung  with  innumerable  icicles, 
sometimes  irradiated  by  the  faint  gleams  oi 

311 


ANECDOTES  OF  THE  EMPRESS.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  178/. 


a  winter's  sun,  bore  a  brief  resemblance  to 
the  lustre  of  the  crystal  and  the  diamond. 
For  some  little  distance  beyond  the  towns 
and  villages,  the  road  was  thronged  by  citi- 
zens and  rustics,  whose  curiosity  led  them 
to  brave  the  severity  of  the  cold,  and  ven- 
ture forth  to  salute  their  sovereign  with 
acclamations. 

Count  Segur  relates  the  following  anec- 
dote of  the  empress,  which  occurred  during 
the  journey;    and  though  not  in  itself  of 
any  great  moment,  may   contribute  some- 
thing towards  enabling  us  to  take  a  just 
view  of  her  character.     "  One  day,"  he  ol)- 
serves,  "  as  I  was  sitting  opposite  to  her  in 
her  carriage,  she  expressed  a  desire  that  I 
would  repeat  to  her  some  little  pieces  of 
poetry  which    I   had   composed.     The   de- 
lightful familiarity  which  she  permitted  to 
those  who  travelled  with  her,  the  presence 
of  her  young  favourite,  the  remembrance  of 
those  who  had  preceded  him  in  her  favour, 
her    philosophy,    her    gaiety,    her    corres- 
pondence with  the  Prince  De  Ligne,  Vol- 
taire, and  Diderot,  having  led  me  to   sup- 
pose that  she  would  not  be  shocked  at  a 
tale  of  gallantry,  I  recited  one  to  her  which 
was,  in  truth,  a   little  free  and   gay,   but 
still  sufficiently  choice  in  its  expressions  to 
have  been  well   received    at   Paris   by  the 
Due  de  Nivernais,  by  the  Prince  de  Beau- 
vais,  and  by  ladies  whose  virtue   equalled 
their  good-humour.     To  my  great  surprise, 
I  saw  the  laughing  traveller  suddenly  as- 
sume  the   deportment  of  a   majestic  sove- 
reign.    She  interrupted   me  by  a  question 
altogether    foreign    to    the    purpose,    and 
changed  the  subject  of  conversation.     Some 
minutes  afterwards,  in  order  to  show  that  I 
understood  her  lesson,  I  entreated  her  at- 
tention to  a  piece  of  verse  of  a  very  different 
kind  from  the  former,  and  to  which  she  lent 
the  most  obliging  attention.     As  if  desirous 
that  her  weaknesses   should   be  respected, 
she  took  care  to  cover  them  with  a  veil  of 
decency   and    dignity.     This   anecdote   re- 
minds me  of  what  my  brother  said,  with  so 
much  justness  and  originality,  when  speak- 
ing of  the  indulgence  permitted  by  women 
thoroughly  virtuous,  and  the  apparent  seve- 
rity of  those  who  are  not  quite  so  perfect. 
'  Where  virtue  reigns,'  said  he,  *  the  show 
of  nice  decorum  is  useless.' " 

After  six  days'  traveUing  the  empress  be- 
came fatigued,  and  remained  for  three  more 
at  the  picturesque  city  of  Smolensk.  On 
the  second  evening  there  she  gave  a  grand 
ball^  at  which  300  ladies,  splendidly  attired, 
312 


evidenced  the  progress  which  the  provinces 
of  the  empire  had  made  in  imitating  the 
luxuries,  the  fashions,  and  the  elegance  of 
the  capital.  The  journey  was  renewed,  and 
ten  days'  more  travelling  brought  the  impe- 
rial party  to  Kief,  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
first  princes  of  Russia,  situated  upon  the 
bank  of  the  river  Dnieper.  Here  Catherine 
was  compelled  to  remain  until  the  1st  of 
May.  Still,  in  this  ghost  of  a  once  great 
city  she  kept  a  numerous  and  certainly 
remarkable  court.  Around  her  were  to  he 
seen  warhke  princes  from  many  nations; 
the  nobles  and  beauties  of  Poland,  who, 
forgetful  of  the  wounds  of  their  country,  had 
flocked  there  to  meet  the  proud  autocratrix 
whose  sword  hung  suspended  over  it ;  officers 
of  all  the  imperial  armies,  including  those  of 
the  Don  Cossacks,  richly  clothed  in  the 
Asiatic  costume;  Tartars,  Circassians,  and 
Calmucks;  together  with  envoys  from  many 
warlike  and  mostly  wandering  tribes,  often 
beaten,  but  never  subdued.  "  It  was,"  said 
an  observer,  "  the  whole  East  congregated  to 
see  the  modern  Semiramis  receiving  the 
homage  of  the  monarchs  of  the  West.  It 
was  like  a  magic  theatre,  where  ancient  and 
modern  times  seemed  to  be  mingled  and 
confounded  with  one  another,  and  where 
civilisation  went  hand-iu-hand  with  bar- 
barism." 

Count  Segur,  disappointed  at  seeing  so 
little  of  the  countries  through  which  they 
passed,  ventured  to  complain  that  it  was  ex- 
tremely vexatious  to  travel  so  far  and  never 
to  see  anything  but  a  court,  never  to  hear 
anything  but  Greek  masses,  and  never  to 
attend  at  anything  but  balls.  The  empress, 
hearing  of  it,  said  to  him — "  I  am  informed 
that  you  censure  me  for  traversing  my  em- 
pire, in  order  to  give  nothing  but  audiences 
and  fetes:  but  listen  to  mv  reasons.  I  do  not 
travel  to  see  the  places,  but  to  see  the  people ; 
I  know  enough,  by  charts  and  descriptions, 
with  regard  to  a  matter  which  a  rapid  pro- 
gress will  not  permit  me  to  investigate. 
That  which  is  essential  to  me,  is  to  give  the 
people  the  means  of  approaching  me ;  to  open 
a  way  for  their  complaints,  and  to  make 
those  tremble  who  dare  to  abuse  my  autho- 
rity in  the  expectation  that  I  shall  not  dis- 
cover their  errors,  their  negligences,  or  their 
injustice.  Such,  then,  is  the  advantage 
which  I  expect  to  derive  from  my  journeys ; 
their  mere  announcement  does  good;  and 
my  motto  is — The  eye  of  the  master  fattens 
the  horse." 

When  the  returning  spring  thawed  the 


A.D.  1787.] 


waters  of  the  ancient  Borysthenes,  the  era- 
press  prepared  to  renew  her  journey.     Before 
doing  so,  she  visited  the  monastery  of  Pets- 
cherski,  and  distributed  many  favours  and 
decorations,    diamonds   and    pearls.     "The 
Cleopatra  of  Kief,"  said  the  witty  Austrian 
soldier.  Prince  de  Ligne,  "does  not  swallow 
pearls,    but   she   gives    many  away."     The 
galley  on  which  she  embarked  was  attended 
by  a  fleet  of  more  than  eighty  vessels,  manned 
by  about  3,000  men.     The  vessels  containing 
the  empress  and  her  immediate  companions, 
had  splendid  apartments,  glittering  with  gold 
and  silk,  constructed  on  the  deck.     Every 
galley  carried  a  band  of  music;  the  warlike 
strains  of  which,  added  to  the  shouts  of  the 
spectators  and  the  roar  of  cannon,  assisted 
m   producing   a   most    imposing   spectacle. 
The  snow  had  thoroughly  disappeared  when 
the  empress  departed  from  Kief;  the  earth 
was  covered  with  a  rich  verdure,  and  even, 
.   in  some  spots,  enamelled  with  early  flowers; 
above  all,  a  brilliant  sun  animated,  enlivened^ 
and  coloured  every  object.     The  rocks  that 
intercepted  the  navigation  of  the  river,  had 
been    partially  broken   down  for   this  me- 
morable occasion. 

At  Kaniefi*  the  fleet  cast  anchor  to  receive 
Stanislaus,  the  king  of  Poland.  Catherine 
had  not  beheld  her  early  lover  for  the  space 
of  three-and-twenty  years,  and  she  seemed 
momentarily  aff'ected  at  the  interview;  but 
on  assembling  at  the  dinner-table,  she  dis- 
played more  than  her  customary  cheerful- 
ness. On  rising,  the  king  took  from  the 
hands  of  a  page  the  gloves  and  fan  of  the 
empress,  and  presented  them  to  her.  Cathe- 
rine returned  the  courtesy  by  handing  to 
him  his  hat.  "Ah  !  madam,"  he  remarked, 
in  allusion  to  the  crown  of  Poland,  "you 
formerly  gave  me  a  much  finer  one." 

At  Krementchuk  the  empress  was  lodged 
in  a  magnificent  mansion,  and  entertained 
by  a  mock  battle  carried  on  by  12,000  men 
in   new  uniforms.     This   was  arranged   by 
Prince  Potemkin,  who  showed  an  extraordi- 
nary ingenuity    and   a  boundless   extrava- 
gance in  providing  for  the  amusement  of  his 
imperial  mistress.    Every  means  was  adopted 
to  give  an  appearance  of  hfe  and  fertility 
even  to  the  barrenness  of  the  desert.     Large 
flocks  had  been  collected  for  the  occasion, 
to  impart  animation  to  the  meadows  in  the 
neighbourhood   of  the  villages;   groups  of 
peasants  enlivened  the  banks ;  and  boats,  full 
of  youths  and  maidens,  singing  the  rustic 
airs  of  their  country,  sometimes  surrounded 
the  galley  of  the  empress. 
VOL.  I.  2  ■ 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [catheeinb  at  kherso:,. 


W     I 

I 


Joseph  II.  met  Catherine,  on  the  18th  of 
May,  near  Kaydak,  and  from  thence  they 
proceeded  by  land  to  Kherson.     "  We  en- 
tered,"   says    the    gossiping   Count   Segur. 
upon  what  in  Russia  is  called  the  Steppes- 
vast  and  solitary  meadows,  altogether  desti- 
tute  of  trees,  and  varied  only  at  great  inter- 
vals  by  hillocks  quite  bare,  with  some  paltry 
rivulet  winding  at  their  feet.     We  often  tra- 
versed seven  or  eight  leagues  without  en- 
countering   a   man,    a   house,    or   a   bush. 
Africa  has  its  deserts  of  sand ;  those  of  the 
J^ast  are  less  barren—they  are  the  deserts  of 
verdure.     Immense  flocks  of  sheep,  and  a 
numerous  breed  of  horses,  alone  inhabit  these 
profound  solitudes,  where  they  are  left  to 
rove  about  the  whole  of  the  year.     At  the 
first  view,  this  immense  and  verdant  horizon 
where  nothing  checks  the  sight,  produces  on 
the  mind  the  same  impression  as  the  ocean. 
It  seems  to  give  greater  grandeur  to  the 
imagination,  and  greater  depth  to  reflection  ; 
but,  in  proportion  as  you  advance,  the  uni- 
formity  occasions   weariness;   you    become 
excessively  tired   of  continually  beholding, 
above  and  around,  nothing  but  the  sky  and 
green  fields,  which  have  no  limits." 

The  visit  of  the  empress  to  the  city  of 
Kherson,   called  by  the  Tartars  "  Kisiker- 
man,"  or  City  of  Daughters,  was  celebrated 
with  many  festivities.     It  was  here  that  she 
beheld  a  gate  bearing  a  Greek  inscription 
meaning,  "  By  this  the  way  leads  to  Byzan- 
tium."    This  incident   has  been  magnified 
into   the    statement,    that    she    erected    a 
triumphal  arch  at  this  place,  and,  in  a  fit  of 
arrogant  prophecy,  inscribed   those    words 
upon  It.     The  visit  of  the  empress  to  the 
Crimea,    though    necessarily  displeasing  to 
the  Porte,  was  not  conducted  in  open  de- 
fiance of  it.    Long  before  leaving  St.  Peters- 
burg, she  had  certified  her  intention  to  the 
divan    at    Constantinople;    the   messenger 
being  directed  to  soften  the  communication 
by  the  statement,  that  some  necessary  in- 
ternal regulations  were  the  only  objects  of 
his  sovereign  in  this  visit  to  a  part  of  her 
subjects.     The   Porte,    however,    exhibited 
symptoms  of  uneasiness,  and  appeared  un- 
decided as  to  whether  they  ought  not  to 
consider  the  visit  as  an  aggression.     They 
even  sent  four  ships  of  war,  while  the  em- 
press  was   at   Kherson,  to   anchor  at   the 
mouth  of  the  Borysthenes.     This  proceed- 
ing so  resembled  a  threat,  that  Catherine 
beheld  the  vessels  with  much  excitement, 
and,  turning  to  her  courtiers,  exclaimed — 
"  Do  you  see  !  one  would  suppose  that  the 

813 


CATHERINE  AT  PULTAWA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1787. 


Turks  had  no  recollection  of  Tschesme  !" 
Her  indignation  was  the  greater  on  finding 
that  the  Ottoman8  were  assisted  by  French 
officers  and  engineers.  Prince  Potemkin  re- 
proached Count  Segur  with  this  circum- 
stance; but  the  latter  answered,  that  the 
Russians  could  scarcely  be  astonished  at 
precautions  dictated  by  common  prudence.* 
Catherine,  for  some  days,  treated  the  French 
minister  with  coldness,  but  soon  received 
him  again  into  her  favour. 

Crossing  the  famous  lines  of  Perekop, 
the  imperial  party  proceeded  to  the  city  of 
Bachtchi-Sara'i,  and  took  up  their  residence 
in  the  palace  of  the  ancient  khans.  The 
Turkish  and  Tartar  merchants  looked  on 
with  an  apathetic  pride.  On  the  approach 
of  a  cavalcade  they  showed  neither  surprise 
nor  active  displeasure.  Regarding  their 
conquerors  as  infidels  and  dogs,  they  re- 
tained their  stupid  pride;  and  instead  of 
imputing  their  reverses  to  ignorance,  attri- 
buted them  to  fatality  alone.  The  pride  of 
the  empress  was  natural  and  justifiable :  it 
had  been  reserved  for  her — a  woman — to 
annihilate  the  Tartar  power  in  the  Crimea, 


and  to  subdue  beneath  the  Russian  sceptre 
a  race  who  had  formerly  been  the  con- 
querors of  Russia,  ever  delighting  in  fero- 
cious excesses  ;  and  who,  but  a  few  years 
before  their  overthrow,  had  shown  that  they 
still  retained  their  brutal  and  brigand-like 
spirit. 

On  the  return  of  Catherine,  she  visited 
the  famous  battle-field  of  Pultawa.  There 
a  Russian  army  of  50,000  men  was  divided 
into  two  bodies,  and  gave  a  mimic  represen- 
tation of  the  conflict  between  Charles  and 
Peter.  During  the  charging  of  troops  and 
the  roar  of  cannon,  Catherine  felt  the  full 
excitement  of  the  scene,  and  her  eyes 
sparkled  with  animation  and  delight.  On 
some  of  the  courtiers  pointing  out  to  her  an 
error  committed  by  the  Swedes,  she  ob- 
served— "  Here  we  may  see  on  what  a  small 
matter  the  fate  of  empires  depends.  Had  it 
not  been  for  this  fault,  we  should  not  be 
here."  At  Moscow  the  emperor  Joseph  took 
leave  of  Catherine,  and  returned  to  his 
dominions  ;  while  she  and  her  court  pro- 
ceeded to  St.  Petersburg,  having  traversed 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  empire. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

TURKEY  DECLARES  WAR  AGAINST  RUSSIA  ;  SWEDEN  DOES  THE  SAME  ;  EXTRAVAGANT  DEMANDS  OF  GUSTAVUS  ; 
CONSTERNATION  AT  ST.  PETERSBURG  ;  8UCCKSSES  OF  THE  RUSSIANS  AND  THE  TURKS;  CAPTURE  OF  OTCIIA- 
KOFF,  AND  MASSACRE  THKRR;  GUSTAVUS  OBTAINS  A  NAVAL  TRIUxMPH  OVER  THE  RUSSIANS;  PEACB 
BETWEEN  SWEDEN  AND  RUSSIA;  SUWARROW  AND  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  RYMNIK  ;  DEFEAT  OF  THE  TURKS 
AT  MARTINESTI;  THE  TAKING  AND  MASSACRE  OF  ISMAIL;  ECCENTRICITY  OF  POTEMKIN;  HE  GIVES  AN 
EXTRAVAGANT  ENTERTAINMENT  TO  THE  EMPRESS  ;  CATHERINE'S  LAST  FAVOURITE;  DEATH  AND  CHARACTER 
OF  POTEMKIN. 


Turkey  had  been  too  bitterly  wounded 
long  to  submit  in  silence  to  the  humilia- 
tions it  had  received  at  the  hands  of  its 
northern  neighbour.     The  Porte  demanded 

•  Count  Segur  was  also  so  fortunate  as  to  enjoy 
the  confidence  of  the  emperor  Joseph,  then  accom- 
panying the  empress  under  the  assumed  tide  of  the 
Count  de  Falkenstein.  Notwithstanding  the  treaty 
between  Austria  and  Russia,  the  count  considered 
the  emperor  as  but  little  disposed  to  second  the  am- 
bition of  Catherine.  •'  Constantinople,"  said  Joseph, 
"  will  ever  be  an  object  of  jealousy  and  a  ground 
for  discord,  which  will  always  render  it  impossible 
for  the  great  powers  to  agr«e  in  a  division  of  Tur- 
key." He  appeared  also  very  little  struck  with  the 
proj^ress  of  the  Russian  establishments.  "  I  find," 
said  he,  "  more  of  show  than  of  reality.  Prince 
Potemkin  is  active,  but  more  fit  to  begin  great  works 
than  to  finish  them.  As  to  the  rest,  all  becomes 
314. 


the  restitution  of  the  Crimea.  Fresh, 
though  trivial,  disputes  arose;  and  on  the 
18th  of  August,  1787,  the  sultan,  secretly 
instigated  both  by  Prussiaf  and  England, 

easy  if  we  are  prodigal  of  wealth  and  of  human  life. 
We  could  not  venture  in  Germany  nor  in  France 
upon  what  Is  hazarded  here  without  opposition.  The 
master  commands,  and  troops  of  slaves  obediently 
labour.  They  are  paid  little  or  nothing;  they  are 
badly  fed  ;  they  dare  not  let  a  murmur  escape  them  ; 
and  I  know  that,  during  three  years  in  these  new 
governments,  fatigue  and  the  unhealthiness  of  the 
morasses  have  destroyed  50,000,  without  iu  being 
complained  of,  or  even  alluded  to." 

t  Frederic  the  Great  was  no  more.  He  died  on 
the  17th  of  August,  1786.  in  the  seventy-fifth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  forty-seventh  of  his  reign.  To 
his  nephew  and  successor  (Frederic  William  II.) 
he  left  a  kingdom  enlarged   from   2,190  to   3,516 


A.U.  1787.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


declared  war  against  Russia,  and  sent  the 
ambassador  of  that  power  to  the  castle  of 
the  Seven  Towers.  M.  de  Bulgakoff  was, 
however,  permitted  to  be  attended  by  his 
secretary  and  some  servants,  and  an  ele- 
gant pavilion  was  constructed  to  enable 
him  to  enjoy  the  fresh  air.  Shortly  after- 
wards Sahim-Gueray,  the  former  khan  of 
the  Crimea,  was  strangled  at  Rhodes,  as  a 
punishment  for  his  ancient  concessions  to 
the  Russians. 

The  Turks  and   the  Russians  were  each 
busied  with   preparations  for  a  war,  which 
France  strove  in  vain  to  prevent.     England 
had    more   influence  with   the    Porte,*' into 
whose  quarrel  it  entered  with  some  warmth, 
in  consequence  of  the  jealous  feelings  with 
which  it   beheld    Russia   form    a   treaty  of 
commerce  with  France.     The  divan  ordered 
80,000   men  to   march,  in    order   to    cover 
Otchakoff;   advanced  a  formidable  army  to 
the  banks  of  the  Danube,  and  called  upon 
all  true  followers  of  the  prophet  to  arm  in 
defence    of    his    successor.     The    call    was 
readily  obeyed;  for  the  Turks  were  furious 
at  the  recent  visit  of  the  empress  to  the 
Crimea,  covered  as  it  was  bv  the  vicinity  of 
an  army  of  150,000  men,  'and  astonished 
that  a   progress  so  insulting  had  not  been 
pre\^nted.     The  brave  old  capudan-pasha, 
Gazi  the  Victorious,  who  had  recently  re- 
turned from  the  Archipelago,  declared,  that 
though    grown   gray  in  the  service  of  his 
country,   he    still   felt    himself  strong   and 
vigorous,  and  that  there  was  nothing  upon 
earth  he  wished  for  so  passionately,  as  to 
close    his    life   with    the    glorious    act    of 
driving  the  infidels  out  of  their  fraudulent 
usurpations   in    the    Crimea    and    on    the 
Euxiue,  and    of  replacing  the   ruined   na- 
tions of  Tartars  and  other  Mussulmans  in 
their  ancient   possessions.     He  soon  after- 
wards entered  the  Black  Sea  with  a  fleet  of 
sixteen  ships  of  the  line,  eight  frigates,  and 
several    galleys,    intent    on     erasing    the 
memory  of  the  disaster  of  his  country  at 
Tschesme.     The  Tartars,  also,  on  being  in- 
vited to  return  to  their  former  allegiance, 
met  and  elected  a  fresh  khan,  Par-Gueray^ 
who  soon   beheld  under   his   command  an 


[war  with  turkey. 


German  square  miles;  about  70,000,000  of  dollars 
(£10,000,000  sterling)  in  the  treasury,  and  an  army 
of  200,000  men.  Prussia  had  become  a  great  power 
in  Europe ;  but  political  errors  soon  lessened  the  new 
sovereign's  influence  with  foreign  cabinets;  while  use- 
less wars,  and  the  extravagance  of  favourites,  wasted 
the  treasure  he  had  inherited.  Tyrannical,  sensual, 
and  superstitious,  Frederic  William  abandoned  him- 
self to  the  society  of  his  mistresses,  and  allowed  his 


army  of  40,000  men.  It  was  in  vain  that 
Catherine  had  loaded  the  Tartars  with 
presents,  and  caused  the  Koran  to  be 
printed  at  St.  Petersburg  for  their  use: 
they  beheld  in  her  the  Christian  potentate; 
while  they  longed  to  be  ruled  by  a  true 
follower  of  the  prophet. 

The  empress   had   long   regarded   a   re- 
newal of  the  war  with  Turkey  as  a  proba- 
bility, and   had  made  preparations  accord- 
ingly.    She    had  already  a  great  force  in 
the  Kuban,   or  Caucasus,   and  her   armies 
were    advancing    in    detachments    to    the 
Crimea.     Potemkin,   who  longed   for  mili- 
tary distinction,  assumed  the  command  of 
all  these  forces ;  while  Su warrow,  KamenskoY, 
Korsakoflf,  and  other  generals  of  reputation,' 
served    under   him.     The   famous    Marshal 
Romantzoff;  disdaining  to  swell  the  fame  of 
Potemkin,  assigned  his  advanced  age  as  an 
excuse  for  holding  aloof.     A  Russian  fleet, 
consisting  of  eight  ships  of  the  line,  twelve 
frigates,  and    nearly  200  gun-boats,   made 
its  appearance  in  the  Black   Sea,  and   two 
strong    squadrons    were     in    readiness    at 
Cronstadt,   to  sail  for   the    Mediterranean. 
Catherine  also    induced   the    emperor,    Jo- 
seph  II.,  to  support  her  with  an  armv  of 
80,000  Austrians,  who  proceeded  to  Mol- 
davia; and  not  a  few  statesmen  anticipated 
the  approaching  overthrow  of  the  Ottoman 
empire.     Catherine    also    appealed    to   thftt 
deep    sense  of  superstition   in    her   people 
which,  in  reality,  she  despised.     She  caused 
papers  to  be  circulated  amongst  them,  con- 
taining the  assumed  prophecies  of  the  Rus- 
sian   patriarchs,    Jeremiah    and  Nicon,    in 
which    the   speedy  ruin   of  Constantinople 
was  affirmed.     On  the  other  side,  a  Tartar 
prophet  made  his  appearance,  and  affirmed 
that  an  angel  had  revealed  itself  to    him 
in  a  wood,  and   promised  to  raise  against 
the  Russians  all  the  hordes  of  the  Caucasus. 
The  Turks  suffered  a  severe  defeat  before 
Kinburn,  where  no  less  than  three  actions 
took  place.    Suwarrow,  who  commanded,  was 
himself  wounded,  but  4,000  Turks  perished  ; 
Otchakoff"  was  laid  siege  to,  but  vigorously 
defended:    the    same   was    the    case    with 
Choczim.     But  the  other  powers  of  Europe 


mind  to  be  influenced  by  the  mystics  known  as  the 
lUuminati,  who  pretended  to  make  Moses  and  Jesus 
appear  to  him  ;  and  on  another  occasion,  during  sup- 
per, called  up  for  his  satisfaction,  or  rather  seemed 
to  call  up,  the  ghost  of  Caesar.  This  foolish  monarch 
was  also  so  lavish  in  bestowing  titles  upon  his 
favourites,  that  a  satirical  writer  observed,  that  it 
would  soon  be  more  diflicult,  in  Prussia,  to  find  a 
man  than  a  nohhman. 

315 


>  / 


SWEDEN  DECLARES  WAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[AvD.  1788. 


did  not  view  the  conduct  of  Russia  with- 
out  uneasiness.      Turkey  was   secretly  en- 
couraged by  France,  and  also  by  Prussia; 
while    England    was    sending    it   supplies. 
This  Catherine  might,  perhaps,  hare  antici- 
pated ;  but  she  had  not  foreseen  that  Gus- 
tavus  III.  of  Sweden  would  have  had  the 
boldness   to   declare   war   upon   her.     The 
policy  of  Russia  had  long  been  to  prevent 
Sweden  from  ever   recovering   her   former 
rank   among  nations,  or  any  part  of  that 
influence  which  she  once  held  in  the  politi- 
cal scale  of  Europe.     A  nominal  king  with- 
out  power   or   effect ;   with  a  nation  con- 
stantly rent  and  distracted  by  jarring  fac- 
tions, any  of  which  she  might  occasionally 
support  against  the  others,  as  best  suited 
her  immediate  purposes,  would,  in  process 
of  time,  afford  her  such  continual  opportu- 
nities for  interference  and   regulation,  and 
such  frequent  pretences  for  sending  armies 
into  the  country  to  support  her  decisions, 
that  all  the  substantial  benefits  of  conquest 
would  thus  be  obtained  without  the  odium 
and   jealousy   ever   inseparable    from   that 
term.     These   schemes  were   destroyed   by 
the  Swedish  revolution,  which  regenerated 
the  government  of  that  country ;  and  the 
Russian  cabinet  regarded  with  jealousy  an 
active    monarch,    under    whose    rule    her 
coveted    prey    had    eluded    her.      When, 
therefore,  Gustavus  offered  his  services  to 
avert  the  war,  by  mediation  between  Russia 
and  the  Porte,  they  were  rejected  by  the 
former    power    with    contemptuous    scorn. 
This   aroused   into   activity  the   hereditary 
hatred  between   Sweden  and  Russia;   and 
Gustavus,  moreover,  felt  that  it  might  be  a 
more  prudent  policy  to  attack  his  gigantic 
neighbour  while  she  was  occupied  in  a  war 
with   Turkey,   than   to   permit   her   subse- 
quently to  turn  her  hostile  armies  against 
him.     Gustavus  was,  moreover,   subsidised 
by  Turkey  ;  while  Prussia  lent  him  money ; 
and  England  (now  openly  showing  its  ill- 
will  towards  Russia)  promised  him  the  assist- 
ance of  a  fleet. 

The  Swedish  fleet  captured  two  Russian 
frigates  as  they  were  cruising  off  Sweaborg ; 
while  Gustavus  himself,  at  the  head  of 
30,000  men,  marched  against  Frederic- 
shaum — circumstances  which  created  both 
astonishment  and  aljlrm  at  St.  Petersburg. 
That  city  was  almost  unprotected;  for  all 
the  Russian  troops  had  been  sent  off  to 
fight  against  the  Turks;  and  Gustavus 
trusted  to  cover  himself  with  glory,  by 
retaking  from  Russia  the  provinces  lost  by 
316 


Charles  Xlf.     He  even,  on  the  1st  of  July, 
haughtily  demanded  that  Catherine  should 
restore  them ;  that  she  should  accept  of  his 
mediation  to  restore  peace  between  her  and 
the   Ottoman  Porte,  and  authorise  him  to 
offer  to  the  Porte  the  cession  of  the  Crimea, 
and  the  restoration  of  her  frontiers  as  they 
existed  before  the  war  of  1768.    Catherine's 
astonishment  at  these  extravagant  demands 
was  exceeded  by  her  indignation  and  her 
intrepidity.     In  a  tone  of  irony  she  asked 
the  French  ambassador  what  he  thought  of 
them.     "  It  seems  to  me,  madam,'^  replied 
the  count,  "that  the  king  of  Sweden,  de- 
ceived by  a  flattering  dream,  fancies  that  he 
has    already   obtained   three   brilliant   vic- 
tories over  your  majesty.''    "And  if  he  had 
gained    them,    count,''    rejoined    Catherine 
with  warmth — "  were  he  even  in  possession 
of  St.   Petersburg  and    Moscow,    I   would 
still   show  him  of  what  a    woman  of  high 
character  is  capable,  at  the  head  of  a  brave 
and  devoted  people,  and  standing  erect  on 
the  ruins  of  a  great  empire."     Yet  Cathe- 
rine experienced    considerable   uneasiness ; 
Gustavus   had  taken  the  Russians  by  sur- 
prise, and  it  was  extremely  possible  that  he 
might  be  able,  for  a  short  time,  to  expel 
the  empress  from  her  capital,  and  recover 
possession    of  Livonia.      Gustavus   himself 
was  so  confident  of  such  a  result,  that  he 
actually  invited  the  ladies  of  Stockholm  to 
the  ball  he  promised  to  give  them  at  Peter- 
hoff,  aud  to  the  Te  Deum  he  intended  to 
celebrate  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Petersburg. 
It  was  rumoured  throughout  the  city  that 
the  palace  was  all  in  alarm  ;  that  the  jewels, 
furniture,    objects    of   value,    and    private 
papers   of  the  empress  were    packing  up; 
that  a  great  number  of  horses  were  in  readi- 
ness at  every  post,  and  that  Catherine  in- 
tended to  leave  in  the  night,  and  seek  for 
safety  at  Moscow.     The  empress  heard,  and 
contemptuously  denied,  the    rumour.      "I 
have  given  orders,"  said  she,  "  for  a  great 
number  of  horses   to   be  immediately  col- 
lected along  the  road  to  Moscow,  but  only 
to  bring  up,  in  all  haste,  the  regiments  I 
have  called  for.     I  remain  in  my  capital; 
if  I  should  quit  it,  it  would  only  be  to  go 
and  meet  the  king  of  Sweden."     It  was  not 
without  reason  that  that  brilliant  and  viva- 
cious Austrian,  the  Prince  de  Ligne,  gave 
her  the  name  of  the  imperturbable  ! 

The  Swedish  troops  were  opposed  by 
such  Russian  forces  as  could  be  hastily  col- 
lected ;  and  several  petty  actions  took  place, 
in  which  the  former  were   generally  suc- 


a.d.  1788.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  war  with  SWEDEN. 


cessful.     The  Swedish    fleet  cruised   about 
the  gulf,  and  advanced  defiantly  even  within 
sight  of  the  batteries  of  Cronstadt.     From 
the  harbour  of  that  great  fortress.  Admiral 
Greig  issued  with  a  strong  fleet  to  counter- 
act the  desijjns  of  the  enemy.     There  were 
many  British  officers  besides' the  admiral  on 
board  this  Russian  fleet;  for  numbers,  find- 
ing, at  the  conclusion  of  the  American  war, 
neither   reward  nor  active  employment  in 
their  own  country,  had  tendered  their  ser- 
vices to  the  empress.     The  notorious  buc- 
caneer, Paul  Jones,  who  had  gained  so  much 
distinction  by  piratical  efforts   against  his 
countrymen  during  the  American  war,  was 
also  received  by  Catherine  into  her  service, 
and  made  a  Russian  admiral.     The  English 
officers  considered  it  a  degradation  to  serve 
with    such  a  man,  and  threatened  to  lay 
down  their  commissions  rather  than  act  in 
any  capacity  whatever  with   a   pirate   and 
a  renegade.     The  court  of  St.  Petersburg 
was   both  vexed  and   embarrassed.     Punc- 
tilios of  honour,  operating  in  the  face  of  com- 
mand, was  a  thing  unheard  of  in  that  ser- 
vice.    No   Russian,   unless  of   the  highest 
rank,  would  dare  to  insinuate  such  an  idea. 
The  conduct  of  the  British  officers  was  re- 
garded   as    a  direct  insult  to  the   Russian 
government,  and  would,  no  doubt,  have  been 
resented  as  such  at  any  other  period.     But 
the  necessity  of  the  time  prevailed;    Paul 
Jones  was    recalled  from  his  command  in 
the   Cronstadt    fleet;    and    a   circumstance 
shortly  afterwards  occurred,  which  induced 
his  retirement  from  the  Russian  service. 

On  the  22nd  of  July,  1788,  the  Russian 
and  Swedish  naval  forces  met  off  the  island 
of  Hoghland.  An  engagement  of  two  hours 
followed ;  when  each  side,  having  lost  one 
vessel  and  had  several  others  disabled, 
claimed  the  victory.  In  a  subsequent  en- 
gagement, the  Swedes  were  thrown  into 
some  confusion,  and  lost  the  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus,  a  ship  of  sixty  guns,  which  was  taken 
and  burnt  by  the  enemy.  The  Swedes, 
precluded  from  tlie  means  of  refitting,  con- 
tinued during  the  campaign  shut  up  in  the 
harbour  of  Sweaborg;  while  the  Russian 
fleet  cruised  triumphantly  about  the  gulf. 

The  military '  efforts  of  Gustavus  were 
rendered  almost  poweriess  by  a  disaffection 
which  spread  among  his  officers,  especially 
those  in  high  commands,  several  of  whom, 
he  found,  carried  on  a  traitorous  corres- 
pondence with  the  enemy.  A  great  num- 
ber of  others  declared  openly,  that  they 
could  not,  without  a  violation  of  their  con- 1 


science   and  the  oaths  they  had  taken   to 
their  country,  draw  their  swords  in  a  war 
undertaken    without    the    consent    of    the 
states  of  the  kingdom,  and  therefore  con- 
trary to  the  constitution.     To  such  an  ex- 
tent was  this  mutinous  feeling  carried,  that 
at  the  siege  of  Fredericshaum,  the  officers 
refused  to  lead  their  troops  to  the  attack, 
and  many  regiments  of  the  men  laid  down 
their  arms.     At  the  same  time,  an  irruption 
of  the  Danes— who  acted  in  concert  with  Rus- 
sia— into  the  richest  provinces  of  Sweden, 
induced  Gustavus  to  abandon  his  refractory 
army  in  Finland,  and  hasten  to  drive  this 
new  foe  from  his  dominions.     Such  was  the 
ill-success  of  a  monarch  who,  on  entering 
into  the  war,  had  been  so  carried  away  by 
his  ambition,  as  to  say  vauntingly — "Should 
fortune  favour  the  arms  of  my  people,  of  all 
the  monuments  of  Russian  insolence  I  will 
only  spare  the  statue  of  Peter  the  Great,  in 
order  to  engrave  upon  the  pedestal,  and  im- 
mortalise,  the   name  of   Augustus."     For- 
tunately for  Sweden,  there  existed  in  Europe 
an  alliance  which  proved  a  counterpoise  to 
the  combined  power  of  Russia  and  of  Aus- 
tria.    A  treaty,  with  that  object,  had  been 
concluded    between  England,   Prussia,   and 
Holland;    and   the   king  of  Denmark  was 
compelled,  in  consequence  of  their  threats, 
to  withdraw  his  troops  from  Sweden,  and  to 
conclude  a  peace  with  Gustavus. 

During  this  period  two  or  three  desperate 
engagements  had  taken  place  between  the 
Turkish  and  Russian  fleets  in  that  broad 
lake  which  is  formed  by  the  Dnieper  and 
the  Bug  before  their  junction  with  the 
Black  Sea.  In  these,  notwithstanding  the 
valour  of  the  Turks,  the  Russians  were  vic- 
torious. Indeed,  such  is  the  constitutional 
indolence  of  the  Turks,  that  they  showed 
themselves  totally  ignorant  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  a  river  which  for  ages  had  been  in 
their  possession. 

The  Russians  defeated  the  Tartars  of  the 
Kuban  in  several  encounters,  and  made 
themselves  masters  of  Georgia.  A  Russian 
army,  estimated  at  150,000  men,  under  the 
orders  of  Prince  Potemkin,  assisted  by  the 
most  distir)guished  generals  of  his  country, 
including  Suwarrow,  frequently  beat  the 
Turks;  who,  in  their  turn,  inflicted  a  severe 
check  upon  the  Austrians.  Potemkin,  who 
had  himself  done  little  to  contribute  to  the 
success  of  the  Russian  arms,  considered,  or 
affected  to  consider,  it  to  be  the  consequence 
of  his  having  built  a  new  church  to  his 
patron  saint,  and  declared,  with  an  arro- 

317 


f  r- 


MASSACRE  AT  OTCHAKOFF.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1788. 


A.D.  1789. 1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


gant  impiety — "I  am,  indeed,  the  spoiled 
child  of  Godr' 

Potemkin  had  been  long  employed  in  the 
siege  of  OtchakofF,  which  was  protected  by 
fortifications  of  uncommon  strength,  and 
supplied,  not  only  with  a  numerous  garrison, 
but  also  an  abundant  supply  of  ammunition 
and  provisions.  As  to  the  Russians,  they  died 
in  great  numbers  every  night,  from  the  seve- 
rity of  the  cold,  and  suffered  from  want  of 
provisions.  The  cold,  however,  enabled 
them  to  attack  the  fortress  from  the  water- 
side, where  it  was  less  fortified,  and  now  ap- 
proachable upon  the  ice.  It  was  taken  by 
assault,  led  by  subordinate  officers,  while 
Potemkin  himself  remained  in  his  camp 
with  his  mistresses.  This  was  the  result  of 
eccentricity  rather  than  fear;  for  only  a 
few  days  before,  he  had  passed  many  times 
to  and  fro,  with  the  utmost  coolness,  under 
the  very  cannon  of  the  ramparts,  because 
he  had  heard  that  some  one  had  presumed 
to  suspect  his  courage. 

The  Turkish  garrison  within  Otchakoff  de- 
fended themselves  with  the  utmost  bravery  ; 
and  almost  the  whole  of  these  unfortunate 
men  were  sabred  by  the  victors.  Many  of 
the  inhabitants  shared  the  same  fate,  aiid  the 
town  was  given  up  to  plunder.  A  horrible 
revel  of  blood  and  debauchery  lasted  during 
three  days,  and  cost  the  lives  of  25,000 
Turks.  Amongst  the  captives  were  4,000 
women,  who  were  spared  less  from  motives 
of  pity  than  from  those  of  sensuality.  The 
Russians,  however,  did  not  obtain  their 
triumph  cheaply,  as  they  were  ten  times 
repulsed,  and  lost  no  less  than  12,000  men 
in  the  assault ;  an  expense  of  life  at  which 
even  victories  were  undesirable.  This  was 
felt  by  the  empress,  who,  early  in  1789, 
ordered  a  fresh  levy  of  recruits  throughout 
her  dominions,  and  even  brought  exiles 
from  the  wilds  of  Siberia  to  serve  in  her 
armies.  So  infuriated  were  the  Russians  at 
Otchakoff,  on  account  of  the  severe  losses 
they  suffered,  that  two  days  after  the  as- 
sault, when  the  fury  of  the  battle-hour 
might  be  supposed  to  have  cooled,  on  find- 
ing Turkish  children  who  had  been  con- 
cealed, they  threw  them  into  the  air,  and 
caught  them  on  the  points  of  their  bayo- 
nets, saying,  "  These,  at  least,  shall  do  no 
harm  to  Christians." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  all  the 

•  The  French  Revolution  ;  a*IIistory :  by  Thomas 

Carlyle.     The  eccentric  and  eloquent  author   thus 

poiats  to  the  true  causes  of  this  great  convulsion, 

this  "  truth  clad  in  hell-fire  :" — "  Shall  we  say,  then, 

318 


events  of  this  war;  and  we  may  thus  sura 
up  the  events  of  the  year  1788.  The 
Turks  had  been  beaten  at  Kilburn,  and  re- 
pulsed in  the  Crimea;  in  the  Black  Sea 
they  had  experienced  several  reverses,  and 
lost  many  of  their  ships.  They  had  lost 
OtchakofF,  with  the  adjacent  territory;  they 
had  been  compelled  to  evacuate  Wallachia, 
while  the  Tartars  of  the  Kuban  had  been 
dispersed.  The  Austrians,  despite  some  re- 
verses, had  taken  Dubitza,  Sabatch,  and 
Novi ;  and  the  king  of  Sweden  was  driven 
out  of  Russian  Finland,  and  his  fleet  block- 
aded at  Sweaborg.  At  this  period,  France 
made  some  effort  to  bring  about  a  peace ; 
but  Catherine  desired  first  to  effect  a 
fourfold  alliance  between  Russia,  Austria, 
France,  and  Spain,  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
moting each  other's  interests,  and  counter- 
acting the  influence  of  England  and  Prussia. 
Fortunately,  neither  France  nor  Spain  could 
be  brought  to  coincide  with  the  views  of  the 
empress.  Prince  Potemkin  also  began  to 
entertain  different  ideas  upon  the  subject; 
for,  finding  that  the  emperor  of  Austria  de- 
sired to  back  out  of  the  war,  and  regarding 
the  support  of  France  as  uncertain,  he 
changed  his  system,  and  began  to  recom- 
n»end  to  his  sovereign  a  connection  with 
England  and  Prussia,  as  being  more  for- 
midable enemies,  and  more  useful  friends. 

During  the  year  1789,  the  Swedes  ex- 
perienced several  reverses,  but  scarcely  of  a 
kind  to  render  them  incapable  of  continuing 
the  war,  or  to  give  much  distinction  to  their 
enemies.  Indeed,  Gustavus  found,  in  his 
talents  and  courage,  resources  proportioned 
to  the  greatness  of  the  perils  which  threat- 
ened him. 

It  was  the  year  1789  which  saw  the 
destruction  of  the  infamous  Bastille,  and 
the  outbreak  in  France  of  that  terrible  revo- 
lution which  eventually  convulsed  Europe 
and  astonished  the  world.  The  crowned 
heads  of  the  continent  beheld  the  pre- 
liminary throes  of  this  social  storm  with 
surprise  and  perplexity,  but  none  of  them 
appeared  to  foresee  what  was  to  follow.  It 
did  not  occur  to  one  of  them  to  consider 
what  would  be  the  result,  "  if,  indeed,  that 
dark  living  chaos  of  ignorance  and  hunger, 
five-and-twenty  millions  strong,  under  his 
feet,  were  to  begin  playing  !"* 

Gustavus,  in  1790,  himself  took  the  com- 

Woe  to  philosophism,  that  it  destroyed  religion  ;  what 
it  called  ♦  extinguishing  the  abomination  {Scraser 
rinfamef)  Woe  rather  to  those  that  made  the 
holy  an  abomination,  and  extinguishable ;  woe  to  all 


mand  of  his  fleet ;  and,  after  a  desperate 
battle,  defeated  that  of  the  Russians,  under 
the  command  of  the  Prince  of  Nassau,  from 
whom  he  captured  thirty  vessels.  '  The 
Swedish  monarch  followed  up  this  advan- 
tage by  disembarking  several  battalions  of 
infantry,  and  some  squadrons  of  light  troops, 
at  a  distance  of  not  more  than  thirty  miles 
from  St.  Petersburg.  The  city  and  the  im- 
perial residence  was  thus  again  struck  with 
consternation;  but  the  empress  remained 
at  her  summer  palace.  She  commanded 
General  Igelstroem  to  spare  nothing  in  the 
attempt  to  recapture  the  post  taken  by  the 
Swedes,  and  to  drive  them  from  her  do- 
minions. 

By    sea,    Gustavus    experienced    first    a 
reverse,    and    then    a   great  victory.      The 
Russian    fleet  was  twice  as   large   as   that 
of  the  Swedes,  but  half  of  it  was  destroved 
or   captured,    together   with    no    less    than 
10,000  men.     The   Priuce  of  Nassau,  who 
commanded   the    Russians,    imagined    that 
they   had   purposely  allowed   themselves  to 
be  defeated,  with  the  base  object  of  tarnish- 
ing his  reputation.     With  this  impression 
he  wrote  to  the  empress—"  Madam,  I  have 
had   the   misfortune    to   fight   against   the 
elements,  the  Swedes,  and  the  Russians.     I 
hope  that  your  majesty  will  do  me  justice.'' 
As  Catherine  readily  accepted  this  apology, 
we  may  presume  that  there  was  some  truth 
in  the  supposition  of  the  prince.     Still  she 
must  have  experienced  much  secret  humilia- 
tion at  having  been  defeated  by  a  power 
which,  until  recently,  she  had  despised. 

Gustavus  had  retrieved  his  reputation, 
and  was  by  no  means  unwilling  to  retire 
from  a  war  on  which  he  had  so  imprudently 
entered.  Catherine,  also,  had  more  fighting 
on  her  hands  than  she  desired,  or  even  her 
vast  resources  were  calculated  to  meet. 
When,  therefore,  Spain  oftered  her  media- 
tion. It  was  at  once  accepted;  and  Cathe- 
rine, with  an  affected  generosity  in  this 
instance,  proposed  liberal  terms  to  her 
Swedish  neighbour.  She  requested  no  more 
than  the  re-establishment  of  the  treaties  of 
Neustadt  and  Abo,  and  the  total  oblivion  of 
the  late  liostilities.  Peace  was  signed  at 
Varela  on  the  14th  of  August,  1790.     It 


[jEACE  WITH  SWEDKTC, 


men  that  live  m  such  a  lime  of  world-abomination 
and  world-destruction  !  Nay,  answer  the  courtiers, 
It  was  lurgot,  it  was  Necker,  with  their  mad  inno- 
vating ;  ,t  H-as  the  queen's  want  of  etiquette  ;  it  was 
*ie,  It  was  she,  it  was  that.  Friends!  it  was  everv 
8x.oundrel  that  had  lived,  and,  quack-like,  pretended 


will  excite  little  surprise  that  the  news  of 
the  peace  was  received  with  much  joy  at 
Stockholm;  but  it  was  remarked  with 
astonishment,  that  the  public  rejoicings  at 
^t.  Petersburg  were  carried  to  an  extreme, 
which  seemed  little  consistent  either  with 
the  pride  oi  that  court,  or  with  the  con- 
tempt with  which  it  had  so  recently  affected 
to  regard  its  late  adversary. 

We  must  return  to  our  narrative  of  the 
war  which  Catherine  was  waging   against 
her  eastern  neighbours,  the  Turks,  whose 
sultan,   Abdul   Achmed   IV.,   died   in   the 
year  1789,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  ca- 
pricious, but  enlightened  reformer,  Selim  III 
Though  the  empress  had  failed  in  her  scheme 
of  driving  the  Turks  out  of  Europe,  and 
placing  her  grandson  Constantine  on   the 
throne   of   the    ancient    Greek    emperors; 
though   the    jealousy   of    the   other   great 
powers  of  Europe  had  also  induced  her  to 
abandon  her  next  favourite  object  of  erect- 
ing the  provinces  of  Moldavia,  Wallachia, 
and  Bessarabia  into  an  independent  sove- 
reignty for  her  favourite  minister,  Potemkin  • 
yet,  with  respect  to  the  Crimea,  the  Black 
Sea,  and  all  other  points  of  her  claim  upon 
Turkey,  she  maintained  an  inflexible  firm- 
ness.     England  and    Prussia   expostulated 
with  warmth,  and  even  wore  a  threatening 
aspect.     This  it  was  that  had  made  the  em- 
press  anxious    to    conclude   a   peace   with 
Sweden ;  for  if  the  energetic  Gustavus  had 
been  supported  by  English  fleets  and  Prus- 
sian  armies,  he  might  have  been  enabled  to 
carry  fire  and  sword  into  the  heart  of  the 
Russian  empire.      But  this  difliculty  pro- 
vided against,  Catherine  relaxed   no  jot  of 
her    efforts    against    the    Turks.       Prince 
Repnin    and   General   Suwarrow,   who  had 
taken  Otchakoff,  obtained  magnificent  pre- 
sents from  the  empress.     Suwarrow,  whom 
Byron  has  tersely  described  as 

"  Hero,  buffoon,  half-demon,  and  half-dirt," 

received,  amongst  other  things,  a  gorgeous 
plume  of  brilliants  to  wear  in  his  hat;  a 
strange  present  for  a  man  whose  habits  were 
so  disgusting,  that  he  sometimes  took  off 
his  shirt,  when  amongst  the  Cossacks,  and 
directed  them  to  hold  it  to  the  fire,  saying. 


f . 


.o  be  ao.,  andlaronf  .- ^— r^Sot^';  |  S  up  t^L^^  ^^^^ 


in  all  provinces  of  life,  as  shoeblack  or  as  sovereien 
lord  from  the  time  of  Charlemagne  and  earlier. 
All  this  (for  be  sure  no  falsehood  perishes,  but  is  as 
seed  sown  out  to  grow)  has  been  storing  itself  for 
thousands  of  years;  and  now  the  account-day  has 
come.     And  rude  will  the  settlement  be :  of  wrath 


319 


it} 


GENERAL  SUWARROW.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1789. 


A.D.  1790.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[fall  of  ISMAIL. 


that   it   was  the    best   way   of  killing  the 
vermin. 

Catherine  showered  rewards  not  only  on 
her  generals  who  captured  Otchakoff,  but 
even  on  the  subalterns  and  common  soldiers. 
This  excited  an  active  spirit  of  emulation  in 
the  Russian  armies,  and  their  progress  now 
seemed  one  continued  triumph.  During 
the  year  1789,  Prince  Potemkin  took  the 
island  of  Beresan  ;  Prince  Repnin  drove  the 
Turks  from  the  borders  of  the  Solska;  while 
Suwarrow  defeated  them  at  Fokshiani.  The 
latter  then  hurried,  at  the  head  of  8,000 
men,  to  the  assistance  of  the  Prince  of 
Saxe-Coburg,  who,  with  30,000  Austrians, 
had  been  attacked  by  an  army  of  100,000 
Turks.  The  Austrians  were  already  flying 
before  their  enemies,  when  Suwarrow  came 
up  with  his  handful  of  men,  and  changed 
the  fortune  of  the  day.  "  My  friends !" 
said  he  to  his  soldiers,  "  never  look  at  the 
eyes  of  your  enemies.  Fix  your  view  at 
their  breasts ;  it  is  there  you  must  thrust 
your  bayonets."  A  furious  charge  followed, 
the  Turks  were  routed  with  a  dreadful 
carnage,  and  he  remained  master  of  the 
field  of  battle. 

Suwarrow  has  been  accused  of  wanton 
cruelty — a  charge  which  is  not  without  foun- 
dation ;  but,  on  this  occasion,  he  deemed  it 
expedient  to  give  the  Turks  no  quarter,  on 
account  of  their  great  numbers ;  and  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that,  judged  as  we  must 
judge  such  matters  from  a  military  point  of 
view,  he  was  right.  Besides,  Suwarrow 
was  a  soldier  of  impulse,  not  of  intellect  and 
calculation  ;  and  he  gave  way,  in  the  hour 
of  victory,  to  that  savage  excitement  which 
exists  in  a  latent  state,  to  some  extent,  in 
most  men ;  even  in  those  who,  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  are  generally  actuated 
by  feelings  of  benevolence.  Thus,  on  this 
occasion,  Suwarrow  stood  upon  an  eminence 
surrounded  bv  his  staff,  and  while  he  watched 
the  progress  of  the  terrible  carnage  caused 
by  the  artillery  firing  incessantly  upon  the 
wretches  who  had  plunged  into  the  river 
Rymnik,  exclaimed  repeatedly,  "  Yes,  yes  ; 
as  I  always  say,  the  bayonet  for  victory,  and 
then  hurrah  for  the  cannon  and  the  cavalry 
to  sweep  up  the  runaways."  This  was  in 
accordance  with  his  mode  of  warfare,  which 
is  best  described  in  his  own  brief  sentences ; 
such  as — "Forward  and  strike  ! — No  theory ! 
— Attack  ! — Push  with  bavonet ! — Trust  to 
the  naked  steel  I — The  ball  is  a  fool ;  the 
bayonet  a  hero  !"  So  confident  had  suc- 
cess made  hira  in  these  tactics,  that  when, 
320 


on  another  occasion,  an  Austrian  general 
recommended  a.reconnaissance,he  responded, 
*' Reconnaissance  !  I  am  for  none  of  them ; 
they  are  of  no  use  but  to  the  timid,  and  to 
inform  the  enemy  that  you  are  approaching. 
It  is  never  difficult  to  find  your  opponents 
when  you  really  wish  it !  Form  column — 
charge  bayonets — plunge  into  the  centre  of 
the  enemy  :  these  are  my  reconnaissances^** 
This  extraordinary  creature,  eventually  re- 
garded by  his  countrymen  as  the  first  of 
Russian  generals,  was  as  singular  in  his 
appearance  as  he  was  repulsive  in  his 
habits.  Miserably  thin,  and  almost  a  dwarf 
in  stature  (being  only  five  feet  one  inch  in 
height),  the  unpromising  nature  of  his  ex- 
terior was  increased  by  a  pug  nose,  and  a 
mouth  of  uncommon  size.  He  appeared  to 
regard  contempt  for  cleanliness  as  a  soldierly 
virtue.  He  slept  upon  hay  or  straw ;  his 
wardrobe  consisted  of  his  uniform  and  a 
sheepskin ;  and  he  seldom  wore  linen,  ex- 
cept on  occasions  of  ceremony  or  parade. 

This  victory,  gained  near  the  river 
Rymnik,  procured  for  Suwarrow  the  sur- 
name of  Rymnikski;*  while  the  titles  of 
count,  both  of  the  Roman  and  Russian  em- 
pire, were  conferred  upon  hira.  Shortly 
afterwards  he  captured  Turtukai  in  Bul- 
garia ;  and  many  other  towns,  both  in  Bes- 
sarabia and  on  the  Danube,  were  taken  by 
the  Russians.  Indeed,  defeat  became  almost 
habitual  to  the  Turks,  and  the  Ottoman 
power  shook  to  its  fonndations. 

The  Russians  learnt  to  despise  their  foes ; 
while  the  Turks  feared  that  the  hand  of 
the  prophet  was  against  them,  and  that 
they  were  fated  to  humiliation.  In  the 
month  of  September,  1790,  a  combined  force 
of  Austrians  and  Russians,  under  the  Prince 
of  Coburg  and  General  Suwarrow,  estimated 
ordy  at  about  30,000  men,  had  the  temerity 
to  attack  the  grand  Turkish  army,  amount- 
ing to  90,000.  The  battle  took  place  near 
Martinesti  in  Wallachia;  and  the  allies,  with 
little  loss  or  difficulty,  gained  a  signal  and 
extraordinary  victory.  It  was,  indeed,  rather 
a  slaughter  and  a  dispersion  than  a  battle. 
About  7,000  Turks  perished,  and  nothing 
but  the  blunted  sabres  and  tired  horses  of 
the  pursuers  checked  the  butchery.  No 
prisoners  were  taken ;  for  the  Turks,  mad- 
dened by  shame,  disdained  to  accept  of 
quarter.  Their  whole  camp  fell  to  the 
victors;  and  300  camels,  400  oxen,  5,000 
loaded  waggons,  3,000  tents,  six  mortars, 
seventeen  pieces  of  heavy  cannon,  sixty-four 
•  That  is,  «  He  of  the  Rymnik." 


field-pieces,  near  100  standards,  and  a  pro- 
digious quantity  of  ammunition  and  stores, 
were  among  the  spoils.  The  loss  of  the 
victors  amounted  to  but  a  few  hundred  men 
killed  and  wounded. 

The  Russians  pursued  their  conquests  to 
the  Black  Sea;  but  Ismail,  or  Ismailow — 
an  unskilfully  fortified  town  in  Bessarabia, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Danube — still  held  out. 
It  had  been  besieged  by  Potemkin  for  seven 
months;  but  at  length,  growing  impatient, 
he  resolved  upon  taking  it  at  any  cost  of 
life  whatever. 

In   the   camp   this   extravagant  and  ex- 
centric  man   passed   his  time  like   one   of 
those  ancient  satraps  whom  he  equalled,  and 
almost  surpassed,    in   luxurious    sensuality. 
Abandoned  to  indolence   and   pleasure,  he 
was  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  parasites  and 
women,  who  employed  every  effort  to  amuse 
him.     One  of  these  ladies,   pretending   to 
read  the  decrees  of  fate  in  the  arrangement 
of  a  pack  of  cards,  predicted  that  he  would 
take  the  town  at  the  end  of  three  weeks. 
Potemkin,  with  a  smile,  replied,  that  he  had 
a  mode  of  divination  far  less  fallible,  and 
immediately  sent  his  orders  to  Suwarrow  to 
come  from  Galatz  and  take  Ismail  within 
three  days.     Suwarrow  was  the  idol  of  the 
Russian  soldiers ;  and,  on  his  arrival,  they 
were  animated  by  a  feeling  of  enthusiasm. 
The  fortifications  of  Ismail  had  been  erected 
without  advanced  works  ;   and  Suwarrow,  on 
glancing  at  the  crumbling  wall  and  half- 
choked  moat  on  the  landward  side  of  the 
town,  at  once  resolved  on  an  assault.     To 
excite  still  more  the  ardour  and  ferocity  of 
the  soldiers,  he  promised  to  give  the  town 
up   to   them    to   plunder,   and  commanded 
them  to  yield  no  quarter  until  it  was  taken. 
On  the  21st  of  September  he  twice  sum- 
moned  the  citv  to  surrender,   and  threat- 
ened  the  inhabitants  with  the  fate  of  Otcha- 
koff in  the  event  of  refusal.     The  Turks, 
however,  disdained  his  threats,  and  he  gave 
orders  to  prepare  for  the  assault.     In  the 
evening  he  assembled  his  chief  officers,  and 
gave  his  final  directions  for  an  escalade,  in 
seven    columns,   an    hour   before    daybreak 
on  the  following  morning.     Admiral  Ribas 
was  to  assist   by  attacking  with  his  whole 
force,  at  the  same  hour,  on  the  side  of  the 
Danube.     The   advanced   troops   were   not 
only  to  carry  ladders,  but  bags  of  earth,  to 
fill  up  more  completely,   where   necessary, 
the  filth-choked  ditch.     Having  concluded 
his  explanations  to  his  officers,  Suwarrow  dis- 
missed them,  saying,  "  You  now  understand 

VOL.  I.  2  T 


what  is  to  be  done,  and  how  to  do  it.  Two 
hours  before  daybreak  I  shall  rise,  say  my 
prayers,  dress  myself,  go  out  in  front  of  the 
tent,  and  crow  like  a  cock.  The  men  must 
then  be  immediately  got  under  arms.  At 
the  second  crow,  which  will  be  just  half-an- 
hour^  after  the  first,  I  expect  everything  to 
be  in  readiness  for  the  advance;  and,  at  the 
third  crow,  you  will  push  forward  according 
to  my  directions.  And  do  not  forget  what 
I  have  already  told  you— that,  till  resistance 
has  entirely  ceased  upon  every  point,  the 
men  must  not  be  encumbered  with  pri- 
soners.'' 

At  four  o'clock  the  cock-crow  was  given, 
and  so  natural  a  sound  before  daybreak  did 
not   alarm   the   Turks.      The   assault   took 
place;    but   the  assailants    were   twice   re- 
pulsed   with   terrible   loss.     The    Cossacks, 
unused  to  storming  operations,  were  mostly 
shot  down  or  cut  to  pieces.     At  length  the 
city  was  entered;    but  the  hottest  part  of 
the  struggle  took  place  within  it.     Every 
inch    of    ground    was    savagely   contested; 
every  street  was  converted  into  a  fortress ; 
every   house    became   a   redoubt.      Amidst 
the  roar  of  cannon,  the  clash  of  sabres,  the 
wild  cries  of  the   assailants,  the  impreca- 
tions of  the  Moslems,  and  the  shrieks  of  the 
wounded,  was  heard,  at  intervals,  the  voices 
of  the  Russian  officers,  shouting,  "  Forward  ! 
Strike  !      No    quarter  I       No    prisoners  ! " 
Still  four  hours  of  horror  elapsed,  after  the 
Russians  entered  the  city,  before  they  were 
enabled  to  fight  their  way  to  the  market- 
place, where  the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea  were 
collected.     For  two  hours  more  they  fought 
with  all  the  fury  of  despair,  neither  seeking 
nor  giving  mercy.     They  were  at  length  all 
massacred ;  but  the  struggle  was  still  kept 
up  in  the   streets.     At  last  a  passage  was 
made  for  the  cavalry  into  the  city,  and  they 
charged  through  the  streets,  and  cut  down 
men,  women,  and  children,  until  four  o'clock 
in  the  day,  when  resistance  ceased.     Then 
— to   quote   the   language   of    one   of    the 
greatest  of  our  modern  poets — 

The  crescent's  silver  bow 
Sunk,  and  the  crimson  cross  glared  o'er  the  field, 
But  red  with  no  redeeming  gore  ;  the  glow 
Of  burning  streets,  like  moonlight  on  the  water, 
Was  imaged  back  in  blood,  the  sea  of  slaughter." 

The  fighting  ceased  at  four  o'clock,  but 
not  the  carnage ;  for  Suwarrow  gave  the 
devoted  city  up  to  be  plundered  by  his 
maddened  and  ferocious  troops.  This  work 
of  horror  was  prolonged  for  three  days  and 
nights,  during  which  many  Turks  sacrificed 

321 


ECCENTRICITIES  OF  POTEMKIN.]         HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1790. 


their  lives  in  defending  their  property,  and 
many  women  were  slain  after  poniarding 
the  ruffians  who  attempted  to  violate  them. 
Suwarrow,  in  the  meantime,  dispatched 
a  bulletin  to  Prince  Potemkin,  which,  in 
doggerel  Russian  rhyme,  expressed  the  fol- 
lowing meaning — "  Glory  to  God  !  Glory 
to  thee !  Ismail  is  ours,  and  I  am  in  it." 
Yet  this  man  appears  not  to  have  been 
altogether  destitute  of  human  emotion. 
On  an  English  traveller  (who  afterwards 
met  him  in  the  Ukraine)  asking  him  if, 
after  the  massacre  at  Ismail,  he  was  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  the  conduct  of  the  day? 
he  replied,  that  he  went  to  his  tent  and 
wept. 

It  is  estimated  that  no  less  than  33,000 
Turks  were  killed  or  severely  wounded, 
and  10,000  (including  women)  taken  pri- 
soners. Eight  days  were  occupied  in  bury- 
ing the  dead  or  throwing  them  into  the 
Danube.  It  was  said  that  the  Russians 
purchased  this  sanguinary  triumph  at  a  cost 
of  15,000  men ;  though  that  is,  no  doubt,  an 
exaggeration,  as  Suwarrow  himself  stated  his 
loss  at  2,000  killed  and  2,500  wounded. 
The  very  day  after  the  assault,  Suwarrow, 
who  was  extremely  superstitious,  and  very 
attentive  to  all  the  formulas  of  religion, 
caused  a  solemn  service  of  thanksgiving  to 
God  to  be  celebrated  in  the  convent  church 
of  St.  John.  There  was  something  shock- 
ing, if  not  blasphemous,  in  this  proceeding, 
as  the  intonations  of  the  priests  and  the 
responses  of  the  military  congregation  were 
constantly  broken  in  upon  by  the  shrieks, 
curses,  and  pistol-shots  arising  from  the 
authorised  plundering  and  violence  then 
in  full  operation  without  and  around  the 
building. 

After  the  taking  of  Ismail,  Prince  Po- 
temkin returned  to  St.  Petersburg,  to  enjoy 
the  honours  which  were  really  due  to 
Suwarrow.  The  empress  received  her 
eccentric  minister  with  transports  of  joy, 
and  bestowed  on  him  another  palace,  which 
had  been  fitted  up  for  his  reception  at  an 
expense  of  600,000  roubles;  and  also  a 
coat  laced  with  diamonds,  which  cost 
200,000.  Potemkin  himself  exhibited  a 
pomp  and  an  extravagance  which  would 
have  appeared  excessive  in  the  most  splen- 
did court  in  Europe.  The  expense  of  his 
table  alone,  was,  on  ordinary  occasions, 
about  800  roubles  a-day.  In  the  depth  of 
winter  he  purchased  all  the  cherries  of  a 
tree  reared  in  a  hothouse,  at  a  rouble  the 
cherry.  He  possessed  an  enormous  quan- 
322 


tity  of  jewels,  some  of  which  he  never 
looked  at  again  after  he  had  purchased 
them.  On  one  occasion  he  took  a  dislike  to 
his  diamonds,  and  ordered  them  to  be  sold : 
not  long  after,  he  desired  to  repossess  them, 
and  directed  them  to  be  repurchased  at  any 
price.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  this 
man,  who  had  all  Russia  at  his  feet,  suffered 
greatly  from  depression  of  spirits.  At  these 
times  he  would  spend  long  winter  evenings 
playing  with  his  diamonds,  as  children  do 
with  toys.  Sometimes  he  would  sit  pour- 
ing them  from  one  hand  into  the  other; 
then  he  would  amuse  himself,  for  hours,  by 
spreading  them  out  on  a  black  velvet  in  the 
forms  of  circles,  crosses,  and  fanciful  figures. 
During  these  periods  of  depression,  he  would 
pass  a  couple  of  hours  in  biting  his  nails  as 
he  walked  up  and  down  his  apartment, 
though  there  were  a  score  of  persons 
present. 

Potemkin  probably  cultivated  eccentricity 
as  a  source  of  distinction.  This  he  obtained, 
apparently,  in  a  proportion  far  exceeding 
his  merits ;  for  though  there  were  many 
princes  in  Russia,  most  of  them  his  superior 
by  birth,  yet  he  was  always  called  the  prince, 
by  way  of  excellence.  The  lustre  of  gigantic 
talents  would  necessarily  eclipse  that  of  high 
birth ;  but  the  abilities  of  Potemkin,  though 
considerable,  could  not  be  regarded  as  great. 
He  was  indebted  largely  to  personal  qualifica- 
tions for  his  elevated  position,  and  his  genius 
may  be  said  to  have  been  rather  physical 
than  mental.  His  eccentricity  was  blended 
with  a  strong  acquisitiveness,  and  he  had  a 
childish  eagerness  to  procure  the  most 
costly  things  of  every  kind.  Though  he 
never  played  on  a  violin  in  his  life,  yet  he 
had  ten  or  a  dozen  which  had  cost  him  an 
exorbitant  price;  one  of  them  being  esti- 
mated at  the  value  of  6,000  roubles.  Yet 
he  allowed  them  all  to  be  either  spoiled  by 
the  dust  or  gnawed  by  the  rats.  When 
some  one  spoke  to  him  of  a  magnificent 
library,  he  observed,  that  he  had  one  of 
greater  value  than  the  most  learned  man  in 
Europe  could  show.  He  then  opened  a 
small  case,  containing  several  shelves  of 
books,  which,  on  being  taken  down,  were 
seen  to  be  boxes,  gilt  and  lettered  at  the 
back,  filled  with  bank  assignats,  and  rou- 
leaux of  imperials  and  ducats,  to  an  amazing 
amount.  With  all  this  wealth,  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  he  could  be  brought  to 
pay  his  debts;  for,  like  all  profligates,  he 
loved  display  more  than  justice.  To  those 
who  paid  their  court  to  him^   he   usually 


A.D.  1790.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [extravagance  of  potemkin. 


behaved  with  great  insolence ;  and  he  more 
than  once  struck  a  Russian  prince  or  general 
in  public — a  gross  indignity,  which  certainly 
no  gentleman  out  of  that  empire  would 
submit  to.  Yet,  from  a  knowledge  of  the 
Russian  character,  and,  no  doubt,  from  mo- 
tives of  policy,  he  was  kind  and  condescend- 
ing to  the  soldiers,  who,  accordingly,  were 
attached  to  him  in  return.  Many  strange 
projects  of  ambition  were  attributed  to  him. 
It  was  even  supposed  that  he  designed  taking 
advantage  of  the  influence  he  had  over  the 
troops,  for  excluding  from  the  throne  the 
Grand-duke  Paul  and  his  sons,  on  the  death 
of  the  empress,  and  of  causing  the  eldest  of 
the  grand-duchesses  to  be  crowned.  It  was 
added,  that  he  designed  to  marry  her,  or,  at 
any  rate,  to  have  reigned  in  her  name. 

After  the  fall  of  Ismail,  Potemkin  remained 
for  several  months  at  St.  Petersburg,  during 
which  period  he  expended  upwards  of 
1,200,000  roubles.  An  entertainment  which 
he  gave  to  the  empress  at  the  Tauridan 
palace,  reminds  us  of  the  fabulous  scenes  of 
magnificence  in  the  fairy  tales  of  the  East. 
His  mind  was  probably  weakened  by  long- 
continued  debauchery,  and  he  felt  a  presenti- 
ment that  this  would  be  the  last  blaze  of  his 
grandeur.  He  resolved,  therefore,  to  distin- 
guish the  occasion  by  a  gorgeousness  which 
should  elevate  the  whim  of  an  hour  to  the 
dignity  of  an  historical  incident.  A  month 
was  passed  in  preparations,  and  several 
hundred  persons  were  daily  assembled  for 
the  purpose  of  rehearsing  the  final  enter- 
tainment. The  empress,  the  imperial  family, 
the  court,  the  foreign  ministers,  the  nobility, 
and  great  part  of  the  people  of  condition  in 
the  city  were  invited.  When  Catherine 
entered  her  carriage,  immense  piles  of  gar- 
ments, lofty  pyramids  of  eatables,  and  an 
enormous  supply  of  liquors,  were  distributed 
to  the  populace.  On  her  entrance  into  the 
Tauridan  palace,  she  was  greeted  by  the 
music  arising  from  an  orchestra  of  600 
performers.  When  she  and  the  brilliant 
company  had  taken  their  seats,  four-and- 
twenty  couple  of  the  most  beautiful  persons 
of  both  sexes,  and  of  noble  birth,  including 
among  them  the  Grand-dukes  Alexander 
and  Constantine,  opened  the  dances  with  a 
quadrille.  Their  dresses,  the  value  of  which 
was  estimated  at  10,000,000  of  roubles,  were 
all  white,  and  the  wearers  were  only  distin- 
guishable by  the  colours  of  their  girdles  and 
fecarfs.  The  music  to  which  they  danced 
was  accompanied  with  singing,  and  a  famous 
vocalist  concluded  the  scene  with  a  solo. 


The  company  then  proceeded  to  another 
hall,  hung  with  tapestry  of  the  most  rostly 
kind.     In  it  stood  an  artificial  elephant,  de- 
corated with  emeralds  and  rubies.     It  was 
led  by  a  Persian,  who  struck  upon  a  beli,  at 
which  signal  a  curtain  rose  and  displayed  a 
magnificently-decorated  theatre,  where  two 
ballets  and  a  dramatic  piece  were  performed. 
On  the  termination  of  the  latter,  the  com- 
pany divided  into  the  several  rooms  of  the 
palace,  all  of  which  were  illuminated  with  a 
magnificence  which    struck   the   spectators 
with  amazement.     The  walls  and  columns 
seemed  to  glow  with  various-coloured  fires, 
while  large  mirrors,  attached  to  the  sides  of 
the  apartments,  or  made  to  form  pyramids 
and  grottoes,  multiplied  the  effect,  and  even 
made  the  whole  enclosure  seem  to  be  com- 
posed  of  sparkling    stoves.     Six    hundred 
persons  then  sat  down  at  one  table  to  supper, 
and  the  rest  were  entertained  at  sideboards. 
Every  article  of  use  was  of  gold  or  silver; 
flowers  were  in  the    most   delicious   abun- 
dance; a  multitude  of  servants,  in  superb 
dresses,   were  in  attendance;    and  nothing 
that  the  most  studied  epicurism  was  able  to 
procure  could  be  asked  for  in  vain ! 

Catherine  was  pleased,  and,  for  the  first 
time  for  many  years,  made  an  exception  to 
her  general  rule,  by  staying  till  midnight, 
in  order  not  to  disturb  the  pleasure  of  the 
host  and  his  company.  On  her  entering 
the  vestibule  after  supper,  the  choir  of 
voices  melodiously  chanted  a  hymn  to  her 
praise.  Surprised  and  affected,,  she  turned 
round  to  the  prince,  who,  overpowered  with 
emotion,  fell  on  his  knee,  and,  seizing  her 
hand,  bedewed  it  with  tears.  A  gloomy 
foreboding  seemed  to  shake  his  whole  frame, 
and  his  countenance  was  expressive  of  the 
conviction,  that  this  was  the  last  time  he 
should  ever,  on  that  spot,  pour  out  his  gra- 
titude to  his  magnanimous  patroness. 

Having  passed  five  months  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, Potemkin,  satiated  with  pomp  and 
grandeur,  quitted  it  to  retiirn  to  the  army. 
Pleasure  no  longer  satisfied  him ;  he  felt  a 
conviction  he  should  never  return ;  he  was 
restless  and  uneasy,  and  his  frequent  sighs 
betrayed  the  gloom  that  filled  his  mind. 
Some  time  before  his  departure  the  empress 
had  dismissed  Count  Momonoff,  and  taken 
another  lover  into  favour.  "  That  extraor- 
dinary woman,"  said  Segur,  "  presented  in 
her  character  an  astonishing  mixture  of  the 
strength  of  our  sex  and  the  weakness  of  her 
own.  Age  had  set  its  stamp  upon  her  fea- 
tures; but  her  heart,  as  well  as  her  self-love, 

323 


COURT  FAVOURITES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1790. 


juv.  1791—1792.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[peace  wtth  turkey/ 


preserved  their  youth ;  both  the  one  and  the 
other  were  now  severely  wounded." 

Catherine    not    only  behaved   to    Count 
Momonoff  with  her  accustomed   liberality, 
but  even  permitted  him  to  extort  from  her 
the  most  extravagant  sums.     Love  was  not 
to  be  expected  from  a  man  in  such  a  po- 
sition ;    but  he  might  have  refrained  from 
insult.     Young  enough  to  be  her  son,  he 
felt  his  life  to  resemble  that  of  a  slave,  and 
groaned  beneath  the  yoke  of  a  favour  which 
restrained   his   liberty.      His   prison  was   a 
palace,  and  his  fetters  chains  of  roses ;  yet 
still  he  sighed  for  freedom.     In  this  con- 
dition he  contracted  a  passion  for  the  Prin- 
cess ScherebatofF,  one  of  the  ladies  of  honour 
to  the  empress.     The  princess  returned  his 
attachment;  and  having  received  from  him 
assurances  of  constancy,  is  presumed  to  have 
granted    him    those   favours   which    ladies 
usually  reserve  for  their   husbands.      This 
amour  was  for  some  time  known  to  all  the 
court  except  the  empress.     At  length  she 
became  aware  of  it,  and  told  Momonoff  that 
he  had  not  surrendered  to  her  the  whole  of 
his  heart.     She  added,  that,  as  she  wished 
his  happiness,  she  had  formed  the  design  of 
uniting  him  to  the  young  Countess  Bruce, 
one  of  the  richest  heiresses  of  the  empire. 
Momonoff  declined   the   intended   honour, 
and  the  empress  desired  to  know  the  cause 
of  his  reluctance.     As,  in  spite  of  his  em- 
barrassment, she  insisted  on  being  informed 
on  this  point,  he  threw  himself  at  her  feet, 
confessed    that   he   had   plighted  his   faith 
to  the  Princess  Scherebatoff' ;  that,  though 
ashamed  of  his  ingratitude,  he  was  incapable 
of  changing  his  sentiments;  and   implored 
the   clemency  of   his  sovereign.      Irritated 
by  this  information,  Catherine  quitted  the 
court,  and  secluded    herself  in   her  apart- 
ments.     She,  however,    speedily  recovered 
from  a  passion  and  a  weakness  little  worthy 
of  her.     Commanding  the  presence  of  Mo- 
monoff and   the   princess,    she    had    them 
affianced  before  her,  gave  a  rich  dowry  to 
her  maid  of  honour,  and  a  valuable  estate 
to  the  count.     She  even   attended   at  the 
marriage    ceremony;    and,    in    accordance 
with  custom,  herself  placed  a  set  of  dia- 
monds on  the  head  of  the  bride.     Having 
gained  this  victory  over  her  pride,  she  com- 
manded them  to  retire  from  her  court. 

Whatever  were  the  weaknesses  of  Cathe- 
rine, meanness  was  not  one  of  them.  She 
was  entitled  to  at  least  respect  from  the 
man  whose  ingratitude  towards  her  she  had 
the  power  to  punish.  The  count,  however, 
324 


had  the  meanness  and  the  want  of  prudence 
to  mention  to  his  wife  the  particulars  of  his 
interviews  with  the  empress, and  the  countess 
had  the  dangerous  folly  to   divulge    them 
with  a  levity  injurious  to  her  imperial  mis- 
tress.    That  sovereign  punished  the  babbler 
with  peculiar  and  eccentric  severity.     The 
newly-married  couple  had  retired  toMoscow; 
and  one  night,  after  they  had  gone  to  rest, 
the  master  of  the  police  of  that  city  entered 
their  apartment.     Then  showing  them   an 
order  from  the  empress,  he  left  them  in  the 
hands  of  six  men  disguised  as  women,  and 
retired  to  an  adjoining  chamber.     The  pre- 
tended  women   then   seized   the    talkative 
lady,  and  having  entirely  stripped    her  of 
her  night-clothes,  whipped  her  severely  with 
rods  in  the  presence  of  her  husband,  whom 
they  forced  to  kneel  down  and  witness  this 
humiliating  flagellation.   When  the  chastise- 
ment was  over,  the  police-master  re-entered 
the  room,  and  said,  '*  This  is  the  way  the 
empress  punishes  a  first  indiscretion.     For 
the  second,  people  are  sent  to  Siberia." 

It  might  have  been  supposed  that,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Hyperborean  regions, 
the  passions,  if  not  dormant,  would  be  at 
least  moderate,  and  that  the  men  would 
consequently  be  temperate,  and  the  women 
chaste.  Facts,  however,  lead  us  to  a  con- 
trary conclusion;  and  it  is  left  to  the  phi- 
losophers to  determine,  whether  the  double 
windows  and  heated  rooms  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, added  to  an  affectation  of  Oriental 
manners,  be  not  to  the  full  as  critical,  in 
respect  to  female  virtue,  as  the  climate  of 
Naples  or  Turin.  Though  now  declining 
in  years,  the  empress  still  gave  way  to  those 
sensual  pleasures  to  which  she  had  ever 
shown  so  strong  a  partiality.  Momonoff 
was  no  sooner  dismissed,  than  she  received 
Plato  Zuboff,  a  young  officer  of  the  guards, 
into  her  favour.  His  name  suggested  to 
Russian  wits  the  pun,  that  the  empress,  after 
all  her  amours,  concluded  with  Platonic 
love.  This  person  rendered  himself  so 
agreeable  to  the  empress,  that  in  a  short 
time  he  became  almost  omnipotent  at  St. 
Petersburg.  Not  content  with  wealth  and 
honours,  he  affected  public  employments. 
He  was  decorated  with  the  title  of  prince, 
and  received  the  post  of  grand-master  of 
the  artillery.  Nearly  all  the  admirals, 
generals,  and  ministers  of  the  empire  were 
to  be  seen  at  his  levee,  anxious  to  obtain  his 
smile  of  approbation,  and  even  paying  their 
compliments  at  the  same  time,  in  great 
form,  to  his  favourite  monkey. 


The  king  of  Prussia  had  signed  a  treaty 
with  the  Turks,  and  another  with  the  Poles. 
Catherine  thus  lost  an  ally,  and  was  ex- 
posed to  the  probability  of  having  a  new 
enemy  to  contend  with.  But  though  Frederic 
William  did  not  draw  the  sword  against  her, 
he  sent  his  troops  into  Poland,  under  pre- 
tence of  defending  that  country ;  and,  what 
perhaps  occasioned  still  more  irritation  at 
the  Russian  court,  he  took  possession  of  the 
cities  of  Dantzic  and  Thorn. 

Catherine  saw  at  length,  that  her  victories 
over  the  Turks  were  not  only  dearly  pur- 
chased, but,  in  fa6t,  ruinous ;  and  that  re- 
mote conquests  might  bring  on  the  loss  of 
tlie  provinces  which  she  possessed  in  Poland. 
Though  she  felt  peace  to  be  necessary,  yet 
her  pride  forbade  her  to  seem  to  desire  it ; 
and  rather  than  do  so,  she  chose  to  con- 
tinue the  war.  This  involved  the  heavier 
responsibility,  as  the  death  of  her  ally,  the 
emperor  Joseph  11.,"^  on  the  20th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1790,  left  her  to  contend  with  the 
Ottomans  singly. 

Victory  still  favoured  the  Russian  troops, 
and  they  continued  to  gain  unfruitful 
triumphs.  In  the  May  of  1791,  General 
Kutusoff  defeated  a  combined  army  of  Turks 
and  Tartars  at  Babada  in  Bulgaria ;  and  in 
the  July  following.  Prince  Repniu,  at  the 
head  of  25,000  men,  entirely  routed  70,000 
Ottomans,  whom  he  met  and  engaged  not 
far  from  Matzin.  General  Gudovitch  also, 
brother  of  the  favourite  of  Peter  III.,  cap- 
tured the  fortresses  of  Sudyuk-Kaly  and  of 
Anapa,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  Crimea  and 
the  coast  of  Circassia.  But  Austria  con- 
cluded in  this  year  (1791),  at  Szistowa,  a 
peace  with  Turkey,  by  which  she  restored 
all  conquests  to  the  latter  power. 

The  revolution  which  was  convulsing 
France  produced  a  considerable  revulsion 
of  feeling  in  the  empress  Catherine.  Falling 
into  the  common  error  which  attributed 
that    great   and   terrible    outbreak   to   the 


•  Count  Segur  observes — "  This  prince,  without 
being  a  great  man,  was  a  monarch  equally  just, 
virtuous,  and  prone  to  toleration ;  severe  to  himself, 
indulgent  to  others,  kind,  indefatigable,  accessible  to 
truth,  even  occupied  in  relieving  misfortunes,  in  en- 
couraging the  arts,  and  in  rewarding  merit.  Prince 
de  Ligne,  who  sincerely  deplored  his  loss,  wrote  the 
following  lines  to  the  empress  Catherine  : — *  It  will  be 
said  by  the  soldier — Joseph  II.  stood  many  a  can- 
non-shot at  the  dike  of  Beschania,  and  many  a  mus- 
ket-shot in  the  suburbs  of  Sabatch ;  he  has  had 
medals  struck  as  rewards  for  bravery.  By  the 
traveller — what  splendid  establishments  for  schools, 
for  hospitals,  for  prisons,  and  for  education  !  By 
llie   manufacturer — what    encouragement    given   to 


writings  of  the  French  philosophers,  she 
discountenanced  the  study  of  them,  and 
banished  the  busts  of  Voltaire  and  of  our 
own  statesman,  Fox,  to  a  lumber-room. 
When  the  French  ambassador  left  her  court, 
she  observed  to  him,  ''Your  predilection 
for  the  new  philosophy  and  for  liberty,  will 
probably  incline  you  to  support  the  cause  of 
the  people ;  I  shall  regret  it ;  for  aristocracv 
is  my  profession,  and  I  must  adhere  to  it." 
The  state  of  France,  and  her  desire  to  ex- 
tinguish the  revolution,  inclined  Catherine 
to  forget,  or  try  to  forget,  her  animosity 
towards  England;  the  more  so,  as  this 
country,  taking  advantage  of  the  moment 
when  she  was  detaching  herself  from  France, 
endeavoured  to  revive  the  amicable  con- 
nection that  had  formerly  existed  between 
Russia  and  Great  Britain. 

England,  therefore,  proposed  to  mediate 
between  the  empress  and  the  sultan,  on 
condition  that,  in  making  peace,  Catherine 
should  consent  to  give  up  her  conquests, 
and  to  take  the  treaty  of  Kainardshi  as 
the  basis  of  the  new  arrangements.  The 
northern  Cleopatra  acted  with  a  proud 
independence,  and  treated  a  special  envoy, 
sent  from  this  country,  with  alternate  con- 
ciliation and  cold  reserve.  But  Catherine 
had  resolved  on  making  peace  with  the 
Porte,  and  she  accepted  the  mediation  of 
England,  which  was  carried  on  in  con- 
junction with  her  allies^  Prussia  and  Hol- 
land. These  three  powers  agreed  to  pro- 
pose to  Turkey  the  terms  to  which  the 
empress  was  disposed  to  submit,  and  de- 
clared that,  in  the  event  of  the  refusal  by 
the  Turks,  they  would  abandon  their  cause 
and  leave  them  to  prosecute  the  war  alone 
with  Russia. 

Preliminaries  of  peace  between  Russia 
and  the  Porte  were  signed  on  the  9th  of 
January,  1792,  at  Jassy.  It  was  calculated 
that,  in  this  war,  Austria  lost  130,000 
soldiers,     and     expended     300,000,000    of 


commerce.  By  the  common  labourer — he  has  him- 
self ploughed  the  ground.  By  the  heretic — he  was 
our  protector.  By  the  president  of  every  depart- 
ment, the  heads  of  all  offices — he  was  our  chief 
clerk,  whilst  at  the  same  time  he  was  superintending 
us.  By  the  ministers — he  was  falling  a  sacrifice  for 
the  state,  of  which  he  called  himself  the  first  sub- 
ject. By  the  sick — he  never  ceased  to  visit  us.  By 
the  citizen — he  embellished  our  town  with  squares 
and  public  walks.  By  the  peasant  and  the  servant 
— we  spoke  to  him  whenever  we  pleased.  By  heads 
of  families — he  aided  us  with  his  advice.  By  society 
— he  was  safe  and  of  agreeable  manners  ;  he  related 
agreeably;  there  was  much  point  in  his  conversa- 
tion ;  truth  could  be  told  to  him  upon  every  subject."' 

325 


DEATH  OF  POTEMKIN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1791. 


A.D.  1792—1794.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [second  division  of  Poland. 


ill 
III 


florins.  Russia  lost  200,000  men,  five  ships 
of  the  line,  seven  frigates,  and  fourteen 
smaller  vessels,  and  expended  200,000  rou- 
bles. The  Turkish  loss  was  estimated  at 
330,000  men,  six  ships  of  the  line,  and  four 
frigates,  with  several  other  vessels ;  and  an 
expense  of  250,000,000  piastres.  Yet  the 
peace  placed  affairs  much  on  the  standing 
in  which  they  were  before  the  commence- 
ment of  this  sanguinary  and  expensive  con- 
flict. The  Dniester  was  recognised  as  the 
boundary  between  the  two  empires ;  the 
ancient  rights  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia 
were  confirmed ;  and  the  Porte  agreed  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  proceedings  of  the  bar- 
barous corsairs,  and  to  restore  all  Russian 
prisoners. 

The  presentiments  of  Prince  Potemkin 
were  not  without  foundation.  He  did  not 
live  to  witness  the  conclusion  of  the  peace 
with  Turkey.  Having  repaired  to  the  con- 
gress of  Jassy,  he  was  there  attacked  with 
an  epidemical  fever.  On  hearing  that  he 
was  ill,  the  empress  sent  two  of  her  most 
experienced  physicians  to  his  assistance. 
He,  however,  disdained  their  advice,  and 
lived  with  his  usual  freedom.  Nothing 
could  induce  him  to  control  his  appetite. 
His  breakfast  usually  consisted  of  the 
greater  part  of  a  smoke-dried  goose  from 
Hamburg,  aud  slices  of  hung  beef  or  ham, 
after  which  he  drank  a  quantity  of  wine 
and  Dantzic  liqueurs.  At  dinner  he  was 
equally  voracious.  It  cannot,  therefore, 
create  surprise  that  his  disorder  gained 
upon  him;  though  a  groundless  suspicion 
was  afterwards  entertained  that  he  had 
been  poisoned.  Fancying  that  a  removal 
from  Jassy  might  benefit  him,  he  set  out 
for  Nicolaiefl",  a  town  he  himself  had  built. 
Scarcely,   however,   had   he    travelled    ten 


miles,  when  he  felt  himself  to  be  dying. 
He  was  taken  out  of  his  carriage,  and  laid 
down  on  the  grass  by  the  roadside,  under  a 
tree,  where  he  expired  in  the  arms  of  his 
niece,  the  Princess  Branicka.  His  death 
took  place  on  the  15th  of  October,  1791,  at 
the  age  of  fifty-two.  His  body  was  removed 
to  Cherson,  where  a  magnificent  mauso- 
leum was  raised  to  him  by  command  of  the 
empress. 

The  name  of  Potemkin  holds  a  conspicu- 
ous place  in  the  annals  of  Russia.  Nature, 
in  order  to  render  him  remarkable  in  every 
point  of  view,  had  given  him  a  gigantic 
stature,  and  a  proportion  of  bodily  strength 
such  as,  in  fabulous  times,  excited  astonish- 
ment in  a  Hercules  and  a  Theseus.  When 
first  beheld,  he  had  something  savage  in  his 
appearance,  which  exhibited  an  extraordi- 
nary mixture  of  rude  and  of  cultivated 
nature.  His  look  was  animated,  lively,  and 
piercing;  his  countenance,  fine,  pliant,  and 
lofty,  bespoke  the  head  of  a  Richelieu  or  a 
Mazarin,  on  the  robust  shoulders  of  a 
savage.  Prone  to  taciturnity,  and  eager  to 
listen,  his  silence  was  the  silence  of  thought 
and  reflection.  Active,  indefatigable,  tur- 
bulent, bold,  and  discreet,  with  a  capacity 
more  comprehensive  than  just,  he  was 
capable  both  of  undertaking  and  accom- 
plishing the  most  dangerous  enterprises. 
He  paid  little  attention  to  the  opinions  of  a 
world  which  he  pretended  to  despise,  and 
his  passions  acknowledged  no  restraint, 
because  his  heart  was  destitute  alike  of 
morality  or  principle.  His  mind  was  in- 
fluenced by  boundless  ambition,  a  thirst 
for  independence,  a  love  of  sway,  and  also 
by  many  noble,  and  all  low,  passions.  He 
was  a  wolf  held  by  a  golden  chain;  but 
that  chain  was  in  the  hand  of  Catherine. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

CATHERINE,  INTENT  ON  THE  FURTHER  DISMEMBERMENT  OF  POLAND,  DECLARES  WAR  AGAINST  IT  ;  SHE  IS 
JOINED  BY  PRUSSIA  ;  SECOND  PARTITION  OF  POLAND  ;  REVOLT  OF  THE  POLES  UNDER  KOSCIUSKO  ;  AUSTRIA 
LENDS  HER  ASSISTANCE  TO  CRUSH  THE  POLES;  DEFEAT  OF  THE  LATTER  AT  MACIEJOVICE;  STORMING  AND 
MASSACRE  OF  PRAGA  UNDER  SUWARROW ;  FINAL  DIVISION  OF  POLAND,  AND  ITS  EXTINCTION  AS  A  NATION; 
CATHERINE  PROMISES  MILITARY  ASSISTANCE  TO  THE  FRENCH  ROYALISTS  ;  SHE  CONCLUDES  A  NEW  TREATY 
OF  COMMERCE  WITH  ENGLAND,  AND  PREPARES  TO  ACT  AGAINST  THE  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  ;  THE  YOUNG 
KING  OF  SWEDEN  ABRUPTLY  BREAKS  OFF  A  MATRIMONIAL  ALLIANCE  WITH  ONE  OF  THE  GRAND-DAUGHTERS 
OF  CATHERINE  ;  SHE  ANNEXES  COURLAND  TO  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  AND  DIRECTS  HER  ARMS  AGAINST 
PERSIA  ;   DEATH  OF  THE  EMPRESS ;   HER  APPEARANCE  AND  CHARACTER. 

Catherine  was  soon  reconciled  to  the  loss  I  been  under  his  direction  she  divided  amongst 
of  Potemkin ;  and  the  business  which  had  '  her  other  ministers  and  her  favourite.  Plate 
326 


Zuboff".  The  second  dismemberment  of 
Poland  is  said  to  have  been  suggested  by 
this  person,  and  the  idea  was  instantly 
sanctioned  by  the  empress.  Indeed,  she 
was  eager  to  punish  the  Poles  for  the  con- 
stitution which  they  established  in  1791— a 
constitution  which  abrogated  the  former 
one  (dictated  by  violence  in  1775),  and 
afforded  some  prospect  of  a  happy  and 
stable  government ;  if,  indeed,  such  a  thing 
could  exist  in  Poland  while  the  power  of  the 
state  was  in  the  hands  of  its  own  worthless 
nobles  and  priesthood.  The  Poles,  also,  had 
contracted  an  alliance  with  Prussia,  in  con- 
tempt of  the  aversion  of  the  empress  to 
such  a  measure,  and  in  preference  to  one 
with  her ;  and  for  this,  also,  she  longed  to 
exact  vengeance. 

She  therefore,  in  1792,  declared  war 
against  Poland.  The  Poles  received  this 
ungenerous  declaration  with  calmness,  and 
prepared  for  their  defence  with  enthu- 
siasm ;  for  they  felt  inspired  with  new  life 
by  every  breeze  which  came  from  revolu- 
tionary Paris.  But  they  were  neither 
powerful  nor  united,  and  their  troops  soon 
fell  back  before  the  far  more  powerful 
armies  of  the  empress.  The  plains  of 
Poland  were  again  drenched  with  blood; 
and,  despite  some  advantages  obtained  by 
the  army  of  that  country,  it  was  soon  over- 
whelmed, and  almost  consumed.  It  was  in 
this  campaign  that  the  subsequently  illus- 
trious patriot,  Thaddeus  Kosciusko,  first 
rendered  service  to  his  country,  though  he 
had  previously  won  some  distinction  by 
fighting  with  La  Fayette  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  the  emancipation  of  America  from 
the  misgovernment  of  George  III. 

Catherine  also  fought  with  other  weapons 
than  the  sword.  Notwithstanding  the 
coldness  that  existed  between  her  and  the 
king  of  Prussia,  she  opened  a  negotiation 
with  him,  and  proposed  the  definite  par- 
tition of  Poland.  In  fact,  she  had  con- 
trived to  reduce  Frederic  William  to  the 
alternative  either  of  defending  Poland 
against  Russia,  by  virtue  of  his  alliance 
with  that  state,  or  of  making  a  second  par- 
tition of  it  in  conjunction  with  her.  Frederic 
William  chose  the  latter,  and  sent  a  body  ' 
of  Prussian  troops  into  that  country,  1,100 
German  square  miles  of  which  they  imme-  i 
diately  occupied.  He  had  bound  himself 
to  assist  the  Poles,  but  he  utterly  deserted 
them  in  their  extremity.  | 

The   gold   of    Russia   also  did  its  work 
among   the   corrupt   Polish   nobility;    and 


Stanislaus  Augustus,  still  the  slave  of  Cathe- 
rine,  was  induced  by  her  to  make  a  public 
declaration,  that  it  was  necessary  to  yield 
to  the  superiority  of  the  Russian  arms.  In 
1793,  the  confederation  of  the  partisans  of 
Russia  assembled  at  Grodno,  where  the 
Russian  general  seated  himself  under  the 
canopy  of  the  throne  he  was  about  to 
overthrow.  Sievers,  the  Russian  minister, 
also  published  a  manifesto,  in  which  he  de- 
clared that  his  sovereign  intended  to  in- 
corporate with  her  domains  all  the  territory 
of  Poland  which  her  arms  had  conquered*. 
The  Russian  troops,  by  their  ravages  and 
depredations,  struck  terror  into  the  Poles, 
and  the  defenders  of  the  nation  were  com- 
pelled to  disperse.  The  result  was  a  second 
partition  of  Poland  in  1793,  by  which  Prus- 
sia took  22,500,  Russia  83,000,  and  Poland 
retained  85,000  square  miles. 

For  a  short  time   this  unhappy  country 
was  breathless  and  silent ;  but,  maddened  by 
so  many  calamities,  the  Poles  resolved  on  a 
great  effort  to  free  themselves  from  Russian 
oppression.     An   extensive   conspiracy  was 
organised,  and   the    revolution    broke    out 
in  the   spring  of    1794,   on   the   arrival   of 
Kosciusko  from  Italy,  where  he  had  retired. 
Such  was  the  confidence  placed  in  him,  that 
all  ranks  of  the  people  hurried  to  join  him, 
and    ladies    sold    their  jewels    to   furnish 
him    with    the    means    of    sustaining    the 
struggle.     Oaths   of  obedience  were  taken 
to  him,  and  he  was  invested  with  the  full 
and  absolute  powers  of  a  dictator.     In  con- 
junction with  the  national  council,  he  issued 
proclamations  enfranchising  all  the  peasants, 
who  had  hitherto  been  serfs  quite  as  much 
as   their  own  class  in  Russia,  aud   calling 
upon  them  to  arm  themselves  as  best  they 
could,  and  to  be  ready  to  attack  the  enemies 
of  their  country,   and  of  all  national  aud 
personal  liberty.     The  measure  would  have 
been  a  wise  one,   had  it  been  adopted   a 
century  before.     This  had  been  prevented 
by  the  selfishness  of  the  nobles ;  and  now 
Poland   was   doomed    because  she  had    no 
PEOPLE — superstitious    serfs   denationalised 
by    generations    of     bondage,    and    even 
ignorant  of  liberty;    but  no  people   in  the 
sense  in  which  that  word  is  understood  in 
free  states.     It  was  impossible  at  once  to 
elevate  the  serfs  of  Poland  to  the  dignity 
of  citizens,  or  convert  them  into  enthusiastic 
patriots.       Many   scarcely    understood   the 
advantages    offered    them;     others    truly 
thought  that  the  benefit  had  been  withheld 
until  the  hour  when  the  noble  and  wealthy 

327 


REVOLT  OF  THE  POLES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1794. 


A.D.  1794—1795.] 


classes  found  they  could  not  do  without 
them;  and  they  doubted  that  the  promises 
given  in  a  season  of  danger,  would  be  kept 
when  the  peril  was  past.  For  these  reasons, 
the  proclamation  of  enfranchisement  pro- 
duced but  a  very  partial  effect.  Many  of  the 
serfs  did  indeed  fight  bravely  in  the  conflict 
which  succeeded,  but  these  were  mostly 
followers  of  the  few  patriot  nobles.  Many 
of  the  nobles,  even  in  this  hour  of  darkness, 
when  the  smitten  nationality  of  Poland  was 
staggering  towards  that  steep  precipice  over 
which  it  was  so  soon  to  be  hurled,  were 
alarmed  and  irritated  at  the  proclamation ;  for 
they  had  ever  bitterly  opposed  even  a  gradual 
emancipation,  and  still  looked  upon  their 
serfs  in  the  same  light  in  which  the  owners 
of  plantations  regard  their  negro  slaves. 
With  a  haughty,  grasping,  and  worthless 
nobility,  a  bitterly  intolerant  priesthood,  a 
brutalised  sea  of  serf-life  in  lieu  of  a  people, 
and  scarcely  any  middle  class,  Poland  had 
not  in  it  the  elements  of  national  life.  It 
was  in  a  state  to  invite  aggression  and 
spoliation,  and  it  fell  in  accordance  with 
inevitable  natural  laws ;  laws  which  must 
eventually  produce  the  annihilation  even  of 
British  njitionalitv,  if  the  same  fatal  causes 
were  at  work  in  this  empire. 

At  first  success  smiled  upon  Kosciusko, 
and  he  obtained  a  victory  at  Raslowice  with 
4,000  Poles  (two-thirds  of  whom  were  armed 
only  with  scythes),  over  an  equal  number  of 
efficiently-armed  and  disciplined  Russian 
troops.  The  battle  lasted  for  five  hours ; 
3,000  of  the  Russian  troops  were  killed, 
and  eleven  of  their  cannon  taken.  The 
revolt  of  Warsaw  followed;  and  the  troops 
of  Russia  and  Prussia,  after  two  days  and 
nights  of  murderous  street-fighting,  were  ex- 
pelled from  that  city.  The  struggle  lasted 
for  several  months,  and  the  whole  country 
was  one  vast  arena  of  butchery  and  blood- 
shed. The  troops  of  Russia  and  Prussia 
were  assisted  by  those  of  Austria,  the  em- 
peror of  which  power  had  at  first  held 
aloof;  yet,  notwithstanding  the  terrible 
inequality  of  the  contest,  they  appeared 
unable  to  crush  the  patriots,  who  fought  with 
the  fury  of  enthusiasm  for  their  national 
independence.  In  September,  the  savage 
dwarf,  Suwarrow,  arrived  with  another  Rus- 
sian army,  resolved  on  terminating  the 
struggle  by  striking  some  appalling  blow. 

Kosciusko,  on   receiving   intelligence  of 
the  approach  of  Suwarrow,  resolved,  if  pos- 
sible, to  prevent  his  junction  with  the  other  | 
Russian  forces  under  General  Fersen.     With 
328 


this  object  the  patriot  marched  ag^ainst  the 
latter,  and  gave  him  battle,  on  the  10th  of 
October,  at  Maciejovice.  Kosciusko  had 
about  21,000  men,  undisciplined  and  half- 
armed.  The  Russians  had  about  thrice  that 
number  of  regular  and  practised  troops,  and 
a  large  park  of  artillery.  The  Poles,  never- 
theless, fought  with  great  bravery,  and  the 
struggle  was  maintained  for  more  than  five 
hours;  then  their  ammunition  was  exhausted, 
and  the  battle  became  a  massacre.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  the  Polish  army  was  cut  to 
pieces,  or  compelled  to  surrender.  Kosciusko 
himself,  after  receiving  three  sabre  wounds, 
and  a  thrust  from  a  spear,  dropped  exhausted 
from  his  horse,  exclaiming,  **Finis  Poionice  !'* 
For  some  time  he  lay  in  a  state  of  insensibility 
amongst  the  dead.  On  his  being  recognised, 
some  Cossacks,  who  had  approached  with 
the  intention  of  plundering  and  stripping 
him,  testified  a  rude  respect  and  a  generous 
feeling  towards  the  fallen  hero.  Making  a 
rude  brancard  with  their  lances,  they  placed 
him  upon  it,  and  carried  him  to  General 
Fersen,  who  ordered  his  wounds  to  be  at- 
tended to,  and  treated  him  and  his  comrades 
in  misfortune  with  kindness.  The  empress 
Catherine  acted  less  generously.  As  soon 
as  Kosciusko  was  able  to  walk,  he  was 
removed  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  there  con- 
demned, as  a  Lithuanian,  and,  consequently, 
presumed  subject  of  Russia,  to  imprison- 
ment for  life — a  harsh  sentence,  which  was 
revoked  on  the  death  of  the  empress. 

All  who  escaped  from  the  battle-field, 
shut  themselves,  together  with  the  remnant 
of  the  patriot  forces,  up  in  Praga,  the  eastern 
suburb  of  Warsaw — separated  from  that  city 
by  the  Vistula,  as  the  boroujjh  of  South  wark 
is  separated  from  the  city  of  London  by  the 
Thames.  Their  numbers  have  been  variously 
estimated  from  15,000  to  26,000  men,  and 
they  had  104  pieces  of  heavy  cannon,  with 
which  to  defend  the  bridges  of  the  Vistula 
and  the  approaches  to  the  capital.  The  latter 
were  not  calculated  to  sustain  a  vigrorous 
assault ;  and  Suwarrow,  on  his  arrival,  sur- 
veyed them  with  a  grim  smile  of  anticipated 
triumph.  His  force  consisted  of  22,000 
men  and  eighty-six  field-pieces;  but,  as 
might  have  been  anticipated  from  a  general 
of  so  much  decision,  who  held  human  life  so 
cheaply,  he  resolved  to  assault  at  once,  and 
carry  the  Polish  lines  at  the  point  of  tlic 
bayonet.  "Let  my  children  know,"  said 
Suwarrow  to  his  officers  (for  "  children"  was 
the  affectionate  term  which  this  strange  man 
applied  to  his  semi-savage  troops),  *'  that  1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [extinction  of  poland. 


intend  repeating  Ismail  here,  and  that  with- 
out delay."  The  words  were  echoed  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  with  ferocious  glee,  by  the 
Russian  soldiers,  who  understood  the  implied 
permission  that,  Praga  once  taken,  they 
might  give  themselves  up  to  a  hideous  revel 
of  murder,  lust,  and  plunder. 

After  cannonading  the  defences  of  Praga 
for  two  days,  Suwarrow  gave  directions  for 
the  assault  to  take  place  at  daybreak  on  the 
3rd  of  November.     As  at  Ismail,  the  signal 
was  to   be  three  cock-crows,  given  by  the 
general  himself,  on  which  the  attack  was  to 
commence,   and   no   prisoners  were  to  be 
made  until  all  resistance  had  ceased.     Not- 
withstanding the  badly-armed  state  of  the 
Polish  troops,  and  their  deficiency  of  ammu- 
nition, their  trenches  were  not  carried  until 
after  a  desperate  struggle  of  five  hours'  dura- 
tion.    Then  the  Russian   infantry  pressed 
forward,  delivering  close  volleys  of  musketry, 
and  sending  an  incessant  storm  of  grape- 
shot  from  their  cannon  into   the  crowded 
suburb.     Thus  a  road,  running  with  blood, 
and  strewed  with  mangled  bodies,  was  made 
into  its  centre,  towards  which  the  attacking 
columns   all   converged.     Suwarrow,   impa- 
tient at  the  opposition,  heightened  the  horror 
of  the  scene  by  ordering  the  wooden  houses, 
of  which  Praga  was  for  the  most  part  built, 
to  be  set  on  fire.     The  result  of  these  varied 
means  of  destruction  was  terrible  indeed. 
It  is  estimated  that  10,000  Polish  soldiers, 
and  no  less  than  12,000  citizens,  of  every 
age  and  sex,  were  shot,  bayoneted,  sabred, 
burnt  or  suffocated  in  the  flames,  or  driven 
into,  and  drowned  in,  the  Vistula.     Happily, 
the  end  of  the  bridge  over  that  river,  which 
abutted    upon    Warsaw,    broke   down,   and 
saved  the  city  from  the  fate  of  Praga.     But 
its  unconditional  surrender  was  inevitable, 
and  followed  in  a  few  days.     Suwarrow,  on 
receiving  the  keys  of  the  city  from  the  prin- 
cipal magistrate,  pressed  them  to  his  lips, 
and,  with  a  glance  towards  that  heaven  whose 
edicts  of  mercy  he  had  recently  so  terribly 
outraged,  exclaimed,  "  I  render  thee  thanks. 
Almighty  God,  that  thou  hast  not  exacted 
the  same  price  for  these  keys  as  for  the 
possession  of  Praga."     The  empress  Cathe- 
rine was  so  gratified  with  the  successes  of 
Suwarrow,  that  she  made  him  a  field-mar- 
shal, and  gave  him  a  staff  of  command,  made 
of  gold,  with  a  wreath  of  jewels  in  the  form 
of  oak-leaves,  the  diamonds  alone  of  which 
were  valued  at  60,000  roubles.     To  this  she 
added  the  present  of  a  large  and  valuable 
estate. 

VOL.  I.  2  u 


The  following  year  (1795)  witnessed  the 
division  of  the  remainder  of  Poland,  between 
Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria;  the  last  parti- 
tion  treaty  being  finally  settled  in  October. 
By  It  Austria  had  Cracow,  with  the  country 
between  the  Pilitza,  the  Vistula,   and  the 
Bug.     Prussia  had  Warsaw,  and  the  territory 
to  the  banks  of  the  Niemen.     All  the  rest 
—the  lion's  share— fell  to  Russia.     Thus  was 
Poland   erased  from   the   map   of  Europe, 
while    England   and    France   were   passive 
spectators  of  a  spoliation  which,  unjust  as 
it  was,  affords  room  for  many  arguments  of 
extenuation.     The  fate  of  the  dismembered 
provinces  differed  according  to  the  govern- 
ments under  which  they  fell.     The  Austrian 
yoke  was  the  harshest ;  'that  of  Prussia  some- 
what less  so;  but  the  advantages  which  the 
Polish  subjects  of  this  state  enjoyed,  were 
counterbalanced  by  a  decided  tendency  to 
establish  Germanism  on  the  ruin  of  every- 
thing that  was  national.     Russia's  share  of 
Poland  was  the  best  treated  of  the  three :  in 
It  the  national  language  was  preserved  in 
all   official   transactions,    and   an  excellent 
system  of  public  education  introduced  into 
the    university   of  Vilna.     Stanislaus   Au- 
gustus, who  had  never  been  a  king  but  in 
name,   retired  to  the   town  of  Grodno  in 
Lithuania :  he  signed  a  formal  abdication  of 
a  throne  which   really  no  longer   existed. 
The   three    partitioning    powers    bestowed 
upon  him  a  pension  of  200,000  ducats,  and 
also  undertook  to  pay  his  debts.     He  after- 
wards removed  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  he 
died  in  the  month  of  February,  1798,  about 
fifteen  months  after  the  death  of  the  em- 
press, of  whom  he  had  been  the  lover,  the 
dupe,  and  the  tool. 

Catherine's  treasury  was  too  much  ex- 
hausted by  her  war  with  the  Ottomans  to 
enable  her  to  join  in  that  for  the  suppression 
of  the  French  revolution.  She,  however, 
induced  her  late  enemy,  Gustavus  III.  of 
Sweden,  to  do  so,  and  subsidised  him  for 
that  purpose.  But  the  assassination  of  that 
monarch,  on  the  16th  of  March,  1792,  ar- 
rested his  project.  French  emigrants  of 
distinction  were  now  continually  arriving 
at  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg,  where  they 
applied  for  military  aid,  which,  though  the 
empress  did  not  refuse,  she  considered  it 
imprudent  to  grant.  Indeed,  though  she 
gave  a  welcome  reception  to  all  the  French 
who  protested  their  attachment  to  their  old 
form  of  government,  she  severely  proscribed 
the  rest,  from  an  apprehension  that  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  the  r^olution  was  effected 

329 


m 


AlfNEXATlON  OF  COURLAND.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1790. 


I  I 

Hi 


might  find  their  way  into  Russia,  and  there 
occasion  some  combustion  subversive  of  the 
throne.  She  even  compelled  all  the  French 
in  her  dominions  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  Bourbon  claimant  of  the  cro\yn  of 
France,  and  to  swear  an  eternal  hatred  to  the 
republic.  Those  who  refused  to  do  so  were 
expelled  from  the  empire.  But  Catherine 
was  far  from  being  the  only  sovereign  whom 
terror  and  astonishment  at  the  execution 
of  the  unhappy  Louis  XVI.,  in  1793,  drove  to 
acts  of  intolerance  and  ungenerous  severitv. 

Turning  again  towards  England  as  she 
receded  from  France,  Catherine,  in  the 
March  of  1793,  concluded  a  new  treaty  of 
commerce  with  this  country ;  that  which 
had  expired  in  1786  not  having  been  re- 
newed. At  the  same  time  she  published  a 
foolish  edict,  prohibiting  the  introduction  of 
French  merchandise  into  her  dominions. 
Giving  rein  to  her  increasing  animosity  of 
revolutionary  principles,  she  even  promised 
to  send  a  Russian  squadron  to  co-operate 
with  the  English  fleet,  and  she  gave  com- 
mands for  the  acceleration  of  the  armament 
at  Cronstadt.  The  progress  of  the  repub- 
lican armies  of  France,  and  the  meteor-like 
successes  of  Napoleon,  gave  Catherine  con- 
siderable anxiety,  and  Suwarrow  constantly 
entreated  her  to  send  him  against  "the 
French  atheists,"  as  the  merciless  little 
monster  called  them.  "  That  yoimgster 
goes  too  fast,"  he  frequently  observed,  "  and 
should  be  stopped  at  once.  That  would  not 
be  difficult  for  me  and  my  children,  if  our 
lady-mother  would  give  us  leave." 

On  the  death  of  Gustavus,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  eccentric  and  weak-minded 
son,  then  but  in  his  fourteenth  year.  The 
youth  of  this  arrogant  boy,  whose  capricious 
humour  eventually  cost  him  his  crown,  ren- 
dered a  regency  necessary,  and  the  affairs 
of  government  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
his  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Sudermania.  The 
latter  arranged  a  marriage  between  the 
young  king  of  Sweden  and  a  princess  of  the 
house  of  Mecklenburg,  apparently  with  the 
motive  of  avoiding  an  alliance  with  the  im- 
perial family  of  Russia.  At  this,  Catherine 
expressed  displeasure,  and  stated,  that  the 
^ate  monarch  had  promised  her  the  hand  of 
his  son  for  one  of  her  grandchildren,  the 
grand-duchesses.  Some  negotiations  and 
intrigues  were  terminated  by  the  acceptance 

•  Courland,  situated  between  the  56th  and  58th 

degree  of  north  latitude,  is  divided  into  three  parts — 

Courland  Proper,  Semi^allia,  and  the  circle  of  Pil- 

len.   It  is  bounded  by  Livonia,  Lithuania,  Samogitia, 

330 


of  an  invitation  by  the  young  king  and  the 
regent  to  St.  Petersburg.  They  arrived  in 
the  August  of  1796.  Catherine  received 
them  with  great  magnificence ;  and  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  captivated  by  the  charms  of  the 
Grand-duchess  Alexandra,  consented  to 
abandon  his  engagement  with  the  Princess 
of  Mecklenburg.  Proposals  were  made  and 
accepted,  and  the  day  was  fixed  for  the 
ceremony  of  the  espousals.  But,  on  the 
contract  being  presented  to  the  king  for  his 
signature,  he  refused  to  put  his  name  to  it, 
unless  the  princess  previously  changed  her 
religion — a  circumstance  which,  he  said,  the 
fundamental  laws  of  Sweden  obliged  him  to 
require.  Neither  solicitation  nor  flattery 
could  induce  him  to  forego  a  demand  which, 
urged  at  such  a  moment,  had  the  appearance 
of  a  studied  insult.  The  empress  then  rose 
with  dignity,  and  retired  from  the  apart- 
ment, followed  by  Paul,  the  grand-duchess, 
and  their  children.  So  great  was  the  im- 
pression made  upon  her  by  this  indignity, 
that,  on  reaching  her  own  apartment,  it  is 
said,  she  had  a  slight  fit,  the  precursor  of  that 
which,  so  short  a  time  afterwards,  termi- 
nated fatally.  The  following  day,  Gustavus 
Adolphus  and  his  retinue  quitted  St.  Peters- 
burg. 

Even  to  the  close  of  her  life,  Catherine 
continued  to  enlarge  her  dominions.  In 
this  year  (1796)  she  contrived,  by  political 
intrigues,  to  annex  the  duchy  of  Courland 
to  the  Russian  empire.*  Courland,  like 
Poland,  may  be  said  to  have  had  no  people : 
they  were  no  better  than  serfs ;  and  the 
land  was  all  in  the  possession  of  a  selfish, 
petty,  and  domineering  nobility.  Their 
sovereign  was  Duke  Peter  Biren,  son  of 
the  infamous  man  who,  as  the  favourite  of 
the  weak  empress  Anna,  so  long  tyrannised 
over  Russia.  Peter  Biren  was  avaricious, 
litigious,  and  much  disliked  ;  and  his  people, 
availing  themselves  of  his  absence,  made  a 
formal  surrender  of  their  allegiance  to  the 
empress  of  Russia.  This  was  accepted; 
and  certainly  the  Courlanders  lost  nothing 
except  a  worthless  prince.  The  acquisition 
of  Courland  was  of  great  importance  to 
Russia.  It  produces  both  corn  and  timber 
in  abundance,  and  has  several  ports  advan- 
tageously situated  on  the  Baltic.  That  of 
Vindau,  which  is  never  obstructed  by 
ice,    might,   by   a   little    improvement,    be 

and  the  Baltic.  The  Dwina  parts  it  from  Livonia  on 
the  north,  and  waters  its  frontiers  for  a  space  of  more 
than  sixty  leagues.  A  glance  at  a  map  of  Russia  will 
show  its  immense  importance  to  that  empire. 


A.D. 


1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  THIf  EMPRESS. 


rendered  capable  of  containing  a  hundred 
ships  of  the  line. 

Age  did  not  deprive  the  empress  of  her 
almost  ceaseless  activity.  She  now  resolved 
to  turn  her  arms  against  Persia,  and, 
under  pretence  of  defending  Lolf-Ali-Khan, 
gain  possession  of  those  provinces  of  Persia 
which  border  on  the  Caspian.  She  endea- 
voured to  draw  in  the  Turkish  government 
to  second  her  design ;  but  the  divan  wisely 
remained  immovable.  A  Russian  army, 
under  the  command  of  Valerian  Zuboff  (a 
brother  of  the  favourite),  advanced  into 
Daghestan,  and  captured  Derbent,  but  after- 
wards experienced  a  check  at  the  hands  of 
the  Persians.  Catherine  sent  reinforce- 
ments to  Zubofi^,  and  felt  her  usual  confi- 
dence that  success  would  soon  attend  him. 
Catherine,  indeed,  looked  forward  to  a  still 
greater  triumph  than  any  success  over  a 
crumbling  state  like  Persia  could  afi*ord. 
She  had  just  concluded  a  treaty  with  Eng- 
land and  with  Austria,  which  was  to  secure 
to  her  the  assistance  of  those  two  powers 
against  Turkey;  while  she  undertook  to 
furnish  them  with  an  army  of  65,000  men 
to  act  against  the  French  republic.  Thus 
she  trusted  that  the  last  great  act  of  her 
life  would  be  the  most  gigantic  and  bril- 
liant ;  no  less,  indeed,  than  the  accomplish- 
ment of  her  cherished  scheme  of  driving 
the  Ottomans  out  of  Europe,  and  placing 
one  of  the  imperial  family  on  the  throne  of 
Constantinople.  But  to  have  realised  all 
her  ambitious  projects,  this  extraordinary 
woman  must  have  been  immortal ;  for  she 
had  also  addressed  herself  to  humble  the 
power  and  haughty  conduct  of  the  French 
republic*  Death,  however,  is  a  revolutionist 
that  has  no  respect  even  for  the  most  power- 
ful and  illustrious  of  monarchs. 

The  empress  had  been  unwell  for  several 
days ;  but,  on  the  evening  of  the  15th  of 
November,  she  was  in  unusual  spirits,  amused 

*  It  was  the  policy  of  the  empress,  who  detested 
the  French  republic  without  loving  the  Austrians, 
to  let  both  parties  exhaust  themselves ;  determined, 
however,  whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  their  arms, 
to  prevent  either  from  acquiring  an  uncontrolled 
sway  in  Germany.  Orders  were  issued  for  a  levy  of 
150,000  troops,  destined  to  act,  in  some  shape  or 
other,  for  the  relief  of  the  emperor  of  Germany.  It 
has  been  questioned,  whether  it  would  not  have  been 
wiser  policy  in  Catherine  to  have  moved  for  the  as- 
sistance of  the  confederates  sooner  ?  She,  perhaps, 
entertained  a  persuasion,  that  the  allies  would  stand 
firm  together,  and  make  a  more  successful  opposi- 
tion to  the  republic.  She  was,  no  doubt,  well 
enough  pleased  to  see  almost  all  the  other  powers  of 
Europe  weaken  themselves  by  war ;  whilst,  at  the 


herself  with  her  buffoon,  and  rallied  him 
upon  the  dread  he  was  known  to  entertain 
of  death.  However,  she  retired  to  her 
chamber  rather  earlier  than  usual,  saying, 
that  too  much  laughing  had  given  her 
slight  symptoms  of  colic.  The  following 
morning  she  rose  in  good  spirits,  and  took 
her  usual  breakfast.  Afterwards  she  went 
to  her  closet,  where  she  staid  an  unusual 
time.  The  women  who  waited  upon  her  at 
length  became  alarmed,  and,  opening  the 
door,  they  found  their  mistress  in  a  state  of 
insensibility.  Medical  aid  was  immediately 
sent  for,  but  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
elapsed  before  the  arrival  of  her  chief  physi- 
cian, Dr.  Robertson.  That  gentleman,  con- 
sidering her  to  be  suffering  from  the  effect 
of  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  caused  her  to  be  twice 
bled.  The  operation  restored  her  to  partial 
consciousness,  but  she  never  spoke  again. 
In  this  state  of  torpor  she  remained  until 
the  following  evening,  when,  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock,  she  expired  so  gently,  that 
the  physicians  were  not  aware  of  the  mo- 
ment of  her  death.  Paul,  who  was  absent 
from  St.  Petersburg,  did  not  arrive  until 
the  evening  when  she  died;  the  empress 
still  breathed,  but  she  did  not  appear  con- 
scious of  his  presence.  It  has  been  sur- 
mised— but,  we  think,  without  sufficient 
authority — that,  had  she  been  conscious  in 
her  last  moments,  she  would  have  disin- 
herited Paul,  and  bequeathed  the  throne  to 
one  of  her  grandchildren.  The  empress 
died  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  her  age, 
and  the  thirty-fourth  of  her  reign. 

Catherine  had  been  handsome  in  her 
youth,  but  she  got  corpulent  as  she  ad- 
vanced in  years,  though  she  preserved  an 
air  of  gracefulness,  mingled  with  dignity,  to 
the  latest  period  of  her  life.  In  person  she 
was  not  above  the  middle  size ;  but  as  she 
was  well-proportioned,  and  carried  her  head 
high,  she  had  the  appearance  of  being  tall. 

same  time,  it  must  have  been  her  intention,  as  has 
since  appeared,  to  interfere  more  and  more  in  the 
general  conflict,  in  proportion  as  the  party  she  de- 
tested gained  ground  on  a  sovereign  prince;  who, 
though  a  neighbour  and  an  ancient  enemy,  yet  pos- 
sessed an  hereditary  throne,  and  had  ceased  to  be  a 
formidable  rival.  It  is  to  be  considered  farther, 
that  had  she  moved  sooner,  the  Turks,  on  the  other 
side,  instigated  by  French  intrigues,  might  have 
moved  also.  The  empress  waited,  too,  until  she 
should  secure  peace,  on  the  most  formidable  frontier, 
by  a  marriage  between  her  grand-daughter  and  the 
young  king  of  Sweden ;  an  object  which  she  had  much 
at  heart,  though  it  was  found  impossible  to  accom- 
plish it  without  a  concession  to  that  headstrong  boy, 
inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  Russian  empire. 

331 


J/ 


ir 


4 


CHAJIACTER  OP  CATHERINE.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


A.D.  1796.] 


I 


She  had  a  bold,  expansive  forehead,  an 
aquiline  nose,  an  agreeably-shaped  mouth, 
and  a  chin  which,  though  too  long  for 
beauty,  was  not  displeasing.  She  had  a 
profusion  of  auburn  hair,  in  which  she  took 
great  delight ;  and  her  eye-brows  were  dark 
and  thick.  Her  eyes  were  generally  said  to 
be  blue,  though  some  observers  have  affirmed 
them  to  be  brown,  and  others  gray.  They 
sometimes  expressed  a  feeling  of  gentle- 
ness, though  that  was  frequently  displaced 
by  one  of  pride  and  haughtiness.  Though 
her  face  was  by  no  means  deficient  in  ex- 
pression, yet  she  had  such  a  command  over 
her  features,  that  no  one  could  discover, 
from  gazing  upon  them,  what  was  passing 
in  her  mind. 

The  empress,  on  all  public  occasions, 
dressed  with  great  magnificence,  and  wore  a 
profusion  of  jewellery,  especially  diamonds,  of 
which  gems  she  was  particularly  fond,  and 
possessed  a  prodigious  number.  In  general, 
she  usually  dressed  after  the  ancient  Russian 
fashion,  for  the  most  part  wearing  green, 
out  of  compliment  to  the  nation.  Her  hair, 
slightly  powdered,  flowed  down  upon  her 
shoulders,  and  was  topped  with  a  small  cap, 
covered  with  diamonds.  She  wore  rouge, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  ladies  of  the  French 
court ;  and  in  the  latter  part  of  her  life  she 
put  on  a  great  deal,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
ravages  of  time  from  being  visible  on  her 
face.  She  was  always  strictly  temperate 
with  respect  to  the  pleasures  of  the  table, 
and  that  at  a  court  where  a  little  deviation 
would  not  have  given  occasion  to  much 
scandal.  A  slight  breakfast,  a  moderate 
i'mner,  and  two  or  three  glasses  of  wine, 
constituted  her  usual  diet.  Supper  she 
never  indulged  in. 

The  personal  vices  of  Catherine  have  not 
been  able  to  obscure  her  glory  as  a  ruler,  or 
do  more  than  faintly  sully  her  greatness. 
A  modern  historian,  who  certainly  will  not 
be  suspected  of  any  undue  lenity  towards 
crime  or  immorality,  has  observed  of  her, 
that  "  few  sovereigns  will  occupy  a  more 
conspicuous  place  in  the  page  of  history,  or 
have  left  in  their  conduct  on  the  throne  a 
more  exalted  reputation."*  After  the  death 
of  Frederic  the  Great,  Catherine  remained 
the  most  illustrious  among  the  crowned 
heads  of  Europe,  and  even  towered  amongst 
them  as  an  empress  among  petty  princes. 
She  had  the  ambition  to  aim  at  any  object, 
however  lofty;  the  courage  to  attempt  its 
accomplishment,  however  difficult  or  dan- 
•  Alison. — History  of  Europe. 
332 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [character  of  catoerixe. 


gerous ;    and  the   perseverance  and  genius 
usually  to  succeed  in  it.     She  devoted  her- 
self to  the  civilisation  of  her  subjects,   by 
means  more  gentle  and  gradual  than  those 
employed  by  Peter  the  Great,  and,  conse- 
quently, more  effectual.     It  has  been  said 
that   she   effiected    much    real,    and    more 
seeming  good;  and,  doubtless,  many  of  her 
actions  had  a  meretricious  glare  about  them, 
which,  when  it  had  attracted  popularity,  or 
created  a  sensation,  proved  of  no  further 
value.     Catherine  loved  to  dazzle  her  people 
with  the  gorgeous  display  of  that  vast  power 
which  she  knew  so  well  how  to  grasp  and 
direct.     But  she  was  not  content  to  stay  at 
this  point;    and  her  mind  was  frequently 
directed  to  raising  her  subjects  in  the  social 
scale,  and    to  conferring  upon   them    sub- 
stantial benefits.     She  did  much  for  educa- 
tion, much  towards  a  better  administration 
of  the  law,  and  much  for  the  advancement 
of  art  and  science.     She  even  attempted  to 
emancipate  the  serfs  of  the  empire;    and 
though  prevented,  by  the  interests  or  pre- 
judices of  her  nobles,  from  accomplishing 
this  great  measure,  she  succeeded  in  ame- 
liorating  their   condition.      She    has    been 
rightly  called  the  great  regenerator  of  Rus- 
sia after  Peter  the  Great,  and  she  had  the 
good  fortune  to  labour  under  more  favour- 
able circumstances. 

Attached  to  literature,  Catherine  was 
herself  an  authoress.  It  has  been  urged, 
that  her  works  could  scarcely  be  of  much 
value,  or  they  would  be  more  generally 
sought  for  than  is  now  the  case.  The 
argument  is  a  fallacious  one ;  for  distinction 
is  not  always  the  reward  of  merit ;  and  in 
the  great  arena  of  letters  and  of  genius, 
both  prince  and  peasant  stand  almost  upon 
level  ground.  We  have  had  many  royal 
authors  in  England;  but  their  works  are 
seldom  read  now,  except  L'^  curious  scholars 
and  antiquarians.  Every  person  in  this 
country,  of  any  pretension  to  education,  is 
more  or  less  familiar  with  the  writings  of 
Shakspere;  but  the  pedantic  bombast  of 
James  I.  appeals  to  posterity  in  vain.  The 
works  of  Catherine,  moreover,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  famous  Instructions^  were  of 
an  unambitious  kind.  They  chiefly  consisted 
of  dramatic  pieces,  written  in  the  Russian 
language ;  and  tales,  penned  with  the  object 
of  instilling  moral  principles  into  her  grand- 
children. Her  published  letters  to  Voltaire 
are  considered  to  exhibit  more  grace  and 
playfulness  of  style  than  those  which  that 
distinguished  pliilosopher  addressed  to  her. 


We  do  not  infer  that  her  ability  in  this 
direction  was  great,  but  we  conclude  that  it 
was  more  than  respectable.     Had  she  been 
less  illustrious  as   an  empress,   she   might 
have  been  more  regarded  as  an  authoress. 
As  it  was,  the  gorgeous  and  glowing  bril- 
liance of  her  jewelled  sceptre  eclipsed  the 
feeble  radiance  of  her  pen.     Her  detractors 
have   affirmed,   that    she   merely   coquetted 
with  literature,  and   that  it  made  no  ad- 
vances during  her  reign.     That  she  gathered 
a  reflected  glory  from  the  association  of  her 
name  with  those  of  the  gifted  amongst  men, 
and  that  to  do  so  constituted  one  of  the 
motives  which  induced  her  to  shower  gifts 
and  smiles  upon  them,  is  no  dishonour  to 
her.     We  are  scarcely  justified  in  expecting 
a  higher  or  more  critical  motive  than  this 
from  any  monarch  whose  time  was  largely 
occupied  with  the  highly  responsible  duties 
inseparable  from  the  active  administration 
of  the  aff'airs  of  an  extensive  empire.     The 
remainder  of  the  sneer  is  a  falsehood,  de- 
signed to  utter  that  bitterness  which  some 
writers  lose  no  opportunity  of  expressing 
towards  Catherine   personally,  and   towards 
the  Russian    policy  and   people   generally. 
Russian  literature  scarcely  existed  prior  to 
her  time,  during  which  it  made  as  much 
progress  as  could  reasonably  be  anticipated 
in  a  nation   not  of  a  studious  or  literary 
tone  of  mind,  and  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
which,  military  accomplishments  were  those 
mostly,  if  not  almost  entirely,  regarded. 


•  "  Both  Anna  and  Elizabeth  prosecuted  expensive 
-wars,  and  executed  many  costly  public  works,  with- 
out bequeathing  to   their   successors   any   national 
debt.     The  outlay  of  Catherine  on  wars,  colonies, 
charitable,  industrial  and   educational  foundations, 
besides  the  lavish  pomp  and  extravagant  splendour 
of  her  court,  could  not  have  been  sustained  without 
a  still  greater  levy  on  the  country      It  is  true  that 
she    remitted    many    duties    and   taxes ;    that   she 
abolished  some  of  the  ancient  farms,  and  even  a  few 
of  the  rich  monopolies  that  had  been  enjoyed  by  the 
crown  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  her  empire  obtained 
vast  accessions  of  wealth    during  her   reign.     The 
channels  through  which  they  were  procured  may  be 
thus  enumerated  :  annexations  by  conquest ;  the  ex- 
tension and  encouragement  of  commerce  ;  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  property  of  the  church,  the  bishops,  and 
the  monasteries,   by   which    the  crown  obtained  a 
great  number  of  boors,  large  tracts  of  forests  and 
productive  lands,  and    several  valuable  mines   and 
works,  that  had  previously  been  rendered  lucrative 
by  the  enterprise  of  the  clergy ;  by  the  introduction 
of  the  ohrok;  by  bestowing  greater  care  and  more 
vigilant  superintendence  upon  the  mines;  the  estab- 
lishment of  new  duties ;  the  diffusion  of  the  poll-tax 
over  provinces  that  had  hitherto  been  exempt  from 
Its  operation  ;  and  by  a  variety  of  reforms  in  the  col- 
iecUon  of  the  revenue.     In  this  respect,  Catherine 


Of  Catherine's  generosity  to  literary  men, 
we  have  recorded   several' instances.      She 
was   a   great   promoter   of   the   arts,    both 
useful  and  elegant ;  even  of  music,  which, 
personally,  she  almost  disliked,  being  some- 
times unable  to  bear  the  noise  of  a  large 
orchestra.     Great  numbers  of  valuable  pic- 
tures were  purchased  by  her,  including  the 
Houghton  collection  from  England— a  cir- 
cumstance   which,   while   it   added    to   her 
glory,  disgraced  this  nation  in  the  estima- 
tion    of  foreigners.      She    was,    indeed,    in 
every  respect    generous,  even    to   a   lavish 
prodigality— at  once  a  grace  and  a  fault; 
l)ut  of  which  all  that  is  reprehensible  may 
be  easily  forgiven  in  a  great  potentate ;  the 
more  so  in  her  case,  as  she  doubled,  if  she 
did   not   even  treble,   the  revenues  of   the 
empire.*    Nor,  while  speaking  of  her  virtues, 
must  we  forget  that  she  was  magnanimous, 
and  could  readily  forgive.     During  a  por- 
tion of  her  reign,  Russia  was  the  only  coun- 
try in  Europe  in  which  French  newspapers 
were    not    prohibited;    but    the   Moniteur 
having  taken  great  liberties  with  her  name, 
and   spoken  with   unflattering  plainness  of 
the  Grand-duke  Paul,  she  desired  it  should 
not  be  circulated  in  future  until  it  had  been 
submitted  to  her  inspection.     Shortly  after- 
wards, she  found  a  paragraph  in  it,  which  de- 
scribed her  as  the  Messalina  of  the  North ; 
yet,  instead  of  being  off'ended,  she  remarked, 
that  as  it  concerned  only  herself,  it  might 
be  distributed.     Certainly  this  magnanimity 


may  be  regarded  as  the  first  sovereign  of  Russia  who 
brought  to  the  fiscal  department  the  advantages  of 
decision,  system,  and  activity.     The  Gotha  calendar 
of  1790,  estimates  the  annual  revenue  at  £35,000,000; 
an  amount  that  has  been  adopted,  from  that  work,  in 
several  subsequent  statistical  publications.    Mr.  Coxe, 
whose  general  accuracy  entitles  his  opinions  to  be  re- 
ceived  with  respect,  calculates  the  net  income  at  nearly 
£42,000,000.     At  the  same  time,  he  expresses  some 
surprise  how  the  empress  could  have  maintained,  by 
resources  comparatively  so  limited,  the  munificence 
and  pageantries  of  her  court.     In  the  last  edition  of 
Levesques  history,  the  annual  revenue  is  estimated 
at   £47,114,084,  by  the  continuators  of  that  work. 
Tooke  exhibits   an   elaborate  view   of  the   various 
items  of  finance,  and  sums  up  the  whole  at  upwards 
of  £46,000,000;  expressing,  at  the  same  time,  his 
belief  that  it  amounted  to  still  more;  and  stating 
Chat,  by  another  calculation  which  he  had  made,  he 
brought   the   total    to   £48,000,000.      From   these 
contradictory  speculations,  it  will  be  evident  that  the 
means  of  furnishing  an  authentic  table  of  the  re- 
venues of  Russia  do  not  exist."— Lardner's   Cyclo- 
pcBdia.     We  have  no  recent  return  of  the  revenue  of 
Russia,  but  it  is  now  estimated  at  about  400,000,000 
silver  roubles ;  45,300,097  of  which  are  derived  from 
the  domains  of  the  crown.     The  debt  was,  in  1853 
788,573,112  silver  roubles. 

333 


'  CHARACTER  OF  CATHERINE.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


was  not  invariable  :  she  was  at  times  guilty 
of  acts  of  tyranny ;  and,  on  one  occasion, 
banished  an  accomplished  Russian  gentle- 
man to  Siberia,  because  he  had  written  a 
pamphlet  against  despotism.  This,  how- 
ever, was  a  matter  which  excited  but  little 
surprise  in  Russia,  and  was  not  considered 
a  stretch  of  imperial  power.  Catherine's 
motive  was,  doubtless,  entirely  passionless 
and  political,  for  she  was  above  most  of  the 
prejudices  of  her  time  and  nation.  She 
always  encouraged  liberal  institutions,  until 
the  wild  extravagances  and  revolting  mur- 
ders of  the  revolutionists  in  Paris,  created 
in  her  that  natural  alarm  which  was  felt, 
more  or  less,  by  all  the  princes  and  nobles 
of  Europe.  Of  Catherine's  comprehensive 
toleration  in  matters  of  religion  we  have 
already  spoken. 

The  vices  of  the  empress  Catherine  were 
many.  Though  far  from  being  cruel  (for  she 
was,  in  most  respects,  a  mild  and  forgiving 
sovereign),  yet  she  was  resolute  to  crush  her 
enemies,  or  those  who  might  become  so.  All 
who  had  the  misfortune  to  stand  between 
her  and  the  imperial  sceptre,  perished. 
The  shades  of  Peter  and  of  Ivan  will  ever 
rest  like  dark  and  accusing  visions  over  her 
tomb.  In  neither  case  can  the  act  of  mur- 
der be  traced  to  her  command;  but  she 
alone  profited  by  their  deaths.  It  has  been 
urged,  in  extenuation  (though,  in  this  in- 
stance, the  plea  is  not  a  very  potent  one), 
that  she  consented  to  the  assassination  of 
her  husband  on  the  principle  of  self-defence. 
However  it  may  be  viewed,  the  deed  was  a 
shocking,  and,  if  performed  at  her  command, 
an  infamous  one.  A  profound  dissimula- 
tion must  be  ranked  among  her  vices, 
though  she  used  it  rather  in  political  trans- 
actions than  in  social  intercourse ;  indeed, 
in  the  latter,  she  was  often  most  open,  un- 
restrained, and  genial.  Yet  she  was  a  per- 
fect mistress  of  artifice  when  she  desired  to 
employ  it. 

Catlierine's  licentiousness  was  gigantic 
and  unbounded ;  and  were  we  writing 
merely  as  moralists,  could  not  be  too 
strongly  condemned.  But  on  the  broader 
and  more  worldly  view  the  historian  is 
compelled  to  take,  it  must  be  remembered, 
that  her  vices  in  this  respect  were  personal, 
and  did  not  necessarily  affect  the  condition 
or  morals  of  her  subjects.  Whether  they 
actually   did    so   or    not,    has    been    both 

•  Annual  Register  for  1796. 

f  JEncyclopeedia  Britannica.     By  the  present  age 
the  writer  means  the  early  part  of  this  century,  when 
334 


affirmed  and  denied.  Some  writers  have 
accused  her  of  setting  an  example  of  de- 
bauchery which  was  almost  universally  fol- 
lowed. This  is  scarcely  true.  The  Russian 
court  was  extremely  dissolute  when  Cathe- 
rine  ascended  the  throne;  and  though  some 
ladies  of  rank  probably  imitated  the  em- 
press in  keeping  favourites  and  lovers,  yet, 
as  we  have  shown,  Catherine  was  offended 
by  any  display  of  immorality,  or  even  want 
of  decorous  reserve  in  matters  of  gallantry, 
and  appeared  desirous,  by  an  external 
austerity  of  manners,  to  make  up,  in  some 
degree,  for  the  depravity  of  her  private 
actions.  Many  scandalous  stories  are  cir- 
culated respecting  her  and  her  confidants, 
but  these  are  unquestionably  gross  exag- 
gerations in  some  cases,  and  impure  inven- 
tions in  others.  It  has  been  well  observed 
on  this  point,  that  "it  is  an  invidious  thing 
to  pry,  with  too  much  curiosity,  into  the 
frailties  of  such  a  character.  The  severest 
critic  has  not  been  able  to  charge  her  with 
anything  unnatural,  or,  in  her  predicament 
and  situation,  not  easily  to  be  forgiven."* 

We  will  conclude  this  estimate  of  an  ex- 
traordinary character  with  a  few  lines, 
which  are  not  only  happily  expressed,  but 
probably  possess  more  of  authority  than 
our  own  words.  "  No  personage  in  our 
own  times  has  attracted  a  greater  share 
of  censure  and  eulogium  than  Catherine; 
and  no  woman,  in  any  age,  ever  exhibited 
more  of  the  masculine  greatness  of  one  sex, 
and  the  feminine  weakness  of  another.  As 
a  woman,  she  appears,  at  times,  the  slave  of 
passions,  and  the  puppet  of  her  courtiers ; 
but  while  we  behold  her  diminishing,  in  this 
point  of  view,  into  insignificance,  we  look 
again,  and  contemplate  the  sovereign,  tower- 
ing like  an  immense  colossus ;  and  with 
one  foot  placed  on  Cherson,  and  another 
at  Karatschatka,  waving  her  iron  sceptre 
over  the  subject  nations,  and  regulating  the 
destiny  of  a  large  portion  of  mankind. 

"  The  frailties,  however,  of  the  woman 
will  soon  be  forgotten,  while  the  glory  that 
encircles  the  brows  of  the  legislatrix  and 
conqueror,  will  long  continue  to  dazzle  the 
eyes  of  an  admiring  world.  The  present 
age,  however,  shudders  at  the  untimely  fate 
of  Peter  and  Ivan  ;  and  posterity  will  not 
easily  pardon  the  degradation  of  Stanislaus, 
the  partition  of  Poland,  and  the  massacres 
of  Ismail  and  of  Praga.^f 

the  remembrance  of  the  events  to  which  he  alludes 
was  still  strong  in  the  public  mind  of  Europe.  More 
gigantic  incidents  have  since  rather  obscured  them. 


A.D.  1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [doubtful  birth  of  patjl. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

DOUBTFUL  PARENTAGE  OF  PAUL;  HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE;  HIS  ACCESSION  ;  HE  INSULTS  THE  MEMORY 
OF  CATHERINE,  AND  CAUSES  THE  COFFIN  OF  PETER  III.  TO  BE  EXHUMED  AND  CROWNED-  PAUL  AN 
NOUNCES  HIS  INTHNTION  OF  PURSUING  A  PACIFIC  POLICY;  HE  HELEASKS  KOSCIUSKO  AND  OTHER  POIIsn 
PATRIOTS  FROM  CONFINEMENT;  HE  RESTRAINS  THE  DANGEROUS  POWER  OF  THE  GUARDS  •  HIS  DESPOTIC 
CONDUCT  TOWARDS  THE  OFFICERS  WHO  RETIRE  ;  HIS  ECCENTRICITIES  AND  PETTY  CRUELTY  '  HE  DISMISSES 
THE  FAVOURITES  OF  THE  LATE  EMPRESS  ;  PROHIBITS  THE  USE  OF  ROUND  HATS,  AND  PUNISHES  TIIK 
WEARERS  OF  THEM;  FORBIDS  THE  HARNESSING  OF  HORSES  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  FASHION-  RKVIVES  THE 
BARBAROUS  CUSTOM  OF  PROSTRATION  BEFORE  THE  EMPEROR;  PAUL's  IRRITATING  INTERFERENCE  WITH 
THE  ARMY  AND  WITH  THE  TRIBUNALS  OF  THE  EMPIRE;  HIS  CENSORSHIP  OF  THE  PRESS  AND  FINANCIAI 
EXPERIMENTS.  ' 


t 


Paul,  when  he   ascended  the  throne,  was 
forty-two   years   of  age.      Catherine,    who 
never  exhibited  towards  him  the  affection 
of  a  parent,  kept  him  during  her  life  under 
restraint,    and   in    comparative   retirement. 
This,  doubtless,  arose  chiefly  from  a  feeling 
of  jealousy  on  her  part  towards  one  who 
was  to  succeed,  and  who  might,  by  the  dis- 
affected, be  made  an  instrument  to  dethrone 
her.     Such  an  emotion  is  common  amongst 
raonarchs,  and  was  entertained  by  each  of 
the  first  three  of  our  four  Georges.     But 
this  was  not  the  only  cause  of  Catherine's 
dislike  for  Paul.     That  he  was  the  son  of 
Peter  III.  is  highly  questionable  ;  and  some 
doubt  exists  as  to  whether  he  was  even  the 
son  of  Catherine.     We  have  alluded  to  the 
natural  disqualification  under  which  Peter 
suffered ;  and  this,  joined  to  the  facts  that 
Paul  was  not  born  until  between  eight  and 
nine  years   after  the  marriage  of  his  pre- 
sumed parents,  nor  until  after  it  was  noto- 
rious that  Catherine  had  violated  the  fidelity 
of    the    marriage   vow;    also    that    Peter, 
though  he  indulged  in  many  amours,  had 
no  son  by  any  other  woman — gives  rise  to 
more  than    a   suspicion    (indeed,   a   strong 
probability),    that    Paul   was    not,    on    his 
father's  side,  a  scion  of  the  imperial  family. 
The   supposition  that  Paul  was  not  the 
son  of  Catherine,  though  not  without  an 
appearance  of  probability,  rests  on  a  more 
unsure  ground ;  upon  conjectures,  and  not 
upon  evidence.     It  was  suspected  by  many 
persons,  that  he  was  one  of  the  children  of  the 
empress  Elizabeth,  and  of  her  secret  hus- 
band Rasumoffski,  or  some  other  favourite 
less  known  to  the  world.     This  belief  re- 
ceived some  colouring  from  the  mean  ap- 
pearance  and' Tartar  cast  of  the  features 
and  figure  of  Paul.      Others,  again,  have 
represented    him    as    a  Finnish   foundling, 
adopted  by  Catherine  from  political  motives, 
and,  therefore,    in    no    way  connected    by 
blood  with  the  imperial  family  :  we  are  not. 


however,  aware  that  this  suggestion  rests 
upon  any  authority  of  a  kind  to  entitle  it  to 
credence.  Neither  can  we  place  much  re- 
liance upon  the  general  law  of  the  heredi- 
tary transmission  of  appearance  or  character 
from  parent  to  child,  simply  because  it  is 
general  and  not  universal,  but  admits,  in- 
deed, of  constant  exceptions.  If  we  could, 
Paul's  claim  to  be  the  son  of  Catherine 
must  not  be  admitted.  Diminutive  in  his 
figure,  extremely  ugly  in  his  features, 
haying  a  pug  or  turned-up  nose,  and  a 
smirking  air  which  struggled  strongly  with 
an  expression  of  a  sense  of  self-importance 
and  arrogance,  so  great  as  to  amount  to 
disease— narrow  in  his  capacity,  and  petty  in 
his  views  and  habits,  he  was  aa  wide  a  con- 
trast to  the  handsome,  strong-minded,  and 
commanding  Catherine,  as  it  was  possible 
to  conceive.  But  as  this  matter  is  rather 
speculative  than  historical,  we  will  not 
pursue  it  further  than  to  add,  that  the  em- 
press's strong  dislike  of  Paul,  has  been  re- 
garded by  some  as  tending  to  prove  that 
he  was  her  child  by  her  husband  Peter,  and 
that  the  natural  repugnance  she  bore  to  the 
father,  descended  to  his  offspring.  For 
reasons  above  stated,  we  place  no  depen- 
dence on  this  conjecture. 

Catherine  had  frequently  expressed  an 
unfavourable  opinion  of  Paul's  judgment 
and  disposition  ;  and,  indeed  (as  the  reader 
will  presently  see),  she  must  have  been 
strangely  partial  had  this  not  been  the  case. 
We  have  already  referred  to  the  common 
belief,  that  she  would  have  disinherited  him 
had  she  been  able  to  do  so.  Certainly,  her 
conduct  towards  him  had  made  his  temper 
even  more  sour  and  splenetic  than  it  was 
by  nature.  Though  the  empress  was  pro- 
digally liberal  to  all  her  favourites,  ana  to 
those  who  deserved  reward  at  the  handa  of 
the  state,  yet  she  restrained  Paul  to  an 
allowance  less  than  the  income  of  many  an 
untitled  English  gentleman.     She  also  ex- 

335 


acx;kssion  of  paul.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


eluded  the  grand-duke  from  all  participa- 
tion in  public  affairs,  kept  him  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  court,  and  surrounded  him 
with  spies.  She  even  took  away  his  chil- 
dren from  the  time  of  their  birth,  and  had 
them  brought  up  beneath  her  care,  as  if  she 
considered  it  improper  to  trust  th^ir  educa- 
tion to  a  person  of  such  mean  capacities  as 
their  father.  Sometimes  the  grand-duke 
and  the  grand-duchess  were  not  permitted 
to  see  their  children  for  months ;  and  it 
appeared  as  if  the  empress  desired  to 
alienate  their  affections  from  their  parents. 
We  cannot  be  surprised  that  such  conduct, 
prolonged  over  a  period  of  years,  made 
Paul  reciprocate  the  dislike  with  which  he 
was  regarded  by  his  mother.  Hints  were 
several  times  given  to  him,  that  a  strong 
party  only  wanted  his  sanction  to  bring 
about  a  revolution  which  should  dethrone 
the  empress,  and  place  the  imperial  sceptre 
in  his  hand.  Paul  did  not  encourage  them  ; 
but  it  is  presumed  (and  we  think  justly  so), 
not  from  a  respect  for  the  empress,  but 
from  a  dread  of  the  danger  of  failure. 

Immediately  upon  the  death  of  Cathe- 
rine, Paul  was  recognised  as  emperor. 
With  a  politic  and  dramatic  flattery,  his 
wife  was  the  first  who  paid  him  homage  as 
sovereign,  though  he  had  never  treated  her 
with  that  affection  which  a  woman  naturally 
expects  at  the  hands  of  her  husband.  She 
and  her  children  knelt  at  his  feet  and 
saluted  him  as  their  emperor  directly  it  was 
known  that  the  great  Catherine  had  breathed 
her  last.  Paul  raised  and  embraced  them. 
On  the  partner  of  his  comparative  obscurity 
he  shortly  afterwards  bestowed  a  princely 
revenue ;  while  to  each  of  his  sons  he  gave 
the  command  of  a  regiment  of  the  guards, 
and  appointed  the  eldest  to  the  important 
post  of  military  governor  of  St.  Petersburg. 
Less  than  a  century  before,  Peter  the  Great 
denounced  the  practice  of  conferring  high 
places  upon  inexperienced  individuals,  and 
set  the  example,  in  his  own  person,  of  ren- 
dering service  and  merits  the  only  passports 
to  offices  of  responsibility  ;  but  Paul  fell  at 
once  into  those  vices  of  old  governments 
from  which  Peter  sternly  held  aloof,  and 
Catherine  but  seldom  committed. 

Paul  experienced  no  opposition  in  ascend- 
ing the  throne.  After  his  wife  had  rendered 
him  homage,  the  chief  officers  of  the  dif- 
ferent departments,  and  of  the  army,  did 
the  same,  and  took  the  customary  oath  of 
allegiance.  This  example  was  followed  by 
the  soldierv ;  and  the  next  day  Paul  was 
336 


everywhere  proclaimed  emperor,  and  his 
eldest  son  (Alexander)  czarevitch,  or  heir- 
presumptive  to  the  throne. 

For  a  short  time,  the  new  monarch  sup- 
pressed the  cynical  and  capricious  bitterness 
which  years  of  restraint,  acting  upon  a 
mean  nature,  had  engendered.  He  be- 
haved with  apparent  cordiality  to  Plato 
Zuboff,  the  lover  and  one  of  the  chief 
ministers  of  the  late  empress.  He  retained 
the  favourite  in  his  offices,  and  even  thanked 
him  for  the  attachment  he  had  shown  to 
his  mother.  The  other  ministers,  and  the 
heads  of  the  different  departments,  were 
also  confirmed  in  their  posts,  and  some  of 
them  were  even  promoted.  This  was  done 
to  secure  them  to  his  interests;  but  he 
acted  in  a  very  different  manner  as  soon  as 
he  knew  himself  strong  enough  to  do  with- 
out them.  For  some  years  he  had  drawn 
up  a  number  of  regulations  with  respect  to 
the  future  direction  of  the  succession  to 
the  crown.  These  he  now  produced,  and 
caused  to  be  invested  with  the  power  of 
law. 

PauFs  next  step  was  one  which  appears 
to  have  given  to  his  perverse  and  splenetic 
nature  a  feeling  of  intense  satisfaction.  He 
resorted  to  every  means  possible,  without 
doing  violence  to  public  decorum,  of  casting 
contempt  upon  the  grave  of  Catherine,  and 
of  bringing  to  remembrance  the  darkest 
blot  upon  her  character.  Every  circum- 
stance connected  with  her  funeral  he  took 
under  his  own  immediate  direction.  The 
bones  of  his  assumed  father  he  caused  to  be 
removed  from  the  obscure  grave  in  the  con- 
vent of  Alexander  Nevski,  where  they  had 
lain  for  nearly  five-and-thirty  years.  When 
the  coffin  was  opened,  Paul  wept  over  the 
remains  of  the  murdered  emperor ;  and, 
perhaps,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  there 
might  have  been  something  of  sincerity  in 
the  tears  he  shed  over  the  bones  of  one 
whom  he,  at  least,  doubtless  believed  to  be 
the  immediate  author  of  his  being.  After 
this  display  of  emotion,  he  caused  the  coffin 
to  be  conveyed  to  the  palace  with  extraordi- 
nary pomp,  and  placed  in  a  temple  con- 
structed for  the  purpose,  side  by  side  with 
the  corpse  of  Catherine,  which  was  then 
lying  in  state.  Then  the  coffin  containing 
the  dust  of  Peter  was  solemnly  crowned ; 
for  the  living  emperor  had  been  hurled 
from  the  throne  before  he  had  undergone 
that  ceremony.  As  if  in  sardonic  mockery 
of  the  terms  on  which  Catherine  and  Peter 
had    lived    together   during    the    period   of 


A.D.  1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [fuxeral  of  Catherine. 


their  unhappy  marriage,  their  coffins  were 
linked  together  with   a   kind   of  true-love 
knot,  bearing,  in  the  Russian  language,  the 
inscription— '' Divided   in   life;    imited    in 
death.''     Enormous  crowds  of  people  were 
admitted   to  behold   this  grand  and   semi- 
theatrical  scene,  and   to  kiss  the  coffin   of 
Peter  and  the  cold  hand  of  Catherine.     She 
had   been    badly   embalmed;    it   has    even 
been   said   purposely  so,  by  order  of  Paul. 
Certainly,  the  result  was  such  as  might  have 
gratified   a  petty  malignity.     The  empress 
was  so  disfigured,  as  not  only  to  be  scarcely 
recognised  by  those  who  had  only  seen  her 
in  public,  but  her  remains  had  become  so 
far  subject  to  corruption,  as  to  inspire  dis- 
gust, if  not  horror,  in  those  who  approached 
them.     Her   face  was   swelled,   much    dis- 
coloured, and  not  in  a  state  fit  for  public 
exhibition,  while  her  hands  were  blue  and 
yellow. 

Paul  thus  punished  the  dead  empress  for 
any  share  she  might  have  had  in  his  reputed 
'father's  death.     The  revenge  he  took  upon 
the  actual  murderers  was  remarkablv  eccen- 
tric.    Count  Alexis  Orloff  and  Prince  Bara- 
tinski  were    immediately,  on   the   death  of 
Catherine,  commanded  to  repair  to  St.  Pe- 
tersburg,  and  assist  in  the  funeral  by  bear- 
ing the  pall  which  covered  the  remains  of 
the  emperor  Peter.     For  three  hours  they 
were  compelled  to  remain,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  coffin,  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
court.     During  this  period  the  countenance 
of  the   iron-nerved   Orloff  exhibited  signs 
of  the  mental  agony  he  endured ;  but  it  is 
probable  that  this  arose  as  much  from  fear 
as  from  remorse,  as  the  regicide  doubtless 
anticipated  that  this  would  be  but  the  be- 
ginning of  his  punishment.     He,  however, 
bore  up  during  the  ceremonj^,  and  was  then 
dismissed  with  ?i  permission  to  travel  abroad. 
Tliis  he  immediately  availed  himself  of,  and 
left  St.  Petersburg  for  Germany,  from  which 
he  did  not  return  until  after  the  death  of 
Paul.     Prince  Baratinski,  whose  nerves  were 
not  so  strong,  nor  his  sensibility  so  blunt, 
as  that  of  the  coarse,  large-limlied  Orloff, 
suffered  intensely  during  the  funeral  cere- 
mony of  the   unfortunate  monarch  whom, 
five-and-thirty  years  ago,  he  had  assisted  to 
murder '^  There  must,   indeed,    have    been 
something  strangely  terrible  to  a  guilty  con- 
science, in  the  scene  in  which  he  was  com- 
pelled to  be  a  principal  actor.     The  black 
hangings,  the  sombre  plumes,  the  subdued 
and  spectrai-looknig  light  of  the  tapers ;  the 
almost  pamful  silence,  broken   only  occa 

VOL.   I. 


2  X 


sionally  by  the  wailing  chant  of  a  dirge  for 
the    dead;    the    oppressiveness   of  the   air 
which  such  grim,  charnel-house  pageantry 
seems  to  produce  on  the  awed  spectator ;  and, 
above  all,  the   presence  of  the  mouldering 
bones  of  the  wretched  victim,  who  seemed  as 
if  he  had  risen  from  his  obscure  grave  to  point 
out  his  murderers   to  public   execration- 
must  have  fallen,  cold  and  sickening,  almost 
like  a  sentence  of  death,  upon  those  scared 
assassins.     Baratinski  fainted  under  the  in- 
fliction of  this  wild   punishment,   and  was 
only   enabled    to   remain    in    his    position 
during  the  ceremony,  by  the  frequent  appli- 
cation of  volatile  salts  and  other  stimulants. 
He  was  not  subjected  to  any  other  punish- 
ment further  than  what  was  contained   in 
the  information  that  his  presence  at  court 
was  no  longer  necessary. 

The  Princess  Daschkaw  was  not  forgotten 
by  the  Emperor  Paul.     She  was  commanded 
to  retire  to  her  estate  at  Novgorod,   "and 
reflect  on  the  events  of  1762."     As  the  vil- 
lage which  was  assigned  her  for  a  residence 
in  her  exile,  was  only  a  collection  of  cabins, 
she  suffered  considerable  hardship  until  her 
friends   procured    her   partial   pardon,   and 
permission  to  live  at  Serpukh,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Moscow,  where  she  resided  till 
her  death  on  the  4th  of  Januarv,  1810.     It 
would   have   been   more   politic   had    Paul 
appeared  to   have  forgotten  the   past;   for 
these  proceedings  excited  more  surprise  than 
sympathy  at   St.   Petersburg.     It  was   be- 
lieved that  his  conduct  was  less  a  tribute  of 
love  to   the  memory  of  his  father,  than  a 
reproach  to  the  memory  of  his  mother.     He, 
however,  sought  out  and  loaded  with  favours 
several  old  officers  who,  in  1762,  had  opposed 

the  revolution,  and  retained  their  allegiance  to 
the  unhappy  Peter.  One  of  them,  the  aged 
Baron  Sternberg,  who  had  long  renounced 
all  interest  in  the  affairs  of  state,  was  made 
geueral-in-chief,  and  invested  by  the  emperor 
with  the  riband  of  St.  Alexander.  "  See,'-' 
said  he  to  the  veteran,  as  he  directed  the  at- 
tention  of  the  latter  to  a  picture  of  Peter  III., 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  chamber,  "I 
will  have  him  to  witness  my  gratitude  to- 
wards his  faithful  friend." 

An  unfavourable  opinion  had  been  gene- 
rally entertained  of  the  character  of  the  new 
emperor;  but  he  at  first  adopted  several 
measures  which  raised  him  in  the  popular 
estimation,  and  excited  hopes  that  his  mind 
was  not  so  narrow,  and  his  nature  so  morose, 
as  had  been  commonly  supposed.  He  issued 
a  ukase,  announcing "^a  pacific  policy — a  cir- 

337' 


.1* 


RELEASE  OF  KOSCIUSKO.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


A.D.  1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[eccentricities  of  PAUL. 


cumstance  which  created  great  joy  amongst 
the  people ;  for  the  interests  of  Russia  re- 
quired repose  after  the  great  mihtary  dis- 
bursements of  the  preceding  reign.  This 
ukase  also  annulled  a  command  given  by 
Catherine,  shortly  before  her  death,  to  raise 
a  body  of  recruits,  in  the  proportion  of  one 
peasant  in  every  hundred.  Such  an  escape 
from  the  severities  of  military  service,  which 
is  regarded  with  detestation  by  the  great 
mass  of  the  Russian  peasants,  was  hailed  by 
them  with  delight.  It  was  also  extremely 
acceptable  to  the  nobility,  whose  interests 
would  have  suffered  by  the  intended  con- 
scription. 

Paul  also  went  in  person  to  release  the 
unfortunate  Polish  patriot  Kosciusko,  who 
was  in  confinement  at  St.  Petersburg,  still 
suffering  severely  from  the  effect  of  his 
wounds,  and  the  despondency  resulting,  in 
his  imaginative  nature,  from  the  ruin  of  his 
country.  Respect  for  his  high  personal  cha- 
racter had  caused  the  rigours  of  imprison- 
ment to  be  dispensed  with  in  his  case.  Thus, 
while  his  fellow-prisoners  were  closely  con- 
fined in  the  dismal  castle  of  Schlusselburg, 
or  in  the  fortress  of  the  capital,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  live  at  the  house  of  Count  Anhalt, 
in  which  tapartments  were  assigned  to  him, 
together  with  an , officer  who  acted  as  his 
guard.  Paul  appears  to  have  been  moved  by 
the  appearance  of  the  unfortunate  patriot, 
who,  pale  and  attenuated,  and  with  his 
head  still  wrapped  in  bandages,  presented  a 
pitiable  appearance.  He  treated  him  kindly, 
and  offered  him  an  estate  in  Russia,  with 
a  number  of  peasants  upon  it.  This  was 
declined  by  Kosciusko,  who  accepted,  in- 
stead, a  sufficient  sura  of  money  to  carry 
him  to  America,  and  make  a  provision  there 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  All  the  com- 
panions of  Kosciusko  were  likewise  set  at 
liberty.  These  generous  acts  made  a  great 
impression  upon  the  people,  who  regarded 
them  as  evidences  of  a  noble  nature,  which 
had  previously  been  restrained  from  fol- 
lowing out  its  natural  bias.  They  were 
deceived ;  Paul  was  magnanimous  for  the 
moment,  either  from  caprice,  or  a  desire  to 
act  in  all  things  contrary  to  the  will  of  his 
illustrious  predecessor. 

For  the  first  few  days  of  his  reign,  Paul 
almost  hourly  announced  some  beneficial 
change,  decreed  some  just  punishment,  or 
awarded  some  merited  favour.  The  guards, 
who  for  several  reigns  had  been  the  acting 
power  in  every  revolution,  and  had  bestowed 
the  sceptre  on  those  whom  they  pleased  to 
338 


favour,  he  resolved  to  place  under  strono 
restraint.  They  had  been  the  military 
despots  of  the  court ;  and  it  was  through 
their  influence  that  Peter  III.  was  hurled 
from  the  throne.  In  fact,  they  had  long 
held  a  position  in  the  capital  which  kept 
the  sovereign  in  a  state  of  comparative  fear 
Paul  was  well  aware  of  the  power  they  pos- 
sessed, and  of  the  difficulty  of  openly  dis- 
banding them.  He  therefore  incorporated 
into  the  different  regiments  of  guards  the 
battalions  that  had  served  under  him  at 
Gatshina,  promoting  the  officers  two  or 
three  steps,  and  dispersing  them  so  freely 
through  the  corps  of  St.  Petersburg,  as,  by 
the  force  of  numbers,  to  absorb  the  in- 
fluence of  the  old  companies.  By  this 
means  the  guards  were  unable  to  combine 
for  the  purpose  of  conspiracy ;  and  many  of 
their  regiments  were  under  the  command  of 
men  who  owed  their  appointment  to  the 
emperor.  Another  result  followed.  The 
old  officers  of  the  guard — most  of  whom 
were  connected  with  the  first  families  ol 
the  empire— were  incensed  at  finding 
juniors  of  plebeian  extraction,  who,  in  some 
cases,  had  but  a  short  time  before  served  in 
the  ranks,  suddenly  promoted  over  their 
heads.  Irritated,  also,  by  the  novel  and 
harassing  discipline  to  which  they  were 
subjected,  the  wealthy  threw  up  their  com- 
missions, and  the  remainder  sullenly  sub- 
mitted to  what  thev  could  not  resist. 

The  emperor  was  annoyed  at  the  with- 
drawal of  several  hundred  officers  into 
private  life  ;  and  probably  felt  some  alarm 
at  the  extent  of  the  disaffection.  His 
despotic  character  instantly  showed  itself. 
He  went  in  person  to  the  barracks,  and, 
after  making  many  encouraging  promises  to 
those  who  remained  at  their  posts,  he  ex- 
pressed his  determination  to  exclude  from 
all  civil  or  military  employment  every  officer 
who  had  retired,  or  who  should  do  so.  Not 
satisfied  with  this  severity,  he  commanded 
all  officers  or  subalterns  who  had  left  the 
guards,  or  might  subsequently  do  so,  to 
quit  St.  Petersburg  at  once.  In  the  execu- 
tion of  this  tyrannical  decree,  many  persons 
were  taken  from  their  beds,  and  at  once 
expelled  from  the  city ;  some  nearly  desti- 
tute of  clothing,  and  all  of  them  without 
any  provision  for  the  future.  Several  of 
these  unfortunate  men  perished  from  expo- 
sure to  cold  and  want. 

Paul  speedily  cast  away  the  little  popu- 
larity which  he  had  gained  by  the  early  acts 
of  his  reign.     He  had  no  talent  for  deccp- 


1/ 


tion,    and    apparently  but   little   desire   to 
practise  it.     He  soon  trampled  beneath  his 
feet  the  mask  of  generosity  and  a  mild  rule 
which,  at  his  accession,  he  seemed  disposed 
to  wear.     Irritable,   peevish,   and  arrogant, 
he  was  restless  and  miserable  himself,  and 
therefore    resolved    that    all    around    him 
should  be  so  likewise.     He  has   been  fre- 
quently pronounced  insane ;  and  though  we 
do   not   rest  absolutely  in  that    conclusion 
(for   he   appears    to    have    understood    the 
nature   of  his  conduct  sufficiently  for  him 
to   be  held    accountable   for   it),  yet   it   is 
difficult   to   consider  him  as  the   possessor 
of  a  brain  untouched  by  disease.     Masson* 
thus  attempts  to  depict,  or  rather  illustrate, 
his  character  : — "  The  sovereign  whom  Paul 
appears   to   have  chosen  for  his   model   is 
Frederic  William,  father  of  the  great  king 
of  Prussia.     The  same  austerity  of  manners, 
and  the  sa'.ne  passion  for  soldiers,  are  found 
in  the   Russian   autocrat.     For  the  rest,  I 
have   drawn,  I   conceive,  the   character  of 
Paul   in   relating   his   actions ;  if  not,   the 
task,  I  confess,  is  above  my  powers.     It  is 
well  known,  that  nothing  is  so  difficult  to 
paint  as  an  infant,  whose  physiognomy  is  as 
yet  unsettled  ;  and  it  is  the  same  with  the 
character  of  an  eccentric  man.     The  most 
favourable   plea  we    can  make  for  him  is, 
that  the  light  of  the  French  revolution  had 
touched  his  brain  and  disordered  his  intel- 
lect.    It  had  already  disturbed  the   much 
stronger   head  of  his  mother.     It  is   said, 
that  the  people  of  Paris,  crowding  to   see 
Paul  (then  a  youth),  cried,  *My  God,  how 
ugly  he  is  !'  and  that  he  had  the  good  sense 
to  laugh  at  it.     He  has  not  improved  since 
he  has  grown  old,  bald,  and  wrinkled.     The 
empress  appears,  by  his  side,  like  one  of  those 
beautiful   women  who   are   painted  with   a 
little  deformed  blackamoor  near  them,  as  a 
contrast  to  their  dignity  and  grace.     The 
singularity  which   he   affects   in  his  dress, 
and  the  severity  of  his  manners,  add  greatly 
to  his  deformity.     Without  excepting  even 
the    Calmucks   and  the  Kirghises,  Paul  is 
the  ugliest  man  in  his  extensive  dominions; 
and  he  himself  considers  his  countenance  as 
so  shocking,  that  he  dares  not  impress  it 
upon  his  coin. 

"  I  shall  here  subjoin  some  traits,  which 
will  serve  to  describe  Paul  by  his  own 
actions;    and  will  prove,  that  when  grand- 

•  Memoires  Secretes,  &c.  It  will  be  observed, 
that  tills  sketch  was  penned  durino^  the  life  of  the 
emperor,  and  by  one  who  had  ample  opportunities 
of  observing  him. 


duke,  he  announced  what  we  have  seen  of 
him  since  his  accession. 

"  Near   his  castle  of  Pavlofski  he  had  a 
terrace,  from  which  he  could  see   all  the 
sentinels,    whom    he    delighted    to    station 
about  him  wherever  there  was  room  for  a 
sentry-box.      On    this   covered   terrace    he 
spent  a  part  of  each  day,  and  observed,  with 
a  spy-glass,  all  that  was  passing  about  him. 
Often   he  sent  a  servant  to  a  sentinel,  to 
order  him  to  button  or  unbutton  a  little 
more  of  his  coat,  to  keep  his  musket  higher 
or  lower,  to  walk  at  a  greater  or  less  dis- 
tance from  his  sentry-box.     Sometimes  he 
would  go  himself  nearly  half  a  mile  to  give 
these  important  orders,  and  would  cane  the 
soldier,  or  put  a  rouble  into  his  pocket,  ac- 
cording as  he  was  angry  or  pleased  with  him. 
"  Pavlofski    was    an    open    village ;    yet 
guards  were  appointed,  who  wrote  down  the 
names  of  all  who  entered  or  went  out  of  it ; 
and  who  were  obliged  to  tell  whence  they 
came,   whither  they   were   going,  or  what 
they   wanted.     Every   evening   each   house 
was    visited,   to    learn   if    there   were   any 
strangers   there.     Every   man  who  wore  a 
round   hat,  or   had    a   dog  with   him,  was 
arrested.     The    village,    which    had    been 
much  frequented   because  of  its   beautiful 
situation,    soon    became .  a    desert ;    many 
persons  turned  out  of  their  way  to  avoid  it : 
and  when  Paul  was  perceived  at  a  distance, 
he  was  carefully  shunned.     These  circum- 
stances increased  his  displeasure  and  suspi- 
cions, and  he  often  caused  the  persons  who 
thus  sought  to  avoid  him  to  be  pursued  and 
questioned. 

"  One  day  he  put  all  the  officers  of  his 
battalion  under  arrest,  because  they  had 
saluted  him  awkwardly  in  filing  off  after 
their  drill;  and  he  ordered  them  to  be 
called  out,  for  eight  days  successively,  to 
file  off  and  salute  before  him,  sending  them 
regularly  back  to  the  guard-house  till  they 
were  able  to  perform  according  to  his  fancy. 
"  As  he  was  one  day  exercising  his  regi- 
ment of  cuirassiers,  the  horse  of  an  officer 
threw  him.  Paul  ran  furiously  towards 
him,  crying, '  Get  up,  rascal ! '  '  Your  high- 
ness, I  cannot,  I  have  broken  my  leg.' 
Paul  spat  upon  him,  and  retired  swearing. 

"  Passing,  at  another  time,  unexpectedly 
and  secretly  by  one  of  his  guard-houses, 
the  officer,  not  knowing  him,  did  not 
order  out  his  men ;  upon  which  he  in- 
stantly turned  back,  boxed  the  ears  of  the 
officer,  and  ordered  him  to  be  disarmed  and 
put  under  arrest. 

339 


PROHIBITTOX  OF  ROUND  HATS.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


ft 


One  day,  travelling  from  Tzarsko-selo 
to  Gatshina,  the  road  to  which  was  in  the 
middle  of  a  marshy  forest,  he  suddenly 
recollected  something,  and  ordered  the 
coachman  to  return.  *  Presently,  your 
highness,'  said  the  coachman ;  '  the  road  is 
here  too  narrow.'  *  How,  rascal  !'  cried 
Paul,  '  won't  you  turn  immediately  ?'  The 
coachman,  instead  of  answering,  hastened 
to  a  spot  where  it  was  possible  to  comply. 
Paul,  liowever,  called  to  his  equerry,  and 
ordered  him  to  arrest  and  punish  the  rebel- 
lious coachman.  The  equerry  assured  him 
that  he  would  turn  in  a  moment.  Paul 
Hew  into  a  passion  with  the  equerry  also. 

*  You  are  a  pitiful  scoundrel  like  himself,' 
said  he.  'Let  him  overturn  the  carriage; 
^.et  him  break  my  neck;  but  let  him  obey 
me,  and  turn  tl«e  instant  I  command  him.' 
During  this  dispute  the  coachman  suc- 
ceeded in  turning;  but  Paul  had  him  chas- 
tised on  the  spot. 

"  Since  his  accession,  one  of  his  horses 
stumbled  with  him  in  one  of  the  streets  of 
St.  Petersburg.  He  alighted  immediately, 
held  a  sort  of  council  with  his  attendants, 
and  the  horse  w^as  condemned  to  receive 
fifty  lashes  with  a  whip.  Paul  caused  them 
to  be  given  on  the  spot,  before  the  populace, 
and   himself   counted   the   strokes,    saying, 

*  There,  sir,  that  is  for  having  stumbled 
w  ith  the  emperor.'  " 

The  new  czar  had,  immediately  upon  his 
accession,  behaved  with  kindness  to  Plato 
Zuboff,  and  confirmed  him  in  the  various 
offices  he  held.  Shortly  afterwards  Paul 
sealed  up  his  papers,  and  dismissed  him  from 
the  court  with  contemptuous  abruptness. 
The  corrupt  conduct  of  the  favourite  de- 
served punishment;  but  the  emperor,  by 
his  previous  cordiality,  had  expressed  an 
implied  forgiveness  of  all  that  was  past. 
For  some  time  the  springs  of  the  Russian 
government  had  been  chiefly  in  the  hands 
of  Zuboflf,  who  perverted  them  for  the  pur- 
poses of  self-interest.  He  promoted  the 
war  in  Persia,  with  the  double  object  of  en- 
riching himself  by  plundering  the  army, 
and  conferring  a  lucrative  command  upon 
his  brother.  All  offices  of  state  he  con- 
ferred upon  his  parasites,  his  favourites,  or 
his  family.  His  father  he  elevated  to  the 
office  of  a  judge ;  and  had  the  shameless 
audacity  to  turn  the  appointment  to  account 
by  buying  up  all  the  old  causes  in  the  court, 
and  then  obtaining  decisions  in  his  own 
favour.  In  addition  to  this,  he  had  exer- 
cised the  most  arrogant  tyranny  over  the 
310 


'  oldest  generals  and  counsellors  of  the  em- 
pire. Such  a  man  deserved  degradation 
and  punishment ;  but  PauPs  conduct  had, 
in  fact,  exonerated  him.  The  dread  of 
being  charged  with  inconsistency,  never 
curbed  the  acts  or  eccentricities  of  the  em- 
peror. ZubofF's  secretaries  were  banished, 
the  officers  of  his  suite  dispersed  in  dififerent 
corps  throughout  the  empire,  and  he  liim- 
self  commanded  to  quit  Russia.  This 
severity  towards  the  favourite  was  not 
attributed  to  any  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
emperor  to  punish  corruption,  but  to  the 
implacable  resentment  with  which  he  re- 
garded every  person  who  had  been  attached 
to  his  mother.  Several  other  cases  are 
recorded  in  which  Paul  flattered  and 
caressed,  on  the  first  day  of  his  reign,  those 
w  hom,  within  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  he  de- 
graded or  punished. 

That,  however,  of  the  early  acts  of  Paul's 
reign  which  most  attracted  attention,  was 
the  minute  details  of  police  and  military 
discipline  which  he  commanded  to  be  ob- 
served, and  devoted  the  greatest  portion 
of  his  time  to  seeing  carried  out,  even  to 
the  smallest  particulars.  With  an  unac- 
countable singularity,  he  prohibited  the 
wearing  of  round  hats  in  the  streets  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  directed  the  soldiers  and 
the  police  to  take  them  away  from  those 
who  appeareil  in  them,  and  to  tear  them  in 
pieces  in  case  of  resistance  being  offered. 
Many  tumultuous  scenes  followed  this  petty 
and  irritating  edict,  especially  before  it  was 
generally  known.  An  English  merchant 
travelling  in  a  sledge  was  stopped,  and  his 
hat  snatched  off"  by  a  soldier.  Imagining 
himself  to  be  assailed  by  a  robber,  he  leapt 
from  his  sledge,  knocked  the  man  down, 
and  called  the  guard.  They  soon  arrived 
on  the  spot — not  to  assist,  but  to  overpower 
and  bind  him.  As  the  merchant  was  being 
carried  off*  to  answer  before  the  police  for 
his  assumed  offence,  he  was  fortunate 
enough  to  meet  the  carriage  of  the  English 
minister;  and  he  instantly  claimed  the 
protection  of  that  gentleman.  Sir  Charles 
Whitworth  complained  to  the  emperor,  and 
remonstrated  in  a  very  spirited  manner.  In 
consequence  of  this  the  merchant  was  set 
at  liberty ;  and  Paul  modified  his  mandate, 
by  publishing  that  strangers  who  were  not 
in  the  emperor's  service^  or  naturalised, 
were  exempt  from  the  prohibition.  Persons 
who  wore  round  hats  were  no  longer  sub- 
jected to  the  indignity  of  having  them  torn 
from  their  heads  but  thev  were  taken  be- 


A.D.  1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[irritating  regulations. 


fore  the  police,  that  their  country  might  be 
ascertained.     If  found  to  be  Russians,  they 
were  compelled  to  enter  the  ranks  as  soldiers; 
and  if  Frenchmen,  they  were  expelled  from 
the  empire  as  Jacobins.     This  might  lead 
to   the    supposition   that  round    hats  were 
regarded    as  the   badge   of    some    political 
society,  or  as   expressive  of  some  off*ensive 
sentiment  on  the  part  of  the  wearer.     Such 
was  not  the  case.     The  prohibition   arose 
solely  from  the  fact,  that  Paul  had  for  some 
years   entertained    a    peculiar   aversion   to 
round  hats,  in  the  same  way  that  certain 
individuals    entertain    unaccountable   anti- 
pathies to  some  common  or  harmless  object. 
This  would  have  been  a  sufficient  reason 
for  his  setting  another  fashion  in  the  matter 
of  hats,  or  prohibiting  any  one  from  ap- 
pearing before  him  in  one  of  the  objection- 
able shape.     But  it  in  no  way  excused  the 
peevish   and  petty  tyranny — trivial   as   the 
whim  of  some  ill-tempered  school-boy — to 
which  he  gave  way.      There  are  few  who 
will  not  sympathise  with  another  English- 
man  in   St.   Petersburg;  who,   on   his  hat 
being  taken  from  him  by  an  officer  of  the 
police,  folded  his  arms,  and,  surveying  the 
official  with  a  look  of  compassion,  exclaimed, 
"  Ah,  friend  !  how  I  pity  thee  for  being  a 
Russian !"     So   earnest    was   Paul  in   this 
absurd    matter,   that    he    commanded    the 
charge  d'affaires   of   the   king  of   Sardinia 
to  quit  St.  Petersburg  within  twenty-four 
hours,  because  he  had  ventured  to  indulge 
in  some  raillery  about  the  proscription  of 
round  hats,  and  to  say  that  such  trifles  had 
often   been    on   the   point    of    occasioning 
seditions  in  Italy. 

Another  of  Paul's  petty,  silly,  and  vexa- 
tious regulations,  was  that  ^vhich  prohibited 
the  harnessing  of  horses  after  the  Russian 
mode,  and  commanded  the  German  fashion 
to  be  adopted  instead.      With  strange  pe- 
remptoriuess,  only  a  fortnight  was  allowed 
for    those    who    kept    carriages    or    other 
vehicles,  to  provide  themselves  with  the  new 
harness  that  was  requisite  to  enable  them 
to  comply  with  the  imperial  ipandate.     The 
police  were  ordered,  on  the  expiration  of 
that  time,  to  cut  the  traces  of  every  carriage 
they  happened  to  find  harnessed  in  the  old 
fashion.     As  may  be  presumed,  the  harness- 
makers  availed  themselves  of  the  occasion 
to  charge  enormous  prices  for  their  labour 
and  their  commodities.     But  the  new  regu- 
lations extended   from  the  harness  to  the 
coachman,  who  were  commanded  to  adopt 
the   German    style    of    dress,   which    was 


neither  more  convenient  nor  more  elegant. 
Indeed,  those  of  the  ishvoshlohki,  or  coach- 
men, who  could  be  induced  to  part  with 
their  beards*  and  their  kaftans,  and  tie  a 
false  tail  to  their  hair,  cut  an  extremely 
ridiculous  figure.  The  majority,  however, 
of  these  poor  people  obstinately  adhered 
to  their  old  costume.  That  commanded  to 
be  worn  was  assailed  with  ridicule;  and 
Paul  was  at  length  compelled  to  soften  his 
mandate  into  a  request,  that  the  people,  if 
they  desired  to  merit  his  favour,  would  dress 
in  the  German  fashion. 

In  the  more  barbarous  times  of  the  em- 
pire, a  slavish  custom  prevailed,  according 
to  which,  every  person,  whether  noble  or 
serf,  male  or  female,  used,  on  the  appear- 
ance of  the  czar,  to  alight  from  their  coach 
or  horse,   and  prostrate  themselves  in  the 
snow  or  the  mud   before  him.     This  base 
custom  was  abolished  by  Peter  the  Great, 
in   whom  it  excited  so  much  manly  indig- 
nation, that  he  ordered  every  person  to  be 
caned   who   practised   it,    and    not   unfre- 
quently  administered  the  punishment  him- 
self.    Paul,  who  had  not  the  sense  to  see 
that  such  a  humiliating  and  semi-idolatrous 
salutation,  on  the  part  of  the  ruled  towards 
the  ruler,  was  a  dead,  rotten  vestige  of  the 
past,  which  could  not  be  permanently  re- 
vived, resolved  to  re-establish  it  in  all  its 
rigour.     It  is  a  strange  reflection,  that  this 
miserable  despot,  deficient  both  in  the  in- 
tellect and  fair  personal  proportions  usually 
falling  to  the  lot  of  the  human  race — seem- 
^^Sy  by  his  dwarfish  and  disgusting  appear- 
ance, and  his  malignant  tricks,  to  bear  a 
closer  affinity  to  the  monkey  than  the  man, 
should  yet  be  so  strangely  anxious  to  com- 
pel God's  creatures  to  bow  perpetually  into 
the  dust  before  him.     Perhaps  this  morbid 
desire,    that   men   should    observe   towards 
him  the  most  humiliating  external  forms  of 
reverence,   arose  from   a  strong  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  natural  meanness  and  in- 
ability to  command  the  respect  of  his  fellow- 
men.     The  etiquette   observed   within   the 
palace   was  rendered   more   servile  than  it 
had   ever   been    before.     Those   who   were 
permitted  or  required  to  kiss  his  hand  were 
compelled  to  make  the  floor  resound  with  the 
stroke  of  their  knee  as  they  knelt,  and  to  let 
the  sound  of  the  kiss  be  plainly  heard  as  au 
evidence  of  its  genuineness.     Foreigners,  on 
visiting  any  of  the  palaces  or  imperial  gar- 
dens during  the  absence  of  the   emperor, 
were  compelled  to   remain    uncovered    the 
same  as  if  he  was  present.     Paul  thus  arro- 

341 


1  *'. 


1  ■ 


'•Nl- 


Paul's  military  meddling.]        HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  179(5. 


A.D.  1796.] 


gated,  even  to  his  residences,  the  ceremonials 
that  are  commonly  observed  only  in  the 
temples  of  religion.  Any  neglect  of  these 
trivial  and  offensive  regulations  was  punished 
as  if  it  had  been  a  serious  crime.  A  general 
officer,  who  passed  on  without  his  coach- 
man's observing  the  emperor  riding  by  on 
horseback,  was  immediately  stopped  and 
arrested.  Prince  Galitzin  was  also  put 
under  arrest  by  Paul  himself,  on  account 
of  his  having  kissed  the  hand  of  the  impe- 
rial idiot  in  too  negligent  a  manner. 

Another  of  these  early  and  contemptible 
regulations  of  Paul,  was  a  command  to  all 
tradesmen  to  obliterate  from  the  front  of 
their  shops  the  French  word  magasirij  and 
substitute  the  Russian  word  lavka,  or  shop. 
The  reason  assigned  for  this  frivolity  was, 
that  only  the  emperor  could  have  maga- 
zines, and  that  it  was  the  duty  of  tradesmen 
not  to  make  use  of  lofty  terms,  but  to  make 
known  their  occupations  in  the  plainest 
language.  The  real  cause  of  this  alteration 
was  PauFs  dread  of  French  revolutionary 
principles,  and  his  consequent  aversion  to 
everything  derived  from  France.  This 
feeling  caused  him  to  descend  so  far  into 
absurdity,  as  to  issue  one  ukase  forbidding 
the  academy  from  employing  the  word  revo- 
lution when  speaking  of  the  course  of  the 
stars  ;  and  another,  commanding  the  actors 
to  use  the  word  pe7^mission,  instead  of  liberty, 
in  the  bills  of  the  theatres.  Many  other 
new  regulations  were  made,  many  of  which 
contradicted  or  frustrated  one  another : 
thus,  what  was  ordained  one  dav,  was  often 
obliged  to  be  modified  or  annulled  the  next. 

These  changes,  with  respect  to  civil  aflfairs, 
were  outdone  by  those  which  Paul  intro- 
duced into  the  army.  He  had  almost  a 
mania  for  military  meddling,  and  the  as- 
sumption of  the  duties  of  the  corporal  and 
the  army-tailor.  It  is  generally  admitted 
that  many  reforms  were  required  in  this 
direction  ;  but,  assuredly,  Paul  was  not  the 
man  to  effect  them.  He  was  altogether 
devoid  of  military  talents,  and  merely  loved 
to  play  with  soldiers,  and  dress  and  drill 
them  as  children  do  dolls.  The  changes 
Paul  effected  were  not  improvements,  and 
in  uo  way  promoted  the  efficiency  of  the 
troops.  The  dress  of  the  Russian  soldier 
was  simple,  convenient,  and  adapted  to  the 
severity  of  the  climate.  It  consisted  of  two 
garments  only;  a  red  and  green  jacket, 
which  was  fastened  by  a  girdle  within  the 
folds  of  the  loose  chavari,  or  red  pantaloons, 
terminating  in  boots  which  were  not  onlv 
342 


put  on  with  tease,  but,  from  their  size,  ad, 
mitted  of  such  additions  underneath  as  pro- 
tected the  wearer  from  the  inclemency  of 
the  atmosphere.  Yet  it  was  with  the  dress 
of  the  soldiers  that  Paul  most  delighted  to 
interfere.  He  compelled  them  to  adopt  the 
military  costume  of  Prussia,  which  was  not 
only  detested  by  the  men  as  graceless  and 
anti-national,  but  regarded  as  unsuited  for 
them.  The  costume  we  have  briefly  de- 
scribed was  thrown  aside,  and  the  whimsical, 
lacquey-like  dress  of  the  Prussian  troops 
given  to  the  soldiers  instead.  The  men  had 
to  spend  an  hour  every  morning  in  plaster- 
ing down  their  hair  with  powder  and  poma- 
tum, or  rather  with  grease  and  flour,  which 
Paul  ordered  to  be  used  instead  as  more 
economical;  and  in  buttoning  their  tight 
black  spatterdashes.  The  annoyance  of  the 
men  amounted  to  irritation,  the  more  so  as 
these  alterations  were  discountenanced  by 
the  most  distinguished  of  their  generals. 
When  the  brave  and  eccentric  Suwarrow 
received  orders  to  establish  these  novelties, 
toj^ether  with  little  sticks  as  models  for  the 
soldiers'  pigtails  and  side-curls,  he  expressed 
his  contemptuous  feelings  in  some  doggerel 
lines,  which  are  not  destitute  of  wit.  "  Hair- 
powder,"  said  the  blunt  soldier,  "is  not 
gunpowder ;  curls  are  not  cannon ;  and  tails 
are  not  bayonets."  The  sarcasm  was  re- 
peated through  the  whole  army,  and  reached 
the  ears  of  Paul,  who  was  so  incensed  that 
he  dismissed  Suwarrow  from  his  command, 
and  exiled  him  to  his  estates,  where  the 
eccentric  veteran  chiefly  occupied  himself  in 
practising  bell-ringing,  hopping  a  long  dis- 
tance upon  one  leg,  and  similar  odd  pas- 
times, until  the  exigencies  of  the  empire 
compelled  Paul  to  restore  to  him  his  mili- 
tarv  honours. 

The  emperor  commenced  his  new  regula- 
tions from  the  very  morning  that  he  first 
grasped  the  imperial  sceptre.  The  palace 
and  its  courtyards  were  at  once  thrown 
into  the  utmost  confusion.  It  is  said  they 
had  the  appearance  of  having  been  taken  by 
assault  by  foreign  troops,  as  the  men  who 
mounted  guard  there,  differed  so  much,  in 
dress  and  st\  le,  from  those  who  had  done  so 
the  day  before.  Every  morning  the  new 
emperor,  before  he  would  attend  to  any 
other  business,  devoted  three  or  four  hours 
to  manoeuvring  his  soldiers,  and  teaching 
them  to  mount  guard  after  a  fashion  of  his 
own,  which,  according  to  military  authority, 
was  as  original  as  it  was  singular.  His 
xvacht-parade  (guard-parade)  he  regarded  as 


a  most  important  institution,  and  the  central 
point  of  his  military  system.     This  he  had 
tried,  with  what  he  believed  to  be  success, 
when  he  was  grand-duke,  when  he  had  no 
authority  to  consult  but  his  own  will,  and 
no  opinion  to  regard  beyond  the   limited 
circle  of  his  own  staff.     He  believed  that  it 
would   apply,    with  equal   certainty   in   its 
results,  to  the  imperial  army ;  and  that  idea 
so  engrossed  his  attention,  that  he  almost 
abandoned   all   other   objects   in    order   to 
dedicate  himself  assiduously  to  this  strange 
and    fruitless    design.      So   intent   was   he 
upon  the  morning  exercise,  that  he  would 
not  permit  any  one  to  approach  upon  other 
business,  of  whatever  importance,  while  he 
was  thus  engaged.     In  order  to  take  away 
all  excuse  for  disturbing  him  at  this  time, 
he  established  a  sort  of  ofllce  on  the  stairs 
of  the  palace,  in  which  all  letters  were  de- 
posited ;  Paul  promising  to  read  them  in  due 
time,  and  furnish   the   necessary   answers. 
Every  morning,  no  matter  how  intense  the 
cold  might  be,  he  was  to   be  seen  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  palace.     There,  in  a  plain 
dark-green  uniform,  jack-boots,  and  a  large 
hat,  he  exercised  his  guards,  gave  his  orders, 
received  reports,  published  his  favours,  re- 
wards, and  punishments;    and  there  every 
officer  had  to  be  presented  to  him,    as  he 
stood,  surrounded  by  his  sons  and  aides-de- 
camp, stamping  his  heels  on  the  pavement 
to  keep  himself  warm,  his  bald  head  bare, 
his  nose  cocked  up,   one  hand  behind  his 
back,  and  with  the  other  raising  and  sink- 
ing his  cane  in  due  time,  and  crying  "  Raz, 
dva;  raz  dva"  (one,  two;   one,  two.)     He 
prided  himself  in  braving  a  cold  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  degrees  of  Reaumur  without  furs. 
After  this,  none  of  the  officers  dared  any 
longer   appear    in    pelisses;     and   the    old 
generals,  tormented  with  coughs,  gout,  and 
rheumatism,  were  obliged  to  form  a  circle 
round  Paul,  dressed  like  himself. 

Though  an  advocate  of  the  most  servile, 
passive  obedience,  and  regarding  himself  as 
the  chief  emblem  in  Europe  of  the  autocratic 
principle,  Paul  delighted  in  constant  and 
rapid  changes  in  every  department  of  the 
state.  So  frivolous  were  his  motives  in 
many  instances,  that  it  has  been  observed, 
for  anything  to  have  subsisted  under  the 
reign  of  his  mother,  was  a  sufficient  reason 
why  it  should  cease  to  exist  under  him. 
The  changes  which  he  commanded  to  be 
observed  in  the  civil   departments  of  the 

This  Plate  of  things  was  materially  strengthened 
by  the  absolute  Paul  during  his  brief  reign,  and 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [changes  in  the  executive. 


state,  were  even  more  capricious  and  unrea- 
sonable than  those  he  had  accomplished  in 
social  and  military  circles.  The  emperor 
was,  in  fact,  influenced  by  a  rage  for  altera- 
tion, which  extended  itself  over  every  branch 
of  the  public  service.  All  the  provincial 
tribunals  of  the  empire  were  remodelled, 
and  their  seats  changed.  These  sudden 
movements  produced  great  confusion  and 
misery,  for  upwards  of  20,000  persons,  hold- 
mg  responsible  appointments,  were  thrown 
out  of  employment. 

The  population  of  Russia  had  been  divided 
into  two  classes — the  nobles  and  the  pea- 
santry.    The   middle   class  was   so   incon- 
siderable, that  it  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have 
existed.     The   reader  will   have   seen   that 
rank  in  that  empire  was  rather  a  personal 
than  an  hereditary  affair.     The  will  of  the 
sovereign  could  raise  persons  of.the  lowest 
origin  to  the  dignity  of  nobility,  as  Peter 
the  Great  converted  a  peasant  girl  into  an 
empress,   and  an   itinerant  pie-boy  into  a 
prince;  and  as  Catherine  II.  had  raised  ob- 
scure ofiicers  to  the  highest  rank  which  a 
subject,  not  of  the   imperial   blood,  could 
attain  to.     The  path  to  nobility  lay  through 
a  variety  of  channels.     It  was  sometimes 
attained   through  military  talents  or   civil 
service,  but  more  frequently  by  corruption 
and  favouritism.     Paul  abolished  the  former 
dignities,  probably  with  a  view  to  conciliate 
the  old  nobility.     The  result,  however,  was 
the    creation  of  a  middle  order  of  society, 
possessed  of  wealth  and  the  advantages  of 
education.     These  were  repulsed  from  the 
exclusive  circle  of  the  aristocracy,  and  thrown 
back  upon  the  community  below  them.     It 
has    been  well   observed,    that    "if  ever   a 
revolution  of  a  popular  character  were  to 
take  place  in  Russia,  it  would  spring  from 
the  sympathies  which  were  by  this  means 
generated  between  the  middle  class  and  the 
serfs ;  the  former,  in  a  spirit  of  retaliation, 
endeavouring  to  elevate  the  latter,  and  botli 
combining   against  the  nobility.     But  the 
overawing  power  of  the  throne,  embodied  in 
the  absolute  authority  of  the  emperor,  who 
may  at  any  moment  revoke  or  reconstruct, 
give  or  take  away  the  rights  of  his  subjects, 
renders  the  prospect  of  such  a  struggle  ex- 
tremely doubtful.     Russia  is,  in  fact,  gov- 
erned   by   ukases;    and   all   orders   in   the 
country,  as  well  as  all  its  laws  and  institutes, 
exist  solely  by  the  breath  of  the  supreme 
and    irresponsible    monarch.*     The   whole 

was  rigidly  maintained  by  his  sons  Alexander  and 
Nicholas.     There  was  more  freedom  in  Russia  under 

343 


,..;  't 


CENSORSHIP  OF  THE  PRESS.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


empire,  throughout  its  most  minute  ramifi- 
cations, may  be  regarded  as  the  most  perfect 
example  of  arbitrary  government  that  has 
ever  subsisted  in  the  work).  So  compre- 
hensive and  searching  has  been  its  despotism, 
that  even  if  political  freedom  were  granted 
to  the  people,  they  would  be  incapable  of 
turning  it  to  advantage.  They  have  been 
kept  in  such  a  state  of  vassalage  that  they 
are  literally  ignorant  of  the  full  meaning  of 
liberty.  They  understand  it  to  mean  nothing 
more  than  exemption  from  labour,  and  per- 
mission to  leave  the  glebe  to  which  they  are 
confined,  and  wander  vagrantly,  like  loosened 
cattle,  into  other  pastures.  Domestic  ser- 
vitude has  become  second  nature  to  them, 
and  their  notions  of  a  happier  mode  of  exist- 
ence do  not  extend  beyond  a  release  from 
immediate  oppression." 

An  instrument  so  dangerous  to  despotic 
governments  as  the  press,  was  not  likely  to 
escape  the  restrictive  and  rigorous  hand  of 
Paul.     He    established   a  censorship   of  so 
inquisitorial    and    severe    a   kind,    that    it 
amounted   almost  to  a  prohibition   of  the 
printing-press.     Only  three  were  allowed  to 
be  used,  and  they  were  to  be  confined  to 
printing  the  numerous  ukases  of  the  em- 
peror, books  for  the  church,  and  such  works 
as  should  be  approved  of  by  the  government 
and  the  chief  ecclesiastical  dignitaries.     The 
importation  of  foreign  catalogues  was  for- 
bidden, that  the  people  might  not  be  made 
acquainted  with  the  progress  of  literature 
and  philosophy  in   other  countries.     Even 
the   insipid    and   emasculate   volumes   that 
were  permitted  to  be  published,  were  obliged 
to  have  stamped  on  their  title-page  the  fact 
that  they  had  passed  the  censorship,  and 
obtained  the  imperial  permission  to  be  cir- 
culated.    Any  person,  also,  who  received  a 
book  or  newspaper  of  any  kind  from  abroad, 
was  compelled  to  carry  it  immediately  to  the 
committee  appointed  to  control  the  press. 
In  almost  any  other  country  in  Europe,  such 
a  tyrannous  edict  would   have  produced  a 
revolution  :   but  books  are  not  even  yet  a 
national  want  in  Russia;  even  the  higher 
classes  are  not  much  given  to  literature,  and 
the  intellect  of  the  people  is  slow  and  slug- 
gish— indeed,  almost  latent,  as  far  as  thought- 
fulness  and  intellectual  culture  is  concerned. 

the  sway  of  Catherine  II.  than  there  has  ever  been 
since.  Under  that  enlightened  ruler,  the  Russian 
empire  bid  fair  to  reach  a  degree  of  civilisation  and 
popular  culture  which  it  is  now  vain  to  expect,  un- 
less another  sovereign  of  her  intellectual  calibre  and 
liberal  sentiments  succeeds  to  the  sceptre  of  the 
344 


Thus  the  severity  of  Paul's  despotic  mea- 
sures with  reg&rd  to  the  press,  was  not  so 
severely  felt  as  it  is  natural  for  Englishmen 
to  suppose.  The  suffering  and  feeble  negro 
does  not  feel,  as  a  heavy  burden,  the  chain 
to  which  long  use  has  accustomed  him. 
The  Russian  peasant  who  could  not  read, 
and  the  Russian  gentleman  who  seldom 
cared  to  do  so,  did  not  feel  very  bitterly  an 
oppression  which  would  be  so  intolerable  to 
Englishmen,  that,  amongst  them,  it  could 
not  be  maintained  a  day. 

The  new  emperor  extended  his  oppressive 
regulations  from  books  to  education.  He 
forbade  all  his  subjects  to  send  their  children 
into  Germany  to  be  educated,  assigning  as 
a  reason,  that  dangerous  principles  were 
inculcated  in  that  country.  All  Russians 
studying  at  foreign  universities  were  com- 
manded to  return  home,  on  penalty  of  con- 
fiscation. At  the  same  time,  the  appointment 
of  all  foreigners  to  judicial  or  ecclesias- 
tical positions  in  Russia,  was  declared  null 
and  void. 

But  perhaps  the  most   inquisitorial  and 
off*ensive  of  all  these  despotic  whims,  was  a 
command  that  all  strangers  in  Russia  should 
regularly  attend  at  their  respective  places  of 
worship,  and  rigidly  perform   all  the   rites 
of  their   religion.     Roman    catholics   were 
required  to  attend  the  confessional,  to  take 
the    sacrament    of    penance,  and    to    pre- 
pare themselves  for  receiving  the   host  at 
Easter.      Any    neglect    in    these    matters 
rendered   them   liable   to    be    punished   as 
rebels ;   yet,  at  the  same  time,  the  priests 
were   ordered    only    to   give   absolution    to 
such  as  should  merit  it — a  regulation  which 
made  the  good-will  of  the  priest  necessary 
for  the  safety  of  the  individual.    The  catholic 
church,  which  had  been  almost   deserted, 
was  now  crowded.     The   priests  belonging 
to  it — French,  Germans,  Italians,  and  Poles 
— took  their  seats  in  the  confessionals, 
box  was  placed  before  every  confessional, 
and  into  it  the  presumed  penitent  was  com- 
pelled to  drop  a  card,  containing  his  name, 
occupation,  and   address.      Every   evening 
these  cards  were  taken  to  the  emperor,  who 
forgot  the  dignity  of  his  exalted  station  in 
performing  the  petty  and  obnoxious  duties 
of  an  agent  of  police.     Every  person,  after 

north.  In  reflecting  upon  Russia  as  it  was  under 
the  reign  of  Paul,  and  comparing  it  with  the  empire 
as  ruled  by  Catherine,  we  seem  to  have  relapsed  into 
the  barbaric  past,  rather  than  have  gone  forward  into 
the  future.  Catherine  was  an  absolute  monarch 
her  successors  have  been  despots. 


A.D.  1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[financial  difficulties. 


confession,  received   a  card  of   absolution, 
which    admitted    him   to   the   communion- 
table, and  exempted  him  from  further  per- 
secution.     The  priests  soon   carried  on  a 
profitable  trade  in  these  cards,  which  they 
readily  sold  to  those  who  desired  the  pro- 
tection conferred  by  them,  yet  objected  to 
attending  the  confessional.    With  an  osten- 
tatious  parade  of  charitable  consideration, 
the   sick   were    informed    that   they   might 
require   the   confessor   to   attend  them    at 
home;  and  the  poor,  that  the  host  should 
be  carried  to  them  gratis.     It  can  scarcely 
excite  surprise,  that  after  such  despotic  and 
eccentric  regulations  as  these,  Paul  should 
prohibit  the  wearing  of  pantaloons  and  la- 
pelled  waistcoats.    These  articles  of  raiment 
were  placed  in  the  same  category  with  round 
hats,  and  equally  excited  the  irritability  of 
the  moon-struck  emperor.     To  such  an  ex- 
tent did   he   carry   his   petty  persecutions, 
that  hotel-keepers  and  those  who  let  lodg- 
ings were  imperatively  required  to  inform 
against  every  person  entering  their  houses 
who  wore  the  condemned  pantaloons,  hats, 
and   waistcoats,    or    who    did    not    attend 
church. 

The  long  wars  in  which  Russia  was  en- 
gaged during  the  reign  of  Catherine,  to- 
gether with  the  great  improvements  she 
effected,  and  her  personal  extravagance,  had, 
notwithstanding  the  great  increase  of  the 
revenue,  produced  certain  pecuniary  diffi- 
culties which  exerted  a  very  injurious  in- 
fluence on  the  circulation.  To  meet  the 
heavy  demands  upon  her,  required  greater 
means  than  could  be  safely  obtained  by 
taxation,  in  the  existing  state  of  the  em- 
pire. Catherine,  therefore,  adopted  the  ex- 
pedient of  introducing  paper  money  into 
circulation,  and  the  Russian  assignat  came 
into  existence.  In  Russia  a  singular  cause 
operated  in  producing  a  diminution  in  the 
circulation  of  the  precious  metals.  The 
serfs  are  not  the  legal  possessors  of  their 
own  persons,  much  less  of  any  property 
they  may  be  fortunate  enough  to  accumu- 
late. If  they  were  known  to  possess  pro- 
perty, they  would  in  most  cases  soon 
be  deprived  of  it  by  the  cupidity  of  their 
lords,*  or  the  unblushing  extortion  of  some 

•  The  proprietor  of  the  soil  seldom  hesitates  to 
seize,  by  some  fraudulent  pretext,  the  savings  of  the 
peasant,  when  he  discovers  them.  The  following 
painful  example  of  this  kind  of  oppression  is  related 
in  Clarke's  Travels  in  Russia :—''  A  peasant,  in  the 
village  of  Selo  Molodi,  near  Moscow,  who  had  been 
fortunate  enough  to  scrape  together  a  little  wealth, 
w»hed  to  marry  his  daughter  to  a  tradesman  of  the 
VOL.  I.  2  Y  ' 


government   official.      The   peasant,  there- 
fore, who  had  saved   a  little  money,  com- 
monly   buried    it    in    some    secret    place, 
frequently  concealing  the  circumstance  even 
from  his   wife  or  children,  lest  thev  might 
betray  or  plunder  him.     Thus,  wheii  a  serf 
was  drawn  for  a  soldier,  sold  by  his  master, 
or  removed  to  some  other  localitv,  it  fre- 
quently happened  that  the  buried*  treasure 
was  never  heard  of  again.    Even  in  Moscow 
and  the  large  towns  of  the  empire,  the  same 
custom  was  observed  ;  and  in   this  manner 
large  sums  were  constantly  withdrawn  from 
the  circulation.     Gold  was  also  sent  out  of 
Russia,  in  large  quantities,  during  this  reign, 
for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  the  services 
of  spies  in  other  countries,  and  to  prosecute 
secret  designs  for  objects  of  ulterior  aggran- 
disement.    Thus,  in  Poland,  immense  sums 
were  lavished  on  the  traitors  who  facilitated 
the  slavery  of  their  native  land ;  in  Moldavia, 
to   win   over   the  nobihty;    in    Constanti- 
nople, to  keep  up  a  system  of  espionage ; 
and  in  the  Archipelago  and  other  places,  to 
promote  an  insurrection  among  the  Greeks, 
and  the  subjects  of  the  sultan  in  the  Adriatic 
gulf. 

When  Catherine  had  recourse  to  assignats, 
she  promised  that  she  would  not  permit  the 
issue  of  these  notes  to  exceed  in  value  the 
sum  of  100,000,000  roubles,  for  which  a 
bank,  established  for  that  purpose,  was 
rendered  responsible.  For  some  time  the 
empress  kept  her  word,  and  the  issue  of 
assignats  was  in  due  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  specie  in  reserve.  The  con- 
venience of  the  new  paper  money,  and  the 
confidence  reposed  in  the  empress,  ren- 
dered it  so  popular,  that  the  course  of 
exchange  rose,  in  time,  to  between  two  and 
five  per  cent,  in  its  favour.  Catherine, 
ignorant  of  the  science  of  finance,  supposed 
that  this  favourable  state  of  affairs  might 
be  maintained,  though  the  quantity  of 
assignats  in  circulation  was  materially  in- 
creased. Yielding  to  the  temptation,  she 
therefore  violated  the  promise  she  had 
given,  and  issued  assignats  to  the  amount  of 
600,000,000  roubles,  instead  of  100,000,000, 
to  which  she  had  promised  to  limit  herself. 
The    result   was,    that    the    assignats    fell 

city ;  and  for  that  purpose,  that  she  should  be  free, 
he  offered  15,000  roubles  for  her  liberty;  a  most 
unusual  price  of  freedom,  and  a  much  greater  sura 
than  persons  of  his  class  will  be  found  to  possess. 
The  tyrant  took  the  ransom,  and  then  told  the  father 
that  both  the  girl  and  the  money  belonged  to  him  ; 
and,  therefore,  she  must  still  continue  among  the 
number  of  his  slaves." 

345 


Paul's  financial  experiments.]    HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


gradually  in  value,  were  at  last  altogether 
rejected,  and  a  calamitous  panic  ensued  in 
commercial  circles.  Not  understandins 
the  cause  of  this,  the  empress  continued  to 
multiply  the  quantity  of  assignats,  and  thus 
increased  the  evil.  She  even  issued  a  new 
kind  of  paper  money,  called  cabinet  notes, 
which  partook  something  of  the  nature  of 
exchequer  bills,  and  were  put  into  circula- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  discharginjj  her  own 
private  debts.  They  were  payable  at  the 
end  of  a  year,  and  bore  interest  at  the  rate 
of  six  per  cent. ;  but,  in  the  event  of  the 
interest  not  being  claimed  immediately 
after  the  expiration  of  the  year,  it  was 
refused  to  be  paid,  nor  would  the  treasury 
reimburse  the  holders  of  the  notes  until  they 
had  exacted  a  bonus  from  them.  The  con- 
sequence of  this  was  the  ruin  of  thousands. 
Tradesmen,  into  whose  hands  these  notes 
happened  to  fall,  or  who  were  obliged  to 
accept  them  in  cases  of  necessity,  were  glad 
to  negotiate  them  at  a  loss  of  forty  per 
cent. ;  and  at  last  it  became  impossible  to 
negotiate  them  upon  any  terms.  The  re- 
sult of  this  breach  of  good  faith  was  the 
withdrawal  of  public  confidence  from  the 
empress,  and  the  rapid  disappearance  of  gold 
and  silver  from  circulation. 

Still  in  ignorance  of  the  cause  of  these 
disasters,  the  empress  persevered  in  a  course 
of  error,  by  causing  the  coin  of  the  empire 
to  be  progressively  adulterated,  with  the 
object  of  diffusing  a  smaller  intrinsic  value 
over  a  larger  space.  The  inevitable  result 
followed ;  credit  fell  rapidly,  and  the  rouble 
in  specie  sank  below  its  intrinsic  value  ac- 
cording to  the  rate  of  exchange  in  London 
and  Amsterdam.  Many  persons  speculated 
upon  this  disastrous  state  of  things,  by  buy- 
ing up  the  roubles,  and  reselling  them  in 
Prussia  and  Austria,  where  they  were  melted 
down,  and  reissued  at  a  considerable  advan- 
tage. Gold  and  silver  at  length  disappeared 
from  circulation,  and  nothing  was  left  of  the 
metallic  currency,  except  copper.  Even 
this  was  sent  out  of  the  country  in  large 
quantities,  in  consequence  of  the  dishonesty 
of  the  ministers,  who  farmed  out  the  mines 
'to  their  favourites,  and  participated  in  the 
"profits  arising  from  a  corrupt  system,  by 
which  the  state  was  defrauded.  By  the 
commencement  of  the  year  1796,  the  bank, 
unable  to  change  the  assignats,  was  on  the 
point  of  bankruptcy ;  a  calamity  which  the 

•  The  absurdity  and  injustice  of  this  order  will 
be   better  understood    if    the  reader   will   bear   in 
mind  that  the  value  of  the  silver  rouble  is  about 
316 


mpress  endeavoured  to  avert  by  giving 
orders  for  an  adulteration  of  the  coin  to 
such  an  extent,  as  to  recast  them  at  double 
their  former  value ;  thus,  the  silver  pieces 
of  ten  kopecks  were  to  pass  for  twenty, 
and  those  of  twenty  for  thirty.  The  death 
of  the  empress  prevented  the  issue  of  this 
fraudulent  coin,  and  the  financial  difficulties 
of  the  state  were  left  to  be  adjusted  by  her 
successor. 

Paul,  on  his  accession,  immediately  sus- 
pended the  fabrication  of  this  base  coin, 
and  did  not  permit  the  quantity  that  had 
been  prepared  to  find  its  way  into  circula- 
tion. With  more  wisdom  than  might  have 
been  expected  from  him,  he  strove  to  restore 
credit  to  the  assignats ;  and  began  by 
diminishing  their  quantity.  His  earnestness 
in  the  business,  and  the  punishments  he 
threatened  to  inflict  on  any  person  in 
authority  who  should  be  detected  in  cor- 
rupt conduct  with  respect  to  the  finances, 
produced  a  feeling  of  confidence,  and 
brought  about  some  beneficial  results.  The 
assignats  rose  in  value  from  ten  to  fifteen 
per  cent.  Paul,  however,  soon  showed  that 
he  understood  no  more  of  the  doctrines  of 
finance  and  currency  than  Catherine  did. 
Influenced  alike  by  ignorance  and  despot- 
ism, he  issued  an  order,  that  the  paper 
rouble  should  pass  at  the  same  value  as  the 
silver  rouble.*  He  even  emploj^ed  his  son, 
the  Grand-duke  Constantine,  to  perform 
the  dishonourable  task  of  visiting  in  dis- 
guise the  shops  of  tradesmen,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  entrapping  them  into  a  violation  ot 
the  imperial  order.  Every  one  thus  con- 
victed of  jobbing  in  money  was  severely 
punished. 

Of  course,  this  arbitrary  and  ridiculous 
expedient  soon  made  matters  worse  than  it 
found  them ;  for  the  natural  tendency  of 
such  regulations  is  towards  the  entire  ex- 
tinction of  commerce,  or  the  reduction  of  it 
to  the  primitive  and  inconvenient  form  of 
barter.  Paul  then  announced  that  he  in- 
tended to  raise  the  assignat  in  estimation, 
by  publicly  burning  a  number  to  the  value 
of  6,000,000  roubles.  This  ceremony  was 
accordingly  performed  with  great  gravity, 
in  the  presence  of  the  emperor,  to  whom 
the  ashes  of  the  notes  were  solemnly  pre- 
sented. The  assembled  people  raised  shouts 
of  joy;  but  it  was  soon  known  that  the 
affair  was  a  paltry  and  dishonest  trick,  from 

four  francs  in  French,  or  35.  4d.  in  English  money 
while  the  proper  rouble  is  worth  only  about  oii 
franc,  or  tenpence. 


il 


A.D.  1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[financial  experiments. 


which  no  good  could  result,  as  the  assignats 
which  were  destroyed  did  not  form  any  part 
of  the  quantity  that  had  been  sent  into  cir- 
culation, but  were  a  remnant  of  the  stock 
prepared  by  the  empress  Catherine,  to  be 
used  as  her  necessities  might  dictate.  The 
detection  of  this  miserable  subterferge  ex- 
posed Paul  to  the  charges  of  insincerity, 
and  of  trifling  with  the  public  disaster. 

The  next  step  of  the  imperial  meddler 
was  to  submit  the  matter  to  a  committee  of 
finance;  a  thing  which  he  ought  to  have 
done  at  first.  Thev  were  instructed  to  take 
the  subject  into  consideration,  and  then 
make  such  proposals  as  appeared  most  likely 
to  efi'ect  the  object  in  view.  After  some 
deliberation,  the  committee  concluded  that 
the  best  plan  would  be  to  put  an  increased 
amount  of  the  precious  metals  into  circu- 
lation. This  was  indisputable;  but  the 
question  was,  how  could  it  be  done  ?  Where 
was  the  gold,  silver,  and  copper  to  come 
from  ?  The  mines  were  so  badly  managed,  as 
to  be  comparatively  unproductive.  Another 
injurious  and  oppressive  expedient  was 
therefore  resorted  to.  A  heavy  duty  was 
laid  upon  all  merchandise,  whether  imported 
or  exported ;  and  this  duty  was  required  to 
be  paid  in  foreign  money,  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  recoin  into  imperials  and  roubles, 
and  put  into  circulation  in  Russia.  The 
result  of  this  regulation  was  to  inflict 
another  serious  check  on  commerce.  To 
pay  the  duty  on  his  goods,  the  merchant 
was  compelled  to  purchase  dollars  and 
ducats,  which  necessarily  rose  in  price  as 
the  demand  for  them  increased;  so  much 
so,  that  he  was  compelled  to  pay  them  to 
the  government  at  a  loss  of  about  one-third 
upon  what  they  had  cost  him.  He  there- 
fore placed  an  exorbitant  price  upon  his 
goods,  besides  resorting  to  smuggling ;  for 
which  the  extent  of  the  frontiers  and  the 
dishonesty  of  the  officers  afforded  great  op- 
portunities. Thus,  the  advantages  gained 
by  the  new  duties  were  lost  by  this  means ; 
and  while  these  foolish  experiments  were  in 
progress,  the  credit  of  the  assignats  went 
down  again  to  the  same  ruinous  point  at 
which  Paul  found  it  on  his  accession. 

The  finance  committee  being  as  ignorant, 
and,  consequently,  as  unlucky  as  their  master, 
the  emperor  devised  a  new  scheme  of  his 
own.  This  was  to  collect  all  the  precious 
metals  to  which  the  government  could  lay 
claim  in  any  part  of  the  empire.  Catherine 
loved  to  shower  gifts  upon  all  who  served 
her,  and  to  shed  a  splendour  over  everything 


connected  with  her  government.  In  the 
exercise  of  this  temper,  she  had  caused 
magnificent  hotels  to  be  erected  in  all  the 
chief  towns,  for  the  residence  of  the  heads 
of  the  several  departments  of  the  local 
government.  She  also  presented  each 
governor  with  a  costly  service  of  plate,  to 
be  used  on  festivals  and  other  public  oc- 
casions. There  were  twenty-three  govern- 
ments possessing  services  of  this  kind,  the 
least  valuable  of  which  had  cost  no  less 
than  50,000  roubles.  Paul  calculated  that 
much  relief  would  be  afforded  by  their  con- 
version into  money;  and  the  governors 
were  commanded  to  deliver  them  up  to  the 
mint.  When  this  order  was  complied  with, 
it  was  found  that  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
plate  was  comparatively  so  small,  that  it 
would  be  of  no  avail  in  remedying  the 
scarcity  of  money.  Paul  had  forgotten  to 
make  allowance  for  the  heavy  charges  of  the 
goldsmiths  in  fashioning  the  plate,  or  for 
the  expense  of  conveying  it  to  the  several 
provinces.  Vexed  at  this  disappointment, 
the  foolish  and  irritable  monarch  ordered 
the  plate  to  be  broken  up  and  formed  into 
helmets,  cuirasses,  and  other  pieces  of 
armour,  to  be  used  at  his  approaching 
coronation.  This  was  done,  and  the  silver 
armour  then  given  to  the  goldsmiths,  as 
payment  for  their  labour  in  making  it. 
Such  were  the  financial  operations  of  the 
emperor  Paul ! 

Notwithstanding  the  embarrassed  state 
of  the  national  affairs,  and  the  economical 
pretensions  of  the  new  monarch,  he  soon 
gave  way  to  an  extravagance  as  unmeaning 
and  frivolous  as  it  was  enormous.  In  his 
coronation,  he  attempted  to  outvie  even  the 
sumptuousness  of  Catherine.  The  costly 
crown  which  had  adorned  her  brow  he  re- 
fused to  wear,  and  ordered  another  to  be 
made  of  such  magnificence,  that  its  value 
was  estimated  at  several  millions  of  roubles. 
Catherine  had  given  extravagant  sums  to 
her  favourites ;  but  Paul  was  still  more 
lavish  and  reckless  in  his  gifts.  These  were 
bestowed  only  on  persons  already  so  wealthy^ 
that  the  increase  merely  served  to  pamper 
their  pride  and  power  into  demonstrations 
of  arrogance,  dangerous  both  to  the  safety 
of  the  throne  and  the  interests  of  the 
people.  "  Sycophants  gorged  by  frauds,'' 
observes  an  energetic  writer,  "  received 
presents  from  Paul  that,  had  they  been 
more  judiciously  distributed,  would  have 
maintained  hundreds  of  families,  and  re- 
wjirded  the  deserts  of  thousands  who  served 

347 


..I 


i  |'« 


t 


'•■J  9 


Q 


TYRANNY  OF  PAUL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1796. 


l! 


the  state  with  zeal,  in  indigence  and  ob- 
scurity. But  it  is  one  of  the  repulsive 
characteristics  of  a  pure  despotism,  that  the 
rich  alone  accumulate  riches,  while  the  poor 
not  only  remain  poor,  but  are  oppressed  in 
proportion  as  the  higher  classes  are  raised 
more  and  more  above  the  reach  of  the 
social  sympathies.  The  impolicy  of  such 
proceedings  is  apparent,  not  only  in  the 
criminahty  of  wasting  the  public 'resources 
upon  improper  objects,  but  in  the  creation 
of  a  craving  and  powerful  body,  whose 
attachment  to  the  throne  being  purchased 
by  expensive  favours,  is  liable  to  be  loosened 
from  it  whenever  the  means  of  buying  up 
their  support  shall  have  become  exhausted. 
In  this  mainly  consists  the  difference  be- 
tween a  sovereignty  based  upon  the  willing 
allegiance,  the  reasoning  affections,  and  the 
consistent  gratitude  of  a  nation;  and  an 
authority  looking  out  upon  its  possessions 
from  behind  a  barrier  of  mercenaries,  and 
perpetually  coerced  into  fresh  acts  of  tyranny 
by  the  very  fears  that  arise  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  insecurity." 

Not  only  did  the  emperor  soon  lose  the 
popularity  that  seemed  inclined  to  attach  to 
him,  in  consequence  of  the  first  acts  he  per- 
formed after  his  accession,  but  he  incurred 
general    dislike.       At   court,    a   system    of 
espionage  and  humiliating  etiquette  created 
a   constant   uneasiness  and   sense  of  fear. 
The  people  were  harassed   with  petty  and 
degrading  regulations.     A  secret  police  paid 
inquisitorial  visits,  at  all  hours,  to  the  houses 
of  those  who  had  excited  the  displeasure  or 
suspicion  of  the  emperor.     Midnight  arrests 
took  place;    citizens    suddenly  disappeared 
frona   their   accustomed    haunts;    eccentric 
punishments  were  constantly  inflicted ;  and 
a  general  panic    prevailed.     In   the  army, 
the  caprice  and   despotism  of  the  emperor 
spread  terror  amongst  the  officers.      Any 
breach    of   PauPs    minute   regulations  fre- 
quently elicited  the  severest  punishments; 
and  the  officers  went  to  the  parade  pale  and 
fear-stricken.    Even  civilians,  who,  attracted 
by  curiosity,  had  come  to  witness  the  exer- 
cise of  the  troops,  were  placed  under  arrest 
by  the  emperor,   if  their  costume  or  their 
looks  chanced  to  displease  him.     St.  Peters- 
burg became  a  gloomy  residence,  where  all 
lived  in  a  state  of  fear.     No  security  re- 
mained for  life  or  liberty,  and  all  who  could 
leave  the  city,  did  so. '  Every  one  dreaded 
348 


to  meet  the  emperor ;  and  he,  aware  of  the 
sentiments  of  fear  and  aversion  which  he 
inspired,  lived  in  a  state  of  constant  appre- 
hension. He  frequently  reflected  on  the 
fate  of  his  presumed  father,  and  dreaded 
the  dark  designs  of  the  assas.vin.  As  his 
fears  increased,  his  despotism  became  more 
intolerable.  Suspecting  every  one,  he  dis- 
trusted even  the  empress.  If  she  spoke  in 
a  low  voice,  he  immediately  supposed  that 
some  conspiracy  against  him  was  in  pro- 
gress. On  one  occasion,  when  she  was  en- 
gaged in  conversation  with  a  foreign  am- 
bassador, he  suddenly  interrupted  her  by 
saying,  "  You  are  preparing,  perhaps,  ma- 
dam, to  act  the  part  of  Catherine;  but 
know,  that  you  will  not  find  in  me  a 
Peter  III." 

Amidst  PauFs  tyrannies,  he  performed  a 
few  charitable  actions;  these  were,  however, 
of  so  confined  and  petty  a  character,  as  to 
be  almost  contemptible.  At  Moscow,  he 
converted  an  old  building  into  a  hospital, 
where  fifty  patients  were  supported  at  his 
expense.  Sometimes  he  caused  food  to  be 
distributed  to  poor  officers;  a  mode  of  bounty 
which  must  have  created  a  sense  of  degrada- 
tion in  those  who  received  it.  At  other 
periods,  small  sums  of  money  were  given  to 
certain  distressed  persons.  But  it  has  been 
truly  observed,  that  his  charities,  like 
his  military  regulations,  were  essentially 
microscopic.  What  good  he  did  proceeded 
from  caprice,  and  not  from  benevolence; 
and  when  contrasted  with  the  sums  he 
wasted  in  needless  expenditure,  became 
altogether  insignificant. 

The  law  promulgated  by  Paul,  regulating 
the  succession  to  the  throne,  is  regarded  as 
the  wisest  and  most  useful  act  performed 
by  him.  This  law  corresponded  with  the 
system  generally  adopted  in  the  oldest 
European  states.  By  it  the  crown  was  to 
descend  to  the  eldest  son  and  his  male 
issue;  and  in  default  of  the  latter,  the 
second  son  and  his  male  issue  were  to 
inherit;  but  in  default  of  males,  the  chil- 
dren of  the  female  descendants  were  to 
succeed,  always  observing  the  same  order 
of  proximity.  When  the  successor  was 
under  age,  the  reigning  sovereign  was  to 
appoint  a  regent;  and  in  the  event  of  his 
falling  to  do  so,  the  regency  was  to  be  con- 
fided to  the  mother  of  the  minor,  or  to  the 
nearest  relative. 


A.D.  1796.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  PERSIAN  INVASION. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

PAUL  RECALLS  THE  RUSSIAN  TROOPS  FROM  THE  PERSIAN  TERRITORIES  ;  HIS  HATRED  OF  THE  FRENCH,  AND 
OF  RKVOLUTIONARY  PRINCIPLES  ;  HE  ENTERS  WITH  ACTIVITY  INTO  THE  ALLIANCE  FORMED  BY  CATHERINE 
WITH  AUSTRIA  AND  ENGLAND,  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  CRUSHING  THE  REPUBLICAN  GOVERNMENT  OF 
FRANCE,  AND  RESTORING  MONARCHY  IN  THAT  COUNTRY  ;  PAUL  CAUSES  HIMSELF  TO  BE  ELECTED  GRAND- 
MASTER OF  THE  KNIGHTS  OF  ST.  JOHN  OF  MALTA  ;  SUWARROW  APPOINTED  TO  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE 
RUSSIAN  AND  AUSTRIAN  ARMIES  IN  ITALY  ;  VICTORIES  OF  SUWARROW  j  ILL-FEELING  BETWEEN  THE  RUS- 
SIAN AND  AUSTRIAN  TROOPS. 


•li 


We  have  related  that  Catherine  coveted 
that  portion  of  the  Persian  empire  which 
extended  along  the  shores  of  the  Caspian, 
and  sought  to  annex  it  to  her  own  do- 
minions. The  expedition  which  she  had 
sent  there,  under  General  Zuboff,  brother 
to  the  favourite,  had  received  a  severe 
check,  and  the  result  was  rather  matter 
of  disappointment  than  of  congratulation 
to  Russia.  Paul,  on  his  accession,  resolved 
on  the  recall  of  an  expedition  which  had 
been  neither  wisely  undertaken  nor  suc- 
cessfullv  conducted.  His  attention  was  re- 
quired  in  other  directions ;  but  even  if  such 
had  not  been  the  case,  he  would  probably 
have  taken  the  same  course  in  his  eager 
desire  to  reverse,  wherever  it  was  prac- 
ticable, the  policy  of  his  predecessor. 

A  war  with  Persia  seemed  little  more 
than  a  mere  wantonness  and  an  idle  parade 
of  power  on  the  part  of  the  empress.  Such 
was  not,  however,  altogether  the  case.  Her 
motives  have  been  thus  ably  analysed  by  a 
writer  to  whom  we  have  before  been  in- 
debted : — "  Catherine  had  accustomed  her 
subjects  to  such  warlike  habits,  and  had 
been  so  incessantly  engaged  in  projects  of 
aggrandisement,  that  the  peace  she  entered 
upon  with  Sweden  and  Turkey  plunged  her 
into  a  state  of  inactivity,  which  presented 
too  sudden  a  transition  to  be  of  long  con- 
tinuance. While  she  was  thus  releasing 
herself  from  expensive  and  protracted  wars, 
the  whole  of  the  rest  of  Europe  was  in- 
volved in  contention.  She  had,  therefore, 
hardly  closed  the  Turkish  campaign,  when 
her  restless  spirit,  repenting  of  that  hasty 
measure,  longed  for  new  fields  of  conquest, 
and  discovered,  in  the  unsettled  state  of 
Persia,  a  tempting  region,  not  only  for  the 
employment  of  her  armies,  but  for  enabling 
her,  indirectly,  to  resume  that  scheme  of 
ambition,  in  reference  to  the  East,  \^hich 
her  treaty  with  Turkey  had  inopportunely 
suspended.  Inveterate  as  were  her  pre- 
judices towards  France,  and  anxious  as  she 
was  to  embark  in  hostilities  against   that 


power,  she  was  not  yet  prepared  to  assist 
Austria  in  its  calamitous  struggles,  or  to 
venture  upon  the  succour  of  Italy,  Egypt, 
and  Malta.  She  perceived,  in  the  spreading 
acquisitions  of  France,  the  seeds  of  future 
convulsions  and  the  germ  of  an  European 
war,  and  craftily  postponed  the  period  of 
her  interference  until  the  belligerent  powers 
should  have  become  so  exhausted  bv  their 
efforts  that  she  could  dictate  her  own  terms. 
England  was  engaged  in  a  sanguinary  war 
with  France,  and  Prussia  was  occupied  with 
her  new  acquisitions  in  Poland.  The  dis- 
turbed state  of  Europe  was  in  the  highest 
degree  favourable  to  her  plans;  and  she 
saw,  when  it  was  too  late,  that,  had  she 
not  concluded  a  peace  with  Turkey,  the 
time  was  arrived  when  she  might  have 
marched,  almost  certain  of  victory,  into 
the  dominions  of  the  Porte,  and  planted 
her  standard  on  the  walls  of  Constantinople. 
The  only  available  movement,  therefore, 
which  remained  opened  to  her,  and  which 
presented  the  probable  means  of  ultimately 
extending  her  territories  to  the  south  ol 
Europe  and  Asia,  was  an  invasion  of  Persia. 
The  internal  troubles  which  agitated  that 
country  assisted  her  materially  in  the  pro- 
secution of  her  designs." 

Great  natural  obstacles  lie  in  the  way  ot 
the  advance  of  an  array  from  Russia  into 
Persia.  The  stupendous  chain  of  the  Cau- 
casus mountains,  extending  from  the  shores 
of  the  Caspian  to  those  of  ^the  Black  Sea, 
seem  as  if  designed  by  nature  as  a  limit 
to  the  nations  on  either  side,  and  as  a 
barrier  against  their  encroachments  upon 
each  other.  Yet  Peter  the  Great  had  en- 
deavoured to  extend  the  power  of  Russia 
beyond  this  gigantic  barrier;  and,  notwith- 
standing the  failure  of  his  effort,  Catherine 
made  the  same  attempt.  We  have  related 
that  General  Zuboff  and  his  forces  captured 
the  town  and  fortress  of  Derbend,  the  capi- 
tal of  Daghestan;  that  the  Russian  army 
suffered  severely  from  contagion,  followed 
bv  a  great  mortality — was  exposed  to  haras&- 

349 


f 


t1 
11 


■M 


1    ':i 


f 
'     'I 

i  ■ 


: 


RETUKN  OF  THE  EXPEDITION.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


lA.d.  1797. 


ing:  attacks  from  the  fierce  mountain  tribes, 
which,  thouo^h  successfully  repulsed  by  the 
Russians,  inflicted  on  them  such  losses  as 
seriously  reduced  their  ranks,  and  made 
large  reinforcements  necessary.  In  addition 
to  these  difficulties  and  misfortunes,  the 
Russians  received  a  severe  check  in  a  battle 
with  the  Persians  and  the  Lesghians,  in 
which,  after  a  desperate  conflict  of  several 
liours'  duration,  neither  side  were  in  a  con- 
dition to  claim  a  victory.  Zuboff"  had  put 
his  troops  into  winter  quarters,  and  was 
waiting  for  further  reinforcements,  when 
the  death  of  the  empress  Catherine  took 
place. 

Zuboff  received,  together  with  the  news 
of  this  event,  an  order  from  Paul  to  suspend 
all  operations,  remain  in  his  present  quar- 
ters, and  make  the  army  swear  allegiance  to 
the  new  sovereign.  The  latter  had  resolved 
on  the  abandonment  of  the  expedition  ;  but, 
with  his  usual  eccentricity  and  want  of 
thought,  he  recalled  the  army  in  a  manner 
which  exposed  it  to  be  cut  to  pieces  on  its 
return  to  Russia:  this,  too,  only  for  the 
purpose  of  insulting  a  general  who  owed  his 
appointment  solely  to  the  favour  of  Cathe- 
rine. A^ter  the  lapse  of  a  few  weeks,  a  courier 
arrived  from  St.  Petersburg  with  a  large 
packet  from  the  emperor,  for  General  Zuboff". 
The  latter,  upon  opening  it,  was  mortified 
to  find  that  it  contained  nothing  more  than 
a  number  of  sealed  despatches  directed  to 
the  several  commanding  officers  of  the 
various  regiments,  but  not  a  word  addressed 
to  himself.  The  indignity  to  which  he  was 
thus  subjected,  was  augmented  by  the  dis- 
covery that  the  despatches  contained  pe- 
remptory orders  to  each  officer  to  return 
immediately  to  Russia  by  the  shortest  route. 

On  receiving  these  commands,  the  officers 
represented  to  Zuboff',  that  it  was  not  pos- 
sible for  them  to  march  at  such  an  incle- 
ment season,  especially  as  they  were  desti- 
tute of  forage  for  the  horses,  without  the 
requisite  provisions  for  the  troops,  and  when 
the  mountain  passes,  through  which  it  was 
necessary  to  pursue  their  way,  were  choked 
up  with  snow.  The  general  could  only 
reply,  that  he  had  no  longer  the  authority 
to  interfere,  and  that  he  durst  not  tamper 
with  the  orders  of  the  emperor.  He  then 
dismissed  the  officers  by  saying,  that  how- 
ever reasonable  their  statements  were,  they 
must,  at  all  hazards,  comply  with  the  em- 
peror's injunctions.  Broken  up  into  sepa- 
rate detachments,  without  a  leader,  or  being 
able  to  make  the  ncccssarv  preparation  for 
350 


its   perilous  journey,   the   army   began   its 
march.     Each  regiment  took  the  route  that 
seemed  best  to  its  colonel.    Concerted  action 
was   therefore   impossible,    and   the   troops 
fell  into  the  utmost  disorder  on  the  road. 
Their  ignorance  of  the  country,   and    the 
confusion   that    pervaded    their   ranks,    en- 
tailed greater  losses  upon  them  than  they 
had  suff*ered  at  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 
After  a  miserable  march  of  six  weeks,  the 
straggling    remnant  of   the  Russian   army 
reached   Kislar  in  the   spring  of  1797,  re- 
sembling a  ^military  mob   rather  than   an 
army.     Zuboff*  himself,  having  received  no 
orders,  remained  behind  with  two  battalions 
of  chasseurs.     His  situation  was  one  of  ex- 
treme  peril.      In    a   hostile   country,   400 
miles  from  the  Russian  frontiers,  and  with 
a  mere  handful  of  troops,  he  daily  expected 
to  be  surrounded  and  cut  off"  by  the  Persians 
or  Lesghians.     As  he  received  no  orders  to 
retreat,  he  at  length  resolved  to  do  so  with- 
out orders,  though  at  the  risk  of  incurring 
the  displeasure  of  the  emperor.    On  arriving 
at    St.    Petersburg   he    resigned    his    com- 
mission ;    an   example  which  was  followed 
by  many  of  the  officers  who  served  uuder 
him.     This  miserable  termination  of  what 
was  intended  to  be  a  great  invasion  of  Persia, 
resulting  in   the  conquest  of  that  country, 
may  be  usefully  reflected  on  by  those  who 
entertain   fears  that  Russian  troops    could 
ever  proceed  to  India,  and  there  contend 
with  the  English  for  the  sovereignty  of  that 
vast  peninsula. 

With  respect  to  European  politics,  Paul 
seemed  at  first  disposed  to  adopt  a  system 
of  neutrality  in  the  great  war  between  repub- 
lican France  and  the  allied  powers.  It  was, 
however,  difficult  for  Russia  long  to  remain 
passive.  The  triumph  of  the  democratic 
principles  in  France,  and  the  brilliant  suc- 
cesses of  the  armies  of  that  nation  ;  its  inva- 
sion of  Switzerland,  of  Rome,  Naples,  Malta, 
and  Egypt,  added  to  the  hatred  which  Paul 
bore  towards  everything  French,  induced  him 
to  alter  his  determination.  The  National 
Convention  of  France  had  now,  for  several 
years,  assumed  a  hostile  attitude  towards 
all  the  ancient  aristocratic  governments  of 
Europe,  and  not  only  threatened  them  with 
a  sweeping  democratic  propaganda,  but  also 
promised  that  France  would  grant  frater- 
nity and  assistance  to  all  people  who  wished 
to  recover  their  liberty.  This  was  a  fatal 
position  to  take  up,  and  necessarily  pro- 
duced retaliation.  Austria,  Prussia,  and 
England  endeavoured  to  avenge  and  rein- 


-«TS 


iL.D.  1798.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [alliance  against  franck. 


state  the  Bourbons;    and  the  wars  of  the 
Revolution  were  the  result. 

Catherine,  though  prepared  to  interfere, 
had  held  aloof  from  the  struggle,  with  the 
intention  of  deciding  it  in  favour  of  Russia 
when  the  mutual  exhaustion  of  the  conflict- 
ing parties  became  apparent.  Prior  to  the 
revolution  she  had  liked  the  French ;  but 
that  great  convulsion,  which  tore  up  mon- 
archy by  the  roots,  and,  for  a  while,  tram- 
pled order  into  the  dust,  had  excited  in  her 
a  feeling  of  dread  and  hatred,  on  account  of 
its  being  the  birthplace  of  those  principles 
which  threatened  to  destroy  every  European 
despotism.  This  was  the  only  point  on 
which  Paul  sympathised  with  the  late  em- 
press, and  on  this  he  went  beyond  it.  Not 
only  did  he  bitterly  detest  the  republican 
and  anti-religious  opinions  so  prevalent 
in  France,  but  he  disliked  the  French 
people  themselves.  Their  natural  gaiety 
was  offensive  to  the  sullen  austerity  of  his 
nature,  while  their  repugnance  to  dead  for- 
malisms seemed  to  censure  a  man  whose 
life  was  devoted  to  the  establishment  and 
elaborate  performance  of  minute,  and,  com- 
monly, senseless  and  frivolous  formalities. 
Paul  insisted  on  the  most  rigid  observance 
of  the  externals  of  religion,  because  they 
formed  the  bulwark  of  his  government ;  and 
though  he  kept  an  ugly  and  diminutive 
mistress,  he  professed  a  great  admiration 
for  morality.  Never  does  it  seem  to  have 
occurred  to  this  strange  creature,  that  his 
whole  life,  passed  in  selfishness,  caprice, 
violence,  and  cruelty,  was  one  of  prolonged 
outrage  upon  both  religion  and  morality. 
He  condemned  the  French  for  their  want 
of  religion  and  morality.  He  sincerely  be- 
lieved them  to  be  the  most  immoral  people 
in  the  world ;  and,  as  it  has  been  happily 
expressed,  "  he,  with  his  usual  inconsistency 
and  extravagance,  hated  them  less  for  the 
faults  which  he  found  in  them,  than  for  the 
faults  which  his  implacable  prejudices  as- 
signed to  them.  Catherine  liked  the 
French,  until  the  revolution  inspired  her 
with  vengeance  against  a  country  which 
had  shown  an  example  so  fraught  with 
perils  to  the  old  despotisms  :  Paul  hated 
the  French  long  before  the  revolution  had 
furnished  him  with  a  feasible  excuse  for 
hostilities.  This  was  precisely  the  diff'er- 
ence  between  them  :  that  Catherine  acted 
in  a  spirit  of  watchful  policy;  and  Paul  took 
the  current  of  his  passions,  which  hap- 
pened in  this  instance  to  run  in  the  same 
channels." 


Before  the  accession  of  Paul,  he  is  re- 
ported to  have  made  this  memorable  obser- 
vation— "  In  whatever  light,  and  in  what- 
ever circumstances  I  wish  to  view  an 
emperor  of  Russia,  his  noblest  part  will 
always  be  that  of  a  pacificator.''  The  new 
emperor  was,  however,  influenced  by  no  prin- 
ciples ;  and  if,  as  is  most  probable*  he  made 
this  remark,  he  never  retained  it  in  mind  as 
a  guide  of  his  conduct.  In  the  February  of 
1795,  an  alliance,  off'ensive  and  defensive, 
was  formed  between  Russia,  Englaud,  and 
Austria,  with  the  object  of  acting  against 
the  republican  government  of  France,  the 
extinction  of  the  revolution,  and  the  restora- 
tion of  monarchy  in  that  country.  This 
alliance  was  not,  as  we  have  shown,  pro- 
ductive of  any  great  results  at  the  time. 
Catherine  desired  to  husband  her  strength, 
and  to  hold  the  balance  between  the  great 
contending  powers ;  she  aimed,  in  fact,  at 
being  the  arbitress  of  the  aff'airs  of  Europe. 
Prussia  held  aloof  from  this  triple  alliance, 
and,  in  the  April  of  the  same  year,  made 
peace  with  the  republic,  to  which  Spain  had 
already  submitted. 

ft- 

Catherine,  at  the  time  of  her  death,  had 
an  army  of  from  10,000  to  50,000  men, 
under  General  Suwarrow,  assembled  iu 
Galicia,  with  the  object  of  joining  the 
troops  of  her  allies  against  France.  Paul, 
who  disliked  Suwarrow,  and  feared  a  general 
who  was  so  popular  with  the  soldiery,  grasped, 
as  we  have  seen,  at  a  petty  opportunity  of 
depriving  him  of  his  command.  But  the 
solicitations  of  Austria  and  the  subsidies  of 
England,  now  induced  Paul  to  enter  into 
active  hostilities  against  France.  He  agreed 
to  assist  Austria  with  60,000  Russians  ;  and 
in  the  December  of  1798  he  entered  into 
an  engagement  with  England,  by  which  he 
bound  himself  to  furnish  an  auxiliary  force 
of  45,000  men,  to  act  with  the  British  troops 
in  the  north  of  Germany;  in  return  for 
which,  England  was  to  provide  a  monthly 
subsidy  of  £75,000,  and  an  immediate  ad- 
vance of  £225,000. 

In  entering  actively  upon  the  war,  Paul 
was,  however,  influenced  by  another  and 
more  personal  consideration.  The  island 
of  Malta  was  granted  by  the  emperor 
Charles  V.,  in  1530,  to  the  grand-master 
and  religious  fraternity  of  St.  John  of  Jeru- 
salem, who  had  recently  been  expelled  from 
Rhodes  by  the  Turks.  The  knights  of  St. 
John  thus  became  sovereigns  of  Malta,  and 
were  independent,  with  the  exception  of  a 
trifling  aiicual  feudal  acknowledgment  oi 

351 


i 

1 


k\ 


\i 


; 


'! 


li     r 


l!lt 


QUARREL  CONCERNING  MALTA.]         HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1798. 


tenure  to  the  king  of  Sicily.     To  protect 
the  island  against  the  Turks  and  the  pirates 
of    the    Mediterranean,    they    commenced 
those  famous  fortifications  which  remain  to 
the  present  day.     The  knights  were  divided 
amongst  themselves   by   dissensions,  and   a 
few  of  their  number  offered  to  surrender, 
or   rather    to    sell,    the   island    to    Russia. 
They  had  applied  to  Catherine  upon  the  sub- 
ject, but    she  declined   to  avail   herself  of 
their   proffered    treachery.      On    the   offer 
being  made  to  Paul,  he  accepted  it ;  but  he 
was  so  long  in  arranging  the  details  of  the 
bargain,  that  it  slipped  from  his  grasp.     In 
1798,  the  French  expedition  which  was  con- 
veying Napoleon   to  Egypt,   made    its  ap- 
pearance   before   Malta;   and   the   fortress, 
which  was  held  to  be  impregnable,  capitu- 
lated without  firing  a  shot.     The  cause  of 
this    was,    that    while    one    section    of    the 
knights  were  engaged  in  selling  the  island 
to   Paul,  anothor  section,  including  Baron 
liomspesch,    the    grand-master,    concluded 
arrangements    for   the    same   purpose   with 
Napoleon.      The   grand-master  was  to  re- 
ceive 600,000  francs,  a  principality  in  Ger- 
many,   or   a    pension    for   life   of    300,000 
francs ;  while  to  each  of  the  French  cheva- 
liers was  awarded  a  pension  of  700  francs 
per   annum.       The    successful    conspirators 
had   taken   their   measures   with    so    much 
precaution,  that  when  the  French  fleet  ar- 
rived, the  batteries  were  unarmed,  the  gar- 
rison was  scattered  in  disadvantageous  situa- 
tions,   besides    being    almost    destitute   of 
stores  and  ammunition.     It  was  fortunate 
for  the  captors  that  such  was  the  case,  for 
the   fortifications   of  La   Valette    were    so 
strong,    that    they   might    have   baffled   the 
whole  power  of  the  French  fleet  and  army, 
even  supposing  that  Napoleon  cuuld   have 
spared  time  for  the  siege.     As  he  and  his 
staff  passed  through  the  triple  line  of  for- 
tifications.   General    Caffarelli    observed   to 
him,  that  "  it  was  lucky  there  was  some  one 
within  to  open  the  massive  gates  to  them ; 
for  had  the  place  been  altogether  empty, 
they  would  have  found  it  rather  difficult  to 
get   into  it."     Thus  fell  one  of  the  most 
renowned  fortresses  in  the  world ;  the  mag- 
nificent  plate,  and  other  treasures  of  the 
order,   were    taken   on    board   the   French 
fleet ;  and  Napoleon,  leaving  a  garrison  be- 
hind him,  departed  for  Egypt. 

This     disappointment     greatly    irritated 

Paul,  who  had  made  so  sure  of  possessing 

Malta,   that    he    had   already    appointed    a 

governor  of  it.    The  power  of 'France  seemed 

352 


to  be  taking  that  aggressive  course  which, 
in   Paul's  estimation,  was   only   to   be  fol- 
lowed by  Russia.     He  was  also  encouraged 
by  the  subsequent  destruction  of  the  French 
fleet  by  Nelson,  at  the  battle  of  the  Nile— 
a  circumstance  which   broke   the  charm  of 
republican  invincibility.     Now  he  believed 
was   the   time    when    the   arms    of  France 
might  be  effectually  resisted ;  and  he  pub- 
lished   a   declaration,    announcing   that   he 
was  ready,  with  all  the  force  of  his  arms  and 
the  resources   of  his   empire,  to   assist   in 
restoring  the  old  relations  among  the  Euro- 
pean states,  and  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
anarchy  and  democratic  principles.     As  to 
Malta,  though  it  was  then  in  the  possession 
of  the  French,  he  became  grand-master,  in 
name,  of  the  really  now  extinct  order  of 
the  Knights   of  St.  John.     Those  who   re- 
sided within  the  Russian  empire,  declared 
the  Baron  Von   Homspesch  and  his  com- 
panions to  be  traitors,  and  they  appealed  to 
the  protection  of  the  emperor.     Paul  gave 
a  gracious  response,  and   caused   them,  in 
their  names,  and  in  those  of  their  absent 
brethren,    to    elect   him    as    grand-master. 
It  was  a  strange  anomaly,  to  see  the  head  of 
the    Greek    church    in   Russia   assume   the 
office  of  grand-master  of  the  catholic  order 
of  St.  John  of  Malta.     At  the  same  time, 
the    invasion   of   Egypt   by  Napoleon    had 
drawn   the   Porte    into  the    league   against 
France.     A  curious  and  confused  spectacle 
was   thus   presented.     The   union  with   the 
Turks  of  the  grand-master  of  Malta,  whose 
first  vow  was  the  extermination  of  the  Mus- 
sulmans ;  the  advance  of  the  battalions  of 
Russia,  decorated  with  the  catholic  cross  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  the  schismatic  cross 
of  St.  Andrew  of  Russia,  and  the  protectant 
cross  of  St.  Anne  of  Ilolstein,  fisrhtinff  be- 
side   the   standard   of  the  prophet,  to  re- 
establish the  pope  in  Rome,  Catholicism  in 
France,  and  Islamism  in  Egypt,  was  a  sight 
at  once  strange  and  perplexing. 

The  Russian  army  commenced  its  march 
under  General  Rosamberg,  and  proceeded 
to  cross  the  south  of  Germany.  Tlie  inso- 
lence of  some  of  the  Russian  officers  towards 
the  Austrians,  and  the  misconduct  of  the 
Russian  troops,  who  not  unfrequently  ap- 
propriated whatever  they  could  put  their 
hands  on,  and  ill-treated  those  who  com- 
plained, caused  the  emperor,  Francis  II.,  to 
represent  to  Paul  the  absolute  necessity  of 
recalling  Suwarrow,  whose  influence  over 
the  soldiers  was  absolute,  and  whose  fame 
would  be  a  prestige  of  victory.     For  thia 


AD.  1799.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  with  FRANCE. 


there  was  also  a  further  reason.  The  Rus- 
sian officers  affected  to  despise  the  Aus- 
trians, while  the  latter  were  too  proud  to 
submit  to  the  command  of  Russian  generals 
who  had  not  acquired  a  distinguished  mili- 
tary reputation.  Paul  hesitated  to  appoint 
Suwarrow,  for  his  ill-feeling  towards  that 
remarkable  man  had  not  subsided.  He 
was,  however,  induced,  by  repeated  remon- 
strances, to  sacrifice  his  personal  feelings  to 
what  was  regarded  as  the  interest  of  the 
common  cause  of  the  allies. 

Suwarrow,  on  being  dismissed  from  his 
command,  retired,  in  the  first  instance,  to 
Moscow.  There  the  stories  in  circulation 
concerning  his  exploits  rendered  him  an 
object  of  universal  interest.  The  vindictive 
Paul,  therefore,  issued  an  order  requiring 
the  old  general  to  leave  the  city,  and  take 
up  his  residence  in  a  remote  village.  When 
this  order  was  presented  to  the  eccentric 
soldier,  he  inquired  what  time  was  allowed 
him  for  settling  his  affairs  ?  *'  Four  hours,'' 
was  the  reply  of  the  police  officer.  "  Oh  !" 
exclaimed  the  veteran,  in  a  sarcastic  tone, 
"  this  is  too  kind  I  an  hour  is  sufficient  for 
Suwarrow."  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  had 
packed  up  his  gold  and  jewels  in  a  case, 
and  was  ready  to  depart.  A  travelling  car- 
riage was  placed  at  his  disposal ;  but  re- 
garding it  contemptuously,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Suwarrow  has  no  need  of  a  coach  to  go 
into  exile  ;  he  can  go  there  in  the  same 
equipage  which  he  made  use  of  to  repair  to 
the  court  of  Catherine,  or  to  the  head  of 
the  armies.  Bring  me  a  cart  V*  A  cart 
was  provided  accordingly;  and  in  this  un- 
comfortable vehicle  did  the  general,  accom- 
panied by  the  police  officer,  perform  a  dreary 
journey  of  500  versts.  On  arriving  at  his 
destination,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  a 
wooden  hut,  where  he  remained  under  the 
surveillance  of  some  subaltern  officers  of  the 
police.  There  his  solitude  was  made  more 
oppressive  by  his  not  being  permitted  either 
to  write  or  to  receive  visitors.  On  one 
occasion,  Paul,  either  from  caprice  or  from 
some  better  feeling  towards  the  veteran, 
sent  a  courier  to  him  with  a  letter,  ad- 
dressed, *' To  Field-marshal  Suwarrow.'^ 
"  Tliis  is  not  for  me  !"  exclaimed  the  old 
soldier;  "if  Suwarrow  were  field-marshal, 
he  would  not  be  banished  to  a  village ;  he 
would  be  seen  at  the  head  of  the  army.'' 
So  saying,  he  returned  the  letter  unopened, 
nor  could  any  representations  induce  him 
to  receive  it.  Paul  was  irritated  that  he 
could  not  subdue  the  spirit  of  the  warrior,  | 

VOL.  I.  2  z 


and  caused  the  guard  about  him  to  be 
made  more  strict  than  before.  Shortly 
after  this,  Paul  was  compelled,  by  his  own 
interests  and  the  representations  of  the 
Austrian  emperor,  to  reinstate  the  field- 
marshal,  which  he  did  with  more  grace 
than  might  have  been  expected  from  him. 
"  I  have  resolved,"  he  wrote,  *'  to  send  you 
into  Italy,  to  the  assistance  of  his  majesty 
the  king  and  emperor,  my  brother  and 
ally.  Suwarrow  has  no  need  of  triumphs 
or  laurels,  but  my  country  has  need  of 
him ;  and  mv  wishes  aorree  with  those  of 
Francis  II.,  who,  having  conferred  on  you 
the  supreme  command  of  his  Italian  army, 
begs  you  to  accept  that  dignity."  On  re- 
ceiving this  epistle,  Suwarrow  forgot  his  in- 
juries, and  joyfully  accepted  the  command. 
The  whole  of  Russia  also  looked  forward, 
with  expectant  pride  and  elated  enthusiasm, 
to  the  honours  which  the  conqueror  of 
Ismail  was  to  win  for  the  empire. 

Suwarrrow  and  his  battalions  arrived,  in 
the  April  of  1799,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mincio,  and  took  the  command  of  the  allied 
Russian  and  Austrian  troops  in  Italy.  The 
extravagant  flatteries  recently  lavished  upon 
him,  had  naturally  fostered  the  high  opinion 
he  entertained  of  his  own  genius  as  a  general, 
and  the  superiority  of  his  troops  over  those 
of  other  countries.  The  jealousy  of  the 
Austrian  officers  was  revived  by  the  arro- 
gance of  his  speech  and  bearing.  He  already 
talked  of  the  capture  of  Paris,  the  restora- 
tion of  the  government  of  the  Bourbons, 
and  the  punishment  of  all  revolutionary 
atheists.  The  Austrian  generals  called  a 
council  of  war,  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  his 
plans,  and  taking  them  into  consideration. 
Councils  of  this  kind  were  held  in  contempt 
by  Suwarrow,  and  that  not  without  reason. 
A  perfect  army  acts  like  a  vast  living  ma- 
chine, pervaded  by  one  undivided  and  abso- 
lute will.  Question  that  will,  and  its  unity 
is  destroyed;  destroy  the  unity  of  an  army, 
and  its  efficiency  is  gone.  The  members  of 
the  council,  beginning  at  the  younjjest,  pro- 
posed their  several  schemes.  Suwarrow 
listened  in  silence ;  and,  when  all  had  spoken, 
he  took  a  slate,  drew  two  lines  on  it,  and 
said,  "  Here,  gentlemen,  are  the  French, 
and  here  the  Russians ;  the  latter  will  march 
against  the  former  and  beat  them."  Then 
he  rubbed  out  the  French  line,  and  added, 
"This  is  all  my  plan;  the  council  is  con- 
cluded." 

Just  before  the  arrival  of  the  Russians,  the 
French  armv  in  Italy  had  suffered  a  defeat 

353 


v| 


i 


n 


1 


;' 


uz. 


'J 

ti 


SUWARROW  IN  ITALY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1799. 


nt  the  hands  of  the  Austrians  at  Mapjnano. 
In  consequence  of  this,  Severer,  the  general 
in  command,  had  been  superseded  by  the 
able  Moreau,  who  had  recently  attained 
great  distinction  in  the  field  against  the 
Austrians.  Moreau  found  the  French  troops 
reduced  to  the  number  of  28,000,  and  so 
much  wasted  by  sickness  and  slaughter,  that 
it  was  impossible  for  them  to  maintain 
tlieir  position.  He  therefore  retired  towards 
Milan,  leaving  immense  military  stores, 
parks  of  artillery,  and  a  bridge  equipnge  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  This  movement 
favoured  the  operations  of  the  latter;  for  the 
Archduke  Charles  (who  commanded  the 
Austrian  forces)  and  General  Suwarrow  had 
adopted  the  plan  of  making  such  a  diversion 
of  the  French  armies  in  Switzerland  and 
Italy,  as  would  enable  the  allies  ultimately 
to  prevent  all  communication  between  them ; 
and,  forming  a  junction  of  their  own  troops, 
to  penetrate  into  France  by  the  defiles  of 
the  Jura  and  the  defenceless  Vosges — the 
same  quarter  on  which  the  great  invasion  of 
1814  was  afterwards  effected. 

Moreau  had  deemed  it  prudent  to  take  up 
a  position  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Adda, 
where  he  posted  his  forces  in  three  divisions. 
Suwarrow,  who  had  lost  none  of  the  energy 
of  his  earlier  days,  was  speedily  upon  them, 
and,  before  the  French  had  time  to  concen- 
trate their  strength,  he  forced  the  passage  of 
the  river  in  two  places,  thus  dividing  the 
enemy's  battalions  into  three  parts,  which 
enabled  him  to  beat  them  in  detail.  One 
division  was  driven  back  towards  Milan  with 
a  loss  of  2,400  men,  of  which  1,100  were 
taken  prisoners ;  another,  after  a  brave 
resistance,  threw  down  their  arms ;  while  the 
third  was  thrown  into  such  confusion  that 
they  fled  at  the  first  shock.  It  is  estimated 
that,  in  this  opening  engHgement,  the  French 
lost  11,000  men,  besides  being  driven  from 
their  most  formidable  positions.  Suwarrow 
and  the  allies  pushed  on  for  Milan,  which 
city  they  entered  in  triumph  on  the  29th 
of  April.  Suwarrow  received  the  captive 
French  officers  with  an  ironical  ceremony, 
which,  though  very  humiliating,  was  better 
treatment  than  they  had  expected,  as  the 
barbarity  of  the  Kussian  soldiers  had  be- 
come proverbial  among  the  other  nations  of 
Europe.  Indeed,  it  has  been  asserted,  that 
the  Austrians  found  it  necessary  to  escort 
the  captured  French  sohliers  through  the 
ranks  of  the  ferocious  Russians,  who  would 
otherwise  have  massacred  them  without  hesi- 
tation. 

354 


Suwarrow  should  have  instantly  pursued 
the  discomfited  French;  but  he  remained 
for  more  than  a  week  at  Milan,  absorbed  by 
the  festivities  with  which  he  was  congratu- 
lated in  that  city.  During  that  time  the 
shattered  remains  of  the  French  army 
effected  their  retreat,  after  securing  the 
communications  with  the  adjacent  passes  of 
the  Alps;  the  one  towards  Alexandria,  with 
a  view  txt  occupy  the  defiles  of  Bocchetta 
and  the  approaches  to  Genoa;  and  the 
other,  commanded  by  Moreau,  to  the  plain 
between  the  Po  and  the  Fanaro,  at  the  foot 
of  the  northern  slope  of  the  Apennines. 
The  commander  of  the  allied  imperial  forces 
at  length  left  Milan,  and  pushed  forward 
with  the  design  of  forcing  the  Po,  turning 
the  left  of  the  French,  and  drawing  them 
into  a  general  and  conclusive  action. 

Moreau  poured  down  upon  the  allies  with 
such  resistless  force,  that  Suwarrow  deemed 
it  prudent  to  retire  from  the  opposite  bank 
of  the  Po,  and  to  march  upon  Turin,  then 
the  chief  depot  of  the  French  magazines. 
After  this  he  designed  to  cut  off  the  commu- 
nication of  Moreau  with  France.  Turin 
was  captured  by  the  allies,  and  the  French 
garrisou  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the  citadel, 
and  to  leave  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
nearly  300  pieces  of  artillery,  60,000  mus- 
kets, and  an  enormous  quantity  of  ammuni- 
tion and  military  stores.  This  heavy  loss 
deprived  Moreau  of  all  his  resources,  and 
threatened  his  army  with  destruction.  But 
his  high  spirit  triumphed  over  his  apparently 
desperate  circumstances.  Invincible  to  the 
last,  he  strove  to  form  a  junction  with  the 
army  at  Naples,  under  the  command  of 
Macdonald,  and  endeavoured  to  regain  his 
position  on  the  west  of  the  Apennines,  so 
as  to  cover  the  avenues  to  Genoa.  With 
Suwarrow  close  upon  his  rear,  he  succeeded, 
by  indefatigable  labour,  iu  making  a  rugged 
mountain  path  across  the  Apennines,  prac- 
ticable for  artillery  and  waggons,  in  four 
days;  and  over  this  precipitous  track  he 
defiled  in  excellent  order,  and  reached  the 
southern  side  of  the  mountains  without  in- 
terruption. The  French  army  was  saved; 
but  the  Italian  conquests  of  Napoleon  had, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  fortresses,  been 
wrested  from  the  grasp  of  his  countrymen. 
The  French  standards,  which  had  recently 
floated  on  the  towers  of  the  principal  cities 
of  Lombardy,  were  now  shivering  iu  the 
desolate  snows  of  the  Alps. 

Macdonald  and  Moreau  made  arrange* 
ments  for  a  junction  of  their  forces,  with  the 


A.D.  1799.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[batti.e  of  the  trebbia. 


hope  of  dislodging  the  allies  from  their  con- 
quests. The  former,  in  his  progress,  with  an 
army  of  37,000  men,  obtained  a  victory  over 
Prince  HohenzoUern,  who  lost  1,500  men 
in  the  engagement.  This  success  was  fol- 
lowed by  others ;  and  Macdonald  became 
master  of  Parma,  Placentia,  and  the  whole 
of  the  country  in  that  direction.  He  also 
compelled  Field-marshal  Ott  to  retire  be- 
hind the  Tidone,  in  preference  to  risking  a 
pitched  battle  in  the  open  plains. 

Suwarrow  was  soon  on  the  alert ;  and  on 
the  17th  of  June  he  arrived  within  sight  of 
Macdonald's  forces,  which  he  resolved  to 
attack  the  following  day.  The  energy  of 
Macdonald,  however,  led  to  an  almost  im- 
mediate engagement,  which  took  place  on 
the  banks  of  the  Trebbia,  The  Austrians 
were  at  first  driven  back  in  great  disorder 
by  I  lie  impetuous  attack  of  the  French;  but 
Suwarrow  succeeded  in  turning  the  fortune 
of  the  day.  The  French  retired  in  excellent 
order,  until  a  wild  charge  of  Cossacks  on 
their  flank  threw  them  into  confusion.  The 
latter,  pursuing  with  too  much  temerity, 
received  a  check  in  their  turn,  and  great 
numbers  of  them  were  mowed  down  by  the 
grapeshot  of  their  opponents. 

Each  army  made  preparations  during  the 
night  for  a  general  engagement  on  the  fol- 
lowing day.  It  was,  however,  noon  before 
the  Russians  and  Austrians  were  ready,  and 
Suwarrow  then  led  them  against  the  French, 
who  were  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle  on 
the  banks  of  the  river.  The  latter  crossed 
the  river  and  charged  the  allies;  but  they 
met  with  a  repulse.  The  conflict  lasted 
until  night,  and  was  carried  on  with  great 
fury.  When  twilight  and  exhaustion  closed 
this  second  day's  struggle,  the  French  had 
been  driven  back  across  the  stream,  after 
suffering  a  severe  loss.  The  hostile  armies 
lay  during  the  night  with  their  arms  by 
their  sides,  and  the  soldiers  resting  upon 
their  guns.  At  midnight  an  alarm  took 
place,  and  the  French  rushed  into  the  river 
and  fired  upon  the  Russian  videttes.  Both 
armies  were  aroused,  and  the  firing  was  con- 
tinued for  some  time  upon  each  side. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  battle 
was  renewed  for  the  third  time.  Again  the 
French  were  the  assailants,  and  plunging 
into  the  river,  they  pushed  on  vigorously, 
and  outflanked  the  Russian  right.  The 
latter  suffered  considerably,  but  fought  with 
great  firmness.  They  were  at  length  driven 
back ;  but  being  reinforced  by  several  batta- 
lions,  the   French   were   repulsed  in   their 


turn,  and  compelled  to  recross  the  river. 
They  also  crossed  the  stream  at  anotheJ 
point  under  a  shower  of  grapeshot,  and, 
making  a  successful  bayonet  charge  on  the 
centre  of  the  allies,  succeeded  in  carrying  all 
the  batteries  of  the  Austrians  under  Melas, 
and  in  throwing  the  whole  line  into  confu- 
sion. But  their  good  fortune  did  not  con- 
tinue ;  they  soon  became  the  assailed  instead 
of  the  assailants :  the  battle  raged  with  fury 
along  the  entire  line,  and  Suwarrow  at  length 
became  master  of  the  whole  left  bank  of  the 
river.  But  his  attempts  to  pass  to  the  op- 
posite side  were  repulsed  by  the  closeness  and 
rapidity  of  the  French  fire.  Night  again  sepa- 
rated the  combatants  and  ended  this  severe 
conflict,  prolonged  over  a  period  of  three  days. 

Each  side  had  suffered  heavy  losses. 
That  of  the  French,  in  killed  and  wounded, 
was  estimated  at  12,000  men ;  while  that  of 
the  allies  was  not  much  less.  Macdonald, 
exhausted  by  so  severe  a  conflict,  feared  to 
risk  a  renewal  of  the  engagement.  Aban- 
doning his  wounded,  he  retreated  during 
the  night,  and  directed  his  course  towards 
the  Apennines.  Unhappily  for  him,  a  des- 
patch which  he  forwarded  to  Moreau,  de- 
scribing the  forlorn  state  of  his  army  and 
the  line  of  his  retreat,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Suwarrow,  who,  acting  instantly  upon  this 
information,  commenced  a  vigorous  pursuit. 
The  French  were  overtaken,  and  attacked 
both  in  front  and  flank.  Immense  num- 
bers were  taken  prisoners,  and  the  rest 
driven  to  seek  refuge  in  the  mountains. 
Amongst  the  captives  were  four  generals 
and  506  officers.  When  Macdonald  could 
safely  pause  to  review  his  broken  battalions, 
he  discovered  that,  in  this  unfortunate  cam- 
paign, he  had  lost  no  less  than  1.3,000  men. 
In  this  famous  battle  the  advantages  lay 
with  the  allies;  but  it  is  only  just  to  admit, 
that  the  honours  of  the  day  were  divided. 
The  French  historians  are  naturally  un- 
willing to  admit  that  Macdonald  was  de- 
feated. They  say  that  the  French  could 
not  conquer,  but  that  they  were  not  con- 
quered. 

In  the  meantime,  Moreau  had  met  with 
a  better  fortune  than  his  brother  in  arms. 
While  the  Russians  were  pursuing  Mac- 
donald, he  had  thrown  four  battalions  of 
the  Austrians,  under  Bellegarde,  into  con- 
fusion, and  raised  the  siege  of  Tortona. 
Suwarrow,  therefore,  abandoned  the  further 
pursuit  of  Macdonald,  and  marched  against 
Moreau. 

The  latter  retreated  before  the  advance 

355 


V4 


>• 


*/ 1 


'I 


.    !| 


H 


!, 


...H\ 


.i.       :ll 


•4 


BATTLE  OF  NOVI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1799. ' 


of  the  Russian   general,    and,    on   finding; 
himself  hard  pressed,  retired  to  his  former 
defensive    y30siti()n    in    the   mountains.      It 
has  been    asserted,  and   with   much   proba- 
bility, that  if  Suwarrovv  had  been  allowed 
to    have    followed    up    his    advantages,    he 
wouhl,  in  this  campaign,  have   completed 
the  conquest  of  Italy,  and  penetrated  into 
the  south  of  France.     But  the  Aulic  Coun- 
cil, which  governed  the  great  movements  of 
the  war,  had  issued  positive  orders  not  to 
extend  the  operations  of  the  army  beyond 
the  Apennines,  until  all  the  fortified  places 
in  Lombardy  had  been  reduced.     The  siege 
of  these  fortresses  had  been  interrupted  by 
the  other  operations  of  the  campaign  ;  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  citadel  of  Turin, 
all   these   strongholds    were    garrisoned    by 
French   troops.     Suwarrow,   therefore,  was 
restrained  from  pressing  forward  at  a  mo- 
ment   favourable    to    victory.      The    truth 
was,  that  the  cabinet  of  Vienna  was  jealous 
of  the  successes  of  the  Rnssians,  and  by  no 
means  pleased  to  see   Suwarrow   play  the 
master   in    Italy.      Francis    II.    desired    to 
check  the  French,  but  not  to  give  too  great 
a  preponderance  to  the  increasing  power  of 
Russia.     Francis  and  his  ministers  were  de- 
sirous to  get  into  their  own  hands  the  whole 
of  the  Italian  conquests.     Now,  therefore, 
that  the  republican  forces  had  been  shat- 
tered   by   a   series    of  disasters,    and   that 
nothing  remained  to  secure  the  possession  of 
Italy  but  the  subjugation  of  the  fortresses, 
they  wished  to  relieve  themselves  from  the 
presence  of  their  formidable  ally,  whose  in- 
terference on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, except  under  such  an  emergency  as 
had   originally  called    him    tjiere,   was   not 
regarded  without  some  vague  apprehensions 
both  by  Austria  and  England.     An  expla- 
nation took  place  between  the  allied  powers, 
and  it  was  agreed   that  the   whole   of  the 
Russian  troops,  after  the  fall  of  Alexandria 
and  Mantua,  should  be  directed  by  Suwar- 
row against  Switzerland,  while  the  Austrians 
should  be  left  to  prosecute  the  war  in  Italy. 
Indeed,  so  much  ill-feeling  existed  between 
the  Russian  and   Austrian  troops,   that  it 
-would  have  been  difficult,  under  any  circum- 
stances, to  have  held  them  together  much 
longer.    Yet  their  separation  was  productive 
of    calamitous     consequences,    for    neither 
Austria  nor  Russia  alone  were  a  match  for 
the  brave  and  enthusiastic  troops  of  France. 
Some  time  was  lost  in  comparative  inac- 
tivity by  the  allies.     This  the  French  used 
to  great  advantage.     The  two  divisions  of 
356 


their  army  in  Italy   were   reunited,    Mac- 
donald   was  recalled,    large    reinforcements 
arrived  from  France,  and  the  youthful  but 
brave   and   gifted    hero,    Joubert,    was   ap- 
pointed to  the  command.     Moreau,  superior 
to  any  feeling  of  jealousy,  accompanied  the 
army,  and,  while  he  served  under  Joubert, 
gave   him   the   benefit   of    his    experience. 
Suwarrow,  who,  in  obedience  to  his  orders, 
had  been  watching  over  the  progress  of  the 
sieges,  on  receiving  information  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  republican  army,  immediately 
made  preparations  to  meet  and  encounter 
it.     The  desperate   battle  of  Novi,   which 
was  fought  on  the  15th  of  August,  followed. 
Joubert,  whose  army  amounted   to  43,000 
men,  rashly  advanced  from   a  secure  posi- 
tion into  the   presence   of  a   far    superior 
force.     Suwarrow  immediately  took  advan- 
tage of  this  error,  and  fell  upon  the  French 
while  unprepared.      Early  in  the  day,  Jou- 
bert was  shot  while  in  the  act  of  waving 
his  hat  and  exclaiming — ''Forward,  grena- 
diers !    let   us   throw   ourselves    upon    the 
tirailleurs  I"      He    expired    almost    imme- 
diately;  his  last  words  being — "Advance, 
my  friends,  advance  V     Great  disorder  fol- 
lowed his  death,  but  this  was  retiieved  by 
Moreau,  who  then  assumed  the  command. 
The  contest  was  resumed,  and  the  Austrians 
were  driven   back,    and   would    have    been 
compelled  to  retreat,  had  not  the  Russians 
pressed  forward  to  their  assistance,  at  the 
price  of  a  terrible  carnage  amongst  them- 
selves.    The  grapeshot  of  the  flying  artil- 
lery and  masked  batteries,  and  the  destruc- 
tive discharge  of  the  musketry  of  the  French, 
swept  down  whole  companies  of  those  fear- 
less men.     Yet  as  fast  as  their  ranks  were 
destroyed  they  were  replaced  by  fresh  bat- 
talions, who    were  sacrificed   in   the   same 
way    by   the    steady   and    effective    fire   of 
tlie  French.     Yet  these  courageous  troops, 
closing  their  ranks  as  rapidly  as  they  were 
thinned,  still  pressed  onwards,  to  the  cry  of 
"Perod!  perod!"*and"Nieboss!  nieboss!"t 
and,  with  bayonets  charged,  advanced,  in  a 
spirit   of    invincible   obstinacy,    to   receive 
their  deaths   by  the  side  of  their  expiring 
comrades.     The  conduct  of  the  Russians  on 
this,  as  well    as   on   every   other   occasion 
throughout  the  war,  justifies  the  remark  of 
Frederic   the  Great,  that  "  it  was  less  diffi- 
cult to  kill  them  than  to  conquer  them.'' 
This   attempt  to  force  the  French  lines 

*  Forward !  forward ! 

t  Never  fear !  never  fear !  War-cries  of  the  Rus- 
sians in  battle. 


A.D.  1799.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  battle  of  novi. 


utterly  failed,  and  Suwarrow,  therefore,  re- 
solved' to  concentrate  his  forces  for  a  gene- 
ral and  decisive  attack.  This  also  was 
withstood  by  the  firm  array  and  masterly 
organisation  of  the  French,  who  hurled 
back  their  assailants  with  a  storm  of  fire. 
The  energetic  Austrian  general,  Kray,  re- 
turned ten  times  to  the  charge,  and  on  each 
occasion  was  driven  back  with  great  loss. 
A  frightful  slaughter  was  continued  for  four 
hours,  and  then,  both  sides  exhausted  by 
fatigue,  and  perhaps  appalled  by  the  sangui- 
nary nature  of  the  battle,  lapsed  into  a  sus- 
pension of  hostilities.  The  arrival  of  Melas, 
with  the  left  wing  of  the  allied  army,  in- 
duced Suwarrow  to  return  to  the  attack. 
He  himself  led  the  main  body  of  the  allied 
army,  like  a  torrent,  against  the  centre  of 
the  French,  while  Kray  and  Melas  fell  upon 
the  right  and  left  wing.  The  French  at 
length  gave  way ;  and  Moreau,  seeing  that 
the  day  was  hopeless,  prepared  for  retreat. 
But  his  troops  were  so  completely  sur- 
rounded, that  it  was  found  impossible  to 
eff'ect  this  in  good  order.  Whichever  way 
they  turned,  the  bayonets  of  their  antago- 
nists gleamed  upon  them,  and  they  fled  in 
disorder  across  the  broken  grounds  in  tlieir 
rear.  The  allies  were  too  much  exhausted 
to  pursue  them,  and  were  so  crippled  by 
their  own  losses,  that  they  had  little  more 
than  the  name  of  a  victory.  The  loss  of 
the  allies  was  estimated  at  1,800  killed, 
5,200  wounded,  and  1,200  prisoners ;  that  of 
the  French  at  1,500  killed,  5,500  wounded, 
and  3,000  prisoners.  In  addition  to  this, 
they  lost  thirty-seven  cannon,  twenty-eight 
caissons,  and  four  standards.  Still  the 
battle  of  Novi  led  to  no  material  advantage 
on  the  part  of  the  allies.  Nothing  was  de- 
cided by  it :  both  armies  fought  with  courage 
and  brilliancy ;  both  experienced  enormous 
losses;  and  the  French  were  al}le,  after  its 
conclusion,  to  return  to  their  former  posi- 
tion. This  engagement  closed  the  campaign 
of  the  Russians  in  Italy;  "a  campaign,'' 
it  has  been  well  observed,  "  signalised  by 
that  extiaordinary  resignation  to  death  for 
which  the  Rus>ians  have  since  become  cele- 
brated, and  which,  even  more  than  their 
valour,  rendered  them  so  formidable  to 
their  opponents.'' 

National  honours  were  bestowed  upon 
Suwarrow  by  his  countrymen.  Even  the 
emperor  Paul  seems  to  have  shared  the 
common  enthusiasm,  for  he  conferred  upon 
the  successful  veteran  the  title  of  Prince 
Italinski ;  and  also  issued  an  ukase,  in  which, 


with  his  usual  eccentricity,  he  ordained  that 
Suwarrow  should  be  considered  as  the 
greatest  general  of  ancient  or  modern  times. 
The  latter,  in  return,  promised  the  emperor 
that  the  next  campaign  should  see  him 
enter  France  in  triumph,  after  he  had 
driven  the  French  out  of  Switzerland.  A 
careful  writer,  reflecting  upon  these  events, 
observes — "  To  Russia  it  was  of  importance 
to  make  this,  her  first  essay  in  the  great 
European  war,  appear  to  the  world  in  its 
most  imposing  shape ;  and  certainly  she  was 
largely  indebted  to  the  skill,  as  well  as  to 
the  courage,  of  her  renowned  general  for  the 
triumphs  achieved  by  her  arms.  Previously 
to  the  Italian  campaign  the  Russians  were 
regarded  as  undisciplined  savages,  who  were 
completely  ignorant  of  the  art  of  war,  and 
who  were  indebted  for  their  victories  to 
their  fierceness  and  physical  strength,  rather 
than  to  their  power  of  combination  and 
knowledge  of  the  use  of  arms.  This  mis- 
apprehension of  their  qualities  operated 
both  advantageously  and  disadvantageously. 
It  spread  at  first  a  species  of  terror  amongst 
the  French,  who  were  led  to  expect  an  array 
of  monsters,  ogres,  or  giants,  wielding  strange 
and  unaccustomed  weapons,  and  enacting 
superhuman  wonders  on  the  field ;  but  it 
had  the  ultimate  eff'ect,  when  the  preposter- 
ous and  indefinite  notion  of  their  powers  was 
dispelled  by  actual  collision,  of  inducing  the 
French  to  treat  them  with  contempt,  be- 
cause they  found  them  nothing  more  than 
a  race  of  hardy  and  obstinate  soldiers. 
Thus,  a  French  soldier,  marching  to  the 
first  rencontre  with  them,  is  said  to  have 
exclaimed,  *We  shall  see  whether  they 
have  four  arms  !'  and,  upon  his  return,  to 
have  duly  observed,  '  Well !  they  have  but 
two,  and  know  not  how  to  make  use  of 
them.' 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  brilliant 
tactics  of  Suwarrow  in  Italy,  his  per- 
severance,  celerity,  and  forethought,  drew 
the  Russians  more  rapidly  into  the  theatre 
of  European  warfare  than  the  mere  tempta- 
tion of  their  position  could  have  done.  Had 
Suwarrow  failed,  it  is  probable  that,  instead 
of  pressing  with  such  force  upon  the  south, 
they  would  have  retired  to  their  own  incle- 
ment regions,  and  concentrated  their  opera- 
tions towards  the  east.  But  so  completely 
did  his  successes  engross  the  public  mind 
and  inflame  the  vanity  of  the  empire,  that 
it  was  confidently  anticipated  he  would,  in 
a  few  weeks,  make  a  triumphant  entry  into 
Paris,  as  he  had  previously  done  at  Warsaw ; 

357 


■  i 


.  '' 


» 

! 


\i 


THE  RUSSIANS  IN  SWITZERLAND.]      HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1709. 


A.D.  1799.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [campaign  in  Switzerland. 


nor  were  there  wanting  sagacious  people  to 
predict  that  the  Russians  and  Tartars  would 
once  more  make  the  conquest  of  the  entire 
of  Europe.  What  might  have  hefalleu  had 
Suwarrow  been  permitted  to  prosecute  tlie 
war  upon  the   point  which  he  had  already 


shaken,  it  is  difficult  to  calculate;  but  the 
jealousy  of  Austria  prevented  that  consum- 
mation of  his  plans,  and  consigned  him  to 
another  quarter,  where  an  enemy  more  for- 
midable than  any  he  had  yet  encountered, 
awaited  his  approach.*' 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

THE  RUSSIAN  CAMPAIGN  IN  SWITZERLAND;  DEFEAT  OF  THE  RUSSIANS  UNDER  KORZAKOFF  AT  ZURICH,  BY 
MASSENA;  SUWARROW  ENTERS  SWITZERLAND  BY  THE  ST.  GOTHARD ;  HIS  TROOPS  MURMUR  AT  THE 
SEVERITY  OF  THE  PROGRESS;  HE  REANIMATES  THEM,  AND  DRIVES  AN  ADVANCED  BODY  OF  THK  FRKNCH 
BEFORE  HIM;  KORZAKOFF  SUSTAINS  A  SECOND  DEFEAT;  SUWARROW  IS  COMPELLED  TO  RETREAT;  THE 
REMNANT  OF  HIS  TROOPS  REACH  RUSSIA  IN  A  MISERABLE  CONDITION  ;  DEATH  OF  SUWARROW  ;  ILL- 
SUCCESS  OF  THE  UNITED  ENGLISH  AND  RUSSIAN  ARMS  AGAINST  THE  FRENCH  IN  HOLLAND;  PAUL  WITH- 
DRAWS FROM  THE  COALITION  AGAINST  FRANCE. 


Napoleon  (then  General  Buonaparte)  had, 
in  1797,  seized  upon  a  considerable  portion 
of  Switzerland,  and  annexed  it  to  the  Cisal- 
pine Republic,  which  was  the  name  given  by 
France  to  the  new  government  it  conferred, 
or  imposed,  on  the  Milanese  and  Mantuan 
states.  In  the  following  year  the  French 
spread  over  the  greater  part  of  Switzerland. 
The  design  of  the  emperor  Paul  in  join- 
ing the  war  against  France,  partook  of  the 
extravagance  which  characterised  all  his 
other  notions.  Not  content  with  issuing 
a  manifesto,  stating  that  he  and  his  allies 
had  resolved  to  destroy  the  impious  govern- 
ment that  ruled  that  nation,  he  even  con- 
templated the  accomplishment  of  a  complete 
and  permanent  league  amongst  all  the  sove- 
reigns of  Europe,  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
democratic  principles,  to  restore  the  interests 
that  had  been  swept  away  by  the  French 
arms,  and  to  combine  all  denominations  of 
Christians  in  an  universal  semi-political 
church,    which    should    limit   education   to 

•  The  writer  of  the  "  Historv  of  Russia,"  in  Lard- 
ner's  Ci/clopcedia,  observes,  with  an  amusing  gravity, 
that  "  the  military  system  of  Paul  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  that  of  Frederic  the  Great,  or  of  Mar- 
shal Saxe,  or  that  which  was  proposed  by  Griebert." 
We  certainly  should  not  have  dreamed,  even  in  the 
most  disturbed  and  imaginative  sleep,  of  there  being 
any  chance  of  so  remarkable  a  mistake.  The  writer 
then  proceeds  to  describe  the  "  thing  of  shreds  and 
patches,"  dignified,  by  an  excess  of  courtesy,  with  the 
title  of  the  '*  military  system  of  Paul."  "  It  was,"  he 
says,  "  wholly  made  up  of  a  minute  pedantry  in  re- 
gulations for  the  handling  of  arms,  for  the  position 
of  the  fingers,  the  curve  of  the  body  on  parade,  the 
number  of  buttons  on  the  coat  and  gaiters,  the  shape 
of  the  hat,  the  colour  of  the  cockade,  and  such  in- 
^58 


the  point  it  considered  safe  and  prudent, 
and  constantly  teach  the  doctrines  of  the 
duty  of  passive  obedience  on  the  part  of 
subjects,  and  the  divine  and  unlimited  right 
of  monarchs  to  govern  them  in  what  manner 
and  with  what  severity  they  pleased. 

While  Suwarrow  had,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  campaign  of  1798,  been  fighting  side  by 
side  with  the  Austrians  against  the  French  in 
Italy,  a  Russian  army,  consisting  of  upwards 
of  40,000  men,  had  entered  Switzerland, 
with  the  object  of  expelling  the  French 
from  that  locality.  It  was  placed  under 
the  command  of  Rimski  Korzakoff,  one 
of  the  favoured  lovers  of  the  late  empress 
Catherine.  Like  all  who  had  shared  her 
smiles,  Korzakoff  soon  found  himself  dis- 
graced by  the  emperor  Paul;  but  the  wily 
soldier  regained  the  good  opinion  of  the 
capricious  monarch  by  pretending  an  in- 
tense admiration  of  the  changes  which  the 
latter  introduced  into  the  discipline  of  the 
army,*    and    by   calumniating   the   French 

significant  matters.  These  were  the  points  that 
absorbed  his  attention ;  while  more  serious  conside- 
rations—the tactics  and  evolutions  of  the  troops — 
were  left  in  a  great  measure  to  the  genius  of  the 
commander,  who  usually  acted  on  the  impulse  of  the 
occasion,  without  being  much  indebted  to  any  pre- 
vious method  or  rules  of  art.  It  was  on  this  ac- 
count that  Frederic  the  Great  regarded  the  Russian 
general,  Butterlin,  as  one  of  the  most  dangerous  of 
his  enemies.  *  One  cannot,'  he  said, 'make  any  plan 
of  defence  against  that  man  ;  he  always  acts  in  a 
manner  directly  contrary  to  every  rational  supposi- 
tion.' Perhaps,  observes  a  contemporary  writer, 
Butterlin  might  have  reasoned  in  reply,  that  if  he 
had«  attacked  that  great  master  according  to  the 
rules  with   which  he  was  so  well  acquainted,  be 


soldiers,  whom  he  arrogantly  affected  to 
despise.  Korzakoff's  instructions  were  to 
act  in  concert  with  the  Archduke  Charles, 
then  in  Switzerland,  for  the  general  plan 
of  the  CJimpaign,  but  to  maintain  the  Rus- 
sian army  separately,  that  the  fame  of  its 
exploits  should  not  be  shared  with  the 
Austrians,  as  it  had  been  in  Italy.  The 
national  vanity  and  insolence  of  Korzakoff 
will  be  at  once  estimated  by  the  following 
incident.  In  a  conference  held  with  the 
archduke  (who  had  proved  himself  an  able 
general),  relative  to  the  positions  the  allied 
armies  were  to  assume,  the  latter,  placing 
his  finger  upon  a  spot  of  the  map,  said — 
"  Here  you  must  place  a  battalion."  "  A 
company,  you  mean,''  responded  the  Rus- 
sian. "No;  a  battalion."  '*  I  understand," 
rejoined  Korzakoff,  "an  Austrian  battalion, 
or  a  Russian  company."  The  vulgar  infla- 
tion which  dictated  this  speech  was  soon  to 
receive  a  seasonable  check. 

The  campaign  had  been  opened  in  Swit- 
zerland before  the  arrival  of  the  Russians, 
who  were  anxiously  expected  by  the  arch- 
duke. The  French  army  was  under  the 
command  of  the  calm  and  gifted  Massena, 
the  brilliancy  of  whose  military  conceptions 
was  so  highly  appreciated  by  Napoleon, 
that  he  gave  him  the  flattering  surname  of 
the  "favoured  child  of  victory."*  Massena 
had  taken  up  a  powerful  position,  from 
which  the  Austrians  had  vainly  attempted 
to  dislodge  him ;  and  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Russians,  Korzakoff  exhibited  so  much  arro- 
gance, that  the  archduke  determined  to 
leave  the  field  open  to  him.  He  accord- 
ingly drew  off  the  great  body  of  his  troops 
for  the  Upper  Rhine,  leaving  the  limited 
force  of  Korzakoff  and  Hotze,  amounting  to 
50,000  men,  to  occupy  a  line  forty  miles  in 
length.  The  French  and  the  Russians  were 
encamped  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  river 
Limmat,  from  which  they  gazed  at  each 
other  with  emotions  of  curiosity  and  wonder. 
The  feelings  excited  in  the  minds  of  the 
French  by  the  sight  of  their  semi-savage 
adversaries,  may  be  understood  by  the  fol- 
lowing observations  of  a  French  general 
who  served  in  this  famous  campaign.  He 
observed — "  I  have  seen  on  the  right  bank 

would  have  been  beaten  ;  and  that,  therefore,  he  in- 
curred less  risk  by  infringing  them  all.  Even  Suwar- 
row frequently  reversed  the  usual  modes  of  proceed- 
ing ;  choosing  the  most  difficult  routes,  assailing  the 
strongest  points,  and  abandoning  the  happiest  posi- 
tions, for  movements  which  other  generals  would 
not  have  adopted  except  in  cases  of  extreme  neces- 
sity." 


of  the  Limmat,  while  our  army  kept  the 
left,  posts  of  Cossacks  squatted  together  in 
the  most  grotesque  manner.  They  were 
seen  to  eat  raw  the  aliments  which  are 
very  carefully  dressed  in  all  civilised  coun- 
tries, such  as  meat,  pumpkins,  cucumbers, &c. 
The  French  music  came  occasionally,  and 
played  warlike  airs  on  the  banks — not  long 
since  so  happy — of  the  beautiful  Limmat. 
At  such  times,  these  Cossacks  would  rise 
spontaneously  to  dance  in  a  ring,  while  the 
sentinel  that  they  had  in  front  stood  leaning 
on  his  lance,  motionless  as  a  statue.  On 
seeing,  for  the  first  time,  these  strange 
soldiers,  1  recalled  to  mind  the  travels  and 
the  Hottentots  of  Le  Vaillant,  or  of  Abys- 
sinian  Bruce.  These  troops  are  ill-attended 
to,  badly  clothed,  and  appear  more  des- 
picable than  they  really  are.  There  is  a 
marked  difference  between  the  Cossacks 
and  regular  regiments;  and  it  is  diflBcult 
to  be  conceived,  on  seeing  them  in  the 
same  camp,  that  they  were  calculated  for 
understanding  each  other  and  serving  to- 
gether. But  there  exists  a  difference  still 
more  striking  between  one  officer  and 
another  of  the  same  regiment.  As  much 
education,  elegance,  and  politeness  as  you 
will  perceive  in  a  certain  class  of  Russian 
officers,  so  much  will  you  be  surprised  at 
the  contrary  in  another  class.  Those  of 
the  latter  are  only  distinguished  from  the 
simple  Cossack  by  the  distinctive  mark  of 
their  rank." 

A  modern  writer,  commenting  upon  these 
remarks,  observes,  that  the  author  of  them 
"  evidently  underrated  the  military  quali- 
fications of  the  uncivilised  Cossacks,  whom 
he  seems  to  have  regarded  more  with  the 
eve  of  an  artist  than  a  soldier:  but  his 
remarks  serve  to  show  the  opinions  of  the 
French  concerning  their  uncouth  adver- 
saries. Their  position,  and  the  hopes  by 
which  thev  were  severally  animated  at  this 
moment,  cannot  be  contemplated  without 
feelings  of  the  deepest  interest.  The  Rus- 
sians, for  nearly  a  century  past,  had  been 
accustomed  to  success.  Alternately  tri- 
umphant in  the  north  and  in  the  east,  they 
now  found  themselves  encamped  in  the 
south,  elated  with  a  blind  confidence  that 

•  Disraeli,  in  his  novel  of  Coningshy,  observes,  that 
"  several  of  the  French  marshals,  and  the  most  famous 
— Massena  for  example — was  a  Hebrew;  his  real  name 
was  Manasseh."  Unfortunately  for  the  reputation 
of  his  race,  Massena  acquired  great  odium  by  the 
constant  exhibition  of  that  insatiable  avarice  which 
is  attributed  to  the  Jews  as  the  great  vice  of  their 
character. 

359 


i' 


n ' 


■  I 


f'\ 


.  11 


t 


TIIE  RUSSIANS  AT  ZURICH.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1799. 


A.D.  1799.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [defeat  of  the  Russians. 


here  also  their  progress  must  be  a  succes- 
sion  of   victories;    an    anticipation   which 
was  doubly  strengthened  by  their  religious 
fanaticism  and    their  hatred  of  republican 
France.     The  French,  on   the  other  hand, 
were  excited  by  the  proud  recollections  of 
those  splendid   acquisitions  which  they  had 
won   during  the   war;    of  their  grand   do- 
mestic assertion    of  popular   theories   over 
the  monarchical  principle ;  and,  above  all, 
by  the  wonderful  resistance  they  had  main- 
tained against  a  formidable  union  of  powers, 
each  of  which  was,   singly,  an  antagonist 
more  than  equal  to  themselves  in  territorial 
strength    and   fiscal   resources.      That   the 
course  of  their  bold  campaigns  was  darkened 
by  occasional  disasters,  and  sometimes  even 
clouded  by  the  darkest  reverses  of  fortune, 
had  no  other  effect  than  to  render  them  more 
circumspect,  to  give  them  a  more  combined 
system    of  action,   and   to  draw  into   play 
more  vividly  that  energetic  spirit  of  personal 
courage  and  national  honour  which,  on  their 
side,  counterbalanced  the  ferocity  and  reck- 
lessness of  their  opponents.   They  possessed, 
besides,    this    signal   advantage— that   they 
were  headed   by  a  celebrated  general,  the 
companion-in-arms     of    Buonaparte,    upon 
whose  crest  victory  had  frequently  alighted  ; 
while  the  Russians  were  commanded  by  an 
officer  who  had  never  distinguished  himself 
in   the   field,  and   who  was  known  even  to 
his  own  troops  only  by  his  punctuality  upon 
parade.^' 

These  brief  reflections  have  led  us,  for  a 
few  moments,  from  our  narrative,  in  which 
we  left  the  French  and  the  Russians  en- 
camped on  opposite  sides  of  the  clear  and 
rapid  river  Limmat.  Suwarrow  had  aban- 
doned the  plains  of  Piedmont,  and  arranged 
to  join  his  countryman  Korzakoff,  and  the 
Austrian  general,  Hotze,  at  Zurich.  For 
this  purpose  he  crossed  the  Alps  and  Mount 
St.  Gothard,  intending  to  dash,  with  his 
usual  impetuosity,  on  the  flanks  of  the 
enemy.  This  movement  was  anticipated 
by  Massena,  who  resolved  to  strike  a  de- 
cisive blow  before  the  intended  junction 
could  be  effected. 

Massena's  plan  was  to  make  a  false 
attack  upon  the  town  of  Zurich,  and  then, 
by  crossing  further  down  the  river,  to  attack 
Korzakoff  at  the  same  time  both  in  front 
and  rear.  By  this  movement  the  garrison 
at  Zurich  would  be  cut  off  from  its  right 
wing  down  the  river,  while  it  was  alreadv 
separated^  from  its  left  by  the  lake.  On  the 
15th  of  September,  the  French  crossed  the 
360 


river  in  pontoons,  under  cover  of  their 
masked  batteries,  which  played  with  great 
effect  upon  the  Russian  troops,  who  were 
drawn  up  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream. 
The  latter  were  driven  from  their  position ; 
and  although  they  twice  rallied,  were  at 
length  shot  or  bayoneted  in  heaps. 

A  body  of  15,000  French  were  thus  estab- 
lished  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.     At 
the  same  time,  a  feigned  attack  on  the  left 
created  a  diversion  of  the  Russian  forces  on 
the  lower  Limmat,  while  a  dashing  demon- 
stration against  Zurich  drew  the  bulk  of  the 
Russian  centre  to  that  point.     The  French, 
who  had  crossed  the   river,    carried    Hurg 
and  the  heights  on  the  north-west  of  Zurich ; 
and  Korzakoff  then  discerned   that  he  was 
placed  in  a  position  of  imminent  peril,  both 
in  rear  and  front.     A  desperate  sally,  which 
he  made  at  the  head  of  5,000  men,*  had  no 
effect  in  improving  his  situation.     Retreat 
appeared  imperative;  yet  the  only  road  by 
which  it  could  be  effected  was  in  possession 
of  the  French  troops.     Within  the  walls  of 
Zurich   the   allies   were    thrown   into    the 
utmost  confusion.      As  night   approached, 
the  numerous  watchfires   on   the   adjacent 
hills  discovered  to  the  besieged  the  increas- 
ing lines  of  the  enemy  drawing  closer  every 
hour  around  them;  while  the  bombs,  falling 
fast  in  the  crowded  streets,  choked  up  with 
waggons   and  horsemen,   the  dead  and  the 
dying,  with  the  cavalry  trampling  over  the 
bodies  of  the  wounded  in  their  despairitig 
efforts  to  force  their  way  outwards,  in  the 
vain    chance    of  making   head    aga^ist   the 
enemy,  whose  victorious  shouts  were  ringing 
in  their  ears— formed,  altogether,  a  scene  of 
horror  such    as   was    not   witnessed   before 
throughout  the  whole  of   this  devastating 
war. 

In  this  state  of  things,  the  French  gen- 
eral summoned  the  garrison  to  surrender ; 
but  Korzakoff  made  no  reply.  The  French, 
therefore,  passed  the  night  in  preparing  for 
an  assault  on  the  following  morning ;  and 
the  Russians  in  making  arrangements  for 
a  last  and  terrible  effort  to  effect  a  passage 
through  the  French  lines,  and  gain  the 
road  to  Winthenthur,  the  only  practicable 
line  of  retreat.  In  the  course  of  the 
night,  the  Russians  were  somewhat  cheered 
by  the  arrival  of  two  strong  Austrian 
battalions,  and  of  the  whole  right  wing 
of  the  army,  hitherto  detained  by  the 
feigned  attack  of  the  French  ;  but  which, 
on  learning  the  real  siate  of  affairs  in 
Zurich,  had,  by  a  long  circuit,  evaded  the 


outposts  of  the  enemy,  and  succeeded  in 
reaching  head-quarters. 

At  break  of  day  the  Russians  formed 
into  order  of  battle,  and  dashed  with  im- 
petuosity against  the  French  division  sta- 
tioned on  the  German  road.  A  furious 
contest  followed,  in  which  the  Russians  suc- 
ceeded in  cutting  a  passage  before  them. 
They  then  made  arrangements  for  a  retreat, 
leaving  only  a  small  rear-guard  to  defend 
the  ramparts  until  the  mass  of  the  troops 
should  have  passed  out  of  the  city.  Though 
the  French  were  at  first  compelled  to  retire 
before  the  dense  ranks  of  the  Russians, 
which  advanced  with  mechanical  regularity, 
yet  the  sharpshooters  of  Massena,  alternately 
discharging  and  retreating,  together  with 
the  showers  of  grapeshot  poured  against 
the  solid  square  of  the  Russians  by  the 
flying  artillery  of  their  enemy  (which  gal- 
loped up  in  the  intervals  of  the  Russian 
fire,  and  then  returned  to  reload  in  a  safe 
position),  committed  terrible  havoc.  Re- 
iterated charges  of  this  kind  at  length 
threw  the  Russians  into  confusion,  which 
was  contributed  to  by  the  inexperience  of 
the  arrogant  Korzakoff,  who  utterly  lost  his 
presence  of  mind  in  conflict  with  an  army 
which  he  had  affected  to  despise.  Un- 
accustomed to  the  skilful  manoeuvres  of  the 
French,  he  soon  became  bewildered  bv  the 
rapidity  and  multiplicity  of  their  move- 
ments; and  his  irresolution  produced  first 
uncertainty,  and  then  panic.  Consterna- 
tion spread  from  the  front  to  the  rear 
of  the  Russian  army,  which  abandoned 
its  ammunition-waggons  and  bajj:gage,  100 
pieces  of  cannon,  and  the  military  chest, 
containin«(  60,000  Dutch  ducats  in  specie, 
and  300,000  florins  in  silver. 

The  battle  was,  in  fact,  decided,  and  the 
Russians  were  defeated ;  but  the  French 
rushed  into  the  town,  and  the  conflict  was 
prolonged  in  the  streets  and  in  the  ap- 
proaches to  the  ramparts.  At  length,  the 
few  troops  which  remained  in  the  garrison 
laid  down  their  arms,  but  not  before  the 
ingenious  and  benevolent  physiognomist, 
Lavater,  was  shot,  while  animating  the  sol- 
diery and  aiding  the  sufferers.*  The  Rus- 
sian army  might  have  been  annihilated,  but 
that  some  information  which  Massena  pos- 
sessed withheld  him  from  pursuit.  The 
dispirited  Korzakoff  therefore  effected  his 

•  The  death  of  Lavater  is  commonly  attributed  to 

a  French  grenadier;  but  it  is  also   said    that   this 

man  was  not  one  of  the  enemy,  and  that  the  act  was 

that  of  an    assassin.     It    is   further   supposed    that 

VOL.   I.  3  A 


retreat,  but  not  without  a  loss  of  8,000 
men  in  killed  and  wounded,  besides  5,000 
in  prisoners,  and  all  his  baggage  and  am- 
munition. It  is  considered  that  this  memo- 
rable battle  of  Zurich  saved  France  from 
invasion  by  the  allied  powers,  and  con- 
tributed to  the  subsequent  dissolution  of 
the  coalition  which  had  been  formed  be- 
tween the  Russians  and  the  Austrians. 
The  victory  of  the  French  was  followed  by 
another  triumph.  The  Austrian  force,  en- 
camped higher  up  on  the  Linth,  was  taken 
by  surprise  by  Marshal  Soult,  and  com- 
pelled to  retreat  beyond  the  Rhine,  leaving 
Hotze  (its  general)  and  many  dead  on  the 
field,  3,000  of  its  number  prisoners  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  together  with  the 
whole  of  its  baggage,  and  twenty  pieces  of 
cannon. 

Massena  now  prepared  to  deal  with  Su- 
warrow, who,  while  these  misfortunes  were 
falling  upon  his  lieutenants,  was  toiling 
through  the  acclivities  and  gorges  of  the 
Swiss  Alps,  every  step  of  his  way  purchased 
by  the  lives  of  his  vainly-sacrificed  soldiers. 
Massena  had  detached  Lecourbe,  with  about 
4,000  light  troops,  to  harass  and  impede 
the  advance  of  the  Russian  fiehl-marshal. 
This  task  they  performed  in  a  remarkably 
efficient  manner.  Posted  in  detached  par- 
ties behind  jutting  rocks  and  scattered  trees, 
they  poured  down  a  murderous  fire  upon 
the  advancing  foe.  The  winding  and  pre- 
cipitous paths  of  the  St.  Gothard  were  diflS- 
cult  of  ascent  under  any  circumstances;  and 
now,  when  covered  by  platoons  of  musketry, 
the  Russians  believed  them  to  be  impreg- 
nable. Exhausted  by  privation  and  fatigue, 
they  began  to  murmur;  some  refused  to 
advance  any  further ;  while  others  turned 
and  fied  before  the  shower  of  bullets  which 
was  directed  against  them.  On  this  occa- 
sion, Suwarrow,  amazed  and  angry,  ex- 
hibited an  instance  both  of  the  wild  energy 
which  ever  characterised  him,  and  of  the 
extraordinary  influence  which  he  exercised 
over  the  minds  of  his  troops.  Having 
caused  a  grave  to  be  dug  in  the  road,  at  the 
foot  of  the  ascent,  he  threw  himself  into  it, 
exclaiming — "  Cover  me  with  earth,  and 
here  leave  your  general.  You  are  no 
longer  my  children ;  I  am  no  longer  your 
father.  I  have  nothing  more  to  do  than 
to  die  V'     The  soldiers  were  deeply  affected 

Lavater  knew  the  man,  but,  from  a  Christian  spirit 
of  forgiveness,  never  betrayed  him.  Lavater  lin- 
gered a  long  time  under  the  effects  of  his  wound, 
and  did  not  die  until  the  beginning  of  180L 

361 


t  f\ 


]       » 

I' " 

'i 


,  \\ 


REVERSES  OF  SUWARROW.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[ad.  1799. 


by  this  dramatic  scene,  and,  crowding 
round  the  veteran,  entreated  to  be  led  up 
the  mountain.  At  the  word,  Suwarrovv 
put  himself  at  their  head,  and  impetuously 
dashed  up  the  path.  The  small  body  of 
French  slowly  yielded  way,  and  were  driven 
across  the  summit  of  the  St.  Gothard. 
Throwing  their  artillery  into  the  river 
Reuss,  they  retired  down  the  valley  of 
Schollonen,  and  caused  another  obstruction 
to  the  progress  of  the  Russians  by  destroy- 
ing the  Devil's  Bridge. 

So  impetuous  was  the  advance  of  the 
Russians,  and  so  unskilfully  was  it  con- 
ducted, that  when  they  arrived  the  next 
morning  at  the  broken  bridge,  hundreds  of 
the  leading  files  were  forced  over  the  edge 
of  the  abyss  into  the  Reuss,  by  the  pressure 
of  the  rear,  which  continued  its  mechanical 
march,  unaware  of  the  impediment  which 
retarded  the  advance  of  the  front.  The 
difficulty  caused  by  the  broken  bridge 
being  surmounted,  the  Russians  at  lengtli 
emerged  from  the  Alps  at  Altorf,  only, 
however,  to  find  their  progress  arrested  by 
the  wide  expanse  of  the  Lake  of  Lucerne, 
where  neither  the  Austrians  nor  the  pro- 
mised transport  boats  (which  had  been 
seized  and  destroyed  by  the  French)  awaited 
them.  Suwarrovv,  almost  mad  with  passion 
at  what  he  regarded  as  the  neglect  of  his 
subordinates,  was  compelled  to  lead  his 
troops  through  the  ditlicult  defile  of  the 
Shachenthal,  which  rendered  it  necessary  to 
abandon  the  artillery  and  stores.  Two 
days  of  great  fatigue  and  suffering  brought 
his  worn  and  dispirited  troops  to  the  fer- 
tile valley  of  the  Mutten.  There  he  re- 
ceived intelligence  of  the  defeat  of  Korza- 
koff  and  the  death  of  Hotze.  Suwarrovv, 
burning  with  rage  and  mortification,  sent  a 
messenger  to  Korzakoff,  informing  him  of 
the  arrival  of  his  superior,  directing  him  to 
march  forward,  and  declaring  that  he  would 
hold  him  responsible  with  his  head  for  any 
further  retrograde  movement. 

Korzakoff,  stung  by  this  imperious  com- 
mand, and,  perhaps,  alarmed  by  the  threat 
of  the  general,  reorganised  his  broken 
forces,  and  turning  almost  despairingly 
upon  the  advancing  French,  gave  them 
battle  near  Constance.  The  Russians  were 
again  worsted,  though  their  cavalry  behaved 
with  great  spirit;  and,  after  being  thrice 
broken  in  furious  charges  against  a  dense 
body  of  infantry,  they  rallied  under  a  de- 
structive fire  of  grapeshot  aud  musketry. 
But  for  the  Archduke  Charles,  who  hastened 


to  the   assistance  of   Korzakoff's  army,   it 
miglit  have  been  annihilated. 

Suwarrovv,  after  a  terrible  march,  in 
which  he  lost  numbers  of  his  men,  who 
dropped  from  exhaustion,  or  lost  their  foot- 
ing on  the  slippery  ridges  aud  fell  into  the 
ravines  below,  found  that  the  Austrians 
whom  he  had  expected  had  suffered  too 
much  to  be  able  to  join  him.  The  glory  of 
the  famous  Russian  general  was  on  the 
wane,  and  he  was  entangled  in  difficulties 
which  his  wild  energy  was  impotent  to 
overcome.  It  seemed  as  if  not  merely  the 
French,  but  nature  itself,  was  in  arms 
against  him;  that  the  silent  mountains 
became  conscious  and  grimly  mocked  his 
efforts.  In  their  sublime  presence  an  armv 
sunk  into  strangely  small  and  insignificant 
dimensions,  and  a  raging  general  was  almost 
as  helpless  as  a  famishing  wolf 

Suwarrow  now  found  himself  in  the 
heart  of  the  Muttenthal,  where  the  French 
were  rapidly  drawing  their  lines  around 
him,  and  enclosing  him  within  a  circle 
from  which  escape  seemed  impossible.  His 
troops  were  ragged  and  barefoot  from  much 
marching,  disheartened  by  the  mass  of 
difficulties  which  weighed  upon  them, 
and  almost  without  provisions.  Suwarrovv 
trusted  to  receive  reinforcements  from  the 
emperor  Paul,  but  none  were  sent.  Having 
waited  for  some  time  in  sullen  inactivity^ 
varied  by  fierce  imprecations  upon  his  foes, 
Suwarrow  called  a  council  of  war,  and  pro- 
posed to  force  his  way  towards  Schwytz,  in 
the  rear  of  the  French  position.  His  offi- 
cers expostulated  against  a  step  which  he 
himself  felt  to  be  dangerous  even  beyond 
rashness,  and  advised  that  he  should  adopt 
the  more  prudent  course  of  retreating  into 
the  Glarus  and  the  Orisons.  The  veteran 
at  length  yielded  to  what  he  felt  to  be  a 
painful  necessity,  and,  for  the  first  time  in 
his  life,  gave  an  order  to  retreat.  So 
deeply  was  he  wounded  at  this  conclusion 
of  his  exploits,  that  he  burst  into  tears  after 
he  had  done  so.  His  reputation  for  invinci- 
bility was  extinguished.  Yet,  his  resolu- 
tion once  taken,  he  actea  upon  it  with  his 
usual  energy.  Massena  vainly  endeavoured 
to  draw  him  out  of  the  defiles,  in  the  hope 
of  bringing  his  dispirited  forces  to  an  en- 
gagement, and  of  taking  him  prisoner. 
His  retreat  was  conducted  with  consum- 
mate skill;  keeping  his  enemies  at  bay 
like  a  lion,  and  compelling  them  to  m:in- 
tain  a  respectful  distance  by  the  fiercei  ess 
of  his  attitude.     On  one  occasion,  when  the 


A.D. 


1799.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  or  SUWARROW. 


French     assailed    the    rear-guard     of    the 
Russians,  the  latter  turned  upon  them  with 
such  desperate  fury,  that  they  were  repelled 
with  the  loss  of  1,000  men  killed,  as  many 
more  in  prisoners,  and  five  pieces  of  cannon. 
Suwarrow    permitted    his    men    a    brief 
repose   at    Glarus,    and   then   resumed   his 
retreat    over   the   rugged   summits   of   the 
Alps.     As  he  advanced  the  difficulties  in- 
creased.    The  paths  were  choked  with  snow, 
and  the  men  destitute  of  stores  to  sustain 
their  strength.     No  covering  could  be  ob- 
tained to  shelter  them  from  the  inclemency 
of  the  wintry  tempests,  or  trees  to  make 
fires  to  cheer  their  dreary  bivouacs.     Num- 
bers perished  from  cold  and  famine ;    but 
the  rest,  impelled  by  an  inexorable  neces- 
sity, yet  pushed  on.     On  attaining  the  sum- 
mit of  the  ridge,  a  prospect  still  more  dis- 
heartening revealed  itself  to  them.     Every- 
where mountains  covered  to  their  pinnacles 
with  snow  appeared  to  rise  around  them. 
The  heavy   clouds   that    floated   over    the 
peaks   of   the  Tyrolese  Alps,   revealed   by 
glimpses,    as   they   rolled   off  at    intervals, 
the  seemingly  interminable  extent  of  these 
mighty   mountains;    and  there   was   not   a 
single    sign   of    life   or   vegetation,   not    a 
wreath   of  smoke,  nor  a  trackway  visible, 
to  afford  them  a  direction  out  of  this  hope- 
less situation.     During  the  night,  most  of 
the  unfortunate   soldiers  had  to  sleep  un- 
covered  in   the   snow ;   and    it   was   by   a 
succession   of  fatigues   and  miseries  which 
exceed   description,    that   they   gained   the 
valley    of    the    Rhine,    from    whence    the 
remnant   of  that    once   fine   army  limped 
back  to  Russia,  half-clothed,  without  bag- 
gage or  artillery,  and  presenting  in  their 
wretchedness  a  most  humiliating  spectacle 

Suwarrow,  in  the  natural  pride  of  a 
career  that  had  never  known  defeat,  had 
talked  of  conquering  France,  and  promised 
to  enter  Paris  at  the  head  of  his  triumphant 
troops.  He  returned  a  baffled,  though  not 
conquered,  fugitive.  Of  a  fine  army  nothing 
remained  but  a  ragged  and  famishing  troop, 
and  a  stain  had  passed  over  the  military 
glory  of  the  empire.  His  successes  in  Italy 
could  not  console  him  for  this  lamentable 
termination  of  the  campaign.  He  became 
morose  and  sullen,  and  accused  the  Aus- 
trians, and  even  the  archduke,  of  treachery. 
Paul  had  given  orders  for  the  reception  of 
the  veteran  general  at  St.  Petersburg,  with 
the  intention  that  he  should  make  a  tri- 
umphal entry  into  the  capital.  Apartments 
were  even  prepared   for  him  in  the  imperial 


palace.  But  when  the  capricious  emperor 
learnt  the  result  of  the  campaign  in  Swit- 
zerland, his  complacency  was  succeeded  by 
extreme  irritation.  By  the  time  Suwarrow 
arrived  at  Riga,  on  his  road  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, he  was  informed  that  he  had  fiillen 
into  disgrace.  Paul  attributed  to  him  a 
great  part  of  the  reverses  which  had  taken 
place  in  Switzerland,  rejected  his  represen- 
tations, and  refused  to  give  him  a  fresh 
command. 

This  last  blow  proved  fatal  to  Suwarrow; 
the  veteran  was  crushed  beneath  a  load  of 
humiliation  too  great  for  him  to  bear.     He 
proceeded  to   St.  Petersburg,  and  entered 
the  city  furtively  in  the  dusk  of  evening; 
no  longer  the  idol  of  the  populace  and  the 
pride  of  his  country,  but  a  disgraced  and 
unregarded  man.     He  was  supported  from 
his  carriage  to  his  bed,  which  he  never  left 
again.     Those  whom  he  had   recently  re- 
garded as  his  friends  held  aloof  from  him 
and  such  was  the  dread  entertained  of  in- 
curring  the    anger    of    the    emperor,    that 
even   the   Countess    Zuboff,    the    favourite 
daughter  of  Suwarrow,   towards  whom  he 
had    ever    shown    the    strongest    affection, 
suffered  an  unworthv  fear  to  withhold  her 
from   the    presence   of   her   miserable    and 
dying  father.     Paul  afterwards  softened  to- 
wards the  dying  veteran,  and  permitted  the 
grand-dukes  to  visit  him.     He  was,  how- 
ever,  far   past    that    point    at   which    the 
smiles   of  princes   could   have    acted   as   a 
restorative.    His  jnind  frequently  wandered, 
and  after  lingering  until  the  10th  of  May, 
1800,  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy,  after 
expressing   a  wish   that  a  portrait  of   the 
empress  Catherine,  which  he  had  worn  con- 
stantly about  his  person,   might  still  rest 
on  his  bosom  in  the  grave.     The  greatest 
blemish  of  his  character  was  his  utter  dis- 
regard of  life  in  the  execution  of  his  duty; 
while  his  merits  may  be  expressed   in  the 
sentence,  that  he  is  one  of  the  few  generals 
who  never  lost  a  battle.     His  funeral  was 
conducted  with  great  solemnity,  and  15,000 
of  his  soldiers  accompanied  his  body  to  its 
last  resting-place. 

PauPs  anger  was  not  appeased  by  the 
disgrace  of  Suwarrow.  The  contemptible 
monarch,  with  that  absence  of  generous  or 
enlarged  feeling  which  characterised  almost 
every  act  of  his  life,  poured  out  his  wrath 
upon  the  suffering  troops  who  had  so  faith- 
fully served  him,  and  whose  bravery  and 
endurance  had  extorted  admiration  even 
from  their  foes.     With  an  ungrateful  and 

363 


I;. I 


II 


S 


EXPEDITION  TO  HOLLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1799. 


insolent  forgetfulness  of  their  services,  Paul 
endeavoured,  by  an  imperial  order,  to  dis- 
grace the  memory  of  the  officers  wlio  had 
perished  in  that  fatal  campaign.  All,  too, 
who  were  missing — that  is,  who  were  pri- 
soners in  France;  a  list  which  included  some 
of  the  bravest  men  in  the  service — he  caifsed 
to  be  broken  as  deserters.  As  to  the  cap- 
tive soldiers,  he  abandoned  them  to  their 
fate,  and  refused  to  adopt  any  means  of 
promoting  an  exchange,  or  otherwise  to 
alleviate  the  misery  of  their  situation.  One 
consolation  only  remained  to  him  in  the 
matter,  and  that  arose  from  the  belief  that 
the  reverses  of  Russia  were  solely  brought 
about  by  the  jealousy  and  treachery  of  the 
Austrians. 

The  disappointments  of  the  emperor  Paul, 
in  connection  with  this  campaign,  did  not 
end  with   the  defeats  and   disasters  expe- 
rienced by  his  armies  in  Switzerland.     He 
had  recently  concluded  a  treaty  with  Eng- 
land, by  which  he  agreed  to  send  a  Russian 
force  to  co-operate  with  the  British  in  an 
attack  on   the  French   in    Holland.     This 
country  was  selected  for  attack  because,  of 
all  those  in  possession  of  republican  France, 
it  lay  nearest  to  the  shores  of  England,  and 
also  because  its  means  of  defence  were  in- 
considerable.   It  was  arranged  that  England 
should  furnish  13,000,  and  Russia  17,000, 
men.     Besides  furnishing  her  complement 
of  troops,  England  was  to  pay  .€44,000  per 
month   for  the  expenses  of   the   Russians, 
and  to  employ  her   whole   naval   force   to 
support   the  operations.     On    the   13th   of 
August,  Sir  Ralph  Abercrombie,  who  was 
entrusted   with  the  chief  command,  sailed 
with  the  first  division,  consisting  of  12,000 
British  troops   embarked  in  transports,   to 
join  Lord  Duncan,  who  was  then  cruising 
in  the  North  Seas.     The  fort  of  the  Helder 
was  immediately  abandoned  by  its  garrison, 
and  taken  possession  of  by  Abercrombie. 
The  Dutch  fleet  also  surrendered,  and  hoisted 
the  Orange  flag.    General  Brune,  the  French 
commander,   with  a  force  of  25,000  men, 
attacked  the  English,  with  the  hope  of  dis- 
lodging them  before  the  arrival  of  the  Rus- 
sians, but  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  2,000 
men.     Abercrombie  was,  nevertheless,  left 
for  a  whole  month  in  a  very  critical  situa- 
tion, but  his  inferior  force  resolutely  stood 
its   ground.       In    September   the    Russian 
army  arrived,  under  General  Hermann,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  English  force,  accom- 
panied  by  the  Duke  of  York.     From  this 
time  nothing  went  well;  and  every  difficulty 
364 


which  befel  the  English  appeared  in  some 
stranjje  way  to  arise  from  the  shortcomings 
of  the  Russians.  In  the  first  battle  that 
was  fought  after  the  junction  of  these  ill- 
sorted  allies,  the  English  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing back  the  French,  and  in  taking  all  the 
villages  that  lay  before  them.  This  partial 
success  was,  however,  neutralised  by  the 
reverses  of  the  Russians.  Generar  Her- 
mann's troops  fell,  after  a  short  time,  into 
confusion.  The  French,  encouraj^ed  at  the 
si^ht,  assailed  them  furiously  both  in  front 
and  flank,  and  drove  them,  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet,  behind  the  allied  intrench- 
ments.  The  Russian  general  was  taken 
prisoner;  3,500  of  his  men  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  twenty-six  pieces  of  cannon 
and  seven  standards  captured. 

When  this  news  reached  the  Duke  of 
York,  he  withdrew  his  men  from  the  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy,  and  attempted  to  retrieve 
the  misfortune  of  his  allies.  It  was  in  vain ; 
and  after  a  sharp  struggle,  he  was  compelled 
to  retire  within  the  fortified  lines. 

Other  engagements  followed,  not  dis- 
honourable to  our  troops,  but  disastrous 
in  their  results,  and  rather  disgraceful  in 
point  of  generalship.  Every  day  the  pros- 
pects of  the  allies  became  more  hopeless ; 
and  the  approach  of  the  autumnal  rains 
in  a  country  so  exposed  to  inundations  that, 
in  ancient  times,  it  was  doubted  whether 
the  inhabitants  belonged  to  the  land  or  to 
the  sea,  raised  up  new  obstacles  to  the 
allies.  By  the  17th  of  October,  the  Duke 
of  York,  baffled  in  an  attempt  upon  Haar- 
lem, was  induced  to  conclude  a  convention, 
by  which  it  was  agreed  that  the  English 
and  Russians  should  be  allowed  to  embark 
without  molestation,  on  condition  that  8,000 
prisoners  of  war,  French  and  Batavians, 
taken  before  that  campaign,  and  then  pri- 
soners of  war,  should  he  set  at  liherty. 

Ihe  ffiilure  of  this  expedition  under  such 
ignoble  circumstances,  especially  as  regarded 
the  Russians,  and  the  scattering  of  the  latter 
by  their  allies  over  Guernsey  and  Jersey, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  continually  re- 
minded them  of  their  reverses,  excited  the 
irritable  Paul  almost  to  frenzy.  He  applied 
the  most  opprobrious  terms  to  the  coalition, 
of  which  he  had  been  the  most  active 
member,  and  rudely  treated  the  English 
and  Austrian  ambassadors  at  his  court, 
refusing  to  confer  with  them,  and  express- 
ing a  desire  that  they  should  leave  St. 
Petersburg.  He  even  attributed  the  dis- 
asters  in    Holland   to  the   English,  as  he 


A.D.  1800.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [paul's  change  of  policy. 


had  before  accused  the  Austrians  of  the 
unfortunate  results  of  the  campaign  in 
Switzerland.  Not  satisfied  with  treating 
his  allies  with  an  insulting  contempt,  he 
even  tacitly  withdrew  from  the  coalition 
without  publishing  his  reasons  for  doing 
so.  The  sudden  withdrawal  of  his  troops 
from  Italv — where  Suwarrow,  shortly  before 
his  death,  had  proposed  to  attempt,  with 
the  Austrians,  a  desperate  scheme,  with 
the  ol)ject  of  repairing  the  calamities  that 
had  befallen  him — happily  broke  up  the 
alliance  between  Austria  and  Russia.  Paul, 
in  fact,  saw,  for  the  first  time,  that  he 
had   committea  an  error  in   assistinj;   the 


Austrians  in  Italy  against  the  French. 
What  he  proposed  to  himself  in  this  alli- 
ance was,  the  extinction  of  revolutionary 
and  republican  principles,  What  he  actu- 
ally, though,  of  course,  unconsciously  and 
unintentionally  did,  was  to  promote  the 
interests  of  Austria  in  Italv,  and  thus  dis- 
turb  the  balance  of  power  on  the  very  side 
on  which  he  had  interfered  to  correct  it. 
Paul,  therefore,  when  he  perceived  this, 
broke  up  the  alliance  abruptly,  and,  in  the 
fury  arising  from  a  consciousness  of  error, 
extended  his  anger  to  every  person  in  con- 
nection with  it,  against  whom  any  excuse  for 
contempt  or  punishment  could  be  devised. 


:;,ri 


II 


t    'I 


CHAPTER  XLIV 

PAUL,  HAVING  ABANDONED  HIS  ALLIES,  CONCEIVES  AN  ADMIRATION  FOR  NAPOLEON;  MALTA  SURRENDERED 
TO  THE  ENGLISH;  PAUL  SEIZES  THE  BRITISH  TRADING  VESSELS  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  HARBOURS;  MARITIME 
COALITION  OF  THE  NORTHERN  POWERS  AGAINST  ENGLAND;  BATTLE  OF  COPENHAGEN;  TERROR  CAUSED 
BY  THE  TYRANNY  OF  PAUL;  FORMATION  OF  A  CONSPIRACY  TO  DEPOSE  HIM;  THE  GRAND-DUKKS  ALEXAN- 
DER AND  CONSTANTINE  ARE  ADMITTED  TO  IT;  MURDER  OF  THE  EMPEROR;  ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER  ; 
DISSOLUTION  OF  THE  NORTHERN  COALITION;  REFLECTIONS  UPON  THE  DESIGN  OF  PAUL  AND  NAPOLEON 
ON  THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  IN  INDIA. 


M 


Another  change  had  taken  place  in  the 
government  of  France.  Napoleon,  on  his 
return  from  Egypt  in  October,  1799,  had 
overthrown  the  Directory,  and  attained  the 
dignity  of  First  Consul,  or  chief  magistrate 
of  Fratjce.  He  also  aimed  at  the  recon- 
struction of  a  monarchy ;  and,  towards  the 
end  of  January,  1800,  removed  from  the 
palace  of  the  Luxembourg  to  that  of  the 
Tuileries,  into  which  royal  residence  he 
made  his  public  entrance  amidst  the  accla- 
mations of  the  multitude. 

Probably  the  emperor  Paul  divined  the 
intentions  of  Napoleon,  and  saw  that  the 
great  soldier  would  endeavour  to  raise,  in 
his  own  person,  a  new  monarchical  dynasty 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  royalty  of 
France.  Doubtless  Paul  would  have  pre- 
ferred that  the  sceptre  should  have  remained 
in  the  hands  of  the  Bourbons,  than  that  it 
should  pass  into  those  of  a  military  adven- 
turer. Yet,  to  the  mind  of  Paul,  anv  form 
of  government  was  better  than  a  republic; 
any  principles  preferable  to  those  of  the 
revolution. 

No  sooner  had  Paul  violated  the  compact 
into  which   he   had   entered   with  Austria 


and  with  England,  than  a  remarkable 
change  took  place  in  his  feelings  towards 
France.  He  appeared  impressed  with  a 
sense  of  respect,  if  not  of  admiration,  for 
Napoleon,  and  by  no  means  indisposed  to 
enter  into  a  treaty  of  peace  with  France. 
This  conduct  was  perfectly  in  accordance 
with  the  passionate  and  fickle  nature  of  the 
northern  autocrat.  Napoleon  was  not  slow 
to  perceive  and  to  profit  by  this  change  of 
sentiment  on  the  part  of  Paul ;  for  he  was 
well  aware  of  the  immense  importance  of 
neutralising^  the  hostilitv  of  Russia.  An 
opportunity  at  once  offered  which  enabled 
Napoleon  to  make  a  graceful  advance  to- 
wards conciliation.  The  Enj^lish  had  re- 
fused to  redeem  the  Russian  soldiers, 
amounting  to  about  six  or  seven  thousand, 
who  had  been  made  prisoners  in  their  ser- 
vice, and  were  then  in  captivity  in  France. 
Napoleon,  therefore,  set  them  free,  without 
either  exchange  or  ransom.  He  even  went 
so  far  as  to  restore  to  them  their  arms  and 
standards,  and  provide  them  with  new 
clothing  in  the  uniform  of  their  respective 
regiments.  In  sending  them  back  to  their 
own  country,  he  also  forwarded  a  letter  to 

365 


n 


Hi 


i 
f  1 

i 

r 


SEIZURE  OF  BRITISH  VESSELS.]  HISTORY    OF    TPIE 


[a.d.  1800. 


the  Russian  minister,  saving:,  "that  he  was 
urnvilling  to  suffer  such  brave  soldiers   as 
these  Russians  were,  to  remain  longer  away 
from   their  native  land  on   account  of  the 
Enp^lish."     Such  an  act  of  courtesy  neces- 
sarily led  to  expressions  of  warm  acknow- 
ledgment on  the  part  of  the  emperor,  and  to 
an  interchange  of  friendly  offices.     Shortly 
afterwards  the  emperor  addressed  a  letter 
to   the    illustrious    Corsican,    in    which   he 
wrote  :—''  Citizen,  Chief  Consul,— I  do  not 
write  to  you  to  discuss  the  rights  of  men  or 
citizens ;  every  country  governs  itself  as  it 
pleases.     Whenever  I  see  at  the  head  of  a 
nation  a  man  who  knows  liow  to  rule  and 
liow  to  fight,  my  heart  is  attracted  towards 
him.     I  write  to  acquaint  you  of  my  dis- 
satisfaction   with    England,     who     violates 
every  article  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  has 
no  guide  but  her  egotism  and  her  interest. 
I  wish  to  unite  with  you  to  put  an  end  to 
the  unjust  proceedingsof  that  government." 
This  flattering  letter  led  to  a  regular  corres- 
pondence  between   the   emperor    and    the 
chief  consul;  and  the  latter  took  advantage 
of  it  to  nurse  into  being  the  naval,  conven- 
tion which  subsequently  took  place  among 
the  northern  powers. 

The  recent  allies  of  Paul  were  astonished 
at  his  caprice ;  but  he  was  far  too  irritated 
against  them  to  attach  any  importance  to 
their  opinions  on  such  a  point.  Napoleon, 
now  at  liberty  to  direct  his  arms  chiefly 
against  the  Austrians,  inflicted  a  severe 
defeat  upon  them  at  the  battle  of  Marengo 
(14th  June,  1800) ;  an  event  which  wonder- 
fully consolidated  his  power,  and  increased 
his  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
France.  The  government  of  Naples  was  in 
imminent  danger  from  the  victorious  troops 
of  the  republic ;  and  the  queen  of  that  city 
went  in  person  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  im- 
plored the  intercession  of  the  emperor  with 
Napoleon  on  behalf  of  her  little  kingdom. 
Paul  felt  flattered  by  the  application,  and 
promised  to  use  all  his  influence  with  the 
first  consul  for  the  attainment  of  her  wislies. 
To  give  additional  weight  to  his  mediation, 
he  sent  Lowescheff*,  an  officer  of  his  house- 
hold, to  the  court  of  the  Tuileries.  The 
envoy  was  received  with  extraordinary  dis- 
tinction ;  and,  in  reply  to  his  application. 
Napoleon  consented  to  spare  Naples,  and 
undertook  alone  to  regulate  the  destinies  of 
that  kingdom.  His  first  step  with  respect 
to  it,  was  to  close  the  ports  of  Naples  and 
Sicily  against  English  merchant  vessels  as 
well  as  ships  of  war. 
366 


While  incidents  like  these  created  a  good 
understanding  between  the  first  consul  and 
the  emperor,  the  breach  between  the  latter 
and  the  English  government  was  consider- 
ably widened.  In  the  September  of  1800, 
the  French,  who  had  been  c.osely  blockaded 
within  the  fortifications  of  Malta  for  two 
years,  surrendered  the  island  to  the  English, 
in  whose  possession  it  has  since  remained. 
Paul  had  caused  himself  o  be  elected 
grand-master  of  the  almost  extinct  order  of 
St.  John,  by  the  knights  resident  in  Russia. 
He  therefore  put  forth  a  claim  to  the 
sovereignty  of  the  island,  and  asserted  that 
the  conquest  of  it  by  the  English  was  an 
infringement  of  the*^  convention  of  1798; 
which,  he  said,  contained  a  stipulation  that 
the  island  should  be  given  up  to  the  order 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  As  no  such 
stipulation  was  contained  in  the  treaty,  the 
demand  that  the  island  should  be  surren- 
dered to  Russia  was  refused. 

Paul  was  furious,  and  at  once  proceeded 
to  an  act  of  most  unwarrantable  violence. 
He  seized  all  the  British  vessels  in  the 
Russian  harbours,  amounting  to  nearly  three 
hundred,  together  with  their  valuable  car- 
goes. As  to  the  crews,  they  were  sent  into 
the  interior  of  Russia,  and  allowed  only  a 
few  copecks*  each  a  day  for  their  support. 
All  the  English  property  on  shore,  also,  the 
emperor  put  under  sequestration ;  and  a 
hw  vessels  at  Narva  having  weighed 
anchor  and  escaped,  he  was  so  incensed, 
that  he  burnt  the  remainder.  Not  only 
were  these  outrages  contrary  to  the  usages 
of  all  civilised  states,  but  they  were  in  direct 
violation  of  an  article  in  an  existing  treaty 
between  Russia  and  England ;  by  which  it 
was  expressly  stipulated  that,  in  the  event 
of  a  rupture  between  the  two  powers,  no 
embargo  should  be  laid  on  the  vessels  of 
either,  but  that  the  merchants,  on  both 
sides,  should  be  allowed  a  year  to  take  away 
or  dispose  of  their  goods. 

This  flagrant  proceeding  on  the  part  of 
Paul,  was  the  first  outbreak  of  that  spirit  of 
combination  against  England  which  was 
resolving  itself  into  the  shape  of  a  maritime 
coalition  of  the  northern  powers.  In  the 
December  of  1800,  a  maritime  convention 
was  completed,  and  signed  by  Russia, 
Sweden,  and  Denmark,  and,  subsequently, 
by  Prussia.  By  this,  the  right  of  search  of 
neutral  vessels,  claimed  and  exercised  by 
England,  was  declared   to   be   an  attempt 

•  A  copeck  is  something  less  in  value  than  an 
English  halfpenny. 


A.D.  1801.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[naval  coalttion. 


against  the  sovereign  rights  of  the  several 
powers  forming  the  confederacy;  which 
promised  to  assemble  a  squadron  of  the 
four  Baltic  powers,  to  protect  their  mer- 
chant vessels,  and  resist  any  attempt  at 
searching  them.* 

The  British  government  regarded  this 
proceeding  with  jealousy  and  indignation. 
When  George  III.  met  the  recently  opened 
parliament,  on  the  2nd  of  February,  1801, 
he  adverted,  in  his  speech  from  the  throne, 
to  the  Uihappy  course  of  events  on  the 
continent,  and  anno'inced  that  a  fresh  storm 
was  gathering  in  the  north;  that  the  court 
of  St.  Petersburg  had  already  proceeded  to 
commit  outrages  against  the  ships,  property, 
and  persons  of  his  subjects;  and  that  a  con- 
vention had  been  concluded  bv  that  court 
with  those  of  Copenhagen  and  Stockholm, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  renew  their 
former  engagement  for  re-establishing,  by 
force  of  arms,  a  new  code  of  maritime  laws, 
inconsistent  with  the  rights,  and  hostile  to 
the  best  interests,  of  this  countrv.  He 
added,  that  he  had  taken  the  earliest  mea- 
sures to  repel  the  aggressions  of  this  hostile 
confederacy,  and  expressed  his  confidence 
that  both  houses  of  parliament  would  aff'ord 
him  eff*ectual  support  in  his  firm  determi- 
nation to  maintain  to  the  utmost,  against 
every  attack,  the  naval  rights  and  interests 
of  his  empire.  Some  members  of  the  oppo- 
sition recommended  conciliatorv  measures, 
and  even  the  suspension  of  the  right  of 
search,  or  a  tacit  assent  to  the  principles  of 
the  armed  neutrality,  which  the  empress 
Catherine  had  first  raised  against  us  during 
the  American  war,  and  which  the  northern 
powers  were  now  about  to  revive — hinting  at 
the  terrible  consequences  w^hich  might  arise 
from  the  closing  of  the  corn  ports  on  the 
Baltic.  Pitt  expressed  a  regret  that  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  should  increase  the 
difficulties  of  the  nation  by  starting  doubts 
on  the  question  of  its  right  of  search  ;  ob- 
serving, that  it  was  singularly  unfortunate 
that  these  gentlemen  should  first  have  began 
to  doubt  when  the  enemy  began  to  arm. 

•  This  coalition  was  mainly  promoted  by  Napo- 
leon, who,  aiming  at  the  destruction  of  the  naval 
supremacy  of  England,  contended  for  the  maritime 
rit^hts  of  the  neutral  powers  of  Europe,  which  he 
rested  on  the  following  principles  : — 1.  The  sea  is 
the  dominion  of  all  nations.  2.  The  flag  covers  the 
merchandise.  3.  A  neutral  ship  may  be  visited  by 
a  belligerent  vessel,  to  ascertain  its  flag  and  cargo,  so 
far  as  to  be  satisfied  that  it  carries  no  contraband 
goods.  4.  Contraband  goods  are  considered  to  be 
military  stores  only.  5.  Neutral  ships  may  be  pre- 
vented from  entering  a  place  that  is  besieged,  if  the 


Preparations  were  immediately  made  for 
sending  the  British  fieet  into  the  Baltic; 
and  an  order  was  issued  for  a  general  em- 
bargo on  all  vessels  belonging  to  the  con- 
federation. Letters  of  marque  were  also 
issued ;  and  so  vigorously  were  they  acted 
upon,  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  merchant- 
men of  the  northern  powers  were  soon  to 
be  found  in  the  British  harbours.  The 
English  ministry  perceived  that  our  naval 
supremacy  depended  upon  striking  some 
decisive  blow  before  the  naval  forces  of  the 
confederacy  should  be  united.  The  Danes 
had  distinguished  themselves,  ever  since  the 
beginning  of  the  war  with  France,  in 
carrying  French  goods  and  articles  contra- 
band, and  had  resisted  or  eluded  the  search 
whenever  they  were  able  to  do  so.  The 
Danes,  therefore,  were  selected  as  an  ex- 
ample of  the  naval  power  of  England,  in 
the  event  of  their  refusing  to  accede  to  the 
terms  it  should  dictate  with  respect  to  the 
northern  coalition. 

On  the  12th  of  March,  a  fleet,  consisting 
of  eighteen  sail-of-the-hne  and  a  number  of 
frigates  and  smaller  vessels,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Admiral  Sir  Hvde  Parker  and  Vice- 
admiral  Lord  Nelson,  who  acted  in  subordi- 
nation to  him,  proceeded  to  the  Baltic.  As 
negotiation  was  preferred  to  war,  Mr.  Vau- 
sittart  accompanied  the  squadron  as  pleni- 
potentiary, with  full  powers  to  treat.  He 
left  the  fleet  in  the  Scaw,  and  proceeded  in 
a  frigate  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  Copenhagen  ; 
but  returned  without  success  from  his  mis- 
sion, which  only  served  to  stimulate  the 
Danes,  and  give  them  time  to  augment  their 
means  of  defence.  Nelson  disapproved  of 
distant  negotiation.  He  remarked,  "  The 
Dane  should  see  our  flag  every  moment  he 
lifts  up  his  head."  Notwithstanding  his 
representations,  several  days  were  dissipated 
in  inactivity.  On  the  30th,  however,  the 
British  fleet  passed  the  Sound  ;  and  despite 
the  batteries  of  Cronenberg  Castle,  anchored 
near  Copenhagen.  The  naval  battle  which 
takes  it  name  from  that  city,  was  fought  on 
the  2nd  of  April,  and  declared  by  Nelson 

blockade  be  real,  and  the  entrance  be  evidently  dan 
gerous. — On  the  other  hand,  the  English  government 
peremptorily  contended — 1.  That  materials  adapted"" 
for  building  ships,  such  as  timber,  hemp,  tar,  &c., 
were  contraband  goods.  2.  That  although  a  neutral 
ship  had  a  right  to  go  from  a  friendly  port  to  an 
enemy's  port,  it  could  not  traffic  between  one  hostile 
port  and  another.  3.  That  neutral  ships  could  not 
sail  from  the  enemy's  colony  to  the  mother  country. 
4.  That  neutral  powers  had  no  right  to  have  their 
merchant  ships  convoyed  by  ships  of  war ;  and  that,  if 
they  did  so,  this  would  not  exempt  them  from  search. 

367 


!|l 


.■I 


i>  I 


PAUl/s  FRIENDSHIP  FOR  NAPOLEON.]      HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1800. 


to  be  the  most  dreadful  affair,  and  the 
hardest  fought  battle  he  had  ever  witnessed. 
The  victory  of  the  British  was  purchased  with 
the  loss  of  1,200  men  ;  that  of  the  Danes  was 
estimated  at  1,700  or  1,800,  besides  about 
4,000  prisoners.  Six  line-of-battle  ships 
and  eight  praams  were  taken ;  but  all,  ex- 
cept one  of  the  former,  were  burnt.  This 
success,  together  with  an  incident  we  shall 
shortly  relate,  broke  up  the  northern 
coalition. 

We  have  gone  rather  in  advance  of  those 
events  which  are  exclusively  Russian,  and 
must  take  a  retrospective  step  in  our  nar- 
ration. The  alliance  between  Paul  and 
Napoleon  had  warmed  into  something  ap- 
proaching to  friendship.  The  English  and 
Austrian  ambassadors  were  dismissed  from 
St.  Petersburg ;  and  Count  KalitschefT  went 
to  Paris  as  the  ambassador  of  Russia,  and 
was  received  with  distinction.  "  France," 
said  Napoleon,  publicly,  "  can  ally  itself 
only  with  Russia,  for  Russia  is  mistress  of 
the  Baltic  and  Black  Seas,  and  she  holds 
the  keys  of  India  in  her  hands;  the  em- 
peror of  such  a  country  is  truly  a  great 
prince.  Paul  is  eccentric,  but  he  has  at 
least  a  will  of  his  own." 

The  emperor  had,  indeed,  gone  far  beyond 
eccentricitv  ;  and  his  conduct  towards  those 
around  him,  and  to  all  who  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  be  subject  to  his  authority, 
was  daily  assuming  a  more  arbitrary  and 
irrational  aspect.  Changeable  in  his  moods, 
shifting  constantly  from  one  mad  whim  to 
another,  he  remained  only  resolute  in  vin- 
dictive  severity,  which  increased  as  his 
growing  fears  magnified  the  natural  hatred 
which  surrounded  him.  So  variable  were 
his  humours,  that  he  sometimes  encouraged 
one  day  the  very  actions  for  which  he  would 
inflict  punishment  the  next.  At  length, 
not  only  his  family,  but  the  whole  empire 
became  aware  that  he  had  lost  all  command 
over  his  passions  ;  and  many  persons  chari- 
tably attributed  liis  extravagant  behaviour 
to  insanity.  At  one  period  he  conceived 
the  project  of  taking  the  institution  of  Free- 
masonry under  his  special  protection,  and 
of  placing  himself  at  its  head.  He  even 
proceeded  so  far  in  this  matter,  as  to  estab- 
lish a  committee  to  examine  the  acts  and 
statutes  of  the  Freemasons,  with  a  view  to 
revise  their  organisation.  He,  however,  soon 
abandoned  this  scheme,  for  the  purpose  of 
connecting  himself  with  the  ancient  and 
romantic  order  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of 
Malta.  Then,  completely  reversing  his  in- 
3G8 


tentions,  he  prohibited  all  secret  assemblies, 
and  compelled  the  presidents  of  the  lodges 
of  the  Masons  to  promise  that  they  would 
not  hold  any  meetings  without  his  consent ; 
in  this  manner,  his  promised  protection  was 
converted  into  oppression. 

A  state  of  things  resembling  a  reign  of 
terror  prevailed  at  St.  Petersburg,  and 
arrests  and  banishments  took  place  every 
day  on  the  slightest  pretences.  Carts  filled 
with  prisoners  constantly  took  the  road  to 
Siberia ;  and  the  unfortunate  victims  were 
seldom  allowed  time  to  settle  their  affairs, 
or  even  to  provide  the  clothing  necessary  to 
guard  against  the  rigours  of  the  inclement 
region  to  which  they  were  expelled.  Not 
only  banishment,  but  the  fearful  punish- 
ment of  the  knout,  was  decreed  for  the 
slightest  faults,  and  sometimes  inflicted 
where  no  fault  whatever  had  been  com- 
mitted. No  one,  either  man  or  woman,  was 
safe  for  an  hour;  for  the  fury  of  the  em- 
peror was  poured  out  indiscriminately  on 
all  classes  and  ranks  of  society.  His  hours 
of  calmness  became  progressively  rarer,  and 
it  is  certain  that  he  laboured  under  a  mental 
irritability  which  narrowly  bordered  upon 
insanity.  Napoleon  afterwards  declared, 
that  he  thought,  *^  latterly,  Paul  was  mad." 
Great  probability  was  given  to  this  suppo- 
sition by  the  state  papers  and  articles 
written  by  the  despot,  and  published  in  the 
67.  Petersburg  Gazette.  On  one  occasion 
he  issued,  through  the  medium  of  that 
journal,  an  invitation  to  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe  to  come  to  St.  Petersburg  and 
settle  their  disputes  by  a  combat,  with  their 
ministers — Pitt,  Thugut,  Bernsdorf,  and 
Talleyrand — as  esquires.  This  strange  whim 
was  the  result  of  the  irritation  produced  in 
his  mind  by  some  English  caricatures  repre- 
senting him  as  an  idiot,  which  had  been 
artfully  sent  him  by  Napoleon.  Paul  was, 
indeed,  embittered  against  this  country. 
Whenever  despatches  were  presented  to 
him  from  England,  proposing  terms  of 
reconciliation,  he  contemptuously  thrust 
them  through  with  his  penknife,  and  then 
returned  them  unopened. 

Paul's  own  family  were  not  exempt  from 
the  effects  of  his  furious  and  ungovernable 
temper.  The  empress  submitted  patiently 
to  all  his  caprices,  though  her  place,  as  his 
wife,  was  supplied  by  the  ugly  and  diminu- 
tive Mademoiselle  Nelidof.  Yet  neither 
the  empress  nor  her  sous  were  able  to  avoid 
incurring  the  morbid  suspicions  of  Paul. 
It  was  rumoured  by  persons  of  influence  at 


m 


A.D.  1800.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


fcONSPIRACY  AGAINST  PAUL, 


court,  that  he  had  said  he  would  send  the 
empress  to  Kalamagan  in  the  government  of 
Astracati,  Alexander  to  the  dismal  fortress 
of  Schlusselburg,  and  Constantine  to  the 
citadel  of  St.  Petersburg.  Whether  or  not 
Paul  threatened  this  proceeding,  it  was  felt 
by  the  distinguished  persons  alluded  to, 
that  he  might  at  any  time  put  it  into  prac- 
tice, and  that  no  carefulness  to  avoid  offence 
would  be  a  security  against  unmerited  but 
severe  punishment.  This  induced  even  the 
family  of  the  emperor  to  share  the  growing 
feeling,  that  it  was  necessary  to  remove  him 
from  the  exalted  position  he  was  so  utterly 
unfit  to  fill. 

It  was  conjectured  by  some  persons,  that 
the  mental  derangement  of  Paul  was  caused 
by  the  disappointment  of  an  illicit  passion 
which  he  entertained  for  the  Countess 
Lapoukhin,  a  lady  of  the  court,  who  wisely 
preferred  an  honourable  marriage  with  a 
subject  to  the  invidious  distinction  proposed 
to  her  by  the  emperor.  The  refusal  of  the 
lady  threw  him  into  such  fits  of  rage,  as 
were  calculated  to  produce  serious  results 
even  to  himself,  and  rendered  him  danger- 
ous to  every  person  whose  unpleasant  duty 
it  was  to  approach  him.  Many  of  his  frantic 
acts  were  attributed  to  the  su":o:estions  of 
the  Count  Koutaisof,  who,  from  his  barber, 
had  become  his  favourite  and  minister.*  The 
latter  denied  the  imputation,  and  perhaps 
with  truth,  for  court  favouiites  are  always 
exposed  to  accusations  of  that  kind.  More- 
over, the  elevation  of  this  man,  who  was  a 
Turk  by  biith,  had  given  great  offence  to 
the  nobility,  and  assisted  in  promoting 
the  discontent  which  had  become  general 
amongst  them.  The  caprices  of  Paul,  how- 
ever, wounded  not  only  their  pride,  but 
their  interests.  As  landed  proprietors,  they 
suffered  greatly  by  the  suspension  of  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  England.  This 
consideration  also  pressed  heavily  upon  the 

•  Koutaisof  was  a  Turk  of  low  origin,  who  had 
been  originally  valet-de-chamhre  to  Paul,  and  who 
so  far  won  his  favour,  that  he  rose,  at  last,  to 
be  his  confidant  and  minister.  Such  was  the 
power  which  this  man  obtained  over  the  emperor, 
that  even  the  nobility,  who  detested  him.  bowed 
before  his  authority.  Suwarrow  alone,  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  servility  of  courts,  did  not  hesitate 
to  humiliate  him  by  the  expression  of  his  contempt. 
Paul  had  occasion  one  day  to  communicate  with 
Suwarrow,  and  sent  this  favourite  to  the  veteran  to 
convey  his  commands.  "When  the  name  of  Count 
Koutaisof  was  announced,  Suwarrow  exc.aimed, 
"  Koutaisof!  I  do  not  know  a  Russian  family  of  that 
name."  Koutaisof  replied,  "  that  he  was  a  Turk, 
and  that   the  favour  of  the  emperor  had  elevated 

VOL.   I.  3   B 


mercantile  classes,  who  feared  to  enter  into 
any  extensive  speculations  under  a  govern- 
ment at  once  so  variable  and  insecure. 

All  these  circumstances  led  to  a  result 
which  it  is  not  diflScult  to  anticipate.  A 
conspiracy  was  entered  into  amongst  a 
number  of  officers  and  others,  most  of 
whom  held  important  and  confidential 
situations  near  the  person  of  the  emperor. 
Amongst  them  were  Plato  Zuboff,  and  his 
brothers.  Valerian  and  Nicholas,  who  had 
all  suffered  loss  and  insult  at  the  hands  of 
Paul,  but  were  then  restored  to  favour; 
Generals  Benningsen,  Ouvaroff,  and  Jasch- 
wel;  and  Colonels  Tatarmofl*  and  Jesse- 
lowitz.  But  the  director  and  master-mind 
of  the  conspiracy  was  Count  Pahlen,  the 
military  governor  of  St.  Petersburg.  He 
was  an  Esthonian  by  birth,  and  a  man  of  a 
cold,  crafty,  and  faithless  nature.  He  had, 
to  some  extent,  been  the  instrument  of  the 
severities  of  the  emperor;  but  he  hated  a 
master  whom  he  could  not  serve  either  with 
respect  or  safety  to  himself.  The  high  cha- 
racter of  Pahlen  was  such  as  to  neutralise 
the  suspicion  of  the  emperor,  should  it 
be  excited;  while  the  suavity  of  his  manners 
and  the  readiness  of  his  speech  were  also 
calculated  to  disarm  it.  It  is  said  that  he 
had  long  entertained  a  wish  to  depose  the 
despotic  Paul,  and  to  place  the  Grand-duke 
Alexander  on  the  throne,  in  the  hope  of 
rising  to  the  first  place  in  the  councils  of 
the  inexperienced  monarch,  or  even  to  reign 
over  the  empire  in  his  name.  This  is  by  no 
means  improbable;  but  that  which  appears 
to  have  been  the  direct  inducement  for 
him  to  join  the  conspiracy,  was  his  discovery 
that  Paul  intended  to  dismiss  and  disgrace 
him. 

Count  Pahlen  proceeded  with  consum- 
mate art  to  provide  for  the  success  of  the 
dangerous  scheme  in  M'hich  he  had  em- 
barked.    It  is  presumed  that  the  intention 

him  to  the  dignity  with  which  he  was  invested." 
"  You  have,  without  doubt,"  responded  Suwarrow, 
"  distinguished  yourself  in  arms  ?"  "  I  have  never 
served  in  the  field,"  answered  Koutaisof.  "  Or  in 
the  ministry  ?"  inquired  Suwarrow.  •'  I  have  not 
been  charged  with  civil  affairs,"  said  Koutaisof,  "  I 
have  always  been  placed  near  the  person  of  the  em- 
peror." "  Well,  well,"  persevered  the  old  general, 
"  and  in  what  capacity  ?  Koutaisof  wished  to  turn 
the  conversation,  but  the  pitiless  warrior  pursued  his 
questions,  until  he  forced  him  to  avow  that  he  had 
been  valet-de-chanihre.  Suwarrow  then  turned  to 
his  own  servant,  and  said,  "  See,  Ivan,  what  it  is  to 
conduct  oneself  well;  this  lord  was  once  what  thou 
art — behold  him  now  decorated  with  a  blue  riband." 
— Levesque, 

369 


I 
11 


r1 


HIS  SONS  IMPLICATED  IN  IT.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1801. 


A.D.  1801.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[murder  of  PAUL. 


of  those  who  were  admitted  to  the  secret, 
was  to  compel  Paul  to  sign  a  deed  of  abdi- 
cation, and  that  they  had  not  any  intention 
of  murdering:  him.  However  that  may  be, 
Pahlen  contrived  to  collect  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  implicate  in  the  plot,  a  number  of 
persons  who  had  sustained  injuries  from 
the  emperor,  and  who  were  not  likely  to 
recoil  from  bloodshed.  Pahlen  also  had  the 
address  to  alienate  from  the  favour  of  the 
doomed  emperor  all  those  courtiers  whom 
he  feared  would  be  adverse  to  his  design. 

The    masterpiece    of    Pahlen,     however, 
consisted  in   implicating   the   Grand-dukes 
Alexander    and    Constautine   in    the    con- 
spiracy   against    their    father.      This    was 
necessary    for    his    safety;    for   if  the    plot 
failed,  Pahlen's  life  would   be  sacrificed  to 
the   rage  of  Paul ;  and  if  it  succeeded,  he 
might  yet  fall  a  victim  to  the  vengeance  of 
Alexander.     The  latter  danger  would  pro- 
bably be  removed  if    the  future   monarch 
shared  the  crime  which  was   to  place  him 
on  the  throne.     Pahlen,  therefore,  secretly 
excited    the    father   against    the   sons,   and 
then  worked  upon  their  fears  to  excite  them 
against  their  father.     He  represented  to  the 
grand-dukes  that  he  was  labouring  for  their 
welfare,   and   urged    that   their   safety  and 
that  of   the  empire  required   that   the  in- 
sanity of  the  emperor  should  be  restrained 
from   producing  any  further  injury  to    the 
public  interests.     He  spoke  no  word  which 
implied  that  any  violence  was  intended  to- 
wards  Paul,  and  dwelt  upon  the  emperor's 
assumed  intention   of   placing   his    sons  in 
confinement.       The    princes    both   recoiled 
from   any  active    participation  in   the  con- 
spiracy ;     but    they    felt    the    cogency   of 
Pablen's    arguments,    and    consented    that 
their  father  should   be  compelled  to  abdi- 
cate.    Alexander  concurred  so  far,  that  he 
signed   the    proclamation    announcing    his 
own    assunjption   of  the    reins    of    govern- 
ment two  hours  before  the  consummation  of 
the  conspiracy. 

When  so  many  persons  were  admitted  to 
the  plot,  it  is  not  surprising  that  some 
rumours  of  it  reached  the  ears  of  the  empe- 
ror, whose  miserable  fears  made  him  suspect 
every  one  who  approached  him  to  be  an 
assassin.  Sending  for  Pahlen,  Paul  ac- 
quainted him  with  his  apprehensions,  and 
desired  him  to  spare  no  means  of  informing 
himself  of  all  the  facts  of  the  case.  The 
astute  minister  replied  calmly,  "  Sire,  I 
know  it  all ;  and,  in  order  to  assure  myself 
of  the  guilty,  I  am  mvself  a  conspirator.'' 
370 


The  apparent  openness  of  this  answer  paci- 
fied the  emperor,  and  induced  him  to  con- 
fide in  the  presumed  integrity  and  vigilance 
of  his  minister.  It  was  not* long,  however 
before  he  received  more  explicit  informa- 
tion, and  he  then  suspected  that  Pahlen  had 
taken  a  real  and  not  a  feigned  part  in  the 
conspiracy.  Under  this  impression,  he 
wrote  to  Araktcheief,  the  former  governor 
of  St.  Petersburg,  then  commanding  some 
trusty  troops  at  a  distance  of  forty  versts 
from  the  capital,  desiring  his  immediate 
presence,  and  expressing  a  belief  that  he 
had  been  betrayed  by  Pahlen.  The  latter, 
aware  of  every  movement  that  took  place  at 
the  palace,  arrested  the  courier,  and,  open- 
ing his  despatches,  saw  that  his  only  chance 
of  escaping  destruction,  lay  in  carrying  the 
design  against  Paul  into  immediate  opera- 
tion.  The  next  day  was  accordingly  fixed 
for  its  accomplishment. 

The  time  thus  necessarily  adopted  was  a 
favourable  one,  for  it  was  the  period  of  the 
Maslanitza,  or  Russian  carnival,  when  the 
whole  population  surrender  themselves  to 
festivity.  An  hour  before  midnight,  about 
twenty  of  the  conspirators  presented  them- 
selves at  the  side  door  of  the  palace  which 
opened  on  the  gardens.  They  were  at  first 
refused  admission  by  the  sentry;  but  on 
representing  to  the  man  that  they  had  been 
sent  for  by  the  emperor,  who  intended  that 
night  to  hold  a  council  of  war,  and  know- 
ing most  of  them  to  be  officers  of  rank,  he 
allowed  them  to  pass.  Silently  ascending 
the  staircase,  they  advanced  cautiously  to 
the  antechamber.  Then  Argamakoff,  the 
aide-de-camp  in  waiting,  who  had  entered 
into  the  design,  went  forward  alone.  The 
Cossack  on  guard  he  deceived  by  saying 
that  there  was  a  fire  in  the  city,  and  that 
he  came  to  awaken  the  emperor.*  The  Cos- 
sack permitted  him  to  pass,  and  Argamakoff 
knocked  at  the  door  of  the  royal  apartment, 
and  announced  his  name.  Paul  was  in 
bed;  but,  knowing  the  voice,  he  opened  the 
door  by  means  of  a  cord  attached  to  it  for 
that  purpose.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so, 
than  the  other  conspirators  crowded  into 
the  antechamber.  A  conviction  of  their 
intended  purpose  flashed  across  the  mind  of 
the  guard,  who  shouted,  "  Treason  !"  He 
had  no  time  to  give  the  alarm  further ;  for 
the  confederated  officers  instantly  cut  him 
down,  and  then  rushed  into  the  chamber  of 
the  emperor.  They  found  the  bed  empty, 
and  some  exclaimed  that  the  despot  had 
escaped.     "  That  is  impossible/'  said  Gene- 


ral Benningsen,  who  feared  that  at  this 
critical  moment  the  irresolution  of  some  of 
his  associates  might  lead  to  their  common 
destruction.  Turning  to  them,  he  ex- 
claimed threateningly,  "  No  weakness,  or  I 
will  put  you  all  to  death.'*  Then,  putting 
his  hand  on  the  bedclothes,  and  feeling 
them  warm,  he  added,  that  the  emperor 
could  not  be  far  off.  Almost  immediately 
afterwards,  Paul  was  perceived  crouching 
behind  a  screen,  from  which  ineffectual 
hiding-place  he  was  dragged  by  the  resolute 
general.  Just  before  the  entrance  of  the 
conspirators,  the  trembling  despot  had 
seized  a  sword,  and  attempted,  in  his  night- 
dress, to  gain  a  private  staircase,  from 
which  he  could  have  effected  his  escape. 
It  was  too  late  ;  but  now,  though  detected, 
and  brought  face  to  face  with  those  whom 
he  must  have  regarded  as  his  intended 
assassins,  he  confronted -them  in  a  bold  and 
manly  manner.  Passion  and  excitement 
gave  him  for  the  time  a  courage  which  he 
did  not  ordinarily  possess.  Turning  on 
some  of  those  present,  on  whom  he  had 
conferred  his  capricious  favours,  he  re- 
proached them  bitterly  as  traitors  and  in- 
grates.  Heedless  of  his  anger,  Plato  Zuboff 
read  to  him  the  act  of  abdication  that  had 
been  prepared,  and  required  him  to  sign  it 
instantly.  Paul  refused,  saying,  that  "  he 
was  emperor,  and  would  remain  emperor;" 
and  then  burst  into  a  torrent  of  invectives 
against  Zuboff  in  particular.  The  latter 
coolly  informed  him  that  he  was  no  longer 
emperor,  and  called  upon  him  to  surrender 
in  the  name  of  the  czar  Alexander.  Paul, 
bursting  with  passion,  struck  at  Zuboff;  and 
the  conspirators,  dismayed  by  this  boldness 
drew  back  and  hesitated. 

It  was  a  critical  moment ;  for  the  life  of 
the  despot  trembled  in  one  scale,  that  of  the 

•  Considerable  differences  exist  amongst  the  vari- 
ous narrations  concerning  the  details  of  the  death  of 
Paul ;  but  where  all  the  witnesses  had  an  interest  in 
concealing  the  particulars,  it  can  scarcely  be  expected 
that  every  account  should  coincide.  One  account 
was  given  by  the  soldier  who  guarded  the  ante- 
room to  the  bedchamber  of  Paul ;  for  the  man, 
though  cut  down,  was  not  killed  by  the  conspirators, 
and  was  afterwards  taken  by  the  empress  into  her 
protection.  It  is  not,  however,  likely  thai  this  man, 
faint  from  the  loss  of  blood,  and  fearing  for  his  own 
Hfe,  was  in  a  condition  to  be  very  accurately  ac- 
quainted with  proceedings  which  took  place  in  the 
next  apartment.  All  accounts,  however,  though 
differing  in  detail,  agree  as  to  the  main  facts ;  and 
we  have  endeavoured  to  attain  as  much  correctness 
in  the  relation  of  these  as  the  evidence  of  the  best 
accessible  authorities  would  enable  us.  It  is  stated 
by  some  writers,  that  Paul,  from  the  moment  he 


conspirators  in  the  other.  Their  veneration 
of  the  imperial  authority,  and  the  habit  of 
passive  submission  to  it,  was  regaining  its 
influence  over  most  of  them.  The  arrival 
of  a  few  persons  faithful  to  the  czar  would 
have  struck  paiiic  into  these  lawless  aven- 
gers of  the  sufferings  of  an  empire;  even 
the  merest  accident  might  have  effectually 
awed  the  conspirators,  and  saved  the  miser- 
able autocrat,  who,  with  his  hideous  face 
distorted  with  excitement,  and  livid  from 
the  conflicting  emotions  of  rage  and  terror, 
{glared  at  them  like  a  wild  beast  at  bay.  A 
distant  shout,  or  the  sound  of  approaching 
footsteps  towards  that  fatal  chamber  where 
stood  the  living  emperor  whose  moments 
were  numbered,  might  have  rescued  him. 
It  was  not  to  be;  there  was  at  least,  among 
the  conspirators,  one  whose  resolution  was 
undaunted;  and  his  spirit  reanimated  the 
rest.  This  was  General  Benningsen,  who 
reminded  them  that,  if  Paul  escaped,  an 
inevitable  death  upon  the  scaffold  awaited 
them. 

This  observation  roused  the  confederates 
to  a  sense  of  their  position,  and  awakened 
in  them  that  resolution  which  commonly 
springs  from  a  sense  of  danger.  Nicholas 
Zuboff  instantly  rushed  upon  the  emperor, 
and,  by  a  single  blow,  broke  his  right  arm. 
His  example  was  immediately  followed,  and 
the  other  conspirators  threw  themselves 
upon  Paul.  Excited  to  frenzy,  he  fought 
with  them  furiously;  but  such  an  unequal 
struggle  was  necessarily  of  brief  duration. 
Overpowered,  exhausted,  and  covered  with 
blood,  he  fell  to  the  ground.  In  this  posi- 
tion a  sash  was  hurriedly  passed  round  his 
neck,  and  his  agony  terminated  by  strangula- 
tion. His  last  words  were,  "  And  you,  too, 
my  Constautine  !''*  The  wretched  tyrant 
fancied   that    his  own  son  was   among   his 

saw  the  conspirators  until  they  broke  out  into 
violence,  did  not  utter  a  single  word,  but  fell  into  a 
sort  of  stupor,  from  whence  he  was  awakened  by 
Prince  Tatchwill,  the  major-general  of  artillery,  who, 
inflamed  with  wine,  came  in  with  several  of  his  com- 
panions; and,  finding  Benningsen  and  seven  or 
eight  of  his  friends  standing  motionless  in  the  room, 
furiously  attacked  the  emperor,  and,  overturning  the 
lamp,  involved  the  apartment  in  darkness.  In  the 
struggle  that  followed,  Benningsen,  according  to  this 
authority,  is  said  to  have  repeatedly  urged  Paul  not 
to  attempt  to  escape  or  to  defend  himself,  as  he 
feared  his  life  would  be  the  penalty ;  and,  through- 
out the  whole  scene,  Benningsen  did  not  take  any 
more  active  part.  Having  left  the  room  to  procure 
a  light,  he  found  Paul,  on  his  return,  lying  on  the 
ground  strangled.  The  only  resistance  which  Paul 
is  said,  by  this  account,  to  have  made,  was  putting 
his  hand  between  his  neck  and  the  sash,  and  ex- 

371 


<:  1 


1^ 


ALEXANDER  HAILED  AS  CZAR.]         HISTORY    OF    THE 


m 


murderers.  It  has  been  denied  that  the 
grand-duke  was  present,  or  even  aware  tliat 
the  project  in  which  he  was  implicated 
wouhl  have  so  tragical  a  termination.  For 
the  honour  of  human  nature  we  trust  that 
such  was  the  case.  It  is  difficult  to  enter- 
tain a  spark  of  pity  for  the  despot,  whr)se 
cruelties  had  rendered  him  unfit  to  live,  and 
whose  violent  death  we  regard  with  no  more 
emotion  than  we  should  that  of  a  wolf,  or 
other  beast  of  prey.  But  that  his  own  son 
should  have  been  present  amongst  the 
assassins,  and  assisted  to  extinguish  that 
life  from  which  he  derived  his  own,  would 
have  been  a  circumstance  both  unnatural 
and  appalling.  The  incident  has  been 
explained,  and  we  are  willing  to  believe 
truthfully  so,  by  the  statement  that  the 
bewildered  emperor  took  one  of  the  con- 
spirators for  the  grand-duke  on  account  of 
a  similarity  in  their  dress. 

Thus  perished  Paul,  on  the  night  of  the 
23rd  of  March,  1801,*  at  the  age  of  forty- 
seven,  after  a  brief  reign  of  four  years  and 
nearly  five  months,  f 

The  subtle  and  unprincipled  Count  Pahlen, 
who  had  been  the  animating  principle  of  the 
conspiracy,  was  not  present  during  the 
murder  of  the  emperor.  With  a  prudent 
but  profound  and  dishonourable  duplicity, 
he  had  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  regi- 
ment of  guards,  prepared  either  to  congratu- 
late his  accomplices  on  their  good  fortune 
in  the  event  of  their  snccess,  or  to  represent 
himself  as  the  deliverer  of  Paul  should  the 
autocrat  have  escaped. 

While  the  conspirators  were  engaged 
with  Paul,  his  eldest  son,  the  Grand-duke 
Alexander,  remained  in  a  room  below,  ex- 
pecting to  receive  the  news  of  his  father's 
arrest  and  deposition.  Whether  he  antici- 
pated, as  he  reasonably  might  have  done, 
the  dark  result  of  the  design,  or  had  heard 

claiming  in  French,  "Gentlemen,  for  heaven's  sake, 
spare  rne !  leave  me  time  to  pray  to  God  !"  which 
were  his  last  words.  There  are  many  reasons  for 
questioning  the  truth  of  this  account.  It  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  violent  character  of  Paul,  who 
might  reasonahly  be  supposed  to  reproach  his  assas- 
sins with  the  favours  he  had  bestowed  upon  them  ; 
and  it  is  equally  inconsistent  with  the  part  which 
General  Benningsen  took  in  the  affair,  having  that 
night  supped  at  General  Taiizin's  with  Pahlen  and 
the  other  leaders,  and  undertaken,  with  the  energy 
which  is  known  to  have  distinguished  him,  the  bold 
office  of  heading  the  party  at  the  palace. 

•  Some  accounts    say,  that   Paul   was    murdered 

on  the  24th  of  March,   not  the   23rd.      As  it  was 

about  midnight  when    the  event  took  place,  it  has 

been  referred  by  some  narrators  to  the  following  day. 

o72i 


[a.d.  1801. 

the  noise  arising  from  the  strucrgle,  and  thus 
guessed  that  his  pjirent  had  been  assassi- 
nated, we  are  unable  to  say.  But  on  the 
return  of  the  conspirators,  he  engeriv  de- 
manded of  them,  whether  the  life  of  his 
father  had  been  spared?  On  receiving  a 
reply  in  the  negative,  he  tore  his  hair,  and, 
uttering  passionate  expressions  of  sorrow, 
refused,  for  a  short  time,  to  allow  himself  to 
be  nominated  to  the  succession.  This  emo- 
tion might  have  been  sincere  ;  but  we  must 
confess  to  a  suspicio!)  of  its  hollowness.  The 
admirers  or  adulators  of  Alexander  have 
given  him  the  credit  of  being  both  humane 
and  affectionate.  Emperors,  however,  are 
never  in  want  of  flatterers,  who  are  ready  to 
argue  even  their  weaknesses  or  crimes  into 
virtues;  and  a  profound  judge  of  human 
character,  who  afterwards  knew  Alexander 
well,  pronounced  him  to  be  both  false  and 
cunning,  t 

The  news  of  the  sudden  death  of  the 
emperor,  whom  a  complaisant  court  phj^- 
sician  pronounced  to  have  died  of  apoplexy, 
soon  spread  through  the  city,  and  was 
received  with  acclamations  and  expressions 
of  unbounded  joy.  So  intolerable  had  the 
tyranny  of  Paul  become,  that  his  death  was 
everywhere  felt  as  a  relief,  find  the  people, 
army  and  nobles,  were  unanimous  in  their 
congratulations  and  rejoicings.  To  such 
an  extent  was  this  carried,  that  a  stranger 
might  have  supposed  some  great  festival  to 
be  in  course  of  celebration.  Assembling 
beneath  the  windows  of  the  palace,  the 
populace  rent  the  air  with  shouts,  mingled 
with  the  name  of  Alexander.  These  de- 
monstrations induced  him  to  abandon  all 
idea  of  refusing  to  accept  the  title  of  em- 
peror; if,  indeed,  he  seriously  entertained  it. 
It  was  evident  that  an  attempt  to  revenge 
the  death  of  his  father  might  have  resulted 
in  a  revolution ;  for  so  great  was  the  joy  of 

t  Paul  left  ten  children,  all  the  offspring  of  his 
second  wife,  the  Princess  of  Wurtemherg.  Their 
names  and  the  dates  of  their  births  are  as  follows  :— 
Alexander,  born  23rd  December,  1777  ;  Constantine, 
born  1779;  Alexandrina,  born  1783,  married  to 
Joseph,  palatine  of  Hungary;  Helena,  ?)orn  1781, 
married  to  Frnderic,  prince  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz; 
Maria,  born  1786,  married  to  Charles,  grand  duke  of 
Saxe- Weimar;  Catherine,  born  1788,  married  first 
to  Prince  George  of  Holstein  Oldenburg,  secondly 
to  William  I.,  king  of  Wurtemherg;  Olga,  born 
1792;  Anne,  born  1795,  married  to  William  XL, 
king  of  Holland;  Nicholas,  born  1796;  Michael, 
born  1798. 

I  The  emperor  Napoleon  I.  Indeed,  even  the 
panegyrists  of  Alexander  admit  that  he  was  a  pro- 
found dissembler 


A.D.  1801.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[character  of  PAUL. 

affected  the  interests  of  the  empire.  As 
Napoleon  observed,  he  had  a  will  of  his 
own,  and  a  resolute  one;  but  it  must  be 
added,  that  he  was  utterlv  destitute  of  the 
ju<igraent  requisite  to  direct  it.  To  his 
Ciipricious  and  petty  crnelty,  he  added  a 
treachery  which  he  commonly  visited  upon 
those  whom  he  led  to  believe  he  had  re- 
garded as  friends.  No  one  could  trust  him  ; 
no  one  could  depend  npon  his  humour  even 
from  one  hour  to  another.  His  activity  was 
remarkable,  especially  in  mischief;  and,  in- 
deed, he  was  employed  in  little  else.  His 
motives  were  little,  and  his  actions  mean 
and  unkingly.  His  nature  was  a  mixture  of 
the  military  martinet  and  the  inquisitorial 
police-officer.  His  oppression  was  of  a 
puerile  character,  and  might  have  been 
regarded  as  ridiculous,  but  for  the  serious 
consequences  resulting  from  it.  A  furious 
war  against  round  hats,  lapelled  waistct>ats, 
or  Russian  harness,  might  seem,  though  irri- 
tating, to  be  absurd  ;  but  these  proceedings 
take  a  very  different  complexion  when  we 
tatious  gift  of  food!  which  the  management  learn  that  people  were  punished  with  merci- 
of  the  army  ought  never  to  have  permitted  less  severity,  even  to  the  extent  of  being 
them  to  want.  This  was  eccentricity,  not  exiled  for  life  to  the  wilds  of  Siberia,  for 
humanity  ;  for  Paul  abundantly  proved  that  even  accidentally  infringing  the  whimsical 
he  was  destitute  of  all  gentle  and  kindly  edicts  of  the  emperor  on  these  points.  Paul 
emotions.  His  tyranny  was  intolerable,  and  had  a  passion  for  remodelling  everything; 
his  cruelty  petty,  harassing,  and  incessant.  |  yet  it  may  be  safely  said  that  he  improved 
He  did  not   resemble  the   lion  who  rends    nothing.     Everything  he  did  was  of  a  petty 


the  people,  that  they  were  with  difficulty 
restrained  from  hailing  the  regicides  as  the 
saviours  of  the  empire.  Shortly  afterwards, 
a  deputation  of  the  nol)ility,  the  officials 
and  the  magistrates  of  the  city,  waited  on 
Alexander,  and  tendered  him  their  alle- 
giance. At  the  same  time.  Count  Pahlen, 
who  headed  the  deputation,  read  an  address, 
representing  the  indispensable  necessity  of 
a  total  change  of  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
new  emperor. 

Little  need  be  said  respecting  the  cha- 
racter of  Paul,  which  has,  perhaps,  been  suffi- 
ciently revealed  by  our  narrative.  It  is, 
moreover,  not  agreeal)le  to  dwell  on  a  pic- 
ture which  is  all  storm  and  shadows.  He 
has  been  said  to  have  occasionally  exhibited 
traits  of  humanity ;  but  we  are,  after  patient 
reflection,  at  a  loss  to  discover  them.  He 
visited  and  pardoned  Koscuisko  for  a  whim, 
and  because  the  patriot  had  been  condemned 
to  imprisonment  by  the  empress  Catherine, 
whose  commands  Paul  ever  loved  to  reverse. 
He  also  degraded  poor  officers  by  an  osten 


and  slays,  but  the  reptile  which  stings  and 
poisons.  He  delighted  to  terrify  his  sub- 
jects, and  to  make  them  feel  the  weight  of 
his  authority.  Sometimes  a  touch  of  grim 
humour  was  mingled  with  his  caprice  or 
anger.  On  one  occasion,  while  engaged  in 
private  conversation  with  a  nobleman  of  his 
court,  the  emperor,  without  any  provocation, 
gave  him  a  sound  box  on  the  ea?',  saying  at 
the  same  time,  "This  salutation  with  mv 
hand  Paul,"  in  punning  allusion  to  one  of 
the  epistles  of  his  namesake  the  apostle. 
The  vanity  of  the  emperor  was  gigantic,  his 
arrogance  utibounded.  In  that  direction 
the  irritability  of  his  mind  appears  to  have 
passed  the  bounds  of  disorder,  and  become 
disease.  The  reverence  which  he  com- 
manded to  be  observed  towards  him,  was 
such  as  it  is  only  becoming  in  men  to  pay 
to  the  Deity.  Capricious  in  all  things,  he 
never  adhered  to  any  principle  of  policy,  or 
to  any  purpose.  Narrow  in  his  intellect,  he 
viewed  every  subject  through  the  medium  of 
personal  feelings.  He  even  considered  an 
event  or  alliance  as  acceptable,  or  othei  wise, 
according  as  it  pleased  him,  and  not  as  it 


and  pragmatical  kind;  the  people,  the  army, 
the  legislature,  the  press,  all  bitterly  felt  the 
pressure  of  his  innovating  hand.  Indeed, 
his  reforms,  or  rather  changes,  alwaj's  pro- 
duced more  evil  than  that  which  they  were 
occasionally  intended  to  effect.  We  say 
occasionally,  because  he  often  commanded 
extensive  alterations  to  be  made  in  the 
machinery  of  the  state,  without  condescend- 
ing to  assign  any  reason  whatever;  if,  in 
fact,  he  possessed  any.  It  was  his  will,  and 
he  expected  and  enforced  an  unquestioning 
obedience.  In  brief,  if  the  emperor  Paul  is 
to  be  regarded  as  accountable  for  his  actions, 
he  must  be  pronounced  as  the  worst  and 
meanest  despot  of  modern  times;  insignifi- 
cant but  for  his  despotic  fury,  and  never 
even  great  in  crime.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  acquit  him  of  his  crimes  against  society 
on  the  plea  of  insanity,  we  must  deplore 
that  fatal  form  of  government  which  is  ever 
liable  to  invest  a  maniac  with  absolute  and 
uncontrollable  power  over  the  largest  empire 
in  the  world. 

To  these  remarks  of  our  own,   we   will 
append  the  following  observations  from  the 

373 


"s 


is 


Ui 


TSSTIMONY  OF  COUXT  SEGUR.]  HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1801, 


pen  of  Count  Segur,  the  French  ambassador 
at  St.   Petersburg  during  a  portion  of  the 
latter    part  of    the    reign    of    the    empress 
Catherine.  The  count,  possessing  the  suavity 
of  a  courtier  who  had  frequently  seen  and 
conversed  with  the  autocrat,  was  evidently 
influenced  by  a  desire  to  render  his  sketch 
as  devoid  of  repulsive  features  as  a  strict 
regard  for  truth  would  permit.     He  says* — 
"With    much    wit    and    information,    the 
Grand-duke  Paul  possessed  the  most  rest- 
less and  suspicious  temper,  the  most  change- 
able character.     He  was  often  affable  to  the 
extreme  of  familiarity;   oftener  harsh,  des- 
potic,  and  haughty.      Never,   perhaps,   did 
there  exist  a  man   more  uncertain,  timid, 
or  capricious;   less  calculated,  in  short,  for 
imparting  happiness  to  others  or  to  himself. 
*' His  reign  bore  evidence  of  this.     Ihe 
many  acts  of  injustice  which  he  committed, 
the  disgrace  or  banishment  of  so  many  per- 
sons, are  not  to  be  ascribed  to  a  wicked  dis- 
position (?)  but  to  a  kind  of  mental  malady. 
He  was  the  torment  of  all  who  approached 
him,  because  he  was  his  own  torment.     He 
always  fancied  that  the  throne  was  encom- 
passed with  precipices.     Fear  disturbed  his 
judgment:  through  his  constant  apprehen- 
sion of  imaginary  evils,  he  gave  rise  to  real 
ones ;  for,  sooner  or  later,  a  monarch  never 
fails  to  communicate  to  others  the  terror  to 
which  he  is  a  prey,  and  the  mistrust  which 
he  harbours  in  his  heart. 

"  At  a  later  period,  one  of  my  colleagues 
in  the  chamber  of  peers,  who  was  at  St. 
Petersburg  during  the  reign  of  Paul,  quoted 
to  me  some  of  his  expressions,  that  bore 
the  deepest  stamp  of  his  despotic  character. 
Having  allowed  General  Duraouriez  to  call 
frequently  to  see  him,  and  the  general 
having  one  day  omitted  to  appear  at  the 
palace,  the  emperor  asked  him,  the  next 
time  he  presented  himself,  whether  he  had 
been  unwell.  'No,  sire,'  replied  Dumou- 
riez ;  •  but  having  been  invited  to  dine  by 
one  of  the  most  important  personages  of 
your  court,  I  could  not  excuse  myself  from 
accepting  the  invitation.'  'I  would  have 
you  to  know,  sir,'  rejoined  the  emperor,  in 
a  severe  tone  of  voice,  '  that  there  is  not  any 
person  of  importance  here  except  the  one  I 
may  be  addressing,  and  so  long  as  I  am  ad- 
dressmg  him.'  Is  it  possible  for  the  pride 
of  power  and  the  contempt  of  mankind  to 
be  carried  to  greater  lengths  ! 

"  In    the   early   days   of   my   arrival    in 
Russia,  this  prince  had  shown  such  a  warm 

•  Memoirs  and  Recollections, 
374 


attachment  to  me,  that  it  bore  the  appear- 
ance of   infatuation.      This  fancy  did   not 
last  long;   it  turned  to  indifference,   when 
he    found    that   the   empress,    his    mother, 
honoured  me  with  marks  of  kindness,  and 
admitted  me  into  her  intimacy.     For  a  long 
time  past  he  had  ceased  to  express  any  wish 
for  a  renewal  of  my  intercourse  with  him; 
but  at  the  moment  of  my  departure,  a  fresh 
caprice  of  his  mind  procured  me  a  return 
of  confidence.     He  conversed  with  me  for 
several    hours,    and    to    the    exclusion    of 
almost  every  other  subject,  respecting  his 
pretended  causes  of  complaint  against  the 
empress  and  the  Prince  Poterakin,  the  un- 
pleasantness of  his  situation,  the  dread  in 
which  he  was  held,  and  the  melancholy  fate 
he  had  to  expect  from  a  court  accustomed 
to  suffer  and  allow  no  other  reign  but  that 
of  women :   he  was  intimidated  by  the  re- 
flection of   his  father's  deplorable  end;    it 
was  constantly  in  his  thoughts,  and  was  the 
settled  idea  of  his  mind. 

"  In  vain  I  urged  that  his  prejudices  de- 
ceived him ;  that,  so  far  from  fearing  him, 
his   mother    always   left   him   at    liberty   to 
hold  his  court  without  any  interference  on 
her  part,  and  even  to  retain  near  him,  at  a 
short  distance  from  Czarskozelo,  two  bat- 
talions, the  officers  of  which   were  of   his 
own  nominating,  which  he  trained,  armed, 
and    clothed    at    will ;     whilst    his    mother, 
banishing  all   apprehension,  only  kept  one 
company   of    her   guard    near  her   person. 
'  If    this    princess,    monseigneur,'    I    said, 
'  does   not   call   you   to   her   councils,  and 
gives  you  no  share  in  public  affairs,  allow 
me  to  observe,  that  it  would  be  very  difficult 
for  her  to  act  otherwise ;  aware,  as  she  is, 
that  you   find  fault   with   her  inclinations, 
her  connections,  her  system  of  administra- 
tion, and  her  political  conduct.     As  to  the 
evils  which  you  dread   by  anticipation,  rest 
assured  that  your  fears  contribute  to  raise 
them ;  show  yourself  superior  to  them,  and 
they  will  infallibly  disappear.'     I  did   not 
succeed  in  persuading  him;  and,  by  inces- 
santly recriminating  against  the  ministers 
and  all  who  were  honoured  with  the  con- 
fidence of  the  empress,  he  was  endeavouring 
to  prove  to  me,  that,  notwithstanc  ing  my 
five  years'  residence  in  Russia,  I  was  very 
imperfectly  acquainted  with  his  character. 
'  Explain,  in  short,'  said  the  prince  to  me  on 
one  occasion,  'why,  in  the  European  mon- 
archies, sovereigns  quietly  reign  and  succeed 
each  other,  whilst   the  throne  of  Russia  is 
so  often  stained  with  blood  V 


A.D.  1801.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[regret  of  napoleon. 


" '  I  see  no  difficulty,  monseigneur,'  I 
replied,  '  in  tracing  the  cause  of  all  those 
catastrophes;  and,  no  doubt,  it  has  not 
escaped  your  observation.  Everywhere  else 
the  peace  of  nations  and  the  tranquillity  of 
kinsrs  is  secured  bv  the  inheritance  to  the 
throne  in  the  male  line.  This  is  the  im- 
portant difference  existing  between  the 
ancient  Asiatic,  Roman,  Greek,  and  bar- 
barian monarchies,  and  the  modern  ones; 
the  progress  of  civilisation  may,  perhaps, 
be  ascribed  to  this  stability.  Here,  on  the 
contrary,  there  is  nothing  fixed  on  the  sub- 
ject; everything  is  open  to  doubt;  and  the 
sovereign  selects  any  successor  he  pleases. 
Hence  you  have  a  perpetual  source  of  am- 
bitious hopes,  of  intrigues  and  conspiracies.' 

"'I  acknowledge  it,'  he  rejoined,  'but 
where  is  the  remedv  to  be  found?  With  us, 
the  habit  is  of  long  standing,  a  sanctioned 
custom ;  and  an  alteration  in  so  important 
a  point  could  never  be  effected  without 
danger  to  the  innovator;  for,  I  repeat  it, 
the  Russians  prefer  seeing  a  gown  rather 
than  an  uniform  upon  the  throne.' — '  Never- 
theless, I  am  of  opinion,  monseigneur,'  I 
continued,  *  that  this  happy  revolution  might 
be  brought  about  at  some  signal  epoch  of  a 
new  reign,  such  as  a  solemn  entry,  a  coro- 
nation, when  the  people's  minds  are  open  to 
confidence,  to  pleasure,  and  to  hope.' 

"  '  I  cau  well  conceive  it,'  he  said,  em- 
bracing me;  'this  might  be  attempted;  I 
must  reflect  upon  it.' 

"  I  thought  no  more  of  the  subject ;  and 
he,  perhaps,  equally  forgot  it.  When,  how- 
ever, on  his  ascending  the  throne  a  few 
years  afterwards,  Paul  established,  as  a  fun- 
damental law,  the  hereditary  succession  to 
the  throne  in  the  male  line  and  in  the 
order  of  primogeniture,  it  occurred  to  me 
that  our  conversation  might  have  contri- 
buted in  operating  this  memorable  change 
in  Russian  legislation." 

The  assassination  of  Paul,  and  the  subse- 
quent triumph  of  the  British  fleet  at  the 

•  Alison  observes — "  In  truth,  there  was  a  con- 
nection, and  an  intimate  one,  between  them,  though 
not  ol"  the  kind  insinuated  by  the  first  consul.  The 
connection  was  that  between  flagrant  mis^^overnment 
and  Oriental  revolution.  In  every  country,  how 
despotic  soever,  there  is  some  restraint  on  the 
power  of  government.  When  oppression  or  tyranny 
has  reached  a  certain  height,  a  spirit  of  resistance  is 
inevitably  generated,  which  leads  to  convulsions ; 
and  this  is  the  case  in  Oriental  as  in  European  mon- 
archies ;  in  the  age  of  Nero  as  in  that  of  James  II. 
It  is  the  highest  glory  of  representative  governments, 
to  have  given  a  constitutional  direction  to  this  neces- 
sary element  in  the  social  system;   to  have  con- 


battle  of  Copenhagen,  dissolved  that  for- 
midable coaliti(m  of  the  northern  powers 
which  was  entered  into  to  destroy  the  mari- 
time supremacy  of  this  country.  Napoleon 
was  greatly  irritated  at  the  unexpected  death 
of  Paul,  and  the  events  wliich  so  rapidly 
followed  it.  So  much  so,  that  he  publicly 
implied,  and  probably  himself  believed,  that 
the  murder  of  the  emperor  w^as  brought  about 
by  the  influence  of  England.  "  Paul  I.," 
said  Napoleon,  in  announcing  the  event  to 
the  French  people,  "died  on  the  night  of 
the  23rd  of  March.  The  English  fleet  passed 
the  Sound  ou  the  30th.  History  will  unveil 
the  connection  which  may  have  existed  be- 
tween  these  events."  *  The  French  papers 
followed  the  example  of  the  emperor,  and 
contended  that  the  English  ministry  was 
privy  to  the  conspiracy ;  the  success  of 
which,  and  the  murder  of  the  emperor,  was, 
they  said  (though  we  certainly  do  not  see 
by  what  means),  necessary  to  the  success  of 
the  English  expedition  against  Denmark. 
It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  these 
assertions  were  merely  idle  calumnies. 
Assuredly,  a  British  fleet,  with  the  illustrious 
Nelson  on  board  of  it,  did  not  stand  in 
need  of  Russian  conspirators  to  enal)le  it  to 
procure  a  victory  over  an  inferior  power. 
Paul's  death  was  the  natural  result  of  his 
tyranny ;  and  it  is  only  to  be  wondered  at 
that  his  capricious  despotism  was  borne  so 
long  as  it  was  by  a  nobility  to  whom  the 
assassination  of  an  emperor  was  no  novelty. 
Napoleon's  acute  minister,  Talleyrand,  en- 
deavoured to  pacify  him,  by  observing,  that 
"  this  was  the  customary  mode  of  abdication 
in  Russia." 

Napoleon's  regret  for  the  death  of  Paul 
arose  from  the  partiality  which  the  latter 
had  recently  shown  towards  him,  and  the 
desire  he  had  evinced  to  promote  the  in- 
terests of  France.  But  the  first  consul  was 
further  irritated  by  the  consequent  aban- 
donment of  the  northern  alliance  against  the 
maritime  supremacy  of  England,  and  also 

verted  a  casual  and  transitory  burst  of  vengeance 
into  a  regular  and  pacific  organ  of  improvement ;  to 
have  substituted  a  hostile  vote  in  the  national  as 
sembly  for  the  dagger  or  the  bowstring  ;  and,  instead 
of  the  revolution  of  the  seraglio,  introduced  the 
steady  opposition  of  the  British  parliament.  In 
Russia,  this  important  element  was  unknown.  No 
regular  or  useful  check  upon  the  authority  of  gov- 
ernment existed ;  the  will  of  the  czar  was  omnipo- 
tent. Measures  the  most  hurtful  might  emanate 
from  the  palace  without  any  constitutional  means  of 
redress  existing ;  and  if  the  conduct  of  the  emperor 
had  risen  to  a  certain  degree  of  extravagance,  no 
means  of  arresting  it  existed  but  his  destruction." 

375 


^\ 


PROJECT  TO  INVADE  INDIA.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1801. 


of  a  wild  scheme  which  he  liaH  formed  in 
conjunction  with  Paul,  of  marching  a  com- 
bined French  and  Russian  armv  to  India, 
with  the  object  of  overthrowing  the  dominion 
of  Britain  in  that  vast  and  wealthy  penin- 
sula. We  entirely  concur  in  the  opinion 
that  the  abandonment  of  this  project  was 
far  more  fortunate  for  France  and  Russia 
than  it  was  for  England.  We  believe  that, 
in  consequence  of  the  tremendous  natural 
obstacles  to  be  overcome,  the  successful 
accomplishment  of  sucli  a  scheme  is  utterly 
impracticable.  Nor  do  we  attribute  much 
weight  to  the  fact,  that  so  great  a  general  as 
Napoleon  thought  otherwiNC.  We  think 
that,  intoxicated  by  a  career  of  brilliant 
successes,  he  had  come  to  believe  that  it 
was  almost  impossible  that  he  could  fail  in 
any  enterprise  to  the  accomplishment  of 
whicli  he  devoted  himself.  His  faith  in  the 
resources  of  France,  in  the  spirit  and  military 
genius  of  the  French  people,  and  in  the 
paramount  ascendancy  of  "  his  star"  or 
destiny,  was  unbounded.  Yet,  in  his  subse- 
quent invasion  of  Russia,  these  failed  him  in 
the  most  tragical  manner ;  and  we  regard 
that  project  as  one  of  far  less  danger  and 
difficulty  than  his  contemplated  march  to 
India,  where,  if  the  French  and  Russian 
troops  ever  arrived  at  all,  it  would  be  to 
encounter,  in  a  state  of  exhaustion  and 
miserv,  a  succession  of  British  armies  well 
supplied  with  every  requisite  for  field  service, 
and  fresh  for  conflict.  If  the  reader  will 
refer  to  an  atlas,  and  trace  in  the  maps  of 
Europe  and  Asia  the  proposed  line  of  pro- 
gress of  the  allied  armies  to  India,  we  think 
that  he  will  agree  with  us,  that  the  enter[)rise 
would  have  proved  fatal  to  all  who  embarked 
in  it.  Fears  have  even  recently  been  enter- 
tained of  Russian  ambition  in  that  direction  ; 
but  it  requires  not  the  mantle  of  a  prophet 
to  predict,  that  should  so  wild  a  project  ever 
be  attempted,  India  Would  prove  the  grave 
— and  one  from  which  resurrection  would  be 
more  than  doubtful — of  the  prestige  of  Rus- 
sian statesmanship  and  military  distinction. 

This  was  the  plan  which  received  the 
sanction  of  the  great  Napoleon ;  but  which, 
from  the  gigantic — we  believe  insurmount- 
able— difficulties  surrounding  it,  has  more 
the  appearance  of  having  been  concocted 
by  the  driveller  Paul : — 

"  A  French  army,  35,000  strong,  with 
light  artillery,  under  the  command  of  Mas- 
sena,  shall  be  moved  from  France  to  Ulm, 
whence,  with  the  consent  of  Austria,  it 
shall  descend  the  Danube  to  the  Black  Sea. 
376 


"Arrived  there,  a  Russian  fleet  will  trans- 
port it  to  Taganrog;  thence  it  shall  move 
to  Tzaritzin  on  the  Volga,  where  it  will  find 
boats  to  convey  it  to  Astracan. 

"There  it  will  find  a  Russian  army  of 
35,000  men,  composed  of  15,000  infantry, 
10,000  cavalry,  and  10,000  Cossacks,  amply 
provided  with  artillery,  and  the  horses  ne- 
cessary for  its  conveyance. 

"The  combined  army  shall  be  transported 
by  the  Caspian  Sea,  from  Astracan  to 
Astral)ad,  where  magazines  of  all  sorts  shall 
be  established  for  its  use. 

"The  march  from  the  frontiers  of  France 
to  Astrabad  will  be  made  in  eisrhtv  davs  ; 
fifty  more  will  be  requisite  to  bring  the 
army  to  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  by  the 
route  of  Herat,  Felah,  and  Candahar." 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  this 
strange  project  is,  the  perfect  complacency 
with  which  it  utterly  ignores  difficulties  of 
a  more  gigantic  and  threatening  character 
than  have  ever  been  surmounted,  or  even 
attempted,  by  any  modern  military  power. 
The  intended  allied  army  of  70,000  men 
would  be  strangely  inefficient  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  so  vast  an  end  as  that  pro- 
posed ;  even  supposing  it  to  be  practicable. 
It  is  more  than  probable  that  70,000  men 
would  be  utterly  consumed  in  the  sickness, 
sufferings,  and  privations  of  this  compli- 
cated progress.  To  supply  such  a  force 
with  provisions,  even  to  Astrabad,  would 
be  a  work  of  transcendant  difficulty;  but 
the  maintenance  of  it  from  that  point  to 
the  banks  of  the  Indus,  through  Persia  and 
Affg'hanistan,  where  it  would  constantly  be 
assailed  by  fierce  and  hostile  forces,  would 
be  scarcely  short  of  miraculous.  Should 
this  have  been  overcome  by  any  wonder- 
fully arranged  commissariat,  the  troops, 
especially  the  Russians,  would  have  perished 
in  swarms  from  the  eflects  of  a  climate 
which  is  terribly  fatal  to  men  who  iiave 
been  cradled  in  the  snows  of  the  north. 
It  was  the  climate  which  defeated  Peter 
the  Great  when  he  penetrated  into  Persia; 
and  a  terrible  sickness  devastated  and  para- 
lysed the  army  sent  there  by  Catherine. 

Even  the  very  first  steps  of  the  French 
army,  before  it  joined  that  of  Russia,  would 
be  beset  with  difficulties.  It  was  to  descend 
the  Danube,  "  with  the  consent  of  Austria," 
though  it  wjis,  undoubtedly,  the  interest  of 
Austria  to  withhold  that  consent.  The  em- 
[)eror,  who  was  an  ally  of  England,  might 
liave  withheld  his  consent;  but  supposing 
him  to  have  given  it^  it  must  be  remem- 


P 

I  III 


A.D.  1801.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [natural  obstacles  to  it. 


bered,  that  the  greatest  portion  of  the 
Danube  runs  through  the  dominions  of  the 
sultan.  His  consent,  therefore,  must  have 
been  obtained  also :  and  as  the  invasion  of 
India  was  to  be  conducted  in  defiance  of 
Turkey,  there  is  little  doubt  that,  in  the 
progress  down  the  Danube  to  the  Black 
Sea,  considerable  opposition  would  have  to 
be  encountered.  During  this  time,  it  is 
scarcely  possible  that  England  would  remain 
in  inaction,  and  passively  behold  the  prepa- 
rations that  were  being  made  to  wrest  from 
her  a  vast  territory,  the  loss  of  which,  espe- 
cially if  taken  from  her  by  France  and 
Russia,  would  have  materiallv  lowered  her 
reputation  as  a  first-rate  European  power. 
Presuming,  as  we  think  under  the  <;ircum- 
stances  we  are  warranted  in  doing,  that  the 
Porte  admitted  a  British  fleet  into  the  Black 
Sea  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  that  of 
Russia,  encumbered  with  70,000  troops, 
and  heavily  laden  with  artillery,  horses, 
and  stores — the  result  of  such  a  conflict 
as  would  certainly  follow,  could  scarcely  be 
doubtful,  even  if  Nelson  had  not  been  ap- 
pointed to  command  the  British  men-of- 
war.  At  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing 
the  spirit  of  England  was  unbounded,  its 
resources  seemingly  inexhaustible,  the  ex- 
tent of  its  influence  almost  miraculous,  and 
its  wrath  terrible.  Its  resources,  and  con- 
sequently its  influence,  are  now  far  greater; 
and  if  the  indomitable  spirit  of  its  people 
seems  to  have  deteriorated,  we  suspect  that 
is  because  prolonged  wars  have  not  aroused 
in  them  that  strong  sense  of  nationality  and 
military  ardour  which  existed  in  times  of 
difficulty  and  danger.  It  is  scarcely  a 
metaphor  to  say,  that  England  has  held 
her  own  against  a  world  in  arms;  nor  too 
much  to  predict,  that  the  power  of  Russia, 
even  with  that  of  France  at  its  back,  could 
never  wrest  India  from  her  iron  grasp.  If 
that  vast  and  grand  peninsula,  extending 
from  the  luxuriant  and  verdant  plains  of 
Cape  Comorin  to  the  snow-clad  mountains 
of  the  Himalaya  and  the  savage  wilds  of 
Tartary,  and  blessed  by  nature  with  all  the 
treasures  of  the  roseate  East,  be  ever  lost 
to  England,  it  will  not  be  in  consequence  of 
foreign  interpolation — not  from  the  bayonets 
and  cannon  of  Russia  and  France;  but 
from  English  mismanagement,  false  secu- 
rity, and  wilful  misunderstanding  of  the 
native  character — from  an  unjust  inter- 
ference with  ancient  usages,  and  an  un- 
generous and  insane  attempt  insidiously  to 
force  upon  the  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans 
VOL.  I.  3  c 


of  that  burning  clime,  a  religion  to  which 
they  entertain  not  only  a  repugnance,  but 
a  hatred.  England  might,  though  we  do 
not  believe  she  ever  will,  lose  India  iu 
consequence  of  a  succession  of  well-or- 
ganised rebellions  against  her  authority — 
rebellions  provoked  by  her  own  dogmatic 
intolerance  and  want  of  faith  towards  her 
swarthy  subjects ;  but  we  are  satisfied  that 
it  can  never  be  torn  from  her  by  any  Euro- 
pean power  or  confederacy. 

In  the  above  remarks  we  have  referred 
only  to  the  difficulties  which,  iu  the  plan 
proposed  by  Paul  and  Napoleon,  would 
beset  the  allied  Russian  and  French  armies 
in  their  progress  to  the  banks  of  the  great 
river  Indus.  Assuming  the  journey  had 
been  made,  at  this  point  the  toils  and 
dangers  of  the  expedition  would  appear  to 
begin  ajjain.  In  Soinde  or  the  Punjaub, 
the  i-nvaders,  if  they  had  survived  the 
sufferings  of  the  progress,  would  have  to 
meet  the  armies  of  Britain.  Let  us  admit 
that  it  is  even  possible  that  they  might  gain 
a  battle,  yet  it  is  certain  that  it  would  be 
purchased  at  a  cost  scarcely  less  disastrous 
than  that  of  a  defeat.  This  would  be  a 
position  in  which  even  the  victories  of  the 
invaders  would  destroy  them  piecemeal. 
Certaiidy,  much  would  depend  upon  the 
natives ;  if  favourable  to  the  invaders,  it 
would  be  a  great  assistance  to  them ;  but  if 
these  races,  the  most  warlike  in  all  India, 
were  ill-disposed  towards  the  new-comers, 
it  would  probably  lead  eventually  to  the 
destruction  of  the  latter.  But  there  is 
little  reason  to  suppose  that  the  native  popu- 
lation would  regard  the  advance  of  a  Euro- 
pean army  with  emotions  of  satisfaction. 
The  progress  of  great  bodies  of  troops 
through  the  towns  and  villages  of  a  country 
not  their  own,  is  seldom  regarded  other- 
wise than  with  aversion  by  the  inhabitants. 
Cases  of  spoliation  are  sure  to  occur,  more 
especially  so  with  an  army  in  the  gaunt 
arms  of  famine.  Provisions  are  purchased 
at  any  price  the  strongest  please  to  pay  for 
them ;  robberies  ensue ;  and  women  are 
insulted,  or  worse.  The  inevitable  result  is 
a  hostile  and  even  vindictive  population; 
the  removal  of  provisions  to  secret  places; 
the  desertion  of  villages ;  and  the  murder 
of  all  stragglers  from  the  ranks  of  the 
troops.  All  these  things  considered,  we 
are  disposed  to  conclude  that  the  successful 
invasion  of  India,  from  the  side  of  Russia, 
would  be  an  impossibility ;  and  it  is  gen- 
erally admitted  that  it  could  not  be  assailed 

377 


1 


Jm' 


'  ti 


i 


RUSSIA  AND  INDIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1801. 


by  a  European  power  in  any  other  direc- 
tion. 

Even  those  wlio  contend  for  the  practica- 
mlity  of  a  Russian  invasion  of  India,  admit 
that  the  probabiHty  of  achieving  such  a  con- 
quest must  not  be  confounded  with  its  like- 
lihood.    They  acknowledge   that   it  would 
take  Russia  so  long  a  period  to  mature  her 
plans,  that  they  could  not  escape  detection ; 
and   the    interval    would    be    employed    in 
strengthening  the  frontiers  of  India.     They 
add,    however,   that   the    wiser   and    easier 
course  would  be,  to  prevent  the  presumed 
invasion   by  securing  the  independence  of 
those  Asiatic  nations  that  lie  between  the 
Russian  possessions  and  the  Indus.     Other 
writers  consider,  that  the  advance  of  Russia 
to  India  would  present  no  insuperable  diffi- 
culties, if  she  could  but  obtain  possession  of 
Constantinople.     We    do    not    coincide    in 
that   opinion ;    and   there  is,   moreover,   so 
significant  a  meaning  in  that  little  word  /// 
The  Turks  are  by  no  means  so  powerless  a 
people  as  many  political  writers  are  in  the 
habit  of   representing   them ;    and    though 
history  shows  them  to  be  unequal  to  sustain 
singly,  without  heavy  disadvantages,  a  pro- 
longed contest  with  Russia,  yet  recent  events 
have  shown  that  the  great  powers  of  Europe 
are  now  fairly  aroused  to   the  necessity  of 
checking    any    further    encroachment     by 
Russia  on  the  Turkish  territory.     The  inde- 
pendence of  theOttoman  empire  is  now  recog- 
nised as  a  European  necessity,  nor  could  a 
balance  of  power  be  maintained  without  it. 
If"  Constantinople  was  in  the  possession  of 
Russia,  a  vital  injury  would  be  inflicted  upon 
the  commerce  of  England,  which  would  thus 
have  a  private  as  well  as  a  public  and  general 
interest  m  preventing  such  a  result.    The  in- 
terest of  France  in  rescuing  the  city  of  the 
sultan  from  the  hostile  advances  of  Russia,  is 
not  so  immediately  apparent;  yet  that  power 
cannot   be  unconcerned  at  any  event  that 

*  Napoleon,  in  his  exile,  frequently  referred  to 
this  subject.  In  O'Meara's  work  {Napoleon  m 
Exile),  he  is  represented  as  saying — '*  Alexander's 
Ihoughts  are  directed  to  the  conquest  of  Turkey. 
We  have  had  many  discussions  about  it.  At  first,  1 
was  pleased  with  his  proposals ;  because  I  thought  it 
would  enlighten  the  world  to  drive  those  brutes,  the 
Turks,  out  of  Europe.  But  when  I  reflected  upon 
the  consequences,  and  saw  what  a  tremendous 
weight  of  power  it  would  give  to  Russia,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  number  of  Greeks  in  the  Turkish 
dominions  who  would  naturally  join  the  Russians,  I 
refused  to  consent  to  it,  especially  as  Alexander 
■wanted  to  get  Constantinople,  which  I  would  not 
allow,  as  it  M'ould  have  destroyed  the  equilibrium  of 
power  in  Europe.  I  reflected  that  France  would 
gain  Egypt,  Syria,  and  the  islands,  which  would 
378 


would  disturb  the  balance  of  power.  A 
French  writer  observes — '  The  hero  of  Aus- 
terlitz,  at  the  head  of  France — of  the  em- 
pire— did  not  dare  to  abandon  Constanti- 
nople to  the  pacific  Alexander.^'* 

A   modern    tourist,    who   has    written    a 
pleasant    and    useful    book    on  the   capital 
of  Russia   and   its  inhabitants,t  observes — 
"  There  is  one  subject  which,  from  time  to 
time,  is  repeated  in  England  as  an  alarm- 
bell  to  rouse  the  nation  against  the  power 
of  Russia,  which  is  the  apprehension  of  an 
attack  from  that  quarter  upon  our  Indian 
possessions ;    but   I  hear  nothing  from  the 
most  sanguine  advocates  of  Russian  aggran- 
disement, which  would  make  me  think  that 
sensible  men  ever  seriouslv  entertained  the 
idea  of  such  an  impracticable  project.     I 
have  seen  Russian  officers  who  have  lately 
travelled  into  the  country  which  separates 
their  farthest    provinces    from    our    Indian 
frontier,  and  all  agree  in  their  description 
of  the  dangers  and  difficulties  attendant  on 
such  a  journey,  even  for  a  private  individual, 
much  more  for  a  numerous  army.     Some 
reasoners  go  farther,  and  pretend  to  wish 
that  we    should   even   advance    our   Indian 
outposts  towards  their  province  of  Cabool,  in 
order  that  we  might  meet  amicably  at  that 
distant  point,   and   co-operate    mutually  in 
promoting  an  overland  communication  from 
thence   with    Europe,    which    would  ensure 
to  them   the   benefits  of  carrying   a  trade 
through  Russia,  and  would  be  of  great  ad- 
vantage to  those  English   who   are   estab- 
lished   on    that    boundary    of    our    Indian 
empire.     I  listen,  however,  with  caution  to 
any  expression  from  that  quarter,  of  a  wish 
that  we  should   extend   our   influence  and 
power  in  any  shape.     On  the  other  hand, 
if  war  should  ever  be  declared  between  the 
two  coucJries,  there  is  hardly  a  doubt  that 
the   scene  of   action  will   be   in  the  East, 
though  not  in  the  direction  of  India.'' 

have  been  nothing  in  comparison  with  what  Russia 
would  have  obtained.  I  considered  that  the  bar- 
barians of  the  North  were  already  too  powerful ;  and 
probably,  in  course  of  time,  would  overwhelm  all 
Europe,  as  I  now  think  they  will.  Austria  already 
trembles  ;  Russia  and  Prussia  united,  Austria  falls, 
and  England  cannot  prevent  it.  France,  under  the 
present  family  {i.e.,  the  Bourbons),  is  nothing;  Austria 
can  ofler  but  little  resistance  to  the  Russians,  who  are 
brave  and  potent  Russia  is  the  more  formidable 
because  she  can  never  disarm  :  in  Russia,  once  a 
soldier  always  a  soldier — barbarians  who,  one  may 
say,  have  no  country,  and  to  whom  every  country  is 
better  than  the  one  that  gave  them  birth."  Such  were 
the  latest  opinions  of  the  great  political  seer. 

t  A    Visit   to  St.  Petersburg   in  the    Winter  of 
1829-'30;  by  Thomas  Raikes,  Esq. 


.1  i 


11 


I 


M 


I. 


..« 


\ 


A.D.  1801.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [accession  of  Alexander. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

ACCESSION  OF  ALEXANDER  I.  ;  HE  INCLINES  TO  LIBERAL  MEASURES,  AND  PROMISES  TO  GOVERN  ON  THE 
PRINCirLES  OF  CATHKRINE  II.  ;  ADOPTS  A  PACIFIC  POLICY  TOWARDS  ENGLAND,  AND  ADMITS  THE  RIGHT 
OF  SKARCH  UNDER  CERTAIN  LIMITATIONS  ;  CONSKQUENT  ABANDONMENT  OF  THE  NORTHERN  COALITION* 
TEMPORARY  PEACE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  ;  REFORMS  BY  ALEXANDER;  GEORGIA  Is  ANNEXED 
TO  RUSSIA;  ALEXANDER  INTERFERES  IN  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  GERMANY  ;  RUPTURE  OF  THE  PEACE  OF  AMIENS  • 
ARREST  AND  EXECUTION  OF  THE  DUKE  D'eNGHIEN;  ALEXANDER  REMONSTRATES  WITH  NAPOLEON  CON- 
CERNING IT;  NAPOLEON  ASSUMES  THE  TITLE  OF  EMPEROR;  THIRD  COALITION  AGAINST  FRANCE  •  THE 
BATTLE  OF  AUSTERLITZ,  AND  DEFEAT  OF  THE  EMPERORS  FRANCIS  AND  ALEXANDER.  ' 


The  concurrence  of  the  guards  had  been 
secured  by  Pahlen  and  Benningsen ;  and 
on  the  morning  following  the  murder  of 
Paul — who,  it  was  reported,  had  died  during 
the  night  in  a  fit  of  apoplexy — Alexander 
Paulovitch  (i.e.,  son  of  Paul)  was  proclaimed 
emperor.  The  chief  offices  of  state  neces- 
sarily fell  to  the  lot  of  the  principal  con- 
spirators, and  the  new  monarch  was  com- 
pelled to  take  counsel  with  those  whose 
hands  had  recently  been  stained  with  his 
father's  blood.  To  such  an  extent  was  this 
the  case,  that  a  lady  of  rank  and  wit  wrote 
to  Fouche,  on  the  occasion  of  a  public 
ceremony  at  which  Alexander  was  present, 
soon  after  his  accession — *' The  young  em- 
peror walked,  preceded  by  the  assassins  of 
his  grandfather,  followed  by  those  of  his 
father,  and  surrounded  by  his  own.'' 

Notwithstanding  this  ominous  epigram, 
indicative  of  a  dangerous  state  of  things  in 
Russia,  Alexander  was  hailed  with  joy  by 
the  people.  He  was  young,  being  only  in 
his  twenty-fourth  year,  and  possessed  of  a 
majestic  figure,  and  a  cast  of  countenance 
regarded  as  benevolent.  He  had  been 
educated    by   the    celebrated   Colonel    La 

*  Alexander's  manners  were  highly  polished,  and 
expressed  great  amiability.  In  a  biography  of  him 
by  H.  E.  Lloyd,  many  anecdotes  are  related  illus- 
trative of  this  quality.  Amongst  them  are  the  fol- 
lowing respecting  his  conduct  to  his  instructor : — 
"  His  attachment  to  La  Harpe  was  rather  filial  than 
that  of  a  pupil ;  his  greatest  delight  was  in  his 
society,  and  he  would  cling  round  his  neck  in  the 
most  affectionate  embraces,  by  which  frequently  his 
clothes  were  covered  with  powder.  *  See,  my  dear 
prince,'  La  Harpe  would  say,  *  what  a  figure  you 
have  made  yourself!'  'Oh!  never  mind  it,' Alex- 
ander replied  ;  '  no  one  will  blame  me  for  carrying 
away  all  I  can  from  my  dear  preceptor.'  One  day 
he  went  to  visit  La  Harpe,  as  was  his  custom,  alone; 
the  porter  was  a  new  servant,  and  did  not  know 
him  ;  he  asked  his  name,  and  was  answered,  Alex- 
ander. The  porter  then  led  him  into  the  servant's 
hall,  told  him  his  master  was  at  his  studies,  and 
could  not  be  disturbed  for  an  hour.  The  servant's 
homely  meal   was    prepared,   and   the  prince  was 


Harpe,*  who  is  said — though  we  doubt  the 
assertion — to  have  imbued  his  mind  with 
liberal  principles ;  indeed,  La  Harpe's  own 
principles  were  unsettled,  and  his  liberalism 
eventually  doubtful.  Alexander  had  been 
married,  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  to  the 
Princess  Louisa  Maria  Augusta  of  Baden ; 
on  which  occasion  that  princess  adopted  the 
Greek  form  of  Christianity,  and  took  the 
name  of  Elizabeth  Alexiewna. 

The  first  acts  of  the  reign  of  the  new- 
emperor  were  both  pacific  and  popular. 
He  issued  a  ukase,  in  which,  after  ex- 
pressing his  intention  of  governing  the 
empire  according  to  the  maxims  and  plans 
of  his  august  grandmother,  Catherine  II., 
he  restored  to  the  nobility  all  the  privileges 
they  had  enjoyed  in  that  reign;  re-estab- 
lished the  rights  of  municipalities  ;  abolished 
secret  proceedings  in  criminal  cases ;  granted 
a  general  amnesty,  and  terminated  all  state 
prosecutions  then  in  progress.  At  the  same 
time  certain  benefits  were  conferred  upon 
the  clergy,  by  which  their  personal  dignity 
was  enhanced;  and  many  indications  were 
given  that  the  recent  reign  of  terror  was  to  be 
succeeded  by  a  mild  and  conciliatory  sway. 

invited  to  partake  of  it,  which  he  did  without  affec- 
tation. When  the  hour  was  expired,  the  porter  in- 
formed La  Harpe  that  a  young  man  of  the  name  of 
Alexander  had  been  waiting  some  time,  and  wanted 
to  see  him.  *  Show  him  in.'  But  what  w^as  La 
Harpe's  surprise  to  see  his  pupil !  He  wished  to 
apologise ;  but  Alexander,  placing  his  finger  on  his 
lips,  said,  *  My  dear  tutor,  do  not  mention  it ;  an 
hour  to  you  is  worth  a  day  to  me ;  and,  besides,  I 
have  had  a  hearty  breakfast  with  your  servant, 
which  I  should  have  lost  had  I  been  admitted  when 
I  came.'  The  poor  porter's  feelings  may  be  better 
imagined  than  described  ;  but  Alexander,  laughing, 
said,  '  I  like  you  the  better  for  it;  you  are  an  honest 
servant,  and  there  are  a  hundred  roubles  to  convince 
you  that  I  think  so.'"  The  same  author  observes — 
"La  Harpe  was,  in  some  respects,  the  same  to 
Alexander  that  Le  Fort  had  been  to  Peter  the 
Great,  a  hundred  years  before.  He  brought  him 
up,  without  political  or  religious  prejudices  in  the 
wiser  principles  of  an  enlightened  age." 

879 


■t. 


"  « 'i 


PACIFIC  TREATY  WITH  ENGLAND.]    HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1801. 


Paul  had  left  Russia  on  the  verge  of  ac- 
tive hostilities  with  England.  Sir  Hvde 
Parker,  after  the  destruction  of  the  Danish 
'fleet  at  Copenhagen,  had  gone  in  pursuit  of 
a  portion  of  the  Russian  fleet,  which  fled 
from  the  encounter,  and  was  fortunate 
enough  to  shelter  itself  beneath  the  batteries 
of  Cronstadt.  Alexander  wrote  to  that 
admiral,  informing  him  that  he  had  set  the 
crews  of  the  British  ships  at  liberty;  that 
he  was  willing  to  close  with  the  amicable 
propositions  made  by  the  government  of 
this  country  to  his  predecessor;  and  adding, 
that  lie  should  hold  the  admiral  responsible 
for  any  act  of  hostility  that  might  take  place 
after  this  notice.  At  the  same  time,  Alex- 
ander wrote,  with  his  own  hand,  a  letter  to 
George  III.,  expressing  his  anxiety  to 
arrange  the  existing  differences  in  a  friendly 
manner.  Besides  liberating  the  English 
mariners  who  had  been  imprisoned  by 
Paul,  and  conveying  them  to  the  ports  from 
wherjce  they  had  been  taken,  the  new  czar 
revoked  the  prohibition  that  had  been  laid 
upon  the  exportation  of  corn.  This  latter 
measure  gave  great  satisfaction  both  in 
England  and  Russia.  In  this  country  it 
relieved  the  distress  of  the  people  during  a 
period  of  severe  scarcity ;  and  in  Russia  it 
exchanged  the  accumulated  stores  of  grain, 
that  was  in  danger  of  rotting  in  warehouses, 
into  the  manufactures  and  gold  of  England. 

This  pacific  spirit  was  readily  met  by  the 
English  government.  Lord  St.  Helens  was 
sent  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  a  treaty  was 
speedily  concluded  between  the  two  powers, 
which  admitted  and  defined  the  right  of 
search  claimed  by  this  country,  and,  conse- 
quently, abandoned  the  principles  of  the 
armed  neutrality.  By  this  treaty,  it  was 
provided,  "That  the  right  of  searching 
merchant  ships  belonging  to  the  subjects  of 
one  of  the  contracting  powers,  and  navi- 
gating under  a  ship  of  war  of  the  same 
power,  shall  only  be  exercised  by  ships  of 
war  of  the  belligerent  party,  and  shall 
never  extend  to  the  fitters-out  of  privateers, 
or  other  vessels  which  do  not  belong  to  the 
imperial  or  royal  fleet  of  their  majesties,  but 
which  their  subjects  shall  have  fitted  out  for 
war ;  that  the  efl'ects  on  board  neutral  ships 
shall  be  free,  with  the  exception  of  contra- 
band of  war  and  of  enemy's  property ;  and 
it  is  agreed  not  to  comprise  in  the  number 
of  the  latter  the  merchandise  of  the  pro- 
duce, growth,  or  manufacture  of  the  coun- 
tries at  war,  which  should  have  been  ac- 
quired by  the  subjects  of  the  neutral  power, 
380 


and  should  be  transported  for  their  ac- 
count.^'  Contraband  articles,  between  the 
two  powers,  were  defined  as ''cannons,  mor- 
tars, fire-arms,  pistols,  bombs,  grenades, 
balls,  bullets,  firelocks,  flints,  matches,  sul- 
phur, helmets,  pikes,  swords,  sword-belts, 
pouches,  saddles  and  bridles;  excepting 
such  quantity  of  the  said  articles  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  ship  and 
crew."  By  this  treaty,  the  right  of  search, 
though  admitted  in  principle,  was  placed 
upon  a  more  equitable  footing,  and  divested 
of  its  most  galling  features. 

This  treaty  created  great  irritation  in  the 
mind  of  Napoleon,  whom  Alexander  in  vain 
endeavoured  to  pacify  in  a  letter  couched  in 
the  most  pacific  terms.  The  First  Consul 
o))served — "Europe  beheld  with  astonish- 
ment this  ignominious  treaty  signed  by 
Russia,  and  which,  by  consequence,  Den- 
mark and  Sweden  were  compelled  to  adopt. 
It  was  equivalent  to  an  admission  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  seas  in  the  British  parlia- 
ment, and  the  slaverv  of  all  other  states. 
This  treaty  was  such,  that  England  could 
have  desired  nothing  more;  and  a  power  of 
the  third  order  would  have  been  ashamed  to 
have  signed  it.''  Napoleon  sent  general 
Doroc  to  St.  Petersburg,  to  counterbalance 
English  influence  at  that  court;  but,  though 
that  officer  was  received  with  marked  dis- 
tinction, he  was  unable  to  accomplish  the 
object  of  his  journey.  Yet  Alexander 
secretly  assured  him  that  he  entertained  a 
feeling  of  admiration  for  the  first  consul, 
and  an  anxiety  to  maintain  friendly  rela- 
tions with  France. 

Sweden  and  Denmark,  though  not  in- 
cluded in  the  convention  between  this 
country  and  Russia,  were  obliged  to  follow 
the  example  of  that  state.  The  embargo 
which  had  been  laid  on  English  ships  and 
property,  was  raised  on  the  19th  of  May,  in 
Russia,  Sweden,  and  Denmark;  and  cor- 
responding steps  were  taken  on  the  part  of 
the  English  government.  Prussia,  which 
had  been  unwillingly  drawn  into  the  quar- 
rel, also  took  the  first  opportunity  of  es- 
caping from  its  efl'ects.  "  Thus,"  observes 
Alison,  "was  dissolved,  in  less  than  six 
months  after  it  had  been  formed,  the  most 
formidable  confederacy  ever  arrayed  against 
the  English  maritime  power.  Professedly 
contracted  in  order  so  secure  the  libertv  of 
the  seas,  it  was  really  directed  against  the 
grandeur  and  prosperity  of  Great  Britain ; 
breathing  only  the  sentiments  of  freedom 
and  justice,  it  was,  in  truth,  intended  to 


A.D.  1801.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[a  general  peace. 


divide,  among  the  coalesced  states,  the  power 
and  the  ascendancv  of  a  more  fortunate 
rival.  The  rapidity  with  which  this  power- 
ful alliance  was  broken  up  by  England,  to- 
wards the  conclusion  of  a  long  and  burden- 
some war,  and  when  her  people  were  labour- 
ing under  the  combined  pressure  of  severe 
want  and  diminished  employment,  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  features  of  this  memor- 
able contest ;  and,  perhaps  more  than  any 
otiier,  characteristic  of  the  vast  ascendancy, 
moral  as  well  as  political,  which  she  has 
acquired  among  the  other  nations  of  the 
world." 

The  convention  between  England  and 
Russia,  signed  at  St.  Petersburg  on  the 
17th  of  June,  1801,  was  followed,  on  the 
1st  of  October,  by  the  signature  of  prelimi- 
naries of  peace  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, or,  in  other  words,  by  the  temporary 
pacification  of  Europe.  The  peace  itself 
was  concluded  at  Amiens  on  the  27th  of 
March  in  th'e  following  year.  Temporary 
as  the  peace  was,  it  was  yet  a  necessity. 
The  two  great  belligerent  powers  had 
scarcely  the  means  of  carrying  on  an  active 
warfare  against  each  other.  Without  allies  ' 
or  auxiliaries  on  the  continent,  England 
could  not  hope  to  touch  France  by  land  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  with  fleets  ruined 
or  blockaded,  and  a  navy  completely  dis- 
heartened, France  could  not  expect  to  touch 
England  by  sea.  Both  nations,  also,  were 
comparatively  exhausted,  and  needed  rest ; 
the  war,  like  a  vast  fire,  had,  at  least  for  a 
time,  burnt  itself  out  for  mere  want  of 
something  to  consume.  The  French  nation 
obtained  the  gratification  of  having  the 
republic  recognised  by  England  :  this  coun- 
try had  fought  obstinately,  and  in  some 
respects  brilliantly,  with  steel  and  gold,  in  a 
quarrel  where  it  should  have  stood  aloof  as 
arbiter,  instead  of  rashly  mixing  itself  up  as 
a  principal ;  and  by  so  doing,  it  had  drained 
the  best  blood  of  England,  and  swelled  the 
national  debt  from  about  £24^,000,000  to 
above  .£520,000.000.  Sheridan  quaintly 
characteiised  the  peace  by  saying,  *'  it  was 
such  as  all  men  were  glad  of,  but  of  which 
no  man  could  be  proud."  Napoleon  pri- 
vately observed — "It  was  but  a  truce;  his 
government  stood  in  need  of  fresh  victories 
to  consolidate  itself;  it  must  either  be  the 
first  government  in  Europe,  or  it  must  fall." 

As  soon  as  Alexander  had  established  his 
foreign  relations  upon  a  pacific  basis,  he 
directed  his  attention  towards  those  internal 
reforms   which    Russia   required.      He    at 


first  showed  a  submission  to  Count  Pahleu 
and  to  some  other  of  the  conspirators ;  but 
he  soon  found  means  to  get  rid  of  men 
whose  presence  must  ever  have  reminded 
him  of  the  frightful  catastrophe  which  led 
him  to  the  throne.  The  empress-mother, 
who  assumed  a  dramatic  grief  at  the  death 
of  the  husband  whom  she  had  long  known 
only  to  dread,  caused  a  picture  to  be 
painted,  representing  Paul  at  the  feet  of  the 
Virgin,  imploring  the  vengeance  of  Heaven 
upon  his  assassins.  Count  Pahlen,  alarmed 
at  the  crowds  attracted  by  this  startling  ex- 
hibition, caused  it  to  be  removed.  The 
princess,  irritated  against  the  minister,  said 
to  Alexander,  "  My  son,  you  must  clioose 
between  Pahlen  and  me."  The  emperor, 
not  sorry  to  be  furnished  with  an  excuse 
for  the  dismissal  of  a  person  whose  presence 
was  painful  to  him,  caused  it  to  be  intimated 
to  Pahlen,  that  he  must  privately  retire 
from  St.  Petersburg.  The  ambitious  states- 
man felt  that  he  had  failed  in  his  design  to 
rule  through  the  instrumentalitv  of  a  vouth- 
ful  sovereign — that  he  had  lost  his  hold  on 
the  mind  of  the  emperor;  and  he  therefore 
sought  his  safety  by  resigning  all  his  offices 
and  proceeding  to  Riga.  The  empress- 
mother  herself  had  the  ambition  to  lay 
claim,  after  the  murder  of  her  husband,  to 
the  vacant  throne.  Some  altercation  took 
place  between  her  and  her  son  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  but  she  was  soon  prevailed  upon  to 
relinquish  her  pretensioiis.  This  collision 
did  not  appear  to  leave  any  unpleasant 
traces  on  the  mind  either  of  Alexander  or 
his  mother,  to  whom,  during  his  life,  he 
always  continued  to  show  respect  and  at- 
tachment. 

Pahlen  banished,  Alexander  shared  the 
reins  of  government  with  some  of  the  com- 
panions of  his  early  days.  These  were 
Messrs.  de  Strogonofl^,  Nowosiltzoflf,  atid 
the  Polish  prince,  Czartoryski,  and  a  more 
mature  friend,  M.  de  Kotschubey.  The 
imperial  clique  entertained  notions  which, 
with  something  of  truth  and  liberality,  were 
characterised  by  more  of  extrava^'ance. 
Paul  I.,  and  even  the  illustrious  Catherine, 
they  considered  as  barbarous  and  unen- 
lightened sovereigns.  The  partition  of 
Poland  they  regarded  as  an  outrage ;  the 
war  against  the  French  revolution  as  the 
result  of  blind  prejudices.  Russia  was,  for 
the  futuie,  to  undertake  a  totally  different 
mission  ;  she  was  to  protect  the  weak — to 
curb  the  strong — to  oblige  France  and  Eng- 
land to  confine  themselves  within  the  limits 

381 


v* 


'A 


\ 


•f 


w 


INTERNAL  REFORMS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1801. 


of  justice — to  force  both  of  them  to  respect, 
in  their  struj^gle,  the  interests  of  nations. 
"  Happy  pretensions,"  remarks  the  French 
historian  Thiers,  "  noble  ideas,  if  tJu^y  had 
been  serious;  if  tJiey  had  not  resembled 
those  liberal  impulses  of  the  French  no- 
blesse, brought  up  in  the  school  of  Voltaire 
and  Rousseau,  talking  of  humanity  and 
liberty,  till  the  day  when  the  French  revo- 
lution came  to  require  them  to  conform 
their  acts  with  their  theories.  Then  those 
titled  philosophers  became  the  emigrants  of 
Cobhmtz." 

Alexander,    influenced    by   the    doubtful 
liberalism   which   he   was    soon  to   discard, 
and,  under  the  influence  of  his  young  ad- 
visers, having  restored   to  the  nobility  the 
prerogatives  which  had  been  wrested  from 
them  by  Paul,  then  extended  the  right  of 
possessing  landed  property  to  all  the  sub- 
jects of  the  empire.     The  measure  appeared 
to  indicate  a  desire  to  abolish  the  vassalage 
of  the  peasants;   but  in  that  direction  the 
emperor  never  proceeded  any  farther,   but 
appeared  rather  to  recede  from  such  prin- 
ciples year  after  year,  than  to  make  any 
advances  towards  carrying  them  into  eff'ect. 
The  natural  warmth  of  youth,  and  perhaps 
the  influence  of  his  early  training   bv  La 
Harpe,  induced  him  to  regard  all  questions 
aff'ecting  popular  rights  with  more  liberality, 
at  this  period,  than  he  ever  afterwards  di's- 
played.     By  nature,  Alexander  was  a  mild 
yet    artful  despot;    and    it  was    but  for   a 
brief  space  that  education,  and  other  in- 
fluences,   placed    him   in    the   light    of    an 
admirer  of  progressive  and  liberal  princi- 
ples.      He    had    no    real    confidence    in    a 
career  founded  on  such  tenets,   and   soon 
learned  to  fear  their  results.     It  would,  in- 
deed, be  difficult  for  an  irresponsible  auto- 
crat to  become  a  reformer  in  the  interests 
of  the  people.     The  emperor  soon  acquired 
the  notion  that  the  Russians  were  not  pre- 
pared for  liberty,  and  he  based  this  assump- 
tion upon  the  facts  of  their  frequent  revolu- 
tions against  despotism,  and  the  vices  which 
slavery    had    engendered    amongst    them. 
He    did   not   reflect  that  slaves   are   never 
prepared  for  liberty ;  that  it  is  necessary  to 
take  ort'  their  cliains    before  they   can   be 
made   to  understand   and   appreciate  those 
riglits    which    belong   to   the   condition    of 
freemen.     He  found  the  people  serfs,  and 
such  he  left  them. 

Alexander  also  set  an  example  of  judi- 
cious  economy  in   his  own   household ;   he 
abolished    some    useless    offices,    and    en- 
382 


couraged  the  establishment  of  canals,  roads, 
and    bridges.      This   was    to   improve    the 
country;   but  we  do  not  find  that  he  did 
much  towards  improving  the  people.     We 
do  not  lay  any  great  weight  on  the  feet  of 
his  abandoning  the  idea  of  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  serfs,  because  the  system,  with 
all  its  evils,  has  some  counteracting   bene- 
fits;  and  even  many  Englishmen  have  con- 
tended, that  the  lot  of  the  Russian  serf  is 
happier  than   that  of  the  British  peasant. 
The   first,  when  past  labour,  is  maintained 
by  those  of  his  own  class,  and  passes  the 
evening  of  his  life  in  as  much  comfort  as  he 
has  known  during  any  other  period  of  it : 
if  the  last  outlives   his  ability  to  earn   his 
bread,  he  has  no  alternative  but  the  union 
workhouse;    and  a  life  hitherto  passed  in 
independence,  is  ch)sed  in  the  serfdom  of 
pauperism.     In  these  remarks  we  pass  no 
censure  upon  the  English  system ;  it  is  the 
result  of  a  stern   necessity.     The   circum- 
stances are  widely  diff'erent  in  the  British 
and  Russian  empires.     In  this  country,  the 
limited    extent    of    its    territory,    and    the 
wealth  of  a  considerable  portion  of  its  in- 
habitants, make  the   price  of  land  exorbi- 
tantly high  :  in  Russia,  these  circumstances 
are    reversed,    and   land    is   readily  parted 
with  for  an  almost  nominal  consideration. 
To  such  an  extent  is  this  the  case,  that  if 
the  serfs  of  the  Northern  empire  possessed 
the   personal  independence  of  British  agri- 
cultural labourers,  and   had  their  property 
as  eff'ectually  secured  to  them,  all  the  sober 
and  industrious  among  them  would  become 
small  landed   proprietors  in  their  old   age. 
Surrounded    by    their    circumstances,    the 
English  labourers  of  one  generation  would, 
in   the   next,    become   farmers,    cultivating 
their  own  land.'     But  the  serf  has  but  little 
interest  in  his  labour,  the  result  of  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  which   goes  to  enrich 
his  lord.     Nor  has  he  any  strong  induce- 
ment  to   accumulate   property;    for   he    is 
always  liable  to  be  despoiled  of  it.     It  will 
be  seen,  therefore,  that  it  is  manifestly  in- 
correct to  conclude  that  serfdom  is  scarcely 
an  evil  because  the  Russian  serf  is,  under 
certain  circumstances,  better  off"  than   the 
British   peasant.      To   establish   this    argu- 
ment, it   should  be   shown,  that  the  slave- 
peasant  of  Russia  is  as  well  off"  in  his  age 
as    the   free    peasant   of    Britain   would    be 
under   the    same   circumstances.      In   each 
case  the  conditions   must  be  equal,  or  the 
analogy   is    deficient,    and    the    result    at- 
tempted to  be  drawn  from  it  inaccurate. 


A.D.  1801.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  serf  Q'JESTIOX. 


Some  writers  infer,  that  the  emperor 
Alexander  grew  wiser  as  he  grew  older,  and 
that  the  abandonment  of  a  subject  involving 
the  dearest  interests  of  the  millicms  of  his 
empire,  was  the  natural  result  of  this  in- 
creased worldly  wisdom.  We  cannot  re- 
cognise any  connection  whatever  between 
this  assumed  cause  and  the  result,  and  dis- 
card it  as  altogether  illogical.  It  would  be 
more  correct  to  say,  that  Alexander  grew  in 
selfishness  and  a  distaste  for  experimental 
and  difficult  reforms  as  he  advanced  in  life, 
rather  than  that  he  grew  wiser.  We  ques- 
tion if  selfishness  is  wisdom,  even  in  the 
lowest  conceival)le  worldly  sense ;  it  looks 
too  much  to  immediate  results,  and  is 
seldom  capable  of  taking  a  comprehensive 
view  of  any  subject.  Alexander,  doubtless, 
soon  saw,  that  to  give  liberty  to  the  serfs, 
would  be  to  create  a  great  number  of  small 
owners  of  land,  who  would  become  sturdv 
and  independent  as  they  attained  a  know- 
ledge of  their  own  strength  and  impor- 
tance in  the  state.  It  would  be,  in  fact,  to 
create  a  People  ;  and  an  independent  people 
mijiht  dethrone  a  despot  who  seriously 
abused  his  power.  Alexander  does  not 
appear  to  have  recognised  the  fact,  that  a 
throne  based  upon  the  aff'ections  of  a  well- 
treated  and  independent  people,  would  be 
far  more  secure  and  durable  than  one 
erected  upon  the  bayonets  of  a  fickle  army, 
and  the  servile  tenets  of  a  superstitious,  ig- 
norant, and  materialistic  priesthood.  Revo- 
lutions in  Russia  are  conducted  by  the 
nobles,  or  those  about  the  person  of  the 
sovereign ;  and  the  people  have  usually 
regarded  the  murder  of  a  czar  with  indif- 
ference. To  them  it  merely  brought  a 
change  of  masters,  the  difference  in  whose 
rule  did  not  extend  so  low  in  the  empire  as 
to  aff'ect  their  interests.  But  a  free  people 
become  attached  to  the  sovereign  under 
whom  they  enjoy  their  freedom,  and  this 
attachment  is  his  safeguard  against  a  dis- 
contented and  turbulent  nobility.  Peter 
the  Great  found  it  so;  and  when  his  sub- 
jects had  learned  rightly  to  understand 
him,  he  was,  in  eff'ect,  the  most  absolute 
monarch  that  ever  swayed  the  sceptre  of 
the  North.  But  the  selfishness  whicli  Alex- 
ander acquired,  or  rather  gave  a  freer  rein 
to,  as  he  grew  easy  in  his  imperial  robes, 
prevented  him  from  seeing,  or  at  least 
trusting  to,  those  distant  results  to  which 
we  have  alluded,  arising  from  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  millions  whom  he  ruled.  To 
him   the   commonalty  of  Russia  were- --to 


use  the  language  of  a  benevolent  and  ac- 
complished English  judge,  who  graced  the 
judicial  seat  with  the  elegancies  of  poetry — 

"  The  common  herd, 


The  vassals  of  our  ancient  house,  the  mass 
Of  bones  and  muscles  framed  to  till  the  soil 
A  few  brief  years,  then  rot  unnamed  beneath  it ; 
Or,  deck'd  for  slaut,'hter,  at  their  master's  call 
To  smite  and  to  be  smitten,  and  lie  crush'd 
In  heaps  to  swell  his  glory  or  his  shame.''* 

Such  Alexander  found  the  serfs  of  Russia, 
and  such  his  prudent  wisdom  left  them. 
That  it  would  have  been  dangerous  in  a 
young  monarch  to  have  at  once  emanci- 
pated them,  we  readily  conceive;  but  the 
danger  would  chiefly  have  arisen  from  the 
irritation  of  his  nobility,  who  would  thus 
have  been  deprived  of  a  source  of  revenue 
which  they  acquired  by  accident,  and  ought 
never  to  have  possessed.f 

Yet  Alexander  might  have  attempted, 
and  we  believe  accomplished,  this  emanci- 
pation in  the  height  of  his  power,  when  his 
nobles  dared  not  have  made  head  against 
him.  It  might  have  been  preceded  by 
many  preparatory  measures,  and  eff*ected  so 
gradually,  that  the  presumed  loss  to  his 
nobility  would  have  been  but  lightly  felt. 
That  they  would  eventually  have  expe- 
rienced any  loss  at  all,  we  are  by  no  means 
convinced ;  for  their  uncultivated  estates 
would  soon  have  acquired  a  marketable 
value,  and  found  purchasers  or  tenants  in  a 
newly-created  class  of  society.  Russia,  at 
the  same  time,  would  be  placed  in  a  posi- 
tion from  which  she  would  make  rapid 
advances  in  wealth,  power,  and  population ; 
and,  in  fact,  become  in  reality  the  greatest 
of  European  powers.  But  Alexander  was 
too  prudent  to  attempt  a  change  which 
would  have  made  his  memory  cherished 
by  his  people,  admired  by  Europe,  and 
honoured  by  the  world.  As  he  grew  more 
secure  in  power,  he  became  more  and  more 
indiff*erent  to  the  giant  social  problem  of 
the  empire ;  and  the  dread  of  serf  outbreak, 
and  a  sanguinary  serf  retaliation  on  their 
oppressors,  haunts,  to  this  hour,  the  higher 
circles  of  Russia,  and  creates  apprehensions 
which,  though  seldom  spoken  of,  are  deeply 
felt.  If  those  brutalised  and  contemned 
millions  should  ever  rise  in  wrath,  and  with 
mad  impatience    proceed  to    retaliate    for 

•  Talfourd's  Ion. 

t  See  ante,  p.  85,  how  serfdom  accidentally  arose 
from  an  edict  of  Boris  Godunof,  forbidding  the 
peasantry  to  remove  from  the  estates  on  which  they 
were  born. 

383 


H 


'h- 


H\ 


I 


ANNEX.\TION  OF  GEORGIA.] 


HISTORY  OP  THE 


[a.d.  1801. 


a^es  of  oppression,  awful  indeed  would  be 
the  result.  The  revolting  scenes  which 
must  inevitably  take  place  in  such  a  Jac- 
querie, we  trust  it  may  never  be  the  lot  of 
any  future  historian  to  describe. 

Let  us  return  from  this  brief  dijrression. 
The  sickly  nature  of  Alexander's  liberalism 
was  evidenced  by  his  conduct  with  respect 
to  the  press.  This  had  been,  in  effect,  anni- 
hilated by  the  unequivocal  tyranny  of  his 
father.  The  new  emperor,  though  seeking 
for  confidence  and  popularity,  only  modified 
the  rigour  of  that  censorship  which  had 
paralysed  the  press,  and  arrested  the  young 
but  expanding  literature  of  the  empire.  A 
freer  importation  of  books,  also,  was  allowed  ; 
but  this  concession  was  so  vigilantly  watched 
by  the  Russian  police,  that  it  scarcely  pro- 
duced any  perceptible  influence. 

In  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  Alexander 
proved  himself  an  energetic  ruler ;  and  he 
lal)Oured  with  almost  as  much  diligence  in 
public  affairs  as  his  illustrious  grandmother, 
Catherine,  had  done.  Among  the  benefits 
■which,  soon  after  his  accession,  he  conferred 
upon  the  empire,  were  a  reduction  of  the 
taxes,  and  a  remission  of  the  odious  con- 
scription for  the  army,  which  was  as  hateful 
to  the  peasant  as  it  was  injurious  to  the 
interests  of  his  owner.  Schools  were  in- 
stituted for  general  education ;  but  they 
were  subjected  to  the  rigorous  control  of 
the  government ;  and  we  may  not  unfairly 
assume  that  little  more  was  taught  than  a 
slight  knowledge  of  the  religious  tenets 
considered  vital  by  the  Greek  church,  and 
the  doctrine  of  the  duty  of  passive  ol)e- 
dience  to  the  emperor  and  all  constituted 
authorities.  Yet  much  importance  was  at- 
tached to  education  of  the  kind  the  emperor 
thought' fit  to  permit;  and  a  new  branch  of 
administration — that  of  public  instruction 
— was  created. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  of  the  reforms 
which  distinguished  the  first  year  of  the 
reign  of  Alexander,  was  the  abolition  of  the 
secret  department,  which,  under  another 
name,  carried  on  the  despotic  and  myste- 
rious measures  which,  in  former  times,  had 
been  performed  by  the  dreaded  chancery  of 
the  secret  Inquisition.  This  court — irre- 
sponsible for  the  conduct  of  its  proceedings, 
the  motives  of  its  members,  or  the  iniquity 
of  its  decisions — had  inflicted  an  incalcu- 
lable amount  of  misery  upon  the  country. 
Any  person  who  provoked  the  vengeance  of 
a  superior,  was  in  danger  of  being  cited 
before  this  terrible  tribunal,  which  not  un- 
384 


A.D.  1802—1803.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [russian  jealousy  of  France. 


frequently  condemned  him  to  perpetual 
imprisonment,  or  even  caused  him  to  be 
secretly  executed.  No  les«»  than  twenty-six 
persons  of  rank,  at  St.  Petersburg, '  had 
disappeared  in  this  manner  within  a  few 
months  of  the  death  of  Paul ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  horror  and  indignation 
excited  by  these  events,  aided  considerably 
in  bringing  about  the  murder  of  the  despot. 
Other  improvements  were  eflTected  by  the 
emperor  Alexander  in  the  administration 
of  public  affairs  :  a  permanent  council  was 
established  to  examine,  previously  to  publi- 
cation, all  ordinances  that  were  to  be  issued 
on  the  affairs  of  the  empire ;  and  every 
minister  was  lield  responsible  for  the  pro- 
ceedings of  his  department,  and  compelled 
to  render  an  annual  account  of  them  to  the 
senate. 

Before    the    close   of    1801,    Alexander 
showed   that   he   was   as   eager   as   his   pre- 
decessors had  been  to  extend  the  dominions 
of  the  empire  in  the  direction  of  the  East. 
In   the   autumn  of  that  year  the  emperor 
issued  a  manifesto  proclaiming  the  annexa- 
tion   of   Georgia    to    the    Russian   empire ; 
that  country  having  previously  been  under 
the  nominal  protection  of  Persia  and  Turkev. 
With  habitual  insincerity,  he  assigned  hu- 
manity,   and   not  ambition,  as   his    motive. 
The   people  of  Georgia,  though  personally 
brave,   had   suffered   severely   from    the   at- 
tacks of  the  Lesghians  and  the  Tartars ;   to 
which  was  added  the  calamity  of  dissensions 
amongst  themselves.     During  the  reign  of 
Paul,  Georgia  had  been  occupied  by  Rus- 
sian   troops    sent   there   ostensibly  for  the 
purpose  of  assisting  the  inhabitants  against 
their  enemies.     The  aid  they  rendered  was 
not  suflficient   to  expel  the  latter,   but  yet 
enough  to  show  that  the  country  would  be 
safe  if  under  the  dominion  of  the  Russian 
sceptre.     When    Alexander    can}e    to    the 
throne,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  affairs 
of  Georgia,  with  the  avowed  object  of  ascer- 
taining if  she  could  subsist,  with  her  former 
government,  under  the  protection  of  Russia. 
His    preformed    conclusion    was    soon    ex- 
pressed in  a  declaration,  tliat  the  best  way 
to  terminate  the  troubles  of  Georgia  would 
be,  to  unite  it  at  once  to  the  Russian  do- 
minions.    An    imperial   ukase  was  accord- 
ingly issued  to  that  efl'ect,  and  the  Russian 
eagle  was  planted  on  a  portion  of  the  ro- 
mantic soil  of  the  Caucasus. 

Alexander  also,  during  this  period,  showed 
a  disposition  to  extend  the  influence  of  Rus- 
sia in  another  direction,  by  entering  into  a 


negotiation  with  France  respecting  the  com- 
pensation, for  the  entire  or  partial  loss  of 
their  dominions,  to  be  granted  to  certain  of 
the  minor  powers  of  Germany,  with  which 
country  he  was  connected,  both  through  his 
mother  and  through  his  father,  who  was 
born  head  of  the  house  of  Holstein-Gottorp. 
It  was  in  the  course  of  these  negotiations 
that  he  had  his  first  interview  with  the 
prevaricating  Frederic  William  III.,  king  of 
Prussia — an  interview  which  is  understood 
to  have  laid  the  foundation  of  an  intimate 
friendship  between  the  two  sovereigns,  and 
to  have  established  a  concurrence  of  views 
which  powerfully  influenced  the  future 
policy  of  each.  Alexander,  though  secretly 
dissatisfied  with  the  unimportant  part  which 
Napoleon  allowed  him  to  play  in  these 
transactions,  yet  contented  himself  with  a 
show  of  outward  respect,  and  a  precedent 
which  went  far  to  establish  the  right  of  Rus- 
sia to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Germany. 

The  tranquillity  which  Russia  now  en- 
joyed, gave  Alexander  full  scope  for  the 
improvement  of  the  empire,  and  the  exten- 
sion of  its  commerce  and  manufactures. 
He  encouraged  the  English  system  of  agri- 
culture, and  allotted  a  tract  of  land  to  be 
cultivated  in  that  manner.  The  brief  re- 
pose of  Europe  from  the  fierce  wars  which 
had  so  devastated  a  great  portion  of  it,  gave 
an  impetus  to  commerce ;  and  the  ports 
both  of  the  Baltic  and  the  Euxine  were 
visited  by  immense  numbers  of  ships,  and 
exhibited  a  great  degree  of  prosperity.  The 
trade  with  Cliina  also  shared  the  general 
improvement;  and  a  herring-fishery  was 
established  on  the  White  Sea,  under  the 
immediate  protection  of  the  emperor.  A 
voyage  round  the  world  was  also  projected, 
with  the  object  of  endeavouring  to  establish 
the  commerce  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  with  Eastern  Asia,  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  opening  a  more  extensive 
intercourse  with  Japan  and  China.  Several 
German  professors  accompanied  the  expedi- 
tion, with  the  view  of  making  discoveries  in 
geography  and  natural  history.  It  also 
carried  an  ambassador  accredited  to  Japan; 
but  the  government  of  that  nation  refused 
to  receive  him. 

Even  at  this  early  period  of  his  reign, 
Alexander  showed  that  he  was  bent  on 
rigidly  maintaining  everything  that  the 
Russian  government  regarded  as  its  right. 

*  By  the  peace  of  Amiens,  England  had  under- 
taken to  restore  Malta  to  the  knights  of  St,  John; 
that   it  should   be  a  free  port,  garrisoned  by  the 
VOL.  I.  3d 


Sweden  had,  in  a  most  trifling  matter,  in- 
fringed the  frontier  of  Finland  ;  and  a  dis- 
pute accordingly  arose  between  the  courts 
of  Stockholm  and  St.  Petersburg,  which 
would  have  led  to  a  war,  had  not  hostili- 
ties been  averted  by  the  concession  of  the 
Swedish  monarch.  'The  military  prepara- 
tions of  Russia  were  very  extensive,  and 
the  emperor  took  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity thus  afforded  him  by  reorganising 
the  fleet  and  the  army,  and  strengthening 
his  means  of  defence  or  aggression.  Alex- 
ander, however,  had  another  motive  in  thus 
augmenting  the  military  force  of  the  em- 
pire. He  had  become  jealous  of  the  colossal 
and  devouring  power  of  Napoleon,  who  had 
not  acted  with  good  faith  towards  him  in 
the  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the  minor 
princes  of  Germany. 

Alexander  was  doubtless   encouraged   in 
the   hostile  feelings  towards  France,  which 
the  conduct  of  the  first  consul  had  excited 
in  him,  by  the  rupture  of  the  brief  peace 
between  that  country  and  England.     The 
annexation,   in   1802,   of  Piedmont  to  the 
French    republic,    irritated    both   England 
and  Russia,   as  Alexander  had    personally 
interested  himself  for  the  king  of  Sardinia. 
On  the  other  hand.  Napoleon  took  offence 
at   the   refusal   of   England   to  deliver  up 
Malta,  on  the  plea  that  a  Neapolitan  gar- 
rison would  have  been  but  a  poor  security 
against  a  hostile  visitation  of  the  French.'* 
Lord  Whitworth,  the  English  ambassador, 
had  a  long  and  stormy  conference  on  this 
subject   with    Napoleon   at    the   Tuileries. 
The  English  minister  having  represented  to 
him   that   the   state   of  things    which   the 
treaty   of  Amiens    had   contemplated    was 
completely  altered  by  his  enormous  acces- 
sion of  power  in  Italy,  he  peremptorily  re- 
jected  the  claim  of  England    to   interfere 
in  his  arrangements  concerning  other  states, 
and  insisted  on  Malta  being  delivered  up  to 
some   neutral   power.      Turning   to  Count 
Markoff,  the  Russian  ambassador,  and  to 
the  Chevalier  Azara,  who  were  standing  at 
a  little  distance.  Napoleon  said  to  them — 
"  The  Enghsh  wish  for  war ;  but  if  they  be 
the  first  to  draw  the  sword,  I  shall  be  the 
last  to  sheathe  it.     They  have  no  regard  for 
treaties.     We  must  henceforth  cover  tliem 
with   shame."     Shortly   afterwards    he   re- 
sumed his    conversation  with  Lord  Whit* 
worth,  by  observing — ''  For  what  reason  are 

troops  oi  a  neutral  power,  and  that  neither  this 
country  nor  France  should  have  any  representative 
in  the  order, 

385 


I'  i 


I-  «1 
1 

ii  '1 


! 


if 


u 


\ 


EXECUTION  OF  THE  DUKE  d'enghien.]    HISTORY  OF  THE 


ir 


those  armaments  ?  against  whom  are  these 
measures  of  precaution  ?  I  have  not  a  single 
ship  of  the  line  in  the  ports  of  France ;  but 
if  you  will  arm,  I  shall  arm  likewise;  if  you 
go  to  war,   I  shall  go  to  war  also.     You 
may,  perhaps,  be  able  to  destroy  France, 
but   never   to    intimidate   her."     "We  do 
not    desire,"  responded    Lord   Wliitworth, 
'\  either  the  one  or  the  other ;  we  wish  to 
live  in   a    good  understanding   with   her." 
"It  is  necessary,  then,"  continued  Napo- 
leon with  much  excitement,  ''  to  pay  reo-ard 
to   treaties;    those  who   pay   no  regard    to 
treaties   will   be    responsible   for   it   to   all 
Europe."     The  hostile  feelings  of  the  two 
governments  did   not  admit  of  longer  re- 
pression ;  and  England  again  declared  war 
against  France,  on  the  J8th  of  May,  1803. 

Though    irritated   against   France,  Alex- 
ander, who,  at  the  commencement  of  his 
reign,  had  assumed  to  himself  the  character 
of  pacificator  amongst  the  European  powers, 
did  not  as  yet  feel  called  upon  to  enter  into 
hostilities  against  the  republic.     He  desired 
rather  to  terminate  the  quarrel  which  had 
so  long  distracted  Europe;    and  the  Rus- 
sian chancellor  observed,  "  that  if  the  war 
were  to  be  prolonged  between  France  and 
England,  Russia  would  be  compelled  finally 
to   take  part  in  it."     A  hollow  peace  yet 
prevailed ;  but  trifling  and  undignified  dis- 
putes took  place  between  Napoleon  and  the 
Russian  ambassador  Markoff,  who  actually 
assumed    the    extraordinary  position    of  a 
foreign    minister    intriguing    at    Paris     in 
favour    of    the    Bourbons.       This    induced 
Napoleon  openly  to  insult  him,  to  order  the 
arrest  of  his  secretary,  and,  in  a  fit  of  tem- 
per, to  defy  the  Russian  government.    Alex- 
ander,  feeling    that    his    ambassador    had 
acted  in    a   manner  inconsistent   with    his 
station,  gratified  the  first  consul  by  recalling 
him ;  but  at  the  same  time  conferred  upon 
him  a  special  decoration  as  a  mark  of  his 
continued  favour. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when,  in 
1804,  Napoleon,  irritated  by  conspiracies  to 
assassinate  him,  ordered  the  illegal  arrest 
and  judicial  murder  of  the  young  Bourbon 
prince,  the  Duke  d'Enghien.  On  the  re- 
newal of  the  war,  the  Enghsh  government 
took  the  French  emigrants  again  into  its 
pay,  and  they  were  directed  to  go  to  the 
German  side  of  the  Rhine,  to  act  when 
required.  The  duke,  unfortunately  for 
himself,  was  regarded  as  their  head.  Mean- 
time, the  conspiracy  of  Georges  and  Piche- 
gru  was  discovered  at  Paris.  It  has  never 
386 


[a.d.  1804. 


been   proved   that  the  duke  was    privy  to 
that  conspiracy  ;  but  it  appears  that  he  was 
led  to  expect  an  insurrectionary  movement 
in   France  in  favour   of  the   Bourbons,   of 
which    he   intended    to   avail    himself,    by 
entering  that  country  at  the  head  of  the 
emigrants.     Napoleon,  alarmed  at  the  con- 
spiracy,   and   at   the    avowed   intention   of 
Georges  to  assassinate  him,  seems  to  have 
persuaded  himself  that  the  duke  was  con- 
nected   with    the    Paris    conspirators,  and 
that  the  whole  was  a  plan  directed  by  the 
Bourbons  in  England,  and  by  the  English 
government;  and  he  determined  upon  get- 
ting rid  of  his  enemies  by  summary  means. 
He  accordingly  dispatched  a  party  of  gen^ 
darmes,    who    crossed   the   Rhine,    entered 
without  ceremony  the  neutral  territory  of 
Baden,  surrounded  the  chateau  of  Etten- 
heim,  and,  on  the    15th  of  March,  seized 
the  person  of  the  duke.     The  arrest  was 
immediately  followed  by  a   trial   before   a 
secret  court,  and  the  duke  was  found  guilty 
of  all  the  charges  preferred  against  him, 
though  the  worst  of  them  was  never  proved. 
They  were,  that  he  had  borne  arms  against 
the  French  republic  ;  that  he  had  offered  his 
services  to  the  English  government ;  that  he 
was  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  emigrants  assem- 
bled near  the  frontiers  of  France,  and  had 
treasonable  correspondence  with  the  neigh- 
bouring departments;   and,  lastly,  that  he 
was  an  accomplice  in  the  conspiracy  formed 
at  Paris  against  the  life  of  the  first  consul. 
The  last  accusation  he  indignantly  denied, 
but    admitted    the    others.      Sentence    of 
death   was    pronounced,    and    carried    into 
execution  with   a   rapidity  which   was   re- 
garded as  both  harsh  and  indecent.     The 
trial  took  place  on  the  20th;  and  that  very 
night,  or  rather  before  daybreak  the  follow- 
ing morning,  he  was  roused  from  sleep,  led 
into  the  ditch  of  the  castle  of  Viucennes, 
where  he  was  confined,  and  shot  by  torch- 
light.     The    body   was    instantly    buried, 
without  any  funeral  ceremony,  in  a  grave 
which  had  just  previously  been  dug  on  the 
spot.     A  great  sensation'was  produced  by 
this  act,  and  much  indignation  expressed; 
but  we  think  the  apology  which  Napoleon 
afterwards  made  at  St.  Helena  concerning 
it,   not    without    weight.     It  was,    that   he 
believed  that  the   duke  was  implicated  in 
the  conspiracy  against  his  life,  and  that  he 
was  obliged  to  strike  terror  among  the  royal- 
ists, and  put  an  end  to  their  plots,  by  show- 
ing that  he  was  not  a  man  to   be  trifled 
with.     Still  it  must  be  admitted,  that  tha 


A.D.  i804.] 


RUSSIAN  E:\IPIRE.  [expostulation  of  Alexander. 


arrest  was  in  violation  of  the  law  of  nations, 
and  that  the  trial  was  an  informal  one. 

The  fate  of  the  Duke  d'Enghien  excited 
interest  and  commiseration  throughout  Eu- 
rope.    He  was  young,   and  reputed  to  be 
brave,  amiable,  and  one  of  the  most  pro- 
mising of  the  Bourbon  princes.     The  sove- 
reigns of  Europe  were    especially  touched 
and   offended ;  but  the  emperor  Alexander 
made  the  greatest  exhibition  of  his  feeling. 
The  sufferer  was  of  royal  blood,  and  Alex- 
ander felt  indignant  that  one  of  such  rank 
should  have  been  shot  like  a  common  of- 
fender; his  emotion  was  elicited  less  for  the 
man  than  for  the  distinguished  position  he 
occupied.     The  autocrat  at  once  addressed 
a  remonstrance   to   the    French    minister, 
representing  the  alarm  that  conduct  so  un- 
justifiable was  calculated  to  spread  through- 
out  Europe,  and   concluding  with  a  hope 
that  the  first  consul  would  see  the  necessity 
of  putting  an  end  to  such  a  state  of  things. 
Not  satisfied   with   an   interference   which 
Napoleon  must  have  regarded  as  dictatorial, 
if  not  uncalled  for,  Alexander  also  addressed 
a  note  to  the  diet  at  Ratisbon,  calling  upon 
the  princes  of  the  empire  to  demand  satis- 
faction for  the  violation  of  the  neutrahty  of 
Germany.     He  also  went  into  mourning  for 
the  unfortunate  Bourbon,  and  commanded 
the  court  at    St.   Petersburg,    and    all   his 
ministers  at  foreign  courts,  to  do  the  same. 
Napoleon  was  necessarily  irritated  at  these 
proceedings,    and    a   sharp   correspondence 
took  place  between  the  French  and  Russian 
ministers.     As  might  have  been  expected, 
the   first   consul  repudiated  altogether  the 
right  of  Alexander  to  interfere  in  the  con- 
cerns of  France ;  and,  after  alluding  to  the 
influence  which  its  enemies  were  allowed  to 
exercise  at  St.  Petersburg,  sarcastically  de- 
sired the  emperor  to  act  openly,  if  it  was  his 
intention  to  form  a  new  coalition.     Recrimi- 
nations followed,  and  it  became  highly  pro- 
bable that  hostilities  might  ensue  between 
the  two  nations;   for  affairs  were  in  tliat 
condition,    that   any   further   disagreement 
would   almost   inevitably  lead   to  an   open 
rupture. 

Further  offence  soon  followed.  On  the 
18th  of  May,  1804,  Napoleon  assumed  the 
title  of  emperor,  and  was  solemnly  crowned 
as  such  in  the  ancient  cathedral  of  Notre- 
Dame,  by  Pope  Pius  Vll.,  on  the  2nd  of 
December  following.  Prior  to  the  cere- 
mony, Alexander  made  a  strong  remon- 
strance against  the  assumption  of  the  impe- 
rial sceptre  on  the  part  of  the  great  soldier, 


'J 


and  afterwards  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
new  sovereign.  The  ambassadors  of  the 
two  monarchs  were  respectively  recalled. 
The  despotic  king  of  Sweden  followed  Alex- 
ander in  his  refusal  to  acknowledge  the 
imperial  title  assumed  by  Napoleon.  Prus- 
sia coldly  acquiesced,  and  Austria  assented 
to  the  starthng  proceeding  of  the  new 
military  emperor.  Alexander  therefore  felt 
himself  placed  in  a  position  which  demanded 
circumspection,  unless  he  felt  inchned  to 
enter  on  a  war  with  France  without  any  ally 
but  England.  This  difficulty  was  increased 
by  the  aggressive  attitude  which  Alexander 
had  assumed  towards  Turkey;  an  attitude 
justifying  the  insinuation  of  France,  that 
the  northern  autocrat  had  adopted  one 
course  of  policy  in  Europe,  and  another  in 
Asia.  It  is  certain  that  his  movements  in 
the  latter  direction  were  inconsistent  with 
his  professions  in  the  former ;  that  while  he 
was  endeavouring  to  restore  the  old  divisions 
of  the  European  kingdoms,  he  was  laying 
snares  for  the  extension  of  his  territory  in 
the  east,  and  the  subversion  of  the  states  of 
Turkey  and  Persia. 

Though  Alexander  acted  with  caution,  he 
prepared  to  take  advantage  of  any  favour- 
able opportunity  that  might  offer  for  acting 
against  France,  and  curbing  the  ambition 
of  its  newly-made  emperor.  Great  activity 
prevailed  in  all  the  arsenals  of  Russia ;  re- 
cruits for  the  navy  were  raised  throughout 
the  provinces  ;  the  since  famous  Sebastopol, 
on  the  Black  Sea,  was  declared  the  first 
naval  seaport,  and  merchant  vessels  were 
excluded  from  the  harbour.  The  military 
force,  also,  was  augmented  to  half  a  million 
of  men,  and  large  bodies  of  troops  were 
assembled  on  the  western  frontiers.  At, the 
same  time,  an  attempt  was  made  to  remove 
the  distaste  of  the  Russians  for  a  new  war, 
by  declarations  that  the  commerce  of  the 
empire  was  in  a  highly  prosperous  condition, 
and  by  the  reduction  of  duties  in  all  the 
ports  of  the  Euxine.  Yet,  as  if  fearing  any 
expression  of  popular  opinion,  the  censorship 
of  the  press  was  rendered  still  more  rigo- 
rous— a  measure  which  some  hollow  com- 
mon-places about  liberty  and  the  ''  advance- 
ment of  real  knowledge,"  failed  to  render 
the  less  odious. 

The  emperor  Napoleon,  finding  that  his 
assumption  of  imperial  state  was  received  by 
the  other  powers  of  Europe  with  less  op- 
position than  he  had  anticipated,  converted 
the  Italian  republics  into  a  kingdom,  and  on 
the  26th  of  May,  1805,  caused  himself  to 

387 


■l 


COALITION  AGAINST  FRANCE.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1805, 


A.T). 


1805.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  WITH  FRAN(TK. 


*.  ; 


be  crowned  with  extraordinary  pomp,  in  the 
cathedral  of  Milan,  as  king  of  Italy.  Na- 
poleon seized  the  iron  crown  of  the  old 
Lombard  kings,  and,  placing  it  on  his  brow, 
exclaimed,  "God  has  given  it  to  me;  woe 
to  him  who  shall  attempt  to  lay  hands  on 
it.''  He  appointed  his  step-son,  Eugene 
Beauharnais,  to  be  his  viceroy  of  the  king- 
dom of  Italy,  and  on  the  7th  of  June  opened 
in  person  the  session  of  the  Italian  legisla- 
tive body.  The  republic  of  Genoa  was,  in 
the  same  month,  united  to  the  French  em- 
j)ire,  at  the  request  of  its  doge  and  people. 
The  Italian  republic  of  Lucca  also  was 
transformed  into  a  principality,  and  given 
to  one  of  Napoleon's  family,  to  be  held  as  a 
fief  of  the  newly-created  empire,  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  which  the  whole  of  Savoy,  Pied- 
mont, and  Genoa  was  now  subjected.  With 
one  exception—that  of  San  Marino — the 
Italian  republics  were  extinguished. 

Austria  remonstrated  in  vain  against  the 
never-ending  encroachments  of  Napoleon  in 
Italy ;  and  the  views  of  that  power  under- 
went a  change  in  consequence  of  his  usur- 
pations in  that  direction.     The  representa- 
tions  of  Russia  alike  remained  unheeded. 
A  treaty  had  already  been  entered  into  be- 
tween  Russia   and   England,   which,    after 
stating  that   the   situation   of  Europe   de- 
manded a  speedy  remedy,  bound  the  con- 
tracting parties   to   consult  respecting  the 
means  of  redress,  without  waiting  for  fur- 
ther encroachments   on   the    part    of    the 
French  government.     This  led  to  a  conclu- 
sion that  the  most  effectual  course  would  be 
to  form  a  league  of  the  states  of  Europe, 
and  to  collect  a  force  which,  independently 
of    the    succours    furnished    by    England, 
should  amount  to  500,000   men,   in  order 
either  to  persuade  or  compel,  according  to 
circumstances,  the    French  government  to 
the  re-establishment  of  peace,  and  the  res- 
toration  of  the   balance   of    power.      The 
objects   to   be    attained   were— I.  The   re- 
vival of  the   independence  of  Switzerland 
and   Holland.     2.  The   compulsion    of  the 
French  government  to  withdraw  its  troops 
from  the  north  of  Germany.     3.  The  ob- 
taining the  restoration  of  Piedmont  to  the 
king  of  Sardinia.     4.  To  obtain  the  future 
security  of  Naples,  and  compel  Napoleon  to 
evacuate  Italy.     England  agreed  to  contri- 
bute forces  by  sea  and  land,  and  also  such 
subsidies  as  might  be  deemed  requisite.     It 
was  further  agreed  that,  in  the  event  of  the 
formation  of  the  league,    peace  should  not 
be  made  with  France  without  the  consent 
388       ^ 


of  all  the  powers  who  should  become  parties 
to  it.  Yet  actual  hostilities  were  not  to  be 
entered  upon  until  the  attempt  to  obtain 
the  objects  of  the  proposed  alliance  by  nego- 
tiation should  have  proved  a  failure. 

The  engulphment  of  Italy  by  the  ambi- 
tion of  Napoleon,  induced  Austria  to  be- 
come a  member  of  the  proposed  league;  and, 
in  the  summer  of  1805,  a  new  coalition 
against  France  was  formed  between  England, 
Russia,  Austria,  and  Sweden.  Prjissia  was 
urged  to  join  it;  but  the  wily  Frederic 
William  hesitated,  increased  h'is  armies, 
and  remained  neutral.  His  aid  seemed  to 
promise  victory  to  the  side  to  which  he 
should  attach  himself,  and  a  large  party  in 
Prussia  were  anxious  to  draw  the  sword 
against  Napoleon.  But  Frederic  William 
still  professed  a  friendship  for  the  warlike 
emperor,  and  he  assembled  a  strong  army  on 
the  frontiers  of  Austria,  to  which  the  French 
troops  had  been  advanced  by  rapid  marches ; 
but  whom  that  army  was  to  oppose  was  a 
secret.  When  Alexander  demanded  a  free 
passage  through  Silesia  for  a  Russian  army, 
he  met  with  a  refusal.  On  repeating  his 
demand  in  an  imperious  tone,  the  king  of 
Prussia  answered,  that  his  generals  had 
received  orders  to  treat  any  Russian  who 
set  his  foot  on  the  Prussian  soil  as  an 
enemy.  There  was  little  doubt  that  Frederic 
William  would  either  remain  neutral,  or 
wait  till  one  of  the  belligerent  parties  should 
have  been  weakened  by  defeats,  and  then 
join  the  victor,  and  take  his  share  in  the 
spoliation  either  of  Austria  or  France. 

Napoleon  afforded  the  powers  arrayed 
against  him  little  opportunity  for  aggressive 
movements,  and  but  scanty  time  for  further 
preparations.  He  resolved  at  once  to  con- 
centrate  his  whole  military  force,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  destroying  the  combination  against 
hini  before  the  Russian  troops  had  passed 
their  own  frontier.  Austria  was  the  first  in 
the  field,  and  she  marched  an  army,  confided 
to  the  command  of  the  incapable  General 
Mack,  into  the  electorate  of  Bavaria.  Na- 
poleon led  the  army  which  he  had  formed 
at  Boulogne  for  the  invasion  of  England, 
towards  the  Rhine;  and  other  troops  from 
Holland,  Hanover,  and  the  interior  of  France 
were  marched  to  the  same  quarter.  Regard- 
less of  the  neutrality  of  Prussia,  he  not  only 
marched  his  troops  through  Anspach  and 
Bareuth,  but  even  occupied  those  districts 
—a  bold  step,  which  gave  him  incalculable 
advantages  over  the  enemy  in  point  of  time, 
as  the  Ri.3sians  were  obliged  to  reach  tho 


theatre  of  the  contest  by  circuitous  routes. 
Napoleon  then  opened  one  of  those  dazzling 
campaigns  which,  for  the  rapidity  of  the 
movements  and  the  great  talent  displayed 
in  them,  have  never  been  surpassed  in  the 
annals  of  history.  During  the  month  of 
October  he  almost  annihilated  the  Austrian 
armv  bv  a  succession  of  victories.  Several 
divisions  laid  down  their  arms  to  the  French. 
General  Mack  threw  himself  into  Ulm, 
where  he  allowed  himself  to  be  surrounded ; 
and  then  surrendered,  on  the  17th  of  Oc- 
tober, without  fighting,  with  more  than 
20,000  men,  and  all  his  staff,  artillery,  and 
stores.  Napoleon  dismissed  no  less  than 
eighteen  Austrian  generals  on  their  parole, 
and  sent  a  waggon  loaded  with  imperial 
standards  to  Paris.  The  other  Austrian 
divisions  scattered  about  were  unal)le  to 
make  any  efiectual  resistance ;  and  the  vic- 
torious French  army  marched  on  Vienna, 
and  entered  that  ca[)ital  in  triumph  ! 

Alexander  was  startled,  and  hurried  to 
Berlin  to  exert  his  personal  influence  on  the 
Prussian  monarch,  and  induce  him  to  join 
the  coalition  against  Napoleon.  The  war 
party  in  Prussia  was  roused  into  great  ac- 
tivity by  the  recent  violation  of  the  Prussian 
territory  by  the  French  army,  and  Frederic 
William,  sharing  in  that  feeling,  or  carried 
away  by  the  tide  of  circumstances,  not  only 
consented  to  an  interview  with  Alexander, 
but  concluded  a  secret  convention  with  him, 
by  which  he  bound  himself  to  join  the  coali- 
tion, unless  Na[)ole()n  withdrew  from  Ger- 
many before  the  15th  of  December.  The 
Russian  emperor  attracted  much  popularity 
at  Berlin  by  the  'gracefulness  and  suavity  of 
his  manner,  and  he  paid  so  much  attention 
to  all  the  relations  of  the  great  Frederic, 
that  a  sort  of  fascination  existed  in  his 
favour.  A  curious  scene  also  took  place 
at  Potsdam  during  Alexander's  visit.  In 
company  with  the  king  and  queen,  he  visited 
at  midnight,  by  torchlight,  the  vault  in 
which  lav  the  coffin  of  Frederic  the  Great. 
They  knelt  before  it,  and  kissed  the  coffin. 
Alexander  then  grasped  the  hand  of  his 
brother  sovereign,  and  solemnly  pledged 
himself  that  nothing  should  ever  break  their 
friendship.  He  then  hastened,  by  way  of 
Leipzig  and  Weimar,  to  Dresden,  from 
whence  he  proceeded  to  Olmutz ;  and  there, 
on  the  18th  of  November,  joined  the  em- 
peror Francis  of  Austria.  A  Russian  army 
that  had  previously  arrived  to  assist  the 
Austrians,  had  suflfered  a  disastrous  defeat; 
a  second  one  arrived  on  the  same  day  as  the 


emperor  did,  and  the  allied  armv  amounted 
to  about  80,000  men.  That  of  *the  French 
is  usually  estimated  at  about  75,000;  but  it 
was  composed  of  troops  flushed  with  victorj', 
and  immeasurably  superior  to  their  anta- 
gonists in  skill,  ardour,  and  discipline. 

Napoleon,  on  hearing  that  the  emperor 
Alexander  had  joined  the  army,  sent  General 
Savary  (afterwards  Duke  of  Rivigo)  to  him 
with  a  complimentary  letter,  in  which  he 
expressed  an  earnest  desire  to  cultivate  the 
friendship  of  the  czar.  The  real  object, 
however,  of  Savarv  was  to  make  himself 
acquainted,  during  the  three  days  which  his 
visit  lasted,  with  the  leading  characters  of 
the  emperor's  camp,  and  the  opinions  tliat 
prevailed  amongst  them.  Alexander  re- 
ceived this  messenger  with  great  courtesy. 
The  interview  which  took  place  between 
them  is  thus  described  by  Savarv  himself: — 
''  When  I  arrived  at  the  Russian  head- 
quarters, I  found  the  officers  and  staff  de- 
claiming against  the  ambition  of  the  French 
government,  and  full  of  confidence  in  the 
success  of  their  arms.  The  emperor  received 
me  in  the  most  gracious  manner,  and  made 
a  sign  for  his  attendants  to  retire.  I  could 
not  avoid  a  feeling  of  timidity  and  awe  when 
I  found  mvself  alone  with  that  monarch. 
Nature  had  done  much  for  him ;  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a  model  so  perfect  and 
gracious;  he  was  then  twenty-six  years  of 
age.  He  spoke  French  in  its  native  purity, 
without  the  slightest  tinge  of  foreign  accent, 
and  made  use  on  all  occasions  of  our  most 
classical  ex{)ressions.  As  there  was  not  the 
least  affectation  in  his  manner,  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  this  was  the  result  of  a  finished 
education.  The  emperor  said,  when  I  put 
the  letter  into  his  hand,  '  I  am  grateful  for 
this  step  on  your  master's  side;  it  is  with 
regret  that  I  have  taken  up  arms  against 
him,  and  I  seize  with  pleasure  the  first  op- 
portunity of  testifying  that  feeling  towards 
him.  He  has  long  been  the  object  of  my 
admiration;  I  have  no  wish  to  be  his  enemy, 
any  more  than  that  of  France.  He  should 
recollect  that,  in  the  time  of  the  late  em- 
peror Paul,  though  then  only  grand-duke, 
when  France  was  overwhelmed  bv  disasters, 
and  met  with  nothing  but  obloquy  from  the 
other  cabinets,  I  contributed  much,  by  di- 
recting the  Russian  cabinet  to  take  the  lead, 
to  induce  the  other  powers  of  Europe  to 
recognise  the  new  order  of  things  in  your 
country.  If  now  I  entertain  different  senti- 
ments,  it  is  because  France  has  adopted 
difi'erent  principles,  which  have  given  the 

389 


i 


NAPOLEON  AND  ALEXANDER.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


European  powers  just  cause  of  disquietude 
for  their  independence.     I  have  been  called 
on   by  them  to  concur  in  establishing  an 
order  of  things  which  may  tranquillise  all 
parties ;  and  it  is  to  accomplish  that  purpose 
that  I  have  come  hither.     You  have  been 
admirably  served  by  fortune,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted ;  but  I  will  never  desert  an  ally  in 
distress,  or  separate  my  cause  from  that  of 
the  emperor  of  Germany.     He  is  in  a  critical 
situation,  but  one  not  beyond  the  reach  of 
remedy.     I  lead  brave  soldiers;  and  if  your 
master  drives  me  to  it,  I  will  command  them 
to   do  their  duty.     You  are  already   great 
and   powerful,   and  by  your  uniformity   of 
language,  feelings,  and  laws,  as  well  as  phy- 
sical situation,  must  always  be  formidable  to 
your  neighbours.     What  need  have  you  of 
continual  aggrandisement  ?     Since  the  peace 
of  Luneville,  you  have  acquired  first  Genoa, 
and  then  Italy,  which  you  have  subjected  to 
a  government  which  places   it  entirely  at 
vour  disposal.' " 

At   the    close   of  the    conversation,  the 
emperor  presented  General  Savary  with  a 
reply  to  Napoleon's  letter,  addressed,  "To 
the  chief  of  the  French  governmeut/'  ob- 
serving at  the    same    time,   "  Here  is   my 
answer;    the  address  does  not  express  the 
title  he  has  of  late  assumed.     I  attach  no 
importance  to  such  trifles."     Savary  found 
the  Russian  generals  eager  for  the  contest, 
and  inflated  with  a  vain-glorious  sense  of 
their  own  prowess  and  military  skill.     This 
impression  Napoleon  desired  to  strengthen, 
and   thus  induce   the   impetuosity   of    the 
Russians  to  lead  them  into  a  snare  which 
he   had  laid  for  them.     He  therefore  sent 
Savary  again  to  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  to 
propose  an  interview  between  the  French 
and  Russian  emperors.     Alexander  declined 
the  interview ;  but  sent  Prince  Dolgoruki  to 
propose  conditions  to  Napoleon.     The  Rus- 
sian was    received  at  the    outposts  of  the 
French    camp    by  the  emperor,  when  the 
latter,  having  just  finished  the  inspection  of 
his  advanced  posts,  had  nothing  about  him 
to  strike  a  vulgar  mind.      Dolgoruki  be- 
liaved  with  an  arrogance  which  showed  the 
delusion  of  his  countrymen,  and  terminated 
the   negotiation.      The   emperor    dismissed 
him  with  the  observation,  that  they  would 
settle   elsewhere   than  in   diplomatic    con- 
ferences the  quarrel  which  divided  the  policy 
of  the   two  empires.     Napoleon,    however, 
appears    to     have    respected    the    military 
character   of  the   Russians.      He  told   his 
soldiers   that  they  were   going  to  meet  a 
890 


[a.d.  1805 

new  enemy,  "  who  had  been  brought  from 
the  ends  of  the  world  by  the  gold  of  Eo"-- 
land."  Then,  in  allusion  to  the  high  cha- 
racter borne  by  the  Russian  infantry,  he 
added—"  This  contest  is  of  much  importance 
to  the  honour  of  the  French  infantry.  The 
question  must  be  now  finally  settled,  whether 
the  French  infantry  be  the  first  or  the' 
second  in  Europe.''  The  Russians,  deceived 
by  the  artifice  of  Napoleon,  were  eager  for 
battle.  "  He  is  falling  back,"  said  the  staff 
of  officers  who  surrounded  Alexander;  "  he  is 
in  full  retreat ;  we  must  rush  upon  him  and 
overwhelm  him." 

Notwithstanding  this  enthusiasm, the  allies 
advanced  but  slowly;  and  Napoleon  re- 
mained  during  the  whole  of  two  days  on 
horseback,  at  the  advanced  posts,  watching 
their  movements.  After  surveying  the 
heights  of  Pratzen,  he  said  to  his' generals, 
"If  I  wished  to  prevent  the  enemy  from 
passing,  it  is  here  that  I  should  station 
myself;  but  that  would  only  lead  to  an 
ordinary  battle,  and  I  desire  decisive  suc- 
cess. If,  on  the  other  hand,  I  draw  back 
my  right  towards  Briinn,  and  the  Russians 
pass  these  heights,  they  are  irretrievably 
ruined."  Acting  upon  this  principle,  he 
drew  back  the  French  right,  as  if  it  was 
fearful  of  encountering  the  enemy.  On  the 
morning  of  the  1st  of  December,  Napoleon 
beheld  the  columns  of  the  enemy  moving 
across  his  position,  and  saw  that  it  was 
evident  the  resolution  to  turn  the  right 
flank  of  his  army  had  been  decidedly  taken. 
Then,  with  the  prophetic  anticipation  of 
military  genius,  he  exclaimed,  "  To-morrow, 
before  nightfall,  that  army  is  my  own." 

The  Russian  power  was  commanded  by 
Generals  Kutusoff  and  Buxhovden,  and  the 
reserve  was  under  the  orders  of  the  Grand- 
duke  Constantine.  The  Austrians  were  led 
by  Prince  John  of  Lichtenstein.  Their 
allied  forces  amounted  to  about  80,000 
men,  of  whom  15,000  were  cavalry.  Napo- 
leon was  on  horseback  by  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  the  day  of  battle— the  2nd 
of  December.  His  soldiers  were  buried  in 
sleep,  unconscious  of  the  dangers  they  were 
about  to  undergo,  or  of  the  triumph  they 
were  to  achieve.  A  bright  winter's  sun  at 
length  revealed  the  position  of  the  enemy ; 
and  he  saw  his  expectations  concerning 
their  movements  confirmed.  Having  given 
directions  to  his  marshals  for  the  attack,  he 
rode  through  the  foremost  ranks  of  the 
army,  and  exclaimed,  "Soldiers  !  the  enemy 
has  imprudently  exposed  himself  to  your 


A.D.  1805.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[battle  op  austerlttz. 


blows ;  we  shall  finish  the  war  with  a  clap 
of  thunder." 

The  left  wing  of  the  Russian  army  at 
first  assailed  the  French  with  such  violence, 
that  the  latter  were  driven  back  ;  and  be- 
fore Marshal  Davoust  could  arrive  on  the 
spot  to  succour  them,  the  right  wing  of  the 
French  army  appeared  completely  turned. 
When  he  did  so,  he  attacked  the  Russians 
while  disordered  by  success,  and  not  only 
arrested  their  advance,  but  took  from  them 
six  pieces  of  cannon.  The  Russians,  how- 
ever, returned  in  greater  force ;  and  the 
conflict  was  maintained  on  both  sides  with 
much  bloodshed  and  obstinacy. 

While  this  furious  combat  was  proceed- 
ing on  the  right  of  the  French  army,  Mar- 
shal Soult  had  attacked  the  position  on 
which  depended  the  issue  of  the  battle.  At 
a  signal  given  by  Napoleon,  the  powerful 
corps  of  Soult  was  suddenly  thrown  on  the 
Russian  centre  while  it  was  in  open 
columns  of  march,  just  beginning  to  ascend 
the  slopes  of  the  Pratzen.  Kutusoff  then 
saw  his  danger,  and  did  everything  that 
was  possible  to  repair  the  error  which 
had  been  committed.  The  emperors  Alex- 
ander and  Francis  were  both  with  the 
centre  column.  Prince  Czartoryski,  who 
stood  between  them,  remarked  to  the 
former  the  nimble  and  decided  step  with 
which  the  French  were  ascending  the  pla- 
teau, without  returning  the  fire  of  the 
Russians.  At  this  sight,  Alexander  is  said 
to  have  lost  all  the  confidence  he  had  until 
then  possessed,  and  to  have  conceived  a 
sinister  presentiment  which  never  left  him 
during  the  engagement.  Before  the  hasty 
preparations  of  the  allies  could  be  com- 
plete, the  first  line  of  Soult  had  ascended  the 
heights,  and  attacked  the  Russian  front 
with  so  much  impetuosity,  that  its  first  line 
was  at  once  broken  and  driven  back  upon 
the  second  ;  and  after  two  hours  of  desperate 
fighting,  the  heights  of  Pratzen  were  car- 
ried, six  battalions  were  cut  to  pieces,  and 
the  French  were  pursuing  the  Russians  and 
Austrians,  who  were  hurled  in  confusion 
down  the  declivities  of  that  plateau. 

At  the  same  time,  a  desperate  and  almost 
separate  battle  was  fought  between  the 
French  left  and  the  right  of  the  allies.  The 
French,  under  Lannes  and  Murat,  in  this 
direction  also  surprised  the  combined  forces 
in  their  line  of  march.  The  Russian  right 
were  astonished  at  finding  themselves  sud- 
denly assailed  by  French  columns  emerging, 
in  battle  array,  out  of  the  mist.     The  sur- 


prise was  so  complete,  that  the  reserve, 
under  the  Grand-duke  Constantine,  was  one 
of  the  first  divisions  to  find  itself  engaged. 
Though  surprised,  the  Russians  were  un- 
daunted, and,  under  cover  of  the  fire  of  their 
artillery,  which  was  rapidly  brought  for- 
ward, their  columns  wheeled  into  line.  A 
fierce  conflict  followed,  in  which  the  splen- 
did Russian  cavalry— the  Hulans  of  the 
guard— charged  that  of  the  French,  and, 
having  broken  it,  dashed  through  the  first 
line  of  the  French,  and  swept  through  the 
openings  between  the  second.  There  they 
were  in  their  turn  charged  by  Murat,  and 
driven  back  in  such  disorder,  that,  what 
with  the  sabres  of  the  cavalry  of  the  latter, 
and  the  flanking  fire  of  the  infantry  through 
which  they  were  driven,  nearly  half  their 
number  were  left  dead  or  wounded  on  the 
ground. 

The  struggle  was  resumed  in  the  centre, 
where  the  Russian  imperial  guard,  led  by  the 
Grand-duke  Constantine,  charged  the  French 
in  flank,  and  broke  them  by  the  force  of  the 
shock.  Napoleon  sent  General  Rapp  with 
the  cavalry  of  the  guard  to  their  relief. 
The  Russians  were  then  hurled  back  with 
the  loss  of  their  artillery.  They  rallied,  and 
on  being  reinforced  by  the  regiment  of  the 
chevalier  guards  (a  corps  in  which  all  the 
privates  were  gentlemen),  returned  to  the 
charge.  Both  imperial  guards  met  in  full 
career;  the  shock  was  terrible;  and  the 
most  desperate  cavalry  action  that  had 
taken  place  during  the  war  ensued,  and 
lasted  for  above  five  minutes.  The  French 
horse  were  driven  back,  and  the  Russians 
pursued  them  with  loud  shouts  and  in  some 
disorder.  While  doing  so,  they  were  as- 
sailed in  flank  by  a  powerful  reserve  of  the 
French  army,  composed  of  the  very  flower 
of  the  guards,  mounted  on  spirited  chargers. 
A  furious  contest  ensued  betwixt  them  and 
Constantine's  chevalier  guards.  The  reso- 
lution and  vigour  of  the  combatants  were 
equal;  squadron  to  squadron,  man  to  man, 
they  fought  with  invincible  firmness,  and 
soon  the  ground  was  strewed  with  the  dead 
and  the  dying.  The  Russians  were  at 
length  compelled  to  yield  to  the  enthusi- 
astic valour  of  the  French.  The  cavalry 
and  infantry  of  their  guard  gave  way ;  and, 
after  losing  their  artillery  and  standards, 
were  driven  back  in  confusion  almost  to  the 
walls  of  Austerlitz. 

The  allied  armies  no  longer  fought  for 
victory,  but  for  existence.  Napoleon  brought 
forward  his  reserves,  and  rapidly  followed 

391 


'  *  it 


«/. 


\^ 


THE  PEACE  OF  PRESBURG.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1805. 


A.D.  1805.] 


up  his  success.     The  allied  centre  had  been 
driven  back  above  a  mile  from   the  field  of 
battle,    and  tlie  left  winj^  was  expriscd   to 
the    most    imminent  danj^er.     Assailed    on 
all  sides,  the  remnant  of  tlie  Russian  and 
Austrian  army  was  at  length  overwhelmed. 
Great  numbers   souj^ht   to   save  themselves 
by  crossing;,  with  their  artillery  and  cavalry, 
the   frozen    lake   of    Satschan.       The    ice, 
weakened  by  the  warmth  of  a  fine  dav,  gave 
way  in  some  places  beneath  the  weight  of 
the  men,  horses,  and  cannon;  and  in  those 
spots    the    retreating     Russians    were    en- 
gulphed   beneath  it.     Napoleon,  perceiving 
this,  ordered  a  battery  of  the  guard   to  fire 
on  those   parts  of  the  ice  which  still   held 
firm.     The  execution  of  this  command  was 
followed  by  a  frightfid  yell  which  arose  from 
nearly  2,000  drowning  men,  who  sunk  and 
perished   beneath    the    shattered   ice.     One 
unfortunate    column    of    the    Russians   yet 
remained  upon  the  field,  and,  under  General 
Doctorow,  behaved  in  the  most  courageous 
manner,  and  endeavoured  to  cut  a  path  for 
its  retreat.     A  last  and  severe  combat  en- 
sued ;  and  part  succeeded  in  escaping,   but 
the  rest  were  sabred  by  Murat's  dragoons. 
Thedisorder  wasfrightful;  the  rout  complete. 
The  sovereigns  of  Russia  and  Prussia  fled 
from  the  field  on  which  the  victorious  French 
were  shouting  ''Five  VEmpereurr'    Alexan- 
der was    deeply   dejected.      Francis,    more 
tranquil,  bore  the  disaster  with  great  com- 
posure.    He  had  at  least  one  consolation; 
the   Russians    could  no  longer    assert  that 
the  cowardice  of  the  Austrians  constituted 
all  the  glory  of  Napcdeon.     The  two  princes 
retreated    precipitately   over   the   plains   of 
Moravia,   amidst   profound   darkness,   sepa- 
rated from  their  households,  and  liable  to 
be  insulted  through  the  barbarity  of  their 
own  soldiers. 

The  battle  of  Austerlitz,  or  of  the  "three 
emperors,"  as  the  French  term  it,  is  regarded 
as  the  most  brilliant  of  all  the  victories  of 
Napoleon,  and  the  one  in  which  he  most 
exhibited  his  astounding  military  genius. 
He  had  re-established  his  superiority  in 
Europe,  and  inflicted  a  terrible  blow  upon 
his  enemies.  The  loss  of  the  allies 
amounted  to  no  less  than  30,000  men  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  The  victors 
also  retained,  as  trophies,  180  pieces  of 
cannon,  400  caissons,  and  45  standards. 
The  loss  of  the  French,  in  killed  and 
wounded,  has  been  difi'erently  estimated  at 
from  7,000  to  12,000. 

The  day  after  the   battle,  the  emperor 
392  ^ 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [retreat  op  Alexander. 


Francis  dispatched  Prince  John  of  Lichten- 
j  stein  to  demand  an  interview  with  Napcdeon. 
"You  want  a  suspension  of  arms,"  said  the 
latter  to  him;  "but  before  I  grant  you  an 
armistice,  you  must  break  with  the  Russians. 
They  must  retire;  we  will  treat  separately.' 
I  wdl  afterwards  make  a  separate  peace  with 
the  en)peror  Alexander,  or,  if  not,  I  will  beat 
hira  again.     As  for  the  house  of  Austria,  I 
must  have  guarantees  that  she  will  not  again 
take  up  arms  against  me.     It  was  not  1  that 
l)egan  this  war.     But,  first  of  all,  no  more 
Russians  !  no  more  of  your  levies  en  masse 
in    Hungary   and    Bohemia!"    The   French 
emperor    then    consented    to    an    interview 
with    the    Austrian    monarch,    which    took 
place  the  following  day  in  the  open  air,  near 
a  mill,  within  three  leagues   of  Austerlitz. 
Tlie  two  emperors  embraced  when  they  met, 
and  Francis  addressed  his  conqueror  as  "  Sir' 
my  brother."     It  is  said    that   he    meanly 
threw  the  whole  blame  of  the  war  upon  the 
English;   adding,  that  thev   were  a   set  of 
selfish  traffickers,  who  would  set  the  con- 
tinent on  fire  in  order  to  secure  to  them- 
selves   the   commerce   of   the    world.     The 
conference  lasted  upwards  of  an  hour,  and 
terminated  with    an   agreement   upon'con- 
ditions  dictated  by  Napoleon.     "Take  my 
advice,"  said  the  latter  to  Francis,  "do  not 
mix  up  your  cause  with  that  of  the  emperor 
Alexander.     Russia,    alone,    can    now  only 
wage  a  fancy  war  in  Europe.     Vanquished, 
she  retires  to  her  deserts,  and  you— you  pay 
with  your  provinces  the  costs  of  the  war." 
By  the   conditions   to  which   the  humbled 
Francis  submitted,  the  French  were  to  keep 
possession  of  all  their  conquests  in  Moravia 
and   Hungary,  Upper  and   Lower  Austria 
the   Tyrol,  Venice,   Carinthia,   Styria,   Car- 
niola,  Goritz,  Istria,  Bohemia,  and  the  circle 
of    Montabar.      The   Russians  were   to   be 
compelled  to  evacuate  the  Austrian  states 
within  fifteen    days;   nor   was    anv  foreign 
army   whatever   to    be    admitted  'into   the 
latter— a  condition  which  doubtless  referred 
to  the  Prussians.     Napoleon   perfectly  un- 
derstood the  duplicity  of  the  king  of  Prussia ; 
and   when   he  was   congratulated,  after  the 
battle,   upon    his   victory,   observed   with  a 
sneer,  that   the   Prussian   compliments  had 
been  intended  for  others,  but  that  fortune 
had  transferred  them  to  him. 

When  the  terms  agreed  to  between  the 
emperors  of  France  and  Austria  were  com- 
municated to  Alexander  by  General  Savary, 
the  humbled  autocrat  observed— "  Your 
master  has  shown  himself  very  great.      I 


acknowledge  all  the  power  of  his  genius ; 
and,  as  for  myself,  I  shall  retire,  since  my 
ally  is  satisfied."     He  then  ordered  a  retreat, 
and,  on  the  6th  of  December,  was  on  his  way 
back   to    St.    Petersburg.        Some    French 
writers  assert,  that  Alexander  and  the  Rus- 
sian army  was    surrounded,  and   that  they 
owed  their  escape  to  the  magnanimity  of 
Napoleon.     By  others,  the  Russian  autocrat 
is  described  as  saving  himself  and  army  by 
an  exercise  of  duplieity.     They  say  that  he 
deceived    General   Davoust,    who    followed 
closely  on  his  rear,  by  sending  word  to  him 
that  an  armistice  was  concluded — a  state- 
ment from  which  it  would  be  supposed  that 
he  was  included  in  it;  such  not  being  the 
fact,  the  armistice  existing  only  between  the 
French  and  the  Austrians.     It  is  probable 
that  Napoleon  did  not  greatly  desire  to  in- 
tercept the  retreat  of  the  humiliated  Rus- 
sians, and  thus  renew  the  struggle.     He  was 
aware  that  his  own  position  in  the  heart  of 
Moravia,  far  from  the  frontiers  of  France 
and    from    his    reinforcements,    after    the 
winter   had    set   in,  would   have  become  a 
critical  one  had  he  chosen  to  prolong  the 
war.     Besides,  he  had  done  enough  for  one 
campaign,  in  which  Austria  had  been  laid 
prostrate  for  a  time,  and  Russia  had  suffered 
severely   both    in    her    resources    and    her 
reputation ;    while  th3  power   and  military 
glory  of  France  had  been  increased  to  an 
extent  not  readily  to  be  estimated. 

It  is  true  that  Austria  might  possibly 
have  been  dismembered  by  Napoleon ;  but 
policy  dictated  its  preservation.  The  acute 
Talleyrand,  the  day  after  the  battle,  urged 
on  the  conqueror  the  necessity  of  treating 
Austria  with  moderation,  and  even  gene- 
rosity. That  power,  observed  the  minister, 
had  been  considerably  diminished  during 
the  last  two  centuries,  and  ought,  therefore, 
to  be  much  less  an  object  of  jealousy  than 
formerly.  A  new  power  had  arisen  which 
should  take  its  place  in  this  respect;  that 
was  Russia;  and  against  this  latter,  Austria, 
so  far  from  being  a  danger,  was  a  useful 
barrier.  Austria,  a  vast  aggregation  of 
nations  foreign  to  each  other — as  Austrians, 
Slavonians,  Hungarians,  Bohemians,  Italians 
— might  easily  fall  to  pieces,  if  the  bond, 
already  feeble,  that  held  together  the  hetero- 
geneous elements  of  which  it  was  composed, 
were    to    be    further   weakened;    and    its 


VOL.   I. 


3b 


wrecks  would  have  more  tendency  to  attach 
themselves  to  Russia  than  to  France.  They 
ought,  therefore,  he  contended,  to  desist 
frorn  inflicting  blows  upon  Austria,  and  even 
to  indemnify  her  for  the  losses  she  was 
about  to  sustain.  The  indemnification  that 
Talleyrand  proposed  was,  to  confer  the  pro- 
vinces of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia  upon 
Austria ;  which,  he  said,  would  be  worth  more 
than  Italy  itself;  that  they  would  console 
Austria  for  her  losses — alienate  her  from 
Russia;  render  her,  in  regard  to  the  latter, 
the  bulwark  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  as  she 
was  already  that  of  Europe.  These  pro- 
vinces, he  added,  after  embroiling  her  with 
Russia,  would  embroil  her  with  England, 
and  thus  compel  her  to  become  the  ally  of 
France. 

When  Napoleon   returned  to   Paris,  he 
was  received  with  the  wildest  enthusiasm, 
which  was  much  enhanced  by  the  rapidity 
with  which  he  had  concluded  the  brilliant 
campaign  from  which  he  had  just  returned. 
The  municipality  voted  a  monument  to  the 
emperor   and    to   the   army.     The   cannon 
which  had  been  captured  from  the  enemy, 
to  the  number  of  500  pieces,  was  melted 
down    and    converted     into    a    triumphal 
column,  surround:'d  by  a  statue,  in  brouze, 
of  the  victor  who  had  triumphed  over  such 
powerful  combinations  against  France.     In 
an  exposition  which  Napoleon  caused  to  be 
drawn  up,  of  the  state  of  the  empire,  the 
advantages  which  France  had  derived  from 
the   successive   coalitions   which   had  been 
formed  agflinst  it,  were  thus  alluded  to : — 
"  The  first  coalition,  concluded  by  the  treaty 
of  Campo   Formio,  gave  the  republic  the 
frontier  of  the  line,  and  the  states  which 
now  form  the  kingdom  of  Italy ;  the  second 
invested  it  with  Piedmont ;  the  third  united 
to   its  federal  system  Venice  and   Naples. 
Let  England  be  now  convinced  of  its  im- 
potence, and   not  attempt    a  fourth  coali- 
tion, even  if  subsequent  events  should  ren- 
der such  a  measure  practicable.     The  house 
of  Naples  has  irrevocably  lost  its  dominions ; 
Russia  owes  the  escape  of  its  army  solely  to 
the     capitulation     which     our     generosity 
awarded ;  the  Italian  peninsula,  as  a  whole, 
forms  a  part  of  the  great  empire ;  the  em- 
peror has  guaranteed,  as  chief  supreme,  the 
sovereigns  and  constitutions  which  compose 
its  several  parts,'" 


3) 


393 


•A  I 


\; 


\\ 


PERFIDY  OF  PRUSSIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1806. 


^ 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

A  Rl'SSIAN  minister  signs  a  treaty  of  peace  with  FRANCE,  BUT  ALEXANDER  REFUSES  TO  RATIFY  IT ; 
PRUSSIA  DECLARES  WAR  AGAINST  FRANCE  ;  PROSTRATION  OF  PRUSSIA  BY  NAPOLEON  ;  THE  RUSSIAN  ARMY 
ADVANCES  TO  THE  VISTULA  ;  NAPOLEON  TALKS  OF  THE  RECONSTITUTION  OF  POLAND  ;  HE  ENTERS  WARSAW  ; 
THE  RUSSIANS  RETREAT  BEFORE  HIM;  BATTLES  OF  PULTUSK  AND  OF  EYLAU ;  NAPOLEON  RETIRES  TO  THE 
VISTULA,  AND  PROPOSES  PEACE  TO  PRUSSIA  ;  NAPOLEON  TAKES  DANTZIC  ;  BATTLE  OF  HEILSBURG  ;  MUR- 
DEROUS DEFEAT  OF  THE  RUSSIANS  AT  THE  GREAT  BATTLE  OF  FRIEDLAND;  ALEXANDER  DESIRES  PEACE; 
HIS  ADVANCES  ARE  READILY  MET  BY  NAPOLEON  ;  ARMISTICE,  AND  AMICABLE  INTERCOURSE  BETWEEN  THE 
FRENCH  AND  RUSSIAN  OFFICERS  ;  INTERVIEW  OF  THE  TWO  EMPEROES  ON  THE  NIEMEN  ;  TREATY  OF  TILSIT  ; 
BASE  CONDUCT  OF  ALEXANDER  TOWARDS  THE  KING  OF  PRUSSIA  ;  SECRET  ARTICLES  OF  THE  TREATY  BY 
WHICH  NAPOLEON  AND  ALEXANDER  AGREE  TO  DIVIDE  THE  DOMINION  OF  THE  WORLD  BETWEEN  THEM  : 
REMARKS  ON  THE  ALLIANCE  OF  THE  TWO  EMPERORS. 


Peace  between  Austria  and  France  was 
signed  at  Presburg,  in  Hungary,  on  the 
26th  of  December,  1805.  Austria  gave  up 
the  Venetian  provinces  and  Dalmatia  to  the 
kingdom  of  Italy;  Tyrol  to  the  elector  of 
Bavaria,  and  other  districts;  besides  a  tribute 
to  France  of  100,000,000  of  francs.  Thus 
a  war  which  was  to  have  checked  the  pre- 
ponderance of  Napoleon  in  Italy,  left  that 
country  entirely  at  his  disposal,  and  estab- 
lished his  influence  over  a  great  part  of 
Germany,  where,  having  raised  the  electors 
of  Bavaria  and  Wurtemberg  to  the  rank  of 
kings,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  all 
the  smaller  states,  which  he  formed  into  a 
league,  under  his  protection,  with  the  title 
of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine. 
The  old  German  empire  was  thus  dissolved ; 
and  Francis,  renouncing  his  title  of  empe- 
ror of  Germany,  assumed,  in  lieu  of  it,  that 
of  emperor  of  Austria. 

Alexander  was  no  party  to  the  peace  of 
Presburg;  and,  according  to  the  terms  of 
the  coalition,  he  had  no  right  to  enter  on  a 
peace  with  France  without  consulting  and 
obtaining  the  consent  of  England.  The 
latter  country  acted  strictly  up  to  these 
conditions;  and  Mr.  Fox,  then  prime  minis- 
ter, refused  to  entertain  overtures  of  peace 
from  France,  unless  they  were  acceded  to 
by  Russia.  "Do  you  wish  us  to  treat,'' 
said  he  to  Talleyrand,  "conjointly  with 
Russia?  We  answer — Yes.  Do  you  wish 
us  to  enter  into  a  separate  treaty  indepen- 
dent of  that  power  ? — No  !''  Scruples  of  this 
kind  were  not  entertained  by  Alexander, 
and  M.  D'Oubril,  the  Russian  plenipoten- 
tiary at  Paris,  signed  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
France,  on  behalf  of  Russia,  on  the  20th  of 
July,  1806.  This  treaty  Alexander  after- 
wards refused  to  ratify,  on  the  pretence  that 
his  minister  had  exceeded  the  instructions 
given  to  him.  D'Oubril  was  accordingly 
disgraced;  but  the  deception  practised  by 
394 


Alexander  was  too  transparent  to  escape 
ultimate  detection.  Some  months  had  been 
occupied  in  the  negotiations  between  the 
two  courts;  and  during  this  period,  arrange- 
ments were  being  made  for  a  fourth  coali- 
tion against  France.  The  negotiations 
which  led  to  the  signature  of  the  treaty,  had 
been  carried  on  for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
the  requisite  time  for  this  proceeding. 

The     Prussian     minister     congratulated 
Napoleon    on    his    victory    at    Austerlitz, 
though  he  had  recently  made  a  secret  treaty 
with  Alexander  to  take  up  arms,  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  against  the  French  empe- 
ror.    The  latter  was  aware  of  this  perfidy ; 
and   when  Count    Haugwitz,   the    Prussian 
envoy,  said  to  him,  after  the  battle,  "  Thank 
God,  you  have  conquered,''  observed  sarcas- 
tically, "  If  I  had  lost,  he  would  have  said 
the  same  to  the  emperors   of  Austria  and 
Russia."     Still  Napoleon  considered  it  ad- 
visable to  bribe  Prussia  into  a  continuance 
of  neutrality;    and    Frederic    William  re- 
ceived  the   electorate   of   Hanover   as   the 
reward  of  his  duplicity.     George  III.  was 
elector  of  Hanover;  and  at  the  period  of 
receiving  this  gift,  Prussia  enjoyed  the  full 
confidence  of  England,  whose  rights  in  that 
province  were  thus  ceded  away  by  an  enemy 
and  accepted  by  an  ally.     Prussia  adopted 
the  treaty  conferring  on  her  this  dangerous 
gift,  but  resolved  to  defer  the    completion 
of  it  until  a  general  peace  should  be  agreed 
to,  and  the  consent  of  the  king  of  England 
obtained.     This  insidious  condition  was  in- 
dignantly   rejected    by    Napoleon,    and    a 
second  convention  was  concluded  at  Paris, 
on  the  15th  of  February,  1806,  by  which 
Frederic  William  declared  that  he  received 
Hanover  as  a  lawful  conquest  of  Napoleon  ! 
England  retaliated   by   a   declaration  of 
war  against  Prussia;  and  in  a  few  months 
several    hundred     Prussian     vessels    were 
seized  by  the  English   cruisers.     Sweden, 


If  - 


A.D.  1806.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,   [prussia  declares  against  francb. 


the  ally  of  England,  also  threatened  to  in- 
vade Prussia.     In  the  meantime.  Napoleon, 
who  hated  Prussia  and  despised  her   trea- 
cherous monarch,  altered  his  tone  towards 
the  latter.     The  Moniteur  began  to  talk  of 
Prussia   as  a   secondary  power,   which   as- 
sumed a  tone  which  its  extent  and  position 
did  not   warrant.     This   was  one  cause  of 
offence    to    the    weak    Frederic    William. 
Another  was,  that  in  some  fruitless  negotia- 
tions for  peace  which  Napoleon  carried  on 
with   England,  he   had  offered   to   restore 
Hanover  to  that  power.     A  third  was,  that 
the  confederation   of  the    Rhine  extended 
round  a  great  part  of  the  Prussian  frontiers, 
and  created  a  feeling  of  jealousy  and  un- 
easiness on  the  part  of  the  Prussian  king. 
The  foundation  of  the  Rhenish  Confedera- 
tion, which,  as  Napoleon  openly  said,  would 
be    as   useful    to   him    against    Prussia   as 
against  Austria,  was  only  notified  by  him  to 
the  Prussian  cabinet  after  it  was  completely 
established ;  though  such  an  union  of  most 
of    the   members   of    the    German   empire 
would  not    have  been  proposed   to  any  of 
them  without  previously  consulting  Prussia, 
if  Frederic  William  had  been  regarded  by 
Napoleon  with  the  respect  due  to  the  head 
of  one  of  the  great  European   kingdoms. 
On  the  1st  of  October,  1806,  the  Prussian 
minister   at   Paris  presented  a  note  to  M. 
Talleyrand,  in  which,  after  remarking,  "  that 
the  king,  his  master,  saw  around  his  terri- 
tories none  but  French  soldiers  or  vassals  of 
France,  ready  to  march  at  her  beck,"  a  de- 
mand  was   made   that   the   French   troops 
should    evacuate    the     German     territory. 
Napoleon,  in   a  defiant  tone,   replied,  that 
"to  provoke  the  enmity  of  France  was  as 
senseless  a  course  as  to  pretend  to  withstand 
the  waves  of  the  ocean."     These  circum- 
stances had  induced  the  king  of  Prussia  to 
accede  to  the  proposal  of  the  emperor  Alex- 
ander, who  promised  to  assist  him  with  a 
powerful    army   if    he   would    declare   war 
against  France. 

England  suspended  her  hostile  intentions 
against  Prussia,  that  she  might  act  against 
France  without  embarrassment ;  and  Frede- 
ric WilJiam  presented  an  ultimatum  to 
Napoleon,    and,   on  its   rejection,  issued  a 

•  By  it  the  British  islands  were  to  be  considered 
as  in  a  state  of  blockade  by  all  the  continent.  All 
correspondence  or  trade  with  England  was  forbidden 
under  most  severe  penalties.  All  articles  of  English 
'  manufacture,  or  produce  of  the  British  colonies,  were 
considered  contraband.  Property  of  every  kind  be- 
longing to  British  subjects,  wherever  found,  was  de- 
clared lawful  prize.     All  letters  to  and  from  England 


manifesto,  which  was  equivalent  to  a  decla- 
ration of  war.  Thus  Prussia  was,  by  the 
inexorable  tide  of  events,  drawn,  in  spite  of 
the  evasions  of  its  king,  into  active  hostili- 
ties against  France,  and  an  alliance  with 
Russia  against  that  power. 

The    Prussian    army   was    composed    of 
troops  who,  down  to  the  very  drummers, 
thought   themselves    equal   to   the   soldiers 
with   whom    Frederic   the   Great   had,   for 
seven   years,   resisted  nearly  the  whole  of 
Europe.     It  was  also  increased  by  the  nu- 
merous and  well-disciplined  contingents  of 
the  elector  and  dukes  of  Saxony,  the  elector 
of   Hesse-Cassel,   the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
and    several   other   princes,    who   had  con- 
cluded an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance 
with   the   king   of  Prussia.     But   Frederic 
William  was  no  match  for  the  antagonist 
whose  wrath  he  had  provoked,  and  he  had 
taken    a    step    which    he    was    bitterly    to 
repent.     Napoleon  crossed  the  Rhine  with 
an  immense  array,  and  soon  attacked  the 
Prussians.    Marshal  Davoust  arrested  Frede- 
ric Wilham,  and  the  division  under  his  com- 
mand, at  the  village  of  Auerstadt,  in  Upper 
Saxony.      A  severe  and  sanguinary  battle 
followed  on  the  14th  of  October,  in  which 
the   Prussian   monarch    sustained    a   severe 
defeat,  and  was  compelled  to  retreat.     On 
the    same    day   the    other    division    of    the 
Prussian  army,  commanded  by  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  was  encountered  by  the  French 
under  Napoleon  on  the  fatal  field  of  Jena, 
where,  after  a  long  and  violently-contested 
struggle,  the  Prussians  were  driven  in  dis- 
order  from   the   field.     Their   loss,  in   the 
two  battles,   is  estimated  at  about  20,000 
men    in   killed,    wounded,    and    prisoners. 
The  results  were  most  disastrous.     Most  of 
the  Prussian  divisions  were  surrounded  and 
obliged  to  lay  down  their  arms.     Almost  all 
their  strong  fortresses — Magdeburg,  Span- 
dau,  Kustrin,  Stettin,  Hameln — surrendered 
without   firing   a   shot.     The   work   of  the 
Great    Frederic's   whole    life    crumbled    to 
pieces  in  a  few  weeks.     About  a  fortnight 
after   the    double   victory   of    the    French, 
Napoleon  entered  Berlin   in  triumph,  and 
from  that  capital  he  issued  his  well-known 
decree  against  British  commerce.*     Frede- 

were  to  be  detained  and  opened  at  the  post-office. 
This  decree  eventually  exercised  a  powerful  influence 
on  the  interests  of  Kussia  and  the  conduct  of  the 
emperor  Alexander.  It  was  even  one  of  the  remote 
causes  of  the  ruin  of  Napoleon  himself.  M.  Thiers 
( Consulate  and  the  Empire)  observes — "  The  effect  of 
this  decree  on  the  opinions  of  Europe  was  immense. 
Some  regarded  it  as  a  revolting  excess  of  despotism ; 

395 


c 


\'\ 


\ 


ALEXANDER  RENEWS  THE  WAR.]       HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1806. 


ric  Wiiiiam  had  fled  a  fugitive  to  Kouigs- 
berg,  and  Prussia  lay  prostrate  at  the  feet  of 
its  conqueror.  So  rapid  were  all  their  pro- 
ceedings, that  Napoleon,  in  an  address  to 
his  army,  observed — "Our  entrance  into 
Potsdam  and  Berlin  has  preceded  the  fame 
of  our  victories.''  He  added—"  We  have 
made  60,000  prisoners,  taken  65  standards 
(among  which  are  the  colours  of  the  king  of 
Prussia's  guards),  600  pieces  of  cannon,  and 
three  fortresses ;  among  the  prisoners  there 
are  twenty  generals.  But  notwithstanding 
all  this,  more  than  half  our  troops  regret 
not  having  fired  a  single  musket.'' 

This  terrible  calamity  fell  upon  Prussia 
before  the  emperor  Alexander  had  time  to 
reach  the  theatre  of  war.  He  had  been 
actively  employed  in  repairing  the  losses 
which  his  array  had  sustained  in  the  cam- 
paign of  Austerlitz.  Tliirty  fresh  squadrons 
and  fifty-one  battalions  had  been  added  to 
its  amount;  all  the  chasms  occasioned  by 
the  casualties  of  war  supplied,  and  the  new 
French  organisation  into  divisions  univer- 
sally adopted.  An  attempt  was  also  made, 
in  a  proclamation  which  excited  the  merited 
ridicule  and  condemnation  of  a  great  part  of 
Europe,  to  give  a  religious  character  to  the 
war,  and  to  excite  the  debased  superstitions 
of  the  Russian  soldiers  against  their  foe. 
"Buonaparte,"  said  this  arrogant,  and  in 
sonie  respects  blasphemous,  proclamation, 
which  was  nevertheless  read  in  all  the 
Russian  churches — "  after  having,  by  open 
force  or  secret  intrigue,  extended  his  power 
over  the  countries  which  he  oppresses,  me- 
naces Russia,  which  Heaven  protects.  It  is 
for  you  to  prevent  the  destroyer  of  peace,  of 
the  faith,  and  of  the  happiness  of  mankind, 
from  seducing  the  orthodox  Christians.  He 
has  trampled  under  foot  every  principle  of 
truth ;  in  Egypt  he  preached  the  Koran  of 
Mohammed  ;  in  France  manifested  his  con- 
tempt for  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  by 
convoking  Jewish  synagogues.  Do  you  love 
your  fellow-creatures?  Fly  the  persecutor 
of  Christians.  Do  you  desire  to  be  saved  ? 
Pppose  an  invincible  barrier  to  his  ad- 
vances. He  has  dared  to  the  combat  God 
and  Russia :  prove  that  you  are  the  defenders 
of  the  Most  Highy  and  of  your  country. 
Chase  far  from  your  frontiers  that  monster ; 

others  as  a  stroke  of  profound  policy ;  all  as  an  extra- 
ordinary act,  proportioned  to  the  conflict  of  giants 
maintained  hy  England  and  France  against  each 
other,  the  one  daring  to  seize  the  dominion  of  the 
•ea,  hitherto  the  common  route  of  nations,  and  to 
Interdict  all  commerce  to  her  enemies:  the  other 
396 


punish  his  barbarity  to  so  many  innocent 
persons,  whose  blood  cries  aloud  to  Heaven 
for  vengeance.  God  will  hear  the  prayer  of 
the  faithful ;  he  will  shield  you  with  his 
power ;  he  will  cover  you  with  his  grace. 
Your  exploits  will  be  celebrated  by  the  church 
and  by  your  country ;  immortal  crowns  or 
abodes  of  eternal  felicitv  await  vou." 

Alexander  and  his  troops  had  scarcely 
reached  the  frontiers  of  Germany,  when 
they  received  information  of  the  defeat  of 
the  Prussians  at  Auerstadt  and  at  Jena. 
Surprised  and  alarmed,  Alexander  imme- 
diately retreated  across  the  Vistula.  The 
Russian  troops  consisted  of  a  body  of  50,000 
men,  under  General  Benningsen';  a  second 
force,  of  the  same  power,  under  General 
Buxhovden;  and  a  reserve  was  organised 
under  the  Swedish  general  Essen;  while 
bodies  of  Cossacks  preceded  the  regular 
troops.  Part  of  General  Michelson's  troops 
were  ascending  the  Dniester,  and  hastening 
to  Poland.  Such  were  the  then  disposable 
forces  of  the  great  Russian  empire,  which 
showed,  for  the  second  time,  that  its  re- 
sources were  not  equal  to  its  pretensions. 
Joined  to  the  Prussians,  and  while  awaiting 
the  reserve  of  General  Essen,  the  Russians 
could  not  bring  to  the  Vistula  a  force 
reaching  120,000  men.  This  would  have 
been  very  insufficient  to  resist  the  progress 
of  Napoleon,  if  the  climate  had  not  been  a 
powerful  auxiliary  to  the  soldiers  of  the 
North.  By  the  climate  we  mean,  not 
merely  the  cold,  but  the  soil ;  the  difficulty 
of  marching  and  subsisting  in  the  immense 
plains  of  Poland,  alternately  muddy  and 
sandy,  and  where  the  woods  exceed  in  ex- 
tent the  part  under  cultivation. 

Both  Alexander  and  the  miserable  Frede- 
ric William  flattered  themselves,  that  if  a 
single  success  crowned  their  efforts,  Austria 
would  violate  the  neutrality  to  which  she 
had  so  recently  pledged  herself,  and  declare 
in  their  favour ;  but  Austria  was  yet  suffer- 
ing too  severely  from  the  chastisement  she 
had  received,  to  suffer  her  to  act  so  per- 
fidious a  part  for  the  present.  Napoleon 
seems  to  have  been  aware  of  this ;  for  he 
was  full  of  confidence.  "  Your  majesty,"  he 
wrote  to  the  king  of  Prussia,  "  has  sent  me 
word  that  you  have  thrown  yourself  into 

aiming  at  the  entire  occupation  of  the  continent  by 
force  of  arms,  to  reply  to  the  closing  of  the  sea  by 
the  closing  of  the  land.  Unheard-of  spectacle,  with- 
out example  in  the  past  and  probably  in  the  future, 
exhibited  at  this  moment  by  the  unchained  passion* 
of  the  two  greatest  nations  of  the  earth  !'* 


i 


■ 

i 

i! 


■HK     I.ONl)ON    PUINTINO  AND    Pnm.lSHlNG   COMl'ANY 


A.D 


1806.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[battle  of  rULTUSK. 


the  arms  of  Russia.  Time  will  show  whether 
you  have  chosen  the  better  and  more  effica- 
cious part.  You  have  taken  up  the  dice- 
box  to  play ;  the  dice  will  decide.^' 

Napoleon,  to  increase  the  perplexity  of 
the  northern  autocrat,  talked  of  the  recon- 
stitution  of  Poland  as  a  kingdom — a  measure 
he  never  intended  to  effect.     Yet,  willing  to 
augment  his   own  strength  and  to  weaken 
his  enemy  by  turning  to  account  the  well- 
known    disaffection    of  the    Poles    towards 
their  Russian  rulers,  he  introduced  the  fol- 
lowing questions  in   one  of  his   proclama- 
tions : — "  The  love  which   the  Poles  enter- 
tain for  their  country,  and  the  sentiment  of 
nationality,  is  not  only  preserved  entire  in 
the  heart  of  the  people,  but  it  has  become 
more  profound  from  misfortune.    Their  first 
passion — the  universal  wish — is   to  become 
again  a  nation.     The  rich  issue  from  their 
chateaus  to  demand,  w^ith  loud  cries,  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  nation,  and    to    offer 
their  children,  their  fortune,  their  influence, 
in  the  cause.     That  spectacle  is  truly  touch- 
ing.      Already    they    have    everywhere    re- 
sumed their  ancient  costumes,  their  ancient 
customs.     Shall  the  Polish  throne   be   re- 
established ?     Shall  the  'great  nation'  secure 
for  it  respect  and  independence?     Sliall  she 
recall  it  to  life  from  the  grave?     God  only, 
who  directs  all  human  affairs,  can  solve  this 
great  mystery.''     These  observations,  with- 
out binding  the  emperor  to  the  performance 
of  any  act  in  favour  of  the  Poles,  yet  won 
for  him  the  attachment  of  that  people,  and 
threatened  Alexander  with  an  insurrection 
in   the    Polish   dominions.      "  I    love    the 
Poles,''    said   Napoleon   to    General    Rapp, 
after  receiving  a  deputation  from  that  na- 
tion ;  "  their  ardour  pleases  me.     I   could 
wish  to  render  them  an  independent  people, 
but  it  is  no  easy  undertaking.     Too  many 
nations  are  interested  in  their  spoils — Aus- 
tria, Russia,  Prussia.     If  the  match  is  once 
lighted,  there  is  no  saying  where  it  would 
stop.     My   first   duty   is   towards    France ; 
and  it  is  no  part  of  it  to  sacrifice  its  in- 
terests to  Poland;  that  would  lead  us  too 
far.     We   must   leave   its   destinies  in  the 
hands  of  the  supreme  disposer  of  all  things 
— to  Time.     It  will  possibly  teach  us,  here- 
after, what  course  we  ought  to  pursue." 

Napoleon  was  so  successful  in  this  move- 
ment, that  the  Russian  government,  in  alarm, 
sent  General  Benningsen  to  Warsaw  to  quell 
the  rising  storm,  and  overawe  the  disaffec- 
tion evinced  by  the  people.  Napoleon  at 
once  saw  the  difficulties  in  which  he  would 


involve  the  Russian  general  by  attacking  him 
when  surrounded  by  an  infuriated  popula- 
tion, ready  on  the  first  favourable  opportu- 
nity to  join  the  invader.  The  emperor, 
therefore,  led  his  army  into  Poland,  where 
the  people  received  him  with  enthusiasm, 
while  great  numbers  organised  themselves 
into  a  military  force  with  amazing  rapidity, 
and  followed  his  standard. 

The  van  of  the  French  array,  under  Murat, 
moved  forward  to  attack  Benningsen  in  his 
quarters  at  Warsaw.     After  several  unsuc- 
cessful rencontres  on  the  part  of  the  latter,  he 
effected  his  retreat  from  Warsaw,  which  the 
French  commander  entered  triumphantly  on 
the  28th  of  November.     Benningsen   had 
taken  up  a  position  behind  the  Vistula,  but 
the  impetuous  Murat  soon  compelled  him 
to  make  another  retrograde  movement,  and 
to  shelter  himself  behind  the  stream  of  the 
Bug.     From  this  spot  he  felt  it  prudent  to 
shift    his    quarters    still    further    rearward, 
placing  between  himself  and  the  pursuing 
French  general  the  river  Ukra,  where  the 
Russian   generalissimo,    Field-marshal    Ka- 
minskoi,  with  three  other  divisions  of  the 
autocrat's  army,   had   arrived   and   pitched 
their  tents.     Napoleon  in  person   reached 
the  Ukra  on  the  23rd  of  December,   and 
made  the  passage  of  that  river.     Kaminskoi 
then  ordered  the  whole  of  his  army  to  fall 
back,  and  take  up  a  position  on  the  line  of 
the  river  Niemen,  in  Lithuania.     General 
Benningsen  suffered  severely,  being  closely 
followed  by  the  enemy,  who  harassed  him 
by  hanging  on  his  rear,  and  made  a  great 
number  of  prisoners,  besides  capturing  up- 
wards of  thirty   pieces   of  cannon,   in    the 
various  skirmishes  which  occurred,  on  pass- 
ing the  Vistula  and  elsewhere,  between  the 
pursuers  and  the  pursued.     Benningsen  at 
length  ventured  to  make  a  stand  at  Pultusk, 
notwithstanding   the   imperative   orders   of 
the  commander-in-chief,   Kaminskoi,  to  re- 
treat at  all  hazards.     At  this  place  a  long- 
contested  and  murderous  battle  took  place 
on  the  26th  of  December.     The  slaughter 
on  each  side  was  enormous,  and  both  French 
and   Russians  claimed  the  victory.     Some 
accounts  represent  the  latter  as  having  lost 
12,000  men  in  killed,   wounded,  and  pri- 
soners ;    while    they    deny   that   their   loss 
exceeded  5,000,   and  represent  that  of  the 
French  as  amounting  to  upwards  of  10,000. 
The  French,  on  their  side,  contended  that 
their  loss   did   not  exceed  7,000.     So  con- 
flicting are  the  accounts,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
say  to  which  side  the  advantage  attached ; 

397 


PROGRESS  OF  HOSTILITIES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  180A 


but  it  is  probable  that  both  parties  suffered 
very  severely,  and  that  neither  could  claim 
a  victory  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  that 
word.  The  French,  however,  remained 
masters  of  the  ground  on  which  they  had 
fought,  and  from  whence  they  retired  the 
next  day  into  winter  quarters  in  the  city  of 
Warsaw. 

Alexander  was  too  anxious  for  his  own 
safety  and  the  preservation  of  the  military 
glory  of  his  empire,  to  allow  his  troops  to 
remain  idle,  notwithstanding  the  inclemency 
of  the  season,  and  the  almost  impracticable 
state  of  the  roads.  He  superseded  Kamin- 
skoi  as  commander-in-chief,  that  general's 
mind  having  given  way  under  the  difficulties 
of  his  position,  and  appointed  Benningsen  in 
liis  place ;  and  the  French  were  continually 
harassed  by  the  Russians,  in  their  winter 
quarters.  The  emperor  also  endeavoured  to 
relieve  his  ally  the  king  of  Prussia,  who  was 
still  shut  up  in  Konigsberg,  together  with 
such  troops  as  he  had  been  able  to  collect 
around  him,  where  they  were  already  suffer- 
ing from  want  of  provisions.  To  accomplish 
the  latter  object  Alexander  proceeded  to 
Mohringen — a  Russian  town,  fifty-six  miles 
south-south-west  from  Konigsberg.  Here 
he  was  opposed  by  a  French  army  under 
Marshal  Bernadotte ;  for  the  activity  of  the 
Russians  had  compelled  Napoleon  in  some 
measure  to  alter  his  plan  with  respect  to 
remaining  in  winter  quarters.  A  sharp  en- 
gagement followed  on  the  25th  of  January, 
1807.  At  first  victory  seemed  to  incline  to 
the  Russians;  but  the  French  afterwards 
precipitated  themselves  with  such  fury  upon 
their  opponents,  that  the  Russian  forces  were 
completely  flanked  and  driven  from  the 
field.  Still  the  French  obtained  no  decisive 
advantage,  and  were  not  in  a  condition  to 
claim  a  victory. 

By  the  end  of  January,  surprised  at  the 
tenacity  with  which  the  Russians  kept  the 
field.  Napoleon  broke  up  his  quarters,  and, 
concentrating  his  forces,  resumed  the  offen- 
sive. He  designed  to  get  to  the  rear  of  the 
Russian  camp,  and  thus  to  cut  off  the 
enemy's  communication  with  his  resources. 
General  Benningsen  became  aware  of  this 
design  by  means  of  an  intercepted  despatch, 
and  countermarched  with  a  skill  which  en- 
tirely frustrated  the  tactics  of  his  opponent, 
who  was,  consequently,  under  the  necessity 
of  executing  a  long  series  of  manoeuvres, 
which,  at  that  dreary  season,  involved  the 
extremity  of  hardship. 

Even  the  Russian  troops,  accustomed  as 
398 


they  were  to  the  rigours  of  a  northern 
climate,  suffered  severely  from  the  length- 
ened marches  they  were  compelled  to  make 
at  that  inclement  period,  the  miseries  of 
which  were  enhanced  by  the  pangs  of 
hunger.  In  fact,  the  Russian  army  was  in 
want  of  almost  everything  except  weapons 
a,nd  ammunition.  The  Poles  were  all  hos- 
tile ;  the  Russian  treasury  was  exhausted ; 
and  the  commander-in-chief  unable  to  cope 
in  the  market,  which  was  monopolised 
by  Jews,  with  the  golden  pieces  of  the 
French.  The  half-starved  Russians  had  no 
resource  but  to  prowl  about  and  dig  in  the 
earth  for  the  corn  and  provisions  the  Polish 
peasantry  concealed.  This  labour,  added  to 
their  military  duties,  left  them  scarcely  any 
time  for  repose ;  and  when  these  unfortu- 
nate men  lay  down  to  sleep,  they  had  no 
bed  but  the  snow,  no  shelter  but  the  sky, 
no  covering  but  rags.  Under  such  painful 
circumstances,  they  felt  it  was  better  to 
fight  than  to  starve ;  better  to  die  quickly 
on  the  bayonets  and  beneath  the  grapeshot 
of  the  French,  than  to  perish  slowly  from 
starvation.  They  therefore  became  clamo- 
rous for  action,  and  loudly  demanded  to  be 
led  to  battle,  instead  of  traversing  to  and 
fro  on  the  almost  impassable  roads. 

Benningsen,  consequently,  resolved  to 
make  a  stand  at  the  town  of  Eylau,  about 
twenty-four  miles  south-east  of  Konigsberg, 
where  he  encamped  with  his  whole  army, 
consisting  of  about  90,000  men.  The  day 
before  the  battle  Napoleon  attacked  the 
town,  or  rather  village,  which  was  several 
times  taken  and  retaken  with  horrible 
carnage ;  but  towards  evening  it  remained 
in  the  hands  of  the  French.  The  French 
emperor,  who  commanded  in  person,  spent 
the  whole  night  in  making  the  requisite 
preparations  for  the  approaching  struggle. 
It  commenced  at  dawn  on  the  following 
day,  the  8th  of  February.  The  Russians 
were  the  assailants,  and  began  by  opening  a 
cannonade  upon  the  village.  Napoleon 
responded  by  ordering  a  cannonade  against 
an  eminence  in  possession  of  the  Russians, 
which  commanded  the  entrance  to  the  plain, 
and  was  essential  to  the  offensive  operations 
of  his  army.  As  the  opposing  forces  were 
within  half  gun-shot  of  each  other,  nearly 
every  shot  took  effect,  and  the  slaughter 
that  ensued  was  terrific.  During  these 
operations  a  sudden  and  dense  fall  of 
snow,  accompanied  by  a  mist  that  continued 
for  half-an-hour,  involved  both  armies  in 
comparative    darkness.      This    had    nearly 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[battle  of  eyi.au. 


proved  fatal  to  the  Freuch ;  for  some  of 
their  columns,  inclining  too  much  to  the 
left,  became  completely  separated  from  each 
other.  This  error  was  retrieved  bv  the 
masterly  manoeuvres  of  the  cavalry  under 
Murat,  and  the  impetuosity  with  which 
Davoust,  falling  upon  the  rear  of  the  Rus- 
sians, dislodged  them  from  the  eminence 
they  had  so  obstinately  retained.  During 
fourteen  hours  the  battle  raged  with  un- 
abated fury,  and  the  chances  of  victory 
continually  changed  sides.  The  French 
made  repeated  and  furious  attacks  on  the 
Russian  infantry,  which  stood  like  walls  of 
brass,  and  never  yielded  to  these  terrible 
onslaughts.  The  battle  lasted  until  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  when  the  Russians  retired 
to  the  position  they  occupied  in  the  morn- 
ing. Half-starved  and  half-naked  as  they 
were,  they  had  displayed  a  heroism  on  the 
field  which  .astonished  their  enemies.  Some 
Prussian  columns,  under  General  Lestocq, 
also  behaved  with  great  intrepidity.  Again 
both  Russians  and  French  claimed  the  vic- 
tory, which  it  is  difficult  to  assign  to  either. 
Napoleon  had  received  the  severest  check 
he  had  experienced  since  the  commence- 
ment of  his  military  career ;  and  if  it  is 
conceded  that  he  gained  a  victory,  it  was 
one  whose  results  were  equivalent,  in  all  but 
the  name,  to  a  defeat. 

During  this  battle  the  emperor  Napoleon 
himself  narrowly  escaped  death  or  captivity. 
On  one  occasion  the  French  were  swept 
before  a  charge  of  Russian  cavalry  and 
Cossacks.  The  fugitives  rushed  into  Eylau, 
where  Napoleon  had  stationed  himself  in 
the  churchyard,  on  its  eastern  side.  A 
snow-storm  had  veiled  the  advance  of  the 
Russians ;  and  clearing  away,  it  now  showed 
their  light  troops  almost  at  the  edge  of  the 
town.  The  serried  masses  of  the  old  guard 
stood  firm  in  and  around  the  cemetery; 
while  the  branches  of  the  trees  above  their 
heads  were  constantly  rent,  or  falling  from 
the  enemy's  cannon-balls.  Presently  a 
Russian  division,  following  the  fugitive 
French,  entered  Eylau  by  the  eastern  street, 
and  charged,  with  loud  hurrahs,  to  the  foot 
of  the  mount,  where  the  emperor  was  placed 
with  a  battery  of  the  imperial  guard  and 
his  personal  escort  of  a  hundred  men.  Na- 
poleon's presence  of  mind  did  not  forsake 
him,  and  he  ordered  his  little  body-guard  to 
form  line,  in  order  to  check  the  enemy's 
advance,  and  dispatched  orders  to  the  old 
guard  to  attack  the  column  on  one  flank, 
while  a  brigade  of  Murat's  horse  charged  it 


on  the  other.  The  Russians,  ignorant  of 
the  inestimable  prize  almost  within  their 
grasp,  were  arrested  by  the  firm  attitude  of 
the  little  band  of  heroes  who  formed  Na- 
poleon's last  resource;  and  before  they 
could  re-form  their  ranks  for  a  regular  con- 
flict, the  enemy  was  upon  them  on  either 
flank,  and  almost  the  whole  division  was 
cut  to  pieces  on  the  spot.  "  I  was  never  so 
much  struck  with  anything  in  my  life," 
said  General  Bertrand  on  a  subsequent  occa- 
sion, "  as  by  the  emperor  at  Eylau,  at  the 
moment  when,  alone  with  some  officers  of 
his  staffs,  he  was  almost  trodden  under  foot 
by  a  column  of  four  or  five  thousand  Rus- 
sians. The  emperor  was  on  foot,  and  Ber- 
thier  gave  orders  instantly  for  the  horses  to 
be  brought  forward ;  the  emperor  gave  him 
a  reproachful  look ;  and  instead,  ordered  a 
battalion  of  his  guard,  which  was  at  a  little 
distance,  to  advance.  He  himself  kept  his 
ground  as  the  Russians  approached,  repeat- 
ing frequently  the  words — '  What  boldness  ! 
what  boldness  !'  At  the  sight  of  the  grena- 
diers of  his  guard,  the  Russians  made  a 
dead  pause ;  the  emperor  did  not  stir,  but 
all  around  him  trembled." 

The  loss  on  both  sides  had  been  terrific, 
and  it  is  affirmed  that  about  50,000  killed 
and  wounded  were  left  upon  the  field;  of 
these,  at  least  half  were  French.  The  latter 
remained  for  eight  days  at  Eylau,  engaged 
in  the  burial  of  their  dead.  The  trophies  of 
victory  were  nearly  equally  balanced.  The 
Russians  had  to  boast  of  the  unusual  spec- 
tacle of  twelve  eagles  taken  from  their 
antagonists ;  while  the  French  had  cap- 
tured sixteen  of  the  Russian  guns  and  four- 
teen standards.  "  Never,"  observes  Alison, 
"  was  spectacle  so  dreadful  as  that  field  pre- 
sented on  the  following  morning.  Above 
50,000  men  lay,  in  the  space  of  two  leagues, 
weltering  in  blood.  The  wounds  were,  for 
the  most  part,  of  the  severest  kind,  from 
the  extraordinary  quantity  of  cannon-balls 
which  had  been  discharged  during  the  action, 
and  the  close  proximity  of  the  contending 
masses  to  the  deadly  batteries,  which  spread 
grape  at  half  musket-shot  through  their 
ranks.  Though  stretched  on  the  cold  snow, 
and  exposed  to  the  severity  of  an  Arctic 
winter,  the  sufferers  were  burning  with 
thirst,  and  piteous  cries  were  heard  on  all 
sides  for  water,  or  assistance  to  extricate^ 
the  wounded  men  from  beneath  the  heaps 
of  slain  or  load  of  horses,  by  which  they 
were  crushed.  Six  thousand  of  these  noble 
animals  encumbered  the  field,  or,  maddened 

399 


NAPOLEON  DESIRES  PEACE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


with  pain,  were  shrieking  aloud  amidst  the 
stifled  groans  of  the  wounded.  Broken 
gun-carriages,  dismounted  cannon,  frag- 
ments of  blown-up  caissons,  scattered  balls, 
lay  in  wild  confusion  amidst  casques,  cui- 
rasses, and  burning  hamlets,  casting  a  livid 
light  over  a  field  of  snow.  Subdued  by  loss 
of  blood,  tamed  by  cold,  exhausted  by 
hunger,  the  foemen  lay  side  by  side  amidst 
the  general  wreck.  The  Cossack  was  to  be 
seen  beside  the  Italian ;  the  gay  vine- 
dresser, from  the  banks  of  the  Garonne,  lay 
athwart  the  stern  peasant  from  the  plains  of 
the  Ukraine.  The  extremity  of  suffering 
had  extinguished  alike  the  fiercest  and  the 
most  generous  passions.  According  to  his 
usual  custom,  Napoleon,  in  the  afternoon, 
rode  over  this  dreadful  field,  accompanied 
by  his  generals  and  staff',  while  the  still 
burning  piles  of  Serpalten  and  Sausgarten 
sent  volumes  of  black  smoke  over  the  scene 
of  death.  But  the  men  exhibited  none  of 
their  wonted  enthusiasm  ;  no  cries  of  *  Vive 
r Empereur  /'  were  heard ;  the  bloody  sur- 
face echoed  only  with  the  cries  of  suffering 
or  the  groans  of  woe.  '  The  spectacle,'  said 
Napoleon  in  his  bulletin,  '  was  fitted  to 
inspire  princes  with  the  love  of  peace  and 
a  horror  of  war  !' '' 

The  confidence  of  Napoleon  was  shaken 
by  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Eylau,  and  he 
made  overtures  of  peace  to  General  Ben- 
ningsen,  who  sternly  replied,  "  that  his 
master  had  sent  him  to  fight,  and  not  to 
negotiate.'^  At  midnight  the  latter  held 
a  council  of  war  by  a  bivouac  fire,  at  which 
it  was  deemed  expedient  to  retreat  upon 
Konigsberg.  The  march  was  commenced 
almost  immediately,  though  some  of  the 
troops  did  not  move  until  the  next  morning, 
when  they  traversed  the  field  in  front  of 
the  French,  who  did  not  attempt  to  inter- 
cept them.  Napoleon  withdrew  again  to 
the  line  of  the  Vistula ;  and  a  iewv  days  after 
the  battle,  he  sent  General  Bertrand  with  a 
courteous  message  to  the  king  of  Prussia, 
who  was  then  at  Memel,  and  offered  to 
restore  to  that  monarch  a  very  large  portion 
of  his  dominions,  on  condition  that  he 
should  consent  to  a  separate  peace.  Frede- 
ric William  had  been  so  severely  punished 
for  duplicity,  that,  bitterly  remembering 
the  lesson,  he  acted  on  this  occasion  in  an 
honourable  manner,  and  replied  that,  cir- 
cumstanced as  he  was,  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  enter  into  any  treaty  in  which  the 
emperor  of  Russia  did  not  participate. 
Napoleon  wished  to  be  able  to  deal  with 
400 


Russia  singly,  who,  in  the  former  campaign, 
had  been  assisted  by  the  Austrians,  and  in 
this  by  the  troops  of  Prussia  and  the  promises 
of  England.  The  subsidies  of  this  country 
had  previously  been  advanced  with  a  nig- 
gardly hand,  and  were  in  this  emergency 
denied  altogether.  Alexander  applied  to 
his  ally,  the  British  government,  to  nego- 
tiate for  him  a  loan  of  ^6,000,000  sterling, 
and  make  an  immediate  advance  on  account. 
The  security  offered  is  said  not  to  have  been 
a  bad  one,  but  it  was  deemed  insufficient, 
and  the  English  ministry  declined  the  trans- 
action. This  gave  great  offence  to  Alex- 
ander, and  seriously  crippled  his  exertions 
against  France.  From  this  time  he  seems 
to  have  doubted  both  the  sincerity  and 
generosity  of  England,  and  to  have  begun 
to  consider  how  he  should  get  out  of  the 
coalition  with  the  least  possible  loss,  and 
derive  benefit  and  aggrandisement  from  a 
treaty  with  Napoleon.  Subsequently  the 
English  ministry  remitted  the  sura  of 
^6500,000  to  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg  j 
but  this  subsidy  was  far  from  being  suffi- 
cient for  the  exigencies  of  the  case,  espe- 
cially as  they  declined  the  assistance  of  a 
British  auxiliary  force. 

As  the  Prussian  king  declined  Napoleon's 
overtures  for  a  separate  peace,  the  latter 
resolved  to  punish  him  by  seizing  upon 
Dantzic,  and  on  the  few  fortresses  which 
vet  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Prussians. 
Dantzic,  though  defended  with  great  skill 
and  the  most  undaunted  courage,  was  forced 
to  yield  to  the  superior  tactics  of  the  be- 
siegers, and  surrendered  on  the  7th  of  May, 
1807.  The  attempts  of  the  Russians  to 
raise  the  siege  only  drew  further  suffering 
and  failures  upon  themselves;  detachments 
from  their  army  experiencing  severe  defeats 
at  Braunsburg  and  Peterswalde.  They 
were  also  beaten  back  at  other  points  and 
a  number  of  rafts,  which  had  occupied  them 
six  weeks  to  construct,  on  the  Bug,  were 
burnt  by  the  French  in  two  hours. 

When  Dantzic  had  fallen,  the  beleaguring 
troops,  amounting  to  25,000  men,  rejoined 
the  main  army  of  France ;  and  this,  to- 
gether with  new  levies,  enabled  Napoleon 
to  resume  offensive  operations  against 
General  Benningsen,  at  the  head  of  180,000 
men;  while  the  latter,  notwithstanding 
every  exertion  to  increase  his  force,  could 
scarcely  raise  his  army  to  its  original 
number  of  90,000.  This  is  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact,  that  it  has  always  been  ex- 
tremely difficult  in  Russia  to  raise  levies 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR. 


with  promptitude,  in  consequence  of  the 
vast  extent  of  territory  over  which  the 
troops  are  scattered,  the  want  of  means  of 
transport  on  so  large  a  scale,  and  the  dan- 
ger which  is  incurred  by  moving  masses  of 
soldiers  out  of  those  remote  territories, 
which,  acquired  by  fraud  or  violence,  can 
only  be  maintained  by  the  constant  pre- 
sence of  a  military  force.  In  addition  to 
these  general  causes,  recent  wars  had 
pressed  hard  upon  the  serviceable  classes  of 
the  population,  and  left  but  scanty  re- 
sources to  draw  upon.  As  for  the  allies  of 
Russia,  Prussia  alreadv  had  almost  ex- 
hausted  her  strength  in  her  own  defence; 
Sweden  was  unable  to  render  substantial 
assistance  ;  and  applications  for  troops  were 
made  to  England  with  even  less  success 
than  had  attended  that  for  monetary  assist- 
ance. The  fact  was,  that  England,  threat- 
ened with  an  invasion  of  its  own  shores  by 
Napoleon,  had  enough  to  do  at  home,  and 
felt  that  she  had  contributed  sufficiently  to 
the  assistance  of  the  continental  powers, 
^loreover,  she  did  not  care  to  assist  Alex- 
ander to  rescue  the  king  of  Prussia  from  a 
fate  which  she  felt  he  deserved.  She  had 
set  aside  her  own  cause  of  quarrel ;  yet, 
though  she  did  not  strike,  she  would 
not  benefit  the  treacherous  power  which, 
while  in  alliance  with  her,  had  accepted 
Hanover  from  the  hands  of  the  French 
emperor. 

Notwithstanding  the  enormous  prepara- 
tions of  Napoleon  for  war,  he  was  desirous 
of  peace.  The  levies  which  he  had  made  in 
France  had  almost  exhausted  that  country, 
and  general  murmurs  prevailed  amongst 
the  people  :  it  was,  indeed,  physically  im- 
possible that  France  could  for  many  years 
stand  such  terrible  drains  upon  the  flower 
of  her  population.  Many  expedients  were 
resorted  to  for  stimulating  the  martial  en- 
thusiasm of  the  people,  and  numerous  mili- 
tary fetes  were  given  to  dazzle  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  multitude.  Yet  the  popular 
ardour  languished ;  painful  blanks  had 
been  occasioned  in  thousands  of  families ; 
the  flower  of  the  population  of  France  was 
perishing  in  its  continuous  battles;  and  a 
sense  of  desolation  fell  upon  the  minds  of 
the  people.  Napoleon  knew  these  things ; 
and,  conscious  of  the  military  difficulties  he 
had  to  encounter,  especially  with  so  power- 
ful and  obstinate  a  foe  as  Russia,  he  was, 
doubtless,  sincerely  desirous  of  terminating 
hostilities.  To  this  Alexander,  disgusted 
with    the    indifference    of    England,    and 

TOL.  I.  3  P 


alarmed  at  the  power  of  the  adversary  with 
whom  he  found  himself  engaged,  was  by 
no  means  averse.  After  the  fall  of  Dantzic, 
Napoleon  made  that  city  his  head-quarters, 
and  negotiations  were  secretly  carried  on 
between  him  and  the  Russian  emperor. 
The  nature  of  them  did  not  transpire ;  but 
it  appears  the  emperors  were  unable  to 
come  to  terms,  and  that  the  negotiations 
were  broken  off. 

The  French  soldiers  constructed  comfort- 
able huts,  in  which  they  spent  the  winter ; 
and  all  the  admirable  arrangements  of  the 
camp  of  Boulogne,  were  again  put  in  force 
amidst  the  severity  of  a  Polish  winter.  The 
huts  were  arranged  in  streets,  which  re- 
sembled, in  regularity  and  cleanliness,  those 
of  a  city.  The  minds  of  the  soldiers  were 
diverted  by  constant  exercises,  warlike 
games,  and  reviews ;  while  the  agricul- 
tural riches  of  Old  Prussia  kept  them 
amply  supplied  with  provisions.  The  Rus- 
sian army  was  not  so  fortunately  situated, 
and  was  far  from  being  fed  and  sheltered  so 
well  as  the  French.  It  was  situated  around 
Heilsburg,  where  a  formidable  intrenched 
camp  had  been  constructed.  The  only  con- 
test of  any  moment  which  took  place  while 
the  army  occupied  this  position,  was  on  the 
3rd  of  March,  at  Guttstadt,  which  was 
attacked  and  carried  by  Marshal  Ney,  to- 
gether with  the  magazines  which  it  con- 
tained. The  French,  however,  having  im- 
prudently advanced  into  the  plain  beyond 
that  town,  several  regiments  were  sur- 
rounded by  the  Cossacks,  pierced  through, 
and  broken ;  so  that  both  parties  were  glad 
to  resume  their  quarters  without  having 
much  reason  to  boast  of  any  considerable 
advantage.  General  Benningsen,  notwith- 
standing the  disparity  of  his  forces,  which 
had  been  reinforced  to  the  number  of 
120,000,  was  the  first  to  recommence  hos- 
tilities. The  emperor  Alexander  had  ar- 
rived at  the  head-quarters  of  his  army  on  the 
28th  of  March,  and  had  resided  since  that 
time  at  Bartenstein,  a  little  in  the  rear  of 
the  cantonments  of  the  soldiers.  On  the 
5th  of  June,  the  Russians  commenced  an 
attack  on  a  strong  French  division  under 
the  command  of  Marshal  Ney.  The  French 
hnes  were  attacked  at  three  different  points; 
and  although  the  Russians  suffered  severely, 
yet  the  French  were  compelled  to  fall  back 
upon  Ackendorf.  The  following  day  the 
Russians  renewed  the  attack,  with  a  serious 
loss  to  themselves,  and  but  a  slight  one  to 
the  foe.    Still  Napoleon  deemed  it  expe- 


V     N 


s| 


NAPOLEON  ADVANCES  TO  FRIEDLAND.]    lilSTOKY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


A.r.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[battle  of  FRIEDIAin).  ' 


dient  to  leave  Lis  camp  at  Finkinstein,  join 
Marshal  Ney  at  the  village  of  Deppen,  to 
which  he  had  retreated,  and  take  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  in  person.  A  sharp 
engagement  then  took  place  on  the  8th  of 
June,  in  which  both  sides  suffered  severely. 
The  French  now  assumed  the  offensive, 
seized  several  of  the  enemy's  camps,  and 
attacked,  on  the  10th,  a  division  of  the 
Russian  forces,  consisting  of  about  17,000 
cavalry  and  several  lines  of  infantry,  who, 
however,  repeatedly  repulsed  them.  Yet 
Benningsen  was  compelled  eventually  to 
give  way  ;  but,  rallying  his  troops,  he  halted 
at  Heilsburg,  a  Prussian  town  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Ermeland,  seated  on  the  current  of 
the  Alle.  Here  the  Russians  occupied  a 
very  strong  position,  and  the  main  army 
lay  surrounded  by  fortifications.  Another 
sanguinary  engagement  ensued,  and  the  Rus- 
sians maintained  their  ground  for  a  whole 
day,  in  the  face  of  an  enemy  far  superior  to 
themselves,  both  with  respect  to  numbers 
and  discipline.  The  carnage  was  dreadful ; 
the  French  suffered  severelv:  but  the  Rus- 
sian  army  was  ultimately  driven  from  its 
position,  and  compelled  to  continue  its  re- 
treat, which  it  did  in  so  precipitate  a  man- 
ner, as  to  excite  some  suspicions  that  the 
emperor  Alexander  was  no  longer  in  ear- 
nest in  the  contest,  and  had  allowed  his 
troops  to  be  beaten  in  consequence  of  some 
secret  understanding  to  that  effect  between 
liimself  and  the  emperor  Napoleon. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  the 
French  entered  Heilsburg  in  triumph,  and 
took  possession  of  the  provisions,  maga- 
zines, and  munitions  which  the  Russians 
had  abandoned.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day.  Napoleon  fixed  his  head-quarters 
at  Eylau,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  so 
terrible  a  battle  in  the  preceding  February. 
A  great  change  had  taken  place  in  this 
region  since  the  French  had  last  encamped 
on  its  broad  fields.  Instead  of  a  dreary 
waste  of  ice  and  snow,  over  which  the  fires 
of  their  melancholy  bivouac  gleamed  with  a 
lurid  light  that  gave  increased  horrors  to 
the  scene,  the  reviving  summer  had  spread 
an  exquisite  picture  of  fertility  But  the 
clustering  woods,  the  tranquil  pastures,  and 
orderly  villages  that  animated  the  scene, 
were  destined  to  be  despoiled  by  the  crush- 
ing footsteps  of  legions,  who,  spreading 
ruin  on  their  track,  looked  upon  such  sights 
with  admiration  only  as  they  presented  the 
means  for  sustentation  and  a  favourable 
ground  for  military  operations. 
402 


The  Russians  retreated  across  the  Alle 
and  thus  placed  that  stream  between  them- 
selves and  their  pursuers.  They  then  took 
up  their  position  opposite  the  town  of 
Friedland.  In  the  meantime  Napoleor 
dispatched  a  division  of  the  army,  under 
Marshal  Soult,  to  manoeurre  before  Kiinigs. 
berg,  where  the  Russian  magazines  were 
placed,  while  he  himself  marched  with  the 
grand  army  upon  Friedland  to  attack  the 
Russians.  General  Benningsen  and  his 
army  occupied  a  highly  advantageous  posi- 
tion; a  fact  which  was  instantly  perceived 
by  Napoleon.  He  therefore  left  no  strata- 
gem unattempted  to  induce  his  opponent  to 
recross  the  river  to  its  western  bank,  where 
he  possessed  decided  advantages  for  the 
disposition  of  his  troops,  and  where  the 
Russians,  in  the  event  of  defeat,  would  be 
under  the  necessity  of  defiling  through  the 
town  and  over  the  narrow  bridge,  which 
would  render  retreat  almost  impracticable. 
To  deceive  the  enemy,  he  allowed  only 
a  small  part  of  his  force  to  be  seen;  and 
General  Benningsen  supposed  that  the 
French  troops  he  beheld  consisted  chiefly  of 
a  division  which  had  suffered  severely  at 
Heilsberg.  Under  these  circumstances,  he 
entertained  a  hope  that,  by  a  sudden  attack, 
it  might  be  destroyed  before  the  main  body 
of  Napoleon's  forces  could  advance  to  its 
relief.  He  therefore  ordered  one  corps  to 
cross  the  bridge;  and  finding  no  serious 
opposition,  he  gradually  transported  the 
whole  of  his  army  over  the  river,  by  means 
of  the  bridge  and  three  pontoons.  The 
Russian  general  was  completely  outwitted ; 
and  no  sooner  had  he  accomplished  this 
movement,  than  he  discovered  his  mistake. 
Heavy  columns  of  French  began  to  emerge 
from  a  thick  wood  in  which  they  had  been 
concealed ;  their  cannon  was  rapidly  ad- 
vanced into  position,  and  Benningsen  found 
himself  unexpectedly  in  the  presence  of  the 
great  bulk  of  the  grand  army.  Retreat  was 
impossible;  and  no  alternative  remained  but 
to  encounter  the  enemv  at  a  manifest  disad- 
vantage.  The  broken  and  wooded  country 
which  the  French  occupied,  greatly  faciU- 
tated  their  operations ;  while  the  Russians 
were  so  limited  in  space,  and  so  exposed  by 
their  situation,  that  they  had  nothing  to 
rely  upon  but  their  indomitable  courage. 

The  advanced  body  of  the  French,  who 
were  under  the  command  of  Marshal 
Lannes,  received  the  approaching  Russians 
with  a  sharp  fire  of  musketry,  mingled  witk 
discharges  of  cannon,  and  retired  skirmiih- 


ing.  It  was  the  14th  of  June.  "  The  an- 
niversary of  Marengo,"  observed  Napoleon; 
"  it  is  a  lucky  day  for  us."  As  it  would  yet 
take  some  time  to  collect  all  the  French 
troops,  some  of  his  lieutenants  were  of 
opinion  that  they  ought  to  defer  fighting  a 
decisive  battle  until  the  morrow.  "No, 
no,"  replied  the  emperor,  "one  does  not 
catch  an  enemy  twice  in  such  a  scrape." 

The  Russian  army  had  a  superior  enemy 
in  front,  and  a  deep  river,  traversed  only  by 
four  bridges,   in   its   rear.     The   object   of 
Napoleon  was  to  drive  the   Russians  into 
the  Alle;    he  therefore  directed  his  atten- 
tion towards  occupying  the  town  of  Fried- 
laud,  and  seizing  the  bridges  by  which  the 
Russians  could  effect  a  retreat.     For   this 
dangerous  task  he  selected  the  corps  of  Mar- 
shal Ney.     The  emperor,  grasping  his  arm, 
and  pointing  to  Friedland,  the  bridges,  and 
the    Russians   crowded   together    in   front, 
observed— "  Yonder  is  the  goal;  march  to 
it  without  looking  about  you;   break  into 
that   thick   mass,    whatever   it   costs   you; 
enter  Friedland,  take  the  bridges,  and  give 
yourself  no  concern  about  what  may  happen 
on  your  right,  on  your  left,  or  in  your  rear. 
The  army  and  I  shall  be  there  to  attend  to 
that."     Proud  of  his  commission,  Ney  de- 
parted with  so  much  ardour  to  execute  it, 
that  Napoleon,  struck  with  his  martial  atti- 
tude, exclaimed,  "  That  man  is  a  lion  !" 

The  general  engagement  between  the 
two  armies  did  not  commence  until  five  in 
the  afternoon,  and  Benningsen  entertained 
the  hope  that  the  approach  of  night  would 
give  him  the  means  of  retrieving  his  error 
by  enabling  him  to  regain  the  right  bank 
of  the  river.  In  this  he  was  mistaken ;  for 
at  that  hour  the  signal  for  Ney's  attack  was 
given  by  the  discharge  of  twenty  pieces  of 
cannon  from  the  French  centre.  Ney  and 
his  corps  then  marched  resolutely  direct 
upon  Friedland.  On  they  came  (said  an 
elegant  writer)  with  the  fury  of  a  tempest, 
driving  before  them,  like  foam  before  the 
waves,  the  Russian  chasseurs  of  the  guard, 
and  several  regiments  of  cavalry  and  Cos- 
sacks who  were  placed  in  advance,  and  had 
endeavoured  to  check  their  progress.  Some 
Russian  regiments  broke  and  fled  towards 
the  river,  into  which  great  numbers  of  the 
men  were  precipitated  and  drowned.  But 
the  advancing  French  were  terribly  exposed 
to  the  enemy's  artillery,  which  played  upon 
them  with  fearful  efl*ect.  They  had  to  sus- 
tain not  only  the  fire  of  the  batteries  before 
them,  but  also  the  fire  of  those  on  the  right 


bank  of  the  Alle,  which  it  was  impossible  to 
take,  as  they  were  separated  from  them  by 
the  deep  bed  of  the  river.     Wliole  files  o'f 
the  French  were  swept  away;  and  the  fire 
became  so  severe,  that  the' very  bravest  of 
the  troops  could  no  longer  endure  it.     At 
this  point  the  cavalry  of  the  Russian  im- 
perial  guard   charged   Ney's  column  with 
such   impetuosity,    that    several    battalions 
were  thrown  into  disorder,   and  driven  to 
the  rear,  where  they  stood  in  groups  around 
their  officers.     Victory  appeared  to  favour 
the  Russians,  who,  in  their  turn,  became 
the    assailants.      But   the    Russian    guards 
were   not   supported,   and  they  were  soon 
encountered  by  General  Dupout,  who  had 
liastened  to  the  relief  of  Ney.     The  Russian 
cavalry   had   scattered   in    pursuit    of    the 
French  infantry,  and  in  this  state  it  was 
fiercely  charged  in  flank  bv  Dupont,  and 
driven  back  to  the  edge  of  the  town.     The 
presence  of  this  reinforcement  restored  the 
confidence  of   Ney's   soldiers.     The   latter 
formed  anew,  and  resumed  their  march  for- 
ward.    It  was  necessary  to  counteract  the 
formidable  artillery  of  the  Russians;    and 
Napoleon,  therefore,  ordered  General  Victor 
to  collect  all  the  guns  of  his  division,  and 
to  range  them  in  mass  in  front  of  Ney's 
troops.     This  order   was   executed  by  the 
skilful   and    intrepid    General    Senarmont, 
who  commanded  that  artillery.     Taking  it 
some  hundred  paces  ahead  of  the  infantry, 
he  daringly  placed  himself  in  front  of  the 
Russians,   and  opened   upon   them   a   fire, 
which,  from  the  number  of  pieces  employed 
and  the  accuracy  of  aim  with  which  they 
were  directed,  produced  terrible  effects  on 
the  enemy.     Directing  one  of  his  batteries 
against  the  right  bank,  he   soon    silenced 
those  erected  by  the  Russians  on  that  side 
of  the  river.     Then,   pushing  forward  his 
line  of  artillery,  he  gradually   approached 
to  within  grapeshot  range,  and  firing  upon 
the  deep  masses  crowded  together  as  they 
fell  back  into  the  elbow  of  the  Alle,    he 
made   terrible    havoc    among   them.      The 
French   infantry   continued    their   advance 
under  cover  of  the  artillery,  and  the  Rus- 
sians made  a  despairing  effort  to  extricate 
themselves    from    the    crowded   mass   into 
which  they  were  being  driven.     Their  im- 
perial guard  marched,  with  bayonets  fixed, 
upon    Dupont's    division,    who,    in    turn, 
charged  them  with  the  bayonet,  and  hurled 
them  back  in  confusion.     The  French  then 
assaulted  the  town  of  Friedland,  pursued 
the  Russians  through  the  streets,  and  drove 

403 


m 


\ 


BATTLE  OF  FRIEDLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


them  upon  the  bridges  of  the  Alle,  which 
Seuarmout's  artillery,  from  without,  enfi- 
laded with  its  shot.  The  fugitive  Russians, 
in  their  confusion,  themselves  actually  set 
fire  to  the  bridges,  and  thus  cut  off  their 
own  means  of  retreat.  Some  of  the  princi- 
pal buildings  of  the  town  also  took  fire,  and 
Ney  and  Dupont  met  in  the  burning  streets, 
and  congratulated  one  another  on  the  suc- 
cess of  the  task  which  had  been  assigned  to 
them.* 

The  centre  and  right  wing  of  the  Russian 
army  still  kept  its  ground,  though  subjected 
to  an  incessant  cannonade  which  told  with 
terrible  effect  upon  them,  on  account  of  the 
dense  masses  into  which  the  limited  extent 
of  the  ground  compelled  them  to  form. 
They  had,  however,  fought  with  some  pros- 
pect of  success,  or  at  least  with  undaunted 
spirit,  until  the  flames  arising  from  Friedland 
and  the  bridges,  and  the  vast  clouds  of 
smoke  which  darkened  the  atmosphere,  re- 
vealed the  sad  truth  that  their  retreat  was 
cut  off*,  and  filled  all  hearts  with  despair. 
At  this  point.  Napoleon,  anxious  to  take 
advantage  of  the  brief  remainder  of  the  day, 
carried  forward  his  whole  line.  Though 
thus  pressed.  General  Gortschakoff  dis- 
patched a  column  of  infantry  to  the  gates  of 
the  town,  in  the  hope  of  retaking  it.  These 
at  first  drove  back  the  soldiers  of  Ney  and 
Dupont,  but  were  then  themselves  repulsed. 
A  new  combat  raged  within  the  unfortunate 
town,  and  the  possession  of  it  was  disputed 
by  the  light  of  the  flames  by  which  it  was 
being  consumed.  The  French  finally  re- 
mained masters,  and  the  Russians  were 
driven  back  into  the  confined  plain  from 
which  there  was  no  escape  but  through  the 
waters  of  the  Alle. 

The  main  body  of  the  Russians,  subjected 
to  the  onslaught  of  the  masses  which  Napo- 
leon directed  against  it,  still  fought  with  a 
wild  and  despairing  bravery.  It  is  difficult 
to  do  justice  to  the  obstinate  and  unyielding 
courage  which  influenced  these  inflexible 
soldiers.  Though  raked  by  the  French  ar- 
tillery, which  played  upon  them  from  half 
cannon-shot  distance,  and  subjected  to  a 
rolling  and  destructive  fire  from  the  French 
infantry,  they  were  driven  back  slowly  and 
without  disorder.     Then,  sooner  than  sur- 

•  "  Napoleon,  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  divisions 
which  he  kept  in  reserve,  had  never  ceased  to  watch 
this  grand  sight.  While  he  was  contemplating  it 
attentively,  a  ball  passed  at  the  height  of  the  bayonets, 
and  a  soldier,  from  an  instinctive  movement,  stooped 
hiB  head.  '  If  that  ball  were  destined  for  you,'  said 
Napoleon,  smiling,  'though  you  were  to  burrow  a 
404 


[RUSSIA  DESIRES  PEACK. 


render,  they  crossed  the  river  by  fords 
which,  earlier  in  the  day,  had  been  pointed 
out  to  them  by  some  peasants^  Across  these 
did  Benningsen  convey  the  greater  part  of 
his  artillery;  and  by  them  immense  numbers 
of  the  Russians  effected  their  escape ;  though 
great  numbers  of  these  unhappy  men  were 
washed  away  and  drowned — a  fate  which 
their  savage  and  determined  energy  led 
them  to  submit  to  rather  than  be  made 
prisoners. 

The  battle  was  not  concluded  until  past 
ten  at  night ;  but  on  this  occasion,  though 
the  Russians  had  sustained  their  defeat  with 
honour,  yet  the  French  had  an  unequivocal' 
victory.     The  loss  of  the  Russians  has  been 
variously  estimated  at  between  17,000  and 
25,000   in   killed,   drowned,  wounded,  and 
prisoners.     Most  of  the  latter  were  wounded ; 
not  more  than  500  of  them  being  unhurt. 
The  French  say  that  they  captured  eighty 
pieces  of  cannon ;  but  other  authorities  deny 
that  more  than  a  fourth  part  of  that  number 
fell  into  their  hands.     The  French  had  lost 
about  10,000  men  in  killed  and  wounded, 
and    two    eagles   were    taken    from  them. 
Napoleon  slept  on  the  field  of  battle,  sur- 
rounded by  his  soldiers,  who,  though  they 
had   nothing   to    eat   but   the    bread   they 
brought  in  their  knapsacks,  shouted  enthu- 
siastically *' rive  VEmpereur!"     Not  more 
than  half  of  Napoleon's  cavalry  was  upon 
the  field  ;  and  this  circumstance  favoured  the 
escape  of  the  Russian  army.     The  night  was 
clear ;  and,  descending  the  banks  of  the  Alle, 
the  great  body  of  the  Russians  crossed  that 
river  at  the  bridge  of  Allenburg.     So  rapid 
was  their  march  that,  on  the  following  day, 
they  were  at  Wehlau,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Pregel.     Though  they  had  nobly  sus- 
tained their  courage  in  the  hour  of  battle, 
yet  such  was  the  confusion  into  which  they 
had  fallen,  and  the  apprehensions  they  en- 
tertained lest  their  rear-guard   should  be 
attacked,  that  a  general  panic  took  place  in 
consequence  of  the  accidental  discharge  of  a 
few  muskets ;  and  horse,  foot,  and  artillery 
rushed  towards  the  bridge,  tramphng  each 
other   under  foot,  and,  breaking  into   the 
town,  spread  there  the  wildest  disorder,     It 
is   generally  admitted,  that   had  Napoleon 
followed  up  his  success  with  his  usual  energy, 

hundred  feet  under  ground,  it  would  be  sure  to 
find  you  there.'  Thus  he  wished  to  give  currency 
to  that  useful  belief,  that  Fate  strikes  the  brave 
and  the  coward  without  distinction,  and  that  the 
coward  who  seeks  a  hiding-place  disgraces  him- 
self to  no  purpose." — Thiers:  Cotisulate  uTid  ths 
Empire. 


the  Russian  host  must  have  been  anni- 
hilated. When,  on  the  following  day,  the 
French  started  in  pursuit  of  their  enemy, 
and  arrived  at  the  Pregel,  they  found  that 
all  the  bridges  had  been  broken  down  by 
the  retreating  Russians. 

We  mentioned  that,  before  the  battle. 
Napoleon  had  dispatched  Marshal  Soult 
with  a  body  of  French  troops  to  the  city  of 
Konigsberg.  It  was  vigorously  defended 
by  the  Prussian  and  Russian  troops  within, 
until  they  learned  the  result  of  the  battle 
of  Friedland.  It  was  then  no  longer  tenable ; 
therefore.  Generals  Lestocq  and  Kamenskoi 
abandoned  it,  leaving  the  immense  stores,  as 
well  as  the  sick  and  the  wounded,  to  the 
French,  to  whom  the  place  was  immediately 
afterwards  surrendered.  Amongst  the  stores 
were  found  quantities  of  corn  and  wine ;  and 
(so  say  the  French)  100,000  muskets,  sent  by 
England,  and  still  on  board  the  vessels  which 
had  brought  them.  Sir  Robert  Wilson,  who 
was  with  the  Russian  army,  denies  this  state- 
ment, and  affirms  it  to  be  "  a  falsehood  of 
the  most  extravagant  character."  England, 
he  says,  had  sent  arms  and  ammunition,  but 
they  did  not  arrive  until  they  were  too  late 
to  be  of  any  service. 

Lestocq  and  Kamenskoi,  with  the  allied 
forces  which  they  led  from  Konigsberg,  suc- 
ceeded in  joining  the  main  Russian  army  on 
the  18th  of  June,  which  crossed  the  river 
Niemen  by  the  town  of  Tilsit,  and,  after 
burning  the  bridge,  encamped  beyond  it. 

The  emperor  Alexander  was  dispirited,  and 
felt  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  continue 
the  war  without  hazarding  the  entire  ruin 
of  his  empire.  Disgust  at  the  conduct  of 
England  had  a  considerable  share  in  making 
him  resolve  upon  seeking  a  peace  with 
France.  His  army  also  cried  out  loudly  for 
peace ;  as,  though  not  dissatisfied  with  its 
own  conduct,  it  regarded  itself  as  incapable 
of  coping  successfully  with  the  superior 
forces  of  Napoleon.  Russian  officers  asked, 
for  whom  the  war  was  carried  on  ?  Was  it 
for  the  Prussians,  who  could  not  defend  their 
own  country  ?  or  for  the  English,  who,  after 
so  frequently  announcing  succours,  sent 
none,  and  thought  only  of  conquering  colo- 
nies ?  They  added,  that  it  was  through  the 
paltry  ambition  of  England  that  brave  men 
were  set  together  by  the  ears:  they  had 
no  reason  for  hate,  or  even  jealousy,  as 
France  and  Russia  had  no  cause  to 
envy  each  other.  The  humiliated  king  of 
Prussia  suggested  to  his  imperial  ally  the 
necessity    of    making   proposals    of   peace 


to  Napoleon,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  his 
friend,  who  alone  had  insisted  on  the  pro- 
longation of  the  war,  would  defend  him  in  the 
negotiations  better  than  in  the  field  of  battle. 
On  the  18th,  General  Benningsen,  at  the 
command    of    Alexander,    transmitted    to 
Napoleon  a  letter,  deploring   the    miseries 
occasioned    by   the   war,    and    desiring  an 
armistice  as  a  means  of  putting  an  end  to 
them.     This  letter  Napoleon  received  very 
favourably,  for   he  was  fully  aware  of  the 
difficulties  of  his  position  at  such  a  distance 
from  his  capital,  from  which  he  had  been 
absent  nearly  a  year.     Moreover,  he  could 
not   depend   on    the   uneasy  neutrality   of 
Austria,   or   the   continued  "indiff'erence  of 
England.     Napoleon  also  fancied  he  could 
detect,  on  the  part  of  Alexander,  a  disposi- 
tion which  might  induce  Russia  to  become 
his   ally   against    England.     He   therefore 
returned  an  amicable  answer,  saying,  that 
after  so  many  efforts,  fatigues,  and  victories, 
he  desired  nothing  but  a  safe  and  honour- 
able peace,  and  that  he  was  ready  to  consent 
to  an  armistice  as  a  means  of  bringing  it 
about.     At  the  same  period,  on  the  22nd  of 
June,  he  issued  to  his  victorious  soldiers  the 
following  proclamation :— Soldiers  !   on  the 
5th  of  June  we  were  attacked  in  our  canton- 
ments by  the  Russian  army.     The  enemy 
had  mistaken  the   cause  of  our  inactivity. 
He  perceived,  too  late,  that  our  repose  was 
that  of  the  lion:  he  repents  of  having  dis- 
turbed it.     In  the  battles  of  Guttstadt  and 
Heilsburg,  and  in  that  ever-memorable  one 
of  Friedland — in  a  campaign  of  ten  days  in 
short,  we  have  taken  120  pieces  of  cannon, 
seven   colours;   killed,    wounded,   oi-   made 
prisoners  60,000  Russians ;  taken  from  the 
enemy's   army  all   its   magazines,  its   hos- 
pitals, its  ambulances,  the  fortress  of  Ko- 
nigsberg, the  300  vessels  which  were  in  that 
port,  laden  with  all  kinds  of  military  stores ; 
160,000  muskets  which  England  was  sending 
to  arm  our  enemies.     From  the  banks  of  the 
Vistula  we  have  come,  with  the  speed  of  the 
eagle,  to  those  of  the  Niemen.     You  cele- 
brated at  Austerlitz  the  anniversary  of  the 
coronation;   this    year,  you   have  worthily 
celebrated  that  of  the  battle  of  Marensro, 
which  put  an  end  to  the  war  of  the  second 
coalition.    Frenchmen,  you  have  been  worthy 
of  yourselves  and  of  me.     You  will  return 
to  France  covered  with  laurels,   and  after 
obtaining  a  glorious   peace,  which   carries 
with  it  the  guarantee  of  its  duration.     It  is 
high  time  for  our  country  to  live  in  quiet, 
screened  from  the  malignant  influence  of 

405 


I  \ 


A\ 


INTERVIEW  ON  THE  NIEMEN.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


I  i 


if 
1 1 


I! 


England.  My  bounties  shall  prove  to  you 
my  gratitude,  and  the  full  extent  of  the  love 
that  I  feel  for  you/* 

A  friendly  intercourse  was  soon  established 
between  the  officers  and  men  of  the  French 
and  Russian  armies;  the  former  being  en- 
camped on  the  left  bank  of  the  Niemcn ; 
those  of  the  latter  about  a  mile  distant  from 
the  right  bank.     They  had  too  vivid  an  ex- 
perience of  each  other's  valour   not  to  be 
inspired  with  sentiments  of  mutual  respect. 
Alexander  also  dispatched  Prince  LabanofF 
to  the  French  camp,  to  desire  a  personal 
interview    with    Napoleon.     The    Russian 
noble  expressed  the  strong  desire  felt  by  his 
master  to  put  an  end  to  the  war,  his  excessive 
disgust  for   the   English   alliance,   and  his 
extreme  impatience  to  see  the  great  man  of 
the  age,  and  to  come  to  a  frank  and  cordial 
explanation  with  him.     Napoleon,  who  was 
dexterous  in  the  use  of  an  adroit  and  delicate 
flattery,    replied,  that   he   desired   nothing 
better  than  to  meet  the  young  sovereign  of 
whom    he  had  heard  so  much,  and  whose 
understanding,  grace,  and  fascinating  quali- 
ties were  so  highly  extolled.     He  therefore 
appointed  the  following  day,  the  25th,  for 
the  interview. 

The   meeting  of  the  two  emperors  took 
place  on  a  large  raft  moored  in  the  middle 
of  the  Niemen,  equidistant  from,  and  within 
sight  of,  both  banks  of  the  river.     On  the 
raft  a  wooden   pavilion  was   erected,    sur- 
mounted by  the  eagles  of  France  and  Russia, 
and   decorated  with  as  much  magnificence 
as  time  and   circumstances  would   permit. 
This  was  for  the  reception  of  the  emperors 
alone;  and,  at  a  little  distance,  another  raft, 
with  a  building  of  less  sumptuous  construc- 
tion, was  stationed  for  their  respective  suites. 
Each  bank  of  the  river  was  covered  with  the 
imperial  guard  of  the  two  monarchs,  drawn 
up    in    single    lines.     At   one   o'clock   the 
thunder  of  artillery  made   known  that  the 
emperors  had  entered  their  respective  boats 
to  proceed  to  the  raft.     Alexander  was  ac- 
companied by  the  Grand-duke  Constantine, 
General  Benningsen,  Prince  Labanoff,  Gen- 
eral OuvarofF,  and  Count  Lieveii ;  Napoleon 
by  Murat,  then  Grand-duke  of  Berg;  Mar- 
shals Berthier,   Bessieres,  and  Duroc;  and 
Caulamcourt,  the  grand-equerry.     The  boat 
of  Napoleon  cleared  the  distance  first ;  and 
the  emperor,    stepping  on  the  raft,  passed 
over  and  received  Alexander  on  the  opposite 
side.     The    monarchs    instantly   embraced 
each  other,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  soldiers, 
many  of  whom,  especially  the  simple  Rus- 
406  ^ 


[a.d.  1807. 


sians,  seeing  this  act  of  courtesy  between 
their  masters,  at  once  imagined  that  peace 
was  concluded. 

"  Why  are  we  at  war?"  mutually  inquired 
the  emperors.     In  fact.  Napoleon'  was  con- 
tending with   Russia  chiefly  as  an   ally  of 
England;   and  Russia  though  naturally*^ un- 
easy about  the  domination  of  France]!  was 
serving  the  interests  of  England  much  more 
than  her  own,  in  persevering  in  the  struggle 
with  such  animosity.     Alexander  then  re- 
vealed how  deeply  he  had  been  wounded  by 
the  conduct  and  parsimony  of  the  British 
government.     "I  hate  the   English,"  said 
he,  "as  much  as  you  do;  and  am  ready  to 
second  you  in  whatever  you  take  in  hand 
against  them."     "In  that  case"   answered 
Napoleon,  "everything  can  be  easily  settled, 
and  peace  is  already  made."     The  interview 
lasted  two  hours ;  but  it  is  necessarily  very 
difficult  to  ascertain  precisely  what  passed 
between   the   two   potentates    during   that 
period.     Many  conversations  have  been  in- 
vented  and   imposed  upon  Europe  as  au- 
thentic history;    but  they  obtained  but  a 
passing  credit,  and  need  not  be  referred  to 
here.     M.    Thiers   had   peculiar   means   of 
ascertaining  the  substance  of  this  important 
conversation:  we  shall . therefore  quote  his 
generalisation  of  it.*      "  Napoleon,  seeking 
to  discover  what  were  the  sentiments  of  the 
speaker   which    he   ought    to   flatter,    soon 
perceived  that  two  were  then  predominant. 
In  the  first  place,  deep  spleen  against  allies — 
burdensome  like  Prussia,  or  selfish  like  Eng- 
land; and  in  the  next,  a  very  sensitive  and 
deeply-mortified     pride.     He    took     pains, 
therefore,  to  prove  to  Alexander,  that  he  had 
been  duped  by  his  allies;  that,  moreover,  he 
had  conducted  himself  with  nobleness  and 
courage.     He  strove  to  persuade  him  that 
Russia  was  wrong  to  persist  in  patronising 
ungrateful  and  jealous  neighbours  like  the 
Germans,    or   in    serving   the    interests   of 
greedy  traders  like  the  English.     He  attri- 
buted this  mistake  to  generous  sentiments 
carried  to  excess — to  misconceptions  to  which 
ministers,  incompetent  or  bribed,  had  given 
rise.     He  extolled  the  bravery  of  the  Russian 
soldiers,  and  told  the  emperor  Alexander 
that,  if  they  were  to  unite  the  two  armies 
which  had  fought  so  valiantly  against  one 
another  at  Austerlitz,  at  Eylau,  at  Friedland, 
Imt  which  in  those  battles  had  both  behaved 
like  real  giants  fighting  bUndfold,  they  might 
divide  the  world  between  them,  for  its  oion 
peace  and  welfare.     He  then  insinuated,  but 
•  Consulate  and  the  Empire. 


A.D.  1807.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [interview  ox  the  niemkn. 


very  cautiously,  that,  by  waging  war  with 
France,  Russia  was  spending  her  strength 
without  any  possible  compensation ;  whereas, 
if  she  would  unite  with  France  in  subjecting 
the  west  and  east,  on  land  and  on  sea,  she 
would  gain  as  much  glory,  and  certainly 
more  profit.  Without  explaining  himself 
further,  he  seemed  to  take  it  upon  him  to 
make  the  fortune  of  his  young  antagonist 
much  more  satisfactorily  than  they  who  had 
led  him  into  a  career  in  which  he  had 
hitherto  met  with  nothing  but  defeats. 
Alexander,  it  is  true,  was  under  engage- 
ments to  Prussia ;  and  it  was  requisite  that 
his  honour  should  get  out  of  that  situation 
unstained.  The  emperor,  therefore,  gave 
him  to  understand  that  he  would  restore  to 
him  so  much  of  the  Prussian  states  as  would 
be  required  to  release  him  honourably  from 
his  engagements  to  his  allies,  after  which 
the  Russian  cabinet  would  be  at  liberty  to 
follow  a  new  policy — the  only  true,  the  only 
profitable  policy,  resembling  in  all  respects 
that  of  the  great  Catherine. 

"  This  conversation,  which  had  touched 
upon  all  questions  without  investigating 
them  thoroughly,  had  deeply  moved  Alex- 
ander. Napoleon  had  opened  to  him  new 
prospects,  which  is  always  a  pleasing  thing 
to  a  fickle,  and  especially  to  a  discontented, 
mind.  Besides,  more  than  once,  Alexander, 
amidst  his  defeats,  feeling  keenly  the  incon- 
veniences of  that  furious  war  into  which  he 
had  been  led  against  France,  and  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  system  of  union  with  her, 
had  said  to  himself  something  like  what 
Napoleon  had  just  been  saying  to  him,  but 
not  with  that  clearness,  that  force,  and 
above  all,  that  seduction  of  a  conqueror 
who  presents  himself  to  the  conquered  with 
hands  full  of  presents,  with  mouth  full  of 
caressing  words.  Alexander  was  fascinated ; 
Napoleon  clearly  perceived  it,  and  pro- 
mised himself  soon  to  render  the  seduction 
complete. 

"  After  flattering  the  monarch,  he  re- 
solved to  flatter  the  man.  'You  and  I,^ 
said  he,  '  shall  understand  each  other  better, 
if  we  treat  directly,  than  by  employing  our 
ministers,  who  frequently  deceive  or  mis- 
understand us,  and  we  shall  advance  busi- 
ness more  in  an  hour  than  our  negotiators 
in  several  days.  Between  you  and  me,^  he  ^ 
added,  '  there  must  be  no  third  person.^ 
It  was  impossible  to  flatter  Alexander  in  a 
more  sensible  manner,  than  by  attributing 
to  him  a  superiority  over  those  around  him, 
similar  to  that  which  Napoleon  had  a  right 


to  attribute  to  himself  over  all  his  servants. 
In  consequence,  Napoleon  proposed  to  him 
to  leave  the  hamlet  where  he  was  living, 
and  establish  himself  in  the  little  town  of 
Tilsit,  which  should  be  neutralised  to  receive 
him,  and  where  they  might  treat  of  business 
themselves,  in  person,  at  any  hour.     This 
proposal  was  eagerly  accepted ;  and  it  was 
agreed  that  M.  de  LabanofF  should  go  that 
day  to  Tilsit  to  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments.    They  had  still  to  talk  of  that  un- 
fortunate king  of  Prussia,  who  was  at  Alex- 
ander's head-quarters,  awaiting  what  should 
be  done  with  him  and  his  kingdom.     Alex- 
ander offered  to  bring  him  to  that  same 
raft  on  the  Niemen  to  introduce   him  to 
Napoleon,  who  should  address  a  {^^  sooth- 
ing words  to  him.      It  was  necessary,  in 
fact,  that  Alexander,  before  he  passed  from 
one  system  of  politics  to  another,  should,  if 
he   meant  not  to  dishonour   himself,  have 
saved  some  portion   of   the    crown   of   his 
ally.     Napoleon,  who  had  already  taken  his 
determination  upon  this  point,  and  who  was 
well  aware  that  he  must  grant  certain  con- 
cessions to  save   the  honour  of  Alexander, 
consented  to  receive  the  king  of  Prussia  on 
the  following  day.     The  two  sovereigns  then 
left  the  pavilion,  and,  passing  from  serious 
aff'airs  to  testimonies  of   courtesy,  compli- 
mented the  persons  of  their  respective  suites. 
Napoleon  treated  the  Grand-duke  Constan- 
tine and  General  Benningsen  in  a  flattering 
manner.      Alexander   congratulated  Murat 
and   Berthier   on    being   the   worthy   lieu- 
tenants of  the  greatest  captain  of  modern 
times.     Parting  with   fresh  demonstrations 
of  friendship,  the  two  emperors  again  em- 
barked, amidst  the  applause  of  the  numer- 
ous spectators  assembled  on  the  banks  of 
the  Niemen." 

In  accordance  with  the  proposal  of  Na- 
poleon, Alexander  and  his  suite  took  up 
their  abode  in  the  town  of  Tilsit.  Every 
possible  attention  was  paid  to  the  czar. 
The  furniture  in  his  rooms  was  all  sent 
from  the  French  head-quarters;  and  a 
sumptuous  train  of  cooks  and  other  attend- 
ants was  in  readiness  to  make  him  forget 
the  luxuries  of  St.  Petersburg.  Not  having 
his  household  with  him,  it  was  settled  that 
he  should  take  all  his  meals  with  the  em- 
peror Napoleon.  They  passed  the  evening 
together,  and  conversed  for  a  long  time  in  a 
confidential  manner,  with  a  familiarity  at 
once  dignified  and  graceful.  On  the  next 
day,  Alexander  brought  the  humihated  king 
of  Prussia  into  the  presence  of  Napoleon. 

407 


THE  TREATY  OF  TILSIT.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


■t.. 


The  latter   treated  Frederic  William   with 
coldness,  and  the   Prussian   was   reserved, 
stiff,  and  melancholy.     The  interview  was 
short ;  and  at  its  conclusion,  it  was  decided 
that  the  latter  should  come  also  to  Tilsit  to 
reside  with    his  ally   Alexander.      On  the 
27th,  the  two  emperors  reviewed  the  French 
imperial   guard.     These   old   soldiers,    suc- 
cessively of  the  Revolution,  the  Republic, 
and  the   Empire,  showed   themselves  with 
pride  to  the  sovereign  whom  they  had  de- 
feated.*^    They   did   not    display   the   lofty 
stature,  the  regular  and  measured  march  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  north ;  but  they  exhibited 
that  freedom  of  movement,  that  assurance 
of  attitude,   and  that  intelligence  of  look, 
which  accounted  for  their  victories  and  their 
superiority  over  all  the  armies  of  Europe. 
Alexander  complimented  them  highly.  They 
responded  with  repeated  shouts  of  ''  Vive 
Alexandre!  Vive  Napoleon  !"  Napoleon  also 
was  much  struck  with  the  military  aspect  of 
the  Russian  guard.    The  docility  with  which 
the  men  submitted  to  their  orders,  impressed 
him  as  being  particularly  admirable.     "  My 
soldiers,^'  he  remarked,  ''  are  as  brave  as  it 
is  possible  to  be,  but  they  are  too  much 
addicted   to    reasoning    on   their   position. 
If  they  had  the  impassible  firmness    and 
docility  of  the  Russians,  the  world  would 
be  too  small  for  their  exploits.     The  French 
soldiers   are    too   much    attached    to    their 
country   to   play   the    part   of   the   Mace- 
donians.'' 

The  ascendancy  which  the  French  en., 
peror  acquired  over  the  mind  of  his  late 
antagonist,  was,  especially  when  the  subtle 
character  of  the  latter  is  considered,  a  re- 
markable triumph  of  intellect.  Alexander 
eagerly  embraced  the  general  views  of  Na- 
poleon, and  never  left  him  without  express- 
ing his  unbounded  admiration.  "  What  a 
great  man  \"  he  said  incessantly  to  those 
who  approached  him ;  "  what  a  genius — 
what  extensive  views — what  a  captain — 
what  a  statesman  !  Had  I  but  known  him 
sooner,  how  many  faults  he  might  have 
spared  me !  What  great  things  we  might 
have  accomplished  together  \"  As  might  be 
supposed,  the  miserable  Frederic  William 
was  excluded  from  all  this  familiarity  and 
confidence.  Napoleon  treated  him  with  de- 
served neglect,  while  he  showered  the  most 
delicate  attentions  upon  Alexander.  A 
superb  dressing-case  of  gold,  used  by  Na- 
poleon, having  appeared  to  please  him,  was 
instantly  offered  and  accepted. 

,  The  two  armies  shared  the  familiaritv  of 
408 


[treaty  of  TILSIT. 


the  emperors.  The  Russians  did  not  re- 
gard themselves  as  vanquished;  and,  not- 
withstanding their  misfortunes,  even  felt 
much  of  the  exultation  of  victory.  Proud, 
it  has  been  observed,  of  having  so  long 
arrested  the  progress  of  the  conqueror  of 
the  world,  glorying  even  in  the  amount  of 
their  losses  and  the  chasms  in  their  ranks, 
which  told  the  desperate  strife  in  which 
they  had  been  engaged,  they  mingled  with 
their  recent  enemies  with  feelings  unlace- 
rated  by  the  humiliations  of  defeat.  Great 
cordiality,  therefore,  soon  prevailed,  and 
hospitalities  were  frequently  exchanged. 
The  officers  of  the  two  imperial  guards,  and 
especially  Prince  Murat  and  the  Grand- 
duke  Constantine,  were  remarkably  cordial 
and  complimentary  to  each  other.  ''  On 
one  of  these  occasions,  to  such  a  length  did 
the  effusions  of  mutual  respect  and  regard 
proceed,  that  the  officers  of  the  two  guards, 
amidst  the  fumes  of  wine,  and  the  enthu. 
siasm  of  the  moment,  mutually  exchanged 
their  uniforms;  French  hearts  beat  under 
the  decorations  won  amidst  the  snows  of 
Eylau,  and  Russian  bosoms  warmed  be- 
neath the  orders  bestowed  on  the  field  of 
Austerlitz.  Last  and  most  singular  effect 
of  civilised  life  and  military  discipline,  to 
strengthen  at  once  the  fierceness  of  national 
passions,  and  the  bonds  by  which  they  are 
to  be  restrained,  and  join  in  fraternal  bro- 
therhood, one  day,  those  hands  which,  on 
another,  had  been  dyed  by  mutual  slaughter, 
or  lifted  up  in  relentless  hostility  against 
each  other."* 

The  conferences  between  the  two  em- 
perors extended  over  a  period  of  twenty 
days ;  and  after  a  fortnight  spent  in  con- 
ference, the  treaty  of  Tilsit  was  formally 
signed  and  made  public.  The  treaty  be- 
tween France  and  Russia  was  signed  on  the 
7th  of  July;  and  a  separate  one  between 
France  and  Prussia  on  the  9th.  Alexander, 
in  the  November  of  1806,  had  written  to 
Frederic  William — *'  I  will  do  my  utmost  to 
prevent  the  Prussian  dominions  from  losing 
even  a  village."  Even  during  the  time 
spent  at  Tilsit,  the  czar  had  represented  to 
his  brother  monarch,  that  his  intimacy  with 
Napoleon  would  be  the  means  of  obtaining 
larger  restitutions  in  favour  of  Prussia.  Yet 
this  imperial  actor,  who  used  a  pretended 
benevolence  as  an  instrument  to  deceive  his 
people  and  his  friends,  shutting  out  a  recol- 
lection of  the  oath  he  had  sworn  at  mid- 
night over  the  tomb  of  Frederic  the  Great, 
•  Alison's  History  of  Extrope. 


not  only  consented  that  Prussia  should  be 
deprived  of  about  half  its  territory  and 
population  by  France,  but  actually,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  world,  himself  took 
possession  of  Bialystock,  one  of  its  ill-gained 
Polish  provinces.* 

Alexander  would  probably  have  assisted 
Frederic  William  if  the  effort  had  cost  him 
nothing ;  but  for  a  useless  ally,  he  would 
not  cross  the  decisions  of  Napoleon.     Prus- 
sia  was    stripped   of    all    those    provinces 
which,  prior  to  the  first  partition  in  1772, 
liad  formed  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland. 
These  were  to  be  erected  into  a  separate 
principality,  to  be  called  the  Grand  Duchy 
«jf  Warsaw;  and,  except  Bialystock,  to  be 
bestowed  on  the  king  of  Saxony ;  to  whom, 
also,  was  granted  a  right  to  a  free  military 
road  across  the  Prussian  states,  to  connect 
his    German    with    his   Polish    dominions. 
For  the  rest,  Prussia  was  so  dismembered 
and  curtailed,  that  its  population  was  re- 
duced from  nine  millions  and  a-half  of  in- 
habitants to  five  millions;  and  its  revenue 
frona   120  millions  of  francs  to  sixty-nine 
millions.     At  one  blow,  it  was  cast  down  , 
from  the  rank  of  one  of  the  great  monarchies  i 
of  Europe,  to  that  of  a  third  power ;  even 
the  territory  that  was  left  to  it  was  com- 
pletely exhausted.     Such  a  sudden  downfall 
taught  Frederic  William  that   he   had  la- 
boured under  a  fatal  mistake ;  that  his  glory 
was  that  of  his  ancestors,  and  his  power  a 
phantom.    Dantzic  was  declared  an  indepen- 
dent city,  under  the  protection  of  the  kings  of 
Prussia  and  Saxony;  which,  in  effect,  ren- 
dered it  a  frontier  town  of  France.     Prussia 
and  Russia  recognised  the  confederation  of 
the  Rhine ;  and  a  new  kingdom,  to  be  called 
the  kingdom  of  Westphalia,  was  erected  in 
favour  of  Jerome  Buonaparte,  the  emperor^s 
brother;  composed  of  the  provinces  ceded 
by  Prussia  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Elbe. 
Napoleon's    other    brothers,    Joseph    and 
Louis,  were    also   recognised   as   kings   of 
Naples  and  Holland.     France  and  Russia 
guaranteed   the   integrity   of   each   other's 
dominions,  and  mutually  restored  all  pri- 
soners.    Russia  undertook  to  mediate  with 


*  Alison,  who  endeavours,  with  a  perverse  inge- 
nuity, to  represent  Alexander  as  both  a  great  alid 
good  man,  thus  mildly  refers  to  this  treachery  on 
the  part  of  the  czar  :— "  The  province  of  Bialystock, 
containing  200,000  souls,  was  ceded  to  Russia, 
which  thus  participated,  in  the  hour  of  misfortune, 
in  a  share,  small  indeed,  but  still  a  share,  of  the  spoils 
of  its  ally."  Surely  Sir  Archibald  must  perceive, 
that  it  was  not  the  amount  of  this  political  theft  J 
that  made  Europe  cry  out  shame  on  Alexander,  but  I 
VOL.  I.  3  G 


England   for   a    peace   with   France;    and 
France  with  Turkey,  for  a  peace  with  Rus- 
sia;t   and  each  power  undertook,  in  case 
its  mediation  was  refused,  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  other.     Russia  engaged  to 
assist  France  against  England  with  all  its 
forces,  both  by  sea  and  land,  if  the  latter 
refused  her  mediation;  or,  "if  having  ac- 
cepted it,  peace  was  not  concluded  by  the 
1st  of  November,  on  terms  stipulating  that 
the  flags  of  every  power  should  enjov  a  per- 
fect and  entire  equality  on  everv  sea,  and 
that  all  the  conquests  made  of  French  pos- 
sessions since  1805,  should  be  restored ;  in 
that  case,  also,  Russia  shall  demand  a  cate- 
gorical answer  by  the  1st  of  December,  and 
the  Russian  ambassador  -shall  receive  a  con- 
ditional order  to  quit  London.''     Then,  in 
the  event  of  the  English  government  not 
making  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  Rus- 
sian requisitions,  "  France  and  Russia  shall 
jointly  summon  the  three  courts  of  Copen- 
hagen,   Stockholm,   and   Lisbon,   to    close 
their  harbours  against  English  vessels,  re- 
call their  ambassadors  from  London,  and 
declare  war  against  Great  Britain.''     The 
king  of  Prussia  also  consented  to  close  all 
his  harbours  to  the  ships  and  commerce  of 
England,  and  to  permit  the  fortresses  left 
him  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  France,  as  a 
security  for  the  payment  of  the  war  con- 
tributions to  be  levied  on  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants. 

Another  and  a  secret  treaty  was  entered 
into  at  Tilsit  by  the  two  emperors ;  and  in 
this  an  attempt  was  made  to  carry  out  the 
idea  of  Napoleon,  and  divide  the  civilised 
world  between  them.  This  topic  was  the 
one  discussed  in  the  long  conversations 
which  had  taken  place  between  the  two 
monarchs.  Fortunately,  there  was  one  point 
on  which  harmony  did  not  exist  between 
them.  This  was  the  probable  partition  of 
the  Turkish  empire  in  the  event  of  its  dis- 
solution—an event  then  speedily  expected 
by  the  generality  of  politicians.  In  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  emperors  on  the  subject,  it 
was  arranged  that  Russia  was  to  have  the 
banks  of  the  Danube  as  far  as  the  Balkan 


the  peculiar  circumstances  of  duplicity  and  treachery 
with  which  it  was  associated.  The ' wavering  kino- 
of  Prussia  had  been  lured  into  the  war  by  the  czar, 
who,  after  promising  that  he  would  exert  himself 
to  the  utmost  in  his  favour  to  prevent  his  losing 
even  a  village,  then  concludes  by  robbing  him  of  a 
province  I 

t  The  particulars  of  the  war  which  Russia  had 
been  carrying  on  against  Turkey,  will  be  narrated  in 
the  next  chapter. 

409 


V 


f 


THE  SECRET  ARTICLES.] 


HISTORY  OP  THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


'f' 


mountains;    Napoleon   the    maritime    pro- 
vinces, such  as   Albania   and   the   Morea; 
while  Bosnia,  Servia,  and  the  inland   pro- 
vinces were  allotted  to  Austria.     The  sultan 
WHS  to  be  permitted  to  retain  the  country 
south  of  the  Balkans;    that  is,   Constanti- 
nople, Asia  Minor,  and  Egypt.     Alexander 
objected  to  an  arrangement  by  which  Con- 
stantinople was  to  be  left  in  the  possession 
of  the  barbarians  of  Asia,  and  suggested  a 
<lifferent  partition,  by  which  Russia  was  to 
have  that  city,  universally  regarded  as  the 
real  capital  of  the  East ;  while  France  seized 
the    islands    of    the   Archipelago,    Candia, 
Syria,  and  Egypt.    To  this  Napoleon  would 
not    consent:    to   give   up    Constantinople, 
and  thus  let  Russia  make  the  most  brilliant 
acquisition  it  was  possible  to  imagine,  would 
not  suit  his  views.     He  could  permit  the 
torrent  of  Russian  ambition  to  dash  itself 
against   the   foot   of  the  Balkans;    but   he 
wonld  not  permit  it  to  pass  those  tutelary 
mountains.     He  would  not  suffer  the  most 
striking  achievement  of  modern  times  to  be 
accomplished  by  any  one  but  himself.     He 
was  too  jealous  of  the  greatness  of  France, 
and  too  desirous  of  alone  filling  the  imagi- 
nation of  mankind,  to  consent  to  such  an 
encraachment  on  his  own  glory.     Oue  day 
the  two  emperors,  on  returning  from  a  long 
ride,    shut    themselves   up   in    the   writing 
cabinet,  where  numerous  maps  were  spread 
out.      Napoleon,    apparently    continuing   a 
conversation  briskly  begun  with  Alexander, 
desired  M.  de  Meneval  to  bring  him  the 
map   of  Turkey;    then,    unfolding   it,    he 
resumed    the    conversation,    and    suddenly 
clapping  his  finger  on  Constantinople,  ex- 
claimed several  times,  regardless  of  being 
lieard  by  his  secretary,  in  whom  he  had 
absolute  confidence— "Constantinople!  Con- 
stantinople !  never !  ^tis  the  empire  of  the 
world  !"     Alexander,  however,  was  mollified 
by  the  concession  of  Finland ;  as,  if  he  was 
able  to  obtain  this  extensive  territory,  the 
acquisition  would  add  a  lustre  to  his  reign. 
"You  will  take   Finland,"   said  Napoleon 
to  him,  "  as  a  compensation  for  the  expenses 
of  the  war.     The  king  of  Sweden,  it  is  true, 
is  your  brother-in-law  and  your  ally;    but 
that   is  only  an  additional  reason  why  he 

*  But  with  the  exceptions  already  referred  to. 
The  clause  on  this  subject  was  in  the  following 
terms :— "  In  like  manner,  if  in  consequence  of  the 
changes  which  have  recently  taken  place  in  the 
government  of  Constantinople,  the  Porte  shall  decline 
the  intervention  of  France;  or  in  case,  having  accepted 
It,  the  negotiations  shall  not  have  led  to  a  satisfactory 
410 


should  conform  to  your  policy :  if  he  does 
not,  let  him  take  the  consequences  of  his 
ill-will.  Sweden  may  be  a  relation,  an  ally 
of  the  moment ;  but,  geographically,  she  is 
your  enemy.  St.  Petersburg  is  too  near 
the  frontiers  of  Finland.  It  will  not  do  to 
let  your  fair  Russian  beauties  again  hear 
from  their  palaces  the  cannon  of  the 
Swedes."  > 

When  the  two  potentates  had  agreed  as 
to  the  substance  of  the  secret  treaty,  it 
was  drawn  up  by  Napoleon  with  his  'own 
hand.  The  articles  which  composed  it, 
though  strongly  conjectured  from  various 
subsequent  events,  and  even  partially  dis- 
closed, were  not  fully  known  until  *1834, 
when  they  were  published  in  the  Biographic 
Universelle;  the  high  character  of  which 
guarantees  the  authenticity  of  the  informa- 
tion. The  articles  were,  in  substance,  as 
follows: — 1.  Russia  was  to  take  possession 
of  European  Turkey,  and  to  extend  its  con- 
quests in  Asia  to  what  extent  it  thought 
proper.-^  2.  The  house  of  Bourbon  in 
Spain,  and  the  house  of  Braganza  in  Por- 
tugal, were  to  cease  to  reign,  and  a  prince 
of  the  house  of  Napoleon  was  to  succeed  to 
each.  3.  The  temporal  authority  of  the 
pope  was  to  cease,  and  Rome  and  its  depen 
dencies  to  be  united  to  the  kingdom  of 
Italy.  4.  Russia  was  to  assist  France  with 
her  navy  for  the  conquest  of  Gibraltar. 
5.  The  French  were  to  take  possession  of 
Algiers,  Tunis,  and  other  towns  in  Africa; 
and,  at  a  general  peace,  these  conquests  were 
to  be  given  as  an  indemnity  to  the  kings 
of  Sicily  and  Sardinia.  6.  Malta  was  to 
belong  to  the  French,  and  no  peace  w  as  to 
be  made  with  England  before  its  cession. 

7.  The    French    were     to    occupy   Egypt. 

8.  The  navigation  of  the  Mediterranean  was 
to  be  permitted  to  French,  Russian,  Italian, 
and  Spanish  vessels  only;  all  other  nations 
were  to  be  rigidly  excluded.  9.  Denmark 
was  to  be  indemnified  in  the  north  of  Ger- 
many with  the  Hanseatic  towns,  but  only  on 
condition  of  placing  its  navy  in  the  hands  of 
France.  10.  Their  majesties,  the  emperors 
of  Russia  and  of  the  French,  were  to  settle 
an  agreement  by  which  no  power  should  be 
allowed  to  send  merchant  ships  to  sea,  un- 

adjustment  in  the  space  of  three  months,  France  will 
make  common  cause  with  Russia  against  the  Ottoman 
Porte,  and  the  two  high  contracting  parties  will 
unite  their  efforts  to  wrest  from  the  vexatious  and 
oppressive  government  of  the  Turks  all  its  provinces 
in  E  -^ne;  Roumelia  and  Constantinople  axone 
excepted." 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[results  of  tiie  treaty. 


less  it  possessed  a  certain  number  of  vessels 
of  war. 

The  day  after  the  signature  of  the  treaties, 
the  two  emperors  parted  with  much  cere- 
mony and  appearance  of  friendship.  Na- 
poleon, wearing  the  grand  cordon  of  St. 
Andrew,  went  to  the  house  occupied  by 
Alexander,  who  received  him  decorated 
with  the  grand  cordon  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour.  Having  exchanged  the  ratifica- 
tions, the  two  monarchs  mounted  their 
horses  and  showed  themselves  to  their 
troops.  Napoleon  desired,  that  the  soldier 
reputed  to  be  the  bravest  of  the  Russian 
imperial  guard  should  be  ordered  to  step 
out  of  the  ranks ;  and  on  his  doing  so,  con- 
ferred on  him  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour.  The  French  emperor  then  ac- 
companied his  august  friend  to  the  bank 
of  the  Niemen,  where,  after  embracing 
amidst  the  applause  of  the  spectators,  they 
separated. 

There  is  perhaps  no  instance  in  history 
of  such  a  sudden  change  in  the  councils, 
and  apparently  even  in  the  personal  senti- 
ments of  a  great  sovereign,  as  took  place  in 
those  of  Alexander  at  Tilsit.  The  me- 
morable treaty  made  at  that  town,  is  an 
era  not  only  in  Russian,  but  also  in  Euro- 
pean history.  It  has  been  quaintly  ob- 
served, that  it  converted  Alexander  into 
the  enemy  of  all  his  allies,  and  the  ally  of 
his  enemies.  It  was,  in  fact,  fraught  with 
evil  consequences  to  both  the  potentates 
whose  ambition  had  prompted  them  to  a 
dark  and  wicked  league  against  the  liberties 
of  the  world.     Happily  for  mankind,  there 

•  Sir  A.  Alison  has  some  strikingly  judicious 
remarks  on  the  subject,  which  we  shall  take  the 
liberty  of  quoting.  He  says — "  The  perfidious  con- 
duct of  Napoleon  towards  Turkey  has  been  almost 
overlooked  by  the  liberal  writers  of  Europe,  in  the 
vehemence  of  their  indignation  at  him  for  not  re- 
establishing the  kingdom  of  Poland.  Without 
doubt,  if  that  great  act  of  injustice  could  have  been 
repaired  by  his  victorious  arm,  and  a  compact, 
])owerful  empire  of  sixteen  millions  of  persons  re- 
established on  the  banks  of  the  Vistula,  it  would 
have  been  alike  grateful  to  every  lover  of  freedom, 
and  important  as  forming  a  barrier  against  Muscovite 
aggrandisement  in  Europe.  But  was  it  possible  to 
construct  such  an  empire,  to  form  such  a  barrier,  out 
of  the  disjointed  elements  of  Polish  anarchy  ?  That 
is  the  point  for  consideration ;  and  if  it  was  not,  then 
the  French  emperor  would  have  thrown  away  all  the 
advantages  of  victory,  if,  for  a  visionary  and  im- 
practicable scheme  of  this  description,  he  had  incurred 
the  lasting  and  indelible  animosity  of  the  partitioning 
powers.  With  the  aid  of  200,000  brave  men,  indeed, 
which  Poland  could  with  ease  have  sent  into  the 
field,  he  might,  for  a  season,  have  withstood  the 
united  armies  of  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia;  but 


are  certain  unalterable  principles  ever  in 
action  throughout  nature,  which  are  not  to 
be  influenced  by  human  might,  or  dazzled 
by  its  magnificence.  Like  the  tides  of  the 
ocean,  they  roll  on  for  ever,  unconscious  or 
regardless  of  the  leagues  of  monarchs  and 
the  decrees  of  despots :  this  fact  both  Na- 
poleon and  Alexander  lost  sight  of,  but 
each  of  them  had  it  subsequently  painfully 
forced  upon  his  unwilling  recognition.  The 
treaty  of  Tilsit,  advantfigeous  and  honour- 
able to  Napoleon  as  it  appeared  to  be,  has 
been  considered  by  many  distinguished 
politicians  as  the  first  cause  of  his  ruin. 
He  had  made  irreconcilable  enemies,  in- 
congruous and  doubtful  friends,  and  raised 
an  immense  political  edifice,  in  w  hich  every- 
thing was  new,  and  which  was  run  up  so 
rapidly,  that  the  foundation  had  not  time  to 
settle,  or  the  mortar  to  harden.  The  entire 
alienation  of  Prussia,  which  it  accomplished, 
is  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  errors 
ever  committed  by  Napoleon.  Poland  also 
was  disappointed  and  deeply  aggrieved,  and 
the  hopes  its  people  entertained  of  the 
restoration  of  their  nationality  by  the 
French  emperor,  cruelly  blighted.  Towards 
Turkey  also.  Napoleon,  in  consenting  to  her 
dismemberment,  had  behaved  with  a  most 
unblushing  perfidy,  as  we  shall  show  in  our 
narrative  of  the  recent  aff*airs  of  that  countrv 
in  connection  with  Russia.*  The  militarv 
transactions  which  preceded  the  peace  of 
Tilsit,  gained  France  unbounded  glory  by 
their  brilliancy;  but  the  political  arrange- 
ments made  by  it  have  been  universally 
condemned.    "  In  war,^'  observes  M.  Thiers, 

could  he  rely  on  their  tumultuous  assemblies  sus- 
taining the  steady  and  durable  efforts  requisite  for 
permanent  success?  What  made  Poland  originally 
fall  a  victim  to  the  coalesced  powers,  once  little  more 
than  provinces  of  its  mighty  dominions  ?  *  The 
insane  ambition,'  as  John  Sobieski  said,  *  of  a  plebeian 
noblesse;'  the  jealousy  of  a  hundred  thousand  electors, 
incapable  alike  of  governing  themselves  or  of  per- 
mitting the  steady  national  government  of  others. 
AVas  this  fatal  element  of  discord  eradicated  from 
the  Polish  heart?  Is  it  yet  eradicated?  Was  it 
possible,  by  re-establishing  Poland  in  1807,  to  have 
done  anything  but,  as  Talleyrand  well  expressed  it, 
*  organised  anarchy  ?'  These  are  the  considerations 
which  then  presented,  and  still  present,  an  invincible 
obstacle  to  a  measure,  in  other  points  of  view  recom- 
mended by  so  many  considerations  of  justice  and 
expedience.  It  is  evident  that  the  passions  of  the 
people,  their  insane  desire  for  democratic  equality, 
were  so  powerful,  that,  if  re-established  in  its  full 
original  extent,  Poland  would  speedily  have  again 
fallen  under  the  dominion  of  its  former  conquerors ; 
the  same  causes  which  formerly  proved  fatal  to  its 
independence,  would,  without  doubt,  again  have  had 
the  same  effect." 

411 


THE  SECRET  ARTICLES.] 


HISTORY  OP  THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


>'V 


mountains;    Napoleon   the    maritime   pro- 
vinces, such  as   Albania   and   the   Morea; 
while  Bosnia,  Servia,  and  the  inland   pro- 
vinces were  allotted  to  Austria.     The  sultan 
was  to  be  permitted  to  retain  the  country 
south  of  the  Balkans;    that  is,   Constanti- 
nople, Asia  Minor,  and  Egypt.     Alexander 
objected  to  an  arrangement  by  which  Con- 
stantinople was  to  be  left  in  the  possession 
of  the  barbarians  of  Asia,  and  suggested  a 
different  partition,  by  which  Russia  was  to 
liave  that  city,  universally  regarded  as  the 
real  capital  of  the  East ;  while  France  seized 
the    islands     of    the    Archipelago,    Candia, 
Syria,  and  Egypt.    To  this  Napoleon  would 
not    consent:    to   give    up    Constantinople, 
and  thus  let  Russia  make  the  most  brilliant 
acquisition  it  was  possible  to  imagine,  would 
not  suit  his  views.     He  could  permit  the 
torrent  of  Russian  ambition  to  dash  itself 
against   the   foot   of  the  Balkans;    but   he 
would  not  permit  it  to  pass  those  tutelary 
mountains.     He  would  not  suffer  the  mos't 
striking  achievement  of  modern  times  to  be 
accomplished  by  any  one  but  himself.     He 
was  too  jealous  of  the  greatness  of  France, 
and  too  desirous  of  alone  filling  the  ima^-i- 
nation  of  mankind,  to  consent  to  such  an 
cnci-oachment  on  his  own  glory.     One  day 
the  two  emperors,  on  returning  from  a  long 
ride,    shut    themselves    up    in    the    writincr 
cabinet,  where  numerous  maps  were  spread 
out.      Napoleon,    apparently   continuing   a 
conversation  briskly  begun  with  Alexander, 
desired  M.  de  Meneval  to  bring  him   the 
map   of  Turkey;    then,    unfolding   it,    he 
resumed    the    conversation,    and    suddenly 
clapping  his  finger  on  Constantinople,  ex- 
claimed several  times,  regardless  of  being 
lieard   by  his   secretary,   in   whom  he   had 
absolute  confidence— ^'Constantinople !  Con- 
stantinople !  never !  ^tis  the  empire  of  the 
world  V     Alexander,  however,  was  mollified 
by  the  concession  of  Finland;  as,  if  he  was 
able  to  obtain  this  extensive  territory,  the 
acquisition  would  add  a  lustre  to  his  reign. 
"You  will  take   Finland,''    said  Napoleon 
to  him,  "  as  a  compensation  for  the  expenses 
of  the  war.     The  king  of  Sweden,  it  is  true, 
is  your  brother-in-law  and  your  ally;    but 
ttat  is  only  an  additional  reason  why  he 


But  with  the  exceptions  already  referred  to. 
The  clause  on  this  subject  was  in  the  following 
terms :— *'  In  like  manner,  if  in  consequence  of  the 
changes  which  have  recently  taken  place  in  the 
government  of  Constantinople,  the  Porte  shall  decline 
the  intervention  of  France;  or  in  case,  having  accepted 
It,  the  negotiations  shall  not  have  led  to  a  satisfactory 
410 


should  conform  to  your  policy :  if  he  does 
not,  let  him  take  the  consequences  of  his 
ill-will.  Sweden  may  be  a  relation,  an  ally 
of  the  moment ;  but,  geographically,  she  is 
your  enemy.  St.  Petersburg  is  too  near 
the  frontiers  of  Finland.  It  will  not  do  to 
let  your  fair  Russian  beauties  again  hear 
from  their  palaces  the  cannon  of  the 
Swedes.^'  > 

When  the  two  potentates  had  agreed  as 
to  the   substance  of  the   secret   treaty,  it 
was  drawn  up  by  Napoleon  with  his  own 
hand.      The   articles    which    composed    it, 
though  strongly  conjectured  from    various 
subsequent  events,  and  even  partially  dis- 
closed,  were  not  fully  known   until  *1834, 
when  they  were  published  in  the  Biographie 
Universelle;    the   high    character   of  which 
guarantees  the  authenticity  of  the  informa- 
tion.    The  articles   were,   in   substance,  as 
follows:—!.  Russia  was  to  take  possession 
of  European  Turkey,  and  to  extend  its  con- 
quests  in  Asia  to  what   extent  it  thought 
proper.^      2.    The   house    of    Bourbon   in 
Spain,  and  the  house  of  Braganza  in  Por- 
tugal, were  to  cease  to  reign,  and  a  prince 
of  the  house  of  Napoleon  was  to  succeed  to 
each.      3.  The  temporal   authority   of  the 
pope  was  to  cease,  and  Rome  and  its  depen 
dencies  to  be  united   to   the   kingdom    of 
Italy.     4.   Russia  was  to  assist  France  with 
her   navy   for   the   conquest   of   Gibraltar. 
5.  The  French  were  to  take  possession  of 
Algiers,  Tunis,  and  other  towns  in  Africa; 
and,  at  a  general  peace,  these  conquests  were 
to  be  given  as  an  indemnity  to  the  kino-s 
of   Sicily  and   Sardinia.     6.  Malta  was  to 
belong  to  the  French,  and  no  peace  was  to 
be  made  with  England  before  its  cession. 

7.  The    French    were     to    occupy   Egypt. 

8.  The  navigation  of  the  Mediterranean  was 
to  be  permitted  to  French,  Russian,  Italian, 
and  Spanish  vessels  only;  all  other  nations 
were  to  be  rigidly  excluded.  9.  Denmark 
was  to  be  indemnified  in  the  north  of  Ger- 
many with  the  Hanseatic  towns,  but  only  on 
condition  of  placing  its  navy  in  the  hands  of 
France,  10.  Their  majesties,  the  emperors 
of  Russia  and  of  the  French,  were  to  settle 
an  agreement  by  which  no  power  should  be 
allowed  to  send  merchant  ships  to  sea,  un- 


adjustment  in  the  space  of  three  months,  France  will 
make  common  cause  with  Russia  against  the  Ottomar 
lorte,  and  the  two  high  contracting  parties  will 
unite  their  efforts  to  wrest  from  the  vexatious  and 
oppressive  government  of  the  Turks  all  its  provinces 
in  Europe;  Rouraelia  and  Constantinople  aione 
excepted. 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[results  of  the  treaty. 


less  it  possessed  a  certain  number  of  vessels 
of  war. 

The  day  after  the  signature  of  the  treaties, 
the  two  emperors  parted  with  much  cere- 
mony and  appearance  of  friendship.  Na- 
poleon, wearing  the  grand  cordon  of  St. 
Andrew,  went  to  the  house  occupied  by 
Alexander,  who  received  him  decorated 
with  the  grand  cordon  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour.  Having  exchanged  the  ratifica- 
tions, the  two  monarchs  mounted  their 
horses  and  showed  themselves  to  their 
troops.  Napoleon  desired,  that  the  soldier 
reputed  to  be  the  bravest  of  the  Russian 
imperial  guard  should  be  ordered  to  step 
out  of  the  ranks ;  and  on  his  doing  so,  con- 
ferred on  him  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of 
Honour.  The  French  emperor  then  ac- 
companied his  august  friend  to  the  bank 
of  the  Niemen,  where,  after  embracing 
amidst  the  applause  of  the  spectators,  they 
separated. 

There  is  perhaps  no  instance  in  history 
of  such  a  sudden  change  in  the  councils, 
and  apparently  even  in  the  personal  senti- 
ments of  a  great  sovereign,  as  took  place  in 
those  of  Alexander  at  Tilsit.  The  me- 
morable treaty  made  at  that  town,  is  an 
era  not  only  in  Russian,  but  also  in  Euro- 
pean history.  It  has  been  quaintly  ob- 
served, that  it  converted  Alexander  into 
the  enemy  of  all  his  allies,  and  the  ally  of 
his  enemies.  It  was,  in  fact,  fraught  with 
evil  consequences  to  both  the  potentates 
whose  ambition  had  prompted  them  to  a 
dark  and  wicked  league  against  the  liberties 
of  the  world.     Happily  for  mankind,  there 

*  Sir  A.  Alison  has  some  strikingly  judicious 
remarks  on  the  subject,  which  we  shall  take  the 
liberty  of  quoting.  He  says — "  The  perfidious  con- 
duct of  Napoleon  towards  Turkey  has  been  almost 
overlooked  by  the  liberal  writers  of  Europe,  in  the 
vehemence  of  their  indignation  at  him  for  not  re- 
establishing the  kingdom  of  Poland.  Without 
doubt,  if  that  great  act  of  injustice  could  have  been 
repaired  by  his  victorious  arm,  and  a  compact, 
powerful  empire  of  sixteen  millions  of  persons  re- 
established on  the  banks  of  the  Vistula,  it  would 
have  been  alike  grateful  to  every  lover  of  freedom, 
and  important  as  forming  a  barrier  against  Muscovite 
aggrandisement  in  Europe.  But  was  it  possible  to 
construct  such  an  empire,  to  form  such  a  barrier,  out 
of  the  disjointed  elements  of  Polish  anarchy  ?  That 
is  the  point  for  consideration ;  and  if  it  was  not,  then 
the  French  emperor  would  have  thrown  away  all  the 
advantages  of  victory,  if,  for  a  visionary  and  im- 
practicable scheme  of  this  description,  he  had  incurred 
the  lasting  and  indelible  animosity  of  the  partitioning 
powers.  With  the  aid  of  200,000  brave  men,  indeed, 
which  Poland  could  with  ease  have  sent  into  the 
field,  he  might,  for  a  season,  have  withstood  the 
united  armies  of  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia ;  but 


are  certain  unalterable  principles  ever  in 
action  throughout  nature,  which  are  not  to 
be  influenced  by  human  might,  or  dazzled 
by  its  magnificence.  Like  the  tides  of  the 
ocean,  they  roll  on  for  ever,  unconscious  or 
regardless  of  the  leagues  of  monarchs  and 
the  decrees  of  despots :  this  fact  both  Na- 
poleon and  Alexander  lost  sight  of,  but 
each  of  them  had  it  subsequently  painfully 
forced  upon  his  unwilling  recognition.  The 
treaty  of  Tilsit,  advantsigeons  and  honour- 
able to  Napoleon  as  it  appeared  to  be,  has 
been  considered  by  many  distinguished 
politicians  as  the  first  cause  of  his  ruin. 
He  had  made  irreconcilable  enemies,  in- 
congruous and  doubtful  friends,  and  raised 
an  immense  political  edifice,  in  which  every- 
thing was  new,  and  which  was  run  up  so 
rapidly,  that  the  foundation  had  not  time  to 
settle,  or  the  mortar  to  harden.  The  entire 
alienation  of  Prussia,  which  it  accomplished, 
is  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  errors 
ever  committed  by  Napoleon.  Poland  also 
was  disappointed  and  deeply  aggrieved,  and 
the  hopes  its  people  entertained  of  the 
restoration  of  their  nationality  by  the 
French  emperor,  cruelly  blighted.  Towards 
Turkey  also.  Napoleon,  in  consenting  to  her 
dismemberment,  had  behaved  with  a  most 
unblushing  perfidy,  as  we  shall  show  in  our 
narrative  of  the  recent  afl^airs  of  that  country 
in  connection  with  Russia.*     The  military 

• 

transactions  which  preceded  the  peace  of 
Tilsit,  gained  France  unbounded  glory  by 
their  brilliancy;  but  the  political  arrange- 
ments made  by  it  have  been  universally 
condemned.    "  In  war,"  observes  M.  Thiers, 

could  he  rely  on  their  tumultuous  assemblies  sus- 
taining the  steady  and  durable  efforts  requisite  for 
permanent  success?  What  made  Poland  originally 
fall  a  victim  to  the  coalesced  powers,  once  little  more 
than  provinces  of  its  mighty  dominions  ?  *  The 
insane  ambition,'  as  John  Sobieski  said,  *  of  a  plebeian 
noblesse;'  the  jealousy  of  a  hundred  thousand  electors, 
incapable  alike  of  governing  themselves  or  of  per- 
mitting the  steady  national  government  of  others. 
Was  this  fatal  element  of  discord  eradicated  from 
the  Polish  heart  ?  Is  it  yet  eradicated  ?  Was  it 
possible,  by  re-establishing  Poland  in  1807,  to  have 
done  anything  but,  as  Talleyrand  well  expressed  it, 
*  organised  anarchy  ?'  Tkese  are  the  considerations 
which  then  presented,  and  still  present,  an  invincible 
obstacle  to  a  measure,  in  other  points  of  view  recom- 
mended by  so  many  considerations  of  justice  and 
expedience.  It  is  evident  that  the  passions  of  the 
people,  their  insane  desire  for  democratic  equality, 
were  so  powerful,  that,  if  re-established  in  its  full 
original  extent,  Poland  would  speedily  have  again 
fallen  under  the  dominion  of  its  former  conquerors ; 
the  same  causes  which  formerly  proved  fatal  to  its 
independence,  would,  without  doubt,  again  have  had 
the  same  effect." 

411 


AFFAIR  OF  TURKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Napoleon  was  guided  by  his  genius;  in 
politics    by  his  passions/'     He  desired,  bv 
the  aid   of   Russia,    to   conquer   England*- 
satisfied  of   his  power  of  eventually  over- 
throwing the  government  of  the  northern 
empire,  if  its  too  active  ambition  interfered 
with  his  own  projects.     As   to  Alexander, 
he  was  lured  forward,  fascinated,  and  awed 
by   the    commanding    genius   of    his    late 
antagonist ;  and  influenced  also  by  the  am- 
bitious and  dishonest  desire  of  extending  his 
sceptre  over  Finland  and  the  greater  part, 


[a.d.  1805. 

I'X-iTi!    9^^   '""^''i^^'   ""^   £urop^n~TJiri^ 
Mill  he  felt  much  uneasiness  at  the  strand- 
alliance  he  had  made,  the  projects  to  the 
execution  of  which  he  had  bound  himself 
and  the  yet  hidden  results  to  which  thev 
might  lead.     -  Sire,-  said  one  of  his  coun- 
sellors  to  him  at  Tilsit,  « I  take  the  liberty 
of  reminding  you  of  the  fate  of  your  father 
as  the  consequence  of  the  French  alliance '' 
"Oh  God!''  replied  Alexander,  "I   know 
It ;  I  see  it ;  but  how  can  I  withstand  the 
destiny  which  directs  me." 


CHAPTER  XLVIL 


"^^^''o.^^i^^^:^^^  TO    R.CEIVK    AX    .MB.SS.BOK    PKO. 

MOLDAVIA  AXD   WALLACIIlA,  X0TWITn7T!xD^  wJL'Xt?.''/'''-^'^  ^^^  "^^^^^^"^^^  ^' 

DO  SO  WITHOUT  THE   CONSENT  OF  THAT  row;R      EXPO^TrVvrrnv  n.  t.  '^  BlSDISG  THE  SULTAX  XOT  TO 
RATIOX   OF   THE   HOSPODARS  ;   A  RUSSIAnTmY  ENTERS   m^^^  T''^   AXD  ENGLAXD.  AND  KESTO- 

KUSSIA;   THE  RUSSIAX   TROOPS   TAKE    POSSESSIOV  OF  WAT^^rS'^    '/   ^'''^^'^'    DECLARES    WAR  AGAIXST 
ARMS   OF   FRAXCE,   APPLIES   TO    EXGLANdTor    LsIstIC^^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^'   ^HE 

THREATEXS  COXSTAXTIXOPLE,  BUT  IS  COMPELLED  tTrAh^!^^^^^  ^''''''' '    ^^'    ^^'^^^^^H    FLEET 

ENGLAXD;   XAVAL   DEFEAT  O^    THE    TURKrBY   THF^.r^^^^^  ^''^   ''^^'''^    DECLARES  WAR  AGAINST 

BETWEEN   ALEXANDER    AXD   THE   SuIt^x'  tIeIcHF^V    n.    v;.^""   ARMISTICE    IS  ARRANGED   AT  TILSIT 
PERSIA.  JSLLT.^N,   TREACHERl    OF   xXAPOLEOX    TOWARDS   TURKEY;    WAR   M'lTH 


While    Eussia   was    vainly   employed    in 
attempting    to    overthrow    the    poWer    of 
JNapoleon,  she  was  also  carrying  on  a  con- 
test  with    Persia    and    with   Turkey.      In 
comparison  with  the  great  events  iA  which 
Kussia  was  engaged  in  the  west  of  Europe 
these  wars  sink  into  comparative  insignifi' 
cance,  and  a  narrative  of  them  appears  to 
lack   the   vital   interest   attaching    to    the 
former.     Yet  they  are  links  in  the  great 
chain  of  historical  sequence ;  and  the  war 
with    Turkey    by   no   means    an   unimpor- 
tant one.  ^ 

By   a   convention    between   Russia    and 
Turkey,  in  1802,  it  was  arranged,  that  the 
hospodars  of  .Aloldavia  and  Wallachia,  when 
once  appointed  by  the  Porte,  should  remain 
ni  office  for  seven  years,  and  should  not,  on 
any  account,  be  removed  from  their  govern- 
ments before  the  expiration  of  that  term, 
without    the    concurrence   of  the    Russian 
minister   at  Constantinople.     That  such   a 
stipulation  was  derogatory  from  the  sove- 
reignty claimed  and  exercised  for  ages  by 
the   sultan   in  these  provinces,  cannot   be 
denied.     But  the  terms  of  the  convention 
▼ere   clear   and   precise;    and   when   con- 
412 


eluded  and  ratified,   any  contravention  of 
Its  articles  by  one  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties, without  the  consent  of  the  other,  could 
not  but  be  regarded  as  a  breach  of  treaty 
affording  to  the  other  party  a  just  grouiid 
of  complamt,  and,  on  refusal  of  redress,  a 
justifiable   cause  of  war.      The   convention 
might  have  been  originally  improvident  on 
the  part  of  the  Turks,  as  being  incompatible 
with  the  dignity,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
interests    of  their  empire ;  but  when  con- 
cluded, they  were  bound  to  abide  by  it,  and 
had  no  right  to   abrogate  or   set  \t   aside 
without  the  consent  of  Russia. 

Such  was  the  state  of  aff'airs  when  the 
Ottoman  government,  alarmed  at  the  pro- 
gross  of  the  French  power,  deemed  it  pru- 
dent to  send  a  special  embassy  to  Paris  to 
congratulate  Napoleon  on  his  assumpt'ion 
ot  the  imperial  dignity;  and,  contrary  to 
Its  former  determination,  consented  to  re- 
ceive  an  ambassador  from  France.  General 
Sebastiani,  a  military  officer,  whose  subtle 
mmd  had  been  nurtured  in  a  cloister  and 
matured  in  a  camp,  was  selected  by  Napo- 
leon to  proceed  to  Constantinople  in  that 
capacity.     As  the  emperor  was  'aware  that 


^MUf'tt  pmii  nm»Miii—i  HI  I  -* 


A.D.  1806.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [invasion  of  Moldavia. 


war  was  impending  between  Russia  and 
France,  he  directed  Sebastiani  to  do  all  in 
his  power  to  persuade  Turkey  to  break  her 
alliance  with  Russia  and  England,  to  pro- 
duce hostilities  between  hsr  and  her  north- 
ern neighbour,  and  to  induce  her  to  revert 
to  her  ancient  connection  with  France. 

On  the  arrival  of  General  Sebastiani  at 
Constantinople,  he  laid  before  the  divan  the 
treaty  between  France  and  Russia,  recently 
signed  at  Paris  by  M.  D'Oubril ;  and  con- 
tending that  an  article  of  that  treaty,  which 
guaranteed,  in  general  terms,  the  integrity 
and  independence  of  the  Turkish  empire, 
amounted  to  a  virtual  repeal  of  the  conven- 
tion concerning  the  hospodars,  succeeded  in 
persuading  the  Porte  to  recall  them,  and 
appoint  others  in  their  places,  without  con- 
sulting the  Russian  ambassador,  or  regard- 
ing his  formal  protest  against  the  measure. 
Having  carried  this  point  against  the  Rus- 
sians, while  it  was  still  uncertain  whether 
D'Oubril's  treaty  would  be  ratified  by  the 
court  of  St.  Petersburg,  the  French  ambas- 
sador, as  soon  as  he  understood  that  the 
ratification  of  that  treaty  had  been  with- 
held, presented  a  note  to  the  Ottoman  gov- 
ernment, in  which  he  demanded  that  the 
passage  of  the  Bosphorus   should  be  shut 
against  all  Russian  ships  of  war,  as  well  as 
against  every  other  vessel   of  that   nation 
bringing  troops,  ammunition,  or  provisions ; 
though   he  knew,  that  by  treaty  between 
Russia    and   the   Porte,  that   passage   was 
open   to   the  vessels    of   the  former  with- 
out  limitation.      Yet   Sebastiani   not  only 
assured  the  Turks   of  the   friendship  and 
protection  of  his  master  in  case  of  their 
compliance,  but   threatened   them   with   a 
declaration  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  French 
emperor  if  they  did  not  accede  to  his  de- 
mands. 

The  Porte,  instead  of  resenting  these  in- 
solent proposals,  evinced  a  disposition  to 
comply  with  them.  It,  however,  first  com- 
municated them  to  the  English  and  Rus- 
sian ambassadors  at  Constantinople,  to  ob- 
tain their  advice  in  so  critical  an  aspect  of 
affairs.  Both  of  them  remonstrated  in  the 
strongest  manner  against  the  conduct  of 
the  Porte.  M.  Italinski,  the  Russian  am- 
bassador, threatened  instantly  to  leave  Con- 
stantinople, unless  the  dismissed  hospodars 
were  reinstated  in  their  dignities.  The 
English  ambassador  also  peremptorily  an- 
nounced to  the  divan,  that  if  the  demands 
of  Russia  were  not  instantly  acceded  to,  a 
British  fleet  would   enter  the  Dardanelles 


and  lay  the  capital  in  ashes.  Sensible  of 
his  weakness,  and  of  the  exposed  position 
of  Constantinople,  the  sultan  complied  with 
the  demands  of  the  allied  powers,  and 
caused  the  hospodars  to  be  reinstated  in 
their  governments.  At  the  same  time, 
Selim  secretly  informed  the  French  ambas- 
sador that  he  liad  only  yielded  to  the  storm 
until  he  was  in  a  condition  to  brave  it,  and 
that  both  his  policy  and  inclination  united 
him  with  the  emperor  Napoleon. 

The  cause  of  war  between  Russia  and 
Turkey  appeared  now  to  be  removed,  when, 
on  the  23rd  of  November,  1806,  a  Russian 
army,  amounting  to  50,000  men,  under  the 
command  of  General  Nicholson,  entered 
Moldavia,  drove  the  Turks  before  them, 
and  took  possession  of  Chotzim,  Bender, 
and  Jassy.  It  is  asserted,  that  the  orders 
for  this  proceeding  were  given  before  the 
submission  of  the  sultan,  and  that  the 
latter  was  not  known  at  St.  Petersburg 
until  it  was  too  late  to  prevent  the  invasiou 
of  his  dominions.  There  is  no  reason  to 
believe  this  statement;  as  the  Russians 
contim'.ed  their  occupation,  notwithstand- 
ing the  restoration  of  the  hospodars.  We 
accept  the  explanation  of  the  conduct  of 
the  Russians,  given  by  M.  Thiers,  who 
observes — "  That  invincible  attraction  which 
draws  them  to  Constantinople,  had  silenced 
in  them  all  the  considerations  of  prudence. 
It  was,  in  truth,  f<n  egregious  blunder, 
when  they  had  the  French  army  upon  their 
hands,  and  scarcely  200,000  men  to  oppose 
to  it,  to  employ  50,000  of  that  number 
against  the  Turks.  But  amidst  the  con- 
vulsions of  this  age,  the  idea  of  seizing  any 
occasion  to  take  what  they  pleased,  was 
then  the  predominant  idea  of  all  govern- 
ments. The  Russians,  therefore,  said  to 
themselves,  that  the  time  was  perhaps  come 
for  them  to  take  possession  of  Moldavia 
and  Wallachia." 

When  information  of  the  invasion  of 
Moldavia  reached  Constantinople,  that  city 
was  filled  with  indignation  and  surprise. 
A  cry  for  war  was  loud  and  universal,  espe- 
cially among  the  ulemahs  and  the  Janissaries, 
whose  religious  fanaticism,  and  general 
hatred  of  Europeans,  were  stung  into  fury 
by  the  perfidy  of  the  Russians ;  the  objects 
alike  of  their  superstitious  dread  and  their 
deeply-rooted  aversion.  The  Russian  am- 
bassador narrowly  escaped  the  fury  of  the 
mob,  and  also  of  being  immured  in  the  for- 
tress of  the  Seven  Towers ;  but  the  sultan 
permitted  him  to  leave  Constantinople  in 

413 


-If 


TURKEY  DECLARES  WAR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


II 


I 


the  English  frigate  Campus.  The  follow- 
ing day,  December  30th,  1806,  the  Porte 
published  a  formal  declaration  of  war 
against  Russia;  and  great  preparations 
were  made,  both  by  sea  and  land,  to  carry 
it  out  with  vigour.  r 

In  the   meantime,  the   Russians    having 
completed  the  conquest  of  Moldavia,  entered 
Wallachia;  and,  after   defeating  a  body  of 
Turkish   troops,    took    possession,    without 
resistance,  of  Bucharest,  the  capital  of  that 
province,  from   whence   tliey   sent    detach- 
ments in  all  directions.     At\he  close  of  the 
year  they  were  masters  of  the  three  pro- 
vinces of  Bessarabia,  Moldavia,  and  Wal- 
lachia, and  threatened  to  cross  the  Danube 
and    assist    the    Sei-vians,    then    in    revolt 
against   the    Porte.     The   very   rapidity   of 
these  successes,  however,  perplexed  the  em- 
peror Alexander  and  his  ministers.     Russia 
was    in    serious   danger  from   the   arms    of 
Prance  on  the  banks  of  the  Vistula.     There 
it  was,  in  fact,  that  the  fate  of  Turkey  was 
to    be    decided;    for     had     the     Russians 
triumphed    over   the    French,   it    is    more 
than  probable  that  the  Ottoman  empire  in 
Europe  would  have   been  seized  upon   by 
the  czar.     Alexander,  anxious  to  draw  off 
the    Turks,    whom     he     had     prematurely 
aroused,   applied   to  England  to  permit   a 
naval   force,  then  cruising   in  the  ^gean 
Sea,  to  make  a  demonstration  against  Con- 
stantinople, with  the  object  of  intimidating 
the  Porte  into  an  abandonment  of  hostili- 
ties   with    Russia,    and   the    acceptance    of 
terms  of  peace.     The  English  ministry  con- 
sented ;    and   Sir  Thomas   Duckworth  was 
sent,  with  a  fleet  of  seven  ships  of  the  line, 
besides  frigates  and  bomb-ships,  to  force  the 
passage  of  the  Dardanelles,  and,  if  certain 
terms   should    not   be   acceded    to    by  the 
Porte,  to  bombard  Constantinople.  ' 

When  Mr.  Arbuthnot,  the  English  am- 
bassador at  Constantinople,  learned  that 
Sir  John  Duckworth  had  arrived  off"  Tenedos, 
he  delivered  the  English  ultimatum  to  the 
divan  ;  which  was,  the  immediate  dismissal  of 
the  French  ambassador,  the  accession  of 
Turkey  to  the  alliance  of  Russia  and  Eng- 
land, and  the  opening  of  the  Dardanelles 
to  the  vessels  of  Russia.  These  demands 
were  peremptorily  refused,  and  Mr.  Arbuth- 
not considered  it  prudent  to  withdraw  from 
Constantinople,  and  take  refuge  in  the 
Endymion  frigate,  then  lying  off*  Seraglio 
Point.  The  Porte  resented  the  insulting 
interference  of  England  by  immediately 
declaring  war  against  it. 
414 


[a.d.  1806. 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIA  AND  TURKEY. 


The  British  fleet,  therefore,    passed  the 
Dardanelles  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of 
February,   1807.     The  batteries   had   been 
suff'ered  to  fall  into  a  state  of  comparative 
decay:    the  Turks  were  taken  by  surprise, 
and   little   resistance   was   made,  with   the 
excef)tion  of  a  tremendous  cannonade  from 
the  batteries  of  the  castles  of  Europe  and 
Asia.     After  a  time  this  was  silenced  by  the 
rapid  and  well-directed  fire  of  the  British 
vessels,  and  a  small  Turkish  squadron  burnt 
or   dispersed.       Great    alarm    prevailed    at 
Constantinople  when  the  English  squadron 
anchored    at    no    great    distance   from    the 
city.     The  divan  at  first  resolved  on  sub- 
mission ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  spirited 
representations   of  General   Sebastiani,  the 
French  ambassador,  they  resolved  to  gain 
time    by   negotiation,    and    prepare    for    a 
vigorous    defence.      The    English    admiral 
allowed  himself  to  be  deceived  into  suff^er- 
nig  time  to  be  consumed  in  the  exchange  of 
notes  and  diplomatic  communications,  during 
which  almost  the  entire  population  of  Con- 
stantinople laboured  day  and  night  at  the 
fortifications,   under  the   able    direction    of 
Sebastiani,  and  assisted  by  a  body  of  French 
engineers.     At   the   expiration   of  a  week, 
more  than  a  thousand  pieces  of  cannon  were 
mounted  on  the  batteries,  the  naval  arsenal 
was  furnished  with  immense  resources,  the 
defences  of  the  harbour  were  strengthened, 
and   the   whole   line  of  coast    presented  a 
formidable    aspect.     A   hundred  gun-boats 
were  drawn  across  the  mouth  of  the  Golden 
Horn;    while  twelve  Turkish  line-of-battle 
ships,   and  nine  frigates,  lay  in  the  canal 
with  their  sails  bent,  and  ready  for  action. 
Great  quantities  of  fire-ships  were  prepared 
to  act  against  the  fleet  of  the  invaders ;  red- 
hot  shot  was  kept  constantly  heated,  in  case 
of  the  approach  of  the  British  ships ;  and 
200,000  men,  destined  to  march  against  the 
Russians,  were  said  to  be  in  the  citv  and 
suburbs,  prepared  to  repel  the  English  if 
they  were  enabled  to  eff'ect  a  landing. 

When  the  English  admiral  had  suffered  a 
week  to  elapse,  Constantinople  and  the 
neighbouring  coasts  were  so  efficiently 
armed,  that  the  contemplated  attack  upon 
it  became  entirely  hopeless.  Some  doubts 
were  even  entertained,  in  consequence  oi 
the  prevalence  of  an  adverse  wind,  whether 
the  English  fleet  would  be  able  to  retire 
and  repass  the  Dardanelles  at  all ;  in  which 
case,  capture  or  total  destruction  were  the 
only  alternatives  open  to  it.  Sir  John 
Duckworth,  therefore,  renounced  the  peri- 


lous enterprise  which  had  been  so  rashly  and 
unjustlyundertaken;  and  on  the  1st  of  March 
the  British  fleet  repassed  the  straits  of  the 
Dardanelles  in  a  very  crest-fallen  condition, 
and  through  a  succession  of  firing  from  the 
batteries  on  either  side.  Such  was  the  calibre 
of  the  Turkish  guns,  that  balls  or  blocks  of 
marble,  of  immense  weight  and  size,  were 
fired  at  our  ships,  which  they  threatened  to 
sink  with  a  single  blow.  One  of  these 
projectiles,  weighing  800  pounds,  cut  the 
mainmast  of  the  Windsor  man-of-war  in 
two,  and  it  was  not  without  much  trouble 
and  difficulty  that  the  ship  was  saved.  An- 
other gigantic  ball  penetrated  the  poop  of 
the  Standard,  and  killed  or  wounded  sixty 
men.  At  length  the  British  fleet  cleared 
the  straits,  and  regained  their  old  station  at 
Tenedos,  after  having  sustained  a  loss  of 
250  men. — Thus  terminated  this  much- 
talked-of  expedition  to  the  Hellespont  and 
the  Bosphorus.  It  had  broken  the  spell  by 
which,  for  many  ages,  the  passage  of  the 
Dardanelles  had  been  guarded:  still,  the 
result  of  the  whole  was  little  more  than  a 
brilliant  bravado,  followed  by  a  series  of 
blunders  terminating  in  disgrace.  Some 
eff'orts  were  made,  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, towards  calling  Sir  John  Duckworth 
to  account;  but  he  was  protected  by  the 
nwnistrv,  and  the  aff'air  passed  off"  without 
investigation. 

This  unfortunate  demonstration  against 
Constantinople  produced  an  effect  exactly 
the  reverse  of  what  was  intended.  It  co- 
operated with  the  address  of  Sebastiani,  to 
bring  the  Turkish  government,  for  a  time, 
wholly  under  the  influence  of  France,  and 
eventually,  under  that  influence,  to  make 
peace  with  Russia  when  Russia  had  declared 
herself  against  England. 

The  English  fleet  was  joined  at  Tenedos 
by  a  Russian  squadron  of  ten  sail-of-the-line 
and  a  number  of  frigates,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Admiral  Siniavin.  The  allied  naval 
forces,  after  taking  possession  of  Lemnos 
and  Tenedos,  for  the  service  of  their  fleets, 
established  a  blockade  of  the  entrance  to 
the  straits;  but  the  English  fleet  soon 
departed  for  Egypt,  and  left  the  blockade 
to  be  maintained  by  the  Russians.  As  a 
similar  manoeuvre  was  adopted  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Bosphorus,  by  a  Russian  squadron 
which  came  down  from  the  Black  Sea,  Con- 
stantinople was  cut  off  from  some  of  its 
usual  and  most  productive  sources  of  sup- 
plies, and  in  a  short  time  a  great  dearth  of 
provisions  was  experienced.     Seid  Ali,  the 


Turkish  grand-admiral,  was  therefore  dis- 
patched with  a  fleet  to  disperse  the  Rus- 
sians and  break  up  the  blockade.     Though 
the  Turks  had  a  far  inferior  force  to  that 
opposed  to  them,  yet  they  gave  battle  to 
the  Russians  on  the  1st  of  July,  1807,  near 
the  isle  of  Tenedos.     The  contest  was  pro- 
longed for  seven  hours,  and  carried  on  with 
great  obstinacy  on  both  sides.     Four  of  the 
Turkish   ships   were   carried   by   the   wind 
out  of  the  line  of  battle,  and  the  unskilful 
crews  were  unable,  or  unwilling,  to  bring 
them  again  under  fire.     Seid  Ali,  who  at 
one  period  of  the  action  was  surrounded  by 
five  Russian  vessels,  fought  his  ship  with 
admirable  bravery  and   skill ;   and,  though 
wounded    in    the    action,   made    his    way 
through  them.     But  the  contest,  after  the 
accidental  separation  of  the  four  ships,  was 
altogether  unequal.     Four  ships  of  the  line 
were  taken ;  three  others  were  burned,  and 
the  rest  driven  for  shelter  under  the  cannon 
of  the  Dardanelles  :  above  1,000  Turks  also 
perished  during  the  battle — a  great  number 
in  comparison  with  what  usually  takes  place 
in  engagements  at  sea.    Intoxicated  by  this 
victory,   the    Russians   became   very   over- 
bearing in  their  attitude  at  sea  towards  the 
Turks.     The  land  campaign  on  the  banks 
of  the  Danube,  though  not  productive  of 
any  decisive  results,  was  yet  in  some  degree 
favourable  to  the  Russians,  who  held  their 
position    in    the    principalities.      On    the 
Asiatic   frontiers  of  the   two   empires   the 
Russians  were  more  successful ;  and  during 
the  month  of  June,  the  seraskier  of  Erzeroum 
suffered  a  total  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Gen- 
eral Gudovitch.     This  victory  was  the  more 
important  from  the  fact,  that  it  prevented 
the  Persians  from  making  a  bold  diversion 
in  favour  of  the  Turks.     The  latter  were 
somewhat    relieved   from   the    pressure   of 
these  hostile  proceedings   by  the  treaty  of 
Tilsit,  which  led  to  an   armistice  between 
Russia  and  the  Porte.     This  was  concluded 
at  Slobosia  on  the  24th  of  August,  and  was 
to  continue  until  the  3rd  of  April  in  the 
following  year.     As  the  base  of  the  truce,  it 
was  agreed  that  the  Russian  troops  should 
retire   from  Moldavia   and  Wallachia,    but 
that  these  provinces  should  not  be  occupied 
by  the  troops  of  the  sultan  until  ratifica- 
tions were  exchanged  of  a  definitive  treaty 
of  peace  between  Russia  and  the  Ottoman 
Porte,  which  was  to  be  concluded,  under 
the  mediation  of  the  emperor  Napoleon,  on 
terms  honourable  to  both  empires. 

Before  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of 

415 


^•■VMMHPM 


mm 


'^td^ 


ARMISTICE  WITH  TURKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


'r\ 


Tilsit  a  revolution  had  taken  place  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  been  followed  by  the  de- 
thronement of  Sultan  Selim  and  the  succes- 
sion   of  Mustapha   IV.      Napoleon    basely 
pretended  that  this  circumstance   released 
him  from  the  engagements  he   had  made 
to  the  Turkish  government,  under  the  pre- 
text that  they  had  been  made  with  Selim 
personally,    and    not    with    his    successor. 
Therefore,   though   he  had  made   repeated 
promises  of  assistance  and  friendship  to  the 
Ottoman  government,  which  he  declared  to 
be  the  faithful  ally  of  France,  yet  he  entered 
into  an  engagement  with  Alexander  for  the 
ruin  and  partition  of  the   Turkish  empire. 
The  policy  of  Napoleon,  in  this  respect,  was 
as  erroneous  as  it  was  dishonest.     After  the 
peace  of  Tilsit,  Alexander  was  enabled  to 
pursue  his  aggressive  measures  with  regard 
to  Turkey;   but  Napoleon,  engrossed  with 
his  ambitious  scheme  with  regard   to  the 
Spanish   peninsula,   was   unable   to    appro- 
priate his  share  of  the  calculated  spoils  of 
the   Ottoman    empire.      He   therefore   re- 
pented of  the  ready  consent  he  had  given  to 
the  aggressive  movements  of  Russia  in  that 
direction,  and  became  desirous  of  throwing 
every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  further 
prosecution.  ;, 

Napoleon  preferred  seeing  Alexander 
waste  his  strength  on  the  banks  of  the 
Danube.  No  sooner,  therefore,  was  he 
engaged  in  his  projects  with  respect  to 
Spain,  than  he  wrote  to  the  Russian  auto- 
crat, saying  that  the  armistice  on  the 
Danube  had  been  concluded  without  his 
authority;  that  it  did  not  meet  his  appro- 
val, and  that  the  Russian  troops  might 
remain  in  the  principalities ;  but  that,  as  to 
the  final  partition  of  the  Ottoman  empire, 
that  was  so  grave  a  question,  that  it  required 
mature  consideration.  This  was  not  the 
only  incident  adverse  to  the  interests  of 
Napoleon,  arising  from  his  treachery  to- 
wards the  Turks  at  Tilsit.  Though  the 
latter  gladly  availed  themselves  of  the 
French  mediation  with  Russia,  it  was  in  the 
belief  that  they  were  to  obtain  through  it 
the  evacuation  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia. 
When  they  found  that  this  was  not  the 
case,  they  scorned  a  peace  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, and  expressed  their  resolution 
to  continue  the  contest.  "In 'what  worse 
situation,^'  said  they,  "  could  we  be  if  the 
416 


French,  instead  of  being  victorious,  had 
been  beaten  in  Poland?  Is  this  the  em- 
peror^s  care  for  his  allies,  whom  he  has 
drawn  into  the  conflict,  to  leave  their  richest 
provinces  in  the  hands  of  their  enemies?" 
Some  rumours  of  the  nature  of  the  secret 
articles  of  the  treaty  of  Tilsit  soon  after- 
wards reached  the  Turks,  and,  finding  that 
they  had  been  betrayed  by  Napoleon,  they 
resolved  on  fighting  out  their  quarrel  with 
Russia  alone,  and  declining  any  further  in- 
tervention on  the  part  of  the  French. 


Simultaneously  with  the  aggressive  war 
on  Turkey,  Alexander  was  engaged  in  an- 
other unprincipled  war  on  the  shores  of  the 
Caspian,  in  making  acquisitions  at  the  ex- 
pense of  his  feeble  neighbours  the  Persians. 
IJnable  to  contend  successfully  against  her 
vast  military  power,  and  hopeless  of  as- 
sistance or  relief  from  England  (whose  good 
offices  for  the  restoration  of  peace  with 
Russia  they  had  vainly  solicited  during  the 
last  administration  of  Pitt),  they,  in  1806, 
sent  an  embassy  to  Paris  to  request  the  aid 
of  the  emperor  Napoleon.'  That  wonderful 
man,  whose  ambition  was  boundless,  and 
whose  views  were  still  turned  towards  the 
East,  had  already  dispatched  a  member  of 
the  French  senate  on  a  secret  mission  to 
Persia,  to  promote  his  schemes  and  advance 
his  interests  in  that  quarter.  He  did  not, 
however,  lend  assistance  to  the  Persians  in 
the  struggle  with  Russia,  and  was,  probably, 
too  much  occupied  with  his  aff'airs  in 
Europe  to  be  able  to  do  so.  ■»• 

It  is  scarcely  possible,  and  certainly  un- 
necessary, to  give  an  accurate  account  of 
the  predatory  Avarfare  which  followed  be- 
tween the  troops  of  Persia  and  Russia. 
Though  the  Russians  were  generally  suc- 
cessful, in  consequence  of  their  superior 
discipline  and  experience,  yet  they  were 
unable  to  compel  the  warlike  tribes  and 
their  chiefs  to  bow  to  the  Russian  sceptre. 
The  war  was  not  terminated  until  1813. 
The  principal  events  of  it  were — the  defeat 
of  the  Persians  at  Etchmiazin,  by  Prince 
Zitzianofi*,  in  the  year  1804;  the  conquest  of 
the  province  of  Shirvan,  by  the  same  com- 
mander, in  1806;  and  the  taking  of  Der- 
bent  by  the  Russians,  and  the  defeat  of 
the  Persians  by  Paulucci,  at  Alkolwalaki, 
in  1810. 


END  OF  VOL.   I. 


It 


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intljfCitpofJlrttilork 

THE  LIBRARIES 


« 


F'l 


i.ni 


t'i 


-'  •mminmmm'mm^^^0immm>^  ■ 


mmmmmm 


\^  ~ 


THE 


HISTORY  OF   RUSSIA 


' 


•<] 


i 


FROM  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE 


I 


TO   THE 


WAR  WITH  TURKEY  IN  1877-'7a 


BY 


H.   TYRRELL, 


AND 


HENRY  .A.    HAUKEIJL, 

Late  Press  Correspondent  in  the  East. 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS   AND    MAPS. 


VOL.  II. 


THE  LONDON  PRINTING  AND  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  LIMITED, 

LONDON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


C^"* 


CHAPTER  I. 

DISCONTENT  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  NOBLES  AND  MERCHANTS  AT  THE  FRENCH  ALLIANCE,  AND  CONSEQUENT  StTP 
PRESSION  OF  TRADE  WITH  ENGLAND  ;  TREATMENT  OF  GENERAL  SAVARY  AT  ST.  PETERSBURG  ;  ALEXANDER 
OFFERS  HIS  MEDIATION  TO  THE  ENGLISH  MINISTRY  ;  IN  REPLY,  IT  DESIRES  A  COMMUNICATION  OF  THE 
SECRET  ARTICLES  OF  THE  TREATY  OF  TILSIT;  BOMBARDMENT  OF  COPENHAGEN,  AND  SEIZURE  OF  THE 
DANISH  FLEET  BY  THE  ENGLISH  ;  ALEXANDER  DECLARES  WAR  AGAINST  ENGLAND ;  ALSO  AGAINST  SAVE- 
DEN,  AND  POURS  HIS  TROOPS  INTO  FINLAND  ;  FINLAND  CEDED  TO  RUSSIA  ;  A  RUSSIAN  FLEET  AT  LISBON 
SURRENDERS  TO  THE  ENGLISH  ;  NAPOLEON  INVITES  ALEXANDER  TO  A  PERSONAL  INTERVIEW  ;  OBJECTIONS 
OF  THE  RUSSIAN  PARTY  AND  OF  THE  EMPRESS-MOTHER ;  MEETING  OF  THE  TWO  EMPERORS  AT  ERFURTH. 


*<■ 


Russia  had  extricated  herself  from  the  war 
with  France  comparatively  unscathed,  and 
with  her  military  renown  untarnished. 
Though  repulsed  and  defeated  by  the 
French,  she  had  sustained  reverses  with  a 
heroism  that  proclaimed  the  valour  of  her 
soldiers,  who  had  only  failed  before  the 
troops  of  the  most  military  people  in  the 
world,  led  by  its  most  gifted  general. 
Alexander,  therefore,  was  received,  on  his 
return  to  St.  Petersburg,  with  public  accla- 
mations ;  but  much  discontent  and  sullen- 
ness  prevailed  in  private,  especially  among 
the  nobility  and  the  merchants  of  the 
capitail.  The  French  alliance  was  un- 
popular; for  the  power  of  France  had 
shown  that  the  pretensions  of  Russia  were 
greater  than  her  means  to  support  them, 
and  the  nobles  and  merchants  were  enriched 
by  their  trade  with  England,  which  the 
arrangements  Alexander  had  acceded  to 
were  to  repress.  The  balance  of  trade  with 
that  country  was  wholly  in  favour  of  Russia; 
yet  the  differences  existing  with  it  threat- 
ened to  result  in  war,  which  must  neces- 
sarily be  accompanied  with  immense  losses. 
The  nobles  of  Russia  were  aware,  that 
whatever  advantages  the  czar  might  derive 
from  the  treaty  into  which  he  had  just 
entered  with  France,  that  he  had  purchased 
them  by  acceding  to  Napoleon's  "conti- 
nental system,^'  and  the  consequent  closing 
of  the  ports  of  the  empire  to  the  ships  of 
Great  Britain.  "Assuredly,''  observed  a 
continental  writer,  "Alexander  bought  the 
peace  of  Tilsit  at  a  price  much  more  heavy 
than  would  have  been  paid  by  a  disastrous 
campaign.  Nothing  could  be  more  men- 
acing and  serious  to  Russia  than  a  rupture 
with  England.  That  manufacturing  country 
is  the  chief  market  for  her  raw  materials. 
The  Russian  proprietors,  kept  continually 
poor  by  their  habits  of  pomp  and  ostenta- 
tion, are  always  eager  to  sell,  and  cannot  at 

VOL.  II.  B 

186199 


best  find  sufficient  market  for  their  produce ; 
accordingly,  the  two  countries  are  neces- 
sary the  one  to  the  other  The  commerce 
established  by  the  ordinance  of  nature  is 
advantageous  to  England,  but  it  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  Russians;  and  the  czar 
should  have  had  very  weighty  reasons  for 
putting  a  stop  to  it." 

Napoleon,  desirous  of  retaining  the  in- 
fluence he  had  obtained  over  Alexander, 
sent  General  Savary  to  St.  Petersburg,  as 
the  ambassador  of  France,  with  directions 
to  apply  ail  the  resources  of  his  mind  to 
cultivate  and  give  stability  to  the  alliance 
concluded  at  Tilsit.  On  arriving  at  the 
Russian  capital,  Savary  was  received  with 
extreme  coldness  by  the  court,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  emperor  and  two  or  three 
families  composing  his  intimate  society. 
The  execution  of  the  Duke  d'Enghien,  which 
was  performed  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion of  Savary,  contributed  to  this  result; 
the  chief  cause  of  which,  however,  was  the 
remembrance  of  recent  hostilities  and  de- 
feats, and  the  aversion  to  the  French  alli- 
ance. Alexander  endeavoured  to  persuade 
every  one,  that  in  the  termination  of  the 
recent  war  by  a  reconciliation  with  France, 
events  had  taken  the  most  favourable  turn 
possible :  that  his  late  ministers,  in  em- 
broiling him  with  that  power,  had  led  him 
into  a  fatal  track,  from  which  he  had  extri- 
cated himself  with  equal  good  fortune  and 
skill:  that  he  had  committed  but  one 
error — that  of  having  believed  in  the  valour 
of  the  Prussian  army,  and  in  the  integrity 
of  England.  But  these  illusions,  he  said, 
were  now  dispelled;  and  by  the  union  of 
the  two  great  armies  of  Europe — those  of 
France  and  Russia — the  peace  and  greatness 
of  both  empires  would  follow.      Peace,  if 


England  would  at  length  desist  from  its 
maritime  pretensions ;  and  greatness,  if  she 
did  not  oblige  Europe  to  lead  with  her  a 


SAVARY  AT  ST.  PETERSBURG.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


life  of  torment  and  sacrifices ;  in  which  case 
every  one  must  take  care  of  himself  and  his 
own   interests,    and   that   it   was   time   for 
Russia  to  think  of  her's.     Having  arrived 
at  this  point  of  his  explanations,  Alexander 
— not  daring  to  reveal  all  the  hopes  which 
Napoleon  had  permitted  him   to   conceive, 
nor,  above  all,  to  avow  the  occult  treatv 
which    they    had    promised    themselves    to 
keep  profoundly  secret — assumed  an  air  of 
mystery,  but  of  satisfaction;   leaving  all  to 
be   guessed   that   he  durst  not  venture  to 
tell,    though    strongly   tempted    to   do   so. 
Thus,  speaking  of  Turkey,  he  said  openly 
that  he  was  about  to  sign  an  armistice  with 
her,  but  should  take  care  not  to  evacuate 
the    provinces    of  the    Danube,    where   his 
troops  would  remain  for  a  long  time ;  and 
that  no  difficultv  would  be  raised  at  Paris 
on  the  subject  of  this  prolonged  occupation. 
Alexander  was  warmly  seconded  by  M.  de 
Romanzoff,  who,  besides   being  acquainted 
with   everything,  had   served   the   empress 
Catherine,  and  inherited  her  oriental  ambi- 
tion.    The  minister,  like  the  monarch,  re- 
peated that  his  listeners  must  have  patience, 
and   that   they  would   soon   have   a   satis- 
factory explanation  to  give  of  the  change  of 
politics  effected  at  Tilsit. 

But  the  words  of  the  emperor  fell  on 
incredulous  and  unwilling  ears.  He  could 
not  induce  his  nobility  to  extend  their  hos- 
pitality  to  the  French  ambassador,  or  treat 
him  otherwise  than  with  a  cutting  coldness. 
The  example  of  Alexander,  who  lavished 
every  attention  upon  General  Savary,  and 
invited  him  frequently  to  his  table,  prevailed 
to  open  some  of  the  great  houses  in  St. 
Petersburg  to  him.  Still  he  was  excluded 
by  most  of  the  distinguished  families;  for 
Alexander,  though  master  of  power,  was, 
nevertheless,  not  master  of  high  society ; 
which  was  ruled  by  a  loyalty  and  code  of  its 
own.  The  emperor  having  anticipated  his 
possession  of  the  sceptre  by  a  tragic  catas- 
trophe, strove  to  compensate  his  mother 
(who  had  descended  before  her  time  to  the 
station  of  dowager),  by  leaving  to  her  the 
exterior  of  supreme  power.  This  princess, 
who  mingled  a  stiff  conventional  virtue  with 
a  selfish  nature  and  a  haugrhtv  manner,  con- 
soled  herself  for  her  apparent  loss  with  Paul 
of  half  of  the  empire,  by  the  ostentatious 
display  of  imperial  splendour.  The  court 
assembled  at  her  residence,  and  not  at 
Alexander's.  His  life  was  generally  de- 
void of  state.  Entertaining  a  dislike  to  the 
empress  his  wife  (who  was  a  cold  and  grave 


beauty),  he  hastened,  after  his   repasts,  to 
leave  the  palace,  to  employ  himself  in  busi- 
ness with  the  statesmen  who  were  his  confi- 
dants, or  to  devote  his  hours  to  pleasure  in 
the  society  of  a  Russian  lady  to  whom  he 
was  much  attached.     As  to  the  courtiers, 
or  those  who  had  favours   to  obtain,  they 
thronged  around  the  empress-mother  as  if 
she  were  the  sole  author  of  the  acts  of  the 
imperial  power.     Even  Alexander  made  his 
appearance   there  with   the   assiduity  of  a 
submissive  son  who  had  not  yet  inherited 
the  paternal  sceptre.     Though  the  empress- 
mother  would  neither  use  or   permit  any 
language  calculated  to  displease   her   son, 
she  took  no  pains  to  disguise  her  evident 
aversion   to   the   French.     General  Savary 
she   had    treated   with    rudeness,    actually 
turning    her   back   upon    him    before   the 
assembled  court.     The  French  ambassador 
received  the  insult  without  emotion  ;  but  he 
adroitly  hinted  to  the  son,  that  he  was  not 
unobservant  of  the  slights  put  upon  him  by 
the  empress-dowager.     Alexander  was   an- 
noyed,   and    apprehensive   lest,    under   his 
affected  respect  for  his  mother,  a  foreigner 
might  not  recognise  the  real  master  of  the 
empire.     Grasping  the  generaPs  hand,  he 
said — "There   is    no    sovereign    here    but 
myself;    I  respect   my  mother,   but  every- 
body shall  obey,  be  assured  of  it.     At  all 
events,  whoever  needs  it,  shall  be  reminded 
of  the  nature  and  the  extent  of  my  au- 
thority.''     Savary  was  satisfied  with  having 
brought  the  emperor  to  such  a  confideuti^ 
communication    by    piquing    the    imperial 
pride.     The  result  appeared  in  some  show 
of  cordiality  on  the  part  of  the  empress- 
mother.     "Let   us   wait,"    said   Alexander 
frequently  to    the    ambassador,    "and   see 
what  England  will  do.     Let  us  know  what 
course  she  will  pursue;  I   will  then  break 
out :  and  when  I  have  declared  myself,  no- 
body shall  resist.^' 

The  result  of  the  peace  of  Tilsit  in  Eng- 
land was  to  produce  despondency,  and  to 
remove  the  hope  that  the  war  with  France 
could  be  brought  to  a  satisfactory  conclu- 
sion. Accordmg  to  his  agreement  with 
Napoleon,  Alexander,  on  his  arrival  at  St. 
Petersburg,  had  addressed  a  note  to  the 
British  cabinet,  expressing  a  wish  for  the 
restoration  of  a  general  peace,  and  offering 
his  mediation  to  bring  about  a  state  of 
amity^  between  France  and  England.  Mr. 
Canning  answered — that  England  was  per- 
fectly willing  to  treat,  on  equitable  terms, 
for  so  desirable  an  object ;  but  she  required 


A.D.  1807.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [seizure  of  the  Danish  fleet. 


a  frank  communication  of  the  secret  articles 
of  the  treaty  of  Tilsit,  as  a  pledge  of  the 
pacific  intentions  of  the  emperor  Alexander. 
This  demand  was  eluded ;  and,  in  reply, 
Baron  Budberg  entered  into  a  statement  of 
grievances  said  to  have  been  sustained  by 
Russia  at  the  hands  of  this  country. 

The  king  of  Sweden  was  the  only  conti- 
nental sovereign  who  refused  to  submit  to 
the  domination  of  Napoleon.  Before  the 
conclusion  of  peace  between  France  and 
Russia,  Gustavus  IV.  denounced  the  armistice 
existing  between  them.  Napoleon  instantly 
dispatched  30,000  men,  under  Marshal 
Brune,  to  Sweden  ;  and  the  Swedish  forces, 
numbering  but  15,000,  were  compelled  to 
take  refuge  within  the  fortifications  of  Stral- 
sund.  For  a  short  time  they  were  sup- 
ported by  10,000  English  troops ;  but  these 
were  soon  withdrawn,  to  assist  in  an  expe- 
dition against  Copenhagen,  to  which  we 
shall  presently  refer ;  and  the  Swedes  were 
left  to  their  fate.  Finding  the  fall  of  the 
city  certain,  Gustavus,  at  the  earnest  re- 
quest of  the  citizens,  abandoned  it  with  his 
troops,  after  the  latter  had  destroyed  their 
magazines,  spiked  their  cannon,  smashed 
their  carriages,  and  thrown  them  into  the 
ditches.  Stralsund  itself,  on  the  20th  of 
August,  with  400  pieces  of  cannon  and 
immense  military  magazines,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  French.  After  some  further 
struggles  the  Swedes  submitted ;  a  conven- 
tion was  concluded,  and  the  French  troops 
withdrawn. 

All  the  precautions  of  Napoleon  and 
Alexander  had  been  unable  to  preserve  in 
secrecy  their  private  treaty  of  Tilsit.  By 
means  of  bribery  the  English  government 
obtained  a  knowledge  of  the  fact,  that  the 
fleets  of  Denmark  and  Portugal  were  to  be 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  France,  and,  con- 
sequently, to  be  employed  against  this 
country.  Denmark  was  in  an  unfortunate 
position,  for  she  dared  not  resist  the  de- 
mands of  France,  sanctioned  by  the  power 
(rf  Russia;  and  to  consent  to  them  was  to 
place  herself  in  a  dangerous  attitude  of  hos- 
tility towards  England.  The  ministry  of 
this  country  were  aware,  that  if  Napoleon 
could  carry  out  his  projects,  they  would  be 
subjected  to  an  attack  from  the  combined 
navies  of  Europe.  They  therefore  resolved 
to  anticipate  the  efforts  of  the  enemy.  A 
powerful  naval  force,  consisting  of  twenty- 
seven  sail-of-the-line  and  numerous  other 
vessels,  having  on  board  a  body  of  20,000 
troops,  was  hurriedly  prepared  and  sent  to 


the  Danish  coast,  where  it  arrived  on  th 
3rd  of  August,  1807.  Immediately,  a  de- 
mand was  made  that  the  Danish,  fleet 
should  be  deposited  with  the  Britisli  gov- 
ernment in  pledge,  and  under  an  obligation 
of  restitution,  until  the  conclusion  of  a  gen- 
eral peace.  This  demand  was  indignantly 
refused.  The  English  troops  were  there- 
fore disembarked,  and  the  city  of  Copen- 
hagen invested.  So  rapid  and  unexpected 
had  been  the  proceedings  of  the  English, 
that  the  Danes  were  quite  unprepared  to 
resist  the  formidable  forces  bv  sea  and  land 
which  threatened  them.  Still  thej''  perse- 
vered in  their  rejection  of  the  offers  of  the 
invaders,*  and  the  unfortunate  city  was 
bombarded  for  three  days  and  nights,  during 
which  period  1,800  houses  were  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  1,500  of  the  inhabitants 
perished.  The  Danes  then  hung  out  a  flag 
of  truce ;  but  the  English  would  not  agree  to 
any  terms  except  on  the  unconditional  sur- 
render of  the  fleet,  together  with  all  the 
artillery  and  naval  stores  which  the  place 
contained.  The  Danes  were  compelled  to 
accept  these  severe  terms,  and  the  invading 
fleet  and  army  returned  to  England,  bring- 
ing with  them  the  prize  they  had  captured, 
consisting  of  eighteen  ships  of  the  line, 
fifteen  frigates,  six  brigs,  and  twenty-five 
gun-boats ! 

An  extraordinary  sensation  was  produced 
throughout  Europe  by  this  apparently  wan- 
ton outrage  against  a  neutral  nation,  with- 
out any  previous  declaration  of  war,  or 
known  ground  of  hostility.  This  feeling 
was  shared  by  the  English  people,  who,  not 
understanding  the  motive  of  the  govern- 
ment, were  astonished  at  its  conduct.  Na- 
poleon was  incensed,  and  assumed  to  be 
deeply  affected  by  the  catastrophe,  while 
Alexander  characterised  the  proceeding  as 
"  a  piratical  expedition,'^  and  condemned  it 
as  an  uncalled-for  violation  of  the  law  of 
nations.  The  English  cabinet,  desirous  of 
justifying  itself  with  the  principal  courts  of 
Europe,  sent  Lord  Pembroke  to  Vienna, 
and  General  Wilson  to  St.  Petersburg,  for 
that  purpose.  '  The  English  ambassador 
also  stated  that  his  cabinet  had  received 
information  of  the  secret  articles  of  the 
treaty  of  Tilsit,  and  the  intended  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Danish  fleet  in  a  descent  on  the 

*  The  crown  prince  is  said  to  have  exclaimed — 
"  You  offer  your  alliance ;  but  we  know  what  it  is 
worth !  Your  allies,  who  have  been  vainly  expect- 
ing your  succours  for  a  whole  year,  have  taught  us 
what  is  the  value  of  English  friendship." 


CONDUCT  OF  ALEXANDER.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1807. 


British  shores,  and  called  upon  the  Russian 
minister  to  disprove  the  assertion  by  an 
unreserved  communication  of  these  hidden 
stipulations.  The  demand  was  refused,  and 
Alexander  signified  his  intention  to  General 
Savary  immediately  to  declare  vrar  against 
England,  if  the  emperor  Napoleon  insisted 
on  it.*  "  Tell  your  master,"  said  the  em- 
peror, "  that  as  soon  as  my  means  are  pre- 
pared, I  will  crush  Sweden;  but,  as  for  the 
English,  I  am  ready  to  declare  myself  im- 
mediately." 

If  Alexander  was  already  playing  false 
with  France  (which  we  doubt),  he  must  have 
been    the   most   abandoned   of   hypocrites. 
His  language  to  Savary  expressed  the  most 
^rdent  attachment  to  the  French  emperor. 
"  I  shall  be  told,"  said  he  to  that  general, 
"that     Napoleon    is    insatiable;    that    he 
wants  all  for  himself,   nothing  for  others; 
that  he  is  equally  crafty  and  violent;  that 
he  promises  me  much,  but  will  give  me  no- 
thing;   that  he   spares   me  just    now,    but 
when  he  has   got   out   of  me    all   that   he 
wishes,  he  will  fall  upon  me  in  my  turn; 
and  that,  separated  from  my  allies,  whom  I 
shall  have  suflcred  to  be  destroyed,  I  must 
make  up  my  mind  to  endure  the  same  fate. 
I  believe  it  not.     I  have  seen  Napoleon ;  I 
flatter  myself  that  I  have  inspired  him  with 
a  portion  of  the  sentiments  with  which  he 
has  inspired  me;  and  I  am  certain  that  he 
is  sincere.     On  the  first  doubt,  on  the  first 
unpleasant  impression,  let  him  write  to  me, 
or  send  me  word,  and  all  shall  be  explained. 
For  my  part,  I  promise  him  entire  frank- 
ness, and  I  expect  the  like  from  him.     Oh 
that  I  could  see  him,  as  at  Tilsit,  every  dav, 
every  hour! — what  talent  for  conversation  !-^ 
what  an  understanding  ! — what  a  genius  ! — 
what  a  gainer  I  should  be  by  living  fre- 
quently near  him  !— how  many  things  he  has 

*  The  great  power  of  dissimulation  possessed  and 
constantly  exercised  by  Alexander,  has  perplexed 
many  writers,  and  makes  it  sometimes  difficult  to 
ascertain  what  were  his  real  sentiments.  From  the 
following  passage  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Life  of 
:Sapoleon,  presumed  to  be  founded  on  official  infor- 
mation, it  is  made  to  appear  that  the  cabinet  of  St. 
Petersburg,  though  obliged  to  yield  to  circumstances, 
was  secretly  gratified  at  the  vigorous  and  decisive 
blow  struck  at  the  Danish  fleet :—"  An  English 
officer  of  literary  celebrity  was  employed  by  Alex- 
ander, or  those  who  were  supposed  to  share  his 
most  secret  councils,  to  convey  to  the  British  min- 
istry the  emperor's  expression  of  the  secret  satisfac- 
tion which  his  imperial  majesty  felt  at  the  skill  and 
dexterity  which  Britain  had  displayed  in  anticipating 
and  preventing  the  purposes  of  France  by  her  attack 
upon  Copenhagen.  Her  ministers  were  invited  to 
communicate  freely  with  the  czar,  as  with  a  prince 


4 


taught  me  in  a  few  days !     I  am  doing  all 
I  can  to  render  mutual  confidence  as  com- 
plete as  possible,  but  I  do  not  exercise  that 
ascendancy  here   which    Napoleon    has  at- 
tained at  Paris.    This  country,  you  perceive, 
has  been  surprised  at  the  rather  too  abrupt 
change  which  has  taken  place.     It  is  appre- 
hensive of  the  injuries  which  the  English 
can  inflict  on  its  commerce ;  it  is  angry  at 
your  victories.     These  are  interests  which 
must  be  gratified;  sentiments  which  must 
be  soothed.    Send  French  merchants  hither  ;•. 
buy  our  naval  stores  and  our  productions ;/ 
we,  in  return,  will  buy  your   Paris    com-' 
modities ;  the  re-establishment  of  commerce 
will  put  an  end  to  all  the  anxieties  which 
the  upper  classes  entertain  on  account  of 
their  revenues.     Assist  me,  above  all,  to  do 
something  for  the  just  ambition  of  Russia." 
The  latter  remark  referred  to  the  emperor's 
designs  on  Turkey,  and  especially  on  Con- 
stantinople.     This   last   Napoleon    avoided 
expressing    an    opinion   on   to   Alexander, 
whom  he  desired  to   be   content   with    the 
acquisition  of  Finland.     Compliments  and 
presents  passed  between  the  two  potentates, 
and  Napoleon  sent  word  to   the   emperor, 
that  the  minister  Decres  was  about  to  pur- 
chase twenty  million  worth  of  naval  stores 
in  the  ports  of  Russia;  and,  in  answer  to  an 
application  to  that  effect,  that  the  French 
navy  would  receive  all  the  Russian  cadets 
who  should  be  sent  to  it  for  instruction,  and 
that  50,000  muskets,  after  the  best  model, 
were  at  the  disposal  of  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment. 

The  influence  of  Napoleon  over  Alex- 
ander induced  the  latter  to  make  the  bom- 
bardment of  Copenhagen,  and  the  seizure 
of  the  Danish  fleet,  a  pretext  for  break- 
ing off  all  relations  with  England,  and 
proclaiming    anew    the    principles   of  the 

who,  though  obliged  to  yield  to  chcumstances,  was, 
nevertheless,  as  much  as  ever  attached  to  the  cause 
of  European  independence."  The  first  communica- 
tions the  British  ministers  made  in  accordance  with 
this  invitation,  however,  were  received  with  such 
coldness,  as  to  show  that  either  the  agent  had  over- 
stepped his  instructions,  or  that  the  emperor  had 
changed  his  mind.  Count  Hardenberg,  the  dis- 
tinguished Prussian  minister,  said— "The  capture 
of  the  Danish  fleet  was  not  the  cause,  but  the 
pretext  of  the  rupture  of  Russia  with  England. 
The  cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg  was  not  sorry  at  so 
fair  an  opportunity  for  getting  quit  of  all  restraints 
upon  Its  meditated  hostilities  in  the  north  ;  and,  not- 
withstanding  all  its  loud  declamations  against  the 
Copenhagen  expedition,  it  beheld  with  more  satis- 
faction the  success  of  England  in  that  quarter,  than 
It  would  have  done  the  junction  of  the  Danish  fleet 
with  the  nary  of  the  French  emperor." 


l.D.  1807—1808.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[annexation  of  FINLAND. 


armed  neutrality.  The  imperial  declaration 
to  this  effect,  issued  on  the  16th  of  October, 

1807,  reproached  the  English  cabinet  with 
withholding  assistance  from  Russia  and 
Prussia  when  they  were  engaged  in  a  war 
which  it  had  kindled — with  having  acted  in 
a  hostile  manner  to  the  commercial  vessels 
of  Russia  at  the  very  time  when  the  blood 
of  its  people  flowed  for  the  interest  of  Eng- 
land in  the  struggle  against  France — with 
rejecting  the  mediation  of  Russia  to  effect  a 
general  pacification — and  with  sending  her 
fleets  and  armies  to  the  coasts  of  Denmark, 
''  to  execute  there  an  act  of  violence  of 
which  history,  so  fertile  in  wickedness,  does 
not  afford  a  parallel  example.^'  "Mr.  Can- 
ning, in  an  able  reply,  observed — "  The 
vindication  of  the  Copenhagen  expedition 
is  already  before  the  world,  and  Russia  has 
it  in  her  power  at  once  to  disprove  the  basis 
on  which  it  is  erected,  by  producing  the 
secret  articles  of  the  treaty  of  Tilsit.  These 
secret  articles  were  not  communicated  to 
his  majesty — they  are  not  yet  communi- 
cated— not  eyen  that  which  prescribed  a 
time  for  the  acceptance,  by  Great  Britain, 
of  the  proffered  mediation  of  Russia.  Even 
after  this  unworthy  concealment,  however, 
so  unsuitable  to  the  dignity  of  an  inde- 
pendent sovereign,  the  mediation  was  not 
refused :  it  was  conditionally  accepted,  and 
the  conditions  were  a  communication  of  the 
basis  on  which  the  proposed  treaty  was  to 
be  founded,  and  of  the  secret  articles  of 
Tilsit.  *  *  -s?-  Instead  of  granting  either  of 
these  demands,  Russia  declares  war.^' 

Alexander  followed  his  hostile  declaration 
against  England  by  summoning  the  king  of 
Sweden  to  join  in  the  league  against  it,  by 
accedino:  to  the  continental  system  of  ex- 
eluding  English  commerce  and  manufac- 
tures. Gustavus,  relying  on  the  support  of 
England,  resolutely  declined,  and  thus  bade 
defiance  to  the  united  power  of  Russia  and 
of  France.  War  was  therefore  declared 
against  him  by  Russia,  and  Count  Buxhov- 
den  entered  Finland  at  the  head  of  a  Rus- 
sian army  of  25,000,   in  the   February   of 

1808.  There  he  issued  a  proclamation, 
which  contained  the  following  passage : — 
"  Good  neighbours, — It  is  with  the  greatest 
regret  that  my  most  gracious  master,  the 
emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  sees  himself 
forced  to  send  into  your  country  the  troops 
under  my  orders.  But  his  majesty  the 
king  of  Sweden,  whilst  withdrawing  more 
and  more  from  the  happy  alliance  of  the 
two  greatest  empires  in  the  world,  draws 


closer   his   connections   with   the    coramoD 
enemy,  whose  oppressive  system    and   un- 
paralleled  conduct  towards  the   most  inti- 
mate allies  of  Russia  and  of  Sweden  herself 
cannot  be  coolly  endured  by  his  imperial 
majesty.     These  motives,  as  well  as  the  re- 
gard which  his  imperial  majesty  owes  to  the 
safety  of  his  own  states,  oblige  hbn  to  place, 
your  country  under  his  protection,   and  to 
take  possession  of  it  in  order  to  procure  by 
these  means  a  sufficient  guarantee  in  case 
his  Swedish  majesty  should  persevere  in  the 
resolution  not  to  accept  the  equitable  con- 
ditions of  peace  that  have  been  proposed  to 
him.'^ 

Gustavus,  naturally  irritated  at  a  war 
being  commenced  by  an  invitation  to  his 
subjects  to  break  their  allegiance,  issued  a 
declaration,  in  which  he  personally  re- 
proached the  Russian  emperor  with  perfidy 
and  meanness,  and  declared  that  the  Avar, 
"  based  on  the  avowed  design  of  Russia  to 
dictate  all  their  foreign  connections  to  the 
northern  powers,  was  undertaken  for  no 
other  object  than  to  add  Finland  to  the 
Russian  dominions,  and  compel  Sweden  to 
sacrifice  her  fleet  and  commerce  as  a  security 
for  Cronstadt  and  Revel."  But  the  struggle 
was  an  unequal  one ;  and,  after  much  fight- 
ing, in  a  series  of  petty  but  brilliant  actions, 
which  proved  the  bravery  of  the  troops  of 
both  nations,  Finland  was,  partly  by  bribery 
and  partly  by  the  bravery  of  the  Russian 
troops,  annexed  to  the  Russian  empire. 
By  an  imperial  ukase,  issued  on  the  28th  of 
March,  Alexander  declared — "  We  unite 
Finland,  conquered  by  our  arms,  for  ever  to 
our  empire,  and  command  its  inhabitants 
forthwith  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
our  throne."  This  declaration  was,  how- 
ever, somewhat  premature,  for  the  struggle 
was  prolonged  after  this  period ;  but  the 
Russian  forces  were  largely  reinforced ;  ac- 
cumulated misfortunes  fell  upon  the  Swedes; 
and  they  were  driven  to  sign  a  convention 
in  November,  1808,  by  which  the  whole  of 
Finland,  to  the  east  of  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia, 
was  ceded  to  Russia.  In  the  following 
year  Gustavus,  whose  despotic  conduct  had 
rendered  him  hateful  to  his  subjects,  was 
dethroned  by  them  ;  and  the  first  care  of  his 
successor  was  to  conclude  a  peace  with 
Russia. 

The  acquisition  of  Finland  was  of  great 
importance  to  Russia,  as  it  secured  its  as- 
cendancy in  the  Baltic.  It  is  regarded  as  a 
great  political  fault,  on  the  part  of  Na*poleon 
that  he  suffered  Russia  to  make  itself  master 


<  : 


SURRENDER  OF  A  RUSSIAN  FLEET.]    HISTORY    OF    THE 


of  this  formidable  bulwark  of  the   north ; 
but    that    was    the    price    he   paid    for   the 
neutrality   o"*  Alexander    with    respect    to 
Spain.     ''France   and   Russia,"  observes   a 
modern  historian,  "  relying  on  each  other's 
support,  now  laid  aside  all  moderation,  and 
even    the    semblance   of  justice,    in    their 
proceedings;    and,   strong  in  their  mutual 
forbearance,  instantly  proceeded  to  appro- 
priate, without  scruple,  the  possessions  of  all 
other  states — even  unoftending  neutrals,  or 
faithful  allies— which  lay  on  their  own  side 
of  the  line  of  demarcation.     It  was  easy  to 
see  that  the  present  concord  which  subsisted 
between  them  could  not  last.     The  world 
was  not   wide  enough  for  two  such   great 
and   ambitious    powers,   any  more   than   it 
Lad  been  for  Alexander  and  Darius,  Home 
and  Carthage.     Universal  empire,  to  one  or 
other,  would,  it  was  likely,  be  the  result  of 
a   desperate  strife  between    them;    and  in 
that  case  it  would  be  hard  to  say  wliether 
the    independence    of    Great    Britain    had 
most   to   fear   from    the    Scythian   or   the 
Gallic  liosts." 

At  this  period,  however,  Russia  received 
a  considerable  check  at  sea  from  the  hands 
of  England.     A  Russian  fleet,  consisting  of 
ten   ships   of  war,   under  the   command  of 
Admiral  Siniavin,  was  dispatched  to  Lisbon 
for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the  Portu- 
guese to   declare  against   England,  and  to 
adopt   the    continental   system.     The   fleet 
imi)rudently  remained    at    Lisbon    in   fan- 
cied security,  as  tlie  French  w^ere  in  pos- 
Kcssion  of  that    city.     During   this    period 
t-he  convention   of  Cintra  was  signed,  and 
the    French    abandoned    Portuirai.     A   few 
days  afterwards    the   Russian  fleet  surren- 
dered  to  Admiral  Cotton,  without  flring  a 
shot,    on    the    condition    that    the   vess^els 
should   be  restored  when   peace   was   con- 
cluded.    Ellwand  acted  with  peculiar  mo- 
deration ;  and  instead  of  makinj,'  the  officers 
and  crews  prisoners  of  war,  sent  them  back 
to  Russia  at  her  own  expense.    Some  French 
writers  have  made  the   (to  us  improbable) 
conjecture,  that  this  bloodless  capture  had 
been  previously  arranged  between  the  two 
powers,  and  thus  furnished  another  instance  ! 
of  the  dissatisfaction  of  Alexander  at  the 
conditions   he   had  entered   into    at    Tilsit, 
and    his   readiness  to    employ  duplicity  to 
evade  them.  Certain!}-,  heavy  reasons  existed 
to  account  for  any  dissatisfaction,  if  it  had 
yet   begun    to   be   entertained.     From  the 
official  accounts  of  the  Russian  trade  up  to 
the  treaty  of  Tilsit,  it  appeared  to  have  been 
6 


[a.d.  1808. 


continually   increasing;    and   nearly   4  000 
merchant  ships,  of  which  a  fourth  part  were 
English,  annually  entered  the  ports  of  the 
empire;    but   in    1808,    the    number    that 
arrived  in  the  eighteen  most  considerable 
ports,  was  less  than  1,000;  of  which  only 
300  visited  the  ports  of  the  Baltic.     The 
[Soundest  policy  for  Russia  was  peace;  for 
in  the  war  with  France,  Alexander  had  been 
compelled  to  call  upon  the  rich  for  extra- 
ordinary contributions,  which  they  readily 
furnished    in    great   abundance.    '  Further 
wars  necessarily  led  to  new  sacrifices ;  but, 
as  matters  stood,  this  great  empire  occupied 
the  undignified  position  of  being  no  lon"-er 
at  liberty  to  follo\r  its  own  policy,  but  was 
compelled  to  make  war  according   to   the 
arrangements   of    Napoleon.       Some   little 
misunderstanding  had  certainly  commenced 
between  Alexander  and  Napoleon  ;  and  the 
former  expostulated  earnestly   with  M.  de 
Caulaincourt  (who  had  succeeded   General 
Savary  as  ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg),  on 
the  prolonged  occupation  of  Prussia  by  the 
troops  of  Napoleon.    Alexander  also  desired 
to  be  permitted  to  annex  the  provinces  of 
Moldavia    and   Wallachia   to    the    Russian 
empire,  to  which  Napoleon  now  made  some 
objection,  as  it  w^as  not  agreeable  to  him  to 
have  to  lead  the  Russians  by  the  hand  to 
Constantinople,   or   bring   them   nearer  to 
that  object  of  their  ambition. 

Since   the   peace   of   Presburg,    Austria 
had  remained  neutral  in  the  struggle  which 
had  been  carried  on  against  the  ambition  of 
France.      She   was   now,    however,    despite 
her   earnest    protestations   to   the    French 
emperor  to  the  contrary,  preparing  to  renew 
the  war.     The  cabinet  of  Vienna  deemed 
the  opportunity  favourable,   on   account  of 
the   occupation   of    the   French   armies   in 
Spam;  and  it  was  evident  that  they  were 
ready  to  declare  against  Napoleon  on  the 
first  opportunity.     To  overawe  Austria  was 
one  of  the  reasons  which  made  Napoleon 
write  to  the  emperor  Alexander,  desiring  a 
personal   interview.      The   former    believed 
that  the  Austrian  government  would  scarcely 
dare  to  recommence  hostilities  with  France, 
when  in  a  close  friendly  alliance  with  the 
next  most  powerful  militarv  state  in  Europe 
Another   reason   was,    tha't    Napoleon   was 
exasperated  against  the  Turks,  who,  assert- 
mg  that  France  aimed  at  sacrificing  them 
to  Russian  ambition,  behaved  with  a  defiant 
ferocity  towards  the  French  at  Constanti- 
nople.     Napoleon,    therefore,    in    inviting 
Alexander  to  personal  conference  with  him] 


A.D.  1808.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[iN'S^TATION  TO  KRFURTH. 


- 


held  out  to  that  ambitious  potentate  a  lure 
which  to  him  was  irresistible — that  is,  the 
complete  partition  of  the  Ottoman  empire ; 
and,  consequently,  the  probable  permission 
to  proceed  undisturbed  against  the  Turks 
until  he  had  obtained  possession  of  Con- 
stantinople. In  his  letter  to  Alexander, 
Napoleon  announced  his  intention  of  dis- 
cussing the  question  of  the  empire  of  the 
East,  of  considering  it  under  all  its  aspects, 
and  of  solving  it  definitely.  He  also  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  admit  Austria  as  a  sharer 
in  the  spoliation  of  Turkey  ;  and,  returning 
to  the  wild  scheme  which  he  had  enter- 
tained in  concert  with  the  late  emperor 
Paul,  specified  as  an  essential  condition  of 
this  partition,  a  gigantic  expedition  to  India, 
across  the  continent  of  Asia,  executed  by  a 
French,  Russian,  and  Austriau  army. 

Alexander  received  the  invitation  of  his 
ally    with    transports   of  joy,   and   read   it 
instantly   in   the   presence   of  the   French 
ambassador.     "Ah,    the    great   man  !'^    he 
frequently  exclaimed  while  doing  so ;  ''  the 
gjreat  man  !     There,  he  has  come  back  to 
tlie  ideas  of  Tilsit  V     Then,  addressing  M. 
de  Caulaincourt  (the  ambassador),  the  em- 
peror said,  in  reference  to  Napoleon — "  Tell 
him    that    I    am    devoted   to  him  for  life; 
that  my  empire,  my  armies,  and  all,  are  at 
his    disposal.      Your    master,"    he    added, 
"purposes  to  interest  Austria  in  the  dis- 
memberment of  the  Turkish  empire  ;  he  is 
in  the  right.     It  is  a  wdse  conception;   I 
cordially  join  in  it.     He  designs  an  expedi- 
tion to  India ;    I  consent  to  that  too  :    I 
have  already  made  him  acquainted,  in  our 
long  conversations  at  Tilsit,  with  the  diffi- 
culties attending  it.     He  is  accustomed  to 
take  no  account  of  obstacles;  nevertheless, 
the  climate  and  distances  here  present  such 
as    surpass  all  that  he  can  imagine.     But 
let  him  be  easy;   the  preparations  on  my 
part  shall  be  proportioned  to  the  difficulties. 
Now  we  must  come  to  an  understanding 
about    the    distribution    of    the    territories 
which  we  are  going  to  wrest  from  Turkish 
barbarism.     Discuss  this  subject  thoroughly 
with  M.  de  Romanzoff".     Still  we  must  bear 
in  mind,  that  all  this  cannot  be  discussed 
usefully  and  definitively  but  in  an  interview 
between  me  and  Napoleon." 

On  the  proposal  of  Alexander,  Erfuxth  (a 
town  of  Upper  Saxony)  was  selected  as  the 
place  of  meeting  between  him  and  Napo- 
leon ;  and  September  was  the  time  named. 
The  latter  caused  every  preparation  to  be 
made,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  dignity  and 


brilliancy  to  the  meeting  of  two  such  power- 
ful potentates.     Four  fine  regiments  were 
ordered  to  march  to   Erfurth,   where  they 
were  to  act  as  a  guard  of  honour  to  the 
sovereigns  present  at  the  interview.    Officers 
of  his  household  were  sent  with  the  richest 
portions  of  the   crown  furniture,   in    order 
that  the  largest  houses  in  the  town  might 
be  arranged  to  suit  the  wants  of  the  dis- 
tinguished  persons   about   to    be   collected 
there ;  consisting  of  emperors,  kings,  princes, 
ministers,    and    generals.       Che    tragedian 
Talma,   and  the   first  French   actors,  were 
also  commanded   to  repair  to   Erfurth,  in 
order  that  the  dramatic  literature  of  France 
should  contribute  to  distinguish  so  remark- 
able an  incident.     Finally,  Napoleon  gave 
orders   for   the    display  of  an   extravagant 
sumptuousness ;  for  he  desired  that  France 
should   command  respect   by  her  elegance 
and  civilisation  as  much  as  by  her  arms. 
The  large    party   at    St.    Petersburg   who 
were  hostile  to  the  French  alliance  bitterly 
censured  the  proposed  meeting.     The  free 
speech  of  the  court  of  the  empress-mother, 
on  this  subject,  was  w4th  difficulty  restrained 
by  the  express  command  of  Alexander.    She 
herself  broke   out   into  violent   reproaches 
against  Romanzoff*,  telling  him  that  he  was 
leading   her  son  to   destruction,  and  that 
perhaps    at    Erfurth    a    fate    awaited    him. 
similar  to  what  had  befallen  the  unhappy 
sovereigns  of  Spain  at  Bayonne.*      Finally, 
she  expressed  her   apprehensions   to  Alex- 
ander himself,  who   did  his  best  to  assure 
her  that  her  fears  were  without  foundation. 
The  Russian  emperor  arrived  at  Erfurth 
on  the  27th    of   September,  1808,  accom- 
panied   by    his    brother    the    Grand-duke 
Constantine ;  the  minister   Romanzoff",  the 
French    ambassador,    and   a   few   aides-de- 
camp, having  travelled   in  a  plain  caltche 
more  rapidly  than  the  most  hurried  couriers. 
Napoleon  had    arrived  on  the  morning  of 
the   same  day ;    and,    on   the    approach  of 
Alexander,  rode  out,  surrounded  by  an  im- 
mense staff,  to   meet   him.     On   alighting 
they  embraced  each   other   cordially,   with 
every  sign  of  extreme   pleasure.     A  great 
number  of  sovereigns,  generals,  and  diplo- 
matists had  been  invited,  and  were  present 
to  give  dignity  to  the  occasion:    amongst 
them  were  Prince  William  of  Prussia  and 
the  king  of  Saxony.     Germany  w^as  repre- 

*  At  Bayonne,  Charles  IV.  and  his  son  Ferdi- 
nand— to  which  place  they  had  been  invited  by  Na- 
poleon— were  intimidated  into  a  renunciation  of  the 
Spanish  crown.  ^ 


r«-««apiwaw*r! 


THE  EMPERORS  AT  ERFURTH.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


-sented   by   a   crowd  of  crown  princes,    as 
well   as   by   many   of  its   men   of  genius, 
deluding  Goethe  and  Wieland;    and   the 
old  and  quiet  town  assumed  a   most  ani- 
mated and  brilliant  appearance.     The  place 
-vas    thronged  with  soldiers,  officers,  equi- 
pages, and  servants  in  livery ;  while  princes 
and  distinguished   statesmen   met    in    the 
street  as  simple  pedestrians.    The  kin^s  and 
princes  invited  were  to  dine  every  day  at 
Napoleon's  table,  as  he  was  the  host,\ind 
the  sovereign  of  the  north  was  his  guest. 
In  the  evening  of  the  27th  the  town  was 
illuminated ;  and,  after  the  crowd  of  impe- 
rial,   royal,    and    titled    persons    had    par- 
taken of  a  splendid  banquet,  tiie  tra^redy  of 
China  was  performed   before  them  by  the 
most  accomplished  actors  France  ever  pos- 
sessed. 

Between    the   numerous    entertainments 
which  took  place.  Napoleon  and  Alexander 
found  time  to  confer  together  alone  on  the 
important  matters  they  had  to  arrange.    The  ' 
former  had  reconsidered  the  Eastern  question,  | 
and  renounced  the  idea  of  the  partition  of 
Turkey;  for  he  saw  that  it  was  imjiossible 
to   agree    with   Alexander   on  that  subject 
unless  he  surrendered  Constantinople,  wliich 
he  was  resolved  not  to  do.     As  a  compensa- 
tion, however,  he  agreed  to  concede  Wal- 
lachia  and  Moldavia  to  Russia,  in  return  for 
which  he  required  a  close  alliance  for  peace 
and  war,  and  an  absolute  union  of  efforts 
against  England  and  Austria,  in  the  event 
of    the   latter  power   resuming   hostilities. 
Alexander  assented;  for  though  somewhat 
disappointed  respecting  Constantinople,  he 
was  gratified   by   the  cession  of  Moldavia 
and   Wallachia,  which  formed  a  stepping- 
stone  to  its  acquisition.     He  renewed  his 
protestations  of  attachment   to   Napoleon 
and  of  adherence  to  his  policy,    to  which 
Iriendly   statements   the    latter  replied   in 
terms  of  reciprocity.     To  bring  over  Alex- 
ander to  his  views  respecting  the  present 
partition  of  Turkey,  Napoleon  examined  in 
detail  with  him  the  various  plans  that  had 
been  proposed  for  its  accomplishment.     For 
himself,  he  peremptorily  withheld  his  con- 
sent that  Russia  should,  if  she  could,  take 
Constantinople.     Then  he  pointed  out  the 
dilhculties  which    Russia  would  encounter 
in  the  execution  of  such  a  project.     Austria, 
he  said,  would  certainly  not  accede  to  it, 
whatever  offers  might  be  made  to  her;  and 
she  would  prefer  a  desperate  conflict  to  a 
partition  of  the  Turkish  empire.     England, 
Austria,  Turkey,   Spain,  and  part  of  Ger- 
8 


[a.d.  1808. 


many,  would  join  in  a  last  effort  to  resist 
this  unsettlement  of  the  world.     Was  the 
present  moment,  he  urged,  such  as  the  two 
empires  ought  to  choose  for  so  gigantic  a 
work  ?     Would  not  the  attainment  of  Fin- 
land,   Moldavia,  and   Wallachia  make  the 
reign   of   Alexander   equally    distinguished 
with  those  of  his  predecessors  which  were 
the  most  productive  of  territorial  aggran- 
disement?    Besides,  he   added,   they    (the 
two  emperors)  were  both  young;  they  could 
afford  to  wait,  and  postpone  their  vast  pro- 
jects respecting  the  East.    Alexander,  though 
not  convinced,  was  satisfied ;  but  he  stipu- 
lated for  the  immediate  possession  of  the 
two  Danubian  provinces. 

The  first  eight  or  ten  days  of  the  period 
over  which  the  interview  was  prolonged,  was 
devoted  to  the  consideration  of  this  subject; 
and  great  as  had  been  the  previous  courtesy 
ot  the  two  emperors  towards  each  other,  it 
I  was  Irom  that  time  expressive  of  more  good- 
will  than  ever.     M.  Thiers  observes— "Alex- 
ander especially  seemed  to  blend  affection 
u'lth  politics;  in  the  promenade,  at  table, 
at  the  theatre,  his  demeanour  towards  his 
illustrious  ally  was  familiar,  deferential,  and 
enthusiastic.     When  he  spoke  of  him,  it  was 
in  a  tone  of  admiration,  with  which  no  one 
could  fail  to  be  struck.^'     One  evening,  at 
the   theatre,    Alexander   paid   Napoleon   a 
compliment  remarkable  for  its  elegance  and 
aptness.     The  play  was  Voltaire's  tragedy 
ot  (Edipus ;  and  when  the  representative  of 
Fhiloctetes  uttered  the  well-known  line— 

"L'amitie  d'un  grand  homme  est  un  bienfait  des 
dieux;'* 

Alexander  grasped  Napoleon's  hand,  and, 
with  a  profound  bow,  exclaimed — "  That  I 
have  never  more  truly  felt  than  at  the 
present  moment !'' 

The  most  important  part  of  the  compact 
entered  into  between  the  two  emperors,  was 
that  by  which  Alexander  engaged  to  support 
Napoleon  in  the  war  which  was  foreseen  to 
be  approaching  with  Austria.  Napoleon 
felt  convinced,  that  if  the  union  between 
France  and  Russia  was  sincere  and  manifest, 
that  Austria  would  be  forced  to  remain 
quiescent,  for  she  would  be  crushed  between 
the  two  empires  if  she  attempted  to  stir; 
and  that  the  submission  of  Austria  would 
compel  England  also  to  yield  and  agree  to  a 
naval  peace.  The  two  emperors  also  re- 
newed their  alliance,  and  engaged  to  make 
peace  or  war  in  common.     They  resolved  to 

•  "  The  friendship  of  a  great  man  is  a  blessinir 
ironi  the  gods."  * 


A.D.  1808.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[interview  at  ERFURTH. 


make  a  formal  proposal  of  peace  to  England, 
in  so  public  and  conspicuous  a  manner,  as 
to  render  refusal  the  more  difficult  on  the 
part  of  the  British  cabinet.  France,  how- 
ever, was  only  to  consent  to  such  a  peace  as 
should  insure  to  Russia,  Finland,  Moldavia, 
and  Wallachia ;  while  Russia  was  to  consent 
to  such  a  peace  only  as  should  secure  to 
France,  independently  of  her  other  posses- 
sions, the  crown  of  Spain.  Immediately 
after  the  signing  of  the  convention,  Russia 
might  take  such  steps  with  respect  to  the 
Porte  as  were  necessary  to  obtain,  by  peace 
or  war,  the  two  provinces  of  the  Danube ; 
but  the  language  held  by  Russia  to  Turkey 
was  to  be  such  as  would  not  compromise 
the  alliance  of  France  with  the  latter  power. 
At  the  urgent  intercession  of  Alexander, 
some  modification  of  the  severity  of  French 
supremacy  was  obtained  for  Prussia.  Finally, 
it  was  agreed  that  if  the  conference  did  not 
lead  to  peace  on  the  continent,  the  two  em- 
perors should  meet  each  other  again  within 
a  year.  Before  parting,  they  wrote  a  joint 
letter  to  the  king  of  England,  in  which 
they  invited  him  to  conclude  a  peace  on  the 
basis  of  sacrificing  his  Spanish  allies.* 

Another  subject,  of  a  domestic  nature, 
yet  fraught  with  much  political  significance, 
was  talked  of  by  the  two  emperors  before 
their  separation.*^  It  related  to  a  marriage 
between  Napoleon  and  a  sister  of  Alexander. 
The  former  had  for  some  time  thought  of 
divorcing  Josephine,  that  he  might  marry 
a  princess  who  could  give  him  an  heir ;  but 
the  affection  which  bound  him  to  the  wife  of 
his  youth,  and  the  difficulty  of  fixing  his 
choice,  had  hitherto  proved  obstacles  to  his 
design.  But  now  an  opportunity  presented 
itself,  as  it  was  generally  reported  that  Alex- 

*  This  letter,  dated  Erfurth,  12th  October,  1808, 
"was  as  follows :— "  Sire, — The  present  circumstances 
of  Europe  have  brought  us  together  at  Erfurth. 
Our  first  thought  is  to  yield  to  the  wishes  and  wants 
of  every  people,  and  to  seek,  in  a  speedy  pacification 
•with  your  majesty,  the  most  efficacious  remedy  for 
the  miseries  which  oppress  all  nations.  We  make 
known  to  your  majesty  our  sincere  desire  in  this 
respect  by  the  present  letter.  The  long  and  bloody 
■war  which  has  torn  the  continent  is  at  an  end,  with- 
out the  possibility  of  being  renewed.  Many  changes 
have  taken  place  in  Europe ;  many  states  have  been 
overthrown.  The  cause  is  to  be  found  in  the  state 
of  agitation  and  misery  in  which  the  stagnation  of 

VOL.  II.  C 


ander's  marriageable  sisters  were  ladies  ex- 
cellently endowed,  both  with  respect  to 
appearance  and  accomplishments.  The  pride 
of  Napoleon,  however,  made  him  averse  to 
make  any  proposal,  and  Alexander  never 
alluded  to  the  subject — a  circumstance  that 
almost  displeased  his  imperial  friend.  On 
Talleyrand  reporting  to  Napoleon  some 
complimentary  observations  of  the  czar,  the 
emperor  exclaimed — "  If  he  likes  me,  let 
him  give  me  proof  of  the  fact,  by  uniting 
himself  with  me  more  closely,  and  bestowing 
on  me  one  of  his  sisters.  Why  has  he  never 
said  a  word  to  me  of  this  in  our  daily  confi- 
dential intercourse?  Why  does  he  affect 
thus  to  avoid  the  subject?"  The  acute 
minister  understood  the  hint,  and  brought 
the  subject  before  Alexander,  who  received 
the  overture  with  the  most  flattering  ex- 
pressions of  regard  for  Napoleon;  but  he 
feared  that  his  mother,  who  exercised  an 
absolute  control  over  her  daughters,  would 
not  give  her  consent.  The  czar  added,  that 
he  should,  doubtless,  succeed  in  favourably 
disposing  his  sister  the  Grand-duchess 
Catherine,  but  that  he  could  not  flatter 
himself  with  the  hope  of  subduing  his  mo- 
ther's prejudices,  and  that  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  restrain  her  by  an  exertion 
of  his  imperial  authority.  He  would,  how- 
ever, make  the  attempt,  but  without  answer- 
ing for  its  success. 

The  interview  terminated  on  the  14th  of 
October,  each  emperor  lavishing  presents 
and  decorations  on  the  suite  of  the  other. 
They  parted  with  an  exhibition  of  emotion 
that  was  probably  sincere.  "They  were 
never  to  meet  more,"  observe^  M.  Thiers ; 
"  and  of  their  projects  of  that  hour  not  one 
was  destined  to  be  accomplished  !" 

maritime  commerce  has  placed  the  greatest  nations. 
Still  greater  changes  may  yet  take  place,  and  all  of 
them  contrary  to  the  policy  of  the  English  nation. 
Peace,  then,  is  at  once  the  interest  of  the  people  of 
the  continent,  as  it  is  the  interest  of  the  people  of 
Great  Britain.  We  unite  in  entreating  your  ma- 
jesty to  listen  to  the  voice  of  humanity,  silencing 
that  of  the  passions ;  to  seek,  with  the  intention  of 
arriving  at  that  object,  to  conciliate  all  interests,  and 
by  that  means  to  preserve  all  the  powers  which  exist, 
and  to  insure  the  happiness  of  Europe,  and  of  the  gen- 
eration at  the  head  of  which  Providence  has  placed  us. 

"Alexander. 

"  Napoleon." 

9 


AFFAIRS  OF  AUSTRIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1809. 


A.D.  1810.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[marriage  of  napoleow. 


* 


CHAPTER   II. 

AUSTRIA  BEGINS  A  NEW  WAR  WITH  NAPOLEON,  BUT  IS  REDUCED,  AFTER  A  SHORT  CAMPAIGN,  TO  PURCHASE 
PEACE  BY  THE  CESSION  OF  TERRITORY  ;  ALEXANDER,  WHO  HAD  COLDLY  SECONDED  NAPOLEON,  SHARES 
THE  SPOIL  ;  ABANDONING  THE  IDEA  OF  A  DOMESTIC  ALLIANCE  WITH  ALEXANDER,  NAPOLEON  MARRIES 
MARIA  LOUISA,  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  EMPEROR  OF  AUSTRIA;  ALEXANDER  FEELS  SLIGHTED;  REPLY  OF 
ENGLAND  TO  THE  PACIFIC  PROPOSALS  OF  FRANCE  AND  RUSSIA  ;  ALEXANDER  CAUSES  THE  WAR  WITH 
TURKEY  TO  BE  RENEWED ;  HE  ISSUES  AN  UKASE,  ANNOUNCING  THAT  MOLDAVIA  AND  WALLACHIA  AUB 
ANNEXED  TO  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE  ;  AFTER  THREE  CHEQUERED  CAMPAIGNS,  ALEXANDER  DEEMS  IT  PRU- 
DENT TO  CONCLUDE  PEACE  WITH  TURKEY,  BY  WHICH  HE  ABANDONS  MOLDAVIA  AND  WALLACHIA,  BUT 
RETAINS  BESSARABIA.  ^^,ovi. 


The    Austrian     government     was     deeply 
wounded  in  consequence  of  no  representa- 
tive of  it  being  invited  to  the  conferences  at 
Erfurth;  and  it  naturally  anticipated  evil 
to  itself  from  the  ominous  conjunction  of 
two   such   powers   as   France   and    Russia. 
Austria   had    made   its    preparations,   and 
entered  into  a  secret  alliance  with  England, 
which,  however,  wisely  advised  the  govern- 
ment of  that  empire,  not  to  take  any  hos- 
tile   steps   against   France,   unless   its    re- 
sources were  clearly  equal  to  the  inevitable 
struggle  which    such   a   proceeding   would 
provoke.     The  Austrian   cabinet,  notwith- 
standing the  amicable  relations  which  ex- 
isted   between   Alexander    and   Napoleon, 
actually  sent  Prince  Schwartzeuberg  to  St. 
Petersburg,  with    directions   to   use   every 
effort  to  obtain  the  concession  of  Russia  to 
a   new  confederacy   against   France.     The 
Austrian   ministry   was    aware   that   Alex- 
ander was  capable  of  acting  with  the  un- 
blushing treachery  towards  his  friend  and 
ally  which   their   application   implied,  and 
they  knew  that,  though  fascinated  by  the 
manners  and  the  vast  schemes  of  Napoleon, 
he  yet  had  a  lingering  belief  in  the  assumed 
necessity  of  ultimately  joining  in   a   con- 
federacy for  the  deliverance  of  Europe  from 
the   aggressive   ambition  of  France.     "In 
truth,''    observes   Alison    of   his    imperial 
idol,   "the   emperor  Alexander  was   much 
perplexed  how  to  act ;  the  obvious  interests 
of  his  empire  impelling  him  one  way,  and 
his    secret    engagements    with    Napoleon, 
another.     After  a  short  struggle,  however, 
the  latter  prevailed.     Alexander  had  given 
his  word    to    the   French    emperor;    and 
though  capable  of  the  utmost  dissimulation. 


There  is  a  moral  contradiction  in  this  senti- 
™^vr*i  ^^  ^^  "°^  permitted  to  a  gentleman  to  be 
publiciy  false  and  privately  true ;  treacherous  with 
respect  to  duties,  yet  sincere  with  regard  to  his 
friendships :  indeed,  it  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  pos- 
■ible.  In  such  cases  the  truth  and  sincerity  are 
10 


so  far  as  the  mere  obligations  of  cabinets 
were  concerned,  the  czar  was  scrupulously 
faithful  to  any  personal  engagements  which 
he   had   undertaken.*      He  was   occupied, 
moreover,  with  those  great  schemes  of  am- 
bition, both  on  his  northern  and  southern 
frontier,   which   had   formed   the   bait    by 
which  Napoleon   had  lured  him   into   the 
French  alliance,  and  little  inclined  to  forego 
present  and   certain  conquests  in  Finland 
and  Moldavia,  for  the  problematical  advan- 
tages of  a  contest  in  the  heart  of  Germany. 
All  attempts  to  engage  Russia  in  the  con- 
federacy, therefore,  proved    abortive;    and 
the  utmost  which  the  Austrian  envoy  could' 
obtain   from   the   imperial   cabinet,"  was   a 
secret  assurance  that  Russia,  if  compelled 
to  take  a  part  in  the  strife,  would  not,  at 
least,  bring   forward   any  formidable  force 
against  the  Austrian  legions.'^ 

Austria  commenced  the  war  on  the  8th 
of  April,  1809,  and  at  first  achieved  some 
successes  ;  but  the  campaign,  during  which 
Vienna  was  taken  by  the  French,  concluded 
in  the  July  following  with  the  bloody  battle 
of  Wagram,   in    which    24,000   Austrians 
were  killed  or  wounded.     So  obstinate  was 
the  conflict,  that  the   loss   of  the  French 
nearly   equalled   that   of  their  vanquished 
foes.      The    emperor   Francis    desired    au 
armistice,  which  was  followed  by  a  peace 
signed  at  Vienna  on  the  14th  of  October. 
Austria  purchased  this  peace  by  large  ter- 
ritorial concessions  to  the  French ;  and  Alex- 
ander, who  had  assisted  Napoleon  with  an 
army  of  30,000  men,  received  for  his  share 
of  the  spoils  of  Austria,  the  eastern  part  o£ 
Galicia  in  ancient  Poland ;  a  territory  con- 
taining a  population  of  420,000  persons. 


semblances,  not  realities.  Alexander  showed,  in  the 
sequel,  that  though  fascinated  by  Napoleon,  he  had 
never  entertained  any  really  earnest  friendship  for 
him;  both^of  them,  in  fact,  were  much  too  selfish 
to  be  deeply  influenced  by  an  emotion  the  essence  of 
'  which  is  self-denial. 


On  the  I5tli  of  December,  1809,  the 
marriage  of  Napoleon  with  the  empress 
Josephine  was  dissolved  by  an  act  of  the 
senate,  and  a  jointure  of  2,000,000  francs, 
or  £80,000  a-year,  settled  upon  the  un- 
happy lady.  Napoleon,  anxious  for  an  heir, 
and  feeling  the  want  of  historical  descent, 
now  hesitated  whether  he  should  ally  him- 
self with  the  imperial  family  of  Russia,  oi^* 
with  that  of  Austria.  He  desired  that  his 
contemplated  marriage  should  not  only,  by 
giving  him  a  son,  make  him  the  founder  of 
a  new  dynasty,  but  that  it  should  serve  his 
foreign  policy  by  consolidating  his  system 
of  alliances.  The  recent  policy  of  Napo- 
leon pointed  to  a  Russian  alliance ;  but 
since  the  interview  at  Erfurth,  some  cool- 
ness had  arisen  between  him  and  Alex- 
ander, whom,  he  complained,  had  but  ill 
seconded  him  in  the  war  with  Austria. 
The  mother  of  Alexander,  filled  with  the 
haughty  prejudices  of  the  high  aristocracy 
of  Europe,  had  hurriedly  married  her 
daughter,  the  Grand-duchess  Catherine,  to 
the  Duke  of  Oldenburg,  in  order  to  avoid  a 
domestic  alliance  with  Napoleon.  The  latter, 
however,  was  not  yet  diverted  from  his  pur- 
pose ;  and  he  directed  his  ambassador  at 
St.  Petersburg  to  propose  to  Alexander  for 
tlie  hand  of  his  younger  sister,  the  Grand- 
duchess  Anne.  Alexander  replied,  that  he 
would  consult  his  mother,  without  compro- 
mising the  French  emperor  on  the  subject. 
Anxious  at  the  same  time  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  wishes  of  his  imperial  ally,  he 
bargained,  as  the  price  of  his  sister's  per- 
son, that  a  convention  should  be  entered 
into,  binding  Napoleon  never  ^o  reconstruct 
the  kingdom  of  Poland. 

The  French  emperor,  impatient  of  the 
delays  created  by  Alexander,  demanded,  on 
the  10th  of  January,  1810,  a  categorical 
answer  in  the  space  of  ten  days.  This 
period  was  consumed  in  discussions  with 
the  empress-mother,  who  spoke  of  the  ex- 
treme youth  of  the  grand-duchess,  who  was 
only  sixteen,  and  of  the  difference  in  their 
religion.  In  conclusion,  she  demanded  a 
Russian  chapel  and  priests  in  the  Tuileries, 
and  the  delay  of  a  few  months,  to  prepare 
the  young  princess  for  so  important  a 
change  in  her  condition.  Napoleon  was 
annoyed.  "  To  adjourn,^'  said  he,  '^  is  to 
refuse ;  besides,  I  do  not  choose  to  have 
foreign  priests  in  my  palace,  between  my 
wife  and  myself."  Before  the  negotiations 
with  Russia  were  concluded,  he  proposed 
for  the   hand  of   the  Archduchess   Maria 


Louisa,  the  daughter  of  the  emperor  of 
Austria.  Francis  instantly  assented  to  the 
proposal,  in  which  he  thought  he  saw  the 
security  of  his  own  empire,  and  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  union  between  France  and 
Russia.  The  young  lady  also  accepted  the 
brilliant  proposal  with  becoming  reserve,  but 
with  real  delight.  She  was  eighteen,  of 
a  good  figure,  and  a  fair  German  com- 
plexion. "  She  is  not  beautiful,^'  said  Na- 
poleon on  a  subsequent  occasion,  "  but  she 
is  the  daughter  of  the  Caesars.^'  The  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  with  extraordinary 
pomp  at  St.  Cloud,  on  the  1st  of  April; 
and  the  following  day  the  emperor  and 
empress  made  their  entrance  into  Paris 
amidst  the  roar  of  artillery,  the  clang  of 
bells,  and  the  excited  acclamations  of  the 
people. 

Alexander,  though  he  had  shown  no  par- 
ticular solicitude  for  the  connection  of  Na- 
poleon with  his  sister,  experienced  a  sense 
of  slight  and  mortification  at  seeing  him 
married  to  the  scion  of  a  rival  imperial 
family.  This  feeling  was  apparent  even  in 
the  congratulations  he  caused  to  be  con- 
veyed to  Napoleon  on  the  occasion ;  indeed, 
he  could  not  but  feel  that  the  hand  of  his 
sister  was,  to  some  extent,  discarded,  even 
while  the  proposal  for  it  was  under  con- 
sideration at  St.  Petersburg.  "  Personally, 
I  may  have  some  reason  to  complain,"  said 
he  to  the  French  ambassador,  *'but  I  do 
not  do  so;  I  rejoice  at  whatever  is  for  the 
good  of  France."  Alexander  deceived^him- 
self ;  and  so  strong  was  the  sense  of  irrita- 
tion which  he  felt  on  this  point,  that  it 
materially  contributed  to  the  coldness  whicli 
soon  afterwards  sprung  up  between  the  two 
courts.  * 

England  did  not  shrink  from  the  pros- 
pect of  having  nearly  the  whole  continent 
arrayed  against  her,  in  the  event  of  her 
refusing  to  come  to  terms  with  Napoleon 
and  Alexander.  She  had  braved  this  po- 
sition before,  and  found  the  result  not  so 
serious  as  would  reasonably  be  supposed. 
Still  mistress  of  the  seas,  she  was  com- 
paratively secure  against  the  efforts  of  her 
adversaries.  It  had  been  found  impossible 
effectually  to  close  the  continent  against 
her  from  one  end  to  the  other;  and  the 
attempt,  therefore,  to  annihilate  her  com- 
merce was  a  failure.  At  this  period  also, 
great  enthusiasm  existed  in  England  on 
behalf  of  the  Spaniards ;  and  the  nation 
was  not  so  desirous  of  peace  as  to  wish  to 
obtain  it  on  the  condition  of  sacrificing  an 

11 


I 


WAR  WITH  TURKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1809—1810. 


ally.    Mr.  Canning,  therefore,  replied  to  the 
overtures  of  France  and  Russia-— that  Eng- 
land, though  she  had   often   received  pro- 
posals for  peace  which  she  had  strong  reasons 
for  not  believing  to  be  sincere,  would  never 
Refuse  to  listen  to  overtures  of  that  kind,  so 
long  as  they  were  honourable  to  her.     She 
accordingly  insisted  that  all  her  allies,  the 
Spanish  insurgents  as  well  as  the  others, 
should    be   included    in    the    negotiations. 
On  this    condition,   Mr.  Canning   affirmed 
himself  ready  to  name  plenipotentiaries,  and 
to  send  them  wherever  their  presence  might 
be  desired.     Napoleon  would  not  consent  to 
the   admission   of  the  Spanish  insurgents; 
and  England  declared  the  pacific  proposals 
addressed  to  her  to  be  illusory;    that  the 
negotiations    were,    therefore,   to    be    con- 
sidered as  broken  off ;  and  that  war  would 
be  continued  with  all  the  energy  called  for 
by  the  ciicurastances. 

Alexander,    feeling   that  a  quarrel   with 
Napoleon    was    by   no   means    improbable, 
availed    himself  of  the   advantages   of  his 
friendship,  while  it  lasted,  to  crush  the  power 
of  Turkey,  and  possess  himself  of  the  Danu- 
bian  principalities.     By  the  treaty  of  Tilsit, 
an  armistice  was  arranged  between  Russia 
and  Turkey;   but  the  Russian  troops  had, 
since   that    period,    retained   possession   of 
Moldavia  and  Wallachia.     Active  hostilities 
had  not,  however,  been  renewed ;  for  Russia 
had    been   occupied  with   the   conquest   of 
Finland,  and  Turkey  distracted  by  a  series 
of  tumults  and  revolutions  which  terminated 
in  the  exaltation  of  the   able  and   inflex- 
ible Mahmoud    to   the  throne  of  the  sul- 
tans.   :But,  on  the  termination  of  the  war 
with  Finland,  Napoleon  abandoned  the  prin- 
cipalities to  Russia,    and  Alexander  caused 
his  array  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube  to  be 
reinforced,  until  it  amounted  to  80,000  in- 
fantry and  25,000  cavalry ;  and  gave  direc- 
tions to  Prince  Prosorowski,  its  commander, 
to  cross  that  river  and  carry  the  war  into 
the  heart  of  the  Turkish  territories. 

Notwithstanding  the  powerful  force  of  the 
Russians,  which  was  far  superior  to  that 
brought  into  the  field  by  the  Turks,  the 
former  experienced  many'  reverses,  besides 
suflering  severely  from  the  unhealthiness  of 
the  climate.  The  campaign  of  1809,  how- 
ever, tenninated  somewhat  successfully  for 
the  Russians,  who  resolved  to  carry  on  their 
operations  with  increased  vigour  during  the 
following  year.  On  the  21st  of  January, 
1810,  Alexander  issued  an  imperial  ukase, 
announcing  that  Moldavia  and  Wallachia, 
12 


which,  for  three  years,  had  been  occupied  by 
his  troops,  were  annexed  to  the  Russian 
empire ;  the  southern  boundary  of  which,  it 
said,  was  now  the  course  of  the  Danube 
from  the  frontiers  of  Austria  to  the  Black 
Sea. 

During  the  campaign  of  1810,  Silistria, 
one  of  the  strongest  places  on  the  Danube, 
was  taken  by  the  Russians,  while  Tourtoukai 
and  Rasgrad  yielded  soon  after  to  the  terrors 
of  a   bombardment.     The   Russians   were, 
however,  repulsed  from  the  famous  strong- 
hold of  Shumla,  after  several  weeks  spent  in 
fruitless  efforts  before  it.     They  then  under- 
took  the    siege   of  the    Turkish    town   of 
Roudschouck,  which  was  defended  by  Hassan 
Pasha,  a  man  of  cool  judgment  and  consid- 
erable   military    skill.     Acting    upon    the 
peculiar  tactics  of  his  country,  he  did  not 
return  the  fire  of  the  besiegers  until  the  day 
of  the   assault,  the   3rd   of  August.     The 
Russians  were  then  received  with  a  mur- 
derous fire  from  every  roof,  window,  and 
loophole  from  which  a 'gun  or  musket  could 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  them.    Two  columns 
of  troops  were  permitted  to  enter  the  town, 
where  they  were  at  once  cut  to  pieces  by  the 
furious  Janissaries.     The  assault  had  been 
made  at   daybreak,    and  the    struggle  was 
maintained  until  six  in  the  evening,  when 
the    Russians    were    compelled   to   retreat, 
lea\dng  8,000  of  their  number,  in  killed  and 
wounded,  in  the  ditch  and  around  the  walls. 
Of  the  latter,  4,000  were  at  once  decapitated 
by  the  victorious  Turks. 

The  Moslems  failed   to  follow  up   their 
advantage,    and   the    Russian   general   was 
thus   allowed  time  to  repair   his  disasters, 
and  enable  him  to  retain  his  position.     Ka- 
menskoi,  who  now  commanded  the  Russians, 
made  a  grand  attack  on  the  Turkish  camp 
on  the  7th  of  September.     The  battle  of 
Battin   followed,    during    the   first   day   of 
which  the  Russians   suffered  severely,  and 
narrowly   escaped    a   defeat.     The    Turks, 
intoxicated  with  their  partial  success,  gave 
way  to  every  demonstration  of  joy,  and,  in 
the  sight  of  their  foes,  beheaded  the  wounded 
who  had  been  left  on  the  field.     The  follow- 
ing day  the  contest  was  renewed  at  dawn, 
the  whole  of  the  Russian  artillery  brought 
to     bear     upon     the     Turkish    intrenched 
camp,  and  the  victory  finally  remained  with 
the    Russians,  who,  'in    retaliation  for   the 
cruelty  practised  by  the  Turks,  put  all  the 
wounded  and  prisoners  to  death.     This  suc- 
cess was  followed  by  the  capture  of  Sistowa, 
a   fortified   place    in    the    neighbourhood; 


A.D.  1811.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  war  '^^T^H  turket. 


together  with  the  whole  Turkish  flotilla, 
which  had  taken  refuge  under  its  walls. 
Roudschouck,  also,  which  had  been  so 
bravely  defended,  was  now  compelled  to 
capitulate;  the  pasha,  his  troops,  and  the 
inhabitants  being  allowed  to  retire,  while 
the  town,  cannon,  standards,  and  military 
stores  fell  to  the  victors.  The  campaign 
was  concluded  by  the  siege  of  Nicopolis, 
which  capitulated  to  the  Russians,  who  then, 
in  consequence  of  the  rainy  season  having 
set  in,  recrossed  the  Danube  (with  the  ex- 
ception of  those  left  to  garrison  the  towns 
-hey  had  captured),  and  took  up  their  winter 
quarters  in  Wallachia  and  Moldavia. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  winter,  the 
Russian  army  was  again  reinforced ;  and,  in 
consequence  of  the  death  of  Kameuskoi, 
General  Kutusoff  was  appointed  to  the  chief 
command.  However,  the  pacific  connec- 
tion between  the  emperors  Napoleon  and 
Alexander  was  in  so  precarious  a  state,  that 
in  the  February  of  1811,  the  latter  gave 
orders  for  five  divisions  of  the  army  to  leave 
their  winter-quarters  on  the  Danube,  and 
direct  their  march  towards  the  Vistula,  in 
Poland.  The  Russian  army  on  the  Danube, 
thus  reduced  to  one-half  of  its  former 
amount,  was  no  longer  able  to  carry  on 
offensive  operations.  The  Turks,  en- 
couraged by  this  reduction  in  the  strength 
of  their  enemies,  and  roused  by  the  dangers 
they  had  incurred  in  the  preceding  cam- 
paign, made  the  most  vigorous  efforts  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  trusted  to 
regain  all  the  strongholds  they  had  lost  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Danube.  In  this  they 
were  deceived ;  for  the  spirit  of  the  Rus- 
sians had  not  diminished,  and  they  were  now 
led  by  a  general  of  great  military  talents. 

To'svards  the  end  of  June,  Achmet  Pasha 
advanced  with  60,000  men,  and  seventy- 
eight  pieces  of  artillery,  against  the  Rus- 
sians. General  Kutusoff  concentrated  his 
troops,  and  took  up  his  position  in  front  of 
Roudschouck.  There  he  was  attacked  by 
the  Moslems  on  the  2nd  of  July,  who,  with 
wild  shouts  and  eager  fury,  charged  the 
Russian  squares  on  three  sides  at  once,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  were  played  upon 
by  the  Turkish  batteries.  This  concen- 
trated mode  of  attack  had  nearly  secured 
the  victory ;  for  though  the  squares  on  the 
right  withstood  the  shock,  the  centre  suf- 
fered severely,  while  the  third  was  nearly 
swept  away  by  the  torrent  of  Turkish  cavalry 
which  burst  upon  it.  Four  regiments  of 
dragoons    and   Cossacks   were    charged  in 


flank  by  the  Moslem  cavalry,  pierced 
through,'  and  almost  destroyed.  Had  tho 
Moslem  horse  been  supported  by  a  com- 
petent body  of  infantry,  they  must  have 
obtained  a  victory.  Such  was  not  the  case 
and  these  brave' Asiatics  were  driven  back 
by  the  deadly  volleys  of  grapeshot  from 
the  batteries  'of  the  'town.  The  Tm'ks  re- 
tired sullenly  from  the  field  after  about 
3,000  men  had  been  killed  or  wounded  on 
each  side,  and  the  Russians  also  withdrew 
within  the  walls  of  Roudschouck,  which 
they  shortly  afterwards  burnt  and  aban- 
doned. Neither  side  obtained  any  advan- 
tage in  this  sanguinary  battle,  nor  could 
either  of  them  lay  claim  to  a  victory. 

The  Turks  now  crossed  the  Danube,  and 
became  the  assailants.  At  first,  success 
attended  their  efforts,  and  the  Russians 
were  so  severely  pressed,  that  it  seemed 
probable  they  would  be  driven  out  of  the 
Danubian  provinces.  In  this  state  of  affairs 
they  were  reinforced  by  a  large  body  of 
Cossacks.  General  Kutusoff  then,  by  some 
very  able  manoeuvres,  contrived  to  surround 
the*  Turkish  army,  and  attack  it  in  the  rear. 
The  Moslems  were  taken  by  surprise,  and 
thrown  into  disorder.  Their  own  cannon 
turned   against   them,   and  used  with 


was 


terrible  effect;  and  so  desperate  was  their 
situation,   that  had    the   Russian    general 
been  less  cautious,  the  whole  Turkish  army 
might  have  been  destroyed.     Its  position, 
entirely  surrounded,   and  subjected   to    an 
incessant    cannonade,    was    perfectly    des- 
perate.    Yet  the  Turkish  general,  with  un- 
shaken  courage,  refused  the   most  advan- 
tageous offers  of  capitulation,  and  formed 
the  audacious  design  of  cutting  his  way,  by 
a   sudden   irruption,  through   the   Russian 
left,    and   intrenching    himself    under    the 
shelter  of  the  guns  of  Roudschouck.     For- 
tunately for  the  Turks,  Alexander,  fearing 
the  enmity  of  his  recent  friend  Napoleon, 
was   anxious   for   a  peace.     A  convention, 
therefore,  between  the  Russian  cabinet  and 
the  Porte,  with  the  object  of  adjusting  their 
cause  of  quarrel,  was  concluded  at  Giur- 
gevo  at  the  end  of  October ;  and  thus  the 
misery  of  the  Turkish  army  was  terminated, 
and  its  honour  saved.     They  capitulated  on 
the  4th  of  December,  on  condition  of  aban- 
doning their  intrenched  camp  without  their 
arms  or  cannon,  which  were  to  be  restored 
to   them  if  peace   were   concluded.      This 
ended  the  campaign  of  1811,  in  which  both 
parties   had   made   prodigious   efforts,   and 
neither  had  gained  decisive  success. 

13 


■V    -    ^ 


PEACE  WITH  TTRKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


• 


The    negotiations   which    followed    were 
earnestly  pressed  by  Russia;  for  Alexander 
was,   by  this  time,  well   aware  of   the  for- 
midable contest  with  Napoleon  which  was 
impending  over  him.      This   circumstance 
might  have  made  the  Turks  less  inclined 
to    conclude    a    peace,    especially    as    the 
French  ambassadbr  used  every  effort  to  in- 
duce them  to  continue  the  war.    'But  they 
were  made  acquainted,  by  England,  with  the 
secret  articles  of   the  treaty  of    Tilsit,   in 
which  Napoleon  had  rewarded  their  friend- 
ship  to  him  by  not  only  aj^reeing  to  the 
partition  of  their  European  dominions,  but 
had    himself  stipulated  for   the   possession 
of  Greece,  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago, 
Albania,  and  Macedonia.     Concurrent  tes- 
timony of  the  treachery  of  Napoleon  con- 
vinced the  Porte  of  the  imminent  danger  to 
which  they  would  be  exposed,  if  he  obtained 
a  similar  supremacy  in'the  east  of  Europe 
to  that  which  he  had  so  long  exercised  in 
the  west. 

The  Turkish  government,  therefore,  for- 
bore to  make  the  utmost  of  the  necessity 
under  which  Russia  lay  of  concluding  the 
war.      The  Ottoman  ministry  saw,  that   if 
Napoleon  subdued  Russia,  he  would  turn 
the  forces  of  both  empires  against  them,  and 
that  his  possession  of  Moscow  would  be  but 
a  preliminary  to  the  subjugation  of   Con- 
stantinople.     They  therefore  consented  to 
abandon  the  provinces  conquered  by  Russia, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  to  the  north  of 
the   Danube,    and   agreed    that    the    river 
Pruth  should   form  the   boundary   of   the 
two   empires.      Thus,   though   Russia  lost 
Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  which  Alexander, 
in  the  insolence  of  anticipated  triumph,  had 
declared  annexed  to  the  empire,  she  gained 
Eessarabia,  a  province  which  conferred  on 
its  holders  the  immense  advantage  of  com- 
manding the  mouths  of  the  Danube.     The 
treaty  was  signed  at  Bucharest  on  the  28th 
of   May,    1812,   and  was  followed,   on  the 
18tli  of  July,  by  another,  concluding  peace 
with  England.     Sultan  Mahmoud  was,  how- 
ever,   highly    dissatisfied    with   this   peace, 
which  he  regarded  as  disgraceful :  so  strong 
was  his  feeling  on  this  point,  that  he  even 
put  a  Turkish  officer  of  distinction,  who  had 
been  engaged  in  its  negotiation,  to  death 
for  having   concealed   certain   facts   which 
would  have  warranted  the  Porte  in  holdin«^ 
out  for  better   terms.     England   made   an 


A.D.  1810.] 


ungenerous  use  of  Turkey,  upon  whom  she 
brought  all  her  influence  'to  bear  in  favour 
of  Russia,  and  thus  enabled  that  power  to 
withdraw  advantageously  from  the  war,  in 
order  that  she  might  direct  the  whole  of  her 
energies  against  France.  Had  Russia  been 
at  war  with  Turkey  on  one  side,  and  France 
on  the  other  (especially  if  consideration  be 
had  to  the  state  of  those  powers  at  the 
period),  her  position  would  have  been  one 
of  no  common  danger. 

"The  vigorous  and  unlooked-for  resist- 
ance," observes  Alison,   "  which  Turkev  at 
this  period  opposed  to  all  the  efforts  of  that 
Russians,  sufficiently  illustrates  the  elements 
of  strength  which  at  that  period  lay  dormant, 
till  roused  to  present  danger,  in  the  Otto- 
man  empire;    and    may    perhaps    sugcrest 
the  necessity  of  modifying  some  of  those 
opinions  as  to  the  declining  condition  of  the 
power  of  the    grand    seignior,  which    have 
been  so  long  received  as  political  maxims  in 
Europe.     When  it  is  recollected  that  Rus- 
sia  for  three  years  directed  her  whole  force 
against  the  Turks ;  that  in  the  vear  1810  «he 
had   a  hundred    thousand   men   upon    the 
Danube;  and  that  this  array  was  composed 
of    the  conquerors   of  Eylau— it   certainly 
appears  not  a  little  surprising,  that  the  Otto- 
man empire  was  not  altogether  overthrown 
in    the  shock.      Nevertheless,  the   contest 
was  extremely  equal ;  and  though  the  forces 
with  which  the  Ottomans  had  to  contend 
on  the  Danube  fully  equalled  those  uhich 
fronted  Napoleon  on  the  Vistula,  vet  thev 
opposed  nearly  as  effectual  resistance  to  the 
Muscovite  arms,   as   did  the  conqueror  of 
^^  estern  Europe.      The  contest  began  on 
the  Danube,  and  it  terminated,  after  three 
years    bloodshed,  on   the  same  river  with 
the  loss  of  only  one  or  two  frontier  towns 
to  the  Ottomans.     This  broad  and  decisive 
fact    proves     that    although    the    political 
power  of   Turkey  has   unquestionably   de- 
clined for  the  last  century  and  a-half,  and 
the  enormous  abuses  of  its  civil  government 
have  occasioned,  during  that  period,  a  con- 
stant  diminution    in   its    inhabitants    and 
strength,  yet  it  still  possesses  great  resources 
wlien   they  are  fairly  drawn  forth   bv  im- 
pending danger;    and  that   in  the   Lative 
bravery   of  its  inhabitants  is   often  to  be 
found,  as  in  the  British  soldiers,  more  than 
a  compensation  for  all  the  errors  of  their 
direction  or  government.^^ 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,     [altercations  with  napoleon. 


CHAPTER  III. 

KAPOLEON  ANNEXES  THE  DOMINIONS  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  OLDENBURG  TO  THE  FRENCH  EMPIRE  •  DISSENSTOV*? 
BETWEEN  THE  FRENCH  AND  RUSSIAN  EMPERORS;  IN  CONSEQUENCE  OF  tL  HOST^LrATmUD^^^^ 
LEON,  ALEXANDER  PLACES  HIS  DOMINIONS  IN  A  STATE  OF  DEFENCE,  AND  RELAXES  THE  «C0^ 
SYSTEM"    WITH    RESPECT    TO    ENGLISH    COMMERCE;     NAPOLEON    INSULTS    THE    RUSSIAN    fMB!s^!nOR 

AT'L^TR^ECTED^tvA^^^^^^^^^^^  MODERATION  OF  ALExInd'eI;   ^^.n^S.J^^^ATci 

AT   THE    PROJECTED    INVASION    OF   RUSSIA;  POWERFUL   NATIONALITY   OF   THE   LATTER    STATE    AND  TT^ 
PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEFENCE;    NAPOLEON  AT  DRESDEN;    HIS  ADVANCE  IN^O  POLAND-    THE  i^^^^^ 
ARMY  CROSS  THE  NIEMEN  ;   PROCLAMATION  OF  ALEXANDER  TO  THE  RUSSIArEMPIRE  I^^VADING 


14 


In  the  last  chapter  we  advanced  somewhat 
beyond   our  main   narrative,   in   order    to 
bring  the  events  of  the  war  with  Turkey 
under  one  head.     The  friendship  of  Napo- 
leon and  Alexander  endured  for  nearly  five 
years,  and  no  rupture  of  it  had  yet  taken 
place.    We  have  shown  that  a  coldness  had, 
nevertheless,    arisen    between    these    high- 
placed  potentates ;  but  the  chief  canker  to 
Alexander,  was  his  enforced  adherence  to 
the   principle   of   excluding   English   com- 
merce  and   manufactures  from   the   conti- 
nent.    This   had    been    productive   of  the 
most  ruinous  consequences  to  the  trade  of 
Russia,  and  had  caused  great  dissatisfaction 
in  that  country.     A  system  of  connivance 
to    evade    the    prohibition    had    naturally 
arisen;  but  this  was  merely  an  alleviation  of 
the  evil,  which  seriously  oppressed  the  pros- 
perity of  the  empire. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when,  in  the 
December  of  1810,   Napoleon  annexed   to 
the  French  empire  the  dominions  of  the 
Duke  of  Oldenburg,  who   was   related   to 
Alexander    by   having    married   his    sister 
Catherine.     This  unjust   act   of  spoliation 
excited  a  feeling  of  irritability  not  only  in 
the  mind  of  the  emperor,  but  in  those  of 
the  inhabitants  of  St.  Petersburg.     Alex- 
ander, also,  still  felt  an  uneasiness  respect- 
ing the  grand-duchy  of  Warsaw,  from  which 
he  feared  that  Napoleon  might  reconstruct 
the  overthrown  kingdom  of  Poland.     The 
graud-duchy  had  been   largely  augmented 
with  territory  surrendered   by  Austria   at 
the   treaty  of  Vienna,  in  1809;   and   the 
anxiety  of  Alexander  induced  him  to  open 
a    negotiation    on    that   subject  with   the 
French   emperor.     Napoleon   at  first   con- 
sented to  gratify  his  cooling  friend  on  this 
point ;  and,  early  in  1810,  he  authorised  the 
French   ambassador   at    St.   Petersburg   to 
draw  up  a  convention,  in  which  it  was  ex- 
pressly stipulated  that  the  kingdom  of  Po- 
land shouid  never  be  re-established,   and 


that  even  the  name  of  Poland  should  be 
effaced    for    ever   from    every    public    and 
official  document.    Alexander  was  gratified, 
and  again  expressed  himself  in  the  language 
of  friendship   towards    the   towering   rival 
whom  he  secretly  dreaded.     Napoleon  sub- 
sequently refused  to  ratify  this  convention, 
and  proposed  a  suspicious  alteration  of  its 
ternis.     Alexander  felt  such  conduct  to  be 
a  slight,  and,  in  a  conversation  with  the 
French    ambassador,     he     remarked,    "If 
affairs  change,  it  is  not  my  fault :  I  shall 
not  be   the   first   to  disturb  the   peace  of 
Europe.     I  will  attack  no  one ;  but  if  they 
come  to  seek  me,  I  shall  defend  myself.'^' 
Napoleon,  when   pressed   on  this   subject, 
answered  in  warm  language ;  and  the  Rus- 
sian cabinet  conceived  an  apprehension  that 
he  meditated  an  attack  on  their  Polish  pos- 
sessions.    A  new  military  levy  was  there- 
fore ordered,  of  one  man*^in  every  hundred 
throughout   the   Russian  empire,  and   the 
Russian  forces  in   Poland  considerably  in- 
creased. 

Napoleon,   tlirough  the  medium   of  his 
ambassador,  demanded   an   explanation  of 
these   preparations.     Alexander   responded 
with  a  dignified  firmness.     «  You  assert  that 
I  am  arming,^^  said  he  to  M.  de  Caulain- 
court ;  "  and  I  am  far  from  denying  it.     I 
am  effectually  armed;    I  am  ready,  quite 
ready;    and  you  will  find  me  prepared  to 
defend  myself  to  the  utmost.     What  would 
you  have  thought  of  me  if  I  had  acted 
otherwise— if  I  had  been  so  forgetful  of  my 
duty  as  to  leave  my  country  exposed  to  the 
prompt,  exacting,  and  terrible  will  of  your 
master?     But  I  have  only  armed  after  re- 
ceiving certain  information  that  Dantzic  is 
being  placed  in  a  state  of  defence;  that  its 
garrison    is   being    augmented;    that    the 
troops  of  Marshal  Davoust  are  being  rein- 
forced and  concentrated ;  that  the  Poles  and 
Saxons  have  been  ordered  to  hold  themselves 
in  readiness ;  that  Modlin  and  Thorn  have 

15 


i 

! 


THE  COMING  STRUGGLE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1811. 


A.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,     [preparations  of  n.\poleox. 


been  repaired,  and  all  the  fortificatious  pro- 
visioned/' Then,  leading  Caulaincourt  into 
a  cabinet,  in  which  were  spread  open  his 
maps,  the  emperor  added — "  On  receivings 
this  information,  see  what  I  have  done.  I 
have  ordered  defensive  works,  not  in  ad- 
vance of,  but  behind  my  frontier;  on  the 
Dwina  and  the  Dnieper,  at  Riga,  at  Duna- 
burg,  at  Balernisk ;  that  is  to  say,  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  Niemen  almost  as  great  as 
that  which  separates  Strasburg  from  Paris. 
If  your  master  should  fortify  Paris,  should 
I  complain  of  it  ?  And  when  he  carries  his 
preparations  so  far  in  advance  of  his  fron- 
tiers, should  I  be  accused  of  provoking  war 
because  I  arm  mvself  behind  mine  ?  I 
have  not  such  good  generals  as  yours; 
I  am  not  myself  so  good  a  soldier  or  ad- 
ministrator as  Napoleon ;  but  I  have  good 
soldiers  and  a  devoted  people;  and  ^ve  will 
perish  sword  in  hand,  rather  than  permit 
ourselves  to  be  treated  like  the  Dutch,  or 
the  people  of  Hamburg.  At  the  same  time, 
I  declare  to  yon,  upon  my  honour,  that  I 
will  not  strike  the  fii'^  blow.  I  will  let  you 
pass  the  Niemen  before  I  pass  it  myself. 
Believe  me,  when  I  say  that  I  do  not  desire 
war;  and  that  my  nation,  although  hurt 
and  terrified  at  your  proceedings,  does  not 
desire  it ;  but,  if  attacked,  she  will  not 
recede.'^ 

Though  Alexander  was  not  disposed  to 
make  the  seizure  of  the  duchy  of  Olden- 
burg a  cause  of  war  with  France,  yet  he 
thought  it  necessary  in  some  way  to  resent 
what  could  not  but  be  regarded  as  a  slight 
to  him  as  well  as  the  spoliation  of  his  rela- 
tion. On  the  31st  of  December,  1810, 
therefore,  he  issued  an  ukase,  which  pro- 
hibited the  importation  of  various  articles 
of  French  manufacture,  and  allowed  that  of 
colonial  produce.  This,  in  effect,  was  a 
material  relaxation  of  the  svstem  of  exclu- 
sion  which  had  been  carried  on  with  respect 
to  English  commerce ;  as,  under  the  pretence 
of  carrying  on  a  trade  in  the  colonial  pro- 
duce of  Russia,  English  merchants  were 
able  to  effect  extensive  dealings  with  that 
country.  A  coast-guard  of  80,000  men  was 
established,  under  pretext  of  enforcing  obe- 
dience to  this  edict;  but,  in  reality,  as  a 
covert  means  of  augmenting  the  regular 
army.  Napoleon  understood  all  this,  and 
made  constant  preparations  for  the  war 
which  his  own  proceedings  were  rendering 
inevitable.  He  had  aimed  at  isolating 
Russia  from  all  other  states,  and  making 
any  other  alliance  than  with  France  impos- 
16 


sible  to  her.     On  the  loth  of  August,  1811, 
he  bantered  Prince  Kourakin,  the  Russian 
ambassador,  for  some  time  in  the  presence 
of    several     of    his    diplomatic    compeers. 
Speaking  of  the  recent  war  of  Russia  with 
Turkey,  he  said,  with  a  provoking  and  in- 
sulting   sarcasm,    the  more   bitter   on   ac- 
count of  its  truth — ''  If  we  are  now  dictating 
despatches,   or  writing  for  the  journals,   I 
will  at  once  admit  that  your  generals  have 
been  constantlv  victorious,  and  that  it  was 
the  state  of  your  finances  which  compelled 
you  to  withdraw  a  portion  of  your  troops 
from  living  at  the  expense  of  the  Turks,  to 
make  them  live  at  the  cost  of  the  Russian 
treasury.     But  if  we  are  speaking  frankly 
before  three  or  four  of  your  colleagues,  who 
know  the  real  state  of  affairs,  I  will  plainly 
tell  you  that  you  have  been  beaten;  that 
vour  errors  have  caused  vou  to  lose  the  line 
of  the  Danube,  and  that  its  loss  resulted 
less  from  the  ill-advised  manoeuvres  of  your 
generals,  than  from   the   mistake  of  your 
government  in  depriving  them  of  the  neces- 
sary forces,   by  withdrawing   five   divisions 
from   the   Danube   to   the   Dnieper.     And 
why  was  this  done?     To  make  a  demon- 
stration against  me,  whom  you  call  your 
ally !      You   have   committed    faults    upon 
faults !     If  you  have   any  cause  of  anger 
against  me,  you  should  openly  declare  it. 
In   any   case,   instead   of    scattering  your 
forces,  you  should  have  concentrated  them 
against  Turkey,  so  as  to  have  overwhelmed 
it,  and  compelled  it  to  a  peace  which  should 
have  been  as  advantageous  as  that  of  Fin- 
laud,  and  then  you  would  have  been  in  a 
position  to  have  taken  precautionary  mea- 
sures against  me.  .  But  in  policy,  finance, 
and  war,  you  have  committed   a  thousand 
errors ;  and  for  wliom  ?     For  the  Prince  of 
Oldenburg  and  some  contrabandists.     For 
the  sake  of  such  persons  it  is  that  you  have 
exposed  yourselves  to  the  risk  of  a  war  with 
me,  whose  resources  vou  well  know  !"     The 
emperor    added — "  I    suppose   you    reckon 
upon  having  allies.     Where  are  they?     Is 
Austria  one  of  them — Austria,  with  whom 
vou  were  at  war  in  1809,  and  from  whom 
you  have  taken  a  province  at  the  conclusion 
of  peace  ?    Is  Sweden  one  of  them — Sweden, 
from  whom  you  have  taken  Finland?     Is 
Prussia  one  of  them — Prussia,  whose  spoils 
you  accepted  at  the  peace  of  Tilsit,  after 
having  been  her  ally?     You  deceive  your- 
selves ;  vou  w  ill  have  no  allies.     Come  to  an 
understanding   then  with   me,   and   let  us 
have  no  war/'    This  conversation,  in  which 


Napoleon  overwhelmed  and  greatly  embar- 
rassed the  Russian  ambassador,  was  much 
talked  about,  and  formed  a  topic  of  con- 
versation in  all  the  saloons  of  Paris  and 
St.  Petersburg.  "  This  new  circumstance,^' 
said  the  emperor  Alexander,  with  an  air  of 
sadness,  "has  but  confirmed  my  nation  in 
its  resolution  to  defend  its  dignity  and  inde- 
pendence to  the  death.  Napoleon  would 
not  have  spoken  thus,  if  he  were  not  resolved 
upon  war.'' 

The  French  emperor  had  acted  with  great 
subtlety  towards  Russia,  yet  his  own 
violence  and  domineering  ambition  threw 
an  ally  into  her  arras.  This  was  Sweden, 
which  Napoleon  placed  in  the  painful  posi- 
tion of  declaring  war  against  England,  or 
against  himself.  Bernadotte,*  who  in 
accepting  the  dignity  of  crown  prince  of 
Sweden,  had  attached  himself  earnestlv  to 
its  interests,  protested  and  entreated,  but 
was  compelled  to  assent  to  this  tyrannical 
dictation.  In  the  November  of  1810,  Swe- 
den declared  war  against  England,  which 
seeing  its  position,  treated  it  with  a  gen- 
erous forbearance.  Napoleon  was  not  yet 
satisfied;  he  made  other  demands  upon  the 
Swedish  government,  and  acted  in  a  manner 
so  offensively  overbearing,  that  it  refused 
compliance.  To  punish  it.  Napoleon,  in 
January,  1812,  poured  his  troops  into  Pome- 
rania,  seized  the  fortress  of  Stralsund,  con- 
fiscated the  Swedish  ships  which  he  found 
in  the  harbour,  and  committed  other  un- 
justifiable acts  of  hostility.  The  limits  of 
passive  endurance  were  past:  Sweden  entered 
into  an  alliance  with  Russia,  and  concluded 
a  peace  with  England. 

Napoleon  and  Alexander  each  remained 
for  a  time  in  an  attitude  of  defence,  and 
occupied  in  preparing  for  that  outbreak  on 
w  hich  the  former  had  determined ;  and  the 
latter,  though  he  desired  to  avoid,  would 
not  descend  to  avert  by  any  undignified 
concession.  The  dangers  to  which  Alex- 
ander was  exposed,  appear  to  have  strength- 
ened and  purified  his  character,  and  he  acted 
as  a  patriotic  monarch  should  have  done. 
Extremely  averse  to  entering  upon  the  war, 
be  desired  that  the  whole  of  Europe  should 
see  that  he  was  not  the  aggressor.  "The 
joy  of  England  must  be  great,"  said  he,  "  to 
see  two  such  powers  going  to  war."  Even 
so  late  as  the  early  part  of  the  year  1812, 

•  Bernadotte,  though  a  Frenchman,  and  one   of 
Napoleon's  marshals,  had  been  elected  by  the  Swe- 
dish   Diet   as   the   successor  of  Charles  XIII.,  the 
reigning  sovereign,  y\o  was  without  natural  heirs. 
VOL.  II.  D 


he  made  proposals  to  Napoleon,  with  the 
object  of  bringing  about  an  accommodation ; 
but  the  latter  left  thom  unanswered.  He 
had  resolved  to  make  a  grand  display  of  his 
military  power  on  the  banks  of  the  Vistula, 
and,  if  prevented  by  submission  from  con- 
quering Russia,  to  show  at  least  that  he 
could  overawe  it. 

The  attention  of  the  whole  of  Europe 
was  fixed  in  suspense  upon  the  approaching 
conflict  between  its  two  greatest  powers, 
and  most  politicians  anticipated  that  it 
would  result  in  the  final  prostration  of  Rus- 
sia. That  empire  was,  indeed,  seriously 
endangered;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that 
it  might  have  been  conquered  and  dismem- 
bered by  the  swords  of  France,  had  not 
Napoleon,  intoxicated  by  long  prosperity, 
attempted  to  finish  in  one  campaign  that 
which  it  must  have  taken  several  successful 
ones  to  accomplish.  The  expedition  which 
Napoleon  proposed  for  the  conquest  of  Rus- 
sia, was  regarded  with  enthusiasm  through- 
out France ;  and  during  the  spring  of 
1812,  the  roads  of  that  country  and  of  Ger- 
many were  thronged  by  cavalry,  infantry, 
and  artillery,  hastening  to  the  scene  of  the 
approaching  conflict.  "Young  men,"  ob- 
serves Alison,  "  of  the  richest  and  noblest 
families  solicited  employment  in  an  expedi- 
tion w^here  success  appeared  certain,  resist- 
ance impossible,  and  danger  unlikely.  All 
heads  were  swept  away  by  the  torrent ; 
ambition,  in  every  age  and  rank,  was  daz- 
zled by  the  apparent  brilliancy  of  the  pros- 
pect. The  expedition,  said  they,  which  is 
preparing,  will  throw  that  of  Egypt  into  the 
shade.  Never  had  the  instinct  of  war,  the 
passion  for  military  glory,  more  strongly 
seconded  the  ambition  of  the  chief  of  an 
empire.  *  We  are  setting  out  for  Moscow, 
but  we  shall  soon  return,'  were  the  words  with 
which  the  joyous  youth  everywhere  took 
leave  of  their  parents,  their  relations,  their 
friends.  The  march  to  St.  Petersburg  or 
Moscow,  seemed  only  a  military  promenade 
— a  hunting  party  of  six  months'  duration, 
in  which  little  danger  was  to  be  met,  but 
ample  excitement  experienced  ;  a  last  effort, 
which  would  place  the  empire  of  Napoleon 
and  the  glory  of  France  beyond  the  reach 
of  danger.  The  magnificence  of  the  spec- 
tacle, and  the  brilliancy  of  the  prospect, 
spread    these   feelings    even    amongst    the 

Bernadotte  was  much  respected  by  the  Swedes,  who, 
moreover,  thought  that  by  selecting  him  as  their 
future  sovereign,  they  would  secure  the  friendship 
and  protection  of  the  French  emperor. 

17 


M 


ATTITUDE  OF  RUSSIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


1 


people  of  the  vanquished  states  .  the  ex- 
pected restoration  of  Poland^  and  humilia- 
tion of  Russia,  gave  an  air  of  romance  to 
the  approaching  expedition ;  and  thousands 
breathed  wishes  for  its  success/' 

In  Russia,  the  intense  nationality  of  its 
nobles  and  its  people  was  aroused,  and  they 
rallied  loyally  around  their  emperor.  He 
and  his  counsellors  were  at  times  elated 
with  the  hope,  that  the  apparently  irresis- 
tible foe,  who  had  gathered  for  their 
destruction  such  a  power  as  Europe  had 
never  before  seen,  might  be  baffled  by  the 
difficulties  of  carrying  out  an  offensive  war 
into  the  heart  of  Russia;  at  others,  they 
cherished  the  mournful  resolution  of  perish- 
ing in  the  defence  of  their  country,  rather 
than  any  confident  hope  of  being  able  to 
achieve  its  deliverance. 

But  the  chief  hope  of  the  Russians  lay  in 
the  vast  extent  of  their  empire,  which  it  was 
impossible  to  overrun;  and  the  severity  of 
its  climate,  which  rendered  it  inaccessible  to 
invaders,  except  for  a  comparatively  brief 
period  of  the  year.  The  plan  devised  by 
the  Russians  was,  therefore,  to  lay  waste 
their  country  in  the  path  of  the  enemy,  and 
then,  retiring  into  the  farthest  part  of  the 
empire,  see  how  the  dreaded  Napoleon 
would  be  able  to  maintain  an  enormous 
army  in  the  midst  of  desolated  plains, 
equally  deficient  in  food  for  his  soldiers,  and 
forage  for  his  horses.  They  conceived  the 
hope,  that,  like  another  Pharaoh,  he  would 
perish  in  the  vast  less  of  the  desert,  as  did 
the  Egyptians  in  the  vastness  of  the  deep. 
Clouds  of  light  horse  were  to  harass  the 
flanks  of  the  enemy,  and  cut  oft*  its  foraging 
parties ;  the  forces  of  Russia  were  to  decline 
battles,  and  to  retreat  into  the  interior  of 
the  empire  to  avoid  them,  only  pausing  to 
fight  when  the  French  should  be  exhausted 
with  hunger  and  fatigue.  By  this  means  it 
was  hoped  that  the  vast  armies  of  Napoleon 
would  be  gradually  wasted  away.  Some  of 
Alexander's  officers  even  advised  that  the 
desert  should  be  carried  forward,  and  that 
for  this  purpose,  they  should  invade  Poland 
and  Old  Prussia,  and  then  retreat  after 
having  destroyed  their  rich  granaries  and 
laid  the  country  desolate;  but  to  this  pro- 
position he  would  not  consent. 

The    forces    collected    by    the    emperor 

•  Barclay  de  Tolly  was  descended  from  a  Scotch 
family,  a  youneer  branch  of  which  had  migrated  to 
Livonia.  He  had  entered  the  Russian  army  at  the 
almost  infantine  age  of  twelve,  and  had  risen  by  his 
military'  merits  to  the  highest  rank  in  the  service. 
Hh  admirers  estimate  him  as  the  greatest  general 
18 


Alexander,  to  oppose  those  of  Napoleon, 
consisted  of  260,000  men,  divided  into  two 
armies ;  one  under  the  command  of  General 
Barclay  de  Tolly,*  and  the  other  under  that 
of  Prince  Bagration.  These  were,  as  the 
war  proceeded,  swelled  by  the  addition  of 
the  army  from  the  Danube,  and  by  other 
reinforcements. 

The  force  Napoleon  had  collected  for  the 
invasion  of  Russia,  was  the  most  tremendous 
accumulation  of  armed  men,  that  had  been 
formed  in  modern  times,  or,  probably,  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world.  It  amounted  to 
587,000  men:  of  whom  270,000  were  French; 
80,000  Germans  of  the  confederation  of  the 
Rhine;  30,000  Poles;  30,000  Austrians; 
20,000  Prussians ;  and  the  remainder 
chiefly  natives  of  the  various  Italian  states. 
The  emperor  of  Austria,  though  now  the 
father-in-law  of  Napoleon,  contributed  his 
contingent  with  an  unwillingness  he  did  not 
deem  it  prudent  to  show ;  while  the  ruined 
monarch  of  Prussia,  who  bitterly  hated  his 
oppressor,  had  no  choice  in  the  matter,  but 
was  compelled  to  send  his  troops  into  the 
field,  to  fight  against  the  side  to  which  he 
wished  success.  Indeed,  Frederic  William 
was  aware,  that  if  Napoleon  subdued  Russia, 
Prussia,  as  a  state,  would  disappear  from 
the  map  of  Europe;  but  he  was  now  as 
powerless  to  resist  the  will  of  his  conqueror, 
as  is  the  straw  or  bubble  to  contend  against 
the  current  of  the  stream  on  whose  bosom  it 
is  swept  rapidly  onward. 

Despite  the  general  enthusiasm  which 
prevailed  in  France  respecting  this  expedi- 
tion, it  was  viewed  with  alarm  by  some  of 
its  profoundest  statesmen,  and  also  by  many 
of  its  chief  military  men.  Talleyrand  ex- 
hausted his  utmost  efforts  to  dissuade  his 
imperious  master  from  it ;  but  in  vain.  It 
is  said  that  he  even  predicted  the  overthrow 
of  the  French  empire  as  its  result.  The 
astute  Fouche  also  presented  a  memorial  to 
Napoleon,  with  the  desire  of  inducing  him 
to  forego  a  design  which  he  felt  would  lead 
to  ruin.  The  emperor  received  it  with  a 
haughty  coldness.  "  War  with  Russia,^'  he 
remarked,  "it  would  seem,  pleases  you  as 
little  as  that  in  Spain.''  Fouche  replied, 
that  he  hoped  to  be  pardoned  for  having 
thrown  together  some  reflections  upon  so 
important  a  crisis.  "It  is  no  crisis  at  all, 
of  Russia  after  Suwarrow.  Prince  Bag^ration  was 
descended  from  the  ancient  princes  of  Georgia,  and 
was  a  brave,  impetuous  soldier,  who  loved  the  ex- 
citement of  danger.  To  the  Kussian  minister  Bala- 
choff.  Napoleon  obserred,  "Bagration  is  your  only 
general." 


\.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[napoleon  at  DRESDEN. 


V 


4 


j 


i 


fj 


fiir,"   resumed  the   emperor,   "  but  a  mere 
war  of  politics.     Spain  falls  whenever  I  have 
destroyed  English  influence  at  St.  Peters- 
burg.     I  have  800,000    soldiers   in    readi- 
ness ;  with  such  an  army,  I  consider  Europe 
as    an    old  prostitute  who   must    obey  my 
pleasure.     Did  not  you  yourself  once  tell 
me  that  the  w^ord  impossible  is  not  French? 
You  grandees  are  now  grow^n  too  rich ;  and 
though  you  pretend  to  be  anxious  about  mj^ 
interests,  you   are   only  thinking  of  what 
might  happen  to  yourselves,  in  the  event  of 
my  death,  and  the  dismemberment  of  my 
empire.     I  regulate  my  conduct  much  more 
by  the   sentiments   of  my  army,  than  by 
yours.     Is  it  my  fault  that  the  height  of 
power  which  I  have  attained,  compels  me  to 
ascend  to  the   dictatorship  of  the  world? 
My  destiny  is  not  yet  accomplished.     The 
picture    exists    hitherto    only    in    outline. 
There  must  be  one  code,  one  court  of  appeal, 
and    one   coinage,   for   all    Europe.       The 
European  states  must  be  melted  into  one 
nation,   and   Paris   be   its   capital.     I   will 
destroy  all  Russian  influence,  as  well  as  all 
English  influence  in  Europe.     Two  battles 
will   do  the    business;    the  emperor  Alex- 
ander will  come  to  me  on  his  knees,  and 
Russia  shall  be  disarmed.     Spain  costs  me 
very  dear :  without  that,  I  should  have  been 
master  of  the  world  by  this  time ;  but  when 
I  shall  become  such,  by  finishing  with  Rus- 
sia, my  son  will  have  nothing  to  do  but 
quietly  to  retain  my  place.^' 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1812,  Napoleon 
quitted  Paris  and  proceeded  to  Dresden,  to 
which  city  his  progress  was  one  prolonged 
festivity,  or  triumphal  march.  He  had  ex- 
pressed a  wish  that  the  emperor  of  Austria, 
and  the  minor  kings  and  princes  of  Germany, 
should  meet  him  there.  He  imagined  that 
so  brilliant  an  assemblage  of  sovereigns, 
would  contrast  with  the  insulated  state  of 
the  Russian  monarch,  and  produce  in  him 
an  alarming  sense  of  being  generally  de- 
serted. Either  from  motives  of  interest  or 
fear,  his  desire  was  obeyed,  and  Dresden 
became  the  scene  of  a  gorgeous  munificence, 
the  description  of  which  reads  like  some 
creation  of  a  warm  imagination.  As  at 
Erfurth,  the  most  gifted  actors  of  Paris 
combined  their  talents,  and  plays  were  per- 
formed, of  which  the  passages  descriptive  of 
heroes  and  illustrious  princes,  were  all 
applied    to    the    soldier-monarch.      Maria 

•  Hi&tory  of  the  Expedition  to  Russia;  by  General 
Count  Philip  de  Segur,  son  of  the  French  ambas- 
sador, at  the  court  of  Catherine  II. ;  to  whose  writings 


. 


Louisa  had  accompanied  her  imperial  part- 
ner to  Dresden.     Around  her  was  cast  the 
whole  gorgeousness  of  rank  and  wealth,  in 
their    greatest   distinction  and   most   wild 
profusion.     A  modern  historian  observes — 
"  During  the  magnificent  series  of  pageants 
which  followed  her  arrival,  flattery  exhausted 
its  talent,  and  luxury  its  magnificence;  and 
the  pride  of  the  Caesars  was   forgotten   in 
the  glory  of  one  who  had  risen  upon  the 
ruins  of  their  antiquated  splendour.^'     But 
it  was  the  great  soldier  himself  who    was 
the  chief  attraction  of  these  brilliant  scenes. 
General  Count  Segur*  says — "Whole  na- 
tions had  quitted  their  homes  to  throng  his 
path;  rich  and  poor,  nobles  and  plebeians, 
friends  and  enemies,  all  hurried  to  the  scene. 
Their  curious  and  anxious  groups  were  seen 
crowding  together  in  the  streets,  the  roads, 
and  the  public  places;    they  passed  whole 
days  and  nights  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the 
gate  and  windows  of  his  palace.     It  was  not 
his  crown,  his  rank,  the  splendour  of  his 
court,  but  him  only,  on  whom  they  desired 
to  feast  their  eyes.     It  was  a  memento  of 
his   features  which  they  were   anxious   to 
obtain ;  thev  wished  to  be  able  to  tell  their 
less   fortunate   countrymen   and    posterity, 
that  they  had  seen  Napoleon/' 

The  emperor  remained  at  Dresden  until 
the  29th  of  May,  living  in  a  style  of  the 
most  gorgeous  pomp,  and  distributing,  with 
more  than  Eastern  munificence,  diamonds, 
snuff-boxes  and  crosses,  among  the  crowd 
of  princes,  ministers,  dukes,  and  courtiers 
who  thronged  around  his  steps.  He  then 
led  his  enormous  host  into  Poland,  where 
he  was  soon  assailed  by  the  piteous  com- 
plaints of  the  peasantry,  whom  his  soldiers 
pillaged  without  mercy.  The  cavalry  cut 
down  the  green  rye,  and  even  stripped  the 
houses  of  their  thatch,  in  order  to  find 
provender  for  their  horses.  Napoleon 
expressed  himself  hurt  by  these  proceedings, 
and  addressed  severe  reproaches  to  those 
princes  or  generals  who  sanctioned  them. 
But  the  depredations  continued,  for  they 
soon  became  necessary.  The  means  of  pro- 
viding such  a  multitude  with  food,  had  been 
considered  as  far  as  was  possible.  An  army 
of  pro  vision- waggons  was  to  be  loaded  from 
the  magazines  established  on  the  Vistula: 
but  partly  because  the  vehicles  were  too 
heavy  for  the  soil  they  were  intended  to 
traverse,  and  partly  from  an  inefficient  organ- 

we  hare  previously  referred.  The  son  was  one  of 
Napoleon's  favourite  generals,  and  accompanied  him 
in  the  fatal  invasion  of  Russia. 

19 


Mf'', 


;  (J 

1  .f' 


INVASION  OF  RUSSIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


isation  on  this  point,  most  of  them  were 
left  behind  before  reaciiing  that  river. 
Contributions  were,  therefore,  made  on  the 
peasantry,  who  were  speedily  ruined  by  the 
extent  of  these  exactions,  enforced  by  troops 
from  whom  they  expected  deliverance  from 
their  bondage  to  Russia. 

Before  daybreak  on  the  23rd  of  June, 
the  invading  army  approached  the  river 
Niemen.  Leaving  his  carriage,  Napoleon 
mounted  his  horse,  and  reconnoitred  the 
Russian  river.  As  he  came  up  to  the  bank, 
his  horse  suddenly  fell  and  threw  him  on 
the  sand.  Some  one  observed,  "This  is  a 
bad  omen ;  a  Roman  would  recoil  V  But 
the  emperor,  rising  unconcerned,  gave  or- 
ders for  the  construction  of  three  bridges, 
and  retired  to  his  quarters  humming  a  tune. 
The  next  morning,  the  emperor  issued  the 
following  address  to  his  army,  by  whom  it 
was  received  with  the  most  ardent  enthu- 
siasm : — "  Soldiers  !  the  second  Polish  war 
has  commenced.  The  first  ended  at  Fried- 
hmd  and  at  Tilsit.  At  Tilsit,  Russia  swore 
an  eternal  alliance  with  Prance,  and  war 
with  England.  She  now  violates  her  oaths. 
She  will  give  no  explanation  of  her  capri- 
cious conduct  until  the  French  eagles 
have  repassed  the  Rhine ;  by  that  means 
leaving  our  allies  at  her  mercy.  Russia  is 
hurried  away  by  fatality ;  her  destiny  must 
be  accomplished.  Does  she  imagine  us 
to  be  degenerated?  Are  we  not  still  the 
soldiers  of  Austerlitz?  She  places  us 
between  war  and  dishonour;  the  choice 
cannot  be  doubtful.  Let  us  advance  then — 
let  us  cross  the  Niemen,  and  carry  the  war 
into  her  own  territory.  The  second  Polish 
war  will  be  as  glorious  for  the  French  arms 
as  the  first;  but  the  peace  we  shall  this 
time  conclude,  will  carry  with  it  its  own 
guarantee,  and  put  an  end  to  the  fatal 
influence  which,  for  fifty  years,  Russia  has 
exercised  in  the  aff'airs  of  Europe.^'     ) 

After  this  address  had  been  read  to  the 
soldiers,  the  signal  to  advance  was  given. 
The  vast  columns  of  the  imperial  army 
defiled  out  of  the  forests  and  hollows  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  commenced  their 
passage  over  to  the  Russian  side;  which 
continued  incessantly  during  the  24th  and 
the  25th.  They  met  with  no  opposition; 
and,  indeed,  not  a  foe  was  to  be  seen.  Some 
of  the  officers  fancied  that  they  heard  the 
distant  report  of  cannon,  and  listened  atten- 
tively to  ascertain  from  what  direction  it 
came.  But  this  was  but  the  work  of  imagi- 
nation :  scarcely,  however,  had  Napoleon 
20 


himself  crossed  the  river,  than  the  day, 
which  had  been  brilliant,  became  overcast ; 
a  wind  arose,  and  a  thunder-storm  burst 
and  rolled  over  the  army.  Black  and  heavy 
masses  of  clouds  poured  out  their  contents 
for  several  hours,  and  the  roads  and  fields 
were  inundated.  Manv  there  were,  even 
amongst  the  most  enthusiastic,  who  felt 
terrified  at  what  they  conceived  to  be  a 
fatal  presage. 

Alexander  had  left  St.  Petersburg  on  the 
21st  of  April,  and  joined  his  army.  When 
intelligence  of  the  passage  of  the  Niemen 
bv  the  French  reached  him,  he  was  at  a 
ball  at  the  countrv-house  of  General  Ben- 
ningsen,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wilna. 
For  some  time  he  remained  with  the  com- 
pany without  exhibiting  any  change  of 
manner,  or  communicating  the  intelligence 
he  had  received.  He  then  wrote  and 
issued  the  following  proclamation  to  the 
empire  : — "  For  long  we  have  observed  the 
hostile  proceedings  of  the  French  emperor 
towards  Russia,  but  we  always  entertained 
the  hope  of  avoiding  hostilities  by  measures 
of  conciliation;  but,  seeing  all  our  efibrts 
without  success,  we  have  been  constrained 
to  assemble  our  armies.  Still  we  hoped  to 
maintain  peace  by  resting  on  our  frontiers 
in  a  defensive  attitude,  without  committing 
any  act  of  aggression.  All  these  conciliatory 
measures  have  failed ;  the  emperor  Napo- 
leon, by  a  sudden  attack  on  our  troops  at 
Kowno,  has  declared  war.  Seeing,  there- 
fore, that  nothing  can  induce  him  to  remain 
at  peace,  all  that  remains  for  us  is  to  invoke 
the  succour  of  the  Most  High,  and  oppose 
our  forces  to  the  enemy.  I  need  not 
remind  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  their 
duty,  to  excite  their  valour;  the  blood  of 
the  brave  Slavonians  flows  in  their  veins. 
Soldiers  !  you  will  defend  your  religion,  your 
country,  and  your  liberty.  I  am  with  you. 
God  is  against  the  aggressor.^'  The  em- 
peror also  announced  the  invasion  of  the 
country  to  the  governor  of  St.  Petersburg, 
in  a  letter  which  concluded  with  these 
patriotic  and  resolute  observations  : — "  I 
liave  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  zeal  of  my 
people  and  the  bravery  of  my  soldiers. 
Menaced  in  their  homes,  they  will  defend 
them  with  their  wonted  firmness  and  intre- 
pidity. Providence  will  bless  our  just  cause. 
The  defence  of  our  country,  of  our  indepen- 
dence and  national  honour,  have  forced  me 
to  unsheathe  the  sword.  I  will  not  return 
it  to  the  scabbard  so  long  as  a  single  enemy 
remains  on  the  Russian  territory.^ 


<» 


AD.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[napoleon  at  wilna. 


The  nationality  and  patriotism  of  the 
Russian  people  and  soldiers  needed  not 
these  addresses  to  excite  them.  The  latter 
even  received  with  regret  the  command  to 
retire  ])efore  the  enemy,  who  was  advancing 
with  rapid  strides  upon  Wilna,  the  capital 
of  Lithuania.  But  the  policy  of  the  Rus- 
sians in  retiring  and  leaving  the  country 
waste  behind  them,  was  indisputably  a  wise 
one.  To  have  immediately  encountered  the 
invaders,  would  have  been  to  be  over- 
whelmed beneath  their  immense  numerical 
superiority.  The  obstacles  which  nature 
had  placed  in  the  country  against  invasion, 
were  silently  yet  terribly  telling  in  favour  of 
the  Russians.  The  waste  of  active  warfare 
had  already  commenced  its  work  upon  the 
French  army.  In  consequence  of  incessant 
rains  and  fatigues,  and  unwholesome  pro- 
vender, 10,000  horses  dropt  and  died  on  the 
road  from  the  Niemen  to  Wilna;  while 
shortlv  after  the  arrival  of  the  invaders  at 
that  city,  and  even  before  a  shot  was  fired. 


25,000  sick  and   dying  men  filled  its  hos- 
pitals, and  the  surrounding  villages. 

At  Wilna  Napoleon  received  a  letter  from 
Alexander,  in  which  the  latter,  animated  by 
a  spirit  of  forbearance  which  was  scarcely  to 
be  expected,  wrote,  "  that  it  was  not  yet  too 
late  to  negotiate;  that  a  war  was  begun 
which  the  soil,  the  climate,  and  the  character 
of  Russia  rendered  interminable,  but  that  all 
accommodation  had  not  become  impossible ; 
and  that  from  opposite  banks  of  the  Niemen 
they  might  yet  come  to  an  understanding." 
It  was  already  impossible  for  Napoleon  to 
retire  to  the  other  side  of  the  Niemen, 
without  utterly  losing  the  prestige  that 
attached  to  him  as  a  great  general.  There- 
fore he  felt  irritated  at  the  proposal,  and 
replied — "I  will  treat  of  peace  at  Wilna, 
and  retire  behind  the  Niemen  when  it  is 
concluded."  The  time  of  negotiation  was, 
in  fact,  long  gone  by ;  and  the  quarrel  be- 
tween these  two  powerful  potentates,  could 
only  be  settled  by  an  appeal  to  the  sword. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FNGAGEMENTS  BETWEEN  THE  BETIRING  RUSSIANS  AND  THE  ADVANCED  GUARD  OF  THE  FRENCH  ; 
ALEXANDER  APPEALS  TO  THE  NOBLES  AND  PEOPLE  OF  MOSCOW;  THEIR  ENTHUSIASTIC  PATRIOTISM; 
ASSAULT  ON  SMOLENSK,  AND  DESPERATE  DEFENCE  OF  THAT  CITY  ;  THE  RUSSIANS  CONTINUE  THEIR 
RETREAT;  CLAMOURS  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AGAINST  THE  POLICY  OF  A  CONSTANT  FLIGHT  FROM  THE 
ENEMY  ;  BATTLE  OF  VALTELINA ;  FRIGHTFUL  CONDITION  OF  THE  FRENCH  ARMY  ;  GENERAL  KUTUSOFF 
APPOINTED  TO  THE  CHIEF  COMMAND  OF  THE  RUSSIANS  ;  THE  GREAT  AND  TERRIBLE  BATTLE  OF 
BORODINO  ;  THE  RUSSIANS  CONTINUE  THEIR  RETREAT  J  THE  FRENCH  ENTER  MOSCOW,  AND  FIND  IT 
DESERTED. 


}i 


Napoleon  committed  the  serious  error  of 
remaining  for  seventeen  days  at  Wilna;  a 
circumstance  which  permitted  the  Russians 
to  retire  in  excellent  order.  The  officers 
nearest  to  the  person  of  the  emperor  re- 
marked to  each  other,  that  a  genius  so  vast 
as  his,  and  always  increasing  in  activity  and 
audacity,  was  no  longer  seconded  by  a  vigo- 
rous constitution.  They  were  surprised  at 
finding  him  aff'ected  by  the  heat  of  a  burn- 
ing atmosphere ;  and  they  remarked  to  each 
othej",  with  melancholy  forebodings,  the 
tendency  to  corpulence  which  his  frame 
had  acquired,  and  which  they  regarded  as 
the  forerunner  of  premature  decay. 

The  division  of  the  Russian  armv,  under 
the  command  of  Prince  Bagration,  was 
fiharply  followed  by  that  of  the  French, 


under  Jerome  Buonaparte  and  Marshal  Da- 
voust;  and  on  the  9th  and  10th  of  July, 
engagements  took  place  between  the  ad- 
vanced guard  and  cavalry  of  each.  These 
terminated  rather  in  favour  of  the  Russians ; 
but  the  latter  wisely  continued  their  retreat. 
On  the  23rd  of  July,  an  obstinate  conflict 
between  the  same  forces  took  place  at  Mo- 
hilow,  on  the  Dnieper,  in  which  each  side 
lost  about  3,000  men ;  after  which  Bagration 
again  retired  in  excellent  order,  and  joined 
the  main  army  under  Barclay  de  Tolly,  at 
Smolensk,  on  the  3rd  of  August. 

The  emperor  Alexander  had  left  the  army 
on  the  16th  of  July,  and  hastened  to  !Mos- 
cow;  to  which  city  the  efforts  of  the  enemy 
were  evidently  directed.  His  object  was  to 
stimulate  by  his  presence  the  patriotic  ex- 

21 


■ 


EFFORTS  OF  AXEXANDER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Fa.d.  1812. 


ertions  of  its  inhabitants.     He  was  received 
by  all  classes  with  a  frenzy  of  enthusiasm ; 
and   having   caused    the   chief  nobles    and 
merchants  to  be  summoned   to  meet  him 
within  the  ancient  walls  of  the  Kremlin,  he 
promised  to  have  recourse  to  the  extremest 
measures,  rather   than  lay  down  his  arms. 
"Never/*    said    he,     ''was    danger    more 
urgent.     The  national  religion,  the  throne, 
the  state,    can   be   preserved   only   by   the 
greatest   sacrifices.       May   the    destruction 
with  which  we  are  threatened  recoil  upon 
the  head  of  the  invader,  and  may  Europe, 
freed  from  the  yoke  of  servitude,  have  cause 
to  bless  the  name  of  Russia  V*     The  empe- 
ror also  issued  an  earnest  proclamation  to 
the  people,  in  which  he  said — "We  invite 
all  classes  to  a  general  armament,  in  order 
to   co-operate    with   ourselves    against    the 
designs  of  the    enemy.     Let   him   find    at 
every  step  the  faithful  sons  of  Russia  ready 
to  combat  all  his  forces,  and  deaf  to  all  his 
seductions;    despising  his  fraud,  trampling 
under  foot  his  gold ;  paralysing,  by  the  hero- 
ism of  true   valour,    all  the  efforts  of  his 
legions   of  slaves.      Illustrious  nobles !    in 
every  age   you   have  been  the  saviours   of 
your  country  :  holy  clergy!  by  your  prayers 
you  have  always  invoked  the  divine  blessing 
on  the  arms  of  Russia  :  people  !  worthy  de- 
scendants  of  the    brave   Slavonians,    often 
have  you  broken  the  jaws  of  the  lions  which 
were  open   to  devour  you  !      Unite,  then, 
with  the  cross  in  your  hearts  and  the  sword 
in  your  hands,  and  no  human  power  shall 
prevail  against  you.''     The  people  of  Mos- 
cow enthusiastically  responded  by  raising  a 
levy  of  ten  out  of  every  hundred  males,  and 
promising  to  clothe  and  arm  them  at  their 
own  expense.     The  merchants  also  made  an 
enormous  contribution  in  money  to  promote 
the   national   defences — an  example  which 
was  followed  by  many  other  cities  and  pro- 
vinces in  the  empire. 

Napoleon  and  the  centre  of  the  French 
army  advanced  from  Wilna  on  the  16th  of 
July,  with  the  intention  of  turning  a  for- 
tified camp  the  Russians  had  erected  at 
Drissa.  The  emperor,  however,  soon  learned, 
that  discovering  it  to  be  untenable,  they 
had  abandoned  it,  and  were  marching  to- 
wards Witepsk,  which  they  reached  on  the 
25th.  Thither  Barclay  de  Tolly  was  fol- 
lowed by  Napoleon ;  and  on  the  evening  of 
the  27th,  the  soldiers  on  both  sides  antici- 
pated a  mortal  struggle  on  the  following 
day.  ^  But  General  Barclay  had  not  yet 
been  joined  by  Prince  Bagration ;  who,  he 
22 


learnt,  was  directing  his  march  towards 
Smolensk.  Barclay,  therefore,  silently  de- 
camped during  the  night ;  and  on  the  fol- 
low^ing  morning  the  French  were  surprised 
to  find  the  camp  of  the  enemy  so  utterly 
deserted,  that  not  even  a  baggage- waggoi 
or  a  straggler,  with  the  exception  of  a 
single  Rusian  soldier  found  asleep  under 
a  bush,  had  been  left  behind.  The  invaders 
were  so  exhausted  with  the  rapidity  of 
their  progress,  under  a  burning  summer's 
sun,  that  it  was  found  imperative  to  pause 
at  this  point.  "Here  I  stop,''  exclaimed 
Napoleon:  "here  I  must  look  around  me; 
rally,  refresh  my  army,  and  organise  Po- 
land. The  campaign  of  1812  is  finished; 
that  of  1813  will  do  the  rest." 

He  was,  however,  too  restless  to  adhere 
to    this    resolution,    especially   as   he   fre- 
quently   received    intelligence    concerning 
the   prodigious   preparations  of  Alexander 
in  the  interior  of  the  empire.     Napoleon, 
therefore,  held  a  military  council,  to  con- 
sider the  expediency  of  a  further  advance. 
Several  of  his  generals  were  extremely  ad- 
verse to  this,  as  fraught  with  great  hazard. 
Berthier   dissuaded    him    even   with   tears. 
The    emperor    overruled    their   objections. 
"Why,"  he  exclaimed,  "should  we  remain 
at  Witepsk?     The   vicinity  of  the   rivers, 
indeed,  makes  it   a   defensible   position  iu 
summer;  but  in  winter  what  would  avail 
their  frozen   streams?     If  they   remained 
there,  it  would  be   requisite   to   construct 
towns  and  fortresses  capable  of  defying  the 
elements;  while  at  Moscow  all  would   be 
ready-made   to  their  hands."      He  added, 
that  he  perceived  that  their  thoughts  were 
dwelling  on  Charles  XII. ;  but  that  if  the 
expedition  to  Moscow  wanted  a  fortunate 
precedent,  it  was  because  it  had  wanted  a 
man  capable  of  undertaking  it ;  that  in  war, 
fortune   went   for   one-half  in   everything; 
and  that  if  people  always  waited  for  a  com- 
plete   assemblage    of     favourable    circum- 
stances, nothing  would  ever  be  undertaken. 
"  No  blood  has  yet  been  shed,"  he  observed ; 
"  and  Russia  is  too  powerful  to  yield  without 
fighting.      Alexander   can    only   negotiate 
after  a  great  battle.     If  it  is  necessary,  I 
will  even  proceed  to  the  holy  city  in  search 
of  that  battle ;  and  I  will  gain  it.     Peace 
waits  for  me  at  the  gates  of  Moscow." 

Notwithstanding  the  sufferings  of  his 
troops,  who  were  perishing  by  thousands 
from  disease  and  hunger,  Napoleon  resolved 
to  continue  his  march.  He  abandoned 
Witepsk  on  the  13th  of  August,  and  on  the 


A.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  French  at  Smolensk. 


^> 


6 


16th  came  in  sight  of  Smolensk  and  the 
united  Russian  armies,  under  Barclay  de 
Tolly  and  Prince  Bagration.  At  this  sight. 
Napoleon,  transported  with  joy,  exclaimed — 
"At  length  I  have  them!"  He  was  again 
deceived.  Barclay  de  Tolly,  instead  of 
risking  a  battle  to  save  Smolensk,  thought 
it  sufficient  to  protect  the  flight  of  the  in- 
habitants, and  to  empty  the  magazines. 
Having  done  this,  the  Russian  army  con- 
tinued its  retreat.  General  Newcrosskoi, 
and  a  body  of  Russian  troops,  amounting 
to  30,000  men,  which  had  already  fought 
an  heroic  action  with  the  French  cavalry 
near  Krasnoi,  remained  in  the  town  and 
covered  the  retreat  of  the  main  army.  Na- 
poleon, irritated  that  his  foes  had  again 
escaped  him,  ordered  an  assault  on  the  city. 
It  was  defended  by  200  pieces  of  heavy 
cannon,  which  kept  up  such  a  storm  of  fire 
against  the  assailants,  that,  unable  to  breach 
its  massy  walls,  they  were  compelled  even- 
tually to  retire.  The  Russians  then  set  fire 
to  Smolensk,  and  secured  their  retreat 
under  cover  of  the  dark  columns  of  smoke 
which  rose  from  the  burning  city.  The 
loss  on  both  sides  was  very  heavy.  It  is 
variously  estimated;  but  French  and  Rus- 
sians probably  had  each  of  them,  in  killed 
and  wounded,  no  less  than  10,000  men. 

In  the  meantime,  Alexander,  leaving 
Moscow,  hurried  to  St.  Petersburg,  and 
thence  to  Orebro,  in  Sweden,  where  he  con- 
cluded a  treaty  of  alliance  with  England ;  hy 
which  the  latter  agreed  to  furnish  a  subsidy 
of  £800,000,  and  stipulated,  that  if  the  Rus- 
sian fleet  was  endangered  by  the  French 
invasion,  it  should  be  removed,  as  a  measure 
of  security,  to  the  British  shores.  On  the 
20th  of  June,  Alexander  also  contracted  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  the 
supreme  junta  of  Spain.  On  the  21st,  he 
had  an  interview  at  Abo  with  Bernadotte, 
the  crown  prince  of  Sweden.  By  an  alli- 
ance concluded  with  him,  it  was  arranged, 
that  the  Russian  armv  which  had  been 
kept  on  the  frontiers  of  Finland  to  guard 
against  an  outbreak  from  the  Swedes, 
should  be  at  liberty  to  be  used  against  the 
French.  As  a  return,  Alexander,  untaught 
by  the  tribulation  suspended  over  his  own 
head,  promised,  as  a  compensation  for  the 
loss  of  Fmland,  to  join  Sweden  in  wresting 
Norway  from  Denmark.  During  the  in- 
terview of  Alexander  with  Bernadotte,  the 
news  arrived  of  Napoleon's  entry  into  Smo- 
lensk. "Should  St.  Petersburg  itself  be 
taken,"   exclaimed  the   emperor,    "I  will 


retire  into  Siberia;  I  will  there  resume  our 
ancient  customs,  and,  like  our  long-bearded 
ancestors,  will  return  anew  to  coiiquer  the. 
empire."  "This  resolution,"  exclaimed 
Bernadotte,  with  more  enthusiasm  than 
reason,  "will  liberate  Europe." 

The  abandonment  of  Smolensk  was  re- 
garded by  the  Russian  soldiers  and  people 
rather  as  an  act  of  pusillanimity  than  of 
prudence  ;  and  a  violent  clamour  was  raised 
against  Barclay  de  Tolly,  whose  foreign 
extraction  was  not  forgotten.  They  de- 
clared him  to  be  a  traitor,  who  permitted 
all  their  divisions  to  be  destroyed  piece- 
meal, and  dishonoured  the  army  by  an  in- 
terminable flight.  "Why  employ  this 
stranger  ?"  said  the  people ;  "  was  not  Ku- 
tusoff,  the  comrade  and  rival  of  Suwarrow, 
yet  living  ?  A  Russian  was  wanted  to  save 
Russia." 

The  Russian  army  was  again  divided ;  and 
the  troops  under  Barclay  had,  from  motives 
of  an  erroneous  policy,  taken  the  road  to 
St.  Petersburg ;  while  that  under  Bagration 
was  retreating  by  the  Moscow-road.  Napo- 
leon sent  his  pursuing  columns  in  both  of 
these  directions.  On  the  19th  of  August, 
Marshal  Ney,  with  three  divisions  of  the 
French  army,  attacked  the  Russian  rear- 
guard at  Valtelina,  which  Barclay  had  sta- 
tioned there  to  cover  a  cross-movement 
from  the  St.  Petersburg  to  the  Moscow- 
road  ;  Avhich  he  saw  to  be  imperative,  unless 
he  would  allow  the  French  to  cut  the  Rus- 
sian forces  in  two,  and  beat  them  in  detail. 
The  troops  engaged  were  at  first  incon- 
siderable in  number;  but  they  were  gra- 
dually strengthened  on  both  sides,  until 
the  engagement  swelled  into  an  extensi/e 
battle,  in  which,  altogether,  30,000  men 
were  engaged.  This  was  carried  on  with 
obstinate  bravery;  for  the  Russians  fought 
to  defend  their  cannon,  wounded,  and  bag- 
gage;  and  the  French  with  the  hope  of 
taking  them.  The  French  made  repeated 
charges  with  the  bayonet ;  but  were  as  con- 
stantly driven  back  by  the  stolid  bravery  of 
the  Russians.  The  contest  was  continued 
until  night,  and  then  ceased,  from  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  assailants.  Neither  side 
obtained  any  advantage ;  but  the  Russians 
retained  their  position ;  and  victory  may  be 
regarded  as  rather  favouring  them  than 
their  adversaries,  though  both  sides  laid 
claim  to  it.  The  French  lost  about  8,000 
men,  amongst  whom  was  that  distinguished 
soldier  General  Gudin;  and  the  Russians 
6,000.      The  result  might  have  been  far 

23 


I  )>y2 


SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  FRENCH.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


A.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  halt  at  BORODINO. 


more  favourable  to  the  French,  but  for  the 
indecision  of  General  Junot;  who,  alarmed 
by  an  overwhelming  sense  of  responsi- 
bility, remained  in  inaction.  Napoleon  was 
so  irritated  in  consequence,  that  he  threat- 
ened to  dismiss  him  from  the  army.  At 
the  dawn  of  the  following  day.  Napoleon 
visited  the  battle-field ;  and  was  astonished 
at  the  energy  with  which  his  troops  must 
have  fought,  judging  from  the  number  and 
attitudes  of  the  dead.  They  lay  mingled  with 
the  Russians,  amidst  the  stumps  of  broken 
trees,  on  ground  trampled  by  the  feet  of 
the  combatants,  furrowed  with  balls,  strewed 
with  the  fragments  of  weapons,  tattered 
garments,  scattered  limbs,  dead  or  wounded 
horses,  and  carriages  overthrown.  The  em- 
peror was  compelled  to  pass  over  or  tread 
upon  carcasses,  broken  weapons,  and  bayo- 
nets twisted  by  the  violence  of  the  shock. 
The  battalions  of  General  Gudin  were 
melted  down  to  platoons;  their  clothes  yet 
smelt  of  burnt  cartridges  and  powder,  and 
their  faces  were  begrimed  with  smoke. 
Napoleon  experienced  a  sense  of  grateful 
admiration  for  these  brave  men,  who  had 
fought  their  last  battle.  "With  such 
troops,^'  he  exclaimed,  "  you  might  conquer 
the  world.  Tliis  is  the  most  glorious  of  our 
fields ;  the  dead  have  won  immortal  glory  !" 
Notwithstanding  his  apparent  cheerful- 
ness, which  sustained  the  spirits  of  his 
troops,  the  emperor  was  occasionally  op- 
pressed with  forebodings  of  evil.  The 
enemy  fled  before  him,  and  could  not  be 
brought  to  a  decisive  engagement.  He  was 
pushing  forward  over  desolate  tracts,  laid 
waste  by  the  retiring  Russians  ;  or  through 
dark  forests  intersected  by  swampy  streams 
or  rocky  dells.  The  spirits  of  the  troops 
were  oppressed  by  the  solitude  around  them, 
and  the  sufferings  they  had  to  endure.  The 
losses  already  sustained  by  hunger,  fatigue, 
and  sickness,  had  been  tremendous.  Typhus 
fever  and  dysentery  had  swept  off  thousands ; 
and  what  remained  of  Smolensk  was  but 
one  vast  hospital.  Provisions  were  scarce, 
and  many  soldiers  suffered  severely  from 
the  intemperate  use  of  a  spirit  distilled 
from  grain,  and  mingled  with  the  juice  of 
narcotic  plants.  Numbers  of  those  who, 
debilitated  by  fatigue  and  want  of  proper 
food,  had  indulged  in  it,  were  seized  with 
dizziness,  stupefaction,  and  torpor.  In  this 
state  they  sat  or  lay  down  in  the  ditches  or  on 
the  roads,  their  half-open,  watery,  and  lack- 
lustre eyes  fixed  on  vacancy,  until  their  ex- 
hausted frames  succumbed,  and  they  expired 
24 


sullenly  and  without  a  groan.  The  convents 
of  Smolensk  which  had  escaped  the  flames, 
had  been  converted  into  hospitals,  and  were 
the  scene  of  frightful  horrors ;  while  around 
the  ramparts  of  the  city  was  such  an  accu- 
mulation of  corpses,  that  they  infected  the 
air,  and  increased  the  sickness  which  was 
devastating  the  invading  army.  Napo- 
leon's generals  took  care  that  he  should  be 
well  acquainted  with  these  matters;  for 
most  of  them  dreaded  this  advance  into  so 
vast  and  sterile  a  territory.  The  emperor, 
however,  decided  on  advancing,  in  the  hope 
of  eclipsing  the  sufferings  of  his  troops  by 
the  brilliancy  of  a  great  battle.  "  The  con- 
dition of  the  army,''  said  he,  "  is  frightful ; 
I  know  it.  At  Wilna  one-half  were  strag- 
glers ;  now  they  amount  to  two-thirds. 
There  is  not  a  moment  to  lose ;  we  must 
grasp  at  peace,  and  it  can  be  only  found  at 
Moscow.  Besides,  the  state  of  the  army  is 
such,  as  to  render  a  halt  impossible  :  con- 
stant advance  alone  keeps  it  together :  you 
may  lead  it  forward,  but  you  cannot  arrest 
its  movement.  We  have  advanced  too  far 
to  retreat.  If  I  sought  but  for  military 
glory,  I  should  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
return  to  Smolensk,  and  extend  my  wings 
on  either  side,  so  as  to  crush  Wittgenstein 
and  Formasoff.  These  operations  would  be 
brilliant ;  they  would  form  a  glorious  ter- 
mination to  the  campaign  ;  but  they  would 
not  conclude  the  war.  Peace  is  before  us. 
We  have  only  to  march  eight  days  to  ob- 
tain it.  So  near  is  our  object,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  deliberate:  let  us  advance  to  Moscow." 
The  emperor  continued  to  advance  upon 
that  city;  and  the  Russians,  under  Barclay 
de  Tolly,  to  fall  back  in  good  order  before 
him.  That  general,  stung  by  the  re- 
proaches of  the  Russians,  had  at  length 
resolved  on  giving  battle  to  the  French, 
when  the  emperor  Alexander,  yielding  to 
the  outcry  against  him,  deprived  him  of  the 
command,  and  gave  it  to  General  Kutusoff 
who,  as  the  pupil  of  Suwarrow,  was  pointed 
out  by  the  army  and  the  people  as  the  per- 
son most  fit  to  hold  it.  This  man,  who  had 
restored  the  fortunes  of  Russia  in  the  last 
campaign  against  the  Turks,  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  M.  Thiers  : — "  Although  seventy 
years  of  age,  so  perfectly  worn  out  by  war 
and  pleasure  as  to  be  scarcely  capable  of 
holding  himself  on  his  horse,  thoroughly 
corrupt,  false,  perfidious,  and  a  liar,  he  was 
possessed  of  consummate  prudence,  and 
had  the  art  to  make  himself  the  idol  of  the 
party  whidi   was    ardent  for  the  plan  of 


<V^ 


\ 


engao"ing,  whilst  he  was  himself  the  decided 
partisan  of  the  system  of  retreat.  And  no 
man  could  be  more  capable  than  he  was  of 
gaining  the  mastery  over  men's  minds,  of 
directing  them  as  he  chose,  of  ruling  them 
by  affecting  passions  which  he  had  not,  and 
of  opposing  Napoleon  by  patience — the  only 
arm  with  which  he  could  be  successfully 
fought." 

Kutusoff  was,  however,  compelled  to  assent 
to  give  battle  to  the  French,  on  account  of 
the  near  approach  of  the  latter  towards  Mos- 
cow. He  therefore  halted  on  the  plain  of 
Borodino,  which  had  been  selected  as  offer- 
ing many  advantages  to  an  army  acting  on 
the  defensive.  Napoleon  announced  to  his 
troops  that  they  were  on  the  eve  of  a  great 
battle,  and  allowed  two  days  for  rest  and 
for  the  collection  of  provisions.  He  knew 
the  necessity  of  terminating,  if  possible,  this 
wearisome  struggle  by  a  decisive  contest; 
for  every  day  told  upon  his  jaded  troops, 
who  now  suffered  so  much  from  want  of 
water,  that  the  men  sometimes  dropped 
dead  while  in  search  of  it,  from  the  effects 
of  exhaustion  and  thirst. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  the  French 
army  came  in  sight  of  the  Russians,  drawn 
up  in  order  of  battle  at  Borodino,  and  de- 
fended by  some  hastily-erected  intrench- 
ments  and  redoubts;  one  of  the  latter,  of 
great  size,  standing  on  a  height  which  com- 
manded the  whole  plain  in  front  of  the 
army.  It  was  defended  by  10,000  Rus- 
sians, and  supported  by  twelve  pieces  of 
heavy  artillery.  Napoleon  gave  orders  for 
the  attack  of  this  redoubt,  as  he  well  knew 
its  immense  importance  in  the  coming  en- 
counter. The  task  of  taking  it  was  assigned 
to  the  fiery  Murat;  and  after  a  frightful 
and  most  sanguinary  struggle  it  was  cap- 
tured. The  Russians  returning  to  the 
attack,  cut  down  the  troops  who  had  en- 
tered it;  and  the  redoubt  was  three  times 
taken  and  retaken  in  the  course  of  the 
evening;  but  at  night  it  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  French. 

The  next  day  was  occupied  in  prepara- 
tions ;  and,  by  a  kind  of  mutual  consent,  it 
had  been  allowed  to  pass  by  without  even 
the  discharge  of  a  musket.  Over  each 
army  reigned  a  portentous  calm,  like  that 
which  precedes  great  tempests.  The  French 
passed  the  day  in  repose,  and  indulged  in 
cheerful  discourse.  Sustained  by  the  love 
of  military  glory,  they  felt  no  doubt  but 
that  they  were  going  to  obtain  a  great 
victory,  and   to   enter  Moscow  with   their 

VOL.  II.  B 


invincible  leader.  Feelings  of  a  far  dif- 
ferent kind  prevailed  in  the  Russian  camp. 
Gloomy,  exasperated,  resolved  to  fight  to 
the  death,  having  no  hope  but  in  the 
assistance  of  heaven  and  the  saints,  the 
troops  were  on  their  knees  in  the  midst  of 
a  thousand  flambeaux,  before  a  miraculous 
image  of  the  Madonna  of  Smolensk — saved, 
it  was  said,  on  the  wings  of  angels  from  the 
conflao^ration  of  that  unfortunate  city,  and 
now  carried  in  procession  by  the  Greek 
priests  through  the  bivouacs  of  the  camp  ot 
Borodino.  At  the  same  time.  General 
Kutusoff — who,  so  far  from  believing  in  the 
miraculous  image,  scarcely  believed  in  the 
existence  of  the  Deity — accompanied  the 
procession  with  his  head  uncovered,  his 
eyes  fixed  on  the  ground,  and  surrounded 
by  his  staff.  He  afterwards  issued  a  pro- 
clamation to  the  soldiers,  appealing  to  their 
fanaticism,  and  abusing  the  French  em- 
peror, whom  he  called  a  reptile,  and  an 
arch-rebel  against  all  laws,  both  human  and 
divine. 

Napoleon  passed  the  night  in  a  state  of 
sleepless  anxiety,  for  he  entertained  appre- 
hensions that  his  weak  and  famished  sol- 
diers might  be  physically  unequal  to  sus- 
tain the  shock  of  encounter  with  their 
furious  enemies.  He  contemplated  a  fear- 
ful struggle;  and  observed,  that  a  great 
day  was  at  hand,  and  that  the  battle  would 
be  a  terrible  one.  During  the  whole  night 
he  suffered  much  from  illness.  Fatigue, 
care,  and  anxious  expectation,  had  worn 
him  out.  The  chilliness  of  the  atmosphere 
had  struck  to  him;  while  fever,  a  dry  cough, 
and  excessive  thirst,  distressed  him.  He 
also  laboured  under  an  attack  of  an  old  and 
painful  disorder,  of  a  kind  very  depressing 
to  the  spirits.  At  five  in  the  morning  he 
mounted  his  horse,  and  advancing  towards 
the  group  of  officers  who  waited  his  ap- 
proach, took  a  survey  of  the  Russian 
position. 

The  French  army  then  wiih  the  emperor 
consisted  of  133,000  men,  who  brought  into 
the  field  590  pieces  of  cannon.  The  Rus- 
sian force  was  estimated  at  132,000  men, 
assisted  by  640  pieces  of  artillery.  Thus 
the  forces  on  each  side  were  nearly  equal ; 
for  although  the  French  were  superior  in 
discipline  to  the  Russians,  they  were  in  a 
far  inferior  phj^sical  condition.  At  six  in 
the  morning  the  battle  commenced  by  the 
advance  of  the  French  columns,  under  Da- 
voust,  against  the  Russian  left  wing.  They 
were  received  with  so   severe   a  fire,   that 

25 


r 


I: 


BATTLE  OF  BORODINO.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


several  of  the  French  generals  were  killed, 
and  others  wounded — a  circumstance  which 
created  some  hesitation  in  their  ranks. 
They  shortly  rallied;  and  Kutusoff,  seeing 
that  the  left  wing  was  in  danger  of  giving 
way  before  them,  ordered  up  considerable 
reinforcements  to  its  support. 

Marshal    Ney   then    received    orders   to 
support  the  left  of  Davoust,  by  attacking 
the  redans  in  that  part  of  the  enemy's  line. 
Ney's  three  divisions  advanced  to  the  charge, 
preceded  by  70  pieces  of  cannon,   and  en- 
deavoured to  take  the  heights  of  Semenow- 
skoi,  which  became  the  principal  object  of 
contention.      After   four    houis   passed   in 
sanguinary  fighting,  in  which  success  had 
favoured  first  one  side   and  then  the  other, 
Ney  sent  to  the  emperor  and  desired  assist- 
ance.    Napoleon,  perceiving  that  the  Rus- 
sians still  retained  the  heights,  resolved  on 
a   grand   attack.       He   therefore    sent   the 
young  guards  together  with  Murat  and  a 
large  body  of  his  cavalry,  to  the  support  of 
Davoust  and  Ney ;  while  400  pieces  of  can- 
non were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  redoubts. 
Under  cover  of  a  tremendous  fire  from  the 
latter,  immense   columns    of  infantry   and 
cavalry  advanced  to  the  assault.     A  terrible 
carnage  took  place,  and  continued  for  about 
aa  hour,  when  the  Russians  were  compelled 
to  retire  from  the  contested  heights ;  which, 
however,  they  did  in  good  order. 

During  this  time  an  obstinate  conflict 
was  carried  on  in  the  centre,  where  the 
Russians  were  driven  from  the  village  of 
Borodino;  but  General  Barclay  de  Tolly 
and  Prince  Bagration  succeeded  in  retaking 
the  great  redoubt,  which,  on  the  evening  of 
the  5th,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
French.  Yet,  after  a  murderous  struggle,  it 
was  again  recaptured  by  the  latter.  During 
the  contest  for  this  position,  many  distin- 
guished French  officers  perished.  As  iVlurat 
was  speaking  to  General  Galichet,  a  bullet 
whistled  between  them.  "  Not  a  very  safe 
position  this,^'  said  the  fearless  king,  with  a 
smile.  "But  we  will  remain  in  it,  never- 
theless,'^ was  the  intrepid  reply.  At  the 
same  moment  the  Russian  cuirassiers  poured 
down  en  massey  and  the  French  division 
had  scarcely  time  to  form  into  two  squares, 
connected  by  a  line  of  artillery.  Murat 
took  the  command  of  one  of  them,  and 
Galichet  of  the  other ;  and  during  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  they  received,  with  the  most 
imperturbable  coolness,  the  furious  charges 
of  the  Russian  cavalry. 

The    Russian    soldiers    who    had    been 
26 


charged  with  the  defence   of  the  redoubt, 
desperately  refused  quarter  at  the  hands  ot 
their  assailants,  and  nearly  all   perished  in 
the   assault.      Trusting    to   profit    by   this 
success,  General   Grouchy   led   his   cavalry 
agaiust  the  chasseurs  of  the  Russian  guard, 
who    drove   them    back   with    severe    loss! 
This  encouraged  General  Kutusoff  to  make 
a  forward  movement,  with  the  hope  of  re- 
occupying  the  ground   on  which  his  army 
had  stood,  in  the  centre,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  action.     Large  bodies  of  Russian  ^in- 
fantry and  cavalry  advanced  on  this  errand 
under    a    fearful    fire,    which    the    French 
directed  upon  them  from  the  batteries  they 
had  erected  on  the  captured  heights.     By 
several  gallant   charges,  the  Russians  even 
recaptured  some  of  the  redoubts  from  which 
they  had  been  driven  ;  but  they  were  speedily 
retaken  ;  and  Kutusoff,  wearied  of  exposing 
his  troops  to  a  profitless  butchery,  at  length 
recalled  them. 

Still  this  terrible  battle  lasted  until  night, 
by  which  time  the  Russians  were  everywhere 
driven  from  their  original  position,  but  were 
ranged  in  unbroken  ranks  in  another  to 
the  rear  of  it.  During  the  day.  Napoleon 
showed  an  irresolution,  which  many  of  his 
officers  believed  deprived  him  of  the  advan- 
tages of  a  decided  victory.  Several  portions 
of  the  French  reserve  had  been  brought  into 
action;  but  the  imperial  guard,  amounting 
to  20,000  men,  remained  in  the  rear.  The 
position  of  the  Russians  was  such,  that  it 
was  presumed  a  final  shock,  directed  agaiust 
them  obliquely,  might  have  thrown  them 
into  disorder.  But  the  French  were  ex- 
hausted by  the  fatigue  and  carnage  of  the 
day:  the  men  could  •  scarcely  handle  their 
arms,  or  the  cavalry  remain  upon  their 
horses;  even  the  sabres  were  bent  and 
blunted  by  repeated  strokes.  Napoleon 
saw  that  the  contest  could  not  be  carried  on 
with  men  so  unlike  their  usual  selves ;  and 
he  would  not  endanger  his  guard.  "  At  a 
distance  of  800  leagues  from  France,^'  said 
he,  "it  would  scarcely  be  wise  to  risk  our 
last  remaining  reserve."  The  French  fell 
back  to  the  ground  they  had  occupied  before 
the  battle,  and  the  sun  sunk  upon  this 
terrible  scene  of  slaughter. 

This  fearful  7th  of  September  is  now 
memorable  as  the  date  of  the  most  gigantic 
and  sanguinary  battle  recorded  in  the  annals 
of  modern  history.  The  loss  on  each  side 
was  frightful.  Of  the  Russians,  15,000 
were  killed,  and  30,000  wounded  :  amongst 
the  former  was  the  brave  soldier,  Prince 


■^' 


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A.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  E^rPIRE.   [the  Russians  again  retreat. 


? 

5 


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c 


o 

2 
o 


Baojration ;  while  the  latter  included  thirty- 
generals  of  distinction.  Very  few  were 
taken  prisoners  ;  and  it  was  by  the  number 
of  these  that  the  French  had  been  ac- 
customed to  judge  of  the  extent  of  a  victory. 
They  knew  that  a  multitude  of  dead  was 
rather  a  proof  of  the  courage  of  the  enemy, 
than  an  evidence  of  decided  success.  The 
loss  of  the  French  can  scarcely  be  regarded 
as  inferior  to  that  of  the  foe  whom  they 
claimed  to  have  beaten.  No  less  than 
forty-three  French  generals  were  killed  or 
wounded  ;  while  the  total  loss  was  12,000 
in  killed  and  38,000  wounded !  An  awful 
result;  the  more  so  as  the  battle  was  not  a 
decisive  one.  The  trophies  of  victory  were 
also  nearly  equal ;  the  French  took  thirteen 
pieces  of  cannon  from  their  enemies,  who 
also  captured  ten  from  them. 

Murat  exclaimed,  ''  That  in  this  great  day 
he  had  not  recognised  the  genius  of  Na- 
poleon !"  Such  was  the  common  feeling 
among  the  French  generals;  and  at  night 
there  were  no  matiifestations  of  joy  or 
of  enthusiasm.  Throughout  the  day  the 
emperor  had  exhibited  an  unaccustomed 
apathy,  and  remained  so  far  from  the 
theatre  of  action,  as  to  make  the  com- 
munication of  his  orders  tardy,  and  correct 
observation  difficult,  if  not  impossible. 
Illness,  doubtless,  had  some  share  in  pro- 
ducing this  result ;  but  Napoleon,  knowing 
by  painful  experience  the  obstinate  valour 
of  the  enemy,  anticipated  another  great 
battle  before  the  walls  of  Moscow,  and 
would  not,  therefore,  expose  his  troops  to 
further  loss  in  this.  "  It  was  my  duty,'' 
said  he,  "  to  think  of  the  general  result  of 
the  campaign ;  and  it  was  for  that  I  spared 
my  reserves.'' 

General  Kutusoff  did  not,  however,  ven- 
ture another  battle  for  the  sake  of  saving 
Moscow.  On  the  dav  after  the  battle,  the 
Russians  retired  in  good  order  to  within 
half  a  league  of  Moscow,  and  there  held  a 
council  of  war.  Some  of  the  Russian  gen- 
erals were  for  risking  another  conflict  for 
the  sake  of  saving  the  capital,  the  loss  of 
which,  they  contended,  would  spread  con- 
sternation throughout  the  empire.  Kutusoff 
and  Barclay  urged  that  the  retreat  should 
be  continued.  The  former  observed — "  Not- 
withstanding the  valour  which  my  army 
displayed  at  Borodino,  I  was  obliged  to 
yield  to  numbers,  and  commence  my  retreat. 
Since  then  the  enemy  has  received  numer- 
ous reinforcements ;  and  at  present  I  have 
fewer  chances  of  success  than  I  had  then. 


Our  dangers  are  increased  by  the  proximity 
of  Moscow,  where  I  should  lose  half  my 
army,  if  it  was  necessary,  after  a  reverse,  to 
traverse  the  capital.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  we  retire  without  combating,  w^e  must 
abandon  it ;  a  cruel  sacrifice,  it  is  true,  but 
not  one  which  draws  after  it  the  destruction 
of  the  empire.  On  the  contrary,  the  enemy, 
far  removed  from  his  resources,  possessing 
as  his  only  communication  the  road  from 
Smolensk  to  Moscow;  on  the  eve  of  ex- 
periencing reverses  on  the  Dwina  by  the 
arrival  of  the  armies  of  Moldavia  and  Fin- 
land, will  find  himself  in  the  most  critical 
position.  The  army  is  in  a  bad  position, 
and  is  inferior  in  numbers  to  the  enemy. 
Such  were  the  losses  which  it  sustained  at 
Borodino,  that  entire  brigades  are  now  com- 
manded by  field-officers,  and  regiments  by 
captains ;  consequently,  the  same  precision 
as  heretofore  in  its  movements  is  scarcely 
to  be  expected.  Everything,  therefore,  con- 
spires to  prove  that  we  should  be  beat  if  we 
fought  a  battle.  The  safety  of  the  country 
depends  on  the  preservation  of  the  army ;  a 
victory  would  not  rid  us  of  the  enemy ;  while 
a  disaster  so  near  Moscow  would  occasion 
its  entire  destruction."  This  reasoning  pre- 
vailed, and  on  the  14th  of  September  the 
Russian  army  continued  its  retreat,  mourn- 
fully defiling  through  the  streets  of  "  the 
sacred  city." 

It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  Russian 
general  might  have  arrived  at  a  different 
conclusion,  had  he  known  the  exhausted 
and  impoverished  condition  of  the  French, 
deficient  alike  both  in  provisions  and  in 
ammunition.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th, 
the  advanced  guard  of  the  French  army 
came  in  sight  of  the  domes  and  towers  of 
Moscow.  Filled  with  hope,  they  shouted 
with  delight  at  the  prospect  of  a  termina- 
tion of  the  sufferings  they  had  undergone. 
The  sounds  reached  the  ears  of  the  em- 
peror, who,  hastening  forward,  exclaimed, 
'*  Behold  at  last  that  famous  city !  It  was 
full  time." 

Napoleon  was,  however,  doomed  to  ex- 
perience a  bitter  disappointment.  Moscow 
was  found  to  be  deserted.  Murat  and  his 
cavalry  preceded  the  French  army  into 
the  city,  as  yet  untouched,  but  inanimate. 
''  Struck  with  profound  astonishment,"  ob- 
serves Segur,  "  at  the  sight  of  this  complete 
solitude,  they  replied  to  the  taciturnity  of 
this  modern  Thebes  by  a  silence  equally 
solemn.  These  warriors  listened,  with  a 
secret   shuddering,   to  the   steps   of   their 

27 


■A 


t 

k 


't^. 


4 

«  1 


THE  FRENCH  ENTER  MOSCOW.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1812. , 


horses  rebounding  alone  amid  these  deserted 
palaces.  They  were  astonished  to  hear 
nothing  but  themselves  amid  such  numer- 
ous habitations.'^  On  learning  the  news, 
the  emperor  was  incredulous,  and  he  waited 
in  expectation  of  receiving  a  deputation 
from  the  magistrates  or  chief  nobles  of  the 
cit}'. .  At  length  he  became  convinced  of 
thetiuth;  and  on  the  15th  of  September  he 
entered  the  city,  and  at  first  took  up  his 
residence  in  a  suburban  palace.  The  silence 
that  reigned  throughout  the  city  was  painful 
to  the  French  troops,  who,  however,  took 
possession  of  the  houses,  which  they  found 
full  of  excellent  provisions.  The  superior 
officers  were  received  at  the  gates  of  palaces 
by  servants  in  livery,  eager  to  offer  a  bril- 
liant hospitahty.  The  owners  of  these  man- 
sions, unaware  of  the  fate  which  awaited 
the  city,  had  taken  great  pains  to  procure 
protectors  for  their  rich  dwellings,  by  re- 
ceiving French  officers  into  them.  The 
latter,  after  the  privations  they  had  so  re- 
cently experienced,  welcomed  with  pleasure 
the  luxury,  fraught  with  all  those  signs  of 
sensuousness  which  form  so  strange  but  fre- 
quent a  contrast  with  ardent,  popular  de- 
votion, and  savage  military  energy. 

The  emperor  Alexander  behaved  with  a 
dignified  patriotism  on  this  occasion.  After 
the  entrance  of  the  enemy  into  the  capital,, 
the  czar  issued  an  address  to  the  empire, 


which  concluded  with  these  spirited  words : 
"  Let  there  be  no  pusillanimous  depression ; 
let  us  swear  to  redouble  our  courage  and 
perseverance.     The  enemy  has  entered  de- 
serted Moscow  as  into  a  tomb,  without  the 
means  either  of  ruling  or  subsistence.     He 
invaded  Russia  at  the  head  of  300,000  men  ; 
half  have  perished  from  the  sword,  famine, 
or  desertion ;  the  other  half  are  shut  up  in 
the  capital,  bereft  of  everything.      He  is 
in  the  centre  of  Russia,  and  not  a  Russian 
has  yielded  to  his  power.     Meanwhile  our 
forces  increase,  and  surround  him.     He  is 
in   the  midst  of  a  warlike    people,    whoso 
armies  envelop  him  on  every  side :  soon,  to 
escape  from  famine,  he  will  be  compelled  to 
cut  his  way  through  our  brave  battalions. 
Shall  we,  then,  yield,  when  Europe  is   in 
admiration  at  our  exertions?     Let  us  show 
ourselves  worthy  of  giving  her  an  example, 
and  bless  the  hand  which  has  chosen  us  to 
be  the  first  of  nations  in  the  cause  of  free- 
dom.*    In  the  present  miserable  state  of 
the  human  race,  what  glory  awaits  the  na- 
tion which,  after  having  patiently  endured 
all  the  evils  of  war,  shall  succeed,  by  the 
force  of  courage  and  virtue,  not  only  in  re- 
conquering its  own  rights,  but  in  extending 
the    blessings   of  freedom  to  other  states; 
and  even  to  those  who  have  been  made  the 
unwilling   instruments    of    attempting    its 
subjugation !' 


\3> 


CHAPTER  V. 

CONFLAGRATION  OF  MOSCOW;  NARROW  ESCAPE  OF  NAPOLEON  FROM  THE  KREMLIN;  HE  REMAINS  AT 
MOSCOW  WITH  THE  EXPECTATION  OF  RECEIVING  PROPOSALS  OF  PEACE  FROM  ALEXANDER;  TALKS  OF 
MARCHING  ON  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG;  ALEXANDER  REFUSES  ALL  NEGOTIATION;  NAPOLKOX  ABANDONS 
MOSCOW;  BATTLES  BETWEEN  THE  FRENCH  AND  RUSSIANS;  RETREAT  OF  THE  FRENCH  BKFORE  THE 
ADVANCING  ENEMY;  THE  WINTER  SETS  IN  SUDDENLY;  DREADFUL  SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  FRENCH  ;  THEIR 
DEFEAT  AT  KRASNOI  ;  FEARFUL  PASSAGE  OF  THE  BEREZINA  ;  NAPOLEON  ABANDONS  THE  ARMY  AND 
RETURNS  TO  PARIS  ;  THE  REMAINS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  REACH  THE  PRUSSIAN  TERRITORY,  AND  ARE 
TREATED  WITH  COMPASSION. 


The  French  army  at  Moscow  anticipated 
either  a  speedy  peace,  as  a  result  of  its  oc- 
cupation of  the  capital  of  the  enemy,  or 
good  winter  cantonments  in  case  the  war 
should   be   prolonged.      These  hopes  were 

*  This  is  unfamiliar  language  when  uttered  by  a 
Russian  czar ;  but  Alexander  really  meant  the  free- 
dom of  princes,  not  the  freedom  of  peoples.  Napoleon 
was  the  oppressor  of  monarchs ;  and  the  latter  rising 

28 


doomed  to  be  extinguished  beneath  a  tragic 
accumulation  of  disappointment  and  distress. 
On  the  very  day  that  the  French  entered 
the  city,  a  fire  broke  out  in  a  building  con- 
taining vast  quantities  of  spirits ;  and  before 

against  him,  uttered  gracious  language  to  the  sub- 
jects on  whose  resources  and  energies  they  so 
depended,  and  whom  it  was,  therefore,  necessary  to 
conciliate. 


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A.D.  1812. 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [conflagration  of  moscxd^v. 


^ 


it  was  effectually  extinguished,  another  con- 
flagration burst  forth  in  a  collection  of 
buildings  called  the  Bazaar,  situated  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  Kremlin.  The  sol- 
diers were  unable  to  prevent  the  destruction 
of  the  Bazaar;  but  although  a  violent  wind 
prevailed,  the  fire  did  not  extend  further. 
During  the  night,  the  Exchanjije  was  dis- 
covered to  be  in  flames,  which  the  wind 
carried  to  many  neighbouring  buildings. 
It  is  said,  that  rockets  were  also  seen  in  the 
air,  and  some  wretches  seized  in  the  act 
of  spreading  the  conflagration.  Napoleon 
ordered  that  military  commissions  should 
be  formed  in  each  quarter  of  the  city,  for 
the  purpose  of  trying  and  executing  all  in- 
cendiaries, and  that  all  the  available  troops 
should  be  employed  in  extinguishing  the 
flames.  The  "foflowing  day  the  emperor 
hastened  to  the  spot ;  and  Marshal  Mortier, 
whom  he  had  appointed  governor  of  the 
city,  pointed  out  to  him  some  houses  closely 
shut  up,  and  uninjured  from  without,  yet 
from  which  a  black  smoke  was  already 
issuing.  Napoleon  left  the  spot  in  a  pensive 
"^  unour,  and  proceeded  to  the  vast  palace 
of  the  Kremlin,  to  which  he  now  removed 
his  head-quarters. 

On  the  16th,  the  emperor  Avrote  a  letter 
containing  proposals  of  peace  to  Alexander, 
and  dispatched  it  by  a  Russian  officer  who 
was  found  in  the  great  hospital.  It  re- 
mained unanswered.  Alexander  had  taken 
his  course,  and  resolved  to  defeat  the  enemy 
bv  a  kind  of  passive  resistance.  This  night, 
also,  fires  raged  in  different  parts  of  Moscow, 
and  the  city  appeared  to  be  in  flames  in 
every  direction.  Napoleon  was  greatly 
agitated.  He  rose  frequently,  paced  to  and 
fro,  and  a^ain  sat  down  abruptly.  Then 
hastening  to  the  window,  he  watched  the 
progress  of  the  conflaj^ration,  at  the  same 
time  uttering  such  exclamations  as,  *'  What 
a  tremendous  spectacle  1 — It  is  their  own 
work  !  -So  many  palaces  ! — What  extraor- 
dinarv  resolution  ! — W^hat  men  1 — These  are 
indeed  Scythians  !" 

Though  the  fire  was  still  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  emperor,  as  the  river 
Moskwa  and  an  extensive  vacant  space  was 
between  them,  yet  the  panes  of  the  windows 
against  which  he  leaned,  already  felt  hot  to 
the  touch.  At  this  moment,  it  was  reported 
that  the  Kremlin  was  undermined,  and  some 
of  the  attendants  of  the  emperor  we-re  beside 
themselves  with  fear ;  but  he  received  the 
information  with  a  smile  of  incredulity. 
The  atmosphere,  at  length,  became  oppres- 


sive from  the  thick  smoke  which  filled  it ; 
and  several  of  his  generals,  including  even 
the  fiery  and  fearless  Murat,  implored  him 
to  remove  from  this  scene  of  danger.  It 
was  not  until  a  shout  arose  that  the  Krem- 
lin Avas  on  fire,  that  Napoleon  yielded  to 
their  entreaties.  The  tower  of  the  arsenal 
was  in  flames,  and  a  Russian  soldier  of  the 
police  had  been  found  in  it.  The  incendi- 
ary was  interrogated  in  the  presence  of  the 
emperor,  and  afterwards  dispatched  by  the 
enraged  grenadiers  with  their  bayonets. 

Napoleon  then  yielded  to  necessity,  and 
abandoned  the  Kremlin,  though  not  without 
great  danger  of  perishing  in  the  flames  by 
which  that  vast  collection  of  buildings  was 
besieged  in  every  direction.  B}^  a  narrow 
passage  the  emperor,  his  officers,  and  his 
guards  made  their  escape.  General  Segur, 
who  was  of  the  party,  thus  narrates  the 
incident : — "  But  what  had  they  gained  by 
this  movement?  They  had  approached 
nearer  to  the  fire,  and  could  neither  retreat 
nor  remain  where  they  were  ;  and  how  were 
they  to  advance  ?  how  force  a  passage 
through  the  billows  of  this  sea  of  flame? 
Those  who  had  traversed  the  city,  stunned 
by  the  tempest  and  Winded  by  the  ashes, 
could  not  find  their  way,  since  the  streets 
themselves  were  no  longer  distinguishable 
amidst  smoke  and  ruins. 

"  There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  The 
roaring  of  the  flames  around  us  became 
every  moment  more  violent.  A  single, 
narrow,  winding  street,  completely  on  fire, 
appeared  to  be  rather  the  entrance  than  the 
outlet  to  this  hell.  The  emperor  rushed 
on  foot,  and  without  hesitation,  into  this 
narrow  passage.  He  advanced  amid  the 
crackling  of  the  flames,  the  crash  of  floors, 
the  fall  of  burning  timbers,  and  of  the  red- 
hot  iron  roofs  which  tumbled  around  him. 
These  ruins  impeded  his  progress.  The 
flames,  which,  with  impetuous  roar,  con- 
sumed the  edifices  between  which  we  were 
proceeding,  spreading  beyond  the  walls, 
were  blown  out  by  the  wind,  and  formed  an 
arch  over  our  heads.  We  walked  on  a 
ground  of  fire,  beneath  a  fiery  sky,  and 
between  two  walls  of  fire.  The  intense 
heat  burned  our  eyes,  which  we  were  never- 
theless obliged  to  keep  open  and  fixed  on 
the  danger.  A  consuming  atmosphere, 
glowing  ashes,  detached  flames,  parched 
our  throats,  rendering  our  respiration  short 
and  dry ;  and  we  were  already  almost  suf- 
focated by  the  smoke.  Our  hands  were 
burnt,  either  in  endeavouring  to   protect 

29 


■  y 

•a 


d 
I 


.  t 


EXTINCTION  OF  THE  FIRE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


our  faces  from  the  insupportable  heat,  or  in 
brushing  off  the  sparks  which  every  mo- 
ment covered  and  penetrated  our  garments. 
"  In  this  inexpressible  distress,  and  when 
a  rapid  advance  seemed  to  be  our  only 
means  of  safety,  our  guide  stopped  in 
uncertainty  and  agitation.  Here  would 
probably  have  terminated  our  adventurous 
career,  had  not  some  pillagers  of  the  first 
corps,  recognising  the  emperor  amidst  the 
whirling  flames,  ran  up  and  guided  him 
towards  the  smoking  ruins  of  a  quarter 
which  had  been  reduced  to  ashes  in  the 
morning." 

From  this  spot  Napoleon  arrived  at  Pe- 
trowsky,  where  he  passed  the  night  in  rumi- 
nating on  the  terrible  stateof  danger  to  which 
his  troo[)s  were  exposed.  The  next  morn- 
ing (the  1 7th)  he  cast  his  first  looks  towards 
Moscow,  in  the  hope  that  the  conflagration 
had  subsided.  The  whole  city  appeared 
like  a  vast  furnace,  from  which  columns  of 
fire  rose  in  whirling  eddies  to  the  sky. 
For  some  time  he  observed  a  painful  silence, 
and  then  exclaimed — "  This  forebodes  great 
misfortunes  to  us  y  Moscow  had  been  the 
aim  of  all  his  hopes,  and  now  it  was  no 
more.  Napoleon  hesitated,  and  was  unable 
to  decide  what  course  was  the  best  to  pursue. 
To  preserve  appearances  he  talked  of  march- 
ing on  to  St.  Petersburg ;  but  he  well  knew 
that  his  troops  were  destitute  of  all  the 
requisites  for  so  extensive  an  excursion. 

The  fire  ceased  on  the  20th  of  September. 
About  two-thirds  of  the  city  had  been  con- 
sumed ;  but  the  Kremlin  had  escaped  the 
flames,  and  the  emperor  resolved  on  return- 
ing to  it.  "  The  camps  which  he  traversed 
on  his  way  thither  presented  an  extraor- 
dinary sight.  In  the  fields,  amidst  thick 
and  cold  mud,  large  fires  were  kept  up  with 
mahogany  furniture,  windows,  and  gilded 
doors.  Around  these  fires,  on  a  litter  of 
damp  straw,  imperfectly  sheltered  by  a  few 
boards,  were  seen  the  soldiers  and  their 
officers,  splashed  all  over  with  mud,  and 
blackened  with  smoke,  seated  in  arm-chairs, 
or  reclined  on  silken  couches.  At  their 
feet  were  spread  or  heaped.  Cashmere  shawls, 
the  rarest  furs  of  Siberia,  the  gold  stuff's  of 
Persia,  and  silver  dishes,  off"  which  they  had 
nothing  to  eat  but  a  black  dough,  baked 
in  the  ashes,  and  half-broiled  and  bloody 
horseflesh.  Singular  assemblage  of  abun- 
dance and  want,  of  riches  and  filth,  of 
luxury  and  wretchedness!  Between  the 
camp  and  the  city  were  met  troops  of  sol- 
diers dragging  along  their  booty,  or  driving 
30 


A.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,      [napoleon  abandons  moscow. 


before  them,  like  beasts  of  burden,  Musco- 
vites bending  under  the  weight  of  the 
pillage  of  their  capital ;  for  the  fire  brought 
to  view  nearly  20,000  inhabitants,  pre- 
viously unobserved  in  that  immense  city. 
Some  of  these  Muscovites,  of  both  sexes, 
were  well  dressed ;  they  were  tradespeople. 
They  came  with  the  wreck  of  their  property 
to  seek  refuge  at  our  fires.  They  lived 
pell-mell  with  our  soldiers,  protected  hy 
some,  and  tolerated,  or  rather  scarcely  re- 
marked, by  others.* 

What  remained  of  Moscow  was  aban- 
doned to  pillage;  for  recent  events  had  so 
disorganised  the  French  soldiers,  that  it  was 
found  impossible  to  restrain  them.  They 
were  frequently  seen  seated  on  bales  of 
merchandise,  or  heaps  of  sugar  and  coff'ee  ; 
amidst  wines  and  the  most  exquisite 
liqueurs,  which  they  were  off'ering  in  ex- 
change for  a  morsel  of  bread.  Such  was 
the  state  of  things  when  the  emperor  re- 
entered Moscow  and  returned  to  the  Krem- 
lin. He  issued  strict  orders  with  the  object 
of  restoring  order,  but  he  was  unable  to 
eff'ectually  accomplish  so  desirable  a  result. 
The  destruction  of  Moscow  was  publicly 
attributed,  by  the  Russian  authorities,  to 
the  French,  and  used  as  a  fresh  means  of 
exciting  hatred  against  them.  It  is,  how- 
ever, and  without  doubt  correctly,  attri- 
buted to  Count  Rostopchin,  the  governor  of 
the  city.  He  was  denounced  in  Napoleon's 
bulletins  as  having  kindled  the  conflagra- 
tion by  means  of  300  incendiaries,  who  set 
fire  to  the  city  in  as  many  places  simulta- 
neously. Rostopchin  never  acknowledged 
the  act;  and  in  the  year  1823,  published  a 
pamphlet  on  the  subject,  altogether  denying 
that  he  was  the  author  of  it;  but  without 
altering  the  decided  conviction  of  Europe 
upon  the  subject.  General  Buturlin,  the 
Russian  historian    of  the   campaign,    in   a 

subsequent  edition  of  his  work,  remarks 

"  It  is  ungenerous  to  disbelieve  a  man  who 
would  thus  voluntarily  despoil  himself  of 
the  glory  of  a  civic  crown ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  information  the  most  positive  leaves 
no  room  in  the  author's  mind  to  doubt  that 
the  fire  of  Moscow  was  prepared  and  ex- 
ecuted by  the  Russian  authorities;''  i.e.,  by 
the  governor  of  the  city. 

Several  days  passed  on,  and  Napoleon 
waited  in  expectation  of  proposals  of  peace 
and  submission  from  Alexander.  The  latter 
did  not  make  any  reply  to  the  letter  sent  to 
him;  and  the  French  emperor  at  length 
•  General  Count  Segur 


became  exasperated.  On  the  3rd  of  Octo- 
ber, he  summoned  his  marshals,  and  pro- 
posed to  them  to  burn  the  remainder  of 
Moscow,  and  then  to  march  on  to  St.  Peters- 
burg ;  but  their  expostulations  induced  him 
to  forego  so  desperate  an  enterprise.  It  is 
probable  that  he  did  not  himself  seriously 
contemplate  it;  for  he  sent  his  aide-de- 
camp, Count  Lauriston,  to  the  Russian 
camp,  to  propose  an  armistice  and  obtain  a 
safe-conduct  to  St.  Petersburg.  "  I  want 
peace,"  said  the  emperor  to  the  count ;  "  I 
must  have  peace;  I  absolutely  will  have 
peace ;  only  save  my  honour  !" 

General  Kutusoflf  informed  Lauriston, 
that  to  grant  him  a  safe-conduct  to  St.  Pe- 
tersburg exceeded  his  powers ;  but  he  sent 
the  letter  from  Napoleon  to  Alexander,  and 
off'ered  an  armistice  until  the  return  of  the 
messenger.  During  the  continuance  of  the 
truce,  some  of  the  Cossack  chiefs  asked  the 
French  officers,  "If  they  had  not,  in  their 
own  country,  corn  enough,  air  enough, 
graves  enough;  in  short,  room  enough  to 
live  and  die  ?  Wiiy,  then,  did  the/  come  so 
far  from  home  to  throw  away  their  lives, 
and  to  fatten  a  foreign  soil  with  their 
blood  ?"  The  armistice  was  badly  observed 
by  the  Russians ;  and  Kutusofl's  only  object 
in  granting  it  was  to  gain  time  till  the 
winter  set  in,  and  the  retreat  of  the  French 
became  impossible,  or  utterly  ruinous. 
Some  weeks  elapsed  before  an  answer  came 
from  the  emperor  Alexander.  It  was  ad- 
dressed to  Kutusoff*,  and  contained  an  abso- 
lute command  to  "  admit  of  no  negotiation 
whatever,  or  relation  tending  toward  peace 
with  the  enem3\" 

The  weather  had  been  remarkably  fine; 
but,  on  the  13th  of  October,  a  fall  of  snow 
gave  the  first  indication  of  winter.  On  the 
17th  the  Russians  assumed  off'ensive  opera- 
tions. The  advanced  guard  of  the  French 
army — consisting  of  30,000  men,  commanded 
by  Murat,  and  posted  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Winkoroo — was  attacked  by  a  Russian  force 
under  General  Renningsen.  The  French 
were  taken  by  surprise,  and  sustained  a  de- 
feat. Murat  was  wounded;  two  generals 
killed ;  besides  the  loss  of  three  or  four  thou- 
sand men.  They  also  lost  thirty-eight  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  all  their  ammunition  and 
baggage-waggons.  In  fact,  it  was  with  great 
difficulty  that  they  were  able  to  eff'ect  their 
retreat,  which  they  did  in  much  disorder. 
This  incident  aroused  Napoleon  from  his 
apathy,  and  he  resolved  on  the  abandon- 
ment of  Moscow.     "  Let  us  march  upon 


Kaluga,"    said   he,    "and  woe  be  to  those 
whom  I  meet  with  by  the  way !" 

The  emperor  commenced  his  march  from 
Moscow  on  the  19th  of  October,  at  the  head 
of  more  than  100,000  soldiers :  only  12,000 
sick  were  left  behind;  for  the  rest,  at  Moscow, 
had  promoted  the  recovery  of  the  remainder. 
Yet  Napoleon  perceived  with  pain  that  his 
cavalry  and  artillery  might  be  said  rather  to 
crawl  than  to  march.  The  army  was  fol- 
lowed bv  a  train  of  carriages  and  vehicles  of 
every  kind,  loaded  with  trophies  and  the 
plunder  which  the  soldiers  had  accumulated. 
Some  Russian  girls  also  voluntarily  accom- 
panied their  seducers ;  and  many  of  the  pea- 
sants, who  had  been  taken  prisoners,  were 
compelled  to  carry  or  drive  the  booty  of  their 
captors.  Some  of  the  host  of  camp-followers 
were  even  wheeling  along  barrows  filled  with 
whatever  they  could  remove,  unconscious,  in 
their  greediness,  that  they  must  necessarily 
abandon  them  in  the  course  of  the  march. 

General  Kutusoff^,  on  hearing  of  the  re- 
treat of  the  French  from  Moscow,  marched 
towards  Malo-Jaroslawitz,  with  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  intercept  their  passage.  On 
the  24th,  a  battle  took  place  at  this  .town, 
between  the  advanced  guards  of  the  two 
armies.  Each  side  desired  to  gain  possession 
of  the  town,  which  had  been  set  on  fire,  and 
was,  while  burning,  taken  and  retaken  no 
less  than  seven  times.  The  French  at 
length  remained  in  possession  of  it;  but 
their  victory  was  purchased  with  the  loss  of 
3,000  men  in  killed  and  wounded.  That 
of  the  Russians  amounted  to  about  8,000. 
During  the  action,  Kutusoff  had  established 
himself  in  such  a  position  as  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  a  farther  advance  towards 
Kaluga  without  a  general  battle. 

Such  was  the  strength  of  the  Russian 
position,  that  Marshal  Bessieres,  who  had 
been  sent  by  the  emperor  to  reconnoitre, 
pronounced  it  to  be  unassailable.  No  alter- 
native, therefore,  remained  but  to  fall  back 
on  the  road  to  Smolensk — a  movement  which 
so  much  resembled  retreat  in  the  face  of  an 
enemy,  that  the  contemplation  of  it  plunged 
Napoleon  into  a  state  of  irritable  melancholy. 
On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  he  sat  up  him- 
self to  examine  the  ground,  and  narrowly 
escaped  being  taken  prisojjer  by  a  body  of 
Cossacks.  The  emperor  agreed  with  Bes- 
sieres, that  an  attempt  to  force  the  Russian 
position  would  be  too  hazardous ;  and,  on 
his  return,  he  held  a  council  as  to  the  course 
to  be  pursued.  Murat  recommended  an 
attack ;  and  said,  that  with  the  remnant  of 

31 


H 

t   ! 


HE  RETIRES  BEFORE  THE  FOE.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


* 

I 

[i 

i 


his  cavalry,  and  that  of  the  guard,  he 
would  reopen  the  road  to  Kaluga  at  the 
point  of  the  sword.  Bessieres  urged,  that  a 
retreat  had  become  unavoidably  necessary. 
Napoleon  sadly  and  unwillingly  acquiesced. 
''Hardihood  has  had  its  day,^'  said  he; 
"we  have  already  done  too  much  for  glory; 
nothing  remains  to  be  thought  of  but  the 
safety  of  the  army.''  Segur  relates,  that  tins 
decision  cost  the  emperor  so  much  pain,  that, 
in  the  inward  struggle  which  it  occasioned, 
he  lost  the  use  of  his  senses. 

Orders  were,  issued  for  the  retreat  of  the 
army  to  Smolensk,  by  Borowsk  and  Mojaisk ; 
and,  at  dawn  of  the  26th  of  October,  Napo- 
leon, for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  retired  in 
the  open  field  from  his  enemies.  At  the 
same  time  Kutnsoff,  dismayed  by  the  first 
movement  of  the  French,  and  fearing  to 
risk  a  battle,  abandoned  Kaluga.  These 
well-matched  combatants  retired  from  each 
other  out  of  mutual  awe.  Before  the  entire 
evacuation  of  Moscow  by  the  French,  Napo- 
leon ordered  the  Krem'lin  to  be  blown  up. 
General  Mortier,  to  whom  this  task  was 
committed,  caused  barrels  of  gunpowder  to 
be  placed  in  all  the  halls  of  the  palace  of 
the  czars,  and  183,000  pounds  under  the 
vaults  which  supported  them.  The  explosion 
was  tremendous,  and  much  of  that  mighty 
pile  of  buildings  was  shattered  into  ruinous 
heaps. 

Dejection  prevailed  throughout  the  French 
army.  After  some  days'  marching  they 
came  in  sight  of  a  devastated  plain,  on  which 
30,000  half-devoured  corpses,  and  a  number 
of  skeletons,  were  mingled  with  fragments 
of  helmets  and  cuirasses,  broken  drums, 
gun-stocks,  tatters  of  uniforms,  and  blood- 
stained standards.  A  sense  of  horror  ran 
through  the  spectators  as  they  murmured, 
"  It  is  the  field  of  the  great  battle  !"  It  was, 
indeed,  the  terrible  plain  of  Borodino ;  and 
there,  furrowed  by  cannon-balls,  stood  the 
great  redoubt,  looking  like  an  extinguished 
and  destroyed  volcano.  The  troops  hurried 
on,  merely  turning  their  faces  to  take  a  last 
melancholy  look  at  the  hideous  golgotha, 
where  so  many  of  their  companions  had  been 
so  uselessly  sacrificed.  Napoleon,  harassed 
by  the  number  of  unnecessary  persons  who 
accompanied  his  retreating  troops,  caused 
2,000  Russian  prisoners  to  be  marched  on 
before,  and  then  massacred.  His  troops 
were  astonished ;  and  some  of  his  generals 
murmured  at  this  atrocity;  the  rest  of 
the  unfortunates  were  abandoned,  and  left 
to  perish.  This  barbarity  resulted  from  the 
32 


indiff*erence  exhibited  by  the  Russian  autho- 
rities for  the  lives  of  their  soldiers,  in  reject- 
ing all  proposals  of  an  exchange  of  prisoners. 
General  Kutnsoff,  on  being  informed  of 
the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  moved  in  pursuit 
on  a  line  parallel  to  the' road  they  occupied. 
The  French  were  at  first  allowed  to  retire 
without  molestation ;  and  Napoleon  trusted 
that  he  had  got  so  far  in  advance  of  Ku- 
tusoff,  as  to  secure  an  uninterrupted  retreat. 
By  the  2nd  of  November,  the  emperor  had 
reached  Wiazma.  But  the  rear-guard  of 
the  French,  under  Davoust,  on  approaching 
that  town  on  the  3rd,  found  the  road  occu- 
pied by  the  advanced  guard  of  the  Russians, 
under  General  Milaradowitch  ;*  while  Count 
Platoff  and  a  large  body  of  Cossacks  pressed 
upon  their  rear.  A  furious  engagement 
took  place,  and  lasted  nearly  the  whole  day. 
It  terminated  with  the  retre'at  of  the  French 
in  disorder,  after  a  loss  of  6,000  men; 
2,000  of  whom  were  made  prisoners.  The 
baggage  of  the  French,  and  several  pieces  of 
artillery,  also  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy. 

The  weather,  though  cold  at  night,  had 
been  generally  very  favourable  by  day. 
On  the  6th  of  November,  the  terrible  Rus- 
sian winter  set  in.  The  army  marched 
through  semi-darkness,  occasioned  by  cold 
and  penetrating  fog.  Then  came  a  snow- 
storm, so  heavy  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  very 
sky  was  falling;  and  a  tempest  of  wind,  which 
howled  through  the  forests  and  over  the 
plains  with  resistless  fury.  The  snow  drifted 
into  every  hollow  and  ditch  ;  and  the  deceit- 
ful surface,  yielding  to  the  tread  of  the 
straggling  soldiers,  engulphed  those  who 
fell ;  and,  from  their  debility,  generally  soon 
found  a  winding-sheet  and  a  grave  in  this 
snowy  wilderness.  "Those  who  followed, 
turned  aside;  but  the  storm  driving  into 
their  faces  the  snow  that  was  descending 
from  the  sky  and  that  which  it  raised  from 
the  ground,  seemed  bent  on  opposing  their 
progress.  It  penetrated  through  their  gar- 
ments, and  soddened  their  torn  shoes  and 
boots.  Their  wet  clothes  froze  upon  their 
bodies ;  an  icy  envelope  encased  them,  and 
stiffened  all  their  limbs.  A  keen  and  vio- 
lent wind  interrupted  respiration ;  it  seized 
their  breath  at  the  moment  when  they  ex- 
haled it,  and  converted  it  into  icicles,  which 
hung  from  their  beards  all  round  their 
mouths.      The   unfortunate   creatures   still 

•  Milaradowitch,  from   his   impetuosity  and  his 
ove  of  fighting,  was  denominated  by  the  French, 
the  Kussian  Murat. 


A.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [horrors  of  the  retreat. 


crawled  on,  shivering,  till  the  snow,  gather- 
ing like  balls  under  their  feet,  or  the  frag- 
ment of  some  broken  article,  a  branch  of  a 
tree,  or  the  body  of  one  of  their  comrades, 
caused  them  to  stumble  and  to  fall.  There 
they  groaned  in  vain ;  the  snow  soon 
covered  them ;  slight  hillocks  marked  the 
spot  where  they  lay:  such  was  their  only 
grave  !  The  road  was  studded  with  these 
undulations,  like  a  cemetery.  The  most  in- 
trepid and  the  most  indifferent  were  af- 
fected ;  they  passed  on  quickly  with  averted 
looks.  But  before  them,  around  them, 
there  was  nothing  but  snow.  This  immense 
and  dreary  uniformity  extended  further 
than  the  eye  could  reach ;  the  imagination 
was  astounded ;  it  was  like  a  vast  winding- 
sheet,  which  nature  had  thrown  over  the 
army.  The  only  objects  not  enveloped  by 
it  were  some  gloomy  pines — trees  of  the 
tombs,  with  their  funereal  verdure,  the  mo- 
tionless aspect  of  their  gigantic,  black 
trunks,  and  their  dismal  look,  which  com- 
pleted the  doleful  appearance  of  a  general 
mourning,  and  of  an  army  dying  amidst  a 
nature  already  dead.'^* 

Many  of  the  soldiers  dropped,  or  threw 
away  their  arms ;  while  the  fingers  of  others 
were  frozen  to  the  muskets  they  still  held. 
Numbers  left  their  ranks  and  wandered  over 
the  country  in  hope  of  finning  shelter  for  the 
coming  night ;  but  they  either  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Cossacks  or  were  massacred  by 
the  peasantry,  who,  in  some  cases,  strip t 
them  naked,  and  left  them  to  expire  in  the 
snow.  The  night,  of  sixteen  hours'  dura- 
tion, was  passed  by  the  army  in  misery 
which  baffles  description.  The  pine-branches, 
laden  with  frost,  could  scarcely  be  kindled ; 
and  the  fires,  when  lighted,  were  not  unfre- 
quently  extinguished  by  the  snow.  The 
repasts  of  the  soldiers  consisted  of  the  half- 
cooked  flesh  of  lean  horses,  killed  in  conse- 
quence of  exhaustion,  and  a  few  spoonfuls  of 
rye-flour  mixed  with  water.  The  next 
morning,  the  bivouacs  were  marked  by  cir- 
cular ranges  of  soldiers  lying  dead  on  the 
frozen  ground,  while  around  lay  the  bodies 
of  several  thousand  horses.  The  effect  of 
these  horrors  on  the  minds  of  the  army 
was  terrible ;  a  gloomy  despondency  fell  on 
the  men,  and  neglect  of  discipline  spread 
rapidly.  A  dreadful  selfishness  entered  into 
almost  every  bosom,  and  the  men  snatched 
the  cloaks  from  their  fallen  comrades,  to 
warm  their  own  shivering  limbs.  Those 
who  first  got  round  the  fires  at  night  fiercely 


VOL.  II. 


•  Segur. 
F 


repelled  their  less  fortunate  comrades,  who 
strove  to  share  in  the  warmth;  and  saw 
them  sink  down  and  die  with  indifference. 
Nearly  every  one  seemed  engrossed  in  pro- 
viding for  his  own  safety ;  and  in  this  gen- 
eral extinction  of  sympathy,  the  fate  of 
others  remained  unheeded.  /  Some  brave 
and  firm  men  there  were,  however,  who  still 
bore  up  with  heroic  endurance,  and  strove 
to  preserve  their  customary  serenity  amidst 
the  fearful  scenes  which  surrounded  them. 

The  horrors  of  famine  were  soon  added  to 
the  sufferings  of  the  retreating  French. 
Horseflesh  became  the  sole  means  of  sub- 
sistence to  the  great  body  of  the  troops; 
and  when  one  of  these  wretched  creatures 
fell  by  the  wayside,  a  group  of  starving  men 
seized  upon  it  and  shared  its  remains  amongst 
them.  By  degrees  the  army  assumed  the 
appearance  of  a  hideous  mass  of  stragglers, 
arrayed  in  fur  cloaks  or  finery  found  at 
Moscow,  or  stript  from  the  dead  who  had 
perished  by  the  way.  As  to  the  emperor, 
he,  throughout  the  retreat,  remained  grave, 
silent,  and  resigned,  concealing  his  mental 
suffering,  and  presenting  the  appearance  of 
a  great  mind  struggling  with  adversity.  At 
this  period  it  was  that  he  received  intelli- 
gence of  General  Malet's  conspiracy  against 
him  at  Paris,  and  his  whole  thoughts  were 
bent  on  reaching  the  French  capital. 

The  army  arrived  at  Smolensk  between 
the  9th  and  the  13th  of  November,  strag- 
gling into  the  town  in  a  wretched  manner. 
Such  was  the  rush  for  food,  that  it  required 
the  most  strenuous  efforts  of  the  troops  who 
had  been  left  there,  to  prevent  the  new- 
comers from  murdering  one  another  at  the 
doors  of  the  magazines.  Napoleon  had 
made  great  exertions  to  provide  supplies  of 
provisions  along  his  line  of  retreat ;  but  a 
series  of  calamities  had  prevented  his  efforts 
from  being  adequate  to  the  immense  de- 
mand upon  them.  On  the  14th,  the  empe- 
ror and  the  French  array  quitted  Smolensk, 
marching  in  gloomy  silence.  Napoleon  had 
hastened  his  departure,  in  consequence  of 
the  reverses  experienced  by  detachments  of 
the  French  army,  under  Murat  and  Marshal 
St.  Cyr,  in  engagements  with  the  Russians. 
At  the  same  time,  the  Russian  general, 
Kutnsoff,  with  the  object  of  arresting  the 
further  retreat  of  the  French,  and  compel- 
ling them  to  surrender,  directed  his  march 
upon  the  village  of  Krasnoi.  On  the  16th, 
17th,  and  18th,  engagements  took  place  on 
this  spot  and  in  the  neighbourhood.  The 
Russians  were^  in  all,  both  the  assailants  and 

33 


J] 

HI 


■I] 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  BEREZINA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1812. 


A.D.  1812.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[result  of  the  invasion. 


J 


il 


the  victors.  The  result  of  these  battles  was 
a  loss  to  the  French  of  10,000  men  killed 
or  drowned,  and  26,000  taken  prisoners ; 
amon«5st  whom  were  300  officers  ;  116  pieces 
of  cannon  were  also  captured.  This  terrible 
blow  was  inflicted  by  the  Russians  with  the 
loss  of  only  2,000  men  to  themselves.  Na- 
poleon and  a  part  of  his  army  escaped  ;  but 
the  troops  who  followed  hirn  were  reduced 
to  10,000  weakened  combatants,  and  twice 
that  number  of  stragglers.  But  for  the 
caution  of  the  Russian  commander,  it  is 
probable  that  the  French  army  might  have 
been  utterly  annihilated. 

The  latter  continued  their  dismal  retreat, 
but  in  a  state  of  terrible  disorganisation. 
Napoleon,  surrounded  by  a  body  of  officers, 
who  still  preserved  some  appearance  of 
regularity,  marched  on  foot,  with  a  birch 
staff  in  his  hand,  to  avoid  falling  on  the  ice- 
bound roads.  He  would,  doubtless,  have 
perished  amidst  the  appalling  confusion  by 
which  he  was  surrounded,  but  for  the 
incessant  devotion  of  the  officers  near  his 
person.  His  rear  divisions  had  to  sustain 
repeated  attacks  from  the  Russians,  espe- 
cially from  the  flying  bodies  of  Cossacks; 
but  the  frost  and  the  snow,  and  the  fierce 
blasts  of  night  which  swept  over  those  vast 
open  plains,  killed  more  than  either  sword  or 
spear,  bullets  or  bayonets.  The  wretched 
soldiers  perished  like  rotten  sheep;  and  when 
Napoleon  arrived  at  Oresa,  in  Lithuania,  he 
liad  only  12,000  men  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  and  his  40,000  horses  had  dwindled 
down  to  3,000  starved  and  miserable  animals. 
He  was  atfected  by  the  painful  condition  of 
his  troops.  "  These  poor  soldiers  rend  ray 
lieart,^'  said  he ;  "I  cannot,  however,  give 
them  relief.'' 

In  this  state  the  emperor  and  his  skeleton 
armv  reached  the  banks  of  the  Berezina, 
where  he  was  joined  by  a  corps  of  reserve 
of  nearly  50,000  men,  under  Marshals  Victor 
and  Oudinot,  who  had  been  left  behind  in 
his  advance  upon  Moscow.  This  seasonable 
relief  saved  Napoleon  from  destruction,  and 
he  once  more  found  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  tolerably  numerous  force.  But  fortune 
no  longer  smiled  upon  him  with  any  con- 
stanev,  and  these  reinforcements  were  soon 
terribly  thinned  by  the  enemy.  On  reach- 
ing Borrisow,  a  town  on  the  banks  of  the 
Berezina,  the  French  found  every  passage 
occupied  by  the  Russians,  whose  main  army, 
under  Kutusoff,  was  also  approaching.  The 
brave  Marshal  Ney  observed  to  his  brother- 
officers — "  Our  situation  is  unparalleled.  If 
34 


Napoleon  extricate  himself  to  day,  he  must 
have  the  devil  in  him."  ]Murat  proposed 
to  the  emperor  to  save  himself  and  cross 
the  river  at  some  leagues'  distance;  adding, 
that  he  had  some  Poles  who  would  answer 
for  his  safetv,  and  conduct  him  to  Wilna. 
To  this  proposal  Napoleon  would  not  listen ; 
and  though  fully  aware  of  his  dangerous 
position,  he  resolved  to  make  an  cftbrt  to 
delude  the  enemy.  After  gazing  upon  the 
thickening  clouds  of  Russians  who  covered 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  and  filled  the 
neighbouring  woods  and  marshes,  he  gave 
orders  to  make  a  false  attack  further  down 
the  stream. 

This  stratagem  succeeded.  The  Russians 
filed  off  in  pursuit,  and  their  columns  were 
lost  in  the  woods.  Napoleon  instantly 
ordered  bridges  to  be  constructed,  and 
defended  with  cannon.  His  orders  were 
obeyed ;  but  the  Russians,  discovering  their 
mistake,  speedily  returned  and  opened  a 
destructive  cannonade,  which  swept  the 
French  lines,  and  did  terrible  execution 
upon  them.  Galled  by  this  murderous  fire, 
the  troops,  in  their  eagerness  to  gain  the 
opposite  shore,  lost  all  consideration  for  the 
condition  of  their  comrades.  The  feeble 
and  the  wounded  were  overthrown,  and 
ruthlessly  trampled  to  death.  There  had 
been  time  only  to  erect  two  narrow  bridges 
across  the  river ;  the  widest  of  which  would 
scarcely  admit  of  the  passage  of  a  gun- 
carriage.  This  frail  structure,  crowded  to 
excess  with  fugitives  pushing  madly  forward 
to  escape  from  the  fire  of  the  Russian  artil- 
lery, and  heavily  laden  with  ordnance  and 
ammunition-waggons,  at  length  gave  way, 
and  sank  with  a  tremendous  crash.  The 
air  was  rent  with  the  hideous  yells  of  those 
crushed  by  the  falling  cannon,  with  the 
piercing  shrieks  of  women,  and  the  dismal 
groans  of  the  wounded,  as  they  were  pre- 
cipitated into  the  half-frozen  current,  where 
they  met  an  untimely  grave.  So  loud  were 
the  distracted  cries  of  these  miserable 
victims,  that  the  thunder  of  the  artillery 
was  almost  drowned  by  their  frantic  impor- 
tunity for  that  help  which  it  was  impossible 
for  them  to  obtain.  The  remaining  bridge 
presented  a  scene  of  horror  scarcely  less 
terrible.  In  the  struggle  to  obtain  a  footing 
on  this,  now  the  only  path,  thousands  were 
thrust  into  the  stream,  as  well  as  mowed 
down  by  the  incessant  showers  of  grapeshot 
directed  against  them  by  the  Russians. 
Amidst  all  this  carnage,  the  divisions  of 
Marshals  Ney  and  Victor,  stationed  to  pro- 


' 


tect  the  passage  of  the  troops,  fought  bravely 
against  a  much  superior  force,  and  steadily 
maintained  their  ground  until  late  in  the 
evening.  Then,  after  having  sufi'ered  a 
severe  loss,  they  made  good  their  retreat 
over  the  bridge,  and  set  it  on  fire  in  order  to 
cut  off  pursuit.  The  measure  was,  doubtless, 
a  necessary  one,  but  it  involved  the  aban- 
donment of  a  great  number  of  w^ounded 
soldiers  and  camp  attendants,  who  were  left 
to  their  fate;  together  with  a  quantity  of 
Ijaggage  and  cannon.  This  fatal  passage 
had  cost  Napoleon  about  one- half  of  his 
reinforced  army.  According  to  the  Russian 
accounts,  when  the  river  was  cleared  from 
the  ice  in  the  following  spring,  not  less 
than  36,000  dead  bodies  were  taken  from 
its  bed. 

Napoleon  and  the  skeleton  of  the  "  grand 
army,"  contrived  to  evade  their  Russian 
pursuers.  Continually  harassed  by  bodies 
of  Cossacks,  who  hung  on  his  rear  and 
hovered  on  both  his  flanks,  the  emperor  ran 
imminent  hazard  of  capture.  On  the  3rd 
of  December  he  arrived  at  Malodezno,  from 
whence  he  issued  the  famous  twenty-ninth 
bulletin,  which  agitated  or  astounded  the 
whole  of  Europe.  The  emperor  felt  that 
fiction  was  no  longer  available,  and  he  told 
the  whole  truth  in  all  its  sternness;  frankly 
confessing  that,  except  the  guards,  he  had 
no  longer  an  army.  On  the  5th  he  arrived 
at  Smorgoni,  where  he  took  leave  of  his 
generals,  left  the  command  of  the  army, 
such  as  it  was,  to  Murat,  and  set  off  in  a 
sledge  to  Paris,  accompanied  by  Marshal 
Caulaincourt,  whose  name  he  assumed 
during  the  journey.  After  pausing  at 
Warsaw  and  at  Dresden,  he  reached  the 
palace  of  the  Tuileries  on  the  night  of  the 
18th  of  December.  Notwithstanding  the 
fearful  calamities  of  which  his  ambition  had 
been  the  cause,  he  was  received  by  the 
people  with  enthusiasm.  The  disastrous 
results  of  the  campaign,  and  the  sacrifice  of 
so  manv  thousand  Frenchmen,  seemed 
forgotten  in  the  reflection  that  the  emperor 
was  safe. 

The  army  left  under  the  command  of 
Murat  after  the  flight  of  Napoleon,  mustered, 
including  the  garrison  of  Wilna  and  the 
division  by  which  it  was  joined  after  the 
passage  of  the  Berezina,  about  80,000  men. 
The  sufferings  endured  by  these  wretched 
creatures    were    of    the    most    harrowing 

•  In  all,  450,000  men.  Alison  estimates  the  loss 
of  the  French  at  550,000  men :  he  says,  that  out  of 
the  600,000  French  soldiers  who  entered  Russia,  not 


description.  They  perished  by  thousands, 
from  want  and  the  extreme  severity  of  the 
weather.  So  destitute  w^as  their  condition, 
that  at  Wilna,  when  rations  were  distributed 
from  the  magazines  there,  veteran  soldiers 
were  seen  to  shed  tears  of  joy  at  the  sight 
of  a  loaf  of  bread.  After  eagerly  devouring 
it,  many  fell  asleep,  and  died  during  their 
slumbers,  from  the  effects  of  cold. 

The  French  were  attacked  at  Wilna,  and, 
after  a  vain  attempt  at  defence,  compelled 
to  continue  their  retreat,  leaving  in  the 
hospitals  there  about  17,000  dead  and  dying 
men.  The  miserable  remains  of  the  French 
army,  once  more  dragging  their  weary  limbs 
along  the  interminable  roads,  were  literally 
hunted  by  Platoff  and  his  Cossacks,  whose 
spears  dispatched  all  poor  wretches  who 
lagged  behind  from  exhaustion.  Many  of 
the  unhappy  soldiers  lost  their  senses,  from 
the  effect  of  the  horrors  of  their  situation. 
At  length  the  Russians  gave  up  the  pursuit, 
and  the  ghastly  fragments  of  the  "grand 
army"  entered  the  Prussian  territory,  and 
took  up  their  quarters  at  Konigsberg,  where 
they  were  received  wdth  feelings  of  compas- 
sion by  the  inhabitants.  The  loss  of  the 
French  and  their  auxiliaries  in  this  awful 
campaign,  is  estimated  by  Boutourlin  at 
125,000  killed,  132,000  dead  of  fatigue, 
hunger,  disease,  and  cold,  and  193,000 
prisoners,  including  3,000  officers  and  48 
generals.*  They  also  left  behind  900  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  25,000  waggons.  The  Rus- 
sians state  their  own  loss  to  have  amounted 
to  230,000  men ;  comprising  130,000  soldiers 
killed  in  battle,  and  100,000  persons  who 
perished  in  the  woods,  in  consequence  of  the 
burning  of  Moscow  and  other  places.  This 
is  supposed  to  be  below  the  truth.  Remark- 
able as  it  may  appear,  the  Russians  suffered 
more  from  the  cold  than  the  French; 
amongst  the  ranks  of  the  latter,  the  survivors 
were  chiefly  Italians,  or  Frenchmen  of  the 
provinces  to  the  south  of  the  Loire. 

The  Austrian  and  Prussian  contingents 
had  rendered  but  little  assistance  to  Napo- 
leon; and,  during  the  retreat,  they  took  the 
first  opportunity  to  desert  him.  The  Prus- 
sian general  York,  whose  duty  it  was  to  have 
covered  the  retreat  of  the  French  army,  on 
being  closely  pressed  by  his  pursuers, 
suddenly  made  a  truce  with  his  Russian 
opponent,  General  Diebitsch ;  and  a  few  days 
afterwards  they  concluded  the  convention  of 

more  than  32,000  escaped  from  it.  The  remainder 
of  the  survivors,  amounting,  in  all,  to  85,000  men, 
were  Austrians  and  Prussians. 

35 


.1 


'.i 


f 


4!  I 


■41 


RETALIATION  OF  EXJSSIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1813. 


Posarura,  by  which  all  hostilities  between 
the  Russians  and  the  Prussians  ceased ;  and 


also,  were  permitted   to   retire   unassailed, 
and    immediately     afterwards     resumed    a 


the  latter  continued  their  retreat  to  their  j  questionable  neutrality,   which  leant    more 
own  country  unmolested.      The  Austrians,  I  towards  Russia  than  to  France. 


CHAPTER  VL 

RUSSIA  AND  PRUSSIA  TAKE  THE  FIELD  AGAINST  NAPOLEON;  PROFITLESS  VICTORIES  OF  THE  LATTER;  AUS- 
TRIA JOINS  THE  ALLIES;  CAMPAIGN  OF  1813;  THE  ALLIES  INVADE  FRANCE;  REVERSES  OF  NAPOLEON; 
HIS  MISTAKEN  MARCH  TOWARDS  THE  RHINE  ;  ADVANCE  OF  THE  ALLIES  ON  PARIS  ;  BATTLE  BEFORE  THE 
CITY  •  CAPITULATION  OF  PARIS,  AND  ITS  OCCUPATION  BY  THE  ALLIES  ;  GENEROUS  BEARING  OF  THE  EM- 
PEROR ALEXANDER;  A  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  DECLARE  NAPOLEON  DETHRONED;  RESTORATION  OF 
THE  BOURBONS,  AND  DEPARTURE  OF  NAPOLEON  FOR  ELBA  ;  PEACE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  THE  ALLIES  ; 
ALEXANDER  VISITS  ENGLAND,  AND  IS  RECEIVED  WITH  ENTHUSIASM. 


Russia  now  prepared  to  retaliate  on  the  foe 
who  had  inflicted  upon  her  so  much  calamity. 
On  the  22nd  of  February,  1813,  Alexander 
issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  he  endea- 
voured to  excite  the  whole  of  Europe  against 
Napoleon.     This  document  observed — "  We 
take  advantage  of  our  victories  to  extend 
the    hand    of    succour    to    the    oppressed 
nations.     The  moment  is  come :  never  was 
a   more  glorious  opportunity  presented  to 
unfortunate     Germany — the    enemy    flies, 
without   courage   and   without   hope.      He 
astonishes,  by  his  terror,  the  nations  that 
were  wont  to  be  astonished  by  his  pride  and 
his  barbarity.     We  speak  with  the  frankness 
which  is  suitable  to  strength.     Russia,  and 
England  her  intrepid  ally,  who  for  twenty 
years  has  continued  shaking  that  colossus 
of  crime  which  threatens  the  universe,  have 
no  thought  of  their  own  aggrandisement. 
It  is  our  benefits,  and  not  the  limits  of  our 
empire,   that   we    wish   to   extend    to   the 
remotest  nations.     The  destinies  of  Vesu- 
vius and  of  Guadiana,  have  been  determined 
on   the   banks   of  the   Borysthenes;    it   is 
thence  that  Spain  will  recover  the  liberty 
that   she  has   defended  with   heroism  and 
energy  in  an  age  of  feebleness  and  baseness.^' 
Prussia  had  not  only  deserted  Napolevm 
in  the  campaign,  but  she  had  thrown  off*  the 
mask — entered  into  an  alliance  with  Russia, 
and   declared   herself   hostile   towards   her 
former    oppressor.      The    French   emperor 
prepared  for  the  approaching  contest  with 
his  customary  self-reliance.     He  appealed 
to  the  senate,  who  voted  a  conscription  of 
350,000  men  ;  and  such  was  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  principal  cities  of  France,  that  in 
addition  to  these  immense  levies,  they  voted 
36 


regiments  of  volunteers,  to   be  raised  and 
equipped  at  their  own  expense. 

Alexander  endeavoured  to  induce  Austria 
to  enter  with  him  into  a  European  alliance 
against  France ;  but  Austria  held  aloof  from 
this  extremity,  and  off'ered  her  mediation, 
with  a  view  of  putting  an  end  to  the  calami- 
ties which  were  desolating  Europe.  Shortly 
afterwards,  however,  the  Austrian  cabinet 
made  a  secret  convention  with  Russia,  which 
evinced  its  inclination  in  favour  of  that 
power. 

Towards  the  end  of  March,  an  allied  army, 
consisting  of  80,000   Russians  and   (30,000 
Prussians,  crossed  the  Elbe,  near  Witten- 
burg  and  Dresden.     General  Kutusoff*,  worn 
out  by  the  fatigues  of  the  last  campaign,  was 
no  more ;  and  the  emperor  Alexander  himself 
assumed  the  chief  command  of  his  army. 
To  oppose  them.  Napoleon  led  an  army  of 
250,000  men  to  Saxony:    of  these  troops, 
however,  nearly  a  fourth  part  were  Germans 
of  Saxony,  Westphalia,  or  Bavaria,  whose 
fidelity  was   at  the   least   doubtful;    while 
those  who  came  from  France  were  young 
and  inexperienced,  for  the  veteran  soldiers 
had  mostly  perished.     On  the  2nd  of  May, 
the  battle  of  Liitzen  took  place ;  in  which, 
after  a  furious  contest,  the  allies  were  de- 
feated with   a  loss   of   15,000  men.      The 
victory  of  the  French  was,  however,  by  no 
means  a  decisive  one,  and  was  purchased  at 
a  loss  equal  to  that  of  their  enemies.     The 
latter  retreated  on  the  following  morning  to 
Dresden,  from  whence  they  proceeded  to  a 
strongly-intrenched  position  which  had  been 
prepared    at   Bautzen.      There    they   were 
followed  by  Napoleon ;  and  a  second  battle 
took  place,  extending  over  the  20th   and 


' 


- 


A.D.  1813.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[EUROPE  IN  ARMS. 


21st  of  May.  After  an  obstinately-disputed 
conflict,  the  allies  again  retreated.  They 
had  now  adopted  the  policy  of  not  placing 
themselves  in  danger  of  undergoing  a  total 
defeat,  but  of  retiring  whenever  the  issue  of 
an  action  seemed  doubtful,  and  taking 
advantage  of  their  numerous  cavalry  to 
cover  their  retreat,  trusting  that,  in  the  end, 
the  superiority  of  their  physical  resources 
would  obtain  for  them  the  advantage.  In 
consequence  of  the  carnage  occasioned  by 
the  Prussian  artillery,  the  loss  of  the  victors 
exceeded  that  of  the  allies:  that  of  the 
latter,  in  killed  and  wounded,  is  estimated  at 
16,000  men ;  that  of  the  French  at  19,000. 
Alexander,  though  unfortunate  in  his  as- 
sumption of  the  duties  of  a  general,  yet 
performed  them  with  a  courage  and  coolness 
which  elicited  admiration. 

The  allies  were  driven  again  to  retreat 
before  the  French.  Diffident  of  their  power 
to  contend  successfully  with  Napoleon, 
unless  assisted  by  Austria,  they  grasped  at 
the  off*er  of  an  armistice  which  the  French 
emperor  proposed,  with  the  hope  of  regaining 
his  influence  over  Alexander.  It  was  con- 
cluded at  Plesswitz,  in  Silesia,  on  the  4th  of 
June.  This  was  an  error  on  the  part  of 
Napoleon,  and  eventually  proved  of  more 
advantage  to  Alexander  than  a  victory ;  for 
during  the  continuance  of  it,  Austria,  pro- 
voked by  the  undiminished  obstinacy  and 
haughtiness  of  Napoleon  (who  peremptorily 
rejected  the  main  condition  of  definitive 
peace),*  was  prevailed  on  to  join  the  alliance 
against  him;  and  when,  on  the  17th  of  Au- 
gust, the  armistice  expired,  the  forces  of  the 
allies,  swelled  also  by  the  adhesion  of  Bava- 
ria and  Wirtemburg,  amounted  to  more 
than  half  a  million  of  men.  Of  this  enor- 
mous host,  Alexander  was  ambitious  to  take 
the  chief  command ;  but  finding  that  Austria 
was  unwilling  to  consent,  from  distrust  of 
his  military  talents,  he  surrendered  his  claim 
in  favour  of  the  Austrian  prince,  Schwart- 
zenberg. 

Russia,  Austria,  Prussia,  and  Sweden,  had 
entered  into  a  league  against  Napoleon; 
while  England  was  carrying  on  the  war 
against  him  in  Spain,  and  subsidizing  Rus- 
sia, Prussia,  and  Sweden.  In  fact,  Europe 
was  in  arms  against  France ;  Denmark  only 
declared  in  his  favour.  The  resources  of 
France  were  now  inadequate  to  the  tremen- 
dous struggle  which  such  an  accumulation  of 
power  threatened.     To  narrate  the  particu- 

•  Namely,  to  give  up  all  his  conquests  in  Germany, 
and  to  withdraw  with  h's  troops  beyond  the  Rhine. 


lars  of   this  campaign  would   lead  us   far 
beyond  our  limits ;  we  can  only  refer  to  its 
chief  incidents  and  its  result.     On  the  26th 
and   27th  of  August,  Napoleon   gained  a 
great  victory  over  the  allies  at  Dresden,  in 
which  the  latter  lost  40,000  meu  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners  ;  40  pair  of  colours, 
and  60  pieces  of  cannon.     This  good  fortune 
did   not   continue;    and  the   French  army 
having   advanced   upon  Bohemia,   was   de- 
feated at   Kulra  by  the   Russians,  and  at 
Mullendorf  by  the  Prussian  general,  Kleist. 
Upon   this    the   hopes   of    Napoleon  were 
blighted  by  one  defeat  after  another;  and 
in  the  battles  of  Grossbeeren,  Dennewitz, 
Katzbach,   Gbrde,   and    many   others,   the 
Prussians,  under  the  brave  Blucher,  restored 
the  honour  of  their  arms,  and  reduced  Na- 
poleon to  a  most   critical   position  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Leipzig.     Such  was  the 
activity  of  Blucher,  that  he   obtained  the 
name  of  ''Marshal  Forwards;"  as  he  was 
constantly  advancing,  and   almost  as  con- 
stantly  fighting.      Napoleon's   armies   lost 
strength  and  ground  on  every  side,  and  his 
German  allies  began  to  forsake  him.     He, 
however,  determined  to  make  a  final  stand 
at  Leipzig.     There  he  fought  three  succes- 
sive battles,  on  the  16th,  I8th,  and  19th  of 
October,    against    an    immensely    superior 
force.     During  the  first  two  days  of  action, 
the  French  fought  gallantly,  but  lost  ground 
before  their  assailants.     On  the  18th,  a  body 
of  10,000  Saxons,  raising  the  patriotic  shout 
for  Germany,  deserted  the  French  and  went 
over  to  the  allies.     This  defection  induced 
Napoleon  to  resolve  on  effecting  a  retreat 
towards  the  Rhine.     He  made  his  arrange- 
ments during  the  night.     On  the  morning 
of  the  19th,  his  army  filed  out  of  Leipzig  by 
a  long  narrow  bridge.    During  this  operation 
they  were  attacked  by  the  allies,  who,  after 
a  desperate  struggle,  burst  into  the  town. 
As  the  French  blew  up  the  bridge  to  prevent 
the  allies  from  pursuing,  25,000  Frenchmen, 
who  remained  in  the  town,  were  compelled 
to  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war.     Napoleon 
himself    narrowly   escaped    a   similar   fate. 
The  horrors  of  the  passage  of  the  Berezina, 
though  on  a  smaller  scale,  were  renewed. 
Multitudes,  in  their  attempt  to  cross  the 
deep  but  rapid   stream,  were  drowned,  or 
perished  beneath  the   fire   of  the  enemy. 
The    remnant    of   the    French    army   fled 
towards  the  Rhine,  and  was  compelled  to 
fight  its  way,  at  Hanau,  through  the  Bava- 
rians, its  late  allies.     The  passage  of  the 
Rhine  was  effected  by  Napoleon  ou  the  2nd 

37 


HIE  ALLIES  INVADE  FRANCE.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1814. 


J 


N 


of  November ;  but  such  had  been  the 
disasters  of  the  campaign  and  the  retreat, 
that  out  of  an  array  of  250,000  men,  which 
he  led  into  the  field  in  the  month  of  May, 
only  seventy  or  eighty  thousand  recrossed 
that  river.  Leaving  this  force  on  the  left 
bank,  the  emperor  hastened  to  Paris.  About 
80,000  men,  whom  he  bad  left  to  hold  the 
Prussian  fortresses,  eventually  surrendered 
to  the  allies. 

Frederic   William    advised   his    allies   to 
carry  out  their  retaliation  on  Napoleon  by 
an  invasion  of  France ;  but,  for  some  time, 
a  contrary  opinion  prevailed  at  head-quar- 
ters,  and  nearly  two  months  were  passed 
in    inactivity.      The    emperor    of    Austria, 
naturally    solicitous     that     the    sceptre    of 
France  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  his 
daughter  and  her  descendants,  was   averse 
to  the  adoption  of  extreme  measures  against 
Napoleon,  and  desired  only  to  humble  him 
sufficiently  as  to  render  him  no  longer  for- 
midable to  his  neighbours.    At  length  it  was 
resolved  that  no  lasting  peace  could  be  ex- 
pected in  Europe  until  the  entire  dethrone- 
ment of  Napoleon,  and  the  restoration  of 
the  ancient  territorial  limits  of  France  and 
its  ancient  race  of  monarchs.     The  Russian 
troops  were  delighted   at  tbe  idea  of  pro- 
ceeding to  Paris ;  and  they  resolved  to  give 
that  city  to  the  flames,  in  revenge  for  the 
destruction  of  Moscow.     Alexander,  to  his 
honour,   restrained  this   savage  spirit.     On 
the  eve  of  crossing  the  Rhine,  he  issued  an 
address  to  his  troops,  in  which  he  said — 
"  Our  enemies,  by  piercing  to  the  heart  of 
our  dominions,  wrought  us  much  evil;  but 
dreadful  was  the  retribution :    the   Divine 
wrath   crushed    them.     Let    us    not    take 
example  from  them  ;  inhumanity  and  fero- 
city cannot   be  pleasing  in  the  eyes   of  a 
merciful    God.     Let   us   forget   what   they 
have  done  against  us.    Instead  of  animosity 
and  revenge,  let  us  approach  them  with  the 
words  of  kindness,  with  the   outstretched 
hand  of  reconciliation.     Such  is  the  lesson 
taught  by  our  holy  faith.     Divine  lips  have 
pronounced    the     command — '  Love    your 
enemies ;  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you.' 
Warriors !    I  trust   that,  by  your  modera- 
tion   in    the    enemy's    country,   you    will 
conquer  as  much  by  generosity  as  by  arms ; 
and  that,  uniting  the  valour  of  the  soldier 
against  the  armed,  with  the  charity  of  the 
Christian   towards   the   unarmed,  you  will 
crown  your   exploits  by  keeping   stainless 
vour  well-earned  reputation  of  a  brave  and 
moral  people. 
38 


)i 


On  the  31st  of  December,  1813,  the  allied 
army  of  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  crossed 
the  Rhine.  Napoleon,  with  undiminished 
spirit,  instantly  prepared  to  meet  the  in- 
vaders. On  the  25th  of  January,  1814,  he 
embraced  his  wife  and  son,  whom  he  never 
saw  again,  and  left  the  palace  of  the  Tuile- 
ries  for  the  army,  the  head -quarters  of 
which  were  established  at  Chalons.  His 
presence  imparted  both  confidence  and 
enthusiasm  to  his  troops,  amounting,  not- 
withstanding his  activity,  to  no  more  than 
70,000  men,  who  had  been  dismayed  at 
the  approach  of  the  enemy,  and  the  re- 
treat to  which  they  had  been  driven.  He 
now  commenced  the  campaign  which 
has  been  considered  by  tacticians  as  that 
in  which  he  most  strikingly  displayed  his 
astonishing  genius  for  military  combina- 
tions, fertility  of  resources,  and  quickness 
of  movement.  During  it,  a  conference  of 
the  representatives  of  France  and  the  allies 
was  held  at  Chatillon,  with  the  ol)ject  of 
arranging  a  peace ;  but  hostilities  were 
actively  carried  on  pending  its  ielibera- 
tions.  The  offers  of  the  allies  'vere  not 
unreasonable ;  but  Napoleon  abated  no- 
thing of  his  haughty  bearing,  and  broke  up 
the  congress,  rather  than  surrender  Antwerp 
and  Mantua. 

The  events  of  the  campaign  were  at  first 
favourable  to  Napoleon,  and  he  inflicted 
many  severe  checks  on  the  allies.  For 
more  than  two  months  he  held  at  bay  the 
various  armies  of  the  allies — now  defeating 
one,  then  flying  to  attack  another,  at  times 
suffering  severe  reverses  himself,  yet  almost 
instantly  recovering  his  strength.  The 
courage  and  genius  of  the  emperor  appeared 
as  if  capable  of  effecting  miracles.  The 
chances  of  war  were,  however,  fearfully 
against  him,  and  the  numerical  superiority 
of  his  enemies  overwhelming.  At  the  battle 
of  Craone  he  experienced  a  tremendous 
loss ;  while  at  Laon  he  suft'ered  a  severe 
defeat.  Paris  was  in  an  alarming  situa- 
tion ;  for,  in  consequence  of  a  diversion 
produced  by  Blucher,  the  road  to  it  was 
left  open  to  Schwartzenberg.  Napoleon, 
self-possessed  among  the  many  dangers  that 
environed  him,  marched  against  the  army 
of  the  Austrian  general,  which  he  encoun- 
tered at  Arcis-sur-Aube.  The  battle  was 
an  indecisive  one,  and  Napoleon  retreated 
towards  the  Rhine ;  thus  abandoning  the 
defence  of  Paris.  His  object  was  to  threaten 
the  communications  of  the  enemv,  and  to 
draw  near  to  the  garrisons  of  the  frontier. 


A.D.  1814.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  ADVANCE  ON  PARIS. 


from  which  those  supplies  of  veteran  troops 
could  be  obtained  which  were  no  longer  to 
be  found  in  the  heart  of  France.  He 
trusted,  by  this  means,  to  threaten  the  com- 
munications of  the  allies  in  such  a  manner 
as  would  deter  them  from  advancing  further 
in  the  direction  of  the  capital.  The  French 
troops  were  greatly  discouraged  at  this 
retrograde  step :  murmurs  arose ;  and  many 
of  the  officers  questioned  even  the  sanity 
of  their  leader.  They  were  plunging  into 
an  endless  warfare,  and  directing  their 
steps  towards  Germany ;  while  the  capital  of 
their  country,  containing  all  that  was  dear 
to  them,  was  in  danger  of  becoming  the 
prey  of  the  enemy.  ^^t 

The  allies,  also,  were  astonished  at  this 
movement ;  and  no  sooner  had  it  taken  place, 
than,  by  a  junction  of  part  of  Blucher's  army 
with  that  of  Schwartzenberg,  no  less  than 
180,000  armed  men  stood  between  Napo- 
leon and  Paris.  At  the  same  time  the  allied 
generals  received  intelligence  of  the  occupa- 
tion of  Bordeaux  by  the  British  troops,  and 
the  proclamation  of  Louis  XVIII.  with  the 
general  concurrence  of  the  inhabitants. 
Alexander  called  a  council  of  war,  in  which 
the  prevalent  opinion  leaned  towards  pur- 
suing the  French  emperor,  and  attacking 
him  wherever  they  should  find  him.  This 
was,  however,  abandoned  in  favour  of  a 
proposition  to  march  on  to  Paris,  of  which, 
it  was  presumed,  they  could  take  possession, 
and  destroy  Napoleon's  power  there  before 
he  could  get  back  to  its  relief— a  decision 
which  excited  an  extraordinary  enthusiasm 
throughout  the  allied  army,  and  elicited  the 
unbounded  exultation  of  the  Russians. 

As  the  allies  advanced,  they  were  encoun- 
tered by  the  French  forces  under  Marshals 
Marmont  and  Mortier,  whom  they  defeated 
at  the  battle  of  Fere-Cham penoise.  In 
this  and  some  other  combats  the  French 
lost  half  their  artillery,  and  nearly  11,000 
men.  Marmont  and  Mortier  immediately 
retreated  towards  Paris,  the  defence  of 
which  now  devolved  on  them  alone.  The 
allied  army  continued  its  advance.  ''My 
children,''  said  Alexander  to  his  soldiers, 
"it  is  now  but  a  step  to  Paris."  With 
enthusiastic  cheers  they  responded,  ''We 
will  take  it,  father;  we  remember  Moscow." 
Contrary  to  what  might  have  been  expected, 
the  Russian  emperor  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  to  preserve  a  strict  disciphne 
amongst  his  troops;  and  with  so  much 
success,  that  the  terrified  French  peasantry 
were  protected  from  outrage  and  plunder. 


As  the  allied  army  approached  Paris,  the 
greatest  agitation  prevailed  within  that  city. 
Crowds  of  trembling  peasants  beset  the  bar- 
riers ;  the  banks  were  closed,  business  sus- 
pended, and  the  inhabitants  hastened  to 
bury  their  plate  and  other  valuables.  In 
compliance  with  a  conditional  order  from 
Napoleon,  the  empress  and  her  son  left 
the  capital,  and  proceeded  to  Blois,  a  city 
seated  on  the  waters  of  the  Loire.  Maria 
Louisa  was  calm,  though  pale;  but  the 
little  king  of  Rome  resisted  violently,  and 
exclaimed,  with  tears,  that  they  were  be- 
traying his  papa.  The  hearts  of  the  people 
sunk  at  their  departure  ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  preparations  for  defence,  the  general 
conviction  was,  that  nothing  remained  but 
to  make  the  best  terms  that  could  be  ob- 
tained from  the  enemy. 

Before  the  allies  could  enter  Paris,  they 
had  again  to  encounter  the  French  troop's 
under    Marshals    Marmont    and    Mortier. 
These    occupied    the    front    of    the    army 
gathered  for  the  defence  of  the  city,  and 
were    backed   by   such    battalions    of    the 
national  guards  as   could   be  spared   from 
the    internal    defences    of    the    city.     The 
scholars    of    the    Polytechnic    school    also 
came  forward  as  volunteers,  to  serve   the 
artillery.     In  all,  not  more  than  35,000  men 
took  part  in  the  defence;    but  they  were 
supported  by  153  pieces  of  cannon.     The 
veteran  soldiers,  though  firm,  and  prepared 
to  lay  down  their  lives  for  their  country, 
were   yet  sad;   for  they  knew  the   enemy 
they  had  to  encounter,  and  felt  that  the 
coming  struggle  would  be  in  vain.     Of  the 
allied  troops,   100,000  were  ready  for  the 
attack ;  the  remainder  being  left  behind,  at 
the  Marne  and  at  other  places,  to  keep  an 
eye  on  the  movements  of  Napoleon.     The 
battle   took   place  on  the  30th  of  March, 
and  the  resistance  of  the  French  was   an 
intrepid  one.    The  struggle  commenced  soon 
after  five  in  the  morning ;  and,  for  a  time, 
the  Russians  were  repulsed,  and  their  cuiras- 
siers routed.  /At  eight,  the  emperor  Alex- 
ander arrived  on  the  field,  and  ordered  up 
three  divisions  of  the  guards,  who  restored 
the  battle,  and  drove  back  the  French.     At 
eleven  the  Prussian  army  approached,  and 
a  vigorous  attack  was  made  by  the  allies, 
who   were   received  at  the    point  of   the 
bayonet ;    while  the   Russian   guards  were 
mowed  down  by  the  French  artillery.     The 
carnage  was  terrible;  and  persons  unused 
to    war    w^ere    seen    contending   with   the 
veterans  of  Russia.     For  four  hours  the 

39 


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THE  ALLIES  ENTER  PARIS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


La.d.  1814. 


French  maintained  their  position  against 
the  constantly-increasing  masses  and  reite- 
rated attacks  of  the  Prussians.  The  heights 
which  command  Paris  were  then  stormed, 
and  at  length  taken ;  when  Joseph  Buona- 
parte, to  save  the  inhabitants  from  the 
horrors  of  a  bombardment,  entered  into  a 
capitulation  with  the  allies.  The  latter 
assented  to  the  demands  of  the  French 
marshals — that  Paris  should  be  protected, 
its  monuments  intrusted  to  the  care  of  the 
national  guard,  and  private  property  re- 
spected. It  was  proposed  that  the  French 
generals  and  the  regular  troops  should 
surrender  as  prisoners  of  war ;  but  this 
they  resolutely  refused,  declaring  that  they 
would  sooner  renew  the  struggle,  and  perish 
in  the  streets.  It  was  therefore  finally 
arranged  that  they  should  evacuate  Paris; 
that  the  public  arsenals  and  magazines 
should  be  surrendered ;  that  the  national 
guard  should  be  either  disbanded  or  em- 
ployed, under  the  direction  of  the  allies,  in 
the  service  of  the  city ;  which  was  recom- 
mended to  the  generosity  of  the  victors. 
In  the  battle,  the  allies  lost  upwards  of 
9,000  men,  of  whom  7,100  were  Russians. 
The  loss  of  the  French  did  not  exceed 
4,500 :  they  had  surrendered  their  capital, 
it  is  true ;  but  only  to  the  forces  of  banded 
Europe. 

A  deputation,  consisting  of  the  mayor 
and  principal  magistrates  of  Paris,  waited 
on  the  emperor  Alexander,  and  were  re- 
ceived by  him  with  great  courtesy.  "  Gentle- 
men,^' said  he,  "  I  am  not  the  enemy  of  the 
French  nation  :  I  am  so  only  of  a  single 
man,  whom  I  once  admired,  and  long  loved ; 
but  who,  devoured  bv  ambition  and  filled 
with  bad  faith,  came  into  the  heart  of  my 
dominions,  and  left  me  no  alternative  but 
to  seek  security  for  my  future  safety  in  the 
liberation  of  Europe.  The  allied  sovereigns 
have  come  here,  neither  to  conquer  nor  to 
rule  France,  but  to  learn  and  support  what 
France  itself  deems  most  suitable  for  its 
own  welfare;  and  they  only  await,  before 
undertaking  the  task,  to  ascertain,  in  the 
declared  wish  of  Paris,  the  probable  desire 
of  France." 

The  day  after  the  battle,  the  allied  sove- 
reigns, preceded  by  a  great  military  force, 
entered  Paris.  The  spectacle  was  a  grand 
one;  and  the  terror  of  the  Parisians  gave 
way  to  admiration.  Alexander  and  Fred- 
eric William  had  issued  a  pacific  proclama- 
tion; and  the  former  was  received  with  a 
gratitude  which  amounted  to  enthusiasm. 
40 


t» 


Cries  of  *'  Vive  VEmpereur  Alexandre !' 
"  Vive  le  Roi  de  Prusse  f"  burst  from  the 
crowd.  "  We  have  been  long  expecting 
you,''  said  one  unpatriotic  sycophant  to 
the  czar  ;  who  generously  answered — "  We 
should  have  been  here  sooner,  but  for  the 
bravery  of  your  troops."  Subsequently, 
Alexander  gave  an  order  for  the  release  ot 
all  the  French  prisoners  of  war  confined  in 
Russia. 

When  Napoleon  heard  of  the  attack  on 
Paris,  he  hurriedly  fell  back  to  its  relief; 
but  it  was  too  late.  Near  Fontainebleau  he 
met  the  columns  of  the  garrison,  which 
were  evacuating  the  city.  He  had  learned 
the  news  with  rage  and  incredulity.  "  It  is 
too  dreadful !"  he  exclaimed  :  "  that  comes 
of  trusting  cowards  and  fools !  When  I 
am  not  there,  they  do  nothing  but  heap  up 
blunder  on  blunder."  At  Paris,  a  provi- 
sional government,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished, with  Talleyrand  at  its  head,  passed  a 
decree  dethroning  the  emperor,  and  ab- 
solving the  army  and  people  from  their 
oaths  of  allegiance  to  him.  Then  arose 
the  question,  Who  should  rule  France  ? 
"  Sire,"  said  Talleyrand  to  the  emperor 
Alexander,  "  there  are  but  two  courses  open 
to  us  :  Buonaparte,  or  Louis  XVIII."  Na- 
poleon at  first  refused  to  abdicate ;  but  at 
length  consented  to  do  so  in  favour  of  his 
son.  The  generals  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
rounded at  Fontainebleau,  had  assured  him 
that  he  ought  to  do  so,  having  previously  re- 
fused to  join  him  in  a  last  desperate  attempt 
upon  Paris.  The  work  of  defection  had  com- 
menced, and  Marmont  joined  the  allies  with 
the  French  troops  who  had  so  bravely  de- 
fended Paris.  Other  desertions  followed; 
and  even  the  brave  Marshal  Ney  abandoned 
his  master,  and  gave  in  his  adhesion  to  the 
party  of  Talleyrand.  It  did  not  escape 
the  observation  of  the  autocrats  who  now 
held  the  fate  of  France  in  their  hands,  that 
the  recognition  of  Maria  Louisa  as  regent, 
and  the  infant  Napoleon  as  heir,  would  be  a 
continuation  of  the  revolutionary  rtgime, 
and  they  therefore  decided  in  favour  of  the 
Bourbons.  Indeed,  so  great  a  reaction  had 
been  produced  by  the  sufferings  to  which 
the  reckless  ambition  of  Napoleon  exposed 
the  nation,  that  the  proposed  restoration  of 
the  Bourbons  to  the  throne  actually  became 
popular.  After  a  violent  explosion  of  pas- 
sion, the  emperor  signed  an  absolute  and 
unqualified  resignation  of  the  throne.  This 
document  was  signed  on  the  11th  of  April. 
It  was  arranged,  that    Napoleon  was   to 


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A.D.  1814.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [restoration  of  the  bourbons. 


retain  the  barren  title  of  emperor.  The 
island  of  Elba  was  assigned  him  as  a  place 
of  residence ;  and  a  sum  of  2,500,000  francs 
a-year  provided  for  his  support.  Before 
the  conclusion  of  this  treaty,  he  was  de- 
serted by  nearly  all  the  persons  of  dis- 
tinction who  had  formerly  thronged  around 
him,  and  made  to  feel  the  bitterness  of 
ingratitude,  and  the  littleness  of  human 
nature.  He  took  an  affectionate  leave  of 
the  few  generals  who  remained  faithful  to 
him,  and  of  liis  old  guard.  "I  bid  you 
farewell,'^  said  he;  "I  am  satisfied  with 
you ;  for  twenty  years  I  have  always  found 
you  in  the  path  of  glory.  All  Europe  has 
armed  against  me ;  part  of  the  troops  have 
betrayed  their  duty;  France  herself  has 
deserted  me,  by  choosing  another  dynasty ; 
with  my  soldiers  I  might  have  maintained 
a  servile  war  for  years ;  that,  however, 
would  have  rendered  France  unhappy.  Be 
faithful  to  the  new  sovereign  whom  vour 
country  has  chosen ;  do  not  lament*  my 
fate;  I  shall  always  be  happy  with  the 
knowledge  that  you  are  so.  I  might  have 
died — nothing  was  more  easy — but  I  shall 
always  follow  the  path  of  honour ;  with  my 
pen  will  I  record  the  exploits  we  have 
achieved  together.  Farewell  my  brave 
companions — surround  me  once  more — 
adieu,  my  children,  farewell.'^  He  then 
departed  for  Elba,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
4th  of  May.  During  the  voyage  he  re- 
covered his  spirits,  and  observed — "  The 
Bourbons  will  be  turned  off  in  six  months." 
Before  the  end  of  Mav,  his  first  wife,  Jose- 
phine,  breathed  her  last.  Maria  Louisa 
had  been  persuaded  to  abandon  him,  and 
place  herself  and  her  son  under  the  protec- 
tion of  her  father,  the  emperor  of  Austria. 

On  the  7th  of  April  the  Comte  d'Artois 
was  called  to  the  throne  of  France,  with  the 
title  of  Louis  XVIII.  "  Nothing  is  changed ; 
there  is  only  one  Frenchman  the  more  in 
Paris,"  he  observed,  as  he  entered  that 
city  on  the  3rd  of  May,  where  he  was 
received  rather  with  apathy  and  a  sense  of 
humiliation,  than  with  any  ardent  demon- 
strations of  loyalty.  '^  A  treaty  of  peace  was 
signed  on  the  30th,  by  the  plenipotentiaries 
of  France  on  one  hand,  and  those  of  Russia, 
Prussia,  and  England  on  the  other.  This, 
at  one  blow,  swept  away  all  the  conquests  of 
the  Revolution,  and  reduced  France  to  its 

yOL.  II.  G 


original  limits  as  they  stood  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1792. 

The  emperor  Alexander  and  the  king  of 
Prussia  left  Paris  on  the  5th  of  June,  and 
proceeded   to    England,   which    they   had 
been  invited  to  visit  by  the  prince-regent. 
They   were   conveyed    from    Boulogne    to 
Dover   in   an   English    ship   of  war,  com- 
manded  by   the   Duke   of  Clarence;    and 
remained   for   about   three   weeks    in    this 
country,   where   they  met  with  an  enthu- 
siastic reception  from  all  classes.     Amongst 
the  great  number  of  princes  and  generals 
by   whom   they   were   attended,   the   most 
popular  with  the  English   people  was  the 
brave    old    Marshal    Blucher,    and   Count 
Platoff,  the  hetman  of  the  Cossacks.     The 
emperor   and   king  were    entertained  with 
unexampled  magnificence  by  the  citizens  of 
London,  at  Guildhall;  and  Alexander  was 
invested,  at  Carlton  House,  with  the  order 
of    the    Garter.      At    Oxford,    academical 
honours  were  bestowed  on  the  allied  sove- 
reigns;    while   at    Portsmouth,  a  splendid 
naval  review  was  got  up  for  their  entertain- 
ment.    On  visiting   the   arsenal   at  Wool- 
wich, Alexander  was  so  impressed  by  the 
enormous  amount  of  stores  in  that  military 
emporium,  that  he  exclaimed — "  Why,  this 
resembles  rather  the  preparation  of  a  great 
nation   for   the   commencement   of  a  war, 
than  the  stores  still  remaining  to  it  at  its 
termination.''      From   England   Alexander 
proceeded  to  Holland,  where  he  visited  the 
cottage  which   Peter    the  Great  had  Hved 
in  while  working  as  a  ship's  carpenter  at 
Saardam.^     Thence,    after    a    short    stay, 
Alexander  proceeded  to  Carlsruhe.     On  the 
25th  of  July  he  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg, 
where  his  appearance  was  greeted  by  illumi- 
nations and   other  testimonies  of  national 
joy.     The   synod   and   the   senate   decreed 
him    the    title   of    ''  Blagoslovennuiy,"    or 
"  Blessed,"  which,  however,  he  declined  to 
accept;  while  to  a  proposal  for  erecting  a 
monument  to  commemorate  his  exploits,  he 
replied— "I  beg  the  public  bodies  of  the 
empire  to  abandon  all  such  designs.     May 
a   monument   be   erected   to   me   in    your 
hearts,  as  it  is  to  you  in  mine  [  ^  May  my 
people  bless  me  in  their  hearts,  as  in  mine  I 
bless   them  !     May  Russia  be  happy,   and 
may  the  Divine  blessing  watch  over  her  and 
over  me!" 


41 


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CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1814. 


CHAPTER  vn. 

CONGRESS  OF  THE  SOVEREIGNS  OF  EUROPE  AT  VIENNA;  NAPOLEON  LEAVES  ELBA,  AND  THE  BOURBON 
SOVEREIGN  TAKES  TO  FLIGHT;  THE  ALLIES  PROSCRIBE  HIM  AS  A  GENERAL  ENEMY;  ENGLAND  AND 
PRUSSIA  TAKE  THE  FIELD  AGAINST  HIM;  WATERLOO,  AND  THE  FINAL  OVERTHROW  OF  NAPOLEON; 
PARIS  AGAIN  CAPITULATES,  AND  LOUIS  XVIII.  IS  A  SECOND  TIME  RESTORED ;  THE  SECOND  TREATY  OP 
PARIS;  ALEXANDER  FOUNDS  THE  "  HOLY  ALLIANCE  ;"  HE  ESTABLISHES  A  CONSTITUTION  FOR  POLAND; 
HE  REFUSES  TO  ASSIST  THE  GREEKS  IN  THEIR  STRUGGLE  AGAINST  THE  OPPRESSION  OF  TURKEY  ;  DES- 
POTIC CONDUCT  OF  ALEXANDER  DURING  THE  LATTKR  YKARS  OF  HIS  LIFE;  HIS  INQUISITORIAL  SEVERITY 
WITH  RESPECT  TO  EDUCATION;  HIS  DREAD  OF  CONSPIRACY  AND  ASSASSINATION;  HIS  DEATH;  ESTIMATE 
OF  HIS  CHARACTER. 


A  CONGRESS  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe 
commenced  its  deliberations  at  Vienna,  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1814.  The  emperor 
Alexander  and  the  king  of  Prussia  attended 
in  person,  as  did  also  a  number  of  lesser 
princes.  France  was  represented  by  M.  Tal- 
leyrand, and  England  at  first  by  Lord  Castle- 
reagh,  and  subsequently  by  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  The  principal  business  to  be 
transacted  by  the  congress,  was  the  redistri- 
bution of  the  numerous  provinces  surren- 
dered by  France  at  the  peace  of  Paris.  So 
extensive  had  been  the  conquests  of  France, 
that  territories  inhabited  by  no  less  than 
31,691,000  persons,  were  at  the  disposal  of 
the  allies.  The  greatest  difficulty  was  with 
respect  to  Poland;  for  Alexander  insisted 
that  the  whole  grand-duchy  of  Warsaw 
should  be  ceded  to  Russia,  as  an  indemnity 
for  the  sacrifices  she  had  made,  and  the 
losses  she  had  sustained  during  the  war. 
He  asserted,  that  if  he  returned  to  St.  Peters- 
burg without  obtaining  some  adequate  com- 
pensation for  the  sacrifices  his  nation  had 
undergone,  he  would  jeopardise  the  safety 
of  his  crown  ;  alluded  to  the  circumstance 
that  Poland  was  already,  in  fact,  occupied  by 
the  Russian  troops ;  and  hinted  that  he  had 
not  less  than  300,000  troops  ready  to  march 
at  a  moment's  notice.  It  was  thus  seen, 
that  his  scrupulous  regard  to  justice,  existed 
only  when  his  own  empire  was  threatened. 
Now  that  the  danger  was  past,  he  was  quite 
ready  to  seize  the  territory  of  his  neighbours 
with  as  much  greediness,  though  with  more 
caution,  as  had  ever  been  displayed  by  Na- 
poleon. 

Prussia,  bribed  by  a  hope  tliat  her  domin- 
ions should  be  restored  to  her  as  they  stood 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1806, 
together  "with  such  additions  as  might  be 
deemed  practicable/'  supported  the  claim  of 
Alexander,  which  was  opposed  by  France, 
Austria,  and  England.  On  behalf  of  the 
latter  power.  Lord  Castlereagh  energetically 
42 


opposed  the  union  of  the  crowns  of  Poland 
and  Russia  on  the  same  head,  or  the  pro- 
posed annexation  of  Saxony  to  Prussia,  as 
contrary  to  the  principles  on  which  the  war 
a<;ainst  Napoleon  had  been  maintained. 
The  arguments  of  the  British  plenipoten- 
tiary were  strenuously  supported  by  those  of 
Tallevrand  and  Metternich.  Alexander 
was  irritated  at  this  opposition,  and  dissen- 
sions arose  to  such  a  height,  that  another 
appeal  to  arms  became  probable,  in  which 
France  and  Austria,  sanctioned  by  England, 
would  have  entered  into  an  alliance  against 
Russia  and  Prussia.  Alexander  suspended 
the  return  of  his  troops  to  Russia,  and  kept 
them  in  Poland  ready  for  the  resumption  Oi 
hostilities.  His  brother,  the  Grand-duke 
Constantine,  also  issued  an  address  to  the 
Poles,  announcing  the  intention  of  the  czar 
to  restore  to  them  their  lost  nationality, 
and  calling  upon  them  to  rally  round  his 
standard  as  the  only  means  of  efi'ecting  it. 

The  ambition  of  Alexander  raised  up  a 
counteracting  influence.  Austria,  France, 
and  England,  entered  into  a  secret  treaty  ot 
alliance,  ofifensive  and  defensive,  binding 
themselves  to  act  together,  honourably  to 
carry  into  eflfect  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris.  Alexander  and  Frederic 
William  did  not  long  remain  in  ignorance 
of  this  proceeding,  which  induced  them  to 
lower  the  high  tone  they  had  assumed,  and 
consent  to  an  abatement  of  their  preten- 
sions. Prussia  was  compelled  to  content 
herself  with  but  a  portion  of  the  territory  of 
Saxony,  which  she  acquired  in  addition  to  a 
part  of  the  grand-duchy  of  Warsaw,  and  the 
whole  of  her  territory  as  it  stood  prior  to 
the  battle  of  Jena. 

Before  the  allies  had  settled  their  disputes, 
they  were  startled  by  the  intelligence  that 
Napoleon  had  left  Elba.  The  restored 
Bourbon  sovereign  had  disgusted  the  people 
of  France ;  a  conspiracy  was  formed  against 
the  impotent  Louis  XYIII. ;  and  the  exiled 


A.D.  1815.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[return  of  n.u»oleon. 


emperor  secretly  invited  to  return.  After 
an  absence  of  about  ten  months,  he  left 
Elba,  and  landed  at  Cannes  on  the  1st  of 
March,  1815,  with  about  1,000  men  of  his 
old  guard,  who  had  followed  him  into 
banishment.  Wherever  he  appeared  the 
army  declared  in  his  favour,  and  his  march 
to  Paris  was  a  triumphal  progress.  The 
allies  immediately  signed  a  proclamation, 
which  proscribed  Napoleon  as  a  public 
enemy,  with  whom  neither  peace  nor  truce 
could  be  concluded;  and  expressed  their 
determination  to  employ  the  whole  forces  at 
their  disposal,  to  prevent  Europe  from  being 
again  plunged  into  the  abyss  of  revolution. 
The  alarm  thus  excited  by  the  common 
enemy,  led  to  a  settlement  of  the  disputes 
between  the  allies  themselves.  Alexander 
agreed  to  accept  of  the  grand-duchy  of 
Warsaw,  without  the  fortress  of  Thorn  and 
its  dependent  territory,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  that  portion  ceded  to  Prussia.  He 
also  consented  that  Poland  should  not  be 
incorporated  with  Russia,  but  should  form  a 
separate  kingdom,  preserving  its  own  laws, 
institutions,  language,  and  religion. 

Louis  XVIIl.  abandoned  Paris  at  mid- 
night on  the  19th  of  March,  and  retired 
again  into  exile.  On  the  evening  of  the 
20th  Napoleon  arrived  at  the  Tuileries, 
where  he  was  received  by  a  great  number 
of  his  supporters  with  extraordinary  enthu- 
siasm. Still  the  great  body  of  the  citizens 
looked  on  with  silent  astonishment,  and 
it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  emperor 
was  recalled  by  a  party  and  not  by  a  nation. 
The  people,  longing  for  repose,  feared  the 
return  of  the  hordes  of  Russia  to  ravage 
their  fields  and  reoccupy  their  capital.  The 
royalists  of  the  south  even  took  to  arms  in 
defence  of  the  Bourbon  cause;  but  this 
attempt  to  light  up  the  flames  of  servile  war 
happily  proved  abortive.  The  authority  of  the 
emperor  would  soon  have  been  re-established 
in  France,  but  for  the  overwhelming  external 
opposition  which  was  gathering  its  forces 
against  him.  Russia,  Prussia,  Austria,  and 
England,  each  agreed  to  furnish  180,000 
men  to  efi'ect  his  overthrow.  During  this 
eventful  year.  Great  Britain  paid  subsidies 
to  her  almost  bankrupt  allies,  amounting  to 
no  less  than  £11,000,000. 

Napoleon  endeavoured,  but  in  vain,  to 
open  a  diplomatic  intercourse  with  the  allies. 
The  emperor  Alexander,  who  had  hitherto 
been  influenced  by  the  remains  of  a  kindly 
feeling  towards  him,  was  now  the  most 
decided  of  his  opponents.     ''We  can  have 


no  peace,^'  said  he  to  a  secret  agent  of  Na- 
poleon ;  "  it  is  a  mortal  duel  betwixt  us ;  he 
has  broken  his  word.  I  am  freed  from  my 
engagement ;  Europe  requires  an  example.*' 
Napoleon  had  probably  expected  this  result, 
and  he  taxed  the  resources  of  his  almost 
exhausted  empire  to  the  uttermost  to  prepare 
for  war.  At  a  great  fete  held  in  the  Champ 
de  Mai,  he  addressed  to  the  people  one  of 
his  spirit-stirring  orations,  in  which  he  said — 
''  Frenchmen  !  in  traversing,  amid  the  public 
joy,  the  diff'erent  provinces  of  my  empire 
to  arrive  in  my  capital,  I  trusted  I  coud 
reckon  on  a  long  peace ;  nations  are  bound 
by  treaties  concluded  by  their  governments, 
whatever  they  may  be.  My  whole  thoughts 
were  then  turned  to  the  means  of  foundins: 
our  liberty  on  a  constitution  resting  on  the 
wishes  and  interests  of  the  people.  There- 
fore it  is  that  I  have  convoked  the  assembly 
of  the  Champ  de  Mai.  I  soon  learned, 
however,  that  the  princes  who  resist  all 
popular  rights,  and  disregard  the  wishes  and 
interests  of  so  many  nations,  were  resolved 
on  war.^' 

On  the  12th  of  June,  Napoleon  left  Paris 
to  assume  the  command  of  the  army,  which 
consisted  of  122,000  men.  Wellington  with 
80,000  men,  and  Blucher  with  110,000,  were 
in  the  field  against  him.  Napoleon's  de- 
sign was  to  prevent  the  junction  of  these 
forces,  and  defeat  them  singly.  While 
Wellington  and  Blucher  were  dreaming  of 
an  off'ensive  campaign  against  him,  they 
were  suddenly  called  upon  to  defend  thena- 
selves  against  the  vigorous  movements  of 
Napoleon.  On  the  15th  of  June,  he  ad- 
vanced upon  Charleroi,  which  the  Prussian 
troops,  taken  by  surprise,  abandoned  at  his 
approach.  Marshal  Ney,  with  50,000  men, 
was  dispatched  by  the  emperor  to  Quatre 
Bras,  the  possession  of  which  by  the  French 
would  have  probably  cut  off  the  communi- 
cation between  the  British  ajjd  Prussian 
armies.  Napoleon  himself  followed  the 
Prussian  army,  which  was  falling  back  to- 
wards Ligny.  On  the  16th,  Napoleon 
attacked  Blucher  there,  defeated  him  with 
a  loss  of  12,000  men,  and  drove  him  to 
retreat  in  great  confusion  towards  Wavres. 
On  the  same  day  a  severe  encounter, 
though  on  a  less  extensive  scale,  took  place 
between  Wellington  and  Ney  at  Quatre 
Bras,  the  combatants  numbering  about 
20,000  on  each  side.  The  misconduct  of 
the  Belgian  troops  had  nearly  led  to  a 
defeat  of  the  allies;  but  the  day  was,  to 
some  extent,  retrieved  bv  the  valour  of  the 

43 


v' 

t 

* 


.•^ 


it- 


WATERLOO  AND  ITS  RESULTS.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1815. 


British  troops ;  and  the  forces,  at  this  point, 
under  the  command  of  Wellington,  after 
suffering  a  severe  loss,  retained  possession 
of  the  field. 

Wellington,  however,  deemed  it  expe- 
dient to  retreat  to  Waterloo,  where  he 
trusted  to  be  so  near  Blucher,  that  they 
might  be  able  to  assist  each  other  in  case  of 
attack.  As  yet,  the  results  of  the  campaign 
had  been  eminently  favourable  to  Napo- 
leon, who  followed  closely  on  the  heels  of 
Wellington;  while  30,000  French,  under 
Grouchy,  pursued  the  Prussians.  On  the 
18th,  however,  the  great  contest  was 
brought  to  a  final  issue  on  the  plains  of 
Waterloo.  This  great  battle  has  been 
often  and  most  vividly  described ;  its  result 
is  all  that  concerns  us  here,  as  the  troops  of 
Russia  had  no  part  in  it.  On  witnessing 
the  final  overthrow  of  the  old  guard, 
Napoleon  became  pale  as  death,  and,  with 
an  exclamation  of  despair,  retreated  from 
the  field,  in  order  to  save  himself  from 
capture.  The  day  terminated  with  the 
total  rout  of  the  French  and  their  wild 
retreat,  with  the  Prussian  cavalry  thunder- 
ing at  their  heels.  The  French  army  was, 
in  effect,  destroyed;  and  few  of  the  soldiers 
who  fled  from  the  fatal  field  of  Waterloo, 
ever  appeared  in  arms  again.  Thus  was 
closed  a  war,  or  rather  a  succession  of  wars, 
which,  commencing  in  1792,  had  lasted, 
with  but  little  interruption,  for  three-and- 
twenty  years. 

At  the  demand  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives. Napoleon  again  signed  his  abdi- 
cation,  and  the   former  trusted  that  they 
would   be   able    to    restore   a   republic  in 
France.      It  was   not   to  be;    Wellington 
and  Blucher,  at  the  head  of  their  respective 
armies,  were  advancing  rapidly  upon  Paris, 
which  city  was  not  in  a  condition  to  hold 
out  against  them.     On  the  3rd  of  July  the 
city  again  ijapitulated,    on   the   conditions 
that  the  French  army  should  evacuate  it, 
and   that   private   property   should   be   re- 
spected.     On   the   7tli,    the   English   and 
Prussian  armies  made  their  entrance  into 
the  French  capital.     There  was  no  exulta- 
tion as  when  Alexander  and  his  ally  occu- 
pied Paris  so  recently;  the  people  looked 
on  sadly  and  anxiously,  for  they  felt  humilia- 
tion for  the  present,  and  gloomy  doubts  as 
to  the  future.     In  the  rear  of  foreign  bayo- 
nets came  Louis  XVIII.,   a   second   time 
restored  to  a  sullied  throne  by  the  enemies 
of  his   country.     Even   the  royalist  party 
was  aowucasi;  its  blind  devotion  to  a  selfish 
44 


and  incompetent  family  was  overborne  by 
its  sense  of  national  defeat  and  degradation. 
Napoleon,  unable  to  eft'ect  his  escape  to 
America,  resolved  to  throw  himself  on  the 
generosity  of  the  English  government,  and 
surrendered  to  Captain  Maitland,  of  the 
Bellerophon.  It  would  have  been  noble  in 
England  to  have  respected  the  wish  of  the 
ruined  emperor,  now  so  helpless  and  de- 
serted. But  this  country  was  acting  in 
concert  with  Russia  and  Prussia,  the  sove- 
reigns of  which  had  resolved  no  longer  to 
brook  his  presence  in  Europe;  and  it  was 
therefore  irrevocably  decided  that  he  should 
be  removed  to  St.  Helena,  to  fret  out  his 
heart,  and  die  on  a  sea-girt  rock,  twelve 
hundred  miles  from  any  continent.  He 
reached  St.  Helena  on  the  16th  of  October, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  during  a  tremendous  storm  on 
the  4th  of  May,  1821. 

Early  in  July,  the  emperors  of  Russia  and 
Austria,  and  the  king  of  Prussia,  arrived  at 
Paris,  which  they  subjected  to  the  just  but 
melancholy   humiliation    of    restoring   the, 
various  objects  of  art  in  the  museum  of  the 
Louvre,  which  had  been  pillaged  by  Napo-  \ 
leon  from  the  various  states  that  had  falleu 
beneath   his   power.     Then  was   seen   the 
force   which   would,   doubtless,   have   been 
brought  against  Napoleon,  in  the  event  of  a 
prolongation  of  the  struggle;  no  less  than 
800,000  armed  men — Russians,  Prussians, 
Austrians,  English,  Italians,  and  Spaniards 
— occupied  the  French  soil.     The  power  of 
the  allies  was  irresistible,  and  their  eager- 
ness  for   spoil   excessive.      Such   were   the 
territorial  demands  of  the  conquerors,  that 
the  dominions  of  the  newly-made  sovereign 
teemed  on  the  eve  of  dissolution.     France 
was  only  saved  by  the  mutual  jealousies  of 
the  allies  themselves.     At  length  conflicting 
claims  were  arranged,  and  the  second  treaty 
of  Paris  was  concluded  in  November,  1815. 
By  it  the  French  frontier  was  restored  to 
the  state  in  which  it  stood  in  1790;  and  it 
was  stipulated  that  700,000,000  of  francs 
(£28,000,000  sterling)  were  to  be  paid  to 
the  allied  powers  for  the  expenses  of  the 
war,      Other   heavy  penalties   were   to   be 
paid  by  the  French;   but  these  it  is  not 
within  our  province  to  relate.     A  display  of 
Russian  power  was  exhibited  on  the  plains 
of  Vertus,  on  the  10th  of  September.     This 
was   a   great   review    of    160,000   Russian 
troops,  28,000  of  which  were  cavalry.  \    The 
Duke  of  Wellington  did  not,  however,  appear 
strikingly  impressed  with  the  military  eflS.- 


A.D.  1815.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  holy  alliance, 


ciency  of  the  Russians.  "Well,  Charles," 
said  he  to  Sir  Charles  Stewart,  afterwards 
Marquis  of  Londonderry,  "you  and  I  never 
saw  such  a  sight  before,  and  never  shall 
again.  The  precision  of  the  movements  of 
these  troops  was  more  like  the  arrangements 
of  a  theatre  than  those  of  such  an  army ; 
but  still  I  think  my  little  army  would  move 
round  them  in  any  direction  while  they 
were  effecting  a  single  charge." 

The  emperors  of  Russia  and  Austria,  and 
the  king  of  Prussia,  before  leaving  Paris, 
signed  an  agreement  or  bond  of  union,  to 
which,  with  much  presumption,  if  not  im- 
piety,  they  gave  the   name  of  the  "  Holy 
Alliance."     It  was  established  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Alexander,  ostensibly  for  the  pre- 
servation of  universal  peace,  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity,  but,  in  reality,  for  the 
extinction   of  all    revolutionary   principles, 
and  the  government  of  Europe  on  those  of 
despotism.     Alexander  had  carried  his  as- 
sumption of  piety  so  far,  that  he  may  have 
succeeded  in  at  last  deceiving  himself;  yet 
this    alliance    had  really  no   other  object 
than  to  use  religion  as  an  instrument  by 
which  to  crush  the  liberties  of  Europe,  and 
establish  the  thrones  of  monarchs  on  the 
basis   of  a  passive    superstition.     On    the 
Christmas-day  of  1815  Alexander  issued  a 
manifesto,  in  the  names  of  Russia,  Prussia, 
and  Austria,  solemnly  declaring  their  "  Hxed 
resolution,    both   in   the    administration  of 
their  respective  states,  and  in  their  political 
relations  with  every  other  government,  to 
take  for  their  guide  the  precepts  of  the  holy 
religion  of  our  Saviour — the  precepts  of  jus- 
tice. Christian  charity,  and  peace ;  which,  far 
from  being  applicable  only  to  private  con- 
cerns, must  have  an  immediate  influence  on 
the  councils  of  princes,  and  guide  all  their 
steps,   as    being   the   only   means   of  con- 
solidating human  institutions,  and  remedy- 
ing their  imperfections." '    Alexander   was 
induced  to  form  this  sinistei  league  by  the 
exhortations  of  the  Baroness  Krudener,  a 
lady  whom  religious  excitement  had  brought 
to,  if  not  within,  the  verge  of  insanity.     She 
had  assumed  the  character  of  a  prophetess, 
and  contended  that  she   had  a  mission  to 
establish  the  reign  of  Christ  upon  earth. 
Having  followed  Alexander  to  Paris,  she  de- 
clared that  he  was  appointed  regenerator  of 
the  world,    and   succeeded   in  establishing 
some  degree  of  influence  over  him ;  so  mucli 
so,  indeed,  that  at  this  period  the  emperor 
passed  whole  days  at  Paris  in  a  mystical 
communication  of  sentiments  with  her. 


The  "  Holy  Alliance"  was  soon  acceded 
to  by  all  the   principal   powers  of  Europe, 
with  the  exception  of  England,  the  govern- 
ment of  which    refused  to  debase    religion 
into  a  mere  instrument  of  state-craft.     Little 
credit  was,  however,  due  to  the  prince-re- 
gent or  his  ministers  on  that  account ;  for 
when,    on    the   26th   of   September,    1815, 
Mr.  (since  Lord)    Brougham   moved  for  a 
copy  of  the  terms  of  the  alliance  (which  he 
stigmatised  as  nothing  but  a  convention  for 
the  enslaving  of  mankind,  under  the  mask 
of  piety  and  religion).  Lord  Castlereagh  re- 
plied, that  a  copy  of  the  treaty   had  been 
communicated    to    the   prince-regent,    who 
entirely  approved  of  its  principles,  but  had 
refrained  from  giving  in  his  adhesion,  be- 
cause "the  forms  of  the  British  constitution 
prevented  him  from  acceding  to  it."     Hap- 
pily the  "  Holy  Alliance"  was  not  of  per- 
manent duration.     The  congress  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  which  met  in  1818,  and  the  con- 
gresses at  Troppau  and  Laybach,  respectively 
held  in  1820  and  1821,  were  conducted  on 
its  principles;    but  it  was  everywhere  the 
subject  of  execration;  and  eventually  ex- 
pired   amidst    the    hatred    and    scorn    of 
Europe. 

On  leaving  Paris,  Alexander  proceeded  to 
Warsaw,  where  he  established  a  constitution 
for  Poland ;  which,  with  an  apparent  policy, 
granted  to  its  people  more  freedom  than  the 
Russians  themselves  enjoyed.  Catholicism 
was  recognised  as  the  religion  of  the  state ; 
but  all  Dissidents  were  placed  on  an  equality 
with  Romanists  as  to  civil  rights :  the  liberty 
of  the  press  was  permitted;  the  legislative 
authority  was  vested  in  the  king  and  two 
chambers ;  and  judges  were  to  be  elected, 
partly  by  the  king,  and  partly  by  the  Pala- 
tinates. On  a  subsequent  occasion  he  thus 
addressed  the  chambers : — "  Prove  to  your 
contemporaries  that  liberal  institutions,  the 
principles  of  which  are  confounded  by  some 
with  those  disastrous  doctrines  wliich,  in  our 
days,  have  threatened  the  social  system  with 
a  frightful  catastrophe — prove  that  they  are 
not  delusions ;  but  that,  put  in  practice  with 
good  faith,  and  directed  by  pure  intentions 
towards  a  useful  and  conservative  object, 
they  are  perfectly  in  accordance  with  order, 
and  insure  the  prosperity  of  nations."  The 
Poles  were,  however,  not  to  be  lured  by  this 
language  into  a  behaviour  sufficiently  sub- 
missive for  the  taste  of  Alexander;  there- 
fore, in  the  year  1820,  he  abruptly  closed 
the  chambers,  and  no  new  diet  was  sum- 
moned till  1825.     Indeed,  it  must  be  ad- 

45 


m 


'  w 


1/ 


DESPOTISM  OF  ALEXANDER.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1820—1824. 


mitted,  that  the  Poles  left  their  ruler  little 
choice  between  governing  despotically  or 
not  governing  at  all. 

The  insurrection  of  the  Greeks  in  1820, 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  sultan,  though 
publicly    condemned    by    Alexander,    was 
attributed  by  Turkey  to  the  secret  encou- 
ragement of  Russia,    and  threatened  a  re- 
newal of  hostilities  between  those  countries. 
Alexander  was,  however,  indisposed  for  war, 
and  resolved  to  adhere,  at  least  until  a  more 
promising  opportunity,  to  the  principles  of 
the  ''Holy  Alliance."     "Would  you  have 
believed,"  said  he  to  the  eccentric  French 
writer,  Chateaubriand,  *'  as  our  enemies  are 
so  fond  of  asserting,    that   the    alliance  is 
only  a  word,  intended  to  cover  ambition? 
That  might  have  received  a  colour  of  truth 
under  the  old  order  of  things ;  but  now  all 
private  interests  disappear  when  the  civilisa- 
tion of  the  world  is  endangered.     Hence- 
forward there  can  be  no  English,  French, 
Russian,  Prussian,  or  Austrian  policy ;  there 
can  only  be  a  general  policy,  involving  the 
salvation  of  all,    admitted  in   common  by 
kings  and  people.*     It  is  for  me,  the  first  of 
all,  to  declare  my  appreciation  of  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  I  founded  the  'Holy  Al- 
liance.'    An  opportunity  presents ;  it  is  the 
Greek    insurrection.     Certainly   no    event 
appeared  more  adapted  to  my  personal  in- 
terests, to  those  of  my  subjects,  and  to  the 
feelings  and  prejudices  of  the  Russians,  than 
a  religious  war  against  Turkey ;  but  in  the 
troubles  of  the  Peloponnesus  /  saw  revolu- 
tionary symptoms  J  and  from  that  moment  I 
held  aloof .'^ 

The  latter  years  of  the  life  of  Alexander 
were  passed  in  an  attempt  at  repose,  after 
the  wild  turmoil  arising  from  the  wars  he 
had  been  engaged  in  with  Napoleon,  and  in 
promoting  the  internal  advancement  of  the 
empire.  Moscow  rose  from  amidst  its  ashes, 
and  was  built  in  a  more  commodious  and 
splendid  manner.  The  emperor  also  gave 
much  attention  to  the  promotion  of  a  kind 
of  guarded  education,  in  which  the  principles 
of  devotion  to  the  church,  and  passive  obe- 
dience to  the  monarch,  were  carefully  in- 
stilled, and  from  which  everything  foreign 
was  rejected  as  dangerous.  The  emperor 
also  caused  extraordinary  precautions  to  be 
taken  against  revolutionary  intrigues ;  and, 
by  an  ukase  of  the  12th  of  August,  1822,  he 

*  This  is  terrible  rhodomontade.    Alexander  either 
talked  nonsense,  out  of  a  sinister  policy,  or  he  was 
strangely   ignorant  of  the  opinions   and  principles 
prevalent  throughout  the  greatest  part  of  Europe. 
46 


prohibited  all  secret  societies,  and  closed  all 
the   lodges  of  Freemasons  throughout  the 
empire.    For  the  same  reason,  the  missionary 
societies  in  the  German   provinces  of  the 
empire  were  abohshed;   and  a  report  that 
dangerous  intrigues  had  taken  place  in  some 
of  the  corps  of  the  army,  was  positively  con- 
tradicted by  authority.     Great  rigour  was 
exercised   by  the   police,    especially  subse- 
quently to  1823,  towards  everything  sus- 
pected  of  an    irreligious   or   revolutionary 
tendency.     An    ukase,     dated    November, 
1824,  even  directed  Admiral  Schisclikoflf  to 
be  especially  vigilant  with  regard  to  religious 
writings!     What  the  state  of  the  country 
must  have  been,  in  which  almost  irresponsible 
power  in  such  a  direction  was  given  to  a 
naval  officer,  we  may  well  conceive.     The 
censorship  of  the  press  was  exercised  with 
great  rigour,  and  the  academies  placed  under 
very  strict  superintendence.     In  1821,  four 
professors  of  the  university  of  St.  Peters- 
burg were  called  to  account  for  the  contents 
of  their  lectures.     Regulations  for  the  im- 
portation of  foreign  books  were  rendered  so 
strict  and  onerous  as  to  be  almost  prohibitory. 
Under  the  pretence  of  excluding  incompe- 
tent  persons  and  adventurers  from   being 
employed  as  teachers  in  families,  notice  w^as 
given,  that  such  persons  who  could  not  pro- 
duce a  certificate  of  their  qualifications — in 
other  words,  of  their  political  and  theological 
orthodoxy — should     be     immediately     dis- 
charged;   and   that   any   families   who   re- 
tained  them   should   be   punished   by   the 
infliction   of  a  fine  of  a  hundred  roubles. 
These  oppressive  measures  were  chiefly  car- 
ried into  execution  by  General  Araktcheieff, 
a  Russian  officer,  whose  narrow  mind  and 
arbitrary  temper  fitted  him  to  become  an 
oppressive  instrument  of  despotism.    During 
the  latter  years  of  the  reign  of  the  emperor, 
his   duties  were   mostly  delegated   to   this 
man,  whose  name  became  a  word  of  terror 
throughout  the  empire. 

Alexander  was,  in  fact,  absolutely  haunted 
by  the  ghost  of  the  revolution  he  had  done 
so  much  to  crush  in  France.  The  entrance 
of  his  army  into  Paris  was  eventually  fatal 
to  his  peace  of  mind.  There  the  officers  of 
his  army  were  inoculated  with  the  republican 
notions  of  the  French,  and  became  dissatis- 
fied with  a  government  the  extent  of  whose 
despotism  they  had  not  till  then  understood. 
Alexander  lived  in  constant  dread  of  con- 
spiracy, and  of  sharing  the  fate  of  his  father. 
Spies  were  set  everywhere;  and  they  were 
frequently  persons  of  such  a  rank  in  life,  as 


A.D.  1825.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[death  of  ALEXANDER. 


to  disarm  the  suspicion  that  it  was  possible 
they  could  descend  to  such  detestable  em- 
ployment. 

The  health  of  the  emperor  gave  way 
under  this  constant  excitement,  and  he 
spent  much  of  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  in 
travelling.  He  was  also  much  afi*ected  by 
the  death  of  an  illegitimate  daughter,  to 
whom  he  was  most  aff'ectionately  attached. 
On  the  13th  of  September,  1825,  he  left 
St.  Petersburg  on  an  excursion  to  the  south 
of  Russia,  ostensibly  to  visit  the  empress, 
who  was  then  residing  at  Taganrog  for  the 
benefit  of  her  health.  He  was  observed  to 
look  frequently  back  at  the  capital  with  a 
melancholy  air,  and  to  seem  altogether  out 
of  spirits.  There  existed  sufficient  cause 
for  this  depression ;  for  he  had  received 
information  of  the  existence  of  an  exten- 
sive conspiracy  for  the  purpose  of  over- 
throwing the  imperial  form  of  government, 
and  putting  him  and  his  family  to  death. 
During  the  journey  he  suff*ered  much  from 
depression  and  superstitious  fears.  These 
were  increased  by  the  sight  of  a  comet. 
"  Ilga,''  he  inquired  of  an  old  and  faithful 
servant,  "  have  you  seen  the  new  star  ?  Do 
you  know  that  a  comet  always  presages 
misfortune  ?     But  God's  will  be  done.'' 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  at  Taganrog, 
Alexander  proceeded  to  the  Crimea.  During 
this  journey  he  paused  at  a  picturesque 
spot  named  Orianda ;  and  observed,  that  if 
lie  retired  from  the  affairs  of  government,  it 
was  there  he  would  wish  to  live;  thus 
seeming  to  derive  a  secret  pleasure  in  the 
thought  of  abdication.  In  the  preceding 
year  he  had  been  attacked  with  erysipelas, 
which  began  in  the  leg,  and,  spreading  up- 
wards, was  attended  with  occasional  fever 
and  delirium.  From  this  he  had  to  some 
extent  recovered,  when,  while  at  Taganrog, 
he  was  attacked  with  the  intermittent  fever 
common  to  the  Crimea.  Trusting  to  the 
natural  strength  of  his  constitution,  he  ob- 
stinately refused  to  submit  to  the  remedies 
which  his  physicians  prescribed.  It  is  said, 
that  this  conduct  arose  partly  from  a  dis- 
gust for  life,  induced  by  further  particulars 
which  he  received  concerning  the  con- 
spiracy, and  the  presumed  design  to  assassi- 
nate him.  On  one  occasion,  when  Sir 
James  Wylie  urged  him  to  take  some  medi- 
cine, he  remarked,  "  My  friend,  it  is  the 
state  of  my  nerves  to  which  you  must  attend; 
they  are  in  frightful  disorder." — "  Alas  V 
responded  the  physician,  "that  happens 
more  frequently  to  kings  than  to  ordinary 


men." — "  Yes,"  assented  the  emperor,  ''  but 
with  me,  in  particular,  there  are  many 
special  reasons,  and,  at  the  present  hour, 
more  so  than  ever."  Some  davs  afterwards, 
while  suffering  much  from  pain,  he  gazed 
intently  on  Sir  James,  and  exclaimed,  in  an 
excited  manner,  "  Oh,  my  friend,  what  an 
act — what  a  horrible  act !  The  monsters  ! — 
the  ungrateful  monsters !  I  designed  nothing 
but  their  happiness." 

When  at  length  the  emperor,  overcome 
by  entreaties,  yielded  to  the  treatment  of 
his  physicians,  and  allowed  leeches  to  be 
applied,  it  was  too  late.  During  the  last 
iew  davs  that  he  continued  to  breathe,  he 
was  insensible  ;  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
1st  of  December,  1825,  he  expired.  He 
had  almost  reached  his  forty-eighth  year, 
and  had  occupied  the  imperial  throne  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  For  some  time,  a 
rumour  prevailed  in  foreign  countries,  that 
his  death  had  been  caused  by  poison;  but 
it  has  been  well  ascertained,  that  there  was 
no  ground  whatever  for  this  suspicion. 

The  character  of  Alexander  is  not  an 
easy  one  to  trace  correctly,  for  it  was  a 
union  of  apparent  contradictions :  in  it  a 
meretricious,  and  for  the  most  part  assumed, 
liberalism  vainly  struggled  for  freedom  of 
action  in  the  presence  of  a  real  and  active 
despotism.  The  pretensions  of  Alexander, 
and  his  flatterers,  have  deceived  many 
writers,  who,  unaccustomed  to  the  neces- 
sary habit  of  psychological  analysis,  have 
fallen  into  the  error  of  representing  him  as 
he  seemed  to  be,  rather  than  as  he  was. 
That  he  possessed  the  manners  of  a  gentle- 
man, and  was  highly  polished  in  this  re- 
spect, is  undeniable.  His  manners  were 
graceful,  courteous,  and  condescending, 
without  any  of  that  frigid,  palpable  assump- 
tion of  superiority,  which  is  not  pleasing 
even  in  princes.  With  the  manners  of  a 
gentleman,  he  possessed  also  the  accom- 
plishments of  one ;  but  in  no  respect  was 
he  either  solid  or  profound.  The  chief 
feature  of  his  character  was  his  dupHcity; 
which  is  seldom  a  quality  of  an  enlarged 
mind  or  a  noble  nature.  An  external  libe- 
rality was  mingled  with  a  deep  and  ineradi- 
cable selfishness.  Even  his  ambition  was 
of  a  mean  and  acquisitive  kind,  and  directed 
always  towards  the  extension  of  territory, 
than  to  that  glory  which  great  men  toil  for. 
His  admirers  have  spoken  much  of  what 
they  call  his  benevolence ;  but  it  consisted 
rather  of  the  absence  of  cruelty,  and  of  the 
occasional  exhibition  of  a  popularity-seeking 

47 


•  if 


•  \ 


CHARACTER  OF  ALEXANDER.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1825.  • 


amiability.  That  he  could  be  resolutely  | 
vindictive,  is  evinced  by  the  unbending 
temper  in  which  he  carried  on  the  war 
against  his  former  friend  Napoleon,  and 
the  obduracy  with  which  he  refused  all 
terms  of  peace,  and  left  the  invading  army 
to  perish  in  its  retreat  from  a  fearful  accu- 
mulation of  horrors.  He  was,  in  fact,  an 
amiable  despot;  but  one  whose  whole 
reign  was  devoted  to  building  up  despotism 
on  a  surer  and  more  enduring  basis. 

Alexander  was  enthusiastic,  imaginative, 
superstitious,  and,  probably  at  times,  really 
pious ;  but  yet  singularly  given  to  that  in- 
sincerity in   this   direction   which  has  ob- 
tained the  obnoxious  but  expressive  name 
of  "  cant."     The  institution  of  that  solemn,  if 
not  even  blasphemous,  mockery  of  real  reli- 
gion, the  "  Holy  Alliance,"  was  a  most  of- 
fensive instance  of  this.     There  is  not  only 
a  wickedness,  but  a  danger,  in  converting 
religion  into  a  mere  bulwark  of  the  state, 
and  an  instrument  of  tyranny.     A  reaction 
invariably  follows,  earlier  or  later,  against 
conventional   piety,  when  it  is  used   as   a 
means  of  oppressive  coercion.     The  present 
state  of  the  educated  classes  in  Russia,  indi- 
cates that  they  are  proceeding  to  the  other 
extreme,  and  that  a  contempt  for  palpable 
superstition,  in  connection  with  state-craft, 
is  leading  them  to  trample  upon  and  discard 
religion  altogether.     The  Russian  peasantry 
have  a  boundless  credulity  with  respect  to 
superstition ;    but  the   gentry  and   nobles, 
though  they  like  the  display  of  the  external 
pomp  of  their  gaudy  religion,  are  fast  be- 
coming freethinkers. 

Alexander  did  something  for  education; 
but  it  was  for  education  as  he  pleased  to 
have  it.     He  founded  or  reorganised  seven 
universities,  and  established  204  gymnasia, 
and  above  2,000  schools  of  an  inferior  order; 
but  nothing  was  taught  in  them  of  which 
he  did  not  approve,  or  suspected  of  a  liberal 
tendency.     This  was  an  attempt  to  dwarf 
down  the  intellect  of  the  empire  to  a  very 
narrow  standard — to  force  it  into  an  ortho- 
dox yet  questionable  channel,  and  to  check 
its  expansion.     The  severity  of  his  censor- 
ship of  the  press,  and  his  inquisitorial  jea- 
lousy  of  foreign   books,   we   have   already 
spoken  of.     This  arose  from  a  morbid  dread 
of  revolutionary  principles,  which  was  per- 
haps natural  enough  in  an  absolute  monarch 
at  that  time ;  but  was  still  a  weakness  and 
a  cause  of  tyranny.     It  is  therefore  highly 
objectionable   to   find   writers   of  this   age 
applaud  such  conduct,  and  bestow  on  it  the 
48 


titles  of"  virtue'^  and  "  greatness."  The  word 
"  great"  could  not  be  applied  to  Alexander 
with  respect  to  any  one  quality  he  possessed. 
His   mind   was   scarcely    advanced  beyond 
mediocrity ;  and  he  was  utterly  destitute  of 
that  political  prescience  Which  great  states- 
men so  frequently  possess,  and  of  which  he 
had  so  brilliant  an  example  in  the  emperor 
Napoleon.      The    Russian    monarch    died 
while  still  in  the  autumn  of  life ;  yet,  as  a 
ruler,  he  had  lived  too  long.     He  had  de- 
serted the  liberal  principles  which  he  pro- 
fessed rather  than  acted  upon  in  his  younger 
days ;  and  the  system  which  he  laboured  to 
create,  of  despotism  founded  upon  super- 
stition  and  the  personal  abasement  of  his 
subjects,    gave     symptoms    of    decay    even 
during  his  own  life.     Where  no  constitu- 
tional means    of    remedying   abuses   exist, 
revolution  is  the  natural  resort  of  an  op- 
pressed people.     It  is   idle  to  talk  of  the 
horrors  which  commonly  accompany  it ;  that 
perversion  of  power  which  brought  about 
the  revolution  is  responsible  for  them.     Had 
Alexander  lived  another  ten  years,  or  even 
five,  he  would  probably  have  shared  the  fate 
of  his  father  Paul.     Yet  he  might  have  been 
more   popular,  and   personally  loved,  than 
any  sovereign  who  ever  occupied  the  impe- 
rial throne  of  Russia,  had  he  but  known 
how  to  have  trusted   his  subjects,  and   to 
have  progressed  with  the  spirit  of  the  times. 
That  must  advance;  its  onward  movement 
is  inevitable ;  and  woe  to  the  monarch  who 
blindly  devotes  all  his  energies  to  drive  it 
back! 

Alexander  had  commenced  this  fatal  and 
foredoomed   struggle.     He   had  placed  the 
imperial  will  in  obstinate  yet  trembling  op- 
position to  the  natural  laws  which  regulate 
the    development   of  nations   and   the    ex- 
pansion of  the  human  mind !     What  was 
the  result?      A   blighted   hfe,   a   constant 
dread  of  assassination,  shattered  nerves,  a 
ceaseless  gnawing  at  the  heart,  and  a  pre- 
mature death.     His  vain  attempts  to  crush 
liberalism — to  drill  the  minds  of  his  people 
as  he  did  the  movements  of  his  soldiers — to 
stifle  thought — to  keep  Russia  always  a  child, 
when   it  was  apparent  that  its  growth  to 
manhood  was  inevitable — to  surround  the 
press   with  multipUed   and  galling  restric- 
tions, enforced  by  bayonets  and  prison  cells, 
and  to  chain  up  education  like  some  wild 
thing,  to  be  petted  in  bondage  and  dreaded 
when  at  liberty — caused  him  to  leave  the 
empire  he  desired  to  consolidate  and  render 
more  united  and  passively  obedient  than 


A.D.  1825.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [character  of  Alexander. 


any  other  in  the  world,  on  the  eve  of  a 
revolution  which  threatened  to  overthrow  a 
despotic  government  altogether. 

The  czar  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  high- 
principled,  pure-minded  advocate  of  order, 
and  the  magnanimous  hero  who  arrested 
and  crushed  the  devouring  ambition  of 
Napoleon.  No  merit  is  due  to  Alexander 
for  his  efforts  in  this  direction  ;  for,  with 
respect  to  it,  he  was,  at  best,  but  "  the  acci- 
dent of  an  accident.'^  The  attentive  reader 
of  the  foregoing  narrative  will  recognise  the 
truth  of  the  statement,  that  his  motives  were 
merely  those  of  selfishness  and  fear.  It  was 
not  until  the  emperor  began  to  dread  revo- 
lution at  home,  that  he  assumed  to  become 
an  apostle  of  order  abroad.  Not  until  he 
had  unjustly  seized  Finland,  without  a 
cause  and  without  a  blush,  and  failed  in  an 
unjust  attempt  to  seize  a  great  part  of 
Turkey,  that  he  became  shocked  at  the 
aggressive  spirit  of  Napoleon.  But  a  very 
few  years  before,  he  had  eagerly  grasped  at 
the  offer  to  unite  the  brute  energies  of 
Russia  to  the  military  prowess  of  France, 
and  to  share  with  its  great  soldier  the  spoils 
of  the  world  !  The  names  of  Tilsit  and 
Erfurth  cannot  be  erased  from  the  pages  of 
history.  Alexander,  during  his  friendly 
connection  with  Napoleon,  acted  with  a 
perfidy,  and  a  grasping,  dishonest  acquisi- 
tiveness utterly  iticonsistent  with  an  honour- 
able nature.  He  was  ready  to  play  the 
robber's  part  towards  all  his  neighbours ;  and 
he  despoiled  his  brother-in-law,  the  king  of 
Sweden,  of  Finland  with  as  much  indif- 
ference as  he  received  a  Polish  province 
plundered  from  his  friend  Frederic  William 
of  Prussia,  and  with  as  much  readiness  as 
he  issued  an  edict  prematurely  annexing 
Moldavia  and  Wallachia  to  the  Russian 
empire !  Alexander,  like  a  repentant  rob- 
ber, who  finds  the  law  cannot  be  defied  with 
impunity,  only  turned  politically  honest 
when  he  found  that  dishonesty  was  danger- 
ous, and  that  his  accomplice  in  guilt  was 
far  his  superior  in  dexterity,  and  not  dis- 
posed to  spare  even  him.  To  talk  sounding 
nonsense  about  the  honour  and  virtue  of 
such  a  potentate  as  this,  is  an  insult  to  the 
sacred  name  of  truth  and  to  the  judgment 
of  mankind ! 

The  moderation  of  Alexander  on  the 
occasion  of  the  entrance  of  the  allies  into 
Paris,  has  been  much  commended,  and  in 
some  respects  deservedly  so.  He  acted  with 
humanity,  and  bore  in  mind  that  his  quarrel 
was  not  with  the  French  people,  but  with 

VOL.  II.  H 


their  ruler.  But  this  moderation,  however 
estimable  and  apparently  generous,  was 
chiefly  the  result  of  policy.  He  did  not 
desire  to  annihilate  France,  or  to  see  it 
other  than  one  of  the  great  powers  of 
Europe;  it  was  not  his  interest  to  enrich 
Austria  and  Prussia  with  its  spoils.  But 
the  cupidity  of  the  Russian  emperor  was 
sufficiently  active  even  at  this  period.  He 
did  not  exhibit  any  moderation  towards 
Poland,  the  sovereignty  of  which  was  ceded 
to  him  by  his  allies  only  because  they  were 
well  aware  that  sooner  than  abandon  his 
claim  to  it,  he  was  ready  to  plunge  Europe 
again  into  war.  The  political  moderation 
of  Alexander  was,  in  fact,  for  the  most  part 
a  delusion,  and  a  mask  beneath  which  he 
endeavoured  to  hide  his  aggressive  inten- 
tions. Whenever  this  imperial  Tartuffe 
desired  to  despoil  his  neighbours,  he  always 
assumed  a  more  than  ordinary  amount  of 
moderation  and  forbearance,  and  uttered 
the  fulsome  language  of  an  obtrusive  and 
pretentious  piety. 

Russia  progressed  during  the  reign  of 
Alexander;  and  it  must  have  been  a 
strangely  obtuse  nation  indeed,  not  to  have 
progressed  during  five-and-twenty  year.*-  of 
such  intellectual  activity  and  excitement  as 
then  prevailed  throughout  Europe.  But 
this  national  advancement  is  to  be  attributed 
rather  to  the  inevitable  course  of  events,  than 
to  any  exertions  of  the  czar.  It  would  have 
taken  place  to  a  much  larger  extent  had  the 
great  Catherine  still  swayed  the  imperial 
sceptre;  and  to  as  great  a  one  if  any  prince 
not  deficient  in  the  ordinary  intelligence 
and  firmness  of  a  man,  had  held  the  place 
of  Alexander.  In  matters  of  education, 
and  political  and  social  amelioration,  his  in- 
fluence was  rather  that  of  a  dragwheel  than 
a  spur.  Certainly,  he  patronised  science  so 
long  as  it  merely  gathered  facts,  and  did 
not  make  any  speculative  application  of 
them — science,  in  a  word,  dissevered  from 
its  companion,  thought ;  he  patronised 
painting  and  the  arts,  and  promoted  agri- 
culture, commerce,  and  manufactures.  Such 
a  course,  however,  is  both  the  interest  and 
the  duty  of  a  monarch  ;  a  small,  and  feeble 
return  to  his  people  for  the  vast  distinction 
and  power  he  receives  from  them.  The 
performance  of  such  a  duty  does  not  give 
him  a  right  to  become  a  stumbling-block  in 
the  path  of  his  people  towards  a  rational 
civilisation  and  a  moderate  freedom,  or  to 
sit  like  a  nightmare  upon  the  bosom  of  the 
young  intellect   of   the    empire,   while  it 

4y 


THE  GRAND-DUKE  OONSTANTINE.]    HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1825. 


gasped  and  struggled  to  release  itself  from 
the  terrible  oppression,  and  to  develop  its 
energies   unchecked    by  the   iron  hand  of 
ignorant  and  trembling  power.     Alexander 
was  a  huge  political  pretence,  a  i^^oral  and 
pious   sham,    and   a   despot   all    the   more 
dangerous  because  he  always  strove  to  hide 
the   cloven   hoof  of  tyranny  beneath   the 
gown  and  cowl  of  a  pretended  sanctimony. 
For  awhile   this   assumption   deceived    his 
people;    but  when   the   excitement  of  the 
great  war  with  France  had  cooled  down- 
when  judgment  was  partially  dissevered  from 
passion,  they  found  out  the  hollowness  of  his 
pretensions ;  and  Alexander,  who  had  ever 
sought  to  win  the  applause  of  his  people 
with  as  much  assiduity  as  an  actor  upon 


the  stage  does  that  of  his  audience,  died 
unraourned    and    even    imregretted.      The 
world  has  no  sympathy  with  an  unmasked 
hypocrite;    and    the    educated    classes   of 
Russia  had  found  out  their  emperor.     Yet 
such  is  the  influence   of  pretentious    and 
hollow  piety,  and  so  difficult  is  it  to  destroy 
the  false  claims  to  respect  of  insincerity  of 
this  nature,  that  we  believe  the  character  of 
Alexander  has  not   been  drawn  with   un- 
sparing truth  until  the  appearance  of  this 
summary    of  it.      It   is    a   sad    quality   of 
common  minds,  that  they  ever  busy  them- 
selves with  composing  elaborate  adulation 
of  those  who   occupy  the   high   places   of 
society,  and  of  meanly  refraining  from  all 
mention  of  their  vices. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   GRAND-DUKE   CONSTANTINE;    HIS  SECOND  MARRIAGE,   AND  RENUNCIATION  OF    HIS    RIGHT  TO  THE 
^ThZe  f  NICHOLrVAINLY  URGES  HIS  BROTHER  TO  RESUME   HIS  RIGHT  ;   ^^^ll"^;^'"^^''^^^^^ 

EMPEROA,  BUT   CONFIRMS   HIS   RENUNCIATION  ;  AFTER  AN    INTERREGNUM  ^.^^^^^ .Juo.A^    Yl^^^^^ 
CONSENTS   TO  ASCEND  THE  THRONE;  OUTBREAK  OF  THE   CONSPIRACY;   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^/^^"^^^^ '  '^^ 
CONFLICT  IN   THE   PLACE  OF   THE  SENATE;   SUPPRESSION  OF    THE   INSURRECTION;   ^^^^UTION    Ot    THE 
PRINCIPAL   CONSPIRATORS  ;    EXPIATORY    CEREMONIAL    ON    THE   THEATRE    OF  ''^\f;'^^'^ll'l\f''''^^^ 
ATTEMPTS  TO  PURIFY  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE;   HIS  CORONATION  ;   HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 


As  the  emperor  Alexander  left  no  children, 
his  brother,  the  Grand-duke  Constantine, 
was   the    legitimate   heir    to    the    throne. 
The  second  son  of  Paul,  and  the  grandson 
of  the   illustrious   Catherine,    Constantine 
was  born  at  St.  Petersburg  on  the  8th  of 
May,  1779.     Catherine  had  bestowed  upon 
him  the  baptismal  name   of  Constantine, 
which  was  generally  considered  as  an  indi- 
cation of  her  wish  that  in  his  person  should 
be  fulfilled  a  prophecy  current  among  the 
Greeks,   that    a   Constantine   should   once 
more  reign  at  Constantinople.    Every  eftbrt 
of  policy   with   respect    to  the   East   was 
directed    to    efl'ect    a    restoration    of    the 
Byzantine  empire,  as  an  appendage  of  the 
imperial  house  of  Russia.     Greek  children 
were   placed  around  the  grand-duke  even 
from   his   cradle,   for   the    purpose   of  in- 
teresting him  in  their  native  language  ;  but 
he  never  evinced  any  other   feeling   than 
that  of  dislike  to  it.     As  he  grew  up,  his 
favourite  study  was  military  exercises.     At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  united  to  a 
60 


lady   of   fifteen,   the    Princess    Juliana   of 
Saxe-Coburg.     The   manners   of  Constan- 
tino   were     savage,    and    his    inclinations 
fiercely   despotic.      He   possessed   scarcely 
less  excitability  and  eccentricity  than  his 
father  Paul,  whom  he  resembled  in  person, 
and   almost    surpassed    in    ugliness.      His 
features    had    the   Tartar   cast,   and   were 
deeply   scarred    by    the    small-pox.      Yet, 
though  occasionally  brutal  in  his  manners, 
it  is  said  he  sometimes  exhibited  an  air  of 
extreme  polish,  combined  with  a  winning 
and  attractive  manner.     This,  however,  was 
seldom  ;  for  he  had  nothing  mild  or  gentle 
in  his  nature.    A  distinguished  living  writer 
observes — ''  He  rivalled  Richard  Coeur-de- 
Lion  in  his  valour   in   the  field;    but  he 
surpassed  him,  also,  in  the  vehemence  with 
which  he  ruled  the  cabinet,  and  the  acts  of 
tyranny  by  which  both  his  public  admin- 
istration  and   private  life   were  character- 
ised.    Violent,  capricious,  and  irritable,  he 
could  never  brook  contradiction ;  and  when 
inflamed  by  passion,  indulged  his  vehement 


A.D.  1825.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [memoik  of  oonstantine. 


disposition  by  frightful  and  disgraceful  acts 
of  cruelty.  He  was  an  untamed  savage, 
armed  with  the  power,  and  animated  by 
the  imperious  disposition  of  an  Eastern 
sultan,  imperfectly  veiled  over  by  the 
chivalrous  manners  of  modern  Europe. 
Yet  was  the  savage  not  destitute  of  gen- 
erous sentiments ;  he  could  occasionally  do 
noble  things ;  and  though  the  discipline  he 
maintained  among  his  troops  was  extremely 
severe,  yet  it  was  redeemed,  and  their 
aff*ections  won,  by  frequent  acts  of  kind- 
ness.^' 

The  manners  of  Constantine  disgusted 
the  lady  to  whom  he  had  been  united  ;  and, 
four  years  after  their  union,  they  separated 
by  mutual  consent.  The  grand-duke  was 
much  attached  to,  and  greatly  under  the 
influence  of,  his  brother,  the  emperor 
Alexander;  during  whose  reign  he  won 
great  distinction  by  his  bravery  and  mili- 
tary qualities,  especially  at  the  battle  of 
Austerlitz  and  on  the  sanguinary  field  of 
Eylau ;  he  was  also  present  in  the  cam- 
paigns of  1812,  1813,  and  1814,  and  accom- 
panied the  victorious  march  of  his  country- 
men from  Moscow  to  Paris. 

In  the  year  1820,  the  charms  of  a  Polish 
'  lady  led  Constantine  to  a  step  which  at 
once  changed  both  his  destiny  and  that  of 
the  Russian  empire.  The  Countess  Joanna 
Grudzynska  was  a  fragile  beauty,  in  deli- 
cate health,  and  apparently  but  little  likely 
to  win  the  regard  of  a  rough  and  boisterous 
soldier.  Yet  the  grand-duke  became  so 
fascinated  with  her,  that  he  determined  to 
overcome  every  obstacle  that  lay  in  the 
way  of  making  her  his  wife.  After  some 
difficulty,  he  procured  a  decree  of  the  synod 
of  the  Russian  church,  confirmed  by  an 
imperial  ukase,  by  which  he  was  divorced 
from  the  Princess  of  Saxe-Coburg,  with 
liberty  to  marry  again.  He  immediately 
afterwards  married  the  Countess  Grud- 
zynska, though  with  the  left  hand — a  cere- 
mony by  which,  though  she  became  his 
legal  wife,  she  did  not  become  a  grand- 
duchess;  and  it  was  understood  that  her 
children  could  not  succeed  to  the  throne. 
In  fact,  Constantine  had  only  obtained  his 
brother  Alexander's  consent  to  the  divorce, 
by  entering  into  a  solemn  engagement  with 
him  to  renounce  his  right  of  succession  to 
the  crown  in  favour  of  his  younger  brother, 
Nicholas,  as  the  only  means  of  preventing 
ultimate  confusion  and  doubt  as  to  the 
right  of  succession. 

The  agreement  was,  however,   a  secret 


one ;  and  some  affirm,  that  even  Nicholas 
himself  was  ignorant  of  it.  Certainly, 
the  general  supposition  was,  that  though 
Constantino's  children  by  the  Polish  countess 
were  set  aside,  the  rights  of  the  grand-duke 
remained  intact ;  and  he  was  always  re- 
garded as  heir-presumptive  to  the  czar. 
He  had,  however,  left  a  written  renuncia- 
tion of  his  right  of  succession,  which  had 
been  deposited  by  Alexander  in  a  sealed 
packet,  and  confided  to  the  care  of  the 
president  of  the  imperial  council.  Ac- 
cording to  the  command  of  the  emperor, 
this  packet  was  opened  immediately  after 
his  death,  in  the  presence  of  the  council. 
Within  was  found  a  letter  from  Constantine 
to  his  brother,  dated  January,  1822.  It 
contained  the  following  strange  and  humi- 
liating words : — "  Conscious  that  I  do  not 
possess  either  the  genius,  the  talents,  or 
the  strength  necessary  to  fit  me  for  the 
dignity  of  sovereign,  to  which  my  birth 
would  give  me  a  right,  I  entreat  your  im- 
perial majesty  to  transfer  that  right  to  him 
to  whom  it  belongs  after  me,  and  thus 
insure  for  ever  the  stability  of  the  empire. 
As  for  myself,  I  shall  add,  by  this  renuncia- 
tion, a  new  guarantee  and  a  new  force  to 
the  engagement  which  I  spontaneously  and 
solemnly  contracted  on  the  occasion  of  my 
divorce  from  my  first  wife.  All  the  circum- 
stances in  which  I  find  myself,  strengthen 
my  determination  to  adhere  to  this  resolu- 
tion, which  will  prove  to  the  empire,  and  to 
the  whole  world,  the  sincerity  of  my  senti- 
ments." There  was  a  reply  by  Alexander 
to  this  communication,  simply  without  a 
word  of  comment,  accepting  the  offer  it 
conveyed ;  and  also  a  declaration,  that,  in 
pursuance  of  it,  the  Grand-duke  Nicholas 
was  to  ascend  the  throne  of  Russia. 

The  council  accordingly  declared  the 
latter  to  be  emperor,  and  invited  him  to 
attend  to  receive  their  homage.  This  he 
refused.  "  I  am  not  emperor,"  he  ob- 
served, "  and  will  not  become  so  at  my 
brother's  expense.  If,  maintaining  his  re- 
nunciation, the  Grand-duke  Constantine 
persists  in  the  sacrifice  of  his  rights,  in 
that  case,  but  in  that  only,  will  I  exercise 
mine  by  accepting  the  throne."  As  the 
entreaties  of  the  council  were  unable  to 
move  Nicholas  from  this  determination, 
they  obeyed  him,  saying,  with  a  very  equivo- 
cal kind  of  loyalty — '^  You  are  our  em- 
peror ;  we  owe  you  an  absolute  obedience. 
Since,  then,  you  command  us  to  recognise 
the  Grand-duke  Constantino  as  our  legiti- 

51 


'  ( 


AN  INTERREGNUM.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1825. 


mate  sovereign,  we  have  no  alternative  but 
to  obey  your  command/'  Constantine  was 
therefore  proclaimed  emperor  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  the  usual  oath  of  fidelity  to  him 
administered  to  the  guards  in  the  space  in 
front  of  the  Winter  Palace. 

The  news  of  Alexander's  death  reached 
Warsaw  some  time  before  it  arrived  at 
St.  Petersburg.  On  the  receipt  of  it,  Con- 
stantine sent  his  younger  brother,  the 
Grand-duke  Michael,  to  the  capital,  to 
confirm  his  previous  renunciation  of  the 
crown.  Still  Nicholas  hesitated ;  for  he 
knew  himself  to  be  less  popular  than  his 
elder  brother;  and  was  aware,  that  in  the 
event  of  a  struggle  taking  place,  Constan- 
tine would  be  almost  certain  to  prevail. 
He  desired,  therefore,  to  have  the  most 
convincing  proofs  of  his  brother's  voluntary 
renunciation  of  the  imperial  sceptre,  before 
he  ventured  to  accept  it.  He  accordingly 
prevailed  on  Michael  to  return  to  Warsaw, 
with  the  intelligence  that  Constantine  had 
already  been  proclaimed  emperor.  Michael, 
on  his  journey  back,  was  met  by  a  courier 
from  Constantine,  with  the  answer  of  the 
latter  to  the  despatches  he  liad  received 
from  St.  Petersburg;  and  an  intimation, 
that  the  resolution  of  the  grand-duke  was 
iutiexible. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  24th  of 
December,  after  an  interregnum  of  three 
weeks'  duration,  that  Nicholas  consented  to 
ascend  the  throne   which  was  the  inheri- 
tance of  his  elder  brother.     It  was  time  he 
did  so ;  for  the  conspiracy,  the  discovery  of 
which  had  shortened  the  life  of  Alexander, 
was  on  the  point  of  breaking  out.     Since 
1817,  secret  political  societies  had  existed 
in    Russia,  with  the  object  of  subverting 
the    government,    and    establishing   repre- 
sentative  institutions  and  a  constitutional 
monarchy  in  its  stead.     The  directing  com- 
mittee of  the  conspirators  was  held  at  St. 
Petersburg,  and    presided  over   by  Prince 
Trouhetzkoi.      Ryleif,    Prince    Obolouski, 
Colonel   Pestel,   and   the   brothers  Moura- 
\ieff,  were  the  most  distinguished  leaders; 
while  the  ordinary  members   comprised  a 
great   number   of   military   officers.      The 
chief  conspirators  are   admitted,  by  those 
not  favourable  to  their  conduct   or   prin- 
ciples,  to    have    been    amongst   the   most 
highly    educated    and    patriotic    men    in 
Russia. 

The   death  of    Alexander,    at   the  time 
when  the  enterprise  was  about  to  be  put 
into  action,  disconcerted  the  conspirators. 
52 


The  prolongation  of  the  interregnum  re- 
vived their  hopes,  and  they  resolved  to 
take  advantage  of  the  strange  dispute  be- 
tween the  two  brothers.  They  therefore 
resolved  to  advocate  the  cause  of  Constan- 
tine, to  win  the  common  soldiers  in  his 
name,  and,  when  they  had  placed  him  on 
the  throne,  to  demand  an  entire  change  of 
government,  on  the  representative  principle, 
as  their  reward.  The  final  refusal  of  Con- 
stantine to  accept  the  throne,  and  the 
betrayal  of  their  scheme  to  Nicholas,  de- 
cided the  conspirators  on  an  instant  revolt ; 
and  Prince  Trouhetzkoi  was  named  dic- 
tator. "You  see,"  said  Ryleif,  "we  are 
betrayed ;  the  court  is  partly  aware  of  our 
designs,  but  they  do  not  know  the  whole. 
Our  forces  are  sufficient;  our  scabbards 
are  broken;  we  can  no  longer  hide  our 
sabres." 

The  26th  of  December  had  been  ap- 
pointed as  the  day  on  which  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  emperor  Nicholas  should 
be  administered  to  the  troops.  Several 
regiments  took  it  with  the  customary 
docility  of  Russian  soldiers;  but  this  was 
not  the  case  with  the  few  devoted  to  the 
conspirators.  The  troops  comprising  them 
were  falsely  informed  that  Constantine 
had  not  resigned,  but  had  been  placed  in 
irons ;  that  he  was  their  rightful  czar,  and, 
if  reinstated  by  their  means,  would  double 
their  pay.  To  these  assurances  they  re- 
sponded with  loud  shouts  of  "  Constantine 
for  ever !"  The  number  of  these  men, 
however,  was  but  small;  and  those  who 
assembled,  armed,  behind  the  statue  of 
Peter  the  Great,  in  the  Place  of  the  Senate, 
to  assert  the  rights  of  Constantine,  did 
not  exceed  1,800  men;  though  they  were 
surrounded  by  a  great  crowd  of  armed 
civilians,  who  shared  their  enthusiasm  and 
joined  in  their  shouts. 

Nicholas,  on  receiving  information  of 
these  proceedings,  acted  with  a  courage 
which  probably  saved  not  only  his  crown 
but  his  life.  Placing  himself  at  the  head 
of  a  regiment  of  the  guards,  he  proceeded 
towards  the  scene  of  insurrection.  On  his 
way,  he  met  a  column  marching  to  join 
the  rebels.  "  Good-day,  my  children,"  said 
he  to  them,  using  the  parental  form  of 
address  customary  with  the  czars  when  ad- 
dressing their  troops.  "Hurrah!  Constan- 
tine !"  was  the  answer  he  received.  Though 
pale  as  marble,  Nicholas  exhibited  no  indi- 
cation of  fear,  but  addressed  the  same  salute 
to  another  detachment  of  troops  which  waa 


A.D.  1825.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  ixsuRRBcnoir. 


following  their  companions.  These  men 
remained  silent;  and  the  emperor,  with 
great  presence  of  mind,  in  a  loud  voice, 
gave  the  command,  "Wheel  to  the  right — 
march !"  The  instinct  of  discipline  pre- 
vailed ;  and  the  men  turned  about,  and 
retraced  their  steps,  as  if  they  had  not 
deviated  from  their  allegiance  to  him  whose 
voice  they  now  obeyed. 

Tie  military  insurgents  at  length  num- 
bere..  upwards  of  3,000  men,  and  continued 
to  fill  the  air  with  shouts  of  "  Long  live  the 
emperor  Constantine  !"     But  at  this  critical 
moment    the    leaders    were    wanting,    and 
Prince    Trouhetzkoi    had    abandoned    his 
post  and  fled,  even  leaving  his  papers  un- 
destroyed.     Ryleif  was  there ;  but  he  was  a 
civilian,  and  could  not  take  the  command 
of  the  troops,  and  he  lost  time  for  action  in 
seeking   Trouhetzkoi.      The   emperor   had 
with  him  no  less  than  13,000  troops ;  but 
he    hesitated    to    command    them   to    act 
against   the   rebels.      The    brave   General 
Milaradovitch,  "  the  Murat  of  Russia,"  ad- 
vanced alone  amongst  them,  in  the  hope  of 
being    able    by    his    personal    influence    to 
subdue  the  mutiny.     One  of  the  conspira- 
tors immediately  fired  at  him,  and  he  fell 
mortally  wounded  from  his  horse.     Nicho- 
las   yet    hesitated    to   shed    the   blood    of 
Russian  soldiers  by  Russian  hands  ;  and  he 
sent  forward  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, bearing  the  cross,  and  followed  by  a 
great  body  of  the  clergy,  to  produce  sub- 
mission    by    working    upon    the   religious 
emotions  of  the  insurgents.     The  attempt 
failed ;  the  voice  of  the  aged  prelate  was 
rendered  inaudible  by  the  rolling  of  drums 
and  the  shouts  of  the  soldiers.     The  leaders 
now  set  up  a  cry  of  "  Constantine  and  the 
constitution  !"      The  last  word,  which  was 
a  foreign  one  in  Russia,  greatly  perplexed 
the  ignorant  soldiers,  who,  in  fact,  had  no 
conception    whatever  of  its  real  meaning. 
"  What   is   that  ?"  said   the  men  to  each 
other.     "Do   you   not   know?"  said   one; 
"  it   is  the  empress  !"      The   word    has   a 
feminine  termination,  and  was  supposed,  by 
the  speaker  and  many  of  his  comrades,  to 
refer  to  Constantine's  Polish  wife.     Others 
among  these  poor  men   entertained  a  dif- 
ferent opinion,  and  said,  "  It  is  the  carriage 
in  which  the  emperor  is  to  drive   at   his 
coronation." 

The  short  winter  day  was  drawing  to  a 
close ;  and  Nicholas,  having  exhausted  all 
pacific  means  of  terminating  the  revolt, 
ordered  his  troops  to  act  against  the  insur- 


gents.     The  latter  were  assailed   both  in 
front  and  flank    by   cavalry  and  infantry. 
They  fought  with  a  desperate  bravery ;  and 
the  struggle  was  prolonged  for  a  consider- 
able  period.     The  cavalry  were   repulsed; 
the  Grand-duke  Michael  narrowly  escaped 
being  cut  down  by  one  of  the  conspirators; 
while  another  eagerly  sought  out  Nicholas, 
for  the  purpose  of  dispatching  him,  though 
without  effect.     As  time  wore  on,  and  the 
rebels  still  remained  in  possession  of  their 
strong   position,  the  emperor  ordered  the 
cannon,  hitherto  concealed   by  a  body  of 
cavalry,  to  be  unmasked.     The  threatening 
mouths  of  the  guns  were  pointed  directly 
against   the   insurgent    square,    who   were 
again  summoned  to   surrender.     They  re- 
fused, and  the  artillery  was  discharged  over 
their  heads,  for  the  purpose  of  intimidating 
them.     As  none  of  these  fearless  men  were 
injured,  they  raised   a  cheer,  and  mocked 
their  assailants.     Nicholas  then  ordered  a 
point-blank     discharge.       The    cannoniers 
hesitated  to  inflict  this  butchery  upon  their 
comrades;  and  it  was  not  until  the  Grand- 
duke  Michael  with  his  own  hand  discharged 
the  first   gun,    that   they  performed   their 
painful  duty.     The  effect  was  terrible;  and 
the  grapeshot  did  fearful  execution  on  the 
compact   living    square   through    which    it 
ploughed.     Yet  these  unhappy  men,  with  a 
heroism  which   deserved  success,  still  bore 
up  bravely,  and  it  was  not  until  the  tenth 
volley   that   they   broke   and   fled.      They 
were  pursued  by  the  cavalry,  whose  sabres 
reeked  with  the  blood  of  their  own  country- 
men.    By  six  o'clock  700  were  made  pri- 
soners, and   the    rest   slain    or   dispersed. 
"What  a  beginning  of  a  reign  !"  exclaimed 
Nicholas,  as  he  returned  sadly  towards  the 
palace.     On   his   arrival,  the   empress  fell 
fainting  into  his  arms,  and,  from  that  hour, 
she  was   afflicted  with   a  nervous  disorder 
which    medical    art    has   been    uuable   to 
subdue. 

The  regiments  implicated  in  the  revolt 
were  politically  pardoned  by  Nicholas,  with 
the  exception  of  the  men  whom  he  consid- 
ered most  guilty;  these  being  sent  to  the 
Caucasus  to  combat  with  the  fierce  moun- 
taineers of  that  locality.  Towards  the 
leaders  of  the  conspiracy  he  adopted  a  very 
different  course.  The  most  active  of  them 
were  immediately  arrested,  and  a  comrais- 
sion  of  inquiry  appointed  to  investigate  the 
extent  and  nature  of  the  disaffection.  It  is 
generally  admitted  that  this  investigation 
was  conducted  in  a  vindictive  and  minutely 

63 


.;j 


INSURRECTION  SUPPRESSED.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1826. 


inquisitorial  manner.  In  some  instances, 
persuasion  was  employed,  and  in  others 
intimidation,  for  the  purpose  of  extorting 
statements  which  might  criminate  others. 
The  proceedings  of  the  commissioners  were 
conducted  in  private,  and  continued  through 
a  period  of  several  months.  They  resulted 
in  a  report,  that  a  conspiracy  existed  of  a 
far  more  dangerous  and  extensive  kind  than 
had  been  supposed. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  such  was  the 
case   as   regards    the    educated    classes   of 
society  in  Russia,  and   especially   amongst 
the   military.      These    had    returned   from 
their  campaigns  in   France  and  Germany, 
for  the  most  part  enchanted  with  the  liberal 
ideas  they  heard  there  for  the  first  time. 
"  They  had,''  observes  Alison,  "  stood  side 
by  side  with  the  ardent  youth  of  the  Teu- 
tonic universities,  whose  feelings  had  been 
"warmed  by  the  fervour  of  the  Tugenbund,* 
whose    imaginations  had   been   kindled   by 
the  poetry  of  Koruer:    at  the  capture  of 
Paris  they  had  seen  the  world  in  transports 
at  the  magnanimous  words  of  the  czar  in 
praise  of  liberal  institutions ;  many  of  them 
had  shared  in  his  reception  in  London,  and 
witnessed  the  marvellous  spectacle  of  a  free 
people  emerging  unscathed  from  a  contest 
from  which  they  themselves  had  been  extri- 
cated only  by  committing  their  capital  to 
the    flames.     Immense    was    the   influence 
which  these  circumstances  came   ere  long 
to  exercise  on  the  highly  educated  youth  of 
Russia,    speaking  French  and  English   as 
well  as  natives,  associating  with  the  very 
highest  society  of  these  nations,  and  con- 
trasting the  varied  excitements  and  intellec- 
tual pleasures  at  their  command,  with  the 
stillness  and  monotony,  save  from  physical 
sensations,    of    their    own    fettered    land. 
They   saw    civilisation   on   its    bright   side 
only ;    they   had   basked   in  its  sunshine ; 
they  had  not  felt  its  shade.     They  had  re- 
turned home,  as  so  many  travellers  do,  to 
the  cold  regions  of  the  north,  discontented 
with  their  own   country,  and  passionately 
desirous   of  a  change.     These   sentiments 
were   dangerous;    their   expression    might 
consign   the   utterer   at   once   to    Siberia: 
they  were  shrouded  in  silence,  like  a  secret 
passion  in  the  female  heart  from  a  jealous 
husband ;  but  like  all  other  emotions,  they 
only   became   the   more   violent   from   the 
necessity  of  being  concealed,  and  came  in 

•  That  is,  the  *'  League  of  Virtue  ;"  a  name  given 
to  a  secret  society,  or  rather  a  number  of  affiliated 
aocieties  which  spreud  thioughout  Germany. 

54 


many  noble  breasts  entirely  to  absorb  the 
mind,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  objects  of 
pacific  interest  or  ambition.'' 

Such  sentiments,  stifled  beneath  a  des- 
potic government  which  had  emasculated 
and  neutralised  the  press,  placed  education 
in  fetters  whose  iron  was  ill-concealed  by 
the  thin  gilding  which  they  bore,  and 
watched  every  utterance  of  original  thought 
with  the  savage  glare  of  a  tiger  regarding  its 
destined  prey; — the  entertainment  of  such 
sentiments,  under  such  conditions,  could 
scarcely  produce  any  other  result  than  in- 
surrection or  revolution.  Had  the  Russian 
people,  or  the  masses  which  in  that  vast 
empire  stand  for  a  people,  been  as  well 
prepared  as  the  educated  classes,  the  latter 
must  have  taken  place.  But  the  peasantry 
and  soldiery  were  not  awakened :  it  was 
therefore  but  an  insurrection ;  and  this 
seldom,  if  ever,  succeeds  in  the  face  of  a 
powerful  government. 

Immediately  after  the  suppression  of  the 
insurrection  at  St.  Petersburg,  an  outbreak 
took  place  in  the  army  of  the  south,  and  in 
that  stationed  on  the  Polish  frontier.     Co- 
lonel Pestel  and  the  two  Mouravieffs,  who 
had  adopted  the  principles  of  republicanism, 
were  the  respective  leaders.     But  the  com- 
mon  soldiers,   though    attached    to    their 
officers,  had  no  desire  for  change,  and  no 
idea  of  eff'ecting  a  revolution.     Sergius  Mou- 
ravieff"  succeeded  in  causing  his  regiment  to 
revolt,  by  persuading  the  men  to  take  up 
arms  for  Constantino ;  but  he  and  other  of 
the  leaders  made  an  attempt  to  introduce 
the  shout  of  "Long  live  the  Slavonic  re- 
public !"      The   ignorant   soldiery   had   no 
idea  of  the  meaning  of  the  words.     "We 
are  quite  willing,"  remarked  an  old  grena- 
dier, "  to  call  out  '  Long  live  the  Slavonic 
republic  !'  but  who  is  to  be  our  emperor?" 
It  was  in  vain  that  the  officers   spoke  to 
them  of  liberty,  and  that  some  priests  read 
passages  from  the  Old  Testament,  to  show 
that  democracy  was  the  form  of  government 
most  agreeable  to  the  Deity.     The  soldiers 
only  recurred  to  the  question,  "  Who  is  to 
be  the  emperor?  Constantino  or  Nicholas 
Paulovitch?" 

The  result  of  an  insurrection  in  which 
the  convictions  of  the  mass  were  adverse  to 
the  principles  they  were  presumed  to  con- 
tend for,  could  not  long  be  doubted.  It 
was  suppressed  with  but  little  bloodshed, 
and  the  leading  conspirators  were  arrested. 
They  were  all  placed  on  their  trial  before 
the  commissioners  appointed   to  examine 


A.D.  1826.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,  [pitnishment  op  the  conspirators. 


into  the  details  of  the  aff'air,  and  thirty-six 
of  them  sentenced  to  death,  and  130  others 
to  imprisonment  and  lesser  penalties.     Of 
these,  five  only  were  executed ;  the  punish- 
ment of  the  rest  being  commuted  to  exile, 
accompanied  with  hard  labour,  in  Siberia. 
The  five  victims  were  Pestel,  Ryleif,  Sergius 
Mouravieff",     Bestoujif-Rumine,     and    Ka- 
khofski.     These  unhappy  persons — all  men 
of  education,  great  talents,  and  benevolent, 
though    perhaps   extravagant,  views — were 
condemned  to  the  revolting  death  of  being 
broken  on  the  wheel.    The  actual  execution 
of  such   a  sentence  was  felt  to  be  a  bar- 
barity inconsistent  with  the  civilisation  and 
feelings   of   the   age;    and  Nicholas,    pru- 
dently bowing  to  this  general  impression, 
changed  their  doom  into  that  of  death  by 
banging.     Even  in  this,  however,  there  was 
a   refined   cruelty,    as   it   was   an   unusual 
mode  of  execution  in  Russia,  and  regarded 
as  peculiarly  degrading;    the  more  so  by 
men  of  cultivated  minds,  who  had  expected 
to  meet  the  fate  of  soldiers.     Prior  to  their 
execution  they  were  examined  by  Nicholas 
in  person.     "  What  had  your  emperor  done 
to  you  ?"  said  he  to  one  of  them.     "  We 
had  not  an  emperor,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  we 
have  had  two.     One  was  your  brother,  and 
the   other  Aratcheieff."     Proceeding   in   a 
similar  strain,  he  was  interrupted   by  the 
Grand-duke    Michael,    who    brutally    ex- 
claimed, "  That  man  should  have  his  mouth 
stopped    with   a  bayonet."      "  You    asked 
just  now,"  continued  the  prisoner,  "  why  we 
wanted  a  constitution  ?     It  was,  that  such 
things  might  not  be  said."     Nicholas  then 
questioned  Bestoujif,  who  replied,   "I  re- 
pent  of  nothing  I  have  done;  I  die  satis- 
fied, and   soon   to   be  avenged."      Struck 
with  the  courage  of  his  answers,  the  em- 
peror said,   "  I  have  the  power  to  pardon 
you ;  and  if  I  felt  assured  you  would  be  a 
faithful   subject,   I   would   gladly   do    so." 
"  Why,  sire,"  responded  Bestoujif,  "  that  is 
precisely  what  we    complain  of;    the   em- 
peror can  do  anything,  and  is  bound  by  no 
law.     In  the  name  of  God,  allow  justice  to 
have  free  course,  and  let  the  fate  of  your 
subjects  no  longer  depend  on  your  caprice 
or  your  impressions  for  a  moment." 

The  executions  took  place  on  the  25th  of 
July,  and  created  a  great  and  painful  sensa- 
tion at  St.  Petersburg,  where  no  capital 
punishment  had  been  inflicted  for  a  period 
of  eighty  years.  The  gallows  was  erected 
on  the  edge  of  the  rampart  of  the  citadel ; 
and   it  was  deemed   necessary  to   have    a 


large  body  of  troops  on  the  spot.  Great 
sympathy  existed  for  the  victims,  and  there 
were  few  spectators  besides  the  soldiers. 
With  a  revolting  cruelty,  the  suff'erers  were 
compelled  to  look  on  for  a  whole  hour 
while  the  preparations  were  being  com- 
pleted for  the  execution.  The  thirty-one 
conspirators  wliose  sentence  of  death  had 
been  commuted  to  that  of  exile  to  Siberia, 
were  marched  round  the  scaflfold,  after 
which  their  epaulets  were  torn  off",  their 
uniforms  taken  from  them,  their  swords 
broken  over  their  heads,  and  they  were 
dressed  in  the  coarse  garb  of  convicts.  The 
five  who  were  to  suff'er  then  ascended  the 
scaff'old  with  firm  steps  and  an  undaunted 
air.  The  signal  was  given,  and  Pestel  and 
Kakhofski  died  almost  immediately.  The 
suff'erings  of  the  other  three  were  painfully- 
prolonged;  the  ropes  broke,  and  they  fell 
into  the  ditch  beneath.  Though  severely  in- 
jured, these  unhappy  gentlemen  reascended 
the  scaff'old  with  a  calm  and  composed 
air.  "  Nothing  succeeds  in  this  country," 
said  Ryleif;  "not  even  death."  "Woe 
to  the  country,"  said  Sergius  Mouravieff", 
"where  they  can  neither  conspire,  nor  judge, 
nor  hang  !"  This  time  the  dismal  ceremony- 
was  effectually  performed;  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  roll  of  drums  announced  that 
the  victims  had  ceased  to  exist. 

The  conspirators  who  were  sent  to 
Siberia  included  many  persons  of  high 
rank,  and  amongst  them  Prince  Trou- 
betzkoi.  All  who  were  married  were  ac- 
companied by  their  wives :  these  high- 
minded  women,  who  had  moved  in  the  first 
circles  of  society,  voluntarily  going  with 
their  husbands  into  exile,  in  spite  of  the 
off'ered  protection  of  the  emperor  if  they 
would  remain  at  St.  Petersburg.  Towards 
these  noble  and  self-denying  women,  Nicho- 
las then  exhibited  a  resentment  as  unmanly 
as  it  was  ungenerous.  Regarding  the  act 
of  following  their  husbands  into  exile  as  an 
adoption  of  the  principles  of  the  latter,  he 
behaved  towards  them  with  an  inexorable 
severity ;  and  even  after  the  lapse  of  fifteen 
years,  sternly  refused  a  petition  addressed 
to  him  by  the  Princess  Troubetzkoi,  im- 
ploring permission  to  remove  to  some  place 
where  the  climate  was  milder,  and  where 
she  might  obtain  the  rudiments  of  educa- 
tion for  her  children. 

On  the  morning  after  the  execution  of 
the  conspirators,  Nicholas  caused  the  Place 
of  the  Senate,  which  had  been  the  theatre 
of  the  insurrection,  to  be  subjected  to  a 

55 


BXPIAJORY  CEREMONIAL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.i>.  1826. 


ceremony  which  was  presumed  to  act  as  a 
purification.     "  On  the  spot/'  said  he  in  a 
proclamation  to  the  people  and  the   army, 
"  where,  seven  months  a^'O,  the  explosion  of 
a  sudden  revolt  revealed  the  existence  of  a 
vast   conspiracy  which   had   been   going  on 
for  ten  years,  it  is  meet  that  a  last  act  of 
commemoration— an    expiatory   sacrifice — 
should  consecrate  on   the    same    spot   the 
memory  of  the  Russian  blood  shed  for  re- 
ligion, the  throne,  and  the  country.     We 
have  recognised  the  hand  of  the  Almighty, 
when  He  tore  aside  the  veil  which  concealed 
that  horrible  mystery  :  it  permitted  crime  to 
arm  itself  in  order  to  assure  its  fall.     Like 
a  momentary  storm,  the  revolt  only  broke 
forth  to  annihilate  the  conspiracy  of  which 
it  was  the  consummation.''     The  ceremony 
was  attended  by  the  whole  garrison  of  St. 
Petersburg,  amounting  to  60,000  men.    An 
altar  was  erected  in  the  great  square,  and  a 
service  of  thanksgiving  performed  at  it  by 
the  metropolitan  archbishop.     The  priests 
then  scattered  holy  water  over  the  soldiers, 
the  people,  and  the  pavement ;  after  which 
the  bands  of  all  the  regiments  struck  up  a 
hallelujah !    and    the   ceremony  concluded 
with  the  discharge  of  a  hundred  guns. 

The  strict  investigation  which  had  been 
made  into  all  the  details  of  the  conspiracy, 
brought  to  light    much   of  the   shameless 
corruption  which   impeded   the    course   of 
justice    and    impaired   the   service   of    the 
state.     Nicholas  resolved  on  an  attempt  to 
eradicate   this    wholesale    dishonesty;    but 
his  success  was  but  slight  and  partial,  be- 
cause he  did  not  adopt  the  plan  of  paying 
the  various  officers  of  the  state,  either  in 
civil  or  military  departments,  sums  adequate 
to  the  responsibilities  they  had  to  discharge, 
and   sufficient  to  raise  them  beyond  those 
temptations   which   beset  the   needy.      He 
appealed   not   to  the  interest,   but  to   the 
honour  and  sense  of  duty  of  the  servants  of 
the  state;  and  to  this  they  were,  for  the 
most  part,  insensible.     He  caused  circulars 
to  be  sent  to  all  the  judges  and  governors 
of  the  empire,  urging  them  to  a  faithful 
discharge  of  their  duties,  and  threatening 
the  severest  penalties  in  the  event  of  their 
not  doing  so.     To  assist  the  judges  in  their 
labours,  and  to  make  the  course  of  the  law 
intelligible  to  the  people,  he  also  ordered 
the  imperial  ukases  to  be  collected,  printed, 
and   codified;    and   also  caused   a   uniform 
code,  forming  a  complete  system  of  law,  to 
be  constructed  out  of  these  enormous,  and 
frequently  heterogeneous,  materials. 

56 


By  a  ukase  of  the  5th  of  March,  Nicholas 
also  abolished  a  cruel  mode  of  torture  which 
had  been  long  in  use  among  the  Cossacks 
of  the  Don,  and  consisted  in  attaching  the 
feet  of  a  victim  to  great  blocks  of  stone  in 
a  room,  while  his  hands  were  fastened  at 
extreme  tension  to  the  ceiling,  and  leaving 
him  in  that  position  until  death  released 
him  from  his  si  fferings.  Yet,  though  put- 
ting down  cruelty  in  others,  he  conducted 
his  own  government  with  great  severity. 
The  number  of  persons  exiled  to  Siberia  in 
1826  amounted  to  12,000,  and  exceeded,  by 
3,000,  the  number  banished  to  that  frozen 
region  in  the  preceding  year;  a  period 
which  the  gloomy  suspicions  of  Alexander 
had  caused  to  be'  more  than  usually  full  of 
arrests  and  expatriations  for  real  or  sus- 
pected political  oft'ei  ces. 

The  coronation  of  the  emperor  followed  ; 
but,  before  we  speak  of  this  event,  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  mention  a  few  brief  biographical 
facts  concerning  his  career  before  he  came 
to  the  throne.     Nicholas,  the  third  son  of 
the  emperor  Paul,  was  born  at  St.  Peters- 
burg on  the    7th  of  July,   1796.     On  the 
assassination  of  that  eccentric  tyrant,  the 
young  grand-duke  was  left  entirely  to  the 
care  of  his   mother.     This   lady  appointed 
General  Lamsdorf  to  be  his  governor,  and 
selected  tlie  Countess  Lieven,  and  the  Ger- 
man  philologist,  Adelung,  as  his   principal 
teachers   in   languages  and   literature,  and 
counsellor     Storch     as     his    instructor    in 
general  politics,  and  in  the  other  sciences 
and  arts  regarded  as  suitable  to  his  rank 
and  station.     Nicholas  acquired  the  power 
of  speaking  the   French  and  German  lan- 
guages with  as  much  facility  as  the  Russian, 
and  early  manifested  that  attachment   for 
military  display  and  the  art  of  fortification 
which  distinguished  him  through  life. 

On  the  termination,  in  1814,  of  the  great 
European  war,  Nicholas  was  sent  on  his 
travels,  and  visited  some  of  the  principal 
battle-fields.  In  1816  he  came  to  England, 
and  was  received  with  much  cordiality.  He 
afterwards  made  a  tour  of  the  chief  pro- 
vinces of  the  Russian  empire.  On  the  13th 
of  July,  1817,  he  was  united  to  Frederica 
Louisa  Charlotte  Wilhelmina,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Frederic  William  III.,  the  king 
of  Prussia.  The  lady,  born  on  the  13th  of 
July,  1798,  entered  the  Greek  church  on 
the  occasion  of  her  marriage,  and,  according 
to  Russian  custom,  assumed  the  names  of 
Alexandra  Feodorowna. 

The  coronation  of  the  emperor  and  em- 


A.D.  1826.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [coronation  of  Nicholas. 


press  took  place  at  Moscow  on  the  3rd  of 
September,   1826,  and  was  conducted  with 
extraordinary  pomp ;  so  much  so,  as  to  elicit 
from  a  lady  of  rank  the  thoughtless  expres- 
sion of  "  How  vexatious  it  is  that  such  fetes 
are   so   rare!"     Their    imperial    majesties 
were  received  at  Moscow  with  an  enthu- 
siasm  which   was    scarcely   to   have   been 
expected  after  the  recent  insurrection,  and 
its   tragical  and   unpopular   results.     That 
ancient  city  exhibited  a  splendid  spectacle ; 
for   those   portions  of  it  which   had  been 
destroyed  by  the  conflagration  of  1812,  had 
been  rebuilt  in  a  more  elegant  and  durable 
manner;  noble  stone  structures  having,  in 
many  instances,  taken  the  place  of  wooden 
palaces  and  other  buildings.     One  incident, 
on  this  occasion,  produced  a  great  and  joyful 
sensation  amongst  the  crowds  which  filled 
the  city.     On  the  evening  before  the  corona- 
tion,   the   Grand-duke   Constantine    came 
spontaneously  and  unexpectedly  from  War- 
saw,  to   assist  in   the   ceremony,  and   do 
honour   to   his    younger    brother.     When 
Nicholas  and  Constantine  appeared  hand- 
in-hand  on  the  day  of  the  coronation,  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people  knew  no  bounds ; 
and  the  tremendous   shouts  of  "Hurrah! 
Constantine  \"  which  rent  the  air,  at  first 
startled  the    emperor,    as   they   recalled   a 
painful  recollection  of  the   events  of  the 
insurrection  at  St.  Petersburg.     It  was  but 
for  a  moment ;  Nicholas  then  saw  that  the 
shouts  were  a  tribute  of  admiration  to  the 
generous    self-denial  of  Constantine;    and 
the  brothers  publicly  embraced.     Constan- 
tine,  though   seventeen   years   older   than 
Nicholas,    had   not   only   surrendered   his 
crown,  but  was  the  first  to  do  homage  to 
the  new  sovereign. 

Nicholas  was  in  some  respects  favoured 
by  nature,  and  had  many  qualities  which 
fitted  him  for  the  exalted  position  in  which 
he  was  placed.  His  stature  was  remarkably 
lofty;  his  features  handsome,  though  their 
customary  expression  was  cold  and  severe ; 
and  his  demeanour  majestic.  He  united 
considerable  mental  powers  with  an  in- 
flexible will,  and  that  subtlety  of  intellect 
which  is  characteristic  of  educated  Russians. 

•  That  is  to  say,  that  the  improvements  and 
triumphs  of  Nicholas  have  been  accomplished  by  a 
retrograde  motion,  in  opposition  to  the  enlighten- 
ment and  progressive  spirit  of  the  most  civilised 
nations  of  Europe  !  This  going  back  into  the  past, 
or,  at  the  best,  standing  still  with  barbarism,  may 
have  been  a  triumph  to  the  emperor  Nicholas;  for 
it  ctrtainly  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  chief , 
aims  of  his  rule  j  but  how  it  could  be  ao  improve- 1 
VOL.  II.  I 


He  has  been  praised  as  patriotic;  but  it 
would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  he  loved 
Russia,  and  laboured  incessantly  to  exalt  it, 
because  he  identified  its  greatness  with  his 
own.     Like    Louis   XIV.,    he  also  might 
have  said  what  indeed  he  ever  felt—"  The 
state  ?     I  am  the  state.'^     Alison,  the  wor- 
shipper  of  everything    Russian,    and,    not 
least,  of  Russian  despotism,  writing,  during 
the  life  of  Nicholas,    said  of  him:— "He 
wishes  to  improve  and  elevate  his  country, 
and  he  has  done  much  to  eff'ect  that  noble 
object ;  but  he  desires  to  do  so  by  developing, 
not  changing,  the  national  spirit;  by  making 
it   become   a  first    Russia,   not   a   second 
France  or  England.     He  has  adopted  the 
maxim  of  Montesquieu — that  no  nation  ever 
attained  to  real  greatness  but  by  institu- 
tions in  conformity  with  its  spirit.     He  is 
neither  led  away  by  the  thirst  for  sudden 
mechanical  improvement,   like   Peter,    nor 
the  praises  of  philosophers,  like  Catherine, 
nor   the  visions   of  inexperienced   philan- 
thropy, like   Alexander.     He  has  not  at- 
tempted to  erect  a  capital  in  a  pestilential 
marsh,  and   done  so  at  the  expense  of  a 
hundred  thousand  lives ;  nor  has  he  dreamt 
of  mystical  regeneration  with  a  visionary 
sybil,  and  made  sovereigns  put  their  hands 
to  a  holy  alliance  from  her  influence.     He 
neither   corresponds  with   French  atheists 
nor  English   democrats;    he   despises   the 
praises  of  the  first,  he  braves  the  hostility 
of  the  last.     His  maxim  is  to  take  men  as 
they  are,  and  neither  suppose  them  better 
nor  worse.     He   is  content  to  let  Russia 
grow  up  in  a  Russian  garb,  animated  with  a 
Russian  spirit,  and  moulded  by  Russian  in- 
stitutions, without  the  aid  either  of  Parisian 
communism  or  British  liberalism.     The  im- 
provements he  has  efi'ected  in  the  govern- 
ment of  his  dominions  have  been  vast ;  the 
triumphs   with   which   his    external  policy 
have  been  attended,  unbounded ;  but  they 
have  all  been  achieved,  not  in  imitation  of, 
but  in  opposition  to,  the  ideas  of  western 
Europe.*     They  bespeak,  not  less  than  his 
internal  government,  the  national  character 
of  his  policy .'' 

While  speaking  personally  of  the  em- 

ment  we  are  at  a  loss  to  perceive.  As  we  have 
stated  in  a  previous  note  (see  ante,  p.  348),  there  was 
more  freedom  in  Russia,  and  more  promise  of  & 
better  state  of  society,  under  the  sway  of  Catherine 
II.,  than  there  has  ever  been  since.  Had  the  em- 
pire been  governed,  since  her  time,  by  a  succession 
of  monarchs  of  her  intellectual  power,  its  moral  and 
social  development,  and  national  progress  towards 
that  rational  freedom,  personal  polish,  and  generai 

57 


-f. 
{:fl 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  EMPEROR.]        HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1826. 


peror  Nicholas,  it  will  be  well  to  introduce 
the  following  portraiture  of  him  by  the 
French  traveller,  the  Marquis  de  Custine, 
who  had  frequent  opportunities  of  observing 
him.  The  description  refers  to  a  later 
period  of  the  hfe  of  the  emperor;  but  it 
is  probable  that  it  applies  almost  equally 
as  well  to  the  one  of  which  we  are  now 

writing:—      ,      .  '  .  n    .- 

"The    predominant    expression    ot    his 
countenance  is  tliat  of  a  restless  severity, 
which  strikes  a  beholder  at  the  first  glance, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  regularity  of  his  features, 
conveys  by  no  means  a  pleasant  impression. 
Physiognomists  pretend,  with  much  reason, 
that  the  hardness  of  the  heart  injures  the 
beauty  of  the  countenance.     Nevertheless, 
this   expression   in   the   emperor   Nicholas 
appears  to  be  the  result  of  experience  rather 
than  the  work  of  nature.     By  what  long 
and  cruel  sufferings  must  not  a  man  have 
been  tortured,  when  his  countenance  ex- 
cites fear,  notwithstanding   the   voluntary 
confidence  that  noble  features  inspire  ! 

"  A  man  charged  with  the  management 
and  direction,  in  its  most  minute  details,  of 
some  immense  machine,   incessantly   fears 
the  derangement  of  one   or   other   of  its 
various  parts.     He  who  obeys,  suffers  only 
according  to  the  precise   measure   of  the 
evil  inflicted;    he  who  commands,    suffers 
first  as  other  men  suffer,   and  afterwards, 
that  common  measure  of  evil  is  multiplied 
a  hundred-fold  for  him  by  the  workings  of 
imagination  and  self-love.      Responsibility 
is  tlic  punishment  of  absolute  power.     If 
he  be  the  primum  mobile  of  all  minds,  he 
becomes  the  centre  also  of  all  griefs;  the 
more  he  is  dreaded,  the  more  is  he  to  be 
pitied.* 

"  He  to  whom  is  accorded  unlimited 
rule,  sees,  even  in  the  common  occurrences 
of  life,  the  spectre  of  revolt.  Persuaded 
that  his  rights  are  sacred,  he  recognises  no 
bounds  to  them  but  those  of  his  own  intel- 
ligence and  will,  and  he  is,  therefore,  sub- 
ject to  constant  annoyance.  An  unlucky 
fly,  buzzing  in  the  imperial  palace  during  a 
ceremony,  mortifies  the  emperor ;  the  inde- 
pendence of  nature  appears  to  him  a  bad 
example ;  everything  which  he  cannot  sub- 
ject to  his  arbitrary  laws,  becomes,  in  his 


education  by  which  serfs  and  mobs  are  converted 
into  a  people,  would  have  been  far  more  rapid. 
The  eventual  attainment  of  these  things  by  Russia 
is  only  a  work  of  time :  government  cannot  always 
be  carried  on  by  repressive  means ;  for  progression 
is  a  law  of  nature,  whether  applied  to  a  tree,  a  man, 
or  an  empire.     Men  cannot  for  ever  be  ruled  by  a 

58 


eyes,  as  a  soldier  who,  in  the  heat  of  battle, 
revolts  against  his  officer.  The  emperor  of 
Russia  is  a  military  chief,  and  every  day 
with  him  is  a  day  of  battle. 

"  Nevertheless,  at  times  some  gleams  of 
softness  temper  the  imperious  looks  of  this 
monarch ;  and  then,  the  expression  of  affa- 
bility reveals  all  the  native  beauty  of  his 
classic  features.     In  the  heart  of  the  hus- 
band and  the  father,  humanity  triuniphs 
for  a  moment  over  the  policy  of  the  prince. 
When  the  sovereign  rests  from  his  task  of 
imposing  the  yoke  upon  his  subjects,   he 
appears  happy.     This  combat  between  the 
primitive  dignity  of  the  man  and  the  affected 
gravity  of  the   sovereign,   appears   to   me 
worthy  the   attention   of  an   observer;    it 
occupied  mine  the  greater  part  of  the  time 
I  passed  in  the  chapel. 

"  The  emperor  is  above  the  usual  height 
by  half  a  head ;  his  figure  is  noble,  although 
a   little    stiff;    he   has   practised   from   his 
youth  the   Russian  custom   of  girding  the 
body  above  the  loins,  to  such  a  degree  as 
to  push  up  the   stomach  into  the   chest, 
which  produces  an  unnatural  swelling  or 
extension  about  the  ribs  that  is  as  injurious 
to  health  as  it  is  ungraceful  in  appearance. 
This  voluntary  deformity  destroys  all  free- 
dom of  movement,  impairs  the  elegance  of 
the  shape,  and  imparts  an  air  of  constraint 
to  the  whole  person.     They  say  that  when 
the  emperor  loosens  his  dress,  the  viscera, 
suddenly  giving  way,   are  disturbed  for  a 
moment  in  their  equilibrium,  which  pro- 
duces    an     extraordinary    prostration     of 

strength. 

"  The  emperor  has  a  Grecian  profile,  the 
forehead  high,  but  receding;  the  nose 
straight  and  perfectly  formed;  the  mouth 
very  finely  cut ;  the  face,  which  in  shape  is 
rather  a  long  oval,  is  noble ;  the  whole  air 
military,  and  rather  German  than  Slavonic. 
His  carriage  and  his  attitudes  are  naturally 
imposing.  He  expects  always  to  be  gazed 
at,  and  never  for  a  moment  forgets  that  he 
is  so.  It  may  even  be  said,  that  he  likes 
this  homage  of  the  eyes. 

"  He  passes  the  greater  part  of  his  exis- 
tence in  the  open  air,  at  reviews,  or  in  rapid 
journeys.  During  summer,  the  shade  of 
his  military  hat  draws  across  his  forehead 

dread  of  banishment,  the  knout,  the  axe,  or  the 

bayonet. 

*  Perhaps  so :  but  the  doctrine  is  a  fanciful  one. 
The  marquis,  in  the  work  from  which  we  quote 
(l)e  Custine's  llussia),  utters  many  very  question- 
able opinions,  and  some  rather  puerile  ones.  We 
prefer  his  narrative  to  his  reflections. 


A.D.  1826.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  with  PERSIA. 


an  oblique  line,  which  marks  the  action  of 
the  sun  upon  the  skin.  It  produces  a 
singular  effect,  but  is  not  disagreeable,  as 
the  cause  is  at  once  perceived. 

"  In  examining  attentively  the  fine  person 
of  this  individual,  on  whose  will  hangs  the 
fate  of  so  many  others,  I  have  remarked, 
with  involuntary  pity,  that  he  cannot  smile 
at  the  same  time  with  the  eyes  and  the 
mouth ;  a  want  of  harmony  which  denotes 
perpetual  constraint,  and  which  makes  one 
remember,  with  regret,  that  easy  natural 
grace  so  conspicuous  in  the  less  regular 
but   more   agreeable    countenance    of    his 


brotl 


ler,     the    emperor    Alexander.      The 


latter,  always  pleasing,  had  yet,  at  times, 
an  assumed  manner.  The  emperor  Nicho- 
las is  more  sincere;  but  he  has  an  habitual 
expression  of  severity,  which  sometimes 
gives  the  idea  of  harshness  and  inflexibility. 
If,  however,  he  is  less  fascinating,  he  is 
more  firm  than  his  late  brother ;  but  then, 
it  must  be  added,  that  he  has  also  a  propor- 
tionately greater  need  of  firmness.  Grace- 
ful courtesy  insures  authority  by  removing 
the  desire  of  resistance.  The  judicious 
economy  in  the  exercise  of  power  is  a  secret 
of  which  the  emperor  Nicholas  is  ignorant ; 
he  is  one  who  desires  to  be  obeyed  where 
others  desire  to  be  loved.'' 


CHAPTER  IX. 

WAR  WITH  PERSIA;  DEFEAT  AND  SUBMISSION  OF  THAT   STATE;  THE  GREEK  INSURRECTION   AND  WAR  OF 
INDEPENDENCE  ;   RUSSIA  AT  FIRST   DECLINES  INTERFERENCE  ;   SUBSEQUENT  INTERVENTION  OF  ENGLAND 
FRANCE,  AND  RUSSIA;   DESTRUCTION  OF   THE  TURKISH  FLEET  AT   NAVARINO  ;   EMANCIPATION  OF  GREECE 
FROM   THE    OTTOMAN   YOKE;   WAR  WITH   TURKEY;   CAMPAIGNS  OF    1828   AND    1829  J   INTERFERENCE  OF 
ENGLAND  AND  AUSTRIA  ;  PEACE  OF  ADRIANOPLE ;  REFLECTIONS  UPON  THAT  EVENT. 


The  emperor  Nicholas,  the  very  month  of 
his  coronation,  declared  war  against  Persia; 
an  imperial  manifesto  to  that  eff*ect  appear- 
ing on  the  28th  of  September,  1826.     The 
region  of  the  Caucasus  was  the  cause  of  the 
quarrel.      The   Russian   government,    ever 
pursuing  its  policy  of  intervention  in  the 
aff'airs  of  weak  or  divided  nations,  had,  in 
the  year   1801,  taken  the  Georgians   into 
its  protection,  and  annexed  their  country  to 
the   Russian   empire.^    Even   long  before 
that  time,  the  mountains  of  the  Caucasus 
were  the  scene  of  almost  incessant  contests 
between  the  Russians,  Turks,  and  Persians, 
who    contended  with   each   other  for   the 
possession  of  the  soil.     The  various  native 
tribes,  or  petty  nations,  also  repelled  their 
invaders  with  great  bravery,  and  made  it 
extremely  dangerous  for  any  of  them   to 
advance   beyond    the   fortified    posts   they 
occupied.     The    recent   wars   with    Persia 
and  with  Turkey  had  left  Russia  the  pre- 
dominant power  in  this  locality.     Yet  her 
mode  of  government  was  not  suited  to  the 
hardy  and  independent  mountaineers,  who 
soon   broke   out   into   hostility  against   its 
oppressiveness.  This  irritation  was  fomented 

•  See  antCf  p.  384. 


by  the  Turkish  and  Persian  courts ;  and  the 
war  which  Nicholas  now  declared  against 
Persia  was  intended  to  decide  the  question, 
as  to  which  was  to  become  master  of  the 
Caucasus. 

Persia  soon  felt  her  inability  to  contend 
against  the  overshadowing  might  of  Russia. 
Her  troops  were  utterly  defeated  by  the 
Russians,  under  General  Paskiewitch,  on 
the  8th  of  August,  at  the  battle  of  Eliza- 
bethpol.  In  the  campaign  of  the  following 
year  the  Persians  were  equally  unfortunate. 
Several  towns  were  taken;  and  the  shah, 
threatened  with  destruction,  had  no  re- 
source but  in  submission.  Peace  was  con- 
cluded between  the  two  courts  on  the  28th 
of  February,  1828.  By  this  treaty,  that  of 
Turkmantchai,  Russia  (though  she  dis- 
claimed all  desire  of  conquest,  and  repelled 
as  injurious  every  imputation  of  an  ambi- 
tious desire  to  aggrandise  her  territory) 
declared,  that  her  anxiety  to  prevent  any 
future  collision  with  Persia,  compelled  her 
to  establish  a  frontier  line,  so  well  defined 
as  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt  or  discussion. 
The  river  Araxes  was  therefore  adopted  as 
this  boundary — an  arrangement  by  which 
the  Russian  dominions  in  Asia  were  con- 

59 


THB  (IREEK  TWSTTRIIECTION.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1821. 


A.D.  1827.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [interference  oe  the  allies. 


siderably  increased.  The  Khanat  of  Talish, 
the  province  and  fortress  of  Erivan,  were 
thus  ceded  to  Russia;  together  with  the 
important  harbour  of  Anapa,  on  the  Black 
Sea.  The  sacrifices  made  by  Persia  were 
immense ;  for,  in  addition  to  the  territorial 
concessions,  she  was  compelled  to  pay  the 
vhole  expenses  of  the  war.  She  had,  how- 
ever, no  alternative,  not  being  in  a  condition 
to  renew  the  struggle. 

It  is  necessary  to  say  a  few  words  with 
respect  to  the  Greek  insurrection  against 
the  power  of  Sultan  Mahmoud — a  struggle 
which,  at  this  period,  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  nearly  the  whole  of  Europe.  Four 
centuries  of  national  subjection  beneath 
the  barbarous  government  of  the  Turks, 
had  uot  extinguished  in  the  Greeks  their 
ancient  love  of  liberty,  or  bowed  their  spirit 
to  their  abject  condition. 

Debased  as  the  national  character  was 
by  ages  of  a  grinding  political  servitude, 
although  the  Greeks  mostly  retained  only 
the  vices  of  their  brave  and  beauty-loving 
ancestors,  yet  were  there  many  of  them 
who  remembered  that  they  were  the  de- 
scendants of  a  noble  race — 

"  Whose  land,  from  plain  to  mountain  cave, 
Was  Freedom's  home  or  Glory's  grave !" 

and,  in  their  enthusiastic  bosoms,  the  spark 
of  liberty,  once  implanted,  was  soon  fanned 
into  a  quenchless  flame. 

The  numerous  troubles  in  which  the 
Ottoman  empire  was  involved,  had  encou- 
raged in  the  Greeks  a  hope  of  throwing  off 
its  oppressive  yoke.  A  powerful  secret 
society  was  formed,  with  a  well-organised 
agency,  which  extended  throughout  the 
whole  of  European  Turkey.  It  was  ru- 
moured, in  whispers,  that  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  persons  in  Europe  were  mem- 
bers of  the  society  of  the  Hetairists.  Count 
Capo  d'Istria,  a  Greek  by  birth,  but  a 
Russian  by  adoption,  who  held  the  impor- 
tant situation  of  private  secretary  to  the 
emperor  Alexander,  was  known  to  be  one — 
an  incident  which  gave  rise  to  the  rumour, 
that  even  the  czar  himself  was  amongst  the 
number.  This  circumstance,  combined 
with  the  fact  of  identity  in  religion,  and 
the  well-known  desires  of  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment, caused  all  the  Greeks  to  cast  their 
eyes  towards  that  country,  with  not  only 
the  hope,  but  the  almost  confident  expecta- 
tion of  assistance. 

In  the  war  between  the  Porte  and  Ali 
Pasha  (the  powerful  ruler  of  Janina),  the 
60 


Greeks  thought  they  saw  the  long-desired 
opportunity.     A  general  rising  was  there- 
fore proclaimed  on  the  6th  of  April,  1821, 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Patros,  and  univer- 
sally responded   to.     The  Greeks  were  at 
first  successful ;  but  Mahmoud,  having  ob- 
tained the  assistance  of  Mehemet  Ali,  the 
pasha  of  Egypt,  and  his  warlike  son,  Ibra- 
him, made  such  fierce  efforts  to  crush  the 
insurrection,  that  it  seemed   that  submis- 
sion must  be   eventually  inevitable.     The 
struggle    was,    however,    continued    with 
great  heroism  and  endurance  on  the  part 
of  the  Greeks,  and  with  a  revolting  bar- 
barity on  that  of  the  Turks.     The  Greeks 
confidently  expected  assistance  from  Russia ; 
but,  as  we  have  shown  in  a  preceding  chapter, 
the  emperor  Alexander  held  aloof,  from  a 
morbid  fear  of  all  revolutionary  proceedings. 
Notwithstanding  the  brilliant  opportunity 
thus  offered  him  of  reconstituting  a  Greek 
empire  which  should  ultimately  reconquer 
Constantinople,  his  dread  of  revolutionary 
measures   and    doctrines   induced   him   to 
proclaim  a  strict  neutrality  in  the  war  be- 
tween the  Turks  and  the  Greek  subjects. 
The  last  check  to  the  Ottoman  fury  was 
thus     removed :     a    religious     enthusiasm 
seized  the  Turks,  who  demanded  to  be  led 
against  the  infidels,  whom  they  declared 
they  would  exterminate  to   the  last  man. 
Such  was  the  fury  of  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment and   people,  that   the  whole  of  the 
Greeks  in  Constantinople  were  only  saved 
from  massacre  in  consequence  of  the  earnest 
remonstrance  of  the  Russian,  French,  and 
English  ambassadors.    The  Greek  patriarch 
and  many  of  the  Christian  dignitaries  were, 
however,    ruthlessly    murdered,    and    the 
churches  broken  into,  plundered,  and  pro- 
faned. 

Such  were  the  atrocities  and  massacres 
committed  by  the  Turks,  and  so  unyield- 
ing was  the  attitude  of  the  Greeks,  that  the 
Russian  government  expostulated  with  the 
sultan,  and  demanded  reparation  for  the 
insults  offered  to  the  Greek  religion,  and 
the  adoption  of  a  more  humane  system  of 
warfare  in  the  contest  with  its  Christian 
subjects.  The  divan  deigned  no  answer  to 
an  expostulation  which  was  accompanied 
with  a  threat  of  hostile  proceedings  in  the 
event  of  refusal;  and  the  Russian  ambas- 
sador left  Constantinople,  having  narrowly 
escaped  being  sent  to  the  Seven  Towers, 
The  sultan  then  sent  a  message  to  St. 
Petersburg,  justifying  his  own  conduct,  and 
stating,  that  the  Christian  churches  which 


had  been  destroyed  by  the  Turkish  popu- 
lace should  be  rebuilt. 

In  the  year  1822,  the  Greeks  proclaimed 
their  independence  of  the  sultan,  and 
achieved  several  heroic  successes,  which 
only  drove  their  enemies  to  fresh  barbari- 
ties. The  vindictive  struggle  was  pro- 
longed over  several  years.  The  awful  mas- 
sacre in  the  island  of  Chios,  created  a  thrill 
of  horror  throughout  Europe.  The  feel- 
ing of  the  Christian  nations  was  at  length 
fairly  aroused;  and  England,  France,  and 
Russia  resolved  to  put  a  stop  to  this  san- 
guinary war  of  extermination.  Mahmoud, 
however,  bent  upon  crushing  all  rebellion 
within  his  dominions,  and  making  himself 
obeyed  both  by  his  Mohammedan  and  Chris- 
tian subjects,  declined  any  interference. 
The  three  powers,  therefore,  entered  into  an 
alliance  on  the  7th  of  July,  1827,  for  the 
protection  of  the  Greeks.  Alexander  had 
been  succeeded  by  his  brother  Nicholas, 
who  was  more  disposed  to  turn  the  Greek 
revolution  to  political  account  than  his 
cautious  predecessor  had  been. 

In  consequence  of  this  celebrated  treaty, 
which  has  been  aptly  called  "the  corner- 
stone of  Greek  independence,^'  the  united 
powers  proposed  to  the  sultan  that  Greece 
should  be  a  vassal  state  of  Turkey,  and 
acknowledge  his  suzerainty  by  paying  an 
annual  tribute.  The  Greeks,  on  their  part, 
promised  to  submit  to  these  conditions ; 
but  Mahmoud  rejected  them  with  disdain, 
and  declared  his  fixed  determination  to 
persevere  to  the  last  in  his  endeavours  to 
reduce  his  rebellious  subjects  to  submis- 
sion. In  a  manifesto  issued  upon  the  oc- 
casion, he  said — "  The  Sublime  Porte  being 
engaged  in  punishing,  and,  in  conformity 
with  its  sacred  law,  such  of  its  turbulent 
subjects  as  have  revolted,  can  never  admit 
the  right  of  any  other  power  to  interfere 
with  it.  The  Ottoman  government  must 
consider  those  who  address  such  proposals 
to  it  as  intending  to  give  consequence  to  a 
troop  of  brigands.  A  Greek  government 
is  spoken  of,  which  is  to  be  recognised  in 
case  the  Sublime  Porte  does  not  consent  to 
some  arrangement ;  and  it  has  even  been  j 
proposed  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the 
rebels.  Has  not  the  Sublime  Porte  great 
reason  to  be  struck  with  astonishment 
at  hearing  such  language  from  friendly 
powers?  for  history  offers  no  example  of 
conduct  in  all  respects  so  opposite  to  the 
principles  and  duties  of  government.  The 
Sublime  Porte,  therefore,  can  never  listen 


to  such  propositions,  which  it  will  neither 
hear  nor  understand,  so  long  as  the  coun- 
try inhabited  by  Greeks  forms  part  of  the 
Ottoman  dominions ;  and  they  are  tribu- 
tary subjects  to  the  Porte,  which  will  never 
renounce  its  rights.  If,  with  the  aid  of  the 
Almighty,  the  Sublime  Porte  resumes  full 
possession  of  that  country,  it  will  then  act, 
as  well  for  the  present  as  the  future,  in 
conformity  with  the  ordinances  which  its 
holy  law  prescribes  with  respect  to  its 
subjects." 

This  haughty  answer  provoked  the  allied 
powers    to   have   recourse    to    menace    in 
another   form   than   words.     They    sent   a 
fleet  consisting  of  four  English  men-of-war, 
together  with  the  same  number  of  French 
and   Russian   ships   of  the   line.     A  final 
note  was  then  addressed  to  the  sultan,  who 
again   decidedly  refused   to  admit  of  any 
foreign  interference  in  the  contest  pending 
between  him  and  his  Greek  subjects.     He 
was   then   informed,  that  the  allied   sove- 
reigns would  take  such  steps  as  they  con- 
sidered necessary  to   put  an   end   to  the 
struggle,  though  without  interrupting  the 
amity  existing  between  them  and  the  Porte. 
The  persevering  atrocities  of  Ibrahim  Pasha 
hurried  on  the  collision  which  such  a  state 
of  affairs  threatened ;  and  on  the  20th  of 
October,    1827,   the   Turko-Egyptian   fleet 
was,  after  a  furious  battle,  which  lasted  for 
four  hours,  almost  annihilated  at  Navarino. 
No  less   than  fifty-two   vessels,   including 
four  line-of-battle  ships,  nineteen  frigates, 
and  twenty-nine  corvettes,  were  destroyed, 
together  with   their   crews,  amounting  to 
about  7,000  men.     Of  the  allies,  the  se- 
verest loss  was  sustained  by  the  British, 
upon  whom  the  brunt  of  the  action  fell ;  it 
amounted  to  75  killed,  and  197  wounded. 
The  loss  of  the  French  was  43  killed,  and 
117  wounded;  while  that  of  the  Russians 
was  very  trivial;   for  though    that  power 
had  the  greatest  interest  in  the  quarrel,  yet 
it  contrived  to  let  its  allies  fight  the  battle. 
Sultan  Mahmoud  bore  this  calamity  with 
more   calmness   than   was    expected.      He 
replied  to  a  communication  from  the  allied 
ministers — "  My  positive,  absolute,  defini- 
tive, unchangeable,  eternal  answer  is,  that 
the   Sublime   Porte   does   not   accept   any 
proposition  regarding  the  Greeks,  and  wiU 
persist  in  its  own  will  regarding  them,  even 
to   the  day  of  the  last  judgment."     The 
sultan  also  demanded  compensation  for  the 
destruction  of  his  fleet,  and  declared  that, 
until  he  received  it,  he  would  bold  no  inter- 

61 


y 


WAR  WITH  TURKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1828. 


;f 


course  with  the  ambassadors  of  the  three 
powers;  who  accordingly  found  it  neces- 
sary to  withdraw  from  Constantinople, 
which  they  did  on  the  8th  of  December, 
1827.  The  withdrawal  of  the  Ottoman 
forces,  and  the  emancipation  of  Greece 
from  the  Turkish  yoke,  was  the  immediate 
consequence  of  the  battle  of  Navarino  ;  the 
promotion  of  the  designs  of  Russia  upon 
the  territory  of  the  sultan  the  remote  re- 
sult. Some  grave  fears  were  at  the  time 
entertained,  in  this  country,  respecting  the 
increase  which  it  gave  to  the  preponder- 
ance of  Russia  in  the  East. 

It  has  been  correctly  observed,  that  peace 
between  Russia  and  Turkey  is  never  any- 
thing more  than  a  truce.     To  the  ceaseless 
aggression  of  the  first  power  must  be  added 
a  fierce    national    antipathy   between   the 
Russians  and  the  Turks,  arising  from  dif- 
ference of  race  and  religion.     These  motives 
produce  incessant  animosity  of  so  malignant 
a  kind,  that  its  fever  is  only  to  be  cooled  by 
frequent  bloodshed.     Prior  to  the  battle  of 
Navarino,  Nicholas  had  been  preparing  for 
a  renewal  of  war  with  Turkey,  and,  in  the 
September  of  1827,  had  ordered  a  military 
levy  of  two  males  in  every  500  throughout 
the  empire.     At  the  same  time  an  imperial 
ukase  subjected  the  Jews  resident  in  Russia 
to   the   military  conscription.     It   may  be 
presumed  that  the  angry  feeling  existing 
between  the  Porte  and   the   court  of  St. 
Petersburg  was  greatly  aggravated  by  the 
catastrophe  of  Navarino;  the  more  so,  as  the 
Turks,  perhaps  incorrectly,  attributed  the 
insurrection  in  Greece  in  a  great  measure 
to   the    secret    machinations   of  the   czar. 
Violent    recriminations    accordingly    took 
place,  and  it  soon  appeared  that  both  na- 
tions  had    resolved   on   war.     The   sultan 
accused  the  Russians  of  secretly  encouraging 
the  insurgent  Greeks ;  with  having  assisted 
in  the  destruction  of  his  fleet  at  Navarino, 
and    violated    the    treaty    of    Bucharest. 
Nicholas  replied   by  a  manifesto,  accusing 
the  Porte  of  having  excited  the  Circassians 
to  revolt,  and  invited  them  to  adopt  Mo- 
hammedanism;  with    the   violation   of  all 
treaties  made  in  favour  of  its  Christian  sub- 
jects; with  having  arbitrarily  fettered  the 
commerce  of  the  Black   Sea,  violated  the 
amnesty  granted  to  the  Servians,  and  sup- 
ported the  Persians  in  their  recent  war  with 
Russia. 

For  some  months  each  empire  was  occu- 
pied with  extensive  military  preparations. 
HostDities  commenced  iu  May,  1828^  when 
62 


General  Wittgenstein  crossed  the  Pruth  at 
the  head  of  150,000  men,  and  in  a  short 
time  took  possession  of  Jassy  and  Bucharest, 
the  capitals  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia. 
Turkey  was  fearfully  weakened,  in  a  military 
point  of  view,  by  the  breaking-up  and  de- 
struction of  the  Janissaries — an  act  which 
Mahmoud  had  considered  as  inevitable, 
en  account  of  their  insolent  and  mutinous 
behaviour.  The  energetic  sultan  believed 
that  his  new  troops,  organised  after  the 
European  system,  would  at  once  behave  as 
well  as  European  armies,  and  make  up  their 
numerical  loss  by  their  superior  efficiency 
in  the  field.  In  this,  however,  he  was  mis- 
taken ;  in  exterminating  the  Janissaries  he 
had  crushed  the  military  strength  of  his 
empire  :  his  military  reforms  were  extremely 
unpopular;  and  the  fanatical  Mussulmau 
held  aloof  from  the  service  of  the  state 
rather  than  adopt  the  costume  and  military 
tactics  of  the  hated  Christians. 

Still  the  sultan  proclaimed  a  holy  war  in 
defence  of  the  religion  of  the  prophet,  and 
thus  succeeded  in  collecting  a  very  formi- 
dable force,  amounting  to  scarcely  less  than 
100,000  men,  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube, 
and  as  many  more  in  Asia  Minor,  where 
General  Paskiewitch  was  in  the  command  of 
a  Russian  army. 

The  Russians  forced  the  passage  of  the 
Danube  in  the  month  of  June ;  and,  on  the 
20th  of  that  month,  took  the  fortress  of 
Kustendji,  by  which  means  they  acquired  a 
fortified  harbour  on  the  Black  Sea,  from 
which  they  could  obtain  supplies  for  their 
troops.  They,  however,  suffered  great  loss 
while  prosecuting  the  siege  of  Brahilov. 
On  the  first  assault  the  Russians  were  re- 
pulsed with  great  slaughter,  no  less  than 
3,000  of  them  being  killed  or  wounded 
around  the  breach.  The  following  day,  the 
18th  of  June,  the  Turkish  governor  capitu- 
lated, and  the  Turks  were  allowed  to  retire 
from  the  town  with  the  honours  of  war. 
The  captors  found  270  guns  on  the  ramparts, 
and  17,000  pounds  of  powder  in  the  maga- 
zines, together  with  immense  stores  of  wood 
and  provisions.  The  Russians  also  ob- 
tained further  successes;  and  several  for- 
tresses, in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Danube, 
surrendered  to  them  with  a  rapidity  which 
engendered  a  suspicion  of  treachery  on  the 
part  of  thope  entrusted  with  the  defence  of 
them. 

The  sultan  was,  nevertheless,  indefatigable 
in  his  efforts  to  defend  his  empire,  and  occu- 
pied himself  constantly  in  organisiDg  troops, 


A.D.  1828.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  with  turkey. 


and  sending  reinforcements  to  the  theatre 
of  war.  A  reserve  was  formed  at  Adrianople 
to  relieve  any  point  that  might  be  threatened 
in  the  line  of  defence,  and  orders  were  issued 
to  harass  the  enemy  in  every  way,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  avoid  general  actions.  Yet 
success  favoured  the  Russians,  who,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Nava- 
rino, had  acquired  the  superiority  at  sea. 
To  this  they  owed  the  capture,  on  the  11th 
of  June,  of  Anapa — a  fortress  on  the  Asiatic 
shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  regarded  as 
valuable  as  being  a  safe  and  convenient 
harbour  on  that  dangerous  coast.  On  the 
8th  of  July  the  first  engagement  of  the 
campaign  in  the  open  field  took  place  at 
Bazardjik,  where  the  Russians  experienced 
a  defeat,  and  sustained  a  loss  of  1,200  men. 
This  check  induced  the  emperor  Nicholas, 
who  had  accompanied  his  troops,  to  wait 
for  reinforcements  before  he  resumed  the 
struggle. 

The  Russians  resumed  their  march  on 
the  15th  of  July,  and  their  advanced  guard 
w^as  again  engaged  and  worsted  by  the 
Turkish  cavalry.  In  another  cavalry  action, 
which  took  place  before  Shumla,  the  Turks, 
after  effecting  several  brilliant  charges,  were 
compelled  to  retire  before  the  Russian  ar- 
tillery. Nicholas  intended  to  attack  Shumla, 
which  is  a  place  of  great  strength,  and  re- 
garded as  the  key  to  the  Balkan;  but  a 
nearer  acquaintance  with  the  difficulties 
inseparable  from  such  an  attempt,  induced 
liim  to  abandon  the  design.  Leaving,  there- 
fore, a  corps  of  30,000  men  to  watch  Shumla, 
lie  directed  his  efforts  to  the  reduction  of 
Varna,  in  which  proceeding  he  could  be 
assisted  by  his  fleet.  It  was  necessary  to 
accomplish  some  success  to  sustain  the 
prestige  of  the  Russian  arms;  for  the  result 
of  the  campaign  had  not  been  very  favour- 
able to  them.  Its  issue  was  doubtful ;  pes- 
tilential fevers  had  made  their  appearance 
amongst  the  troops;  the  hospitals  were 
crowded  with  sick,  and  cases  of  the  plague 
had  occurred.  The  invading  army  had  lost 
about  half  its  number;  for  sickness  had,  as 
is  always  the  case  in  campaigns  conducted 
in  an  enemy's  country,  proved  far  more 
fatal  than  the  sword.  The  siege  of  Varna 
proceeded  slowly,  for  the  Turkish  garrison 
made  constant  sallies,  and  fought  with  an 
intrepidity  that  cost  the  Russians  a  vast 
number  of  men.  A  Turkish  detachment 
from  the  reserve  at  Adrianople,  also  at- 
tempted to  relieve  the  town;  and  though 
they  did  not  succeed  in  doing  so,  they  yet 


inflicted  some  severe  reverses  on  the  Rus- 
sians. The  siege  was  still  pressed  forward ; 
and  although  the  defence  was  heroically 
mairitained,  the  governor  became  at  length 
sensible  that  eventual  surrender  was  inevit- 
able. It  capitulated  on  the  11th  of  Octo- 
ber, the  garrison,  amounting  to  6,800  men, 
becoming  prisoners  of  war.  No  less  than 
162  pieces  of  cannon  were  taken  by  the 
victors,  besides  great  stores  of  ammunition 
and  provisions.  The  capitulation  was  con- 
ducted by  Jussuf  Pasha,  the  second  in  com- 
mand, without  the  consent  of  his  superior. 
The  rumours  of  treachery  which  this  man's 
conduct  occasioned,  were  soon  confirmed  by 
the  fact  of  his  sailing  away  in  a  Russian 
frigate  to  Odessa,  where  he  shortly  after- 
wards received  a  grant  of  lands  in  the 
Crimea  from  the  emperor  Nicholas,  on  the 
pretence  of  compensating  him  for  the  loss  of 
his  Turkish  estates,  which  had  been  confis- 
cated at  the  command  of  the  sultan. 

Varna  had  fallen;  but  the  important 
fortress  of  Sili  stria,  which  had  been  for 
some  time  blockaded  by  the  Russians,  suc- 
cessfully defied  its  enemies.  An  attempt  to 
invest  it,  in  the  hope  of  compelling  it  to 
surrender  before  the  coming  on  of  winter, 
was  frustrated  by  the  autumnal  storms. 
The  Russians  then  found  it  necessary  to 
raise  the  blockade,  and  to  retreat  behind 
the  Danube.  This  chequered  campaign,  in 
fact,  terminated  with  the  capitulation  of 
Varna,  and  the  emperor  Nicholas  em- 
barked, on  the  14th  of  October,  on  board 
a  vessel  named  the  Empress-mother,  for 
Odessa.  During  the  voyage  the  ship  was 
overtaken  by  a  tempest ;  and  the  peril  was 
so  great,  that  all  on  board  gave  themselves 
up  for  lost.  Nicholas  alone,  it  is  said, 
preserved  a  dignified  demeanour;  and  on 
the  captain  proposing  to  run  the  vessel 
ashore,  declared,  that  he  would  sooner  die 
than  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  sultan.  A 
change  in  the  wind  saved  him  from  either 
fate;  and  the  vessel  at  length  reached 
Odessa,  after  the  crew  hat!  sustained  great 
toil  and  sufferings.  The  retreat  of  the 
main  Russian  army  towards  the  Danube 
was,  in  consequence  of  the  severity  of  the 
weather,  the  bad  roads,  and  the  harassing 
attacks  of  the  fierce  Turkish  cavalry,  at- 
tended with  so  many  disasters,  and  so  great 
a  loss  of  life,  that  eye-witnesses  of  both 
instituted  comparisons  between  it  and  the 
terrible  retreat  of  the  French  from  Moscow 
in  1812.  After  suffering  fearful  hardships, 
the  miserable  Russian  columns  reached  the 

63 


^ 


.        t 


WAR  WITH  TURKEY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1829. 


Danube,  which  they  crossed,  and  took  up 
their  winter  quarters  in  Wallachia. 

In  Asia  the  Russians,  under  the  able 
General  Paskiewitch,  were  more  successful, 
though  their  force  did  not  exceed  26,000 
men.  Paskiewitch  laid  siege  to  the  strongly- 
fortified  town  of  Kars,  and  captured  it, 
despite  its  reputation  for  impregnability. 
The  garrison,  numbering  7,000  men,  were 
made  prisoners ;  while  129  pieces  of  cannon, 
22  mortars,  33  standards,  and  immense 
stores  of  ammunition,  became  the  spoil  of 
the  victors.  Akhalzikh,  a  strong  fortress 
between  Kars  and  the  Black  Sea,  next 
succumbed  to  the  Russians;  and  during 
the  progress  of  the  siege,  a  severe  conflict, 
or  rather  battle,  took  place,  in  which  the 
Turks  suffered  a  decided  defeat.  The 
forts  Alskhur  and  Ardagan  were  also 
reduced,  and  preparations  made  for  an 
advance  on  Erzeroum,  the  capital  of  Asia 
Minor,  in  the  next  campaign ;  the  present 
one  terminating  with  some  comparatively 
unimportant  though  successful  operations. 

Before  the  resumption  of  hostilities  in 
the  following  year,  the  Russian  ambassador 
to  Persia  was  assassinated  at  Teheran — a 
circumstance   which  created   great   excite- 
ment, and  seemed  to  promise  a  renewal 
of  war  with  that  country.     Reports   were 
circulated,  that  an  offensive  and  defensive 
alliance   had  been  made   between   Turkey 
and  Persia.    The  Asiatic  provinces,  which, 
from  prudential  motives,  had  courted  the 
alliance  of  the  Russian  general,  now  ex- 
hibited signs  of  hostility ;    and  the  Turks 
were   encouraged  to  make    an  attempt  to 
recover  the  town  and  fortress  of  Akhalzikh. 
In  the  spring  of  1829  the  Russians  were 
besieged  there  by  the  Turks.     The  garrison 
suffered    severely   from   the   fire   of    their 
assailants,  and  was  reduced  to  a  state  of 
extreme    peril.      They,   however,   rejected 
every   summons    to    surrender,   and  were 
saved  by  the  arrival  of  a  relieving  force, 
which  succeeded  in  compelling  the  Turks  to 
raise   the   siege.     This   event  induced  the 
Persian  government  to  change  its  policy. 
Abandoning  its  threatening   attitude,  and 
disbanding   its   armaments,  it  sought  and 
obtained  the  restoration  of  amicable  rela- 
tions with  Russia. 

We  must  now  turn  from  the  hostilities 
between  the  Turks  and  Russians  in  Asia,  to 
those  which  took  place  between  them  in 
Europe,  during  the  memorable  campaign  of 
1829.  Each  side  had  made  great  efforts, 
during  the  winter,  to  recruit  its  forces ;  but 
64 


a  spirit  of  disaffection  prevailed  amongst  the 
Turks,  who  soon  suffered  severely  for  this 
want  of  loyalty  towards  their  sultan,  and 
of  union  among  themselves.  Not  more 
than  100,000  Ottomans  could  be  collected 
to  defend  the  line  of  the  Balkan,  and  of 
these  about  half  were  required  to  garrison 
the  various  fortresses  on  the  Danube.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Russians  commenced 
the  campaign  with  an  army  which  rein- 
forcements had  restored  to  its  original 
strength  of  150,000  men,  who  had  with 
them  540  guns,  and  enormous  stores  of 
every  requisite.  The  command  was  now 
given  to  General  Diebitch,  who  had  long 
acquired  a  great  reputation  for  military 
talent.  The  Russians  had  a  far  greater 
superiority  at  sea ;  and  while  with  one  fleet 
they  blockaded  the  Bosphorus,  with  another 
they  shut  in  the  Dardanelles.  Constanti- 
nople itself  was  thus  threatened  with  famine, 
from  the  loss  of  great  part  of  its  supplies ; 
and  as  the  Turks  had  no  maritime  power  of 
sufficient  strength  to  meet  their  foes,  the 
latter  had  the  entire  command  of  the  sea 
during  the  whole  of  the  war. 

The  plan  of  the  Russians  was,  to  besiege 
Silistria,   Roudschuck,  and   Shumla;  and, 
after  taking  those  places,  to  cross  the  range 
of  the    Balkans,    and    direct   their   march 
towards  Constantinople.     After  some  fierce 
but    undecisive    actions   had   taken    place 
between   detachments   of    the    contending 
armies,   Silistria  was   again   invested    with 
a  force  of  35,000  men ;  while  its  garrison 
consisted  of  less  than  10,000.     To  relate 
the  particulars  of  the  siege,  is  neither  pos- 
sible nor  necessary  in  a  work  of  this  limit. 
During  its  continuance,  the  battle  of  Kou- 
leftscha  was  fought,  on  the  11th  of  June. 
Victory,  which  at  first  favoured  the  Turks, 
finally  remained   with   the   Russians,  who 
slew  5,000  of  the  Moslems,  and  captured 
1,500,  though   at   a   great   cost  of  hfe  to 
themselves.     By   the    30th    of   the   same 
month,    the    ramparts    of     Silistria    were 
breached;    and,  as   further   resistance  was 
regarded  as  hopeless,  the  pashas  who  com- 
manded   surrendered    the    town    to    the 
enemy,  and  the  garrison   as  prisoners   of 
war. 

Possessed  of  Silistria,  Diebitch  made  in- 
stant preparations  for  passing  the  Balkan ; 
at  the  same  time  diverting  the  attention 
of  the  Turks  by  apparent  preparations  for 
an  attack  on  Shumla.  The  Aides  Pass, 
through  the  chain  of  the  Balkans,  is  re- 
garded as  the  easiest,  as  a  chasm  at  that 


A.D.  1829.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[treaty  of  adrianople. 


spot  renders  the  ascent  but  slight :  yet  the 
Porte   had   been   so  negligent   as  to  leave 
tliis  pass  comparatively  undefended.     The 
Turks  were  compelled  to  retire  after  some 
slight  encounters ;  and  the  famous  moun- 
tain barrier,  which  defends  Constantinople 
from    its    European   foes,    was    passed   in 
triumph.      The    grand   vizier,    on    learning 
what  was  going  forward,  detached  10,000 
men  from  Shumla,  to  oppose  the  passage  of 
the   Russians;    but  they  arrived   too  late, 
and  returned  with  the  exaggerated  intelli- 
gence, that  the   Russian  force  which  had 
entered  Roumelia  was  more  numerous  than 
the  leaves  of  the  forest  and  the  sand  of  the 
sea.     In   point  of  fact,   Diebitch   and   the 
Russians  who  had    penetrated  so  far  into 
Turkey,   were  in    great  danger;    and    had 
the  Turks  shown  the  energy  which  they 
occasionally  displayed,  they  might  have  cut 
their  adventurous  foes  to  pieces.     Diebitch, 
however,    concealed    his   weakness    by   ad- 
hering  to  offensive  measures;  and,  on  the 
11th   of  August,    he    attacked    a    body   of 
Turks  at   Sliwno,  and  put  them  to  flight. 
The  Ottoman  array  retired  before  the  in- 
vaders, who   succeeded  in  reaching  Adri- 
anople, the  ancient  capital  of  the  empire, 
which  at  once  surrendered  to  them. 

Great  was  the  consternation,  not  only  at 
Constantinople,  but  at  the  capitals  of  all  the 
great  powers  of  Europe,  where  statesmen 
were  both  astonished  and  alarmed  at  the 
progress    of  the    Russian  arms.     England 
and  Austria  especially  interfered  to  bring 
about  an  accommodation  between  the  bel- 
ligerents, and  to  prevent  that  destruction 
of  the  balance  of  power  which  must  have 
resulted    from    the    conquest    of    Turkey. 
They  even  entered  into  a  secret  convention 
to  prevent  such  a  catastrophe  by  the  power 
of  the  sword  ;  and  the  English  admiral  in 
the    Mediterranean   was    ordered,   in    the 
event  of  the  Russians  proving  obdurate,  to 
attack  their  fleet  in  the  Greek  waters,  and 
carry    it    as    a    security   to    Malta.       The 
efforts  of  European  diplomatists,  combined 
with  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  force  of 
Diebitch  at  Adrianople,  together  with  the 
Turkish  reverses  in  Asia,  induced  Sultan 
Mahmoud  to  consent  to  the  treaty  of  peace, 
which  was  signed  on  the  14th  of  S'eptember, 
1829.     This  peace— one  of  the  most  disas- 
trous recorded  in  Turkish  history— is  known 
as  the  "  Treaty  of  Adrianople." 

The  emperor  Nicholas,  in  deference  to 
the  opinion  of  Europe,  publicly  disclaimed 
all  intention  to  aggrandise  his  dominions ; 


VOL.  II, 


K 


and  he  restored  to  the  sultan  the  principali- 
ties of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia,  together 
with    all    his    conquests   in   Bulgaria   and 
Roumelia,  with  the  exception  of  the  islands 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Danube.     Many  of  the 
conquests    in    Asia   Minor    were    likewise 
restored  to  Turkey;    but   Russia  retained 
the  fortresses  of  Anapa.   Poli,   Akhalzikh, 
Alzkow,  and  Akhalkalski.     The  territorial 
losses  of  Turkey  were  thus  far  smaller  than 
might  have  been  anticipated  under  the  cir- 
curastances;    but    Russia    obtained    many 
advantages  at  the  expense   of  her  recent 
foe.     Amongst  these,  were  liberty  to  trade 
in  all  parts  of  the  Turkish  empire;  a  free 
passage  of  the  Dardanelles  for  all   Russian 
merchant  vessels ;  and  the  undisturbed  navi- 
gation of  the  Black  Sea.     Turkey  was  also 
to  pay  the  sura  of  upwards  of  ig5,000,000 
for  the  expenses  of  the  war;  nor  were  the 
Turkish  territories  to  be  abandoned  by  the 
Russian  troops  until  the  debt  was  fully  dis- 
charged.     Arrangements    were    also    made 
with   respect  to  Wallachia  and  Moldavia, 
which    abrogated    the    sovereignty   of    the 
Porte  with  respect  to  these   principalities, 
and  gave  to  Russia  a  protectorate   power 
over  them.     The  hospodars  were  in  future 
to  be  elected  for  life,  and  not,  as  hitherto, 
for  seven  years  only ;  and  no  Turkish  pasha 
or  officer  was  to  be  allowed  to  interfere,  in 
any  respect,  in  their  affairs.     "  The  better 
to  secure"— so  ran  the  terms  of  the  treaty — 
"the  future  inviolability  of  Moldavia  and 
Wallachia,  the  Sublime  Porte  engaged  not 
to  maintain  any  fortified  post,  or  any  Mus- 
sulman establishment,  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Danube;  that  the  towns  situated  on  the 
left  bank,  including   Giurgevo,   should   be 
restored  to  Wallachia,  and  their  fortifica- 
tions never  restored;  and  all  Mussulmans 
holding  possessions  on  the  left  bank,  were 
to  be  bound  to  sell  them  to  the  natives  in 
the  space  of  eighteen  months.    The  govern- 
ment of  the  hospodars  was  to  be  entirely 
independent  of  Turkey ;  and  they  were  to 
be  liberated  from  the  quota  of  provisions 
they  had  hitherto  been  bound  to  furnish  to 
Constantinople  and   the  fortresses  on  the 
Danube.     They  were  to  be  occupied  by  the 
Russian  troops  till  the  indemnity  was  fully 
paid  up,  for  which  ten  years  were  allowed ; 
and   to  be   relieved  of  all   tribute  to  the 
Porte  during  their  occupation,  and  for  two 
years  after  it  had  ceased/^ 

This  treaty,  which  stabbed  the  pride  of 
Turkey,  saved  Diebitch  and  the  Russian 
forces    at    Adrianople    from    destruction. 

65 


V 


'W  -■ 


\ 


DISSATISFACTION  OF  ENGLAND.]        HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1829. 


Emaciated  by  sickness,  dwiiulled  in  num- 
bers, they  might  have  been  destroyed  to  a 
man,  and  doubtless  would  have  been  so,  had 
the  Turks  but  known  their  condition.  By 
the  treaty  of  Adrianople,  Greece  was  defi- 
nitively separated  from  Turkey,  and  the 
Porte  induced  to  acknowledge  its  indepen- 
dence. Russia,  witU  that  subtle  policy 
which  ever  characterises  its  proceedings, 
also  obtained  by  this  treaty  a  right  of  inter- 
ference on  behalf  of  the  Christian  subjects 
of  Turkey,  which  was  utterly  inconsistent 
with  the  dignity  of  a  proud  and  indepen- 
dent state. 

Lord  Aberdeen,  then  secretary  of  foreign 
affairs  in  the  British  ministry,  expostulated 
on  its  behalf  with  the  Russian  government 
respecting   the  treaty  of  Adrianople,  which 
was  viewed  in  this  country  and  elsewhere 
with  feelings  of  dissatisfaction  and  suspicion. 
"His  imperial  majesty/'  said   Lord  Aber- 
deen in  a  communication  to  Lord  Heytes- 
bury,   British   ambassador   at   Russia,   *'in 
carrying  into  execution  his  threatened  in- 
vasion of  the  Ottoman  dominions,  declared 
his  adherence  to  that  disinterested  principle 
which  had  characterised  the  protocol  of  St. 
Petersburg  and  the  treaty  of  London.     He 
renounced  all  projects  of  conquest  and  am- 
bition.      His   imperial   majesty   frequently 
repeated    that,    so   far    from   desiring    the 
destruction  of  the  Turkish  empire,  he  was 
most  anxious  for  its  preservation.     He  pro- 
mised that  no  amount  of  indemnity  should 
be  exacted  which  could  aflfect  its  political 
existence  ;  and  he  declared  that  this  policy 
was  not  the  result  of  romantic  notions  of 
generosity,  or  of  the  vain  desire  of  glory, 
but  that  it  originated  in  the  true  interests 
of  the  Russian  empire,  iu  which  interests, 
well   understood,   and    in  his    own   solemn 
promises,  would  be  found  the  best  pledges 
of  his  moderation. 

"  His  imperial  majesty  added,  that  his 
thoughts  would  undergo  no  change,  even  if, 
contrary  to  his  intentions  and  his  endea- 
vours, Divine  Providence  had  decreed  that 
we  should  now  behold  the  termination  of 
the  Ottoman  power.  His  imperial  majesty 
was  still  determined  not  to  extend  the  limits 
of  his  own  dominions;  and  he  only  de- 
manded from  his  allies  the  same  absence  of 
all  selfish  and  ambitious  views,  of  which  he 
would  himself  give  the  first  example.     Does 


the  treaty  of  AdriRUople  place  the  Porte  in 
a  situation  corresponding  with  the  expec- 
tations raised  by   these  assurances?     The 
answer  must   be  left  to  the  judgment  of 
Europe :  it  might  be  left  to  the  dispassion- 
ate judgment  of  the  cabinet  of  St.  Peters- 
burg.    Undoubtedly,  if  we  look  only  at  the 
relative  position  of  the  two  belligerents,  the 
fortune  of  the  war  might  have  enabled  the 
emperor  to  exact  still  harder  terms.     The 
sultan,  threatened   by  a  formidable  insur- 
rection in  Constantinople,  having  lost  his 
army,   and  having  ordered   the   remaining 
Asiatic  troops  to  retire  to  their  homes,  was 
unable  to  offer  any  effectual  opposition,  and 
threw  himself  under  the  mercy  of  the  Rus- 
sian commander.     It  may  not  be  easy  to 
accuse  of  want  of  generosity  the  conqueror 
who  checks  the  unresisted  progress  of  suc- 
cess,* and  who  spares  the  defenceless  capital 
of  his  enemy.     Nevertheless,  the  treaty  in 
question,  certainly  not  in  conformity  with 
the   expectations    held    out    by    preceding 
declarations  and  assurances,  appears  vitally 
to   affect   the   interests,  the   strength,  the 
dignity,  the  present  safety,  and  future  iude- 
pendence  of  the  Ottoman  empire.'^ 

Reflecting  on  the  chequered  events  which 
led  to  the  disastrous  treaty  of  Adrianople, 
the  historian  Alison,  taking  a  more  favour- 
able and,  we  believe,  more  accurate  view 
of  the  past  than  had  been  done   by  Lord 
Aberdeen,  as  well  as  a  better  hope  for  the 
future  than   had   been   expressed  by  that 
statesman,   observes— "  The    campaigns   of 
1828  and  1829,  though  they  terminated  to 
the  disadvantage  of  Turkey,  are  yet  emi- 
nently calculated  to  modify  the  ideas  gen- 
erally entertained  as  to  the  great  power  of 
Russia  in  aggressive  warfare,  as  well  as  to 
evince  the  means  of  defence,  in  a  military 
point  of  view,  which  the  Ottoman  dominions 
possess.     The  Turks  began  the  war  under 
the  greatest  possible  disadvantages.     Their 
land  forces  had  been  exhausted  by  seven 
bloody  campaigns  with  the  Greeks;    their 
marine  ruined  in  the  battle  of  Navarino; 
their   enemies   had    the   command   of  the 
Euxine  and  the  iEgean,  the  interior  lines  of 
communication  in  their  empire ;  the  Janis- 
saries, the  military  strength  of  the  state, 
had  been  in  part  destroyed,  in  part  alien- 
ated ;  and  only  20,000  of  the  regular  troops, 
intended    to    replace    them,    were    as    yet 


•  This  is  the  language  of  diplomacy,  not  of 
historic  truth.  The  reader  of  the  preceding  pages 
will  have  seen,  that  the  progress  of  the  Russian 
arms  was  not  only  resisted,  but  frequently  arrested 

66 


with  a  sanguinary  severity  which,  had  the  Turks 
conducted  the  war  with  more  judgment,  and  a  more 
uniform  and  sustained  energy,  might,  and  indeed 
must,  have  led  to  very  different  resuiu. 


A.D.  1829.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[affairs  of  POLAND. 


clustered  round  the  standards  of  the  pro- 
phet. On  the  other  hand,  the  Russians 
had  been  making  their  preparations  for  six 
years;  they  had  enjoyed  fourteen  years  of 
European  peace;  and  120,000  armed  men 
awaited  on  the  Prutli  the  signal  to  march  to 
Constantinople.  Yet  with  all  these  disad- 
vantages, the  scales  hung  all  but  even 
between  the  contending  parties.  Varna 
was  only  taken  in  the  first  campaign  in 
consequence  of  the  Russians  having  the 
command  of  the  sea ;  the  Balkan  passed  in 
the  second,  from  the  grand  vizier  having 
been  out-generaled  by  the  superior  skill  of 
Diebitch.  Even  as  it  was,  it  was  owing  to 
treachery  and  disaffection  that  the  daring 
march  to  Adrianople  did  not  terminate  in  a 
disaster  second  only  to  the  Moscow  retreat. 
*  *  *  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  how- 
ever, that  these  startling  results  are  to  be 
ascribed  to  any  weakness,  in  a  military 
point,  on  the  part  of  Russia,  or  any  extraor- 
dinary warlike  resources  which  the  Turks 
possess,  independent  of  their  geographical 
position.  The  strength  which  Russia  put 
forth  in  the  war  was  immense.  A  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  men  crossed  the  Danube 
in  the  course  of  the  first  campaign  ;  140,000 
were  brought  up  to  reinforce  them  in  the 
course  of  the  second.  Yet,  with  all  this, 
they  could  only  produce  31,000  men  at 


the  battle  of  Kouleftscha;  and  when  their 
victorious  march  was  stopped,  only  15,000 
were  assembled  at  Adrianople.  At  least 
150,000  men  had  perished  in  the  two  cam- 
paigns ;  and  that,  accordingly,  is  the  esti- 
mate formed  by  the  ablest  military  historian 
of  the  war.  A  very  small  part  of  this 
immense  fo^'ce  perished  by  the  sword; 
fatigue,  sickness,  desertion,  produced  the 
greatest  part  of  the  dreadful  chasm.  The 
long  march  of  1,200  miles  from  Moscow  to 
Poland,  the  pestilential  plains  of  Wallachia, 
the  hardships  of  two  campaigns  in  the 
inhospitable  hills  or  valleys  of  Bulgaria,  did 
the  rest.  As  Turkey  is  the  portion  of  Eu- 
rope most  exposed  to  the  incursions  of  the 
Asiatics,  so  is  it  the  one  to  which  Providence 
has  given  the  most  ample  means  of  defence; 
for  the  plains  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia 
present  a  perilous  glacis,  which  must  be 
passed  before  the  body  of  the  fortress  is 
reached ;  the  Danube  is  a  vast  and  wet 
ditch,  which  covers  the  interior  defences; 
the  Balkan,  a  rampart  impassable  when 
defended  hy  gallant  and  faithful  soldiers. 
Sterihty  and  desolation,  the  work  of  human 
tyranny,  add  to  the  defences  of  nature.  Of 
no  country  may  it  be  so  truly  said,  in  the 
words  of  Henry  IV.,  '  If  you  make  war  with 
a  small  army  you  are  beaten,  if  with  a  large 
one,  starved.' 


>f 


CHAPTER     X. 

NICHOLAS  IS  CROWNED  KING  OP  POLAND;  THE  VICEROY  CONSTANTINE ;  HIS  DESPOTIC  AND  IRRITABLE 
TEMPER;  THE  OPPRESSIVE  CONDUCT  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  GOVERNMENT  PREPARES  POLAND  FOR  REVOLT; 
INSURRECTION  AT  WARSAW,  AND  FLIGHT  OF  CONSTANTINE;  APPOINTMENT  OF  A  PROVISIONAL  GOVERN- 
MENT ;  GKNERAL  CHLOPICKI  ;  DEPUTATION  FROM  THE  POLES  TO  THE  EMPEROR  NICHOLAS  ;  HE  REFUSES 
CONCESSION  ;  CONDUCT  OF  AUSTRIA  AND  PRUSSIA  ;  POLISH  MANIFESTO  TO  THE  NATIONS  OF  EUROPE  ; 
THE  POLES  PASS  A  RESOLUTION  OF  DETHRONEMENT  AGAINST  NICHOLAS;  THE  APPEAL  TO  THE  SWORD; 
BATTLES  OF  GROCHOW  AND  PRAGA  ;  SURPRISE  AND  DEFEAT  OF  THE  RUSSIANS  NEAR  WARSAW,  AND  AGAIN 
AT  IGANIE;  THE  CHOLERA  APPEARS  IN  THE  POLISH  ARMY;  TERRIBLE  BATTLE  OF  OSTROLENKA ; 
DEATHS  OF  GENERAL  DIEBITCH  AND  OF  THE  GRAND-DUKE  CONSTANTINE  ;  PASKIEWITCH  APPOINTED  TO 
THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  ARMY  IN  POLAND;  REVERSES  AND  DESPERATE  CONDITION  OF  THE 
POLES  ;  SURRENDER  OF  WARSAW,  AND  SUBMISSION  OF  THE  POLES  ;  IMPLACABLE  SEVERITY  OF  NICHOLAS  j 
POLAND  IS  DECLARED  AN  INTEGRAL  PART  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE  ;   REFLECTIONS  ON  THIS  SUBJECT. 


The  emperor  Nicholas  also  succeeded  his 
brother  Alexander  as  king  of  Poland,  and  was 
crowned  as  such  at  Warsaw  on  the  24th  of 
May,  1829.  Animated  by  the  policy  which 
influenced  his  predecessor — naniely,  that  of 
attempting  to  hide  the  spirit  of  despotism 
beneath  the  garb  of  rehgion — he,  on  that 


occasion,  pronounced  a  prayer  containing 
these  words : — "  O,  my  Lord  and  my  God, 
may  my  heart  be  always  in  Thy  hand;  and 
may  I  reign  for  the  happiness  of  my  people, 
and  to  the  glory  of  Thy  holy  name,  according 
to  the  charter  granted  by  my  august  prede- 
cessor, and  already  sworn   to  bv  me;  in 


OONSTANTINE  IN  POLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1829. 


order  that  I  may  not  dread  to  appear 
before  Thee  on  the  day  of  the  last  judg- 
ment." We  shall  speedily  see  how  Ni- 
cholas endeavoured  to  conform  to  this  false 
prayer,  in  which  he  promised  to  govern 
according  to  the  constitutional  charter 
granted  to  Poland. 

Since  the  settlement  of  Europe,  in  1815, 
Poland,  though  it  had  lost  its  independence, 
had    experienced    a    period   of  repose,  and 
enjoyed  an   approach   to   prosperity.     The 
emperor    Alexander    had    endeavoured    to 
conciliate   the    Poles;    and   it  would   have 
been  well  if  the  Grand-duke  Constantino — 
who,  during  his  reign,  and   also  since  the 
accession  of  Nicholas  to  the  imperial  throne 
of  Russia,  had  held  the  dignity  of  viceroy 
of  Poland — had  followed  his  example.    Con- 
stantine,  however,  was  irritable,  capricious, 
passionate,  and  despotic.     Both  in  features 
and  in  mind  he  bore  a  considerable  resem- 
blance to  his   father   Paul;    and    even   his 
sanity   has    been    questioned.      After    his 
marriage  with  the  beautiful  Polish  countess, 
Joanna  Grudzynski  (afterwards  known   as 
the  Princess  Lowicz),  his  savage  nature  ap- 
peared to   be  somewhat  softened  ;  but  his 
good  temper  could  not  be  counted  on  for  a 
moment.    Often,  while  reviewing  hia  troops, 
he  would  fly  into  a  fit  of  furious  passion  at 
any  trifling  matter  which  was  not  exactly 
to  his  mind ;  and,  for  the  venial  off'ence  of 
an  individual,  inflict  some  annoying  punish- 
ment on  a  body  of  40,000  men.    Thoroughly 
penetrated  with  the  precepts  of  the  despotic 
school  in  which  he  had  been  reared,  he  had 
no  feelings    of  mercy  towards   those   who 
forgot  what    he   regarded    as    the   duty  of 
unconditional   obedience   to  the  sovereign. 
He  was  sometimes  deliberately  cruel  him- 
self; and  he  suff'ered  deliberate  cruelty  in 
others,  to  those  who  had   thus  put  them- 
selves,    as    he     considered,     beyond     the 
bounds  of  pardon.     The  proud  and  spirited 
Poles,  who,  in  their  own  opinion,  owed  no 
allegiance  at  all  to  the   Russian  emperor, 
endured  all   this  with   far   more   patience 
than  might  have  been  expected  from  them  ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  the  whole  of  Poland 
wa.s  ready  for  some  violent  outbreak  at  the 
first  opportunity  that  appeared  to  promise 
even  a  remote  chance  of  a  favourable  result. 
This  feeling  was  the  more  powerful  in  con- 
sequence of  the  romantic   and   passionate 
love  which  the  upper  and  educated  classes 
in  Poland  entertained  for  the  principles  of 
democracy,    and   their    thirst   for   national 
independence.      Secret    societies,   for    the 
68 


promotion  of  the  latter  object,  had  existed 
for  several  years  in  Poland ;  and  so  exten- 
sive was  their  organisation,  that  they  em- 
braced in  their  numbers  the  most  enlight- 
ened and  patriotic  men  of  the  country. 

"  If,"  it  has  been  observed  by  a  writer 
on  Polish  history,   "men  have  no  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  their  opinions  publicly, 
they  will  do  so  privately.     When  the  jour- 
nals— the  legitimate  outlets  of  popular  feel- 
ing— were  thus  arbitrarily  and  impoliticly 
closed,  secret  societies  began  to  multiply. 
A  sort  of  political  freemasonry   connected 
the  leaders  of  the   meditated   movement; 
and    its    ramifications   extended    as   far    as 
Wilna.    Their  avowed  object  was  not  merely 
to  free  their  country  and  the  grand-duchy 
from  the  Russian  yoke,  but  to  invoke  their 
brethren  of  Galicia  and  Posen  in  one  com- 
mon  cause,  and   thus   openly  to  strike   a 
blow  for  their  dearest  rights.    But,  however 
secret  their  meetings  and  purposes,  neither 
could    long    escape   the   vigilance    of    the 
police,  which,  since  the  arrival  of  Constan- 
tine  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Polish 
army,  had  acquired  alarming  activity.    Why 
this  personage  should  have  interfered  in  a 
branch  of  administration  beyond  his  pro- 
vince—why he  should  have  stepped  out  of 
his  own  peculiar  sphere  to  hire  spies,  to 
collect  information,  and   to   influence   the 
proceedings    of  the   tribunals   against   the 
suspected  or  the   accused — has  been  matter 
of  much  conjecture.     Perhaps  he  proposed 
to  render  himself  necessary  to  his  imperial 
brother;  perhaps  he  could  not  live  without 
some    bustle    to    excite   him;    perhaps    his 
mind  was  congenially  occupied  in  the  dis- 
covery and  punishment  of  treason.     How- 
ever this  be,  he  acted  with  amazing  im- 
policy.    His  wisest  course — and  the  Poles 
themselves  once  hoped  that  he  would  adopt 
it — was  to  cultivate  the  attachment  of  the 
people  among  whom  he  resided,  and  thereby 
prepare  their  minds  for  one  day  seconding 
his  views  on  the  crown.*     Instead  of  this, 
he  conducted  himself  towards  all  whom  he 
suspected  of  liberal  opinions  (and  few  there 
were  who   did  not  entertain    them),   with 
violence — often  with  brutality.     At  his  in- 
stigation,  the    secret    police    pursued    its 
fatal  career;  arbitrary  arrests,  hidden  con- 
demnations, the   banishment  of  many,  the 
imprisonment  of  more,  signalised  his  bane- 


•  Constantine  does  not  appear  to  have  entertained 
any  such  views ;  we  have  shown  that  he  certainly 
had  no  ambition  in  the  direction  of  the  Russian 
sceptre. 


A.D.  1829.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,     [misgovernmext  or  polaxd. 


ful  activity.  That  amidst  so  many  sen- 
tences, some  should  be  passed  on  indi- 
viduals wholly  innocent,  need  not  surprise 
us.  Where  spies  are  hired  to  mix  with 
society  for  the  purpose  of  detecting  the 
disaff'ected,  if  they  do  not  find  treason, 
they  will  make  it;  private  malignity  and  a 
desire  of  being  thought  useful,  if  not  in- 
dispensable, to  their  employers,  and  of 
enjoying  the  rewards  due  to  success  in 
procuring  information,  would  make  them 
vigilant  enough.  As  this  is  a  profession 
which  none  hut  the  basest  and  most  un- 
principled of  men  would  follow,  we  cannot 
expect  that  they  would  always  exercise  it 
with  much  regard  to  justice.  In  such 
men,  revenge  or  avarice  would  be  all- 
powerful. 

"The  university  of  Wilna  was  visited 
with  some  severity  by  the  agents  of  this 
dreaded  institution.  Twenty  of  its  stu- 
dents were  seized,  and  sentenced  to  dif- 
ferent punishments;  none,  however,  very 
rigorous.  Those  of  Warsaw  were  not  used 
more  indulgently.  A  state  prison  was 
erected  in  the  capital,  and  its  dungeons 
were  soon  crowded  with  inmates ;  many, 
no  doubt,  not  undeserving  their  fate,  but 
not  a  few  the  victims  of  an  execrable 
system.  The  proceedings,  however,  which 
are  dark,  must  always  be  suspected :  of 
the  hundreds  who  were  dragged  from  the 
bosom  of  their  families,  and  consigned  to 
various  fortresses,  all  would  be  thought  in- 
nocent, since  none  had  been  legally  con- 
victed. 

"By  Article  10  of  the  constitutional 
charter,  the  Russian  troops,  when  required 
to  pass  through  Poland,  were  to  be  at  the 
entire  charge  of  the  treasury  of  the  czar: 
for  years,  however,  they  were  stationed  at 
Warsaw — evidently  to  overawe  the  popu- 
lation— at  the  expense  of  the  inhabitants. 
Then  the  violation  of  individual  liberty ; 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  passports ;  the 
misapplication  of  the  revenue  to  objects 
other  than  those  for  which  it  was  raised 
(to  the  reimbursement  of  the  secret  police, 
for  instance) ;  the  nomination  of  men  as 
senators  without  the  necessary  quahfica- 
tions,  and  who  had  no  other  merit  than 
that  of  being  creatures  of  the  govern- 
ment— were  infractions  of  the  charter,  as 
wanton  as  they  were  intended  to  be  humi- 
liating. 

"  The  army  was  as  much  dissatisfied  as 
the  nation.  The  ungovernable  temper,  and 
the  consequent  excesses  of   Constantine; 


the  vexatious  manoeuvres  which  he  intro- 
duced ;  his  rigorous  mode  of  exercise,  fitted 
for  no  other  than  frames  of  adamant;  and, 
above  all,  his  overbearing  manner  towards 
the  best  and  highest  officers  in  the  service, 
raised  him  enemies  on  every  side.  His 
good  qualities — and  he  had  many — were 
wholly  overlooked  amidst  his  ebullitions  of 
fury,  and  the  unjustifiable,  often  cruel,  acts 
he  committed  while  under  their  influence. 
On  ordinary  occasions,  when  his  temper 
was  not  ruffled,  no  man  could  make  himself 
more  agreeable;  no  man  could  exhibit 
more — not  of  courtesy,  for  he  was  too 
rough  for  it — but  of  warm-heartedness; 
and  his  generosity  in  pecuniary  matters 
was  almost  boundless. 

"  But  the  worst  yet  remains  to  be  told. 
Russian  money  and  influence  were  un- 
blushingly  employed  in  the  dietines,  and  to 
procure  the  return  to  the  diet  of  such 
members  only  as  were  known  to  care  less 
for  their  country  than  for  their  own  for- 
tunes. Then,  instead  of  a  diet  being  held 
every  two  years  (in  accordance  with  Art.  87), 
none  was  convoked  from  1820  to  1825, 
and  only  one  after  the  accession  of  Ni- 
cholas. Finally,  an  ordinance  (issued  in 
1825)  abolished  the  publicity  of  the  debates 
in  the  two  chambers ;  and  the  most  dis- 
tinguished members  of  opposition  were 
forcibly  removed  from  Warsaw  the  night 
preceding  the  opening  of  the  diet.^'* 

The  revolution  which,  in  1830,  drove  the 
weak   and    despotic   Charles   X.  from  the 
throne  of  France,  excited  the  enthusiasm  of 
the   Poles,  and   appeared,  to   their  ardent 
hopes,  to  form  the  desired  opportunity  to 
strike  the  blow  which  they  trusted  would 
free  them  from  the  yoke  of  Russia.     Ni- 
cholas, regarding  himself  as  the  champion 
of  legitimacy,   was  furious  at  an  event  so 
subversive  of  its  principles ;  and  he  even 
contemplated  a   war   with   France,    which 
was  suspected  of  inciting  the  Poles  to  re- 
sistance against   him,  when   his  attention 
was  arrested  by  insurrectionary  proceedings 
in  Poland  itself.     Meetings  were  held  at 
Warsaw,  and  the  patriots,  or  conspirators, 
as  they  were  called  (according  to  the  bias  of 
the  narrator),  resolved  upon  proceeding  at 
once  to  extremities.     It  was  at  first  pro- 
posed to  include  the  whole  extent  of  ancient 
Poland  in  the  insurrection  ;  but  this  scheme 
was  abandoned,  because  it  would  elicit  the 
hostility   not   only  of  Russia,  but   also  of 
Austria  and  Prussia.     The  outbreak,  there- 
*  Dunham's  History  of  Poland, 

69 


*   •  .  f 


■  U 


OCTBBEAK  OF  THE  INSTJKRECTION.]     HISTORY    OP  THE 


[a.d.  1830. 


i 


I 


fore,  wa8  to  be  coufined  to  Poland  Proper, 
with  which  Russia  only  was  concerned. 

A  scheme  for  the  assassination  of  Con- 
stantine,  and  the  proclamation  of  a  provin- 
cial government,  was  disconcerted  in  con- 
sequence of  some  suspicions  of  the  police, 
and  the  consequent  arrest  of  some  of  the 
conspirators.  The  viceroy  was  incredulous, 
and  disregarded  the  warnings  conveyed  to 
him.  He  relied  on  his  supposed  popularity 
with  the  troops,  and  persisted  in  declaring 
that  there  was  no  danger. 

The  activity  of  the  police,  and  the  nume- 
rous  arrests   they   made,    precipitated   the 
outbreak  of  the   insurrection,   which  took 
place  at  Warsaw  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1830,  a  day  when  the  Polish  guards  were 
to  be  on  service  at  the  palace   and  in  the 
city.     At  seven  in  the  evening,  a  man  made 
his  appearance  at  the  gate  of  the  barrack  of 
the  military   school,   and   proclaimed   that 
the  "hour  of  liberty  had  struck.""      The 
guard  instantly  turned  out,  and,  together 
with  the  scholars,  marched  in  silence  to  the 
Belvidere  palace,  the  residence  of  the  vice- 
roy.    They  experienced  but  little  difficulty 
in  entering  it ;  for  many  of  the  soldiers  on 
duty  there  were  aware  of  their  object,  and 
favourable  to  it ;  while  those  who  opposed 
them  were  instantly  sabred.     The  chief  of 
the  police,  and  the  aide-de-camp  on  service, 
then  fell  victims  to  the  wrath  of  the  con- 
spirators as   they   pressed   forward   to  the 
chamber  of  Constantine,  who  with  difficulty 
made  his  escape,  together  with  his  wife,  by 
a  private  staircase. 

A  call  "  to  arms"  resounded  through  the 
city,    and    the    insurgents    were    speedily 
joined  by  other  regiments ;  while  the  arse- 
nal was  seized,  and  40,000  muskets  in  store 
there,  distributed  among  the  people.     All 
the   Russian   troops   remained   faithful    to 
Constantine,  and  so  did  a  portion  of  the 
Polish  soldiers.     Several  nocturnal  combats 
took  place ;  but  morning  displayed  the  in- 
equality of  the  struggle ;  and  Constantine 
retired  in  despair  with  the  troops  who  ad- 
hered to  him,  amounting  to  about  9,000 
men,  to  the  village  of  Wirzba,  about  a  mile 
and  a-balf  from  Warsaw.     The  conspirators 
thus  remained  in  possession  of  the  capital, 
and,  to  check  the  rising  disorder,  appomted 
a  provisional  government,  which  numbered 
amongst  its  members  Prince  Adam  Czar- 
toryski.  Prince  Michael  Radzitvil,  the  sena- 
tor'Kochanowski,   General  Lewis  Pac,  M. 
Julian  Niemcewicz,  and  General  Chlopicki. 
The  high   character  which  these  natriotic 
70 


men  bore  amongst  the  people,  enabled  them 
to  preserve  a  degree  of  order,  and  to  pre- 
vent  revolution    from     degenerating    into 

anarchy. 

The  provisional  government  appears  to 
have  been  undecided  as  to  how  it   should 
proceed.     This  might  well  be,  as  it  included 
amongst   its   numbers  the   members   of  a 
council  which,  in  the  absence  of  the  vice- 
rov,  had  been  intrusted  with  the  executive 
power;    and    its   opinions    were    therefore 
necessarily  divided.      Its  first  act  was  to 
issue  a  proclamation,  counselling  order  and 
abstinence  from  bloodshed,  and  it  then  sent 
messengers  to  Constantine,  with  proposals 
for  an  accommodation.     General  Chlopicki, 
though  a  man  of  undoubted  patriotism  and 
personal   courage,   was   in   favour   of    this 
course,  from  a  fear  that  the  attempt  to  cast 
off  the  Russian  yoke  by  force   must   cer- 
tainly fail.     At  the  outbreak  of  the  insur- 
rection, it  is  said  that  he    took  his  com- 
passes, and,   measuring  the   extent  of  the 
Russian  empire,  shook  his  head,  observing, 
"  If  Poland  dares  to  resist,  she  is  lost.'' 

The  deputation  sent  to  arrange  matters 
with  the  Grand-duke  Constantine,  desired 
to  obtain  a  just  observance  of  the  constitu- 
tion established  on  the  settlement  of  Europe 
in  1815,  and  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise 
made  by  the  emperor  Alexander,  that  Li- 
thuania, Volhynia,  and  Podolia  should  be 
incorporated  with  the  kingdom  of  Poland, 
and   detached   from  the    Russian   empire. 
Constantine,   though   unable    to    conclude 
terms  with  the  insurgents  (a  matter  which 
rested  with  the  emperor),  received  the  de- 
putation with  a  courtesy  which,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, was  dictated  by  apprehensions  as  to 
his  personal  safety.     In  fact,  he  found  the 
Polish  troops  who  remained  with  him  were 
rapidly  catching  the  revolutionary  enthu- 
siasm ;  and  he  issued  a  proclamation,  per- 
mitting those  who  desired  it,  to  retire  and 
join  their  comrades  in  Warsaw.     This  act 
was    as  prudent  as  it  appeared  generous; 
for  it  enabled  the  viceroy  to  ascertain  who 
were  really  his  friends,  and  saved  him  from 
the  chance  of  being  made  a  prisoner  by  his 
own  troops.     All  the  Poles  availed  them- 
selves of  this  permission  ;  and  Constantine, 
with  his  Russians,  was  permitted  to  leave 
Poland  unmolested  and  retire  towards  the 
frontier  of  Volhynia.     This  was  an  error  on 
the  part  of  the  provisional  government,  who 
should  have  retained  the  grand-duke  as  a 
hostage. 

At  Warsaw,  the  people  were  in  a  state  of 


A.D.  1830.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [the  polish  iwsurrectioit. 


the  wildest  enthusiasm,  which  was  increased 
by  the  arrival  of  additional  Polish  troops 
from  other  quarters.  Soldiers  and  citizens 
embraced  each  other  in  the  streets,  ele- 
gantly dressed  women  waved  their  hand- 
kerchiefs from  their  open  windows  to  the 
troops,  and  the  church  bells  rang  forth  in 
joyous  peals.  Steps  were  taken  for  the 
formation  of  a  powerful  national  army ;  the 
provisional  government  resigned,  and  Gen- 
eral Chlopicki  assumed  the  command  of  the 
array,  and  the  title  of  dictator,  which  latter 
he  promised  readily  to  relinquish  on  the 
meeting  of  the  diet.  Chlopicki  was  not 
fitted  by  nature  and  education  for  the 
position  into  which  circumstances  had 
thrust  him,  though  great  reliance  was 
placed  upon  his  military  talents,  which 
were  considered  of  a  high  order;  yet  he  was 
deficient  in  that  audacity  and  enthusiasm 
which  alone  can  carry  men  successfully 
through  great  revolutions,  and  would  pro- 
bably i»ave  been  better  fitted  to  assist  in 
crushing  than,  creating  one.  "Accustomed 
to  military  rules  and  subordination,^^  says  a 
living  writer,  who  has  ably  sketched  his 
character,  "  Chlopicki  had  a  perfect  horror 
for  conspiracies  and  the  domination  of 
clubs.  Accordingly  he  kept  himself  clear 
of  the  great  conspiracies  of  1825  and  1826 
(connected  with  the  insurrection  in  Russia 
in  those  years),  and  lived  in  retirement 
down  to  1830.  He  was  inspired  with  a 
thorough  contempt  for  levies  en  masse,  and 
all  those  devices  by  which  the  ardent  but 
inexperienced  in  all  ages  endeavour  to 
supply  the  want  of  regular  soldiers.  He 
dreaded  the  clubs  of  Warsaw  even  more 
than  the  Muscovite  bayonets.  It  was  his 
great  object  to  achieve  the  liberation  of  his 
country,  and  the  establishment  of  its  rights, 
by  other  means  than  democratic  fervour, 
which  he  considered  as  alike  short-lived 
and  perilous.  Thus  he  was  the  man  of  all 
others  least  calculated  to  retain  the  sufi'rages 
of  the  clubs  of  Warsaw,  which  early  ac- 
quired so  great  a  weight  in  the  revolution ; 
and  one  of  his  first  steps,  after  he  became 
dictator,  was  to  close  them  by  a  general 
military  order.  But  he  possessed  an  im- 
mense military  reputation,  and  was  known 
to  have  military  talents  of  the  very  highest 
order,  which  rendered  his  sway  over  the 
soldiers  unbounded;  and  as  his  patriotism 
was  undoubted,  and  his  character  elevated 
and  disinterested,  his  rule  was  for  some 
time  unresisted  even  by  the  burning  demo- 
crats of  the  capital.     He  despised  and  de- 


tested them  as  much  as  Napoleon  did  the 
'  avocats  et  ideologues*  of  Paris ;  and  it  was 
his  great  object,  without  their  aid,  and 
while  retaining  the  direction  of  their  move- 
ments, to  work  out  the  independence  of 
Poland  by  negotiation  with  the  czar,  and 
without  coming  to  open  rupture  with  his 
authority.  But  to  achieve  this  object,  he 
was  well  aware  that  military  preparations 
were  indispensable;  and  his  measures  to 
attain  this  end,  though  not  of  the  sweeping 
kind  which  the  clubs  demanded^  were 
energetic  and  successful." 

From  this  sketch  it  will  be  seen,  that 
General  Chlopicki  was  strangely  misplaced 
as  the  leader  of  a  revolution ;  for  notwith- 
standing his  patriotism,  it  is  clear  that  his 
nature  was  aristocratic  and  conservative, 
and  that  his  lot  should  have  been  cast  in 
other  places.  Indeed,  to  his  repression  of 
the  republican  spirit  at  the  outset  of  the 
insurrection,  are  attributed  many  of  the 
misfortunes  which  subsequently  befel  his 
compeers.  Clinging  to  the  hope  of  an  ac- 
commodation, he  sent  a  body  of  800  Rus- 
sian soldiers,  who  had  been  seized  near 
Warsaw  by  the  Poles,  back  to  Constantine 
without  exchange,  and  the  grand-duke  re- 
ciprocated these  civilities.  But  it  was  to 
the  emperor  Nicholas  that  Chlopicki  was 
compelled  to  address  himself,  if  he  would 
terminate  the  revolution  by  the  pen  instead 
of  the  sword ;  and  Nicholas  possessed  far 
more  decision  than  Constantine,  who,  in- 
deed, had  just  shown  himself  very  deficient 
in  that  quality  so  essential  to  a  ruler  over  a 
turbulent  or  discontented  people. 

Chlopicki,  accordingly,  sent  a  deputation 
to  the  emperor  Nicholas  at  St.  Petersburg, 
to  explain  the  concessions  required  by  the 
Poles.  The  envoys  (Prince  Lubecki  and 
Count  Jezierski)  were  received  by  him  with 
great  sternness.  After  reproaches  for  their 
treasonable  conduct,  and  what  he  was 
pleased  to  term  their  ungrateful  forgetful-  , 
ness  of  all  his  benefits,  he  warned  them 
that  the  first  cannon-shot  fired  by  the  in- 
surgents would  be  the  signal  of  the  ruin  of 
Poland.  He,  however,  offered  an  uncon- 
ditional amnesty  to  all  except  the  leaders 
of  the  revolt ;  but  he  would  make  no  fur- 
ther concession.  This,  in  effect,  amounted 
to  a  refusal  of  all  accommodation ;  and  on 
the  return  of  the  envoys  to  Warsaw,  all 
parties  prepared  for  an  appeal  to  the  power 
of  the  sword.  Nicholas  inquired  of  the 
courts  of  Austria  and  Prussia  what  part 
they  designed  to  take  in  the  event  of  the 


i 


II' 


EFFORTS  OF  NICHOLAS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  183i. 


I,' ' 


I! 


Polish  revolution  leading  to  a  war;    and 
received   answers   from  each  expressive  of 
sympathy  with  him  as  a  sovereign,  and  pro- 
mising to  give  no  assistance  to  the  insur- 
gents ;  to  permit  no  correspondence  to  pass 
from  Poland  through  their  dominions  ;  and 
to  keep  the  harbours  of  Dantzic  and  Ko- 
nigsberg  closed  against  all  convoys  of  am- 
munition or  provisions,  even   though  they 
should  come  from  England  or  France.     In 
addition  to  this,  Prussia  dishonestly  con- 
sented to  sequestrate  the  funds  belonging 
to  the  kingdom  of  Poland  in  the  bank  of 
Berlin,  and  to  place  them  at  the  disposal 
of  the    emperor   Nicholas.      At    the    same 
time,   however,  that   the   court  of  Vienna 
was    making    assurances    of    assistance   to 
Russia,  it — animated  by  a  jealousy  of  that 
power — made    a   secret    communication   to 
the  Poles,  that  it  would  not  offer  any  im- 
pediment  to  the  restoration   of  their   na- 
tionality, providing   they   would   accept  as 
king  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Austria,  and 
that    the  consent  of  England  and  France 
could  be  obtained  to  this  sinister  transac- 
tion.     A  Polish  envoy  was  even  sent  to 
Paris  and  to  London  upon  the  subject;  but 
France  would  do  nothing  without  England; 

and  the  English   cabinet,  with  Lord  Pal- 

merston  as  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  de- 
clined to   interfere    on   behalf  of  Poland. 

France   afterwards    sent  M.  de  Mortemart 

to    St.    Petersburg,    to    see   if    favourable 

terms  could  not  be  obtained  for  the  Poles ; 

but  that  envoy  found  Nicholas  altogether 

inexorable. 

As    might    have   been   anticipated,   the 

Russian    emperor    was    making    immense 

efforts  to  crush  the  insurrection.     On  the 

24th  of  December,  1830,  he  issued  a  procla- 
mation to  the  Russian  people,  in  which  he 

endeavoured   to   excite   them   against    the 

Poles,  whom  he  described  as  their  ancient 

enemies,  who  had  returned  kindness  with 

treachery  and  treason.     At  the  same  time, 

he   collected   an    army   of    110,000    men, 

under  the  command  of  General  Diebitch, 

and  stationed  them  along  the  road  from  St. 

Petersburg  to  Warsaw.  In  reply  to  Nicho- 
las, the  Polish  diet  (which  had  now  assem- 
bled) addressed,  on  the  10th  of  January, 

1831,  a  manifesto  to  the  nations  of  Europe. 

In  it  the  enthusiastic  Poles   thus  poured 

forth  their  wrongs  and  their  hopes,  in  the 

hearing   of    the    continent : — "  The   world 

knows  too  well  the  infamous  machinations, 

the  vile  calumnies,  the  open  violence,  and 

secret  treasons,  which  have   accompanied  '  ful  to  his  promises. 
72 


the  three  dismemberments  of  ancient  Po 
land.  History,  of  which  they  have  become 
the  property,  has  stigmatised  them  as 
political  crimes  of  the  deepest  dye.  The 
solemn  grief  which  that  violence  has  spread 
through  the  whole  country,  has  caused  the 
feelings  of  nationality  to  be  preserved  with- 
out interruption.  The  Polish  standard  has 
never  ceased  to  wave  at  the  head  of  the 
Polish  legions;  and  in  their  military  emi- 
gration, the  Poles,  transporting  from  coun- 
try to  country  their  household  gods,  have 
never  ceased  to  cry  aloud  against  this  vio- 
lation ;  and  yielding  to  the  noble  illusion, 
which,  like  every  noble  thought,  has  not 
been  deceived,  they  trusted  that,  in  com- 
bating for  the  cause  of  liberty,  they  were 
combating  also  for  their  own  country. 

*'  That  country  has  risen  from  its  ashes ; 
and  though  restrained  within  narrow  limits, 
Poland  has  received  from  the  hero  of  the 
last  age,  its  language,  its  rights,  its  liber- 
ties— gifts  in  themselves  precious,  but  ren- 
dered doubly  so  by  the  hope  with  which  they 
were    accompanied.       From    that    moment 
his  cause  has  become  ours,  our  blood  be- 
come his  inheritance  ;  and  when  our  allies, 
and  Heaven  itself,  seemed  to  have  aban- 
doned him,  the  Poles  shared  the  disasters 
of  the  hero ;    and  the  fall  together  of  a 
great  man  and  an  unfortunate  nation,  ex- 
torted the  involuntarv  esteem  of  the  con- 
querors  themselves.     That  sentiment  pro- 
duced a  deep  impression  ;  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe,  in  a  moment  of  danger,  promised 
to   the  world   a  durable   peace ;    and   the 
congress  of  Vienna  in  some  sort  softened 
the    evils    of    our   unhappy   country.      A 
nationality,  and  entire  freedom  of  internal 
commerce,  were  guaranteed  to  all  parts  of 
ancient    Poland ;    and    that    portion   of   it 
which  the  strife  of  Europe  had  left  inde- 
pendent, though  mutilated  on  three  sides, 
received  the  name  of  a  kingdom,  and  was 
put  under  the  guardianship  of  the  emperor 
Alexander,   with   a   constitutional   charter, 
and  the  hope  of  future  extension.     In  per- 
formance of  these  stipulations  he  gave  a 
liberal  constitution   to   the  kingdom,  and 
held  out  to  the  Poles  under  his  incimediate 
government  the  hope  of  being,  ere  long, 
reunited  to  their  severed  brethren.     These 
were  not  gratuitous  promises ;  he  had  con- 
tracted anterior  obligations  to  us ;  and  we, 
on  our  side,  had  made  corresponding  sacri- 
fices.    In  proclaiming  himself  king  of  Po- 
land,  the  emperor  of  Russia  was  only  faith- 


A.D.  1831.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [manifesto  of  the  poles. 


ct 


But  the  hopes  implied  by  these  cir- 
cumstances proved  as  short-lived  as  they 
were  fallacious.  The  Poles  were  ere  long 
convinced,  by  dearly-bought  experience, 
that  the  vain  title  of  Poland,  given  to  the 
kingdom  by  the  emperor  of  Russia,  was 
nothing  but  a  lure  thrown  out  to  their 
brothers,  and  an  offensive  arm  against  the 
other  states.  They  saw  that,  under  cover 
of  the  sacred  names  of  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence, he  was  resolved  to  reduce  the 
nation  to  the  lowest  point  of  degradation 
and  servitude.  The  measure  pursued  in 
regard  to  the  army  first  revealed  this  in- 
famous design.  Punishments  the  most  ex- 
cruciating, pains  the  most  degrading,  were, 
under  pretence  of  keeping  up  mihtary  dis- 
cipline, inflicted — not  for  faults  of  commis- 
sion, but  mere  omission.  The  arbitrary 
disposition  of  the  commander-in-chief,  his 
absolute  control  over  the  courts-martial, 
soou  rendered  him  the  absolute  master  of 
the  life  and  honour  of  every  soldier.  Num- 
bers in  every  grade  have  sent  in  their 
resignations,  and  committed  suicide  in  des- 
pair at  the  degrading  punishments  to 
which  they  had  been  subjected.  The  de- 
liberative assembly,  from  which  so  much 
was  expected,  has  remedied  none  of  these 
evils ;  it  has  rather  aggravated  them ;  for 
it  has  brought,  in  a  sensible  form,  the 
reahty  of  servitude  home  to  the  nation. 
The  liberty  of  the  press,  the  publication  of 
debates,  was  tolerated  only  so  long  as  they 
resounded  with  strains  of  adulation ;  but 
the  moment  that  the  real  discussion  of 
affairs  commenced,  the  most  rigid  censor- 
ship of  the  press  was  introduced  ;  and  after 
the  sittings  of  the  diet  closed,  they  pro- 
secuted the  members  of  it  for  the  opinions 
they  had  expressed  in  it. 

"  The  union,  on  one  head,  of  the  crown 
of  the  autocrat  and  of  the  constitutional 
king  of  Poland,  is  one  of  those  political 
monstrosities  which  could  not  by  possibility 
long  endure.  Every  one  foresaw  that  the 
kingdom  of  Poland  must  be  to  Russia  the 
germ  of  liberal  institutions,  or  itself  perish 
under  the  iron  hand  of  its  despot.  That 
question  was  soon  resolved.  If  Alexander 
ever  entertained  the  idea  of  reconcihng  the 
extent  of  his  despotic  power  with  the  popu- 
larity of  liberal  institutions  amongst  us,  it 
was  but  for  a  moment.  He  soon  showed 
by  his  acts,  that  the  moment  he  discovered 
that  liberty  would  not  become  the  blind 
instrument  of  slavery,  he  was  to  be  its 
most  violent  persecutor.     That  system  was 

VOL.  II.  L 


soon  put  in  execution.  Public  instruction 
was  first  corrupted ;  it  was  made  the  mere 
instrument  of  despotism.  An  entire  pala- 
tinate was  next  deprived  of  its  representa- 
tives in  the  council;  the  chambers  of  the 
power  of  voting  on  the  budget ;  new  taxes 
were  imposed  without  their  authority; 
monopolies  destructive  of  industry  were 
created;  and  the  treasury  became  a  mere 
fountain  of  corruption,  from  whence,  in  lieu 
of  the  retrenchment  which  the  nation  had 
so  often  solicited,  pensions  and  gratuities 
were  distributed  with  the  most  scandalous 
profusion  amongst  the  supporters  of  gov- 
ernment. Calumny  and  espionage  soon 
invaded  the  privacy,  and  destroyed  the 
happiness,  of  domestic  life;  the*  ancient 
hospitality  of  the  Poles  was  converted  into 
a  snare  for  innocence.  Individual  liberty, 
so  solemnly  guaranteed,  was  every  day  vio- 
lated; the  prisons  were  filled;  and  courts- 
martial,  proceeding  to  take  cognizance  of 
civil  offences,  inflicted  infamous  and  de- 
grading punishments  on  citizens  whose 
only  fault  was  to  have  endeavoured  to  stem 
the  torrent  of  corruption  which  overspread 
the  country. 

"In  the  ancient  provinces  of  Poland, 
now  incorporated  with  Russia,  matters  have 
been  still  worse.  Not  only  have  they  not 
been  incorporated  with  Poland,  in  violation 
of  the  promise  to  that  effect  made  by  the 
emperor  Alexander  to  the  congress  of 
Vienna,  but,  on  the  contrary,  everything 
has  been  systematically  done  which  could 
eradicate  iu  them  any  sentiment  or  recol- 
lection of  nationality.  The  youths  at 
school  have  been,  in  an  especial  manner, 
the  object  of  persecution.  All  who  were 
suspected  of  a  leaning  towards  liberal  or 
patriotic  sentiments,  were  torn  from  their 
mothers'  arms,  and  sent  off  to  Siberia,  or 
compelled  to  enter  the  army  as  private 
soldiers,  though  belonging  to  the  first  fami- 
lies in  the  country.  In  all  administrative 
or  public  acts,  the  Polish  language  was 
suppressed,  as  well  as  in  the  common 
schools ;  imperial  ukases  annihilated  alike 
the  Polish  rights  and  tribunals ;  the  abuses 
of  administration  reduced  the  landed  pro- 
prietors to  despair.  Since  the  accession  of 
the  emperor  Nicholas,  all  these  evils  have 
rapidly  increased;  and  intolerance,  coming 
to  the  aid  of  despotism,  has  left  nothing 
undone  to  extirpate  the  catholic  worship, 
and  force  the  Greek  ritual  in  its  stead." 

We  have  quoted  this  manifesto  thus  fully, 
in  order  to  present  the  reader  with  a  Polish 

73 


NICHOLAS  DECTAUED  DETHRONED.]    HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1831. 


view  of  the  wrongs  of  that  country.  They 
were  indeed  heavy  ones,  and  such  as  were 
highly  calculated  to  excite  desperation  and 
resistance  in  a  spirited  and  liberty-loving 
people.  Unhappily,  also,  the  character  of 
the  Russian  government  gives  but  little 
ground  for  the  hope,  that  this  recital  of 
oppression  was  darkened  in  colour  by  a 
spirit  of  exaggeration.  It  is,  in  fact, 
generally  admitted,  that  the  Polish  insur- 
rection was  the  natural  and  inevitable 
result  of  the  unjust  and  irritating  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Russian  government. 

Notwithstanding  the  issue  of  this  mani- 
festo, General  Chlopicki  still  strove  to 
bring  about  an  accommodation  with  the 
czar,  and  sent  the  most  earnest  addresses 
to  Nicholas,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  from 
his  moderation  or  compassion,  that  which 
he  feared  could  not  be  extorted  from  him 
by  force.  When  we  regard  the  nature  of 
the  Russian  government,  we  must  at  once 
perceive,  that  hopes  of  this  kind  were  mere 
infatuation.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  that 
it  could  be  moved  by  entreaties  to  surrender 
a  large  and  valuable  territory,  or  to  modify 
its  course  of  action  so  largely,  that  the  real, 
if  not  nominal,  emancipation  of  Poland 
from  its  control  would  be  the  result. 
"When,  in  addition,  we  contemplate  the 
despotic  and  unbending  character  of  the 
emperor  Nicholas,  the  hopes  of  Chlopicki 
assume  an  air  of  baseless  romance  utterly 
inconsistent  with  the  sober  and  practical 
views  of  a  statesman  and  a  soldier.  Ni- 
cholas was  not  only  inflexible,  but  irri- 
tated ;  and,  in  this  instance,  he  was  backed 
by  the  public  feeling  of  the  whole  Russian 
people,  who  regarded  the  Poles  with  emo- 
tions of  jealousy  and  enmity.  The  czar 
insisted  on  an  unconditional  surrender. 
"I  am  king  of  Poland,  and  I  will  drive 
her,"  said  he;  and  this  galling  observation 
is  an  index  to  his  entire  bearing  towards 
the  patriots  whom,  disregarding  the  bitter 
provocations  they  had  received,  and  the 
peculiar  position  they  occupied,  he  never 
stooped  to  regard  otherwise  than  as  revolted 
subjects. 

The  Polish  diet  would  not  listen  to  the 
arrogant  terms  of  Nicholas ;  and  they  held 
themselves  in  readiness  for  the  inevitable 
war.  The  irresolute  Chlopicki  then  resigned 
his  dictatorship,  which  he  ought  never  to 
have  been  permitted  to  occupy ;  his  delays 
and  frequent  communications  with  the  au- 
tocrat had  given  the  latter  the  requisite 
tame  to  assemble  a  force  which  would 
74 


eventuallv  overwhelm  the  resources  of  the 
Poles ;  while  the  only  chance  of  a  favour- 
able result  on  the  part  of  the  latter,  lay  in 
some  rapid  and  immediate  success  before 
the  czar  could  concentrate  his  scattered 
forces. 

Disembarrassed  of  the  influence  of  Chlo- 
picki, the  diet  assembled  on  the  19th  of 
January,  1831,  to  decide  upon  what  step 
was  to  be  taken  by  the  nation.  "  Poles," 
said  the  president.  Prince  Adam  Czar- 
toryski,  "  our  cause  is  sacred ;  our  fate 
depends  on  the  Most  High ;  but  we  owe  it 
to  ourselves  to  transmit  intact  to  posterity 
the  honour  of  the  nation  enshrined  in  our 
hearts.  *  Concord,  courage,  perseverance  !' 
such  is  the  sacred  motto  which  can  alone 
insure  the  glory  of  our  country.  Let  us 
put  forth  all  our  strength,  in  order  to  found 
for  ever  our  liberty  and  national  indepen- 
dence." He  was  responded  to  by  a  shout 
of  "  There  is  no  longer  a  Nicholas ;"  and 
then,  amidst  enthusiastic  cheers  and  a 
frenzy  of  patriotic  excitement,  the  diet 
voted  the  dethronement  of  the  czar,  and 
absolved  the  Polish  nation  from  its  oath  of 
fidelity  to  him.  A  national  government 
was  then  organised,  under  the  presidency 
of  Prince  Czartoryski ;  a  vigorous  defence 
was  resolved  on,  and  General  Chlopicki 
again  accepted  the  command  of  the  army ; 
saying,  with  a  modesty  which  betrayed  an 
inward  sense  of  his  incompetence  for  such  a 
post  at  such  a  time,  "  I  only  accept  the 
command  in  order  to  hold  it  till  the  war 
has  raised  one  of  those  great  men  who  save 
nations."  Alas  for  Poland  !  it  had  no  man 
of  towering  genius  to  help  it  in  its  ex- 
tremity ;  no  Cromwell,  Washington,  or 
Napoleon  arose  at  the  eleventh  hour  to 
save  it  from  the  crushing  despotism  of  its 
oppressor;  the  hour,  indeed,  had  struck; 
but  the  man  who  should  have  been  equal  to 
the  terrible  emergency  was  not  to  be  found. 
Nature  is  often  a  niggard  of  genius,  espe- 
cially of  that  genius  which  fits  men  for 
great  deeds  on  the  battle-field,  and  profound 
thoughts  in  the  cabinets  of  statesmen. 

The  Polish  army  consisted  altogether  of 
58,000  men,  independent  of  the  expected 
reserve  which  it  was  presumed  that  national 
enthusiasm  would  supply.  About  14,000 
of  the  regular  army,  however,  was  occupied 
as  garrisons  in  fortresses,  and  were  there- 
fore unavailable  for  active  service  in  the 
field.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Russian 
army,  collected  on  the  frontiers  under  the 
command  of  Marshal  Diebitch,   consisted 


A.D.  1831.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[grochow  and  praga. 


of  110,000  men,  and  had  with  it  39G  pieces 
of  artillery. 

The  campaign  was  opened,  on  the  5th  of 
February,    by  the  march   of  Diebitch   to- 
wards Warsaw.     The  Polish  army  retreated 
before  him  to  the  village  of  Grochow,  within 
a  league  of  the  capital,  which  it  now  became 
necessary  to  defend.     On  the  19th  of  Feb- 
ruary a  battle  took  place  at  Grochow,  which 
lasted  the  whole  day;    and,  though  it  in- 
flicted  great   loss   on   both  sides,  did  not 
confer    victory    on     either.     Though    the 
Poles  were  driven  back  some  few  hundred 
yards  from  the  position  they  held  in  the 
morning,  yet  they  felt  that  they  had  gained 
something  of  reputation  by  sustaining  so 
desperate  an  engagement  with  the  Russian 
forces,  and  coming  out  of  the  struggle  un- 
vanquished.     The  Grand-duke  Constantine 
was  present  in  the  battle,  though  not  in 
command ;  and  it  is  said,  that  he  could  not 
avoid  expressing   some  satisfaction  at  the 
conduct  of  the  Polish  army,  which,  under 
his  severe  training,  had  become  one  of  the 
best  discipHned  in  Europe. 

A  truce  of  three  hours,  entered  into  by 
the  opposing  forces  for  the  purpose  of  bury- 
ing their  dead,  was  prolonged  for  a  period 
of  three  days.     On  the  25th,  both  armies 
were  again  arrayed  before  each  other,  in 
order  of    battle,    and   45,000    Poles   were 
confronted    by   more    than    100,000    Rus- 
sians.     Chlopicki   betrayed    his   weakness 
by  shedding  tears  of  passionate   grief,  in 
despair   of  the   salvation   of    his   country. 
Happily,  the  army  had  other  leaders,  who 
knew  the  worthlessness   of  tears  on  such 
an  occasion,  and  the  value  of  resolution. 
The  Polish  spirit  was  high;  and  notwith- 
standing the  great  disparity  of  forces,  the 
patriots    were    resolved    on    braving    the 
struggle.    At  daybreak  the  battle  of  Praga 
commenced,    and    again    the    conflict   was 
prolonged  with  great  fury,  and  with  various 
success,  throughout  the  whole   day.     The 
object  of  the  Russians  was  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  Alder  wood,  the  retention  of 
which  conferred  immense  advantages,  in  a 
military    point,    upon    the    holders   of    it. 
Diebitch  was  successful ;  and,  after  a  san- 
guinary struggle,  drove  out  the  Poles  with 
his   artillery;    but    they   retired    in   good 
order,    and    the    Russian    cavalry    sufl'ered 
terribly  in  an  attempt  to  throw  'them  into 
confusion.      During    the   night   the   Poles 
retired  from  Praga  into  Warsaw,  so  that 
the  advantages  of  this  action  remained  with 
the  Russians ;  though  the  latter  were  still 


unable  to  claim  a  victory.  In  fact,  they 
had  lost  10,000  men  in  these  two  battles— a 
greater  number  than  the  loss  experienced 
by  the  Poles ;  but  this  mattered  little,  as 
they  were  so  much  better  able  to  bear  it,  on 
account  of  their  great  numerical  superiority. 
While  these  proceedings  were  taking  place 
between  the  main  armies  of  the  contendino- 
nations,  a  body  of  Russian  cavalry,  amount^ 
ing  to  nearly  10,000  men,  was  defeated 
and  put  to  flight  at  Sieroczyn  bv  a  body  of 
2,800  Polish  horse  and  foot.  This  circum- 
stance, however,  though  it  necessarily  elated 
the  victors,  added  Httle  or  nothing  to  their 
slender  chance  of  ultimate  success.  Some 
further  triumphs  were  obtained  by  this 
small  division  of  the  Polish  forces;  but  it  is 
needless  here  to  chronicle  petty  engage- 
ments which  could  not  lead  to  decisive 
results. 

The  Poles  were,  in  fact,  much  alarmed  at 
the   dangerous   proximity  of  the   Russian 
army,   under    Diebitch,   to    their    capital. 
That  unfortunate  nation  saw  that  it  was 
beset  with  dangers  of  the  most  menacing 
character ;  and  the  command  of  the  army, 
which    had    recently    been    entrusted    to 
Prince  Radzitvil,  was  conferred  upon  Gen- 
eral   Skrzynecki,    whose    military    talents 
were  regarded  as  of  a  higher  order.     As  to 
Chlopicki,    he   was   rendered   incapable   of 
active   service   by  a   severe  wound,   which 
confined  him  to  his  bed.     Skrzynecki  was 
in  the  prime  of  hfe— an  important,  if  not 
essential,   qualification   in   one  who  would 
lead  a  revolutionary  army.     Having  been 
personally   ill-treated   by  the    Gcand-duke 
Constantine,  he  had  long  acquired  a  popu- 
larity in  the  army,  which  his  energy,  and 
the  courage  and  military  capacity  exhibited 
by   him    at   the   battles   of  Grochow   and 
Praga,  had  much  increased. 

Skrzynecki  has  been  described  as  "a 
pertinacious  negotiator;"  and  his  first 
exercise  of  power  was  an  endeavour  to  ne- 
gotiate a  peace  with  Marshal  Diebitch; 
but  this  he  soon  discovered  to  be  a  very 
useless  proceeding.  Diebitch  had  no  power 
to  do  otherwise  than  execute  the  commands 
of  the  emperor,  and  persevere  in  hostilities 
until  the  Poles  purchased  a  cessation  of 
bloodshed  by  the  acceptance  of  the  galling 
terms  of  unconditional  surrender.  Pre- 
parations were  then  made  for  a  renewal  of 
active  warfare :  the  Russians  spread  over  a 
great  extent  of  ground,  in  order  that  they 
might  procure  supplies  of  provisions  with 
greater  facility ;  while  the  Poles  were  eu- 

75 


BUCXJESSES  OF  THE  POLES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1831. 


gaged  in  throwing  up  fresh  intrenchments 
around  Warsaw,  at  which  the  inhabitants, 
both  male  and  female,  laboured  heroically 
both  night  and  day.  The  Polish  forces 
were  also  reinforced  by  ardent  recruits ; 
and  the  activity  of  the  new  commander 
kept  up  the  spirits  and  enthusiasm  of  his 
troops. 

Hostilities  were  first  resumed  by  the 
Polish  general.  Having  assembled  his 
troops  in  silence,  he  left  Warsaw  at  mid- 
night on  the  30th  of  March,  having  pre- 
viously had  the  Praga  bridge  over  the  Vis- 
tula, and  the  road  in  the  vicinity,  covered 
with  straw,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from 
hearing  his  approach.  His  operations  were 
favoured  by  a  thick  fog ;  and  the  Russians, 
not  suspecting  an  attack,  were  for  the  most 
part  sound  asleep.  So  ably  was  the  expe- 
dition conducted,  that  the  surprise  was 
complete,  and  the  startled  Russians  were 
roused  from  their  slumbers  by  the  mus- 
ketry of  the  foe.  Their  advanced  posts, 
under  Geismar,  were  assailed  both  in  front 
and  flank,  thrown  into  confusion,  and 
slaughtered  in  heaps.  As  they  fled,  they 
were  attacked  by  another  body  of  Poles, 
who  charged  the  fugitives  with  the  bayonet, 
and  killed  and  captured  great  numbers  of 
them.  Those  who  escaped  fled  through 
a  wood  to  Dembewilkie,  where  General 
Rosen  was  posted  with  15,000  of  their 
countrymen,  in  a  position  of  great  advan- 
tage, as  the  soft  nature  of  the  ground  ren- 
dered it  impracticable  for  cavalry  or  ar- 
tillery. 

These  advantages,  however,  did  not  save 
the  Russians  from  defeat,  though  they 
fought  with  great  perseverance,  and  pro- 
longed the  battle  during  the  whole  day — 
the  31st  of  March.  By  the  evening,  how- 
ever, the  Poles  obtained  a  decided  victory ; 
and  the  Russians  fled  in  a  state  of  panic, 
leaving  2,000  men  dead  upon  the  field, 
together  with  6,000  prisoners,  and  nine 
pieces  of  cannon,  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  The  following  day,  the  Russian 
force,  which  resembled  rather  a  military 
mob  than  an  army,  was  pursued  by  Lu- 
bienski,  with  his  brigade  of  cavalry,  for  the 
space  of  twenty  miles.  Whole  battalions 
of  the  terror-stricken  Russians  threw  down 
their  arms  at  his  approach;  and  during 
the  day  he  captured  upwards  of  5,000  more 
prisoners,  many  of  whom,  being  Lithua- 
nians, gladly  entered  the  Polish  ranks. 

Fortune  seemed  disposed  to  smile  upon 
the  cause  of  the  patriots ;  but  Skrzynecki 
76 


wanted  either  the  skill  or  the  audacity  to 
turn  his  advantages  to  account.  He  was 
urged  to  advance  and  attack  the  rear  of  the 
troops  commanded  by  Diebitch  in  person  ; 
but  he  replied — "  The  roads  are  impractica- 
ble for  artillery ;  I  am  chained  to  the  great 
road  of  Siedlece,  and  I  cannot  profit  by 
my  victory."  All  movements  calculated 
(in  the  event  of  their  being  successful)  to 
lead  to  decisive  results,  were  attended  with 
great  hazards,  and  these  he  feared  to  en- 
counter, because  he  had  no  reserve ;  and, 
therefore,  if  his  army  was  destroyed,  the 
Polish  cause  was  lost.  For  some  days  he 
remained  in  a  state  of  inactivity,  after 
which  he  assumed  the  off'ensive,  and 
marched  against  Rosen,  who  was  posted 
with  25,000  men  on  the  Kostrzyn,  covering 
the  approaches  to  Siedlece.  Again  the 
Poles  obtained  a  victory,  on  the  10th  of 
April,  at  Iganie ;  and  the  Russians,  dis- 
heartened by  their  previous  defeats,  fled 
tumultuouslv,  and  left  half  their  cannon  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  troops  de- 
feated on  this  occasion  were  the  Russian 
veterans  on  whom,  since  the  recent  Turkish 
war,  the  emperor  Nicholas  had  bestowed 
the  vain-glorious  title  of  "  the  Lions  of 
Varna."  But  a  sad  calamity  awaited  the 
victors ;  the  terrible  cholera  had  been  ad- 
vancing from  India  into  Europe;  it  had 
already  infected  the  Russian  army,  and  the 
Poles  took  it  from  the  prisoners  whom  they 
captured  on  that  occasion.  This  circum- 
stance prevented  the  Poles  from  following 
up  their  successes,  and  the  Russian  army 
was  thus  saved  from  destruction. 

Yet  the  Poles  were  not  uniformly  suc- 
cessful. Their  right  wing,  under  Sierawiki 
and  Pac,  amounting  to  15,000  men,  which 
had  advanced  against  the  Russians  at  Lub- 
lin, experienced  a  reverse,  and  were  driven 
back  with  the  loss  of  1,500  men.  The 
brave  and  gifted  Dwernecki,  after  achieving 
many  triumphs,  was  defeated  in  Volhynia, 
and  compelled  to  take  refuge  within  the 
Austrian  frontier,  where  he  and  his  men 
were  immediately  disarmed  and  made  pri- 
soners. But  Austria  was  not  anxious  for 
any  overwhelming  success  on  the  part  of 
Russia ;  and  the  Poles  were  mostly  per- 
mitted to  escape  and  return  to  the  patriotic 
army.  A  partial  rising  in  favour  of  the 
Poles,  in  Podolia  and  the  Ukraine,  was  also 
crushed  by  the  Russian  forces  ;  and,  by  its 
misfortune,  helped  to  bind  the  chains  it 
had  striven  to  break. 

While  these  operations  were  proceeding, 


V     V 


A.D.  1831.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


the  main  Polish  army,  under   Skrzynecki, 
remained  in  inaction ;' while  Diebitch,  from 
whose  military  talents  the  emperor  Nicholas 
had  expected  a  speedy  termination  of  the 
war,  was  waiting  for  reinforcements  to  fill 
the  gaps  which  had  been  made  in  his  ranks 
by  Polish  sabres.     He  had  not  fulfilled  the 
expectations  formed  of  him  in  consequence 
of  his  previous  exploits,  and  especially  his 
passage  of  the  Balkan,  in   the  recent  war 
with  the  Turks;  and  it  became  evident  that 
his  powers  were  failing.     The  irresolution 
of  the   Polish  general   at  this    period   has 
been  both  regretted  and  condemned,  for  a 
vigorous  blow  struck  at  this  moment  might 
have   annihilated   the   Russian   army,   and 
inclined    the  emperor  to  grant   the 'terms 
demanded  by  the  Poles. 

This  time  Diebitch,  having  received  the 
reinforcements    he   had   been  waiting   for, 
commenced  offensive  operations.     Towards 
the  end  of  April  he  advanced  with  40,000 
men    to    Jerusalem,    while    15,000   more 
marched  on  Kaluckzyn;   but  he  was  soon 
compelled  to  retire,  on  account  of  the  wasted 
state  of  the  country,  which  precluded  the 
possibility  of  obtaining  supplies.    Skrzynecki 
then    conceived  the  plan  of  attacking  the 
Russian  head-quarters  at  Ostrolenka,  and, 
by  forcing  back  the  Russian  army,  open  a 
communication  with    Litbuauia,  where  an 
insurrection    in   favour    of  the   Poles   was 
making  considerable  progress.     This  move- 
ment he  succeeded  in  effecting,  at  the  same 
time  attacking  and  defeating  the   Russian 
rear-guard  at  Tykoczyn.     Skrzynecki,  how- 
ever, m  accomplishing  it,  laid  himself  open 
to  attack— a  circumstance  of  which  Diebitch 
was  not  slow  to  take  advantage.     The  result 
was  a  general  battle,   which  took  place  at 
Ostrolenka  on  the  26th  of  May.     Tlie  con- 
flict was  a  furious  and  terrible  one;  both 
sides  exhibited  the  most  obstinate  courage, 
and   victory  appeared   to  hang   undecided 
between   them.     In  many  cases  the  com- 
batants fought  man  to  man  and  foot  to  foot ; 
while  Polish  officers  were   seen,   sword  in 
hand,    rushing    to    the   front,    singing    the 
Warsaw  hymn.     At  nightfall  the  fury  of 
the  fight  slackened,  and  the  Russians,  re- 
tiring from  the  field,  withdrew  to  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river  Narew,  leaving  10,000 
dead  or  wounded  men  upon  the  ensanguined 
field.     The  Poles  had  gained  an  equivocal 
victory;  but  it  was  of  a  kind  so  fatal  as  to 
carry  ^ith  it  nearly  all  the  consequences  of 
defeat.     They  had  lost  no  less  than  7,000 
men,  including  270  officers — a  much  heavier 


[battle  of  ostrolenka. 


calamity  to  them  than  the  loss  of  10,000 
men  was  to  their  foes.  A  detachment  of 
8,000  men,  also,  had  been  separated  from 
the  main  army  of  the  Poles,  and  left  in  a  dan- 
gerous position  in  the  forests  of  Lithuania. 
Skrzynecki  summoned  a  council  of  war,  and 

his  officers  strenuously  advised  a  retreat 

a  decision  which  he  unwillingly  adopted. 
The  Polish  army,  therefore,  retired  leisurely 
towards  Warsaw,  and  gloomy  forebodings 
filled  the  minds  of  many  of  the  patriot 
leaders. 

The  sanguinary  battle  of  Ostrolenka  was 
the  last  fought  by  Diebitch.     Knowing  that 
he  had  incurred  the  serious  displeasure  of 
the  emperor,    and  mentally  pained  bv  his 
own  want  of  success,  he  sought  reliefVrom 
the  melancholy  which  oppressed  him  in  an 
immoderate  use  of  the  bottle.     This  probably 
subjected  him  to  an  attack  of  the  cholera, 
which  was  then  raging  in  the  Russian  army. 
He  sunk  rapidly  beneath  the  disorder,  and 
died   at   Pultusk,    on    the    10th    of  June. 
Nicholas,  who  had  resolved  to  dismiss  the 
living  general,  looked  with  a  softened  glance 
on  the  dead  one,  and  the  corpse  of  the  once 
famous  soldier  was  conveyed  to  St.  Peters- 
burg,   where   it   was   interred   with    much 
pomp.     On  the  27th  of  the  same  month  in 
which  Diebitch  breathed  his  last,  the  Grand- 
duke  Constantine  died  at  Witepsk,  in  the 
arms  of  the  much-loved  wife  for  whom  he 
had  sacrificed  the  throne  of  Russia.     Sus- 
picions of  poison  were  at  first  entertained, 
but  it  appears  groundlessly,  and  his  death  is 
now   generally   attributed  to  cholera.     Dr. 
Granville,  an  English  physician  of  distinc- 
tion,   attributed  the   deat^h   of  the    grand- 
duke  to  the  result  of  mental   irritability, 
which  terminated  in  apoplexy.     "  Constan- 
tine,^' observed  that  gentleman,  "eccentric 
always,  tyrannical,  cruel,  died  at  Warsaw, 
suddenly,    in    July,    1831,    aged    fifty-two 
years,  after  having  caused  rebellion  in  the 
country  by  his  harsh  treatment  of  the  cadet 
officers.     I  saw  and  conversed  with  him  on 
the  parade  and  in  his  palace  at  Warsaw  in 
December,  1828.     His  looks  and  demeanour 
sufficiently  denoted  to  a  medical  man  what 
he  was,  and  what  his  fate  would  be.     It 
has  been  said  that  he  died  of  cholera;  again, 
that  he  had  been  dispatched  like  his  father. 
The  physician-in-chief  of  the  Polish  military 
hospitals  assured  me,  some  years  after,  that 
he  died  apoplectic  and  in  a  rage."* 

♦  For  a  remarkable  letter  by  Dr.  Granville,  pub- 
lished on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  emperor 
Nicholas,  in  which  the  severities  and  eccentricities 

77 


DEPRESSED  STATE  OF  THE  POLES.]     HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1831. 


General  Paskiewitch  succeeded  Diebitch 
in  the  command  of  the  Russian  army  in 
Poland ;  but  the  combatants  on  both  sides 
had  suffered  too  much  by  the  battle  of 
Ostrolenka,  to  permit  the  immediate  renewal 
of  hostilities.  Nearly  a  month  was  suffered 
to  pass  in  inaction,  during  which  the  Polish 
general  busied  himself  in  recruiting  his 
shattered  ranks  and  preparing  for  a  renewal 
of  the  struggle.  Gloom,  fear,  and  dis- 
content prevailed  in  Warsaw,  and  the  re- 
publicans of  that  city  lost  all  their  confi- 
dence in  Skrzynecki,  whom  they  suspected 
either  of  incompetence,  or  of  treason  to  the 
national  cause. 

The  resumption  of  hostilities  led  to  re- 
sults unfavourable  to  the  Poles.  The  divi- 
sion which  had  been  separated  from  their 
army  after  the  battle  of  Ostrolenka,  had 
thrown  itself  into  Lithuania,  where  it  met 
with  considerable  success  in  promoting  the 
insurrection  there ;  so  much  so,  that  it  was 
joined  by  some  thousand  volunteers,  in- 
cluding 340  young  men  from  the  university 
of  Wiltia.  But  there  was  no  time  to  or- 
ganise these  recruits,  and  not  even  arms  for 
them  all ;  therefore,  though  this  division  of 
the  Polish  army  proved  successful  in  an 
engagement  with  a  small  body  of  Russian 
troops  which  endeavoured  to  arrest  its  pro- 
gress, it  suffered  a  defeat  at  the  battle  of 
Wilna  of  so  serious  a  kind  as  to  prove  fatal 
to  the  Polish  cause  in  Lithuania.  The  de- 
feat was  followed  by  another  disaster ;  for 
most  of  the  troops  who  retreated  from  the 
field  of  battle,  were  compelled  to  take  refuge 
in  the  Prussian  territory,  where  they  were 
arrested  and  disarmed. 

As  the  Poles  were  constantly  weakened, 
the  Russians  were  as  constantly  reinforced, 
and  their  relative  strength  became  more 
disproportionate.  The  state  of  the  Poles, 
which  had  never  been  too  promising,  became 
desperate;  and  eventual  submission,  with 
its  accompanying  degradation  and  severi- 
ties, stared  them  in  the  face.  Paskiewitch 
adopted  a  different  plan  to  the  one  which 
had  been  pursued  with  so  little  advantage 
by  his  predecessor.  It  was  to  renounce  the 
idea  of  attacking  Warsaw  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Vistula,  where  it  was  defended  by 
the  fortifications  of  Praga,  and,  instead,  to 
march  towards  the  Prussian  frontier,  where 
additional    succours    of    every   description 

of  the  various  members  of  the  imperial  family  of 
Russia  are  attributed  to  the  action  of  hereditary 
insanity,  see  Tyrrell's  History  of  the  recent  War 
with  Mussia,  vol.  ii.,  p.  85. 

78 


awaited  him,  to  cross  the  Vistula  at  Oziek, 
and  to  return  and  attack  Warsaw  on  the 
left  bank.  This  plan  was  favoured  by  the 
dishonourable  and  mean  attitude  of  Prussia, 
which,  sinking  the  dignity  of  an  independent 
state  into  the  insignificance  of  a  crinpng 
vassal  of  Russia,  openly  assisted  the  latter 
power,  and  permitted  provisions  and  muni- 
tions of  war  to  be  forwarded  across  its  ter- 
ritory to  the  Russian  head-quarters.  "  Time 
will  show,"  observes  a  political  writer,  "  whe- 
ther, in  so  doing,  Prussia  has  not  put  the 
seal  to  her  own  ultimate  subjugation."  In 
reply  to  repeated  expostulations  both  from 
Poland  and  France,  the  Prussian  cabinet 
answered,  with  a  despicable  quibble,  that  it 
had  never  professed  to  be  neutral,  but  only 
inactive. 

General  Paskiewitch  had  60,000  men 
and  300  pieces  of  cannon  with  him  at 
Pultusk,  and  a  reserve  of  23,000  behind 
the  Bug  and  the  Wieprz.  To  oppose  this 
force  Skrzynecki  had  not  25,000  men.  The 
Polish  government  made  an  eloquent  appeal 
to  the  people  for  assistance,  commencing — 
"  In  the  name  of  God ;  in  the  name  of  the 
liberty  of  the  nation,  now  placed  between 
life  and  death ;  in  the  name  of  the  kings 
and  heroes  who  have  combated  in  former 
days  for  its  religion  and  independence;  in 
the  name  of  justice  and  of  the  deliverance 
of  Europe ;  in  the  name  of  future  genera- 
tions who  will  else  demand  a  terrible  ac- 
count of  your  abashed  shades  for  their 
servitude,  we  call  on  all  classes  to  come 
forward  to  defend  their  country."  This 
appeal  was  generously  responded  to;  but 
the  hopeful  enthusiasm  which  animated  the 
people  at  the  outbreak  of  the  insurrection, 
now  scarcely  existed  :  it  had  sunk  into  a 
state  not  far  removed  from  despair,  in  the 
presence  of  obstacles  which  proved  insur- 
mountable, and  of  difficulties  which  ap- 
peared endless. 

The  crossing  of  the  Vistula  by  Paskie- 
witch, and  the  approach  of  the  Russian 
army  upon  Warsaw,  on  its  comparatively 
undefended  side,  created  both  consterna- 
tion and  fury  in  that  city.  Such  was  the 
outcry  against  Skrzynecki,  that  he  was 
deprived  of  the  command  of  the  army, 
which  was  given  to  Dembinski,  who  had 
the  courage  to  undertake  it  under  circum- 
stances which  held  out  a  promise  of  little 
else  than  martyrdom.  But  popular  discon- 
tent was  not  alleviated  by  the  removal  of 
Skrzynecki,  whose  inactivity  had  led  to 
suspicions   of  his  fidelity.      Furious  riots 


A.D.  1831.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [surrender  of  wahsaw. 


broke  out  in  Warsaw,  and  armed  and  ex- 
cited mobs  paraded  the  streets,  rending  the 
air  with  shouts  of  treason.     Breaking  into 
the  prisons,  they  murdered  the  state  pri- 
soners, together  with  several  Russians  -who 
were   confined   there.      They   also    forced 
their  way  into  the  palace ;  and  the  following 
day   the   government,    finding   themselves 
unable  to  restrain  the  fury  of  a  people  by 
whom  they  were  not  respected,   resigned. 
One  of  a  more  republican  character   suc- 
ceeded, and  General  Krukowiecki,  a  man 
of  considerable  energy  and  talent,  was  ap- 
pointed dictator. 

It  became  evident,  that  the  termination 
of    this   sad    struggle    could   not   long    be 
averted.     With  the  hope  of  avoiding  the 
terrible  loss  of  life  which  must  necessarily 
ensue  from  the  assault  of  Warsaw,  Paskie- 
witch gave  the  Polish  government  till  tlie 
5th  of  September  to  surrender  at  discre- 
tion, assuring  it  that  these  were  the  only 
terms   he   was  authorised  to  make.      His 
offer  was  still  indignantly  rejected,  and  the 
Poles,  in  reply,  dispatched  20,000  men  to 
threaten  the  Russian  communications,  and 
to    collect    provisions    in   the    surrounding 
provinces.     This   was  an  error,  which  left 
only  34,000  men  to  guard  the  intrenched 
camp  at  Warsaw.     The  city  was  defended 
on  the   left   bank    by  three    semicircular 
lines  of  vallations,   the   most  extended  of 
which  did  not  embrace  less  than  five  leagues. 
The  principal  sallies  were  Wola,  Pariz,  and 
Marymont,  connected  together  by  lunettes. 
This  immense  development,  to  be  adequately 
maintained,  required  an  army  three  times 
as    large    as    that    of    the    Poles.     Certain 
points,  of  necessity  insufficiently  manned, 
must,  as  a  matter  of  course,  fall  into  the 
hands   of  Paskiewitch;    so   that  they  had 
built  forts  for  the   enemy;    and  the  very 
works   which   were   intended   to   stop   the 
besieger,    became    to    him    an    additional 
element  of  success.     To  complete  this  mis- 
fortune, the  points  then  best  fortified  were 
precisely  those  which   the  Russians   could 
not  attack. 

At  daybreak  on  the  6th  of  September, 
the  Russians  commenced  their  assault  on 
the  intrenched  camp  of  the  Poles  at 
Warsaw,  Paskiewitch  having  previously 
ordered  large  rations  of  brandy  to  be  dis- 
tributed to  his  troops.  The  attack  began 
with  a  fire  from  200  cannons,  and  the  storm 
of  destructive  missiles  was  continued  all 
day,  and  responded  to  by  the  Polish  artil- 
lery.    The  fighting  also  was  carried  on  with 


the  most  determined  fury,  and  on  each  side 
the  slaughter  was  terrible.      But  the  force 
of  the    Russians    was    overwhelming,    and 
Krukowiecki  lost  courage,  and  informed  the 
council  of  government  that  all  was  lost,  and 
that   nothing  remained   but  to  surrender. 
During  the  night  he   attempted   to    open 
a   negotiation   with  Paskiewitch;    but  the 
Poles  could  not  be  induced  to  purchase  a 
cessation  of  the  horrors  of  a  sanguinary  and 
hopeless  struggle  at  the  price  of  an  uncon- 
ditional surrender.     The  next  day,  there- 
fore, the  battle  was  resumed,  and  the  Poles 
fought  with  the  fury  of  despair;  but  their 
bravery  was  unavailing  against  the  crushing 
fire  of  the  Russian  guns,  which  established 
such  a  superiority  over  that  of  the  Poles, 
as  to  induce  Paskiewitch  to  order  the  as- 
sault.    Again  the  Russians  were  indebted 
to  the  immense  superiority  of  their  artil- 
lery  for   their   success.      After    a    bloody 
resistance,    several    of    the   intrenchments 
were  taken,  and  Krukowiecki  agreed  to  a 
surrender,   on   condition   that    the   Polish 
army  was  allowed  to  retire  to  Plock.     Tliis 
was  granted,  and  Krukowiecki  addressed  the 
following  communication   to   the   emperor 
Nicholas .—"  Sire,--Commissioned   at  this 
moment   to   speak   to   your   imperial    and 
royal  majesty  in  the  name  of  the   Polish 
nation,  I  address  myself,  through  his  excel- 
lency Count  Paskiewitch  d'Erivan,  to  your 
paternal   heart.      In    submitting   uncondi- 
tionally  to   your   majesty    our    king,   the 
Polish    nation    knows   that   your   majesty 
alone  is  competent  to   make  the  past  for- 
gotten,  and  to  heal  the  deep  wounds  that 
have  rent  my  country." 

The   following  day   the   Russian   troops 
marched  triumphantly  into  Warsaw  by  the 
northern  gates,  and  the  Polish  soldiers  left 
it  by  the  southern.     They  were   followed 
by  the  members  of  the  diet,  and  by  many 
persons  who  had  distinguished  themselves 
during  the   insurrectionary  war,   and   who 
chose  a  voluntary  banishment  rather  than 
a  dependence  on  the  hoped-for  mercy  of 
the  emperor.     During  this  last  struggle,  in 
a  noble  but  most  unhappy  cause,  in  which 
the  natural  rights  of  humanity  were  arrayed 
against  the  overwhelming  legions  of  a  cruel 
and  unyielding  despotism,  5,000  Poles  had 
perished,  and  4,000  more  were  taken  pri- 
soners.     The    Russians   did   not   purchase 
their  tarnished  triumph  except  at  a  fearful 
price  of  blood  :  their  loss,  during  these  two 
days  of  terror,  was  admitted  by  their  gen- 
eral to  have  amounted  to  5,378  in  killed 

79 


m  ii 


SEVERITY  OF  NICHOLAS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1831. 


and  wounded ;  while  it  is  asserted  by  other 
authorities  to  have  reached  the  startling 
number  of  20,000  men  ! 

The  Polish  army,  which  had  retired  from 
Warsaw,  was  followed  by  the  Russians,  and 
summoned  to  surrender,  which  it  indig- 
nantly refused  to  do.  The  struggle  was 
resumed  for  a  (ew  days;  but  the  Poles  were 
almost  without  ammunition,  and  in  a 
miserable  and  almost  destitute  state.  Thev 
were  soon  compelled  to  cross  the  Prussian 
frontier,  and  lay  down  their  arms;  and 
thus  the  struggle  terminated,  after  having 
lasted  nearly  eight  months,  and  cost  Russia 
the  astounding  loss  of  180,000  men.  The 
Poles  had  displayed  a  patriotism  and  courage 
which  elicited  the  admiration  of  Europe; 
and  the  failure  of  their  cause  produced 
sorrow  in  many  of  the  capitals  of  the  conti- 
nent, and  passionate  excitement  in  others. 
In  Paris  the  public  grief  was  so  intense, 
that  for  some  days  the  city  remained  in  a 
state  of  stupor,  and  the  theatres  were  all 
closed. 

The  emperor  Nicholas  was  unmoved 
either  by  the  prostrate  and  unhappy  condi- 
tion of  the  Poles,  or  by  the  sympathy  mani- 
fested for  them,  and  the  execration  poured 
out  against  Russia  in  the  most  free  and 
enlightened  states  of  the  continent.  He 
exhibited  the  most  imphicable  resentment 
and  relentless  severity  against  the  unfor- 
tunate people  whom  the  harshness  of  his 
government  had  driven  into  insurrection. 
Many  members  of  the  noblest  families  in 
Warsaw  were  seized,  and  sent  to  labour  for 
life  in  the  mines  of  Siberia,  or  drag  out  a 
wretched  existence  in  its  miserable  deserts. 
More  were  sent  to  serve  as  common  soldiers 

*  Ivan  Golovin,  a  Russian  exile  who  has  written 
much  concerning  his  country,  observes — '*  If  the 
Kusso-Greek  church  was  tolerant  under  Catherine 
II.,  it  has  ceased  to  he  so  under  Nicholas.  He  has 
forced  the  united  Greeks  to  separate  themselves 
from  the  pope,  and  to  re-enter  the  bosom  of  the 
Kussian  church.  In  Poland  he  has  erected  a  Jias- 
sian  altar  by  the  side  of  every  catholic  altar.  The 
Armenians  of  the  Grejjorian  sect  are  under  process 
of  conversion.  The  patriarch  of  Echmiadzin,  by 
way  of  paying  court  to  the  czar,  has  gradually 
obliterated,  one  after  another,  the  differences  that 
used  to  exist  between  the  Greco-Russian  form  of 
worship  and  the  Armenian.  There  is  not  a  single 
sect,  down  even  to  the  Lutheran  peasants  of  Es- 
thonia,  that  has  not  been  tried  to  be  converted 
to  the  Greek  faith  by  the  bait  of  grants  of  land  and 
enlarged  privileges.  This  bait  has  led  to  some  ridi- 
culous results  in  the  Caucasus  among  the  Osseti- 
nians,  who,  receiving  a  shirt  and  a  silver  rouble  for 
each  conversion,  have  managed  to  get  the  reward 
three  or  four  times  over,  by  being  converted  over 
and  over  again,  in  different  local'Ues.     The  conse- 

80 


in  the  Caucasus  and  other  Asiatic  provinces, 
and  thus  became  instrumental  in  inflicting 
upon  others  that  loss  of  liberty  and  na- 
tionality, for  the  assertion  of  which  they 
themselves  were  paying  so  terrible  a  penalty. 
As  to  the  Polish  soldiers,  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  the  emperor  was  forced  upon  them 
by  threats  of  death  beneath  the  agony  of  the 
knout.  No  gleam  of  generosity,  no  touch 
of  mercy,  irradiated  or  softened  the  harsh 
nature  of  the  czar;  the  victim  was  at  his 
feet,  and  he  resolved  that  it  should  rise  no 
more.  He  determined  on  the  utter  extinc- 
tion of  that  feeling  of  nationality  in  the 
Polish  breast,  which,  from  its  intensity, 
seems  destined  to  survive  all  misfortunes. 
To  effect  this  purpose,  the  constitution 
granted  to  Poland  was  formally  abrogated, 
and  another  form  of  government,  called  the 
"  Organic  Statute,"  introduced.  The  uni- 
versities of  Wilna  and  Warsaw,  as  well  as 
many  minor  schools,  were  abolished,  and 
the  public  libraries  and  museums  carried 
away  to  St.  Petersburg  and  other  parts  of 
Russia.  Various  other  measures  were 
taken  to  destroy  the  nationality  of  Poland, 
to  abolish  its  language,  and  to  overthrow 
its  religion* — measures  which  have  evei 
since  been  steadily  persisted  in.  A  great 
number  of  the  patriots  left  their  fatherland, 
and  emigrated  to  foreign  countries.  But 
the  seal  was  yet  to  be  placed  to  the  mis- 
fortunes of  Poland,  the  stone  yet  to  be 
laid  on  the  grave  of  its  nationality.  This 
was  done  in  1832,  when  it  was  declared  an 
integral  part  of  the  Russian  empire. 

From  this  state  of  national  and  political 
death,  we  fear  that  there  is  no  resurrection 
for  the  Poles.f     Sad  as  their  fate  is,  they 

quence  is,  that  the  official  list  of  baptisms  is  greater 
than  the  whole  number  of  inhabitants,  which  does 
not,  however,  prevent  them  from  still  belonging  to 
their  old  faith.  Not  a  single  Ossetinian  has  ever 
been  seen  in  the  Christian  church  of  Kasbek !" 

t  '*  Is  there  a  Poland  or  is  there  none  ?"  inquires 
Golovin;  who  thus  replies  : — **That  is  the  question 
tirst  put  when  one  treats  of  that  country.  Fitiis 
PolonisD !  exclaimed  Kosciusko  on  the  field  of 
battle,  throwing  away  his  sword,  on  being  made 
prisoner  by  the  Russians ;  since  which  time  those 
words  have  been  repeated  by  less  distinguished 
generals  or  patriots ;  and  so  it  is  not  lost,  but  still 
lives,  or  if  politically  lost,  it  lives  in  the  hearts  of 
millions ;  and  there  is  indeed  something  very  noble 
in  the  feeling  of  those  Poles  who,  notwithstanding  all 
their  sufferings  and  their  privations,  believe  in  the 
rising  again  of  their  country.  '  A  nation,'  say 
they,  *  which  has  a  literature  and  a  history,  does 
not  perish.'  But  the  history  of  a  nation  closes  with 
it,  and  the  Iloman  empire  also  has  its  literature, 
and  that  of  no  mean  kind.  Nations  die  like  indi- 
viduals ;  and  the  absorption  of  smaller  nationalities 


A.D.  1831.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[reflections  on  POLAND. 


have  suffered  extinction  as  a  separate  na- 
tion in  Europe  in  consequence  of  their  own 
errors.  Poland  had  a  selfish,  turbulent, 
and  proud  nobility;  a  superstitious  and 
domineering  priesthood,  and  a  serf  popula- 
tion. These  were  its  faults,  or  rather  its 
crimes;  and  for  national  crimes  there  is, 
in  the  inexorable  march  of  events,  no 
forgiveness.  Thus  it  fell  at  last  to'  be 
absorbed  into  the  gigantic  territories  of  a 
neighbour  to  whom,  at  one  period,  it  was 
an  object  of  dread.  Let  us  trust  that  the 
other  nations  of  Europe  may  profit  by 
the  tragic  lesson ;  that  nobles  may  remem- 
ber, that  a  too  selfish  adlierence  to  their 
own  interests  may  eventually  cause  the 
destruction  of  their  order;  that  priesthoods 
may  understand,  that  a  rigid  enforcement 
of  the  practices  of  a  blind  and  decrepid 
superstition  crushes  out  the  spirit  of  a 
people;*  and  that  the  latter  may  compre- 
hend, that  those  who  are  content  to  live  in 
a  state  of  serfdom  under  a  native  gov- 
ernment, deserve  their  fate,  and  have  no 
security  that  they  may  not  become  serfs 
under  a  foreign  yoke.  On  the  tomb  of 
Polish  nationality  might  justly  be  inscribed 
the  words— "Slain  by  the  vices  of  the 
Polish  nobles  and  priesthood,  and  by  the 
apathy  of  a  people  who  knew  not  liberty.'' 

Poland  perished  by  its  crimes;  and  the 
western  nations  of  Europe  have  been  pun- 
ished ever  since,  for  their  connivance  at  its 
spoliation,  by  their  dread  of  Russian  pre- 
ponderance. Had  they  firmly  resisted  the 
first  partition  of  Poland  in  1772,f  the 
second  and  the  third  partition  would  never 
have  taken  place.  These  reduced  Poland 
to  the  state  of  weakness  which  eventuallv 
caused  her  to  fall  prostrate  and  helples's 
ben^th  the  iron  foot  of  Russia.  In  1772, 
England  did  not  even  utter  a  word  of  ex- 
postulation when  Catherine  II.  and  Frederic 
the  Great  bribed  Austria  to  assist  them  in 
the  first  partition  of  Poland,  by  which  it 
lost  more  than  one-third  of  its  whole  ex- 
tent. England  and  France  stood  aloof,  and 
beheld,  with  apparent  indifference,  this 
inexcusable  breach  of  those  laws  which 
are  presumed  to  regulate  the  intercourse 
between  civilised  nations  :  they  suffered  the 
balance  of  power  not  only  to  be  disturbed, 
but  to  be  rudely  overthrown.  It  is  true 
that  the   time  of  the  imperial   and  royal 

by  larger  is  doubtless  the  goal  to  which  mankind 
are  irremediably  advancing." 

•  A  fact  of  which  Spain  is  a  prominent  and  most 

extraordinary  instance.     The  priesthood  of  Poland 

VOL.  II.  M  ^ 


bandits  had  been  well  chosen.  England 
was  tired  of  its  long  contests  with  France ; 
it  was  already  engaged  in  that  quarrel 
with  America  which  led  to  the  great  war 
of  independence;  and  the  attention  of  the 
English  people  was  engaged  in  political 
struggles  at  home,  where  they  feared  that 
the  bigotry  and  despotic  character  of  an 
ignorant  and  obstinate  young  king,  assisted 
by  a  tory  ministry,  would,  if  not  resisted, 
force  on  them  that  political  servitude  to 
which  so  many  of  the  continental  nations 
were  the  prey.  On  the  other  hand,  France, 
exhausted  by  the  wars  into  which  it  had 
been  plunged  by  the  restless  ambition  of 
Louis  XIV.,  and  its  people  irritated  and 
nearly  maddened  by  an  accumulation  of 
misery,  and  by  the  corruption  and  heart- 
lessness  of  the  mass  of  the  privileged  orders 
both  in  church  and  state,  was  hurryin"- 
onward  to  that  terrible  revolution,  when 
the  sins  of  a  blind  aristocracy,  and  the 
selfishness  of  a  corrupt  priesthood,  were, 
together  with  the  wrongs  of  an  outraged 
and  despairing  people,  to  be  washed  out  in 
a  deluge  of  blood  ! 

Oh !  the  time  was  well  chosen :  France 
was  half  mad  with  her  own  miseries,  and 
the  hands  of  England  were  filled  with  her 
own  immediate  affairs.     There  never  was  a 
period   when  our  exercise  of  the  doctrine 
of  non-intervention  in  the   proceedings  of 
other  countries,  seemed  to  be  more  profit- 
able.     What,    it  might    be    urged,    could 
these  two  countries  do,  when  Russia,  Prus- 
sia, and  Austria,  each  armed  to  the  teeth, 
were  leagued  together  for  a  deed  of  wrong? 
Assuredly  the  question  constitutes  a  diffi- 
culty:   to  this  the  western  powers  closed 
their  eyes;  but  that  is  not  the  manner  in 
which    difficulties    are    overcome.       They  ^ 
must  be    met,   and   met   with    daring   and 
resolution;  and  it  is  better  when  they  are 
met    at    once.     They    are    commonly    in- 
creased   by    delay,    as    this    has    been.      If 
Poland  had  not  fallen,  Turkey  would  not 
be    in    danger    from    the    overshadowing 
might  of  Russia;  nor  would  Prussia  be  her 
vassal,  or  the  Baltic  states  look  towards  her 
with  furtive  and  uneasy  glances.     The  diffi- 
culties of  the  Eastern  question,  as  well  as 
others  in  connection  with  the  pretensions 
of  Russia,    may   almost    be   said    to   have 
arisen    out    of   the    fall    of   Poland:     the 

were  bitterly  fanatical  in  their  adherence  to  the 
tenets  and  forms  of  Catholicism ;  that  of  Spaia 
was  superstitiously  and  savagely  mad.  v 

t  See  ante,  pp.  288,  289. 

81 


REFLECTIONS  ON  POLAND.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1833. 


strength  she  lost,  Russia  gained;  and  the 
acquisition  of  that  territory  opened  to  her 
a  highway^ into  the  heart  of  Euroj)e,  and 
made  her  influence  predominant  tlirough- 
out  a  great  part  of  Germany.  Starting 
from  Warsaw,  the  battalions  of  Russia 
could  soon  thunder  at  the  gates  of  Berlin ; 
and  in  that  circumstance  lies  the  clue  to 
the  Prussian  subservience  to  Russian 
claims,  and  Prussian  complicity  with  Rus- 
sian guilt.  Since  Poland  has  been  ab- 
sorbed by  Russia,  Prussia  has  ceased  to  be 
one  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  and  has, 
we  repeat,  become  merely  a  vassal  of  the 
czar;  a  fact  which  time  will  make  increas- 
ingly evident.  Austria  cannot  maintain 
herself  against  Russia,  for  her  vast  stand- 
ing army  is  required  to  play  the  part  of 
police  at  home,  and  to  force  upon  disaf- 
fected nations  the  hateful  yoke  of  a  cruel, 
intolerant,  and  despotic  government.  Rus- 
sia well  knows  that  now  she  has  but  little 
to  fear  from  either  of  her  great  German 
neighbours.  What  power,  then,  remains  to 
check  those  aggressions  which  she  has  from 
time  to  time  perpetrated  in  the  east,  north, 
and  west  of  Europe?  That  of  France  and 
England,  whose  arms  would,  in  such  con- 
tests, ever  have  been  aided  by  the  dauntless 
battalions  of  Poland,  had  thev  interfered 
to  save  her  from  partition  in  the  hour  of 
her  trial  and  desolation.  Now  the  sabres 
and  bayonets  of  Poland  follow  the  imperial 
standard  of  the  czar,  and  the  revenues  of 
Poland  assist  in  filling  his  treasury :  but 
yet  it  is  France  and  England  who  have  to 
resist  the  encroachments  of  Russia;  alone 
they  have  to  oppose  the  hydra  which  the 
might  of  Poland  would  have  enabled  them 
to  smite. 

"  The  gods  are  just,  and  of  our  pleasant  vices 
Make  instruments  to  scourge  us." 

England  and  France  were  deedless,  and 
even  silent,  in  1772,  and  passive  during  the 
subsequent  partitions  of  Poland  in  1793 
and  1795.  The  punishment  of  this  apathetic 
complicity  was  remote,  certainly,  but  it  was 
inevitable.  For  more  than  half  a  century 
the  "Eastern  difficulty^'  has  been  the 
spectre  which  disturbs  the  tranquillity  of 
their  statesmen ;  and  in  1853  and  1854  both 
countries  were  compelled  to  tax  their  re- 
sources to  the  utmost — to  pour  out  their 
troops  incessantly  upon  the  shores  of  Rus- 
sia— to  keep  mighty  fleets  in  the  Baltic  and 
the  Euxine — to  add  millions  upon  millions 
to  their  national  debt — to  bedew  the  soil  of 
82 


Russia  with  the  blood  of  their  best  and 
bravest  troops;  and  all  merely  with  the 
result  of  administering  a  temporary  check 
to  the  designs  of  Russia.  Surely,  whatever 
the  condition  of  England  and  France  in 
1772,  they  gained  nothing  by  their  con- 
nivance in  the  first  deep  gash  inflicted 
upon  Poland,  and  their  silence  respecting 
it.  Certainly  the  western  nations  were  not 
then  what  they  are  now,  neither  was  Rus- 
sia; in  fact,  had  her  internal,  social,  and 
political  development  been  progressively 
equal  to  theirs,  she  would  now  be  irre- 
sistible. Happily,  despotism  in  some  mea- 
sure disarms  itself,  for  it  emasculates  its 
subjects. 

In  closing  this  chapter,  we  may  return  to 
our  narrative  to  mention  that,  in  1833,  the 
liberal  and  gifted  English  statesman.  Lord 
Durham,  was  dispatched  from  this  country 
on  a  special  mission  to  Russia,  principally 
with  the  object  of  inducing  the  emperor 
to  soften  the  severity  of  his  proceedings 
towards  the  unhappy  persons  who  had  been 
engaged  in  the  recent  Polish  insurrection. 
The  eflbrt  was  altogether  without  success. 
Nicholas  was  not  to  be  moved ;  and  observed, 
that  all  Poland  was  not  worth  the  Russian 
officers  killed  at  Warsaw.  In  fact,  the 
statesman  found  that  the  language  which  our 
national  poet  has  used  respecting  one  of  the 
most  haughty  heroes  of  republican  Rome, 
was  also  true  of  the  czar — that  "  there  was 
no  more  mercy  in  him  than  there  is  milk 
in  a  male  tiger.''  Regarding  the  stern, 
pitiless  haughtiness  of  the  unforgiving  au- 
tocrat, and  his  domineering  pride,  we  may 
continue  the  quotation,  and  add — "  He 
wanted  nothing  of  a  god  but  eternity,  and 
a  heaven  to  throne  in." 

The  emperor  Nicholas  has,  however,  had 
his  apologists  for  his  conduct  with  regard 
to  the  Poles :  they  affirm,  that  his  vindic- 
tiveness  arose  rather  from  policy  than  from 
cruelty  of  disposition.  A  Russian  noble- 
man, while  conversing  with  the  Marquis 
Custine,  observed — "You  can  have  no 
adequate  idea  of  the  intense  intolerance 
of  the  Russians;  those  whose  minds  are 
cultivated,  and  whom  business  brings  into 
intercourse  with  western  Europe,  take  the 
utmost  pains  to  conceal  the  predominant 
national  sentiment,  which  is  the  triumph  of 
the   Greek   orthodoxy"^ — with   them   syno- 

*  Ivan  Golovin,  while  admitting  the  intolerance 
of  his  countrymen,  yet  is  not  disposed  to  believe 
them  fanatical.  He  observes — "  As  regards  the 
fanaticism  of  the  Hussion,  I  do  not  believe  in  it. 


A.D.  1831.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[turkey  and  EGYPT. 


nymous  with  the  policy  of  Russia.     With- 
out keeping  this  io  view,  nothing  can  be 
explained    either   \kl  our   manners    or   our 
politics.    You  must  not  believe,  for  example, 
that  the  persecutions   m  Poland  were  the 
oflect  of  the   personal   resentment  of  the 
emperor:    they  were  the  result  of  a  pro- 
found   and    deliberate    calculation.      These 
acts  of  cruelty  are  meritorious  in  the  eyes 
of  true  believers;  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who 
so  enlightens  the  sovereign,  as  to  elevate 
him  above  all  human  feelings ;  and  it  is  God 
who  blesses  him,  as  the  executor  of  his  high 
designs.     By  this  manner  of  viewing  things, 
judges  and  executioners  become  so  much 
the  greater   saints   in   proportion   as   they 
are   greater   barbarians.      Your   legitimate 
journals  little  know  what   they  are  doing 
when  they  seek  for  allies  among  schisma^ 
tics.     Depend  upon  it,  we  shall  see  a  Euro- 


pean  revolution   before   we    shall  see   the 
emperor  of  Russia  acting  in  good  faith  with 
a  catholic  power;    the   protestants  are   at 
least  open  adversaries;    besides,  they  will 
more  readily  reunite   with   the  pope  than 
with  the  chief  of  the   Russian  autocracy; 
for  the  protestants,  having  beheld  all  their 
creeds  degenerate  into  systems,  and  their 
religious  faith  transformed  into  philosophic 
doubt,  have  nothing  left  but  their  sectarian 
pride  to  sacrifice  to  Rome;  (?)  whereas  the 
emperor  possesses  a  real  and  positive  spiri- 
tual   power,  which   assuredly  he  will  never 
voluntarily  relinquish.      Rome,  and  all  that 
can  be  connected  with  the  Romish  church, 
has  no  more  dangerous  enemy  than  the  au- 
tocrat of  Moscow,  visible  head  of  his  own 
church;  and  I  am  astonished  that  Italian 
penetration  has  not  discovered  the  danger 
that  threatens  from  that  quarter." 


CHAPTER    XI. 

WAR  BETWEEN  MEREMET  ALT  AND  THE  SULTAN  ;  PROSTRATION  OF  THE  POWER  OF  THE  LATTER  •  MAHMOUD 
APPLIRS  TO  ENGLAND  FOR  ASSISTANCE,  AND  IS  REFUSED  ;  HE  SOLICITS  HELP  FROM  THE  EMPEROR 
NICHOLAS,  WHO  EAGERLY  EMBRACES  THE  OPPORTUNITY  THUS  GIVEN  HIM  OF  INTERVENTION  IN  THE 
AFFAIRS  OF  THE  PORTE;  RUSSIA  SENDS  A  FLKKT  TO  THE  BOSPHORUS,  AND  LANDS  AN  ARMY  WITHIN 
SIGHT  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE;    SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  QUARREL  BETWEEN  MEHEMET  ALI  AND    THE  SULTAN  • 

IIJ^!^^''^  ^''^■'^''^  ^^''''  '''"'  ^''''''^  ''"^^  ^^^^'^'^^  0^  UNKIAR-SKELESSI,  AS  A  RECOMPENSE  FOR  HIS 
SERVICES  ;  CONSEQUENT  CLOSING  OF  THE  DARDANELLES  TO  ALL  FOREIGN  SHIPS  OF  WAR,  EXCEPT  THOSE 
OF  RUSSIA  ;  HOSTILITIES  ARE  RECOMMENCED  BETWEEN  THE  SULTAN  AND  THE  PASHA  OF  EGYPT  •  DEATH 
OF  SULTAN  MAHMOUD,  AND  INTERFERENCE  OF  AUSTRIA,  FRANCE,  AND  ENGLAND  ;  BOMBARDMENT  OF  BEY- 
KOUT,  AND  CAPTURE  OF  SIDON  AND  ACRE  ;  SUBMISSION  OF  MEHEMET  ALI  ;  MODIFICATION  OF  THE  TREATY 
OF  UNKIAR-SKELESSI  ;  THE  CAUCASUS  ;  RUSSIA,  BY  VIRTUE  OF  THE  TREATY  OF  ADRIANOPLE,  ASSUMES  TO 
REGARD  IT  AS  A  PROVINCE  OF  THE  EMPIRE  ;  NICHOLAS  IS  UNABLE  TO  INDUCE  THE  MOUNTAINEERS  TO 
SUBMIT  TO  HIS  RULE;  BLOCKADE  OF  THE  CIRCASSIAN  COAST;  SEIZURE  OF  THE  ENGLISH  MERCHANT- 
MAN, VIXEN  ;  NICHOLAS  VISITS  THE  CAUCASUS ;  FORMAL  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  BY  RUSSIA  :  SERIOUS 
REVERSES  OF  THAT  POWER,  AND  ITS  FAILURE  TO  SUBDUE  THE  MOUNTAINEERS. 


Turkey  had  been  much  weakened  by  the 
war  that  terminated  with  the  treaty  of 
Adrianople,  and  its  progress  towards  pro- 
bable dismemberment  seemed  to  be  greatly 
accelerated.  Sultan  Mahmoud,  with  un- 
abated perseverance,  was  actively  employed 
in  endeavouring  to  create  a  new  army  and 
a  new  navy,  and  in  improving  his  ruined 
finances.  Yet  powerful  and  distant  pashas 
speculated  on  the  ruin  of  the  Ottoman  em- 
He  observes  fast  days;  he  goes  to  church,  where  he 
hears  mass ;  but  he  does  not  believe  in  the  priest, 
whose  hand  he  finds  so  often  in  his  pocket.  The 
noble  himself  is  a  Voltairian,  and  an  unbeliever. 
As  to  the  Russian  soldier,  he  dies  pressing  the  cross, 
which  is  suspended  from  his  neck,  to  his  expiring 
lips  J  but  he  fights  only  because  he  has  a  taste  for  a  ' 


pire,  and  debated  with  themselves  whe- 
ther they  were  able  to  set  the  sultan  at 
defiance,  and  to  make  themselves  indepen- 
dent rulers. 

For  some  time  Mehemet  Ali — an  extra- 
ordinary man,  who  had  raised  himself  from 
the  position  of  a  small  shopkeeper — had 
been  pasha  of  Egypt.  Not  satisfied  with 
this  amount  of  power  and  distinction,  he, 
in  1831,  obtained  possession  of  the  island 

military  life,  and  therefore  does  not  much  care, 
when  once  in  for  it,  how  or  when  it  ends ;  and  to 
the  priest  who  says  to  him,  *  My  children,  you  suffer 
here,  but  in  another  world  the  nobles  will  burn  on 
a  huge  pile  of  fire,  and  you  will  have  to  throw  on 
the  fagrgots :'  he  replies,  *  We  shall  be  sent  a  long 
way,  then,  to  fetch  the  wood.' " 

83 


TTJUKEY  APPLIES  TO  ENGLAND.]        HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1832. 


of  Candia,  and  then  aimed  at  acquiring 
Syria.  Pleadino^,  as  an  excuse,  his  desire 
to  recover  some  Egyptians  who,  being  dis- 
contented with  the  exactions  of  his  govern- 
ment, had  settled  in  that  country,  he  sent 
his  son,  Ibrahim  Pasha,  against  it  with  a 
large  army.  Syria,  as  well  as  Egypt,  was 
an  integral  part  of  the  Ottoman  empire ;  a 
firman  was  therefore  issued  by  the  sultan, 
declaring  IMehemet  a  traitor,  and  a  con- 
siderable Turkish  force  was  sent  against 
him.  An  active  campaign  followed,  and 
terminated  in  favour  of  Ibrahim  Pasha, 
who  obtained  several  victories  over  the 
Turks,  gained  the  command  of  the  whole 
sea-coast  of  Syria,  captured  the  fortresses 
of  Acre,  Tripoli,  and  Aleppo,  and  took 
great  numbers  of  prisoners,  and  many  tro- 
phies of  war.  So  remarkable  were  the 
successes  of  Ibrahim,  who  possessed  great 
military  genius,  and  was  well  versed  in  the 
strategy  of  modern  Europe,  that  to  his 
Egyptian  and  Arab  followers  (who  recog- 
nise a  fatality  in  all  things),  he  appeared  an 
instrument  in  the  hand  of  God,  to  reinstate 
the  true  faith,  and  punish  the  degenerate 
Turks  who  had  strayed  from  the  precepts 
of  the  prophet.  A  similar  feeling  prevailed 
among  the  forces  of  the  sultan,  who,  in  the 
December  of  1832,  were  utterly  overthrown 
at  the  decisive  battle  of  Konieh.  The 
strength  of  the  Porte,  exhausted  by  pre- 
vious efforts,  was  almost  annihilated. 
Even  Constantinople  was  in  danger  from 
the  ambition  of  INIehemet  and  the  valour 
of  Ibrahim.  Such  was  the  fame  of  the 
latter  throughout  the  East,  that  all  the 
warlike  tribes  in  Asia  Minor  regarded  him 
as  the  Man  of  Destiny,  who  was  to  restore 
the  faith  of  the  prophet  in  its  purity — were 
prepared  to  join  his  standard,  and  endea- 

♦  The  apathy  and  perplexing  policy  of  England 
has  alienated  Turkey  from  it,  and  caused  it  to  lose 
its  character  for  integrity  and  impartiality  with  that 
state.  Miss  Pardoe,  in  her  interesting  book  on  I'he 
City  of  the  Sultim,  remarks: — "A  Turk  of  high 
rank  and  considerable  abilities,  who  had  an  under- 
standing to  observe,  and  a  heart  to  feel  the  position 
of  his  country,  was  one  day  conversing  with  me  on 
her  foreign  political  relations,  when  he  exclaimed, 
with  a  sudden  burst  of  unaffected  energy—'  France 
has  beguiled  us,  it  is  true  ;  but  France  has  been  at 
least  comparatively  honest  in  her  supineness.  She 
has  never  affected  a  wish  to  become  the  foster- 
mother  of  the  world ;  but  England— England,  ma- 
dam, which  has  boasted  of  her  universal  philan- 
thropy— which  has  knocked  away  the  fetters  of  mil- 
lions of  the  blacks — England,  not  contented  while 
among  her  nobles,  in  her  House  of  Commons,  and 
even  at  the  very  meetings  of  her  lower  classes,  she 
was  making  a  vaunt  of  her  all-embracing  love,  and 
84 


vour   to   establish  a  new  dynasty  on   the 
throne  of  Constantinople. 

In  this  hour  of  peril  the  Porte  applied 
for  assistance  to  England ;  but  that  power 
answered,  that  however  much  inclined  they 
were  to  assist  Turkey,  they  had  not  at  tliat 
moment  the  means  of  affording  the  required 
assistance.*  The  foreign  policy  of  this 
country  is  a  strange  enigma,  or  a  series  of 
almost  unpardonable  errors.  Had  Ibrahim 
Pasha  crushed  the  might  of  the  sultan, 
how  long  would  it  have  been  before  the 
two-headed  eagle  of  Russia  had  waved  over 
the  palaces  of  the  Ottoman  and  the  mosque 
of  St.  Sophia?  Could  the  resources  of 
such  a  petty  state  as  Egypt  long  have  con- 
tended with  the  countless  battalions  and 
the  subtle  arts  of  the  autocrat  of  the  north  ? 
The  apathy  of  England  might  have  proved 
the  easy  triumph  of  Russia.  ,  "  Never," 
observes  Alison,  with  zealous  truth,  *'  was 
such  an  opportunity  afforded  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  powerful  and  efficacious 
barrier  against  Russia  in  the  East ;  imagi- 
nation itself  could  not  have  conceived  any- 
thing more  favourable.  The  British  gov- 
ernment was  applied  to  by  an  ancient  ally 
for  succour  against  a  rebellious  vassal,  and 
an  opportuuity  was  afforded  of  rendering  a 
service  to  the  Ottoman  rulers  of  so  essential 
a  kind  as  to  insure  future  gratitude  and 
dependence,  and  counteract,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, the  growing  influence  of  the  Musco- 
vites at  the  court  of  Constantinople.  Incal- 
culable would  have  been  the  effects  of  such 
aid,  if  promptly  rendered;  it  would  pro- 
bably have  restored  the  balance  of  power  in 
the  East,  and  averted,  if  not  altogether 
prevented,  the  terrible  war  of  1854  in  the 
Black  Sea.  Unhappily,  England  was  not 
at  this  period  in  a  condition  to  take  advan- 

of  her  sympathy  with  the  oppressed— not  contented 
with  seeing  Poland  weep  tears  of  blood,  and  only 
cease  to  exist  when  the  last  nerves  of  her  heart  had 
been  wrung  asunder — your  own  happy  England, 
secure  in  her  prosperity  and  her  power,  is  now 
standing  tamely  by,  while  the  vast  Ottoman  em- 
pire— the  gorgeous  East,  which  seems  to  have  been 
made  for  glory  and  for  greatness — is  trampled  by  a 
power  like  Russia !  She  might  have  saved  us — she 
might  save  us  yet.  "Where  is  her  gallant  navy  ? 
Where  are  her  floating  fortresses?  But  above  all, 
where  is  the  heart  which  has  so  many  hands  to  work 
its  will  ?  Is  it  the  expense  of  a  war  from  which  she 
shrinks  ?  Surely  her  policy  is  not  so  shallow,  for 
she  cannot  require  to  be  told  how  deeply  her  com- 
mercial interests  must  be  compromised  by  the  suc- 
cess of  Russia.  But  I  will  not  pursue  so  painful  a 
subject.  As  individuals  we  respect  the  English ; 
but  their  political  character  is  lost  in  the  East.  We 
have  no  longer  faith  in  England.' 


\h 


A.D.  1833.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


tage  of  the  extraordinary  good  fortune  thus 
thrown  in  her  way.  So  great  had  been  the 
reduction  of  her  land  and  sea  forces,  in 
consequence  of  the  growing  passion' for 
economy  which  had  prevailed  ever  since 
the  peace,  and  which  the  contraction  of  the 
currency  had  now  rendered  a  matter  of 
necessity,  that  Great  Britain  had  no  forces 
at  her  disposal  adeqnate  for  an  Eastern  war; 
and  the  iQ\Y  which  she  had  were  absorbed 
in  propping  up  a  rickety  and  unpopular 
government  against  the  feelings  of  the  Por- 
tuguese at  Lisbon." 

The  power  of  France,  at  this  period,  to 
assist  the  sultan  was  scarcely  greater  than 
that  of  England;  and  had  it"  been  applied 
to,  a  response  of  regretful  denial  would 
probably  have  been  sustained  in  that  quar- 
ter also.  But  assistance  was  not  applied 
for,  as  the  conduct  of  Napoleon,  and  of  the 
French  government  since  his  fall,  had  been 
Buch  as  to  create  in  the  Porte  a  jealousy  and 
distrust  of  it. 

Wliere  was   Turkey  to   turn   for   help? 
The   mediation    of   the   European    powers 
had  effected  a  truce;   but,  in  spite  of  it, 
Ibrahim   pushed  on   and  occupied   Brousa, 
the  ancient  Asiatic  capital  of  the  Ottoman 
empire.     The  ruin  of  the  sultan  appeared  to 
be  inevitable;  and  in  this  almost  hopeless 
condition,  he  resolved  to  appeal  for  assistance 
to  his  natural  enemy,  and  to  throw  himself 
into  the  arms  of  Russia.     Mahmoud,  there- 
fore, addressed  an  autograph  letter  to  the 
emperor   Nicholas,   soliciting   help   against 
his    rebellious    vassal,    whose    conduct    he 
represented  as  a  part  of  the  general  system 
of   revolution  which  had  recentlv  been  so 
prominent   in   Europe,   and   which   all   its 
monarchs    were    interested    in    subduing. 
Nicholas  saw  the  latent  advantages  of  the 
opportunity   thus   afforded   him   of   estab- 
lishing an  exclusive  protectorate  over  the 
sultan  and  his    dominions.     The   autocrat 
gave  an  immediate  and  favourable  response, 
and  tendered  the  assistance  of  a  Russian 
fleet  under  Admiral  Greig,  and  a  body  of 
25,000  men,  to  act  on  the  banks  of  the 
Danube.     By  the  20th  of  January,  1833,  a 
Russian    squadron   of  four   sail-of-the-line 
and  six  frigates,  with  6,000  troops  on  board, 
took  up  its  station  in  the  Bay  of  Bourgas,' 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Bosphorus.     In  the 
meantime,  the  interference  of  France  had 
produced  a  settlement  of  the  quarrel,  and 
the  sultan  had  consented  to  the  cession  of 
Syria   and   Egypt,  in   perpetuity,   to   Me- 
hemet  Ali. 


[RUSSIA  ASSISTS  TURKEY. 


The  sultan,  who  dreaded  his  new  Russian 
tnends,  hastened  to  inform  them  that  their 
assistance  was  no  longer  needed,  and  that 
their  force  might  be  recalled.     This  was  not 
what  the  latter  desired,  and  they  hesitated. 
At  this  point,  a  renewal  of  hostilities  was 
threatened,  by  the  refusal  of  Meliemet  All 
to  ratify  the  proposed  treaty.     The  Russian 
government  no   sooner  received  this  intel- 
ligence than  they  hurried  a  fresh  squadron 
laden    with    troops    from    Odessa,    which, 
effecting  a  junction  w^ith  the  former  one  in 
the  Bay  of  Bourgas,  they  both  immediately 
sailed  for  the  Bosphorus.     Arriving  on  the 
5th  of  June,  they  passed  the  Straits,  and 
landed  their  troops  on  the  Asiatic  shore, 
within  sight  of  Constantinople. 

Startled  at  this  new  phase  of  the  ''Eastern 
difficulty,"    the   English   government    sent 
Lord  Durham  to  St.  Petersburg,  partly,  as 
we    have   already    related,    to   induce    the 
emperor  Nicholas   to   temper   his  severity 
against  the  Poles,  but  also  to  bring  about 
a  pacification  of  the  quarrel  between  the 
sultan  and  Mehemet  Ali,  and  thus  render 
the   prolonged  interference  of  Russia  un- 
necessary.     The   English   diplomatist   was 
received  with  great  distinction,  but  he  was 
unable  to  affect  the  conduct   of  the  czar 
either  with  regard  to  Poland  or  Turkey. 
Nicholas  had  no  intention  of  withdrawing 
his  troops  from  the  Turkish  soil,  or  recallincr 
his  armed  ships  from  the  waters  of  the  Bos*! 
phorus,  until  he   had  obtained  a  contem- 
plated   advantage   at   the   expense   of   the 
sultan,  which,  it  will  be  seen,  could  scarcely 
have  been   extorted  from  the   latter   even 
after  an  unsuccessful  campaign. 

The  adherence  of  Russia  to  the  cause  of 
Turkey,  induced  Mehemet  Ali  to  change 
his  mmd,  and  a  treaty  was  therefore  con-     " 
eluded  between  him  and  the  sultan,  on  the 
6th  of  May,  1833,  by  which  Ali  was  recog- 
nised  as    an    independent   sovereign,    and 
received    the   governments    of    Jerusalem, 
Tripoli,  Aleppo,  Damascus,  and  Adana,  in 
addition  to  that  of  Egypt.     Delivered  from 
the  danger  which  threatened  his  destruction, 
the  sultan  now  addressed  himself  to  the 
onerous  task  of  getting  rid  of  his  officious 
friends  the  Russians,  whose  friendship,  he 
began  to  fear,  might  be  as  dangerous  as 
their  enmity.     Before  the  czar  consented 
to  withdraw  his  forces  from  the   Turkish 
territory,  he  obtained  from  the  Porte,  in 
presumed   recompense  of  his   services, 'the 
since  much-talked-of  treaty  of  Unkiar-Ske- 
lessi,  which  was  signed  on  the  8th  of  July, 

85 


iN! , 


A 


TREATY  OF  UNKIAR-SKELESSI.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1833—1839. 


! 


t  1 


and  provided,  that  during  a  period  of  eight 
years,  there  should  be  an  oflfensive  and  de- 
fensive alliance  between  the  two  powers,  by 
virtue  of  which,  Russia  consented  to  place 
her  whole  fleets  and  armies  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Porte.  For  this  wonderful  gene- 
rosity, the  Porte  was  of  course  to  make 
some  acknowledgment  and  return.  This 
was  the  insertion  of  a  secret  article  in  the 
treaty,  to  the  eflfect  that  "the  Ottoman 
Porte  should  be  bound,  in  virtue  of  its 
oblijrations  towards  Russia,  to  close  the 
Straits  of  the  Dardanelles;  that  is  to  say, 
not  to  permit  any  ship  of  war  of  a  foreign 
poiver,  to  enter  those  straits  under  any 
pretence  whatever.  This  separate  and  secret 
article  shall  have  the  same  force  and  effect 
as  if  it  had  been  inserted,  word  for  word, 
in  the  public  and  patent  treaty." 

An  agreement  of  this  nature  could  not 
possibly  long  remain  a  secret,  and  must, 
necessarily,  have  become  known  as  soon  as 
it  was  reduced  to  practice.  The  closing  of 
the  Dardanelles  to  all  foreign  vessels  of 
war,  except  those  of  Russia,  was  a  measure 
affecting  every  European  nation  possessed 
of  a  naval  power.  A  French  vessel  was 
the  first  refused  a  passage.  England  and 
France  took  the  alarm,  and  explanations 
were  demanded.  The  Turkish  cabinet  was 
embarrassed,  and  denied  the  existence  of 
the  secret  article.  It  produced  the  public 
treaty,  and  added,  that  as  an  independent 
state,  it  was  at  liberty  to  contract  alliances 
with  any  power  that  it  might  deem  proper, 
and  was  under  no  obligation  to  justify  its 
conduct  to  any  foreign  government.  Eng- 
land and  France  were  neither  inclined 
nor  prepared  to  proceed  to  extremities,  and 
therefore  the  Dardanelles  remained  closed 
to  all  ships  of  war  except  those  of  Turkey 
and  Russia.  This  circumstance  greatly 
complicated  the  difficulties  of  the  Eastern 
question,  which,  it  became  evident,  must 
one  day — and  that,  probably,  no  very  distant 
one — be  brought  to  a  violent  settlement  of 
such  a  kind  as  no  one  could  foretel  its 
termination.  The  closing  of  the  Dardanelles 
to  all  European  ships  of  war  save  those  of 
the  czar,  in  fact  went  far  to  convert  the 
Black  Sea  into  a  Russian  lake.  The  em- 
peror Nicholas  had  triumphed  completely 
for  the  time,  but,  happily,  the  end  was 
not  yet. 

The  peace  concluded  between  Mehemet 
Ali  and  the  sultan  was  soon  to  be  inter- 
rupted. Jealousies  had  long  existed  between 
England    and    France    respecting    Egypt. 


Since  the  time  of  Napoleon,  the  French 
had  endeavoured  to  establish  their  influence 
on  the  shores  of  the  Nile;  while  the  impor- 
tance of  Egypt  to  England,  as  a  rapid 
means  of  communication  with  India,  had 
rendered  it  necessary  that  she  should  have 
such  a  preponderance  in  that  country, 
as  would  lead  at  least  to  a  secure  tran- 
sit through  it.  On  this  point  a  cold- 
ness arose  between  the  governments  of 
France  and  England,  and  led  to  a  divergence 
of  policy.  France  adopted  the  cause  of 
Mehemet  Ali,  and  obtained  a  considerable 
ascendancy  at  Cairo ;  while  England  strove 
to  regain  her  influence  with  the  Porte  by 
supporting  it  against  the  Egyptians.  The 
British  cabinet,  also,  were  desirous  of  neu- 
tralising the  preponderating  influence  which 
Russia,  by  her  offers  of  assistance  to  the 
Porte,  had  acquired  over  it ;  and  success  so 
far  attended  its  efforts,  that  it  obtained  a 
commercial  treaty  from  the  sultan,  by 
which  the  Dardanelles  was  open  to  English 
merchant  ships. 

Mutual  recriminations  passed  between 
the  sultan  and  Mehemet  Ali,  who  aimed 
at  the  subjection  of  all  Arabia  to  his  autho- 
rity, and,  counting  upon  the  support  of 
France,  adopted  a  very  haughty  tone. 
Each  side  again  prepared  for  war ;  and  in 
the  June  of  1839  hostilities  were  recom- 
menced by  the  sultan.  England  and  France 
both  took  the  alarm,  and  united  their  efforts 
to  promote  peace,  as  they  feared  to  give 
the  Russians  a  pretext  for  making  another 
military  excursion  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Constantinople,  and  of  further  increasing 
their  sinister  influence  over  the  Porte.  The 
efforts  of  the  French  and  English  cabinets 
were  unable  to  prevent  the  outbreak  of  war; 
and,  on  the  24th  of  June,  the  power  of  the 
sultan  was  laid  prostrate  by  the  battle  of 
Nezib.  The  victory  of  Ibrahim  and  his 
Egyptians  was  decisive ;  and  a  Turkish  fleet, 
which  had  been  sent  to  Alexandria  to  act 
against  that  of  Mehemet,  treacherously 
joined  the  foe  which  it  was  to  have  en- 
gaged. Turkey  was  exhausted;  she  had 
not  another  fleet  or  army  ready,  and  must 
have  fallen  before  the  sword  of  the  power- 
ful Mehemet  and  his  gifted  son  but  for  the 
intervention  of  the  European  powers.  The 
impetuous  Sultan  Mahmoud  was  spared 
from  the  pain  of  hearing  of  this  defeat. 
For  some  time  his  health  had  been  failing, 
and  he  expired  a  few  days  before  the  news 
of  the  battle  reached  Constantinople,  and 
threw  both  the  seraglio  and  capital  into 


I;- 


A.D.  1840.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[eastern  difficulties. 


consternation.  Notwithstanding  his  great 
talents  and  energy,  the  Turkish  empire  de- 
clined rapidly  during  the  latter  years  of  his 
reign,  partly  from  having  been  subjected 
to  a  series  of  severe  trials,  and  partly  in 
consequence  of  his  own  irascible  and  im- 
prudent conduct.  Under  his  reforming 
system  the  Turks  had  ceased  to  be  exclu- 
sively Asiatic,  and  had  failed  in  becoming 
European.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Abdul-Medjid,  the  present  sultan,  then  but 
a  youth  of  sixteen. 

On  the  death  of  Mahmoud,  the  Porte 
made  proposals  of  peace  to  Mehemet  Ali, 
offering  him  the  hereditary  government  of 
Egypt,  and  the  government,  during  his 
life,  of  that  portion  of  Syria  which  extended 
from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Sea  of  Tiberias, 
together  with  the  fortress  of  St.  Jean 
d'Acre.  Mehemet,  in  reply,  demanded  the 
absolute  and  hereditary  possession  of  all 
these  territories.  Austria,  France,  and 
England  again  interfered;  for  they  all 
dreaded  that  Russia  should  again  interpose 
alone  in  the  affairs  of  Turkey,  and  take 
military  possession  of  Constantinople,  under 
pretence  of  defending  it  against  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

After  much  diplomacy,  a  treaty  was 
signed  between  Turkey,  ^England,  Russia, 
Austria,  and  Prussia,  with  the  object  of 
bringing  the  Eastern  troubles  to  a  termina- 
tion. France,  unfortunately,  instigated  by 
a  jealousy  of  England,  stood  aloof,  and 
countenanced  the  victorious  pasha  of  Egypt. 
This,  however,  did  not  prevent  the  other 
powers  from  presenting  terms  for  the  ac- 
ceptance of  Mehemet,  which,  if  he  rejected, 
it  was  arranged  that  ulterior  measures 
should  be  resorted  to.  The  adoption  of 
this  proceeding  without  the  concurrence  of 
France,  so  irritated  the  government  and 
people  of  that  country,  that  the  most 
intemperate  invectives  were  uttered  against 
the  allied  powers,  and  more  particularly 
against  England.  So  great,  indeed,  was 
the  anger  exhibited  towards  this  country, 
that  serious  apprehensions  were  entertained 
of  the  outbreak  of  war  between  it  and 
France.  As  Mehemet  Ali  remained  in- 
flexible, the  allies  resolved  to  strike  a  deci- 
sive blow  in  the  Levant,  before  any  steps 
could  be  taken  by  the  French  fleet,  then 
lying  in  the  Bay  of  Besika,  to  prevent  it. 
An  English  fleet,  under  Admirals  Stopford 
and  Napier,  was  sent  to  the  coast  of  Syria, 
where  it  was  to  be  joined  by  a  few  Austrian 
ships  of  war.     The  Egyptian  generals  were 


summoned,   in    the    name    of   the    allied 
powers,  to  evacuate  Syria ;  and  on  their  dis- 
regard  of    this    intimation,    Beyrout    was 
bombarded   (August  20th,   1840)  for  nine 
successive  days,  and,  after  a  gallant  resis- 
tance, reduced  to  ashes,  and  abandoned  by 
the  troops  of  Mehemet.     The  British  fleet 
then    sailed    for   Acre.       Sidon   was     first 
stormed,  and  taken;  and  Tripoli,  Tortosa, 
and  Latakia,  dissatisfied  with  the  Egyptian 
government,  opened  their  gates.     Then  the 
famous  fortress  of  Acre,  which  had  resisted 
the  arms  of  Napoleon,  and  was  deemed  im- 
pregnable throughout  the  East,  was   bom- 
barded and  taken.     This  was  decisive;  the 
Syrian   tribes    declared   in   favour   of    the 
sultan  ;  the  forces  of  Ibrahim  were  deprived 
of  resources,  cut  off  from  Egypt,  and  sur- 
rounded by  enemies.     Mehemet  Ali,  seeing 
that  further  resistance  would  be  ruinous,  if 
not  impossible,  wisely  submitted   (Decem- 
ber, 1840)  to  the  terms  of  the  allies.     To 
save   Alexandria    from     bombardment,    he 
also  restored  the  Turkish  fleet,  which  had 
been  treacherously  surrendered  to  him,  and 
withdrew  his  troops  from  Syria  and  Candia, 
remaining  content  with  the*^  hereditary  pos- 
session of  Egypt.     Thus  Turkey  was  saved 
from  destruction  by  the  arms  of  one  who 
had  been  a  vassal  of  the  sultan,  and  deli- 
vered from  the  treacherous  kindness  of  the 
czar.     These  facts,  which  we  have  run  very 
hastily  over,  though  no  part  of  the  internal 
history  of  Russia,  are  yet  indispensable  to 
the  understanding  of  the  relative  position 
of  that  empire  to  the  other  great  powers  of 
Europe,  and  especially  to  the  comprehension 
of  the  causes  of  the  great  war  of  1853-'4. 

Happily,  the  hostile  feeling  of  France  to- 
wards the  allies,  and  this  country  in  parti- 
cular, had  yielded  to  the  representations  of 
the  British  cabinet;  and  a  uniformity  of 
opinion  and  action  on  the  question  of 
Eastern  affairs  was  restored.  To  compli- 
ment France,  the  allies  left  to  its  govern- 
ment the  proposal  of  the  terms  of  pacifica- 
tion to  be  agreed  to  by  them  all.  These 
were— 1.  That  the  Straits  of  the  Bosphorus 
and  the  Dardanelles  should  be  closed  against 
ships  of  war  of  all  nations,  without  distinc- 
tion. 2.  That  the  pashalic  of  Egypt,  in 
hereditary  right,  should  be  secured  to  Me- 
hemet Ali  and  his  descendants.  3.  That 
guarantees  should  be  given  for  ameliorat- 
ing the  condition  of  the  Christian  inhabit- 
ants of  Svria. 

An    additional    and     highly    important 
treaty,  regarding  the  vital  subject  of  the 

87 


m 


^■•s 


M\ 


■f 


;4 


THE  CAUCASUS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1837. 


If 
\i 

Y 

i; 


iiaviji;ation  of  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bos- 
phoriiH,  was  entered  into  between  Turkey 
and  the  whole  of  the  five  great  Euro- 
pean powers,  on  the  13th  of  March,  1841. 
By  this  convention,  which  regulated  the 
affairs  of  European  nations  in  connection 
with  the  East,  until  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  of  1853-^4,  it  was  stipulated — 
"  1.  That  the  Straits  of  the  Bosphorus  and 
the  Dardanelles,  in  conformity  with  the 
ancient  usage  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  shall 
remain  permanently  closed  against  all 
foreign  vessels  of  war,  as  long  as  the  Otto- 
man Porte  shalj  enjoy  peace.  2.  The 
sultan  declares,  on  his  side,  that  he  is  firmly 
resolved  to  maintain  immovably  the  ancient 
rule  of  the  empire,  in  virtue  of  which,  it  is 
forbidden  to  vessels  of  war  of  all  nations  to 
enter  the  Dardanelles  or  the  Bosphorus ; 
and  in  virtue  of  which  these  Straits  remain 
for  ever  closed,  as  long  as  the  Ottoman 
Porte  shall  be  at  peace.  3.  His  majesty 
the  emperor  of  Austria,  and  their  majesties 
the  king  of  the  French,  the  queen  of  Great 
Britain,  the  king  of  Prussia,  and  the  emperor 
of  Russia,  on  their  part,  engage  to  respect 
that  resolution  of  the  sultan,  and  to  act  in 
conformity  with  the  principle  there  ex- 
pressed. 4.  The  ancient  rule  of  the  Otto- 
man empire  being  thus  established  and  re- 
cognised, the  sultan  reserves  to  himself  the 
right  to  grant  firmans  of  passage  to  small 
vessels  of  war,  whicb,  in  conformity  with 
usage,  are  employed  in  the  service  of  am- 
bassadors of  friendly  powers.  5.  The  sul- 
tan reserves  to  himself  the  right  to  notify 
the  terms  of  this  treaty  to  all  the  powers 
with  which  he  is  on  terms  of  amity,  and  to 
invite  their  accession  to  it." 


We  must  glance  backward  for  a  few 
years,  and  take  a  rapid  glance  at  the 
historical  conduct  of  Russia  with  respect 
to  the  Caucasus.  This  extensive  mountain 
chain  extends  between  the  Black  and  Cas- 
pian seas,  and  forms  part  of  the  boundary 
between  Asia  and  Europe.  Tlie  name 
"  Caucasus,"  is  said  to  be  derived  from  a 
Scythian  word,  signifying  whitened  by  the 
snow.  The  length  of  the  range  is  about 
700  miles;  the  width  varies  from  60  to  150 
miles ;  and  the  area  covered  by  it,  is  about 
'  56,000  square  miles,  or  nearly  the  surffice 
of  England  and  Wales  taken  together. 
Some  of  the  mountains  rise  to  a  greater 
height  than  the  Alps,  while  the  extremities 
of  the  range  subside  into  mere  hills.  The 
highest  summit  is  formed  by  the  rocky 
88 


masses  of  the  cloven-peaked  Mount  Elbruz, 
on  which  a  tradition  says  that  Noah's 
ark  stopped  before  reaching  Ararat.  The 
mountain  has  a  mystic,  or  sacred  character, 
according  to  the  various  faiths  of  the  neigh- 
bouring inhabitants  :  some  tribes  give  it  the 
name  of  Dshin-Padischah ;  that  is,  "  King  of 
the  Spirits."  It  rises  to  about  17,000  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  stands  quite  isolated. 
Kasbek  is  the  mountain  which  ranks  next 
in  height;  and  here  again  superstition  has 
stepped  in,  to  cast  around  it  something  of  a 
mysterious  character.  The  mountaineers 
relate,  that  the  cradle  of  Christ  is  found  on 
the  Kasbek,  standing  above  the  tent  of 
Abraham,  which  is  itself  suspended  in  the 
air.  The  same  tradition  relates,  that  there 
is  a  treasure  which  has  tempted  several 
persons,  whose  curiosity  and  avarice  have 
always  been  punished  by  the  loss  of  their 
sight.  Some  of  the  tribes  regard  all  the 
mountains  as  deities,  and  pay  them  divine 
honours. 

"  The  Caucasus,"  observes  a  Russian 
writer,*  "is,  in  general,  one  of  the  finest 
countries  in  the  world.  It  vies  with  Swit- 
zerland for  the  imposing  majesty  of  its 
sites,  and  with  Italy  for  the  beauty  of  its 
climate.  It  no  doubt  will  attract  as  many 
tourists  as  those  two  countries  do,  when 
war  has  ceased  to  devastate  it,  and  safety 
has  succeeded  the  alarm  from  which  even 
bathers  are  not  free,  and  which  imposes  on 
travellers  the  necessity  of  having  an  escort 
on  the  most-frequented  roads. 

"The  emperor  Nicholas,  on  visiting  that 
countrv  in  1837,  exclaimed — *I  now  un- 
derstand  better  than  ever  the  words  in 
Genesis — '  God  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and 
there  was  light.'  In  fact,  the  sun  shines 
on  the  Caucasus  more  splendidly  than  it 
does  in  any  other  part  of  the  Russian 
empire.  If  there  be  a  country  where  men 
may  be  seized  with  an  enthusiastic  adora- 
tion of  the  Creator,  it  is  undoubtedlv  the 
Caucasus ;  yet  the  indigenous  worship 
mountains,  and  do  not  open  their  minds  to 
the  light  of  true  religion.  Vegetation  dis- 
plays there  extraordinary  richness  and 
beauty.  Antediluvian  woods  inspire  you 
with  a  profound  respect  for  the  greatness  of 
that  nature.  There  are,  in  Daghestan, 
walnut-trees  under  the  foliage  of  which 
two  companies  of  soldiers  may  encamp ; 
and  there  stands  near  Erivan,  a  plane-tree, 
hollow  inside,  offering  a  room,  the  dimen- 
sions of  which  is  seven  feet  and  a-half. 
*  2'he  Caucasus ;  by  Ivan  Golovin, 


A.D.  1837.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  CAUCASUS. 


m\ 


People  go  there  to  play  at  cards,  or  to  take 
tea.  The  most  beautiful  and  rare  flowers 
enamel  the  meadows,  and  the  most  esteemed 
plants  grow  along  the  rivers.  Wines  and 
silk  are  the  two  productions  of  the  Cau- 
casus, which  are  destined  to  acquire  the 
greatest  importance. 

"Heaths,   underwoods,   and   plains,   are 
filled  with  exquisite  game,  such  as  pheasants 
and   red    partridges.      The    mountaineers, 
who  are  not  acquainted  with  small  shot, 
and  make  use  only  of  balls,  are  necessarily 
bad  huntsmen,  and  often  wonder   at   the 
nicety   with   which    the   Russians   hit   the 
game.     So   the   vultures   and   eagles,  that 
find  on  those  high  mountains  a  dwelling 
worthy  of  them,  are,  in  consequence  of  the 
mountaineers   being    bad    shots,    left   with 
ample  prey.     Black  swans,  which  are  erro- 
neously believed  to  be  found  but  in  Aus- 
tralia,   exist   also   in   the   Caucasus.     Car- 
nivorous   beasts   are  there   likewise  rather 
plentiful,    especially    jackals    and    wolves. 
Bears  are  often  found  eating  the  grapes  of 
the  inhabitants,  and   the  Cossacks  cut  off 
their  paws,  with  which  they  make  an  ex- 
cellent dish.     Hyenas  are  met  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Persia;  and  even  tigers  advance 
from  India  as  far  as  that  region.     The  Cas- 
pian Sea  is  rich  in  fish,  especially  in  stur- 
geons and  caviar.     But  the  Kuban  is  the 
most  plentiful  of  all  rivers.     Salmon  trout, 
and  ordinary  trout,  abound  in  the  torrents 
of  the  mountains. 

'*The  Caucasus  offers  very  opposite  cli- 
mates.     A  winter  of  Sweden  prevails  on 
the  summits,  while  a  summer  of  Naples  is 
enjoyed    at    Bakou.      The   spring   is   very 
short  in  Georgia,  and  the  climate  of  Min- 
grelia    is    pernicious    to    the    indigenous. 
While  travelling,  you  meet,  on  the  same 
day,  both  the  beginning  of  vegetation  on 
the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  the  harvest 
in  the  valleys.     The  Georgians  manufacture 
silk  stuffs,  which,  under  the  name  of  Tar- 
malama,  are   highly  valued,  and    are  em- 
ployed to  make  morning  gowns  for  ladies, 
and    dressing-gowns   for   rich   men.      The 
carpets,  after  the  Oriental  taste,  increase 
also  in  sale  in  proportion  as  they  are  made 
of  a  superior  quality.     The  richest  and  best- 
tempered  arms  are  manufactured  amongst 
the  Circassians,  and  their  daggers  are  held 
in  high  estimi^tion.^^ 

In  additioj  to  the  natural  advantages 
thus  described,  the  Caucasus  is  rich  in 
mineral  wealth.  Traces  of  gold  are  found, 
and   silver    and   copper  mines    exist  near 


VOL.  II. 


N 


Tiflis.     Iron  abounds  in  many  places,  and 
is  worked  by  the  natives  in  a  rude  manner. 
There  is,  probably,  no  country  in  the  world" 
of  so  small  an  extent,  which'  contains  such 
a  number  of  different  nations,  as  the  valleys 
of  this  chain  of  mountains.     The  natives 
speak  at  least  seven   different   languages: 
but  the  Tartar  is  understood  by  most  of  the 
tribes,  except  the  Lesghis.     Strabo  states, 
that  in  his  time,  at  least  seventy  languages 
were  spoken  in  the  Caucasus.     The  Abha- 
sians,  who,  with  their  numerous  tribes,  are 
in  possession  of  the  southern  declivity  of 
the   range    between    the    Black    Sea    and 
Mount  Elbruz,  differ  from  the  other  tribes 
of  the  Caucasus  in  features,  and  in  their 
peaceful  disposition,  which  has  made  them 
willingly  submit  to  the  Russians,  with  the 
exception  of  two  tribes— the  Oubikhs  and 
the  Tchigates— who  form  the  confederation 
of   the  Chapsouks.     The   Abhasians   were 
partially    converted   to  Christianity  in  the 
time  of  Justinian;    they  are  now   chiefly 
pagans,    and   pay   particular  veneration  to 
the  oak.     They  are  the   most  ancient  in- 
habitants of  the  Caucasus.     The  northern 
side  of  the  range,  with  its  numerous  valleys, 
is  occupied  by  the  Circassians,  or  Tcher- 
kesses,  among  whom  the  tribe  of  Adighe 
holds  the  first    rank,  as  being  the  purest 
in    race.      The   Adighe   are  pagans,    with 
the  exception   of  the   chiefs,    who   profess 
Islamism.       Anapa    is    their    chief    town. 
Blood-feuds  are  indulged  in  among  all  the 
Circassian  tribes,  to  an  extent,  and  with  a 
ferocity,  unknown  even  in  Corsica ;  families 
exist  who   have   been   at  feud  from   time 
immemorial.     The  Circassians  are  estimated 
at  700,000  persons,  but  no  certainty  exists 
on  this  point.     The  centre  of  the  range,  on 
both  sides  of  the   Pass  of  Dariel,^  is  in 
possession  of  the  Ossetes,  who  are  said  to 
be   the   descendants   of   the   Alani.      The 
Lesghians,  or  Lesghis,  the  most  powerful  of 
the    Caucasian   mountaineers,    occupy    the 
greatest  portion  of  the  range  east  of  the 
Pass  of  Dariel,  and  approach  the  peninsula 
of  Apsheron.     They  are  a  warlike  people, 
the  terror  of  all  their  neighbours,  and  the 
most  determined  enemies  of  Russia.     Their 
number  is  about  400,000.     The  Tchechenes 
inhabit    the    country    between    the    lower 
Terek  and  the  Kuma.     They  number  only 
about  25,000,  but  are  in  a  state  of  almost 
constant  revolt  against   Russia.      The  ex- 
tensive  mountain   tract  bordering   on   the 

♦  A  pass  or  road  between  the  mountains,  which 
takes  Its  name  from  the  fortress  of  Dariel. 

89 


RUSSIA  AND  THE  CAUCASUS.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1830 


north  of  Mount  Tersh,  is  inhabited  by  the 
numerous  tribes  of  the  Kisti,  or  Misheghes. 
The  country  about  the  sources  of  the  Terek, 
to  the  east  of  Mount  Elbruz,  is  called  Ka- 
bardah,  and  is  subject  to  Russia.  In  the 
plains  south  of  the  Caucasus,  live  the  Min- 
grelians,  Imeritians,  and  Georgians.  All 
these  nations  differ  in  their  language.  As 
great  perfection  of  form,  and  an  ancient 
origin,  have  been  attributed  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  this  region,  the  highest  rank  in 
ethnological  classification  has  been  termed 
''  the  Caucasian  race."  Besides  these  abori- 
ginal tribes,  many  others  of  foreign  origin 
are  met  with  in  the  valleys  of  the  range. 
The  most  numerous  are  the  Tartars.  There 
are  also  Cossacks  and  Magyars ;  and  on  the 
south  of  the  Caucasus,  about  Tiflis,  there 
are  several  German  colonies. 

The  range  of  the  Caucasus  forms  the 
natural  boundary,  in  this  direction,  of  the 
vast  empire  of  Russia.  Nature  herself 
seems  here  to  have  established  a  barrier 
against  Russian  acquisitiveness,  and  to  have 
forbidden  its  advance.  The  Caucasus  ap- 
pears almost  designed  as  a  wall  to  arrest 
the  advance  of  the  hordes  of  the  north 
upon  Turkey  and  Persia,  and  in  like 
manner  to  protect  them  against  invasion. 
But  the  policy  of  the  Russian  cabinet  takes 
no  account  of  the  presumed  designs  of  Pro- 
vidence. It  has  resolved  on  conquest  and 
annexation,  so  far  as  it  can  march  its 
battalions  and  enforce  its  edicts.  The 
Caucasus  subdued  and  rendered  obedient 
to  its  iron  sceptre,  and  then  Persia  would 
lie  at  its  feet,  and  Asiatic  Turkey  exist 
independently  only  by  its  forbearance.  It 
is  only  by  such  a  gradual  extension  of  the 
Russian  empire,  that  India  could — if  it  ever 
could — be  reached  by  the  Russian  armies; 
and  even  in  that  case,  we  more  than  doubt 
that  the  troops  brought  such  distances  over 
tracts  abounding  in  natural  obstacles,  could 
ever  be  collected  in  such  numbers  as  to  be 
formidable  to  the  British  power  on  that 
vast  peninsula.  Moreover,  no  sooner  would 
the  designs  of  Russia  in  such  a  direction 
be  perceived  in  Europe,  than  her  trade 
"would  be  arrested  and  her  coasts  insulted 
by  a  blockade  of  the  Baltic  by  a  British 
fleet.  Russia  is  formidable  to  the  weak; 
but  the  equivocating  genius  of  her  empire 
stands  rebuked  in  the  presence  of  the 
strong.  The  warhke  Swede,  and  the  gifted 
imperial  general  who  threatened  to  control 
Europe,  dashed  themselves  in  vain  into  the 
sterile  regions  of  Russia,  and  met  merely 
90 


their  own  ruin :  yet  the  aggressive  force  of 
that  empire  has  been  overrated.  She  was 
powerful  against  divided  and  distracted 
Poland;  she  filched  Finland  from  Sweden 
in  the  days  of  its  decadence;  she  robbed 
Persia  of  provinces  too  remote  for  it  to 
protect;  she  annexed  the  vast  and  forlorn 
territories  of  Siberia,  because  no  one  dis- 
puted a  prize  considered  worthless ;  and  she 
planted  her  flag  on  a  portion  of  the  extreme 
north  of  America  without  opposition;  but 
she  was  unable  to  take  the  Danubian  pro- 
vinces from  the  Porte,  though  she  had 
arrogantly  proclaimed  them  to  be  annexed 
to  her  dominions.  In  all  aggressive  mea- 
sures against  great  powers,  Russia  has 
shown  herself  to  be  unequal  to  her  preten- 
sions. 

This  has  been  the  case  even  with  respect 
to  the  Caucasus,  which,  after  many  years  of 
almost  incessant  warfare,  she  has  failed  to 
subdue.  Even  prior  to  the  time  of  Peter 
the  Great,  Russia  had  intervened  in  the 
affairs  of  some  of  the  nations  of  the  Cau- 
casus. That  monarch  marched  against  the 
Lesghians,  and  defeated  them  in  his  un- 
satisfactory crusade  against  Persia.  Since 
that  period,  other  Russian  monarchs  have 
taken  possession  of  portions  of  the  isthmus ; 
and,  as  we  have  related,  Georgia,  by  the 
consent  of  the  people,  was  annexed  to  Rus- 
sia in  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Alex- 
ander. At  length,  the  treaty  of  Adrianople, 
in  1829,  gave  Russia  a  pretext  for  regarding 
the  whole  of  the  Caucasus  as  a  province  of 
its  empire,  as  soon  as  it  should  be  able  to 
take  possession  of  it.  The  mountaineers, 
animated  by  a  passionate  love  of  liberty, 
and  neither  understanding,  nor  caring  to 
understand,  how  a  piece  of  sealed  parchment 
could  make  them  subject  to  any  monarch 
without  their  consent,  rejected  all  the  ad- 
vances of  Russia,  and  sternly  repudiated 
the  clauses  of  the  convention  of  Adrianople. 
They  would  not  surrender  the  political  in- 
dependence of  their  country,  or  enter  into 
any  treaty  in  which  that  was  not  regarded 
as  a  sacred  and  unalterable  principle.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  emperor  Nicholas  would 
not  brook  any  opposition  to  his  designs, 
and  he  resolved  on  the  settlement  of  the 
question  by  bayonets  and  grapeshot. 

Accordingly,  in  1830,  he  sent  General 
Paskiewitch — who  had,  in  1828,  so  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  Asiatic  campaign 
against  the  Turks — to  the  Caucasus,  and 
appointed  him  governor-general  of  it.  He 
found  the  "pacification'^  of  his  province  a 


A.D.  1831.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [russia  and  the  Caucasus. 


matter  of  extraordinary  difficulty.    A  moun- 
tainous country  scarcely  admits  of  military 
operations,    and   races  of  hardy  and   well- 
armed  mountaineers  are  proverbially  diffi- 
cult to  subdue.     An  expedition,  which  Pas- 
kiewitch undertook  to  Abhasia,  was  sterile 
in  results,  but  fertile  in  loss  of  men.     After 
a  rough  experience  of  Caucasian  warfare,  he 
submitted  a  plan  of  operations  to  the  im- 
perial   government.     It   revealed  the  only 
way  which,  in  his  opinion,  and  in  that  of 
his   most   distinguished   officers,    promised 
ultimately,   though   at  a  great   expense  of 
blood  and  treasure,  to  bring  about  the  tran- 
quillisation  of  the  Caucasus.     It  consisted 
in   confining   the   refractory   mountaineers 
within  an  encircling  and  intersecting  chain  of 
forts,  which  would  require  to  be  garrisoned 
by  not  less  than  80,000  men.     The  chief 
points  of  this  plan,  as  adopted  by  the  mili- 
tary council  of  St.  Petersburg,  were  as  fol- 
lows : — First,  premising  that  forts  were  to  be 
erected  along  the  Black  Sea  line  of  coast  to 
complete  the  encircling  chain  of  Russian 
posts,  the  marshal  proposed  that  four  new 
military  routes  across  the  mountains  should 
be   constructed,    and    planted   throughout 
with  fortresses.     One  road  was  to  run  from 
Gelendshik    on   the   Black    Sea,   south   of 
Anapa,  through  the  mountains  to  the  lower 
Kuban;   one  from  a  still   more   southerly 
point  on  the  Black  Sea  shore,  through  and 
over  the  mountain  range  to  the   Russian 
forts  on  the  north,  in  the  vicinity  of  Elbruz ; 
another  from  Nucha  to  the  east  of  Georgia, 
over  the  Lesghian  chain,  to  the  country  of 
the  Tchetchentzes;  and  the  fourth  and  last, 
from  a  point  eastward  of  Nucha,  over  the 
same  Lesghian  chain,  to  the  fortress  of  Der- 
bend  on  the  Caspian.    Other  details  referred 
to  the  securing  and  facilitating  the  inter- 
communication of  the   Russian  lines   and 
fortresses. 

Marshal  Paskiewitch  did  not  remain  to 
carry  his  elaborate  scheme  into  execution, 
as,  in  1831,  he  was  recalled  to  take  the 
command  in  the  war  against  the  Poles,  as 
we  have  already  related.  General  Wil- 
liaminofi"  succeeded  Paskiewitch  as  governor 
in  the  Caucasus.  In  a  proclamation  ad- 
dressed to  the  Circassians,  inviting  them  to 
submit,  he,  in  order  to  give  that  people  an 
idea  of  the  power  of  the  czar,  arrogantly 
observed — "  If  heaven  were  to  fall,  it  would 
be  supported  by  Russian  bayonets.^'  He 
soon,  however,  experienced  the  effects  of 
the  bravery  and  wild  independence  of  the 
mountaineers.     In  his  advance  with  20,000 


men  from  the  Kuban,  across  the  mountains 
towards  Gelendshik,  on  the  coast  of  the 
Black  Sea,  to  carry  out  the  first  of  the 
routes  proposed  by  Paskiewitch,  his  troops 
fell  into  an  ambush  of  the  Circassians,  and 
were  subjected  to  such  a  tempest  of  rifle-fire 
from  every  ledge  of  rock  or  other  point  that 
commanded  the  line  of  march,  that  the 
attempt  was  not  only  baffled,  but  cost  him 
between  three  aud  four  thousand  men  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners. 

This  was  but  a  small  matter  to  the  Rus- 
sian  government,  which   continually   sent 
reinforcements  to  the   Caucasus,  with  the 
hope  of  overawing  the  mountaineers  into 
submission.     Three   of    the    contemplated 
forts  were  erected  on  the  route  from  the 
Kuban   to   Gelendshik,    and    others   were 
erected  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Cau- 
casus, with   the   object  of  increasing   the 
efficiency  of  a  blockade  established  there. 
This  blockade,  though  but  imperfectly  pre- 
served, was  more  oppressive  to  the  Circas- 
sians than  the  presence  of  large  bodies  of 
Russian  troops.     It  rendered  it  difficult  for 
the  mountaineers  to  obtain  supplies  of  gun- 
powder, aud  threatened  to  ruin  the  trade 
they  carried  on  in  their  daughters  by  send- 
ing them  for  sale  to  Constantinople.     With 
respect  to  this  practice  the  Circassians  are 
little  better  than  savages ;  but  as  it  is  the 
custom  amongst  them  for  fathers  to  sell 
their  daughters  for  the  purposes  of  prostitu- 
tion, they  appear  to  be  unconscious  of  the 
shame  and  heartlessness  of  such  proceed- 
ings.    Russia  is  indifferent  on  this  point; 
and  perhaps  she  does  wisely  in  not  inter- 
fering with  the  social  practices,  or  misprac- 
tices,  of  a  people  whom  she  desires  to  win 
to  submission  to  her  sway.     "The  slave- 
trade,"  observes  Golovin,  in  allusion  to  the 
poor  girls  who  are  converted  into  articles 
of  commerce,  "  was  sanctioned  by  a  treaty  of 
1847,  between  the  Russians  and  the  Circas- 
sians.    During  part  of  the  year  it  is  carried 
on  openly  on  the  Black  Sea.     Every  year 
more  than  1,000  young  girls  are  carried 
from  Circassia  to  Turkey ;  and  the  obstacles 
opposed  to  that  trade  have  had  no  other 
result  than  to  quadruple  the  price  of  slaves. 
Even   Austrian    steam-boats  are  employed 
for  carrying  Circassian  girls ;  and  whenever 
the  Russians  capture  any  of  these  slave- 
boats,  they  either  give  the  girls  in  marriage 
to  the  Cossacks,  or  they  allow  them  to  be 
violated  by  the    soldiers  of  the   regiments 
garrisoned  in  the  neighbouring  forts.^' 
The  Circassian  chiefs,  oppressed  by  the 

91 


M 


I! 


SEIZURE  OF  THE  VrXEN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1837. 


|i     'H> 


Russian  blockade  of  their  coast,  and  startled 
by  the  reports  in  circulation  as  to  the 
enormous  forces  Russia  was  about  to  pour 
out  for  their  subjugation,  looked  for  assis- 
tance to  the  other  European  states,  and 
especially  to  England,  of  whose  power  and 
supposed  sympathy  with  the  oppressed, 
they  entertained  rather  extravagant  no- 
tions. These  impressions  were  strength- 
ened by  the  language  of  several  enthu- 
siastic English  travellers,  whom  the  simple 
mountaineers  regarded  as  ambassadors  from 
this  country.  A  curious  circumstance  also 
occurred  at  this  time  (in  1837),  by  which 
the  English  government  ran  some  risk  of 
taking  the  cause  of  the  Circassians  upon  its 
shoulders,  without  exactly  intending  to  do 
so.  An  impression  prevailed  in  this  country, 
and  was  actively  disseminated  by  a  portion 
of  the  press,  that  neither  the  treaty  of 
Adrianople,  nor  any  other  treaty,  gave 
Russia  the  right  of  establishing  a  blockade 
of  the  Circassian  coast.  This  view  of  the 
matter  was  so  confidently  held  by  a  Mr. 
James  Stanislaus  Bell,  that  he  resolved  on 
putting  it  to  a  public  test  by  a  deliberate 
and  ostentatious  defiance  of  the  Russian 
blockade.  He  proceeded  to  the  Caucasus 
in  the  Viicen,  an  English  merchant  vessel, 
which  he  had  loaded  with  munitions  of 
war  for  disposal  among  the  mountaineers. 
Before  the  vessel  sailed,  Mr.  Bell  addressed 
a  letter  to  Viscount  Palmerston,  then  foreign 
secretary,  to  inquire  whether  the  Russian 
blockade  in  the  Black  Sea  was  recognised 
by  the  English  government.  In  reply,  he 
was  informed  that  "  no  blockade  was  recog- 
nised by  Great  Britain,  a  notification  of 
which  had  not  been  published  in  the  London 
Gazette.'^  As  no  such  notification  had  been 
given,  Mr.  Bell  set  sail  in  the  Vixen,  and 
trusted  that  either  one  of  two  supposed 
results  must  follow  from  the  execution  of 
his  daring  scheme.  He  trusted  that  the 
blockading  force  would  seize  the  Vixen,  and 
thus  induce  the  British  government  to  send 
a  fleet  to  the  Black  Sea  to  avenge  the  out- 
rage by  destroying  the  Russian  armament 
and  arsenals  there ;  or  that  if  his  vessel  suc- 
cessfully set  the  blockade  at  defiance,  its 
illegality  or  its  impotence  would  become 
notorious,  and  the  Circassians  be  well  sup- 
plied for  the  future  with  powder  and  weapons. 
Neither  of  these  results  occurred;  for, 
though  the  Vixen  was  seized  while  attempt- 
ing to  land  her  contraband  cargo,  the 
British  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  did  not 
take  any  notice  of  a  proceeding  concerning 
92 


which  it  was  both  ignorant  and  unautho- 
rised to  act  in  the  event  of  its  being  in- 
formed. News  of  the  seizure  first  reached 
this  country  through  the  medium  of  the 
St.  Petersburg  Gazette,  in  which  the  narra- 
tive was  accompanied  by  an  anxious  vindi- 
cation of  the  legality  of  the  act,  and  a 
statement,  that  in  consequence  of  the  em- 
peror's high  respect  for  the  flag  (the  privi- 
leges of  which  the  captain  of  the  Vixen  had 
so  grossly  attempted  to  abuse),  the  officers 
and  crew,  and  the  ship  herself,  had  been 
liberated,  and  only  the  war  material  she 
contained  confiscated.  A  considerable  sen- 
sation was  produced  in  this  country,  and 
warm  discussions  took  place  in  parliament. 
In  answer  to  a  question  from  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  Lord  Palmerston  went  so  far  as  to 
declare,  that  the  question  of  peace  or  war 
with  Russia  entirely  depended  upon  the 
opinion  that  might  be  given  by  the  law- 
officers  of  the  crown,  to  whom  the  whole 
case  had  been  formally  submitted,  as  to  the 
right  of  Russia  to  institute  the  blockade. 
Their  decision  was  in  favour  of  the  Russian 
government,  and  the  aff'air  blew  over ;  but 
not  without  the  expenditure  of  a  great  deal 
of  abuse  against  Lord  Palmerston  for  what 
was  termed  "base  truckling"  to  the  czar; 
a  reproach  which,  in  this  instance  at  least, 
we  cannot  conceive  he  merited. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  year  (1837), 
the  emperor  Nicholas  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Caucasus  ;  but  he  quite  failed  in  producing 
that  impression  on  the  Circassian  chiefs 
which  he  trusted  his  presence  would  eff'ect. 
He  travelled  with  great  rapidity,  but  re- 
mained at  Tiflis,  the  capital  of  Georgia, 
from  the  20th  to  the  24th  of  October; 
during  which  time  he  reviewed  the  Russian 
troops,  gave  dinners  and  a  grand  ball,  and 
invited  the  chiefs  of  the  country  to  various 
conferences,  to  which  they  repaired  on  the 
faith  of  the  Russian  parole.  This  language, 
instead  of  conciliating  these  proud  moun- 
taineers, only  had  the  eff'ect  of  irritating 
them.  He  was  at  that  time  disfigured  by 
an  eruption  in  the  face,  which  took  much 
from  the  majesty  of  his  personal  appearance; 
and  when,  to  give  them  a  rude  conception 
of  his  power,  he  told  them  that  he  had 
sufficient  powder  to  blow  up  all  their  moun- 
tains, they  did  not  form  a  high  opinion  of 
his  intellect. 

Hitherto  a  series  of  desultory  conflicts 
only  had  taken  place  between  the  Cir- 
cassians and  the  Russians;  but  in  1839, 
the  latter  made  a  formal  declaration  of  war^ 


A.D.  1840.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  in  the  CAtJCAStTS. 


and    hostilities   have   continued,  with   but 
little  intermission,  ever  since.     During  that 
year,  three  Russian  armies  were  landed  on 
the  Circassian  shore,   and  an  active  cam- 
paign followed.     It  was,  for  the  most  part, 
a  disastrous    one    for    the   Russians,  who, 
during  it,  had  seventeen  ships  of  war  driven 
on  shore  or  foundered  in  the  Black   Sea. 
So  resolute,  also,  was  the  conduct  of  the 
Circassians,  and  so  fatal  were  the  eff*ects  of 
their  constant  ambushes    and   unexpected 
attacks,    that  General   Golovin,  who    had 
succeeded  to  the  command,  attempted  to 
win  by  negotiation  what  he  was  unable  to 
obtain  by  arms.    In  an  address  to  the  moun- 
taineers, he  told  them — "  The  most  mighty 
of  all  earthly  potentates  and  great  mon- 
archs,  the  emperor,  condescended  to  visit 
the  Caucasus ;    and  in  his  unbounded  cle- 
mency, his  imperial  majesty  deigned  per- 
sonally to  inform  himself,  from  the  deputies 
of  the  diff*erent  nations,  of   circumstances 
respecting  the  position  and  the  wants  of 
the  tribes  which  they  represented ;  and  in 
this  manner,  having  learned  that  the  pre- 
vious conditions  were  too  onerous,  the  mag:- 
nanimous  monarch  has  changed  them  for  the 
gracious  conditions  upon  which,  in  future, 
the  submission  of  the  mountaineers  will  be 
accepted — namely, '  Cease  from  all  hostilities 
against  us  ;  give  the  hostages  we  shall  name  ; 
and  surrender  all  the  deserters  and  all  the 
prisoners  you  have  taken.'"     The  address 
also  contained  some  bitter  remarks  upon 
the  English,  from  whom  the  Circassians  yet 
confidently  expected  assistance.     The  Cir- 
cassians were  not  more  readily  ensnared  by 
Russian  promises,  than  they  were  to  be  de- 
feated by  Russian  arms ;  and  they  replied — 
'*  We  know  you  well ;  you  are  men  without 
faith,    without    honour,    without    religion ; 
and  we  would  as  soon  place  confidence  in 
the  pigs  which  roam  our  forests,  and  which 
we  esteem  just  as  much  as  we  do  so  many 
Muscovites.      Thank    God,    we   know   our 
friends  from  our  enemies,  and  are  not  to  be 
so  grossly  imposed  upon   as  you  imagine. 
You  will  next  assert,  that  the  steamers  and 
other    ships,    whose    wrecks    bestrew   our 
coast,   were  not  Russian.     Spare  us   your 
assurances ;  proceed  with  your  war,  and  do 
your  worst !" 

The  war  was  accordingly  renewed  in 
1840;  but  the  Russians  experienced  even 
still  more  serious  reverses.  Most  of  the 
new  forts  they  had  erected  on  the  coast 
were  taken  and  demolished  by  the  Cir- 
cassians.  The  line  of  forts,  from  the  Kuban 


ti 


to  Gelendshik,  was  swept  away,  and  the 
garrisons  dispersed  or  massacred.  A  great 
prophet-leader,  a  devout  Mussulman,  also 
arose  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains ; 
and  the  Russians  were  fain  to  conclude  a 
truce  with  the  Circassians,  that  they  might 
recover  from  their  losses,  and  prepare  to 
turn  their  arms  against  this  new  foe. 

Schamyl,  the  pupil  and  successor  of  Kasi 
Mullah,  was  the  patriot  and  presumed  pro- 
phet who  had  arisen  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Caucasus.  Brave,  eloquent,  devout, 
enthusiastic,  and  convinced  that  his  actions 
were  the  result  of  direct  inspirations  from 
God,  Schamyl  was  just  the  chieftain  re- 
quired for  so  hardy  and  bold  a  race  as  the 
inhabitants  of  this  wild  region.  He  would 
not  permit  any  of  the  neighbouring  tribes 
to  submit  to  the  Russians ;  but  compelled 
those  who  were  inclined  to  do  so,  to  take  up 
their  rifles  in  defence  of  their  fatherland. 
"  If,''  said  he  to  some  who  hesitated,  "  ye 
continue  to  give  more  belief  to  the  deceitful 
words  of  the  infidels  than  ye  do  to  my 
speech,  I  will  do  that  which  Kasi  Mullah 
formerly  had  it  in  his  mind  to  do.  My 
bands  will  overwhelm  your  villages  like  a 
storm-cloud,  to  compel  that  which  you  deny 
to  my  friendly  assurances.  I  will  come 
with  bloody  footsteps;  desolation  and  fear 
shall  follow  and  precede  my  hosts;  for  what 
the  might  of  eloquence  may  not  do,  shall  be 
effected  with  the  edge  of  the  sword."  His 
words  produced  this  response  : — "  Moham- 
med was  Allah's  first  prophet ;  Schamyl  is 
his  second  1"  But  the  inhabitants  of  Ka- 
bardah  fearing  Russia  more  than  the  war- 
rior-prophet, he  kept  his  word,  and  burnt 
more  than  sixty  of  their  villages. 

General  Grabbe  was  sent  with  12,000 
veteran  troops  against  Akhoulgo,  the  strong- 
hold of  Schamyl— a  kind  of  castle,  shut  up 
on  every  side  by  masses  of  rock,  and  for- 
tified with  the  resources  of  modern  art ;  a 
labour  in  which  he  had  been  assisted  by 
foreigners.  Akhoulgo  was  taken  by  Grabbe 
at  a  terrible  cost  of  life ;  a  murderous 
battle,  of  a  desultory  kind,  being  fought, 
which  extended  over  five  days.  Schamyl 
escaped  with  his  life  only  by  a  stratagem ; 
and  so  imminent  was  his  danger,  that  the 
mountaineers  more  than  ever  believed  him 
to  be  under  the  especial  protection  of 
heaven.  His  fame  was  undiminished ;  and 
for  three  or  four  years  he  carried  on  an 
incessant  and  merciless  guerilla  warfare 
against  the  Russian  forces.  Such  was  the 
rapidity  of  his  movements,  and  so  uaex- 

93 


'S' 


r 

^1 


f 


THE  CAUCASUS  UNSUBDUED.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


f  A.D.  1845. 


pectedly  did  he  and  his  fierce  followers 
burst  upon  their  foes,  that  the  latter  feared 
that  he  possessed  the  power  of  ubiquity. 
At  length  General  Grabbe,  at  the  head  of  a 
body  of  20,000  men,  pursued  him  to  a  re- 
treat in  the  mountains  called  Dargo,  with 
the  hope  of  capturing  or  destroying  so 
dangerous  a  chief.  The  mountaineers  re- 
tired before  their  foes,  and  lured  them  on 
through  deserted  valleys  and  rugged  moun- 
tain-passes, until  they  were  completely  ex- 
hausted through  fatigue  and  hardship. 
Nothing  was  left  for  them  but  to  retrace 
their  weary  steps;  which  they  no  sooner 
did,  than  the  followers  of  Schamyl  rushed 
upon  them  with  tremendous  impetuosity, 
and  assailed  them  at  every  difficult  spot  on 
their  march.  Having  captured  a  Russian 
drummer,  the  troops  of  Schamyl  compelled 
him  to  beat  the  drum;  and  many  Russian 
soldiers,  attracted  by  the  sound,  fell  into 
the  snare.  Discipline  was  forgotten  during 
the  retreat ;  and  more  than  half  the  offi- 
cers were  killed.  When  General  Grabbe 
regained  the  encampment,  he  had  lost  a 
fourth  part  of  his  army,  several  cannon,  a 
quantity  of  baggage,  and  other  material  of 
war.  The  emperor,  vexed  at  this  result, 
recalled  him ;  at  the  same  time  acknow- 
ledging that  the  rout  was  more  attributable 
to  the  country  and  the  elements  than  to 
the  commanding  officer.  He  was  replaced 
by  General  Neidhart  who,  not  proving 
more  fortunate  than  his  predecessor,  and 
being  unable  to  arrest  the  ravages  of 
Schamyl,  was  also  recalled ;  and,  unable  to 
bear  his  disgrace,  died  of  grief. 

Count  Woronzofi*  was  then  sent  from  St. 
Petersburg  to  assume  the  chief  command 
in  the  Caucasus,  and  the  troops  there  were 
raised  to  the  number  of  150,000  men. 
The  emperor  reserved  to  himself  the  right 
of  giving  orders,  and  commanded  every- 
thing to  be  sacrificed  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  Dargo.  Woronzoff  undertook  an 
expedition  against  it;  and  Schamyl,  un- 
able to  defend  a  place  of  no  strategical 
importance,  allowed  it  to  be  taken ;  but 
■while  the  army  was  retiring,  he  attacked  it 
so  successfully  in  the  forest  of  Itcherki, 
that  the  Russian  force  was  nearly  de- 
stroyed. It  would  have  been  totally  so, 
but  that  two  Circassian  prisoners,  who 
turned  traitors  to  their  country,  succeeded 
in  carrying  to  General  Freytag  an  order  to 

•  For  the  conclusive  reason,  that  it  has  shown 
itself  unable  to  put  it  into  execution  ;  besides,  the 
Russians  do  not  want  a  desert  which  they  have  not 

94 


come  to  the  help  of  his  chief.  The  moun- 
taineers, perched  on  fragments  of  inacces- 
sible rocks,  shot  down  the  Russian  officers 
almost  with  impunity,  and  every  step  of 
the  retreat  was  disputed  with  a  ferocious 
obstinacy.  Barricades,  formed  of  trunks 
of  trees,  fragments  of  rock,  and  double 
rows  of  strong  stakes,  had  been  thrown 
across  the  narrow  passes;  and  at  each  of 
these  positions,  which  were  commanded  by 
SchamyFs  marksmen,  the  carnage  was  ter- 
rible. Such  was  the  terror  created  by 
these  incessant  assaults,  that  a  panic  arose 
in  the  Russian  ranks ;  and  when  the  foe 
burst  upon  them,  they  offered  but  little 
resistance,  but,  falling  into  disorder,  broke 
and  fled,  and  were  pursued  and  cut  down 
for  miles.  In  this  terrible  rout  the  Rus- 
sians lost  4,000  men ;  and  more  than  200 
officers,  including  three  generals,  were 
among  the  slain.  Russia  has  since  chiefly 
occupied  herself  with  retaining  her  position 
in  the  Caucasus,  and  acting  on  the  defen- 
sive. Schamyl  has  not  ceased  to  be  a 
terror  to  the  invaders ;  and  it  is  supposed 
that  he  has  recently  devoted  himself  towards 
bringing  about  a  federal  defensive  union 
between  all  the  tribes  of  the  Caucasus ;  an 
event  which,  if  effected,  would  render  Rus- 
sian conquest  very  remote,  if  not  altogether 
impossible.  Hitherto,  it  is  certain  that 
Russia  has  sustained  a  defeat,  or  rather 
series  of  defeats,  though  she  will  not 
acknowledge  that  such  is  the  fact. 

The  spirit  of  the  mountaineers  was  re- 
animated by  the  war  of  1854-'5  ;  and  Sul- 
tan Abdul-Medjid,  perceiving  the  fault  of 
his  predecessors  (who  had  determined  the 
fate  of  the  Circassians  by  ceding  to  the 
Russians  the  coast  of  the  Black  Sea  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  former),  concluded 
an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with 
Schamyl ;  which,  however,  did  not  lead  to 
any  important  result. 

**  When  is,  then,  an  end  to  be  put  to  the 
war?  The  aouls  (villages)  just  subdued 
rebel  as  soon  as  the  Russians  have  with- 
drawn, or  the  Murids  come  there.  Peace, 
say  the  Russian  military  men,  cannot  be 
obtained  unless  all  the  inhabitants  are  slaugh- 
tered. That  measure  has  always  been  re- 
jected by  the  Russian  government,"^  which 
plumes  itself  on  its  humanity,  but  which 
shows  so  little  concern  for  the  chronic 
effusion  of  blood  caused  by  this  protracted 

the  means  of  populating :  they  desire  to  make  the 
Caucasus  a  Russian  province,  and  the  Caucasians 
Russian  serfs. 


r 


.#; 


A.D.  1840.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[expedition  to  KHIVA. 


war.  There  might  be  colonisation,  it  is 
true ;  but  the  population  of  Russia  is  not 
sufficiently  numerous  to  colonise  the  Cau- 
casus ;  besides,  the  inhabitants  of  the  plain 
are  not  willing  to  leave  their  fertile  fields 
to  go  and  cultivate  rocks  in  the  mountains. 
The  Russian  forts  are  too  isolated  to  afford 
timely  assistance  to  one  which  is  threatened; 
while  the  Circassians,  by  uniting  forces 
superior  to  those  of  the  garrisons,  will  have 
more  chance  of  attacking  them  successively 
in  detail,  when  they  have  improved  in  the 
art  of  carrying  on  a  siege,  or  have  artillery 
at   their   service.     In  the  meantime,  they 


undertake  sanguinary  irruptions  among  the 
Russian  colonists,  execute  razzias,  carry 
away  the  cattle,  and  sometimes  the  wives, 
of  the  Cossacks— a  thing  which  does  not 
occur  in  the  war  of  Algiers.  Moreover, 
the  Russian  forts,  though  very  numerous, 
have  been  found  to  be  insufficient.  The 
system  of  forts  was  abandoned  in  Africa 
by  General  Bugeau,  and  replaced  with  ad- 
vantage by  mobile  columns.  It  is  true, 
that  movements  are  more  difficult  in  the 
Caucasus  than  in  Africa ;  and  the  Russians 
have  still  a  great  deal  to  learn  from  the 
French  in  the  art  of  war."* 


I 


CHAPTER  XIL 

FAILURE  OF  A  RUSSIAN  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  KHIVA ;  THE  EMPEROR  NICHOLAS  VISITS  ENGLAND  AND 
BECOMES  THE  GUEST  OF  QUEEN  VICTORIA;  HE  TRANSMITS  A  MEMORANDUM  ON  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  TURKEY 
TO  THE  ENGLISH  CABINET;  OPINION  OF  NICHOLAS  ON  THE  ENGLISH  FORM  OF  GOVERNMENT  •  SUPPRES- 
SION OF  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  CRACOW  ;  FUTILE  EXPOSTULATIONS  OF  THE  CABINETS  OF  LONDON  AND  PARIS  • 
DICTATORIAL  ATTITUDE  OF  AUSTRIA  AND  RUSSIA  TOWARDS  SWITZERLAND;  THE  HUNGARIAN  REVOLU- 
TION ;  MILITARY  INTERVENTION  OF  RUSSIA,  AND  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  ;  TRIUMPHANT 
MANIFESTO  OF  THE  EMPEROR  NICHOLAS,  WHO  ASSUMES  TO  BE  THE  PROTECTOR  OF  THE  CONTINENTAI 
DESPOTISMS  AGAINST  ANY  INSURRECTIONARY  MOVEMENTS  OF  THEIR  SUBJECTS. 


The  irritation  which  existed  in  this  country 
against  Russia,  on  account  of  the  seizure  of 
the  British    merchantman,  the   Vixen,    on 
the  Circassian  shore  of  the  Black  Sea,  was 
much  increased  by  the  march,  in  1838,.  of  a 
Persian  army,  directed  by  Russian  officers, 
against  Herat.      This  proceeding  was  re- 
garded, both  by  the  government  and  people 
of  this  country,  as  a  preliminary  to  the  in- 
vasion of  the  Anglo-Indian  empire ;  and  a 
rupture  of  amicable  relations  between  Great 
Britain  and  Russia  appeared  extremely  pro- 
bable.   Fortunately  the  apprehensions  of  the 
English  cabinet  were  tranquillised  by  the  re- 
pulse of  the  Persians,  and  the  subsequent  con- 
quest of  Affghanistan  by  an  army  from  India. 
Russian  acquisitiveness  in  this  direction 
received  a  further  check  from  the  failure 
of  a  formidable  expedition  sent  by  the  czar, 
in    1840,   against    the   predatory  state   of 
Khiva — an  Asiatic  country,  forming  a  part 
of  that  natural  division  which  goes  by  the 
name  of  Turan,  or  Turkestan.     The  inhab- 
itants of  Khiva  consist  of  the  Uzbecks  and 
the  Sartes ;  the  former  being  a  branch  of  the 
•  The  Caucasus  ;  by  Ivan  Golovin. 


Turks,  and  the  latter  Persians.     The  au- 
thority of  the  khan  of  Khiva  is  supposed 
to  extend  over  a  country  containing  about 
150,000   square   miles.      Russia    has    fre- 
quently been  accused  of  attempting  to  ex- 
tend   her  frontier   in   this   direction;    but 
apparently  insurmountable  obstacles  stand 
in  the  way  of  the  accomplishment  of  her 
desire.      Between    the    Russian    town    of 
Orenburg  and  the  territory  of  Khiva,  he 
400   miles   of   salt   desert.      The    Russian 
general,  though  provided  with  10,000  bag- 
gage  camels^    was    unable   even   to    reach 
Khiva.      So   terrible   were   the    hardships 
encountered  by  his  troops,  that  on  reaching 
the  last  Russian  outpost,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  retrace  their  steps.     The  expedi- 
tion had  been  undertaken  during  the  win- 
ter, merely  that  the  troops  might  be  en- 
abled to  obtain  fresh  water,  which  is  dried 
up  by  the  parching  heats  of  the  summer. 
The   consequence    was,    the   men    suffered 
terribly  from  the  cold,  which  was  40°  below 
zero  of  the  centigrade  thermometer.     Thus 
it  will  be  seen,  that  from  whatever  point 
Russia  endeavours  to  advance  upon  India, 

95 


;J 


li     > 


1"^ 


NICHOIJVS  VISITS  ENGLAND.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1844. 


Bhe  will  meet  the  stern,  unbending  oppo- 
sition of  nature. 

These  matters  passed  over  without  dis- 
turbing the  peaceful  relations  between  Russia 
and  England,  which  it  was  the  interest  of 
both  countries  to  maintain.  In  the  June  of 
the  year  1844,  the  emperor  Nicholas  visited 
England.  He  arrived  off  Woolwich  on  the 
1st  of  June,  in  the  Cyclops,  a  Dutch  gov- 
ernment steamer,  attended  by  Count  Orloff, 
General  d^Adlerberg,  Prince  Wassiltschikoff, 
and  Prince  Radzitvil.  On  landing,  the  dis- 
tinguished visitors  at  once  proceeded  to  the 
Russian  embassy,  where  they  took  up  their 
abode.  On  the  following  day,  Prince 
Albert  arrived,  and  escorted  the  emperor 
and  the  principal  persons  of  his  suite  to 
Buckingham  Palace.  The  emperor  was 
received  by  her  majesty  in  the  grand  hall, 
where  a  splendid  dejeuner  was  served. 
Nicholas  afterwards  visited  the  Queen- 
dowager,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cam- 
bridge, the  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  the 
Princess  Sophia,  and  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton. The  second  day  of  his  stay  he  visited 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  purchased  ^5,000 
worth  of  jewellery  at  Messrs.  Mortimer's 
and  Hunt's.  Her  majesty  and  her  dis- 
tinguished visitors,  including  the  king  of 
Saxony,  then  proceeded  to  Windsor  by  the 
Great  Western  railway.  For  eight  days 
Nicholas  was  entertained  by  her  majesty, 
during  which  period  he  went  to  Ascot  races; 
was  present  at  a  grand  review  in  the  Great 
Park  at  Windsor ;  inspected  Prince  Albert's 
farm  ;  went  to  see  the  Virginia  Water;  re- 
turned to  town,  and  paid  an  almost  innu- 
merable amount  of  visits  to  distinguished 
people ;  besides  inspecting  the  United  Ser- 
vice Club,  the  new  houses  of  parliament, 
and  attending  a  fete  given  by  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire  at  Chiswick,  at  which  seven  or 
eight  hundred  distinguished  noblemen  and 
gentlemen  were  present.  On  returning  to 
Woolwich,  he  visited  the  dockyard  and  the 
works,  and  then  embarked  on  board  the 
Black  Eagle  steamer  on  his  return  home. 

During  the  stay  of  the  czar,  he  had  some 
interviews  with  the  ministers  of  her  ma- 
jesty on  the  vexed  subject  of  the  Eastern 
question.  The  observations  of  Nicholas  on 
this  topic  were  embodied,  by  his  direction, 
in  a  memorandum,  which  was  forwarded  to 
the  English  cabinet  by  Count  Nesselrode, 
and  confided  to  Lord  Aberdeen,  then  minis- 
ter for  foreign  affairs.  That  memorandum 
throws  some  light  upon  the  events  which 
led  to  the  great  war  of  1854-'5,  and  shows 


both  how  the  mind  of  the  emperor  dwelt 
constantly  on  the  enfeebled  state  of  Turkey, 
and  the  profound  duplicity  with  which  he 
masked  his  views.  Read  by  the  light 
afforded  by  later  events,  it  will  be  seen 
that  Nicholas  desired  to  establish  a  close 
relationship  with  England,  and  then  to  use 
her  naval  power  to  assist  in  his  sinister 
designs  on  the  Ottoman  territory.  As  he 
observed  upon  another  occasion — "  All  I 
want  is  a  good  understanding  with  Eng- 
land. This  point  arrived  at,  the  English 
government  and  I — I  and  the  English  gov- 
ernment— having  entire  confidence  in  one 
another's  views,  I  care  nothing  about  the 
rest."  We  append  the  imperial  memoran- 
dum, as  a  valuable  historical  document. 

"  Russia  and  England  are  mutually  pene- 
trated with  the  conviction  that  it  is  for 
their  common  interest  that  the  Ottoman 
Porte  should  maintain  itself  in  the  state  of 
independence  and  of  territorial  possession 
which  at  present  constitute  that  empire,  as 
that  political  combination  is  the  one  which 
is  most  compatible  with  the  general  in- 
terest of  the  maintenance  of  peace.  Being 
agreed  on  this  principle,  Russia  and  Eng- 
land have  an  equal  interest  in  uniting  their 
efforts  in  order  to  keep  up  the  existence  of 
the  Ottoman  empire,  and  to  avert  all  the 
dangers  which  can  place  in  jeopardy  its 
safety.  With  this  object,  the  essential 
point  is  to  suffer  the  Porte  to  live  in  re- 
pose, without  needlessly  disturbing  it  by 
diplomatic  bickerings,  and  without  inter- 
fering, unless  with  absolute  necessity,  in  its 
internal  affairs.  In  order  to  carry  out 
skilfully  this  system  of  forbearance,  with  a 
view  to  the  well-understood  interest  of  the 
Porte,  two  things  must  not  be  lost  sight  of. 
They  are  these  : — 

"  In  the  first  place,  the  Porte  has  a  con- 
stant tendency  to  extricate  itself  from  the  en- 
gagements imposed  upon  it  by  the  treaties 
which  it  has  concluded  with  other  powers. 
It  hopes  to  do  so  with  impunity,  because  it 
reckons  on  the  mutual  jealousy  of  the  cabi- 
nets. It  thinks  that  if  it  fails  in  its  en- 
gagements towards  one  of  them,  the  rest 
will  espouse  its  quarrel^  and  will  screen  it 
from  all  responsibility.  It  is  essential  not 
to  confirm  the  Porte  in  this  delusion. 
Every  time  that  it  fails  in  its  obligations 
towards  one  of  the  great  powers,  it  is  the 
interest  of  all  the  rest  to  make  it  sensible 
of  its  error,  and  seriously  to  exhort  it  to 
act  rightly  towards  the  cabinet  which  de- 
mands just  reparation.    As   soon   as  the 


4 


r 


II 


A.D.  1844.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [MEMORANDmi concerning  turkey. 


Porte  shall  perceive  that  it  is  not  supported 
by  the  other  cabinets,  it  will  give  way,  and 
the  differences  which  have  arisen  will  be 
arranged  in  a  conciliatory  manner,  without 
any  conflict  resulting  from  thera. 

"  There  is  a  second  cause  of  compUcation 
which  is  inherent  in  the  situation  of  the 
Porte;  it  is  the  difficulty  which  exists  in 
reconcihng  the  respect  due  to  the  sovereign 
authority  of  the    sultan,   founded    on   the 
Mussulman  law,  with  the  forbearance  re- 
quired  by  the   interests  of  the  Christian 
population  of  that  empire.     This  difficulty 
is  real.     In  the  present  state  of  feeling  in 
Europe,  the  cabinets  cannot  see  with  in- 
difference the  Christian  populations  in  Tur- 
key exposed  to  flagrant  acts  of  oppression 
and  intolerance.     It  is  necessary  constantly 
to  make  the  Ottoman  ministers  sensible  of 
this  truth,  and  to  persuade  them  that  they 
can  only  reckon  on  the  friendship  and  on 
the  support  of  the  great  powers  on  the  con- 
dition that  they  treat  the  Christian  subjects 
of  the  Porte  with  toleration  and  with  mild- 
ness.    While  insisting  on  this  truth,  it  will 
be  the  duty  of  the  foreign  representatives, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  exert  all  their  influ- 
ence to  maintain  the  Christian  subjects  of 
the  Porte  in  submission  to  the  sovereign 
authority.      It   will    be   the   duty   of    the 
foreign    representatives,   guided    by   these 
principles,   to  act  among  themselves  in   a 
perfect  spirit  of  agreement.     If  they  ad- 
dress  remonstrances    to   the   Porte,   those 
remonstrances  must  bear  a  real  character 
of  unanimity,  though  divested    of  one  of 
exclusive  dictation.     By  persevering  in  this 
system  with  calmness  and  moderation,  the 
representatives   of    the    great   cabinets    of 
Europe  will  have  the  best  chance  of  suc- 
ceeding in  the  steps  which  they  may  take, 
without   giving  occasion   for  complications 
which  might  affect  the  tranquillity  of  the 
Ottoman  empire.     If  all  the  great  powers 
frankly  adopt  this  line  of  conduct,  they  will 
have    a   well-founded,  expectation   of    pre- 
serving  the   existence   of  Turkey.      How- 
ever, they  must  not  conceal   from   them- 
selves  how  many   elements  of  dissolution 
that   empire   contains   within   itself.     Un- 
foreseen circumstances  may  hasten  its  fall, 
without    its    being  in   the  power   of   the 
friendly  cabinets  to  prevent  it.     As  it  is 
not  given  to  human  foresight  to  settle  be- 
forehand a  plan  of  action  for  such  or  such 
unlooked-for  case,  it  would   be  premature  ' 
to  discuss  eventualities  which  may  never  be 
realised.     In  the  uncertainty  which  hovers 
VOL.  II  o 


over  the  future,  a  single  fundamental  idea 
seems  to  admit  of  a  really  practicHl  applica- 
tion ;  it  is  that  the  danger  which  ma^ 
result  from  a  catastrophe  in  Turkey,  will  be 
much  diminished  if,  in  the  event  of  its 
occurring,  Russia  and  England  have  come 
to  an  understanding  as  to  the  course  to  b^ 
taken  by  them  in  common. 

"That  understanding  will   be  the  more 
beneficial,  inasmuch  as  it  will  have  the  full  . 
assent  of  Austria.     Between  her  and  Rus- 
sia there  exists  already  an  entire  conformity 
of   principles    in    regard   to    the    affairs    df 
Turkey,  in  a  common  interest  of  conserva- 
tism   and   of   jjcace.      In   order  to   render 
their  union  more  efficacious,  there  would 
remain   nothing    to    be   desired    but    that 
England  should  be  seen  to  associate  herself 
thereto  with  the  same  view.     The  reason 
which   recommends    the   establishment    of 
this    agreement  is  very  simple.     On  land 
Russia  exercises  in  regard  to  Turkey  a  pre- 
ponderant action.     On  sea  England  occu- 
pies the  same  position.     Isolated,  the  action 
of  these  two  powers  might  do  much  mis- 
chief.    United,  it  can  produce  a  real  bene- 
fit;  thence  the  advantage  of  coming  to  a 
previous   understanding  before  having  re- 
course to  action. 

"  This  notion  was  in  principle  agreed 
upon  during  the  emperor's  last  residence  in 
London.  The  result  was  the  eventual 
engagement,  that  if  anything  unforeseen 
occurred  in  Turkey,  Russia  and  England 
should  previously  concert  together  as  to 
the  course  which  they  should  pursue  in 
common.  The  object  for  which  Russia  and 
England  will  have  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing may  be  expressed  in  the  following 
manner : — 

"  1.  To  seek  to  maintain  the  existence  of 
the  Ottoman  empire  in  its  present  state  so 
long  as  that  political  combination  shall  be 
possible. 

"2.  If  we  foresee  that  it  must  crumble 
to  pieces,  to  enter  into  previous  concert  as 
to  everything  relating  to  the  establishment 
of  a  new  order  of  things,  intended  to  re- 
place that  which  now  exists,  and,  in  con- 
junction with  each  other,  to  see  that  the 
change  which  may  have  occurred  in  the 
internal  situation  of  that  empire  shall  not 
injuriously  affect  either  the  security  of 
their  own  states  and  the  rights  which  the 
treaties  assure  to  them  respectively,  or  the 
maintenance  of  the  balance  of  power  iu 
Europe. 

For  the  purpose  thus  stated,  the  policy 

97 


(( 


i 

'■4 


^'J 


OPINIONS  OP  NICHOLAS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1844. 


of  Russia  and  of  Austria,  as  we  have  already 
said,  is  closely  united  by  the  principle  of 
perfect  identity.  If  England,  as  the  prin- 
cipal maritime  power,  acts  in  concert  with 
them,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  France  will 
find  herself  obliged  to  act  in  conformity 
with  the  course  agreed  upon  between  St. 
Petersburg,  London,  and  Vienna.  Con- 
flict between  the  great  powers  being  thus 
obviated,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  peace  of 
Europe  will  be  maintained  even  in  the  midst 
of  such  serious  circumstances.  It  is  to 
secure  this  object  of  common  interest,  if 
the  case  occurs,  that,  as  the  emperor 
agreed  with  her  Britannic  majesty's  minis- 
ters during  his  residence  in  England,  the 
previous  understanding  which  Russia  and 
England  shall  establish  between  themselves 
must  be  directed." 

However  amicable  might  be  the  feelings 
of  the  emperor  Nicholas  towards  England 
and  its  fair  sovereign,  it  is  certain  that  he 
viewed  the  form  of  government  existing  in 
this  country  with  extreme  aversion.  The 
Marquis  Custine  records  an  interesting 
conversation  he  had  with  the  emperor,  in 
which  the  latter  expressed  his  opinion  con- 
cerning the  English  and  other  forms  of 
government.  We  quote  it  as  throwing 
some  lisrht  on  the  intellectual  character  of 
Nicholas, 

"  *  I  can  truly  say,  sire,  that  one  of  the 
chief  motives  of  my  curiosity  in  visiting 
Russia,   was  the   desire   of  approaching   a 
prince  who  exercises  such  power  over  men.^ 
— *  The  Russians  are  amiable,  but  he  must 
render   himself  worthy  who  would   govern 
Buch  a  people.' — '  Your  majesty  has  better 
appreciated  the  wants  and  the  position  of 
this  country  than   any  of  your   predeces- 
sors.'— *  Despotism  still   exists  in   Russia : 
it  is  the  essence  of  my  government ;  but  it 
accords  with  the  genius  of  the  nation.' — 
'  Sire,  by  stopping  Russia  on  the  road  of 
imitation,  you  are  restoring  her  to  herself.' 
— '  I  love  my  country,  and  I  believe  I  un- 
derstand it.      I   assure  you,   that   when  I 
feel  heartily  weary  of  all  the  miseries  of  the 
times,   I   endeavour  to  forget  the   rest   of 
Europe  by  retiring  towards  the  interior  of 
Russia.' — '  In  order  to  refresh  yourself  at 
your   fountain-head.' — 'Precisely   so.     No 
one  is  more  from  his  heart  a  Russian  than 
I  am.     I  am  going  to  say  to  you  what  I 
would  not  sav  to  another :  but  I  feel  that 
you  will  comprehend  me.' 

"  Here  the  emperor  interrupted  himself, 
and  looked  at  me  attentively.     I  continued 
98 


to  listen  without  replying,  and  he  pro- 
ceeded— *  I  can  understand  republicanism  ; 
it  is  a  plain  and  straightforward  form  of 
government,  or,  at  least,  it  might  be  so ;  I 
can  understand  absolute  monarchy,  for  I 
am  myself  the  head  of  such  an  order  of 
things;  but  I  cannot  understand  a  represen- 
tative monarchy :  it  is  the  government  of  ties, 
fraud,  and  corruption;  and  I  would  rather 
fall  back  even  upon  China  than  ever  adopt 
it.' — *  Sire,  I  have  always  regarded  repre- 
sentative government  as  a  compact  inev- 
itable in  certain  communities  at  certain 
epochs;  but,  like  all  other  compacts,  it 
does  not  solve  questions— it  only  adjourns 
difficulties.' 

"  The  emperor  seemed  to  say,  *  Go  on.'  I 
continued — *  It  is  a  truce  signed  between 
democracy  and  monarchy,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  two  very  mean  tyrants,  fear  and 
interest ;  and  it  is  prolonged  by  that  pride 
of  intellect  which  takes  pleasure  in  talking, 
and  that  popular  vanity  which  satisfies 
itself  on  words.  In  short,  it  is  the  aris- 
tocracy of  oratory,  substituted  for  the  aris- 
tocracy of  birth ;  it  is  the  government  of  the 
lawyer.' — *  Sir,  you  speak  the  truth,'  said  the 
emperor,  pressing  my  hand;  *I  have  been 
a  representative  sovereign,*  and  the  world 
knows  what  it  has  cost  me  to  have  been 
unwilling  to  submit  to  the  exigencies  of  this 
infamous  government.  To  buy  votes,  to 
corrupt  consciences,  to  seduce  some  in 
order  to  deceive  others ;  all  these  means  I 
disdained,  as  degrading  those  who  oljey  as 
much  as  those  who  command,  and  I  have 
dearly  paid  the  penalty  of  my  straightfor- 
wardness; but,  God  be  praised,  I  have  done 
for  ever  with  this  detestable  political  ma- 
chine. I  shall  never  more  be  a  constitu- 
tional king.  I  have  too  much  need  of 
saying  all  that  I  think  ever  to  consent  to 
reign  over  any  people  by  means  of  strata- 
gem and  intrigue.'  " 

Russia  never  lost  sight  of  her  policy 
to  extend  her  influence  both  throughout 
Europe  and  Asia.  At  this  period  she  was 
actively  but  secretly  employed  in  consoli- 
dating her  power,  fortifying  her  ports,  and 
strengthening  her  frontier  fortresses.  She 
also  assumed  to  be  the  protectress  of  the 
continental  monarchies  against  any  efl'ort 
for  constitutional  government  made  by  their 
subjects.  Alexander  had  dreaded  revolu- 
tionary principles;  but  Nicholas  made  it 
the  labour  of  his  life  to  crush  and  utterly 
extirpate  them.     He  converted  St.  Peters- 

•  In  Poland. 


\\ : 


A.D.  1846— 18^r.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [revolution  at  cracow. 


burg  into  the  head-quarters  of  despotism, 
and  endeavoured  to  propagandise  in  its 
behalf  by  means  of  intimidation. 

The  little  state  of  Cracow  had  been  formed, 
by  the  treaties  of  1815,  into  a  free  republic, 
under  the  sanction  of  all  the  allied  powers. 
In  the  February  of  1846,  a  feeble  and  foolish 
attempt   at   revolution,   for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  kind  of  socialistic  communism 
in   conjunction   with  Polish  independence, 
broke  out  at  Cracow.     A  provisional  gov- 
ernment was  formed,  and  a  manifesto  of  its 
principles  published.     "Let  us  endeavour,'' 
said  this  document,  "  to  establish  a  com- 
munity in  which  every  man  will  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  the  earth  according  to  his  deserts 
and  capacity;   let  all  privileges  cease;  let 
those  who  are  inferior  in  birth,  intelligence, 
or  physical  strength,  obtain,  without  humi- 
liation, the  unfailing  assistance  of  commu- 
nism,   which   will    divide    among    all    the 
absolute   proprietorship    of    the   soil,    now 
enjoyed  by  a  small  minority.     Let  all  im- 
posts, whether  paid  in  labour  or  in  money, 
cease;  and  let  all  who  have  fought  for  their 
country  have  an  indemnity  in  land  taken 
from  the  national  property." 

This  imprudent  language  was  not  unna- 
turally regarded  as  a  proclamation  of  war 
against  property,  and  the  peasants  of  Ga- 
licia   proceeded    to    outrages    against   the 
neighbouring  nobility,  whom  they  had  long 
detested.     The  troops  of  Austria,   Russia, 
and   Prussia   successively  entered  Cracow, 
And  the  revolutionary  movement  was  spee- 
dily suppressed.     In  the  following  Novem. 
ber,  a  joint  decree  of  Russia,  Austria,  and 
Prussia    revoked    and    annulled    the    arti- 
cles of  the  treaty,  and  Cracow  was  made 
over   to   Austria !     This  arbitrary  conduct 
elicited  expostulations  from  the  cabinets  of 
London  and  Paris,  both  of  which,  as  parties 
to  the  treaty  of  1815,  had  guaranteed  the 
independence  of  the  little  republic.     Lord 
Palmerston  observed — "  I  have  too  high  an 
opinion    of    the    sentiments    which    must 
animate  the  three  powers,  to  doubt  of  their 
acting  towards  Cracow  in  any  other  spirit 
than  that  of  the  treaty  of  Vienna.     Those 
governments  are  too  intelligent  not  to  per- 
ceive that  the  treaty  of  Vienna  must  be 
considered    in   its    integrity,    and    that   no 
government  is  permitted  to  make  a  choice 
of  those  articles  which  it  may  wish  to  pre- 
serve or  violate.     I  must  add,  that  if  there 
are  any  powers  who  have  signed  the  treaty 
of  Vienna  who  are  specially  interested  in 
its  faithful  execution,  they  are  the  German 


powers  ;  and  I  am  sure  that  it  cannot  have 
escaped  the  perspicacity  of  those  powers, 
that  if  the  treaty  of  Vienna  is  not  good  on 
the  Vistula,  it  must  be  equallv  bad  on  the 
Rhine   and   the  Po."     M.  Guizot  also,  in 
the  name  of  France,  forwarded  his  protest 
to   Vienna   against    the    incorporation    of 
Cracow  with  the  Austrian  empire.     "  No- 
thing," he  observed,  ''  more  compromises  a 
government  than  an  avowal  of  its  inability 
to  fulfil,  even  slowly,  its  own  promises,  and 
the    hopes    which    it    has    excited.      The 
destruction  of  the  small  state   of  Cracow 
may  deprive  Polish  conspirators  and  insur- 
gents of  some  means  of  action,  but  it  must 
also  foster  and  irritate  the  feelings  in  which 
these  deplorable  enterprises   have   so   fre- 
quently and  so  obstinately  originated,  and, 
moreover,  weaken  the  influences  by  which 
they  might    be   prevented.      It   enfeebles, 
throughout  Europe,  the  principles  of  order 
and   conservatism,   and   strengthens   blind 
passions  and  violent  designs."     These  ex- 
postulations  were   unavailing,    for  Austria 
defended  its  seizure  of  Cracow  by  the  asser- 
tion that  that  state   had,   by   its   conduct 
since  1815,   and   especially   in   the   recent 
outbreak,  itself  violated  the  conditions  on 
which  its  independence  was  promised.     The 
formal   annexation   of  Cracow   to   Austria 
extinguished  the  last  spark  of  Polish  inde- 
pendence. 

In  the  following  year  (1847),  another  in- 
stance occurred  of  the  dictatorial  attitude 
which  Russia  had  assumed  with  regard  to 
the  lesser  powers  of  Europe.  Russia,  in 
conjunction  with  the  governments  of  Austria 
and  Prussia,  addressed  a  note  to  Switzer- 
land, stating  that  they  abstained  from  in- 
tervention only  on  condition  of  the  Swiss 
adhering  to  the  compact  of  1815  (which  the 
three  despotic  powers  had  themselves  just 
violated  with  respect  to  Cracow),  and  not 
altering,  or  in  any  way  liberalising,  their 
domestic  institutions.  The  Swiss  govern- 
ment, animated  by  a  noble  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence, protested  against  any  foreign 
interference,  and  proceeded  in  its  own 
course.  The  three  repressive  governments 
appear  to  have  thought  better  of  the  matter ; 
for  the  only  measures  taken  were  by  Austria, 
which  imposed  some  vexatious  restrictions 
on  the  commerce  and  intercourse  of  the 
Swiss. 

The  year  1848  was  a  memorable  one  in 
Europe;  it  was  a  year  of  fierce  political 
excitement — a  year  of  revolutions ;  and  the 
ancient  despotisms  of  the  continent  seemed 

99 


! 


i 


AUSTRIA  AND  HUNGARY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1848. 


about  to  crumble  into  ruin.  The  Russian 
government,  however,  stood  firm ;  for,  not- 
withstanding the  severe  despotism  which 
constitutes  its  vital  principle,  its  people,  or 
/ather  sul)jects,  remained  passive  from  their 
ignorance  and  apathetic  habits  of  submis- 
sion. The  flight  of  Louis  Philippe,  the 
overturning  of  the  throne  of  France,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  republic  in  that 
country,  led  other  nations  to  an  attempt  to 
shake  off  their  political  servitude,  and  in- 
augurated a  series  of  insurrections. 

Austria  was  the  most  severely  shaken  of 
the  contmental  powers,  and  brought,  in- 
deed, almost  to  the  verge  of  dissolution  as 
an  empire.  Soon  after  the  expulsion  of 
Louis  Philippe  from  Paris,  revolutionary 
movements  hroke  out  in  Lombardy  and 
Venice,  in  Hungary,  and  even  in  Austria 
Proper.  In  the  March  of  1848,  Vienna, 
excited  by  a  (ew  students  and  Poles,  had 
risen  in  insurrection ;  Prince  Metternich 
fled,  and  a  free  constitution  was  prepared 
and  accepted  by  the  emperor  Ferdinand, 
who  shortly  afterwards  withdrew  from  the 
capital,  and  retired  to  Innsprlick. 

But  the  most  formidable  movement 
against  the  Austrian  government  was  that 
which  took  place  in  Hungary.  To  escape 
the  tyranny  of  the  Turks,  the  Hungarians 
submitted  to  the  domination  of  Austria,  the 
emperor  of  which  (Ferdinand  I.)  became 
their  king,  his  claim  to  that  dignity  being 
based  on  the  fact  of  his  having  married,  in 
1521,  Anna,  daughter  of  Ladislaus  VI., 
king  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary,  and  sister 
of  Louis,  who,  having  succeeded  his  father 
in  the  crown  of  those  realms,  was  killed  in 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Mohaz  by  the 
Turks,  in  1526,  and  left  no  issue.  A 
native  historian  of  the  Hungarian  "War  of 
Liberation'^*  (as  the  revolution  of  1848  was 
called),  observes — *'  Ferdinand  I.  was  most 
unmindful  of  his  promises.  So  uncon- 
scientiously  did  he  neglect  the  administra- 
tion of  Hungary,  that  nine  years  after  his 
coronation,  the  estates  of  the  nation,  as- 
sembled in  parliament  at  Presburg,  found 
it  necessary  to  draw  up  a  long  list  of  their 
grievances.  This  remonstrance  sets  forth 
that  the  kinj^'s  absence  from  the  country  is 
the  prime  cause  of  all  the  evils  they  complain 
of.  Hence  the  irruptions  of  the  Turks; 
hence  the  atrocious  cruelties  practised  by 
petty  tyrants  within  the  confines  of  the 
country.     Hence,  too,  the  insufierable  ex- 

*  Memoirs  of  the  War  of  Indepeiidence  in  Hun- 
gary :  by  General  Klapka. 

100 


tortions  of  all  the  king's  foreipjn  captains, 
who,  instead  of  protecting  the  country, 
drained  it  to  ruin,  and  betrayed  it  to  the 
hands  of  its  enemies. 

"  For  three  hundred  years  this  Austrian 
system  remained  faithful  to  its  original  evil 
principles.  And  though  at  intervals — for 
such  there  were,  though  iew  and  far  be- 
tween— a  more  legal  and  enlightened  ad- 
ministration seemed  to  prevail,  still  the 
cabinet  of  Vienna  returned  to  its  fatal  en- 
deavours to  oppress  and  colonise  Hungary. 

"The  kings  of  the  time,  before  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Hapsburg  race,  had  for  two 
centuries  battled  against  the  Turks,  gal- 
lantly and  often  victoriously;  and  though 
under  the  reign  of  the  last  two  kings  of  this 
period  the  power  of  Hungary  seemed  to 
decline,  and  though  various  provinces  se- 
ceded from  the  kingdom,  still  the  great 
territories  of  Hungary,  Croatia,  and  Tran- 
sylvania remained  intact ;  and  the  house  of 
Hapsburg,  upon  its  advent,  obtained  a  free 
and  uncurtailed  possession  of  a  great  and 
beautiful  empire. 

"  But  scarcely  had  Ferdinand  I.  received 
the  crown  of  Hungary  for  himself  and  his 
family,  when  he,  and  his  descendants  after 
him,  neglected  the  country  and  the  sacred 
duties  of  their  office.  They  all  pledged 
their  words  to  reside  in  Hungary  for  a  part 
of  the  year;  but  not  one  of  them  remained 
true  to  his  word.  Whenever  the  Hun- 
garian nation  expressed  their  wishes  in  this 
respect,  they  received  evasive  answers,  based 
on  the  most  futile  pretences.  The  com- 
mand of  the  Hungarian  troops  was  given  to 
foreigners,  to  the  signal  detriment  of  the 
native  generals,  who  were  better  versed  in 
the  ways  and  means  of  warfare  against  the 
Turks  than  the  Austrian  officers  could  be. 
When  the  house  of  Austria  was  a  suitor  for 
the  Hungarian  crown,  great  stress  was  laid 
on  its  hereditary  power  and  the  imperial 
dignity  of  its  members,  as  giving  a  promise 
of  an  efficient  protection  against  the  Turks. 
But  their  reign  in  Hungary  was  a  direct 
contradiction  of  their  promises.  Large 
provinces  were  left  to  the  Turks.  For  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  years  did  the  Cres- 
cent rule  over  more  than  one-half  of  the 
country.  The  chiefs  of  the  malcontents,  in 
1667,  were  fully  justified  in  protesting,  that 
'  It  was  an  open  question :  which  was  worse 
— Turkish  or  Austrian  sovereignty?  The 
Black  Sea  and  the  Adriatic  were  at  one 
time  the  confines  of  the  kingdom  of  Hun- 
gary.    Ever  since  the  advent  of  the  first 


>^"( 


A.D.  1848.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [tiie  Hungarian  REVOLITT^o^^ 


Hapsburg  our   power   has   decreased,    and 
our  frontiers    receded;    one   hundred   and 
forty  years  have  sufficed  to  make  Hungary 
a  narrow  strip  of  land,  near  the  Carpathian 
and  the  Styrian  mountains.     The  Danube, 
the  Theiss,  the  Drave,  and  the  Save,  flow 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Turks;  three-fourths 
of  Hungary,   viz.,   the    provinces  of  Tran- 
sylvania, Croatia,  Slavonia,  Dalmatia,  Servia, 
and  Bosnia,  are  tributaries  to  them,  if  not 
subjects.     It  is  better  to  make  a  voluntary 
surrender  to  the  Porte,  and  to  have  liberty 
of  conscience,  such  as  Transylvania  enjoys? 
"The    successful    encroachments   of  the 
Turks  were  chiefly  owing  to  the  want  of 
skill  of  the  foreign  generals,  to  the  venality 
of  the  foreign  commanders  in  our  fortresses, 
to  the  cowardice  of  foreign    hirelings,   to 
the  dilatory  measures  of  the  Vienna   Hof 
Kriegsrath,  and  to  treaties  of  peace  which 
were  concluded  without  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  Hungarian  parliaments.     When 
the   country    was   reconquered,    the    Hun- 
garians took  the  post  of  danger  in  all  battles 
and  assaults.     They  monopolised  the  danger 
and  the  victory.     The  estates  of  the  country 
were  lavish  in  their  votes  of  money  (large 
though  the  king's  income  was) ;  and  no  less 
than  100,000,000  of  florins  were  granted  as 
'special  subsidies'  in  the  period  from  1683 
to  1706.     Still,  when  in  1699  the  peace  of 
Karlowitz  was  concluded,  no  reference  was 
made  to  the  palatine  or  the  estates  of  the 
country.     In    that    treaty  of  peace.    King 
Leopold  is  spoken  of  as  'his  imperial  ma- 
jesty,' and  any  allusion  to  his  royal  dignity 
carefully  avoided.     This   is   but   one   trait 
among  a  hundred." 

This  extract  will  tend  to  show  the  feel- 
ing existing  among  the  Hungarians  towards 
their  Austrian  rulers  :  but  the  great  source 
of  irritation  lay  in  the  fact,  that  the  Aus- 
trian government  endeavoured  to  extin- 
guish the  Hungarian  nationality;  to  make 
that  country  merely  an  Austriaia  province ; 
to  rule  it  as  though  it  had  been  a  con- 
quered territory ;  and  gradually  to  supplant 
and  extirpate  the  ancient  Magyar  race. 
Such  a  mode  of  government,  or  rather  mis- 
government,  almost  invariably  leads  to  in- 
surrectionary reaction,  and  may  be  termed 
the  nurse  of  revolution.  With  so  spirited 
and  intensely  national  a  people  as  the 
Hungarians,  such  a  result  was  inevitable. 
For  some  years,  a  powerful  national  party 
had  been  organised,  and  an  active  opposi'- 
tion  maintained  in  the  Diet;  while  patriotic 
feelings  had,  by  every  possible  means,  been 


excited  throughout  the  country.     The  Aus- 
trian government  had  in  vain'  endeavoured 
to  repress  the  movement;  and  the  Diet  of 
1817-'8  opened  with  more  than  the  usual 
hope  and  energy.     Louis  Kossuth,  the  re- 
cognised   leader    of    the    more    advanced 
Hberals,  had  been  returned  as  representa- 
tive of  the  county  of  Pesth.     On  the  3rd 
of  March,  1848,  the  Diet  adopted   a  pro- 
position made  by  him  to  send  a  deputation 
to  their  king  (the  emperor),  for  the  purpose 
of  requiring  the  formation  of  a   new  min- 
istry,   essentially    Hungarian,    as    Avell    as 
certain    constitutional    reforms.      On    the 
15th  of  the  same  month,  Kossuth  entered 
Vienna — then  in  a  state  of  insurrection — 
with  the  deputation,  and  was  welcomed  by 
the  people  with  the  most  enthusiastic  de- 
monstrations   of   applause    and    sympathv. 
The   deputation  was  received  by  the  em- 
peror, who  yielded  to  most  of  its  require- 
ments.   An  Hungarian  ministry  was  formed, 
of  which  Count  Louis  Batthyany  became 
the  president,  and  Kossuth  the  minister  of 
finance.     Various  liberal  measures   passed 
the  Diet,  and   received   the   royal   assent. 
They  formed    Hungary    and   Transylvania 
into  one  kingdom;  established  an   annual 
Diet,  indissoluble  by  the  king;  largely  ex- 
tended   the   suff'rage;    created   a    national 
guard;  abohshed  all  feudal  privileges;  and 
made    other    concessions    to    the   popular 
feeling. 

The  Hungarian  Diet  soon  thought  pro- 
per to  extend  these  benefits  to  the  Servians 
and  Croatians ;  and  though  they  at  first 
rejoiced,  in  common  with  the  Hungarians, 
in  consequence  of  their  having  been  raised 
to  the  rank  of  freemen,  they  were  in  a 
short  time  persuaded  by  Austrian  agents— 

amongst  whom  was  their  own  archbishop 

that  the  Hungarians  intended  to  subjugate 
them,  and  to  destroy  their  religion  and 
nationality.  An  insurrectionary  movement 
against  Hungary  was  soon  organised,  and 
the  first  outbreak  occurred  in  June,  1848. 
Arms,  ammunition,  and  stores  were  secretly 
furnished  by  Austria;  and  Austrian  oflicers, 
in  disguise,  led  the  Servians  to  battle. 
Thousands  were  slain  on  both  sides ;  towns 
and  villages  were  burnt,  and  the  frontier 
districts  laid  waste.  Most  of  the  Hun- 
garian troops  were  at  this  period  fighting 
the  battles  of  Austria  in  Italy;  and  Kos- 
suth displayed  extraordinary  energy  in 
raising  means  and  recruits,  and  in  a  short 
time  enabled  the  Hungarian  ministry  to 
organise  ten  battahons  of  volunteers,  who 

101 


■\1*.  [; 


ffil 


I 


t   I 


ITS  SUPPRESSION  BY  RUSSIA.]  HISTORY  OF  TPIE 


[a.d.  1849. 


were    called    Honveds,   or   "Defenders    of 
Home." 

In  the  September  of  1848,  the  Croatians 
crossed  the  Drave,  and  invaded  Hungary 
with  a  force  of  30,000  men.  The  emperor 
of  Austria  issued  a  proclamation,  ordering 
them  to  retire  to  their  own  country ;  but 
their  leader  had  good  reason  to  question 
the  sincerity  of  the  command,  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  disobey  it.  In  fact,  the  policy 
of  the  emperor  was  to  play  off  the  races 
against  each  other ;  and,  dreading  their 
strength,  he  wished  to  weaken  both.  As 
soon  as  he  felt  himself  strong  enough,  he 
threw  off  the  mask.  With  this  object  he 
sent  Count  Lemburg,  as  royal  commis- 
sioner, with  orders  to  dissolve  the  Hun- 
garian Diet,  and  assume  the  direction  of 
affairs.  As  the  count  was  entering  Pesth 
for  this  purpose,  he  was  set  upon  by  the 
populace,  dragged  from  his  carriage,  and 
assassinated.  From  this  period  all  hope  of 
reconciliation  was  at  an  end.  The  Hun- 
garian ministry  resigned  its  functions;  and 
a  committee  of  defence  was  established  to 
carry  on  the  government,  with  Kossuth  as 
its  president. 

Success  for  a  wliile  attended  the  military 
efforts  of  the  Hungarians  against  their  op- 
pressors;  and  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  they  would  have  thrown  off  the  Aus- 
trian yoke,  but  for  the  intervention  of 
Russia.  The  incapable  Ferdinand  had  ab- 
dicated in  favour  of  his  nephew  Francis 
Joseph  (the  present  emperor),  who  applied 
for  assistance  to  the  czar  Nicholas.  This 
the  latter  readily  granted  ;  for  not  only  do 
the  continental  despotisms  seem  to  regard 
it  as  a  sacred  obligation  to  assist  each 
other  in  repressing  all  popular  and  revo- 
lutionary excitement,  but  Nicholas  well 
knew,  that  by  helping  Austria  in  the  time 
of  her  trial,  he  prevented  her  from  acting 
against  him  m  the  event  of  his  getting  in- 
volved in  a  qaarrel  with  the  great  powers 
of  Europe  concerning  Constantinople,  or 
any  other  Turkish  possession.  Nicholas, 
in  fact,  was  amply  repaid  for  the  assistance 
he  now  extended  to  the  emperor  of  Aus- 
tria; for  in  the  war  of  1854-^5,  Francis 
Joseph  trimmed  between  the  belligerent 
parties;  and  while  calling  himself  an  ally 
of  France  and  England,  protected,  as  far 
as  he  was  able,  the  interests  of  Russia. 
But  Nicholas  had  yet  another  motive  for 
assisting  the  shaken  despotism  of  Austria  : 
the  Poles  had  flocked  eagerly  to  serve 
beneath  the  Hungarian  banners,  and  he 
102 


dreaded  that,  if  their  arms  were  successful, 
he  would  have  another  revolution  in  Po- 
land to  suppress.  '*  The  insurrection,"  he 
observed,  in  one  of  those  manifestoes  which 
he  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  to 
publish,  "supported  by  the' influence  of  our 
traitors  in  Poland,  of  the  year  1831,  and 
by  reinforcements  of  refugees  and  vaga- 
bonds from  other  countries,  has  given  this 
revolt  a  most  menacing  character.  In  the 
midst  of  these  disastrous  events,  his  majesty 
the  emperor  of  Austria  has  invited  us  to 
assist  him  against  the  common  enemy. 
We  cannot  refuse  that  service.  Aftet 
having  invoked  the  God  of  battles  and  the 
Master  of  victories  to  protect  the  just  cause, 
we  have  ordered  our  army  to  march  to 
stifle  revolt,  and  annihilate  audacious  anar- 
chists who  threaten  the  tranquillity  of 
our  provinces.  Let  God  be  with  us,  and 
none  can  resist  us;  of  which  we  are  con- 
vinced. Such  are  the  sentiments  of  all  our 
subjects.  Every  Russian  shares  in  this  hope, 
and  Russia  will  fulfil  her  holy  mission." 

Early  in  1849,  a  Russian  army  of  90,000 
men  was  marched  into  Hungary,  and 
another  of  60,000  into  Transylvania ;  and 
these,  added  to  the  Austrian  and  Croatian 
armies,  made  a  force  of  upwards  of  300,000 
armed  men  to  crush  the  revolutionists. 
The  Hungarians  made  a  brilliant  resis- 
tance ;  but  their  resources  were  insufficient 
to  contend  with  so  vast  a  power.  They 
were  defeated  in  several  battles  by  the 
Russians;  and  the  government,  in  despair, 
sought  to  open  separate  negotiations  with 
the  Russian  commander.  These  proved 
unavailing  ;  and  they  then  offered  to  invest 
General  Gorgei,  the  commander  of  their 
forces,  with  full  powers  to  treat  for  peace. 
These  he  refused  to  accept;  and  they 
eventually  resolved  to  appoint  him  dictator. 
On  this,  Kossuth  issued  a  proclamation 
(August  11th,  1849),  announcing  his  resig- 
nation of  power  into  the  hands  of  Gorgei, 
and  the  investiture  of  the  latter  with  dic- 
tatorial authority.  Having  solemnly,  "  be- 
fore God  and  the  people,"  charged  Gorgei 
to  do  his  best  to  save  the  national  exis- 
tence, Kossuth  fled  into  Turkey.  Gorgei, 
against  whom  heavy  suspicions  of  treachery 
are  entertained,  immediately  concluded  a 
negotiation  he  had  commenced  with  the 
Russian  general,  by  agreeing,  as  governor 
and  dictator,  to  surrender  unconditionally. 
Accordingly,  on  the  17th  of  August,  his 
army  of  24,000  men,  with  150  guns,  laid 
down  their  arms  to  the  Russians.     At  th« 


A.D.  I84y.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


same  time,  Gorgei  directed  the  officers  of 
the  various  garrisons  and  detachments  scat- 
tered throughout  the  country,  to  follow  his 
example.     A  few  only  refused;    the  resis- 
tance of  the  rest  was  unavailing ;  and  the 
war   was   virtually    at    an    end.       A   large 
number  of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  as  well 
as    civilians,    succeeded    in   escaping    into 
Turkey,  where   they  were    hospitably   re- 
ceived.    Austria  and  Russia  made  a  united 
demand  that  the  refugees  should  be  given 
up  to  the  former  power,  or  at  least  expelled 
from  Turkey.     The  Porte  noblv  refused  to 
do  either,  notwithstanding  threats  of  force 
were  made  use  of  to  intidimate  it  into  com- 
pliance.    Russia  would  possibly  have  put 
these  threats  into  execution  ;  but  as  Eng- 
land  and   France   announced   their  deter- 
mination of  supporting  the  sultan's   deci- 
sion   by   the    presence   of    their   fleets,    if 
necessary,  the  refugees  were  permitted  to 
remain  without  further  molestation. 

In  Hungary,  the  suppression  of  the  revo- 
lution was  followed  by  a  series  of  trials  and 
executions,   attended    by   circumstances    of 
extreme  cruelty.     The  fate  of  Count  Louis 
Batthyany,   the   president   of    the    revolu- 
tionary ministry,  elicited   great  sympathy. 
He  was  condemned  by  a  council  of  war  to 
be   hanged,    an    ignominy    which    he    en- 
deavoured to   escape  by  unsuccessfully  at- 
tempting suicide.     He  was  afterwards  shot, 
his    estates   confiscated,  and    his  wife  and 
children    exiled.      The   country  has    since, 
nntil  quite  recently,  been  subjected  to  mili- 
tary rule.     All  the  national  privileges  have 
been  abrogated,  and   the  people   subjected 
to  a  succession  of  severe  coercive  measures. 
Almost  the   only  permanent  benefit  which 
has  been  secured  by  the  revolution,  appears 
to  be   the   abolition    of    the   feudal    privi- 
leges and  distinctions,  which  have  not  been 
reimposed,  and  are  not  likely  to  be,  as  it 
is  not  the  policy  of  the  government  to  re- 
store the  power  of  the  nobles. 

Shortly  after  the  surrender  of  the  Hun- 
garian army,  and  the  consequent  annihila- 
tion of  the  revolutionary  cause,  the  emperor 
Nicholas  published  the  subjoined  mani- 
festo^:—"' Russia  will  fulfil  her  holy  mis- 
sion.'  Such  were  the  words  that  we  ad- 
dressed to  our  well-beloved  subjects  when 
we  announced  to  them,  according  to  the 
desire  of  our  ally  the  emperor  of  Austria, 
that  we  had  commanded  our  armies  to 
stifle  the  war  in  Hungary,  and  there  estab- 
lish the  legitimate  authoritv  of  the  emperor. 
Under  the  protection  of  God,  that  object  is 


[russiax  domination. 


accomplished.      In  less  than  two  months, 
our  brave  troops,  after  numerous  and  bril- 
liant  victories  in   Transylvania  and   under 
the  walls  of  Debreczin,  have  marched  from 
victory  to  victory— from  Galicia  to  Pesth, 
from  Pesth  to  Arad,  from  the  Buckovina 
and  Moldavia  to  the  Banat.     Finallv,  the 
bands  of  insurgents,  hurled  back  in  'every 
direction— from  north  to  east  by  ourselves, 
from  the  west  and  south  by  the  Austriaii 
army— have  laid    down    their  arms    before 
the  Russian  army,  appealing  to  our  media- 
tion to  solicit  a  magnanimous  pardon  from 
their  legitimate   sovereign.      After  having 
holily   performed    our    promise,    we    have 
ordered    our   victorious    troops    to    return 
within  the  limits  of  the  empire.     With  a 
heart  penetrated  with  gratitude  to  the  Dis- 
penser of  all  blessings,  we  cry  out,  from  the 
innermost  recesses  of  our  soul,  '  Nobiscum 
Deus!  audite  populi  et  vincemini,  quia  no- 
biscum Deus!^ " 

Such  language,  on  such  an  occasion,  is 
both  startling   and  painful.     It  is  an  im- 
pious  arrogance   for   a   despotic   ruler,    or 
indeed    for    any     sovereign    whatever,     to 
assume  that  his  cause  is  that  of  heaven  ;  his 
will  identical  with  that  of  the  Deity  !      But 
what   must    we   think    of    such    efi'usions, 
when   employed    in    vain    self-glorifications 
over  successful  butchery  ?     It  might  be  a 
painful  necessity  on  the'  part  of  Austria— 
a  necessity  arising  out  of  her  own  misdeeds 
and  evil  government— to  shed  the  blood  of 
Hungarian  patriots.     But  the  iirtervention 
of  Russia  was  not  called  for  by  any  state 
necessity  on  her  part.    The  emperor  Nicho- 
las poured   out  his  battalions  against   the 
unhappy  Hungarians  from  sinister  motives 
towards  the  sovereign  whom  he  interposed 
to  protect ;  from  a  morbid  and  bitter  hatred 
of   liberty;     from   a   hope   that   he    would 
make   absolutism    universal    and    supreme 
over  Europe  ;   and  a  desire  to  extinguish  in 
blood,  on  the  battle-field  and  the  scaff'old, 
every  efi*ort    of   the    oppressed    nations    to 
relieve  themselves  from  the  dread  incubus 
of   military  tyranny  that   oppiessed  them. 
In  the  execution  of  such  work,  the  emperor 
Nicholas  certainly  performed   the   mission 
which  he  and  his  predecessor,   Alexander, 
had  forced  upon  Russia ;  but  to  apply  the 
term  "  holy"  to  the  work  of  tyranny,  to  the 
making  nations  obey  the  arbitrary  whims 
of  one    man     intoxicated    with    excess    of 
power,  is  at  once  a  falsehood  and  a  pro- 
fanity.    It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  these 
high-placed   despots   are   secretly  atheists, 

103 


-1. 


ORIGIN  OF  CRIMEAN  WAR.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1850. 


who  use  religion  as  an  instrument  of  co- 
ercive government — a  state  property  to 
work  out  their  own  selfish  ends — or  whether, 
from  a  long  use  of  insincere  language  with 


respect  to  the  will  of  the  Deity,  they  have 
really  come  to  believe  that  their  own  blind 
and  evil  actions  are  the  result  of  divine 
inspiration  I 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


I 
t 
I 
.11. 

*. 


DISPUTES  BETWEEN  THE  ORTHODOX  AND  CATHOLIC  MONKS  AT  JERUSALEM;  ESPOUSAL  OF  THEIR 
CLAIMS  BY  TIIK  CZAR  AND  THE  EMPEROU  NAPOLEON  III.  ;  ULTIMATUM  OF  THE  CZAR  TO  THE  PORTE; 
INVASION  BY  THE  RUSSIANS  OF  MOLDO-WALLACHIA  ;  ULTIMATUM  OF  THE  PORTE,  AND  DECLARATION 
OF  WAR  AGAINST  RUSSIA;  BATTLES  OF  OLTENITZA  AND  MATCIIIN  ;  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TURKISH 
FLEET  AT  SINOPE ;    OPERATIONS  IN   ASIA  J    BATTLE  OF  AKHALJIK. 


There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  chief 
reason  which  induced  the  emperor  Nicholas 
to  assist  in  quelling  the  Hungarian  revolu- 
tion, was  the  certainty  that,  by  so  doing,  he 
would  acquire  an  immense  influence  over 
the  Slav  population,  not  only  of  the  Aus- 
trian empire,  but  also  of  the  Turkish  pro- 
vinces. These  races,  Croats,  Czechs,  Serbs, 
Slovaks,  and  Bosnaks,  have  always  identified 
the  Turks  and  Magyars,  or  Hungarians,  as 
their  natural  enemies ;  and  by  thus  using 
his  armies  against  them,  Nicholas  was 
simply  carrying  out  the  principle  that  the 
Czar  of  Russia  is  the  natural  protector  and 
ally  of  all  the  Slav  races  against  their  foes, 
be  these  foes  Turks,  Hungarians,  or  Ger- 
mans. This  principle  is  based  not  only  on 
kindred  of  race  and  speech,  but  on  the  fact 
that  the  Czar  of  Russia  is  also  the  head  of 
the  Grreek  church,  and,  therefore,  in  duty 
bound  to  protect  and  support  his  co-reli- 
gionists in  all  countries,  and  to  identify 
their  interests  with  those  of  Russia.  Prac- 
tically, therefore,  Russia  aims  at  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  orthodox  papacy,  in  which 
the  temporal  power  predominates  to  an 
extent  not  even  dreamt  of  at  the  Vatican. 
It  was  in  this  light  that  the  Slavonic  popu- 
lation of  the  Danubian  and  Adriatic  pro- 
vinces regarded  the  action  of  Russia  in 
1848-49,  and  thus  the  czar  succeeded  in 
increasing  his  influence  in  Austria,  and  in 
assuring  himself  of  an  ally,  or  of  rendering 
Austria  powerless  in  case  of  an  attack  upon 
Turkey.  At  the  same  time  he  seized  the 
opportunity  to  force  upon  Turkey  the  con- 
vention of  Balta-Lima,  whereby  the  elec- 
tion of  the  hospodars  was  conducted  on  a 
new  system  favourable  to  Russia,  and  a 
104 


joint  right  accorded  to  Russia  of  occupying 
the  Moldo-Wallachian  provinces  in  case  of 
disturbances. 

Having  thus  prepared  the  ground  to 
render  Austria  at  least  harmless,  if  not  of 
actual  service  in  an  eventual  war  upon 
Turkey,  the  emperor  only  waited  for  an 
opportunity  to  bring  about  this  result.  As 
a  temporal  and  spiritual  sovereign,  an 
opportunity  could  not  fail  soon  to  present 
itself.  This  opportunity  was  at  last  fur- 
nished by  a  monkifch  dispute  at  Jerusalem, 
which  was  at  once  taken  up  by  the  czar  as 
protector  of  the  orthodox  church,  and  by 
the  emperor  Napoleon  as  protector  of  the 
Catholic  church.  The  history  of  this  dis- 
pute is  not  generally  known,  and  it  may  be 
as  well  to  explain  all  the  circumstances,  as 
similar  disputes  will  no  doubt  continue  to 
rise  as  long  as  the  conditions  remain  the 
same. 

The  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem  is  now, 
as  it  was  then,  unequally  distributed  amongst 
the  various  Christian  churches.  A  portion 
here  and  a  portion  there  belongs  absolutely 
to  the  Catholic  or  orthodox  church  ;  whilst 
other  portions  are  common  property,  but  in 
unequal,  or  may  be,  in  equal  shares.  Thus 
on  entering  the  church,  the  first  object  of 
importance  is  the  slab  whereon  Christ  is 
said  to  have  been  anointed  after  death. 
This  slab  is  broken  through  diagonally ; 
one  half  belongs  to  the  orthodox,  the  other 
to  the  Catholic  church.  And  so  on  ad  in- 
finitum. The  Copts  have  a  bit  here,  the 
Armenians  a  bit  somewhere  else ;  but  add- 
ing these  shares  up,  the  Greek  chu-'^'i 
possesses  by  far  the  larger  share.  The  same 
is  the  case  at  Bethlehem ;  and,  as  may  be 


A.D.  1851.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


supposed,    there    are    continued    disputes 
going  on  between  the  rival  sections.     Thus, 
at  the  church  of  the  Nativity  in  Bethlehem 
the  spot  is  shown  where  Christ  was  born, 
and  marked  by  an  altar  and  special  chapel, 
to  which  both  Greek  and  Catholic  had  a 
common  right  of  entrance  and  equal  shares 
in  it.     This  spot  the  Catholics  determined 
still  fiirther  to  beautify  by  the  insertion  in 
the  pavement,  before  the  shrine,  of  a  silver 
star  with  the  inscription—"  Hie  de  Virgine 
Maria  Jesus  natus  est " — (Here  Jesus  was 
born  of  the  Virgin  Maria.)     But  this  gave 
great  offence  to  the  Greeks.     First  of  all 
because  the  inscription  was  in  Latin  only  ; 
and,   secondly,    because    they    not   having 
contributed  anything  towards  the  expense 
of  the  star,  it  increased  the  share   of  the 
Catholics  in   the  shrine  by  the  amount  of 
its  value.     The  upshot  of  the   affair   was 
that   the    star   was     stolen,   the    Catholics 
naturally  accusing  the  Greeks  of  the  theft. 
Whilst  this  dispute  was  being  waged  with 
all  bitterness  at  Bethlehem,  another  broke 
out  at  Jerusalem  regarding  the  key  to  the 
gate  of  the  sepulchre,  and  the  repairing  of 
the  roof  of  the  church.     The  key  had  been 
held  by  the  Turks,  who  furnished  a  guard 
of  some  half-dozen  men  to  keep  order  in 
the   church,  and  to  whose  custody  the  key 
was  entrusted,  they  being  obliged  to  open 
the  church,   and   mount  guard  inside  the 
porch  on  the  occasion  of  any  celebration  of 
masses  or  festivals.     This  key  the  Greeks 
managed  by  intrigues  and  bribes  to  gain 
possession  of;  so  that  one   evening   when 
the    Catholics    wanted   to  celebrate   some 
special  mass,  and  called  upon  the  guard  to 
open  the  church,  they  were  referred  to  the 
Greek  patriarch  for   permission  to  do  so. 
Of  course  the  Catholics  denied  the  right  of 
the  Greek  patriarch  to  exercise  this  pri- 
vilege, and  thus  the  quarrel  grew  in  inten- 
sity.    At  the  same  time,  the  question  as  to 
who  should  repair  the  roof,  or  in  what  pro- 
portion   each    section    should     contribute 
towards    the   expense,    was    just  as   hotly 
debated.     Contrary  to  what  is  usually  the 
case,  the  point  was,  not  as  to  who  should 
contribute  the  smallest  sum,  but  as  to  who 
should  pay  the  largest;  for  the  larger  the 
sum  paid,   the   greater  the  right  implied 
and  acquired.     The  disputes  at  last  waxed 
so  hot,  that  each  party  applied  to  its  self- 
appointed    protectors   for   assistance;    the 
orthodox  church  to  the  emperor  Nicholas, 
the  Catholics  to  the  emperor  Napoleon. 
The  latter,  whose  coup-d'etat  had  been 
VOL.  II.  p 


[RUSSIAN  ULTIMATUM. 


made  at  the  expense  of  the  legitimate  sup- 
porters of  the  papacy,  the  Bourbons  and 
the  Orleanists,  and  who  was  in  consequence 
not   favourably   regarded   at   the   Vatican, 
determined  to  take  up  the   cause   of   the 
Catholic  monks,  and  thus  place  himself  on 
a   better   footing   with   the  papal  govern- 
ment; in  fact,  to  inaugurate  with  this  act 
his    policy   as    champion    of    the   Roman 
Catholic  church.     He,  therefore,  instructed 
M.  Lavalette,  in  1851,  to  demand  from  the 
Porte  the  re-establishment   of  the  former 
regulations  regarding   the  custody   of  the 
key,  and  that  the  Ottoman  officials  should 
force  the  Greeks  to  restore  the  stolen  star, 
whilst  the  question  of  repairing  the  roof 
should  be  settled  by  the  Porte  undertaking 
the  work,  and  distributing  the  shares  of  the 
expense  equally  amongst  the  various  sec- 
tions.    Lavalette  insisted  on  these    terms 
so  energetically,  threatening  to  enforce  them 
by  the  despatch  of  the  French  fleet  to  the 
Dardanelles,  that  the  sultan  yielded.     This 
furnished   the    czar   with   the    pretext   he 
wished   for;    and   sending  Prince   Ments- 
chikoff  to  Constantinople,  instructed  him  in 
turn   to   demand   that   the   key  should  be 
restored  to  the  custody  of  the  Greeks,  and 
the  recognition  by  the  Porte  of  the  Russian 
protectorate  over  the  Christian  subjects  of 
the  Porte.     These  demands  were  presented 
m  the  form  of  an  ultimatum  on  the  21st  of 
May,  1851,  which,  if  declined  by  the  Porte 
would  entail  the  departure  of  the  Russian 
ambassador     within    eight    days    of     its 
receipt. 

This  ultimatum,  after  having  consulted 
with  the  British  and  French  ambassadors, 
the  I  orte  refused  to  sign,  and,  accordingly. 
Prince  MentschikofiP  took  his  departure 
trom  Constantinople.  Meanwhile,  in  spite 
ot  ail  kinds  of  pacific  assurances  on  the 
part  of  the  czar,  the  Russian  armies  were 
being  concentrated  on  the  Bessarabian 
frontier  and  in  the  Caucasus,  ready  to  cross 
over  into  Turkish  territory  at  any  given 
moment.  At  the  same  time  the  czar  en- 
deavoured, by  all  the  means  in  his  power 
to  isolate  Turkey,  and  proposed  a  partition 
ot  the  empire  between  such  states  as  chose 
to  share  in  the  spoil.  Thus  he  proposed 
that  England  should  take  Egypt  and  the 
island  of  Candia ;  that  the  French  should 
extend  their  African  possessions;  that 
Austria  should  annex  Bosnia  and  the  Herze- 
govina ;  and  that  Bulgaria  and  Moldo- 
Wallachia  and  Servia  should  be  "inde- 
1  pendent "  states  under  his  protection.     Ail 

105 


m 


i/ 


OCCUPATION  OF  WALLAC^IA.]      HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1853. 


these  proposals  were  rejected  for  various 
reasons,  Austria  unwillingly  refusing  them 
from  fear  of  complications  in  Italy,  which 
were  pretty  plainly  indicated  by  the  French 
emperor  as  possible.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, the  Russian  preparations  having 
Bufficiently  progressed,  the  czar  issued  a 
manifesto,  and  gave  the  order  for  his  troops, 
under  the  command  of  Prince  Grortchakoff, 
to  cross  the  Pruth,  and,  without  any  decla- 
ration of  war,  to  occupy  the  Moldo-Wal- 
lachian  provinces.  This  was  done  on  the 
25th  of  June,  1853. 

The  closing  paragraphs  of  the  imperial 
manifesto  are  worthy  of  record,  as  showing 
how  little  the  pleas  then  put  forward  differ 
from  those  advanced  in  1877  by  the  em- 
peroi"  Alexander  II. : — 

"  Having  exhausted  all  the  means  of 
persuasion,  and  of  obtaining,  in  a  friendly 
manner,  the  satisfaction  due  to  our  righteous 
demands,  we  have  considered  it  necessary  to 
order  our  army  to  enter  the  principalities, 
in  order  to  show  to  the  Porte  to  what  con- 
sequences its  resistance  may  lead.  Still  we 
do  not  intend  to  commence  war.  The  oc- 
cupation of  the  principalities  is  simply 
designed  to  give  us  a  pledge  whereby  we 
may  enforce  the  recognition  of  our  rights. 

"  We  do  not  seek  conquests.  Russia 
does  not  need  them.  We  only  demand 
satisfaction  for  the  disregard  of  our  rights. 
We  are  ready,  even  at  this  moment,  to  stay 
the  progress  of  our  troops  if  the  Porte 
engages  to  observe  the  privileges  of  the 
orthodox  church.  But  if  wilfulness  anxi 
blindness  obstinately  insist  upon  the  con- 
trary, then,  invoking  the  assistance  of  the 
Almighty,  we  will  leave  the  decision  of  our 
difiference  to  His  care  ;  and  placing  our  full 
hope  in  His  all-powerful  hand,  we  will 
march  to  the  assistance  of  the  orthodox 
church. — Given  at  Petersburg,  the  26th  of 
June,  1853. — NICHOLAS." 

Whilst  this  manifesto  and  other  circulars 
were  being  addressed  to  the  various  Euro- 
pean courts,  and  precious  time  was  diploma- 
tically squandered  instead  of  being  actively 
employed  in  preparations  for  the  worst,  the 
Russian  troops  had  penetrated  to  the 
Danube,  under  the  command  of  Prince 
Gortchakoff  and  Generals  Luders  and  Dan- 
nenberg,  the  head-quarters  being  established 
at  Bucharest.  Every  strategical  position 
of  importance  was  occupied  and  fortified 
by  earthworks  armed  with  heavy  artillery, 
and  the  Wallachian  provinces  were  regarded 
absolutely  as  Russian  territory,  the  hos- 
106 


podars  dismissed,  and  the  taxes  and  cus- 
toms levied  by  Russian  officials.  The  whole 
army,  in  fact,  lived  on  the  province ;  whilst 
General  Osten-Sacken  remained  in  Bessa- 
rabia, organising  a  reserve  army,  and  collect- 
ing vast  amount  of  stores  at  Ackerman, 
Odessa,  and  Sebastopol.  At  the  same  time 
a  third  army  was  formed  to  operate  in  Asia 
Minor,  whilst  the  Russian  fleet  cruised 
about  in  the  Black  Sea. 

In  spite  of  these  ominous  preparations, 
the  two  powers  most  interested  in  Eastern 
affairs,  England  and  France,  were  still 
wavering  between  belief  and  disbelief  of  the 
Russian  assurances  of  disinterestedness,  and 
strove  to  counterbalance  the  Russian  mili- 
tary movements  by  diplomatic  endeavours 
to  induce  Prussia  and  Austria  to  form  an 
alliance  with  them,  which  would  deter 
Russia  from  proceeding  to  extremities. 
The  Turks,  however,  knew  enough  about 
the  state  of  popular  feeling  in  Austria  to 
feel  sure  that  the  most  that  could  be  gained 
would  be  her  neutrality,  and  that  Prussia 
would  not  be  disposed  to  act  in  any  opposi- 
tion to  Austria  on  the  question  for  a  multi- 
plicity of  reasons.  They  therefore  lost  no 
time  in  preparing  for  the  worst,  and  sent  an 
army  into  Bulgaria,  under  the  command  of 
Omar  Pasha,  and  organised  a  second  in 
Anatolia,  under  the  command  of  Selim 
Pasha. 

Thus  the  two  enemies  stood  face  to  face, 
both  armed  to  the  teeth,  each  waiting  for 
the  other  to  incur  the  opprobrium  of  declar- 
ing war.  The  Russians  were  especially 
anxious  not  to  incur  the  responsibility,  so 
as  not  to  detract  from  the  "  holiness "  of 
their  intentions ;  and  in  accordance  with 
this  policy  a  conference  was  held  in  Vienna, 
where  a  note  was  drawn  up,  which  was 
signed  by  the  various  representatives  of  the 
powers,  approved  of  by  the  czar,  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  sultan  for  his  signature. 
Now  the  gist  of  this  note  was  : — 

1st.  That  former  treaties  had  conferred 
upon  the  Czar  of  Russia  a  certain  pro- 
tectorate over  the  orthodox  Christians  of 
the  Porte. 

2ndly.  That  the  sultan  should  undertake 
to  concede  to  the  orthodox  church  all  the 
privileges  accorded  to  the  members  of  all 
other  Christians  in  the  Ottoman  empire, 
whether  acquired  by  liberty  or  otherwise. 

To  these  articles  the  sultan  objected,  on 
the  grounds  that  no  treaties  had  ever  con- 
ferred such  a  protectorate  upon  the  czar ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  that  those  treaties  in 


A.D.  1853.T 


question— such  as  the  treaty  of  Kainardji 

simply  stipulated  that  the  sultan— not  the 
czar — was  bound  to  protect  the  Christians ; 
whilst  as   to   the  other  point,  the   sultan 
proposed  the  alteration  of  the  words  "  Chris- 
tians in  the  Ottoman  empire,"  to  "  Ottoman 
subjects,"   for  otherwise  the  sultan  would 
have  had   to  concede  to  members  of  the 
Greek  church  all   the   privileges  and  im- 
munities accorded  to  all  foreigners  living  in 
the  Ottoman  empire  under  the  special  pro- 
tection and  jurisdiction  of  their  embassies 
and  consulates.     It  is  no  small  reproach  to 
the  European  diplomatists  that  two  points 
of  such  vital  importance  should  have  been 
left  to  the  Turks  to  detect,  and  to  have  laid 
themselves  open  to  the  rejoinder  of  Count 
Nesselrode— that  the  note  was  of  their  own 
framing  and  proposal,  and  that  they  must 
adhere  to  it,  and  enforce  it  upon  the  Turks 
collectively,  or  leave  Russia  to  do  it.     Thus 
the  czar   refusing   to   accept   the  Turkish 
emendations,   matters   still    remained  the 
same,  the   western  powers  also  refusing  to 
enforce   the  note  upon  the  Porte.      Thus 
ended  the  fruit  of  the  Vienna  conference. 
Time  was  then  again  spun  out  in  order  to 
allow  the  Russians  to  complete  their  pre- 
parations, by  the   conferences   at   Olmutz 
between    the   czar    and    the    Emperor   of 
Austria,  the  upshot  of  which  was  the  de- 
parture of  the  czar  in  assumed  displeasure, 
but  in  reality  assured  of  the  neutrality  of 
Austria. 

By  this  time  it  had  become  evident  to  the 
Porte  that  Russia  intended  war  under  all 
circumstances,  and  determined  to  take  time 
by  the  forelock,  and  declare  war  themselves 
against   Russia.      On  what   grounds  their 
decision  was  taken  it  is  difficult  to  see,  and 
it  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  an  error.     By 
so  doing,  though  the  Porte  may  have  had 
international  law  on  its  side,  and  have  been 
acting  strictly  within  its  rights,  still  it  pro- 
duced that  feeling  in  Russia  which  the  czar 
wished  for  more  than  anyone  else.      The 
excitement  produced  throughout  Russia  was 
intense  when  it  became  known  that   the 
Porte  had  declared  war  on  the  26th  of  Sep- 
tember,  1853,  and  that  Omar  Pasha  had 
summoned  Prince  Gortchakoff  to  withdraw 
from  the  principalities  within  fifteen  days 
of  receiving  his  ^despatch.     To  this  sum- 
mons Prince  Gortchakoff  replied  by  stating 
that  he  should  not  leave  his  post  till  the 
czar  had  obtained  the  moral  satisfaction  he 
required;  but  that  at  the  same  time,  he 
should  confine  himself  to  entirely  defensive 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [battle  of  oltenitza. 


operations.  To  such  an  extent  was  this 
tarce  of  being  animated  by  the  most  pacific 
and  forbearing  principles  carried  on,  that 
not  only  did  Count  Nesselrode  actually  take 
the  trouble  to  write  a  circular,  stating  that 
Russia  would  only  act  on  the  defensive,  even 
if  attacked  by  the  Turks,  but  the  powers 
actually  believed  it,  and  refused  to  send 
their  fleets  into  the  Black  Sea  on  the 
grounds  that  they  were  not  at  war  with 
Russia;  and  that  Russia  having  declared 
she  would  not  take  the  offensive,  there  was 
no  necessity  for  them  to  enter  the  forbidden 
waters,  which,  moreover,  would  be  regarded 
by  the  Russians  as  an  open  declaration  of 
hostihties;  and  the  war,  which  the  czar 
repeatedly  asserted  he  intended  to  keep 
localised,  would  thus  take  unforeseen  dimen- 
sions. 

Such  confiding  simplicity,  if  it  can  be 
equalled,  can  certainly  not  be  surpassed; 
and  it  goes  far  towards  proving  that  diplo- 
mats are  not  so  black  as  they  are  painted. 
Ihe  simphcity  of  the  matter  is  only  ex- 
ceeded by  the  absurdity  of  trying  to  make 
out  the  subsequent  breach  of  the  promise  a 
great  moral  crime  on  the  part  of  the 
Russians ;  for  who  shall  decide,  when  two 
combatants  are  fighting,  where  defence 
kaves  off  and  offence  begins  ?  However,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  Turks  commenced 
hostilities  on  the  expiration  of  the  fifteen 
days  granted  by  Omar  Pasha  to  Prince 
Gortchakoff,  by  throwing  bodies  of  troops 
across  the  Danube  at  Kalafat,  Giurgevo,  and 
Oltenitza ;  at  each  place  about  3,000  men. 

At  Oltenitza  this  movement  was  accom- 
plished on  Nov.  2nd,  1853,  the  Turks  suc- 
ceeding m  crossing,  establishing  a  battery 
on  the  island  between   Oltenitza  and  Tur- 
tukai,    and     entrenching     themselves    on 
Wallachian   soil   within    two   hours    after 
daybreak.     The  Russian  commander,  whose 
head-quarters  were  at  Slatina,  on  the  river 
Olt,  regarded  these  movements  simply  as 
diversions,  and  attached  no  great  impor- 
tance to  them.     A  body  of  8,000  to  9,000 
men  was  sent  to  drive  the  Turks  from  their 
position  at  Oltenitza;   but  after  repeated 
assaults  they  were  effectually  repulsed,  and 
retired  on  the  approach  of  evening.     During 
the   night   both   sides    received  reinforce- 
ments, and  on  the  following  day  the  contest 
was   renewed   with   the   same  results,  the 
Russians   suffering    great    loss    from    the 
accurate  and  sustained  fire  of  the  Turkish 
artillery.     On  the  third  day  the  Russian 
forces  were  brought  up  to  28,000  men,  and 

107 


m 


'\l\ 


*1 


MASSACRE  AT  SINOPE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1853. 


the  Turkish  to  some  20,000.     The  battle 
began  by  an  attack  upon  the  Turkish  right, 
the  Russians  advancing  in  close  columns, 
which  received  the  full  fire  of  the  batteries 
on  the  island,  and  at  Turtukai,  till  they 
were  nearly  decimated  by  the  fusillade  from 
the  trenches,  whence  the  Turks  succeeded 
in   repulsing   them    with  great  loss — over 
1,000  men— and  putting  them  to  precipi- 
tate flight.     On  the    nth  of  November  a 
fourth  attack  was  made,  the  Russians  having 
received     reinforcements     under     General 
Engelhardt ;  but  again  they  were  repulsed 
with  much  loss.     This  success  highly  de- 
lighted the  Turks,  and  reflected  no  small 
credit  upon  Omar  Pasha  and  General  Prim 
— who   subsequently    became   Dictator   in 
Spain,   and    was    assassinated    in   Madrid 
during  the  reign  of  King  Amadeus. 

Whilst  this  was  going  on  at  Oltenitza, 
Ismail  Pasha,  an  energetic  and  dashing 
leader,  had  occupied  Kalafat  obliquely 
opposite  Widdin,  and  strengthened  it  by 
earthworks  and  trenches;  whilst  on  the 
26th  of  November  another  signal  success 
was  gained  by  the  Turks,  between  Braila 
and  Matchin  in  the  Dobrudscha. 

The  news  of  these  victories  produced  as 
great  consternation  at    St.  Petersburg,   as 
it  did  satisfaction  in  England  and  France, 
and  it  already  began  to  be  said  that  the 
Turks  were  fully  a  match  for  the  Russians  ; 
whilst  the  diplomatists  congratulated  each 
other  on  having  done  nothing,  and  incurred 
no    expense    or    loss    to   their   respective 
countries.     Four    days   later,  however,  an 
event  occurred  that  considerably  modified 
this    complacent    self-satisfaction.       They 
were  destined  to  be  enlightened  as  to  the 
different  constructions  to  be  placed  upon 
the  words  "  offence  "  and  "  defence."     On 
November  the   30th,  Admiral   Nakhimoff, 
the  commander  of  the  Russian  fleet,  con- 
sisting  of  six  first-rate   men-of-war,   four 
steamers,  and  two  frigates,  discovered  the 
Turkish    squadron,    under    the    orders    of 
Osman    Pasha,  lying    in    the   harbour   of 
Sinope,  both  town   and   fleet  being  quite 
unprepared  for  action — the   excuse   being 
that  they  relied  on  the  non-offensive  decla- 
rations   of    the    czar.       Both   facts   were 
blunders ;  they  should  have  been  prepared, 
and  they  should  not  have  relied  upon  any 
such  absurd  promise ;  and  had  the  Russian 
admiral,  with  his  overwhelming  force,  first 
summoned  the  Turkish  commander  to  sur- 
render before  proceeding  to  action,  no  one 
would  have  dreamt  of  blaming  the  Russians 
108 


for  breach  of  promise.     But,  unfortunately, 
Admiral  NakhimoflT  did  nothing  of  the  kind. 
Favoured  by  a  dense  fog,  he  at  once  closed 
with  the  Turkish  squadron,  and  blew  it  all 
to    pieces,   mercilessly    slaughtering   oyer 
4,000  of  the  crew,  and  then  bombarding 
and  utterly  destroying  the  defenceless  town. 
It  was  a  perfect  naval  massacre ;  and  the 
atrocities    accompanying    it   did   more   to 
arouse  the   popular   feeling  in   the   West 
against  Russia  than  anything  else,  though, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Russian  navy  had 
already  commenced  offensive  operations  by 
the    Vladimir  cruising  off  the   Bulgarian 
coast,  attacking   the   shore  batteries,   and 
capturing  a  Turkish  steamer  of  ten  guns,  as 
early  as  November   the   20th.      However, 
when  the  news  became  known  on  the  12th 
of  December  in  London,  Lord  Clarendon 
despatched  a  note  to  St.  Petersburg,  stat- 
ing, in  substance,  that  the  attack  on  Sinope 
was  a  breach  of  faith  towards  England  and 
France,  and  was  as  much  an  attack  on  them 
as  on  the  Turk;  and  that  to  prevent  the 
recurrence  of  such  disasters,  the  combined 
French   and    English   fleets  had  orders  to 
require,  and,  if  necessary,  to  compel  the 
Russian  fleet  to  retire  forthwith  to  Sebas- 
topol,  or  the  nearest  port.     This  despatch 
was  signed  on  the  27th  of  December ;  and 
about  the  same  time  a  refusal  was  given  by 
the  Porte  to    the  proposals  contained  in 
another  Vienna  note,  of  the  15th  of  Decem- 
ber, which  contained,  in  different  language, 
very  much  the  same  propositions  that  had 
already  been  refused.     The  fact  is,  that  the 
powers  wished  to  construct  a  golden  bridge 
for  the  Russians  to  retreat  from  their  posi- 
tion at  the  expense  of  the  Porte,  and  the 
Porte,  very  naturally,  refused  to  pay  the 
cost. 

Thus  the  year  1853  came  to  a  close.  In 
the  Caucasus  and  Asia  Minor  the  hostilities 
were  not  much  above  the  character  of 
sudden  raids  and  skirmishes,  in  which 
Schamyl,  the  great  Circassian  leader, 
played  the  chief  part.  The  Russian  forces 
were  commanded  by  Prince  Woronzoff  and 
Generals  Bebutoff  and  Dolgorouki.  The 
most  important  affair,  after  several  minor 
engagements  mostly  favourable  to  the 
Turks,  was  the  battle  of  Akhaljik,  on  the 
22nd  of  November,  1853,  in  which  the 
Turks  lost  over  4,000  men  killed  and 
wounded,  170  prisoners,  10  field-pieces, 
and  stores  and  ammunition.  Finally,  they 
were  defeated  by  General  Bebutoff  at  On- 
guzli,  and  driven,  utterly  routed,  into  Kars. 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [the  danubian  provinces. 


By  the  end  of  the  year,  when  both  armies 
went  into  winter  quarters,  the  Russian 
operating  forces  amounted  to  some  50,000 


General  Strin,  before  Alexandropol,  20,000 
under  Selim  Pasha,  occupying  Russian 
Georgia,  and  30,000  under  General  Guyon, 


men ;  whilst  the  Turks  had  25,000,  under  |  an  Irish  officer  in  the  Turkish  service. 


CHAPTER    XIT. 

THE  DANUBIAN  PROVINCES  ;  POSITION  OF  TURKISH  AND  RUSSIAN  TROOPS ;  BATTLE  OF  CITATE  ; 
NEGOTIATIONS  BETWEEN  RUSSIA,  FRANCE,  AND  ENGLAND  ;  ENGLISH  ULTIMATUM  ;  REFUSAL  BY  THE 
CZAR;  DECLARATION  OF  WAR;  ENGLISH  AND  RUSSIAN  JUSTIFICATIONS;  CONVENTION  BETWEEN 
AUSTRIA,   PRUSSIA,    ENGLAND,  AND  FRANCE. 


Before  proceeding  with  an  account  of  the 
military  operations  in  '  1854,  it  will  be  as 
well  to  cast  a  glance  at  the  nature  of  the 
barriers  opposed  to  the  progress  of  the 
Russian  troops. 

From  Galatz,  the  Danube  flows  east- 
wards, in  a  single  body,  for  about  forty 
miles,  splitting  up  near  Tultcha  into  three 
arms  that  form  a  delta,  of  which  the  north- 
ern is  the  Kilia,  the  central  the  Sulina, 
and  the  southern  the  George's  arm.  The 
Delta  itself,  and  all  the  land  both  to  the 
north  and  south  of  it,  is  very  swampy  and 
malarious,  with  low  ranges  of  hills,  or 
rather  elevations  that  tend  to  keep  the 
inundation  water  of  the  Danube  back  for 
a  longer  or  shorter  period,  according  to  the 
hei<^ht  the  overflow  attained.  Between 
Galatz  and  Silistria,  the  river  flows  north- 
wards, the  ground  on  the  Turkish  side 
risinof  above  that  on  the  Wallachian  side 
to  an  average  height  of  600  to  800  feet. 
The  tract  thus  enclosed,  between  this  angle 
of  the  Danube  and  the  Black  Sea,  is  called 
the  Dobrudscha,  and  is  largely  inhabited 
by  Tartars  and  Circassians,  who  have  fled 
or  been  expelled  from  Russia.  Stratageti- 
cally  this  district  is  closed  by  Silistria, 
Shumla,  and  Varna  ;  so  that  any  army  en- 
tering the  Dobrudscha,  would  either  have 
to  take  or  mask  these  three  places  before 
proceeding  any  further. 

From  Silistria  to  Widdin,  the  course  of 
the  river  is  generally  eastwards,  the 
ground  along  the  whole  of  the  way  being 
hiarber  on  the  Turkish  than  on  the  Walla- 
chian  or  Roumanian  side,  except  opposite 
Widdin,  where  Kalafat  dominates  it  by 
some  600  feet.  Widdin  itself  is  a  strong 
fortress ;  but  its   strength  would   be  ren- 


dered almost  nil  for  any  length  of  time  by 
the  artillery  of  the  present  day  if  Kalafat 
were  in  the  enemy's  hands.  Kalafat  is 
the  key  to  Widdin.  Thence  to  Silistria, 
the  only  fortress  worthy  the  name  is  the 
castle  and  works  of  Rustchuk.  But  as  the 
ground  is  invariably  higher  on  the  Turkish 
than  the  Roumanian  side,  any  point  can  be 
made  of  considerable  strength  by  the  con- 
struction of  earthworks  and  batteries. 

A  few  miles  west  of  Widdin,  the  ground 
rises  on  both  sides  of  the  Danube  from 
Orsova  to  Basiash — i.e.,  between  Servia 
and  Hungary. 

The  Danube  thus  forms  the  first  line 
of  defence,  the  left  wing  being  protected 
by  Widdin,  the  right  by  Silistria  and  the 
centre,  but  unequally  by  Shumla  and  Rust- 
chuk. The  centre  is  thus  the  weakest 
portion  of  the  first  line ;  but,  on  the  other 
!  hand,  the  centre  is  the  strongest  portion 
I  of  the  second  line,  the  Balkan.  It  will 
!  thus  be  seen,  that  it  would  be  necessary 
to  turn  one  of  the  two  flanks  before  an 
advance  could  be  possible,  and  the  Balkans 
forced.  Thus  the  chief  efforts  would 
have  to  be  made  at  the  extreme  west  and 
east  of  the  first  line,  which,  of  course,  might 
be  materially  supported  by  a  rear  attack 
on  the  Black  Sea  coast  at  Varna  or  Kus- 
tendji,  if  the  attacking  power  had  the 
command  of  the  sea. 

Such  was  the  plan  of  the  Russians ;  and 
corresponding  to  it  were  the  measures 
taken  by  Omar  Pasha.  He  at  once  seized  Ka- 
lafat, as  we  have  already  seen,  provided  Si- 
listria and  Varna  with  sufficient  forces,  and 
made  Shumla  his  head-quarters ;  the  rest 
of  the  line  being  more  or  less  left  to  take 
care  of  itself ;  whilst  small  but  active  bodies 

109 


BATTLE  OP  CITATE.} 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


1 


f 


of    men    harassed    the  Russians  by  their 
quick  movements. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  year,  there 
were  indications  that  the  Russians  intended 
to  concentrate  large  forces  upon  Kalafat ; 
and  a  large  corps,under  the  command,  of  Ge- 
nerals Aurep  and  Fischbach,  advancing  to- 
wards Kalafat,  swept  round  it  to  the  village 
of  Citate,  some  ten  miles  up  the  river  from 
Kalafat.  Citate  is  a  long,  straggling,  over- 
stretched village  at  some  little  distance 
from  the  Danube,  and  backed  by  a  range 
of  hills,  on  which  the  Russians  erected  a 
few  batteries,  and  constructed  a  series  of 
roughly-thrown-up  trenches  behind  the 
village,  in  the  centre  of  which,  where  the 
chief  street  is  intersected  by  a  lane, 
stands  a  church,  which  is  shown  in  our  en- 
graving. 

Here    the    Russians    waited  for  further 
reinforcements,  and   until  the  movements 
for    the   concentration    upon  Kalafat   had 
sufficiently  advanced.     The  Turkish  com- 
manders at  Kalafat,  however,  Achmed  and 
Ismail    Pashas,    resolved    to    attack     the 
Citate  corps  before  the  concentration  could 
be  accomplished,    fearing    that  otherwise, 
whilst  engaged  at    Kalafat,  the    Russians 
might  cross   the  Danube,  and    march    on 
Widdin  from  the  west.     Thus,  on  January 
the  6th,    the  Russian  Christmas-day,   the 
Turkish  corps,  15,000  men  strong,  left  Kala- 
fat   at  dawn,  and    arrived    at    Citate   by 
9  A.M.       The  Turks  attacked  the  village 
at  both  ends  and  the  centre,  and  gradually 
drove  the  Russians  down  the   street  from 
,  both  sides  towards  the  church,  the  Russians 
fighting  desperately  from  house  to  house, 
from  corner  to  corner.     Thus  the  combat 
dragged    on  in   an  hand-to-hand  fight,  in 
which  no  quarter  was  given  on  either  side, 
till  12  o'clock,  by  which  time  the  village 
was    cleared    of    the    Russians,  who   then 
sought  shelter  in  the  trenches  on  the  slope 
behind  the  place.       As  soon  as   they  had 
abandoned  the  village  to  the   Turks,  the 
artillery  on  the  hills  opened  upon  it,  and 
began  to  play  upon   the  Turks,  who  now 
advanced  to  the   attack  on  the  entrench- 
ments.    These  were  well  armed,  and  with 
a   far   greater   number   of  guns   than   the 
Turks  possessed,  and  thus  the  loss  of  the 
Mussulmans,  who  stormed  the  works  three 
times,  began  to  be  very  sensible.     In  spite 
of    the    utmost   endeavours   and    reckless 
bravery  of  the  Turks,  they  could  not  suc- 
ceed in  driving   the  Russians  out  of  their 
works.    Matters    had    come   to  a  regular 
110 


dead-lock,  the  Turks  holding  the  village, 
the  Russians  their  entrenchments,  neither 
side  possessing  the  force  to  oust   the  other 
from   its  position.     .General  Aurep,  how- 
ever, had  at  the  beginning  of  the  contest 
sent  a  messenger  to  Koraula  for  reinforce- 
ments, which,  to  the  number  of  9,000,  now 
appeared  on   the   scene,  advancing  on  the 
village  by    the    road    leading   from   Risi- 
pieitch,  and  attacking  the  Turks  on   the 
right  flank  in  the  rear.     The   position  was 
for   them   a   very   critical  one,  being  thus 
taken  between  two  fires ;  but  Ismail  Pasha, 
with     admirable     presence   of  mind,    sent 
Achmed   Pasha  with  half  a  brigade  of  in- 
fantry   to    meet     the     Russians,     whilst 
leaving   one   portion  of  the   remainder  to 
engage  the   trenches,  and    forming    front 
with  the  other  portion  in  their  rear,  trust- 
ing  to   the  reserve  which   he  had  left  at 
Moglavita   and  had  ordered    to   come   on 
when  the  Russian  reinforcements  had  been 
discovered,  to  come  up  in  time  to  turn  the 
scale.     The   Russians   at  once  advanced  in 
dense   columns,  into   which  the    thin  ex- 
tended line  of  the  Turks   concentrated  all 
their  fire  with  disastrous   effect.     But  still 
the  Russians  pressed  on,  and  were   already 
in   the   streets   of    the   village,  when   the 
Turks,  after  a  volley  of  grape  and  musketry, 
rushed  to  the  charge  and  broke  up  the  first 
Russian  column.     This  charge  had,  however, 
almost  exhausted  them,  when,  fortunately 
for  them,  the  reserve  from  Moglavita  ap- 
peared, and  falling  upon  the  Russians  on 
the  flank  and  rear,  soon  forced  them  into 
a   retreat,   which  finally   became    a    rout. 
The    entrenchments   were   then    attacked 
with    redoubled  vigour,  and  carried  at  the 
point    of  the   bayonet.       Attempts    were 
made,  on  the  7  th  and  8th  of  January,  by 
the    Russians,  to     regain   their     position, 
but  on  each  occasion  they   were  repulsed, 
and     ultimately     withdrew      to    Krajova. 
Their  loss  has  been  variously  estimated  at 
between     3,000    and     6,000,    killed    and 
wounded.      The  Turks,  on  their  part,  lost 
about   1,500 ;  and    having   obtained   their 
object  of  preventing  a  flank  movement  on 
Widdin,  returned  to  Kalafat,  where  they  con- 
tinued the  work  of  strengthening  the  place, 
the  severity  of  the  season  preventing  any 
serious  operation  on  either  side. 

The  news  of  the  disasters  at  Citate,  and 
the  reports  of  further  losses  by  disease, 
greatly  incensed  the  czar,  and  orders  were 
sent  to  Prince  Gortchakoff  to  prepare  to 
cross  the  Danube,  at  any  price,  as  soon  as 


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A.D.  1854.] 


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RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[BRITISH  ULTIMATUM. 


the  weather  would  allow.  Reinforcements 
were  sent,  and  on  the  13th  of  February  they 
recommenced  operations  by  an  attack  upon 
Giurgevo,  in  such  numbers  that,  after  a  few 
days'  resistance,  the  Turks  were  obliged  to 
abandon  the  place  and  cross  over  to  Rust- 
chuk,  upon  which  the  Russians  then  di- 
rected an  incessant  cannonade.  Nothing 
else  was,  however,  done  by  either  side,  with 
the  exception  of  isolated  skirmishes,  until, 
on  the  5th  of  March,  Prince  Grortchakoff 
was  ordered  to  cross  the  Danube.  An  at- 
tempt to  do  this  was  made  on  the  11th  of 
March  at  Kalafat ;  but  the  Turks  made  a 
sally  in  sucb  force,  that  after  a  fierce  and 
protracted  series  of  combats,  the  Russians 
retired.  On  the  same  day,  Greneral  Luders 
succeeded  in  crossing  the  Danube  at  Gralatz 
with  sixty-four  guns,  twenty-four  battalions 
of  infantry,  eight  squadrons  of  cavalry,  and 
six  sotnias  of  Cossacks.  The  news  of  his 
successful  passage  reached  Prince  Grortcha- 
koff on  the  15th  of  March,  after  he  had  en- 
deavoured in  vain  to  force  a  passage  at 
Rustchuk  and  Oltenitza.  He  at  once 
decided  to  hasten  to  the  support  of  Greneral 
Luders  ;  and  about  a  week  later  also  crossed 
the  Danube  at  Tultcha,  with  fourteen  bat- 
talions of  infantry,  forty-four  guns,  six- 
teen squadrons  of  cavalry,  and  eight  sotnias 
of  Cossacks.  These  operations  were  not 
impeded  by  Omar  Pasha,  because  he  knew 
very  well  that  the  forces  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Russian  commanders  were  large  enough 
to  ensure  their  passage  of  the  Danube  some- 
where, and  that  by  allowing  them  to  enter 
the  Dobrudscha  he  had  succeeded  in  luring 
them  into  a  trap,  out  of  which  they  would 
find  it  very  difficult  to  escape  for  the  rea- 
sons we  have  already  mentioned.  They 
were  locked  up  in  a  poor  unhealthy  country, 
out  of  which  they  could  not  extricate  them- 
selves before  taking  or  masking  Silistria, 
Rustchuk,  and  Shumla.  This  the  Rus- 
sians proceeded  to  do  after  the  arrival  of 
Prince  Paskievitch,  who  ordered  General 
Luders  to  take  up  a  position  between 
Shumla  and  Varna,  whilst  the  troops  were 
withdrawn  from  Western  Wallachia,  and, 
with  all  the  others  available,  were  poured 
into  the  Dobrudscha,  where  one  after  the 
other  of  the  river  fortresses,  from  Hirsova 
to  Tultcha,  fell  into  their  hands. 

Such  was  the  position  of  affairs  on  the 
Danube  when  war  was  declared  by  France 
and  England  against  Russia.  The  diplo- 
matic year  had  ended,  as  will  be  remem- 
bered, with  the  despatch  of  Lord  Claren- 


don's note  relative  to  the  massacre  at 
Sinope,  whilst  the  French  and  English 
fleets  were  at  last  oidered  to  enter  the 
Black  Sea. 

This  was  accomplished  on  January 
4th,  the  Retribution  being  sent  to  Se- 
bastopol  to  demand  the  release  of  some 
British  subjects — engineers — who  had  been 
captured  at  Sinope.  This,  and  the  receipt 
of  Lord  Clarendon's  despatch,  highly  en- 
raged the  czar,  who  at  once  directed  his 
ambassadors  at  London  and  Paris  to  demand 
explanations  from  the  respective  govern- 
ments, and  an  assurance  of  strict  neutrality. 
In  case  these  demands  were  not  complied 
with,  they  were  at  once  to  demand  their 
passports.  At  the  same  time  Count  Orloff 
was  despatched  to  Vienna  and  Berlin,  to 
make  sure  at  least  of  the  neutrality  of 
Austria  and  Prussia.  In  the  latter  the  czar 
was  successful ;  but  in  his  demands  for  the 
neutrality  of  France  and  England  he  met  a 
flat  refusal;  and  in  consequence  Baron 
Hrunow  left  London,  and  M.  Kisseleff 
Paris,  on  the  6th  and  7th  of  November. 
As  soon  as  the  result  was  known  at  St. 
Petersburg,  the  czar  at  once  sent  the 
English  ambassador.  Sir  Gr.  H.  Seymour, 
his  passports,  intimating  to  him  that  the 
sooner  he  went  the  better,  and  that  he  would 
excuse  him  from  taking  leave.  The  French 
ambassador,  on  the  other  hand,  was  treated 
with  more  consideration.  This  action  was 
met  by  an  ultimatum  of  the  allies,  to  the 
effect  that  the  czar  was  required  to  with- 
draw his  armies  from  the  principalities 
before  the  end  of  April ;  and  that  he  should 
signify  his  acceptance  of  these  terms  within 
six  days  after  the  receipt  of  the  demand. 

This  ultimatum  was  taken  to  St.  Peters- 
burg by  Captain  Blackwood,  one  of  the 
Queen's  messengers,  via  Berlin  and  Vienna, 
the  courts  of  which  were  informed  of  the 
contents  of  the  document.  The  way  in 
which  it  was  received  at  the  Russian  capital 
was  well  described  in  one  of  the  papers  laid 
before  the  House  by  Consul  Michell,  who 
wrote  as  follows  to  Lord  Clarendon,  under 
date  March  19,  1854:— 

"  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the 
despatch  which  your  lordship  did  me  the 
honour  to  address  to  me  on  the  27th  of 
February  ultimo.  This  despatch,  together 
with  its  enclosure,  from  your  lordship  to 
Count  Nesselrode,  was  delivered  to  me  by 
the  Queen's  messenger.  Captain  Blackwood, 
at  a  few  minutes  after  eleven  o'clock,  on 
the  morning  of  the  13th  inst.,  and  I  lost 

III 


111 


P- 


{i 


PRESENTATION  OF  ULTIMATU^f.]      HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


not  a  moment  in   endeavouring  to  give 
effect  to  your  lordship's  instructions. 

«  Within  an  hour  after  the  arrival  of  the 
messenger,  the  despatch  forwarded  to  me 
by  his  excellency  Lord  Cowley  (enclosing 
a  communication  from  the  French  govern- 
ment to  their  consul  here),  was  placed  by 
me  in  the  hands  of  M.  de  Castillon ;  and 
before  the  expiration  of  another  hour,  M.  de 
Castillon  and  myself  had  presented  our- 
selves at  the  Imperial  Ministry  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  solicited  the  honour  of  an  inter- 
view with  the  chancellor  of  the  empire,  for 
the  purpose  of  simultaneously  presenting 
the  notes  of  the  English  and  French  cabi- 
nets. Count  Nesselrode,  through  the  direc- 
tor of  his  chancellerie,  expressed  his  inabil- 
ity to  see  us  at  that  moment,  but  appointed 
twelve  o'clock  on  the  following  day  to 
receive  the  communications  of  which  we 
were  respectively  the  bearers.  When  I 
parted  from  M.  de  Castillon,  about  two 
o'clock,  it  was  arranged  that  I  should  call 
for  him  the  following  morning  at  half-past 
eleven,  in  order  that  we  might  proceed 
together  to  the  chancellor. 

"By  two  o'clock  on  the  13th  I  had  placed 
in  the  hands  of  his  excellency  Count 
Valentin  Esterhazy,  the  Austrian  minister 
at  this  court,  the  packet  of  despatches 
brought  to  me  by  Captain  Blackwood  from 
his  excellency  the  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  at 
Vienna;  and,  by  a  little  after  two,  I  had 
commimicated  to  his  excellency  General 
Eochow,  the  Prussian  minister  here,  the 
purport  of  Lord  Bloomfield's  despatch, 
dated  Berlin,  2nd  March  instant— viz., 
'that  no  packet  had  been  received  by  his 
lordship  from  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  for  transmission  to  St.  Petersburg ; 
but  that  despatches  from  the  Prussian 
government  would  be  forwarded  to  the 
Prussian  representative  by  their  own  sepa- 
rate courier.' 

"A  few  minutes  before  the  appointed  hour 
(twelve  o'clock  on  Tuesday,  the  14th  March 
instant),  M.  de  Castillon  and  I  arrived  at 
the  Imperial  Ministry  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
and,  after  waiting  a  few  minutes,  it  was 
intimated  to  me  by  the  director  of  the 
chancellerie,  '  that  Count  Nesselrode  would 
receive  the  English  consul  alone,'  and  I 
was  ushered  into  his  room. 

"  Count  Nesselrode  received  me  with  his 
usual  courtesy.  I  handed  to  his  excellency 
vour  lordship's  letter,  and  stated,  from  a 
memorandum  which  I  had  drawn  up,  the 
precise  terms  of  your  lordship's  instructions 
112 


with  reference  to  the  return  to  England  of 
the  Queen's  messenger. 

"  Count  Nesselrode  requested  permission 
to  peruse  this  memorandum,  and  I  handed 
it  to  him.  He  then  informed  me,  '  that  the 
emperor  was  not  at  that  moment  in  St. 
Petersburg;  that  on  his  majesty's  return — 
which  would  probably  be  on  Friday,  the  5th 
(17th)  inst. — your  lordship's  communica- 
tions should  be  laid  before  his  majesty, 
and  his  majesty's  commands  taken  thereon, 
when  a  reply  to  your  lordship's  letter 
should  be  forwarded  to  me.' 

"  The  chancellor  then  remarked  upon  the 
length  of  time  that  had  elapsed  since  the 
date  of  your  lordship's  despatch  to  me, 
viz.,  Feb.  27th,  and  asked  me  what  had  de- 
tained the  messenger  so  long  on  the  road  ? 
"  I  explained  that  the  Queen's  messenger 
had  not  come  direct  from  London  to  St. 
Petersburg,  but  had  been  the  bearer  of 
despatches  for  the  British  ministers  at 
Paris,  Berlin,  and  Vienna,  which  latter 
capital  Captain  Blackwood  left  only  on  the 
7th  inst.,  and  had  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg 
on  the  morning  of  the  13th,  thus  making  a 
rapid  journey,  considering  the  very  bad 
state  of  the  roads. 

"On  quitting  Count  Nesselrode,  I  was 
about  to  take  with  me  the  memorandum  I 
had,  at  his  desire,  handed  to  his  excellency 
for  his  perusal,  when  he  requested,  '  that  I 
might  be  kind  enough  to  leave  it  with  him.' 
I  said  that  I  had  merely  transcribed  your 
lordship's  instructions  for  my  own  guidance, 
and  to  prevent  any  misapprehension  of  your 
lordship's  intentions  with  reference  to  the 
time  fixed  for  the  return  of  the  Queen's 
messenger  to  England ;  that  I  had  no  in- 
structions to  make  any  written  communi- 
cation in  presenting  your  lordship's  note; 
but  since  his  excellency  desired  to  retain 
this  paper  (which  was  only  a  transcript  of 
your  lordship's  instructions  to  me  relative 
to  the  precise  moment  for  despatching  the 
messenger  to  England),  I  felt  that  I  should 
not  be  acting  otherwise  than  in  accordance 
with  your  lordship's  wishes   by  rendering 
any  misunderstanding  on  this  head  impos- 
sible ;  and  accordingly  I  allowed  the  chan- 
cellor to  retain  this  memorandum,  a  copy  of 
which  I  have  the  honour  to  send  herewith. 
"  The  emperor  returned  to  St.  Petersburg 
early  on  the   morning  of   the    5th  (17th) 
inst.  from  Finland,  whither  he  had  pro- 
ceeded on    Sunday  evening  (the  12th),  in 
company  with  three  of  his  sons,  the  Grrand- 
dukes  Alexander,  Nicholas,  aud  Michael,  to 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [England  declares  war. 


inspect  the  fortifications  at  Wyborg,  Hel- 
singfors,  and  Sweaborg;  the  Grrand-duke 
Constantine  having  gone  to  Finland  some 
days  previously.  -  ■ 

"  At  ten  o'clock  last  night,  I  received  a 
note  from  the  chancellor  of  the  empire,  in- 
viting me  to  call  upon  him  at  one  o'clock 
P.M.  this  day.  I  was  punctual  in  my  at- 
tendance ;  and  on  sending  up  my  name  to 
the  chancellor,  I  was  informed  that  the 
French  consul  was  with  his  excellency. 

"  After  waiting  a  short  time,  I  was  told 
Count  Nesselrode  would  receive  me.  On 
entering  the  room,  his  excellency's  greeting 
was  of  the  most  friendly  description.  He 
said,  '  I  have  taken  his  majesty's  commands 
with  reference  to  Lord  Clarendon's  note, 
and  the  emperor  does  not  think  it  becoming 
to  make  any  reply  to  it.'  I  replied,  '  M.  le 
Comte,  in  a  matter  of  such  importance,  I 
am  sure  I  shall  be  excused  for  desiring  to 
convey  to  my  government  the  exact  words 
employed  by  your  excellency.'  The  count 
at  first  used  the  words,  'His  majesty  does 
not  think  it  becoming  in  him  to  give  any 
reply  to  Lord  Clarendon's  letter  (ne  le  croit 
pas  convenable  de  donner  aucune  reponse  a 
la  lettre  de  Lord  Clarendon).' 

"  Upon  my  repeating  this  phrase  after 
Count  Nesselrode,  his  excellency  said, 
*  L'Empereur  ne  juge  pas  convenable,'  &c. ; 
and  I  again  repeated  after  him  the  entire 
sentence.  After  I  had  done  so,  the  count 
said,  '  Yes,  that  is  the  answer  I  wish  you  to 
convey  to  your  government ; — L'Empereur 
ne  juge  pas  convenable  de  donner  aucune 
reponse  a  la  lettre  de  Lord  Clarendon.' 

"Having  delivered  to  me  this  ofi&cial 
message.  Count  Nesselrode  begged  me  to  be 
seated,  and  explained  to  me  that  he  had 
only  waited  the  return  of  the  emperor  to 
submit  your  lordship's  letter  to  his  majesty. 
His  excellency  then  asked  me,  when  I 
proposed  to  '  despatch  the  Queen's  messen- 
ger?' I  told  him,  'This  afternoon,  pro- 
vided his  passport,  &c.,  could  be  got  ready 
in  time.'  Count  Nesselrode  informed  me 
he  had  already  sent  a  courier's  pass  for 
Captain  Blackwood  to  the  Baron  de  Plesson, 
and  then  asked  me,  whether  '  to-day'  was 
not  'the  sixth  day?.  I  said,  'From  his 
arrival  at  St.  Petersburg  it  is ;  but  had  I 
been  left  without  any  reply,  or  without 
such  an  intimation  as  I  have  to-day  re- 
ceived from  your  excellency,  I  should  not 
have  despatched  the  messenger  until  to- 
morrow, the  20th  inst.,  at  twelve  o'clock, 
when  six  entire  days  would  have  elapsed 

VOL.  II.  Q 


since  I  placed  Lord  Clarendon's  despatch 
in  your  excellency's  hands.' 

"  In  the  course  of  our  subsequent  conver- 
sation, I  asked  Count  Nesselrode  what  the 
intentions  of  his  government  were  with 
reference  to  the  consular  arrangements  be- 
tween the  two  countries,  in  the  event  of  a 
declaration  of  war  ?  His  excellency  replied, 
'  That  will  entirely  depend  upon  the  course 
her  Britannic  majesty's  government  may 
adopt ;  we  shall  not  declare  war.'  " 

On  the  receipt  of  this  despatch  from 
Consul  Michell,  war  was  of  course  deter- 
mined on  at  London  and  Paris,  and  the 
declaration  publicly  made  in  the  London 
Gazette  on  the  28th  of  March,  1854.  To 
this  declaration  the  czar  replied  by  the 
following  manifesto  on  the  11th  of  April, 
1854:— 

"  Since  the  commencement  of  our  differ- 
ence with  the  Turkish  government,  we  have 
solemnly  announced  to  our  faithful  subjects 
that  a  sentiment  of  justice  had  alone  in- 
duced us  to  re-establish  the  violated  rights  of 
the  orthodox  Christians,  subjects  of  the 
Ottoman  Porte. 

"  We  have  not  sought,  nor  do  we  seek,  to 
make  conquests,  nor  to  exercise  in  Turkey 
any  supremacy  whatever  that  might  be 
likely  to  exceed  that  influence  which  belongs 
to  Russia  by  virtue  of  existing  treaties. 

"  At  that  period  we  already  encountered 
distrust;  then  soon  a  covert  hostility  on 
the  part  of  the  governments  of  France  and 
England,  who  endeavoured  to  lead  the  Porte 
astray  by  misrepresenting  our  intention. 
Lastly,  at  this  moment,  England  and  France 
throw  off  the  mask,  regard  our  difference 
with  Turkey  as  a  mere  secondary  question, 
and  no  longer  dissemble  that  their  joint 
object  is  to  weaken  Russia,  to  tear  from  her 
a  part  of  her  possessions,  and  to  bring  down 
our  country  from  the  powerful  position  to 
which  the  hand  of  the  Supreme  Being  has 
exalted  it. 

"  Is  it  for  orthodox  Russia  to  fear  such 
threats  ?  Ready  to  confound  the  audacity 
of  the  enemy,  shall  she  swerve  from  the 
sacred  purpose  that  has  been  assigned  to  her 
by  Divine  Providence  ?  No  !  Russia  has  not 
forgotten  Grod  I  It  is  not  for  worldly 
interests  that  she  has  taken  up  arms.  She 
combats  for  the  Christian  faith,  for  the 
defence  of  her  co-religionists  oppressed  by 
implacable  enemies. 

"  Let  all  Christendom  know,  then,  that 
the  thought  of  the  sovereign  of  Russia  is 
also  the  thought  that  animates  and  inspires 

113 


RUSSIAN  MANIFESTO.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


all  the  great  family  of  the  Russian  people 
— this  orthodox  people,  faithful  to  God,  and 
to  His  only  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Re- 
deemer 

"  It  IS  for  the  faith  and  for  Christendom 

that  we  combat ! 

" '  God  with  us — who  against  us  ? ' 

"  Nicholas." 


This  manifesto  had  been  preceded,  on 
the  30th  of  March,  by  a  declaration  of  the 
czar's,  which  presents  his  view  of  the  case  in 
so  clear  a  light,  that  it  is  worthy  of  great 
attention,  especially  as  those  views  still 
generally  prevail  throughout  the  Russian 
empire,  heightened,  if  anything,  by  the 
desire  of  revenge  for  the  disasters  to  Rus- 
sia that  ultimately  ensued. 

He  said — "France  and  Great  Britain 
have  at  last  openly  left  the  system  of  dis- 
guised hostility  which  they  had  adopted 
towards  Russia,  especially  by  the  entrance 
of  their  fleets  into  the  Black  Sea. 

"The  result  of  the  explanations  which 
they  have  given  of  that  measure  was  of  a 
nature  to  lead  to  a  rupture  of  reciprocal 
relations  between  them  and  the  imperial 
cabinet. 

"  This  last  fact  was  shortly  followed  by  a 
communication,  in  which  the  two  cabinets, 
through  their  respective  consuls,  invited 
the  imperial  government  to  evacuate  the 
Danubian  principalities  within  a  given 
term,  which  England  fixed  at  the  30th 
April,  and  France,  still  more  peremptorily, 
at  the  15th  of  the  same  month. 

"  With  what  right  did  the  two  powers 
thus  pretend  to  exact  everything  from  one 
of  the  two  belligerent  parties,  without 
demanding  anything  from  the  other  ?  This 
is  what  they  have  not  thought  fit  to  explain 
to  the  imperial  cabinet.  To  evacuate  the 
principalities  without  even  the  shadow  of 
a  fulfilment,  by  the  Ottoman  government, 
of  the  conditions  to  which  the  emperor 
made  the  cessation  of  that  temporary  occu- 
pation subordinate — to  evacuate  them  in 
the  brunt  of  war,  which  the  latter  was  the 
first  to  declare,  whilst  it  is  actively  carrying 
on  offensive  operations,  when  its  own 
troops  occupy  a  fortified  point  of  Rus- 
sian territory — was  already  a  condition  in- 
admissible in  substance.  The  two  powers 
wished  that,  in  form,  it  should  become 
still  more  unacceptable.  They  fixed  a 
term  of  six  days  for  the  adhesion  of  the 
imperial  cabinet;  at  the  expiration  of 
which,  a  refusal,  or  the  absence  of  any  reply 
114 


whatever,  was  to  be  by  them   regarded  as 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war. 

"  To  a  summons  so  partial  in  its  tenour, 
as  practically  inexcusable  as  it  was  insult- 
ing in  its  terms,  silence  was  the  only  reply 
compatible  with  the  dignity  of  the  em- 
peror. 

"  Consequently,  the  two  goveraments  havo 
just  publicly  made  known,  that  Russia,  by 
her  refusal  to  accede  to  their  demand,  has 
constituted  herself  towards  them  in  a  state 
of  war,  the  entire  responsibility  of  which 
will  rest  upon  her. 

"  In  the  presence  of  such  declarations,  it 
only  remains  for  the  emperor  to  accept  the 
situation  which  has  been  made  him,  re- 
serving to  himself  to  employ  all  the 
means  which  Providence  has  put  into  his 
hands,  to  defend,  with  energy  and  constancy, 
the  honour,  independence,  and  safety  of  his 
empire. 

"The    occupation  of   the  principalities, 
which  is  taken  now,  apres  coup,  as  a  pre- 
text for  this  war,  did  not  prevent  the  open- 
ing  of  negotiations.     It   would   not  have 
any  more   prevented  their  continuation,  or 
rather  these  negotiations  would  have  led  to 
something  long   since,   if  the  powers   had 
not  suddenly,   without    any  good   reason, 
completely  changed   the  bases  which  they 
themselves  had  laid  down  in  the  first  noto 
concerted  at  Vienna.     The  objections  made 
by  the  Porte   to  certain  passages  of  that 
note  were   not  sufficient,  either,  to   nullify 
the  rest.     The  essential  substance  remained 
intact,  and   the  imperial  government  had 
the  right  to  regard  all  the  points  which 
the   Ottoman   Porte   had  not  contested  as 
acquired     for     any    ulterior     proposition. 
Such  was  not  done.     An  attempt  was  made 
to   impose   entirely   new    conditions   upon 
us ;  what  had  hitherto  been  admitted  was 
declared  inadmissible;    the   complaints  of 
Russia  were  ignored,  as  also  any  claim  on 
its  part  to  an  equitable  separation,  and  all 
its    counter-propositions   rejected   without 
discussion.     At   the   same   time,   measures 
contrary    to   its   rights    as    a    belligerent 
power  coincident  in  the  Black  Sea  with  the 
conditions  transmitted  from  Vienna,  were 
adopted,   as   if  to   impress  a  character  of 
compulsion    to  any   adhesion    on  its   part. 
Finally,  all  honourable  retreat  was  cleverly 
cut  off  from  it  by  an  imperious  summons, 
such  as  Russia  never  before  received  within 
the  whole  period  of  its  history,  even  at  a 
time   when   a  conqueror,  at    the   head    of 
armed  Europe,  invaded  its  territory. 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  MANIFESTO. 


"  Not  being  able  to  close  their  eyes  upon 
the  insufficiency  of  the  motives  for  a  dis- 
astrous war,  and  upon  the  want  of  propor- 
tion which  exists  between  its  effects  and 
its  cause,  the  two  powers  are  obliged  to 
exaggerate  its  object  by  bringing  the  most 
vague  accusations  against  Russia. 

"  They  allege  that  their  honour  and  ma- 
terial interests  have  been' hurt — projects  on 
our  side  of  aggrandisement  and  conquest  in 
Turkey — the  independence  of  the  Porte,  and 
even  that  of  other  states ;  finally,  the 
balance  of  power  in  Europe,  which,  accord- 
ing to  them,  is  threatened  by  our  excessive 
preponderance. 

"  All  these  general  imputations  rest  upon 
no  foundation  whatever. 

"  We  have  never  attacked  the  honour  of 
the  two  courts.  If  that  honour  has  been 
placed  in  jeopardy,  it  has  been  done  by 
themselves.  From  the  very  onset  they  have 
adopted  a  system  of  iDtimidatioii,'which  natu- 
rally would  fail.  They  made  it  a  point  of 
amour  propre  to  oblige  Russia  to  bend  to 
them ;  and  because  Russia  would  not  con- 
sent to  her  own  humiliation,  they  say  that 
they  are  hurt  in  their  moral  dignity. 

"  Materially,  their  interests  have  not  been 
hurt  by  us  either.  They  can  only  be  so  by 
the  war  they  wish  to  wage  gratuitously 
against  us.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  they 
who  hurt  our  interests  much  more  seriously 
by  attacking  us  in  the  north  and  in  the 
south,  in  our  ports,  and  on  different  points 
of  our  coasts. 

"  The  policy  of  aggrandisement  and  con- 
quest, which  they  attribute  to  Russia,  has 
been  refuted  by  all  her  acts  since  1815. 
Of  her  neighbours  in  Germany  and  in  the 
north,  is  there  one  which,  during  the  last 
forty  years,  have  had  to  complain  of  an 
attack,  or  even  of  an  attempt  of  an  attack, 
upon  the  integrity  of  his  possession  ? 

"  As  regards  Turkey,  although  we  have 
been  at  war  with  her,  the  peace  of  Adri- 
anople  exists  to  attest  the  moderate  use  we 
have  made  of  our  success ;  and  since  then, 
at  two  intervals,  the  Ottoman  empire  has 
been  saved  by  us  from  imminent  ruin. 

"The  desire  of  possessing  Constanti- 
nople, if  that  empire  should  fall — an  inten- 
tion of  forming  a  permanent  establish- 
ment there — have  been  too  publicly,  too 
solemnly  disavowed,  for  any  doubts  to  be 
entertained  on  that  subject  that  do  not 
originate  in  distrust  which  nothing  can 
cure. 

Events  will  shortly  show  whether  the 


(( 


powers  or  Russia  have  struck  the  most  fatal 
blow,  not  only  against  the  independence, 
but  against  the  very  existence  of  Turkey. 
As  a  price  for  the  interested  services  given 
to  her,  she  has  already  renounced  by  treaty 
the  distinguishing  privilege  of  every  inde- 
pendent power — that  of  making  peace,  or 
declaring  war,  at  its  own  free  will,  at  the 
moment,  and  on  the  conditions  it  may 
itself  deem  most  advisable.  She  will  be 
forced  to  subscribe  to  an  engagement  which 
will  give  equality  of  civil  and  religious  rights 
to  all  her  subjects.  Russia  will  sincerely 
applaud  so  important  a  guarantee,  obtained 
in  favour  of  all  the  Christians  in  Turkey, 
if  it  succeed  in  assuring  it  to  them  in  a 
really  efficacious  manner.  But  in  presence 
of  a  resolution  which  would  so  profoundly 
alter  all  the  constituent  bases  of  the  Otto- 
man government,  Russia  has  the  right  to 
be  surprised  that  an  engagement  by  which 
the  sultan  confined  himself  to  confirm  re- 
ligious privileges  already  existing,  and 
emanating  from  our  treaties  with  him, 
should  have  been  declared  an  attempt 
against  his  sovereignty  and  his  indepen- 
dence. 

"  It  is  for  Europe — not  for  the  two  powers 
— to  decide  if  the  general  equilibrium 
really  runs  the  risks  which  are  attributed 
to  it  from  the  supposed  excessive  prepon- 
derance of  Russia.  It  is  for  it  to  examine 
which  weighs  heaviest  to-day  upon  the 
freedom  of  action  of  states — Russia  left  to 
herself,  or  a  formidable  alliance,  tha  pres- 
sure of  which  alarms  every  neutrality,  and 
uses,  by  turns,  caresses  or  threats  to  compel 
them  to  follow  in  its  wake.  Europe  will 
also  decide  if,  during  the  last  year,  it  is 
from  Russia  that  have  come  pretensions  the 
most  hostile  to  the  rights  of  sovereignty  and 
to  the  independence  of  feeble  states ;  if  in 
Greece,  in  Sicily,  in  Naples,  in  Tuscany,  it 
is  for  or  against  those  rights  that  she  has 
declared;  whether  in  Germany,  between 
the  great  governments,  she  has  sought  to 
sow  discord,  or  to  re-establish  union ; 
whether,  morally  in  Lombardy,  and  mate- 
rially in  Hungary,  her  efforts  have  not  been 
consecrated  to  the  maintenance  of  equi- 
librium; and  whether  the  blows  that  are 
preparing  against  her,  the  isolation  in  which 
it  is  hoped  to  place  her,  by  handing  over 
the  political  world  to  a  far  different  sort  of 
preponderance,  will  not  rather  be  the  anni- 
hilation of  that  equilibrium. 

"We  thus  see  to  what  the  vague  generali- 
ties urged  against  Russia  are  reduced.   But 

115 


i 


THE  FRENCH  REPLY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


the  last  especially  of  these  grounds  of  accu- 
sation suffices  to  understand  the  true 
motive  of  war,  for  which,  judged  by  its 
apparert  grounds,  there  is  no  reason ;  and 
it  is  so  contrary  to  the  moral,  industrial, 
and  commercial  interests  of  the  entire 
world,  that  it  will  really  accelerate  the  ruin 
of  the  very  empire  which  it  made  the  pre- 
text to  save  from  an  imaginary  peril.  The 
true  motive  was  publicly  proclaimed  by  the 
English  ministers,  when  they  asserted,  be- 
fore parliament,  that  the  moment  had 
arrived,  at  last,  when  it  was  necessary  to 
abate  the  influence  of  Russia. 

"It  is  to  defend  that  influence,  not  less 
necessary  to  the  Russian  nation  than  it  is 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  the  order 
and  the  security  of  other  states — it  is  to 
sustain  the  independence  and  territorial  in- 
tegrity which  are  the  bases  of  it—that  the 
emperor,  obliged,  in   spite  of  himself,  to 
embark  in  this  contest,  is  about  to  devote 
all  the  means  of  resistance  which  are  fur- 
nished by  the  devotion  and  patriotism  of 
his  people.     He  trusts  that  God,  who  has 
so  often  protected  Russia  in  the  day  of  trial, 
will  assist  him  once  more  in  this  formidable 
struggle.    He  sincerely  laments  the  infinite 
evils  which  are  about  to  fall  on  humanity ; 
but  at  the  same  time  he  feels  it  to  be  his 
duty  to  protest,  solemnly,  against  the  arbi- 
trary  pretensions   laid    down   by   the  two 
powers,  which  throw  upon  him  alone   all 
the  responsibility  of  them.     They  are  free, 
without  doubt,  to  adopt  against  Russia  such 
measures  as  are  convenient  to  them ;  but  it 
does  not  belong  to  them  to  lay  the  conse- 
quences to  his  charge.    The  responsibilities 
of  the  calamities  of  a  war  belong  to  the 
power  which  declares  it,  not  to  that  which 
is  bound  to  accept  it. 

"St.  Petersburg,  March  30,  1854." 
Such  was  the  czar's  case  as  described  by 
himself.  That  of  the  allies  was  well  put 
by  a  reply  of  the  French  government, 
which  was  written  by  the  emperor  himself. 
It  was  as  follows : — 

"  The  Russian  government  has  just  pub- 
lished a  declaration  in  answer  to  the  sum- 
'  mons  addressed  to  it,  for  the  last  time,  by 
France  and  England,  and  to  which  it  has 
not  consented  to  subscribe.  We  have  not 
the  intention  to  enter  once  more  into  an 
examination  of  the  arguments  refuted  to 
satiety;  w^e  will  limit  ourselves  to  some 
observations  on  the  new  errors  which  that 
declaration  is  endeavouring  to  get  ac- 
credited. 

116 


"  In  the  first  place,  the  Russian  govern- 
ment demands  by  what  title  England  and 
France  pretend  to  exact  the  evacuation  of 
the  principalities  of  the  Danube.  There  is 
no  one  so  ignorant  as  not  to  be  aware  how 
much  their  summons  is  founded  upon  right. 
The  powers  who  signed  the  acts  of  Vienna 
have  themselves  recognised  them  as  such. 
The  cabinets  of  Paris  and  London  acted  on 
this  occasion  in  virtue  of  treaties,  and  their 
conduct  had  the  approbation  of  other 
governments. 

"How,  says  the  declaration  of  the  Russian 
cabinet,  could  we  evacuate  the  principali- 
ties, without  even  the  shadow  of  the  con- 
ditions to  which  the  emperor  had  made 
subordinate  the  cessation  of  that  occupation 
being  fulfilled  by  the  Ottoman  government? 
But  these  conditions  which  Russia  required 
were  manifestly  unjust,  and  the  conference 
of  Vienna  had  formally  confirmed  on  that 
point  the  judgment  of  Europe. 

"  The  declaration  adds,  that  the  Russian 
armies  could  net  evacuate  the  principalities 
in  the  midst  of  a  war  which  the  Ottoman 
government  had  been  the  first  to  declare. 
The  parts  cannot  be  more  strangely  inter- 
verted.  The  invasion  of  the  two  provinces 
of  the  Turkish  empire  was,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  whole  world,  an  act  of  war.  If  the 
Porte  has  been  recommended  not  to  make 
it  a  case  of  war,  it  was  because,  in  spite 
of  the  aggressive  character  of  the  acts  of 
Russia,  it  was  still  hoped  that  there  would 
be,  on  the  part  of  that  power,  a  return  to 
moderation  and  equity. 

"Russia  has    no  better  foundation  for 
casting  back,  on  the  two  maritime  powers, 
the  initiative  of  the  provocations.     It  is  an 
affair  already  judged  ;  and  since  the  cabinet 
of  St.  Petersburg  brings  to  our  mind,  on 
this  subject,  its  memorandum  of  the  18th 
of  last  February,  we  can,  in  our  turn,  send 
it  back  to  the  whole   of   the   documents, 
which,  in  England  and  in  France,  have  so 
completely  placed    the  question  beyond  a 
doubt,  that  neither  of  the  two  governments 
have  thought  it  worth  their  while  to  occupy 
themselves    for    one    moment    with    this 
memorandum,   which  has  frequently  been 
refuted  beforehand.     The  initiative  of  the 
acts  of  war,  as  far  as  regards  the  Porte,  as 
well  as  the  provocations  in  matters  touching 
the  maritime  powers,  belongs  exclusively  to 
the  power  which  invaded  the  principalities 
of  the  Danube ;  and   such  is  the  opinion  of 
all  Europe. 

"  The  declaration  of  the  Russian  cabinet 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  FRENCH  REPLY. 


remarks  that  the  occupation  had  not  pre- 
vented the  negotiations  from  being  opened, 
and  that  they  would  not  have  stopped  their 
being  followed  out,  if  the  powers  had  not 
suddenly,  and  without  valid  reasons,  changed 
the  bases  wliich  they  had  themselves  given 
in  the  first  note  drawn  up  at  Vienna.  The 
powers  had,  in  fact,  laid  down  principles 
which,  loyally  admitted,  might  then  have 
solved  the  diff'erence ;  but  the  commentary 
which  the  note  in  question  received  from 
the  Count  de  Nesselrode,  attested  that  the 
Russian  cabinet  did  not  accept  them,  ex- 
cept by  attaching  to  them  a  signification 
very  different  from  the  idea  of  the  con- 
ference of  Vienna,  as  was  admitted  by  all 
the  governments  represented  in  that  con- 
ference. It  is,  therefore,  Russia  herself 
which  changed  the  bases  of  the  negotiation, 
and  compelled  the  great  powers  to  seek  for 
others.  The  Russian  government  bitterly 
complains  of  the  demand  which  the  cabi- 
nets of  Paris  and  of  London  addressed  to 
the  commander-in-chief  of  its  naval  forces 
at  Sebastopol,  in  consequence  of  the  aggres- 
sion of  Sinope.  We  admit  that  that  de- 
mand was  unusual,  but  it  was  called  for  by 
a  state  of  things  not  less  so ;  and  it  was  not 
until  after  every  means  of  conciliation, 
which  patience,  moderation,  and  a  sincere 
desire  can  suggest,  had  been  exhausted,  that 
France  and  Great  Britain  had  recourse  to 
that  extreme  measure.  It  is  true  that  the 
Russian  government  attempts  to  lessen  the 
proportion  which  '  exists  between  the  effects 
and  the  cause ;'  adding,  '  that  the  two 
powers  are  compelled  to  exaggerate  the  ob- 
ject of  it  by  putting  forth  the  most  vague 
accusations  against  Russia.'  In  order  to 
prove  the  gravity  of  the  cause,  it  is  only 
necessary  for  us  to  call  to  mind  the  decla- 
rations made  at  Vienna  in  the  documents  of 
the  conference ;  and  as  to  the  object,  the 
revelations  contained  in  the  English  docu- 
ments sufficiently  prove  that  the  accusations 
of  France  and  Great  Britain  are  far  from 
being  exaggerated.  According  to  the  de- 
claration of  the  Russian  cabinet,  we  have 
less  respect  for  the  independence  of  the 
Porte  than  it  has ;  and  one  of  the  proofs  it 
adduces  for  this  is,  that  the  Ottoman  gov- 
ernment has  renounced,  by  treaty,  the 
power  of  making  peace  without  its  allies. 
In  entering  into  that  engagement,  the  Porte 
only  contracts  a  reciprocal  obligation,  on 
the  footing  of  a  perfect  equality,  and,  more- 
over, in  strict  conformity  to  constant  and 
general  usage  and  the  law  of  nations,  when 


several  unite  together  to  pursue  by  arms  a 
common  object. 

"  The  Porte  (adds  the  Russian  cabinet) 
is  about  to  be  forced  to  subscribe  to  an 
engagement  which  would  extend  to  all  its 
subjects — equality  of  civil  and  political 
rights.  That  assertion,  far  from  being 
well  founded,  gives  us  an  occasion  of  show- 
ing, in  a  striking  manner,  what  is  the 
difference  of  acting  between  Russia  and  the 
western  powers  in  their  relations  with  the 
Ottoman  empire.  Russia  has  insisted  on 
stipulating  with  the  Porte,  either  in  a 
treaty  or  by  means  of  a  note,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  liberties  of  the  sultan's 
subjects.  The  other  powers  have  not,  for  a 
single  moment,  thought  of  requiring  from 
the  Porte  any  such  engagement,  either  in 
the  form  of  a  treaty  or  note.  They  have 
not,  it  is  true,  neglected  any  occasion  to 
suggest  to  the  Porte  such  measures  as  ap- 
peared to  them  best  calculated  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  Christians  in  the 
Turkish  empire ;  but  they  never  could 
have  thought  of  restricting  the  sovereignty 
of  the  sultan,  when,  on  the  contrary,  they 
were  taking  up  arms  to  defend  it  against 
the  pretensions  which  were  menacing  it. 
'It  is  for  Europe,  and  not  for  the  two 
powers  (continues  the  Russian  government), 
to  decide  if  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe 
really  runs  any  of  the  dangers  which,  it  is 
pretended,  arise  from  the  excessive  pre- 
ponderance of  Russia.'  On  that  point  the 
wish  of  the  Russian  cabinet  is  already 
realised.  It  is  the  great  powers  of  Europe, 
and  not  France  and  England  alone,  who 
have  signed  the  acts  of  Vienna ;  and  these 
acts  declare  loudly  that  the  position  taken 
by  Russia  on  the  Danube,  places  the  general 
equilibrium  in  danger.  According  to  the 
cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg,  it  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, France  and  England  who  are  exercis- 
ing, at  present,  on  Europe  a  pressure  of  a 
nature  to  disquiet  all  the  neutral  powers. 
Every  one,  however,  knows  that,  far  from 
manifesting  any  disquietude,  the  neutral 
powers,  on  the  contrary,  applaud  the  atti- 
tude assumed  by  the  two  maritime  powers, 
and  that,  at  the  present  moment,  from  every 
part  of  the  world,  they  send  to  thank  the 
two  powers  for  the  recent  declaration  which 
has  just  confirmed  the  ensemble  of  the 
principles  under  which  they  had  in  vain 
endeavoured  hitherto  to  shelter  their  liberty 
in  time  of  war.  Finally,  the  Russian 
government  thinks  that  the  isolation,  into 
which  it  declares  it  is  about  to  be  thrown, 

117 


?:  H 


}i 


AUSTRIA  AND  PRUSSIA.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1854. 


will  only  deliver  the  world  up  to  a  more 
dangerous  preponderance  than  its  own  could 
possibly  be.  That  government  forgets  that 
not  one  of  the  great  powers  aims  like  it  at 
exclusive  advantages,  or  wants  to  act  by 
itself  alone.  Far  from  permitting  a  pre- 
ponderance of  any  kind  to  be  established,  a 
common  action  exercised  by  the  four  powers 
is,  for  all  the  other  states,  a  pledge  of  secu- 
rity and  impartiality.  The  influences  which 
co-operate  for  the  object  in  view  constitute 
a  just  counterpoise  of  one  to  the  other,  and 
guarantee,  in  advance  to  Europe,  that  the 
general  interest,  which  has  drawn  the  four 
powers  together,  will  not  cease  a  single 
moment  to  guide  their  resolutions,  and  will 
be  alone  listened  to  to  the  end.  The  ob- 
servations which  precede  will  enable  every 
one  to  judge  of  the  new  document  pub- 
lished by  the  Russian  government." 

Whilst  such  were  the  relations  between 
the  Russian  emperor  and  the  governments  of 
the  two  allies,  no  precautions  were  omitted 
to  obtain  the  declared  neutrality  of  Austria 
and  Prussia.  This  was  accomplished  by  a 
protocol,  which  was  signed  on  the  9th  of 
April  by  the  respective  plenipotentia- 
ries— MM.  Buol-Schauenstein,  Bourqueney, 
Westmoreland,  and  Arnim.  Herein  they 
"  declared  that  their  governments  remain 
united  in  the  double  object  of  maintaining 
the  territorial  integrity  of  the  Ottoman 
empire,  of  which  the  fact  of  the  evacuation 
of  the  Danubian  principalities  is,  and  will, 
remain  one  of  the  essential  conditions ;  and 
of  consolidating  in  an  interest  so  much  in 
conformity  with  the  sentiments  of  the 
saltan,  and  by  every  means  compatible 
with  his  independence  and  sovereignty,  the 
civil  and  religious  rights  of  the  Christian 
subjects  of  the  Porte. 

"The  territorial  integrity  of  the  Ottoman 
empire  is,  and  remains,  the  sine  qua  non 
condition  of  every  transaction,  having  for 
its  object  the  re-establishment  of  peace 
between  the  two  belligerent  powers;  and 
the  governments  above  represented  engage 
to  endeavour  in  common  to  discover  the 
guarantees  most  likely  to  attach  the  exist- 
ence of  that  empire  to  the  general  equili- 
brium of  Europe;  as  they  also  declare 
themselves  ready  to  deliberate  and  to  come 
to  an  understanding  as  to  the  employment 
of  the  means  calculated  to  accomplish  the 
object  of  their  agreement. 

"  Whatever  event  may  arise  in  consequence 
of  this  agreement,  founded  solely  upon  the 
general  interests  of  Europe,  and  of  which 
118 


the  object  can  only  be  obtained  by  the 
return  of  a  firm  and  lasting  peace,  the 
governments  represented  above,  reciprocally 
engage  not  to  enter  into  any  definite  ar- 
rangement with  the  imperial  court  of 
Russia,  or  with  any  other  power,  which 
would  be  at  variance  with  the  principles 
above  enunciated,  without  previously  deli- 
berating thereon  in  common." 

This  was  very  satisfactory  as  far  as  it 
went ;  but  suspicions  arose  that  Prussia 
and  Austria  were  not  acting  quite  above- 
board  in  the  matter.  Both  countries  were 
afraid  that  a  decisive  victory  of  the  allies 
or  the  Russians  would  give  the  conqueror 
such  predominance  as  might  possibly  be 
injuriously  exercised  as  regards  themselves. 
Austria's  position  was  very  shakey ;  the 
Hungarians  were  highly  discontented ;  so 
were  the  Italians;  whilst  Prussia  was 
alarmed  lest,  if  the  allies  won.  Napoleon 
might  be  inclined  to  follow  out  his  uncle's 
policy  towards  Germany.  Therefore,  as 
soon  as  they  had  signed  their  declaration  of 
neutrality,  they  at  once  entered  upon  an 
alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  between 
themselves,  which  was  concluded  on  April 
20th,  1854,  and  of  which  the  following  are 
the  most  important  articles : — 

"Art  I. — His  imperial  apostolic  majesty, 
and  his  majesty  the  King  of  Prussia, 
guarantee  to  each  other  reciprocally  the 
possession  of  their  Grerman  and  non- 
German  possessions,  so  that  an  attack 
made  on  the  territory  of  the  one,  from 
whatever  quarter,  will  be  regarded  by  the 
other  as  an  act  of  hostility  against  his  own 
territory. 

"  Art.  II. — In  the  same  manner,  the  high 
contracting  parties  hold  themselves  en- 
gaged to  defend  the  rights  and  interests 
of  Germany  against  all  and  every  injury, 
and  consider  themselves  bound  accordingly 
for  the  mutual  repulse  of  every  attack  on 
any  part  whatsoever  of  their  territories; 
likewise,  also,  in  the  case  where  one  of  the 
two  may  find  himself,  in  understanding  with 
the  other,  obliged  to  advance  actively  for  the 
defence  of  German  interests.  The  agree- 
ment relating  to  the  latter-named  event- 
uality, as  likewise  the  extent  of  the 
assistance  then  to  be  given,  will  form  a 
special  as  also  integral  part  of  the  present 
convention. 

"Art.  III. — In  order  also  to  give  due 
security  and  force  to  the  conditions  of  the 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  now  con- 
cluded, the  two  great  German  powers  bind 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSfAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  VIENNA  PROTOCOL. 


'  m 


themselves,  in  case  of  need,  to  hold  in  per- 
fect readiness  for  war  a  part  of  their  forces, 
at  periods  to  be  determined  between  them, 
and  in  positions  to  be  fixed.  With  respect 
to  the  time,  the  extent,  and  the  nature  of 
the  placing  of  those  troops,  a  special  stipu- 
lation will  likewise  be  determined. 

^'Additional  Art. — Their  majesties  have 
not  been  able  to  divest  themselves  of  the 
consideration,  that  the  indefinite  continu- 
ance of  the  occupation  of  the  territories  on 
the  Lower  Danube,  under  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Ottoman  Porte,  by  imperial  Russian 
troops,  would  endanger  the  political,  moral, 
and  material  interests  of  the  whole  German 
confederation,  as  also  of  their  own  states, 
and  the  more  so  in  proportion  as  Russia 
extends  her  warlike  operations  on  Turkish 
territory." 

The  conclusion  of  this  treaty  naturally 
led  to  inquiries  on  the  part  of  the  allies, 
and  the  assembling  of  a  conference  at 
Vienna  on  the  23rd  of  May,  1854,  the  re- 
sult of  which  was  a  protocol  confirming  both 
the  first  protocol  and  the  subsequent  treaty 
between  Austria  and  Prussia. 

Thus  all  attempts  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  Europe  had  utterly  failed.  No  one 
wanted  war.  The  Quakers  themselves  were 
not  more  opposed  to  war  than  the  rest  of 
Europe.  The  czar  himself  did  not  desire 
war.  He  would  have  avoided  it  if  he  could 
have  done  so.  Why,  then,  was  it  declared  ? 
War  is  only  waged  for  the  defence  of  ma- 


terial interests,  or  for  the  extension  thereof. 
^^  ho  was,  therefore,  the  mysterious,  in- 
visible assailant  ? 

The  reply  is— the  Greek  church.  Or  the 
reply  may  also  be— the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  These  two  churches,  represented 
by  the  czar  and  the  emperor  of  the  French, 
set  Europe  in  a  blaze  because  they  con- 
sidered their  interests  endangered.  The 
temporal  power  of  the  papacy  was  taken  as 
a  model  by  the  czar,  and  its  principles,  as 
lar  as  the  East  was  concerned,  bv  the  em- 
peror Napoleon.  This  is  the  great  factor 
m  the  Eastern  question.  As  long  as  that 
remains  unchanged,  there  can  be  no  endur- 
ing peace  in  the  East,  the  Greek  orthodox 
church  forming  so  concentrated  a  phalanx, 
that  the  temptation  to  convert  it  into  a 
political  and  temporal  power  n.ust  always 
be  irresistible  to  the  ruler  of  a  nation  like 
Russia. 

Hence  the  attempts  that  have  been  made, 
and  ever  will  be  made,  to  restrain  the  ad- 
vance of  Russia,  who,  with  her  millions 
and  millions  of  souls,  would  otherwise  be 
as  actual  a  danger  to  European  liberty  as 
she  menaces  to  be. 

Europe  was  thus  ranged  into  hostile  and 
neutral  camps— the  latter  anxiously  watch- 
ing the  course  of  events,  prepared  to 
benefit  by  the  contest  if  possible ;  but,  at 
any  rate,  to  resist  any  injury  that  might  be 
done  to  themselves  by  either  of  the  victori- 
ous parties. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  WAR  ON  THE  DANUBE;  THE  SIEGE  OF  SILTSTRIA  ;  RETREAT  OF  THE  RUSSIA vs  Arr>n^o  ^„ 
DANUBE;  CONVENTION  BETWEEN  AUSTRIA  AND  TURKEY;  EVACUATION  BY  THF^n^.x^vl  ^"^ 
OCCUPATION  BY  THE  AUSTRIANS,  OF  THE  PRINCIPALITIES;  BOMBARDMENT  OF  ODESSA  «T  ^S 
ALLIED  FLEET;    BLOCKADE    OF   THE  DANUBE.  ^^Anumt^^i     OF    ODESSA     BY    THE 


The  war  now  threatening  to  take  un- 
foreseen dimensions,  the  czar  pressed  all  his 
preparations  forward  with  the  greatest 
activity,  and  bade  his  generals  spare  neither 
man  nor  money  to  push  forward  over  the 
Balkan.  Had  this  been  done,  as  the  czar 
confidently  expected  it  would,  the  whole 
aspect  of  the  war  would  have  been  changed. 
The  error  had,  however,  already  been  com- 
mitted of  entering  the  Dobrudscha,  and 


nothing  now  remained  to  be  done  but  to 
proceed  to  the  reduction  of  the  fortresses 
that  barred  the  way.  Had  the  czar 
possessed  sufficient  troops  to  threaten  a 
second  point  on  the  Danube  as  effectually 
as  Prince  Paskievitch  and  Prince  Gortcha- 
koff  threatened  the  Dobrudscha,  there  would 
have  been  no  harm  done.  But  in  spite  of 
the  number  of  men  over  whom  the  czar 
ruled,  the  advantage  was  out-balanced  bv 

119  ^ 


■•n 


\i: 


hI,| 


:i 


SIEGE  OF  SILISTRIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Fa.d.  1854. 


A.D.  1854.1 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[relief  of  SILISTRIA. 


the  difficulties  of  transport,  the  bad  state 
of  the  commissariat,  and  the  general  cor- 
ruption prevailing  in  the  administration. 
Stores  were  found  empty  that  figured  as 
full  on  paper;  ammunition  was  wanting; 
much  of  that  existing,  especially  that  pro- 
ceeding from  foreign  countries,  was  found 
inferior;  and,  in  fact,  all  supplies  had 
more ;  or  less  deteriorated.  Indeed,  the 
dark  blots  that  sullied  the  British  adminis- 
tration during  the  war  were  fully  as  dark 
in  Russia.  The  Russian  system  of  cen- 
tralisation was  wholly  inadequate  to  re- 
spond to  the   requirements  of  so   vast  an 

empire. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Russian 
commanders  pushed  forward  their  prepara- 
tions for  the  siege  of  Silistria,  and  on  the 
14th  of  April  fire  was  opened  upon  the 
town  from  the  batteries  established  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Danube,  and  the  full  in- 
vestment proceeded  with. 

The  defences  of  Silistria  consisted  of  the 
fortifications  of  the   town  itself— five  bas- 
tions   river-wards,  and    seven  land-wards, 
with  a  number  of  detached  forts  and  earth- 
works thrown  up  since  the  outbreak  of  the 
war.     Of  the  detached  forts,  the  chief  was 
Fort    Abdul-Medjid,    situated    on  a    hill 
behind  the  town,  and  supported  by  their 
minor  forts,  also  built  on  eminences,  but 
commanded  by  Fort  Abdul-Medjid.     The 
western  approach  to  the  town  was  barred  by 
Forts  Tchair  and  Diman,  and  on  the  east 
by  Fort  Dairmem,  all  three  in  the  plain. 
Fort  Abdul-Medjid  was,  in  addition,  still 
further    protected    by    the    two    powerful 
earthworks — Illanli  and  Arab  Tabia.     The 
difficulties  presented  by  these  earthworks 
go  far   towards   proving   the  theory,  that 
mud  and  watling  are  far  more  efficacious 
defences  than  solid  masonry. 

These  walls  were  now  approached  by  the 
Russian  trenches  and  batteries  constructed 
by  General  Schilders,  who  had  already  won 
his  laurels  before  Silistria  twenty-five  years 
before,  and  who  seemed  determined  to 
burrow  under  all  the  fortifications  and  un- 
dermine them.  On  the  11th  of  May,  the 
Russian  preparations  were  so  far  completed 
as  to  permit  of  an  effectual  bombardment 
of  the  town.  Shot  and  shell  were  poured 
into  it  without  interruption  for  four  hours, 
and  set  it  on  fire  in  numerous  places.  The 
batteries,  however,  sufi'ered  very  little. 
This  first  bombardment  was  intended  rather 
as  a  "  moral  persuasion  ;"  but  it  lost  much 
of  its  efi'ect  from  the  fact  that  the  in- 
120 


habitants  had  already  taken  precautions  to 
provide  themselves  with    subterranean  re- 
fuges,  so  that   neither  the  loss  of  life  or 
alarm    was   very    great.      The    cannonade 
continued,  with  longer  or  shorter  intervals 
of  rest,  till  the    15th  of  May,  when  the 
garrison  made  a  sortie  and  attacked  a  body  of 
reinforcements ;  but  without  any  important 
result.     The  same  occurred  on   the   16th, 
when  the  cannonade  was  furiously  carried 
on  from  5  A.M.  till  dusk,  the  impression  in 
the  town  being  that  the  Russians  were  pre- 
paring for  an  assault.    This  impression  was 
strengthened  by  the  Russians  sending  in  an 
officer  under  a  "flag  of  truce,  to  offer  to  the 
commander,  Musa  Pasha,  terms  of  capitu- 
lation.    He   was  strongly  advised  by  the 
Russian    envoy   to    submit,    "because   the 
czar  had  commanded  Prince  Paskievitch  to 
take  the  place,  and  that  of  course  it  must 
be  taken."    To  this  Musa  Pasha  laconically 
replied,  that  "  the  sultan  had  commanded 
him  to  keep  this  place,  and  that  of  course 
it  must  be  kept."     An  attempt  was  then 
made  to  bribe  the  pasha,  but  without  suc- 
cess; and  for  the  next  four  days  such  an 
incessant  hail  of  shot  and  shell  was  poured 
into  the  town,  forts,  and  earthworks,  that 
the  garrison  began  to  lose  heart — especially 
as   there   seemed   to   be   no  signs   of  any 
attempt  on  the  part   of  the  allies,  or  of 
Omar  Pasha,  to  raise  the  siege.     But  they 
were  greatly  encouraged  by  Captain  Butler 
and  Lieutenant  Nasmyth,  who  had  volun- 
teered their  services  at  the  outset,  and  to 
whose  energy,  cheerfulness,  and  valour,  the 
successful  defence  of  the  place  was,  in  a 
great  measure,  due.     On  the  other  hand, 
the    Russian  system  of  advance  in  dense 
columns  contributed  in  a  very  large  degree 
towards  the  failure  of  the  repeated  attempts 
to  force  the  Turkish  outworks.     Still,   in 
spite  of  all  these  advantages,  the  garrison 
were   hardly  pressed;   their  numbers   had 
already  fallen  from  12,000  to  10,000,  and 
reinforcements    at    least    were    anxiously 
looked  for.     But  the  fact  is  that  the  allies 
had  not  yet  definitely  formed  their  plans. 
They   had   landed  at    Gallipoli,    but  the 
future  seat  of  war  was  not  yet  determined 
upon.     They  were  waiting  to  see  on  what 
portion   of  the   line,  extending   from  the 
Hungarian  frontier  to  the  Caspian,  the  czar 
intended  to  concentrate  his  chief  attack; 
whilst  the  czar  himself  was  also  waiting  to 
see  what  steps  the  allies  were  going  to  take. 
For  this  reason  Omar  Pasha  was  prevented 
from  marching  to  the  relief   of  Silistria. 


This  is  the  explanation  of  the  inactivity  of 
the  allies,  that  gave  such  umbrage  to  the 
Turks,  and  caused  so  many  malevolent 
criticisms  at  home  and  abroad.  Then  there 
arose  another  element,  also,  which  induced 
the  allies  to  leave  Silistria  and  the  Danube 
to  take  care  of  themselves;  and  that  was, 
the  conviction  that  Austria  would  not  be 
able  to  keep  out  of  the  fray  if  the  Russians 
gained  any  signal  advantages  in  this  direc- 
tion. As  long  as  the  allies  took  care  that 
Constantinople  was  safe,  they  felt  quite 
easy  as  to  the  development  of  affairs  on  the 
Danube. 

But  however  satisfactory  all  this  may 
have  been  from  a  broad  political  point  of 
view,  the  garrison  of  Silistria  were  not  at 
all  disposed  to  regard  it  in  such  light ;  and 
on  the  28  th  of  May  their  courage  and 
endurance  were  put  to  severer  test  than 
any  they  had  yet  had  to  submit  to.  The 
bombardment  began  with  terrific  fury  at 
break  of  day,  and  continued  until  nightfall. 
Shortly  after  midnight  the  Russians  pro- 
ceeded to  the  assault  of  the  Arab  Tabia, 
and  advanced  with  such  caution,  that  the 
officer  on  duty  in  the  redoubt  was  actually 
cut  down  by  the  leader  of  the  storming 
party  before  the  Turks  were  aware  of  their 
danofer.  A  fierce  combat  then  ensued 
within  the  Turkish  works ;  but  the  leader 
of  the  Russians  had  entered  the  redoubt 
too  soon,  and  before  his  men  had  been 
properly  disposed  to  support  him.  The 
consequence  was,  that  the  Russians  were 
driven  out  of  the  works  and  hurled  into  the 
ditch,  where  volley  upon  volley  of  grape, 
canister,  and  musketry  were  poured  in 
upon  them  before  they  could  extricate 
themselves.  Fresh  columns  were  then  sent 
forward  to  the  right,  left,  and  centre,  with 
senseless  precision  and  clockwork  volleys, 
like  a  machine  set  to  do  one  particular 
kind  of  work,  but  utterly  unable  to  change 
or  adapt  itself  to  circumstances.  The  con- 
fusion at  last  became  so  great  in  the  Rus- 
sian ranks,  that  the  vigorous  onslaughts  of 
the  Turks  and  Albanians  with  bayonet  and 
scimitar,  forced  them  to  retreat  in  disorder; 
the  stifi",  agricultural  Russ  being  utterly 
unable  to  compete  in  agility  with  the 
supple  and  lissom  Turks  of  the  Balkan 
and  Pindus,  whose  limbs  had  never  been 
stiffened  by  hard  work. 

The  other  works  were  also  assaulted  at 
the  same  time,  but  with  similar  results,  the 
energy  of  the  Turks  having  been  redoubled 
by  the  fact  that  this  day,  the  29th  of  May, 


VOL.  IL 


R 


was   the   anniversary   of  the   conquest   of 
Constantinople. 

The  following  day,  the  30th  of  May,  the 
sultan  was  the  unwitting  and  unwilling 
cause  of  Musa  Pasha's  death.  He  sent  the 
brave  commander  the  order  of  the  Med- 
jidie,  who,  after  receiving  it  from  the 
hands  of  the  messenger,  went  to  prayer 
and  to  offer  up  thanks  for  the  distinction 
ofi'ered  him,  and  was  struck  on  the  back  by 
a  shell  splinter,  and  killed  on  the  spot. 

As  soon  as  the  result  of  the  great  assault 
of  the  Russians  became  known  at  Con- 
stantinople, it  was  decided  to  follow  up  the 
successes,  and  send  reinforcements,  so  as 
to  enable  the  garrison  to  operate  more 
systematically  in  the  open  field  against  the 
Russians.  Thus,  on  the  4th  of  June, 
30,000  men  was  sent  by  Omar  Pasha  from 
Shumla,  and,  marching  with  great  ra- 
pidity, threw  in  a  thousand  men  on  the 
night  of  the  5th.  At  the  same  time  the 
garrison  of  Rustchuk  made  a  sortie  to  dis- 
tract the  attention  of  the  Russians,  and  in 
order  to  make  them  think  that  a  flank 
movement  was  intended,  whilst  the  British 
fleet  blockaded  the  mouth  of  the  Danube 
and  destroyed  the  Russian  batteries  at  the 
Sulina  mouth  of  the  river  on  June  the 
8th. 

The  same  day,  the  garrison  at  Silistria, 
now  commanded  by  Hussein  Bey,  made  a 
sortie,  under  cover  of  which  another  thou- 
sand men  entered  the  town.  Two  days  later, 
the  left  face  of  the  Arab  Tabia  was  blown 
down  by  the  explosion  of  a  Russian  mine, 
and  for  a  short  space  the  Russians  gained 
a  footing  in  the  works.  But  the  Turks 
fought  so  desperately,  and  were  aided, 
moreover,  so  effectually  by  another  sally 
of  Hussein  Bey,  that  they  were  again 
forced  to  retreat.  On  the  13th  more  ex- 
tensive operations  were  undertaken.  Selim 
Pasha  made  a  feint  upon  Oltenitza.  Said 
Pasha  crossed  the  Danube  at  Giurgevo, 
drove  the  Russians  out  of  their  works  for 
a  time,  and  then  drew  back ;  whilst  Hus- 
sein Bey  led  a  fresh  sortie,  attacking  the 
Russians  in  their  own  lines  until  the  re- 
lieving force  had  entered  the  place.  The 
carnage  on  that  day  was  frightful ;  in  some 
places  the  dead  literally  blocked  up  the 
trenches.  Captain  Butler  was  grazed  on  the 
forehead  by  a  ball ;  but  though  the  wound 
seemed  to  be  of  no  importance,  the  strain 
upon  the  constitution  had  been  so  great, 
that  he   died  from   the   effects   nine  days 

later. 

121 


t 


y  \ 


ill 


SIEGE  OF  STLTSTKIA  RAISED.]         HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  18r)4. 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN   DIFFICTLTIVS. 


The   Russian  commanders  now  resolved 
to  make  a  supreme  effort ;  but  their  men 
were  worn  out,  disheartened,   and  demora- 
lised ;  and  on  the  day  of  the  last  assault, 
June    the    22nd,    the  utmost    endeavours 
of  the  officers  were  necessary  to  bring  their 
men  up.     This  explains  the  great  number 
of  officers  killed  and  wounded  on  that  day. 
In  spite  of  the  greatest  bravery,  they   were 
repulsed  at   every    single     point.       Count 
Orloff,  the  son  of  the  diplomatist,  and  nearly 
all  the  staff  officers,  were  killed.     General 
Liiders   had   his  jaw    shattered ;    General 
Schilders,  both    his  thighs   carried   away; 
Prince  Gortchakoff  was  severely  wounded, 
and    Prince  Paskievitch    almost    mortally 
struck.       Under    such    circumstances,    all 
hopes  of  forcing  the  lines   of  Silistria  and 
Shumla    were    quite   out   of  the   question, 
and  under  cover  of  a  bombardment  at  mid- 
night  on    the   22nd,   the  Russians  crossed 
the  Danube,  and  raised  the  siege,  leaving 
behind    them   the    bones   of  some    20,000 
men.     The  Turkish  losses  exceeded  4,000. 


On  the  retreat  of  the  Russians,  who  had 
gradually  been  drawing  in  their  forces  from 
Western  Wallachia,  Omar  Pasha  established 
his    head-quarters    at    Rustchuk ;    Prince 
Gortchakoff  taking   up   his   at  Bucharest. 
But  during  the  siege  of  Silistria,  two  con- 
victions  had   forced  themselves  upon    the 
czar's  mind.     He  saw  that  the  military  cam- 
paign had  commenced  with  an  error  it  was 
now  too  late  to  retrieve,  and  that  the  allies 
intended   to    concentrate  their    operations 
elsewhere  than  on  the  Danube.     His  armies 
were,  therefore,  useless  in  Wallachia ;   the 
only  thing   to  be  considered  was  a  decent 
pretext  for  evacuating  them.      He  there- 
fore  caused  Austria   to   propose  an    occu- 
pation of  the  provinces,  well   knowing  that 
t-uch  a  measure  would  not  seriously  affect 
his  ultimate  aims  in  case  of  his  eventual 
success,  nor  render  his  position  any  worse  in 
case   of  defeat.     This  measure  was  carried 
out  in  the   form  of  a   convention  between 
the  Porte  and  Austria,  signed  on  the    14th 
of  June,  1854,  and  ratified  on  the  30th  with 
the   consent  of   the  western  powers.     The 
terms  of  the  convention  were  so  worded  as 
to  leave   the  czar   time  to  adapt  his   pre- 
parations according  to  the  turn  of  events, 
it  being  provided  that  Austria  should  under- 
take to — 

1.  Exhaust  all  means  of  negotiation  to 
obtain  the  evacuation  of  the  Danubian 
principalities. 

2.  Engage   to   enter  into  no  convention 

122 


with  the  czar  on  any  other  basis  than  the 
integrity  of  the  Ottoman  empire. 

3.  Occupy   the   provinces    with   the    re- 
quisite number  of  forces :  and, 

4.  To  evacuate   them  forthwith   on  the 
conclusion  of  peace. 

The  first  article  was  introduced  to  allo^f 
the  czar  time  for  his  generals  to  try  and  re- 
trieve their  position,  and  Generals  Dannen- 
ben^  and  Bebutoff,  whohad  been  so  successful 
in  Asia,  were  sent  with  reinforcements  from 
Bessarabia,  to  try  to   infuse  new  life   into 
the  demoralised  troops.     But  the  campaign 
had  been   irretrievably  muddled,   and  the 
Russians    were    successively    defeated     at 
Nicopoli,     Giurgevo,     and     Frasketi,   and 
General  Bebutoff  himself  severely  wounded. 
The   game  had  been  played  and   lost,  and 
on    the    2nd  of   August,   Prince    Gortcha- 
koff led   his   army,   shattered  and    demo- 
ralised, back  again  across  the  Pruth  ;  whilst 
three   weeks  later  the   Austrians   had  en- 
tered upon  their  inheritance  of  occupation. 
Thus  disastrously   ended   the  campaign 
on   the    Danube.     But  the  argument   that 
the    Turks    proved    themselves    a  match 
for    the    Russians   without   any   assistance 
from  the  allies,  is  as  fallacious  as  mischiev- 
That  an  equal  number  of  Turks   is 


ous. 


fully  equal  to  a  corresponding   number  of 
Russians,  may  be  at  once  conceded.     We 
may  go  even  still  further,  and  acknowledge 
that  the  physique  of  the  Turks  is  superior 
to  the  Russians,  and  that  the  Turks  would 
hold    their     own    on   their    own    ground 
against  three  to    one.     But  the   resources 
of  Russia  far  exceed  those  of  Turkey ;  and 
unassisted,  the  latter  power  would,  even- 
tually, most  certainly  succumb.     It  must 
also     be   remembered,    that,    though     the 
allies  were  not  actually  on   the  spot,  still 
the  prospect    of    their    interference,     and 
their  subsequent  presence  at  Gallipoli  and 
the  Black    Sea,   had  virtually  out-flanked 
Prince  Gortchakoff's  armies,  and  thus  ma- 
terially influenced  the  course  of  events ;  so 
that  any  argument  based  on  the  fact   that 
the  Russians  were  matched   by  the  Turks 
unaided   is    very   fallacious.     .Russia    has 
always  beaten  the  Turks  eventually,  and, 
probably,  always  would  do  so. 

As  may  be  imagined,  the  result  of  the 
Danubian  campaign  cut  the  czar  to  the 
quick.  Especially  humiliating  were  the 
repeated  defeats  of  the  Russian  armies  in 
the  open  field  in  Western  Wallachia.  That 
they  should  have  been  beaten  back  from 
Silistria  was  not  so  disgraceful,  when  regard 


was  had  to  the  difficulties  they  had  to  con- 
tend with,  and  the  error  in  concentrating 
the  chief  attack   in   the    Dobrudscha   was 
taken  into  consideration.    .'But  that,  as  the 
czar  himself  said,  the  flower  of  the  Rus- 
sian army  should  have  been  vanquished  by 
raw  levies   of  half-civilised  Turks,  was  too 
humiliating,  and,  to  him,  inexplicable.    He 
did  not  see  then,  as  every  one  else  saw,  that 
his  system  of  attacking  in  dense  columns, 
rigid  in  their  massive  formation,  was  of  no 
avail  against  the  scattered  and  meagre  ranks 
of   the   enemy,    who    buzzed  and   hovered 
round  his  concentrated  ma.sses  like  a  swarm 
of  mosquitoes  round  an  ox.     Consequently, 
whilst  condoling  with  Princes  Paskievitch 
and     Gortchakoff    on    account     of     their 
wounds,  he,  at  the  same  time,  made  the 
most    bitter    remarks,    and    deplored    the 
faithlessness  of  his  servants,  contending  that 
he  had  been  deceived  and  betrayed  at  every 
step  and  turn,  finally  despatching  the  min- 
ister of  war  to  the  head-quarters    of  the 
army  to  ascertain  the  causes  of  its  defeat ; 
at  the  same  time  he  ordered  a  levy  of  re- 
cruits, to  the  number  of  9  per  1,000  of  the 
population,  whilst  an  extraordinary  contri- 
bution of  one-fourth  of  the  annual  revenue 
was  exacted  from  the  provinces.     Unfortu- 
nately for  the  Russians,  the  means  of  com- 
munication were  so  few  and  so  bad,  that  the 
task  of  mobilising  the  various  regiments, 
and  bringing  them  to  the  scene  of  action, 
was  a  most  difficult  one.'    As  an  instance, 
may  be  mentioned  the  fact,  that  after  the  war 
had  been  concluded,  large  bodies  of  men  still 
continued  to  arrive  at  their  various  depots, 
and  men  who  were  never  placed   in   line 
were  more  than  a  year  absent  from  their 
homes;    and,  when  collected,  the  work  of 
drilling  had  to  be  executed.   This  was  appa- 
rently an  easy  task.     The  Russian  is  accus- 
tomed, as  all  agriculturists  are,  to  methodic 
and  precise  movements ;  and  thus  nothing 
can  excel  the  precision  of  a  Russian  parade. 
But  it  was  just  this  precision  and  mechani- 
cal movement  that  so  greatly  contributed  to 
the  defeat  of  the  Russian  battalions.     Pre- 
cision was  their  only  art. 

The  same  observations  apply  to  the  con- 
veyance of  stores  and  ammunition.  It  is 
quite  true  that,  practically,  London  and 
Paris  were  much  nearer  to  the  seat  of  war 
than  St.  Petersburg.  Finally,  the  com- 
mand of  the  Black  Sea  having  been  lost  by 
the  Russians,  and  their  Baltic  ports  block- 
aded, they  were  practically  out-flanked  on 
both  sides.     Thus  having  lost  the  power  of 


aiding  his  armies,  except  by  their  rear,  the 
czar  could  not  help  seeing  that  any  further 
attempts   to   force  the  Balkans  would   be 
futile,  menaced,  as  he  was,  by  the  possibility 
of  Austria  forsaking  him  and  turning  her 
benevolent  neutrality  into  active  opposition. 
Besides  which,  he  began   to  be  convinced 
that  the  object  of  the  allies  had  gradually 
taken  shape,  and  that  they  would  confine 
themselves  to  the  destruction  of  his  mari- 
time supremacy  in  the  Black  Sea  by  the 
destruction  of  the  great  fortress  and  mili- 
tary harbour,  with  which  he  dominated  the 
sea  up  to  the  entrance  of  the  Bosphorus. 
Thus  the  war,  henceforth,  was  resolved  into 
an  attack  upon   Sebastopol.      The  fall  of 
that  town,  the  emperor  foresaw,  would  be 
the  end  of  the  war,  as  far  as  the  allies  were 
concerned.      That   they   would   follow    up 
their  success,  and  expose  themselves  to  the 
risks  of  an  invasion  of  Russia,  was  not  to  be 
thought  of  for  a  moment.      It  would  have 
been  far  too  good  for  the  Russians  to  have 
expected  it ;  so  that,  on  the  whole,  the  czar 
awaited  the  issue  of  the  struggle  with  com- 
parative equanimity.      The  most  unfavour- 
able result  would  not  be  so  very  bad,  whilst 
it  was  quite  within  the  range  of  possibilities 
that   Sebastopol   might   defy    the  allies  as 
successfully    as    Silistria   had    defied    the 
Russians,  and  at  the  same  time  there  was 
still  a  chance  of  successful  advance  in  Asia 
Minor,  though,  of  course,  that  chance  was 
also  much  diminished  by  the  control  of  the 
Black  Sea  having  slipped  from  his  hands. 
His  armies  here  were  also  impeded  by  the 
lawless  tribes  to  whom  any  government  is 
an   incubus;     whose  notion  of    liberty    is 
only  the  liberty  to  act  as  they  please  with- 
out acknowledging  any  authority,  whether 
Russian,  Turkish,  or  British.   . 

It  is  easy  to  understand,  therefore,  the 
anxiety  of  Russia  to  assure  herself  of  the 
control  of  the  Black  Sea.  The  case  is  well 
put  by  a  Russian  statesman,  who  wrote  on 
a  recent  occasion  as  follows  : — 

"There  are  such  things  as  national 
nio-htmares.  Every  nation  has  its  favourite 
one  in  some  form  or  the  other.  Russia's 
nightmare  is  the  knowledge  that  the  coali- 
tion of  two  powers  is  sufticient  to  entirely 
isolate  Russia,  and  to  destroy  her  commerce 
as  long  as  they  choose.  The  Baltic  can  be 
closed  on  the  north,  and  the  Black  Sea 
on  the  south.  It  is  this  knowledge  that 
weighs  upon  us  without  cessation  ;  is  always 
present  to  our  mind;  is  called  up  by  a 
thousand  circumstances  every  day.    The  fact 

123 


ijil! 


n 


it-' 


RUSSIAN  AMBITION.  J 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1854. 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[ODESSA  BOMBARDED. 


is  aggravated  by  the  key  of  the  Black  Sea 
l)eing  held  by  an  uncivilised  barbarian,  who 
is  our  natural  enemy,  and  who  flaunts  his 
power  day  after  day  in  our  face.  A  still 
further  aggravation  is  caused  by  the  fact 
that  this  barbarian  infidel  is  the  remorse- 
less oppressor  of  millions  of  our  race,  and 
kith  and  kin  and  co-religionists. 

"  Let  me  put  the  case  in  a  light  that 
may  specially  interest  the  British  states- 
man. Suppose  the  Channel  contracted  at 
both  ends,  so  that  Dover  and  Calais,  and 
Brest  and  Plymouth,  were  within  easy  fire 
of  each  other.  And  now  imagine  Brest 
and  Calais  to  belong  to  an  infidel  race, 
oppressing  millions  of  Protestants  of  your 
own  English  race ;  and  suppose,  still  further, 
that  the  infidels  in  question  were  your 
bitterest  enemies,  and  claimed  the  right  of 
closing  both  gates  of  your  Channel  when- 
ever they  chose,  and  refused  to  allow  your 
war-ships  ingress  and  egress ;  and  then, 
finally,  imagine  that  every  time  you  try  to 
put  an  end  to  such  a  state  of  things,  or  to 
ameliorate  the  position  of  your  suffering 
kindred,  you  are  at  once  attacked  by  four 
or  five  other  powers,  and  hindered  and 
tiiwarted  in  all  your  attempts,  or  war  de- 
clared against  you.  Imagine  all  this,  and 
imagine  that  it  has  been  going  on  for  cen- 
turies, and  tell  me  whether  such  a  condition 
of  things  would  not  be  a  national  night- 
mare, a  horrible  incubus,  that  duty,  interest, 
sentiment,  honour,  and  pride  all  united  to 
demand  the  suppression  of. 

"  That  is  the  case  with  Russia.  The 
feeling  is  universal,  and  it  stifles  our 
national  existence.  The  incubus  must  be 
removed  by  fair  means  or  foul — to-day  or 
to-morrow.  But  till  it  is  removed  there 
can  be  no  lasting  peace  between  Russia  and 
the  Ottoman  empire  ;  no  lasting  confidence 
between  Russia  and  Europe.  We  Russians 
may  be  but  semi-civilised  as  a  nation — I 
quite  acknowledge  the  fact ;  but  no  one 
can  deny  that  we  do  not  progress ;  that  we 
have  the  will  and  wish  to  extend  civilisa- 
tion, and  that  we  are  capable  of  it.  No  one 
will  deny  that  Russia,  backward  as  she  may 
be,  is  at  least  as  far  in  advance  of  Turkey 
as  Great  Britain  may  be  in  advance  of 
Russia. 

It  is  therefore  unreasonable,  unstates- 
manlike,  and  impolitic  to  expect  Russia 
to  yield  to  Turkey,  and  submit  to  her 
tutelage  in  the  matter  of  the  Black 
Sea,  with  the  assistance  of  a  number  of 
European  monitors,  who  would  like  to 
124 


keep  their  pupil  from  growing,  lest  he  one 
day  be  too  big  for  them  to  manage." 

As  soon  as  war  had   been   formally  de- 
clared, the  fleets  of  the  allies,  which,  since 
the   massacre  at  Sinope  had  been  cruising 
about  the  Black  Sea  without  any  particu- 
lar object  in  view,  proceeded  to  play  their 
part  in    the   first  act  of  the  drama,   which 
had  been  dragging  on  its  weary  and  san- 
guinary   length   along    the   banks   of  the 
Danube,     One  of  the  first  acts  of  hostility 
was    the   bombardment    of   Odessa,    which 
arose   out  of  one    of    those    unfortunate 
events   that  do   so  much   to  embitter  rival 
armies,  and  that  never  fail  to  occur  in  any 
war.     The  Furious  had  gone,  on  the  6th 
of  April,  to  Odessa  in   order  to  claim  and 
take  on  board  the  consuls  and  French  and 
English    subjects  who    might    prefer  quit- 
ting the  city  before  the  outbreak  of  hostili- 
ties.    On  arriving  off  the  port,  the  Furious 
was  brought-to  by  two  blank  shots  from 
the   batteries,  whereupon  she   hove-to  out 
of  range,  and  lowered  a  boat  which  hoisted 
a  white  flag   and  proceeded    to   the   quay, 
when  the  officer   in  charge  was  informed  * 
that   the    British  consul   had  already  left 
Odessa.    Hereupon,  the  boat  pushed  off,  and 
was  returning   to  the  Furious,  when    the 
latter,  from  some  reason  or  other  that  has 
not  been  explained,  put  the  engines  into 
motion,  and,  according  to   the  Russian  ac- 
counts, steered   towards   the  batteries  and 
got  within  range.   Hereupon  the  Russian  bat- 
teries opened   fire   and   fired  seven   shots, 
which,  however,  did  no  damage.     As  soon  as 
the    incident      was      reported     to     head- 
quarters   Admirals    Hamelin    and  Dundas 
conferred    together,    and     despatched    one 
French  and  two  English   steamers   to   de- 
mand an  apology  from  Baron  Osten-Sacken, 
the   Russian    governor    of  Odessa.       The 
baron  refused  an  apology,  stating,  in  effect, 
that  the  Furious  having  disregarded  the 
summons  conveyed  by  the  two  blank  cannon- 
shot,  had  unnecessarily  come  within  range 
of  the  Russian   guns,   and  that  the   com- 
mander  of  the   battery  had  done  no  more 
than  his  duty  in  firing  upon  her.     Strictly 
and     literally,     no    doubt,     the    Russian 
governor  was  justified  in  taking  this  view ; 
but,  morally,  taking  into  consideration  the 
fact,     that    one    frigate     would     scarcely 
attempt  to   tackle  the  whole  batteries   of 
Odessa,  and  that,  practically,    she   was   as 
much  covered  by  the  white  flag  as  the  boat 
itself,  there   can    be   no   doubt    that   the 
baron's   explanation  was   insufficient,   and 


that  an  apology  war  the  least  that  could 
be  expected  from  him.  But  the  Russians, 
in  their  state  of  mind  at  that  time, 
were  not  at  all  inclined  to  apologise,  and 
preferred  indulging  in  the  luxury  of  re- 
fusing to  do  so.  For  this  luxury  the 
admirals  decided  they  should  pay  dearly, 
and  followed  up  their  demand  for  an 
apology,  by  a  further  demand  that  all 
British,  French,  and  Russian  vessels  at 
anchor,  under  cover  of  the  batteries,  should 
at  once  be  given  up  to  the  combined  fleet. 
To  this  demand  the  baron  made  no  reply 
whatever ;  and  on  the  22nd  of  April,  the 
allied  fleet,  consisting  of  twelve  steamers 
and  a  number  of  rocket-boat.«,  proceeded 
to  inflict  summary  chastisement  on  the 
refractory  town. 

Thouirh  not  a  regular  fortress,  Odessa  was 
well  protected  by  batteries  and  a  citadel 
commanding  the  port,  which  is  divided  into 
four  portions  by  the  Quarantine  Mole  and 
the  Imperial  Mole,  both  of  which  are  de- 
fended by  embrasured  parapets.  The  former 
contained  the  foreign  mercantile  vessels ; 
the  latter,  the  Russian  and  the  men-of-war. 
Between  these  two  moles  lies  the  chief  quay 
and  boulevard,  to  which  two  flights  of  steps 
led  from  the  plateau  on  which  the  town  is 
built.  Two  batteries  were  constructed  to 
the  right  and  left  of  these  steps,  and  there 
was  a  third  battery  opposite  the  Quarantine 
Port.  Altogether  there  were  seven  bat- 
teries,  exclusive  of  mole  batteries  and  those 
of  the  citadel. 

When  the  fleet  approached,  the  rocket- 
boats  were  sent  well  in,  and  poured  a  con- 
tinual stream  of  24-pound  shot  upon  the 
principal  mole  and  the  Russian  shipping, 
whilst  the  steamers,  moving  on  in  single 
file,  described  a  continual  circle,  each  one 
delivering  its  fire  as  it  passed  the  mole. 
The  Russian  batteries  answered  with  ra- 
pidity, but  their  aim  was  bad,  whilst  almost 
every  shot  of  the  allies  told  well;  and 
the  Terrible  eventually  standing  in  closer 
and  using  red-hot  shot  and  rockets,  suc- 
ceeded in  exploding  the  imperial  powder 
magazine,  the  mole  itself  being  so  shattered 
by  the  explosion,  that  its  batteries  were 
silenced.  The  allies  then  stood  still  closer 
in  and  concentrated  their  fire  upon  the 
Russian  shipping,  and  the  naval  and  mili- 
tary stores.  .  These  were  well  defended 
by  the  Russians,  who  succeeded  in  inflict- 
ing considerable  damage  on  the  Retri- 
bution, and  set  the  French  frigate  Vauhan 
on  fire  by  red-hot  shot;  but  fortunately  for 


the  crew,  the  fire  was  extinguished  by  the 
help  of  the  sailors  sent  to  their  assist- 
ance before  it  spread  to  the  magazine. 
The  upshot  of  the  action  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Russian  shipping,  the  official 
buildings,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
town,  thirteen  vessels  laden  with  naval 
stores  and  ammunition  being  cut  out,  and 
some  fifty  men  taken  prisoners.  The  loss 
of  the  Russians  was  800  killed  and 
wounded ;  whilst  that  of  the  allied  fleet 
did  not  amount  to  more  than  twenty- four 
killed  and  wounded. 

This   successful  bombardment  of  Odessa, 
which  was    simply  undertaken  to    avenge 
the    outrage  committed    by  firing  upon  a 
flag  of  truce,  was  represented  by  the  Rus- 
sian government  as  a  successful  repulse  of 
the  allied  fleet :  in  fact,  to   read  the  em- 
peror's   proclamation  on    the   subject    one 
would  be  inclined  to  imagine  that  Baron 
Osten-Sacken    had  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  regiments,  charged  the  whole 
fleet   at   the   point   of    the  bayonet,    and 
utterly    dispersed   it,    for     which     exploit 
the  gallant  baron  was  rewarded  with   the 
order  of  St.  Andrew,  with  the  accompany- 
ing decree  published  in  the  Invalide  Russe. 
"  On   the    day   when  the  inhabitants  of 
Odessa,  united  in  their  orthodox  temples, 
were   celebrating  the  death  of  the  Son  of 
God,  crucified  for  the  redemption  of  man- 
kind, the  allies  of  the  enemy  of  His  holy 
name  attempted  a  crime  against  that  city 
of  peace  and  commerce — against  that  city 
where  all  Europe,  in  her  years  of  dearth,  has 
always  found  open  granaries.      The  fleets 
of  France    and    England     bombarded    for 
twelve  hours  our  batteries,  and  the  habi- 
tations of  our  peaceful  citizens,  as  well  as 
the   merchant   shipping   in    the    harbour. 
But  our  brave  troops,  led  by  you  in  person, 
and  penetrated  by  a  profound  faith  in  the 
Supreme   Protector  of   justice,    gloriously 
repelled  the   attack  of  the  enemy  against 
the  soil,  which,  in  apostolic  times,  received 
the  precursor  of  the  Christian  religion  in 
our    holy    country.       The    heroic    firmness 
of  our-  troops,   inspired  by  your  example, 
has  been  crowned  with   complete    success; 
the  city  has  been  saved  from  destruction, 
and  the  enemy's  fleets   have    disappeared. 
As   a   worthy  recompense  of   so  grand  an 
action,  we  grant  you  the  order  of  St. Andrew. 

"  Nicholas." 
Apart   from    the   mere   punishment  for 
the  outrage  committed  on  a  flag  of  truce, 
the  bombardment  of  Odessa,  and  destruction 

125 


^    fe 


ii 


LANDING  OF  THE  ALLIES.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


1)1 

i 


of  the  shipping,  was  also  a  measure  of 
expediency,  in  order  to  increase  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  supply  of  provisions  for  the 
Russian  army  in  the  Dobrudscha  ;  but  it 
was  also  judged  necessary  to  blockade  the 
mouths  of  the  Danube,  and  destroy  the 
batteries  constructed  by  the  Russians.  The 
blockade  was  declared  on  the  1st  of  June, 
and  on  the  8th  the  batteries  on  the 
Sulina  mouth  were  attacked  and  destroyed, 
with  the  exception  of  a  smull  portion 
wliich  was  taken  possession  of  and 
manned  by  marines.  Towards  the  end 
of  the  month,  the  stockades  erected  around 
the  village  of  Sulina  were  attacked  by  the 
firebrand  and  Vesuvius,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captains  Parker  and  Powell,  who 
conducted  the  expedition  in  a  reckless 
fashion,  which  led  to  the  death  of  Captain 
Parker.  Captain  Parker  apparently  took 
for  granted  that  the  stockades  were  de- 
serted, and  approached  them  without  any 
precautions,     until    a  volley   of  musketry 


riddled  the  boat  and  wounded  several  of 
the  men.  Withdrawing  down  the  river, 
he  waited  for  the  other  boats  to  come  up, 
and  landing  his  men,  led  them  to  storm 
the  stockades,  when  he  was  shot  through 
the  heart — a  fate  that  also  befel  the  two 
Russian  officers  in  command. 

With  the  exception  of  the  bombard- 
ment of  Odessa,  and  blockade  of  the 
Danube,  there  was  but  little  for  the 
fleets  to  do.  The  Russian  fleet  would 
not  leave  the  shelter  of  Sebastopol,  and 
the  fortifications  of  that  place  were  far 
too  powerful  to  be  attacked  with  any 
chance  of  success.  Altogether,  throughout 
the  war,  the  fleets,  both  from  the  Baltic  and 
the  Black  Sea,  played  a  very  subordinatci 
part,  as  far  as  active  operations  were  con- 
cerned. But  still,  the  services  they  ren- 
dered as  transports  and  blockaders,  cutting 
off  the  supplies  of  the  Russians,  and  out- 
flanking them  as  it  were  in  the  Dobrudscha 
and  in  the  Caucasus,  were  very  valuable. 


CHAPTER   XVr. 

LANDING  OF  THE  ATLTTS  AT  GALLIPOLI;  FURTUKK  ADVANCE  TO  SCUTATIT  AND  VARNA  ;  WRETCUED 
STATE  OF  THE  ARMIES  AT  VARNA  ;  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  ALLIES  FOR  THE  CRIMEA  ;  LANDING  AT 
EUPATORIA;  battle  of  the  alma  J  ADVANCE  ON  SEBASTOPOL  J  OCCUPATION  OF  BALAKLAVA  AND 
KAMIESH   BAY. 


As  soon  as  it  had  become  evident  that  war 
was  unavoidable,  the  despatch  of  French 
and  British  troops  to  the  East  commenced ; 
but  owinof  to  the  undecided  state  of  the 
political  atmosphere,  and  the  general  igno- 
rance prevailing  as  to  the  military  disposi- 
tions of  the  Russians,  combined  with  doubts 
as  to  the  success  of  Omar  Pasha  in  keeping 
the  Russian  army  on  the  Danube  in  check, 
no  definite  plan  of  operations  was  decided 
on ;  and,  practically,  it  was  determined  to 
be  guided  by  the  course  of  events.  For 
these  reasons  the  allied  troops  were  first 
disembarked  at  Grallipoli.  It  was  thought 
that  the  progress  of  the  Russians  through 
the  Dobrudscha  and  the  Balkan  provinces 
would  be  so  rapid,  that  Constantinople  itself 
might  be  attacked  before  the  allies  could 
oppose  a  sufficient  force  to  resist  the 
Russian  advance ;  and  serious  alarms  were 
even  felt  for  the  safety  of  the  fleets  anchored 
in  the  Bosphorus.  It  was  thus  held  to  be 
necessary  to  create  a  basis  of  operations  for 
126 


defence  as  well  as  offence.  This  basis  was 
discovered  in  the  isthmus  of  Gallipoli, 
which  was  defended  towards  the  land  side 
by  a  fosse  of  several  yards  in  depth,  running 
from  sea  to  sea.  In  case  therefore  of  a 
rapid  advance  of  the  Russians  both  by  sea 
and  land,  Gallipoli  seemed  to  the  allies  a 
strong  and  safe  position  both  in  case  of 
offence  and  defence.  ^lore  precautions 
were  deemed  necessary  at  the  outset  than 
subsequent  events  justified.  In  fact,  it  was 
determined  at  first  to  push  on  very  gra- 
dually. Under  favourable  circumstances, 
the  next  step  in  advance  was  to  have  been 
the  peninsula  of  Erdek,  opposite  the  island 
of  Marmora,  to  which  the  land  approaches 
were  capable  of  defences  of  the  same  cha- 
racter as  at  Gallipoli.  There  was  thus  a 
considerable  doubt  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
powers  of  the  allied  forces.  In  fact,  it  may 
be  said  that,  for  a  considerable  period,  the 
allies  and  the  Russians  were  equally  afraid 
of  each  other,  and  neither  side  had  sufficient 


A.D.  1854.1 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE.  Llandix\g  of  the  allies. 


confidence  in   its   own  powers ;  so  that  an 
advance  depended  rather  upon  which  side 
turned  tail  first  than  upon  a  bold  initiative. 
The  French  troops  arrived  first  on  the 
spot,  and,  like  all  first  comers,  they  were 
the    best    served.      The    first    vessel    that 
arrived  was  the  Golden  Fleece.     She  made 
Gallipoli  on  Wednesday  night,  with  1,000 
men  on  board ;  but  there  was  no  pilot  to 
show  her  where  to  anchor,  and  ultimately 
she  had  to  run  out  her  cable  in  19  fathoms 
water.      The    reception    the   first    British 
army  met  with  that  ever  landed  on  the 
shores  of  the  Dardanelles,  is  well  related  by 
the  limes  correspondent.     When  morning 
approached,  it  was  seen  how  well  the  French 
had  employed  their  time. — "  The  tricolour 
was  floating  right  and  left,  and  the  blue 
coats  of  the  French  were  well  marked  on 
shore,  the  long  line  of  bullock-carts  stealing 
along  the  strand  towards  their  camp  making 
it  evident  that   they  were  taking  care  of 
themselves.     As   it  happened,   the   consul 
had  gone  to  the  tower  of  the  Dardanelles, 
to  look  for  the  Golden  Fleece;  but  it  had 
escaped  him  in  the  dark.     The  first  thing 
that  happened  after  the  visit  of  the  com- 
missaries was  characteristic.     The  general 
desired  to  send  for  the  consul ;  but  the  only 
way  of  doing  so  was  by  water,  and  the  only 
vessel  available  for  the  purpose  was  a  small 
Turkish  imperial  steamer  near  the  Golden 
Fleece,     The  consul's  dragoman,  a  grand- 
looking  Israelite,  prepared  to  go  on  the  ex- 
pedition ;  but  the  engineer  on  board  had 
just  managed  to  break  his  leg.     He  there- 
fore requested  the  loan   of  an  engineer,  as 
no  one  could  be  found  to  undertake  the 
care  of  the  steamer's  engines  ;  and,  after  a 
successful  cruise,  he  returned  in  the  even- 
ing  with    the    consul,     Mr.    Calvert,    on 
board.     Mr.  Calvert  went  to  the  Turkish 
council,  reminded    them   that   there  were 
British  troops  yet  to  come,  and  succeeded 
in  having  half  of  the  quarters  of  the  town 
reserved  to  him  for  their  use.     Next  day 
he  visited  and  marked  off  the  houses ;  but 
on  his  return   the  French  authorities  said 
they  had  made  a  mistake  as  to  the  portions 
of  the  town  they  handed  over  to  him,  and 
he  of  course  had  to  yield  and  give  them  up. 
They  had   the  Turkish  part  of  the  town, 
close   to   the  water,    with   an   honest  and 
favourable  population ;  the  English  had  the 
Greek  quarter  apportioned  them,   further 
up   the   hill,   and    perhaps   the   healthier, 
with  'dextrous'  tradesmen  and  a  popula- 
tion  which  hated    them   bitterly,   and   re- 


garded them  as  foes  quartered  on  them  by 
force  of  arms. 

"  As  we  have  seen,  the  troops  arrived  on 
Wednesday  night  (Thursday  morning),  but 
it  was  mid-day  on  Saturday  ere  the  troops 
were  landed  and  sent  to  their  quarters. 
Nothing  was  ready  for  them.  The  force 
consisted  of  only  some  thousand  and  odd 
men;  and,  small  as  it  was,  owing  to  the 
fault  of  '  somebody  or  other,'  it  had  to  lie 
idle  for  two  days  and  a-half,  watching  the 
sea-gulls,  or  with  half-averted  eye  regard- 
ing the  ceaseless  activity  of  the  French, 
the  daily  arrival  of  their  steamers,  the 
rapid  transmission  of  their  men  by  the 
paddle-box  boats  of  their  vessels  to  shore, 
and  the  admirable  completeness  of  all  their 
arrangements  in  every  detail ;  hospitals  for 
the  sick,  bread  and  biscuit  bakeries,  wag- 
gon-trains for  carrying  store  and  baggage ; 
every  necessary  and  every  comfort,  indeed, 
to  be  had  the  moment  their  ships  came  in. 
Not  a  British  pendant  was  afloat  in  the 
harbour !  The  great  naval  state  was  repre- 
sented by  a  single  steamer  belonging  to 
a  private  company.  Well  might  a  Turkish 
boatman  ask — '  Oh,  why  is  this  ?  Oh,  why 
is  this,  young  man  ?  By  the  beard  of  the 
Prophet,  for  the  sake  of  your  father's 
father,  tell  me,  oh,  English  lord,  how  is 
it  ?  The  French  infidels  have  got  one,  two, 
three,  four,  five,  six,  seven  ships,  with 
fierce  little  soldiers ;  the  English  infidels, 
who  say  they  can  defile  the  graves  of 
these  French  (may  Heaven  avert  it),  and 
who  are  big  as  the  giants  of  Asli,  have 
only  one  big  ship.  Do  they  tell  lies  ? '  (Such 
was  the  translation  of  an  interestinsr 
waterman's  address.) 

"  On  Thursday  there  was  a  general  hunt 
for  quarters  through  the  town.  The  con- 
sul, attended  by  dragoman  and  interpreter, 
and  a  train  of  lodging-seekers,  went  from 
house  to  house;  but  it  was  not  till 
the  eye  had  got  accustomed  to  the  gene- 
ral style  of  the  buildings  and  fittings,  that 
any  of  them  seemed  willing  to  accept  the 
places  offered  to  them.  The  general  got 
a  very  fine  place  in  a  beau  quartier,  with 
a  view  of  an  old  Turk  on  a  counter 
looking  at  his  toes  in  perpetual  perspec- 
tive. 

"  The  tall  door,  which  was  an  antiquated 
concern — not  affording  any  particular  re- 
sistance to  the  air  to  speak  of — opened 
on  an  apartment  with  clay  walls  of  about 
10  feet  high,  and  of  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the   whole   house.      It    was    garnished 

127 


»•■»■ 


;: 


:!i' 


m 


h 


Itiiil 


';t. 


I 


ADVANCE  TO  SCUTARI.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1854. 


n 


I 


with  the  odds  and  ends  of  donp.estic  deity— 
with  empty   barrels,  with  casks  of  home- 
made wine,  buckets,   baskets,  &c.     At  one 
side  a   rough    staircase,    creaking  at  every 
step,  led  the  way  to  a  saloon  on  the  first 
floor.     This    was  of  the  plainest   possible 
appearance.     On     the    sides    were    stuck 
prints  of  the  czar,  and  of  the  Virgin  and 
child   (after  the  Greek  school),  with  won- 
derful engravings  from  Jerusalem.     There 
was   no  other   furniture.       It  may  be  ob- 
served, that  as  a  schism  between  the   Greek 
Catholic  and  the  Roman  Catholic  churches 
arose  out  of  the  discussion  of  an  intricate 
question  on  the  subtlest  point  of  theology, 
tliey  fight  bitterly  on  matters  of  very  fine 
distinction    yet.       Thus    the   Greeks     are 
iconoclasts,   and   hate    images,   but   adore 
pictures.      A  yellow    Jonah,   in   a  crimson 
whale  with    fiery    entrails,   is   a  favourite 
subject    for   these    artists,  and    doubtless 
bears  some  allegorical  meaning.— From  this 
saloon    opened   the  two    or    three    rooms 
of   the    house— the    kitchen,  .  the     divan, 
and   the  principal   bedroom.      The    floors 
were  covered  with   matting ;  but  with  the 
exception  of  the   cushion   on     the   raised 
platform    round    the     wall     of     the    room 
(about  18  inches  from  the  floor),  there  was 
nothing     else   in     the     room   offered    for 
general  competition  to  the  public.     Above 
were  dark  attics — voila  tout    These  apart- 
ments would  form  a  study  for  philosophers. 
If   they    want     to     understand    the     true 
principle  of  keeping  up  a  current  of  fresh 
air  everywhere,  let  them  go  out  to  Gallipoli 
and    take   possession  of   one   of  these   re- 
markable chambers.      True,  the  walls  are 
of  mud   and    straw,    and  the  staircase  has 
been  devised  expressly  for  the  purpose  of 
entrapping  the  first  heavy  Turk  who  may 
happen  to   stride  up.     It   is  the  thinnest 
wood-work   possible.     Water  is   some   way 
off ;   and  the  philosophers,  if  not  provided 
with  servants  who  can  speak  the  language, 
and    an     allowance   of   rations    from    her 
majesty's   stores,  may  be    seen    soon   after 
stalking    up    the  street  with  as  much  dig- 
nity as  is  compatible  with  the  circumstance 
of    their    carrying    a    sheep's   liver    on  a 
stick  in  one  hand,  some  lard  in  the  other, 
and  a  loaf  of  black  bread  under  their  arms 
[at    least   the   Times   correspondent    had 
to   adopt   that    course   or  die    of  hunger]. 
There   was  not   such  a  thing  as  a   pound 
of  butter  in  the  whole  country  ;    meat  was 
very    scarce,  fowls    impossible,    but      the 
country  wine  was  fair  enough  ;  eggs  were 
1-28 


not  so  rare  as  might  have  been   imagined 


from  the  want  of  poultry.' 

The     Turks     themselves    were     by     no 
means  pleased   at  the    disembarkation    of 
the  troops  at  Gallipoli,  so  far  away  from 
the   actual  seat   of  war.     Nor  did  it    con- 
duce to  the  health,  comfort,  or  spirits  of 
the   army.      But  as    we   have  shown,  the 
movement   was    owing    to  the  general  in- 
decision  arising    from     inaccurate    know- 
ledge  as   to  the  forces  at  the    disposal  of 
the    czar.       Instead    of    deciding    at    once 
upon  their  own  course  of  action,  the  allies 
preferred  waiting  to  see  what  the  Russians 
intended.       The    delay,   however,   in   the 
advance  of  Prince  Gortchahoff,  gave  them  a 
little  more  courage,  and  they  determined 
to  advance  another  step ;  so  that  when  the 
Himalaya  arrived  with  fresh  troops  on  the 
13th    of   April,  1854,  she  was   sent  on  to 
Constantinople,    and    the    men    quartered 
at  Scutari.     But  during  the  whole  of  April 
and   JNIay,    the  operations  were  entirely  of 
a   precautionary  and  defensive   character; 
but  early  in  June,    when  it  became  appa- 
rent that  the  Russians  would  be  forced  to 
raise   the     siege     of    Silistria,    and     that 
Austria  was  about  to  sign  the  convention 
already  mentioned    with    Turkey,    it   was 
decided  to  advance  another  short  and  safe 
step  to  Varna,  all  fears  of  a  flank  attack 
by  the  Russians  in  the  Dobrudscha  having 
been  dispelled.     Besides  this,  the  plans  of 
the  allies  had  gradually  been  gaining  con- 
sistency, and   it   began   to  become   a  con- 
viction, that  any  number  of  defeats  of  the 
Russian  armies  in  the  open  field,  or  cur- 
tailments of    Russian     territory    on    the 
Danube,  would  be  unavailing  for  the  preser- 
vation of   a  durable  peace  as  long  as   Se- 
bastopol  remained  a    standing  menace  to 
Turkey,   and  as  long  as    Russia  possessed 
a  powerful  fleet  that  dominated  the  Black 
Sea,  and  could  always  retreat  under  cover 
of  the  vast  amount  of  metal  that   defended 
the  Crimea  from  Odessa  to  Kertch.     Un- 
fortunately no  one  knew  anything  reliable 
about  the  Crimea  or  its  resources.     No  one 
knew  whether  the  rivers  Katalia,  Alma,  and 
Bulganatch,  were  full,  or  dried-up  torrent- 
beds  in  summer.      But  anyhow,  whilst  re- 
connaissances  were   being   made   by   the 
fleets   along    the  northern    shores   of    the 
Euxine,  it  was  decided  to  raise  the  camps 
of  Gallipoli  and  Scutari,   and  proceed   to 
Varna,  trusting  to  Providence  and  the  Rus- 
sians to   decide    on  the  next  step.     It  was 
a    wretched    slate   of    childish  indecision, 


A.D.  1854.'| 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[advance  to  VARNA. 


due  to  ignorance  and  want  of  preparation, 
assisted  by  divided  counsels  at  home. 
There  were,  in  fact,  more  cooks  to  make 
the  soup  than  there  was  soup  for  the  cooks ; 
and  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  the 
Turks  were  by  no  means  delighted  with 
their  allies,  who  were  fiddling  and  faddling 
about  whilst  their  own  men  were  bear- 
ing the  brunt  of  the  war,  unaided,  on  the 

Danube. 

Thus  the  1st  division  of  British  troops, 
under  Sir  George  Brown,  and  the  French 
forces  under  General  Canrobert,  landed 
early  in  June  at  Varna,  followed,  on  the 
14th  of  the  same  month,  by  the  guards 
and  highlanders  and  the  British  commander- 
in-chief,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge.  The 
1st  division  pushed  on  to  Aladyn,  and 
subsequently  to  Devno,  under  Sir  George 
Brown  ;  whilst  it  was  followed  up  to  Aladyn 
by  Sir  R.  England,  the  Earl  of  Cardigan 
with  his  light  cavalry  pushing  on  towards 
the  Dobrudscha,  and  joining  hands  with 
Omar  Pasha.  There  was  then  a  gradual 
advance  of  the  British  lines,  whilst  the 
French  troops  remained  in  Varna  and 
Baltschik,  during  which  the  Russians  were 
often  sighted,  but  without  any  engagment 
taking  place.  Truth  was,  that  even  yet 
no  plan  was  formed;  but  even  if  it  had 
been  decided  to  advance,  there  w^as  no  ma- 
terial to  do  so.  Means  of  transport  there 
were  none;  everything  was  wanting ;  and  in 
addition,  disease'  broke  out  in  conse- 
quence of  the  malarious  climate  of  Varna, 
which  rapidly  progressed  into  virulent 
cholera..  The  very  simplest  precautions 
had  been  neglected;  and  instead  of  the 
camps  being  pitched  on  the  highlands 
north  of  Varna,  they  were  located  at  their 
foot,  on  the  banks  of  a  notoriously  un- 
healthy swamp,  dignified  by  people  of  ro- 
mantic tendencies,  or  who  never  saw  it, 
with  the  name  of  a  lake.  For,  notwith- 
standing the  beauty  of  the  country  about 
Aladyn  and  Devno,  it  is  a  renowned 
hot-bed  of  fever  and  dysentery.  The 
valley  of  Devno  is  even  called,  by  the  Turks 
themselves,  the  Valley  of  Death ;  and  had 
the  natives  been  consulted,  or  any  proper 
medical  examination  been  made,  neither 
Aladyn  or  Devno  would  have  been  chosen 
as  the  grave  for  thousands  before  they  had 
ever  set  eyes  upon  the  enemy.  Beautiful 
as  it  might  be  to  the  eye,  the  long  expanse  of 
rich  meadow  land,  the  luxuriant  vegetation, 
and  sparkling  waters  of  stream  and  lake, 

these    meadows    nurtured   fever,    ague, 

VOL.  II.  S 


<c 


dysentery,  and  pestilence  in  their  bosom ; 
lake  and  stream  exhaled  death,  and  at 
night  fat  unctuous  vapours  rose  up,  fold 
after  fold,  from  the  valleys,  and  crept 
up  in  the  dark,  stealing  into  the  tent  of  the 
sleeper,  and  folding  him  in  their  deadly  em- 
brace. So  completely  exhausted,  on  the  19th 
August,  1854,  was  the  brigade  of  guards — 
these  3,000  of  the  flower  of  England — that 
they  had  to  make  two  marches  in  order  to 
get  over  the  distance  from  Aladyn  to 
Varna,  not  more  than  ten  miles.  But  this 
was  not  all ;  their  packs  were  carried  for 
them.  The  highland  brigade  was  in 
better  condition;  but  even  these  fine 
regiments  were  far  from  beinof  in  the 
health  and  spirits  they  were  in  when  they 
set  out  from  Varna.  The  French  had 
their  cholera  camp  about  two  miles  from 
the  town  ;  it  was  only  too  extensive  and  too 
well  filled.  Horrors  occurred  here  every 
day,  shocking  to  think  of.  Walking  by 
the  beach,  one  might  see  straw  sticking  up 
through  the  sand  ;  and  scraping  it  away 
with  a  stick,  be  horrified  at  brinofino-  to 
light  the  face  of  a  corpse,  having  been  de- 
posited there  with  a  wisp  of  straw  around 
it,  a  prey  to  dogs  and  vultures.  Dead 
bodies  rose  up  from  the  bottom  in  the 
harbour,  bobbing  grimly  around  in  the 
water,  or  drove  in  from  sea,  drifting  by  the 
sickened  gazers  on  board  the  ships,  buoy- 
ant, upright,  and  hideous,  in  the  sun. 
A  boat's  crew  went  on  shore  to  put  a  few 
stones  together  to  form  a  sort  of  landing- 
place  on  the  sand ;  they  moved  a  stone — 
discovering  underneath  a  festering  corpse. 
On  one  occasion  a  Frenchman  of  herculean 
size,  who  had  been  buried  at  sea  with  a 
shot  at  his  feet,  rose  up  after  an  interval, 
and  seemed  to  have  special  mission  to  hang 
about  the  landing-ladders  of  the  trans- 
ports. Ineffectual  attempts  were  made  to 
sink  the  corpse ;  but,  like  the  old  man  of 
the  sea,  he  could  not  be  got  rid  of  until 
it  was  determined  to  bring  a  gun  to  bear 
upon  him,  so  bad  was  the  effect  it  pro- 
duced." 

The  consequence  of  this  state  of  affairs 
was,  that  a  large  number  of  men  and 
ofiicers  were  invalided,  and  the  discontent 
became  very  great.  Nor  was  the  position 
of  the  allies  rendered  any  better  by  a  vast 
conflagration  that  broke  out  at  Varna  on 
the  10th  of  August,  and  destroyed  over  200 
houses,  19,000  pairs  of  boots,  and  large 
quantities  of  stores  and  provisions.  It 
was  only   by   dint  of  the  most  strenuous 

129 


»! 


HI 

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DEPARTUKE  OF  THE  ALLIK.]       HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


I*,' 


exertions  that  the  powder  magazine  was 
saved.  Well,  it  was  some  consolation  to 
know,  that  whilst  the  army  was  ^hus  slowly 
-even  rapidly  rotting  away,  the  -lartial 
appearance  of  "the  men"  was  well  loo.red 
after,  and  the  sepulchre  duly  whitened, 
the  Earl  of  Lucan  complainmg,  in  a 
formal  order  of  the  day,  of  the  dirty 
appearance  of  the  men,  and  msistmg  on 
the  more  assiduous  application  of  pipe- 
clay and  ochre  for  the  proper  dressmg  ot 
belts  and  facings. 

At  last,  the  rumour  ran  that  a  move  had 
been     decided    on.         The     reconnoitrmg 
gquadrons   had  returned  from  their  expe- 
dition to  Baltchik  and  Varna,  and  coun- 
cils of  war  were  repeatedly  held  as  to  the 
most  advisable  spot  for  the  disembarkation 
of  the   troops   on    the   Crimea.      -finally, 
it  was  decided  that  the  armies  should  be 
disembarked  at  the  mouth  of  the  Katscha; 
and  this  decision  was  at  once  trumpeted 
forth  by  the  correspondent  of  the   limes. 
Fortunately,  the  Russians  did  not  believe 
in  this  intention,  and  regarded  it  as  a  ruse 
They  were  convinced  that  the  allies  would 
attack   them   on    the    Danube,    a:nd   that 
Bessarabia  would  be  the  seat  of  war.     ihis 
opinion     was    certainly     strengthened    by 
the  disembarkation  of  the  allies  at  Varna; 
but  Prince  Mentschikoff,  who  commanded 
in  the   Crimea  with   23,000  men,  saw  from 
the  first  that  no  such  plan  was  intended, 
and  wrote  despatch  after  despatch,  stating 
his  conviction  that  the  ultimate  destina- 
tion  of  the    allies    was   the   Crimea,  and 
that     they     would     attempt      a     landing 
between  Eupatoria  and  Sebastopol.     It  was 
in  vain  that  he  asked  for  reinforcements. 
To   the   last  moment  it  was  believed  that 
the    real    destination    of    the    allies    was 
Odessa,  and  not  Sebastopol. 

At  last,   after   much  trouble,   and  loss, 
and    anxiety,    the   fleets    and    transports 
started    from    Baltchik    on     the   7th     of 
September,  for  the  Isle  of  Serpents,  off  the 
mouth   of  the  Danube,   as  a  preliminary 
rendezvous.     Here  met  together  an  armada 
-    of  the    combined    British,    French,    and 
Turkish  fleets,  numbering  in  all  over  700 
ships;   and    on    the    lUh    of    September, 
the  whole  set  sail  f^r  the  second  rendezvous 
off  Cape  Tarkan.       iVnd  still  the  exact  spot 
for   disembarkation  had  not  yet  been  de- 
cided on.      Opinions  were  divided  m  both 
camps,  and  each  disagreed  with  the  other 
as  to  the  most  eligible  spot.     At  last,  after 
mutual  concessions,  it  was  decided  that  the  | 
130 


beach  at  Old  Fort,  four  days'  march  from 
Sabastopol,  presented  the  most  advantages, 
and  on  the  14th  of  September,  the  disem- 
barkation of  the  troops  commenced,  Eupa- 
toria itself  being  taken  possession  of  by 
Lord  Raglan,  and  the  British  flag  hoisted 
over  +he  town  without  any  opposition, 
except  from  a  small  squadron  of  Cossacks 
who  were  speedily  routed  by  a  detachment 

of  dragoons.  , 

The  place  selected  for  the  landing  of  the 
troops  was  a  low  strip  of  beach  and  shingle 
cast  up   by  the  violence  of  the  surt,   and 
forming  a   sort  of  causeway  between   the 
sea    and  a  stagnant    salt-water  lake— one 
of    those  remarkable  deposits  of  brackish 
water    so   frequent     along    this   shore   of 
the  Crimea.       The  lake   was    about    one 
mile    long   and   half    a    mile   broad;   its 
surface   and    borders    frequented   by   vast 
flocks   of  wild   fowl.     There    was   another 
sheet  to   the  south,    and  another    to   the 
north,  between   the  camp  and  Eupatoria. 
The  causeway  was  not  more  than  two  hun- 
dred yards  broad,  and  led  to  the   right,  or 
southern  extremity  of  the  lake  by  a  gen- 
tle  ascent,  to   an  irregular  table-land,   or 
plateau,  of  trifling  elevation,  dotted  with 
tumuli   or   barrows,   such    as   are    seen   in 
several  parts  of   England,   and   extending 
to  the   base  of  the  very  remarkable   chain 
called,  from  their  shape,  the  Tent  Moun- 
tains.      Towards     the    sea     the    plateau 
presents    a   precipitous   face   of    red    clay 
and  sandstone,  varying  in  height  from  100 
to    150   feet,    terminating    by   a    descent 
almost  to  the   sea-level,  at  the  distance   of 
nearly  two   miles  from  the  shores  of  the 
lake.     Thence,  towards   the  south,    was  a 
low  sandy  beach,  with  a  fringe  of  shingle 
raised   by  the  action  of  the  waves  above 
the  level  of  the  land,  saving  it  from  inun- 
dation.    This  low  coast  extended  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach,  till  lost  beneath  the 
base  of  the  mountain  ranges  over  Sebas- 
topol.    The   country    inland,  visible  from 
the  decks   of  the  ships,  was  covered  with 
cattle,    with   grain   in   stack,   with   farm- 
houses,   seeming     capable     of    producing 
enormous     quantities     of    live   stock   and 
fodder.      The  stubble   fields  were   covered 
with    wild  lavender,   southern-wood,    and 
other   fragrant   shrubs,    which   the  troops 
were  busily  collecting  for  fuel,  and  which 
filled  the  air  with  perfume. 

The  French  wej'e  the  first  to  land,  and 
effected  the  operation  in  admirable  order 
and  with  great  celerity.     The  only  witness 


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A.D.  1854.] 


of  their   operations,    on   the    part  of  the 
enemy,  was  Lieutenant    Stetenkoe  with  a 
few  Cossacks,  who  had  been  sent  by  Prince 
Mentschikoff  to  follow  the  movements  of 
the  fleets  as  far  as  he  possibly  could.     He 
very   coolly   remained  as    long  as  possible 
without  being  molested  in   his  occupation 
of  taking   notes,    till  one  of  the  Cossacks 
suddenly     crouched      down     and    pointed 
with  his  lance  to   the  ascent  of  the  cliff. 
Then   ensued   rather    a   comical  scene,   as 
observed   from    on   board    the  fleet.      The 
officer  turned  and  looked  in    the  direction 
the  Cossack  had  pointed  to,  when  suddenly 
a    cocked    hat    rose    above    the    horizon. 
"  Another  figure  with  a  similar  head-dress 
came  also   in   view.       The   first   was   Sir 
George     Brown,    on    foot;      the     second, 
Quartermaster-Greneral  Airy.      -The  scene 
was  exciting.     It  was  evident  the  Kussian 
and  the  Cossack   had  seen  Sir  Greorfre,  but 
that   he   did  not  see  them.     A  picquet  of 
Fusileers  and   riflemen  followed  the  gene- 
ral  at  a  considerable  interval.     The    Rus- 
sian got  on  his  horse,  the  Cossack  followed 
his  example,  and  one  of  them  cantered  to 
the  left  to  see  that   the    P'rench   were  not 
cutting  off  their  retreat,   while   the  others 
stooped  down  over  their  saddle-bows,  and 
rode     stealthily,      with      lowered      lances, 
towards    the     Englishmen.      Sir     Greorge 
was   in  danger,   but  he  did  not   know   it. 
Neither  did  the  Russians  see  the  picquet 
advancing   towards   the  brow   of    the  hill. 
Sir  George  was  busy  scanning  the  country, 
pointing  out  various  spots  to  the  quarter- 
master-general.       Suddenly    they    turned 
and   slowly  descended   the   hill — the  gold 
sash    disappeared  —  the    cocked    hat   was 
eclipsed — Cossacks  and  officers  dismounted 
and  stole  along  by  the  side  of  their  horses. 
They   too   were   hidden    from   sight   in   a 
short  time,  and  on   the   brow  of  the  cliff 
appeared   a    string   of    native    carts.      In 
about   five    minutes    two    or    three    tiny 
puffs   of  smoke   rose   over    the   cliff,   and 
then  the  faint  cracks  of  a  rifle  were  audible 
to   the   men   in   the   nearest   ships.     In  a 
few     minutes     more    the     Cossacks    were 
visible,  flying   like  the  wind  on  the  road 
to  Sebastopol,  and  crossed  close  to  the  left 
of   the  French    lines  of  skirmishers.      Sir 
George  had  a  narrow  escape  of  being  taken 
prisoner.      He  was   the   first  to  land,  and 
pushed   on    without   sending    videttes   or 
men  in  front,  though  he  took  the  precau- 
tion, very  fortunately,  to  bring  up  a  few 
soldiers  with  him.    The  Cossacks  who  had 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [landing  in  the  ceimea. 


been  dodging  him  made  a  dash  when  they 
were  within  less  than  a  hundred  yards. 
The  general  had  to  run,  and  was"^  only 
saved  from  capture  by  the  fire  of  the 
Fusileers.  The  Cossacks  bolted.  The 
first  blood  spilt  in  the  campaign  was  that 
of  a  poor  boy,  an  arabjee,  who  was  wounded 
in  the  foot  by  the  volley  which  dislodf^ed 
them."  "^ 

The  greater  part  of  the  army  had  landed 
by  nightfall ;  and,  as  usual,  the  French 
and  Turks  got  comfortably  under  canvas 
before  it  was  dark,  and  were  able  to  pass 
in  tolerable  ease  the  terribly  stormy  night 
that  ensued.  Torrents  upon  torrents  of 
rain  drenched  the  British  troops  to  the 
skin,  for  of  course  all  their  camp  was  in 
confusion,  Sir  George  Brown  lying  under 
a  waggon,  and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge 
under  a  gun-carriage.  A  few  more  died 
in  consequence  of  that  niglit's  exposure. 
The  next  morning  the  rest  of  the  men  were 
landed;  the  sum  total  of  tlie  forces  being, 
26,000  English,  24,000  French,  and  4,500 
Turks,  and  124  guns. 

At  midnight  of  the  18th,  the  order  was 
given  to  be  prepared  to  advance  at  break 
of  dawn.  When  dawn  broke,  the  following 
was  the  picture  that  presented  itself  to 
the  eye  of  an  officer  who  thus  describes 
it:— 

"  We  now  marched  into  camp;  and  when 
we  arrived  we  found  all  hurry,  bustle,  and 
confusion.  Uncooked  rations  were  served 
out  to  the  men,  which  some  were  un- 
willing to  carry;  while  others,  in  the  hurry 
to  stand  to  their  arms,  were  unable  to 
obtain  their  portion.  This  was  a  great 
pity ;  for  I  believe  half  the  men  of  our 
regiment  started  without  water  in  their 
kegs,  to  which  in  a  great  measure  must 
be  attributed  the  numbers  who  fell  out 
during  the  march.  The  well  was  too  far 
from  the  camp  to  allow  them  to  fetch  it 
that  morning  before  they  commenced  their 
march;  and  considering  the  total  absence 
of  water  in  our  line  of  march,  it  should 
have  been  'provided,  and  boats  sent  ashore 
with  it  from  the  si  dps,  a  very  few  ofivhich 
would  have  been  sufficient  for  their  wants. 
Our  men  thus  started  uncomfortably  and 
without  their  breakfasts,  Jor  which  no 
time  was  allowed  them,  I  fortunately- 
had  a  small  piece  of  boiled  pork  and 
biscuit  in  my  haversack ;  this,  and  a  pull 
at  my  water-barrel,  composed  my  dejeuner. 
On  arriving  at  head-quarters,  we  found 
our  general,  Sir  George  Cathcart,  waiting 

131 


;■ 


BATTLE  OF  THE  ALMA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


A.D.  1854.J 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


for  us,  and  were   all   much   inspirited  by 
his    active    and     soldier-like    appearance. 
As  soon  as  the  waggon-train  and  commis- 
sariat carts  arrived,  and  had  passed  on  to 
some  little  distance,  we  marched.     It  was 
a  very   hot   sultry  morning,   and  the  sun 
struck  down   on  our  poor  heads  with  un- 
usual  violence.       Our   pace   in   marching 
was   obliged  to   be   regulated    with    great 
judgment,   as   we  were    on   a   vast   plain, 
without  even  a  drop  of  water,  or  shade  of 
any   kind.      A   more  monotonous  country 
I  never  beheld,  and  we  had  fifteen  miles  of 
it.     It   was   9  o'clock   before  the  whole  of 
the   army  was  prepared   to  march,  being 
delayed   by  the  inadequate  transport  pro- 
vided for  the  stores,  baggage,  &c.     Many 
of  our  men  fell  down  in  the  ranks,  attacked 
by  cholera,   or   from   becoming  faint   and 
exhausted   for    want   of  water.       If    they 
recovered  shortly,   they   followed   us  with 
the  rear-guard ;  but  if  not  they  were  left 
to    the   tender   mercy    of    any    passer-by. 
It  was  certainly  much  to  be  lamented  that 
we  had  no    ambulance  waggons  for  these 
poor   sick    fellows   who  fell    out    on    the 
march  ;    for  had  they  been  carried  a  mile 
or   two,    or  had  a   drink  of  water,  I  have 
no  doubt  half  of  them  would  have  rejoined 
their  companies.      Ambulance  carts  ought 
surely  to  have  attended  each  brigade,  and 
each    should  have  carried   some  medicine, 
particularly  when  the   cholera  was    likely 
to   affect  the   army.     The  medical  officers 
in  general  carried  a  small  bottle  of  brandy 
and   flask   of  water,  which  they  gave  the 
men,  and  thus  did  much   good.     Some  of 
our  poor  fellows  actually  came  to  me,  and 
on  their   knees  besought   me   for  a  drink 
out  of  my  flask ;    and  I  am  happy  to   say 
that  I  managed   to  relieve  a  few  of  them. 
I  found  in  our  brigade  that  the  men   of 
the  other  regiments  fell  out  almost  ten  to 

our  one." 

In   the   advance   that   now   ensued,  the 
French   formed   the   right  wing,   and   the 
British   troops    the    left   wing,    the   fleet 
following  their  movements  to  give  them  its 
support  when  necessary.  The  English  troops 
were    commanded   by  Lord   Raglan,    sup- 
ported by   Sir   George   Brown   command- 
ing the  light  division,  the  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge    commanding     the     1st     division; 
Sir    De   Lacy    Evans,    with   the    2nd    di- 
vision;    Sir    Richard     England    with  the 
3rd   division;    Sir   George   Cathcart  with 
the    4th ;     and     Lord    Lucan    with    the 
cavalry  divisions.    The  French  were  under 
132 


the  command  -  in  -  chief  of  Marshal  St. 
Arnaud,  supported  by  Generals  Canrobert, 
Forey,  Bosquet  (Zouaves),  and  Prince 
Napoleon.  The  fleet  was  commanded  by 
Admirals  Dundas  and  Hamelin,  on  board 
their  flag-ships  Britannia  and    Ville-de- 

Paris. 

The  march  forward  led  over  a  dried-up 
hillocky  steppe,   without  water  or    shade, 
no  signs  of  the  enemy  bring  visible  until  the 
river  Bulganak  was  reached,  on   the  other 
side  of  which  the  ground  rose  to  a  slightly 
elevated   ridge,  shutting   off  the   horizon. 
The   Hussars  led   the   way,    galloping   up 
to  the   top   of  the   ridge,  when  the  enemy 
put  in  appearance  in  the   shape  of  a  body 
of   Cossacks,    some   two    thousand   strong, 
well  supplied  with  horse  artillery.      They 
at  once  opened  fire  on  the  British  cavalry, 
which  was  responded  to  by  the  few  pieces 
that  had  unlimbered ;  but  after  some  slight 
skirmishing,   resulting  in  a   loss   of   seven 
or  eight  men  wounded,  the  enemy  retired 
towards  another  ridge,  on  which  the  Rus- 
sians   appeared    in    force,    and    extended 
themselves  so   as  to  overlap  the  left  wing 
of  the    British    forces,   which,    therefore, 
fell  back  upon  the   Bulganak,  and  in  that 
position   camped   for   the   night — if  lying 
on    the    ground    without   rugs,   blankets, 
or  tents,  on  a  cold  dewy  September  night, 
can   be   called  "camping."      At  dawn  on 
the  20th  the  troops  rose,  chilled  with  wet, 
and  shivering,  sopped  through  and  through 
by  the  heavy  dews,  and  formed  front  whilst 
the  sappers  were  levelling  the  banks  of  the 
river  to  get  the  artillery  over.     The  march 
forward  was  over  a  series  of  rolling  ridges, 
the  French  following  a  good  road  near  the 
sea-shore,  and  supported  by  the  fleet.     At 
last   the   final   ridge  was  topped,  and  the 
river  Alma,  with  its  range  of  terraced  hills 
on  the  other  side,  crowned  by  the  Russian 
troops  and  batteries,  broke  into  view.     . 

The  Russian  right  wing  was  more  strongly 
fortified  with  batteries  and  redoubts  than  the 
left  wing  and  centre,  as  the  ascent  of  the 
heights  there  was  not  so  steep,  but  cut  up 
into  terraces.  The  centre  and  right  wing,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  protected  by  the  ex- 
tremely steep  character  of  the  ascent ;  and 
thus  the  French  would  have  had  a  far 
harder  task  than  the  British  wing  to  accom- 
plish had  they  not  been  supported  by  the 
fleet.  From  these  heights  and  terraces  the 
Russian  artillery  swept  the  approaches  to 
and  from  the  Alma,  which,  though  generally 
fordable,  was  rendered  difficult  of  passage 


[battle  of  the  alma. 


by  its  steep  and  rugged  banks,  the  willows 
aloniifside  which  had  been  cut  down  so  as  to 
deprive  the  allies  of  any  shelter  from  the 
fire  that  swept  the  plain.  At  the  extreme 
right  of  the  Russian  army,  where  the  ascent 
was  more  gradual,  and  was  the  key  of  the 
position,  there  were  two  strong  redoubts 
and  a  series  of  trenches.  This  strong  posi- 
tion was  held  by  45,000  to  50,000  men,  ex- 
tending along  a  line  of  some  two  miles  in 
length. 

The  action  was  commenced  by  a  move- 
ment of  General  Bosquet's  Zouaves,  who 
gradually  crept  up  the  crags  and  rocks 
bordering  the  mouth  of  the  Alma  and  the 
sea-shore,  in  which  operation  they  were 
supported  by  the  fleet,  which  opened  fire  on 
the  Russians  with  good  efl'ect,  and  by  a 
movement  of  General  Canrobert  at  the 
critical  moment  when  the  French  troops 
had  gained  the  summit,  and  were  struggling 
for  their  foothold  on  the  precipitous  ac- 
clivities. The  fire  of  the  Russians  was 
tremendous;  but  the  Zouaves,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  every  rock  and  stone,  swarmed 
up  the  heiglits  in  loose  order,  and  gradu- 
ally gained  on  the  enemy.  At  this  mo- 
ment— about  half-past  twelve — the  order 
was  given  for  the  whole  line  to  advance. 
As  preconcerted,  the  French  engaged  the 
enemy's  centre,  whilst  the  British  troops 
proceeded  to  do  their  share  of  the  day's 
work,  which,  it  had  been  intended,  was  to 
turn  the  Russian  right  as  the  French  had 
turned  the  left  wing.  Both  forces  advanced 
at  the  double-quick,  under  cover  of  the 
artillery  fire,  but  sorely  galled  by  the 
enemy's  fire,  which  swept  through  their 
ranks  like  hail,  and  rendered  any  species  of 
formation  almost  an  impossibility.  The 
French  troops,  however,  succeeded  in  gain- 
ing possession  of  the  first  lines  of  the 
Russians,  who  had  established  themselves 
in  the  gardens  and  vineyards  between  the 
river  and  the  hills,  and  soon  succeeded  in 
pushing  them  over  the  slopes  of  the  hills, 
and  driving  them  on  to  the  plateaus  above ; 
General  Bosquet's  Zouaves,  at  the  same 
time,  pressing  on  their  left  wing  and 
doubling  them  up.  They  did  not  make  a 
long  stand  on  the  plateau;  and  when 
Marshal  St.  Arnaud  sent  his  second  line 
forward  to  the  assistance  of  the  first,  the 
Russians  fell  back  in  disorder. 

In  the  meantime  the  British  forces  had 
crossed  the  river,  in  the  face  of  a  tremen- 
dous fire,  in  front  of  the  village  of  Bouliak ; 
but  the  Russians  being  in  such  force  at  this 


point,  and  having  so  arranged  their  fire  as 
to  make  a  flank  movement  an  operation  of 
time  and  extreme  danger.  Lord  Raglan  de- 
cided upon  a  bold  attack  straight  upon  the 
works  which  the  Russians  had  so  carefully 
fortified  their  position  with  against  any 
front  attack.  This  was  the  hottest  part  of 
the  battle,  but  it  was  conducted  with  the 
same  success  as  the  French  movements ;  so 
that,  by  half-past  three,  the  Russian  army 
was  cut  in  two  and  thrown  back  upon 
Baghtcho-Serai  and  Belbek.  The  whole 
battle  therefore  lasted  only  three  hours :  in 
three  hours  the  allied  forces  had  taken  the 
position  the  Russians  had  spent  three  weeks 
in  fortifying.  The  loss  of  the  British  troops 
was  about  2,000  killed  and  wounded,  and 
that  of  the  French  1,500;  whilst  the  Rus- 
sian losses  amounted  to  about  6,000  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners,  among  whom  were 
Major-Generals  Karganoff  and  Shokanoff. 
The  Russian  losses  would  have  been  much 
greater  had  the  allies  possessed  more  and 
better-mounted  cavalry.  As  it  was,  how- 
ever, by  6  P.M.  they  encamped  on  the 
very  ground  the  Russians  bivouacked  on. 

The  consternation  that  reigned  in  Sebas- 
topol  when  the  news  of  Prince  Mentschi- 
koff's  defeat  arrived  there,  and  the  mea- 
sures taken  to  resist  the  invaders,  will  be 
described  hereafter.  The  immediate  result 
was  the  sinking  of  a  number  of  ships  across 
the  mouth  of  the  port,  in  a  line  from  Fort 
Constantine  to  Fort  Alexander;  two  power- 
ful booms,  in  addition,  having  been  thrown 
across  from  Fort  Catherine  to  Fort  Ments- 
chikoff ;  whilst  within  this  second  line  of 
defence,  seven  or  eight  sail-of-the-line  had 
been  keeled  over  so  as  to  let  the  guns 
sweep  the  land  approaches  north  of  the 
harbour,  that  being  the  side  which  the 
Russians  expected  to  be  attacked,  and  on 
the  defence  of  which  they  at  first  concen- 
trated all  their  energies,  Prince  Mentschi- 
koff"  having  abandoned  all  idea  of  defending 
the  second  line  of  defence  he  had  at  first 
chosen,  that  of  the  river  Katcha,  which 
presented  even  better  means  of  resistance 
than  the  Alma. 

The  road  to  Sebastopol  was  then  quite 
open  to  the  allies;  Prince  Mentschikoff 
having  retreated  with  the  utmost  precipi- 
tation, and  encamped  his  troops  in  the 
plains  of  Balaklava,  on  the  south  side  of 
Sebastopol.  He  confidently  expected  that 
the  allies  would  commence  their  operations 
on  the  north  side  of  the  town,  for  it  was  in 
reality  the  weakest  part.     Such,  also,  had 

133 


•  \^. 


1^  • 


ilH 


MARCH  ON  SEBASTOPOL,] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


been  the  intention  of  the  allies  on  quitting 
Varna;  but  it  was  found  that  the  enemy's 
cannon  from  the  outworks,  protecting  the 
citadel  of  Sievernaia,  commanded  the  tract 
between  the  fortress  and  the  river  Belbek, 
which  would  have  necessitated  commencing 
operations  with  this  river  between  the 
camp  and  the  point  of  final  assault.  The 
plan  was,  therefore,  discarded  ;  for  it  was 
not  known,  at  the  time,  that  the  northern 
defences  were  by  far  the  weakest,  and  that 
the  citadel,  though  capable  of  holding 
10,000  men,  was  in  a  very  dilapidated 
state.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that,  if 
the  allies  had  had  the  information  they 
ought  to  have  had,  the  north  side  of 
Sebastopol  might  have  been  carried  by 
assault  within  a  week  of  the  battle  of  the 

Alma. 

As  it  was,  for  want  of  this  information, 
it  was  decided  to  make  the  attack  on  the 
south  side  of  the  town;  and  the  armies 
having  received  four  days'  provisions,  the 
orders  were  given  on  the  25th  of  September 
for  the  advance;  Marshal  St.  Arnaud 
having  on  that  day  resigned  his  command 
to  General  Canrobert,  he  being  in  a  dying 
state,  and  subjected  to  acute  sufferings, 
from  which  death  released  him  four  days 
later,  on  September  the  29th. 

The  plan  was  to  circumvent  Sebastopol 
so  as  to  gain  the  harbour  of  Balaklava,  to 
which  the  fleets   had  also    been    ordered; 
Prince  Mentschikoff  would,  in  consequence, 
have  been  taken  between  the  fires  of  the 
army  and  the  fleet— a  contingency  which 
he  foresaw,  and   decided  to  guard  against 
by  withdrawing  such  of  his  forces  as  were 
not  required  in  Sebastopol,  to  Baghtche- 
Serai.      Both    armies,    the    French    and 
Russian,  were  thus  advancing  on  each  other 
and  flanking  each  other  without  knowing 
it.     The  whole   movement,  on  both  sides, 
was  a  disgraceful  one,  from  a  military  point 
of  view.     Each  commander  was  cautious  to 
timidity,   and   the   allies   at    least    badly 
served  in  respect  of  information.   As  might 
be  imagined,  the  two  armies  crossed  each 
other's  ° path  ;     whilst   the    British   army. 
Lord  Raglan  himself  really  doing  eclaireur 
134 


work,  was  steering  in  a  hap-hazard  sort  of 
fashion  through  the  forests,  north-west  of 
iNIackenzie's    Farm.     Fortunately   for   the 
British     troops,    the     dilatoriness     of    the 
artillery,  who  were  disinclined  to  advance 
without  being  covered  by  cavalry,  delayed 
the  progress  of  the  troops,  who  had  not  yet 
emerged  from  the  forest  when  the  Russians, 
some  15,000  strong,  were  perceived  cross- 
ing a    small  plain,  surrounded  by  forests. 
Had  the  British  column  been  the  first  to 
debouch   upon   tliis    plain,    its   inferiority 
would  at  once  have  been  perceived  by  the 
Russians,  and  probably  have  been  cut  to 
pieces.     But   as   they   did   not   know   the 
strength    of    the    column,   they   at    once 
jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  the  whole  of 
the   allied   forces   was   upon   them,    when 
Lord  Raglan  gave  the  order  for  the  attack  ; 
and  after  but  a  show  of  resistance  they  fled, 
cut  in  two  by  the  British  column,  one  por- 
tion falling  back  upon  Sebastopol,  and  the 
other  conUnuing  its  way  northwards,  at  a 
precipitate  pace,  towards  Simpheropol  and 
Baghtche-Serai,  and  ultimately  to  the  banks 
of  the  Belbek. 

Thus,  after  a  series  of  fortuitous  chances, 
in  which  scarcely  any  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme first  decided  on  had  been  carried 
out,  the  two  armies  had,  in  their  mutual 
bewilderment,  executed  a  pas  cle  deux,  ter- 
minating in  a  chasse  croisee,  each  one 
takint^   up   the  position  intended   for  the 

other.* 

In  the  meantime,  the  British  fleet,  under 
Admiral  Lyons,  had  occupied  Balaklava  as 
a  base  of  operations  for  the  English  army, 
leaving  the  bay  of  Kamiesh  for  the  French 
base.  ''The  positions  of    the   allied   forces 
were  thus  reversed,  the  French  forming  the 
left,  and  the  British  the   right  wing.     For 
the  ultimate  disposition  of  the  forces,  and 
for   a   description    of   the  works    and   the 
ground  round   Sebastopol,  we  refer   to  our 
plan  of  Sebastopol,  which  conveys  a  much 
better  idea  of  the  place  than  any  words  can 
do.     Thus,  by  the  27th  of  September,  1854, 
Sebastopol  was  invested  by  the  allies— if 
leaving  one  side  of  the  place  open  can  be 
called  an  investment. 


■  h} 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[siege  of  sebastopol. 


■',1 


t 


i    i 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

FIRST  BOMBARDMENT  OF  SEBASTOPOL ;  FAILURE  OF  THE  ATTACK  ;  BATTLE  OF  BALAKLAVA ;  BATTLE  OP 
IXKERMANN  ;  GREAT  STORM  IN  THE  BLACK  SEA;  WRETCHED  CONDITION  OF  THE  BRITISH  AND 
TURKISH    FOKCES. 


DESIO'NEP  OF  THE  DKPENCES  OF  SEBA?TOPO' 


By  the  28th  of  September,  1854,  sixty 
siege  guns  had  been  landed  at  Balaklava, 
and  on  the  3rd  of  October  the  first  sod 
of  the  trenches  was  turned.  The  allies 
had  thus  practically  sat  down  before  Se- 
bastopol. 

Now  Sebastopol  had  been  fortified   with 
a   special  view  to  an  attack   by   sea.       It 
was  intended  as    an  immense    harbour  of 
refuge   for  the  protection  of  the  Russian 
navies,   and    whilst    the    fortifications   on 
the  land  side  had  not   been   entirely  neg- 
lected,  still   the  chief  exertions  had  been 
concentrated  upon  the  forts  and  batteries 
commanding    the    harbour    and     its    ap- 
proaches.    The  consequence  was,  that  when 
the  allies  began  their  operations,  the  town 
was  practically  open  on  the  southern  side, 
upon  which  the   attack  was  to  be  concen- 
trated.     In   fact,  when   Prince  Mentschi- 
koff,  after   his   defeat   on  the  Alma,  asked 
the   engineers   how  soon   they   could  con- 
struct the  necessary  defences,  he  was  told 
not  before  two  months.      The   prinoe  then 
began   to   consider   whether  it   would    be 
worth     while   attempting    to     defend   the 
southern  side  at  all,  and  whether  it  might 
not  be  better  to  retire  at  once  to  the  north 
side,  which  commanded  the  southern.     But 
on  hearing  the  decision  of  the  engineers, 
a    young    officer,     Lieutenant    Todleben, 
stepped  forward,  and  offered  to  construct 
the   necessary   works    within    two    weeks, 
if  a  sufficient  number   of  men  were  placed 
at  his  disposal.      His  offer  was  accepted, 
and    the  works  commenced  with  immense 
energy  along   the   whole   line,  and,  be  it 
remembered,  under  the   very  noses  of  the 
allies.      The   existing   protection    on    the 
southern   side  of  the  town   consisted   only 
of  a   loopholed  wall    running  from    Fort 
Mentschikoff  to  the  central  bastion  towers, 
and    protecting    the   Quarantine    Battery. 
Thence,  all  round  the  town,  there  were  no 
other   permanent  fortifications   except  the 
Malakoff.       Todleben   at    once    proceeded 
to    rectify   the   weakness    of  this  position. 
The   head  of  the  inner  harbour  was   pro- 
tected  by   immense   earthworks,   and  two 


tremendous  batteries,  called  the  Garden 
Battery  and  the  Flagstaff  Bastion  ;  further 
batteries  protecting  the  barracks  and 
central  bastion.  This  line  was  continued 
from  the  head  of  the  inner  harbour  by 
a  series  of  earthworks  called  the  Barrack 
Battery  and  the  Redan,  extending  to  the 
Malakoff,  which  was  also  protected  by  the 
Korniloff  Bastion  and  the  Mamelon  Re- 
doubt; whence  a  further  series  of  works 
extended  to  an  inlet  out  of  the  harbour, 
called  Careening  Bay, 

All  these  works — a  new  Sebastopol,  in 
fact — were  being  constructed  at  the  same 
time  that  the  allies  were  digging  their 
own  trenches,  without  any  molestation 
whatever  at  the  hands  of  the  Anglo-French 
forces ;  who,  on  the  other  hand,  were  sub- 
jected, during  the  whole  of  their  operations, 
to  the  galling  fire  of  the  besieged.  There 
was  a  great  deal  of  grumbling  at  this 
inaction,  that  the  commanders  wished  to 
do  everything  according  to  "  system,"  and 
objected  to  the  fire  being  returned  until 
all  the  batteries  could  be  unmasked.  It 
was  evidently  intended  on  both  sides  that 
the  struggle  should  be  an  artillery  duel, 
in  which  the  advantage,  as  far  as  weight 
of  metal  was  concerned,  was  decidedly  on 
the  Russian  side,  with  the  exception  of 
the  British  batteries  of  Lancaster  guns. 

Thus  the  works  were  pushed  on  with 
much  energy  by  both  parties,  in  spite  of 
the  great  difficulties  attending  the  trans- 
port of  stores  and  material  from  Balak- 
lava, where  everything  was  in  the  greatest 
confusion ;  forming  a  remarkable  contrast 
to  the  systematic  order  prevailing  in  the 
French  depot  in  the  Kamiesh  bay,  which, 
besides,  was  much  better  protected  against 
wind  and  waves  than  Balaklava  bay.  As 
a  specimen  of  the  disorder  pervading 
the  British  administration,  may  be  men- 
tioned the  fact,  that  the  knapsacks  of 
the  men,  which  had  been  sent  on  board 
for  carriage  to  Balaklava  when  the  army 
made  its  inland  march,  were  for  the  most 
part  forgotten,  and  went  sailing  about 
to   Constantinople    or  Marseilles,   as    the 

135 


'uMiA: 


Ili 


111 


h     '^ 


I* 


BOMBARDMENT  OF  SEBASTOPOL.]     HISTORY    OF    THE 

various  vessels  were  despatched  on  fresh 
duties.  Still,  in  spite  of  these  and  similar 
drawbacks,  the  works  were  well  pushed 
forward,  not  only  those  of  offence,  but 
also  of  defence,  along  the  heights  from 
Balaklava  to  the  mouth  of  the  Inker- 
mann  valley,  north  of  which  the  field 
army  of  the  Russians  was  encamped,  and 
reinforced  on  the  3rd  of  October  by  Gene- 
ral Luders  and  16,000  men.  At  last, 
by  the  16th,  the  works  had  so  far  pro- 
gressed that  it  was  determined  to  open 
fire  along  the  whole  line  on  the  following 
day,  immediately  after  daybreak;  whilst 
Admirals  Dundas  and  Hamelin  were  to 
co-operate  with  the  fleet,  and  attack  the 
Russian    batteries   at   the    mouth    of  the 

harbour.  - 

At  dawn,  on  the  I7th  of  October,  the 
batteries  were  unmasked,  and  the  signal  to 
commence  given  by  the  discharge  of  three 
shells  from  the  centre  of  the  French  woiks. 
The  sailors'  battery  was  the  first  to  obey,  and 
soon  the  whole  of  the  sixty-eight  guns  were 
disgorging  their  fiery  contents  upon  the 
enemy's  works ;  the  roar  of  the  Lancaster 
gun,  and  the  rush  of  its  conical  shot,  being, 
as  an  Irishman  observed,  "like  the  noise 
of  an  express-train  that  stopped  at  no 
intermadiate  stations."  The  nature  of  the 
struggle  was  well  described  by  Lord  Raglan, 
who  observed  that  the  character  of  the 
position  which  the  enemy  occupied  was  not 
that  of  a  fortress,  but  rather  of  an  army  in 
an  entrenched  camp  on  very  strong  ground, 
with  an  unlimited  number  of  heavy  guns, 
amply  provided  with  gunners  and  ammuni- 
tion. 

The  firing  was  continued,  on  both  sides, 
with  great  energy  ;  but  it  soon  became  ap- 
parent that  the  French  works  were  too 
lightly  armed  to  be  able  to  withstand  the 
heavy  metal  the  Russians  brought  to  bear 
upon  them,  and,  at  about  ten  o'clock,  the 
powder  magazine  in  the  French  battery,  on 
the  extreme  right,  was  exploded,  and  com- 
pletely paralysed  the  efforts  of  the  French 
for  the  day.  This  explosion  was  succeeded 
by  another,  at  two  o'clock,  of  twenty 
tons  of  powder.  This  quite  stopped  tlie 
French  fire,  and  allowed  the  Russians  to 
concentrate  their  fire  upon  the  British 
works,  where  they  also  succeeded  in  ex- 
ploding an  ammunition-waggon,  heavily 
laden  with  powder.  The  British  sailors', 
however,  stood  well  to  their  guns,  in  spite 
of  the  storm  of  metal  poured  upon  them, 
which  dismounted  many  of  their  guns,  in- 
136 


[A.D.  1854. 


eluding  one  of  the   Lancasters.     The   re- 
maining one  went  on    working,   and  suc- 
ceeded in  exploding  a  Russian  magazine  in 
the  rear  of  the  Redan,  the  greater  part  of 
the  wall  of  which  was  entirely  demolished. 
The    contest   was   continued   far   into   the 
night,  without   any   decisive   result   being 
gained^beyond  gauging  the  powers  of  offence 
and  defence  of  both  parties.     Whilst  the 
land    forces     were    being    thus    engaged, 
the  fleets — numbering  fourteen  French,  ten 
English,  and  two  Turkish  vessels — formed 
a    double    crescent,'  extending    from    P'ort 
Constantino   to    the   Quarantine   Battery; 
but  instead  of  opening  fire  simultaneously 
with  the  land  batteries,  they  did  not  enter 
into  action  until  half-past  one,  instead  of 
at  dawn,  as  ought  to  have  been  the  case  if 
tlie  diversion  was  meant  to  assist  the  land 
batteries.     This  is,  of  course,  all  that  was 
intended,  no    idea  of  forcing  the  harbour 
having   been    entertained    for   a   moment. 
The  excuse  for  the  dilatoriness  was  that  it 
was  a  calm,  and   that   the  time  was  lost  in 
towing  the  ships  into  position ;  but,  inas- 
much as  a  calm   had  prevailed   since  the 
15th,  it  ought  not  to  have   required  any 
very    great    mental    exertion    to    provide 
against    the    probable    contingency   of    its 
being  a  calm  on  the  17th  also,  and  getting 
the  ships  in  position  during  the  night.     As 
it  was,  the  whole  demonstration  resulted  in 
very  little   damage   to  the    Russians,   but 
considerable  confusion  and  loss  of  life  on 
the   part  of  the  vessels.     The  attack  was 
conducted,  so  to  say,  by  instalments ;  thus 
leaving  the   Russians   time   to  work  their 
guns  with  ease.     The  great  fault  committed 
by  the  admirals  consisted  in  their  placing 
their  vessels  too  far  away ;  the  result  being, 
that  whilst  they  themselves  were  unable  to 
do  much  damage  to  the  Russians,  they  were 
well   within   range   of  the   enemy's  guns; 
whereas,  had   they  steamed-in    closer,  the 
Russian  shot  would   have  passed  over  the 
ships,  or,  at  any  rate,  not  have  done  more 
damage   than   they   did.      The  only  ships 
that    got    into'   close    quarters    were    the 
Agamemnon,  with  Admiral  Lyons  on  board, 
and  the  Sanspareil,   which   tackled  Fort 
Constantino ;    whilst   they  were  supported 
by  the  Terrible  and  Sampson,  which  en- 
gaged the  Wasp  and  Telegraph  batteries. 
But  all  the  ships  engaged  suffered  more  or 
less  severely,  the  English  losses  amounting 
to  forty-four  killed  and  266  wounded,  and 
those  of  the  French  to  thirty-four  killed 
and   200   wounded.      The   Russian  losses. 


flil 


I  ill 

I 

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.p<c^ 


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^»A*jJ.  '*i|i.!tf.«BWai'<Bililim!it)KiiqBIIWi.'lMW«MMMmt 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[battle  of  balaklava. 


during  the  naval  engagement,  amounted  to 
500  killed  and  wounded,  Admiral  Korniloff 
being  amongst  the  former,  and  Admiral 
Nakhimotf  amongst  the  latter. 
'  Thus,  whatever,  may  have  been  the 
courage  and  individual  bravery  of  the  men 
and  officers,  the  17th  of  October  resulted 
practically  in  a  repulse  all  round.  It 
became  quite  evident  that  the  allies' 
weight  and  quantity  of  metal  would  have 
to  be  largely  increased,  and  that  the  cliances 
of  a  successful  assault  had  been  reduced 
to  a  minimum  by  the  energy  with  which 
the  Russians  had  strengthened  their 
lines. 

"  This   repulse  had  a  great   effect  upon 
the   garrison    and    forces    of    Sebastopol ; 
and    when   the   fire    was   recommenced  on 
the    18th,  they  showed  that  the  lesson  of 
the    previous    day    had   not    been   thrown 
away   by  the   increased   accuracy  of  their 
fire,    tlie   range    having    been     efficiently 
ascertained.     The  cannonade  was,  however, 
less   effective  than  it  might  have  been,  in 
consequence  of  the  French  not  yet  having 
repaired   their  batteries,  and   of  a  want  of 
ammunition.     The  Russians,  however,  con- 
tinued, with  undiminished  energy,  to  pour 
their   fire   upon   the   works   of  the   allies, 
and  began  seriously  to  reconnoitre  the  port 
of   I3alaklava   and   the   state   of   the   lines 
around  it.     Thus,  on  the  20th    of  October, 
General    Semiakin     advanced    along     the 
right   bank  of  the  Tchernaya   to  the  vil- 
lage of  Kamara ;  but  withdrew  on  the  ap- 
proach  of  the  English  troops.     The  same 
night  a  successful  sortie  upon  the  French  ' 
trenches  was  executed,  and  eight  mortars 
and  eleven  guns  spiked ;  whilst  on  the  next 
night  an  English  patrol  was  attacked  in 
front  of  the  trenches,  and  its  commander. 
Lord  Dunkellin,  made  prisoner.      Greneral 
Semiakin's    report    was    considered    satis- 
factory;  and  between  the  23rd  and  24th, 
over      10,000     Russians,    under      General 
Liprandi,  crossed  the  Tchernaya,  and  grad- 
ually   approached    the    Turkish    redoubts 
on   the   heights    protecting   Balaklava    on 
the   north-east." — A    glance    at  our   plan 
of  Sebastopol   and  Balaklava,  will  show  at 
once,  and  plainly,  that  the  line  of  the  allies 
in   this   direction   was   too   extended,    too 
weakly  held,  and  insufficiently  supported, 
the  real  defences  not  commencing  before 
the  French  lines  on  the  plateau  dominating 
the  valley  of  the  Tchernaya  and  the  north- 
western   portion    of   the   Balaklava   plain. 
The  position  was  thus  peculiarly  open  to  a 

VOL.  II.  T 


flank  attack  from  the  villaofe  of  Kamara 
and  it  was  here  that  General  Liprandi  de- 
termined to  try  to  break  through   the  line 
of  Tunisian  redoubts,  and  swoop  down  upon 
Balaklava,  along  the  Baidar  road,  with  one 
portion  of  his  forces — his  left  wing — whilst 
engaging  the  centre  with   his  right  wing. 
On  the  night  from  the  24th  to  the  25th  ot 
October   Liprandi  made   all   his  necessar}^ 
dispositions,   and   before   dawn    crept   up, 
under  cover  of  a  dense  mist,  from  Tcher- 
goum  to  Kamara.     Here  there  was  a  delay 
in  the  Russian  advance,  caused  by  a  diver- 
sity of  opinion  amongst  the  Russian  com- 
manders— one  party  advocating  a  movement 
forward,  in  force,  upon  the  British  position, 
and  simply  masking  the  Tunisian  batteries : 
the  other  insisting  that  these  batteries  must 
first  be  taken.    The  latter  counsel  prevailed, 
and,  at  half-past  six,  the  attack  commenced. 
Advice  of  the  appearance  of  the  Russians 
was  sent  off  to  Lords  Lucan  and  Raglan  and 
Sir  Colin  Campbell,  who  at  once  set  about 
making  the  necessary  arrangements  to  de- 
fend the  position;    and    two    batteries    of 
artillery,  under  Captains  Barker  and  Maude, 
with   a  detachment  of  Scot's  Greys,  were 
sent  forward  towards  tlie  redoubts  2,  3,  and 
4.     By  this  time  the  Russians  were  swarm- 
ing over  the  plain,  and  brought  their  12- 
pounders  speedily  to   bear  on   Maude  and 
Barker's   batteries   with  such   effect,    that 
the  British  artillery — Captain  Maude  being 
dangerously    wounded     by    a     shell — was 
obliged  to  fall  back,  the  Scot's  Greys  ac- 
companying  them.      The    Russians    then, 
disregarding    the    fire    from    the    French 
mortar-battery,  on  the  edge  of  the  plateau 
south-east    of   the    English    head-quarters, 
advanced  in  five   close  columns,   preceded 
and  flanked  by  swarms  of  Cossacks,  upon 
the  Tunisian  redoubts.     The  garrisons  of 
these  redoubts  were  formed  exclusively  of 
Tunisians,  with  one  or  two  English  gunners, 
and  were  quite  panic-stricken    when  they 
saw   the   overwhelming    forces   marshalled 
against  them.     After  one  or  two  harmless 
volleys,   the   men    in    the   redoubt   No.    1 
scrarabled  out  of  the  battery  as  fast  as  they 
could,  whilst   the  Russians   scrambled   in, 
and    turned    the    guns — six    12-pounders, 
which    the   panic-stricken   Africans  forgot 
to  spike   in  their  hurry  to   escape — upon 
redoubt  No.  2.     Here  the  garrison  did  not 
wait  for  an  attack;    but  abandoned  their 
o-uns  before  the  Russians  entered  the  works. 
They  were  followed  by  the  men  of  No.  3, 
and,  after  a  somewhat  better  resistance,  by 

137 


V 


CHARGE  OF   LIGHT  :BllIGADE.]        HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1854. 


those  of  No.  4.  The  guns  in  these  last 
three  batteries  had  been  spiked,  however; 
whilst  Barker's  battery,  which  had  again 
been  pushed  forward,  was  replying  to  the 
Russian  fire  from  No.  1.  Such  of  the 
garri.son  as  escaped  then  re-formed  to  the 
right  and  left  of  the  93rd  Highlanders, 
posted  in  front  of  No.  4  battery,  before  the 
village  of  Kadikoi. 

The  position  at  this  juncture  was 
as  follows :  the  Russian  cavalry  and  artil- 
lery, backed  by  the  redoubts,  and  a  large 
body  of  infantry  occupying  the  Kamara 
gorge,  were  holding  the  Tchernaya  and  side 
of  the  Balaklava  plain,  ready  to  swoop 
down,  with  a  flank  movement,  upon  the 
port  of  Balaklava.  To  counteract  this 
movement,  the  British  and  French  forces 
at  the  immediate  disposal  of  the  allies,  con- 
sisted only  of  the  93rd  Highlanders,  and 
the  heavy  cavalry  and  the  light  brigade, 
under  the  command  of  Earls  Lucan,  Cardi- 
gan, and  Brigadier-General  Scarlett. 

The  position  was  thus  highly  critical; 
the  batteries  of  Sebastopol  were  pounding 
away  with  redoubled  vigour;  the  extreme 
right  of  the  defence  line  was  seriously 
threatened  ;  and  there  were,  besides,  reasons 
for  the  belief  that  an  attack  might  also  be 
made  on  the  left  wing,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tchernaya.  Orders  were  therefore  sent  to 
Captain  Tatham,  of  the  Simoom,  who  com- 
manded the  port  of  Balaklava,  to  get  the 
transports  ready  for  sea,  and  make  ready  to 
defend  the  head  of  the  harbour  with  the 
frigates  Wasp  and  Diamond,  Nor  even 
after  the  battle  was  over  was  it  considered 
that  the  danger  had  passed  away;  and 
during  the  whole  night  preparations  were 
made  to  evacuate  the  place.  The  commis- 
sariat shipped  its  cash,  and  much  of  the 
stores  and  ammunition  was  re-embarked. 

Things  were  looking  thus  serious  when 
the  Russian  cavalry  advanced,  supported  by 
their  artillery  in  very  great  strength,  and, 
dividing  into  two  columns  as  they  crossed 
the  plain,  attacked  the  93rd  Highlanders, 
front  and  flank,  with  the  one,  and  the 
heavy  cavalry,  under  the  Earl  of  Lucan 
and  Brigadier-G-eneral  Scarlett,  with  the 
other.  The  attack  on  the  93rd  was  frus- 
trated by  a  judicious  withdrawal  behind 
the  crest  of  the  hill,  out  of  range  of  the 
enemy's  artillery,  until  the  charge  of  the 
Russian  cavalry  was  made  upon  the  right 
flank,  where  the  Tunisian  troops  had  fallen 
back  before  the  artillery  fire  of  the  Russians. 
Then,  however,  the  grenadiers  of  the  93rd, 
138 


imder  Captain  Ross,  wheeled  upon  them, 
and,  well  supported  by  the  fire  of  the; 
marine  artillery  battery,  forced  them  to 
retire.  Meanwhile,  the  bulk  of  the  Russian 
cavalry,  two  regiments  of  Hussars,  ad- 
vanced steadily  in  two  lines,  four  deep,  and 
mounted  the  ridge  of  the  hill  that  kept 
them  concealed  from  Scarlett's  heavy 
brigade.  On  gaining  the  crest,  they  closed 
up,  and  swept  down  on  the  British  lines  in 
a  semicircle,  with  the  intention  of  folding 
up  the  British  cavalry  in  its  embrace ;  but 
they  were  met  with  such  impetuosity,  that, 
after  a  short  struggle,  their  first  line  was 
broken  through  by  the  Scot's  Greys  and 
the  Enniskillen  dragoons,  who  then  swept 
on,  and  also  penetrated  the  second  lino. 
But  the  number  of  the  Russians  was  too 
great,  and  they  were  being  rapidly  out- 
flanked, when  the  second  British  line,  com- 
posed of  the  1st  Royal  Dragoons,  the  4th 
Irish  Dragoons,  and  the  5th  Dragoon 
Guards,  was  launched  against  them  with 
complete  success.  The  Russian  lines  broke 
and  dispersed  precipitately  across  the  hills 
and  the  high-road,  till  they  gained  the 
shelter  of  their  batteries,  the  fire  of  which 
prevented  any  further  pursuit  on  the  part 
of  the  British  cavalry. 

The  Russian  attack  had  thus  been  re- 
pulsed at  all  points  ;  and  they  now  doubled 
back  on  their  own  lines,  still  keeping  re- 
doubts 1  and  2  in  great  force.  Meantime, 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  and  Sir  George 
Cathcart  had  descended  into  the  plain  with 
two  divisions  of  infantry,  supported  by  the 
French  division  and  the  Chasseurs  d'Afrique. 
No  movement  was,  however,  made  on 
either  side,  each  expecting  the  other,  ap- 
parently, to  attack,  and  contenting  them- 
selves with  a  desultory  cannonade.  At  labt 
the  Russians  advanced  from  Kamara  upon 
the  British  right,  which  gave  the  signal  for 
the  commencement  of  those  remarkable 
orders  which  seemed  to  show  that  the  head- 
quarters had  completely  lost  their  senses; 
for,  whilst  the  Russians  were  steadily  ad- 
vancing, the  field  battery  posted  on  the 
right  flank  of  the  93rd  was  ordered  to 
withdraw,  and  take  up  a  position  to  the 
extreme  left.  Incomprehensible  as  the 
order  was,  they  were  preparing  to  obey, 
when  Sir  Colin  Campbell  rode  up  to  enquire 
what  they  were  doing.  The  officer  told 
him  of  the  orders  he  had  received,  but  at 
once  off'ered  to  disregard  head-quarters  if 
Sir  Colin  Campbell  would  undertake  the 
responsibility.     This  Sir  Colin  at  once  did, 


I 


■  ■\-\ 


c}    xty^  1.:^ 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [charge  of  light  brigade. 


1.)  \ 


'cykj 


iL.    x. 


2: 
< 


>    -- 


and  the  battery  continued  to  render  etfec- 
tive  service  until  the  position  was  still 
further  strengthened  by  the  advance  of  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge,  Sir  George  Cathcart, 
and  Greneral  Canrobert,  with  theip  divisions. 

On  this  demonstration  taking  place,  the 
Russians  retired,  and  re-formed  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  gorges  leading  into  the  Tcher- 
na3^a  valley,  and  under  cover  of  redoubts  1 
and  2,  forming  a  treble  line  of  artillery, 
cavalry,  and  infantry.  Lord  Raglan,  on 
seeing  this,  and  imagining  that  the  Rus- 
sians were  about  to  retreat  and  take  the 
captured  guns  with  them,  sent  the  follow- 
ing order  by  Captain  Nolan  to  the  Earl  of 
Lucan  : 

*'  Lord  Raglan  wishes  the  cavalry  to  ad- 
vance rapidly  to  the  front,  to  follow  the 
enemy,  and  try  to  prevent  the  enemy 
carrying  away  the  guns.  A  troop  of  horse 
artillery  may  follow  ;  French  cavalry  is  on 
your  right. — Immediate. 

"  Richard  Airy." 

When  Lord  Lucan  received  this  order  he 
was  quite  bewildered,  and  observed  that 
there  must  be  an  error  somewhere.  To 
which  Captain  Nolan  retorted,  that  they 
were  Lord  Raglan's  orders,  and  that  the 
cavalry  was  to  attack  immediately.  Here- 
upon Lord  Lucan  plaintively  enquired 
where  they  were  to  go,  and  what  guns  they 
were  to  take  ?  Captain  Nolan  replying  con- 
temptuously, as  he  pointed  towards  the 
concentrated  enemy,  "  There,  my  lord,  is 
your  enemy,  and  there  are  our  guns." 
Lord  Lucan  made  no  reply,  but  communi- 
cated the  order  to  the  Earl  of  Cardigan, 
commanding  the  light  brigade.  Lord 
Cardigan  remonstrated ;  but  Lord  Lucan, 
saying  that  he  agreed  with  him,  replied 
that  the  order  must  be  obeyed.  Lord  Car- 
digan then  formed  his  men  into  four  squad- 
rons, composed  of  the  13th  Light  Dragoons, 
17th  Lancers,  4th  Light  Dragoons,  and 
nth  Hussars,  with  the  8th  Hussars  form- 
in<y  a  support.  They  advanced  slowly 
across  the  Woronzoff  road,  till  the  bugles 
sounded  the  charge,  and,  in  the  face  of  an 
overwhelming  fire,  dashed  on  to  the 
enemy's  guns,  and  sabring  the  artillery- 
men till  they  were  driven  back  by  the 
plunging  fire  of  the  infantry  in  the  rear, 
whilst  both  flanks  were  cut  up  by  the  cross- 
fire of  the  batteries  on  either  side.  With 
great  difficulty  they  at  last  managed  to  ex- 
tricate themselves  by  twos  and  threes,  still 
harassed  by  the  enemy's  fire,  and  pursued 


by  the  cavalry.  Not  one  would  have  es- 
caped had  not  the  8th  Hussars  and  the 
Chasseurs  d'Afrique  fallen  upon  the  Rus- 
sian Lancers  and  checked  the  pursuit,  until 
they  were  still  further  supported  in  their 
retreat  by  the  heavy  cavalry  brigade,  des- 
patched by  Lord  Lucan  for  the  purpose. 

Thus  began  and  ended  the  celebrated 
charge  of  the  light  brigade  at  Balaklava, 
which,  not  lasting  more  than  half  an  hour, 
entailed  a  loss  of  300  men  and  officers 
(among  whom  was  Captain  Nolan),  out  of  a 
total  of  680  who  went  into  action.  In 
spite  of  all  that  has  been  written  and  said 
regarding  this  action,  the  responsibility  for 
it  has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  settled 
upon  any  one — one  of  the  chief  actors, 
Captain  Nolan,  having  been  killed  at  the 
outset.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered, 
that  there  was  a  bitter  feud  between  Lords 
Cardigan  and  Lucan,  and  that  the  latter 
publicly  stated  that  he  never,  on  any  one 
occasion,  allowed  himself,  directly  or  in- 
directly, to  remark  upon  any  act  of  Lord 
Cardigan,  so  as  to  avoid,  as  he  succeeded 
in  doing  during  the  whole  time  he  was 
under  his  command,  all  altercation  with 
him.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the 
terms  on  which  Lord  Cardigan,  Lord 
Lucan,  and  Captain  Nolan  were  with  each 
other,  were  such  as  to  prevent  either  from 
taking  any  course  of  action  which  might 
lay  him  open  to  a  reproach  of  cowardice 
from  the  other.  Thus,  to  satisfy  a  personal 
point  of  honour  and  pride  between  them- 
selves, all  three  contributed  to  the  massacre 
of  300  men,  by  the  literal  obedience  to  an 
order  which  admitted  of  a  discretionary 
interpretation  ;  for  it  must  be  remembered, 
whilst  Lord  Raglan's  order  was  to  try  to 
prevent  the  enemy  carrying  away  the  guns, 
at  the  time  it  was  received  they  were 
already  practically  carried  away,  and  in 
possession  of  the  whole  Russian  arm}'. 

The  result  of  the  whole  action  was,  that 
the  Russians  obtained  possession  of  re- 
doubts 1  and  2  and  the  heights  com- 
manding Balaklava  plain,  thus  forcing 
the  allies  to  draw  in  their  lines  to  the 
precipitous  heights  immediately  confining 
the  harbour.  This,  however,  entailed  the 
loss  of  the  road  leading  from  Balaklava 
to  the  trenches,  and  rendered  the  position 
generally  so  insecure,  that  Lord  Raglan 
would  not  risk  leaving  the  ships,  or  more 
of  the  stores  than  necessary  for  immediate 
use,  within  the  port,  but  ordered  them 
to  anchor  outside — an  arrangement  which 

139 


BATTLE  OF   INKERMANN.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1854. 


led  to  the  imTDonse   destruction  of    stores 
and  sliippinj:^  on  the  14th  November. 

The  attack  on  P>alaklava,  and  the  suc- 
cess gained  by  the  Russians  in  keepino;  tlieir 
ground,    capturing  some    of  tlie   artillery, 
and    forcing  the   allies  to  draw  in    their 
lines,    encouraged    them     to    renew   tlieir 
offensive  operations.     They  had  discovered 
the   weak   points   in    the    position    of  the 
allied  forces,  and   determined  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it  to  the  best  of  their  power; 
and,  on  the   morning   following  the  battle 
of  Balaklava,  the   fire  from   the  town  was 
conducted     with     redoubled     energy,    ex- 
ploding the  magazine  in  the  chief  French 
battery,  and  silencing  several  gims  on  the 
British    right.     As  soon   as   this  was   ac- 
complished, a  strong  force  was  seen  issuing 
from  the  works  near  the  Malakoff,  strongly 
supported   by   cavalry  and  artillery,  whilst 
a  second    body    was    forming    at   the  head 
of  the  harbour,   the  object  of  these  move- 
ments   evidently    being    an     attack   upon 
General  De   Lacy  Evans's  division.     They 
came    on    preceded  by   a   cloud    of    skir- 
mishers, and  brought  their  artillery  to  bear 
upon    Evans's  riglit  flank;  but  the  British 
division  rapidly  forming  front,   and  being 
protected   on  their  right   by   a  movement 
of    General    Bosquet    and    the    Duke    of 
Cambridge,    whilst  their  left  was  supported 
by   a  regiment  of  rifles  from   Sir  George 
Cathcart's  division,  and  a  couple   of   guns 
from    Sir    George    Brown's,  their  artillery 
was   forced    to  withdraw   by   the  eighteen 
pieces   brought   to   bear   upon   them,    and 
which,  then  opening  fire    on   the    columns 
of  infantry,  forced  them  to  retreat  in  the 
utmost    disorder,   being    pursued    by    the 
30th    and    95th  regiments   almost   to    the 
very   head    of   the    harbour.       The  whole 
action    did    not    last   much  more    than  an 
bour,  entailing  a  loss  of  about  100  killed 
and  wounded   on    the   British   side,  whilst 
the  Russians  left   130   dead  alone    on   the 
field.      Their     loss     in     wounded    would, 
therefore,  have  been  some  400  or  500  men, 
besides  80  prisoners,  amongst  whom,   curi- 
ously  enough,    was    the   officer   who    had 
captured  Lord  Dunkellin. 

This  sortie  of  the  garrison,  combined 
with  the  attack  the  day  before  on  Balak- 
lava,  though  successfully  repulsed,  did  not 
tend  to  reassure  Lord  Raglan  and  his  statf 
as  to  the  safety  of  the  British  landing- 
place,  as  the  vessels  were  still  obliged 
to  anchor  outside  the  harbour,  involving 
much  loss  and  suffering  both  to  those 
140 


on  board  and  to  the  invalids  on  shore, 
who  could  not  be  got  off.  Meanwhile 
the  Russian  commanders  had  gradually 
matured  their  plans,  which  comprehended 
for  their  object  an  investment  of  th(i 
investors.  General  Liprandi  was  busily 
entrenching  himself  with  his  troops  on 
the  heights  of  Kamara,  and  completely 
commanded  the  Balaklava  plain  and  the 
lower  road  from  the  port  to  the  trenches, 
pushing  their  lines  up  to  the  sea-shore, 
and  establishing  heavy  batteries  there, 
which  seriously  threatened  the  extreme 
right  of  the  British  line  of  defence. 

"^Whilst  Liprandi  was  thus  strengthening 
the  Russian  left,  reinforcements  arrived 
on  the  1st,  2nd,  and  3rd  of  November  from 
Bessarabia,  under  Generals  Dannenberg 
and  Soimonoff,  and  were  poured  into  the 
Russian  camp  on  the  heights  north-east 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Tchernaya,  and  north 
of  the  head  of  the  harbour.  These  move- 
ments were  conducted  on  a  scale  that 
enabled  the  allies  to  form  a  strong  idea 
that  a  fresh  attack  in  force  was  contem- 
plated, but  no  extra  precautions  were 
taken.  Not  even  the  pickets  were 
strengthened,  nor  any  order  issued  en- 
joining greater  attention. 

At  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  4th 
to  the  5th  of  November,  the  bells  of  Sebas- 
topol  all  began  ringing,  and  tlie  chants  of 
the  men  gathered  together  for  divine  service 
could  be  distinctly  heard  in  the  allied  lines. 
These  unusual  sounds  ceased  a  little  before 
2    A.M.,  and  were  succeeded  in   about   an 
hour  by  the  rumbling  of  wheels,  and  other 
signs  indicative  of  the  movement  of  largo 
bodies  of  troops.     The  men  on  guard  in 
tlie  various  pickets  reported  these  events  to 
their  officers ;  but  no  notice  w^as  taken  of 
them,  the  repulse  which   the  Russians  had 
suffered   a   few   days   back   precluding,  in 
their  opinion,  any  likelihood  of  an  attack 
in   this  direction.     iJefore  dawn,  however, 
under  cover  of  a  thick  fog,  strong  columns 
of  infantry  came  upon  the  advanced  pickets 
on  the  right  of  the  position,  and  slowly 
drove  them  in,  every  foot  of  ground  being 
tenaciously    disputed.      The     alarm     soon 
spread  throughout  the  camp  that  the  Rus- 
sians  were   attacking    in    force,    and   the 
2nd  division,  under  General  Pennefather, 
and  the  light  division,  under  Lieutenant- 
General  Sir  George  Brown,  were    sent  to 
the  front  of  the  attacked  position  as  soon 
as    possible,    whilst    Sir   George    Cathcart, 
with  the  4th  division,  was  brought  to  bear 


A.D.  1854/ 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[tkrrible  storm. 


upon  the  front  and   right  of   the   attack, 
and  generally  supported  by  the  rest  of  the 
divisions    as   they   could    be    brouglit   up. 
Tlie  Russians,  however,  poured  on  in  over- 
whelming numbers,  supported  by  a  fierce 
fire  from  their  own  works  and  the  ships  in 
the  harbour,  which   had  been  brought  up 
for   the  purpose.      They  gradually  gained 
ground,   and   made    a    determined   assault 
upon   the  extreme   left,   and  succeeded   in 
taking  four  guns,  which  they  were,  how- 
ever, forced  to  relinquish  upon  an  attack  of 
the  88th  and  77th  regiments.    At  all  points 
of  the  attack  the  contending  forces  swayed 
backwards   and   forwards,  Avhilst  Liprandi 
and   Prince   Gortchakoff  made  a  diversion 
towards  Balaklava,  and  5,000  of  the  garri- 
son of  Sebastopol  made  a  sortie,  and  fell 
upon  two  of  the  French  batteries  near  the 
Flagstaif   Bastion.     For   a   long   time  the 
vict'ory  was  doubtful.     Sir  Greorge  Cathcart, 
with  a  few  companies  of  the  66th,  descended 
into  the  valley,  and  charged  the  full  force  of 
the  Russians  in  a  narrow  ravine,  the  heights 
of  which  were  literally  lined  with  Russian 
troops;    but,  whilst  trying  to  disentangle 
his  men,  was  shot  dead  through  the  heart. 
At  last,  all  fears  of  a  serious  flank  attack  by 
Liprandi  having  been  dispelled,  the  French 
troops,  brought  up  by  Generals  Bosquet  and 
Canrobert,  fell  upon  the  Russian  left,  and, 
attacking  it  with  an  irresistible  energy  at 
the  poinl  of  the  bayonet,  succeeded  in  turn- 
ing the   fortunes  of  the  day,  and  at  last 
forced     the    Russians    to     retreat,     leaving 
close  upon  5,000  dead  on  the  field,  out  of  a 
force  of  at  least  45,000  men,  who  had  been 
thus   signally    repulsed   by   14,500  of   the 
allied  troops,  6,000  of  which  were  French. 
The  losses  of  the  British  troops  amounted 
to  2,400,  killed  and  wounded,  among  the 


dwindled    down    to    about    14,000     men; 
and  it   became   clear  that  they  alone  could 
not  hope  to  hold  the  positions   at  the  head 
of   the    harbour,    and    the     mouth    of  the 
Tchernayii,  against  another  such  attack  as 
that    of  the     5th  of  November ;  and,  con- 
sequently, the    care     of   the   position    was 
handed    over  to  the  French,  who  had  re- 
ceived   reinforcements,    and    at   once  pro- 
ceeded to  construct  those   defences   which 
the    English    had     neglected    either     from 
want  of    men    or    want    of  will    at  head- 
quarters.    At  the  same  time,  it  was  agreed 
that   the    Flagstaff     Bastion,    which    had 
hitherto    been    regarded      as    the    key   of 
the  town,  w^as  nothing  of  the  sort,  but  tha* 
the  Malakoff  was  the  true  key  ;  and   that 
it  was  from  that  side  that  an  assault  would 
have  to  be   made  upon   the  town.     It  was 
also  universally   acknowledged  that  the  ar- 
tillery  at   the   disposal    of   the  allies   was 
insufficient    in    quantity   and  w^eight,   and 
that  the  w^orks   would  have   to  be  pushed 
much  further  forward  before   a  successful 
attack  could  be  carried  out. 

Meantime    a    worse    enemy     than     the 
Russians  was  approaching — winter,  with  its 
storms,  tempests,  and  snows,  against  which 
the  British    troops,    at    least,    were   quite 
unprovided,    owing    to    bad    management 
on  all    sides.     During    the    whole    of  the 
siege,    for     instance,    green    coffee-berries 
were     served   out     to     the      men     in    the 
trenches.      Cases  of  lemons,  sent   out   for 
scurvy    cases,    were   left    unpacked    in  the 
stores  to  rot  aw^ay ;  and,  in  short,  all  the  sani- 
tary and  commissariat  arrangements    were 
so    execrable    and    thoroughly    disgraceful, 
that    during  the    whole    war,    whilst    only 
40,000    were     killed    in    battle    or     died 
of   their  wounds,   120,000    were    killed   by 


former  beino-  Generals  Cathcart,  Goldie,  and  |  disease,     starvation,    and     neglect.       The 


Strangways;  the  French  losses  were  1,726, 
killed'' and  wounded.  General  de  Lourmel 
being  amongst  the  dead,  and  General 
Canrobert  himself  slightly  wounded.  The 
Russians  lost  General  Soimonoff,  who  was 
shot  through  the  body,  and  died  soon  after. 

Thus  ended  the  great  battle  of  Inker- 
mann,  disastrous  to  both  sides  alike.  The 
Russians,  as  well  as  the  allies,  were  equally 
disheartened,  and  both  sides  feared  a 
renewal  of  the  struggle.  Another  such 
attack,  conducted  by  fresh  men,  before  the 
allies  could  have  recovered  from  the  blow 
dealt  on  the  5th  of  November,  would  most 
likely  have  resulted  in  the  siege  being  raised. 

By   this    time  the    British   forces    had 


misery     occasioned   by    this     neglect    was 

greatly  increased  by  the  terrific  storm  that 

broke  over  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea  nine 

days   after  the    battle   of   Inkermann,  the 

losses   from  which    were  increased    by   the 

orders   forbidding  a   large   portion    of  the 

fleet   to  enter  the  port  of  Falaklava;    in 

consequence    of   which,  the    Prince,    with 

a     cargo    of   stores  for  the  troops,   worth 

£185,000,    w^as    dashed   to   pieces    on   the 

rocks,     and     only     six    saved    out    of    a 

crew  of  150  men.     Altogether,  more   than 

twenty  vessels  were  lost  with  2,000  hands, 

and  cargoes  amounting  to  nearly  £2,000,000. 

The     gale   rose    towards    daylight   on   the 

Mth,  and  by  7  A.M.  bad  increased  in  force 

141 


THE  GREAT  STORM.] 


HISTOKY  OP^  THE 


[a.D.  1854. 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  great  storm. 


to    a  hurricane.      The   wind  had   a  harsh 
screaming  sound,  increasing  in   vehemence 
as   it   approached,    and  striking    everyone 
with    horror       "On    it   came,    a     mighty 
and     strong    wind ;    tlie    pole    broke     off 
short  in  the  middle,    as    if  it   were  glass, 
and   in  an    instant   we  were  pressed  down 
and  half  stifled  by  the   heavy  folds  of  the 
wet  canvas,  which   beat  us  about    the  head 
with   the   greatest  fury.      Half  breathless 
and  blind  I  struggled  for  the  door.     Such 
a  sight  as  met  the  eye  !     The  whole  head- 
quarters'   camp    was    beaten    flat    to   the 
earth,   and   the    unhappy    occupants    were 
rushing  through  the  mud  in  all  directions 
in  chase   of  their   effects    and    clothes,  or 
holding   on  by   the  walls  of  the  enclosure, 
as  they    strove  to  make  their  way  to  the 
roofless  and  windowless  barns  and  stables 
for    shelter.      Three   marquees   alone   had 
stood  against  the  blast — General  Estcourt's, 
Sir   .Tohn    Burgoyne's,   and  Major  Paken- 
ham's.      The   general  had  built  a  cunning 
wall  of  stones  around  his  marquee,  but  ere 
noon  it  had  fallen  before  the  wind,  and  the 
major's  shared  the  same  fate  much  earlier 
in  the   day.      Next  to  our  tent  had  been 
the  marquee  of  Captain  de  Morel,  aide-de- 
camp   to  the   Adjutant-General    Est  court. 
It  lay  fluttering  on   the  ground,  and  as  I 
looked,    the  canvas    seemed     animated    by 
some  great   internal  convulsion — a   mimic 
volcano  appeared  to  be  opening  beneath  it, 
and  its   folds  assumed   the  most   fantastic 
shapes,  tossing  wildly  about  in  the  storm. 
The   phenomenon  was    speedily  accounted 
for  by  the  apparition  of  the  gallant  owner 
fighting   his  way   out  desperately   against 
the   wind,  which  was  bent  on  tearing  his 
very  scanty  covering  from  his  person ;  and 
at  last  he  succeeded  in   making  a   bolt  of 
it,  and  scampered  through  the  mud  to  the 
hutSo  *    *    *  Right  before  us  the  camp   of 
the     Chasseurs     d'Afrique     presented      an 
appearance  of  equal  desolation  and  misery. 
Their  little  tentes  d'abri  stood  for  a   few 
minutes,   but   at   last   the    poles    snapped, 
and  they  were   involved    in   the   common 
ruin. 

"  Woe  betide  the  Russians  had  they 
come  on  that  day,  for,  fiercer  than  the 
storm,  and  stronger  than  all  its  rage, 
the  British  soldier  would  have  met  and 
beaten  their  teeming  battalions.  The  cry 
was,  all  throughout  this  dreadful  day, 
'  Let  us  get  at  the  town  ;  better  far  that 
we  should  have  a  rush  ac  the  batteries,  and 
be  done  with  it,  than  stand  here  to  be 
142 


beaten  by  the  storm.'  Scenes  of  wretched- 
ness met  the  eye.  The  guard  tents  were 
down  ;  the  late  occupants  huddled  together 
under  the  side  of  a  barn,  their  arms 
covered  with  mud,  lying  where  they  had 
been  thrown  down  from  the  'pile'  by 
the  wind.  The  officers  of  the  guard  had 
fled  to  the  commissariat  stores  near  Lord 
Raglan's,  and  found  there  partial  shelter. 
Inside  the  commissariat  yard,  overturned 
carts,  dead  horses,  and  groups  of  shivering 
men,  were  seen  —  not  a  tent  standing. 
Mr.  Cooksley  had  to  take  refuge  amongst 
his  stores,  and  was  no  doubt  glad  to  find 
it,  even  amid  salt  pork  and  rum  pun- 
cheons. Nearer  to  us  Hussar  horses  were 
dead  and  dying  with  cold. 

"  With    chattering  teeth    and   shivering 
limbs,  each  man  looked  at  his  neighbour. 
Lord   Raglan's   house,   with    the  smoke  of 
its  fires  steaming  away  from  the  chimneys, 
and  its  white    walls   standing  out  freshly 
against  the  black  sky,    was,  indeed,  *  the 
cynosure  of  neighbouring  eyes.'     Our  gene- 
rals' marquees  were  as  incapable  of  resisting 
the  hurricane  as  the  bell-tents  of  the  com- 
mon  soldiers.     Lord  Lucan   was  seen,  for 
hours,    sitting  up  to  his  knees  in  sludge, 
amid  the  wreck  of  his  establishment^  medi- 
tative as  Marius  amid  the  ruins  of  Carthage. 
Lord  Cardigan  was  sick  on  board  his  yacht, 
in  the  harbour  of  Balaklava.     Sir  Greorge 
Brown  was  lying,  wounded,  on  board  the 
Agamemnon,  off  Kamiesch  Bay.     General 
Evans,  sick  and  shaken,  was  on  board  the 
Sanspareil,  off  Balaklava.     General  Ben- 
tinck,  wounded,  was  on  board  the  Caradoc 
at  Constantinople,  on  his  way  to  England. 
The  Duke  of  Cambridge,  sick  and  depressed, 
was   passing   an    anxious    time    of    it   in 
the  Retribution,  off  Balaklava,  in  all  the 
horrors  of  that  dreadful  scene  at  sea.     But 
General  Pennefather,  Sir  R.  England,  Sir 
J.  Campbell,  Brigadier  Adams,  Brigadier 
Buller — in    fact,     all     the    generals     and 
colonels  and  officers  in  the  field — were  just 
as  badly  off  as  the  meanest  private.     The 
only   persons    whose   tents   weathered   the 
gale,   as   far   as   I   could    hear,   were   Mr. 
Romaine,   deputy  judge-advocate-general; 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Dickson, Royal  Artillery, 
and  Captain  Woodford.     The  first  had,  how- 
ever, pitched  his  tent  cunningly  within  the 
four  walls  of  an  outhouse,  and  secured  it 
by  guys  and  subtle  devices  of  stone-work. 
They  were  hospitable  spots,  those  tents — 
oases  in  the  desert  of  wretchedness ;  many 
a  poor  half-frozen  wanderer  was  indebted. 


almost  for  life,  to  the  shelter  he  there  re- 
ceived. Now  and  then  a  cruel  gleam  of 
sunshine  absolutely  shot  out  of  a  rift  in  the 
walls  of  clouds,  and  rendered  the  misery  of 
the  scene  more  striking.  Gathered  up,  as 
we  were,  under  the  old  wall,  we  could  not 
but  think,  with  anxious  hearts,  of  our  fleet 
at  sea — of  our  transports — of  Balaklava  and 
the  Katcha — of  the  men  in  the  trenches 
and  on  picket.  Alas!  we  had  too  much 
reason  for  our  anxiety.  Towards  ten  o'clock 
matters  were  looking  more  hopeless  and 
cheerless  than  ever,  when  a  welcome  in- 
vitation came  through  the  storm  for  us  to 
go  over  to  the  shelter  of  a  well-protected 
tent.  Our  first  duty  was  to  aid  the  owner 
in  securing  the  pole  w4th  a  'fish'  of  stout 
spars.  Then  we  aided  in  passing  out  a 
stay  from  the  top  of  the  pole  to  the  wall  in 
front,  and,  in  a  short  time  afterwards,  a  cup 
of  warm  tea  was  set  before  each  of  us,  pro- 
vided by  some  inscrutable  chemistry ;  and, 
with  excellent  ration-biscuit  and  some 
butter,  a  delicious  meal — as  much  needed 
as  it  was  quite  unexpected — was  made  by 
my  friends  and  myself,  embittered  only  by 
the  ever-recurring  reflection,  '  God  help  us : 
what  will  become  of  the  poor  fellows  in  the 
trenches  and  on  the  hill !'  And  there  we 
sat,  thinking  and  talking  of  the  soldiers  and 
of  the  fleet,  for  hour  after  hour,  while  the 
wind  and  rain  blew  and  fell,  and  gradually 
awakening  to  the  full  sense  of  the  calamity 
with  which  Providence  was  pleased  to  visit 
us.  Towards  twelve  o'clock  the  wind,  which 
had  been  blowing  from  the  south-west, 
chopped  round  more  to  the  west,  and  be- 
came much  colder.  Sleet  fell  first,  and 
then  came  a  snow-storm,  which  clothed  the 
desolate  landscape  in  white,  till  the  tramp 
of  men  seamed  it  with  trails  of  black  mud. 
The  mountain  ranges  assumed  their  winter 
garb.  French  soldiers,  in  great  depression 
of  spirit,  flocked  about  our  head-quarters, 
and  displayed  their  stock  of  sorrow  to  us. 
Their  tents  were  all  down,  and  blown  away 
— no  chance  of  recovering  them;  their 
bread  was  tout  inouille  et  gate ;  their 
rations  gone  to  the  dogs.  The  African 
soldiers  seemed  particularly  miserable.  Poor 
fellows  I  several  of  them  we  found  dead  next 
morning,  outside  the  lines  of  our  cavalry 
camp.  We  lost  several  men  also.  In  the 
light  division,  four  men  were  '  starved  to 
death'  by  the  cold;  two  men  in  the  7th 
Fusileers,  one  man  in  the  23rd,  and  one 
man  of  the  2nd  battalion  Rifle  Brigade,  were 
found  dead.    About  forty  of  the  horses,  also, 


died  from  the  cold  and  wet.  But  the  day 
was  going  by,  and  there  was  no  prospect 
of  any  abatement  of  the  storm.  At  two 
o'clock,  however,  the  wind  went  down  a 
little,  and  the  intervals  between  the  blast 
of  the  gale  became  more  frequent  and 
longer.  "  We  took  advantage  of  one  of  these 
halcyon  moments  to  trudge  away  to  the 
wreck  of  the  tent,  and,  having  borrowed 
another  pole,  with  the  aid  of  a  few  men  we 
got  it  up,  all  muddy  and  filthy,  and  secured 
it,  as  far  as  possible,  for  the  night ;  but  it 
was  evident  that  no  dependence  could  be 
placed  on  its  protection,  and  the  floor  was 
a  mass  of  dirt  and  puddle,  and  the  bed  and 
clothes  dripping  wet.  I  mention  my  own 
tent  only,  because  what  was  done  in  one 
case  was  done  in  others ;  and,  towards  even- 
ing, there  were  many  tents  re-pitched  along 
the  lines  of  our  camps,  though  they  were 
but  sorry  resting-places.  Although  the 
tents  stood,  they  flapped  about  so  much, 
and  admitted  such  quantities  of  snow,  rain, 
and  filth  from  outside,  that  it  was  quite 
out  of  the  question  to  sleep  in  them.  What 
was  to  be  done  ?  Suddenly  it  occurred  to 
us  that  there  might  be  room  in  the  barn, 
used  as  a  stable  for  the  horses  of  Lord 
Ra«-lan's  escort  of  the  8th  Hussars  :  and  we 
at  once  waded  across  the  sea  of  nastiness 
which  lay  between  us  and  it,  tacked  against 
several  gusts,  fouled  one  or  two  soldiers  in 
a  different  course,  grappled  with  walls  and 
angles  of  outhouses,  nearly  foundered  in 
big  horse-holes,  bore  sharp  up  round  a 
corner,  and  anchored  at  once  in  the  stable. 
What  a  scene  it  was !  The  officers  of  the 
escort  were  crouching  over  some  embers  of 
a  wood-fire;  along  the  walls  were  packed 
some  thirty  or  forty  horses  and  ponies, 
shivering  with  cold,  and  kicking  and  biting 
with  spite  and  bad  humour.  The  Hussars, 
in  their  long  cloaks,  stood  looking  gloomily 
on  the  flakes  of  snow  which  drifted  in  at 
the  doorway  or  through  the  extensive  aper- 
tures in  the  shingle  roof.  Soldiers  of  dif- 
ferent regiments  crowded  about  the  warm 
corners,  and  Frenchmen  of  all  arms,  and  a 
few  Turks,  joined  in  the  brotherhood  of 
misery,  lighted  their  pipes  at  the  scanty 
fire,  and  sat  close  for  mutual  comfort.  The 
wind  blew  savagely  through  the  roof,  and 
through  chinks  in  the  mud  walls  and 
window-holes.  The  building  was  a  mere 
shell,  as  dark  as  pitch,  and  smelt,  as  it 
ouo^ht  to,  an  honest,  unmistakable  stable — 
improved  by  a  dense  pack  of  moist  and 
mouldy  soldiers.     And  yet  it  seemed  to  us 

143 


EFFECTS   OF  THE   STORM.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  18j4. 


a  palace !     Life  and  joy  were  inside,  thoun^h 
melancholy    Frenchmen     would    insist   on 
being  pathetic   over   their  own  miseries — 
and,°indeed,  they  were  many  and  great— 
and,  after  a  time,  the  eye  made  out  the 
figures   of   men,    huddled  up  in   blankets, 
lying  along  the  w;dl.     They  were  the  sick, 
who  had  been  in  the  hospital  marquee,  and 
who  now  lay,  moaning  and  sighing,  in  the 
cold ;  but  our  men  were  kind  to  them,  as 
they  always  are  to  the  distressed,  and  not 
a  pang  of  pain  did  they  feel   which  care 
and  consideration  could  dissipate.     A  staff- 
officer,  dripping  with  rain,  came  in  to  see  if 
he  could  get  any  shelter  for  draughts  of  the 
r)3rd  and  41st  regiments,  which  had  just 
been    landed    at    Kamiesch ;    but  he    soon 
ascertained  the  hopelessness  of  his  mission, 
so  far  as  our  quarters  were  concerned.    Tlie 
men  were  packed  into  another  shed,  ^  like 
herrings  in  a  barrel.' 

"  Having  told  us,  'There  is  terrible  news 
from  Balaklava ;  seven   vessels  lost,   and  a 
number  on  shore  at  the  Katcha,'  and  thus 
made  us  more  gloomy  than  ever,  the  officer 
went  on  his  way,  as  well  as  he  could,  to 
look  after  his  draughts.     In  the  course  of 
an  hour  an  orderly  was  sent  off  to  Balaklava 
with  despatches  from   head-quarters;  but, 
after  being  absent  three-quarters  of  an  hour, 
the  man  returned,  fatigued  and  beaten,  to 
say  he  could  not  get  his  horse  to  face  the 
storm.     In  fact,  it  would  have  been  all  but 
impossible  for  man  or  beast  to  make  head- 
way through  the  hurricane.     We  sat  in  the 
dark  till  night  set  in — not  a  soul  could  stir 
out.    Nothing  could  be  heard  but  the  howl- 
ing of  the  wind,  the  yelp  of  wild  dogs  driven 
into  the  enclosures,  and  the  shrill  neighing 
of  terrified  horses.     At  length  a  candle-end 
was  stuck  into  a  horn  lantern,  to  keep  it 
from  the  wind :  a  bit  of  ration   pork,  and 
some  rashers  of  ham,  done  over  the  wood- 
fire,   furnished  an   excellent  dinner,  which 
was  followed    by  a    glass  or    horn   of   hot 
water  and  rum;  then  a  pipe;  and,  as  it  was 
cold  and   comfortless,    we    got  to  bed — a 
heap  of  hay  on  the  stable  floor,  covered 
with  our  clothes,  and  thrown  close  to  the 
heels  of  a  playful  grey  mare,  who  had  strong 
antipathy  to  her  neighbours,  a  mule  and 
an  Arab  horse,  and  spent  the  night  in  at- 
tempting  to   kick    in    their    ribs.      Amid 
smells,    and    with   incidents   impossible    to 
describe,  or  to  allude   to  more  nearly,  we 
went  to  sleep,  in  spite  of  a  dispute  between 
an  Irish  sergeant  of  hussars,  and  a  York- 
shire corporal  of  dragoons,  as  to  the  com- 
144 


parative  merits  of  light  and  heavy  cavalry, 
with  digressions  respecting  the  capacity  ( f 
English  and  Irish  horseflesh,  which,  by  the 
last  we  heard  of  them,  seemed  likely  to  bo 
decided  by  a  trial  of  physical  strength  on 
the   part  of   the   disputants.''    Throughout 
the  day  there  had   been  very  little  firing 
from  the  Russian  batteries.     Towards  even- 
ing, all   was  silent  except  the  storm.     In 
the  middle  of  the  night,  however,  we  were 
all  awoke  by  one  of  the   most  tremendous 
cannonades  we  had  ever  heard,  and,  after  a 
time,  the  report  of  a  rolling  fire  of  musketry 
came  down  on  the  wind.     Looking  eagerly 
in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  we  saw  the 
flashes  of  the  cannon  through  the  chinks  in 
the  roof,  each   flash   distinct  by  itself,  just 
as  a  flash  of  lightning  is  seen  in  all  its 
i  length  and  breadth  through  a  crevice  in  a 
I  wimlow-shutter.     It  was  evident  there  was 
j  a  sortie  on  the   French    lines.     The   can- 
:  nonade  lasted  for  half-an-hour,  and  gradu- 
ally  waxed   fainter.     In  the  morning,  we 
heard  the   Russians  had   sallied   out,  from 
their    comfortable   warm   barracks,  on   the 
French  in  the  trenches,  but  that  they  had 
been  received  with  an  energy  which  quickly 
made  them  fly  back  again  to  the  cover  of 
their  guns.     It   is    said    that   the   French 
actually  got  into   a  part   of   the   Russian 
lines   in    chafing   their    troops    back,    and 
spiked  some  of  the  guns  within  an  earth- 
work battery.     In   Balaklava,  the  harbour 
was  lined  with  the  debris  from  the  wrecks 
outside;  trusses  of  compressed  hay,  pieces 
of  timber,  large  beams  of  wood,  masts  and. 
spars  of  all  sizes,  formed  large  natural  rafts, 
which  lay  stranded  by  the  beach,  or  floated 
about  among  the  shipping.     The  old  tree 
which    stood  at   the   guard-house,   at   the 
entrance  to  the  town,  was  torn  up,  and  in 
its  fall  it  had  crushed  the  house,   so  as  to 
make  it  a  mass  of  ruins.     The  soldiers  of 
the  guard  were  doing  their  best  to  make 
themselves    comfortable    within   the    walls. 
The  fall  of  this  tree,  which  had  seen  many 
winters,    coupled    with    the  fact    that    the 
verandahs  and  balconies  of  the  houses,  and 
a  row  of  very  fine  acacia  trees  on  the  beach, 
were  blown  down,  corroborates  the  state- 
ment so  generally  made  by  the  inhabitants, 
that  they  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  such  a 
hurricane  in  their  lifetime,  although  there 
is   a  tradition  among  some,   that  once  in 
thirty  or  forty  years  such  visitations  occur 
along  this  coast." 

Henceforward,   to  the  close  of  the  year 
1854,  the  war  in  the  Crimea,  on  both  sides, 


P  V 


A.D.  1854.] 


EUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[state  of  the  army. 


m 


was  a  war  against  the  elements,  want,  and 
disease ;  the  Russians  themselves  being  but 
little  better  off  than  the  allies.  Worst  off 
of  all,  however,  was  the  Turkish  contingent ; 
and  the  following  picture  of  the  sufferings 
of  these  poor  fellows,  shows,  better  than 
anything  else,  to  what  dire  straits  the  allies 
had  been  brought  through  undertaking 
such  an  enterprise  as  the  reduction  of 
Sebastopol,  without  sufficient  forces  or  ma- 
terial of  war. 

"  The  men  were  without  clothes,  without 
food,  and  without  shelter — literally  left 
to  die.  The  surgeon  said,  the  110  drachms 
of  biscuit  granted  by  our  commissariat 
was  utterly  insufficient  to  support  the  men 
mder  the  duties  they  were  expected  to 
perform.  They  were  brought  in  to  him 
all  day,  and  day  after  day,  dying  from 
exhaustion,  and  he  had  nothing  to  give 
them — not  even  a  refuge  where  they  could 
pass  away  quietly.  We  descended  the 
hill  towards  a  good  sized  building — a  new 
Greek  church — the  roof  of  which  had  not 
been  quite  finished,  and  which,  with 
many  houses,  had  been  given  up  to  the 
Turks  for  the  use  of  their  sick.  As  we 
came  near  it,  two  or  three  men  were  being 
carried  in.  The  surgeon  pointing  to  them, 
said  solemnly, '  None  of  those  poor  fellows 
will  come  out  alive.  I  have  not  saved  a 
single  man  who  has  once  entered  that 
fatal  building.'  I  asked  him,  had  he  any 
medicines  ?  and  he  replied,  pointing  to 
two  large  tents  covering  trunks  and  boxes, 
that  he  had  a  considerable  store  of  them. 
'But  they  are  useless,'  he  added;  'the 
men  are  dying  of  hunger,  and  medicine 
is  of  no  avail.'  His  patients,  when  admitted, 
were  too  weak  to  masticate  their  small 
ration  of  bread,  and  they  soon  ceased  to 
require  bis  care.  An  acute  kind  of 
diarrhoea,  somewhat  similar  to  cholera, 
always  terminated  their  sufferings.  He 
said  he  had  many  times  entreated  our 
commissariat  authorities  to  spare  him  a 
little  meat  of  any  kind,  salt  or  fresh,  with 
a  little  rum,  for  the  use  of  the  hospital, 
but  in  vain,  so  he  thought  they  had  none 
to  give.  I  asked  to  be  allowed  to  see  his 
hospital ;  but  he  advised  me  strongly  not  to 
go  inside,  as  the  atmosphere  of  the  place 
was  almost  poisonous.  However,  I  pressed 
my  request,  and,  with  some  reluctance,  he 
advanced  towards  the  door  of  the  build- 
ing, across  which,  as  in  Turkish  houses, 
hung  a  piece  of  matting.  He  pulled 
this  aside,  and  the  sight  that  met  my 
VOL.  II.  \j 


gaze  rooted  me  to  the  ground,  and  made  my 
heart    sink  within  me.     The    building   in- 
side   formed   a   square  of  about  100  feet, 
and    every   inch  of  the   space  was  covered 
with  Turks.     Not  a  soul  was  in    the  place 
but   the    dead   and    dying.      The    deadly 
foetid  air  which  issued  from    this   charnel- 
house,  made  me  involuntarily  shrink  back 
from  the  door  with  loathing,  and  I  already 
repented   my   rash    wish  to     enter.      But 
the  surgeon  had  gone   in,   and  I  followed. 
The  sickening  horrors  that  I    saw   would 
be  repulsive  to  dwell  upon ;  but  the  princi- 
pal features,  which  surpassed  all  the  ima- 
ginations  of  Defoe  or  Boccaccio  ever  con- 
ceived, may  be   soon  told.       The   building 
had    once  been  used  as  a  cholera  hospital ; 
and,  before  the  Turks,  the  Russian  .wounded 
had  been  put  there,   and  all  died.     Since 
the  allies  first    took   the  place,   the  floor 
had  never   been  cleaned,  and    it  was    now 
ankle-deep  in  filth  of  the  most  abominable 
description.     The  Turks  lay  in  this  with- 
out  blankets,    covering,   bed     or  bedding. 
The  latest  comers — those  nearest  the  door 
— had  a    wan,    pinched,  mournful   look,  in 
which  death  was   plainly  written.       They 
did    not   speak,   but  raised   their   eyes  in 
mute  appeal  as  we  passed.     Those  further 
in,  who  had  been  inmates  of  the  place  some 
three  or  four  days,  were  dying   fast ;  many 
were    dead,   and    lay   rigid  and  almost  un- 
noticed amongst  the  rest.      Beyond   small 
jars    of  rice-water    here    and    there,  there 
was  no  food  or  medicine  of  any  description 
in  the  place.     At  the  upper  end  of  all,  my 
blood  crept  to  perceive,  that  both  the  Turks 
that  lay  there,  and  the  walls  of  the  build- 
ing,   were    completely  covered  with  mag- 
gots, which  crawled  in  all  directions.    While 
I    was   there,   four   men  of    the    burying 
party  entered,  and  began   looking  carefully 
amongst   the   prostrate   forms.     They   had 
not  long    to   search.        Five  corpses    were 
carried  out  by  the  arms  and  legs,  and  laid 
upon  the  stones  in  front  of  the  place,  from 
whence  another   party  bore  them  to  their 
last  home.     Other  incidents  occurred,    but 
of    so   harrowing  and   dreadful   a    nature 
that   it   would    be   impossible   to  mention 
them   here.      Dizzy   and  sick  with  what  I 
had  seen,  I  hurried  into  the  open  air.     The 
surgeon     followed    me,   and,   in    reply   to 
some   of  my  exclamations   of  horror,   said 
the  place   would   yet,    he   feared,  be  worse 
before  the   winter   was   over.     I  promised 
to  see   him   again,   and    obtain   a  detailed 
account  of  all  the  sufferings  of  his  unfor- 

145 


i 


|| 


!: 


/  f' 


■y.) 


•j'l 


OPERATIONS  IN  THE  BALTIC.]        HISTORY 

most  anxious  to  give  me.  But  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  he  was  sent  to  Eupatoria,  and  I 
saw  hL  no  more,  and  literally  had  not  the 
courage  to  visit  the  'hospital   again. 

During  the  rest  of  the  months  of  No- 
vember Ld  December,  the  "^ge  pro- 
gressed without  any  special  events  of  im- 
portance. The  Russians  continued  strength- 
en ng  their  works,  the  allies  advancing 
their^  parallels  amidst  a  serie^"^,  7,^^ 
and  surprises  that  cost  a  good  deal  of  life. 
Several  changes  took  place  m  the  various 


OF  THE  [A.D.  1854. 

^^^^^  Directly    after  the  battle   of 
Inkermann,   the   Duke   of  Cambridge   re- 
turned home,  and,  soon  after.  Sir  De  Lacy 
Evans  and  Lord    Cardigan  resigned  their 
commands ;   whilst,  in  the  fleet,  Admirals 
Lvons  and   Bruat   succeeded  Dundas   and 
Hamelin.     The  Turkish  troops,  too,  which 
had  been   disengaged  from   service  in  the 
Danubian  provinces  by  the  action   of  Aus- 
tria   began    to   arrive   in    the  Crimea  at 
Eu^atork,   the   importance   of  which  was 
beginning   to  be   recognised   both  by   the 
czar  and  the  allies. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Whilst  Russia  was  thus  being  attacked  in 
the  south,  a  strong  fleet,  under  Admirals  Sir 
Charles    Napier    and    Parseval-Deschenes 
sailed  for  the  Baltic,  'representing  a  force  o 
44  vessels,  2,200  guns,  and  22,000  sailors 
and  marines.     Great  things  were  expected 
from  this  imposing  force,  and  almost  stil 
greater   things  from  Sir  Charles  himself, 
fut   t  was  soon  discovered  that  the  nature 
of  the   Gulf  of  Finland,  with  its  shoals 

shallows,  and  int""'^*^  P^T"'\nd  Kron- 
bv  such  fortresses  as  Sweaborg  and  Kron- 

stadt,  presented  insuperable  >i«PefXt' 
to  any  effectual  ofi'ensive  measures  by  a  fleet, 
however  strong,  without  the  Bupport  and 
co-operation  of  a  large  army  to  reduce  tl  e 
garrisons  of  the  strong  places,  and  oppose 
the  numerous  forces  that  the  czar  had  called 
up  to  protect  the  Baltic  provinces. 

All  this  had  been  overlooked  by  the  AO- 
miralty,  as  well  as  by  the  public. 

Both  seemed  to  think  that  the  allied  fleet^ 
•  would  only  have  to  ste.m  up  the  gul , 
Thatter  the  forts  of  Sweaborg  and  Kronstadt, 
utterly  destroy  the  Russian  navy,  and  com- 
Bletely  cripple  the  commerce  of  the  country 
Kast,  ev?n  :f  the  fleets  did  not  actually 
bombard  and  take  St.  Petersburg  itself. 

AH  these  extravagant  expectations  were 
doomed  to  disappointment:  it  was  found 
that  Sweaborg  and  Kronstadt  were  unap- 
proachable, and  far  too  .trong  to  be  success- 
fully tackled  without  very  heavy  artillery,  so 
140 


thattheoperationsofthefleetwerepractically 
confined  to  a  blockade  of  the  various  ports 
or  the  capture  of  Russian  merchantmen. 
Hostilities  commenced  with  the  notification 
of  the  blockade  of  all  Russian  ports,  and 
the  despatch  of  an  expedition  up  the  Gulf 
of  Bothnia,  destroying  all  the  shipping, 
stores,  and  dockyards  at  Brahestad  and  Ulea- 
bor<T.     At   Gamla    Karleby,   however,   the 
offiwr  in  command,  assisted  by  the  inhabi- 
tants and  400  men,  successfully  repulsed 
the  expedition,  consisting,  by  the  way,  ot 
the  leoparc?,   Y'uXture,  and  Od%n;  losing 
fifty-four   men    killed,   148  wounded,  and 
twenty-two  prisoners,  besides  a  gun  and  a 
flac'.    P«»'  contra,  the  loss  inflicted  on  the 
Russians  amounted,  in  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia, 
to  forty-six  vessels  afloat  or  on  the  stocks, 
and    pitch    and    timber   to   the   value   ot 
£400,000,  most  of  it  private  property,  and 
undefended ;  so  that  the  Russians  had  some 
cause  for  triumph  at  the  squadron  being 
signally  defeated  at  the  only  place  on  the 
gulf  where  a  defence  was  made. 

Meanwhile,  reconnaissances  were  being 
made  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Fin- 
land ;  and  Bomarsund,  on  the  island  ot 
Aland,  was  bombarded  from  a  distance  ot  a 
mile  and  a-half,  almost  beyond  range  of  the 
batteries,  for  seven  hours.  The  fire  was 
renewed  on  the  25th  and  26th  of  June ;  but 
without  any  important  results.  At  Hango 
an  attack  was  also  repulsed  by  the  Russians, 


"<^>-^ 


i< 


"^iV 


■x 


/. 


') 


^X 


..v 


\ 


-^i:--     ^^:\( ,)  \ 


V.J 


lit 


I' 


I*' 


1  :. 


r 


\\ 


1 


^3  \N..    , 


;  V.'. 


U    ' 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[bomarsund  bombarded. 


,  »'T.' 


r 


..^^'^ 


X  f- 


V. 


who  inflicted  considerable  loss  on  the  squad- 
ron. Whilst  these  operations  were  going  on 
at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulfs  of  Bothnia  and 
Finland,  the  fleet  had  steamed  up  to  Kron- 
stadt.  The  result  of  this  visit  is  well 
described  by  Dr.  Cottman,  an  American  re- 
siding in  St.  Petersburg,  and  whose  words 
will  reflect  the  state  of  the  Russian  mind 
at  this  time.     He  says — 

"  Old  Admiral  Napier  came  up  last  Sun- 
day-week, and  took  a  look  at  Kronstadt, 
where  I  have  been  waiting  a  month  to  see  a 
great  combat,  and  have  been  disappointed, 
for  the  fleet  all  disappeared  on  Monday.     I 
have  found  out  there  is  to  be  no  show.     I 
paid  my  money  at  the  gate,got  admission,  but 
found  the  principal  actor  sick — 'Can't  come 
to  the  scratch,'  and  the  play  '  is  given  up.' 
The  finest  fleet  that  ever  floated  passes  by 
Riga,  Revel.  Sweaborg,  and  Kronstadt,  and 
contents  itself  with  a  look.     The  days  of 
chivalry  are  gone ;  and  I  must  be  satisfied 
with  cheerful,  happy  faces,  and  hospitable 
hearths,  in  lieu  of  great  battles  in  Russia. 
British  valour  has  eked  out  in  gasconade, 
detraction,  and  defamation  of  private  cha- 
racter, and  destruction  of  private  property. 
The  idea  of  terminating  a  war  by  discord  in 
the  imperial  household,  and  jealousy  be- 
tweeen  the  elder  brothers  of  the  imperial 
family !    There  never  existed  a  more  united 
or  harmonious  family.     The  Grand   Duke 
Alexander  is,  according  to  the  journals  of 
the  day,  dying  of  hectic  fever  and  night- 
sweats,  when  in  reality  he  would  pass  freely 
for  a  beer-drinking,  athletic  Englishman, 
and,  I  might  almost  say,  with  an  exuberance 
of  health;  and,  instead  of  jealousy  and  dis- 
trust, the  most  cordial  sympathy  and  devo- 
tion to  each  other  prevail.     Brothers  more 
devoted  to  each  other  cannot  be  found  any- 
where in  the  private  walks  of  life.   Michael, 
the  chief  of  artillery,  and  Nicholas,  of  in- 
fantry, are  both  very  intelligent ;  and  the 
devotion  to  their  father,  and  the  desire  to 
execute  his  will,  equal  anything  that  the 
most   exalted   imagination    could   picture. 
The  emperor's  health  and  spirits  have  been 
very   good   for  the  last  two  months;  but 
they  both  appeared  to  advantage  the  two 
days  that  the  allied  fleet  lay  off  Kronstadt. 
The  fleet  lay  between  the  imperial  pavilion 
on   the   premises   of    the    Grand   Duchess 
Helen,  at  Oranienbaum,  and  the  fortifica- 
tions at  Kronstadt.     Thousands  of  persons 
collected  on  the  heights  of  Knausa  G-orkoe, 
and  about  Oranienbaum,  as  they  said,  to 
see  Old  Charley  cut  capers  when  the  ball 


opened;  but  they  were  disappointed:  this 
magnificently  attired  company  declined  to 
face  the  music,  and  left  the  saloon ;  conse- 
quently, the  ball  was  closed  before  the 
dancing  commenced,  as  it  is  rather  awkward 
to  dance  without  a  vis-a-vis,^^ 

Meanwhile,  summer  was  rapidly  slipping 
away ;  and  both  the  crews  of  the  fleet,  and 
the  public  at  home,  began  to  grumble  at 
the  "inaction"  of  the  fleets.  Something 
had  to  be  done ;  Sweaborg  and  Kronstadt 
were,  or  were  considered  to  be,  unassailable ; 
so  it  was  determined  to  make  another  at- 
tempt on  Bomarsund,  which  had  so  success- 
fully resisted  the  bombardment  of  the  21st, 
25th,  and  26th  of  June. 

The  fortifications  of  this  place  were  not 
very  formidable.     They  consisted  of  a  main 
work,  faced  with  granite,  and  flanked  by 
two  towers  of  the  same  material.     These 
works  were  swept  by  forts  Nortike  and  Tsee, 
and  were  further  supported  by  two  or  three 
towers  built  on  a  rocky  ridge,  almost  sur- 
rounding the   enceinte.       The   armament 
was  190  guns,  and  a  garrison  of  3,000  men. 
It  would  be  thought  that  the  most  power- 
ful fleet  the  French  and  English  were  able 
to   put  upon  the  Baltic  would  be  amply 
sufficient  to  reduce  this  place :    but  it  was 
not  thought  so;    and  11,000  French  and 
1,500  British  land  troops  were  despatched 
to  assist  the  fleet  in  its  operations.     These 
commenced  on  the  7th  of  August,  with  the 
disembarkation  of  the  troops  and  the  guns 
for  the  batteries,  to  be  erected  against  the 
round  towers ;    the  French  receiving  Fort 
Tsee  for  their  share,  whilst  the  English  laid 
themselves    against    Fort     Nortike;     the 
batteries,  however,  being  so  placed  as  to  be 
able  to  concentrate    iheir   tire   en   either. 
On  the  13th  of  August,  fire  was  opened  by 
the  French  battery  at  daybreak,  but  little 
impression  was  made  upon  the  works ;  still, 
the  commanding  oflScer  in  the  fort  plainly 
saw  that  he  would  eventually  be  forced  to 
give  up  the  fort,  and,  desirous  to  save  life, 
off'ered  to  capitulate.     His  terms,  however, 
were  not  accepted ;  and,  next  day,  the  fort 
was  stormed  by  the  French,  access  being 
obtained  by  the  lower  embrasures,  which" 
were  unarmed,  only  boarded  up,  and  not 
more  than  six  feet  high  above  the  ground. 
The  greater  part  of  the  garrison,  however, 
escaped  to  the  chief  fort,  leaving  thirty-two 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  who 
had  a  narrow  escape  from  being  blown  up, 
the  fort  having  been  undermined  for  the 
purpose.    Fortunately  for  them,  the  fact 

147 


I 


BOMARSUND  CAPITULATES.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1854. 


A.D.  1854.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ANATOLIAN  CAMPAIGN. 


leaked  out,  and  they  had  just  time  to  leave 
it,  when  the  mine  suddenly  exploded,  and 
entirely  shattered  the  whole  building, 
burying  a  few  French  and  native  stragglers, 
who  had  delayed  their  departure  too  long, 
beneath  its  ruins. 

During  the  night,  the  British  forces  had 
succeeded     in    establishing    a     battery   of 
three     32-pounders     and     four    howitzers 
within  750  yards  of  Fort  Nortike,  on  which 
they  opened  fire  at  daybreak  on  the  15th. 
The   garrison    replied   with    great   energy, 
but  the  battery  continued  pounding   away 
at  the  tower  till  a  breach  was  made,  and 
preparations   commenced    for   the   assault, 
when  the  white  flag    was  hoisted,    and  the 
garrison — 120   men — surrendered.      Mean- 
while, the    fleet   was   bombarding  the  rest 
of  the  works  at  a  distance  of    3,000  yards, 
and,  on  tlie  16th,  the  two  forts  having  fallen, 
General   Bodisco,    the    governor,  was  con- 
vinced that  further  resistance   would    only 
entail  unnecessary  and  a  fruitless  loss  of  life, 
and    surrendered   with    his  garrison,  2,3U0 
men,    wiio    were   made    prisoners    of   war. 
The    fortifications   were   ultimately    blown 
up    on    the  30th  of  August,  and  the  fleets 
proceeded   to    Hango,    where    there    were 
some    small     works    which    the    Russians 
destroyed  themselves,  the  garrison  retiring 
to   Abo,    whither    they   were  followed  by 
a    squadron   under     Captain    Scott,    who, 
however,  contented  himself  with  firing  an 
occasional  shot  at  the  gun-boats  and  bat- 
teries  protecting   the   place,  which,  more- 
over,   was    defended    by  a   body  of   some 
18,000   men.      In  the  meantime,  Admiral 
Napier  had  effected   a  reconnaissance  off 
Sweaborg,  but  came  to  the  conclusion,  that 
whatever  might  be  effected  in  that  direction 
could  not   be   accomplished  that    year   at 
any  rate;  and  thus,  towards  the  end  of  Oc- 
tober, the  allied  fleet  steered   homewards, 
to  the  intense  discontent  of  the  public  in 
England  and  France ;  and,  it  may  be  added, 
to   that   of  the  crews  also.     The  Russians 
and    other     continental    nations    were,    of 
course,   in    high  glee ;  Danes,  Swedes  and 
Dutchmen  grinned  complacently, and  opined 
that  Great  Britain's  naval  supremacy  had 
gone   for     ever;    and    that  walls    of  oak 
were  no  match  for  walls  of  stone.     There 
was  much  quarrelling,  both  in  France  and 
England,  as  to  what  might  have  been  done ; 
and  the  British  government  and  Sir  Charles 
Napier  got  so  at  loggerheads  on  the  subject, 
that  the  admiral  was  placed  on  half-pay. 
Sir  Charles  defended  himself  against  the 
148 


charge  of  neglecting  his  duty,  and  not  at- 
tacking Sweaborg,  in  terms  anything  but 
complimentary.     His  defence  is  contained 
in  a  letter  he  wrote  to  the  Times;  and  with 
this  letter,  premising  that  he  was  succeeded 
in   the    command   of  the   Baltic    fleet   by 
Admiral  Dundas,  the  account  of  the  opera- 
tions in   this   quarter,  for    1854,  may   be 
closed.      Sir  Charles  wrote — "I  send  you 
a  chart  of  Sweaborg  and  Helsingfors,  and  a 
plan  of  their  fortifications,  showing  the  ad- 
jacent   islands   and   sunken   rocks.     Show 
them  to  any  naval  officer,  young  or   old 
(and  you  must  know  many), and  ask  him  if 
it  is  possible,  in  winter,  to  place  buoys  and 
beacons  on  those  rocks  and  shoals ;  to  con- 
duct   a   fleet    alongside    the   batteries    of 
Sweaborg,  having   neither   gun-boats    nor 
mortar-boats  to  cover  the  approach  of  the 
vessels  and  boats;  to  place  the  buoys  on 
the  sunken  rocks,  all  of  which  are  within 
range   of   the   enemy's   batteries.     It   will 
require  several  days  for  this  operation,  and 
they   will   be   under   fire   night   and   day. 
The  Russians  themselves   could  not  navi- 
gate these  seas  without  beacons,  and  they 
are  all  removed.     During  the  time  the  pro- 
cess of  buoying  is  going  on,  the  fleet  must 
be  at  anchor  among  the  outer  rocks.     Ima- 
gine  to    yourself,    sir,   a   south-west   gale 
coming  on   (and    in   the   winter,   without 
warning),  and  judge  what  would  become  of 
your  fleet  and  gun  and  mortar-boats.     A 
great   number   of    the    former   would    be 
driven  on  the  rocks,  and  the  latter  would 
either    be    swamped   or   obliged    to    take 
refuge  in  the  enemy's  harbour." 

Nor  were  the  British  and  French  fleets 
more  successful  in  any  other  quarter.  In 
the  White  Sea  they  were  repulsed  at  the 
few  points  they  did  attack ;  and  suffered 
great  losses  at  Petropaulowski,  on  the 
shores  of  Kamschatka,  where  the  Russian 
commander,  with  144  guns,  signally  re- 
pulsed the  attack  made  upon  the  place  by 
Captain  Nicholson— Admiral  Price  having 
shot  himself  on  the  eve  of  the  attack — in- 
flicting great  loss  upon  the  allied  squadron, 
composed  of  eight  vessels,  with  250  guns. 

After  the  departure  of  the  fleet  from  the 
Baltic,  Bomarsund  was  reoccupied  by  the 
Russians,  and  trade  carried  on  vigorously 
during  the  time  that  the  ports  were  still  free 
free  from  ice.  The  defences  of  Riga,  Revel, 
Helsingfors,  and  Sweaborg,  were  strength- 
ened; heavier  guns  despatched  to  protect 
the  more  accessible  points,  and  torpedoes 
prepared  for  the  coming  spring  campaign. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THK  CAMPAIGN  IN  ANATOLIA;  OPERATIONS  IN  THE  CAUCASUS;  DEFENCE  OF  KAHS  ;  REPULSE  OF' THE 
RUSSIANS;  SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  GARRISON;  SURRENDER  OF  GENERAL  WILLIAMS  J  CLOSE  OF  THE 
CAMPAIGN. 


In  Asia  IMinor,  the  exertions  of  the  Turks 
and  Circassians  in  revolt,  under  Schamyl, 
received  such  assistance  as  the  squadron 
under  Admiral  Lyons  could  afford.  Some 
20,000  cartridges  were  given  to  Schamyl, 
and  Suchoum  Kaleh  and  Redout  Kaleh, 
which  were  abandoned  by  the  Russians 
as  soon  as  the  squadron  put  in  an  ap- 
pearance, were  strengthened  and  garrisoned 
by  a  force  of  2,000  Turks  each  ;  the  other 
points  on  the  Russian  coast,  up  to  Gagri, 
also  being  held  by  Turks  or  Circassians. 

In   the    interior,    operations    consisted, 
more  or  less,  of  a  series  of  raids,  conducted 
by  Schamyl  and  his  followers,  whilst  the 
bulk  of  the  Turkish  army  remained  camped 
before  Kars,  and  echeloned  in  isolated  posts 
of  greater  or  lesser  strength  along  the  fron- 
tier.    The  army  was  now  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  series  of  incapable  pashas,  not 
devoid  of  courage  and  peisonal  valour,  but 
utterly  and  totally  wanting  in  any  powers 
of   organisation   and    enduring  enterprise. 
Forethought    and     calculation    were     not 
within   the  range  of  their  mental  endow- 
ments,  and   thus,  in  almost   every   single 
action,  they  were  defeated  by  the  Russians, 
who,  had  they  had  sufficient  men,  might 
have  swept  through  Asia  Minor  like  a  tem- 
pest.    As    it    was,    they    steadily    gained 
ground,  and,  on  the  29th  of  July,  attacked 
the  Turkish  camp,  10,000  strong,  at  Kara- 
boulah,   some  twenty  miles  from  Bazejet, 
and  utterly  routed  them  with  an  immense 
loss.     This  laid  the  way  open  to  Erzeroum, 
which    the    Russians    occupied    two    days 
later  ;  the  garrison  and  most  of  the  Moslem 
inhabitants  flying  to  Trebizonde  for  pro- 
tection.    The  news  of  this  disaster  induced 
the  Turkish   army  before  Kars  to  arouse 
itself  from  inaction,  and  advance  to  attack 
the   Russians   in   a   strong   and  well  held 
position  at  Kuyakdere.     The  Turks  were 
commanded   by   Mustafa  Pasha,  who   had 
fought  so  successfully  at  Oltenitza,  and  at- 
tacked the  Russian  right  wing  with  such 
impetuosity  that,  for  a  moment,  the  victory 
trembled  in  the  balance.     But  the  Russian 
cavalry  executed  a  brillitnt  charo^e  just  at 


the  right  moment,  which  utterly  crushed 
the  Turks,  and  completely  routed  them. 
Over  3,000  were  left  dead  on  the  field,  and 
nearly  the  same  number  taken  prisoners. 

These    disasters    produced    a    profound 
impression  upon  the  Turks,  and  reinforce- 
ments   pouring    in    on    all    sides,     whilst 
Schamyl  invaded  Georgia   at  the  head  of 
20,000  men,  they  exhibited  so  much  energy, 
and  so  decided  a  front,  that  General  Be- 
butoff  gave  orders  for  his  division  to  fall 
back  upon  Alexandropol  and  Tiflis,  closely 
followed  by  the  Turks,  who  were,  however, 
too   incapable   to   take   any  advantage   of 
the  Russian  retreat.     Disgusted  with  such 
dilatory,   hap-hazard   operations,    Schamyl 
gave  up  all  idea  of  co-operating  with  the 
Turks,  and  confined  himself  to  consulting 
his  own  and  his  followers'  immediate  in- 
terests by  the  acquisition  of  as  much  booty 
as  he  could  lay  hold  of;  whilst  the  Russians 
continued   consolidating   their  forces,  and 
preparing  for  a  thorough  offensive  or  de- 
fensive campaign,  as  events  might  decide. 
Meantime,  the  Turkish  forces  were  rapidly 
falling  to  pieces,  and  becoming  more  and 
more  demoralised,  till  they  were  more  of  a 
danger  and  a  nuisance  to  the  country  than 
a  protection. 

Matters  were  in  this  unsatisfactory  state 
when  tidings  reached  London  of  endeavours 
being  made  by  the  Russians  to  conclude  an 
alliance  with  Persia,  and  of  active  negotia- 
tions with  the  Khans  of  Khiva  and  Bok- 
hara. To  counteract  these  intrigues,  and 
stimulate  the  Turks  to  a  better  resistance 
on  the  Asiatic  frontier  of  Turkey,  Colonel 
Williams,  who  had  been  formerly  (1840) 
engaged  on  the  Turco-Persian  Boundary 
Commission,  and  was  then  in  Bulgaria,  re- 
ceived orders  from  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  to 
act  as  commissioner  for  the  British  govern- 
ment in  Kars,  with  the  object  of  reporting 
on  the  state  of  the  army  and  advising  the 
Turkish  commanders.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Lieutenant  Teesdale  and  Dr.  Sand  with; 
and  ultimately  received  the  further  assist- 
ance of  Mr.  Churchill.  After  passing  a 
couple  of  guns,  standing  in  solitary  glory 

149 


i 


I 


.iw«i^,i^im»iM»»ep^  ■ 


mmm 


COLONEL  WILLIAMS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1854. 


in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and  a  load  of 
rammers  and  sponges  pell-mell  on  the  top 
of  a  waggon,  abandoned  by  the  officer  who 
-►ught  to  have  taken  them  on  to  Kars, 
Colonel  Williams  arrived  at  Erzeroum  in 
the  middle  of  September,  1854.  Here  the 
commissioners  had  a  foretaste  of  what  was 
awaiting  them  at  Kars.  ^  There  were  about 
600  men  in  garrison,  whose  pay  was  from 
fifteen  to  nineteen  months  in  arrear ;  the 
staff  itself  four  months  in  arrear;  whilst 
in  the  hospital  there  were  1,200,  chiefly 
wounded,  and  generally  in  a  wretched  state, 
from  the  want  of  cleanliness,  proper  food, 
and  medicines.  The  pharmacy  was  lament- 
ably deficient  in  drugs  of  any  value ;  decoc- 
tions of  various  herbs  forming  the  chief 
supply;  and  it  appeared  that  what  there 
was  to  be  had  was  administered  indiscrimi- 
nately. Thus,  if  carbonate  of  iron  was  re- 
quired in  any  case,  some  other  carbonate 
that  happened  to  be  handy,  such  as  carbon- 
ate of  ammonia  or  soda,  was  used  instead ; 
whilst,  as  regarded  surgical  instruments,  the 
chief  supply  consisted  of  such  as  are  gene- 
rally used  when  people  are  ushered  into  the 
world,  and  not  when  they  are  in  danger  of 
leaving  it.  But  then  the  Turks  object 
to  serious  operations,  as  there  is  an  idea 
amongst  them  that  a  mutilated  man  is 
debarred,  by  the  loss  of  his  limbs,  from 
entering  Paradise ;  so  that  the  patient  gene- 
rally prefers  risking  his  worldly  life  to  en- 
dangering his  future  bliss,  a  theory  which 
the  laziness  of  the  Turkish  doctors  rather 
encourages  than  otherwise. 

When  Colonel  Williams  arrived  at  Kars, 
he  found  not  only  that  the  men's  pay  was 
from  fifteen  to  twenty-two  months  in 
arrear,  but  that  the  army,  which  figured 
on  paper  as  40,000  strong,  and  for  which 
number  supplies  were  drawn,  did  not 
amount  to  more  than  22,000  all  told;  that 
the  commissariat  had  been  charging  for 
four  okkas  of  barley  a  day  for  the  horses, 
but  had  only  given  them  two ;  that  there 
was  not  more  than  a  month's  provisions  or 
provender  in  store,  no  fuel,  no  money;  and, 
finally,  that  the  army  was  in  debt  at  Kars 
and  Erzeroum  to  the  amount  of  10,000 
purses— £100,000.  For  all  this,  the 
Turkish  governor,  Zarif  Mustafa  Pasha,  was 
called  to  account  by  Colonel  Williams,  who 
also  reported  the  state  of  affairs  to  Lord 
Clarendon,  and  to  the  British  ambassador 
at  Constantinople,  Sir  Stratford  de  Red- 
cliffe.  But  neither  Zarif  Mustafa  nor  Sir 
Stratford  liked  this  inquisitive  colonel,  who 
150 


insisted  on  poking  his  nose  into  all  the 
dark  corners  and  tortuous  passages  of  Turk- 
ish malversation,  mal-administration,  and 
mal-everything.  ,  Zarif  Mustafa  objected 
because  such  conduct  interfered  with  the 
interests  of  his  pocket  and  the  pockets  of 
his  other  friends,  the  pashas ;  Sir  Stratford 
objected  because,  being  naturally  '^f  a  pasha- 
logical  disposition,  which  was  intensified  by 
his  long  residence  amongst  the  original 
tribe,  he  wished  to  reign  absolute  in  all 
matters  appertaining  to  Turkey,  and 
claimed  a  sort  of  monopoly  in  the  initiation 
of  all  reforms,  &c.,  in  Turkey:  in  short. 
Sir  Stratford  regarded  himself  as  the  real 
Sultan  of  Turkey,  and,  as  such,  entitled  to 
make  complaints  himself,  and  to  insist  on 
this,  that,  and  the  other,  but  certainly  not 
called  upon  to  act  upon  the  complaints  of 
others.  In  fact,  such  complaints  as  those  of 
Colonel  Williams,  with  his  insisting,  first 
one    thing,   then   on   the   other,   were 


on 


regarded  by  him  almost  as  complaints  made 
against  himself;  and  hence  Colonel  Wil- 
liams never  received  one  single  answer 
from  Sir  Stratford  in  reply  to  no  less  than 
fifty-four  separate  despatches  and  letters, 
on  matters  of  great  importance.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  Colonel  Williams  was 
forced  to  make  a  formal  complaint  regard- 
ing Sir  Stratford's  inactivity  and  neglect  to 
Lord  Clarendon,  who  at  once  wrote  in  a 
tone  to  the  ambassador  that  at  last  induced 
him  to  attend  to  Colonel  Williams's  desires, 
and  obtain  from  the  Porte  the  dismissal  ot* 
Zarif  Mustafa,  and  his  successor,  Shukrii 
Pasha.  Colonel  Williams  then,  by  indefati-* 
gable  exertions,  succeeded  in  provisioning.! 
Kars,  improving  the  defences,  and  greatly 
ameliorating  the  sanitary  condition  of  the 
town.  He  was  considerably  assisted  in  alH 
this  by  the  rank  of  Ferik,  which  had  at 
last  been  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Porte5 
and  placed  him  on  a  footing  of  equality  with 
the  pashas,  many  of  whom,  at  Kars  and 
Erzeroum,  became  deeply  attached  to  him 
andyoungTeesdale — especially  Vassif  Pasha, 
the  new  mutessarif,  and  Kerim  and  Tabia 
Pashas. 

The  doings  of  the  English  commissioners 
at  Kars  and  Erzeroum  soon  became  known 
at  Russian  head-quarters,  and  produced 
considerable  uneasiness  there,  though  it 
was  not  expected  that  the  Turks  would 
take  the  offensive.  Still,  it  was  evident 
that  the  presence  of  the  English  commis- 
sioners was  exercising  a  great  influence 
amongst  the  Turks ;  and  that  any  advance 


\ 


V  - 


A.D.  1855.] 


KUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[attack  on  kaus. 


of  the  Russian  army  would  be  met  far  more 
energetically  and  intelligently  than  during 
the  last  campaign.  It  was,  therefore,  de- 
cided to  replace  General  Bebutoff  by  General 
Mouravieff,  an  officer  who  had  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  tactical  qualities 
during  the  war  in  the  Caucasus,  under 
Prince  WoronzofF.  His  appearance  in  the 
Caucasus  was  the  signal  for  renewed 
activity  on  the  part  of  the  Russians,  as  far 
as  the  severity  of  the  Caucasian  winter 
would  allow.  Instead  of  relying  only  on 
their  forts,  columns  and  troops  perpetually 
traversed  the  country  in  preconcerted  move- 
ments; and  with  such  success  were  these 
operations  conducted,  that  Schamyl  and  his 
followers  were  more  or  less  confined  to  their 
mountain  fastnesses. 

This  renewed  activity  on  the  part  of  the 
Russians  decided  the  British  government 
to  reinforce  Colonel — or  rather,  as  he  now 
had  become — General  Williams's  staff,  with 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Lake,  Major  Olpherts, 
and   Captain   Thompson.      Between   them 
they  put  both  Kars   and  Erzeroum  in  an 
efficient  state  of  defence,  the  Turks  having 
been  judiciously  frightened  into  hard  work 
by  accounts  of  General  Mouravieff's  inten- 
tions to  attack  them  with  all  the  forces  at 
his  command.     By  the  beginning  of  June, 
they    succeeded    in    raising    a    force    of 
17,000  men ;  whilst  Mouravieff,  who  had 
most  judiciously   employed    his    time   in 
assuring  the  safety  of  his  men,  had  brought 
tip    lis  offensive  force  to  28,000  infantry 
and  10,000  cavalry,  with  the  proportionate 
amount  of  field-artillery,  besides   a   siege 
train  of  heavy  guns.     With  this  force  he 
advanced   upon   Kars,  which  the  Turkish 
pashas  wanted  to  abandon,  or,  at  any  rate, 
not  to  limit  their  whole  endeavours  to  the 
defence  of  the  place.     They  argued  that 
it    would   ultimately   be   obliged   to   suc- 
cumb, and  looked  upon  Williams's  decision 
to  hold  it  as  bad  strategy,  they  preferring 
to  let  the  Russians  advance  till  they  should 
be  obliged  to  split  up  their  forces,  and  thus 
present  an  easy  prey  to  the  attacks  of  the 
Turkish   columns.      The    Turks,   in    fact, 
wanted   to  lead   the   Russians   away  from 
their    basis    of    operations,  and   entangle 
them   in  the    interior,   feeling    sure   that 
Mouravieff   would    not    receive    sufficient 
reinforcements  to  cover  any  extended  ad- 
vance. "Whether  this  view  was   right   or 
wrong  has  been  and  is  a  disputed  question. 
If  the  Turks  could  have  been   depended 
upon  for  a  long  and  enduring  resistance. 


the  pashas  were  right,  and  General  Williams 
wrong.  But  that  is  a  very  big  "  if  ;'* 
though,  at  the  same  time,  it  may  be  laid 
down  as  an  axiom,  that  no  commander  of  a 
field  army  can  be  justified  in  shutting  him- 
self up  in  a  fortress  unless  he  is  quite  sure 
of  being  speedily  relieved,  especially  when, 
as  in  the  case  of  Kars,  there  is  an  in- 
sufficiency of  provisions  and  ammunition. 
On  the  whole,  the  defence  of  Kars,  brave 
as  it  was,  can  scarcely  be  regarded  other- 
wise than  as  an  error,  both  from  a  military 
as  well  as  a  political  point  of  view. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  Mouravieff  having 
broken   up   his  camp  at   Gumri,    General 
Williams  transferred  his  head -quarters  from 
Erzeroum  to  Kars.     This  place  is  situated, 
as  our  engraving  very  well  shows,  at  the 
foot  of  a  precipitous  range  of  rocky  hills, 
and  stretches  across  the  gorge  which  cuts 
this  range  into  two  portions.     In  front  of, 
or  to  the  south  of  the  town,  lies  a  plain,  in 
which,  as  our  engraving  shows,  the  Rus- 
sians  dug   their   trenches.     This  plain   is 
bounded  on  the  other  side  by  hills,  com- 
manding the  town,  on  which  Colonel  Lake 
erected  several  outworks;  whilst  the  hills 
behind   the   town  were  protected   by  two 
works   on   each   side   of  the  gorge,  called 
Arab    Tabia   and    Teesdale    Redoubt,   the 
western  extremity  being  defended  by  Vali 
Pasha  Tabia.     All  these  works  were  con- 
nected with  the  fortifications  in  the  plain 
by  a  series  of  breastworks.     On  June  the 
16th,   1855,  the  Russians  advanced,  and 
driving  in  the  Turkish  pickets,  advanced 
in  three  columns  of  infantry,  preceded  by 
three  regiments  of  Cossacks,  and  flanked  by 
three   of  dragoons,   with   six   batteries   of 
eight   guns   each.      The    Turkish   cavalry 
retired  till  within  a  thousand  yards  of  their 
own  lines,  when  the  Russian  cavalry  made 
a  desperate  rush  upon  them,  and  completely 
routed    them,  very  nearly   succeeding  in 
entering  the  town  with  the  fugitives,  when 
they  were  checked  by  the  artillery  fire  from 
the  hill  forts,  and  forced  to  fall  back  upon 
the  main  body,  which  then  retired  across 
the  plain,  and  disappeared  over  the  brow  of 
the  southern  hills. 

The  Turks  were  highly  elated  with  this 
success,  which,  however,  was  nothing  more 
than  a  reconnaissance  in  force,  to  support, 
if  events  should  turn  out  propitious,  a 
sudden  coup  de  main.  In  this  they  were 
disappointed,  owing  to  the  precautions 
taken  by  the  defenders.  The  Russians 
therefore  proceeded   to  invest  the  place; 

151 


1 


IHESH  ATTACK  ON  KARS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


A.D.  1855. 


A.D.  1855.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[assault  on  kabs. 


and,  having  large  sums  of  money  at  his 
commanrl,  Mouravieff  was  able  to  secure 
the  service  of  an  admirable  corps  of  spies. 
On  the  29th  of  June,  they  succeeded  in 
seizing  Yenikoi,  where  there  were  large 
stores  of  corn,  intended  for  the  Kars  garri- 
son, and  which  ought  to  have  been  within 
its  walls  instead  of  outside.  All  attempts 
of  the  Kars  garrison  to  provide  food  were 
defeated  by  the  Russians,  who  easily  threw 
back  the  bodies  of  Bashi-Bazouks  in  their 
flash-in-the-pan  sorties,  and  succeeded  in 
lifting  all  the  cattle  and  stores  in  the 
neighbourhood. 

Meanwhile,  leaving  a  force  of  eighteen 
battalions   of  infantry,  three  regiments   of 
cavalry,  and  fifty-four  guns  to  mask  Kars, 
Mouraviefif  advanced  upon  Erzemum,  where 
he,  however,  speedily  saw  that  the  defences 
of  that  place  were  secure  against  a  cowp  de 
main,  and  that,  before  advancing  upon  it 
he   would   be   obliged     to    disengage     his 
troops  before  Kars,  which  could  not  be  done 
until  that  place  had  fallen.     The  officers, 
however,  who  were  left  in  charge  of  the 
blockading   army,  thought   that  it  would 
succumb  to  a  grand  assault,  and  advanced 
in  dense  columns  soon  after  dawn  on  the 
7th  of  August ;  they  were  allowed  to  ap- 
proach within  easy  range   of  the  guns  of 
the    Karli    Tabia    and    Kanadagh   works, 
when  fire  was  opened  upon  them  so  briskly 
and   continuously   that   their    ranks   were 
literally  ploughed  through  by  round  shot 
and  shell,  and  forced  them  to  abandon  the 
attack;  for  which,  by  the  way,  the  com- 
mander was  severely  censured  by  Moura- 
vieff when  he  returned  from  his  reconnais- 
sance of  Erzeroum  three  days  later,  in  con- 
sequence, partly,  of  the  firm  front  there 
opposed  to  him,  and  partly  on  account  of 
the  news   of    the  unsuccessful    attack  on 
the  7th. 

During  the  month  of  August,  the  Rus- 
sians did  nothing  but  harass  the  garrison 
with  alertes  and  skirmishes  whilst  drawing 
their  lines  closer  and  closer  round  the  place, 
and  cutting  off  all  supplies,  besides  getting 
a  train  of  battering  guns  into  position  to 
the  north-west  of  the  town,  so  that  it  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  General  Williams 
could  even  send  a  messenger  to  Erzeroum. 
This  he  did  on  the  1st  of  September,  send- 
ing a  despatch  to  Consul  Brant,  which  he 
received  five  days  later,  and  wherein  it  was 
stated  that  the  soldiers  were  reduced  to 
half  allowances  of  bread  and  meat,  and 
that  the  population  itself  was  on  the  verge 
152 


of  starvation  ;  and  that  under  no  circum- 
stances  whatever    would    they  be  able  to 
hold  out  for  more  than  two  months  longer. 
This  and  other  unceasing  representations 
by  General  Williams,   regarding  the  state 
of   Kars,   and   the    threatening   aspect   of 
Mouravieff 's  forces  and  resources,  began  to 
work  upon  the  fears  of  the  Porte  and  the 
British  government  as   to   the    possibility 
of  an    advance   by  the  Russians   through 
Asia    Minor    upon    Constantinople ;     and 
much  disputation  took  place  between   the 
Foreign  Offices  at  Paris  and  London,  the 
Porte  at  Constantinople,  and  the  generals 
in  the  Crimea ;  which  dragged  on  its  weary 
length  from  June  to  September,  as    each 
party  had    very  different  views  upon   the 
subject.     The  Porte  wished  for  a  demon- 
stration  in    Asia   Minor,   and   wanted    its 
troops  reinforced  there;    but  also  wanted 
to  conduct  the  campaign  on  its  own  system, 
of  which  the  unconditional  holding  did  not 
form  a  part.      They  wanted,   in  short,  to 
carry   the  war  into   the    enemy's   country, 
and    operate  in   the  rear   of    Mouravieff's 
army — a  plan  which    they  thought  would 
inflict  considerable  damage  on  the  Russians, 
whilst,  at  the  same  time,  forcing  Mouravieff 
to  withdraw  his  forces  from  Asia  Minor, 
and   retire  within   his  own  borders.     This 
Omar  Pasha  wished  to  accomplish  by  with- 
drawing   20,000   or    30,000  of   the  Turks 
before  Sebastopol  and  Eupatoria,  and,  land- 
ing with  them  at  Souchum   Kaleh  or  Re- 
doubt Kaleh,  march  upon  Tiflis,  which  he 
expected  would  fall  into  his  hands  without 
difficulty.     Having   accomplished  this,  he 
would  then  fall  upon   Gumri  and  Alexan- 
dropol,  and  cut  off   Mouravieff's  retreat, 
takins:   him   between   his  own   forces   and 
those   of    Kars,    Erzeroum,   and    Batoum. 
The    plan   was   a   genial   one,  and  would 
probably  have  succeeded.     But  whilst  the 
London    Foreign    Office    and   War    Office 
thouf^ht  it  would  be  much  safer  for  Omar 
Pasha  to  advance  in  the  rear  of  the  Turkish 
forces  at  Erzeroum  by  way  of  Trebizonde, 
and  face  Mouravieff  in  front,  instead  of  on 
his   flank  and  rear,   the    generals   in  the 
Crimea  were  dead  against  any  diminution 
of  the  forces  before  Sebastopol  and  at  Eupa- 
toria.    In  this  they  were  strongly  supported 
by  Napoleon,  who  saw  that  the  end  was 
approaching  with  the  final  fall  of  Sebasto- 
pol ;  and,  wearied  with  this  particular  war, 
did  not  wish  to  risk  having  it  prolonged  by 
any   weakening   of    the   forces   which    his 
generals  protested  against.     Thus  matters 


dragged  on  and  on,  till  Omar  Pasha,  pro- 
ceeding to  Constantinople,  after  having 
had  anything  but  an  amicable  interview 
with  the  allied  generals,  obtained  the  con- 
sent of  the  Porte  and  the  other  powers  to 
carry  his  plan  into  execution ;  but  it  was 
not  until  the  middle  of  September  that  he 
landed  at  Batoum,  and  began  organising 
the  forces  there  under  Mustafa  Pasha ;  and 
the  3rd  of  October  before  he  reached 
Suchoum  Kaleh,  when  of  course  it  was  too 
late  to  save  Kars. 

Meanwhile,  Mouravieff,   who   was    kept 
well  informed  of  all  that  was  going  on,  con- 
tinued to  blockade  Kars  most  vigorously, 
whilst  General  Williams  was  greatly  ha- 
rassed and  worried  by  the  dissatisfaction  of 
the  redif,  or  militia,  and  by  their  constant 
desertions  to  the  enemy,  who  not  only  paid 
them  well,  but  allowed  them  to  return  to 
their  homes,  whence  they  had  been  taken. 
In  the  face  of  all  this  treachery  within  and 
without  the  walls,  famine  staring  them  in 
the  face,  and  the  enemy  quietly  waiting 
his  opportunity,  whilst  his  cavalry  scoured 
the   plains    under    their    very  noses,   the 
defenders  of  Kars   could  do  nothing  but 
strengthen  their  defences.     This  they  did 
very  effectively,  converting  their  chief  open 
works   into    closed   works,  and   protecting 
them  still   further  with  trous  de  loup — 
horse-holes — against    any  cavalry  attacks. 
September  thus  gradually  wore  on  amidst 
vain  hopes  of  relief,  raised  by  rumours  and 
assurances    of    speedy  relief    from    Omar 
Pasha;  all  these  hopes  being  greatly  in- 
tensified when,  on  the  23rd  of  September, 
a  Georgian,  Aislen  Aga,  deserted  from  the 
Russians,  and  brought  in  the  news  of  the 
fall  of  Sebastopol.     There  was  great  joy  at 
this  news  in  Kars,  and  a  salute  was  ordered 
to  be  fired  from  the  castle ;  but  as  soon  as 
the  first  shot  had  been  discharged,  a  Rus- 
sian regiment  and  a  couple  of  batteries  at 
once  opened  fire  on  Hafiz  Pasha  Tabia,  in 
order  to  drown  the  salute,  and  prevent  its 
being  heard  by  the  Russian  army. 

Mouravieff  very  craftily  took  advantage 
of  this  news.  He  rightly  calculated  that 
what  with  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Sebas- 
topol, and  that  Omar  Pasha  was  trying  to 
come  to  the  relief  of  Kars,  the  opinion 
would  be  formed  within  the  town,  that  he, 
Mouravieff,  would  probably  raise  the  siege. 
This  idea  he  did  his  best  to  foster  by 
resorting  to  a  favourite  Russian  stratagem — 
that  of  packing  up  his  baggage  and  sending 
it  off,  apparently  to  Gumri.  "  Even  by  the 
VOL.  II.  X 


light  of  lanterns  the  arabas  moved  on  that 
road  all  last 'night"  (27th  September), 
as  General  Williams  wrote.  Armies  are 
not  in  the  habit  of  conducting  their  opera- 
tions, whether  for  an  attack  or  a  retreat,  by 
the  light  of  lanterns  within  view  of  an 
enemy:  and  that  General  Williams'  san- 
guine expectations  and  hopes  did  not  allow 
him  to  relax  for  one  moment  his  extreme 
vigilance,  speaks  more  for  his  military 
qualities  than  anything  else ;  and  when 
Mouravieff  commenced  his  grand  attack,  he 
found  the  Turks  well  prepared  to  receive 
him,  owing  considerably  to  the  precautions 
taken  by  Ismail  Pasha  (General  Kmety) 
who  never  believed  for  one  moment  that 
Mouravieff  would  raise  the  siege  before 
assaulting  the  place.  ^ 

About  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  29th  of  September,  1855,  the  outposts 
heard  the  rumbling  of  artillery — a  sound 
unmistakable    by   those    who    have    once 
heard  it — and  reported  the  fact  to  Kmety, 
who  at  once  marshalled  his  men,  passed  on 
the  alarm,  and  sent  out  some  riflemen  to 
obtain  information,  the  utter  darkness  of 
the  morning  preventing  the  garrison  from 
seeing  beyond   a  few  yards.     About   four 
o'clock  the  scouts  returned,  and  reported 
that   the  enemy  was  advancing.     At  this 
juncture,  one  of  the  men,  Hussein  by  name, 
a  Kurd,  remarkable  for  his  powers  of  vision 
in   the   dark,  perceived   the   head   of  the 
advancing  column,  upon  which  a  gun  was  at 
once   brought    to   bear,   and    a    plunging 
volley  of  grape  poured  into  the  ranks  of 
the   astonished   Russians,  who,  coming  to 
surprise,  were   thus   grievously  caught   in 
their   own   trap.      They,  however,  rushed 
forward  without  delay,  and  soon  the  attack 
extended  all  along  the  line ;  but,  when  day- 
break permitted  it,  the  defenders  saw  that 
the  chief  attack  was  being  made  on  the 
Tamasp  lines  and  Fort  Lake.     The  resist- 
ance was  most  determined,  and  cannonade 
and    fusil  ade   resounded    in   an   unbroken 
roar.    The  Russians,  still  advancing  in  dense 
columns,  of  which  the  heads  were  succes- 
sively swept  away,  but  without  deterring 
them  from  advancing  and  overlapping  both ' 
the  right  and  the  left  of  the  Tamasp  lines, 
succeeded  in  getting  to  the  rear,  which  they 
had  hoped  to  find  open,  and  in  this  hope 
liad   spent   so   much   blood.  "^  When   they 
found   that   such  was   not  the  case,  they 
formed  on  the  plateau,  and  poured  volley 
upon  volley  of  musketry  upon  the  rear  of 
the  works  they  had  turned,  but  could  not 

153 


,'i 


« 

4  ; 


,r 


J 


4' 


REPUT^E   OF  THE  RUSSIANS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1855. 


enter,  the  horse-holes  also  greatly  impeding 
their  movements.  Before  they  could  get 
their  artillery  into  position,  they  were 
raked  "fore  and  aft "  by  no  less  than  three 
forts  or  batteries;  all  these  outworks  having 
been   so  constructed  as  to  command  each 

other  in  turn. 

Meanwhile    the   attack   had   been   more 
successful   on  the   north    side,    where   the 
Kussians    had     stormed     and     taken    the 
English    batteries,  which,    however,  being 
commanded   by  Fort   Lake,  soon   becanae 
untenable,   and    was    evacuated    by    their 
temporary    occupants.      Thus    the    battle 
rao-ed  on;  a  plunging  fire  of  grape,  canister, 
shell,  and  rifles  met  the  enemy  at  every 
point,    the   guns    being    served   with    the 
utmost  coolness,  composure,  and  dexterity. 
At  last  the  Russians  opened  a  battery  upon 
the  Tamasp  and  Yuksek  redoubts,  whilst 
the  infantry  pushed  still  further  on  in  the 
rear  of  the  entrenchments.     At  this  mo- 
ment  Colonel   Lake    sent    forward    three 
battalions   to    stop   their    advance,    which 
being  concealed  from   the   enemy  by  the 
nature  of  the  ground,  confronted  him  at  a 
most  opportune  moment.     They  deployed, 
opened  their  fire,  which  at  once  checked 
the  advance,  and   then  charged  with  the 
bayonet,  driving  them  steadily  back,  when 
Teesdale  and  Kmety  led  their  men  out  of 
the   redoubts,   and   charged   them   in   the 
flank.     This  took  place  at  half-past  eleven 
A.M.,  and  within   ten   minutes   the  whole 
force  was  in  full  retreat,  raked  on  every 
side   by   a   plunging    cross-fire    that   laid 
them    low   by   the   hundred.     Thus,  after 
seven  hours'  determined  fighting,  at  what 
may  be  called  closest  quarters,  the  Russians 
were   signally  repulsed.     They   left   6,000 
dead  on  the  field — of  which  363  were  within 
the  English  batteries— and  160   prisoners 
and  wounded  in  the  hands  of  the  victors, 
whose  losses  were  very  small,  considering 
the   sanguinary   nature    of    the    struggle. 
They   amounted   to    362    killed   and    631 
wounded ;  the  townspeople,  who  joined  in 
the  defence,  losing  101. 

In  spite  of  this  crushing  repulse,  how- 
ever, Mouravieff  did  not  abandon  the  siege. 
On  the  contrary,  he  conducted  the  blockade 
with  more  stringency  than  ever,  and  proved 
his  intention  of  not  moving  till  Kars  had 
fallen  by  hutting  his  soldiers,  who  were  then 
well  cared  for  and  well  fed,  whilst  the  gar- 
rison was  rapidly  starving  and  freezing  to 
death,  and  hoping  in  vain  for  succour  from 
Omar  Pasha,  via  Georgia,  or  from  Selim 
154 


Pasha  at  Erzeroum.  But  Omar  Pasha,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  not  able  to  obtain  the 
men  and  supplies  he  required,  or  even  to 
efl'ect  a  footing  at  Suchoum  Kaleh  before 
October ;  and  further  delays  of  one  sort  or 
the  other  interposed,  so  that  he  was  not 
prepared  to  advance  till  the  beginning  of 
November,  and  certainly  had  no  earthly 
prospect  of  being  able  to  reach  Kars 
within  twenty  days,  as  he  wrote  to  Greneral 
Williams.  Selim  Pasha,  who  might  have 
advanced,  also  sent  a  series  of  lying 
despatches  to  Williams,  which  encouraged 
him  to  hold  on;  and  the  only  man  who 
seems  to  have  told  him  the  truth  was  Consul 
Brant,  of  Erzeroum,  who  wrote  as  follows 
to  the  British  ambassador  at  Constantinople 
on  the  18th  of  November: — 

"  I    have    the    honour    to   inform   your 
excellency  that  a  peasant  from  Kars  brought 
me,  to-day,  a  few  lines  from  Greneral  Wil- 
liams, of  the  12th.     The  general  evidently 
seems  to  be  in  the  belief  that  Selim  Pasha 
has  received  the  troops  promised,  of  whose 
arrival   at  Trebizonde,    however,   we   have 
heard  nothing,  and  his  excellency  has  re- 
quested both  Major  Stewart  and  myself  to 
entreat  your  excellency  to  hasten  their  ex- 
pedition.    A  colonel  arrived  with  a   long 
letter  from  his  excellency  Vassif  Pasha  to 
Selim  Pasha.     The  precise  contents  of  this 
letter  I  do  not  know,  but  the  object  was  to 
urge   on   his   excellency    to   the   relief    of 
the  garrison.      Selim  Pasha  inspected  his 
troops  yesterday,  and  they  mustered  between 
5,000    and    6,000    infantry;    most   of   the 
cavalry  were  on  duty  at  the  outposts;  they 
will  amount  to  almost  2,000,  chiefly  regu- 
lars ;  and  besides  these  they  could  collect 
1,500  or  2,000  Bashi-Bazouks,  if  not  more. 
The  troops  are  in  good  health,  well  armed 
and  clothed,  and  have  lately  received  four 
months*  pay;  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying,  that  such  a  force,  under  an  active 
and  brave  general,  could  relieve  Kars ;  but 
I  have  seen  enough  of  Selim  Pasha  to  have 
discovered  that  he  is   neither   active,  nor 
energetic,   nor   brave,    and     I    have   long 
feared  that  he  would  not  advance.     He  has 
a  new  excuse  for  delay  every  day ;  to-day  it 
was  that  he  must  wait  a  change  of  weather. 
It  is  much  finer  than  we  had  any  reason 
to  expect  at  this  season ;  beautifully  clear, 
though  a  little  cold  at  night ;  and  I  can 
only  say,  that  as  finer  weather  cannot  be  ex- 
pected before  next  summer,  it  is  evident  his 
excellency  will  not  leave  Erzeroum.   *    *    * 
The  Russians  cannot  have  many  troops  be- 


\ 


.       T 
I'       ) 


I 


3 


i 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


A.D.   1855.] 

fore  Kars ;  I  should  think  not  more  than 
22,000,  and  tliey  are  discouraged,  and  have 
no  heart  to  fight ;  but  in  the  camp,  it  is 
said    that    General    Mouravieff    is    of    so 
obstinate  a  character    that   he  will  never 
abandon  the  siege,  even  though  he  shovild 
risk  his  own  life  and  the  destruction  of   his 
whole  army  by  a  desperate  assault,  or  by 
frost  or  famine.     He  has   put   his  troops 
into  huts,  which  are  well  constructed,  and, 
having  plenty  of  firewood,  they  can  stand 
the  frost  for  some  time  yet— and  too  long, 
alas!    for   the   safety   of    the   garrison   at 
Kars,  which  in  the  last  extremity  can  do 
nothing  but  surrender ;  for,  without  cavalry, 
and  without  horses   for   their   guns,  they 
could    never,    I    imagine,    cut    their    way 
through  the  enemy,  who  is  still  superior  in 
numbers,  taking  into  account  his  numerous 
cavalry  and  artillery.     Omar  Pasha  is  too 
slow  in  his  movements  to  hope  anything 
from  him.     About  twelve  days  ago  his  ex- 
cellency was  still  on  the  coast,  and,  although 
he  had  gained  a  victory,  I  suppose  he  will 
require  time  before  he  can  resume  his  ad- 
vance." .  J 
Consul   Brant's   prognostications  turned 

out  quite  correct ;    and  on   the   foUowmg 
day  he  received  a   letter  from  \Villiams 
showincr  that  he   too   had  abandoned   all 
hope,  and  that  he  would  try  to  retreat  over 
the  mountains,  via  Olti,  when  he  could  no 
longer  hold  out,  which  could  not  fail  to  be 
very  soon ;  for,  by  that   time,  there  had 
been   no   animal    food  except   horse-flesh, 
which  the  Moslems  would  not  eat,  for  more 
than  seven  weeks.     A  faint  hope  was  raised, 
on  the  12th  of  November,  by  the  arrival  ot 
a  despatch  from  Selim  Pasha,  stating  that 
he  had  defeated  the  Russians  near  Bazajet, 
and   was   advancing   on   Kars;    and,   lour 
days  later,  cannon   having   been  heard  in 
the    direction   of    Ardahan,    the    garrison 
fondly    believed    succour    was    nigh,   and 
actually  proposed  a  sortie  to  assist  the  ap- 
proaching army,  which,  however,  never  ap- 
proached.    On  the  20th,  Williams  debated 
in  council   as  to   the   practicability   of  a 
retreat   over   the   mountains ;   but    it  was 
a<^reed  that,  in  their  weak  state,  and  unpro- 
vided   with    cavalry,   or   horses   for   their 
artillery,  the  attempt  would  be  disastrous 
in  the  tace  of  12,000  Russian  cavalry.     On 
the  23rd,  the  Russians  threw  a  few  shells 
into    the    camp   at   Karli   Tabia,  and   an 
attack    being    considered    imminent,    the 
troops  were  called  under  arms,  but  only  a 
few  dozen  responded  to   the  call.     Snow 


[SURTIENDER  OF  HAllS. 


had  already  fallen,  and  the   men   lay   all 
'  about  the  ground,  dead,  dying,  or  numbed 
and  motionless  from  the  effects  of  cold  and 
hunger   conjoined.      A    few   battalions    of 
Russians  might,  on  that  day,  have  taken 
the  place.     Finally,   the  same  morning  a 
despatch  arrived  from  Selim  Pasha,  saying 
that  he  would  have  left  Erzeroum  on  the 
16th,    and   would   speedily   be   under  the 
walls  of  Kars;  but  this  atrocious  lie  was 
counter-balanced    by    a    note    of    Consul 
Brant's,  in  cipher,  stating—"  Selim  Pasha 
will  not  advance,  though  Major  Stuart  is 
doing  his  best  to  make  him.     Omar  Pasha 
has  "scarcely    advanced    beyond    Suchoum 
Kaleh.     I  fear  you  have  no  hope  but  in 
yourselves;    you   can   depend   on  no  help 
from  this  quarter." 

This   despatch   was    clear   and   decided. 
Williams  quickly  made  up  his  mind  what 
to  do  ;  called  a  council  of  war,  and  laid  the 
facts  before  the  pashas  and  the  rest  of  the 
British   officers.      They    all    agreed    that 
further  resistance  was  useless  ;  and  that,  as 
a    retreat   had    already   been    pronounced 
impossible,   nothing   remained   but  a  sur- 
render.     The   soldiers  were  dying   at   the 
rate   of    100    a-day   of    starvation    alone. 
They  were    mere   skeletons,   incapable   of 
fighting   or   flying.     The  women   brought 
their  children   to    the   general's   barn   for 
food,    and    there    they    left  them;     and 
the   city   was   strewed  with  the  dead  and 

dying. 

Thus,  on  the  24th,  Major  Teesdale  was 
[sent,  under   a  flag   of  truce,  to    General 
Mouravieff,  to  arrange  for  a  meeting  be- 
tween him  and  Greneral  Williams  to  settle 
upon  the  terms  of  surrender.     The  inter- 
view was  agreed  to,  and  the  following  day 
the  two  generals  met,  and  the  capitulation 
signed;    the   garrison   marching  out  with 
the  honours  of  war,  and  becoming  prison- 
ers ;    the   officers   retaining   their   swords. 
On 'the   28th  the  garrison  marched  out; 
8,000  becoming  prisoners  of  war,  and  6,000 
irregular  troops  allowed  to  depart. 

Thus  ended  the  siege  of  Kars,  Nov.  28th, 
1855 ;  and,  with  this  episode,  the  interest 
of  the  war  in  Asia  Minor  came  to  an  end. 
Of  Omar  Pasha's  expedition  into  the  Cau- 
casus, which  could  have  no  importance 
except  as  a  diversion  for  the  relief  of 
Kars,  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  more  than 
that  it  was  a  complete  failure,  and  forced 
to  retreat  back  to  the  sea-coast.  As  to  the 
influence  of  this  movement  of  Omar  Pasha 
on  afl'airs  before  Kars,  the  following  words 

155 


\^>-< 


CONTINENTAL   POLITICS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1855. 


of  General  Mouravieff  himself  will  best 
show.  He  said:— "As  soon  as  I  found 
Omar  Pasha  at  Suchoum  Kaleh,  I  had  no 


doubt  of  the  result  of  the  campaign.  I 
was  much  obliged  to  Omar  Pasha  for  going 
in  that  direction." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

rONTiyPNTVL     POLICY    IN    THE   SPRING    OF     1855;     PROFFERED    MEDIATION    OF     AUSTRIA;     FURTHER 
TREATrBETW^^^^^  AND    THE    ALLIES;      TREATY    BETWEEN     SARDINIA     AND     THE     ALLIES; 

DEpIrTURE    of    SARDINIAN    TROOPS    FOR    THE    CRIMEA;    ANOTHER   CONFERENCE   AT    VIENNA,    MARCH 
TO   APRIL,    1855. 


As  it  became  evident  that  the  reduction  of 
Sebastopol  and  humiliation  of  Russia  was  a 
more  difficult  task  than  was  imagined,  and 
as  the  easy  success  of  the  Turkish  army  on 
the  Danube  had  seemed  to  foreshadow,  the 
allies  left  no  stone  unturned  to  secure  the 
more    effectual    co-operation    of    Austria. 
They  were  able  to  work  upon  the  Austrians 
by  the  fact  of  the  real  intentions  of  Russia 
having  at  last  been  demonstrated  to  have 
been  the  annexation  of  the  Danubian  prin- 
cipalities,  Moldavia  and   Wallachia.     The 
possession,    however,    of    these    provinces 
would  have  been  a  standing  menace  against 
the  Austrian  empire ;  and  thus  the  Aus- 
trian government  were  far  more  inclined  to 
co-operate  with  the  allies,  than  would  have 
been   the   case   had    there   not   been   this 
danger.     At  the  same  time,  however,  Aus- 
tria was  very  much  disinclined  to  risk  turn- 
in  (^  Russia  from  a  lukewarm  and  interested 
fri'end  into  a  declared  enemy.     As  usual, 
she    endeavoured    to   play   the    dangerous 
o-ame  of  serving  two  masters. 
^  At  this  stage  of  indecision,  the  balance 
was  turned  in  favour  of  the  allies,  partly 
from  a  jealousy  of  Germany— Prussia— the 
court  and  nobility  of  which  were  in  favour 
of   Russia;  and  partly  on  account  of  the 
urgent  remonstrances  of  the  Vatican,  the 
pope  feeling  bound  to    support  Napoleon 
III.,  as  he  had  ostensibly  taken  up  arnas 
for  the  protection,  and  to  insist  on  the  pri- 
vileges, of  the  Catholics  in  the  East,  whose 
liberties  the  Russian  emperor  and  church 
had  assailed.     As  far  as  Austria  was  con- 
cerned, the  war  had  now  become  a  religious 
war,  in  which  the  Catholic  and  Romanic 
races  were  ranged  on  the  one  side,  in  the 
persons  and  armies  of  Napoleon  III.  and 
the  Emperor  Franz  Joseph,  against  Ortho- 
156 


dox  Russia  and  Protestant  Prussia  on  the 
other,  in  the  persons  of  the  Czar  and  King 
Frederick  William.  The  fruits  of  the  seed 
then  sown  have  since  become  apparent  in 
the  Austro-Prussian  war,  the  unification  of 
Italy,  and  the  Franco-German  war.  AH  these 
events  have  sprung  from  the  principles 
formed  during  the  Crimean  war.  Could 
Austria  have  seen  into  the  future,  she  would 
probably  have  been  as  decidedly  in  favour 
of  Russia,  as  she  ultimately  was  against  her. 
But  the  future  was  then  hidden ;  and,  owing 
to  the  influences  we  have  pointed  out,  she 
drew  more  towards  the  allies  in  proportion 
as  she  became  convinced  of  the  true  inten- 
tions of  Russia  in  reference  to  Roumania ; 
and  as  Frederick  William  and  the  Prus- 
sian "Junkers" — nobility — drew  closer  to 

Russia. 

It  is  advisable  here  to  point  out  the 
nature  of  the  relations  between  Prussia  and 
Russia.  History  is  made  up  of  a  succession 
of  dramas;  and  the  Germano-Muscovite 
drama  not  being  played  out  yet,  a  know- 
ledge of  the  foregoing  acts  is  necessary  for 
the  proper  comprehension  of  the  final  act 
that  is  now  (1877)  being  played  by  Prince 
Bismarck  and  Prince  Gortchakoff— by  uncle 
and  nephew,  the  German  emperor,  William 
III.,  and  the  Russian  czar,  Alexander  11. 

The  great  idea  of  the  Germans  has  been 
national  unity.  This  idea  they  have  carried 
with  them,  and  carried  out  in  all  countries 
of  an  inferior  civilisation  to  their  own. 
Where  the  civilisation  has  been  of  a  higher 
political  character,  they  have  assimilated 
themselves  easily  with  the  population  of 
the  country  of  their  adoption,  and  merged 
their  own  interests,  hopes,  and  fears  with 
those  of  this  population.  Such  has  been 
the   case  in   America  and  England.      In 


m\. 


A.D.  1855."'t 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [Austria  and  Prussia. 


countries  of  a  lower  civilisation,  they  have 
formed  isolated  groups,  hanging  closely  to- 
gether, and  strictly  observing  their  national 
habits   and  customs.     Such  has  been  the 
case  in  Hungary  and  Russia,  where  the  pro- 
vinces of  Sibenbiirgen  and  Kurland  have 
remained  essentially  German,  without  any, 
or  scarcely  any,  admixture  with  the  sur- 
rounding  elements.     But  when  the  Ger- 
mans came  in  contact  with  races  possessing 
a  state-constitution,  as  powerful   as  their 
own,  and  in  as  high  a  state  of  civilisation, 
but  both  animated  by  principles  opposed 
to  their  own,  endless  conflicts  arose ;  as,  for 
instance,  in  Italy  and  France.    In  the  latter 
country  a  curious  compromise  was  effected, 
and    German    and   Frenchman   united   in 
forming  the  Alsatian,  a  people  combining 
some  of  the  qualities  of  both  races,  yet  not 
to  be  identified  with  either.     The  process, 
in  fact,  resulted  in  the  production  of  a  dis- 
tinct family,  both  process  and  result  re- 
sembling very  much  the  fusion  and  unifica- 
tion of  the  various  races  that  produced  the 
Englishman.     In  Italy,  on  the  other  hand, 
the^opposing  elements  were  so  anti-pathetic 
to  each  other  that  no  fusion  whatever  took 
place.     There  was  an  endless  conflict  be- 
tween them  for  centuries,  that  did  not  cease 
till  1866,  when  the  Germans  finally  gave 
up  the  struggle,  and  retired  before  the  great 
majority  of  the  Italian  people.     So  strong 
is  this  reciprocal  feeling  still,  that  where 
the  forces  are  equal,  yet  there  is  no  fusion ; 
and  the  Italian  populations  of  Switzerland 
are  as  far  from  amalgamation  with  the  Ger- 
man inhabitants  of  the  same  state  as  they 
were  centuries  ago. 

Thus  has  arisen  the  great  Romano-Teu- 
tonic conflict ;  the  war  between  the  Latin 
and  Teutonic  races  and  principles  that  has 
closed  one  of  its  epochs  with  the  bloody 
struggle  of  1870. 

This  conflict,  however,  does  not  further 
concern  us ;  but  a  similar  drama  is  being 
performed  on  the  western  confines  of  Rus- 
sia, the  nature  of  which  must  be  explained 
in  order  to  comprehend  many  events  that 
have  materially  affected  the  policy  of  Rus- 
sia, and  will  affect  it  still  more  powerfully 
as  the  struggle  increases  in  intensity. 

In  addition  to  the  Baltic  provinces,  Kur- 
land, Livonia,  and  Esthonia,  in  which  the 
dominating  population  is  German,  there 
are  thousands  upon  thousands  scattered 
through  the  Russian  empire,  who  took  up 
their  abocie  in  the  country  in  a  very  great 
measure  on  the  strength  of  such  invitations 


and  privileges  as  have  been  recorded  on  a 
former  page.*     Always  an  object  of  envy, 
frequently  of  hatred,  these  Germans  have 
succeeded  in  obtaining  and  wielding  an  im- 
mense  influence   on  Russian  affairs,  both 
home  and  foreign,  and  also  in  preserving 
friendly   relations   with   Germany.     These 
relations  were  still  further  cemented  by  the 
intermarriage  of  members  of  the  royal  fami- 
lies of  Russia  and  Germany ;  and  as  long  as 
the  governments  of  both  countries  were  of 
a  despotic  nature,  they  mutually  assisted 
each  other  in  the  suppression  of  any  insur- 
rectionary movements.     Such  was  the  case 
when  events  led  to  the  partition  of  Poland ; 
and  when  Nicholas  I.  helped  to  put  down 
the  Hungarian  rebellion,  though  other  rea- 
sons may  also  have  co-operated  in  deciding 
him   to  that  course  of  action.     All  these 
considerations  powerfully  affected  the  con- 
duct of  Prussia  during  the  Crimean  war. 
She  could  not  break  with  Russia,  because 
she  was  still,   in  many  respects,   suffering 
from  the  effects  of  the  exaltation  of  the 
popular  mind  produced  by   the  events  of 
1848,  and  of  which  she  intended  to  make 
use   as    soon    as    the    opportune    moment 
arrived.     The  leading  Prussian  statesman— 
of  course  always  excepting  the  ultra-con- 
servative, the  younker,  with  his  feudal  ideas 
and  pretensions— plainly  saw  what  an  im- 
mense force  was  surging  and  seething  be- 
neath  the   crust   that   had   partially  been 
broken  through  in  isolated  spots,  even  as 
the  minor  craters  of  a  volcano  spout  forth 
their  fiery  contents  before  the  great  erup- 
tion belches  out  its  irresistible  masses.    They 
foresaw  all  this,  and,  with  great  sagacity, 
determined  not  to  try  to  attempt  to  stem 
the  torrent,  but  to  lead  it,  and  place  them- 
selves at  the  head  of  the  movement. 

But  they  perceived  just  as  plainly  that 
this  procrramme  would  have  to  be  carried 
out  in  the  face  of  Austrian  opposition.  As 
an  intensely  Catholic  power,  Austria  could 
not  but  be  a  bitter  enemy  to  Prussian 
nolicy  in  this  respect ;  and  as  Austria  might 
carry  Bavaria  and  other  Catholic  portions 
of  Germany  with  it,  Prussia  was,  perforce, 
constrained  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
Russia,  whilst  doing  all  she  could  to  weaken 
Austria.  In  point  of  fact,  owing  to  Austria  s 
intimate  relations  with  the  Vatican,  Prussia 

was  obliged,  much  ^g^j^^^.^^^^  ^^^^'.^^^^^^ 
in  many  respects,  to  identify  her  with  the 
Romanic  races  and  principles  with  which 


Page  257,  Vol.  L 


157 


AUSTRIAN  MEDIATION.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1855.    ' 


A.D.  1855.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  VIENNA  NOTE. 


she  was  at  bitter  war.  Hence,  to  isolate 
Austria,  to  entangle  her  in  difficulties,  and 
to  preserve  intimate  relations  with  Russia, 
was  for  Prussia  an  imperative  necessity: 
was,  in  fact,  a  vital  necessity  not  only  for 
Prussia,  but  for  the  whole  of  the  liberal 
world,  and  for  the  emancipation  of  Europe 
from  the  domination  of  the  Vatican  and  its 
principles.  The  fruit  of  the  Reforma- 
tion was  at  stake  :  threatened  and  menaced 
by  the  domineering  pride  that  culminated 
centuries  ago  at  Canossa,  there  was  no  help 
anywhero  but  in  the  sturdy,  unflinching 
spirit  of  Germany, backed,  strangely  enough, 
by  as  despotic  and  hierarchical  a  state  as  ever 
existed  since  history  began  to  chronicle  the 
deeds  of  man. 

This  digression  shows,  plainly  and  truth- 
fully, wha't  were  the  motives  that  actuated 
Austria  and  Prussia  in  their  conduct  during 
the  Crimean  war;  and  may  prevent  some 
of  our  readers  from  being  led  astray  by  in- 
terested invectives  against  either.  It  also 
explains  the  reasons  that  induced  Austria, 
after  the  occupation  of  the  Moldavian  pro- 
vinces, to  offer  her  mediation  to  Russia  on 
the  following  basis : — 

"  1.  That  the  protectorate  exercised 
hitherto  by  Russia,  over  the  principalities 
of  Wallachia,  Moldavia,  and  Servia,  be  ab- 
roo-ated,  and  transferred  to  the  great  powers 

collectively. 

"  2.  That  the  navigation  of  the  Danube 
be  freed  from  all  obstacles. 

"  3.  That  the  treaty  of  the  13th  of  July, 
1841,  be  revised  by  the  contracting  powers 

in  concert. 

"4.  That  Russia  abstain  from  claiming 
an  official  protectorate  over  the  subjects  of 
the  Sublime  Porte;  and  that  the  great 
powers  shall  obtain  from  the  Ottoman  gov- 
ernment the  confirmation  of  the  privileges 
accorded  to  its  Christian  subjects,  without 
any  prejudice  to  the  independence  of  the 

Porte." 

This  note  was  accompanied  by  another, 
reserving  the  right  of  the  allies  to  make 
other  conditions,  which  had  the  effect,  as 
might  have  been  supposed,  of  rendering  the 
first  perfectly  nugatory,  as  the  Austrian 
government  intended  it  should,  they  having 
decided  to  make  such  a  show  of  force  as  to 
impress  Europe  with  the  idea  that  Vienna 
was  mistress  of  the  situation,  and,  in  fact, 
the  arbiter  of  Europe.  And,  in  truth,  she 
made  a  most  imposing  display.  More  than 
400,000  men  were  called  under  arms,  and 
placed  in  various  portions  of  the  empire 
158 


and  the  federal  fortresse^of  Germany.  The 
czar  at  once  made  use  of  this  display  to 
excite  still  more  the  fears  of  Prussia,  and 
addressed  a  note  to  the  Prussian  cabinet, 
stating,  that,  as  the  Eastern  question  might 
occasion  a  rupture  between  the  two  great 
German  states,  and  the  preservation  of 
peace  was  the  czar's  most  heartfelt  desire, 
Russia  was  willing  to  negotiate  on  the  basis 
of  the  note  presented  to  her  by  Austria. 
The  only  difference  between  the  Russian 
articles  and  those  of  the  allies  was  contained 
in  the  2nd  article.     It  proposed — 

"  A  protectorate  of  the  principalities 
exercised  in  common  by  the  five  powers, 
on  the  same  conditions  as  our  (Russian) 
treaties  with  the  Porte  have  stipulated  in 
their  favour,^' 

The  words  which  we  have  underlined  at 
once  condemned  the  whole  note.  Russia, 
had  it  been  accepted,  would  thus  have  ob-^ 
tained,  by  a  side  wind,  all  that  she  went' 
to  war  for,  which  was  the  recognition  of 
certain  treaties,  notably  that  of  Kutschuk- 
Kainerdji. 

As  soon  as  it  became  evident  that  the 

Russian    government    had    not    yet    been 

brought  to  the  proper  point  of  humility, 

the   allies   redoubled   their   endeavours   to 

secure  the  greater  co-operation  of  Austria. 

They  did  not  succeed,  however,  in  obtaining 

more  than  the  acceptation  of  precautionary 

measures,  to  which  Austria  at  last  agreed, 

in   the   conviction    that   the   occasion   for 

carrying  them  out  would  never  arise ;  after 

which  "slie   could    take    credit    to    herself 

towards    Russia    for    her    moderation.      A 

treaty  was  therefore  signed  on  the  2nd  of 

December,  of  which  we  give  the  following 

articles,  as  they  are  so  very  characteristic 

of   Austrian    diplomacy.      There   is   every 

reason   to   believe   that    the    substance   of 

this  treaty  was   communicated   to   Prince 

Gortchakoff  before  Austria  agreed  to  sign 

it,  with  an  assurance  that  care  would  be 

taken  that  no  eventuality  should  arise  to 

obliire  its  bein^:  carried  out  by  Austria.     It 

ran  as  follows : — 

*'  Art.  I. — The  high  contracting  parties 
engage,  mutually  and  reciprocally,  not  to 
enter  into  any  arrangement  with  the  im- 
perial court  of  Russia  without  having  first 
deliberated  thereupon  in  common. 

"  Art.  II. — His  majesty,  the  Emperor  of 
Austria,  having,  in  virtue  of  the  treaty  con- 
cluded on  the  14th  of  June  last  with  the 
Sublime  Porte,  caused  the  principalities  of 
Moldavia  and-  Wallachia  to  be  occupied  by 


his  troops,  he  engages  to  defend  the  frontier 
of  the  said  principalities  against  any  return 
of  the  Russian  forces ;  the  Austrian  troops 
shall,  for  this  purpose,  occupy  the  positions 
necessary  for  guaranteeing  those  principali- 
ties against  any  attack.     Her  majesty,  the 
Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and 
,his  majesty,  the  Emperor  of   the  French, 
having  likewise  concluded  with  the  Sublime 
Porte,   on   the   12th  of  March,   a  treaty, 
which  authorises  them  to  direct  their  forces 
upon  every  part  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  the 
above-mentioned  occupation  shall  not  inter- 
fere with  the  free  movement  of  the  Anglo- 
French  or  Ottoman  troops  upon  the  same 
territories  against  the  military  forces  or  the 
territory  of  Russia.     There  shall  be  formed 
at  Vienna,  between  the  plenipotentiaries  of 
Austria,  France,  and  Great  Britain,  a  com- 
mission, to  which  Turkey  shall  be  invited 
to  send  a  plenipotentiary,  and  which  shall 
be  charged  with  examining  and  regulating 
every  question  relating  either  to  the  excep- 
tional and  provisional  state  in  which  the 
said  principalities  are  now  placed,  or  to  the 
free  passage  of  the  different  armies  across 

their  territory. 

"Art.  III. — In  case  hostilities  break  out 
between  Austria  and  Russia,  her  majesty, 
the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and    Ireland, 
his  majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  and 
his  majesty,  the  Emperor  of  the  French, 
mutually  promise  to  each  other  their  offen- 
sive and  defensive  alliance  in  the  present 
war,  and  will,   for  that   purpose,   employ, 
according  to   the  requirements  of  the  war, 
military  and  naval  forces,  the  number,  de- 
scription, and  destination  whereof  shall,  if 
occasion  should  arise,  be  determined  by  sub- 
sequent arrangements. 

"  Art.  IV.— In  the  case  contemplated  by 
the  preceding  article,  the  high  contracting 
parties  reciprocally  engage  not  to  entertain 
any  overture  or  proposition,  on  the  part  ot 
the  imperial  court  of  Russia,  having  lor  its 
object  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  without 
having  come  to  an  understanding  there- 
upon between  themselves. 

"  Art.  V. — In  case  the  re-establishment 
of  general  peace,  upon  the  basis  indicated 
in  Article  I.,  should  not  be  assured  in  the 
course  of  the  present  year,  her  majesty,  the 
Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  his 
majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  and  his 
majesty,  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  wil 
deliberate,  without  delay,  upon  effectual 
means  for  obtaining  the  object  of  their 
alliance. 


"  Art.  VI. — Great  Britain,  Austria,  and 
France  will  jointly  communicate  the  present 
treaty  to  the  court  of  Prussia,  and  will,  with 
satisfaction,  receive  its  accession  thereto,  in 
case  it  should  promise  its  co-operation  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  common  object." 
The   presentation   of  this   note    by    the 
Austrian  government   to  Prince  Gortcha- 
koff,  the  Russian  ambassador   at  Vienna, 
on  the  28th  of  December,  1854,  naturally 
threw  Prussia  still  more  into  the  arms  of 
Russia;  the  more  so  as  the  German  mer- 
chants were  reaping   a   rich   harvest  from 
the  lucrative  trade  that  they  were  carrying 
on   with    Russia,  and   which  led  to   some 
remonstrances   on  the  part   of    the   allied 
o-overnments;  but  with  no  greater  effect  than 
an  increase  of  caution  in  the  transactions  in 
contraband  of  war. 

Whilst  these  were  the  relations  between 
the   great    continental   powers,    the   same 
principles  to  which  we  have  alluded  as  agi- 
tating Europe  were  also  acknowledged,  and 
their  importance  recognised,  by  one  of  the 
most  successful  statesmen  of  modern  times. 
Cavour,  the  minister   of  Victor  Emanuel, 
the  King  of  Sardinia,  felt  that  the  situation 
of  Italy*  was  precisely   similar  to   that  of 
Germany.     The  year  '48  had  also  left  its 
mark    in   Italy;    and    like    the    Prussian 
statesman,  he,' too,  resolved  not  to  oppose 
the  gathering  forces,  but  to  lead  them,  to 
organise  them,  and  use  them  for  the  unifi- 
cation of  Italy.     The     papal    government 
and  its  allies  were,  to  the  House  of  Savoy 
and  liberal  principles,  what  Austria  and  the 
House  of  Hapsburg  were  to  Prussia  and  the 
House  of  Hohenzollern  ;  whilst  Austria  was 
to  Italy — as  a  possible    enemy — what  Rus- 
sia was  to  Prussia.     But  there  was  a  differ- 
ence in  the  relations  between  Austria  and 
Italy,  as  regarded  the  matter  in  question, 
which   Cavour   at   once    appreciated   with 
rare   tact.      Had    Austria,     then    in   pos- 
session of  a  large  part  of  Italy,  been  able  to 
preserve  a  strict  neutrality,  or  had  abstained 
from   entering  into  an   alliance,    however 
equivocal,  with  the  allies,  she  would  have 
been  easily  able  to  prevent  Sardinia  from 
takincr  any  prominent  part  in  the  war,  or 
the  necrotiations  accompanying  and  arising 
out  of ''it.     But  as  she  had   already  so   far 
compromised     herself    with    France     and 
England,   she  could  not,  by   any  possible 
means,  exclude  Sardinia  from  the  alliance 
she   herself  had  joined   in,  although   she 
knew    perfectly   well    that  the   principles 
animating  Cavour  and  his  sovereign  were 
"^  159 


,      A 


^^^--^  a; 


RUSSIAN  NOTE.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1855. 


diametrically  opposed  to  the  interests  of 
Austria  and  the  principles  of  the  Austrian 
government  as  then  understood.  This 
dilemma  was  eagerly  made  use  of  by  Ca- 
vour  as  the  first  step  towards  the  reali- 
sation of  his  long-cherished  plans  in  re- 
gard to  the  unification  of  Italy ;  and  on 
the  26th  of  January,  1855,  a  treaty  was 
signed,  admitting  the  King  of  Sardinia  into 
the  alliance  formed  by  England  and 
France;  which  was  ratified  fully  on  the 
4th  of  March  following.  '^ 

The  Russian   government  had  been  ac- 
quainted with  the  negotiations  carried  on 
previous  to  the  ratification   of  the  treaty, 
and   endeavoured    to    weaken    the    blows 
about  to  be    dealt  against  it  by  declaring 
war  itself  against  Sardinia,  which  was  done 
in  a  note  addressed   by  Count  Nesselrode 
to  the  various  European  courts,  and  which 
contains    some   special    pleading    that   is 
interesting,  as   showing   how    very   much 
diplomatists  are  frequently  like  schoolboys 
wrangling  over  a  sugar-stick,  fighting  for 
it,  and   then  quarrelling  again  as  to  who 
hit  the  other  one  first.     Yet  this  is  the  way 
in   which   the  business  of  nations  is  con- 
ducted.     The  document  in  question,  dated 
February  17th,  1855,  runs: — 

"  The  court  of will,  we  doubt  not. 


share    the   opinion   of  the   emperor  upon 
the    policy   of   his   majesty,  the   King   of 
Sardinia,   at  a   moment   when  that  sove- 
reign, without  any  ostensible  motive,  with- 
out any  legitimate  cause  of  complaint,  and 
without   even  the  shadow  of  the  smallest 
infringement  upon  the    direct  interest   of 
his  country,  has  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
England  a  coi'ps  d'armee  of  15,000  inen 
for  the  invasion  of  the  Crimea.     In  taking 
this    step   the    Sardinian   government  ap- 
pears  to  have   left   it   to  the  care  of  the 
public  journals  to  warn  us  of  an  aggression 
which  it  has  not  thought  fit  to  justify  by 
a  declaration  of  war.     We  understand  the 
motive  of  this  silence. 

"  The  court  of  Turin,  we  admit  it,  would 
have   had    some   difficulty    in   conciliating 
its   policy  with    the  natural    sentiment  of 
its   country;    it    would   have   experienced 
equal     difficulty   in    making     its   present 
conduct  harmonise  with  the  ancient  sou- 
venirs  of  the  House  of  Savoy.     In   con- 
sulting the  annals  of  its  history,  it  might 
cite  the  incident  of  a  Russian  army  cross- 
ing the  Alps ;  but,  it  is   true,   it   was  to 
defend  Piedmont,  and  not  to  invade  it.     In 
the  councils  of  the  cabinets  of  Europe,   in 
160 


the  reign   of  the   Emperor   Alexander,  ot 
glorious  memory,  it  was  Russia  again  who 
lent  her  faithful  support  to  the  independ- 
ence of  Sardinia  when  the  House  of  Savoy 
was  again  reinstated   on  the  throne  of  its 
ancestors.     Must  we  finally  recall  to  mind     - 
that,    at  the  same   period,   if  Grenoa  ^  was 
reunited  to    the   kingdom   of  Sardinia,  it 
was  because   the   imperial   cabinet  recog- 
nised the  necessity  of  assuring,  at  the  same 
time,  both  the  commercial  prosperity  and 
the   greatness   of    the  country   which   the 
arms  of  Russia  had  helped  to  deliver  from 
a  foreign    yoke?    But    now,     sinking  in 
oblivion  the  lessons  of  the  past,  the  court 
of  Turin  is  about  to  direct  against  us,  from 
the  selfsame  port  of  Genoa,  a  hostile  en- 
terprise  which    Russia  has   the    conscien- 
tious satisfaction  of  knowing  was  not  pro- 
voked by  her. 

"  The  attitude  thus  assumed  by  Sardinia, 
without  a  formal  declaration  of  war,  as  we 
have  stated,  would  make  us   doubt   what 
name  we  ought  to  give    to  the  auxiliary 
troops   destined   to    invade    our   frontiers 
under   the   flag  of  a   country   with  which 
we   have   hitherto   been    living  at    peace. 
However,  if  the  court  of  Turin  loses  sight 
of  the  principles  and  customs  consecrated 
by   the    law  of  nations,   the   emperor,  for 
his  part,  is  resolved  to  observe  them.     With 
this   intA\ntion,  his  imperial   majesty  feels 
it   incumbent   upon   him  to   declare  that 
peace  is,  de facto  and  dejure,  broken  by  this 
flagrant  act  of  hostility,  the  whole  blame  of 
which  recoils  on  the  Sardinian  government. 
We  leave  it  to  bear  the  entire  responsibility 
thereof,  in  the  face  of  the  opinions  of  its 
subjects  and  the  rest  of  Europe." 

To  this  document  Count  Cavour  replied 
with   a   circular,   in  which  he   repudiates 
any  charge  of  a  breach  of  international  law 
or  etiquette.     It  must,  however,  be  remem- 
bered that,  at  the  moment  when  Sardinia 
accepted   the   invitation   of    the   allies   to 
join  them,  war  was  virtually  if  not  practi- 
cally declared:  and  that  acceptation  took 
place  on  the  12th  of  January,  though  not 
ratified  till  the  26th.      However,  the  fol- 
lowing is   the   case,   as    stated   by   Count 
Cavour.     He  wrote  on  the  4th  of  March : — 
"  I  have  the  honour  to  transmit  herewith 
some  copies  of  the  manifesto  by  which  the 
government  of  his  majesty,  the   King   of 
Sardinia,  declares  war   to  his  majesty,  the 
Emperor  of  Russia.     [Here  follow  the  rea- 
sons for  this  action.]     These  considerations 
determined  his  majesty  to  accede  to  the 


A.D.  1855.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[SARDINIAN  REPLY. 


treaty  of  the  10th  of  April,  1854.  The 
act  of  accession,  as  well  as  the  two  conven- 
tions referring  to  it,  having  been  signed  on 
the  26th  of  January  last,  and  ratified  this 
day  (March  4th).  his  majesty,  now  declares 

war  to  Russia. 

*'  His  majesty  has  not  seen,  without  pain- 
ful surprise,  that,  while  the  act  of  accession, 
unratified,  had  not  yet  any  absolute  legal 
value,  and  was  in  no  ways  executory,  the 
Emperor   Nicholas,    by   a  note   of    Count 
Nesselrode's,  and  in  language  full  of  bitter- 
ness,  taking   the   initiative   in   hostilities, 
has  accused  him  of  violating  the  rights  of 
nations,  by  sending  an  expedition  to  the 
Crimea  without  a  previous  declaration  of 
war,  and  reproached  him  with  forgetfulness 
of  the  marks  of  friendship  shown  in  past 
times  by  Russia  to  Sardinia. 

«  Concerning  the  pretended  violation  of 
the  rights  of  nations,  it  is  sufficient  to  com- 
pare the  date  of  Count  Nesselrode's  circular 
(5th  of  January  last)  with  that  of  the  rati- 
fication of  the  act  of  accession  (4th  of 
March),  to  be  convinced  of  the  astonishing 
flippancy  with  which  the  chancellor  of  the 
Russian  empire  has  advanced  so  grave  an 
accusation,  and  which  is  so  inappropriate 
to  the  princes  of  Savoy,  and,  above  all,  to  a 
monarch  to  whom  the  voice  of  the  whole 
people  has  accorded  the  title  of  loyal. 

"  As  to  the  reproach  of  ingratitude,  the 
Emperor  Nicholas,  instead  of  recalling  the 
marks  of  friendship  which  two  of  his  pre- 
decessors formerly  showed  towards  Sardinia, 
ouo^ht   to  have  recollected,  that,  in   1848, 
without  any  personal  motive,  he  withdrew 
his  minister  from  the  court  of  Turin,  and 
hastily  sent  the  Sardinian  representative  at 
St.  Petersburg  his  passports ;  that,  in  1849, 
he  refused  to  receive  the  letter  of  notifica- 
tion of  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  King 
Victor  Emanuel  II.,  a  refusal  highly  in- 
jurious, which  finds  few  precedents  m  the 
history  of  diplomacy,  and  which  appears  to 
indicate,  on  the  part  of  the  czar,  the  strange 
pretension  to  interfere  in  our  interior  affairs, 
affecting  not  to  recognise  the  transforma- 
tion, not  revolutionary,  but  legal,  which  had 
been  made  in  our  political  institutions. 

"  After  having  added  these  short  explana- 
tions, in  order  to  place  the  conduct  of  the 
king,  our  august  sovereign,  in  its  true  light, 
and  on  referring  to  the  motives  exhibited 
in  the  accompanying  manifesto,  I  beg  you 
to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  present  despatch 
to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  of  the 
government  to  which  you  are  accredited; 
VOL.  II.  Y 


and  I  beg  you  to  receive,  sir,  the  renewed 
assurances  of  my  very  distinguished  con- 
sideration. 

"C.  Cavour." 


Herewith  Sardinia  crossed  the  Rubicon, 
and  entered  upon  the  path  that,  a  few  years 
later,  led  het  to  that  place  to  which 
all  roads  lead — even  via  Sebastopol— to 
Rome ;  and,  on  the  23rd  of  April,  1855,  the 
first  division  of  the  Sardinian  expedition, 
amounting  to  7,000  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  La  Marmora,  embarked 
for  Constantinople  and  Balaklava. 

After  the  Russo-Sardinian  declaration  of 
war,  another  attempt  at  arranging  for  peace 
was  made  at  the  instance  of  Austria,  which 
had  become  seriously  disquieted  by  the  firm 
attitude  of  Prussia,   the  uncompromising 
nature  of  her  representations  at  the  diet, 
Herr  von  Bismarck,   and  the   boldness  of 
Sardinia.      She   was   resolved   that   either 
peace  should   be   concluded,   or   that   any 
danger   to   herself  should   be   averted,  by 
giving  it  to  be  clearly  understood,  that  in 
no  case  did  she  intend  to    take  offensive 
action  against   Russia.     Thus  the  Vienna 
conference  was  brought  about,  and  which 
assembled  in  Vienna  on  the  15th  of  March, 
1855.    The  Austrian  plenipotentiaries  were 
Count  Buol-Schauenstein  and  Baron  Pro- 
kesch-Osten ;  the  English,  Lord  John  Rus- 
sell  and   the  Earl  of  Westmoreland;  the 
French,  Count  Drouyn  de  Lluys  and  Baron 
Bourqueney;  the    Turkish,    Aarif    Pasha; 
and  the  Russian,  Prince  Gortchakoff.     The 
subjects  for   discussion  were  arranged  as 

follows: — 

"  1.  The  Danubian  principalities. 

"  2.  The  navigation  of  the  Danube. 

"  3*.  The  limitation  of  Russian  power  in 

the  Black  Sea.  .    . 

«  4.  The  condition  of  the  Christian  sub- 
jects of  the  Porte."  .  .    ,    ^  j 
The  wrangling  over  these  points  lasted 
from  the  15th  of   March  to   the  26th  of 
April,  without  any  result,  in  consequence 
of  the  delays  occasioned  by  constant  refer- 
ences to  St.  Petersburg  and  Constantinople, 
and  by  the  great  divergence  of  interests  in 
all  concerned.  The  point  that  occasioned  the 
greatest  opposition,  on  the  part  of  Russia, 
was  the  3rd,  limiting  her  naval  power  m 
the  Black  Sea.      Anyhow,   the   conterence 
broke  up,  formally,  on  the  26th  of  April; 
but  the  various  plenipotentiaries  still  re- 
mained in  Vienna,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Austrian  ministers,  who  were  understood  to 

161 


V 


SIEGE  OF  SEBASTOPOL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1855. 


A.D.  1855.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  rifle-pits. 


\> 


be  engaged  in  tlic   drawing  up  of  a  pro- 
posal which  should  secure  the  ends  in  view. 
This  wonderful  proposition   turned  out   to 
be    a    proposal    that    matters    should    be 
compromised  by  Russia's  being  allowed  to 
restore  the  strength  of  her  Black  Sea  fleet 
to  what  it  had  been  before  the  outbreak  of 
tlie  war;   hut  that,  on  the  otlier  hand,  tlie 
Turks,  Frencli,  and  English  should  also  be 
permitted  to    keep   an    ecpial    fleet  in  the 
same    sea.       On    these    conditions   Russia 
was    prepared    to    join    in    the    guarantee 
for  the  integrity  of   the  Porte.      To    this 
proposal  Lord  John  Russell  and  the  French 
plenipotentiary  allowed    themselves   to  be 
persuaded  to  agree.     The  governments  of 
France   and    England,    however,    at   once 
refused  to  ratify  the  agreement;  and,  as  it 
was  evident  that  the  negotiations  were  only 
protracted  for  private  purposes,  on  the  part 
of  one  or  more  of  the  powers  concerned,  at 
once  broke  off  all  further  treaty,  and  recalled 


their  representatives,  the  feeling  against 
whom  was  so  strong  for  entertaining  for 
a  moment  so  preposterous  a  proposal, 
that  both  Lord  John  Russell  and  Drouyu 
do   Lhuys   found   it   convenient   to  resign 

office. 

The  private  motives  were  soon  discovered 
to  be  Austrian;   for  that  government,  on 
the    formal    rejection    of    its  proposal,    at 
once  declared  that,  the  allies  having   first 
accepted  the  proposal  through  their  pleni- 
potentiaries, and  then  rejected  it,  Austria 
could  not  undertake  to  assume  the  offensive 
against  Russia.     The  diplomatic  campaign 
of  1S55  had  thus  opened  with  a  victory  for 
the  latter  power,  which  had  so  well  worked 
upon  the  fears  of  her  neighbour  in  reference 
to  the  designs  attributed  to  Napoleon  and 
Cavour  in  regard  to  Italy.     Tlie  only  won- 
der is  that  Austria  did  not  pursue  a  bolder 
policy,  and  cast  her  fate  in  entirely  with 
that  of  Russia. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

CONTINUATION    OF    THE    SIEGE    OF    SEBASTOrOL  ;     CUARACTER    OF    THE    ATTACK    AND    DEFENCE  J 

THE   SECOND  BOMBARDMENT  J   ITS  FAILURE. 


In    January,    1855,    the     second     British 
parallel  was  opened  at  a  distance  of  1,200 
yards  from  the  Redan,  whilst  the  French 
engineers    busily    advanced    their    mining 
operations  against   the   Flagstaff  Bastion. 
But  in  spite  of  the  batteries  in  the  first 
parallel,  which  enabled  the  men  to  proceed 
with  the  construction  of  the  second  in  the 
face  of  the  musketry-fire  by  day,  and  end- 
less sorties  by  night,  it  was  quite  impossi- 
ble to  silence  the  enemy's  batteries  beyond 
this,   so    overwhelming   was    the   mass   of 
metal  over  which  he  disposed.     More  than 
ever  the  struggle  partook  of  the  nature  of 
a  campaign  of  two  field-armies,  one  against 
the  other,  of  which  one  was  in  the  possession 
of  a  strong  fortified  position,  and  the  other 
in  an  entrenched  camp.     It  was  no  wonder, 
under  such  circumstances,  that  the  allies 
were   unable   to    reach    the    edge    of    the 
enemy's  entrenchments  in  order  to  proceed 
to  the  assault,  or  that  the  Russians  were 
able  to  repair  their  damaged  works  as  fast 
as  they  were  destroyed;    to  displace  their 
162 


dismounted  guns  by  fresh  ones,  and  flank 
the  approaches  of  the  French  and  Britisl) 
eno-ineers  by  fresh  batteries,  and  counter- 
approaches  and  mines.  This,  coupled  with 
the  rocky,  stony  nature  of  the  soil,  forced 
the  allies  to  abandon  the  Vauban  system  of 
approach  in  its  entirety,  and  to  fortify  their 
advances,  not  simply  with  open  batteries, 
but  with  closed  works,  with  a  surrounding 
ditch,  glacis,  and  flank  works,  in  order  to 
protect  the  heavy  guns  against  sorties  and 
attacks  in  force.  Nor,  according  to  Vau- 
ban's  system,  could  the  parallels  be  con- 
structed continuously,  but  had  to  be 
furnished  with  wide  openings  from  point 
to  point,  in  order  to  allow  of  the  advance 
of  large  bodies  of  troops  to  repel  any 
attack  in  force.  The  want  of  sufficient 
heavy  artillery  also  necessitated  what  there 
was  to  be  concentrated  in  groups ;  so  that 
i  there  really  remained  nothing  left  but  a 
!  system  of  undermining,  or  an  assault,  pure 
land  simple;  and  that  this  last  measure 
!  would  finally  have  to  be  adopted,  whatever 


it  might  cost,  gradually  began  to  dawn  upon 
all  the  commanders  without  exception. 

Preparatory  to   this  step.   Marshal  Niol 
proposed  to  centre  the  chief  attack  on  the 
Karabelnaia  suburb,  but  without  abandon - 
in*'  the  attack  on  the  west.     The  line  of 
approach    w^as    a     long    one — more    than 
12,000  yards,  or  six  miles.     The  English 
works  were  in  the  centre ;  the  French  con- 
tinuing them  right  and  left,  and  lengthen- 
ing the  second  British  parallel  towards  the 
right,  thus  drawing  closer  to  the  Korniloff 
Bastion  (Malakoff).      But,   as   though  by 
magic,  the    Russians   constructed   two   re- 
doubts,   Selenginski    and     Wolinski,     on 
Mount  Sapoun,  at  the  head  of  Careening 
Bay,  which    flanked   the  approach   to  the 
Malakoff ;  whilst  right  before  the  Malakoff, 
at  a   distance  of    HOO    yards,    they    built 
up  the  lunette,  Mamelon  Vert,  right  be- 
fore   the  eyes  of  the    astonished   French- 
men, and  full  in  front  of  their  works.     Of 
course,  this  was  not  accomplished  without 
a  fierce  resistance  and  opposition  on  both 
sides;  but  ultimately  the  works  were  not 
only  armed  with  heavy  guns,  but  also  pro- 
tected by  trenches  and  rifle-pits  to  within 
500  yards  of  the  French  lines.     The  failure 
of  the  French  to  prevent  the  establishment 
of    these   works    and    rifle-pits    was    un- 
doubtedly due   to  their  desire   to  accom- 
plish   the     task    unaided,   as    sufficiently 
appears  from  Mr.  Russell's  account  of  the 
action  of  March  17,  1855,  when  they  tried, 
too  late,  to  drive  the  Russians  out. 

Mr.  Russell  says— "On  looking  at  any 
plans  of  the  position,  an  elevated  mound 
will  be  observed  to  our  right  of  Malakoff 
Tower — the  Round  Tower,  as  it  was  called, 
but  which  was,  in    reality,  of   horse-shoe 
form,  and  open  at  the  back— but  consider- 
ably in  advance  of  it.     This  is  now  called 
the  Mamelon,  and  the  Russians  occupy  it 
every  night,  and  throw  up  works  upon  it, 
intended  for  a  large  redoubt,  which  would 
be  able  to  annoy  us  very  materially.     The 
left  front  of  this  they  have  covered  with 
rifle-pits.     To  the  right  of  this  Mamelon 
from  our  position,   and    somewdiat  in  ad- 
vance of  it  again,  is  the  square  redoubt, 
which  the  Russians  have  thrown  up  on  the 
mound  they  seized  by  the  bold  movement 
of  which    you  received    information   some 
time  ago.     As  the  possession  of  the  rifle- 
pits  near  these  works  is  of  great  import- 
ance, and  would  assist  the  allies  materially 
in  checking  the  fire  of  the  guns  which  the 
enemy  may  mount  in  their  batteries,  the 


French  (to  whose  extreme  right  front,  over- 
lapping our  right,  these  pits  are  opposite) 
made  an  attempt,  which  was  unsuccessful, 
on  Friday  night,  to  drive  out  the  Russians. 
Again  they  vigorously  attacked  the  place  in 
force;  and  it  is  with  deep  regret  that  I 
have  to  state  that  they  met  with  the  same 
result.  The  shot  of  our  batteries  generally 
drove  out  the  Russians  during  the  day,  but 
at  night  they  came  back  and  reoccupied 
them,  supported  by  large  bodies  of  infantry. 
In  these  encounters  the  enemy  must  have 
I  had  many  men  killed  and  wounded. 

"  These  rifle-pits,  which   have  cost  both 
armies  such  a  quantity  of  ammunition,  and 
have  led  to  so  considerable  a  sacrifice  on 
the  part  of  our  allies,  are  placed   in  front 
and  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  Tower  of 
Malakoff,  about  600  yards  from  our  works. 
They  are  simple  excavations  in  the  ground, 
faced  round  with  sand-bags,  which  are  loop- 
holed  for  rifles,  and  banked  round  with  the 
earth  which  has  been  thrown  up  from  the 
pit.     Each  of  these  pits  contains  about  ten 
men.     They   are,   in    fact,   little   forts   or 
redoubts  for  offensive  proceedings  against 
the  besiegers,  armed  with  rifles  instead  of 
cannon.    Practice  has  made  the  men  placed 
in  them  expert ;  and  it  is  likely  they  are 
picked  shots,  for  their  fire  is  exceedingly 
good  ;  and  if  a  man  shows  for  a  moment 
above  the  works  in  front  of  these  pits,  he 
has  a  small  swarm  of  leaden  hornets  buzzing 
round  his  ears.     At  first  there   were  only 
two  of  these  pits  in  the  particular  spot  of 
which   I  am  speaking.     After   the   enemy 
recovered  possession  of  them  the  first  time, 
they  dug  two  more,  and  now   they   have 
increased  the  number  to   six,  so  that  the 
force  of  riflemen  which  they  hold  is  about 
sixty  men.     After  the  French  were  obliged 
to  retire  on  Saturday  morning,  the  Russians 
reoccupied   these  pits,  and  kept  up  a  con- 
tinual fusillade  against  every  object  which 
appeared   to   have   life   in   it  towards  the 
French  right.     They  were  so  well  covered, 
and  so  admirably  protected  by  the  nature 
of  the  ground,  that  our  riflemen   could  do 
nothing  with  them,  and  the  French  sharp- 
shooters were  equally  unsuccessful.     It  was 
determined  to  try  a  round  shot  or  two  at 
them   from  one  of  the   English    batteries. 
The    first    shot    struck    down   a    portion 
of  the  bank  of  one  of  the  pits  ;  the  second 
went  slap  into  the  sand-bags,  right  through 
the  parapet,  and  out  at  the  other  side  ;  and 
the    riflemen,   ignorant  of  Sir  John  Bur- 
irovne's  advice  to  men  similarly  situate — to 
^  -^  163 


ATTACK  ON  THE  RIFLE-PITS.]        HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1855. 


A.D.  1855.] 


EUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[second  BOMBARDMENT. 


! 


',} 


il 


;,* 


n 


adhere  the  more  obstinately  to  their  work 
the  more  they  are  fired  at  by  big  guns — 
*  bolted,*  and  ran  across  the  space  to  their 
works.  The  French  sharpshooters,  who 
were  in  readiness  to  take  advantage  of 
this  moment,  at  once  fired  on  the  fugitives, 
but  did  not  hit  one  of  them.  All  the  rifle- 
men left  the  pits,  and  they  were  deserted 
for  the  rest  of  the  day,  as  the  allies  could 
not  approach  them  under  the  guns  of  the 
works  till  dark.  It  was  probable  that, 
silent  as  the  enemy  had  been,  he  would 
have  opened  on  them  at  once  with  case  and 
grape  had  they  attempted  to  occupy  them. 
As  it  was  made  a  point  of  honour  by 
General  Bosquet  that  our  allies  should  take 
these  pits,  a  strong  force  of  about  5,000 
men  at  least  were  marched  up  to  the  base 
of  the  hills  in  front  of  our  position,  close  to 
the  second  and  light  divisions,  before 
dusk  on  Saturday  evening,  and  shortly  after- 
wards they  were  sent  down  to  the  advanced 
trenches  on  our  right,  occupied  by  the 
French.  At  half-past  six  o'clock  their 
skirmishers  and  riflemen  were  ordered  out 
to  occupy  the  pits.  The  Zouaves  advanced 
with  their  usual  dash  and  intrepidity,  but 
they  found  the  Russians  had  anticipated 
them,  and  that  the  enemy  were  already  in 
possession  of  the  pits.  A  fierce  conflict 
immediately  commenced,  but  it  was  evident 
that  the  Russians  were  in  great  strength. 
The  French  could  not  drive  them  back 
from  their  position,  notwithstanding  their 
repeated  attempts  to  do  so.  It  is  stated 
that  some  misapprehension  led  the  men  in 
the  trenches  to  tire  two  heavy  volleys  of 
musketry  before  their  comrades  reached  the 
pits,  and  that  the  enemy  at  once  despatched 
a  large  force  to  the  assistance  of  the  troops 
already  engaged  with  the  French,  so  that 
the  latter  were  at  last  forced  back  by  the 
weight  of  fire.  The  contest  was  carried  on 
by  musketry,  and  the  volume  of  the  volleys 
which  rang  out  incessantly  for  four  hours 
and  a-half,  roused  up  the  whole  camp. 
From  the  almost  ceaseless  roll  and  flashinir 
lines  of  light  in  front,  one  would  have 
imagined  that  a  general  action  between 
considerable  armies  was  going  on  ;  and  the 
character  of  the  fight  had  something 
unusual  about  it,  owing  to  the  absence  of 
any  fire  of  artillery.  About  half-past  seven 
o'clock  the  fourth  division  was  turned  out 
by  the  general.  Sir  John  Campbell,  and 
took  up  its  position  on  the  hill  nearly  in 
front  of  its  tents,  and  Sir  George  Brown  at 
the  same  time  marched  the  light  division 
164 


a  few  hundred  yards  forward  to  the  left  and 
front  of  their  encampment.  Tliese  divisions 
remained  under  arms  for  nearly  four  hours, 
and  were  marched  back  when  the  French 
finally  desisted  from  their  assault  on  the 
pits.  The  second  and  third  divisions  were 
also  in  readiness  for  immediate  action. 
Had  our  allies  required  our  assistance  they 
would  have  received  it ;  but  they  are  deter- 
mined on  taking  and  holding  these  pits, 
which,  in  fact,  are  in  front  of  their  works, 
without  any  aid.  I  hear  that  the  reserve, 
owing  to  some  mistake,  did  not  come  into 
action,  and  was  not  where  the  advanced 
troops  expected  to  have  found  it  at  the 
most  critical  moment.  The  Zouaves  bore 
the  brunt  of  the  fitJ^ht.  Througrh  the  nifjht 
air,  in  the  lulls  of  the  musketr}^,  the  voices 
of  the  officers  could  be  distinctly  heard 
cheering  on  the  men,  and  encouraging 
them — '  En  avant.  Tries  enfants  /'  '  En 
avantj  Zouaves  /' — and  the  tramp  of  feet 
and  the  rush  of  men  generally  followed; 
then  a  roll  of  musketry  was  heard,  diminish- 
ing in  volume  to  rapid  file-firing — then  a 
Russian  cheer — then  more  musketry — a  few 
dropping  shots — and  the  voices  of  the 
officers  once  more.  This  work  went  on  for 
about  four  hours,  and  the  French,  unassisted 
by  their  reserve,  at  length  retired,  with  the 
loss,  they  say,  of  about  150  men  killed  and 
wounded,  and  a  few  taken  prisoners. 

"  The  French  having  thus  failed  in  wrest- 
ing their  positions  from  the  Russians,  the 
latter  decided  to  try  whether  they  could  not 
be  more  successful  and  drive  the  former  out 
of  their  advanced  trenches;  and  between 
11  and  12  o'clock  in  the  night  from  the 
22nd  to  the  23rd  of  March,  columns  of 
Russian  infantry  came  suddenly  upon  tho 
men  in  the  British  advanced  trenches,  and 
rushed  in  upon  them  on  the  right  with  the 
bayonet  before  they  were  quite  prepared  to 
receive  them.  When  they  were  first 
discerned  they  were  close  at  hand,  and,  on 
being  challenged,  they  replied  with  the 
universal  shibboleth,  '  Bono  Franciz.'  In 
another  moment  they  were  bayoneting  the 
British  troops,  who  had  barely  time  to 
snatch  their  arms  and  defend  themselves. 
Taken  at  a  great  disadvantage,  and  pressed 
by  superior  numbers,  the  assault  was  met 
with  undaunted  courage,  the  Russians  being 
driven  out  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  after 
a  smart  fire,  and  forced  to  retire  under 
cover  of  their  batteries. 

"  The  attack  seems  to  have  been  general 
along  the   line.     At   half- past   eight  P.M. 


(March  23rd),  the  French  batteries  began  to 
shell  the  town,  while  their  rockets  were 
poured  every  five  minutes  in  streams  into 
the  place.  At  ten  o'clock,  the  sentries  in 
advance  of  Chapman's  attack  gave  notice 
that  the  Russians  were  assembling  in  force 
in  front  of  the  works.  The  20th,  21st,  and 
the  57th  regiments  were  in  the  trenches  on 
the  left  attack,  and  they  were,  to  a  certain 
extent,  prepared  for  the  assault  of  the 
enemy.  About  the  same  time  the  French 
on  the  right  of  the  British  right  attack, 
which  is  separated  from  the  left  attack  by  a 
deep  ravine,  were  assailed  by  masses  of  the 
enemy.  As  they  were  hardly  pressed,  orders 
were  given  to  advance  the  troops  in  a  por- 
tion of  the  trenches,  consisting  of  a  part  of 
the  light  division,  to  their  support.  On 
the  left  attack,  the  Russians,  advancing 
with  impetuosity  through  a  weak  part  of 
the  defence,  turned  the  third  parallel,  and 
took  it  in  reverse.  They  killed  and 
wounded  some  of  the  men,  and  had  ad- 
vanced to  the  second  parallel,  when  the 
covering  party  and  the  men  in  the  trenches 
of  the  batteries  came  down  upon  them  and 
drove  them  over  the  works  after  a  sharp 
conflict.  On  the  right  the  attack  was  more 
serious  and  sudden.  The  men  had  been 
ordered  out  to  the  support  of  the  French 
from  one  part  of  their  lines;  and  while 
they  were  away,  the  Russians  came  up  to 
the  flank  of  the  works,  and  took  them  in 
reverse,  so  that  they  had  to  fight  their  way 
back  to  get  to  their  position.  The  gallant 
old  7th  Fusileers  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of 
a  large  body  of  the  enemy,  whom  they 
drove  back  a  la  fourckette.  The  34th 
regiment  had  an  enormous  force  to  contend 
against ;  and  as  their  brave  colonel,  Kelly, 
was  leading  them  on,  he  was  shot  down, 
and  carried  off  by  the  enemy.  In  the 
midst  of  the  fight.  Major  Gordon,  of  the 
royal  engineers,  displayed  that  cool  courage 
and  presence  of  mind  which  never  forsook 
him.  With  a  little  switch  in  his  hand  he 
encouraged  the  men  to  defend  the  trenches, 
and,  standing  up  on  the  top  of  the  parapet, 
all  unarmed  as  he  was,  he  hurled  down 
stones  on  the  Russians.  He  was  struck  by  a 
ball,  which  passed  through  the  lower  part  of 
his  arm,  and  at  the  same  time  he  received 
a  bullet  through  the  shoulder.  After  an 
hour's  fight  the  enemy  were  driven  back. 

"  On  the  British  side  there  were  seven 
officers  killed,  wounded,  and  taken  pri- 
soners, and  about  100  men  put  hors  de 
combat,  or  carried  into   Sebastopol.     The 


French  lost  between  300  and  400  men,  and 
fifteen  officers  killed,  wounded,  and  missing. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  enemy  suffered  a 
loss  of  600  or  700  men,  although  they 
succeeded  in  concealing  the  severity  of  their 
loss  by  carrying  off  their  dead  and  wounded, 
as  usual.  Still,  the  number  of  dead  bodies 
lying  along  the  front  of  our  trenches  proved 
that  they  received  a  heavy  loss.  The 
bodies  of  twelve  men  and  of  one  officer 
remained  in  the  trenches  of  the  British  left 
attack.  The  hill-sides  below  the  Round 
Tower  and  the  Mamelon  were  covered  with 
Russian  dead,  mingled  with  the  bodies  of 
the  French,  and  lying  about  among  the 
gabions  which  had  been  knocked  down  in 
front  of  the  P'rench  sap  towards  the  rifle- 
pits  in  great  numbers.  The  rifle-pits,  which 
had  been  so  hardly  contested,  were  in  front 
of  the  Mamelon  ;  three  of  them  being  still 
occupied  by  the  Russians,  and  three  of  them 
by  the  French  ;  but  the  latter  were  oblii^ed 
to  abandon  them  for  a  time  during  the  first 
rush  of  the  enemy.  The  enemy  opened  guns 
from  the  Mamelon  against  the  French  ap- 
proaches towards  the  pits,  its  fire  enfilading 
a  portion  of  the  British  lines.  The  Russian 
engineers  displayed  consummate  ability  in 
their  works;  and  it  was  well  for  the  allies  that 
their  artillerymen  were  not  as  expert  as 
those  who  placed  them  in  the  batteries." 

After  this  ineffectual  attempt  of  the 
Russians  to  stop  the  approach  of  the 
French  towards  the  Malakoff  and  the 
Korniloff  Bastion,  the  works  were  pushed 
on  with  redoubled  vigour ;  and  on  April 
2nd,  1855,  the  British  engineers  had  com- 
pleted their  third  parallel,  600  yards  in 
front  from  the  Redan  ;  whilst  as  early  on 
the  14th  and  16th  of  March,  in  the  French 
advance  on  the  left  towards  the  Central  Bas- 
tion, the  second  parallel  had  been  length- 
ened to  the  head  of  the  Quarantine  Bay,  and 
the  batteries  in  it,  and  the  third  parallel, 
considerably  strengthened.  By  the  8th  of 
April,  1855,  the  fourth  parallel  in  front  of 
the  Redan  was  completed  on  either  side  of 
the  valley,  separating  Chapman's  battery 
from  Gordon's  battery,  at  a  distance  of  sixty 
yards  from  the  Russian  rifle-pits,  and  armed 
with  cohorns,  by  means  of  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  drive  the  Russians  out  of  the  pits. 

At  daybreak  on  the  9th  of  April — 
Easter  Monday — the  allied  batteries  simul- 
taneously opened  fire  on  the  defences,  in 
obedience  to  an  order  from  the  Emperor  of 
the  French,  who  was  just  preparing  for  his 
journey  to  London,  and  wished  to  make  that 

165 


I 


!    ■ 


FAILURE  OF  BOMBARDMENT.]         HISTORY    OF     THE 


[a.d.  1855.' 


event  coincide  with  a  notable  success  of  his 
arms  in  the  (Mmea. — Thus  the  second 
bombardment  of  Sebastopol  commenced 
with  the  fire  of  508  pieces  of  the  heaviest 
metal,  each  of  which  was  supplied  with 
700  missiles,  355,600  shot  and  shell  thus 
being  destined  to  be  cast  into  the  be- 
leaguered town.  But  in  spite  of  the  damage 
inflicted  on  the  Russian  works,  the  solid 
masonry  being  pounded  to  dust,  the  earth- 
works remained  still  practically  intact,  and 
all  the  Russian  guns  replaced  from  the 
fleet  as  soon  as  dismounted  ;  whilst  the  losses 
in  men  daily  (amounting  to  about  400  men, 
including  officers),  were  supplied  from  the 
ranks  of  the  3rd  Corps  d'Armee  Ceight  in- 
fantry divisions),  who  were  fresh  in  the 
held,  and  sent  the  wounded  and  weakened 
forces  to  the  rear  on  the  north  side  of  the 
harbour.  The  revetted  bastions  and  case- 
mates of  the  Korniloff'  Bastion,  and  other 
portions  of  the  works,  protected  the  men, 
to  a  great  degree,  from  the  peril  of  shell, 
shot,  and  rifle-balls  poured  upon  them  by 
the  allies,  whilst  the  reserves  found  a  shelter 
in  the  town  and  suburbs,  which  almost  pro- 
cured them  perfect  immunity  from  the 
iron  and  leaden  storms  busting  over  their 
heads.  Thus  the  second  bombardment, 
undertaken  more  for  the  purpose  of  pleas- 
ing the  French  emperor  and  to  satisfy 
European  opinion  than  anything  else,  was 
a  failure,  as  the  generals  in  council  were 
convinced  it  would  be.  They  would  not 
have  sanctioned  it  at  all,  were  it  not  at  the 
same  time  a  means  of  supporting  the  works 
of  the  engineers,  and  enabling  them  to 
push  forward  under  cover  of  the  lire,  and 
open  a  fourth  parallel  in  front  of  the  Flag- 
staff"  Bastion  at  no  less  than  100  yards  from 
the  works.  In  the  centre  the  British  troops 
fought  bravely  in  front  of  the  Redan,  and 
round  the  quarries  before  it,  but  were 
unable  to  effect  a  permanent  lodgment; 
the  French  endeavouring  at  the  same  time  to 
drive  in  the  works  on  the  hill  at  the  head  of 
Careening  Bay — the  redoubts  Wolinski  and 
Selenginski ;  and  in  front  of  the  Malakoff, 
the  Mamelon  Vert,  or  Kamschatka  Lunette, 
as  the  Russians  called  it.  By  the  6th  of  May, 
the  bombardment  had,  as  such,  completely 
ceased.  For  the  second  time  it  had  been 
proved  that  Sebastopol  was  not  destined  to 
fall  without  a  general  assault,  cost  what  it 
might.  That  this  was  becoming  clear,  even 
to  non-military  men,  may  be  gathered  from 
the  following  letter  of  Mr.  Russell's,  on  the 
fifth  day  of  the  bombardment : — 
166 


(C 


up  to  the  present  moment  our  batte- 
ries have  succeeded  in  establishing  a  supe- 
riority of  fire  over  the  Russians  ;  but  it  is 
not  very  decided,  and  the  silence  of  the 
enemy's  guns  may  arise,  in  some  measure, 
from  want  of  ammunition,  or  from  confi- 
dence in  the  strength  of  their  earthworks. 
It  would  seem,  indeed,  as  if  our  fire  was 
almost  thrown  away  on  the  enormous 
mounds  of  earth  cast  up  at  the  Redan  and 
before  the  Round  Tower  and  western  bat- 
teries. The  whole  of  the  parapets  of  the 
Redan  and  Round  Tower  are  jagged  and 
pitted  with  holes  several  feet  deep,  where 
the  shot  have  sunk ;  the  sharp  angles  of  the 
embrasures  are  knocked  away,  and  the 
ahattis  in  front  is  considerably  damaged 
here  and  there  ;  but  the  real  strenorth  of  the 
place  is  imimpaired ;  and,  as  long  as  the 
Russians  can  find  new  guns,  fresh  supplies 
of  ammunition,  and  men  to  fight  the  bat- 
teries, we  are  not  one  inch  nearer  to  the 
town  than  we  were  in  last  October,  so  lon<r 
as  we  rely  alone  on  the  fire  of  our  artillery 
to  make  us  masters  of  it.  There  are  great 
differences  of  opinion  among  those  officers 
to  whom  I  have  spoken  respecting  tho 
chances  of  an  assault ;  but  there  can  be 
little  doubt  but  that  an  attack  on  the 
Round  Tower,  the  Mamelon,  and  the  two 
earthworks  on  the  south  side  of  Inkermann, 
which  are  called  by  the  French  the  batte- 
ries 1  Avril  and  2  Avril,  would  be  attended 
with  success,  if  made  with  sufficient  force, 
although  the  loss  of  life  would  be  very 
considerable  until  guns  could  be  got  up  to 
reply  to  the  fire  of  the  north  forts,  the 
shipping,  and  the  bastion  face  of  tho 
Redan. 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  to  arrosfate  to 
myself  the  smallest  military  knowledge,  or 
to  pretend  to  criticise  the  operations  of  our 
generals ;  but  I  use  the  words  of  many 
officers  when  I  say  that  these  places  are  not 
invulnerable,  and  that  the  possession  of 
them  would  most  materially  conduce  to  a 
successful  termination  of  all  our  labours. 
It  may  be  that  our  generals  see  some  surer 
and  less  bloody  path  into  Sebastopol. 
They  may  well  hesitate  to  sacrifice  the  gal- 
lant fellows  who  must  fall  in  such  an 
arduous  and  terrible  undertakinc:  as  the 
storming  of  these  positions;  but  if  Great 
Britain  has  set  her  heart  on  the  reduction 
of  the  stronghold  which  has  already  cost 
her  so  much  precious  blood  and  treasure, 
she  must  be  content  to  pay  the  price  to  tho 
last  farthing." 


>K:v 


n  ( 


(■ 


\ 


i 


'^    <.^ 


«D 


■-^-.c. 


^  ="\/ 


"^ 


y 


%^ 


A.D.  1855.] 


EUSSTAN   EMPIRE. 


[death  of  the  czar. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

BATTLE  OF  EUPATORIA  ;    DEATH  OF  NICHOLAS  T.  ;    CAUSES  OF  HIS  DEATH  ;   STRANGE  STORY ;  ACCESSION 
9  OF  ALEXANDER  II.  ;   CONTINUATION   OF   THE  WAR  DECIDED   ON. 


Whilst   the   two  chief  armies  were   con- 
tending for  the  possession    of   Sebastopol, 
Greneral  Ostensacken,  at  the  head  of  about 
40,000  men,   with    some    sixty    pieces    of 
artillery,  attacked  the  Turkish  and  allied 
troops  at  Eupatoria,  who  were  supported 
by  the  gun-boats,  (7u7'apoa,  Valorous,  Viper, 
and  Furious,  the  Turkish  steamer  Scheh- 
faer,  and  the  French  steamer  Veloce,     The 
troops  in  possession  of  Eupatoria  consisted 
of  about    30,000   men,   of   whom   25,000 
were    Turks,   and    the    rest    French    and 
English,  chiefly  belonging  to  the  crews  of 
the  above-named  vessels ;  the  whole  force 
being  under  the  command  of  Omar  Pasha, 
whose  report   of  the  battle,   forwarded  to 
Lord  Raglan,  is  perhaps  the  most  accurate 
there   is.      He    states — "  The    enemy    at- 
tacked   Eupatoria     on     the    morning    of 
February   17th.     The  troops  intended  for 
this  attack  had  left  the  camp  before  Se- 
bastopol  six   days  ago,   and   other   troops 
from  Perekop  and  Simpheropol  had  joined 
them  in  the  night  of  the    16th,  and  the 
morning  of  the  17th,  in  the  flat  ground 
that  lies  behind  the  heights  that  are  before 
Eupatoria,     As  far  as  one  could  guess,  and 
according  to  the  information  furnished  by 
prisoners,   the   enemy  mustered  thirty-six 
battalions    of    infantry,   six    regiments   of 
cavalry,   400    Cossacks,   eighty    pieces    of 
artillery  in  position,  and  some   troops  of 
horse  artillery,  which  were  in  reserve.    The 
attack  commenced  at  daylight  by  a  strong 
cannonade,  during  which  the  enemy  used 
even   32-pounders.     At  first  the  Russians 
showed  themselves  in  great  force  along  our 
whole   position;  but  seeing   that   our  left 
was  protected  by  men-of-war,  which  went 
there  when  the  first  shot  was  fired,  thev 
concentrated  against  our  centre  and  right. 
I  then  requested  the  senior  officer  of  the 
English  royal  navy  to  send  the  gun-boat 
Viper  to  the  right,  and  to  take  up  a  posi- 
tion near  the  French  steamer  Veloce,  and 
the  Turkish  steamer  Schehfaer,  on  board 
of    which  was   the   Vice-admiral,    Ahmed 
Pasha.     At  the  same  time  I  reinforced  the 
right  with  some  battalions  of  infantry  and 
some  pieces  of  artillery,  which  I  withdrew 


from  the  left.     The  enemy  continued  his 
fire,    without   ceasing,    from   the   position 
held  by  his  artillery,  supported  by  a  power- 
ful fire  of   skirmishers ;  and  then   his  in- 
fantry, carrying  planks  and  ladders,  three 
times   tried   to    storm   the    works.      Each 
time  it  was  repulsed,  and  obliged  to  retire 
under  our  fire ;  but  it  was  enabled  to  effect 
this  retrograde  movement  under  cover  of 
its  artillery,  and  of  heavy  masses  of  cavalry. 
Our  cavalry,  which  at  the  present  moment 
only  musters  about  200  or  300  horses,  and 
which  charged  the  Russian  infantry  at  the 
commencement  of  its  retreat,  did  not  dare 
to   pursue  it   in   the   face   of  such   heavy 
masses.     The  superiority  in   artillery  and 
cavalry  prevented  our  disturbing  the  Rus- 
sians on  their   retreat.     After  four  hours 
and  a-half  s  fighting,  they  commenced  re- 
tiring in  three  difl'erent  directions — towards 
the   bridge   of  Lake   Sasik,   towards   Top 
Mamai,  and  towards  the  Perekop  road.     I 
have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
conduct    of    my   troops   during    the   day. 
Although  behind  works  only  half  finished, 
and  not  fully  armed,  they  showed  a  bold 
front,  and  were  very  steady.     Our  losses 
are  not  very  numerous,  but  they  are  to  be 
deplored.     We  regret  the  death   of  Selim 
Pasha,  lieutenant-general,  commanding  the 
Egyptian     troops.      We    had,    moreover, 
eighty-seven     killed    and    277    wounded; 
seventy-nine   horses   killed    and    eighteen 
wounded.     Amongst   the   killed   there  are 
seven  officers,  and  ten  are  wounded,  amongst 
them    Suleiman  Pasha ;  thirteen   inhabit- 
ants of  the  town   have   been   killed,   and 
eleven  wounded.     I   consider  it  my  duty 
to  make  honourable  mention  of  the  French 
detachment  that  is  here,  and  of  the  English 
men-of-war,  Curagoa,  Furious,  Valorous, 
Viper,  of  the  Turkish  steamer  Schehfaer, 
and  of  the  energetic  co-operation  of  the 
French    steamer     Veloce,    all   which   con- 
tributed   greatly  towards    frustrating  the 
efforts  of  the  enemy.     The  French  detach- 
ment had  four  men  killed,  and  nine  wounded 
— amongst  the  latter  is  a  naval  officer.     The 
Russians  must  have  suffered  a  heavy  loss. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  civil  authori- 

167 


A  STRANGE  STORY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1855. 


ties  of  the  town,  who  had  to  bury  the  dead, 
their  number  of  killed  amounts  to  453 : 
their  artillery  lost  300  horses.  They  car- 
ried away  a  great  many  of  their  dead,  and 
almost  all  their  wounded.  We  have  taken 
geven  prisoners." 

The  failure  of  the  Russians  to  expel  the 
invaders  from  Eupatoria,  besides  its  mili- 
tary interest,  is  also  noteworthy  for  the 
curious  effect  it  is  alleged  to  have  had  on 
the  mind  of  Nicholas  I.,  whose  death  took 
place,  about  a  fortnight  afterwards,  from 
pulmonic  paralysis,  according  to  official 
statements  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  to 
doubt;  but,  according  to  Dr.  Granville, 
from  cerebral  disease.  Dr.  Grranville's 
reasons,  on  which  he  based  this  opinion, 
were  contained  in  the  following  letters, 
published  by  the  Times  on  March  3rd, 
and  which  we  give  in  extenso,  as,  to  say 
the  least,  a  remarkable  coincidence  : — 

«  To  the  Editor  of  the  '  Times: 

"  1,  Curzon  Street,  May  Fair,  March  3. 

"Sir, — I  commit  into  your  hands  the 
following  letter  and  memorandum  for  pub- 
lication. It  is  fit  that  the  people  of  this 
country  should  know  that,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  diplomatic  dispute  with 
Russia,  ministers  were  made  aware  of  the 
state  of  mind  and  prospect  of  life  of  its 
mighty  ruler.  The  discussions  carried  on 
with  him  were  shaped  on  the  usual  meta- 
physical grounds.  They  should  have  been 
guided  instead  by  a  knowledge  of  the  phy- 
sical condition  of  the  disputant. 

"  At  every  confidential  interview  with  the 
British  representative,  up  started  the  mono- 
maniacal  idea  of  '  Vhomifne  malade — grave- 
Tiient  malade,''  which  was  often  repeated, 
*  not  without  excitement,'  added  Sir  George 
H.  Seymour.  If  this  fact  did  not  of  itself 
open  the  eyes  of  ministers  in  January  and 
February  of  1853,  the  timely  professional 
warning  conveyed  to  them  in  the  annexed 
letter  not  long  after,  might,  one  would 
think,  put  ministers  on  their  guard,  albeit 
the  warning  came  from  an  humble  indi- 
vidual.; Who  knows  how  many  thousand 
lives  since  sacrificed,  and  millions  of  money 
squandered,  might  not  have  been  saved  if, 
on  the  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the  warn- 
ing received,  instead  of  continuing  for 
months  together  all  sorts  of  unprofitable 
arguments,  peremptory  language  and  per- 
emptory action  had  been  employed,  leaving 
no  time  to  the  imperial  and  really  '  sick 
man'  for  the  infliction  on  his  own  devoted 
168 


people,  and  those  of  the  three  nations  allied 
against  him,  of  that  irreparable  mischief 
which  he  has  been  siiffered  to  perpetrate  ? 
It  was  thus  that  Pitt  dealt  with  Paul :  but, 
alas !  there  is  no  Pitt  now. 

"  For  regularity's  sake  I  mention  that 
three  passages  in  the  following  letter,  which 
was  strictly  confidential,  are  omitted.  The 
first  was  the  expression  of  a  purely  reli- 
gious opinion,  which,  though  awfully  ap- 
propriate at  this  moment,  might  be  con- 
sidered presumptuous.  The  second  de- 
tailed the  grounds  on  which,  during  my 
residence  of  several  weeks  in  St.  Peters- 
burg in  1849,  in  attendance  on  a  high 
personage  at  the  imperial  court,  I  formed 
the  medical  opinion  which  I  deemed  it  my 
duty  to  convey  to  the  government  at  home : 
their  publication  at  this  moment  would  be 
injudicious.  The  third  passage  was  an 
allusion  to  my  ill-requited  service  in  the 
navy,  which  cannot  interest  your  readers. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be  your  obedient 
servant, 

"  A.  B.  Granville,  M.D." 


Confidential  Letter  to  Viscount 
Palmerston. 


66 


Kissingen,  Bavaria,  July  6,  1853. 
"  My  Lord, — Failing  in  my  endeavours  to 
meet  with  your  lordship  at  the  appointed 
interview  at  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
22nd  ult.,  at  which  I  proposed  to  make  a 
viva  voce  communication  of  some  impor- 
tance to  the  government,  as  I  thought, 
concerning  the  present  political  discussions 
with  Russia,  I  stated,  in  a  second  note 
written  at  the  moment  of  my  departure 
from  England  for  this  place,  that  I  re- 
gretted the  disappointment,  inasmuch  as 
the  subject  of  the  intended  communication, 
from  its  delicate  nature,  did  not  admit  of 
being  committed  to  paper.  I  think  so 
still.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  neces- 
sity of  the  government  being  put  in  pos- 
session of  the  communication  appears  to 
me  to  become  every  day  so  much  more 
urgent,  that  if  it  is  to  be  of  any  use  it 
must  be  made  at  once,  or  it  will  fail  to 
direct  ministers  in  time,  as  I  think  the 
communication  is  capable  of  doing,  in  their 
negotiations  with  Russia,  and  in  their  esti- 
mation of  the  one  particular  element 
which,  I  apprehend,  has  first  provoked, 
and  is  since  pushing  on,  the  emperor  in  his 
present  reckless  course.     Mine  is    not  a 


S'JlCM(O^L.^..i    K  . 


r  ^^  T'  F  i".'  0  T^        n  Y        R  IT  R  r  T  A 


OB:  185Z. 


"'NDOT!    J-R'NIIIIG  AND  PUHUSHIMG    COMT'ANY    1    Mi;!  '.: 


A.D.  1855.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[a  strange  story. 


political,  but  a  professional  communica- 
tion, therefore  strictly  confidential.  It  is 
not  conjectural,  but  positive,  largely  based 
on  personal  knowledge,  and  partly  on  im- 
parted information  accidentally  obtained — 
it  is  not  essential  that  I  should  say  from 
whom,  for  I  take  the  responsibility  of  the 
whole  on  myself,  inasmuch  as  the  whole 
but  confirms  what  I  have  myself  observed, 
studied,  or  heard  on  the  spot. 

"  The  Western  cabinets  find  the  conduct 
of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  strange,  prepos- 
terous,   inconsistent,    unexpected.       They 
wonder  at  his  demands ;  they  are  startled 
at  his  state  papers  ;  they  cannot  compre- 
hend their  context ;  they  recognise  not  in 
them  the  clear  and  close  reasoning  of  the 
Nestor  of  Russian   diplomacy,   but   rather 
the  dictates  of  an  iron  will  to  which  he  has 
been  made  to  affix  his  name ;    they  view 
the  emperor's  new  international  principles 
as  extravagant ;  they  doubt  if  he  be  under 
the  guidance  of  wise  counsels.     Yet  they 
proceed  to  treat,  negotiate,  and  speak  as  if 
none  of  these  perplexing  novelties  in  diplo- 
macy   existed    on    the   part   of    a   power 
hitherto  considered  as  the  model  of  politi- 
cal loyalty.     The  Western  cabinets  are  in 
error.     The  health  of  the  czar  is  shaken. 
He  has  been  irritable,  passionate,  fanciful, 
more  than  usually  superstitious,  capricious, 
hasty,  precipitate,  and  obstinate  withal — 
all  from  ill-health,  unskilfully  treated ;  and 
of  late  deteriorating  into  a  degree  of  cere- 
bral excitement,  which,  while  it  takes  from 
bim  the  power  of  steady  reasoning,  impels 
him   to   every  extravagance,  in  the   same 
manner  as  with  his  father  in  1800;  as  with 
Alexander,  in  Poland,  in  1820;    as  with 
Constantine,  at  Warsaw,  in  1830 ;  as  with 
Michael,   at    St.   Petersburg,   in    1848-'9. 
Like  them,  his  nature  feels  the  fatal  trans- 
mission of  hereditary  insanity,  the  natural 
consequence   of    an    overlooked   and   pro- 
gressive  congestion   of  the    brain.      Like 
them,  he  is  hurrying  to  his  fate,  sudden 
death,  from  congestive  disease.     The  same 
period  of  life,  between  forty-five  and  sixty 
years  of  age,  sees  the  career  of  this  fated 
family  cut   short.      Paul,  at  first  violent 
and  fanatical,  a  perfect  lunatic  at  forty- 
five  years  of  age,  is  despatched  at  forty- 
seven,  in  180b     Alexander  dies  at  Tagan- 
rog in  December,   1825,  aged  forty-eight. 
For  five  years  previously  his  temper  and 
his    mind    had    at   times    exhibited    the 
parental  malady  by  his  capricious  and  way- 
ward manner  of  treating  the  Polish  pro- 

VOL.  II.  z 


vinces.     He  died  of  congestive  fever  of  the 
brain,  during  which  he  knocked  down  his 
favourite    physician  —  Sir   James    Wylie, 
who  assured  me  of  the  fact  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, in  1828 — because  he  wished  to  apply 
leeches     to     his     temples.       Constantine, 
eccentric  always,  tyrannical,  cruel,  dies  at 
Warsaw  suddenly  in  July,  1831,  aged  fifty- 
two  years,  after  having  caused  rebellion  in 
the  country  by  his  harsh  treatment  of  the 
cadet  officers.     I  saw  and  conversed  with 
him  on  the  parade,  and  in  its  palace   at 
Warsaw,  in   December,    1828.     His   looks 
and   demeanour  sufficiently   denoted   to  a 
medical  man  what   he  was,  and  what  his 
fate  would  be.     It  has  been  said  that  he 
died  of  cholera ;  again,  that  he  had  been 
despatched  like  his  father.     The  physician 
in  chief  of  the  Polish  military  hospitals 
assured  me,  some  years  after,  that  he  had 
died  apoplectic  and  in  a  rage.     Michael, 
after  many   years   of    suffering    from   the 
same   complaints    which    afflict    his   only 
surviving    brother  —  enlarged    liver,    de- 
ranged digestion,  and  fulness  of   blood  in 
the  head — became,  in   1848-'9,  intolerably 
irritable,   violent,   and    tyrannical   to    his 
own  officers  of  the  artillery  and  engineer 
service,  of  which  he  was  the  supreme  chief. 
In   July,  1849,   he   consulted    me   at    St. 
Petersburg.      It  was  after  he  had  passed 
in  review  the  whole  train  of  artillery  which 
was  leaving    the  capital  for   Hungary,  at 
which  review  I  was  present  and  near  him, 
and   witnessed    scenes   of    violent  temper 
towards  generals  and  aides-de-camp  hardly 
equalled  in  a  lunatic  asylum.     I  found  him 
as   described  above.      I   advised   cupping, 
diet,    non-exposure    to    the    sun    and    to 
fatigue,    the    administration    of    suitable 
medicines,  and  the  cessation  from  drinking 
steel  mineral  waters,  of  which  he  was  fond 
ever  since  he  had  been  at  Kissingen.     His 
physician,  the   younger  Sir   James  Wylie 
(himself    since    suddenly  dead),    assented 
reluctantly,  but  did  not    carry  my  advice 
into   execution.     The  grand-duke,   in  the 
state  he   was,  unrelieved    by  any  medical 
measure   or   proper  treatment,  joined  the 
army,  rode  out  in  the  sun,  and  fell   from 
his  horse  apoplectic  in   September,   1849, 
aged    forty-eight.     To   complete   the    dis- 
astrous picture    of  the   grand-children   of 
Catharine,  their  mother,  Maria  of  Wiirtem- 
berg,    a    most    exemplary   princess,    died 
apoplectic    in   November,    1829,    scarcely 
more    than   sixty-five   years   of  age.     The 
attack,  mistaken  for  weakness,  was  treated 

169 


CONTINUANCE  OF  THE  WAR.]        HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1855. 


with  stimulants  and  bark  by  her  physician, 
Ruhl,  and  bleedinpj  was  only  had  recourse 
to  when  the  mistake  was  discovered — but 
too  late  to  save.  The  meek  and  mild 
Elizabeth  had,  but  a  short  time  before, 
followed  her  imperial  partner,  Alexander, 
to  the  grave,  in  the  still  fresh  years  of 
womanhood,  fifty  years  of  age. 

"During  my  second  sojourn  in  St. 
Petersburg,  in  1849,  for  a  period  of  ten 
weeks  *  *  *  *  What  the  opinion  was 
of  the  emperor's  health — what  acts  of  his 
came  to  my  knowledge,  which  bespoke 
eccentricity — what  were  the  sentiments  of 
his  physician.  Dr.  Mandt,  who,  homcB- 
opathist  as  he  is,  and  exercising  a  most 
peremptory  influence  over  his  master, 
leaves  him,  nevertheless,  unrelieved,  ex- 
cept by  mystical  drops  and  globules — what 
transpired  of  political  doctrines  and 
opinions,  or,  in  fine,  what  I  gathered  after- 
wards at  Moscow  on  all  co-equal  points, 
must  be  left  to  your  lordship's  conjecture, — 
not  difficult  after  all  I  have  divulged.  To 
go  further  would  be  like  a  breach  of  trust, 
and  of  that  I  shall  never  be  guilty.  In  all 
I  have  related  there  is  nothing  that  had 
been  committed  to  me  as  a  privileged  com- 
munication ;  while  the  imperative  require- 
ments of  the  moment  calling  for  its  im- 
mediate divulgement,  I  hesitate  not  to 
make  it,  under  the  firmest  conviction  that 
my  fears  and  anticipations  will  be  surely 
realised.  If  so,  then  the  method  of  dealing 
with  an  all-powerful  sovereign  so  visited 
must  differ  from  the  more  regular  mode  of 
transacting  business  between  government 
and  government.  For  this  purpose  it  is— 
to  put  her  majesty's  ministers  on  their 
guard  accordingly,  that  I  have  determined 
to  place  in  your  lordship's  hands  the  pre- 
sent professional  information,  which  must 
be  considered  as  so  strictly  confidential 
that  I  shall  not  sign  it  with  my  name. 

"  That  I  have  selected  your  lordship  as 
the  channel  of  my  communication,  rather 
than  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  to 
whom  more  properly  it  should  have  been 
addressed,  will  at  once  appear  natural  to 
170 


your  lordship.  In  my  capacity  of  once, 
and  for  some  years,  your  lordship's  physi- 
cian (though  not  now  honoured  with  that 
title),  your  lordship  has  known  me  per- 
sonally, and  is  convinced  that  what  my 
pen  commits  to  paper,  may  be  taken  as 
coming  from  an  honourable  man  and  your 
obedient  servant. 

"N.B. — An  acknowledgment  of  the  re- 
ceipt of  this  letter  came  by  return  of  post 
in  Lord  Palmerston's  handwriting. 

"  Memorandum, — At  an  interview  with 
Lord  Palmerston,  February  23,  1854,  on 
matters  of  a  private  nature,  his  lordship 
was  pleased  to  ask  me,  before  we  separated, 
whether  I  still  adhered  to  my  opinion  and 
prediction.  I  replied,  that  before  July 
1855  (the  emperor  would  then  be  fifty- 
nine  years  old),  what  I  had  anticipated 
would  happen.  '  Let  but  a  few  reverses 
overtake  the  emperor,'  I  added,  *and  his 
death,  like  that  of  all  his  brothers,  will  be 
sudden.'  It  has  proved  so.  Alma,  Inker- 
mann,  Balaklava,  shook  the  mighty  brain : 
Eupatoria  completed  the  stroke,  which 
has  anticipated  my  prognosis  only  by  a 
few  weeks. 

«  A.  B.  G." 

It  was  hoped  that  the  death  of  the  czar 
would  entail  the  speedy  conclusion  of  peace  ; 
but  the  only  effect  it  had  on  the  Russian 
garrison  at  Sebastopol,  was  to  open  a  very 
brisk  cannonade  on  the  day  when  the  news 
was  received;  whilst  Alexander  II.  fully 
determined  to  carry  on  the  war  to  the 
bitter  encj.  The  hopes,  therefore,  based  on 
the  death  of  Nicholas,  of  a  speedy  peace, 
were  not  fulfilled  ;  and  both  sides  applied 
themselves  with  redoubled  energy  to  their 
respective  tasks.  The  immediate  result  of 
Alexander's  accession  was  the  recall  of 
Prince  Mentschikoff,  and  the  appointment 
of  Prince  Gortchakoff  to  the  command  of 
the  troops  in  the  eastern  Crimea;  whilst 
very  strict  inquiries  were  held  as  to  the 
abuses  and  corruptions  prevailing,  both  in 
the  civil  and  military  branches  of  the 
administration. 


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RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[third  bombardment. 


t 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THIRD   BOMBARDMENT  OF   SEBASTOPOL  ;   CAPTURE   OP  THE  MAMELON  ;    UNSUCCESSFUL  ASSAULT  ;    BATTLB 
OF  THE   TCHERNAIA  ;   FINAL  BOMBARDMENT  AND   ASSAULT  ;   FALL   OF   SEBASTOPOL. 


The  failure  of  the  second  bombardment 
encouraged  the  Russians  as  much  as  it  dis- 
heartened the  allies,  and  they  pushed  on 
their  defensive  works  with  such  energy, 
that  General  Pelissier  insisted  on  the  ne- 
cessity of  quitting  the  semi-defensive  atti- 
tude the  allies  had  been  following,  and 
energetically  taking  the  offensive.  He  was 
convinced  that  strong  and  determined 
assaults  would  be  much  more  calculated 
to  result  in  success  far  more  speedily,  and 
at  no  greater  loss,  than  the  investing  and 
bombarding  policy  hitherto  adopted.  This 
opinion  was  shared  by  many  of  the  officers, 
but  discountenanced  by  Marshal  Canrobert, 
who  WHS,  as  it  were,  placed  between  three 
cross-fires — the  urgent  expostulations  of 
the  assaulting  theorists,  the  more  careful 
policy  of  Lord  Raglan,  and  the  instructions 
received  from  Paris ;  especially  from  Napo- 
leon, who  but  imperfectly  understood  the 
situation.  Canrobert,  however,  so  far  ac- 
ceded to  Pelissier's  designs  as  to  permit 
him  to  assault  the  outworks  of  the  centre 
bastion,  regarding  which  Pelissier  had 
written  to  him  as  follows: — "This  work 
has  been  greatly  enlarged,  and  soon  it  will 
be  united  with,  and  form  a  part  of,  the 
body  of  the  place,  and  require  a  siege  like 
the  rest — a  veritable  siege,  involving  sacri- 
fices really  greater  than  the  coup  de  main 
that  I  have  proposed  to  you,  and  which 
our  officers  consider  necessary  for  the  secu- 
rity of  our  trenches  and  of  our  batteries. 
If  it  rested  with  me  to  decide,  I  should 
not  hesitate.  The  ardour  of  the  Russians 
in  thus  pushing  forward  to  create  this 
obstacle,  and  in  working  even  when  under 
a  hot  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry,  shows 
what  importance  they  attach  to  this  new 
work.  It  forewarns  us  of  the  attention 
that  we  ought  to  pay  to  the  matter :  and  the 
Russians  thus  extending  themselves  towards 
the  Quarantine,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted 
that  it  is  an  advanced  line  of  defence  which 
they  are  establishing,  with  most  daring 
activity.  Day  and  night  they  are  to  be 
seen  working  unceasingly.  If  we  do  not 
march  upon  them,  the  enemy,  emboldened 
thereby,  will  be  able  to  march  upon  us." 


The  result  of  the  attack,  which  took 
place  on  May  1st,  was  the  occupation  of 
the  work  after  a  most  determined  assault, 
the  Russians  endeavouring  next  day  to 
regain  possession  of  the  lost  ground,  but 
unsuccessfully,  all  their  efforts  wrecking  on 
the  determined  resistance  of  the  Foreign 
Legion,  which  had  relieved  the  storming 
party. 

On  May  19th,  Pelissier  succeeded  to  the 
command-in-chief  (Canrobert  having  re- 
signed it)  over  the  French  forces,  and  thus 
was  inaugurated  the  new  policy,  according 
to  which,  under  a  fierce  cannonade,  the 
southern  side  of  Sebastopol  was  to  be 
stormed  in  force  along  the  whole  of  the 
line.  To  this  end,  all  preparations,  with 
the  exception  of  an  expedition  to  the  east- 
ern shores  of  the  Crimea,  now  tended,  and 
at  half-past  two  o'clock,  on  June  6th,  1855, 
a  tremendous  cannonade  was  opened  along 
the  whole  line  from  457  pieces  of  artillery. 
The  numbers  of  the  allies,  including  the 
Sardinian  contingent,  which  did  good  work, 
and  reanimated  the  flagging  spirit  of  the 
invaders,  now  amounted  to  no  less  than 
175,000  men;  the  Russian  troops  not  quite 
so  many,  but  not  far  off  that  number.  The 
cannonade  lasted  for  twenty-seven  hours 
without  interruption;  and  on  the  7th  of 
June,  40,000  men  proceeded  to  the  attack 
of  the  Mamelon  Vert,  the  redoubts  Selen- 
ginski  and  Wolinski — the  works  on  the 
Karabelnaia — whilst  the  British  troops 
attacked  the  quarries  in  front  of  the  Redan. 
Russell  thus  tells  the  tale  of  the  assault : — 

"An  immense  concourse  of  officers  and 
men  were  gathered  all  the  afternoon  round 
the  flagstaff  on  Cathcart's  Hill,  and  streamed 
along  the  spines  of  the  three  heights  which 
wind  towards  Sebastopol  from  the  English 
encampment.  The  fire  on  our  side,  which 
had  continued  since  daybreak  quietly  and 
soberly,  assumed  a  sudden  fury  about  three 
o'clock,  and  was  kept  up  from  that  hour  to 
the  critical  moment  with  great  activity. 
The  affair  itself  came  off  but  little  after 
the  anticipated  time.  Between  five  and 
six  Lord  Raglan  and  his  staff  took  up  a 
conspicuous   position  on   the  edge  of  the 

171 


I"' 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  MAMELON.]        HISTORY    OF    THE 

hill  below  the  Limekiln,  where  it  com- 
mands very  plainly  our  four-gun  battery, 
and  looks  straight  into  the  teeth  of  the 
Kedan.  A  flagstaff  was  erected  with 
threatening  ostentation  shortly  before  he 
came  down,  and  a  little  angle  of  rude  wall 
was  as  hastily  thrown  up  as  a  breastwork. 
The  man  with  the  signal-rockets  was  in 
attendance  ;  but  there  was  a  pause  yet  for  a 
while.  Sir  Colin  Campbell  was  observed  to 
place  himself  on  the  next  summit,  still 
nearer  to  the  enemy,  'commonly  called,' 
to  use  a  legal  phrase,  the  Green-hill.  His 
appearance  drew  some  fire,  and  the  shells 
dropped  and  flashed  close  by,  but  without 
disconcerting  his  purpose  of  having  a 
thorough  good  look-out  place.  It  was 
about  half-past  six  when  the  head  of  the 
French  attacking  column  came  into  view 
from  these  two  spots,  as  it  climbed  its 
arduous  road  to  the  Mamelon.  A  rocket 
was  instantly  thrown  up  as  the  signal  of 
our  diversion,  and  as  instantly  the  small 
force  of  our  men  detached  for  the  post  of 
honour  made  a  rush  at  the  quarries.  After 
one  slight  check  they  drove  out  the  Kus- 
sians,  and,  turning  round  the  gabions,  com- 
menced making  themselves  snug  ;  but  the 
interest  was  so  entirely  concentrated  upon 
the  more  exciting  scene,  full  in  view  upon 
the  right,  that  they  had  to  wait  a  good 
while  before  attention  was  directed  to  their 
conflict. 

"  The  French  went  up  the  steep  to  the 
Mamelon  in  most  beautiful  style  and  in 
loose  order,  and  every  straining  eye  was 
upon  their  movements,  which  the  declining 
daylight  did  not  throw  out  into  bold  relief. 
Still  their  figures,  like  light  shadows  flit- 
ting across  the  dun  barrier  of  earthworks, 
were  seen  to  mount  up  unfailingly — were 
seen  running,  climbing,  scrambling  like 
skirmishers  up  the  slopes  on  to  the  body  of 
the  work,  amid  a  plunging  fire  from  the 
guns,  which,  owing  to  their  loose  forma- 
tion, did  them  as  yet  little  damage.  As  an 
officer,  who  saw  Bosquet  wave  them  on, 
said  at  the  moment,  '  They  went  in  like  a 
clever  pack  of  hounds.'  In  a  moment  some 
of  these  dim  wraiths  shone  out  clear 
against  the  sky.  The  Zouaves  were  upon 
the  parapet  firing  down  into  the  place  from 
above ;  the  next  moment  a  flag  was  up  as  a 
rallying-point  and  defiance,  and  was  seen 
to  sway  hither  and  thither,  now  up,  now 
down,  as  the  tide  of  battle  raged  round  it ; 
and  now  like  a  swarm  they  were  in  the 
heart  of  the  Mamelon,  and  a  fierce  hand- 
172 


[a.d.  1855. 


to-hand  encounter,  here  with  the  musket, 
there  with  the  bayonet,  was  evident.  It 
was  seven  minutes  and  a-half  from  the 
commencement  of  the  enterprise.  Then 
there  came  a  rush  through  the  angle  where 
they  had  entered,  and  there  was  a  momen- 
tary confusion  outside.  Groups,  some  idle, 
some  busy,  some  wounded,  were  collected 
on  the  hither  side,  standing  in  shelter,  and 
now  and  then  to  the  far  corner  a  shell  flew 
from  the  English  battery  facing  it.  But 
hardly  had  the  need  of  support  become 
manifest,  and  a  gun  or  two  again  flashed 
from  the  embrasure  against  them,  than 
there  was  another  run  in,  another  sharp 
bayonet  fight  inside ;  and  this  time  the 
Russians  went  out,  spiking  their  guns. 
Twice  the  Russians  made  head  against  the 
current,  for  they  had  a  large  mass  of  troops 
in  reserve,  covered  by  the  guns  of  the 
Round  Tower.  Twice  they  were  forced 
back  by  the  onsweeping  flood  of  French, 
who  fought  as  if  they  had  eyes  upon  them 
to  sketch  the  swift  event  in  detail.  P^or 
ten  minutes  or  so  the  quick  flash  and  roll 
of  small  arms  had  declared  that  the  uncer- 
tain fight  waxed  and  waned  inside  the  en- 
closure. Then  the  back  door,  if  one  may 
use  a  humble  metaphor,  was  burst  open. 
The  noise  of  the  conflict  went  away  down 
the  descent  on  the  side  towards  the  town, 
and  the  arena  grew  larger.  It  was  ap- 
parent, by  the  space  over  which  the  battle 
spread,  that  the  Russians  had  been  rein- 
forced. When  the  higher  ground  again 
became  the  seat  of  action— when  there 
came  the  second  rush  of  the  French  back 
upon  their  supports,  for  the  former  one  was 
a  mere  reflux  or  eddy  of  the  stream— when 
rocket  after  rocket  went  up  ominously  from 
the  French  general's  position,  and  seemed 
to  emphasise  by  their  repetition  some  very 
plain  command,  we  began  to  get  nervous. 
It  was  growing  darker  and  darker,  too,  so 
that  with  our  glasses  we  could  with  diffi- 
culty distinguish  the  actual  state  of  affairs. 
There  was  even  a  dispute  for  some  time  as 
to  whether  our  allies  were  going  in  or  out 
of  the  work,  and  the  staff  themselves  were 
by  no  means  clear  as  to  what  was  going  on. 
At  last,  through  the  twilight,  we  discerned 
that  the  French  were  pouring  in.  After 
the  interval  of  doubt,  our  ears  could  gather 
that  the  swell  and  babble  of  the  fight  was 
once  more  rolling  down  the  inner  face  of 
the  hill,  and  that  the  Russians  were  conclu- 
sively beaten.  '  They  are  well  into  it  this 
time,'  says   one  to  another,  handing  over 


'A 


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m  mm- 


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ti 


A.D.  1855.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[fall  of  sebastopol. 


the  glass.  The  musket-flashes  were  no 
more  to  be  seen  within  it.  There  was  no 
more  lightning  of  the  heavy  guns  from  the 
embrasures.  A  shapeless  hump  upon  a  hill, 
the  Mamelon,  was  an  extinct  volcano,  until 
such  time  as  it  should  please  us  to  call  it 
again  into  action.  Then,  at  last,  the  more 
hidden  struggle  of  our  own  men  in  the 
hollow  on  the  left  came  uppermost.  '  How 
are  our  fellows  getting  on  ?'  says  one.  '  Oh  ! 
take  my  word  for  it,  they're  all  right,'  says 
another.  And  they  were,  so  far  as  the  oc- 
cupation and  retention  of  the  quarries  was 
concerned,  but  had  nevertheless  to  fight  all 
night,  and  repel  six  successive  attacks  of 
the  Russians,  who  displayed  the  most  singu- 
lar pertinacity  and  recklessness  of  life." 

The  assault  having  been  so  far  a  complete 
success,  it  is  to  be  deplored  that  the  orders 
which  came  from  Paris  to  storm  the  chief 
works   on   the   18  th  of  June,  in  order  to 
celebrate  the  anniversary  of  Waterloo,  were 
obeyed  before  Pelissier  had  properly  seized 
the  Russian  left.     The  orders  were,  how- 
ever, peremptory  ;  and,  much  against  their 
will,  the  allies  proceeded  to  carry  them  out, 
and  alter  in  a  hurry  the  dispositions  which 
had   been   formed.     The  consequence  was, 
that   Q^eneral   Mayran,   who  was   to   turn 
and    distract   the    fire   of    the    Careening 
Bay  works  and  ships,  was  discovered  by  the 
Russians,   and   obliged  to    commence    his 
share   of    the   assault    fully    half-an-hour 
before  the  time  resolved  upon — a  fact  that 
has  been  made  use  of  to  imply  that  Lord 
Raglan  gave  the  orders  to  advance  half-an- 
hour  after  the  signal  appointed.     The  con- 
sequence   was,  that    though    the    French 
actually   entered   the   MalakofF,  they  were 
unable  to  retain  possession  of  it,  and  were 
driven  out  again ;  whilst  Brigadier-General 
Eyre,  who  had  succeeded  in  occupying  the 
houses  in  front  of  the  Gordon  battery,  was 
also  forced  to  retreat  after  having  held  the 
position  from  4  A.M.  to  9  P.M.     In  short, 
the   result   was   a   decided  and   disastrous 
repulse;  and   ten  days   later  (June  28th), 
Lord   Raglan   succumbed   to  an  attack  of 
cholera,  brought  on  by  the  exposure  and 
anxiety  he  had  been  subjected  to.     He  was 
succeeded  in  the  command  by  Sir  James 
Simpson. 

All  efforts,  throughout  the  rest  of  June 
and  July,  were  now  concentrated  on  the 
works  against  the  Malakoff  and  Redan  ;  and 
so  deliberate  was  the  approach,  that  the 
Russians  decided  to  make  one  more  supreme 
effort  to  raise  the  siege;  and  on  August  16th, 


made  an  attack,  under  General  Liprandi, 
on  the  allied  position  along  the  river 
Tchernaia;  but  Prince  Gortchakoff,  instead 
of  employing  the  whole  of  his  forces,  or  at 
least  three-quarters,  only  sent  about  one- 
quarter  into  action — the  result  being  a 
decided  repulse,  attended  with  great  loss ; 
amongst  the  killed  being  the  author  of 
the  plan  of  attack.  General  Read,  and 
Major-General  de  Weimarn. 

By  this  time  the  contending  forcep, 
within  and  without  the  walls  of  Sebastopol, 
were  so  close  to  each  other,  that  the 
average  loss  of  the  allies  was  between  300 
and  350  killed  and  wounded  every  day; 
whilst  the  Russians  generally  lost  twice, 
and  on  some  days,  more  than  three  times 
the  number.  At  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember, the  French  were  within  thirty-five 
to  fifty-five  yards  of  the  Russian  works  in 
frdnt  of  the  Flagstaff  and  Central  Bastions ; 
whilst  the  English  approaches  reached  to 
within  270  yards  of  the  Redan. 

By  September   8th    everything    was   in 
readiness   to  commence  the  great    assault. 
On    both    sides    there     were    about    700 
heavy  guns  in  play  since  the  5th  ;  and  at 
mid-day  on  the  8th,  the  signal  was  given 
for  the  assault    on  the  MalakofF   and   the 
Little  Redan  by  the   French.     They  were 
both  carried  at  the   first  attack;  but  the 
latter  lost  again  soon ;    the    former   alter- 
nately falling  into  the  hands  of  the  French 
and  Russians  till  about  three  o'clock,  when 
it   was    definitely   in    the    hands    of    the 
French.     At  half-past  twelve  the  British 
forces  advanced  on  the  Redan,  carried    it, 
tut   lost  it  again    in  consequence  of  in- 
sufficient   support,    and    were    obliged   to 
content  themselves  with    directing  a  con- 
centrated  fire   upon    it  from   all   possible 
points.     This  failure   of  the  British  com- 
mander to   carry  the   Redan,  enabled  the 
garrison  to  assist  their  comrades  against  the 
5>ench    in    the    Little    Redan.     In    con- 
sequence, General  Pelissier  sent  to  inquire 
of  General  Simpson  whether  he  intended  to 
renew  the  attack.     The  reply  was,  that  he 
was   too  exhausted,  but  would   do  so  the 
first  thing  the  next  day.     But  when  day 
dawned,  it  was  discovered,  by  an  engineer 
who  crept  up  to  the  Redan,  that  it  was 
abandoned;  and  so,  in  fact,  was  the  whole 
southern  side  of  Sebastopol,  the  Russians 
havir  4'  retreated  during  the  night. 

With  the  fall  of  the  southern  side  of 
Sebastopol,  the  war  was  practically  at  an 
end,  and  the  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at 

173 


BUSSUN  TACriCS.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856. 


Paris  on  March  30th,  1856.  So  far  we 
have  dealt  simply  with  the  operations  of 
the  allies  before  Sebastopol ;  which,  though 
not  belonging  especially  to  the  history  of 
Russia,  have,  however,  had  such  an  influence 
on  the  future  relations  between  Russia  and 
the  Webtern  powers,  that  a  short  descrip- 


tion of  them  was  necessary,  and  justified  by 
the  importance  of  the  issues  raised  and 
terminated  by  the  war.  We  now  propose 
giving  an  account  of  the  life  at  Sebastopol 
during  the  siege,  drawn  from  Russian 
sources,  but  which  we  have  every  reason  to 
believe  faithful,  and  not  exaggerated. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  INTERIOR  OF  SEBASTOPOL  DURING  THE  SIEGE;     BRAVERY  OF  THE  TROOPS;     ANECDOTES 

OF   THE   DEFENCE. 


The  characteristic  features  of  Russian  his- 
tory  during   the   two    decades    that   have 
elapsed  since  the  Crimean  war  was  brought 
to  a  close,  may  fitly  be  designated  as  three- 
fold: — The   internal   development    of    the 
nation,   its   successful   progress  in  Central 
Asia,  and  its  gradual  emancipation  from  the 
bonds   imposed   upon  it  by  the  treaty  of 
Paris,  signed  on  the  30th  of  March,  185G. 
At  the  same  time  the  whole  period  has  been 
one  of  regeneration,  in  which  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  serfs  stands  forth  so  boldly 
as  to  furnish  an  indelible  landmark  in  the 
history  of  the  empire;   whence  dates  the 
death    of  the  old  feudal  system,  and  the 
birth    of  a  truly  national  life,  struggling 
into  existence  through  the  tangled  masses 
of  traditions  and  superstitions   that   have 
been  weighing  upon  it  for  ages.     On  this 
regeneration,  the  Crimean   war,  or  rather, 
speaking  from  a  Russian  point  of  view,  the 
defence  of  Sebastopol,  has  had  an  immense 
influence.     The  one  idea  that  has  pervaded 
Russia  since  then,  has  been  the  fixed  deter- 
mination to  regain   the  ground  she   then 
lost,  and  shake  off  the  shackels  of  what  she 
considered  as  derogatory  a  tutelage  as  any 
ever  imposed  upon  her  enemies,  the  Turks. 
For  this  purpose  the  Russian  statesmen  re- 
solved to  prepare  the  coming  generation  by 
all  the  means  in  their  power;  by  the  deve- 
lopment   of  industry,    the  organisation  of 
the  army  and  navy,  and  the  emancipation 
and  education   of  the  masses,  whose  birth 
was  ushered  in  by  the  roar  of  the  cannon 
thundering  from  the  walls  of  the  beleaguered 
city.     The  legend  of  the  nation's  future  life 
was  revenge  for  Sebastopol;    and  towards 
174 


this  end  everything  tended,  even  as,  at  the 
present  day,  revenge  for  Alsace  is  the  great 
motive  power  in  the  life  of  the  French  na- 
tion, which  patiently  and  perseveringly  sub- 
mits to  the  greatest  burdens  for  the  ultimate 
attainment   of   its  ends.      And,    curiously 
enough,   whilst  the  fall  of  Sebastopol  was 
hailed,  on  the  one  hand,  as  the  dawn  of  an 
epoch  of  peace  that  would  allow  Turkey  to 
develop  her  resources,  and  led  to  the  Invest- 
ment of  some  two  hundred  millions  sterling 
in  Turkish  securities,  the  same  confidence 
was  manifested  in  Russia,  and  another  two 
hundred  millions  sterling  invested  there  also. 
Thus  conqueror  and  conquered  were  equally 
benefited  by  the  fall  of  the  Russian  fortress; 
for  at  that  time  the  sensible  principle  of 
making  the  aggressor  pay  the  damages  of  war 
had  not  yet  been  adopted,  and  Europe  was 
still  unaware  of  the  absurdity  she  was  com- 
mitting in  supplying  two  inveterate  enemies 
with  unlimited  funds  in  consequence  of  one 
and  the  same  event.     Or,  to  put  the  matter 
in  another  way,  whilst  the  Western  nations 
incurred  a  vast  expense  to  put  a  stop  to 
Russia's  plans  for  aggrandisement  in  the 
East,  they  not  only  bore  the  whole  expenses 
of  the  war,  but  actually,  within  the  course  of 
a  very  few  years,  advanced,  in  about  equal 
portions  to  the  two  combatants,  a  sum  ex- 
ceeding the  French  indemnity  in  amount. 

If  the  fall  of  Sebastopol  thus  exercised  so 
vast  an  influence  abroad,  it  may  be  imagined 
how  important  a  part  it  mu  t  have  played  in 
the  subsequent  development  of  the  empire. 
It  will  therefore  be  highly  interesting  to 
know  how  the  defence  of  Sebastopol  has  been 
regarded  by  the  Russians  tliemselves,  and 


A.D.  1856.] 

has  come  to  be  one  of  the  chief  levers  in  the 
regeneration  of  their  country:   and,  fortu- 
nately, we  are  enabled  to  form  an  excellent 
idea  of  the  spirit  in  which  it  has  been,  and 
still  is,  regarded,  by  the  publication,  in  1872 
and  1873,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Grand 
Duke,  of  the  "  Sevastopolskii  Sbornik,"*  a 
collection  of  narratives  emanating  from  the 
defenders  themselves.     Circulars  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  officers,  and  advertisements 
made  public,  begging  everyone  who  had  any- 
thing to  communicate,  in  the  shape  of  docu- 
ments, letters,  or  personal  observations,  to 
send  them  to  the  committee  charged  with  the 
duty  of  selection,  verificatioD,  and  publica- 
tion of  the  matter  thus  collected.     They 
were  told  not  to  mind  the  style  or  form, 
but  simply  to   adhere  to   the  truth,  and 
state  their  views  with  the  fullest   frank- 
ness.    This  appeal  was  responded  to  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm.     Communications 
poured   in  upon   the   committee   from  all 
corners  of  the  empire :    letters  written  on 
the   bastions,   under   fire  of  the   enemies' 
guns,  and  by  the  light  of  lurid  conflagra- 
tions;  anecdotes,  complaints,  accusations; 
defences  of  this,  that,  and  the  other  general ; 
scientific  accounts  and  adventures,  nearly 
overwhelmed  the  committee,  which  spent 
over  six  months  merely  in  arranging  this 
heterogeneous  mass  of  correspondence.    The 
result  was  thus  eminently  satisfactory,  as 
showing  in  what  spirit  the  defence  of  Sebas- 
topol was  conducted  at  the  time,  and  in  what 
spirit  it  was  still  regarded  by  the  public  at 
large;    for   in    such  patriarchal   society  as 
that  of  Russia,  the  views  of  the  fathers  are 
still  those  of  the  children — in  all,  at  least, 
that   touches   the   honour  of    the   nation. 
And  what  is  especially  noteworthy,  is  the 
fact,  that  in  all  tliese  recitals,  the  dominant 
idea  is,  that  the  Western  nations  were  the 
aggrcosors,  waging  a  wanton  war  upon  holy 
Russia ;  whilst  the  Russians  appear  as  the 
patriotic  heroes,  resisting  this  attack  to  the 
last  drop  of  their  blood ;  for  when  Mentschi- 
koff 's  troops  entered  Sebastopol,  after  the 
battle  of  the  Alma,  the  Russians  saw  them- 
selves invaded  for  the  first  time  since  1812, 
and  regarded  this  second  invasion  as  similar 
in  character  to  that  of  Napoleon  I.     The 
inhabitants   were   stupefied  at  the  double 
news  of  the  disembarkment  of  the  allies 

*  "  Sevastopolskii  Sbornik :  Sbornik  roiikopisei 
predstavlennykh  ego  imperatorskomou  vysotchest- 
vou,  gosoudariou  nasliednikou  Tsezarevitchou  o 
Sevastopolskoi  oboronie  Sevastopoltsami."  St. 
Petersburg,  1872-73,  3  vols,  in  8vo. 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [Russians  in  sebastopol. 

and  the  defeat  of  the  army ;  for  the  Crimea, 
protected  by  a  powerful  fleet  and  one  of  the 
strongest  fortresses  in  the  world,  was  held 
to  be  better  protected  against  invasion  than 
any  other  province  of  the  empire ;  and  now 
the  enemy,  who  was  thought  to  be  so  far 
away,  was  not  only  actually  at  the  very 
gates  of  the  town,  but  had  defeated  the 
flower  of  the  Russian  army  in  what  was  con- 
sidered an  impregnable  position.  No  wonder 
that  the  usual  cry  of  "  Treason"  was  raised. 
Every  unknown  face  was  regarded  with  sus- 
picion— every  stranger  taken  for  a  spy.  An 
adjutant  of  the  commander-in-chief,  who 
had  gone  to  see  a  friend  in  rather  an  out- 
of-the-way  quarter,  was  at  once  arrested, 
and  narrowly  escaped  being  lynched  by  the 
infuriated  mob.  It  was  seriously  stated  in  Se- 
bastopol, that  Mentschikoff  had  been  heard 
to  say — "  I  meant  to  sell  Sebastopol ;  but 
the  English  would  not  pay  me  enough." 
This  absurd  accusation  was  repeatedly  made 
in  St.  Petersburg,  not  only  by  the  inhabit- 
ants  of  Sebastopol,  but  also  by  military 
men  of  some  rank.  Still,  after  the  first 
moments  of  panic  and  confusion  had  given 
way  to  better  sense,  the  interval  between 
the  battle  of  the  Alma  and  the  arrival  of 
the  advance  posts  of  the  allies  was  ener- 
getically employed  in  throwing  up  earth- 
works, constructing  bastions  and  re- 
doubts, and  connecting  the  Redan  and 
Malakoflf  with  the  other  works  by  covered 
ways  and  trenches.  For,  in  truth,  the 
fortress  had  been  neglected  for  many  years ; 
and,  had  the  allies  been  able  to  attack  it 
at  once,  there  is  no  doubt,  as  Marshal  Niel 
has  affirmed,  that  it  would  have  succumbed. 
But  thousands  and  thousands  of  willing 
hands  repaired  in  a  few  days  the  neglect 
of  years ;  and,  as  a  sample  of  the  enthusiasm 
and  energy  with  which  the  work  was  prose- 
cuted, it  may  be  mentioned,  that  one  of  the 
batteries  was  entirely  constructed  by  the 
prostitutes  of  the  town,  and  was  called,  to 
the  end  of  the  siege,  Batterie  des  Demoi- 
selles. 

As  is  well  known,  a  portion  of  the  fleet 
was  sunk  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbour, 
after  the  armament  had  been  withdrawn  to 
be  mounted  on  the  ramparts.  By  this 
means  15,000  sailors  were  added  to  the 
defensive  forces  of  the  place,  and,  under 
their  commanders,  Korniloff,  Istomine, 
Nakhimoff,  and  Pamphiloff,  became  the 
soul  of  the  defence.  A  curious  incident 
connected  with  the  sinking  of  the  fleet, 
shows  the  depth  of  superstition,  degenerated 


■if 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


INSIDE  SEBASTOPOL.] 

into  a  habit,  of  the  Russian  people.  The 
largest  of  the  vessels  sunk,  the  Tiuelve 
Apostles,  obstinately  refused  to  go  to  the 
bottom  in  spite  of  tlie  holes  that  had  been 
knocked  in  her,  and,  in  consequence,  a  shot 
was  fired  at  her  between  wind  and  water. 
But  still  she  would  not  sink,  and  kept  on 
raising  her  bows  and  stern  alternately  like 
a  restive  horse.  Then  it  was  suddenly 
remembered  that  an  image  of  St.  Peter, 
which  was  highly  venerated  by  the  crew, 
had  been  left  behind  in  one  of  the  cabins, 
and  a  boat  was  at  once  manned,  and  the 
forsaken  image  brought  triumphantly  to 
shore.  Thereupon  the  pious  vessel  settled 
down  resignedly  to  its  duty,  and  was  seen  no 
more. 

Whilst  these  preparations  were  going  on, 
the  majority  of  the  population  who  could 
afford  it,  sought  refuge  in  Simpheropol  and 
Odessa ;  whilst  the  remainder  awaited  the 
appearance  of  the  enemy  with  undisguised 
anxiety — a  prey  to  the  wildest  rumours  and 
superstitious  fears.  Thus  the  story  ran,  one 
day,  that  the  sentinel  at  the  Quarantine  had 
been  surprised  by  a  woman  suddenly  rush- 
ing up  to  him,  begging  him  to  conceal  her, 
and  deny  that  he  had  seen  her  if  anyone 
should  ask  after  her.  Scarcely  had  the 
sentinel  complied  with  her  request,  when  a 
horseman,  mounted  on  a  black  horse,  came 
galloping  up,  followed  by  another  clad  in  a 
red  cloak,  and  a  third  dressed  in  white,  and 
armed  with  a  variety  of  weapons.  They  all 
three  asked  the  soldier  if  he  had  seen  the 
woman.  On  his  replying  in  the  negative, 
they  all  disappeared  as  rapidly  as  they  had 
come.  The  fugitive  then,  coming  out  of 
her  hiding-place,  informed  the  sentinel,  that 
the  black  horseman  signified  that  not  one 
stone  would  remain  on  the  other  in 
Sebastopol;  the  red  one,  that  the  town 
would  be  visited  by  fire  and  blood ;  and  the 
white  one,  that  Sebastopol  would  arise  from 
its  ashes  more  beautiful  and  stronger  than 
ever.  This  story  created  an  immense 
excitement,  and  for  several  days  crowds  of 
people  went  down  to  the  Quarantine  to  hear 
the  tale  from  the  sentinel's  own  lips;  but,  as 
is  usually  the  case  in  such  matters,  the 
sentinel  could  not  be  found;  and  after 
awhile,  more  material  visitors  came  in  the 
shape  of  a  hail  of  shot  and  shell  from  the 
126  pieces  which  opened  fire  upon  the  town 
on  the  17th  of  October,  from  the  batteries 
erected  by  the  allies  since  their  appearance 
on  the  27th  of  September,  1854.  Thus 
commenced  that  strange  series  of  combats, 
176 


[A.D.  i854-'56. 


A.D.  1854-'56.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[inside  sebastopol. 


unprecedented    in   the   annals   of  modern 
warfare,  that  are  commonly  called  the  Siege 
of  Sebastopol.     But  inasmuch  as  the  very 
first   condition   of  a  siege  consists  in  the 
surrounding  of  the  place,  and  Sebastopol 
was   not   invested  for  much  more  than  a 
third    of  its   circumference,   the    struggle 
must  be  regarded  as  less  of  a  siege  than  that 
of  two  rival  armies  for  the  possession  of  the 
towns  they  were  respectively  occupying  and 
watching   over.     "We   have   now,"   wrote 
Captain     Lesli     to    his    wife,    "got    two 
Sebastopols  defying  each  other;  our  own, 
and  that  of  the  enemy  with  their  countless 
huts,  barracks,  and  trenches,  and  even  their 
own   railway."     Thus   the   besiegers    were 
met   in   their   trenches  and   mines  by  the 
besieged  in  their  coimter-mines ;  now  it  was 
the  besieged   who  attacked,  now  it  was  the 
besiegers.     Whilst  the  allies  were  hundreds 
of  miles  distant  from  their  native  shores, 
yet  they  were,  in  point  of  fact,  virtually 
nearer  to  their  homes  than   the  Russians 
were  to  Russia ;  for,  being  masters  of  the 
seas,  their   steamers  supplied  them  much 
more  rapidly  with  reinforcements  and  war- 
material  than  could  the  lumbering  waggons 
of  the    Russians,   which    had   to   traverse 
nearly   as    many    hundreds    of    miles    by 
wretched     and     often     impassable     roads. 
Thus,  in  reality,  the  allies  might  almost  be 
said  to  have  been  fighting  on  their   own 
soil,  and  that  nothing  but  an  insufficiency 
of  men  prevented  them  from  terminating 
the  war  in  less  than  half  the  time  that  was 
eventually  requisite.     Under  these  circum- 
stances  the   defence  of  the  Russians  was 
really  excellent.     It  was  offensive  as  much 
as  it  was  defensive ;  whilst  the  manner  in 
which  the  Russian  wielded  his  pickaxe  and 
spade  was  simply  admirable.     It  requires 
no    slight   amount   of    moral    courage,   or 
unexampled   discipline,  to   work   day  and 
night  under  a  hail  of  whizzing  projectiles 
without  being  sustained  by  the  excitement 
of  returning  the  fire,  which  was  so  effective, 
that  by  the  end  of  the  siege,  there  were 
only    fourteen    houses     left     standing    in 
Sebastopol,  out  of  a  total  of  2,247. 

At  the  same  time,  however,  the  besiegers 
were  hard  pushed;  and  even  during  the 
calmest  days  of  the  siege,  never  lost  less 
than  forty  a  day.  The  bombardments  in 
May  and  June  cost,  daily,  300  to  400  men. 
That  of  the  17th  of  August,  1,500;  and 
during  the  five  following  days,  over  5,000; 
the  same  number  falling  on  the  day  of  the 
final    assault:    whilst,  from   the    17th    of 


August  to  the  8th  of  September,  the 
Russian  fire  put,  by  artillery  only,  over 
18,000  men  hors  de  comhaL  Each  bom- 
bardment was  as  murderous  as  a  battle.  In 
some  of  the  batteries,  the  company  in 
charge  had  to  be  relieved  several  times  a 
day.  As  many  as  eight  and  ten  shots  fell 
round  one  piece  at  a  time  ;  and  one  day 
as  many  as  70,000  shells  and  bombs  were 
sent  into  the  town ;  and  the  explosions  of 
magazines,  ammunition  carts,  &c.,  were  so 
incessant,  that  old  soldiers  like  Semiakin 
declared  the  fire  made  their  heads  swim ; 
whilst  Grortchakoff  described  it,  in  his 
official  report,  simply  as  "  hell-fire."  The 
21st  regiment,  as  appears  from  the  Russian 
official  report,  lost  43  officers  out  of  50, 
and  2,000  men  out  of  3,000.  The  Olonetz 
regiment  was  reduced  to  less  than  half  its 
effective  force.  One  day.  Prince  Sviatopolk- 
Mirski,  on  leaving  the  hospital,  met  a 
trumpeter  of  his  regiment.  "  Well,"  said 
he,  "  and  how  is  the  battalion  getting  on  ?" 
At  first  the  man  would  not  reply :  at  last 
he  said,  "What  can  you  expect.  One 
saucepan  is  big  enough  to  cook  the  dinner 
for  the  lot  of  us.  There  are  not  fifty  of  us 
left." 

The  difficulty  of  filling  up  these  gaps 
was  very  great.  In  the  summer  and 
autumn  days  the  steppes  were  burnt  up  by 
the  heat,  and  men  and  cattle  half  choked 
with  clouds  of  dust  and  fine  sand,  that 
would  lie,  on  windless  days,  two  to  three 
inches  thick  on  such  roads  as  were  then 
practicable.  In  the  winter  all  this  dust 
was  transformed  into  bottomless  mire,  and 
the  roads  cut  up  into  ruts  as  deep,  in  many 
places,  as  two  feet ;  frequently,  in  fact, 
above  the  axle ;  so  that  it  generally  took 
thirteen  or  fourteen  horses  to  accomplish  a 
distance  of  eight  miles.  Nor  did  things 
improve  much  when  the  frost  set  in,  and 
the  ruts  were  transformed  into  rigid  grooves, 
out  of  which  the  arabas,  or  waggons,  could 
not  be  extricated  without  unloading.  The 
consequence  was,  that,  as  long  as  possible, 
the  trains  of  carts  had  to  be  driven  along- 
side the  road  till  the  earth  was  again  cut 
up ;  so  that,  for  miles  and  miles,  the  tracks 
had  a  breadth  of  cut-up  rutty  soil  of  300 
and  400  yards.  The  villages  for  a  hundred 
miles  around  were  deserted,  not  so  much 
from  fear  of  the  allies  as  of  the  pillaging 
bands  of  Tartars,  who  were  by  no  means 
reconciled  to  Russian  rule.  Yet,  in  spite  of 
all  these  drawbacks,  the  spirit  of  the 
population  was  excellent;  for,  although 
VOL.  II.  2  A 


the   Russian  peasant  is,   on   the   whole,   a 
peaceful,     home-loving     individual,    and 
averse  from   over-exertion,  the  will  of  the 
czar  and    the   church   are   two   forces   he 
implicitly   obeys;  and  in  this  war,  which 
was  purely  a  political  war,  and  not  a  war  of 
races,   no   means   were   spared   to  impress 
upon  the  peasant  the  fact,  that  the  country 
was  being  wantonly  attacked,  as  in    1812, 
and    to   represent   it    as    a    holy  crusade 
against   the   Turk   and   his   heretical   and 
schismatical  allies,  the  English  and  French. 
In  countless  appeals,  the  emperor  and  the 
bishops  called  upon  their  flocks  to  rise  and 
defend  "  the  holy  land,  where  flows  the  river 
in  which  St.  Vladimir  was  baptised,  with 
sword   in   hand    and    the    cross  on    their 
hearts."  *    The   miracle-working  image    of 
St.  Sergius,  of  which  countless  copies  were 
despatched  from  the  monastery  of  Tvoitra, 
was  said  to  have  undertaken  the  protection 
of  its   worshippers    "from  steel,  fire,  and 
lead;"   and   so   many   were    the   bands    of 
volunteers,  that,  had   the  means   of  com- 
munication  been   better,   the  government 
could  have  placed  twice  as  many  men  on 
the  field  of  battle,  and  have  overwhelmed 
the  allies  by  sheer  force  of  numbers.     This 
must  be  remembered  when  estimating  the 
powers  of  the  Russians  at  the  present  day. 
Then  it  took  as  much  as  three  months  to 
transport  a  regiment  from  a  spot  whence 
they  can  now  be  brought  into  action  in  six 
days. 

Meanwhile,  whilst  the  allies  were  con- 
tinually throwing  up  fresh  works,  the 
Russians  kept  up  with  them  till  the  out- 
works formed  an  intricate  maze  of  trenches, 
batteries,  and  bastions,  which  was  peculiarly 
fatal  to  the  fresh  troops,  who  were  unac- 
quainted with  the  localities  both  of  their 
own  defences  and  those  of  the  enemy.  As 
is  the  custom  during  a  siege,  a  man  is  told- 
off"  in  every  battery  to  watch  the  enemy's 
fire,  and  give  notice  to  his  comrades  of  the 
coming  shell.  Thus,  on  all  sides,  were 
heard  the  cries :  "  A  shell  for  the  battery 
St.  Sergius  !"— "  A  shot  for  the  Fourth  !" 
— "  For  us  !  look  out !"  These  warnings 
were  well  understood  by  the  old  hands  of 
the  batteries,  who  at  once  took  the 
necessary  precautions.  But  the  fresh 
hands  were  quite  at  sea.  One  of  the 
officers  thus  gives  his  experience  of  his 
first  shell : — 

"  Do  you  know  what  to  do  in  case  a 
shell  comes  for  us?"  asked  his  major. 
"  Oh  yes,"  was  the  reply,  "  I  must  throw 

177 


INSIDE  SEBASTOPOL.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1854-'56. 


ii' 


myself  flat  down  on  the    ground   as  soon 
as  possible."     At  that    moment   the  look- 
out cried,  "  A  shell  for  us !"     "  Yes,"  said 
the  major,  "  she  is  coming  straight   upon 
us."     So  saying,  he  seized  the  new  arrival 
by  the  arm",  and  began  dodging  about  till 
he  suddenly  threw  him  down  to  the  right; 
whilst  the  shell,  after  striking  the  ground, 
and  tearing  up  a  couple  of  planks  of   the 
platform  two  or  three  steps  to  the  left,  went 
on  hissing  and  whizzing  a  second  or  two 
till  it  exploded  with  a  tremendous  report, 
but  fortunately  without  killing  any  of  the 
men.     They  were  all  old  hands,  and  knew 
Jiow    to    shelter    themselves.      The    fresh 
arrivals,    on    the    contrary,  who   had    no 
friendly  major  at  hand,  suffered  terribly. 

As  the  enemy's  lines  advanced  more  and 
more  towards  the  Russian  works,  the  fire 
became  ^'U1  more  deadly  and  continuous. 
There   was  no  rest,  day  "or  night,  for   the 
defenders.     The  air  was  thick  with  smoke 
and   the  dust  raised  by  the  shells,  which, 
often    burying    themselves    in   the   earth- 
works, blew    out  showers  of  stones,  dust, 
and  gravel  all  round,  and  greatly  added  to 
the  danger  and  confusion.     At  night,  when 
the  fire  had  ceased,  there  were  the  damaged 
works  to  be  repaired,  the  embrasures  freed 
from  debris,  and  fresh  earth  to  be  thrown 
on  the  armoured  roofs  of  the  powder  maga- 
zines ;  there  were  fires  to  be  extinguished, 
ammunition  brought  to  the  front,  disabled 
pieces  to  be  removed,  and  fresh  ones  sub- 
stituted :  all  which  operations,  as  the  lines 
came  closer  to  each  other,   became  more 
and   more   dangerous,    on  account    of  the 
noise  arousing  the  enemy's  attention.    Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Rosine  relates,  that  bring- 
ing one    single  fresh    piece  into  position, 
mfght  cost  him   no  less  than  forty  men. 
The  men  got  tired  of  the  cries,  "  Look  out ! 
a  shell  for  us !"     Indifference  to  the  danger 
grew  with  their  familiarity  with  it.     They 
would  fall  asleep  standing,  in  spite  of  the 
cannonade;    and,    on    being    expostulated 
with,  replied,  "  If  we  are  to  die,  well  and 
good;  but   let  us  sleep."     The  cannonade 
was  becoming  monotonous,  and  death,  more 
or  less,  as  a  matter  of  course.     Breakfast 
was  served  in  the  batteries  at  10  A.M. ;  but 
as  often  as  not,  the  bearer  was  killed  on 
the  way,  and  the  viands  strewn  about  the 
streets,  which  bore  such  reassuring  names 
as  the  Valley  of  Death ;  the  Street  of  the 
Wounded;  Hell's  Gate;    and   the    Devil's 
Lane.      Whenever   an   officer   invited    his 
comrades  to  dinner  on  some  festive  occa- 
178 


sion — such  as  a  birthday,  or  the  arrival  of 
a  chest  of  provisions   from  home — it  was 
very  seldom  that  one  or  more  of  the  invited 
did  not  fail  to  put  in  an  appearance ;  and 
sometimes  even  the  host  himself  was  killed 
before  the  soup  was  placed  on  the  table. 
The  sight  of  the  mangled  corpses  produced 
one   strange    effect,   which    is    frequently 
noticed  in  the  pages  of  the  "  Sevastopolskii 
Sbornik ;"  it  produced  an  aversion  to  meat. 
Nothing   can   be  more   significant   of  the 
terrible  carnage  than  this  fact:  and  it  is 
within  our  personal  knowledge,  that  many 
officers  became,  and  still  are,  vegetarians  to 
the  present  day  in  consequence.     On  one  of 
these    *'  festive"   occasions,    the    host    was 
killed  by  a  fragment  of  shell  just  as  he 
was  drinking  to  the  emperor's  health ;  and 
almost  at  the  same  moment  another  shot 
passed  through  the   room,   taking   off  his 
brother's  head.     "But   what   were   we    to 
do?"  wrote  one  of  the  guests;  "we  had 
no  food  all  day ;  and  had  we  not  taken  what 
was  before  us,  we  should  have  had  to  fast 
till  next  day.     We  could  not  indulge  in  the 
luxury  of  sorrow  under  such  circumstances. 
So  we  removed  the  two  bodies  and  resumed 
our  meal,  which,  of  course,  had  all  grown 
cold  in  the  meantime,^^ 

That   the  wounded  should,  under   such 
circumstances,  receive  but  scant  sympathy, 
might  be  expected.     Everything  was  done 
to  prevent  them  from  crying  out  when  they 
were  hit.     Poor  mutilated  wretches  were 
roughly  told   to   hold  their   tongues.     Of 
course,  this  was  done  to  prevent  the  bad 
impression  their  shrieks  produced  on  their 
comrades.     Thus,  when  one  of  the  officers 
had  his  collar-bone  and  jaw  smashed  by  a 
piece  of  shell,  and  involuntarily  gave  a  cry 
of  agony,  one  of  his  comrades  exclaimed : 
"  What  are  you  making  that  noise  for  ?  " — 
whilst  Lieutenant  Sabourof,  picking  up  a 
piece  of  straw,  held  it  before  the  wounded 
man's  nose,  and  said,  "  That's  all  you  re- 
ceived, and  you  dare  to   make  a  row  like 
that!"      A   general    laugh   followed   this 
sally,  in  which  the  victim  himself  joined  at 
last. 

If  the  batteries  presented  such  a  scene  of 
incessant  carnage,  it  may  be  imagined  what 
the  hospitals  were  like,  in  spite  of  such  in- 
stitutions as  "  Gonchine's,"  a  house  devoted 
to  incurables.  Thus,  when  the  surgeons 
exclaimed,  after  a  cursory  inspection  of  the 
victim,  "Take  him  to  Gonchine's,"  the 
sufferer  knew  that  that  was  the  last  stage 
to  the  cemetery.     The  hospitals  were  under 


A.D.  1854-'56.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[inside  SEBASTOPOL. 


the  direction  of  the  celebrated  Pirogof, 
who,  however  much  he  might  have  been 
admired  by  his  scientific  colleagues,  was 
universally  dreaded  by  the  patients.  His 
appearance  in  any  of  the  wards  was  known 
to  be  the  signal  of  some  painful  and  dan- 
gerous operation,  and  was  in  itself  sufficient 
to  cause  a  relapse.  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Rosine  gives  an  account  of  the  fears  of  his 
friend  Stankievich,  who  was  laid  up  with  a 
fractured  leg.  One  day  Pirogof  appeared 
with  all  his  assistants,  and  approached  his 
bed.  "  How's  this  leg  getting  on  ?  "  he 
asked  curtly.  "Excellently,"  replied  the 
patient,  and  with  an  herculean  effort  he 
raised  his  injured  limb — thus,  as  he  subse- 
quently remarked,  saving  his  leg.  On  one 
occasion,  when  the  fire  of  the  allies  was  at 
its  height,  and  litter  upon  litter  was 
brought  in  with  mutilated  victims,  one  of 
the  officers  in  charge  was  told  by  Pirogof 
to  come  with  him.  All  his  other  assistants 
were  fully  occupied.  One  of  the  patients 
had  had  two  fingers  shot  off;  and  without 
chloroform,  or  any  other  preparation,  Piro- 
gof at  once  commenced  the  amputation  of 
the  mangled  stumps.  The  patient  shrieked 
with  agony.  "If  you  don't  hold  your 
tongue,"  cried  Pirogof  with  an  oath,  "  I'll 
take  the  whole  arm  off."  That  day  several 
barrows  full  of  amputated  members  were 
taken  out  of  the  hospital. 

The  dead  were  collected  every  morning, 
and  taken  down  to  the  port,  to  be  buried  on 
the  other  side  of  the  harbour.  The  officer 
who  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  seeing 
them  ferried  across,  received  the  appropriate 
name  of  Charon.  The  bodies,  during  the 
nightly  bombardments,  were  placed  in  an 
angle  of  the  bastion,  beneath  a  lamp  and 
the  image  of  some  saint.  A  lighted  taper 
was  placed  in  their  hands,  and  there  they 
remained  for  collection  in  the  morning; 
though  sometimes,  such  was  the  pressure 
of  the  work,  they  were  left  till  they  were 
lying  three  deep. 

But,  in  spite  of  all  these  horrors,  the 
Russians  kept  up  their  spirits  well ;  and,  all 
things  considered,  there  was  a  surprising 
absence  of  grumbling.  The  example  of 
their  officers  contributed  in  no  small  degree 
to  this  desirable  frame  of  mind.  One  of 
them  was  especially  notorious  for  his 
daring  and  reckless  love  of  fun.  One  day, 
in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  fire,  he  climbed  up 
on  to  the  parapet,  and  lying  on  his  back, 
stretched  both  his  legs  into  the  air  above 
his  head,  and  cried,  "  Here  goes  for  a  full 


pension ! "     After   numberless   exploits    of 
this  kind,  he  was  one  of  the  very  few  who 
did   not  get   a   scratch  during   the  whole 
siege.     The  sailors  and  their  leaders,  above 
all,  were  indefatigable  and  incorrigible  in 
their    reckless    bravery.     Four  admirals — 
Korniloff,  Istomine,  Nakhimoff,  and  Paul 
Stepanovich — were    killed    one    after    the 
other.     Of  these  Nakhimoff  was  the  most 
noted.     In   1822,  he  had  circumnavigated 
the  globe  with  Lazaref ;  in  1828,  he  took  a 
share  in  the  battle  of  Navarino  ;  and  finally, 
it  was  he  who  destroyed  the  Turkish  fleet 
at  Sinope  in  1853.     It  was  with  great  diffi- 
culty that  he  was  persuaded  not  to  attack 
the  allied  fleet  before  sinking  his  own  at 
the  entrance   to    the   port.     Wherever   he 
went  he  aroused  the  greatest  enthusiasm ; 
and  when  implored  not  to  expose  himself 
so  much  to  the  enemy's  fire,  he  told  his  ad- 
visers not  to  talk  nonsense,  as  though  the 
allies  had  nothing  better  to  do  than  bring 
their  cannon  to  bear  upon  him.     Colonel 
Bulmerincq  relates  of  him  : — "  One  day  the 
admiral   asked   me   to    take    him   to    the 
Schwartz  battery,  and  to  take  him  by  the 
shortest  way.   Leaving  by  the  right  flank  of 
the  bastion  instead  of  going  by  the  outer 
wall,  which  was  not  more  than  four  feet 
high,    and     commanded    by    the    French 
tirailleurs,  I  conducted  him  and  his  nume- 
rous suite  behind  the  batteries.     Suddenly 
he  turned  round  and  exclaimed,  '  Where 
are  you  taking  me  to  ?     I  don't   intend  to 
hide  about  in  holes  and  corners.     Kindly 
lead  us  by  the  shortest  way  along  the  outer 
wall.'     I  told  him  my  reasons,  but  he  re- 
fused  to   listen   to   them.     'My   name   is 
Nakhimof,'  he  simply  replied  ;  '  I  always  go 
the  shortest  way.'     So  we  went  the  shortest 
way,  and  lost  three  men  before  we  had  got 
to  the  end  of  it."     Paul  Stepanovich  was 
killed  in  a  similar  manner,  after  having  re- 
sisted all  entreaties  to  retire  from  a  place 
where  he  was  needlessly  exposing  himself. 

Prisoners  were  not  often  made.  To  the 
Turks  quarter  was  never  given ;  as  a  gene- 
ral rule,  "  there  was  no  time  to  look  after 
the  enemy's  wounded"— a  mild  way  of  say- 
ing that  they  were  left  to  die,  or  put  out  of 
their  misery.  In  no  case  did  the  Flastouns 
ever  make  a  prisoner,  or  succour  a  wounded 
man,  or  leave  a  man  to  take  his  chance  of 
living,  if  they  had  a  chance  of  despatching 
him.  These  Flastouns  were  a  sort  of  free 
corps  —  the  franctireurs  of  the  Crimea. 
They  were  mostly  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  and 
had  learned  their  trade  of  nocturnal  ex- 

179 


.--. 


INSIDE  SEBASTOPOL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1854-'56. 


A.D.  18o4-'56.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[inside  SEBASTOPOL. 


ploits  and  cold-blooded  butchery  in  tlie 
Caucasian  war.  Plastoun  means,  to  lie 
down.  In  America  they  would  doubtless  be 
called  "  Lie-downs,"  their  method  of  proce- 
dure being  to  sally  out  at  dusk,  and  bur- 
rowing in  the  abandoned  pits  and  holes 
formed  by  explosions,  to  pick  off  any  out- 
posts, and  procure  all  the  information  pos- 
sible. Being  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  locality,  they  generally  escaped  scot- 
free,  whilst  inflicting  a  vast  amount  of  loss 
on  the  enemy.  Thus  one  of  them  asserts, 
and  it  is  believed,  without  exasfoferation, 
that  he  alone  killed  fifty-six  men  during  the 
siege.  By  day  they  slept,  or  related  their 
adventures,  until,  with  approaching  night, 
they  sallied  out  again  on  their  murderous 
work. 

Whilst  the  soldiers  were  thus  battling 
night  and  day,  the  civil  population,  though 
small,  bravely  bore  its  share  of  the  dangers 
and  privations.  The  women  used  to  come, 
day  after  day,  to  bring  their  husbands  what 
food  they  could,  especially  the  sailors'  wives; 
whilst  the  higher  classes  employed  their 
time  in  nursing  the  wounded  ;  one  of  them, 
Prascovia  Ivanovna,  rivalling  Florence 
Nightingale  in  devotion  and  disregard  of 
danger.  Less  fortunate  than  her  English 
colleague,  she  was  killed  by  a  shell  at  the 
foot  of  the  Malakoff,  whilst  tending  one  of 
the  wounded,  who  were  lying  in  heaps 
around  her.  The  Russian  ladies,  according 
to  unanimous  testimony,  exhibited  rare 
courage  during  the  whole  of  this  trying 
period.  They  never  omitted  their  afternoon 
promenade ;  the  sentinels  posted  about  the 
streets  giving  them  the  direction  of  the 
shells,  and  telling  them  how  to  avoid  being 
struck.  Every  evening  the  band  played 
opposite  the  Karovski  monument ;  and  the 
only  thing  that  disturbed  their  equanimity 
were  the  English  Congreve  rockets,  which, 
however,  were  more  noisy  and  alarming 
than  dangerous.  But  perhaps  nothing  was 
more  striking  than  the  spirit  in  which  the 
very  children  regarded  the  infernal  scene 
around  them..  Their  favourite  amusement 
was  the  construction  of  ramparts  of  snow, 
bastions  with  mimic  embrasures,  which 
were  defended  by  our  party  and  attacked 
by  the  other — one  representing  the  allies, 
the  other  the  Russians.  Their  projectiles 
were  hollow  bones  filled  with  the  powder, 
and  furnished  with  the  bits  of  slow  matches, 
that  were  but  too  abundant  j  and  great  was 
the  delight  when  one  of  the  assailants  was 
wounded  by  one  of  those  improvised  shells, 
180 


and  the  blood  flowed  from  the  wound.  He 
would  then  be  taken  to  the  ambulance, 
where  the  girls  would  carefully  wrap  up 
his  finger  with  rags  ;  whilst  another  youth 
would  lead  him  to  the  prison,  and  hand  him 
over  to  the  gaoler.  These  combats  were 
sometimes  so  fiercely  waged,  that,  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  the  wounds  inflicted  were 
beyond  the  skill  of  the  youthful  surgeons, 
and  the  victims  had  to  be  taken  to  the 
hospital  in  all  earnest. 

Thus  months  and  months  passed  away:  yet, 
in  spite  of  all  the  carnage  and  bloodshed,  in 
spite  of  the  herculean  efforts  made  on  both 
sides,  no  prospect  of  a  termination  of  the 
struggle,  one   vvay  or  the  other,  was  to  be 
discerned.      Besiegers   and   besieged    were 
tired  of  the    vain   efforts   they  were  both 
making  to  escape  from  the  tangle  they  were 
in.     Grradually,  the  Russians  became  con- 
vinced, that  unless  they  were  relieved  they 
must  succumb  in  the  end,  as   one  fortifica- 
tion after  the  other  was  pounded  to  dust ; 
whilst  the  allies,  on  the  other  hand,  could 
not  but  look  with  dismay  on  the  prospect 
of   continuing  the  war   after  they  should 
have  succeeded  in  gaining  possession  of  the 
fortress  that  had  withstood  them  so  long. 
The   men   and   officers   of  the  allies  were 
beginning   to    lose   their   interest   in    the 
strife ;  whilst  the  Russians  were  becoming 
more  and  more  fanatical  and  savage.     The 
allied  troops  were  spending  their  blood  for 
a  political  principle,  in  which, as  individuals, 
they  had  no  interest ;  but  the  Russian  felt 
that   he   was   fighting   for   his   home   and 
family.     The  last  blow  was  the  successful 
assault  of  the  Malakoff,  the  tower  in  which 
sixty  Russians  had  so  bravely  withstood  the 
incessant  attacks  of  overwhelming  forces. 
In  the  latter  days  of  the  siege  the  sufferings 
increased  tenfold,  and  despair  began   to  be 
felt,   especially  when  the  news  arrived  of 
the  defeat  of  the  Russians  on  the  Tchernaia, 
by  the  combined  forces  of  the  French  and 
Sardinians,  on  the   16th  of  August,  1856. 
At  last,  the  redoubled  efforts  of  the  allies 
began  to  convince  General  Todleben,  that 
unless  the  siege  was  raised,  the  fall  of  the 
town  would  be  inevitable.     It  was  not ;  and 
on  the  8tli  of  September,   1856,  the  city 
and    south  side  of   the  fortifications  were 
taken,    the    Russian    forces    achieving    a 
brilliant  retreat,  and  uniting  with  the  field 
forces.  4 

Now,  from  these  recitals  by  Russians 
themselves,  several  things  are  apparent. 
They  show  the  unquestioning  discipline  of 


the  men,  and  a  hardness  of  character,  com- 
bined with  a  callous  indifference  to  suffer- 
ing in  others,  that  seems  to  be  a  pecu- 
liarity of  the  Slav  races.  But,  at  the 
same  time,  the  siege  had  a  powerful  effect 
in  diminishing  the  gulf  that  separated  the 
serf  from  his  owner.  When  man  and 
master  had  so  long  shared  the  same  priva- 
tions, the  same  coarse  food — when  the 
"  noble  "  appeared  divested  of  all  the  usual 
paraphernalia  of  rank  in  his  naked  humanity, 
it  was  inevitable  that  he  should  lose  some 
of  the  'prestige  that  made  him  a  superior 
being  in  the  eyes  of  his  servant.  On  the 
other  hand,  many  of  the  "  nobles  *'  came  to 
regard  their  serfs  as  something  better  than 
beasts  of  burden,  and  to  treat  them  as 
fellow-creatures  in  spite  of  their  inferiority. 
Thus  Captain  Lesli,  a  naval  officer,  wrote  to 
his  sister  during  the  siege : — "  There  is  one 
tiling  you  must  do,  my  dear  Nadia,  and  I 
hope  it  will  give  you  pleasure  to  do  it,  as  it 
will  be  coupling  the  name  of  our  dear 
brother  Eugene  (killed  at  Sebastopol)  with 
an  act  of  eternal  gratitude.  You  must 
induce  our  father  to  give  Fetis  his  freedom 
for  his  long  and  devoted  service  to  my 
brother.  One  soul  less  is  of  no  account ; 
and  in  exchange,  Eugene's  memory  will  be 
preserved  and  honoured  for  ever  in  Fetis's 
family.  I  have  already  written  to  papa,  to 
tell  him  that,  if  I  die  here,  my  last  prayer 
will  be — Grive  my  Ivan  his  freedom." — 
Nothing  can  show  more  forcibly  than  this 
letter  in  what  light  the  owners  of  the  soil 
regarded  their  serfs.  Body  and  soul,  they 
were  theirs.  And  that  the  enormity  of  the 
wrong  done  to  them  was  felt  in  a  hazy  sort 
of  way  by  the  captain,  is  proved  by  his 
making  his  slave's  liberation  the  last  and 
dearest  wish  of  his  life.  Not  only  that ;  but 
those  who  plausibly  argue  that  the  serf  was 
better  off  as  a  a  serf,  and  had  no  wish  for 
his  freedom,  are  crushingly  refuted  when 
the  captain  assures  his  sister  that  his 
brother's  name  will  be  honoured  for  ever  in 
the  liberated  serf's  household.  Evidently 
Captain  Lesli  and  his  brother  were  good 
and  kind  masters,  and  loved  by  their  serfs ; 
yet  no  greater  reward  could  he  devise  for 
them  than  their  liberation  from  serfdom. 
Nor  was  this  an  isolated  instance.  <^  Many 
and  many  a  serf  gained  his  liberty  from 
similar  causes ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  the  fraternisation  compelled  by  the 
bombs  and  shells  of  the  allies,  was  a  power- 
ful agent  in  promoting  the  emancipation  of 
the  serfs  by  the  emperor. 


From  a  military  point  of  view,  both 
the  attack  and  defence  of  Sebastopol  were 
failures :  the  former  from  causes  this  is  no 
place  to  enter  upon ;  the  latter  from  want 
of  means  of  rapid  communication,  and  in- 
feriority of  armament  both  as  regards  small 
arms  and  artillery ;  though  it  is  true  that, 
considering  the  vast  amount  of  metal  flung 
into  the  town  by  the  allies,  either  their 
pieces  were  highly  inaccurate,  the  ammuni- 
tion bad,  or  the  cannon  badly  worked ;  for, 
according  to  reliable  statistics  on  the  sub- 
ject, it  appears  that  it  took  83 J  heavy  shot 
or  shell  to  kill  one  man.  The  Minie  rifle, 
however,  was  infinitely  superior  to  the 
Russian  musket ;  and  it  was,  no  doubt,  due 
to  this  circumstance  that  the  allies  were 
able  to  counterbalance  the  disadvantage 
they  laboured  under  from  inferiority  of 
numbers.  But  want  of  means  of  locomo- 
tion was  the  one  glaring  defect  that  im- 
pressed itself  on  the  Russian  mind.  There 
was  plenty  of  material,  animate  and  inani- 
mate, to  be  had,  but  it  was  mostly  in  the 
wrong  place  and  unavailable  for  use.  It 
was  clear  that  this  defect  must  be  remedied 
before  Russia  could  throw  down  the  gaunt- 
let to  any  power  commanding  the  sea ;  and 
thus,  as  we  shall  see,  one  of  the  first  cares 
of  the  Russian  government  was  to  improve 
and  extend  its  net-work  of  railways,  and 
devote  more  attention  than  hitherto  to  the 
high-roads. 

Furthermore,  it  was  proved,  by  the  course 
the  war  took,  that  Sebastopol  was  really  of 
little  use  as  a  protection  as  long  as  the 
Black  Sea  was  open  to  all  comers.  As  long 
as  the  Dardanelles  were  in  the  hands  of 
another  power,  Russia  would  always  be 
open  to  attack,  and  liable  to  invasion,  by 
any  power  holding  the  seas.  This  is  the  real 
meaning  of  the  phrase  about  Constantinople 
being  the  high-road  to  India.  If  Russia 
was  in  possession  of  the  Dardanelles,  she 
would  be  absolutely  secure  against  any 
attack,  except  through  Austria  and  Prussia. 
If  proof  of  this  assertion  is  needed,  atten- 
tion need  only  be  directed  to  the  operations 
of  the  British  fleet  in  the  Baltic,  which  was 
absolutely  unable  to  accomplish  anything. 
Supposing  the  Dardanelles  in  the  hands 
of  Russia,  and  she  declares  war  against 
England,  or  moves  upon  India,  unless 
England  secured  the  active  alliance  of 
Austria  or  Prussia,  she  would  be  utterly 
unable  to  inflict  a  single  blow  on  Russia, 
except  by  disembarking  an  army  in  Turkey 
— if  Turkey  allowed  it — and  attacking  that 

181 


V 
'>  ' 


PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1856-77. 


!     f 

i  i 


small  strip  of  Kussian  territory  that  follows, 
for  a  short  distance,  the  lower  course  of 
the  Danube,  and  its  myriad  of  channels  and 
swamps.  Practically,  the  thing  would  be 
impossible  without  an  army  of  800,000 
men,  and  corresponding  stores.  This  con- 
viction, which  must  be  palpable  to  the 
meanest  understanding,  was  forced  upon 
Eussia  at  an  immense  cost  of  blood  and 
treasure;  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  endeavoured,  by  the 
treaty  of  Unkiar-Skelessi,  to  protect  this 
vulnerable  spot  in  the  Russian  heel.  Thus 
the  possession  of  the  Dardanelles  has  be- 
come an  article  of  political  faith  in  Russia, 
and  all  the  military  and  naval  authorities 
combine  in  demanding  it,  as  the  only  means 
of  rendering  Russia  absolutely  invulnerable 
by  her  sea-coasts.  Why  she  should  be 
invulnerable,  and  whether  she  should  be 
allowed  to  become  so,  is  another  question, 
which  most  other  nations  are  inclined  to 
answer  in  the  negative.  But,  from  the 
Russian  point  of  view,  the  possession  or 
control  of  the  Straits  is,  undoubtedly,  a 
necessity — is  recognised  as  such  throughout 
Russia,  and  will  be  strained  after  on  every 
occasion,  and  until  she  has  obtained  it,  or 
lost  all  hopes  of  ever  succeeding.  That 
she,  therefore,  eagerly  seized  the  first  op- 
portunity of  repudiating  the  treaty  that 
kept  her  out  of  •the  Black  Sea,  was  natural 
and  inevitable;  but  because  the  state  of 
Western  Europe  then  prevented  any  power 
to  interfere  with  reasonable  hopes  of  success, 
that  is  scarcely  a  reason  why  Russia  should 
be  allowed  to  advance,  unimpeded,  on  the 
path  she  has  marked  out  for  herself,  as 
leading  to  invulnerability  and  a  boundless 
field  for  the  exercise  of  boundless  ambition 
in  Europe  as  well  as  in  Asia. 


Thus  the  Emperor  Alexander  entered 
upon  his  inheritance  with  a  Past  to  undo, 
and  a  Future  to  unravel.  ^  Whilst  the  task 
his  father  undertook  had  still  further  in- 
creased its  gigantic  proportions,  the  means 
at  his  disposal  had  dwindled  down  to 
nothing,  and  years  and  years  of  labour  and 
expense  would  be  necessary  before  he  could 
hope  to  gain  the  power  to  cut  the  Gordian 
knot,  if  haply  it  could  not  be  solved  by 
diplomatic  means;  though  there  can  scarcely 
be  a  score  of  men  within  the  limits  of  the 
Russian  empire  who  would  entertain  such 
hopes,  knowing,  as  they  do,  that  were  the 
Turks  to  vanish  from  the  face  of  the  earth, 
they  would  be  no  nearer  the  accomplish- 
ment of  their  desires  than  before,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  with  the  whole  of  Europe  they 
would  eventually,  directly  or  indirectly, 
have  to  contend.  It  is  true,  the  emperor 
might  have  entered  upon  another  course. 
He  might  have  abandoned  the  tradition  of 
the  invulnerability  of  Russia,  and  have 
been  content  to  leave  the  dangerous  spot 
unprotected,  relying  on  the  justice  of 
nations  not  to  take  advantage  of  it  whilst 
developing  the  immense  resources  the 
empire  already  contained.  This  would 
certainly  have  been  the  wisest  course.  No 
nation  in  Europe  has  the  slightest  interest 
in  waging  war  upon  Russia,  or  molesting 
her  in  any  way ;  and  consequently,  every 
attack  she  makes  or  threatens,  however 
it  may  be  cloaked  with  high-sounding 
sentiment,  is  regarded  as  an  act  of  wanton 
aggression,  which  immediately  unites  those 
nations  which  consider  their  interests  in 
the  East  endangered  by  any  advance  of 
Russia  southwards,  with  a  more  or  less 
openly  or  secretly  hostile  league  against 
her. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION   SINCE   185G. 


(UEMSITZM^  (0)IF  ITiiiE    ^ilL^JLSMSIKCD)    CH^mom 


Oir  TEE    VASILJ    OSTBOFr  1n'£AH.  PZ  TETLSIiU5.G 


Among  the  many  unexpected  results  arising 
from  the  siege  of  Sebastopol,  not  the  least 
important  was  the  interchange  of  thoughts, 
views,  and  opinions,  between  the  inhabitants 
of  widely  differing  and  remote  portions  of 
the  empire.  Denizens  of  the  northern  and 
182 


eastern  provinces  compared  notes,  for  the 
first  time,  with  those  of  the  more  favoured 
districts  in  the  south  and  west ;  whilst 
comparison  could  not  fail  to  be  made  of 
the  condition  of  the  people  of  the  Western 
nations   and  their  own   by  the   prisoners 


.ui  ^u^:   i'ltiNiitiG  AML   I'Liiii.ijiiiNG  C(;yi'/-j;Y.  i^mited 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


EUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [progress  of  education. 


whom  the  fortune   of  war  led   into  other 
countries.      That   these   comparisons   were 
highly  unfavourable  to   Russia  was  to  be 
expected,  the   result   being   a   very   wide- 
spread dissatisfaction  throughout  all  classes 
of    the    empire ;    though,  of    course,    this 
dissatisfaction    varied    greatly    as    to    its 
causes.     The  officers  were  highly  dissatis- 
fied with  both  their  social  and  pecuniary 
position.      It  could  not  well  be  otherwise 
when,  for  instance,  promotion  to  a  general- 
ship from  a  colonelcy  was   regarded  as  a 
serious   pecuniary   loss,    inasmuch   as   the 
colonel,  having  the  control  of  the  supply 
of  certain  stores,  was  able  to  considerably 
augment  his  income  by  what  must  probably 
now  be  called  "  commissions."     From  this 
source  of  pecuniary  benefit  the  general  was 
excluded.      On  the   other  hand,   the  men 
began   to   ask  themselves  why  the  rest  of 
the  civilised  world  should  be  free  and  inde- 
pendent, and   they  alone   not   be   able  to 
come  and   go   at   will,  or  even  call  their 
souls  their  own.     But  when  they  returned 
to  their  remote  homesteads,  the  old  routine 
was  too  strong  for  them;  and,  falling  un- 
consciously into  their  old  habits  and  cus- 
toms, they  might  long  have  waited  for  their 
emancipation  from  serfdom  had  it  depended 
on  their  unity  and  agitation. 

But,   fortunately    for    them,    the   chief 
reason  for  their  emancipation  lay  in  quite 
another    direction.      The   complaints   and 
suggestions  made  after  the   close   of   the 
war,  combined  with   the   difficulties   they 
had   experienced   during   its  progress,  in- 
duced the  government  to  inquire  into  the 
causes  of  one  and  the  other;   and  in  the 
main  they  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  that 
the  possession  of  vast  estates  owned  by  few, 
whilst  producing  sufficient  to  enable  them 
to  live  in  luxury,  was  the  cause  of  their 
being  but  half-worked,  in  consequence  of 
no  one  having  an  interest   in  developing 
them  to  their  full  extent.     The  landowner, 
in  short,  looked  less  to  the  state   of  his 
lands,  than  to  the  serf,  to  supply  him  with 
his  needs ;  and  as  these  were  generally  suffi- 
ciently supplied,  it  was  inditferent  to  him 
that  the  same  result  might  have  been  ob- 
tained from  the  produce  of  one  quarter  of 
his  estate,  under  his  personal  supervision 
and   direction.      He   left   all   that   to   his 
steward  ;  the  steward  procured  the  necessary 
income ;  the  serfs  produced  it ;  and,  beyond 
that,  not  a  soul   cared   whether  one  acre 
could  be  made  to  do  the  work  of  two  or 
not.    The  consequence  was,  that  the  serf 


managed  to  clothe  and  feed  himself,  and  be 
his  own  tailor,  shoemaker,  builder,  carriage 
and  harness-maker,  splitting  his  energies 
up  into  a  multitude  of  objects,  and  remain- 
ing in  a  state  of  utter  stagnation,  feeling 
no  requirements,  and  creating  no  demand 
for  the  products  of  combined  and  or- 
ganised labour;  whilst  the  landowner,  the 
"noble,"  either  spent  the  whole  of  his 
time  and  income  in  the  capitals  of  Europe, 
or  wasted  the  produce  of  a  year  in  a  visit 
of  three  or  four  months  to  St.  Petersburg 
or  Paris;  after  which  he  would  hibernate 
on  his  domains,  in  a  state  of  semi-intoxi- 
cation, for  the  rest  of  the  year,  or  amuse 
himself  with  hunting,  and  the  introduction 
amongst  his  peasantry  of  the  pursuits  he 
had  learned  in  the  green-rooms  and  equivo- 
cal quarters  of  Paris  and  Vienna. 

The  government  could,  therefore,  no 
longer  resist  the  conclusion,  that  the  soil 
was  only  worked  to  a  fraction  of  its  capa- 
bilities, in  consequence  of  the  workers 
having  no  interest  in  it;  and  that,  as  a 
further  consequence,  there  were  no  demands 
to  stimulate  trade  and  industry,  and  no 
money  to  pay  for  these  demands  even  if 
they  existed.  These  were  the  true  causes 
that  led  to  the  promulgation  of  the  laws 
of  emancipation  in  1861;  laws  which,  de- 
nounced by  those  whose  interests  were 
attacked  as  certain  to  lead  to  revolu- 
tion, were  proved,  by  the  absence  of  all 
serious  opposition,  to  have  been  impera- 
tively needed. 

By  these  laws,  every  community  received 
the  right  of  local  self-government  almost  to 
the  same  extent  as  that  accorded  to  the 
American  township.  The  inhabitants  elect 
their  own  council  and  their  own  Staroshte 
(Elder,  or  Mayor),  who,  with  the  council,  not 
only  exercises  the  local  administration,  but 
also  judicial  powers  in  the  first  instance. 
Local  disputes  as  to  boundaries,  rights  of 
pasture,  wages,  &c.,  are  all  settled  by  the 
Staroshte  and  the  council.  In  fact,  as  liberal 
an  autonomy  was  granted  to  the  community 
as  that  enjoyed  in  Switzerland.  But  so 
immense  a  stride  from  absolute  and  the 
most  servile  dependence  to  absolute  inde- 
pendence could  not  be  expected  to  bear 
fruit  immediately,  nor  to  work  quite  satis- 
factorily for  at  least  a  couple  of  generations. 
The  most  extraordinary  decisions  were  pro- 
nounced, which  graphically  exemplify  the 
utter  state  of  barbarism  in  which  the  lower 
classes  of  the  empire  were  plunged.  For 
instance,    an  inhabitant    of   Elisavetgrad 

183 


.    .5 


>J 


4 


i     a 


i 


i:V    ' 


f 


/ 


PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION. 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-'77.] 


EUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [progress  of  education. 


accused  a  certain  Euphrosine  M,  of  having 
failed  in  her  conjugal  duties  towards  her 
husband,  who,  though  no  proof  was  brought 
to  substantiate  the  charge,  believed  in  its 
truth... ,  The  council  was  convoked  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Staroshte,  and  induced 
by  the  husband  to  pronounce  sentence  with- 
out the  wife  being  allowed  to  defend  her- 
self. The  sentence  was,  that  she  should  be 
walked  naked  through  the  village,  and  in 
that  state  receive  fifteen  strokes  with  a 
stick.  The  sentence  was  executed  to  the 
letter  one  severe  frosty  day  in  October.  This 
is  not  one  of  the  hearsay  tales  about  Rus- 
sians knouting  their  wives  to  make  them 
*'  love  their  spouses  the  more,"  but  a  case 
authenticated  by  the  British  consul  at 
St.  Petersburg,  and  cited  by  him  in  his 
report  in  the  Blue  Book  of  1870,  entitled, 
"  Reports  from  her  majesty's  representatives 
respecting  the  tenure  of  land  in  the  several 
countries  of  Europe."  On  another  occa- 
sion, there  was  a  violent  dispute  between 
two  of  the  inhabitants  regarding  the  loss 
of  a  pig  that  had  tumbled  down  a  pit  in 
one  of  the  disputant's  yards.  The  decision 
was,  that  as  the  pig  was  still  eatable,  and 
would  have  been  eaten  at  some  time  or  the 
other,  his  owner  could  not  claim  any  com- 
pensation ;  whilst  the  other  one  was  enjoined 
to  fill  his  pit  up,  lest  any  of  the  inhabitants 
fall  into  it.  The  objection  of  the  one,  that 
the  pig  would  have  increased  in  weight  and 
value,  was  met  by  the  reply,  that  the  cost  of 
feeding  and  keeping  would  have  counter- 
balanced that  advantage ;  whilst  the  com- 
plaint of  the  other,  that  the  pig  had  no 
business  in  his  yard,  was  summarily  disposed 
of  by  the  indignant  observation,  that  he 
ought  to  be  thankful  it  was  only  a  pig  that 
had  fallen  into  the  hole,  and  not  one  of  his 
own  children. 

Still  more  extraordinary  were  the  pro- 
ceedings recently  taken  in  regard  to  the 
Moslem  Tartars  inhabiting  one  of  the  vil- 
lages near  the  Caucasian  frontier.  It  ap- 
pears that  one  or  two  of  these  Moslems  had 
adopted  the  Grreek  religion,  but  had  abjured 
it,  and  returned  to  their  old  faith.  The 
clergy,  however,  would  not  permit  this  re- 
cantation, and,  treating  them  still  as  Chris- 
tians, invoked  the  assistance  of  the  authori- 
ties in  virtue  of  the  law,  that  every  Russian 
subject  must  attend  divine  service,  and 
communicate  a  certain  number  of  times  in 
the  year.  And  not  only  were  the  two  or 
three  renegades  proceeded  against,  but  the 
whole  of  the  Moslem  inhabitants  of  the  I 
184 


place.  In  vain  they  protested  that  they 
never  had  abjured  their  religion;  and  that 
even  if  they  had  done  so  at  one  time,  they 
were  Moslems  now.  It  was  all  of  no  avail ; 
they  were  told  they  must  submit.  Here- 
upon they  appealed  to  the  next  municipal 
council.  This  body,  after  due  examination, 
came  to  the  conclusion  that,  though  they 
had  not  yet  been  converted  to  the  Greek 
ritual,  still  they  ought  to  be,  and  a  com- 
mission of  clergy  was  nominated  to  under- 
take their  conversion ;  whilst  the  appellants 
were  ordered  forthwith  to  hearken  to  the 
persuasion  of  the  said  commission,  and  to 
obey  them  under  pain  of  confiscation  of 
their  property.  The  Moslems,  however, 
would  not  yield ;  the  consequence  being  that 
they  were  forbidden  to  leave  the  village, 
and  their  property  placed  under  public 
administration.  But  perhaps  the  most 
original  decision  was  that  touching  the 
paternity  of  a  child.  The  mother  acknow- 
ledged that  she  had  yielded  to  several  of 
the  inhabitants,  or  at  any  rate,  asserted  that 
she  had;  whereupon  the  Staroshte  decided 
that  all  of  them  should  contribute  a  certain 
sum  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  infant 
who  was  thus  endowed  by  this  Solomonic 
decision  with  several  legal  fathers. 

Instances  might  be  multiplied,  to  an  in- 
definite extent,  of  the  strange  results  pro- 
duced by  this  sudden  leap  from  irresponsible 
serfdom  to  responsible  citizenship.  They 
were  inevitable  until  the  people  had  received 
some  education  ;  and  it  was  naturally  one  of 
the  first  cares  of  the  government  to  estab- 
lish a  system  which  should  at  once  provide 
the  masses  with  elementary  instruction. 

The  first  efforts  of  any  Russian  govern- 
ment to  instruct  the  masses,  only  date  from 
the  days  of  Peter  the  Great,  who  en- 
deavoured to  introduce  the  system  he  had 
seen  pursued  with  such  advantage  in  Hol- 
land. In  1714,  he  created  a  number  of 
schools  for  arithmetic,  obligatory  for  persons 
belonging  to  the  higher  classes ;  and  in  1715 
and  1719,  made  them  obligatory  for  all 
classes,  excepting  the  nobility.  These  mea- 
sures, however,  excited  the  most  vehement 
opposition.  The  councils  of  the  various 
towns  overwhelmed  him  with  petitions, 
asking  for  the  suppression  of  these  schools 
as  dangerous  to  the  State.  In  1744,  there 
was  not  a  single  pupil  of  the  middle  classes 
to  be  found  in  them ;  and  none  at  all  when, 
some  time  afterwards,  establishments  had 
been  specially  endowed  for  the  clergy  and 
nobility. 


In  1775,  Catharine  II.  ordered  the  estab- 
lishment   of    schools   in   every   town  and 
village.     The  contributions  to  be  paid  by 
the  parents  was  fixed  at  a  minimum,  in 
order  that  the  instruction  should  be  within 
the  reach  of  the  poorest ;  but,  unfortunately, 
the  ukase  remained  a  dead  letter.     Every- 
thing   was   wanting:    buildings,    masters, 
books,  and  money.    Since  then,  the  govern- 
ment has  made  spasmodic  efforts,  from  time 
to  time,  to  introduce  now  one  system,  now 
another,  but  always  with  results  that  may 
be  described  as  practically  niL*  In  1782,  a 
committee,  under  the  presidency  of  M.  Za- 
vadovski,  proposed  the  institution  of  two 
classes  of  schools — one  with  a  course  of  four 
years  for  the  more  well-to-do  classes,  and 
another  with  a  course  of  two  years'  instruc- 
tion for  the  masses.     In  1786,  a  law  was 
passed,  requiring  everyone  who  wished  to 
establish  a  school  in  any  town,  to  pass  an 
examination   as   to  his  qualifications.     In 
1803,  the  higher-class  schools  were  trans- 
formed into  gymnasia,  on  the  model  of  the 
German   establishments;    and   whilst   the 
primary  schools,  in  the  days  of  Catharine, 
received  their  instruction  on  the  basis  of  a 
book,  called  the  Book  of  the  Duties  of  Men 
and  Citizens,  they  were  now  furnished  with 
a  work  containing  reading-lessons  on  the 
subjects   of   agriculture,   physics,  and  hy- 
giene.    In  1804,  fresh  efforts  were  made  to 
establish  schools  on  lands  belonging  to  the 
State  and  the  nobility ;  but  there  were  no 
means  forthcoming,  and  again  the  project 
came  to  nought.     At  last,  the  clergy,  stung 
by  the  reproaches  made  against  them  for 
their  neglect  of  their  flocks,  made  a  sudden 
effort  in  1806,  with  such  success,  that  in  the 
province  of  Novgorod  alone,    106   schools 
were  established  and  ministered  to  by  the 
clergy.      Unfortunately,    two    years   later, 
there  was  not  one  left. 

At  last,  it  began  to  be  understood,  that  if 
the  serfs  were  not  allowed  to  think  for 
themselves  on  any  other  subject,  it  was 
scarcely  likely  that  they  would  take  the 
initiative,  or  any  interest,  in  the  establish- 
ment of  schools;  and  that  if  the  govern- 
ment took  everything  else  into  its  hands,  it 
must  take  the  schools  too,  and  not  expect 
the  people  to  educate  themselves  for  other 
persons'  benefit.  Thus,  in  1835,  a  law 
subjected  all  existing  schools  to  the  inspec- 
tion of  specially  appointed  officers,  to  whom 
a  school  district  was  awarded,  which  fre- 
quently comprised  several  boroughs.  A 
model  school  was  established  by  the  State 


in  some  of  these  districts,  as  an  example  foi 
the  others  and  the  parishes  to  follow ;  but 
the  result  was  still  highly  unsatisfactory. 

After  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs  in 
1860,  an  imperial  commission  was  ap- 
pointed, under  the  presidency  of  M.  Taneef, 
to  elaborate  a  scheme  of  primary  instruc- 
tion ;  and  in  1862,  M.  Taneef  submitted  to 
the  emperor  a  "  Plan  for  the  Organisation 
of  Popular  Instruction."  This  plan,  on  the 
face  of  it,  was  very  plausible,  and  certainly 
seemed  calculated  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  case  ;  but  still  it  was  asking  far  too 
much  from  a  people  just  emerged  from  the 
depths  of  serfdom.  The  report  estimated 
the  expenses  as  follows  : — 

Town?.  Villages. 

Master's  salary 250  roubles.     150  roubles. 

Salary   for   religious )  on  *      60 

instructor )  '*  " 

Books  and  stationery . .  70      ,, 


60 


VOL.  II. 


2b 


Total 400  roubles.     250  roubles. 

To  this  had  to  be  added,  for  the  village 
schools,  a  certain  sum  for  firing,  and  a 
grant  to  the  teacher  for  lodging,  which 
brought  up  the  amount  to  £40.  It  was 
estimated  that  this  outlay  would  be 
defrayed  by  200  families  contributing  4s. 
each  per  annum;  or  reckoning  it  by 
individuals,  by  800  persons  paying  Is.  a 
head.  But  though  this  sum,  and  even  more, 
is  willingly  paid  by  such  liberal  populations 
as  those  of  America,  Switzerland,  and 
Denmark,  for  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren, it  is  considerable  compared  to  the 
sums  demanded  by  other  nations  of  Europe. 
Thus  the  sum  paid  per  head  in  Norway  is 
Is.  2\d.',  Sweden.  Is.;  France,  Is.  0\d.% 
Spain,  M. ;  Greece,  9cZ. ;  Italy,  6d. ;  Por- 
tugal, 2JcZ. 

But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  in 
Russia,  800  people,  on  an  average,  would 
occupy  eight  small  hamlets  in  a  circum- 
ference of  some  twenty  square  versts.  The 
density  of  the  population  is  so  low,  that 
there  are  only  about  sixteen  inhabitants  to 
the  square  mile.  Under  these  circumstances, 
the  children,  especially  during  the  winter 
and  spring  months,  when  the  snows  begin 
to  melt,  would  only  be  able  to  attend 
school  regularly  from  the  hamlets  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  school.  The 
others  would  thus  be  paying  without 
deriving  any  advantage  from  the  outlay, 
which  would  naturally  be  unjust  and 
provoke  great  dissatisfaction.  In  con- 
sequence, it  was  found  impossible  to  estab- 

185 


..•• 
'i' 


t 


PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


lish  a  system  of  primary  or  parochial 
schools,  as  in  Germany  and  France,  and 
thus  the  matter  again  drifted  into  a  «eries 
of  convulsive  and  spasmodic  efforts. 

No  greater  proof  of  the  debasing  effects 
of  serfdom   could  be  afforded,   than   this 
impossibility  of  establi.-liing   the  simplest 
system    of    primary    education.      Russian 
apologists,  of  course,  at  once  point  to  the 
difficulties   cited  above,   arising  from   the 
dissemination    of    the    people    over   large 
tracts  of  ground,  to  the  climate,  and  other 
natural    impediments.       But    there    is    a 
country   where   the   natural     obstacles,    if 
anything,  were  still  greater,  and  yet  did  not 
prevent  the  nation  from  learning  to  read, 
write,   and   cipher— Norway.     In    Norway 
the    population    is    still    sparser   than    in 
Russia,  there  being  no  more  than  six  in- 
habitants to  the  square  mile;  whilst   the 
soil,    cut    up    by    high    mountains,    deep 
valleys,   fiords,   and    plateaux,    offers   still 
greater    impediments     to    regular     school 
attendance    than    in    Russia,    whilst    the 
climate  is  to  the  full  quite  as  severe.     Two 
or  three  farms  are  here  hidden  away  in  a 
wilderness  of  stone,  and  no  other  habita- 
tion near  them  for  miles  and  miles.     Still 
there  is  not  a  single  Norwegian  who  cannot 
read  and   write  at  least ;  whilst,  generally 
speaking,  the  peasantry  have   a   very   fair 
education  indeed,  and  certainly  know  more 
of  the  rest  of  the  world  than  the  rest  of  the 
world  knows  about  them. 

This  desirable  result  was  obtained  by  the 
institution    of    the    Flyttante  Skola — the 
flitting    or    ambulatory    school.       Several 
villages  or  hamlets  unite,  and  subscribe  a 
certain  sum  each  to  pay  the  teacher,  who 
then  makes  his  round  through  the  district, 
spending  a  certain  time   in  each  hamlet. 
Each  farm  in  each  separate  hamlet  lodges 
and  feeds  him  in  turn,  the  pupils  from  the 
other  houses  assembling  under  the  one  roof 
for  instruction.     Not    being  over-many— 
often  not  more  than  five  or  six — the  teacher 
has  them  better  in  hand,  and  can  pay  more 
regard  to  their  individual  capacities  than 
if  he  had  them  all  together.     His  visit  to 
.one  hamlet   ended,   the   children  have   to 
prepare  their  tasks  against  his  return ;  and 
thus  the  year's  instruction  is  dealt  out  in 
doses  at  certain  intervals,  with  a  suitable 
period  for  digestion  between  each.    By  this 
device  alone,  popular  instruction  was  first 
introduced    in    Norway.     In    1840,   there 
were   7,133  ambulatory  schools,  and  only 
200  fixed  schools.    The    benefits  derived 
186 


from  this  education  were  so  manifest  to  the 
peasantry,  that  they  determined  to  make 
fresh  sacrifices;  and  thus,  in  1866,  there 
were  only  2,345  ambulatory,  but  no  less 
than  4,000  fixed  schools. 

Such  was  the  encouraging  results  obtained 
by  an  independent  peasantry  ;  and  there  is 
no  doubt  but  that  the  same  system  whereby 
they  were  achieved  in  Norway,  would  work 
equally  satisfactorily  in  Russia. 

But  the  proposition  to  introduce  this 
system,  placed  the  Russian  government  in 
a  cruel  difficulty.  The  system  was  admirable; 
the  results  were  admirable ;  but  unfortu- 
nately they  were  too  admirable.  How  was 
the  ambulatory  schoolmaster  to  be  placed 
under  proper  inspection  and  due  super- 
vision? To  nominate  an  ambulatory 
inspector  to  accompany  each  ambulatory 
teacher  on  his  scholastic  rounds,  would  be 
far  too  expensive.  And  if  that  was  not 
done,  what  guarantee  was  there  that  the 
ambulatory  Dominie  might  not  become  an 
ambulatory  revolutionist,  and  disseminate 
the  wildest  and  most  pernicious  heresies 
and  doctrines  amongst  the  untutored 
peasantry.  The  thing  could  not  be  dreamt 
of.  The  peasant  must  undoubtedly  be 
educated  up  to  that  point  when  his  educa- 
tion would  benefit  the  State  in  its  peculiar 
plans  ;  but  beyond  that  it  must  not  go. 

In  fact,  by  the  end  of  1873,  the  Russian 
government — or     the     emperor,     or     the 
nobility — had  become  alarmed  at  even  the 
small    strides    that    education     was    then 
making;   for  the  Emperor  Alexander   ad- 
dressed a  rescript  to    Count   Dmitri    Tol- 
stoi,  the  Minister   of  Public  Instruction; 
in  which,  after  rapidly  sketching  the  pro- 
gress  education  had  been  making  of  late 
years,  he  insisted  on  the  urgency  of  pro- 
viding a  vigilant  control  over  the  schools 
established,  in  order  to  ensure  the  proper 
teaching  of  the  principles  of  faith,  morals, 
and  civic  duties  towards  the  State.     Then, 
continuing,  he  says — "  That  which,  accord- 
ing to   my   views,   ought   to  advance  the 
healthy  education  of  the  young  generation, 
must  not  be  allowed  to  become  the  engine 
of  a  demoralisation  of  the  people,  of  which 
some  symptoms  may  already  be  discovered. 
To  maintain  popular  education  in  a  truly 
religious  and  moral  spirit,  is  the  duty,  not 
only  of  the  clergy,  but  of  all  enlightened 
men,    and    particularly    of     the    Russian 
nobility,    whom    I    call    upon    to  act  as 
guardians   of  our   public   schools,   and  to 
preserve  them  from  dangerous  and  corrupt- 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[progress  of  education. 


ing  influences.  Special  rights  will  thus  be 
conferred  upon  the  nobility  in  their  quality 
of  patrons  of  the  primary  schools  of  their 
districts ;  and  the  Minister  of  Public  In- 
struction, in  concert  with  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  is  invited  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  them,  in  order  to  profit  by 
the  active  part  they  are  destined  to  take  in 
this  great  and  holy  work." 

This  rescript  was  addressed  by  the  em- 
peror to  Count  Tolstoi  on  December  15th, 
1873,  in  consequence  of  the  endless  repre- 
sentations  made   to  him,   that   Socialism, 
Radicalism,  and  all  kinds  of  atheistical  doc- 
trines, were  being  disseminated.     But  if,  as 
there  is  sufficient  reason  for  believing,  this 
rescript,  addressed  to  the  nobility,  was  the 
work  of    the  nobility  itself,   there  is   not 
much  doubt  but  that  it  has  been  obeyed  to 
the  best  of  its  power.     Anyhow,  but  little 
has  been  done  in  spite  of  the  large  results 
figuring  in  imperial  ukases ;  for  in  Russia, 
as  in  the  neighbouring  State  (Turkey),  an 
imperial   ukase   is    of   about   equal   value 
with  an  imperial  Hatt  in  matters  of  liberal 
reform.      Thus,    in    1870,   Count    Tolstoi 
demanded  an   augmentation  of  the  educa- 
tional fund,  amounting  to  200,000  roubles ; 
but  he  only  obtained  half  the  sum.     The 
sum   total    expended   on  primary   schools 
throughout  the  empire,  in  1871,  amounted 
to  a  sum,  in  round  figures,  of  £400,000 ;  of 
which    £180,000    were    provided    by   the 
parishes  and  municipalities;  £120,000  by 
the  provincial  treasuries,  and  £100,000  by 
the  State.     Besides  these  sums  for  the  pri- 
mary schools,   the   State   has   contributed 
£30,000  out  of  £50,000  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  the  normal  schools. 

That  these  insignificant  sums  were 
wholly  inadequate  to  leaven  the  concen- 
trated ignorance  of  65,000,000  souls,  is 
self-evident.  Thus  the  general  report, 
issued  in  1871  by  the  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction,  shows  that  only  fourteen  out  of 
the  thirty-four  provinces,  where  the 
Zemstvos  (provincial  councils)  have  been 
established,  sent  in  very  incomplete  reports. 
In  these  fourteen  provinces,  the  most 
civilised,  and  the  most  densely  inhabited 
of  Slavonic  Russia — to  wit :  St.  Petersburg, 
Moscow,  Poltava,  Tver,  Kostroma,  Kherson, 
Jaroslav,  Ekaterinoslav,  Charkof,  Tambof, 
Orel,  Kasan,  Symbirsk,  and  Penza — with 
20,425,294  inhabitants — there  were  only,  in 
January,  1870,  4,247  schools  with  4,982 
teachers,  of  whom  3,516  were  priests,  and 
143,385  pupils ;  that  is  to  say,  one  pupil  to 


142  inhabitants !  In  Denmark,  Sweden, 
Norway,  Saxony,  and  Switzerland,  there  is 
one  pupil  to  every  six  inhabitants.  In  the 
country  districts,  the  few  schools  that  do 
exist,  are  held  in  buildings  quite  unfit  for 
the  purpose ;  even  in  the  vestibules  of  the 
prisons  they  are  often  located.  Thus,  in 
1871,  there  was  not  a  single  school  in  the 
whole  district  of  Tsaritsins  (Sdratof  gov- 
ernment), because  all  the  buildings  in 
which  they  had  been  located  had  been  con- 
demned by  the  authorities  as  dangerous,  and 
sold  for  demolition.  In  addition,  the  State 
grants,  small  as  they  are,  are  distributed 
in  the  most  extraordinarily  unequal  manner. 
Thus,  whilst  some  enjoy  a  subsidy  varying 
from  600  to  1,200  roubles,  there  are  some, 
as  in  the  district  of  Grdovsk,  St.  Peters- 
burg, that  only  receive  fifty,  twenty-five, 
or  even  ten  roubles  a-year;  whilst  the 
average  total  amount  received  by  all  the 
primary  schools  from  all  sources,  does  not 
exceed  142  roubles,  or  say  £20  per  annum. 

The  total  number  of  primary  schools 
throughout  European  Russia,  in  1872,  was, 
in  round  figures,  24,000,  with  875,000 
pupils.  Thus,  with  a  population  of 
65,000,000  souls,  there  is  only  one  pupil  to 
every  seventy-five  of  the  inhabitants  ;  the 
proportion  in  Upper  Canada  and  America 
being  1.4;  in  Denmark  and  Saxony,  1.6; 
in  Italy,  1.19;  in  Greece,  1.20;  in  Por- 
tugal, 1.40;  and  even  in  Servia,  1.48. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  government  has 
been  devoting  more  attention  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  normal  or  training  schools  for 
teachers.  The  object  hereof  is  evident. 
It  is  to  assure  a  supply  of  thoroughly 
orthodox  and  loyal  preceptors,  whom  the 
State  can  always  keep  well  in  hand,  and 
not  risk  the  propagation  of  principles  it 
disapproves  of.  Thus  the  State  pays 
14,810  roubles  per  annum  to  the  normal 
school  at  Kieff,  besides  a  grant  of  63,000 
for  the  construction  of  a  suitable  building. 
That  at  Kasan  has  already  cost  89,433 
roubles ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  as 
far  as  materials  and  school  appliances  go, 
they  cannot  be  surpassed  by  those  of  any 
other  country.  The  only  question  is,  as  to 
their  application;  and  up  till  now,  the 
reply  is  very  doubtful  and  equivocal ;  for 
according  to  the  most  recent  official  re- 
ports, not  more  than  9  per  100  of  the 
rural  classes  have  any  knowledge  of  read- 
ing and  writing. 

But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
Russia  is  still  suffering  from  the  Tartar 

187 


!'J 


it 


t 


^•i 


i  !f 


1 

1 


PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


Ta.d.  1856-77. 


♦  I 


invasion  :  not  only  that,  but  she  has  also 
a  considerable  Tartar  population,  mixed 
with  Bashkirs  and  Kirghiz,  for  the  benefit 
of  whom  the  training-schools  of  Kasan 
and  Irkutsk  have  been  established.  In  ad- 
dition, a  man  of  considerable  talent  and 
energy,  M.  Raddof,  has  been  appointed 
special  inspector  of  the  Tartar  and  kin- 
dred schools,  for  the  use  of  which  he  has 
published  a  series  of  manuals  for  the  study 
of  Russian  and  arithmetic;  whilst  in  the 
higher  branches,  must  be  noted  the  Aca- 
demy of  Oriental  Languages,  or  Institute 
Lazaref,  which  is  provided  with  nine  chairs 
for  the  study  of  the  Armenian,  Arabic, 
Georgian,  Persian,  Turkish,  Turco-Tartar, 
and  Tartar  languages.  Oriental  history,  and 
calligraphy.  The  benefits  resulting  from 
this  institution  was  highly  appreciated 
during  the  campaign  in  Khiva,  two  officers 
of  the  expedition  having,  from  their  know- 
ledge of  the  language  and  history  of  the 
country,  succeeded  in  penetrating  into  the 
town,  and  procuring  the  plans  of  the  forti- 
fications, and  other  information  that  largely 
contributed  to  the  success  of  the  invading 
army. 

Middle-c/ass  instruction  in  Russia  has 
been  introduced  on  the  German  model,  and 
is  provided  by  the  gymnasia  and  the  pro- 
fessional, or,  as  we  should  say,  classical  and 
commercial  schools. 

The  former  include  in  their  curriculum 
the  study  of  Greek,  Latin,  French,  German, 
and  the   higher  mathematics ;   the  latter, 
discarding  the  ancient  languages,  concen- 
trate   their    efforts    on   pure   and  applied 
mathematics,  [drawing,  chemistry,  theoreti- 
cal and  practical,  and  on  modern  languages. 
As  soon  as  the  government  had  published 
its  programme,  the  number  of  applications 
for  the  establishment  of  these  schools,  and 
offers  to  assist  in  their  formation,  was  very 
satisfactory.     More  than  forty  of  the  pro- 
vincial   governments     and    municipalities 
applied,   twenty-four   of  them   furnishing 
cash  to  the  amount  of  290,000  roubles,  and 
twelve  offering  suitable  localities  of  con- 
siderable value.     Thus  Kieff  offered  a  build- 
ing of  the  value  of  £10,000 ;  Krasnovfimsk, 
one    of  £2,500;  and    Borissoglebsk,    one 
representing   a  value   of  £16,000.     Sora- 
poul  offered  an  annual  subsidy  of  £2,000  ; 
Kramevtabug,   £2,400;    Rossievi,   £1,800. 
But,   unhappily,    the   readiness    thus    ex- 
hibited by  even  the  most  distant  provinces 
of  the  empire  to  assist  in  the  work  of  edu- 
cation, was  annulled  and  counterbalanced 
188 


by  the  inertia,  or  financial  incapacity  of  the 
government  to  take  advantage  of  the  spirit 
thus  evoked;  and  at  the  end  of  1871,  there 
were  no  more  than  thirty-seven  commercial 
schools  throughout  the  whole  empire, 
with  128  gymnasia  and  thirty-nine  pro- 
gymnasia. 

Naturally,  the  promotion  of  education 
was  availed  of  for  the  further  Russification 
of  Poland.  In  1871,  there  was  only  one 
gymnasium  in  Poland  where  instruction 
was  not  given  in  Russian ;  and  since  then,  we 
believe  that  this  establishment  has  been 
abolished.  No  provision  at  all  is  thus 
made  for  teaching  the  children  their  own 
mother  tongue.  In  the  Baltic  provinces, 
of  which  Dorpat  is  the  scholastic  and  intel- 
lectual centre,  German  is  the  language  of 
instruction,  the  Russian  tongue  being 
taught  by  Germans.  But  on  the  pretext 
that  these  Germans  are  not  sufficiently 
masters  of  Russian  to  teach  it,  the  govern- 
ment has  created  six  scholarships  to  pre- 
pare Russian  masters  for  the  Dorpat 
district,  and  has  opened  two  gymnasia, 
called  the  Alexander  Gymnasia,  at  Riga 
and  Revel,  where  the  instructional  tongue 
is  Russian. 

Since  1871,  the  progress  has  been  slow  as 
far  as  the  government  is  concerned,  in  spite 
of  the  decree  issued  shortly  after  the  insti- 
tution of  universal  military  service,  making 
primary  instruction  compulsory,  and  order- 
ing the  establishment  of  some  24,000 
primary  schools  on  the  Prussian  system. 
The  decree  has  remained,  more  or  less,  a 
dead  letter,  as  the  same  difficulty — a 
scattered  population  over  a  vast  expanse  of 
territory — still  impedes  the  successful  exe- 
cution of  the  scheme.  ' 

The  most  remarkable  and  noteworthy 
feature  in  all  these  attempts  to  provide 
Russia  with  a  thorough  educational  system, 
is  the  eager  readiness  of  the  people — a 
readiness  that  amounts  to  a  formal  thirst 
for  instruction — to  do  all  in  their  power  to 
promote  the  cause  ;  and  still  more  remark- 
able is  the  care  devoted  to  the  education  of 
the  girls  belonging  to  the  well-to-do  classes. 
The  government  has  rightly  appreciated 
the  dangers  that  must  inevitably  result  if 
the  future  mothers  of  the  nation  are  brought 
up  in  ignorance,  or  left,  as  in  France  and 
other  Catholic  countries,  to  the  care  of  nuns, 
and  to  spend  their  youth  in  the  convents, 
where  they  become  so  impregnated  with 
ultramontane  ideas,  that  they  either  lead  a 
life  of  opposition  more  or  less  overt  to  their 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


husbands,  or  subject  them  to  the  clerical 
influence,  directly  or  indirectly,  that  they 
otherwise  would  recoil  from  and  repel. 
Thus  gymnasia  for  girls  have  been  founded  by 
the  municipalities,  or  by  private  individuals, 
under  State  inspection,  to  which  govern- 
ment has  made  a  grant,  which  rose  from 
50,000  roubles  in  1870,  to  150,000  in  1874, 
which  is  divided  amongst  226  schools,  cost- 
ing a  sum  total  of  £100,000,  and  furnishing 
a  thorough  education  to  23,469  pupils. 

For  the  highest  branches  of  education, 
Russia  has  eight  universities  on  the  Prussian 
model:    St.   Petersburg,  Moscow,  Dorpat, 
Warsaw,  Kieff,  Odessa,  Charkof,  and  Karow, 
with  (in  1874)  512  professors  and   6,779 
students,  of  whom  1,430  were  assisted  by  a 
full  scholarship,  2,208   with  half-scholar- 
ship,  and    1,732    with    temporary   funds. 
Thus  5,370,  out  of  6,799  students,  belonged 
to   the  lower  classes,  who  were  imable  to 
defray  the    expenses    of   their    education. 
This  is  highly  significant  of  the  state  of 
Russian  society.     It  is  the  reverse  of  what 
is  the  case  in   England.     Here  it  is   the 
aristocracy  who  are  the  first  to  appreciate 
the  benefits  of  the  knowledge  and  thorough 
education  that  enables  them  to  play  such  a 
prominent  part  in  their  country's  history  ; 
there  it  is  the  democracy  that  is  eager  to 
profit  by  the  advantages  placed  at  its  dis- 
posal.    This  explains  the  fears  entertained 
by  the  Russian  government  and  nobility  of 
revolutionary  ideas    becoming  popular  in 
Russia,  and  the  outcry   that  has  recently 
been  raised  of  the  spread  of  Socialistic  ideas 
throughout  the  empire;  the    plain   truth 
being,  that  the  lower  and  middle  classes  are 
rapidly  progressing,  whilst  the  nobility — or 
rather  the  large  estate-owners,  the  Boyards, 
for  nobility,  in  cur  sense  of  the  word,  cannot 
be  said  to  exist   in  Russia— is  remaining 
stationary,  which,  m  an  age  like  the  pre- 
sent, is  equivalent  to  retrogression. 

The  question  is  of  the  highest  import- 
ance, not  only  for  Russia,  but  for  the  whole 
of  Europe,  and  a  considerable  portion  of 
Asia.  The  Slav  institutions  are  by  nature 
democratic— one  might  almost  say  republi- 
can—and eminently  fitted  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  constitutional  monarchy, 
republicanism  in  a  monarchical  frame,  or 
republicanism  pure  and  simple.  Conse- 
quently, a  despotic  government  like  that  of 
St.  Petersburg,  finds  itself  in  a  most  awk- 
ward predicament  when  it  sees,  on  the  one 
hand,  that  universal  compulsory  education 
is  an  unavoidable  complement  to  universal 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [progress  of  education. 

compulsory  military  service ;  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  plays  into  the  hands  of  the 
democratic  and  anti-military  party,  and 
furnishes  that  party  with  the  means  it  most 
desires  for  its  eventual  emancipation,  -'^ 

The  question  is  of  importance  for  Europe, 
inasmuch  as  it  cannot  be  immaterial  to 
Western  civilisation,  whether  a  population 
of  some  80,000,000  of  souls  become  the 
unquestioning  engine  of  an  irresponsible 
despotic  power,  or  an  enlightened  and  sufii- 
ciently  peaceable  community,  that  will  turn 
out  a  benefit  rather  than  a  danger  for 
Europe.  For  it  must  be  remembered  that, 
according  to  the  military  system  now  intro- 
duced into  Russia,  the  ruler  of  the  country 
will  be  able,  when  the  system  is  once  fully 
developed,  to  dispose  of  an  assemblage  of 
armies,  numbering  between  three  and  four 
millions  of  men,  who  will  become  easier 
and  easier  to  manipulate  and  concentrate, 
as  the  railway  system  becomes  more  and 
more  extended.  Consequently,  as  long  as 
there  is  any  doubt  as  to  the  immediate 
use  to  which  the  results  of  general  education 
in  Russia  may  be  put,  Europe  is  bound  to ' 
view  with  distrust  any  attempts,  either  at 
an  extension  of  the  frontiers,  or  a  protective 
system,  that  would  close  the  empire  to  the 
introduction  of  those  principles  of  free-trade 
and  international  duties  which  Western 
Europe  is  in  the  main  agreed  upon. 

This  is  as  true  a  picture  as  can  be  pro- 
cured of  the  state  of  popular  education  in 
Russia  since  the  Crimean  war ;  but  the  pic- 
ture would  be  imperfect  without  some  ac- 
count of  the  manner  in  which  the  nobility 
is  brought  up,  and,  above  all,  the  women. 

In  the  imperial  Chancellery  there  is  a 
department  called  the  Department  of  the 
Empress  Marie,  which  is  charged  with  the 
administration  of  the  immense  funds  be- 
queathed by  various  empresses — notably 
Catharine  the  Great  and  Marie  Fedorovna 
(Princess  Sophie  of  Wurtemberg)— to  the 
establishments  founded  for  the  education  of 
the  higher  classes.  In  a  despotic  State  of 
such  utter  artificiality  as  Russia,  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  train  the  people — the  canaille 
— into  systematised  and  unquestioning  sub- 
mission to  the  imperial  will,  but  the  nobi- 
lity also  must  be  fashioned  after  a  certain 
model,  in  order  to  prevent  certain  menabers 
from  following  out  their  personal  ambition 
by  training  a  portion  of  the  lower  classes  to 
their  own  purposes,  and  opening  a  way  to 
that  abhorrence  of  despotic  governments, 
an  Opposition.    An  Opposition  there  must 

189 


.;..  1 


*!' 


PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-'77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [progress  of  education. 


not  be;  consequently,  there  must  be  no 
opening  left  for  the  formation  of  teachers 
who  might  be  tempted  to  organise  one. 
As  the  emperor  is  the  theoretical  source  of 
all  that  is  bad,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  must 
he  be  the  theoretical  source  of  all  that  is 
good.  Thus  the  Russian  government,  fully 
recognising  the  great  influence  exercised  by 
•women  on  politics  in  every  country,  decided 
still  further  to  increase  this  influence,  and 
hold  it  for  its  own  purposes,  by  giving  the 
women  a  thorough  education  suitable  for 
the  purpose,  and  practically  to  make  them 
superior,  in  pliancy  of  intellect  and  political 
knowledge,  to  their  future  husbands.  The 
part  played  by  Russian  ladies  in  Europe 
alone  demonstrates  this  principle.  Some 
of  the  most  frequented  "  salons"  in  London, 
Paris,  Vienna,  Florence,  Rome,  Berlin,  are 
those  of  Russian  ladies:  the  traditional 
Russian  "spy"  is  more  frequently  a  lady 
tlian  a  man.  In  such  troublous  times  as 
those  of  the  Polish  rebellion  in  1863-'64, 
the  Russian  ladies  rendered  the  government 
more  services  almost  than  did  the  army,  by 
their  euergy,  foresight,  and  indefatigable 
collection  of  information.  To  achieve  these 
results,  there  are  a  number  of  institutions, 
of  which  the  principal  are  those  of  Paul, 
Nicholas,  and  the  order  of  St.  Catharine ; 
the  society  for  the  education  of  girls  of  the 
nobility  (Alexander),  at  the  convent  of 
Smolna ;  the  Patriotic  Academy,  and  Eliza- 
beth School,  at  St.  Petersburg.  At  Moscow 
there  are  four  such  establishments  in  the 
House  of  Education  (Vospitalnyidome),  the 
largest  and  finest  building  in  the  town  ;  and 
in  the  rest  of  the  empire  there  are  about 
twenty  other  such  institutions,  including 
one  at  Svkutsk  in  Siberia. 

All  these  establishments  and  boarding- 
schools  are  conducted  on  a  strict  system  of 
supervision,  under  which  the  girls  grow  up, 
until  they  are  turned  out,  duly  fashioned 
and  sliaped  to  order,  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
or  twenty.  Twelve  years  of  such  discipline, 
getting  up,  eating,  drinking,  walking,  learn- 
ing, and  going  to  bed  again  at  fixed  hours, 
for  the  sixth  part  of  one's  life,  cannot  but 
have  a  lasting  influence  in  the  events  of  the 
other  five  parts.  The  object,  however,  of 
the  system  is  accomplished.  The  ladies  it 
produces  are  perfect  in  the  arts  of  society. 
One  cannot  have  a  more  agreeable  drawing- 
room  or  ball-room  companion  than  a  Rus- 
sian lady.  She  is  well-versed  in  German 
and  French  literature,  and  speaks  both 
languages  perfectly.  She  can  talk  upon 
190 


music  or  upon  art,  and  the  hours  pass  away 
rapidly.  But  when  one  analyses  afterwards 
the  cause  of  the  charm  afforded  by  this 
intercourse,  it  becomes  apparent  that  the 
results  are  of  a  very  paltry  nature,  and  that 
the  secret  of  her  influence  consists  in  the 
art  she  has  acquired  of  making  everything 
she  speaks  about  assume  a  personal  tinge. 
The  conversation  that  began  about  the  ex- 
cellences of  a  Beethoven's  sonata  has  rapidly 
degenerated  into  a  desultory  talk  about 
Chopin's  or  Schulhoff's  mazurkas,  and  the 
peculiarities,  scandals,  and  anecdotes  about 
the  musician,  the  vagaries  of  Wagner,  the 
foibles  of  Liszt  for  the  Princess  Wittgen- 
stein, &c.  Beginning  a  conversation  with 
a  dissertation  on  some  new  or  ancient  work 
of  literature,  one  always  ends  with  tales  of 
authorial  wickednesses  and  peccadilloes. 
The  private  life  of  Greorge  Elliot,  Miss 
Braddon,  George  Sand,  Balzac,  or  Spiel- 
hagen,  has  infinitely  more  charm  for  the 
Russian  "  salon  "  than  their  works.  When 
this  principle  is  extended  to  the  diplomatic 
world,  it  may  easily  be  imagined  what 
charm  the  subject  possesses  for  every  one. 
Prince  this  and  that.  Count  So-and-so,  Earl 
this,  and  Duke  the  other,  are  handled  quite 
irrespective  of  their  public  merits  or 
demerits,  and  solely  according  to  their 
foibles  and  weaknesses,  or  worse.  Such 
confidences  beget  confidence ;  and  thus  the 
Russian  lady  becomes  the  repository  of  a 
mass  of  details  relating  to  the  private  life 
of  notable  personages,  that  are  frequently 
of  the  greatest  service  to  the  government, 
and  furnish  the  basis  for  those  intrigues  for 
which  Russians  are  so  noted. 

A  few  instances  may  be  instructive.  A 
matter  of  some  importance  required  elucida- 
tion a  few  years  ago — during  the  Car  list 
war,  in  fact.  The  Russian  government 
wished  to  know  what  course  a  certain  powei 
was  takinor  in  France  with  reference  to 
the  Carlist  movement.  This  power  had 
two  highly-accomplished  agents  in  France — 
one  in  Paris,  the  other  in  the  south  of 
France — who  were  entirely  in  the  con- 
fidence of  the  power  in  question  as  to 
their  policy  on  the  subject,  and  thus  atten- 
tion was  bestowed  on  these  two  gentlemen 
to  such  an  extent,  that  within  a  few  weeks 
the  Russian  Foreign  Office  was  fully  sup- 
plied with  all  the  information  it  desired. 
And  this  is  how  it  was  accomplished. 
Both  the  agents  in  question  were  highly 
susceptible  to  female  charms,  and  each 
had  formed  a  liaison  with  a  married  lady, 


the    more   so   as    both     were    enabled    to 

extract  much  information  regarding  French 

policy  from  their  charmers.     This  fact  was 

soon  discovered  by  the  Russian  ladies  who 

had  taken  the  matter  in  hand ;  and  thus, 

on     a    fitting    opportunity,    the    French 

baroness   and   the   French   marquise   were 

given  to  understand,  by  their  Russian  friends, 

that  their  little  "distractions "were known  to 

them,  and  that  they  would  do  well  to  take 

them  into  their  confidence  ; — all  this  done, 

of  course,  in  a  sympathetic  way,  and  with 

much  praise  of  the  talented  object  of  the 

marquise's    admiration.      And,   confidence 

begetting   confidence,   the    news    required 

passed  from  baroness  and  marquise  to  St. 

Petersburg,  and  was  the  cause  of  the  czar's 

refusal  to  recognise  the  Spanish  republic. 

On  another  occasion,  when  similar  in- 
formation was  required,  the  subject  for 
operation  was  on  intimate  terms  with  two 
ladies,  to  whom,  however,  he  was  wise 
enough  to  make  no  confidences  whatever. 
But  our  Russian  lady  managed  matters  by 
informing  one  of  the  gentleman's  intrigue 
with  her  rival,  and  by  this  means  succeeded 
in  obtaining  the  key  to  the  cypher  used  by 
the  official  in  question  to  communicate 
with  his  government. 

Such  cases  are,  of  course,  but  the  extreme 
of  the  system;  but  they  would  not  be 
possible  without  the  system  which  enables 
a  government  to  make  the  lowest  offices 
of  the  detective  compatible  with  the 
dignity  of  the  aristocrat. 

Thus  highly  talented  and  accomplished, 
well  versed  in  the  art  of  making  "  society  " 
a    field    for     diplomatic    endeavours,    the 
Russian  ladies  fully  equalled  the  demands 
made  upon  them  by  the  system  of  educa- 
tion in  vogue.      As  a  natural  consequence 
of    this    system,    the     establishments     in 
question  are    highly   exclusive.      No   girl 
is    admitted    to    them     who    is  not    the 
daughter  of  a   colonel  or  a  Councillor  of 
Stat°e    at    least.       At  the    St.    Elizabeth 
Academy,    even  those  who   pay   the    full 
price     must     be    the    daughters     of     the 
hereditary  nobility;    the    scholarships  are 
reserved  for  the  daughters  of  ladies  of  the 
Order  of  St.  Elizabeth  and  captains  of  the 
staff.      The  only  academy  which  is  not  so 
strict  in   the  admission  of   pupils  is   that 
of  St.  Paul,  where  girls  of  all    ranks   are 
admitted  whose  fathers  sre  not  subject  to 
the     poll-tax.       A     bourgeois     (meckt- 
chanine)    or  citizen  whose   citizenship   is 
well  established,  or  a  merchant  belonging 


to  a  guild,  is  allowed  to  send  his  daughter 
to  the  establishment;  but  its  doors  are 
inexorably  closed  to  the  daughter  of  a 
peasant  or  a  farmer,  of  no  matter  what 
wealth  or  standing. 

At   the  same  time,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten, that  the  Russian  "nobility"   who 
frequent  these    establishments,    belong   to 
that  impecunious  aristocracy  that  gains  its 
livelihood    in    the  lower   branches  of  the 
military  and  civil  service.     It  includes  the 
by  far    greater   part   of  the   bureaucracy 
which,  in  spite  of  the  bribery  and  corrup- 
tion  still   prevailing,  would   otherwise   be 
quite  unable  to  live  at  all.  Their  daughters, 
educated    in    these    establishments,    have 
frequently — a  very  large  per-centage  in  fact 
— to     take      situations     as      governesses, 
chaperones,  housekeepers,  companions,  &c. ; 
and  in  this  respect  are  of  service  to   the 
government  also,  as  a  means  of  propagating 
the    principles    they    have    been    taught. 
They   generally   take    away   with  them   a 
great  respect  for  the  imperial  Court,  and 
look  upon  themselves,  in  a  great  measure,  as 
belonging  to  that  Court.     For  on  leaving 
school,   they  are   received  in  the  imperial 
palaces   at  Tsarskoe-Selo  or    Peterhof,   to 
receive   their    prizes   or  diplomas,  and   to 
offer   up   their   thanks    to   their   imperial 
patrons  and  patronesses.     Thus,  in  many  of 
the  imperial  apartments,  the  walls  are  hung 
with  the  portraits,  single  or  in  groups,  of 
the  pupils  that  have  left  the  schools  under 
the  imperial  protection ;  and  thus  they  all 
feel,  that  though  not  the  vase  itself,  at  any 
rate  they  have  dwelt  with  it,  and  under  the 
shadow  of  the  czar  and  czarina. 

Such  was  the  state  of  female  education  in 
the  higher  classes  up  to  1855.  Then,  how- 
ever, the  present  empress,  Maximilienne  of 
Hesse-Darmstadt— or,  by  her  Russian  name, 
Maria  Alexandrowna— imbued  with  the 
German  traditions  in  regard  to  education, 
endeavoured  to  extend  the  field  for  female 
instruction  in  Russia,  and  proceeded  to  the 
establishment  of  the  gymnasia,  of  which 
mention  has  been  already  made.  A  sketch 
of  the  organisation  of  these  schools  may  be 
interesting :  it  is,  at  any  rate,  instructive. 

At  the  head  of  the  whole  system  stands 
Prince  Alexander  Peter  of  Oldenburg,  the 
husband  of  one  of  the  emperor's  nieces,  and 
who  pursues  his  avocation  with  such  devo- 
tion, that  he  may  frequently  be  seen  study- 
ing the  details  and  working  of  some  gym- 
nasium on  the  spot.  The  smallest  matters 
are  not  beneath  his  consideration.    Thus  he 

191 


■I 


PROGRESS  OF  EDUCATION.]  HISTOKY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1856-17. 


\ 


published  lately  a  circular,  in  which  he 
complained  that  the  scholars  were  not  suffi- 
ciently acquainted  with  the  metre  of  the 
verses  and  poetry  they  had  to  recite.  At 
the  head  of  each  gymnasium  there  is  an  in- 
spectrice  (Nadziratelnitza)  and  a  male  offi- 
cial, with  the  title  of  Superior  (Natch- 
alnik),  except  at  St.  Petersburg,  where  the 
eight  gymnasia  are  under  the  supreme 
supervision  of  one  especial  official,  and  the 
"  Superior  "  of  each  establishment  is  simply 
a  class  inspector.  At  Moscow  the  four 
gymnasia  are  placed  also  under  the  super- 
vision of  one  "  Superior."  The  duties  of 
the  Natchalnik,  or  Superior,  consist  in  the 
choice  of  masters  and  mistresses  for  the 
different  classes,  their  dismissal,  and  seeing 
that  the  rules  and  regulations  are  properly 
carried  out.  The  Nadziratelnitza  has  to 
see  to  the  health  of  the  pupils,  their  good 
conduct,  morals,  and  manners.  They  are 
generally  of  good  family — some  even  prin- 
cesses— and  have  been  chosen  less  for  their 
pedagogical  attainments  than  for  their 
social  position  and  accomplishments,  in 
furtherance  of  the  principle  already  men- 
tioned, of  making  the  Russian  lady  par 
excellence  an  ornament  of  society,  and  a 
help  to  the  Court  and  government.  Superi- 
ors and  inspectrices  are  nominated  by  the 
curators,  and  approved  of  by  the  empress 
through  the  Prince  of  Oldenburg.  The 
curators,  in  turn,  are  nominated  by  the 
emperor  or  empress  personally,  and  are 
chosen  on  account  of  their  wealth  and  posi- 
tion. Thus  Prince  Troubetzkoi  is  the 
curator  (Papetchitel)  of  the  Moscow  gym- 
nasia. The  curators  also  nominate  another 
class  of  officials  to  what  is  more  or  less  an 
honorary  position — surveillants  or  nabliou- 
ditel.  They  are  persons  who  devote  either  a 
portion  of  their  wealth  or  their  time  to  the 
benefit  of  the  establishment. 

Under  the  inspectrice  there  is  also  a  sub- 
inspectrice,  or  dame  de  classe,  for  each  class, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  keep  the  pupils  in  due 
discipline  towards  their  mistresses,  and  to  be 
present  during  all  the  lessons  given  by  the 
male  teachers.  Her  functions,  in  fact,  cor- 
respond to  those  of  the  Spanish  duenna,  or 
the  British  "  watch-dog."  The  masters  are 
generally  the  professors  of  the  boys'  gym- 
nasia, and  are  remunerated  at  the  rate  of 
fifty  roubles  per  lesson  per  week  for  the 
year.  Thus,  a  master  who  gives  eight 
lessons  a-week,  would  receive  400  roubles 
per  annum.  The  remuneration  of  the  mis- 
tresses of  the  lower  classes  is  just  half — 
192 


twenty-five  roubles  per  lesson  per  week  for 
the  year ;  so  that  to  gain  400  roubles  she 
would  have  to  give  sixteen  lessons  a-week, 
instead  of  only  eight.  When,  however, 
their  capabilities  are  equal  to  the  task,  they 
are  allowed  to  give  instruction  to  the  upper 
classes,  and  then  they  receive  the  full  fifty 
roubles.  Unfortunately  for  the  ladies,  there 
are  but  few  places  where  they  are  able  to 
attain  the  higher  position,  in  consequence 
of  the  great  competition,  one  vacancy  often 
bringing  forward  over  a  hundred  candi- 
dates. 

The  Natch alniks  receive  a  salary  varying 
between  2,668  roubles  and  900  roubles  a 
year;  the  Nadziratelnitzas,  or  inspectrices, 
receive  from  750  to  1,180  roubles  per 
annum;  an  inspector,  1,000  to  1,350;  and 
the  duennas,  400  to  700.  Thus,  whilst  the 
superior  officials  and  the  masters  are  well 
paid,  the  mistresses  are  far  from  being  so. 
It  is  a  pedagogical  axiom  that  no  master 
is  able  to  give  more  than  twenty  lessons  a 
week :  that  represents,  in  Russia,  a  salary  of 
1,000  roubles,  say  £350  per  annum.  But 
for  a  woman  to  gain  this  sum,  she  would 
have  to  give  forty  lessons  a-week ;  which 
is  impossible,  or,  if  possible,  not  worth  any- 
thing at  all.  No  lady  can  live  on  500 
roubles  (£175)  a-year  in  St.  Petersburg, 
where  living  is  dearer  even  than  in  Paris, 
and  keep  up  the  position  she  is  expected  to. 
But  this  sum  is  quite  sufficient  in  the 
country  towns  ;  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no 
master  or  mistress  is  allowed  to  give  more 
than  twenty  lessons  a-week ;  so  that  the 
maximum  salary  for  masters  and  mistresses 
of  the  higher  classes  is  1,000  roubles  a-year, 
and  that  of  the  mistresses  of  the  lower 
classes,  500. 

Such  are  the  elements  of  which  the 
administration  of  the  female  gymnasia  is 
composed.  Now  as  to  the  pupils  them- 
selves and  their  curricula. 

Each  gymnasium  is  composed  of  a 
preparatory  school  and  seven  classes.  A 
girl  of  eight  years  of  age — which  is  the 
average  age  for  entering  the  seventh  class 
— must  pass  an  examination  in  arithmetic, 
and  must  be  able  to  read  and  write,  not 
only  Russian,  but  French  and  German. 
Under  such  a  system,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  Russians  should  be  such  excellent 
linguists.  Of  these  seven  classes,  none 
may  contain  more  than  forty  pupils;  if 
there  are  more,  the  class  is  divided  into 
parallels,  each,  of  course,  following  the 
same  course  of  instruction.     The  hours  of 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[progress  of  education. 


attendance  are  from  9  A.M.  to  2.30  P.M. ;  i.  e., 
five   and    a-half  hours.     Each  lesson  lasts 
about  fifty  minutes,  with  half-an-hour  for 
lunch   at   twelve    o'clock.     The  three  first 
hours    are    devoted    to   French,    Grerman, 
history,    arithmetic,    geography,     physics, 
and  religion ;  the   others  in  writing,  draw- 
ing, sewing,  singing,  and  dancing.     Lunch 
is  brought  by  the  pupils  themselves  ;  and  in 
some  of  the  establishments  there  is  a  buffet 
provided  with  tea,  chocolate,  or  bouillon. 
At  2.30  they  are  sent  home,  with  their  tasks 
set   for    the  following   dayc     The  holidays 
last  during  the  hottest  months  of  the  year ; 
i,e,,  from  the  16th  of  June  to  the   7th   of 
August.      Promotion    from    one    class    to 
another  depends  upon  the  pupils  passing  a 
strict  examination.     If  they  do  not  pass  it, 
they  have  to  remain  in  the  class  year  after 
year.     If,  after  three  years,  they  are  still  in 
the  same  class,  they  are  dismissed,  and  sent 
to  their  parents  to  do  what  they  can  with 
them.     On  the  other  hand,  those  who  have 
passed  satisfactorily  all   classes,   receive   a 
certificate  giving  them  the  right  to  act  as 
teachers  without  any  further  examination 
in  public  or  private  schools. 

Much  attention  is  justly  bestowed  on  the 
accommodation  and  cleanliness  of  the  school 
localities  and  their  appurtenances.     Espe- 
cially noteworthy  are  the  play-rooms,  which, 
in  a  severe  climate  like  Russia,  take  the 
place  of  our  play-grounds.     They  are  large, 
airy  rooms,  with  waxed  parquet  floors,  white 
varnished  walls  of  spotless  purity,  and  one 
or  two  large  white   porcelain   stoves,  the 
never-failing  portraits  of  the  czar,  czarina, 
and  Prince  Oldenburg  adorning  the  walls. 
In  the  class-rooms — the  pupils  sitting  dur- 
ing the  whole  lesson,  and  only  rising  when 
answering     questions,    reciting,    &c. — the 
tables   are  of  white  varnished  wood,   the 
absence  of  blots,    smears,    or   "carvings" 
giving  one  a  very  favourable  idea  of  Rus- 
sian school-manners.     Each  establishment 
has  its  collections  of  natural  objects,  physi- 
cal instruments,  drawing  models  and  copies, 
and  its  library.     Maps  are  hung  in  every 
class-room,  and  the  inevitable  black-board 
is  kept  scrupulously  black,  and  not  in  an 
everlasting  whity-grey  smear,  as  in  British 
establishments. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  imperial  family 
is  directly  connected  with  these  establish- 
ments, and  devote  much  personal  care  to 
them  ;  and  being  thus  an  imperial  institu- 
tion, there  is  always  a  career  open  to  the 
teachers  and  professors.  They  enjoy  all  the 
VOL,  II.  2  C 


privileges  of  State  servants,  such  as  pen- 
sions and  elevations  of  rank,  and  are  consi- 
dered as  specially  worthy  recipients  of 
orders  and  titles.  Scarcely  a  month  passers 
without  some  professor  being  made  an 
Aulic  Councillor ;  and,  in  short,  education 
is  not  looked  upon  by  any  class  as  an 
unremunerative  or  paltry  occupation,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  as  a  profession  in  itself 
leadinof  to  considerable  emoluments  and 
honours. 

Perhaps  nothing  can  give  a  better  idea 
of  the  progress  the  cause  of  education  and 
liberal  ideas  has  made  in  Russia,  than 
the  following  extract  from  the  official 
pedagogical  journal,  the  Pedagoshitc/ieskii 
Listok,  in  1873 — a  journal,  be  it  remem- 
bered, that  is  under  government  control, 
and  is,  in  fact,  a  government  organ.  It 
says — 

"  As  to  those  people  who  object  to  com- 
promising their  aristocratic  dignity  by 
allowing  their  children  to  consort  at  school 
with  the  daughters  of  bakers,  tailors,  and 
shopkeepers,  they  are  not  in  a  fit  condition 
to  give  us  any  valid  reason  for  their  con- 
duct. They  can  only  make  use  of  hack- 
neyed phrases  that  are  out  of  date.  They 
refuse  to  see  that,  in  opposing  equality  be- 
fore the  law,  universal  military  service,  and 
the  abolition  of  class  privileges,  they  are 
swimming  against  the  stream ;  and  that,  to 
influence  the  country,  they  must  live  with 
the  country,  and  gain  its  confidence. 

"  As  for  us,  we  must  confess   that  the 
danger  from  the  mixing  of  the  upper  and 
lower  classes  is  not  to  the  former,  but  to  the 
latter.     The  poor  children  who  see  their 
richer  companions  dressed  with  extravagant 
luxury,  accompanied  by  footmen  to  carry 
their  books  and  slates,  or  who  are  brought 
to  the  school-doors  in  sumptuous  carriages, 
whose    conversation   is    of    balls,    parties, 
theatres,  dress,  &c.,  place  much  more  temp- 
tation and  danger  in  the  path  of  the  poor, 
than  an  occasional  coarse  word  or  awkward 
gesture  of  some  cobbler's  daughter.     From 
such  things  the  rich  are  safe ;  the  poor,  on 
the  other  hand,  have  a  hard  battle  to  over- 
come, and  to  become  convinced  that  merit 
does  not  consist  in  the  possession  of  a  velvet 
dress  or  a  golden  watch,  but  in  those  per- 
sonal qualities  resulting  from  a  cultivated 
intellect  and  a  high  code  of  morals." 

With  this  extract  we  may  fitly  close  our 

review  of  the  progress  education  is  making 

in  Russia,  and  has  made  since  the  close  of 

I  the  Crimean  war.  A  conflict  is  being  waged, 

193 


■i 


' 


■11'^ 


ii 


LIBEKATION  OF  THE  SERFS.]        HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  18o6-'77. 


of  which  the  issue  cannot  be  doubtful; 
though  how  long  it  will  be  before  the  move- 
ment has  borne  lasting  fruit  is,  of  course, 


a  question  that  does  not  wholly  depend 
either  on  the  Kussian  people  or  the  Kussian 
Court. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

LIBEBATION   OF  THE  SERFS ;    OPPOSITION  TO  REFORM  ;    ITS  SUCCESSFUL  ACCOMPLISHMENT. 


The  Emperor  Nicholas  may  be  said  to 
have  been  the  last  Khan  of  Tartary.  He 
and  his  traditional  enemy,  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey,  were  the  only  two  Asiatic  sove- 
reigns left  in  Europe.  Nicholas  did  all  he 
could  to  surround  his  empire  with  a 
Chinese  wall,  not  built  of  stones  or  bricks, 
but  of  protective  duties  and  fiscal  measures, 
and  guarded  it  with  a  chain  of  unquestion- 
ing, narrow-minded  bureaucrats.  He  hated 
railways,  he  had  a  horror  of  the  press,  he 
put  the  nation  into  uniform,  ticketed  and 
numbered  the  individuals  as  so  many  parts 
of  a  machine — a  cog-wheel  here,  a  lever 
there — and  sat  on  the  safety-valve  till  the 
boilers  were  on  the  point  of  bursting,  and 
death  took  the  control  of  the  engine  out  of 
his  hands,  and  handed  it  over  to  the  czare- 
witch,  Alexander  II.,  who  mounted  the 
throne  on  the  2nd  of  March,  1855. 

Education,  travel,  and  last,  but  by  no 
means  least,  the  infusion  of  German  blood 
in  his  veins,  had  made  Alexander  II.  a 
very  different  being  to  his  father.  He  was 
intelligent,  imbued  with  Western  ideas, 
industrious,  even-tempered,  and  yet  firm 
and  energetic — dogged  almost  in  the  pur- 
suit of  what  he  had  once  fixed  on  and 
determined  to  achieve.  There  was  every 
necessity  for  t>.ese  qualities  at  the  time  of 
his  accession.  The  country  was  groaning 
under  the  taxes  levied  upon  it;  the  de- 
mands of  the  army  for  reinforcements  were 
draining  the  rural  districts  of  their  culti- 
vators, commerce  was  nearly  destroyed, 
Sebastopol  fallen,  and,  practically,  Russia 
was  lying  at  the  feet  of  Europe,  unless  she 
was  prepared  for  a  war  a  Voutrance,  in 
which,  though  she  would  no  doubt  have 
been  ultimately  successful — for  the  allies 
were  in  almost  as  bad  a  plight  as  herself — 
the  internal  ruin  of  the  country  would 
have  been  far  more  disastrous  than  an 
194 


apparently  humiliating  peace,  though  in- 
volving the  loss  of  her  prestige,  the  supre- 
macy of  the  Black  Sea,  of  part  of  Bes- 
sarabia, and  the  abandonment  of  her  plans 
on  Constantinople. 

No  slight  moral  courage  was  requisite  to 
face  such  an  alternative,  and  to  yield  in  a 
day  what  it  would  take  a  generation  to 
regain.  The  temptation  to  continue  the 
struggle  was  very  great ;  but  Alexander,  by 
the  advice  of  his  Prussian  relatives,  which 
powerfully  backed  his  own  inclination,  and 
with  the  conviction  that  if  the  war  lasted 
much  longer,  though  it  were  to  terminate 
in  his  favour,  would  render  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  desires  impossible,  only  waited 
for  a  favourable  opportunity  to  commence 
negotiations  for  peace.  This  opportunity 
was  offered  when  the  Russian  arms  were 
successful  at  Kars,  and  Austria  offered  her 
mediation.  He  accepted  the  treaty  of 
Paris,  concluded  March  30th,  1856,  and 
thereby  gave  a  rare  proof  of  moderation 
and  of  consideration  for  the  welfare  of  his 
people.  It  is  quite  certain  that  none  of  his 
predecessors  would  have  yielded  in  conse- 
quence of  what,  after  all,  was  but  a  small 
loss  to  the  ruler  of  80,000,000  of  souls; 
and  which,  besides,  had  only  been  accom- 
plished with  great  difficulty  by  the  two 
strongest  and  richest  nations  '  of  Europe, 
assisted  by  two  others  directly,  and  indi- 
rectly by  a  third — Austria.  And  also, 
apart  from  the  humiliation  involved  in 
yielding,  and  the  opprobrium  attaching  to  a 
surrender  before  all  resources  were  ex- 
hausted, the  operations  Alexander  had  in 
view  were  far  greater,  and  presented  far 
more  obstacles  than  a  continuation  of  the 
war  to  the  knife  presented.  Exhausted  as 
the  country  would  have  been,  it  might  have 
been  still  more  firmly  bound  by  the  fetters 
of  an  absolute  despotism  for  at  least  the 


/■ 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [liberation  of  the  serfs. 


next  fifty  years,  whilst  Russian  military 
prestige  would  have  been  saved.  But,  as 
we  have  said,  the  temptation  was  resisted  ; 
and,  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of 
peace,  Alexander  took  in  hand  the  work  of 
reform,  whence  dates  a  new  era  in  Russian 
history  and  the  history  of  civilisation. 

Among  the  first  acts  following  his  acces- 
sion, were — the  amnesty  accorded  to   the 
Poles;   a   thorough    reorganisation   of  the 
army  and  commissariat  departments,  with 
the  appointment  of  responsible  officers,  and 
the  establishment  of  checks  on  the  corrup- 
tion,  bribery,    and    peculation   that   were 
rampant   throughout  all   branches  of   the 
State  service ;  and,  finally,  the  abrogation 
of  the  law  compelling  the  public  instructors 
and  masters  to  clothe  themselves  in  uni- 
form.    In  fact,  he  put  an  end  to  the  mili- 
tary despotism  of  which  Nicholas  was  the 
incarnation,  only  reserving  to  himself  the 
supreme  and  absolute  control  of  the  church 
and   public  instruction.     These   were   but 
the   preliminaries  to  the  most   ample  re- 
forms he  contemplated  after  his  coronation, 
which   was    delayed    till    September   7  th, 
185(5 — a  delay  in  a  great  measure  owing  to 
his  desire  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  best  means  of  commemorating  the 
day.     Thus,   in  his  ukase  announcing  his 
coronation,    he   decreed   the   rewards   and 
medals  for  the  army;  suspended  the  con- 
scription  for   four  years;   diminished  the 
taxes  in  proportion  to  the  diminution  of 
the  population ;  released  the  debtors  to  the 
excise,  and  other  tax-officers  of  the  State, 
from  all  their  debtsand  arrears  up  to  January 
1st,  1856;  granted  free  pardons  for  lesser 
nfringements    of    the    law;     and    either 
sensibly   commuted   the   sentences   of  the 
Siberian  exiles,  or  gave  them  theirfull  liberty, 
subject    to    certain   conditions.      He   also 
turned  his  immediate  attention  to  the  im- 
provement  of    the   roads;     abolished   the 
heavy  taxes  on  travellers,  and  projected  a 
number  of  railways;  whilst  guaranteeing 
5  per  cent,  to  the  shareholders  of  the  com- 
panies who   constructed  them.     The   only 
line  working,  on  his  accession,  was  the  St. 
Petersburg-Moscow  railway. 

Having  seen  to  these  immediate  wants, 
he  made  a  journey  through  the  empire,  to 
see  with  his  own  eyes  what  could  be  done 
to  achieve  his  great  intention — the  libera- 
tion of  the  serfs.  He  consulted  the  chief 
men  of  the  country  on  the  spot,  took  note 
of  their  objections  or  suggestions,  and,  on 
his    return,    appointed    a    committee    to 


furnish  a  plan  by  which  his  object  would  be 
best  attained.  In  November,  1857,  this 
plan  was  published  in  the  shape  of  an 
imperial  rescript,  calling  upon  the  gover- 
nors of  the  provinces  to  convoke  the 
nobility,  and  to  arrange  with  them  for  the 
affranchisement  of  the  serfs  within  six 
months. 

The  publication  of  this  order,  and  the 
convocation   of   the  nobility,   produced   a 
violent  agitation  throughout   the  empire, 
and  the  project  was  as  much  endangered 
by  the  ignorance  of  the  serfs  as  by  the  op- 
position of  the  clergy  and  a  large  section 
of    the    nobility;    for,   anticipating    their 
freedom  as  it  were,  and  forming  extrava- 
gant  ideas  as   to   the   benefits   that   were 
awaiting  them,  the   peasantry   broke   out 
into  all  kinds  of  excesses,  and  wanted  to 
break  down  all  the  old  laws  and  barriers 
before  the  new  ones  had  been  framed  or 
created.     There  was,  consequently,  a  great 
outcry ;  but  being  supported  by  the  more 
enlightened  portion  of  the  populace,  by  the 
universities,  schools,  and,  above  all,  by  the 
white   clergy,*   the   commotion    gradually 
subsided,  and  the  refractory  nobility  began 
to  make  concessions.     Of  course,  as  soon  as 
this  was  done,  their  opposition  was  broken, 
and  the  truth  proved  once  more  of  the  old 
French    proverb,   Femme  qui    e'coute  et 
forteresse  qui    parlement    sont  perdues. 
(The  woman  who  listens  and  the  fortress 
that  treats  are  lost.)     They  were  willing  to 
agree  to  the   personal  enfranchisement  of 
the  serf,  but  would  hear  nothing  of  any 
territorial  concessions.      But  the  emperor 
was  inflexible ;  he  recognised  the  nobility's 
proprietary  rights  in  the  soil,  but  insisted 
on  the  peasantry  obtaining  a  residence,  and 
sufficient  land  to  subsist  on.     This  decision 
led    to   the    institution   of    a   committee 
charged  with  the  duty  of  forming  a  report 
on  the  projects  and   proposals   emanating 
from  the  provincial  assemblies  convoked  by 
the  imperial  rescript.     There  were  301  of 
these     projects,     filling     eighteen     large 
volumes,  which,  in  turn,  were   condensed 
by  a  second   committee,  and    the  result 
taken  as  the  basis  for  the  definitive  dis- 
cussions.    Finally,  in  the  face  of  the  most 
strenuous   opposition   on   the  part  of  the 
higher    nobility,   Alexander  succeeded   in 
carrying    the     measure,    opposing     every 
objection  by  the  remark,  that  the  enfran- 

♦  The  white  and  black  clergy  will  be  treated  of 
hereafter,  in  our  account  of  the  constitution  of  the 
I  Russian  church. 


ii 


LIBERATION  OF  THE  SERFS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


r 

r' 


i 


chisement  of  the  serf,  without  giving  him 
his  house  and  enough  land  to  live  on,  would 
be  creating  a  dangerous  proletariat,  besides 
being  in  itself  a  crying  injustice,  which 
would  avenge  itself  a  hundred-fold.  Thus, 
on  the  lat  of  March,  1861,  the  ukase  was 
published,  granting  every  serf  his  freedom, 
a  house  to  dwell  in,  and  fields  of  varying 
extent  to  cultivate,  which  he  had  to  pay 
for  on  a  certain  scale,  and  for  which  the 
government  opened  him  a  credit,  of  which 
he  availed  himself  to  a  very  large  extent. 
The  debt  of  the  serfs  to  the  government  now 
amounts  to  an  enormous  sum.  Nor  is  it 
very  likely  that  it  will  ever  be  paid  off. 

By  this  measure,  22,000,000  of  ordinary 
serfs,  3,000,000  belonging  to  various  ap- 
panages, and  23,000,000  to  the  crown,  were 
freed  on  one  day,  and  supplied  with  the 
means  of  existence.  In  point  of  fact,  the 
greatest  despot  of  modern  times,  the  tyrant 
of  the  19th  century,  had  done  that  of  his 
own  free-will  what  the  Communists  and 
Socialists  of  less  favoured  Western  nations 
are  vainly  striving  to  obtain — a  division  of 
the  soil.  That  the  nobility  in  Russia  still 
have  much  more  than  the  emancipated  serf, 
does  not  affect  the  argument  at  all;  as 
were  the  soil  of  England,  France,  or  any  of 
the  Western  nations  —  except,  perhaps, 
Spain — to  be  divided  amongst  their  popu- 
lations, the  individual  would  have  no  more 
than  the  serf  at  present  possesses :  in  some 
cases  he  would  have  less.  So  remarkable  a 
consummation  requires  some  examination, 
and  the  working  of  the  measure  some 
study,  as  showing  to  what  results  it  has 
already  led,  or  is  likely  to  lead.  At  the 
same  time,  all  the  conditions  must  be  fairly 
stated,  and  the  restraints  be  mentioned 
that  are  still  imposed  upon  the  liberty  of 
the  serf — restraints  that  have  their  origin 
chiefly  in  the  nomadic  propensities  of  the 
Russian,  and  which  are  very  strongly 
developed  ;  and,  secondly,  in  the  exigencies 
of  the  system  of  universal  military  service. 
These  restraints  are  contained  in  the  follow- 
ing nine  articles  : — 

"  Art.  1.  No  peasant  is  allowed  to  re- 
move from  his  native  village,  except  on 
condition  of  abandoning  for  ever  his  landed 
property  to  the  community. 

"Art.  2.  If  the  community  refuses  to 
accept  it,  he  must  give  it  up  to  the  lord  of 
the  manor. 

"  Art.  3.  He  must  have  fulfilled  his 
military  duties. 

"  Art.  4.  He  must  have    paid  all    bis 
196 


taxes,  even  the  total  amount  of  the  current 
year,  no  matter  at  what  period  of  the  year 
he  wishes  to  leave. 

"Art.  5.  He  must  satisfy  the  communal 
administration  that  he  has  fulfilled  all  his 
legal  obligations. 

"  Art.  6.  He  must  be  free  from  all 
magisterial  or  judicial  prosecution. 

"  Art.  7.  He  must  have  provided  for  the 
wants  of  any  members  of  his  family  he 
leaves  behind  him. 

"  Art.  8. — He  must  have  paid  all  the 
arrears  due  to  the  lord  of  the  manor  on  the 
ground  that  has  been  allotted  to  him. 

"  Art.  9. — Finally,  he  must  produce  a 
certificate  from  the  authorities  of  the  com- 
mune to  which  he  is  about  to  remove, 
proving  that  he  has  acquired  a  plot  of 
ground  not  further  away  than  ten  miles 
from  the  village,  and  of  double  the  extent 
of  that  which  he  formerly  possessed." 

It  is  evident  that  these  regulations 
detract  very  considerably  from  the  advan- 
tages accorded  by  the  emancipation  ukase. 
They  fix  the  peasant  to  his  original  plot, 
and  root  him  there  in  an  almost  ineradi- 
cable manner.  They  reduce  the  benefits 
accruing  from  the  measure  very  nearly  to 
the  level  of  a  simple  moral  advantage,  the 
profitable  and  material  development  of 
which  depends  entirely  on  the  capacity  of 
the  peasant  to  work  it  out.  To  form  an 
idea  of  the  probabilities  or  improbabilities 
of  his  success,  a  few  words  must  be  devoted 
to  the  communal  system  in  Russia,  the 
backbone  of  whatever  national  life  exists 
in  the  country. 

The  whole  of  Great  Russia — i.e.,  Slavic 
Russia — is  divided  into  communes,  cantons, 
and  districts.  The  commune  is  really  an 
association,  somewhat  resembling  a  monastic 
community  as  far  as  the  ownership  of  the 
soil  is  concerned.  Individual  property 
cannot  be  said  to  exist — i.e,  landed  pro- 
perty. The  soil  is  divided  into  as  many 
lots  as  there  are  households ;  and  as  these 
households  are  constantly  varying  in  num- 
ber with  the  decease  and  marriage  of  the 
individuals,  the  lots  are  re-distributed  every 
three  years,  when  every  household  receives 
its  re-adjusted  share  of  arable  land,  of 
garden  land,  pasture,  and  forest  land,  and 
is  valued  according  to  its  quality  and  dis- 
tance from  the  centre  of  the  village.  The 
re-distribution  is  conducted  by  the  village 
council,  composed  of  the  heads  of  the 
families,  presided  over  by  the  mayor,  whom 
they  elect  for  a  term  of  three  years,  with 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [liberation  of  the  serfs. 


the  title  of  Staroshte,  or  Elder.    During  his 
term  of  office,  the  Staroshte  wields  an  al- 
most  unlimited  power ;  but  still  the  office 
is  not  in  much  request,  as  the  ignorance  of 
the  peasantry    saddles    him    with    endless 
responsibilities,  and   exposes    him  to   the 
most  absurd  charges.     If  it  rains  too  much 
or  too  little — if  an  epidemic  breaks  out,  or 
a  murrain  amongst  the  cattle — the  Staroshte 
has  generally   to  bear  the    blame.      Thus 
there  is  frequently  a  good  deal  of  bribery, 
on  the  part  of  the  richer  inhabitants,  not 
to  be  elected.     But  once  chosen,  as  we  have 
said,  his  power  is  great.     He  is  judge  and 
jury    combined ;    he    can     have    offenders 
knouted  ;  for  although  flogging  is  generally 
abolished,  the  privilege  has  been  left  un- 
touched in  the  hands  of  the  Staroshte,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  a  woman ;  though  even 
in  that  case  the  general  law  is  not  always 
observed,   as   we    have  seen   was   reported 
by  Consul   Michell.     With    the    approba- 
tion of  the    council,   he   is  empowered  to 
expel  any   member  of  the  community,  or 
call  upon  the  police  to  imprison  him.     And 
even  if  the  man  be  innocent  of  the  charges 
laid  against  him,   the  government  cannot 
force  his  own  commune  to  take  him  back, 
nor  any  other  commune  or  municipality  to 
receive  him.     He  becomes  a  pariah,   and 
must  seek  a  livelihood  in  the  army  or  the 
mines.      Even  the   verdict   of  a   superior 
tribunal  may  be  quashed  by  the  Staroshte  ; 
and  though  the  accused  have  been  acquitted 
as  innocent  of  the  crimes  laid  to  his  charge, 
yet  his  goods,  his  house,  and  his  laud  may 
be  confiscated  if   the    Staroshte,    or  a  re- 
vision of    the  evidence   and    the   verdict, 
should  see  fit  to  reverse  the  sentence.  Thus 
the   Staroshte    for   the  time    being    is   a 
greater  autocrat  than  the  czar  himself,  and 
in  his  way  wields  more  power.     He  and  his 
communes   are   beyond   the   reach   of   the 
State,  except  as  regards  the  military  service 
and  the  taxes,  regarding  which  all  questions 
are  settled  by  the  ministries  of  war  and 
finance    communicating    direct    with   the 
Staroshte.     The  Minister  of  War  demands 
so-and-so  many  recruits,  according    to  the 
returns  of  the  village  in  question,  and  the 
Minister  of  Finance  such-and-such  a  sum  ; 
and  the  Staroshte,  aided  by  the    council, 
complies    with   the    order   after   deciding 
upon  the  share  each  household  has  to  con- 
tribute.    Thus    the   fiscal   system   of    the 
empire  is  extremely  simple — so  simple,  that 
it  amounts,  in  reality,   to  a   poll-tax — so 
simple,    that    it    is    quite   Asiatic;    and, 


stranger  still,  quite  Turkish ;  for  that  is  the 
system   pursued  by  the    Porte — the    only 
difference  being,  that  there  is  not  so  much 
local  extortion  and  official  peculation  now 
as  there  used  to  be  in  Russia.     Yet  still  in- 
justice enough  is  done.     The   richer  pea- 
sants manage  to  gain  all  sorts  of  advantages 
with  impunity  ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  richer 
peasant,  who  may  have  excited  the  hatred 
or  jealousy  of  a  section  of  his  neighbours, 
or  of  the  Staroshte  himself,  will  be  bur- 
dened    with    more     land    than     he    can 
work  on  account    of    scarcity    of    labour, 
and    for  which  he  is  obliged  to  pay  rent. 
His  onlv  chance  is  to  sub-let  to  his  poorest 
neighbours,  and  risk  getting  any  rent  from 
them  or  not.     Thus  what  interest  has  the 
peasant  in  developing  and  improving  the 
land   he   cultivates,   when   he  knows  that 
every  three   years   it  may  be  taken  from 
him,  and  other  land,  in  quite  a  different 
situation,  be  substituted  ?     It  is  impossible 
for  him  to  conceive  any  affection  for  his 
temporary  property,  and  thus  the  peasant's 
agriculture  remains  on  the  very  lowest  foot- 
ing.    Practically  bound  to  the  soil,  he  has 
no  interest  in  it ;  theoretically  free,  he  is 
practically  a  prisoner,  subject  to  denuncia- 
tion by  his  enemies,  to  punishment  by  the 
Staroshte,  without  any  appeal  or  any  refuge 
but  the  army,  which  he  hates,  or  a  living 
death  in  the  mines  of  the  Ural  or  Siberia. 
Thus,  in  its  present  form,  and  under  exist- 
ing conditions,  the   commune   is  nothing 
but  a  hydra-headed  autocracy,  at  the  mercy 
of  the  head  autocrat,  be  that  autocrat  the 
czar  or  an  impersonal  government. 

Still,  in  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks,  it 
cannot  be  said  that  even  yet  the  peasant  is 
conscious  of  them.  His  devotion  to  old 
habits  and  customs,  his  superstitious  rever- 
ence for  "authority,"  produce  the  same 
results  as  the  kismet — it  is  ordained — of 
the  Turks.  In  this  sense,  the  Russian  is 
quite  as  much  of  a  fatalist  as  his  Mussul- 
man enemies.  A  command  has  but  to  be 
uttered  in  the  tone  of  authority,  to  ensure 
unquestioning  obedience.  Of  this  peculi- 
arity, and  as  an  instance  of  their  bottom- 
less superstition,  Mr.  Wallace  relates  the 
following  story : — 

"  One  winter  evening  there  appeared  in 
a  peasant's  cottage  a  female  figure  draped 
in  white  robes,  as  St.  Barbara  is  generally 
represented.  Introducing  herself  as  the 
saint,  she  sat  down  and  commenced  an  edify- 
ing discourse.  Before  long  the  cottage  was 
besieged  by  an  inquisitive  but  reverential 


('J 
I 


EUSSIAN  SUPERSTITION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


M 


[ 


throng,  from  which  not  one  soul  in  tliat 
village  stayed  away.  About  midnight  she 
arose,  announcing  that  she  was  gomg  to 
fetch  St.  Nicholas,  but  said  that  no  one  was 
to  leave  the  place  till  she  returned.  So  the 
pious  and  awe-struck  villagers  remained 
rooted  to  the  spot,  expecting  the  saint's 
return.  They  went  on  expecting  till  sun- 
rise, when  they  discovered  that  she  must 
have  gone  a  very  long  journey,  as  she  had 
taken  a  number  of  their  horses  with  her." 

Superstition  and  drunkenness  are  the 
two  great  faults  of  Russian  peasants,  with 
the  concomitant  results  in  the  indulofence 
of  them — indifference  and  laziness. 

Now,  whilst  the  peasant  of  to-day,  or  the 
serf  of  yesterday,  enjoys,  as  we  have  seen, 
an  absolute  freedom  from  State  inter- 
ference beyond  the  matters  of  military 
services,  and  taxes,  whilst  his  commune 
almost  amounts  to  a  free  state  within  its 
boundaries,  the  municipalities  can  scarcely 
be  said  to  have  any  independent  existence 
at  all.  They  are  subjected  to  all  the  im- 
perial laws,  and  to  the  meddling  and 
tyrannical  authority  of  an  irresponsible 
secret  police.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  the 
reason  of  this.  There  is  always  a  certain 
amount  of  independent  thought  and  activity 
going  on  amongst  educated  citizens  and 
townsfolk,  which,  on  the  theory  of  des- 
potism, has  to  be  kept  in  bounds  by  such 
measures  as  private  denunciation,  palace 
decrees,  and  a  secret  police  executive.  In 
the  villages  and  communes,  these  bonds  are 
so  effectually  kept  by  their  constitution 
and  the  fathomless  ignorance  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, that  the  State  has  no  reason  for 
interference.  The  only  privilege  that  is 
scantily  recognised  by  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment, is  that  of  citizenship — bourgeoisie. 
But  although  the  citizen  may  buy,  sell, 
pursue  any  profession  or  trade,  and  be 
a  member  of  any  corporation,  when  bis 
choice  is  once  made,  he  is  bound  to  it  as 
firmly  as  the  peasant  is  to  the  soil.  There 
are  endless  difficulties  to  be  overcome 
before  he  can  leave  one  guild  or  enter 
another.  Having  once  decided  upon  his 
trade  or  occupation,  he  is  ticketed  and 
labelled  as  such  in  the  civil  and  municipal 
reofister  to  the  end  of  his  davs. 

Thus  the  population  of  every  town  is 
divided  officially  into  three  classes — the 
Tsak,  the  Guild,  and  the  Tchin.  The  first 
includes  all  the  artisans  and  workmen. 
They  pay  a  certain  sum  annually — not  a 
large  one — to  the  corporation,  elect  their 
198 


administrator,  and  settle  their  affairs 
amonofst  themselves.  The  members  of  the 
guilds  pay  a  tax  to  the  State  for  the  licence 
to  buy  and  sell,  and,  till  recently,  for 
exemption  from  military  service.  The 
Tchin,  finally,  is  a  rank  of  fourteen  de- 
grees, commencing  with  the  student,  and 
endinir  with  that  of  Councillor  of  State.  It 
would  be  much  the  same  if  in  England  we 
were  to  make  the  titles  of  mister,  esquire, 
reverend,  doctor,  professor,  head  master, 
R.A.,  so-and-so  many  legal  degrees  of 
social  rank,  none  of  which  could  be 
assumed  without  legal  municipal  and  State 
authority. 

Now  presuming  that  a  peasant,  after  hav- 
ing complied  with  the  regulations  we  have 
already  described,  and  having  all  his  papers 
in  order,  wishes  to  establish  himself — say,  in 
Kieff — for  the  purpose  of  selling  the  pro- 
duce he  has  arranged  to  buy  from  the  friends 
of  his  native  village,  he  finds,  on  his  arrival, 
that  the  cost  and  difficulty  in  entering 
a  guild  is  far  beyond  his  means.  His  plan 
has  therefore  failed.  He  cannot  return  to 
his  village,  for  he  has  surrendered  all  his 
property  and  rights  there.  Thus,  unless  he 
intends  to  run  the  risk  of  being  arrested 
by  the  first  policeman  who  chooses  to  do 
so,  as  a  vagabond,  and  be  packed  off  to  the 
army  or  to  the  mines,  or  government  dock- 
yards, he  must  try  to  obtain  admission 
into  the  Tsak ;  and,  once  there,  it  is  as 
difficult  to  get  out  of  it  as  it  was  to  get 
into  it,  or  get  out  of  the  commune.  How- 
ever, presuming  that  he  has  succeeded  in 
being  admitted  into  the  Tsakj  he  then  tries 
for  admission  into  an  Artel. 

The  principles  on  which  the  communes 
are  based  in  rural  districts,  applied  to  town 
life,  produced  this  Artel.  Like  the  com- 
mune, it  was  originally  intended  for  the 
common  protection  of  its  members  against 
the  encroachments  and  oppressions  of  a 
despotic  power ;  and,  like  the  commune,  it 
is  now  used  by  a  despotic  government  to 
further  its  own  despotic  ends.  The  insti- 
tution dates  back  to  a  very  remote  period, 
and  is  one  that  was  generally  adopted  by 
brigands,  banditti,  and  highway  robbers. 
It  also  exists,  in  a  modified  form,  at  Cairo, 
Alexandria,  and  other  Egyptian  cities, 
where  it  has  been  adopted  by  the  Berbers 
or  Berberines.  The  principle  of  the  Artel 
is,  that  all  its  members  give  up  the  whole 
of  their  earnings,  from  whatever  source, 
even  to  the  extent  of  presents  and  legacies, 
to  the  common  fund.    All  the  members  are 


A.D.  1856-'77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [tchin,  tsak,  and  artel. 


collectively  responsible  for  each  individual ; 
every  member  is  bound  to  obey  the  presi- 
dent, who  is  elected  by  the  members  them- 
selves ;  and  each  member  must  accept  the 
employment  for  which  he  is  designated  by 
the  president.  The  rules  absolutely  pro- 
hibit all  drinking,  swearing,  and  gambling. 
Each  member  must  regard  the  other  as  his 
brother,  and  no  member  can  give  up  his 
place  to  another  except  by  general  consent. 
The  funds  thus  provided  by  the  members 
are  divided  in  equal  parts,  and  handed 
over  to  the  members  after  the  deductions 
for  working  expenses,  which  are  very 
small. 

The  fee  for  entering  the  Artel  is  con- 
siderable, amounting  on  an  average  to  1,000 
roubles,  or  about  £350,  which  may,  how- 
ever, under  certain  conditions,  be  paid  by 
instalments.  Thus,  having  once  entered 
the  Artel,  the  member  has  lost  all  right 
to  choose  his  own  occupation :  a  situation 
is  found  for  him,  and  his  earnings  go  to  the 
common  fund.  The  guarantees  afforded  by 
this  institution  are  highly  appreciated  by 
the  community  at  large.  The  wealthy 
classes  get  all  their  servants  from  the 
Artel.  If  a  banker  or  merchant  is  in  want 
of  a  clerk,  he  sends  for  the  president,  and 
selects  any  name  from  his  list,  for  the  whole 
society  being  collectively  responsible  for 
each  individual  member,  the  banker  has  no 
hesitation  whatever  in  confiding  the  cash- 
box  to  his  care.  If,  as  very  rarely  happens, 
the  clerk  should  abscond,  the  banker  gives 
notice  of  his  loss,  which  is  at  once  made 
good,  and  another  clerk  supplied.  The 
other  members,  of  course,  do  all  their  best 
to  discover  the  culprit.  If  captured,  as  is 
generally  the  case,  he  is  delivered  to  the 
police,  and  packed  off,  without  more  ado, 
to  the  mines  or  Siberia. 

Now,  however  admirable  this  institution 
of  the  Artel  may  be  under  certain  conditions, 
and  to  a  certain  extent — say,  in  the  shape  of 
a  voluntary  mutual  guaranteeing  society — it 
is  difficult  to  conceive  anything  more  arbi- 
trary and  tyrannical,  or  more  calculated  to 
stifle  individual  energy,  capabilities,  and 
ambition,  than  this  form  of  democratic 
despotism.  It  is  not  a  voluntary  associ- 
ation. Every  citizen  must  belong  to  one 
of  the  three  grades — the  Tsak,  the  Guild,  or 
Tchin;  and,  practically,  every  beginner  in 
town  life  must  enter  the  Artel.  Thus  the 
clerk  who  earns  500  roubles  a  year,  must 
share  his  gains  with  the  servant  who  only 
earns  50,  or  with  the  man  who  earns  no- 


thing at  all.  There  is  thus  absolutely  no 
scope  for  independent  action  or  progress. 
All  that  the  clerk  can  do  to  better  his  con- 
dition is  to  spend  less  of  his  share,  until  he 
has  saved  up  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
enter  a  guild,  and  start  in  business  on  his 
own  account — a  case  that  but  very  rarely 
happens:  If  he  has  succeeded  in  attaining 
this  desirable  consummation,  he  is  compara- 
tively no  freeer  than  he  was  before.  He 
cannot  remove  from  one  street  to  another 
without  the  permission  of  the  police,  and 
personally  attending  at  the  address  bureau 
to  rectify  the  change.  All  the  members  of 
the  guild  watch  over  him,  especially  his 
enemies.  The  president  of  the  guild 
watches  over  the  whole  community,  and  the 
police  watches  over  the  president.  Now 
supposing  one  member  to  be  obnoxious  to 
another  one,  and  the  president  happen  to 
agree  with  the  latter,  the  discontented 
member  denounces  his  enemy  to  the  police, 
who  inquire  of  the  president  as  to  the  truth 
of  the  charges,  and  if  they  are  confirmed, 
arrest  the  accused,  and  send  him  off  to 
prison,  or  the  mines,  with  a  trial  or  with- 
out a  trial,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
accusation,  without  any  further  ceremony. 

Thus,  in  point  of  fact,  the  citizen  is  abso- 
lutely at  the  mercy  of  the  secret  police.  A 
notorious  case  occurred  about  a  year  ago  in 
Odessa,  one  of  the  principal  merchants  there 
having  been  spirited  ofi*  in  the  night  with- 
out even  the  formality  of  a  trial,  or  a  state- 
ment to  his  family  of  the  nature  of  the 
accusation  brought  against  him.  The  chief 
man  in  the  empire,  after  the  emperor,  is  the 
head  of  the  secret  police.  This  post,  until 
recently,  was  in  the  hands  of  Count  Schouva- 
lofif,  the  present  ambassador  of  Russia  in 
London.  This  official  has  the  right  of 
access  to  the  emperor  at  any  hour ;  whilst 
this  privilege,  being  extremely  limited  in 
other  cases,  indicates  the  esteem  in  which 
the  individual  is  held,  and  his  importance. 
The  right  of  audience  with  the  emperor,  in 
the  case  of  other  officials,  is  determined 
beforehand.  Thus  the  Ministers  of  the 
Interior, of  Public  Instruction  and  Finance, 
are  only  allowed  one  audience  a  week : 
the  Ministers  of  War  and  Foreign  Affairs 
have  one  audience  a-day,  at  a  fixed 
hour ;  but  the  Minister  of  Police  mav 
enter  the  czar's  apartments  at  any  hour  of 
the  day,  and  his  bedroom  at  any  hour  of 
the  night.  The  power  of  this  official  has 
been  modified  in  some  degree  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  tribunals  and  law  courts  which 

199 


•    I 


\4 


I! 


RIVAL  RACES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


% 

■•■J 


i 


are  independent  of  the  police  ;   but  he  still 
has  the  power  to  quash  a  verdict,  and  exile 
the  man  who  has  been  acquitted  by  these 
tribunals  as  an  administrative  measure;     In 
short,  a  simple  suspicion  is  still  sufficient  to 
send  the  suspected  person  to  Siberia ;  and  in 
such  a  case,  there  is  not  a  tribunal  or  a  judge 
who  would  dare  to  raise  his  voice  against 
BO  arbitrary  an  act,  in  defence  of  the  victim. 
This  sketch  sufficiently  shows  what  has 
been  the  nature  of  the  reforms  instituted 
by   the  emperor    since   the    Crimean  war. 
He  may  have  been   animated  by  the  most 
laudable  desires  to  ameliorate  the  condi- 
tion of  his  people ;  or  he  may  have  pro- 
mulgated them  knowing  that  they  would 
remain  more  or  less  abortive.     It  may,  of 
course,  be  said  that  he   has  sown  the  seed, 
and   cannot  be   held    responsible   for   the 


nature  of  the  ground  he  has  had  to  cast  it 
upon.     That  is  very  true ;  but  when  a  man 
sows  a  crop  of  corn  on  barren  rock,  he  must 
claim    the    admiration    of   the   world,    or 
assume  the  credit  of  having  done  his  best 
to  produce  a   harvest  where  he  knew,   or 
ought  to  have  known,  that   there  was  no 
chance  of  its  ever  taking  root.  "  Therein 
lies  the  whole  gist  of  the  question  as  regards 
the  future  of  Russia.      To  impartial  ob- 
servers, it  seems  that  the  first  thing  to  be 
done  would  have  been  the  breaking  up  of 
the  soil  before  sowing  the  seed.     All  these 
institutions  should  have  been  deprived  of 
government  recognition,  and  not  continue 
to  be  localised  as  they  still  are,  but  be  left 
to  stand  on  their  own  merits  as  voluntary 
associations  formed  to  meet  the  exigencies 
of  the  case. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  RIVAL  RACES  OF  RUSSIA;  FINNS,    SLAVS,    AND  TARTARS  ;  THEIR  COMPARATIVE  MERITS. 


The  foregoing  account  of  the  social  state  of 
Russia,  as  regards  education  and  local  ad- 
ministration, since  the  Crimean  war,  has  to 
be  supplemented  by  an  account  of  the  reli- 
gious and  political  forces  that  are  now 
agitating  the  empire.  But  before  proceed- 
ing to  this  subject,  it  will  be  profitable  to 
glance  at  the  elements  of  which  the  Russian 
empire  is  composed — a  subject  that  has  but 
recently  received  some  of  the  attention  it 
merits,  and  which  is  still  imperfectly  under- 
stood. Neither  the  real  significance  of  the 
influence  of  the  clergy,  or  the  Panslavonic 
movement^  can  be  properly  appreciated  until 
the  elements  they  have  to  deal  with  are 
fully  known  and  comprehended. 

The  immense  empire  of  the  Russias — 
both  European  and  Asiatic— is  specially 
adapted  by  nature  for  the  establishment  of 
an  homogeneous  nation,  and  is  most  pecu- 
liarly fitted  for  that  process  of  assimilation 
which  is  a  characteristic  of  all  great  nations. 
This  may  sound  rather  paradoxical  when 
the  great  number  of  different  races  and 
tongues  prevalent  in  the  Russian  empire 
is  taken  into  consideration.  It  might  be 
objected  that  similar  circumstances,  in  the 
200 


case  of  the  Austrian  empire,  are  rapidly 
tending  to  its  disintegration  ;  as  is  also  the 
case  in  Turkey,  the  chaotic  state  of  which, 
owing  to  its  rival  races,  must,  in  course  of 
time,  lead  to  the  complete  decomposition  of 
the  empire.  The  reply  to  this  apparent 
paradox  is,  that,  in  common  parlance,  one 
man's  meat  is  another  man's  poison ;  or 
that  it  does  not  follow,  because  a  certain 
state  of  affairs  in  one  country  leads  to  its 
national  destruction,  that  a  similar  state  in 
another  country  should  lead  to  the  same 
results. 

The  key  to  the  enigma  lies  in  the  con- 
figuration of  the  country.  The  whole  of 
European  Russia,  with  which  alone  we  are 
now  dealing,  occupies  a  vast  but  slightly 
elevated  plateau,  stretching  from  the 
White  Sea  to  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Cau- 
casus, and  from  the  Ural  in  the  east,  to  the 
Carpathian  and  mountains  of  Siebenbiirgen 
in  the  west.  Practically,  the  whole  of  this 
vast  extent  of  country  is  one  plain,  the 
elevation  of  the  various  water-sheds  being 
so  slight,  that  many  rivers  run,  as  it  were,  in 
couples  for  long  distances  before  they 
minjrle   their  waters.      Within  the  limits 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[rival  races. 


f 
J"' 

f 

I 


thus  defined  by  nature  there  are  vast  re- 
sources ;  but  these  resources,  both  vegetable 
and  mineral,  are  spread  over  a  very  large 
extent  of  territory,  and  present  the  aspect 
of  patches  scattered  over  the  whole  expanse, 
at  varying  distances  from  each  other.  Thus 
one  district  may  be  very  rich  in  agricultural 
produce,  but  be  utterly  destitute  of  mine- 
rals ;  another  may  be  rich  in  minerals,  but 
scantily  furnished  with  agricultural  pro- 
duce, and  both  districts  be  separated  by  a 
wide  expanse  of  pasture  and  grass-land. 
The  consequences  of  these  natural  features 
to  the  various  races  that  peopled  the 
country  at  various  periods  were  two-fold. 
First  of  all,  the  resources  of  one  district 
alone  did  not  suffice  for  the  requirements  of 
its  population,  who  were  then  obliged  to 
depund  on  those  of  another  district.  The 
nomadic  tribes  depended  on  the  population 
of  the  agricultural  districts  for  their  corn, 
and  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  mineral  and 
the  industrial  districts  for  their  implements; 
whilst  both  the  latter  depended  on  the  first 
for  their  supply  of  cattle.  The  satisfaction 
of  these  requirements  could  only  be  at- 
tained either  by  the  rival  communities  or 
races  agreeing  to  live  in  harmony  together, 
or  by  one  race  wielding  rule  over  all  the 
others ;  for  the  second  consequence  of  the 
configuration  of  the  country  to  the  inhabi- 
tants, was  the  impossibility  of  concentrating 
the  various  races  or  sections  in  defensible 
positions,  owing  to  the  entire  absence  of 
natural  boundaries  to  mark  off  one  from 
the  other.  The  district  of  each  section  was 
open  on  all  sides  to  all  the  others ;  and  thus 
all  the  various  races  were  forced,  of  neces- 
sity, to  combine  under  one  rule,  and  to 
submit  to  one  government,  whilst  retaining 
their  local  peculiarities  under  pain  of 
falling  an  easy  prey  to  foreign  aggressors, 
until,  at  any  rate,  the  day  should  dawn 
when  the  millennium  would  enable  them  all 
to  live  in  peace  and  good-will  with  one 
another,  without  the  aid  of  such  Old-Adam 
contrivances  as  despotic  constitutions  or 
republican  governments. 

It  was  thus  that  the  absence  of  those 
geographical  features  which  enable  a  nation 
or  race  to  keep  itself  together,  precluded 
all  possibility  of  the  establishment  of  a 
number  of  independent  States.  Unity, 
despotic,  monarchical,  or  republican,  was 
imperatively  prescribed ;  and  as  was  in  the 
nature  of  things,  the  most  concentrated 
and  energetic  sections,  the  Tartar  and  the 
Slavic,   having   measured    their    strength, 

VOL.  II.  2  D 


divided  the  hegemony  between  them,  till 
the  Tartar  succumbed  to  the  Slav,  and 
henceforth  yielded  to  the  slow  but  effectual 
process  of  assimilation.  Thus  Russia  must 
inevitably  always  be  a  united  nation,  no 
matter  who  may  wield  the  sceptre — Slav, 
Finn,  German,  or  Tartar.  Rule  once  es- 
tablished, the  whole  empire  must  acquiesce 
in  that  rule.  Russia,  vast  as  her  terri- 
torial limits  are,  can  never  be  divided  into 
a  number  of  States,  as  the  configuration  of 
the  rest  of  Europe,  with  its  many  sharply- 
defined  boundaries,  not  only  allows,  but 
demands.  The  correctness  of  this  view  is 
proved  by  the  contrary  that  has  taken  place 
in  the  case  of  various  sections  of  the 
Russian  races,  that  have  established  them- 
selves in  other  parts  of  Europe.  Thus 
whilst  the  Finns  inhabiting  Russia  have 
become,  politically,  completely  merged  in 
the  empire,  owing  to  the  absence  of  natural 
fortifications ;  their  kindred,  the  Magyars, 
occupying  a  well-defined  centre,  have  pre- 
served their  independence  with  an  energy 
that  has  been  the  admiration  of  the  world. 
Those  of  the  Turk  race  whose  territory 
insensibly  merges  in  that  of  Russia,  have 
equally  succumbed  to  the  general  law, 
except  where  the  well-defined  barriers,  fur- 
nished by  the  Balkans,  the  Bosphorus,  and 
the  Caucasus,  have  enabled  them  to  defy 
all  attacks.  Finally,  the  Slav  race  itself — 
the  dominant  race  in  Russia,  which  has 
there  almost  lost  its  identity  to  such  an 
extent,  that  one  section,  the  Poles,  will  not 
recognise  them  as  Slavs,  but  designate 
them  as  Tartars — have  managed  to  preserve 
their  independence  wherever  they  were 
assisted  by  the  natural  features  of  the  dis- 
trict they  occupy  ;  as,  for  instance,  Monte- 
negro, Servia,  and,  to  a  very  great  extent, 
Bohemia.  It  is  thus  irrefutable,  that  the 
various  races  of  Russia,  however  much  they 
may  be  rivals  amongst  themselves,  are 
irresistibly  compelled,  not  only  to  preserve 
unity  of  government,  but  also  to  extend 
themselves  and  their  territory  till  they 
have  reached  those  geographical  limits 
that,  so  to  say,  are  indispensable  for  holding 
them  together — just  as  the  iron  hoop  holds 
the  staves  of  the  barrel  together.  Until 
these  natural  limits  are  reached,  it  is  idle 
to  suppose  that  Russia  either  can  or  will 
stop  in  her  annexing  course  of  conquest. 
She  must  advance  till  she  has  gained  those 
limits.  But  when  they  are  gained,  when 
her  natural  boundaries  form  such  a  line  of 
defence  as    the   Pyrenees,   the   Alps,   the 

201 


(C: 

'* 
it" 


THE  FINNS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


-.1! 


■:i 


i 


Balkans,  or  the  "  silver  streak"  in  other 
countries,  what  then  ?  Will  the  millennium 
have  set  in  by  then,  or  will  she  yield  to  the 
temptations — which  will  be  great  for  a 
nation  of  some  100,000,000  souls— offered 
by  such  luxuriantly  wealthy  countries  as 
Asia  Minor,  Persia,  India,  and  such  a  pearl 
of  strategic  or  commercial  pearls  as  Con- 
stantinople? That  is  the  great  political 
question  of  the  day ;  and  to  answer  it,  we 
must  ask  what  are  the  limits  fixed  on  by 
the  Russians  themselves  as  indispensable  ? 
And  we  must  also  ask,  in  case  of  a  diverg- 
ence of  Russian  opinion,  what  section  of 
the  nation  is  most  likely  to  carry  the  other 
sections  with  it?  By  this  means  we  shall 
arrive  at  a  correct  appreciation  of  the 
question.  We  know  how  far  Russia  must 
still  extend  her  frontiers;  but  it  is  also 
necessary  to  know  how  far  they  wish  to 
extend  it  themselves.  We  must  know  at 
what  line  defence  will  cease,  and  aggression 
commence.  Therefore,  let  us  examine  the 
various  sections,  their  ambitions,  their 
powers  and  prospects,  as  they  exist  at  the 
present  day. 

The  chief  races  that  now  occupy  the 
whole  extent  of  the  Russian  empire, from  the 
Baltic  to  Beh ring's  Straits,  from  the  fron- 
tiers of  Prussia  to  the  frontiers  of  Canada, 
are  the  Finns,  the  Tartars,  the  Slavs,  and 
the  Germans.  All  the  other  tribes  and 
families,  more  or  less  differing  from  each 
other  in  habits,  language,  and  features,  are 
members  of  one  of  these  races,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Armenians,  Circassians,  and 
Georgians.  These  latter,  however,  have  no 
special  political  importance  as  yet.  The 
others,  on  the  contrary,  form  very  im- 
portant elements  in  the  constitution  of  the 
empire,  which  demand  far  more  attention 
now  that  Western  progress  is  making  an 
advance  in  the  empire,  than  was  requisite 
before  it  had  been  opened  to  Western  ideas 
by  the  abolishment  of  serfdom,  and  the 
levelling  influences  of  the  railways. 

Of  the  four  races  just  mentioned,  the 
Finns  are  at  the  same  time  the  most  back- 
ward and  the  most  forward  of  the  rural 
population  of  Russia.  The  race  is  at  its 
lowest  in  Western  Siberia,  where  it  is 
represented  by  the  Ostiaks;  and  in  the 
Northern  Ural,  by  the  Vogules;  whilst  it 
is  at  its  highest  in  Finland  proper,  as 
represented  by  the  Suomi ;  and  in  Hungary, 
by  the  Magyars.  The  whole  race  in  Russia 
is  divided  into  about  a  dozen  different 
tribes,  which  may  be  classified  into  three 
202 


or  four  families;  of  which  the  above- 
mentioned  Vogules,  Ostiaks,  and  the  Samo- 
yedes  form  one.  Then  comes  the  Peruvian 
branch  in  the  north-east  of  Russia — say 
some  500,000  souls — the  Votiaks,  on  the 
Viatka;  and  the  Zyriaines,  in  the  deserts 
of  the  Petchora.  A  third  group  is  com- 
posed of  the  Volga  tribes — to  which  the 
Bulgarians  belong  —  consisting  of  the 
Tcheremisses,  Tchouvaches,  and  the  Mord- 
vines,  about  1,000,000  souls ;  and  finally 
comes  the  stock  family,  the  Finns  of  Fin- 
land, or,  as  they  call  themselves,  Suomi. 

Of  all  these  branches  of  the  family,  the 
last  is  the  oijly  one  that  has  preserved  its 
national  character,  habits,  and  language  in 
any  degree.  The  rest  have  either  been 
completely  Russified,  or  are  rapidly  becom- 
ing so.  We  need  therefore  take  no  further 
account  of  the  eastern  branches ;  they  have 
no  political,  but  only  an  ethnological  in- 
terest. The  Suomi,  however,  present  cer- 
tain features  that  may  possibly  still  affect 
their  future,  especially  if  the  German 
population  of  Russia  ever  succeed  in  their 
ambitious  plans  for  the  incorporation  of 
the  Baltic  provinces — the  "  Ostsee  Pro- 
vinzen" — with  the  rest  of  Germany. 

The  Suomi,  then — the  Finns  proper — 
inhabit  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Finland  to  the 
amount  of  some  1,600,000  souls,  with 
another  200,000  in  the  neighbouring  dis- 
tricts, including  that  in  which  St.  Peters- 
burg itself  is  built;  and  about  1,200,000 
of  Esthonians  and  Livonians  in  the  north 
of  Courland.  There  are  thus  nearly 
3,000,000  of  Finns  tolerably  concentrated, 
who  have  a  language,  a  history,  and  a 
national  feeling  of  their  own  ;  and  thus  it 
is  not  surprising  that,  until  recently,  the 
Grand  Duchy  of  Finland  should  have  been 
subjected  to  the  rule  of  a  military  governor, 
with  a  sort  of  special  administration,  that 
has  only  been  very  recently  abolished,  and 
the  whole  of  Finland  absolutely  incorpo- 
rated with  the  rest  of  the  empire.  In 
many  respects  the  Finn  is  superior  to  the 
Russian — i.e.,  that  product  of  Finnish, 
Tartar,  Mongolian,  and  Slavish  mixture 
of  blood ,  that  forms  the  Russian  proper — 
even  as  the  Norman,  Celtic,  and  Anglo- 
Saxon  mixture  has  produced  the  English- 
man. The  pure  Finn,  unadulterated  by 
any  of  these  foreign  elements,  is  highly 
industrious,  economical,  honest,  and  tena- 
cious. His  common  sense  is  also  highly 
developed ;  and  thus  it  is  not  surprising 
that  Protestantism  should  have  made  far 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  tartars. 


more  progress  amongst  the  Finns,  than 
amongst  any  of  the  other  races  of  Russia. 
His  person  is  more  carefully  attended  to ; 
his  villages  and  towns  cleaner ;  his  houses 
better  built  than  the  majority  of  the  Rus- 
sian peasants;  and  there  is  a  certain 
steadiness  and  consciousness  of  self-dignity 
about  him,  that  produces  a  very  favourable 
impression.  He  is,  in  short,  more  worthy 
of  a  political  position — like  that  of  the 
Swedes  and  Norwegians,  for  instance — than 
the  majority  of  the  other  tribes  constitut- 
ing the  empire. 

The  Finns  thus  possess  qualities  that 
would  repay  development;  and  when  we 
consider  what  Prussia  has  done  for  kindred 
races  in  its  north-eastern  provinces,  when 
it  is  remembered  that  the  Germans  claim 
a  goodly  portion  of  the  Baltic  territory, 
now  under  Russian  dominion,  it  is  quite 
within  the  range  of  "practical  politics," 
that,  at  no  very  distant  period,  there  may 
be  a  Finnish  question,  even  as  there  has 
been  a  Polish  and  an  Hungarian  question. 
Finnish  blood  may  be  useful  for  regenerat- 
ing "  Russian"  blood :  but  families  prefer 
receiving  regenerating  blood  to  expending 
it;  and  thus  the  Finns  would  prefer  an 
alliance  with  German  blood,  to  a  subjection 
to  Russian  blood. 

The  second  predominating  race  of  Russia 
is  the  one  that  is  the  standing  reproach  to 
the  empire,  and  the  one  the  Russians  them- 
selves are  ashamed  of.     There   is  not  an 
individual  Russian  that  will  acknowledge 
to  having  any  of  the  blood  in  his  veins ; 
yet  Napoleon  I.  was  not  far  wrong  when 
he   said — ''Grattez  le  Russe  et    vous    y 
trouverai  le  Tartar"    (Scrape  the  Russian 
and  you  will  find  the  Tartar.)     The  Tartar 
is  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Turk,  and  speaks 
a  dialect  of  the  Turkish  language.     At  the 
period  of  their  irruption  from  their  Asiatic 
wilds   into  Europe,  they   were  still  more 
barbarous  and  uncivilised  than  the  Turks, 
inasmuch  as  they  did  not  embrace  Islam 
until  after  their  invasion ;  and  had  no  code 
of  morals,  duties,  or  honour  whatever.     Nor 
is  it  too  much  to  say,   that  the   Tartar, 
where  he  has  preserved  his  race  from  ad- 
mixture with  the  Slavic  or  Finnish  races, 
is  still  just  as  barbarous,  on  the  whole,  as 
he  was  in   the  13th   century.      The   only 
difference  is,  that  from  various  causes  he 
has  not  the  power  of  evil  that  his  instincts 
and  energies  would  lead  him  to  exercise. 
The   chief  of   these   reasons  is,  that    the 
Russian  emperors   never  interfered    with 


his  religion.  They  let  him  follow  his  own 
rites,  build  his  own  mosques,  and,  to  a 
great  extent,  indulge  in  his  monastic  pro- 
pensities, whereby  he  became  more  and 
more  isolated  in  the  course  of  centuries, 
and  lost,  more  and  more,  his  individuality 
by  admixture  with  Finn  and  Slav.  It  was 
never  a  question  of  Crescent  and  Cross  be- 
tween the  Moslems  of  Russia  and  the 
Christian  population.  The  czar  was  prac- 
tically the  head  of  the  Moslem  Church,  as 
well  as  of  the  Orthodox  Church,  and  thus 
no  such  conflict  was  possible  between  the 
votaries  of  the  two  religions,  as  created 
such  a  gulf  as  that  between  the  Turks  and 
Christians  on  the  Balkan  peninsula,  and 
between  the  Moors  and  Roman  Catholics 
of  Spain. 

Thus  the  Tartar  race  merged   into  the 
Russian;  or  disappearing  rapidly,  or  at  best 
but   leading  an    insignificant  existence  in 
isolated  patches,  has  at  present  no  political 
standing  whatever.     It  has  played  its  part ; 
it  has  been  absorbed  by  the  Russians  ;  and 
now  it  appears  that  the  czar  thinks  it  time 
for  the  process  to  be  applied  to  the  Turk, 
his  brother  race.     The  process  in  this  direc- 
tion would,  however,  not  be  quite  so  easy  ; 
for  uncivilised  and  savage  as  the  Tartar  may 
be,   even  he  was  not  so  convinced  of  the 
beneficial  nature  of  Russian  rule,  as  to  re- 
gard it  as  an  unmixed  advantage ;    and  at 
various  periods  he  has  preferred  emigration 
to  the  lands  of  the  Crescent,  rather  than  to 
remain  beneath  the  Russian  Cross.      Thus 
there  was  an  emigration,  on  a  very  large 
scale,  after  the  conquest  of  the  Caucasus, 
when  the  majority  of  the  Moslem  Circassians 
fled  to  Turkey :  and  again,  in  the  years  1860 
to  1863,  when  the  process  of  Russification 
was  being  peculiarly  and  actively  carried  on, 
more  than  260,000  Tartars  left  the  province 
of  Tauris,  leaving  behind  them  nearly  800 
desolate  and  abandoned  villages,  and  took 
up   their  abode  in  Turkey;    especially  in 
Eastern  Bulgaria,  where  they  had  been  pre- 
ceded by  the  Circassian   refugees.     These 
are  the  men,  exiled  Tartars  and  Circassians, 
who  have  been  the  most  active  perpetrators 
of  the  recent  massacres  in   Bulgaria,  and 
who,   in   committing  them,   had   a  vague 
idea,  not  quite  unfounded,  that  they  were 
avenging    their    wrongs    on   their    former 
oppressors  and  enemies. 

There  is  no  more  to  be  said  of  the  Tartar 
as  a  race  in  Russia,  distinct  from  the  Rus- 
sians. But  as  an  objection  to  the  argument 
that  the  Russian  is  a  Slav,  and  pre-eminently 

203 


THE   SLAVS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


LA.D.  1856-'77. 


a  Slav,  we  will  simply  state  the  fact,  that 
of  all  the  descendants  of  Genghis  Khan  and 
the  Golden  Horde,  of  the  myriads  that 
poured  in  from  Asia,  there  are  now  no  more 
than  1,467,000  who  do  not  object  to  the 
appellation  of  Tartar.  It  would  seem  thus 
tolerably  clear  that  the  Russian  is  by  this 
time  pretty  well  half  Tartar  and  half  Slav ; 
and  that  it  entirely  depends  upon  circum- 
stances which  half  is  outside  or  inside. 

The  third  race — the  dominant  race,  ac- 
cording to  the  Russians — is  the  Slav  race ; 
but  we  shall  be  more  in  accordance  with 
facts  in  simply  regarding  the  Slav  as  one  of 
the  races  that  has  largely  contributed  to  the 
formation  of  the  Russian  people.     In  fact, 
we  may  regard  Russia  as  an  immense  field 
surrounded   by   various    communities   and 
races,  which,  distinct  from  each  other,  and 
railed  off,  as  it  were,  from  each  other  by 
natural  divisions,  poured  a  certain  number 
of  their  members  into  this  open  and  un- 
divided space,  there  to  follow  out  a  process 
of  "  natural  selection,"  which  has  resulted 
in  the  development  of  the  Russian.     That 
one  of  these  outer  races  should  claim  the 
pre-eminence,  is  an   accident   that   might 
have  occurred  to  any  of  the  others ;  and  that 
the  mixture  thus  produced  should  claim  its 
descent  from,  and  identify  itself  with,  the 
most  intellectual  and  civilised  of  its  ances- 
tors, is  perfectly  natural.     When,  in  course 
of  time,  the  negro  in  America  will  have  be- 
come considerably  bleached  by  admixture 
with  the  Saxon  and  Celt,  it  is  not  very  pro- 
bable that  he  will  regard  his  black  fore- 
fathers with  that  filial  respect  which  ought 
to  be  their  due ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  pure-blooded 
Saxon  of  those  future  days,  will  regard  him 
as  a  full-blooded  white  brother,  especially 
if  he  has  had  to  submit  to  him,  and  see  the 
Western  States  invaded  and  oppressed  by  the 
mongrel  mixture.     This  is  the  position  and 
the  relations  of  the  pure  Slavs  to  the  Rus- 
sians— the  relations  of  Poles  and  Czechs  to 
the  Slavonicised  Finns  or  the    Tartarised 
Slavs.     The   Pole   repudiates   the  Russian 
tainted  with  Tartar  or  Finnish  blood,  and 
ignores  the  Slav  blood  flowing  in  his  veins ; 
whilst  in  virtue  of  this  Slav  blood,  the  Rus- 
sian claims  brotherhood,  not  only  with  the 
Pole,  but  with  the  Czechs  or  Bohemians, 
the  Croats,  the  Serbs,  the  Bulgarians,  and 
the  Montenegrins.     And  not  only  do  they 
claim  brotherhood  with  them,  but  also  claim 
to  be  the  eldest  of  the  family,  its  head,  lord, 
and  master.     This  claim,  as  has  but  too 
204 


often  been  shown,  has  been  energetically 
resisted  by  the  Poles  even  under  Alexander's 
reign,  in  18G3-'64,  and  is  what  is  known  as 
the  Panslavonic  theory,  which  attained  the 
height  of  its  development  at  the  Pansla- 
vonic congress  in  Moscow,  in  1867. 

As  may  be  supposed,  from  what  we  have 
already  said  on  the  subject,  that  section  of 
the  Russians  who  have  the  least  Slavic 
blood  in  their  veins,  and  the  most  Tartar  and 
Finnish  elements,  are  also  the  most  clam- 
orous in  asserting  their  Slavdom.  They 
form  the  section  known  as  Great  Russians, 
numbering  some  36,000,000  souls,  and  oc- 
cupying Moscow,  and  the  central  and  north- 
eastern portion  of  the  empire.  A  second 
section,  with  more  Slavic  than  Tartar  or 
Finnish  blood,  is  formed  by  the  Little  Rus- 
sians, occupying  the  basins  of  the  Dniester, 
Dnieper,  and  Bug,  and  numbering  some 
14,000,000  of  souls  ;  wliilst  a  third  section 
is  composed  of  White  Russians,  who  occupy 
the  provinces  of  Vitebsk,  Grodno,  Mohilef, 
and  Minsk,  who  number  some  6,000,000  of 
souls,  are  comparatively  full-blooded  Slavs, 
and  were  always  an  object  of  dispute  be- 
tween the  Great  Russians,  or  Muscovites, 
and  the  Polish  kings.  So  different  are  they 
in  their  degree  of  Slavic  descent  from  the 
Great  Russian,  or  Muscovite,  that  their  lan- 
guage is,  at  least,  as  different  from  Russian 
as  Dutch  is  from  German,  and  that  they  are 
generally  regarded  as  a  distinct  family,  by 
the  name  of  Russenes,  or  Russniaks. 

Such  is  the  composition  of  the  Russian 
people,  and  such  are  the  facts  upon  which 
the  Great  Russians — the  Muscovites,  who 
make  up  in  number  what  they  want  in 
quality  of  Slavic  blood — base  their  claims 
to  unite  and  lead  the  rest  of  the  Slavic 
races  of  Europe,  and  who  have  invented 
the  Panslavonic  question.  They  might  just 
as  well  raise  a  Panmongolian  question,  and 
claim  the  rule  and  hegemony  over  the 
whole  of  China,  Persia,  Asia  Minor,  and  a 
few  more  places.  Great  Britain  might  just 
as  well  raise  a  Pangermanic  question,  and 
lay  claim  to  Denmark,  Norway,  Prussia, 
Germany,  and  America,  in  virtue  of  her 
Saxon  and  Norse  blood ;  and  to  France  and 
Italy,  in  virtue  of  her  Norman  and  Roman 
descent.  Absurdity  can  go  no  further;  and, 
as  an  absurdity,  it  is  highly  amusing :  but, 
when  it  is  carried  to  the  pitch  of  war,  it 
becomes  a  criminal  hobby,  which  Europe 
must  not  suffer  to  ride  other  people  to 
death,  instead  of  being  ridden  to  death 
itself. 


A.D.  1856-'77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[rural  RUSSIA. 


There  is,  however,  a  small  weight  hang-  | 
ing  at  the  end  of  the  lever  of  self-interest, 
which  is  a  pretty  long  lever,  that,  like  the 
weight  on  the  safety-valve  lever  of  a  steam- 
engine,  will  probably  suffice  to  prevent  the 
Panslavonic  boiler  from  blowing  itself  and 
its  neighbours  up,  to  the  great  distress  of 
Europe.     That  weight  is  provided  by  the 
presence  of  a  small,  but  highly  influential 
body  of  Germans  in  the  Baltic  provinces, 
in  the  chief  towns,  in  the  capital,  in  the 
chief  branches  of  the  administration,  and 
in  the  presence  of  a  considerable  amount  of 
German  blood  in  the  veins  of  the  Romanoffs. 
These  Germans  do  not  become  Russianised ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  Germanise  the  Rus- 
sians, even  as  they  Germanise  the  Poles, 
the  Lithuanians,  the  Bohemians,  and   the 
Croats.    No  better  proof  of  the  inferiority— 
politically  speaking— of  the  Slavs  can  be 
adduced  than  this.     In  other  countries  of 
higher    political    rank,    as    England    and 
America,  the  German  becomes  Anglicised 
or  Americanised :   he  is  assimilated  to  the 
politically  higher-developed  races;  in  the 
case  of  the  Slav  he  assimilates  them. 

In  this  fact  lies  the  great  guarantee  for 


the  future.     We   know  that   the  Russian 
colonies    of    Germans   will   never   become 
Russianiscd;   that  they  will  be  protected 
by  Germany  if  their  liberties  are  threatened, 
or  they  themselves  were  to  be  oppressed  as 
were  the  Poles ;  and  we  know  that  Panger- 
manism — i.e.,   an   alliance   of  the   Anglo- 
Saxon  races — would  not  only  be  all-sufficient 
to  stay  any  westward  progress  of  the  Rus- 
sians, but  that  it  would  be  set  in  motion  at 
once  if  there   were  any  signs  of  a  serious 
attempt    to    impose    Panmongolianism   or 
Panslavism  on  the  rest,  or  any  considerable 
portion,  of  Europe.     But  though  the  ulti- 
mate  result   of  such  a  conflict  cannot  be 
doubtful,  it  is  no  less  certain  that  it  requires 
much  firmness  and  watchfulness  to  prevent 
the  Russians  from  attempting  to  try  the 
issue  by  an  appeal  to  arms,  at  the  cost  of  an 
expensive  and  bloody  war.     Nor  must  it  be 
forgotten,  that  in  spite  of  all  the  drawbacks 


and  disadvantagfes 


arising 


from  the  pecu- 


liar constitution  of  the  Russian  government, 
the  germs  of  more  liberal  ideas  have  been 
!  sown,  and  are  slowly  taking  root,  and  deve- 
loping  themselves,  as  the  relations  between 
Russia  and  Europe  become  more  intimate. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

RURAL    RUSSIA;    INFLUENCE    OF    THE    CLIMATE    ON    THE    RUSSIAN  J     THE    NATIONAL    FOOD;    RUSSIAN 

ENDURANCE. 


We  have  seen  that  the  Russian  people  owe 
their  distinctive  features,   in  a  very  great 
measure,  to  the  mixture  of  three  chief  races ; 
but  there  also  remains  to  be  considered,  the 
influence    exercised    upon    them     by    the 
climate  and  the  nature  of  the  country.     In 
fact,  climate  and   natural  features  exercise 
even  a  greater  influence  on  the  formation 
of  their  character,  their  habits,  and  their 
peculiarities,  than  the  infusion  of  the  blood 
of  different    races    into  their    veins ;    for 
whilst  the  latter  is  temporary,  and  decreases 
in  intensity  as  time  rolls  on,  the  climate 
and  the  country  around  exercise  a  perma- 
nent   influence    upon    them,    and     never 
diminishes  in  force.   In  spite  of  his  English 
origin,  the  American  has  developed  physi- 
cally into  a  very  different  being — a  change 
that    is   solely   owing    to   the   change    of 


climate ;   whilst,  mentally,  the  change  has 
been  of  corresponding  importance. 

The  severe  climate  is    undoubtedly  one 
of  the  chief  influences  that  determine  the 
character,  mind,  and  body  of  the  Russian. 
It    does   not   influence    him   in   the    same 
way  as  it  does  the  Russian  bear,  and  send 
him  to  sleep  for  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  year,  but   exercises  an  influence  that 
produces  quite  as  marked  results ;  and,  in 
many    respects,  very    remarkable    results. 
Thus,  of  all  countries  where  reliable  sta- 
tistics   are    collected,    Russia    is  the   one 
country  where  the  mortality  is  greatest,  the 
average  duration  of  life  is  the  shortest,  and 
yet  where  the  maximum  duration  is  greatest. 
Thus  the  number  of  centenarians  who  died 
in  one  year,  out  of  1,000,000  inhabitants, 
was  no  less  than  thirty-four ;  and  it  may  be 

205 


Y' 


If-      I 


THE  NATIONAL  FOOD.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


assumed  that  there  were  as  many  still 
living.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  not 
more  than  forty-five  sexagenarians  per  1,000 
inhabitants ;  whilst  the  average  in  England 
is  over  100.  Eut,  at  the  same  time,  the 
average  increases  in  the  North,  where  it 
reaches  sixty-six  per  1,000;  whilst  in  the 
South  it  diminishes  again  to  thirty  per 
1,000.  As  may  be  supposed,  the  mortality 
amongst  infants  is  very  great ;  year  by  year 
they  are  thinned  off  to  an  alarming  extent, 
by  exposure  and  by  want  of  sufficiently 
nourishing  food,  so  that  it  is  only  the  most 
robust  that  survive. 

But  it  is  not  only  the  direct  action 
of  the  cold  that  exercises  so  fatal  an  in- 
fluence on  the  people ;  it  also  exercises 
an  indirect  influence  throujrh  the  charac- 
ter  of  the  food  they  eat,  and  the  very 
precautions  they  have  to  take  against  the 
severity  of  the  weather.  Thus  the  long 
winter,  when  the  pastures  are  covered  with 
snow,  greatly  hinders  the  growth  of  cattle, 
and  renders  meat  extremely  scarce.  The 
peasant  is  too  poor  to  be  able  to  feed  them 
through  the  long  winter  months;  he  has 
neither  stabling  nor  fodder  for  them.  Con- 
sequently his  meat  diet  is  very  scanty ;  and 
even  now,  since  the  emancipation  of  the 
serfs  and  the  introduction  of  pigs,  the 
peasant  never  tastes  meat  except  on 
Sundays  and  a  few  holidays.  And  even 
then,  the  method  they  have  of  storing  their 
meat  appears  to  detract  considerably  from 
its  nutritive  powers ;  the  custom  being  for 
every  family  to  kill  as  much  meat  and  fish 
as  they  will  require  for  the  winter,  and  to 
freeze  it,  thawing  it  piece  by  piece  as  it  is 
required.  The  food,  generally  speaking,  is 
quite  vegetable,  the  chief  article  being  rye, 
bread,  porridge,  and  stchtchi — a  soup  made 
of  fermented  cabbage,  and  quite  as  nasty  as 
it  is  unpronounceable.  Mushrooms  of  various 
kinds,  dried  and  fresh,  and  dried  and  salted 
fish,  of  which  immense  quantities  are  con- 
sumed, form  the  national  diet.  The 
luxuries  are  quass — a  liquor  made  of  water 
and  fermented  bread ;  tea,  and  vutki.  The 
samovar,  or  copper  tea-urn,  is  an  indispen- 
sable utensil  in  every  household,  from  the 
richest  to  the  poorest,  and  is  ready  day  and 
night.  Vutki,  a  spirit  made  from  grains, 
potatoes,  &c.,  is,  however,  as  national  a 
beverage,  and  is,  perhaps,  as  indispensable 
as  long  as  the  diet  is  so  poor.  The  peasant 
does  not  drink  it — he  gulps  it,  one  might 
almost  say,  by  the  pint ;  and  as  a  natural 
consequence,  the  drunkenness,  with  all  its 
206 


sanitary  and  economic  drawbacks,  is  enor- 
mous throughout  the  empire. 

Then  the  precautions  the  Russian  has  to 
take  to  keep  the  cold  out,  make  the  cure 
almost  as  bad  as  the  disease.  When  winter 
is  about  to  set  in,  the  first  thing  the  peasant 
does  is  to  pile  up  the  manure  all  round  his 
cottage,  up  to  the  windows.  These  are  then 
hermetically  sealed  with  a  solution  of 
mastic;  an  immense  porcelain  stove,  pro- 
jecting into  the  room,  and  lighted  from  the 
outside,  is  then  heated,  and  the  temperature 
of  the  room  kept  up  to  a  tropical  heat  day 
and  night,  without  any  ventilation  being  pro- 
vided for,  or  the  window  ever  being  opened. 
The  state  of  this  atmosphere,  mixed  with 
the  exhalations  of  perhaps  a  dozen  or  more 
people,  the  fumes  of  cooking,  in  which 
garlic  and  onions  play  a  great  part,  may  be 
imagined ;  but  when  the  thaw  sets  in, 
succeeded  by  another  frost,  and  so  on 
alternately,  and  the  manure  and  the  winter's 
refuse  that  has  been  added  to  it,  slops, 
scraps,  and  other  things,  begin  to  thaw  and 
penetrate  the  mansion,  imagination  is  quite 
powerless  to  realise  the  effect. 

Not  less  injurious  to  health  is  the  habit 
of  the  Russian  peasant  to  sleep  in  his 
clothes,  consisting  of  wraps  of  coarse  linen 
round  his  feet  and  legs,  waistcoat  and 
pantaloons  of  coarse  cloth,  or  furs  and  a 
Bheeipskin  (Touloup),the  wool  turned  inside. 
The  entomological  population  of  these  gar- 
ments is  as  varied  as  it  is  large ;  and  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  Keating's  whole  stock 
of  insect  powder  would  be  sufficient  to 
cleanse  more  than  two  Russian  peasants' 
households.  He  changes  his  linen — when 
he  has  got  any — not  more  than  once  a  week 
or  fortnight,  when  he  takes  his  Russian 
vapour-bath,  each  village  possessing  its 
establishment  for  the  purpose.  The 
arrangements  are  of  a  very  primitive 
nature.  The  bather  reclines  on  a  slanting 
board,  and  procures  the  steam  by  pouring 
water  on  a  sort  of  furnace  of  red-hot 
stones,  rubbing  himself  with  a  handful 
of  rough  rags,  or  shreds  of  beech  and  birch 
bark.  This  process  is  generally  followed 
by  a  snow-bath,  or  a  plunge  into  iced 
water,  and  is  as  drastic  a  stimulant  as  can 
well  be  imagined. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  vital  energy  of  the  average 
Russian  is  very  low ;  and  though  they  may 
be  apparently  strong,  and  are  tall  and  well- 
built,  still  their  actual  strength  is  by  no 
means    proportionate    to    their    apparent 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  ENDDRANCE. 


vigour.  On  the  other  hand,  their  powers 
of  endurance,  in  a  mild,  easy-going  way, 
are  very  considerable.  Scrofula  is  very 
prevalent:  they  are  peculiarly  liable  to 
contagious  diseases,  which  are  very  difficult 
to  get  rid  of,  in  consequence  of  the  low 
degree  of  vitality.  Lung  disease — con- 
sumption— is  not  so  frequent  as  might  be 
supposed,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  atmo- 
sphere ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  small-pox, 
typhus,  typhoid,  and  angina-pectoris  cause 
a  great  mortality. 

The  same   influences  produce  the  same 
results,  in  a  very  considerable  degree,  even 
upon  the  upper  classes.     The  close  atmo- 
sphere of  the  apartments,  however  much  it 
may  be  alleviated   by  the   height   of  the 
rooms,  and  their  opening  into  one  another, 
and  the  Russian  habit  of  continually  chang- 
ing  night   into    day  and   day  into  night, 
produce   the   listlessness   and   pasty   com- 
plexion, which  they  endeavour  to  counteract 
by   a   course   of    European    baths — all   of 
which   are   a    regular    rendezvous   of    the 
Russian  nobility  year  after  year.     In  short, 
Russian  life,  for  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  year,  is  a  hothouse  life,  and  is  not  at  all 
conducive  to  morality,  which  may  be  said 
to  be  lower  in  Russia  than  in  any  other 
European     country,    not    even    excepting 
Roumania.     Amongst  the  peasantry  alone, 
sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  some  of  the 
communia,   as   many  as   twenty  to  thirty 
people  are  crammed  promiscuously  into  a 
couple  of  rooms — old  and  young,  married 
and  single,  all  together.     There  is  scarcely 
any  sense  of  modesty  or  decency ;  and  it  is 
by  no  means  an  uncommon  sight  in  summer, 
to   see   the    girls    and   women   disporting 
themselves  in  all  their  native  simplicity  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  in  full  public  view. 
Nature  thus  weighs  upon  the  peasant  in 
Russia  with  a  very  heavy  hand ;  and,  as  a 
natural  consequence,  endurance,  patience, 
and  a  certain  indifference  are  the  results. 
All  his  energies  are  reduced  to  a  power  of 
resistance — the  quality  that   makes   them 
such   good   soldiers  for  defence,  but  such 
bad  ones  where  assault  and  dash  are  re- 
quired.    This  is  strikingly  exemplified  by 
one  of  their  national  games,  of  which  we 
once  happened  to  be  the  astonished  wit- 
nesses.     A   stalwart   Russ,    some   six  feet 
high,  was  being  "punished"  by  an  adversary 
fully  six  inches  shorter  than  himself,  in  a 
most   atrocious   fashion.      The   blows    fell 
upon  his  head  and  face  one  after  the  other, 
being  dealt  with  a  slow  swinging  delibera- 


tion, and  received  with  much  apparent 
thankfulness.  But  for  some  moments  our 
astonishment  was  too  great  to  inquire  of 
the  admiring  spectators  around  what  it  all 
meant.  We  were  told,  to  our  no  less  sur- 
prise, that  this  was  a  Russian  boxing-match 
— the  object  being,  not  for  the  adversaries 
to  inflict  the  greatest  amount  of  punishment 
on  each  other,  but  to  see  which  one  received 
the  greater  number  of  blows  before  calling 
for  quarter. 

On  another  occasion  we  also  witnessed  a 
similar  affair,  the  actors  being  a  stalwart 
Boyard  and  a  still  more  stalwart  serf.     The 
contest  took  place  in  the  village  inn,  on  a 
challenge  from  the  Boyard.     The  trial  was 
to  be  proceeded   with   by   turns  of   three 
blows  each,  the  Boyard  commencing.     He 
dealt  the  serf  a  tremendous  blow  full  in  the 
mouth,  cutting  his  lips,  and  bruising  them 
almost  to  a  pulp;    the  second   blow   was 
dealt   on   his   nose,    which   forthwith   dis- 
appeared; the  third  closed  up  one  of  his 
eyes — but  not  a  sound  did  the  victim  utter, 
nor  did  a  muscle  twitch   in  his  mangled 
face.       The    Boyard  now   put  himself   in 
position    to    pass    his    examination;    but 
whether  he  was   simply  acting   as  one  of 
those  choice  dessert  fruits  that  are  put  on 
the  table  on  the  tacit  understanding  that 
they  are  not  to  be  touched,  or  whether  the 
serf  was  too  conscious  of  his  power,  we  are 
unable    satisfactorily    to    determine;    but 
anyhow,  the  serf,  having  raised  his  fist  with 
an  ominous  swing,  brought  it  with  a  tre- 
mendous sweep  against   the   edge   of  the 
massive    porcelain-stove,   and    knocked    a 
piece  out  of  it  the  size  of  a  man's  head, 
observing,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  mess  the  room  with  the  "  master's  " 
brains. 

On  a  third  occasion,  whilst  accompany- 
ing the  Russian  troops  into  Warsaw,  after 
their  rout  of  the  Polish  insurgent  forces  at 
Batorsch,  in  August,   1864,  an  officer  was 
loud  in  his   praises  of  the  unquestioning 
discipline  of  the    Russian    soldier.      As  a 
proof  of  the  truth  of  his  assertion,  he  called 
one  of  the  men  out  of  the  ranks,  and  say- 
ing, "Ivan,  it  is  my  pleasure  to  punish 
thee,"  dealt  him  a  sounding  box  on  the  ear, 
and  sent  him  back  again.     The  man  simply 
saluted,  and  obeyed.     We  remarked  that 
we  should  not  be  surprised  if  the  officer 
were  to  be  shot  in  the  back  at  the  first 
engagement.     He  laughed,  and  called  Ivan 
forth  again,  and  said  to  him,  "  Ivan,  why 
did  I  punish  thee  just  now?" — "I  don't 

207 


t 


fr" 


V 


RUSSIAN  SUPERSTITION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


-  [ 
i    ' 


« 


h    r 


w 


M' 


',     'I 


know,"  was  the  reply.  "But  you  know 
I  must  have  had  a  reason  for  it  ?  "  "  Of 
course,"  the  man  answered ;  "  you  had  an 
excellent  reason  for  it."  '*  Yes,"  observed 
the  officer,  "  I  did  it  to  prove  to  this  gentle- 
man here,  our  old  enemies  of  Sebastopol, 
that  the  Russian  soldier  is  unapproachable 
for  discipline  by  any  other  nation.  Was 
I  not  right  ? "  "  By  God  !  master,  you 
were,"  replied  the  man,  with  a  broad  grin 
of  triumph  at  us. 

There  is  no  exaggeration  in  these  inci- 
dents. The  endurance — a  sort  of  submis- 
sive fatalism — of  the  common  Russian  is 
most  remarkable.  It  is,  in  fact,  more  or 
less  a  special  feature  of  Tartar  and  Slav ; 
and  being  thus  indifferent  to  suffering 
themselves,  they  are  indifferent  to  it  in 
others.  They  have  no  sympathy  with 
themselves  or  with  others.  For  the  same 
reason,  they  are  not  actively  cruel ;  it  is 
too  much  trouble;  it  is  not  worth  it.  If 
told  to  give  no  quarter,  they  give  none ; 
but  as  far  as  they  are  personally  concerned, 
they  would  not  go  three  yards  out  of  tbeir 
way  to  give  a  victim  the  coup  de  grace. 
This  applies,  however,  only  to  the  Great 
Russian,  the  pure  Muscovite.  His  more 
southern  brethren  are  as  pillaging,  rapa- 
cious, and  bloodthirsty  a  horde  as  ever 
existed,  whenever  they  have  the  chance  to 
exercise  their  peculiar  talents  in  this  line. 

The  climate  and  its  consequences  thus 
producing  these  results,  it  might  be  ex- 
pected that  they  would  be  increased  by  the 
monotony  of  the  natural  features  of  the 
country.  Broad  plains,  broad  sluggishly- 
flowing  rivers,  long-stretching  expanses  of 
dense  forest,  with  nothing  to  relieve  the 
dreary  flatness,  whilst  producing  the  oppres- 
Five  melancholy  that  characterises  the  Rus- 
sian peasant,  at  the  same  time  forces  him 
to  seek  some  relief  by  an  unrestrained  in- 
dulgence in  imagination.  His  mind  sup- 
plies the  heights,  gulfs,  and  abysses,  the 
fantastic  shapes  and  forms  which  the  scene 
refuses  him.  Thus  left  to  revel,  uncon- 
trolled bv  ideas  or  communications  with 
the  rest  of  the  world,  his  fancy  takes  the 
most  grotesque  form,  and  luxuriates  in  the 
wildest  and  weirdest  growths  of  supersti- 
tion and  religious  fervour ;  which,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  also  apt  to  degenerate  into 
the  most  material  Nihilism.  There  is  no 
object  in  anything  but  the  present.  No- 
thing went  before  him,  and  nothing  will 
come  after  him.  The  only  thing  to  be 
considered  is  the  satisfaction  of  present 
208 


wants,  and  their  enjoyment.     It  is  the  re- 
action  of  boundless  ignorance  and  super- 
stition.     One  of  the  avowed  disciples   ot 
this  "  creed  " — which  was  even  represented, 
a  few  years  ago,  by  a  newspaper  published 
abroad,  under  the  title,  "7  spit  at  every- 
body " — on  being  asked  what  the  principles 
of    his    doctrines    were,     replied — "  Take 
heaven  and  earth,  take  life  and  death,  take 
God  and  the  soul,  and  spit  upon  them." 
Spitting,  it  must  be  observed,  plays  a  great 
part  in  the  daily  life  of  a  Russian  peasant. 
He   spits  as  a  sign   of  astonishment;    he 
spits  as  a  sign  of  defiance ;  he  spits  to  avert 
an  evil  omen ;  he  spits  for  a  fine  day,  and 
he  spits  against  bad  weather — in  short,  he 
spits  for  everything.     The  fear  of  the  evil 
eye  is  universal ;  the  Russian  peasant  at- 
tributes all  his  diseases  to  it,  and  generally 
expects  the  doctor  to  cure  them  by  counter- 
incantations  and  magic  rites,  and  frequently 
visits  upon  him  the  anger  he  feels  for  his 
unknown    enemy,   accusing   the   doctor  of 
joining  in  the  conspiracy  to  bewitch  him. 
Vaccination  is  abhorred — the  scar  it  leaves 
being  regarded  as  the  seal  of  Antichrist,  or 
Satan  himself,  whereby  the  victims  are  to 
be  known  on  the  day  of  judgment.     Under 
such  circumstances,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
medical  men  feel  no  special  desire  to  settle 
in  Russia,  the  general  rule  being  that  there 
are  two  in  every  rural  district,  who  are  sup- 
posed to  visit  the  various  villages  once  a 
year — the  patients  being  left  in  the  mean- 
time to  the  care  of  the  local  overseer,  or 
the  image  of  the  local  saint.     But,  alto- 
gether, a  serious  illness  is  regarded  as  a 
divine  visitation ;  it  is  the  peasant's  duty 
humbly  to  submit ;  though,  for  all  that,  the 
plague,  cholera,  and  famine  fill  the  peasant's 
soul    with    unbounded    terror.      But   still 
greater  than  the  fear  of  these  visitations 
is  his  terror  of  the  Red  Cock,  as  he  calls 
fires,    which    are    of    alarming    frequency 
throughout  the  empire.     They  are  caused 
by    the    ramshackle    construction   of    the 
wooden    houses,    and    the   length    of    the 
winter,    which    demands    so    much    more 
firing;  whilst  in  the  summer  the  heat  is 
so  great,  that  houses,  forests,  and  meadows 
become  as  dry  as  tinder,  and  the  simplest 
spark  is  sufficient  to  cause  immense  con- 
flagrations,   which    at    times    assume   the 
features  of  regular  epidemics.     In  fact,  it 
may   be   said,    that   every    house    in    the 
country  districts  is  sure  to  be  burnt  down, 
sooner  or  later,  either  by  accident  or  by  the 
hands  of  an   incendiary,   as   an   easy  and 


?! 

t 


il 


A  .  G    ' '  I  dec  r 


f .  Kcrr^c 


raiE  f(']::':'Jvw''i\.  (m  yi3'!^:m  BiLA#j^?^H(a>S-  wM'^(n.((mr 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[clerical  RUSSIA. 


satisfactory  way  of  avenging  himself  upon 
his  enemy.  His  terror  of  fire  is  so  great, 
that,  like  the  lightning,  it  is  often  con- 
sidered as  a  visitation  of  God,  against 
which  it  would  be  impious  to  contend; 
and  thus,  when  a  fire  breaks  out  in  a  village, 
the  peasants  will  very  often  hastily  collect 
their  household  goods,  their  saints,  unhinge 
the  doors  and  windows  of  their  houses,  and 
abandon  them  to  the  mercy  of  the  flames. 
Insurance  companies  are  quite  unable  to 
extend  their  operations  to  the  Russian 
villages,  the  peasant  considering  it  nothing 
less  than  blasphemy  to  try  to  buy  im- 
munity from  the  decrees  of  Providence. 

This  superstition  of  the  Russian  peasant 
is,  however,  considerably  modified  by  his 
sound  common  sense.  When  he  has  once 
discovered  an  error,  he  never  falls  into  it, 
or  submits  to  its  teaching  again.  This 
peculiarity  saves  him  from  becoming  an 
unquestioning  tool  in  the  hands  of  the 
clergy.  He  respects  the  clergy  no  further 
than  their  personal  qualities  may  demand, 
or  the  authority  they  wield  from  the  czar 
enforces.  "We  were  much  struck  with  this 
feature  during  the  visit  of  the  Russian  pil- 
grims to  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem. 
On  the  Russian  Easter,  the  church  is 
thronged  with  devotees  to  witness  the 
miracle  of  the  Holy  Fire,  when  each  one, 
provided  with  a  consecrated  candle,  awaits 
the  moment  when  the  officiating  minister 
projects  from  a  grating  the  taper  which  has 
been  mysteriously  kindled  by  fire  from 
heaven.  One  of  these  pilgrims,  after  the 
ceremony  was  over,  was  heard  ridiculing 
the  pretensions  of  one  of  the  Russian 
priests,  and  making  some  very  unflattering 
comments  on  his  greed  and  morals.  A 
missionary,  wishing  to  improve  the  occa- 
sion, seized  the  opportunity  to  inveigh 
against  the  priesthood,  and  called  upon  the 
Russian  to  abjure  a  faith  professed  by  such 
unworthy  leaders.     But  the  shrewd  peasant 


had  his  answer  ready,  and  replied  without 
hesitation — "  Now  that  is  how  a  head  with- 
out brains  would  reason.  For  if  I  purchase 
a  samovar  which  serves  its  purpose  truly, 
and  discover  afterwards  that  the  man  who 
sold  it  to  me  was  a  scoundrel  and  a  thief, 
is  that  any  reason  why  I  should  throw  my 
good  samovar  away  ?  Your  samovars  may 
be  very  good,  my  friend;  but  as  long  as 
my  old  one  satisfies  my  wants,  I  don't 
want  to  buy  a  new  one.  Sell  your  wares  to 
people  who  have  none." 

Thus  the  Russian  peasant  has  unbounded 
faith  in  his  icons,  or  images,  and  will  im- 
plore their  assistance  on  every  occasion,  no 
matter  what  may  be  the  immorality  of  the 
act  for  which  he  requires  their  aid.     But 
if  his  icon  has  once  disappointed  him,  or 
he  discovers — to  continue  the  old  pilgrim's 
simile — that  there  is  a  hole  in  his  samovar, 
he   casts  them   aside,  and  calls   in  a  new 
form  of  superstition  and  mysticism  to  take 
their   places,  and  increase  the  number  of 
the  Raskol,  or  dissenting  sects.     Thus  the 
Russian's  mysticism,  superstition,  and  reli- 
gion, take  a  very  material  form,  and  the 
observance  of  the  Obriad,  or  ritual,  becomes 
the  sole  object  of  his  religious  life.     Morals 
do  not  enter  into  the  question ;  they,  being 
of  the  law,  are  within  the  law,  and  thus  a 
mundane    institution,    of    the   efficacy   of 
which   he  is  quite  as  well  able  to  judge  as 
any  priest,  be  he  black  or  white.     He  im- 
plicitly believes  all  he  cannot  understand, 
if  uttered  with  authority;  but  as  to  that 
which  is  within  the  range  of  his  knowledge, 
he  allows  no  one  to  dictate  to  him — least  of 
all,  the   priest,  for  whom,  on  the  whole,  he 
has  but  a  very  scant  respect,  regarding  him, 
in   some    measure,  as    the  servant  of  the 
icon  and  the  czar;   but  otherwise,  simply 
as  one  of  the  communal  members,  subject 
to  the  decisions  of  the  majority,  and  obliged 
to   submit   unconditionally,   as   any  other 
member  would  be. 


ii 


\   * 


''\ 


r 


:  f 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


TfTK     LONDOJJ     WarVTiKO    ACSi-D    VITBinSllLNG   COWPAtJ  y-_  ilTktlTED 


CLERICAL  RUSSIA. 


It  is  related  that  the  czar,  on  one  of  his   went  to  meet  him  at  the  threshold    was 
iournevs,  went  to  attend  divine  service  in  a   hesitating  whether  he  should  hold  out  his 
villacre  church.     The  priest,  or  jjope,  who  1  hand  for  the  obligatory  and  customary  kiss 
VOL.  II.  2  E  209 


THE  HOLY  SYNOD.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  DISSENT. 


to  his  imperial  visitor,  when  the  czar  im- 
patiently decided  him,  by  exclaiming, 
"  Hold  out  your  paw,  you  idiot !  " 

This  anecdote  proves  two  things :  first, 
that  the  czar  is  not  the  spiritual  head  of 
the  Orthodox  Church,  or  else  it  would  have 
been  the  priest's  duty  to  kiss  his  hand,  as 
his  superior;  and,  secondly,it  proves  the  sort 
of  estimation  in  which  the  common  pope, 
or  the  White  Clergy,  are  generally  held. 

The  fact  is,  that  the  spiritual  as  well  as 
the  temporal  affairs  of  the  Orthodox  Church 
are  arranged  by  a  synod — the  most  holy 
directing  synod — which  is  nominated  by 
the  emperor,  whose  decisions  are  framed 
under  the  supervision  of  lay  officials,  ap- 
pointed equally  by  the  emperor,  and 
approved  of  by  him,  with  the  imperial 
exequatur  or  placet. 

This  synod  sits  permanently  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, with  local  branches  at  Moscow,  Kieff, 
and  Novgorod,  &c.  The  number  of  its  mem- 
bers is  not  fixed,  either  by  custom  or  law ; 
but  the  three  metropolitans  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, Moscow,  and  Kieff — and,  generally 
speaking,  the  metropolitan  of  Novgorod — 
are  permanent  and  immovable  members. 
The  Exarch  of  Georgia  also  occupies  a  seat 
by  long  usage  and  tradition.  The  other 
members  are  all  chosen  by  the  emperor, 
who  nominates  them  for  a  certain  period, 
and  are  four  or  five  archbishops,  bishops,  or 
archimandrites,  belonging  to  the  Black 
Clergy,  and  two  members  of  the  White 
Clergy,  and  two  arch-priests,  of  whom  one  is 
usually  the  confessor  or  almoner  of  the 
emperor,  and  the  other  the  grand  almoner 
of  the  army.  Attached  to  the  synod,  there 
is  also  an  official,  called  the  procurator, 
who  is  always  a  layman,  and  is  also  ap- 
pointed by  the  emporor,  and  who  is,  practi- 
cally, the  president,  and  responsible  to  the 
czar.  In  the  days  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
this  official  was  a  cavalry  officer.  Count 
Pretassof ;  but  since  the  present  emperor's 
accession,  the  post  is  no  longer  so  striking 
an  example  of  the  "church  militant."  All 
business  between  the  emperor  and  the 
synod  is  conducted  through  this  func- 
tionary. He  submits  the  government  de- 
crees and  projects  to  the  synod,  and  the 
decrees  of  the  synod  to  the  emperor  for  his 
sanction.  Nothing  can  be  done,  not  the 
ino>t  trivial  detail  executed,  before  it  has 
received  his  confirmation,  if  it  in  any  way 
refers  to  the  administration.  In  purely 
ecclesiastical  matters,  the  members  of  the 
synod  have,  apparently,  more  liberty;  but 
210 


it  is  frequently  only  apparent,  as  current 
matters  are  disposed  of  by  the  various 
'''bureaux,''^  and  the  members  are  only  called 
upon  to  sign  the  various  documents  that 
have  been  proposed;  and  as  the  press  of 
business — that  of  the  whole  empire — is  far 
too  great  to  be  disposed  of  by  the  synod  in 
banco,  the  documents  are  taken  from  house 
to  house  for  signature.  The  abuses  that 
occur  from  this  system  are  evident,  and 
have  given  currency  to  many  an  anecdote. 
Thus,  when  one  of  the  members,  fresh  to 
the  business,  actually  began  to  examine  the 
report  prepared  for  him  to  sign,  he  was 
bluffly  interrupted  by  one  of  his  colleagues 
saying,  "  We  are  not  here  to  read  reports, 
but  to  sign  them ; "  whilst  on  another  occa- 
sion, the  metropolitan  of  Moscow  actually 
signed  a  decree  it  was  in  his  interest  and 
intention  to  refuse.  Besides  its  purely 
ecclesiastical  duties,  the  synod  also  exercises 
the  "spiritual"  censorship  over  all  books 
and  journals  treating  of  religious  matters, 
whether  of  the  nation  or  of  the  foreign  press. 
It  has  the  control  of  the  religious  educational 
establishments,  the  choice  of  the  manuals 
to  be  used,  and  finally  decides  upon  the 
canonisation  of  saints.  Thus  the  whole  of 
the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  empire  centre 
in  the  synod,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
czar  and  his  procurator.  In  matters  of 
dispute  and  cases  of  disagreement  in  purely 
ecclesiastical  matters,  the  emperor  nomi- 
nates a  commission,  which  makes  its  report, 
to  be  either  approved  of  by  the  czar,  or  re- 
jected. In  point  of  fact,  therefore,  whilst 
the  czar  leaves  the  settlement  of  purely 
religious  questions  to  the  synod,  he  is  the 
absolute  head  of  the  executive  of  the  church ; 
and,  though  not  invested  with  any  spiritual 
authority,  yet,  in  virtue  of  his  right  to 
nominate  commissions  and  to  reject  their 
proposals,  if  he  thinks  proper,  regarding 
any  subject,  is  thus  the  ultimate  authority 
in  anything  that  concerns  the  Orthodox 
Russian  Church. 

In  exactly  the  same  fashion,  the  czar  is 
the  head  of  all  the  other  churches  within 
the  empire,  with,  of  course,  some  few  modi- 
fications as  regards  the  more  purely  spiri- 
tual functions.  Thus,  the  Armenian  church, 
whilst  preserving  its  patriarch,  under  the 
title  of  Catholicos,  elected  by  the  bishops,  is 
placed  under  a  synod,  constituted  after  the 
model  of  the  Orthodox  Synod.  Equally  so 
the  Lutherans  are  governed  by  provincial 
consistories,  and  a  head  consistory  at  St. 
Petersburg,  controlled  by  an  imperial  procu- 


rator. The  Catholic  Church  is  supervised, 
in  the  same  way,  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
College  at  St.  Petersburg,  under  the  presi- 
« dency  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mohilef,  who  is 
the  primate  of  the  Russian  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  is  independent  of  the  Vatican, 
as  president  of  the  college.  Each  Roman 
Catholic  diocese  is  placed  under  a  branch 
college  or  consistory,  which  is  not  allowed 
to  exercise  its  functions  without  the  permis- 
sion and  control  of  the  government. 

But,  though  these  various  foreign 
churches  are  nominally  on  the  same  footing 
as  the  Orthodox  Church,  they  are  not  so  in 
reality;  or,  rather,  the  Orthodox  Church 
has  privileges,  of  the  greatest  importance, 
which  they  do  not  enjoy.  Thus,  though 
each  church  possesses  full  liberty  of  private 
and  public  worship,  they  are  not  allowed  to 
make  proselytes ;  that  is  the  sole  privilege 
of  the  Orthodox  Church;  and  once  an 
Orthodox  Christian,  always  an  Orthodox 
Christian.  Every  child  born  of  Orthodox 
parents  is,  ipso  facto,  bound  to  the  Orthodox 
Church  for  ever.  Such  is  also  the  case  with 
children  of  mixed  marriages.  The  code 
forbids,  by  divers  penalties,  any  member  of 
the  Orthodox  Church  to  change  his  religion. 
If  a  person  expresses  his  desire  to  leave  the 
church,  he  is  first  admonished  and  exhorted 
by  the  parochial  clergy ;  then  brought  be- 
fore the  consistory;  then  before  the  synod, 
and  condemned  to  penitence  in  a  monastery. 
If  he  still  perseveres  in  his  intended  apostasy, 
he  is  liable  to  the  loss  of  all  his  civil  rights, 
and  exile  to  Siberia,  till  he  comes  back  to 
bis  senses. 

But  not  only  does  the  Orthodox  Church 
possess  this  privilege  of  prohibiting  its 
members  to  embrace  any  other  faith,  but  it 
also  forbids  any  foreign  church  from 
making  proselytes  of  the  menbers  of  an- 
other foreign  church.  Thus,  if  a  Polish 
Jew,  living  in  the  midst  of  a  community 
of  Catholics,  wishes  to  embrace  the  Catholic 
faith,  he  is  not  allowed  to  do  so.  If  he 
wants  to  change  his  religion,  he  must  go  to 
the  Orthodox  Church.  If  a  Mussulman 
wish  to  enter  the  Armenian  Church  in 
Trans-Caucasia,  he  cannot  do  so ;  he  must 
apply  to  the  Orthodox  Church,  which  thus 
enjoys  the  sole  and  undisputed  monopoly 
of  sending  people  to  heaven.  They  may 
stay  outside — if  originally  outside — if  they 
like.  But  they  cannot  enter  paradise  except 
through  the  gates  of  the  Holy  Orthodox 
Church.  A  slight  relaxation  of  the  rule 
is  nominally  made  in  the  case  of  infidels ; 


but  even  then  a  Catholic  or  Protestant 
missionary  must  first  have  the  permission 
of  the  government  before  the  conversion 
can  be  commenced ;  and  generally,  the  Or- 
thodox Church  manages,  somehow  or  other, 
to  gain  possession  of  the  new  soul.  In 
the  Caucasus,  however,  the  Armenians  are 
allowed  to  baptize  Mussulmans  lying  at  the 
point  of  death ;  but  even  then  the  conver- 
sion must  be  submitted  to  the  imperial 
governor  for  confirmation,  although  the 
man  may  have  died  since  the  notification 
of  the  ceremony.  If  the  confirmation  is 
not  granted,  the  conversion  is  null  and 
void,  and  the  defunct  balked,  after  all,  in 
his  attempt  to  get  to  heaven.  How  he  is 
to  be  made  aware  of  this  fact  after  his 
decease,  the  imperial  confessional  code 
does  not  say.  Doubtless  the  czar  has  his 
procurator — a  cavalry  officer  probably — at 
the  gates  of  heaven  to  deal  with  such  post- 
humous cases. 

The  result  of  these  ridiculous,  blasphe- 
mous, and  degrading  laws  can  be  imagined. 
There  is  no  moral  or  spiritual  life  in  the 
Orthodox  Church  whatever;  and  those 
Anglican  ministers  who  talk  of  intercom- 
munion with  the  Orthodox  Church,  are 
utterly  ignorant  of  what  they  are  talking 
about.  They  might  as  well  propose  inter- 
communion with  Islam,  because  this,  that, 
or  the  other  tenet  of  the  Moslems  happens 
to  coincide  with  some  Anglican  tenet. 

The  Orthodox  Church  in  Russia  is  no- 
thing more  than  a  code  of  ecclesiastical 
and  national  etiquette  laws,  to  which 
everybody  is  obliged  to  conform  to,  accord- 
ing to  his  station.  In  the  case  of  the  lower 
classes  it  degenerates  into  a  simple  observ- 
ance of  a  ritual,  which  must  be  submitted 
to  as  any  other  temporal  law,  and  which, 
not  satisfying  the  innate  religious  senti- 
ment of  mankind,  drives  its  members  into 
the  arms  of  mysticism  and  superstition,  and 
gives  rise  to  the  endless  sects  known  in 
Russia  by  the  name  of  Raskol. 

We  must  now  shortly  examine  the  ma- 
chinery by  which  this  system  is  carried  out, 
under  the  direction  of  the  czar  and  synod. 

The  clergy  is  divided  into  two  branches ; 
of  which  one,  like  the  Roman  Catholic 
clergy,  takes  the  vows  of  celibacy,  and  the 
other  enters  into  matrimony — is  practically 
forced  to  marry.  The  former  branch  is 
popularly  called  the  Black  Clergy,  on  ac- 
count of  the  long  black  veil  that  hangs  over 
their  backs ;  whilst  the  other  branch  is 
called  the  White  Clergy,  not  because  they 

211 


THE  BTACK  PRIESTS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


are  dressed  in  white  garments,  but  because 
black  is  mixed  with  other  colours,  brown  or 
darJi  blue,  and  in  order  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  Black  Clergy. 

These  two  divisions  represent  the  two 
ranks  which  the  clergy  occupy  in  the 
social  scale.  The  Black  Clergy  fill  all  the 
important  posts,  the  White  Clergy  dis- 
charging the  duties  of  simple  parish  priests. 
There  is  thus  an  inevitable  and  ceaseless 
opposition  between  the  two,  and  a  diver- 
gence of  interests,  which  it  is  one  of  the 
chief  objects  of  the  State  to  reconcile  and 
work  upon. 

Thus    the    Black  Clergy    is   actually   a 
monastic    body — educated   in    monasteries, 
governing     these     monasteries,    recruiting 
the  ranks    of   the    higher  dignitaries,   and 
generally    playing     that     part     which     is 
played    by   monastic    institutions   all    the 
world  over  ;  they  are,  in  fact,  the  Jesuits  of 
Eussia  :  but  then  their  general  is  no  less  a 
personage  than  the  czar  himself.     They  all 
belong  to  the  order  of  St.  Basil,  and  their 
establishments,    owing   to    the    system    of 
artificial  nationality  prevalent   in    Russia, 
are  the  chief  centre   for  the   preservation 
and  propagation  of  the  national  principles — 
national  principles  determined  by  the  czar, 
either  original  ly  framed  by  him,  or  approved 
of  by  him.     Of  these  establishments,  those 
of  Troitza,  Petchevski,  Simonoff,  Donskoi, 
Solovetsk,   St.    George   of    Novgorod,  the 
Assumption  of  Tver  and  New  Jeru.<alem, 
some  leagues  from  Moscow,  are  the  most 
important.     Some  of  these  establishments 
are  regular  towns,  with  numerous  chapels 
and    churches,   inns,   and   other  establish- 
ments for  the  accommodation  of  pilgrims. 
Thus   Troitza    possesses  fourteen  cliurches 
and  chapels;  Solovetsk,  seven;  Simonoff  and 
Donskoi,    six    each.     Like    most    of     the 
monasteries  of  the  Orthodox  Ritual,  these 
establishments   are   most    massively   built, 
were  formerly  fortified,  and  were  often  able 
to  play  a  part  in  the  military  history  of  the 
empire ;  as,  for  instance,  Troitza  in  the  case 
of  the  Polish  invasion,  and  when  Peter  the 
Great  found  an  effective  shelter,  behind  its 
massive  walls,*    from    the    attack  of    the 
Strelitz.     Even  now,  the  positions  of  the 
Polish  camp  and   cannon  are  pointed  out 
through  the  embrasures  from    which    the 
Russian  guns  answered  those  of  their  foes. 
The  wealth  of  some  of  these  monasteries,  in 
gold,  silver,  and  jewels,  is  sometimes  almost 
fabulous.     Thus  the  sacristy  and  cellars  of 

*  See  p.  131. 
212 


Troitza  contain  an  amount  of  vases,   jew- 
elled crosses,  strings  of  pearls,  jewelled  im- 
ages, and  vestments  embroidered  with  gold, 
silver,  and  jewels,  that  is  unequalled  except 
by    the    patriarchal    treasury  at   Moscow. 
It  may  be  said  that  there  are  quarts  upon 
quarts     of     unmounted    gems    in      these 
establishments.      After    Troitza,  the    most 
important    of    the    monasteries  is  that  of 
Petchevski,  situated  on  a  hill  on  the  right 
bank   of    the   Dnieper,    near   Kieff.      The 
plain  at  the   foot  of    the   hill   is  literally 
honeycombed  in  all  directions  by  subterra- 
nean galleries,  and  the  cells  in  which  the 
ancient  anchorites  and  hermits  lived  and 
died — their  cell  in  life  becoming  their  tomb 
in   death   after  they  had   been  desiccated. 
These  galleries  are  a  favourite  resort  of  the 
pilgrims,  who  are  conducted  through  them 
by  the  monks  in  long  file,  each  one  with 
a    taper   in    his    hand,    and    kissing    the 
skeleton  fingers,  shrivelled  up  like  parch- 
ment,   which    are    stretched    out   for    the 
purpose,  as  it  were,  by  the  ghastly  remains 
of  the  ascetics,  each  one  seated  in  his  par- 
ticular niche,  like  the   desiccated   corpses, 
each  bearing  a  tablet  with  the  date  of  his 
decease,  which  travellers  to  Malta  will  re- 
member having  seen  in  the  Capuchin  con- 
vent. 

These  monasteries  are  respected  accord- 
ing to  the  estimation  in  which  their  various 
saints  and  relics  are  held  for  their  learnino- 
and  artistic  merits.     Thus   St.  Sergius  o*f 
Strelna  enjoys  a  high  respect  for  its  sacred 
music  and  chants,   which    are,  so    to  say, 
quite  a  speciality,  like  the  famous  liqueur 
of   the    monks    of    La    Chartreuse.      The 
printing-presses  of  Petchevski  supply  the 
greater  number  of  devotional  books  in  use 
throughout  the  empire  ;  whilst  other  estab- 
lishments are  famed  for  their  studious  or 
more  prosaic   occupations,    like  Solovetsk, 
situated  on  an  island  in  the  White  Sea, 
and  which  might  almost  be  described  as  a 
monastic  Steam  Navigation  Company,  its 
members  owning,  manning,  and  w^oiking  a 
line  of  steamers,  chiefly,  it  is  true,  for  the 
service  of  pilgrims.     The  other  establish- 
ments are  devoted  to  the  education  of  the 
men  who  will  hereafter  be  called  to  fulfil 
their  duties  as  heads  and  dignij:aries  of  the 
church.  ' 

The  total  number  of  these  monasteries, 
in  1872,  was  383,  with  5,810  monks  and 
5,617  brethren.  At  present,  there  are,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  about  500  throughout 
the  empire,  or  belonging  to  it  in  various 


-*»i»£_i. .. 


ii 


3 


9 


..i.,^ 


:'<'*#4', 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


couDtries;  as,  for  instance,  the  monastery  at 
Jerusalem,  and  the  Rusbian  establishments 
on  Mount  Athos. 

The  sources  whence  these  monasteries 

the   Black    Clergy,   in   short— derive   their 

income,  may  be  classed  under  three  heads  : 

the    State,    estates,    and    offerings.       The 

domains  and  estates,  forest  land,  pasturage, 

arable  lands,  and  fisheries,  even  after  all 

the  deductions  that  have  been  made  from 

their   property   under   various    rulers,    are 

still  immense  and  unequally  divided ;  the 

revenue  of  the  higher  functionaries  being 

especially   disproportionate,    some    of    the 

archimandrites,    of    the    more    important 

houses,  receiving  as  much  as  30,000  roubles 

a-year. 

But  the  income  derived  from  their  landed 
property,  large  as  it  is,  cannot  be  compared 
with  the  revenue  derived  from   the  ofifer- 
ings    presented    by   the    pilgrims   to    the 
various  images   and   relics,   which   are   so 
highly  venerated  throughout  Russia.      In 
no  country,  not  even  in  Spain  or  France, 
are   pilgrimages  conducted  on  so  large  a 
scale  as  in  Russia.     The  chief  season  for 
these  pilgrimages  is  Easter ;  and  then  the 
roads  to  Troitza  and  Petchevski,  and  the 
other  shrines,  are  literally  swarmed  with 
troops  of  men  and  women,  young  and  old, 
travelling  on  foot  from  the  outermost  con- 
fines of  the  empire:  from  Siberia,  from  the 
Black  Sea,  and  the  coasts  of  the  White  Sea 
and  Caspian.     They  come,  not  by  thousands 
nor  by  tens  of  thousands,  but  by  hundreds 
of  thousands;   and  not  one  comes  empty- 
handed  ;   and  each  one  burns  his  candle,  so 
that   the  trade  in  candles  alone   amounts 
annually   to   a   very   large   sum.       Before 
Eastertide,  steamer  on  steamer  arrives  at 
Joppa,  laden  with    scores   of  pilgrims  for 
Jerusalem  ;  or  at  Salonica  for  the  monas- 
teries and  shrines  of  Mount  Athos;  and  it 
may  truly  be  said,  that  there  is  not  a  single 
Russian,  man   or  woman,  of  mature  age, 
that  has  not,  at  one  time   or   the  other' 
made  his  or  her  pilgrimage  to  some  shrine 
or  other;  and,  in  very  many  cases,  several 
pilgrimages.     The  revenue  thus  produced, 
great  as  it  is,  is  still  further  increased  by 
taking  the  shrine  to  those  who  cannot  or 
will  not  go  to  it.     At  various  periods  of 
the  year,  the  monks  will  start  in  procession 
with  the  figure  of  the  saint,  or  the  relic  for 
which  their  establishment  is  famous,  and 
make  a  tour  throughout  the  neighbouring 
districts,  during  which   they  are  received 
with  open  arms,  are  hospitably  entertained. 


[the  black  PRIESIS. 


and    net    a    large     sum    from    the    Hfts 
showered  upon  them,  or  rather  upon  the 
image.     Some  of  these  images  alone  suffice 
to  procure  an  ample  fortune.     There  is  a 
little  chapel  in  the  Nevski  Perspective  at 
fet.    Petersburg,     that    produces     400,000 
roubles  a-year.    At  Moscow  there  is  another 
against  the  gates  of  the  Red  Square,  which 
separates    the   Kremlin   from    the  Bazaar, 
which  contains  an  image  of  Our  Lady  of 
Iberia,  the  gifts  to  which  bring  in  some 
200,000  roubles  a-year.      The  image  pos- 
sesses a  carriage  and  horses,  in  which  it  is 
driven   to  the  houses  of  the  rich   who  are 
too  ill  to  go  themselves  to  the  shrine.     In 
short,  «  iconolatry"--if  we  mav  be  allowed 
to  coin  the  word—is,   in    Russia,  scarcely 
less  than  a  form  of  gross  idolatry,  and  all 
the  more  indefensible  as  it  is  carried  on 
under  the  direct   auspices  of  the  govern- 
ment.    Another  source  of  income  is  also 
furnished  by  the  passion  of  the  Russians  to 
be  buried  near  the  tomb  or  shrine  of  their 
favourite    saint;    and   thus   many   of  the 
richer  classes,  towards  the  presumable  end 
of  their  lives,  adopt  the  monastic  gown,  to 
be   buried  within    the    sacred    precinct— a 
privilege    for   which    they   pay   enormous 
sums,  in  the  shape  of  entrance  fees   and 
bequests.     Thus  the  noblesse  of  St.  Peters- 
burg make  it  a  point  of  being  interred  in 
the  cemetery  of  St.  Alexander  Nevski,  whose 
relics    and    remains    were   brought    from 
Vladimir  to  St.  Petersburg  by  Peter  the 
Great,    or   in   the   burial-grounds   of    the 
monastery  of  St.   Sergius,  at   Strelna,  on  , 
the  shores  of  the   Gulf  of  Finland.      The 
price  paid  for  a  tomb  in  these  places  would 
almost  coyer  the  ground  necessary  with  gold. 
The  third  source  of  revenue,  the  amount 
granted   by  the  State,  proceeds  from  the 
estates    that    have   been   sequestrated — or 
rather  withdrawn  from  the  private  adminis- 
tration of  the  monasteries  themselves — and 
are    now   administered,  and   the    proceeds 
distributed,  according  to  the  decision  of  the 
synodal  and  imperial  authorities. 

As  has  already  been  said,  the  members  of 
these  monasteries  furnish  the  material 
whence  the  heads  of  the  Orthodox  Church 
are  chosen.  Each  establishment  contains 
a  certain  number  of  members  who  have 
entered  it  to  end  their  days  in  peace; 
another  proportion  forming  the  standard 
administrative  personnel  of  the  house  ;  and 
a  third  section  consisting  of  the  youncr 
men  who  have  finished  their  theological 
education  at  the  seminaries,  have  taken  the 

213 


THE  WHITE  CLERGY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


vows  of  celibacy,  and  there  await  their 
nomination  to  the  more  important  posts  at 
the  disposal  of  czar  and  synod.  For  whilst 
the  monasteries  of  other  countries  are 
purely  voluntary  and  ecclesiastical  associa- 
tions, the  Kussian  monasteries  are  under 
the  absolute  control  of  the  State.  They 
cannot  even  elect  their  own  superiors ;  that 
is  a  privilege  of  the  Holy  Synod— which  is 
the  czar.  A  fresh  monastery  cannot  be 
founded,  not  a  single  novice  admitted  to 
take  the  vows,  without  the  imperial  per- 
mission. The  posts  of  Hegoumevos,  or 
archimandrite,  are  also  at  the  disposal  of 
the  synod  ;  and  the  monasteries  themselves 
often  given  to  bishops  or  candidates  for  the 
episcopacy.  In  short,  the  monastic  institu- 
tions are  as  subject  to  the  emperor  and  the 
imperial  bureaucracy  as  the  railways,  or  any 
other  department  of  the  State.  They  are 
divided  into  three  classes— Laures,  Staovo- 
pigies,  and  monasteries  of  the  first  and 
second  classes.  There  are  four  of  the 
Laures:  to  wit,  Troitza,  near  Moscow; 
Petchevski,  at  Kieff ;  St.  Alexander  Nevski, 
at  St.  Petersburg;  and  PotdraiefF,  in 
Volhynia. 

So  much  for  the  Black  Clergy,  the  cream 
of  the   Orthodox  Church.     Their   humble 
rivals    and   jealous    brethren,    the   White 
Clergy,  have  their  lives  cast  in  much  less 
pleasant  places.     Until  recently  they  were 
not  much  better  than  sacerdotal  serfs,  and 
formed  a  close  and  hereditary  corporation : 
hence  the  Russian  proverb,  "  Son  of  a  priest, 
always  a  priest."     They  were  the  Levites  of 
Christianity.     The  serf  could  not  enter  the 
corporation  without  the  permission  of  his 
lord;   the   noble   not  without   renouncing 
his  serfs,  estates,  and  privileges.     Thus  the 
clergy  of  one  generation  had  to  furnish  the 
clergy  of  the  next  out  of  its  own  ranks ; 
the  daughter  of  a  'po'pe  had  to  marry  the 
son  of  a  ^ope,  and  vice  versa.    Special  per- 
mission was  necessary  to  enable  a  pope's 
son   or   daughter   to   marry  "out   of   the 
tribe."     This  caste  was  broken  up  by  Alex- 
ander II.,  in   1864,   three  years  after  the 
emancipation   of   the   serfs.      But  in  this 
respect  also,  as  in  so  many  others  touching 
the  reforms  that  have  been  made  by  Alex- 
ander, the  benefits  arising  from  the  change 
are  still,  for  the  most  part,  illusory,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  passive  opposition  on  the 
part  of  the  nobles,  and  the  inveterate  ad- 
mirers of  the  old  habits  and  institutions. 
Thus,   in  a  very   great   measure,   the  old 
customs  still   obtain,  and  are   practically 
214 


carried  out  throughout  the  empire ;  and 
will  so  continue  till  the  seed  has  been  per- 
mitted, and  had  time,  to  grow. 

Thus,  in  the  ordinary  course,  the  pope 
who  is  blessed  with  a  daughter  and  no  son, 
retires,  or  leaves  his  cure  to  his  son-in-law ; 
and,  in  all  cases,  it  is  endeavoured  to  keep 
the  cure  in  the  family  by  handing  it  down 
from  father  to  son;  and  so  universal  and 
unquestioned  had  the  custom  become,  that, 
at  one  time,  the  expediency  of  making  the 
curacies  hereditary  was  seriously  considered. 
As  it  is,  in  case  of  the  pope's  death,  either 
one  of  his  sons  or  his  son-in-law  succeeds 
him.      If  the  latter,  an   arrangement  was 
made  whereby  the  new-comer  took  over  his 
predecessor's  house  at  a  valuation,  and  paid 
a  pension  to  his  widow,  and  a  certain  sum 
to  the  other  children,  in  lieu  of  their  in- 
terest in  the  property,  the  widow  of  a  pope 
being  forbidden  to  re-marry,  and  the  popes 
themselves  prohibited  to  marry  a  widow. 
This  custom  had  become  so  universally  a 
matter  of  course,  that  it  was  necessary  to 
pass  a  law,  in  1867,  to  make  the  enforce- 
ment of  it  illegal.     Still,  as   long  as  the 
clergy  are  forced  to  subsist  on  so  meagre  a 
pittance  as  that  on  which  they  now  eke  out 
their  existence,  a  custom  that  provides  for 
widows  and  orphans  will  not  be  speedily 
abrogated. 

These  customs  obtain,  not  only  in  the 
case  of  the  simple  village  priest,  but  are 
adhered    to    by   all   the   ecclesiastical   and 
sacerdotal  functionaries  of  all  degrees  and 
any  connexion  with  the  church,  from  the 
priest  down  through  the  various  ranks  of 
deacons,  minors,  sacristans,  and  beadles,  to 
the  very  bell-ringers.     The  posts  of  all  are 
practically  hereditary ;  and  the  occupants  of 
each  try  to  keep  them  in  the  family,  and 
distinct  from  the  others.     There  are  thus 
quite   distinct   classes    above   and    beyond 
the  social  distinctions  that  prevail  in  every 
country.     A  poor  curate   is   not   particu- 
larly esteemed  anywhere ;  nor  does  he  often 
succeed  in  marrying  the  bishop's  daughter ; 
but  in  Russia  it  is   very  seldom  that  the 
pope  marries  into  the  ranks  above  him,  or 
that  a  village  priest  can  ally  himself  with  a 
town  priest's  daughter. 

Of  the  education  of  the  clergy,  as  a 
whole,  the  less  said  the  better,  since  their 
salaries  correspond.  The  great  majority  of 
parochial  priests  receive  no  more  than  100 
roubles  a-year  (i.  e.,  £33).  In  the  western 
provinces,  where  civilisation  and  the  clergy 
of  rival  churches   are   more  advanced,  he 


•  .'■*iwu    ITU    .i„  u   iirjuTj; 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


KUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[pope  and  moujik. 


receives  200  to  300  roubles  (£60  to  £100); 
but  these  cases  are  rare.^ 

Thus  the  village  priest  has  to  depend  on 
the  fees  for  various  religious  ceremonies  to 
gain  a  livelihood;  and  with  the  superstitious 
reverence  of  the  Russian  moujik  (or  peasant) 
for  ritual  observances,  he  might  secure  an 
ample  income  from  this  source  did  the  synod 
not  claim  the  lion's  share,  and  take  to  itself 
the  most  lucrative  sources  of  revenue.  Thus 
the  Holy  Synod  possesses  the  monopoly  of 
selling  the  wax-candles,  which  every  Russian 
buys  at  the  doors  of  the  church,  and  lights 
before  the  image  of  his  special  saint.  On 
the  other  hand,  every  ecclesiastical  ceremony 
has  to  be  paid  for.  Confession,  baptism, 
confirmation,  communion,  marriage,  and 
burial,  costs  as  much  as  the  pope  can  get,  or 
the  celebrant  is  willing  to  pay.  A  regular 
course  of  bargaining  has  to  be  gone  through 
before  the  amount  to  be  paid  is  settled. 
The  moujik  tries  to  beat  down  the  pope  by 
all  the  means  in  his  power ;  and,  if  he  can, 
will  bury  his  father  clandestinely,  to  save 
the  burial-fee.  Wedding  processions  some- 
times turn  back  from  the  church  door  be- 
cause the  pope  demands  a  higher  fee  than 
the  bridegroom  is  willing  to  pay. 

Under  the  circumstances,  no  wonder 
that  the  wretched  pope  should  try  to  extort 
as  much  from  the  peasant  as  he  possibly 
can,  and  thus  he  resorts  to  all  sorts  of 
possible  and  impossible  benedictions,  for 
which  he  receives  a  few  copecks.  Take  the 
building  of  a  house.  The  foundations  have 
to  be  blessed  ;  the  material  blessed  ;  blessed 
when  the  roof  is  on,  and  blessed  when  it  is 
finished.  All  these  blessings  may  bring 
him  in  half  a  rouble — say  eighteen-pence. 
If  a  family  removes,  or  any  one  is  about  to 
commence,  or  has  concluded,  an  important 
undertaking;  is  going  to  set  out  on  a 
journey,  or  has  safely  returned,  the  village 
priest  is  sent  for  to  pronounce  a  benedic- 
tion, or  chant  a  Te  Deum,.  The  seed  is 
blessed,  and  the  crop  is  blessed ;  the  doors 
of  houses,  barns,  and  stables  are  blessed  ; 
and  at  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Epiphany 
the  pope  does  not  wait  to  be  called,  but 
proceeds,  with  his  clerk,  to  every  house, 
and  pronounces  a  special  blessing.  In 
the  richer  houses,  he  just  enters  the  ante- 
chamber, mumbles  his  prayers,  and  swings 
his  pot  of  incense,  and  goes  off  with  the 
donation  that  is  sent  out  to  him  by  the 
servant.  The  moujik,  however,  whilst  eager 
to  secure  the  services  of  the  pope  at  as  low 
a  price  as  possible  when  he  is  in  want  of 


them,  strenuously  objects  to  their  being 
forced  upon  him  when  he  does  not  require 
them,  and  shuts  up  his  cottage  and  runs 
away  when  he  sees  the  pope  coming,  so  as 
not  to  be  "at  home"  when  he  arrives.  The 
pope,  however,  could  not  afford  thus  to  be 
balked  of  his  fee,  and  so  he  used  to  take 
his  wife  and  children,  and  his  clerk's  wife 
and  children,  and  his  sexton  and  bell- 
ringer's  wife  and  children,  with  him  on  his 
rounds  to  look  out  for  runaways,  and  give 
chase  and  bring  them  back.  To  such  an 
extent  did  this  nuisance  prevail,  that  the 
synod  found  it  necessary  to  issue  a  law  for- 
bidding the  popes  to  raise  these  feminine 
and  infantile  regiments  any  more.  Now  he 
is  therefore  obliged  to  have  recourse  to 
other  stratagems  to  recover  his  dues  ;  such, 
for  instance,  as  giving  his  benediction,  and 
then,  if  payment  is  refused,  to  threaten  to 
turn  the  blessing  into  a  curse  ;  and  so  works 
on  the  superstitious  fears  of  the  moujik^ 
that  he  at  once  pays  the  sum  demanded. 

But  however  chary  the  moujik  may  be 
with  his  pecuniary  gifts,  he  cannot  be  re- 
proached with  want  of  hospitality.  Thus 
the  pope,  on  his  parochial  rounds,  is  plenti- 
fully plied  with  vutki;  so  that,  before 
the  day  is  done,  the  most  important  ques- 
tion for  him  is,  how  to  get  home  again; 
and  habitual  drunkenness  is  thus  laid  to 
his  charge.  The  truth  is,  however,  that  to 
refuse  a  glass  of  spirits  is  regarded  in 
Russia  almost  as  an  insult,  and  the  pope  is, 
morally  and  practically,  obliged  to  conform 
to  the  common  usage,  on  pain  of  being 
scouted  as  proud,  and  haughty,  and  un- 
sociable. The  consequence  is,  that  the 
ability  to  absorb  an  unlimited  amount  of 
spirits,  is  almost  of  more  importance  to  the 
village  pope  than  any  amount  of  theological 
learning,  which  is  not  wanted  by  the  Qnoujik^ 
who  is  quite  satisfied  with  his  icons,  to 
whom  he  confides  his  spiritual  welfare,  with 
every  conviction  of  that  being  quite  suffi- 
cient for  this  life  and  the  next. 

Such  bt-ing  the  case,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising to  find  that  the  clergy  in  general  do 
not  enjoy  any  very  great  esteem  amongst 
the  population  at  large.  They  rank  simply 
as  would  the  servants  of  any  other  depart- 
ment of  State,  and  are  made  use  of,  or 
obeyed,  in  the  same  way  as  any  other  offi- 
cials are.  Thus  the  law  commands  every 
Orthodox  Christian  to  communicate  once 
a-year — to  "Take  the  Easter,"  as  the  ex- 
pression goes,  and  to  confess.  Having 
acquitted  themselves  of  these  duties,  the 

215 


THE  DISSENTERS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-'77. 


lower  class  of  officials,  and  the  soldiers,  re- 
ceive a  certificate  from  the  priest  that  they 
have  complied  with  the  law;  whilst,  as  re- 
gards the  congregation  at  large,  the  priest 
is  obliged  to  enter  their  names  in  a  register, 
and  furnish  a  list  of  those  who  have  "com- 
municated and  confessed,"  and  a  black  list 
of  those  who  have  not,  to  the  bishops  and 
to  the  Holy  Synod,  v  Thus  the  libts  for  1873 
show  that  47,000,000  duly  performed  their 
religious  duties.     But,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
a  very  large   proportion    of  this   number 
never  set  foot  inside  the  church  at  all;  a 
small   payment — or    a   large   one — to   the 
'po'pe  suffices  to  procure  the  insertion  of  a 
name  in  the  list  of  the  pious,  and  thus  this 
ecclesiastical   police  regulation  is   evaded. 
Still  these  evasions  are  such  as  lie  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  and  are  mostly  practised 
by  the  dissenters.     Otherwise,  the  due  ob- 
servance of  the  religious  duties  are  as  much 
a  matter  of  etiquette  amongst  the  official 
or  higher  classes,  as  the  wearing  of  a  dress- 
coat  in  the  dress-circle  at  the  opera.     The 
communion,  for  instance,  has  none  of  that 
solemnity  of  preparation  that  is  demanded 
and  complied  with  in  other  countries.     The 
sacrament  is  administered  to  infants  in  the 
shape  of  a  teaspoonful  of  diluted  wine ;  and 
as  it  was  begun,  so  it  is  continued,  as  a 
mere  matter  of  ritual  and  formality;  and  at 
Lenten  time,  the  noblesse  intimate  to  their 
various  friends  that  they  will  not  be  "  at 
home"  for  so-and-so  many  days,  as  they  are 
about  to  "  prepare"  for  the  ceremony ;  after 
which  they  are  complimented  on  the  occa- 
sion of  a  birthday  or  marriage.     The  em- 
peror and  empress  lead  the  way  in  this  direc- 
tion by  their  "communion"  being  specially 
announced  in  the  official  journal,  and  pub- 
lished by  the  whole  press.     In  the  same 
way,  baptism  is  made  a  special  feature  of, 
and   its  anniversary  celebrated  instead  of 
the  birthday  itself;  each  child  having,  at 
the  same  time,  some  patron  saint  awarded 
to  him,  whose  shrine  he  is  bound  to  honour, 
on  the  recurring  anniversary,  by  a  greater 
or  smaller  gift. 

One  of  the  results  of  this  stiff  and  formal 
ecclesiastical  system  of  Russia  has  been  the 
production  of  the  Rashol^  or  dissent.  But 
it  is  not  only  one  specified  sect ;  it  is  rather 
an  agglomeration  of  sects,  and  may  be  com- 
pared, to  a  certain  extent,  to  Protestantism 
as  distinguished  from  Roman  Catholicism, 
and  after  taking  into  consideration  the  far 
greater  ignorance  of  most  of  its  members, 
compared  even  to  the  crudest  and  most  ab- 
216 


surd  denominations  that  have  sprung  from 
the  lap  of  the  Reformation.     But  whilst 
Protestantism  sprang   from   the  true  spirit 
of  religion,  and  to  free  that  spirit  from  the 
dead  and  artificial  forms  and  fetters  which 
an  innate  and  mystical  ritual  imposed  upon 
it,  Raskol  has  rather  been  a  multiplication 
of   these    forms,    and  its   protests   levelled 
rather  against  the  form  of  these  "forms," 
than  against  the  forms  themselves.    All  the 
sects  of  Raskol  originate  in  different  read- 
ings,   corrections,    and    alterations   of   the 
Orthodox  Liturgy.     Thus,  perhaps,  the  first 
serious  schism  was  commenced  in  the  15th 
century,  when,  as  a  Novgorodian  chronicler 
states,  "Certain  philosophers  began  to  chant, 
'  0  Lord,  have  pity  upon  us !'  whilst  the 
others  sang,  'Lord,  have  pity  upon  us!'" 
This  may  seem,  to  the  Western  mind,  quite 
insufficient  to  cause  a  serious  schism ;  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Russian  is, 
to  a  great  extent,   an  Oriental  mind,  and 
regards  every  sentence  in  the  liturgy  as  a 
magic  or  cabalistic  formula,   to  alter  one 
word   of  which    would   be   to   destroy   its 
whole  value  and  efficacy.     Every  gesture, 
every  position,  every  word  sanctioned  by 
long  usage  and  tradition  in  the  ritual,  has, 
for  the  Russian,  the  same  importance  as  the 
minute  observance  of  all  the  rules  and  de- 
tails of  an  incantation  has  for  the  Pagan ; 
or,  to  use  an  example  in  our  own  country, 
for   the    modern    ritualist.      The    Obriad 
(Ritual)  is,  as  we  have   already  said,  the 
essence  of  Russian  religious  life;    and  the 
word     Ritualism    will    therefore    perhaps 
more  correctly  represent  the  word  Raskol, 
though  that  ritualism  be  not  of  one  and 
the  same  character  as  the  ritualism  of  the 
present  day  in  England. 

The  dissensions  had  already  become  so 
great  in  the  16th  century,  that  Vassili 
IV.  commissioned  a  Greek  monk,  Maximus 
the  Greek,  to  revise  the  various  liturgies, 
and  correct  them  ;  but  the  opposition,  on 
the  part  of  the  clergy,  was  too  great,  and 
he  was  condemned  by  a  council,  and  impri- 
soned for  life  as  a  heretic  in  a  distant 
monastery.  When,  however,  the  invention 
of  printing  made  these  divergences  in  the 
manuscript  liturgies  still  more  glaringly 
apparent,  the  patriarch  Nicon,  a  man  of 
stern  energy  and  inflexible  will,  determined 
to  institute  a  reform,  and  had  the  chief 
Slav  and  Greek  liturgies  collected  from  all 
parts,  from  the  chief  churches  of  Russia, 
from  Byzance  and  Mount  Athos,  and  ap- 
pointed   a  committee  to  revise  them,  ex- 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  dissenters. 


elude  the  interpolations,  and  frame  a 
standard  which  he  had  adopted,  by  a  council 
convoked  for  the  purpose,  as  the  only  legal 
liturgy  throughout  the  empire.        c 

This  action  of  the  patriarch  Nicon 
caused  great  agitation ;  and  many  people, 
monasteries,  and  priests,  refused  to  adopt  the 
new  liturgy,  and  insisted  on  adhering  to 
the  version  of  their  old  manuscripts,  and 
kept  to  their  own  readings  in  spite  of 
Nicon,  council,  czar,  and  synod.  Thus  one 
sect  differs  from  the  other  in  the  shape  of 
the  cross  it  uses,  or  the  way  they  make  the 
sign  of  the  cross.  One  differs  in  the  ortho- 
graphy of  the  name  of  Jesus;  another  in 
that  of  the  inscription  at  the  head  of  the 
cross;  a  third  repeats  the  Hallelujah  twice; 
another  three  times.  Some  sign  themselves 
with  two  fingers ;  others  with  three  fingers. 
Some  insist  that  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus 
was  not  a  fact,  but  a  parable.  According 
to  them,  Lazarus  represented  the  human 
soul ;  his  death  represented  sin ;  his  sisters, 
Martha  and  Mary,  represent  the  body  and 
soul ;  the  tomb  is  the  troubles  of  life,  the 
resurrection  conversion.  Similarly,  the 
entry  of  Christ  into  Jerusalem  on  an  ass  is 
also  to  be  regarded,  not  as  a  fact,  but  as  a 
parable.  These,  and  similar  differences,  are 
adhered  to  with  such  tenacity,  that  it  has 
been  quite  impossible  to  break  up  the  sects 
who  have  made  them  part  and  parcel  of 
their  dogmas.  Thus,  even  as  a  number  of 
peasants  said  to  the  late  emperor,  and  as 
they  lately  declared  before  the  judges  when 
prosecuted  for  celebrating  clandestine  rites, 
they  will  uot  yield  up  the  worship  handed 
down  to  them  by  their  fathers.  "Do  what 
you  like  with  us,  transport  us, imprison  us; 
but  do  not  ask  us  to  abandon  our  faith." 
Thus  adhering  doggedly  to  their  tenets, 
and  quite  as  obstinately  as  the  Orthodox 
Church  to  theirs,  both  parties  are  firmly 
convinced  that  they  are  in  possession  of  the 
only  true  faith,  and  regard  all  foreign 
creeds  as  rank  heresies,  and  Russia  as 
the  favoured  land  of  God,  signalled  out 
beyond  all  others,  and  justly  meriting  the 
title  of  Holy  Russia.  To  such  an  extent 
does  this  prejudice  go,  that  using  the  Latin 
words  -Deus  and  Pater  for  God,  even  in 
Latin  works,  instead  of  the  Slav  Bog,  is  by 
some  regarded  as  rank  blasphemy,  it  being 
impossible,  according  to  them,  for  the 
Deity  to  have  any  other  name  than  the 
Slav  word. 

Thus  the  opposition  which  Nicon's  re- 
vision  of    the    liturgy   evoked,  continued 
VOL.  u.  2  F 


unabated;  but  the  consternation  amongst 
the  old  believers — the  Starovery — increased 
still  more  when,  after  deposing  Nicon, 
the  council  confirmed  the  revision  ;  and 
Peter  the  Great  also  began  to  tamper  with 
the  church,  changing  one  thing,  introduc- 
ing another,  and  eliminating  a  third. 
Altogether,  Peter  the  Great  was,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Starovery,  nothing  less  than  a 
heretic;  and  when  he  even  dared  to  alter 
the  course  of  the  sun  by  changing  the 
calendar,  and  even  attacked  the  age  of  the 
world  itself  by  dating  from  the  birth  of 
Christ,  instead  of  from  the  creation,  the 
indignation  knew  no  bounds,  and  all  Peter 
the  Great's  reforms  were  opposed  on  re- 
ligious grounds.  The  census,  the  registra- 
tion of  births  and  deaths,  were  declared  to 
be  impious  and  blasphemous  regulations; 
God  alone  having  the  right  to  count  his 
flock — witness  the  sin  and  punishment  of 
David.  Still  more  horrifying  to  the  Staro- 
very was  the  capitation-tax,  or  soul-tax 
(podouchenoi  oklad),  which  was  regarded 
as  an  actual  tax  on  the  actual  soul,  inas- 
much as,  in  the  interval  between  the  days 
for  raising  the  tax,  a  certain  number  of 
those  who  were  taxed  had  died,  and  Peter 
was  thus  regarded  as  disputing  with  God 
the  possession  of  the  departed  soul.  Thus 
arose  the  sect  of  the  Stranniki,  whose  par- 
ticular creed  was  opposition  to  all  govern- 
ment authority,  and  made  defiance  of  the 
imperial  law — no  matter  what  the  law 
might  be — a  religious  duty,  inasmuch  as 
the  emperor  was  the  Antichrist  of  the 
Apocalypse.  This  view  speedily  gained 
over  a  number  of  fresh  adherents,  and  a 
whole  series  of  legends  regarding  Peter  the 
Great  were  invented  to  support  the  accu- 
sation. Some  contended  that  he  was  the 
bastard  son  of  Nicon,  the  sacrilegious,  and 
a  female  devil.  According  to  others,  the 
czar,  Peter  Alexievitch,  had  been  a  pious, 
true-believing  prince;  but  that  he  had 
been  drowned,  and  his  shape  assumed  by  a 
Jew  of  the  race  of  Danof — i.e.,  of  the 
devil;  that  this  impostor,  after  having 
seized  the  throne,  had  imprisoned  the 
czarina,  married  a  German  adventuress  of 
equally  doubtful  origin,  and  had  filled 
Russia  with  a  host  of  blasphemous  foreigners, 
who  had  sold  their  souls  to  Satan  for  the 
honours  showered  upon  them  in  the  land  of 
true  believers.  The  simple  contact  with 
these  functionaries  was  dangerous  to  the 
soul. 
Having,  then,  discovered  that  Antichrist 

217 


i 


1 


THE  SECTS.] 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


fA.D.  1856-77. 


had  appeared,  all  the  prophecies  of  tlie 
Apocalypse  were  hunted  up,  and  made  to 
apply  to  Russia  and  her  czar.  They  dis- 
covered the  number  of  the  Beast  in  the 
name  of  Peter  and  his  successors,  each 
letter  in  the  Slav  alphabet  possessing,  as 
in  the  Greek  alphabet,  a  numerical  value, 
(h^  letters  in  the  name  of  Peter  the  Great 
amounting  to  666.  Then,  by  certain  altera- 
tions, mystical  divisions,  multiplications, 
or  additions,  they  discovered  the  same 
number  in  the  names  of  all  the  succeeding 
rulers.  Thus,  by  a  strange  chance,  the 
letters  in  the  word  "Imperator,"  after 
eliminating  the  second  letter,  also  pro- 
duces the  fatal  666 — which  is  not  the  case 
with  the  word  "Czar" — and  thus,  it  was 
said,  the  letter  "M"  was  the  sign  under 
"which  the  Beast  concealed  himself:  con- 
sequently, the  Russian  emperors  since 
Peter  the  Great,  are  known  to  these  sects 
by  the  letter  or  letters  under  which  the 
Beast  strove  to  hide  his  identity.  Accord- 
ing to  them,  Russia  has  been  governed, 
since  the  date  of  the  Council  of  Moscow 
(which  upheld  Nicon's  revision,  and  excom- 
municated the  true  believers),  by  a  series 
of  Apocalyptical  Beasts,  each  with  the  mys- 
tical number  666 ;  and,  strangely  enough, 
this  number  also  appears  in  the  year  of  the 
council,  1666  A.D.  And,  not  even  content 
with  all  these  proofs,  the  old  true-believing 
Muscovites  have  discovered,  that  the  very 
name  of  their  country,  Roussa,  is  simply 
the  Assour  or  Assyria  of  the  Bible 
spelt  backwards,  and  thus  the  subject  of 
the  anathemas  hurled  against  the  cities  of 
Babylon  and  Nineveh. 

Thus  the  very  head  and  fountain  of  the 
government  being  Satanic,  everything  that 
proceeded  from  it  was  diabolical,  and  Russia 
itself  under  diabolical  rule.  Everything 
that  the  government  introduced  was  re- 
garded as  something  Satanic;  tobacco,  tea, 
coffee,  sugar,  all  colonial  produce,  was 
heretical  and  diabolical.  One  sect  forbade 
,the  use  of  potatoes,  having  discovered  that 
that  was  the  fruit  with  which  Satan 
tempted  Eve.  Tobacco  was  equally  con- 
demned on  the  basis  of  the  words  of  the 
evangelist,  that  it  is  not  that  which  enters 
the  mouth  of  a  man  which  defiles  him,  but 
that  which  goes  out  of  him  (Mark  vii.  15). 
Another  sect  forbade  the  use  of  sugar,  be- 
cause blood  was  used  in  its  manufacture, 
and  the  Scriptures  prohibit  the  use  of  blood 
as  food.  Some  of  these  true  believers  re- 
fused even  to  make  use  of  paved  roads,  be- 
21d 


cause  they  were  an  invention  of  the  Anti- 
christ. In  short,  the  whole  country  was 
under  the  rule  of  Veelzevoulovitch — 
Beelzebub — and  the  end  of  the  world  was 
approaching.  But  though  this  end  has 
been  approaching  ever  since  the  days  of 
Peter  the  Great,  without  ever  appearing, 
the  Stranniki  are  always  able  to  explain 
the  delay,  and  assert  that  its  non-appear- 
ance in  no  way  disproves  the  reign  of  the 
Antichrist,  which  may  last  for  centuries,  or 
come  to  an  end  to-morrow.  But  that  it 
does  exist,  none  of  the  Stranniki  have  any 
manner  of  doubt ;  they  only  disagree  as  to 
its  manifestations,  and  the  probable  length 
and  character  of  its  reign.  All  this  led  to  a 
broad  division  amongst  the  Raskolniks  on 
the  occasion  of  the  imprisonment  and  proba- 
ble murder  of  the  only  Orthodox  bishop  who 
stood  up  for  the  old  liturgies — Bishop  Paul, 
of  Kolomma.  Through  this  event  the 
Raskolniks  were  deprived  of  any  spiritual 
head,  and  found  themselves  unable  to 
accept  any  other  ;  for  the  spiritual  powers 
havinof  been  handed  down  from  Christ  to 
the  present  time  by  the  uninterrupted  con- 
secration of  bishops,  and  the  only  truly 
consecrated  bishops  being  no  more,  there 
was  an  end  to  the  chain.  They  themselves 
could  not  consecrate  a  bishop ;  and  the 
bishops  of  the  Orthodox  Church  having 
irretrievably  sinned  by  their  acceptance  of 
the  new  liturgy,  and  connivance  in  the  reign 
of  the  Antichrist,  were  still  less  able  to 
supply  the  broken  link,  even  had  they  been 
willing.  Still  it  was  held  by  some  that  the 
Orthodox  Church,  bonded  as  it  was  to 
Satan,  had  not  lost  the  apostolic  powers  of 
chirotony — the  consecration  of  bishops, 
priests,  and  deacons  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands — and  entered  into  some  sort  of  com- 
promise with  the  Orthodox  Church ;  the 
others,  however,  remained  firm,  and  refused 
absolutely  to  yield.  Thus  the  Raskolniks 
were  divided  into  two  sections — the 
popovtski,  who  possess  priests,  and  the 
ber  popovtski,  who  do  without. 

The  latter  soon  lost  themselves  in  all 
sorts  of  vagaries  in  their  search  for  spiritual 
rest  and  comfort.  Some  instituted  con- 
fession to  each  other,  each  one  absolving 
his  neighbour,  and  being  in  turn  absolved 
by  him,  on  the  principle  of  one  hand  wash- 
ing the  other.  In  lieu  of  the  sacramental 
bread  and  wine  administered  by  a  properly 
ordained  priest,  they  "took  the  Easter" 
in  the  shape  of  raisins  from  the  hand  of  a 
young  girl.     Others  went  even  still  further 


A.D.  1856-'77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


in  their  mysticism,  and  pretended  to  obtain 
the  Eucharist  from  the  breast  of  a  young 
virgin.  Another  sect  spent  Good  Friday 
in  absolute  silence,  with  their  mouths  wide 
open,  waiting  for  invisible  angels  to  ad- 
minister invisible  wine  out  of  an  invisible 
chalice.  Still  wilder  even  were  the  doc- 
trines based  on  the  approaching  end  of  the 
world.  The  Dietoubitski,  or  killers  of  in- 
fants, held  it  to  be  their  duty  to  murder 
the  innocent  babe  rather  than  let  him  grow 
up  to  be  exposed  to  the  temptations  of  the 
cursed  and  infernal  government.  Others, 
the  Suffocators  (Douchiltstchiki),  and  the 
Assassins  (Tioukalstchiki),  considered  it  a 
religious  duty  to  prevent  their  friends, 
parents,  and  children  from  dying  a  natural 
death,  and  murdered  them  when  they  were 
dangerously  ill,  or  at  the  point  of  death,  on 
the  pretext  that  the  kingdom  of  God  must 
be  taken  by  force  (Matt.  xi.  12;. 

But  the  most  universal  belief  amongst 
all  the  vaiious  Raskolniks  is,  that  man, 
haying  been  created  in  the  image  of  God, 
it  is  nothing  less  than  rank  blasphemy  to 
shave  or  cut  one's  beard.  So  strong  is  this 
belief,  that  in  1874,  even  some  of  the  navy 
recruits  absolutely  refused  to  be  shaved, 
and  preferred  to  incur  several  years'  punish- 
ment for  insubordination  rather  than  sub- 
mit. In  consequence,  the  government  has 
been  forced  to  allow  certain  corps  in  the 
army,  which  are  chiefly  composed  of  old 


[the  sects. 


believers,  to  retain  their  beard  and  mous- 
tache. Thus  the  faith  of  the  true  old  be- 
lieving Cossack  of  the  Ural  was  stronger 
than  the  will  of  the  Autorcat  of  all  the 
Russias. 

This  sketch   of  the  social   condition  of 
the  Russian  people,  and  their  religious  views, 
amply  demonstrates  how,   in   spite  of  the 
most  liberal  reforms,  the  government  can 
still    preserve   its    despotic    character,    on 
account   of   the   means    offered    l»v   which 
each  reform  can  be  made  a  dead  letter  of. 
The  elements  of   which  the   bulk  of   the 
nation  is  composed  are  so  divergent  in  their 
individuality,  that  many  years  must  elapse 
before  the  reforms  instituted  can  bear  any 
fruit.     The  "secret  societies,"  of  which  so 
much  has  recently  been  said,  do  not  possess 
any  danger  for  the  government,  insomuch  as 
each  follows  a  different  object,  and  none  of 
these  objects  tend  towards  a  common  point 
of  action  ;  although  it  is  no  doubt  true  that 
the  various  sections  of  the  Raskol  keep  up 
a  certain  connexion  with  each  other.     Still 
this  connexion  is  preserved  less  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attack  than  for  the  defence  of  prin- 
ciples each  particular  section  professes.     It 
results  in  a  kind  of  Freemasonry  between 
them ;  so  that  if  a  member  of  one  of  these 
sects  is  persecuted  by  the  government,  he 
receives  every  assistance  from  the  members 
of  another  sect,  though  the  two  may  profess 
distmctly  opposite  and  opposed  principles. 


^ 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

nUSSIAN   ROADS  AND  RAILWAYS. 


For  about  six  months  in  the  year,  Russia 
has  the  finest  roads  in  the  world.  For 
three  months  they  are  the  worst;  and  for 
the  remaining  three  she  may  be  said  to 
have  none  at  all.  The  means  of  intercom- 
munication in  summer  are,  as  often  as  not, 
the  dry  bed  of  a  river;  and  where  there  is 
what  may,  by  courtesy,  be  called  a  road,  it 
is  so  thickly  laid  with  dust,  and  worn  into 
deep  ruts,  that  traffic  along  it  is  as  laborious 
as  it  is  slow.  In  the  rainy  and  thawing 
seasons,  the  mud  is  so  bottomless  that, 
practically,     traffie    is     impossible.      But 


during  the  winter,  the  snow— the  first  ap- 
pearance of  which  is  hailed  with  thankful 
delight  by  all  classes,  from  the  richest  to 
the  poorest — covers  the  whole  country  with 
a  mantle  that  transforms  the  whole  expanse 
of  soil  into  one  magnificent  road,  along 
which  the  sledges  dart  in  all  directions  in 
pursuit  of  business  or  pleasure. 

Still  sledges  are  not  exactly  adapted  for 
heavy  traffic ;  nor  can  they  be  said  to  be  a 
cheap  means  of  locomotion  ;  so  that,  whilst 
sufficing  for  immediate  local  or  postal  traf- ' 
fie,  they  are  quite  inadequate  for  the  inter- 

219 


!' 


EOADS  AND  RAILWAYS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


change  of  commodities,  of  which  the  pro- 
ducing centres  are  at  such  a  distance  from 
each  other,  as  in  Russia.  Thus,  though 
there  are  mineral  deposits  of  great  ricliness 
in  various  parts  of  Russia,  they  cannot  be 
worked  at  a  profit,  in  consequence  of  the 
absence  of  roads.  The  iron-works  of  Nevi- 
ansk,  for  instance,  near  Ekaterinenburg,  in 
the  Ural,  produce  excell<^it  steel ;  but  it  has 
to  traverse  hundreds  of  miles  of  wretched 
roads  before  it  reaches  the  navigable  Kama, 
and  is  eighteen  months  on  the  road  before 
it  reaches  St.  Petersburg  or  Moscow. 

These  works  were  founded  by  Peter  the 
Great,  who,  whilst  visiting  the  foundries  and 
small-arms  factories  at  Toula,  was  much 
struck  by  the  figure  of  a  gigantic  smith, 
named  Demidoff.  The  czar  wanted  to  make 
a  soldier  of  him ;  but  being  impressed  by 
his  intelligence  and  skill,  he  sent  him  to 
examine  the  metalliferous  districts  of  the 
Ural,  and  subsequently  leased  and  sold  to 
him  the  works  just  mentioned  at  Neviansk. 
Since  that  time  to  the  present  they  have 
been  worked  by  the  descendants  of  the 
blacksmith  Demidotf,  who  are  now  one  of 
the  richest  families  in  the  empire.  The 
mines,  however,  from  the  want  of  communi- 
cation with  the  rest  of  the  country,  are 
quite  unable  to  compete  with  foreign  pro- 
duce. 

The  same  drawbacks  prevent  the  develop- 
ment of  the  vast  coal-beds  that  exist  in 
various  parts  of  the  country,  notably  round 
Moscow,  and  in  the  basin  of  the  Donetz ; 
the  only  mines  that  return  a  fair  profit 
being  the  mines  of  graphite,  in  Siberia;  a 
large  proportion  of  which  is  worked  up  into 
pencils,  and  other  articles,  by  the  celebrated 
German  manufacturers,  Faljer  and  Handt- 
muth. 

The  rivers  of  Russia,  however,  and  the 
very  slight  differences  in  the  level  of  the 
country,  were  highly  favourable  to  the  con- 
struction of  canals;  and  now  the  Caspian, 
Black  Sea,  and  Baltic  are  all  united  by  a 
system  of  water-ways,  that  successfully 
compete  still  with  the  railways,  and  land, 
transport,  and  bring  some  25,000  vessels  a 
year  into  the  capital.  In  the  matter  of 
railways,  scarcely  anything  had  been  done 
at  the  time  of  the  American  war.  There 
was  only  one  line  from  St.  Petersburg  to 
Tsarskoe-Selo,  about  twenty  miles  long ;  the 
line  joining  Moscow  to  St.  Petersburg,  a 
distance  of  about  380  miles,  and  which  was 
begun  in  1842,  not  having  been  completed 
until  1861. 

220 


But  after  the  close  of  the  American  war, 
the  government  at  once  proceeded  to  the 
development  of  its  railway  system,  acting 
on  the  principle  of  combining  strategic  with 
commercial  advantages,  if  possible;  but, 
above  all,  to  look  to  the  strategic  side  first, 
and  afterwards  to  the  commercial  side.  In 
accordance  with  this  principle,  it  was  de- 
cided that  the  Russian  lines  should  be  nine 
centimetres  wider  than  the  German  lines,  so 
as  to  prevent  their  being  worked  by  the 
German  en<rines  and  rollingj-stock,  in  case 
of  war.  The  impediments  placed  in  the 
way  of  commerce  by  this  system,  through 
necessitating  the  unloading  and  reloading 
of  the  cars,  was  quite  ignored  in  favour  of 
the  supposed  strategic  advantages,  which 
are  more  apparent  than  real ;  for,  first  of  all, 
the  system  cuts  both  ways ;  as,  though  the 
Germans  may  not  be  able  to  use  their  roll- 
ing-stock on  Russian  lines,  still,  neither  can 
the  Russians  use  their  engines  on  the  Prus- 
sian lines.  Besides  which,  there  is  no  great 
difficulty  in  adapting  the  lines  to  the  en- 
gines, or  rolling-stock  to  the  lines ;  so  that 
important  commercial  requirements  have 
been  sacrificed  to  strategical  crotchets.  In 
the  same  way,  the  line  from  Moscow  to 
Theodosia  in  the  Crimea,  via  Kursk  and 
the  Lower  Dineper^  left  Odessa  on  one  side; 
which  is  much  the  same  thing  as  if  a  line 
were  constructed  from  Birmingham  to 
Woolwich  or  Chatham  without  touching 
London. 

However,  the  gauge  having  thus  been  de- 
cided on  in  spite  of  all  the  representations 
madebythe  mercantileclasses,  a  ukase  was  is- 
sued on  February  7th,  1857,  authorising  the 
formation  of  the  Russian  Railway  Company, 
for  the  construction  of  a  network  of  lines 
joining  St.  Petersburg  to  Warsaw,  with  a 
junction  at  Wilna  for  Konigsberg  and  the 
Prussian  frontier ;  from  Moscow  to  Nijni- 
Novgorod;  from  Moscow  to  Theodosia 
in  the  Crimea,  via  Kursk,  with  a  trans- 
verse branch  to  Libau  on  the  Baltic.  "  By 
this  means,"  said  the  ukase,  "a  railway 
will  traverse  twenty-six  governments,  con- 
necting three  capitals,  our  principal  rivers, 
the  centres  of  agricultural  produce,  and  two 
ports,  one  on  the  Baltic,  and  one  on  the 
Black  Sea,  which  are  open  nearly  all  the 
year  round."  This  network,  representing 
a  total  length  of  about  4,000  versts,  the 
company  engaged  to  construct  in  ten  years, 
under  a  government  guarantee  of  5  per 
cent.,  and  the  monopoly  of  the  lines  for 
eighty-five  years.     The  company  at  once 


' 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[roads  and  railways. 


set  to  work,  employing,  in  1859,  over  60,000 
men  on  the  works;  and  in  1861,  the  St. 
Petersburg- Warsaw,  and  in  1862,  the  Mos- 
cow-Novgorod lines  were  completed  and 
working.  Disputes,  however,  arose  between 
the  government  and  the  company.  The  ca- 
pital had  been  fixed  at  275,000,000  roubles, 
which  it  was  proposed  should  be  raised  by 
loan.  The  first  issue  for  75,000,000  was 
fully  subscribed,  in  1857,  in  Russia  and 
Holland ;  but  in  London  it  was  a  complete 
failure.  The  following  year  another  issue 
of  35,000,000  was  made ;  but,  owing  to  the 
high  price  of  money,  and  the  government 
also  entering  the  market  with  a  government 
loan,  the  operation  was  conducted  at  a  loss, 
and  recriminations  arising  between  the 
company  and  the  government,  the  former 
was  placed  under  government  administra- 
tion, and  the  construction  of  the  other  lines 
taken  out  of  its  hands.  Still  the  work  was 
rapidly  proceeded  with ;  and  in  quick  suc- 
cession followed  the  construction  of  the 
lines  Riga-Dunaberg-Revel ;  Odessa-Tsor- 
itsin ;  from  Warsaw  to  Moscow,  via  Minsk 
and  Smolensk ;  from  Moscow  to  Tsaritsin, 
and  Moscow-Odessa,  with  branches  to  Ta- 
ganrog on  the  Sea  of  Azoff,  and  to  Jassy  via 
Balta.  A  line  was  also  constructed  from 
Poli  to  Tiflis,  and  which  it  is  intended  to 
continue,  via  Elisabethpol,  to  the  Caspian 
at  Baku. 

Altogether,  it  may  be  said  that,  in  the 
twenty  years  that  have  now  elapsed  since 
the  Crimean  war,  the  requirements  of 
what  may  be  called  "  railway  strategy  "  have 
been  fully  satisfied  in  Russia.  The  great 
strategic  centres  have  all  been  connected 
with  the  capitals,  and  with  each  other; 
Kertch,  Theodosia,  and  Kiefif  in  the  south ; 
Sweaborg  and  Cronstadt  in  the  north ;  and 
in  the  west,  the  formidable  quadrilateral 
of  Warsaw,  Zamose,  Svangorod,  Brzesc- 
Rilewski,  and,  above  all,  Modlin.  The 
latter  fortress,  situated  at  the  junction  of 
the  Bug  and  the  Vistula,  without  any  civil 
population  beyond  that  necessary  for  the 
garrison,  is  the  very  model  of  a  stronghold. 
Immense,  gloomy,  and  silent,  equally 
powerful  for  attack  or  defence,  it  is  a 
standing  menace  to  Europe:  it  is  the 
Metz  of  Russia ;  and,  like  Metz,  it  will  one 
day  be  the  scene  of  sanguinary  combats 
between  Muscovite  and  Teuton.      It  may 


be  regarded  as  the  strategic  terminus  of 
the  Russian  system  in  the  west ;  whilst  the 
Black  Sea  and  Baltic  fortresses  efi'ectually 
protect  its  flanks.  * 

But  whilst   the   strategic   necessities  of 
the  empire  have  been  thus   provided  for, 
the  commercial  requirements  still  demand 
rnuch  attention.     Above  all,  must  be  men- 
tioned the  want  of  cross-roads  and  properly 
macadamised  high-roads.     The  two  great 
obstacles  to  the  achievement  of  this  object 
are— first  of  all,  the  scarcity  of  sufficiently 
hard  stone  in  Great  Russia ;  and,  secondly, 
the    commercial    system,    which    prevents 
anything  like  popular  action  in  the  matter. 
Want  of  funds  greatly  hampers  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  the  sums  that  are  voted  are  but 
too   frequently   misapplied,    embezzled   in 
one  way  or  the  other,  and  generally  insuffi- 
cient, very  large  amounts  being  necessary 
for  the  construction  and  repair  of  bridges, 
which   are   very    numerous,   and  seriously 
damaged  every  year  by  the  ice.     The  cost 
of    material    is    great;    and    though    the 
engineering    difficulties    are   unimportant, 
still  there  is  more  work  to  be  done  in  the 
matter    of    deep  foundations    than    there 
would  be  in  more  temperate  climates,  where 
the  frost  does  not  penetrate  so  deeply  into 
the  earth.     The  iron-work  also  has  to  be 
of    a     superior    quality,    as    the    inferior 
sorts  become  quite  brittle  under  the  intense 
frost.      Unfortunately,   the   contractors   of 
the  various  works  have  taken  advantage  of 
this  circumstance  with  a  keen  eye  to  future 
"repairing"  contracts.     In  fact,  the  Rus- 
sian lines  have  cost  more,  in  spite  of  their 
easy  construction,  than  have  even  the  most 
expensive  Indian  lines.     Tales  are  told  of 
cargoes  of  rails  being  unshipped  at  Odessa, 
paid  for  there,  re-shipped  at  Kertch,  and 
unshipped  again  and   paid   twice  over  at 
Odessa.     Roads   that  were  given   by  con- 
tract to  be  macadamised  with  granite,  have 
been  treated   with   soft  limestone  that  a 
dog-cart  would  grind  to  powder.     Such,  in 
fact,  is  the  state  of  the  roads  and  of  the  ad- 
ministration, that,  when  the  emperor  goes 
on  one  of  his  journeys  of  inspection,  the 
roads   he   has   to   travel  by   are   specially 
prepared   by  the  crown  peasants,  and  all 
circulation  forbidden  upon  them  for  weeks 
before   he  starts :   and   very  good   care  is 
taken  not  to  let  the  czar  know  it. 

221 


I       1 


THE   RUSSIAN  FAIRS.] 


HISTOKY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-7^. 


^ 


f   i 


CHAPTER  XXXL 

RUSSIAN   COMMERCE;     THE  GREAT  FAIR  OF    NIJNI-NOVGOROD ;     MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  FAIR; 

THE   SUGAR   TRADE. 


The  international  fairs  and  markets  in 
"Western  Europe  by  no  means  possess  the 
importance  attached  to  them  in  former 
times.  Modern  economical  development 
has  superseded  them.  Their  rise,  in  the 
middle  ages,  was  favoured  by  the  staple 
law  enjoyed  by  some  privileged  towns. 
The  great  uncertainty  of  the  laws,  diffi- 
culty of  transport,  small  credit — all  this 
caused  and  furthered  the  practice  of  sending 
goods  in  large  quantities  to  certain  places  at 
certain  times.  In  the  selection  of  places, 
besides  the  most  favourable  situation,  the 
period  of  the  church  festivals,  when  large 
multitudes  of  people  were  assembled,  was  of 
great  influence.  In  Western  Europe,  the  de- 
velopment of  the  towns  has  kept  pace  with 
the  development  of  industry  and  intercourse; 
but  in  the  eastern  part  of  continental 
Europe,  in  Russia,  the  economical  condi- 
tions of  the  country,  affected  by  natural 
and  political  influences,  have  taken  another 
course.  That  immense  plain,  extending 
over  17  degrees  of  latitude,  varying  from 
the  most  luxuriant  fertility  to  the  desert 
Tundras,  was  not  equally  favourable  for  the 
formation  of  towns.  Under  Peter  the  Great, 
Russia  first  pushed  forward  as  far  as  the  sea. 
Moscow  was,  and  still  is,  the  real  capital 
of  the  great  empire :  the  ancient  Hanseatic 
town,  Novgorod,  never  recovered. 

In  the  middle  of  the  14th  century, 
during  the  rule  of  the  klians  of  Kasan,  in 
Tartary,  we  observe,  in  the  summer-time, 
north  of  the  many-towered,  picturesquely- 
situated  capital  of  Tartary,  the  growth  of 
a  large  fair,  where  merchants,  coming  from 
the  north  and  from  the  south,  from  the 
east  and  from  the  west,  exchanged  the  pro- 
ducts of  Central  Asia  for  those  of  Europe. 
The  Russian  princes,  however,  wished  to 
bring  the  new  Slavonian  rule  into  repute 
with  reofard  to  trade  and  commerce  also. 
Vasili  Iwanowitsch  instituted  a  fair  in  his 
dominions,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Volga, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Szora;  at  the  same 
time  forbidding  the  Russian  merchants  to 
attend  the  Kasan  fair.  Later,  when  the 
rule  of  the  Crescent  had  been  forced  to  yield 
to  the  Greek  Cross  in  Kasan  also,  the  fair 
222 


was  transferred  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
cloisterdedicated  to  the  great  Russian  patron 
saint,  Makarieff;  and,  to  this  day,  they 
point  out  to  the  traveller  on  the  Volga,  twelve 
miles  below  Nijni,  or  Nischnei,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  the  spot  where  the  Maka- 
rieff fair  was  held.  Although  the  fair  was 
then  held  in  the  dry  season,  at  Midsummer, 
it  was  still  too  much  exposed  here  to  the 
inundations  of  the  Volga.  When,  therefore, 
in  1816,  the  fair- booths  were  destroyed  by 
fire,  the  government  resolved  to  transfer 
the  fair — or,  as  it  is  called  in  Russian,  the 
yearly  market  (a  word  probably  derived 
from  the  Hanseatic  times) — to  its  present 
situation.  Scarcely  could  a  more  favour- 
able position  be  found  for  a  fair,  where  the 
exchange  of  merchandise  from  European 
Russia,  and  the  products  of  Western 
Europe,  are  to  be  effected  with  the  North 
and  Central  Asia.  It  lies  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Aka,  or  Oka,  and  the  Volga — that 
great  artery  of  commerce,  which,  together 
with  its  tributary  rivers,  represents  a 
navigable  watercourse  of  about  8,000  miles, 
and  which  is  itself  navigable  for  steamers 
for  a  distance  of  1,000  miles,  from  Nischow 
to  Astrachan.  Nischnei  is  nearly  the 
mathematical  centre  of  Russia  in  Europe. 
It  also  lies  half-way  between  two  of  the 
most  important  towns  of  Middle  Russia, 
Moscow,  and  Kasan.  But,  most  important 
of  all,  it  is  the  centre  of  the  greatest  river- 
system  of  European  Russia — the  Don  and 
the  Dnieper  in  the  south,  the  Duna  in  the 
middle  parts  of  the  empire,  and  the  Neva 
and  Dwina  in  the  north.  Throuofh  the 
lakes,  which  abound  in  the  interior  of  Rus- 
sia, and,  in  the  last  ten  years,  through  the 
railways,  the  transport  of  goods  is  still 
further  facilitited  alongr  these  different 
rivers.  Besides  this,  Nischnei  lies  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  industrial  and  populous 
governments — Moscow,  Smolensk,  Koslow, 
Tula,  Twer,  Yaraslow,  Kostroma,  and  Nis- 
chegovrod.  Here  the  cotton  and  iron  trades 
have  developed  themselves  on  a  great  scale ; 
to  which  may  be  added  the  active  home- 
industry  which  occupies  the  population 
during  the  long  winter.     For  fifteen  years 


i 

I 


> 


^   a1 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ntjni-novgorod. 


/ 


1  I 


: 


Nischnei  has  been  united  with  Moscow  by  a 
railway;  but  the  transport  by  water  still 
remains  the  most  considerable.  Even  in 
winter,  the  endless  trains  of  sledges  going 
to  Yebit,  the  great  winter  fair  beyond  the 
Ural,  when  possible,  choose  the  ice-track 
of  the  river  as  the  most  convenient. 

Late  in  the  spring,  when  the  melting 
snow,  flowing  eastward  from  the  Ural, 
swells  the  numerous  rivers,  the  traders  set 
out,  on  rude  conveyances,  for  the  Volga, 
where  the  tugs  await  them,  to  carry  them 
and  their  goods  up  the  river.  From  seven 
to  eight  hundred  steamers  navigate  the 
Volga^;  and,  when  we  consider  that  the 
barges  drawn  by  them  may  contain  from 
eighty  to  a  hundred  thousand  or  more 
puds  (the  pud  =  lOf  kilogrammes),  we 
may  form  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of 
merchandise  moving  on  the  great  streams 
of  Russia.  On  the  Caspian  Sea,  also,  we 
find  the  steamers  of  the  great  Russian 
companies,  conveying  the  imports  from 
Trans-Caucasia  and  Persia,  by  way  of  Baku 
and  Asterabad.  The  only  favourable  sea- 
son for  holding  the  fair  is  at  Midsummer. 
The  commencement  of  this  fair,  and  of 
the  church  services  on  the  17th  of  July,  is 
officially  announced  by  the  hoisting  of  a 
flag;  it  ends  after  pay-day,  two  months 
later,  on  the  16th  of  September. 

The  aspect  of  the  fair  has  often  been 
described ;  but,  as  we  have  found  by  per- 
sonal observation,  not  always  correctly. 
The  market-town  is  not  exactly  in  the 
town  of  Nischnei,  but  on  the  opposite  bank, 
on  a  point  of  land  called  the  Strejelka, 
formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  river  Aka 
with  the  Volga.  A  pleasing  and  charming 
picture  presents  itself  on  arriving,  by  rail- 
way, on  the  left  bank  of  the  Aka.  From 
the  mountains  on  the  opposite  shore,  the 
green  towers,  with  their  cupolas  and  glitter- 
ing crosses,  meet  the  eye,  rising  above  the 
white  w^alls  of  the  town  of  Nischnei,  lying 
beyond  in  the  plain,  whilst  the  industrial 
and  commercial  suburbs  stretch  along  the 
river.  As,  on  the  one  side,  the  town  and 
the  mountain-ridge  form  a  picturesque 
background  for  the  fair,  so,  on  the  other, 
the  best  view  of  it  is  obtained  in  the 
upper  town,  from  the  height  of  Grebes- 
chock,  or  from  the  tower  raised  to  the 
memory  of  a  former  governor,  Mouraview. 
Both  streams,  of  a  considerable  width,  are 
covered  with  numerous  vessels,  and  several 
steamers.  Among  the  confusion  of  roofs, 
towers,  and  gables  below,  the  eye  is  first 


struck  by  a  bridge  of  boats,  nearly  900  yards 
long,  leading  across  the  Aka  from  Nischnei 
to  the  market-town.  It  is  constructed  of 
beams  resting  on  pontoons.  From  the 
other  side  of  the  river  the  tumult  of  the 
fair  is  faintly  heard;  the  churches  and 
the  mosque  rise  above  the  scarcely  distin- 
guishable mass  of  stone  and  wooden  build- 
ings. In  the  river  there  is  a  long  sandy 
island,  on  which,  as  in  the  fair,  the  life  and 
motion  are  like  that  of  an  ant-hill.  Passing 
through  the  Atkoss,  a  declivitous  gorge, 
the  road  leads  down  to  the  suburb,  which 
truly  deserves  the  name  of  Nischnei-Nov- 
gorod,  "Lower  New-town;"  for  it  has 
been  built  much  later  than  the  upper 
town,  which  hac  grown  up  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Kremlin, 

The  fair-town  is  divided  into  the  inner 
and  the  outer.     The  inner  town  consists  of 
rows  of  buildings  of  one  and  two  storeys, 
erected   in  streets  crossing  each   other  at 
right  angles,  and  surrounded   by  a  canal. 
There  are  twelve  running  straight  to  the 
river,  and  six  rows  parallel  with  it.     The 
central  one,  wide  and  embellished   by  an 
avenue  of  willows,  extends  from  the  town- 
hall  on  the   river  side,  to  the  Savor,   the 
Greek  church,    at  the    other  end.      These 
long  rows  of  buildings  are  marked  with  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  besides  large  halls, 
bearing  different  names  according  to  the 
goods  offered  for  sale  in  them :  for  instance. 
The  Armenian,   the  Yaroslavan,  the  Tva- 
nogoer — the  Leather,  Linen,  Cloth,  Gold- 
smiths', Needle,  Shoe  Halls,   &c.      These 
names  are,  however,  no  longer  always  ap- 
plicable.    The  cross-rows,  or  bazaars,  are 
not  named  ;    some  of  them,  as  the  Kitaistic 
Pojadni  (the  Chinese  Bazaars)  are  distin- 
guished  by  little   Chinese  towers   on  the 
roofs ;  but  at  the  present  time  the  Chinese 
attend  the  market  but  little,  and  the  name 
is  appropriate  only  in  so  far  as  the  Russian 
tea-dealers    have    their    stalls    there.      In 
walking  through   the   rows  of  this   inner 
market,  we  miss  the  noisy  activity  usual  at 
fairs  and  markets ;  the  shops — before  which 
there  is  a  paved  and  covered  path — are  in- 
significant ;  and  the  whole  is,  outwardly,  in 
no  way  distinguishable  from  the  Gostinoi- 
Dwore,  which   we   see   in   Petersburg  and 
Moscow,  and  are  far  surpassed,  in  splendour 
and  brilliancy  of  display,   by   the  modern 
bazaars  of  Berlin,  Vienna,  and  Paris.      It 
is  true  we  receive  another   impression  on 
entering  one  or  other  of  these  shops,  and 
convince   ourselves   of   the  mass  of  mer- 

223 


h 


i  '■ 


RUSSIAN  FAIRS.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1856-'77. 


chandise  brought  here  for  sale.     Exact  and 
complete  statistics  of  the  fairs,  embracing 
every  point  relating  to  them,  do  not  exist ; 
but  the  committee  appointed  for  the  sur- 
veyance  of  business  at  the  fairs,  endeavours 
to   establish    the    approximate  value   and 
quantity  of  goods  brought  annually  to  the 
market.     In  the  very  detailed  statistics  of 
the  fairs  for  1876,  the  goods  are  not  strictly 
classed    according  to  their  similarity,  but 
oftener  divided  according  to  the  places  they  j 
come  from,  and  exact  information  respect-  j 
ing  the  sales  effected  is  wanting.     Without  i 
wearying  the  reader  with  figures,  it  should, 
at  all  events,  be  mentioned,  that  in  these 
statistics  the  total  value  of  goods  brought  to 
the  fairs  in  1876,  is  given  at  165  millions 
of  roubles ;  whilst  it  is  proved  that,  in  the 
period  of  ten  years — from  1817  to  1826 — 
the  average  yearly  amount  was  32  millions. 
In  looking  over  the  statistics,  we  find  some 
thirty  items,  of  the  value  of  one  to  several 
millions.     Unfortunately,  also,  the  Russian 
and  foreign  manufactures  are  only  in  a  few 
cases  distinguished  from  one  another.     In 
a  very  minute  consular  report  of  the  fairs, 
published  a  few  years  ago  in  the  Prussian 
Handelsarchiv,  it  is  said,  that   the  supply 
and  sale  of   Russian  goods  may  be  taken 
at   five   times   as   great   as  that   of  other 
countries — a  proportion  that  may  be  con- 
sidered as  about  correct  at  the  present  day.  ; 
Under    "Foreign,"    the    valuable    Asiatic' 
goods    are    understood.      West    European 
and  colonial  wares  form  a  very  small  por- 
tion.     Only  some  articles  appear  open  to 
the  eye  in  large  masses,  such  as  tea,  iron, 
fish,  raw  cotton   and  wool,    the  salt-depot 
on  the  Aka,    wood-work,    some  of   which, 
such   as   cart-wheels,    sledge-runners,   and 
all  sorts  of  household  utensils,  lie  on  the 
conveyances    in    which     they    have    been 
brought  to  the  fair.      If  we   wish    to   see 
more,  we  must  penetrate  into  the  interior 
of  the  shops  and  warehouses,  accompanied 
by   an   interpreter,    or    Artelschick.      The 
stone  warehouses   of  the  inner  town,  the 
Ambars,  are    the    property  of   the  Crown, 
which,  indeed,  has  furnished,  at  no  small 
cost,    all    the    arrangements    for    holding 
the  fairs:    these  include  the  network    of 
walled  subterranean  canals  which  intersect 
the  whole  inner  town.     The  access  to  the 
"catacombs"  (or  fair-vaults)  is   by  steps, 
surmounted   by  little   low  towers.      These 
catacombs  are  washed  out  every  night,  by 
means  of  a  steam-engine,  which  draws  up 
the   river-water   into    the   reservoir    of  a 
224 


tower,  where  it  is  stored  up  in  case  of  fire. 
This  washing  out  is  a  most  wholesome 
arrangement  for  the  sanitary  condition  of 
the  place,  where,  at  times,  100,00i)  to 
150,000  strangers  are  assembled.  There  is 
also  an  excellent  fire-brigade  now  organised. 
The  "  little  market"  of  the  fair  is  on  an 
open  space  before  the  town-hall.  Cha- 
racteristic are  the  numerous  stalls  with 
malachite  articles,  the  mead-sellers,  the 
Orenburg  lace-traders,  the  pedlars  with 
fruits,  shoes,  and  needles.  In  the  lower 
hall  of  the  bazaar  we  find  also  French 
jewelry,  and  Caucasian  baubles  of  fine  wood 
inlaid  with  silver.  The  stalls  of  the  inner 
fair,  the  shops,  warehouses,  and  lofts  of  the 
Ambars  are  let  on  hire  by  the  government, 
and  bring  in  300,000  roubles  annually. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  cost  of  repairs  must 
be  considered;  for  at  the  time  of  the  floods 
of  the  Aka  and  the  Volga,  the  whole 
market-place  is  inundated,  and  thus  the 
government  contemplates  disposing  of  their 
property  for  the  sum  of  three  and  a-half 
millions  of  roubles.  Altogether,  the  num- 
ber of  stalls  and  shops  amounts  to  5,000. 
The  wooden  edifices  are  mostly  erected 
specially  for  every  fair,  because  they  are  too 
much  damaged  by  the  water  in  winter  and 
in  spring. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  fair  lies 
in  the  outer  town.  In  the  imposing  mass 
of  goods  in  the  great  store-houses,  piled  up 
towards  the  Volga,  the  peculiarity  of  the 
fair  strikes  one  more  especially ;  the  goods 
are  actually  there,  and  can  be  viewed  in 
every  department.  On  the  Siberian  land- 
ing-place is  the  tea-store.  Tea  is  the 
daily  beverage  of  the  Russians,  and  is 
an  important  article  at  the  fair;  indeed, 
formerly,  the  tea-trade  determined  the 
course  of  the  market,  which  may  be  herein 
explained  by  the  greater  number  of  the 
sellers  being  buyers  also:  especially  the 
Siberians,  the  Bokharians,  Armenians,  and 
Persians. 

In  the  Persian  bazaar  we  find  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  rich  provinces  of  that 
country :  raisins  and  almonds,  pistachio- 
nuts  and  walnuts,  dates  and  currants,  and 
— which  is  especially  relished  by  the  Rus- 
sians— schabdalla  (dried  peaches).  Here 
the  Persian  trader,  dressed  in  his  long 
kaftan,  pointed  cap,  and  bright-coloured 
slippers,  constantly  chatteriug,  and  with 
animated  gestures,  carries  on  his  traffic. 
Besides  these  fruits,  he  has  quantities  of 
very   durable    woven    carpets    packed    iu 


ft 


i 


^>1 


A.D.  1856-'77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  tea-markeki. 


k'- 


matting,  shawls,  and  embroidery.  In  re- 
turn, and  to  a  much  more  considerable 
amount,  the  Persian  buys  especially  red 
cotton  goods,  linen,  cloth,  copper,  drugs, 
gold-thread  and  fringes,  and  sugar. 

On,  past  transport  establishments,  in- 
surance agencies,  agencies  of  every  kind, 
notaries'  offices — where  there  is  a  great  deal 
to  do,  particularly  with  protested  bills,  on 
pay-day — past  Russian,  German,  and  even 
Persian  inns,  through  a  hot  cloud  of  dust, 
or,  in  wet  weather,  through  a  bottomless 
sea  of  mud,  we  reach  an  open  space,  which 
stretches  past  a  long  row  of  low  wooden 
buildings,  and  the  comptoir  of  the  Steam 
Navigation  Company.  On  the  right  we  see 
a  little  town,  consisting  of  neat  wooden 
houses,  covered  inside  and  outside  with 
matting  of  lime-tree  bast  (Tinofka).  These 
lime-tree  bast  mats,  the  finer  as  well  as  the 
coarser  kinds,  form  an  important  article  at 
the  fairs  as  packing  material.  "Accom- 
panied by  a  Russian,  who  could  speak 
German,  we  entered  one  of  these  mat- 
covered  houses,  called  Balagem,  and  made 
the  acquaintance  of  the  owner,  an  Irkutsk 
tea-dealer,  named  Alexander  Gerasimowitsh 
Malich.  With  true  Russian  hospitality  he 
invited  us  into  his  prettily-decorated  room. 
A  glass  of  the  best  Kiachta  tea,  with  lemon- 
peel  in,  was  immediately  presented  to  us. 
Pan  Malich,  a  very  talkative,  lively  man, 
with  intelligent  face,  then  conducted  us  to 
the  tea-store,  and,  with  an  iron  gauge, 
something  like  our  cheese-tasters,  he  pro- 
duced, out  of  one  of  the  thousand  chests 
which  lay  in  the  open  air,  covered  with 
matting  and  guarded  by  Tartars,  a  sample 
of  tea.  The  tea  mostly  consumed  in 
Russia  is  black  tea.  For  the  true  tea- 
connoisseur,  it  suffices  for  him  to  rub  the 
sample  between  his  fingers  and  smell  it. 
He  can  then  at  once  determine  the  quality." 

Up  to  the  year  1856,  Chinese  tea  was 
transported  for  Russia  entirely  by  land 
from  China  to  Nischnei.  In  that  year  the 
importation  of  tea  was  permitted  at  a  lower 
rate  of  duty;  and  since  then.  Canton  tea — 
this  collective  name  comprehending  all  teas 
imported  by  sea — has  gained  the  upper- 
hand  more  and  more  over  that  coming  by 
land.  Still  the  Kiachta  tea  is  a  valuable 
and  important  article  at  the  fairs ;  and  the 
assertion  that  tea,  even  when  specially  dried 
and  treated,  loses  its  flavour  through  the 
sea-transport,  seems  not  without  founda- 
tion. Han-Khan,  on  the  Yants^-Kiang, , 
has  now  attained  great  importance  as  the  [ 

VOL.  n.  2  G 


Russian  depot  of  tea  coming  by  sea  via 
Shanghai,  and  as  a  tea-market  generally  in 
China.     We  obtained  some  interesting  in- 
formation   from  a  merchant    who  is  well 
acquainted  with  the  Kiachta  tea-trade,  and 
has   more  than   once   attended   the   Han- 
Khan  tea-market.     A  chest  of  Kiachta  tea 
contains  90  to  92  lbs.  (the  Russian  pound 
has  409  grammes.)  The  tea  is  packed  in  silk- 
paper  and  lead.     The  chest  is  covered  on 
the   outside   with   reed   matting.     At   the 
tea-market    of    Han-Kiang,    which    takes 
place  from  the  8th  to  the  12th  of  Mai,  the 
first  tea-harvest  coming  to  market  amounts 
to  about  400,000  packages;    these  arrive 
from  the   tea-districts   in   conveyances,  in 
which  they  remain  until  sold.      The  pro- 
prietors  lodge    in    the    tea-houses,   where 
the  jobbers  wait  upon  them.     These  dis- 
tribute  the    samples   obtained  among   the 
twenty    or    twenty-five    representants    of 
Shanghai  firms  attending  the  market,  the 
greater  part  Russians ;  the  smaller,  English. 
After  this,    the   conclusion  of  business  is 
quickly  accomplished  through  the  jobbers. 
These  keep  a  market  journal,  in  which  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  purchases,  the 
prices  given,   and   the  name  of  the  pur- 
chaser, are  entered.     The  tea  conveyed  by 
land  from  Han-Kiang  to  Russia  is  called 
Chankowiki,   to   distinguish    it    from   the 
Cantonski.     One  single  Russian  house  has 
as  good  as  the  monopoly  of  export.     The 
export  of  tea  from  Han-Kiang  and  Shanghai 
by  sea  for  Europe,  is  carried  on  by  steamers 
through    the  Suez  canal   to  England,  the 
Russian    ports,     particularly    Revel     and 
Odessa,  and  to  the  Netherlands.     Germany 
imports  only  a  few  cargoes  from  Futschew 
to  Hamburg. 

The  tea  destined  for  land-transport  is 
first  brought  by  sea  from  Shanghai  to 
Tien-Tsin  ;  also  partly  by  land.  From  here 
the  land-transport  proper  commences,  first 
to  Kalgan,  an  important  commercial  town 
near  the  Chinese  wall,  and  on  the  frontiers 
of  Mongolia.  Our  informant  gave  us  the 
import  of  Kiachta  tea  into  Russia  at  about 
45,000  chests,  which  nearly  agrees  with  the 
market  reports  of  the  Petersburg  Russian 
Exchange  Journal. 

The  tea-caravans,  as  the  Russian  traveller 
Przelwalski  relates,  form  a  characteristic 
aspect  of  Eastern  Mongolia.  A  camel  can 
carry  four  chests  =  216  kilogrammes,  of  tea 
through  the  desert.  Mongols  accompany 
this  transport  as  far  as  Maimatchin,  the 
Chinese  town  near  Kaschta :  here  the  tea- 

225 


^1.1 


M 


i    . 


f  || 


/ 


RUSSIAN  TEA-TRADE.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


chests  are  sewn  up  in  damp  skins  for 
further  transport.  A  particular  sort  of  tea 
coming  to  Rusi^ia  is  the  brick  tea.  The 
preparation  of  this  common  tea,  an  im- 
portant article  of  daily  consumption  in 
Mongolia,  Siberia,  and  particularly  for  the 
Steppe  populations  of  European  and  Asiatic 
Russia,  and  even  used  in  Central  Asia  as  a 
medium  of  exchange,  is  carried  on  by  the 
Russian  dealers  in  Han-Riang.  These 
bricks  are  of  different  sizes;  of  the  smaller 
kind,  some  sixty  fit  in  a  chest. 

The  value  of  all  the  sorts  of  tea  brought 
to  the  fair  of  1876,  is  given  by  the  official 
statement  at  eight  and  a-half  million  of 
roubles.  All  these  estimates  are  given  by 
the  proprietors  themselves  to  the  market 
committee  :  there  is  no  higher  control  exer- 
cised. The  commonest  sort  of  brick-tea, 
or,  in  Russian,  Kirpitschui,  is  composed  of 
the  refuse  of  the  tea-shrub,  and  is  drunk 
by  the  nomad  tribes,  boiled  with  mutton- 
fat  and  milk.  It  may  be  observed  that 
the  tea  business  was  very  bad  at  the  last 
market.  As  an  example  of  the  consump- 
tion of  tea  in  Russia,  we  may  say  that  the 
value  of  the  corn-export  about  covers  the 

import  of  tea. 

We  will  now  cast  a  glance  on  the  Pisli, 
the  sandy  island  lying  in  the  Aka,  near  the 
shore.     Several  bridges  lead  to  it,  and  also 
rails,  as  indeed  is  the  case  from  the  station 
through  the  chief  streets  of  the  fair.     Two 
important  articles  are  stored  on  the  Pisli — 
iron    and    dried   salt-fish.     In    extensive 
booths  also,  erected  fresh  for  every  fair,  we 
find  immense  quantities  of  the  various  pro- 
ductions of  the  Ural  mines  and  foundries ; 
among  others,  from  the  celebrated  Demidoff 
works  of  Nischnei  Tagilsk.     On  the  way 
to  Pisli  we  see  another  speciality  of  the 
market — the  church-bell  store.    Metal  bells, 
of  the  most  various  sizes,  hang  here  sus- 
pended from  large  beams.     Our  road  leads 
us   also   past    the   place   of    sale    for   the 
'    samovars,  the  Russian  tea- machines,  heated 
by  charcoal,  and  the  people's  kitchen,  under 
the  protection   of    the  empress.     If    the 
wages  of  the  fair-labourer  be  low  (about 
eighty  kopecks),  he  can,  on  the  other  hand, 
procure  the  necessaries  of  life  at  a  small 
expense.     At  the  people's  kitchen,  which  is 
very  clean  and  well  managed,  he  can,  for 
four  kopecks,  get  a  portion  of  tea  with  sugar ; 
and,  for  eight  kopecks,  as  much  as  he  can 
eat  of  Schtschi  (cabbage-soup),  bread,  and 
boiled  grits,  with  oil.     In  the  warehouses 
are  the  productions  of  the  foundries—iron 
226 


bars,  wire,  copper  bars,  horse-shoes,  nails, 
iron'  stoves,  cooking  vessels  of  iron,  and 
tinned  iron.  Altogether,  at  last  year's  fair, 
twenty-two  private  iron-foundries  sent  in 
hardware  to  the  amount  of  five  and  one- 
third  million  puds,  representing  a  value 
of  nearly  ten  million  roubles. 

The  productions  of  the  crown  foundries, 
compared  with  those  of  the  private  foun- 
dries, are,  in   value  and  weight,   scarcely 
worth  mentioning.     Perm  and  Ufa  are  the 
chief  places  where   the  Ural   iron  is   em- 
barked, on  tributary  streams,  for  the  Volga. 
Tartar  workmen  transport  the  bars  of  iron, 
on  each  wheelbarrow  about  7  pud  weight, 
from  the  boats  to  the  store;  and  for  this 
hard  work  they  get  five  roubles  per  1,000 
pud.     The  treasures  of  the  Ural  mines,  in 
coal,  iron,  copper,  &c.,  will  not  attain  their 
full  importance   until   the  railway  to  the 
Ural    is    finished.      The   expected   speedy 
completion  of  the  Perm-Yekatharinenburg 
railway  will   exercise  great  influence;   for 
in  Perm  the  Kama  steam-navigation  com- 
mences.   The  cost  of  water-transport  is  now 
only  one-fifth  of  that  by  land.     The  boats, 
which  lie  in  great  numbers  alongside  each 
other,  are  heavily  laden  with  fish,  which,  in 
a  country  like  Russia,  where  more  than  half 
the  days  of  the  year  are  fast-days,  inde- 
pendently of  its   low  price,  plays  a  great 
part  as  an  article  of  food. 

The  Volga,  and  its  tributary  streams, 
particularly  its  many-armed  Delta  and  the 
Caspian  Sea,  are  inexhaustibly  rich  in  fish. 
It  is  brought,  salted  or  dried,  to  the  fair ; 
and,  in  1876,  to  the  estimated  value  of  four 
and  a-half  million  of  roubles.  The  dried 
fish,  packed  in  matting,  is  laid  in  layers  on 
the  deck;  and  the  salted,  in  barrels,  is  stored 
in  the  hold.  The  most  important  kinds  are 
the  sudal,  sandart,  sassan,  carp,  lesehtsch, 
brachse,  and  the  sevringa ;  but,  above  all, 
the  king  of  the  Volga  fi^h,  the  asjote;  not 
forgetting  sturgeon,  which,  like  the  Volga 
herring,  is  brought  salted,  whilst  the  others 

are  dried. 

The  fish-boats  are  towed  by  steamers 
from  Astrachan,  up  the  Volga,  to  the  fair ; 
and  there  are  some  fishmongers  who  possess 
a  dozen  and  more  of  these  boats.  The 
caviare  of  the  sturgeon  is  a  great  delicacy 
in  Russia,  and  is  brought  to  the  market 
partly  pressed  and  partly  in  a  fluid  state : 
the  working  classes  content  themselves 
with  the  red  caviare  produced  from  the 
"whiting"  (Bjeliega). 

Other  important  articles  of  the  fair  are 


, 


the  furs  and  skins.     Russia  requires  more 
of  these  than  the  extensive  Russian  terri- 
tory, so   rich  in  fur  animals,  can  furnish, 
and    is   therefore   an    eager   purchaser   at 
foreign  fur-markets,  especially  at  Leipsic. 
It  would,  unfortunately,  demand  too  much 
space  were  we  to  expand  upon  this  subject 
as  it  deserves.     One  of  the  most  interesting 
articles,  on  account  of  its  manifold  prepara- 
tion and  application,  is  the  merluschki — 
the  skin  of  lambs,  one  or   two  days  old. 
The  finest  and  dearest,  the  karakuldschi  (in 
trade,  at  a  later  period,  called  Persian),  take 
their  name  from  the  little  river  Karakol,  in 
.  Bokhara,  on   whose   banks  these  valuable 
flocks  of  sheep  pasture.     The  Bokharians 
tan  these  little  skins  by  a  peculiar  process, 
sort  them  according  to  colour  and  age,  and 
bring  them,  picked  in  bales,  to  the  fair. 
"  We  went,  with  the  owner  of  a  large  fur 
business,  to  one  of  the  Bokbarian  dealers, 
who  keeps  this  branch  of  trade  chiefly  in 
his  own  hands.     The  old  gentleman,  with 
a   cunning   face,    dressed    in    a   dark-blue 
kaftan,  and  a  blue  velvet  embroidered  cap 
on  his  shaven  head,  received  us  very  kindly 
in  his  shop,  where  thousands  of  the  little 
skins  lay  stored  up,  and  conducted  us  to  a 
room  in  the  upper  storey,  where  servants 
presented  us  with  confectionery,  and  invited 
us  to  sit  in  the  divan.     Some  other  Bokba- 
rian merchants,  dressed  more  gaily  than  our 
host,  were  already  making  themselves  com- 
fortable here  in  Eastern  fashion." 

There  are  many  sorts  of  these  skins 
known,  from  the  karakuldschi,  which  are 
sold  by  tens,  and  cost  three  or  four  rou- 
bles a-piece,  down  to  the  common  kirgise- 
merluschken.  The  value  of  the  karakuld- 
schi, in  1876,  was  estimated  at  one  and 
a-half  million  roubles.  The  Leipsic  furriers 
make  caps  of  them  for  Hungary,  Russia, 
and  Persia ;  collars  for  Germany,  &c.  The 
Astrachan  merluschki,  which  is  dried  and 
prepared  in  Russian  fur  establishments  at 
Kasimoco  and  Kasan  for  the  fair,  is  of  less 
commercial  value,  although  it  has  under- 
gone a  thirty-fold  preparation.  The  Astra- 
chan skins  are  also  an  important  article  at 
Leipsic;  a  single  fur  business  there,  in  a 
middling  year,  working  up  250,000  lots. 
We  will  describe,  in  a  few  words,  how 
this  kind  of  fur  business  is  carried  on  at 
Nischnei.  The  seller  opens  any  one  of  the 
bales,  takes  a  sample  from  it,  and 
this  is  a  guarantee  for  the  quality  of  the 
whole  lot.  Together  with  the  naming  of 
the   price,   which  is  half  as  much  again 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [Russian  sugar-trade. 


Ma 


as  that  really  paid,  appears  the  calculating 
machine,  which  is  set  in  active  motion 
during  the  whole  transaction,  which,  when 
necessary,  is  carried  on  by  an  interpreter 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  friends  of 
the  seller,  with  remonstrances  and  loud 
expressions  of  honour,  &c.  At  last  they 
are  agreed.  The  purchaser  pays  the  seller 
a  deposit  of  from  two  to  100  roubles; 
the  seller  takes  this  money  in  his  hand,' 
and  swears  upon  it  that  the  bargain 
is  concluded.  Then  follows  the  reception 
of  the  whole  lot,  comparing  it  with  the 
sample-bale.  If  no  objection  is  made,  the 
business  is  ended,  and  the  payment  is  im- 
mediately made ;  whilst  otherwise,  and  for 
other  articles,  a  very  long  credit  is  given 
from  fair  to  fair. 

We  cannot,  unfortunately,  enter  further 
upon  other  turs,  such  as  "squirrel,  martin 
(whose  tails  are  used  for  the  finest  paint- 
brushes), sable,  wolf,  badger,  white  hare, 
&c. ;  but  will,  in  conclusion,  turn  to  a 
Russian  branch  of  industry — the  manufac- 
ture of  cotton,  and  the  Russian  beetroot 
sugar  trade. 

We  mention  first  the  red  cotton  stuff 
for  the  Russian  peasants'  shirts,  called 
Kumasch ;  stuff  for  covering  furniture ; 
women's  petticoats  or  mantles,  for  the 
Tartar  women,  who  appear  in  the  streets 
only  thickly  enveloped  and  veiled  in  their 
garments ;  the  most  various  kinds  of  stuff 
for  the  peasant,  the  Steppe  populations,  the 
Grerman  colonists  on  the  Volga,  &c.  There 
are  in  Russia  a  number  of  very  large  estab- 
lishments for  cotton-spinning  and  weaving ; 
among  them  Krahnholm,  near  Narwase| 
mostly  the  property  of  a  Bremen  merchant! 
The  value  of  the  manufactured  cotton 
goods  at  the  fair  of  1876,  was  reckoned  at 
23,000,000  roubles.  In  addition  to  the 
raw  cotton  coming  to  Russia  from  America 
and  East  India,  there  is  a  considerable 
quantity  from  Persia,  Bokhara,  and  Tur- 
kestan, which  comes  by  camels,  and  then 
by  water  to  the  fairs.  The  cost  of  trans- 
port on  a  camel  from  Khiwa,  or  Tashkend, 
to  Orenburg,  is  from  five  to  seven  roubles 
for  every  two  bales. 

Now  a  few  words  as  to  the  Russian  beet- 
root sugar.  The  old  town  of  Kiew  is  the 
great  market  for  this  extensive  industry. 
In  the  season  of  1876,  254  beetroot  sugar 
factories  were  in  motion,  chiefly  in  Kiew, 
Podolia,  and  the  south-western  governments. 
The  largest  of  the  sixteen  to  eighteen  re- 
fineries of   Kiew   can   produce   a   million 

227 


\i 


A\ 


•   I 


THE  COSSACKS.] 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the   COSSACKS. 


puds  of  moist  sugar.  It  is  a  company. 
The  Kiew  moist  sugar  is  of  a  very  good 
quality,  as  it  contains  99  per  cent,  saccha- 
rine. The  greatest  export  from  Russia,  m 
the  winter  of  1876,  was  sugar;  but  this  ex- 
port had  not  a  healthy  basis :  it  was  caused 
by  a  great  fall  in  price,  the  consequence  of 
over-production  and  speculation.  On  the 
whole,  the  export  from  Russia  is  latterly 
below  the  import,  in  spite  of  high  pro- 
tective duties. 

The  knowledge  of  Russian  commercial 
relations,  and  particularly  of  the  Nischnei 
fair-trade,  is  not  unimportant  for  the  Ger- 
man merchant,  Russia's  nearest  neighbour. 
It  is  true  that  high  duties  hinder  the  free 


intercourse  between  both  countries;  and  the 
late  decree,  demanding  the  duty  to  be  paid 
in  gold,  still  further  increases  this  artificial 
barrier.  But  we  must  remember  that  the 
present  protective  policy  was  not  always 
the  measure  for  regulating  Russian  inter- 
course with  foreign  countries:  the  duties, 
on  the  whole,  were  much  lower  fifty  years 
ago.  And  who  would  assert,  that  a  govern- 
ment which  carried  out  the  great  interior 
reform  of  the  abolition  of  serfdom,  may  not, 
at  a  future  time,  recognise,  in  the  diminution 
of  the  duties,a  powerful  lever  for  the  material 
well-being  of  the  Russian  people,  and  decide 
upon  an  action  more  in  consonance  with 
the  acknowledged  principles  of  commerce. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


THE  COSSACKS. 


The   history  of  no   other  country  in   the 
world  affords  a  second  instance  of  such  a 
corporation   as    that    of    the    Cossacks   in 
Poland  and  the  empire  of  the  czars.     The 
rapid  development  of  their  power,  resting 
on  the   broad   bases   of   personal  freedom, 
equality,  and    despotism   at   one   and   the 
same  time,  may,  perhaps,   have   been   fa- 
voured   by    the  natural   features   of   those 
extensive,  almost  unknown,  and  almost  un- 
peopled steppes  lying  between  the  Dnieper, 
the  Don,  and  the  Volga,  as  far  south  as  the 
Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Azoff.     That  the 
associations  and  fraternities  such  as  those 
out  of  what  we  may  call  Cossackdom  pro- 
ceeded, should  have  been  able  to  exercise 
such  power,  casts  a  strong  light  upon  the 
sad  condition   formerly  prevailing   in  the 
two  neighbouring  countries,  in  Great  Rus- 
sia and  party-torn  Poland.    Such  conditions 
explain  how  the  freebooting   Cossack  be- 
came a  power,  which,  for  a  century,  carried 
on  a  desperate   struggle   with   Poland— a 
power  before  which  the  Khan  of  Tartary, 
and  even  the  padishah  in  Tzargrad,  trembled 
when    the    enterprising    Cossacks   of    the 
Ukraine  and   the  Don   appeared   in  their 
large  flat  Tchaiks  (boats),  in  the  waters  of 
the  Black  Sea  and  Sea  of  Azoff,  plundering 
flourishing  towns  like  Trebizonde,  Sinope, 
and  others ;  ravaging  the  coasts,  and  return- 
228 


ing  to  their  homes  laden  with  booty,  to 
enjoy  a  short  repose  in  voluptuous  ease, 
like  the  hardy  pirates  of  the  North. 

It  has  been  attempted  to  surround  the 
Cossacks  with  a  romantic  nimbus,  and  to 
describe  them  as  an  heroic  chivalry,  com- 
bating against  Islam  on  the  one  hand ;  on 
the  o'ther,   as  protectors  of  the  Orthodox 
Church  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
Roman  Church.     Such  a  conception,  how- 
ever, is  erroneous.     Although    some  indi- 
vidual chivalrous  figures  may  now  and  then 
appear  in  the  chaos — and  we  acknowledge 
their  bravery,  valour,  and  contempt  of  life, 
as  characteristic  traits  and  brilliant  quali- 
ties of   the  Cossacks — they  were,  in  fact, 
nothing   more   than    wild    freebooters,    to 
whom  nothing  was  more  foreign  than  the 
principles  of  the  chivalric  knighthood  of  the 
mediaeval  ages,  except  in  their  combats,  free- 
booting  and  plundering  expeditions  against 
defenceless  towns.     The  thorough  savage- 
ness  and  inhumanity   of  these   barbarous 
times  was  reflected  in  a  much  higher  de- 
gree amongst  them  than  among  the  Tartars 
and  Turks.     In  the  heroic  traditions  and 
songs  of  what  some  people  call  the  romantic 
Cossack  period,  things  are  sung  which  never 
existed,  and  were  drawn  by  later  poets  from 
their  own  imaginations.     The  rude  Cossack 
nature  had  nothing  of  the  tender  love  for 


women  which  the  songs  express ;  the  fate  of 
women,  on  the  contrary,  even  among  the 
rich  Cossacks  who  lived  upon  their  estates 
in  the  steppes,  was  anything  but  enviable. 

That  the  Cossacks  could  have  so  long 
existed  as  a  powerful  and  independent  body, 
proves,  as  we  have  said,  the  impotency  of  the 
neighbouring  countries.  Thus  a  Cossack 
of  the  Don,  Stenno  Rasin,  in  the  latter  years 
of  the  7th  century,  conducted  ravaging  ex- 
peditions along  the  Lower  Volga ;  collected 
a  considenjble  force,  consisting  of  Cossacks 
from  the  Don  and  Jaik  (Ural);  besieged 
and  plundered  towns,  such  as  Simhirsk, 
Ssumara,  Ssaratow,  and  Astrachan ;  laid 
castles  and  cloisters  in  ashes;  and  even 
concluded  an  alliance  with  Persia;  whilst 
Pugatchew — likewise  a  fugitive  Cossack 
from  the  Don — raised  the  banner  of  insur- 
rection in  the  Ural,  against  the  government, 
for  the  freedom  of  the  peasants,  and  caused 
an  insurrection  in  which  the  whole  peasant 
class  and  the  sectarians  took  part,  and 
which  the  generals  of  the  great  Catharine 
opposed,  for  a  long  time,  in  vain.  All  this 
proves  upon  what  a  feeble  basis  the  famed 
brilliancy  of  Russia  at  that  time  rested,  in 
spite  of  many  an  easily-gained  success  over 
Poland  and  Turkey. 

But  the  splendour  of  Cossack  life  is  now 
extinguished.  It  had  arisen  like  one  of 
those  brilliant  meteors  on  the  horizon  of 
history,  to  vanish  again  and  leave  no  trace 
of  its  existence  behind.  The  story  of  the 
Ukraine  Cossacks  lives  onlv  in  the  remem- 
brance  of  the  inhabitants  of  Little  Russia; 
and  the  Cossack  settlements  on  the  Don, 
Ural,  Kuban,  and  on  the  Black  Sea,  are  at 
present  under  the  common  law  of  the 
country,  although  they  are  privileged 
military  settlements,  and  furnishing  an 
important  contingent  to  the  army. 

The  Cossacks  in  Little  Russia,  however, 
although  closely  connected  with  the  Cos- 
sacks of  the  Don,  are  distinguished  from 
them  by  some  peculiarities,  and  have  risen 
to  political  importance  as  a  corporation. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  12th  century 
South  Russia  was  already  separated  from 
North  and  East  Russia,  divided  into  differ- 
ent principalities,  and  governed  partly  by 
the  decisions  of  popular  assemblies,  partly 
l)y  princes,  whose  hereditary  succession 
was  by  no  means  secured.  The  invasion  of 
the  Mongols  depopulated  the  south ;  and 
that  part  of  the  country  which,  at  that 
time,  already  bore  the  name  of  "  Ukraine," 
was  completely  devastated.     In  1476,  the 


King  of  Poland,  Kasimir,  succeeded  in 
uniting  the  principality  with  Poland  ;  tho 
self-government  of  Ukraine  ceased,  and  the 
Polish  element  predominated. 

The  word  Cossack  is  of  Tartar  origin, 
and  in  the  Tartar  tongue  means  wanderer, 
"free  warrior."  The  Russians,  who  had 
repeatedly  to  suffer  from  the  invasions  of 
the  Tartars,  insensibly  adopted  the  manner 
of  warfare  of  their  enemies,  and  thus  the 
same  class  of  men  arose  among  the 
Russians  as  among  the  Tartars.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  Uth  century  the 
word  Cossack  had  a  general  signification, 
and  did  not  indicate  a  "  free  warrior " 
exclusively;  and  the  villagers  free  from 
tithes  in  the  north  of  Grreat  Russia,  as  well 
as  the  free  sailors  on  the  banks  of  the 
Lower  Volga,  likewise  received  the  name  of 
Cossacks :  indeed,  this  word,  at  the  present 
day,  still  signifies,  among  the  people,  a 
workman,  and  such  as  have  no  land  of  their 
own. 

Self-defence  against  the  Tartars  made  a 
Cossack  of  the  peasant.  The  free,  un- 
fettered life,  the  alluring  prospect  of  rich 
booty  brought  home  by  the  Cossack  from 
his  expeditions,  attracted  a  number  of 
volunteers  from  Great  Russia,  Lithuania, 
and  Poland,  to  the  Ukraine.  In  Great 
Russia  the  peasant  lived  under  the  in- 
expressible oppression  of  the  nobleman — 
still  worse  in  Poland,  where  the  indebted 
noble  let  his  lands  to  Jews,  and  even  gave 
up  the  Orthodox  Churches  on  his  estates  to 
them.  The  Jew  closed  the  churches,  and 
the  parish  was  forced  to  pay  him  for  every 
divine  service,  and  for  every  office  per- 
formed by  their  pastor.  All  those  who 
were  not  inclined  to  bear  such  oppression 
fled,  and  found  protection  and  good  recep- 
tion from  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don  and  the 
Ukraine,  who  thus  increased  greatly  in 
numbers  in  a  very  short  time ;  and  the 
tales  told  them  by  the  fugitives,  called 
forth  an  additional  hatred  of  the  Poles,  of 
the  Roman  church,  the  nobles,  and  the 
Jews.  At  the  time  of  Ivan  the  Terrible, 
the  Cossacks  had  spread  over  the  whole 
Ukraine,  the  present  government  of  Pol- 
tawa  and  Kiew,  and  nearly  as  far  as  the 
Black  Sea.  They  divided  themselves  into 
Cossacks  of  the  towns,  or  "  Ukrainers,"  and 
Cossacks  of  the  lowland,  or  "  Saparogers.*' 
The  Saparogers  lived  on  the  islands  of 
the  Dnieper,  below  the  rapids  ;  their  largest 
station,  the  "  Setscha,"  was  on  the  island 
Chartitzn,  on  which  Prince  Wischnewetzli 

229 


I 


£'•■ 


r  I 


THE  SAPAROQERS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


(1560)  established  a  fortified  camp  for 
their  protection.  At  a  later  period  the 
Saparogers  had  another  fortress  on  the 
island  Tomatowka,  which  was  their  chief 
station  after  the  Setscha.  The  situation  of 
these  islands  was  most  favourable  for  the 
Saparogers,  and  contributed  no  little  to 
attract  adventurers  who  had  nothing  to 
lose  but  their  lives.  The  great  commercial 
road  from  Turkey  to  Great  Russia  passed 
by  Ortschakow:  the  caravans  generally 
took  this  road ;  the  Saparogers  attacked 
and  plundered  them,  and  carried  their 
booty  in  safety  to  their  islands. 

Glancing  at  the  customs  of  the  first 
Saparogers,  and  their  severe  rules  of  life, 
these  remarkable  communities,  apart  from 
their  profession  of  arms,  assume  almost 
the  character  of  a  monastic  guild,  for  they 
were  forced  to  observe  all  their  religious 
rites  most  strictly.  But  at  the  same  time, 
the  circumstance  must  not  be  lost  sight  of, 
that  the  Saparoger  in  the  Setscha,  in 
his  "  Kur "  (dwelling),  and  the  Saparo- 
ger on  a  freebooting  expedition,  were  two 
different  men.  Simplicity  of  life,  abste- 
miousness, chastity,  perfect  good-fellowship 
among  themselves,  and  strict  obedience  to 
their  authorities,  were  the  moral  laws  of 
the  Saparogers. 

A  popular  assembly,  such  as  the  Wetscha 
in  ancient  times,  existed  among  the  Sa- 
parogers, under  the  name  of  "  Rada," 
where  an  "  Ataman,"  or  chief,  was  chosen 
for  every  place,  and  for  the  whole  com- 
munity a  superior  Ataman.  This  Ata- 
man, or  "  Kohschewor,"  had,  it  is  true, 
unlimited  power,  but  was  obliged,  at  the 
end  of  a  year,  to  give  an  account,  and, 
in  case  of  abuse  of  his  power,  might  be  pun- 
ished with  death.  Inhuman  and  cruel  in 
war,  the  Saparoger  punished  robbery, 
plunder,  and  theft  with  death  in  time  of 
peace.  Celibacy  was  not  a  binding  law  ; 
but  the  unmarried  only  were  allowed  to 
live  in  the  Setscha,  and  whoever  intro- 
duced a  woman  was  punished  with  death. 
Everyone  could  be  admitted  into  the 
Setscha  ;  there  was  no  inquiry  made  about 
name,  descent,  or  the  past;  Catholics  and 
Jews  alone  were  excluded. 

The  time  came,  however,  when  the 
kings  of  Poland,  fearing  the  power  of  the 
Cossacks,  on  the  occasion  of  their  expression 
of  sympathy  for  Great  Russia,  attacked  the 
rights  of  the  Saparogers,  gave  lands  in 
the  Ukraine  to  Polish  noblemen,  and 
finally  contemplated  their  union  with  the 
230 


rest  of  the  kingdom.  The  whole  of  the 
Ukraine,  the  Saparogers  at  the  head, 
rose  against  such  violence,  and  a  bloody 
war  ensued,  which,  with  some  interrup- 
tions and  changing  fortune,  lasted  many 
years.  No  war  of  the  17th  century  was 
carried  on  with  such  inhumanity  and 
cruelty  as  this  struggle  between  the 
Poles  and  Cossacks.  The  latter,  it  is  true, 
fought  for  their  independence  and  the 
Orthodox  faith,  but  at  the  same  time  turned 
this  struggle  into  a  war  of  revenge  and 
annihilation  against  the  Polish  nobility, 
the  Jews,  and  the  Latin  church.  The 
most  brilliant  period  for  the  Saparogers 
in  this  war,  was  when  Bogdon  Chemel- 
nitzki  stood  at  their  head  as  Ataman. 
It  was,  however,  but  for  a  short  time  ;  and 
even  this  gifted,  energetic,  and  politically 
clever  man  was  unable  to  contend  success- 
fully against  the  numbers  and  resources  of 
the  Poles.  After  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion  in  the  Ural  by  Pugatchew,  an 
end  was  also  put  to  the  Saparoger- 
Setscha,  and  Catharine  dissolved  the 
confederations  of  the  Ukraine  Cossacks  and 
the  Saparogers  as  separate  communi- 
ties. The  last  Hetman  of  Little  Russia 
was  Raswonowski,  a  favourite  of  the 
empress.  A  portion  of  the  Saparogers 
resisted  the  order  of  the  government  to 
lay  down  arms,  and  fled  to  Turkey,  where 
they  were  gladly  received  by  the  sultan ; 
they  settled  in  the  Dobrudscha,  where 
their  descendants  still  live.  The  greater 
number  of  Cossacks,  however,  submitted, 
settled  in  the  neighbouring  provinces, 
and  took  to  peaceful  pursuits. 

When,  soon  after,  the  war  against  Turkey 
broke  out,  the  Saparogers  were  recalled 
to  take  up  arms,  with  the  promise  that 
their  former  rights  should  be  restored : 
they  obeyed  the  call,  and  formed  a  corps 
of  12,000  men  ;  and  as  a  reward  for  the 
services  rendered  by  them  to  Russia 
during  this  war,  the  government  granted 
them  fresh  privileges  and  considerable 
lands  on  the  Kuban.  About  20,000  estab- 
lished themselves  here  in  the  endless  steppes 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  down  to  its 
mouth  in  the  Black  Sea.  The  Cossacks  on 
the  Black  Sea  itself  were  originally  descend- 
ants of  the  Saparogers ;  but  their  number 
has  been  tenfold  increased  by  continual 
emigrations  from  the  Don  and  the 
Ural.  These  Cossacks,  generally  called 
Tchernomorzen,  were  destined  to  guard  the 
frontiers  towards  the  Caucasus ;  but  through 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [russia  in  central  asia. 


the  subjection  of  the  mountain  populations 
this  line  has  lost  its  significance. 

Nothing  more  dreary  can  be  imagined 
than  this  wide  treeless  plain  of  2,000  square 
miles,  covered  with  prickly  grass,  reed,  and 
flags  ;  but  the  isolation,  the  difficulties,  and 
dangers  of  outpost  duty,  have  not  been 
without  influence  on  the  character  of  the 
Tchernomorza  ;  he  is  gloomy,  unsocial,  and 
has  something  awkward  and  apathetic  in 
his  appearance.  The  "  Plasterni  "  stand  in 
high  repute  with  the  Tchernomorza.  These 
are  the  intrepid  Cossacks,  whose  task  it  is 
to  find  out  new  paths  through  the  marshes 
and  impenetrable  fields  of  reeds  by  the 
Kuban,  to  rove  about  the  frontiers  for 
whole  days  and  nights,  or  to  lie  in 
ambush.  Besides  this  frontier  service,  the 
Tchernomorza  are  obliged  to  serve  in  the 
army  in  special  Cossack  regiments. 

The  government  has  allotted  certain 
regions  to  the  Cossacks,  granted  them 
privileges  and  land,  in  return  for  which 
they  are  bound  to  serve  in  the  army.  Of 
any  independence,  special  laws,  or  self- 
administration,  there  is  no  question.     The 


present  Don  Cossacks,  who  had  an  organi- 
sation very  similar  to  that  of  the  Saparo- 
gers, and  were  formerly  the  same  free- 
booters, now  inhabit  the  extraordinarily 
fertile  region  of  the  Don  down  to  the  Sea  of 
Azof.  The  former  freebooters  are  now  a 
thrifty,  industrious  population  on  their 
own  lands,  but  in  their  military  organisa- 
tion still  remain  Cossacks. 

In  1570,  the  Don  Cossacks  acknowledged 
the  rule  of  Russia,  but  still  continued 
their  piratical  expeditions  to  the  Crimea. 
Under  Peter  the  Great  their  organisation 
was  completely  altered,  and  at  present  the 
Ataman  is  appointed  by  the  crown ;  the 
chief  Ataman  of  all  the  Cossacks  beinsr 
always  the  Russian  hereditary  grand-duke. 
Every  Cossack  has  thirty  hectares  of  land 
at  his  disposal ;  higher  officials  100  to  1,000 ; 
which,  since  1870,  have  become  their  here- 
ditary property.  The  number  of  Cossacks 
on  the  Don  is,  at  present,  about  700,000 ; 
and  the  contingents  of  troops  they  have  to 
furnish,  consist  of  special  regiments,  which 
are  allotted  to  dififerent  corps  of  the  army 
as  light  cavalry. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


RUSSIA  IN  CENTRAL  ASIA. 


According  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
history  of  Europe  in  the  middle  ages  is 
generally  written,  it  would  seem  as  if  the 
Western  nations  had  lived  isolated  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  self-sufficing,  and 
scarcely  sensible  of  the  shocks  of  the  great 
events  occurring:  in  Central  Asia.  It  is  not 
80,  however.  The  Crusades  were  not 
merely  a  passing  fit  of  religious  fervour, 
nor  were  all  relations  broken  off  between 
Europe  and  Central  Asia,  since  the  days  of 
St.  Louis.  Although  France,  Italy,  Spain, 
and  England  may,  from  that  time  forward, 
have  transferred  all  their  activity  to  the 
countries  just  then  discovered  beyond  the 
ocean,  the  Slav  States,  on  the  contrary, 
continued  in  uninterrupted  relations  with 
the  populations  of  the  East,  and,  above  all, 
Russia.  At  the  end  of  the  14th  century, 
already  we  find  a  Muscovite  State ;  but  its 
princes   were  vassals   of  the  Khan  of  the 


Kipchaks,  descendants  of  the  Djozdi,  one  of 
the  three  heirs  of  Gengis  Khan.  The  Kip- 
chaks composing  the  Golden  Horde  were 
the  least  civilised  of  the  Mongols.  They 
remained  more  faithful  than  their  brothers 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Oxus  to  the 
nomadic  habits  of  the  Touranian  race, 
preserving  the  rudeness  of  their  primitive 
character ;  and  although  nominally  con- 
verted to  Mohammedanism,  were  still 
addicted  to  gross  superstitions. 

Some  large  cities  on  the  confines  of  the 
territories  inhabited  by  these  wandering 
tribes — Kief,  Kazan,  Novgorod  especially, 
which  remained  in  commercial  connection 
with  the  southern  Hanseatic  towns — became 
the  refuge  of  rising  civilisation.  The  con- 
quest of  Constantinople  by  the  Ottomans 
brought  numerous  emigrants,  attracted 
also  by  the  community  of  religion.  To- 
wards 1550,  the  Russian  czar  was  already 

2:1 


I 


THE  STEPPES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1856-77. 


an  independent  sovereign,  possessing  Astra- 
chan.  He  had  a  large  corps  of  Cossacks  in 
his  army,  of  Mongolian  origin,  whom  he 
first  employed  against  his  neighbours,  and 
then  sent  them  forth  to  the  conquest  of 
Siberia.  This  is  the  moment  when  Russia, 
an  Asiatic  power,  became  a  European 
power.  In  the  remote  provinces  of  the 
Volga  and  the  Ural,  that  Europe  thinks 
so  little  about,  the  Slav  population  de- 
cidedly predominates  over  the  Turks  and 
Mongols.  What  a  change  since  the  time 
when  the  generals  of  Timour  (two  centuries 
before)  entered  Moscow  as  victors,  and 
reduced  it  to  ashes  I 

These  events  in  the  middle  ages  formed 
the  prelude  to  the  modern  conquests  of 
Russia  on  the  banks  of  the  Oxus  and  the 
Yaxartes,  and  distinguish  the  Russians 
from  the  other  Europeans  who  have  gained 
a  footing  on  the  continent  of  Asia.  The 
English,  French,  and  Portuguese  colonies 
in  India  have  originated  in  some  adven- 
turous commercial  enterprise;  Hong-Kong 
and  Saigon  are  modern  creations  for  ex- 
pressly political  and  commercial  interests ; 
whilst  the  entrance  of  the  czar's  troops  into 
Samarcand  is  the  most  recent  act  in  the 
struggle  of  races  pursuing  each  other  for 
centuries  without  interruption. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  obstacles  en- 
countered by  the  Russians  in  their  pro- 
gressive march  to  the  countries  of  the 
East,  it  is  necessary  to  call  to  mind  the 
nature  of  the  soil  and  the  climate.  From 
the  Caspian  to  the  Pacific,  between  the 
35th  and  50th  degrees  of  latitude,  there 
extend  vast  deserts,  the  monotony  of  which 
is  interrupted  at  intervals  only  by  some 
water-courses  and  several  chains  of  moun- 
tains. For  the  traveller  coming  from 
Russia,  the  steppe  commences  almost  at  the 
gates  of  Orenburg ;  but  as  far  as  the  river 
Emba  there  is  nothing  formidable  about  it. 
One  still  meets  with  rivers  and  lakes,  the 
waters  of  which  are  sweet ;  on  the  banks 
there  are  meadows,  and  here  and  there 
trees.  But  on  approaching  the  south  the 
soil  becomes  more  sterile,  the  water  of  the 
brooks  and  the  wells  is  brackish,  and  here 
and  there  a  thick  layer  of  salt  reveals  the 
sites  of  dried-up  lakes.  Vegetation  dis- 
appears ;  the  sand-hills  change  their  slopes 
according  to  the  wind.  Nothing  can  sur- 
pass the  desolation  of  these  immense  bare 
and  arid  plains,  called  the  Oust-Oust, 
between  the  Caspian  and  the  Aral — the 
Kizii-Koum  (red  sands),  between  the  Oxus 
232 


and  the  Yaxartes — the  Kara-Koum  (black 
sands),  to  the  north  of  the  latter  river. 
The  steppe  preserves  the  same  aspect  be- 
tween the  Kharizm,  the  Caspian,  and  the 
frontiers  of  Persia.  There  is  neither  food, 
nor  forage,  nor  fuel  to  be  found.  The  tem- 
perature is  icy  in  winter,  burning  in 
summer.  During  the  cold  season  the  wind 
raises  the  snow  in  columns,  and  buries 
everything  beneath  it.  It  is  reported  that, 
in  1827,  the  Kirghiz  of  the  Middle  Horde 
lost  more  than  1,000,000  of  sheep  in  a 
whirlwind. 

The  steppe,  however,  is  inhabited  in  spite 
of  the  inclemency  of  its  climate  and  the 
barrenness  of  its  soil.  To  the  south  of 
Khiva  there  are  the  Turcomans;  to  the 
north,  the  Kirghiz;  more  to  the  east,  in 
the  heart  of  the  desert  of  Gobi,  live  the 
Mongol  tribes;  at  the  extremity  of  the 
continent,  in  the  little-known  regions 
separating  the  river  Amour  from  the  wall 
of  China,  are  the  Mandchous.  All  these 
people,  Turcomans,  Kirghiz,  Mongols, 
Mandchous,  are  different  varieties  of  the 
Tartar  race.  They  are  all  nomads;  the 
country  admits  of  no  other  mode  of  living. 
Yet,  at  the  period  of  their  splendour,  the 
Mongols  had,  it  is  said,  a  capital  of  the 
name  of  Karaporum.  Here  was  the  throne 
of  Generis  Khan  and  his  sons.  Modern 
travellers  have  been  unable  to  discover  its 
ruins,  so  slight  had  been  its  construction. 
It  is  astonishing  that,  from  these  inhospit- 
able regions,  there  should  have  proceeded 
those  successive  invasions  which,  although 
ephemeral,  have  shaken  Asia — more  than 
once  brought  bloodshed  on  Europe.  We 
must,  however,  observe  that  these  invading 
hordes  always  yielded  to  the  ascendancy  of 
the  people  they  had  conquered,  without 
ever  bringing  back  their  civilisation  to  the 
country  from  which  they  issued.  Khiva, 
Bokhara,  Kashgar,  Pekin,  have  not  ceased 
being  wonders  of  civilisation  in  comparison 
to  the  barren  plains  whence  their  conquerors 
came  from. 

Under  Peter  the  Great  the  Russians  were 
masters  of  Siberia,  which  was  of  no  great 
advantage  to  them ;  they  extended  to  the 
Caspian  and  to  the  foot  of  the  Cau- 
casus; some  Kirghiz  tribes  around  Oren- 
burg acknowledged  their  supremacy  ; — in 
fact,  they  were  already  in  a  position  to 
exercise  a  certain  influence  in  Central  Asia. 
At  this  period,  Khiva  was  in  continual 
warfare  with  Bokhara.  At  about  1700 
A.D.,  the  people  of  Khiva  sent  an  embassy 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


to  St.  Petersburg,  to  offer  the  homage  of 
the  Khan  Mohamed  to  the  Russian  czar — 
so  say  the  Russian  historians — and  to  claim 
the  help  of  European  troops  against  their 
enemies  of  Bokhara  ;  or,  perhaps,  simply — 
as  their  own  historians  relate — to  conclude 
a  commercial  treaty.  Peter  the  Great  per- 
ceived that  the  possession  of  Khiva  would 
give  him  the  preponderance  over  many 
other  States :  he  even  tliought,  it  appears,  of 
opening  a  road  for  his  subjects  to  the  rich 
lands  of  Hindostan  ;  and,  accordingly,  re- 
solved to  send  a  military  expedition  to  the 
valley  of  the  Oxus.  The  avowed  pro- 
gramme of  this  enterprise  was  to  conciliate 
the  sovereigns  of  Khiva  and  Bokhara;  to 
search  for  the  auriforous  sands  which  were 
supposed  to  be  in  the  Amou-Daria ;  to  find 
the  ancient  bed  through  which  this  river 
flowed  into  the  Caspian,  and  to  explore  the 
road  to  India.  All  this  was  pacific ! — then 
wherefore  give  his  ambassador  an  entire 
army  as  escort?  Peter  the  Great  had 
reason  to  believe  that  the  khans  and  begs 
had  some  disputes  with  their  own  subjects, 
and  wanted  to  make  them  the  generous 
offer  of  installing  a  Russian  garrison  in 
their  capital. 

The  chief  of  this  expedition  was  Prince 
Bekovitch    Cherkaski,   of  Kirghiz   origin, 
and  one  of  the  most  important  personages 
of  these  nomad  tribes.     The  governments 
of  Kazan  and  Astrachan  furnished  him  with 
4,000  infantry  and  2,000  Cossack  cavalry. 
The   first   campaign   was   devoted    to    the 
construction  of  a  fort  at  Krasnovodsk,  on  a 
promontory  of   the    eastern   coast   of   the 
Caspian,  which  the  Russians  occupy  to  this 
d.iy.     The  next  year,  in  the  month  of  June, 
1717,  he  marched  across  the  desert  of  Oust- 
Oust,  beat  the  Khivan  troops  at  Karagach, 
and  finally  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
the  khan,  who  then  offered  him  hospitality 
in    his    palace    at    Khiva.      But,   as   the 
country   afforded    few    resources,   he    was 
made  to  believe  that  it  was  indispensable 
he  should  divide  his  troops  into  small  de- 
tachments.    No  sooner  were  the  Russian 
soldiers  dispersed  than  the  enemy  attacked 
them  singly  and  destroyed  them.     Beko- 
vitch was  one  of  the  first  victims  ;  it  is  said 
he  was  flayed  alive,  and  that  a  drum  was 
made  of  his  skin.     This  act   of  cruelty  is, 
however,  by  no  means  proved ;  but  if  it  is 
true  that  Bekovitch  was  of  Mongol  race,  it 
may  be  conceived  that  his  compatriots  were 
greatly   irritated   against   him.     The    dis- 
aster of  1717  had  grave  consequences  for 
VOL.  II.  2  H 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [repulse  of  the  Russians. 


the  Russians.  The  Turcomans  between 
the  Caspian  and  the  Oxus  had  prudently 
refrained  from  declaring  for  either  of  the 
belligerents;  but  on  learning  the  defeat  of 
the  invaders,  they  attacked  the  forts  built 
by  the  Russians.  The  garrisons,  isolated 
and  without  provisions,  resolved  to  retire 
on  Astrachan  ;  but  navigation  was  danger- 
ous on  this  sea,  the  coast  being  but  Uttle 
known,  and  a  few  individuals  escaped.  On 
the  whole,  the  issue  of  this  unfortunate 
enterprise  was  such  that  the  czar  abstained 
from  renewing  it. 

It  is  a  singular  circumstance,  that  these 
nomad  Mongols,  after  having  conquered 
Asia  under  Gengis  Khan,  and  maintained 
their  position  under  his  successors,  should 
end  by  allowing  themselves  to  be  effaced 
from  history,  and  accepting  the  supremacy 
of  the  peoples  whom  they  had  formerly 
subjugated.  The  Kirghiz  of  the  Little 
Horde,  the  nearest  to  the  Ural,  who  were 
gradually  emerging  from  barbarism 
through  contact  with  a  civilised  nation, 
posses.sed  great  influence  in  the  steppe. 
Five-and-twenty  years  after  Bekovitch's 
unfortunate  expedition.  Nadir  Shah,  the 
sovereign  of  Persia,  took  possession  of 
Khiva,  and  dethroned  the  reigning  family. 
Being  desirous  of  conciliating  the  Russians, 
he  willingly  consented  to  leave  the  power 
in  the  hands  of  Nour-ali,  Sultan  of  the 
Little  Horde,  who  acknowledged  himself 
subject  of  the  czar.  This  is  an  important 
fact,  for  on  this  ground  the  Russians  pre- 
tend that  Khiva  belongs  to  them  from  its 
having  been  for  a  century  the  appanage  of 
one  of  their  vassals.  But  the  truth  is  that, 
posterior  to  Nour-ali,  the  Khivans  had  a 
khan  of  another  family  who  submitted  to 
the  Kirghiz,  or,  at  all  events,  disputed 
with  the  Russians  for  the  rule  over  the 
tribes  nearest  their  territory. 

Repulsed  from  the  borders  of  the  Caspian 
by  the  Turcomans,  and  from  the  basin  of 
the  Aral  by  the  rebel  Kirghiz,  the  Russians 
made  no  considerable  progress  up  to  our 
day.  Siberia,  used  as  a  penal  colony,  in 
spite  of  the  10,000  exiles  sent  annually 
beyond  the  Ural,  remained  uncultivated, 
without  commerce  or  industry.  The  gov- 
ernment seemed  unable  to  find  clever  and 
upright  administrators  for  this  immense 
territory.  In  that  more  fertile  region, 
which  might  have  attracted  emigrants, 
they  could  obtain  no  protection  from  the 
nomads,  and  retired  or  led  a  life  of  rapine. 
The  province  of  Orenburg — at   the  com- 

233 


I'i' 


I 


•1 


i; 

i 


(' 

»• 

I.  i 


''M 


.  r 


(I 


NEGOTIATIONS  WITH   KHIVA.]       HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1856-77. 


mencement  of  tbe  19th  century  the  pro- 
vince nearest  the  interior  of  Asia — contained 
a  population  of  the  most  various  elements, 
presenting  an  image  of  complete  disorder. 
Here  were  Baskirs,  Kalmouks,  Cossacks, 
Kirghiz,  every  variety  of  the  Turco-Mon- 
golian  race — some  Christians,  the  greatest 
part  Mohammedans,  some  simply  idolaters. 
Revolts  broke  out  from  time  to  time  among 
these  nomads,  support-cd  by  the  Khans  of 
Khiva  and  Bokhara.  The  governor-gene- 
ral of  Orenburg  then  sent  flying  columns, 
which  had  great  difficulty  in  reaching  the 
insurgents,  and  suffered  more  from  the 
climate  than  from  the  fire  of  the  enemy. 

The  steppe,  with  its   intractable   tribes, 
and,  beyond  the  steppe,  the  fanatic  inhab- 
itants of   Kharizm,    following,    like    their 
brothers    of    Bokhara,    the    most    savage 
Mussulman    doctrines,    were    sufficient    to 
arrest  the  Russians  for  a  long  time.     Al- 
though there  was   always  a  lively  caravan 
commerce,  yet  Khiva  refused  to  enter  into 
diplomatic  relations  with  Europeans.     In 
1793,  the  czar,  at  the  request  of  the  khan, 
sent   him   a   physician — Dr.  Blankenagel ; 
but  the  Khivans  refused  to  allow  him  to 
depart,  and,  after  having  exhausted  every 
pretext,  they  formed  a  conspiracy  to  assas- 
sinate him  on  the  road,  to  prevent  his  re- 
vealing anything  he  had  seen.     The  doctor 
contrived    to    escape    to    the   Turcomans, 
whence  he  was  able  to  reach  Astrachan.     In 
1819,  Captain  Mouravieff,  after  having  ex- 
plored the  eastern  coast  of  the  Caspian,  and 
meeting  with  a  good  reception  among  the 
Zamouds,  ventured  to  go  to  Khiva,  under 
an  escort  of  these   Turcomans.     Here  he 
was  detained  prisoner  for  six  weeks,  during 
which  time  the  Khivans  indulged  in   all 
kinds  of  rapine.     Their  capital  was  an  open 
market,  to  which  the  nomads  brought  the 
Russian  fishermen  they  had  carried  off  from 
the  Caspian  to  sell  them  as  slaves,  as  well 
as  the  Kirghiz,  subject  to  Russia,  whom  they 
made  prisoners.     The  caravans  coming  from 
Bokhara   were   vexatiously  taxed,  and,  in 
case  of  resistance,  plundered.     The  authori- 
ties on  the  frontiers  kept  open  credit  for 
tbe  repurchase  of  captives;  the  sums  ob- 
tained in  this  manner  exceeded,  in  a  single 
year,  20,000  roubles. 

About  the  end  of  the  year  1836,  the 
Russian  government,  seeing  that  the  tribes 
escaped  them — thanks  to  their  agility — and 
fearing  to  make  an  unsuccessful  expedition 
against  the  Khan  of  Khiva  (the  real  insti- 
gator of  all  the  troubles),  resolved  to  mani- 
234 


fest  their  displeasure  by  a  purely  defensive 
measure.      They    seized    all    the    Khivau 
traders  returning  from  the  fair  of  Nijni- 
Novgorod,  by  way  of  Orenburg  or  Astrachan, 
and    then   informed    the   khan    that   they 
would    be   detained   as   hostages  until   he 
should  release  the  Russian  subjects  kept  in 
slavery.     The  immediate   consequences  of 
this  rigorous  act  showed  that  Khiva  was,  in 
some  degree,  commercially  dependent  upon 
its  north-western  neighbours.    The  price  of 
European  goods  rose  in  an    extraordinary 
degree,  whilst  the  value  of  their  native  pro- 
ductions was  lowered  by  one-half.     Never- 
theless, the  Khan  Allah-Kouli   was  in  no 
haste  to   satisfy   the   demands   of  Russia, 
always  hoping  he  should  be  able  to  extricate 
himself  by  cunning.     He  permitted  some 
of  his   subjects   noisily  to   protest  to  the 
governor-general  of  Orenburg  that  the  two 
States  should  in  future  live  in  peace ;  but 
these  deputies  had  no  mandate,  and  could 
not  pledge  their  master's  word.    Perceiving, 
however,  that  this  did  not  succeed,  he  sent 
back  twenty-five  prisoners,  with  some  pre- 
sents :    these   were   old   men,  incapable  of 
labour ;  and  the  whole  thing  was  a  farce ;  for 
the  same  year  the  pirates  of  the  Caspian 
carried  off  hundreds  of  Russian  fishermen. 
In  the  meanwhile,  the  invasion  of  Afghanis- 
tan, by  the  English,  took  place.     The  con- 
viction was  at  once  formed,  in  St.  Peters- 
burg,  that   the    British    army  was   imme- 
diately going  to  conquer  all  the  States  of 
Central  Asia,  and  that  not  a  day  was  to  be 
lost  if  they  were  to  have  any  share  in  the 
spoil.      Perofski,    the   governor-general    of 
Orenburg,  was,  no  doubt,  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity of  distinguishing  himself  by  a  bril- 
liant campaign  in  the  valley  of  the  Oxus. 
Some  deserters,  pretending  to  be  well  in- 
formed, assured  him  that  the  khan,  ruined 
by  the  decrease  of  revenues  arising  from 
the  suppression  of  foreign  commerce,  had 
imposed  oppressive  taxes  on  the  Turcomans 
and  the  Kirghiz ;  that  these  threatened  to 
pillage  the  town ;  that  the  inhabitants  had 
no  wish  to  defend  it,  and  that  the  golden 
keys  destined  for  the  victorious  Russian 
general  had  been  already  manufactured. 

Perofski  had  experience  enough  of  the 
affairs  of  Central  Asia  to  be  aware,  that  in 
a  war  of  this  kind,  the  real  enemy  was  the 
desert  to  be  crossed,  and  not  the  army  of 
the  khan.  He  considered  that  it  would 
suffice  for  him  to  arrive  under  the  walls  of 
Khiva  with  3,000  infantry  and  twelve  can- 
nons, but  that  he  would  require  far  more  con- 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [failure  of  the  attack. 


''  '*•] 


siderable  forces  to  secure  his  line  of  march, 
and  especially  a  number  of  sumpter 
animals  for  the  provisioning  of  his  troops. 
The  expedition  having  been  decided  on,  it 
was  settled  that  it  should  consist  of  4,400 
men,  2,000  horses,  and  twenty-two  pieces  of 
cannon,  with  a  train  of  10,000  or  12,000 
camels;  for  in  the  steppe  the  camel  is  far 
preferable  to  the  horse,  because  it  can 
endure  thirst,  lives  upon  almost  nothing, 
and  can  bear  a  heavier  load.  At  this 
period  the  route  to  be  followed  was  self- 
evident  ;  Orenburg  was  the  only  base  of 
operations  where  men  and  provisions  could 
be  gathered :  it  was,  it  is  true,  1,300  kilo- 
metres from  Khiva,  entailing  at  least  fifty 
stations,  a  good  third  of  them  in  the  desert 
of  Oust-Oust;  but  it  was  intended  to 
establish  a  depot  for  provisions  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  river  Emba,  about 
half-way,  and  to  supply  it  through  Astrachan 
and  Gonrieff,  or  the  little  Russian  post  of 
Mangichlak,  on  the  shores  of  the  Caspian. 
The  plan  of  the  expedition  had  indeed  been 
well  studied  in  all  its  details,  and  the 
deposition  of  Allah-Kouli  was  already  settled 
on  in  favour  of  one  of  the  Kirghiz  sultans 
faithful  to  Russia.  This  resolution  had 
been  the  more  readily  adopted,  as  it  was 
wished  to  avoid  giving  umbrage  to  Great 
Britain,  and  was  a  solution  exactly  similar 
to  that  projected  by  the  English  in  Afgha- 
nistan, where  they  intended  substituting 
Shah-Soujah  for  the  reigning  emir,  Dost 
Mohamed. 

General  Perofski  left  Orenburg  on  the 
14th  of  November,  1829.  Althouirh  the 
weather  was  still  mild,  the  season  was 
certainly  ill-chosen,  for  the  corps  would 
have  to  cross  the  steppes  during  the  snows 
and  severe  cold :  in  fact,  on  the  last  days  of 
November  the  thermometer  was  below  zero. 
The  country  was  quite  devoid  of  fuel ;  the 
little  wood  the  soldiers  dragged  with  them 
was  reserved  for  cooking,  and  therefore 
there  were  no  bivouac  fires  even  on  the  cold 
nights,  with  twenty  or  even  thirty  degrees 
of  cold.  The  men  became  exhausted  from 
walking  on  the  snow ;  the  camels  fell  from 
fatigue.  On  approaching  the  Emba,  the 
commander-in-chief  learned  that  the  pro- 
visions sent  from  Astrachan  had  not  yet 
arrived ;  the  ships  laden  with  them  had 
been  surrounded  by  the  ice  :  some  of  them 
were  attacked  by  the  Kirghiz  and  burned, 
together  with  their  cargoes,  and  others  had 
discharged  theirs  at  Fort  Alexandrofsk. 
By  the  end   of  December,  Perofski  found 


himself  with  but  half  his  stores,  ex- 
hausted men,  and  an  insufficient  train. 
He  hoped  that  beyond  the  Emba  the  snow 
would  be  less  thick,  and  the  cold  somewhat 
less  severe ;  for  it  was  there  that  the  nomads 
^  took  refuge  when  the  winter  was  too  severe 
I  for  them  to  remain  in  their  usual  encamp- 
I  ments.  These  hopes  were,  however,  not 
realised.  The  cold  did  not  diminish,  and 
the  conductors  of  the  train  revolted: 
hitherto  they  had  borne  the  fatigues  and 
sufferings  of  the  march  with  patience,  but 
they  declared  they  would  go  no  further, 
and  that  the  season  was  not  fit  for  travel- 
ling. Perofski  had  some  of  the  most 
rebellious  shot,  which  quieted  the  others, 
and  he  succeeded  in  continuing  his  march  as 
far  as  Ak-Boulak,  160  verstes  from  the 
river  Emba.  After  a  journey  of  two 
months  and  a-half  they  were  scarcely  half- 
way to  Khiva.  Of  10,400  camels  which  he 
had  at  his  departure,  there  remained  hardly 
more  than  5,000 ;  the  rest  had  perished  from 
fatigue,  cold,  and  privation.  Abstemious 
as  this  poor  animal  is,  yet  he  requires 
something  to  eat.  The  question  then  arose 
as  to  whether  they  should  continue  the  ex- 
pedition. The  train  could  not  convey  more 
than  a  month's  provisions,  and  this  time 
would  not  suffice  to  reach  the  valley  of  the 
Oxus,  where  they  would,  besides,  be  in  a 
hostile  country.  The  general  was  forced  to 
retreat,  and  entered  Orenburg  only. on  the  • 
8th  of  June,  having  lost  a  fourth  part  of  his 
men  in  the  unfortunate  campaign. 

In  spite  of  the  failure  of  this  expedition, 
the  Khan  of  Khiva  perceived  that  it  was 
imprudent  to  brave  an  adversary  such  as 
the  czar,  and  was  wise  enough  to  restore  the 
Russian  slaves,  and  forbid  his  subjects  every 
act  of  hostility  against  Russia.  Perofski 
now  sent  an  ambassador  to  him.  Captain 
Nikiphorof,  with  a  mission  to  conclude  a 
treaty,  which,  however,  failed.  "  Tbe  khan 
and  his  ministers,"  wrote  Nikiphorof,  "  have 
no  idea  of  what  a  political  treaty  is."  The 
next  year,  in  1842,  another  ambassador, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Danilefski,  was  more 
successful.  The  Khan  Allah-Kouli  had 
just  died ;  his  successor,  Rahim-Kouli, 
more  conciliating,  at  last  concluded  a 
treaty  of  peace  and  alliance,  by  which  the 
khan  engaged  that  Russian  subjects  should 
no  longer  be  molested.  It  is  remarkable 
that,  in  this  document,  no  frontiers  are  fixed 
between  the  two  countries.  It  was,  per- 
haps, advisable  not  to  be  too  exacting  with 
I  a  potentate  so  ignorant  of  the  usages  of 

235 


•« 


4  4 


MISSION  TO  BOKHARA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


civilised  nations.  The  most  valuable  re- 
sult of  these  negotiations  was  the  informa- 
tion respecting  the  States  of  Central  Asia, 
and  the  roads  leading  to  them.  The  suc- 
cessors of  Rahim-Kouli,  however,  felt  them- 
selves by  no  means  bound  by  the  treaty  to 
which  he  had  fixed  his  seal,  and  the  tribes 
continued  their  depredations.  Seventeen 
years  later,  when  Colonel  Ignatietf  went  to 
Khiva  to  demand  the  execution  of  the 
treaty  of  Danilefski,  they  calmly  replied 
that  they  had  lost  the  document,  that  there 
were  no  traces  of  it  in  the  archives.  Durins: 
this  time  both  Russians  and  Khivans  endea- 
voured to  secure  to  themselves  the  rule  over 
the  nomads,  who,  on  their  part,  would 
acknowledge  no  ruler.  The  little  influence 
gained  at  that  time  by  the  Europeans  in 
these  regions,  is  attributed  to  the  tyranny 
and  corruption  of  the  Russian  officers,  and 
also  to  the  vexatious  mode  of  administration, 
which  pretended  to  organise  these  tribes,  to 
create  a  hierarchy  of  native  chiefs,  and  to 
double  the  capitation — all  innovations  re- 
pugnant to  the  Kirghiz.  The  region 
between  Orenburg,  Khiva,  and  the  Caspian 
was,  in  truth,  rather  neglected.  Having 
nothing  to  gain  by  a  direct  attack  on 
Kharizm,  the  Russians  made  a  circuit  by 
way  of  Samarcand  and  Bokhara,  having 
become  convinced  that  they  had  taken  the 
wrong  road  in  trying  to  penetrate  into 
Central  Asia  by  the  valley  of  the  Oxus. 
Whatever  Peter  the  Great  may  have  said 
about  it,  they  at  least  discovered  that 
Khiva  is  no  thoroughfare — it  leads  to  no- 
thing, and  is  not  easy  to  get  at.  On  the 
other  hand,  their  progress  was  made  more 
rapid  as  soon  as  they  entered  the  more 
fertile  valleys  of  the  Yaxartes  and  the  Hi, 
which  were,  perhaps,  also  not  so  well 
defended. 

It  has  been  seen  what  was  the  power  of 
the  emir,  and  the  wealth  of  the  town  of 
Bokhara,  in  past  centuries.  The  annual 
commerce  of  this  capital,  the  chief  entrepot 
of  Central  Asia  and  the  Russian  territory, 
amounted  to  eight  millions  of  francs.  The 
caravans,  besides  being  often  black-mailed 
by  the  nomads,  were  subjected  to  heav}^  cus- 
tom dues,  the  emir  having  no  other  means 
of  enriching  himself  but  at  the  expense  of 
the  Russian  traders.  From  time  to  time, 
too,  he  sent  embassies,  and  they  returned 
laden  with  presents  from  St.  Petersburg,  a 
good  numl-er  of  which  fell  to  his  share. 
But  the  first  official  mission  sent  by  Russia 
to  Bokhara  was  in  1820.  M.  de  Negri,  the 
236 


chief  of  the  embassy,  was  accompanied  by 
Baron  Meyendorf,  who  has  given  an  account 
of  the  journey. 

This  diplomatist  had  received  instruc- 
tions that  he  was  to  demand  the  protection 
of  the  caravans  against  the  undisciplined 
nomads,  and  that  merchandise  should  not 
be  retaxed  as  soon  as  it  had. once  crossed 
the  frontier.  The  reigning  emir,  the 
terrible  Nasroulat,  replied  that  it  was  for 
the  Emperor  Alexander  himself  to  protect 
his  own  subjects;  he  would  scarcely  receive 
M.  de  Negri,  and  refused  to  release  the 
Russian  slaves,  to  the  number  of  600  or  700, 
who  were  living  in  bondage  in  the  khanate. 
The  ambassador  was  allowed  to  bring  back 
to  Russia  those  only  whose  ransom  he  paid. 
At  a  later  period  other  envoys  of  the  czar 
received  no  better  reception.  In  1840, 
however,  Nasroulat,  being  afraid  of  the 
English,  who  were  the  masters  of  Afghan- 
istan, received  Major  Bonteinef  in  a 
friendly  manner ;  he  had  come,  like  his 
predecessors,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  com- 
merce, and  to  claim  the  Russian  subjects 
held  in  slavery ;  but  he  could  not  succeed 
in  obtaining  any  serious  discussion  of  his 
demands  ;  and,  when  the  news  arrived  of 
the  disasters  of  the  English  army  at  Caboul, 
he  was  bluntly  dismissed. 

After  these  repeated  attempts,  it  was 
clear  that  the  potentates  of  Central  Asia 
would  make  no  concessions  to  the  Euro- 
peans, and  that  it  was  by  force  only  that  they 
would  ever  obtain  guarantees.  The  ordi- 
nary caravan  road  between  Orenburg  and 
Bokhara  circumscribes  the  Sea  of  Aral  on  the 
east.  About  half-way,  towards  the  mouth 
of  the  Yaxartes,  was  the  theoretical  boun- 
dary between  the  tribes  subject  to  Russia 
and  those  acknowledging  themselves  vassals 
of  the  khans  of  Bokhara,  Khiva,  and  Kho- 
kand.  Here  and  there,  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  there  were  some  fortresses,  whence 
some  indigenous  chiefs,  more  or  less  sub- 
jected to  their  masters,  ransomed  the 
caravans,  and  plundered  the  nomads.  Thus, 
in  1850,  the  commander  of  Ak-Mesdjid, 
who  was  no  other  than  Yacoub-Beof,  the 
Sultan  of  Kashgar,  carried  off*  26,000  head 
of  cattle  in  a  razzia,  and  another  time 
30,000.  In  order  to  protect  his  vassals 
against  these  exactions,  the  czar  at  last 
determined  to  place  permanent  garrisons 
at  some  points  in  this  district.  In  1847, 
the  fort  of  Aralsk  was  erected  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Syr-Daria ;  it  was  a  base  of 
operations  for  new  enterprises.     The  Sea  of 


Aral  was  explored  at  the  same  time  by  the 
Russians.  The  country  furnished  no  wood  ; 
small  vessels  were,  therefore,  constructed  in 
Sweden,  taken  to  pieces,  and  transported 
bit  by  bit  along  the  rivers  and  canals  from 
St.  Petersburg  to  Samara,  and  thence  on 
the  backs  of  camels  to  the  shores  of  the  Aral. 
Lieutenant  Boutakof  thoroughly  explored 
this  little-known  midland  sea,  and  dis- 
covered that  the  Yaxartes  was  navigable  to 
a  great  distance  from  its  mouth.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  these  outposts  of 
Turkestan,  restricted  as  thev  were,  cost  the 
imperial  government  dear,  as  the  country 
produced  scarcely  anything,  and  all  provi- 
sions for  the  troops  had  to  be  brought  from 
Orenburg. 

From  the  commencement  of  their 
establishment  at  Fort  Aralsk,  the  Russians 
found  that  the  Khivans  and  the  Bok- 
harians  were  not  their  most  troublesome 
neighbours.  It  was  of  Khokand  that  the 
Kirghiz  had  most  to  complain.  This 
country,  after  having  long  been  subject  to 
Bokhara,  had  recovered  its  independence 
under  the  sceptre  of  a  direct  descendant  of 
Baber  and  of  Timour.  Circumstances  were 
then  favourable  to  its  development ;  and 
about  the  beginning  of  the  century  it  ex- 
tended along  the  whole  length  of  the  Yax- 
artes. Tashkend  and  Chemkend,  the  two 
principal  towns  in  this  region,  belonged  to 
it,  and  Ak-Mesdjid  was  its  most  advanced 
fortress  to  the  north.  The  neighbourhood 
of  this  nest  of  pirates  was  intolerable  ;  but  it 
seemed  a  hazardous  enterprise  to  get  pos- 
session of  it,  for  there  was  a  desert  of  500 
kilometres  to  cross  before  reaching  it. 
Nevertlieless,  General  Perofski,  who  at  this 
time  was  still  governor-general  of  Oren- 
burg, took  the  field  in  the  spring  of  1853, 
with  1,700  men.  One  of  the  steamers  of 
the  flotilla  ascended  the  river  at  the  same 
time.  The  place  was  well  fortified,  and 
was  taken  by  storm  after  a  siege  of  five 
weeks,  during  which  the  garrison  behaved 
most  valiantly.  This  was  the  first  serious 
affair  between  the  Russians  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Turkestan;  and  this  first 
encounter  was  also  the  most  lively.  The 
Russians  had  more  dead  and  wounded  than 
in  any  of  their  later  encounters  against  the 
whole  army  of  Bokhara ;  but  they  had  got 
possession  of  Ak-Mesdjid,  and  were  resolved 
to  remain  there,  and  all  the  attempts  made 
by  the  Khokandians  to  retake  it  were  fruit- 
less. It  was  a  serious  loss  for  them ;  for 
this   important  fortress,  reputed    impreg- 


RUSSTAN  EMPIRE,     [progress  of  the  Russians. 


nable,    was   their   strongest   resort   in   the 
valley  of  the  Syr-Daria. 

At  the  same  time  the  Russians  threat- 
ened Khokand  from  Siberia.  From  Semi- 
polatinsk  there  is  a  caravan  road  taking 
the  direction  from  north  to  south,  and 
leading  to  Kashgar  and  Yarkand,  across 
the  territory  occupied  by  the  Great  Horde. 
The  forts  of  Kopal  and  Yernoe,  erected  to 
guard  this  road,  became  centres  of  com- 
merce for  the  surrounding  tribes.  Thus 
two  fortified  lines  stretched  towards  Central 
Asia,  separated  by  an  interval  of  about 
1,000  kilometres;  it  was  therefore  but 
natural  to  unite  them  by  a  third  transverse 
line,  so  that  this  series  of  forts  should 
encompass  all  the  nomads,  and  isolate 
them  in  some  sort  from  the  States  of 
Central  Asia,  which  so  often  plundered 
them.  The  project  was  adopted  by  the 
czar,  but  was  deferred  on  account  of  the 
Crimean  war.  It  was  a  fine  occasion  for 
the  emirs  of  Khiva,  Khokand,  and  Bok- 
hara to  drive  back  the  Russians  to  their 
northern  solitudes.  The  Porte,  who  had 
diplomatic  relations  with  them,  urged 
them  strongly  to  it ;  but  absorbed  as  they 
were  with  their  intestine  quarrels,  they  had 
no  inclination  to  do  it.  And,  as  soon  as 
peace  was  re-<tored  in  Europe,  the  Russians 
recommenced  their  march  forward.  From 
year  to  year  they  constructed  new  forts, 
secured  the  possession  of  a  valley,  and  pro- 
gressed slowly  but  prudently,  so  as  never  to 
have  to  retreat.  The  confidence  they  in- 
spired in  the  Kirghiz  was  of  great  assist- 
ance to  them.  These  nomads  made  no 
resistance ;  they  probably  eagerly  accepted 
the  protection  of  a  powerful  neighbour. 
Thus  the  czar  extended  his  frontier,  at  a 
period  unknown  to  us  (probably  towards 
1860),  as  far  as  the  mounts  Thian-Shan. 
Between  the  lake  Issi-Koul  and  this  chain 
of  mountains,  to  the  east  of  Khokand,  is 
the  source  of  the  Yaxartes.  The  population  is 
exclusively  pastoral ;  and  here  the  Russians 
erected  Fort  Narim,  and  thus  became 
neighbours  of  Kashgar.  No  attention  was 
paid  to  this,  for  at  that  time  there  was  no 
country  less  known  than  that  corner  of  the 
earth,  supposed  to  be  the  cradle  of  man- 
kind. 

Still  the  Russians  occupied  only  barren 
and  almost  desert  provinces.  The  valley 
of  the  Syr-Daria  is  salubrious  ;  but  from 
the  Sea  of  Aral  to  Ak-Mesdjid  agriculture  is 
almost  unknown.  The  nomads  produce,  at 
the   utmost,  sufficient  only  for  their  own 

237 


4 


CAPTURE  OF  TASHKEND.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


''a.d.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [disputes  with  Bokhara. 


subsistence,  and  have  nothing  to  sell. 
All  supplies  for  the  small  garrisons  on 
the  frontier  had  to  be  brought  across  the 
desert.  There  was  a  total  want  of  wood ; 
the  steamers  of  Aral  had  no  fuel  excepting 
very  scanty  supplies  of  brambles.  But 
beyond  the  outposts  the  plains  were  well 
irrigated,  and  it  was  known  that  veins  of 
coal  existed  in  the  mountains.  Tashkend, 
one  of  the  trading  centres  of  Central  Asia, 
was  some  days'  march  distant.  After 
having  traversed  the  desert,  the  Russians 
halted  at  the  entrance  to  the  promised 
land ;  but  this  position  could  not  be  per- 
manently retained,  nor  was  it  held  for 
long. 

It  must  be  observed  that  there  was  no 
unity  of  command  at  this  distant  frontier 
of  the  empire.  The  line  of  Fort  Vernoe  re- 
ceived its  orders  from  Western  Siberia ;  that 
of  Syr-Daria  from  the  government  of 
Orenburg.  The  difficulty  of  establishing 
an  understanding  between  two  generals  so 
distant  from  one  another,  no  doubt  caused 
much  uncertainty  ;  for  we  are  informed  by 
Russian  documents  that  these  expeditions 
were  not  made  at  hap-hazard.  The  plans 
of  the  campaigns  were  drawn  up  at  St. 
Petersburg,  under  the  eyes  of  the  emperor 
himself.  At  length,  in  the  spring  of  1864, 
the  order  was  giv^en  to  advance.  The 
Siberian  troops,  under  General  Tchernaief, 
who  has  since  become  so  notorious  throuo:h 
his  campaign  in  Servia,  took  possession  of 
Auli-Ala,  and  the  forces  of  Orenburg 
entered  Hazret-Sultan,  one  of  the  holy 
cities  of  Turkestan,  and  then  the  two 
columns,  combined  under  Tchernaief,  took 
Chemkend,and  some  weeks  afterwards  Tash- 
kend, a  town  of  80,000  inhabitants,  the 
garrisons  of  both  places  offering  but  a 
feeble  resistance.  These  conquests  cost  but 
very  few  killed  and  wounded :  for  instance, 
Tashkend  surrendered  to  a  detachment  of 
1,500  men,  an  evident  proof  that  the  popu- 
lation was  not  hostile  to  Europeans. 

Having  penetrated  into  the  heart  of 
Khokand,  the  Russian  government  was  con- 
strained to  justify  its  action.  This  was  par- 
ticularly necessary  with  reference  to  Great 
Britain,  the  only  power,  indeed,  that  ex- 
hibited any  alarm  at  the  progress  Russia 
had  been  making  in  Central  Asia,  This 
Prince  Gortchakoff  did  by  a  circular  of 
the  21st  of  November,  1864.  _  This  docu- 
ment deserves  attention,  for  it  contains 
political  theories  respecting  the  inter- 
national relations  between  civilised  States 
238 


and  barbarous  nations,  with  an  attempt  to 
confirm  these  theories  by  general  history, 
but  which  no  government,  not  even  those 
who  had  adopted  them,  had  yet  established 
in  principle.  His  note  ran  generally  as 
follows : — "  Every  civilised  nation  is  bound 
to  protect  its  subjects,  to  repress  slavery, 
to  punish  the  turbulent  tribes  in  its 
vicinity  ;  and  it  is  also  forced  to  extend  it- 
self from  time  to  time.  This  has  been  the 
case  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
France  in  Algeria,  Holland  in  the  Sund 
islands,  and  England  in  India.  They  can 
stop  only  when  they  come  to  non-nomadic 
populations,  who  comprehend  the  advan- 
ta<^es  of  commerce  and  a  reofular  mode  of 
existence.  It  was  thus  inevitable  for 
Russia  to  advance  as  far  as  the  boundaries 
of  the  States  of  Bokhara  and  Khokand  ;  the 
line  of  fortified  posts  for  the  protection 
and  defence  of  the  frontier,  and  through 
which  she  keeps  the  pillaging  tribes  in 
order,  could  exist  only  in  a  fertile  country 
capable  of  maintaining  the  garrisons. 
Russia  has  at  last  acquired  a  definite 
frontier  by  her  last  conquests ;  she  has  a 
more  compact  and  better  organised  social 
centre.  She  has  reached  the  geographical 
limits  where  interest  and  reason  bid  her 
halt.  And,  indeed,  what  motive  could  she 
have  for  extending  her  territory  ?  Besides 
that,  she  already  possesses  more  provinces 
than  she  wants ;  she  knows  that  commerce  is 
the  essential  element  of  civilisation.  She 
wishes,  therefore,  to  live  at  peace  with  her 
new  neighbours,  and  to  employ  force  only 
where  justice  demands  it." 

Unfortunately,  these  fine  theories  were 
contradicted  by  facts  at  the  very  moment 
Gortchakoff  uttered  them,  so  powerful  was 
the  attraction  exercised  by  the  spirit  of 
conquest  on  a  victorious  general.  What 
need  had  the  Russians  to  occupy  Tashkend? 
But  then  Tchernaief  had  already  entered 
it,  and  the  government  took  good  care  not 
to  make  him  quit  it,  although  he  had,  no 
doubt,  exceeded  his  instructions  in  this 
instance.  In  the  month  of  January,  1865, 
an  imperial  ukase  instituted  the  province 
of  Turkestan,  bounded  on  the  one  side  by 
part  of  Western  Siberia,  the  district  of 
Vernoe,  and  the  Kirghiz  Steppes,  as  far  as 
the  snowy  mountains  of  Thian-Chan ;  on 
the  other  by  part  of  the  province  of  Oren- 
burg, and  the  lower  valley  of  the  Yaxartes. 
Tchernaief  was  appointed  commander-in- 
chief,  with  most  extensive  civil  and  military 
powers,  for  he  was  made  responsible  for  the 


\ 


defence  of  a  country  almost  entirely  un- 
known. Hazret-Sultan  was  the  capital  of 
this  new  province,  of  which  the  boundaries 
on  all  sides,  except,  perhaps,  towards  the 
soutli,  were  determined  by  an  ukase.  Was 
it  from  ignorance  of  geography,  or  the 
hope  of  soon  making  further  conquests,  that 
Tashkend  was  not  included  in  Turkestan  ? 
It  was  said  it  was  to  be  made  a  free  town, 
with  its  own  government,  under  the  pro- 
tectorate of  Russia.  This  sham,  however, 
did  not  last  long.  The  inhabitants  were 
soon  induced  to  petition  the  czar  for  their 
annexation  to  the  empire ;  they  feared, 
they  said,  that  the  removal  of  the  Russian 
garrison  would  expose  them  to  reprisals 
from  the  sovereigns  of  Khokand  and  Bok- 
hara. Finally,  Tashkend  was  reunited  to 
Turkestan,  and  became  its  capital. 

Let  us  now  consider  how  this  extension 
of  the  Russian  empire  was  looked  upon  by 
the  other  powers.  In  Europe  one  nation 
alone  had  any  cause  of  uneasiness — Great 
Britain.  But,  being  unable  to  prevent  it, 
she  tried  to  convince  herself  that  it  was 
rather  advantageous  than  otherwise.  The 
Ousbegs,  said  the  press,  are  a  bloodthirsty, 
depraved  race.  The  state  of  barbarism  in 
which  they  live  renders  Central  Asia  inac- 
cessible. The  Russians  will  open  routes, 
introduce  the  germs  of  civilisation,  suppress 
slavery,  and  destroy  the  barriers  that  have 
impeded  commerce  up  to  the  present  day. 
A  little  more  and  they  would  have  hailed 
the  submission  of  all  Central  Asia  to  the 
generals  of  the  czar  as  a  happy  event.  But 
however  distant  the  chances  of  a  conflict 
between  the  Russians  and  the  English  on 
the  frontiers  of  India,  all  this  language 
was  nothinsf  else  but  resifjnation.  It  is 
known  how  timid  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
viceroy  was  at  that  period ;  and  yet  if  he 
had  wished  to  interfere,  he  would  have 
found  races  enough  disposed  to  resist  the 
Russians  on  the  banks  of  the  Oxus  and  the 
Yaxartes,  for  their  religious  fanaticism  had 
been  over-excited  by  the  loss  of  Hazret- 
Sultan,  to  which  the  pilgrims  who  were 
unable  to  make  the  journey  to  Mecca  re- 
paired, and  which  now  belonged  to  the 
infidels :  it  was  a  profanation  that  must  be 
revenored. 

But  the  well-known  ambition  of  Mozaffer- 
Eddin,  Khan  of  Bokhara,  would  not  allow 
him  to  remain  inactive,  although  his  pos- 
sessions were  still  intact.  Khokand  alone 
had  as  yet  been  subjected.  After  many 
revolutions  this  State  had  fallen  to  a  child. 


the  sixteenth  descendant  of  Baber,  under 
the  regency  of  Alim-Koul,  the  energetic 
chief  of  the  Kipchaks,  the  most  warlike 
tribe  of  this  region.  Alim-Koul  valiantly 
resisted  the  Russians,  and  perished  at  the 
taking  of  Tashkend.  A  month  after  this 
event,  MozafFer  wrote  an  arrogant  letter  to 
Tchernaief,  summoning  him  to  evacuate 
Tashkend,  and  threatening  him,  in  case 
he  did  not  yield,  to  rouse  all  the  true 
believers  of  Central  Asia  against  him.  At 
the  same  time  he  sent  one  of  his  armies  to 
Khokand,  banished  from  it  the  partisans  of 
the  Kipchaks,  and  set  a  certain  Khonda- 
Yar-Khan  on  the  throne.  Tchernaief  had 
no  objection  to  this  new  sovereign,  who, 
from  his  weakness  of  character,  was  not 
likely  to  become  a  disagreeable  neighbour ; 
but  resolved,  above  all  things,  not  to  be 
disturbed  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  newly- 
acquired  territory,  he  would  not  allow  the 
Emir  of  Bokhara  to  appropriate  to  himself 
the  south-western  part  of  the  Kharak, 
comprising  the  important  town  of  Khod- 
jend.  In  order  to  testify  his  displeasure, 
the  Russian  general  caused  a  Bokhara 
caravan  that  was  at  Orenburg  to  be 
stopped.  In  revenge,  the  emir  stopped  a 
Russian  caravan  at  Bokhara  ;  then  he  des- 
patched a  khodja  to  St.  Petersburg,  in 
order  to  come  to  an  understanding  with 
the  czar  himself,  after  having  demanded  of 
the  commanders  on  the  frontier  that  they 
should  only  await  the  return  of  this  mes- 
senger. Tchernaief,  and  his  immediate 
chief,  Krijanofski,  governor-general  of 
Orenburg,  discerned  the  true  motive  of 
these  steps.  The  emir  wanted  to  gain 
time,  collect  his  troops,  and  fall  upon  the 
Russians  as  soon  as  he  should  have  concen- 
trated all  the  forces  at  his  disposal.  The 
khodja  was  imprisoned  as  soon  as  he  set 
foot  on  Russian  territory,  and  Tchernaief 
hastened  to  occupy  the  valley  of  the  Syr- 
Daria,  as  far  as  Chinaz,  under  the  pretext 
that  there  were  fertile  plains  there  whose 
crops  were  necessary  for  the  provisioning  of 
the  garrisons.  Khonda-Yar-Khan,  to  whom 
the  territory  belonged,  oflfered  no  opposi- 
tion. Knowing  his  position  with  the 
Russians,  he  made  great  protestations  of 
friendship,  and,  thanks  to  his  prudent  be- 
haviour, remained  in  possession  of  what  was 
left  of  the  State  of  Khokand. 

The  afifair  between  MozafTer  and  the 
Russians  had  been  so  vigorously  com- 
menced, that  it  could  not  terminate  with- 
out war.    It  is  possible  that  the  govt^rn- 

239 


i    M 


;    I 

r  if  j 


\»-Q 


RETREAT  FROM  BOKHARA.]  HISTORY     OF    THE 


[A.D.  1856-'77. 


ment  of  St.  Petersburg  was  uneasy  about 
this  fresh  struggle  in  perspective,  for  in 
attacking  the  P^mir  of  Bokhara,  the 
spiritual  chief  of  Central  Asia,  they  were 
entering  on  a  religious  war,  the  issue  of 
which  was  uncertain.  It  was  therefore 
decided  that  a  last  attempt  should  be  made 
at  cunciliation.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
year  1865,  Tchernaief  sent  an  embassy  to 
Bokhara,  under  Councillor  Struve,  son  of 
the  astronomer,  and  three  officers.  This 
was  indeed  an  imprudent  measure,  when  it 
is  remembered  what  regard  Asiatic  poten- 
tates entertain  for  diplomatic  privileges, 
especially  when  they  can  render  tit-for-tat. 
And,  in  fact,  the  four  members  of  the 
Russian  mission  were  imprisoned  immedi- 
ately on  their  arrival  at  Bokhara ;  Mozaffer 
declaring  he  would  not  release  them  until 
his  own  messenger  returned  from  St. 
Petersburg.  Thereupon,  Tchernaief  set 
out  in  February,  18(>6,  with  fourteen  com- 
panies of  infantry,  600  Cossacks,  and  six- 
teen cannons  ;  in  all,  about  1,700  men,  and 
a  train  of  1,200  camels.  They  intended  to 
occupy  P^ort  Djizak,  which  commands  the 
dehles  through  which  the  road  passes  from 
Khokand  into  Bokhara.  The  country  was 
devoid  of  wood,  forage,  and  victuals.  The 
general  had  badly  calculated  his  provision- 
ing, and  Djizak  was  better  defended  than 
he  thought,  and  he  therefore  found  himself 
com  pel  led  to  retreat ;  this  was  accom- 
plished without  any  serious  losses.  It 
was,  however,  a  great  success  for  Mozaffer- 
Eddin,  who  more  than  ever  believed  him- 
self in  a  condition  to  resist  the  Europeans. 

In  consequence  of  tliis  check,  Tchernaief 
fell  into  disgrace.  His  successor,  Roman- 
ofski,  arrived  in  Turkestan  in  the  spring  of 
1866.  The  condition  of  the  province  was, 
it  seems,  rather  critical.  There  were,  in 
all,  scarcely  13,000  troops,  of  which  a 
quarter,  at  most,  were  in  the  outposts 
around  Tashkend,  to  receive  the  first  shock 
of  the  Bokharian  armies.  The  treasury 
was  empty ;  the  civil  administration  of  the 
recently-conquered  districts  scarcely  existed. 
The  flying  columns  of  the  emir  harassed 
the  small  frontier  garrisons.  However,  in 
the  month  of  May,  Romanofski  advanced 
against  Mozaffer- Eddin  with  some  thou- 
sand soldiers.  The  encounter  which  ttiok 
place  at  Irdjar,  on  the  banks  of  the  Yax- 
artes,  a  little  above  Chinaz,  was  decisive. 
In  less  than  an  hour  the  emir's  40,000  men 
disbanded,  leaving  the  artillery  on  the  field 
of  battle.  The  losses  of  the  Russians  were 
240 


\ 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[advance  on  KHIVA. 


twelve  wounded.  There  never  was,  in  an^ 
country,  a  victory  more  complete  and  less 
honourable.  Romanofski  at  once  advanced 
as  far  as  Khodjend,  which  offered  no  resist-  \ 

ance.  Mozaffer  then  pleaded  for  pardon. 
The  ambassadors  whom  he  had  detained  in 
his  capital  were  released.  The  conditions 
imposed  upon  him  were  not  onerous ;  he 
had  to  acknowledge  the  conquests  of 
Russia,  to  reduce  the  customs  duties  on 
Russian  merchandise,  and  to  pay  1,000,000 
francs,  war  indemnity.  Peace  now  seemed 
restored ;  for  Russia  had  so  much  to  do  in 
her  newly-conquered  possessions,  that  a 
long  period  of  tranquillity  seemed  indis- 
pensable for  her.  The  organisation  of 
these  territories  had,  first  of  all,  to  be 
provided  for.  Municipalities  already 
existed  in  every  town  of  any  importance ; 
these  Romanofski  preserved,  placing  them 
under  the  surveillance  of  a  Russian  officer : 
he  even  invested  these  municipalities  with 
very  extensive  powers,  such  as  the  collec- 
tion of  taxes  and  the  administration  of 
justice.  Thus  a  great  responsibility  was 
vested  in  the  commander  of  this  distant 
province ;  for  it  was  so  difficult  for  him  to 
consult  his  hierarchical  superiors  when  any- 
thing unforeseen  occurred,  that  it  was  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  allow  him  a  great  deal  of 
independent  action.  For  this  same  reason 
the  czar  instituted,  by  a  ukase  on  the  23rd 
of  July,  1867,  the  governor-general  of 
Turkestan,  the  seat  of  which  is  the  town  ot 
Tashkend,  and  definitively  united  it  with  the 
empire.  As  for  Romanofski,  whether  he 
was  too  insignificant  a  personage  for  such 
a  command,  or  whether  he  had  failed  in 
anything,  is  not  known  ;  but  he  retired  into 
private  life.  The  new  governor-general 
was  Greneral  Kautfmann,  wlio  had  already 
acquired  the  reputation  of  a  clever  ad- 
ministrator in  the  Baltic  provinces. 

At  this  period,  Khonda-Yar,  Khan  of 
Khokand,  had  resigned  himself  to  the  in- 
ferior role  imposed  upon  him  by  circum- 
stances. Under  the  semblance  of  a  treaty 
of  commerce,  he  had,  de  facto,  accepted 
the  protectorate  of  Russia.  The  attitude 
of  Bokhara  was  far  from  being  so  satis- 
factory. Not  that  Mozaffer-Eddin  had  any 
serious  desire  to  recommence  the  war,  for 
the  affair  at  Irdjar  had  taught  him  the 
respective  value  of  his  soldiers  and  the 
European  troops  ;  but  his  subjects,  especi- 
ally the  sacerdotal  caste — always  influential 
in  the  Trans-Oxus — were  not  so  submissive. 
The   emir    had    sent  ambassadors   to  the 


\ 


^ 


sultan  and  the  viceroy  of  India,  to  claim 
assistance  against  the  Russians.  From 
Constantinople  and  from  Calcutta  he  re- 
ceived the  answer  that  he  must  make  the 
necessary  sacrifices  to  obtain  peace.  The 
people,  however,  excited  by  the  mollahs, 
refused  to  allow  holy  Bokhara  to  humble 
herself  before  the  infidels;  and  Mozaffer- 
Eddin,  in  spite  of  everything,  was  forced  to 
prepare  for  war.  Kauffmann,  however, 
instead  of  waiting  for  the  enemy,  took  the 
field  in  the  month  of  May,  1868  ;  he  met 
the  army  of  Bokhara  at  Serpoul,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Terefchan,  routed  it,  and  the 
next  day  entered  Samarcand,  that  had  shut 
its  gates  against  the  defeated  troops  of  the 
emir.  He  then  proceeded  further  to  take 
the  fortresses  in  the  neighbourhood,  leaving 
only  a  feeble  garrison  behind.  The  Beg  of 
Sheri-Sebz  then  retook  the  town,  and  the 
Russian  garrison  was  saved  only  by  the 
speedy  return  of  the  commander-in-chief. 
In  fact,  the  war  was  terminated.  The 
ancient  capital  of  Timour,  one  of  the 
centres  of  the  Moslem  faith,  was  now  in  the 
hands  of  the  Russians. 

The  fate  of  this  ancient  city,  however, 
was  not  immediately  sealed.  The  treaty  of 
peace  granted  the  Russian  traders  full 
liberty  of  communication  in  Bokhara ;  it 
reduced  the  duty  on  imported  Russian 
goods  to  2J  per  cent.,  and  fixed  a  war  con- 
tribution of  1,000,000  francs.  At  first  it 
seemed  as  if  the  Russians  kept  possession 
of  Samarcand  as  a  guarantee  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  indemnity;  but  two  years 
passed  away,  and  it  was  then  pretended 
that  Europeans  had  settled  there,  and  that 
their  interests  would  be  in  danger  if  the 
imperial  troops  were  to  leave.  At  length, 
in  the  autumn  of  1870,  Greneral  Kauffmann 
declared  that  Samarcand  was  incorporated 
with  Russian  Turkestan.  Besides  this 
town  being  important  from  the  number  of 
its  inhabitants  and  its  history,  it  occupies 
a  topographical  situation  which  its  con- 
querors could  not  lose  sight  of.  The 
scanty  waters  ^  of  the  Terefchan  are 
absorbed  by  the  irrigation  canals  during 
the  hot  season;  then,  if  the  cultivators 
about  Samarcand  abuse  their  rights,  those 
of  Bokhara  suffer;  the  meadows  dry  up, 
and  the  swampy  gardens  become  sterile. 
In  a  word,  Bokhara  can  only  subsist  by  the 
consideration  of  the  government  to  whom 
the  head  of  the  valley  belongs.  Such 
being  the  case,  the  Russians  would  not 
abandon  a  conquest  that  no  one,  indeed, 

VOL.  n.  2  I 


was  in  a  position  to  dispute  with  them, 
Mozaffer-Eddin  less  than  any  other. 

This  unfortunate  sovereign,  the  victim  of 
the  faults  of  his  father,  Nasroulat,  more 
than  his  own,  had  to  contend  against  a 
civil  war  after  the  foreign  war  was  over. 
The  old  Mussulman  party,  exasperated  by 
the  defeats  which  it  attributed  to  treason, 
accused  the  emir  of  weakness  in  treating 
with  the  infidels.  The  heir-presumptive 
took  up  arms  against  his  father  at  the  same 
time  as  the  Begs  of  Sheri-Sebz  and  of 
Karchi.  As  it  did  not  suit  the  Russians 
that  the  khanate  should  become  a  prey  to 
fresh  revolutions,  General  Kauffmann  sent 
his  troops  to  the  aid  of  the  legitimate 
monarch,  and  soon  succeeded  in  quelling 
the  disturbance. 

In    the    meanwhile   Khiva     alone    had 
managed    to    preserve    its     independence. 
But  were  this    khanate   and    the    Turco- 
man   steppes    once   to    be    subjected,   the 
Caspian     and     the     Aral     would    become' 
Russian   lakes.     The  commerce  of  Central 
Asia   had   become   more    active   since  the 
Europeans  had  had  access  to  the  valleys  of 
the  Yaxartes  and  the  Terefchan,  and  they 
complained  of  the  long  circuits  they  were 
compelled  to  make  in  consequence  of  the 
hostility   of  the   Khivans.      The   caravans 
coming  from   Tashkend  and  Fort  Vernoe 
could   enter  Russia  only  by  Orenburg,  or, 
still  farther  north,  by  the  circuitous  routes 
of  Petropaulovsk   or  'Semipolatinsk.     The 
czar  already  had  a  fleet  on  the  Caspian; 
Astrachan  and  Growrief  to  the  north,  and 
Baku  on  the  coast  of  Georgia,  were  the 
principal  ports.     In  the  place  of  an  estab- 
lishment on   terra  fiima,   on    the  south- 
eastern coast,  which  the  Shah  of  Persia,  to 
whom   the    territory  belongs,    would    not 
have  allowed,  the  Russians  were  forced  to 
be  contented  with  a  naval  station  on  the 
island    of  Achourada,  where   they  kept  a 
strict  watch  on  the  Turcoman  pirates.     On 
the  high   sea,   navigators   had  nothing  to 
fear  from  these  savages ;  but  every  merchant 
vessel  approaching  the  coast  was  exposed  to 
their  attacks,  their  cargoes  were  plundered, 
the  sailors  carried   into   the  interior,  and 
sold  as   slaves  in  the   markets   of  Khiva. 
Employing  force  ostensibly  in  the  interests 
of  humanity,   the   Russians   arrogated    to 
themselves  the  right  of  searching  all  Turco- 
man    vessels,   to    see    that    they    carried 
neither  prisoners  nor  munitions,  or  contra- 
band  of    war.       In   the   north    they   also 
possessed  Fort  Alexander,  on  tlie  peninsula 

241 


I, 


:  i 
t 


» 


t 


DEFIANCE  OF  THE  KHAN.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


fA.D.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[attack  on  khhta. 


of  Mangichlak,  which  they  had  not  ceased 
occupying  since  the  time  of  Bekovitch  ;  but 
the    garrison   was  a  prey  to  the  continual 
attacks   of  tlie   Kirghiz,  and  the  country 
around   being   so    barren    that   they  could 
derive  nothing  from  it.     The  tribes,  too,  of 
the   Oust-Ourt,    who     acknowledged     the 
supremacy  of  the  czar,  remained  turbulent 
because  they  felt  themselves  supported   by 
the  Khan  of  Khiva.  In  1869,  the  governor- 
general  of  Orenburg  obtained  permission  to 
found  a  colony  more  to  the  south,  on  the 
bay  of  Krasnovodsk,  which  is  not  far  from 
the  spot  where  the  Oxus  formerly  fell  into 
the  Caspian.    Apparently  it  was  particularly 
a  commercial  station,  founded  at  the  request 
of  some  Russian  traders,  to  serve  as  a  depot 
for  goods  coming  from,  or  destined  for,  the 
valley   of   the   Oxus.      There   is   excellent 
anchorage  there  for  vessels  of  deen  draught, 
although  this  coast  is  in  general  flat.     This 
new  establishment  could   not  fail  to  alarm 
Persia,  which,  at  the  instigation  of  En'j:land, 
then  desired  tli:it  the  boundaries  should  be 
iixed  between  its  territory  and   the  Russian 
possessions.     Tiie  two  powers  agreed  upon 
the  course  of  the  Attrek  for  the   frontier, 
and  Russia,  determining  to  profit   at  once 
by  the  advantages    offered  by  the  treaty, 
erected  another  fort  at  Chigichlar,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river.     Therewith   there 
was  not  a  c:ipe  from  Gowrief  to  Achourada 
on  which  tlie  imperial  flag  did  not  float. 

The  Russians  were,  however,  not  much 
more  advanced  ;  for  the  numerous  columns 
sent  by  the  commanders  from  Krasnovodsk 
and  Chigichlar  to  explore  the  steppe,  found 
nothing  but  desert,  without  water  or 
forage ;  and  if  they  chanced  to  meet  any 
Turcomans,  there  was  at  once  an  exchange 
of  shots.  The  complicity  of  the  Klian  of 
Khiva  with  tlie  indigenous  tribes  was 
evident.  General  Kautfman  wrote  to  him, 
therefore,  demanding  the  release  of  the 
Russian  prisoners,  the  protection  of  the 
caravans,  and  that  he  should  no  longer 
encourage  the  depredations  committed  by 
Lis  nomad  subjects  on  Russian  territory. 
The  khan  gave  no  answer  to  this  letter. 
The  same  demand  was  made  the  next 
year :  this  time  he  replied,  in  a  haughty 
tone,  that  the  czar  was  at  liberty  to  act 
as  he  pleased.  This  took  place  in  1871. 
Kauffmann  would  have  s>  immediately 
inarched  against  Khiva;  but  he  was  pre- 
vented by  his  government,  who  were  still 
uneasy  at  the  attitude  of  the  Bokharians ; 
it  was   feared    that    the    fanatics   of  the 

24;2 


Terefchan  would  profit  by  the  circumstance 
to  take  their  revenge.  Mohammed-Rachim- 
Khan  had  already  perceived  that  the  desert 
was  not  impracticable  for  his  enemies ;  he 
heard,  from  time  to  time,  that  the  flying 
columns  of  Krasnovodsk  had  advanced  as 
far  as  the  confines  of  his  territory,  and  with 
the  astuteness  of  some  of  his  predecessors 
on    similar    occasions,  he  tried   to    obtain 
peace  at  no  other  sacrifices   but  vain   pro- 
mises.    He  therefore  despatched  a  mission 
to    the    Grand    Duke   Michael,  governor- 
creneral   of  the  Caucasus,  and  a  second  to 
St.  Petersburg :  they  were  botli  sent  back 
with  the  simple    advice  to    address  them- 
selves to  the  governor-general  of  Turkestan, 
through  whose  intermediation  the  negotia- 
tions must  take  place.     The  khan  was  in- 
formed, also,  that  no  preliminaries  could  be 
settled   before   he   had    delivered    up   the 
prisoners.      Mohammed-Rachim    then  be- 
thought himself  of  claiming  the  assistance 
of  the  Afghan  Emir  and    the  viceroy   of 
India.     Both    advised   him    to  accept   the 
conditions  offered  to  him.     Unfortunately 
for  him,  one  of  the  flying  columns  sent  by 
the  Russian  generals  into  the  desert  suffered 
a  slight  check.     The  commander,  too  con- 
fident in  his  strength,  was  not  sufficiently 
precautious,  and  let  himself  be  surprised  by  a 
band  of  Khivans,  and  lost  nearly  all  his  train, 
which  obliged  him  to  retire  in  all  haste  to- 
wards   the  Caspian.     Emboldened  by  this 
slight  success,  the  nomads  of  the  Kharism 
broke    into    the    province     of    Orenburg, 
assaulted   the  isolated  posts,  and  seized  a 
great  quantity  of  cattle  belonging  to  the 
faithful  Kirghiz. 

The  expedition  was  now  resolved  on. 
The  Russian  government  was  not  deceived 
as  to  the  difficulties  of  the  enterprise.  Sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  deserts  of  sand  ; 
offering  no  resource  to  an  army  on  the 
march  ;  guarded  on  the  north  by  the  Sea  of 
Aral,  whose  shores  are  so  sandy  that  they 
can  be  reached  only  by  flat-bottomed  boats, 
the  territory  of  the  khan  had  also  other 
obstacles  to  offer  as  soon  as  the  troops  ad- 
vanced into  the  cultivated  zone.  The  oasis 
constituting  the  inhabited  part  of  the 
khanate  is  nothing  but  a  vast  marsh,  inter- 
sected with  innumerable  irrigation  canals ; 
and  the  expedition  would  be  stopped  by 
each  of  these  water-courses,  unless  they 
carried  pontoons  with  them.  The  resist- 
ance the  khan  was  in  a  position  to  make 
was  not  much  dreaded ;  he  had  scarcely  any 
regular  army ;  he  had  no  infantry,  and  the 


4 


troops  were  badly  armed.  Supposing  the 
Ousbegs  and  Turcomans  to  be  able,  unitedly, 
to  form  a  troop  of  30,000  cavalry,  a  few 
thousand  Europeans  would  suffice  to  put 
them  all  to  flight.  It  was  also  known  that 
Khiva  was  surrounded  by  several  earth- 
walls,  and  every  village  protected  by  an 
encircling  wall ;  but  these  fortifications 
were  worth  nothing  against  modern  artil- 
lery. In  reality,  the  true  defence  of  the 
Kharism  lies  in  the  deserts  which  surround 
it — deserts  w^hich  must  not  only  be  crossed, 
but  where  it  was  necessary  to  maintain 
lines  of  communication  from  post  to  post. 
Finally,  although  the  Emir  of  Bokhara  had 
not  stirred  for  the  last  five  years,  the 
Russians  had  to  guard  against  an  offensive 
movement  on  his  part,  and  of  the  fanatics 
surrounding  him. 

The  conduct  of  the  operations  was  con- 
fided to  General  Kauffmann ;  but,  as  the 
government  of  Turkestan  could  not  have 
furnished  the  14,000  men  that  must  take 
the  field,  and  as,  besides,  it  was  considered 
best  to  disperse  the  troops  along  different 
routes,  it  was  decided  at  St.  Petersburg 
that  the  expedition  should  be  divided  into 
four  columns.  The  first  was  to  set  out 
from  Djizak  and  Kazalinsk,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Syr-Daria,  with  twenty  companies  of 
infantry,  thirty  cannon,  seven  sotnias  of 
Cossacks,  and  9,500  camels,  under  the  im- 
mediate command  of  General  Kauffmann. 
A  second  column,  organised  by  the  Grand 
Duke  Michael,  governor-general  of  the 
Caucasus,  was  collected  at  Krasnovodsk  and 
Chigichlar,  under  the  orders  of  Colonel 
Markosof :  it  was  composed  of  eight  com- 
panies of  infantry,  with  proportionate  ca- 
valry and  artillery,  and  3,000  camels.  The 
third  column,  about  as  strong  as  the  pre- 
ceding, had  the  shortest  line  of  march. 
Leaving  Kinderli,  at  the  south  of  the 
peninsula  of  Mangichlak,  under  the  orders 
of  Colonel  Lamakine,  it  was  to  organise 
and  establish  stations  on  the  route,  in  order 
to  maintain  quick  and  easy  communication 
between  Khiva  and  the  Caspian  during  the 
whole  course  of  the  campaign.  Finally, 
Lieutenant-General  Verofkine  left  Oren- 
burg with  900  infantry,  twelve  cannons,  400 
Cossacks,  and  5,000  camels.  The  longest 
passage  of  the  desert  fell  to  his  lot.  It  was 
arranged  that  all  these  troops  should  set 
out  so  as  to  arrive  at  the  same  time  before 
the  walls  of  Khiva,  and  that  Kauffmann 
should  then  take  the  supreme  command. 
This  general  also  caused  the  mouths  of  the 


Amou-Daria  to  be  explored  by  the  flotilla 
of  the  Aral,  consisting  of  gun-boats  and 
sailing-boats,  with  a  dozen  cannons  and  260 
marines.  This  little  squadrun,  though  too 
feeble  to  effect  a  landing,  might,  at  least, 
frighten  the  enemy  and  divide  his  forces. 

About  the  15  th  of  May,  after  a  march  of 
three  months,  the  column  of  Orenburg 
arrived  at  Konngrad,  on  the  western  arm  of 
the  delta  of  the  Oxus,  where  it  was  joined 
by  Lamakine's  column,  which  had  left 
Kinderli  on  the  15th  of  April.  Although 
he  had  received  no  news  of  the  other 
detachments.  General  Verofkine  did  not 
hesitate  to  advance.  The  Khivans  made  a 
show  of  resistance  before  Khodchaili;  but 
a  few  cannon-shot  quickly  dispersed  them, 
and  the  town  was  occupied  without  any 
loss  beyond  two  wounded.  Some  days 
later,  the  enemy  again  gave  battle  at 
Manghitj  their  numerous  cannon  seemed 
to  envelop  the  Russians,  who,  however, 
remained  masters  of  the  ground  with  a  loss 
of  nine  killed,  and  about  twenty  wounded. 
The  inhabitants  having  taken  part  in  the 
struggle,  the  town  was  burnt  by  way  of 
reprisal.  After  these  two  engagements  the 
Khivans  did  not'venture  to  offer  any  further 
resistance  in  the  open  field;  they  skir- 
mished around  the  expedition,  attacked  the 
train,  cut  the  bridges,  and  fled  like  the 
wind  when  they  were  pursued.  At  last, 
Verofkine  received  a  message  from  Kaufl"- 
mann,  who  appointed  a  rendezvous  under 
the  walls  of  Khiva  for  the  23rd  or  •24th  of 
May.  As  to  Markosof  s  column,  of  which 
nothing  was  heard,  we  may  as  well  at  once 
say  that  it  turned  back  after  having  crossed 
half  the  desert.  Although  this  officer  had 
had  much  experience  in  travelling  across 
the  steppe,  he  could  not  find  sufficient  wells 
to  supply  his  men;  and  for  fear  of  their 
dying  of  thirst,  he  could  not  do  otherwise 
than  retreat.  His  movement  had,  at  all 
events,  the  good  result  of  keeping  the  tribes 
of  the  Tekkes  in  awe,  who  otherwise  would 
probably  have  gone  to  the  aid  of  the  Khan 
of  Khiva. 

The  22nd  of  May,  Verofkine  received  an 
embassy  from  Mohammed-Rachim ;  the 
imminent  danger  having  induced  him  to 
try  the  stratagem  which  had  succeeded  with 
Bekovitch.  He  begged  the  general  kindly 
to  accept  hospitality  in  his  capital ;  he 
would  be  but  too  happy  to  receive  him. 
He  required  two  or  three  days  at  most  to 
complete  his  preparations  and  chastise  the 
plundering  Turcomans,  who  had  had   the 

243 


i 


TREATY  WITH   KHIVA.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1873. 


audacity  to  oppose  the  Russian  march. 
Veroikine  could  not  have  been  entrapped 
by  a  more  clever  ruse  even  :  he  had  received 
formal  orders  to  refuse  all  negotiations. 
He  therefore  continued  to  advance,  so  that 
on  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  May  he  was 
before  Khiva.  According  to  his  instruc- 
tions he  was  to  await  the  commander-in- 
chief;  but  was  there  not  danger  in  delaying 
the  attack  ?  He  willingly  persuaded  him- 
self there  was.  On  the  28th  the  Russian 
artillery  bombarded  the  town  at  the  same 
time  as  the  infantry  ventured  rather  too 
boldly  to  the  walls,  and  the  losses  were 
greater  than  in  the  preceding  battles.  On 
the  whole,  the  result  of  the  day  was  satisfac- 
tory ;  for  in  the  evening  a  messenger  arrived 
from  the  khan,  with  the  information  that 
lie  was  disposed  to  conclude  a  treaty.  The 
next  morning  General  Kauffmann  arrived, 
and  the  united  army  entered  the  town,  and 
occupied  the  citadel  and  the  chief  strategic 
points.  The  khan  had  fled,  but  the  popu- 
lation was  peaceable;  the  bazaar  was  re- 
opened, and  the  inhabitants  gave  the 
Russians  a  friendly  reception.  If  the  troops 
had  suffered  much,  during  the  crossing  of 
the  steppes,  from  the  want  of  water  and 
provisions,  the  fire  of  the  enemy  had  done 
them  little  harm.  The  Khan  of  Khiva, 
like  those  of  Khokand  and  Bokhara,  was 
forced  to  acknowledge  the  immense  supe- 
riority of  the  European  armies. 

The  khan  had  fled  before  the  taking  of 
his  capital ;  it  showed  little  prudence  on 
his  part,  for  he  must  have  known  of  the 
claims  of  certain  Kirghiz  sultans  to  the 
throne  of  Khiva.  He  returned  after  a  few 
days,  ready  to  subscribe  to  whatever  condi- 
tions the  conqueror  should  think  fit  to 
impose.  What  General  Kauffmann  made 
him  subscribe  was  indeed  less  a  treaty  of 
peace  than  a  declaration  of  vassalage.  The 
khan  proclaimed  himself  the  obedient 
servant  of  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias ; 
he  renounced  the  right  of  entertaining 
direct  relations  with  the  neighbouring 
sovereigns  ;  he  yielded  all  territory  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Amou-Daria,  with  the 
inhabitants,  settled  or  nomad,  upon  it.  All 
the  khanate  was  to  be  open  to  the  Russian 
traders  and  their  goods,  freed  from  all 
duties,  either  of  customs  or  transit.  Finally, 
slavery  was  to  be  abolished,  and  the  war 
contribution  fixed  at  the  enormous  sum  of 
2,200,000  roubles. 

This   treaty,   which  was  signed  August 
24tb,  1873,  is  of  such  importance  as  evi- 
244 


dence  of  the  true  intentions  of  Russia,  that 
our  readers  will  be  glad  to  read  it  in  eX' 
tenso,  and  see  for  themselves  how  well- 
founded  were  the  motives  which  impelled 
her  majesty's  government  to  exact  an  ex- 
planation from  the  Russian  emperor,  early 
in  the  year  1873,  regarding  his  intentions 
as  to  Khiva.  The  explanation  will  be 
given  further  on,  as  well  as  the  terms  of 
the  promise,  which,  proceeding  from  the 
czar  himself,  induced  the  British  cabinet 
to  place  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  im- 
perial word. 

Treaty  of  Peace  between  Russia  and 
Khiva;  prepared  by  General  Aide-de- 
camp Kauffmann,  commanding  the 
Forces  acting  against  Khiva,  and  ac- 
cepted by  the  Khan  of  Khiva,  Seid- 
Mohammed-Rachim-Bahadur-Khan. 

"  1.  Seid-Mohammed-Rachim-Bahadur- 
Khan  acknowledges  himself  to  be  the  obe- 
dient servant  of  the  Emperor  of  all  the 
Russias.  He  renounces  the  right  of  main- 
taining any  direct  and  friendly  relations 
with  neighbouring  rulers  and  khans,  and 
of  concludinof  with  them  commercial  or 
other  treaties  of  any  kind  soever ;  and  shall 
not,  without  the  knowledge  and  permission 
of  the  superior  Russian  authorities  in 
Central  Asia,  undertake  any  military 
operations  against  such  neighbouring 
countries. 

"  2.  The  boundary  between  the  Russian 
and  Khivan  territories  shall  be  the  Amou- 
Daria  from  Kukertli,  down  the  river  as  far 
as  the  point  at  which  the  most  westerly 
branch  of  the  Amou-Daria  leaves  the  main 
stream ;  and  from  that  point  the  frontier 
shall  pass  along  such  branch  as  far  as  its 
mouth  in  the  Aral  Sea.  Further,  the 
frontier  shall  extend  along  the  sea-coast  to 
Cape  Urgu,  and  from  thence  along  the 
base  of  the  chink  (escarpment)  of  the  Oust- 
Ourt,  following  the  so-called  ancient  bed 
of  the  Amou-Daria. 

"3.  The  whole  of  the  right  bank  of 
the  Amou-Daria,  and  the  lands  adjoining 
thereunto,  which  have  hitherto  been  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  Khiva,  shall  pass 
over  from  the  khan  into  the  possession  of 
Russia,  together  with  the  people  dwelling 
and  camping  thereon.  Those  parcels  of 
land  which  are  at  present  the  property  of 
the  khan,  and  of  which  the  usufruct  has 
been  given  by  him  to  Khivan  officers  of 
State,  become  likewise  the  property  of  the 
Russian  government,  free  of  all  claims  on 


A.D.  1873.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[treaty  with  KHIVA. 


I 


^ 


the  part  of  the  previous  owners.  The  khan 
may  indemnify  them  by  grants  of  land  on 
the  left  bank. 

"4.  In  the  event  of  a  portion  of  such 
right  bank  being  transferred  to  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara,  by  the  will 
of  his  majesty  the  emperor,  the  Khan  of 
Khiva  shall  recognise  the  latter  as  the 
lawful  possessor  of  such  portion  of  his 
former  dominions,  and  engages  to  renounce 
all  intention  of  re-establishing  his  authority 
therein. 

"  5.  Russian  steamers  and  other  Russian 
vessels,  whether  belonging  to  the  govern- 
ment or  to  private  individuals,  shall  have 
the  free  and  exclusive  right  of  navigating 
the  Amou-Daria  river.  Khivan  and  Bok- 
harian  vessels  may  enjoy  the  same  right  not 
otherwise  than  by  special  permission  from 
the  Russian  authority  in  Central  Asia. 

"6.  Russians  shall  have  the  right  to 
construct  wharves  (landing-places)  on  the 
left  bank,  wheresoever  the  same  shall  be 
found  necessary  and  convenient.  The 
government  of  the  khan  shall  be  respon- 
sible for  the  safety  and  security  of  such 
"wharves.  The  approval  of  the  localities 
selected  for  wharves  shall  rest  with  the 
superior  Russian  ofiicers  in  Central  Asia. 

"  7.  Independently  of  such  wharves, 
Russians  shall  have  the  right  to  establish 
factories  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Amou- 
Daria,  for  the  purpose  of  storing  and  safe- 
keeping of  their  merchandise.  For  the  pur- 
poses of  such  factories,  the  government  of 
the  khan  shall  allot,  in  the  localities  which 
shall  have  been  indicated  by  the  superior 
Russian  authorities  in  Central  Asia,  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  unoccupied  land  for 
wharves  and  the  construction  of  store- 
houses, of  buildings  for  the  accommodation 
of  servants  of  the  factories,  and  of  persons 
transacting  business  with  the  factories,  and 
of  merchants'  offices,  as  well  as  for  the 
establishment  of  domestic  farms.  Such 
factories,  together  with  all  persons  residing 
tliereat,  and  with  all  goods  placed  therein, 
shall  be  under  the  immediate  protection  of 
the  government  of  the  khan,  which  shall 
be  responsible  for  the  safety  and  security  of 
the  same. 

"  8.  All  the  towns  and  villages,  without 
exception,  within  the  khanate  of  Khiva, 
shall  henceforward  be  open  to  Russian 
trade.  Russian  merchants  and  Russian 
caravans  may  freely  travel  throughout  the 
entire  khanate,  and  shall  enjoy  the  special 
protection  of  the  local  authorities.     The 


government  of  the  khan  shall  be  responsi- 
ble for  the  safety  of  the  caravans  and 
stores. 

"9.  Russian  merchants  trading  in  the 
khanate  shall  be  free  from  the  payment  of 
customs'  duties  (ziaket),  and  of  all  kinds 
of  dues  on  trade,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  merchants  of  Khiva  have  long  enjoyed 
immunity  from  ziaket  on  the  route  through 
Kazalinsk,  at  Orenburg,  and  at  the  stations 
(landing-places)  on  the  Caspian  Sea. 

"10.  Russian  merchants  shall  have  the 
right  of  carrying  their  goods  through  the 
Khivan  territory  to  all  neighbouring 
countries,  free  of  customs'  duties  (free  tran- 
sit trade). 

"11.  Russian  merchants  shall,  if  they 
desire  it,  have  the  right  to  establish  agents 
(caravan  bashis)  in  Khiva  and  other  towns 
within  the  khanate,  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  communication  with  the 
authorities,  and  superintending  the  regu- 
larity of  their  trade., 

"  12.  Russian  subjects  shall  have  the 
right  to  hold  immovable  property  in  Khiva, 
A  land-tax  shall  be  leviable  on  the  same 
by  agreement  with  the  superior  Russian 
authority  in  Central  Asia. 

"  13.  Commercial  engagements  between 
Russians  and  Khivans  shall  be  fulfilled  in- 
violably on  both  sides. 

'•  14.  The  government  of  the  khan 
engages  to  examine,  without  delay,  the 
complaints  and  claims  of  Russian  sub- 
jects against  Khivans;  and,  in  case  such 
complaints  and  claims  shall  have  been 
proved  to  be  well  founded,  to  give  imme- 
diate satisfaction  in  respect  of  the  same. 
In  the  examinations  of  disputes  (claims) 
between  Russian  subjects  and  Khivans, 
preference  shall  be  given  to  the  Russians 
in  respect  to  the  payment  of  debts  by  the 
Khivans. 

"  15.  Complaints  and  claims  of  Khivans 
against  Russian  subjects  shall  be  referred 
to  the  nearest  Russian  authorities  for  ex- 
amination and  ratification,  even  in  the 
event  of  such  complaints  and  claims  being 
raised  by  Russian  subjects  within  the  con- 
fines of  the  khanate. 

"  16.  The  government  of  the  khan  shall 
in  no  case  give  refuge  to  emigrants  (run- 
aways) from  Russia,  having  no  permit  from 
Russian  authorities,  without  regard  to  the 
nationality  of  such  individuals.  Should 
any  Russian  subjects,  being  criminals,  seek 
concealment  within  the  boundaries  of 
Khiva  in  order  to  avoid  judicial  pursuit, 

245 


k'  "i 


\f.. 


TREATT  WITH  KHIVA.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1873. 


the  government  of  the  khan  engages  to 
capture  such  persons,  and  to  surrender 
them  to  the  nearest  Russian  authorities. 

"  17.  The  proclamation  made  by  Seid- 
Mohamraed-Rachim-Babadur-Khan  on  the 
12th  (24th)  of  July  last,  respecting  the 
liberation  of  all  slaves  in  the  khanate,  and 
the  abolition  in  perpetuity  of  slavery  and 
of  trade  in  men,  shall  remain  in  full  force, 
and  the  government  of  the  khan  engages 
to  employ  all  the  moans  in  its  power  in 
order  to  watch  over  the  strict  and  conscien- 
tious prosecution  of  this  matter. 

"18.  A  fine  is  inflicted  on  the  khanate 
of  Khiva  to  the  extent  of  2,200,000  roubles, 
in  order  to  cover  the  expenses  incurred  by 
the  Russian  exchequer  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  late  war,  which  was  provoked  by  the 
government  of  the  khan  and  by  the  Khivan 
people.  Since,  owing  to  the  insufficiency 
of  money  in  the  country,  and  particularly 
in  the  hands  of  the  government,  the  Khivan 
government  is  unable  to  pay  the  above  sum 
within  a  short  time,  the  Khivan  govern- 
ment shall,  in  consideration  of  such  diffi- 
culty, have  the  right  of  paying  the  said 
fine  bv  instalments,  with  the  addition  of 
interest  thereon  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent. 
per  annum,  on  condition  that,  during  the 
first  two  years,  100,000  roubles  shall  be 
annually  paid  into  the  Russian  exchequer, 
125,000  roubles  per  annum  during  the  two 
ensuing  years,  and,  after  that,  175,000 
roubles  per  annum  during  the  succeeding 
two  years  ;  and  in  the  year  1881 — that  is  to 
say,  after  the  expiration  of  eight  years — the 
sum  of  200,000  roubles  shall  be  paid ;  and 
lastly,  a  sum  of  not  less  than  200,000 
roubles  per  annum  shall  be  paid,  until  the 
final  settlement  of  the  claim.  The  instal- 
ments may  be  paid  both  in  Russian  bank- 
notes and  in  the  current  coin  of  Khiva,  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  government  of  the  khan. 

"  The  first  instalment  shall  be  paid  on 
the  1st  (13th)  of  December,  1873.  On 
account  of  this  instalment  the  khan  shall 
have  the  right  to  a  tax  for  the  current 
year  from  the  population  on  the  right  bank, 
according  to  the  assessment  hitherto  in 
force.  This  collection  shall  be  terminated 
by  the  1st  (13th)  of  December,  by  agree- 
ment between  the  khan's  collectors  and  the 
local  Russian  authorities. 

"Subsequent  instalments  shall  be  paid 
in  by  the  1st  (13th)  of  November  of  each 
year,  until  the  entire  fine,  with  interest 
thereon,  shall  have  been  paid  off. 

"  After  the  expiration  of  nineteen  years — 
246 


that  is  to  say,  by  the  1st  (13th)  of  Novem- 
ber, 1892— after  the  payment  of  200,000 
roubles  for  the  year  1892,  the  sum  of 
70,054  roubles  will  still  be  due  by  the 
government  of  the  khan  ;  and  by  the  1st 
(13th)  of  November,  1893,  the  last  instal- 
ment of  73,557  roubles  shall  be  paid. 
Should  the  government  of  the  khan  desire 
to  shorten  the  term  of  payment,  and  thus 
to  reduce  the  amount  of  accruing  interest, 
it  shall  have  the  right  to  pay  larger  annual 
instalments. 

"  These  conditions  have  been  fixed  and 
accepted  for  exact  execution  and  constant 
guidance  on  the  one  part  by  General  Aide- 
de-camp  Kauffmann,  governor-general  of 
Turkistan,  and  on  the  other  part  by  Seid- 
Mohammed-Rachim-Bahadur-Khan,  ruler 
of  Khiva,  in  the  garden  of  Hendemian  (the 
camp  of  the  Russian  troops  at  the  city  of 
Khiva),  on  the  12th  (24th)  day  of  August, 
1873  (on  the  first  day  of  the  month  of 
Radjab,  in  the  year  1290). 

"The  original  treaty  was  signed  and  sealed 
by  General  Aide-de-camp  Kauffmann,  gov- 
ernor-general of  Turkistan,  and  by  Seid- 
Mohammed-Rachim-Bahadur-Khan." 

The  very  first  sentence  of  this  treaty 
characterises  the  whole  production.  In  it 
the  Khan  of  Khiva  acknowledges  himself  a 
servant  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and 
renounces  all  those  privileges  the  posses- 
sion of  which  distinguishes  a  State  from 
an  individual.  In  paragraphs  2  and  3, 
a  large  portion  of  Khivan  territory  is 
forthwith  annexed  to  Russia ;  and,  finally, 
a  fine  of  2,200,000  roubles— a  fine,  be  it 
noticed,  not  a  war  indemnity — is  inflicted 
on  the  khan,  to  be  paid  in  instalments. 
Now,  though  the  sum  of  2,200,000  roubles — 
£250,000 — is  not  a  large  amount  for  the 
government  of  a  civilised  State  to  pay,  it  is 
a  very  different  thing  when  it  has  to  be 
collected  from  a  wandering  race  of  shep- 
herds and  nomads,  who  hate  nothing  more 
than  paying  in  any  shape.  Nor  is  this  all. 
In  Khiva  cash  is  very  rare.  Outside  the 
towns  the  trade  is  simply  one  of  barter. 
This  forces  the  government  to  have  recourse 
to  money-lenders,  to  whom  they  farm  the 
taxes.  The  money-lenders  appoint  their 
collectors,  who  seize  the  tax-payer's  pro- 
perty if  he  will  not  pay,  and  in  every  case 
receive  the  value  of  the  sum  demanded  in 
kind,  and  at  their  own  price,  according  to 
the  article  they  and  their  employers  can 
make  the  most  profit  out  of.  The  sum, 
therefore,  which  was  demanded,   was,   in 


A.D.  1873.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[treaty  with  BOKHARA. 


' 


reality,  exceptionally  high,  and  the  collec- 
tion of  it  gave  rise  to  disturbances,  which 
afforded  the  Russians  a  pretext  for  still 
further  curtailing  the  powers  of  the  khan. 

The  true  significance  of  the  Khivan  treaty 
became  still  more  apparent  when  read  by 
the  light  of  the  treaty  concluded  a  month 
afterwards  with  the  Khan  of  Bokhara,  by 
General  Kauffmann.     This  treaty  runs  : — 

Treaty  concluded  behueen  General  Aide- 
de  camp  Kauffmann,  Governor-General 
of  Turkistan,  and  Seid  Muzafer,  Ameer 
of  Bokhara. 

"Art.  1.  The  line  of  frontier  between 
the  dominions  of  his  imperial  majesty,  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  and  of  those  of 
his  eminence  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara,  re- 
mains unaltered. 

"All  the  Khivan  territory  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Amou-Daria  being  now  an- 
nexed to  the  Russian  dominions,  the  for- 
mer frontier  separating  the  possessions  of 
the  Ameer  of  Bokhara  from  the  khanate  of 
Khiva,  and  stretching  on  the  west  from  the 
locality  called  Khalata  towards  Gugertli, 
*Togai,'  on  the  right  bank  of  Amou,  is 
abolished.  The  territory  situated  between 
the  former  Bokharo-Khivan  frontier,  the 
right  bank  of  the  Amou-Daria,  from 
Gugertli  to  Meschekly,  '  Togai '  inclusive, 
and  the  line  passing  from  Meschekly  to  the 
point  of  junction  of  the  former  Bokharo- 
Khivan  frontier,  with  the  frontier  of  the 
Russian  empire,  are  annexed  to  the 
dominions  of  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara. 

"  Art.  2.  The  right  bank  of  the  Amou- 
Daria  being  detached  from  the  khanate  of 
Khiva,  all  the  caravan  routes  leading  from 
Bokhara  to  the  north  into  the  Russian 
dominions,  traverse  henceforth  exclusively 
lands  belonsrino:  to  Bokhara  and  Russia. 
The  governments  of  Russia  and  Bokhara, 
each  within  its  own  limits,  shall  both  watch 
over  the  security  of  the  march  of  caravans, 
and  of  the  transit  trade. 

"Art.  3.  Russian  steamers  and  other 
Russian  government  vessels,  as  well  as  ves- 
sels belonging  to  private  individuals,  shall 
have  the  right  of  free  navigation  on  that 
portion  of  the  Amou-Daria  which  belongs 
to  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara. 

"  Art.  4.  Russians  shall  have  the  right 
to  establish  wharves  (landing-places)  and 
storehouses  for  merchandise  in  such  places 
on  the  Bokharian  banks  of  the  Amou- 
Daria  as  may  be  judged  necessary  and  con- 
venient for  that  purpose.     The  government 


of  Bokhara  shall  undertake  to  watch  over 
the  safety  and  security  of  the  said  wharves 
and  storehouses.  The  ratification  of  the 
selection  of  localities  for  the  establishment 
of  wharves  shall  rest  with  the  superior  Rus- 
sian authorities  in  Central  Asia. 

"  Art.  5.  All  the  towns  and  villages  in 
the  khanate  of  Bokhara  shall  be  open  to 
Russian  trade.  Russian  traders  and  Rus- 
sian caravans  shall  freely  pass  through  all 
parts  of  the  khanate,  and  shall  enjoy  the 
special  protection  of  the  local  authorities. 
The  Bokharian  government  shall  be  respon- 
sible for  the  securitv  of  Russian  caravans 
within  the  confines  of  the  khanate  of 
Bokhara. 

"Art.  6.  All  merchandise  belonorinof  to 
Russian  traders,  whether  transported  from 
the  Russian  possessions  into  Bokhara,  or 
from  Bokhara  to  Russia,  shall,  without  ex- 
ception, be  liable  to  a  tax  of  two  and  a-half 
per  cent.,  ad  valorem,  in  the  same  way  as 
a  duty  of  one-fortieth  is  charged  on  mer- 
chandise in  the  Turkistan  province.  Besides 
this  ziaket  no  other  supplementary  tax 
shall  be  imposed. 

"  Art.  7.  Russian  traders  shall  have  the 
right  to  transport  their  merchandise  through 
Bokhara  to  all  neighbouring  towns  free  of 
duty. 

"  Art.  8.  Russian  traders  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  establish  caravanserais  for  the 
storasfe  of  their  merchandise  in  all  Bokha- 
rian  towns  in  which  they  may  consider  it 
necessary  to  do  so.  Bokharian  traders  shall 
enjoy  the  same  privilege  in  the  towns  of 
the  Turkistan  province. 

"  Art.  9.  Russian  traders  shall  have  the 
riofht  to  have  commercial  agents  in  all  the 
towns  of  Bokhara,  whose  business  it  shall 
be  to  watch  over  the  regular  course  of 
trade,  and  over  the  legal  imposition  of  cus- 
toms' dues,  and  who  shall  also  be  authorised 
to  enter  into  communication  with  the  local 
authorities.  Bokharian  traders  shall  enjoy 
the  same  privilege  in  the  towns  of  the 
Turkistan  province. 

"  Art.  10.  Engagements  of  trade  be- 
tween Russians  and  Bokharians  shall  be 
held  sacred  and  inviolable  on  both  sides. 
The  Bokharian  government  shall  promise 
to  keep  watch  over  the  honest  fulfilment  of 
all  trading  engagements,  as  also  over  the 
conscientious  conduct  of  trading  affairs 
generally. 

"Art.  11.  Russian  subjects  shall,  equally 
with  the  subjects  of  Bokhara,  have  the 
right  to  occupy  themselves  in  the  Bokha- 

247 


■  ''I 


■»«■ 


m 


p    * 


■  i  -  * 


TREATY  WITH  BOKHARA.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1873. 


rian  dominions  with  the  various  trades  and 
crafts  which  are  allowed  under  the  shahri- 
gate,  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  Bokharian 
subjects  are  permitted,  in  the  Russian 
dominions,  to  follow  those  occupations 
which  are  sanctioned  by  the  laws  of  Russia. 

"Art.  12.  Russian  subjects  shall  have  the 
right  to  possess  immovable  property  in  the 
khanate  ;  ^.  e.,  to  acquire  by  purchase  gar- 
dens and  cultivable  lands.  Such  property 
shall  be  liable  to  a  land-tax  on  an  equality 
with  the  properties  of  Bokharian  subjects. 
The  same  right  shall  be  enjoyed  by  Bokha- 
rian subjects  within  the  limits  of  the  Rus- 
sian empire. 

"Art.  13.  Russian  subjects  shall  enter 
the  Bokharian  dominions  with  permits, 
issued  by  the  Russian  authorities,  for 
crossing  the  frontier ;  they  shall  have  the 
right  of  free  passage  throughout  the  entire 
khanate,  and  they  shall  enjoy  the  special 
protection  of  the  Bokharian  authorities. 

"Art.  14.  The  government  of  Bokhara 
shall  in  no  case  admit  into  its  country  any 
emigrants  from  Russia,  whatever  may  he 
their  nationality,  who  are  not  provided 
with  permits  from  Russian  authorities.  If 
a  criminal,  being  a  Russian  subject,  seeks 
refuge  within  the  confines  of  Bokhara  from 
the  pursuit  of  the  law,  the  same  shall  be 
arrested  and  delivered  over  to  the  nearest 
Russian  authorities. 

"  Art.  15.  In  order  to  hold  direct  and 
uninterrupted  relations  with  the  superior 
Russian  authorities  in  Central  Asia,  the 
Ameer  of  Bokhara  shall  select  from  among 
those  around  him  a  person  of  confidence, 
whom  he  shall  establish  at  Tashkent  as  his 
envoy-plenipotentiary.  Such  envoy  shall 
reside  at  Tashkent,  in  a  house  belonging  to 
the  Ameer,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  latter. 

"  Art.  16.  The  Russian  government 
may,  in  like  manner,  have  a  permanent 
representative  in  Bokhara,  who  shall  be 
near  the  person  of  his  Eminence  the  Ameer. 
The  Russian  plenipotentiary  in  Bokhara, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Ameer's  plenipoten- 
tiary in  Tashkent,  shall  reside  in  a  house 
belonging  to  the  Russian  government,  and 
at  the  expense  of  the  latter. 

"Art.  17.  In  deference  to  the  Emperor 
of  all  the  Russias,  and  for  the  greater  glory 
of  his  imperial  majesty,  his  Eminence  the 
Ameer  Seid  Muzafer  has  resolved  that 
henceforth  and  for  ever  the  shameful  trade 
in  men,  which  is  so  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
humanity,  shall  be  abolished  within  the 
limits  of  Bokhara.  In  conformity  with 
248 


this  resolution,  Seid  Muzafer  shall  imme- 
diately send  to  all  his  Beks  the  strictest 
orders  to  that  effect.  Besides  the  order 
abolishing  the  slave-trade,  commands  shall 
be  sent  to  all  the  frontier  towns  of  Bokhara 
to  which  slaves  are  brought  for  sale  from 
neighbouring  countries,  to  the  efi'ect  that 
in  case  slaves  should  be  brought  to  such 
places,  notwithstanding  the  orders  of  the 
Ameer,  the  same  should  be  taken  from  their 
owners,  and  immediately  liberated. 

"Art.  18.  His  Eminence  Seid  Muzafer, 
being  sincerely  desirous  of  developing  and 
strengthening  the  friendly  and  neighbourly 
relations  which  have  subsisted  for  five  years 
to  the  benefit  of  Bokhara,  shall  be  guided 
by  the  seventeen  articles  composing  the 
treaty  of  friendship  between  Russia  and 
Bokhara.  This  treaty  shall  be  written  in 
duplicate,  each  copy  being  written  in  the 
two  languages — one  in  the  Russian,  and  the 
other  in  the  Turkish  language. 

"  In  token  of  the  confirmation  of  treaty, 
and  of  its  acceptance  as  a  guide  to  himself 
and  to  his  successors,  the  Ameer  Seid 
Muzafer  has  attached  his  seal.  In  Shaar, 
the  28th  day  of  September  (O.S.),  1873,  in 
the  month  of  Shaghan,  19th  day,  1290." 

These  stipulations  afi'ord  the  Russian 
government  so  many  pretexts  for  inter- 
ference in  the  affairs  of  Bokhara,  that  the 
independence  of  the  State  exists  merely  in 
name.  It  would  be  waste  of  time  to  point 
out  the  various  modes  in  which  Bokhara  is 
by  this  treaty  made  entirely  dependent  on 
Russia.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  was  by  such 
treaties  that  the  Russians  extended  their 
position  ten  degrees  southwards  in  forty 
years — by  one  degree,  or  sixty-nine  miles, 
every  four  years.  At  this  rate  of  advance 
they  will  extend  their  possessions  to  the 
Indian  frontier  and  Afghanistan  in  another 
twenty  years.  This  rate  seems  to  be  kept 
up  now ;  for  every  mail  from  Tashkent  to 
St.  Petersburg  brings  the  news  of  some 
further  advance,  for  one  reason  or  the  other. 

However,  when  the  news  of  the  two 
above  treaties  arrived  in  England,  the  in- 
dignation was  universal.. N  It  is  beyond  our 
province,  and  does  not  fall  within  the  scope 
of  the  present  work,  to  show  why  the  Rus- 
sian advance  should  be  a  menace  to  British 
rule  in  India.  Still,  at  certain  periods  the 
history  of  one  country  becomes  so  inter- 
woven with  that  of  another,  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  some  account  of  the  relations 
existing  between  them,  especially  when,  as 
in  the  present  case,  a  subject  is  under  con- 


A.D.  1873.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[GRANVILLE'S  DESPATCH. 


sideration  that  may  possibly  make  the  his- 
tory of  both  countries  identical — that  is, 
in  case  of  a  bitter  war  between  the  two. 

Rightly  or  wrongly,  the  British  govern- 
ment judged  it  expedient  to  demand  of  the 
czar  some  explanation  regarding  the  expe- 
dition to  Khiva. 

Mr.  Grladstone  and  Lord  Granville  were 
then  in  office.     These  gentlemen  considered 
then — also  rightly  or  wrongly — that  Khiva 
was  a  country  whose  fate  could  not  be  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  the  British  govern- 
ment.    Being  then   in  office,  the  fate  of 
even  so  small  and  unimportant  a  country  as 
that  of  Khiva  was  not  indifferent  to  these 
statesmen.    They  held  it  to  be  their  duty, 
being  in  office,  to  uphold  the  interests  and 
honour  of  the  nation.     They  therefore,  not 
being    hampered    by  the   interests   which 
animate    an  opposition,  demanded  expla- 
nations as  to  the  object  of  the  expedition  to 
Khiva.     A  matrimonial  alliance — which,  it 
is  true,  was  not  to  the  taste  of  the  people, 
nor,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  to  the  other 
members  of  the    royal    family — had    ren- 
dered  the   demand   for  such  explanations 
comparatively  easy.     The   British    states- 
men approached  the  czar  somewhat  in  the 
spirit  of  the  head  of  a  family  who  makes 
the  occasion  of  his  son's  marriage  a  reason 
for  settling  old  disputes  and  sore  points. 
The  czar  at  once  entered  into  the  spirit  of 
the  thing ;  and  announcing  his  intention  of 
soon  coming  to  England  and  paying  a  visit 
to  his  daughter,  replied  with  the  greatest 
frankness ;    and  as    an  autocrat,   without 
whose  sanction  not  a  sword  can  be  sheathed 
or  drawn,  at  once  made  the  promises  which 
set  the  minds  of  the  British  cabinet  at  rest, 
and  amply  satisfied  the  majority  of  parlia- 
ment.   He  sent  Count  Schouvaloff,  hitherto 
minister  of  police,  a  man  in  whom  he  had 
unbounded  confidence,  to  England,  to  assure 
the  British  ministers  personally  of  the  good 
wishes   the  czar  entertained  for  Entjland, 
and  as  to  the  objects  of  the  Khivan  expe- 
dition.   Count  Schouvaloff  acquitted  him- 
self creditably  and  completely  of  his  task. 
He   quite  allayed   Lord    Granville's    fears 
in    a   conversation    which   was   communi- 
cated to  Lord  Loftus,  the  British  ambas- 
sador at  St.  Petersburg,  in  the  following 
despatch  : —  v 

"Foreign  Office,  Jan.  8th,  1873. 

"  My  Lord, — Having  received  informa- 
tion from  your  excellency  and  from  Count 
Brunnow,  that  Count  Schouvaloff,  a  states- 

VOL.  II.  2  K 


man  enjoying  the  full  confidence  of  the 
Emperor  of  Russia,  had  left  St.  Petersburg 
for  London,  at  the  desire  of  his  imperial 
majesty,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  his 
excellency  on  the  8th  instant. 

"  He  confirmed  the  fact  that  it  was  by 
the  emperor's  desire  that  he  sought  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  me.  It  had  caused 
great  surprise  to  his  imperial  majesty  to 
learn,  from  various  sources,  that  a  certain 
amount  of  excitement  and  susceptibility 
had  been  caused  in  the  public  mind  of  this 
country,  on  account  of  questions  connected 
with  Central  Asia. 

"  The  emperor  knew  of  no  questions  in 
Central  Asia  which  could  affect  the  good 
understanding  between  the  two  countries. 
It  was  true  that  no  agreement  had  been 
come  to  as  to  some  ot  the  details  of  the 
arrangement  concluded  by  Lord  Clarendon 
and  Prince  Gortchakoff,  on  the  basis  of 
Mr.  Forsyth's  recommendations  as  to  the 
boundaries  of  Afghanistan  ;  but  the  ques- 
tion ought  not  to  be  a  cause  to  ruffle  the 
good  relations  between  the  two  countries. 
His  imperial  majesty  had  agreed  to  almost 
everything  that  we  had  asked.  There  re- 
mained only  the  point  regarding  the  pro- 
vinces of  Badakshan  and  Wakhan.  There 
might  be  arguments  used  respectively  by 
the  departments  of  each  government ;  but 
the  emperor  was  of  opinion  that  such  a 
question  should  not  be  a  cause  of  difference 
between  the  two  countries  ;  and  his  imperial 
majesty  was  determined  that  it  should  not 
be  so.  He  was  the  more  inclined  to  carry 
out  this  determination  in  consequence  of 
his  majesty's  belief  in  the  conciliatory 
policy  of  her  majesty's  government. 

"  Count  Schouvaloff  added,  on  his  own 
part,  that  he  had  every  reason  to  believe,  if 
it  were  desired  by  her  majesty's  government, 
the  agreement  might  be  arrived  at  at  a 
very  early  period. 

"  With  regard  to  the  expedition  to 
Khiva,  it  was  true  that  it  was  decided  upon 
for  next  spring.  To  give  an  idea  of  its 
character,  it  was  sufficient  to  say  that  it 
would  consist  of  four  and  a-half  battalions. 
Its  object  was,  to  punish  acts  of  brigandage, 
to  recover  fifty  Russian  prisoners,  and  to 
teach  the  khan  that  such  conduct  on  his 
part  could  not  be  continued  with  the  impu- 
nity in  which  the  moderation  of  Russia  had 
led  him  to  believe.  Not  only  was  it  far 
from  the  intention  of  the  emperor  to  take 
possession  of  Khiva,  but  positive  orders 
had  been  prepared  to  prevent  it,  and  direc- 

249 


'Ml 


i 


THE  czar's  promises.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1873. 


A.D.  1873.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[Schuyler's  report. 


i 


tions  given  that  the  conditions  imposed 
should  be  such  as  could  not  in  any  way 
lead  to  a  prolonged  occupancy  of  Khiva. 

"Count  Schouvaloff  repeated  the  sur- 
prise which  the  emperor,  entertaining  such 
sentiments,  felt  at  the  uneasiness  which  it 
was  said  existed  in  England  on  the  subject, 
and  he  gave  me  most  decided  assurance 
that  I  might  give  positive  assurances  to 
parliament  on  this  matter. 

"With  regard  to  the  uneasiness  which 
might  exist  in  England  on  the  subject  of 
Central  Asia,  I  could  not  deny  the  fact  to 
Count  Schouvaloff.  The  people  of  this 
country  were  decidedly  in  favour  of  peace ; 
but  a  great  jealousy  existed  as  to  anything 
which  really  affected  our  honour  and  in- 
terest ;  that  they  were  particularly  alive  to 
anything  affecting  India;  that  the  pro- 
gress of  Russia  in  Asia  had  been  con- 
siderable, and  sometimes,  as  it  would 
appear,  like  England  in  India,  and  France 
in  Algeria,  more  so  than  was  desired  by  the 
central  governments;  that  the  Clarendon 
and  Gortchakoff  arrangement,  apparently 
agreeable  to  both  governments,  had  met 
with  great  delay  as  to  its  final  settlement ; 
that  it  was  with  the  object  of  coming  to  a 
settlement  satisfactory  to  both  countries, 
and  in  a  friendly  and  conciliatory  spirit, 
thad  I  had  addressed  to  your  excellency  the 
despatch  of  the  17th  October. 

"  The  only  point  of  difference  which  now 
remained,  as  Count  Schouvaloff  had  pointed 
out,  concerned  Badakshan  and  Wakhan. 
In  our  opinion,  historical  facts  proved  that 
these  countries  were  under  the  domination 
of  the  sovereign  of  Cabul ;  and  we  have 
acknowledged  as  much  in  public  docu- 
ments :  that,  with  regard  to  the  expedition 
to  Khiva,  Count  Schouvaloff  was  aware 
that  Lord  Northbroke  had  given  the 
strongest  advice  to  the  khan  to  comply 
with  the  reasonable  demands  of  the  em- 
peror ;  and  if  the  expedition  were  under- 
taken and  carried  out  with  the  object  and 
within  the  limits  described  by  Count 
Schouvaloff,  it  would  meet  with  no  remon- 
strance from  her  majesty's  government; 
but  it  would  undoubtedly  excite  public 
attention,  and  make  the  settlement  of  the 
boundary  of  Afghanistan  more  important 
for  the  object  w..ich  both  governments  had 
in  view — viz.,  peace  in  Central  Asia,  and 
good  relations  between  the  two  countries. 

*'  As  to  coming  to  a  decision  at  an  early 
date,  it  appeared  to  me  desirable,  inasmuch 
as  it  would  bear  a  different  aspect  if  arrived 
250 


at  in  the  spirit  with  which  both  govern- 
ments were  actuated,  and  not  complicated 
by  possible  discussions  raised  in  the  British 
parliament. 

"I  concluded  by  telling  Count  Schou- 
valoff that  I  knew  the  confidence  which 
was  placed  in  him  by  the  emperor,  and  that 
I  felt  sure  that  my  colleagues  would  agree 
with  me  in  appreciating  his  visit  to  Eng- 
land, as  a  gratifying  proof  of  the  eminently 
conciliatory  and  friendly  spirit  with  which 
the  emperor  desired  to  settle  without  delay 
the  question  at  issue. — I  am,  &C.5 

(Signed)  "  Granville.'* 

Now,  when  the  positive  assurances  given 
to  the  British  cabinet  by  the  czar,  as  re- 
lated in  the  above  despatch,  were  commu- 
nicated to    parliament,  great    satisfaction 
generally  was     exhibited,   although   there 
were  many  who   knew  that  the  czar  was 
acting  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  men 
who  were  conducting  the  expedition,  and 
contrary  to  that  of  his  own  foreign  minis- 
ter.     Consequently,    men   like  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson  placed  no  value  at  all  upon  the 
czar's  word  of  honour.     In  a  former  page 
we  pointed  out  that  the  emperor — autocrat 
though  he  be — is  actually  very  far  from 
all-powerful,  and  but   little  more  than  a 
puppet  in  irresponsible  hands,  who  persuade 
and   force  him  to   adopt   steps,   and  take 
measures,    for   which   he  alone   bears   the 
responsibility.     But  though  we  may  know 
that  such  a  man  means  what  he  says,  and 
is  a  man  of  personal  honour,  as  far  as  he 
possesses  any  personality  at  all,  we  must 
hold   him   responsible   for  the  acts  of  his 
servants ;     and   no    considerations   of    his 
personal  worth  must  be  allowed  to  affect 
the  relations  between   the  two    countries. 
The  czar's  word,  as  a  man  to  a  man,  may 
be  unimpeachable ;    but  his  word   as   the 
head  of  the  State,  as  a  government,  is  not 
worth  the  fag-end  of    a  rushlight.     This 
was  made  amply  apparent  when  the  result 
of  the  Khivan  expedition  and  the  two  treaties 
with  the  Khan  of  Khiva  and  the  Khan  of 
Bokhara    became     known.     The    imperial 
promises  were  scattered  to  the  winds,  and 
the  seeds  sown  to  a  distrust  of  Russia  that 
have  been  steadily  growing,  and  which,  in 
no  slight  measure,  contributed  to  the  fate 
of  the  Grladstone  ministry,  and  to  the  dis- 
content with  which  the   members  of   the 
Gladstone    cabinet    were    regarded    when 
they  were  found  pleading  the  cause  of  the 
very  man  who  had  so  egregiously  deceived 


them,  and  then  offered  to  the  British  cabi- 
net a  bushelful  of  excuses  to  take  their 
choice  of. 

These  excuses  were  based  on  the  unfore- 
seen difficulties  which  dictated  the  annexa- 
tion of  Khiva,  and  upon  the  "fact"  that 
the  czar  hud  commanded  General  Kauff- 
mann  not  to  annex  any  portion  of  Khivan 
territory  to  Russia.  But  General  Kauff- 
mann  did  not  agree  with  this  command, 
and  refused  to  obey  it.  Not  only  that,  but 
he  apparently  requested  the  czar  to  approve 
of  this  disobedience,  and  to  sanction  its 
continuance,  and  notify  and  confirm  the 
results.  The  czar,  recognising  the  virtues 
of  obedience  better  than  his  subject,  obeyed 
this  request.  It  is,  therefore,  a  question 
as  to  who  really  is  the  Emperor  of  Russia. 
Lord  Granville  did  not  care  to  solve  the 
question  ;  and  in  reply  to  the  excuses  made, 
observed,  that  "  her  majesty's  government 
saw  no  practical  advantage  in  examining 
too  minutely  how  far  the  Khivan  arrange- 
ments were  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
assurances  given  by  Count  Schouvaloff." 

At  this  stage  we,  too,  may  leave  the 
question.  Public  attention,  however,  was 
drawn  more  closely  to  Central  Asia,  not 
only  in  England,  but  also  in  America  and 
Germany.  The  country  and  its  products, 
the  life  and  habits  of  the  Central  Asian 
States,  and  the  nature  of  Russian  progress, 
were  more  closely  examined  from  a  political 
point  of  view,  and  the  world  enriched  by 
such  works  as  those  of  Mr.  Schuyler,  the 
American  ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg; 
by  Mr.  MacGahan  and  Captain  Burnaby. 

Mr.  Schuyler,  especially,  wrote  a  report 
concerning  the  bad  administration  of  Cen- 
tral Asia ;  which  was  so  carefully  written, 
and  with  such  detail,  that  its  publication 
came  like  a  blow  upon  the  Russian  govern- 
ment, who  made  such  strong  representations 
to  the  United  States  government,  that  Mr. 
Schuyler  was  recalled.  The  salient  pas- 
sages in  his  report  run  as  follows  : — 

"  The  faults  of  the  Russian  administra- 
tion seem  to  be,  however,  in  some  measure 
due  to  the  personal  character  and  conduct 
of  the  governor-general.  General  Kauff- 
mann  is,  unfortunately,  a  very  weak  as 
well  as  a  very  vain  man,  and  has  always 
been  surrounded,  wherever  he  was,  by 
persons  who  use  these  qualities  to  serve 
their  own  purpose.  He  came  to  Central 
Asia  with  no  knowledge  of  the  country, 
and,  by  holding  himself  in  a  very  lofty 
position,  has  acquired  very  little  knowledge 


of  it  during  his  stay.  He  has  considered 
it  necessary  to  keep  up  an  appearance  of 
state,  and  to  have  little  communication 
with  the  natives,  having  been  in  the  Asiatic 
part  of  Tashkent  only  once  or  twice  during 
the  seven  years  of  his  administration.  He 
never  rides  through  the  streets  without  a 
body-guard  of  100  Cossacks,  and  main- 
tains himself  at  a  distance  of  the  Russians 
also. 

"  At  his  balls,  it  is  forbidden  to  a  gentle- 
man to  be  seated — a  more  strict  etiquette 
than  prevails  at  the  balls  of  the  emperor  at 
St.  Petersburg.  The  Central  Asiatics  are 
accustomed  to  a  very  simple,  and,  in  some 
respects,  democratic  kind  of  life ;  and,  in- 
stead of  standing  in  awe  of  the  governor- 
general,  they  turn  his  actions,  to  some 
extent,  to  ridicule.  At  the  same  time, 
these  restrictions,  in  their  intercourse  with 
him,  prevent  their  reaching  him  with  com- 
plaints or  suggestions;  and,  therefore,  so 
far  as  he  knows  the  natives,  he  knows  only 
such  as  by  their  wealth  and  cunning  are 
able  to  get  round  him.  In  this  respect  he 
is  the  exact  opposite  of  General  Tchernaieff, 
who,  by  his  simplicity,  bravery,  and  almost 
intuitive  knowledge  of  the  country  and 
people,  made  himself  very  popular,  and  is 
very  greatly  regretted  by  the  natives,  who 
long  for  his  return.  It  is  natural,  of 
course,  that  General  Kauffmann  should 
have  his  favourites  among  the  Russian 
officers,  and  should  be  disposed  to  uphold 
them  in  spite  of  all  charges  of  maladmin- 
istration. Although  the  most  glaring  acts 
of  maladministration  have  been  committed 
by  the  district  prefects  or  commanders,  the 
general  tone  set  by  the  governor-general 
is  such  as  to  naturally  lead  to  this  result, 
and  to  render  it  almost  hopeless  to  expect 
anything  better.  The  prefects,  being  re- 
moved, to  a  certain  extent,  from  the  obser- 
vation and  control  of  the  centre  of  obser- 
vation, and  falling  soon  into  the  ways  and 
methods  of  former  Central  Asiatic  govern- 
ments, abuse  their  powers,  and  consider 
themselves  almost  irresponsible.  A  strik- 
ing example  of  this  was  in  the  management 
of  the  Karminski  district,  one  of  the  most 
fertile  and  thickly  settled  in  the  whole  pro- 
vince, and  surrounding,  not  including,  the 
city  of  Tashkent.  The  prefect  of  this  dis- 
trict in  one  year  levied  90,000  roubles  of 
illegal  taxes,  all  of  which  he  spent,  besides 
other  government  money,  and  yet  he  resided 
within  five  miles  of  the  house  of  the 
governor-general,    and  was  known   to  be 

251 


\  )■ 


rj. 


RUSSIAN  CORRUPTION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1873. 


living  in  a  style,  with  frequent  dinners, 
suppers,  and  ganibling  parties,  entirely  im- 
possible on  his  salary  of  2,400  roubles  a 
year.  Among  other  things,  savings'  funds 
had  been  instituted  for  the  benefit  of  the 
population;  but  by  a  subsequent  regula- 
tion, approved  by  the  governor-general,  it 
had  been  allowed  to  spend  them  on  admin- 
istrative needs  of  the  district.  This  money, 
some  22,000  roubles,  entirely  disappeared, 
and  no  account  of  its  expenditure  could  be 
found,  except  that  it  was  said  it  had 
been  used  in  fitting  up  the  house  of  the 
prefect.  Money  was  taken  from  the  natives 
at  all  times,  and  under  all  pretences  ;  and  a 
grossly  illegal  order  was  issued,  forbidding 
all  persons  to  cross  the  river  Syr  Daria 
at  any  other  place  than  the  places  specified 
in  the  order,  threatening  persons  who  did 
so  with  being  sent  to  Siberia.  The  points 
specified  were  places  belonging  to  friends 
of  the  prefect. 

"  When,  at  last,  matters  became  too  scan- 
dalous, the  governor-general  felt  obliged  to 
take  some  notice,  and  removed  the  prefect 
from  the  district ;  but,  instead  of  punishing 
him,  he  appointed  him  to  another  locality, 
stating  that  he  considered  bim  a  'most 
useful  officer.' 

"  The  prefect  of  the  district  of  Perofski 
was  investigated  and  removed  for  extortion 
and  bribery.  He  was  then  appointed  to 
Auli-ata,  and  has  lately  been  investigated, 
and  removed  for  demanding  an  illegal  con- 
tribution from  the  natives  on  the  occasion 
of  the  demand  for  camels  for  the  Khivan 
expedition.  Other  persons  have,  in  like 
way,  been  removed  from  one  post  for  mal- 
administration, and  immediately  given  an- 
\)ther. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  persons  who 
endeavoured  to  enlighten  the  public  as  to 
the  state  of  affairs,  were  immediately  pun- 
ished ;  and  the  commandant  of  the  district 

of was  removed,  and  sent  out  of  the 

province,  for  having  written  a  letter  to  St. 
Petersburg  for  publication,  though  not  at 
the  time  actually  published,  stating  the 
truth  about  the  disaffection  and  riots  at 
Khodjend,  alleging  that  they  were  caused 
by  the  excessive  taxation,  which  was  not 
•what  the  Russians  had  at  first  promised, 
and  not  by  the  vaccination  measures,  as  had 
been  given  out.  Similar  instances  are 
numerous.  When  the  papers  showing  t,he 
guilt  of  one  employe  were  presented  to  the 
governor-general,  he  tore  them  up  without 
reading  them ;  saying,  '  I  know  this  person 
252 


so  well,  and  I  believe  him  to  be  such  an 
honest  man,  that  I  cannot  think  such  things 
to  be  possible.' 

"  In  some  cases,  acts  not  only  wrong  in 
themselves,  but  bringing  with  them  very 
important  consequences,  have  been  com- 
mitted, not  from  a  desire  of  personal  gain, 
but  from  a  wish  to  appear  zealous  in  the 
performance  of  duties,  or  from  motives  of 
intrigue.  A  case  which  happened  last  year 
is  especially  noticeable.. 

"  An  officer  named  Emmonds,  in  posses- 
sion of  a  considerable  amount  of  government 
funds,  gave  information  that  he  had  been 
robbed  by  Kirghiz.  The  chief  Kirghiz 
living  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  alleged 
occurrence  were  arrested,  and,  after  a  long 
examination,  several  of  them  confessed  their 
guilt,  though  the  money  could  not  be  found. 
While  the  trial  was  going  on  Emmonds 
committed  suicide,  leaving  a  letter,  in 
which  he  stated  that  he  was  not  the  honest 
man  that  had  been  supposed,  as  he  had 
himself  spent  the  money,  and  made  that 
excuse  to  clear  himself.  The  Kirghiz  were 
then,  of  course,  released  ;  but  the  question 
arose — why  had  they  confessed  ?  And,  on 
investigation,  it  was  found  that  the  judicial 
officer.  Baron  Grevenitz  of  Kerney,  had  ex- 
torted a  confession  from  them  by  means  of 
torture — a  practice  wholly  at  variance  with 
Russian  law,  and  certainly  most  disastrous 
for  Russian  influence  amongst  the  Kirghiz. 

"There  was  another  case  in  the  same 
neighbourhood,  at  Kopol,  where  a  district 
prefect  had  been  robbed,  beaten,  and  severely 
wounded.  As  he  was  most  deservedlv  un- 
popular  for  the  extortions  he  practised  on 
the  natives,  his  was  not  to  be  wondered  at. 
Over  sixty  Kirghiz  were  accused  of  partici- 
pating in  this  act,  the  chief  of  them  being 
the  Sultan  Veizak,  holding  the  rank  of 
major  in  the  Russian  service,  the  most  aris- 
tocratic and  respected  amongst  the  Kirghiz 
chiefs,  and  a  well-known  and  life-long  friend 
to  Russia.  The  chief  evidence  against  him 
was,  that  some  of  the  property  stolen  from 
the  prefect  was  found  in  his  tent.  One  in- 
vestigation succeeded  another,  until  a  Cos- 
sack finally  confessed  that  he  had  placed 
these  articles  in  the  tent  of  Veizak  at  the 
instigation  of  the  judge  himself.  It  is  said 
that  this  was  done  because  the  judge  wished 
to  please  one  high  official  by  convicting  of 
robbery  and  sedition  another,  of  whom  he 
was  jealous.  Among  the  papers  of  the  in- 
vestigating commission  is  a  letter  from  the 
prefect  to  the  judge,  with  regard  to  the 


M '( ■ 


■  < 


A.D.  1873.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


Prussian  extortion. 


means  of  obtaining  this  evidence.  For 
various  reasons  it  has  never  been  possible 
to  finish  this  investigation ;  but  it  was 
thought  necessary  to  remove  the  judge,  and 
to  bestow  upon  him  a  similar  post  in  the 
city  of  Khodjend,  where  he  is  now  the  chief 
administrator  of  justice.  The  effect  of 
such  a  proceeding  is,  of  course,  to  make  the 
natives  thoroughly  displeased  with  the 
working  of  the  Russian  courts. 

"  Another  case  of  the  ill-advised  action  of 
the  authorities,  regardless  of  the  effect  pro- 
duced upon  the  natives,  occurred  last  sum- 
mer. 

"  When  the  Khivan  expedition  began,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  obtain  14,000 
camels,  exactly  14  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
number  of  camels  in  the  provinces ;  and  it 
was  agreed,  that  in  case  these  camels  died,  a 
sum  of  fifty  roubles  would  be  paid  for  each. 
They  had  to  be  furnished  in  proper  propor- 
tions by  the  different  districts.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  hardships  of  the  expedition 
nearly  all  the  camels  perished,  and  it  be- 
came, therefore,  necessary  to  pay  a  sum  of 
700,000  roubles.  One  of  the  prefects, 
thinking  that  he  had  found  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  show  his  zeal  for  the  administra- 
tion and  the  good  feeling  of  the  district, 
told  the  population  over  whom  he  ruled, 
that  the  government  would  never  pay  for 
these  camels,  and  that  it  would  be  much 
better  for  them  to  make  a  present  to  the 
administration ;  and,  by  the  use  of  proper 
persuasion,  succeeded  in  accomplishing  this. 
The  example  was  followed  in  most  of  the 
other  districts ;  and  the  result  is,  that  the 
inhabitants  feel  that  they  have  been  abso- 
lutely robbed  by  the  government  of  these 
camels ;  and,  to  speak  of  nothing  else,  if  it 
were  necessary  again  to  furnish  camels  for 
some  expedition,  the  discontent  would  be 
very  great." 

As  was  foreseen  at  the  time,  the  expedition 
to  Khiva  soon  furnished  the  Russian  com- 
manders with  further  pretexts  to  exercise 
their  arms;  and  difficulty  being  experi- 
enced in  the  collection  of  the  contributions 
laid  upon  the  Turcomans,  General  Kauff- 
mann  decided  to  enforce  a  fine  of  300,000 
roubles  upon  them ;  and  instructed  his 
officials  to  begin  with  the  collection  at  once, 
and  commence  with  the  Bairam-Shali 
branch  of  the  Yomud  tribe,  the  most  turbu- 
lent and  numerous  Turcoman  family.  At 
the  same  time  the  elders  of  the  tribe;  were 
summoned  to  Greneral  Kaufifmann's  head- 
quarters.    They  promised  to  pay  the  fine ; 


whilst  twelve  of  their  number  remained  as 
hostages,  and  the  other  five  were  allowed  to 
depart. 

But  long  before  the  time  agreed  upon  for 
the  payment,  Greneral  Kautfmann  ordered 
an  expedition  against  them.  On  July  19th 
(thus  after  the  capture  of  Khiva,  and  after 
the  treaty  had  been  settled,  though  not 
ratified),  a  force  under  Major-General  Golo- 
vatcbefF,  composed  of  eight  companies,  eight 
sotnias,  ten  guns  (including  two  mitrail- 
leuses), and  a  rocket  battery,  was  advanced 
from  Khiva  to  Hazarat,  where  the  settle- 
ments of  the  Bairam-Shali  Yomuds  com- 
mence. Encountering  only  small  parties  of 
Turcomans,  who  followed  its  movements, 
this  detachment  at  once  commenced  opera- 
tions on  the  21st  of  July,  by  seizing  a 
caravan  and  firing  some  shells  into  the 
running  Turcomans.  It  is,  therefore,  evi- 
dent that,  from  the  very  beginning,  it  was 
not  expected  that  the  payment  would  be 
made,  notwithstanding  that  five  of  the 
elders  were  suffered  to  return  to  their  tribe 
to  collect  the  money. 

The  military  operations  commenced  on 
the  fourth  day  after  the  appearance  of  the 
elders,  in  compliance  with  General  Kauff- 
mann's  order.  The  commander  of  the  de- 
tachment sent  out  against  the  Turcomans 
did,  indeed,  learn  that  the  Yomuds  had  not 
alonenot  begun  to  collect  the  money,  but  that 
they  had  struck  their  tents  with  the  inten- 
tion of  decamping  and  of  offering  armed 
resistance.  What  credit  attached  to  this 
intelligence  it  is  impossible  to  say  :  at  any 
rate,  only  three  days  had  elapsed  from  the 
time  of  the  first  announcement  to  the  elders 
of  the  imposition  of  the  contribution.  This 
is  "  explained  "  by  the  Russian  papers  say- 
ing, that  "although  the  initiative  of  the 
campaign  against  the  Yomud  Turcomans 
was  not  provoked  by  any  acts  on  their  part, 
but  was  solely  taken  by  the  local  military 
authorities,  it  is  a  universally  acknowledged 
fact,  confirmed  by  foreign  writers,  that  the 
Turcomans  are  marauders.  Whether  they 
anticipated  us,  and  attacked  us  first,  or  we 
them,  is  a  matter  of  little  consequence. 
The  material  point  is,  that  having  concluded 
a  treaty  with  Khiva,*  Russia  could  not 
allow  any  element  of  the  population  to  re- 
main free  from  her  influence,  which  would 
most  certainly  interfere  with  the  fulfilment 
of  the  terms  of  the  treaty — a  circumstance 
which  might  possibly  necessitate  a  renewal 

*  The  treaty  was  signed  on  the  24th  of  August, 
1873,  having  been  ratified  by  the  emperor. 

253 


I-  i, 


\ 


li 


i 


i 

4 


RAID  ON  THE  TURCOMANS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1873, 


of  Russian  military  operations  in  the  khan- 
ate of  Khiva." 

On  the  25th  of  July,  Gfeneral  Grolovatcheff 
encamped  his  force  at  the  Chandyr  village, 
and  was  at  once  surrounded  by  large  masses 
of  Turcomans.  The  enemy  here  made  their 
first  display  of  energy,  attacking  the  force 
on  different  sides,  until  the  infantry  fire, 
the  artillery,  and  rockets  finally  forced  them 
to  turn  and  fly,  the  troops  following  in  pur- 
suit for  a  distance  of  three  and  a-half  versts. 
During  this  action.  Lieutenant  Kamenetzki, 
with  a  few  Cossacks  forming  an  outpost, 
pursued  a  party  of  Turcomans,  and  fell  into 
an  ambush,  where  they  were  all  killed.  The 
enemy  suffered  a  great  loss.  The  affair  of 
the  27th  July  was,  however,  still  more 
grave.  The  Turcomans,  as  it  was  stated  in 
the  official  report,  "  fought  with  a  furious 
determination  :  pushing  their  caps  over 
their  eyes,  they  rushed  upon  our  bayonets 
with  sabres  and  halberts."  There  was  in  this 
action  even  a  "  critical  moment,"  according 
to  the  official  report — not,  of  course,  in  the 
sense  of  a  possibility  of  their  losing  the 
day ;  that  they  could  not  have  lost ;  for  in 
the  report  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  the 
enemy's  fire  occasioned  any  harm  to  the 
soldiers.  The  Turcomans  fought  princi- 
pally with  cold  steel,  and  it  was  for  this 
reason  that  they  rushed  upon  the  Russian 
front  ranks.  The  "critical  moment"  oc- 
curred when  one  of  the  Cossack  sotnias 
which  was  sent  forward,  being  obliged  to 
draw  back  before  superior  forces,  losing  its 
officer,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Esipaf;  the 
Turcomans  broke  through  the  front  troops, 
following  upon  the  heels  of  the  Cossacks. 
Both  mounted  and  on  foot  they  rushed  to 
this  attack,  armed  exclusively  with  sabres 
and  halberts.  Those  amongst  them  who 
had  no  horses  galloped  to  the  front,  mounted 
behind  the  horsemen,  and,  jumping  down, 
joined  in  the  attack.  Barefooted,  and 
clothed  only  in  shirts  and  loose  trousers, 
with*  their  sleeves  tucked  up  and  screening 
their  eyes  with  their  left  arms,  they  broke, 
with  shrieks  and  shouts,  through  an  opening 
between  the  2nd  Rifle  Battalion  and  the 
8th  Orenburg  sotnia,  falling  on  the  suite  of 
Major-General  Golovatcheff,  and  on  his 
escort.  Golovatcheff  was  himself  wounded, 
receiving  a  sabre-cut  on  his  right  wrist. 

The  chief  of  the  staff  of  the  detachment 
also  received  a  sabre-cut.  His  highness. 
Prince  Eugene  Maximilianovitch  (of  Leuch- 
tenburg)  himself  shot,  with  a  revolver,  a 
Turcoman  who  attacked  him.  These  im- 
254 


mounted  Turcomans  had  evidently  de- 
voted themselves  to  death,  because  they 
could  not  have  hoped  to  escape  with  the 
horsemen  who  brought  them  up  to  the 
Russian  front.  The  enemy  was  beaten 
back  at  all  points,  and,  in  retreating,  over- 
taken by  shells. 

The  Russian  detachment  then  advanced 
through  the  town  of  Ilyaly,  along  the  road 
to  Kyzyl-Takyr,  without  at  first  meeting 
with  any  opposition ;  but^  encountering  the 
enemy  again  further  on,  it  had  to  push  its 
way  for  eight  versts  through  masses  of 
Turcomans.  On  reaching  the  Ana-Murat 
canal,  it  was  discovered  that  the  detach- 
ment had  been  proceeding  in  a  wrong  direc- 
tion, owing  to  its  having  lost  its  guides. 
It  should  not  have  marched  to  Kyzyl- 
Takyr,  but  to  the  lower  extremity  of  the 
Ana-Murat- Bai  canal,  where  the  enemy  was 
concentrated.  Having,  therefore,  passed 
the  night  by  the  Ana-Murat-Bai,  the 
detachment  advanced,  on  the  next  day,  to 
the  lower  part  of  that  canal. 

The  Russian  losses  on  the  27th  of  July, 
consisted  of — killed,  one  staff-officer  and 
three  privates ;  and  wounded,  one  general, 
four  officers,  and  thirty-two  privates.  Ac- 
cording to  native  accounts,  the  enemy  lost 
only  800  men.  The  Turcomans  engaged 
in  the  action  are  said  to  have  numbered 
4,0U0  foot  and  6,000  horse. 

On  reaching  the  Niaz-Sheikh  canal, 
General  Golovatcheff  received  intelligence 
concerning  the  whereabouts  of  the  Turco- 
mans, which  compelled  him  to  resume  his 
former  direction.  On  the  29th  of  July  the 
detachment  had  another  enofagfement,  which 
was  remarkable  only  for  the  fact  that  the 
Russian  soldiers  captured  a  large  transport 
escorted  by  the  Turcomans  ;  on  which  occa- 
sion the  detachment  captured  over  5,000 
head  of  cattle,  119  camels,  and  about 
3,000  arabas  (three-wheeled  carts)  laden 
with  various  articles  of  property.  The 
Turcomans  fled  in  great  haste,  leaving  be- 
hind them  not  alone  their  property,  but 
also  their  wives  and  children ;  and  the 
official  report  in  reference  to  this,  making 
no  allusion  to  any  loss  on  the  Russian  side, 
speaks  only  of  slaughtered  Turcomans. 

On  the  following  day,  the  30th  of  July, 
General  Golovatcheff,  returning  to  his 
previous  halting-place  by  the  Niaz-Sheikh 
canal,  where  his  (Turkistan)  detachment 
was  joined  by  the  Orenburg  detachment, 
and  by  the  main  body  of  the  Russian  troops 
under  General  Kauffmann,  who,  receiving 


A.D.  1873.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [raid  on  the  Turcomans. 


no  intelligence  from  General  GolovatchefTs 
detachment,  owing  to  the  interception  of 
the  communication  by  the  enemy,  bad  him- 
self advanced  from  Khiva  on  the  27th  with 
ten  companies,  eight  guns,  and  one  sotnia, 
leaving  in  Khiva  only  six  companies  with 
two  guns.  The  Orenburg  detachment  liad 
left  still  earlier,  and  in  the  wake  of  the 
Turkistan  detachment,  reaching  Kyzyl- 
Takyr  on  the  27th  of  July,  and  proceeding 
from  that  place  to  Hyaly,  where  General 
Golovatcheff  arrived  later.  General  Kauff- 
mann marched  first  to  Hazarat,  and  then 
to  Zmukshir;  that  is,  he  took  the  same 
direction  as  that  followed  by  General 
Golovatcheff,  but  proceeded  along  the 
other  side  of  the  canal. 

On  the  31st  of  July  all  the  detachments 
were  assembled  at  Ilyaly.  The  rout  of 
the  Turcomans,  when  the  Russian  troops 
came  suddenly  upon  them,  was  complete. 
A  considerable  number  of  them  were  killed 
and  wounded ;  9,000  head  of  cattle  were 
captured;  and  the  dwellings,  crops,  and 
various  stores  of  the  Turcomans  along 
General  GolovatchefTs  line  of  march,  from 
Hazarat  to  Zmukshir,  were  devoted  to  the 
flames :  altogether,  about  3,000  laden  arabas 
were  destroyed  and  burnt  by  the  Russian 
troops.  Materially  weakened,  and  morally 
beaten,  the  Yomuds  were  dispersed  on  all 
sides. 

After  the  20th  July  (O.S.),  deputations  of 
Yomud  Turcomans  came  to  General  Kauff- 
mann, appealing  for  mercy.  The  com- 
mander of  the  forces,  nevertheless,  proposed 
to  exact  some  portion  of  the  fine  from  the 
Yomuds,  which  should  be  in  proportion  to 
the  means  which,  on  inquiry,  they  should 
still  be  known  to  possess.  From  the  other 
tribes  General  Kauffmann  demanded  a  pay- 
ment of  310,000  roubles  within  a  twelve 
days'  term,  allowing  them  to  make  up  half 
of  that  sum  in  camels. 

The  three  Asiatic  khanates  of  Khokand, 
Bokhara,  and  Khiva,  preserving  only  an 
appearance  of  independence,  and  having 
lost  some  portions  of  their  territories,  have 
fallen  under  the  actual  influence  of  Russia. 
Khokand  is  isolated  from  the  two  other 
khanates.  Khiva  is  now  separated  from 
Bokhara ;  and  Bokhara  and  Khiva  are  now 
entirely  open  to  Russian  troops,  who,  at 
the  same  time,  command  the  irrigation 
sources  of  those  khanates,  and  by  that 
means  alone  hold  the  population  of  those 
countries  entirely  at  their  mercy. 

Although,  by  the  treaty  with  Khiva,  our 


frontier  on  the  western  side  is  defined  by 
the  old  bed  of  the  Oxus,  yet  it  exists,  of 
course,  only  as  far  as  those  extreme  points 
where  the  Khivan  territories  merge  west- 
wards into  the  steppes.  ^  The  points  already 
occupied  by  Russian  troops  on  the  south- 
eastern coast  of  the  Caspian  lie  considerably 
to  the  south  of  the  Uzbri  (the  so-called 
ancient  bed  of  the  Oxus);  so  that  here  the 
line  of  frontier  must  necessarily  be  formed 
by  the  Attrek.  It  has  already  been 
officially  declared  to  be  the  boundary  by 
the  Russian  authorities,  and  has  been 
practically  recognised  as  such  by  Persia, 
our  immediate  neighbour  in  that  quarter. 

This  expedition  against  the  Turcomans 
was  quickly  followed  up  in  January,  1874, 
on  the  faith  of  a  rumour  for  which  there 
appears  to  have  been  no  foundation,  that 
the  Turcomans  "  intended  "  to  ravage  the 
country  annexed  by  the  Russians  in  the 
Delta  of  the  Oxus,  as  soon  as  the  ice  became 
strong  enough  to  allow  them  to  pass  over 
it  to  the  Russian  side.  The  only  evidence 
for  the  existence  of  such  an  intention, 
rested  on  the  confession  of  Russians  them- 
selves— upon  nothing  more  than  the  gossip 
of  the  bazaar  in  Khiva.  But  even  if  it  had 
had  a  more  tangible  basis,  regarding  an 
"  intention  "  on  the  part  of  a  people  but 
just  subjected  to  severe  treatment  as 
equivalent  to  the  act,  is  a  piece  of  hypo- 
critical cant  and  cruelty  which  has  found 
indignant  critics  even  in  Russia.  But  hav- 
ing been  decided  on,  the  expedition  was 
rapidly  organised. 

On  January  4th,  1874,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Dreschen  marched  from  Petro- 
Alexandrovsk  with  four  companies  of 
infantry  and  fifty  Cossacks,  taking  with  him 
two  field-guns  and  two  howitzers.  Three 
days  later,  Colonel  Ivanoff  followed  with  a 
sotnia  of  Cossacks  and  a  rocket  company, 
leaving  instructions  for  two  companies  of 
infantry,  with  a  troop  of  field  artillery,  and 
fifty  Cossacks,  to  be  in  readiness  as  a  reserve 
force  in  the  event  of  its  being  required. 

The  troops  thus  left  in  garrison  were 
three  companies  of  infantry  in  full  comple- 
ment, and  a  troop  of  Cossacks,  with  the 
garrison  artillery,  and  a  troop  of  mountain 
artillery ;  or  a  total  of  something  more  than 
1,000  men. 

The  troops  forming  the  expeditionary 
force  were  supplied  with  fur- coats,  felt- 
blankets,  and  felt-boots. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  the  erection 
of  tents  by  the   local  inhabitants  at  the 

255 


',  k 


Vsl 


,i..i 


|V      ti   I 


il 


ATTACK  ON  TURCOMANS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1870-77. 


^  ?' 


various  places  where   the  troops  were  ap- 
pointed to  bivouac. 

The  average  temperature  was  5°  below 
freezing-point  (Reaumur^;  during  the 
Dight  it  fell  to  ir  and  12°.  It  was  daily 
expected  that  the  river  would  be  blocked 

with  the  ice. 

The  official  reports  state,  that  the 
rumours  concerning  the  hostile  intentions 
of  the  Turcomans  having  increased.  Colonel 
IvanofF  ordered  the  reserve  force  to  quit 
the  fort,  which  he  accordingly  did  on  the 
15th  January,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Aderkas,  provided  with 
every  winter  requirement,  with  provisions 
for  nineteen  days,  and  accompanied  by  a 
transport  of  seventy  camels,  laden  with  sacks 
of  biscuits,  buckwheat,  and  conserved  meats. 

The  first  intimation  of  the  crossing  of  a 
body  of  Turcomans  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Oxus  was  received  on  the  15th  January,  i.  e., 
on  the  same  day  on  which  the  reserve  issued 
from  Petro-Alexandrovsk.  It  was  then 
said  that  the  Turcomans  had  made  their 
appearance  at  Khodja-Kul  (lake),  at  Kip- 
chak  ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  was  rumoured 
among  the  Kirghiz  that  they  intended  to 
break  past  the  Russian  column  to  the  en- 
campments of  the  nomads  of  the  Daii-Kara, 
a  lake  situated  about  seventy  miles  to  the 
north-east  of  Nukus. 

Subsequently  to  this  it  was  learned  that 
a  body  of  about  300  Turcomans  had  at- 
tacked the  fortified  post  of  Mahmut-Kul, 
but  that,  failing  in  their  attempt  to  seize 
it,  they  had  proceeded  to  Kipchak,  destroy- 
ing all  the  tents  and  stores  of  clover  pre- 
pared for  the  Russian  troops. 

At  Nukus  Colonel  Ivanofi"  found  no  signs 
of  the  Turcomans ;  but  his  spies  brought 
him  the  intelligence  that  some  6,000  Turco- 
mans, mounted  and  on  foot,  were  assembled 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Laudan,  and  all  along 
the  course  of  that  canal,  up  to  Kipchak.  It 
was  further  stated  that  these  Turcomans 
were  under  the  leadership  of  Kazy-Murad 
(one  of  the  deputation  of  elders  unwarrant- 
ably kept  as  a  hostage  during  the  Khivan 
expedition,  but  who  succeeded  in  making 
his  escape),  and  of  a  Kirghiz  named  Dosau. 
The  spies  reported  that  none  of  the  other 
elders  of  the  tribes  joined  in  the  movement, 
although  they  suffered  their  people  to  take 
part  in  it. 

On  the  17th   of  January,  it  was  ascer- 
tained  that   about   1,000  Turcomans  had 
crossed  the  Oxus  near  Kipchak,  and  had 
taken  the  direct  road  to  the  Daii-Kara. 
256 


Colonel  Ivanoff,  being  at  this  time 
left  with  only  fifty  mounted  Cossacks 
(having  previously  detached  one  sotnia, 
with  a  rocket  company,  to  escort  back 
to  Petrovsk  the  officer  who  had  brought 
the  reinforcements  to  the  Oxus),  mounted 
a  hundred  riflemen  upon  cart-horses, 
and  sent  them,  under  Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Dreschern,  in  the  direction  of  the  Dau- 
Kara,  to  the  encounter  of  the  returning 
escort.  This  improvised  cavalry,  without 
saddles  or  bridles,  performed  a  journey  of 
thirty  miles,  and  meeting  the  escort,  rode 
back  again. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  Colonel  Ivanoff, 
leaving  the  greater  portion  of  his  baggage 
at  Nukus,  marched  from  that  place  to 
Nazar-Khan  (up  stream,  one  march  dis- 
tance from  Nukus),  at  which  place  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Aderkas,  coming  down  fron^ 
Petro-Alexandrovsk  with  the  reserve  forces, 
was  ordered  to  await  him,  being  instructed 
in  the  meanwhile  to  send  patrols  up  the 
river  in  order  to  ascertain  the  strength  of 
the  enemy,  and  to  prevent  him  from  cross- 
ing. At  this  time  the  river  was  only  par- 
tially frozen  over,  but  it  was  found  that 
the  Turcomans  were  passing  over,  in  sepa- 
rate detachments,  at  Kipchak,  where  the 
ice  was  strongest. 

On  the  21st  and  22nd  of  January,  the 
outposts  of  the  united  forces  of  Colonel 
Ivanoff  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dreschern, 
which  were  encamped  at  Nazar-Khan,  were 
harassed  by  small  parties  of  Turcomans, 
but  these  were  fired  upon  and  kept  at  a 
distance.  On  the  23rd  the  forces  advanced 
up  the  river,  provided  with  felts,  furs,  and 
ten  days'  rations,  leaving  the  impedimenta 
at  Nazar-Khan  under  the  charge  of  the 
Kirghiz  elders.  On  the  same  day  the  force 
encamped  at  Kipcliak,  where  the  ice  was 
traversable  from  three  points,  taking  up  a 
position  immediately  in  front  of  the  cen- 
tral crossing. 

The  left  bank  of  the  river  was  densely 
lined  with  Turcomans,  who,  while  the 
Russian  detachment  was  advancing  towards 
Kipchak,  likewise  pushed  on  in  the  same 
direction.  The  Russians  had  barely  formed 
their  camp  when  the  Turcomans  opened 
fire  upon  them,  but  without  any 
effect,  to  which  the  Russians  did  not 
respond.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Cossack 
patrols  kept  the  Turcomans  from  crossing 
above  and  below  the  Russian  camp. 

Having  determined  to  pass  over  to  the 
left  bank,  Colonel  Ivanoff  sent  a  cavalry 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [repulse  of  Turcomans. 


force  to  reconnoitre  all  the  three  crossings, 
and  while  in  this  manner  leaving  the 
Turcomans  in  ignorance  regarding  the  one 
he  would  select  for  passing  the  troops  over, 
he  despatched  Lieutenant-Colonel  Aderkas 
with  two  sotnias  of  Cossacks  and  a  com- 
pany of  mounted  rifles,  to  drive  back  a 
strong  body  of  Turcomans  which  had  mus- 
tered at  the  lower  crossing,  about  three 
miles  lower  down  the  river,  and  to  examine 
the  condition  of  the  ice  in  that  direction. 
This  operation  was  speedily  performed,  with 
very  little  firing,  and  the  ice  was  reported 
to  be  of  a  good  thickness. 

On  the  night  of  the  23rd  of  January  the 
Turcomans  kept  up  a  sharp  fire  upon  the 
Russian  camp,  and  made  some  bold  attacks 
upon  the  chain  of  pickets  and  on  a  patrol, 
but  were  repulsed  with  heavy  losses. 

The  Turcomans  were  chiefly  massed  on 
the  left  bank,  opposite  the  Russian  camp, 
believing  that  the  Russians  intended  to 
cross  the  river  at  that  point.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  keep  them  in  their  delusion, 
the  Russian  commanding  officer  sent  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Dreschern,  with  two  com- 
panies of  infantry  and  a  troop  of  mountain 
artillery,  to  occupy  the  right  bank  of  the 
lower  crossing,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Aderkas 
being  at  the  same  time  ordered  to  proceed 
with  the  sotnias,  one  company  of  rifles,  and 
a  troop  of  field-artillery,  to  make  a  demon- 
stration in  the  direction  of  the  higher  cross- 
ing leading  to  Kipchak,  while  Colonel 
Ivanoff,  with  the  main  body  and  the  train, 
remained  temporarily  in  camp. 

The  detachment  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Aderkas  was  soon  engaged  in  a  sharp  fusi- 
lade  with  the  Turcomans,  of  whom  1,500, 
scattering  themselves  over  the  ice,  and 
screening  themselves  behind  boats  and  carts 
brought  down  by  the  drifting  ice,  kept  up 
a  continuous  fire,  accompanied  by  a  practice 
with  their  falconettes  from  the  left  bank. 
The  field-artillery  being  brought  into  play, 
the  Turcomans  were  driven  back  from  off 
the  ice.  Ordering  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Aderkas  to  remain  where  he  was  for  about 
an  hour.  Colonel  Ivanoff  hastily  broke  up 
his  camp,  and  moved  quickly  with  all  the 
rest  of  his  force,  and  with  the  train  to  the 
lower  crossing,  where  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Dreschern  had  located  a  company  of  infan- 
try on  the  ice,  midway  between  the  two 
banks. 

On  being  informed  that  the  ice  was  suffi- 
ciently strong  for  the  passage  of  the  troops. 
Colonel  Ivanoff  organised  a  special  column 

VOL.  II.  2  L 


for  the  occupation  of  a  position  on  the  left 
bank.  Taking  with  them  a  troop  of  moun- 
tain artillery,  the  men  ran  across  the  river 
(850  fathoms  wide),  and  firing  a  volley  at 
the  Turcomans  massed  on  the  bank,  estab- 
♦  :shed  themselves  in  a  position.  Prepara- 
tions were  next  made  for  the  passage  of  the 
remainder  of  the  force,  which  was  effected 
with  complete  success.  The  guns  were 
drawn  over  by  the  men,  the  wheels  being 
bound  round  with  felt,  and  the  ends  of  the 
carriages  placed  on  wooden  slides,  in  order 
to  lessen  the  friction. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Aderkas  had  joined 
the  main  force  before  the  passage  was 
effected.  Abandoning  his  position  at  the 
higher  crossing,  he  was  followed  by  great 
numbers  of  Turcomans.  On  joining 
Ivanoff 's  detachment,  however,  two  sotnias 
were  told  off  to  go  up  the  right  bank  in 
order  to  protect  the  transports.  Seeing 
that  the  Russian  troops  had  already  es- 
tablished a  footing  on  the  left  bank,  and 
that  the  rest  of  the  force  could  not  be  pre- 
vented from  crossing,  the  Turcomans 
offered  no  farther  resistance,  but  gradually 
dispersed. 

From  the  position  on  the  left  bank 
Colonel  Ivanoff  sent  a  letter  to  the  Khan 
of  Khiva,  acquainting  him  with  the  fact  of 
his  having  traversed  the  river,  and  request- 
ing him  to  pacify  the  Uzbegs,  and  not  to 
interfere  in  the  affairs  of  the  Russians  with 
the  Turcomans.  He  also  requested  the 
khan  to  attach  an  agent  to  the  Russian 
detachment  so  long  as  it  remained  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Oxus.  On  the  25th  of 
January  the  Russian  detachment  marched 
to  Kazy-Murad,  an  encampment  of  Turco- 
mans. Leaving  Kipchak  on  its  left,  the 
Cossack  cavalry  sent  in  advance  demolished 
all  before  them  so  effectually,  that  when 
the  main  force  came  up  there  was  not  a 
living  creature  to  be  seen,  fire  and  sword 
having  laid  waste  the  country. 

Wishing  to  avoid  the  permanent  dwell- 
ings of  the  people  of  Kipchak  and  Mangyt, 
Colonel  Ivanoff  proceeded  towards  the 
Kuba-laii  hills,  but  found  to  his  astonish- 
ment that  the  country  was  flooded.  This 
was  a  surprise  even  to  the  local  guides,  who 
knew  that  the  canals  were  always  dry  in 
the  winter,  and  were  not  aware  of  the  fact 
that  the  Turcomans  had  destroyed  the  dam 
of  the  Arna  canal. 

As  the  water  was  rising  rapidly  over  the 
low  marshy  lands.  Colonel  Ivanoff  recalled 
the  Cossacks,  who  were  continuing  their 

257 


)y 


i^v; 


'^*' 


i? 


I 


ENTRY  INTO  KIPCHAK.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1870-77. 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[captain  burnaby. 


I'  V 

III    'f 


i 

II 


•jl 


work  of  destruction  in  all  directions,  and 
fell  bad:  upon  the  desolated  Kazy-Murad 
encampment,  >  where  the  Russian  force 
halted  on  the  night  of  the  25th  January. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  the  Russian 
detachment  marched  through  Mangyt,  the 
commanding  officers  assuring  the  inhabit- 
ants that  they  had  nothing  to  fear,  and 
crossing  in  that  town  the  only  existing 
bridge  over  the  Arna  canal,  proceeded  four 
miles  beyond  Mangyt,  coming  upon  the 
winter  encampments  of  the  Kulchar  Turko- 
mans, which  were  at  once  demolished ;  the 
Cossacks  performing  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion at  distances,  while  the  infantry  did  it 
as  effectively  along  the  line  of  march. 

At  Mangyt  Colonel  Ivanoff  had  received 
a  notification  from  the  Khan  of  Khiva,  to 
the  effect  that  the  Yomud  Turcomans  of 
Hazarat  had  given  in  their  allegiance.     To 
this  Colonel  Ivanoff  replied  that,  although 
he  did  not  fully  believe  in  the  sincerity  of 
the  Yomuds,  he  would  not  pass  through 
their  lands,  but  would  proceed   by  way  of 
the  encampments  of  the  Chaudurs,  and  so 
back  again  to  the  right  bank  of  the  river. 
Taking  warning  by  tbe  fate  of  the  Kulchars, 
the  Chaudur  elders  presented  themselves, 
on  the  26th  January,  in  the  Russian  camp 
at  Lake  Chagat,  on  the  north-west  side  of 
the  Kuba-lau  hills,  with  a  moiety  of  the  con- 
tribution demanded  of  them,  on  the  condi- 
tion that  they  should    not    be    molested. 
They  entreated  Colonel  Ivanoff  not  to  pro- 
ceed through  their  lands  ;  but  to  this  he 
would  not  accede,  assuring  them,  however, 
that  he  would  do  the  people  no  injury  if 
they  complied  with  his  demands.     On  the 
27th  the  Russian  detachment  bivouacked 
at  the  Ikdyr  wells,  where  another  moiety 
of  the  contribution  was  paid  by  the  Chau- 
durs.    On  the  28th  the  detachment  reached 
Porsu   (about  thirty-three  miles  west    of 
Kipchak),  and  halted  at  Lake  Lar.     Here 
the  elders  of  the  Imraly,  Kara-Dashly,  and 
Kara-Ilyaly   Turcomans    presented   them- 
selves with  tenders  of  submission,  and  with 
some  of    the  contributions   exacted    from 

them. 

On  the  29th  of  January,  Colonel  Ivanoff, 
with  a  portion  of  his  detachment,  visited 
the  site  of  Old  Porsu,  where  Prince  Cher- 
kaski  and  his  suite  were  murdered  in  1717. 
The  place  is  now  a  scene  of  utter  ruin, 
having  been  abandoned  by  the  inhabitants 
thirty  years  ago,  on  account  of  a  deficiency 
of  water.  Here  a  triple  volley  was  fired  in 
honour  of  Bekovitch  and  his  followers ;  and 
258 


after  a  night's  halt.  Colonel  Ivanoff  rejoined 
the  rest  of  his  force.  On  the  30th  January 
he  camped  again  at  Lake  Chagat. 

On  the  31st,  the  force  entered  Kipchak, 
where  it  was  obliged  to  wait  for  the  open- 
ing of  the  river,  the  ice  having  been  weak- 
ened by  warm  weather.  On  the  4th  of 
February  the  river  was  clear  of  ice,  and  on 
the  5th,  the  Russian  detachment  crossed 
over  in  boats  to  the  right  bank. 

During  the  stay  of  the  Russian  force  in 
Kipchak,  Colonel  Ivanoff  sent  three  sotnias 
of  Cossacks  down  the  river  to  the  Laudan 
canal,  to  survey  the  left  bank  in  that  direc- 
tion, a  work  which  had  not  been  done 
during  the  expedition  to  Khiva  in  the 
summer.  These  sotnias  performed  the 
journey  (fifty-three  miles  there  and  back)  in 
a  single  day. 

Judging  from  these  operations,  the  Tur- 
comans will  soon  be  under  the  same  rule 
as  that  which  Khiva  has  fallen  under.  What 
the  character  of  that  rule  is,  can  scarcely  be 
better  shown  than  by  alluding  to  the  case 
of  Captain  Burnaby,  who  rode  to  Khiva  as 
a  private  individual  in  time  of  peace,  but 
who  was  recalled  by  the  Duke  of  Cambridge 
because  the  czar  commanded  it. 

Captain  Burnaby  describes  his  recall,  and 
the  incidents  concerning  it, in  a  most  inimit- 
able manner.  Having  got  to  Khiva,  in 
spite  of  all  attempts  to  detain  him,  by  the 
exercise  of  no  small  amount  of  mother  wit 
and  more  determination,  he  intended  to  go 
on  to  Bokhara.  "However,"  he  says, 
^' Vkotnme propose TYiais  Dieu  dispose;  and 
the  truth  of  this  celebrated  old  French  say- 
ing was  prominently  brought  before  me  the 
next  morning ;  for,  on  returning  from  an 
early  ride  through  the  market,  where  a 
great  sale  of  camels  and  horses  was  taking 
place,  I  found  two  strangers  in  my  apart- 
ment. One  of  them,  producing  a  letter, 
handed  it  to  me,  saying  that  he  had  been 
sent  to  Khiva  by  order  of  the  commandant 
at  Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

"On  opening  the  enclosure  I  found  a 
letter  written  in  Russian  on  one  side  of  the 
paper,  and  in  French  on  the  other. 

"  Its  contents  were  to  the  following 
effect — that  the  commandant  had  received 
a  telegram  via  Tashkend,  and  that  I  must 
go  to  the  fort  to  receive  the  communication. 
"  I  was  greatly  surprised  to  find  that  any 
one  took  so  much  interest  in  me  as  to  des- 
patch a  telegram  so  many  thousand  miles, 
and  put  himself  to  the  expense  of  having 
the  message  forwarded  from  Tashkend,  where 


the  telegraph  ends,  to  Khiva,  a  distance  of 
900  miles,  by  couriers  with  relays  of  horses. 
It  must  have  cost  a  large  sum  of  money 
sending  that  telegram ;  and  I  began  to  be  a 
little  alarmed,  thinking  that  perhaps  I 
should  be  asked  to  pay  for  it. 

"  Again,  what  could  have  occurred  of  such 
great  importance  as  to  induce  any  one  to 
telegraph  ?  Could  it  be  that  Greueral  Mi- 
lutin,  the  Russian  Minister  of  War,  had  just 
remembered  that  I  had  called  four  times  at 
his  house,  and  that  he  had  not  been  able  to 
give  me  an  interview,  but  that  he  was  now 
prepared  to  grant  one  ? 

"  There  was  another  solution,  which 
might  also  have  been  correct;  and  the 
thought  suddenly  occurred  that  perhaps 
Count  Schouvaloffs  brother,  to  whom  the 
thoughtful  ambassador  in  London  had  so 
kindly  given  me  a  letter  of  introduction, 
had  by  this  time  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg, 
and  wished  to  show  me  some  hospitality. 

"  Anyhow,  there  was  the  letter,  and  I 
must  go  to  Petro-Alexandrovsk  to  receive 
the  telegram.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  thought, 
after  having  gone  so  far,  to  have  possibly  to 
return  to  European  Russia  over  tlie  snow- 
covered  steppes.  It  is  a  hard  journey,  even 
for  the  Tartars,  this  fourteen  days'  march, 
with  the  cold  at  20''  and  30°  below  zero,  and 
no  shelter  to  be  met  with  on  the  road.  The 
Tartar  and  Khivan  merchants  occasionally, 
it  is  true,  make  the  journey  in  mid-winter, 
but  invariably  wait  till  the  spring  for  their 
return  to  Orenburg. 

"  I  had  accomplished  the  really  hard  part 
of  my  journey,  and  every  degree  marched  in 
the  direction  of  Meroe  would  have  led  me 
to  a  warmer  climate.  However,  there  was 
nothing  to  be  done  save  to  go  to  Petro- 
Alexandrovsk,  and  then,  if  the  despatch  were 
of  such  a  nature  as  to  oblige  me  to  return, 
to  retrace  my  steps. 

"The  messenger  who  had  brought  the 
letter  was  eager  tor  my  immediate  return  to 
the  fort.  This,  I  said,  was  out  of  tlie  ques- 
tion till  the  next  day,  as  I  wished  to  make 
some  purchases  in  the  town,  and  must  also 
pay  a  farewell  visit  to  the  khan  previous  to 
my  departure.        - 

"  A  little  later  I  rode  to  the  bazaar,  accom- 
panied by  Nazar  and  the  guide,  the  latter 
not  being  at  all  pleased  at  our  having  to 
go  to  Petro-Alexandrovsk.  He  was  very 
uneasy  in  his  own  mind  about  the  conse- 
quences which  might  occur  to  him  for 
having  brought  me  to  Khiva. 

"  One  of  the  men  sent  with  the  command- 


ant's letter  was  now  continually  in  our 
wake;  and  I  subsequently  learned  that  a 
strict  order  had  been  sent  to  the  khan  to 
have  our  party  followed  and  taken  to  the 
fort,  in  the  event  of  my  having  left  the 
city.  We  started  early  the  next  morning, 
and  rode  across  the  Amou-Daria  at  a  spot 
about  thirteen  miles  from  Anca,  and  where 
the  stream  was  nearly  two  versts  wide  ;  the 
ice  being  in  some  places  more  than  a  foot 
thick.  Presently  we  passed  by  a  Cossack 
cavalry  station,  called  Lager.  Here,  in 
spite  of  the  inclemency  of  the  season,  three 
squadrons  were  picketed  out  in  the  open, 
the  horses  having  coats  like  bears,  and 
looking  exceedingly  well,  in  spite  of  their 
exposure  to  the  extreme  cold. 

"  We  were  now  approaching  Petro-Alex- 
androvsk, and  a  few  dark  spots  on  the  differ- 
ent horizon  were  pointed  out  to  us  as  the 
recently-erected  fort.  The  emissary  who 
had  brought  me  the  commandant's  letter, 
spurred  his  horse  forward,  leaving  his  com- 
panion with  my  party  and  self.  '  He  has 
only  gone  on  to  say  that  you  are  coming,' 
was  the  reply  to  my  enquiry,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  more  we  rode  into  Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk. It  has  been  built  upon  the  site  of 
a  house  and  garden,  which  formerly  be- 
longed to  the  uncle  of  the  Khan  of  Khiva, 
the  materials  of  his  house  having  been  used 
in  constructing  the  wall  which  has  been 
erected  round  the  fort. 

A  clean-looking,  well-built  house  stood  in 
a  small  open  space  in  the  centre  of  the  en- 
closure. A  flagstaff  at  one  end  of  the 
dwelling,  and  two  sentries  walking  up  and 
down  in  front  of  the  doors,  made  me  think 
that  this  was  probably  the  house  of  the 
chief  of  the  Amou-Daria  district.  My 
guide,  who  was  each  moment  more  alarmed 
at  the  possible  consequences  to  himself  for 
his  having  taken  us  to  Khiva,  now  informed 
us  that  here  lived  the  celebrated  Colonel 
Ivanoff. 

"  The  commandant  was  out  hunting — so  a 
servant  informed  me.  At  that  moment  a 
young  officer  coming  up,  accosted  me  by 
my  name,  and  said,  '  We  expected  you  be- 
fore this.  Come  with  me.  There  is  a 
room  prepared ; '  and  he  led  the  way  to  a 
small  building  inhabited  by  some  of  the 
officers  in  the  garrison.  Here  I  found  seve- 
ral of  them  congregated  in  a  small  room, 
and  was  introduced  in  due  form  by  my 
newly-made  acquaintance.  I  then  heard 
that  the  telegram  which  had  arrived  for  me 
was  from  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Cambridge, 

259 


If 


.fc  ■;>; 


N 


1^ 


CAPTAIN  BURNABY.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-77. 


h 

I?  ■' 


,  \ 


4 


i; 


the  field-marshal  commandiug-in-chief,  and 
that  he  required  my  immediate  return  to 
European  Russia.  The  document  had  been 
waiting  for  me  several  days  at  the  fort;  and 
in  the  event  of  my  having  gone  first  to 
Petro-Alexandrovsk,  I  should  never  have 
seen  Khiva. 

"  A  little  later  an  officer  brought  a  mes- 
sage from  Colonel  Ivanoff,  to  say  that  he 
had  returned  from  shooting,  and  was  wait- 
ing to  see  me.  He  is  a  tall  man,  consider- 
ably over  six  feet  in  height,  but  very  tbin, 
and  of  a  German  type,  his  whiskers  having 
a  decided  Teutonic  appearance.  I  was  re- 
ceived by  him  at  first  a  little  stiffly,  but  his 
demeanour  soon  changed,  and  he  began  to 
laugh  about  my  journey. 

«  '  Too  bad,'  he  said,  '  letting  you  get  so 
far,  and  not  allowing  you  to  carry  out  your 
undertaking.' 

"  '  It  was  lucky,'  I  remarked,  '  that  I  did 
not  come  here  first.' 

"'Yes,' said  Ivanoff;  'when  I  received 
the  despatch,  and  found  that  you  did  not 
arrive,  I  sent  back  a  special  Tartar  courier 
to  Fort  Number  One,  to  say  that  you  had 
probably  gone  on  to  Bokhara,  and  had  thus 
given  us  the  slip;  but  we  should  have 
caught  you  there,'  he  continued. 

"'It  is  the  fortune  of  war,'  I  said. 
*  Anyhow,  I  have  seen  Khiva.' 

"  The  colonel  here  winced  a  little. 

"'Khiva;  that  is  nothing,'  he  said. 
'Why,  Major  Wood,  one  of  your  compa- 
triots, an  officer  in  the  Engineers,  was  here 
last  summer ;  he  could  have  gone  to  Khiva 
any  day  if  he  liked ;  indeed,  I  was  a  little 
surprised  that  he  never  asked  me  to  let  him 
go  there.'* 

"  '  Well,'  I  remarked,  '  as  I  have  to  re- 
turn to  European  Russia,  there  can  be  no 
objection  to  my  going  to  St.  Petersburg  via 
Tashkend  and  Western  Siberia,  or  by  Kras- 
novodsk  and  the  Caspian.' 

"  '  My  orders  are  very  strict  about  this,' 
said  the  colonel.  '  You  must  go  back  the 
shortest  way  through  Kasala.  But  you  can 
write,  if  you  like,  to  General  Kolpakovsky, 
the  officer  commanding  our  troops  in  Tur- 
kistan.  I  will  send  on  the  letter  with  the 
same  courier  who  leaves  this  afternoon  to 

♦  "Apparently  there  was  a  alight  misunderstand- 
ing between  Major  Wood  and  Colonel  IvanoflF  on 
this  point ;  or,  possibly,  the  atmosphere  of  Central 
Asia  has  somewhat  aflfected  the  colonel's  memory. 
After  my  return  to  London  from  Khiva,  I  dined 
one  evening  with  Major  Wood,  and  asked  him 
why  he  had  not  gone  to  Khiva.  His  reply  was, 
260 


announce  your  capture  ;  and  then,  if  you 
return  to  Kasala  in  tlie  course  of  three  or 
four  days,  you  will  there  receive  the  gene- 
ral's answer.' " 

The  answer,  of  course,  was  tliat  Captain 
Burnaby  was  to  be  sent  back  to  Europe  by 
the  shortest  route.  In  fact,  he  was  a  pri- 
soner in  time  of  peace,  and  subjected  to  this 
treatment  in  consequence  of  the  jealousy  of 
the  Russians,  who  did  not  wish  that  anyone 
should  see  with  his  own  eyes  what  they 
were  doing  in  these  parts,  and  what  means 
they  had  at  their  disposal  for  extending 
their  position  still  further  south,  towards  the 
frontier  of  India.  But  the  most  remarkable 
thing  about  this  proceeding  is,  that  it  was 
sanctioned  by  an  Englishman — not  quite  a 
full-blooded  Englishman,  it  is  true — by  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge. 

The  three  most  important  strategic  points 
which  must  be  gained  before  the  Russian 
frontier  can  be  extended  to  that  of  India, 
are  Merve,  Balkh,  Kashgar,  and  Yarkand. 
Towards  all  these  points  the  Russian  lines 
are  rapidly  approaching.  It  is  said,  by  those 
who  desire  to  excuse  the  Russian  plans  for 
extension,  that  they  can  have  no  object  in 
annexing  the  vast  tract  of  country  that  lies 
between  Khiva  and  Merve,  and  which  is  no 
more  than  a  desert  with  a  few  oases  here  and 
there.  These  people  say  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  the  Russians  to  move  an  army 
across  these  wastes.  But  a  report  has  been 
made  by  Captain  Potto,  of  the  Russian  ser- 
vice, for  the  guidance  of  the  Russian  War- 
Office,  which  places  things  in  a  very  differ- 
ent light.  In  this  report  we  find  that  the 
distance  from  Khiva  to  Merve  is  about.  930 
miles,  and  the  time  occupied  by  a  caravan 
in  performing  this  journey  is  seventeen 
days.  According  to  all  reports,  troops,  if 
supplied  with  a  camel  train,  can  easily  ac- 
complish this  march.  The  only  part  of  the 
road  trying  to  man  and  beast,  is  the  170 
miles'  desert  which  lies  between  the  Moor- 
ghauband  the  Oxus;  but  even  here  wells  are 
to  be  found  ;  and  the  longest  interval  tra- 
versed without  water  is  fifty-six  miles.  A 
force  despatched  from  Khiva  to  Merve 
would  not  have  to  undergo  half  the  hardship 
experienced  in  the  route  from   Kasala  to 

*  I  wanted  to  go  there  very  much  ;  I  frequently 
asked  Ivanoff  to  let  me,  saying  that  it  was  a  great 
nuisance  to  have  come  so  far  and  not  be  allowed  to 
enter  the  town.'  However,  Ivanolf  replied  that 
he  was  very  sorry,  but  he  could  not  allow  me  to  do 
so,  as  he  had  received  a  strict  order  from  Geueral 
Kauffmann  on  that  subject." 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[steppe  campaigning. 


Khiva.  Indeed,  the  Khivans,  under  Mo- 
hammed Rabiss  Khan,  were  able  to  take 
Merve ;  thus  showing  that  even  a  badly 
organised  Asiatic  force  can  perform  the 
journey.  Besides  the  two  caravan  roads 
that  lead  from  Khiva  to  the  capital  of  the 
Turcomans,  there  is  a  direct  caravan  track 
from  Bokhara  to  Merve,  by  Chardjui,  the 
distance  being  about  230  miles.  This  is  by 
far  the  easiest  route.  Two  days  is  the 
longest  time  that  troops  would  be  on  the 
road  without  finding  wells,  whilst  caravans 
go  from  Bokhara  to  Merve  in  thirteen  days. 
A  Bokharian  army,  under  Shah  Murad, 
captured  this  stronghold  of  the  Turcomans, 
and  destroyed  the  dam  or  bend  of  the  river 
Moorghaub,  in  order  to  impoverish  the 
country.  Where  Bokharian  troops  can  go, 
Russian  soldiers  would  have  no  difficulty  in 
following;  and  the  same  force  which  has 
captured  Samarcand  would  find  little  diffi- 
culty in  overcoming  any  resistance  the  badly 
armed  but  brave  Turcoman  hordes  might 
be  able  to  oppose.  There  is  a  short  route 
to  Merve,  which  would  perhaps  be  the 
easiest  of  all,  in  the  event  of  an  advance  in 
that  direction.  This  would  be  along  the 
line  of  the  Turcoman  forts,  under  the  slopes 
of  the  Attrek  outside  Khorassan.  This  road 
leads  through  a  fertile  and  well-watered 
country,  and  where  some  Turcoman  tribes 
have  already  been  gained  over  to  the  Rus- 
sian interests.  A  Russian  line  ci  military 
operations  along  the  Kurren  Dagh  would 
flank  Persia  in  the  north,  and  turn  her  from 
the  east  at  Mested. 

The  same  officer  has  published  a  work, 
in  a  limited  number  of  copies,  for  the  use  of 
his  comrades,  entitled  Steppe  Campaigning, 
in  which  he  describes  the  method  pursued 
by  the  Cossacks  on  the  march  out  in 
bivouac,  which  is  well  worthy  of  peru- 
sal : — 

"  In  the  presence  of  the  enemy  a  detach- 
ment ordinarily  bivouacs  behind  a  waggon 
barricade;  but  if  the  transport  be  small, 
and  the  place  selected  for  the  bivouac 
oflfers  one  of  its  sides  to  a  river,  ravine,  or 
other  obstacle  which  is  secure  from  an  un- 
expected attack,  the  waggon  barricade 
may,  in  order  to  gain  internal  space,  be 
arranged  in  the  shape  of  a  lunette,  with  its 
open  side  toward  the  natural  obstacle.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  train  be  large,  it  is 
preferable  to  form  a  square,  the  carts  being 
in  several  rows,  and  sufficient  room  being 
given  for  the  reception  of  the  horses,  not 
losing  sight  of  the  possibility  of  bringing 


a  fire  to  bear  upon  the  enemy  from  behind 
the  carts.     The  length  of  each  face  of  the 
square     should   be     in    proportion   to   the 
number  of  men  defending  it.     The  angular 
places   are  filled   with   bales,  or   occupied 
with  guns.     The  troops  are  ordinarily  dis- 
tributed    parallel    to    the    faces    of    the 
waggon    barricade,  and  at  such    distances 
apart,  that  between  them  and  the   inner 
row  of  carts  in  rear,  there  may  be  sufficient 
space,  in  the  event  of  attack,  for  bringing 
up  artillery  and  reserves.     The  men's  kits 
are  heaped  up  in  rear  of  their  own  parti- 
cular section,  and  behind  them  are  piled 
their  rifles.     The  Cossack  horse-lines  are  in 
rear  of  the  line  of  the  bivouac  ;  and  behind 
them,  in  the  centre  of  the  barricade,  are 
the   staff,  the  artillery  park,  the  engineer 
and  hospital  trains,  the  sutlers,  and,  lastly, 
if  there  is   room,   the   drivers   with   their 
horses    and    camels  in   a  separate  square. 
By  day  it  is  necessary  to  take  advantage  of 
any  opportunity  of  sending  out  the  animals 
to   pasture ;    but    they   should    be    again 
brought    into    camp  at   twilight,  and,   if 
possible,  placed  within  the  barricade — the 
camels  near  one  of  the  faces  most  removed 
from  attack,  and  the  horses  in  the  horse- 
lines  and  hobbled.     For  the  defence  of  a 
camp,  both  by  day  and  night,  it  is  necessary 
to  throw  out  a  chain  of  dismounted  posts. 
These  posts,  furnished  from  the  Cossacks, 
are   called    mayaks   (signalling    stations). 
Each  mayak  consists  of  three  men  ;  one  of 
them  always  remains  mounted,  while  the 
other   two    rest.      They   go  separately  to 
water,   to  get   grass,   &c.      At  night  the 
camp  should  be  surrounded  with  a  chain  of 
sentries,  and  the  detachment  should  be  on 
the  qui  vive,  as  the  robbers  often  make  a 
dash  at  the   camp,  and,  taking  advantage 
of  the  commotion  which  ensues,  endeavour 
to  carry  off  the  camels  and  horses,  or  to 
seize  anything  they  can.     In  former  times, 
the  detached  Cossack  posts,  pickets,  and 
small  forts  along   the  Siberian  line,   pro- 
tected themselves  by  throwing  out  sentries 
on  commanding  eminences,  and  at  night  by 
patrols  ;  but  owing  to  the  small  number  of 
men,  and  the  frequent  alarms,  the  outpost 
service  was  so  fatiguing,  that  the  Cossacks 
had  recourse  to  the  use  of   dogs.     These 
dogs  were  exceedingly  watchful,  and,  at  the 
smallest    noise,    barked    and    roused    the 
Cossacks.      This     custom     was    probably 
brought  from  the  Caucasus — in  fact,  from 
the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  where  the  em- 
ployment of  dogs  was  in  general  use,  and 

261 


•I."  ,1 


■:i 


i 


[>■   6 


II    J, 


W: 


.i' 


I 


STEPPE  CAMPAIGNING.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-77. 


where  these  animals  were  regularly  rationed 
and  trained. 

"  The  amount  of  train  in  a  steppe  cam- 
paign depends  on  the  quantity  of  provi- 
sions and  other  requisities  which  have  to  be 
carried  by  the  expeditionary  force.  The 
following  are  the  chief  articles  to  be 
carried :  food,  forage,  horse  equipment, 
officers'  and  soldiers'  baggage,  medicines 
and  hospital  stores,  felt  tents,  and  camp 
equipage.  The  proportion  of  this  equipage, 
for  a  company  of  170  men,  is  as  follows : — 
Six  cast-iron  boilers  with  lids,  two  white- 
metal  dram-cups,  seven  water-vessels,  seven 
poimds  of  pepper,  four  pounds  and  a-half 
of  laurel-leaves,  100  pounds  of  leaf  tobacco, 
nine  bottles  essence  of  vinegar,  100  pounds 
of  onions,  ten  pounds  of  garlic,  ten  pounds 
of  horseradish,  ten  pounds  of  soap,  200 
pounds  of  salt,  three  wooden  troughs,  five 
scythes,  120  mats,  300  fathoms  rope,  three 
hatchets,  three  spade?,  three  picks,  seven 
shovels,  two  white-metal  mugs,  one  eight- 
gallon  cask,  three  wooden  shovels,  one  net, 
one  iron  pail,  and  170  wooden  tea-cups. 
The  weight  of  this  is  from  1,200  to  1,600 
pounds.  Sometimes  we  have  had  to  carry 
with  us  such  things  as  wood  field  forges, 
bridging  material,  portable  wells,  guns  on 
pack-animals;  and  finally,  a  number  of 
spare  horses  or  camels,  in  case  of  forming 
sick  convoys,  flying  detachments,  or  for 
carrying  convalescents,  &c.  From  this  list 
of  necessaries,  it  is  plain  that  a  train  of  a 
steppe  detachment  must  be  very  numerous. 
In  European  warfare,  one  cart  ordinarily 
suffices  for  forty  or  fifty  men ;  in  steppe 
campaign  it  is  otherwise  ;  every  two  or  three 
men  must  have  an  animal,  and  sometimes 
more.  If  we  suppose,  for  example,  a  Cos- 
sack sotnia  (150  men)  taking  the  field  with 
a  month's  supplies,  then,  according  to  cal- 
culation, it  will  require  about  eighty 
camels,  without  counting  officers'  baggage, 
carts  for  the  transport  of  military  stores, 
the  sick,  &c.  This  is  the  reason  that  mili- 
tary detachments,  marching  in  the  steppe, 
are  nothing  more  than  an  escort  to  their 
own  numerous  trains.  Napoleon's  campaign 
in  Egypt,  where  the  transport  organised  by 
him  was  on  so  reduced  a  scale,  that  every- 
thing could  be  placed  within  a  small  in- 
fantry square,  cannot  serve  us  as  a  prece- 
dent, because  the  French  were  able  to 
transport  their  food  and  other  stores  by  the 
Nile.  The  same  must  be  remarked  respect- 
ing the  later  expeditions  in  Algeria,  where 
the  French  had  seldom  to  proceed  more 
262 


than  two  or  three  marches  from  their  store 
depots ;  but  even  in  this  case,  according  to 
the  observations  of  Marshal  Bugeaud,  there 
were  often  more  than  1,000  different  sorts 
of  animals  with  a  column  consisting  of 
5,000  men  under  arms.  In  the  steppes,  the 
smallest  train,  as  we  know,  was  that  at  the 
time  of  the  Khivan  campaign  of  Prince 
Bekovitch  Toherkassky,  when  there  was  a 
camel  to  every  two  men.  The  greatest  was 
in  the  winter  of  1839,  in  General  Perovsky's 
expedition,  when  every  man  had  two 
camels,  and  every  two  men  approximately 
had  a  three-horse  cart.  The  English  train 
in  the  East  Indies  and  in  Afghanistan  was 
still  more  numerous.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that, 
according  to  the  returns,  the  train  of  each 
battalion  of  infantry  is  fixed,  in  time  of 
peace,  at  1,200  mules,  and  600  mule-drivers. 
In  the  field,  these  numbers  are  still  further 
increased.  The  why  such  vast  crowds  of 
servants  and  immense  trains  follow  in  the 
wake  of  a  detachment,  where  every  elephant, 
every  horse,  every  camel,  and  every  bullock 
has  his  attendant,  is  partly  due  to  the 
climate,  so  baneful  for  Europeans,  and  still 
more  to  the  Oriental  habits,  which  effeminate 
the  troops.  Even  the  common  soldiers  had 
their  servants  ;  and  thus,  in  the  words  of  an 
Englishman,  the  military  camp  was  turned 
into  a  motley  show.  Similar  license  led  to 
pernicious  consequences  for  the  English 
during  their  second  expedition  to  Afghanis- 
tan in  the  winter  of  1841,  when  the  de- 
tachment of  4,000  men,  under  General 
Elphin stone,  was  forced  to  retreat ;  the 
train,  following  in  rear,  numbered  12,000 
men.  This  unarmed,  dissolute,  and  most 
demoralised  mob  quickly  fell  into  complete 
disorder,  enabling  Afghans  to  surround  the 
English  detachment  and  destroy  it,  so  that, 
of  the  16,000  or  17,000  men,  only  one 
Englishman — thanks  to  the  rapidity  of  his 
horse — succeeded  in  reaching  the  fortress  of 
Jelalabad.  Consequently,  in  the  Abyssinian 
campaign  in  1867,  the  English  deemed  it 
necessary  to  limit  the  baggage  of  each 
officer  to  eighty  pounds,  and  that  of  each 
soldier  to  twenty  pounds,  including  bedding. 
The  result  was  to  reduce  the  ordinary  num- 
ber of  mules  per  battalion  from  1,200  to 
187,  and  100  drivers.  But  with  all,  the 
train  of  the  expeditionary  force  numbered 
20,000  various  animals.  For  carrying  the 
baggage  in  steppe  campaigns,  we  use  pack- 
animals,  two-horse  or  one-horse  carts, 
and  lastly,  bullock  transport.  The  baggage 
is  so  arranged,  that  each  pair-horse  or  pair- 


i 


A.D.  1870-'77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[DEBATABLE  GROUND. 


bullock  cart  has  not  more  than  1,400 
pounds ;  each  one-horse,  700  pounds  ;  each 
camel-load,  680  pounds.  The  quantity  of 
carts  or  camels,  and,  consequently,  the  size 
of  the  train,  is  calculated  for  each  unit. 
Assuming  the  company  of  infantry  at  200 
men,  inclusive  of  servants,  non-combatants 
and  officers,  it  requires,  for  one  month, 
12,480  pounds  of  biscuit  (net  weight), 
2,080  pounds  of  groats  (net)  in  lieu  of  five- 
sixths  of  the  monthly  allowance  of  spirits, 
sixty  pounds  of  tea,  and  180  pounds  of 
sugar ;  five  gallons  and  a-half  of  spirits, 
weighing  eighty  pounds ;  oats  for  the 
draught-horses,  600  pounds;  fifteen  ki- 
bitkas,  being  ten  per  company,  two  for 
sick,  three  for  officers,  each  weighing  260 
pounds,  equal  to  3,900  pounds;  felts  for 
bedding  (ten  pounds  to  twelve  pounds), 
camp  equipage,  and  anti-scorbutic  stores, 
1,200  pounds  to  2,000  pounds;  men's  kits 
at  sixty  pounds,  12,000  pounds;  ammuni- 
tion, 2,000  pounds ;  in  all,  about  sixteen 
tons.  If  this  amount  of  baggage  be  placed 
in  one-horse  carts,  1,000  pounds  in  each, 
thirty-six  carts  will  be  required.  Of  this 
number,  for  food  alone  (six  tons  and  a-half), 
fifteen  carts ;  and  as  the  detachments  are 
never  sent  for  less  than  two  months,  fifty 
carts  will  be  required.     To  this  number  we 


must  add  two  or  three  additional  carts  for 
the  apothecaries'  medicines  and  sick  on  the 
march  ;  in  all,  say  fifty-six  carts.  For  this 
load  there  ought  to  be  sixty-five  camels 
(each  at  560  pounds),  allowing  one  spare 
camel  for  every  seven  or  ten  camels.  The 
sotnias  of  Cossacks  have  no  special  carts  for 
their  baggage,  but  carry  it  with  the  forage. 
The  number  of  carts  which  they  require  is 
much  greater  than  for  a  company.  For  a 
Cossack  sotnia,  consisting  of  145  men  and 
three  officers,  148  riding  and  fourteen  pack- 
horses,  much  more  transport  is  required 
than  for  a  company.  The  food  for  the  men, 
and  barley  or  oats  (eight  quarts  and  a-half 
daily)  for  the  horses,  amount  in  two 
months  to  120,000  pounds  without  the 
sacks.  The  other  baggage  is  not  great, 
ten  or  eleven  kibitkas,  seven  for  the  Cos- 
sacks, three  for  officers,  and  one  for  sick, 
equal  to  2,600  pounds,  and  two  or  three 
carts  for  the  apothecary,  medicine  and  sick. 
On  this  computation,  the  number  of  carts 
necessary  for  a  sotnia  for  two  months,  in- 
cluding sacks  and  coverings,  will  amount  to 
130  or  135.  Of  camels,  for  same  period, 
leaving  five  carts,  there  would  be  required 
about  200  (each  carrying  640  pounds).  If 
hay  has  to  be  carried,  a  considerable  addi- 
tion must  be  made  to  the  transport." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


THE  DEBATABLE   GROUND   IN   CENTRAL  ASIA. 


An  examination  of  the  map  will  show  that 
the  basin  containing  the  Caspian  Sea,  Lake 
Aral,  and  Lake  Balkash,  presents  some  very 
remarkable  features.  A  high  rugged  mass 
of  mountains  dips  down  precipitously  into 
the  Caspian  in  the  west  and  south — is  sud- 
denly cut  off  as  it  were  by  that  shallow  in- 
land sea,  which  receives  the  waters  of  the 
Volga  and  the  Ural.  This  mountain  range, 
the  Caucasus  sweeping  toward  the  southern 
shores  of  the  sea,  stretches  almost  due  east 
till  it  becomes  merged  in  the  Hindu  Kush 
and  the  plateau  of  Pamir,  which  forms  the 
water-shed  between  the  Amou-Daria  and 
the  Nuclus  in  the  south,  and  the  Syr-Daria 
in  the  north.  Both  these  rivers,  the  Amou- 
Daria  and  the  Syr-Daria,  flow  into   Lake 


Aral,  which,  like  its  sister-sea,  has  no  out- 
let north  of  Lake  Aral :  the  ground,  in  a 
hydrographical  sense,  seems  to  be  in  a  state 
of  the  greatest  indecision.  The  rivers  there 
scarcely  know  where  to  flow  to.  They  start 
from  opposite  directions,  and  flow  on  till 
they  meet  either  straight  opposite  to  each 
other,  or  at  right  angles,  and  their  waters 
mingling,  form  lakes  of  larger  or  smaller 
dimensions,  morasses  and  swamps,  or,  tired 
of  seeking  a  career,  abandon  themselves 
to  the  inevitable,  and  terminate  an  inglori- 
ous existence  in  the  sands  of  the  desert ;  so 
that,  except  for  the  flow,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  tell,  from  the  size  of  either,  which 
was  the  source  or  which  was  the  end.  This 
state  of  things  continues  up  to  the  ^Oth 

263 


'i  i  "4 


■■»» 


I 


THE  ARAL  BASIN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-77. 


I 

i: 

1* 

r  i 

I 

I"    H 

I'       '' 
pi    I 


I 


« 


i 


■I 


degree  of  latitude,  where  arise  tlie  low 
hills  north  of  Lake  Balkash,  which  are  the 
homes  of  the  Great  Horde  of  Kirghiz  and 
the  Middle  Horde,  and  separate  the  Caspian 
and  Aral  systems  of  rivers  from  those  wliich 
flow  into  the  Polar  Seas.  In  this  vast  basin 
— at  some  remote  period,  most  probably,  a 
vast  sea — the  chief  rivers  are  the  Amou- 
Daria,  the  Syr-Daria,  the  Tchuy,  and  the 
Sary-Su.  Of  these,  the  Amou-Daria  is  the 
most  important.  It  rises  in  Lake  Victoria, 
on  the  plateau  of  Pamir,  about  fifty  miles 
from  the  frontier  of  India,  and  flows  west- 
wards for  about  200  miles,  through  the 
valleys  of  Wokhan,  till  it  sweeps,  with  a 
gradual  curve,  north-westwards  for  about 
250  miles,  skirting  Badakshan.  In  this  por- 
tion of  its  mountainous  course  it  is  joined 
by  several  tributaries  descending  from  the 
Pamir  and  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Ka- 
ralas  mountains  which  bound  the  Narafshan 
valley  on  the  south,  and  receiving  consider- 
able drainage  on  both  sides,  still  flows  west- 
ward for  a  distance  of  some  300  miles,  after 
which  it  turns  more  and  more  to  the  north, 
and  enters  Lake  Aral  about  1,500  miles 
from  its  source  in  Lake  Victoria.  A  country 
is  often  spoken  of  as  being  watered  by  a  river, 
but  usually  the  expression  is  not  very 
accurate,  rivers  chiefly  carrying  down  the 
superfluous  waters  and  drainage  to  the  sea. 
But  in  the  almost  rainless  regions  lying  to 
the  east  of  the  Caspian,  we  find  that  they 
are  rendered  habitable  and  fertile  solely  by 
the  employment  of  the  waters  of  the  Amou- 
Daria,  and  then  the  force  of  the  current  ex- 
pression becomes  very  appropriate.  The 
country  on  either  side  of  the  river  has 
generally  been  described  as  a  desert;  but 
there  are  many  reasons  for  believing  that, 
in  ancient  times,  it  was  the  home  of  early 
Aryan  peoples,  and  in  as  flourishing  a 
condition  as  that  of  the  oasis  of  Khiva  at 
the  present  day.  The  explanation  of  this 
phenomenon  is,  that  changes  in  the  main 
course  of  the  river  crossing  the  desert  lying 
between  the  Hindu  Kush  and  Caspian, 
have  been  brought  about  by  the  diversion 
of  water  for  the  fertilisation  of  the  country 
upon  its  banks,  and  go  far  to  show  that 
the  first  change  in  the  course  of  the  Oxus 
was  due  to  similar  causes  that  were  called 
into  action  in  ancient  times.  And,  as  will 
be  seen,  the  proofs  of  this  are  actually  to 
be  found  in  that  very  sterility  which  has 
characterised  these  localities  during  the 
past  twenty-three  centuries. 

The  Amou-Daria,  in  the  last  300  miles  of 
264 


its  course,  is  employed  in  fertilising  the 
oasis  of  Khiva,  by  means  of  a  number  of 
large  canals  diverting  the  waters  over  the 
surface  of  the  land.  The  cultivating  season 
begins  in  early  spring,  when  the  snows  and 
glaciers  round  the  higher  sources  of  the 
river  and  its  affluents  commence  to  melt 
and  swell  the  volume  of  water  flowing  in 
the  channel.  This  flood  increases  in  a  vari- 
able manner  to  a  maximum,  which,  in  1874, 
was  attained  at  Khodjeili  on  August  3rd; 
and  it  may  therefore  be  inferred  that  the 
epoch  of  greatest  summer  heat  on  the 
Pamir  plateau,  occurred  some  ten  days  pre- 
viously. On  the  above  day  of  extreme 
flood,  the  discharge  of  the  Amou  amounted 
approximately  to  143,000  cubic  feet  per 
second,  a  quantity  which  is  almost  twenty 
times  as  large  as  the  flood  volume  of  the 
river  Thames  at  Staines.  The  lowest  level 
subsequently  reached  by  the  Amou  was  on 
March  22nd,  1875,  when  the  volume  was 
approximately^  35,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 
As  far  as  could  be  judged,  the  year  1874 
was  one  of  average  discharge.  While  Egypt 
owes  her  fertility  to  the  waters  of  the  Nile, 
the  very  existence  of  the  khanate  of  Khiva 
depends  upon  the  floods  of  the  Amou-Daria. 
It  is,  however,  to  be  remarked,  that  the 
fertilising  principle  which  is  contained  in 
the  waters  of  the  Nile,  and  which  is  due  to 
vegetable  matter  carried  down  from  its 
upper  courses,  is  absent  in  those  of  the 
Amou.  The  river,  in  fact,  brings  down 
nothing  but  finely  triturated  sand,  the 
debris  of  that  extensive  destruction  which 
Wood  has  described  as  caused  by  frost  on 
the  steep  flanks  of  the  mountains  of  the 
Upper  Oxus.  It  may  consequently  be  in- 
ferred that  the  fertility  of  the  Khivan  oasis 
is  due  to  the  stimulation  by  water  of  the 
chemical  properties  of  the  clay,  which 
chiefly  forms  the  great  Khwarezni  desert. 

Of  the  whole  volume  of  water  passing 
down  the  Amou  in  the  cultivating  season, 
about  one-half  is  diverted  by  the  irrigation 
canals  watering  the  territory  of  Khiva, 
leaving  the  other  half  to  flow  down  into 
Lake  Aral,  from  which  it  is  lost  in  evapora- 
tion. Nearly  all  these  canals  are  situated 
on  the  left  bank,  from  which  the  country 
slopes  downwards,  in  a  westerly  direction, 
to  the  valley  that  follows  the  foot  of  the 
Ust-Urt  plateau,  and  formerly  received  the 
southerly  overflow  of  Lake  Aral  by  the 
head  of  the  Abougir  Gulf. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  whether  the 
annual  flood  of  the  Amou  will  be  a  higrh  or  a 


Tr 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[changes  of  the  amou. 


low,  or  merely  an  ordinary  one,  and  as  a 
certain  minimum  quantity  of  water  is  re- 
quired for  the  cultivation  of  the  crops, 
without  which,  the  Khivan  population,  iso- 
lated by  surrounding  deserts,  would  in- 
falliby  starve,  the  beds  of  the  irrigation 
canals  at  their  heads  must  be  adjusted  on 
such  a  level  as  will  ensure  the  necessary 
quantity  of  water  entering  them,  even  in  a 
year  of  lowest  flood.  It  consequently  re- 
sults, that  in  all  other  years,  the  volume  of 
water  diverted  by  the  canals  for  the  irriga- 
tion of  the  oasis  is  larger  than  what  is 
actually  required ;  and  this  surplus,  which 
would  be  as  great  an  evil  as  a  deficiency  of 
water,  must  be  got  rid  of  as  speedily  as 
possible,  in  order  to  save  the  growing  crops 
from  destruction. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  the  general 
slope  of  the  country  towards  the  west,  it 
will  be  seen  that  there  is  every  facility  for 
the  cultivated  tract  being  inundated  by  the 
Amou,and  escape-channels  are  therefore  dug 
to  carry  off  surplus  water  into  all  adjacent 
low  lands,  and  thus  a  number  of  swamps 
and  lakes  are  formed  over  the  surface  of  the 
country.  The  canals  are  also  lined  with 
protecting  embankments,  and  the  whole 
energies  of  the  agricultural  population,  who 
live  in  homesteads  scattered  along  the 
various  watercourses,  are  devoted  to  the 
repair  and  maintenance  of  the  works  which 
guarantee  the  safety  of  the  irrigated  and 
cultivated  tracts  from  inundation.  The 
entire  mode  of  life  of  the  people  may,  in- 
deed, be  said  to  be  influenced  by  the  floods, 
or  want  thereof,  of  the  Amou-Daria  ;  for  at 
the  end  of  the  cultivating  season,  and  at 
the  approach  of  winter,  after  the  crops  have 
been  reaped  and  garnered,  and  when  the 
volume  of  water  flowing  in  the  river  is 
greatly  diminished,  dams  are  built  across 
the  heads  of  the  canals  to  prevent  the 
further  entry  of  water.  After  having  in 
this  manner  been  run  dry,  the  earthy  matter, 
amounting  to  a  depth  of  more  than  two 
feet,  which  has  been  deposited  during  the 
year  by  the  streams  flowing  in  the  canals,  is 
excavated  from  their  beds  by  a  levy  of  the 
population.  Through  these  precautionary 
measures  the  dimensions  of  the  irrigation 
canals  are  restored,  and  the  entry  is  ensured 
of  that  minimum  volume  of  water  which  is 
required  at  the  advent  of  the  next  year's 
flood  for  the  cultivation  of  the  oasis. 

The  enormous  mass  of  earthy  matter 
which  the  Amou  carries  down  in  its  descent 
from  the   high  plateaux  of  Central  Asia, 

VOL.  II.  2  M 


would,  in  a  state  of  natural  flow,  have  been 
conveyed  to  a  permanent  outlet ;  but  since 
the  transporting  power  possessed  by  the 
river  is  diminished  by  its  division  into  irri- 
gation canals,  a  large  portion  is  deposited 
in  the  several  canals,  which  divert  one-half 
of  the  waters,  as  well  as  in  the  main 
channel,  which  carries  the  other  half  to  an 
outlet.  It  has  been  said  that  the  canals 
are  cleaned  out  yearly,  and  are  thus  freed 
from  these  deposits ;  but  those  in  the  lower 
portion  of  the  river  are,  year  after  year, 
continually  added  to ;  and  as  this  increase  of 
earthy  matter  takes  place,  and  the  main 
channel  is  gradually  choked,  a  tendency 
must  also  be  gradually  and  continually 
growing  for  more  and  more  water  to  enter 
the  irrigation  canals.  The  cultivators  have 
to  combat  the  results  of  this  evil,  by  which 
their  fields  would  be  inundated,  by  extend- 
ing the  courses  of  the  canals  year  after 
year,  and  getting  rid  of  the  water  by  a 
large  number  of  suitable  escapes ;  and  since 
opportunities  for  efl'ecting  this  would  occur 
in  greater  numbers  along  some  one  parti- 
cular canal,  this  one  would  offer  greater 
facilities  for  the  entry  of  water  from  the 
Amou,  and  would  become  the  chief  channel 
by  which  the  increased  flow  from  the  river 
would  eventually  declare  itself.  Thus  this 
channel  would  be  continually  enlarged, 
until  its  dimensions  first  gradually  reached, 
and  then  surpassed,  those  of  the  main  course 
of  the  river,  and  the  day  arrived  when  the 
whole  stream  would  inevitably  change  its 
flow  into  the  enlarged  canal,  which  would 
then  become  the  new  lower  course  of  the 
Amou.  The  country  watered  by  the  canals 
which  left  the  river  in  its  old  course  below 
the  enlarged  one,  would,  consequently,  be 
deprived  of  the  water  necessary  for  its  fer- 
tilisation ;  and  the  population  so  afi'ected 
would  have  to  change  their  habitations  to 
some  more  suitable  ground  along  the  new 
course. 

This  is  quite  a  sufficient  explanation  of 
the  changes  which  the  course  of  the  Oxus 
has  undergone  since  time  immemorial ;  and 
its  application  to  the  other  rivers  of  Western 
Turkistan,  afi*ords  a  key  to  the  disappear- 
ance of  much  water  which  formerly  entered 
the  basin  of  Lake  Aral,  and  caused  its  junc- 
tion to  overflow  with  the  Caspian  towards 
the  Kara  Bugas  Grulf,  or  through  the  series 
of  lakes  still  existing  in  the  same  sands. 
The  clay  soil  of  Khiva,  more  particularly 
in  the  southern  parts,  produces,  under  irri- 
gation, cotton  of  an  excellent  quality.    On 

265 


>;■ 


'"■i  ' 


r 


KHIVAN   AGRTCULTURE.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-'77. 


s 


.1 


i  \ 


I,(, 


the  other  hand,  the  silk  of  Khiva  is  not  so 
good  as  that  either  of  Bokhara  or  of  Kho- 
kand.  The  other  crops  grown  on  the  Amou 
are  wheat,  maize,  rice,  lucerne,  sesamum, 
hemp,  and  the  madder  plant,  besides  tobacco, 
tumbak,  and  the  poppy,  on  the  growth  of 
which  narcotics  exceptionally  high  rates  of 
land-tax  are  levied.  Free  culture  is  largely 
practised,  and  the  irrigated  tracts  are 
covered  with  groves  of  mulberry  and  fruit 
orchards,  as  well  as  with  poplars,  elms, 
willows,  planes,  and  other  useful  trees,  which 
are  planted  along  the  banks  of  the  canals 
and  the  network  of  minor  watercourses. 

The  area  of  sandy  desert  which  has  thus 
been  more  or  less  reclaimed  by  the  waters 
of  the  Amou,  is  about  one  and  a-half  million 
of  acres,  for  the  cultivation  of  which,  pro- 
bably one-half  of  the  volume  of  water  that 
is  now  diverted  from  the  river  in  the  flood 
season  would  suffice.  The  Khivan  landlord 
receives  one-fifth  of  the  produce  as  rent ; 
but  where  irrigating  water  has  to  be  lifted, 
the  proportion  is  reduced  to  one-seventh. 
Of  the  whole  oasis,  perhaps  one-quarter 
pays  a  land-tax  of  about  Is.  an  acre  to  the 
khan,  the  remainder  being  the  property  of 
religious  or  charitable  corporations,  or  other- 
wise, free  from  charges.  In  addition  to  this 
source  of  income,  an  ad  valorem  duty  of 
2J  per  cent,  is  levied  on  all  imports,  and 
the  tributary  Turcomans  are  supposed  to 
pay  M.  yearly  for  each  camel  and  bullock, 
and  4cZ.  for  each  sheep  they  possess.  The 
receipts  from  this  tax  must  have  been  pre- 
carious previous  to  1874,  when  the  khan's 
authority  was  scarcely  recognised  by  the 
Turcomans ;  but  the  presence  of  the  Rus- 
sian battalions  in  the  Amou-Daria  territory 
now  probably  acts  as  a  pressure  on  these 
tribes,  and  allows  of  the  indemnity  being 
collected  which  was  levied  on  Khiva  at  the 
close  of  the  campaign  of  1873. 

The  country's  wealth  has  never  recovered 
the  blows  it  received  at  the  hands  of  the 
plundering  hordes  of  Djengiz  Khan  and  of 
Timour.  At  present,  the  usual  revenue  of 
the  khan  is  stated  to  amount  to  about 
£30,000  a-year,  a  sum  far  short  of  that  in 
the  olden  days,  when,  escorted  by  5,000 
horse,  he  went  on  his  annual  hawking  tour, 
and  collected  tribute  from  the  south-east 
coast  of  the  Caspian  to  the  courses  of  the 
Lower  Syr,  and  from  the  environs  of  Balkh 
to  the  Emba  steppe,  on  the  north  of  the 
Ust-Urt  plateau.  Besides  such  more  or 
less  legitimate  sources  of  revenue  to  the 
Khan  of  Khiva,  belonged,  by  right,  a  share 
266 


of  the  booty  taken  in  the  yearly  alamans, 
or  plundering  and  slaving  expeditions,  for- 
merly made  upon  Persia  and  the  Kirghiz 
aonls  north  of  the  Syr-Daria,  and  on  the 
country  watered  by  the  Tchuy,  the  Sary-Su, 
and  the  Talass. 

The  population  is  estimated  at  300,000 
souls,  of  which  two-thirds  consist  of  Uzbeks 
and  of  Jajik?,  who  are  the  descendants  of 
the  ancient  population  of  the  country. 
Liberated  Persian  and  other  slaves  make 
up  another  50,000 ;  while  the  remainder  is 
composed  of  semi-sedentary  Turcomans, 
who  occupy  cultivated  lands  in  the  khanate, 
or  who  wander  about  its  western  limits. 

As  for  the  300,000  or  400,000  Turcomans 
who  occupy  the  Khwarezmian  deserts  up  to 
the  Persian  and  Afghan  frontiers,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  there  is  not  only  the  land,  but 
also  the  water  available  which  could  render 
that  land  fertile,  and  afford  these  nomads 
the  means  of  becoming  a  sedentary  popula- 
tion. At  the  present  moment,  Russia  is 
probably  spending  as  much  money  in  mili- 
tary establishments  for  overawing  the 
wandering  tribes,  and  for  preventing  their 
taking  to  their  former  pursuits  of  man- 
stealing,  as  would  suffice  to  found  well- 
organised  settlements  of  Turcomans  in  the 
Khwarezmian  wildernesses.  In  all  history, 
what  these  sterile  regions  have  denied  to 
their  wandering  populations,  has  been  taken 
by  force  from  adjacent  and  fertile  countries ; 
but,  if  humanity  and  civilisation  be  not 
empty  words,  Russia  would  prefer  to  reclaim 
these  deserts,  rather  than  seek  for  fresh 
acquisitions. 

Just  above  where  the  Kuwan-jerma  arm 
leaves  the  Amou-Daria,  is  situated  the  small 
and  mud-walled  village  of  Nukus,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  which  is  here 
crossed  by  a  ferry,  made  much  use  of  by 
the  scattered  population,  converging  upon 
Khodjeili,  on  market-days.  A  mile  or  two 
north  of  Nukus  is  the  new  Russian  fort — 
a  small  square,  enclosed  with  pise  walls, 
and  flanked  by  two  circular  bastions  at 
opposite  angles.  It  contains  barracks  for 
its  garrison  of  two  companies  of  infantry, 
who  will,  with  the  armament  of  four  field 
guns,  be  more  than  a  match  for  any  number 
of  thousands  of  possible  attacking  Turco- 
mans or  Uzbeks. 

The  surrounding  flat  country  is  slightly 
cultivated,  but  is,  for  the  most  part,  covered 
with  a  tamarisk  and  oleagnus  jungle,* which 
is  thick  and  rather  large  along  the  dry 
course  of  Karanzak.     Hereabouts,  in  1873, 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[life  on  the  amou. 


after  the  close  of  the  Khivan  campaign,  a 
Russian  camp  was  established  on  the  banks 
of  a  stream  flowing  from  the  Amou  into 
Kuwan-jerma,  and  the  troops  were  em- 
ployed in  the  construction  of  the  fort.  This 
military  post  forms  a  link  between  the 
base  of  Lake  Aral  and  the  advanced  posi- 
tion of  Petro-Alexandrovsk,  which  is  situ- 
ated some  200  miles  further  up  the  river 
on  the  same  bank. 

Petro-Alexandrovsk  is  the  chief  Russian 
post  in  the  Amou-Daria  district ;  and  its 
garrison  of  some  2,000  men  is  lodged  in  a 
large  fortified  garden,  which  was  the  pro- 
perty of  a  Khivan  magnate.  It  is  two  or 
three  miles  from  the  right  bank  of  the 
Amou,  in  about  the  same  latitude  as  Khiva, 
from  which  it  is  about  thirty  miles  east- 
ward. A  small  town,  of  the  usual  Central 
Asian  steppe-pattern,  is  springing  up  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  encircling  wall  and 
parapet  of  the  garden,  which  has  been  won 
by  irrigation  from  the  adjacent  desert.  The 
verdure  and  foliage,  as  well  as  the  varied 
life  of  the  place,  form  a  pleasing  contrast 
to  the  sterility  and  desolation  of  the  sands 
which  lie  at  its  very  postern  gates. 

Notwithstanding  their  constant  drill  and 
rifle  practice,  the  Russian  officers  on  the 
Amou  would  find  life  dreary  were  it  not  for 
the  occasional  brush  with  the  Turcoman 
tribes,  which  promises  to  become  a  periodi- 
cal institution.  Cut  off  as  they  are  by 
eight  days'  post  from  Cazalinsk,  which,  in 
its  turn,  is  separated  by  three  weeks'  post 
from  Moscow,  the  Europeans  in  this  part 
of  Turkestan  are  placed  in  a  disadvantage- 
ous position  as  regards  a  regular  supply  of 
European  literature  and  news.  Except  a 
little  tiger-hunting  or  pheasant  and  snipe- 
shooting,  there  are  no  means  of  recreation  ; 
and  such  an  isolated  position,  besides  tend- 
ing to  a  considerable  laxity  of  morals,  is  in 
itself  an  incentive  to  that  military  restless- 
ness and  yearning  for  decorations,  which  is 
taken  as  a  sign  of  the  aggressive  policy  of 
Russia  in  Central  Asia. 

Though  the  hospitality  met  with  in 
Russia  by  a  stranger  is  proverbial,  the  great 
cities  of  most  countries  are  not  very  differ- 
ent from  one  another  in  this  respect.  It 
is  in  the  standing  camps  of  Turkestan,  or 
still  more,  perhaps,  in  the  desert  bivouacs, 
that  the  geniality  of  the  Russian  officers 
impresses  one  as  being  not  the  least  of  their 
military  virtues.  The  anniversary  fete  of  a 
regiment  is  a  good  opportunity  for  observ- 
ing this  quality ;  and  churlish  indeed  must 


that  guest  be  who  is  inaccessible  to  the 
kindly,  if  somewhat  boisterous,  attentions 
of  which  he  is  the  object. 

The  boundary  of  the  territory  of  the 
Russians  on  the  Amou  is  the  main  course  of 
the  river,  from  Taldyk  mouth  in  Aral  to 
Meshekli  on  the  new  Bokharian  frontier,  a 
distance  of  about  200  miles  above  Khodjeili. 
At  the  southern  end  of  this  line  the  eastern 
desert  extends  up  to  the  low  hills  which 
skirt  the  river  for  a  distance  of  thirty  miles 
downwards ;  but  in  the  next  eighty  miles 
below,  a  strip  of  country,  about  five  miles 
in  breadth,  has  been  reclaimed  by  irrigation 
from  the  surrounding  sands  on  the  right 
bank.  Excepting  the  half-drowned  land  of 
the  Karakalpaks,  this  area  of,  perhaps  400 
square  miles,  is  the  only  productive  part  of 
the  Russian  possessions.  Though  it  has 
been  stated  at  a  higher  figure,  the  popula- 
tion of  the  Amou-Daria  district,  including 
Karakalpaks,  Kirghiz,  Uzbeks,  and  Tajiks, 
does  not  amount  to  more  than  60,000 
souls. 

The  revenue  collected  in  1874,  the  first 
year  of  the  Russian  occupation,  amounted, 
as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  to  some  12,000 
roubles  (say  £1,850),  a  sum  which  was 
about  one-eighth  of  the  expenditure.  The 
assessment  of  the  land  has  been  reduced  to 
less  than  that  demanded  in  Khiva,  with  the 
view  of  attracting  an  influx  of  settlers; 
though  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  physical 
features  of  the  ground  will  allow  of  any 
appreciable  addition  to  the  irrigated  area 
on  the  Russian  side  of  the  stream.  It  is, 
however,  evident  that  the  diversion  of 
water  for  the  cultivation  of  the  desert,  and 
the  consequent  relief  of  the  lands  along  the 
Lower  Amou  from  inundation,  would  at  least 
double  the  revenue,  and  enable  the  Rus- 
sians to  save  large  sums  in  their  expendi- 
ture for  raw  cotton,  for  which  they  pay 
over  £1,600,000  annually.  The  cultivation 
of  cotton  especially  would  be  of  benefit  in 
attracting  commerce  and  increasing  the 
trade,  which  is  even  now  carried  on  to  a 
considerable  extent  with  Indian  teas,  which 
fetch  as  much  as  four  shillings  per  pound 
on  the  Amou.  Trade  would  also  receive  a 
considerable  impetus  could  means  be  devised 
to  render  the  Amou  navigable,  whether  by 
a  system  of  locks  or  ''regulation,"  which 
would  enable  the  steamers  to  stem  the 
current  at  less  expense  than  at  a  cost  of 
about  £2  55.  a  mile  for  firinor,  which  was 
the  sum  paid  for  the  fuel  used  on  board  the 
Samarcand  and  Per  off  ski.     But  even  as  it 

267 


M-- 


'   'It 


TOWNS  ON  THE  AMOU.] 


HISTOKY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-77. 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


EUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  karakalpaks. 


I 


! 


V  ■*, 


u 


is,  a  considerable  traffic — taking  the  thin 
population  into  account — is  conducted 
along  the  Amou  and  Syr-Daria  by  means 
of  caiques  and  barges,  which  are  towed 
laboriously  up  the  river  and  float  down  to 
the  lake,  after  the  fashion  of  the  barges  on 
the  Thames,  or  the  rafts  upon  the  Khine. 
The  absence  of  coal  and  timber  adapted 
for  fuel,  however,  will,  for  some  time  to 
come,  prove  a  great  obstacle  to  the  develop- 
ment of  trade  in  these  regions ;  though,  at 
the  same  time,  there  appears  to  be  reason 
to  believe  that  naphtha  and  petroleum  exist 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  rivers,  which 
miirht  be  used  instead  of  wood  and  coal,  or 
in  conjunction  with  them. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  navigation  of 
the  river  is  tedious  and  costly  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  steamers  are  always  bumping 
on  the  ever-shifting  shoals,  and  not  a  day 
passes  but  that  some  more  or  less  extensive 
repairs  have  to  be  made. 

The  Amou  enters  the  lake  by  three  chief 
arms,  the  Taldyk,  the  Ukun-Daria,  and  the 
Yeni-Su.  Each  of  these  arms  has  its  delta ; 
but  practically  the  delta  commences  some 
eighty  miles  south  of  the  lake,  near  Khod- 
jeili,  though  the  ground  lying  between  the 
three  brandies  is  not  a  delta  proper,  inas- 
much as  it  does  not  consist  of  soil  carried 
down  by  the  river,  but  has  simply  been  'cut 
through  by  the  river,  which  has  washed  its 
tortuous  course  aw^ay  through  the  soft  clay 
and  swamps.  The  banks  are  lined  with 
dense  rushes,  beyond  which  appear  fine  rich 
pastures,  whereon  browse  the  cattle  and 
herds  of  the  Karakalpaks — a  tribe  some 
40,000  to  50,000  strong,  and  which  are 
still  considerably  astonished  at  the  sight  of 
a  steamer,  some  of  them  plunging  into  the 
river  and  swimming  after  the  snorting 
monster,  whilst  the  others  scamper  away 
till  lost  to  sight.  The  first  place  after 
entering  the  central  arm — the  Ukun-Daria 
— is  Ak-Kala,  or  the  White  Castle,  with 
crenelated  mud  walls,  300  feet  square,  with 
four  circular  towers  ;  the  walls  being  about 
20  feet  high.  Here  the  Khivans  attacked 
the  Samarcand  in  1873;  but  were  soon 
forced  to  evacuate  the  fort,  which  with  tlie 
adjacent  village  is  now  one  mass  of  unin- 
habited ruins.  Almost  in  an  equally  ruined 
condition  is  the  town  of  Kungrad,  with  its 
population  dwindled  down  from  6,000  to 
barely  2,000,  in  consequence  of  the  war  with 
the  Russians.  The  place  has  been  described 
by  Vdmbery  and  others  as  one  of  the  few 
towns  where  the  women  of  Central  Asia  can 
268 


boast  of  decidedly  good  looks  and  of  corres- 
pondingly loose  morals,  though  the  presence 
of  a  Russian  army  there  may  have  possibly 
conduced  far  more  to  the  latter  than  the 
former  has  done.  According  to  Major 
Wood,  the  propensities  of  the  Russian 
officers  and  men  thus  far  away  from  the 
voice  of  public  opinion,  are  of  such  a  nature 
that  he  was  obliged  to  write  his  account  of 
them  in  Latin.  Close  to  Kungrad  the  river 
cuts  throuirh  a  bed  of  soft  sandstone,  in 
which  masses  of  oyster-shells  and  sharks' 
teeth  are  conglomerated  together  with  iron 
oxides,  of  which  all  along  the  lower  course 
of  the  river  there  are  numerous  deposits.  On 
the  hills  around  the  burying- places  have 
been  established,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
remains  from  being  washed  out  of  their 
graves  by  the  inundations.  It  is  at  Kun- 
grad that  tlie  characteristic  scenes  of  life  in 
the  oases  of  Central  Asia  are  seen  to  their 
best  advantage.  The  water  is  raised  by 
Persian  wheels  worked  by  horse-power, 
to  irrigate  the  surrounding  fields  of  rice, 
melons,  cereals,  sesamum,  which  stud  the 
green  pasturage  around,  with  its  patches  of 
jungle,  &c.,  dense  growth  of  tamarisk,  pop- 
lar, elm,  and  willow  swarming  with  bird- 
life,  especially  pheasants,  gazelles,  and  hares 
by  the  herd. 

On  the  eastern  arm  of  the  Amou  there *is 
no  town ;  but  between  the  Ukun-Daria  and 
the  Yeni-Su  there  is  the  Kigali ee  canal,  on 
which  the  town  of  Ainbye  is  situated,  re- 
joicing in  a  bazaar,  which,  poor  as  it  is  in 
comparison  with  those  of  larger  towns, 
suffices  for  the  wants  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  proves  a  great  attraction  to  them  when 
they  come  to  exchange  their  produce  for 
the  manufactures  of  the  far-west  and  the 
far-east.  Round  about,  stretching  on  either 
side  of  the  canal,  lies  the  fort-like  farm- 
houses embowered  in  orchards  in  quad- 
rangles of  250  to  300  feet  square,  formed  by 
smooth  thick  mud-walls  some  15  to  20  feet 
high,  with  circular  buttresses  at  the  corners 
like  towers;  the  interior  divided  off  into 
courts  containing  the  rooms,  offices,  and 
stables.  The  entrance  is  usually  in  the 
western  wall,  and  is  formed  by  heavy  fold- 
ing gates,  bound  with  iron,  and  flanked 
and  surmounted  by  loopholes  to  admit  of 
musketry-fire  being  poured  against  ma- 
rauders attacking  the  homestead.  Nothing 
is  more  characteristic  of  the  insecurity  of 
life  and  property  than  these  farms,  all  of 
which,  unless  within  a  town  (which  is 
usually  also  walled),  are  built  in  the  above 


fashion,  recalling  vividly  to  mind  the 
granges  and  castles  of  mediaeval  times.  And 
even  now,  as  then,  may  be  found  in  some  of 
these  habitations  old  suits  or  portions  of 
scale  and  chain  armour,  mementoes  of  the 
days  of  the  Crusaders  and  the  fights  of  the 
Moslems  against  the  Mongol  tribes.  The 
savagery  of  those  days  continued  sporadi- 
cally down  to  comparatively  recent  times. 
It  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Oguz  channel, 
joining  the  Taldyk  and  the  Ukun-Daria, 
that  Prince  Bekovitch,  an  officer  of  the 
imperial  guard,  met  with  his  death.  He 
had  been  sent  by  Peter  the  Great  to  the 
Khan  of  Khiva  with  presents,  in  order  to 
induce  him  to  conclude  treaties  of  commerce 
with  Russia ;  but  the  khan,  having  got  all 
the  presents  intended  for  him,  wanted 
more,  and  on  Bekovitch  refusing,  had  him 
flayed  alive  and  then  murdered,  together 
with  his  two  brothers. 

But  the  life  of  the  inhabitants  of  these 
regions  is  dreary,  rough,  and  rude  enough 
to  crush  most  of  the  higher  sentiments  in 
the  struggle  for  existence.  The  lakes  and 
channels  are  literally  walled  in  with  ram- 
parts of  gigantic  reeds,  "which  might  almost 
be  called  trees,  and  which  afford  the  chief 
fuel  of  the  Karakalpak  fishermen,  who  are 
almost  as  nomadic  as  their  cattle-breeding 
fellow-men  further  off  in  the  deserts,  and 
take  up  their  abode  for  a  time  on  the  float- 
ingf  and  half-floatino^  islands  of  arundoa.Tid 
tipho.  Here  they  catch  the  fish  which 
swarm  in  these  waters,  especially  in  the 
cave-like  hollows  formed  bv  ancient  mud 
volcanoes,  in  which  the  river  eddies  and 
foams  with  irresistible  force,  and  over 
which  hover  the  winged  fishers,  the  gulls 
and  sea-eagles,  who  dispute  their  prey  with 
the  Karakalpaks,  or  Black  Hats,  a  tribe  of 
Mongol  Turks,  numbering,  as  has  already 
been  said,  about  50,000  souls,  and  who 
reach  up  the  Lower  Amou  as  far  as 
Khodjeili.  It  is  the  poorest  tribe  of  all  in 
these  regions,  having  had  much  to  suffer 
from  their  enemies,  the  Uzbeks  and  Khi- 
vese,  who  inundated  their  pasturages  by 
blocking  up  the  mouths  of  the  canals, 
whilst  what  their  human  enemies  left  them 
was  periodically  eaten  up  by  the  locusts, 
which  came  down  in  dense  swarms  of 
enormous  extent.  One  of  these  clouds  was 
estimated  at  fifteen  miles  long,  two  miles 
broad,  and  half  a  mile  deep,  so  that,  allow- 
ing only  two  locusts  to  every  cubic  yard, 
there  were  no  less  than  38,000,000,000  of 
them.     In  addition  to  these  insects,  which 


eat  up  the  produce  of  the  Karakalpaks, 
must  be  mentioned  the  mosquitoes,  which 
almost  eat  him  up  himself.  According  to 
all  accounts,  the  Amou  mosquito  is  the  most 
voracious  and  tormenting  of  his  race;  so 
much  so,  in  fact,  that  the  Russian  soldiers,, 
who  are  pretty  well  used  to  all  varieties  of 
entomological  companions,  are  furnished 
with  mosquito  curtains;  but,  like  the  sailors 
on  the  Rangoon,  they  should  jump  into  the 
river,  and  prefer  drowning  to  being  stung 
to  death. 

Yet  in  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks,  or 
perhaps  in  consequence  of  them,  the  Kara- 
kalpak preserves  his  character  of  inde- 
pendence and  pride.  Major  Wood  relates 
how,  whilst  sketching  the  aoul,  or  farm- 
house of  one  of  the  tribe,  he  offered  a 
twenty-copeck  piece  to  a  boy  standing  by 
with  a  hawk  upon  his  naked  shoulder. 
The  coin  was  refused  with  a  flashing  eye. 
Major  Wood  being  unable  to  decide  which 
was  the  more  un tameable  of  the  two,  the 
hawk  or  the  boy.  As  may  be  imagined, 
the  Karakalpaks  are  very  superstitious. 
They  have  an  especial  horror  of  leprosy ; 
and  if  any  of  their  number  is  seized  with 
the  disease,  he  or  she  is  expelled  from  the 
aoul,  and  turned  out  into  the  jungle  to 
die.  On  the  whole  they  live  well.  They 
have  an  abundance  of  mutton,  much  game, 
sturgeon  and  other  fish,  and  an  unlimited 
amount  of  melons  and  other  fruits  ;  whilst 
koumiss  (fermented  mare's  milk)  exhila- 
rates them  into  horrible  song  in  the  midst 
of  their  swamps,  like  whiskey  the  Irishman 
in  the  midst  of  his  bogs. 

At  Khodjeili  the  Amou  proper  com- 
mences. It  is  here  about  1,500  feet  broad  ; 
but  between  this  point  and  Toyonboyin, 
where  it  rushes  through  a  narrow  passage 
in  a  dyke  of  chalk  and  limestone,  which 
stretches  across  its  course,  it  attains  a 
breadth  of  as  much  as  10,000  feet,  the 
diminution  being  due  to  the  countless 
number  of  canals  and  channels  which  help 
it  to  irrigate  the  country  around.  Oppo- 
site Khodjeili  lies  the  village  of  Nukus, 
near  which  commences  the  barren  Bish- 
tabye  range  of  hills,  on  which,  at  the 
northern  extremity,  stands  a  mausoleum  in 
the  midst  of  a  cemetery,  by  the  side  of  the 
graves  of  which  the  stretchers  are  placed 
in  the  ground  used  to  carry  the  corpses  up 
and  down.  There  are  numbers  of  caves  in 
the  steep  slopes  of  these  hills,  inhabited 
by  owls  of  such  large  dimensions  that  they 
are  capable  of  knocking  a  man  down,  as 

269 


1 1 


I 


i  ' 


u 


CENTRAL  ASIAN   TRADE.! 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1750-70. 


they  suddenly  fly  out  of  their  haunts  when 
they  are  disturbed. 

Such  are  the  general  characteristics  of 
the  country  through  which  the  Russians 
are  extending  their  frontiers  towards  those 
of  India.  But  it  must  not  be  imagined 
that  the  picture  thus  drawn  is  in  every  way 
complete.  There  is  still  much  to  learn, 
and  that  much  is  not  easy  to  learn,  although 
many  attempts  have  been  made  to  pene- 
trate into  the  interior  and  explore  it. 

It  was  not  until  nearl}^  the  end  of  the 
15th  century  that  a  systematic  attempt  was 
made  to  develop  trade  between  Russia  and 
the  Central  Asian  khanates.  After  this, 
Englishmen  took  up  the  project  by  sending 
over  commercial  agents,  one  of  the  princi- 
pal ones  being  at  that  time  Anthony  Jen- 
kinson.  Later  on.  Captain  Elton  went  to 
reconnoitre  Lake  Aral,  intending  to  estab- 
lish a  naval  flotilla  there.  Still  later  on 
we  hear  of  an  English  merchant,  Djake 
(Jacky),  busy  in  commercial  transactions 
with  the  Kirghiz ;  and  in  1745,  Jonas  Han- 
way,  the  so-called  "Handsome  English- 
man," traded  here  before  settling  down  in 
England.  This  shows  plainly  that  English- 
men had  not  a  little  to  do  with  spreading 
trade  over  Central  Asia.  There  certainly 
was  a  sliofht  kind  of  commercial  relation- 
ship  between  Russia  and  the  khanates ;  but 
not  until  after  the  Siberian  conquest  was 
there  anything  like  dir^ect  communication 
between  the  two  countries.  The  first  pro- 
position for  the  Kirghiz  to  become  subject 
to  Russian  rule  was  made  at  the  close  of 
the  16th  century;  but  this  was  not  carried 
out  until  1730,  under  the  reign  of  the 
Empress  Anne.  Some  few  years  after  this 
a  commercial  caravan  was  sent  from  Russia 
to  Tashkend,  but  was  plundered  by  the 
Kirghiz  of  the  "  Middle  Horde,"  two  days 
before  reaching  the  town.;  and  after  this,  a 
Khivan  caravan,  returning  from  Russia, 
was  plundered  by  the  same  tribe.  These 
acts  of  brigandage  continuing,  of  course 
made  it  impossible  for  the  trade  between 
Russia  and  the  Central  Asian  khanates  to 
lead  to  any  satisfactory  results. 

Russia  now  had  a  difficult  task  before 
her — to  put  down  brigandage  in  the 
Kirghiz  steppes  ;  for  though,  of  course,  the 
Kirghiz  could  be  driven  eastward,  this 
would  not  have  insured  the  safety  of  the 
caravans,  and  therefore  not  have  furthered 
trade  between  the  two  countries.  For  this 
reason  it  was  necessary  for  Russia  to  en- 
deavour to  entirely  subject  the  Kirghiz 
270 


under  her  rule,  which  she  succeeded  in 
doing,  as  is  shown  by  the  flight  of  the 
Volga  Calmuks  to  their  previous  home  in 
the  west  of  China  in  1770,  whence  they 
had  been  driven  by  the  oppression  of  the 
Zungars.  They  settled  on  both  banks  of 
the  Lower  Volga  (about  the  middle  of  the 
17th  century),  where  the  czar  granted 
them  pasturage. 

After  the  Chinese  (1756)  had  destroyed 
the  power  of  the  Zungars,  the  small  num- 
ber of  Calmuks  which  had  remained  in 
their  country  joined  their  compatriots  in 
Russia,  who  had  been  domiciled  there  for 
more  than  a  century.  These  new  arrivals 
soon  succeeded  in  stirring  up,  in  the  breasts 
of  their  countrymen,  an  unconquerable  de- 
sire to  return  to  their  forsaken  home  and 
old  nomadic  life.  Preparations  for  leaving 
their  adopted  country  were  accordingly 
made,  the  time  fixed  for  departure  depend- 
ing upon  the  freezing  of  the  Volga,  as  a 
great  number  of  the  Calmuks  had  their 
home  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  The 
river,  however,  this  year  (1769-70)  did  not 
freeze ;  and  this  is  the  reason  that  about 
100,000  Calmuks  are,  at  the  present  time, 
still  found  in  the  government  of  Astrakhan. 
However,  150,000  of  them  started  on  their 
journey  to  China  on  the  5th  January,  1770. 
As  soon  as  the  governor  of  Orenburg  and 
the  Siberian  government  found  this  out, 
they  informed  all  the  Kirghiz,  telling  them 
that  the  Calmuks  were  about  to  attack 
them.  All  the  Kirghiz  tribes  consequently 
assembled,  and,  being  helped  by  the  Cos- 
sacks, succeeded  in  ultimately  reducing  the 
number  of  the  fugitives  to  only  70,000  who 
reached  their  old  country. 

As  before  remarked,  Russia's  aim  now 
was  to  keep  all  the  Asiatic  tribes  within 
her  reach  in  subjection,  for  she  was  begin- 
ning to  fear  the  invasion  of  the  Asiatic 
barbarians.  She  therefore  peopled  her 
frontiers  as  thickly  as  possible,  intending 
the  possible  invaders  to  expend  the  greater 
part  of  their  force  upon  these  outlying 
populations.  The  principal  tribes  who  had 
been  settled  here  were  the  Calmuks,  the 
Kirghiz,  the  Bashkirs,  and  the  Nogai  Tar- 
tars, all  of  which  Russia  held  under  her 
rule  and  complete  domination  by  skilfully 
creating  and  keeping  up  mutual  jealousy, 
even  hatred  amongst  them,  and  altogether 
alienating  one  tribe  from  the  other  as  much 
as  possible.  This  she  did  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  different  tribes  from  uniting 
against  her.     The  wisdom  of  this  policy 


A.D.  1631.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [Russian  conquest  in  asia. 


became  very  apparent  when,  in  1741,  all 
the  tribes  might  have  been  roused  to  action 
against  Russia  in  consequence  of  a  mar- 
riage between  two  members  of  the  chief 
tribes.  This  danger,  however,  and  many 
similar  ones,  were  prevented  by  the  exer- 
cise of  that  quality  the  Russians  excel  in — 
the  art  of  setting  one  tribe  against  the 
other  on  the  faith  of  promises,  which  were 
rashly  made,  but  never  rashly  kept ; 
although,  from  time  to  time,  the  infuriated 
Turcomans  and  Kirghiz  would  rise  and 
massacre  their  aggressors  in  periodical  re- 
bellions, called  forth  by  the  fanatical 
preaching  of  the  niollahs.  Sometimes  the 
thin  line  of  Cossack  outposts  was  menaced 
back  and  front  by  hostile  tribes,  as  was  the 
case  with  the  Bathkirs  in  the  north  and 
the  Kirghiz  in  the  south.  Thus,  when  the 
Bashkirs  rebelled,  the  governor  of  Oren- 
burg issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Kirghiz, 
stating  that  though  nothing  could  be  said 
against  the  religious  objects  of  the  Bashkirs, 
still,  if  they  succeeded  in  gaining  their  in- 
dependence, they  would  probably  follow  it 
up  by  subjugating  the  Kirghiz  themselves. 
He  therefore,  in  order  to  annihilate  the 
tribe,  made  over  to  the  Kirghiz,  in  advance, 
all  the  women  and  children  they  might  be 
able  to  capture,  and  thus  secured  the  sen- 
sual riomads  to  give  them  their  assistance 
by  falling  upon  the  rebels.  The  Kirghiz 
at  once  set  forth  on  their  expedition,  the 
result  being  that  the  Bashkirs  were  forced 
to  submit  after  having  suffered  great 
losses,  and  some  numbers  of  their  wives  and 
children  carried  off.  Naturally,  the  Bash- 
kirs vowed  revenge ;  and  as  soon  as  they 
could  collect  a  sufficient  number  of  men, 
they  burst  across  the  frontier  with  the 
connivance  of  the  Russians,  and  commenced 
a  general  massacre,  and  pillaged  and  fired 
till  the  Russian  governor  thought  his  object 
was  thoroughly  gained,  and  Bashkirs  and 
Kirghiz  embroiled  for  ever  in  a  bitter 
feud. 

This  policy  is  so  traditional,  so  well  cha- 
racterises the  Russians  of  the  present  day 
in  their  dealings  with  the  natives  of  Central 
Asia — it  has  been  so  closely  followed  out  in 
regard  to  the  jealousies  sown  between  the 
Khans  of  Khiva  and  Bokhara,  that  an  ac- 
count of  the  conquest  of  the  Buriats — a 
tribe  inhabiting  the  regions  round  Lake 
Baikal  and  the  banks  of  the  Yenisei,  Oka, 
and  Angara — will  be  of  interest. 

They  are  first  named,  as  far  as  it  is 
known,  in  the  Russian  annals  in   1612, 


when  we  read  that  the  Siberian  tribe  of 
the  Arini  submitted  to  the  Russians,; %nd 
that  a  short  time  before,  the  same  Arini 
had  been  attacked  by  the  Buriats.  They 
are  next  mentioned  in  1622,  when  we  are 
told  that  they  appeared  on  the  Yenisei 
with  a  body  of  3,000  men ;  but  they  seem 
to  have  retired  again.  It  was  not  till  1627 
that  they  came  into  actual  contact  with  the 
Russians.  In  that  year  Maxim  Perfirief, 
with  forty  Cossacks,  was  sent  along  the  river 
Tunguska,  and  reached  the  so-called  Buriat 
waterfalls  or  rapids,  made  tributary  the 
Tunguses  on  its  banks,  and  then  went  over- 
land to  the  settlements  of  the  Buriats, 
who  refused  submission.  He  returned  to 
Yeniseisk  in  1628.  The  same  year  the 
Cossack  sotnik  or  captain,  Peter  Beketof, 
with  a  party  of  Cossacks,  built  the  fort  or 
settlement  of  Kibenskoi,  whence  he  navi- 
gated the  Tunguska  in  canoes,  passed 
the  waterfalls,  and  took  tribute  from  the 
Buriats  on  the  Oka.  He  also  carried  off  a 
number  of  Buriats  as  slaves,  but  some  were 
returned.  The  Cossack  explorers  of  Siberia 
had  a  good  deal  of  the  buccaneer  about 
them,  and  their  brave  and  dangerous  jour- 
neys were  made  in  search  of  plunder,  furs, 
&c.,  which  were  easily  forced  from  the  weak 
tribes.  It  would  seem  that  rumours  had 
reached  the  Russians  that  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  silver  among  the  Buriats.  This 
came  to  them  from  China  by  way  of  the 
Mongols ;  and  it  was  this  which  apparently 
induced  the  Vaivode  of  Yeniseisk,  Yakof 
Khripunof,  to  make  an  expedition  into  their 
country.  He  set  out  from  Tobolsk  in  the 
spring  of  1628,  and  a  year  later  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Him,  a  tributary  of  the 
Tunguska.  Leaving  a  small  body  of  Cos- 
sacks there  in  charge  of  some  guns  he  had 
taken  with  him,  and  sending  thirty  others 
towards  the  Lena,  he  marched  with  the  re- 
mainder to  the  Angara.  He  met  with  the 
Buriats  on  the  Oka,  where  we  are  told  he 
was  victorious;  but  his  victory  bore  no 
fruits,  for  he  returned  and  almost  imme- 
diately died.  This  expedition  also  carried 
off  twenty-one  Buriats  as  slaves,  but  they 
were  sent  home  again.  The  Russians  now 
attempted  to  approach  the  Buriats  in  a 
more  diplomatic  fashion,  sent  them  back 
some  prisoners  they  had  captured,  and  sent 
two  Cossacks  to  them  as  envoys ;  but  they 
were  not  well  received,  and  one  of  them 
was  killed. 

In  1631,  the  Russians  built  a  fort  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Oka,  which  was  given  the 

271 


^ill 


I 


M 


DEFEAT  OF  BXIRIATS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1640. 


A.D.  1654.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE,     [rebellion  of  the  buriats. 


name  of  Bratzkoi,  from  the  Buriats,  in 
whose  country  it  was  built.  After  the 
murder  of  the  Cossack  above-named,  the 
Ataman  Maxim  Perfirief,  with  fifteen  Cos- 
sacks, had  made  an  expedition  to  the 
Buriats.  Each  of  them  was  presented  with 
a  sable  skin  by  the  latter,  in  gratitude  for 
the  release  of  their  friends  above-named. 
This  present  was  construed  by  the  Russians 
into  a  payment  of  tribute  ;  but  the  construc- 
tion was  resented  by  the  Buriats,  who  also 
persuaded  the  Tunguses  to  cease  paying 
yassak.  * 

In  1635  the  Buriats  killed  Dunaief  and 
fifty-two  Cossacks  who  formed  the  garrison 
of  the  Bratzkoi  ostrog,  and  carried  otT 
their  guns  and  ammunition.  A  force  was 
now  sent  from  Yeniseisk  to  punish  them. 
They  were  speedily  reduced,  and  the  Rus- 
sians extended  their  authority  so  much 
among  them  that,  in  1689,  the  district 
subject  to  the  Ostrogat  Bratzkoi  extended 
from  the  Wichoreika,  a  tributary  of  the 
Angara,  as  far  as  the  Oka. 

Meanwhile  the  Cossacks  were  also  ad- 
vancinsr  on  the  side  of  the  Lena.  The 
Tunguses  there  were  tributaries  of  the 
Buriats,  and  were  forbidden  by  the  latter 
to  pay  the  Russians  tribute.  The  sotnik 
Beketof  accordingly  set  out  to  punish  them. 
He  had  thirty  men  only  with  him,  of  whom 
he  left  ten  at  list  Kut.  With  the  rest  he 
advanced  to  the  river  Kulenga,  where  the 
Buriat  steppe  commenced.  This  was  in 
1631.  After  a  march  of  five  days  he  came 
upon  a  body  of  200  Buriats,  who  fled.  The 
Cossacks  having  intrenched  themselves, 
sent  to  demand  that  they  should  become 
Russian  subjects.  They  promised  to  send 
them  some  furs  in  two  days  as  a  tribute. 
Two  of  their  chiefs  accordingly  went  with 
sixty  followers.  They  were  allowed  to 
enter  the  stockade  after  depositing  their 
bows  and  arrows  outside,  and  they  then 
offered  five  wretched  summer  sable-skins, 
and  a  rotten  fur-skin,  almost  denuded  of 
hair.  The  Russian  commander  was  indig- 
nant, and  saw  that  a  trick  was  being  played 
upon  him;  while  the  Buriats,  who  seem 
to  have  had  no  intention  of  becoming  tribu- 
taries, pulled  out  the  knives  and  daggers 
they  had  hidden  in  their  clothes :  but  the 
Russians  were  prepared,  and  laid  forty  of 
them  on  the  ground,  and  wounded  many  of 
the  rest,  while  they  only  succeeded  in 
killing  three  Tunguses  ( who  were  'proteges 
of  the  Russians,  among  them  being  the 
Tungus  cheif  Lipka),  and  wounding  one 
272 


Cossack.  Meanwhile  the  Buriats  assembled 
outside  to  revenge  their  dead  countrymen. 
Beketof  thought  it  prudent  to  retire,  and 
having  mounted  his  men  on  Buriat  horses, 
made  a  hasty  retreat,  riding  in  one  march 
twenty-four  hours  together,  and  at  length 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Tutur,  where  his 
allies  the  Tunguses  lived,  and  where  he 
determined  to  build  an  ostrog,  or  settle- 
ment. 

A  few  years  later,  in  1640,  Wasilei  Wite* 
sef  was  sent  at  the  head  of  the  Cossacks 
from  Kimsk,  along  the  Lena.  He  brought 
many  of  the  Tunguses  into  subjection,  and 
then  went  to  the  Buriats  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Onga,  a  tributary  of  the  Lena,  from 
whom  he  demanded  tribute.  Some  ex- 
cused themselves  on  the  ground  that  they 
had  already  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Mongols 
on  the  other  side  of  Lake  Baikal,  while 
others  asked  time  for  consultation  with 
their  friends.  Wasilei  having  returned  to 
Kimsk,  it  was  determined  to  prosecute  a 
campaign  against  the  Buriats.  One  hundred 
men,  under  his  command,  were  accordingly 
sent  in  the  early  spring  of  1641.  They 
marched  on  mud-shoes,  and  w^-e  guided  by 
the  Tunguses,  and  so  surprised  the  Buriats, 
that  in  three  weeks  they  were  made  to  sub- 
mit. Their  chief,  Chepchugai,  kept  up  the 
struggle,  however,  and  we  are  told  he  de- 
fended his  post  bravely,  and  wounded  many 
of  the  Russians  with  the  arrows  he  shot 
from  it.  He  was  only  subdued  when  his 
tent  was  set  on  fire  by  the  Russians,  and  he 
had  perished  in  it.  Having  recovered  from 
their  panic,  the  Buriats  afterwards  recom- 
menced the  struggle ;  and  we  are  told  that 
Kurshum,  Chepchuga's  brother,  collected  a 
body  of  2,000  of  them,  and  made  an  attack, 
in  the  hope  of  releasing  his  countrymen 
who  had  been  taken  prisoners,  among  whom 
his  son  Cheidakum  was  the  most  distin- 
guished. A  bloody  struggle  ensued,  which 
lasted  from  dawn  till  nightfall,  in  which 
the  Buriats  were  at  length  beaten  off, 
although  not  until  the  Russians  had  suffered 
severely.  This  struggle  seems  to  have 
cowed  the  Buriats  ;  and  the  Russians  having 
offered  to  release  their  prisoners,  who  were 
chiefly  women,  if  they  would  go  to  them 
and  do  homage,  and  agree  to  pay  tribute, 
Kurshum,  who  was  now  their  head  chief, 
went  to  their  camp.  The  prisoners  were 
set  free,  except  Cheidakum,  Kurshum's  son, 
whom  the  Russians  wished  to  retain  as  a 
hostage,  and  whose  freedom  was  only  pur- 
chased by  his  father  agreeing  to  become  a 


hostage  in  his  place.  Later  in  the  year  an 
ostrog  was  built  on  the  Lena  to  control 
these  Buriats.  This  was  called  Werk- 
holensk.  In  1644,  a  sub-chief  of  Cossacks, 
named  Kurbat  Iwanof,  who  commanded  at 
Werkholensk,  made  an  apparently  unpro- 
voked attack  on  the  Buriats  in  the  steppes 
of  the  Angara,  and  returned  with  much 
booty.  This  caused  an  alliance  between 
the  Angara  Buriats  and  those  of  the  Lena, 
who  determined  upon  a  joint  expedition 
against  Werkholensk.  They  accordingly 
carried  off  the  Russian  cattle  there,  and 
beleaguered  the  fort.  They  were  2,000 
strong ;  were  all  mounted,  armed  with  bows 
and  arrows,  with  swords  and  lances,  and 
many  of  them  wore  coats  of  mail ;  but  they 
did  not  take  the  fort,  although  its  garrison 
was  only  fifty  strong:  nor  did  they  pay 
tribute  that  year  ;  and  they  so  frightened 
the  Tunguses,  that  they  also  stayed  away 
with  their  yassak.  The  following  year, 
Alexei  Bedaref,  with  130  Cossacks,  was 
sent  from  Ilimsk  to  relieve  the  fort.  On 
the  way  he  defeated  a  body  of  300  Buriats  ; 
and  when  he  came  near  Werkholensk  the 
besiegers  withdrew.  He  turned  aside  to 
attack  one  of  the  Buriat  camps,  which  he 
surprised  in  the  absence  of  the  warriors, 
and  took  some  prisoners.  He  then  went  on 
to  Werkholensk,  where  he  was  followed  by 
the  Buriats.  They  prayed  him  to  release 
their  people,  which  he  did,  on  condition 
that  they  became  tributary.  The  following 
year,  i.e.,  in  1646,  he  marched  against 
another  of  their  tribes,  but  it  showed  a  bold 
front.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  Russians 
overcame  them,  and  also  succeeded  in  sub- 
duing a  third  tribe.  But  meanwhile  the 
Buriats  began  to  collect  together  in  large 
numbers  from  the  neighbourhood  round, 
and  Bedaref  deemed  it  prudent  to  retire  to 
Werkholensk,  which  he  had  some  difficulty 
in  reaching.  The  same  year  Bedaref  had  a 
campaign  with  the  Buriats  beyond  the 
Angara.  In  this  he  was  at  first  successful ; 
but  as  he  returned,  his  retreat  was  cut  off 
by  2,000  of  the  enemy,  and  he  lost  many  of 
bis  men  in  a  struggle  with  them.  The 
Buriats,  however,  lost  heart  in  turn,  and 
retired,  and  he  reached  Werkholensk  in 
safety.  Emboldened  by  their  success,  they 
seem,  in  1648,  to  have  beleaguered  Werk- 
holensk, list  Kut,  and  even  Ilimsk ;  but 
the  Russian  fire-arms  and  their  vigorous 
policy  was  an  overmatch  for  the  poorly- 
armed  Buriats,  and  in  the  campaign  which 
followed  they  lost  many  horses,  cattle,  and 
VOL.  IL  2  N 


other  booty.  A  portion  of  it  was  carried 
off  by  the  Buriats  in  a  subsequent  engage- 
ment, but  the  Russians  managed  to  secure 
their  prisoners.  In  the  following  year  the 
campaign  was  urged  vigorously  against 
them  in  the  district  of  the  Lena;  their 
tribes  were  subdued  one  after  another,  their 
confederacy  was  broken  up,  and  many  of 
them  fled  beyond  the  Baikal  to  their 
countrymen  the  Mongols;  but  they  were 
no  better  off  there,  and  returned  again. 
At  length,  after  a  devastating  and  bloody 
struggle,  which  lasted  over  many  years, 
they  were,  about  1655,  cowed  and  sub- 
jected. And  after  this  the  Lena  Buriats 
may  be  looked  upon  as  Russian  subjects, 
and  as  following  the  fortunes  of  the  Russians 
in  Siberia.  Let  us  now  turn  once  more  to 
their  brethren  on  the  Angara  and  its  tribu- 
taries. 

In  1647,  the  Buriats  on  the  Uda,  who 
were  apparently  threatened  by  Mongols, 
sent  an  envoy  to  Krasnoyarsk  to  make  a 
treaty  of  peace  with  the  Russians.  Their 
chief,  who  was  called  Ilanko,  went  shortly 
after  in  person  with  his  son,  and  a  small 
party,  to  ask  that  the  Russians  would  build 
an  ostrog  in  his  country,  partly  to  protect 
them  against  the  Mongols,  and  also  as  a 
place  where  they  might  receive  their 
tribute.  This  request  was  acceded  to,  and 
a  small  fort  was  built  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Uda,  which  was  called  Udinskoi. 
Their  fidelity  was  not  very  firm,  for,  on  the 
disappearance  of  the  Mongol  danger,  they 
seem  to  have  fallen  upon  the  Cossacks  who 
were  sent  to  them  to  collect  tribute,  and  to 
have  killed  them.  This  was  in  1649.  In 
1650,  they  were  once  more  brought  to  sub- 
mission by  a  Russian  force  commanded  by 
Kirilla  Banakof.  In  1648,  the  post  of 
Bratzkoi  was  removed  from  its  old  situation 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Oka  on  to  the  other 
bank  of  the  Angara.  Its  new  site  was  a 
very  fruitful  one,  and  the  ground  was 
especially  productive  in  grain,  and  returned 
tenfold  of  what  was  sown.  This  removal 
seems  to  have  excited  the  jealousy  of  the 
Buriats  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  rebelled, 
and  in  1650  paid  no  yassak  or  tribute, 
and  were  only  restored  to  obedience  by  the 
practised  and  skilful  hand  of  Maxim  Per- 
firief,  the  former  governor  of  Bratzkoi,  who 
had  gained  considerable  influence  there. 
After  this,  Bratzkoi  was  once  more  removed 
to  its  old  site  on  the  Oka.  This  was  in 
1654 ;  and  the  removal  was  superintended 
by  Dimitri  Firsof,  who  was  ordered  to  build 

273 


V 


BURIATS  SUBJUGATED.] 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


[A.D.  1661. 


A.D.  1856-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  syr-daru. 


another  outpost  on  the  Angara.  This 
second  post  was  called  Balaganskoi,  and 
was  situated  about  six  versts  above  the  out- 
flow of  the  Unga,  and  opposite  the  island  of 
Osinkoi.  It  was  so  named  after  a  tribe  of 
Buriats  called  Bologat,  who  lived  on  the 
rivers  'Jnga  and  Ossa.  Before  the  ostrog 
was  built,  the  Bologats  had  been  plundered 
by  the  Russians  under  the  pretence  of  col- 
lecting tribute  from  them,  and  directly 
after  it  was  completed,  1,700  of  them  be- 
came Russian  subjects,  and  the  Angara 
became  a  Russian  river  as  far  as  the  great 
sea  of  Baikal.  They  founded  a  colony  at 
Balaganskoi,  and  proceeded  to  work  the 
iron-mines  in  the  neighbourhood,  which  had 
long  been  known  to  the  inhabitants.  The 
Bologats  desired  the  Russians  to  send  to 
their  brethren  on  the  rivers  Biela,  Kitoi, 
and  Irkut,  three  feeders  of  the  Angara 
which  flow  into  it  from  the  west,  to  reduce 
them  also  ;  but,  as  the  sententious  Fischer 
says,  it  is  often  easier  to  conquer  than  to 
retain.  In  1668,  the  heavy  hand  of  Ivan 
Pokhabof,  the  governor  of  Balaganskoi, 
caused  an  outbreak  among  the  Bologats, 
who  killed  the  Russians  who  w^ere  sent  to 
them  and  fled.  The  Russians  pursued  them 
to  the  rivers  Biela,  Kitoi,  and  Irkut,  but 
they  fled  southwards  to  the  Mongols.  So 
great  was  the  migration  that,  in  1659,  hardly 
any  tribute  was  taken  to  Balaganskoi. 
The  following  year  the  Mongols  carried  off 
the  few  remaining  Buriats  that  remained  in 
this  part  of  the  country. 

The  Russians  now  came  close  to  the 
sacred  lake  of  the  Buriats,  the  great  Baikal 
Sea.  The  first  Russian  who  navigated  it 
was  Kurbat  Ivanof,  who  had  marched  from 
Yakutsk  in  1643,  with  not  more  than 
seventy-five  men.  With  these  he  made  a 
landing  on  the  isle  of  Olkhon,  and  defeated 
the  Buriats  who  lived  there,  and  who  were 
1,000  strong.  In  1646,  another  Cossack, 
named  Kolesnikof,  set  out  from  Yeniseisk 
and  skirted  the  northern  shores  of  the 
Baikal  with  a  body  of  men,  and  went  as  far 
as  the  Upper  Angara,  which  flows  into  the 
Baikal,  and  built  an  ostrog  there,  which  he 
called  Werkhanganskoi.  This  was  in  1647. 
While  wintering  there,  he  heard  that  some 
Mongols,  who  encamped  on  Lake  Verafna 
(between  the  rivers  Barguzin  and  Selinga), 
were  rich  in  silver.  This  excited  his  cupi- 
dity, as  it  did  that  of  Khripannof,  already 
mentioned.  He  accordingly  sent  four  Cos- 
sacks with  a  chief  of  the  Tunguses  to 
explore.  They  proceeded  along  the  river 
274 


Barguzin  as  far  as  the  Lake  Verafna ;  and  as 
they  met  with  no  Mongols  they  continued 
on  as  far  as  the  Selinga.     They  there  met 
with  a  powerful  Mongol  chief  named  Turu- 
kai-Tabun,  who   received    them   well,  and 
gave  them  some  gold  and  two  silver  bowls. 
He   also   told    them   that    these   precious 
metals  were  not  found  in  his  country,  but 
that  they  were  obtained  from  the  Chinese. 
He  also  sent  a  body  of  Mongols  to  escort 
them  back  to  the  Barguzin.      Kolesnikof 
now  returned  to  Yeniseisk,  and  thence  to 
Moscow.     This  was  in   1647.     Meanwhile 
another  expedition  had  set   out,  in  1646, 
from  Yeniseisk  to  explore  the  Baikal.    This 
consisted  of  eighty-four  men,  and  was  com- 
manded  by   Ivan   Pokhabof.       He    made 
tributary  the   Buriats   who  lived  on    the 
river  Ossa,  and  built  a  fort  on  an  island 
opposite,  where  that  river  falls  into  the 
Angara.     He  also  imposed  a  tribute  on  the 
Buriats  who  lived  on  the  Irkut,  and  the 
following  year   set   out    for   the   southern 
shores  of    the  Baikal.     He   attacked    the 
Mongols  who  lived  there,  and  took  some  of 
them    prisoners.     They  turned  out  to  be 
subjects   of  Turukai,  who  had  behaved  so 
well  to  the  Russians  the  year  before,  and 
with   whom  were  then   staying  four  Cos- 
sacks, who  had  been  sent  to  him  by  Koles- 
nikof.    One  of  them  was  sent  to  ask  for 
the    release    of    the    captured    Mongols. 
Mutual  explanations  followed,  and   peace 
was   once  more   restored.     Pokhabof  had 
heard,  from  the  Buriats  on  the  Angara,  that 
they  obtained  their  silver  from  a  Mongol 
khan  {i.e.,  the  Setzen  Khan  of  the  Khal- 
kas,  who  has  been  previously  described), 
who   was    father-in-law   to   Turukai,   and 
lived   not   far  from  the  Selinga.     Pokha- 
bof   asked    Turukai  to    supply   him   with 
some  guides  to  his  father-in-law's  urga,  or 
camp.     Turukai,  who  suspected  the  object 
of  his  visit,  and  knew  how  hopeless  it  was 
to  seek  for  silver  in  Mongolia,  nevertheless 
distrusted   the   policy  of    admitting  such 
powerful  neighbours  into  the  heart  of  his 
country.     He  therefore  adopted  the  plan 
of  conducting  them  by  such  a  circuitous 
route,  that  it  took  them  two  months  to 
traverse  what   ought   to   have   been  gone 
over  in  a  fortnight.     The  Russians  learned 
from  the  Setzen  Khan,  that  any  gold  and 
silver  he  had,  he  obtained  by  trade  with 
the  Chinese.     Pokhabof  returned  to  Yeni- 
seisk in  1648.     On  his  return  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Yeniseisk  sent  Galkin,  with  sixty 
Cossacks,    to    subject    the    tribes    about 


the  Baikal.  When  he  arrived  on  the 
Barguzin  he  built  an  ostrog,  which  be- 
came the  nucleus  of  the  Russian  posses- 
sions beyond  the  great  sea.  It  was  given 
the  name  of  Barguzinskoi.  In  1650,  an 
envoy  from  the  Setzen  Klian  of  the  Khal- 
kas,  who  had  been  to  Moscow,  was  return- 
ing home  with  some  Russians,  when  several 
of  the  latter  were  murdered  by  the  Buriats 
on  the  Baikal,  at  a  place  called  Pasolskoi 
jVIuis — i,e.,  Cape  of  the  Envoys — and  a  mon- 
astery was  afterwards  erected  on  the  spot. 

The  Buriats  on  the  Irkut  were  made 
tributary,  as  already  described,  by  Pokha- 
bof, in    1646.     It  was  not,   however,   till 


1661  that  an  ostrog  was  built  on  that 
river,  which  became  the  nucleus  of  the 
now  famous  city  of  Irkutsk. 

Now,  seeing  how  this  policy  has  resulted 
in  the  acquisition  by  the  Russians  of  all 
the  land  north  of  China  to  the  ocean,  the 
process  may  well  be  compared  to  the 
spring  forward  and  the  recoil  backward 
upon  itself  of  an  enormous  snake.  The 
tide  of  invasion  first  rolled  westwards,  then 
it  rolled  backwards;  and  now  it  is  irre- 
sistibly moving  southwards  to  the  gardens 
of  Asia,  till  it  will  be  checked  by  the 
Afghans  and  the  British  troops  of  India  in 
the  shock  of  war. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 


RUSSIA   ON   THE   SYR-DARIA. 


It  will  have  become  abundantly  evident, 
from  the  last  chapter,  that  the  Amou-Daria 
region  is  scarcely  of  a  nature,  from  an 
economic  point  of  view,  to  have  warranted 
its  annexation  by  Russia,  and  that  the 
motives  dictating  the  continued  advance  of 
the  Russians  southwards  and  eastwards, 
have  arisen  from  an  intense  desire  to  secure 
what,  in  former  ages,  was  an  eminently 
rich  and  fertile  country,  the  wealth  of 
which  varied  in  proportion  to  the  energies 
spent  upon  it,  and  according  to  the 
changes  in  the  beds  of  the  rivers,  induced 
by  the  different  systems  of  irrigation,  which 
again  depended  on  the  greater  or  lesser 
power  of  the  potentates  ruling  the  terri- 
tories along  their  courses.  Turning  the 
river  into  a  new  bed,  used  to  enrich  the 
one  and  ruin  the  other  ;  whilst  there  seems 
to  be  but  little  doubt,  that  if  a  central  ad- 
ministration could  be  established,  the 
waters  which  now  run  to  waste  when  they 
approach  Lake  Aral,  would  be  sufficient  to 
irrigate  a  very  large  portion  of  the  deserts 
lying  on  either  side  of  the  Amou — the 
Khwarazin  in  the  west,  and  the  Kizil-Kum 
in  the  east. 

As  it  is,  however,  it  is  only  at  the  mouth 
of  the  two  great  rivers,  the  Amou  and  the 
Syr,  and  at  their  sources,  that  fertility  ob- 
tains, and  the  remains  of  ancient  civilisa- 
tion and  art,  such  as  the  manufacture  of 
brocades  and  carpets,  can  be  found  in  a 


high  degree  of  perfection.  The  inter- 
mediate space  is  barren  and  inhospitable ; 
here  and  there  an  oasis  breaks  the  mono- 
tony of  the  scene,  where  the  kibitkas  and 
aouls  of  the  Kirghiz  and  Turcomans  show 
that  the  sterile  soil  has  become  capable  of 
sustaining  vegetable  and  animal  life. 

Now  the  Russians  having  occupied  the 
deltas  and  lower  courses  of  the  Amou  and 
Syr-Daria  (which,  after  the  steppes,  sands, 
and  deserts  north  of  Aral,  appeared  to  them 
like  the  entrance  to   Paradise),  naturally 
wished  to  annihilate  the  intervening  space 
of  arid,   saltish   desert  that   interposes  a 
rude  barrier  to  the  fertile  plains  and  valleys 
along  the  sources  of  the  Amou  and  the  Syr, 
and  nestling  under  the  snow-capped  ranges 
of  the  Hindu  Kush  and  Thian  Shan  moun- 
tains.    On  the  Amou,  their   rule  extends 
over  the  khanate  of  Khiva  up  to  the  limits 
of   the  tract    adopted    for  sedentary  life, 
whether  pastoral  or  agricultural.     Putting 
these  limits  at  Meshekli,  a  stretch  of  about 
100    miles    runs   between    the    desert    of 
Khwarazin,  west,  and  the  desert  of  Kha- 
latta,  east  of  the  Amou.     Here  the  western 
spurs  of   the  Pamir  plateau   stretch    out 
between  the  Amou  and  the  Syr,  and  form 
the   water-shed    between    the  two  rivers. 
Round  the  spurs  of  this  plateau,  which  juts 
out  into  the  deserts  in  the  shape  of  a  tri- 
angle, lies  Bokhara  at   the  apex ;    Balkh 
and  Kunduz  at  the  southern,  and  Khokand 

275 


■;i!' 


THE  SYR-DARIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-'77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[SYR  NAVIGATION. 


at  tlie  northern  angle.  The  possession  of 
Bokhara  would  thus  be  a  strategic  as  well 
as  a  commercial  necessity  for  any  power 
wishing  to  push  forward  to  the  Indian 
frontier.  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising 
that  the  Russians  should  have  seized  their 
opportunity,  and  having  pushed  forward 
along  the  Amou,  set  themselves  fast  in 
Kliiva,  and  practically,  in  virtue  of  their 
treaty  with  the  Ameer,  in  Bokhara  itself. 

But  this  movement  along  the  Amou- 
Daria  has  been  but  a  flank  movement,  so 
to  speak,  to  clear  the  ground  for  the 
central  advance  southwards — i.e.,  across  the 
Pamir  plateau,  which  alone  separates 
them  from  India  and  Kashgar. 

This  central  advance  lay  along  the  banks 
of  the  Syr-Daria,  and  resulted,  as  we  have 
already  shown,  in  the  occupation  of  Tash- 
kend,  Chemkend,  and  the  khanate  of 
Khokand.  In  possession  of  Tashkend  on 
the  right  of  the  Syr-Daria,  and  of  Samar- 
cand  on  the  left,  the  Russians  are  able  at 
any  moment  to  close  up  the  throat  of  the 
valley  which  leads  into  the  fertile  basin  of 
Khokand.  The  same  motives  which  im- 
pelled them  to  occupy  and  annex  Tashkend 
also  impelled  them  to  annex  Khokand. 
Their  excuse  for  annexing  Tashkend  and 
Chemkend,  as  made  for  them  bv  Prince 
Gortchakoff  in  the  circular  of  1864,  to 
which  we  have  already  alluded,*  applied 
also  to  their  position  north  of  the  khanate, 
and  led  to  its  annexation.  It  was  the 
richness  of  the  khanate  which  attracted 
them ;  and  as  soon  as  they  annexed 
this  state,  the  whole  of  the  Syr-Daria 
flowed  in  Russian  territory.  Thus,  when 
properly  regulated,  and  its  waters  pre- 
vented from  running  to  waste,  the  Syr- 
Daria  will  become  the  chief  artery  of  a 
country  in  which  there  is  boundless  hidden 
wealth,  and  only  requires  proper  attention 
for  it  to  rival  the  glories  of  its  ancient  his- 
tory. 

The  Syr-Dyria,  or  Yaxartes,  rises  in 
Russian  territory,  and  the  northern  valleys 
of  the  Thian  Shan,  south  of  Lake  Issyk- 
kul,  which  again  is  about  fifty  miles  south 
of  Fort  Vernoe,  one  of  the  fortified  points 
situated  in  the  inhospitable  regions  which 
the  Russians  were  so  eager  to  leave  for  the 
more  genial  climes  in  the  south.  Four 
hundred  miles  from  its  source  it  unites  the 
khanate  of  Khokand,  which  it  traverses  for 
about  300  miles,  and  passing  the  old  Russian 


276 


♦  AntCf  page  238. 


frontier  again  near  Khodjend,  flows  north- 
wards for  another  400  miles,  after  which 
it  meanders  off  to  the  north-west  for  about 
450  miles,  till  it  falls  into  Lake  Aral,  pour- 
ing into  it  about  half  of  the  water  it  brings 
down  from  the  mountains,  the  other  half 
running  to  waste  in  the  sands  and  marshes, 
or  being  used  in  the  khanate  and  Turkes, 
tan  for  irrigation  purposes.  The  want  of 
proper  regulation  along  the  last  400  miles 
of  its  course,  has  rendered  the  Syr-Daria 
not  only  of  no  benefit  to  the  country  along 
its  banks,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  even 
made  it  a  cause  of  destruction.  The  same 
considerations  apply  also  to  the  rivers 
Tchuy  and  Sary-Su,  which  were  formerly 
tributaries  of  the  Syr,  but  are  now  lost  in 
the  lake  they  have  formed  in  the  marshes 
about  sixty  miles  from  the  Syr,  at  Fort 
Perofsky.  The  same  want  of  regulation, 
and  the  action  of  rival  tribes  and  States, 
have  also  contributed  towards  the  Syr's 
splitting  up  into  various  channels  along  its 
lower  course,  and  converting  the  country 
around  into  vast  swampy  tracts,  bearing 
nothing  but  reeds  and  rushes.  Formerly, 
the  Syr-Daria,  instead  of  entering  Lake 
Aral  at  the  northern  extremity,  branched 
off  at  Fort  Perofsky,  and  flowed  south-west 
till  it  mingled  a  portion  of  its  waters  with 
those  of  the  Amou.  This  was  the  case  as 
recently  as  1816,  when  the  Kirghiz  dammed 
up  the  head  of  this  branch,  which  since 
then  has  remained  but  a  dry  bed.  But  in 
the  14th  century  this  was  the  chief  chan- 
nel ;  and  the  historian  Shum-Suddin  Di- 
mashki  relates  that  no  less  than  12,000 
canals  were  fed  by  the  Syr — a  sufficient  proof 
of  the  industry  and  wealth  that  must  have 
prevailed  in  those  days.  On  this  point 
Major  Wood  makes  some  very  appropriate 
remarks.     He  says — 

"  Grenerally  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  flow,  or  the  cessation  of  flow,  of  the 
waters  of  the  Syr-Daria,  by  its  different 
branches,  are  under  the  control  of  artificial 
means,  and  that  the  intelligent  application 
of  a  very  moderate  amount  of  labour  would 
turn  the  river  into  any  direction  across  the 
Kizil-Kum  desert,  short  of  one  actually 
running  up-hill.  The  operation  is  facili- 
tated by  the  circumstance,  that  during 
more  than  one-half  of  the  year,  the  volume 
of  water  flowing  in  the  channel  is,  at  least, 
from  three  to  four  times  greater  than  that 
of  the  remainder  of  the  year.  At  the 
epoch  of  minimum  flow  the  Syr-Daria  is 
therefore    a   shallow   stream,  with   a   low 


velocity,  and  a  canal  can  then  be  excavated 
in  such  a  position  as  would  ensure  a  larger 
body  of  water  passing  into  it  on  the  advent 
of  the  succeeding  floods.  The  set  of  the 
river  having  thus  been  influenced,  no  long 
time  would  elapse  before  the  whole  volume 
of  the  stream  would  change  its  direction 
into  the  artificial  course,  and  flow  to  a  new 
outlet. 

"The  frequent  dry  beds  of  irrigation 
canals,  the  numbers  of  ruined  fortresses  of 
mausolea,  and  of  tombs,  which  cover  the 
country  on  the  banks  of  the  Syr-Daria, 
show  that  in  former  times  the  population 
was  more  numerous  and  more  sedentary 
than  at  the  present  day.  Such  remains  and 
antiquities  as  have  been  examined  do  not 
apparently  belong  to  epochs  more  distant 
than  those  of  the  Arab  and  Mongol  denomi- 
nations. Some  are  Mohammedan,  while 
others  are  Buddhistic  ;  but  relics  of  ancient 
Greek  and  Persian  origin  remain  still  to  be 
disinterred  from  the  sands  of  the  great  un- 
explored Kizil-Kum  desert,  where  they  are 
probably  buried.  From  these  it  may  be 
hoped  that  some  day  the  historian  and  the 
archaeologist  will  extract  revelations  of  the 
deepest  interest. 

"  Nor  are  the  traces  of  ancient  peoples, 
and  of  past  principalities  alone,  perhaps,  to 
be  recovered  from  these  all-devouring 
deserts ;  for  should  the  studies  of  physical 
geographers  resolve  the  problems  which  are 
involved  in  the  changes  in  the  course  of  the 
Syr,  the  disappearance  of  its  historical 
affluents,  and  the  present  condition  of 
the  Tchuy,  the  Sary-Su,  and  the  Talass,  a 
ray  of  light  may  be  thrown  on  the  obscurer 
and  earlier  days  of  the  human  race.  The 
chaos  of  dried-up  river  beds,  of  salt  marshes, 
and  of  far-stretching  sand-wastes  may  be 
found  to  be  but  an  antitype  of  the  catas- 
trophe which  overtook  European  civilisa- 
tion in  the  5th  century,  and  of  the  destruc- 
tion which  swept  over  Roman  society  on 
the  descent  of  Attila  and  his  Huns.  The 
Asiatic  wastes  remain  unreclaimed,  while 
the  Europe  of  the  Huns  has  been  renewed 
and  restored,  and  thus  the  wreck  and  ruin 
of  nature,  the  dry  bones  of  a  more  fecund 
earth,  which  strew  the  deserts  of  the  Kizil- 
Kum,  may  perhaps  be  due  to  a  want  of 
brain-power,  and  to  an  incapacity  for  scien- 
tific observation,  that  rendered  the  Turanian 
hordes  powerless  to  appropriate  and  con- 
tinue the  civilisation  which  was  current 
among  the  Arigan  races,  whom  they  swept 
away.     But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  be 


that  the  desolation  of  these  deserts  is  a  relic 
of  the  infant  human  intellect,  with  the  as 
yet  uncomprehended  phenomena  of  nature — 
of  a  struggle,  which  has  indeed  left  ruin 
behind  it,  but  in  which  were,  nevertheless, 
gleaned  the  first  rudiments  of  that  know- 
ledge which  has  produced  the  modern  art 
of  irrigation,  and  which  may  once  more 
restore  culture  and  productiveness  to  the 
wastes  of  Turkestan. 

"  In  any  case,  we  have  here  a  wide  field 
for  the  observation  of  that  power  which  is 
exercised  by  man  upon  the  earth,  and  which 
an  eminent  Italian  geologist  treats  as  a 
new  physical  force,  wholly  unknown  to 
earlier  geological  epochs,  and  not  unworthy 
to  be  compared,  in  its  energy  and  univer- 
sality, to  the  most  appalling  effects  of  the 
volcano  and  the  earthquake  upon  the  sur- 
face of  terrestrial  nature," 

As  a  means  of  communication,  the  Syr- 
Daria,  although  navigable  by  steamers  for  a 
distance  of  over  700  miles  from  its  mouth 
to  Chinaz,  still  presents  so  many  difficulties 
through  its  varying  depth,  the  velocity  of 
its  current,  and  being  ice-bound  for  three 
months  in  the  year,  that  it  is  a  question 
whether  it  would  not  be  advisable  to 
abandon  all  idea  of  rendering  it  more  suit- 
able for  navigation,  and  employ  it  simply 
for  irrigation.  This  is,  however,  a  questioa 
which  is  far  more  likely  to  be  determined 
by  military  rather  than  by  industrial  con- 
siderations. That  this  is  the  case  now, 
appears  from  a  report  which  has  been  made 
to  the  Russian  War-Office,  pointing  out  the 
disadvantages  expected  to  arise  from  the 
opening  of  two  canals  in  the  khanate  of 
Khokand,  which  will  draw  off  a  large  body 
of  water  from  the  river,  and  render  it  still 
more  difficult  of  navigation,  whilst  pro- 
bably furnishing,  at  the  same  time,  a  pre- 
text for  further  interference  by  Russia  in 
the  domestic  affairs  of  the  much-harassed 
tribes  dwelling  along  its  course.  Regarding 
the  naval  establishment  of  the  Russians  on 
Lake  Aral,  and  the  navigation  of  the  river, 
Major  Wood  gives  some  interesting  infor- 
mation in  his  work  on  Lake  Aral.  Writing 
in  1876,  he  says — 

"  The  Aral  flotilla  comprises  some  half-a- 
dozen  paddle-wheel  steamers,  varying  from 
70  to  180  tons  burden,  and  furnished  with 
engines  of  from  twenty  to  seventy  horse- 
power ;  and,  besides  these  vessels,  there  are 
a  few  steam-launches,  and  a  dozen  heavy 
transport  barges  for  the  accommodation  of 
I  troops.     At   Cazalinsk  there  is  a  floating 

277 


:H 


SYR  NAVIGATION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1856-77. 


A.D.  1856-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


FtRADE  on  the  SYR. 


iron  caisson  dock,  in  which  repairs  can  be 
executed,  under  the  supervision  of  an  Ame- 
rican engineer  and  his  staff  of  workmen. 

"  Owing  to  the  Syr  being  ice-bound  for  at 
least  three  months  in  the  year,  and  to  the 
high  gales  which  prevail  during  autumn 
and  winter,  the  Russian  vessels  are  on  ser- 
vice between  May  and  October  only.  Dur- 
ing these  months  the  summer  floods  provide 
in  general  a  sufficient  depth  of  water  for 
the  navigation  of  the  river,  though  the 
current  at  the  same  time  is  increased  to 
such  a  degree,  that  more  than  three  weeks 
are  spent  in  ascending  to  Chinaz,  a  distance 
of  about  700  miles  from  Cazalinsk.  Even 
with  the  increasing  yearly  diminution  in 
the  volume  and  velocity  of  the  river,  a 
current  of  from  four  to  five  miles  an  hour 
is  experienced  during  the  flood  season,  and 
the  vessels  scarcely  possess  sufficient  engine- 
power  to  permit  of  much  way  being  made 
against  the  stream,  especially  when  they 
have  heavy  transport  barges  in  tow. 

"  The  fuel  used  consists  of  the  gnarled 
roots  and  stems  of  the  shrubby  tree,  known 
as  saksaoul  (haloxylon  ammodendron), 
which  grows,  though  it  can  be  scarcely  said 
to  flourish  at  the  present  day,  on  the  steppes 
east  of  Aral.  It  is  somewhat  plentiful  near 
Fort  Perofsky,  where  it  costs  about  10s.  a 
ton;  at  Cazalinsk  it  is  125.,  and  on  the 
Amou-Daria,  where  it  is  scarce,  the  value 
rises  to  25s.,  and  even  to  30s.  a  ton.  Its 
heating  properties  are  equal  to  one-half 
only  of  those  of  Tashkend  coal,  whose  prime 
cost,  with  good  management,  would  not  be 
much  in  excess  of  that  of  saksaoul,  and  the 
use  of  the  mineral  fuel  promised  therefore 
to  result  in  considerable  economy.  The 
promise,  however,  has  remained  unfulfilled ; 
for  the  working  of  the  coal-mines  has,  for 
some  mysterious  reason,  hitherto  resulted 
in  failure,  though  a  handsome  fortune  pro- 
bably awaits  any  one  with  the  energy,  the 
capital,  and,  above  all,  the  talent  for  busi- 
ness matters,  which  are  required  to  develop 
the  mineral  capabilities  of  Turkestan. 

"As  a  mere  financial  enterprise,  the 
working  the  Aral  flotilla  can  scarcely  be 
considered  a  success,  for  figures  show  the 
cost  of  such  transport  operations,  as  its 
effects,  to  be  8s.  per  ton  a  mile ;  while 
private  merchants  actually  pay  about  7cZ. 
per  ton  a  mile,  and  the  army  Intendence 
perhaps  50  per  cent,  more  than  this  last 
rate.  These  circumstances  have  suggested 
the  abolition  of  the  Aral  flotilla,  since  the 
demands  made  upon  it  for  merely  military 
278 


services  upon  the  Syr-Baria,  at  the  present 
day,  are  very  few,  and  since  the  peculiar 
conditions  of  the  Amou-Daria  require  a 
special  naval  establishment,  whose  founda- 
tion has  already  been  laid. 

"The  Syr-Daria  at  Cazalinsk  has  a 
breadth  of  less  than  1,000  feet,  with  a 
maximum  depth  of  12  feet;  but  these  di- 
mensions decrease  considerably  as  it  is  de- 
scended to  its  mouths  in  Lake  Aral. 

"In  June,  1874,  the  river  appeared  to  be 
in  moderate  flood,  though  so  much  of  its 
volume  is  lost  in  the  Karansak  marshes, 
and  is  diverted  by  many  small  irrigation 
cuts,  that  it  was  only  six  feet  deep,  at  the 
most,  in  the  largest  one  of  the  three  mouths 
by  which  it  enters  the  lake.  The  navigable 
channel  becomes  more  and  more  tortuous 
as  it  is  descended ;  and  the  Samarcand,  in 
which  I  made  the  passage,  frequently 
touched  the  ground  at  the  bends,  though 
without  doing  herself  any  damage,  as  the 
bottom  was  tolerably  soft.  The  country 
along  the  lower  courses  of  the  Syr  has  little 
elevation  above  the  stream,  which  is  bor- 
dered on  both  sides  by  rushes,  and  which 
wanders  through  pasturages,  where  the 
number  of  cattle  of  every  kind  struck  me 
as  being  large,  when  it  was  considered  that 
the  majority  of  Kirghiz  had  already  gone 
north  with  their  flocks  and  herds  for  the 
summer.  As  the  steamer  passed  down, 
groups  of  horses  and  cows  assembled  on  the 
banks  at  short  distances,  to  look,  with 
affrighted  eye  and  distended  nostril,  at  the 
smoking  'devil-ship,'  as  these  vessels  are 
called  by  the  population  of  Turkestan. 

"  The  cultivation  practised  hereabouts  by 
the  Kirghiz  is  of  a  primitive  and  limited 
nature ;  and  all  details  of  agricultural 
labour  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  poorest  indi- 
viduals, who  look  after  melon-beds  or  small 
plots  of  cereals,  which  are  watered  by 
means  of  a  large  wooden  scoop  suspended 
from  a  triangular  gyn,  erected  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  having  a  long 
handle  that  is  worked  by  two  men.  Near 
the  mouth  of  the  Syr  are  larger  areas  of 
ground,  which  are  ploughed  by  means  of 
bullocks,  and  are  fertilised  by  canals  con- 
veying streams  to  these  low  levels  from  the 
river. 

"  P^rom  Cazalinsk,  for  fifty  miles  down- 
wards, there  are  only  a  few  clumps  of  trees, 
chiefly  of  a  kind  of  willow.  This  timber 
ceases  entirely  about  the  low  sandstone 
ridges  lining  both  banks  at  a  mile  or  two 
of  distance,    down    to    Lake  Aral,  whose 


shores  they  certainly  formed  at  a  previous 
epoch,  when  its  water-spread  had  a  higher 
level  than  now.  Excepting  an  occasional 
mud  mosque,  and  the  deserted  and  ruinous 
barracks  of  Fort  Aralsk,  there  are  no 
buildings  to  be  seen  along  the  lower  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  Syr;  but  the  frequent 
small  ferry-boats  and  the  wary  aouls  which 
are  dotted  over  the  country,  show  that  the 
locality  is  a  favourite  one  with  the  Kirghiz. 
The  actual  numbers  seen  from  the  deck  of 
the  Samarcand  were  indeed  large,  and  the 
rags  and  the  dirt  of  both  sexes  showed  that 
they  were  among  the  poorest  of  the  tribe, 
and  that  the  richer  families  were  absent 
on  their  summer  wanderings." 

When,  however,  the  elite  of  the  Kirghiz 
tribes — the  cream  of  Tartar,  so  to  say — 
come  "  to  town,"  their  appearance  is  indi- 
cative of  considerable  comfort,  not  to  say 
wealth.     Cazalinsk,  on  the  Syr-Daria,  and 
the  head-quarters  of    the    district,  is  the 
rendezvous  in  these  regions  for  the  Kirghiz 
and  their  families.     It  is  a  small  town  of 
1,800  to  2,000  souls,  exclusive  of  the  mili- 
tary population,  which,  of  course,  is  con- 
tinually varying ;  for  though  the  standing 
garrison  is  500  men,  there  is  accommodation 
for  2,000.     It  is  built  of  raw  brick;  the 
houses   with    flat   roofs,    made   of    rushes 
covered  with  mud,  and  the  streets  adorned 
here  and  there  with  the  Central  Asia  tree 
far  excellence^  the  poplar.     It  also  has  a 
square,  with  a  public  garden  in  the  centre, 
fronting  which    there  is  a  gostonitza,  or 
hotel,  of  which  perhaps  the  less  said  the 
better,  except  in  winter,  when  the  rude 
climate  and  piercing  winds  make  almost 
any  shelter  as  welcome  as  that  of  a  palace. 
Small  as  the  town  is,  it  is  the  chief  entre- 
pot for  European  goods,  which,  as  might 
be  supposed,  are  as  dear  as  they  are  inferior 
in  quality,  the  chief  staple  being  iron  and 
gaudy  chintzes.     Iron  has  to  be  brought  all 
the  way  from  Orenburg,  at  a  cost  of  about 
£15  per  ton  for  carriage ;  so  that  it  is  not 
surprising  to  hear  that  every  rouod  shot 
fired  in  Central  Asia  costs  about  £2.     Of 
native  produce,  the  chief  articles  are  raw 
silk — a  product  which  is  steadily  increasing 
— raw   cotton,  dried  fruits,  apricots,  and 
hides;  whilst  the  industrial  products  are 
chiefly    brocades,    and     the     fantastically 
patterned  silks  of  Khokand  and  Bokhara. 
In  addition  must  be  mentioned  the  cattle 
supplied  by  the  Kirghiz  for  the  army,  the 
troops    here    being    allowed    much    more 
liberal  meat-rations  than  in  other  parts  of 


the  empire,  in  consequence  of  the  severity 
and  peculiarity  of  the  climate.     Cazalinsk 
and  Fort  Perofsky  are  thus  of  considerable 
importance  to  the  nomad  population  of  the 
Syr-Daria,  which    is  estimated   at    about 
400,000  along    the  lower    course    of    the 
river,  with  about  100,000  camels,  200,000 
horses,  and  some  2,000,000  sheep.     "  They 
drive  a  brisk  trade  with  the  Russians,  who 
com©  yearly  to  Perofsky  to  buy  the  skins 
of  the  sheep  and  bullocks ;  and  they  find 
profitable  employment  for  their  camels  in 
the    transport    of    merchandise     between 
Europe,  Central  Asia,  Siberia,  and  China. 
Their  financial  position  being  thus  easy, 
their  kibitkas,  furs,  and  clothing  generally, 
are  of  a  better   stamp  than  usually  met 
with  among  other    nomads ;   the  silks  of 
Khokand  and   Bokhara,  the  gay  chintzes 
and  woollen  cloths  of  Europe,  are  worn  by 
men  and  women,  while  gold  coins  are  in 
great  demand  as  ornaments.   These  Kirghiz 
are  well-fed    and    good-looking,  and    the 
primitive  ruggedness  of  their  manners  is 
evidently  yielding  to  the  softening  influ- 
ences of  comparative   luxury  and  wealth. 
Some  few  individuals  among  them    have 
been  advanced  to  the  rank  of  local,  civil, 
or  military  officers,  and  wear  uniforms,  and 
reside  in  houses  at  Cazalinsk  and  Perofbky. 
The  carpeted  rooms,  and  the  number  of 
brass-bound  boxes  to  be  seen  in  their  resi- 
dences,   attest    the    comfortable    circum- 
stances of    such  families,  whose  relations 
frequently  come   in  from  an  aoul  in  the 
country,  and  are  entertained  with  tea  for 
the  females,  and  bottled  English  stout  and 
vodka,  to  which  they  are  too  much    at- 
tached, for  the  males.     The  nomadic  habits 
of    the  masses    of  the   Kirghiz    must,  if 
slowly,  yet  surely,  be  in  process  of  modifi- 
cation by  the    material    advantages    they 
derive  from  the  domination  of  the  Russians, 
and  the  change  is  making  itself  evident  by 
the  increasing  area  of  land  which,  year  by 
year,  is  being  brought  under  cultivation 
upon  the  banks  of  the  river  Syr.     On  such 
lands  a  small  assessment  is  levied ;  but  the 
chief  item  of  the  government  revenue  is  a 
charge  of  three  and  a-half  roubles — say  ten 
shillings — annually,  upon  every  inhabited 
kibitka  containing  about  five  souls.      In 
1873,  the  Kirghiz  of  the  Lower  Syr  made  a 
voluntary  contribution  of  100,000  roubles 
in  cattle,  both  of   carriage  and  commis- 
sariat, for  the  use  of  the  troops  during  the 
Khivan  campaign;  and  the  circumstance 
I  grave  rise  to  some  hostile  criticism  and  con- 
^  279 


I 


LIFE  ON  THE  SYR.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1856-78. 


troversy.  But  without  entering  upon  this, 
or  without  attaching  any  very  exceptional 
importance  to  the  not  unnatural  assistance 
so  rendered  by  the  Kirghiz  towards  the  dis- 
comfiture of  their  former  Uzbek  oppressors, 
it  is  beyond  question  that,  at  the  present 
day,  the  relations  subsisting  between  the 
Eussians  and  their  subjects  on  the  Syr- 
Daria,  are  on  tlie  most  friendly  footing. 

"  The  terms  of  familiarity  which  exist  be- 
tween the  Russians  and  the  tribes  of  West 
Turkestan  are  somewhat  striking  to  an 
Anglo-Indian  observer;  and  however  cre- 
ditable such  a  state  of  things  may  be  to  the 
ruling  race,  it  seems  to  imply  that  the 
Russian  prestige  in  Central  Asia  is  less  than 
it  might  be.  Though  the  manners  of  Tu- 
ranian peoples  are  certainly  rough,  if  not 
indeed  ill-bred,  as  compared  with  those  of 
Aryan  races,  there  would  appear  to  be  some- 
thing more  than  mere  roughness  observable 
in  their  demeanour.  For  example,  I  noticed 
a  sailor  on  board  the  Perofsky  steamer,  on 
the  Amou-Daria,  'fend  off'  a  native's  boat 
from  the  paddle-wheel,  upon  which  the 
Uzbek  boatman  immediately  threatened  the 
Russian  (who  was  doing  no  more  than  his 
duty)  with  the  pole  he  was  using  as  an  oar. 
This  circumstance,  it  is  to  be  noted,  took 
place  during  the  first  year  of  the  occupation 
of  the  Amou-Daria  district,  after  the  cam- 
paign of  Khiva ;  and  perhaps  its  explana- 
tion may  be  found  in  the  personal  pride  of 
ancestral  descent,  which  is  one  of  the  chief 
characteristics  of  these  Mongol-Turk  tribes 
when  brought  into  relations  with  a  race 
among  whom  this  distinctive  trait  is 
wanting. 

"  As  for  the  Kirghiz,  I  have  seen  one  of 
these  people  sitting  in  the  kibitka  of  a 
Russian  district  chief,  eating  melons,  and 
throwing  their  rind  and  seeds,  quite  un- 
noticed, all  about  the  tent,  though  its  open 
doorway  close  beside  him  invited  the  dis- 
charge of  this  residue  into  the  open  air. 
There  has  been  some  misplaced  touchiness 
displayed  in  Russia  (chiefly  by  the  apostles 
of  what  is  called  the  liberation  of  Slav 
populations  of  the  east  of  Europe),  regard- 
ing the  existence  of  the  Turco-Muscovite 
race.  This  is  supposed  to  be  a  myth  ex- 
pressly invented  by  the  detractors  of  the 
subjects  of  the  czar ;  but  it  is  beginning  to 
be  acknowledged  pretty  generally,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  understand  the  country  with- 
out admitting  the  great  influence  which 
Tartardom  has  had  upon  it  in  the  past. 
Whether  the  development  of  the  empire  in 
280 


Asia  is  not  likely  to  exert  a  similar  and 
very  marked  influence  upon  that  section  of 
Russians  who  are  withdrawn  from  the  reach 
of  European  culture,  is  a  question  which  is 
strongly  suggested  in  observing  their  inter- 
course with  the  races  of  Turkestan,  and  in 
noting  the  comparatively  small  interval 
which  divides  them,  as  far  as  the  small 
delicacies  and  conventionalities  of  civilisa- 
tion are  concerned,  Russians  meet  the 
Kirghiz  more  than  half-way  in  these 
matters,  and  are  acted  upon  rather  than  the 
opposite.  That  the  punctilious  and  polished 
Mongol  of  Hindostan  should  have  so  re- 
cently come  from  the  same  blood  as  that  of 
the  uncouth  barbarians  of  the  Central  Asian 
steppes,  is  a  wonderful  tribute  to  the  as- 
similating powers  which  have  been  exercised 
by  the  fastidious  and  mild  Hindoos." 

Such  V,  re  the  features  of  the  Lower  Syr. 
The  fate  of  the  lands  along  its  course  de- 
pends almost  entirely  upon  the  measures 
carried  out  along  its  upper  course,  within 
the  khanate  of  Khokand.     It  is,  therefore, 
highly  interesting  to   know  what  are  the 
views  entertained  by  the  Russians  as  to  the 
future  of  the  khanate^  and  what  are  the 
inducements  which  led  them    to    extend 
their  actual  rules  to  this  part  of  the  Syr's 
course.     It  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  accu- 
rate  information   regarding   the   khanate, 
because,  as  we  have  pointed  out,  the  Rus- 
sians do  not  allow  any  travellers  of  other 
nations  to  visit  the  khanate  through  their 
own  territory,  and  always  find  means   of 
impeding  the  movements  of  those  who  may 
have  entered  the  khanate  from  the  Indian 
side.     Fortunately,  not  even  the  Russians 
are  able  to  keep  all  that  is  known  quite 
secret,  and  are  perforce  obliged  to  allow  the 
experiences  of  their  own  officers  and  travel- 
lers to  be  published,  whilst  trusting  to  the 
prevailing  ignorance  of  the  Russian   lan- 
guage to  keep  these  experiences  more  or 
less  within  their  own  control.     Thus  M.  L. 
Kostenko  published  a  valuable  account  of 
his  journey  through   the   khanate   in  the 
Russian  Invalide,  which,  up  to  the  present 
moment,  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  best 
and  fullest  report  on  the  condition  of  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Syr  that  has  yet  ap- 
peared.     In    the    basin    formed    by    tlie 
northern  slopes  of  the  Pamir  plateau  and 
the   southern   declivities    of    Aksa    Dagh, 
closed  up  at  the  eastern  end  by  the  abrupt 
steeps   of    the  Thian   Shan,  whose   peaks 
tower  up  some  10,000  to  11,000  feet  ab^ve 
the  sea,  lies  the  fertile  portion  of  the  khan- 


A.B.  1856-78.J 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  FERGHANA. 


ate,  with  its  capital  Khokand,  on  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Syr,  and  the  towns  of  Marghi- 
lan,  Andijan,  Namagan,  and  others,  in  the 
midft  of  what  is  called  the  P'erghana. 

After  Khokand,  Marghilan  is  the  most 
important  town  of  the  P^erghana,  as  regards 
size,  population,  and  commerce.  Although 
nearly  in  the  same  degree  of  latitude  as 
Khokand,  and  only  sixty-five  versts  to  the 
east  of  it,  the  climate  of  Marghilan  is  much 
more  severe  than  that  of  Khokand,  in  con- 
sequence of  its  higher  position ;  all  fruits 
and  crops  requiring  a  week  to  a  fortnight 
more  to  ripen  than  in  Khokand.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  health  of  the  population  is 
much  better  than  in  Khokand.  The  goitres, 
which  are  so  frequent  in  Khokand,  are  quite 
unknown  in  Marghilan ;  and  if  here  and 
there  a  case  occurs,  the  sufferers  are  sure  to 
be  natives  of  Khokand.  The  town  is  six 
versts  broad,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  wall 
eighteen  versts  long,  which,  in  turn,  is  sur- 
rounded by  gardens  and  houses,  forming  an 
external  suburb  all  round,  in  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  town. 

The  place  is  furnished  with  water  by 
two  canals.  The  one  receives  its  supply 
from  the  river  Isfairan-Ssaja,  the  other 
from  the  river  Schachimardan.  The  first 
river  furnishes  the  town  with  water  for  ten 
days,  the  second  for  eight  days.  Whilst 
the  Isfairan-Ssaja  gives  its  waters  for  the 
domestic  consumption  of  the  town,  the 
Schachimardan  is  used  for  the  surrounding 
villages  and  the  irrigation  of  the  fields. 
When  the  town  consumes  the  waters  of  the 
Schachimardan,  the  Isfairan-Ssaja  supplies 
the  villages  and  fields.  There  are  no  wells 
in  the  town,  as  the  canals  are  amply  sup- 
plied with  water  of  a  pure,  clear,  and  whole- 
some nature. 

The  town  contains  10,000  houses,  and 
about  50,000  inhabitants,  chiefly  Uzbeks, 
who  are  called  here,  as  in  other  parts  of 
Central  Asia,  Ssartes.  Amongst  them  there 
is  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  Tadjiks,  an 
Iranian  race,  remarkable  for  its  beauty. 
Then  there  are  also  several  hundred  Jewish 
families  who  inhabit  a  special  quarter ;  and 
finally,  Afghans  and  Indians,  who  dwell  in 
their  own  caravanserais. 

Although  the  town  is  very  old,  there 
are  no  ancient  monuments  nor  modern 
buildings  of  any  importance.  The  mosques 
and  medresschs  are  of  the  usual  character. 
The  chief  ornaments  of  the  best  mosques 
are  the  ceilings,  with  their  fantastic  pat- 
terns and  gaudy  colours.   The  finest  mosque 

VOL.  II.  2  0- 


is    that   of  Iskander-Sulkarnain — that   is, 
Alexander  of  Macedon,  and  so  called  after 
the  tomb  of  this  conqueror,  who  has  been 
included   amongst   the  Mussulman  saints. 
The  tomb  in  question  lies  in  a  small  en- 
closed cemetery,  and  is  only  remarkable  for 
its  size.     The  chief  industry  of  Marghilan 
is  silk-weaving.     The  warp  is  laid  in  the 
open  street  by  means  of  pegs  knocked  into 
the  house-wall.     The  weaving  itself  is  ac- 
complished inside  on  ordinary  looms.     At 
the  same  time,  Marghilan  is  also  an  im- 
portant centre  of  commerce.     The  bazaars 
are  well   supplied  with  quantities   of  the 
most  varied  Chinese  products,  which  are 
imported  by  way  of  Kashgar,  and  consist  of 
silks,    carpets,   Kashgar   felt,   vases,   cups, 
flacons  for  snuff,  and,  above  all,  tea.     A 
speciality   in    the    bazaars    of    Marghilan 
is  the  manufacture  of  the  little  caps,  called 
Tjubeteika,    Whole  rows  of  booths  are  used 
for  this  manufacture.     The  proprietor  sits 
here,  impressing  the  most  varied  patterns 
on  pieces  of  calico,  silk,  or  velvet,  which 
are  then  given  out  to  the  embroiderers,  and 
made  up  by  him  after  they  have  been  em- 
broidered into  the  little  caps  which  play  so 
prominent  a   part  in  the   Central  Asiatic 
costume,  and  are  sold  at  the  price  of  sixty 
copecks  to  one  rouble.   The  Marghilan  caps 
are  in  especial  request,  owing  to  the  artistic 
manner  in  which  the  most  intricate  ara- 
besques are  executed  upon  them. 

The  third  largest  town  of  the  Ferghana 
is  Andijan,  and  lies  seventy  versts  east  of 
Marghilan,  at  the  foot  of  the  northern 
slopes  of  the  Kashgar  Dagh.  To  the  north 
of  the  road,  between  the  two  towns,  the 
country  is  full  of  settlements ;  but  south  of 
it,  the  barren  steppe  merges  into  the  no 
less  barren  slopes  of  the  mountains  which 
close  in  the  valley.  Generally  speaking, 
these  settlements  partake  of  the  same  cha- 
racter as  the  rest  of  the  settlements  through- 
out Central  Asia.  The  same  picture  pre- 
sents itself  to  the  traveller  here  as  along 
the  larger  canals  in  Khiva,  or  in  the  oases 
along  the  rivers  in  Bokhara.  But  on 
closer  inspection,  a  considerable  difference 
will  be  found  to  obtain  between  the  settle- 
ments of  Khiva  and  those  of  Khokand. 
In  Khiva  they  are  more  isolated.  There, 
every  possession,  every  farm,  forms  a  sepa- 
rate and  isolated  settlement,  consisting  of 
its  mud  castle,  surrounded  by  gardens  and 
fields.  But  in  Khokand  the  dwelling- 
places  are  much  closer  together,  and  form 
regular  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets,  which, 


THE   FERGHANA.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1876-78. 


though  separated  from  each  other  by  gar- 
dens and  fields,  are  not  characterised  by 
the  occurrence  of  such  semi-fortified  habi- 
tations as  those  prevailing  in  Khiva. 

The  road  leading  through  the  district 
of  Marghilan  is  furnished  with  verst-posts, 
painted  with  the  Russian  national  colours  ; 
whilst  the  cross-roads  are  supplied  with 
sign-posts  with  Russian  inscriptions.  The 
name  of  every  village,  the  number  of 
houses  it  contains,  as  well  as  the  distance 
to  the  next  place,  are  marked  up  on  the 
last  house  at  each  end  of  the  village ;  this 
information  being  also  conveyed  in  the 
Russian  tongue.  Between  Marghilan  and 
Andijan,  the  only  place  of  importance  is 
the  little  town  of  Assake,  lying  on  the 
right  bank  of  an  insignificant  stream  flow- 
ing into  the  Syr.  The  town,  which  is  cele- 
brated for  the  beauty  of  its  position  on  the 
slope  of  one  of  the  spurs  of  the  Thian  Shan, 
is  tolerably  clean — the  chief  building  the 
summer  residence  of  the  Khan  of  Khokand. 
It  lies  upon  one  of  the  terraces  which  cut 
up  the  mountain  slope.  Part  of  it  lies  in 
ruin ;  but  what  remains  intact  is  still  well 
preserved.  It  is  two  storeys  high,  with  a 
gallery  round  the  second  storey,  and  differs 
from  the  usual  Asiatic  buildings  in  the 
number  and  height  of  the  windows.  The 
chief  ornament  of  the  rooms  is  the  ceiling, 
surrounded  with  an  edge  of  gilt  and  gaudy 
colours ;  the  beams  running  across  it 
painted  green,  and  the  intermediate  spaces 
red.  As  it  is  always  cooler  in  Assake  than 
in  the  valley  of  Ferghana,  the  khan  has 
always  resided  here  during  the  hot 
season,  and  enjoyed  the  beautiful  view,  to 
be  obtained  from  the  windows,  of  the  town 
and  the  surrounding  gardens.  Now,  how- 
ever, as  Kostenko  relates,  the  broken  win- 
dows give  entrance  to  the  winds  and 
myriads  of  flies  and  mosquitoes,  which  effec- 
tually prevented  his  obtaining  any  rest 
when  he  was  quartered  in  the  palace. 

Andijan,  which  was  assaulted  twice  by 
the  Russians  (1st  October,  1875,  and  8th 
January,  1876),  is  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  celebrated  towns  of  Ferghana.  Up 
to  the  16th  century  it  was  the  residence  of 
the  khans — amongst  them  the  celebrated 
Baber.  At  present,  as  in  Marghilan,  there 
are  neither  monuments  of  ancient  times, 
nor  any  modern  buildings  worthy  of  men- 
tion. The  whole  of  Andijan  is  nothing 
more  than  a  mud  town,  inhabited  by 
Ssartes.  The  only  thing  worthy  of  note  is 
the  bazaar,  built  by  the  Russians  directly 
282 


after  their  capture  of  the  town.  After  the 
old  one  had  been  pulled  down,  this  one  was 
built,  and  laid  out  at  right-angles.  Each 
booth  is  roomy,  well-lighted,  neatly  fitted 
up,  and  protected  by  a  far-projecting  ve- 
randah against  the  sun  and  the  rain. 
Usually  the  Asiatic  bazaar  is  covered  in  by 
a  hap-hazard  roofing  of  branches,  twigs, 
and  mud,  lying  on  the  poles  thrown  across 
the  street  from  one  house  to  the  other.  By 
this  means  the  sun  was  kept  out,  but  so 
was  the  fresh  air,  whilst  the  rain  met  with 
no  impediment.  Still,  the  commerce  of 
Andijan  has  not  yet  recovered  from  the 
blow  it  received  from  the  invasion  of  the 
Russians.  The  trade  of  the  place  is  merely 
local,  and  consists  chiefly  in  melons,  cups, 
and  rude  pottery,  &c.  There  is,  however, 
but  little  doubt  that  commerce  will 
speedily  revive.  The  new  bazaar  lies  be- 
tween the  Gul-Tjube,  a  hill  in  the  centre 
of  the  town,  and  the  Urda,  the  residence  of 
the  former  ruler  of  Andijan. 

On  this  hill,  which  commands  the  town, 
the  Russians  have  built  a  small  fortress, 
with  an  esplanade  along  the  foot.  A  part 
of  the  garrison  is  quartered  in  the  buildings 
formerly  used  for  magazines.  This  hill, 
Gul-Tjube,  like  most  of  the  hills  in  the 
Central  Asiatic  towns,  is  artificial,  con- 
structed in  order  to  dominate  the  place, 
and  [  keep  the  unruly  citizens  in  order. 
The  rest  of  the  Russian  garrison  is  quar- 
tered in  the  old  and  new  Urdas,  or  palaces 
of  the  khans,  the  latter  being  an  especially 
roomy  building,  and  furnished  with  a 
spacious  and  beautifully  laid-out  garden, 
where  the  Russian  military  bands  discourse 
sweet  music  to  the  astonished  Ssartes  and 
Kirghiz. 

From  Andijan  to  Namangan,  the  road 
follows  the  left  bank  of  the  Kara-Daria, 
which  is  crossed,  fifty-five  versts  from  Na- 
mangan, by  a  wooden  bridge  lying  on 
piles,  five  versts  before  it  is  joined  by  the 
Narym-Su.  The  accompanying  sketch 
gives  a  full  idea  of  the  whole  of  the  Fer- 
ghana district. 


Tashkend. 
o 


Thian  Shan. 


Aksa  Dagh, 

V — 


/■ 


R.  Syr.        o  Namangan. 


o  o 

Khojend.   Khokand. 


Narj'm  K. 


< 


.>^ 


Marghilan. 


o  Andijan. 


cr; 


^   /^Kashgar. 


.>V- 


A.D  1876-78.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  FERGHANA. 


i 


Pamir  Plateau. 


The  Narym  is  crossed  a  little  above  its 
junction  with   the  Kara-Daria  by  a  ferry, 
the  two  rivers  flowing  henceforth  together 
under  the  name  of  the  Syr-Daria.     When 
it  enters  the  Kara-Daria,  or  Blackwater,  the 
Narym  is  split  up  into  five  channels,  over 
the  broadest  of  which,  seventy-five  fathoms 
wide,  the  above-mentioned  ferry  is  worked. 
The  other    channels    are    also   crossed  by 
ferries,    the    boats    being    drawn    by    two 
horses,  assisted  by  oarsmen.     This  is,  how- 
ever, in  the   eyes  of  the  Ssartes  or  Uzbeks, 
a    degenerate  way    of   crossing  the   river. 
They  prefer  swimming  it,  in  spite  of  the 
prohibition    by  the  Russian    government. 
Not  only  do  they  still  insist  on  swimming 
across  with  their  horses,  but  also  with  their 
waggons — their    two-wheeled   arhas — even 
when  they  are  loaded.    An  empty  arba  may 
be  got  across  without  much  risk  ;    but  a 
loaded  one  is  not  easy  to  manage,  as  may 
be  supposed.      Kostenko   himself  saw  the 
attempt  made  with  an  arba  loaded  with 
wood,  and  drawn  by  two  horses.     The  two 
drivers    who     accompanied    it,    supported 
themselves,  one  on  the  pole,  and  the  other 
on  the  arba  itself,  to  guide  the  horses.   The 
current  was  strong,  and  before  the  adven- 
turous party  could  reach  the  other   bank, 
one  of  the  horses   was   drowned,   and  the 
other,  as  well  as  the  man,  only  just  rescued 
in  time  by  the  assistance  which  was  called 
to  their  aid.     Many  and  many  a  life  is  lost 
in  this  manner ;  but  the  Ssartes  will  sooner 
risk  losing  their  lives  than  pay  the  sum — 
thirty     copecks — for    the   ferry.      Besides 
this,  as  there  is  but'  one  boat,  the  passage 
is  only  made  every  three  or  four  hours,  and 
the  impatient  horseman  of  the  steppe  does 
not  care  about   waiting    so   long.      From 
Kafra,  where  the  ferry  is  situated,  the  road 
leads  along  the  right   bank  of  the  river, 
through  a  well-cultivated  district,  the  chief 
crop  being  rice. 

Namangan,  the  fourth  city  of  the  khan- 
ate, has  no  walls,  and  verges  imperceptibly 
into  the  gardens  and  fields  around  it.  It 
contained  formerly  some  5,600  houses,  and 
50,000  inhabitants.  The  bazaar  was  more 
important  than  that  of  Andijan,  and  the 
town  boasted  of  210  mosques,  and  over  100 
schools.  Half  the  place  is,  however,  in 
ruins,  owing  to  the  attacks  of  the  Russians 
in  the  campaign  of  1875 — 1876,  and  the 
population  reduced  by  at  least  one-fourth 
in  consequence  of  the  massacres  and  emi- 
gration which  took  place  on  the  arrival  of 
the  Russian  troops.     The  citadel  is  an  im- 


posing J"edifice,  and  comparatively  strong 
for  an  Asiatic  town.  It  contains  part  of 
the  Russian  garrison,  the  remainder  lying 
in  camp,  and  in  complete  readiness,  about 
a  verst  distant  from  it. 

The  chief  pursuit  of  the  Namanganese 
is  the  traffic  in  timber  and  fuel.  They  fell 
the  trees  in  their  gardens,  chiefly  poplars 
and  willows,  and,  tying  them  together, 
make  rafts  upon  which  they  load  more 
valuable  timber,  dried  fruits,  skins  and 
felts,  and  float  them  down  the  Syr  as  far 
as  Fort  Peroftky,  supplying  Khokand, 
Tchinas,  and  Turkestan  on  their  way.  The 
mountains  around  Namangan  are  rich  in 
ferriferous  ores  and  coal ;  and  about  fifty 
versts  east  of  the  town,  there  are  a  number 
of  naphtha  springs  which  have  been  worked 
by  the  Russians  as  far  back  as  1868,  but 
which  are  now  left  unexplored  owing  to 
the  unwillincjness  of  the  Khokandese  to 
work  under  their  conquerors. 

After  Namangan,  Tchust,  or  Tus,  is  one 
of  the  most  important  towns  of  the  khan- 
ate, and  is  the  capital  of  one  of  the  seven 
districts  with  which  the  Ferghana  has  been 
divided.  It  is  composed  of  three  distinct 
parts ;  the  lower  town,  embowered  in 
gardens ;  the  upper  town,  or  grad,  with  its 
citadel  situated  on  the  customary  eminence  ; 
and  a  second  citadel,  also  situated  on  a 
height,  in  which  the  Russian  garrison  and 
the  civil  authorities  are  quartered. 

The  word  "Tchust"  means  "sudden," 
"unforeseen."  This  name  was  given  to  the 
place  in  consequence  of  the  sudden  flight  of 
one  of  its  ancient  rulers,  360  years  ago — the 
saintly  khan,  Chasret-Iman  Mauljana,  who 
was  so  grieved  at  the  vice  and  dishonesty  of 
his  subjects,  that  he  jumped'  up  one  night 
out  of  his  bed  and  took  to  flight.  He  was, 
however,  caught  before  he  got  further  than 
about  six  versts,  and  brought  back  to  his 
palace  by  the  populace,  Nvho  insisted  upon 
having  at  least  one  honest  man  amongst 
them.  His  tomb,  in  the  cemetery  of  the 
Djuma  Mosque,  near  which  the  rest  of  his 
relations  are  also  buried,  is  still  held  in 
high  esteem  by  the  natives.  The  other 
name,  "  Tus,"  is  of  a  more  practical  origin, 
it  being  derived  from  the  salt-springs  not 
far  from  the  town,  which,  in  former  times, 
was  the  chief  entrepot  for  this  material  in 
the  khanate.  The  town  and  the  fields 
around  are  supplied  with  water  in  the  same 
way  as  Marghilan,  by  a  system  of  canals 
alternating  their  supply  every  twenty  days. 
There  are  also  a  number  of  springs  in  the 

283 


i  f 


KHOKAND.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876-78. 


A.D.  1876-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[CHUDOJAR  KHAN. 


vicinity ;  and  in  the  citadel  the  Russians 
have  (1876-77)  taken  good  care  to  dig  two 
deep  wells,  whence  an  inexhaustible  supply 
can  be  obtained. 

Kostenko  mentions  another  well,  or 
rather  a  spring,  towards  the  northern  end 
of  the  town.  It  is  about  one  fathom  square, 
with  a  soft,  semi-sandy,  semi-muddy  bottom, 
through  which  a  pole  can  be  thrust  for  a  con- 
siderable depth  without  touching  any  hard 
bottom.  This  spring  is  surrounded  by  three 
or  four  willow-trees,  and  is  highly  venerated 
by  the  population  on  account  of  its  sup- 
posed healing  qualities  in  cases  of  consump- 
tion ;  but  still  more  because  of  its  power  in 
disclosing  the  future  to  those  who  come 
to  consult  it.  The  oracle  is  read  by  the 
Mollahs  who  dwell  by  it,  and  who  decipher, 
in  the  shape  of  the  mud  when  disturbed  by 
some  substance  being  thrown  into  it,  the 
fate  of  the  inquirer.  Two  days  a  week  are 
set  apart  for  consulting  the  oracle ;  one  day 
for  the  men,  the  other  for  the  women.  The 
Russian  medical  men,  however,  who  have 
analysed  the  water,  find  nothing  in  it  to 
distinguish  it  from  less  celebrated  waters. 

The  climate  of  Tchust  is  very  healthy, 
though  somewhat  dry;  and  all  the  vege- 
table products  which  flourish  in  the  east 
of  the  Ferghana,  flourish  here  also.  The 
town  contains  some  1,500  houses,  with 
about  7,500  inhabitants,  all  belonging  to 
the  Uzbeks.  The  district  around  is  rich 
in  mineral  products ;  but  they  are  not  ex- 
ported, with  the  exception  of  salt ;  the  chief 
springs  lying  about  eighty  versts  from  the 
town.  The  only  mineral  besides  exported 
is  chalk. 

Khokand,  the  capital,  is  one  of  the  finest 
towns  of  Central  Asia.  In  size  it  comes 
after  Bokhara  and  Tashkend.  The  town 
contains  12,000  houses,  and  about  60,000 
inhabitants.  The  wall  surrounding  it  is 
eighteen  versts  long,  and  has  eighteen  gates, 
called  Darwasa,  which,  as  the  inhabitants 
say,  lead  to  all  ends  of  the  world.  Each 
gate  is  named  after  the  town  to  which  the 
road  through  the  gate  leads.  Khokand  lies 
on  two  branches  of  the  river  Soch,  the  Katy- 
sai  and  Kitschik-sai.  Numbers  of  canals 
lead  from  these  rivers,  which  partly  furnish 
the  town  with  water,  and  partly  irrigate 
the  surrounding  fields.  The  water  is  clear, 
but  is  said  to  exercise  an  evil  influence 
upon  the  health  of  the  inhabitants.  In 
fact,  the  opinion  prevails  that  the  goitres, 
80  frequent  in  the  towns  and  villages  around, 
is  owing  alone  to  the  use  of  the  water. 
284 


There  are  certain  quarters  in  the  town 
where  every  one  out  of  tliree  inhabitants 
certainly  has  a  goitre.  These  quarters  are 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  town,  where 
there  is  a  little  lake  near  the  gate  Mui- 
Mubarek.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the 
goitres  are  not  large;  but  in  some  they 
attain  an  enormous  size.  The  chemists  of 
the  laboratory  at  Tashkend  have,  however, 
not  been  able  to  discover  any  difference  in 
this  water  from  any  other.  The  chemical 
constituents  of  the  water  differ  in  nothing 
from  the  constituents  of  any  other  normal 
water.  The  cause  of  the  disease  must, 
therefore,  be  looked  for  elsewhere.  Besides 
the  goitres,  life  in  Khokand  is  rendered 
still  more  disagreeable  by  the  continual 
west  winds  which  come  from  the  desert,  to 
which  the  valley  of  Khokand  lies  open  in  the 
west,  and  whence,  in  summer,  the  Garm-sal 
(poison- wind)  blows  with  as  disagreeable 
consequences  as  the  Hamseen  in  Egypt. 
It  exercises  no  evil  influence  upon  human 
beings  or  animals,  but  it  is  very  destructive 
to  the  silkworm.  The  natives  assert  that 
it  always  blows  twice  a  week,  and  strongest 
on  Fridays  or  Saturdays. 

Another  drawback  in  Khokand  is  the 
ground-water,  which  is  met  with  at  a  depth 
of  about  three  feet,  and  renders  it  impos- 
sible for  the  inhabitants  to  get  rid  of  the 
sewage  and  other  organic  remains.  But, 
as  for  that,  the  natives  do  not  trouble  them- 
selves much  about  it,  and  leave  their  refuse 
to  lie  wherever  it  may  happen  to  fall, 
although  the  Russians  are  trying,  in  a  mild 
sort  of  way,  to  remedy  this  state  of  affairs. 

Khokand  lies  1,540  feet  above  the  sea; 
and  as  it  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
mountains,  the  climate  is  very  warm,  the 
temperature  rising  to  a  very  high  degree  in 
summer. 

The  Russians  have  quartered  themselves 
chiefly  in  the  Urda,  the  palace  of  the  for- 
mer ruler  of  Khokand,  Khudojarkhan.  The 
general  staff,  the  civil  administration, 
the  post-office,  and  several  companies  of 
infantry,  are  quartered  in  it ;  the  castle  has 
also  been  fortified.  Besides  this,  the  Rus- 
sians have  fortified  themselves  upon  the 
other  side,  in  an  open  space  opposite  the 
castle.  They  still  form  but  a  small  colony, 
lying  under  the  protection  of  the  guns  of 
the  citadel.  The  houses  belong  chiefly  to 
married  members  of  the  garrison.  Along 
the  square,  and  along  the  chief  street  lead- 
ing from  the  citadel  to  the  bazaar,  there  are 
several  Russian  shops.     Finally,  individual 


Russians,  chiefly  belonging  to  the  adminis- 
tration, have  settled  in  the  Asiatic  part  of 
the  town,  where  they  live  isolated  amongst 
the  natives,  who  seem,   on  the  whole,  to 
agree  well  with  their  conquerors.   Although 
the  town  has  received  the  title  Chukandi- 
Lgatif  (Pleasant  Khokand),  there  is  really 
but   little   difference   between    it  and  the 
other  towns  occupied  by  the  Russians,  such 
as  Tashkend  and  Samarcand.     In  fact,  in 
point  of  situation,  Khokand  does  not  enjoy 
so  many  advantages  as  Tashkend.   The  only 
thing  to  be  said  in  favour  of  Khokand  is, 
that  it  has  larger  and  broader  streets,  and 
more  of  them  than  Tashkend  and  Samar- 
cand.    The  bazaar,  too,  is  much  larger.     It 
was  built  after  the  great  fire  in  the  year 
1870,  which  consumed  more  than  800  shops. 
The  greater  part  of  the  booths  and  shops 
belong  to  the   khan,  who  was  thus  chiefly 
interested   in   rebuilding  them;    and  the 
popular  voice  and  public  opinion  accuses 
him  of  having  taken  advantage  of  the  fire 
to  extend  the  limits  of  his  property.     The 
advantages    of    this   bazaar,    compared   to 
others,  consist  in  its  being  carefully  roofed 
over,  and  provided  with  openings  for  ven- 
tilation.    Besides  the  shops,  which  are  in 
the  chief  bazaar,  and  the  two  other  smaller 
bazaars  which  are  in  the  town,  there  are  a 
number  of  booths  along  the  bridges  over 

the  river. 

In  Khokand,  as  in  all  Asiatic  towns,  the 
chief  traffic  is  conducted  on  certain  market- 
days,  which  are  held  twice  a-week,  on  Wed- 
nesdays and  Sundays.  The  number  of 
booths  in  Khokand  is  over  2,000.  The 
chief  industry  of  the  town  is  the  manu- 
facture of  calicoes  and  silks ;  the  latter,  how- 
ever, is  in  a  less  degree  of  perfection  than 
at  Bokhara. 

The  most  important  building  of  the  town 
is  indisputably  the  palace  of  the  former 
khan,  Chudojar.  The  inscription  on  the 
gable  states  that  it  was  built  in  the  year 
1870,  by  Said-Muhammed-Chudojar-Khan. 
It  differs  from  the  usual  local  kind  of 
architecture,  in  consequence  of  the  number 
of  square  courts  successively  enclosing  each 
other— representing,  in  fact,  the  storeys  of 
our  houses.  The  two  first  external  courts 
contained  the  dwellings  of  the  servants, 
and  the  tailors  who  made  up  the  uniforms 
of  the  army.  At  present,  these  two  courts 
are  used  to  quarter  the  Russian  garrison  m. 
The  third  and  following  courts  belong  to 
the  palace  proper,  and  lie  upon  an  artificial 
hill,  as  in  Bokhara.    The  gable  of  the  palace 


I  does  not  become  visible  until  the  second 
court  is  passed.  It  is  approached  by  a  long 
passage,  paved  with  wooden  poles,  along 
which  the  khan  could  ride  right  into  his 
rooms.  The  wall  of  the  castle  is  faced  with 
yellow  tiles,  and  adorned  with  inscriptions 
from  the  Koran.  The  chief  gate  is  situated 
in  the  middle,  and  is  an  excellent  specimen 
of  the  pointed  arch.  The  first  courts  were 
always  used  by  the  khan  to  receive  petitions, 
to  pronounce  sentence,  and  give  audience 
to  foreign  ambassadors.  The  courts  at  the 
back  were  reserved  for  the  harem. 

The   dwellings   around  the   neatly-tiled 
courts  are  mostly  furnished  with  galleries, 
supported  by  wooden  pillars,  and  the  ceil- 
ings decorated   with   gaudy   and  intricate 
patterns.   The  rooms  obtain  their  light  and 
air  chiefly  through  the  doors  which   lead 
out  upon  "these  galleries.     The  doors  them- 
selves are  richly  ornamented  and  gilt.  ^  The 
khan  also  possessed  several  rooms  furnished 
in  European  fashion  ;  of  which  one,  looking 
out  upon  the  second  and  third  courts,  was  very 
richly  decorated ;  the  chief  ornament  being 
a    chandelier,   which  almost   touched   the 
ground,  and  filled  up  the  whole  room.   This 
chamber  is  now  being  altered  into  a  Rus- 
sian chapel,  and  will  soon  be  finished.    The 
back  courts,  as  we  have  already  said,  were 
intended  for  the  harem,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  galleries  looked  out  upon   the 
gardens,   and   not  upon    the   court.     The 
garden  is  separated  from  the  outside  world 
by  a  very  high  wall,  along  which  there  used 
to  be  a  number  of  guard-houses,  used  by  the 
eunuchs,  who  kept  the  khan's  wives  under 
their  surveillance.  Their  number  amounted 
to  several  hundreds.     The  khan's  method 
of  obtaining  his  wives  was  a  very  simple  one. 
As  soon  as  he  heard  that  any  one  of  his  sub- 
jects  was   in   possession   of  an   especially 
pretty   daughter,    he   ordered  her    to    be 
brought  to  his  palace.     Here  the  Mollah 
said  a  short  prayer,  gave  the  girl  his  bless- 
ing, and  the  marriage  was  completed.     At 
a  certain  hour  every  day  all  his  wives  had 
to  assemble  to  greet  the  khan.     They  all 
filed  before  him,  bowed,  and  said,  "  Salaam 
Aleikum :  "  afterwards  they  were  graciously 

dismissed.  ,    *  •  i.- 

As  is  the  case  with  most  Central  Asiatic 
rulers,  the  life  of  Chudojar  Khan  has  not 
been  an  easy  one.  He  experienced  many 
troubles  before  he  succeeded  in  establishing 
himself  upon  the  throne  of  Khokand.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  alternately  khan  and 
fugitive, until,in  1864,  he  succeeded  m  gain- 

28o 


CHUDOJAR  KHAN.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876-'78. 


A.D.  1876-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[GRUSIA,  or  GEORGIA. 


inor  the  crown  through  the  help  of  his  heroic 
friend,  Alim-Kul.     But  all  the  experiences 
and  misfortunes  he   had   suffered  had  not 
taught  him  wisdom.    Throughout  the  whole 
of  his  reign  he  had  to  contend  against  the 
intrigues  concocted   against  him ;    but  he 
never  discovered  his  real  enemies,  for  they 
were  there,  where  he  never  expected  to  find 
them — that  is   to   say,    in    his   immediate 
vicinity.     They  were  Abderachman  Awto- 
batschi,  a  son  of  Mussulman-Kul,  who  had 
been  murdered  by  Chudojar.   Abderachman 
did  not  fill  any  special  position,  but  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  nearest  friends  and 
counsellors  of  the  khan.     Secondly,  Issa- 
Aulju,  a  person  who  was  held  in   much  re- 
pute  by   the   people,    on    account    of    his 
wisdom  and  sanctity.      He  was  a  sort  of 
first  minister  to  the   khan,  and   possessed 
almost  unlimited  power.     Finally,  at  the 
head  of  the   secret  opposition,    were    the 
brother    of    the    khan,    Murad    Beg,    the 
ruler    of    Marghilan,    and    his   son   Nasr- 
Eddin-Khan,    ruler     of    Andidham.      All 
these   personages   had    been    overwhelmed 
with    benefits   by    the    khan,    who    never 
thought  that  they  were  his  greatest  danger. 
"Whilst  he  annihilated  all  his  small  enemies, 
they  prepared  the  way  for  a  revolution ;  and 
when  everything  was  ripe  for  it,  overthrew 
the  khan,  who  was  forced  to  fly  to  Russian 
territory. 


The  general  opinion  prevails  that  Chudo- 
jar Khan  was  deposed  by  the  people  on  ac- 
count of  the  oppressive  taxation.  That  is 
not  the  case;  the  taxation  played  no  part  in 
the  affair  at  all.  The  indignation  against 
the  khan  must  be  attributed  to  his  injustice 
in  matters  of  inheritance.  If  the  heirs,  in 
certain  cases,  wished  to  evade  the  law,  they 
only  had  to  make  the  khan  a  present  in 
order  to  obtain  the  decision  they  wanted. 
In  addition,  the  army  was  very  much  dis- 
satisfied with  him,  as  the  soldiers  were 
scarcely  ever  paid. 

The  conspirators,  however,  did  not  gain 
anything  by  the  fall  of  the  khan.  A  few 
months  after  the  first  revolution,  which  cost 
Chudojar  his  throne,  a  second  broke  out, 
which  ended  most  unfavourably  for  the  heir 
to  the  throne  and  all  his  companions. 
Nasr-Eddin-Khan  was  obliged  to  follow  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  father  Issa-Aulju  and 
Abderachman  Awtobatschi  were  imprisoned 
by  the  Russians,  and,  with  the  two  khans, 
father  and  son,  are  still  interned  in  different 
towns  of  European  Russia.  Murad  Beg 
was  murdered  during  the  riots  at  Marghi- 
lan, in  1875  and  1876,  by  Pulat-Khan.° 

The  inhabitants  of  Khokand  are  almost 
entirely  Uzbeks,  or,  as  they  are  generally 
called  throughout  Central  Asia,  Ssartes ; 
and  do  not  differ  in  any  material  points 
from  the  inhabitants  of  Tashkend. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


RUSSIA  IN  THE  CAUCASUS. 


In  the  same  way  that  Russia  has  been  ex- 
tending her  empire  in  the  far-east  of  Central 
Asia,  she  has  also  been  extending  herself  in 
what,  if  not  Europe,  geographically  speak- 
ing, is  at  any  rate  the  cradle  of  the  Euro- 
pean races,  and  is  as  distinct  from  Asia  as 
Africa  is  from  Lapland. 

She  has  proceeded  in  this  direction  much 
in  the  same  way  as  she  has  in  Asia.  She 
has  sent  out  her  agents  by  the  score  to  spy 
out  the  country,  to  acquire  information,  for 
which  no  detail  was  too  trivial,  and  to  sow 
dissensions  amongst  races  naturally  inclined 
to  dissension,  owing  to  the  configuration 
of  the  country.  When  it  is  remembered 
how  long  Scotland  and  Wales  were  divided 
286 


amongst  their  clans  and  families,  and  dis- 
tricts and  interests,  separated  by  hills 
averaging  not  more  than  3,000  feet  in  height, 
it  may  be  imagined  how  the  communities 
of  the  Caucasus  and  its  outspurs,  which  are 
cut  up  in  all  directions  by  ranges  of  6,000 
to  8,000  feet  in  height,  have  also  been 
divided  in  interests,  and  unable  to  secure  one 
united  administration  for  any  length  of 
time.  If  one  race,  such  as  the  Armenian,  did 
succeed  for  a  few  generations  in  uniting 
these  different  tribes  and  communities 
under  one  banner,  the  work  was  soon  de- 
stroyed by  the  invasion  of  the  Mussulmans 
and  the  intrigues  of  the  Russians. 

But  whilst  the  Russians,  owing,  in  the 


I 


1 


first  place,  to  their  communications  with  the 
highly  civilised  states  of  Europe,  and  the 
intermarriages  of  the  imperial  family  with 
the  royal  families  of  Europe,  advanced  in 
that  sort  of  civilisation  which  results  in  the 
establishment    of   a    despotic    power,    the 
Turks,  part  and  parcel  of  Europe,  yet  with- 
out its  pale,  and  isolated  from  social  inter- 
course with  the  rest  of  Europe  by  their 
religion  and  habits,  have  not  only  not  suc- 
ceeded   in  consolidating  their  power,  but 
have  failed  to  keep  it  up  to  the  pitch  it 
once  possessed.     Bit  by  bit  they  have  had 
to  yield  up  some  portion  of  their  empire. 
But  it  speaks  volumes  for  them,  and  it  is 
a  most  eloquent  argument  against  the  ad- 
vocates of  Russia's  "  mission"  in  the  East, 
that  no  other  State  has  felt  it  its  duty  or 
interest    to    annex    any   portion    of    the 
Turkish  empire  except  Russia,  and  to  no 
other  State  has  any  portion  of  Turkey  been 
yielded  or  given. 

The  only  explanation  of  this  fact  is, 
either  that  Russia  is  really  ahead  of  the 
rest  of  the  world  in  the  conception  of  moral 
duties,  and  is  justified  in  assuming  the  lead 
in  civilisation,  or  that  she  has  determined 
to  gain  a  firm  footing  in  what  is,  in  all 
respects,  the  richest  country  west  of  the 
Caucasus. 

If  the  former  is  the  case,  it  is  high  time 
that  Europe  should  awaken  to  a  sense  of 
its  duties,  and  take  that  share  in  the  civili- 
satory  process  which  she  has  so  long 
neglected.  If  the  second,  then  there  ap- 
pears to  be  no  reason  why  more  civilised 
States  than  Russia— States  which  show,  by 
their  action,  that  they  are  striving  after 
liberty  and  the  welfare  of  the  human  race 
generally,  should  not  step  in  and  claim  the 
property,  or  claim  a  voice  in  its  administra- 
tion, which  has  been  abandoned  or  is 
abused  by  the  Turks.  In  the  meanwhile, 
the  following  account  of  the  districts  bor- 
dering the  Russian  frontier  on  the  Cau- 
casus, will  be  found  highly  interesting, 
not  only  on  account  of  its  intrinsic  value, 
but  also  because  of  the  point  of  view  from 
which  it  has  been  written.  It  is  the  sum- 
mary of  a  work*  by  Colonel  Kasbek,  of  the 
Russian  army,  who  was  sent  by  the  govern- 
ment, in  1874,  to  explore  the  country. 
The  published  work  contains  only  150  pages 
8vo. ;  but  the  mass  of  information  it  gives, 
also  conveys  an  idea  of  the  minuteness  with 


*  *' Three    Months  in   Turkish  Grusia."     By 
G.  Kasbek.     Tiflis:   1877. 


which  every  detail  of  any  importance  was 
described  in  his  official  report.  It  is,  of 
course,  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  the 
report  contained  all  those  matters  of  mili- 
tary, strategic,  and  political  importance, 
which  are  conspicuous  by  their  absence  in 
the  published  work.  But  even  as  it  is, 
this  work  cannot  be  too  highly  recom- 
mended for  the  perusal  and  study  of  those 
who  wish  to  see  with  what  anxious  care  the 
Russians  had  been  preparing  their  cam- 
paign in  1877. 

Turkish  Grrusia  includes  the  sources  of 
the  Kara  and  the  whole  of  the  basins  of 
the  Tschoroch  and  Lasistan.     The  whole  of 
this  district,  together  with  the  department 
of  Akhaltzik,  has  borne,  in  the  course  of 
centuries    very  different    names,    such    as 
Upper  Kartalinia,  Ssanzche-Ssatabago ;  but 
for  the  last  two  centuries,  before  its  incor- 
poration with  the  Russian  empire,  it  was 
known  as  the  Pashalik  of  Akhaltzik.     It  is 
characterised  by  the  rich  and  varied  vegeta- 
tion peculiar  to  a   northern  and  southern 
climate.    The  upper  course  of  the  Kara  and 
the  Tschoroch  has  always  been  colonised  by 
Grusiansor  Georgians,  whilst  the  north-west- 
ern slope  was  peopled  by  Lases  and  Tschanes. 
It  was  nearer  to  Byzance  than  the  rest  of 
Grusia,  and  was  thus  more  under  its  influ- 
ence.    It  was  owing  to  this  influence  that 
Upper  Kartalinia  became  the  cradle  of  the 
dynasty  of  the  Grusian  Bagratides  in  the 
8th  century,  and  became  the  centre  which 
gave  its  unity  and    greatness  to    Grusia, 
under  the  Abchasian  and  Grusinian  kings. 
It  was  here  that  the  chief  historians  were 
born  in  the  10th  and  15th  centuries,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  translators  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments.     Upper  Karta- 
linia became    studded  with  a   number  of 
ecclesiastical  monuments,  which  served  as  a 
model  for  the  rest  of  Grusia ;  and  no  doubt 
an    energetic  explorer  would    be  well  re- 
warded for  his  trouble  in  examining  this 
district. 

As  it  is,  the  information  regarding  it,  in 
modern  times,  is  of  a  most  scanty  nature. 
In  1843,  the  geologist,  Karl  Koch,  travelled 
throuofb  the  whole  recrion ;  but  the  result  of 
his  travels  were  only  a  few  geographical 
and  ethnological  notices.  In  1844,  Profes- 
sor Rosen,  who  subsequently  became 
Prussian  consul  in  Jerusalem,  and  wrote  a 
history  of  the  Turkish  empire,  travelled 
through  Lasistan  in  company  with  the 
German  poet,  Friedrich  Bodenstedt;  but 
his   inquiries  were  chiefly  limited  to  the 

287 


'4 


THROUGH   GEORGIA.] 


HISTOKY  OF   THE 


[A.D.  1870-'77. 


language  of  the  Lases.  On  this  subject  he 
published  a  book,  showing  the  relation- 
ship between  the  Lasian  and  Grusinian 
languages. 

All  this  was,  doubtless,  highly  interesting 
to  philologists  and  scholars ;  but  it  was 
scarcely  the  kind  of  information  the  Rus- 
sian government  required ;  and  so  Colonel 
Kasbek  was  sent  to  supply  the  want  in 
the  spring  of  1874. 

"  At  this  ,date,"  Colonel  Kasbek  writes, 
"a  journey  through  Asiatic  Turkey  is 
fraught  with  danger  to  Russians.  Our 
neighbour,"  he  says,  referring  to  Turkey, 
"  is  always  afraid  that  we  are  planning  some 
attempt  against  his  life,  and  places  all  the 
impediments  possible  in  the  way  of  obtain- 
ing accurate  information.  Neither  govern- 
ment or  people  have  any  idea  of  scientific 
exploration."  This  suspicion,  on  the  part 
of  the  Turks,  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be 
unfounded  when  regarded  in  the  light  of 
subsequent  events.  Colonel  Kasbek  made 
his  journey  in  the  summer  of  1874,  accom- 
panied by  ten  mounted  men,  and  seven 
men  on  foot,  with  three  baggage-horses, 
with  whom  he  left  Abbas-Tuman  on  the 
22nd  May. 

After  leaving  Abbas-Tuman,  a  watering- 
place  in  the  district  of  Akhaltzik,  the  tra- 
vellers proceeded  along  a  very  bad  road  up 
the  Arsian  mountains,  which  form  the 
water-shed  between  the  Kwabliani  and  the 
Adtscharis-skali.  The  Arsian  range  was 
held  in  antiquity  to  be  the  frontier  of  the 
Greek  domination.  The  highest  peak  is 
the  Chirchati ;  this  is  8,534  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  On  these  mountains,  or 
at  least  upon  their  northern  slopes,  the 
forest  comes  to  an  end  at  the  height  of 
6,900  feet,  where  it  is  replaced  by  a  rich 
and  luxuriant  Alpine  vegetation,  which 
serves  as  a  rich  pasturage  for  the  cattle, 
which  is  driven  up  into  the  heights  during 
the  summer  months.  At  this  period  the 
whole  of  the  Arsian  range  becomes  ani- 
mated, and  is  covered  with  yaitas,  or 
summer  camps.  On  one  of  the  highest 
points  a  magnificent  view  spread  itself  out 
before  the  caravanserai.  The  peaks  of  the 
mountains  were  covered  with  snow.  The 
whole  of  the  Arsian  range  presented  the 
appearance  of  a  serrated  range,  in  which 
there  was  no  especially  prominent  peak. 
At  the  foot  of  the  range  lay  the  dark  val- 
ley of  the  Kwabliani. 

After  passing  the  frontier  posts  between 
Russia  and  Turkey,  on  a  height  of  7,450 
288 


feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  road 
winds  along  the  mountains  between  masses 
of  rhododendrons  and  pine-woods,  the  dark- 
green  of  which  is  frequently  relieved  by 
numbers  of  weeping  birches,  with  their 
light-green  foliage.  In  the  first  Ardscha- 
rian  village,  called  Gordshomi,  there  is  a 
sulphur  spring  of  20^  Reaumur,  and  the 
remains  of  two  walls  of  a  church,  which 
bear  the  Grusinian  name  of  Nassakdrali, 
which  means  the  place  of  a  former  church. 
The  fields  and  meadows  of  Gordshomi  are 
all  surrounded  with  wooden  palisades,  and 
are  carefully  cultivated. 

The  chief  occupation  of  the  inhabitants 
is  cattle-breeding;  the  more  wealthy  of  them 
owning  as  many  as  three  and  four  dozen 
milch-cows,  and  twenty  to  sixty  sheep.  The 
village  contains  300  farms,  in  isolated 
groups,  each  one  having  its  own  name.  All 
these  groups  are  under  one  common  ad- 
ministration, and  united  very  closely, 
through  their  attendance  at  one  mosque. 

The  road  from  Gordshomi  leads  along  a 
foaming  torrent,  and  in  many  places  is  cut 
in  the  living  rock,  impeded  by  masses  of 
stone,  over  which  the  horses  have  carefully 
to  pick  their  way  in  a  manner  that  is 
highly  suggestive. 

Fifteen  versts  from  Gordshomi,  the  tra- 
vellers arrived  at  Chula,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river  Did-Adtscharis-skali,  spread 
about  a  wide  uneven  space,  and  con- 
taining about  100  farms,  built  of  wood  on 
a  stone  foundation,  grouped  around  the 
residence  of  the  most  influential  man  in 
the  whole  of  Adtschara,  the  Shereef  Bey, 
Chimschia-Schwili.  His  house  is  large, 
well-built,  and  covered  with  tiles,  after  the 
fashion  of  most  of  the  houses  in  Chula. 
There  is  also  a  mosque  erected  on  the 
foundations  of  a  Christian  church,  a  foun- 
tain and  large  water-basin,  a  medresseh,  or 
mosque  school,  and,  close  to  it,  the  tombs 
of  the  Bey's  ancestors,  executed  in  stone. 
The  "  bazaar  "  consists  of  a  row  of  booths 
contained  in  a  long  wooden  building ;  and, 
above  all,  south  of  the  village,  rise  the 
views  of  the  Bey's  castle,  which  was  de- 
stroyed by  General  Ostensacken  in  the 
campaign  of  1829,  without  any  further 
rhyme  or  reason  than  because  a  group  of 
Mussulmans  resisted  his  troops  here  for  a 
short  time,  till  they  were  all  massacred,  and 
the  castle  razed,  to  remain  a  proof  of  the 
power  of  the  white  czar. 

Major  Kasbek's  party  was  heartily  wel- 
comed by  the  son  of  the  Bey.     The  young 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[shereef  bey. 


Mustasa  Bey,  who  had  been  governor  of 
the  Adtschara  district  in  1873,  and  after 
enjoying  his  hospitality  for  two  days  at 
Chula,  went  with  him  to  Ischalta,  a  village 
celebrated  as  possessing  the  only  church  in 
the  whole  of  Adtschara.  Here  the  party 
was  welcomed  by  the  Bey  himself  in  his 
new  house,  built  in  semi-European  fashion. 
Shereef  Bey  belongs  to  one  of  the  younger, 
but  most  powerful  families  of  Adtschara. 
His  great-grandfather  was  a  simple  pea- 
sant ;  but  his  grandfather  soon  acquired 
such  influence  by  his  rectitude  and  energy, 
that  he  defied  the  tyrannical  Pasha  of 
Akhaltzik,  and,  at  the  head  of  an  armed 
body  of  Adtscharians,  drove  him  away 
from  Akhaltzik,  and  "  reigned  in  his  stead." 
Subsequently  he  incurred  the  wrath  of  the 
sultan,  and  fled  to  Adtschara  in  1805;  but 
in  1815  was  captured,  and  decapitated  in 
the  fortress  of  Chirchatis-ziche.  His  son, 
Achmed  Bey,  however,  soon  attained  the 
same  power  as  his  father ;  and  in  conse- 
quence of  his  blockade  of  Akhaltzik,  which 
had  been  captured  by  the  Russians,  was 
made  pasha  by  the  sultan.  Prince  Bebu- 
toff,  who  commanded  the  Russian  garrison 
in  Akhaltzik,  opened  up  negotiations  with 
Achmed,  who  expressed  his  readiness,  under 
certain  conditions,  to  become  a  Russian 
subject.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  presented 
him  with  his  brevet  as  a  major  in  the  Rus- 
sian army,  and  he  was  invited  to  come  to 
Akhaltzik.  But  before  the  visit  could  be 
arranged.  Prince  Bebutoff,  whom  Achmed 
was  personally  acquainted  with,  was  re- 
called, and  succeeded  by  General  Osten- 
sacken, in  whom  Achmed  Pasha  had  no 
coafidence.  He  therefore  refused  to  ap- 
pear, and  General  Ostensacken,  at  the  head 
of  his  forces,  marched  against  him.  The 
Russians  arrived  at  Chula,  where,  after  a 
long  resistance  by  some  of  Achmed  Pasha's 
men,  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  possession 
of  the  castle,  as  already  related.  But  on 
their  way  back  they  were  attacked  by 
Achmed  and  his  men,  and  forced  to  retreat 
precipitately  to  Akhaltzik.  Peace  was 
soon  afterwards  concluded,  and  Achmed 
Pasha,  in  return  for  his  services,  was  nomi- 
nated governor  of  Kars,  and  died  with  the 
rank  of  Seraskier  in  Erzeroum. 

After  the  war  of  1829,  the  whole  of 
Grusia  was  only  no'iiinally  under  the  sultan. 
Like  the  Basques,  they  only  paid  the 
tribute  of  blood ;  that  is,  they  supplied  so- 
and-so  many  men  to  the  sultan  in  his  war. 

The  present  Bey  produced  a  very  pleasing 

VOL.  II.  2  p 


impression  upon  M.  Kasbek.  He  is  forty- 
five  years  old,  above  the  average  height,  well 
built,  clever,  animated,  witty,  and,  for  a 
Grusian,  even  learned;  but,  above  all,  an 
adept  at  almost  everything.  He  showed  his 
guests  a  schaselika  (sword)  made  by  his 
own  hands,  a  cannon  which  he  had  founded 
himself,  and  a  number  of  walnut-wood 
chairs  and  divans,  of  excellent  workmanship, 
which  he  had  made  during  his  leisuie 
hours.  He  is,  besides,  a  painter  of  con- 
siderable power,  specimens  of  his  art  hang- 
ing on  all  the  walls  of  his  house.  In  the 
summer  he  live^  in  Chula,  but  in  the  winter 
goes  down  to  the  warmer  climate  of 
Ss-chalta,  with  his  three  wives  and  thirteen 
children,  whom  he  educates  himself  in  the 
Koran,  in  Persian,  in  tiie  Grusinian  tongue, 
in  Russian,  and  music.  His  library  con- 
sists of  a  few  Turkish  works  and  one  Rus- 
sian book.  He  has  none  in  the  Grusian 
tongue,  nor  do  his  children  speak  the  lan- 
guage. "  Strange  as  it  may  appear,"  said 
the  Bey,  "that  my  children  do"  not  know 
the  language  of  their  fathers ;  but  the  fact 
is,  that  they  were  educated  in  the  house  of 
their  mother  at  Ardahan."  He  is  very 
proud  of  a  mighty  box  filled  with  firmans 
and  patents  which  had  been  given  to  his 
father  by  different  sultans.  Amongst  th(5 
documents  there  is  a  parchment  rolled  upon 
a  staff,  as  was  the  custom  in  the  time  of  the 
Grusinian  princes.  It  was  torn  and  yellow, 
and  the  date  was  wanting ;  but  the  signa- 
ture showed  that  it  had  been  written  in  the 
name  of  the  Atabeg  John,  by  the  patriarch 
Gerassim  Dshaketi,  to  the  villagers  of  Chuhi 
and  Alme,  which  puts  the  date  at  som<^ 
time  before  1444,  when  the  patriarch  died. 
The  village  of  Ss-clialta  lies  at  a  height 
of  2,274  feet  above  the  sea ;  more  than 
1,117  feet  lower  than  Chula,  and  is  cha- 
racterised by  its  ^.uxuriant  southern  vegeta- 
tion. Shereef  Bey's  garden  contains  walnut- 
trees,  vines,  cypresses,  olive-trees,  and  speci- 
mens of  the  ziziphus.  Ss-chalta  itself  is 
rather  noted  for  its  malaria.  The  church, 
which  M.  Kasbek  erroneously  calls  a  ruin, 
is  much  damaged,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  very 
far  from  being  what  is  usually  meant  by  a 
ruin,  and  will  stand  the  onslaught  of  wind 
and  weather  for  many  a  day  yet.  It  is 
faced  with  masonry,  and  the  interior 
adorned  with  frescoes  of  considerable  power 
and  some  traces  of  art.  They  represent  the 
Saviour,  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  John  the 
Baptist,  with  other  New  Testamentary  per- 
sonages, and  are  furnished  with  inscriptions 

289 


! 


1 


THE  ADTSCHARIANS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-77. 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


il 


I', 


in  Gieek.      Id  the  apse   behind  the  altar 
there  is  a  colossal  figure  of  Christ,  holding 
a  book  in  liis  hand  with  the  old  Grusinian 
character.     Standing  around   him  are  the 
figures    of   various    saints,   each    having   a 
Grusinian  inscription.     During  their  stay 
witli   the   Bey,    M.    Kasbek's   party    were 
accompanied    by    him    on  their  excursions 
through  the  district,  when   they  saw  that 
he  had  caused  a  road  to  be  laid  out,  which 
permitted  waggons  to  be  used  on  it.     The 
Bey,  however,  had  been  obliged  to  abandon 
its  further  consideration  on  account  of  the 
opposition  he  met  with  from  his  superiors, 
who  did  not  approve  of  the  intercommuni- 
cation becoming  so   easy  between  the  vil- 
lagers whom  they  oppressed.     The  country 
all  around  Chula  is  described,  by  M.  Kasbek, 
as  highly  picturesque,  and   abounding   in 
luxuriant  vegetation,  the  woods  composed 
of  mighty  oaks,  interspersed  with  nut,  pear, 
and   chestnut  trees.     He,  however,   makes 
no  mention   of  the  mineral  riches  of  the 
country,  which  are  very  great,  and  consist 
in  an  abundance  of  excellent  lead,  iron,  and 
copper  ores;  and,  in  many  places,  nickel 
and  cobalt.     The  whole  character   of   the 
country  reminds  one  forcibly  of  the  beauti- 
fiil  terraces,  valleys,  and  heights  of  Lebanon 
and  Anti- Lebanon — especially  of  that  por- 
tion   east  of   Tripoli   which    includes   the 
valley  of  Eden. 

The  most  picturesque  point  in  the  whole 
region  is  the  castled  fortress  of  Chirchati, 
where  the  grandfather  of  the  present  Shereef 
Bey  (Selim  Pasha)  was  beheaded,  as  we  have 
already  mentioned,  in  1815,  and  his  head 
sent  to  Stamboul.  It  lies  at  the  limits  of 
the  forest,  6,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  with  a  lake  some  200  yards  wide  at  its 
base.  The  fortress  itself  consists  of  four 
towers,  literally  hanging  to  the  precipices 
which  tower  over  the  village  of  Ballo, 
whence  a  narrow,  steep,  and  winding  path 
leads  to  the  only  accessible  portion  of  the 
stronghold,  which  is  said  to  have  been  built 
by  Queen  Tamara. 

The  whole  district  of  the  Adtschara,from 
its  sources  to  its  junction  with  the  river 
Tschoroch,  or  Tschorok,  some  fifteen  miles 
south  of  Batoum,  is  excessively  rich  in  its 
flora  and  fauna,  from  its  deepest  valleys  to 
a  height  of  6,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  where  the  Scotch  fir  begins  to  show 
itself.  The  woods  consist  of  oak,  beech, 
elm,  birch,  ash,  larch,  and  pine ;  apple  and 
pear-trees  abound,  as  well  as  cherry-trees, 
plum-trees,  and  vines.  Tobacco  is  also 
290 


cultivated,  and  equals  the  commoner  Sam- 
sun  kinds.  Maize  produces,  on  an  average, 
thirty  to  fifty-fold ;  wheat,  ten-fold.  Cattle- 
rearing  is  conducted  on  an  extensive  scale, 
chiefly  oxen.  Sheep  are  not  much  culti- 
vated. One  Bey  alone  has  a  flock  of  800 ; 
otherwise  the  flocks  can  only  be  counted  hy 
a  few  dozen  heads  each.  Horses  are  tho 
only  beasts  of  burden ;  and  it  is  estimated 
that  each  household  possesses  one.  Roads, 
in  the  Alpine  region,  there  are  none ;  and 
those  in  the  vallej^s  are  very  bad,  and  in 
the  rarest  of  cases  are  they  available  for 
conveyances. 

The  predominant  characteristics  of  the 
Adtscharian  are,  the  respect  foraged  people, 
domestic  afl'ection,  and  the  most  profuse 
hospitality.  The  reception  accorded  to  M. 
Kasbek  and  his  party  of  seventeen  men  and 
thirteen  horses,  by  Shereef  Bey,  who  enter- 
tained them  from  May  24th  to  June  9th, 
sufficiently  shows  to  what  an  extent  hospi- 
tality is  carried  out  in  these  regions ;  and 
it  is  within  our  own  experience  in  Lasistan, 
that  it  has  been  impossible  to  spend  one 
single  farthing  during  a  tour  of  seven  weeks' 
duration.  The  Adtscharians  make  excel- 
lent soldiers ;  they  are  brave,  indomitable 
pedestrians,  and  cool  and  collected  in 
danger.  Commerce  and  manufactures  are 
not  to  their  taste ;  they  are  an  essentially 
agricultural  people,  and  excellent  cattle- 
breeders. 

The  language  of  the  people  is  either  the 
Grusinian  tongue  or  Turkish.  In  the  ma- 
jority of  cases,  and  in  every-day  public  life, 
it  is  invariably  Turkish.  No  greater  proof 
than  this  fact  can  be  adduced  to  show  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  Turkish  tongue,  or 
in  the  teachings  of  Islam,  that  is  unsuited 
to  the  character  of  this  people,  for  it  is 
scarcely  250  years  since  they  were  first 
subjected  to  Turkish  rule.  And  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Turks  do  not  make 
propaganda,  but  leave  every  one  to  follow 
his  own  convictions  in  religious  matters: 
only,  as  is  but  just  in  such  a  state  of  affairs 
as  prevails  in  these  districts  so  close  to 
Russia,  they  give  the  preference  to  those  of 
their  own  creed  in  appointments  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  State.  But  it  is  very  amusing 
to  hear  M.  Kasbek  complain  that  the 
mosque  schools  are  thronged  with  boys 
learning  Turkish  and  the  Koran  ;  "  so  that," 
as  he  says,  "the  brave  Grusinian  race  is 
rapidly  becoming  Turkish."  M.  Kasbek 
here  finds  it  convenient  to  ignore  the  fact 
that,  in  Russia,  dissenters  from  the  Greek 


church  are  flogged  into  compliance  with 
its  creed  and  dogmas,  whilst  the  Turks,  at 
any  rate,  allow  their  subjects  to  choose  for 
themselves. 

Having  sufficiently  explored  the  Upper 
Adtt^chara  regions.  Colonel  Kasbek  next 
turned  his  attention  to  the  Schawschethi, 
that  is,  the  district  clpsed  in  on  the  east  by 
the  Arsian  mountains,  on  the  south  by  the 
Yolanustschami,  by  the  Kartschchali  and 
Schawschethi  mountains  in  the  north,  and 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Ardanudsh 
Tchai,  This  district,  which  is  almost  en- 
tirely unknown  to  the  rest  of  Europe,  is 
the  richest  in  minerals  of  all  parts  ad- 
joining the  Russian  frontier,  and  especially 
in  sulphur-springs.  Agriculturally,  it  is 
also  richer  than  the  Adtschara :  the  Schaw- 
schethi wheat  is  preferred  at  Batoum  to 
that  of  Kars ;  and  at  the  same  time  there 
is  much  room  for  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  whole  district. 

The  population,  which  is  composed  of 
Grusinians  and  Armenians,  is  divided 
amongst  some  fifty-eight  villages,  contain- 
ing altogether  about  2,000  chimneys,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  taxes  are  levied. 
The  population,  taking  on  an  average 
seven  souls  to  each  household,  would  num- 
ber about  14,000  of  both  sexes.  In  the 
upper  part  of  the  valley  they  all  speak  the 
Grusinian  tongue,  with  the  exception  of 
about  1,000  Armenians,  who  are  scattered 
amongst  them.  "But  as  we  approached 
Ardanudsh,"  says  Colonel  Kasbek,  "  we 
found  that  Grusinian  gave  way  to  Turkish, 
and  that  the  constant  contact  with  the 
Turks  had  had  a  very  evil  eff'ect  upon  the 
morality  of  the  people.  This  race,  which, 
under  the  kings  Bagrat  IIL  and  IV.  (in 
the  10th  and  llth  centuries),  was  noted 
for  its  courage,  has  so  degenerated  that  its 
cowardice  has  become  a  proverb  amongst 
the  more  valorous  races  around.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  Imerchawi  valley  produce 
a  more  disagreeable  impression  than  those 
of  Schawschethi  proper.  They  are  gloomy, 
deceitful,  rancorous,  and  treacherous  ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  also  more  manly 
and  determined.  The  peaceable  character 
of  the  Schawschethians  was  remarkably 
demonstrated  about  twelve  years  ago,  when 
the  sultan  issued  an  irade,  calling  upon 
all  the  frontier  tribes  to  disarm.  The 
Schawschethians  were  the  only  tribe  which 
obeyed  this  order,  in  consequence  whereof 
they  are  quite  at  the  mercy  of  their  more 
warlike  neighbours." 


[the  schawschetht. 


From  Bako  Colonel  Kasbek  proceeded  to 
cross  the  ridge  leading  into  the  Schaw- 
schethi ;  but  before  he  and  his  party  had 
attained  the  summit,  their  further  pro- 
gress was  impeded  by  the  thick  mists  and 
rains  which  came  on,  and  forced  them  to 
seek  refuge  in  the  house  of  a  Russian 
deserter.  This  fact  led  Colonel  Kasbek  to 
mdulge  in  wandering  speculations  as  to  the 
reasons  why  Russians  should  prefer  the 
rule  of  the  sultan  to  that  of  the  czar ;  for 
it  appears,  at  this  part  of  his  account,  that 
he  had  already  met  with  several  Russian 
families  in  the  Adtschara,  who,  he  at  last 
discovers,  had  fled  to  Turkey  to  escape  from 
the  rigours  of  Russian  military  discipline. 
The  lot  of  these  families,  if  the  Russians 
should  annex  this  portion  of  the  Turkish 
frontier,  will  not  be  enviable.  In  all  pro- 
bability they  will  emigrate  further  west. 

After  leaving  Tichi-Dsiri,  where  the 
Mudir  of  Schawschethi  resides.  Colonel 
Kasbek  saw  the  "celebrated"  church  of 
Tbeti,  which  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Bishop  Mtbewari,  under  whose  jurisdiction 
the  whole  of  Schawschethi  formerly  (in  the 
10th  century)  lay.  "This  church,  alas !" 
says  Colonel  Kasbek,  "  is  now  turned  into 
a  mosque."  He  then  gives  a  minute  de- 
scription of  the  building  in  a  tone  which 
implies  that  it  is  the  duty  of  Russia  to  restore 
this  building  to  the  descendants  of  the 
Bishop  Mtbewari,  who  owned  it  in  the 
10th  century.  Every  detail  which  can  be 
traced  to  former  ages,  when  the  Byzantine 
church  and  the  Byzantine  empire  ruled 
over  those  districts,  is  given  as  a  reason 
why  Russia  should  annex  these  regions. 
Colonel  Kasbek  may  not  say  so  in  so  many 
words,  but  that  is  the  tendency  of  all  he 
does  say ;  and  the  care  with  which  he  notes 
down  every  fact  that  might  be  turned  to 
advantage  later,  points  clearly,  when  the 
official  nature  of  his  mission  is  taken  into 
consideration,  to  an  intention  on  the  part 
of  the  Russian  government  to  put  forth 
claims  to  these  regions  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. 

From  Schawschethi,  Colonel  Kasbek  pro- 
ceeded into  the  district  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  middle  Tschorok,  which  is 
called  the  Livana,  and  in  which  lies  the 
fortress  of  Ardanudsh.  Here  he  directed 
especial  attention  to  the  new  high-road 
from  Kars,  via  Ardanudsh  and  Artvin,  to 
Batoum,  which  was  being  constructed  by 
the  Turkish  government,  but  which,  owing 
to  the  difficulties — not  great  for  scientific 

29i 


! 


THE  LIVANA.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1870-77. 


I: 


!; 


engineers,  bub.  far  beyond  the  control  of 
the  Livanian  population — had  to  be  aban- 
doned in  its  original  conception,  and 
dwindled  down,  in  many  places,  to  the 
modest  dimensions  of  a  mule-path. 

The  soil  of  the  Livana,  favoured  by  a 
splendid  climate,  is  richer  than  any  of 
the  adjacent  parts.  Wherever  there  was  a 
handful  of  earth  amidst  the  depths  of  the 
rocks,  it  was  covered  with  vines,  pome- 
granate, almond,  lotos,  olive,  and  mulberry- 
trees.  In  the  early  days  of  June  the  har- 
vest had  been  gathered  in,  the  wheat  and 
barley  all  garnered,  and  the  fields  being  sown 
with  maize,  which  would  afford  a  fresh  and 
luxuriant  crop  by  the  end  of  August. 

In  this  district  there  are  a  number  of 
monasteries  and  villages  which  are  not  set 
down  in  any  published  map,  and  the  very 
existence  of  which  is  only  known  to  the 
inhabitants  and  the  Eussian  government. 
All  these  monasteries  were  visited  by 
Colonel  Kasbek,  who  evinced  the  greatest 
interest  in  their  circumstances  and  history ; 
and,  when  he  arrived  at  Artvin,  tried  very 
liard  to  secure  a  copy  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, written  in  the  Grusinian  tongue,  to 
which  a  silver  cross  was  attached  by  a  silver 
chain.  "  But,"  says  the  colonel,  "  the 
Mollah  would  not  allow  me  to  take  it  from 
the  church  because  I  ivanted  to  buy  iV^ 
This  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  way  in  which 
official  Russia  writes  the  riddles  which  are 
to  be  read  between  the  lines. 

From  Artvin  the  party  proceeded  on  its 
way  through  Lasistan  to  Batoum,  after 
liaving  explored  all  the  chief  passes,  and  col- 
lected a  vast  amount  of  information  regard- 
ing the  roads  and  other  subjects,  which 
might  be  of  use  at  a  future  date. 

The  result  of  this  expedition  was  a  com- 
plete picture  of  a  series  of  districts  which 
are  unknown  entirely  to  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  unknown  one  to  the  other.  The 
value  of  the  information  thus  gained  has,  no 
doubt,  been  amply  demonstrated  by  the  as- 
i^istance  which  the  commanders  of  the 
Ivussian  army,  especially  General  Heimann, 
derived  from  it  in  their  campaign  in  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1877. 

It  is  as  difficult  to  give  a  picture  of  the 
scenic  beauty  of  these  regions,  as  it  is  to 
Convey  a  full  idea  of  their  wonderful  fertility 
—to  say  nothing  of  their  mineral  riches. 
Perhaps  the  attractions  which  here  enchant 
the  traveller  would  best  be  described  by 
comparing  them  to  the  most  beautiful  por- 
tion of  the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees,  if  they  I 
292 


were  transported  to  Southern  Italy.  And 
it  should  be  remembered  that  these  regions 
are  not  only  the  cradle  of  European  races, 
but  also  the  cradle  of  most  of  the  vegetable 
products  which  we  count  amongst  the 
choicest  of  their  kind.  In  fact,  it  is 
scarcely  too  much  to  say,  that  one-fifth  of 
the  land  around  the  southern  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea,  is  richer,  and  more  accessible  to 
development,  than  the  whole  of  Rus.^ia  from 
the  Vistula  to  Behring's  Straits. 

Some  of  the  most  recent  information  re- 
garding the  Russians  in  the  Caucasus  has 
been  given  by  Mr.  Bryce,  who  might  have 
made  his  work  as  valuable  as  that  by  Colonel 
Kasheki,  had  he  not  been  too  much  influ- 
enced by  his  Rusi^ian  friends  and  surround- 
ings. As  it  is,  he  has  written  the  most 
perplexing  book  it  is  well  possible  for  a  man 
to  write  who  has  the  power  to  treat  his 
subject  from  various  points  of  view,  and  in 
a  style  that  would  not  only  perplex  but  at- 
tract the  reader  and  sustain  his  interest  in 
the  subject.  As  long  as  he  recounts  what 
he  saw,  and  relates  his  own  and  his  friend's 
experiences  during  his  tour  through  the 
Caucasus,  we  read  on,  well  satisfied  with 
descriptions  which  ^faithfully  recall  these 
regions  to  the  memory  of  those  who  have 
visited  them,  and  furnish  a  vivid  idea  of 
the  scene  to  those  who  have  not.  But  wlien 
he  quotes  Strabo  and  Herodotus,  and  enters 
into  an  academical  disquisition  on  the  geo- 
graphy and  ethnology  of  the  regions  lying 
between  the  Caspian  and  the  Black  Sea,  the 
interest  inspired  by  the  narrative  of  the 
traveller  quite  vanishes.  A  writer  cannot 
proceed  with  much  spirit  when  he  knows 
he  is  simply  interpolating  encyclopaedical 
information  that  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
scientific  world,  and  too  much  for  the  gene- 
ral public.  His  desire  to  plead  for  the 
Russians  often  leads  him  into  strange  con- 
tradictions. On  one  page  he  says  that  "  the 
saying  about  scratching  Russians  and  find- 
ing Tartars  is  pretty  well  exploded  ; "  yet 
on  another,  after  saying  that  the  Russians 
are  not  thoroughly  civilised  themselves,  and 
cannot  impart  what  they  have  not  got,  he 
says,  "  Civilisation  in  Russia  is  like  a  coat 
of  paint  over  unseasoned  wood — you  may 
not  at  first  detect  the  unsoundness  of  the 
material,  but  test  it,  and  it  fails."  If  this 
is  not  precisely  the  sense  of  the  exploded 
saying — expressed,  it  may  be,  in  a  para- 
phrase more  adapted  to  the  understanding 
of  the  general  public  unversed  in  the  nice- 
ties of  ethnological  distinctions— it  is  diffi- 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[ARMENIA. 


cult  to  discover  what  can  have  been  in  Mr. 
Bryce's  mind.     Still  stranger  are  the  con- 
tradictions Mr.  Bryce  falls  into  when  speak- 
inof  of  the  Armenians  and  other  races  in- 
habiting    Transcaucasia.      "  There    is    no 
unity  amongst  them,"  he  says,  "  no  common 
national  feeling  to  appeal  to,  nothing  on 
which  a  national  kingdom  could  be  based. 
Nothing,  in  fact,  keeps  them  together  but  the 
Russian  army  and  administration ;  and  the 
loyalty  of  both  these  to  the  czar  is  that 
wliich   keeps  Russia  together,  rising  as  it 
does  almost  to  the  dignity  of  a  national 
worship."      These  views,  expressed  in  the 
very  home  of  the  only  race  inhabiting  these 
regions  who  ever  formed  an  empire  there, 
who   have  a  rich   literature,  who  are  com- 
mercially and  industrially  above  the  Greeks 
of  the  empire,  seemed  very  strange  indeed  ; 
and  still  more  inexplicable  is  the  contradic- 
tion when  he  says  that  they  are  only  kept 
together  by  the  sword  and   the  bureaux, 
which   alone  keep  Russia    together.     Had 
Mr.  Bryce   continued    his  journey  further 
south,  he  would  have  found  Armenian  colo- 
nies as  flourishing  as  the  best  of  those  the 
German    settlers    so    favourably  impressed 
him   with ;     for    instance,    the    Armenian 
colony  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Kesab — the 
Monte  Cassius  of  Pliny — at  the  mouth  of 
the  Orontes.     And  in  addition  to  historical 
facts,  traditions,  language,  and  literature, 
there  is  the  religion  of  the  Armenians,  an 
item  which  goes  far  towards  making  up  the 
basis  for  a    national    kingdom.     On    this  I 
point,  Mr.  Bryce  himself  says — "  Amongst 
the  Christians  themselves,  the  separate  ex-  ' 
istence  and  strongly  national  character  of  j 
the    Armenian    church    keep    its   children 
apart,  not  only  from  Protestant  Germans, but 
from  those  who  own  the  orthodox  Eastern 
faith.    And  it  is  only  where  such  a  religious 
repulsion  does  not  exist,  as,  for  instance, 
between  Russians  and  Georgians,  that  any 
social  amalgamation  goes  on."    These  words 
show  that  Mr.  Bryce  would  not  ignore  the 
fact  that  there  are  important  elements  ex- 
isting to  frame  the  basis  for  an  Armenian 
State.     Probably   he   yielded   up  his  own 
judgment  to  the  representations  of  his  Rus- 
sian friends;  for  when  he  arrives  at  Tiflis, 
and  writes  under  the  influence  of  immediate 
impressions,  he  estimates  the  Armenians  at 
their  true  worth.     Here  he  says  of  them — 
"  They  are  the  most  vigorous  and  pushing 
men  in  the  country,  and  have  got  most  of 
its   trade  into  their  hands,   not  only  the 
bhopkeeping,   but    the    larger    mercantile 


concerns.  A  good  many,  too,  are  in  the 
Russian  service,  and  have  thriven  in  it ; 
in  fact,  more  than  half  the  employes  in 
Transcaucasia  are  said  to  be  Armenians. 
*  *  *  Among  them  there  are  several 
people  of  learning  and  ability  ;  and  as  their 
education  improves  and  their  wealth  in- 
creases, the  number  of  such  persons  is  likely 
to  grow ;  so  that  altogether  one  seems  to 
see  a  considerable  future  before  them." 
Then  Mr.  Bryce  repeats  what  he  has  already 
said,  and  states  once  more  that  they  do  not 
mix  or  intermarry  with  the  Russians  or  the 
Germans,  but  have  a  society  of  their  own 
which  is  quite  self-sufficing. 

From  these  contradictory  views  it  would 
seem  as  though  Mr.  Bryce  had  given   him- 
self a  brief  to  plead  for  the  Russians,  and 
determined  to  regard  everything  through 
Muscovite  spectacles,  but  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  peep  over  the  rims,  and  <le- 
precatingly  say  what  he  saw  with  his  own 
eyes.     For,  in  his  very  spirited  account  of 
Tiflis,  amidst  whose  vines  Bodenstedt  com- 
posed his  Mirza  Schaffy,  after  describing  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  motley  crowd,  the 
quaint  head-gear  of  the  German  women, 
which  makes  them  wonderful  ornaments  of 
the  streets,  the  huge  cylindrical  hats,  veils  of 
black  crape  and  serge  robes  of  the  clerics, 
and  the  pointed  hats  and  yellow  robes  of 
the  Persians,  he  deplores  his  meagre  ac- 
count of  the  place,  whose  "  picturesque  side 
even  suffers  in  the  hands  of  a  traveller,  who 
must  own  that  he  has  no  eye  for  costume." 
The  same  repugnance  to  relating  what  he 
saw,   Mr.  Bryce  also  feels   to   recounting 
what   he    heard   from    the    Grand    Duke 
Michael's   adjutant-general,    to    whom    he 
mysteriously  alludes  as  one  of  the  ablest  men 
in  the  Russian  service,  now  (1878),  as  he  be- 
lieves, commanding  one  of  the  divisions  of 
the  Russian  army  in  Bulgaria.     There  can 
be  no  reason  why  this  gentleman  should 
not  have  been  named.    It  was  Prince  Imeri- 
tinski  with  whom  Mr.  Bryce  had  a  long 
conversation  both  before  and  after  dinner, 
"  in  which  the  prince  showed  a  mastery, 
not  only  of  European  politics  generally,  but 
even   of   English    party   politics,   and  the 
views  and  sympathies  of  our  leading  states- 
men, which  few  of  our  own  soldiers  or  diplo- 
matists could  have  equalled.     Remember- 
ing that  conversation,  I  can  understand  the 
temptation  which  an  'interviewer'  has  to 
report  what  an  eminent  person  says  to  him, 
that  I  will  resist."     How  Mr.  Bryce  can 
that   an   interviewer's  duty  is   a 

293 


imagme 


4    . 


1 

1 


f] 


\: 


:.'i 


i 


!1| 


MOUNT  ARARAT.] 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


[a.d.  1870-77. 


temptation  it  is  not  easy  to  understand  ; 
and,  in  all  probability,  Prince  Imeritin^ki 
■will  scarcely  feel  grateful  to  Mr.  Bryce  for 
withholding  from  the  public  the  proofs  of 
that  mastery  of  European  and  English 
politics  *'  which  few  of  our  own  diplomatists 
could  have  equalled." 

However,  having  bid  farewell  to  Prince 
Imeritinski,  Mr.  Bryce  and  his  companion 
set  out  on  their  journey  from  Tiflis  towards 
Ararat,  and  Mr.  Bryce  the  advocate,  gives 
place  to  Mr.  Bryce  the  traveller,  a  change 
•which  is  so  agreeable  that  few  persons  will 
care  about  renewing  the  former  gentleman's 
acquaintance  outside  of  any  court  of  which 
lie  may  choose  to  be  an  ornament.     Hence- 
forth  he  recounts  his  experiences  and  im- 
pressions with  vivacity  and  a  true  feeling 
for  colour  and  the  thousand-and-one  beau- 
ties of  picturesque  detail  which  fill  up  the 
requisite    pictures  of   harmony    Nature    is 
never  weary  of  presenting,  or  surrounding 
the  varied  works  of  her  children  with.    Thus 
his  description  of  Erivan,  with  its  little  bit 
of  Russian  varnish  here  and  there  in  the 
streets,  is  an  excellent  photograph  coloured 
by  a   master-hand  ;   and   the   "  busy  parti- 
coloured crowd,"  vibrating  in  and  out  of  the 
mouths  of  the  dark  arcades  of  the  bazaars, 
clustering  like  bees  round  the  stalls  where 
heaps  of  liuge  green  and   golden    melons, 
plums,  apples,  and,  above  all,  grapes  of  the 
richest  hue  and  flavour  lie  piled  up,  con- 
veys a  most  accurate  idea  of  Eastern  life. 
Still  Mr.  Bryce  manages  to  spoil  even  this 
picture  when  he  finishes  it  with  the  words 
— "  It  is  a  perfectly  Eastern  scene,  just  such 
as  any  city  beyond  the  frontiers  would  pre- 
sent, save  that  in  Persia  one  would  see  men 
crucified  along  the  wall,  and  both  there  and 
in    Turkey    might    hear    the    shrieks    of 
wretches   writhing   under   the  bastinado." 
No  doubt  this  is  literally  correct ;  but  to 
make  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  plain  to 
the  ordinary  reader,  the  hiatus  at  the  end 
ought  to  be  filled  up  by  the  necessary  "if," 
which  the  conditional  mood  requires  for  its 
amplification.      The  crucifixions  would  be 
seen,  and  the  shrieks  of  the   bastinadoed 
wretches  might  be  heard,  if  there  were  any, 
and  if    anybody   were   there    to    chronicle 
them.     But  naturally  Mr.  Bryce  does  not 
seriously  mean  to  say  that  these  are  the  or- 
dinary   sights    and    sounds    greeting    the 
traveller  "  beyond  the  frontier."     If  he  did 
say  so,  his  assertion   would  have  precisely 
the  same  value  as  the  harassing  stories  re- 
counted on    hearsay    by    Captain  Burnaby 
204 


regarding  Russian  barbarity,  and  would 
merit  grave  reproof  when  proceeding  from 
men  of  such  culture  and  penetration  as 
Mr.  Bryce. 

At  Erivan,  Mount  Ararat  was  in  sight, 
and  Mr.  Bryce  was  naturally  eager  to  press 
forward  and  stand   upon   the  snowy  cones 
that  glittered  down  upon  the  sunny  scene 
below.      Engaging   a   tarantass,    the    two 
I  travellers  jolted  over  the  rocks  embedded 
,  in  fine  dust,  termed   by  courtesy  a  road, 
and  drove  past  the  cotton-fields,  bright  with 
yellow  blossoms  and  snowy  puffs  of  down, 
and    the   vineyards    "loaded   with    purple 
fruit,"  which  were  surrounded  by  high  mud 
walls,  and  guarded  by  peasants  to  warn  off 
travellers  who  might  be  inclined  to  counter- 
act the  effects  of  the  dust  with  the  luscious 
fruit.     Thus  they  arrived  at  Aralykh,  the 
Russian  frontier  station  at  the  foot  of  Ara- 
rat, where  they  were  received  by  a  Moslem 
noble,  Colonel  Shipshof,  whose  culture  and 
education,  comprising  a  full  knowledge  of 
such   works  as   those   by  Mr.   Buckle  and 
Mr.IIerbert  Spencer,  show  that  Islam  does 
not  in  itself  prevent  the  adoption  of  Western 
ideas  and  habits.     The  only  drawback   to 
his  enjoyment  of  his  host's  hospitality  was 
Mr.  Bryce's  inability  to  cope  with  the  mos- 
quitoes, which  he  endeavoured   to  combat 
with    carbolic  acid  with   no   more   success 
than  burning  a  hole  in   his  forehead,  and 
counteracting  one  pain  by  another  and  a 
greater.     Had  he  tried  ammonia  he  would 
have  been  less  tormented,  and  perhaps  have 
foregone  his  revenge,  which  he  inflicts  on 
his  readers,  and  not  on  the  mosquitoes,  in 
the  shape  of  a  physiographical  and  historical 
account  of  Mount  Ararat,  occupying  forty- 
five  pages,  and  which  form  as  tiresome  a 
prelude  to  his  account  of  the  ascent  of  the 
mountain  as  the  wranglings  and  ditficulties 
of  procuring  guides   and    the  rest  of  the 
paraphernalia  which  preceded  his  attack  on 
the  snowy  giant.     At  last  he  succeeded  in 
starting,  with  his  companion  and  escort  of 
Kurds  and   Cossacks,  whose  energy,  how- 
ever, was  not  equal  to  his  own,  for  they 
gave  in  when  the  ice-axe  had  to  be  used, 
and  left  Mr.  Bryce  to  attain  the  summit 
alone,  and  gaze  alone  on  the  vague,  misty 
scene  below,  dim  and  indistinct  as  the  tra- 
ditions which  arise  from  it,  and  envelop  the 
vanerable   peak   with  a  cloud  of  mystery 
impenetrable  to  the  faithful.     But  though 
he  found  a  piece  of  hewn  timber  high  up 
the  slope  beyond  the  tree-line,  which  might 
be  a  piece  of  gopher-wood  and  a  remnant  of 


t.i' 


I 


A.D.  1870-77.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  ANNEXATION. 


the  ark,  though  he  has  his  own  private 
theory  about  the  relic,  which  he  does  not 
communicate  to  his  readers,  Mr.  Bryce  was 
not  believed  by  the  Archimandrite  of  Etch- 
miadzin  when  he  told  him  he  had  ascended 
the  mountain.  "  No,"  the  venerable  man 
smiled  sweetly;  "no,  that  cannot  be.  No 
one  has  ever  been  there.  It  is  impossi- 
ble." 

The  foregoing  descriptions,  it  will  have 
been  seen,  apply  to  the  country  south  of 
the  main  range  of  the  Caucasus.  Colonel 
Kasbek  describes  territories  which,  at  the 
time  he  wrote,  were  still  under  Turkish 
rule.  Mr.  Bryce, on  the  other  hand,  describes 
regions  which  have  for  some  time  been 
under  Russian  rule.  In  Colonel  Kasbek's 
work,  it  will  also  have  been  observed,  the 
liistory  of  the  races  inhabiting  these  parts 
is  treated  as  though  the  Russians  had  some 
sort  of  historical  claim  to  them,  and  the 
names  given  to  them  such  as  are  unintel- 
ligible to  a  larjje  number  of  readers.  It 
will  have  surprised  a  good  many  people  to 
hear  that  the  race  which  the  Russians  call 
Grusinians,  or  Grusians,  are  our  old  friends 
the  Georgians.  This  family,  split  up  into  a 
number  of  more  or  less  closely-related 
branches,  Mingrelians,  Imeritians,  &c.,  is 
scattered  about  as  far  as  the  river  Tschorok, 
where  they  become  merged  with  Kurds, 
Armenians,  and  Turks. 

Now,  after  Georgia  had  been  handed  over 
to  Alexander  I.  in  1799,  and  the  country 
was  fully  taken  possession  of  by  the  Russian 
troops,  the  government  at  once  proceeded 
to  annex  the  history  of  the  Georgians  even 
as  they  annexed  the  land.  That  has  been 
the  principle  on  which  the  Russian  govern- 
ment has  proceeded  from  time  immemo- 
rial. As  soon  as  they  acquired  a  fresh 
territory,  they  at  once  adopted  its  history 
and  its  claims.  Beginning  by  overthrowing 
these  claims  in  one  direction,  it  ended  by 
enforcing  them  in  others.  Thus  the  Tartar, 
having  overthrown  one  section  of  the  Slavs, 


at  once  decked  himself  in  the  stolen  plumes, 
and  made  his  new  position  the  basis  for 
attacking  the  other  sections,  acquiring  thera 
by  diplomatic  means  if  possible,  but  other- 
wise by  completely  crushing  them,  as  in  the 
case  of  Poland.  From  such  beginnings  has 
arisen  the  claim  of  the  Russian  government 
to  be  the  protector  of  all  the  Slavs. 

The  same  process  is  now  in  course  of 
execution  in  the  Caucasus.  Having  sub- 
jugated the  Circassians,  the  Georgians,  and 
the  Armenians,  they  have  also  taken  posses- 
sion of  their  history ;  and  now,  in  endless 
works  of  larger  or  smaller  dimensions, 
brochures  and  newspaper  articles,  they  lay 
claim,  in  their  character  of  Circassians, 
Georgians,  and  Armenians,  to  the  history, 
traditions,  and  former  possessions  of  these 
races.  Amongst  each  section  they  stir  up 
the  ambition  to  regain  what  once  they  lost. 
Russia  is  thus  the  Revolution  incarnate  and 
personified.  This  mode  of  action  is  just  the 
sahae  as  if  England,  in  virtue  of  her  once  hav- 
ing been  conquered  by  the  Saxons  and  Nor- 
mans, were  now  to  claim,  and  make  war  upon, 
Germany  and  France  ;  or  as  if  Prussia  were 
to  consider  herself  justified  in  claiming  the 
whole  of  France  in  consequence  of  her  pos- 
session of  Alsace  and  Lorraine. 

Thus,  having  assumed  the  championship 
of  the  Slav  races  in  Europe,  of  the  Georgian 
and  Caucasian  races  in  Turkey,  we  may 
now  be  prepared  to  find  Russia  assume  the 
protectorate  of  all  the  Mongolian  races,  and 
so  on,  till  she  is  stopped  when  she  comes 
into  contact  with  other  European  powers, 
if  it  be  not  too  late  then.  It  is  also  quite 
within  the  range  of  probabilities  that  she 
will  one  day  lay  claim  to  Germany,  in  virtue 
of  her  possessing  the  German  provinces  on 
the  Baltic. 

This  is  one  of  the  phases  of  the  Eastern 
question  it  is  well  to  bear  constantly  in 
mind.  It  must  be  regarded  from  a  broad 
point  of  view,  and  not  from  one  of  petty 
details,  which  can  always  be  explained  away. 

295 


i ' 


I,  /■. 


,,   * 


r 


PANSLAVISM.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1860-78. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


PANSLAVISM   AND   THE   RUSSIAN   PRESS. 


The  procedure  of  the  Russians  in  annex- 
ing the  history  and  traditions  of  the  people 
whose  territory  they  seize,  was  never  more 
strongly  exemplified  than  in  the  case  of 
Poland,  especially  during  the  period  imme- 
diately preceding  the  Polish  rebellion  of 
1863-'64.  Of  this  rebellion  it  is  here  scarcely 
necessary  to  say  more  than  that  it  was  a 
final  effort  of  the  Polish  nobility  to  re- 
cover their  heritage,  which  was  frustrated 
partly  by  the  apathy  of  the  peasantry, 
partly  by  the  hostile  attitude  of  Russia 
and  Austria,  but  chiefly  through  the  excep- 
tionally severe  measures — exceptional  even 
for  Russia,  which  is  saying  all  that  can  be 
Baid — adopted  by  the  Russian  commanders, 
both  military  and  civil,  to  crush  the  move- 
ment. 

The  rebellion  broke  out  in  1863 ;  and, 
led  by  Langievicz,  who  was  named 
"  Dictator,"  dragged  on,  without  any  hope 
of  success,  until  the  autumn  of  1864,  when 
the  last  bands,  under  the  leadership  of 
Lelewel,  a  pumpmaker  of  Warsaw,  were 
finally  routed  at  the  battles  of  Batorsch 
and  Panisoufka.  Lelewel  himself  was 
killed ;  the  leaders  of  the  enterprise  abroad, 
such  as  Czartoryski,  threw  up  the  sponge; 
the  secret  committees  dissolved,  and  the 
Polish  rebellion  of  1863  became  a  matter 
of  history — added  a  fresh  blood-stained 
page  to  the  bloody  annals  of  the  Muscovite 
empire. 

But  though  a  military  defeat,  though  the 
crushing  nature  of  the  blow  was  for  the 
moment  complete,  the  Polish  rebellion  had 
consequences  which  are  being  felt  to  the 
present  day;  for  it  was  this  rebellion  which 
set  the  Panslavonic  party  mto  practical 
action,  and  brought  Panslavism  forward  | 
from  the  region  of  philosophical  theories  I 
into  the  domain  of  what  Lord  Derby  called 
practical  politics. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  fermen- 
tation preceding  and  following  the  Cri- 
mean war.  Liberal  ideas,  democratic  am- 
bitions, socialist  plans,  were  all  mixed  up 
together,  and  prosecuted  for  this,  that,  and  ; 
the  other.  Meetings  were  held  demanding 
a  constitution ;  journals  attacking  the  I 
government  were  eagerly  read,  and  none 
296 


more  than  the  Kolkol,  or  "Bell,"  which 
was  published  by  Hertzen  during  his  exile. 

All  this  agitation  soon  produced  a  con- 
siderable effect.  The  students  at  Moscow 
and  St.  Petersburg  entered  into  and  formed 
a  number  of  secret  societies  ;  in  the 
country,  the  "  Red  Cock" — as  the  Russians 
call  incendiary  fires,  and  to  which  we  have 
already  alluded — spread  terror  all  around. 
The  government  at  once  proceeded  to  act 
in  its  customary  manner  ;  and,  instead  of 
listening  to  the  complaints  of  the  people, 
and  furnishing  redress  where  it  was  neces- 
sary, commenced  a  series  of  those  persecu- 
tions which  have  excited  the  indignation  of 
all  civilised  communities  in  all  atres. 

The  poet  Michailof  was  exiled  to  Siberia, 
where  he  was  soon  killed  by  the  hardships 
he  had  to  undergo.  The  journalist  Tcher- 
nychewski  was  condemned  to  two  years' 
solitary  confinement,  and  then  to  perpetual 
exile  and  hard  labour  in  the  mines.  Mar- 
tianoff,  an  ex-serf,  whose  only  crime  was 
his  advocacy  of  a  constitution,  and  tho 
substitution  of  a  constitutional  monarchy 
in  lieu  of  a  despotic  rule,  was  shot,  with  a 
number  of  others  for  the  same  reasons. 
And  worst  and  most  contemptible  of  all, 
the  government  carried  on  its  crusade 
against  the  advocates  for  a  constitution  by 
causing  a  proclamation  to  be  issued,  com- 
mencing with  the  words — 

"People I  You  wish  for  a  descrip- 
tion OF  THE  INCENDIARIES  WHO  DESOLATE 
YOUR  HOMES  AND  LAY  YOUR  VILLAGES  IN 
RUINS.  Here  is  their  description  : — They 
are  the  people  who  do  not  believe  in  Q-od  ; 
who  do  not  confess  regularly  ;  who  do  not 
go  to  church  assiduously  ;  who  do  not  re- 
spect the  authorities,  and  who  preach  the 
revolutionary  doctrines  of  the  West.  Those 
are  the  incendiaries  who  deliver  your 
homes  up  to  the  flames  I  Whenever  you 
meet  them,  stamp  them  out  like  weeds  and 
vermin." 

It  is  scarcely  credible  that  any  govern- 
ment laying  claim  to  civilisation  should 
act  in  this  manner.  But ^  so  it  was;  and, 
as  might  be  supposed,  the  general  discon- 
tent soon  spread  to  Poland,  where  the 
excitement    became   intense,    and  resulted 


JUR  1860-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[PANSLAVISM. 


in  the  outbreak  of  open  rebellion.  It 
Inight  have  been  thought  that,  with  the 
agitation  in  Russia  itself,  the  Poles  would 
have  received  assistance  from  the  discon- 
tented and  oppressed  within  the  empire. 
The  government  itself  was  afraid  that  such 
might  be  the  case,  and  that  the  discon- 
tented might  take  advantajje  of  the  troubles 
in  Poland  to  try  to  enforce  their  own 
wishes.  Thus  the  czar  addressed  the  im- 
perial guard  in  tones  which  showed  plainly 
bow  great  his  anxiety  on  the  subject  had 
become.  But,  at  the  same  time,  the  gov- 
ernment was  not  sorry  to  see  the  rebellion 
in  Poland  break  out.  It  was  held  that  it 
would  serve,  first  of  all  as  a  diversion,  and, 
secondly,  it  was  determined  that  such  an 
example  should  be  made  of  the  rebels  as 
would  effectually  deter  the  disaffected  Rus- 
sians from  assisting  them  or  forwarding 
their  constitutional  projects.  In  accordance 
with  this  decision,  the  wretched  prisoners 
taken  in  Poland  were  marched  to  their 
destination  in  Siberia  by  the  most  cir- 
cuitous routes,  as  a  warning  to  those  who 
might  be  inclined  to  follow  their  example. 

But  it  was  just  at  this  critical  moment 
that  the  government  received  an  ally  in  a 
quarter  where  it  was  least  expected.  Pan- 
slavism  came  to  the  rescue.  What  Pan- 
slavism  is,  we  will  endeavour  to  make  clear 
to  our  readers. 

The  Urst  features  which  most  strike  the 
inquirer  into  this  subject,  are  the  simi- 
larities and  dissimilarities  of  the  various 
Slav  dialects  to  and  from  each  other,  which 
are  very  puzzling  to  the  foreigner  who  has 
made  himself  passably  acquainted  with  one 
of  them,  and  trusts  to  this  knowledire  to 
carry  him  through  the  various  countries 
where  the  rest  are  spoken.  He  then  finds, 
if  he  is  trusting  to  Polish,  that  his  know- 
ledge is  of  very  little  use  in  Russia  or  in 
the  Servian  and  Bulgarian  provinces ;  and 
by  the  time  that  he  has  acquired  a  know- 
ledge of  Servian,  he  finds  that,  though 
Russian  is  not  quite  so  strange  a  tongue, 
still  he  is  unable  to  carry  on  a  conversation 
with  a  Czech.  The  contention  of  the  Pan- 
slavonians,  therefore,  that  tlu^re  is  no 
greater  ditference  between  the  Slav  dialects 
than  there  is  between  the  dialects  of  France 
or  Germany,  is  apt  to  strike  one  as  con- 
siderably exaggerated.  The  enthusiastic 
Pauslavist,  however,  at  once  replies  that 
this  is  an  entirely  erroneous  impression, 
due  to  the  foreiofner's  not  havintr  studied 
the  various  dialects,  and  being  consequently 
VOL.  11.  2  Q 


unable  to  perceive  their  identity.  The 
objection  that  the  very  necessity  of  a  study 
of  these  dialects  proves  their  non-identity 
does  not  weigh  in  the  least  with  the  Pan- 
slavist.  Such  study,  he  asserts,  should 
form  an  integral  portion  of  every  Slav's 
education;  but  he  will  not  acknowledge 
that  this  is  still  only  a  desideratum  until 
he  has  been  quite  driven  into  a  corner,  and 
forced  to  confess  that  the  difference  be- 
tween a  dialect  and  a  language  is,  that 
whilst  the  dialect-speaker  is  always  able  to 
speak  the  standard  language  of  his  country, 
there  is  no  obligation  for  the  speaker  of 
one  language  to  be  able  to  speak  another. 
Thus  the  Catalan,  who  habitually  prefers 
speaking  his  own  favourite  patok,  is  always 
able  to  speak  Spanish  ;  but  there  is  many 
a  Basque  who  cannot  speak  a  word  of 
Spanish  or  French.  Plattdeutsch  is  very 
similar  to  Dutch ;  but  though  the  Platt- 
deutscher  is  always  able  to  speak  German, 
he  is  not  able  to  speak  Dutch.  Spanish 
and  Basque,  Dutch  and  German,  are  dis- 
tinct languages;  but  Catalan  and  Low 
German — Plattdeutsch — are  dialects;  and 
the  Panslavist's  contention  is,  that  all  the 
Slav  languages  are  equally  dialects.  But 
when  he  is  asked  what  the  standard  lan- 
guage is,  the  reply  varies  with  his  nation- 
ality. M.  Aksakoff  would  at  once  answer, 
Russian.  Prince  Czartoryski  or  Prince 
Lubomirski  would  reply,  Polish.  Herr 
Skrejschowski  would  say,  Czech.  ]M.  Mija- 
tovich  would  stoutly  insist  upon  Servian, 
and  Cardinal  Mihailovich  claim  Croatian 
for  the  standard  tongue.  Others,  like 
Bishop  Strossmayer,  would  still  deny  any 
fundamental  differences,  and  assert  that  all 
that  is  required  to  furnish  the  Slav  races 
with  one  common  tongue,  is  a  judicious 
arrangement  of  the  grammar  and  the 
choice  of  a  common  alphabet.  Nothing 
could  be  droller  than  to  compare  Bishop 
Strossmayer's  statement  that  there  is  really 
no  difference  in  the  various  dialects  beyond 
j  the  alphabet,  with  the  fact  that  he  is 
j  obliged  to  talk  French,  German,  or  Italian 
I  with  Count  Drohojowski,  his  secretary,  a 
i  Polish  nobleman,  who  miofht  be  seen  work- 
I  ing  hard  to  master  the  mysteries  of  the 
I  Servian  tongue,  in  order  to  prepare  himself 
I  for  his  cure  at  Belgrade.  And  not  only 
was  he  unable  to  talk  Servian,  but  he  was 
equally  unable  to  converse  in  Croat,  and 
had  to  speak  German  with  his  colleague, 
Canon  Vorsak,  and  others. 

But  there  are  other  facts  of   historical 

297 


THE  SLAV  TONGUES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  I8G0-78. 


Dotoriety  which  prove  that  there  must  be  a 
very  fundamental  difference  between  many 
of  the  Slav  languajjjes.  For  instance,  the 
rigour  with  which  tlie  Russian  government 
excludes  Polish  from  the  national  schools, 
and  makes  the  secret  teaching  of  the  lan- 
guage an  offence  against  the  law.  No  less 
great  is  the  rivalry  between  the  academies 
at  Agram  and  Belgrade.  And,  finally, 
there  is  the  evidence  of  the  czar  and  czarina 
themselves,  who,  in  reply  to  a  deputation 
in  1867,  expressed  their  sorrow  that  the 
Slav  races  were  not  in  possession  of  a  com- 
mon alphabet  and  a  common  orthography. 
In  addition,  the  czar  said  to  this  depu- 
tation— "  We  have  always  regarded  the 
Serbs  as  our  brethren,  and  I  hope  your 
affairs  will  soon  take  a  more  favourable 
turn.  Meanwhile,  I  welcome  you  all,  my 
beloved  Slavonic  brethren,  on  this  our  com- 
mon Slavonic  soil,  and  hope  you  will  be 
satisfied  with  your  reception  in  Moscow 
and  St.  Petersburg."  The  deputation,  be 
it  remembered,  to  which  these  words  were 
spoken,  consisted  of  Austrian,  Seivian,  and 
Turkish  Slavs. 

Now,  taking  the  imperial  words  literally, 
the  mere  fact  of  these  Slav  races  being  lin- 
guistically divided  by  different  alphabets 
and  orthographies  alone  shows  a  consider- 
able difference  between  them ;  and  this 
difference  becomes  still  more  glaring  when 
we  consider  the  possibility  of  the  imperial 
wish  being  fulfilled.  There  are  three 
alphabets  in  use  amongst  the  Slavs.  The 
Russians,  Ruthenes,  Montenegrins,  and 
Serbs  employ  the  same  Cyrillian  character. 
The  Bulgarians  make  use  of  an  ancient 
form  of  this  alphabet;  whilst  the  rest  of  the 
Slavs,  both  north  and  south  of  the  Danube, 
have  adopted  the  Roman  letters,  with  the 
addition  of  various  accents — the  acute, 
grave,  inverted  circumflex,  and  others — in 
order  to  represent  the  combinations  of 
letters  which  correspond  to  the  number  of 
sounds  used  by  the  Slavs,  for  which  the 
Roman  alphabet  possesses  no  single  equiva- 
lents. This  modified  Roman  alphabet  is 
thus  a  bastard  product,  for  which  there  is 
really  no  excuse  except  in  so  far  as  it  may 
save  time.  But  it  is  very  questionable 
whether  it  is  easier  to  write  "Cernavoda  " 
than  it  is  to  write  "  Tchernavoda "  or 
*'  Chernavoda ;"  it  would  be  much  the 
same  as  if  we  were  to  write  muc  instead  of 
"much,"  or  sail  instead  of  "shall,"  whilst 
still  keeping  the  characters  c,  s,  and  A,  for 
other  combinations.  In  short,  all  these 
298 


signs  and  accents  with  which  the  Poles, 
Czechs,  Croats,  and  Slovaks  have  burdened 
the  Roman  alphabet,  are  scarcely  more 
than  national  vanities,  which  could  only  be 
justified  by  the  national  importance  of  the 
races  indulging  in  them;  and  it  can  scarcely 
be  expected  that  the  vast  Slavic  majority 
of  Russians,  Serbs,  Montenegrins,  and  Bul- 
garians, should  give  up  one  of  their  great 
national  characteristics — the  Cyrillian  al- 
phabet— in  exchange  for  a  bastard  Roman 
alphabet.  Whether  the  world  would  not 
be  a  gainer  by  their  doing  »o,  and  whether 
the  Roman  alphabet  would  not  be  made  to 
represent  Slavic  sound  without  an  encum- 
bering mass  of  accentual  excrescences,  is  of 
course  another  question,  to  which  there 
would  be  different  replies.  But  there  is  no 
doubt  that,  from  a  national  and  Slavic 
point  of  view,  the  Russian  alphabet  would 
afford  by  far  the  best  medium  for  Slavic 
intercourse.  As  Dr.  Carl  Abel  says,  in  an 
article  on  the  subject  in  the  AllgeTneine 
Zeiturifj,  the  Czechs  and  Poles  would  gain 
as  much  by  using  the  Cyrillian  letters  as 
the  Russian  and  Serbs  would  lose  by 
adopting  the  Czech-Polish  alphabet. 

But  whilst  there  would  be  no  difficulty 
in  adapting  the  various  Slavic  languages 
to  the  Cyrillian  character,  the  introduction 
of  a  common  orthography  presents  far 
more  difficulties.  It  is  true  that  the  Slavic 
idioms  are  closely  related,  and  have  many 
roots  in  common  ;  but,  in  very  many  cases, 
not  only  are  the  roots  very  different,  but 
also  the  endings,  prefixes,  and  other  in- 
flexions. Generally  speaking,  the  roots, 
even  when  they  are  identical,  possess  differ- 
ent endings  in  the  different  idioms.  Thus 
we  find  that  the  Russian  for  "to  smoke" 
is  Kur-iti,  the  Polish,  Kur-zlc,  so  that 
whilst  the  root  Kur  might  be  subjected  to 
one  common  orthography,  a  choice  between 
Russian  and  Polish  would  have  to  be  made 
for  the  ending.  Still  less  possible  would 
it  be  to  find  one  common  form  for  the 
Russian  tem-ny,  the  Polish  ciem-ny,  and 
the  Serb  czer-ny^  "  dark  ;"  or  for  the  Rus- 
sian 8ve-ti,  the  Serb  sev-ati,  "  to  gleam," 
the  Russian  zec-i,  and  the  Slovak  Kuh-atif 
"  to  burn,  glow,  roast." 

But  the  difficulties  presented  by  thpso 
more  or  less  awkward  forms  are  small  in 
comparison  to  those  which  arise  when  the 
word  not  only  differs  in  form  but  also  in 
meaning.  The  reduction  of  the  Sloven© 
kutati  and  the  Russian  zigati  to  one  com- 
mon form  would  be  useless  as  long  as  the 


A.D.  1860-'78.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  SLAV  TONGUES. 


former  signified  "  to  cook  "  and  the  latter 
"  to  burn,"  The  Russian  cook  would  have 
to  be  pitied  if,  in  obedience  to  her  Slovene 
master's  orders  to  cook  the  fowl,  she  were 
to  burn  it  instead !  What  would  be  the 
use,  again,  of  reducing  the  Serb  disati  and 
the  Slovene  zdUtati  to  one  common  spell- 
ing as  long  as  one  word  means  "  to 
breathe  "  and  the  other  "  to  sigh  ?"  But 
so  it  is  throughout.  Words  which  average 
the  same  signification  are  just  as  rare  as 
the  words  averaging  the  same  form.  And 
not  only  this,  but  the  development  of  one 
root  assumes  widely  different  proportions 
amongst  the  various  families,  and  to  .a 
much  greater  extent  than  is  the  case  in 
other  European  languages. 

For  instance,  whilst  such  words  as  voda, 
"  water ; "  kraj,  "  edge ; "  koza,  "  goat ;  " 
dati,  "  to  give,"  &c.,  are  the  same  in  Rus- 
sian and  Servian,  the  roots  of  other  words 
have  received  a  different  development.  Thus 
the  Russian  udariti,  "  to  push,  knock,"  be- 
comes turiti  in  Servian ;  polk^  "  a  com- 
pany," becomes  puk;  zli,  "wicked,"  be- 
comes zao  ;  boloto,  "  swamp,"  becomes  blato 
— with  the  additional  equivalent  of  mlaka ; 
eeci,  "  to  break,"  becomes  tuci^  and  so  on 
ad  injinititm. 

The  establishment,  therefore,  of  one  com- 
mon standard  for  all  the  Slav  tonfjues 
would  be  no  easy  undertaking.  The  diffi- 
culties will  be  best  realised  by  supposing  a 
plan  set  on  foot  for  a  Pan-Teutonic  lan- 
guage, comprising  German,  English,  Dutch, 
and  the  Scandinavian  tongues.  It  would 
be  found  that  the  first  difficulty  would  be 
to  induce  the  Germans  to  abandon  their 
peculiar  alphabet,  or  the  English  and  Dutch 
to  abandon  the  Roman  alphabet,  whilst  the 
Swedes  and  Norwegians  agreed  to  give  up 
their  peculiar  accentuation  and  compound 
letters.  This  having  been  accomplished, 
say,  in  favour  of  the  English  alphabet,  the 
next  step  would  be  to  introduce  a  common 
orthography.  The  simple  words  would  first 
be  disposed  of  by  groups,  varying  according 
to  their  differences.  The  be<jinninor  would 
be  made  with  those  words  identical  in 
sound  and  meaning,  but  differ^'ng  in  spell- 
ing, such  as — fish,  Fwch;  stool,  Stuhl; 
mouse,  Maus  ;  house,  Haus :  sour,  Sauer ; 
beer.  Bier,  &c.  In  these  words  it  is  clear 
that  one  nation  must  yield  to  the  other,  or 
compromise — say,  "sour"  become  sauer, 
and  "  stuhl "  become  stul — the  h  being 
superfluous  even  according  to  German  views, 
wohl  frequently  being  written  woL     The 


next  step  would  be  to  take  the  words  iden- 
tical in  spelling  and  meaning,  but  differing 
in  pronunciation,  such  as — land.  Land; 
hand,  hand ;  band.  Band ;  brand.  Brand  ; 
stand,  Stand;  all.  All;  ball.  Ball;  fall. 
Fall ;  stall,  Stall^  &c.  To  harmonise  the 
difference  of  pronunciation  it  would  be 
necessary  to  determine  the  quantity  of  the 
letter  a.  Then  it  would  be  necessary  to 
determine  the  quantity  of  the  other  vowels, 
and  to  decide  whether  the  English  i  should 
represent  the  German  ei,  or  vice  versa — 
whether  "  fine  "  should  not  be  written  Fein, 
or  Schein  be  expressed  by  "  shine,"  and  so 
on  with  the  rest  of  the  vowels  and  diph- 
thongs. After  this  had  been  settled,  the 
consonants  would  have  their  turn,  and  the 
interchanges  of  d,  t,  v,f,p,  b,  have  to  be 
fixed.  Thus,  whether  Garden  or  Garten; 
hard  or  hai^t ;  before  or  bevor,  should  be 
the  standard.  And  when  all  this,  and  much 
more  which  is  very  simple,  is  satisfactorily 
settled,  there  would  be  the  question  of  the 
development  of  the  various  roots.  In  such 
a  series  as — 

English— to  flee      to  fly       fledgling      flutter 
German— ^ie/i€n     fliegen     Vogel  Jlattern 

the  question  would  arise  as  to  which  devel- 
opment would  have  to  be  the  standard,  and 
also  as  to  what  is  to  become  of  the  English 
word  "bird."  Would  that  disappear  in 
favour  of  Vogel  or  vice  versa,  or  would  they 
both  have  to  be  adopted  ?  Or,  for  instance, 
in  a  series  like — 


English — to  flow        float 
Getm&u—Jliessen       Floss 


flood        flush 
Fluth        — 


what  part  would  these  words  play  in  the 
standard  tongue  ?  Would  "  float  "  take  the 
form  oijioss  with  its  signification  of  "  raft," 
or  the  verb  "  to  float"  be  retained,  as  it  has 
no  equivalent  in  German  beyond  schwim" 
men,  "to  swim?"  And,  finally,  would 
"  flush  "  (in  the  sense  of  sousing),  for  which 
there  is  no  similarly  sounding  expression  in 
German,  also  become  one  of  the  standard 
words  ? 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  establishing 
a  standard  Panslavonian  tongue  will  now 
be  evident  from  this  comparison ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  must  not  be  considered 
as  an  impossibility.  It  is  a  question  of 
power.  It  is  a  question  as  to  which  lan- 
guage is  entitled  by  its  development  and 
literature  to  form  the  standard,  and  then, 
as  to  whether  the  race  speaking  this  lan- 
guage   possesses    the   power   to   force   the 

299 


i  I 


SERGEI  AKSAKOFF.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1860-78. 


I 


I!     . 


others  to  accept  it.  There  can  be  do  doubt 
that  the  Russian  tongue  fulfils  the  first 
conditions.  It  is  well  developed;  it  is  a 
rich  and  a  powerful  language,  and  it  pos- 
sesses a  noteworthy  literature — a  literature 
which,  though  young,  has  already  taken  no 
mean  place  amongst  the  literatures  of  the 
world.  The  Poles  and  Czechs,  it  is  true, 
possess  tolerably  developed  languages  and  a 
certain  literature,  but  they  cannot  be  com- 
pared to  the  Russian  ;  whilst  the  Croats, 
Herbs,  Bulgarians,  Slovaks,  and  Slovenes 
have  neither  a  grammatically  fixed  lan- 
guage nor  any  literatures.  They  could 
1  lierefore  only  gain  by  being  grafted  on  to 
the  Russian  tongue  and  literature.  The 
Poles  and  Czechs,  it  is  true,  might  also  ad- 
vance a  claim  to  establish  the  standard ;  but 
liere  the  second  consideration  comes  into 
play.  Have  they  the  political  power? 
Clearly  not.  But  assuming  that  Servia,  Bul- 
garia, Croatia,  and  Bohemia  were  incorpo- 
rated with  Russia,  there  can  scarcely  be  any 
doubt  that  their  own  linguistic  differences 
would  speedily  disappear  in  the  Russian 
tougue,  a  process  that  would  be  forwarded 
ill  no  small  degree  by  the  wonderful  facility 
tiie  Slavic  races  possess  in  acquiring  other 
tongues.  The  difficulties,  which  would  be 
almost  insuperable,  in  the  way  of  amalga- 
mating English  and  German  would  scarcely 
be  felt  by  the  Slavs.  Giving  up  ciem-ny 
or  czer-ny  for  tem-ny  would  not  incommode 
them  in  the  least  if  they  once  sacrificed 
their  little  national  vanities  in  the  distinc- 
tion of  their  languages,  or  if  they  were 
forced  to  abandon  them  by  the  strong  hand 
Russia  has  made  felt  in  Poland,  in  Lithu- 
ania, and  in  Finland.  If  by  such  means  the 
Germans  in  Alsatia  were  turned  into 
Frenchmen  ;  if  bv  such  means  these  French- 
men  are  to  be  turned  again  into  Germans ; 
if  similar  processes  were  and  are  carried  out 
in  Schleswig-Holstein,  what  is  there  to  pre- 
vent the  Russians  from  achieving  the  same 
success,  especially  when  the  differences  in 
the  lanoruaofes  are  so  much  slighter?  There 
is  nothing  to  prevent  it.  On  the  contrary, 
granted  the  power,  it  would  be  the  most 
natural  process.  The  only  thing  which 
could  prevent  it  would  be  the  national 
jealousies  of  the  various  families.  Hence 
the  great  error  of  the  Austrians  in  trying  to 
stifle  the  national  tongue  and  literature  of 
their  Slavonic  subjects  instead  of  forward- 
ing them,  and  thus  make  Czech,  Pole,  and 
Croat  less  willing  to  merge  their  own  na- 
tional languages  in  another,  though  a  kin- 
300 


dred  one.  This  also  explains  bow  political 
Panslavism  and  literary  Panslavism  act  and 
re-act  on  each  other  ;  how  one  is  impossible 
without  the  other ;  and,  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess being  so  much  in  its  favour,  why  the 
Germans  regard  Panslavism  with  such 
horror.  Hence  the  German's  fear  of  Russia 
as  the  one  power  which  might  make  Pan- 
slavism a  reality,  and  which  advocates  the 
establishment  of  minor  Slavonic  States 
alonfjf  the  Danube,  with  Austria's  becomins: 
a  Slavonic  power,  as  the  best  means  of 
erectinof  a  charmed  barrier  between  them 
and  the  Panslavonic  spectre,  behind  which 
lurks  Russia  with  her  vast  military  organi- 
sation. 

But,  apart  from  these  philological  diffi- 
culties, the  existence  of  so  many  rival  nation- 
alities and  churches  within  the  Russian 
empire  ;  the  disorders  and  disturbances  aris- 
ing therefrom ;  the  close  relations  of  these 
nationalities  to  each  other  and  those  of 
kindred  race  in  other  countries,  also  caused 
the  want  to  be  felt  of  a  unifying  element. 
Unity  was  desired,  and  various  measures 
were  adopted  to  attain  it,  into  which  we 
need  not  now  enter.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
they  were  not  successful.  The  "  great  idea  " 
was  still  wanting  in  a  clear,  definite  shape, 
though  it  had  presented  itself  more  or  less 
vaguely  and  dimly  to  many  enlightened 
men.  The  first  who  began  to  see  his  way 
more  clearly  was  the  author  of  the  welf- 
known  "  Chronicles  of  a  Russian  Family," 
Sergei  Timofeyevitch  Aksakoff.  The  ideas 
he  gradually  formed  on  the  subject  were 
eagerly  imbibed  and  developed  by  his  two 
sons,  the  elder  of  whom  (bom  1817,  in 
Moscow,  and  died  in  the  island  of  Zante, 
1860)  was  in  fact  the  practical  founder  of 
the  Slavophil  party,  and  the  author  of  the 
theory  according  to  which  Russia,  as  the 
most  powerful  of  the  Slav  families,  is  to  re- 
generate the  Pagan  West  in  the  future,  but 
for  the  present  to  break  with  it  entirely,  and 
confine  herself  to  the  development  of  a 
purely  national  life,  and  restore  the  power 
and  unity  of  the  Eastern  Orthodox  Church. 
This  idea  soon  found  many  advocates  and 
disciples ;  amongjst  them  were  the  elder 
AksdkotTs  intimate  friend,  Khomiakoff,  the 
late  Samarin,  and  the  brothers  Kireyeffski, 
wiio  were  the  first  to  seriously  study  the 
national  life  of  the  Russians,  their  peculiari- 
ties, their  resemblances,  their  dissimilari- 
ties ;  to  seek  for  common  ground  on  which 
all  could  meet,  and  to  give  Panslavism  a 
scientific   basis   in   the   history  of  Russia. 


if 


»-} 


tll 


I? 


/A.D.  1860-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  "dyen." 


How  successful  this  little  band  of  enthusi- 
asts was,  the  progress  of  Panslavism  suffi- 
ciently shows.  Still,  though  an  ever-growing 
idea,  it  remained  an  idea  until  the  events  of 
1854-'56  greatly  increased  the  more  or  less 
latent  repugnance  to  Western  nations  and 
habits,  and  changed  it  into  a  bitter  ani- 
mosity that  has  been  growing  stronger  and 
stronger  for  the  last  twenty  years,  and  fur- 
nished the  younger  brother,  Ivan  AksakofF, 
"with  a  basis  to  put  his  ideas  into  practical 
execution.     Unanimously  he  was  accepted 
as  the  chief  apostle  of  the  doctrine  founded 
by  his   brother.     Excluded  under  the  old 
regime  from  all  public  activity,  his  labours 
had  been  confined  to  occasional  works  on 
the  national  industries  of  Russia ;  but  in 
1861,  after  the  reforms  of  1860  had  granted 
to  the  Russian  press  considerable  liberties, 
he  established  a  weekly  journal,  the  Dyen 
(The  Day),  which  was  speedily  recognised  as 
the  chief  organ  of  the  national  party.     The 
object  of  this  party,  in  the  first  instance, 
was  to  gain  the  old,  orthodox  Conservative 
Russians — the  Muscovites  proper — over  to 
the  doctrines  of  Panslavism.     Regeneration 
was  to  proceed  from  Moscow,  and  Panslav- 
ism was  to  be  its  cheval  de  bataille.     That 
being  the  case,  it  was  of  course  necessary, 
first  of  all,  to  enforce  these  doctrines  at 
home  before  propagating  them  practically 
abroad.      Hence  the   chief  objects  of  the 
Dyen's  attacks  were  the  nobility,  the  bu- 
reaucracy, and  the  higher  clergy,  a   bitter 
article  against  the  latter  causing  its  suspen- 
sion in  1862.     Old-fashioned  Conservative 
Moscow  was,  in  fact,  attacking  innovating 
St.  Petersburg  with  its  varnish  of  Western 
civilisation  and  employmentof  foreigners  in 
various  branches  of  the  service.     It  never 
wearied  in  its  attacks,  bitter  garcasm  and 
fiery  invective    being    freely    and    undis- 
guisedly  applied,  so  that  the  friends  it  had 
gained  in   the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
czar  could  not  prevent  its  suspension.     But 
in  that  short  year  the  Dyen  had  already  be- 
come a  power.      It  had  focussed  into  its 
pages,  as  it  were,  the  desires  and  demands 
that  had  been  growing  louder  and  louder 
throughout  the  empire  since  the  Crimean 
war,  and  presented   them  with  a  concen- 
trated intensity  that  showed  there  was  here 
an  immense  force  for  good  or  for  evil,  and 
an  engine  the  government  would  do  well 
not  to  destroy,  but  keep  under  control  for 
its  own  use  in  case  of  necessity.     We  are 
able  to  state,  on  the  best  of  authority,  that  at 
this  period  the  czar  was  much  harassed  in 


reference  to  the  Dyen  and  its  principles. 
The  Court  party  of  St.  Petersburg  nobility, 
as  well  as  the  higher  clergy,  and  all  the 
Grerman  party  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
insisted  on  the  total  suppression  of  the  ob- 
noxious paper,  and  advocated  strict  mea- 
sures against  the  apostles  of  its  doctrines. 
One  person,  however,   pointed  out   to  the  . 
czar  that  this  phenomenon  was  in  a  great 
measure  the  result  of  his  reforms,  and  an 
inevitable  stage  in  the  development  of  the 
national  life,  to  suppress  which   would  be 
practically   to   suppress   the   reforms    just 
granted.     It  was  but  the  natural  fermenta- 
tion the  reforms  had  given  rise  to,  and  was 
simply  carrying  out  their  further  work  by 
ejecting  the  dross  and  scum,  to  eliminate 
which  the  czar  had  initiated  these  reforms 
that  had  so  much  redounded  to  his  credit. 
The  czar  fully  perceived  the  truth  of  these 
observations,  and  the  Dyen  was,  as  we  have 
said,  only  temporarily  suspended.    AksakofF 
was  made  aware  of  the   opinion  the  czar 
entertained  of  the  movement,  and,  relying 
on  this  bulwark,  redoubled  his  attacks.     A 
special  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  his 
talents  was  offered  by  the  Polish   rebellion 
in  1863-'64.     The  Dyen,  seconded  by  the 
Moscow  Gazette  and  M.  Katkoff — of  whom 
more  hereafter — was  the  most  violent  of  all 
the  journals   which    waged   a    bitter    war 
against  those  degenerate  Slavs,  the  Poles, 
who  had  been  corrupted  by   the   evil  ways 
and  habits  of  the  West,  who  had  forsaken 
the  Holy  Orthodox  Church,  and  fallen  a 
victim  to  the  snares  of  Romanism.     It  de- 
manded the  sternest  measures — the  aboli- 
tion of  Roman  Catholicism,  the  complete 
Russification   of  Lithuania,  the  liberation 
not  only    of  the  Polish   provinces    under 
Austrian  and  Prussian  rule,  but  also  of  the 
Ruthenians,  the  Zechs,  and  the  Croats,  &c. 
This  language  of  the  Dyen  led  to  such  re- 
monstrances from  the  Prussian  and  Austrian 
embassies  and  parties,  that  the  government 
was  at  last  forced  to  proceed  against  it.  But 
as  neither  warnings   nor  suspensions  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  Aksdkoff  to  moderate  the 
tone  of  the  paper,  it  was  finally  suppressed. 
Aksakoff,  however,  knew  the  power  of  the 
force  at  his  back,  and  he  knew  also  that  the 
czar  still  favoured  his   views.      Thus    the 
Dyen  reappearei  in  the  form  of  a  large 
daily  paper,   which,  under    the    titles    of 
Moskwd  and  Moshwitydnin,  according  as 
it  was  suppressed  or  suspended,  still  carried 
on  a  bitter  war  against  the  foreign  elements 
in  the  government  and  the  empire.   Foreign 

301 


i.  ^'  i 


AKSAKOFF   AND  THE  COURT.]        HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1860-78. 


affairs,  however,  especially  since  the  aban- 
donment of  the  Cretans,  and  the  relations 
of  Russia  to  Germany — or,  rather,  Prussia 
— were  in  a  condition  that  made  this  atti- 
tude very  awkward  for  the  government ; 
and,  finally,  the  czar  was  obliged  to  withdraw 
from  the  protection  of  M.  Aks^koff,  though 
he  did  not  withdraw  his  favour. 

These  things,  coupled  with  his  endless 
quarrels  with  the  Bureau  de  Presse,  caused 
Aksakoff  to  retire  for  a  while  from  public 
life,  again  confining  his  labours  to  scientific 
studies,  and  presiding  at  the  sittings  of  the 
Slav   committee    he    had    established,    or 
helped  to  establish.     In  truth,  however,  the 
Court  party  had  become  too  strong  for  him ; 
and  for  a  time  he  was  in  dangfer  of  becominor 
a  torgotten  man,  as  far  as  the  czar  was  con- 
cerned,  when  an  event  occurred  that  not 
only  brought  him  to  the  front  again,  but 
was  also  the  means  of  his  acquiring  influ- 
ence in  another  and  probably  more  powerful 
quarter — at  least  for  the  future.    This  event 
was  the  famine  of  1867-'68.     As  president 
of  one  of  the  committees  formed  for  the 
relief  of  the  sufferers,  he  entered  into  cor- 
respondence with  the  hereditary  grand  duke, 
and  was  afforded  the  opportunity,  besides, 
of  giving  his  imperial  highness  some  very 
valuable  information  and  counsel  touching 
home  and  foreign   affairs.     Several  highly 
interesting    documents    of  this    correspon- 
dence fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Chancellerie, 
which  resulted  in  a  very  lively  exchange  of 
letters   between  the  grand   duke  and   the 
guardians  of  public  security,  resulting  in 
the  victory  of  the  latter  for  the  time  being. 
The  influence,  however,  which  M.  Aksakoff 
thus  gained  over  the  grand  duke — or,  to 
speak    more    correctly,   the    influence   M. 
Ak>dkotrs  theories    had   gained — was   not 
shaken  by  this  victory  of  the  police,  and 
the  grand  duke  is  believed  to  be  the  most 
dangerous  enemy  the  foreign,  and  especially 
the   German,   party   can   have   in   Russia. 
The  relations  of  some  of  the  members  of 
the  imperial  family  to  each  other  and  to 
the  State  authorities  would  form  an  inter- 
esting chapter,  not  without  importance  for 
our  own  relations  with  Russia ;  but  these 
things   are  not  cognate  with  the  present 
subject,  which  is  an  account  of  the  character 
and  objects  of  Panslavism   and   its   chief 
leaders,  whose  triumph  in  influencing  the 
policy   of  the  empire  is   becoming    more 
manifest  day  by  day,  and,  as  far  as  can  now  be 
seen,  will  continue  for  some  years  to  come. 
Panslavism  has  thus  two  objects  in  view 
302 


—the  extension  of  its  doctrines  beyond  the 
limits,  and  their  development  within  the 
limits,  of  the  empire.  To  this  fact  are  due 
the  alternate  favoi'r  and  disfavour  with 
which  it  is  regarded  by  the  authorities.  At 
times  like  those  of  the  Polish  rebellion,  or 
the  present,  its  assistance  is  invaluable ;  and 
as  an  engine  for  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  it  is  unrivalled.  But  in  quieter 
times  the  home  minister  looks  very  much 
askance  at  the  movement,  for  he  has  to 
reap  the  whirlwind  his  colleague  has  sown, 
and  to  try  to  prevent  its  growing  into  the 
tornado  it  threatens  to  become.  In  fact, 
the  spirit  has  been  raised,  and  no  counter- 
spell  is  able  to  lay  him  again. 

Such  is  Panslavism  in  Russia.     In  other 
countries,  in  Austria  and  Turkey,  it  natu- 
rally assumes  another  form,  and  more  ap- 
proaches the  character  of  a  secret  society 
than  in  Russia.     But  even  here  it  is  very 
far  from  being  a  secret  society  in  the  com- 
mon sense  of  the  phrase ;  and  it  resembles 
the  Russian  movement  also  in  having  a  pro- 
tector at  Court,  if  not  in  the  person  of  the 
emperor  himself,  at  any  rate  amongst  his 
surrounders ;  although  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten  that   this  Slavophile  party  at  the 
Court  of  Vienna  do  not  endorse  the  whole  of 
the  Panslavonic  theory.     But  this  party — 
of  which    the   Archduke   Albrecht   is  "the 
reputed  chief — is  just  in  the  same  predica- 
ment as  the   Russian  government.     They 
have  raised  the  storm  and  cannot  control  it. 
They  raised  it  in  1848,  when  they  appealed 
to  the  loyalty  and  national  feeling  of  the 
Slavs  to  support  them  against  the  Hun- 
garian revolt.     Till  then,  Panslavism  had 
made  scarcely  any  progress  in  Austria.    But 
the  moment  that  the  Vienna  government 
invoked  one  nationality  against  the  other, 
and  made  a  distinction  between  the  two 
within  the  empire,  they  also  taught  them 
that  they  had  distinct  interests.   Thus  arose 
that  consciousness  of  the   possession  of  a 
distinct  nationality  of  which  the  Slavs,  and 
especially  the  Croats,  Slavonians,  and  Dal- 
matians, had  almost  forgotten,  or  at  any 
rate  ignored,  the  existence.     But  this  con- 
sciousness once  aroused,  old  privileges  that 
had  been  disregarded,  old  customs  which 
had  fallen  into  desuetude,  and  old  traditions, 
claims,  and  pretensions  and  rights  that  had 
long  remained  dormant,  were  recovered  one 
by  one  from  the  dSbris  of  the  past,  and  re- 
suscitated   into    fresh    and   vigorous    life. 
There  was,  in  consequence,  a  complete  Slav 
revival ;  and  after  the  brilliant  campaign  of 


A.D.  1860-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  crroNiscA. 


the  Ban  Jellacich  with  his  Croatians,  and 
Stratimirovich  with  the  Hungarian  Serbs 
in  1848,  nothing  would  content  the  newly 
awakened  sense  of  nationality  evinced  by 
the  Diet  at  Agram  but  the  creation  of  a 
triune  kingdom  composed  of  Croatia,  Dal- 
matia,  and  Slavonia.  To  strengthen  the 
movement  which  was  to  attain  this  object, 
the  Citonisca  was  founded  in  1849  at  Cat- 
taro.  This  Citonisca  was  a  society  formed 
for  the  propagation  of  Slav  ideas,  the  union 
of  the  various  Slav  races  and  families 
throughout  the  Adriatic,  Istrian,  and  Slav 
districts,  and  to  pave  the  way  to  an  auto- 
nomy within  the  empire.  Branches  of  the 
Citonisca  rapidly  multiplied.  One  was 
founded  at  Ragusa,  and  another  at  Spalato 
in  18^3;  these  were  followed  by  others  at 
Sebenico  in  1866;  at  Trau  in  1867;  at 
Zengg,  Macarsca,  Imoschi,  and  Gelsa  in 
1870;  and  at  present  there  is  not  a  town 
from  Cattaro  to  Agram,  from  Agram  to 
Essegg,  that  has  not  its  branch  society,  or 
a  village  where  there  is  not  an  agent. 
Owinof  to  the  exertions  of  the  Citonisca,  the 
Slav  tongue  has  been  introduced  into  the 
schools  where  hitherto  only  Italian  and 
German  had  been  taught.  It  has  been  in- 
troduced into  the  law-courts,  and  forms  a 
portion  of  the  examination  of  the  candi- 
dates for  the  public  service,  who  were  for- 
merly only  examined  in  German  and  Italian. 
A  Slav  library  has  been  founded  at  Zara 
under  the  title  of  Bibliotheca  Patria,  a 
museum  at  Agram,  as  well  as  an  academy, 
both  of  which  have  been  richly  endowed 
and  assisted  by  Bishops  Strossmayer  and 
Mihailovich,  by  MM.  Gliubich,  CuUsch, 
Miklosich,  and  others;  in  short,  Slav  his- 
tory, language,  and  art,  received  an  amount 
of  attention  that  has  richly  borne  its  fruits, 
so  that  in  all  parts  of  the  provinces  the 
Slavs  have  a  majority  over  the  Italians  and 
Germans — just  the  opposite  to  what  was 
the  case  even  as  recently  as  1861.  The 
Citonisca  has  thus  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful, and  has  completely  gained  the  vic- 
tory over  the  Italian  party,  especially  since 
the  events  of  1866,  before  which  the  Aus- 
trian government  had  more  interest  in  secur- 
ing the  favour  of  its  Italian  subjects  than  it 
has  now  that  Lombardy  and  Venice  are  lost 
to  it.  There  is,  therefore,  no  secrecy  about 
the  Citonisca,  in  which  the  Court  party  at 
Vienna  does  not  participate.  Its  object, 
the  autonomy  of  the  Slav  provinces  in  one 
or  more  groups,  is  avowed ;  and  it  is  allowed 
to  advocate  this  object  in  the  Diet,  in  its 


'  periodicals  and  daily  journals,  without  let 
or  hindrance.  As  M.  Aksdkoff  and  the 
Moscow  committees  thundered  against  the 
Poles  and  the  foreign  elements  at  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, so  does  the  Diet  at  Agram,  so  do 
Bishop  Strossmayer,  Canon  Vorsak,  and 
others  thunder  against  the  Magyars,  the 
Jews,  and  Germans  who  support  the  Beust 
abortion  of  1866.  In  a  certain  sense  it  is 
true  that  the  Citonisca  is  a  secret  society — 
it  is  so  in  all  that  concerns  the  Hungfarian 
government,  and  its  organisation  is  so  com- 
plete that  nothing  short  of  the  sword  could 
break  it  up.  It  entertains  intimate  rela- 
tions with  the  Omladina,  with  the  Moscow 
committee  and  the  Czech  Club.  It  has 
special  agents  at  the  Vatican ;  it  is  in  con- 
nection with  the  various  branches  of  the 
International,  and  certainly  neglects  no 
opportunity  of  striking  a  blow  at  its  deadly 
enemies,  the  Magyars.  Though  the  Hun- 
garians have  the  control  of  the  post  and 
telegraph  oflices,  the  Citonisca  has  its  own 
system,  which  ensures  the  safety  of  its  cor- 
respondence ;  if  arms,  ammunition,  <S:c.,  are 
required  for  a  rising,  the  Citonisca  purchases 
them,  and  provides  for  their  introduction 
into,  and  transmission  through,  the  country, 
in  spite  of  the  government  at  Pesth,  for  it 
knows  that  its  accomplices  at  the  Court  of 
Vienna,  if  not  powerful  enough  just  yet  to 
procure  the  object  in  view,  is  at  any  rate 
strong  enough  to  prevent  its  persecution. 
Thus  we  have  here  the  sinfjular  exhibition 
of  a  government  being  practically  a  member 
of  a  society  directed  against  itself,  and  see- 
ing the  time  approach  when,  like  the 
government  of  St.  Petersburg,  it  will  have 
to  break  with  its  accomplices,  or  adopt  their 
views  entirely,  and  carry  them  into  execu- 
tion. And  the  government  at  Vienna  is,  in 
our  opinion,  much  nearer  to  this  decisive 
point  than  is  that  at  St.  Petersburg.  An 
amusing  instance  of  this  strange  state  of 
affairs  occurred  in  1866,  during  the  Austro- 
Prussian  war.  An  English  gentleman  was 
arrested  at  Dalmatia,  on  a  charge  of  espion-' 
nage,  by  the  Austro-Italian  authorities.  He 
was  handed  over  to  the  care  of  two  Hun- 
garian Hussars,  who  had  orders  not  to  let 
him  out  of  sight.  The  Hungarians  were 
greatly  disgusted  at  having  to  do  police 
duty  for  the  "  Slovaks,"  and  advised  their 
prisoner  to  apply  to  the  Hungarian  com- 
mander-in-chief. This  lie  did,  and  an  order 
came  speedily  for  his  release.  But  mean- 
while the  Vienna  authorities  had  ordered 
him  still  to  be  kept  in  durance  vile,  and 

303 


■{< 


i"  I 


THE  OMLADINA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1860-79. 


sent  on  to  Vienna.  But  the  Hungarian 
officer  who  had  charge  of  him,  and  possession 
of  his  body,  put  him  on  board  one  of  the 
Lloyd  steamers  bound  for  Corfu.  The  matter 
■was  subsequently  quite  satisfactorily  settled 
at  Vienna.  But  in  1876,  the  same  indi- 
vidual, on  landing  in  Dalmatia,  happened 
to  meet  the  same  officer,  who,  remembering 
the  circumstances,  conceived  a  suspicion 
that  perhaps  after  all  he  was  a  spy,  and  had 
him  arrested  for  some  irregularity  in  his 
passport,  and  ordered  not  to  leave  his  hotel. 
Within  half  an  hour,  several  members  of 
the  local  Citonisca  had  called  upon  the 
"prisoner,"  and  before  the  day  was  out  he 
was  released — this  time  by  an  order  from 
Vienna,  in  spite  of  counter-orders  from 
Pesth. 

The  Omladina,  with  which  the  Citonisca 
co-operates  for  the  time  being,  differs  con- 
siderably in  its  objects  from  the  Citonisca. 
Its  organisation  is,  however,  precisely  tlie 
same,  though  not  publicly  so  developed  as 
the  Citonisca,  as  it  is  of  more  modern 
origin  in  its  practical  form,  and  the  Hun- 
garians have,  not  quite  unsuccessfully,  op- 
posed it  from  the  first,  having  taken  warn- 
ing by  the  progress  of  the  Citonisca. 
Though  more  frequently  mentioned,  it  has 
nothing  like  the  power  of  the  Citonisca  as 
an  independent  body ;  but,  co-operating 
with  the  Citonisca,  the  Moscow  com- 
mittees, and  the  Czech  Club,  it  is  so  far  of 
great  importance,  and  able  to  create  a 
diversion  that  might  seriously  embarrass 
the  Hungarian  government.  Besides  the 
general  objects  of  Panslavism,  the  Omla- 
dina pursues  a  separate  object,  that  object 
being  to  unite  the  Serbs  as  distinguished 
from  the  Croats,  and  to  procure  not  only 
an  autonomy  within  the  limits  of  the 
Austrian  empire,  but  the  absolute  inde- 
pendence of  a  Serb  State,  under  the  rule  of 
Prince  Milan,  Prince  Karageorgevitch,  or 
any  other  Serb.  The  person  of  the  future 
ruler  is  a  matter  of  secondary  importance. 
The  distinction  between  Serb  and  Croat  is 
the  same  as  that  between  Muscovite  and 
Pole;  the  Serbs  belong  to  the  Orthodox 
church,  and  the  Croats  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  so  that  there  is,  ab  initio, 
a  cause  for  opposition  between  them,  and 
the  co-operation  of  the  two  more  or  less  of 
a  temporary  and  artificial  character. 

The  cause  for  the  existence  of  the  Omla- 
dina within  the  bounds  of  the   Austrian 
empire,  is  furnished  by  the  presence  of  the 
Serb  colonies  in  Southern  Hungary,  rang- 
304 


ing,  roughly  speaking,  from  Sissek  on  the 
Save,  and  Vukova  on  the  Danube,  down  to 
Orsova,  the  chief  centres  being  Neusatz, 
Carlovitz,  the  seat  of  the  Serb  patriarchate, 
and  Panscova.  These  colonies  were  founded 
at  different  epochs,  on  the  invitation  of  the 
Austrian  government,  under  the  guarantee 
of  certain  rights  and  privileges,  which, 
however,  had  become  gradually  disregarded 
and  merged  in  the  interests  of  the  empire. 
But  having,  on  the  whole,  little  to  com- 
plain of,  the  Serbs  of  Hungary  did  not 
insist  on  the  observation  of  their  privi- 
leges. They  got  on  well  enough  with  the 
German  administration,  though  they  did 
not  escape  the  influence  of  the  general  Slav 
revival ;  and  in  1848,  following  the  example 
of  the  Croats,  they  began  to  clamour  for 
the  restitution  of  their  rights,  and  all  the 
more  so  when  they  were  placed  under  Hun- 
garian rule.  Thus  arose  the  Omladina,  or 
Young  Servia,  the  chief  leaders  of  which 
are  the  well-known  agitators  Miletics  and 
Dr.  Michael  Polit,  both  members  of  the 
Hungarian  Diet  for  Neusatz  and  Panscova. 
Miletics  is  by  far  the  most  powerful  of  the 
Omladina  leaders;  is  of  untiring  energy, 
rancorous  and  persistent  in  his  hatred  of 
the  Hungarians,  against  whom  he  never 
ceased  his  attacks  in  his  journal,  the  Zas- 
tava,  published  at  Neusatz.  He  is,  in  fact, 
the  Aksakoff,  and  his  paper  the  Dyen  of 
South  Hungary.  Dr.  Michael  Polit,  a 
native  of  Neusatz — where  his  brother 
carries  on  the  business  of  a  linendraper — 
was  brought  up  to  the  bar,  and  is  more  a 
man  of  the  world,  more  ready  to  give  and 
take,  especially  the  latter,  than  his  friend 
Miletics.  While  Miletics  would  be  content 
with  nothing  less  than  a  great  Servia, 
Polit  would  be  satisfied  with  an  autonomi- 
cal  compromise ;  but  the  Omladina  sup- 
ports Miletics,  and  Moscow  supports  the 
Omladina,  which,  therefore,  as  far  as  Hun- 
gary is  concerned,  is  a  secret  society  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  phrase,  and  a  treason- 
able society  in  so  far  as  it  demands  the  in- 
corporation with  Servia  of  the  Serb  dis- 
tricts of  Hungary,  or,  vice  versa,  the  in- 
corporation of  Servia  with  the  Serb  por- 
tions of  Hungary  under  an  independent 
regirno*  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising 
that  the  Hungarians  should  have  arrested 
Miletics  on  a  charge  of  treason,  and  have 
prohibited  Omladinist  meetings.  At  the 
same  time,  they  have  not  molested  Polit, 
as  being  tlie  man  of  compromise  through 
whom  they  can  preserve  direct  relations 


A.D.  1860-^78.J 


with  the  malcontents.   What  the  Omladina 
wants  in  numbers  and  means,  it  amply  re- 
places  by  redoubled  energy  and  agitation, 
for  which  the  proximity  to  Servia  offers 
favourable    opportunities.     The   organisa- 
tion is  very  complete.     A  general  letter  of 
introduction  from  any  of  the  leaders  of  the 
party  ensures  the  owner  the  welcome  and 
assistance  of  all  the  members,  every  town 
and   every  village   having  its   committees 
and  agents,  who   are  ready  for  anything, 
from  procuring  an  oka  of  Turkish  tobacco 
duty-free  from  the  other  side,  to  sending 
over  a  cargo  of  arms  and  gunpowder.     Yet, 
notwithstanding  the  difference  between  the 
objects  of  the  Omladina  and  the  Citonisca, 
the  Austrian  government  makes  use  of  it 
as  a  means  of  playing  off  the  Serbs  and 
Slavs  against  the  Magyars,  and  is  thus  as 
much  a  member  of  the  Omladina  as  it  is  of 
the  Citonisca.     Through  it  the  government 
is  made  aware  of  all  that  passes  in  Bel- 
grade, and  of  much   that  passes   even   in 
Moscow  and  Cettinje,     It  is  chiefly  owing 
to  this  knowledge,  and  keeping  up  rela- 
tions with  the  party,  that  has  enabled  the 
Austrian  government  to  keep  its  way  open, 
and  reserve  to  itself  the  leadership  of  the 
Slav  party  against  the  Hungarians,  as  soon 
as  the  forces  become  too  strong  to  be  con- 
trolled   in    any  other    way.     As    for   the 
Polish  societies,  such  as  the  Sila  and  Ogynsko 
("Strength"  and  "  Hearth  "),  as  well  as 
the  Czech  clubs  and  associations,  Mercury 
and  so  on,  both  Poles  and  Czechs  are  such 
good    Catholics,  that  the  government  can 
well  afford  to  ignore  the  frantic  attempts  to 
frighten  it  by  a  pretended  or  real  under- 
standing with  the  Orthodox  committees  of 
Russia.     The  attacks  of  Skrejschowski,  the 
proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Folitik,  pub- 
lished  at   Prague,  have  not   much    more 
than  a  local  interest,  except  in  so  far  as 
they  are  made  on  behalf  of  a  section  of 
financiers  and  capitalists  who  are  waging 
war  against  the  Jew  interest,  as  represented 
by  the  Kene  Freie  Fresse  of  Vienna. 

Such  is  the  general  aspect  of  Panslavism. 
It  was  this  force  which  came  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Russian  government  in  1863. 
It  was  led  by  a  triumvirate — by  Prince 
Gortchakoff,  General  Mouravietf,  and  a 
more  powerful  leader  still — by  M.  Katkoff, 
who  did  practically  for  Panslavism  what 
M.  Aksakotf  did  theoretically  and  philo- 
sophically. 

M.  Katkoff  is  the  editor  of  the  Moscow 
Gazette,  of  whom  Mr.  Mackenzie  Wallace 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  "Moscow  gazette." 


VOL.  II. 


2r 


gave  a  8hoi:t  account  recently.    Mr.  Wallace 
says — 

"M.  Katkoff    is  the    son    of    a    parish 
priest,  and  was  formerly  professor  of  philo- 
sophy in  the  University   of  Moscow.     He 
first  came   prominently   before  the  public 
during  the  first  years  of  the  present  reign. 
At  that  time  the  stern  repressive  system  of 
administration  practised  by  the  Emperor 
Nicholas,  in  imitation  of  Metternich,  was 
abolished,  and    a    considerable    liberty  of 
opinion  was  allowed  by  the  Russian  govern- 
ment.    Taking  advantage  of  that  new  free- 
dom,  M.    Katkoff    founded   a   fortnightly 
review,  called  the  Eusski  Vyestnik,  and  soon 
afterwards  became  editor   of  the  Moscow 
Gazette,  which  was  then  an   insignificant 
organ  belonging  to  the  Moscow  University. 
Very  soon  circumstances  brought  M.  Kat- 
koff to  the  front.     When,  in  1863,  the  out- 
burst of    Liberalism   which   followed   the 
Crimean  war  was  at  its  height,  the  Polish 
insurrection  broke  out,  and  there  was  natu- 
rally a  moment  of  hesitation.     Those  who 
had  been  talking  of  liberty,  equality,  and 
fraternity  could  not  consistently  blame  the 
Poles  for  attempting  to  cast  off  a  foreign 
yoke,  and  at  the  same  time  they  could  not, 
as    Russian   patriots,  sympathise  with  the 
insurgents.     What  was  to  be  done  ?     Some 
oracles  gave  forth  an  uncertain  sound,  but 
M.  Katkoff  did  not  follow  their  example. 
He  declared  boldly  that  much  of  the  pre- 
vailing Liberalism  was  absurd   sentiment- 
ality, which,  if  indulged  in,  must  lead  to 
the  dismemberment  of  the  empire  ;  and  he 
preached  that  doctrine  with  such   energy 
and   eloquence   that    he   rapidly   acquired 
enormous   influence.     Since  that  time  he 
has  always  advocated  the  consolidation  of 
the  empire  by  the  abolition  of  such  local 
privileges  as  exist  in  Finland  and  the  Baltic 
provinces,  and  the  suppression  of  what  a 
German      would      call      Particularismus, 
wherever  it  appeared.     When,  for  exam- 
ple, an  attempt  was  made  to  revive  the 
peculiar  dialect  of  Little  Russia— differing 
from  Great  Russian  pretty  much  as  Low- 
land Scotch  differs  from  English— he  thun- 
dered against  the  movement  as  a  symptom 
of     this    so-called     Particularismus.       In 
foreign  affairs  he  always  recommends  to  the 
government  a  '  spirited  foreign  policy ; '  and 
when    complications     arise    with    foreign 
powers,  he   generally  waxes   bellicose,  and 
uses  strong  language  regarding  those  whom 
he  regards  as  the  enemies  or  rivals  of  his 
country.     Though  an  admirer  of  English 

305 


II 


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I.I 


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N 


KATKOFF  AND  HERTZEN.j 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1860-78. 


A.D.  1860-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  CEN'SORS. 


institutions — to  such  an  extent  that  he  was 
at  one  time  often  called,  jocularly,  '  Lord 
Katkoff ' — he  commonly  speaks  of  England 
in  the  most  hostile  and  uDflattering  terms 
when  he  discusses  the  Eastern  question." 

We  have  quoted  this  passage  by  Mr. 
Wallace  just  to  show  how  party  history  is 
made.  He  slurred  over  the  Polish  rebel- 
lion of  1863,  because  the  deeds  then  done 
by  the  Russians  were  scarcely  of  a  nature 
to  recommend  them  even  to  the  most  opti- 
mistic persons,  who  refused  to  see  any  evil 
in  Russia. 

We  will  supplement  Mr.  Wallace's 
meagre  information  regarding  M.  Katkoff. 
He  received  his  education  at  the  German 
universities  of  Konigsberg  and  of  Berlin, 
where  he  was  a  pupil  of  the  philosopher 
Schelling.  It  was  to  this  connexion  with 
Schelling  that  M.  Katkoff  owed  his  apti- 
tude for  philosophical  problems,  which  his 
ambition  led  him  to  turn  into  practical 
measures,  whereby  he  climbed  the  ladder 
which  he  placed  on  the  foundation  of  blood 
and  misery,  in  Poland,  he  was  the  chief  ad- 
vocate of.  Up  to  the  year  18G2  he  had 
been  professor  of  philosophy  at  Moscow; 
then  he  became  editor  of  the  Moscoiv 
Gazette^  which  is  the  property  of  the  uni- 
versity ;  but  resigned  his  position,  as  the 
authorities  were  then  still  unprepared  to  go 
the  length  he  wished.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  Alexander  II.'s  reign  he  established 
a  paper  called  the  Russian  Messenger, 
which  soon  became  more  notorious  than 
popular.  In  this  paper  he  advocated 
liberal  measures ;  and  it  was  owing  to  his 
articles  on  the  British  constitution  that 
he  gained  the  name  of  "  Lord  Kat- 
koff," to  which  Mr.  Wallace  alluded.  The 
government,  as  may  be  imagined,  did  not 
regard  M.  Katkoff  with  favour.  He  was 
excluded  from  society,  but  at  the  same  time 
bitterly  attacked  by  the  Conte'^nporai^,  a 
Liberal  and  Socialihtic  journal, which  seemed 
instinctively  to  know  the  character  of  the 
man. 

Suddenly,  when  the  Polish  troubles  com- 
menced, and  the  government  was  sore 
pressed  with  anxiety,  M.  Katkoff  turned 
completely  round,  and  commenced  a  series 
of  the  fiercest  attacks  upon  Hertzen  and 
all  the  Liberals  of  any  denomination.  He 
proclaimed  the  bitterest  war  against  the 
Poles,  insisted  on  crushing  all  rebels  who 
endeavoured  to  sow  dissension  amongst  the 
Slav  races,  and  called  upon  the  govern- 
ment to  adopt  the  strongest  measures  in 
306 


its  power.  He  exhorted  all  true  Panslavists 
to  support  the  government  in  its  holy  work 
of  re-uniting  all  the  Slav  races,  and  annihi- 
lating the  enemies  of  Slavonic  unity. 

Of  course,  M.  Katkoff  was  energetically 
supported  by  the  government  authorities 
and  papers  ;  and  his  success  soon  became  so 
great,  that  for  the  time  he  was  the  most 
popular  man  in  Russia — a  fact  rather  signi- 
ficant for  the  Russian  character.  But  bold 
as  were  all  his  propositions,  none  was  bolder 
than  the  one  advocating  the  appointment 
of  Mouravieff  to  the  military  governorship 
of  Poland.  How  Mouravien  accomplished 
his  mission,  how  the  atrocities  of  Wilna 
caused  his  name  to  be  execrated  as  intensely 
as  that  of  Haynau,  the  woman-flogger,  is 
too  well  known  to  need  recapitulation. 
Yet  this  was  the  man  whom  Katkoff  ele- 
vated on  a  pedestal,  and  called  upon  the 
Russian  people  to  worship. 

And  they  did  worship  him.  He  was 
presented  with  a  golden  image  of  the  Arch- 
angel Michael,  to  whom  he  was  compared 
in  a  most  fulsome  address,  which  was  signed 
by  a  number  of  the  most  influential  per- 
sons, especially  women,  such  as  the  Blon- 
doff,  Mestcherskoi,  Strogonoff,  Dolgorou- 
koff,  Karamsin,  Bouterlin,  &c.  Prince 
Suwaroff,  however,  refused  to  sign  this 
address,  saying  that  Mouravieff^s  apotheosis 
was  of  far  too  bloody  a  nature  for  him  to 
soil  his  hands  with.  For  this  refusal 
Prince  Suwaroff  was  fiercely  attacked  by 
M.  Tuschef,  whom  the  Russians  at  this 
time  honoured  with  the  title  of  the  Rus- 
sian Juvenal.  Tuschef  wrote  a  number  of 
verses  addressed  to  the  prince,  in  which  he 
reminded  him  of  the  sacking  of  Warsaw  by 
his  grandfather. 

"Sensitive  plant,"  he  said,  "tender 
grandson  of  a  warlike  grandfather,  pardon 
us,  0  sympathetic  prince,  pardon  us 
Russians  for  honouring  the  great  Russian 
Anthropophagus — the  Russian  cannibal — 
without  consulting  Europe.  If  we  are  to 
be  dishonoured  for  writing  him  our  address, 
so  be  it,  prince  ;  but — your  valiant  grand- 
father would  have  signed  it ! " 

Having  once  started  on  the  path  of  incit- 
ing the  government  to  crush  any  attempt 
at  liberty,  and  all  endeavours  of  the  races 
subjugated  by  Russia  to  regain  their  free- 
dom, M.  Katkoff  had  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  he  would  never  be  at  a  loss 
for  material  to  fill  his  paper  with.  He  had 
only  to  look  round  him.  When  the  Arme- 
nians revolted  in  Tiflis  in  1865,  M.  Katkoflf 


at  once  came  to  the  front,  and  demanded 
Polish  measures.  When  disturbances 
broke  out  in  Georgia,  M.  Katkoff  at  once 
bade  the  government  quell  them  with  the 
bayonet,  and  bring  out  its  chains  to  lead 
the  rebels  captive  to  Siberia — those  who 
might  happen  to  be  left,  as  the  energetic 
editor  euphoniously  expressed  himself.  And 
if  by  chance  there  did  not  happen  to  be  a 
rebellion  anywhere,  M.  Katkoff  protested 
against  the  continued  oppression  of  the 
Lettes  by  the  Germans,  and  shrieked  out 
for  the  complete  Russification  of  the  Baltic 
provinces,  with  their  German  populations. 
In  short,  his  anthropophagism  (to  use 
Tuschef  s  expression)  was  so  great,  that  even 
his  own  countrymen  could  not  abstain  from 
ridiculing  him.  A  satirical  paper,  the 
Iskra — the  Spark — represented  him  in  the 
guise  of  a  monster  half-human,  half-bred, 
intently  studying  two  turtle-doves,  and 
trying  to  discover  whether  they  had  any 
separatist  tendencies,  or  were  contemplat- 
ing a  rebellion  against  each  other. 

Such  is  M.  Katkoff.  His  relations  to 
the  Russian  government,  and  the  way  in 
which  he  is  regarded  at  the  Russian  Court, 
are  best  described  when  we  mention  that, 
in  1877,  he  was  highly  honoured  by  the 
czar,  and  Madame  Katkoff  appointed  maid 
of  honour  to  the  Russian  empress. 

At  the  same  time,  the  relations  of  the 
Russian  press  to  the  government,  are  best 
exemplified  by  a  description  of  the  censor- 
ship. 

A  number  of  censors  are  employed  at  the 
post-office,  whose  duty  consists  in  marking 
the  objectionable  passages  in  the  foreign 
journals,  which  are  then  stamped  out  with 
a  layer  of  printer's  ink,  so  that  when  the 
subscriber  gets  his  paper  it  presents  very 
chequered  reading  indeed.  Means  were, 
however,  discovered  of  removing  this  veil 
without  obliterating  the  incriminated 
passage,  and  the  authorities  were  forced  to 
employ  a  fresh  mixture  of  colour,  which 
defied  all  attempts  to  remove  it.  It  is, 
however,  the  censorship  as  applied  to  books 
and  home  journals  that  most  tries  the 
patience  of  author  and  reader.  Thus  the 
Dorpat  censor,  De  la  Croix,  took  great 
umbrage  at  a  passage  in  a  statistical  work, 
which  stated  that  "the  Cossacks  ride  on 
little,  insignificant  horses."  "  Little  "  and 
"  insignificant "  were  words  he  considered 
derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  anything 
belonging  to  the  Russian  empire,  so  he 
struck  them  out,  leaving  the  astonishing 


news  that  "the  Cossacks  ride  on  horses." 
In  an  article  on  "Learned  Women,"  the 
Polish  journalist  Liebalt  began  with  the 
sentence — "  There  are  some  things  which, 
like  a  couple  of  rough-hewn  blocks,  do  not 
fit  together.  To  such  things  we  must  add 
Woman  and  Learning."  The  censor,  Herr 
von  Peucker,  struck  out  the  whole  of  this 
sentence  because  Catherine  II.,  having  been 
a  learned  woman,  the  author  thus  indirectly 
asserted  that  her  majesty  of  blessed  memory 
was  a  rough-hewn  block  also.  Durin<r  the 
Crimean  war  an  account  was  given  of  the 
famine  in  some  Swedish  provinces.  The 
censor  allowed  this  article  to  pass  with  the 
exception  of  one  word— Swedish— which 
was  altered  into  "French,"  inasmuch  as 
the  Russians  were  then  at  war  with  France, 
but  at  peace  with  Sweden,  In  an  article 
on  Italy,  the  words  "  0  sanctissima  dulcis 
virgo  Maria,"  were  struck  out,  with  the 
observation  that  the  censor  was  not  supposed 
to  censorise  Italian !  On  another  occasion 
Herr  von  Peucker  struck  out  the  whole  of 
an  article  from  the  hivalide  Russe,  reply- 
ing to  the  editorial  remonstrances  by  writ- 
ing on  the  proof-sheet  the  words,  naprass- 
noye  mnogosslowiye  (unprofitable  gabble !) 

In  the  first  volume  of  Mr.  Wallace's  "Rus- 
sia," the  only  chapter  upon  which  the  censor 
has  put  his  black  finger  is  that  dealing  with 
the  imperial  administration  and  the  officials. 
Thus,  at  p.  313,  Mr.  Wallace  has  been 
allowed  to  tell  some  very  plain  truths  about 
the  corruption  of  officials ;  but  the  following 
sentence  has  been  deleted : — 

"  The  czar,  indeed,  might  do  much  to- 
wards exposing  and  punishing  offenders,  if 
he  could  venture  to  call  in  public  opinion 
to  his  assistance ;  but  in  reality  he  is  very 
apt  to  become  a  party  to  the  system  of 
hushing-up  official  delinquencies." 

No  censor  could  expect  to  retain  his  post 
who  allowed  such  an  accusation  against  the 
government  to  pass  his  office !  At  p.  314, 
Mr.  Wallace  is  permitted  to  say,  that  "  no 
individual,  even  though  he  should  be  the 
Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias,  can  so  case 
himself  in  the  armour  of  official  dignity  as 
to  be  completely  proof  against  personal  in- 
fluences." But  the  patience  of  the  censor 
stops  there,  and  he  deletes  the  two  sentences 
which  follow: — 

"The  severity  of  autocrats  is  reserved 
for  political  offenders,  against  whom  they 
naturally  harbour  a  feeling  of  personal 
resentment.  It  is  so  much  easier  for  us  to 
be  lenient  and  charitable  towards  a  man 

307 


% 


% 


t%'  *. 


/ 


THE  CENSORS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1860-7g, 


A.D.  1860-78.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


rRIJSSIAN  LITERATURE. 


•who  sins  against  public  morality,  than  to- 
•wards  one  who  sins  against  our  own  in- 
terests ! " 

In  Mr.  Wallace's  second  volume,  the 
chief  excisions  are  made  from  the  chapter 
ou  "  The  Crimean  War  and  its  Conse- 
«|uences,"  in  which  he  gives  an  account  of 
the  dissatisfaction  felt  throughout  the 
country  at  the  defeat  of  the  Russian 
armies.  Mr.  Wallace  speaks  very  frankly 
of  tlie  absolutism  which  was  the  cause  of 
this  disaster;  and  a  very  stringent  censor- 
i«liip,  such  as  existed  under  Nicholas,  would 
have  taken  out  the  whole  chapter,  but  now 
all  but  a  few  passages  have  been  allowed  to 
stand.  Some  of  the  historian's  remarks 
upon  the  late  czar  have  apparently  been 
considered  too  free.  Thus,  at  page  201, 
the  censor  has  taken  exception  to  the  fol- 
lowing passage : — 

"Nicholas  has  been  called  the  Don 
Quixote  of  autocracy,  and  the  comparison 
which  the  term  implies  is  true  in  many 
points.  Ey  character  and  aims  he  belonged 
to  a  time  that  had  long  passed  away ;  but 
failure  and  mishap  could  not  shake  his 
faith  in  his  ideal,  and  made  no  change  in 
his  honest,  stubborn  nature,  which  was  as 
loyal  and  chivalresque  as  that  of  the  ill- 
fated  knight  of  La  Mancha.  In  spite  of 
all  evidence  to  the  contrary,  he  believed  in 
the  practical  omnipotence  of  autocracy. 
He  imagined  that,  as  his  authority  was 
theoretically  unlimited,  so  his  power  could 
"work  miracles.  By  nature  and  training  a 
soldier,  he  considered  government  a  slightly 
modified  form  of  military  discipline,  and 
looked  on  the  nation  as  an  army  which 
might  be  made  to  perform  any  intellectual 
or  economic  evolutions  that  he  miarht  see 
fit  to  command.  All  social  ills  seemed  to 
him  the  consequence  of  disobedience  to  his 
orders,  and  he  knew  only  one  remedy — 
more  discipline.  Any  expression  of  doubt 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  policy,  or  any 
criticism  of  existing  regulations,  he  treated 
as  an  act  of  insubordination  which  a  wise 
sovereign  ought  not  to  tolerate." 

All  this  is  forbidden  reading  to  the  loyal 
Russian  subject!  At  page  210,  again,  it 
hcems  to  have  been  thought  that  Mr. 
Wallace's  description  of  the  prevailing  dis- 
.<!atisfaction  in  1856,  was  too  dangerous  a 
re-awakening  of  old  memories  : — 

"  This  deep  and  wide-spread  dissatisfac- 
tion was  not  allowed  to  appear  in  the 
press,  but  it  found  very  free  expression  in 
the  manuscript  literature  and  in  conversa- 
308 


tion.  In  almost  every  house — I  mean,  of 
course,  among  the  educated  classes — words 
were  spoken  which  a  few  months  before 
would  have  seemed  treasonable,  if  not  blas- 
phemous. Philippics  and  satires  in  prose 
and  verse  were  written  by  the  dozen,  and 
circulated  in  hundreds  of  copies.  A 
pasquil  on  the  commander-in-chief,  or  a 
tirade  against  the  government,  was  sure  to 
be  eagerly  read  and  warmly  approved  of." 

lu  this  chapter  Mr.  Wallace  gives  a 
translation  of  a  tirade  against  the  govern- 
ment (circulated  soon  after  the  Crimeaa 
war,  but  never  printed),  as  an  illustration 
of  the  public  opinion  of  the  time.  Most  of 
it  has  been  authorised,  but  the  following 
impassioned  appeal  to  the  czar  has  been 
struck  out: — 

"Awake,  0  Russia  I  Devoured  by 
foreign  enemies,  crushed  by  slavery,  shame- 
fully oppressed  by  stupid  authorities  and 
spies,  awaken  from  your  long  sleep  of  ig- 
norance and  apathy !  You  have  been  long 
enough  held  in  bondage  by  the  successors 
of  the  Tartar  khan.  Stand  forward  calmly 
before  the  throne  of  the  despot,  and  de- 
mand from  iiim  an  account  of  the  national 
disaster.  Say  to  him  boldly  that  his 
throne  is  not  the  altar  of  God,  and  that 
God  did  not  condemn  us  to  be  slaves, 
Russia  entrusted  to  you,  0  Czar,  tlie  su- 
preme power,  and  you  were  as  a  god  upon 
earth.  And  what  have  you  done  ?  Blinded 
by  ignorance  and  passion,  you  have  lusted 
after  power  and  have  forgotten  Russia. 
You  have  spent  your  life  in  reviewing 
troops,  in  modifying  uniforms,  and  in  ap- 
pending your  signature  to  the  legislative 
projects  of  ignorant  charlatans.  You 
created  the  despicable  race  of  press-censors, 
in  order  to  sleep  in  peace — in  order  not  to 
know  the  wants  and  not  to  hear  the  groans 
of  the  people — in  order  not  to  listen  to 
Truth.  You  buried  Truth,  and  rolled  a 
great  stone  at  the  door  of  the  sepulchre, 
placed  a  strong  guard  over  it,  and  said  in 
the  pride  of  your  heart :  For  her  there  is 
no  resurrection  !  But  the  third  day  has 
dawned,  and  Truth  has  arisen  from  the 
dead. 

"  Stand  forward,  0  Czar,  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  history  and  of  God ! 
You  have  mercilessly  trampled  Truth 
under  foot ;  you  have  denied  Freedom ; 
you  have  been  the  slave  of  your  own  pas- 
sions. By  your  pride  and  obstinacy  you 
have  exhausted  Russia  and  raised  the  world 
in  arms  against  us.     Bow  down  before  your 


brethren  and  humble  yourself  in  the  dust ! 
Crave  pardon  and  ask  advice!  Throw 
yourself  into  the  arms  of  the  people  I 
There  is  now  no  other  salvation  I  " 

The  censor  has  evidently  all  a  courtier's 
care  not  to  let  anything  pass  that  would 
wound  the  feelings,  even  where  it  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  shake  the  authority 
of  the  czar.  Thus,  at  page  309,  where  Mr. 
Wallace  is  attributing  the  credit  of  the 
emancipation  of  the  serfs  to  the  personal 
influence  of  the  czar,  he  remarks,  that  "  had 
the  czar  not  shown  a  decision  and  energy 
of  which  no  one  believed  him  to  be  capable, 
the  solution  would  have  been  indefinitely 
postponed."  The  censor  has  intimated  his 
belief  in  the  emperor's  decision  and  energy 
by  obliterating  these  words. 

Next  to  the  emperor's  dignity,  nothing 
can  be  dearer  to  a  censorship  than  its  own. 
No  one  will,  therefore,  be  surprised  that 
the  following  exclamations  in  the  transla- 
tion to  which  we  have  referred  should  be 
sternly  excised. 

"A  stable-boy  became  press-censor!  an 
imperial  fool  became  admiral ! !  Klein- 
michel  became  a  count ! ! !  In  a  word,  the 
country  was  handed  over  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  a  band  of  robbers." 

A  short  passage  reflecting  on  the  gen- 
darmerie has  shared  the  same  fate.  It  is 
a  curious  fact,  too,  that  while  these  pas- 
sages have  been  expunged  from  the  Eng- 
lish version  of  the  book,  it  is  allowed  to 
circulate  intact  in  a  French  version.  This 
is  simply  owing  to  a  desire  not  to  annoy  the 
French,  whom  the  Russians  hope  some 
day  to  secure  for  their  crusade  against 
Germany,  when  M.  Katkofif  gives  the  sign. 

The  declaration  of  war  against  Turkey, 
in  1877,  produced,  in  the  educated  classes, 
a  certain  intellectual  fermentation,  which 
may,  perhaps,  like  the  intellectual  fermen- 
tation during  the  Crimean  war,  generate 
important  results.  It  is  quite  possible, 
therefore,  that  the  future  historian  may 
devote  special  attention  to  the  year  1877 
as  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  the 
history  of  Russian  literature.  As  yet, 
however,  this  is  apparent  only  to  the  pro- 
phetic eye.  To  ordinary  eyes  the  year 
1877  was  in  no  way  remarkable  so  far  as 
literary  activity  is  concerned.  All  classes 
in  Russia  were  so  engrossed  with  current 
military  and  political  events,  that  they  had 
little  time  or  inclination  to  think  of 
science  or  art.  As  a  compensation  for  this 
there  ought  to  have  been  a  rich  harvest  of 


works  relating  to  the  Slav  races  and  the 
Eastern   question;    but,   in   reality,   there 
was  little  or  nothing  of  the  kind — certainly 
nothing  destined  to  have  more  than  a  very 
short-lived    reputation ;     nor    could     the 
press-censors    have    allowed    anything    to 
pass  their  hands  which  would  have  been  a 
contribution  of  real  value  to  their  litera- 
ture.    For  any  increase  in  their  knowledge 
of  the  southern  Slavs,  they  were  indebted 
almost  exclusively  to  the  newspaper  corres- 
pondents.    The  professors  and  literary  men 
among    the  Slavophils  have  always    been 
philosophers   rather  than   historians,  poli- 
tical economists,  or  travellers,  and  conse- 
quently, instead  of  studying  carefully  the 
past  and  present,  have  dreamed  about  the 
future  of  the  Slavonic  world.     Hilferding 
may  be  cited  as  an  exception  to  this  rule  ; 
but  he  is  dead,  and  has  had  no  worthy  suc- 
cessor.    On  the  whole,  however,  the  world 
will  not  be  sorry  that  the  Slavophils  did 
not  publish  much,  except  in  the  domain  of 
poetry  and  rhetoric.     Strong  confirmation 
of  this  opinion  is  afforded  by  Orest  Miiller, 
who    published,  to  the    detriment  of    his 
literary  reputation,  a  volume  of  collected 
articles ;  and  by  Mr.  Kotchubinski,  who,  in 
a  work  on  the  phonology  of  the  Slavonic 
dialects,    comes    to   the    conclusion    that 
philology  confirms    Russia's  right   to  the 
holy  mission  which  she  took  upon  herself 
to    fulfil    in    Bulgaria.      The    method    of 
solving  political  problems  by  philology  is 
still  better  illustrated  by  Mr.  Lukashevitch, 
in  a  brochure  on  the  "  Cause  of  the  English 
Hatred    against    the    Slavonic    Peoples," 
which     deserves    to    be     mentioned,    not 
exactly  as  a  specimen  of    Russian  philo- 
logical literature,  but  as  a  literary  curiosity. 
In  reply  to  the   question,  "What    is  an 
Englishman?"    the   learned  author    says, 
that  in  Mongolian,  the  root  eng-ong  means 
a  wild  beast ;  and  that  in  Chinese,  Tneng^ 
mong  means  a  man,  or  people.     From  this 
it  is  evident  that  Englishmen  are  descend- 
ants of  Mongol  hunters,  who,  in  ancient 
times,  conquered  the  British  Isles  and  sub- 
jugated the  Slavonic  aborigines,  commonly 
called    Britons.     That    the    Britons   were 
Slavs  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  Britz,  in 
Russian,  means  "  shaven."     To  the  Slavs, 
therefore,   the   English   are   indebted    for 
their  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  politi- 
cal institutions,  and  for  those  physiognomi- 
cal traits  which  distinguish  them  from  the 
inhabitants  of  Northern  China.     But  the 
modern    Englishman    has    still     Mongol 

309 


K: 


f*\i 


:|l 


RUSSIAN  LITERATURE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


customs,  such  as  the  habit  of  eating  raw 
meat  and  destroying  human  beings,  and  he 
has  still  in  his  veins  Mongol  blood,  which 
makes  him  sympathise  with  the  Turks, 
and  delight  in  Bulgarian  atrocities  I 

Authors    with    such    a   wild,   luxuriant 
imagination  might   naturally  be  expected 
to  write  in  verse  rather  than  in  prose ;  but 
versification    has   of  late   fallen   into  dis- 
repute in  Kussia.     Time  was,  and  not  so 
very  long  ago,  when  the  Russians  delighted 
in   poetry;    and    many  middle-aged    men 
amongst     them     can     still     repeat     from 
memory  whole  pages  of  Pushkin  and  Ler- 
montoff.     But  with  the  accession  of  Alex- 
ander   II.,   the    public    taste    completely 
changed.     "  Questions  *'  of  every  conceiv- 
able kind — social,  political,  scientific,  philo- 
sophical,   and    economic — so    monopolised 
public  attention,  that  the  poet  feels  himself 
"  out  of  his  element,"  much  as  a  resusci- 
tated alchemist  or  astrologer  might  feel  at 
a  meeting  of  the   Royal   Society.     Those 
who  are  conscious  of  being  no  longer  chil- 
dren,  naturally  put  away  childish   things. 
Even  patriotic  entlmsiasm,  which  generally 
encourages    poetic    aspirations,     expresses 
itself  now  in  rhetorical  prose  rather  than 
in  melodious  verse.     There  remains,  how- 
ever,  one  poet  of  the  former  generation, 
Nekrassof,  who   is   still   listened    to   with 
respect    and    admiration,    because   he  has 
contrived,    while    retaining    the    metrical 
form,  to  imbibe  the  spirit  and  adopt  the 
tone  of  the   new  epoch.     For  thirty  years 
he  depicted  the  dark   sides  of  Russian  life, 
and  gave  expression  to  the  sorrows  of  the 
people,  but  is  never  maudlin  or  lachrymose. 
In  all  his  writings  there  is  a  ring  of  ener- 
getic protest,  which  has  sometimes  brought 
him   into  contact  with   the   Press  Censure. 
In   his  "Last  Songs"  he  is  still  true  to 
himself  and  to  his  past.     A  melancholy  in- 
terest attaches  to  this  volume,  for  its  title 
must  be  taken   in  the  literal  sense  of  the 
words.     Struck  down  by  a  gainful  disease, 
and  with  no  hope  of  recovery,  the  author 
is   in    a    condition    analogous   to   that   of 
Heine  in  the  last  years  of  his  life;    and 
his  words  thus  acquire  additional  pathos. 

Though  very  litde  poetry  is  written,  there 
is  no  lack  of  imagination  and  literary 
talent,  much  of  which  finds  expression  in 
tales  and  novels.  The  Russian  writers  of 
fiction  have  been  much  influenced  by  the 
contemporary  literature  of  England  and 
France ;  yet  it  must  be  said,  to  their  credit, 
that  they  have  followed  the  quiet  realistic, 
310 


but  not  the  sensational  school.     Aiming  at 
photographic  accuracy   rather  than   strong 
artistic  effects,  they  generally  content  them° 
selves  with  making  careful  studies  from  the 
social  groups  with  which  they  are  best  ac- 
quainted, and  use   the   plot   simply  as   a 
means  of  stringing  together  their  studies 
from  nature.     In  their  works,  therefore,  we 
have   a    mirror   of   contemporary   Russian 
society,    with    its    numerous    lights     and 
shadows.     As  most  of  these  authors,  like 
nine-tenths  of  their  educated  fellow-coun- 
trymen, are  dissatisfied  with  the  existing 
order  of  things,  the  shadows  in  the  pictures 
are  very  prominent.     We  constantly  meet 
with  the  poor  over-taxed  peasant,  the  igno- 
rant, money-loving  parish  priest,  the  cor- 
rupt official,  the  commercial  swindler,  and 
other    types    of  a    similar   kind.      A   few 
writers,  such  as  Prince  Mestcherski,  show 
us  the  grand  monde  of  the  capital,  but  the 
great  majority  choose  their  subjects  from 
the  lower  classes.     Among  the  delineators 
of  the  peasantry,  the  most  remarkable  is 
Mr.   Melnikoff,    better   known    under    his 
pseudonym,  «  Andrei  Petcherski,"  who  con- 
tinues his  sketches,  "  On  the  Hills,"  descrip- 
tive of  the  Raskolniks,  and  in  general  the 
peasants  and  traders  of  the  Volga  region. 
If  we  regard  this  work,  not  as  a  novel,  but 
as  a  series  of  descriptive  sketches,  we  may 
place  beside  it  Maximof  s  "  Nomadic  Rus- 
sia," a  spirited  description  of  the  homeless 
people  who,  from  various  motives,  wander 
about  the  country  and  live  by  charity.     In 
this  category,  too,  may  be  put  "  The  Land 
of  Ice,"  a  description  of  the  far  north,  by 
Nemirovitch-Dantchenko. 

Of  the  numerous  works  of  fiction  in  the 
higher  sense,  the  only  novels  likely  to  have 
more  than  an  ephemeral  reputation,  are 
"  Anna  Karenina,"  by  Count  Tolstoi,  and 
"Nov"  ("Virgin  Soil"),  by  Tourguenief. 
Count  Tolstoi's  work  will  certainly  be  a 
lasting  monument  for  the  author's  reputa- 
tion. It  displays  a  wonderful  power  of  de- 
picting human  characters  and  analysing 
complex  human  motives.  Some  of  the  de- 
scriptions are  tediously  minute,  but  they 
have  considerable  artistic  merit,  and,  as  a 
whole,  the  work  is  much  less  tedious  than 
the  author's  previous  novel,  "War  and 
Peace."  Count  Tolstoi  is  a  man  who  is  not 
in  harmony  with  "  the  spirit  of  the  age," 
as  that  phrase  is  commonly  understood  by 
his  countrymen ;  and  as  he  does  not  desire 
to  conceal  the  fact,  he  is  often  led  into 
philosophical  discussions,  which  are  out  of 


A»D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[count  TOLSTOI. 


place  in  a  work  of  fiction.  In  "  War  and 
Peace,"  this  discursive  element  was  pain- 
fully obtrusive ;  in  "  Anna  Karenina,"  on 
the  contrary,  it  is  scarcely  felt.  In  the 
construction  of  the  plot  there  are  serious 
defects,  which  may,  perhaps,  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that  the  first  chapters  had  been 
already  published  when  the  later  chapters 
were  being  written.  Of  Tourgueniefs 
"Nov"  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  speak 
without  assuming  at  once  a  polemical 
attitude,  and  taking  part  in  the  discussions 
which  it  has  raised.  As  a  work  of  art,  it 
is  generally  considered  inferior  to  the 
author's  earlier  efforts;  but  it  is  seldom 
judged  from  a  purely  aesthetic  point  of 
view.  To  understand  the  reason  of  this, 
the  reader  must  know  something  of  a  curi- 
ous episode  of  Russian  literary  history, 
which  cannot  be  more  than  briefly  referred 
to  here.  Twenty  years  ago  Tourguenief 
was  one  of  the  idols  of  the  young  genera- 
tion. He  had  written  his  "  Memoirs  of  a 
Sportsman,"  in  which  he  bad  shown  warm 
sympathy  with  the  oppressed  serfs,  and  he 
had  been  subjected  to  administrative  an- 
noyance in  consequence  of  his  Liberal 
opinions.  During  the  first  years  of  the 
present  reign  (1856-'60),  he  wrote  several 
works  which  were  thoroughly  in  harmony 
with  the  prevailing  spirit,  and  his  popu- 
larity consequently  increased.  But,  in 
1861,  he  published  his  famous  "Fathers 
and  Children"  (translated  into  English 
some  years  ago  by  Mr.  Schuyler),  and  was  at 
once  condemned  by  the  young  generation 
as  a  man  behind  the  age.  In  vain  he  de- 
clared that  his  aims  and  intentions  had 
been  misunderstood  and  misinterpreted. 
Young  Russia  continued  to  hold  that  he 
was  an  antiquated,  aristocratic,  dilettante 
Liberal,  of  the  years  1840-'50,  incapable  of 
understanding  the  new,  serious,  practical, 
genuinely  democratic  Liberalism.  It  was, 
apparently,  in  order  to  disprove  this  accu- 
sation that  he  wrote  "Virgin  Soil,"  in 
which  he  has  represented  a  little  group  of 
revolutionary  Liberals  at  work. 

Turning  from  fiction  to  fact,  we  meet 
with  several  important  historical  works. 
First  comes  Solovieff"s  yearly  volume, 
which  appears  as  regularly  as  the  alma- 
nacks. In  1851,  Mr.  Solovieff  began  his 
gigantic  "  History  of  Russia,"  by  a  sketch 
of  the  geographical  and  ethnographical 
conditions  of  north-eastern  Europe  in  the 
9th  century.  During  the  last  twenty-six 
years  he  has  laboriously  and  conscientiously 


traced  the  geographical,  political,  and  in- 
telligent growth  of  the  nation;  and  now, 
in  his  twenty-seventh  volume,  he  relates 
the  history  of  the  years  1766-'68.  Nine- 
tenths  of  that  enormous  mass  of  printed 
matter  is  little  more  than  a  collection  of 
Valuable  historical  data,  loosely  strung  to- 
gether;  but,  here  and  there,  when  the 
author  stops  for  a  moment,  and  looks  back 
on  the  ground  over  which  he  has  been 
travelling,  he  displays  a  certain  power  of 
description,  analysis,  and  generalisation. 
The  most  interesting  part  of  this  last 
volume  is  the  account  of  a  famous  com- 
mission for  preparing  a  new  code  of  laws, 
created  by  Catherine  II.  in  1766.  The 
so-called  commission  was  a  kind  of  tempo- 
rary National  Assembly,  composed  of  depu- 
ties from  various  parts  of  the  empiie,  and 
from  all  classes  of  ihe  people.  Catherine 
supplied  them  with  "  instructions,"  taken 
from  the  works  of  her  friends,  the  French 
philosophers  of  the  time,  and  watched,  With 
great  interest,  the  effect  which  these 
"principles  elaborated  by  contemporary 
science"  would  have  on  her  unphilosophical 
subjects.  Those  who  are  curious  to  know 
the  result,  may  find  much  information, 
though  by  no  means  all  that  could  be  de- 
sired, in  Mr.  Solovieff's  pages.  More 
likely  to  attract  attention  is  the  "  History 
of  the  Crimean  War,"  by  Bogdano witch, 
who  has  had  access  to  many  valuable 
sources  unknown  to  his  predecessors. 
From  Mr.  Tratchevski  we  have  a  history  of 
the  famous  Furstenburid,  In  the  form  of 
raw  material,  but  none  the  less  interesting 
on  that  account,  appears  a  new  instalment 
of  the  Woronzoff  archives,  being  the 
twelfth  volume  of  the  collection.  It  con- 
tains a  long  series  of  interesting  letters, 
written  by  Count  Zavadovski  to  the 
brothers  Woronzoff,  from  1770  to  1807. 
For  the  publication  of  historical  material 
of  this  kind,  there  are  two  special  periodi- 
cals, the  Russki  Archio  (Russian  Archives) 
and  RussJcaya  Starind  (Russian  Anti- 
quity), both  of  which,  strange  to  say,  have 
a  large  circulation.  From  this  we  may 
conclude  that  a  considerable  section  of  the 
reading  public  like  to  get  history  in  the 
raw  state.  Of  works  on  the  history  of 
literature,  two  deserve  mention — Dash- 
kevitch  on  the  "  Legend  of  the  Holy  Grail," 
and  Vesselovski's  "Investigations  in  the 
Poetry  of  the  Middle  Ages."  Messrs. 
Py'pin  and  Spassevitch  are  preparing  a 
new  and  enlarged  edition  of  their  "History 

311 


1 -ILL     i\ 


!     t 


MODERN  AUTHORS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


of  Slavonic  Literature,"   a  work  of  great 
merit. 

Among  juridico-historical  works,  may  be 
mentioned  the  first  volume  of  Azarevitch's 
"  History   of  Byzantine    Law ;"    the    first 
volume  of  Zagoskin's  "  History  of  Musco- 
vite Law ;"  the  second  volume  of  Dityatin's 
**  History   of   Municipal   Self-Government 
in  Russia,"  containing  an  account  of  Rus- 
sian municipal  institutions,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighteenth  century  to  the 
year  1870 ;    the  second    volume    of    Gra- 
dovski's  "  Course  of  Russian  Public  Law  ;" 
and  the  ninth  volume  of  "  Historico-juri- 
dical  Materials  relating  to  the  Province  of 
Vitebsk."     Special  attention  is  being  paid 
to  custom  law,  which  is,  in  Rusjsia,  a  very 
important    subject,  because   the    peasants 
have  their  own  courts  ( Volostniye  Sudy),  in 
which    all  cases  are  decided  according:  to 
traditional  conceptions  of  right,  irrespec- 
tive of  ukases  and  the  code.     In   1872,  an 
imperial  commission  examined   the  condi- 
tion of  these  courts,  and   afterwards   pub- 
lished a  large  quantity  of  interesting  mate- 
rials.    Private  investigators  have  also  been 
at    work.      In    1877,  appeared    the    first 
volume   of    Pachman's    "  Customary   Civil 
Law  in  Russia,  relating  to  Procedure  and 
the   Right   of    Property,"    and    KostrotTs 
work  on  the   "Juridical  Customs   of  the 
Province   of    Temsk "    (in    Siberia).     For 
those   who   wish    to  prosecute  this  study, 
Matveef  has  published  a  "  Programme  for 
the   Collection  of   Popular  Juridical  Cus- 
toms."    It  is  worthy  of  remark,  as  a  sign 
of  intellectual   decentralisation,  that  some 
of  these  works  have  been  published  in  pro- 
vincial  towns.      Azarevitch   and   Dityatin 
hail  from  Yaroslaf,  where  there  is  a  school 
of  law;    and  Zagoskin  from  Kazan,  where 
there  is  a    university.     There  are  several 
books  on  land  tenure,  a  subject  which  has 
special  interest  for  Russians.     The  eman- 
cipation law  of  1861   gave  to  the  village 
communes   the   perpetual  usufruct  of   the 
land   which    they*  possessed,   and   thereby 
transformed  the  serfs  into  communal  land- 
holders.     The   preservation   of    the   com- 
munal tenure  is  a  curious  experiment,  on 
the  success  of  which  depends,   to  a  great 
extent,    the     future     prosperity     of     the 
country.      Most    Russians   believe  that  it 
will    succeed,  and  will    enable    Russia  to 
avoid  many  of  those   social   and  political 
evils  from  which  Western  Europe  is  suffer- 
ing, in  consequence  of  ^having  expropriated 
the  peasantry.     But,  to  escape  these  evils, 
312 


Russia  ought  to  profit  by  the  experience 
of  older  countries.     It  is  in  this  spirit  that 
Prince  Wassiltchikoff  has  written   a  larofe 
work  on   "Land  Tenure  and  Agriculture," 
in  which  he  compares  the  history  of  landed 
property  in  England,  France,  and  Germany 
with    the    history   of    landed    property  in 
Russia.     He  explains  how,  in  the  countries 
of  the  West,  the  majority  of  the  peasantry 
have  been,  during  the  course  of  centuries, 
legally  and  illegally  deprived  of  the  land 
which  their  forefathers  possessed ;  and  he 
endeavours  to  prove  that  this  gradual  ex- 
propriation has    been   the  chief   cause  of 
revolutions  and  social  disorders.     In   Rus- 
sia, where  the  land   still    belongs    to  the 
peasantry,  measures  ought  to  be  taken,  he 
thinks,  to  prevent  its  passing  out  of  their 
hands ;  and  "  these  measures  must  be  taken 
at  once  ;  otherwise  Russia  will  fall  into  the 
same  mistake  as  other  nations,  who  took  to 
thinking  and  writing  about  agrarian  matters 
when  all  the  land  was  already  allotted,  and 
social    relations    had   lost    their   primitive 
elasticity."     It  is  the  old  story  which  we 
have   heard  again    and  again  since   1857, 
that  Russia  may  be  for  ever   saved  from 
pauperism,  the  proletariat,  and  revolution, 
by  the  rural  commune.     It  is  not,  however, 
at  all  necessary  to  adopt  this  view  in  order 
to  read  Prince  Wassiltchikoflfs  work  with 
interest.     The  historical   part  will  be  wel- 
come to  many  who  do  not  accept  the  dog- 
matic conclusions.     Written  in  the  same 
spirit   is   the   "Historical    Sketch   of  the 
Rural  Commune  in  tlie  North  of  Russia," 
by    Sokolovr^ki,   who     thinks    that     "  the 
Western  nations,  in  the  person  of  their  best 
scientific  representatives,  regret  the  prema- 
ture annihilation  of  this  institution  among 
themselves."     The  book  does  not  contain 
much  new  material ;  but  it  presents,  in  a 
connected,  readable  form,  a  good  deal  of 
matter  which  was  formerly  scattered  about 
in     books,    newspapers,    and     magazines. 
New  data  for  the  history  of  the  rural  com- 
mune may  be  confidently  expected  in  the 
"  Pistooviya  Knigi"  (Old  Land-registers), 
which  are  being  published  by  Mr.  Kalat- 
choff.       The  big  volume  of  1,560  pages, 
recently  published,    refers   to  the   north- 
eastern provinces. 

Above  the  "  Mir,"  or  rural  commune, 
stands  the  "  Zemstvo,"  that  organ  of  local 
self-government  resembling,  in  some  res- 
pects, our  coimty  administration,  which 
we  have  already  described.  Unlike  the 
"  Mir,"  it  is  a  direct  product  of  imperial 


A.l>.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE* 


[russun  reviews. 


legislation,  and  has  been  in  existence  only 
ten  years.  Its  activity  during  that  period 
is  described  and  criticised  by  Mr.  Mor- 
dovtsef  in  his  "  Ten  Years  of  the  Russian 
Zemstvo." 

The  educated  classes  are  so  occupied 
with  these  and  other  mundane  concerns, 
that  they  pay  very  little  attention  to  the 
Bupernatural ;  and  one  might  live  amongst 
them  for  years  without  ever  suspecting 
that  they  possess  a  theological  literature. 
As  a  rule,  the  educated  Russian  has  no 
taste  for  theological  speculation  or  reli- 
gious discussions.  He  may  be  a  very  good 
Christian  so  far  as  rites  and  ceremonies  are 
concerned,  and  may  be  warmly  attached  to 
the  church  as  a  national  institution,  but 
his  intellectual  interests  lie  elsewhere.  In 
the  theological  academies,  however,  there 
is  a  certain  amount  of  intellectual  activity. 
They  are  four  in  number ;  and  each  of 
them  has  its  special  organ,  with  a  certain 
distinctive  character.  The  Academy  of  St. 
Petersburg,  being  nearest  to  the  Protes- 
tant West,  pays  special  attention  to  Ger- 
man theology  j  Kazan,  possessing  the  valu- 
able library  of  the  Solovetsk  monastery, 
which  was  formerly  a  "nest  of  heresy," 
occupies  itself  with  the  Dissenters  and 
their  doctrines;  Kief,  situated  on  the  fron- 
tier of  the  Greek  Orthodox  and  Roman 
Catholic  worlds,  studies  the  historic  influ- 
ences and  dogmatic  peculiarities  which 
distinguish  Roman  Catholicism  from  Or- 
thodoxy ;  and  Moscow,  round  which  the 
empire  has  been  gradually  formed,  seeks  to 
embrace  all  these  subjects.  Of  the  theo- 
logical books  recently  published,  may  be 
mentioned,  the  "Scripture  Commentary," 
by  the  Archimandrite  Michael,  and  "  The 
Sacred  Chronicle  of  Primitive  Times,"  by 
Mr.  Vlastof.  This  latter  work  is  character- 
istic and  important,  as  showing  that  some 
Russian  theologians  are  leaving  the  field  of 
ecclesiastical  history  and  religious  ceremo- 
nial, and  entering  the  wider  region  opened 
up  by  English  apologists  and  German 
critics.  Mr.  Vlastof  treats  of  the  spiritual 
principle  in  man,  of  natural  religion,  and 
the  necessity  of  revelation ;  of  the  creation 
and  the  fall ;  of  the  flood  and  the  confusion 
of  tongues.  "  All  these  questions,"  in  the 
opinion  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the 
Holy  Synod,  "  have  been  solved  according 
to  the  principles  of  sound  philosophy,  in 
harmony  with  the  true  indications  of  his- 
tory, and  of  natural  and  social  science,  and 
in  Complete  accordance  with  the  doctrines 

VOL.  II.  2  s 


of  Divine  Revelation."  In  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  herculean  task,  in  which  so 
many  of  his  predecessors  have  failed,  Mr. 
Vlastof  has  been  assisted,  not  only  by 
native  authorities,  but  also  by  foreigners, 
such  as  Lenormant,  Inatrefuges,  Gerlach, 
George  Smith,  Rawlinson,  Ferguson,  Max 
Miiller,  Franck,  Kuenen,  and  others.  In- 
dependent critics  of  a  sceptical  turn  of 
mind  may,  possibly,  have  some  doubts  as 
to  whether  all  the  "  questions  "  raised  have 
been  solved  as  completely  and  satisfactorily 
as  the  learned  committee  of  the  Holy 
Synod  believes ;  but  all  who  desire  to  see  a 
little  more  intellectual  vitality  in  the  Rus- 
sian church,  will  hail  with  pleasure  the  ap- 
pearance of  such  works. 

Those  who  prefer  science  without  any 
theological  alloy,  have  their  wants  plenti- 
fully supplied  by  native  savants  and  by 
translations  from  the  works  of  foreign 
authors.  The  names  of  Darwin,  Tyndall, 
Huxley,  and  Herbert  Spencer,  are  as  well 
known  in  St.  Petersburg  as  in  London  ;  and 
some  of  the  native  investigators  are  making 
for  themselves  a  European  reputation. 
Natural  science  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  most 
popular  subjects  of  study  in  Russia,  and  the 
number  of  scientific  works  published  is, 
consequently,  very  great. 

The  magazines  have  long  played  an  im- 
portant part  in  Russian  literature,  and  con- 
tinue to  flourish  as  before.  There  are  four 
large  monthlies,  about  the  size  of  the 
Quarterly  Review,  and  they  have  all  a  re- 
spectable number  of  subscribers.  The 
articles  are  of  the  most  varied  character, 
including  tales,  novels,  essays,  historical 
treatises,  literary  criticism,  popular  science, 
philosophy,  social  questions,  and  current 
political  affairs.  Whilst  these  periodicals 
have  all  much  in  common,  each  of  them 
has  a  special  character  of  its  own.  The 
most  serious  and  weighty  is  the  Vestnik 
Evropy  (European  Messenger),  representing 
what  in  Russia  is  considered  moderate  Libe- 
ralism. The  Otetchestvenniya  Zapiski 
(Memoirs  of  the  Fatherland)  is  of  a  more 
"  advanced  "  hue  ;  but  often  refrains  from 
discussing  important  political  and  social 
questions  in  consequence  of  the  regulations, 
or  rather  the  unregulated  action  of  the  Press 
Censure.  Dyelo  takes  as  its  speciality,  soci- 
ology, and  natural  science  in  the  popular 
form.  In  opposition  to  these,  the  Rwsski 
Vestnik  (Russian  Messenger),  published  by 
M.  Katkoff  in  Moscow,  is  regarded  as  the 
organ   of  the   Conservative  or  Retrograde 

313 


^■' 


I 


THE  POLISH  REBELLION.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  18f)3. 


party.  To  these  must  be  added  the  Sbor- 
nik  Gosudarstvennihh  Znanii  (Collected 
Essays  in  Political  Science),  published  at 
irregular  intervals  by  Mr.  Bezebrazof,  and 
containing  most  valuable  papers  intended 
for  the  more  serious  part  of  the  reading 
public ;  and  Die  Rus^ische  Revue,  pub- 
lished in  Grerman. 

Of  the  regular  writers  in  the  monthlies, 
the  most  prominent  and  influential  is  Mr. 
Soltykoff,  hetter  known  under  the  assumed 
name  of  Shtchedrin.  He  is  generally  re- 
garded by  his  countrymen  as  one  of  the 
greatest  satirists,  if  not  the  greatest  of  the 
age ;  but  he  is  very  far  from  being  a  per- 
fect master  of  the  art.  Certainly  he  pos- 
sesses enormous  satirical  talent,  and  makes 
his  readers  laugh  heartily;  but  he  almost 
always  allows  his  humour  to  run  wild, 
and  in  that  way  his  satire  loses  its  point.  I 
As  a  caricaturist  he  very  often  leaps  far 
beyond  the  limits  of  reality,  so  that  his 
writinofs  resemble  broad  farce  rather  than 
legitimate  comedy.  Involuntarily  the  i 
reader  asks  himself — What  does  the  author 
mean  by  all  this  comical  mystification  ? 
Has  he  any  serious  purpose,  or  is  he  simply  i 


indulging  in  boisterous  fun  ?  In  answer  to 
this,  Mr.  Soltykoff  might  point  to  Rabelais 
and  other  great  humourists  who  have  sinned 
in  the  same  way  Besides  this,  he  might 
justly  remark,  that  the  present  system  of 
Press  Censure  compels  him  to  hide  the  keen 
edge  of  his  satire  under  a  broad  humour, 
occasionally  approaching  to  buffoonery.  An 
amusing  hint  to  this  effect  appears  in  his 
last  article.  He  is  describingr  commercial 
swindlers  connected  with  the  army,  and 
brings  forward  a  trader  in  secrets,  who  opens 
negotiations  with  Osman  Pasha,  and  de- 
livers to  him  important  State  documents. 
Among  these  is  a  project  for  introducing 
order  into  the  Russian  empire  by  means  of 
destroying  the  printing-presses,  and  reduc- 
ing the  number  of  types  to  the  quantity  re- 
quired for  advertisements  and  official  circu- 
lars !  The  Press  Censure  has  certainly  not 
gone  quite  so  far  as  that ;  but  it  exercises 
an  influence  on  literary  composition  so 
great,  that  it  should  always  be  borne  in 
mind  when  judging  the  writings  of  Russian 
authors,  as  the  examples  we  have  already 
given  of  the  way  in  which  it  is  carried  out, 
sufficiently  show. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE  POLISH  REBELLION  OF  1863. 


In  January,  1878,  two  events  occurred,  in- 
siofnificant  in  themselves  it  is  true,  that 
brought  back  to  the  mind  the  occurrence  of 
1863-1864  in  Poland,  which  at  one  time 
threatened  to  produce  a  European  conflict, 
and  in  any  case  first  brought  Prince  Bis- 
marck into  prominence  as  a  European 
statesman,  and  laid  the  foundation  to  that 
alliance  between  the  Russian  and  Prussian 
Courts,  the  results  of  which  have  been  seen 
in  all  their  momentous  significance  in  the 
wars  of  1866,  1870,  and  1877-78. 

The  first  and  least  important  of  these 
events  was  the  announcement  by  the  Nord- 
deutsche  Allgemelne  Zeitunrf,  couched  in  a 
tone  of  petty  triumph  singularly  out  of 
proportion  to  the  matter,  that  Madlle. 
Pustowojtoff,  the  lady-adjutant  of  the 
ex-Dictator  Langiewicz,  had  been  sen- 
tenced to  a  term  of  imprisonment  at 
314 


Rothenburg  in  Silesia,  and  to  a  lonof  period 
of  subsequent  confinement  in  the  House  of 
Correction  at  Schweidnitz.  The  lady's 
crime  was  "  vagrancy  " — that  is  to  say, 
being  without  means.  She  was  directed  to 
Dresden,  where  she  was  domiciled,  by  a 
certain  route.  From  this  route  she  devi- 
ated, owing  to  the  offer  of  a  gentleman  to 
pay  her  fare  to  a  station  on  her  way,  by 
which  she  would  have  been  spared  half  her 
weary  journey  on  foot.  "  Such,"  exclaimed 
the  Norddeutsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung,  "is 
the  end  of  a  rebel  adventuress.  May  she 
serve  as  a  warning !  " 

Unfortunately  for  the  German  paper, 
but  fortunately  for  Madlle.  Pustowojtoff, 
the  person  arrested  at  Rothenburg  was  not 
the  former  adjutant  of  Langiewicz;  for  a 
letter  appeared  in  a  Swiss  paper,  stating 
that  the  Prussian  authorities  had  been  pre- 


».  -  i 


A.D.  1863.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[WIELOPOLSKI. 


mature  in  their  triumph,  and  that  Madlle. 
Pustowojtoff  had    been   married    for    five 
years  to  a  Dr.  Lowenhardt  in  Paris,  where 
she  was  now  living  with  her  husband  and 
daughter,   who,   she  hoped,   would  live  to 
fight  the  Russians  as  she  herself  had  done. 
The  second  event  was  the  death  of  the 
Marquis     Wielopolski,     whose     disappear- 
ance caused  scarcely  more  than  an  obituary 
notice  of  a  few  lines   in  the  daily  press. 
There  was  a    time,  however,  between  the 
years  1861  and  1863,  when  "  the  Marquis," 
as  he  was  called — he  was  the  only  person 
bearing  that  title  in   Poland — held  a  pro- 
minent position  among  the  political  men  of 
Europe.      He  had  undertaken  to  grapple 
with  the  Polish  question,  which  destroyed 
him,  as  he,  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  his 
countrymen,  destroyed,  or  helped  to  destroy, 
what  still  remained  of  Poland.     Throufifh- 
out  the  insurrection  of  1863,  as  during  the 
two  years  of  open  agitation  and  secret  pre- 
paration  by  which    the  actual   rising  was 
preceded,  Wielopolski  was  dttested  by  all 
Poles  except  a  few  among  the  high  aris- 
tocracy, who,  while  approving  his  policy, 
had  not  the  heart,  in  the  face  of  the  strong 
popular  feeling   which  had  set  in   against 
him,  to  give  him  their  active  support.     He 
had  no  following  in  Poland,  and  thus  the 
task  he  had  undertaken  of  bringing  about 
a  reconciliation  between  Poles  and  Russians 
was  an  impossible  one.     Very  decided  in 
his  opinions,   he  was,  unfortunately,  of  a 
reserved  and  haughty  disposition ;  so  that 
if  he  was  free  from  some  of  the  defects  of 
the  Poles,  he  was  also  wanting  in  many  of 
their  amiable  qualities.    Not  only  his  policy, 
but  he  himself  was  unpopular.     It  used  to 
be  said  of  him  that  he  had  "the  English 
manner,"  which  would  not,  in  most  conti- 
nental countries,  be  considered  a  high  com- 
pliment, as  it  is  there  synonymous  with  a 
cold,  haughty,  and    exclusive    bearing   of 
self-conscious  superiority.      He    was   con- 
sistent  enough ;    but   his  consistency  was 
that  of  a  man  of  one  idea,  who  is  determined 
to  carry  out  that  idea  without  regard  to 
circumstances.     It  must  be  admitted,  how- 
ever,   that    circumstances    in    1862    were 
terribly  against  him ;  and  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  any  other  Pole,  if  such  confidence 
had  been  placed  in  him  as  the  Emperor 
Alexander  placed   in  the  Marquis  Wielo- 
polski, would    have   succeeded   any   more 
than    did    the    Marquis    Wielopolski    in 
averting  the  threatened  insurrection. 

If  Wielopolbki's  unpopularity  told  heavily 


against  him  in  his  endeavours  to  gain  ac- 
ceptance by  his  own  countrymen   of  the 
concessions  granted  by  Russia,  the  fact  that 
he  was  far  from  being  regarded  in  Poland 
as  a  Polish  patriot  may  have  helped  him  in 
his  negotiations  with  St.  Petersburg.    Like 
most  mediators,  he  was  looked  upon  with 
suspicion  by  both  sides.     The  Poles,  when 
Wielopolski  desired  them   to  make  peace 
with  Russia,  on  condition  of  receiving  the 
completest  possible  system  of  what  would 
now  be  called  "  administrative  autonomy," 
regarded  him  as  a  sort  of  Russian  agent, 
and  accused  him  of  wishing  to  sacrifice  his 
country's  hopes  of  independence  for  a  few 
trifling  reforms.     The  Russians,  when  he 
went  so  far  in  his  demands  for  Polish  self- 
government  as  to  require  that  all  Russians, 
without  exception,  should  be  excluded  from 
the  Polish  administration,  saw  in  this  stipu- 
lation, to  which  the  emperor  consented,  a 
first  menace  to  their  dominion  in  the  con 
quered  country.     Yet  it  was  not  until  after 
the    insurrection    of    1863    had    actually 
broken  out,  that  the  system  introduced  into 
Poland  by  the  Marquis  Wielopolski  met 
with  any  serious  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the   Russians.      When   the  Poles  took  up 
arms,  the  Russians  declared  that  the  insur- 
rection had  been  carefully  prepared  by  the 
Marquis    Wielopolski    with    his     perfect 
system  of  administrative  autonomy.     The 
Polish  functionaries  recognised  the  autho- 
rity, and  worked  as  the  willing  agents  of  the 
insurrectionary  government ;  and  it  might, 
of  course,  be  said  that  but  for  the  Marquis 
Wielopolski  and  his  pretended  measures  of 
conciliation,  all  the  public  offices  in  Poland 
would  not  have  been  filled  with  Poles.    The 
case  against  the  marquis,  from  a  Russian 
point  of  view,  was  clear  enough  ;  and  when 
the  national  feelings  of  the  Russians  had 
become  excited  to  fanaticism  bv  the  con- 
tinned  resistance  of  the  Poles,  supported  as 
they   were  by  the   diplomacy    of    France, 
England,  and   Austria,  it  was   whispered 
about    that    Wielopolski,  a    traitor    from 
patriotism,  had  found  a  fellow-conspirator 
in  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  a  traitor 
from  ambition.     The  grand  duke,  as  lieu- 
tenant of  the    kingdom,   had  indeed   ac- 
cepted    all     the     Marquis    Wielopolski's 
suggestions.     Fired  at  and  wounded  im- 
mediately after  his  arrival  in    Poland  on 
what   was    known    to    be    a    mission    of 
pacification,  he  had  abstained  from  taking 
any  repressive  measures  in  consequence  of 
this  act,  and  but  for  the  protests  of  the 

315 


J 


'i> 


I 


I, 


1. 


WIELOPOLSKI.^ 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1863. 


more  resolute  Wielopolski,  would  have  j 
commuted  the  capital  sentence  passed  upon 
the  assassin.  The  intended  reforms  were 
all  introduced;  and  personally  the  grand 
duke  and,  in  at  least  an  equal  degree,  the 
grand  duchess,  strove  to  gain  the  good-will 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Warsaw.  All  this 
was  afterwards  interpreted  in  Russia  as 
proving  the  complicity  of  the  grand  duke 
in  the  designs  entertained  by  Wielopolski,  j 
who  was  accused  of  aiming  at  the  complete 
severance  of  Poland  from  the  Russian 
empire,  and  its  erection  into  an  indepen- 
dent kingdom  under  the  Grand  Duke 
Constantine's  rule. 

If  the  Poles,  instead  of  giving  them- 
selves up  to  their  own  impulses,  and  to  the 
hopes  excited  in  their  breasts  by  the  suc- 
cessful intervention  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
on  behalf  of  the  Italians,  could  have  looked 
coolly  around  them,  they  might  have 
learned,  from  the  view  taken  of  the  Wie-r 
lopolski  reforms  by  tlie  Russians,  Austrians, 
and  Prussians,  that  they  possessed  far  more 
value  than  was  generally  accorded  to  them 
in  Poland,  when  even  those  who  approved 
of  them  were  afraid  to  say  so.  There  were 
some  Poles,  however,  who  believed  that,  by 
keeping  up  a  vague  agitation  on  behalf  of 
Polish  independence  as  an  idea,  they  could 
prevail  upon  the  Russians  to  grant  much 
more  important  reforms  than  those  already 
conceded ;  whilst  there  were  others,  of  the 
extreme  party,  who  held  that  Poland  must 
form  no  compact  of  any  kind  with  Russia, 
and  that  the  aim  of  Polish  patriots  should 
be,  not  good  government  under  the  Russian 
sceptre,  but  absolute  independence.  To 
render  the  position  of  the  Poles  in  the 
kingdom  of  Poland  tolerable,  and  even  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Austrian  and  Prussian 
Poles  enviable,  was  to  run  directly  counter 
to  the  views  of  this  party ;  and  while  no 
one  seemed  willing  to  receive  the  good 
things  brought  by  the  Grand  Duke  Con-v 
stantine  and  the  Marquis  Wielopolski  with 
the  least  degree  of  favour,  the  sworn  revo- 
lutionists looked  upon  them  with  undis- 
guised aversion.  If  the  political  caricatures 
of  this  period  were  referred  to,  it  would  be 
found  that  the  Marquis  Wielopolski  was 
regarded,  by  the  least  intelligent  of  his 
countrymen,  not  only  as  a  would-be  tyrant, 
but  also  as  an  idiot  and  a  buffoon.  One  of 
the  public  monuments  of  Warsaw  repre- 
sents John  Sobieski  on  horseback,  riding 
over  the  Turks ;  and  it  was  thought  hu- 
morous, in  18G2,  to  depict  Wielopolski  as 
316 


a  sort  of  bourgeois  Sobieski,  trampling  on 
the  Turks  of  the  Revolution.  When  a  crisis 
was  approaching,  the  marquis  did  indeed 
take  a  severe  and  culpable  measure  against 
the  men  who  had  resolved  that  Poland 
should  not  be  pacified,  and  that,  whatever 
endeavours  might  be  made  to  bring  about 
that  result,  the  experiment  of  an  armed 
rising  should  be  resorted  to.  He  decided  to 
seize  the  irreconcilable  enemies  of  his  gov- 
ernment, who  were  on  the  point  of  taking 
up  arms.  But  he  did  not  seize  them  by 
legal  means  to  bring  them  before  legal 
tribunals.  .  He  executed  a  sort  of  coup  de 
police ;  and  reviving,  for  this  particular  oc- 
casion, a  form  of  conscription  which  had 
just  been  abolished,  ordered  that  the  most 
notorious  of  the  revolutionists  should  be 
arrested  and  carried  off  to  serve  in  the 
Russian  army.  It  was  generally  believed 
in  Europe,  that  this  peculiar  kind  of  con- 
scription, which  was  described  at  the  time 
as  "proscription,"  had  been  invented  by 
the  Marquis  Wielopolski.  It  had  been  the 
customary  method,  however,  of  recruiting 
the  Russian  army  in  Poland,  till  it  was 
abolished  in  1859  by  an  imperial  ukase. 
Inconsistent  for  once,  the  Marquis  Wielo- 
polski spoiled  the  efifect  of  his  flagrantly 
illegal  measure  by  seeking  to  give  it  a  legal 
form.  He  announced  beforehand,  in  the 
official  journal,  that  the  new  mode  of  con- 
scription on  the  French  model,  which  he 
had  himself  introduced,  would  not,  for  the 
present,  come  into  force.  This  could  only 
mean  that  the  conscription  about  to  take 
place  would  be  executed  in  the  old  style, 
as  under  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  and  the 
announcement  had  the  natural  effect  of 
making  numbers  of  those  against  whom 
that  measure  was  directed,  take  flight,  and 
prepare  for  the  appeal  to  arms,  by  which 
the  execution  of  the  conscription  was  im- 
mediately followed,  and  proceeded  to  set  in 
force  the  barbarous  system  of  recruitment 
by  designation  in  Poland,  in  lieu  of  the 
humaner  plan  of  conscription  by  lot,  which 
had  been  prescribed  by  the  above-men- 
tioned law  of  the  year  1859,  but  which 
had  never  been  exercised,  as  no  levy  had 
been  made  since  tliat  date.  Nor  was  a  re- 
currence to  the  former  scheme  by  wliicb 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  exhausted  and  sub- 
dued the  energies  of  the  Polish  people  the 
only  bad  feature  in  the  enactment :  the 
scheme  was  partially  applied ;  it  was  to  be 
put  in  force  in  the  towns,  but  not  in  the 
country,  the  government  having  a  double 


fC 


7^/: 


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VV  i-L^ 


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BROTHER  OF  THE   CZAR 


TUF         'NDON     PRXN''T^rG   AND    i^UBl.i  GHIU&    COMl^ANY  _  LIMITED 


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i'. 

<    : 


<< 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,     [outbreak  of  the  rebellion.' 


object  in  view — on  one  side  to  conciliate 
the  landed  proprietors  and  peasantry,  and 
on  the  other  side,  to  seize  upon  the  most 
obnoxious  persons  in  the  urban  population, 
and  carry  them  off  as  soldiers.  About 
8,000  recruits  were  to  be  levied  in  the 
Polish  towns  by  mixed  commissions  com- 
posed of  military  officers  and  civil  func- 
tionaries, who  had  an  absolute  power  of 
selection.  Witliout  affirming  that,  in  all 
cases,  this  faculty  was  a])usively  exercised 
without  regard  to  the  numbers  or  resources 
of  families,  or  to  the  station  and  avocations 
of  the  parties  liable  to  service,  it  is  certain 
that  the  selection  of  the  authorities  was 
frequently  prompted  by  considerations  of  a 
political  character,  and  the  instruments  of 
government  were  frequently  animated  by 
motives  of  a  corrupt  nature.  In  fact,  it 
was  a  design  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the 
revolutionary  youth  of  Poland,  to  shut  up 
the  most  energetic  and  cl.  ngerous  spirits  in 
the  restraints  of  the  Russian  army.  It  was 
simply  a  plan  to  kidnap  the  opposition, 
and  carry  it  off  to  Siberia  or  the  Caucasus. 
This  proposal,  so  totally  out  of  keeping 
with  the  humane  and  intelligent  order  of 
things  recently  inaugurated  in  Poland, 
created  great  surprise  even  among  many 
persons  well  affected  to  the  Russian  govern- 
ment ;  for  it  was  rightly  apprehended,  that 
even  if  the  government  should  succeed  in 
disposing  of  a  number  of  dangerous  anta- 
gonists, yet  the  moral  obloquy  attending 
this  act  would  greatly  outweigh  the  ma- 
terial advantages  to  be  gained.  It  seemed 
to  be  the  single  considerable  error  com- 
mitted in  Poland  since  the  nomination  of 
Marquis  Wielopolski ;  yet,  as  we  have  seen, 
it  had  his  approval,  was  suggested  by  him, 
and  had  the  sanction  of  the  Grrand  Duke 
Constantine.  How  far  the  revolt  was  the 
work  of  men  driven  to  desperation  by  the 
prospect  of  being  caught  up  and  made 
Russian  soldiers,  or  how  far  it  was  the 
work  of  revolutionary  incendiaries  availing 
themselves  of  this  opportunity,  was  a  ques- 
tion which  could  not  be  answered  clearly  at 
the  time ;  but  the  arbitrary  recruitment 
greatly  excused  the  resistance  and  acts  of 
the  revolutionary  party  in  the  eyes  of 
Europe.  They  had,  if  not  a  justification, 
at  least  an  extenuation,  which  nothing  but 
some  great  act  of  injustice  on  the  part  of 
Russia  could  have  afforded  them.  At  the 
same  time,  however,  it  was  obvious,  to  all 
acquainted  with  the  facts,  that,  under 
every  provocation,  insurrection  in  Poland, 


under  any  circumstances,  was  a  senseless 
proceeding;  for  it  had  not  the  least  chance 
of  success,  and  only  terminated  in  increased 
seveirties  and  aggravated  hatred. 

Among  reflecting  Russians,  the  only  de- 
fence ever  given  for  the  suspension  of  the 
law  of  1859,  and  the  return  to  the  old  sys- 
tem, was,  that  the  regular  military  con- 
scription was  not  introduced  in  Russia 
itself,  and  that  if  the  levy  had  been  taken 
in  Poland  on  the  modern  European  plan, 
Poland  would  have  been  better  treated 
than  the  empire;  that  it  was  most  equita- 
ble to  continue  the  arbitrary  method  in 
both  countries  until  a  good  law  could  be 
contrived  for  both.  But  as  the  institu- 
tions of  Poland  were  in  many  respects 
more  advanced  than  those  of  Russia,  this 
was  but  an  additional  reason  for  improving 
the  Russian  laws,  and  not  for  debasingr 
those  of  Poland. 

Referring  to  this  matter.  Lord  Napier 
wrote  to  Lord  John  Russell — "There  is 
no  reason  why  the  French  law  of  conscrip- 
tion should  not  have  been  matured  for 
application  in  Russia  Proper  during  the 
last  six  years,  in  which  there  has  been  no 
levy  of  soldiers  in  the  empire.  The  mea- 
sure complained  of  is,  in  my  humble  opin- 
ion, simply  a  malignant,  and,  I  hope,  ex- 
piring effort  of  the  old  system  of  despotic 
violence.  The  result  is  deplorable,  but  it 
is  natural.  We  can  only  hope  that  the 
emperor  will  not  allow  himself  to  be  drawn 
into  a  reactionary  course  in  other  respects 
by  an  incident  which  has  been,  in  part  at 
least,  provoked  by  the  imprudence  of  his 
representatives  and  advisers." 

That  Lord  Napier's  hopes  were  scarcely 
justified,  the  whole  course  of  events,  up  to 
the  declaration  of  war  in  1877  against 
Turkey,  has  sufficiently  shown.  Then,  as 
in  1860,  the  czar  was  too  weak  to  resist  the 
counsels  and  demands  of  the  purely  Mus- 
covite party — of  the  Katkoffs,  the  Aksakoffs, 
and  the  rest  of  the  Panslavonic  section. 

In  the  beginning  of  January,  1863,  cer- 
tain discoveries  were  made  by  the  police  at 
Warsaw,  to  which  very  great  importance 
was  at  first  attached  by  the  highest  autho- 
rities in  the  country.  But  their  value  was 
considerably  diminished  by  the  •  activity  of 
the  revolutionary  faction  remaining  un- 
abated, notwithstanding  the  arrest  of  these 
individuals  whom  the  police  supposed  to 
be  the  chief  leaders  of  the  conspiracy. 

These  arrests  comprised  several  railway 
officials,   one   of  whom,  of    the   name   of 

317 


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I 


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4. 


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1 


in. 


THE  CONSCRIPTION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1863 


Kowalewski,  was  spoken  of  as  the  head  of 
the  police  department  of  the  revolutionary 
committee ;  another  person,  of  the  name  of 
Epstein,  the  son  of  a  wealthy  Jewish 
banker,  was  supposed  also  to  have  taken  an 
active  part  in  seditious  measures,  and  great 
joy  was  manifested  in  official  circles  at  his 
apprehension. 

A  few  days  later  the  police  seized  several 
persons  in  the  very  act  of  printing  a  revo- 
lutionary newspaper,  and  the  letterpress 
was  also  taken  upon  that  occasion.  The 
house  where  these  were  found  was  taken  pos- 
session of  by  the  police ;  and  in  the  course  of 
the  following  day,  a  man  of  the  name  of 
Schwartz  was  arrested  wlien  comins  to  that 
very  house,  probably  with  a  view  to  get 
some  copies  of  the  paper.  He  attempted 
to  make  his  escape  on  seeing  the  police, 
but  he  was  followed  and  taken  after  some 
attempt  at  resistance.  Several  important 
papers  were  found  in  his  possession;  among 
them  his  commission  appointing  him  an 
agent  to  the  revolutionary  committee. 
Schwartz  was  a  French  subject,  but  the 
son  of  Polish  parents;  he  appeared  to  have 
received  a  good  education  as  civil  engineer 
in  Paris. 

About  the  same  time  the  French  govern- 
ment arrested  three  Polish  refugees  in 
Paris,  whose  papers  were  searched,  and 
whose  connection  with  Mazzini,  and  with 
the  revolutionary  committee  at  Warsaw, 
appeared  to  have  been  beyond  a  doubt. 

All  these  discoveries  were  made  at  a  time  ! 
when  numerous  agents  of  the  revolutionary  ; 
committee  were  driving  about  the  country, 
both  in  the  kingdom  and  in  Lithuania,  en- 
rolling members  for  the  secret  society, 
threatening  the  government  officials  with 
their  vengeance,  and  spreading  alarm 
among  all  peaceably-disposed  inhabitants. 

It  was  hoped  at  first  by  those  persons  in 
the  government  who  were  more  sanguine, 
that  they  were  on  the  eve  of  very  great  dis- 
coveries on  the  subject  of  the  revolutionary 
organisation ;  but  these  hopes  were  not 
realised. 

One  of  the  most  important  persons 
seized  was  a  man  of  the  name  of  Abicht,  a 
native  of  Lithuania,  who  was  taken  quite 
by  accident  in  the  small  town  of  Garwolin, 
about  fifty  miles  from  Warsaw,  by  the  legal 
authorities,  who  suspected  him  of  belong- 
ing to  a  party  of  highwaymen  who  had 
robbed  the  post  in  that  locality.  This  sus- 
picion arose  from  the  circumstance  of  the 
Jewish  waiter  in  the  inn  where  Abicht  and  ' 
318 


his  companions  were  staying,  having  dis- 
covered pistols  in  his  portmanteau,  which 
made  the  Jew  give  information  of  this  to 
the  local  mayor,  or  Biirgermeister,  who  ar- 
rested them  at  once. 

As  the  execution  of  the  measure  of  forced 
enlistment  drew  near,  the  revolutionary 
faction  continued  to  deceive  the  masses  by 
a  bold  attitude,  pretending  all  along  that 
it  possessed  the  power  of  resisting  the 
orders  of  the  government,  and  that  the  car- 
rying out,  in  a  peaceable  manner,  of  this  ex- 
ceptional measure  would  be  attended  with 
insurmountable  difficulties. 

A  few  days  after  the  seizure  of  the  types 
of  the  insurgent  paper,  7he  Euch,  a  fresh 
number  of  that  newspaper  was  published, 
denying  the  fact  of  the  discovery  of  their 
printing-press,  with  a  view  to  prevent  the 
discouragement  which  this  might  produce 
among  their  partisans. 

Immediately  afterwards  the  revolution- 
ary committee  issued  a  circular,  which  was 
sent  to  various  local  authorities  throuo^h- 
out  the  country,  threatening  with  ven- 
geance and  summary  punishment  any  per- 
son in  the  employment  of  the  government, 
or  any  magistrate,  aiding  or  assisting  in 
any  way  to  carry  out  the  recruitment. 

A  few  days  after  that,  the  Jewish  waiter, 
whose  information  had  led  to  the  apprehen- 
sion of  Abicht,  who  had  come  to  Poland 
from  England  with  a  British  passport, 
came  to  Warsaw  to  receive  a  pecuniary 
reward,  of  the  amount  of  200  roubles,  be- 
stowed upon  him  by  the  grand  duke  for 
having  given  that  information.  The  Jew 
applied  for  three  days  at  the  Treasury  for 
payment,  but  the  third  day  he  was  stabbed 
at  the  gate  with  a  dagger  on  coming  out  of 
the  paymaster-general's  office,  evidently 
with  the  intention  of  intimidating  inform- 
ers and  the  provincial  authorities  during 
the  approaching  conscription.  The  Jew 
was  not  mortally  wounded  it  appears  ;  he 
was  even  able  to  follow  his  murderer 
through  the  streets,  when  he  fell :  a  man 
was  taken  by  the  police,  a  locksmith  by 
profession,  who  was  supposed  to  be  the 
guilty  party,  but  his  identity  was  not  estab* 
lished. 

The  lists  of  persons  destined  to  be  taken 
as  recruits  were  made  out,  and  the  conscrip- 
tion was  to  begin  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days  in  Warsaw,  and  to  follow  in  the  pro- 
vinces and  the  other  towns  of  the  kingdom. 
No  effort  was  spared  to  include  in  it  all 
able-bodied  men  suspected  of  revolutionary 


i.    f 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  first  attacks. 


tendencies,  and  who  were  marked  out  as 
such  by  the  police  during  the  last  two  years ; 
but,  owing  to  the  inefficiency  of  that  depart- 
ment of  the  government,  it  may  be  easily 
supposed  that  this  sort  of  information  could 
not  always  be  relied  on. 

Tlie  number  of  recruits  to  be  raised  from 
the  kingdom  was  kept  strictly  secret ;  but 
it  was  intended  to  get  at  the  rate  of  5  per 
1,000 of  the  population;  and  asthis  amounted 
in  the  towns  to  about  1,200,000,  the  num- 
ber would  have  been  6,000  men.  As  the 
rural  population  was  exempted,  the  villages 
had  only  2,000  men  to  supply ;  thus  making 
a  total  of  8,000  men. 

The  exact  number,  however,  was  not  defi- 
nitely settled,  and  the  grand  duke  was 
allowed  a  certain  margin  as  to  the  number 
of  recruits  to  be  supplied  this  time  by  the 
kinordom. 

The  result  of  this  measure  was  looked 
forward  to  with  intense  interest  both  by  the 
rulers  and  by  the  governed  ;  and  if  the  ex- 
pectations of  the  former  had  been  attended 
with  success,  the  conscription  would  have 
been  over  in  a  month's  time  ;  and  it  was  said 
that  the  grand  duke  would  have  proceeded 
to  St.  Petersburg  for  a  few  weeks,  to  submit 
to  the  czar  projects  for  the  further  pacifica- 
tion of  his  Polish  subjects. 

Thus  the  measure  was  carried  into  effect 
in  Warsaw  on  the  night  of  the  14th,  when 
about  2,000  men  were  taken  for  service. 

The  members  of  the  government  were 
under  considerable  apprehension  that  carry- 
ing this  resolution  into  effect  would  produce 
disturbances  throughout  the  country,  as  the 
agitators  of  the  revolutionary  party  had  used 
their  utmost  endeavours  to  incite  the  people 
to  resist  the  levy,  and,  if  necessary,  even  to 
appeal  to  arms.  The  date  on  which  the 
levy  was  to  be  made  was  kept  a  secret,  and 
steps  were  taken  by  the  authorities  to  re- 
press any  hostile  movement  should  such 
take  place ;  but  notwithstanding  the 
threatening  attitude  of  the  ultra  party,  the 
measure  was  carried  out  without  any  dis- 
turbance, as  far  as  the  town  was  concerned, 
for  it  was  executed  suddenly  in  the  night. 

The  effect  produced  by  the  sudden  and 
complete  success  of  the  government  in  this 
matter  was  most  marked ;  the  revolutionary 
party  appeared  to  be  paralysed,  and  the 
working  classes  commenced  to  open  their 
eyes  to  the  folly  of  further  resistance,  and 
to  the  importance  of  the  ultra  party  to  offer 
any  effectual  opposition  to  the  government. 
But  a  number  of  working-men  and  others 


belonging  to  the  secret  societies,  had  been 
induced  to  assemble  not  far  from  Warsaw, 
in  obedience  to  the  orders  given  them  by 
the  chiefs  of  the  movement ;  their  numbers 
were,  however,  not  more  than  500  or  600, 
the  greater  portion  unarmed.  Troops  were 
despatched  to  disperse  and  capture  these 
insurgents;  but  it  was  thought  that  the 
weakness  of  the  ultra  party,  and  the  im- 
possibility of  their  resisting  the  government, 
would  at  least  be  clearly  demonstrated  by 
this  foolish  attempt,  and  therefore  it  might 
be  anticipated  that  the  Polish  movement 
would  shortly  be  brought  to  an  end,  and 
the  country  assume,  if  not  a  peaceful  at- 
titude, at  least  one  of  comparative  quiet 
and  freedom  from  revolutionary  attempts. 

But  the  conscription  had  still  to  be 
carried  out  in  the  country  districts ;  and  the 
date  on  which  this  was  to  be  carried  out  was 
still  kept  a  secret ;  but  after  the  success  of 
the  measure  in  Warsaw,  no  serious  opposi- 
tion was  feared  in  the  provinces  :  no  doubt 
numbers  of  persons  liable  to  be  taken  would 
endeavour  to  leave  the  country ;  and  it  was 
highly  probable  that  the  forests  of  the 
kingdom  would  for  some  time  be  used  as 
places  of  refuge,  and  the  roads  of  the  king- 
dom be  rendered  unsafe  for  travellers  by 
the  presence  of  these  persons,  who  would 
be  reduced  to  brigandage  to  obtain  means 
of  support. 

But  in  the  meantime  the  insurgents  as- 
sembled near  Warsaw ;  and  two  other  bands, 
500  strong,  who  had  gathered  together  at 
Blonic,  managed  to  elude  the  troops  sent 
against  them,  and  crossed  the  Vistula  into 
the  forests  of  Nasielsk,  where  they  were 
joined  by  another  band — the  united  forces 
amounting  to  about  1,000  men.  Other 
isolated  parties  joined  them,  and  assembled 
in  various  parts  of  the  country ;  and  whilst 
the  government  troops  were  seizing  the 
"prescripts"  in  their  beds  at  Warsaw  in 
the  night,  from  the  10th  to  the  11  th  of 
January,  attacks  were  directed  almost 
everywhere  in  the  provinces  against  the 
troops  in  separate  cantonments.  The  in- 
surgents penetrated  into  the  houses,  and 
killed  the  soldiers  one  by  one,  until  troops 
came  up,  and  drove  their  enemies  into  the 
woods.  Amongst  the  losses  incurred  on 
the  10th  and  11th,  were  Colonel  Kozli- 
aninoff,  who  was  killed  whilst  reconnoitring 
the  woods;  whilst  General  Kanabich  was 
seriously  wounded.  Encounters  took  place 
at  Plock,  Plonsk,  Radzit,  and  Siedlce ;  and 
a  telegram  was  sent  off  from  Warsaw  to 

319 


^ 


IS 


w 


MASSACRES  AT  SIEDLCE.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A."n.  18G3, 


St.  Petersburg,  to  the  effect  that  the  revo- 
lutionary party  had  decided  to  make  a 
St.  Bartholomew's  night  in  the  night  of  the 
22nd  to  the  23rd  January.  "At  mid- 
night," says  the  telegram,  "  there  occurred, 
simultaneously  in  all  the  provinces,  attacks 
upon  different  towns  and  upon  detachments 
of  troops  cantoned  in  the  towns  and  the 
villages.  Surprising  the  soldiers  in  their 
sleep,  the  insurgents  slaughtered  them  in 
their  beds.  In  a  village  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Siedlce,  where  some  soldiers  were 
defending  themselves  vigorously  in  the 
house  which  they  occupied,  the  insurgents 
set  the  house  on  fire,  and  burnt  alive  the 
brave  men  who  were  in  it.  Everywhere 
these  atrocities  were  immediately  checked 
by  the  troops,  who  made  the  insurgents 
experience  very  great  losses,  being  driven 
back  at  all  points.  Martial  law  has  now 
been  proclaimed  throughout  the  kingdom." 
This  news,  as  well  as  the  intelligence 
coming  from  Wilna  and  other  parts  of  the 
empire,  created  a  deep  impression  in  St. 
Petersburg,  and  led  the  czar  to  make  the 
address  to  the  guard  to  which  allusion  has 
already  been  made.*  The  address  was 
delivered  on  the  occasion  of  a  review  of  the 
Ismailoff  regiment  in  the  Grand  Manege, 
near  the  palace. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  parade,  the 
emperor,  who  was  on  horseback,  having 
assembled  around  him  the  officers  of  the 
regiment,  as  well  as  the  general  officers  of  his 
suite,  among  whom  were  the  Grand  Dukes 
I^Jicholas  and  Michael,  proceeded  to  inform 
them  of  the  news  that  had  reached  him, 
the  day  before,  of  the  disturbances  in 
Poland.  One  of  the  emperor's  aides-de- 
camp, who  was  present,  stated  that  the 
emperor,  who  spoke  in  a  tone  of  great  sad- 
ness, but  at  the  same  time  with  much 
firmness,  related  the  circumstances  of  the 
outbreak  in  almost  the  same  terms  as  those 
in  which  they  were  given  in  the  above- 
mentioned  telegram.  He  described  the  for- 
mation of  bands  of  insurgents  on  both  banks 
of  the  Vistula,  and  the  atrocities  said  to 
have  been  committed  by  them;  of  their 
Jiaving  fallen  upon  small  detachments  of 
soldiers  and  murdered  them  in  cold  blood  ; 
and,  in  one  instance,  when  they  were 
unable  to  drive  a  small  number  of  soldiers 
out  of  a  house  in  which  they  were  defend- 
ing themselves,  of  their  having  set  fire  to 
it  and  burnt  the  soldiers  alive.    Besides  the 


320 


♦  AntCf  page  277. 


death  of  these  unoffending  men,  the 
emperor  said  he  had  to  lament  the  loss  of 
a  comrade  who  once  served  in  this  regiment, 
Colonel  Kozlianinoff,  who  was  killed  in  a 
reconnaissance  near  Warsaw.  After  ex- 
pressing the  grief  and  indignation  with 
which  he  had  heard  of  these  events,  the 
emperor  said,  "You  must  not  suppose, 
however,  that  I  consider  these  atrocious 
deeds  are  to  be  laid  to  the  account  of  the 
Polish  nation ;  they  are  the  work  of  agents 
of  a  revolutionary  party  who  are  employed 
in  creating  disturbances  in  various  parts 
of  Europe,  and  who  will  stop  at  no  crime  in 
the  accomplishment  of  their  designs." 

In  conclusion,  the  emperor  made  the  re- 
markable admission  referringr  to  disaffection 
existing  in  the  Kussian  army.  That  in- 
stances of  such  a  feeling  existed,  he  said, 
cannot  unfortunately  be  denied  ;  but,  he 
added,  he  felt  convinced  that  if  he  should 
be  obliged  to  call  upon  his  troops  to  assist 
their  comrades  in  Poland,  he  could  rely  on 
their  unshaken  fidelity.  He  himaelf  had 
commanded  the  Ismailoffski  regiment  dur- 
ing the  lifetime  of  his  father,  and  he  knew 
he  could  implicitly  depend  upon  them ;  but 
it  was  not  only  in  the  guards  that  he  had 
this  confidence,  he  was  convinced  the  same 
loyal  feeling  existed  throughout  the  Rus- 
sian army.  This  address,  which  was  re- 
ceived with  enthusiastic  acclamation,  was 
pronounced  in  such  an  earnest  and  impres- 
sive manner,  that  many  of  the  officers  were 
moved  to  tears,  and  the  Grand  Duke 
Michael  is  said  to  have  sobbed  aloud. 

Sobbing,  however,  is  a  peculiar  charac- 
teristic of  the  Slav  races.  They  are  always 
crying.  Tchenaieff  wept  when  he  related 
his  story  of  the  Servian  campaign  to  the 
czar.  The  grand  duke  also  wept ;  and  on 
numerous  other  occasions  the  august  eyes 
were  filled  with  tears.  However,  the  im- 
perial sobbing  had  no  effect  upon  the  insur- 
gent chiefs,  who  issued  the  two  proclama- 
tions to  the  country,  one  on  January  16th, 
1863,  and  one  on  January  22nd.  Both  of 
these  documents  were  forwarded  by  the 
French,  Austrian,  and  English  consuls  and 
ambassadors  to  tiieir  respective  govern- 
ments.    The  first  ran  as  follows  : — 

"  The  recruitment  has  partially  com- 
menced in  Warsaw.  Our  enemy,  like  an 
assassin  and  vile  criminal,  has  conre  to 
attack  people  asleep,  and  to  carry  off  the 
fathers  of  numerous  families,  and  the 
younger  children  in  place  of  the  elder.  In 
a  word,  it  has  seized  all  whom  it  has  found 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[polish  manifestoes. 


to  take  the  places  of  those  who  were  ab- 
sent. A  system  of  recruiting  like  this  has 
never  yet  been  seen.  It  is  worthy  of  its 
author,  of  that  great  and  vile  criminal,  that 
traitor  to  his  country,  Wielopolski* 

"The  Central  National  Committee  had 
made  every  preparation  to  prevent  the  re- 
cruitment; but  it  has  encountered  obstacles 
which  it  was  impossible  to  foresee,  espe- 
.cially  on  the  part  of  tlie  French  government, 
which  condemns  our  movement,  and  op- 
poses to  it  ohstacles  similar  to  those  with 
which  the  Russian  police  strive  to  oppose 
it.  It  has  hindered  the  importation  of 
arms  into  Poland  in  numbers  sufficient  for 
a  simultaneous  uprising.  The  committee, 
not  suffering  itself  to  be  baffled  by  such 
measures,  was  occupying  itself  in  the  dis- 
covery of  other  means  to  this  end,  when 
the  recruiting  suddenly  took  place  in  the 
middle  of  the  ni<j:ht. 

"  Poles  I  must  we  succumb  to  the  diffi- 
culties which  are  before  us  ?  Shall  we  give 
up  our  brothers  to  a  degrading  service? 
No !  Let  us  march  on  with  faith  and 
courage,  with  God,  and  with  confidence  in 
the  sanctity  of  our  cause.  The  Central 
National  Committee  comes  forward  with  a 
vigour  and  energy  proportioned  to  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  circumstances.  Our  standard 
has  not  fallen, and  never  will  fall!  Gather 
around  it,  brothers;  and  with  the  more 
vigour  and  ardour  as  our  enemy  oppresses 
and  persecutes  us.  Do  not  give  way  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  strengthen  yourselves. 
You  should  be  heroes ;  and  you  will  be- 
come so.  Our  enemy  will  meet  with  a  de- 
termined resistance  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  criminal  projects. 

"  Poles !  help  us  with  your  valour,  with 
your  devotion ;  let  us  persevere  to  the  end, 
and  God  will  give  us  the  victory. 

"  The  Central  National  Committee  pro- 
claims the  whole  country  to  be  in  an  ex- 
ceptional state,  and  commands  all  worthy 
sons  of  their  country  to  defend  themselves 
to  the  death,  even  if  alone,  from  the  re- 
cruitment, and  to  deliver  those  who  may 
find  themselves  in  the  hands  of  the  Musco- 
vite, and  to  give  help  and  protection  to  all 
who  may  be  in  concealment. 

"The  Wielopolskis,  the  father,  and  his 
son  Sigi>mund,  and  all  the  criminal  band 
who  have  taken  part  in  the  recruitment  at 
Warsaw,  together  with  all  those  who  have 
up  to  the  present  time  assisted,  or  who  are 
about  to  assist  these  wicked  attempts  at 
usurpatior,  shall    be  outlawed ;    and  it  is 

VOL.  II.  2t 


permitted  to  every  one  to  judge  and  to 
execute  them  without  incurring  any  sort  of 
responsibility,  either  before  God  or  before 
his  country. 

"Warsaw,     January,    16th,    1863.— The 
Central  National  Committee." 

The  second  proclamation  was  couched  in 
even  still  stronger  terms.     It  said — 

"  The  contemptible  government  of  the 
invaders,  rendered  furious  by  the  resistance 
of  the  victim  it  tortures,  has  determined  to 
strike  a  decisive  blow  by  carrying  away 
many  thousands  of  its  bravest  and  most 
strenuous  defenders,  dressing  them  in  the 
hated  Muscovite  uniform,  and  driving  them 
thousands  of  miles  to  suffer  eternal  misery 
and  destruction. 

"  Poland  will  not,  cannot,  submit  to  this 
violence  and  degradation  without  an  attempt 
at  resistance.  It  would  be  a  disgrace  to 
our  posterity  were  she  to  submit  to  it  with- 
out an  energetic  effort.  Legions  of  young 
men,  brave  and  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
their  country,  have  sworn  to  cast  away  the 
abhorred  yoke  or  to  die,  and  they  place 
their  reliance  in  the  just  assistance  of  the 
Almighty.     Follow  these,  Polish  nation ! 

"The  Central  National  Committee,  the 
only  legal  government  of  your  country, 
bids  you  all  appear  on  the  last  battle-field, 
the  field  of  glory  and  victory,  where  it 
pledges  itself  to  give  you  success  before 
God  and  heaven ;  for  the  committee  knows 
that,  as  you  have  been  heretofore  penitents 
or  avengers,  so  you  are  ready  to  become  to- 
morrow heroes  and  giants  of  strength.  It 
knows  well  that  you  are  ready  to  give  all 
your  blood,  your  lives  and  your  freedom, 
without  regret,  hesitation,  or  weakness,  as 
an  offering  to  your  rising  country. 

"  In  return,  the  Central  Committee  pro- 
mise to  wield  the  sceptre  of  authority  with 
an  unflinching  hand,  so  that  your  strength 
will  not  be  wasted.  Your  sacrifices  will  not 
be  in  vain.  It  will  know  how  to  overcome 
all  difficulties,  to  break  through  all  impedi- 
ments ;  it  will  pursue  and  punish  every 
disinclination,  nay,  even  every  case  of  want 
of  sujfficient  zeal  in  our  holy  cause,  with 
the  utmost  severity  required  from  a  tribu- 
nal which  metes  out  justice  in  the  name  of 
an  offended  country. 

"  This  being  the  first  day  of  open  resist- 
ance, the  commencement  of  the  sacred 
combat,  the  committee  proclaim  all  the  sons 
of  Poland  free  and  equal,  without  distinc- 
tion of  creed  and  condition.     It  proclaims 

321 


\ 


I  'I 


i' 


i   ■>! 


MORE  MASSACRES.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  18fi3, 


I 

I  T 


further,  that  the  land  held  heretofore  by 
the  agricultural  population  in  fee,  for 
forced  labour  or  for  rent,  becornes  hence- 
forth their  freehold  property,  without  any 
restriction  whatsoever.  The  proprietors 
will  receive  compensation  from  the  pub- 
lic treasury.  All  cottagers  and  labourers 
who  shall  serve  the  families  of  those  who 
may  die  in  the  service  of  their  country,  will 
receive  allotments  from  the  national  pro- 
perty in  land  regained  from  the  enemy. 

To  arms,  therefore,  ye  Polos,  ye  Lithua- 
nians and  ye  Kuthenians  !  The  liour  of  our 
common  deliverance  has  struck ;  the  an- 
cient sword  is  drawn  from  the  scabbard ; 
the  sacred  flag  of  our  common  country  is 
unfurled. 

"  And  now  we  appeal  to  you,  Muscovite 
nation,  miserable  and  tormented,  sad  and 
afflicted  with  ourselves.  Thy  sons  have  also 
been  dangling  on  gibbets,  or  have  found  a 
frosty  death  like  our  own  people  in  the 
snows  of  Siberia  ;  therefore  we  forgive  you 
the  murder  of  our  country,  the  blood  of 
Praofa  aud  Oszmiana,  the  violence  in  the 
streets  of  Warsaw,  the  tortures  in  the  dun- 
geons of  the  citadel.  But  woe  to  ye,  if  in 
this  solemn  hour  ye  give  assistance  to  the 
tyrant  who  crushes  you  whilst  he  murders 
us  !  If,  instead  of  regret  for  the  past  and 
hopes  for  the  future,  you  do  this,  you  shall 
be  accursed  and  condemned  to  a  shameful 
and  perpetual  slavery,  and  then  we  must 
light  you  to  extermination  in  the  last  battle 
of  European  civilisation  with  Asiatic  bar- 
barity. 

"Warsaw,  January  22,  1863.— The  Central 
National  Committee." 

The  preparations  to  which  the  revolu- 
tionary committee  alluded  in  these  procla- 
mations, resulted  in  the  outbreaks  we  have 
already  mentioned  in  Plock,  Siedlce,  &c. 
But  attacks  were  also  made  in  many  other 
places.  Thus,  in  the  village  of  Jedlno, 
near  Radom,  a  company  of  sappers  was 
attacked  at  2  A.M.  The  rebels,  140  strong, 
entered  the  houses  where  the  soldiers  slept, 
and  by  surprise  and  intimidation  took 
possession  of  their  arms  and  ammunition ; 
whilst,  at  about  the  same  time,  in  the  small 
town  of  Bodzentyn,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  ancient  convent  of  St.  Croix,  the 
church  bell  gave  the  signal  for  a  number  of 
rebels  to  attack  the  troops  in  their  sleep ; 
and  the  soldiers  mounting  guard,  or  on 
duty,  and  one  officer,  were  either  killed  or 
severely  wounded. 
322 


At  Szydlowitz,  Major  Riidiger,  command- 
ing the  troops  there,  received,  about  mid- 
night, the  intelligence  of  the  approach  of 
armed  bands.  About  2  A.M.  he  ordered  the 
assembly  ;  but  the  rebels  having  commenced 
firing,  and  the  night  being  very  dark,  and 
it  beinof  difficult  to  manoeuvre  in  the 
narrow  streets,  he  was  forced  back  about 
half  a  verot  on  the  road  to  Radom  :  at  7 
A.M.  the  troops  reoccupied  the  town,  the 
rebels  moving  away  on  the  high  road  to- 
wards Kielce,  in  the  direction  of  the  fores-, 
after  they  had  secured  a  considerable 
quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition. 

Similar  attacks  were  made  in  the  Lublin 
district,  but  no  important  success  was 
gained  by  either  side.  The  insurgents 
were  too  weak  to  deal  a  decided  blow,  and 
too  scattered  over  a  large  expanse  of  coun- 
try to  be  subjected  to  any  decisive  stroke 
on  the  part  of  the  troops.  But  though  the 
insurijents  were  not  able  to  face  their 
enemies  in  the  field,  the  authorities  expe- 
rienced considerable  inconvenience  by  the 
facility  with  which  the  rebels  cut  the  lines 
of  communication  of  the  government,  as 
well  as  the  telegraphs  of  the  kingdom,  the 
difficulty  of  maintaining  them  in  working 
order  having  been  great  so  long  as  the 
rebels  were  able  to  keep  even  a  few  men 
together  in  the  vicinity  of  these  lines.  The 
railroad  between  Warsaw  and  St.  Peters- 
burg was  seriously  injured,  some  bridges 
on  the  line  having  been  partially  destroyed, 
and  other  lines  rendered  useless  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  rails. 

So  far  the  movement  at  present  was  con- 
fined to  the  working  classes  of  the  towns, 
with  a  few  small  proprietors  and  some  lower 
government  officials,  as  well  as  many  of 
the  country  clergy ;  the  larger  landed  pro- 
prietors and  peasants,  as  well  as  the  Jews, 
keeping  aloof  from  it.  The  students  of  the 
various  colleges  or  schools  also  kept  quiet, 
generally  speaking  ;  but  great  pressure  was 
applied  by  the  National  Committee  and  its 
agents,  to  force  both  the  proprietors  and 
students  to  join  the  insurrection. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  movement 
a  large  number  of  proprietors  arrived  at 
Warsaw,  where  they  held  meetings  to  deter- 
mine the  course  of  action  to  be  pursued  by 
them,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  govern- 
ment would  avail  itself  of  this  opportunity 
of  gaining  them  to  its  side  by  some  well- 
timed  concession  ;  but  in  the  meantime  tiie 
old  reactionary  party  in  the  government 
took  advantage  of  the  outbreak  to  prevent 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[tee  polish  forces. 


any  concession  being  offered,  and  pressed 
the  necessity  of  having  none  but  Russians 
in  the  government;  and  it  was  owing  to 
their  influence  that  the  grand  duke  ordered 
the  most  stringent  and  bloody  measures  of 
repression  to  be  taken  against  the  insur- 
gents, not  perceiving  that  such  a  course 
would  only  strengthen  the  discontent  in 
the  country,  as  well  as  excite  the  indig- 
nation of  other  countries  against  their 
cause. 

The  position  of  the  Marquis  Wielopolski 
in  the  government  became  impossible  in 
consequence  of  the  outbreak.  The  Russian 
party,  who  had  always  been  opposed  to  him, 
represented  him,  as  we  have  already  said, 
as  the  immediate  cause  of  the  insurrection, 
by  having  insisted  on  the  conscription 
being  carried  out ;  at  the  same  time  he 
received  little  or  no  support  from  the 
Polish  members  of  the  government;  and, 
though  countenanced  by  the  grand  duke, 
was  clearly  at  the  end  of  any  power  he  may 
once  have  possessed. 

Encouraged  by  the  evident  incapability 
of  Wielopolski  to  make  head  against  the 
storm  they  had  raised,  the  insurgents  and 
their  committees  redoubled  their  efforts, 
and  began  to  assemble  in  larger  bodies — a 
strategy  which,  in  case  of  an  insurrection, 
is  always  an  unpardonable  error  until  the 
forces  are  thoroughly  organised,  and  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  meet  the  enemy  on 
equal  terms.  The  chief  bands  were  three 
in  number.  The  first  and  most  important 
was  concentrated  near  the  town  of 
Wachock,  in  the  government  of  Radom. 
It  numbered  some  8,000  men,  under  the 
command  of  an  ex-officer  in  Graribaldi's 
army,  and  professor  in  the  Polish  military 
school  in  Italy,  of  the  name  of  Langiewicz, 
who,  accompanied  by  Mademoiselle  Pusto- 
wojtoff,  the  daughter  of  a  Russian  general, 
and  twenty  of  his  pupils,  had  entered 
Poland  in  disguise  from  the  Austrian  fron- 
tier. 

The  country  held  by  this  band  was 
more  undulating  and  broken  than  the 
other  districts  of  the  kinordora,  and  was 
thickly  wooded ;  the  band  was  largely  re- 
inforced from  the  mining  population  of  the 
locality  ;  and  having  the  government  forges 
in  their  possession,  employed  them  in  the 
preparation  of  scythes,  knives,  and  other 
rough  arms  of  this  description  ;  whilst  the 
vicinity  of  the  Grallician  frontier  of  Austria 
enabled  them  to  procure  more  easily  gun- 
powder  and   fire-arms   than   was  the  case 


elsewhere,  at  the  same  time  affording  a   se- 
cure retreat  in  case  of  serious  defeat. 

The  second  band  was  concentrated  in  the 
district  of  Siedlce,  having  its  head-quarters 
at  the  town  of  Wengrow,  towards  the 
Lithuanian  frontier ;  it  consisted  of  about 
2,000  men,  amongst  whom  were  many 
fugitives  from  Warsaw,  and  a  number  of 
small  freeholders,  who  are  very  numerous 
in  this  locality,  and  was  commanded  by 
Lewandowski. 

The  third  concentration  of  insurgents 
was  in  the  forest  of  Bolimow,  near  the 
town  of  Lovicz  ;  this  band,  numbering  about 
2,000,  operated  against  the  line  of  railway 
from  Warsaw  to  Vienna,  and,  without 
doing  any  serious  mischief,  constantly  in- 
terrupted the  communications  by  that  line. 

Other  bands  existed  in  the  districts  of 
Augustow  and  Lublin,  and  notably  in  the 
forests  round  Zamosk  and  Janow,  near  the 
Grallician  frontier,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  estates  of  Prince  Lubominski,  in  Aus- 
trian Poland ;  but  the  three  above-named 
were  the  most  formidable  at  first. 

The  rebellion  having  thus  assumed  con- 
siderable proportions,  the  authorities  began 
concentrating  their  troops  in  the  larger 
towns,  abandoning  all  outposts  to  prevent 
these  being  surprised,  and  prepared  to 
enter  on  a  regular  campaign  against  the 
disaffected  districts ;  and  this  accounts  for 
the  facility  with  which  the  insurgents  were 
able  to  assemble  in  such  force :  but  the  re- 
sult of  such  a  campaign  could  hardly  bo 
doubtful  when  the  comparative  forces  of 
the  two  parties  were  considered.  The 
imperial  troops  in  the  kingdom  were  esti- 
mated at  over  100,000  men,  well  armed 
and  equipped,  with  abundant  stores  of  war 
material  of  all  sorts ;  whilst  the  insurgents 
were  only  partially  armed,  unprovided  with 
artillery  or  any  stores  of  ammunition,  and 
utterly  untrained. 

On  February  3rd,  an  engagement  took 
place  at  Wengrow,  in  which  the  insurgents 
were  defeated  with  a  loss  of  200  men  killed. 
There  were  no  wounded  and  no  prisoners 
— a  fact  that  sufficiently  characterises  the 
spirit  in  which  the  military  had  been 
ordered  to  crush  the  rebellion. 

On  the  following  day  an  encounter  oc- 
curred at  Wachock,  between  the  troops  and 
Langiewicz,  in  which  the  superiority  of  the 
Russian  arms,  and  their  possession  of 
artillery,  gave  the  troops  the  victory  after  a 
severe  fight,  resulting  in  a  loss  of  sixty  men 
on   the  side  of  the  insurgents,  and  from 

323 


'  11 

i 


M 


ft 


LANDOWNERS'  TROUBLES.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1863. 


twenty  to  thirty  Russian  dragoons.  The 
town  of  Wachock  was  set  on  fire,  and 
burned  to  the  ground,  as  well  as  several  of 
the  neighbouring  villages,  by  the  victorious 
troops.  Langiewicz  himself  was  slightly 
wounded,  and  retreated  to  the  south- 
eastern portion  of  the  kingdom,  where  he 
found  a  refuge  in  the  forests. 

Whilst  these  and  similar  engagements 
occurred  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
the  civil  promoters  of  the  rebellion  were 
not  idle.  In  Warsaw  itself,  the  Central 
National  Committee  issued  its  orders  and 
proclamations  under  the  very  cannon  of  the 
citadel,  signed  by  the  insurgent  military 
chief  of  Warsaw.  One  of  these  proclama- 
tions was  directed  against  those  landed 
proprietors  who  had  arrived  in  Warsaw,  and 
had  held  meetings  to  decide  on  their  course 
of  action  during  the  movement.  But  being 
unable  to  arrive  at  any  decision,  it  was 
agreed,  at  their  last  meeting,  that  no  general 
determination  being  possible,  each  pro- 
prietor should  act  on  his  own  view  of  the 
case.  Consequently,  the  pressure  of  the 
revolutionary  chiefs,  which  might  without 
difficulty  have  been  resisted  by  them  as  a 
body,  became  much  more  difficult ;  and 
many  of  the  large  proprietors  were  induced 
to  join  the  movement,  notwithstanding  the 
small  prospect  of  any  good  to  their  cause 
resulting  from  so  doing.  But  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  position  of  the  Polish 
nobility  was  most  difficult.  Distrusted  by  a 
government  that  could  not  protect  their 
estates  from  pillage  or  their  persons  from 
insult,  they  were  also  proclaimed  traitors 
to  their  country  by  the  revolutionary 
leaders  because  they  would  not  join  the 
insurrection,  and  at  the  same  time  they 
were  exposed  to  the  vengeance  of  the 
peasant  class,  who  had  always  been  taught 
to  consider  them  as  their  oppressors,  and  as 
standing  in  the  way  of  any  definite  settle- 
ment of  their  rights.  Thus,  when  the 
National  Central  Committee  called  upon 
these  proprietors  to  return  to  their  estates, 
and  there  fulfil  the  duties  they  might  be 
called  upon  to  exercise,  many  of  them  fled 
to  foreign  countries,  leaving  their  estates  in 
the  care  of  stewards,  who  generally  managed 
to  make  a  good  thing  out  of  their  charges, 
or  abandoning  them  altogether.  But  even 
this  did  not  save  them.  Those  who  thus 
had  voluntarily  exiled  themselves  were 
then  called  upon  by  the  Russian  govern- 
ment to  return  under  pain  of  having  their 
estates  sequestrated.  In  this  way  they  were 
324 


taken  between  two  fires,  and  ruin  or  death 
stared  them  in  the  face.  If  they  returned 
and  refused  to  aid  the  insurgents,  death 
was  their  fate.  If  they  helped  them,  then 
the  Russian  government  seized  them,  and 
confiscated  their  goods.  All  who  could, 
therefore,  left  the  counntry,  after  selling 
their  estates  and  property  for  what  the 
Jews  were  prepared  to  give  them  on  their 
own  speculation,  or  as  agents  for  some 
Russians,  In  this  way  the  Russians  at- 
tained their  object,  as  the  sequel  proved, 
and  Poland  was  annihilated.  In  this 
sense  the  rebellion  was  a  godsend  to  the 
Russians ;  and  they  took  good  care  to  ex- 
ploit it  to  its  fullest  extent. 

Meantime,  the  proclamation  of  the  insur- 
gent military  chief  of  Warsaw  caused  great 
excitement  in  the  town.  It  called  upon 
the  youths  under  eighteen  years  of  age  to 
attend  diligently  to  their  studies,  as  the  only 
means  of  preparing  themselves  to  render 
good  service  to  the  country ;  warned  the 
workmen  not  to  allow  themselves  to  be  en- 
rolled except  by  persons  acting  under  the 
orders  of,  and  with  a  proper  commission 
from,  the  national  authorities ;  ordered  them 
not  to  leave  town  on  any  pretext  except 
under  the  orders  of  the  enrolling  officer,  as 
otherwise  they  were  liable  to  become  the 
victims  of  spies  ;  and  concluded  with  the 
following  paragraph : — 

"  As  the  sudden  flight  of  many  officials 
of  the  conqueror  to  the  citadel,  and  the 
continuance  of  oppressive  regulations, 
might  induce  the  Muscovite  agents  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  natural  disposition  of  the 
inhabitants  to  make  demonstrations,  espe- 
cially under  the  prevailing  opinion  that 
their  city  is  likely  to  be  exposed  to  the 
same  fate  that  has  befallen  our  towns  which 
have  been  pillaged,  the  inhabitants  are 
particularly  desired  to  avoid  any  kind  of 
demonstration,  as  it  would  only  serve  as  an 
excuse  to  the  oppressors,  and  to  the  traitor 
Wielopolski,  for  fresh  rigours.  The  in- 
habitants will  be  informed  by  proclamation 
whenever  their  services  are  required ;  but  at 
present  the  cause  of  their  country  can  be 
best  served  by  the  most  peaceable  demea- 
nour. This  must  not,  however,  prevent 
them  from  preparing  arms  and  ammunition, 
which  may  be  necessary  alike  to  defend,  the 
independence  of  their  country  or  their  own 
homes,  should  they  be  assailed  by  the 
enemy." 

To  this  proclamation  the  government 
military    commander   of   Warsaw   replied 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[count  polbtylo. 


with  a  decree  prohibiting  the  possession  of 
any  kind  of  arms  or  powder  by  persons  not 
liaving  permission  to  carry  arms ;  and 
ordering  them  to  be  given  up  to  the  proper 
police  authorities  within  forty-eight  hours ; 
after  which,  persons  having  any  arms,  war- 
like instruments,  or  powder  in  their  pos- 
session, would  be  punishable  by  martial 
law,  as  guilty  of  acts  of  rebellion. 

Holders  or  distributors  of  seditious 
placards  or  printed  matter  were  likewise  to 
be  punished  by  courts-martial  as  rebels; 
and  all  persons  were  forbidden,  without 
special  permission,  to  be  in  the  streets 
after  10  o'clock  at  night,  or  to  appear  in 
the  streets  without  a  lantern  after  7  P.M. ; 
whilst  in  cases  of  alarm  in  town,  all  per- 
sons were  to  retire  from  the  streets,  the 
doors  and  gates  of  the  houses  to  be  properly 
closed,  as  all  persons  remaining  in  the 
streets  would  be  exposed  to  the  dangers 
attending  military  operations.  In  cases 
where  a  house  might  be  occupied  by  insur- 
gents, or  shots  fired  from  its  windows,  that 
house  was  to  be  forthwith  destroyed  by 
artillery. 

These  two  proclamations  were  issued  by 
the  two  parties  under  a  mutual  fear;  and 
as  it  was  a  fact  that  many  Russian  officers 
had  removed  their  families  into  the  citadel, 
the  report  was  more  readily  credited  that, 
in  case  of  disturbance,  the  town  would  be 
pillaged,  than  might  otherwise  have  been 
the  case ;  moreover,  an  outbreak  in  War- 
saw itself  had  been  announced  as  probable 
towards  the  end  of  February,  which  tended 
to  keep  up  a  state  of  anxious  expectation 
amongst  all  parties. 

Fortunately  no  such  demonstration  took 
place  in  the  town.  If  it  had,  the  strongest 
measures  would  have  been  taken  to  put  it 
down,  and  much  blood  shed. 

It  is  undeniable,  that  at  this  period  the 
panic  in  Warsaw  was  terrible.  To  an  out- 
sider it  appeared  ludicrous.  It  extended 
to  all  classes,  even  to  the  British  consul, 
Mr.  White,  subsequently  appointed  to  the 
consulate  in  Belgrade  in  1876.  This  gen- 
tleman kept  in  an  inner  room,  access  to 
which  led  through  three  or  four  others,  of 
which  the  doors  were  kept  zealously  bolted 
and  barred,  so  that  getting  one's  passport 
vised  was  quite  an  alarming  undertaking. 
The  only  persons  who  exhibited  no  fear 
were  the  Polish  ladies.  Proudly  they 
walked  along  the  streets,  clad  in  deep 
black,  in  national  mourning,  and  refused 
all  invitations  to  houses  where  there  was 


any  chance  of  meeting  a  Russian.  Under 
these  circumstances,  as  may  be  imagined, 
political  animosity  speedily  degenerated 
into  personal  animosity  and  intense  hatred. 
The  soldiers  began  to  act  in  a  barbarous 
fashion,  not  only  in  obedience  to  the  orders 
they  received  from  their  immediate  superi- 
ors, but  on  their  own  account.  It  must, 
however,  be  confessed,  to  the  credit  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Constantino,  that  he  did  what 
was  in  his  power  to  prevent  excesses ;  and 
on  February  16th  he  issued  the  following 
Older :  — 

"  I  desire  all  the  chiefs  of  military  de- 
tachments to  preserve  the  strictest  disci- 
pline in  the  ranks,  and  to  be  careful  of 
their  conduct.  Soldiers  guilty  of  pillaging 
or  of  committing  acts  of  violence  towards 
peaceable  inhabitants  who  have  not  par- 
ticipated in  the  rebellion,  shall  be  punished 
with  the  utmost  severity  of  the  military 
criminal  laws.'' 

This  laudable  order  of  the  day  had,  how- 
ever, but  little  effect  in  the  outlying  dis- 
tricts ;  and  day  by  day  there  arrived  reports 
from  all  quarters  of  the  excesses  committed 
by  the  troops,  not  only  under  the  auspices 
of  their  officers,  but  at  their  instigation. 
The  estates  of  Count  Zamoyski  were 
ravaged,  his  mansion  gutted,  and  the 
family  archives  burnt,  without  any  provo- 
cation whatever,  and  without  there  having 
been  any  insurgents  at  the  place  at  the  * 
time  or  previously.  The  most  wanton 
attack  was,  however,  made  upon  the  house 
and  person  of  Count  Leopold  Poletylo,  a 
member  of  the  council  of  state  in  the  king- 
dom of  Poland,  who,  after  taking  his  wife 
back  to  Nice,  where  she  liad  gone  on  ac- 
count of  her  health,  had  returned  and 
established  himself  at  the  estate  of 
Woyslawice,  in  the  government  of  Lublin, 
with  his  two  infant  sons,  in  the  firm  inten- 
tion to  await  forthcoming  events. 

The  insurrection  broke  out,  and  he  per- 
sisted in  the  opinion  he  had  always  frankly 
avowed,  that  this  movement  could  have 
no  other  result  than  to  bring  repression 
and  calamities  upon  the  country.  Not  one 
of  his  employes  or  servants  joined  the  in- 
surrection, and  there  was  no  conflict,  nor 
even  assemblage,  on  his  estate. 

On  the  12th  February,  his  brother-in- 
law,  M.  Titus  Woyciechowski,  with  his  son, 
Joseph  Woyciechowski,  Dunin,  formerly 
colonel  of  grenadiers  of  the  Polish  guard, 
and  Kuhn,  formerly  major  in  the  Polish 
army,  met  together  at  his  house  to  celebrate 

325 


I 


f    !l 


n 


ATTACK  ON  POLETYLO.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1863. 


;  u 
■1 


the  birthday  of  his  eldest  son,  aged  five 
years. 

Tfiese  gentlemen,  pleased  with  each 
other's  society,  were  conversing,  while 
drinking  their  coffee  and  smoking  cigars, 
upon  the  events  of  the  day,  when,  at  half- 
past  three  in  the  afternoon,  the  bailiff  of 
the  Salkowrfki  estate  came  to  announce 
that  a  detachment  of  troops,  composed  of 
three  companies  of  infantry,  a  squadron  of 
Lancers,  two  cannons,  and  a  number  of  Cos- 
sacks, had  paid  a  domiciliary  visit  to  the 
house  of  Rakolupy,  belonging  to  Count 
Aurele  Poletylo,  that  they  were  marching 
upon  Woyslawice,  and  would  arrive  in  half- 
an-hour. 

These  gentlemen  consulted  as  to  what 
steps  to  take.  It  would  have  been  easy  to 
avoid  the  arrival  of  the  troops,  the  time 
being  more  than  sufficient ;  but  the  two  old 
soldiers  decided  that  they  might  calmly 
await  them,  seeing  that  they  were  not  a 
horde  of  Tartars,  but  regular  troops,  com- 
manded by  civilised  officers  and  men  of 
honour,  who  would  make  the  domiciliary 
visit,  and,  finding  nothing,  would  quit  the 
pLice. 

They  were  still  discussing  the  subject, 
when  they  heard  in  the  distance  the  report 
of  fire-arms,  and  two  cannons  were  fired  off 
in  the   little  town   of  Woyslawice,  killing 
four  inoffensive  men,  and  wounding  several 
others.     They  then  saw,  from  the  windows 
of  the   chateau^  some  Cossacks  galloping 
along  the  road  in  the  direction  of  Uhair ; 
and   some   time  afterwards  some  riflemen 
came   in   sight    and    marched    upon    the 
chateau,  which  the  balls  already  reached, 
and  broke  the  windows.    Then  followed  the 
mass  of    infantry,  which    surrounded    the 
chateau.     The  cannon  were  placed  in  posi- 
tion   at   150  feet,  at  which    distance  the 
officers  also  remained,  while  the  infantry 
came  near  the  chateau  and  broke  the  win- 
dows with  the  butt-ends  of  their  muskets. 
Count  Poletylo  wished  three  times  to  go 
towards  the  troops  to  treat  with  the  officer 
in  command  of  the  expedition,  and  to  pre- 
serve the  inmates  of  the  chateau  and  his 
guests  from  imminent  danger  ;  but  he  was 
prevented  by  his  brother-in-law,  Woycie- 
chowski,   who    pointed   out    to  him   that 
there  was  no  one  for  him  to  address  him- 
self to,  seeing  that  no  officer,  or  even  su- 
baltern,   appeared.     Then    commenced    a 
frightful    carnage,    which   cannot    be    de- 
scribed without  horror. 

The  soldiers,  having  broken  the  windows, 
326 


began  to  fire  point-blank,  without  as  yet 
having  wounded  any  one ;  but  when  they 
entered  the  hall  and  began  to  massacre 
the  servants  with  their  bayonets  and  the 
butt-ends  of  their  muskets.  Count  Poletylo, 
feeling  convinced  that  his  days  were  num- 
bered, took  leave  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Woyciechowski,  and  of  his  guests,  saying 
that  his  duty  was  to  die  with  his  children. 
He  found  his  two  sons,  with  Madame 
Dunin,  his  aunt,»and  three  women-servants, 
on  their  knees.  He  followed  their  example, 
and  during  the  hour  and  e-half  that  the 
carnage  lasted  he  passed  the  time  in  prayer, 
awaiting  death. 

The  count,  his  children,  and  the  women 
who  surrounded  them,  were  saved  almost  by 
a  miracle,  for  the  door  in  the  room  in  which 
they  were  was  only  ajar,  and  close  by  the 
soldiers  had  fired  in  every  direction  and 
broken  all  the  doors. 

Towards  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  the 
firing  ceased,  and  the  count,  leaving  his 
retreat,  learnt  that  M.  Woyciechowski  and 
his  son  Joseph  had  retired  to  the  count's 
study,  and  when  the  attack  on  the  chateau 
began,  the  musketeers  who  crossed  before  tlie 
windows  fired  upon  Joseph  Woyciechow*ki, 
a  promising  young  man  of  twenty-four, 
and  wounded  his  father.  Major  Kuhn  and 
Colonel  Dunin  had  awaited  the  assassins  in 
separate  rooms.  Major  Kuhn  was  a^sailod 
by  a  number  of  bayonets,  which  he  pushed 
aside  with  his  hands,  when  two  balls  took 
off  two  fingers  from  each  hand ;  he  after- 
wards received  several  bayonet-wounds  in 
the  breast,  and  numerous  strokes  of  the  butt- 
ends  of  muskets  all  over  his  body.  The 
soldiers  carried  off  this  prisoner  and  brought 
him  before  an  officer,  whom  he  requested  to 
allow  his  wounds  to  be  dressed,  as  he  was 
losing  much  blood  ;  but  the  Kussian  officer 
replied  that  there  were  doctors,  surgeons, 
and  bandages,  but  that  they  were  to  dress 
the  wounds  of  soldiers,  and  not  those  of 
enemies  of  the  Eussian  nation ;  and  he 
ended  by  giving  him  a  sabre-cut  in  the 
face. 

Colonel  Dunin,  who  was  seventy  years  of 
age,  sat  calmly  on  a  drawing-room  sofa 
with  his  arms  crossed,  awaiting  the  attack, 
when  the  door  opened,  and  five  soldiers  fired 
simultaneously  upon  him.  He  had  five 
wounds ;  one  ball  grazed  his  skull  and  in- 
jured it;  two  balls  went  through  his  neck; 
two  slugs  lodged  themselves  in  his  jaw.  The 
soldiers  then  rushed  upon  him,  and  he  was 
wounded  in  the  hand  in  pushing  away  the 


AvD.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[FOREiaX  INTERESTS.- 


bayonets.  He  tried  to  arrest  the  fury  of 
these  assassins,  and  pointed  out  that  they 
ought  to  treat  him  as  an  old  man  and  an  old 
soldier.  They  only  replied  by  blows  and 
insults.  Then  the  soldiers,  who  had  to  sup- 
port him,  as  he  was  getting  weak  from  the 
loss  of  blood,  brought  him  to  the  major  in 
command  of  the  detachment,  who  re- 
mained passive  near  the  cannon,  in  the 
midst  ot  this  scene  of  carnage.  Colonel 
Dunin  addressed  the  major  in  these  terms: 
'*  You  are  a  soldier,  and  yet  you  are  not 
ashamed  to  exterminate  people  who  are 
unarmed,  and  who  cannot  defend  them- 
selves." 

The  major  answered  that  100  shots  had 
been  fired  from  the  house,  and  that  he  had 
afterwards  caused  an  attack  to  be  made. 
(Jolonel  Dunin  answered,  "  It  is  an  infamous 
falsehood.  I  am  an  ancient  colonel  of  the 
guard  of  Grenadiers,  aide-de-camp  of  the 
general  of  the  Ziminski  division.  I  can 
wear  decorations.  Well !  I  swear  to  you, 
upon  my  grey  hairs — I  give  you  my  honour 
as  a  soldier,  that  since  the  commencement 
of  the  insurrection,  there  has  not  been  a 
single  insurgent  or  arm  in  the  house  ;  there 
is  not  a  gun,  revolver,  or  a  sword — in  a  word, 
nothing.  For  the  rest,  I  am  in  your  hands  ; 
cause  a  domiciliary  visit  to  be  made,  and  if 
you  find  anything  but  penknives  and  table- 
knives  you  may  shoot  me."  The  major 
said,  "\Vhat  are  you  talking  of,  when  I  saw 
a  man  in  the  court-yard  fire  upon  me  at 
twenty  paces  ?  " 

Colonel  Dunin  answered,  "  How  can  you 
tell  such  a  falsehood  !  What  a  commander 
are  you,  not  to  have  seized  this  man  in  a 
court-yard  filled  with  soldiers  ?  " 

The  Russian  officer  saw  that  he  had  made 
a  mistake,  and  was  silent,  and,  at  an  order 
given,  the  firing  ceased  ;  at  a  second  order 
they  formed  rank.  Now  this  crime  was 
committed,  not  by  insubordinate  soldiers, 
but  at  the  command  of  their  officers. 

The  major  then  had  the  mayor  of  the 
village  sent  for,  and  placed  the  wounded 
under  his  charge ;  after  which  he  told  the 
soldiers  that  they  had  behaved  very 
bravely,  and  like  heroes ;  he  then  went  and 
dined  at  a  place  distant  a  quarter  of  a 
league,  and  the  following  day  he  returned, 
after  this  glorious  undertaking,  to  Krasny- 
staw. 

Six  persons  were  killed,  four  at  the 
village  of  Woyslawice,  and  two  at  the 
mansion — M.  Joseph  Woyciechowski,  and 
a  servant :  in  addition  to  this,  there  were 


nine  wounded  and  bruised  with  the  butt- 
end  of  muskets,  who  were  eleven  hours 
without  having  their  wounds  dressed,  as 
there  were  no  doctors  or  other  assistance 
for  them  on  the  spot. 

The  sack  of  the  house  was  complete.  On 
the  ground-floor,  everything,  furniture, 
china,  and  mirrors,  was  broken  to  pieces.  The 
linen  was  torn  to  shreds.  The  jewels  of 
the  countess  were  carried  off;  12,000  florins 
were  taken  from  the  pocket  of  Colonel 
Dunin  ;  3,000  were  taken  from  a  maid-ser- 
vant— all  her  savings,  in  "  lettres  de  gafjes  ;'* 
12,000,  in  the  same  kind  of  paper,  from  the 
steward  Grorchowski,  his  whole  property, 
the  result  of  saving  for  a  long  course  of 
years. 

The  news  of  this  outrage,  which  we  have 
given  in  the  words  of  a  witness — the  steward 
Grorchowski — and  which  was  corroborated 
in  every  particular  by  Major  Kuhn,  created 
universal  indignation,  especially  in  Eng- 
land, where  the  affair  was  made  public 
by  Admiral  Napier,  the  British  ambassador 
at  St.  Petersburg,  and  gave  a  considerable 
spur  to  the  negotiations  between  the  great 
powers  in  reference  to  Poland. 

There  were  several  reasons  why  these 
great  powers  could  not  afford  to  treat  the 
Polish  rebellion  as  lying  beyond  their 
interests.  They  were  bound,  in  various 
degrees,  not  only  by  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaties  of  1815,  but  also  by  dictates  of  their 
own  interests,  both  in  regard  to  Russia  and 
towards  each  other. 

The  powers,  however,  immediately  con- 
cerned in  the  state  of  affairs  in  Poland, 
were  those  on  its  borders — Prussia  and 
Austria.  The  interests  of  the  Courts  of 
these  two  countries  were,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, identical  with  those  of  the  Court  of 
St.  Petersburg — that  is  to  say,  in  so  far  as 
they  were  all  three  the  strongholds  of  aristo- 
cracy. But  the  interests  of  the  people  were 
by  no  means  identical.  Added  to  this,  there 
was  the  jealousy  existing  between  Prussia 
and  Austria,  which  prevented  them  from 
working  together ;  in  consequence  of  which 
Prussia  preferred  relying  on  Russia.  Or 
rather.  Prince  Bismarck — then  a  simple 
baron — preferred  it,  because  he  was  aware 
that  his  great  idea,  the  unification  of  Grer- 
many,  would  have  to  be  carried  out  in  the 
face  of  Austrian  opposition. 

Thus,  when  the  troubles  in  Poland  broke 
out,  negotiations  were  instituted  between 
the  two  countries,  which  resulted  in  the 
draft  of  a  convention  between  Russia  and 

327 


■* 


PRUSSIAN  CONVENTION.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1SG3. 


•A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


r  i 


wi 


m 


r . 


Prussia,  which  afforded  the  Russian  troops 
considerable  facilities  in  crushing  the  re*- 
bellion.  Information  of  this  convention 
reached  Count  Rechberf^j,  the  Austrian 
minister,  unofficially,  and  he  communicated 
its  nature  to  the  British  ambassador  ;  but 
at  the  same  time,  as  he  had  heard  it  was 
intended  to  ask  Austria  to  join  in  it,  he 
telegraphed  to  Count  Thun,  the  Austrian 
ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg,  to  discourage 
any  communication  on  the  subject  to  the 
Austrian  Court,  as  Gallicia  was  compara- 
tively quiet,  and  the  Austrian  government 
desired  to  maintain  a  strictly  neutral  and 
independent  attitude. 

A  few  days  later,  the  same  information 
was  acquired  by  the  British  ambassador  at 
Berlin,  where  the  proportions  of  the  revolt 
were  immensely  and  intentionallv  exafj-f^e- 
rated.  The  chief  point  of  the  projected  con- 
vention was  the  permission  to  be  accorded 
to  the  Russian  troops  to  follow  the  Polish 
insurgents  across  the  Prussian  frontier,  and 
claim  the  assistance  of  the  Prussian  troops. 

As  soon  as  the  draft  of  this  convention 
became  known,  there  was  considerable 
indignation  throughout  Prussia,  as  it  was 
perfectly  well  known  that  there  was  no 
disaflfection  in  the  Polish  provinces  of 
Prussia,  and  no  danger  to  them  from  the 
revolt.  Equally  great  was  the  displeasure 
evinced  by  the  British  government  at  this 
step  ;  but  it  did  not  suit  Prince  Bismarck's 
policy  to  modify  the  measures  he  had 
agreed  to  take  at  the  instance  of  the 
Russian  government. 

This  was  especially  obnoxious  to  Austria, 
and  Count  Rechberg  succeeded  in  inducing 
Earl  Russell  to  assume  a  very  decided  at- 
titude on  the  question.  Sir  A.  Buchanan, 
the  ambassador  of  England  at  Berlin, 
was  instructed  to  ask  for  a  copy  of  the 
convention.  Sir  Andrew  did  not  succeed 
at  first  in  his  object,  but  was  promised  a 
copy  as  soon  as  the  Russian  government 
gave  its  consent.  In  the  interview,  how- 
ever, which  Sir  A.  Buchanan  had  with  Herr 
voa  Bismarck,  that  statesman  expressed  his 
views  with  the  careless,  inconsiderate  bluff- 
ness  that  has  since  become  one  of  his  chief 
characteristics.  Sir  Andrew  observed  that, 
with  a  view  to  the  interest  of  Prussia,  the 
least  possible  delay  should  take  place  in 
the  publication  of  the  convention,  if  it  only 
contained  the  provisions  which  he  repre- 
sented it  to  do ;  for  it  was  generally  be- 
lieved that  Prussia  had  entered  into 
arrangements  with  Russia  for  mutually 
328 


assisting  each  other  in  repressing  all  popular 
movements  within  their  respective  terri- 
tories, and  that  this  suspicion  had  created  a 
most  unfavourable  feeling  towards  Prussia 
throughout  Western  Europe.  To  this  Herr 
von  Bismarck  replied,  that  a  portion  of  the 
English  and  French  press,  hostile  to  Prus- 
sia, and  the  whole  press  of  Denmark  and 
Austria,  had  seized  upon  the  convention  to 
calumniate  Prussia ;  but  whoever  would 
consider  the  circumstances  dispassionately 
and  impartially,  would  easily  satisfy  himself 
that  the  Prussian  government  had  done  no 
more  than  was  necessary  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  tranquillity,  and  the  protection  of 
the  population  on  a  frontier  which  was 
1,500  miles  in  length.  To  this  Sir  Andrew 
replied,  that  if  he  would  look  back  into  the 
files  of  the  Times,  he  would  find  that  there 
was  no  feeling  of  hostility  to  Prussia  in 
En<jland,  and  that  if  the  lano:uaij:e  of  the 
press  had  within  a  late  period  ceased  to  be 
that  of  sympathy  and  approval,  he  must 
seek  some  other  cause  for  the  chan<j:e  than 
unfriendly  feelings  in  England  towards  the 
Prussian  nation. 

Herr  von  Bismarck  then  went  on  to  ex- 
plain that  the  insurrection  in  Russian 
Poland  had  been  principally  promoted  by 
the  smaller  gentry,  who  all  had  dependents 
attached  to  their  houses  and  farms,  whom 
they  easily  induced  to  take  part  in  enter- 
prises against  the  government ;  and  who, 
when  they  had  thus  raised  a  small  band  of 
armed  men,  forced  the  peasantry  to  join 
them ;  and  it  was  to  prevent  the  proceed- 
ings of  these  persons  being  extended  into 
the  Polish  provinces  of  Prussia,  or  a  simi- 
lar course  being  followed  by  the  small 
landed  proprietors  and  gentry  of  these 
provinces,  that  the  convention  had  been 
entered  into,  while  it  was  hoped,  that  by 
energetic  action  on  the  part  of  the  autho- 
rities, the  commerce  of  Prussia  with  the 
interior  of  Poland  might  be  protected  from 
the  depredations  of  Russian-Polish  insur- 
gents hovering  on  the  frontier.  In  fact,  he 
asserted  that  the  government  had,  in  the 
first  place,  entered  into  the  convention  as 
a  necessary  measure  of  defence,  but  that 
they  also  saw  in  it  a  legitimate  means  of 
protecting  the  interests  of  Prussian  traders 
witii  Poland.  To  this  Sir  Andrew  replied, 
that  those  were  the  commonplace  argu- 
ments used  by  all  governments  intervening 
in  the  affairs  of  other  States,  and  they 
would  have  been  equally  applicable  if  her 
majesty's  government  had  interfered  in  the 


I  ^ 


\ 


[PRUSSIAN  CONVENTIOlt. 


Amerixian  civil  war  on  the  pretence  that  it 
was  necessary  to  secure  Canada  against 
future  aggression,  and  to  protect  British 
commerce  and  industry  against  the  evils  to 
which  the  war  was  certain  to  subject  them; 
but  it  would  be  difficult  for  liis  excellency 
to  prove  that  what  was  unnecessary  in 
Galicia  was  unavoidable  in  Prussia. 

To  tliis  Herr  von  Bismarck  objected,  that 
the  massacre  of  1,000  of  the  gentry  by  the 
peasantry  in  Galicia  in  1848,  had  greatly 
diminished  the  probability  of  any  insur- 
rectionary movements  there,  as  the  dan- 
gerous class  of  the  population  had  been 
nearly  exterminated,  and  neither  the  great 
nobles  nor  the  peasantry  were  disposed  to 
incur  risks  and  make  sacrifices  for  the 
restoration  of  Polish  nationality.  At  the 
same  time  he  said  that  the  number  of 
troops  concentrated  on  the  frontier  had 
been  greatly  exaggerated ;  for,  though  some 
of  the  reserves  had  been  called  out,  none 
of  the  corps  had  been  placed  on  a  war 
footing,  either  with  respect  to  men,  horses, 
or  guns ;  and,  after  providing  garrisons  for 
the  towns  and  fortresses,  the  troops  at  the 
disposal  of  Greneral  Werder  could  only 
enable  him  to  station  12,000  men  on  the 
Northern,  and  8,000  on  the  Silesian 
frontier,  for  service  in  the  field,  which  was 
a  very  moderate  force  for  the  duty  to  be 
performed.  He  said  also  that  the  Prussian 
commanding  officers  had  orders  not  to  act 
on  Russian  territory  beyond  a  day^s  march 
fromi  tJie  frontier,  and  that  Russian 
troops  would  only  cross  the  frontier  while 
in  actual  conflict  with  armed  insurgents. 

He  explained  further,  that  the  principal 
advantage  which  Prussia  gained  from  the 
convention  was,  that  bands  could  not  be 
collected  on  the  frontier  for  the  invasion  of 
the  Prussian  territories ;  or  if  insurgents  in 
these  territories  were  driven  across  the 
frontier,  they  could  not  be  rallied  or  rein- 
forced in  the  kinj^dom  {jr  a  renewed 
attack  on  the  Prussian  troops ;  and  in 
answer  to  an  inquiry  which  Sir  Andrew 
made  of  him  with  respect  to  Russian  in- 
surgents who  might  be  captured  in  Prussia, 
he  said  they  would  be  given  up  to  the 
llussian  authorities,  in  conformity  with  the 
stipulations  of  conventions  of  long  stand- 
ing, which  had  been  renewed  in  1857.  He 
said  these  conventions  had  been  suspended 
in  1853,  but  that  the  number  of  Russian 
deserters  and  other  persons  crossing  the 
frontier  illegally,  from  criminal  or  other 
causes,  became  so  great  an  inconvenience, 

VOL.  II.  2  u 


that  it  had  been  found  necessary  to  renew 
the  conventions  in  the  interests  of  public 
order  in  the  frontier  distticts* 

Finally,  he  professed  to  be  gi*eatly  an-' 
noyed  at  the  reprobation  with  which  the 
convention  had  been  received  in  Prussia 
and  in  Europe,  and  with  the  distrust  of  the 
Prussian  government  to  which  it  had 
given  rise ;  and  though  on  previous  occa* 
sions  he  had  always  spoken  of  the  proba- 
bility of  the  Russian  army  in  Poland 
proving  too  Weak  to  suppress  the  insurrec- 
tion, he  represented  the  principal  forces  of 
the  insurgents  as  having  been  already  de- 
feated and  dispersed,  and  those  remaining 
in  arms  as  consisting  merely  of  small  scat- 
tered bands  of  men  who  were  afraid  to 
return  to  their  homes,  but  who,  though 
unable  to  offer  any  serious  resistance  to 
regular  troops,  miglit  keep  up  for  some 
time  a  state  of  brigandage  in  Poland, 
similar  to  that  prevailing  in  the  Nea- 
politan provinces  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy. 

These  arguments  of  Herr  von  Bismarck, 
as  can  be  seen,  had  not  much  value.  His 
citing  the  state  of  affairs  in  Italy  Was  not 
in  any  way  applicable  to  the  case.  No  in- 
convenience arose  from  Italian  brigandage 
in  the  neighbouring  States ;  and  these 
States  did  not  consider  it  either  their  duty 
or  their  interest  to  furnish  the  Italian 
government  with  police  to  do  the  work  of 
Italian  gendarmes. 

This  is  the  view  that  was  taken  of  the 
matter  in  Prussia  ;  and,  on  February  18th, 
the  following  interpellation  was  addressed 
to  the  government  in  the  Lower  House  of 
Parliament : — "  Has  a  convention  been 
concluded  between  the  king's  government 
and  the  imperial  cabinet  of  Russia  for  the 
suppression  of  the  Polish  rebellion  ?  And,' 
if  so,  what  are  its  conditions  ?" 

The  president  of  the  chamber  having 
called  upon  the  president  of  the  ministry 
to  answer  this  question — 

Herr  Von  Bismarck  rose  and  said,  that 
the  government  did  not  intend  to  reply  to 
it.  Whereupon  M.  de  Unruh  observed, 
that  notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  the 
government  to  answer  the  interpellation, 
he  would  move  that  a  debate  be  opened  on 
the  subject,  as  it  was  one  of  such  import- 
ance that  the  opinion  of  the  House  in 
reference  to  it  ought  to  be  placed  ott 
record.  According  to  the  trustworthy  in- 
formation of  the  local  papers,  and  to  the 
reports  given  by  members  of  that   House, 

the   districts    con- 
329 


living 


contiguous   to 


u 


■'"  «■ 


1 


THE   CONVENTION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  18n3. 


cerned,  it  appeared  that  no  movement  of 
any   sort    of  consequence   had   manifested 
itself  in  any  portion  of  the  Polish  posses- 
sions of  Prussia ;    notwithstanding  which, 
two  entire  army  corps  had  called    in  their 
reserves,   which,    according    to     the     new 
organisation  of  the  army,  was  equivalent  to 
being  put  on  a  war  footing,  and  it  was 
rumoured  that  two  more  would  follow  their 
example.     This  would  be  equivalent  to  the 
mobilisation  of  half  the  military  forces  of 
Prussia  ;  and  he  would  ask  the  House  what 
possible   purpose    such    armaments    could 
serve.     Was  t'he  step  taken  because  of  the 
imminent  danger  of  the  Polish  provinces  of 
Kussia  setting  up  their  independence,  and 
takin**"    a    threatening:     attitude     towards 
Prussia  ?     It  was  clear  that,  at  present  at 
least,  there  was  no  probability  of  such  an 
issue.     Or  was  it  an  act  of  political  friend- 
ship towards  Russia?     The  speaker  then 
went  on  to  review  the  relations  that  had 
existed  betv/een  Russia  and  Prussia  since 
the  wars  of  the  empire ;  and  enumerated 
the  various  unfriendly  acts  of  wliich  the 
latter  had  to  complain,  deducing  therefrom 
that  it  had  never  been  the  policy  of  Russia 
to  see  a  strong  and  great  Prussia  grow  up 
by  her  side ;   and  that  a  subserviency  of 
Prussian  interests  to  those  of  her  imperial 
neighbour  was,  from  every  point  of  view, 
the  most  fatal  error  that  a  Prussian  states- 
man could  commit.     He  then  adverted  to 
the  special  dangers  attaching  to  a  policy  of 
this  kind,  in  connection  with  the  Polish 
question,   as    involving    the    hostility    of 
France   and  England;   and  concluded   by 
saying  that  he  could  not  bring  himself  to 
believe   that   it  was  the  intention  of   the 
government  to  take  their  proposed  measures 
.on  the  ground  of  the  so-called  "  solidarity 
of  Conservative  interests,"  which  was  nothing 
but    a    league    of    absolute    governments 
against  the  liberties  of  their  peoples ;  nor 
would  he  believe  that  the  government  were 
looking  out  for  foreign  broils  to  get  out  of 
their    home   difficulties..    If,    however,   an 
aggressive  policy  of  any  of  the  kinds  de- 
scribed were  to  actuate  the  government,  he 
had  the  full  confidence  that  the  chamber 
would  not  vote  one  thaler  in  support  of  it. 
Thereupon    Herr  von  Bismarck  replied, 
saying  that  he  would  be  delighted  to  take 
lessons  in  Prussian  policy  from  the  wider 
experience   and   deeper   knowledge  of  the 
gentleman  who  had  just  sat  down,  but  he 
would  be  obliged  to  him  to  afford  him  the 
opportunity  of  taking  them  in  private,  or, 
330 


at  least,  in  some  less  public  place  than  in 
the  chamber.  It  was  easy  to  bandy  about 
strong  expressions  respecting  the  foreign 
policy  of  the  government ;  but  he  thouglit 
that  publicity  and  the  effect  produced  in 
foreign  countries  should  prescribe  limits  to 
the  abuse  lavished  upon  one's  own  minis- 
ters. As  re<i:arded  the  armaments  to  which 
allusion  had  been  made,  he  denied  that 
any  portion  of  the  army  liad  been  mobi- 
lised. Not  a  single  extra  horse  had  been 
bought  for  the  artillery  and  cavalry.  All 
that  had  been  done  was  to  call  in  the 
reserves  of  the  infantry.  It  was  no  busi- 
ness of  his  to  enter  into  an  academic  dis- 
sertation on  the  foreign  policy  of  Prussia; 
and  his  position  as  foreign  minister  pre- 
vented him  from  expressing  sympathies  or 
antipathies  for  any  foreign  cabinet.  He 
could  not,  therefore,  follow  M.  de  Unruh  in 
his  retrospective  review  of  the  relations  be- 
tween Russia  and  Prussia  ;  but  he  could 
tell  the  House  that  the  government  were 
not  carrying  out  a  Russian,  but  a  Prussian 
policy,  and  that  its  object  was  to  protect 
the  king's  subjects  against  the  danger  of 
insurrection.  It  had  been  hinted  by  the 
last  speaker  that  threats  had  been  made, 
or  advice  offered,  to  the  government  in 
reference  to  their  attitude  in  regard  to  the 
insurrection.  The  government  had  re- 
ceived nothing  of  the  sort,  and  did  not 
intend  to  receive  anything  of  the  sort. 

To  which  M.  Waldeck's  answer  was — 
"  The  minister-president  has  vouchsafed  to 
give  us  a  few  particulars  about  the  military 
preparations  actually  made ;  but  he  has 
remained  silent  as  to  whether  a  convention 
has  been  concluded  with  Russia.  This 
silence  can  only  mean  that  such  a  conven- 
tion has  been  concluded,  for  otherwise  he 
would,  if  not  out  of  respect  for  us,  at  least 
out  of  respect  to  the  country  and  to 
Europe,  have  answered  our  interpellation 
with  the  simple  '  No,'  which  alone  would 
be  compatible  with  the  honour  and  dignity 
of  Prussia.  A  convention  to  assist  such  a 
State  as  Russia  in  putting  down  her  dis- 
affected subjects  was  a  something  so  mon- 
strous, that  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  proper 
category  amongst  public  acts  wherein  to 
range  it.  It  could  not  for  one  moment  be 
classed  with  a  treaty  for  assisting  an  allied 
State  in  defending  itself  against  foreign 
foes.  It  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
the  sending  over  of  gendarmes  and  armed 
police  to  a  country  whose  existence  had 
hitherto    depended    alone    on   police   and 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE 


[the  convention. 


gendarmes.  And  this  was  a  part  to  be 
undertaken  by  a  State  that  pretended  to  be 
at  the  head  of  German  civilisation !  The 
man  whose  face  did  not  flush  with  shame 
at  such  a  thought,  was  not  worthy  to  be  a 
Prussian  or  a  German.  The  party  to 
which  the  minister-president  belongs,  is 
that  which,  in  opposition  to  the  votes  of 
the  chamber  in  1854,  endeavoured  to  force 
the  country  into  active  co-operation  with 
Russia  during  the  Crimean  war.  This,  at 
least,  was  a  policy  that  could  be  defended 
on  political  grounds  :  but  in  what  political 
dictionary  could  the  right  term  be  found 
for  a  police  intervention  in  behalf  of  a 
foreign  State  ?  The  character  of  the  pre- 
sent insurrection  had  been  correctly  de- 
scribed by  the  first  speaker :  it  was  not  an 
organised  revolt  for  political  purposes,  but 
a  cry  of  anguish  raised  from  an  oppressed 
country.  Could  it  for  one  moment  be  sup- 
posed that  the  unhappy  creatures  who  fled 
to  the  woods  and  the  desert  places  for 
refuge  against  a  brutal  tyranny,  were 
likely  to  make  an  aggressive  movement 
against  the  Prussian  frontier.  Our  safety 
against  such  dangers  must  be  sought  in  the 
contrast  afforded  by  our  own  administra- 
tion of  our  Polish  provinces  as  compared 
with  Russian  rule,  and  not  in  aiding  and 
abetting  that  system  of  government." 

The  speaker  then  turned  to  the  positiop 
assumed  by  the  government  in  reference  to 
the  interpellation.  "The  government  treats 
us,"  he  said,  "  in  regard  to  foreign  matters, 
as  it  did  in  reference  to  internal  concerns. 
When  we  refused  certain  items  of  the  bud- 
get, the  ministry  told  us,  '  We  will  incur 
the  expenditure  all  the  same.'  When,  in 
reference  to  our  foreign  policy,  we  ask 
whether  a  convention,  which  may  lead 
forth  our  children  to  an  unjust  war,  and 
take  our  earnings  from  our  pockets,  has 
been  concluded,  we  are  told,  'This  is  no 
concern  of  yours ;  we  will  not  show  you  the 
convention.'  Is  it,  then,  so  insignificant  a 
thing  that  our  children  should  be  sent  forth 
to  do  hangman  duties  to  an  absolute  gov- 
ernment ?  Not  in  the  interest  of  Prussia, 
let  it  be  clearly  understood,  is  this  work  to 
be  done,  but  in  the  interest  of  absolutism, 
as  such.  The  only  parallel  for  it  is  to  be 
found  in  the  sale,  during  the  last  century, 
by  the  Elector  of  Hes^e,  of  his  troops  to  the 
British  government,  for  putting  down  the 
revolted  American  States.  But  the  day  for 
policy  of  this  kind  is  passed,  and  kings  can 
no  longer  treat  the  lives  of  their  subjects 


as  private  property  to  be  employed  no  mat- 
ter on  what  frivolous  and  Quixotic  adven- 
tures.    An  intervention  on  our  part — let  us 
not  disguise  the  fact  from  ourselves — would 
be   damned  by  the  whole   civilised  world. 
Austria  condemns  it ;  England  openly  con- 
demns it;  France  rejoices  at  the  opportunity 
afforded  her  of  making  herself  popular  at 
our  expense.     Even  in  Russia  the  principles 
upon  which  such  an  intervention  would  be 
based  have  of  late  come  into  discredit,  and 
the  Emperor  Alexander  has  himself  endea- 
voured to  adopt  a  more  liberal  policy.     It  is 
true  that,  in  so  doing,  he  has  incurred  the 
heavy  displeasure   of    those    Prussian    ad- 
mirers of  Russia  to  whom   the  minister- 
president  belongs.    Who  knows  ?  It  is,  per- 
haps, to  bribe  Russia  back  to  her  old  faith 
that   the   present   assistance  is  offered   to 
her.     There    was    a    policy   that    Prussia 
might    have    followed;    she    might,    in    a 
friendly  manner,  have  offered  her  advice  to 
Russia,  and  warned  her  of  the  dangers  she 
incurred  by  abandoning  the  road  of  legality, 
and   ordering   the   barbarous   conscription 
which  has  called  forth  the  present  rebellion; 
and  more  than  any  other  State,  Prussiamight 
have  expected  that  from  her  such  a  warn- 
ing would  not  ,have   been    in  vain.     But 
a   sound  foreign  policy  of  this  sort  is  as 
little  to  be  expected  from  the  present  min- 
istry as  a  sound  internal  policy.     The  min- 
istex-president  has  protested  against  heap- 
ing abuse  upon  the  government  in  the  face 
of  Europe.     But  I  deny  that  this  is  what 
we   are  doing.     To   point   out  •  the  faults 
committed  by   the  government  is  not  to 
heap  abuse  upon  it,  and  the  course  we  are 
pursuing  will  strengthen  but  not  weaken 
the  State.     What  we   do,  is    to   show  to 
Europe,  that  if  the  Prussian  government  is 
on  the  wrong  path,  the  Prussian  people  at 
least  will  not  encourage  it  along  its  path. 
This  is  our  business  here  this  day ;   and  if 
the  minister-president  will  not  lay  the  con- 
vention before  us,  and  if  its  contents  are 
such  as  the  papers  describe  them,  we  shall, 
at  least,  by  what  we  have  said  to-day,  have 
protested    by   anticipation    against    it   as 
against  the  interests  of  Prussia,  as  opposed 
to  the  principles  of  international  relations, 
and  as  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  history." 
Herr  von  Bismarck,  in  reply,  said,  that 
the  speaker  who  had  just  sat  down,   had 
declared  that  a  simple  "  No  "  was  the  only 
reply  to  the  interpellation  that  would  have 
been  compatible  with  the  honour  of  Prussia. 
He  (Herr  von  Bismarck)  thought  he  knew 

331 


THE  OPPOSITION.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


fA.D.  1863. 


■F; 


quite  as  well  as  M.  Waldeck  what  was  due 
to  the  honour  of  Prussia,  and  would  take 
the  opportunity  of  recalling  the  opinion  of 
a  great  English  statesman,  to  the  effect,  that 
the  worst  of  all  monopolies  was  the  pretended 
exclusive  possession  of  political  insight  and 
virtue.  In  conclusion,  he  denied  the  au- 
thenticity of  a  letter  that  had  appeared  in 
the  Czas  newspaper,  purporting  to  be  ad- 
dressed by  a  person  in  the  Chancery  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Constantino  to  the  Russian 
legation  here,  and  in  which  the  offers  of 
Prussian  assistance  were  treated  very  cava- 
lierly, and  described  as  forced  upon  the 
Russian  government. 

Stung  to  the  quick  by  the  contemptuous 
tone  adopted  towards  them  by  Kerr  von 
Bismarck,  the  House  determined  to  return 
to  the  charge ;  and  on  February  2r)th,  the 
House  declared,  that "  the  interest  of  Prussia 
required,  that  in  face  of  the  revolt  that 
had  broken  out  in  the  kingdom  of  Poland, 
the  government  should  not  afford  assistance 
or  favour  either  to  the  Russian  government 
or  to  tlie  insurgents ;  and,  consequently, 
that  it  should  allow  neither  of  the  contend- 
ing parties  to  come  upon  Prussian  soil 
without  at  the  same  time  being  disarmed." 

As  an  amendment  to  the  above,  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  was  proposed  by  M.  Benin 
in  the  name  of  the  minority  of  the  com- 
mittee : — 

"  The  interest  of  Prussia  required  that, 
in  face  of  the  insurrection  that  had  broken 
out  in  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  the  govern- 
ment should  confine  itself  to  such  measures 
only  as  were  required  for  the  defence  of  the 
frontier,  and  should  avoid  any  interference 
beyond  that  point;  and,  consequently,  that 
it  should  not  allow  of  any  armed  persons 
coming  upon  Prussian  soil  without  at  the 
game  time  disarming  them." 

As  sub-amendment  to  the  above,  Baron 
Vincke  proposed  the  following  : — 

"  That  the  interests  of  Prussia,  in  the 
face  of  the  insurrection  which  had  broken 
out  in  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  required 
that  the  government  should  not  allow 
Russian  troops  to  come  upon  Prussian  soil 
in  pursuit  of  Polish  insurgents." — Herr  von 
Sybel,  in  moving  the  resolution,  referred 
briefly  to  the  circumstances  under  which 
Prussia  had  become  possessed  of  portions  of 
Poland.  Her  present  title  was  a  valid  one, 
de  jure  and  de  facto.  She  had  made  it 
good  by  the  improvement  and  civilisation 
of  the  country,  through  German  industry 
«kQd  German  capital.     What,  therefore,  he 


added,  "  we  desire  for  our  Polish  fellow-citi- 
zens, is  a  humane  and  just  government; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  we  desire  that  the 
German  inhabitants  of  what  was  formerly 
Poland,  should  know  that,  for  their  protec- 
tion and  for  their  maintenance,  as  belong- 
ing to  the  Prussian  State,  the  entire  Prus- 
sian people  is  ready  to  stand  good.  With 
consciences  so  clear,  with  a  position  so  well 
defined,  and  differing  so  essentially  from 
that  occupied  by  Russia,  it  is  evidently  our 
business  to  protest  against  a  policy  which, 
without  any  natural  necessity,  runs  coimter 
to  our  most  important  interest — namely, 
that  of  preserving  peace  for  our  Prussian 
territory." 

The  speaker  then  went  on  to  show  how, 
without  any  necessity,  the  government  had 
delivered  over  a  large  portion  of  the  father- 
land to  all  the  horrors  of  a  barbarous  war  ; 
had  undertaken  a  joint  responsibility  for 
Russian  misdeeds,  and  changed  the  Polish 
into  an  European  question.  Further,  how 
this  policy  had  been  followed  up  without 
any  prospect  of  compensation,  and  at  the 
expense  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  without 
the  consent  of  the  chamber.  In  doing  so, 
the  government  had  once  more  given  proofs 
of  that  which  was  the  essence  of  its  being — 
viz.,  contempt  for  rights ;  and  had  shown 
that  it  could  neither  live  nor  die  without 
breaking  the  laws  of  the  country. 

M.de  Gottberg  defended  the  government ; 
MM.  von  Roune  and  Roessel  attacked  it. 

Count  Eulenburg,  in  the  absence  of  M. 
de  Bismarck,  defended  the  government,  and 
said,  in  reply  to  one  of  the  former  speakers, 
that  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for  the  govern- 
ment to  show,  confidentially  to  a  foreign 
government,  a  convention  which  they  had 
not  laid  before  the  House.  With  reference 
to  the  Poles  who  were  arrested  at  Thorn,  he 
would  give  the  following  explanations: — 
They  had  not  been  delivered  up  in  the 
sense  of  the  extradition  treaties  ;  but  having 
been  arrested  at  the  station  at  Thorn  on 
their  way  from  the  West,  and  having  been 
found  possessed  of  no  other  legitimations 
than  old  Russian  passports,  no  longer  avail- 
able, they  had  been  expelled  across  the 
Russian  frontier,  according  to  existing 
cartel  provisions.  "  Well,  gentlemen,"  con- 
tinued Count  Eulenburg,  "  I  can  only  refer 
you  to  Article  XXIII.  of  the  Cartel  Con* 
vention,  according  to  which  you  will  see, 
that  every  individual  belonging  to  the  Rus- 
sian empire,  not  provided  with  proper 
papers,  can  be  expelled  by  us,  and  must  he- 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[bismarck's  defiancf. 


received  by  Russia.  In  virtue  of  the  above 
paragraph,  the  four  individuals  in  question 
have  now  been  expelled." 

Dr.  Becker  argued,  in  a  long  speech,  that 
an  independent  Polish  kingdom  would  be  a 
better  neighbour  for  Germany  than  Russia, 
though  he  would  not  give  up  to  such  a 
kingdom  the  ports  of  Danzig  and  Elbing, 
or  a  single  acre  that  had  been  fairly  re- 
claimed by  Prussian  industry.  He  spoke 
strongly  and  indignantly  against  the  former 
partitions  of  Poland. 

Count  Eulenburg,  with  reference  to  the 
supposed  entrance  of  Russian  troops  into 
Poland,  read  a  telegram  from  the  Landrath 
of  Strasburg  in  West  Prussia,  to  the  effect 
that  some  outposts  had  been  pushed  on  in 
the  night  of  the  18th  July,  upon  the  bridge 
of  Drewentz,  which  belongs  to  Gollub  (a 
Prussian  town),  and  joins  that  place  with 
Dobrzyn  a  Russian  town,  because  both 
towns  were  threatened  with  a  band  of  in- 
surgents, which  expected  reinforcements 
from  Gollub.  The  town  Dobrzyn  had  never 
been  occupied  by  Russian  troops  ;  the  push- 
ing forward  of  outposts  had  been  rendered 
necessary  by  local  circumstances  which 
strongly  favoured  an  attack  of  the  town, 
denuded  as  it  was  of  Russian  military. 

Herr  von  Bismarck  then  recapitulated 
the  course  taken,  in  the  various  debates  held 
in  the  House,  respecting  the  Polish  question, 
from  the  first  interpellation  of  MM.  Han- 
tall,  Kantak  and  Co.,  to  the  present  resolu- 
tion, in  order  to  prove  a  revolutionary 
tendency  to  sympathise  with  the  Polish  in- 
surrection. The  interests  of  the  country 
had  thereby  been  sacrificed  to  party  inter- 
ests; and  German  speakers  had  expressed 
themselves  in  an  unheard-of  manner.  M. 
Waldeck  had  compared  the  calling-in  of 
Prussian  reserves  to  the  sale  of  Hessian 
troops  to  the  British  government.  M.  de 
Unruh,  amidst  the  applause  of  the  House, 
had  declared  that  if,  from  the  present  acts 
of  the  government,  foreign  complications 
arose,  the  chamber  would  refuse  to  the  king 
the  means  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the 
country.  Now,  was  not  this  equivalent  to 
saying  to  foreign  countries — "Now  is 
your  opportunity ;  come  on  !  for  Prussia  is 
defenceless  ?  "  This  caused  great  excitement 
in  the  House,  which  evinced  strong  marks  of 
dissent.  Whereupon,  M.  de  Bismarck,  quite 
unmoved,  continued — "  I  am  glad  to  see, 
gentlemen,  that  you  are  still  capable  of  in- 
dignation on  such  a  subject."  Here  greater 
excitement  ensued  amidst  loud    cries    of 


"  Order  ;"  but  the  Vice-President  Behrend 
requested  the  House  to  be  quiet,  saying, 
"  The  minister-president  has  the  right  to  ex- 
press his  pleasure  at  what  the  House  may 
think  or  do.  A  call  for  order  is  here  out  of 
place." 

Herr  von  Bismarck  then  rose  and  said, 
"  I  will  not  touch  upon  the  question  of 
whether  the  ministers  can  be  called  to 
order ;  but  if  the  question  is  again  mooted, 
I  shall  reserve  to  myself  to  speak  upon  it. 
Gentlemen,  the  threat  to  make  Prussia  de- 
fenceless was  expressed  by  that  same  M.  de 
Unruh,  whose  name  is  associated  with  the 
refusal  to  pay  taxes  in  1848."  A  violent 
scene  here  ensued  in  the  House ;  cries  of 
order  were  heard  from  all  parts  of  it ;  mem- 
bers rose  from  their  seats  and  groaned. 

The  president,  having  rung  his  bell  and 
restored  partial  order,  said — "  I  must  here 
observe  to  the  minister-president,  that  the 
last  statement  made  by  him  stands  in  no 
sort  of  relation  to  the  subject  under  dis- 
cussion." 

M.  de  Bismarck  replying,  said — "  I  can- 
not admit  the  right  of  the  president  to  call 
me  to  order.  I  have  not  the  honour  to 
belong  to  this  assembly.  I  have  had 
nothing  to  do  with  making  the  rules  of 
this  House  ;  I  have  not  assisted  in  electing 
the  president.  The  disciplinary  power  of 
the  president  is  limited  by  these  boards  " 
[at  which  words  he  struck  the  front  of  the 
ministerial  tribune].  "  My  superior  is  alone 
his  majesty  the  king;  I  do  not  speak  in 
virtue  of  the  rules  of  your  House,  but  in 
virtue  of  the  authority  given  to  me  by  his 
majesty.  You  have  not  got  the  right  to 
interrupt  me." 

Vice-President  Behrend  answered — "I 
had  not  disputed  the  minister-president's 
right  to  speak,  nor,  according  to  the  con- 
stitution, can  I  dispute  this  right.  But, 
according  to  the  rules  of  the  House,  the 
disciplinary  power  of  the  president  is 
limited  only  by^the  four  walls  of  the  House, 
and  this  power  I  shall  most  undoubtedly 
use."  Here  loud  cheers  arose,  but  Herr 
von  Bismarck  contemptuously  replied — 
"  This  is  a  view  which,  on  the  part  of  the 
ministry,  I  must  repudiate.  To  resume 
then.  M.  de  Unruh,  whose  name  is  associ- 
ated with  the  refusal  to  pay  taxes  in  1848  " 
[here  M.  de  Bismarck  was  interrupted  by 
renewed  disturbance  and  cries  of  "Ad- 
journ !  "  and  Vice-President  Behrend  re- 
marked, "If  the  minister-president  re- 
peats observations  which  I  have  declared 

333 


\ 

4      I 


^  |l 


t  1 

i 


i 


Bismarck's  defeat.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1863.  ' 


I 


not  to  belong  to  the  subject,  I  shall  most 
certainly  use  my  right  to  adjourn  the 
House."] 

M.  de  Bismarck  answered — "  I  cannot 
prevent  the  president  adjourniug  the  House, 
and  as  I  have  twice  repeated  wliat  I  meant 
to  say,  I  am  satisfied  !  "  More  disorder  en- 
sued here,  and  the  president  again  rang  his 
bell.  Herr  von  Bismarck  continued — 
*'  This  threat  to  lay  Prussia  defenceless  is 
an  unfortunate  one;  all  the  more  so  that 
with  this  tendency  the  names  connected 
with  1848  again  become  prominent.  You 
are  asked  by  your  resolution  to  express 
your  sympathy  with  the  insurrection  under 
Mierolawski.  I  have  nothinof  to  do  with 
the  iatentions  of  the  persons  who  have 
brought  forward  this  resolution  ;  but  the 
practical  result  of  it  will  undoubtedly  be 
to  identify  tlie  House  with  the  Polish  insur- 
rection. The  report  of  the  committee  is 
based  upon  a  set  of  proofs  in  reference  to 
the  contents  of  the  convention,  derived 
from  lies  and  misstatements  taken  from 
the  newspapers,  and  the  reporter  has  con- 
jured up  from  these  an  imaginary  belt  of 
500  square  miles  of  Prussian  territory 
given  up  to  Russian  occupation.  This  is 
simply  silly  fancy.  On  the  contrary, 
the  convention  secures  Prussia  against  a 
danger  of  this  sort.  By  it,  Russian  military 
are  not  allowed  to  cross  the  Prussian  fron- 
tier without  our  sanction.  From  the  ex- 
aggerations, the  lies,  the  misrepresenta- 
tions of  the  press,  has  arisen  the  bad  im- 
pression made  by  the  convention  abroad, 
and  these  misrepresentations  form  the  ma- 
terial of  the  present  debate.  But  this 
debate,  I  can  tell  you,  will  have  no  practi- 
cal result,  not  even  that  of  causing  an 
embarrassment  to  the  ministry,  unless  it  be 
the  convenience  of  a  waste  of  their  time, 
which,  by  the  way,  is  the  country's  time,  of 
which  you  have  no  right  to  rob  it !  If  the 
object  of  the  resolution,  therefore,  has  been 
to  shake  the  position  of  the  government,  it 
will  fail  in  its  object,  and  all  that  will  be 
obtained  will  be  to  prove,  before  the  whole 
country,  that  you  take  part  with  the  Polish 
insurrection." 

With  this  arrogant  speech  of  Herr  von 
Bismarck's  the  debate  was  concluded,  and 
adjourned  till  the  next  day,  when  Herr 
Bockum-Dolfifs  moved  an  amendment,  to 
the  effect  that  the  government  should  not 
allow  any  armed  persons  to  touch  Prussian 
soil  without  disarming  them. 

This  amendment  was  curried  by  a  large 
334 


majority — by  246  against  57  ;  but  as  it 
was  known  tliat  Herr  von  Bismarck  would 
not  at  all  consult  the  wishes  of  the  majority 
if  they  ran  counter  to  his  own,  foreign 
governments,  especially  that  of  Great 
Britain,  were  not  inclined  to  leave  the 
question  in  the  stage  to  which  it  had  beea 
brought  or  reduced  by  the  Prussian  cham- 
ber. 

There  thus  arose  a  passage  of  arms  be- 
tween Lord  John  Russell  and  Herr  voa 
Bismarck,  sufficiently  interesting  in  itself, 
but  still  more  of  importance  in  its  after- 
results,  as  it  inspired  Herr  von  Bismarck 
with  feelings  of  the  greatest  animosity  to- 
wards the  earl,  and  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  towards  the  intricacy  of  the  allianca 
between  the  two  northern  powers. 

Earl  Russell  addressed  a  despatch  to  Sir 
Andrew  Buchanan,  in  which,  after  stating 
that  he  had  been  informed  by  Lord  Napier 
of  the  permission  to  be  accorded  to  Russian 
troops  to  continue  their  pursuit  of  Polish 
insurgents  on  Prussian  soil,  he  said  that 
Count  Bernstorff  had  defended  the  conven- 
tion, which,  he  said,  did  not  in  any  way 
amount  to  an  interference  in  the  contest 
between  Russians  and  Poles.  Earl  Ruasell 
then  continued  : — 

"But  it  is  clear  that  if  Ru=5sian  troops 
are  to  be  at  liberty  to  follow  and  attack 
the  Polish  insurgents  in  Prussian  territory, 
the  Prussian  government  makes  itself  a 
party  to  the  war  now  raging  in  Poland. 

"If  Grreat  Britain  were  to  allow  a  federal 
ship  of  war  to  attack  a  confederate  ship  in 
British  waters,  Grreat  Britain  would  become 
a  party  to  the  war  between  the  federal 
government  of  the  United  States  and  the 
confederates. 

"  It  is  obvious  that  by  this  convention 
Prussia  engages  to  become  a  party  in  the 
war  against  the  Poles  without  any  apparent 
necessity  for  so  doing.  For  her  majesty's 
government  have  not  heard  that  any  dis- 
affection prevails  in  the  Polish  provinces 
of  Prussia. 

"  It  is  but  too  probable  that  this  conven- 
tion will  irritate  the  Polish  subjects  of 
Prussia,  tend  to  excite  disaffection  where  it 
has  not  hitherto  existed,  and  thus  extend 
the  insurrection. 

"  Upon  viewing  this  convention  in  all  its 
aspects,  therefore,  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment are  forced  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  an  act  of  intervention  which  is 
not  justified  by  necessity  ;  which  will  tend 
to  alienate  the  affections  of  the  Polish  sub- 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [British  remonstrances. 


jects  of  the  King  of  Prussia;  and  which, 
indirectly,  gives  support  and  countenance 
to  the  arbitrary  conscription  of  Warsaw. 

'•  You  will  read  this  despatch  to  M.  Bis- 
marck, and  you  will  ask  for  a  copy  of  the 
convention  between  Prussia  and  Russia." 

The  sting  in  this  communication  was 
twofold.  As  Herr  von  Bismarck  remarked  at 
the  time,  the  passage  relating  to  the  contest 
in  America,  not  only  showed  the  stand-point 
of  the  government  sympathies  touching 
the  civil  war,  but  was  also  meant  as  a  hit 
at  the  sympathy  evinced  by  Grermany  for 
the  federal  cause.  For,  as  Herr  von  Bis- 
marck said,  had  not  Earl  Russell's  sympa- 
thies been  with  the  confederates,  he  would 
have  reversed  the  comparison  and  said — 
"  If  Grreat  Britain  were  to  allow  a  confede- 
rate ship  to  attack  a  federal  ship  in  British 
waters.  Great  Britain  would  become  a 
party  to  the  war."  The  second  sting  lay 
in  the  earl's  discourteous  mention  of  Baron 
Bismarck  as  plain  "  M."  Bismarck.  This 
was  a  disregard  of  etiquette  which  the 
French  government,  addressing  itself  on 
the  same  subject,  and  in  the  same  sense,  to 
Herr  von  Bismarck,  was  not  guilty  of,  and 
awarded  him,  in  the  despatch,  his  full 
title,  addressing  him  as  His  Excellency  M. 
de  Bismarck-Schonhausen.  Ministers  are 
as  human  as  other  people,  and  quite  as 
tenacious  of  their  dignity — perhaps  more  so, 
the  higher  their  station ;  and  Herr  von 
Bismarck  never  forgave  this  slight ;  and 
when  Sir  Andrew  Buchanan  read  the  des- 
patch to  him,  he  did  not  fail  to  pick  the 
noble  earl's  words  to  pieces.  He  said  that 
the  earl  spoke,  in  one  place,  of  the  events 
occurring  in  Poland  as  a  contest  between 
the  Russian  government  and  Polish  insur- 
gents ;  and  in  another,  as  a  war  against  the 
Poles,  in  which  he  accused  Prussia  of  hav- 
ing engaged  to  take  a  part ;  but  that,  in 
his  opinion,  the  measures  which  the  Rus- 
sian government  were  employing  to  sup- 
press the  insurrection,  could  be  described  as 
a  war  in  wnich  two  nations  are  engaged ; 
an^  Prussia  could  not  therefore  have  been 
said  to  have  become  a  party  to  a  war  be- 
tween Russia  and  Poland,  if  her  troops  had 
been  ordered  to  act  in  concert  with  those 
of  Russia  on  the  frontier  in  the  event  of  an 
insurrection  breaking  out  in  her  own  terri- 
tory. 

To  this  Sir  Andrew  replied  by  remarking, 
that  whatever  name  might  be  given  to  the 
conflict,  that  did  not  affect  the  responsi- 
bility of  Prussia  in  the  matter.     Herr  von 


Bismarck  then  sought  to  put  an  end  to  the 
discussion  by  denying  that  there  was  any 
agreement  in  the  convention  that  Russian 
troops  should  be  allowed  to  retain  their 
arms  on  Prussian  soil.  But  when  Sir 
Andrew  pointed  out  that  this  was  included 
in  the  stipulation  which  the  convention 
did  contain— namely,  that  Russian  troops 
should  be  permitted  to  pursue  and  capture 
Polish  insurgents  in  Prussian  territory — 
Herr  von  Bismarck  admitted  that  the  inter- 
pretation of  that  stipulation  had  been  under 
negotiation ;  and  it  was  to  have  been  re- 
stricted and  defined  by  instructions  to  be 
given  CO  the  military  frontier  authorities, 
when  it  was  decided  that  it  would  not  be 
necessary  for  the  troops  of  either  govern- 
ment to  cross  the  frontier  at  all,  and  that 
no  instructions  on  the  subject  should  be 
prepared.  The  convention  might  therefore, 
he  said,  be  looked  upon  as  a  dead  letter,  as 
the  instructions  necessary  for  carrying  it 
into  effect  had  never  been  drawn  up. 

To  the  observation  that  if  Russian  troops 
were  to  be  at  liberty  to  follow  and  attack 
Polish  insurgents  in  Prussia,  the  Prussian 
government  would  make  itself  a  party  to  the 
war  now  raofino:  in  Poland,  Herr  von  Bis- 
marck  opposed  a  denial  that  Russian  troops 
had  ever  been  allowed  to  do  so  ;  but  he  said, 
nevertheless,  considering  the  reasons  which 
the  Prussian  government  had  at  one  time 
for    fearing    that    the    Prussian    territory 
would  be  violated  by  the  insurgents,  and  that 
Prussian  subjects  would  be  incited  to  revolt, 
he  could  not  admit  that  the  case  of  Russian 
troops  acting  in  the  manner  contemplated 
by  the  convention  against  insurgents  in  the 
Prussian  frontier  districts,  could  be  looked 
upon  in  the  same  light  as  a  federal  ship  of 
war  attacking  a  confederate  ship  in  British 
waters;    for    any    permission    granted    to 
Russian   troops   to  cross  the  frontier  into 
Prussia,  or  for  Prussian  troops  to  cross  into 
Russia,  would  have  been  given  solely  for 
the  protection  of  Prussian  territory  and  of 
Prussian  property,  and  for  a  purely  defen- 
sive purpose,  in  the  event  of  an  insurrection 
existing  on  both  sides  of  the  frontier,  as 
there  was  every  reason  to  apprehend  would 
have  been  the  case  before  Prussian  troops 
could   have   reached  the  frontier   districts 
in  sufficient  number   to  provide  for  their 
security.     Sir  Andrew  would  not  admit  the 
distinction  which  Herr  von  Bismarck  wished 
thus  to  establish,  as  the  motive  for  permit- 
ting an  act  could  not  affect  the  character 
of  its  consequences ;  but  Herr  von  Bismarck 

335 


fi 


/ 


PROPOSALS  REJECTED.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


{a.d.  1863. 


I  ^ 


I 


i 


maintained  that,  considering  the  position 
of  the  Prussian  government,  it  could  not 
fairly  be  said  that  they  would  have  given, 
by   carrying   out   the   stipulations   of  the 
convention,    indirect   support  and  counte- 
nance, as  alleged  by  Earl  Russell,  to  the 
arbitrary  conscription  of  Warsaw,  for  they 
could    not   have   neglected    to   take   such 
measures   as  they  might   have  considered 
necessary,  under  the  circumstances,  for  the 
safety  and  protection  of  their  own  territory. 
As  to  the  request  which   Sir  Andrew  had 
been  instructed  to  make  to  him  for  a  copy 
of  the  convention,  Herr  von  Bismarck  ob- 
served that  he  could  not  understand  upon 
what    grounds  her   majesty's   government 
could  consider   themselves  justified  in  ex- 
pecting the  Prussian  government  to  com- 
municate to  them  a  copy  of  an  incomplete 
document,  which  only  formed,  as   he  had 
already  explained,  the  first  step  in  a  nego- 
tiation which   was    then    suspended,    and 
wliich  would   remain   entirely   inoperative 
unless  it  were  rendered  effective  by  instruc- 
tions which   had  to  be  agreed  upon,  and 
which  would  not  now  be  drawn  up,  as  cir- 
cumstances had  rendered  them  unnecessary. 
It  was,  therefore,  a  convention  of  which  no 
ratifications    had  been    exchanged,  and  it 
was  not  intended  that  it  should  be  ratified. 
Herr  von  Bismarck  then  repeated  what 
he  had  formerly  said — viz.,  that  the  conven- 
tion merely  stated,  that  as  the  insurrection 
which  had  broken  out  in  the  kingdom  of 
Poland  threatened  public  and  private  pro- 
perty, and  the  peace  of  the  neighbouring 
provinces  of  Prussia,  it   had  been  agreed 
between  the  two  governments  that  assist- 
ance might  be  afforded  to  each  other,  and 
their   troops   be    authorised   to   cross   the 
frontier  on  the  demand  of  either  govern- 
ment, and  in  cases  of  necessity,  and  that 
this  agreement  should  only  last  while  both 
governments    should    deem   it    expedient. 
He  also  said  that  the  proposal  to  enter  into 
the  convention  was  forwarded  by  telegraph 
from  St.   Petersburg   by  Greneral  Alvens- 
leben,  who  received  authority  in  the  same 
manner  to  sign  it.     That  the  king  had  at 
first  hesitated  to  authorise  its  signature,  as 
his   majesty  considered  the   agreement   of 
too  elastic  a  nature,  until  it  was  suggested 
to  him  that  the  character  of  the  engage- 
ment would  entirely  depend  upon  the  in- 
structions   to   the    frontier    and   military 
authorities,  which  would  have  to  be  ao^reed 
upon  with  the  Russian  government  before 
the  convention  could  be  carried  into  effect, 
336 


as  to  the  circumstances  in  which,  and  tlie 
distance  to  which,  the  frontier  could  be 
crossed  by  the  troops  of  either  party. 

But  even  this  restricted  authority,  Herr 
von  Bismarck  said,  had  never  been  formally 
conceded,  and  no  action  by  Russian  troops 
on    Prussian    territory,  as    far   as    he  was 
aware,   had   ever    taken    place,    although 
accidental  cases  may  have  occurred  ;  but,  if 
so,  this  may  have  happened  in  Austrian  as 
well  as  in  Prussian   Poland ;  nor  had  any 
occupation  of  Russian  territory  by  Prussian 
troops   ever   taken  place,  although  it  had 
been  attempted  to   represent  as  such  the 
occupation    of    the    bridge    belonging    to 
Prussia  which  connects  the  Prussian  town 
of  Gollub,  near  Kulm,  with  a  Russian  town 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  Drewentz, 
when  it  was  believed   that   insurirents  in 
possession  of  the  Russian  town  were  about 
to  make  an  irruption  into  Prussia.     There 
had,  however,  been  several  cases  in  which 
Russian    custom-house   guards,   when    as- 
sailed by  the  insurgents,  had  crossed  with 
the  custom-house  chest  into  Prussia,  and 
had  been  allowed  to  return  without  being 
deprived   of  their  arms,  not,  however,  in 
virtue  of  the  convention,  but  as  a  mere  act 
of  courtesy  on  the  part  of  the  king. 

With  this  reply  Sir  A.  Buchanan  had 
to  be  satisfied  for  the  moment.  But  the 
same  day,  Herr  von  Bismarck  received  a 
similar  communication  from  the  French 
government ;  and  after  taking  counsel  with 
Baron  Brunnow,  the  Russian  ambassador, 
it  was  agreed,  that  in  order  to  avoid  further 
complications,  the  convention  should  be 
communicated  verbally  to  the  French  and 
English  ambassadors.  This  was  done,  and 
Sir  Andrew  saw  that  it  contained  nothing 
but  what  Herr  von  Bismarck  had  already 
told  him.  But  it  did  not  escape  his  notice 
that  the  document  contained  no  clause,  as 
all  such  documents  do,  regarding  its  ratifi- 
cation. Consequently,  Sir  Andrew  saw 
that  it  was  never  intended  that  it  should  be 
ratified,  but  that  it  should  be  left  in  its 
present  condition,  so  as  to  meet  any  inter- 
pellations with  the  reply  that  no  such  con- 
vention existed.  At  the  same  time,  there 
was  no  doubt  but  that  both  governments 
intended  to  act  upon  it,  and  dispense,  as 
friends  who  could  trust  each  other,  with  the 
formalities  of  signatures  and  ratifications. 

And  such  turned  out  to  be  actually  the 
case.  The  writer  of  these  lines  followed  the 
course  of  the  Polish  rebellion,  as  special 
correspondent,  from  its  commencement  to 


A.t>.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[slays  and  GERMANS. 


its  end  in  1864,  and  speaks  from  personal 
knowledge,  in  addition  to  the  large  amount 
of  information  he  was  able  to  acquire. 

It  was  perfectly  impossible  to  elude  the 
Prussian  outposts  on  the  Prusso-Polish 
frontier.  Not  a  man,  not  a  musket,  not 
an  ounce  of  lead  or  powder  ever  found  their 
way  across  the  frontier.  If  the  insurgents 
trespassed  on  Prussian  soil,  they  were  at 
once  seized  and  handed  back  to  the  Russian 
authorities.  On  the  Austrian  frontier,  as 
will  be  seen  later,  matters  were  very  differ- 
ent. Therein  the  Austrian  government 
was  vigilant  only  in  one  sense.  They 
allowed  anybody  and  anything  to  pass  into 
Russian  Poland,  but  they  took  good  care  to 
let  nothing  and  nobody  pass  out  again 
without  arresting  them.  They,  however, 
did  not  hand  them  back  to  the  Russian 
authorities,  but  simply  interned  them  till 
the  war  was  over.  By  this  means  they  suc- 
ceeded, not  only  in  getting  rid  of  the 
dangerous  elements  in  Austrian  Poland — 
especially  in  Galicia — but  they  also  gained 
much  credit  for  leniency  from  their  own  Po- 
lish subjects,  and  from  foreign  governments. 

That  Prince  Bismarck  did  not  adopt  a 
similar  policy  was  because  it  clashed  with 
the  intentions  he  had  then — and  since 
1848 — already  formed  regarding  the  unifi- 
cation of  Germany,  and  the  hegemony  of 
Prussia,  to  the  exclusion  of  Austria. 

He  foresaw,  as  is  proved  by  many  of  his 
utterances  about  this  period,  that  the 
Slavonic  question  would  soon  assume  im- 
portant dimensions  ;  and  this,  coupled  with 
the  religious  questions,  led  to  his  forming 
the  closest  intimacy  with  Russia,  and  to 
weigh  with  a  heavy  hand  upon  the  Polish 
subjects  of  Prussia,  who  were  pre-eminently 
identified  with  ultramontanism.  In  fact, 
he  foresaw  and  fully  appreciated  the  im- 
portance of  the  Teutonic  question,  as  against 
the  Slavonic  question,  for  eastern  and  south- 
eastern Europe,  and  was  resolved  to  break 
up  the  Slavonic  coalition — or  the  possi- 
bilities of  such  a  coalition — by  all  the 
means  in  his  power.  This  was  best  done  by 
sowing  dissensions  amongst  the  Slav 
families,  and  by  inciting  them  to  such 
action  as  would  entail  and  necessitate  the 
employment  of  violent  measures  against 
them  by  those  against  whom  their  attempts 
were  directed.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
equally  resolved  to  put  down  any  such 
attempts  within  the  kingdom  of  Prussia 
with  an  iron  hand,  and,  from  the  commence- 
ment, to  crush  any  such  movement. 

VOL.  II.  2  X 


We  have  already  shown  what  Panslavism 
is,  and  what  are  the  forces  at  its  disposal 
in  Russia  and  kindred  countries  "But  it  is 
also  necessary  to  regard  the  matter  from 
the  German  point  of  view,  and  take  into 
consideration  the  Teutonic  question  in  its 
relations  to  the  Slavonic  question  ;  for  both 
act  and  re-act  so  much  upon  each  other, 
that  a  consideration  of  the  one  is  not  com- 
plete without  a  consideration  of  the  other. 

One  of  our  prominent  historians,  Mr. 
Freeman,  has  stated  in  effect,  that  the 
world's  history  is  so  extensive,  that  only  its 
broadest  features  can  be  properly  grasped 
by  one  mind  for  all  practical  purposes.  In 
other  words,  that,  like  a  rare  and  choice 
fruit-tree,  all  encumbering  twigs,  ofifshoots, 
and  branches,  interesting  as  they  may  be  in 
their  details,  and  necessary  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  parent  stem,  must  be  pruned 
and  cut  down  if  the  tree  itself  is  to  bear 
that  fruit  it  is  capable  of  bearing.  It  is 
not  meant  by  this  that  history  should  be 
cut  down  to  the  collection  of  competitive 
examination  questions  and  answers,  now  so 
much  in  vogue.  That  is  simply  reducing 
history  to  the  same  level  as  mankind  is 
reduced  in  those  glass  cases  at  the  South 
Kensington  Museum,  where  so  many  ounces 
of  lime,  phosphorus,  fat,  water,  &c.,  are  made 
to  represent  man  in  all  his  pride  of  animal 
existence.  There  is  only  the  one  thing 
wanting  that  Schleiden's  lunatic  vainly 
endeavoured  to  discover.  This  gentleman's 
favourite  occupation  consisted  in  searching 
for  the  proper  degree  of  temperature  at  which 
to  warm  a  saucepan  full  of  hog's  bristles, 
bacon,  lard,  &c. — all  the  component  parts, 
in  short,  of  a  duly  constituted  pig,  which, 
when  stewed  to  the  vivifying  degree  of  heat 
requisite,  he  expected  to  sally  forth  with  a 
squeak  in  the  full-blown  enjoyment  of  por- 
cine existence.  History,  regarded  in  this 
light,  is  nothing  more  than  what  may  be 
termed  laboratory  or  cabinet  history — 
highly  interesting,  no  doubt ;  but  not  the 
inspiring  element,  not  the  principle  that 
vivifies  a  nation  and  endows  it  with  exist- 
ence. The  history  that  constitutes  a  nation 
— for  there  can  be  no  nation  where  there 
is  no  history — is  not  a  history  of  petty 
details,  dates,  and  isolated  laws,  but 
history  such  as  it  exists  in  the  minds  of 
the  people,  and  is  represented  by  their 
ballads,  legends,  and  traditions.  Whether 
those  ballads  and  traditions  are  literally 
true  or  not  is  quite  immaterial ;  it  is  sufli- 
cient  if  they  eidst  in  such  force  as  to  con- 

337 


I 


*J 


SLAV  LEGENDS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1863. 


Btitute  a  conviction.  That  is  the  essential 
condition ;  and  if  such  conviction  exists,  no 
power  on  earth  can  stop  its  development. 
In  this  sense  the  Slav  legend  of  the  fair 
Illyria  is  as  potent  a  factor  in  determining 
the  destinies  of  the  Slavs,  as  the  Norman 
Conquest,  Magna  Charta,  or  the  Reform 
Bill  have  been  in  shaping  the  destiny  of 
the  British  people.  This  legend  strikes  the 
key-note  to  the  dominant  idea  of  the  Slav 
races — an  idea,  be  it  remarked,  that  has 
never  yet  been  followed  out  with  such  per- 
severance as  of  late  years.  It  is,  in  fact,  an 
idea  that  has  never  even  been  conceived, 
except  in  an  Utopian  sense.  It  runs  as 
follows : — 

In  the  days  of  Nimrod,  there  lived  a 
mighty  huntress,  named  Illyria,  whose 
name  was  as  renowned  in  Asia  as  that  of 
her  rival.  One  day,  when  Nimrod  was  on 
the  chase,  he  saw  a  magnificent  white  stag 
standing  in  a  gap  of  the  forest.  He  at 
once  set  off  in  pursuit  of  it,  and  after  some 
time  succeeded  in  transfixing  it  with  an 
arrow.  Advancing  to  secure  his  prize,  he 
was  surprised  to  see  a  fair  damsel,  armed 
with  bow  and  quiver,  appear  from  the 
opposite  direction  with  the  same  intention. 
*'  This  is  my  quarry,"  said  Nimrod ;  "  be- 
hold my  arrow!"  "Not  so,"  was  the  reply; 
"  it  is  as  much  mine  as  yours,  for  behold  my 
arrow  also  !"  So  saying,  the  damsel  pointed 
to  an  arrow  that  had  also  pierced  the  ani- 
mal's heart,  Nimrod  was  vexed,  and  point- 

*  This  legend  is  the  subject  of  a  song,  which 
is  met  with  throughout  the  Slavonic  countries, 
where  it  is  generally  sung  by  the  gipsy-bards, 
mostly  blind  men,  and  never  fails  in  enthral- 
ling the  audiences. 

**  The  horns  rang  through  the  forest  glen 

At  break  of  dewy  dawn, 
For  Nimrod  and  his  merry  men 

To  chase  the  snow-white  fawn ; 
The  snow-white  fawn  of  nimble  foot 

Through  thicket,  brush,  and  thorn, 
That  Nimrod  and  his  hunters  put 

Day  after  day  to  scorn. 

And  Nimrod  swore  upon  his  head 

Nor  arrow  should  be  drawn. 
Nor  hound  be  loosed,  nor  spear  be  sped 

But  on  the  snow-white  fawn. 

And  off  they  set,  the  echoes  woke 

The  stillness  of  the  glade, 
Until  the  fawn  her  cover  broke 

Like  sunlight  through  the  shade. 
338 


ino"  to  an  eagle    soaring  above  them,  he 
proposed  they  should  both  draw  upon  it, 
and  the  victor  be  the  owner  of  the   stag. 
Illyria  consented ;  both  let  fly,  and  again 
both    arrows   sped   equally  true,  the    bird 
being  transfixed  from  botli  sides.     Nimrod 
was   now  furious,  and   declared  that  Asia 
was  not  large  enough  to  hold  the  two,  and 
bade  his   antagonist   defend   herself.     She 
did;  each    drew   on   the   other,   but   both 
arrows  met  midway,  and  glanced  off  right 
and  left.     Unable  to  contain  himself  any 
longer,  Nimrod  vowed  that  his  enemy  should 
succumb,  and  blew  his  horn   to  summon 
assistance.     But  Illyria  was  too  quick  for 
him,  and  darted  away,  crying  as  she  went : 
"  Thou  art  too  strong  for  me  now,  and  hast 
driven  me  forth  to  the  setting  sun;  but 
with  the  rising  sun  I  shall  come  again  with 
hosts  like  the  sands  of  the  sea-shore,  and 
utterly  cast  thee  out."     With  this  threat 
Illyria  disappeared,  and  after  many  wander- 
ings,  settled   down   in   the  forests  of  the 
Danubian  basin,  where  her  manifold  charms 
attracted  an  angel  from  heaven,  whom  she 
presented  with   three   sons,  Rouss,  Czech, 
and  Lech.     Rouss,  the  eldest,  founded  the 
empire  of  Russia ;  Czech,  that  of  Bohemia ; 
and  Lech,  that  of  Poland ;  whilst  her  later 
offspring  were  the  ancestors  of  the  present 
Serbs,  and  the  founders  of  the  great  Servian 
empire.*     Such  is  the  popular  tradition; 
and  so  deeply  rooted  is  it  in  its  principles, 
that  it  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  good 

And  speeding  on,  with  many  a  turn, 

King  Nimrod  chased  the  hind 
Through  tangled  brake  and  feath'ry  iem^ 

And  left  his  men  behind. 


At  last  a  break,  an  open  space 

(And  one  that  barred  the  way) ; 
The  snow-white  fawn  had  run  her  race — 

The  hunter  gained  the  day ! 
Short  stopped  she  with  a  sudden  start, 

The  bow  was  quickly  drawn, 
On  sped  the  dart  straight  to  her  heart, 

And  fell  the  snow-white  fawn ! 

The  king  a  peal  of  triumph  rang 

To  see  the  red  blood  flow — 
When  from  the  other  side  there  sprang 

A  maiden  with  her  bow. 

And  both  advanced  as  each  one  glanced 

At  each  across  the  dell, 
And  both  stood  for  awhile  entranced, 
I     And  neither  broke  the  spell. 


A.D  1863.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[poles  and  RUSSIANS. 


as  the  history  authenticated  by  the  docu- 
ments in  the  archives  of  the  Public  Record 
Office. 

Tlie  vitality  of  the  relationship  thus  em- 
bodied in  this  legend  has,  with  one  excep- 
tion, been  continuous.  It  may  have  been 
stronger  or  weaker  at  various  periods — even 
dormant ;  but  it  always  existed.  The  one 
exception  is  even  more  apparent  than  real. 
Of  course,  that  exception  is  Poland,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  Russia  in  its  present  ex- 
tent and  form.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  Poles  claim  what  is  now  known 
specifically  as  Russia,  up  to  Nijni-Novgorod 
and  Charkow,  for  their  own,  so  that  the 
exception  is  reduced  to  a  local  dispute  as 


The  maid  was  dressed  in  robes  of  white, 

Of  golden-bordered  lawn, 
And  haughtily  she  placed  her  right 

Upon  the  snow-white  fawn. 

Then  red  King  Nimrod' s  regal  brow 

Flushed  at  this  haughty  sign, 
And  to  the  daring  maid — *  I  trow,' 

He  said,  *  this  quarry's  mine  1 
Por  here  the  arrow  that  hath  flown 

Right  truly  to  her  heart, 
And  thus  I  claim  her  for  mine  own — 

Do  thou  in  peace  depart ! ' 

But  proudly  smiled  the  maid  as  she 

Replied — *  I'm  truly  sorry 
That  thou  should'st  disappointed  be ; 

But  mine's  this  noble  quarry ! 
Thou  knowest  well,  in  full  career 

She  started,  stopped,  and  fell, 
For  she  had  felt  this  arrow  here^ 

Ere  thine  had  crossed  the  dell ! 
Had  felt  this  arrow  that  hath  flown, 

Winged  by  a  maiden's  craft, 
And  made  the  snow-white  fawn  my  own 

Ere  thou  hadst  loosed  the  shaft.* 

Then  flashed  with  wrath  King  Nimrod's  eye  :• 

*  If  it  be  as  you  say, 
Behold  yon  eagle  in  the  sky, 

Let  him  decide  the  day !  * 

The  maiden  bowed,  the  arrows  flew, 

Transfixed  the  eagle  fell, 
Pierced  through  by  both  the  arrows  true, 

The  king's  and  maid's  as  well. 

• 

Then  cried  the  king — *  The  worse  for  thee, 

For  we  must  try  again, 
Draw  thou  on  me,  I'll  draw  on  thee, 

For  one  must  here  remain !  * 

Again  the  maiden  bowed,  again 

The  air  the  arrows  cleft ; 
But  meeting  in  midway  the  twain, 

Glanced  off  to  right  and  left  I 


to  the  limits  of  Slavdom ;  and  thou^^h  the 
Poles,  as  a  nation,  are  at  variance  wfth  the 
Russians  as  a  nation  and  a  government, 
they  are  not  so  with  the  Russians  as  far  as 
they  are  Slavs.  The  same  holds  good  with 
the  Czechs,  or  Bohemians.  They  still  ad- 
here to  their  legends  and  traditions  that 
link  them  to  the  rest  of  their  family,  and 
acknowledge  Croat,  Serb,  Slovene,  Slovak, 
and  Montenegrin,  Bulgarian,  Bosnak,  and 
Herzegovinian,  as  part  and  parcel  of  the 
same  family,  of  which  Russia  is  the  head 
by  right  of  power,  and  having  the  same 
interests,  as  far  as  any  of  the  members  of  a 
large  family  have,  in  promoting  the  welfare 
of  the  whole  community. 


*  Now  rue  the  day,  thou  unknown  maid 

In  golden-bordered  lawn. 
And  rue  thy  deadly  shaft  that  laid 

In  death  the  snow-white  fawn ! 
A  hundred  men  are  at  my  call, 

And  thou  must  captive  be ; 
For  all  Assyria's  too  small 

To  hold  both  me  and  thee !  * 


Then  mockingly  the  maiden  laughed  :— 

'  0  chivalrous  Assyria, 
Who  can'st  not  better  speed  a  shaft, 

Than  can  the  maid  Illyria ! 
The  king  who  calls  a  hundred  men 

To  seize  one  maid  forlorn. 
That  met  him  in  the  forest-glen 

And  slew  the  snow-white  fawn !  * 


Thus  spake,  and  like  the  white  fawn  sprang 

Along  the  leafy  chase ; 
Thus  spake — and  empty  echoes  rang 

Around  an  empty  space ! 

And  now  the  woods  and  rocks  that  bound 

The  blue  Quarnero's  tide, 
With  fair  Blyria's  horn  resound 

Illyria,  the  bride. 
For  she  who  killed  the  snow-white  fawn, 

Who  Nimrod  eke  defied, 
From  heights  celestial  has  drawn 

Some  angel  to  her  side. 


And  all  the  men  of  Slavic  tongue 

That  bid  the  world  defiance. 
And  all  their  mighty  kings  have  sprung 

From  Heav'n  and  Earth's  alliance. 
Rouss,  who  killed  the  Northern  Bear, 

Renowned  in  Slav  tradition  ; 
Lech,  the  knight  beyond  compare, 

And  Czech,  the  great  musician ! " 

339 


t 


GERMAN   HATRED.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1863. 


Now,  when  we  consider  that  this  is  the 
dominant  national  and  political  idea,  the 
family  principle,  as  it  were,  of  a  commu- 
nity  numbering    in    round    figures   some 
100,000,000  souls,  it  is  self-evident  that  it 
is  an  idea  that  has  to  be  carefully  taken 
into  consideration.     It  may  work  immense 
good;    it   may   do   the    contrary.      Pooh- 
poohing   the    idea   as   Utopian   is  simply 
foolish.     All  great   ideas   are   Utopian   in 
tlieir  commencements  if  they  involve  great 
changes.     The  question  is,  has  the  idea  a 
real  existence  and  sufficient  vitality  to  en- 
sure its  realisation  ?     That  it  real iy  exists 
in  a  powerful  form,  even  threatening  from 
pome  points  of  view,  is  clearly  proved  by 
the  powerful  opposition  it  meets  with  from 
those  immediately  concerned — from  a  race 
that    is   certainly   not   given   to    Quixotic 
attacks  or  chimeras.     Next  to  Gallicism — 
or  to  make  the  parellel  exact,  Latinicism — 
Panslavism,   as  headed   by  Russia,  is  the 
Teuton's  bugbear.     True,  the  German  tries 
to  hide  his  anxiety  and  his  fears  by  ridicul- 
ing Panslavism,  and  threatens,  in  a  ban- 
tering sort  of  way,  to  meet  it  by  Panteu- 
tonism.     Banter,    ridicule,  and    abuse   are 
liis  weapons,  because  he  knows  that  logic  is 
against  him.     He  knows  that  while  Pan- 
blavism  marshals  its  hundred  millions  with  a 
compact  front  of  identity  of  interests — iden- 
tical for  all  practical  politics — Panteutonism 
is  an  empty  phrase,  and  can  never  unite 
buch  opposed  interests  as  those  of  Germany, 
Holland,    England,    and    America,   which 
alone  he  can  regard  as  in  some   measure 
forming  a  combination  similar  to  Panslav- 
ism.    Here  and  there,  and  now  and  then, 
the   interests   may   be  identical,  and  may 
lead  to  concerted  action  by  fits  and  starts; 
but  beyond  this,  Panteutonism  is  the  merest 
rag  of  a  scarecrow  compared  to  its  lusty 
antagonist,  Panslavism.     It  might  lead  to 
the  concerted  action  of  England  and  Ame- 
rica to  check  the  advance  of  Panslavism 
eastward,    or   to   common  action    between 
Germany  and  England  to  stop  its  westward 
career ;  but  that  is  all.     It  is  not,  however, 
the  material  forces  of  Panslavism  that  are 
^0  much  dreaded  by  the  Germans — or  rather 
by  the  German  States,  Austrian  or  Prus- 
sian— as  a  quality  the  Germans  themselves 
possess  in  a  very  high  degree — namely,  that 
of  assimilation.     Not  only  do  they  assimi- 
late themselves  easily  with  more  progressive 
lind   independent   communities,   btit   they 
ftlso    assimilate    more   backward    races   to 
tUemselves.  This  is  a  very  valuable  quality 
340 


indeed,  having  regard  to  the  benefit  ot 
humanity  in  general ;  but  it  has  its  very 
awkward  sides  for  the  governments  who 
regard  their  subjects  as  the  basis  of  their 
existence,  and  food  for  crown  and  sceptre, 
for  church  and  state  For  this  reason,  the 
German  government  regards  the  emigration 
to  America  and  England,  of  its  subjects,  with 
extreme  disfavour.  It  knows  that  none  of 
those  families  or  men  will  ever  return. 
They  will  become  Americans,  even  as  the 
Anglo-Saxon  became  an  Englishman.  The 
number  of  Germans  employed  in  Russia 
become  very  soon  Russians  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  even  as  the  Alsatians  and 
Lothringers  became  thorough  Frenchmen 
within  a  very  short  period.  Germans  are 
not  like  the  Swiss  with  their  mal  de  pays. 
The  German  Hmniueh  is  less  practical, 
and  much  more  sentimental;  and  if  the 
country  that  absorbs  them  affords  a  fair 
profit  to  their  industry,  they  adhere  strictly 
to  the  motto  ubi  bene  ibi  patria,  whilst 
still  cherishing  the  memories  of  their  native 
home,  and  living  in  an  ideal  "  Vaterland," 
bordered  with  national  songs  and  melodies, 
and  watered,  if  possible,  with  eternally  re- 
juvenescent springs  of  amber-coloured  "  La- 
gerbier." 

It  is  this  assimilating  quality  of  the 
Germans,  and  the  absorbing  power  of  other 
nations,  that  causes  the  State  to  regard 
Panslavism  with  such  aversion.  It  has 
been  amply  proved  that  Slav  and  German 
are  able  to  work  together — a.  matter  that 
is  impossible  in  the  case  of  German  and 
Gaul,  or  Italian  and  Spaniard.  Thus  the 
German  official  world  is  very  apprehensive 
of  an  advance  of  Panslavism  westwards. 
They  fear  that  the  immense  material  forces 
at  the  command  of  the  movement  will 
overcome  their  resistance,  and  relegate 
their  country  to  much  the  same  position  as 
a  stud,  whence  neighbouring  nations  may 
recruit  their  strength — in  short,  as  a  kind 
of  moral  and  intellectual  reservoir  to 
supply  leaven  to  the  dough  of  other  races. 
However  flattering  this  view  may  be  to  the 
individual,  it  is  highly  disagreeable  and 
obnoxious  to  the  statesman  who  desires  to 
form  a  model  State  in  every  particular, 
and  exhibit  it  as  the  acme  of  morality, 
science,  and  intelligence,  and  keep  it  for 
himself  and  his  sovereign.  Fortunately, 
however,  for  the  nations  outside  this  pale 
of  perfection,  a  monopoly  of  perfection  is 
impossible,  and  its  apostles  will  always  be 
drafted  otf  by  all  who  can  aflford  to  pay 


/ 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[SLAV  DISSENSIONS. 


a  higher  price  for  the  commodity  than  the 
government  which  has  trained  them  for  its 
own  use.  In  reality,  this  has  been  the 
position  of  Germany  for  ages,  and  gave 
rise  to  the  assertion  that  the  Germans 
were  a  nation  of  book-makers,  pedants, 
dreamers,  and  idealists,  whilst,  in  truth, 
they  are  as  practical  a  nation  in  matters 
material,  as  they  are  philosophical  in  mat- 
ters ideal.  These  are  the  characteristics  of 
the  Germans ;  and  no  great  Chancellor,  no 
Deutscher  Kaiser,  would  ever  be  able  per- 
manently to  alter  them.  If  they  did,  the 
distinctive  feature  of  the  German  would 
disappear.  But  of  that  there  is  no  danger ; 
and,  in  spite  of  the  vast  machine  of  mili- 
tarism that  is  being  brought  to  bear  upon 
them,  like  an  immense  hydraulic  press,  to 
shape  them  into  a  well-rounded  State 
model,  the  particularism  of  genius  will  ever 
assert  its  power,  and  Germany  remain,  as 
heretofore,  the  chief  store-house  of  moral 
and  intellectual  progress,  though,  perhaps, 
at  the  expense  of  her  political  power. 
Like  that  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, the  genius  of  the  German  races  can 
never  be  bound  down  to  the  clod  whence  it 
sprang,  though  it  may  always  cherish  and 
venerate  it. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  the 
continental  dynasties  should  regard  Pan- 
tslavism  with  aversion,  not  unmixed  with 
fear.  It  is  feared  as  an  absorbing  power, 
whose  forces,  once  organised,  would  be  irre- 
sistible from  a  politically  aggressive  point 
of  view,  in  consequence  of  the  immense 
military  forces  at  its  disposal.  The  gene- 
ral public  also  regard  the  movement  with 
some  uneasiness,  because  they  have  caught 
the  catch-word  that  they  will  be  "swamped" 
if  the  advance  of  Panslavism  is  not  duly 
checked  ;  and,  finally,  the  Jewish  commu- 
nities fear  it  most  unafi"ectedly,  as  the 
Slavs  have  ever  shown  themselves  most 
hostile  to  them,  and  intolerant  of  their  re- 
ligion and  financial  operations. 

This  digression  is  necessary  in  order  to 
show  broadly  what  are  the  relations  of  the 
two  races  to  each  other,  without  entering 
into  the  justice,  or  otherwise,  of  the  accu- 
sations and  reproaches  made  by  the  one 
against  the  other,  a  full  description  of 
"which  would  require  a  pretty  extensive  col- 
lection of  new  epithets,  for  which  the 
English  language  has  no  equivalents.  The 
question  which  now  suggests  itself  is, 
■whether  there  is  any  ground  for  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  causes  which  have  hitherto 


kept  Panslavism  in  check  are  no  longer  ex- 
istent? Has  Panslavism  already  attained 
such  a  pitch  of  organisation  that  it  can 
now  commence  the  struggle  for  the  realisa- 
tion of  its  dreams  ?  Before  this  question 
can  be  answered,  it  is  necessary  to  glance 
at  the  factors  that  have,  till  now,  impeded 
its  progress. 

One  of  these  factors,  perhaps  the  chief  of 
all,  consisted  in  the  antagonism  of  Poland 
to  Russia.  Without  entering  into  the 
question  of  the  territorial  limits  of  the 
Polish  section  of  the  Slavs,  it  is  sufficient 
to  establish  the  fact,  that  the  antagonism  of 
this  Polish  section  to  the  Russian  section 
of  the  Slavs  greatly  impeded  the  progress 
of  Russia  as  an  empire,  and,  partaking  of 
the  character  of  an  internal  dissension, 
effectually  checked  the  advance  of  Russia 
westwards.  Thus,  Austria  and  Prussia- 
Germany,  in  fact,  are  now  paying  for  the 
mistake  made  in  the  partition  of  Poland. 
In  dismembering  the  weaker  of  the  two 
rival  brothers  for  some  territorial  gain,  and 
some  strategical  advantages,  they  materially 
strengthened  their  far  more  dangerous 
neighbour,  with  his  millions  of  Tartars  and 
other  Asiatics  to  fall  back  upon.  Instead 
of  supporting  the  Polish  nation  as  a  bul- 
wark between  them  and  the  Russians,  they 
overthrew  it,  and  brought  Asia  to  their 
very  doors.  Having  nothing  to  fear  from 
Poland,  and  everything  to  fear  from  Rus- 
sia, they  actually  played  into  the  hands  of 
their  natural  foe.  This  seems  so  plain, 
that  it  is  a  marvel  how  the  error  could 
have  been  made.  Yet,  with  its  conse- 
quences so  plain  before  them,  both  these 
same  powers  played  the  same  blind  game 
over  again,  by  refusing  to  allow  Servia  to 
become  strong  enough  for  a  bulwark 
against  Russia.  History  repeats  itself.  In 
a  similar  way  internal  dissensions  placed 
Bohemia  at  the  mercy  of  the  Austrians ; 
yet,  after  centuries  of  their  rule,  they  have 
not  been  able  to  fuse  the  Czech  and  Ger- 
man element,  in  consequence  of  the  des- 
potic system  of  .government,  which  is  not 
so  much  a  system  of  government  as  a  sys- 
tem of  police — an  obnoxious,  meddling, 
harassing  system,  that  bore  its  fruit  in 
Lombardy  and  Venetia,  with  the  deserved 
loss  of  these  two  provinces.  Then,  again, 
dissension  and  rivalry  rendered  Bulgarian, 
Serb,  and  Bosnian,  a  prey  to  Hungarian 
and  Turk  alternately ;  whilst  the  same 
petty  local  jealousies  threw  Croatia  into 
the  hands  of  Haiducs,  pirates,  Austrians^ 

341 


.>i*'i 


\ 


♦  I 


THE  PRUSSIAN   POLES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1863. 


and  Italians.     Everywhere  we  meet  with 
the  same  disintegrating  element — dissen- 
sion accentuated  in  its  political  aspect  by 
religious'i    and     ecclesiastical     differences. 
Catholic  Poland  against  Orthodox  Russia ; 
Catholic    Croats  against   Orthodox   Serbs ; 
Christian  Bosniaks  against  Moslem   rene- 
gades.    P'rom    Warsaw    down   to    Cattaro, 
dit^sension   made   great   gaps  in   the   Slav 
front,  into  which  the  enemies  of  the  Slavs 
— Germans,    Hungarians,   and    Turks— at 
once  thrust   themselves  in,  like   so  many 
"wedges,  to  keep  them  asunder.     So  far  this 
policy  has  been   successful,  but  at  a  con- 
siderable cost.     Austria  and  Turkey  have 
succeeded  in  obtainini>"  a  mechanical  mix- 
lure,  presenting  a  certain  degree  of  cohe- 
sion, but  have  utterly  failed  to  produce,  as 
it  were,  an  homogeneous  chemical  mixture. 
Prussia  has  been  far  more  successful ;  she 
Las    achieved    the    satisfactory   result    of 
Laving  completely  assimilated  her  share  of 
the  Polish  spoil  to  herself.     With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  small  impotently  turbulent 
and  ultramontane  "  Polish  Fraction,"  the 
Slavs  of  East  Prussia  and  Silesia  are  as 
Prussian   as   the  Branden burghers.      This 
eminently  satisfactory  result  is  due  to  the 
circumspect,   just,    but  strict  government 
emanating  from  Berlin — a  government  that 
knows  of  no  half  measures  where  correct  prin- 
ciples are  involved.     We  need  not  consider 
all  that  might  be  urged  against  the  Prus- 
sian  policy   in  regard    to  Poland — to   its 
share  of  Poland — all  the  charges  of  having 
ousted    the  great  Polish    landowners  from 
their  estates  by  indulging  their  extravagant 
propensities.      But  even  if   these  charges 
are  true,  which  no  doubt  they  are,  it  does 
not  appear  how  the  Prussian  can  be  held 
politically     responsible    for    the    wasteful 
habits  of  the  Pole.     That  is  a  question  of 
morality  that    must   be   left  to   the  con- 
science of  the  individual. 

Very  different  has  been  the  case  in  Bo- 
hemia and  the  other  Slav  provinces  of 
Austria.  The  government  there  has  done 
its  best,  by  its  system  of  administration  and 
policy,  to  counteract  the  work  of  assimila- 
tion that  has  been  carried  on  between 
Slav  and  German  with  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  success.  Things  were  progressing 
very  satisfactorily,  when,  in  a  moment  of 
weakness,  the  Austrian  government  yielded 
to  clamour  and  threats  of  rebellion,  and 
let  loose  a  flood  of  jealousy  and  discontent 
by  giving  Hungary  an  autonomy.  That 
was  the  result  of  the  mistaken  idea  that 
342 


Count  Beust  was  the  diplomatic  equal  of 
Prince  Bismarck.     He  failed  as  a  minister; 
and  it  is  very  doubtful   whether  he  was  a 
success  as  an  ambassador.     But  the  greatest 
mistake  of  all  was  the  concession  made  to 
the  turbulence  of  a  race  in  a  marked  mi- 
nority amongst  a  number  of  other  families, 
who  only  .require  to  be  united  in  order  to 
dictate   their  own   terms.     It  is   a  great 
error  to  look  upon  Austria  as  a  conglome- 
ration of   various   races.      There  are  but 
three — the    German,    the    Slav,    and    the 
Hungarian,  of  whom  the  Slav  is  by  far  in 
the  majority.     What  would  be  thought  of 
a  policy  yielding  to  the  clamour  of  the 
Home    Rulers,    and    creating    a    dualism 
which  should  carry  on  the  British  govern- 
ment,  and    placing    Scotland   and   Wales 
under  the  administration  of  an  Irish  par- 
liament ?     That   is    precisely    similar     to 
what  the  Austrian  government  have  par- 
tially done.     They  have    placed    a    large 
section  of  the  Slav  family  under  Hunga- 
rian   administration,  and    created  a   vast 
amount  of  discontent  amongst  the  remain- 
ing sections  by  favouring  Hungary  to  the 
extent  of  virtual  independence.     Naturally 
both  northern  and  southern  Slavs  demand 
equal     privileges    with     the    Hungarians. 
Thus     the    broad     issue    in    question    is 
whether,  there  being  three   distinct  races 
constituting  the  empire  of  Austria,  there 
shall  also   be   three   distinct   parliaments, 
three  distinct  administrations,  and   three 
distinct  budgets,  serving  three  distinct  in- 
terests having  not  one  single  point  of  com- 
mon action.     Obviously   the   proposition, 
under  the  most ,  favourable  conditions,  is 
open  to  the  gravest  objections ;  but  in  the 
case  of  Austria  it  is  simply  absurd,  for  the 
following  reasons.     First,  because  the  Hun- 
garians   and  the    Slavs  are   such  bitter 
enemies,  that,  if  left  to  their  own  respec- 
tive devices,  they  would  never  be  able  to 
pull  together.     Either  the  one  or  the  other 
would  obtain  the  political  supremacy,  and 
oppress   and   harass   the  other    on   every 
possible  occasion.     Secondly,  it  would  be 
next  to  impossible  to  draw  a  line  dividing 
the  German  from  the  Slav  districts.     Bo- 
hemia, it   is   true,  forms   a  compact  Slav 
district  —  au    "  abgeschlossenes   Ganze" — 
but  where  can  the  lines  be  drawn  for  dis- 
tricts of  which  Cracow,  Lemberg,  Cerno- 
witz,  Gratz,  Laibach,  and  Klagenfurt  are 
the  centres  ?     The  thing  is  practically  im- 
possible. 

There  are  thus  but  two  alternatives  for 


A.D.  1863.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  AUSTRIAN  SLAVS. 


Austria  as  an  empire.  Either  she  must 
revert  to  unity  of  government,  abolishment 
of  the  various  "Landtage,"  ui-  Diets,  and 
institute  a  central  parliament  sitting  at 
Vienna,  and  ignore  such  infantile  preten- 
sions as  the  right  of  the  various  members 
to  hold  forth  in  their  special  tongues,  or 
she  must  continue  to  administer;  the  State 
by  help  of  the  fusion,  for  working  purposes, 
of  two  of  the  conflicting  races,  and  hold  the 
third  in  subjection  by  what  the  Slavs  de- 
light in  calling  "brute  majority,"  If  the 
latter  alternative  be  preferred,  it  is  quite 
clear  that  the  government  will  strike  either 
on  Charybdis  or  Scylla.  In  that  case  the 
best  to  be  done  is  to  choose  the  softer  rock 
of  the  two.  The  Austro- Hungarian  dual- 
ism must  be  retained  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  Slavs,  or  an  Austro-Slav  combination 
be  arranged  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Mag- 
yars.    Which  is  the  most  advisable  ? 

Now,  to  ordinary  minds,  and  in  ordinary 
circumstances,  the  fact  that  the  Slavs  bv 
far  outnumber  the  Hungarians — say  by  a 
majority  of  five  to  one — supplies  the 
answer  completely.  The  contrary  view 
could  only  be  supported  and  justified  in 
case  the  majority  were  far  inferior  in  in- 
tellect and  industry  to  the  minority.  But 
of  this  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  proof. 
Quite  the  reverse.  Bohemia  and  the  semi- 
Slav  districts  between  Gratz  and  Trieste, 
attained  a  degree  of  industry  and  pros- 
perity far  beyond  that  of  Hungary  long 
ago.  There  may  be  a  certain  friction  be- 
tween the  Slav  and  the  German  still, 
which,  as  already  said,  the  government  has 
done  its  best  to  promote ;  but  not  less 
marked  is  the  friction  between  Hungarian 
and  German :  if  anything,  it  is  greater. 
Tliere  is  thus  no  proof  at  all  of  an  inferi- 
ority of  the  Slav  to  the  Hungarian  in  any 
respect.  As  for  the  vaunted  progress  of 
Hungary  in  recent  times — since  1866 — it 
is  nothing  but  outward  veneer  and  varnish, 
and  a  certain  amount  of  glitter  and  tinsel 
in  Pesth  and  Presburg,  that  have  been  ob- 
tained from  the  proceeds  of  various  loans 
in  the  continental  markets,  on  security 
that  may  turn  out  very  illusory  and  un- 
satisfactory when  evil  days  come  on.  But 
the  money  thus  obtained,  as  well  as  from 
the  rich  harvests  of  recent  years,  does  not 
seem  to  have  produced  any  corresponding 
benefit.  'Twas  there,  'tis  gone — no  one 
knows  where,  except  those  speculators  and 
extravagant  nobles  who  are  indebted  to  the 
State  by  millions  for  arrears  of  taxes.     It 


is  by  no  means  intended  to  disparage  the 
Hungarians;  but  they  are  certainly  not 
so  superior  to  the  Slavs  as  to  justify  the 
artificial  supremacy  over  them  they  have 
been  invested  with.  The  result  has  proved 
this.  Austria  is  on  the  verge  of  anarchy. 
Austro-Hungarian  dualism  has  not  an- 
swered. Would  an  Austro-Slav  combina- 
tion be  more  successful  ?  It  might,  after 
an  appeal  to  arms,  and  at  the  expense  of 
the  Magyars,  which  is  quite  undesirable. 
There  thus  remains  the  first  alternative 
only — a  reversion  to  unity  of  government. 
That  is  the  only  salvation  for  Austria  as  an 
empire.  With  Russia  to  back  her  own 
Slav  population,  with  Prussia  ready  to 
annex  the  German  provinces,  with  Italy 
biding  her  time  till  Trieste  falls  to  her 
share  like  a  ripe  apple — like  Lombardy 
and  Venetia — the  Austro-Hungfarian  struc- 
ture  would  at  once  utterly  collapse.  A 
fourth  alternative  has  been  proposed — i.e., 
that  Austria  should  gracefully  resign  her 
German  provinces,  and  enter  upon  a  fresh 
career  as  a  purely  Slavic  State.  But  apart 
from  the  difficulty  in  yielding  up  her  most 
civilised  provinces  with  the  requisite  grace, 
there  would  still  remain  Hungary  to  be 
dealt  with — a  trump-card  in  Russia's  hands 
whenever  she  chose  to  play  it.  To  expect 
such  a  consummation  as  a  voluntary  act  on 
the  part  of  Austria,  would  be  equivalent  to 
expecting  a  man  to  smile  a  graceful  smile 
with  a  hedgehog  sticking  in  his  throat 
whilst  one  of  his  limbs  was  being  ampu- 
tated. 

Such  are  the  dangers  with  which  Pan- 
slavism,  headed  by  Russia,  threatens  the 
Austro-Hungarian  abortion.  It  is  the 
moral  force  permeating  millions  of  souls — 
backed  by  a  powerful  empire — protesting 
against  the  continued  existence  of  what  all 
men  of  common  sense  must  pronounce  a 
political  monstrosity.  The  final  issue  of 
the  struggle  is  evident.  The  Magyar  must 
at  least  admit  the  Slav  to  political  equality 
with  himself,  and  the  Austro-Hungarian 
dualism  must  yield — the  sooner  the  better 
— to  the  Slav  coalition  preparing  against  it 
on  all  sides.  How  this  is  to  be  brought 
about,  whether  by  peaceful  means,  or  by 
revolution,  invasion,  or  anarchy,  remains  to 
be  seen.  But  it  cannot  be  too  plainly,  or 
too  impressively  stated,  that  the  danger 
arising  from  the  Eastern  question  is  not  to 
be  looked  for  at  Constantinople  and  Bel- 
grade, but  at  Vienna  and  Pesth.  It  is  in 
those   centres  that   the   combustibles  are 

343 


POLISH  REBELLION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1863-'4. 


A.b.  1863-'4.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[progress  of  revolt* 


accumulating  that    may  bring  about  the 
conflagration  of  a  European  war. 

This  is  the  great  question— the  legacy 
bequeathed  by  the  fair  Illyria.  But, 
though  the  question  is  a  knotty  one,  and 
apparently  entangled,  it  is  really  easy  of 
solution,  and  will  unravel  at  once  if  the 
proper  end  of  the  string  be  seized.  That 
can  be  accomplished  if  Austria  places  her 
three  races  on  a  footing  of  perfect  political 
equality,  by  the  very  simple  expedient  of 
favouring  none. 

But  to  return  to  the  events  of  1863. 
After  it  had  become  certain  that  Prussia 
was  adopting  all  the  measures  in  her  power 
to  stifle  the  insurrection,  and  that  Austria 
only  favoured  it  as  far  as  her  own  interests 
were  concerned ;  and,  moreover,  that  neither 
France  nor  Great  Britain  intended  to  in- 
terfere actively  on  behalf  of  Poland,  the 
leaders  of  the  movement  should  have  aban- 
doned any  further  attempts,  and  prevented 
further  loss  of  life  and  treasure. 

But  they  refused  to  see  what  was  evident 
to  all  clear-minded  men,  and  the  struggle 
continued.  In  the  beginning  of  March,  the 
government  of  Radom  continued  to  be  the 
scene  of  the  principal  operations ;  and  the 
insurgents  in  that  district,  commanded  by 
Langiewicz,  although  constantly  reported 
dispersed  and  destroyed, reappeared  in  undi- 
minished numbers  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  scene  of  their  reported  destruction,  and 
by  their  activity  and  the  ability  with  which 
they  were  handled,  harassed  the  troops  sent 
against  them  most  severely ;  and  although 
unable  to  make  any  impression  against  the 
troops  by  acting  in  mass,  the  insurgents, 
nevertheless,  by  continuing  this  partisan 
system  of  warfare,  and  by  avoiding  any 
general  engagement,  kept  the  whole  Rus- 
sian army  in  the  kingdom  in  a  constant 
state  of  suspense  and  preparation,  and  pre- 
vented anything  approaching  to  a  settle- 
ment of  the  question. 

On  March  11th,  the  Russian  government 
declared  that  Langiewicz'  band  had  been 
routed,  and  himself  wounded  in  an  action 
near  the  town  of  Wlozczowa,  situated  about 
midway  between  the  Warsaw  and  Vienna 
railway  and  the  old  post-road  to  Cracow, 
and  nearly  equi-distant  from  the  towns  of 
Kielce  and  Chenstochow  :  it  also  declared 
that  numbers  of  prisoners  had  been  brought 
in  by  the  peasants,  and  that  some  parties 
had  even  surrendered  themselves  to  the 
troops.  But  all  this  was  false  ;  for  a  few 
days  later,  Langiewicz  still  occupied  the 
344 


ground  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Vycow, 
lately  held  by  the  band  under  Kurowski, 
which  had  been  severelv  handled  in  the 
attack  on  the  town  of  Miechow — a  position 
which,  being  close  to  the  Austrian  frontier, 
gave  him  the  opportunity  of  receiving  such 
supplies  as  could  be  smuggled  across  the 
frontier,  as  well  as  allowing  him  a  retreat 
if  pressed.  The  military  authorities  ap- 
peared at  last  to  be  fully  alive  to  the  im- 
portance of  crushing  this  band,  and  a  force 
of  from  10,000  to  12,000  was  sent  to  operate 
against  Langiewicz.  Meantime,  the  fact  that 
an  army,  numbering  at  the  lowest  estimate 
about  80,000  men,  well  armed  and  equipped, 
and  composed  of  old  and  disciplined  troops, 
was  unable  to  put  down  an  outbreak  that 
commenced  with  such  small  means  at  its 
disposal,  was  most  remarkable,  and  proved 
that,  however  deficient  the  insurgents  were 
in  warlike  stores  and  materials,  they  were, 
at  all  events,  imbued  with  such  a  spirit 
of  determination,  that  the  best  efforts  of  a 
large  and  well-organised  force  was  required 
to  regain  the  complete  mastery  of  the 
country. 

At  this  period  the  chief  efforts  of  the 
insurgents  were  devoted  to  interrupting 
the  railway  communications  of  the  king- 
dom, and  at  the  same  time,  by  forming 
bands  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  to  force 
the  Russians  to  concentrate  their  scattered 
detachments  under  the  fear  of  having  them 
destroyed  in  detail,  and  so  to  leave  the 
resources  of  a  large  extent  of  country  avail- 
able for  the  support  of  the  various  bands. 
This  policy  succeeded  ;  and  although  some 
severe  losses  were  experienced  by  them, 
their  numbers  became  greater  than  ever, 
and  more  men  were  forthcoming  than  there 
were  arms  to  place  in  their  hands. 

The  pressure  applied  by  the  revolutionary 
committee  on  the  nobles  and  others  from 
the  moderate  party  became  also  so  great, 
that  the  utmost  firmness  was  required  by 
them  to  resist  the  movement  openly ;  for  it 
is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  the  govern- 
ment wished  to  drive  this  party  into  active 
opposition,  as  no  effort  was  made  to  gain 
their  support,  nor  were  the  slightest  over- 
tures made  by  the  government  to  any  pro- 
minent member  of  the  party. 

It  was  hoped  and  believed  by  many  per- 
sons, that  the  anniversary  of  the  accession  of 
the  emperor  (the  3rd  March)  would  be  made 
the  occasion  of  offering  a  general  amnesty : 
but  no  such  boon  was  accorded ;  and  it  is  a 
significant  fact,  that  although  the  Polish 


members  of  the  council  of  state,  and  among 
them  the  Count  Poletylo,  whose  mansion 
was  pillaged  by  the  troops  as  we  have  de- 
scribed, attended  the  levee  held  by  the  grand 
duke  on  that  occasion,  notwithstanding  the 
most  violent  opposition  of  many  even  of 
the  moderate  party,  not  the  slightest  notice 
was  taken  of  these  gentlemen  by  him.  . 

Nor  was  this  all.  Instructions  were  sent 
at  the  same  time  to  the  military  chiefs  of 
the  different  districts  of  the  kingdom,  to 
form  amongst  the  peasants  of  the  different 
villages  a  sort  of  rural  police,  with  the 
power  of  examining  any  person  either  re- 
siding in,  or  passing  through,  the  villages, 
as  well  as  of  arresting  armed  men  or  others 
belonging  to  insurgent  bands  or  marauders. 

This  ordinance  meant  much  more  than 
was  conveyed  by  the  actual  wording,  and 
was  levelled  ajjainst  the  whole  of  the  land- 
owners  of  the  kingdom,  as  the  power  placed 
by  it  in  the  hands  of  the  peasants,  of  arrest- 
ing all  whom  they  suspected,  or  denounced, 
as  being  insurgents,  without  demanding 
that  any  proof  should  be  required  to  justify 
the  arrest,  was  a  most  dangerous  weapon  in 
their  hands ;  for  though  it  is  true  that  the 
third  clause  of  the  ordinance  enacted  that 
the  communal  chiefs,  peasants,  bailiffs,  and 
elders  were  to  take  care  that  no  excesses 
were  committed  by  the  peasants  when 
apprehending  insurgents,  and  that  those 
who  infringed  this  rule  were  to  be  severely 
punished,  in  many  cases  it  was  made  the 
pretext  for  the  gratification  of  every  kind 
of  personal  vengeance  and  spite ;  and  in 
many  parts  of  the  kingdom,  where  the  no- 
bility had  long  been  uncontrolled  and  had 
abused  the  power  which  feudal  institutions 
placed  in  their  hands,  scenes  similar  to 
those  that  occurred  in  Galiciain  1846,  were 
the  result  of  the  measure. 

The  landowners  having  been  thus  crip- 
pled, the  government  had  but  little  or 
nothing  to  fear  from  the  moderate  party, 
who,  though  sorely  pressed  by  the  importu- 
nities of  the  insurgent  committees,  still  had 
sufficient  tact  to  perceive  that,  at  any 
rate,  the  moment  to  throw  themselves  into 
the  movement  had  not  yet  arrived;  and  that 
so  long  as  the  insurrection  was  conducted 
by  secret  committees,  composed  of  unknown 
persons  in  unknown  localities,  at  home  or  in 
the  capital,  or  on  the  continent,  and  with- 
out any  regularly  organised  system  or  pro- 
gramme, they  would  be  uselessly  sacrificing 
themselves  for  an  undeveloped  object,  and 
would  lose  whatever  hold  they  still  possessed 


vol.  II. 


2  Y 


over  their  countrymen,  and  thereby  become 
incapable  of  rendering  efficient  service,  in 
the  event  of  foreign  intervention,  in  favour 
of  their  country,  or  of  liberal  institution"' 
being  granted  them  by  the  Emperor  of 
Russia. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  whilst  the 
progress  of  the  rebellion  in  its  civil  aspect 
was  hampered,  partly  by  the  action  of  the 
government,  and  partly  by  internal  discus- 
sions, the  movement  in  the  field  continued 
to  grow  apparently  more  serious.  In 
Podolia,  several  thousand  men,  armed  with 
what  the  official  despatches  call  "every 
species  of  weapon,"  but  who,  in  point  of 
fact,  could  not  be  said  to  have  been  armed 
at  all,  assembled  at  Bar,  and  continually  re- 
ceived fresh  reinforcements.  This  fact, 
coupled  with  what  occurred  in  Volhynia, 
proved  that,  notwithstanding  the  great 
difficulty  of  communication  with  Cen- 
tral Poland  ("Kongress  Polen"),  and  the 
interrupted  communication  between  vil- 
lage and  village,  and  district  and  district, 
the  insurrection  was  ever  gaining  renewed 
strength.  The  Russian  authorities  ordered 
the  peasants  to  arm  themselves  with  scythes 
and  guard  the  high  road.  In  answer  to 
this,  the  insurgents,  in  many  places,  pro- 
claimed the  emancipation  of  the  peasants ; 
but  long  habit  and  the  influence  of  the 
schismatic  Greek  priests  rendered  this  class 
but  slightly  favourable  to  the  insurrection. 
The  Russian  garrisons  in  the  towns  of  Po- 
dolia were  very  weak  ;  not  more  than  two 
regiments  of  infantry,  here  and  there  a  few 
detachments  of  Cossacks,  and  not  much 
artillery.  The  government  had  all  the 
moneys  transported  from  the  provincial 
towns  to  Kamienico,  and  issued  a  procla- 
mation, in  the  sense  of  the  above  ordinance, 
among  the  rural  population,  drawn  up  in 
the  dialect  of  Little  Russia,  calling  upon 
them,  and  especially  the  chief  persons 
among  them,  to  keep  an  eye  upon  the 
officials,  the  nobility,  and  the  priests,  and 
to  report  all  they  might  see  or  hear  to  the 
gendarmes. 

As  may  be  imagined,  all  these  measures  of 
the  government  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  acts 
of  the  insurgents  on  the  other,  greatly  con- 
tributed to  intensify  the  hatred  between  the 
military  and  the  rebels ;  and  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  regular  soldiery 
always  regard  rebels  in  the  light  of  mur- 
derers and  assassins — as  people,  in  short, 
who  have  not  got  a  licence  to  kill.  Thus, 
a  small  division  of  the  Smolenski  regiment, 

345 


:\ 


■;l 


. 


v« 


r     11 


FRESH   MASSACRES.] 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


[A.D.  1863.'4. 


A.D.  1863-'4.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [defeat  of  langiewicz. 


with  a  troop  of  Cossacks  and  dragoons, 
attacked  the  village  of  Giebultow,  one 
German  mile  distant  from  Miechow,  the 
property  of  Ladislaus  Bielski.  The  soldiers 
took  twelve  persons  from  the  manor-house 
("Edelhof")  and  massacred  them  behind 
the  village,  under  circumstances  of  great 
atrocity,  because  they  believed  that  one  of 
their  comrades  had  been  killed  by  a  person 
belonging  to  the  estate.  Three,  amongst 
them  Severin  Miczkowski,  were  at  once 
killed ;  nine  were  mortally  wounded ;  whilst 
a  certain  Wiescolowski,  who  had  received 
several  deep  bayonet-wounds,  was  brought 
to    Cracow     without     his    wounds    being 

attended  to 

After  the  massacre  the  soldiers  plundered 
the  bodies,  and  left  the  wounded  to  their 
fate,  supposing  them  to  be  dead.  In  the 
meanwhile  another  party  plundered  the 
manor-house,  the  owner  of  which  had  taken 
timely  to  flight.  It  was  not  till  late  that 
the  colonel  appeared  and  put  a  stop  to  the 
pillage.  On  the  appearance  of  a  Polish 
column  the  Russians  withdrew,  and  the 
wounded  were  then  brought  to  Cracow 
under  the  protection  of  the  insurgents. 
About  the  same  time  another  frightful 
scene  occurred  not  far  from  Giebultow. 
Louis  Finkenstein,  a  British  subject,  pro- 
vided with  a  passport  of  Lord  Russell's, 
issued  on  the  27th  of  March,  1862,  was 
travelling  across  the  frontier  at  Baran,  on 
the  14th  instant,  in  order  to  make  a  pur- 
chase of  corn  at  Miechow.  At  the  village 
of  Gorka,  not  far  from  Giebultow,  he  was 
stopped  by  soldiers  and  taken  before  their 
commander.  No  arms  being  found  upon 
him,  the  major  gave  him  an  escort  and  sent 
him  on  to  Szachnewskoj.  He  had  to  pass 
the  night  in  his  carriage,  and  a  subaltern 
("Junker")  was  ordered  to  protect  him 
against  the  men.  During  the  night  several 
wounded  Poles  were  brought  in.  On 
it  being  known  that  the  Poles  were  ap- 
proaching, the  soldiers  demanded  that 
the  prisoners  should  be  killed.  The  officer 
resisted,  pistol  in  hand,  but  it  was  in  vain. 
With  the  cry  of  hurrah !  the  soldiers  fell 
upon  the  unarmed  persons  and  killed 
several,  whilst  Finkenstein  was  dragged 
from  his  carriage  by  the  hair,  received 
twenty-six  bayonet-wounds,  and  was  robbed 
of  5,800  silver  roubles  and  whatever  else  he 
bad.  When  the  Poles  came  up,  Langiewicz 
caused  Finkenstein,  at  his  own  request, 
to  be  brought  to  Cracow,  where  he  was 
most  kindly  received,  and  the  particulars 
346 


of  the  outrage  forwarded  to   the  Foreign 
Office. 

Such  acts  naturally  caused  much  indig- 
nation abroad,  and  gave  rise  to  remon- 
strances and  diplomatic  notes — even  from 
Spain  and  Portugal — which  determined  the 
Russian  government  to  proceed  all  the 
more  rigorously  against  the  insurgents. 
The  active  army  was  brought  up  in  a  very 
short  time  to  about  95,000  infantry,  12,000 
regular  cavalry,  10,000  Cossacks,  and 
8,000  artillery,  with  about  200  guns. 

The  whole  of  the  troops  composing  this 
imposing  force  were  well  armed,  the  infantry 
having   been   well   supplied   with    Enfield 
rifles,  and  well  equipped,  and  in  a  high 
state  of  discipline — thus  showing  that  there 
were  no  grounds  for  the  belief  that  the 
officers  had,  in  general,  very  little  control 
over   the   soldiers   under   their   command. 
There  is,  on  the  contrary,  ample  evidence 
that  the  excesses  of  the  men  were  due  to 
the  savageness  of  the  ignorant  lower  offi- 
cers. But  although  such  large  numbers  were 
available,  they  were  split  up  here  and  there 
into  small  columns  which  manifested  much, 
or  no  energy  at  all,  according  to  the  tem- 
perament of  the  commanders.     Some  were 
fired  by  ambition,  or  the  wish  for  promotion, 
and  did  not  care  what  measures  they  took 
to    attain   their   objects.      Others,  on  the 
other    hand,    either    from    age    or    other 
reasons,  took  no  pains  at  all,  but  remained 
in  garrison,  or  made  a  pic-nic  out  of  their 
marches  from  one  town  to  another,  from 
villasre   to   villasfe,  from  estate  to  estate, 
necessarily    eating    and    drinking   at    the 
public  expense.    Thus  there  were  only  about 
12,000  men  allotted  to  the  government  of 
Radom,  the  chief  seat  and  stronghold  of 
the  insurrection  ;  and  out  of  this  force  gar- 
risons had  to  be  supplied  for  the  towns  of 
Radom,    Petrikau,    Chenstochow,    Kielce, 
Opochno,  Miechow,  and  Olkusz,  thus  re- 
ducing the  actual  force  available  for  the 
field  by  about  one-half ;    and  to  this  may, 
in  a  great  measure,  be  attributed  the  suc- 
cesses  gained    by    the    insurgents    under 
Langiewicz,  who  without  sufficient  arms  or 
ammunition  for  the  men  under  his  com- 
mand, succeeded  in  evading  the  columns 
sent  against  him,  and  continued  to  main- 
tain  himself    in   the    wooded    and    hilly 
portions  of  this  district,  keeping,  at  the 
same  time,  his  communications  open  with 
the  Austrian  frontier  of  Galicia. 

To  the  failure  of  the  troops  in  obtaining 
any  important  successes  in  this  district,  and 


I 


to  the  activity  and  ability  shown  by  Lan- 
giewicz, the  importance  of  the  insurrec- 
tionary movement  was  due,  so  that  the 
whole  hope  of  the  outbreak  depended 
on  the  fate  of  the  force  under  this  chief; 
for  although  the  insurrection  existed,  more 
or  less,  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
and  the  troops  were  constantly  harassed  by 
the  appearance  of  small  bands  where  least 
expected,  the  force  under  Langiewicz  was 
the  nucleus  of  the  national  army,  and  any 
serious  disaster  to  this  force  meant  the  ulti- 
mate failure  of  the  movement. 

The  largest  available  force  in  the  field, 
on  the  side  of  the  government,  was  under 
the  command  of  General  Chrustcheff,  a 
septuagenarian,  mild,  amiable,  and  ad- 
dicted to  the  pleasures  of  the  Court  rather 
than  to  the  delights  of  the  "  tented  field." 
He  was  stationed  in  Lublin,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Lublin,  where  large  reinforcements 
had  been  received  from  Volhynia,  partly 
with  a  view  to  watch  the  Austrian  frontier, 
but  also  to  increase  the  force  in  the  govern- 
ment of  Radom  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
allow  of  their  taking  the  field  in  such  force 
as  to  render  the  position  of  Langiewicz 
most  difficult,  unless  he  could  succeed  in 
obtaining  a  supply  of  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion to  enable  him  to  increase  the  numbers 
under  his  command  in  proportion.  But 
though  he  had  no  difficulty  in  procuring 
men,  arms  and  ammunition  were  not  so 
easily  procured,  and  the  fatal  blow  was  thus 
closer  at  hand  than  most  people  imagined. 
It  was  decided  to  carry  out  a  series  of  com- 
bined movements ;  and  the  Russian  troops 
having  advanced  in  force,  Langiewicz  re- 
treated along  the  line  of  the  Vistula,  where 
it  forms  the  Austrian  frontier.  The  Rus- 
sians, about  9,000  strong,  made  an  attack, 
in  three  columns,  on  the  insurgents,  who 
numbered  about  10,000  men. 

Fighting  continued  during  the  l7th, 
18th,  and  19th  of  April,  along  the  bank  of 
the  Vistula,  between  Niepolomice  and 
Tarnow ;  but  the  corps  commanded  by 
Langiewicz  was  early  defeated.  The 
latter,  seeing  the  uselessness  of  further 
bloodshed,  escaped  into  Austrian  territory ; 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  19th,  arrived  at 
Uscie-Yesnickie.  He  there  represented 
himself  as  being  called  Waligorski,  and 
a>ked  the  imperial  commander,  Bassler, 
whether  he  would  be  allowed  to  continue 
his  journey  unmolested.  On  being  told 
that  this  request  could  not  be  granted 
without  express  permission  from  the  higher 


authorities,  he  finally  declared  himself,  and 
placed  himself  under  the  protection  of  the 
Austrian  government. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th,  Langiewicz 
was  brought  to  Tarnow  in  a  carriage,  es- 
corted by  four  Hussars ;  and  in  accordance 
with  telegraphic  orders  received  from  Lem- 
berg,  he  was  to  have  left  for  that  place  at 
1  P.M.  By  mid-day  he  was  at  the  station, 
and  the  whole  of  Tarnow  had  turned  out  to 
see  him. 

Langiewicz  had  his  female  adjutant, 
who  is  the  daughter  of  a  Russian  general, 
with  him;  and  he  took  two  first-class 
tickets  for  Lemberg,  paying  for  them  in 
Napoleons.  Just  before  the  departure  of 
the  train,  however,  a  telegram  arrived  from 
Lemberg  to  stop  his  departure.  He  was 
then  taken  to  the  Hotel  de  Cracovie,  under 
a  guard,  consisting  of  an  officer  and  four- 
teen men,  which  was  destined  less  for  the 
security  of  his  person  than  for  keeping  otF 
the  immense  crowds  of  towns-people.  The 
only  person  who  visited  him  was  the 
colonel  of  the  imperial  regiment  of  dra- 
goons, and  who  was  requested  by  him  to 
have  other  visitors  kept  at  a  distance. 

During  the  day  about  eighty  wounded 
insurgents,  many  of  them  quite  boys,  were 
brought  in,  and  placed  in  the  military  and 
civil  hospitals.  There  was  no  appearance 
of  any  uniform,  each  one  being  dressed  ac- 
cording to  fancy.  Those  insurgents  who 
came  over  the  frontier,  unprovided  with 
papers,  were  sent  to  Tglau  by  the  mid-day 
train.  Not  one  brought  any  arms  with 
him,  unless  two  cuirasses  can  be  reckoned 
in  this  category;  but  Langiewicz  and  his 
"  adjutant,"  Mademoiselle  Pustowojtoff, 
were  dressed  in  the  Polish  national  costume. 
According  to  Langiewicz,  not  a  third  part 
of  his  force  had  arms.  The  sympathy 
evinced  for  him  and  Mademoiselle  Pusto- 
wojtoff, who  was  wounded  in  the  foot,  was 
unbounded.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  the  re- 
mains of  his  army  were  brought  into  Cra- 
cow to  the  number  of  several  hundreds,  and 
confined  in  the  riding-school  and  other 
public  buildings  ;  anywhere,  in  fact,  where 
space  could  be  found  for  them.  Before  the 
expiration  of  a  week  they  were  almost  all 
free  again  and  across  the  border.  Under 
pretence  of  visiting  their  relatives,  the 
female  population  of  the  town,  each  fur- 
nished with  some  extra  article  of  female 
costume,  easily  obtained  access  to  the 
prisoners,  who  shortly  afterwards  passed 
the  sentries  in  the  slightest  of  all  disguises, 

347 


f 


1 


■i 


LANGIEWICZ'  INTERNMENT.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1863-'4. 


gome  wearing  a    bonnet,  others  a   shawl, 
&c.,  &c. 

Langiewicz  and  the  most  dangerous  of 
his  companions  were,  of  course,  better 
guarded,  and  afterwards  sent  to  Bohemia ; 
but,  at  the  time,  the  Austrian  authorities 
liardly  knew  what  to  do  with  the  large 
number  of  fugitives  swarming  across  the 
frontier.  In  consequence,  more  stringent 
measures  were  soon  adopted  by  the  autho- 
rities. On  arriving  by  rail  the  traveller 
was  not  allowed  to  leave  his  carriage  until 
his  passport  had  been  examined.  Fre- 
quent domiciliary  visits  were  made,  and  a 
considerable  military  force  echeloned  along 
the  frontier.  These  measures  were,  how- 
ever, futile ;  it  was  found  quite  impossible 
to  prevent  any  one  passing  into  Poland. 
The  band?,  formed  in  Gralicia,  chose  some 
dark  night,  or  located  themselves  in  a 
wood  till  dusk,  and  as  soon  as  the  patrol 
passed,  over  they  went ;  or  else  they  passed 
fcingly  and  re-united  on  the  Polish  side  of 
the°  frontier,  which  was  generally  un- 
guarded by  Kussian  troops ;  except  when 
they  learned,  from  the  reports  of  their  spies, 
that  a  band  was  to  pass  at  a  given  point 
and  hour. 

The  defeat  of  Langiewicz,  and  the  com- 
plete rout  of  his  ill-organised  army,  might 
have  shown  how  little  chance  the  move- 
ment had  of  success;  and  people  of  calm 
judgment,  who  had  the  opportunities  for 
looking  below  the  surface,  no  doubt  were 
convinced  that  any  further  resistance  was 
futile.  But  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion 
were  either  incapable  of  forming  a  calm 
judgment,  or  were  following  out  their  own 
private  ends,  and  serving  their  own  private 
interests. 

Committees  were  formed  in  Cracow, 
Lemberg,  Warsaw,  and  Vienna,  in  Paris, 
London,  and  Rome,  who  determined  to 
carry  on  the  struggle  as  long  as  possible. 
These  committees  were  composed  partly  of 
Polish  nobles,  such  as  Prince  Czartoryski 
and  others,  partly  of  professional  men, 
journalists,  and  other  exiles,  and  partly  of 
members  of  that  floating  revolutionary 
population,  which  is  always  ready  to  join 
the  standard  of  revolt  whenever  it  may 
chance  to  be  unfurled,  whether  in  Italy, 
{Spain,  or  Poland. 

The  troops,  or  rather  bands  of  insurgents, 
after  the  defeat  of  Langiewicz,  were  simi- 
larly composed.  Of  peasantry,  there  were 
very  few  who  joined  the  insurgent  ranks. 
The  rank  and  file  were  chiefly  composed  of 
348 


artizans  and  labourers;  the  officers  be- 
longed to  the  middle  class ;  and  the  only 
men  who  had  had  military  experience  were 
those  who  had  served  with  Garibaldi,  or  in 
the  Hungarian  army,  under  Kossuth,  in 
1848.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  the  whole  num- 
ber, rank  and  file,  and  officers,  were  m^^n 
who  had  nothing  to  lose,  but  everything 
to  win — that  is,  be  it  borne  in  mind,  after 
the  defeat  of  Langiewicz  and  his  intern- 
ment in  Austria.  IJp  till  then,  there  is  no 
doubt  but  that  the  majority  of  the  insur- 
gents were  respectable  men,  who  revolted 
from  fear  of  transportation,  under  the 
name  of  military  service,  and  from  truly 
patriotic  principles.  But  this  number, 
comparatively  small,  was  soon  killed  ofif, 
or  otherwise  disposed  of,  by  sickness, 
fatigue,  despair,  and  fear. 

For  a  time,  however,  there  was  no  lack 
of  volunteers  from  all  quarters  of  the 
globe.  A  considerable  contingent  was  sup- 
plied by  the  ultramontane  party,  and  the 
residue  of  those  choice  spirits  who  had 
clustered  round  the  ex-king  of  Naples. 
The  rebellion  in  Poland  was  regarded  by 
them  and  their  instigators,  the  clergy,  as 
a  struggle,  not  only  against  the  Russian 
government,  but  also  against  the  Russian 
church.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
Poles  are  all  Catholic,  and  that  as  long  as 
they  remain  Catholic,  there  must  always  be 
a  considerable  friction  between  them  and 
the  adherents  of  the  Russian  church,  the 
orthodox  Greeks. 

Hence,  as  might  be  supposed,  what  with 
really  patriotic  principles,  what  with  reli- 
gious sympathy,  the  bulk  of  the  better 
class  of  volunteers  for  the  insurgent  ranks 
came  from  Austria ;  not  only  from  the 
Polish  provinces,  from  Cracow  and  Lem- 
berg, but  from  other  especially  Catholic 
provinces,  and  notably  from  Hungary,  out 
of  the  ranks  of  those  who  were  implicated 
in  the  revolt  of  1848.  Bohemia  and 
Croatia  also  furnished  a  contingent,  but 
not  to  any  very  important  degree.  From 
Prussian  Poland  there  came  very  few. 
Some  came  from  France,  some  from  Eng- 
land— whence,  however,  considerable  assist- 
ance was  forthcoming  in  the  shape  of 
money ;  whilst  Belgium  supplied  any 
amount  of  arms  from  the  factories  at  Li^ge 
and  other  places,  where  a  gun  and  bayonet 
could  be  procured  for  about  fifteen  francs. 
These  arms,  as  may  be  imagined,  were 
worthless  against  the  Russian  Enfield  rifles. 
They  did  not  carry  more  than  600  yards  at 


/ 


A.D.  1863-'4.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[polish  committees. 


the  outside,  whilst  the  Russian  gun  killed 
its  man  at  1,000  yards  Taking  this  supe- 
riority of  the  Russian  armament,  and  their 
possession  of  artillery  into  account,  it  be- 
comes explicable  that,  in  most  of  their 
conflicts,  the  Russians  lost  no  more  than 
two  or  three  men  to  as  many  hundreds  of 
poles.  It  was  only  when  in  close  combat 
that  the  Poles  could  at  all  meet  the  Rus- 
sians on  a  tolerably  equal  footing.  Such 
occasions  were,  however,  very  rare,  and 
limited  to  a  successful  ambush  or  surprise 
ill  the  dense  forests,  through  which  the 
roads  led,  followed  by  the  Russian  troops. 

The  following  is  the  personal  experience 
of  the  author,  and  gives  a  faithful  account  of 
the  state  of  atfiiirs  in  Poland,  and  of  the 
"operations"  after  the  defeat  of  Langie- 
wicz : — 

Partly  from  sympathy  for  the  Poles, 
partly  from  a  de.^ire  to  ste  for  myself  what 
war  was  like,  I  determined  to  go  to  the 
seat  of  war,  and  attach  myself  to  one  of 
the  commanders.  Having  communicated 
my  desire  to  a  Polish  acquaintance,  I  was 
introduced  by  him  to  a  committee  located 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Leicester  Square. 
The  members  of  this  committee  did  not 
very  favourably  impress  me.  Faithful  to 
Heine's  picture  of  the  "  Pole,"  their  daily 
refrain  seemed  to  be — 

**  A  mighty  bowl  of  punch  we'll  brew, 
Uusweetened,  undiluted ; 
A  flood  of  liquid  thought  on  true 
Old  Polish  style  computed." 

This,  it  appeared,  however,  was  only 
one  of  the  recruiting  committees  ;  and  as  I 
had  no  desire  formally  to  attach  myself  to 
the  insurgents  as  so  much  food  for  powder, 
I  resolved  to  enter  into  no  engagement 
with  them,  but  to  enter  into  relations  with 
one  of  the  higher  committees.  Meantime, 
I  ascertained  the  fact,  that,  say,  John 
Levitzki,  was  possessed  of  an  extraordinary 
number  of  doubles.  John  Levitzki  was 
enrolled,  and  received  a  certain  sum,  vary- 
ing from  one  to  five  pounds.  A  consider- 
able portion  of  this  sum  was  expended,  soon 
after  the  ceremony  of  enrolment,  in  a  neigh- 
bouring cafey  for  a  general  supply  of 
*'  liquid  thought,"  of  which,  the  more  mud- 
dled the  consumers  became  during  the 
evening,  the  more  was  required,  as  was  but 
natural.  A  day  or  two  afterwards,  John 
Levitzki's  exact  counterpart  appeared 
under  the  name  of  Simon  Dragowski,  and 
was  also  enrolled  and  inscribed  in  the  list 
of  volunteers.    This  sort  of  thing  went  on 


for  the  fortnight  or  so,  during  which  I  had 
the   equivocal    pleasure  of  these   patriots' 
company.     My  original  mentor,  of  course, 
highly  disapproved    of  these  proceedings, 
but  excused  them  as  being  "  necessary  for 
the  cause."     I  could  not  help  feeling  a  cer- 
tain doubt  as  to  the  value  of  a  cause  for 
which    such     proceedings    were   necessary; 
but  resigning  myself  to  the  belief  that  the 
leaders   of  the  movement  knew  best  what 
was  necessary  for  their  country,  I  availed 
myself  of  an  introduction  to  Prince  Czar- 
toryski, who  was  then  in  Paris.     To  Paris 
I  went.     Here   things  appeared   very  dif- 
ferent.    In  place  of  low  cafes  I  found  ele- 
gant saloons ;  in  lieu  of  undiluted  punch  I 
found  champagne;   instead  of  bibulatory, 
unwashed,    and    unkempt    Levitzkis   and 
Dragowski?,    I    found    elegant    noblemen, 
patriarchal    aristocrats,    charming    ladies, 
and  eloquent  countesses,  marchionesses  of 
an  age  at  which  a  toilette  a  la  Pompadour 
is  the  most   attractive.     In   place  of   the 
sordid  fogs  of  Leicester  Square  and  Soho 
I  found  an  inspiring  atmosphere  of  enthu- 
siasm.    Fair  ladies,  with  a  melancholy  cast 
of    countenance,    dressed    in    appropriate 
black,  were  busy  embroidering  flags,  pick- 
ing   lint,  knitting    socks,  comforters,  and 
mittens  ;  others  went  from  house  to  house 
collecting  funds ;  here  and  there  a  stalwart 
priest    superintended     the    arrangements. 
Ambitious     young     poets    and    musicians 
flitted  from  house  to    house,  from  Bel  Air 
to  the  Rue  Blanche,  from  the  Ely  see  to 
Montmartre,  and  enraptured  their  patrons 
with  marches  and  war-songs  without  end. 
The  very  organ-grinders   had  caught   the 
fever,  and  the  strains  of  Oginski's  "  Last 
Polonaise,"  composed  on  the  walls  of  his 
prison-cell  the  night  'before  his  execution, 
were  heard  at  every  comer  of  the  city.    All 
this,  if  not  of  war  itself,  was  the  romance 
of  preparatory   war;   and  as  no  romance 
is  complete  without  love  or  love-making, 
which,  in  Paris  at  least,  are  not  quite  the 
same  thing,  there  was  a  most  remarkable 
amount  of   cooing  and   wooing  going  on 
amongst   the   young  enthusiasts.      Made- 
moiselle Marie  was  continually  in  animated 
converse  with  M.  Jules ;  and  it  was  quite 
affecting  to  note  how  the  masculine  mind, 
which   ordinarily   so     strongly   objects   to 
"  trying "   anything  on,*  submitted  to  the 
measurements,     by  fair    hands,   for  caps, 
cloaks,  jackets,  and  the  thousand-and-one 
knick-knacks    requisite   for  a     campaign. 
More  men,  young  and  old,  were  engaged 

349 


'  I 


ii\ 


CZARTORYSKI.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


at  this  period  in  Paris  alone,  in  holding 
skeins  of  wool  to  be  twisted  round  fair 
fingers,  than  at  ordinary  times  throughout 
the  whole  civilised  world.  Mothers,  usually 
so  strict  as  to  their  daughters*  acquaint- 
ances, closed  their  eyes  when  they  saw 
their  bonnes  enfants  engaged  in  what,  at 
other  times,  they  would  have  considered 
highly  dangerous  and  unbecoming  flirta- 
tions. But,  as  the  result  generally  was  the 
obtainment  of  a  good  sum  of  money,  or 
some  equivalent  value  by  Marie  from  Jules 
for  the  good  of  the  cause,  the  course  of 
events  was  not  interfered  with.  In  short, 
it  was  what  the  Americans  would  call,  "a 
fine  time  for  lovers." 

Nor  was  there  much  difference  between 
the  female  and  the  masculine  section  of 
patriots.  The  majority  spent  their  time 
in  meeting  here,  there,  and  everywhere, 
building  the  most  magnificent  castles  in 
the  air  on  the  basis  of  choice  luncheons, 
with  many  oysters  and  more  champagne,  and 
dainty  little  suppers,  at  which  endless  plans 
of  campaigns  were  conceived,  and  endless 
battles  fought,  and  victories  won. 

Such  was  the  Parisian  surface.  It  was 
more  agreeable  than  the  London  surface ; 
but  still  it  did  not  strike  me  as  exemplify- 
ing the  spirit  requisite  for  the  success  of  a 
great  national  movement.  And  I  did  not 
conceal  my  opinion  of  the  matter.  But, 
having  written  an  article  to  that  effect  for 
a  London  paper,  which  I  communicated  to 
Prince  Czartoryski,  I  was  gravely  informed 
by  him  that  I  was  much  mistaken.  In 
almost  the  same  words  as  those  used  by  my 
London  mentor,  he  informed  me  that  all 
this  was  "  necessary  for  the  cause." 

"  But,"  I  remarked,  "  it  would  surely  be 
wiser  to  devote  the  large  sums  of  money 
spent  to  embroider  flags,  and  for  similar 
purposes,  to  more  useful  things.  Nor  can 
I  see  what  benefit  to  the  cause  can  accrue 
from  these  endless  suppers,  and  the  enor- 
mous consumption  of  champagne  and 
oysters." 

'•' Mon  cher  ami,''^  replied  the  prince. 
"  You  must  remember  that  this  is  only  one 
way  of  advertising.  I  know  one  of  your 
compatriots  who  spends  more  than  £20,000 
in  advertising  an  utterly  worthless  article. 
He  is  making  a  large  fortune.  He  spends 
a  pound  to  get  a  guinea.  But  we,  who  are 
thus  advertising  a  not  unworthy  object,  do 
not  pay  anything.  We  let  our  friends 
spend  as  much  as  they  like,  and  as  they 
may  please,  in  order  to  get  a  little  for  our- 
350 


[a.d.  18G3-'4. 

selves.     What  a  man  will  not  give  before 
he  has  drunk  his  bottle  of  champagne,  he 
will  give  after  he   has  emptied  it.     But  as 
we  do   not  pay  for  the  champagne,  all  we 
get  is  clear  profit.     Instead  of  publishing 
our    advertisements    ourselves,    and    then 
asking  for  the  cash  to  pay  for  them,  which 
comes  up  to  a  large  sum,  and  frightens  our 
friends,  we  let  them  pay  for  them  uncon- 
sciously.    It  all  comes  to  the  same  thing." 
"  All  that,"  I   replied,   "  may  be  as  true 
as  it  is  sarcastical  and  cynical ;  but  it  does 
not  alter  my  opinion,  nor  affect  my  conclu- 
sions.     Whatever    you    may   say   on   the 
point,  I  contend  that  the  patriotism  which 
insists  upon  having  fifteen  francs  worth  of 
champagne  before  it  gives  five  francs  away 
for  the  "  cause,"  is  a  mock  patriotism,  worth 
less  than    nothing,  and   that  there  is   no 
hope  for  a  cause  based  on  such  principles. 
It  was  not   by  such  means  that  Italy  re- 
gained her  freedom  and  liberty." 

'^  Ah,  mon  ami,''  replied  the  prince, 
benignly,  *'you  are  young  ;  you  are  enthu- 
siastic ;  you  do  not  know  the  world  yet. 
Society  is  a  strangely  complex  machine.'* 

"  Exactly  so,"  I  answered  ;  "  but  that  is 
just  what  puzzles  me.  What  has  'society* 
to  do  with  the  question  ?  As  far  as  I  am 
aware,  and  as  far  as  your  own  manifestoes 
go,  the  present  movement  is  a  rising  of  the 
people — a  democratic  movement  to  over- 
throw the  rule  of  the  czar,  and  reconstitute 
Poland  on  constitutional — if,  indeed,  not 
on  democratic  principles.'* 

"  Constitutional  principles — constitu- 
tional liberty — not  republican,**  corrected 
the  prince. 

«  So  be  it,**  I  replied.  «  But  then  how 
is  it  that  all  your  French  friends  belong  to 
the  most  pronounced  class  of  absolutism, 
and  conservatism,  and  ultramontanism  ? 
How  is  it  that  there  is  such  a  glaring  dif- 
ference between  the  practice  and  principles 
in  London  and  Paris  ?  In  London  I  heard 
nothing  but  of  the  republic.  Here  I  hear 
of  nothing  but  the  claims  of  the  aristocracy, 
and  speculations  as  to  the  future  king  of 
Poland." 

"  You  forget  again,**  observed  the  prince, 
"  that  we  are  living  under  an  imperial  rule ; 
and  that,  at  any  rate,  the  greater  part  of 
the  exiles  living  here  are  of  the  Polish 
nolility,  who  have  their  privileges  also  as 
well  as  their  duties." 

"  One  of  those  privileges,"  I  curtly 
remarked,  "being  that  of  living  in  Paris 
instead  of   fighting  in  Poland.      In   fact. 


A.D.  1863-M.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[M.  BONHOlOrE, 


whilst  the  plehs  is  fighting,  the  aristocracy 
is,  let  us  say,  diplomatising.*' 

"  Sir,"  severely  interrupted  a  rather 
saturnine  individual,  who  had  been  listen- 
ing to  the  conversation — "  Sir,  you  are  the 
most  self-sufficient  young  man  I  have  ever 
had  the  pleasure  of  meeting.  You  insult 
his  excellency." 

"  Sir,"  I  replied  coolly,  "  if  your  idea  of 
self-sufficiency  is  the  conviction  that  twice 
two  is  four,  you  may  be  quite  right.  If  so, 
I  cannot  say  much  for  the  intellectual  ca- 
pabilities of  your  acquaintances.  As  far 
as  I  understand  his  excellency,  he  does  not 
deny  that  twice  two  is  four,  but  is  simply 
explaining  to  me  why  it  is  so.  His  excel- 
lency knows  perfectly  well  that  I  am  not 
referring  to  such  men  as  himself,  but  to 
the  jeunesse  doree,  who  would  be  doing 
their  country  more  service  in  the  ranks 
than  flirting  about  in  the  saloons,  or  loung- 
ing on  the  Boulevards." 

"  Monsieur,"  said  my  interrupter,  sneer- 
ingly,  "  had  better  express  that  opinion  to 
one  of  the  jeunesse  he  so  much  despises." 

"  That,*'  I  replied,  "  is  quite  a  Corsican 
method  of  argument,  only  adapted  for 
people  who  have  no  brains  to  blow  out." 

At  this  remark,  which  was  certainly  not 
complimentary,    the   saturnine   gentleman 
arose,  and  took  his  leave  from  the  prince 
without  deigning  to  honour  me  with  any 
further  remarks.     After  he  had   left,   the 
prince  laughed  heartily,  and  told  me  that 
my  last  words  had  been  too  severe:  the 
gentleman  was  no  less  a  personage  than  M. 
Pietri,  Napoleon's   chief  of   secret  police. 
The  prince,  however,  assured   me  that  he 
did  not  at  all  feel  ofi'ended  by  what  I  had 
said.     On   the   contrary,   he   was  glad   to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  a  gentleman  who 
was  so  singularly  outspoken.     Still  I  was 
much  mistaken,  as  I  should  find  out  when 
I  had  gained  a  little  more  experience ;  and 
he,  therefore,  quite  agreed  with  me  that  I 
could  not  do  better  than  proceed  to  Poland, 
and  see  for  myself  how  matters  were  pro- 
gressing.    To  this  I  at  once  agreed;  and 
the  prince  promising  to  write  the  necessary 
introductions  for  me,  I  left  him  to  make 
my  preparation  for  the  journey. 

When  I  had  received  my  credentials  in 
the  shape  of  several  letters  and  a  'passe 
partout,  I  left  Paris  en  route  for  Cracow. 
At  Brussels  I  delivered  my  first  introduc- 
tion, and  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
committee  there.  Amongst  them  was  a 
gentleman,  whom  I  will  call  M.  Bonhomme. 


It  would  be  scarcely  fair  to  mention  his 
real  name,  because  since  then,  whenever 
there  was  any  occasion  for  his  services,  he 
was  always  ready  to  offer  them,  and  employ 
his  valuable  talents  for  the  benefit  of  any- 
body, or  anything — kings,  socialists,  mon- 
archies, or  republics.  He  was  a  speculator 
in  arms  of  all  sorts,  sizes,  and  qualities. 
If  ever  there  was  a  government  sale  of 
small  arms,  M.  Bonhomme  was  sure  to  be 
the  chief  buyer,  no  matter  where  they  were 
to  be  sold.  He  had  had  no  small  share  in 
Garibaldi's  expedition,  for  which  he  fur- 
nished a  large  portion  of  the  arms  and 
ammunition.  Afterwards,  in  the  Carlist 
war,  it  was  he  who  supplied  the  guns  and 
cartridges ;  and  still  later,  I  met  him  on 
board  the  Austrian  Lloyd's  Danube  steamer, 
Elizabeth,  plying  his  old  occupation  for  the 
benefit  of  Prince  Milan  and  the  oppressed 
Christians.  So  it  will  be  with  M.  Bon- 
homme till  the  day  of  his  death.  Speak- 
ing several  languages  perfectly,  and  know- 
ing the  geography  of  all  the  frontiers  of 
the  European  States  by  heart,  he  is  ready 
at  any  moment,  for  the  due  consideration, 
to  furnish  any  number  of  arms,  at  any  place 
and  at  any  hour,  that  may  be  required  for 
any  purpose. 

In  the  year   of   grace,  1-863,    M.    Bon- 
homme was  not  so  well  supplied  with  dis- 
carded arms  as  usual.     The  fact  was,  that 
the  last  supplies  for  the  Garibaldian  troops 
had  made  a  considerable  hole  in  his  stock ; 
and  as  the  Italian  government  had  not  yet 
disposed  of  them,  he  found  himself  obliged 
to  contract  for  new  ones.     For  this  pur- 
pose he  had  entered  into  negotiations  with 
some  of  the  small-arm  factories  in  Liege, 
and  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  contract 
for  10,000  "  rifles,*'  at  a  price  of  sixteen 
francs  (12s.  lOd)  each.     This  price  he  also 
generously  charged  the  committee ;  but  as 
he  had  the  task   of    forwarding  them  to 
their    destination   also,  the  price,  by  the 
time  they  reached  the  Russian  side  of  the 
frontier,  mounted  up  to  no  less  than,  on  an 
average,  £2   15s.  eacli ;  and  it  was  on  this 
sum,  spent  by  himself,  that  he  charged  his 
commission.      The    cases,    containing    the 
arms  and  other  war  material,  were  forwarded 
to  different  agents  in    Austria  "for  ship- 
ment "  to  China.     Once  across  the  German 
and  Austrian  frontier,  they  were  safe  till 
they  got  towards  the  Russian  frontier. 

Having  thus  seen  some  earnest  of  the 

war,  I   started  for  Leipsic,  where  the  next 

i  committee  had  its  quaiters.     It  was  located 

351 


it  i 


ON  THE  FIlONnER.J 


HISTORY  OP  THE 


[A.D.  1863-'4. 


<i   ' 


in  the  Hotel  de  Saxe,  and  consisted  chiefly 
of  Poles,  usually  residing  at  Dresden,  but 
who  had  transferred  themselves  to  Leipsic, 
where,  in  the  busy  hum  of  that  active  town, 
their  proceedings  attracted  less  attention 
than  they  would  in  Dresden,  where  the 
chief  amusement  of  the  inhabitants  con- 
sists in  trying  to  find  out  what  each  other's 
business  is ;  and  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  their  endeavours  are  mostly  crowned 
with  success.  In  Dresden  itself,  especially 
in  the  Court  circles,  there  was  considerable 
sympathy  for  the  Poles,  which  naturally 
increased  the  more  the  Polish  provinces 
were  approached.  Here,  especially  on  the 
Austrian  frontier,  the  sympathy  was  openly 
pronounced.  In  the  Prussian  provinces, 
however,  all  demonstrations  were  rigorously 
suppressed,  and  it  was  impossible  for  any- 
body, not  duly  provided  with  passports,  to 
cross  the  boundary ;  and  even  then,  only  at 
certain  points.  In  Austrian  Poland,  how- 
ever— that  is  to  say,  in  Galicia — a  very 
ditferent  state  of  affairs  obtained.  It  was 
described,  in  a  despatch  from  the  British 
consul  at  Cracow,  as  follows  : — 

"  Nor  do  the  people  of  Cracow  attempt 
to  conceal  their  feelings.  They  show 
themselves  in  various  ways — by  the  hospi- 
tality, care,  and  attention  bestowed  upon 
the  wounded  ;  by  the  large  crowds  which 
follow  to  the  grave  the  corpses  of  those 
who  die  of  the  injuries  they  have  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  Russian  soldiers  ;  and  by 
the  mourning  costume  worn  by  the  whole 
population. 

"  The  active  spirits  of  the  place  go  much 
beyond  such   demonstrations.      From  very 
good   authority,  I  learnt  that  an  insurrec- 
tionary committee  is    permanently  estab- 
lished, and  holds   nightly  sittings   in  the 
town.     It  is  intrusted,  I  was  told,  with  the 
organisation   of  bands,  the  appointment  of 
their  commanders,  &c.,  and  is  inconstant 
communication    with    the    Warsaw    com- 
mittee, and  those  said  to  be  in  existence  at 
L(  mberg  and  other  Galician  towns.      Its 
general  proceedings  were  openly  talked  of 
to  me,  and  many  people  seemed  to  be  aware 
of    its    existence.     There    is,    further,    no 
doubt    that    many    Cracovians    are    to  be 
found  in  the  insurgent  ranks.     The   stu- 
dents at    the    university  supplied  a  con- 
siderable quota  ;  and  amongst  the  wounded 
lying  in  the  hospitals  several  natives  may 
be  found." 

This  account  was  far  below  the  truth. 
There  was  not  only  one  insurrectionary  com- 


mittee,  but  several  located  in  various  parts 
of  the  town ;  whilst  every  second  shopkeeper 
was  an  "agent"  for   something  or  other. 
The  cafes  naturally  were  the  rendezvous  of 
"  patriots  "  of  all  descriptions  ;  and,  as  well 
as  the  shops,  drove  a  roaring  trade  in  conse- 
quence.     I   have    always  found  that  this 
class  is  eminently  patriotic,  no  matter  of 
what   character  the  "  cause  "  may  be,  and 
that  a  considerable   portion  of  the  funds 
goes  towards  the   profits  of  such  establish- 
ments.      On    inquiry,     however,    in     the 
rural  districts,  I   found,  as  I  had  expected 
from  what  I  had  seen  in  London  and  Paris, 
that  the  peasantry,  to  a  man,  were  opposed 
to  the   movement  as  far  as  their  fear  of 
their  landlord  permitted  them ;  and  also,  it 
must  be  acknowledged,  as  far  as  the  clergy 
allowed. 

Of  this  feeling  I  was  destined  soon  to 
have  ample  experience.     In  the  beginnino* 
of  June,  1863,  thus  some  time  after  Lan° 
giewicz   had  disappeared  from  the  scene,  I 
started    with   five    or    six   volunteers  and 
others  for  the  frontier.     We  soon  left  the 
railway,  and    mounted  the    carriages  and 
carts    provided  for    us.      They    had  been 
furnished  by  a  M.  Brunitzki,  an  influential 
landowner,  not  far  from  the  frontier.  Enter- 
ing into  conversation  with  the  driver,  who 
was  a  Bohemian,  and  spoke  German,  I  dis- 
covered that  not  a  day  had  passed,  since 
the  commencement  of  the  movement,  with- 
out his  having  been  obliged,  in  common 
with  many  of  his  comrades,  to  meet  two 
trains  a  day,  and  bring  either  passengers  or 
goods  from  the  station  to  the  house  of  M. 
Brunitzki.      In    reply    to  my  observation 
that  he  must  have  been  making  a   good 
deal  of  money   by  the  pourboires   he  re- 
ceived, he   said  that  the  people  who  came 
there  did  not  come  to  spend  money,  but  to 
make  it.     He  did  not  suppose  he  had  made 
ten    florins  during   the   whole   year;  and, 
meantime,  his  own  fields  were  runnino-  to 
ruin,   as   his  horses    were    constantly  em- 
ployed.    "  But,"  I  remarked,  "  do  not  these 
horses  belong  to  the  baron  ?  and  are  you 
not  in  his  service  ?  "  "  God  bless  your  little 
heart,"  was  the  reply,  "  the  baron's  horses 
have  other  fish  to  fry.   There  are  Count  So- 
and-so,  and  Prince  So-and-so,  and  Countess 
This-and-that,  and  Princess  the  Other,  who 
go  backwards  and  forwards  day  after  day. 
I  don't  mean  to  say  that  the  baron— he  is  a 
good  man  so  far — is  not  being  ruined  too ; 
but  the  master's  ruin  is  not  often  the  ser- 
vant's gain.     It  will  take  us  many  years  to 


1 

1 


A.l>.  1863-'4.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[prince  LUBOMIRSKt. 


regain  what  we  have  lost,  not  only  in  time 
and  produce,  but  also  in  hard  cash  ;  for 
though  we  cannot  earn  money,  we  have  to 
spend  it  to  live,"  "And  when  it  is  all 
gone  ?  "  I  inquired,  "  Why,  then  we  have 
to  go  to  service  to  keep  body  and  soul 
together."  "  And  do  any  of  you  go  over 
there  ?  "  I  asked^  pointing  in  the  direction 
of  the  Russian  frontier.  "  They  say  so," 
was  the  cautious  reply ;  "  but  I  do  not  know 
of  any.  I  have  got  some  friends  on  the 
other  side,  and  they  tell  me  that  they  have 
not  more  to  pay  there  than  we  have  here.'* 

Such  I  found  to  be  the  general  feeling 
amongst  the  peasantry  ;  and  when  I  asked 
them  plainly  which  they  preferred,  a  Rus- 
sian or  a  Polish  master,  they  almost  in- 
variably exclaimed,  "  God  deliver  us  from 
both."  Others  preferred  the  Russians,  "  be- 
cause,'* as  they  said,  "they  only  come  now 
and  then  ;  but  the  Polish  lords  are  always 
on  our  backs." 

After  an  hour  and  a-halfs  rapid  drive — 
each  waggon  had  three  horses— we  arrived 
at  Baron  Brunitzki's.  Scarcely  arrived,  my 
friend,  the  driver,  was  ordered  to  go  back 
to  the  station  for  some  cases  which  had 
arrived  in  the  morning.  That  made  nine 
hours'  work,  for  nothing,  he  had  had  that 
day ;  so  I  was  not  at  all  surprised  to  hear 
sundry  ejaculations  the  reverse  of  compli- 
mentary. 

The  baron*s  mansion  was  a  large  one- 
storied  white-washed  edifice,  situated  on  a 
broad  terrace,  approached  by  a  flight  of 
wide  steps.  The  terrace  was  crowded  with 
ladies  and  gentlemen  walking  about,  smok- 
ing cigars  or  cigarettes,  or  sitting  at  the 
little  table,  on  which  stood  the  customary 
bottles  of  spirits  with  which  each  new- 
comer was  welcomed.  The  baron,  after  I 
had  given  him  my  letter  of  introduction, 
led  me  to  one  of  these  tables,  and  pouring 
out  two  glasses  of  liqueur,  handed  me  one. 
This,  in  my  innocence,  I  was  about  to 
drink,  when  he  stopped  me,  and  making  a 
speech  in  Polish,  which  I  did  not  under- 
stand, emptied  his  own  glass ;  then,  ad- 
dressing me  in  French,  told  me  that  the 
custom  in  Poland  was  for  the  host  to  drink 
his  guest's  health;  "and  now,"  he  added, 
"we  will  drink  together."  So  saying,  he 
poured  out  another  glass,  and  touching 
mine  with  it,  tossed  it  off  in  company  with 
me.  This  was  a  highly  ingenious  method, 
it  appeared  to  me,  to  make  the  consump- 
tion of  much  spirit  a  duty  of  hospitality ; 
and  when  I  saw  with  what  marvellous  ra- 

VOL.  II.  2  z 


pidity  the  bottles  were  replenished,  I  could 
not  avoid  thinking  of  the  precept,  that 
practice  makes  perfect ;  for  in  spite  of  the 
enormous  quantities  that  were  consumed, 
I  did  not  see  one  of  the  company  any  the 
worse  for  it» 

In  the  evening  we  sat  down  to  dinner : 
there  were,  all  told,  no  less  than  forty- 
seven  persons.  For  the  last  six  months 
there  had  never  been  less,  but  frequently 
many  more.  At  my  remark  that  this  must 
be  very  expensive,  the  baron  shrugged  his 
shoulders,  and  said,  "  Que  voulez  vous  f  '* 
To  my  inquiry  as  to  who  the  guests  pre- 
sent were,  he  replied  that  some  of  them 
were  neighbours;  others,  and  the  greater 
part,  volunteers  "  going  across," 

We  stayed  four  days  at  the  hospitable 
baron's;  we  rode,  we  hunted,  we  got  up 
amateur  concerts,  danced,  ate  and  drank, 
and  read  the  papers,  or  listened  to  the  re- 
citals of  the  new-comers,  or  to  the  progress 
the  cause  was  making.  All  this  was  very 
pleasant ;  still  I  was  glad  when,  on  the 
fifth  day,  my  companions,  the  leader  of 
whom  was  a  Major  Nyari,  told  me  that  we 
were  to  continue  our  journey.  In  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  we  arrived  at 
Prince  Lubomirski's  residence. 

Here  the  aspect  of  affairs  was  very 
similar  to  that  at  Baron  Brunitzki's,  only 
it  was  on  a  much  larger  scale,  and  that 
there  was  a  greater  number  of  gentlemen 
in  uniform.  But  it  was  not  the  Polish  uni- 
form ;  it  was  the  Hungarian.  The  Aus- 
trian government  had  drawn  a  cordon  along 
the  frontier  of  Hungarian  troops,"  in  order," 
as  the  official  despatches  said,  "  that  no  op- 
portunities to  cross  the  frontier  should  be 
afforded  by  the  sympathies  of  the  local 
troops,"  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  Hungarians,  if  not  specially 
in  favour  of  the  Poles — which,  however, 
they  were — were  not  at  all  in  favour  of  the 
Russians,  as  might  be  supposed,  when  the 
occurrences  of  the  Hungarian  revolution  in 
1848,  and  the  part  played  by  the  Russian 
government,  were  taken  into  account.  There 
was  not  the  least  difficulty  in  passing  the 
Austro -Russian  frontier.  The  volunteers 
assembled  at  the  mansions  of  the  nobility ; 
drove  in  carriages  and  waggons  to  the 
frontier ;  and  whilst  the  sentries  were  look- 
ing one  way,  the  passengers  went  another, 
and  drove  over  the  boundary  by  the  dozen 
and  more  at  a  time. 

One  evening  I  was  told  that  there  was 
a  band  of  insurgents  about  to  approach  tho 

353 


I 


n 


ACROSS  THE  FRONTIER.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  18G3-'4.  ' 


frontier  in  order  to  receive  volunteers. 
There  was  much  excitement  at  the  news. 
Thirty  volunteers  were  drummed  together 
out  of  the  surrounding  villages,  and  as- 
sembled in  the  court-yard  of  the  prince's 
farm.  Here  each  man  received  a  gun, 
sixty  rounds  of  cartridge,  a  sword — the 
officers  a  revolver — and  five  roubles  in 
silver.  Four  carts  were  got  ready;  three 
for  the  volunteers,  and  one  for  their  bag- 
gage. In  addition,  tliree  carriages  were 
also  drawn  up,  into  which  stepped  several 
of  the  visitors — dainty  young  Polish  nobles, 
and  three  or  four  ladies,  who  desired  to 
pay  a  vitiit  to  the  insurgent  camp.  Another 
waggon  was  brought  up  at  the  last  mo- 
ment, into  which  a  large  stock  of  provi- 
sions, wines  and  spirits,  were  packed.  In 
fact,  any  one  unacquainted  with  what  was 
going  on,  would  have  imagined  that  a  pic- 
nic was  being  organiaed  for  a  day,  or  a 
moonlight     trip     into    the    neighbouring 

forest. 

At  about  11  P.M.  the  procession  started. 

Colonel    K ,   the    commander    of    the 

cordon  in  this  part  of  the  country,  was  of 
the  company  ;  so,  as  was  to  be  expected,  we 
were  not  stopped  at  any  point  of  our  pro- 
gress by  too  anxious  sentries.  In  fact,  we 
saw  none  at  all  j  and,  indeed,  if  there  had 
been  any,  it  would  have  been  surprising 
had  they  regarded  our  party  in  any  other 
than  the  light  of  a  merry-making.  We — 
that  is  to  say  they — sang  warlike  songs,  and 
songs  of  love,  and  songs  of  wine,  and  many 
other  sorts  of  songs  varying  in  expression, 
quality,  and  intensity,  according  to  the 
vehicles  in  which  the  singers  sat. 

Suddenly  the  first  carriage,  in  which  I 
was  seated,  was  hailed  in  a  stentorian  voice, 
and  an  individual  came  forward  armed 
with  a  gun,  bayonet  fixed,  and  accompanied 
by  two  other  individuals,  who  might  have 
been  peaceful  haymakers,  had  they  not  had 
their  scythes  fixed  upright  on  the  shafts 
instead  of  at  right  angles  to  it.  These 
were  the  celebrated  scythemen,  the  first 
insurgent  outpost.  The  word  was  given, 
and  we  passed  on,  the  dense  foliage  closing 
ever  more  densely  upon  us,  till  at  last  we 
perceived  the  gleaming  of  the  camp  fire 
through  the  leaves,  and  in  a  few  moments 
more  were  standing  in  an  open  space  round 
an  extemporised  hut  of  branches  and  twigs, 
at  the  entrance  of  which,  warming  his 
hands  at  the  fire  (for  it  was  chilly),  stood  the 
leader  of  the  band,  an  ex-Garibaldian 
officer,  who  had  been  some  years  in 
3j4 


America,  and  spoke  English  quite  fluently. 
We  shook  hands,  we  talked,  we  laughed, 
the  insurgents  gathering  round  us  at  a  re- 
spectful distance,  when  suddenly  one  of  the 
ladies  gave  a  pretty  little  shriek,  and 
pointed  to  a  dark  object  hanging  from  a 
neighbouring  tree.  "  What  is  that  ?  "  asked 
the  colonel.  *'  Oh,"  replied  the  leader,  "  only 
a  Jew  ! — a  spy  we  hanged  this  morning." 
"  The  wretch  !  "  exclaimed  the  fair  lady ; 
"  but  had  you  not  better  bury  him  before 
we  have  our  supper  ? "  '"  Certainly  I  if 
madame  desires  it,"  was  the  gallant  reply ; 
and  thus,  at  a  sign  from  the  leader,  the 
unfortunate  Hebrew  was  cut  down  and 
dragged  away  by  the  heels  out  of  sight ;  but 
I  very  much  doubted  whether  he  was  buried 
or  not,  for  the  man  who  removed  him 
appeared  again  on  the  scene  within  a  few 
minutes.  The  work  of  the  night  then 
began.  The  waggon-load  of  provision  was 
unpacked,  seats,  sofas,  and  arm-chairs  of 
moss  improvised  for  the  ladies,  and  soon 
the  corks  flew  out  of  the  bottles  with  a 
pop-pop-pop,  that  was  the  most  martial 
feature  about  the  whole  performance.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  say  more  about  the  repast, 
except  that  the  three  most  prominent  dis- 
pensers of  the  hospitalities  were  the  three 
sons  of  the  historian  and  poet  Miezkiewicz, 
who  were  faultlessly  attired,  and  wore  kid 
gloves.  At  about  3  A.M.  the  ladies  and  the 
Hungarian  colonel  left  the  camp,  and,  the 
moon  having  risen,  no  doubt  highly 
enjoyed  their  ride  home.  Half-a-dozen  of 
the  other  guests,  including  myself,  remained 
to  inspect  the  arrangements  of  the  camp  by 
daylight,  and  soon  afterwards  turned  in  for 
a  couple  of  hours'  sleep.  But  by  or  about 
4  A.M.  there  was  a  great  stir  in  the  camp. 
Horsemen  galloping  backwards  and  for- 
wards, sentinels  rousing  the  sleepers ;  and 
before  we  well  knew  what  it  all  meant,  the 
sudden  boom  of  a  cannon  rendered  further 
explanation  unnecessary.  The  Russians 
were  advancing.  My  companions,  taking 
no  notice  of  myself,  hurried  off  to  their 
waggons  and  carriages,  and  in  less  than  tea 
minutes  were  galloping  as  hard  as  they 
could  make  the  horses  go  towards  the  fron- 
tier. Another  boom  followed,  then  another, 
accompanied  by  a  short  rattle  of  musketry. 
This  increased  the  confusion  still  more ; 
and  seeing  that  everybody  seemed  con- 
cerned only  for  his  own  safety,  and  a  gene- 
ral flight  was  the  order  of  the  day,  I  elected 
to  look  after  myself  also.  A  few  moments' 
consideration,   however,   showed   me    that 


A.D.   1863-'4.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[a  polish  CA.MP. 


if  I  ran  away  I  should  just  as  likely  as  not 
run  right  into  the  arms  of  the  enemy.  So 
quietly  sitting  down  by  one  of  the  fires, 
with  a  couple  of  bottles  of  wine  and  some 
cold  turkev,  I  waited  for  what  was  to  come. 
Presently  the  branches  of  a  cluster  of  small 
pines  were  parted,  and  a  posse  of  Russian 
soldiers  made  their  appearance.  As  soon  as 
they  saw  me,  one  or  two  lifted  their  guns  to 
take  aim  ;  but,  lifting  up  one  of  the  bottles, 
I  exclaimed,  "  Wodka,  dobra,  niet  Polski," 
which  was  the  total  amount  of  Russian  at 
my  command,  meaning  that  the  brandy 
was  good,  and  that  I  was  no  Pole.  Hereat 
they  cautiously  advanced,  one  of  them 
pointing  to  the  hut,  and  inquiring  if  any 
Polshis  were  there.  I  shook  my  head,  and, 
pointing  to  all  the  points  of  the  compass, 
gave  them  to  understand  that  tliey  were 
"  there."  I  could  not  help  laughing ;  and, 
though  rather  puzzled,  the  man  himself 
broke  out  into  a  grim  smile  as  I  handed 
him  the  bottle,  and,  taking  a  deep  draught, 
passed  it  on  to  his  comrades.  Meantime, 
the  others  had  been  poking  about,  and 
found  the  dead  body  of  the  Jew,  which 
they  lugged  along  the  ground  towards  me, 
and  asked  me  what  that  meant.  I  replied 
with  a  gesture  of  passing  a  rope  round 
my  neck,  and  said  "  Polski."  This  seemed 
to  satisfy  them,  and  tliey  continued  their 
search,  appropriating  the  remains  of  the 
provisions  and  sundry  articles  that  had  been 
left  behind. 

Gradually  the  firing  ceased,  and  in 
about  ten  minutes  the  main  body  came  up, 
headed  by  their  captain.  He  at  once  spotted 
me,  and  inquired  of  his  men  what  they 
knew  about  me.  The  reply  was  given  in  a 
good-humoured,  laughing  manner,  and  the 
captain,  advancing,  asked  if  I  spoke  French 
or  German,  and  who  and  what  I  was.  I 
told  him  that  I  was  staying  at  Prince 
Lubomirski's,  and  had  come,  with  some  of 
his  guests,  to  see  the  insurgent  camp,  and 
how  they  managed  matters.  Thus  I  gave 
him  a  full  account  of  the  expedition.  He 
laughed  heartily,  and  congratulated  me  on 
my  escape,  saying,  that  if  I  had  been  caught 
running  away  I  should  undoubtedly  have 
been  shot.  As  it  had  happened,  1  should 
now  be  able  to  see  a  Russian  camp  also. 
He  then  asked  me  several  questions  as  to 
the  number  of  men  there  had  been,  &c. ;  to 
which  I  replied  that  I  absolutely  knew  no- 
thing at  all  about  it  beyond  what  I  had 
already  told  him.  He  then  asked  me  if  I 
had  any  papers  about  me.     I  told  him  I 


had  my  passport, and  a  letter  of  introduction 
to  a  Polish  nobleman  in  Galicia,  from 
Prince  Czartoryski.  "  Ah  !  you  must  let  me 
see  that;  they  are  both  two  of  our  chief 
enemies."  Seeing  I  did  not  much  like  the 
idea  of  giving  up  a  letter  which  might 
compromise  the  two  individuals  in  ques- 
tion, he  at  once  said,  "  Don't  I  tell  you 
they  are  both  two  of  our  chief  enemies ! 
If  I  could  catch  either  of  them,  I  should 
hang  them  at  once.  So  your  letter  cannot 
compromise  them  much  more.  It  might 
compromise  yourself  though  !  "  "  In  that 
case,"  I  replied,  "  the  sooner  I  get  rid  of  it 
the  better."  And  so  saying,  I  lianded  it  to 
him.  When  he  had  read,  he  burst  out 
laughing.  "Here,"  he  said,  "take  your 
letter.  I  suppose  you  don't  know  what  is 
in  it  ?  "  "  No,"  I  replied ;  "  not  the  vestige 
of  an  idea."  "  I  thought  not,"  said  the  cap- 
tain ;  "  however,  I  will  read  it  to  you."  He 
did  so, 'and  the  following  were  the  contents 
of  it :— "  My  dear  Z.,— The  bearer,  xMr.  X., 
is  a  correspondent  of  some  English  and 
German  papers.  He  does  not  at  all  seem 
inclined  to  take  anything  for  granted,  and 
insists  on  seeing  things  for  himself.  I  do 
not  think  it  would  be  wise  to  allow  him  too 
much  latitude.  You  had  better  detain 
him  as  long  as  possible  at  your  house,  and 
induce  others  to  do  the  same. — Yours, 
Czartoryski." 

This  was — I  will  not  say,  surprising — 
but  confirmatory  of  my  first  impressions  of 
the  revolt.  And  the  more  I  saw,  the  more 
was  I  convinced  that  there  were  two  move- 
ments all  through  the  disturbances.  Both 
the  democratic  and  the  aristocratic  parties 
sought  to  turn  the  dissatisfaction  caused 
by  the  Russian  measures  to  their  own  ac- 
count. The  democrats  did  the  fighting, 
and  hoped  to  obtain  their  objects  by  main 
force ;  but  the  nobility,  whilst  assisting  the 
combatants  with  money  and  arm*,  &c.,  en- 
deavoured to  secure  a  successful  result  for 
themselves  by  intriguing  and  working  upon 
diplomacy  to  take  up  their  cause.  Such 
too  was,  in  other  words,  the  opinion  of  my 
new  acquaintance.  When,  however,  he 
told  me  I  was  at  liberty  to  return  whence  I 
came,  but  to  be  very  careful,  I  doubted  his 
being  a  Russian ;  and  found,  in  point  of 
fact,  that  he  was  a  German  from  the  Baltic 
provinces,  and  disliked  the  Russians  almost 
as  much  as  he  disliked  the  Polacken,  who, 
he  assured  me,  were  "swamped  in  vice." 
He  also  insisted  that,  badly  off  as  the 
Polish  peasantry  were  under  Russian  rule, 

3j5 


41 


'|: 


LELEWEL.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


they  would  be  no  better,  if  as  well  off, 
under  Polish  rule.  With  this  assurance 
he  bade  me  farewell,  giving  me  an  escort  of 
eix  men  to  take  me  to  the  frontier.  From 
these  men  I  learned  that  the  number  of 
men,  in  Captain  J.*s  detachment,  only 
amounted  to  eighty,  with  two  4 J-pounders  ; 
and,  as  I  afterwards  ^ascertained  that  the 
Poles  in  camp  had  amounted  to  nearly 
300,  there  was  not  much  to  be  said  for 
their  tactics,  strategy,  or  courage. 

I  arrived  at  Prince  Lubomirski's  at 
about  8  A.M.,  and  found  the  whole  house- 
hold in  intense  excitement.  There  I  heard 
that  a  desperate  action  had  been  fought; 
that  seventy  Eussians  had  been  killed ; 
that  three  cannons  had  been  taken,  and 
that  the  Poles  had  lost  only  one  man  I  The 
people  who  told  me  this  did  not  know, 
however,  that  I  had  just  come  from  the 
scene  of  action ;  and,  as  a  consequence 
thereof,  I  could  not  discover  a  sinofle  one  of 
my  informants  after  it  had  become  known 
what  an  adventure,  what  a  miraculous  es- 
cape I  had  had. 

The  views  I  expressed  regarding  the 
whole  affair,  did  not  at  all  enhance  the 
pleasure  of  my  visit.  In  fact,  I  could  not 
help  seeing  that  my  presence  was  a  con- 
straint upon  my  hosts.  They  could  not 
imagine  what  business  a  correspondent  had 
in  their  circle,  unless  he  was  heart  and  soul 
in  their  enterprise,  I,  therefore,  begged 
the  prince  to  allow  me  to  proceed  on  my 
journey.  He  agreed  after  I  had  explained 
to  him  my  reasons  ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
liad  the  honesty  and  honour  to  tell  me 
that,  though  I  should  find  the  fullest  hos- 
pitality wherever  I  went,  I  should  not  be 
welcome.  This  was  unfortunate  ;  in  other 
countries,  and  under  other  circumstances, 
a  correspondent  is  able  to  be  independent 
of  hospitality,  and  can  pay  his  way ;  but 
in  war-time  that  is  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  except  at  a  very  great  ex- 
pense. 

Whilst  we  were  thus  talkins:  on  the 
terrace,  I  noticed  a  circumstance  which 
threw  a  strong  light  on  the  relations 
existing  between  the  peasantry  and  the 
landowners.  It  was  fully  200  yards  from 
the  terrace  to  the  high  road  ;  yet  every 
time  a  peasant  passed,  he  took  off  his  hat, 
and  bending  his  body  almost  double,  thus 
passed  before  the  presence  of  the  prince. 
fc>till  more,  whenever  a  peasant  or  one  of 
the  prince's  labourers  came  to  ask  him  a 
question,  he  not  only  approached  him  in 
356 


[A.D.  1864. 

this  humiliating  position,  but  also  either 
kissed  the  prince's  foot,  or  the  hem  of  his 
coat.  This  was  not  the  sort  of  thing  to  be 
looked  for  in  a  people  fighting  for  '*  liberty 
and  freedom ; "  but  such  was  the  character 
of  the  whole  movement,  as  far  as  my  expe- 
rience went;  and  trivial  as  all  this  may 
seem,  still,  were  I  to  write  volumes,  I  could 
not  characterise  it  any  better  than  I  have 
done.  Believing  in  the  good  old  proverb, 
"  Like  master,  like  man,"  I  entertained  no 
hopes  for  Poland  after  the  first  three 
weeks.  And,  as  events  proved,  my  impres- 
sion was  correct. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  reasons 
above  given  were  sufficient  to  prevent  even 
a  military  success  on  the  part  of  the  Poles. 
There  were  two  distinct  parties — the  demo- 
crats and    the     nobility.     The  democrats 
might  have  succeeded  had  they  had  the 
means ;  but  they  had  not.     They  were  de- 
pendent on  the  nobility ;  and  amongst  the 
nobility  there  was  none  of  that  nobility  of 
motive  and  character  that  could  carry  the 
struggle  through  to  a  successful  termina- 
tion.    They  did  not  take  the  field  them- 
selves to    lead  the    men,  but  appointed 
adventurers,  who  took  care  of  themselves, 
and  did    not  care  about   sacrificing  their 
lives — which  was  all  they  possessed— for  a 
cause  they  regarded  as  no  more  than  a  pro- 
fession to  earn  their  bread  by.     The  only 
leaders  of  any  merit,  after  Langiewicz'  de- 
feat, were    Gregorovicz    and   Lelewel,  the 
latter  a  pump-maker  of  Warsaw,  who  as- 
sumed the  name  of  the  great  historian — his 
own  name  being  Martinovicz — to  enhance 
his     importance.       But     throughout    the 
summer  and    autumn    of    1863,   till   the 
autumn  of  1864,  the  insurrection,  though 
ever  alive,  never  accomplished  any  decided 
success.     Here  and  there  a  detachment  of 
troops  was  surprised  and  massacred ;  but, 
as  a  rule,  the  troops  steadily  diminished 
the  numbers   of  their  opponents  in  daily 
skirmishes,  till  in  August,  1868,  the  only 
two  leaders  of  any  importance  were  those 
of    Gregorovicz   and   Lelewel,    numb*jring 
between  them  some  3,000  men. 

This  body  of  insurgents,  even  then  only 
partially,  and  throughout,  badly  armed, 
without  any  artillery,  but  with  a  large 
train  of  baggage  and  ammunition  waggons, 
manoeuvred  about  in  the  province  of  Lublin, 
in  the  forests  between  that  town  and  the 
fortresses  of  Janow  and  Zamosc.  Knowing 
the  country  by  heart,  Lelew^el  succeeded  for 
several  weeks  in  eluding  the  troops  sent  in 


I.D.  1864.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[battle  of  panisoufka. 


his  pursuit ;  but  at  last  three  columns  were 
Bent  against  him,  each  numbering  3,000 
men,  with  eighteen  pieces  of  artillery,  and 
ordered  to  close  round  him,  and  give  him 
battle  at  any  risk. 

Still,  thanks  to  the  dense  forests,  and 
the  severity  with  which  Lelewel  treated  all 
spies  and  peasants  who  gave  any  informa- 
tion as  to  his  movements,  he  managed  to 
keep  the  Russians  ignorant  of  his  where- 
ab  )uts.  Thus,  on  August  27th,  he  arrived 
at  Panisoufka,  an  isolated  estate,  consisting 
of  the  mansion,  a  few  out-houses,  some 
barns,  and  a  few  scattered  houses  around. 
The  mansion  lay  in  the  midst  of  an  undu- 
lating country,  and  was  dominated  to  the 
north  by  a  long  barren  series  of  low  hills ; 
to  the  east  and  west  were  orchards  and 
fields ;  to  the  south  a  dense  forest  at  the 
foot  of  the  rising  ground,  on  which  stood 
the  mansion. 

The  mansion  was  inhabited  by  the  lady 
of  the  house  and  her  two  daughters,  the 
steward,  the  domestics,  and  farm  labourers. 
The  husband  was  absent.  As  soon  as 
Lelowel's  corps  arrived,  a  halt  was  called, 
the  men  drawn  up  along  and  just  within 
the  edge  of  the  forest,  and  ordered  to  get 
their  dinners.  Lelewel  and  his  staff,  in  the 
meanwhile,  took  possession  of  the  mansion, 
the  occupants  of  which  at  once  set  about 
procuring  the  dinner  for  the  staff.  It  was 
a  very  merry  meeting.  The  viands  and 
the  wines  were  good ;  and  after  dessert  was 
over,  Lelewel  invited  the  ladies  to  visit  the 
camp,  which  was  a  quarter  of  an  hour's 
walk  away.  The  ladies  were  delighted, 
and  everybody  started.  The  men  were  just 
sitting  down  to  their  meal,  for  which  a 
couple  of  oxen  and  several  sheep  had  been 
provided  by  the  mistress  of  the  estate, 
when  Lelewel,  in  order  to  show  the  disci- 
pline of  his  men,  ordered  the  alarm  to  be 
sounded.  In  an  instant  the  men  ran  to 
their  arms,  and  each  was  soon  in  his  ap- 
pointed place.  Lelewel  was  much  pleased 
with  their  alacrity ;  the  men,  however, 
mostly  failed  to  appreciate  the  joke  after 
having  marched  for  eighteen  hours,  and 
throwing  down  their  guns  anyhow,  as  well 
as  their  cartridge-belts,  resumed  their  in- 
terrupted meal.  But  scarcely  had  Lelewel 
and  the  ladies  gone  to  another  and  more 
distant  part  of  the  camp,  when  the  boom  of 
a  cannon  was  heard,  rapidly  followed  by 
two  or  three  more.  Hurrying  back  to  the 
edge  of  the  forest,  Lelewel  saw  that  not 
only  were    the  Russians    upon   him,   but 


were  actually  surrounding  him.  Six  thou- 
sand strong,  they  advanced  from  the  north  ; 
their  left  advanced,  and  almost  within  gun- 
shot of  the  mansion.  The  ladies  who 
were  with  him  were  in  despair ;  a  body  of 
men  was  told  off  to  accompany  them  to  the 
rear,  and  a  squadron  of  cavalry  ordered  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  mansion.  Al- 
most at  the  same  moment  a  body  of  Cos- 
sacks dashed  forward  with  the  same  object; 
but  owing  to  the  lesser  distance,  the  Poles 
succeeded  in  gaining  it  first.  Then  the 
action  began.  Two  guns  were  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  mansion,  whilst  twelve 
played  upon  the  forest  as  the  Russian  in- 
fantry slowly  advanced.  The  grape 
whistled  through  the  trees ;  the  branches 
were  splintered  right  and  left;  but  the 
only  damage  done  was  that  done  by  the 
noise.  The  moral  effect  of  the  artillery 
was  far  greater  than  its  physical  effect. 
After  the  first  twenty  minutes,  however, 
the  Poles  recovered  themselves,  and  crept 
up  the  rising  ground  towards  the  advancing 
army.  They  lay  down  behind  the  ridge, 
and  let  the  Russian  bullets  (ly  over  their 
heads.  Still  the  Russians  advanced,  when 
Lelewel  gave  the  order  to  the  cavalry  to 
charge.  They  were  led  by  Major  Nyari, 
the  Hungarian,  to  whom  reference  has 
already  been  made.  With  a  few  fiery 
words  to  his  men,  he  rode  off,  seeking 
cover,  as  far  as  he  could,  till  within  800 
yards  or  so  of  the  enemy.  Then  full  gallop 
he  went  at  them.  He  broke  throuorh  the 
first,  second,  and  third  lines ;  but  here  he 
was  brought  up  by  the  artillery.  The 
lines  closed  up,  and  the  brave  little  hand- 
ful, 120  in  all,  had  to  cut  their  way  out 
hand-to-hand.  Not  half  of  them  returned. 
Nyari  himself  was  shot  through  the 
stomach,  but  brought  back  to  the  rear  by 
his  trusty  men,  and  died  a  couple  of  hours 
afterwards.  After  this  ineffectual,  but 
dashing  charge,  the  Russians  redoubled 
their  fire,  and,  having  at  last  got  the 
proper  range,  with  considerable  effect. 
After  half-an -hour's  practice,  the  move- 
ments of  the  Russians  made  it  apparent 
that  they  were  preparing  for  a  charge  with 
the  bayonet.  Lelewel,  however,  with  con- 
siderable acumen,  saw  that  their  chief  exer- 
tions would  be  directed  against  the  man- 
sion— which  by  this  time  was  in  flames — in 
order  to  turn  his  right  flank,  his  left  and 
rear  being  protected  by  the  forest.  Des- 
patching a  body  of  men  to  reinforce  the 
detachment  still  holding  the  blazing  posi- 

357 


fV 


BATTLE  OF  BATORSCH.] 


HISTORY  OK  THE 


[A.D.  1864. 


A.!).  1864.] 


KUSSIAX  EMPIRE.  [the  Vatican  and  czar. 


I 


tion,  he  still  further  withdrew  a  body  of 
800  from  his  centre,  and  posted  them  in  a 
^ully  on  his  left  stretching  towards  the 
Ru-sian  position. 

On  came  the  troops;  the  first  contact 
took  place  at  the  mansion.  Here,  after  a 
furious  combat,  the  troops  fell  back. 
Meanwhile,  the  Polish  centre  gradually 
fell  back  till  their  left  overlapped  the  Rus- 
sian line.  At  this  moment  Lelewel  gave 
the  word,  and  the  men,  starting  up  from 
the  gully,  fell  upon  the  Russian  flank,  whiLt 
the  centre  took  them  in  front.  The 
struggle,  hand-to-hand,  lasted  fully  twenty 
minutes,  and  resulted  in  the  Russians  re- 
treating beyond  their  original  position. 
With  a  loud  shout  the  Polish  cavalry  again 
advanced,  and,  after  a  desperate  charge, 
actually  succ.^eded  in  capturing  one  of  the 
Russian  guns.  Almost  simultaneously,  a 
couple  of  the  Russian  ammunition  wajriTons 

1111  oo 

exploded,  and  caused  considerable  confu- 
sion, which  resulted  in  their  falling  still 
further  back.  By  this  time  it  was  begin- 
ning to  get  dark,  and  the  Poles,  not  strong 
enough  to  exploit  their  success  so  far,  con- 
tented themselves  with  holdiuir  the  around 
they  had  acquired.  By  seven  o'clock,  the 
action  having  lastnjd  nearly  five  hours,  the 
last  shot  was  fired,  the  moon  rose,  and  the 
blazing  barns  and  the  grlowino:  mansion 
both  lent  thuir  light  to  the  men,  who  then 
went  out  to  bring  in  the  dead  and  wounded. 
Of  the  former,  there  were  seventy-five;  of 
the  latter,  240.  Of  Russians,  thirteen 
dead,  and  forty-seven  wounded,  were 
brought  in — a  proportion  altered  before 
morning  into  sixty  dead  !  Of  the  Polish 
wounded,  over  fifty  were  also  dead  before 
daylight,  in  consequence  of  their  wounds 
not  having  been  attended  to.  For,  as  soon 
as  the  dead  had  been  buried,  and  the 
wounded  laid  in  the  waggons,  the  retreat 
was  announced,  and  continued  all  that 
night,  and  the  whole  of  the  next  day,  until 
late  in  the  afternoon. 

During  his  retreat  on  the  following  day, 
Lelewel  was  joined  by  Grregorovicz  with 
about  800  men.  He  had  been  in  action 
with  the  third  Russian  column,  on  the  same 
day,  and  at  about  the  same  time  as  the 
action  Lelewel  had  just  sustained,  at  about 
a  distance  of  fifteen  miles  from  Panisoufka. 
His  losses  had  been,  comparatively,  still 
more  serious,  as  he  had  lost  over  200  men 
out  of  1,000,  whilst  Lelewel  had  only  lost 
315  out  of  2,000.  This  was  a  terrible  blow 
to  the  Poles,  especially  as  they  had  loat 
358 


many  officers.  It  was,  therefore,  not  sur- 
prising that,  during  the  next  few  days,  the 
number  of  desertions  and  sick  amounted  to 
about  300,  whilst  the  rest  were  worn  out 
and  disheartened  at  their  ineffectual  strug- 
gle, and  by  the  knowledge  that  the  enemy 
was  closing  in  upon  them  on  all  sides. 

Thus  dawned  the  23rd  of  September  on 
the  remnants   of  the   "Polish  army,"  en- 
camped— if  a  hurried  meal  can  be  called  a 
camp — on  the  heights  of  Batorsch.     It  was 
a  sultry  morning.     The  sun  glared  upon 
the  dispirited  band  as  they  toiled  up-hill  and 
down   along   the   dusty   roads,   out  of  all 
order,  on  their  way  to  the  dense  forests  be- 
yond Zamosc.     They  knew  that  the  column 
was  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  miles  in 
their  rear,  and  that  two  more  were  some- 
where on  either  flank — where,  exactly,  no 
one  could  say.      Dispirited,  they  therefore 
dragged  one  weary  foot  before  the  other ; 
and  when  they  suddenly  heard  the  boom  of 
a  gun  a  mile  or  two  off,  most  of  them 
seemed  as  though  they  were  glad  the  end 
was  coming.     Victory  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion.    A  defeat  would  mean  the  end  of  the 
struggle;  for  beyond  the  couple  of  thousand 
men  here  toiling  along,  there  were  none  to 
take  up  the  gauntlet. 

Still,  with  a  certain  despair,  they  took  up 
the  positions  assigned  to  them  on  the  top 
of  a  sparsely-wooded  plateau,  at  the  head  of 
a  narrow  valley,  which  led  to  the  forest 
some  five  miles  beyond.  The  action  began 
with  an  attack  by  the  enemy's  cavalry. 
They  were  in  force ;  and  on  all  sides  the 
Cossacks,  on  their  wiry  little  steeds,  swept 
down  upon  the  Poles,  and  drove  their  out- 
posts in.  In  half-a-hour  the  action  was  in 
full  swing  all  along  the  line,  and  in  another 
quarter  of  an  hour  the  Poles  were  retreating 
and  pouring  down  the  slopes  into  the  valley 
where  the  baggage-waggons  were  drawn  up. 
They  were  rapidly  followed  by  the  Russians, 
who,  besides,  occupied  the  heights  on  either 
side  of  the  valley,  and  poured  a  storm  of 
shell  and  bullets  upon  the  fugitives,  who 
were  now  in  the  wildest  flight,  and  dropped 
down  by  the  score.  The  carnage  lasted 
fully  an  hour.  Lelewel  was  killed  at  the 
commencement ;  and  by  the  time  the  last 
shot  was  fired,  over  800  strewed  the  sod  of 
the  valley  alone.  Nearly  200  were  taken 
prisoners;  the  rest  escaped  for  the  moment, 
but  Were,  most  of  them,  captured  in  the 
next  two  days  by  a  fourth  column  which 
had  advanced  from  Lublin,  and  had  occu- 
pied the  very  forest  which   had  appeared 


\ 


the  only  chance  of  escape  for  the  unhappy 
band.  With  this  action  the  insurrection 
may  be  said  to  have  terminated.  For  the 
Poles  it  was  disastrous.  They  may  not 
have  been  worthy  of  national  independence, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  they  were  worthy  of 
a  better  fate  than  was  destined  for  them  by 
the  Russians,  Now  they  have  not  only  lost 
all  chance  of  national  independence,  but 
they  are  in  a  fair  way  to  lose  their  nation- 
ality itself — even  their  very  language  is 
being  stamped  out,  their  religion  taken 
away  from  them,  and  the  Orthodox  faith 
substituted  for  it.  The  words  Kosciusko 
denied  ever  having  uttered.  Finis  PolonicCj 
may  now  be  pronounced  without  much  chance 
of  contradiction  by  events.  Whatever  the 
fate  at  a  future  day  of  the  Russian  pro- 
vinces of  Poland,  a  kingdom  of  Poland 
must,  for  the  future,  remain  a  dream,  and 


cannot  even  be  made  a  "  question  "  of  by 
foreign  governments,  as  was  done  for 
various  reasons  by  Lord  John  Russell, 
Napoleon  III.,  and  Count  Rechberg.  For 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  beyond 
encouraging  the  unfortunate  victims  to 
continue  their  hopeless  resistance,  no  assist- 
ance whatever  was  rendered  them  either  by 
France  or  England.  On  the  contrary,  they 
were  all  the  more  severely  treated,  and 
the  rebellion  utterly  crushed  by  the  end  of 
1864. 

We  need  say  no  more  on  the  subject,  ex- 
cept, perhaps,  that  though  the  judgment 
above  formed  of  the  character  of  the  rebel- 
lion is  not  favourable  to  the  Poles,  yet  the 
manner  in  which  the  insurrection  was 
brought  about,  and  ultimately  stamped  out, 
is,  and  will  remain,  a  lasting  disgrace  to  a 
government  which  pretends  to  civilisation. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


ROME  AND   RUSSIA. 


The  relations  between  Russia  and  Rome, 
which  have  been  of  such  importance,  are 
still  of  such  a  character,  that  a  short 
sketch  of  the  question  will  be  useful,  es- 
pecially if,  by  their  moderation  in  other 
parts  of  Europe,  the  papal  authorities 
should  succeed  in  reofaininj;  the  influence 
they,  have  recently  lost,  and  be  able  to  pre- 
sent a  bolder  and  more  determined  front 
au;ainst  the  agLjression  of  the  Orthodox 
Church  in  Russia  and  other  Slav  countries. 
Theoretically,  the  principle  of  religious 
toleration  was,  and  is  still  supposed  to 
exist  in  the  government  traditions,  as  well 
as  in  the  social  customs  of  Russia.  The 
ey.ercise  of  all  religions  was  legally  ad- 
mitted in  the  empire  under  the  reign  of 
Peter  the  Great,  subject  to  certain  mea- 
sures more  defensive  than  prohibitive,  and 
analogous  with  those  adopted  by  most  of 
the  Catholic  States  themselves.  Since  that 
time  those  measures  were  comprehended  in 
the  fundamental  laws  of  the  empire,  and 
did  not  impede  in  any  way  the  principle  of 
the  greatest  toleration,  as  far  as  principle 
went,  though  in  practice  the  case  was  very 
different.  The  government,  according  to 
its  statesmen,  intended  solely  to  place  the 


dominant  church  out  of  reach  of  the  pro- 
paganda, and  to  guarantee  the  sovereign 
authority  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
Court  of  Rome,  by  forbidding  Russian  sub- 
jects professing  the  Roman  Catholic  reli- 
gion to  entertain  direct  relations  with  a 
pontiff  who  was  at  the  same  time  a  foreign 
sovereign. 

These  propaganda  had  been  developed 
rapidly  in  the  provinces  of  the  empire 
which  had  been,  during  more  than  two 
centuries,  subjected  to  the  domination  of 
the  Polish  republic.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  orthodox  people  were  converted  to 
the  Latin  Church.  Compelled  frequently 
by  violent  means,  it  must  be  confessed,  to 
recognise  the  supremacy  of  the  pope,  they 
had  to  give  in  their  adhesion  to  the  combi- 
nation, rather  political  than  religious,  known 
under  the  name  of  the  Union.  When  those 
provinces  were  subjected  by  Russia,  the 
Empress  Catherine,  who  brought  about  this 
conquest,  established  Catholic  dioceses 
suitable  to  local  wants,  by  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  worship,  founding  semina- 
ries, and  entrusting  the  chief  administra- 
tion of  the  interests  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  to  an  ecclesiastical  colleije,  presided 

35y 


K'    • 


'        ; 


THE  CZAR  AND  THE  POPE.]       HISTORY    OF   THT^ 


[a.T>.  1867-'8. 


A.!X  1867-*8.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


over  by  a  prelate  chosen  by  her3elf.  But, 
meanwhile,  the  Empress  Catherine  ex- 
pressed her  determination  to  Pius  VI.  not 
to  allow  any  temporal  interference  in  her 
dominions, 

«'If,  following:  the  example  of  my  ances- 
tors," she  wrote,  "  I  choose  to  tolerate  in 
my  vast  domains  all  religions  without  ex- 
ception, and  among  their  number  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion,  still  I  will  never 
allow  the  followers  of  that  faith  to  depend 
at  all  on  any  foreign  power.  This  is  why 
all  the  bulls  and  edicts  of  the  Court  of  Rome 
can  only  be  published  in  Russia  with 
the  sovereign's  consent." 

Catherine's  successors  did  not  depart 
from  these  principles ;  and  Alexander  I.,  as 
well  as  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  acted  to- 
wards the  Roman  Church  with  still  greater 
severity  than  ever,  and  left  the  Romish 
clergy  scarcely  any  of  the  privileges,  lands, 
and  influence  which  they  had  acquired.  It 
was,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  the 
clergy  should  have  taken  a  prominent  part 
in  the  insurrection  of  1830— a  participation 
which  was  admitted  and  justified  to  a  great 
extent  by  the  Holy  See  in  the  encyclical 
letter  of  August,  1832— nor  that  the  Rus- 
sian government  should  seek  to  limit  the 
influence  which  the  clergy  had  exercised. 

The    Emperor  Nicholas  determined,  in 
consequence,  to  place    a  check  upon  the 
material  means  of  action  at  the  disposal  ot 
the  Latin  clergy  in  Russia  and  Poland  ;  and 
to  attain  that  end  the  greater  part  of  the 
very  large   estates   accumulated    by    them 
were   secularised  and  appropriated  to  the 
State;  the  convents   which  were   not   in- 
habited by  the  canonical  number  of  monks 
or  nuns  were  suppressed ;  and  direct  rela- 
tions with  the  Holy  See  and  all  Latin  pro- 
paganda were  stringently  prohibited.     The 
Court  of  Rome  naturally  protested  against 
these  measures,  and  refused  its  concurrence 
or  adherence  to  any  laws  touching  the  ad- 
ministration  or  property  of   the   church; 
and  when,  in  1845,  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
happened  to  be  at   Rome,   Gregory   XVI. 
embodied  the  grievances  of  the  Holy  See  in 
a  memorandum  which  he  handed  himself 

to  the  emperor. 

Two  days  after  the  emperor  answered 
that  note,  and  his  letter  concludes  thus  :— 

"  The  emperor  begs  the  sovereign  pontiff 
to  be  firmly  convinced  that  no  one  desires 
more  than  his  majesty  to  maintain  in 
Russia,  as  in  Poland,  the  Roman  Church  on 
a  tooting  at  once  dignified  and  respectable. 
360 


The  prayers  of  the  emperor  embrace  with 
an  equal  solicitude,  and  without  any  dis- 
tinction of  worship,  the  spiritual  interests 
of  all  the  peoples  whose  destinies  have 
been  entrusted  to  him  by  Providence.  All 
that  can  be  done  to  realise  the  intentions 
of  the  holy  father,  without  materially 
clashing  with  the  organic  laws  of  the  em- 
pire, or  injuring  the  rights  and  canons  of 
the  dominant  church,  shall  be  done.  The 
emperor's  word  guarantees  it  to  his  holi- 
ness. But,  as  has  been  observed  above, 
there  are  circumstances  and  necessities 
from  which  it  does  not  depend  upon  the 
will  of  the  emperor  to  free  himself." 

The  emperor's  word  was  ostensibly  ful- 
filled by  the  conclusion  of  the  concordat  of 
1847  ;  it  granted  to  the  Roman  Church 
many  of  the  privileges  claimed;  but,  in 
point  of  fact,  it  remained  a  dead  letter; 
and  in  1858,  a  score  of  priests  of  the 
diocese  of  Plock  were  found  guilty  of  hav- 
ing" preached  disobedience  to  the  authori- 
ties, and  of  having  provoked  religious 
agitation  under  the  pretext  of  establishing  ' 
temperance  societies,  whilst  others  belong- 
in('  to  the  government  of  Witebsk,  wt  re 
convicted  of  having,  in  violation  of  the 
orf^anic  laws,  administered  the  holy  sacra- 
ments to  persons  of  the  Orthodox  faith. 
For  this  grievous  conduct,  the  Russian 
government  decided  upon  abrogating  the 
concordat  of  1847,  which  was  done  with  a 
great  flourish  about  the  high  sentiments  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander  in  a  letter  by  Prince 
Grortschakoff  to  Pius  IX.  as  follows : — 

"The  principle  of   the  liberty  of   con- 
science is  deeply  engraved  in  the  convictions 
of  my  august  master ;  but  he  understands 
it  in  all °its  purity,  and  not  in  the  sense 
which  the  Court  of  Rome  has  given  to  it 
in  all  times,  in  claiming  for  the  Catholic 
faith  a  freedom  without  limit,  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  other  religions.     By    its  es- 
sence the  Orthodox  Church  is  neither  mili- 
tant nor  propagandist,  but  it  claims   the 
right  not  to  be  handed  over  defenceless  to 
a  church  which  is  both  militant  and  propa- 
gandist.    We  do  not  and  shall  not  try  to 
carry  off  the  flock  of  another  pastor ;  but 
it  is  our  right  and  our  duty  to  see  that  our 
co-religionists  should  not  be  diverted  from 
their  own  faith.     In  a  word,  our  church  is 
not  oppressive.      It  would   be    strange  to 
contend  that,  in  a  country  where  the  im- 
mense majority  professes  the  Orthodox  faith, 
the  national  church  should  be  placed  in  an 
inferior  situation." 


[CTONCORDAT  ABROGATKD. 


This  decision  to  abrogate  the  concordat 
was  based  upon  the  participation  of  the 
Polish  clergy  in  the  rebellion  of  1863-'64. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  movement  was 
largel}'^  due  to  the  clergy,  and  was  supported 
by  them  in  every  way  ;  but  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  tyranny  of  the  Orthodox  Church, 
together  with  its  gross  ignorance,  is  a  mea- 
sure aofainst  the  interests  of  civilisation  i 
for  in  any  case  the  Roman  Church  is  more 
civilising  than  the  Orthodox.  The  reasons 
for  abrogating  the  concordat  were  published 
in  an  official  document,  in  which  we  find 
the  following  justification  for  the  mea- 
sure :-^ 

"The  first  demonstration  of  import- 
ance," according  to  this  document,  "  took 
place  on  the  11th  of  June,  18<iO,  on  the 
occasion  of  a  funeral.  The  Franciscan 
monk,  Spleszynski,  preached  an  extremely 
violent  revolutionary  sermon.  Imme- 
diately afterwards  seditious  exhortations 
resounded  from  the  pulpits  ;  first  at  War- 
saw, then  in  the  provinces.  Printed  col- 
lections of  revolutionary  songs,  and  por- 
traits of  the  coryphei  of  the  revolution, 
"Were  openly  sold  in  almost  every  church. 
In  the  capital,  and  in  several  other  towns, 
the  monks  placed  statues  of  the  Virgin  and 
the  saints,  with  lamps  and  lighted  candles, 
in  front  of  the  mona.^teries,  and  exhorted 
the  idle  crowd  to  sing  seditious  hymns, 

"This  agitation  often  provoked  deplor- 
able scenes — -as,  for  instance,  at  the  door  of 
the  church  of  the  Sainte  Croix,  near  Ra- 
dom,  after  a  sermon  by  the  monk,  Ber- 
nardin  Casimir,  one  of  the  principal  pro- 
moters of  religious  assemblies,  when  the 
mob  nearly  tore  to  pieces  a  man  and 
woman,  whom  for  some  reason  they  sus- 
pected. 

"  In  1861  began  a  series  of  processions, 
which  were  confessedly  political  demonstra- 
tions. .At  the  same  time,  as  if  with  the 
intention  of  proving  that  these  were  not 
the  acts  of  individuals,  but  a  systematic 
organised  insurrection  among  the  clergy, 
numerous  meetings  of  the  secular  priests 
and  monks  took  place  throughout  the 
kincjdom.  At  one  of  them,  convoked  on 
the  14th  of  November,  at  Lysa  Gora,  more 
than  300  priests  and  Monks  assembled  to 
give  seditious  lectures,  and  make  public 
prayers  for  the  success  of  the  revolution. 

"  The  most  numerous  and  important  of 
these  assemblies  was  that  of  the  clergy  of 
Podlachie,  in  November,  1862.  There  a 
resolution  was  unanimously  adopted,  ratify- 

VOL.  II.  3  A 


ing  *  the  intimate  and  solid  unison  estab- 
lished between  the  clergy  and  the  revolu- 
tionary party.' 

"  The  deputies  of  other  dioceses  adhered 
to  a  programme  of  strictly  revolutionary 
action,  which  only  made  reservations  in 
favour  of  the  rights  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  which  imposed,  among  others, 
this  obligation  on  members  of  the  clergy : 
— '  They  must  put  upon  their  oath  all  per- 
sons charged  with  any  operations  by  the 
central  committee*' 

"It  is  unknown  that  most  of  these 
operations  had  assassination  in  view  ;  and  it 
is  grievous  to  record  that  several  priests  not 
only  administrated  the  oath  to  the  opera- 
tors, but  also  were  themselves  their  asso- 
ciates or  substitutes. 

"  Suffice  it  to  say,  in  summing  up  these 
data,  that  more  than  500  Roman  Catholic 
priests  were  legally  convicted  of  direct  and 
active  participation  in  the  bloody  acts  of 
the  Polish  insurrection." 

Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  for  which  there  is 
ampletestimony,  the  greater  part  by  far  of 
these  convictions  were  procured  by  interro- 
gating the  prisoners  made  as  to  who  their 
confessor  was.  These  prisoners  were  forced 
to  acknowledge  that  they  had  confessed  to 
their  priests;  that  they  were  engaged  in 
the  insurrection;  and  ignoring  the  fact 
that  confession  is,  by  the  law  of  the  Roman 
Church,  inviolate,  the  authorities  at  once 
made  use  of  their  knowledge  by  arresting 
the  priests  on  the  charge  of  complicity.  It 
would  be  just  the  same  as  if,  in  England, 
a  solicitor  were  to  be  imprisoned  for  con- 
cealing the  fact,  that  his  client  had  pri- 
vately confessed  his  guilt  to  him. 

All  this  did  not  tend  to  improve  the  re- 
lations between  the  Vatican  and  the  Rus- 
sian government;  the  result  being  that 
Pius  IX.  despatched  to  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  a  letter  actuated  by  "  the  lively 
interest  manifested  on  all  sides,  both  by 
nations  and  governments,  in  favour  of 
Poland  ; "  in  which  letter,  after  having  enu- 
merated at  length  the  impediments  placed 
in  the  way  of  the  exercise  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  his  holiness  not  only 
claimed  for  the  Romish  clergy  the  prero- 
gatives accorded  by  the  concordat,  but  also 
the  right  of  "directing  the  people,  and 
exercising  their  influence  on  public  in- 
struction '*  ("c^e  il  clero  ricuperi  la  sua 
influenza  net  insegnamento  ^  direzione 
religiosa  del  popolo  ").  This  elicited  no 
reply;  and  in  a  secret  consistory,  held  at 

36] 


-   H 


i 


•1 


PAPAL  RirPTURE.] 


HISTOKY  OF  THE 


Rome   on   29th  October,   1866,  Pius  IX. 
then  stated : — 

"  Neither  the  demands  addressed  to  the 
Russian  government  by  our  Cardinal  Secre- 
tary of  State,  nor  the  letters  addressed  by 
us  to  the  emperor,  have  had  any  result. 
Our  letter  of  the  22nd  April,  1863,  re- 
mains unanswered."  {^^  Nihil  autem  va^ 
luerunt  nostrce  expostulationes  per  nos- 
trum Cardinalem  a  puhlicis  negotiis 
factce  apud  ilium  Gubemium,  nihil 
nostrce  litterce  ad  ipswin  serenissum  Prin- 
clpem  scriptce  (2'2nd  April,  1863)  quibus 
nullum  fuit  datum  responsum") 

This  was  not  strictly  true.  The  em- 
peror did  reply  to  the  pope's  letter  of 
April,  1863;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  was 
nothing  but  a  refusal  to  accede  to  the  de- 
mands made  by  the  Vatican,  and,  in  that 
sense,  certainly  had  no  result,  and  might  be 
construed  as  "  no  answer "  to  the  requests 
Pius  IX.  had  made.  The  quarrel,  however, 
culminated  when  Baron  Meyendorf,  the 
Russian  ambassador  to  the  Vatican,  roundly 
denied  that  the  Polish  clergy  had  any 
cause  for  complaint,  and  made  use  of  such 
strong  language,  that  the  pope  demanded 
his  recall ;  and,  in  a  note  to  the  foreign 
governments,  stated  that  Baron  Meyendorf, 
after  "  some  allusions,  unseemly  in  the  pre- 
sence of  his  holiness,  had  presumed  to  say 
that  nothing  of  this  sort  would  have  hap- 
pened if  the  Catholics  had  behaved  like 
the  Protestants ;  for  the  latter  having  sup- 
ported the  government  during  the  insur- 
rection, had  received  many  favours  refused 
to  Catholics  on  account  of  their  hostile  at- 
titude ;  and  that  he  pushed  his  audacity  to 
the  conclusion,  that  there  was  nothing  sur- 
prising in  the  way  the  Catholics  had  acted, 
as  Catholicism  is  identical  with  revolution." 
On  this  reply,  the  pope,  inflamed  with  in- 
dignation, and  considering  that  the  cause 
of  the  faithful  was  generally  insulted,  dis- 
missed him,  answering,  "I  esteem  and 
respect  his  majesty  the  emperor ;  but  I 
cannot  say  as  much  for  his  charge  d'affaires, 
who,  contrary  to  his  sovereign's  orders,  I 
am  sure,  has  come  and  insulted  me  in  my 
cabinet." 

With  this  step  the  rupture  between  the 
Vatican  and  the  Russian  government  be- 
came final,  and  the  abrogation  of  the  con- 
cordat was  officially  notified  to  the  foreign 
powers  on  the  19th  January,  1867,  by  a 
despatch  from  Prince  Gortschakofif. 

Now,    in    whatever    light    the    Roman 

Catholic  Church  may  be  regarded  from  a 

362 


[A.D.  1867. 

religious,  or  even  a  political  point  of  view, 
we  have  had  proofs  enough  that,  in  in- 
tolerance, at  least,  it  is  surpassed  by  the 
Orthodox  Church  of  Russia.  The  Catholic 
Church  has  acquired  some  political  wisdom, 
and  so  shapes  its  policy  as  not  to  clash  too 
readily  with  the  institutions  in  such  free 
countries  as,  for  instance.  Great  Britain 
and  America.  But  the  Orthodox  Church 
oppresses  other  religions,  at  the  present 
moment,  far  more  than  the  Catholic  Church 
does,  and  quite  as  much  as  the  Inquisition 
did  in  former  days.  The  official  revelations 
concerning  the  Uniates,  form  a  chapter  of 
history  that  would  apply  better  to  the 
middle  ages  than  to  the  19th  century.  Nor 
is  it  only  the  Protestants,  the  Moslems,  and 
the  Dissenters,  who  have  to  suffer  from  the 
oppression  of  the  "White  Czar" — the 
"  White  Pope,"  as  the  head  of  the  Orthodox 
Church  may  fitly  be  called.  The  Jews  are 
equally  oppressed;  and  this  fact  alone 
proves  incontestably  tliat  the  oppression  ex- 
ercised by  the  Orthodox  Church  is  a  political 
more  than  a  religious  question ;  for,  in  the 
case  of  the  Jews,  not  their  bitterest  ene- 
mies can  pretend  that  they  are  given  to 
proselytising  or  interference  with  the  creed 
of  the  Gentile.  But  throughout  Slavdom, 
Roumania,  in  Servia,  in  Croatia,  in  Russia, 
the  Jew  is  regarded  as  a  species  of  vermiu 
that  must  be  religiously  destroyed — a 
vermin  like  the  Colorado  potato-beetle, 
against  which  the  State  must  set  all  its 
machinery  in  motion  to  prevent  its  impor- 
tation. Since  Pharaoh  ground  them  down, 
since  John  of  Gaunt  pulled  out  their  teeth, 
since  the  Inquisition  drove  them  out  of 
Spain,  Israel  has  been  a  thing  to  be  stamped 
out,  or,  at  any  rate,  driven  into  its  noisome 
Ghettos,  to  breed  out  of  sight  like  silk- 
worms, on  account  of  the  dross  they  spin. 
Not  until  society  had  attained  that  alarm- 
ing point  of  impecuniosity,  which  financial 
jargon  calls  "credit,"  did  Israel  emerge 
from  its  dens,  and  assume  a  place  amongst 
the  Gentile ;  not  till  then  did  the  seed 
of  Joseph  multiply,  and  striking  root  in 
Frankfort,  Vienna,  Paris,  London,  and 
Berlin,  blossom  forth  into  such  full-blown 
flowers  and  roses  of  Sharon,  as  the  Roth- 
schilds, the  Goldschmidts,  the  Oppenheims, 
and  a  host  of  other  minor  planets,  eacU 
with  its  system  of  satellite  impecunious 
states.  Though  the  corn  in  Egypt  was 
plentiful  as  the  sands  on  the  sea-shore, 
and  Joseph  "  could  count  no  more  " — a 
terrible  condition  for  a  Hebrew  to  be  in — 


A.D.  1867.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[jews  in  RUSSIA. 


still  it  was  as  nothing  compared  to  the 
harvests  of  shekels  and  monies  that  Joseph's 
descendants  are  now  gathering  from  their 
judiciously  sown  crops  of  bonds,  obligations , 
and  sonstiger  Fapiere  all  over  the  world. 
When  one  thinks  of  the  important  part 
played  by  "  paper  "  and  the  Jews  in  mo- 
dern times,  one  feels  inclined  to  ask 
whether  the  story  of  the  finding  of  Moses 
amidst  the  papyri  of  the  Nile,  by  Pha- 
raoh's daughter,  is  not  an  allegorical  legend, 
of  which  we  are  now  witnessing  the  practi- 
cal execution. 

Anyhow,  the  Slavs  think  so,  and  strongly 
object  to  the  stranger  in  the  land  thriving 
on  the  products  of  their  industry.  Hence, 
"  kill  the  Jew,"  is  a  favourite  "  cry  "  in  the 
lands  east  of  the  Carpathians  and  theDinaric 
Alps.  In  Roumania,  where  the  Wallachs 
have  caught  the  habit  from  their  neigh- 
bours, baiting  the  Jews  is  a  favourite  pas- 
time ;  whilst  in  Servia  they  are  not  allowed 
to  settle  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  as 
was  also  the  case  in  the  Slav  districts  of 
Croatia,  and  the  military  frontier,  until 
Count  Molinari  procured  the  abolishment 
of  the  clause.  But  even  now  a  Jew  is  occa- 
sionally beaten  to  death  by  his  debtors,  just 
to  keep  up  the  customs,  as  a  sort  of  periodi- 
cal Guy  Fawkes'  day. 

"  Senator "  Christich,  of  Beljrrade,  a 
banker,  following  in  a  successful  manner 
the  eminently  Jewish  profession  of  finance, 
admitted  that  the  Servian  government  did 
prohibit  Jews  to  settle  in  the  interior,  not 
on  account  of  their  religion,  but  for  other 
reasons.  What  these  reasons  were  he  did 
not  say.  We  will  state  them.  Owing  to 
the  backward  condition  of  the  people,  and 
their  crass  ignorance  and  native  simplicity; 
owing  also  to  their  want  of  enterprise 
and  laziness,  corn,  wheat,  barley,  maize, 
vary  in  price,  in  one  season,  in  different 
parts  of  the  principality,  to  the  extent  of 
100  per  cent.  Thus,  whilst  the  price  for 
wheat  or  flour  has  been  sixty  piastres  in 
Ushitze,  it  has  been  120  in  Semendria  or 
Alexinatz.  When  maize  could  be  bought 
for  fifty  piastres  in  Kragujevatz,  it  cost 
100  in  Belgrade.  It  was  sold  cheap  in  the 
first  instances,  owing  to  the  absence  of  com- 
petition amongst  the  buyers,  and  dear  in 
the  second  instances — i.  e.,  on  the  borders 
of  civilisation,  and  owing  to  the  presence  of 
competitors,  the  Jews  there  keeping  up  the 
price  to  within  the  lowest  margin  of  profit. 
The  same  used  to  be  the  case  in  Croatia  and 
the  military  frontier.     The  same  is  the  case 


in  the  remotest  portions  of  Russia.  No 
wonder,  therefore,  that  M.  Philip  Christich 
and  the  Slavs  generally  do  not  desire  that 
so  happy  a  state  of  affairs  for  themselves 
should  be  put  an  end  to  by  allowing  the 
presence  of  Jews  at  the  producing  centres, 
and  thus  enable  them  to  buy  at  first  hand. 
This  is  the  real  reason ;  but  Russian,  Serb, 
and  Wallach  will  give  another.  They  say 
that  the  government  is  only  anxious  to 
protect  their  subjects  from  usury  and  its 
consequences.  The  poor  things  are  not 
able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  must 
be  taken  care  of;  and,  for  this  care,  the 
producer  receives  100  per  cent,  less  for  his 
goods  than  he  would  were  he  not  taken  care 
of.  But  to  be  just  to  the  Slavs  in  general, 
and  Serbs  in  particular,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, that  the  social  economy  of  the  Slav 
peasantry,  in  one  of  its  features,  offers  pe- 
culiar temptations  to  the  sons  of  Levi — to 
wit,  in  the  Communia.  The  Communia  is  a 
congregation  of  the  members  of  one  family, 
who  all  reside  together  under  one  roof,  and 
work  the  family  estates  in  common,  the 
eldest  being  the  head  of  the  community, 
the  patriarch  of  the  tribe.  Thus,  when  a 
man  marries,  instead  of  establishing  an  in- 
dependent home,  he  brings  his  wife  home 
to  his  father's  house.  The  other  sons  do 
likewise  :  if  the  house  is  not  large  enough, 
a  fresh  wing  is  added ;  and  when  the 
father  dies,  his  eldest  son  succeeds  him  as 
Stareshina,  or  Elder.  There  are  some  of 
these  Communias  numbering  over  100  mem- 
bers, and  many  forty  and  sixty. 

Now,  in  the  abstract,  this  arrangement  is 
very  touching;  it  is  a  social  Utopia,  and  theo- 
retically deserving  of  all  approbation.  But 
there  are  some  very  practical  drawbacks 
which  are  making  sad  havoc  in  the  system. 
For  instance,  when  the  house  is  so  small  that 
five  or  six  married  couples  sleep  in  one 
room,  with  a  few  children  round  about. 
Even  in  houses  where  there  are  several 
sleeping-rooms,  it  has  frequently  happened 
that  some  of  the  occupants  have  forgotten 
the  number  of  their  particular  chamber, 
and  not  found  out  their  mistake  till  dawn. 
Generally  speaking,  there  is  a  considerable 
amount  of  perplexity  as  to  who  is  who,  and 
whom  he  belongs  to.  Then  it  is  awkward 
if  the  Stareshina  happen  to  be  a  drunkard, 
or  if  some  of  the  wives  consider  the  others 
ill-tempered,  and  indulge  in  a  free  fight 
after  exhausting  the  dictionary  of  Slav 
vituperation — in  itself  no  mean  achieve- 
ment.    There  are  also  matters  concerning 

363 


THE  COMMITNIA.] 


HISTORY  OF   RUSSIA. 


[A.D.  1867. 


female  attire  and  male  propensities,  in  the 
shape  of  liquors  and  laziness,  that  open  a 
rich  field  for  speculative  talents ;  and  it  is 
here  that  the  Jew  steps  in  to  pursue  that 
course  of  exploitation  the  native  specula- 
tors wish  to  keep  for  themselves.  For, 
generally  speaking,  the  trade  in  the  interior 
is  simply  barter.  If  a  man  wants  a  pair  of 
boots,  he  gives  so  much  corn,  so  many 
bundles  of  flax,  or  what  not.  Thus  the 
Jew  opens  an  attractive  shop,  where  he 
sells  anything  and  everything.  If  Nikita 
requires  a  new  ploughshare,  Moses  sells 
him  one  for  so  much  of  the  raw  produce  he 
happens  to  have  a  market  for.  If  Olga 
wants  a  new  ribbon  to  cut  out  her  sister- 
in-law  Katinka,  it  is  Moses  who  satisfies 
her.  But  suppose  Nikita  and  Olga  clan- 
destinely and  surreptitiously  extract  the 
corn,  flax,  or  hemp  from  the  common  store, 
or  lets  them  run  into  debt,  and  keeps  them 
there,  what  becomes  of  the  Communia? 
Moses  knows!  Then  there  is  always  a 
certain  per-centage  of  drones  in  these 
human  hives;  and  in  a  dozen  other  ways 
these  Communia  are  not  only  injurious  to 
their  members,  but  also  to  the  community 
at  large. 

It  is,  however,  the  barter-system  preva- 
lent in  the  outlying  districts  of  Russia,  in 
Servia,  and  the  Slav  districts  on  and  south 
of  the  Danube,  that  chiefly  leads  to  the 
evils  which  the  natives  wish  to  debar  the 
Jews  from  profiting  by.  Money  is  so 
scarce  as  a  currency  in  these  parts,  that  in 
some  of  the  out-of-the-way  districts,  a 
rouble  or  florin  in  silver  is  regarded  with 
great  suspicion,  and  the  spender  as  a 
person  of  a  very  doubtful  character.  Con- 
sequently, all  articles  of  foreign  extraction 
are  paid  for  in  native  produce,  the  value  of 
this  produce  varying  with  the  accessibility 
of  the  district,  and  the  number  of  trades- 
men in  the  place,  as  much  as  between  200 
to  300  per  cent.,  whilst  the  foreign  wares 
always  remain  at  the  same  figlire. 

The  clergy,  who  receive  their  stipends 
364 


chiefly  in  kind,  especially  sufifer  from  this 
system. 

If  maize  is  plentiful  and  flax  scarce, 
Moses  will  not  touch  maize,  but  takes 
all  the  flax,  and  the  cur6  finds  himself 
over*-stocked  with  maize  that  he  cannot 
sell,  and  with  no  flax  at  all  to  speak  of. 
What  with  his  profit  on  the  original  cost 
of  his  foreign  goods,  and  the  native  pro- 
duce he  sells  them  for,  the  trader's  gain 
frequently  amounts  from  500  to  800  per 
cent.,  whilst  the  profit  realised  on  transac- 
tions when  he  pays  cash,  exceeds  1,000  per 
cent.  Several  instances  are  known  of  Jew 
traders  who,  starting  with  £50  worth  of 
stock,  have  amassed  a  considerable  fortune, 
and  retired  from  business  ten  years  after 
they  commenced  it.  The  worst  of  it  is 
that  cash  is  required  by  the  peasant  to  pay 
his  taxes  with  ;  and  in  bad  years  he  gets  so 
irretrievably  into  debt,  that  his  arrears  of 
taxes  frequently  exceed  the  value  of  his 
whole  property.  When  things  arrive  at 
such  a  pitch,  execution  is  levied  upon 
him,  not  for  the  capital  of  his  arrears, 
but  for  the  interest  thereon ;  and  there  are 
even  whole  villages  in  Russia,  and  the  mili- 
tary frontier  of  Slavonia,  whose  total  value 
is  less  than  that  of  the  sum  they  owe  for 
arrears.  This  may  seem  incredible,  but  it 
is  quite  true.  Bad  roads,  and  consequent 
difficulty  of  inter-commupication,  corrupt 
officials,  party  divisions,  and  differences  of 
race  and  creed,  have  all  contributed  to  this 
sad  state  of  affairs.  Frequently  there  is 
direct  collusion  between  the  trader  and  the 
revenue  officers.  The  trader  refuses  to 
give  cash,  beats  down  the  price  of  produce, 
but  pays  the  collector  well  for  what  he 
brings.  Consequently,  the  peasant,  unable 
to  procure  cash,  pays  a  visit  to  the  col- 
lector, bewails  his  lot,  and  makes  him  a 
present  of  so  many  sacks  of  wheat,  potatoes, 
maize,  or  of  a  pig  or  two,  and  persuades 
the  officer  to  "  put  down  "  the  sum  he  owes 
into  h.s  book,  and  becomes  thus  more  and 
more  indebted  to  the  State  year  after  year. 


END  OF  VOL.   II. 


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RUSSIAN     CHANCELLOR 


THK    LONIXW    PiawriNC;   AtfL^  PUHLlSlimC    COMPANY 


»* 


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TJIK     LONDCM     PRINriNG     AND     PUBLlSHiNG     COMPANY     LIMIT?-". 


\ 


THE 


HISTORY  OF   RUSSIA 


FROM  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE 


TO  THE 


WAR  WITH  TURKEY  IN  1877-'78. 


BY 


H.   TYRRELL, 


AND 


HENRY    A.    HAUKEIL, 

LaU  Press  Corresfondmt  in  tie  East. 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS   AND    MAPS. 


VOL.  III. 


THE  LONDON  PRINTING  AND  PUBLISHING  COMPANY.  LIMITED. 

LONDON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


I 


S 


B 

U4    ' 

ic ! 


is 

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ft: 

IC 


J  i 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  IMPERIAL  ALLIANCE  AND  THE  FOREIGN  POLICY  OF  RUSSIA. 


The  Imperial  Alliance — as  the  peculiar  re- 
lationship between  Germany  and  Russia  is 
called — has   received   such    an  amount  of 
scathing  criticism  on  the  one  hand,  and  hy- 
perbolical praise  on  the  other,  that  there  is  a 
very  wide  expanse,  indeed,  between  the  two 
extremes  to    find  the    golden    middle  in. 
Without  going  so  far  as  to  characterise  it 
as  an  "  unholy  alliance  "  in  the  Pentateu- 
chal  signification  of  the  word,  still,  taking 
into  consideration  the  character  of  the  two 
nations,  it  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  arti- 
ficial in  the  extreme.     The  only  point  of 
moral  contact  to  be  found  in  it,  lies  in  the 
relationship    and   friendship    of    the   two 
emperors— in    the    personal   affection     of 
uncle  and  nephew.     Both  are  firmly  con- 
vinced of  the  honour,  virtue,  and  honesty 
of  the  other,  and  make  the  fullest  use  of 
whatever  power  is  left  them  by  their  minis- 
ters to  promote  each  other's  projects  and 
principles.     But  all  this,  however  laudable, 
would  be  of    small  value  were   there  not 
political  considerations  which  rendered  it 
advisable  for  the  two  countries  to  go  hand- 
in-hand.        Such     considerations    existed; 
and  thus  the  personal  relations  of  the  two 
monarch s  were  cleverly  made   use   of,  by 
Prince  Bismarck  and  Prince  Grortschakoff, 
to  further  what  they  considered  the  inter- 
ests of  their  respective  countries. 

Thus  it  was  not  difficult  to  promote  still 
further  the  intimacy  between  the  two 
countries  which  had  been  so  cemented  by 
the  line  of  conduct  pursued  by  Prussia 
during  the  Crimean  war,  and  the  Polish 
rebellion  of  1863-'64.  Gratifying  to 
Russia  as  this  conduct  was  in  itself,  it  was 
still  more  gratifying  when  contrasted  with 
the  action  of  Austria  during  both  these 
periods  of  trial  which  Russia  had  had  to 
undergo.     Whilst  the  King  of  Prussia  con- 

VOL.  III.  B 


sistently  repelled  all  propositions  to  join 
the  action  of  the  western  powers  in  the 
Crimean  war  and  the  Polish  rebellion, 
Austria  interfered  in  a  double-dealing 
fashion,  which  was  considered  in  Russia  as 
peculiarly  ungrateful  after  the  assistance 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  had  rendered  against 
the  leaders  of  the  Hungarian  revolution. 
There  was  thus  a  distinct  coolness  between 
the  Austrian  and  Russian  governments  and 
nations  which  Prince  Bismarck  took  care 
not  to  allay,  whilst  so  shaping  his  policy  as 
to  identify  Austria  with  the  policy  of  the 
Vatican,  against  which  the  Russian  govern- 
ment took  such  strong  measures  as  the  abro- 
gation of  the  concordat  On  this  ground — ■ 
the  opposition  of  the  State  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  as  a  foreign  and  indepen- 
dent power — both  Prussia  and  Russia  acted 
cordially  together  to  obtain  the  same  end, 
though  for  different  objects,  and  with 
the  understanding,  tacit  or  expressed,  that 
each  should  assist  and  support  each 
other,  especially  in  the  cardinal  point 
of  preserving  the  mastery  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  army  over  the  nation  at 
large. 

Up  to  1866,  the  balance  of  services  ren- 
dered was  largely  in  favour  cf  Prussia ;  but 
then  the  time  arrived  for  Prince  Bis- 
marck to  call  upon  Russia  to  return  those 
services.  It  is  not  quite  clear  how  they 
were  returned ;  but  there  is  much  reason 
to  believe  that,  when  it  became  evident 
that  war  between  Prussia  and  Austria 
would  ensue,  the  Russian  ambassadors,  both 
in  Paris  and  London,  led  the  cabinets  there 
to  believe  that  Austria  would  come  ofif 
victorious,  and  that  such  was  the  f]rm  con- 
viction of  the  Petersburg  government. 
This  view  tallied  with  the  impressions 
which  Napoleon   III.  had  gained   on    the 

1 


9 


yo 


/,. 


LITXEMBOURG  QUESTION.]  HISTORY    OP'    THE 


[A.D.  1867. 


subject;  and  it  was  in  this  belief  that  he 
abstained  at  the  time  from  renewing  his 
alliance  with  Italy,  in  the  conviction  that, 
at  an  opportune  moment,  he  would  be  able 
to  intervene  and  make  demands,  at  the  cost 
of  Austria  and  Italy,  which  would  mate- 
rially strengthen  his  position.  But  the 
Prussian  government  succeeded  in  showing 
Victor  Emmanuel  that  Germany  was  a  far 
more  disinterested  ally  than  France  could 
ever  be;  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  Prince 
Bismarck  opened  up  negotiations  with  the 
Hungarians,  and  caused  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernm°ent  the  most  lively  apprehensions  in 
this  quarter  also. 

Thus  the  war  broke  out,  with  Italy  and 
Germany  united  against  Austria.  In  seven 
days  the  question  was  decided.  In  seven 
days,  before  a  messenger  could  get  from 
l*aris  to  Rome  and  back,  Austria  was  con- 
vinced of  the  futility  of  further  resistance; 
for  though  there  are  no  official  documents 
as  yet  to  prove  the  statement,  it  is  believed 
that  a  pretty  clear  intimation  was  conveyed 
from  8t.  Petersburg  to  Vienna,  that  in 
case  France  should  come  to  her  assistance, 
Austria  would  find  herself  opposed  by 
Russia,  as  well  as  Prussia  and  Italy. 

Peace  was  thus  concluded,  and  the  unifi- 
ration  of  Germany  virtually  accomplished. 
This  was  a   fatal    blow   to   Napoleon   III. 
He  foresaw  that,  unless  he  could  undo  the 
work,  and  wipe  out  the  remembrance  of  the 
Mexican  expedition,   there  would   be  but 
smnll  hope  of   his  dynasty  preserving   its 
place.     There  was,  it  is  true,  another  alter- 
native which  he  might  have  adopted,  and 
which    Lord  Clarendon    earnestly  advised 
him  to  adopt — that  was  the  establishment 
of  a  constitutional,  instead  of  a  personal 
government.     But  to  a  man  of  Napoleon's 
temperament  and  character,  nothing  short 
of  a  miracle  would  have  rendered  this  pos- 
sible.    He  preferred  scheming  and  intrigu- 
ino",  and  imagined  that,  after  all,  there  was 
not  much  lost,  as  he  would  always  be  sure 
of  Austria  as  an    ally,  together  with   the 
rest  of  the  German  States  which  had   been 
annexed  by,  or  brought   into  military  de- 
pendence on,  Prussia,     If  he  could,  besides 
this,  induce  Russia  to  join  him  in  destroy- 
ing German   unity,  he  could  not  fail  to  be 
fciuccessful  in  a  war  against  the  hereditary 
enemy  of  his  nation. 

He    therefore    determined   to  seize  the 
first    opportunity  to    raise  a    casus  belli. 
This  opportunity  was  offered  by  the  occu- 
pation of   Luxembourg  by  the  Prussians. 
2 


Against  this  he  protested  ;  but.  Prince  Bis- 
marck replied,  that  as  Prussia  had  been 
authorised,  in  1815,  to  hold  Luxembourg  as 
part  of  the  German  Bund,  so  in  1867  it  was 
for  Europe  to  determine  whether  she  should 
continue  to  occupy  it  as  the  successor  to 
the  defunct  Bund,  and  not  for  Louis  Napo- 
leon to  decide. 

With  this  view  Napoleon  III.  professed 
to  agree.     He  thought  his  influence,  com- 
bined with  the  antagonism  of  Austria  and 
the  South  German  States  against  Prussia, 
the  jealousy  of  England  at  the  progress  of 
her  commercial  rival,  and  the  national  an- 
tipathy   between     Germany    and    Russia, 
would  suffice  to  enable  him  to  carry  his 
point.       Thus  a   conference   was  held  in 
London,  at  which   the  question  was  settled 
by  the  decision  that,  as  everybody  wanted 
Luxembourg,    nobody     should     have     it; 
that  the  fortress   should  be  razed,  and  the 
little  State  be  declared  neutral.     Still  this 
was    not    accomplished    without    a  threat 
from   Prince  Bismarck,  that  unless  France 
discontinued     her    military     preparations 
forthwith,  Prussia  would  present  an  ulti- 
onatum,  and    march   900,000  men    across 
the  frontier. 

For  this  Napoleon  was  not  prepared ;  and 
on  the  advice  of  the  other  powers,  notably 
of  Russia,  which  bade  him  "  bide  his  time," 
he  yielded  with  a  good  grace,  especially  as 
he  desired  the  Exhibition  to  pass  off 
satisfactorily,  with  the  chief  potentates 
visiting  Paris,  and  thus  pour  some 
balm  into  the  wounds  which  French 
vanity  had  received,  by  Germany  achieving 
her  unity  without  French  leave  or  assist- 
ance. 

But  it  was  not  such  an  easy  matter  to 
induce  the  continental  potentates  to  play 
the  part  of  ornaments  and  decorations  for 
his  theatrical  coup-iVetdL      The  Emperor 
of    Russia,   especially,   disliked   the    idea. 
The    part    played   by    France   during   the 
Polish  rebellion,  and  the  haughty  language 
then   addressed  to   Russia   by   the    French 
ministers,  still  rankled  in  his  heart.     But 
at  last  he  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded, 
and  declared  that  he  would  visit  Paris  with 
his  uncle,  the  King  of  Prussia.     This,  how- 
ever, did  not  at  all  suit  Louis  Napoleon. 
First  of  all,  the  intimacy  between  the  two 
northern  powers  had  long  been  excessively 
distasteful  to  France,  and  the  appearance 
of  the  two  monarchs,  side  by  side,  on  the 
Boulevards,  was  not   at    all  calculated    to 
please  the  people,  or  enhance  his  reputation 


A.D.  1867.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[the  czar   in   PARIS. 


as  a  statesman.  He  therefore  caused  it  to 
be  notified  to  the  Prussian  ambassador  that 
he  would  prefer,  or  rather  suggest,  that  the 
King  of  Prussia  should  defer  his  visit  until 
the  Czar  had  paid  his  and  left  Paris,  as  he 
desired  to  pay  especial  honour  to  his 
majesty,  which  he  would  be  prevented 
from  doing  if  both  the  monarchs  were  pre- 
sent at  the  same  time,  inasmuch  as  the  Czar 
would  naturally  be  entitled  to  the  prece- 
dence on  all  public  occasions,  in  virtue  of 
his  higher  rank.  This  extravagant  piece  of 
strained  politeness  and  etiquette  displeased 
the  Czar  more  even  than  it  annoyed  the 
King  of  Prussia.  The  Emperor  Alexander 
declared  curtly,  that "  if  he  could  not  choose 
his  own  time,  and  his  own  company,  he 
would  not  go  to  Paris  at  all."  To  this 
Napoleon  replied,  that  of  course  he  should 
not  dream  of  dictating  to  their  majesties ; 
he  himself  only  desired  to  do  them  both  the 
greatest  honour  possible,  and  would  only  be 
too  happy  if  they  would  but  consult  their 
own  inclinations  and  convenience.  Finally, 
the  matter  was  settled  by  the  arrangement 
that  the  King  of  Prussia  should  arrive  in 
Paris  a  day  or  two  after  his  imperial  rela- 
tive, so  that  both  should  pass  some  time  in 
each  other's  company  in  Paris. 

Thus  the  Czar  arrived,  with  his  two  sons, 
in  Paris  on  June  1.  But  immediately  on 
his  entry  into  the  city,  and  subsequently, 
he  was  greeted  with  shouts  of  "  Vive  la 
Pologne  !  "  ("  Long  live  Poland ! ")  These 
cries  were  repeated  on  almost  every  occasion 
when  he  appeared  in  public,  no  doubt  much 
to  the  annoyance  of  the  emperor,  who,  how- 
ever, tried  to  soften  the  evil  impressions 
produced  upon  his  guest  by  expressing  his 
willingness  to  assent  to  a  revision  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  especially  in  those  points 
touching  the  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea 
and  the  presence  of  a  Russian  fleet  in  those 
waters.  These  provisions  of  the  treaty  of 
Paris,  though  they  had  been  evaded  by 
Russia,  were  still,  theoretically  and  formally, 
in  force  ;  and  that  they  should  be  abrogated 
quite  met  the  views  of  the  French  emperor. 
At  the  same  time  the  condition  of  the 
Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte  was  mooted, 
not  only  in  the  Danubian  provinces,  but 
also  in  Candia,  where  the  rebellion  was  then 
in  its  last  stadium.  The  gist  of  Napoleon's 
proposals  was,  that  the  Czar  should  intervene 
in  the  matter,  and  support  Greece  and 
/Ilandia  in  their  struggle  against  the  Porte, 
and  should  unite  with  him  in  handing  over 
Thessaly,   Epirus,  and  Candia  to  Greece. 


In  return  for  the  consent  of  France  to  this 
operation,  Napoleon  gave  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  Russia  should  close  her  alliance 
with  Prussia,  and  observe  neutrality  in  case 
of  any  conflict  between  Germany  and  France. 

These  proposals  came  to  nothing.  It 
might  have  been  foreseen  that  such  would 
be  the  case.  In  the  first  place,  the  Czar 
could  not  but  regard  such  conduct  as  down- 
right treachery  to  his  uncle ;  for  whatever 
may  be  thought  of  the  character  of  Russian 
statesmen  and  Russian  officials,  there  ap- 
pears to  be  no  reason  to  doubt  the  assertion 
that  the  Czar  is,  personally,  a  man  of  the 
highest  integrity  and  of  noble  ambitions, 
as  far  as  his  powers  of  discernment  go. 

But  besides  this  personal  impediment, 
Louis  Napoleon's  project  was  based  on  an 
entire  misapprehension  of  the  relations 
existing  between  the  Greeks  and  the 
Russians.  He  failed  to  see  that  the  cha- 
racters of  the  two  are  entirely  opposed ; 
that  there  is  not  one  single  point  of  contact 
between  them ;  and  that  the  jealousy  of  the 
Greek  Church  to  the  Orthodox  Church  in 
Russia,  was  only  equalled  by  the  hatred  of 
the  Greeks  for  the  Slavs,  and  their  alarm 
at  the  growing  influence  of  Servia  and 
Montenegro,  and  the  dimensions  which  the 
Slavonic  question  generally  was  assuming. 
In  short,  Louis  Napoleon  entirely  failed  to 
see  that  Russian  and  Greek  interests,  far 
from  being  identical,  were,  in  reality, 
bitterly  opposed,  and  that  Greece,  which 
regarded  herself  as  the  legitimate  heiress  of 
Constantinople,  would  sacrifice  her  last 
drachma  and  her  best  soldiers  to  prevent 
Russia  from  acquiring  the  Turkish  capital, 
or  placing  any  of  the  Slav  races  in  possession 
of  the  coveted  prize,  which,  under  such 
circumstances,  would  practically  become  a 
Russian  possession. 

There  was  thus  a  multiplicity  of  reasons 
for  the  Czar's  rejection  of  Louis  Napoleon's 
overtures ;  who  at  last  discovered  that  his 
attempts  to  make  use  of  the  Czar's  presence 
apart  from  his  uncle  were  a  failure.  On 
June  5,  the  King  of  Prussia,  accompanied 
by  Count  Bismarck  and  General  Moltke, 
arrived  in  Paris,  and  on  the  following  day 
a  grand  review  was  held  in  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne.  Everything  passed  off  satisfac- 
torily ;  but  as  the  imperial  cortege  passed 
the  grand  cascade,  and  was  turning  down 
the  avenue  of  Longchamps,  several  cries  of 
"  Vive  la  Pologne  !  "  were  raised,  and  im- 
mediately followed  by  the  report  of  a  pistol. 
The  uniforms  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  and 

3 


,^ 


£  I 


I' 


l! 


i 


ATTACK  ON  THE  CZAR.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1867. 


i  I 


ft 

,1:- 


the  Grand  Duke  Vladimir  were  splashed 
with  blood,  and  for  a  moment  or  two  it  was 
thought  tliat  the  shot  had  taken  fatal  effect. 
But  the  two  bullets  which  had  been  in- 
tended for  the  Czar  had  lodged  in  the  nose 
of  tlie  horse  which  one  of  the  imperial 
grooms  had  spurred  between  the  emperor 
and  tlie  assassin — a  Volhynian  Pole,  a 
youth  twenty-two  years  old,  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  Poli.sh  rebellion  of  1863- 
'64.  He  was  with  difficulty  saved  from  the 
hands  of  the  infuriated  populace,  who  were 
naturally  enraged  at  this  breach  of  national 
hospitality,  and  wished  to  inflict  summary 
justice  on  the  would-be  assassin. 

Naturally  this  incident  did  not  improve 
the  situation,  nor  conduce  to  the  success  of 
Napoleon's  plan;  and  on  June  11,  the  Czar 
left  Paris,  further  than  ever  from  agreeing 
to  any  solidarity  between  France  and  Eussia. 
After  he  had  departed,  another  incident 
occurred  which,  if  not  of  so  tragic  a  nature, 
was  probably  far  more  irritating  to  the 
King  of  Prussia.  Paul  Grranier — who  sub- 
sequently assumed  the  name  and  title  of 
"  De  Cassagnac,"  the  townlet  in  which  he 
was  born — published  an  article  in  Le  Pays^ 
of  which  he  was  the  editor  and  proprietor, 
in  which  he  andeavoured  to  prove  that  the 
Khine  was  the  proper  frontier  between 
France  and  Germany,  and  that  no  Germans 
ought  to  be  tolerated  on  the  left  bank, 
except  such  as  considered  it  an  honour 
to  be  French  subjects.  This  article  was 
regarded  throughout  Germany  as  a  direct 
insult  to  the  king;  and  the  Emperor 
Napoleon,  probably  with  justice,  was  held 
to  be  responsible  at  least  for  this  attack,  if 
not  for  the  attempt  of  the  Pole,  Berezowski. 
However,  on  June  14,  the  King  of  Prussia 
also  left  Paris  for  Berlin,  where,  two  days 
later,  he  had  another  meeting  with  the 
Czar.  The  two  monarchs  exchanged  the 
views  and  impressions  which  their  visit  to 
Paris  had  produced,  with  the  result  that 
they  became  more  determined  than  ever  to 
continue  their  alliance.  With  this  deter- 
mination the  Czar  returned  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, there  quietly  to  await  the  course  of 
events. 

But  whilst  kings  and  emperors  were  con- 
cocting plans,  and  scheming  for  the  exten- 
sion of  their  lands,  or  the  welfare  of  their 
subjects,  the  people  also  were  taking  their 
affairs  into  their  own  hands  in  a  manner 
which  caused  grave  anxiety  in  more  quarters 
than  one,  and  began  to  initiate  movements, 
the  end  of  which  it  was  dithcult  to  foresee. 


In  the  first  place  the  Hungarians   had 
claimed  their  reward    for    their    conduct 
during    the    Seven    Days'    War;    and    on 
February  7,  Count  von  Beust  was  named 
president  of  the  Austrian  ministry,  whilst 
Count   Julius  Andrassy    was   called   upon 
to    form   an    Hungarian   ministry.     Count 
Andrassy— upon     whose     head    a    reward 
had     been    placed     in     1848 — consented, 
and    formed    a    cabinet    from    the    Deak 
party    on    March     15,     1867.      On    June 
8,  whilst  the  Czar  and  the  King'of  Prussia 
were    visiting    Louis     Napoleon,    Francis 
Joseph,  Emperor  of  Austria,  was  crowned 
King  of  Hungary,  amidst  the  wildest  en- 
thusiasm and  a  display  of  almost  Asiatic 
magnificence.     The  ceremony  took  place  at 
Pressburg ;  and  the  new  king,  armed  with 
the  sword  of  St.  Stephen,  performed  the 
ancient    ceremony    of  waving   it    towards 
the   four   points   of  the   compass   on   the 
celebrated    Coronation    Hill — an    artificial 
mound,  constructed  with  the  earth  from  va- 
rious places  of  historic  fame.    The  whole  of 
Hungary  was  in  gala  on  the  occasion ;  even 
the  victims  of  the  revolution,  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  1848 
and  1849,  and  the  crippled  Honveds,  joined 
in   the   general  delight;   for  the    100,000 
ducats  which  the  Hungarian  Diet  had  pre- 
sented to  the  king  on  his  coronation,  were 
divided  amongst  them,  wliilst,  at  the  same 
time,  the  fullest  amnesty   was   proclaimed 
for  all  exiles,  and  their  estates  restored  to 
them    on     condition    of    their    rendering 
homage  to  the  new  king. 

Thus  Hungary  gained,  through  a  united 
Germany,  what  she  had  failed  to  obtain  by 
force  of  arms.  She  had  become  practically 
independent,  and  held  the  administration 
of  the  country  in  her  own  hands.  In  fact, 
she  had  obtained  home  rule. 

But  a  harsh  discord  was  heard  amidst  the 
universal  joy.  Siebenbiirgen  and  Croatia — 
the  former  inhabited,  to  a  large  extent,  by 
Germans  and  Wallachs ;  the  latter  by 
Croats ;  both  sections  enjoying  certain  pri- 
vileges under  the  Austrian  emperor — were 
by  no  means  satisfied  at  being  transferred 
from  the  government  at  Vienna  to  that  at 
Pesth.  Equally  disappointed  was  the  Serb 
section  in  the  south  of  Hungary.  They,  too, 
objected  to  being  handed  over  to  the  Hun- 
garian administration.  They  had  had  cer- 
tain privileges  accorded  to  theru  by  the 
Austrian  government.  They  had  learned 
the  German  tongue,  the  language  used  in 
the  admiuistratiuu  dud  the  law  courts,  and 


A.D.  1867.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[SLAV   DISCONTEyr. 


now  found  that  they  were  obliged  to  learn 
Hungarian,  the  tongue  of  their  new  mas- 
ters, who  had  ever  been  their  enemies,  and 
whose  enemies  they  tliemselves  had  ever 
been  since  the  old  days  of  the  Turkish  wars. 

The  consequence  was,  that  Croatia,  Sla- 
vonia,  and  Dalmatia  sent  a  protest  to  the 
emperor,  and  pointing  out  that  they  also 
formed  a  triune  kingdom,  insisted  on  secur- 
ing the  same  privileges  as  those  just  ac- 
corded to  Hungary.  They  pointed  out  that 
they  had  never  wavered  in  their  loyalty  to 
the  House  of  Hapsburg ;  that  they  had 
cheerfully  sacrificed  blood  and  gold  to 
crush  the  Hungarian  rebellion  in  1848 ; 
and  that  surely  it  would  be  but  the  com- 
monest justice  to  accord  the  loyal  pro- 
vinces the  same  privileges,  at  least,  as  those 
granted  to  the  traitor  kingdom,  which 
besides  had,  so  to  say,  wrung  these  pri- 
vileges from  Austria  at  the  point  of  the 
sword  and  a  fresh  act  of  treachery,  by 
taking  advantage  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
government  in  1866  with  Prussia.  But  it 
was  all  of  no  avail.  The  Croatian  Diet 
was  dissolved,  and  the  same  answer  given, 
by  the  Vienna  government,  to  a  petition  by 
the  Czechs  for  the  independence  of  the 
kingdom  of  Bohemia  on  the  same  basis  as 
that  of  Hungary. 

This  peremptory  refusal  to  consider 
what  the  Slavonic  sections  of  the  empire 
considered  their  just  claims,  created  in- 
tense dissatisfaction  amongst  the  middle 
and- professional  classes.  The  peasantry 
and  smaller  land  proprietors  remained 
more  or  less  indifferent;  and  in  the  few 
cases  in  which  the  desire  for  independence 
took  root  within  them,  it  was  due  rather  to 
the  instigation  of  short-sighted  priests  and 
professional  agitators.  Of  course,  had  their 
claims  been  acknowledged,  then  the  Ger- 
mans would  also  have  demanded  their  in- 
dependence; the  Italian  section  would 
have  followed  suit ;  and  even  then  the 
Wallachs  and  gipsies  would  have  considered 
themselves  very  badly  treated.  This  is,  of 
course,  reducing  the  question  ad  abeur- 
dum  ;  but  it  would  have  been  the  logical 
sequence  of  Count  Beust's  new  institution. 
As  it  was,  there  were  no  less  than  three 
distinct  ministries.  There  was  the  Hun- 
garian ministry,  entrusted  with  the  admin- 
istration of  Hungary,  sitting  at  Pesth ; 
there  was  the  Slave- German  ministry,  en- 
trusted with  the  government  of  the  Cis- 
leithanian  provinces,  and  sitting  at  Vienna ; 
and,  finally,  there  was  the  Imperial  minis- 

VOL.  III.  C 


try,  the  Reichsministerium,  composed  of 
three  members,  which  sat  nowhere,  but 
passed  its  time  between  Pesth  and  Vienna. 
Yet,  with  all  these  complicated  arrange- 
ments, the  result  of  weak  concessions  to 
rivalries  and  national  jealousies,  no  one  was 
satisfied.  The  Germans  complained  of  the 
obstinacy  of  the  Hungarians ;  the  Germans 
complained  of  the  pretensions  of  the  Slavs  ; 
and  Slav  and  Hungarian,  whilst  complain- 
ing of  each  other,  joined  in  complaining  of 
the  Germans.  A  cartoon  in  Kikeriki,  the 
Vienna  "  Punch,"  aptly  illustrated  the  re- 
lations between  Austria  and  Hungary.  A 
burly  Hungarian  magnate  is  seen  approach- 
ing the  cashiers  of  the  Hungarian  Trea- 
sury and  the  Austrian  Treasury  with  a 
bank-note  for  1,000  florins.  He  presents 
it  to  the  Hungarian  cashier ;  but  this  gen- 
tleman points  to  the  inscription  over  his 
desk — "  paying-in  cashier,"  and  bids  him  go 
over  the  way  to  his  Austrian  colleague,  who 
has  charge  of  the  "  paying-out  department." 

This  state  of  affairs  was  speedily  made 
use  of  by  the  old  Russian  party  in  Russia, 
who,  under  the  innocent  name  of  an 
"Ethnographical  Exhibition,"  called  to- 
gether the  Slavonic  congress  in  Moscow, 
at  which  were  assembled  a  number  of  de- 
puties from  Bohemia,  Croatia,  Slavonia, 
Servia,  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  and  Monte- 
negro. They  were  cordially  received  by 
the  Czar  and  the  Empress,  by  Prince  Gort- 
schakoff,  and  all  the  leading  statesmen  in 
Russia.*  At  the  opening  ceremony,  Herr 
Rieser,  of  Prague,  the  leader  of  the  Czech 
nationalists,  exclaimed — "The  Slavs  are 
members  of  one  body ;  but,  dispersed  as 
they  are,  have  to  wage  war  against  their 
inveterate  enemies,  against  Germans,  Mag- 
yars, Italians,  and  Tartars.  But  the  sun  of 
Slavonic  unity  has  at  last  arisen :  the 
Slavs,  if  they  will  only  combine,  will  be 
great,  not  only  in  numbers,  but  also  in 
deeds." 

The  result  of  all  this  encouragement  and 
official  recognition,  by  the  Court  and  gov- 
ernment circles,  of  the  ambitions  thus  fer- 
mentated  by  the  congress,  was  the  deter- 
mination to  enter  upon  a  course  of  general 
agitation  in  all  the  Slavonic  countries  and 
provinces,  whether  of  Austria  or  Turkey. 
The  government  adopted  this  policy  with  a 
double  olject.  First  of  all,  by  accepting 
the  principles  enunciated  at  the  congress, 
they  cut  the  ground  away  from  the  feet  of 

*  See  p.  297,  et  seq. ,  vol.  ii. 


-'  I 


THE  BALTIC   PROVINCES.]  HISTORY     OF    THE 


[a.d.  1867. 


*A.D.  1867.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[swedes  and  RUSSIANS. 


the  Poles,  who  regarded  themselves  as  the 
only  true  and  genuine  Slavs  ;  and,  secondly, 
they  prepared  the  way  towards  that  dis- 
memberment of  the  Turkish  empire,  which 
dictated  the  whole  policy  of  Russia  in  its 
relations  to  Europe.  Poland  and  Turkey 
had  always  been  the  two  fields  furnishing 
the  point  of  political  contact  with  the  rest 
of  Europe;  the  Polish  question  had  been 
settled  at  last  in  favour  of  Russia;  the 
Turkish  question  was  now  to  be  tackled, 
and  the  wounds  struck  by  the  Crimean  war 
to  be  gloriously  effaced. 

The  initiative  in  this  revival  of  the  old 
policy,  re-invigorated  by  the  new  dogma  of 
Panslavism,  was  accorded  to  Servia  and 
Montenegro,  whilst  Bulgaria  was  worked 
upon  and  agitated  by  "Russian  agents,"  as 
has  been  generally  stated,  but  not  quite 
correctly,  in  so  far  as  the  term  "  Russian 
agent"  means  a  Russian  by  race.  These 
agents  were  chiefly  Bulgarians  who  had 
been  educated  in  Russia,  and  there  imbued 
with  Russian  principles,  policy,  and  tradi- 
tions. Practically  and  morally,  therefore, 
they  were  Russians,  though  not  so  formally 

or  legally.   • 

The  spirit    in  which   the  question  was 
taken  up  by  the  Serbs  is  exemplified  in  a 
speech  made  by  one  of  its  members  on  the 
meeting  of  the  Servian   Skuptchina.     He 
said— "The  liberation  of  Eastern  Europe 
is  the  great  undertaking  which  Russia  im- 
poses upon  herself.     An  end  must  at  last 
be  put  to  the  domination  of  one  nationality 
over  the  other,  whether  this  domination  be 
a  Turkish,  Hungarian,  or  Austro-German. 
The  battle  of  Sadowa  has  decided  the  fate 
of  Eastern   Europe.      The  German   world 
has    separated    itself  from    the    Slavonic 
world.     The  fate  of  the  Slavs  now  lies  in 
our  own    hands,  and  must   be  settled  by 
Slavs  alone ;  and  it  is  but  just,  natural,  and 
politic,  that  Russia  should  take  the  lead  in 
the  undertaking.     Russia  is  not  merely  a 
Russian  power,   she  is  a  Slavonic   power; 
still  more,  she  is  a  Panslavonic  power.    The 
fraternisation  of  all  the  Slavonic  races  is 
rapidly    approaching;   but    the  first  step 
towards  this  consummation  is  the  solution 
of  the  Eastern  question.** 

This  was  very  plain  speaking  indeed, 
and  it  generally  found  a  hearty  echo 
throughout  the  Slavonic  world.  The  chal- 
lenge, however,  was  speedily  taken  up  on 
the  same  basis  by  the  Germans  and  Hun- 
garians. These  races  quite  agreed  with  the 
provisions  laid  down  by  the  Serb  patriots, 
6 


and  duly  expressed  their  determination  to 
carry  them  out  likewise,  by  refusing  to 
allow  the  Slavs  to  dominate  over  them. 

Thus  Professor  Wilhelm  Miiller  stated,  in 
his  "Political  Review  for  1867,"  an  annual    ' 
publication  of  considerable  influence,  that 
this  Serb  enfant  terrible  could  not  have 
pronounced   a   clearer   or   less    ambiguous 
discourse,  or  have   given   a  more  definite 
programme  of  the  Russian  policy.    "  But," 
he  continues,  "  much  water  will  flow  down 
the  Danube — he  might  have  added,  'and 
much  blood  likewise ' — before  one-half  of 
these  extravagant  wishes  are  realised.  Still, 
the   Austrian   government   ought  to   have 
seen   that,  after    settling    the   Hungarian 
question,  she  would  also  have  to  face  the 
Slavonic  question.     Her  course  of  action  is 
clearly   defined.     She   must    place   herself 
on  the  side  of  Germany,   in   face  of  the 
ajritation   in    Bohemia,   and    address    the 
Czechs  in  the  same  words  Prince  Bismarck 
used — 'You   will    meet    with    an    energy 
beyond  your  strength.' " 

Similar    language    was     held    all    over 
Germany,  outside    of  the    official    circles, 
which  still  held  to  Russia,  as  indeed  they 
were  bound  to  do ;   but  none  the  less  the 
voice  of    the   people   spoke   out  with  no 
uncertain  sound.     The  whole  of  the  press 
took  up  the  challenge.     The  two  most  able 
correspondents  of  the  Tiines^  Mr.  Abel  at 
Berlin,  and   Mr.  Eber   of   Pesth,   demon- 
strated that,if  there  was  to  be  a  Panslavonic 
question,  there  would  also  be  a  Panteutonic 
question,  not  in  the  sense  to  which  we  have 
already  alluded,*  but  in  a  practical  form, 
which  would  take  the   shape  of  a  Teuto- 
Scandinavian  action,  in  favour  of  one  of 
the  "dominated  nationalities;"  that  is,  the 
German  race  in  the  Baltic  provinces.     For, 
it  was  alleged,  if  we  are  to  go  back  to  the 
origin  of  all  things,  and  deduce  the  rights 
of   the   present   races   from   the   rights  of 
former    generations   in   ancient    times,   it 
would  be  found  that  the  Slavs  had  usurped 
the  power  and  possessions  of  the  Teuto- 
Scandinavian  races,  and  that  their  present 
descendants    had     every   moral   right     to 
regain   their   lost  privileges,  and   re-assert 
their  nationality,  if  they  have  the  power  to 
do  so.      These  views  were  also  propounded 
I  by  the  professors  in  the  universities,  not 
only  of  Germany,  but  also  of  Scandinavia, 
and  even  of  Denmark.    Dr.  Vilhelm  Thom- 
sen,    of     Copenhagen,    one    of     the    first 


1 


*  Page  339,  et  seq.y  vol.  iL 


Slavonic  scholars,  delivered  a  course  of 
lectures,  of  which  the  main  object  was  to 
prove  that  the  race  which  was  first  dominant 
in  Russia — the  tribe  of  which  Rurik  and  his 
brothers  were  the  chiefs — was  certainly  of 
Scandinavian,  and  most  probably  of  Swedish 
origin.  That  it  was  Scandinavian  (said  the 
Times\  none  but  Slavs  are  likely  to  doubt. 
There  may  be  some,  indeed,  who  will  think 
that  his  learned  labours  have  been  devoted 
to  a  slaying  of  the  slain.  It  is  well,  how- 
ever, to  possess  a  thoroughly  well-conducted 
examination  of  the  questions  at  issue 
between  the  Scandinavian  and  Anti-Scandi- 
navian sections  of  Russian  archaeologists 
from  the  point  of  view  of  a  learned  native 
of  Scandinavia  itself. 

Beginning  with  the  first  references  in  his- 
tory to  the  Slavs,  it  is  explained  why  their 
tribes,  occupying  the  lands  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Vistula,  and  known  to  their  Ger- 
man neighbours  as  Wends,  wereso  little  heard 
of  at  a  distance,  until  thev  micrrated  from 
the  districts  which  had  grown  too  small  to 
hold  them,  and  were  converted  to  Christianity 
after  they  had  occupied  the  lands  bordering 
upon  the  Southern  Danube.  At  this  time, 
the  country  which  we  now  call  Russia,  was 
occupied  in  its  southern  portion  by  semi- 
nomadic  hordes  of  Tartar  or  Turkish 
origin ;  whilst  the  centre,  the  north,  and  the 
east  were  inhabited  by  Finnish  races,  only 
the  west  and  north-west  being  tenanted  by 
Slavonic  tribes  and  by  their  distant  rela- 
tives, the  Lithuanians  and  Letts.  It  is  to 
this  period  to  which  the  legend  refers,  of 
how  the  allied  Slavs  and  Finns  of  the 
north-west,  feeling  the  want  of  such  a 
strong  government  as  they  themselves 
could  not  create,  called  in  Rurik  and  his 
brethren,  and  the  rest  of  those  Varangians 
who  were  known  as  the  Russ,  or  members 
of  the  tribe  of  Russ.  To  this  story  no  great 
weight  can  be  attached  when  we  consider 
the  fact,  that  the  words  in  which  Nestor's 
Chronicle  expresses  the  invitation  sent  by 
the  Slavs  to  the  Russ,  are  almost  identical 
with  those  attributed  by  Wittekind's  Saxon 
Chronicle  to  the  Britons,  who  are  credited 
with  having  called  in  the  semi-mythical 
Hengist  and  Horsa.  Rurik's  descendants, 
for  more  than  three  centuries,  ruled  rather 
as  the  semi-independent  chiefs  of  a  wide- 
spread confederacy;  then,  for  more  than  two 
centuries  longer,  held  office  by  the  grace  of 
their  Tartar  lords,  gradually  consolidating 
their  power  the  while ;  and  afterwards,  for 
another  century  and  a-half,  ruled  supreme  | 


at  Moscow  as  Czars  of  a  united  Russia,  till 
the  last  descendant  of    Rurik's  royal  line 
was     murdered,     and     the     "Period     of 
Trouble  "  arose,  to  which  an  end  was  not  put 
till  the  election  to  the  throne,  in  1613,  of 
the    first   of   the  Romanoffs.      The    Anti- 
Scandinavianists,  however,  deny  the  Scandi- 
navian origin  of  Rurik  and  the  Russ  tribe, 
and   try  to  prove  that  Greek   documents 
recognise  the  existence  of   the  Russ  long 
before  A.D.  839,  the  year  in   which  their 
Greek  name  Rhos  is  for  the  first  time  put 
upon  record.     Thus  a  Greek  writer,  who 
died  in  817,  in  describing  how  Constantino 
Copronymus  made  war  on  the  Bulgarians 
in  773,  says  that  the  emperor  sailed  in  gal- 
leys called  ret  povaia  xcXav^ta.    Tliese  vessels 
have  been  claimed  as  "Russian  galleys."  But 
ta  rousia  chelandia  rhosikos,  and  not  ru- 
sios,  was  the  Greek  equivalent  for  "Russian  '* 
prior  to  the  middle   of  the  10th  century; 
and,  in  reality,  rusios  meant  red,  the  Greek 
emperors  being  in  the  habit  of  sailing  in 
ships  which  were  painted  of  that  colour.    In 
another  of  the  philological  lights  thrown 
on   the   question   at    issue    the   result    is 
equally  clear.     One  of  the  most  familiar  of 
the  passages  of  Byzantine  literature  which 
have   been   employed  as   evidence  in  the 
controversy  as  to  the  language  spoken  by 
the  followers  of  Rurik,  is  that  in  which  the 
Emperor     Constantino     Porphyrogenitus, 
writing  towards  the   middle  of  the    10th 
century,  gives  a  list  of  the  names  of  the 
various  rapids  of  the  Dnieper  both  in  Sla- 
vonic  (S(c\a/3ii/toTi)   (SJclabinisti),   and   in 
Russ  (Mhosisti).     The  Slavonic  names  are 
almost  identical  with  the  modern  Russian 
designations  of  the  rapids.  But  what  the  em- 
peror calls  the  Russ  names  are  quite  different. 
For  example,  the  name  of  the  fourth  rapid 
is  given  as  Aeifar  in  Russ,  and  in  Slavonic 
as  Neasit,  by  the  emperor,  who  explains 
that   it   was    so    called    because    pelicans 
haunted    the   spot,   neyesyf  meaning  "a 
pelican "  in  Old  Slavonic.     But  this  ety- 
mology is  probably  incorrect.     The  pelican 
derived  its  name  from  the  fact  of  its  being 
insatiable,  a  defect  expressed  in  the   Sla- 
vonic languages  by  words  derived  from  an 
adjective  syt,  our   "sated,"    the   German 
satt.  And  so  it  is  known  in  Russian  by  the 
name  of  neyasyf  (for  nenasyf),  with  which 
may  be  compared  the  German  name  of  Nim- 
Tnersatt,    The  modern  Russian  name  of  the 
rapid    in    question   is   ^enasytets^   which 
seems   to   signify     "the    insatiable,"    ne- 
nasytriy   meaning    "  insatiable  " — a    goo4 

7 


ORIGI?^   OF   RUSSIANS.] 


HISTORY    OF  THE 


[A.D.  1867. 


desi^ation  for  the  most  violent  of  all  the 
rapids.  At  the  same  time  there  appears  to 
be  no  doubt  that  the  word  aeifar  is  the 
same  in  the  old  Norse  aefar,  "  never- 
ceasing."  So  that  the  Slavonic  word  is 
gimply  a  translation  of  the  Norse.  It  is, 
however,  not  quite  so  easy  to  show  from 
wha^  part  of  Scandinavia  Rurik  and  his 
companions  came ;  and  the  Slavs  make 
great  capital  out  of  the  fact  that  there  is 
no  trace  or  legend  of  any  Scandinavian 
people  calling  themselves  Kuss. 

But  then,  as  the  old  inhabitants  of  Wales 
never  called  themselves  Welsh,  neither  do 
those  of  Wallachia  know  themselves  under 
the  term  of  Wallachs,  any  more  than  the 
1  lollanders  call  themselves  Dutch,  so  that  the 
ancient  Kuss  may  have  received  their  desig- 
nation   only    from    foreigners.      Now   the 
Uijrrian  tribes  around  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia 
and  the  Baltic  have  long  known  Sweden 
imder  some  name   similar  to  the  Finnish 
liuotsL     From  those  Ugrian  appellations 
may  have  sprung  the  name  of  Russ,  applied 
hy  the  Slavs  to  their  Scandinavian  leaders. 
Therefore,  Sweden  may  have  been  the  ori- 
ginal home  of  Kurik.     Again,  if  the  Scan- 
<linavian   names   which    occur   in    Russian 
history  are  tested — such  as  Olga  (Helga), 
liogvolod     (Rognvaldr),     Igor    (Ingvarr), 
and  many   others — it  will    be  found  that 
many  of  them  belong  exclusively  to  Swe- 
den, and  even  point  to  certain  parts  of  it, 
such  as  Upland,   Sodermanland,  and  East 
Gotland,  districts  which  are  situated  along 
the  Swedish  shore  just  opposite  the  Gulf  of 
Finland.     And    therefore    those   provinces 
may  well  be  credited    with  the   merit   of 
having  been  the  original  homestead  of  the 
so-called    Russian   tribe,   the  Varangians, 
who   imposed  the  name  they  were  known 
by  on  the  people  among  whom   they  be- 
came  absorbed,  just   as  the   Franks  gave 
their  name  to  the  France  whose  language 
they    accepted.      As    to    the    Varanj^jians 
themselves,  they  figure  in  the  Old  Norse 
Sagas  as  the  Voerlnfjjar,  and  in  Constanti- 
nople as  the  Scandinavian  Barar/r/oi,  who 
long  formed  the   imperial   guard,   one   of 
whose  number  probably  carved  on  the  lion 
•which  has  for  nearly  two  centuries  adorned 
the  entrance  to  the  arsenal  at  Venice,  but 
which  previously  gave   to   the  Piraeus  its 
Italian  name  of  "  Porto  Leone,"  the  long 
Runic  inscription   which    has   never    been 
completely  deciphered,  though  an  eminent 
Runologist    is    supposed   to    have  proved, 
not  very  long  ago,  that  it  must  have  been 
8 


cut  by  a  man  from  Sweden  proper  (Svea- 
land),  probably  from  the  province  of  Up- 
land. Towards  the  end  of  the  11th  cen- 
tury, however,  the  Varangian  body  seems  to 
have  begun  to  change  its  character,  being 
recruited,  not  from  Scandinavia,  but  from 
England  ;  Byzantine  authors  of  the  end  of 
the  12th  century  stating  that  the  Varan- 
gians were  Britons  or  Englishmen  {Iggli' 
noi),  who  spoke  English  {Iglinisti), 
Finally,  the  defence  of  the  monarch,  who 
ruled  at  Constantinople,  was  entirely  in- 
trusted to  Englishmen — a  fact  which  seems 
not  to  be  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  the 
ideas  of  the  present  day,  and  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  Slav  principles,  is,  in  itself, 
reason  enough  for  asserting  our  right  to 
follow  up  the  privileges  of  our  ancestors. 

Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  the  num- 
ber of  Rurik's  companions   does  not  seem 
to  have  been  large :  their  marriages  with 
native    women    must    have    led    to   their 
children  being  linked  with  Slav  as  well  as 
with    Scandinavian   associations.      And  so 
the  descendants  of  the  original  settlers  can 
scarcely  have  preserved  their  foreign   na- 
tionality for  more  than  three  or  four  gene- 
rations.    Rurik's  grandson,  Sviatoslaf,  bore 
a  purely  Slavonic  name ;  and  when  Vladi- 
mir the  Great  officially  introduced  Chris- 
tianity   into    Russia    in    988,   and    made 
Slavonic  the  language  of  the  church,   he 
doubtless  considered    himself    as  much   a 
Slav  as  any  of  his   subjects,  or  as  Richard 
Lion-heart  considered  himself  an  English- 
man.    But  though,  about  the   year  lOOQ, 
"  the  reigning  house  in  Kief  may  be  con- 
sidered  essentially    Slavonicised,"   it   does 
not  follow  that  therefore  the  Scandinavian 
element  had  been  eliminated  from  Russia. 
Up  to  the  beginning  of  the  11th  century, 
a  constant  immigration  of  Northmen  went 
on.     So  numerous  were  they,  that  Dietmar 
declared  that  the  population   of  Kief,  in 
1018,  consisted  "chiefly  of  Danes;  "  that 
name  being  a  general  expression  for  the 
men  of  the  north.     But,  after  that  time, 
the  stream  of  settlers  ceased  to   pour  in 
from    Scandinavia.      Novgorod,   however, 
long  continued  to  keep  up  its  character  of 
"  a  Varangian  town,"  the  Gothlanders  hav- 
ing  a  guildhall   there,   and   a   Varangian 
church   being  kept  up.     But  even   there, 
after  the  13th  or  14th  century,  the  Scandi- 
navians had  to  give  way  to  the  Germans, 
whose  Hanse  towns  carried  off  the  lucrative 
Novgorod  trade. 

But    their    influence     still    remained   a 


A.D.  1867.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[SERVIA  AND  TURKEY. 


powerful  factor  in  determining  the  destiny 
of  the  country;  and  the  Russkaya  Pra- 
vola,  or  Russian  Right,  the  collection  of 
laws  which  Yaroslav  gave  his  subjects,  are 
as  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the  ideas 
of  the  old  Norsemen  and  Anglo-Saxons,  as 
they  are  opposed  to  the  principles  which 
now  animate  the  rulers  of  Russia. 

But  however  much  the  Germans  might 
deride  Panslavonic  aspirations,  the  Rus- 
sians, countenanced  by  their  government, 
rapidly  put  their  theories  into  execution, 
and  inaugurated  a  feverish  agitation 
throughout  all  the  Slav  provinces  of  the 
neighbouring  States.  Russian  grammars, 
Russian  histories,  Russian  songs,  and  Rus- 
sian vademecums,  of  all  sorts,  poured 
rapidly  from  the  press,  and  were  *sent  by 
waggon-loads  into  Bulgaria  and  Servia. 
The  preparations  for  the  coming  struggle 
were  scarcely  concealed.  Servia  spoke 
openly  of  her  intention  to  annex  Bosnia, 
Herzegovina,  and  Old  Servia,  and  form  a 
powerful  independent  State  under  Russian 
protection.  For  this  purpose  she  began  to 
arm ;  Turkey  followed  her  example ;  and 
when  the  foreign  consuls  inquired  of  the 
Servian  ministers  what  was  the  meaning  of 
these  military  preparations,  they  were 
answered  by  complaints  of  the  Turkish 
preparations,  and  the  concentration  of 
Turkish  troops  at  the  strategical  points  of 
the  Servian  frontier.  The  real  object  of 
the  preparations,  however,  soon  became 
apparent.  The  fortress  of  Belgrade  was 
still  garrisoned  by  the  Turks,  and  thus  held 
perpetually  as  a  threat  over  the  Serbs,  who 
were  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  the  occupa- 
tion. It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  mili- 
tary were  called  out,  ostensibly  for  the 
usual  manoeuvres — a  proceeding  which 
caused  the  Turks  also  to  concentrate  their 
men  on  the  frontier.  Things  went  on  like 
this  for  a  little  while;  the  consuls,  as 
usual,  disagreeing  amongst  themselves, 
until  encounters  took  place  in  the  streets 
between  the  Moslems  and  the  Serbs,  the 
former  threatening  to  bombard  the  town. 
The  matter  was,  however,  settled  diploma- 
tically by  the  Sultan  agreeing  to  the  with- 
drawal of  the  garrison  by  a  firman,  dated 
March  2nd,  1867,  the  only  stipulation 
being,  on  the  suggestion  of  Consul  Long- 
worth,  that  the  Turkish  flag  should  be 
hoisted  on  Friday,  the  Turkish  Sabbath, 
and  other  Turkish  festivals,  side  by  side 
with  the  Servian  standard,  and  that  the 
mosques  should  be   respected  and  kept  in 


good  condition  at  the  expense  of  the  State, 
The  only  place  in  Servia  still  occupied  by 
the  Turks,  was  the  little  fortress  of  Mali 
Zwornik,  on  the  Drina ;  but  as,  owing  to 
the  changes  in  the  course  of  this  river,  the 
exact  frontier  was  undetermined,  the  Serbs 
insisted  that  Mali  Zwornik  was  in  Servia, 
the  Turks  asseverating  that  it  was  in 
Bosn  ia. 

Thus  matters  went  on ;  the  political 
atmosphere  became  heavy  throughout 
Europe.  In  the  East  there  was  the  Slavonic 
question  ;  ii^  the  West  the  P'ranco-German 
dispute,  which,  though  stifled  for  a  time, 
was  still  smouldering,  ready  to  break  out 
into  flames ;  and  to  crown  all,  the  Russian 
ambassadors  in  Constantinople  and  Paris 
were  called  to  St.  Petersburg,  towards  the 
end  of  the  year,  for  a  diplomatic  conference 
with  their  colleagues,  and  to  receive  in- 
structions as  to  the  course  they  were  to 
pursue. 

At  the  same  time  an  attempt  was  made 
by  the  Russian  government  to  strengthen 
its  position  and  influence  at  Greece.  An 
occasion  to  improve  the  relations  between 
the  two  countries  was  afforded  by  the  mar- 
riage of  King  George  with  the  Grand 
Duchess  Olga,  a  niece  of  the  Czar;  but 
without  much  effect.  The  Greeks  were 
perfectly  convinced  that  they  had  nothing 
to  hope  for  from  Russia,  especially  since 
the  Bulgarians  had  emancipated  themselves 
from  the  rule  and  administration  of  the 
Greek  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and 
were  throwing  themselves,  day  by  day, 
more  and  more  into  the  arms  of  the  Rus- 
sians. 

In  fact,  the  different  parties  which  consti- 
tute the  Eastern  question  were  gradually  re- 
solving themselves  into  distinct  groups,  and 
acquiring  separate  shape.  As  the  Slavonic 
question  arose  on  the  Danube,  the  Hunga- 
rian question  rose  to  the  same  height  on  the 
Theiss ;  on  the  Pruth  arose  the  Roumanian 
question;  and  on  the  ^gean  arose  the 
Greek  question.  True,  each  group  was 
divided  in  itself  by  parochial  questions,  as 
they  may  be  called.  It  was  a  matter  of 
interest  to  those  concerned  whether  Prince 
Milan  should  be  king  of  the  future  king- 
dom, or  whether  Prince  Nikita  should  play 
the  part  of  the  Servian  Victor  Emmanuel. 
It  was  also  interesting  to  the  Roumanians 
whether  they  should  acquire  any  territory 
south  of  the  Danube,  whether  they  should 
be  satisfied  with  their  independence  under 
Prince   Charles,   or    strive   to   obtain   the 

9 


1 1  { 

( i 


♦it  • 


THE  HELLENES. 


HlbiORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1867 


neutralisation  of  their  country  under  a 
native  prince — Prince  Stourdza,  or  Prince 
Ghika ;  and  it  was  also  a  matter  of  interest 
to  the  Greeks  whether  they  should  be  satis- 
fied with  some  extension  of  their  frontier 
and  the  cession  of  Candia  and  the  other 
islands,  leaving  Constantinople  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  Turks;  or  wlietlier  they  should 
rise  to  a  man,  and  claim  Constantinople  for 
their  just  inheritance.  All  these  were 
questions  of  local  importance ;  for  the  rest 
of  the  world  it  was  only  important  to 
know  that  the  day  was  approaching  when 
the  rival  claims  of  Greek,  Magyar,  and 
Slav  would  have  to  be  settled.  In  Greece 
matters  were  somewhat  peculiar.  More 
sensible,  but  less  patriotic  than  that  of  the 
Slavs,  was  the  policy  they  adopted.  The 
Greeks  of  the  empire,  i.e.,  the  Greek  sub- 
jects of  the  Porte,  would  have  preferred 
that  the  Turks  should  retain  Constanti- 
nople ;  for  though  nominally  their  masters, 
they  were  practically  their  slaves  and  tools. 
There  would  naturally  be  an  end  to  all  this 
if  the  Slavs  were  to  obtain  possession  of 
the  capital ;  and  there  would  also  be  an 
end  to  very  much  of  it  if  the  kingdom  of 
Greece  were  to  obtain  it.  Still,  of  two 
evils  they  naturally  chose  the  latter;  and 
whilst  energetically  combating  the  Slavs, 
and  supporting  the  Turks,  they  at  the  same 
time  continued  their  relations,  intrigues, 
and  negotiations  with  the  Greeks  of  the 
kingdom.  What  they  secretly  desired  was, 
that  in  case  of  a  dismemberment  of  the 
Turkish  empire  in  Europe,  there  sliould  be 
established  a  Greek  confederation — an  ex- 
tended Greece,  with  Athens  for  its  capital, 
and  another  Greece  with  Constantinople 
for  its  metropolis.  It  was  clear  to  them 
that  both  Athens  and  Constantinople  must 
be  capitals  of  something ;  and  this  was  the 
ideal  they  vaguely  conceived. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  Russia  had 
nothing  to  hope  for  from  the  Greeks,  but 
everything  to  fear,  as  far  as  their  power 
went.  That  power,  however,  chiefly  con- 
sists in  whatever  sympathy  and  assistance 
they  may  be  able  to  secure  from  other 
countries.  Their  power  consists,  in  short, 
of  the  force  the  idea  of  a  restored  Greece 
still  retains  in  Greece  itself  and  outride  of 
it ;  for  when  we  find  that  the  emploijes  and 
their  families  form  no  less  than  one-twelfth 
of  the  population  of  Greece,  we  can  easily 
understand  that  the  financial  and  economic 
condition  of  the  country  must  be  highly 
uusatibfactorv.  Still  mure  berious  does  the 
10 


matter  appear  when  we  remember  that  the 
country  was  burdened,  at  the  outset  of  its 
career,  by  a  debt  it  could  not  pay,  by  a 
legacy  of  passions  which  formerly  found  a 
vent  against  the  Turks,  but  since  then  have 
caused  the  formation  of  numberless  fac- 
tions ;  and,  finally,  by  being  saddled  with  a 
king  of  foreign  extraction,  whose  only 
chance  of  founding  a  dynasty  depends 
upon  the  force  of  arms,  or  the  consolidation 
of  a  constitutional  monarchy.  Besides  all 
this,  there  exists  the  fact,  which  it  is  use- 
less to  ignore,  that  the  people  are  over- 
educated  for  their  means,  or  possess  too 
much  mobility  of  intellect  to  be  willing  to 
devote  themselves  to  manual  labour.  The 
mode  of  life,  the  climate,  permit  them  to 
disregard  those  conditions  of  existence 
which  the  inhabitants  of  less  favoured 
countries  cannot  afford  to  disregard.  The 
consequence  is,  that  though  the  population 
has  increased  from  710,000  in  1832,  to 
1,600,000  in  1876,  the  resources  of  the 
country  have  not  been  developed  in  pro- 
portion to  the  powers  of  this  increase. 
Thus  the  same  cry  arose  in  Greece  which 
arose  in  Dal  mat  ia — more  territory  and  a 
greater  working  population.  At  the  same 
time  the  evil  was  aggravated  by  the  fact  of 
a  number  of  the  Hellenic  provinces  and 
islands  being  under  the  dominicm  of  the 
Turks.  No  man  would  be  satisfied  with  a 
little  bit  of  a  garden  and  a  lodge  at  the 
gates  of  a  large  estate  to  which  he  con- 
siders himself  the  rightful  heir,  or  devote 
himself  properly  to  the  development  of  h'S 
little  property;  and  when  to  all  this  we 
have  to  add  a  glowing  patriotism,  it  cannot 
be  supposed  that  Hellas  would  quietly  sit 
by  and  see  her  inheritance  in  danger  of 
passing  to  a  fresh  master,  or  let  the  oppor- 
tunity go  by  of  acquiring  it  from  the 
present  owner. 

Under  such  circumstances,  Hellas  would 
appear  to  have  offered  a  peculiarly  fruittul 
field  for  the  development  of  secret  so- 
cieties; but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  none 
such  existed  beyond  such  organisations  as 
correspond  to  the  contrabandist  as  of  the 
Pyrenees  and  the  south  of  Spain.  Asso- 
ciations of  this  stamp  exist  in  many  parts 
of  Greece,  especially  in  Chios,  Samos, 
Crete,  and  the  Greek  provinces  of  Turkey. 
Still,  even  these  societies  do  not  possess 
such  an  organisation  as  to  justify  their 
being  called  secret  societies  in  the  common 
sense  of  the  word.  They  combine  com- 
merce, smuggling,  and  putriotibm  in  just 


A.D  1867.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[hellas. 


the  same  way  as  the  Carlists  of  the 
Pyrenees.  We  find  a  merchant,  or  group 
of  merchants,  at  each  end  of  a  chain  of 
contrabandists,  the  patriotism  of  whom  is 
beyond  a  doubt,  and  who  would,  when  the 
moment  arises,  devote  all  the  machinery 
they  have  organised  for  their  personal  bene- 
fit to  the  common  welfare,  and  the 
common  object  of  liberating  their  country. 
There  are  members  of  these  associations 
everywhere.  In  Constantinople,  in  Mar- 
seilles, Salonica,  Vienna,  Trieste,  London, 
Paris,  they  entertain  relations  with  each 
other,  and  even  with  such  fully  organised 
societies  as  the  Mafia.  Many  a  cargo  to 
Smyrna,  Constantinople,  Palermo,  Messina, 
is  landed  without  ever  figuring  in  the 
custom-house  returns,  and  there  is  a  com- 
numity  of  interests  between  them  and  the 
contrabandistas  of  Italy  and  Spain  which 
practically  amounts  to  a  secret  society. 
Without  them,  for  instance,  the  Carlist 
rebellion  would  never  have  succeeded  in 
dragging  its  weary  length  along  as  it  did ; 
and  in  no  slight  measure  did  they  con- 
tribute to  the  success  of  the  Italian  revolu- 
tion. Knowing  the  different  countries 
intimately,  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
coasts,  and  having  their  ramifications 
everywhere,  these  contrabandistas  have  a 
powerful  machinery  to  place  at  the  disposal 
of  any  committee  or  association  which  is 
formed  for  political  purposes,  and  has  the 
money  to  engage  them.  That  is  a  point 
which  must  not  be  forgotten ;  for  contra- 
bandistas must  live  as  well  as  other  people. 
Now  this  was,  and  is,  the  sort  of  orofani- 
sation  which  was  at  the  service  of  any 
committees  or  societies  as  soon  as  thev 
were  prepared  to  provide  the  money ;  and 
it  is  but  natural,  in  a  country  like  Greece, 
where  a  number  of  political  societies  exist, 
that  these  societies  should,  at  the  given 
moment,  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
til  us  at  their  disposal.  Patriotism  has, 
therefore,  but  to  form  its  societies  in  the 
most  innocent  fashion  for  the  pursuit  of 
scientific  objects,  the  cultivation  of  art  and 
literature,  or,  avowedly,  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  national  life.  They  will  col- 
lect funds,  they  will  increase  the  numbers 
of  their  members  generally,  extend  the 
sphere  of  their  exertions,  and  enter  into  re- 
lations with  the  heads  of  different  parties 
as  may  best  serve  the  common  cause ;  and 
all  this  without  the  government  being  able 
to  interfere,  even  if  it  wished  to  do  so, 
without  incurring  the  charge  of  tyranny 


and  oppression,  although  it  knows  quite 
well  that  these  societies  could  direct  all 
their  forces  against  it  at  any  given  moment 
by  the  means  we  have  pointed  out. 

An  instance  of  this  was  afforded  in  1864 
and  1865.  The  presence  and  influence  of 
Count  Sponneck,  the  Russian  adviser  of 
King  George,  was  highly  distasteful  to  the 
Hellenes,  and  the  societies  and  leaders  of 
most  parties  were  unceasing  in  their  attacks 
upon  him.  The  Ethnophylax  printed 
every  day,  in  large  prominent  type,  without 
any  further  comment,  the  words : — 'O 
^irovviK  Trpiitei  va  (^uyr) — "  Sponneck  must 
go ; "  and  the  agitation  became  so  great 
that  everything  was  thrown  into  anarchy, 
and  the  minister,  Koumoundouros,  forced 
to  resign.  Bulgaris  was  then  called  upon 
to  form  a  new  cabinet,  but  would  only  do 
so  on  condition  of  Count  Sponneck  being 
immediately  sent  out  of  the  country.  To 
this  the  king  refused  to  accede,  and  Deli- 
giorgis  consented  to  form  a  ministry  on 
condition  that  Sponneck  should  quit 
Greece  in  the  spring.  To  this  the  king 
consented ;  but  the  popular  discontent  ran 
so  high  at  this  compromise,  that  a  great 
demonstration  took  place  on  November 
12th,  1865,  in  the  streets  of  Athens,  which 
led  to  a  conflict  between  the  troops  and  the 
populace,  and  several  persons  were  killed 
and  wounded.  The  disturbances  were  re- 
newed on  the  following  days,  and  ultimately 
the  king  was  forced  to  yield,  and  Count 
Sponneck  to  relieve  the  Athenians  of  his 
presence.  All  this  agitation  was  increased 
by  the  action  of  the  brigands,  banditti, 
Slc,  and  soi-disant  smugglers — the  ele- 
ments to  which  we  have  alluded  as  beiuir 
at  the  service  of  the  societies. 

These  societies,  or  rather,  clubs — 
SuXXoyot — had  different  objects  in  view. 
The  Cretan  clubs,  of  which  there  are  still 
two  or  three  in  Athens,  naturally  strove 
for  the  liberation  of  Crete,  and  to  obtain 
the  practical  assistance  of  the  mother 
country ;  for  if  that  were  once  obtained, 
the  great  majority  of  the  population  in 
Crete  would  at  once  rise  in  arms.  Every 
Cretan  is  armed  ;  in  the  country  not  a  man 
stirs  from  his  house  without  all  the  guns, 
pistols,  and  poniards  he  can  conveniently 
carry  about  his  person.  The  signal  has 
but  to  be  given,  and  he  calmly  walks  from 
his  cottage  to  the  rendezvous  in  the  moun- 
tains pre-determined  upon.  So  far,  the 
matter  is  simple  ;  but  it  is  when  the  ques- 
tion arises  as  to  the  transmission  of  sup- 

11 


J!  I 


COUNT  BEUST.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1867. 


plies  that  the  difficulties  commence,  and 
the  assistance  of  tlie  mother  country — the 
societies — in  the  shape  of  money  and  the 
active  help  of  the  contrahandlsta  element 
becomes  necessary.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  last  rebellion,  the  Cretan  clubs 
divided  in  opinion.  One  section  advocated 
an  immediate  rising,  whilst  the  other  ad- 
vocated waiting  till  Greece  declared  war  to 
Turkey ;  but  both  were  unanimous  in 
threatening  the  monarchy  with  revolution 
unless  it  entered  into  action  immediately. 
This  latter  was  also  the  programme  of  the 
'bliaKiloviKOQ  avWoyoQ — the  Macedonian  Club 
— whose  members  were  recruited  from  the 
natives  of  Macedonia,  and  organised  peri- 
odical raids  across  the  frontier.  Equally 
intent  upon  action  of  some  kind  was  the 
'A^eXipwWc,  or  Brotherhood — which,  with 
the  clubs  of  Chios  and  Syra,  was  the  most 
revolutionary.  All  these  clubs  were  more 
or  less  in  favour  of  action  simultaneously 
with  Russia — not  under  Russian  control ; 
whilst  the  most  powerful  club — the  SyXXoyoc 
ii^viKriQ  afjLvvr]Q — the  National  Defence  Club 
— whose  members  comprised  a  number 
of  the  wealthiest  bankers  and  merchants 
throughout  Hellas,  contented  itself  with 
the  collection  of  funds,  in  order,  at  the 
given  moment,  to  support,  through  thick 
and  thin,  whichever  party  had  the  best 
chance  of  success. 

These  and  other  facts,  coupled  with  the 
conviction  that,  in  any  portion  of  the 
Turkish  empire,  Greece  would  be  generally 
supported  by  Europe  in  her  demands  for  a 
share  of  the  spoil,  convinced  the  Russians 
that  the  old  cry  of  community  of  religion 
bad  lost  its  force  ;  and  as  England  and  the 
Western  powers  generally  were  disinclined 
to  open  the  Eastern  question,  Russia  gave 
no  support  to  Greece  nor  Candia,  and  the 
rebellion  was  finally  crushed  by  Omar 
Pasha.  But,  at  the  same  time,  the  last 
faint  thread  that  still  bound  Greece  to 
Russia  was  irretrievably  snapped.  Hence- 
forth, Russia  considered  only  the  Slavonic 
population  in  her  plans,  and  classed  the 
Greeks  rather  with  the  Turks  than  with 
their  enemies. 

Now,  though  the  Russian  cabinet  were 
perfectly  aware  of  the  views  entertained  by 
the  Prussian  ministers  regarding  Greece, 
and  also  that  Germany  had  certain  interests 
on  the  Danube  which  she  would  stand  up 
for  if  necessary,  they  were  forced  to  remain 
satisfied  with  the  Prussian  alliance  only. 
A  Franco- Russian  alliance  was  an  impossi- 
12 


bility,  and  must  always  remain  an  impossi- 
bility ;  or,  at  least,  would  be  disastrous  in 
the  result  for  both — because,  firstly,  of  the 
antagonism  between  the  Roman  and  the 
Greek  Church ;  secondly,  because  of  the 
antagonism  of  their  interests  in  the  East ; 
thirdly,  on  account  of  the  opposition  France 
would  meet  with  from  Germany,  Austria, 
and  Italy ;  and,  fourthly,  from  England 
also,  were  she  to  ally  herself  with  Russia  in 
any  reconstruction  of  the  East,  which,  if 
satisfactory  to  Russia,  cannot  but  be  inimi- 
cal to  British  interests.  Austria,  as  an 
ally,  after  the  events  of  1848  and  1849,  was 
out  of  the  question.  Equally  averse  from 
any  solidarity  with  Russia  were  the  Baltic 
States ;  so  that  absolutely  there  was  no 
help  to  be  expected  from  any  other  quarter 
than  Berlin. 

That  the  Russian  ministers  had  fully  ac- 
cepted these  facts,  and  determined  to  rely 
upon  Prussia  for  good  or  for  evil,  was 
proved  by  the  meeting  of  the  Czar  and  the 
King  of  Prussia  in  the  autumn  of  1868. 
This  meeting  was  intended  as  a  reply  to  the 
endeavours  of  Louis  Napoleon  to  detach 
Italy  from  the  Prussian  alliance,  and  to  in- 
cite Austria,  if  not  to  open  action,  at  any 
rate  to  secure  her  neutrality  in  case  of  a 
war  between  France  and  Germany.  Indeed, 
for  a  time  there  was  reason  to  believe  that 
Austria  would  side  with  France ;  or,  to 
speak  more  correctly,  tliere  was,  no  doubt,  a 
party  in  Austria  which  assured  Napoleon 
that  he  might  rely  upon  her  for  an  ally. 

The  leader  and  soul  of  this  party  was 
Count  Beust.  He  was  animated  by  the 
bitterest  feelings  against  the  man  whom  ho 
regarded  as  his  rival — against  Count  Bis- 
marck, though  Bismarck  himself  always 
smiled  at  the  idea  of  Count  Beust  ima^i^in- 
ing  that  he  could,  under  any  circumstances, 
be  a  rival  of  his.  Indeed,  the  very  appear- 
ance of  the  two  men  was  enough  to  pre- 
clude any  comparison  between  them.  The 
stalwart  figure  of  Count  Bismarck,  and  his 
scrupulous  attention  to  dress,  presented 
the  strongest  contrast  to  the  puny  appear- 
ance of  the  Austrian  minister,  whose 
slipshod,  tatterdemalion  costume,  patched 
here  and  darned  there,  his  collar  and  neck- 
tie always  awry,  afforded  a  sufficient  index 
to  the  dilapidated  state  of  his  intellect. 
Still,  as  the  representative  of  a  great  power. 
Count  Beust's  intrigues  could  not  be 
ignored;  and  thus  the  German  press  was 
instructed  to  state,  during  the  meeting  of 
the    Czar   and    the    King   of   Prussia    at 


A.D.  1868.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [bismaeck  and  Austria. 


Schwalbach  and  Berlin,  that  there  was  no 
doubt,  that  if  the  Prusso-Russian  alliance 
was  not  yet  an  absolute  fact,  still  the  first 
cannon-shot  fired  in  Europe  would  con- 
clude it.  Nor  was  it  only  the  German 
•  press  which  held  this  language.  The 
official  Russian  paper,  the  Journal  de  St, 
Petersburg,  said  on  October  28th  : — "  It 
cannot  be  doubted,  if  France  should 
assemble  an  army  on  the  Rhine,  that  the 
Germans  would  at  once  accept  the  chal- 
lenge. War  would,  of  course,  ensue,  and 
entail  many  complications.  The  excite- 
ment in  Posen,  the  Polish  province  of 
Prussia,  would  at  once  extend  to  the  king- 
dom of  Poland,  to  the  Russian  province 
of  Poland.  The  Russian  army  would,  in 
consequence,  be  obliged  to  take  active 
measures  to  preserve  peace.  It  must  not 
be  imagined  that  we  in  Russia  are  ani- 
mated by  any  great  feelings  of  love  for  the 
Germans ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that 
there  is  much  more  sympathy  between  two 
other  nations  (Austria  and  France).  But 
should  the  day  arrive  when  the  French 
Eagle  shall  advance  victoriously  into  Ger- 
many, the  memory  of  the  First  Empire 
would  awake  to  a  still  further  degree,  and 
would  efface  all  other  considerations." 

This  article  of  the  Journal  de  St,  Peters- 
burg was  inspired  by  Prince  Gortschakoff 
himself,  and  sufficiently  proves  that,  at 
that  early  period,  the  probabilities  and 
eventualities  of  a  Franco-German  war 
had  been  fully  considered  by  Germany 
and  Russia,  and  a  common  plan  of 
action  decided  on.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  it  was  apparent  that  the  un- 
derstanding between  the  two  countries 
was  of  a  tacit,  personal  nature,  and  not  a 
formal  documentary  alliance,  which  would 
probably  have  been  objected  to  by  the 
Russians  as  well  as  the  Germans.  In 
point  of  fact,  it  amounted  to  an  agreement 
between  Count  Bismarck  and  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff, that  documentary  treaties  and  en- 
gagements required,  in  Prussia  at  least, 
the  sanction  of  the  parliament ;  and  that 
as  any  debate  on  the  subject  would  force  the 
ministers  to  show  too  much  of  their  hands, 
and  generally  destroy  that  secrecy  with 
which  it  was  necessary  to  procee<l,  each 
would  rely  on  the  word  and  honour  of  the 
other. 

This  arrangement,  as  a  temporary  one, 
was  well  enough  as  far  as  it  went;  and 
if  the  interests  of  North  Germany  had 
only  been  such  as  were  included  within 

VOL.  in.  D 


the  limits  of  the  empire,  Germany  would 
have  had  nothing  to  fear  from  Russia. 
But  this  was  not  the  case.  Germany 
had  interests  in  Austria  which  she  would 
not  allow  to  be  endangered;  and  it  was 
just  those  interests  which  were  threat- 
ened by  the  traditional  policy  of  Russia, 
and  by  the  Panslavonic  movement.  Hence 
it  was  all-important  for  Germany  to  be  on 
good  terms  with  Austria.  Whatever  might 
be  the  ultimate  plans  of  Count  Bismarck, 
whether  he  contemplated  an  annexation  of 
the  Austro-German  provinces,  and  thus 
accomplish  the  complete  unification  of 
Germany,  or  whether  he  intended  simply  a 
close  alliance,  the  fact  always  remained, 
that  Austro-Hungary,  whether  allied  with, 
or  incorporated  with  Germany,  there  were 
certain  interests  threatened  by  Russia  which 
Germany  would  have  to  defend. 

In  any  case,  therefore.  Count  Bismarck 
desired  the  existence  of  a  strong  anti- 
Russian  and  anti-Slav  party  in  Austria— a 
party  strong  enough  to  defend  German  in- 
terests if  Germany  herself  were  prevented 
doing  so,  and  strong  enough  to  be  an  ally 
for  Germany,  should  circumstances  lead  to 
a  disruption  of  the  Austrian  empire.  Per 
contra,  the  desires  of  Russia  ran  in  exactly 
the  opposite  direction.  Hence,  whilst 
Russia  applied  herself  to  the  Slavs,  Ger- 
many devoted  her  attention  to  the  Ger- 
mans, the  Italians,  and  the  Hungarians  of 
the  empire. 

^  For  this  reason  Count  Bismarck  con- 
tinued the  friendly  relations  he  had  entered 
into  with  Hungary  during  the  Seven  Days' 
War,  and  strongly  supported  Count  An- 
drassy.  Indeed,  he  went  so  far  as  to  say, 
on  a  subsequent  occasion,  that  "formerly 
he  had  had  to  transact  business  with  Aus- 
trian ministers,  not  a  word  of  whose  state- 
ments he  believed,  and  to  whom  he  had  said, 
'  Whether  you  talk  or  not  is  all  the  same  to 
me,  and  creates  no  further  impression  than 
the  wind  howling  down  the  chimney.  I 
don't  believe  a  single  word  you  say.'  But 
between  myself  and  Count  Andrassy 
matters  are  very  difi*erent  indeed.  He 
believes  all  that  I  tell  him,  and  I  believe 
all  that  he  tells  me;  so  it  is  perfectly  use- 
less for  any  one  to^  try  to  make  mischief 
between  us." 

With  this  programme,  virtually  a  Prnsso- 
Hungarian  understanding — a  ministerial 
alliance  against  the  imperial  alliance — the 
delegations  of  Austro-Hungary  met  in 
1868.     The   delegations   may  be  reo^arded 

13 


\ 


.  « 


I 


i 


PRINCE   MICHAEL.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1868. 


as  committees,  one  appointed  by  the  Hun- 
garian parliament,  the  other  by  the  Austrian 
parliament,  to  discuss  the  proposals  of  the 
imperial   ministry   touching   the   common 
administration  of  the  empire,  such  as  the 
budget  and  the  army.     Both   delegations 
passed  a  bill,  raising  the  effective  of  the 
army  to  800,000  men  for  ten  years ;  but  it 
was  not  accomplished  without  some  very 
Bevere  remarks  regarding  Count  Beust,  who 
was  believed  to  be,  and  in  fact  known  to 
be,   endeavouring   to    arrange    a   Franco- 
Austrian  alliance  against  Prussia.     It  was 
thought    that    the    more    troops   Austria 
could  place  in  the  field,  the  greater  would 
be  the  temptation  to  enter  into  such  an 
alliance;  but  just  for  this  very  reason  the 
Poles  and  the    Slavs  generally  supported 
the  bill,  and  carried  it  through  in  spite  of 
German  opposition — that  is  to  say,  of  the 
Germans  in  Austria,  who  had  not  the  same 
faith   in   Count   Andrassy  as  the   Prussian 
minister.     The  Hungarians  supported  it  in 
return  for  fresh  concessions,  much  to  the 
disgust   of  Prince   Gortschakoff    and   the 
Slavs.     These  concessions  were  the  incor- 
poration of  Croatia,  Slavonia,  and  the  mili- 
tary frontier ;  so  that  Hungary  had  at  last 
re-united,  under  the  Hungarian  sceptre,  all 
the  former  possessions  of  the  Hungarian 
crown,  and  re-established  to  its  fullest  limits 
the  ancient  triune  kingdom  of  Hungary, 
composed  of  Hungary,  Slavonia,  and  Croa- 
tia, and  forming  a  State  with  a  population 
of  14,830,154  inhabitants.      Of   these  in- 
habitants,   4,851,564     were     Hungarians; 
1,504,948    Germans;     2,416,824    Rouma- 
nians, and  4,382,881  Slavs,  Croats,  Slavo- 
nians, Czechs  and  Serbs :  a  total,  therefore, 
of    13,156,217    souls.      The    balance   was 
made  up  of  gipsies,  Jews,  and  other  races. 

There    were    elements  enough  here  for 
complications,    the  first  of  which  seemed 
about  to  come  from   Servia.      This   small 
principality,  with  its  1,160,000  inhabitants, 
had,  ever  since  gaining  its  independence, 
been  the     sport    of   conflicting     interests. 
Above  all,  the  Serbs  desired  absolute  inde- 
pendence ;  but  not  being  strong  enough  to 
wrest  its  liberty  from  the  Porte  alone  and 
unaided,  was  obliged  to  seek  a  support- 
now  in  Austria,  now  in  Russia,  now  from  the 
Western  powers  combined,  according  to  the 
views  of  the  statesmen  who  were  at   the 
head  of  the  government.     The  more,  how- 
ever, the  ambition  to  acquire  Bulgaria,  Old 
Servia,    Bosnia,    &c.,  and    to  restore  the 
"  elories  "  of  the  ancient  empire  of  Dushan 
^  14 


the  Great,  took  root — not  exactly  amongst 
the  people,but  amongst  the  leading  classes — 
the  more  repugnance  was  felt  by  Prince 
Michael  to  enter  upon  an  adventurous 
policy.  He  had  succeeded  in  procuring  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Turkish  garrison  in  Bel- 
grade, and  felt  fully  satisfied  with  himself 
and  the  state  of  practical  independence  the 
country  enjoyed.  He  preferred  leaving 
affairs  to  the  gradual  but  certain  develop- 
ment of  events,  feeling  convinced  that,  by 
biding  his  time,  he  would  acquire  all  that 
could  be  expected.  These  sentiments,  how- 
ever, and  the  idea  that  he  was  in  favour  of 
ceding  Servia  to  Hungary,  displeased  a  cer- 
tain section  of  Serb  politicians,  who  were 
so  worked  on  by  Alexander  Karageorgevitch, 
that  it  was  decided  to  assassinate  Prince 
Michael,  and  place  Karageorgevitch  on  the 
throne,  although  the  bulk  of  the  nation 
was  quite  satisfied  with  his  rule,  and,  gene- 
rally speaking,  approved  of  his  policy  of 
trusting  to  Austria  rather  than  to  Russia. 

Alexander   Georgevitch  was  the   son  of 
the  celebrated  Karageorge,   who  achieved 
the  independence  of  Servia   in  1804   and 
1805.      Karageorge,    however,    was    mur- 
dered  by  Milosch   Obrenovitch,   who   was 
forced  to  abdicate  in   1839,   and  gave  up 
the  throne  to  his  eldest  son,  Milan.     Milan 
died  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother  Michael.      The  son 
of  Karageorge,  Alexander  Karageorgevitch, 
succeeded,  however,  in  deposing  Michael  in 
1842,   but   was  in    turn   deposed   by   the 
Skuptchina,   which    recalled  old  Milosch, 
who  then  retained  the  crown  till  his  death 
in   1858.      He    was    followed   by   his  son 
Michael,  who  thus  ascended  the  throne  for 
the  second  time.     Michael,  though  married 
to  Countess  Julia  Hunyady,  was  childless, 
and  was  obliged  to  adopt  an  heir.      His 
choice  fell  upon  young  Milan,  his  nearest 
male  relative,  and  a  grand-nephew  of  Prince 
Milosch,  whose  brother  Ephraim  had  had 
a  son  named  Milosch,  who  had  married  a 
certain    Maria    Kartatschi,    a    Moldavian 
lady.     Milan  was  the   only  child  of   this 
union,   and  after  his    father's   death,  was 
brought    up  by    relatives   of   his  mother. 
This    lady,  Maria    Obrenovitch,  played   a 
very  unequivocal  part  in  connection  with 
Prince    Couza,    of     Roumania ;    and    was 
actually  found  in  bed  with  him  when  the 
revolution  broke  out  in  Bucharest,  and  his 
palace  was  burned.     Milan,  however,  as  the 
undisputed   son   of    Milosch   Obrenovitch, 
was  declared  by  the  Skuptchina  to  be  the 


A.D.  1868.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[murder  of  MICHAEL. 


next  in  succession,  and  sent  by  Prince 
Michael  to  Pari«,  to  be  educated  there, 
under  the  guidance  of  M.  Ristics,  a  wily, 
most  ambitious  Serb,  who  subsequently 
became  his  pupil's  prime  minister. 

All  this  was  naturally  highly  disagreeable 
to  Karageorgevitch,  who,  living  in  exile  at 
Vienna,  had   hoped  that    on  the  death  of 
Prince  Michael  he  would  have  been  recalled 
by   the   Skuptchina.      When,    however,    it 
became  evident  that  the   dynasty   of  the 
Obrenovitch  was  being  consolidated,  he,  or 
his  party,  resolved  to  strike  a  blow  before 
Milan  was  of  age  to  assume  the  government. 
Thus,   on  June    10th,    1868,   as    Prince 
Michael,  accompanied  by  his  cousin,  Anka 
Constantinovitch,  his  adjutant  Garaschanin, 
and  one   of  his   servants,    was  taking   his 
daily  walk  in  the  park  of  Topschider,  near 
Belgrade,  he  was   attacked   by  three   men, 
who  suddenly  sprang  out  from  the  bushes, 
and  repeatedly  firing  upon  him  with  their 
revolvers,   killed   him  and  his   cousin,  and 
wounded  the  others.     Two  of  the  assassins, 
of  the  family  of  Radanovitch,  were  at  once 
arrested,   and    several    more     within    the 
cours3  of  the  next  few  days — amongst  them 
two  brothers-in-law,  and  other  relations  of 
Karageorgevitch,  upon  whom  the  suspicion 
of  being  the  head  of  the  conspiracy  natu- 
rally at  once  fell. 

The  ministers  soon  took  their  precau- 
tions. The  army  was  called  out,  the 
country  declared  in  a  state  of  siege,  the 
Skuptchina  convoked  for  July  2nd,  and 
young  Milan  brought  secretly  from  Paris 
to  Belgrade.  The  indignation  throughout 
the  country  at  this  dastardly  and  utterly 
groundless  murder  was  universal.  The 
whole  family  of  Karageorgevitch,  and  even 
his  most  distant  relations,  were  banished, 
and  their  property  confiscated.  Those 
more  immediately  concerned  were  impri- 
soned and  put  upon  their  trial,  after  Prince 
Milan  had  been  proclaimed  under  the  title 
of  Obrenovitch  IV.,  and  a  regency  insti- 
tuted, of  which  M.  Marino vitch,  a  persona 
grata  to  the  Russian  government,  was  the 
bead. 

In  the  trial  which  followed,  it  was  proved 
that  Karageorgevitch  and  his  secretary  had 
been  in  communication  for  over  a  year  with 
the  conspirators,  fourteen  of  whom  were 
sentenced  to  death  on  July  27th,  and  shot 
on  the  following  day.  At  the  same  time 
the  Servian  government  demanded  of  the 
Hungarian  government  the  extradition  of 
Karageorgevitch,  and  called  upon   him  to 


appear  before  the  court.  The  Hungarian 
government  ordered  his  arrest,  and  sent 
him  to  Semlin,  opposite  Belgrade,  on  the 
Austrian  bank  of  the  river,  for  identifica- 
tion by  some  of  the  prisoners.  The  con- 
frontation took  place  on  a  steamer,  after 
which  Karageorgevitch  was  taken  back  to 
Pesth,  to  await  the  examination  by  the 
Hungarian  authorities  before  they  delivered 
him  up  to  the  Servian  government,  which 
subsequently  condemned  him,  in  absentia, 
to  twenty  years'  hard  labour.  The  result  of 
the  examination  in  Pesth  was  his  acquittal 
on  a  verdict  of  "  not  proven ;  "  though,  in 
the  public  mind,  both  in  Servia  and  Hun- 
gary, there  was  not  the  least  doubt  as  to 
his  guilt. 

The  immediate  result  of  these  events  was 
an  increased  distrust  of  Austria  on  the  part 
of  Servia.   The  whole  nature  of  the  incident 
went  to  prove,  that  if  the  Austrian  govern- 
ment had  not  actually  had  a  hand  in  the 
business,  it  was,  at  any  rate,  prepared  to 
support  Karageorgevitch;    and,  generally, 
the  whole  was   regarded  as  an  outcome,  if, 
indeed,  not  a  consequence,  of  Count  Beust's 
policy,  which  was  thoroughly  opposed  to 
the  formation  of  independent  States  on  the 
Danube.     He  was  especially  active  in  his 
attempt  to  frustrate    the  development   of 
Roumania,   and   to   raise   the  jealousy   of 
Hungary  by  pretending  that  Roumania  was 
striving  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  Roumanian  frontier  of  Transyl- 
vania ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  endea- 
voured to  show  that  Roumania  was  being 
supported  in  these  projects  by  the  Prussian 
ministers.     He  called  Prince  Charles  "  the 
Prussian  corporal  on  the  Danube ;  "  caused 
his  organs  to  proclaim  that  5,000  Prussian 
non-commissioned    officers    and   sergeants 
had  been  incorporated  with  the  Roumanian 
army,  and  that  Prussia,  having  one  string 
to  her  bow  in  the  shape  of  Hungary,  wished 
for  another  in  the  shape  of  Roumania  by 
the  time  she  might  find  it  expedient  to  cast 
the  first  away. 

But  all  these  endeavours  were  fruitless, 
except  in  so  far  that  Bratiano,  the  Rou- 
manian minister,  who  was  acting  with 
Marinovitch  in  the  matter,  was  obliged  to 
resign  in  consequence  of  the  pressure 
brought  to  bear  upon  Roumania  by  the 
Western  powers.  They  accused  Bratiano  of 
agitation  in  Bulgaria ;  but  though  he  re- 
pelled the  charge,  it  was  too  well  known 
that  he  had  the  chief  hand  in  the  expedi- 
tion of  armed  men  and  agents  across  the 

15 


•  I 


POLISH   INTOLERANCE.] 


HISTORY   OF    THE 


[A.D.  1868. 


Danube ;  whilst  Marinovitch  was  following 
the   same  policy  in   the  west   of  Bulgaria 
and  the  Bosnian  and   Herzegovinian    dis- 
tricts.    Matters,  in    fact,    assumed  a  very 
serious  aspect;  and  it  looked  as  if  there  was 
some  danger   of  a  triple  alliance  between 
Austria,  France,  and  England,  which,   at 
any  rate,  was  determined  to  obtain  a  diplo- 
matic victory  over  Russia   and  Germany. 
But   both  Russia   and    Germany   declared 
that  they  quite  agreed  with  the  views   of 
the  Western  powers  in  the  question ;   the 
consequence  being  that  Bratiano  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Cogalnitscheano  as  prime  minis- 
ter.    Bratiano,  however,  did  not  lose  much 
by  this  transfer.     He  was  at  once  elected 
into  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  by  a  majo- 
rity of  sixty-six   to   eighteen;    and,   freed 
from  the  trammels  of  office,  was  more  able  to 
follow    out    his    policy    of   agitating  the 
Turkish  provinces  than  before. 

Meanwhile,    the  Russian  ministers    de- 
termined to  make  as  much  use  of  the  cor- 
dial relations  existing  between  the  Czar  and 
the  King  of  Prussia  as  they  possibly  could. 
On    February    29th,    an     imperial   ukase 
abolished  the    special    commissions  which 
had   been   established    to    pacify    Poland, 
and  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  Western 
powers.     There  was  no  further  question  of 
a  kingdom  of  Poland.     Most  of  the  Polish 
officials  were  dismissed;  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  was  placed  under  the  administration 
of  the  Holy  Synod ;  and  when  one  of  the 
bishops  (Bishop  Popiel,  of  Plock)  refused  to 
send  a  delegate,  or  acknowledge  the  Synod, 
he  was  arrested,  and  exiled  into  the  interior 
of  the  empire.     The  Russian  language  was 
proclaimed  as  the  official  and  educational 
language,   and    also    introduced   into   the 
churches.      All   prayer-books  and     educa- 
tional books,  used  in  the  public  schools,  were 
translated  into  Russian,  and  submitted  to  a 
strict    examination    by    the    censors.     In 
Lithuania,  the  Cossack  General,  Potapow, 
issued  a    proclamation   to    the   following 

tffect : — 

"  It  is  strictly  forbidden  to  make  use  of 
the  Polish  language  in  any  public  place. 
It  must  not  be  used  in  churches,  hotels, 
taverns,  comptoirs,  confectioners'  cafes, 
wine-shops,  public-houses,  public  prome- 
nades, gardens,  parks,  nor  any  shops, 
printing-offices,  photographer's  studios,  or 
in  any  place  to  which  the  general  public 
have  access.  Nor  is  it  allowed  for  a  meet- 
ing of  more  than  two  persons  in  a  private 
'  house  to  speak  Polish.  It  can  only  be 
16 


allowed  in  the  intimacy  of  the  family — that 
is,  between  man  and  wife,  and  children  and 
parents  ;  and  then  only  within  the  precincts 
of  their  own  houses.  This  order  will  be 
strictly  enforced  ;  and  all  contraventions  be 
followed  by  a  pecuniary  fine  of  such  an 
amount  as  to  be  a  sensible  punishment  for 
the  culprits." 

Similar  measures,  but  in  a  minor  degree, 
were  adopted  in  the  Baltic  provinces.     The 
German  civil  governors  in  Livonia,  Estho- 
nia,   and   Courland,   were   dismissed;    the 
official  German  newspapers  were  changed 
into  Russian  papers  ;  the  official  language, 
in  all  instances,  was  ordered  to  be  the  Rus- 
sian ;  the  rector  of  the  university  at  Dorpat 
had  an  assistant  assigned  to  him  who  was 
to  introduce  the  Russian  language  into  all 
the  schools;  and  the  superintendent  over 
the  elementary  schools,  which  had  hitherto 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  Lutheran  clergy, 
was  transferred  to  the  Russian  ministry  of 
public  instruction.     It  was  endeavoured,  by 
certain  parties,  especially  by  Count   Beust 
and  the  French  government,  to  rouse  Ger- 
man  feeling  against  the  Russian  govern- 
ment on  account  of  these  measures.     But 
the    attempt    was    unsuccessful,   for    the 
simple    reason   that    neither   Prussia   nor 
Russia  could  yet  afford    to   quarrel   with 
each  other.     But  though  the  Prussian  gov- 
ernment was  silent  on  the   subject,  public 
opinion  in  Germany  condemned  these  mea- 
sures very  severely.     Not  only  was  the  daily 
press  loud  in  its  denunciation  of  the  Rus- 
sian policy,  but  writers  of   position,    and 
journals   and   reviews  of    great    influence, 
expressed  the  same  views. 

But  important  as  this  open  expression  of 
opinion  was,  the  silence  of  the  government 
was  far  more  important  and  impressive.  It 
would  have  been  easy  for  Prince  Bismarck  to 
have  advised  the  Russian  government,  in  a 
friendly  manner,  to  abstain  from  measures 
which  were  directed  solely  against  the 
Germans ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that 
the  Russian  government  would  have  fol- 
lowed his  advice.  But  not  one  word  of 
remonstrance  did  Bismarck  utter;  and 
that  proves  incontestably  that  he  regards 
the  Baltic  provinces  as  a  question  it  may 
be  necessary  one  day  to  raise  into  the 
importance  of  a  casus  belli. 

As  to  the  opinions  on  the  subject  held 
by  the  Germans,  the  following  passage  in 
Professor  Wilhelm  Miiller's  Political  Re- 
view generally  represents  them  : — 

"  The  Kussianising  mama  of  the  govern- 


•  1 


RUSSIAN     DIPLOMATIST 


iH(^    AN' 


A.D.  1870-71.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[treaty  of  LONDON. 


inent  knows  no  limits,  acknowledges  no 
treaties,  and  oppresses  everything  that  is 
foreij^n,  no  matter  whether  it  be  of  German 
or  Polish  origin.  The  conduct  of  the 
government  in  the  Baltic  provinces  is  bar- 
barous and  brutal.  By  the  capitulations 
of  1710,  liberty  of  conscience,  Grerman 
administration,  language,  and  law  were 
secured  to  these  provinces.  Yet  even  after 
the  ukase  of  1868,  a  fresh  decree  was 
issued  in  1869,  to  the  effect  that  persons  of 
all  denominations,  especially  the  corpora- 
tions and  nobility,  must  attend  divine  ser- 
vice in  the  Orthodox  Churches,  on  all 
State  festivals  and  feasts  of  the  Orthodox 
Church,  to  join  in  the  prayers  for  the  Czar. 
But  as  long  as  the  Russian  government 
uses  canting  phrases  about  the  liberty  of 
conscience,  whilst  ruthlessly  stifling  it  by 
such  decrees — as  long  as  it  calls  itself  liberal, 
but  acts  with  unheard-of  despotism,  and  as 
long  as  it  clamours  for  the  rights  of 
nationalities  abroad,  whilst  trampling  upon 
them  at  home,  we  must  be  pardoned  if  we 
recall  to  memory  what  Napoleon  said  must 
be  done  if  we  want  to  find  the  Tartar  in 
the  Russian." 

These  views  not  only  represent  very 
fairly  what  is  the  general  opinion  through- 
out Germany,  but  the  fact  is  very  well 
known  in  Russia  likewise,  and  is  openly 
discussed.     Thus  so  eminent  an  authority 


as  General  Fadaieff  stated  : — "  As  long  as 
the  quarrel  between  France  and  Prussia 
continues,  Russia  will  retain  her  liberty  of 
action  in  some  degree;  but  when  this 
quarrel  has  been  settled  by  diplomacy  or 
force  of  arms,  as  the  case  may  be,  then 
Russia  must  take  the  least  difficulty  by 
assault  before  there  is  time  for  an  Anglo- 
Austro-Frussian  alliance  to  develop  itself, 
an  alliance  far  more  dangerous  for  us 
than  any  Anglo-French  alliance.''''  How 
accurately  General  Fadaieff  gauged  the 
question  subsequent  events  have  amply 
shown. 

The  same  policy  adopted  in  Poland  and 
the  Baltic  provinces  was  also  adopted  in 
Finland,  but  also  more  cautiously  than  in 
Poland,  or  even  in  the  Baltic  provinces, 
for  it  was  remembered  that  the  whole  of 
the  population — except  about  40,000  out 
of  1,800,000  souls — is  staunchly  Lutheran, 
and  would  certainly  seize  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  rise  against  Russia  if  any  attempt 
to  crush  their  religion  or  their  nationality 
were  to  be  made,  and  would  place  them- 
selves on  the  side  of  the  Baltic  provinces, 
with  their  population  of  1,500,0U0.  Thus 
when  Germany  chooses  to  raise  the  ques- 
tion, she  will  have  the  suffrages  of  over 
3,000,000  people,  who  would  be  but  too 
happy  to  exchange  the  Russian  for  the 
German  government. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  ABROGATION  OF  THE  ARTICLES  OF  THE  TREATY  OF  PARIS  RELATING  TO  THE  BLACK  SEA, 

THE  DARDANELLES,  AND  THE  DANUBE. 


A  MORE  contemptible  diplomatic  campaign 
than  that  of  1870-'7l,  or  more  degrading 
to  all  parties  alike,  was  never  undertaken 
by  any  statesman  worthy  of  the  name.  Its 
history  reads  more  like  that  of  a  squabble 
in  a  young  ladies'  boarding-school,  or  the 
wordy  quarrel  of  a  coterie  of  old  maids, 
than  of  the  political  relations  between  the 
great  powers  of  the  civilised  world.  But 
this  is  not  all.  It  is  equally  characterised 
by  a  lack  of  morality  entirely  out  of  keep- 
ing, not  only  with  the  tenets  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  also  equally  out  of  accordance 
with  the  heathen  code  of  morality,  as  it 
existed  even  long  before  the  Christian  era. 


And,  worse  than  all,  the  precedent  for  this 
cynical  immorality  was  furnished  by  an 
English  statesman ;  an  English  statesman 
first  enunciated  the  principles  which  were 
used  a  few  years  later  to  justify  the  utter 
disregard  of  any  international  treaty. 
That  statesman  was  the  present  Lord 
Derby,  then  Lord  Stanley.  Referring  to 
the  duties  undertaken  by  England  in 
regard  to  the  neutrality  of  Luxembourg,  he 
stated  in  the  House  of  Commons,  on  July 
14th,  1867,  "that  his  idea  of  a  collective 
guarantee  was,  that  in  case  of  an  infringe- 
ment of  the  neutrality,  all  the  signataries 
might  be  called  upon  to   take   collective 

17 


f 


DERBY  ON  TREATIES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-71. 


action,  without  any  one  of  the  contracting 
powers  being  obliged  to  interfere  alone. 
That,  in  short,  each  individual  power  has 
the  right,  but  not  the  duty,  to  insist  upon 
the  observance  of  the  stipulations  agreed 
to."  And,  reversing  the  old  proverb,  like 
.  father  like  son,  the  Earl  of  Derby  endorsed 
these  views,  and  declared  roundly  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  that  "if  France,  in  de- 
fiance of  the  treaty,  should  take  possession 
of  Luxembourg,  England,  although  called 
upon  by  Prussia  to  assist  in  enforcing  the 
observance  of  the  treaty,  would  not  be 
bound  to  comply  with  the  call."  In 
making  this  statement  the  Earl  of  Derby 
referred  to  his  son.  Lord  Stanley,  as  his 
*' noble  relative."  This  circuitous  mode  of 
referring  to  his  son  may  have  been  due  to 
some  innate  sense  of  !?hame  and  humilia- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  old  earl.  If  so,  it 
modifies  in  some  small  degree,  as  regards 
himself,  the  epithet  which  posterity  will 
apply  to  his  "noble  relative,"  in  exactly 
the  reverse  sense. 

For,  regarded  by  the  light  of  ordinary 
sense,  Lord  Derby's  statement  amounts 
to  the  legalisation  of  political  klepto- 
mania, and  the  repudiation  of  the 
duties  of  any  treaty  if  it  is  not  con- 
venient to  enforce  their  observance.  It 
either  means  this,  or  else  it  is  one  of  the 
most  childish  propositions  ever  uttered  by 
a  man  beyond  his  teens.  For,  though 
treaties  are  signed  by  the  parties  who  have 
wished,  and  probably  still  wish,  to  infringe 
what  that  treaty  is  laid  down  for,  yet  if 
those  parties  choose  to  ignore  their  obliga- 
tions, the  rest  of  the  powers  are  not  bound  to 
enforce  these  obligations  because,  forsooth, 
one  or  more  parties  having  broken  the  treaty, 
the  collective  guarantee  no  longer  exists ! 
That  is  to  say,  to  take  an  illustration  from 
common  life,  if,  of  three  trustees,  one  refuses 
to  observe  the  stipulations  of  the  will,  the 
other  two  are  not  bound  to  enforce  them 
because  they  are  not  all  agreed. 

Now,  such  propositions  as  these — charac- 
terised by  all  international  lawyers  abroad, 
and  many  at  home,  as  unique  in  the  history 
of  international  law — could  not  fail  to  be 
taken  advantage  of  by  the  powers  lowest 
in  the  scale  of  political  morality,  when 
endorsed  by  the  powers  claiming  to  be  the 
highest  in  that  scale.  Thus  whilst  Europe 
was  being  shaken  to  its  foundations  by  the 
Franco-G-erman  war,  and  all  men  throuorh- 
out  the  civilised  world  were  intent  upon 
the  issue  of  the  tremendous  stru^^gle,  ru- 


mours of    complications    raised   by  Russia 
began   to    be    whispered   about,  and   con- 
tributed, in  no  small  degree,  to  the  genera 
consternation.     It  had  long  been  foreseen 
by    politicians    of    average    intellect    and 
average  means  of  information,  that  Russia 
would  take  the  first  opportunity  to  avenge 
herself    for    her    disasters    in      1854-'56. 
This   conviction   had    grown   in   intensity 
since   the    utterances   of   Lord  Stanley  in 
1867.     Still,  Lord  Stanley  had  acquired  a 
certain    reputation    for    cautiousness,    for 
prudence,  for  moderation,  and  a  number  of 
negative   virtues,   which,  summed    up    to- 
gether, amounted,  in  two  words,  to  moral 
cowardice.     The  son  of  a   self-willed,  de- 
termined, and  passionate  man,  the  present 
Lord  Derby  seems  to  be  the  outcome  of  an 
exhausted  nature,  of  a  will  exhausted  by  its 
own    passion;    a    spent  cannon-ball,    whose 
only  power  lies  in  its  inertness ;  a  man  who 
mumbles  his  words  with  the  same  indis- 
tinctness with  which    he   conceives  them, 
and  eats  them  again  in  spite  of  their  insipi- 
dity. To  parody  Schleiermacher's  words,  he  is 
a  "  partial  negation  of  the  absolute,"  a  rent, 
a  shred,  a  tatter  in  the  reputation  of  the  old 
earl,  whose  shade  is  more  material  even  now, 
for  good  or  for  evil,  than  his  son's  substance. 

At  last  the  blow  fell  on  November  7th, 
1870.  Information  was  communicated  to 
Sir  Andrew  Buchanan,  the  British  ambas- 
sador at  St.  Petersburg,  from  a  source  on 
which  he  did  not  place  much  reliance  at 
first,  that  despatches  had  either  been  for- 
warded, or  would  be  immediately  for- 
warded, to  the  great  Courts  of  Europe, 
communicating  to  them  that  Russia  would 
not  acknowledge  hereafter  the  obligations 
she  had  contracted  under  the  treaty  of 
1856,  and  that  a  declaration  to  that  effect 
would  be  published  in  St.  Petersburg  a 
day  previously  to  the  delivery  of  Ihe 
despatches  in  question.  Sir  A.  Buchanan 
immediately  sent  one  of  his  secretaries  to 
the  person  from  whom  he  had  received  this 
communication.  The  result  of  the  in- 
quiries he  made  tended  to  increase  his 
doubts  of  its  truth,  and  he  therefore 
decided  that  it  would  be  inexpedient  to 
report  a  sensational  rumour,  to  which  he 
would  have  been  obliged  to  add  an  expres- 
sion of  his  own  belief  that  it  was  incorrect. 

But  the  next  day  he  went  to  Czarskoe- 
Seloe  to  see  Prince  Gortschakoff ;  and  as 
he  had  deemed  it  expedient,  for  some  time 
past,  not  to  give  him  an  opportunity  to 
enter  into   any  discussion   respecting  the 


.•■  I 


Tiie  iiiiisU-aUQUs  Urarsn  <>c  Kngvaved  b7fl."Wiii 


i^.  L;viL.'in  ^-  ^r,rj^'i.,L'{i  oy'v. lliip^i.i 


A.b.  1870-71.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  Russian  circular. 


treaty  of  1856,  he  did  not  mention  the 
matter  to  him;  but  at  the  same  time  he 
acquainted  several  persons  with  the  nature 
of  the  communication,  and  found  them 
disposed  to  treat  the  subject  as  a  stock- 
jobbing story,  connected  with  the  presence 
of  General  Ignatieff  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Sir  Andrew  Buchanan's  informant,  how- 
ever, insisted  on  the  accuracy  of  his  infor- 
mation ;  and  in  consequence  of  this,  and 
subsequent  information.    Sir   Andrew   ad- 
dressed to  Prince  GrortschakofF  a  confiden- 
tial letter,  acquainting  his  excellency  with 
the  character  of  the  information  which  he 
had  received,  and  stating  that  he  had  not 
communicated  it  to  the  British  government 
by  telegraph,  or  spoken   of  it  to  his  excel- 
lency, because  he  could  not  believe  a  report 
that  measures  were  about  to  be  taken  which 
he  considered  so  offensive  to  the  Queen  and 
the  dignity    of   Great  Britain,   that    if  it 
were  true,  he  should  expect  an  order  to  ask 
for  his   passports,  and  to  leave  St.  Peters- 
burg immediately  ;  but  as  he  had  unfortu- 
nately received  confirmation   of  it,  he  felt 
it  his  duty  to  express  to  his  excellency  his 
belief  that,  if  the  course  is  followed  with 
respect  to  the  treaty  of  1856,  which  had 
been   reported    to  him,   he   had   the  most 
serious    apprehensions   as  to  the  light  in 
which  it  would  be  considered  by  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Queen.     To  this  letter  Prince 
Gortschakoff  informed  the  bearer  there  was 
no  reply,  whereupon  Sir  Andrew   at  once 
telegraphed  his  information  to  the  British 
government.     But  in  the  morning  of  the 
same  day  on  which  this   telegram  reached 
its  destination,  Baron  Brunnow,  the  Rust^ian 
ambassador,  had  already  communicated  to 
Earl  Granville    the    substance  of    Prince 
Gortschakoff's    circular,   and   had   handed 
him  a  copy  of  it.     The   following   is  the 
text  of  this    remarkable    historical   docu- 
ment : — 

"Tzarskoe  Selo,  October  H,  1871. 

"The  successive  alterations  which  the 
transactions  considered  as  the  foundation  of 
the  European  balance  of  power  have  un- 
dergone during  late  years,  have  rendered  it 
necessary  for  the  imperial  cabinet  to  in- 
quire how  far  their  results  affect  the  poli- 
tical position  of  Russia. 

"  Among  these  transactions,  that  which 
interests  Russia  most  directly  is  the  treaty 
of  March  M,  1856. 

"The  special  convention  between  the 
two  States   bordering   on  the  Black  Sea, 


which  forms  an  appendix  to  this  treaty^ 
contains  an  engagement  on  the  part  of 
Russia  to  limit  her  naval  forces  to  a 
minimum. 

"  In  return  this  treaty  established  the 
principle  of  the  neutralisation  of  that  sea. 

"  By  laying  down  this  principle,  the  sig- 
natory powers  intended  to  remove  any  pos- 
sibility of  a  conflict  between  the  powers 
bordering  on  the  Black  Sea,  or  between 
them  and  the  maritime  powers.  It  was 
intended  to  increase  the  number  of  the 
territories  which  have  been  accorded  the 
benefit  of  neutrality  by  the  unanimous 
consent  of  Europe,  and  thus  protect  Russia 
herself  from  all  danger  of  attack. 

"A  fifteen  years'  experience  has  proved 
that  this  principle,  on  which  the  safety  of 
the  whole  extent  of  the  Russian  frontiers 
in  this  direction  exclusively  depends,  is  no 
more  than  a  theory. 

"  In  reality,  while  Russia  was  disarming 
in  the  Black  Sea,  and,  by  a  declaration  con- 
tained in  the  protocols  of  the  conference, 
likewise  loyally  deprived  herself  of  the 
possibility  of  taking  measures  for  an  effec- 
tual maritime  defence  in  the  adjoining  seas 
and  ports,  Turkey  preserved  her  privilege 
of  maintaining  unlimited  naval  forces  in 
the  Archipelago  and  the  Straits;  France 
and  England  preserved  the  power  of  con- 
centrating their  squadrons  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 

"Again,  under  the  treaty  in  question, 
the  entry  of  the  Black  Sea  is  formally,  and 
in  perpetuity,  interdicted  to  the  flag  of 
war  of  either  of  the  powers  possessing  its 
coasts  or  of  any  other  power ;  but  the  so- 
called  Straits  treaty  closes  the  Straits  only 
in  the  time  of  peace  to  men-of-war.  Owin(y 
to  this  contradiction,  the  shores  of  the 
Russian  empire  are  exposed  to  attack  even 
from  less  powerful  States  whenever  they 
have  naval  forces  at  their  disposal ;  while 
all  that  Russia  could  oppose  to  them  would 
be  some  ships  of  small  size. 

"The  treaty  of  March  M,  1856,  has, 
moreover,  not  escaped  the  modifications  to 
which  most  European  transactions  have 
been  exposed,  and  in  the  face  of  which  it 
would  be  difficult  to  maintain  that  the 
written  law,  founded  upon  the  respect  for 
treaties  as  the  basis  of  public  right,  and 
regulating  the  relations  between  States,  re- 
tains the  moral  validity  which  it  may  have 
possessed  at  other  times. 

"  We  have  witnessed  the  principalities  of 
Moldavia   and  Wallachia,   whose  position 

19 


THE  RrSSUN  CIRCTTLAR.]  HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1870-71. 


s 


had,  under  the  guarantee  of  the  great 
powers,  been  defined  in  the  treaty  of  peace 
and  the  subsequent  protocols,  accomplish  a 
series  of  revolutions  which  are  equally  at 
variance  with  the  letter  and  spirit  of  these 
transactions,  and  which  first  led  to  the 
union,  and  subsequently  to  the  election  of 
a  foreign  prince.  These  facts  have  obtained 
the  sanction  of  the  Porte,  and  the  consent 
of  the  great  powers — or,  at  any  rate,  the 
latter  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  en- 
force their  decisions. 

"  The  representative  of  Russia  was  the 
only  one  who  raised  his  voice  to  remind 
the  cabinets  that  by  this  tolerance  they 
would  be  departing  from  the  distinct 
stipulations  of  the  treaty, 

"No  doubt,  if  these  concessions  to  one 
of  the  Christian  nationalities  of  the  East 
had  proceeded  from  a  general  agreement 
between  the  cabinets  and  the  Porte,  and  if 
they  had  been  based  upon  a  principle  alike 
applicable  to  all  the  Christian  populations 
of  Turkey,  they  would  have  been  applauded 
by  the  imperial  cabinet ;  but  they  were  ex- 
clusive. 

"  The  imperial  cabinet,  therefore,  could 
not  but  be  surprised  at  seeing  the  treaty  of 
March  i§,  1856,  violated  with  impunity  in 
one  of  its  most  essential  clauses  but  a  few 
years  after  its  conclusion,  and  this  in  face 
of  the  great  powers  assembled  in  conference 
at  Paris,  and  representing  together  the 
high  collective  authority  on  which  rested 
the  peace  of  the  East. 

"But  this  infraction  was  not  the  only 
one.  Repeatedly,  and  under  various  pre- 
texts, foreign  men-of-ivar  have  been  suf- 
fered to  enter  the  Straits  ;  and  whole 
squadrons,  ivhose  presence  was  an  in- 
fraction of  the  character  of  absolute  neu- 
trality attributed  to  those  waters,  admitted 
to  the  Black  Sea, 

"  While  the  pledges  offered  by  the  treaty, 
and  more  especially  the  guarantees  for  the 
effective  neutralisation  of  the  Black  Sea, 
were  thus  being  weakened,  the  introduction 
of  iron-clad  vessels,  unknown  and  unfore- 
seen at  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of 
1856,  increased  the  danger  for  Russia  in 
the  event  of  war,  by  adding  considerably 
to  the  already  patent  inequality  of  the  re- 
spective naval  forces. 

"  Under  these  circumstances  his  majesty 
could  not  but  ask  himself,  what  are  the 
rights  and  duties  accruing  to  Russia  from 
these  modifications  of  the  general  situation, 
and  the  departures  from  the  engagements, 
20 


which,  although  conceived  in  a  spirit  of 
distrust  towards  herself,  she  has  invariably 
and  scrupulously  observed. 

"After  maturely  considering  this  question, 
his  imperial  majesty  has  arrived  at  the  fol- 
lowing conclusion,  which  you  are  instructed 
to  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  govern- 
ment to  which  you  are  accredited  : — 

"  Our  illustrious  master  cannot  admit, 
de  jure,  that  treaties,  violated  in  several  of 
their  essential  and  general  clauses,  should 
remain  binding  in  other  clauses  directly 
affecting  the  interests  of  his  empire. 

"  His  imperial  majesty  cannot  admit,  de 
facto,  that  the  security  of  Russia  should 
depend  on  a  fiction  which  has  not  stood  the 
test  of  time,  and  should  be  imperilled  by 
her  respect  for  engagements  which  have  not 
been  observed  in  their  integrity. 

"Confiding  in  the  feelings  of  justice  of 
the  powers  who  have  signed  the  treaty  of 
1856,  as  well  as  in  their  consciousness  of 
their  own  dignity,  the  emperor  commands 
you  to  declare  that  his  imperial  majesty 
cannot  any  longer  hold  himself  bound  by 
the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  March  Mf 
1856,  as  far  as  they  restrict  his  sovereign 
rights  in  the  Black  Sea  : 

"  That  his  imperial  majesty  deems  him- 
self both  entitled  and  obliged  to  denounce 
to  his  majesty  the  Sultan  the  special  and 
additional  convention  appended  to  the  said 
treaty,  which  fixes  the  number  and  size  of 
the  vessels  of  war  which  the  two  powers 
bordering  on  the  Black  Sea  shall  keep  in 
that  sea : 

"  That  his  majesty  loyally  informs  of  this 
the  powers  who  have  signed  and  guaranteed 
the  general  treaty,  of  which  the  convention 
in  question  forms  an  integral  part : 

"  That  his  majesty  restores  to  the  Sultan 
the  fall  exercise  of  his  rights  in  this  respect, 
reserving  the  same  for  himself. 

"  In  acquitting  yourself  of  this  duty,  you 
will  take  care  to  point  out  that  our  illus- 
trious master  has  only  the  safety  and  dig- 
nity of  his  empire  in  view.  His  imperial 
majesty  has  no  wish  to  revive  the  Eastern 
Question..  On  this  point,  as  on  all  others, 
he  has  no  wish  but  the  preservation  and 
consolidation  of  peace.  He  fully  adheres 
to  his  consent  to  the  general  principles  of 
the  treaty  of  \S56,  wfdch  have  fixed  the 
position  of  Turkey  in  the  European  system. 
He  is  ready  to  enter  into  an  understanding 
with  the  powers  who  have  signed  that 
transaction,  for  the  purpose  either  of  con- 
firming its  general  stipulations,  or  of  re- 


A.D.  1870-71.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,     [alleged  "infringements.' 


Dewing  them,  or  of  replacing  them  by  some 
other  equitable  arrangement,  which  may 
be  considered  as  calculated  to  secure  the 
tranquillity  of  the  East,  and  the  balance  of 
power  in  Europe. 

"  His  imperial  majesty  is  convinced  that 
that  peace,  and  that  balance  of  power,  will 
receive  a  fresh  guarantee,  if  they  are  based 
upon  a  more  just  and  solid  foundation  than 
one  resulting  from  a  state  of  things  which 
no  great  power  can  accept  as  a  normal  con- 
dition of  its  existence. 

"  You  are  requested  to  read  this  despatch 
to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and 
leave  him  a  copy. 

"  I  avail,  &c., 

(Signed)        "  Gortschakoff." 

Now  if  we  analyse  the  objections  taken 
by  Prince  Gortschakoff  to  the  articles  in  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  of  which  he  complains,  we 
find  they  are  the  old  objections  to  a  state 
of  things,  to  establish  which,  the  Crimean 
"war  was  chiefly  undertaken.  The  Darda- 
nelles were  closed  only  in  time  of  peace 
just  because  it  was  requisite,  in  case  of 
necessity,  that  Russia  should  be  attacked  in 
the  Black  Sea ;  otherwise  she  would  be  in- 
vulnerable to  attack,  except  under  very 
improbable  circumstances.  Secondly,  Tur- 
key was  allowed  to  develop  her  fleet  in  the 
Mediterranean,  because  there  was  no  fear  of 
Turkey  entering  upon  an  aggressive  war 
with  Russia,  or  any  other  nation,  and  re- 
quired that  fleet,  not  to  protect  her  Black 
Sea  coasts,  but  to  defend  her  Mediterranean 
coasts.  The  powers  decided  upon  this  sti- 
pulation, not  from  any  distrust  of  Turkey, 
but  from  a  distrust  of  Russia — a  distrust  so 
great  that  they  went  to  war  to  secure  the 
interests  which  this  distrust  taujjht  them 
to  defend.  An  abrogation  of  the  article 
referred  to  would,  therefore,  only  be  justified 
on  proof  that  no  cause  for  this  distrust  any 
longer  existed.  That  this  proof  was  not 
forthcoming ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  there 
was  every  reason  for  increasing  the  distrust, 
ought  to  have  been  a  sufficient  answer. 

As  to  Prince  Gortschakoff^s  second  ob- 
jection, that  the  treaty  of  Paris  had  been 
infringed  by  the  powers  sanctioning  certain 
measures  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
Danubian  provinces,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Porte,  be  it  remembered,  such  an  ob- 
jection sounds  most  strange  in  the  mouth 
of  a  power  which  professes  to  be  animated 
solely  by  the  desire  to  ameliorate  the  con- 
dition  of    the   Christian   subjects  of   the 


VOL.  III. 


E 


Porte.  That  such  measures  had  not  been 
extended  to  the  other  provinces  might  have 
been  a  cause  of  complaint  for  Russia,  and 
might  have  justified  her  in  calling  upon 
the  powers  to  take  into  consideration  the 
amelioration  of  the  rest  of  the  Christian 
provinces.  But  to  base  her  claim  to  in- 
creased power  in  the  Black  Sea  upon  the 
fact  that  the  treaty  of  Paris  had  been 
infringed  by  a  concession  which  had  for- 
merly been  refused  to  her,  and  to  obtain 
which  was  one  of  the  reasons  why  Russia 
declared  war  against  Turkey  in  1854,  was  a 
piece  of  hypocrisy  as  audacious  as  it  was 
insulting,  as  illogical  as  it  was  despicable, 
and  as  impertinent  as  it  was  untrue.  In 
good  old  Saxon  language,  it  was  a  lie.  For, 
in  point  of  fact,  as  Count  Visconti-Venosta 
pointed  out,  the  following  words  are  con- 
tained in  the  despatch  of  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff'  to  General  Ignatieff",  dated  Novem- 
ber Aj  1866,  in  which  Prince  Charles  of 
Hohenzollern  is  recognised  as  Prince  of  the 
United  Principalities : — 

"  The  imperial  cabinet  can  only  applaud 
a  result  as  fully  in  harmony  with  the  tra- 
ditional sympathy  which  binds  Russia  to 
these  people — her  co-religionists — as  with 
her  desire  to  see  the  Ottoman  empire  con- 
solidated, by  the  satisfaction  of  the  legiti- 
mate wishes, 'and  the  wants  of  the  Christian 
races  which  inhabit  it." 

Still  more  ridiculous  were  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff^s  objections  to  the  "  infractions  "  of 
the  treaty  by  the  passage  of  vessels  of  war 
through  the  Straits  during  the  fourteen 
years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  signature 
of  the  treaty  of  Paris. 

Let  us  see  in  what  these  "  infractions  " 
consisted : — 

In  September,  1866,  an  American  cor- 
vette, the  Ticonderoga,  eight  guns,  but 
capable  of  heavier  armament,  paid  a  com- 
plimentary visit  to  the  Sultan :  in  February, 
1868,  the  Austrian  frigate,  Donau,  passed 
the  Straits  on  a  firman  granted  as  an  act 
of  courtesy  to  Prince  Adalbert,  of  Bavaria, 
but  under  British  protest :  in  February, 
1868,  the  Austrian  corvette,  Archduke 
Frederick,  in  company  with  the  Donau^ 
also  passed  the  Straits,  but  under  Russian 
protest — it  was,  however,  explained  that 
the  permission  had  been  granted  under  the 
impression  that  she  was  a  sloop  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Austrian  mission :  in  April, 
1868,  the  French  ship  of  war,  Christophe 
Colombe,  passed  the  Dardanelles  for  the 
conveyance  of  the  Persian  ambassador  back 

21 


I 


ALLEGED  *«  INFRINGEMENTS."]      HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  his  country— this  was  thus  only  a  di- 
plomatic mission  allowed  by  international 
courtesy:  in  August,  1868,  the  American 
flag-ship,  Franklin,  went  to  Constanti- 
nople on  occasion  of  the  complimentary 
visit  of    Admiral  Farragut:    in   October, 

1868,  the  American  frigate,  Wabash,  also 
passed  the  Straits  under  the  protests  of  the 
ambassadors  :  in  October,  1868,  the  British 
ship  of  war,  Gannet,  579  tons,  was  sent  for 
the  visit  of  Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  British 
ambassador,  to  Kustendje— this  act  also 
evoked  a  Kussian  protest :    in    November, 

1869,  the  Prussian  ship  of  war.  Bertha, 
passed  in  consequence  of  a  misunderstand- 
ing arising  from  the  supposition  that  she 
was  the  King  of  Prussia's  yacht. 

Thus,  in  fourteen  years,  the  only  "in- 
fractions "  of  the  treaty  were  in  the  above 
eight  cases,  all  of  which  consisted  in  simple 
acts  of  international  courtesy.  No  doubt 
it  would  have  been  better,  as  things  turned 
out,  to  have  adhered  strictly  to  the  letter 
of  the  treaties,  as,  indeed,  was  done  in  the 

following  cases : — 

In  January,   1862,  three  Turkish  ships, 
to  complete  Black  Sea   fleet,   passed   the 
Bosphorus.      The   Russian    complaint  in 
consequence  was,  however,  afterwards  ad- 
mitted  to  be  unfounded :   in   July,  1865, 
the   British   ship,    Racoon,    was   to   have 
passed  under  a  firman  granted   for  Prince 
Alfred — the  contemplated  visit  was,  how- 
ever,   postponed:    in    August,   1867,   the 
French    ship,  Brandon,    remained  a    few 
days  within  the  outer  castles  of  the  Darda- 
nelles :   in  September,    1867,  six   Russian 
corvettes  passed   the    Straits,  which  were 
said  to  be  for  the  Black  Sea  fleet :  in  Au- 
gust, 1868,  Lord  Stratford  was  conveyed  in 
the  British  steam-frigate,  Guragoa,  to  the 
Dardanelles ;  but  was  there  transferred  to 
the  small  despatch  gun-boat,  Caradoc :  in 
January,  1869,  the   British  steam-frigate, 
Ariadne,  with  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales  on  board,   passed  the  Dardanelles, 
but  not  before  the  armament  was  removed 
go  as  to  form  a  yacht :  in  November,  1869, 
the  Italian  iron-clad,  Roma,  had  a  firman 
for  Prince  Amadeus — at  first  refused,  but 
ultimately  granted.     The  prince,  however, 
did  not  avail  himself  of  the  permission,  but 
went  up  in  his  yacht. 

As  to  the  vessels  which  escorted  the 
Emperor  Francis  Joseph  in  October,  1869, 
from  Varna  to  Constantinople,  none  of 
them  could  be  called  armed  vessels  of  war. 
The  screw  corvette,  Heligoland,  the  Ari- 
22 


[A.D.  1870-71. 


adne,  which  had  left  her  guns  at  MalU 
when  the  Prince    and  Princess  of  Wales 
paid  their  visit  to  the  Sultan,  had  been  es- 
pecially disarmed  before  entering  the  Dar- 
danelles, in  order  that  no  question  might 
be  raised  as  to  her  not  coming  under  the 
category  of  permitted  vessels  ;  and  though 
when  the  Heligoland  arrived  at  Constan- 
tinople,   General     Ignatieff    remarked   to 
Baron   Prokesch    as  to  her  size,  still   on 
learning  that  she  had  but  two  guns,   he 
made  no  further  observation,  and  the  ques- 
tion was  completely  dropped.     The  vessels 
in  question  were  the  corvette  Heligoland, 
with  two  guns,  and  240  crew  ;   aviso  Eliza- 
beth, with  two  guns,  and  164  crew ;  trans- 
port, Gargnano,  seventy-two  crew ;  and  the 
paddle-wheel    steamer  Flume,    with    two 
guns,  and  fifty-four  crew,   which   was  on 
station  at  the  mouth  of  the  Danube. 

It  was  on  such  trivial  incidents  as  these 
that  Prince  Gortschakoff  based  his   asser- 
tion that  the  Black  Sea  treaties  had  been 
constantly  infringed.      Sir   Henry   Elliot, 
however,  saw  from  the  first  what  use  the 
Russian  ministers  would  make  of  these  inci- 
dents, and  always  deprecated  the  exceptional 
permission  which  the  Turkish  government 
had,  as  an  act  of  courtesy,  occasionally  given 
for  the  passage  of  the   Straits  by  ships  of 
war  conveying  royal  or  distinguished  visi- 
tors ;  and  when  he  was  directed  to  apply 
for  permission  for  the  entrance  of  her  ma- 
jesty's ship,  Ariadne,  which  was  fitted  as  a 
yacht  for  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales, 
government  scrupulously   instructed    him, 
at  the  same  time,  to  inform  the  Porte  that, 
in  order  to  prevent  there  being  any  infrac- 
tion of  the  rule,  the  whole  of  the   ship's 
guns  had  been  left  at  Malta.     Still  it  is  to 
be  regretted  that  this  example  was  not  uni- 
versally followed,  and  that  other  govern- 
ments, by  being  less  scrupulous,  and  caus- 
ing armed  ships  of  war  to  accompany  their 
sovereigns  and  princes,  should  have  afforded 
grounds    for    the    pretensions    of   Russia. 
But,  although  an  undesirable  irregularity, 
such  proceedings  could  not  with  any  pro- 
priety be  cited  as  a  serious  derogation  of 
the  principle  upon  which  the  rule  for  the 
closing  of  the  Straits  was  based,  especially 
as  a  heavy  Russian  frigate,  the  Alexander 
Nevsky,  had,  upon  two  different  occasions, 
been  permitted  to  enter  the  Black  Sea,  ou 
the  plea  of  the  Grand  Duke  Alexis  being 
desirous  of  embarking  at  Odessa.     And  as 
application  for  the  permission  was  made  by 
the  Russian  ambassador,  it  is  clear  that  he 


A.D.  1870.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


Frussian  objections. 


deliberately  put  the  Porte  in  the  dilemma 
of  having  either  to  appear  discourteous  by 
refusing,  or  of  violating  the  treaty  by 
acceding  to  his  request. 

Still,  in  spite  of  the  shallowness  of 
Prince  Gortschakoff's  arguments,  he  stated, 
in  his  letter  to  Baron  Brunnow,  accom- 
panying his  circular,  "that,  though  the 
treaty  of  Paris  had  undergone  serious  mo- 
difications, still  that  which  most  impressed 
Russia  in  respect  of  these  modifications, 
was  not  the  appearance  of  factitious  hos- 
tility towards  her  by  which  they  are  cha- 
racterised, nor  the  consequences  which 
might  ensue  to  a  great  country  from  the 
creation  upon  its  frontiers  of  a  small  quasi 
independent  State — that  is,  Roumania; 
but,"  he  continued,  "it  is  chiefly  the 
facility  with  which,  scarcely  ten  years  after 
its  conclusion,  a  solemn  arrangement, 
clothed  with  a  European  guarantee,  has 
been  infringed  both  in  letter  and  in  spirit, 
under  the  very  eyes  of  the  powers  who 
should  have  been  its  guardians. 

"  With  such  a  precedent  before  us,"  he 
added,  "  what  value  can  Russia  attach  to 
the  efficacy  of  that  arrangement,  and  to  the 
pledge  of  security  which  she  believed  she 
had  obtained  in  the  principle  of  the  neu- 
tralisation of  the  Black  Sea  ?  The  balance 
of  power,  established  in  the  East  by  the 
treaty  of  1856,  has,  therefore,  been  dis- 
turbed to  the  detriment  of  Russia.  The 
resolution  adopted  by  our  august  master 
has  no  other  object  than  to  restore  it.  The 
government  of  her  Britannic  Majesty  would 
never  consent  to  leave  the  security  of  their 
shores  to  the  mercy  of  an  arrangement 
which  is  no  longer  respected.  They  are 
too  equitable  not  to  allow  to  us  the  same 
duties  and  the  same  rights. 

"  But  what  we  especially  desire  to  es- 
tablish is,  that  this  decision  implies  no 
change  in  the  policy  which  his  majesty  the 
emferor  has  pursued  in  the  East.^^ 

This  was  most  true.  The  policy  pur- 
sued by  Russia  in  the  East  was  always  one 
of  aggression.  Finally,  Prince  Gortschakoff 
wrote  to  Baron  Brunnow  :— - 

"  You  have  already  had,  on  many  occa- 
sions, opportunities  of  discussing  with  the 
cabinet  of  London  the  general  views  which 
the  two  governments  hold  upon  this  im- 
portant question.  You  have  been  able  to 
establish  a  conformity  of  principles  and 
interests,  which  we  have  learnt  with  great 
satisfaction. 

"  We  have  drawn  from  it  the  conclusion 


that,  at  present,  it  is  neither  from  Enc^land 
nor  Russia  that  can  arise  the  dano^ers  wnich 
may  menace  the  Ottoman  empire;  that 
the  two  cabinets  have  an  equal  desire  to 
maintain  its  existence  as  long  as  possible, 
by  allaying  and  by  conciliating  the  differ- 
ences between  the  Porte  and  the  Christian 
subjects  of  the  Sultan;  and  that,  in  the 
event  of  a  decisive  crisis  presenting  itself, 
despite  these  efforts,  both  are  equally  re- 
solved to  seek  for  its  solution  in  a  general 
agreement  of  the  great  European  powers. 

"  We  have  not  ceased  to  hold  these  views. 
We  believe  that  their  perfect  analogy  ren- 
ders possible  a  thorough  understanding 
between  the  government  of  her  Britannic 
Majesty  and  ourselves  ;  we  attach  the  great- 
est value  to  it,  as  the  best  guarantee  for  the 
preservation  of  peace,  and  the  balance  of 
power  in  Europe  from  dangers  which  may 
result  from  complications  in  the  East. 

"  By  the  order  of  his  majesty  the  em- 
peror, your  excellency  is  authorised  to  re- 
peat this  assurance  to  Lord  Granville.  We 
shall  sincerely  congratulate  ourselves  if  the 
frankness  of  these  explanations  may  contri- 
bute to  that  end,  by  removing  every  possi- 
bility of  misunderstanding  between  the 
government  of  her  Britannic  Majesty  and 
ourselves. 

"  Receive,  &c., 

(Signed)        "  Gortschakoff." 

To  this  despatch  of  Prince  Gortschakoff's, 
Lord  Granville  replied  by  saying,  that  the 
assumption  of  a  right  to  repudiate  certain 
clauses  of  a  treaty,  included  the  assumption 
of  a  right  to  repudiate  the  whole  treaty. 
This  statement  of  Lord  Granville's  was 
wholly  independent  of  the  reasonableness 
or  unreasonableness,  on  its  own  merits,  of 
the  desire  of  Russia  to  be  released  from  the 
observation  of  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty 
of  1856  respecting  the  Black  Sea.  For  the 
question  was,  in  whose  hand  lies  the  power 
of  releasing  one  or  more  of  the  parties  from 
all  or  any  of  these  stipulations  ? — whilst  it 
has  always  been  held  that  that  right  belongs 
only  to  the  governments  who  have  been 
parties  to  the  original  instrument.  He  then 
went  on  to  say,  that  the  despatches  of 
Prince  Gortschakoff  appeared  to  assume, 
that  any  one  of  the  powers  who  signed  the 
engagement  might  allege  that  occurrences 
had  taken  place  which,  in  its  opinion,  were 
at  variance  with  the  provisions  of  the  treaty; 
and  although  this  view  was  not  shared  nor 
admitted  by  the  co-signatory  powers,  might 

23 


*■•  "j- 


Ill 


i; 


LOm  GRAX^'ILLE'S  REPLY.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1870. 


found  upon  that  allegation,  not  a  request 
to  those  governments  for  the  consideration 
of  the  case,  but  an  announcement  to  them 
that   it   has   emancipated   itself,   or  holds 
itself  emancipated,  from  any  stipulations  of 
the  treaty  which  it  thinks  fit  to  disapprove. 
Yet  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  effect  of 
Buch  doctrine,  and  of  any  proceeding  which, 
with  or  without  avowal,  is  founded  upon  it, 
would  be  to  bring  the  entire  authority  and 
efficacy  of  treaties  under  the  discretionary 
control  of  each   one   of    the   powers  who 
might   have   signed   them;    the   result   of 
which  would  be  the  entire  destruction  of 
treaties  in  their  essence.     For  whereas  their 
whole   object    is   to   bind   powers   to   one 
another,  and  for  this  purpose  each  one  of 
the  parties  surrenders  a  portion  of  its  free 
agency,  yet,  according  to  Prince  Gortscha- 
koff,  one  of  the  parties,  in  its  separate  and 
individual  capacity,  might  bring  back  the 
entire  subj  ect  into  its  own  control,  and  remain 
bound  only  to  itself.    This  is  what  Prince 
Gortschakoff  did.    He,  it  is  true,  announced 
in  his  despatches  the  intention  of  Russia  to 
continue  to  observe  certain  of  the  provisions 
of  the  treaty ;  but,  however  satisfactory  this 
might  have  been  in  itself,  it  was  obviously 
an 'expression  of  the  free  will  of  that  power, 
which  it  might  at  any  time  alter  or  with- 
draw ;  and  was  thus  open  to  the  same  ob- 
jections as  the  other  portions  of  the  com- 
munications, because  it  implied  the  right 
of  Russia  to  annul  the  treaty  on  the  ground 
of  allegations  of  which  she  constituted  her- 
self the  only  judge. 

The  question  therefore  arose.  Lord  Gran- 
ville contended,   not    whether    any   desire 
expressed  by  Russia  ought  to  be  carefully 
examined   in  a  friendly  spirit   by  the  co- 
signatory powers,  but  whether  they  were  to 
accept  from  her  the   announcement    that, 
by  her  own  act,  without  any  consent  from 
them,    she    had    released   herself    from    a 
solemn   covenant.     If,   instead   of  such   a 
declaration,   the    Russian  government  had 
addressed  the  powers  who  were  parties  to 
the  treaty  of  1856,  and  had  proposed  for 
consideration  with  them  whether  anything 
had  occurred  which  could  be  held  to  amount 
to  an  infraction  of  the  treaty,  or  whether 
there   was   anything  in   the  terms  which, 
from   altered  circumstances,   pressed   with 
undue  severity  upon  Russia,   or  which,  in 
the  course  of  events,  had  become  unneces- 
sary for  the  due  protection  of  Turkey,  they 
would   not   have   refused   to  examine   the 
question  in  concert  with  the  co-signatories 
24 


to  the  treaty.  Whatever  might  have  been 
the  result  of  such  communications,  a  risk 
of  future  complications,  and  a  very  dan- 
gerous precedent  as  to  the  validity  of 
international  obligations,  would  have  been 
avoided. 

To  this  reply  of  Lord  Granville's,  Prince 
Gortschakoff  answered  by  a  deliberate  false- 
hood, as  will  appear  from  the  following  des- 
patch, sent  by  Lord  Granville  to  Sir  A. 
Buchanan : — 


"Foreign  Office,  November  28,  1870. 
«  Sir, — Baron  Brunnow  read  to  me  on  the 
25th  instant,  and  gave  me  a  copy  of,  the  in- 
closed despatch  from  Prince  Gortschakofif,  in 
reply  to  my  despatch  to  your  excellency  of 
the  10th  instant,  on  the  subject  of  the  de- 
nunciation by  Russia  of  the  treaty  arrange- 
ments of  1856  for  the  neutralisation  of  the 

Black  Sea. 

"  On  receiving  it,  I  stated  to  bis  excel- 
lency that  I  could  not  make  any  observa- 
tions on  it  without  consulting  my  colleagues, 
but  that  I  should  be  glad  to  ask  his 
excellency   a  question  as  to   a   matter   of 

fact. 

"  In   the   despatch  it  was    stated    that 
Russia  would  not  have  demanded  anything 
better  than  to  arrive  at  the  result  by  an 
agreement  with  the  powers  who  signed  the 
t?eaty  of  1856,  but  that  all  the  attempts 
which  had  been  made  at  different  tinries  to 
assemble  the  powers  in  common  delibera- 
tions, in   order  to  avert  the  causes  of  the 
complications   which    disturb   the   general 
peace,  had  constantly  failed.    I  asked  Baron 
Brunnow  whether  he  could  tell  me  when 
Russia  had  made  any  propositions  to  this 
country  for  the  revision  of  the  treaty  of 
1856.    His  excellency  answered,  that  Russia 
had   never   done   so;    but  that  on  certain 
occasions,  when  certain  contingencies  were 
discussed,   he  himself  had  stated,  both  to 
Lord  Malmesbury  and  to  Lord  Clarendon, 
that  if  they  were  realised,  Russia  would 
reserve  to  herself  the  right  of  calling  in 
question   some   of    the   provisions   of    the 
treaty  of  1856. 

"  I  asked  whether  any  of  the  events  to 
which  he  referred  had  come  to  pass.  He 
replied  in  the  negative.  He  referred  also 
to  proposals  for  congresses  on  European 
matters  not  connected  with  Turkey. 

"I  then  observed  that  this  reply  was 
hardly  an  answer  to  my  question  ;  upon 
which  his  excellency  said  that  he  had  no 
authority  to  discuss  the  despatch  with  me ; 


A.D.  1870.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[treaty  of  PARTSf. 


that  if  I  wanted    explanations    I    should 
address  myself  to  your  excellency. 

"  I  observed,  that  surely  when  in  a 
despatch  an  appeal  was  made  to  my  know- 
ledge of  a  fact,  I  did  nothing  unusual  in 
asking  the  ambassador  who  brought  me  the 
despatch  to  tell  me  what  were  the  facts 
alluded  to.  I  added,  'Have  you  any  ob- 
jection to  tell  me  whether,  during  the  last 
twelve  years  which  yoa  ha-ve  passed  in  this 
country,  there  has  ever  been  any  propo- 
sition from  Russia  to  Great  Britain  for 
the  revision  of  the  treaty  of  1856  ?'  He 
answered,  *  No.'  I  said,  '  I  may  quote 
this  as  your  answer  ?'  To  which  he 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  added,  that 
if  I  wanted  further  explanations  I  must 
address  myself  to  your  excellency. 

"  Granville." 

This  was  plain,  unmistakeable  language ; 
and  on  this  the  British  government  ought 
to  have  taken  their  stand.  If  not  prepared 
to  force  Russia  to  observe  the  treaty  of 
Paris  in  its  integrity,  they  ought  to  have 
refused  to  be  any  party  to  its  destruction, 
and  have  allowed  Russia  to  follow  her  own 
course,  under  strong  protest,  and  the  reserval 
of  future  action.  Yet,  on  the  very  same 
day,  he  sent  another  despatch  to  Sir  An- 
drew for  communication  to  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff; in  which  he  stated,  that  "her 
majesty's  government  had  no  objection  to 
accept  the  invitation  which  had  been  made 
by  Prussia  to  a  conference,  upon  the  under- 
standing that  it  assembled  without  any  fore- 
gone conclusion  as  to  its  results.  In  such 
case  her  majesty's  government  would  be 
glad  to  consider  with  perfect  fairness,  and 
the  respect  due  to  a  great  and  friendly 
power,  any  proposals  which  Russia  might 
have  to  make." 

With  these  words  Lord  Granville  in- 
scribed his  name  in  the  list  of  autologo- 
phagi — the  people  who  devour  their  own 
words ;  so  that  Prince  Gortschakoff  natu- 
rally considered  it  unnecessary  to  reply  to 
the  first  despatch,  which  Lord  Granville 
swallowed  when  he  wrote  the  second ;  but, 
having  gained  his  point,  set  about  pre- 
paring the  proposals  he  intended  to  submit 
to  the  conference — one  to  set  forth  the 
articles  contained  in  the  treaty  of  Paris, 
which  Russia  had  declared  null  and  void. 

These  articles,  as  well  as  the  stipulations 
annexed  to  them,  and  forming  an  integral 
part  of  them,  run  as  follows  : — 

"  Art.  1 1.  The  Black  Sea  is  neutralised ; 


its  waters  and  its  ports,  thrown  open  to  the 
mercantile  marine  of  every  nation,  are  form- 
ally and  in  perpetuity  interdicted  to  the 
flag  of  war,  either  of  the  powers  possessing 
its  coasts,  or  of  any  other  power,  with  the 
exceptions  mentioned  in  articles  14  and 
19  of  the  present  treaty. 

"Art.  13.  The  Black  Sea  being  neutral- 
ised, according  to  the  terms  of  Article  11, 
the  maintenance  or  establishment,  upon  its 
coast,  of  military  maritime  arsenals  becomes 
alike  unnecessary  and  purposeless ;  in  con- 
sequence, his  majesty  the  Emperor  of  all 
the  Russias,  and  his  imperial  majesty  the 
Sultan,  engage  not  to  establish  or  to  main- 
tain upon  that  coast  any  military  maritime 
arsenal. 

"Art.  14.  Their  majesties  the  Emperor 
of  all  the  Russias  and  the  Sultan,  havinur 
concluded  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of 
settling  the  force  and  the  number  of  light 
vessels  necessary  for  the  service  of  their 
coasts,  which  thev  reserve  to  themselves  to 
maintain  in  the  Black  Sea,  that  convention 
is  annexed  to  the  present  treaty,  and  shall 
have  the  same  force  and  validity  as  if  it 
formed  an  integral  part  thereof.  It  cannot 
be  either  annulled  or  modified  without  the 
assent  of  the  powers  signing  the  present 
treaty." 

These  are  the  articles  of  the  treaty.  The 
stipulations  as  between  the  allies  and  the 
Emperor  of  Russia,  are  contained  in  the 
followingr  two  articles  : — 

"  Art  1.  The  high  contracting  parties 
mutually  engage  not  to  have  in  the  Black 
Sea  anv  other  vessels  of  war  than  those  of 
which  the  number,  the  force,  and  the 
dimensions  are  hereinafter  stipulated. 

"Art  2.  The  high  contracting  parties 
reserve  to  themselves  each  to  maintain  in 
that  sea  six  steam-vessels  of  fifty  metres  in 
length  at  the  time  of  floatation,  of  a  ton- 
nage of  800  tons  at  the  maximum,  and  four 
light  steam  or  sailing-vessels,  of  a  tonnage 
which  shall  not  exceed  200  tons  each." 

Those  between  the  Sultan  and  the  Czar, 
limiting  their  naval  force  in  the  Black  Sea, 
are  also  contained  in  two  articles : — 

"  Art  2.  The  Sultan  reserves  to  himself, 
as  in  past  times,  to  deliver  firmans  of  pas- 
sage for  light  vessels  under  flag  of  war, 
which  shall  be  employed,  as  is  usual,  in 
the  service  of  the  missions  of  foreign 
powers. 

"  Art  3.  The  same  exception  applies  to 
the  light  vessels  under  flag  of  war,  which 
each  of  the  contracting  powers  is  authorij>ed 

25 


\ 


\\ 


ODO  ru&sell's  despatch.]        history  OF   THE 


[a.d.  1870. 


\ 


to  station  at  the  mouths  of  the  Danube, 
in  order  to  secure  the  execution  of  the 
regulations  relative  to  the  liberty  of  that 
river,  and  the  number  of  which  is  not  to 
exceed  two  for  each  power." 

Now,  it  is   highly   characteristic  of  the 
government  of  that  day — Mr.  Gladstone's 
ministry — that  instead  of  forming  an   in- 
dependent judgment  of  their  own  on  the 
merits  of  the  case,  and  determining  to  take 
a  decided  line  of  their  own,  as  became  the 
greatest  and  wealthiest  power  in  the  world, 
they  went  pottering  about  Europe  asking 
other  governments  what  they  thought  about 
this  terrible  conduct  of  Russia.     But  what 
they  said  to  the  other  powers,  and  what  the 
other  powers  said  to  them,  was  very  much 
like  the  conversation  between  Mary  Ann 
and  Betsy  Jane,  when   they  give  vent  to 
their  surprise   in  the  exclamations,  "Did 
you  ever  ?     No,  I  never !  "     To  no  more 
than  this  did  the  communications  from  the 
Courts   of    Italy   and  Vienna  amount   to. 
They  were  very  sorry,  indeed ;  the  conduct 
of  Russia  was  quite  inexcusable ;  but  they 
contented   themselves   with    pointing    out 
how  utterly  unfounded  were  the  complaints 
of  Russia,  and  that  was  all.  There  remained 
Prince  Bismarck,  who  was  before  Paris  with 
the  besieging  army.     To  him  Mr.  Odo  Rus- 
sell, of  the  embassy  at  Berlin,  was  sent  with 
the  Russian  circular  and  Lord  Granville's 
reply.     He   was   received   by  Prince  Bis- 
marck on  November  21,  1870;  and,  during 
a  three  hours'  conversation, he  gathered  from 
the   prince,  that  the    Russian  circular  of 
the   1 9th  October  had  taken  him  by  sur- 
prise ;  that  while  he  had  always  held  that 
the   treaty   of   1856    pressed    with    undue 
severity  on  Russia,  he  entirely  disapproved 
of    the    manner    adopted,  and    the    time 
selected,   by   the   Russian   government   to 
force  on  a  revision  of  that  treaty;   and 
that,  finally,  he  regretted   that   he  could 
neither  interfere,  nor  answer  the  Russian 
circular   officially,  in  consequence  of  the 
war ;  but  that,  anxious  as  he  was  to  prevent 
the   outbreak   of  another   war,   he   would 
strongly  recommend   conferences  at  Con- 
stantinople before  hostilities. 

Having  telegraphed  these  first  results  to 
Lord  Granville,  Mr.  Russell  waited  again 
upon  Count  Bismarck,  at  ten  o'clock  p.m. 

This  second  conversation  lasted  till  past 
midnight;  and  the  chancellor,  who  had 
meanwhile  communicated  telegraphically 
with  the  Prussian  minister  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, authorised  Mr.  Russell  to  telegraph 
26 


to  London,  that,  if  Lord  Granville  con- 
sented, he  would  willingly  take  the  initia- 
tive of  proposing  a  conference  for  the  pur- 
pose of  endeavouring  to  find  a  pacific 
solution  to  a  question  which  Mr.  Russell 
frankly  stated,  was  of  a  nature,  in  its 
present  state,  to  compel  England,  with  or 
without  allies,  to  go  to  war  with  Russia. 

At  the  same  time.  Count  Bismarck,  who 
had  ascertained  Prince  GortschakoflTs  readi- 
ness to  receive  the  representatives  of  the 
co-signatory  powers,  was  in  favour  of  hold- 
ing the  conference  at  St.  Petersburg,  as  the 
presence  of  the  emperor  to  give  imme- 
diate sanction  to  the  decisions  of  his  repre- 
sentatives, might  be  conducive  to  a  more 
rapid  and  satisfactory  settlement  of  the 
question  than  could  be  the  case  at  Con- 
stantinople, from  whence  a  reference  to 
St.  Petersburg  would  necessarily  involve  a 
loss  of  many  days.  In  case  of  a  conference 
being  agreed  on,  he  also  desired  Lord 
Granville  to  communicate  with,  and  invite 
the  co-operation  of,  the  French  govern- 
ment. 

The  arguments  used  by  Mr.  Odo  Russell, 
in  his  interview  with  Count  Bismarck,  gave 
great  umbrage  to  certain  parties  in  Eng- 
land, find  caused  a  demand  for  explanations 
in  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  which  led  to  Mr. 
Russell's  giving  a  detailed  account  of  his 
arguments,  and  his  reasons  for  using  them. 
His  letter  on  this  subject  to  Lord  Granville 
is  so  manly,  and  presents  so  strong  a  con- 
trast to  the  rest  of  the  diplomatic  utter- 
ances on  the  subject,  that  it  will  be  read 
with  pleasure,  and  a  regret  that  the  con- 
duct of  the  Foreign  Office  was  not  en- 
trusted to  him  rather  than  to  his  amiable, 
but  timid  chief.     He  wrote  : — 

"  My  Lord, — I  see  by  the  parliamentary  . 
reports  in  the  Times  of  the  17th  and  25th 
instant,  that  a  question  has  arisen  in  regard 
to  the  argument  used  by  me,  and  published 
in  the  correspondence  respecting  the  treaty 
of  1856,  p.  45,  No.  76,  of  the  22nd  No- 
vember last,  to  the  effect,  that  the  'ques- 
tion raised  by  Prince  Gortschakoff  was  of  a 
nature,  in  its  present  state,  to  compel  us, 
with  or  without  allies,  to  go  to  war  with 
Russia.' 

"  As  it  may  be  convenient  that  I  should 
place  on  record,  for  future  reference,  the 
reasons  which  induced  me  to  use  that  argu- 
ment, the  responsibility  of  which  must  rest 
on  me,  and  on  me  alone,  I  have  the  honour 
to  state — 

"  1st.  That  we  are  tound,  bj  the  tri- 


A.D.  1870.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[fresh  disputes. 


partite  treaty  of  the  15th  of  April,  1856, 
to  consider  any  infraction  of  the  treaty  of 
the  30th  of  March,  1856,  as  a  casus  bellL 

"  2nd.  That  Prince  GortschakoflTs  notes 
of  October  ^?  and  of  ^I'^^^^.r  ¥,  assuming  the 
right  to  renounce  the  stipulations  of  that 
treaty  which  directly  touched  her  interests, 
appeared  to  me  to  involve  the  assumption  of 
a  right  to  renounce  the  whole  of  the  treaty. 

"3rd.  That  her  majesty's  government 
had  declared,  on  the  10th  of  November  last, 
that  it  was  impossible,  on  their  part,  to  give 
any  sanction  to  the  course  announced  by 
Prince  Gortschakofif. 

"  4th.  That  this  renunciation  bv  Russia, 
which  her  majesty's  government  could  not 
sanction,  of  a  portion  of  the  treaty  of  March 
30th,  1856,  opened  a  discussion  which  might 
unsettle  the  cordial  understanding  between 
the  two  governments,  because  it  was  of  a 
nature  in  its  present  state,  that  is,  in  the 
state  it  was  in  on  the  22nd  of  November 
last,  to  compel  us  to  go  to  war  in  virtue  of 
the  tripartite  treaty  of  the  15th  of  April, 
1856,  by  which  we  had  bound  ourselves  to 
consider  any  infraction  of  the  treaty  of  the 
30th  of  March  Russia  was  then  renouncing, 
as  a  casus  belli. 

"  5th.  That  France  being  then  otherwise 
engaged,  and  Austria  unprepared,  we  might 
be  compelled  to  go  to  war  with  Russia, 
even  without  our  allies,  having  bound  our- 
selves, on  the  15th  of  April,  1856,  to  gua- 
rantee, jointly  and  severally,  the  stipulations 
recorded  in  the  treaty  of  the  30th  March, 
1856,  threatened  by  the  assumed  right  of 
renunciation  by  Russia,  which  her  ma- 
jesty's government  declined  to  sanction. 

"6th.  That  not  having  been  instructed 
to  state  that  the  question  I  had  been  sent 
to  submit  to  the  Prussian  government  was 
not,  in  the  opinion  of  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment, of  a  nature  to  compel  us  ever  to  go 
to  war,  notwithstanding  our  treaty  engage- 
ments, I  used  the  arguments  which  I 
believed  in  my  conscience  to  be  true. — Odo 
Russell." 

Lord  Granville,  however,  and  the  Glad- 
stone ministry,  thought  differently.  Not 
only  did  they  refuse  to  support  single- 
handed  the  treaty  ignored  by  Russia,  but 
they  also  refused  to  adopt  even  the  dig- 
nified course  of  abstaining  from  being  any 
parties  to  the  abrogation  of  the  treaty,  and 
thus  retaining  their  liberty  of  action  at  a 
future  and  more  convenient  date.  On  the 
contrary,  they  at  once  acceded  to  Count 
Bismarck's  proposal  for  a  conference,  only 


stipulating  that  it  should  be  held  in  Lon- 
don, and  not  in  St.  Petersburg.  Lord 
Granville,  therefore,  wrote  to  Count  i^is- 
marck,  thanking  him  for  his  oflfer  to  invite 
the  powers  to  a  conference,  and  begged 
him  immediately  to  do  so.  This  Count 
Bismarck  did,  with  the  exception  of  the 
French  government,  the  invitation  to 
which,  on  account  of  the  war,  he  left  to 
Lord  Granville  to  make. 

This  point  was  reached  by  December  1, 

1870.  From   that  date   to   January    17, 

1871,  the  time  was  filled  up  by  a  series 
of  disputes,  misunderstandings,  and  trivi- 
alities, which  are  without  a  parallel  in  his- 
tory. 

When  Lord  Lyons  communicated  the 
invitation  to  P>ance  to  take  part  in  the 
conference,  to  Count  Chaudordy  at  Tours, 
M.  Chaudordy  said  that  he  had  received 
telegrams  from  various  quarters,  which  left 
no  doubt  upon  his  mind  that  the  proposal 
was  essentially  a  Prussian  proposal,  and 
would  be,  nay,  had  been,  so  presented  to 
Europe,  and  that  he  had  already  tele- 
graphed to  M.  Tissot  to  ask  Lord  Granville 
for  explanations.  The  information,  he 
asserted,  which  he  had  received,  however, 
was  too  distinct  to  leave  any  doubt  upon 
his  mind ;  and  he  must  confess  that  his  own 
view  of  the  matter  was  entirely  changed  in 
consequence.  At  first  he  had  thought  that 
England  had  proposed  the  conference ; 
and  to  a  proposal  emanating  from  Great 
Britain,  or  any  other  neutral  power,  France 
would  have  been  disposed  to  give  a  ready 
assent :  but  it  was  a  very  dififerent  thing  to 
acquiesce  in  a  measure  brought  forward  by 
an  enemy,  and  by  an  enemy  who  was 
waging  war  in  France  itself  with  unprece- 
dented rigour.  He  did  not  see  how  France 
could  hold  any  proper  position  in  a  con- 
ference thus  held  under  Prussian  auspices. 
At  any  rate,  he  should  have  been  unable  to 
give  Lord  Lyons  the  answer  of  the  govern- 
ment, as  two  members  of  it,  M.  Gambetta 
and  M.  Cremieux,  had  been  absent  with 
the  army  near  Orleans,  and  had  only  just 
returned.  He  would,  however,  bring  the 
matter  before  them  in  the  afternoon. 

To  this  Lord  Lyons  replied  by  beseech- 
ing M.  de  Chaudordy  not  to  allow  his  own 
judgment,  or  that  of  the  government,  to  be 
warped  by  the  connection  of  Prussia  with 
the  proposal  they  had  to  consider ;  for  it 
was  clear  that  it  would  be  for  the  advan- 
tage of  France  that  the  conference  should 
meet,  and  that  she  should  be  represented 

27 


^^  I 


'/I 


tfl 


FRENCH  OBJECTIONS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870. 


■^^■ 


in  it;  and  it  would  be  greatly  regretted 
if  the  government  should  be  guided  by  an 
exaggerated  sensitiveness  on  what  was 
really  little  more  than  a  matter  of  punc- 
tilio. 

Hereupon,  M.  de  Chaudordy  said  that,  if 
the  proposal  had  originated  with  England, 
or  with  any  neutral,  he  should  have  felt 
sure  that  the  government  would  have  un- 
hesitatingly accepted  it.  As  it  was,  he 
could  not  undertake  to  give  any  opinion  as 
to  what  the  answer  might  be. 

The  next  day,  M.  de  Chaudordy  in- 
formed Lord  Lyons  that  the  government 
delegation  at  Tours  would  have  been  glad 
to  send  a  representative  to  the  conference, 
had  it  not  been  so  entirely  a  Prussian  pro- 
posal ;  and  that  it  could  not  be  expected 
that  France  should  agree  to  any  proposal  of 
such  a  nature  from  a  power  which  was 
overwhelming  her  with  war  in  its  severest 
ehape,  and  conducted  with  an  unheard-of 
rigour.  To  this  Lord  Lyons  replied  by 
pointing  out,  that  the  part  played  by  Prus- 
sia in  bringing  the  conference  about, 
might  be  held  to  be  of  importance  enough 
to*afford  France  a  pretext  for  hesitating 
to  join  the  conference,  if  she  desired  to 
find  a  pretext  for  hesitation  ;  but  that  was 
a  great  exaggeration  of  the  real  facts  of 
the  case  to  call  the  proposal  an  entirely 
Prussian  proposal.  It  was,  he  said,  on  the 
contrary,  in  fact,  much  more  an  English 
proposal;  and  it  was  from  him.  Lord 
Lyons,  that  he  had  received  the  first  in- 
formation of  the  Russian  circular. 

Still  further.  Lord  Lyons  also  pointed 
out,  that  what  Prussia  had  proposed  was 
a  conference  to  be  held  at  St,  Petersburg, 
without  any  special  conditions.  This  pro- 
posal her  majesty's  government  had  re- 
jected, and  made  a  proposal  of  their  own, 
in  which  it  was  expressly  stated  that  the 
conference  was  not  to  be  held  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  in  which  certain  preliminary 
conditions  were  laid  down  as  indispensable. 
It  was  thus  not  to  the  Prussian  proposal, 
but  to  the  English  proposal  that  the  French 
government  was  asked  to  consent. 

Count  Chaudordy,  however,  refused  to 
accept  this  view  of  the  situation,  and  in- 
sisted, that,  setting  all  other  arguments 
aside,  he  would  have  to  refer  the  question 
to  the  government  at  Paris.  He  engaged, 
however,  to  state  the  case  calmly  and  fairly 
to  Jules  Favre,  and  to  give  the  proposal 
his  own  personal  support. 

Count  Chaudordy's  object  was,  of  course, 
28 


to  induce  the  Prussian  authorities  to  agree 
to  an  armistice,  pending  the  duration  of 
the  conference.  This  would  naturally  have 
entailed  the  permission  for  the  authorities 
in  Paris  to  obtain  provisions — a  circum- 
stance which  no  military  commander  could 
allow  as  possible;  and  it  might  have  been 
plainly  foreseen  that  there  was  not  the  re- 
motest chance  of  Count  Moltke  consenting 
to  the  proposal. 

Still,  in  spite  of  this  very  self-evident 
proposition.  Count  Chaudordy  informed 
Lord  Lyons,  on  December  8th,  that  he  had 
received  a  letter  from  M.  Jules  Favre, 
which  did  not  convey  the  formal  answer  of 
the  government  at  Paris  to  the  proposal 
to  France  to  join  in  a  conference  on  the 
Russian  question,  but  which  expressed  the 
feelings  with  which  the  proposal  was  re- 
garded by  that  government. 

It  appeared,  M.  de  Chaudordy  said,  to 
be  considered  sad  and  incongruous  that  a 
French  plenipotentiary  should  be  sent  to 
London  to  talk  about  the  Black  Sea,  while 
France    itself  was    suffering    the   utmost 
rigour  of  war  at  the  hands  of  the  Prussians. 
As  England  had,  at  the  request  of  Prussia, 
invited    France    to    the    conference,   the 
government   at  Paris  conceived   that  her 
majesty's  government  had  undoubtedly  the 
right  to  insist  upon  such  concessions  being 
made  by  Prussia  as  would  render  it  pos- 
sible for  France  to  send  a  plenipotentiary 
to  the  conference,  and  to  appear  at  it  with 
dignity  and  decorum.     For  this  purpose  it 
would  be  necessary  that  the  government  of 
national  defence  should  have  the  means  of 
convoking  a  national  assembly,  and  of  de- 
liberating with  some  calmness.     They,  ac- 
cordingly, once   more  earnestly  requested 
her    majesty's   government    to   use   every 
effort   to  obtain   for  France  an  armistice 
on  reasonable  conditions,  which  n  ust,  of 
course,  include  the  revictualling  of  Paris 
for  the  time  the  suspension  of  hostilities 
continued.     These  arguments  were  accom- 
panied by  the  naive  observation,  that  it 
would  surely  be  shocking  to  all  Christian 
feeling,  that  the  season  of  Christmas  and 
the  new  year  should  be  desecrated  by  the 
continuance  of  such  hostilities  as  were  then 
being  carried  on  in  France ;  that,  in  fact, 
the  operations  of  the  enemy's  armies  should 
be  suspended,  in  order  to  let  the  French 
people    in    Paris    enjoy   their    Christmas 
dinners  in  comfort  and  security,  and  un- 
disturbed by  inconsiderate  shells  and  can- 
non-balls. 


A.D-.  1870.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  safe-conduct. 


With  these,  and  similar  arguments,  much    was  asked  to  inform  his  government  that 


time  and  money,  in  the  shape  of  lengthy 
telegrams  and  wordy  despatches,  were  con- 
sumed till  the  14th  December,  when  Lord 
Granville  telegraphed  to  Lord  Lyons, 
asking  for  a  definite  reply  from  the  French 
government.  Count  Chaudordy,  however, 
said,  that,  as  matters  stood,  it  was  impos- 
sible for  him  to  give  any  definitive  answer 
on  the  part  of  the  French  government. 
He  must,  he  said,  wait  for  instructions  from 
the  government  at  Paris,  to  whom  the  in- 
vitation had  been  referred.  He  expected 
to  receive  those  instructions  by  the  first 
opportunity;  he  thought  it,  indeed,  not 
improbable  that  they  might  be  in  a  balloon 
which  was  reported  to  have  come  down  at 
Honfleur ;  and  promised  to  let  Lord  Lyons 
know  the  instant  he  received  the  orders  of 
the  Paris  government.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  he  said  that  he  was  empowered  to 
gay  that,  under  certain  conditions,  the  dele- 
gation at  Bordeaux  would  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  accepting  at  once,  on  behalf  of  the 
whole  government,  the  invitation  to  the 
conference,  if  her  majesty's  government 
would  obtain  for  France  an  armistice,  on 
the  basis  of  a  proportionate  revictualling 
of  Paris,  and  thus  facilitate  the  convoca- 
tion of  a  national  assembly ;  or,  if  her 
majesty's  government  would  give  the 
French  government  an  assurance  that  the 
questions  between  France  and  Prussia 
should  be  treated  in  the  conference.  On 
either  of  these  conditions  the  delegation  at 
Bordeaux  would  be  warranted  in  declaring 
immediately  the  assent  of  France.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  the  long-expected 
balloon  came  to  earth,  and  brought  with  it 
a  reply  from  the  Paris  government,  signify- 
ing its  readiness  to  send  a  representative  to 
the  approaching  conference.  This  fact  was 
at  once  communicated  to  Earl  Granville, 
who  thereupon  communicated  with  Count 
BernstorfF,  the  Prussian  ambassador,  and 
bagged  him  to  apply  to  the  German  head- 
quarters at  Versailles  for  a  safe-conduct 
for  the  French  envoy  to  pass  through  the 
German  lines.  Three  days  later,  on  Decem- 
ber 23rd,  Earl  Granville  issued  the  invita- 
tions for  the  conference,  fixing  January  3rd, 
1871,  for  the  day  of  meeting  at  the 
Foreign  Office.  These  invitations  were  ac- 
cepted, on  behalf  of  their  various  govern-^, 
ments,  by  Baron  Brunnow,  Musurus  Pasha, 
Count  Bernstorfi^,  Count  Apponyi,  and  the 
Chevalier  Cadoma.  At  the  same  time,  the 
French  representative  in  London,  M.  Tissot, 

VOL.  m.  y 


the  day  had  been  appointed  for  the  meet- 
ing, and  to  ask  them  to  name  their  deputy 
as  speedily  as  possible.  The  reply  of  the 
French  government  was  received  on  De- 
cember 27th,  to  the  effect  that  thev  ac- 
cepted  the  invitation,  and  that  M.  Jules 
Favre  would  represent  France  at  the  con- 
ference. But,  at  the  same  time.  Count 
Chaudordy  added,  that  it  would  be  desir- 
able, in  order  to  avoid  delay,  that  notice 
should  be  given  at  Paris  by  the  Prussian 
head-quarters,  that  the  safe-conducts  were 
granted,  and  a  day  specified  on  which  they 
miLrht  be  used. 

Now,  to  ordinary  minds,  there  would 
have  appeared  to  be  no  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  M.  Favre's  journey  to  London. 
But  the  diplomatic  and  military  mind 
differs  very  essentially  from  the  ordinary 
mind.  There  was  to  be  no  difficulty  about 
granting  the  safe-conduct ;  but  the  diffi- 
culty was  as  to  how  Jules  Favre  should  be 
placed  in  possession  of  it ;  for  Count  Bern- 
stortf  informed  Earl  Granville,  that 
though  Count  Bismarck  was  prepared  to 
grant  the  safe-conduct,  and  that  it  was, 
in  fact,  already  drawn  up,  and  awaiting  M. 
Jules  Favre  at  the  German  head-quarters, 
yet  M.  Favre  must  send  a  flag  of  truce  to 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  besieging 
army,  to  apply  for  it,  as  the  Prussians 
were  determined  to  send  no  more  flagfs  of 
truce  into  Paris  until  they  had  received 
satisfaction  for  the  firing  on  the  one  last 
sent. 

This  was  a  terrible  contretemps!  The 
Prussians  would  not  send  an  officer  into 
Paris,  and  Jules  Favre  would  not  send  a 
flaof  of  truce  to  Versailles.  There  was  the 
safe-conduct  all  right,  but  nobody  to  take 
it  or  to  fetch  it.  Two  mighty  nations,  like 
Germany  and  France,  were  so  intent  upon 
squabbling  as  to  remind  one  irresistibly  of 
two  school-boys,  of  whom  one  has  knocked 
off  the  other's  cap  into  the  middle  of  the 
street,  the  owner  refusing  to  pick  it  up, 
rather  preferring  to  risk  losing  it ;  whilst 
the  other,  equally  determined,  preferred 
risking  punishment  for  being  the  cause  of 
the  loss.  The  apple-woman  at  the  corner, 
however — in  this  case  Lord  Granville — 
endeavoured  to  reconcile  the  squabblers. 
^'tHe  wrote  a  despatch  to  M.  Tissot,  saying, 
with  reference  to  the  suggestion  which  M. 
Tissot  had  made  him  privately,  to  the 
effect  that  he  should  endeavour  to  obtain 
permission  for  the  government  of  the  delq- 

29 


1  p 

I 


THE  SAFE-CONDUCT.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1871. 


gation  to  send  a  French  offioer  through  the 
German  lines,  to  inform  M.  Favre  that  he 
would  obUin  a  safe-conduct  at  the  German 
head-quarters  to  come  to  London,  that  he 
had   mentioned   the   suggestion   to  Count 
Bernstorif,  but  that  his  excellency  thought 
it  extremely  unlikely  that  such  a  permis- 
sion would  be  given,  and  alluded  to  the 
public  announcement  of   a  postal  service 
to  Paris.     He  then  asked  Count  Bernstortt 
whether  it  would  not  be  possible  to  send  a 
French  officer,  a  prisoner  on  parole,  to  give 
the  information  to  M.  Favre,  and  at  the 
same  time  inquired  of  Count  Bernstorif,  in 
writing,  whether  he  saw  objection  to  his 
sending  the  information  in  Mr.  Morans 
bag  to  Mr.  Washbume,  the  American  am- 
bassador at  Paris. 

To  this  Count  Bernstorff  made  no  objec- 
tion, but  informed  Earl  Granville  that 
such  had  already  been  done  in  this  way 
from  Versailles.  Consequently  Earl  Gran- 
ville wrote  to  M.  Favre,  through  Mr. 
Washbume,  the  following  letter,  which  was 
so  explicit  as  to  leave  no  doubt  upon  any 
reasonable  mind  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  :— 

"Foreign  Office,  December  29,  1870. 
«  M.  le  Ministre,— M.  Chaudordy  having 
informed  Lord  Lyons  that  your  excellency 
proposed  to  represent  France  in  the  con- 
ference agreed  to  be  held  in  London 
respecting  the  neutralisation  of  the  Black 
Sea,  and  having  asked  me  to  obtain  a  safe- 
conduct  for  your  excellency  through  the 
Prussian  lines,  I  lost  no  time  in  requesting 
Count  Bernstorff  to  apply  for  one,  and 
send  it  to  your  excellency  by  a  German 
officer  with  a  flag  of  truce. 

"  M.  de  Bernstorff  answered  me  the  next 
day,  saying  that  a  safe-conduct  would  be 
at  your  excellency's  disposal  as  soon  as  it 
was  asked  for  by  an  officer  sent  from  Paris 
to  the  German,  head-quarters,  but  that  it 
could  not  be  sent  by  a  German  officer 
until  satisfaction  was  given  for  the  officer 
bearing  a  flag  of  truce,  who  had  been  fired 
upon  by  the  French. 

"I  have  been  informed  by  M.  Tissot 
that  great  delay  may  occur  before  your 
excellency  obtains  the  information  from 
the  delegation  at  Bordeaux ;  and  although  I 
have  suggested  to  Count  Bernstorff  another 
means  of  conveying  it,  I  think  it  well  to 
avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  which  the 
American  chargS  d'affaires  has  been  good 
enough  to  consent  to,  in  order  to  tell  you 
what  has  passed. 
SO 


"  It  was  intended  to  hold  the  conference 
this  week  ;  but,  in  order  to  give  time  to  the 
French  plenipotentiary  to  arrive,  the  day 
of  meeting  was  settled  for  the  3rd  of 
January.  I  hope  your  excellency  will 
authorise  M.  Tissot  to  represent  you  at  the 
first  sitting,  when  I  shall  propose  that 
nothing  but  the  question  of  form  be  con- 
sidered ;  and  if,  as  I  much  desire,  your 
excellency  is  able  to  announce  your  arrival, 
I  will  propose  to  adjourn  the  conference 
for  a  week  in  order  to  obtain  the  great 
advantage  of  your  excellency's  presence. 

"  I  trust  that  your  excellency  will  allow 
me  to  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing 
my  satisfaction  at  entering  into  personal 
communication  with  you,  and  the  pleasure 
I  shall  feel  in  seeing  you  in  London. 

«  Granville." 

This  letter,   as  well  as  one  written  by 
Count  Bismarck,  saying  that  a  safe-conduct 
from  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  third 
army   was   awaiting  him,  was    handed  to 
Jules  Favre  by  Mr.  Washbume.     But  be- 
fore M.  Favre  had  received  Lord  Granville's 
communication,  he  said  to  Mr.  Washbume, 
that   he  knew   nothing  at  all   about   any 
conference,   and  did   not  intend  to   leave 
Paris  at  all;  and  certainly  not  in  conse- 
quence  of    any    communication    from   or 
through  Count  Bismarck,  as  he  could  not 
pretend     to     fathom     Count     Bismarck's 
motive.     The  consequence  of  this  misun- 
derstanding— if  misunderstanding  it  was — 
and  the  delav  in  M.  Favre's  receipt  of  Earl 
Granville's  letter,  was,  that  Earl  Granville 
postponed  the   meeting  of  the  conference 
from  January  3  to  January  17,  in  order  to 
afford    the    French    government    another 
opportunity  of  sending  a  representative. 

Still,  in  spite  of  all  this,  matters  did  not 
progress.      Despatch   upon    despatch    was 
written,  but  with  no  further  result  than 
that  on  January  18.     Jules  Favre  wrote  to 
Count  Bismarck  for  a  safe-conduct  for  his 
familv  and  relations ;  adding,  that  "  he  had 
not  the  right  to  ask  for  one  for  himself. 
Under  thesecircumstances,and  resolved  that 
he  would  not  be  played  with  any  longer, 
nor  suffer  the  conference  to  be  any  longer 
delayed,    Count     Bismarck     refused,     on 
January   19,  to  grant  M.  Jules  Favre  the 
safe-conduct  which  had  been  waiting  for 
him  since  December  28. 

It  was,  therefore,  useless  to  waste  any 

more  time,  and  on  January  17,  the  confer- 

|ence  held  its  first  sitting,  the.  plenipoten- 


/ 


A.D.  1871.] 


EUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  conference. 


tiaries  being  Lord  Granville,  Count  Ap- 
ponyi  for  Austria,  Count  Bernstoff  for 
North  Germany,  Chevalier  Cadorna  for 
Italy,  Baron  Brunnow  for  Kussia,  and 
Musurus  Pasha  for  Turkey. 

The  result  of  this  first  meeting  was  the 
establishment  of  the  principle,  that  no 
treaty  can  be  abrogated  except  with  the 
consent  of  the  contracting  parties  ;  and, 
on  the  proposal  of  Earl  Granville,  the  fol- 
lowing protocol  was  signed  : — 

"The  plenipotentiaries  of  North  Ger- 
many, of  Austria-Hungary,  of  Great  Britain, 
of  Italy,  of  Russia,  and  of  Turkey,  assem- 
bled to-day  in  conference,  recognise  that  it 
is  an  essential  principle  of  the  law  of  na- 
tions that  no  power  can  liberate  itself  from 
the  engagements  of  a  treaty,  nor  modify 
the  stipulations  thereof,  unless  with  the 
consent  of  the  contracting  powers,  by  means 
of  an  amicable  arrangement. 

"In   faith  of  which  the  said   plenipo- 
tentiaries have  signed  the  present  protocol. 
"Done  at   London,  the    17th  January, 
1871."     Here  follow  the  signatures. 

This    principle   having  thus  been  sub- 
scribed to  with  much  solemnity,  and  placed 
on  record,  as  it  were,  as  a  silent  protest 
against   Lord  Derby's  principles  of  1867, 
Baron  Brunnow  recapitulated  the  circum- 
stances and  facts  which,  since  the  signature 
of  the  treaty  concluded  at  Paris  on  the  ^§th 
March,  1856,  had  induced  the  powers  who 
signed  it  to  give  their  assent  to  different 
modifications  which    had    contributed   to 
alter  in   part  the   letter  of    the   original 
stipulations.     He   instanced  specially   the 
precedent  of  the  conferences  held  at  dif- 
ferent periods  at  Paris,  and  cited  the  de- 
cisions adopted  by  general  agreement,  with 
the  view  of  modifying  the  government  of 
the  principalities  of  Moldavia  and   Wal- 
lachia — an   alteration  which  received   the 
sanction  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  as  well  as 
the  assent  of  the  other  contracting-  powers, 
and  affirmed  that  these  deviations  from  the 
treaty  had  exercised  no  influence  on  the  firm 
intention  of  the  emperor  to  maintain  intact 
the  general  principles  of  the  treaty  of  1856, 
which  defined  the  position  of  Turkey  in  the 
system  of  Europe. 

After  having  explained  the  views  of  the 
Czar  on  this  subject,  he  pointed  out  how 
much  the  situation  of  Europe  then  differed 
from  that  which  existed  at  the  time  of  the 
congress  of  Paris;  and  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  changes  gradually  produced 
by  the  course  of  time,  expressed  an  opinion 


that  it  would  be  an  act  of  prudent  and  wi.«e 
policy  to  submit  the  stipulations  of  1856, 
relative  to  the  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea' 
to  a  complete  revision.;  for  these  stipu- 
lations, suggested  at  another  period  under 
the  influence  of  conjunctures  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  the  situation  under  considera- 
tion, were  no  longer  in  harmony  with 
the  relations  of  good  neighbourhood  which  ' 
still  existed  between  the  two  riverain 
powers. 

Hereupon  Musurus  Pasha  made  a  few 
observations,  accepting,  in  principle,  the 
proposal  to  revise  the  stipulations,  and  pro- 
posed the  adjournment  of  the  conference,  to 
enable  him  to  have  time  to  consider  the 
proposal  of  the  Russian  Court.  This  was 
agreed  to ;  and  on  January  24,  the  confer- 
ence met  again,  with,  however,  no  further 
result  than  that  it  was  agreed  that,  at  the 
next  sitting,  Baron  Brunnow  should  submit 
to  the  conference  a  draft  of  the  articles  it 
was  proposed  should  be  substituted  for 
those  in  the  treaty  of  Paris  on  the  same 
subject.  This  draft,  read  in  the  third 
sitting  on  February  3,  was  conceived  as 
follows : — 

"  Art.  1.  The  principle  of  the  closing  of 
the  Straits  of  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dar- 
danelles in  time  of  peace,  invariably  esta- 
blished as  the  ancient  rule  of  the  Ottoman 
empire,  and  confirmed  by  the  treaty  of 
Paris  of  March  30,  1856,  remains  in  full 
force. 

"  Art.  2.  His  imperial  majesty  the  Sul- 
tan, by  virtue  of  the  right  of  sovereignty 
which  he  exercises  over  the  Straits  of  the 
Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles,  reserves  to 
himself,  in  time  of  peace,  the  power  of  open- 
ing them  by  way  of  temporary  exception, 
in  case  only  that  the  interests  of  the 
security  of  his  empire  should  cause  him  to 
recognise  the  necessity  of  the  presence  of 
the  vessels  of  war  of  the  non-riverain 
powers. 

"  Art.  3.  It  is  agreed  that  the  stipulation 
contained  in  the  preceding  article  shall,  for 
the  future,  replace  those  of  Articles  11,  13, 
and  14,  of  the  treaty  of  Paris  of  March  30, 
1856,  as  well  as  the  special  convention 
concluded  between  the  Sublime  Porte  * 
and  Russia,  and  annexed  to  the  said  Ar- 
ticle 14. 

"  Art.  4.  The  high  contracting  parties 
renew  and  confirm  all  the  stipulations  of 
the  treaty  of  March  30,  1856,  as  well  as  of 
its  annexes  which  are  not  annulled  or 
modified  by  the  present  treaty.'* 

31 


!•' 


TRKATY   OF   LON'DOX.] 


HISTORY    OK  THE 


[a.d.  1871. 


Ik 


These  articles  Musurus  Pasha  declared 
himself  ready  to  accept,  on  condition  that 
the  word?,  "  friendly  powers  "  should^  be 
substituted  for  "  non-riverain  powers  "  in 
Article  2.  This  amendment  of  Musurus 
Pasha's  was  generally  objected  to,  his  asser- 
tion, that  it  was  a  diminution  of  the  Sultan's 
rights,  and  offensive  to  Kussia,  being  dis- 
posed of  by  Karl  Granville— that  in  the 
first  instance  the  contrary  was  the  case,  and 
that  in  the  second,  the  objection  fell  to  the 
ground  as  soon  as  the  Russian  government 
approved  of  the  wording.  No  agreement 
was,  however,  come  to  until  the  last  sitting, 
when  Chevalier  Cadorna  proposed  that  the 
article  should  be  framed  as  follows  :— 

"The  principle  of  the  closing  of  the 
Straits  of  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Bos- 
phorus,  such  as  it  has  been  established  by 
the  separate  treaty  of  March  30,  1856,  is 
maintained,  with  power  to  his  imperial 
majesty  the  Sultan  to  open  the  said  Straits 
in  "time  of  peace  to  the  fleets  of  the  friendly 
and  allitd  powers,  in  the  event  that  the 
execution  of  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty 
of  Paris  of  March  30,  1856,  should  require 

it." 

This  amended  form  was  generally  agreed 
to,  and  on  May  15,  1871,  the  treaty  was 
duly  ratified  in  the  following  form  :— 

« IN  THE  NAME  OF  ALMIGHTY  GOD. 

"  Her  majesty  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  &c. ;  his  majesty  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  &c. ;  his  majesty  the  Emperor 
of  Austria,  &c. ;  the  chief  of  the  executive 
of  the  French  Republic,  the  Due  de  Broglie, 
&c.  ;*  his  majesty  the  King  of  Italy,  &c. ; 
his  majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias, 
<Scc.,  and  his  majesty  the  Emperor  of  the  Ot- 
tomans, &c.,have  agreed  upon  the  following 

Hrticles  « — "■ 

"Art.  1.  Articles  11,  13,  and  14  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris  of  March  30,  1856,  as  well 
as  the  special  convention  concluded  be- 
tween Russia  and  the  Sublime  Porte,  and 
annexed  to  the  said  Article  14,  are  abro- 
gated, and  replaced  by  the  following  article. 

"  Art.  2.  The  principle  of  the  closing 
of  the  Straits  of  the  Dardanelles  and  the 
Bosphorus,  such  as  it  has  been  established 
by  the  separate  convention  of  March  30, 
1856,  is  maintained,  with  power  to  his 
imperial  majesty  the  Sultan  to  open  the 
said  Straits,  in  time  of  peace,  to  the  vessels 
of  war  of  friendly  and  allied  powers,  in  case 

♦  The  Duke  de  Broglie  attended  the  conference 
after  the  capitulation  of  Paris. 
32 


the  Sublime  Porte  should  judge  it  neces- 
sary in  order  to  secure  the  execution  of  the 
stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Paris  of  March 

30,  1856. 

"  Art.  3.  The  Black  Sea  remains  open, 
as  heretofore,  to  the  mercantile  marine  of 
all  nations. 

"  Art.  4.  The  commission  established  by 
Article  16  of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  which 
the  powers  who  joined  in  signing  the  treaty 
are  each  represented  by  a  delegate,  and 
which  was  charged  with  the  designation  and 
execution  of  the  works  necessary  below 
Isaktcha,  to  clear  the  mouths  of  the  Danube, 
as  well  as  the  neighbouring  parts  of  the 
Black  Sea,  from  the  sands  and  other  im- 
pediments which  obstruct  them,  in  order  to 
put  that  part  of  the  river  and  the  said  parts 
of  the  sea  in  the  best  state  for  navigation,  is 
maintained  in  its  present  composition. 
The  duration  of  that  commission  is  fixed 
for  a  further  period  of  twelve  years,  count- 
ing from  April  24,  1871 ;  that  is  to  say,  till 
April  24,  1883,  being  the  term  of  the  re- 
demption of  the  loan  contracted  by  that 
commission,  under  the  guarantee  of  Great 
Britain,  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,France, 

Italy,  and  Turkey. 

"Art.  5.  The  conditions  of  the  re-as- 
sembling of  the  riverain  commission,  estab- 
lished by  Articles  17  of  the  treaty  of  Paris 
of  March  30th,  1856,  shall  be  fixed  by  a 
previous  understanding  between  the  river- 
ain powers,  without  prejudice  to  the  clause 
relative  to  the  three  Danubian  principali- 
ties ;  and  in  so  far  as  any  modification  of 
Article  17  of  the  said  treaty  may  be  involved, 
this  latter  shall  form  the  subject  of  a 
special  convention  between  the  co-signatory 
powers. 

"  Art.  6.  As  the  powers  which  possess 
the  shores  of  that  part  of  the  Danube 
where  the  cataracts  and  the  iron  gates  offer 
impediments  to  navigation,  reserve  to 
themselves  to  come  to  an  understanding 
with  the  view  of  removing  those  impedi- 
ments, the  high  contracting  parties  recog- 
nise, from  the  present  moment,  their 
right  to  levy  a  provisional  tax  on  vessels 
of  commerce  of  every  flag  which  may 
henceforth  benefit  thereby,  until  the  ex-r 
tinction  of  the  debt  contracted  for  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  works ;  and  they  declare 
Article  16  of  the  treaty  of  Paris  of  1856, 
to  be  inapplicable  to  that  part  of  the  river 
for  a  space  of  time  necessary  for  the  repay- 
ment of  the  debt  in  question. 

"Art.   7.  All  the  works  and  establish-i 


I.D.  1871.] 


ments  of  every  kind  created  by  the  Euro- 
pean commission  in  execution  of  the  treaty 
of  Paris  of  1856,  or  of  the  present  treaty, 
siiall  continue  to  enjoy  the  same  neutrality 
which  has  hitherto  protected  them,  and 
w^hich  shall  be  equally  respected  for  the 
future,  under  all  circumstances,  by  the 
high  contracting  parties.  The  benefits  of 
the  immunities  which  result  therefrom, 
shall  extend  to  the  whole  administrative 
and  engineering  staff"  of  the  commission. 
It  is,  however,  well  understood,  that  the 
provisions  of  this  article  shall  in  no  way 
aff'ect  the  right  of  the  Sublime  Porte  to 
send,  as  heretofore,  its  vessels  of  war  into 
the  Danube  in  its  character  of  territorial 
power." 

Such  were  the    terms  of  the  treaty  of 
London,  which  was  the  first  step  towards  the 
abandonment  of  all  the  results  gained  by  the 
Crimean  war.     It  was  not  what  was  actually 
ceded  to  Russia  that  was  of  such  importance. 
It  was  the  unworthy  concession  of  prin- 
ciple involved  that  was  of  most  import- 
ance.    It  was  even  worse  than  unworthy ; 
it  was  a    blunder.      It  acknowledged  the 
right  of  one  power  to  claim  the  privilege  of 
refusing   to  be  bound  any  longer  by  the 
terms  of  a  treaty  imposed  upon  it ;  it  fol- 
lowed up  the  contemptible  declaration  of 
Lord  Stanley  in  1867,  and  confirmed  the 
new  theory,  that  treaties  only  confer  privi- 
leges, but  do  not  entail  duties ;  and,  finally, 
it  was  as  senseless  in   its  provisions  as  it 
was  opposed  to  all  international  law.     For 
the  abrogation  of  the  neutralisation  of  the 
Black  Sea  had  no  value  at  all  for  the  Rus- 
sians as  long  as  the  Dardanelles  and  Bos- 
phorus   were    not     under    their     control. 
True,  they  might  build  ship  upon  ship  in 
the    Euxine,   build   fortress  upon   fortress, 
and  arsenal    upon  arsenal ;    but   all   that 
would  be  useless   to  them  as  long  as  the 
entrance  and  egress  to  and  from  the  sea 
was  barred  to  them.     A  desire,  therefore, 
to  abolish  the  neutralisation  of  the  Euxine 
could  only  proceed   from  two  motives — a 
wish  to  be  free  to  attack  Turkey  on  her 
sea-coast,  and  to  secure  an  outlet  for  her 
vessels  into  the  Mediterranean.     There  was 
no  other  motive.     But  both  of  these  desires 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [faults  of  the  treaty. 


were  in  direct  opposition,  not  only  to  the 
letter,  but  also  to  the  spirit  of  the  treaty 
of  Paris ;  and  had  Earl  Granville  and  the 
British  cabinet  been  but  actuated  by  the 
commonest  sentiment  of  national  honesty 
and  patriotism,  they  would  have  taken 
their  stand  upon  this  view ;  and  if  they 
could  not  have  obtained  the  adhesion  of  the 
rest  of  the  powers,  they  would  have  sum- 
marily closed  the  conference,  and  have  re- 
served their  rights,  if  not  prepared  to  act 
upon  them.  As  it  was,  the  conference  of 
1871  can  only  be  compared  to  a  penny- 
gaff  meeting  of  stealers  and  concealers. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  almost 
looks  like  triviality  to  direct  attention  to 
the  terms  of  this  London  treaty  of  1871. 
After  the  equivocations  which  had  preceded 
it,  what  value  can  be  attached  to  any 
treaty  ?  It  would  be  far  better,  far  more 
practical,  and  far  more  honourable,  to  do 
away  with  treaties  altogether,  and,  taking 
a  page  out  of  the  history  of  the  middle 
ages,  only  enter  into  truces  of  a  certain 
duration,  as  Richard  Lion-heart  and  Sala- 
din  were  in  the  habit  of  doing. 

Still,  as  a  matter  of  abstract  interest,  it 
may  be  pointed  out  that,  as  the  great  ar- 
gument for  the  revision  of  the  treaty  of 
Paris  was  based  on  the  length  of  time 
which  had  elapsed ;  that,  as  the  treaty  of 
Paris  had  been  re-affirmed  in  all  its  pro- 
visions, except  in  the  articles  modified  by 
the  conference ;  and  that,  as  it  was  gene- 
rally agreed  that  such  modifications  were 

all  that  was  necessary  to  secure  peace 

having   regard   to   all   this,    solemnly   re- 
asserted, "  in  the  name  of  Almighty  God" 

it  was,  at  any  rate,  to  be  supposed  that  the 
question  would  not  be  re-opened  for  some 
time  to  come.  And,  be  it  noted,  the 
stipulations  touching  the  Danube  were 
altered  on  this  basis,  so  as  to  remove  all 
cause  of  disagreement,  and  the  neutrality 
of  that  river  solemnly  re-guaranteed  by  all 
the  contracting  powers.  What  the  value 
of  this  guarantee  was,  events  began  rapidly 
to  demonstrate  during  a  course  of  agita- 
tion and  intrigue,  in  Turkey  in  Europe  and 
Asia,  that  is  without  a  parallel  in  history, 
ancient  or  modern, 

33 


I 


I: 


i- 


\ 


:4 


I* 


INTRIOUES  IN  ASIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1871. 


CHAPTER  III. 


TJNDBRMININO  THE    PORTE. 


Before  entering  into  the  relations  between 
Russia  and  the  Porte,  it  is  necessary  to  state 
that  the  governmental  and  administrative 
abuses  which  have  characterised  the  rule  of 
the  Turkish  empire  have  been  partly  grossly 
exaggerated,  partly  grossly  under-stated ; 
and  have  been  due,  in  ninety-seven  cases 
out  of  a  hundred,  not  to  Moslem  fanaticism, 
but  to  Christian  intolerance  ;  not  to  Turkish 
vice,  but  to  Christian  viciousness;  not  to 
Oriental  luxury,  but  to  Christian  de- 
bauchery ;  and  not  to  Asiatic  extravagance, 
but  to  European  usury.  It  is  not  the 
Moslem  and  the  Turk  who  are  the  curse  of 
one  of  the  fairest  countries  in  the  world,  but 
it  is  the  gross  Hebrew,  the  bastard  Greek, 
the  corrupt  Armenian,  and  the  brutish 
Circassian,  who  have  been  the  cause  of 
ninety-seven  hundredths  of  the  misery 
which  has  turned  a  garden  into  a  desert. 

This  is  universally  acknowledged  by 
every  one  at  all  conversant  with  the  real 
state  of  affairs  in  the  East ;  by  everybody 
who  has  had  personal  experience  of  these 
countries,  and  by  every  student  whose 
interests,  incapacity,  or  partisanship  have 
not  led  him  into  the  opposite  view. 

In  saying  this,  all  is  said  that  can  be 
said  against  the  Turkish  government.  It 
is  a  government  of  intolerance,  viciousness, 
debauchery,  and  usury,  administered  by 
gross  Hebrews,  bastard  Greeks,  corrupt 
Armenians,  and  brutish  Circassians — the 
sweepings  of  the  modern  world  piled  up  on 
the  garbage  of  the  old. 

This  is  classical  language.  It  has  been 
adopted  in  reference  to  the  government  of 
Turkey  repeatedly  and  repeatedly  at  vari- 
ous periods,  by  such  literary  authorities  as 
Mr.  Gladstone,  Thomas  Carlyle,  Mr.  Free- 
man, and  other  litterateurs  ;  and  as  such  it 
is  worthy  of  being  focussed  into  a  few  lines 
— all  the  more  so  as  it  is  perfectly  well 
founded,  and  true  in  all  particulars. 

Yet  these  authorities  proposed  to  remedy 
this  state  of  affairs  by  abolishing  the  Turks  ; 
by  taking  away  the  dagger,  but  leaving  the 
assassin  scot-free  to  choose  another  weapon. 

But  as  this   retrograde   section   of  the 
human  species  are  convinced  that  all  men 
34 


are  liars  who  presume  to  think  the  Turk 
better  than  Greek,  Slav,  and  Armenian,  and 
hold  that  the  Moslem  is  more  worthy  than 
the  Eastern  Christian,  it  may  as  well  be 
stated  at  the  outset,  that  it  has  been  en- 
deavoured, in  the  following  pages,  to  secure 
that  maximum  of  accuracy  which  the 
amount  of  veracity  still  existing  amongst 
the  consuls  and  ambassadors  of  Great 
Britain  has  allowed  of.  Every  fact,  there- 
fore, in  thispresent  chapter  is  substantiated 
on  the  best  authority  obtainable ;  and  it 
will  be  most  convenient  to  group  these  facts 
according  to  the  districts  they  refer  to. 
The  commencement  may  be  made  with 
Asia  Minor. 

Thus,  in  December,  1870,  whilst  the 
negotiations  for  the  conference  on  the 
revision  of  the  treaty  of  Paris  were  ap- 
proaching their  conclusion,  a  force  of 
between  30,000  and  40,000  Russians  (and 
according  to  some  accounts  60,000)  were 
being  massed  at  Akhaltzik  and  Erivan, 
two  points  at  a  short  distance  only  from  the 
Turkish  frontier,  near  Ardahan  and  Bayazid 
in  Turkey,  the  least  defensible  on  that  line 
since  Kars  had  been  in  some  degree  forti- 
fied. At  the  same  time  the  Russians  had, 
by  degrees,  been  drawing  large  supplies  of 
grain  from  Shuragel  and  the  rich  country 
about  Kars,  in  such  quantities  as  to  raise 
the  price  of  cereals  considerably  in  those 
quarters. 

The  object  of  this  concentration  can 
scarcely  admit  of  a  doubt.  It  was  to  be  in 
readiness  to  commence  hostilities  in  ca^^e 
the  conference  should  result  unfavourably 
to  Russia.  But  all  doubt  disappears  when 
it  is  known  that  the  frontier  Kurdish  and 
other  tribes,  together  with  the  Armenian 
population,  were  in  a  worse  state,  as  retrards 
Turkey,  than  they  were  even  in  1869.  Their 
relations  towards  Russia  were  more  intimate, 
their  discontent  to  wards  thelocal  government 
more  intense,  from  causes  arising  during  the 
weak,  inefficient  administration  of  the 
then  Vali,  Mustafa  Pai?ha,  who,  unfor- 
tunately, was  powerfully  supported  by  the 
Turkish  minister  of  war ;  and  fanatical, 
ignorant,  and  obstinate,  united  in  his  per- 


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1 


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!|t 


A.D.  1870,] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[mar  shamun. 


son  the  chief  civil  and  military  authority, 
without  possessing  the  requisite  energy  or 
ability  to  carry  either  on  properly. 

The  military  which  filled  the  town  exer- 
cised unbounded  license  towards  civilians : 
complaints  made  against  them  were  disre- 
garded, and  consequently  they  were  in  a 
complete  state  of  insubordination  and  de- 
moralisation. They  did  not  scruple  to 
declare  openly,  want  of  confidence  in  their 
officers,  and  the  certainty  of  defeat  in  the 
event  of  hostilities  breaking  out  between 
Russia  and  Turkey.  The  unfortunate  in- 
fluence France  was  allowed  to  gain  in  these 
countries,  had  taught  them  to  believe  she 
alone  could  aid  them  in  emergency,  and 
thus  her  collapse  induced  the  idea  that  there 
was  no  other  nation  capable  of  resisting 
Russian  aggression.  Even  Turkish  officers 
were  heard  repeating  such  remarks ;  while 
other  Moslems  said,  "Now  that  France  is 
lost  we  can  do  as  we  like  with  the  Chris- 
tians ;"  and  such  belief  is  manifest  in  the 
altered  state — for  the  worse — of  their  de- 
meanour towards  them.  All  the  employes, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  military  and 
civil,  except  the  Mektubtchi,  a  creature  of 
the  Vali's,  were  on  bad  terms  with  him  ;  and 
each,  of  course,  in  his  respective  depart- 
ment, tried  .  to  do  as  little  as  possible, 
and  to  thwart  him  as  far  as  he  might  be 
able. 

This  state  of  things  was  speedily  taken 
advantage  of  by  the  Russians.  It  was 
stated  in  the  St.  Petersburg  papers,  that 
the  Christians  were  leaving  Trebizonde  by 
thousands,  and  immigrating  into  Russia, 
in  order  to  escape  from  the  oppression  and 
cruelty  of  the  Turks. 

Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  not  one  single 
native  Christian  had  emigrated  from  Trebi- 
zonde for  at  least  three  years  previously. 
But  a  number  of  Russian  agents  succeeded 
in  persuading  a  number  of  Greek  families 
to  migrate  into  the  Caucasus,  where  they 
would  be  placed  in  possession  of  the  lands 
•whence  the  tribes  of  the  Adijeh  and  the 
Abchasians  had  been  expelled  in  1864  and 
1867.  One  hundred  and  forty  families  of 
these  people  (about  1,000  souls  in  all)  em- 
barked at  Samsun  in  November,  and  were 
landed  at  Anopa,  Novo-Russiska,  and 
Tuapsee,  on  the  Circassian  coast.  Their 
reception,  however,  by  the  Russian  authori- 
ties, and  the  subsequent  treatment  they 
were  subjected  to  were  such,  that  within 
two  months  350  perished  of  sheer  misery, 
and  400  petitioned  the  Turkish  government 


to  allow  them  to  return.  The  permission 
was  given. 

Thus,  whatever  might  be  the  character  of 
the  Turkish  administration,  that  of  the 
Russians  was  clearly  worse,  according  to 
these  400  impartial  witnesses. 

At  the  same  time  Russian  agents  had 
been  sent,  as  early  as  1868,  to  agitate 
amongst  the  Nestorian  Christians.  They 
had  considerable  success,  and  the  imme- 
diate result  was  a  letter  from  the  Patriarch 
Mar  Shamun  to  the  Grrand  Duke  Michael, 
commander  of  the  armv  of  the  Caucasus. 

To  the  brother  of  the  mighty  Emperor  of 
Russia,  the  King  Michael,  of  high  es- 
tate, salutations  and  peace  from  Mar 
Shamun,  Patriarch  of  the  East, 

"  For  some  time  past  you  have  known  and 
heard  of  the  state  of  the  Nestorians,  a 
nation  of  poor  people,  numbering  more  than 
16,000  families,  living  in  these  mountains  at 
Kurdistan.  They  have  no  place  to  sow  a 
sufficiency  of  grain  to  provide  themselves 
with  bread.  The  Kurds  have  forcibly 
taken  possession  of  several  of  our  churches 
and  convents ;  they  constantly  abduct  our 
virgins,  brides,  and  women,  forcing  them 
to  turn  Moslem.  For  twenty  years  and 
more  the  Turks  have  taken  possession  of 
the  country ;  but  they  are  worse  than  the 
Kurds,  as  they  do  not  protect  us  from  them, 
but  demand  from  us  military  taxes,  poll- 
tax,  and  other  moneys.  At  the  same  time 
the  Kurds  demand  and  take  from  us,  as 
was  their  custom  of  old,  pretending  the 
Nestorians  are  their  'zirr  kurr '  (serfs), 
that  is,  bought  with  money  by  them.  The 
Turks  neither  protect  our  persons,  property, 
nor  honour  from  the  Kurds,  for  which 
reasons  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  give  them 
money  (namely,  to  pay  the  taxes). 

"  Now,  such  being  our  condition,  we  be- 
seech your  mightiness,  for  the  sake  of 
Jesus,  His  Baptism,  and  Cross,  either  free 
us  from  such  a  state,  or  procure  us  a  re- 
medy. If,  at  a  subsequent  period,  you 
think  it  necessary,  we  will  send  you  a 
special  agent  on  our  part,  who  will  be  able 
to  inform  you  of  all  that  is  requisite  ia 
detail. 

"  May  the  Lord  preserve  you.     Amen. 
"  Given  in  Kockhannes,  from  the  patri- 
archal residence. 

(Signed  and  sealed)     «  The  Petitioner, 
Patriarch  of  the  East, 

"Mar  Shamun. 
"His  Father,  Benjamin."     ^ 

35 


■j|. 


•Hi  IK 


I 


i' 


V» 


I 


I 


THE  NESTOHTANS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870. 


\ 


The  complaints  of  the  patriarch,  it  will 
be  observed,  were  directed  against  the 
Kurds  rather  than  the  Turks ;  but  as  was 
also  the  case  in  the  vilayet  of  Diarbekir, 
the  chief  instigator  of  all  the  mischief  was 
a  Christian.  At  Diarbekir,  it  was  a  Chris- 
tian who,  in  partnership  with  Hamed 
Pasha,  shared  the  plunder  which  his  know- 
ledge of  the  affairs  of  the  Christians  enabled 
him  and  his  associates  to  make.  Of  this 
the  patriarch  made  no  mention  in  his  com- 
plaints— complaints  which  the  Eussian 
authorities  afterwards  made  use  of  in  their 
sweeping  denunciations  of  the  "  Turk." 
But  it  was  to  get  a  goodly  array  of  such 
complaints  that  a  young  Russian  was 
allowed  to  leave  Tiflis,  and  marry  amongst 
the  Nestorians,  the  business  of  his  life  being 
the  formulation  of  complaints,  and  narra- 
tives of  the  atrocities  committed  by  the 
Kurds  and  refuse  of  the  Caucasus,  with 
which  the  Turkish  government  was  so 
elated. 

Now,  regarding  the  Patriarch  Mar 
Shamun,  the  Nestorian  consul,  Taylor, 
states,  that  "  although  there  was  much  to 
be  said  on  both  sides,  it  seemed,  without 
doubt,  that  the  Nestorians,  notwithstanding 
the  complaints  the  Turks  brought  against 
them,  were  more  sinned  against  than  sin- 
ning, and,  therefore,  in  some  measurejusti- 
fied  in  the  pleas  they  constantly  put  for- 
ward for  not  liquidating  the  arrears  due 
from  them.  For,  since  1843,  they  had  been 
exposed  to  the  daily  and  nightly  attacks  of 
robbers  enjoying,  owing  to  religious  fellow- 
ship, the  secret  sympathy  of  government 
agents.  Their  churches  were  ruined  or 
turned  into  mosques;  their  virgins  and 
wives  ruthlessly  torn  from  their  homes,  and 
compelled  to  abjure  their  faith ;  their 
winter  supplies  and  provisions  violently 
carried  off,  without  payment,  by  govern- 
ment troops  purposely  stationed  there  to 
protect  them  ;  and  the  original  assessment 
of  their  taxes  so  grossly  unjust  as  to  be 
totally  out  of  proportion  to  their  means 
and  numbers,  they  being  assessed  for 
*Aaneh  Askraieh'  (military  tax)  three 
times  the  amount  of  their  'vergu'  (or- 
dinary tax),  a  thing  unheard  of  elsewhere, 
the  one  tax  being  always  equal  with  the 
other.'' 

This  passage  shows  that  Consul  Taylor 
was  in  nowise  favourably  disposed  towards 
the  Turkish  government :  no  one  who 
knows  anything  of  it  is.  But  the  fact  is 
£imply  this,  that  the  patriarch,  in  his  own 
36 


small  way,  was  a  sort  of  infallible  pope 
amongst  the  mountains  in  the  Van  district, 
and  objected  to  the  Turks  collecting  any 
revenue  from  his  "  subjects  "  as  much  as  he 
objected  to  the  Kurds,  because  he  wanted 
to  keep  whatever  income  there  was  for  him- 
self. Instead,  therefore,  of  organising  a 
body  of  local  gendarmes  out  of  the  70,000 
inhabitants  who  acknowledged  his  authority, 
to  protect  themselves  against  the  Kurds, 
he  wrote  whining  letters  to  Russia  and  to 
the  British  episcopacy,  in  the  latter  of 
which  he  was  aided,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  by 
Vice-Consul  Rassam,  of  Mosul,  a  native  of 
the  country,  and  originally  an  employe  of 
Mr.  Layard's  during  his  explorations  at 
Nineveh — one  of  that  class  of  foreign  indi- 
viduals whose  services  are  most  valuable 
outside  of  the  British  government.  Aware 
of  all  this,  and  aware  of  the  machinations 
of  foreign  agents,  Consul  Taylor  was  anxious 
that  a  stop  should  be  put  to  them  by  re- 
moving, if  possible,  the  cause — by  pro- 
viding sufficient  remedies  for  the  wrongs 
complained  of.  Thus  he  had  a  long  con- 
versation with  the  Vali,  Ahmed  Pasha, 
upon  all  these  matters,  and  as  to  the  course 
he  should  pursue  with  respect  to  the 
patriarch  and  affairs  generally  in  the 
mountains.  The  pasha  complained,  at  the 
outset,  that  the  insubordination  existing 
there  was  kept  up  by  Russian  intrigue, 
emanating  from  Georgia  and  Erzeroum ; 
adding  that,  in  his  opinion,  nothing  could 
be  effected,  either  for  government  interests 
or  the  Nestorians,  as  long  as  the  anomaly 
of  an  hereditary  chief  combining  spiritual 
and  temporal  powers  existed  in  those  parts, 
as  afforded  in  Mar  Shamun's  case  over  the 
Ashiret.  Mr.  Taylor  told  him,  if  that  was  the 
only  obstacle  to  a  proper  redress  of  the 
Nestorian  complaints,  and  if  he  felt  his 
government  was  and  always  would  be 
strong  enough  to  protect  the  Nestorians,  in 
the  absence  of  their  chief,  from  Kurdish  and 
other  depredations,  and  if  he  would  gua- 
rantee the  condonation  by  the  Porte  of  all 
arrears  to  date,  he  thought  Mar  Shamun 
would  readily  abdicate  his  temporal  power, 
which  the  Porte  had  allowed  him  and  his 
predecessors  to  exercise  ;  and  would  even 
remove  the  patriarchate  to  Van,  were  the 
government  to  accord  him  equal  privileges 
and  honours  with  the  other  patriarchs, 
place  a  suitable  residence  there  at  his  dis- 
posal, and  guarantee  him  a  yearly  pension 
in  conformity  with  his  rank  and  influence 
over  the  28,000  families  who  obeyed  his 


A.D.  1870-75.1 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  nestorians. 


orders  in  Turkey  alone.  The  pasha  said  he 
could  not  answer  for  the  arrears,  but 
thought  there  would  be  no  difficulty  about 
the  Kurds,  or  the  question  about  the  patri- 
arch's privileges,  and  that  he  would  sup- 
port the  proposition  of  a  residence  and 
pension  if  Mar  Shamun  agreed  to  the  terms 
Mr.  Taylor  mentioned.  He  ended  the  con- 
versation by  asking  the  consul  to  put  him- 
self in  communication,  on  his  part,  with 
Mar  Shamun  on  the  subject,  and  begged 
him,  in  reporting  his  (the  pasha's)  pro- 
posals, to  ask  for  the  British  ambassador's 
support  for  them  at  head-quarters. 

In  compliance  with  the  pasha's  request, 
Mr.  Taylor  communicated  with  Sir  Henry 
Elliot,  advising  the  acceptance  of  the 
pasha's  proposals ;  and  also  wrote  to  Mar 
Shamun,  strongly  counselling  him  to  close 
with  any  offer  in  the  above  sense  which  the 
Porte  mifjht  make  to  him. 

All  this  occurred  in  1868.  Yox  more 
than  two  years  the  matter  remained  in 
abeyance.  Ahmed  Pasha  was  succeeded  by 
Ismail  Pasha,  and  Ismail  by  Mustafa  Pasha, 
both  of  whom  agreed  with  their  predecessor 
in  his  views.  Still  the  negotiations  did 
not  advance,  whether  in  consequence  of 
Russian  intrigue  or  not.  It  is,  indeed, 
quite  possible  that  the  Russians  had  no 
hand  in  the  matter  directly.  What  is  of 
interest  and  to  the  point,  is  the  character 
of  the  patriarch  and  his  Nestorians. 
Consul  Taylor,  indeed,  formally  acquits  the 
Russians  of  having  any  hand  in  the  patri- 
arch's affairs,  and  gives  a  graphic  account 
of  the  further  progress  of  the  dispute. 

It  seems  that  Mar  Shamun,  to  whom  the 
pasha's  ideas  were  communicated,  had  no 
objection  to  the  project  proposed;  for,  per- 
sonally, he  would  have  been  an  honoured 
guest,  with  a  handsome  salary,  free  from  the 
cares  of  his  anomalous  position  as  high 
priest  and  chief  of  a  brigand  horde ;  but  his 
father  and  uncle,  who  advised  him  and 
regulated  all  his  affairs,  were  totally  op- 
posed, as  its  adoption  would  have  deprived 
them  of  the  emoluments  and  consequence 
they  derived  from  the  position  of  their 
relative  as  a  semi-independent  chief,  with 
absolute  control  over  the  lives  and  property 
of  the  mountain  Nestorians.  The  correct- 
ness of  this  statement  is  substantiated  by 
the  fact  that  Mar  Shamun  quitted  his 
hitherto  absolute  seclusion  in  the  moun- 
tain, for  the  first  time,  in  1869,  and  visited 
Van,  to  confer  with  the  Mutessarif,  Ali 
Kemali  Pasha,  on  the  plan  proposed.     He 

VOL.  111.  G 


remained  some  time  there ;  was  treated, 
seemingly,  with  all  outward  respect,  and 
had  a  pension  of  5,000  piastres  a  month 
allowed  to  him  and  the  Tujari  chiefs,  his 
pension  formerly  having  only  been  500 
piastres  per  month.  Mar  Shamun,  on  his 
part,  signed  an  agreement  relative  to  the 
future  payment  of  the  taxes  and  arrears ; 
he  also  engaged,  for  himself  and  people,  to 
observe  all  the  rules  and  regulations  pre- 
scribed by  the  vilayet  system,  which  had 
not  yet  been  introduced  into  the  country 
under  his  jurisdiction  ;  and  matters  having 
thus  been  apparently  satisfactorily  settled, 
he  left  for  bis  abode,  accompanied  by  Khoja 
Yeremieh  Shenier,  a  native  of  Mossul, 
and  formerly  Mr.  Taylor's  consular  drago- 
man at  Diarbekir,  and  a  perfect  Chaldean 
and  Syriac  scholar,  as  government  agent,  to 
see  that  the  new  rules  and  regulations  were 
properly  circulated  among,  and  observed  by, 
the  Nestorians,  according  to  the  agreement 
sicrned  bv  Mar  Shamun  at  Van.  It  is  need- 
less  to  report  what  occurred  during  Khoja 
Yeremieh's  detention  on  this  mist«ion  with 
the  patriarch ;  but  the  result  is  that,  once 
again  surrounded  by  his  self-interested  ad- 
visers. Mar  Shamun,  for  himself  and  the 
Tujari  chiefs,  in  the  presence  of  the  Kaima- 
kam  and  Medjliss  of  Julamerk  (the  district 
in  which  the  patriarch's  residence  is  situ- 
ated), deliberately  repudiated  all  he  had 
before  agreed  to,  his  uncle  finishing  the 
discussion  by  saying,  "  Our  nation  is  like  a 
young  bride,  whom  we  will  never  give  up 
to  any  one."  The  written  report,  embody- 
ing this  statement  in  detail,  was  received  at 
Erzeroum  shortly  before  Mr.  Taylor  returned 
from  leave  in  England.  Some  days  after 
his  arrival,  the  Vali  requesting  that  he 
would  call  upon  him,  Mr.  Taylor  waited 
upon  him  at  his  residence,  when  he  in- 
formed him  of  Mar  Shamun's  conduct,  and 
furnished  him,  at  the  same  time,  with 
Khoja  Yeremieh's  report. 

Still,  in  spite  of  this  breach  of  his  agree- 
ment by  Mar  Shamun,  the  governor  of 
Erzeroum  still  signified  his  willingness  to 
forgive  the  Nestorians  all  their  arrears  of 
taxes  since  1853  as  soon  as  the  patriarch 
complied  with  the  terms  of  his  engagement. 
But  this  was  just  what  the  patriarch  and 
his  worthy  family  had  no  idea  of  doing  ;  so 
that,  in  the  autumn  of  1871,  they  still  con- 
tinued to  pay  what  taxes  they  chose  irregu- 
larly, and  remained  as  deeply  as  ever  in- 
debted to  government  for  accumulated 
arrears   of   taxes.     There  were  also  heavy 

37 


v» 


,M 


THE  TCHETCHENS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-75. 


complaints  against  them  for  frequent  rob- 
beries   and    cattle-lifting,    committed    on 
their    neighbours,    chance-travellers,    and 
Fheep-dealers  who  frequented  their  country 
in  the   pursuit   of  trade.     The   continued 
leniency  of  government  towards  them  in- 
duced the  belief  among  the  chiefs  that  its 
conduct  was  controlled  by  weakness  or  defer- 
ence to  the  wishes  of  foreign  powers,  who 
would  view  any  coercive  measures  adopted 
towards    Christians    with    disapprobation. 
The    ignorant    Nestorians   were,   in    some 
measure,  confirmed  in   these  ideas  by  the 
misdirected  zeal  of   foreign  church  propa- 
gandists, lay  and  clerical,  whom  they  re- 
garded as  government  agents,  each  to  them 
seeming  to  set  a  high  value  on  their  friend- 
ship, and  to  look  upon  its  acquisition  in  the 
light  of  an  important  political  gain.  With- 
out the  slightest  intention  of  entering  into 
communion  with  any  other  creed,  from  the 
patriarch  downwards  they  trifled  with   all 
Fuch  agents,  encouraged  the  advances  made 
them,  and  feigned  conviction,  backing  their 
hypocrisy  with  a  request  for  spiritual  in- 
structors, with   a  view  simply  of  securing 
the  sympathy  of  each  sect,  which  they  be- 
lieved would  assure  them  active  intervention 
in  their  affairs  in  case  of  need.    They  looked 
upon  all  consuls,  therefore,  as  their  natural 
advocates  and  protectors,  and  never  hesi- 
tated to  appeal  to  them  on  the  slightest 
occasion  of  real  or  frivolous  complaint. 

Such  were  the  Nestorians,  the  vaunted 
Christians,  high-church  dignitaries  in  Eng- 
land invested  with  a  glory  of  martyrdom, 
and  whose  grievances,  woes,  and  anguishes 
formed  part  of  the  Russian  stock-in-trade 
denunciation   of  Turkish  misrule.      What 
the  fate  of  those  precious  individuals  would 
be  under  Russian  rule  it  is  not  difficult  to 
say.     Mar  Shamun  and  the  whole  of  his 
confraternity  would  be  bundled  out  of  the 
country,  part  of  his  subjects  driven  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet  into  the  Holy  Russian 
Chur<;h,  and   the   rest  hunted  across  the 
frontier,  where  the  boundless  good-nature 
of  the  Turk  would  allow  them  to  settle 
down,  and  his   indolence  permit  them  to 
continue  their  brigand  existence  as  hitherto. 
This  was  the   case  with  the  Tchetchen 
colony   at    Ras-el-Ain,   in    the    Diarbekir 
vilayet,  which  was  called  into  existence  in 
1865-'66,  in  consequence  of  the  immigration 
of  several  hundred  families  of  those  unruly 
fiubjects  of  Russia  in  the  Caucasus,  and  ever 
since   its   commencement  was  unadvisedly 
xieglected.     Original  bad  naanagement  ren- 
38 


dered  the  colonists  from  the  first  careless  as 
to  their  self-support,  for  they  were  main- 
tained entirely,  directly  they  stepped  over 
the  border,  by  rations  20,000  daily,  sup- 
plied by  the  authorities  through  contractors, 
who,  by  corrupt  connivance  with  the  officers 
charged   with   the   victualling,   occasioned 
annually  an  enormous  extra  outlay  to  the 
local   treasury,  over   and   beyond  the   fair 
market   price   of  the  provisions   supplied. 
The  indolence  induced  by  gratuitous  living 
and  the  lax  control  they  were  subject  to,  made 
the  immigrants,  never  at  anytime  favourable 
to  agricultural  industry,  yearly  more  averse 
to  field  labour  for  employment ;  the  majority 
of  the  males,  therefore,  resuming  their  old 
Caucasian  habits,  took  either  to  plundering 
on  the  neighbouring  caravan  routes,  or  to 
wholesale  razzias  on  the  friendly  pastoral 
tribes  in  their  vicinity.  Latterly,  the  Porte, 
havintr   become   more   alive  to   the   losses 
and  damage  occasioned  by  these  so-called 
colonists,  and  to  the  value  of  the  country 
they  were  located  on,  took  the  matter  more 
vigorously  in  hand,   by  gradually  forcing 
upon  the  Tchetchens  the  obligation  of  per- 
sonal  labour   for    subsistence.     With    this 
view,  Ras-el-Ain  was  created,  as  it  ought  to 
have  been  at  first,  into  a  separate  muttasur- 
ruflik,     or     vice-government,     under     the 
Diarbekir  Vali,  and  extensive  exceptional 
powers   granted    to   the   governor,   Arslan 

Pasha. 

These  interesting  people,  who  have  never, 
within  the  memory  of  man,  gained  a  living 
independent  of  plunder  and  pillage,  consist 
of  the  tribes  thus  classified  by  Consul 
Taylor : — 


The  Kara  Boolak —  ^  Families. 

Notorious  vagabonds  and  thieves,  well 

armed  and  mounted  .  .         .  .         .  .       3,500 

Tchetchens — 

A  lazy,   worthless  set,   dissolute  and 
idle,  selling  their  children  as  slaves. 
They  engage  a  little  in  agriculture.       4,100 
Nusran — 

An  orderly,   induatrioos,   agricultural 

tribe  . .  . .         .  .         .  .  400 


Total  8,000 

Or,  taking  four  to  a  house,  32,000  souls. 

Thus,  to  30,400  thieves  and  vagabonds 
there  were  only  1,600  decent  people,  hunted 
across  the  frontier  by  the  Russians,  who 
would  have  massacred  every  man  of  them 
through  sheer  inability  to  civilise  them. 
What  right,  therefore,  had  the  Russian 
government  to  complain  of  the  Porte's 
inability  to  do  what  she  herself  had  beeu 


A.D.  1870-75.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [troubles  in  erzehoitm. 


unable   to   accomplish  ?    But   not   content 
even    with    having   inflicted   the   curse    of 
these  people  on  the  inhabitants  of  Turkey, 
the  Russians,  through  their  agents,  inces- 
santly stirred  them  up  against  the  Porte, 
and,   emboldened   by   the    impunity   with 
which  they  carried  out  their  policy,  at  last 
adopted    the    same  plan   quite  openly  in 
regard  to  the  Nestorians.     A  Russian  agent 
established  himself  in  their  mountains,  and 
induced  many  of  the  people  to  emigrate  to 
Russia.     These  emigrants  proved  the  value 
of  their  religious  convictions  by  describing 
themselves,   when   they   applied   for  their 
passports  at  Van,  as  of  the  Grreek  Orthodox 
persuasion.     They  knew  but  too  well  that 
this   was  the  only  faith  in  virtue  of  which 
the  holders  would  be  entitled  to  considera- 
tion within  the  limits  of  the  "  Holy  Em- 
pire." 

The  true  character  of  the  Nestorian 
chiefs  way,  however,  too  well  known  for 
even  the  Russians  to  formulate  any  distinct 
and  detailed  demands  on  their  account ; 
but  in  the  autumn  of  1872  an  event  oc- 
curred which  they  turned  to  good  advan- 
tage. 

Towards  the  end  of  September  a  cold- 
blooded  murder   was   perpetrated   on    the 
person   of    a   certain    Khachatur   Effendi, 
Basturmaji,  of  Erzeroum.    Tlie  unfortunate 
man  was  sitting  between  his  brother  and 
the  director  of  the  telegraph,  at  the  corner 
of  the  street  forming  a  portion  of  his  pro- 
perty, and  quietly  smoking,  when  a  horse- 
man rode  up  and  shot  him  with  a  pistol 
through    the   head.     He   then    turned    his 
horse  round  and  retired  as  deliberately  as 
he   had   arrived.      The   affair   occurred  in 
open  day  (at  4  P.M.),  in   one  of  the  most 
frequented  parts  of  the  town,  at  the  corner 
of  a  large  open  square  (Meidan),  surrounded 
by   shops,   and    hardly    a    hundred    paces 
from  a  police-guard  of  fifty  men,  who  oc- 
cupied a  building  in  the  Meidan.     A  futile 
attempt  was  made  by  the  murdered  man's 
brother  to  seize  the  assassin ;  but,  on  his 
tlireatening  him  with  a  carbine,  and  finding 
liimself  totally   unsupported,  he   desisted. 
The  murderer  had,  to  escape  detection,  en- 
veloped his  head  in  a  turban  and  wrapper, 
but  not  so  carefully  as  to  prevent  the  tele- 
graph director,  according  to  his  statement, 
recognising  him  should  he  see  him  again. 
But  notwithstanding  the  open  circumstances 
of  the  murder,  although  some  thirty  people 
were  thrown  into  prison  on  suspicion,  the 
culprit  renaained  at  large.  I 


The    victim,   Khachatur   Effendi,   com- 
menced  life  as  a  retail  butcher  and  sausage- 
DQaker.    By  these  trades  he  obtained  a  con- 
siderable competence,  and  such  influence, 
owing  to  the  latter,  with  government,  that, 
though  an  illiterate,  coarse  man,  unable  to 
read  or  write,  he  received,  most  unworthily 
it  must  be   confessed,  the   high   grade   of 
"Sanieh."     With  the   active   countenance 
of  the  Minister  of  War,  Mustafa  Pasha,  he 
entered  largely  into  government  building 
and  victualling  contracts,  and  was  fortunate 
enough  to  amass  thereby   a   vast   capital. 
The  greater  part,  with  a  laudable  desire  of 
improving  his  native  town,  he  invested  in 
city     property    of    a     mean     description, 
wherever    it   was    offered    for    sale,    and, 
amongst  other  lots,  some  disgraceful  hovels 
and  ruins  lying  on  one  side  of  the  Meidan, 
where  he  was  killed,  and  in  its  immediate  , 
neighbourhood.      These    he   pulled   down, 
and  constructed  on  their   site   two   really 
magnificent  spacious  khans,  rows  of  elegant 
shops,  and  a  sumptuous  bath.      A  ruined 
mosque,  that  stood  in  the  way  of  his  im- 
provements, was  also,  to  the  horror  of  both 
Moslems  and  Christians— so  difficult  is  it 
to   please  rival   parties — entirely   repaired 
and  restored  at  his  sole  cost.     Properly  to 
utilise  the  new  bath,  he  further  purchased 
the  right  to  a  body  of  water  issuing  from  a 
source  in  the  "  Sheikler  Sugag,"  a  street 
close  by,  inhabited  by  the  Mufti  and  ma- 
jority   of    the    so-called   "holy"  Moslem 
fanatics  of  Erzeroum,  who  tried  their  utmost 
to  prevent  the  sale,  alleging  for  it  a  previ- 
ous Wugguf  character.    This  plea,  however, 
on  argument,  was  not  allowed  by  the  tri" 
bunal  before  which  such  cases  are  tried^ 
and  the  property,  by  its  decision,  passed 
legally  into  the  hands  of  the  Christian. 
But  the  Moslems  soon  had  their  desired 
revenge  r  for,  on  the  first  night  of  the  day 
on  which  the  contested  water  circulated  in 
the  bath,  all  Khachatur  Effendi's  new  and 
costly    buildings,   valued,   it    is    said,   at 
£20,000,  wore  discovered  to  be  on  fire,  and 
in   a   few  hours    nothing   but   a  heap   of 
crumbling  ruins  remained.      The  Moslems, 
during  the  disaster,  either  looked  carelessly 
on  or  engaged  in  plunder,  no  one  making  a 
single   effort   to  stay  the  progress  of  the 
flames,  although  the  Vali,  Samih  Pasha,  in 
person,  and  his  immediate  staff,  made  heroic, 
long-continued  efforts,  at  the  repeated  risk 
of  their   lives,   to    stay   the   conflagration 
that  demolished  the  handsomest  quarter  of 
the  town.     Bit,  in  spite  of  this  misfortune, 

39 


V« 


'1 


CONSUL  TAYLOR.l 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-75. 


A.b.  1870-75.J 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[KURDS  AND  KISHLAK* 


'.t. 


Khachatur  Effendi,  urged  by  the  energy  he 
was  remarkable  for,  and  encouraged  t)y  the 
material  and  moral  support  of  the  Vali,  and 
deserved  sympathy  of  all  lovers  of  progress 
and  improvement,  at  once  set  about  re- 
building his  valuable  premises.  But  "  Mos- 
lem "  jealousy  and  hatred  could  not  brook 
the  spectacle  of  such  energy,  after  such  a 
disaster,  on  the  part  of  a  Griaour,  and  he 
was  most  foully  murdered  in  open  day, 
scarcely  a  month  after  the  fire,  on  the 
scene  of  his  severe  losses. 

Touching  this  affair,  Consul  Taylor 
^rote  : — "  It  is  needless  to  say  that  public 
opinion  fixed  the  real  guilt  of  both  crimes 
on  the  Sheikhs  inhabiting  the  street  alluded 
to  before,  who,  secretly  combining  for  the 
purpose,  bribed  some  wretched,  ignorant, 
fanatical  tools  to  carry  out  their  cowardly, 
Thurderous  designs.  Their  object  was,  of 
course,  to  stifie  all  improvement,  all 
Christian  enterprise,  with  a  view  of  de- 
terring any  but  their  co-religionists— who 
are  incapable — from  developing  a  laudable 
ambition  in  progressively  improving  as 
tliey  accumulate  means  and  resources  due 
to  superior  intelligence  and  activity." 

A  week  or  two  later,  Mr.  Taylor,  who,  as 
the  above  passage  amply  shows,  entertained 
the  most  adverse  opinion  of  the  Turkish 
ofiicials,  wrote  to  say  that  the  murderer 
had  not  been,  and  was  not  likely  to  be, 
discovered.  At  the  same  time  he  said 
that  the  case  had  been  made  use  of  by  the 
Ilussian  consul  to  aggravate  facts,  and 
H'present  them  in  his  conversations  with 
the  natives,  as  likely,  according  to  him,  to 
occasion  a  European  intervention. 

"  He  finds  many  listeners,"  wrote  Mr. 
Taylor  ;  "  and,  I  am  afraid,  a  groat  many 
among  them  who  wish  to  see  his  words 
realis^ed.  Nor  can  this  feeling  be  much 
wondered  at ;  for,  throughout  this  province, 
the  Christians  as  a  body  have  serious  cause 
of  complaint  for  unredressed  and  frequently 
recurring  injuries,  the  perpetrators — Mos- 
lems— being  always  screened  by  the  chief 
judge,  the  Muffetish  ul  Ihkam,  who  had 
the  courts  of  justice  completely  in  his 
power." 

The  Russian  consul  naturally  made  a 
great  stir  about  the  matter ;  but  when  it 
came  to  be  inquired  into,  it  was  found  that 
the  chief  promoter  of  the  gang  of  Sheikhs 
above  mentioned  (without  whom,  indeed, 
the  murderers  would  soon  have  been  exposed 
tu  the  punishment  theymerited),  was,  unfor- 
tunately for  the  administration  of  impartial 
40 


justice,  the  chief  justice,  or  Muffetish  ul 
Ihkam,  originally  a  miserable  Greek  Chris- 
tian from  the  islands.  This  rascally  rene- 
gade openly  declared  the  assassin  to  have 
been  a  Moslem  phantom  saint  in  disguise, 
Khizr  Elias,  who  killed  the  victim  in 
revenge  for  the  sacrilege  done  to  a  mosque 
by  a  Christian  repairing  it;  and  in  like 
manner,  to  please  the  ready  dupes  around 
him,  he  used  to  affect  incredulity  of  a  wit- 
ness unless  he  had  certain  marks  on  the 
palms  of  his  hands,  which  he  always  ex- 
amined for  that  purpose  before  taking  their 
evidence.  His  influence  on  the  bench,  or  in 
council,  was  always  directed  to  destroy  o, 
Christian's  case,  however  just,  if  against 
a  Moslem ;  and  in  criminal  cases  affecting 
the  latter,  the  guilty  were,  in  most  cases, 
suffered  to  escape.  His  corrupt  avarice  ex- 
ceeded even  bis  fanatical  partiality  :  both 
exercised  together  defeated,  of  course,  all 
the  ends  for  which  justice  was  supposed  to 
provide. 

And,  as  in  this  case,  so  in  almost  all 
others — as  has  already  been  said,  in  ninety- 
seven  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  there  is  a 
Christian,  renegade  or  not,  at  the  bottom  of 
all  the  mischief.  And  if  such  were  the  ele- 
ments of  which  the  courts  were  composed,  it 
may  be  imagined  what  was  the  composition 
and  character  of  the  tithe  commissions.  On 
each  there  were  always  one  or  more  Cliris- 
tians,  who,  to  curry  favour  and  fill  their 
pockets  at  the  same  time,  insisted  that 
their  co  religionists  were  deceiving  the 
government,  and  could  pay  three  times  as 
much  as  they  professed  to  be  unable  to  pay. 
The  writer  has  accompanied  such  tithe 
commissions  on  several  occasions,  and  can 
thorouQfhlv  confirm  what  has  been  written 
on  the  subject  in  various  consular  reports; 
but  he  will  abstain  from  recounting  any  of 
his  own  experiences  from  fear  of  being  torn 
to  pieces  by  infuriated  persons  and  canons 
for  the  greater  glorification  of  the  "  Divine 
Figure  of  the  North." 

Thus  it  appears,  from  the  consular  re- 
ports for  1869,  that  the  district  of  Sileyvan, 
one  of  the  richest  grain-producing  districts 
in  the  Diarbekir  vilayet,  or  even  in  Turkey, 
was  suffering,  in  spite  of  two  abundant  har- 
vests, from  the  intolerable  measures  pur- 
sued by  the  government  to  collect  the 
tithes.  Each  village  was  oompelled  to 
accept  the  tithes  on  grains,  fruits,  and 
cotton,  at  a  money  value  based  upon  winter 
and  spring  prices,  although  the  former 
amounted  to  £\  7s.  Sd,  a  quarter,  while  the 


season's  wheat  barely  realised  90  piastres, 
or  16s.,  for  the  same  measure.  Thus  the 
villagers  of  Aslo,  near  Farkeyn,  had  to 
borrow  30,000  piastres,  at  2^  per  cent,  per 
month,  to  make  up  the  deficiency  the 
government  agents  forced  upon  them  ;  the 
whole  of  their  produce,  meanwhile,  real- 
ising only  22,000  piastres ;  and  Farkeyn, 
the  capital  of  the  district,  had  to  pay 
24,000  piastres,  while  they  had  only  11,000 
piastres-worth  of  produce  to  discharge  the 
govtrnmeut  claim  for  tithes  of  20,000 
piastres.  In  I860,  with  wheat  at  250 
piastres  (£2  5s.  5d.)  per  quarter,  the  whole 
amount  of  tithe  realised  from  this  district 
was  four  lacs  (£4,000  Turkish).  In  1869, 
with  wheat  at  90  piastres  (16s.),  it 
amounted,  under  the  extortionate  system 
of  collection  practised,  to  seven  lacs  (£7,000 
Turkish);  during  the  same  period,  how- 
ever, of  the  106  villages  then  existing,  76 
only  remained ;  and  in  each  one  of  the 
latter,  five  or  six  chiflihs,  or  small  farms, 
were  entirely  deserted. 

The  same  conditions  obtained  in  the 
country  round  Bitlis,  with  its  rich  undu- 
lating plains,  which,  however,  had  become 
of  little  value,  as  they  were  infested  with 
the  common  curse  of  the  country,  the  Kurds. 

These  vagabonds  pre3^ed  upon  the  un- 
fortunate agricultural  sedentary  classes  to 
an  extent  that  greatly  facilitated  the  at- 
tempts of  Russian  agents  to  induce  the 
sufferers  to  emigrate  to  Russian  territory. 
There  was  not  one  of  their  numerous  chiefs 
who  had  not  been  several  times  in  prison 
for  well-authenticated  atrocities ;  yet  each 
time  they  had  been  in  the  most  unaccount- 
able manner  released,  to  resume  the  same 
practices  that  first  occasioned  their  im- 
prisonment. 

Mush  itself,  the  capital  of  the  district,  is 
a  mean  town,  with  scarcely  2,000  families 
there  and  in  its  vicinity,  none  of  whom 
were  at  all  on  a  par  with  those  of  Bitlis, 
who  justly  had  reason  to  complain  that 
their  more  important  site  had  not  been 
made  the  capital  of  the  district. 

Six  years  before  Consul  Taylor  visited 
the  Mush  district,  the  fine  plain,  on  one 
side  of  which  the  town  is  situated,  had  a 
thriving  aspect.  The  villages  seemed  well 
peopled,  and  the  crops,  though  damaged  by 
locusts,  in  far  greater  variety  and  profusion 
than  latterly.  Several  visits  he  made  to 
different  parts  of  the  plain,  and  a  stay  of 
some  days  in  the  town,  where  he  had  re- 
peated  conversations   witii    Mohlems    and 


Christians  on  the  subject,  partly  explained 
the  cause.  Tlie  Armenians  formed  the  prin- 
cipal portion  of  the  industrious  inhabitants 
in  the  plain  and  near  the  city,  supplying 
all  agricultural  labour  and  trade;  while  the 
Moslems,  mostly  pastoral,  living  on  the 
slopes  of  the  hills  bordering  the  plain,  oc- 
cupied themselves  simply  with  their  flocks. 
The  two  races  lived,  on  the  whole,  at  peace  ; 
but  Reshkotan  and  Bekran  Kurds — intoler- 
able thieves — roamed  with  their  flocks  over 
the  mountain  pastures  to  the  south  ; 
Jibrauli  and  Modikan  Kurds  inhabited  the 
high  hills  to  the  north-west  and  south-east ; 
the  Hassnanli  and  Millanli,  the  northern 
portions  about  Bulanik  and  Malazgerd ; — 
and  all  of  them  lived  on  the  sedentary 
population;  for  being  under  very  imperfect 
subjection,  it  was  only  by  satisfying  all 
demands,  however  outrageous,  that  the 
Christian  aofriculturists  and  the  JNloslem 
cattle-breeders  could  maintain  their  posi- 
tion. One  unbearable  custom,  Kishlak, 
had  done  more  than  anything  else  to  con- 
tribute to  their  poverty  and  decay.  That 
custom,  originating  in  the  weakness  of  the 
government  and  growing  power  of  the 
Kurds,  enabled  the  latter  to  exercise  the 
extraordinary  right  of  quartering  them- 
selves upon  the  inhabitants,  entailing  large 
expenses,  not  only  for  fodder  for  their 
animals,  but  also  food  and  fuel  for  them- 
selves, during  at  least  four  months. 

Repeated  complaints  to  government  did 
little  to  remedy  this  evil  ;  and,  conse- 
quently, to  escape  this  intolerable  burdt^n, 
750  families,  within  the  six  years  ending 
February,  1869,  emigrated  to  Russia ;  while 
500  more,  in  the  same  year,  sent  repre- 
sentatives to  Erivan  to  negotiate  a  similar 
step.  The  few  peasants  still  unwilling, 
from  old  associations  and  attachment  to 
the  soil,  to  remove,  in  order  to  get  rid  at 
least  of  part  of  the  great  expense  the  Kish- 
lak entailed  upon  them,  had  entirely  aban- 
doned the  culture  of  any  other  grain  than 
wheat,  as  all  others  being,  in  some  form  or 
other,  useful  as  food  for  cattle,  their  stocks 
would  certainly  have  been  laid  under  heavy 
contributions  by  the  Kurds  for  that  pur- 
pose. But  the  Kurds  did  not  confine  them- 
selves simply  to  plunder.  Tiie  slightest 
complaint  to  government  on  the  ^artof  the 
Christians  against  them  was  followed  by 
night  attacks,  or  open  assaults  in  the  day, 
upon  them.  In  this  manner,  during  tlie 
year  1869,  no  less  than  ten  had  been  killed 
and    forty    wounded,    because    they — Liic 

41 


v» 


KURDS  AND  KISHLAK.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-75. 


A.D.  1870-75.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  cross  in  ASIA. 


i 


Christians — had  had  the  temerity  to  com- 
plain to  the  authorities  of  the  oppression 
they  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Kurds. 
Most  of  these  savages,  who  affected  Turk- 
ish allegiance,  resided   close  to  the  border, 
between  Ani  and   Bayazid,  none  of  them 
being  farther  than  twenty  to  thirty  miles 
from    it.     All    through   this   district  and 
Shuragel — the  ancient  Shiraj,  formerly  the 
richest  and  most  populous  district  in  Ar- 
menia— it  was  sad  to  pass  so  many  spots 
marking  the  sites   of  towns  and  villages, 
some  of  them   only  recently  deserted,  and 
encumbered  with  their  ruins,  or  the  mean 
huts  of  the  indigent  population  that  re- 
mained.    On  many  of  these  deserted  sites 
the    massive    fabrics   of    early    Armenian 
churclies    had     successfully    resisted     the 
ravages  of  time,   and   the  efforts  of  man, 
urged  by  an  implacable  hostility  to  every- 
thing Christian,  to  destroy  them.     Round 
several,   in   spite   of  decreasing   numbers, 
poverty,    and    oppression,    the    Armenian 
peasantry  still  clung  with  affectionate  per- 
tinacity, dragging  on  an  existence,  as  well 
as  they  were  able,  under  the  tolerance  of 
the  Turkish  Aghas,  or  Beys,  who,  either  as 
the   descendants   of  the  Timariots,   or   in 
consequence    of     the    poverty   of    former 
owners,    had,   in   the   course  of   time,  dis- 
possessed the   Christians  of  the  lands  and 
villages   about.     But    the    Aghas,    though 
deriving  their  income  from  the  industry  of 
the  Christian  fellahs,  not  unwilling  to  de- 
fend  them,  were  unable  to  protect  them  or 
their  crops  from  the  rapacity  of  the  Kurds, 
the  cause    of  most  of  the  distress  the  Ar- 
menians laboured  under.     It  is  hardly  pos- 
sible to  enumerate  the  different  methods 
they  pursued  to  satisfy  their  wants  at  the 
expense  of  the  peaceable,  sedentary  agri- 
cultural    classes.      They    were,    however, 
without  reckoning  forced  contributions  and 
*'  corvee,"   so   various    and    onerous   as  to 
curtail  agriculture  and  stifle  industry,  re- 
ducing both  to  the  smallest  minimum  com- 
patible   with     existence.      Thus  they   had 
been  driven  from  most   of  their  ancestral 
lands  by  the  increasing  numbers  and  un- 
punished license  of  the  Kurds;  the  crops 
on  lands  still  in  their  hands  were,  when 
yet  green,  partially  grazed   by  the  flocks  of 
the  intruders,  who,  alter   what   remained 
was  ripened  and   cut,  would  not  allow  the 
owners  to  re-sow  for  autumn  crops,  as  at 
that  time,  on   their  return  from   the  hills, 
they  turned  their  flocke  into  the  after-grass 
that  then  sprang  up. 
42 


An  original  course  a  Kurd  would  adopt 
to  extort  money,  was  to  extract  one  of  their 
teeth,  and  then  purposely  engage  in  a 
quarrel  with  a  Christian,  during  which 
blows  were,  of  course,  exchanged.  The 
Kurd  then  made  a  complaint  to  his  chief, 
producing  the  extracted  tooth  in  evidence, 
which  he  swore  was  knocked  out  by  the 
Christian  during  the  quarrel.  The  chief 
inflicted  in  every  case,  unless  he  was  bribed 
by  the  Christian,  a  finein  money,  varying  with 
the]  reputed  wealth  of  the  falsely-accused 
aggressor,  who  had  no  remedy  whatever 
against  his  accuser.  The  piece  de  con- 
viction^ that  is,  the  old  tooth,  never  in  any 
case  being  impounded,  served  for  many 
similar  charges,  and  was  sometimes  lent  to 
a  friend  for  the  like  purpose.  This  custom 
was  so  common,  that  a  provincial  proverb 
said,  "  A  Kurd  carries  his  teeth  in  his 
pocket." 

From  the  depredations  of  the  Kurds, 
comparatively  little  grain  was  raised  in  the 
district  of  Kaghizman,  supplies  being 
brought  from  Shuragel.  The  same  causes 
operated  against  the  culture  of  cotton  and 
tobacco  ;  while  the  system  prevalent  in  the 
Muttasurrflik,  of  compelling  the  delivery  of 
tithe-hay  in  Kars  itself,  instead  of  taking 
it  on  the  spot,  pressed  particularly  heavy 
upon  the  fellah.  The  fruit-gardens  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Kaghizman  were  ex- 
tensive, yielding  £800  annually  in  tithe,  an 
earnest  of  what  might  be  expected  had 
labour  been  free  from  the  trammels  already 
noticed.  The  town  contained  700  Moslem, 
and  150  Christian  houses,  who  originally, 
owing  to  their  vicinity  to  the  Russia n 
frontier,  and  consequent  exposure  to  tlie 
attack  and  requisitions  of  the  enemy  in 
time  of  war,  were  exempt  from  conscrip- 
tion and  poll-tax.  They  were  now,  how- 
ever, in  common  with  all  borderers,  subject 
to  these  impositions,  which  had  created 
considerable  ill-feeling  amongst  them 
against  the  government. 

That  these  barbarians,  the  Kurds,  are 
responsible  for  most  of  the  violence,  is 
proved  by  the  welfare  of  districts  where 
they  are  kept  in  order,  as  at  Van,  where, 
although  the  country  immediately  about  is 
not,  from  the  poorness  of  its  soil  and  want 
of  water,  favourable  to  cereals,  most  of  tlie 
neighbouring  districts  are  highly  productive 
in  all  sorts  of  grain  and  cattle,  which,  com- 
bined with  the  important  manufacturing 
industry  of  the  town,  form  lucrative  sources 
of  trade.     These,  and  other  varied  produc- 


\ 


tions  and  trades  of  the  whole  Muttasurrflik, 
found  a  ready  market  at  Van,  and  rendered 
the  city,  containing  18,000  souls,  of  which 
10,000  are  Armenian,  a  highly  important 
commercial  site.  Its  merchants,  nearly  all 
Christians,  were  numerous  and  wealthy,  re- 
sorting annually  to  Constantinople  for  the 
furtherance  of  their  operations.  Poverty, 
at  the  same  time,  was  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum, as  the  surplus  population  emigrated 
yearly  to  the  capital,  where  they  were  uni- 
versally employed  as  porters. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding 
country,  from  the  richness  of  the  soil,  would 
undoubtedly  have  made  equal  strides  to 
prosperity  and  wealth,  had  they  not  been  so 
completely  under  the  absolute  power  of  the 
Kurds,  who  here,  as  elsewhere,  either  ren- 
dered every  place  in  their  vicinity  a  desert, 
or,  by  their  rapacity  and  requisitions,  effec- 
tually checked  all  industry.  The  mischiev- 
ous plan  of  employing  local  Turks,  or 
Kurds,  in  sub-governments  or  other  district 
employments,  the  temporising  measures  the 
government  had,  for  the  last  thirty  years, 
unfortunately  pursued  with  respect  to  them, 
had  inclined  them  to  believe  that  no  power 
could  reach  them,  and  tended  to  increase 
their  license,  and  rendered  practices  perma- 
nent that  formerly  were  exercised  at  rare 
intervals  only.  Hence  it  arose  that  not 
only  the  Haiderauli  and  Zelali,  inhabiting 
the  country  about  and  to  the  north  and 
north-west  of  Van,  were  in  a  chronic  state 
of  turbulence,  but  the  Hakkari  also,  a 
mountainous  district  south  of  Van,  was  in 
absolute  insubordination.  Grovernment 
orders  remained  dead  letters  there ;  it  was 
the  Alsatia  for  all  the  brigands  and  mis- 
creants in  the  land.  Murder,  robbery,  and 
brigandage  were  every-day  crimes,  and, 
when  practised  against  the  Christians,  re- 
ceived the  sanction  and  support  of  the  so- 
called  holy  men,  styled  Sheikhs,  who  in- 
fested that  country,  and  who,  in  fact,  were 
as  forward  as  the  Kurds  in  every  act  that 
fanaticism  or  avarice  could  dictate.  The 
principal  sufferers,  although  sedentary  agri- 
cultural Turks  must  be  included  in  the 
category,  were  the  Nestorians,  Armenians, 
and  Jews. 

Within  the  two  years  ending  February, 
1869,  several  were  murdered,  others  plun- 
dered of  their  property,  forced  to  become 
Moslems,  or  emigrate  for  safety  to  Persia ; 
while,  during  the  same  period,  seven  Chris- 
tian churches  were  destroyed,  more  than 
thirty   human   beings  killed,   virgins   and 


married  women  abducted,  whole  villages 
devastated  and  plundered,  without  (in  spite 
of  repeated  orders  from  Constantinople)  the 
slightest  notice  on  the  part  of  the  Van  and 
subordinate  authorities,  or  an  attempt  being 
made  by  them  to  check  proceedings  that 
promised  ultimately  to  drive  all  peaceable 
people  over  the  borders  into  Persia  and 
Russia.  The  chief  instigators.  Sheikh 
Obeyd  Ullah,  of  Katuna,  and  his  mureeds 
(disciples),  in  the  meantime  enjoyed  the 
favour  of  the  Kaimakams  and  Mudirs,  and 
the  former  the  adoration  of  ignorant  Kurds 
(blind  instruments  of  his  will),  as  they 
regarded  him  as  little  short  of  the  Deity. 

Such  is  a  faithful  picture  of  the  state  of 
affairs  in  this  part  of  Asia  Minor.  It  could 
not  be  worse.  But  when  we  come  to  analyse 
it,  we  find  that  all  the  mischief  and  trouble 
is  due  to  corrupt  Christianity  and  savage 
Kurds.  These  are  the  active  principals  of 
the  evil  and  universal  devilry.  The  Turks, 
on  the  other  hand — the  true  Moslem,  for 
the  Kurd  is  nothing  at  all — are  guilty  of 
powerlessness. 

Now,  why  are  the  Turks  powerless  ?  The 
answer  is  supplied  by  Consul  Gififord  Pal- 
grave,  a  man  who  knows  Turkey  and  the 
Turks  as  intimately  as  Lane  knows  the 
Egyptians.  He  says,  in  a  despatch  of 
January  30th,  1868— "  As  regards  judicial 
injustice,  I  found  that  category  sub-divided 
as  follows : — 

"  1.  Cases  in  which  the  instigator  and 
real  oppressor  was  some  rival  or  interested 
Christian,  who  had  made  a  tool  of  the 
Ottoman  administration  to  injure  his  bro- 
ther Christians.  Thus,  for  instance,  the 
Christian  villages  of  Ak-Dagh,  in  the  vilayet 
of  Angora,  have  been  ruined  by  an  infamous 
usurer,  an  Armenian  Christian  of  Yuzgat. 

"•  2.  Cases  in  which  weakness  or  malad- 
ministration in  high  places,  injured  Chris- 
tians and  Mahommedans  alike,  but  more 
frequently  the  latter  than  the  former :  for 
reasons  to  be  stated  further  on,  religious  or 
fanatical  motives  had  nothing  to  do  with 
it. 

"  Something  might  here  be  said  regard- 
ing the  only  Turkish  tribunal  in  which 
Christian  witness  is  formally  and  officially 
non-admitted  when  given  against  Mahom- 
medans. I  mean  the  'Mahkemah,'  or 
ecclesiastical  court.  None  complain  more 
bitterly  than  do  the  Turkish  officials  them- 
selves of  the  imperiumin  imperio  exercised 
over  them  through  this  very  tribunal  by  the 
Sheikh-ul-Islam,    and    the     moUahs     and 

43 


/• 


THE  CROSS   IN  ASIA.] 


HI.^TOrxY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1870-75. 


I 


\ 


\ 


kadees  under  him.  Its  inconveniences  can, 
however,  in  most  cases  be,  in  a  round- 
about way,  remedied  by  reference  and 
appeal  to  tlie  civil  tribunals ;  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  Turkey  will,  in  time,  be  able 
to  take,  with  regard  to  her  ecclesiastical 
courts,  those  steps  which,  even  in  Europe, 
have  been  a  matter  of  time  and  difficulty  : 
but  the  proposed  reorganisation  of  the 
*Mahkemah'  belongs  to  another  section 
of  this  report. 

"  Now  let  us  turn  the  question,  and  view 
it  from  the  other  side. 

"1.  At  the  present  moment,  the  whole 
burden  of  military  service,  active  and  re- 
serve, falls  exclusively  on  the  Mahommedan 
population.  The  Christians  do,  indeed, 
pay  into  the  public  treasury  a  small — a  tri- 
lling sum,  bearing  no  real  proportion  what- 
ever to  the  advantages  it  obtains  them  for 
their  exemption;  but,  even  were  the 
*  Bedel-Askeri,'  or  ransom  service  tax, 
weighty  enough  to  balance  the  effective 
value  of  such  exemption  to  the  Christians, 
it  could  never  equipoise  the  misery  which 
it  entails  on  their  Mahommedan  fellow-sub- 
jects by  the  enormous  burden  of  the  con- 
scription thus  thrown  on  their  unassisted 
shoulders. 

"And  this,  be  it  well  noticed,  not  vice 
nor  any  other  book-fancied  cause,  is  the 
true  reason  why  the  Mahommedan  population 
proportionately  decreases,  the  Christian  in- 
creases. The  whole  '  unproductive '  ele- 
ment of  the  empire  is  formed  out  of  the 
former  alone.  It  is  a  crying  injustice,  and 
calls  for  serious  consideration  and  prompt 
remedy. 

"  2.  The  Mahommedan  population  is  ab- 
solutely '  unrepresented'  at  the  central,  irre- 
sponsible, and  dissevered  government  of 
Constantinople,  where  the  Mahommedan 
subjects  of  the  Sultan  have  really  no  one  to 
whom  they  can  make  known  their  interests, 
or  expose  their  wrongs.  Meanwhile,  the 
Christians  have,  at  the  capital,  and  through- 
out the  empire,  as  many  courts  of  appeal 
and  redress-demanding  representatives  as 
there  are  consulates,  agencies,  and  some- 
times embassies,  at  hand.  Indeed,  not 
only  are  their  complaints  listened  to  when 
made,  but  even  fabricated  for  them  when 
not  made. 

"  Hence,  and  it  is  a  deadly  consequence, 
the  full  weight,  firstly,  of  fiscal  oppression, 
t;o  natural  to  a  government  at  once  cen- 
tralised and  absolute  like  the  Ottoman ; 
and,  secondlv,  the  chief  weight  of  local  and 
44* 


individual  oppression,  unavoidable  where  a 
weak,  yet  unbalanced  power  resident  at  the 
capital  neglects,  as  it  is  sure  to  do,  the 
provinces,  ifalls  on  the  Mahommedan,  and 
not  on  the  Christian  population.  For  the 
very  reason  that  the  cry  of  the  former  is, 
practically,  unheard,  the  latter  have  a  thou- 
sand spokesmen. 

"  3.  And  this  is  a  corollary  of  the  above 
— open  sedition  and  abominable  crimes 
severely  and  speedily  punished,  when  per- 
petrated by  Mahommedans,  are  only  half 
punished,  or  are  even  pardoned  altogether, 
when  Christians  are  the  culprits  ;  the  hands 
of  justice  being  for  them  tied  up  by  consular 
or  analogous  intervention. 

"  The  subject  might  be  still  further  in- 
vestigated, and  instances  given  in  illustra- 
tion ;  but  thus  much  must  suffice  for  the 
main.  I  will  only  add  that  a  striking  and 
visible  confirmation  of  what  has  now  been 
stated  is  afforded,  not  on  the  coasts  only, 
but  in  the  centreraost  interior,  the  very 
supposed  focus  of  Mahommedan  fanaticism, 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  Christians  of 
those  districts  flaunt  their  ostentatious 
wealth  in  splendid  houses,  gay  dresses,  and 
all  the  ornaments  of  prosperity — a  manner 
wholly  incompatible  with  anything  of  that 
oppression  so  much  talked  of  for  them  at  a 
distance.  Among  the  Mahommedan  popu- 
lation these  conditions  are  sadly  reversed. 

"It  is  a  mistake,  though  not  anunfrequent 
one,  to  attribute  the  evident  prosperity  of 
the  Christians  in  Turkey,  by  comparison 
with  the  Mahommedans,  to  some  greater 
energy  on  their  part,  industry,  and  other 
virtues.  Truth  is,  that  in  vigour,  in  probity, 
and  in  steady  work,  the  Mahommedans  are, 
as  a  rule,  decidedly  a-head  of  their  Grreek 
and  Armenian  fellow-countrymen.  But  the 
former  have  been,  and  are,  systematically 
over-burdened,  not  to  say  oppressed;  while 
the  latter,  under  protection  of  their  advan- 
tageous position  in  the  Ottoman  empire, 
have  been  enriching  themselves  for  the  last 
half  century  mainly  by  questionable  specu- 
lation, or  by  direct  fraud  and  usury. 

"  Nor  can  the  Ottoman  empire  right 
itself  till  its  burdens  be  equally  distributed 
on  its  two  shoulders,  the  Mahommedan  and 
the  Christian,  not  exclusively  heaped  up  on 
the  former  as  they  now  are.  Either  the 
Christians  must  be  put  on  a  level  with  the 
Mahommedans,  by  being  brought  down  to 
them,  or,  much  better,  the  Mahommedans 
must  be  brought  up  to  a  level  with  the 
Christians     by    a    conscription     lightened 


A.D.  1870-75.] 


EUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  gates  of  EUROPE. 


because  shared,  and  by  an  equable  adminis- 
tration, combined  with  some  attention  to 
the  interests  of  the  provinces,  and  of  a 
loyal  and  hard-working,  not  merely  of  an 
intriguing  and  money-jobbing,  population. 

"As  matters  now  stand (1869),  the  Otto- 
man government  lies  under  the  very  serious 
charge  of  oppressing  its  Mahommedan  in 
favour  of  its  Christian  subjects.  I  regret 
to  have  to  confirm  the  charge." 

Thus,  the  testimony  of  a  witness  favour- 
able to  the  Turks,  when  compared  with  the 
testimony  and  admissions  of  Mr.  Taylor, 
who  was  unfavourable  to  the  Turks,  will, 
probably,  suffice  to  give  a  tolerably  correct 
idea  of  the  real  state  of  things.     Of  the  two 


witnesses.  Consul  Palgrave  is  the  more  re- 
liable. 

Finally,  it  may  be  asked  how  it  is  that 
the  complaints  against  the  Turks  are  nearly 
all  confined  to  those  districts  so  close  to  the 
Russian  frontier?  How  is  it  that  we  do 
not  hear  the  same  accounts  further  west, 
until  we  reach  the  European  frontiers  ot 
Russia  ?  How  is  it  that  the  atrocities  of 
the  Mussulman  only  occur  in  the  extreme 
portions  of  the  empire,  just  where  Russia 
exercises  her  influence,  and  not  in  the  dis- 
tricts lying  in  between  ? 

An  examination  into  the  afi'airs  of  Bul- 
garia and  Servia  will  fully  supply  any 
further  answer  that  may  be  required. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE  GATES   OF  EUROPE. 


When  a  member  of  parliament,  Mr.  For- 
syth, gravely  states,  in  a  moment  of  for- 
getfulness,  without  contradiction  from  any 
of  the  six  hundred  who  represent  the  col- 
lective wisdom  of  Great  Britain,  that  the 
Roumanians,  or  Wallachs,  are  a  Slav  race, 
there  must  be  something  radically  wrong 
in  the   knowledge  of  the  six  hundred  re- 
garding those  countries  between  the  Car- 
pathian and  the  -^gean  Sea,  the  Adriatic  and 
the  Pontus,  that  may  be  called,  in  an  ethno- 
graphical and  a  political  sense,  the  Grates 
of  Europe.     Whatever  the  theoretical  an- 
cestors of  the   Wallachs  may  have   been, 
there  is  no  doubt  but  that  they  have  become 
as   distinct  a  race  as    the   English,   by  a 
judicious  course  of    natural    selection,  in 
which  the  Hebrew  has  been  an  important 
element, — one  might  almost  say  a  predomi- 
nating element,  would  not  such  an  assertion 
grievously  wound  the  feelings  of  the  elite  of 
Bucharest  and  Galatz,  who  have  discarded 
the  appellation  of  Wallachs  for  the  prouder 
title  of    Roumanians,   signifying   thereby 
their  rooted  conviction  that  they  are  the 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Romans — scions 
of  the  patricians  of  Rome,  in  the  same  way 
as  the  present  inhabitants  of  Malta  are  all 
descended  from  the  Knights  of  St.  John, 
Their  appearance  is  Oriental;  their  language 
an  apparent  mixture  of  Latin,  Italian,  and 
Spanish  ;  and  their  features  about  as  similar 
VOL.  III.  '  H 


to  a  Slav's  as  a  Chinaman's  are  to  a  Red 
Indian's.  Finally,  they  hate  the  Slavs  with 
an  intensity  that  is  only  equalled  by  the 
contempt  the  Slavs  evince  for  them. 

But  the  ignorance,  which  is  inexcusable 
in  one  of  the  six  hundred,  may  be  condoned 
in  the  case  of  the  general  public.     Most  of 
the  books  concerning  these    regions   have 
been  written  for  the  furtherance  of  some 
special  object,  but  none  have  as  yet  given 
an  impartial  account  of  the  medley  of  races 
and  creeds  which  have  been  making  havoc 
of  the  country  since  the  days  of  the  Greek 
emperors.     Some  few  standard  works,  such 
as  those   of  Ubicini,  Lejean,  Kanitz,  and 
Hahn,    have  appeared  in  tolerable    abun- 
dance ;  a  few  geographical  works,  such  as 
those   of   Barth,   Petter,    and    Roskievicz, 
have  helped  to  make  the  foreign  public  a 
little  better  acquainted  with  the  borderland 
between    Europe   and    Asia  ;    whilst,    per 
contra,  myriads  of  political  and  missionary 
lucubrations    have    been    showered    down 
upon    an    unoffending    public,   until    the 
Eastern   question,   and  everything   apper- 
taining to  it,  has  become  an  enigma,  past 
solution  in  its  present  form  of  propounding. 
If  it  be  asked,  how  it  happens  that  these 
regions  are  so  little  known,  the  reply  is  to 
be   found  in  the  difficulty  of  locomotion, 
the  number  of  languages    necessary,  and 
the  absence  of  all  accommodation  for  the 

45 


^•* 


m 


BABEL  ON  THE  ADRIATIC.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1870-75. 


traveller  of  the  day.    And,  in  truth,  except 
for  the  historian,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
country  but  scenery  to  attract  attention. 
These  races  and  regions  have  only  a  poli- 
tical interest  for  the  general  public ;  so  that 
even  the  coast  of  Dalmatia,  with  its  chain 
of  fair  and  historical  cities  ranging  from 
Zara  down  to  Cattaro,  is  comparatively  un- 
known,  though     Sir    Gardner    Wilkinson 
long  ago  directed  attention  to  this  beau- 
tiful strip  of  mountain  land,  with  its  num- 
berless  land-locked   bays,  meandering  in- 
lets, ancient  towns,  and  picturesque  popu- 
lation  revelling   in   a   climate    surpassing 
even  the  far-famed  Riviera.     If  thus  the 
very  entrance,  in  spite  of  its  beauty  and 
accessibility  by  the  Austrian  Lloyd's  ex- 
cellent steamers,  is  ignored  by  the  ordinary 
traveller,  as  well  as  by  author  and  artist,  no 
wonder  that  the  land  beyond  is  as  unknown 
to  the  general  public  as  Central  Asia. 

But  then,  how  many  people  are  able  to 
converse  in  Italian,  German,  Hungarian, 
Slav,  Greek,  Turkish,  and  Rouman  ?  A 
knowledge  of  these  tongues  is  quite  neces- 
sary to  travel  from  the  Adriatic  to  the 
Pontus,  if  the  wanderer  really  desires  to 
acquire  accurate  information,  or  even  to 
understand  what  he  sees.  And  not  only 
must  he  be  prepared  to  rough  it  from 
beginning  to  end,  but  also  to  be  regarded 
as  an  object  of  suspicion  by  everybody.  By 
the  time  he  may  have  succeeded  in  over- 
coming the  distrust  of  one  section  of  the 
various  races,  he  is  sure  to  have  roused  that 
of  another;  for  in  a  country  where  accom- 
modation and  locomotion  depend  so  much 
on  the  good-will  of  the  natives,  and  the 
inquisitiveness  leaves  that  of  the  traditional 
Yankee  far  behind,  it  is  quite  astonishing 
how  rapidly  one's  reputation  travels  in 
ativance,  and  fixes  one  down,  as  it  were,  in 
a  certain  groove.  Besides  all  this,  the  un- 
couth appearance  and  manners  of  the 
people  are  not  calculated  to  inspire  interest. 
An  enthusiastic  traveller,  who  had  deter- 
mined to  explore  the  country  thoroughly 
for  a  couple  of  years,  abandoned  the  at- 
tempt in  despair  after  a  two  months'  trial, 
alle<>-ing,  as  a  reason,  that  the  different 
races  were  like  so  many  date-stones — hard 
to  crack,  and  when  cracked,  nothing  inside 
them.  But  then  he  only  spoke  a  little 
Italian,  mixed  with  a  smattering  of  Ger- 
man. 

In  truth,  however,  apart  from  the  fact  of 
these  people  belonging  to  the  great  human 
family,  and  thus,  at  any  rate,  containing 
46 


within  them  the  germs  of  future  develop- 
ment, they  are  interesting   as    being    the 
residue  of    the   various    races    who    have 
traversed  these  regions  on  their  way  to  and 
from  Asia.     They  occupy,  in  truth,  a  "  de- 
batable ground,"  on  which  Scythians,  Huns, 
Magyars,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  first  planted 
their  standards  on  their  way  to  conquest, 
and   where  the  Cross  first  fell  a  prey  in 
Europe  to  the  Crescent,  in  the  very  midst 
of  its  temples  and  priests.     Here  the  Turks 
met  with  their  first  check,  in  their  progress 
westward,  from  the  Magyars,  who,  for  cen- 
turies,  protected   Europe   from   their    in- 
cursions, and  even  regained  much  of  the 
ground  that  the  Moslem  had  won.     It  may 
truly  be  said  that  the  Danubian  and  Balkan 
provinces   are   the   very  gates  of  Europe, 
which  have  been  fought   for,   in   uninter- 
rupted succession,  by  Greek  and   Roman, 
Hungarian,  Slav,  and  Turk,  and  have  fur- 
nished the  scenes  for  an  internecine  warfare 
to  which  every  generation  has  contributed 
its  quota.     No   wonder,   then,   that   these 
provinces  have  no  memorials  of  the  past 
but  traditions  of  blood,  fire,  and   rapine, 
and  no  signs  in  the  present  but  those  of 
hatred,    jealousy,      and     massacre.      Here 
where,  south  of  the  Danube,  people  speak  of 
Europe   as  though    they  were   beyond  it; 
where  the  clash  of  conflicting  races   and 
creeds    has    never    ceased ;    where    every 
man's  hand  is  armed  and   raised  ready  to 
strike    his    neighbour  ;     where    continual 
misery   has    hardened    all    sympathy   and 
generosity  out  of  his  heart; — here  an  heri- 
tage has  been  left  behind  of  brutality,  men- 
dacity, distrust,  and  selfishness,  that  is  not 
to  be  equalled  in  the  annals  of  any  other 
nation. 

This  is  not  an  inviting  picture  ;  and  how- 
ever interestinnr  to  the  historian  as  an 
ethnological  riddle — however  curious  to  the 
student  of  human  nature  in  its  aberrations, 
it  is  certainly  not  calculated  to  attract  the 
ordinary  traveller,  or  to  awaken  that  interest 
which  generous  minds  have  always  felt  in 
races  and  nations  who  are  able  to  base  their 
appeals  for  sympathy  not  only  on  wliat 
they  have  suffered,  but  also  on  what  they 
have  already  accomplished,  and  are  still 
willing  to  do.  The  Slav  races  of  Turkey 
have  no  relics  of  past  grandeur.  One  of  the 
oldest  races  in  Europe,  the  Turkish  Slav, 
can  produce  no  proof  of  former  greatness, 
no  architecture,  no  sculpture,  no  paintings, 
no  art,  no  literature.  He  has  no  record  of 
the  value  of  his  existence  in  any  works  even 


A.D.  1870'-75.] 


RUSSIAX  EMPIRE. 


[fiuioc. 


of  simple  utility ;  his  national  history  is  a 
melancholy  pesma — legendary  song — of 
bloodshed,  futile  struggles,  treacher}^  rene- 
gadism,  and  dissension.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, it  is  not  surprising  that  there 
should  have  been  a  certain  admiration  for 
the  Turk,  who  towers  above  the  human 
debi^  around  him.  This  admiration  arose, 
in  a  great  measure,  from  the  frequent 
perusal  of  "  Eothen,"  and  Curtis's  "  Nile 
Notes  of  an  Howadjah,"  two  of  the  most 
brilliant  results  of  an  exaggerated  imagina- 
tion that  ever  ensnared  the  reader. 

These,  and  a  host  of  similar  works,  called 
up  visions  of  cypress  groves  and  graceful 
minarets;  of  luxurious  divans  swelling 
round  the  limbs  of  fair-skinned  and  dark- 
eyed  slaves,  whose  rose-dyed  fingers  hovered 
gracefully  over  the  strings  of  lute  and 
guitar  ;  of  grave  turbaned  Turks,  with  their 
carefully-trimmed  beards,  who,  telling  their 
amber  beads,  seemed,  as  described  in  those 
romances,  to  make  Haroun-al-Rashid  and 
the  "Arabian  Nights"  realities  still  exist- 
ing beyond  the  seas,  behind  the  golden 
curtains  of  the  East.  In  short,  Arabs, 
Moors,  Saracens,  and  Turks ;  Bagdad,  the 
Alhambra,  and  Stamboul,  were  all  mixed  up 
in  a  heterogeneous  jumble,  and  the  impres- 
sion produced,  that  the  chivalry  of  Saladin, 
the  Oriental  wisdom  of  Nathan  the  Wise, 
and  all  the  other  subjects  of  poems  and 
romances  without  end,  were  still  flourishing 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  Sultan.  Thus 
Arab,  Moor,  Saracen,  and  Turk  were  con- 
founded under  the  one  generic  term  of 
Moslem — about  as  rational  a  proceeding  as 
regarding  the  different  races  of  Europe  as 
identical  because  they  are  Christians.  Wise- 
acres will  smile  at  these  delusions.  They 
are  to  be  deplored,  and  all  the  more  as  there 
seems  to  be  a  tendency  among  the  public  to 
entertain  similar  delusions  regarding  that 
unmitigated  nuisance  to  Europe,  the  Eastern 
Christian. 

Now,  in  considering  the  causes  of  discon- 
tent in  the  western  provinces  of  Turkey 
and  in  Bulgaria,  there  are  several  complica- 
tions which  must  be  rigorously  borne  in 
mind  at  every  step  of  the  inquiry.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  the  presence,  on  the 
immediate  confines  of  the  empire,  of  such 
enemies  of  the  Porte  as  Servia,  Roumania, 
and  Montenegro,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
Slav  provinces  of  Austria,  afforded  the 
Russian  government  not  only  the  means 
of  keeping  up  a  continual  stir  and  fer- 
ment, but  also  with  a  pretext  for  accusing 


Austria  of  agitation  in  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina for  her  own  private  ends.  In  short, 
Russian  emissaries,  without  number,  were 
continually  persuading  the  frontier  popula- 
tion of  the  Austrian  provinces  to  agitate 
amongst  the  Slavs  on  the  Turkish  side  of 
the  rivers  Unna  and  Save ;  and  having  suc- 
ceeded in  this  endeavour,  enabled  the 
Russian  government  to  point  out  to  the 
Turkish  authorities,  through  General  Igna- 
tieff,  that  the  whole  of  the  disturbances  in 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  arose  from  the 
agitation  and  intrigues  of  the  Austrian 
government. 

This  was  so  cleverly  carried  out,  that 
men  like  Consul  Holmes,  of  Serajevo,  re- 
garded largely  as  a  government  agitation 
what  was  peculiarly  the  contrary.  The 
agitation,  carried  on  in  the  military  frontier, 
and  along  the  Save,  was  excessively  em- 
barrassing to  the  Austrian  government; 
and  they  took  such  measures  to  prevent  it 
as  they  had  at  their  disposal.  Why  these 
measures  were,  and  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  inadequate,  requires  some  ex- 
planation ;  and  at  the  risk  of  some  little 
digression,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what 
were  the  local  circumstances  so  successfully 
made  use  of  by  Russian  agitators,  from 
Captain  Becker  and  M.  Wesselitzki,  up- 
wards, to  Consul  Jonine  and  his  master, 
Prince  Gortschakoff. 

The  seats  or  districts  of  Austrian  agita- 
tion, provoked  by  Russian  intrigue,  are, 
roughly  speaking,  twofold.  One  extends 
from  the  seaport  of  Hungary  down  to  the 
frontiers  of  Montenegro;  the  other  from 
Fiume  to  Belgrade,  along  the  rivers  Save 
and  Danube.  As  regards  the  first  of  these 
districts,  it  would  probably  puzzle  a  good 
many  people  very  considerably  to  state  on 
what  sea  the  seaport  of  Hungary  lies.  And, 
in  truth,  it  has  changed  hands  so  often  that 
some  perplexity  on  the  subject  might  be 
excusable.  Founded  by  the  Romans,  and 
called  by  them  Liburnia,  it  fell  a  prey  to 
the  old  pre-Bismarckian  days  of  blood  and 
iron,  to  the  tempest  of  tribes,  Sarmatians, 
Slavs,  Goths,  Huns,  and  Vandals,  that 
swept  down  from  the  east  and  made  civili- 
sation groan.  They  changed  its  name  to 
Rieka,  the  Slavic  for  river  or  stream  ;  and 
Rieka  it  remained  for  a  goodly  space  of 
time,  leading  a  doubtful  existence,  some- 
times in  collusion  with  the  pirates  who 
infested  the  Adriatic  from  Veglia  down  to 
the  Narenta,  and  sometimes  warring  against 
them.     Cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world 

47 


?T.   VEIT.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1870-75. 


by  a  barren,  inhospitable  karst,  the  bora 
liowling   around  it  in  winter,  the  sirocco 
8corchin(y    it   in   summer,   its    inliabitants 
were  not  remarkable  for  their  intellectual 
capabilities,    and,   consequently,    offered   a 
rich  virgin  soil  for  Jesuit  cultivation.     The 
good  fathers,  therefore,  established  them- 
selves in  Kieka,  and  built  a  church  there — 
a   Pantheon-like    edifice    in  Tniniature — 
which    they   dedicated    to    St.    Veit,   and 
succeeded  in  getting  the  name  of  the  town 
itself  changed  to  St.  Veit  am  Flaume,  in 
order  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other  St. 
Veits,  which  are  so  plentiful  in  the  broad 
domains  of  Austria.   For  a  time  St.  Veit  am 
Flaume  flourished.     The  Counts  of  Frangi- 
paui  had  a  castle  there,  levied  black-mail, 
and  generally  co-operated  with  the  Jesuits, 
who  had  been  so  successful  in  schooling  the 
St.  Veit  am  Flaumers,  that  when  the  angel 
which  took  up  the  Virgin's  house  at  Naza- 
reth, to  save  it  from  the  Turks,  stopped  at 
St.  Veit  am  Flaume,  it  struck  him  as  emi- 
nently suitable  as  a  final  resting-place  for 
the  holy  mansion,  a  previous  sojourn  in  the 
Sabioncello  not  having  turned  out  satisfac- 
torily. But,  from  one  cause  and  another,  the 
St.  Veit  am  Flaumers  did  not  duly  appreci- 
ate the  gift,  and  so  the  angel  disappeared 
with  it  again  one  fine  night,  and  took  it  to 
Loreto,  to  the  permanent  pecuniary  loss  of 
St.  Veit  am  P'laume,  which  might  otherwise 
have   prospered    in   matters   spiritual  and 
temporal,  even   as  Loreto,  to  the  present 
day,  or  Lourdes,  by  the  grace  of  Bernadette. 
The  good  Jesuit  fathers  were  sorely  exer- 
cised by  this  want  of  confidence,  especially 
as  St.  Veit  (St.  Vitus)  himself  also  threat- 
ened to   abandon  the  town   to   its   fate  — 
whatever  that  might  be— in  consequence  of 
being  deprived  of  the  saintly  edifice.      But 
the  Jesuits  consoled  him  by  promising  him 
the  company  of  a  real  saint  once  a-year — 
of  a  virgin  of  undoubted  integrity — to  wit, 
that  of  St.  Ursula,  she  of  the  10,000  virgins, 
whose  bones  repose  in  the  odour  of  sanctity 
in  the  church  of  St.  Ursula,  at  Cologne. 
Accordingly,  on  St.  Veit's  festival,  an  effigy 
of    the   saint,   together    with    her  dowry- 
box  ("which,  like  so  many  others,  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Jesuits),  was  taken  in 
gorgeous   procession   to  the  chapel  of  St. 
Vitus,   and   the   two    saints   left    together 
during  the  nii^^ht  for  a  friendly  chat.     Next 
day  she  was  fetched  down  again,  with  her 
dowry-box    plentifully    replenished.      Thus 
the  ceremony  went  on  for  a  goodly  round  of 
years,  till  some  matter-of-tact  statistician  I 
48  i 


made  the  strange  discovery  that,  in  spite  of 
St.    Ursula    and    her    10,000   immaculate 
maidens,    the    number    of  virgins  in   St. 
Veit  am  Flaume  decreased  alarmingly  every 
year;  and  as  it  was  found  that  they  gene- 
rally disappeared  on  St.  Vitus's  day,  the 
ceremony  was  abolished  by  '*  royal  decree," 
and  St.  Vitus  compelled  to  take  his  turn  in 
ordinary  with  the  other  saints  of  the  calen- 
dar.    St.  Veit  thus  being  under  a  cloud, 
and  the  Italian  party  in  strength,  the  name 
of  the  town  was  once  more  changed  into 
Fiume,   by   which   appellation   it   is    still 
known  for  the  moment,  though  there  are 
several  proposals  to   re-christen  it  with  a 
true,  full-sounding  Hungarian  name,  which, 
doubtless,   would    have    to    give    way    to 
another — say   Kieka   Rediviva — when    the 
great  South  Slavonic  empire  enters  upon 
the    enjoyment   of    its    scattered    estates. 
However,  the  Jesuit  fathers  made  one  more 
last   and   supreme    attempt   to   wean    the 
Fiumaners  from  their  evil  ways,  and  erected 
a  large  crucifix  outside  the  cathedral.     But 
one  day,  when  a  band  of  the  Fiumaner  youth 
were  playing  marbles  at  the  foot  of  this 
crucifix,  one  of  them,  a  godless  youth  who 
deservedly  lost,  also  lost  his  temper,  and 
vowed  if  he  lost  again  that  he  would  throw 
a  stone  at  the  crucifix.   He  did  lose,  and  he 
did   throw  a  stone  at  the   figure,   which 
forthwith  began  to  bleed  at  the  place  where 
it  was  struck.      But  the  wicked  youth  said 
he  didn't  care ;   nor  did  any  of  the  adult 
Fiumaners    seem  to   care;    for,   with    the 
exception  of  a  silver  plate,  "donated"  by 
an  old  lady  of  ninety-five  to  plaster  up  the 
wound  with,  the  endeavours  of  the  fathers 
bore  no  fruit  whatever,  and  so  they  took 
their  crucifix  into   the   church  itself,  and 
hid  it  carefully  away  in  the  sacristy,  where 
the   faithful    may  still   behold   it  on   the 
payment  of  a  small  fee  to  the  sacristan. 

After  this,  P^iume  went  on  through  the 
world  in  a  meandering,  purposeless  fashion, 
as  was  but  to  be  expected  from'  a  town  that 
refused  to  appreciate  the  Virgin's  house, 
St.  Vitus,  St.  Ursula,  a  Bleeding  Crucifix, 
and  the  Jesuit  Fathers ;  so  that  when  it  was 
incorporated  with  Hungary  in  1866,  it  was 
but  receiving  the  just  measure  of  its  sins. 
It  certainly  was  hard  for  Croatian  Fiume  to 
be  placed  under  Hungarian  rule,  just  be- 
cause Hungary,  like  a  self-willed  boy,  re- 
fused to  play  with  Austria  against  the 
Prussians,  unless  Croatia  and  Fiume  were 
given  over  to  her,  together  with  Slavonia 
and  Syrmia.      To  be  handed  over  to  the 


A.i).  1870-'75.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [whitehead's  torpedoed. 


traitor,  like  the  silver  penny  given  to 
Judas  Iscariot  for  his  treachery,  greatly 
hurt  the  Fiumaners.  They  strove  against 
it  energetically,  but  to  no  purpose.  The 
Magyar  was  determined.  Fiume  was  to  be 
an  Hungarian  port,  and  Hungarian  it  be- 
came. Forthwith,  then,  works  were  com- 
menced to  make  it  a  port  worthy  of  the 
nation  it  belonged  to.  The  harbour  was 
enlarged,  moles  and  railways  constructed  at 
an  enormous  cost,  all  of  which  helped  con- 
siderably to  calm  the  Fiume  mind,  for  it 
brought  money  into  the  town ;  so  that  at 
present  there  is  not  much  murmuring 
against  the  Magyar.  They  are  biding  the 
day  when  no  more  money  will  be  forth- 
coming ;  when  the  works  constructed  will 
be  proved  to  be  unremunerative,  and  the 
splendid  houses  building  can  find  no  tenants, 
and  rents  are  nowhere.  Then  there  will  be 
great  clamour,  and  the  Fiumaner  loudly 
claim  his  tiny  per-centage  on  the  minute 
amount  of  capital  he  has  invested  in  these 
works. 

Still,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  Fiume  is 
progressing ;  but  it  owes  no  little  portion 
of  its  prosperity  to  foreign  enterprise,  be- 
sides Hungarian  enterprise  ;  for,  of  course, 
they,  like  the  Saxons  in  Ireland,  are  aliens 
and  foreigners.     The  largest  private  estab- 
lishment   in    Fiume    is    that    of    Messrs. 
Smith  and  Meynier,  paper  manufacturers. 
Years  ago,  young  Smith,  senior,  drifted  to 
Fiume,  and,  after  much  tribulation,  stum- 
bled upon  the  idea  to  invest  in  the  linen 
rags   with   which   the  Croatian   peasantry 
encase  their  lower  members,  and  became  a 
rag-merchant.      Here  he  was  on  the  high 
road  to  fortune,  which  bubbled  up  towards 
him  in  the  shape  of  a  torrent  of  clear  blue 
water,  rising  from  a  rock-bound  gorge  a  few 
minutes  distant  from  the  town.     At  this 
spot  Smith,   after  great    difficulties,    suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  a  small  mill,  fed  by 
the  stream  running  down  the  gorge,  the 
establishment  having  increased  from  year 
to  year,  till  it  has  become  the  largest  of  its 
kind  south  of  the  Alps,  and  supplying  the 
whole  of  the  Levant  with  its  products,  and 
even  the  General  Post-Office  with  the  paper 
for  the  new  thick  post-cards.  Smith,  senior, 
who  had  entered  into  partnership  with  a 
Frenchman  named  Meynier,    died  in  har- 
ness.    His  son,  having  married  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Charles  Lever,  has  left  Fiume, 
and  remains  only  a  sleeping  partner  in  the 
Anglo-French  firm  that  has  done  much  for 
Fiume. 


Another  establishment  of  European  cele- 
brity, yet  comparatively  unknown,  leads  a 
busy  existence  in  this  Protean  town.  It  is 
that  of  Mr.  Whitehead,  who  also,  in  the 
teeth  of  the  greatest  difficulties,  has  here 
perfected  and  manufactures  his  celebrated 
fish-torpedo,  the  submarine  monster  that, 
as  its  admirers  predict,  is  to  revolutionise 
modern  naval  warfare.  For  the  benefit  of 
ambitious  States  that  have  a  little  hard 
cash  to  spare,  it  may  be  said  that  they 
can  purchase  the  secret  and  right  to 
manufacture  the  torpedo  by  giving  an 
order  for  fifty,  at  a  cost  of  £200  each. 
They  plough  through  the  water,  silently 
and  accurately,  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty 
knots  an  hour  for  the  first  1,000  yards,  and 
eighteen  knots  an  hour  for  a  mile.  On 
these  two  establishments,  together  with  the 
government  tobacco  factory,  employing 
close  upon  1,000  hands,  the  naval  school, 
and  one  or  two  smaller  factories,  Fiumo 
rests  its  claim  for  respectful  consideration. 
The  staple  trade  of  the  town  consists  of 
timber,  grain,  and  staves  for  barrels.  The 
great  cooperages  of  Marseilles,  Bordeaux, 
and  Trieste,  send  out  gangs  of  400  to  800 
hands  into  the  woods  round  about,  and  at 
some  distance  from  Fiume,  where  they 
remain  all  the  summer,  bringing  down  the 
produce  in  the  ox-carts  of  the  country,  or 
by  rail,  to  the  town  for  shipment.  Other- 
wise there  is  no  speciality  in  Fiume,  unless 
it  be  the  manufacture,  by  the  jewellers,  of 
little  Moor's  heads  for  earrings,  pins,  &c. 
They  are  of  gold,  with  black  enamel  fea- 
tures, and  white  enamel  eyes,  and  turbans 
adorned  with  gold  stars.  This  art  dates 
from  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  and  is  quite 
peculiar  to  Fiume. 

The  town  itself  is  situated  at  the  head  of 
the  Gulf  of  Quarnero. 

"  Ch'  Italia  chiude  ed  i  suoi  termini  bajrna.*' 

as  Dante  sings.  It  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  the  western  and  the  eastern,  the 
latter  running  along  the  Rieka,  which  forms 
the  old  port,  and  reminds  one  somewhat 
of  San  Sebastian ;  whilst  the  former  skirts 
the  bay,  and  contains  the  residences  of  the 
elite  of  the  town.  Wedged  in  between  the 
hills  that  run  across  Istria  and  down  the 
Dalmatian  coast,  indented  by  numerous 
rock-bound  inlets,  with  purple-shadowed 
Veglia  and  Cherso  in  the  distance,  and  the 
castle  of  Tersato  rising  above  it  behind,  it 
presents  a  very  attractive  picture,  and 
would,  no  doubt,  have  risen   to  a  proud 

49 


i 


"OLD  CHARLEY."] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-75. 


f 


k 


^ 


♦ 


position,  had  not  Venice  formerly,  and 
Trieste  at  present,  stifled  it  by  their  rapid 
growth.  The  view  over  the  Adriatic  and 
the  adjoining  country,  from  the  castle  of 
Tersato,  is  very  beautiful.  This  castle, 
formerly  belonging  to  the  Counts  of  Fran- 
gipaui,  is  now  owned  by  the  son  of  Colonel 
jS'ugent,  an  officer  in  the  Austrian  army,  to 
"whom  it  was  given,  together  with  the  title 
ot  baron,  for  his  services  durinjr  the  French 
•war.  He  had  the  ruin  partially  repaired,  and 
uses  a  portion  of  it  for  a  collection  of  anti- 
quities from  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum — 
some  of  them  very  remarkable — and  for  some 
specimens  of  the  old  Italian  masters  and 
schools.* 

No  sketch  of  Fiume  would,  however,  be 
complete  without  "  Old  Charley,"  H.B.M.'s 
consul  for  P'iume.  Not  that  his  name  is 
Charles  by  any  manner  of  means ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  James.  But  the  British 
sailor  having  nick-named  him  "  Old  Char- 
ley," as  Old  Charley  is  he  known  through- 
out the  Adriatic  and  Mediterranean.  Here 
he  is,  a  battered  old  hulk,  yet  sound  in  all 
his  timbers,  "  you-wasy,  and  they-wasy  "  in 
his  speech,  a  credit  to  himself,  but  none  to 
the  Foreign  Office,  having  sacrificed  fifty- 
five  years  out  of  the  seventy-nine  he  num- 
bers for  the  average  sum  of  £50  a-year. 
It  is  currently  reported  in  the  East,  that 
the  Foreign  Office  is  in  the  habit  of  em- 
ploying an  experienced  life-insurance  doc- 
tor, whose  sole  duty  it  is  to  travel  about 
inspecting  consuls  of  mature  age,  and  to 
report  on  the  expected  date  of  their  demise. 
A  few  months  before  this  date  they  are 
pensioned  off,  pour  encourager  les  autres, 
and  to  keep  up  appearances.  But  as  six 
months  must  elapse  before  they  can  touch 
the  first  moiety  of  their  well-earned  pen- 
sion, they  generally  relieve  the  nation  from 
any  further  expense  by  patriotically  dying 
at  once,  as  poor  Mr.  Longworth,  of  Bel- 
grade, recently  did,  with  that  rare  appre- 
ciation of  what  was  expected  from  him  that 
always  characterised  him.  That  "Old 
Charley"  has  not  yet  been  inspected  and 
reported  on,  is  due  either  to  the  fact  that 
Fiume  is  too  much  out  of  the  world,  or,  let 
us  hope,  because  he  has  still  a  goodly  score 
of  years  in  store ;  though  at  seventy-eight 
that  is  scarcely  to  be  reckoned  on.  As  a 
specimen  of  the  Eastern  consular  service  as 

•  Noteworthy,  also,  is  the  parish  church  at 
Tersato,  with  its  hundreds  of  votive  oHerings  in 
the  shape  of  ships  and  paintiugs  of  dire  escapes 
from  shipwreck. 

50 


conducted  by  the  Foreign  Office,  and  also 
of  what  material  it  is  sometimes  framed, 
let  the  following  letter  show: — 

"  Fiume,  Jan'' 20''»  1875. 
"  My  Lord— 

"  I  have  the  Honour  to  beg  to  be  per- 
mitted humbly  to  sollicit  Your  Lordship's 
attention  to  my  recital  of  long  services 
during  which  my  various  Superiors  had  no 
cause  of  complaint  having  ever,  during  the 
long  period  of  my  Off.  Duties  at  this  Port, 
given  every  possible  care  and  attention  to 
every  one  requiring  my  Assistance. 

"In  the  Year  1819  I  was  appointed  V. 
Consul  at  Fiume  and  Dependencies  by  John 
Leard,  Esq.  then  H.B.M^'"-  Consul  &  Mr. 
Consul-Gen'-  Hoppner  then  at  Venice  gave 
his  approbation  thereto,  &  under  date  24'** 
Nov'-  1819  was  confirmed  by  H.M^'»  Sec''  of 
State  Lord  Castlereagh.  during  the  Years 
1819-20  &  21  many  B"  Vessels  were  laden 
at  Fiume  &  Buccari  with  Oak  Timber, 
Plank  &  Trenails  on  the  Contract  that  had 
been  entered  into  by  H.M^'*  Navy  Board 
&  Messrs.  Adamich  and  Haire  to  deliver 
such  Cargoes  of  Timber  into  H.M^'  Dock- 
yards in  England. 

"  On  the  demise  of  Mr.  Leard  in  1831  I 
took  charge  of  the  Archives  of  Office,  report- 
ing the  sad  event  and  so  patiently  awaiting 
the  decision  of  H.M''''  Sec^  of  State ;  on  the 
19^"  Feb"  1832,  the  K'  H^'«  Lord  Visc^  Pal- 
merston  was  pleased  to  confirm  me  grantino' 
me  £50  Stg.  in  consideration  of  having  re- 
ceived testimony  of  my  good  character  and 
conduct. 

"In  the  Year  1842  His  Lordship  was 
pleased  to  augment  the  grant  to  £75  in 
consequence  of  a  Report  made  by  Sir  Thos. 
Sorell  then  Consul  Gr'  at  Trieste  to  that 
effect. 

"  In  the  early  part  of  the  Year  1844  I 
was  specially  sent  by  Sir  Tho*-  Sorell  Con- 
sul Gr'-  to  Spalatro,  there  to  assist  and  pro- 
tect the  Interests  of  the  Owners  of  the 
Brit*'  Vessel  Chieftain  Captain  Keay  as 
one  of  the  Crew  had  been  shot  by  the 
Master  at  night  and  arrested  and  placed 
under  trial  by  the  Judicial  Authorities  there. 
On  my  arrival  I  found  Captain  Reay  was 
sentenced  to  6  years  confinement  and  his 
appeal  had  been  forwarded  to  the  Court  at 
Zara;  from  that  Court  in  6  days  came 
the  Order '  that  the  prisoner  be  handed  over 
to  my  charge,  as  the  trial  had  been  found 
defective  for  want  of  a  competent  Inter- 
preter,' I  then  put  him  in  charge  of  his 


a:d.  1870-75.] 


EUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[fTUME  and  TRIESTE. 


Vessel  and  cleared  her  for  Malta  to  be  there 
called  to  account  for  his  conduct  at  Spalatro ; 
the  Vessel  however  did  not  call  there  but 
proceeded  on  to  England  and  when  arrived 
at  Portsmouth,  Capt.  Reay  was  arrested 
and  sent  to  the  County  Prison  to  abide  his 
trial;  the  final  issue  there  was  an  acquittal 
of  Murder.  Sir  Tho'-  Sorell  expressed  per- 
sonally to  me  his  great  satisfaction  for  my 
services  rendered  him,  as  I  had  so  relieved 
him  from  a  great  torment,  for  had  Capt. 
Reay  been  imprisoned  at  Cape  d'Istria  or 
Gradisca  near  to  Trieste,  he  would  have 
been  in  his  OfP-  Jurisdiction. 

"In   the   Year   1854  May  4^  my  grant 
was  increased  to  £100   on  my  Appeal  to 
Government  as  being  the  Sen*"  Vice  Con- 
sul in  the  Adriatic  I  prayed  to  be  equal- 
ised  with   my   more   fortunate   colleagues 
&  accordingly  the  Rt  H^'«  Earl  of  Claren- 
don was  pleased  to  grant  me  the  difference. 
"  Your  Lordship,   I  trust  will  be   gra- 
ciously pleased  to  Observe  that  I  have  now 
served  during  the  full  period  of  55  Years 
at   the  aforesaid    Grant   of    £50,    75    & 
100   Stg.   in    addition  to  which  sum   for 
the  last  10  Years  I  am  in  receipt  of  £6  per 
annum  as  allowed  me  in  compensation  of 
my  lost  Ionian  fees  of  Office,  Your  Lordship 
I  hope  will  now  permit  me  to  appeal  to 
Your  Lordship's  benevolence  on  the  ground 
of  my  advanced  age  78  my  long  services, 
my  present  honourable  position  being  the 
Doyen  of  the  Consular  Body  at  Fiume,  a 
position  which  often  places  me  in  embar- 
rassment from   my  small  means   at   com- 
mand, as  also  to  meet  living  and  House 
Rent  vastly  augmented  during  the  last  10 
years  so  that  I  do  now  very  humbly  Ap- 
peal to  Your  Lordship  to  take  into  consider- 
ation all  my  services  stated  and  to  permit 
me  to  hope  to  enjoy  a  little  better  comfort 
these  few  Years  longer  I  may  have  to  carry 
on  with  my  family  through  the  good  Will  of 
the  Almighty  &  I  will  ever   be  grateful 
and  pray 


"  Your  Lordship's 

"  Most  humble  &  Obliged 
"  Servant, 

"  Jm*'  Tho"  Hill. 

"  To  the  Earl  of  Derby  etc.  etc." 
That,  as  shown  by  this  document,  "  one 
of  the  crew  of  the  Chieftain  had  been  shot 
by  the  master  at  night,  and  arrested  and 
put  on  his  trial ;  that  the  vessel  was  cleared 
for  Malta  to  be  called  to  account  for  the 


captain's  conduct;  that  the  vessel  wisely 
abstained  from  going  to   Malta;  that  the 
captain   was  acquitted  of  murder,"  are  cir- 
cumstances so    remarkable,  that  it   is   no 
wonder  Sir  Thomas  Sorell  should  be  hiirhly 
delighted  at  having  the  case  removed  from 
his  jurisdiction,  and  thus  being  "relieved 
from  a  great  torment."     And  having  repre- 
sented the  British  government  for  fifty-five 
years,  at  an  average  cost  to  the  nation  of 
about  £50  per  annum,  it  is  also  not  sur- 
prising that  Old    Charley's  "  appeal  "   has 
been  granted,  and  that  he  is  still  permitted 
"  to  hope  for  to  enjoy  a  little  better  com- 
fort these  few  years  longer  "  he  may  have 
to  carry  on  with  his  family.     He  was  still 
hoping  when  these  lines  were  penned,  and 
is,  probably,  doing  so  yet.     Would  it  not 
be  better  to-  put  an  end  to  this  hope  de- 
ferred?    Still  more,  would  it  not  be  better 
if  the  Foreign  Office  were  to  exhibit  a  little 
more  judgment  in  the  selection  of  its  con- 
sular representatives? 

The  dominating  idea  of  the  Fiumaners 
is  a  laudable,  though  apparently  hopeless 
ambition  to  rival  Trieste.     This  ambition 
is  based  on  the  expectation  that,  when  the 
Turkish  system  of  railways  is  extended  to 
Sissek,  the  traffic  will  come  to  P'iume,  as 
being  nearer,  rather  than  to  Trieste.     But, 
apart   from    the    vested   interests    of    the 
Siidbahn  and   Staatsbahn,  which   top   the 
Slavonian  lines  at   St.   Peter,    Steinbriick 
and  Kanizsa,  political  considerations  must, 
for  a  long  time  at  least,   render  all  such 
expectations  abortive.     The  great  highways 
of  commerce  in  these   ports,  the  Danube, 
the  Drave,  and  the  Save,  are  already  ex- 
ploited  by   the  Danube   Steamship  Com- 
pany ;  whilst  the  great  consuming  centres, 
Vienna,  Presburg,  and  Pesth,  are,  4n  addi- 
tion, fed  by  the  two  lines  afore-mentioned, 
so    that     the    cross-country   line,   Fiume- 
Carlstadt-Agram,  a  stupendous  monument 
of  the  engineer's  and  mason's  skill,  does  not 
yet  pay  for  its  wheel-grease;    whilst  the 
harbour-works,  an  Hungarian  undertaking, 
are  consuming  vast  sums  of  money  without 
any  prospect  of  an  adequate  return.     The 
trade  up  the  Adriatic  is  not  large  enough 
to  permit  a  remunerative  division  of  pro- 
fits  between   three  ports   lying   so  closely 
together  as   Venice,   Trieste,   and   Fiume. 
Venice  will  always  command  a  large  share  on 
account  of  its  being  the  natural  port  for  the 
Bremen  traffic  to  and  from  Southern  Ger- 
many and  Upper  Italy :  Trieste  will  always 
be  the  port,  par  excellence,  for  Aubtria, 

51 


•^ 


.  ,.  ♦•« 


Il' 


fiume's  future.] 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


up  to  the  Erz-Gabirge  and  Saxon  frontier; 
but  Fiume  can  only  attain  importance  in 
case  of  the  dreams  of  Slav,  Hungarian,  and 
Italian  being  wholly  or  partially  realised. 
Thus,  if  ever  Trieste  should  come   to   be 
the   coronat  opus    of    Italian   unity,   the 
energies  of  Hungarian  or  Slav,  whichever 
might  have  the  upper  hand,  would  neces- 
sarily be  directed  to   the  development  of 
the   Fiume    traffic    and    communications. 
Meantime  each   party  is  battling  for  the 
supremacy  over  the  other.     Thus  Fiume, 
as   is,   indeed,    the   whole   of  Croatia   and 
Dalmatia,    is   divided   socially   into   three 
parties,  with  the  occasional  addition  of  a 
fourth.     First,  there  is  the  dominant  party, 
the    Hungarian;    secondly,   the    Croatian 
autonomist  and   democratic   party,   whose 
democracy,  however,  is  only  a  pass-word  to 
autonomy ;  and,  thirdly,  the  Court  Croats, 
or  aristocracy,  created  in  very  recent  times, 
and  which  is  foreign  to  the  traditions  of 
the  Slavs,  who,  like  the  Basques,  do  not  ac- 
knowledge any  distinction  of  rank  amongst 
themselves,  being  naturally  noblemen  all. 
This  party  adheres  per  fas  et  nefas  to  the 
Imperial  Court,    and   strives   for   the   re- 
establishment    of    Austrian    unity.      The 
fourth  party  is  the  Italian,  which  plays  the 
same  part  in  Austria  as  the  Greeks  do  in 
Turkey,  by  fringing  the  Slav  coasts  with  a 
succession   of  mercantile  colonies,  ranging 
from  Trieste  down  to  Budua,  and   which 
insists,  in  virtue  of  the  ancient  rights  of 
Venice   and  Eagusa    over  these  countries, 
that   they  are  really  Italian  appanages  be- 
longing by  rights  to  Italy. 

This  sketch  conveys  an  accurate  idea  of 
the  state  of  affairs  generally  prevailing  all 
through  the  Adriatic  littoral  of  the  Aus- 
trian provinces.  In  Croatia,  the  country 
between  the  Save,  Drave,  and  the  Quarnero, 
there  is  somewhat  more  cohesion  amongst  the 
population ;  but  the  questions  agitating 
this  country  are  just  as  burning  and  pro- 
ductive of  discontent  as  those  further 
south. 

If  the  reader  will  take  the  troulJle  to 
glance  at  a  railway  map  of  South-eastern 
Europe,  he  will  observe  that  a  line  runs 
direct  south-west  from  Pesth,  past  Stuhl- 
weissenburg,  the  Flatten  See,  and  Gross 
Kanizsa  to  Agram,  or  Zagrab,  as  the  Croats 
love  to  call  it.  From  Agram,  it  will  be 
seen  that  there  are  two  lines  of  railway 
running  to  Fiume,  one  as  long  as  the  other, 
and  both  describing  a  semicircle.  Why  \ 
this  should  be  so,  requires  some  explanation 
52 


[A.D.  1870-75.  *' 

fractionally   commercial,   chiefly   political. 
The  commercial  explanation   is,  that  the 
northern  line  from    Steinbruck  to   Fiume 
forms  part  of  the  Siidbahn  from  Vienna  to 
Trieste,  and  the  branch  from  Steinbruck  to 
Agram,  built  by  the  same  company,  was  in- 
tended to  draw  off  the  Agram  traffic  into 
the  Siidbahn,  and   thence  to  Vienna  and 
Trieste,  the  connecting  link,  Agram-Kanizsa, 
not  having  then  been  completed.     Herein 
there  was  a  certain  amount  of  sense,  though 
the  line  might  have  been  laid  to  a  nearer 
and  more  profitable  point.     The  southern 
line,  Agram-Karlstadt-Fiume,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  simply  a  political  conceit,  a  freak 
carried  out   at  the  cost  of  over  80,000,000 
florins— say  £8,000,000.      It   was   part   of 
the  scheme  that  was  to  make  Fiume  the 
seaport    of  the    great    Magyar    kingdom. 
"  Teremtete !  "  swore  the  great  Magyar,  "  if 
Vienna  has  its  Trieste,  shall  not  Pesth  have 
its  Fiume  ?  "     So  the  fiat  went  forth,  and 
the  line  Fiume-Karlstadt  was  built  at  the 
above-mentioned  cost.    Immaterial  whether 
vessels  would  prefer  the  Hungarian  to  the 
Austrian  port  or  not — immaterial  whether 
the   line   passed    through  any   centres   of 
traffic  or  not,  it  was  sufficient  to  possess 
the  toy,  and  to  be  able  to  prove  that  there 
is  nothing  impossible  for  the  Magyar. 

The  line  itself  is  a  wonderful  monument 
of  misapplied  engineering  and  masonry. 
On  leaving  Fiume  it  gradually  mounts, 
skirting  the  sea-shore  at  some  little  dis- 
tance by  an  embankment,  solidly  faced 
with  smoothly-hewn  masonry,  to  Buccari, 
and  then  meanders  in  similar  fashion  across 
gullies,  hills,  and  barren  Karst  to  Ogatin. 
A  sea  of  grey  lime^tone,  covered  with  sage, 
is  all  that  meets  the  eye  between  Buccari 
and  Karlstadt.  Here  and  there  it  seems  as 
though  some  frantic  attempts  had  been 
made  to  coax  a  little  verdure  from  the 
waste  of  barrenness  around ;  and  here  and 
there  a  solitary  mill  is  seen  ;  though  what  it 
grinds  it  would  be  hard  to  say.  Two  trains 
a  day  traverse  this  wilderness — one  a  pas- 
senger train,  the  other  a  goods  train ; 
though  it  has  often  been  said  that  the 
latter  is  a  dummy.  That  the  line  does  not 
pay  for  wheel-grease,  much  less  for  its 
repairs,  is  a  fact  no  one  disputes.  The  . 
very  officials  seem  to  regard  the  line  as  a 
stupendous  joke,  or  an  unsolvable  riddle, 
and  drivers,  guards,  and  station-masters  are 
all  agreed  that  their  appointment  is  vir- 
tually a  sentence  of  solitary  confinement. 
The  only  break  in  the  monotony  of  their 


A.D.  1870-75.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[AGROr. 


existence  is  when  a  portion  of  the  masonry 
gives  way,  or  the  bora  blows  the  train 
bodily  over  the  embankment,  as,  with  the 
exception  of  the  engine,  happened  a  couple 
of  years  ago.  Collisions  never  happen ; 
but  it  would  not  matter  if  they  did,  for 
the  speed  of  the  train  is  so  deliberately 
slow,  that  a  collision  could  scarcely  equal 
the  concussion  produced  by  the  series  of 
rapid  osculatory  salutes  indulged  in  by  the 
stalwart  males  of  the  country  when  they 
meet  or  take  leave  of  each  other.  Thus, 
having  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  day — 
nine  hours  in  accomplishing  the  journey, 
remarkable  for  nothing  but  the  natural  and 
logical  absence  of  refreshments  on  the  way 
— the  tram-car  arrives,  with  a  feeling  of 
relief  seldom  experienced,  at  Agram,  the 
capital  of  Croatia,  favourably  situated  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  Save,  in  the  midst 
of  a  fertile  plain,  whence  rises  the  "  Grad," 
containing  the  chief  ofiicial  and  ecclesias- 
tical buildings.  The  appearance  of  the 
town  is  agreeable;  it  has  a  homely  air 
about  it,  and  is  evidently  meant  for  use 
and  not  for  show,  like  Buda-Pesth.  Alto- 
gether, after  issuing  from  the  wild  karst 
between  Agram  and  Fiume.  a  certain  sur- 
prise is  felt  at  seeing  oneself  again  in  the 
midst  of  well-stocked  shops,  and  with  a 
choice  of  good  hotels  before  one.  The  mar- 
ket, in  the  centre  of  which  stands  a  statue 
of  the  great  Ban  of  Croatia,  Jellachich, 
•which  is  thronged  by  a  busy,  bustling 
crowd,  presents  a  scene  of  great  anima- 
tion, especially  noticeable  being  a  number 
of  Jew  pedlars  and  traders,  who,  thanks  to 
Count  Molinari,  are  now  free  to  trade  in 
any  part  of  Croatia  and  the  Militair  Greme. 

Being  the  centre  of  the  South  Slavonic 
movement,  the  seat  of  the  Croatian  Diet, 
and  the  residence  of  a  bishop,  Agram,  of 
course,  represents  the  intellectual  activity 
of  the  Croats,  who  meet  in  great  force, 
afternoon  and  evening,  in  the  cafe  Hrvat — 
Hrvat,  to  pronounce  which  please  put  an 
ear  of  barley  the  wrong  way  down  your 
throat  and  say  "  cravat,"  meaning  Croatian. 
Here,  in  view  of  Jellachich's  statue,  Croatian 
and  South  Slav  patriotism  is  rampant,  and 
in  vain  will  you  look  for  a  single  Magyar 
amidst  the  dense  crowd  thronging  the 
saloons.  Here  meet  the  journalists,  lawyers, 
and  members  of  the  Landtag^  who  are 
working  for  the  "  cause,"  and  discussing  the 
events  "over  the  border."  These  events 
were  assuming  a  definite  shape  as  early  as 
the  summer  of  1873. 

VOL.  lu.  I 


For  a  long  time  past  the  relations  of  the 
Christian  merchants  of  the  north  of  Bosnia  in 
general,  and  the  better  class  of  Mussulmans, 
had  been  of  a  most  unsatisfactory  nature. 
These  merchants  were  comparatively  rich, 
and  from  their  vicinity  to  Austria,  had 
acquired  a  more  independent  character  than 
elsewhere,  and  had  thus,  in  a  corresponding 
degree,  awakened  the  jealousy  and  animosity 
of  their  Mussulman  compatriots.  There  is 
no  doubt,  therefore,  that  they  had  been 
subjected  to  petty  annoyances  and  small 
persecutions,  for  which  they  had  been  un- 
able to  obtain  redress  at  the  hands  of  the 
local  authorities,  and  which  had  irritated 
them  excessively.  Still  their  complaints 
were  exaggerated  as  to  the  importance  and 
degree  of  these  vexations,  and  their  own 
conduct  also  tended  to  exasperate  the  ill- 
will  of  the  Turks  towards  them,  especially 
as  the  enmity  of  Bosniac  Mahommedans  is 
principally  directed  to  the  n;ierchant  or 
trading  class  of  Christians,  and  it  is  not  at 
all  exhibited  in  the  same  degree  towards  the 
peasant.  The  former  class  grows  rich,  has 
no  interest  in  common  with  the  Turk,  and 
excites  his  jealousy  ;  while  the  latter  works 
for  the  Mahommedan  landowners,  and  their 
interests  are  bound  up  together.  This  ill- 
feeling  between  the  Christian  trading  classes 
in  Bosnia  and  the  Mussulman  proprietors 
is  excessive,  and  in  a  great  measure  has 
been  caused,  and  is  fomented,  by  local 
peculiarities.  In  other  parts  of  Turkey 
there  were  Christian  and  Mahommedan 
populations,  who  lived  together  in  much 
more  tolerable  amity,  and  who,  though  the 
Turkish  element  was  in  the  ascendant,  and 
the  Christians  suffered  a  certain  amount  of 
oppression  in  consequence,  were  not  subject 
to  the  causes  which,  in  Bosnia,  tended  to  a 
degree  of  exasperation  which  was  not  to 
be  met  elsewhere.  These  causes  were  the 
vicinity  of  the  various  Slav  populations  of 
Austria,  Servia,  and  Montenegro,  who, 
independent  of  the  Turks  themselves,  never 
ceased,  by  writing  in  the  ^public  press,  by 
emissaries,  and  by  facility  of  personal  inter- 
course, to  excite  the  Christians  to  dis- 
content by  assuring  them  of  their  superior 
political  and  social  position  in  comparison 
with  their  assumed  miserable  state,  and 
who  exasperated  the  Turks  by  exaggeration 
of  every  matter  that  occurred,  and  by 
threats,  sometimes  of  annexation  to  Servia 
— sometimes  of  invasion,  and  by  abuse  of 
every  possible  kind.  Now,  as  both  Turks 
and  Christians  in  Bosnia  are  equally  igno- 

53 


■•♦ 


TROUBLES  IN  BOSNIA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870-75. 


if 


I  ': 


I 


fl 


;|  i 


rant  and  fanatical,  the  result  of  all  this  was 
a  state  of  things  which  was  most  deplor- 
able, but  for  which  it  was  difficult  to  find 
any  remedy.  The  governor-general  of 
Bosnia,  in  1873,  was  an  exceptionably  good 
man,  and  did  his  utmost  to  prevent  abuses 
and  to  administer  justice;  but  when  he 
required  information,  and  demanded  the 
truth  from  the  local  authorities,  they 
unanimously  replied  that  the  Christians 
were  wholly  to  blame;  that  they  did  all 
they  could  to  disturb  the  public  tran- 
quillity, and  that  the  Turks  were  perfectly 
innocent,  and,  in  fact,  the  victims  of  the 
animosity  and  intrigues  of  the  Christians. 

The  result  of  this  state  of  affairs  was 
that  327  merchants  of  Grradiska  fled  to 
Austria  for  protection  in  July,  1873,  alleging 
that  their  lives  were  in  danger ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  it  became  known  that  a  number 
of  Christians  had  been  cast  into  prison  at 
Jaitze,  because  the  wife  of  a  Mussulman 
had  been  murdered  by  brigands.  An  in- 
quiry into  the  Grradiska  affair  was  at  once 
demanded  by  the  Austrian  consul  at  Sera- 
jevo,  M.  Theodorovich.  His  demands  were 
acceded  to,  and  on  July  6th  he  proceeded 
to  Grradiska,  in  company  with  the  governor- 
general.  The  result  of  the  inquiry  was 
that  the  Christians  disagreed  among  them- 
selves, fully  half  of  them  declaring  that 
they  had  nothing  particular  to  complain  of, 
and  accusing  those  who  had  crossed  the 
Save  of  endeavouring,  by  their  intrigues,  to 
embroil  the  whole  Christian  community 
with  their  Mussulman  compatriots.  Such 
being  the  case,  the  consuls  received  a  noti- 
fication from  the  governor-general,  to  the 
effect  that  thirty-two  Christian  merchants 
of  Gradiska,  whose  names  were  given, 
having  left  the  Turkish  territory,  their 
shops  and  magazines  had  been  sequestered 
and  sealed  up  by  the  authorities,  and  that 
the  space  of  a  month  would  be  allowed  to 
any  foreign  or  other  auditor  of  these  indi- 
viduals to  present  their  claims.  At  the 
same  time,  with  regard  to  272  murders, 
stated  in  the  newspapers  to  have  taken 
place  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Gradiska 
within  the  space  of  six  weeks,  M.  Theo- 
dorovich said  there  was  a  rumour  of  one ; 
but,  though  he  made  inquiries,  he  could 
not  establish  even  this  one  fact. 

This  incident  gave  rise  to  a  number  of 
despatches  from  the  foreign  consuls  to 
their  various  governments,  each  one  repre- 
senting the  affair  from  his  own  particular 
point  of  view.  Raschid  Pasha,  Consuls 
54 


Holmes  and  Longworth,  all  expressed  their 
opinions  that  the  disturbances  were  due  to 
the  presence  and  instigation  of  Austrian 
agitators.  This  opinion  was  correct  in  so 
far  that  these  agitators  may  have  been 
Austrian  subjects;  but  it  was  incorrect  in 
so  far  as  it  conveyed  the  idea  that  tbey 
were  government  agents.  They  were  sim- 
ply Slavs,  following  out  their  own  views, 
and  belonging  to  that  party  which  advo- 
cated the  extension  of  Slav  influence  at  the 
expense  of  German  and  Hungarian. 

The  Gradiska  affair  may  be  taken  as  a 
specimen  of  its  class.  The  Christians  of 
this  town,  as  in  all  others  of  sufficient 
importance,  had  established  an  Opechtina, 
or  council,  ostensibly,  and  partly  in  reality, 
occupying  itself  with  the  administration  of 
the  schools  and  the  ecclesiastical  revenues, 
but  also  acting  as  a  political  committee, 
charged  with  the  propagation  of  the  Slav 
idea,  and,  consequently,  a  focus  for  foreign 
agitation.  All  these  Opechtinas  were  in 
communication  with  the  revolutionary 
committee,  and  the  Omladina  in  Servia,  and 
the  Serb  districts  of  Croatia  and  Hungary ; 
and  when  the  Opechtina  of  Gradiska  was 
being  worked  by  the  agents  despatched  by 
these  committees,  one  of  its  members,  a 
certain  Stovo,  for  whatever  reason,  whether 
from  malico,  conscientious  motives,  or  to 
curry  favour  with  the  Turks,  got  up  a  pro- 
test ajxainst  the  machinations  of  the  Serb 
agitators.  This  protest  was  in  course  of 
being  signed,  when  one  of  the  agitators 
surprised  him,  and  snatched  the  paper  out 
of  his  hands.  Determined  to  frustrate 
Stovo  in  his  denunciation,  the  members  of 
the  Opechtina  who  were  implicated,  lodged 
a  complaint  again5>t  him  before  the  kai- 
makam,  a  governor  of  Gradiska;  but  when 
they  found  that  the  kaimakam  knew  more 
than  they  thought  he  did,  they  adopted  the 
more  prudent  course  of  fleeing  across  the 
frontier.  ♦ 

Thus  the  whole  affair  resolved  itself  into 
the  denunciation  by  an  "informer"  of  a 
revolutionary  committee,  which  proved  its 
guilt  by  running  away.  All  this  was  amply 
established  during  the  inquiry  conducted 
by  M.  Theodorovich,  the  Austrian  consul, 
in  spite  of  the  endeavours  of  the  ex-Austrian 
vice-consul  of  Banjoluka,  M.  Draganchich, 
who  was  one  of  the  chief  agitators  acting 
in  favour  of  the  Austrian  Slavs. 

The  affair  at  Jaitze  was  similar  in  its 
results.  The  Turkish  authorities  had 
heard   that   two   notorious   brigands  were 


A.D.  1875.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[BOSNIAN  ATROCITTES. 


concealed  in  the  house  of  a  Christian 
named  Alexi  Vartellas,  and  sent  the  mudir 
to  arrest  them.  But  the  mudir  and  his 
people  were  driven  off  by  the  wife  of  Alexi 
and  her  neighbours.  Four  days  afterwards 
the  wife  of  a  Mussulman  in  the  nei'j^hbour- 
hood  was  murdered;  and  then,  and  not  till 
then,  were  Alexi  and  bis  accomplices 
arrested,  but,  with  the  exception  of  Alexi 
and  his  wife,  set  at  liberty  after  the  first 
hearing  of  the  case. 

Naturally,  the  unfavourable  report  of  M. 
Theodorovich,   as   to   the    conduct  of  the 
Christians,  caused   a  tempest  of   indigna- 
tion in    Servia    and    Croatia.     The   Croat 
journal,  Obzor,  declared  that  Theodorovich 
had  induced  the  Christians  to  revoke  their 
complaints  on  various  pretences,  and  had 
then  left  them  to  their  fate;    and  openly 
called  upon  Russia  either  to  form  an  inti- 
mate alliance  with  Austro-Hungary  against 
Prince  Bismarck  and  a  powerful  Slav  com- 
bination against  Germany,  or  boldly  declare 
war  to  Austria,  and  take  the  fate  of  the 
Slavs  into  her  own   hands.     At  the  same 
time,  the  committees  redoubled  their  exer- 
tions to  organise  a  systematic  revolt;  but 
as  the   conduct   of  the   Christians  in  the 
Gradiska  affair,  and  the  report  of  M.  Theo- 
dorovich, was  fatal,  for  the  moment,  to  the 
success  of  any  action  on  the  Austrian  fron- 
tier and  the   north  of  Bosnia,  it  was  re- 
solved, at  the  instigation  of  M.  Wesselitzki 
— a  Russian  agent  of  Herzegovinian  extrac- 
tion— to  address  a  letter  to  the  Prince  of 
Montenegro,  claiming  his  protection.    This 
letter  was  signed  by  a  number  of  Bosniaks 
and  Herzegovinians,  and  was  the  commence- 
ment of  an  agitation  which  was  energeti- 
cally carried  on  throughout  the  year  1874, 
and  resulted  in  the  flight  of  a  number  of 
the  inhabitants  in  the  district  of  Nevesinje 
to  Montenegro.    Having  here  received  their 
instructions,  and  being  supplied  with  funds, 
they  applied  to  the  Porte  for  permission  to 
return  to   their   homes.     This  permission 
was  granted,  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of 
the  governor,  who  was  aware  of  their  object; 
and,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  1875,  they 
broke  out  into  open  revolt,  and,  forming 
into  separate  bands,  commenced  a  series  of 
attacks  on  the  Turks,  and  either  persuaded 
or  forced  the  Christians  to  join  them.     This 
movement   rapidly  increased  in  intensity, 
and   assumed    such    proportions    that   the 
Porte  began  to  be  seriously  alarmed,  and 
sent  two  commissioners.  Constant  Effendi 
and  Hassan  Pasha,  to  try  to  arrange  matters 


with  the  insurgents,  who  fixed  a  day  to 
meet  them.  At  the  time  appointed,  how- 
ever, they  did  not  put  in  an  appearance; 
and  after  waiting  some  time  in  vain,  the 
two  Turkish  officials  were  informed  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  come  at  all,  as  they 
had  no  confidence  in  them.  They  would 
only  agree  to  a  meeting  in  case  their  safety 
was  guaranteed  by  the  European  consuls. 
The  result  of  this  action,  combined  with 
the  information  received  as  to  the  activity 
of  the  committees,  and  the  intrigues  carried 
on,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment, by  Prince  Milan  and  Prince 
Nikita  of  Montenegro,  led  to  the  proposal 
of  a  consular  commission,  which  should 
ascertain  the  demands  of  the  insurgents, 
mediate  between  them  and  the  Turkish 
authorities,  and  generally  endeavour  to  ar- 
range a  basis  for  the  friendly  action  of  the 
powers. 

This  proposal  was  agreed  to,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 12th,  the  commission  arrived  at 
Nevesinje,  which  had  been  one  of  the  chief 
scenes  of  the  revolt.  They  found  all  the 
eastern  part  of  the  town,  and  all  the  bazaar, 
burnt  and  in  ruins.  Dead  bodies  were  lying 
in  various  corners  unburied ;  and  in  one  of 
the  streets  lay  the  head  of  a  boy,  blackening 
in  the  sun.  A  little  Turkish  girl  was 
brought  to  Consul  Holmes  and  his  col- 
leagues, the  Russian  and  French  consuls, 
who  was  suffering  from  a  wound  in  her 
throat.  One  of  the  insurgents  was  de- 
tected in  the  act  of  cutting  her  head  off, 
when  she  was  fortunately  snatched  from 
him  by  another  less  bloodthirsty  one,  and 
allowed  to  escape. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  the  first 
meeting  between  the  insurgents  and  the 
consuls  took  place  at  the  village  of  Beograd, 
near  Nevesinje.  The  consuls  began  by  in- 
forming the  insurgent  deputies  that  there 
was  no  hope  of  assistance  from  any  of 
the  European  governments,  nor  from  Servia, 
nor  from  Montenegro  ;  and  strongly  advised 
them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  lay  their 
complaints  before  Server  Pasha,  who  had 
been  delegated  by  the  Porte  to  inquire  into 
their  grievances. 

This  was  but  poor  consolation  for  the 
insurgents,  who,  moreover,  knew  better 
than  the  consuls  what  assistance  was  to  be 
expected  from  Servia,  Montenegro,  and 
Russia.  The  rest  of  the  tale  may  be  told 
by  Consul  Holmes,  as  he  recounted  it  in 
his  despatch  of  September  28  : — 

"  In  the  course  of  our  interviews  we  were 

55 


1 


*!  1 


THE  CONSULAR   COMMISSION.]         HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1875. 


t 


constantly  asked  whether  the  powers  would 
guarantee  the  execution  of  justice  and 
reform.  We  replied  that  we  were  merely 
charged  to  give  them  friendly  advice  as  to 
the  best  means  of  relieving  themselves  from 
the  difficulties  in  which  they  were  involved, 
but  that  they  might  be  sure  the  Turkish 
government  was  sincere  in  its  promises, 
and  that  the  attention  of  Europe  having 
been  drawn  to  their  atfairs,  the  government 
could  not  deceive  them  without  serious  loss 
of  honour,  and  damage  to  its  own  vital 
interests.  They  asked  why  Server  Pasha 
had  not  come  with  us,  and  why  the  dele- 
gates of  Austria,  Germany,  and  Italy  were 
not  with  us,  if  they  had  the  same  message 
to  give  them.  We  replied  that  we  had 
nothinc:  to  do  with  Server  Pasha ;  that  we 
were  not  acting  as  Turkish  agents,  but 
eimply  as  friendly  messengers  from  the 
European  governments,  who,  disapproving 
the  means  they  were  adopting  to  obtain 
their  desires,  had  sent  us  to  advise  them 
what  course  they  had  best  pursue,  and  that 
we  had  not  come  in  one  body  in  order  to 
gave  time,  as,  while  we  were  here  with 
them,  the  other  delegates  had  gone  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Trebinje,  and  along  the 
Dalmatian  frontier. 

"They  repeatedly  declared  that  they 
"were,  and  wished  to  remain,  faithful  sub- 
jects of  the  Sultan,  taking  off  their  caps  at 
the  mention  of  his  name,  but  that  his 
majesty  was  deceived  by  his  pashas,  and 
could  not  be  aware  of  their  condition.  We 
again  pointed  to  Server  Pasha's  mission, 
this  time  proceeding  direct  from  the  Sultan, 
as  a  proof  to  the  contrary. 

"In  short,  the  result  was,  that  unless 
Europe  would  guarantee  their  safety  from 
their  agas  and  the  authorities,  and  that  the 
reforms  promised  should  be  really  carried 
out,  they  dared  not,  and  would  not,  lay 
down  their  arms. 

"  While  we  were  at  Beograd,  the  insur- 
gents repeatedly  expressed  a  fear  that  they 
would  be  attacked  by  the  Turks.  One 
night  they  nearly  all  left  us,  fearing  an 
attack  from  Hojak,  a  neighbouring  Turkish 
village  which  they  had  not  been  able  to 
destroy.  We  assured  them  that,  while  we 
were  with  them,  we  did  not  think  they 
would  be  molested. 

"We  had  several  zaptiehs  with  us  as 
guides,  as  well  as  our  cavasses,  all  of  whom 
were  in  abject  fear  the  whole  time  of  our 
stay,  as  the  insurgents,  while  we  were 
absent,  did  not  hesitate  to  express  their 
56 


sentiments  of  hatred  and  vengeance  against 
all  Turks. 

"On  the  18th  two  other  chiefs  came 
with  a  few  followers,  and  our  interviews 
with  them  were  to  the  same  purpose,  and 
with  the  same  results  as  with  the  others. 
We  were  told  that,  as  their  chief  leaders 
were  engaged  in  active  operations,  they 
could  not  probably  come  to  meet  us ;  but  if 
they  could,  they  would  see  us  the  next  day 
at  Trussina,  on  our  way  to  Dabar.  We 
had  previously  intended  to  go  to  Gatzko, 
but  the  insurgents  assured  us  that  it  would 
be  useless,  as  their  people  were  dispersed  in 
the  mountains  defending  themselves  against 
Selim  Pasha. 

"On  the  19th  we  left  Beograd,  accom- 
panied by  a  small  band  of  insurgents;  and 
at  Trussina  we  met  with  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  more,  but  no  other  leading  men 
beyond  those  we  had  already  seen.  We 
dismounted  near  a  fountain,  and  had  a  last 
interview,  in  which  the  same  questions  and 
statements  were  made  as  at  previous  meet- 
ings— the  same  replies  on  our  part,  and 
with  the  same  result.  At  parting,  the 
insurgents  said  that,  if  we  would  go  to  tlie 
neighbourhood  of  Bilek,  they  would  meet 
us  there,  and  we  should,  perhaps,  be  able  to 
see  many  others,  as  the  chief  body  of 
insurgents  was  between  Bilek  and  Trebinje. 
They  said  if  we  went  they  should  see  us 
and  join  us ;  if  not,  they  would  send  a  final 
message  to  us  at  Stolatz  before  the  22nd, 
but  still  repeated  that  they  would  not 
submit. 

"We  left  them  with  the  intention  of 
proceeding,  if  possible,  to  Bilek.  On  the 
way  to  Stolatz,  however,  whither  we  had 
decided  to  go  first  in  the  hope  of  receiving 
some  intelliijence  of  our  colleaofues,  we  met 
a  couple  of  battalions,  with  provisions  and 
ammunition,  proceeding  in  the  direction 
from  which  we  had  come.  I  ordered  my 
cavass  to  inquire  of  some  of  the  soldiers  in 
charge  of  the  baggage  where  they  were  going. 
They  informed  him  that  they  were  going  to 
attack  the  insurgents  we  had  just  left,  next 
morning  before  daybreak.  I  felt  very  in- 
dignant, as  did  my  colleagues,  at  this 
attempt,  as  it  seemed,  to  profit  by  the  fact 
of  our  having  assembled  together  a  certain 
number  of  insurgents,  to  attack  them 
when  off  their  guard.  On  arriving  at 
Stolatz,  the  kaimakam  also  stated  that  an 
attack  was  to  be  made  on  the  insurgents 
we  had  left;  and  on  my  expressing  my  dis- 
approval of  this  proceeding,  he  said  that 


A.D.  1875.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[andrassy's  note. 


he  did  not  know — that  he  rather  thought 
the  troops  were  marching  to  Bilek,  with 
provisions  for  the  garrison  there.  The 
governor-general  had  been  at  Stolatz,  and 
had  only  left  for  Mostar  two  hours  before 
our  arrival. 

"We  heard  at  Stolatz,  also,  that  our 
colleagues  were  at  Trebinje  and  Zupci,  and 
would,  therefore,  meet  the  chiefs  of  the 
rebels,  who  were  all  in  that  direction.  We 
waited  till  the  22nd,  and  not  having  re- 
ceived any  message  from  the  insurgents  at 
Trussina,  as  promised,  we  returned  to 
Mostar." 

Thus  the  famous  consular  commission 
came  to  the  end  which  the  Russian 
consul  had  determined  it  should  as- 
sume. 

As  for  Consul  Holmes,  who  ought  to  have 
known  better,  he  fell  into  the  common  loose 
way  of  speaking  of  the  rival  parties,  dividing 
them  into  "  Turks  and  Christians,"  which 
is  just  the  same  as  saying,  "Englishmen 
and  Catholics."  He,  as  well  as  his  col- 
leagues, never  drew  the  proper  distinction, 
or  endeavoured  to  impress  his  government 
that  the  cause  of  the  differences  were 
religious  difficulties  between  men  of  the 
same  race,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases 
accentuated  by  the  civil  and  military  privi- 
leges enjoyed  by  the  professors  of  the  one 
faith  over  the  others. 

However,  this  consular  commission  was 
so  far  of  benefit  as  it  demonstrated 
the  absolute  necessity  for  some  speedy 
remedy.  This  remedy  was  easy  enough  to 
find ;  but  it  was  not  so  easy  to  find  any 
power  prepared  to  enforce  it.  Russia  did  not 
desire  a  peaceable  settlement.  She  was  the 
chief  conspirator.  Germany  and  France 
counterbalanced  each  other ;  Austria  was  in 
conflict  with  herself  on  the  question ;  and 
England,  as  represented  by  Lord  Derby, 
was  equally  undecided.  At  last,  Count 
Andrassy  drew  up  a  memorandum,  in  which 
he  urged  upon  the  Porte  the  necessity  of 
granting  certain  reforms,  which  he  formu- 
lated as  follows : — 

1.  Religious  liberty,  full  and  entire. 

2.  Abolition  of  the  farming  of  taxes. 

3.  A  law  to  guarantee  that  the  product 
of  the  direct  taxation  of  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina should  be  employed  for  the  imme- 
diate interests  of  the  provinces. 

4.  The  institution  of  a  special  commis- 
sion, composed  of  an  equal  number  of  Mus- 
sulmans and  Christians,  to  carry  out  these 
reforms.  | 


5.  The  amelioration  of  the  rural  popu- 
lations. 

To  this  memorandum  the  other  powers 
all  agreed ;  but,  instead  of  presenting  it  to 
the  Porte  with  a  distinct  threat  that  the 
reforms  in  question  would  be  enforced  by 
them  if  the  Sultan  did  not  carry  them  out, 
it  was  presented  separately  by  the  respec- 
tive ambassadors,  and  did  not  take  the 
form  of  a  collective  note. 

The  reason  for  this  procedure  on  the  part 
of  Austria  was,  that  Count  Andrassy  was 
afraid  of  rousing  the  Slavs  against  him, 
and  thus  losing  his  position.  Lord  Derby's 
reason  was  of  the  same  nature.  He  was 
frightened  to  death  at  the  bare  idea  of 
affording  any  pretext  for  another  discussion 
of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  and  yet  had  not  the 
courage  to  avail  himself  of  the  rights 
accorded  by  that  treaty  to  the  signatory 
powers,  to  insist  upon  the  proper  treatment 
of  the  Christians.  This  conduct  was  all 
the  more  inexcusable  inasmuch  as  Count 
Andrassy  had  to  consider  the  very  strong 
feeling  of  the  Hungarians  against  the 
Slavs,  and  against  any  policy  which  might 
lead  to  an  annexation  of  the  revolted  pro- 
vinces. 

Thus  matters  went  on.  The  Slavs  of 
Austria  naturally  did  all  they  could,  in 
the  face  of  many  and  great  difficulties, 
to  ferment  the  disturbances,  and  they 
made  no  secret  of  it.  Committees  were 
openly  formed  all  over  the  country,  osten- 
sibly for  the  relief  of  the  refugees,  of  course, 
who  passed  over  the  frontier;  but,in  fact,  the 
government  had  quite  lost  its  hand  over  its 
subjects,  and  was  powerless  to  check  the 
most  flagrant  violations  of  the  frontier.  In 
short.  Slavism  was  rampant  throughout  the 
country,  and  the  excitement  quite  intense. 
This  state  of  affairs  continued  through- 
out 1875,  till  the  beginning  of  spring, 
1876,  when  a  certain  change  took  place, 
due  to  the  action  of  the  Catholic  clergy, 
who  were  beginning  to  be  alarmed  at  the 
dimensions  the  movement  was  taking,  and 
the  prominent  part  played  by  Servia  and 
Russia  as  champions  of  the  Orthodox  Chris- 
tians. This  change  manifested  itself  amongst 
the  Catholic  communities  of  Bosnia,  who 
held  more  and  more  aloof  from  the  move- 
ment. From  the  first  they  played  a  very 
cautious  game.  Possessing  great  privileges, 
the  Catholic  Church  in  Bosnia  was  always 
careful  to  remain  on  good  terms  with  the 
Porte — as,  indeed,  it  is  the  modern  policy 
of  Catholicism  everywhere  to  seek  its  sup- 

57 


^<i| 


••♦ 


K> 


SERVTA  AND    MONTENEGRO.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


[A.D.  1S75. 


,  J 


port  from  the  government  if  any  way  pos- 
sible. Their  action  would  have  been  still 
more  decided  in  favour  of  the  Porte,  if 
hopes  had  not  been  entertained  that  Aus- 
tria mio^ht,  at  the  last  hour,  consent  to  the 
annexation  of  Turkish  Croatia,  and  part,  at 
least,  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  But 
when  the  "atrocity"  excitement  arose,  the 
Catliolic  Church  felt  itself  exactly  in  the 
same  position  in  regard  to  the  Grreek 
Church,  as  the  Church  of  England  felt 
itself  in  regard  to  dissent.  For  the  Daily 
News,  having  regained  its  position  as  the 
exponent  of  the  views  of  the  dissenting 
world,  and  having  called  its  party  to  the 
front  on  the  common  ground  of  humanity 
•  and  Christianity,  the  Church  of  England 
had  not  the  courage  to  refuse  its  co-opera- 
tion, trusting  to  time  and  events  to  bring 
about  a  reaction.  Thus  the  Catholics  again 
took  a  more  prominent  role  when  they 
clearly  saw  that  Turkish  rule  was  virtually 
approaching  its  end. 

The  leading  idea — the  Grundgedante — of 
this  policy  of  the  more  foreseeing  section, 
and   the   most   influential    section   of  the 
Croatian    party     and   the   Vatican,    is    to 
cement  the  good  relations  existing  between 
them  and  Prince  Nikita,  of  Montenegro. 
There  must  ever  be  a  rivalry  between  the 
two  reigning  houses  of  Servia  and  Monte- 
negro.    Both  countries  claim  the  mission  of 
re-uniting  the  Serb  provinces  of  Turkey, 
and  forming  out  of  them  an  independent 
kingdom.      Both   countries  may  unite  for 
awhile   with    the   object   of    taking    joint 
action   against  the   common   enemy ;    but 
•when  success  has  crowned  this  action,  under 
which  leader,  under  which  house,  are  the 
destinies  of  the  Serbs  to   be  shaped  ?     The 
Vatican   gives    the    preference    to    Prince 
Nikita;   Montenegro  is  to   be  the  Servian 
Piedmont,  and  Prince  Nikita  its  Vittorio 
Emanuale.     AH  sections  of  the  Serbs  and 
Slavs,  Czechs,  Croats,  and  Slovacks,  acknow- 
ledge the  disinterested  patriotism  of  Prince 
Nikita ;  all  foreign  nations  bear  testimony 
to  his  single-mindedness,  honesty,  and  te- 
nacity of  purpose.     He  possesses  personal 
qualities  of  the  highest  order,  and  there  is 
no  flaw  in  iiis  escutcheon.     There  are  no 
such  blots  on  his  shield  as  those  that  in- 
duced the  Emperor  of   Germany  to  refuse 
to  receive  Prince  Milan.     There  are  also  no 
rival  houses  in  Montenegro;  no  Karageorge- 
vitch,  and  no  Obrenovitch,  to  disturb  the 
peace  by  their  intrigues.     Finally,  tliere  is 
in  Montenegro  a  total  absence  of  all  the 
68 


bureaucratic  paraphernalia,  modelled  on  the 
system  of  a  great  country,  that  make  the 
Servian  government  the  prey  of  endless 
intrigues  and  jealousies.  There  are  as 
many  ministers  and  heads  of  departments 
in  Servia  to  1,200,000,  as  in  Great  Britain 
to  28,000,000  souls ;  and  the  same  diversity 
of  personal  interests,  which,  from  the  ab- 
sence of  broad  and  general  views,  degene- 
rates from  large-party  action  into  tea-party 
squabbles  and  scandal.  Added  to  this  is 
the  fact  that  the  Servian  people  would  not 
find  the  least  difficulty  in  transferring  their 
allegiance  from  Prince  Milan  to  Prince 
Nikita,  especially  if  he  brought  to  the 
union  between  Montenegro  and  Servia  a 
dowry,  in  the  shape  of  Bosnia  and  the 
Herzegovina,  to  establish  an  independent 
State  with.  On  the  other  hand,  the  moun- 
taineers of  Montenegro  would  never  allow 
their  reigning  family,  which  has  such  just 
claims  to  their  affection  and  esteem,  to  be 
swallowed  up  in  the  vortex  produced  by  the 
rival  houses  of  the  Obrenovitch  and  Ka- 
rageorgevitch,  or  be  ousted  in  favour  of 
either. 

But,  in  addition  to  th^se  general  princi- 
ples which  guided  the  Vatican,  there  was 
another  and  special  idea  that  led  to  their 
adoption.  The  Catholic  Church  has  already 
a  firm  footing  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
whilst  in  Servia  it  has  none;  nor  is  it  likely 
to  acquire  any  as  long  as  St.  Petersbu-g 
rules  at  Belgrad.  It  became,  therefore,  of 
the  highest  importance  for  the  Vatican,  that 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  should  not  be 
merged  in  Servia;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
Servia  merged  in  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  and 
Montenegro.  A  glance  at  the  map  shows, 
that,  in  this  case  at  least,  common  sense  is 
on  the  side  of  the  church.  From  Budua  to 
the  junction  of  the  Save  and  Unna  an  arbi- 
trary line  has  been  drawn,  cutting  a  country 
inhabited  by  the  same  races  into  so  unequal 
a  portion,  that  the  western  tract  is  but 
a  mere  strip  of  sea-coast,  possessing  the 
largest  number  of  unrivalled  ports,  for  the 
distance,  in  any  part  of  the  world ;  whilst 
the  eastern  portion,  including  Montenegro, 
is  entirely  cut  off  from  the  sea,  or  from 
deriving  any  advantage  offered  by  the  splen- 
did littoral  Dalmatia  consists  of.  In  any 
case,  a  more  dog-in-the-manger  policy  never 
existed  than  that  of  Austria,  which  refuses 
to  give  up  Dalmatia — a  tract,  be  it  remem- 
bered, that  does  not  pay  for  its  administra- 
tion—to Montenegro  and  the  Turkish  Slavs ; 
and  also  refuses  to  annex  these  provinces,  or 


A.T>.  1874-75.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[archduke  MAXIMILIAN. 


in  any  way  to  assist  in  their  development. 
Austria  has  not  even  the  plea  of  strategic 
necessity   for  this  policy.     There   is,   first 
of    all,    nothing  for  Cataro,    Spalatro     or 
Sebenico  to  defend ;  and,  secondly,  not  any 
of  the  fortifications  on  the  whole  line  could 
resist  fonr-and-twenty  hours'  bombardment. 
If  ever  a  coast  was  marked  out  for  peaceful 
and    commercial   purposes,    it    is   that   of 
Dalmatia;  and  one  cannot  help  a  feeling  of 
thorough  indignation  when  one  thinks  that 
these  fair  countries,  and  a  steadfast,  loyal 
people  like  the  Montenegrins,  are  handed 
over  to  misery,  simply  to  satisfy  the  selfish 
fears  and  political  conceit  of  a  race  who  are 
flaunting  their  pride  in  the  mediaeval  tag- 
raggery  of  a  by-gone   epoch,  when  brute 
force  was  still  synonymous  with  valour  and 
courage,  and  have  nothing  to  show  for  their 
pretensions  but  a  suspension-bridge,  built 
by  English  engineers ;  a  gilded  post-office, 
that  ignores  every  language  but  its  own 
isolated  lingo;   jobbery  canals,   to  reward 
patriots  of  the  General  Tiirr  stamp ;  steam- 
ploughs,  and  other  agricultural  machines, 
that  have  not  yet  been  paid  for — a  race,  in 
short,  that  is  strutting  the  political  stage 
in  the  costume  of  the  12th   century,  and 
playing  a  masquerade   with   the  national 
capital  of  valour  and  chivalry  their  fathers 
won  for  them  ages  ago,  but  which  they  have 
done  nothing  to  deserve,  as  people  will  find 
out  when  the  interest  on  the  Hungarian  loan 
remains   in  nubibus ;   and   Baron  Roths- 
child will  inform  us  how  much  of  the  last 
Hungarian  loan  he  succeeded  in  placing  on 
the  market. 

Thus  both  Dalmatia  and  the  Turkish 
group  of  Slav  provinces  are  condemned  to 
stagnation,  because  a  turbulent  Magyar 
race  "  teremtetes  "  and  blusters  the  marrow- 
less,  invertebrate  assembly,  that  propagates 
itself  by  a  process  of  fission  from  year  to 
year,  under  the  name  of  the  Vienna 
cabinet,  into  acquiescence  with  its  anti- 
quated and  retrogressive  views.  When  one 
thinks  of  Magyar  and  Spaniard,  one  shud- 
ders for  the  peace  of  eternity;  for  how 
these  two  races  mean  to  settle  their  claims 
to  the  realms  of  heaven,  whence  they  are 
descended,  and  where  only  their  own  res- 
pective languages  are  to  be  spoken,  surpasses 


the  comprehension  of  mortals  this  side  of  the 
bourne.  The  only  hope  is  that  the  ques- 
tion will  be  settled  mundanely,  in  a  sub- 
lunary spirit  of  common  sense,  by  reducing 
their  pretensions  to  a  proper  level — a  suffi- 
cient fall,  it  is  certain,  for  Magyar  conceit. 
Now,  the  Vatican  plainly  seeing  that 
their  hold  upon  one  section  of  the  Pan- 
slavistic  community  would  be  endangered 
by  the  merging  of  Bosnia,  Herzegovina, 
Montenegro,  and,  as  a  necessary  corollary, 
of  Dalmatia  and  Croatia  into  Servia  and  a 
Russian  outpost  or  protectorate,  worked 
hard,  and  with  much  hope  of  success,  to 
attain  one  of  two  objects — either  to  pro- 
cure the  annexation  of  Bosnia,  Herzego- 
vina, Croatia,  and  Montenegro  to  Austrian 
Croatia  and  Dalmatia,  as  the  South  Slavic 
confederation,  state,  or  province  of  the 
future,  and  incorporate  Servia  with  it,  or 
to  procure  the  formation  of  a  similar  state, 
under  the  rule  of  Prince  Nikita  — not 
Milan — for  the  reasons  above  stated.  In 
short,  the  Vatican  strives  for  the  union  of 
these  provinces,  either  outside  the  pale  of 
Austria  or  within  it,  but  at  any  rate  united 
and  freed  from  Hungarian  domination,  as 
well  as  from  Russian  and  Orthodox  en- 
croachments via  Servia. 

For  how  long,  and  with  what  tenacity, 
the  Vatican  and  a  portion  of  the  Viennese 
Court  has  adhered  to  this  policy,  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  the  plan  was 
seriously  discussed  of  proclaiming  the  Arch- 
duke Maximilian  King  of  Servia.  All  the 
essential  conditions  were  agreed  upon  be- 
tween the  royal  family  and  the  Servian 
representatives  ;  but  the  plan  was  wrecked 
by  the  Servians  demanding  that  the  arch- 
duke should  abjure  the  Catholic  and 
assume  the  Orthodox  faith.  Neither  the 
Vatican  nor  the  traditions  of  the  Haps- 
burgers  would  sanction  such  a  step;  and 
thus  the  archduke  was  obliged  to  renounce 
the  crown  offered  to  him.  The  second 
that  was  proposed  to  him  be  accepted, 
with  the  title  of  Emperor  of  Mexico. 
Having  lost  this  one  with  his  life,  in  the 
service  of  the  interests  of  the  church,  the 
least  she  can  now  do  for  him  is  to  award 
him  the  crown  of  martyrdom,  with  the  title 
of  St.  Maximilian. 

59 


im  * 


% 


^     y 


S       ► 


CANON   LIDDON.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


EUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  finanz. 


CHAPTER  V. 

*TWIXT    CRESCENT    AND    CROSS. 


Meantime,  in  addition  to  the  insurrection 
in  Herzegovina,  the  rebellion  also  broke 
out  in  the  north  of  Bosnia,  more  or  less 
along  the  confines  of  the  Austrian  frontier. 
The  state  of  these  districts  during  1876 
was  sad  enough,  but  still  nothing  like  as 
bad  as  was  commonly  reported,  chiefly  by 
the  correspondents,  who  were  never  nearer 
this  part  of  the  country  than  Ragusa, 
several  hundred  miles  away.  The  following 
account  of  the  condition  of  this  portion  of 
the  disturbed  regions  was  written  on  the 
spot : — 

A  couple  of  hours'  ride  by  rail,  through 
a  fertile  district,  over  the  rich  black  soil  that 
lies  between  the  Save,  Drave,  and  Danube, 
brings  the  traveller  to  Sissek,  where  the 
railway  comes  to  an  end,  and  the  dominion 
of  the  Danube  Steam  Navigation  Company 
commences.  True,  some  five-and-twenty 
miles  further  south  there  exists  a  fraction 
of  the  projected  Turkish  lines  through 
Bosnia,  running  from  Novi  to  Banjaluka ; 
or  rather,  it  begins  a  little  this  side  of 
Novi,  at  Doberlin ;  but  from  there  to  Sis- 
sek, Hungarian  "  interests  "  block  the  way. 

Sissek  lies  on  the  Save,  close  to  the 
junction  with  this  river  of  the  Kulpa, 
along  the  valley  of  which  a  railway  is  also 
projected  to  Karlstadt,  as  part  of  the  line 
it  is  intended  to  build  from  Essciror  to 
Sissek,  and  thence  to  Flume.  This  line, 
connecting  the  Save,  Drave,  and  Danube 
with  the  Adriatic,  and  which  will  also  be 
fed  by  the  Turkish  lines,  will  be  a  very 
important  one,  and  especially  benefit 
Sissek,  which  is  already  a  busy,  thriving 
town  on  both  sides  of  the  Save,  and  the 
terminus  for  steam-traffic.  Like  Agram, 
one  cannot  help  constrasting  its  busy, 
work-day  appearance  with  the  idling, 
Sunday-afternoon-enjoyment  aspect  of  the 
Hungarian  provincial  towns.  Four  times 
have  I  visited  Sissek  within  the  last  three 
years,  and  each  time  I  have  observed 
unmistakable  signs  of  progress ;  whilst 
such  towns  as  Szegeddin  and  Czegled  in 
Hungary  are  always  the  same,  and  remind 
one  forcibly  of  the  dense  duckweed  on  a 
stagnant  pond  unruffled  by  any  breeze. 

Here,  so  close  to  the  scene  of  action, 
60 


we  might  easily  expect  to  hear  some 
authentic  news  of  the  events  occurring  lower 
down  the  river.  The  expectation  was  not 
unfounded  as  regards  news  of  the  most 
startling  description.  Bodies  were  floating 
in  the  river,  minus  the  heads,  legs,  or  arms, 
and  tied  to  stakes  in  an  attitude  highly 
disrespectful  to  the  population  on  this  side 
of  the  river.  In  fact,  whilst  the  heads 
were  looking  across  into  Austria,  the  bodies 
turned  their  backs  to  it.  At  some  points 
there  were  said  to  be  seen  some  unhappy 
wretches  impaled  alive,  and  who  had  been 
known  to  have  been  writhing  in  unspeak- 
able agony  for  three  days  and  nights — a 
story  that  I  see  has  been  endorsed  by 
Canon  Liddon  and  Mr.  MacCoU  in  the 
Times,  from  personal  observation  at  some 
little  distance.  Now,  there  is  no  need  to 
exaggerate  the  horrors  of  this  Eastern 
war ;  they  are  quite  bad  enough ;  but  I 
have  been  up  and  down  the  Save  three 
times,  not  on  board  a  comfortable  steamer, 
but  on  horseback,  zigzagging  about  on 
either  side  the  river,  and  I  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  see  any  such  horrors  as  those 
sworn  to  by  the  officials  on  board  the  boats, 
or  the  atrocity-mongers  of  Sissek.  The 
mendacity  of  the  Slav  in  matters  political 
is  so  stupendous,  that  to  look  for  the 
smallest  particle  of  truth,  is  like  pumping 
tlie  four  oceans  dry  to  find  one  certain 
grain  of  sand. 

For  these  reasons,  coupled  with  my 
own  observations,  I  refuse  to  believe  the 
tales  told  about  the  impalements,  &c., 
along  the  Save;  and  were  there  room  for 
any  "belief"  at  all  regarding  the  state- 
ments of  Turk  or  Slav,  I  would  just  as 
soon  believe  the  former  as  the  latter.  As 
an  instance  of  how  the  deeds  of  one  are 
foisted  on  the  other,  let  the  following  story 
suffice.  At  Kobass,  on  the  24th  of  June  of 
this  year  (1876),  I  was  shown  the  body  of 
an  alleged  Turk,  which  was  fearfully 
mutilated ;  the  head  was  split,  cut  ofT, 
minus  nose  and  ears,  and  the  eyes  gouged 
out.  This  was  a  sample  of  Christian 
atrocity.  But  it  struck  me  as  rather 
curious  that  here,  in  Turkish  Kobass, 
amidst  a  Turkish  population,  there  should 


be  this  solitary  instance,  especially  as  there 
had  been  no  fighting  in,  or  reasonably  near, 
Kobass,  to    bring   the  body  there.     I  in- 
quired  about   it.      "Oh,   Eff*endum,"  was 
the  reply,  "they  did  it  over  on   the  other 
side  (of  the  river).     The  man  was  a  fisher- 
man, and  had  unwittingly  drifted  over  to 
the  opposite  bank,  when  he  was  attacked. 
We  heard  his  cries  for  help,  and  went  to 
his  assistance,  but  were  too  late."     "  How 
did   you  go   to  bis    assistance  ? "  I  asked, 
drily.    "  Five  of  us  jumped  into  a  boat,  and 
fired  on  the  giaours,  and  then  they  all  ran 
off"  into  the  thicket."  "  How  many  of  them 
were  there  ?  "   "  V'allah,  twenty  or  thirty  !  " 
"And  so,"  I  said,  "  twenty  or  thirty  men  fell 
upon  one  man,  and  ran  away  when  they 
saw  five  getting  into  a  boat  to  cross  the 
river !      That   won't    do."     Having   taken 
them  aback  in  this  manner,  I  quietly  went 
to  the  body  and  examined  it,  and  proved  to 
my  own  satisfaction,  and  to  the  complete 
discomfiture  of  the  Turks,  that  the  man,  of 
whatever  other  religion  he  may  have  been, 
was    most  certainly  neithi^r   a  Jew  nor  a 
Moslem.      I  could    mention   a    couple   of 
dozen  instances,  at  least,  where  I  was  led 
into  a  wild-goose  chase  through  the  plausi- 
ble lies  told  me. 

The  prevailing  character  of  the  Save, 
like  the  Drave  and  Lower  Danube,  is  one 
of  loneliness.  Arable  land  and  pasture 
alternate  with  low  and  well-timbered  hills, 
the  forest  oft-times  stretching  right  down 
to  the  water's  edge.  The  villages  are 
mostly  wooden  ;  many  of  the  houses  built 
on  piles,  as  at  Sviniar,  where  inundations 
are  frequent,  and  last  sometimes  three  or 
four  weeks.  Altogether,  the  plains,  dark 
forests,  and  general  mud-and- water  aspect 
of  the  lower  grounds  between  the  Danube, 
Save,  and  Drave,  present  an  aspect  closely 
resembling  the  features  we  are  accustomed 
to  associate  with  the  earlier  diluvial 
periods.  At  some  places  I  quite  imagined 
I  had  a  lacustrine  village  before  me.  I  could 
vividly  picture  to  myself  the  unwieldy 
forms  of  a  megatherium  or  an  ichthyosau- 
rus characterising  the  landscape,  and  be- 
thought me,  frequently,  of  the  lines  some 
poet  or  other  attempts  to  describe  the  age 
in: — 


(< 


The  '  grey  old  age  '  lacustrine  Celt, 

To  save  him  from  the  wiles 
Of  bears  and  wolves,  and  such  like,  dwelt 

On  lake-surrounded  piles  ; 
And  hugging  there  a  wooden  pot, 

He  gulped  a  sorry  juice — 
To  cheer  his  sad  rheumatic  lot — 

Of  juniper  and  spruce." 

VOL.  III.  K 


Only  in  lieu  of  juniper  and  spruce,  substi- 
tute "  slibovitz,"  a  spirit  distilled  from  the 
prune,  which  forms  here  the  national  beve- 
rage, and  has  quite  a  Celtic  flavour  about 
it.  The  prune,  in  fact,  is  one  of  the  chief 
staples  of  trade  in  Slavonia  and  Bosnia. 
Every  peasant  distils  his  own  liquor,  the 
"  Finanz  "  taking  care  to  get  the  govern- 
ment tax  upon  the  quantity  produced. 

This  "Finance,"   somewhat  resembling 
our  excise,  is  a  peculiar  feature  of  these 
parts,  not  only  in  those  bordering  the  fron- 
tier, but  also  far  in   the  interior.     Com- 
bining excise  with  custom  duties,  and  even 
the  collection  of  taxes,  and   possessing  a 
military   organisation,  they   form    an    in- 
fluential body  of  men,  in  virtue  of  their 
oflScial  character,  their  superior  education, 
and  the  patriotic  unity  prevailing  amongst 
them.     They  are  all  Slavs,  necessarily  so, 
in  order  to  carry  out  their  duties,  and  are 
thus  unadulterated  with  any  Magyar  ele- 
ments.    Intensely  sympathising   with    the 
political  objects  of   the  South  Slav  party, 
they  have  done,  and  are  still  doing,  all  they 
possibly  can  to  promote  the  success  of  their 
brethren  across  the  frontier.     I  am  strictly 
accurate   when  I  say  that,  for   them,  the 
frontier  does  not  exist  when  it  is  unfavour- 
able  for  their  friends  on   the  other  side. 
This  state  of  things  is  very  irritating  for 
the  Hungarians,  but  they  cannot  prevent 
it.     The   troops   they   send    down   to   the 
frontier,  but  who  are  always  quartered  at 
some   distance  from   the   river,  are   quite 
powerless  to  counteract  the  "  Finanz  "  in- 
terest ;  nor,  to  tell  the  truth,  do  they  try 
to  do  so  ;  for  the  soldier,  as  I  have  seen  in 
Poland,  Italy,  and   France,  has   a   strong 
objection   to  what   he   calls  "  playing   the 
policeman."     His  business  is  not  preventa- 
tive,   but     executive.       Thus    when    Mr. 
Holmes,  British  consul  at  Serajevo,  ascribes 
the  Bosnian  troubles,  in  a  great  measure, 
to   Austrian    intrigue,   and    the    facilities 
atForded  to  the  insurgents  in  crossing  and 
making  use   of  the   frontier,  it   must   be 
borne  in  mind  that,  as  I  have  shown,  the 
frontier  does  not  exist,  and  that  from  the 
very    nature    of    the    circumstances,    the 
government  has  no  power  in  the  matter. 
Being  under  Hungarian  administration,  it 
is  quite  certain  that  the  Hungarian  govern- 
ment did  all  in  its  power  to  keep  these 
districts  well  in  hand,  but  quite  unsuccess- 
fully.    For   instance,  the   sale   of  powder 
being  strictly  forbidden  within  so-and-so 
many  miles  of  the  frontier,  the  "  Finanz  " 

61 


i 


.•♦ 


:t 


■1/ 


THE  BOSNIAN  BEGS.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


are  the  very  men  who  procure  it,  and  facili- 
tate its  transit.  One  of  them  told  me  a 
very  good  story.  The  Turks  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  coming  across  the  river  to  buy 
powder,  and,  of  course,  now  required  large 
quantities.  A  trader  in  Grradiska  was 
applied  to  by  a  Turkish  merchant  to  pro- 
cure him  twenty  barrels,  and  was  told  that, 
as  the  sale  was  forbidden,  it  could  only  be 
procured  by  dealing  in  it  as  black  sand — 
the  villanous  substitute  for  blotting-paper, 
und  which  bears  considerable  resemblance 
to  powder.  Of  course  the  Turk  did  not 
care  what  it  was  "  declared  "  as,  and  thus  all 
the  bills  of  lading,  &c.,  were  made  out  for 
so-and-so  much  "  Streusand."  He  re- 
ceived his  twenty  barrels,  paid  for  them, 
pocketed  his  bills  of  lading,  customs 
receipts,  &c.,  went  home  to  Grradiska,  and 
found  there  that  his  barrels  contained  just 
what  the  bill  decbred — sand,  and  nothing 
more.  Of  course  he  could  do  nothing; 
but  I  would  not  like  to  be  in  that  Austrian 
trader's  shoes  if  his  victim  should  ever  get 
him  into  his  power. 

The  Hungarians  have  thus  a  hopeless 
task  before  them  if  they  desire  to  cut  off 
communication  between  the  two  banks  of 
the  river.  It  is  a  difficult  task  to  accom- 
plish between  two  different  races  or  nations 
— vide  the  Franco-Spanish  difficulties  dur- 
ing the  Carlist  war.  But  to  draw  an  arbi- 
trary line  of  that  sort  between  communities 
of  the  same  race,  and  having  the  same 
sympathies  and  interests,  is  absolutely 
impossible.  One  might  as  well  try  to 
draw  a  line  from  Portsmouth  to  Leith,  and 
forbid  communication  between  the  denizens 
of  the  two  halves,  whilst  leaving  the 
guardianship  of  the  line  in  these  denizens' 
own  hands.  Even  if  there  were  a  sufficient 
number  of  Hungarians  to  take  the  place  of 
the  "  Finanz,"  they  could  not  do  it,  from 
ignorance  of  the  language.  And  if  the 
difficulties  are  so  great  on  what  is  called 
the  "  water  frontier,"  and  which  is  formed 
by  the  Save  and  part  of  the  Unna,  what 
must  they  be  on  the  "dry  frontier  "  (Troc- 
kene  Grrenze),  running  in  a  zigzag  fashion, 
with  bends  and  twists  innumerable,  through 
marshes  and  forests,  over  mountains  and 
vales,  from  Budua,  on  the  Adriatic,  to 
Brod  on  the  Unna  ? 

Thus,  though  the  minarets  and  mosques 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Save,  and  the 
Greek  and  Latin  Cross  on  the  left,  show 
that  there  is  a  religious  division  marked  by 
the  waters  of  the  meandering  river,  there 
62 


is  no  difference  of  race,  language,  or  habits, 
lay  and    religious    customs,   between   the 
population  on  either  side,  except  as  regards 
their   condition.      Little    as    there   is    to 
admire   on   either   side,    one   cannot   help 
being  struck  by  the  contrast  between  the 
neat-looking  villages,  with    their  church 
steeples  and  belfries,  generally  two  to  each 
village — a  Catholic  and  a  Greek  one — and 
the  ramshackle,  tumbledown  hovels  along 
the  opposite  bank.     And,  more  significant 
still,  whilst  here  and  there  on  the  Turkish 
side,    a   handsome   villa   in    an    elevated 
position,  tastefully   selected,  may  be  seen 
gleaming  out  of  the   foliage,  nothing  of 
that  kind  is  to  be  observed  on  the  Austrian 
side.     Those  houses  are  the  residences  of 
the   Beys;    they   take    the    place   of    the 
baronial  strongholds   of  mediaeval   times ; 
whilst  below  them,  clustering  together  in 
human  styes,  seethes  the  suffering  mass  of 
humanity  whose  blood  and  sweat  are  poured 
out  into  the  ground  in  the  service  of  their 
masters.     On   the   Austrian   side,  equality 
seems,  on   the  whole,  to    characterise  the 
people.     Their  houses  are  all,  more  or  less, 
of    equal    size,   and    equally    well    kept; 
though,  all  the  way  from  Sissek  down  to 
Semlin,  these  two  are  the  only  places  that 
can  fairly  claim  the  title  of  a  town.     But, 
though   primitive    in    appearance    to   the 
highest  degree,  the  houses  of  the  peasantry 
— Austrian    side  —  are    comfortable,    well 
suited  to  the  requirements  of  the  people  and 
exigencies  of  the  climate.     The  better  class 
live  very  well ;  meat,  fuel,  wine,  slibovitz, 
grain,  flax,  hemp,  &c.,  are  all  grown  by  them- 
selves; and  where  one  proprietor  is  in  want  of 
one  of  these  commodities,  he  resorts  to  a  sys- 
tem of  barter  with  his  neighbours.  But,  like  a 
bugbear,  or  horrible   nightmare,  the  sha- 
dow of  Turkish  rule  weighs  heavily  on  this 
district,  which  ought  to  be  the  centre  of 
one  of  the   busiest  highways  in   Europe. 
Navigable  for  a  distance,  as  the  crow  flies, 
of  300  kilometres,  the  Save  almost  connects 
the  Adriatic  with  the  Black  Sea,  the  source 
of  the  Kulpa  not  being  more  than  twelve 
miles  distant  from  Fiume.    And,  as  though 
nature  intended  it  as  an  outlet  for  the  pro- 
duce of  Bosnia,  it  is  abundantly  fed  by  the 
waters  of  the  Glina,  Unna,  Bosnia,  Ver- 
bas,  and  Drina — all  of  them  rivers  that  are 
or  might  be  made  navigable  for  barges  and 
small  craft,  and  running  through  districts 
rich  in  the  possession  of  all  kinds  of  vege- 
table, animal,  and  mineral  produce. 

So  much  for  the  Save.   A  famous  hiirh- 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  bosniaks. 


way  to  travel  comfortably  by,  from  Adria  to 
Hungary   and   Servia,  it   is  quite    certain 
that  the  traveller  in  search  of  information 
regarding  the  war  of  1877-'78,  must  seek  it 
elsewhere  than  on  board  the  steamers.     If 
the  officials  are  Germans,  "  Schwaben,"  or 
shortaway,  "  Schwab,"  they  will  indulge  in 
wholesale  and  indiscriminate  vituperation 
of  Slav,  Magyar,  and  Turk  alike.    If  Slavs, 
if  Hungarians,  then  woe-betide  the  credu- 
lous ;  but  if  the  traveller  wishes  to  know 
what  the   real  character   of  the   Bosnian 
revolt  was  and  is,  let  him  visit  the  villages 
along  the  high  road  that  skirts  the  Save  at 
a  distance  of  some  ten  miles,  say,  beginning 
at  Brod  and  passing,  via  Oriovatz  and  New 
Gradisca,  to  Pakratz.     There  he  will  see 
the  material  "  foreign  intriguers  "  strive  to 
excite  into  revolt.     Excite  I     Not  all  the 
intriguers  of  Europe  could  produce  such  a 
feeling  in  the  Bosniak  mind  as  excitement. 
Not  all  the  heroes  of  all  ages  and  nations 
would  be  able  to  screw  up  the  Bosniak's 
courage   to   fighting-point     His   spirit   is 
utterly  crushed.    Even  that  great  attribute 
of  mankind,  the  consciousness  of  his  misery, 
is  absent  in  the  Bosniak.     I  can  say  nothing 
more    expressive  than   this,    nothing    that 
speaks  such  volumes.      If  it   be  doubted 
that  this  is  true,  let  me  point  to  facts  and 
figures.     The  Christian  population  of  Bos- 
nia amounts  to  some  500,000  souls ;  of  these 
160,000  are  refugees  on  Austrian  soil,  and 
some  40,000  in  Servia,  where  they  have 
sought  and  found  a  shelter.     Nearly  half 
the  population  has  run  away;    the  other 
half  is  cowering,  in  abject  terror,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Moslem,  who  holds  their  lives, 
and  the  bodies  of  themselves,  their  wives, 
and  daughters,  at  his  disposal.   The  Moslem 
population    amounts    to    about    400,000: 
they  are  the  most  fanatical,  tyrannical,  and 
brutal  element  in  the  Moslem  world.     But 
they,  too,  are  Bosniaks,  Slavs  by  race  and 
by  language,  and  have  no  more  connection 
with  the  Turk  or  Osman,  than  an  English- 
man has  with   a   Caffre.     It  requires   far 
more  love  for  one's  neighbour  than,  at  any 
rate,  I  possess,  to  feel  any  sympathy  with 
such  a  race — as  a  race — of  which  one-half 
is  composed  of  brutal  renegades,  and  the 
other  half   of  abject  animals,  which  have 
been  steadily  pursuing  a  course  of  retro- 
grade development  for  the  last  600  years. 
By  all  means  extend  sympathy  and  charity 
to  the  individual — we  even  do  that  to  the 
homeless  dog  and  the  abandoned  cat — but 
do  not  let  false  sentiment  plunge  Europe 


into  a  war  for  the  sake  of  such  a  race. 
Keep  the  causes  of  this  degradation  well  in 
view,  and  insist  on  the  removal  of  those 
causes,  not  so  much  for  their  own  sakes  as 
for  the  honour  and  welfare  of  the  rest  of 
humanity.  And  in  regard  to  the  sympathy 
that  is  being  lavished  on  these  people — 
Moslem  or  Christian — I  would  just  ask, 
leaving  out  of  the  question  such  amiable 
souls  that  would  weep  over  the  blighted 
affections  of  a  youthful  frog — how  much  of 
this  sympathy  is  less  with  the  people  than 
with  the  country  ?  In  how  far  is  this  sym- 
pathy provoked  by  the  neglected  state  of 
the  land,  and  the  non-development  of  its 
natural  resources.  The  sight  of  a  fertile 
estate  running  to  ruin  through  the  in- 
capacity, from  whatever  cause,  of  the  owner, 
causes  a  feeling  of  pity,  not  for  the  pro- 
prietor, but  for  the  riches  thus  running  to 
waste.  So  with  Bosnia.  Here  is  a  land 
running  to  rack  and  ruin,  that  might  ma- 
terially benefit  millions  of  people  ;  and  it 
certainly  claims  our  sympathy  in  this 
sense,  and  in  a  practical  form.  The  ques- 
tion must  be  approached  in  a  practical,  and 
not  in  a  sentimental  frame  of  mind. 

Thus,  to  sum  up  matters  under  the 
present  circumstances  on  the  Save,  I  find 
that  there  is  no  question  between  Turk 
proper  and  Slav;  but  that  the  existing 
state  of  things,  atrocious  or  not,  has  arisen 
amidst  an  homogeneous  race,  and  is  due  to 
the  jealousies  and  dissensions  of  the  Slavs 
themselves.  We  find  that  here,  in  Bosnia, 
one-half  of  the  race,  the  landed  proprietors, 
became  renegades,  and  identified  themselves 
with  their  conquerors.  The  other  half, 
crushed,  humiliated  beyond  description  by 
their  own  brethren,  had  but  a  fraction  of 
personal  freedom  left  them.  And  this 
fraction  of  liberty  only  helped  to  produce 
another  division-  in  their  broken  ranks, 
and  to  separate  them  into  two  sections,  the 
Orthodox  and  the  Catholic,  each  of  which 
regards  the  other  with  intense  aversion, 
even  to  the  extent  of  one  of  them  pas- 
sively uniting  with  the  Moslem. 

No  sketch  of  these  regions  would  be 
complete  without  a  picture  of  the  clerical 
prince  of  Croatia. 

Not  very  long  ago  two  men  were  waiting  in 
the  refreshment-room  at  Mestre  for  their  re- 
spective trains.  They  seemed  to  know,  but 
took  no  notice  of  each  other.  The  one  was 
a  tall,  gaunt  personage,  with  wiry,  grey 
hair  bushing  out  on  either  temple,  marked 
features,   and   small   glittering   eyes.     Ho 

63 


1 


•'» 


BISHOP  STROSSMAYER.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


A.T).  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[bishop  STROSSMAYER. 


walked  with  an  elastic  step,  and  had  all  the 
appearance  of  a  man  bearing  the  responsi- 
bilities of  a  hif^h  position,  and  quite  satis- 
fied with  the  way  he  was  discharging  its 
duties.  The  other  was  a  short,  stout  in- 
dividual, with  heavy  eyelids,  aquiline  but 
flabby  nose,  and  careless,  not  to  say 
slovenly,  in  his  dress.  He,  on  the  other 
hand,  did  not  impress  one  with  the  idea  of 
his  being  a  successful  man.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  rather  conveyed  the  impression  of 
his  being  a  disappointed  man — of  what  the 
Germans  would  call  a  "  Verfehlte  Existenz." 
The  former  was  Joseph  George  Stross- 
mayer.  Bishop  of  Bosnia,  Djakovo,  and  Syr- 
mia ;  and  the  latter  was  Ernest  Renan. 
The  trains  came  up,  and  the  bishop,  the 
author  of  Pomponio  Leto's  "Eight  Months 
in  Rome,"  and  the  "  Letters  of  Quirinus," 
went  to  Rome;  whilst  the  author  of  the 
"  Life  of  Jesus  "  went  wandering  to  Venice. 
The  one  had  made  his  peace  with  the 
Vatican;  the  other  was  still  erring  out- 
side the  pale  of  any  church — a  wander- 
ingr  Jew  amongst  the  Pharisees.  The  one 
was  still  a  potent  factor  in  the  world's 
society ;  the  other  but  one  of  the  phantas- 
magoria of  Bohemian  life.  So,  at  least, 
saith  society. 

As  we  have  said,  no  picture  of  South  Sla- 
vonia  would  be  complete  without  its  virtual, 
if  not  declared  head — the  central  figure,  in 
short — that  represents  the  aspirations,  capa- 
bilities and  intellect,  the  virtues  and  the 
failings,  of  the  Southern  Slav.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  he  also  represents  the  Va- 
tican and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in 
spiteof  the  views  he  took, and  the  line  of  con- 
duct he  pursued,  during  the  Vatican  Council. 
It  is  well  to  direct  especial  attention  to  this 
fact,  because  Canon  Liddon  and  Mr.  Mac- 
Coll,  who  recently  visited  the  bishop  for 
two  days,  have  certainly  misapprehended 
his  political  position,  and  have  ascribed 
principles  and  ideas  to  him  he  is  far  from 
entertaining.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  how  the 
misapprehension  arose — whether  the  bishop 
himself  caused  it,  or  whether  the  episcopal 
splendours  of  Djakovo  occupied  too  much 
of  the  reverend  gentlemen's  time  to  cor- 
rectly appreciate  the  bishop's  views  :  pro- 
bably the  latter  was  the  case ;  for  two  days 
are  scarcely  sufficient  to  master  a  mind  of 
such  intricacy,  in  spite  of  his  apparent 
frankness,  as  Bishop  Strossmayer's.  Whilst 
Canon  Liddon  asserted  that  the  bishop 
wishes  Bosnia  to  be  annexed  to  Servia,  it 
is  just  exactly  the  contrary  that  is  the 
64 


bisliop's  desire.  In  whatever  way  the 
error  has  arisen,  it  is  a  fundamental  error, 
and  one  that  nobody  could  fall  into  if  he 
had  the  most  elementarv  knowledore  of  the 
question.  A  moment's  consideration  will 
prove  that  such  is  the  case.  Servia  is  an 
Orthodox  State  ;  Bosnia  partially  Catholic  ; 
and  the  Vatican  opposed  jper  fas  et  nefas 
to  the  Orthodox  Church,  or  any  extension  of 
its  jurisdiction.  Bishop  Strossmayer,  repre- 
senting the  Vatican,  could,  therefore,  not 
possibly  counsel  the  incorporation  of  Bosnia 
with  Servia — except,  perhaps,  as  a  pre- 
liminary step,  and  in  view  to  future  boule- 
versements,  which  it  is  just  in  the  interest 
of  Europe  to  prevent. 

With  this  correction.  Canon  Liddon's 
views  and  opinion  that  Bishop  Stross- 
mayer "probably  holds  in  his  hands  the 
tangled  threads  of  the  Eastern  Question 
more  perfectly  than  any  other  man,"  are 
quite  correct.  Quite  true,  lie  does.  But  ho 
pulls  them  from  a  specifically  Croatian  or 
South  Slavonian  point  of  view,  and,  if  he 
could,  would  solve  the  enigma  by  the  light 
of  this  view,  which  just  happens  to  be  one 
of  the  questions — i.e.,  whether  the  disinte- 
gration of  Turkey  is  to  result  in  a  Croat,  a 
Serb,  or  a  Russo-Panslavonian  State  ?  or, 
whether  things  are  to  go  on  as  hitherto 
after  a  judicious  course  of  tinkering  and 
re-modelling  ? 

Apart  from  his  personal  qualities  and 
talents.  Bishop  Strossmayer  owes  his  suc- 
cess to  accomplishing  the  most  difficult  feat 
of  sitting  between  two  stools.  Formerly  the 
Court  preacher  (Hofprediger)  of  the  Biirg- 
kapelle  in  Vienna,  he  made  many  influential 
friends  at  Court,  and  was  appointed  to  his 
present  post  in  1850 ;  Croatia,  from  its  mili- 
tary services  and  loyalty,  having  always  en- 
joyed much  imperial  favour, especially  at  that 
time,  when  Austria  owed  so  much  to  theCroa- 
tians  in  suppressing  the  Hungarian  revolu- 
tion of  1848.  Then,  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago,  the  Panslavistic  hydra  had  not  yet 
reared  its  countless  heads,  and  Croatia  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  mainstays  of  Austria, 
to  influence  which,  Hofprediger  Strossmayer 
was  regarded  as  eminently  well  fitted. 

But  the  causes  that  made  him  at  that 
period  a  persona  gratessima  to  the  Viennese 
government,  came  to  an  end  when  Pesth 
shared  with  Vienna  in  the  administration  of 
the  empire,  and  shut  Croatia  out  in  the  cold. 
The  Hungarians  would  be  but  too  glad 
could  they  but  get  rid  of  a  l)ishop  who 
stigmatises  them  as  Turks,  and  worse  than 


Turks  ;  but  the  Court  and  Slavonic  party  at 
Vienna  are  too  well  aware  of  his  influence 
not  to  keep  him  in  his  present  post;  added 
to  which,  his  liberal  views  have  gained  him 
the  support  of  the  anti-ultramontane  and 
anti-concordat  parties.  At  Rome,  again,  the 
Vatican  would  gladly  have  excommunicated 
him,  as  they  proposed  doing,  had  he  not 
been  indispensable  to  them  from  his  ascen- 
dancy over  the  Croats.  Thus,  ecclesiastically 
obnoxious  to  the  Vatican,  politically  hated 
by  the  Hungarians,  he  was  politically 
necessary  both  to  the  Courts  of  Rome  and 
Vienna;  whilst  latterly  he  has  been  recon- 
ciled to  the  Vatican,  and  the  past  dispute 
allowed  to  drop,  on  the  part  of  the  Vatican 
from  expediency,  and  on  his  part  for  the 
national,  i.  e.,  Croatian  welfare. 

IS'ow  Bishop  Strossmayer  is  eminently  cal- 
culated for  preparing  the  great  work  that 
must  always  precede  the  unification  of 
crude  and  diverse  materials.  If  Prince 
Kikita,  in  whom  the  bishop  has  every  con- 
fidence, is  to  be  the  Vittorio  Emanuele  of 
South  Slavdom,  Strossmayer  will  certainly 
be  its  Cavour.  He  has  laboured  for  years 
in  the  work,  promoting  culture,  industry, 
and  economy,  by  every  means  in  his  power, 
throughout  Croatia.  He  has  largely  con- 
tributed to  an  Academy  of  Art  at  Agram ; 
under  his  fostering  care  literature — national 
Croatian  literature — is  flourishing;  no  Croa- 
tian artist  applies  to  him  in  vain ;  all  men 
of  culture  and  intelligence  are  welcome  to 
him ;  and,  if  possible,  he  seeks  to  retain 
their  services.  The  amelioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  peasantry  is  constantly  before 
him.  In  short,  there  is  no  subject  concern- 
ing the  progress  of  the  country,  from  paving 
a  road  to  founding  an  academy,  to  which  he 
does  not  devote  his  attention,  his  influence, 
and  his  purse.  Add  to  this  his  learning ;  i 
his  knowledge  of  Italian,  French,  and  Ger-  | 
man ;  his  hospitality,  and  ways  of  a  refined 
man  of  the  world,  and  a  courtier;  his 
manly  instincts  and  force  of  character ;  his 
chivalrous  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  he 
is  engaged  in ;  his  diplomatic  acumen 
and  political  knowledge.  Sum  all  this  up, 
and  the  result  is  a  perfect  Bayard  of  the 
church.  It  would,  under  these  circum- 
stances, seem  somewhat  ungracious  to  be 
obliged  to  demur  to  some  of  the  opinions 
ascribed  to  him  by  Canon  Liddon  and  Mr. 
MacColl ;  but  as  these  gentlemen  have  re- 
presented him  as  denying  Servian  intoler- 
ance in  rrorp  d  to  the  Jews,  it  may  casually 
be  obs*.  rved  that,  next  to  the  Magyars,  the 


objects  of  his  greatest  aversion  are  the  Jews, 
But  that  is  such  a  minor  point  that  it  is 
not  worth  consideration  when  discussing 
Bishop  Strossmayer.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
the  Croats,  under  his  leadership,  consider 
themselves  entitled  to  assume  the  hege- 
mony in  the  South  Slavonic  state  of  the 
future,  in  virtue  of  their  superior  qualities 
and  powers,  and  would  certainly  never  let 
themselves  be  swallowed  up  by  the  Serbs. 

The  daily  life  of  such    a  man    and  his 
surroundings    cannot  but    be   interesting, 
especially  when  both  preserve,   in  a  high 
degree,    the  character  of  ecclesiastical  life 
in   the  palmy  days  of  its  power.     We  ab- 
stain purposely  from  the  word  mediaeval  as 
used  by  Canon  Liddon,  for  we   quite  fail  to 
see  what  there  is  peculiarly  mediaeval  about 
the  bishop,  his   palace,  or  his  surroundings. 
Nor,  from  what  we  remember  of  Fulham 
Palace,  do  we  quite  see  how  that  building 
can  be  compared,  externally  or  internally,  to 
the  episcopal  residence  of  Djakovo.     It  is 
built  in   the  form  of  a  quadrangle,  is  one 
storey  high,  and   surrounds  a  large  court- 
yard inhabited  by  a  fox,  a  couple  of  eagles, 
and  a  youthful  stork.      The  basement   is 
taken  up  with  the  household  offices,  stables, 
&c.,   a    long     gallery   running   round   the 
upper  storey,  out  upon  which  open  the  doors 
of  the  saloons  and  rooms  occupied  by  the 
various  officers  of  the  bishop's  household, 
his  secretaries,  clerks,  &c.,  the  chancellerie 
being  on  the  ground-floor.     There  are  three 
separate  suites  of  apartments — the   grand 
saloon,    hung    with    the   portraits   of    the 
former  bishops  of  Djakovo,  a  billiard-room, 
and  dining-room,  leading  lengthways  away 
from   the  front   towards  the  back    of    the 
building.     Adjoining  this   suite  follows   a 
series  of  smaller  rooms   and  cabinets,  used 
chiefly  for  the  bishop's  guests,  the  walls  of 
each  hung  with  paintings  of  various  earlier 
schools,  especially   Venetian    and   Tuscan, 
and  of  modern  Slav  artists,  all   of  which 
are  intended  as  a  gift  to  the  National  Aca- 
demy of  Art  at  Agram.     To  the  right  of 
the  grand  saloon  a  door  leads  to  the  bish- 
op's private  apartments,  the  surroundings 
of  which  are  certainly  more  in  the  style  of 
"the  grand  monarque "  than   the  others, 
which  are  but  meagrely  furnished,  and  will 
be  empty   when   the  paintings  are   gone; 
whilst  the  rooms  occupied  by  his  secreta- 
ries, Monsignore  Vorsak,  M.  Gamperl,  and 
Count  Jules  de  Drohojowski,  are  of  a  truly 
monastic  simplicity.     A  large  garden  and 
well-wooded  grounds  are  attached  to  the 

65 


I 


I. 

* 


'v. 


;i»' 


DJAKOVO.J 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1870. 


i.D  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


["HAREM   PASHA." 


palace ;  and,  in  the  farther  corner  of  the 
court-yard,  on  the  right-hand  when  enter- 
ing, is  the  ancient  episcopal  chapel  where 
the  bishop  attends  mass.  Till  one  o'clock, 
the  episcopal  dinner  hour,  he  is  engaged  in 
bis  study,  and  does  not  like  to  be  dis- 
turbed, no  matter  by  whom,  except  on 
business.  By  that  time,  however,  the 
guests  of  the  day,  and  the  members  of  his 
household,  assemble  in  the  grand  saloon 
till  he  makes  his  appearance,  and  leading 
the  way  with  the  chief  guest  to  the  place 
of  honour  on  his  right,  casts  business  to 
the  winds,  and  sets  to  enjoying  himself 
and  delighting  the  company,  which  seldom 
numbers  less  than  a  dozen,  and  generally 
amounts  to  twice  that  number,  especially 
on  Sundays  and  fete  days,  when  his  table 
is  more  than  usually  crowded.  Amongst 
the  guests  are  the  German  and  Italian 
artists  who  are  engaged  on  the  frescoes  in 
the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  which  the 
bishop  is  building  partly  from  funds  pro- 
vided by  his  predecessors  for  the  purpose, 
but  chiefly  from  his  own  pocket.  It  is  a 
fine  structure  of  bright-red  brick  in  the 
Italian  Romanesque  style,  the  two  western 
towers,  surmounted  by  finely-tapering 
steeples,  and  the  cupola,  being  of  the  same 
material,  and  presenting  thus  a  rather 
peculiar  appearance.  The  crypt  and  vaults 
are  roomy,  and  built  of  solid  masonry ; 
whilst  the  interior,  when  finished  and 
adorned  with  the  frescoes  designed  and 
executed  by  MM.  Zeitz,  father  and  son 
(pupils  of  Cornelius  and  Overbeck,  but 
domiciled  in  Rome),  will  bear  comparison 
with  that  of  any  of  the  chief  churches  in 
Rome.  The  visitors  are  from  all  corners  of 
Europe ;  Franciscan  friars  from  Bosnia ; 
officers  from  Essegg;  clerical  dignitaries 
from  Agram  and  Rome;  delegates  from 
Dalmatia ;  artists,  authors,  and  stray  waifs 
from  London  or  Paris,  who  have  remem- 
bered the  sensation  caused  by  the  "  wild 
Croat,"  as  Pio  Nono  called  him,  who  tried 
to  devour  the  infallible  dogmatists  at  the 
Vatican  Council.  These  are  the  elements 
which,  presided  over  by  a  host  who  knows 
how  to  draw  his  guests  out,  easily  prolong 
the  dinner,  with  the  aid  of  an  excellent 
cuisine  and  irreproachable  cellar,  to  half- 
past  three  or  four  o'clock.  But,  be  it 
known,  a  Slav  dinner  is  no  small  matter. 
It  must  be  approached  in  a  spirit  of  mo- 
desty and  doubt  as  to  one's  capabilities, 
but  With  stem  determination  withal.  Not 
that  the  viands  are  so  overwhelming  in 
66 


amount,  as  a  general  rule ;  though,  ob  one 
occasion,  no  less  than  forty-seven  dishes 
were  served,  which  took  three  hours  and 
a-half  to  work  through,  being  at  the  rate  of 
one  every  four  minutes  and  a-half,  but  on 
account  of  the  Slav  habit  of  toasting  in 
bumpers  of  good-sized  tumblers.  The 
"Nazdravas"  (your  health),  and  the 
"Zivios"  (viva),  on  such  occasions,  are 
something  portentous  in  their  frequency. 
Supposing  there  are  twenty  guests  at  the 
table,  the  bishop  makes  the  beginning,  and, 
after  a  complimentary  speech,  drinks  to 
your  health,  to  which  you  bow  your  ac- 
knowledgments, but  do  not  drink  in  re- 
sponse at  once ;  at  the  same  time  he  couples 
your  name  with  that  of  some  lady,  present 
or  not.  After  an  interval  you  rise,  and, 
thanking  his  excellency,  drink  with  a 
*'  Nazdrava  "  to  somebody  else's  very  good 
health ;  that  person  returns  the  compli- 
ment ;  and  thus  the  toasting  goes  on  and 
on,  till  the  amount  of  wine  imbibed  con- 
vinces one  that  purity,  at  any  rate,  exists 
somewhere,  and  that  is  in  the  bishop's  wine 
— most  of  it  grown  on  his  own  estates, 
which  produce  some  10,000  gallons  a-year. 
After  dinner,  coffee  and  cigars ;  whilst  the 
bishop,  not  being  a  smoker,  disappears, 
and  indulges  in  forty  winks,  which  is  rather 
gratifying  as  showing,  at  any  rate,  one 
mortal  weakness  in  his  armour.  But  it  is 
not  more  than  forty  winks,  for  he  soon  re- 
appears for  a  drive  or  ride  on  horseback  to 
his  vineyards,  park,  or  preserves,  of  which 
he  possesses  two,  one  for  large,  and  the 
other  for  small  game;  besides  a  tract  of 
forest  for  wild  boars.  The  chief  park  is 
divided  into  two  sections  by  an  ordinary 
fence,  separating  the  common  deer  from 
the  white  deer  (Dammhirsch),  of  which 
there  is  a  herd  of  400.  Here  the  bishop 
amuses  himself  by  taking  a  shot  now  and 
then,  but  misses  on  purpose,  except  when 
there  is  a  grand  battue  in  honour  of  some 
high  and  mighty  guest,  and  proves  that  he 
is  as  keen  a  sportsman  and  as  good  a  shot 
as  any  Highlander  that  ever  wore  a  kilt 
instead  of  a  bishop's  apron.  Then  back  to 
the  palace,  and  supper  at  7  P.M. ;  after 
which,  a  rubber  with  Canon  Vorsak  and 
Count  Jules  de  Drohojowski.  This  goes 
on  till  about  ten  o'clock,  and  then  to  bed, 
where,  in  his  dreams,  the  bishop  still 
carries  on  his  implacable  war  against  Turk, 
Hungarian,  and  Hebrew,  and  rises  at  about 
5  A.M.  in  summer,  and  six  in  the  winter  ;  so 
that  his  life  is  not  all  play  and  pleasure. 


Yet   it  is  this  aspect    of   his  existence 
that  most  strikes  casual  visitors,  and  pro- 
duces upon  them  the  impression  of  "  me- 
diaeval splendour ;"  which  Canon  Liddon  ran 
away  with,  or  which  ran  away  with  him,  and 
led  him  into  such  statements  as  that  the 
bishop's  "  head-servant "  is  called  "  Harem 
Pasha,"   when     alluding  to    the    bishop's 
"  Pandour,"  an  official  for  out-door   work 
that  every  nobleman  possesses,  and  who  is 
dressed  in  the  regular  Pandour  costume  of 
red, blue, or  other  colour,  adorned  with  an  in- 
tricate system  of  brass- plates  and  bells,  and 
strings  and  tassels,  and  whom  it  would  be  the 
height  of  presumption  to  attempt  to  de- 
scribe.    He  is  truly  an  important-looking 
and   imposing    personage,  and  appears  to 
have  had  the  same  effect  with  his  "  Asiatic 
splendour"  upon  the  Canon,  that  the  beadle, 
in  his  scarlet  cloak,  is  intended  to  exercise 
on  the  infantile   mind.     So  far  from  the 
title  *'  Harem  Pasha,"  which  so  touches  the 
Canon's  sense  of  humour  as  applied  to  a 
Roman  Catholic  bishop's   "head-servant," 
being  a  remnant  of  Turkish  customs,  it  is 
nothing  else  but  a  nick-name  given  to  him 
in  reference  to  a  little  episode,  of  which, 
no  doubt,  his  manly  or  imposing  form  was 
the  original  cause.     Finally,  he  is  not  the 
bishop's  head-servant  at   all.      That  per- 
sonage is  a  demure  gentleman  in   black ; 
and  if  the  Canon  gave  his  parting  douceur 
to  the  Pandour  instead  of  to  him,  it  is  an 
additional  proof  of   the  value  of  brilliant 
externals,  though  it  is  to  be  lamented,  in 
this  case,  for  the  opinion  that  will  be  en- 
tertained of  the  Canon   in   the   servant's 
hall  at  Djakovo. 

These,  it  will  be  said,  are  very  small 
matters.  But  if  small  things  are  thus 
misrepresented  when  it  would  have  been 
quite  as  easy  to  represent  them  correctly, 
the  other  representations  must  also  be 
taken  cum  grano  magno — maximo,  in 
fact.  For  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  bishop's  table  is  a  peculiar  institution 
— a  sort  of  political  alembic — that  receives 
a  continual  strain  of  crude  materials,  and 
distils  them  over,  chastened  and  purified,  for 
export  all  over  the  country,  and  beyond  it. 
Thus  the  Canon  and  Mr.  MacColl  were 
wonderfully  well  rectified  in  the  episcopal 
sense,  and,  like  the  port-wine  fortified  with 
a  modicum  of  alcohol,  were  sent  back  to 
England  with  a  tinge  of  mediaevalism  to 
suit  stronger  tastes.  Of  course,  all  such 
free  hospitality  always  has  its  object  when 
the  host  is  a  public  character,  and  pro- 


duces its  effect,  as  Lady  Glencora  has 
shown  us,  especially  where  society  is  not  so 
scrupulously  conscientious  as  was  the  duke 
and  her  other  critics.  A  Croat,  above  all. 
Catholic  in  all  his  instincts  by  nature, 
Roman  Catholic  by  his  profession,  diplo- 
matist, politician,  and  courtier  by  taste  and 
turn  of  mind,  and  an  eminently  practical 
idealist.  Bishop  Strossmayer  does  not  enun- 
ciate a  single  word  that  has  not  its  well- 
defined  object.  His  most  sparkling  anec- 
dotes have  a  hidden  moral,  an  argumentum 
ad  homineni  in  them  ;  and  it  is  only  by 
continually  bearing  this  in  mind,  that  one 
can  fully  estimate  the  important  object  he 
is  playing  for— i.e.,  the  elevation  of  the 
Slav  generally,  the  Croat  in  particular,  and 
the  reduction  of  the  Hungarian  influence 
to  its  numerical  proportions. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  he  has  a  good 
case.     His  special  complaints  are,  that  the 
Hungarians  swallow  up  55  per  cent,  of  the 
Croatian   revenue    for    imperial   purposes, 
and  only  leave  them  45  per  cent,  for  educa- 
tional and  public  works;  that  the  postal 
service,    the     telegraphs,    and     all    other 
important    posts   are    occupied    by  Hun- 
garians ;  that  they  are  abolishing  German 
in   the  national  schools,  and  substituting 
Hungarian;    that  they   have   allowed   the 
Jews  to  settle  within  the  quondam  military 
frontier;  in  short,  that  Croatia  is  to  the 
Hungarian  government  that  which  Bosnia 
is   to   the   Turkish.      Emancipation   from 
Hungary  is  his  primary  object,  as  a  Croat 
and  Slav;  and  to  obtain  this  object  he  would 
enter    into    any    temporary   arrangement 
with  Servia,  or  the  young  Servian  party,  to 
produce   the  necessary  pressure.     Turkish 
misrule  is  of  secondary  importance  com- 
pared to  this  object.     Of  course  it  must  go 
with  the  rest,  but  Hungarian  misrule  must 
go  also,  and  the  Magyars,  instead  of  drain- 
ing  Croatia   of  its   money,  pay  up   their 
own  arrears  of  taxes,  which  amount  to  very 
many  millions,  amongst  the  nobility  alone. 
Still,  with  all  these  administrative  draw- 
backs, the  lot  of  the  Slav  peasant,  even  in 
Turkey,  under  ordinary  conditions,  is  ma- 
terially far  superior  to  that  of  the  peasant 
in   any  other   country,  no  matter   where. 
The  real  evil  in  the  rural  economy  of  the 
Slav  districts,  on  either  side  of  the  border, 
is  the  absence  of  a  rural  middle  class — a 
yeomanry. 

But  with  all  its  material  advantages, 
rural  Slavonia  does  not  present  an  inviting 
picture. 

67 


1 


1,.  # 


THE  SLAVS  AT   HOME.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


A  ride  from  Fiume  to  Bihach,  from 
Glina  to  Brod,  and  a  drive  from  Brod  to 
Essegg,  with  an  occasional  detour  right  and 
left  towards  the  Save  or  the  Drave,  will 
probably  amply  satisfy  the  most  ardent 
investigator  in  his  quest  for  information. 
As  to  the  best  season  for  any  such  expedi- 
tion, the  intending  tourist  can  take  his 
choice  of  any  of  the  four  that  constitute 
the  Slavonic  calendar.     Here  they  are : — 

Snow,  slush,  and  mud  j 
Rain,  mud,  and  mire ; 
Wind,  dust,  and  fire ; 
Malaria,  gnats,  and  fleaa. 

Thei?e,  as  far  as  an  extensive  experience 
shows,  are  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Slavonic 
zodiac.  They  are  enlivened  by  a  perpetual 
chorus  of  frogs,  exclaiming,  in  an  everlast- 
in<r  drone,  "What  the  devil! — what  the 
devil !  " — and  unable  to  get  on  any  farther 
for  sheer  wonderment  as  to  what  the  mis- 
chief any  sane  man  can  want  to  come  to 
Slavonia  for.  The  dark  soil  of  the  country, 
the  rank  vegetation,  the  endless  stretches 
of  corn  and  maize,  rising  out  of  an  under- 
growth of  great  gourds,  the  melancholy, 
shaggy  buffaloes,  in  a  sad,  pachyderma- 
tous enjoyment  of  their  native  mud,  and 
the  solemn,  uncouth  peasantry,  stalking 
through  their  fields  like  so  many  grave 
storks  that  have  lost  their  beaks,  all  im- 
press one  with  a  sense  of  depression  and 
monotony  it  is  vain  to  struggle  against. 
There  is  no  cheerfulness  either  in  the  land- 
scape or  its  inhabitants.  Mud  is  the  cha- 
racteristic feature  of  the  scene  for  three 
parts  of  the  year.  And  even  during  those 
months  that,  in  most  countries,  impart 
some  liii^ht-heartedness  and  merriment  into 
rural  life — during  the  harvest  and  the  vin- 
tage— the  only  approach  to  blitheness  con- 
sists in  the  music  of  a  ragged  gipsy-band, 
and  the  songs  and  dances  of  the  peasantry, 
which  are  all  three  simply  horrible  in  their 
Dppressive  melancholy.  Of  course  the  pea- 
sant is  not  remarkable  for  his  cheerfulness 
in  any  country ;  the  plough  takes  it  out  of 
bis  back,  and  swinging  the  flail  is  not  an 
intellectual  exercise.  But  he  is,  at  any 
rate,  boisterous  at  times,  and  indulges,  now 
and  then,  in  venting  his  feelings  in  some 
strong,  hearty  fashion ;  but  the  Slavonic 
peasant  takes  his  woes  and  pleasures  in  a 
caterwauling  miaouing  fashion,  which  is  the 
acme  of  mental  stagnation.  To  hear  some 
Slavonic  Corydon  serenading  his  Phillis,  is 
the  veriest  desolation  of  sound.  It  seems  to 
68 


be  the  lament  of  a  maiden  cat  bewailing, 
like  Jephtha's  daughter,  her  virginity  on  the 
top  of  a  deserted  garret  in  a  plague-stricken 
town.  The  dance  of  the  Slavonic  peasant, 
instead  of  warming  the  blood  a  little,  and 
causing  the  performer  to  indulge  in  the 
eccentric  steps  and  bounds  the  German  or 
French  peasants  delight  in,  consists  in  the 
dancers  forming  a  ring  by  laying  their 
hands  on  each  other's  shoulders,  and  jump- 
ing up  about  two  inches,  whilst  imparting 
a  tremulous  motion  to  the  body  by  bend- 
ing the  knees  on  the  downward  stroke,  till 
they  all  look  like  so  many  animated  lumps 
of  quivering  jelly.  All  this  is  performed  to 
the  wail  of  half-a-dozen  violins,  each  play- 
ing a  different  tune  on  half-a-dozen  notes. 
Take  any  six  notes  of  the  preliminary 
screech  of  violins  in  Waorner's  "Tann- 
hiiuser,"  transpose  them  into  a  minor  key, 
play  them  over  and  over  again,  and  the 
effect  of  Slavonic  national  melody  will  be 
pretty  fairly  realised. 

To  make  up  for  this  burden  ot  melan- 
choly, the  Slav,  generally  speaking,  sets 
his  stomach  upon  a  pedestal,  and  then 
straightway  falls  down  and  worships  it. 
He  is  undoubtedly  fond  of  good  and  abun- 
dant food;  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  his 
cuisine  is  by  no  means  bad,  though,  like 
all  primitive  people's,  rather  too  rich.  It 
is  immensely  varied,  and  thus  makes  some 
amends  for  the  monotony  of  his  life  and 
the  landscape  it  is  set  in.  As  a  natural 
consequence  of  this  monotony,  he  is  alao 
fond  of  bright  colours,  and  exhibits  herein 
almost  as  bad  a  taste  as  we  do,  which  is 
certainly  saying  a  great  deal.  Ked,  blue, 
and  yellow,  in  glaring  juxtaposition,  are,  of 
course,  his  favourite  colours ;  and  on  gala 
occasions,  and  on  Sundays,  when  the  sheep- 
skin jacket  is  new,  and  the  linen  trousers 
so  broad  that  they  look  just  like  petticoats, 
and  are  clean  and  white,  there  is  a  certain 
awkward  picturesqueness  about  the  Sla- 
vonic peasant  of  the  Danube  that  still 
savours  strongly  of  the  East,  especially  in 
the  Turkey-carpet  sort  of  embroidery  with 
which  he  and  his  better-half  adorn  their 
festive  garments.  This  sort  of  embroidery 
— in  coarse  worsted — is  claimed  by  Bishop 
Strossmayer  as  an  original  Slavic  art.  As 
it  is  the  only  one  the  Slavs  lay  claim  to, 
they  may  as  well  be  allowed  to  enjoy  what- 
ever reputation  it  affords  them.  Other- 
wise, female  Slavonic  attire  is  simple 
in  the  extreme,  consisting  of  a  jacket  of 
sheepskin,  the  wool  turned  inside,  and  a 


A.D.  1876.] 


EUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  SLAVS  AT  HOME. 


chemise,  of  which  one  end  is  generally 
looped  up,  exhibiting  an  expanse  of  leg  and 
thigh  more  like  the  fairy  queens  and 
Dianas  of  burlesque,  than  what  one  would 
expect  the  prosaic  peasant-woman  of  Sla- 
vonia to  resemble.  And,  in  fact,  there  is 
no  romantic  foundation  for  the  attire,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  a  very  material  one.  The 
bottomless  mud  of  Slavonia,  that  forces 
even  the  clergy  to  wear  Hessian  boots, 
like  so  many  hussars,  would  be  fatal  to 
shoes,  stockings,  or  petticoats;  and  thus 
the  bare  leg,  in  its  unadorned  and  natural 
beauty,  is  best  adapted  for  progressing 
through  the  mire,  that  curls  up,  in  grace- 
ful festoons  between  the  Slavonic  toes,  to 
the  tune  of  a  constant  squish. 

This  mud  has,  also,  considerably  in- 
fluenced the  plan  on  which  the  villages  are 
built.  The  houses,  semi-quadrangular,  or 
simply  gable-ended  towards  the  street,  are 
built  alongside  the  high-road,  forming  one 
long  street,  so  that  in  populous  districts,  as 
between  Oriovatz  and  Brod,  one  village  is 
scarcely  ended  before  the  other  one  com- 
mences. Contrary  to  what  one  would  expect, 
the  village  inns,  as  a  rule,  are  very  fair; 
the  beds  are  clean,  and  furnished  with  a 
most  formidable  pile  of  mattresses.  Con- 
veniences, of  course,  are  useless  luxuries. 
The  wide  expanse  of  nature  is  always  close 
at  hand.  The  food,  however,  is  good  and 
cheap.  It  is  not  easy  to  spend  more  than 
five  shillings  a  day  for  board  and  lodging, 
including  an  ample  supply  of  the  wine  of 
the  country.  Especially  good  and  cheap 
are  the  poultry,  eggs,  and  milk.  Geese 
and  turkeys  cost  about  one  florin  to  a  florin 
and  a-half — two  to  three  shillings  a-piece ; 
and,  to  judge  from  the  abundance  of  the 
latter  birds,  one  might  be  well  disposed  to 
credit  the  explanation  of  Turkey  being  so 
called  because  of  the  number  of  turkeys 
growing  there  and  thereabouts.  The  milk, 
being  buffalo  milk,  is  very  rich,  and  costs 
three-halfpence  to  twopence  a  quart.  A 
good  cup  of  cofifee  and  a  plentiful  supply  of 
"Obers"  (cream),  such  as  one  gets  in  most 
of  the  inns,  is  not  to  be  despised.  Butter 
and  cheese,  however,  are  unknown  ;  whilst, 
in  a  country  supposed  to  be  devoted  to  the 
culture  of  pigs,  it  is  remarkable  how  little 
pork,  ham,  and  bacon  are  used.  Of  fruits, 
the  grape,  melon,  and  prune  are  the  chief. 
Apples  and  pears  are  few  and  bad.  Maize 
takes  the  place,  in  the  Slavonic  kitchen 
economy,  of  the  potato  ;  but  onions  and 
garlic  are  worthy  of  Egypt,  as  well  as  are 

VOL.  III.  L 


the  cucumbers.  No  wonder  that  the  Jews 
were  anxious  to  settle  down  in  Slavonia, 
and  appreciate  its  gifts.  Not  only  does  it 
contain  the  produce  of  the  Promised  Land 
— milk,  honey,  and  wine  in  abundance,  but 
also  that  of  Egypt  in  the  days  of  their 
happiness  on  the  Nile — to  wit,  the  flesh- 
pots,  the  onions,  the  garlics,  and  the  cu- 
cumbers, which  they  seemed  chiefly  to  have 
sighed  for  during  their  wanderings,  and  im- 
pressed upon  Moses  the  fact  that  the  Jewish 
stomach  is  a  serious  thing,  and  not  to  be 
trifled  with.  Add  to  this  the  fish  from  the 
Save,  Drave,  and  Danube,  the  caviare  and 
stewed  carp — of  which  Israel  and  the 
monks  are  so  fond — and  it  will  be  acknow- 
ledged that  Slavonia  would  not  be  a  bad 
kind  of  place  if  the  people  would  but  wash 
themselves  sometimes,  and  comb  their  hair, 
say  once  a  month. 

As  might  be  imagined,  in  a  country  where 
the  cost  of  replenishing  the  larder  is  so 
slight,  hospitality  is  indulged  in  on  a  large 
scale,  and  visitors  and  strangers  entertained 
with  the  best  beds  and  the  best  of  every- 
thing. It  is  the  old  story,  however — civili- 
sation and  the  primitive  virtues  do  not 
combine.  The  greater  the  rascality  and 
the  swindling,  the  more  highly  civilised  is 
the  nation.  Hence,  peculation,  robbery, 
swindling,  &c.,  are  very  rare  in  Slavonia ; 
love  in  the  month  of  May,  and  slibovitz  in 
the  month  of  January,  being  the  chief 
causes  of  crime  in  shape  of  battery,  assault, 
and  homicide.  Swindling  the  government, 
of  course,  does  not  count :  that  is  rather  a 
"popular"  virtue.  One  of  the  character- 
istic features  of  a  Slavonic  villasre  is  the 
wells,  with  their  long  dipping-poles  stretch- 
ing athwart  the  sky ;  whilst  on  the  high- 
roads, the  rail-carts,  drawn  by  three  horses, 
generally  at  a  sharp  trot  or  a  gallop,  at 
once  remind  one  of  the  Eussian  "  Troika." 
There  is  also  another  institution  in  rural 
Slavonia,  not  met  with  elsewhere — truly 
and  literally,  the  Wayside  Inn.  The  pro- 
prietor of  the  village  tavern  is  entitled  by 
his  licence  to  appropriate  a  convenient 
piece  of  ground  alongside  the  road,  and  to 
furnish  it  with  a  primitive  hearth  of  two  or 
more  conveniently-lying  stones.  On  each 
side,  and  about  six  or  eight  feet  apart,  he 
fixes  a  forked  stick — fork  uppermost,  and 
one  opposite  the  other.  A  whole  pig  or 
sheep  is  transfixed  on  a  wooden  spit,  which 
rests  on  the  above-mentioned  forks,  and  is 
then  roasted  before  the  fire,  the  innkeeper 
furnishing  the  wood  for  a  small  sum,  and 

69 


I 


s 


-■^ii 


•• 


i 


THE  SERVIAN  AGITATION.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  187f?. 


A.D.  1875-'76.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  rural  SERBS. 


trustinf>"  to  the  consumption  of  drink  for  a  I  his  own  meat,  and  retails  it  to  the  passers- 


"  fair  profit."  This  institution  is  made  use 
of  by  the  cattle-drivers,  waggoners,  and 
gipsies ;  the  monopoly  being  sometimes  sub- 
let to  the  butcher  of  the  place,  who  roasts 


by,  at  the  rate  of  about  2d.  a  pound, 
cooked.  This  is  tlie  only  form  of  impale- 
ment to  be  met  with  in  Slavonia,  Turkish 
or  otherwise. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE   SERVIAN   AGITATION. 


The  action  of  the  Croats  and  Slavonians 
along  the  confines  of  Bosnia  and  the  Herze- 
govina, naturally  roused  the  jealousy  of  the 
Serbs,  and  spurred  the  Omladina  on  to  re- 
doubled exertions.  They  were  alarmed  at 
the  influence  which  the  Croat  and  Catholic 
party  were  acquiring  in  these  provinces. 
Even  the  flight  of  refugees  across  the  fron- 
tier into  Austria  was  regarded  as  most 
serious,  as  it  gave  the  Croats  an  additional 
claim  to  consideration  in  the  future.  And 
not  only  was  the  alarm  felt  by  the  political 
parties ;  it  was  also  largely  shared  in  by  the 
clergy,  who  justly  feared  the  progress  which 
was  being  made  by  the  Roman  Catholics. 
The  attitude  of  Montenegro  also  caused 
great  uneasiness,  for  it  was  very  generally 
believed  that  Prince  Nikita  wished  to  take 
the  lead  in  the  consolidation  of  the  Serb 
provinces  belonging  to,  or  under  the  tute- 
lage of,  the  Porte.  At  the  same  time  the 
Serbs  in  Hungary  were  straining  every 
nerve  to  precipitate  events.  Threatened  on 
all  sides  by  the  Croats,  by  the  Germans, 
by  the  Hungarians,  they  felt  convinced 
that,  unless  Prince  Milan  adopted  a  bold 
policy,  they  would  see  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina cut  off  from  Servia  for  ever,  and 
handed  over  to  the  Croats,  whose  instinct 
for  their  own  interests  would  far  outweigh 
any  of  the  historical  ties  or  the  racial  rela- 
tion between  them  and  the  Serbs. 

Thus,  whilst  professing  the  same  desires, 
and  asserting  their  community  of  interests, 
there  were  three  distinct  parties,  each  pur- 
suing the  same  end  with  different  objects. 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  were  the  prize. 
To  obtain  this  prize  was  the  object  of 
Croat,  Serb,  and  Montenegrin  alike.  The 
Croats,  led  by  General  Rodich  and  Bishop 
Strossmayer,  and  supported  by  a  powerful 
Court  party  at  Vienna,  were  opposed  by  the 
Hungarians  openlv  and  energetically,  and 
70 


intrigued  against  by  Serb  and  Montenegrin. 
The  Serbs,  headed  by  M.  Ristics,  and  sup- 
ported by  Russia,  were  equally  opposed  by 
the  Hungarians,  and  intrigued  against  by 
Croats  and  Montenegrins.  The  .Montene- 
grins, however,  owing  to  their  peculiar 
position  and  the  compactness  of  their  in- 
terests, enjoyed  the  most  freedom  from 
attack.  Supported  strongly  by  Rus^^ia, 
they  were  tempori^;cd  with  by  Croat,  Serb, 
and  Turk  alike.  The  principality  was  not 
large  enough  to  cause  any  fear  of  perma- 
nent conflict  with  Austria,  and  could  always 
be  played  off  against  Servia,  or  vice  versa. 

The  position  of  Prince  Milan,  therefore, 
when  the  insurrection  in  Bosnia  broke  out, 
was  not  an  enviable  one.  To  the  north 
and  the  west  of  Bosnia  the  Croats  were 
having  it  all  their  own  way.  In  the  south, 
the  greater  proximity  of  Montenegro,  and 
the  more  warlike  and  sturdy  character  of 
the  people,  threw  the  Herzegovinians  into 
the  arms  of  Prince  Nikita.  In  the  east,  on 
the  Serbo-Bosnian  frontier,  the  Turks  were 
in  considerable  force.  They  held  the 
fortress  of  Mali  Zwornik,  with  the  line  of 
the  Drina,  and  were  in  strong  numbers  at 
Serajevo,  the  capital  of  the  province,  which, 
besides,  had  very  strong  military  positions 
at  Trawnik,  Fotscha,  Vishegrad,  &c.  Ser- 
via was  thus,  more  or  less,  out  of  the  run- 
ning ;  and,  besides,  she  had  no  money. 

Now,  as  far  as  real  grievances  went,  the 
Serbs  had  none  at  all.  They  paid  a  very 
small  tribute  to  the  Porte,  and  were  under 
the  protection  of  the  great  powers.  Be- 
tween them  and  the  Sultan  there  were 
none  but  the  smallest  differences.  One  was 
the  Mali  Zwornik  question — a  frontier 
dispute  chiefly,  as  with  all  the  rest — en- 
tailed by  the  erratic  caprices  of  the  river 
Drina,  which  insisted  every  year  or  two  on 
altering  its  course,  to  spite  either  Turk  or 


Serb.  Then  there  was  the  railway  question  ; 
but  this  was  less  of  a  political  than  of  a 
financial  question. 

There  was,  therefore,  no  earthly  practical 
reason  why  Servia  should  have  interfered 
in  the  Bosnian  question  at  all.  As  for  the 
rhodoniontades  about  sympathy  with  the 
oppressed  races  in  Bosnia  and  Bulgaria, 
sympathy  with  the  misfortune  of  others 
is  an  unknown  quality  in  Servia.  Gra- 
titude, hospitality,  charity,  the  novel 
characteristics  of  semi-savage  races,  are 
unheard  of.  All  the  talk,  therefore, 
of  the  wars  of  the  insurgent  provinces 
formed  but  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  jour- 
nalists of  the  Ohzor,  Vidovdan,  Zastava, 
Serbskl  Novine,  &c.,  and  furnished  but  the 
material  for  intriguers  throughout  Slavdom 
to  till  their  own  pockets,  and  to  attain 
place  and  position,  or  to  supply  the  wood 
for  the  hobby-horses  on  which  Mr.  Free- 
man and  Messrs.  Liddon  and  MacCoU 
pranced  to  Exeter  Hall  and  Hyde  Park 
after  their  more  arduous  ritualistic  labours. 

The  Serbs  themselves  were  quite  aware 
that  the}^  had  nothing  to  complain  of 
wiiich  might  not  easily  be  obtained  from 
the  Porte  with  a  little  frank  consideration  ; 
and  they  knew  perfectly  well  that  the 
possession  of  a  few  acres  of  ground  on  a 
disputed  frontier  border  was  not  worth 
going  to  war  about,  and  would  not  be 
allowed  by  the  other  powers.  But  when 
the  insurrection  in  Bosnia  arose,  the  oppor- 
tunity was  eagerly  seized  by  the  tuft- 
hunters  and  intriguers,  and  the  cry  of  sym- 
pathy and  patriotism  raised  to  cover  per- 
sonal ambitious  avarice,  and,  it  may  be 
baid,  the  demands  of  necessity. 

The  agitation  in  Servia  arose  partly 
within  the  principality,  and  partly  with- 
out. 

Within,  it  proceeded  from  the  consider- 
able number  of  people  who  had  abandoned 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  migrated  to  the 
towns.  The  Serb,  when  he  has  gained  a 
little  education,  and  become  acquainted 
with  the  ting  el-tang  els  and  can-can  circles 
of  Vienna  and  Pesth,  conceives  a  great  re- 
pugnance to  a  country  life.  His  ambition 
is  to  become  a  merchant  or  a  statesman — 
the  citizen  of  a  town.  He  will  sell  his 
little  patrimony  and  establish  a  booth,  a 
commission-agency,  or  anything  that  does 
not  require  much  work,  but  allows  of  much 
talk.  But  he  has  little  aptitude  for  com- 
merce, less  for  industrial  pursuits,  and  is 
thus  left  far  behind  in  the  race  by  the  iesv 


and  the  German.  Hence  his  deep  hatred 
of  the  two  races,  ^^'ithout  brains,  without 
energy  for  practical  affairs,  he  degenerates 
into  an  intriguing  idler  and  habitual  con- 
spirator. Such  is  the  case  in  all  raak.-. 
To  take  an  instance :  Sii  Charles  Bright 
purchased  a  large  mining  e«^tate  at  Kuts- 
chaina.  He  employed  between  400  and  oUO 
men;  but  the  Serbs  were  almost  usele^b, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  employ  Wallachs, 
Hungarians,  and  Bulgarians — the  latter 
proving  especially  useful,  and  a  peaceable, 
economical  body — whilst  the  Serbs  were 
cantankerous,  disputatious,  idle,  greedy, 
drunken,  and  dishonest.  The  same  was  the 
opinion  given  by  the  manager  of  a  neif>-h- 
bouring  estate  at  Maidanpek,  and  by  every 
foreign  employer  of  Serb  labour. 

There  was  thus  a  large  number  of  mal- 
contents, who  concentrated  naturally  in  the 
capital,  at  Belgrade,  and  found  that 
patriotism,  if  properly  worked,  was  a  suffi- 
ciently remunerative  trade.  Every  oppor- 
tunity was  eagerly  seized  to  stir  up  the 
mud  and  fish  in  the  troubled  waters.  The 
railway  question  furnished  these  gentlemen 
with  an  opportunity.  It  was  generally 
agreed  that  this  railway  was  to  be  built;  it 
was  to  connect  the  Hungarian  terminus  at 
Basiasch  with  the  Turkish  terminus  at 
Mitrovitza ;  it  was  to  run  along  the  valley 
of  the  Morava,  and  would,  no  doubt,  prove 
of  great  benefit  to  the  country.  There  were 
no  difficulties  at  all  in  the  way ;  there  was 
plenty  of  wood,  there  was  plenty  of  coal, 
and  the  mineral  and  agricultural  riches  of 
the  adjoining  districts  were  such  as  to  pro- 
mise a  reasonable  profit.  The  only  impedi- 
ment was  the  capital.  Unfortunately,  there 
had  been  a  Servian  timber  company  formed, 
which  had  left  an  exceedingly  diagreeable 
impression  regarding  Servia  in  the  Western 
money-markets,  where  next  to  nothing  was 
known  of  Servia ;  whilst  in  the  more  con- 
tiguous money-markets  at  Vienna,  Pesth, 
and  Trieste,  far  too  much  was  known  of  the 
interesting  country  to  allow  of  a  single 
penny  being  subscribed  for  any  purpose 
whatsoever. 

Some  capitalists,  however,  such  as  Messrs. 
Crawley,  Power  and  Co.,  and  a  very  large 
number  of  invertebrate  syndicates,  turned 
their  attention  to  the  proposed  line,  and  ne 
gotiations  were  opened  up,  which  all  led  to 
nothing.  Everybody  wanted  so  many  com- 
missions, that  the  whole  of  the  proposed 
capital  would  have  been  swamped  by  them 
alone.     Finally,  the  government  itself  de- 

71 


t/ 


M 


'% 


SERVIAN   LOANS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1875'-76. 


termined  to  take  up  the  matter,  and  try  to 
get  a  loan  for  two  millions.  Agents  were, 
therefore,  sent  to  all  the  chief  capitals — to 
London,  Vienna,  Berlin,  Paris,  Amsterdam, 
and  St.  Petersburg.  They  knocked  at  the 
doors  of  the  large  banking  firms,  and  ba^ed 
their  expectations  chiefly  on  the  fact,  that 
Servia  had  never  yet  contracted  a  loan, 
and  was,  therefore,  unencumbered.  These 
expectations  were,  however,  speedily  damped 
by  the  very  general  observation,  that  Ser- 
vians immunity  from  debt  arose,  not  from 
her  flourishing  condition,  but  from  the  fact 
that  nobody  would  lend  her  anything.  In 
vain  did  she  offer  lands,  timber,  taxes,  du- 
ties, as  guarantee  ;  syndicates,  agents,  and 
government  all  met  with  the  same  reply 
and  the  host  of  tuft-hunters,  and  the  flocks' 
of  crows  ready  to  pounce  upon  the  golden 
prey  were  bitterly  disappointed,  broke  out 
into  loud  complaints,  and  cast  about  for 
fresh  fields  and  pastures  new.  The  imme- 
diate result,  of  course,  was  dissatisfaction 
with  the  government,  and  especially  with 
the  minister  of  finance,  M.  C.  Mijatovich, 
■who  was  the  chief  promoter  of  the  railway 
scheme. 

M.  Mijatovich,  a  mild,  gentlemanly  little 
man,  with  lustrous,  melancholy  eyes,  and 
habitually  attired  in  a  white  hat  and  sky- 
blue  trousers,  was  a  gentleman  of  consider- 
able education,  and  had  married  an  Ame- 
rican ladv  twice  his  size.  As  one  of  the 
consular  corps  used  to  observe,  M.  Mijato- 
vich was  thus  doubly  overweighted — by  his 
foreign  connection,  and  his  superior  educa- 
tion, which  placed  him,  at  a  moderate  esti- 
mation, fully  a  century  in  advance  of  his 
countrymen.  Still,  even  as  the  porker  of 
Chicago  had  ousted  the  acorn-fed  pig  of  the 
Servian  wilds,  and  sailed  up  the  Danube  in 
the  shape  of  portly  barrels  of  lard,  so  M. 
Mijatovich  fancied  that  he  would  be  able 
to  substitute  the  ideas  of  New  York  and 
London  for  those  of  Belnfrade  and  Krasfu- 
jevatz ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  fancied, 
that  with  Madame  Mijatovich's  assistance, 
he  would  also  be  able  to  convince  London 
"what  a  manjnificent  future  was  awaitinjr 
Servia.  With  this  intention  he  cau.-ed 
Madame  Mijatovich  to  write  a  book  about 
Seivia  and  its  prospects.  It  was  a  very 
Bober  production — so  sober,  in  fact,  that  it 
was  very  appropriately  published  by  the 
well-known  temperance  bookseller,  Mr. 
Tweedie ;  but  as  it  only  gave  one  side  of 
the  question,  it  did  not  produce  the  effect 
fondly  hoped  for.  This  was  bad  enough  j 
72 


but  failing  in  the  railway  and  loan  scheme, 
M.  Mijatovich  also  managed  to  displease  the 
very  large  tribe  of  "  bankers  "  and  money- 
changers by  his  manipulation  of  the  old  cur- 
rency when  he  introduced  the  new  coinage, 
by  preventing  the  State  from  incurring  a 
loss  for  the  benefit  of  these  gentlemen. 
Thus  failing  in  negotiating  a  loan,  failing 
iu  providing  pickings  for  the  multitude, 
and  even  contemplating  the  introduction 
of  laws  to  prevent  fraudulent  bankruptcy, 
and  a  few  other  cherished  institutions,  such 
as  the  oppression  of  Jews  and  foreign 
traders  in  the  interior,  M.  Mijatovich  only 
retained  his  position  because  there  was 
really  not  the  vestige  of  a  reason  to  attack 
him. 

Thus,  for  a  time,  M.  Mijatovich,  who 
gave  the  whole  tone  to  the  cabinet,  went 
on  projecting  reforms  of  various  kinds,  and 
spasmodically  making  another  attempt  at  a 
little  loan,  when  the  disturbances  in  Bosnia 
broke  out.  This  was  the  si^rnal  for  the 
tuft-hunters,  for  the  professional  patriots, 
for  journalists'  editors,  to  swarm  up  like  a 
crowd  of  gnats  on  a  summer's  eve,  and  buzz 
around  M.  Mijatovich's  ears.  His  rival, 
M.  Kistich,  at  once  took  advantage  of  the 
movement,  and  summoned  the  unruly 
spirits,  from  near  and  far,  to  come  in  their 
thousands  to  Belgrade.  And  they  came. 
They  swarmed  into  the  cafes  and  hotels, 
into  the  "  Servian  Crown,"  the  "  King  of 
Servia,"  the  "  Hotel  de  Paris,"  all  in  a  state 
of  greater  or  lesser  impecuniosity,  but  with 
unlimited  capacities  for  the  assimilation  of 
solids  and  the  absorption  of  liquids.  There 
was  not  room  for  them  all  in  Belgrade,  and 
many  skpt  in  Si  mlin,  on  Austrian  ter- 
ritory on  the  other  side  of  the  Save,  whilst 
they  ate,  drank,  and  conspired  in  Belgrade. 
Business  of  all  kind  got  to  a  standstill ; 
the  creditors  clamoured,  the  debtors  com- 
plained and  cried  loudly  for  the  mora- 
torium.  This  broke  M.  Mijatovich's  back  ; 
he  and  the  rest  of  the  cabinet  resigned,  and 
M.  Ribtich  succeeded  him  as  the  head  of 
the  war  party.  Of  course  the  moratorium 
— the  suspension  of  payment  of  bills  of 
exchange — was  granted,  and  patriotism 
allowed  to  run  rampant  at  the  expense 
of  the  foreign  merchants  in  or  out 
of  Servia.  Not  the  least  unimportant 
section  of  agitators  was  the  host  of  news- 
paper correspondents  located  in  Belgrade 
and  Semlin.  They  were  divided  into  two 
sections,  the  anti-Servian  and  the  pro- 
Servian.     The  latter  remained  in  Belgrade, 


A.D.  1875-76.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[consular  jealousifs. 


the  former  in  Semlin.     The   pro-Servians 
were  the  correspondents  of  the  Croat  jour- 
nals, Obsor,  &c.,   of    the   Hungarian-Serb 
paper  Zastava,  of    the    Bohemian   paper 
Politik,  and  endless  writers  for  the  Russian 
and  French  press.     The  English  press  was 
represented  only  for  a  short  time  by  a  cor- 
respondent for  the  Manchester  Guardian, 
The  anti-Serbs  were  the  correspondents  of 
the    Hungarian  and  Austrian  papers,  the 
Peste  Lloyd,  Budapesti  Kapilap,  Ellenor, 
Neue  Freie  Presse,  &c.     All  these  gentle- 
men were  animated  by  the  fiercest  oppo- 
sition or  partizanship,  and,  as  a  rule,  did 
nothing  but  frequent  the  cafes  of  Belgrade 
or  Semlin,  and  take  their  intelligence  from 
the   most  untrustworthy  sources,   without 
attempting  to  make  any  independent  in- 
quiries.    A   few    put   themselves   in  com- 
munication with  the  consuls  ;  some  with  the 
ministers,  and  such  as  wished  to  become 
ministers ;  others  with  the  host  of  adven- 
turers who  had  come  to  fish  in  the  troubled 
stream.     But  the  majority  evolved  events 
out  of  their  inner  consciousness,  according 
to  their  desires. 

The  result  of  all  this  was  a  turmoil  and  a 
ferment,  of  which  there  were  no  signs  a  few 
miles   out  of  the   town.     In   the  country 
people  knew    absolutely  nothing  of  what 
was  going  on.     All  that  gradually  filtered 
through    to  them,  was  a  report  that  the 
Turks'  were  going  to  attack  Servia,  and  the 
government  contemplating  calling  out  the 
militia.     The  news,  however,  did  not  pro- 
duce much  effect,  and  M.  Ristich  saw  that 
he  would  have  to  adopt  other  measures  to 
create    an    excitement.     He   accomplished 
this  by  convoking  the  Skupt china  in  Kragu- 
ievatz,  the  ancient  capital  of  Servia,  osten- 
sibly to  place  it  beyond  the  agitating  in- 
fluences in  Belgrade,  but  in  reality  to  trans- 
fer a  portion   of  that   agitation   into  the 
interior  of  the  country.     In  the  meantime, 
wishing  to  keep  on   good  terms  with  the 
moderate  and  conservative  party,  he  offered 
no  objections  to  M.  Mijatovich's  becoming 
Prince  Milan's  private  secretary. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  the 
autumn  of  1875.  There  was  an  exceed- 
ingly active  and  unscrupulous  war-party, 
headed  by  M.  Ristich,  which  was  deter- 
mined to  plunge  the  country  into  war. 
"Action"  was  their  cry;  in  what  that 
action  should  consist,  on  what  basis  it 
should  be  taken,  they  were  not  at  all  clear 
about.  The  dominating  idea  was  jealousy 
of  Montenegrin  and  Croat.     But  they  could 


not  determine  whether  this  action  should 
be  independent,  whether  it  should  be  un- 
dertaken in  conjunction  with  Austria,  with 
Russia,  or  only  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Omladina.     Everywhere  there  were  divided 
counsels,  and,  as  a  consequence,  they  drifted 
hither  and  thither,  till  they  became,  more  or 
less,  the  laughing-stock  of  all  Europe.     The 
consuls  were  equally  undecided  and  divided. 
There  had  been  a  pretty  general  three-cor- 
nered duel  going  on  amongst  them  for  some 
time.    Dr.  Rosen,  the  Prussian  consul,  de- 
manded precedence  of  the  French  consul,who, 
in  virtue  of  his  title  as  agent  diplomatique, 
would  not  yield  on  the  point.     At  the  same 
time  Dr.  Rosen  had  growled  with  the  Rus- 
sian consul,  M.  Kartzoff,  and  refused  to  be 
conciliated.     At  last  the  other  consuls  pro- 
posed that  M.  Kartzoff  should  call  upon  Dr. 
Rosen,  and  Dr.  Rosen  then  return  the  visit. 
But,  at  the  last  moment.  Dr.  Rosen  refused 
to  receive  M.  Kartzoff,  and  the  result  was, 
that  the  incident  which  had  led  to  diplo- 
matic representations  by  Prince   Bismarck 
and    other    ministers,    terminated     by    a 
friendly  communication  from  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff,  that  Dr.  Rosen  was  a  very  trouble- 
some person,  and  had  better  be  sent  away 
from  Belgrade.     This  was  done,  and  the 
question    of    precedence    settled    by    Mr. 
White,  the  British  consul,  proposing  that  it 
should  go  by  seniority  of  service  in  Servia, 
and  not  by  rank ;  so  that  the  Greek  consul 
was    constituted    doyen    of    the   consular 


corps. 

This,  however,  did  not  bring  any  real 
union  into  the  consular  body.  The  inde- 
cision of  the  foreign  governments  was  re- 
flected in  the  action  of  their  consuls.  The 
only  one  who  seemed  to  know  what  to  do, 
and  who  did  it,  was  the  German  consul. 
Count  Bray.  But  then,  as  he  was  formally 
instructed  to  do  nothing  but  keep  his 
government  au  courant  of  all  that  oc- 
curred, his  task  was  not  very  onerous  or 

difficult. 

Consul  White,  on  the  other  hand,  from 
whatever  reason,  acted  in  an  official  and  an 
unofficial  capacity.  Whilst  officially  coun- 
selling the  prince  and  his  ministers  to  keep 
the  peace  and  allay  the  excitement,  he  at 
the  same  time  said,  that  if  they  followed 
his  advice  as  a  private  individual,  they 
would  at  once  take  action  and  declare  war. 
There  is  no  doubt  whatever  as  to  this  sin- 
gular action  on  the  part  of  Consul  White. 
By  some  it  was  ascribed  to  the  influence  of 
his  wife,  a  Polish  lady.     But  as  the  Poles 

73 


I 


M.   RISTTCn.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1875-76. 


A.D.  1875-76.1 


by  DO  means  love  the  Serbs,  and  still  more 
hate  the  Russians,  whose  policy  it  was  to 
stir  up  Servia  into  a  declaration  of  war, 
this  explanation  will  not  hold  water.  It 
was  probably  due  to  the  turn  public  opinion 
was  takincr  in  England,  and  a  desire  to  ap- 
pear a  friend  of  Servia,  which  dictated 
his  policy.  That  it  was  a  fact,  appeared  not 
only  from  the  positive  statements  of  Prince 
Milan  and  M.  Mijatovich,  but  from  his 
own  utterances. 

In  fact,  M.  Mijatovich  met  his  unoffi- 
cial advice  with  the  argument  that  Servia 
did  not  wish  to  cut  herself  off  completely 
from  Turkey.  "  Servia,"  he  said,  "  is  far 
too  weak  to  stand  alone  ;  she  would  inevit- 
ably gravitate  towards  Austria.  It  is 
beyond  doubt  that,  sooner  or  later,  the 
Serbs  on  either  side  of  the  Save  and 
Danube  will  become  united.  But  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  for  an  instant  that  Servia 
will  ever  be  powerful  enough  to  wrest  the 
Serb  districts  of  Austro-Hungary  from  the 
empire.  In  all  probability  it  will  be 
Austria  which  will  wrest  Servia  from 
Turkey.  For  that  reason,  whilst  we  wish 
to  secure  absolute  local  independence  and 
a  complete  autonomy,  we  do  not  wish  to 
snap  the  thread  which  binds  us  to  the 
Porte,  and  entitles  us  to  claim  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Turkish  government." 

This  was  a  sensible  and  intellisfent 
policy.  But  it  did  not  suit  the  views  of 
M.  Ristich  as  the  apostle  of  the  great  idea — 
of  a  mighty  Servia — of  the  Omladinist 
Utopia.  Had  Mr.  White  reported  in  this 
sense  to  his  government,  and  had  they 
taken  corresponding  action,  in  all  proba- 
bility the  whole  Servian  war  would  have 
been  avoided,  together  with  the  disastrous 
complications  that  resulted  from  it.  He 
may  possibly  have  done  so ;  but  nothing 
appears  in  the  Blue  Books  to  warrant  the 
supposition.  On  the  contrary,  in  his  des- 
patch of  September  13th,  1875,  he  simply 
encloses  a  translation  of  the  prince's  speech 
at  the  opening  of  the  Skuptchina,  and  the 
reply  of  the  deputies,  as  they  appeared  in 
the  official  gazette ;  whereas  it  is  perfectly 
well  known  that  M.  Ristich  induced  the 
deputies  to  present  a  secret  address  to  the 
prince,  urging  him  to  take  up  arms  for  the 
prohibition  of  the  Bosnian  insurgents.  He 
knew  perfectly  well  that  such  a  document 
existed,  for  he  was  informed  of  it  by  M. 
Mijatovich  ;  besides  which,  it  was  also  well 
known  thatM.  Ristich  odIv  succeeded,  after 
enormous  pressure,  in  gaining  a  small  ma- 
74 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.    [cx)nsul  white's  despatches. 


jority   for   the   insertion  of  the  following 
passages  in  the  reply : — 

"  Verily  the  present  condition  of  Servia 
is  a  very  complicated  one,  as  your  highness 
has  said  ;  our  people  are  disturbed  in  their 
domestic  quietness.  The  large  forces  col- 
lected by  the  Ottoman  Porte  on  our  fron- 
tiers, and  the  hostile  attitude  assumed  by 
these  towards  Servia,  has  compelled  a 
portion  of  our  countrymen  on  our  eastern 
and  western  frontier  to  leave  their  fields 
and  their  homes  for  the  purpose  of  watching 
over  the  security  of  our  country. 

"  The  Servian  nation,  which  has  redeemed 
this  dear  country  with  its  swords  and  blood, 
is  mindful  of  the  words  spoken  by  your 
highness  in  a  proclamation  in  1872, 'that 
it  would  be  a  sin  to  lose  the  smallest  por- 
tion of  this  heritage  of  our  fathers,  and  it  is 
little  enough  to  our  credit  that  we  add 
nothing  to  it.' 

"  These  words  are  engraved  on  our  hearts. 
The  times  are  serious,  no  doubt ;  but  no  less 
serious,  sire,  is  the  will  of  the  Servian 
people  to  rise  to  the  height  of  the  occasion. 

"  Wherefore,  the  Skuptchina  declares 
hereby  solemnly,  on  behalf  of  the  Servian 
people,  their  rt^adiness,  as  a  nation,  to  de- 
fend their  fatherland  and  its  liberties,  and 
to  preserve  inviolate  the  inheritance  of  the 
great  Milosch,  and  of  our  fathers :  there  is 
no  sacrifice  which  Servia  is  not  ready  to 
make  on  the  altar  of  the  country.  At  the 
voice  of  your  higlmess  the  entire  nation  is 
ready,  as  one  man,  to  present  itself  to  de- 
fend our  native  soil. 

"  Sire,  the  secular  suflferings  of  our 
brethren  in  Bosnia  and  in  the  Herzegovina, 
have  compelled  them  to  rise  in  arms  and 
fight  for  theii  natural  and  their  national 
rights.  ' 

"The  effusion  of  their  blood  offends  our 
fraternal  feelings.  Their  cry  of  despair 
finds  a  noble  echo  in  other  parts  of  the 
civilised  world.  We  cannot,  we  ought  not 
to  remain  insensible  to  their  fate. 

"The  Skuptchina  is  penetrated  with 
the  deepest  gratitude  at  seeing  that  your 
highness'  conviction  is,  that  these  disturb- 
ances must  be  tranquillised  by  obtaining 
permanent  satisfaction  for  our  oppressed 
brethren. 

"  In  this  patriotic  direction  you  may 
rely  on  the  support  of  the  Servian  people, 
who  are  prepared  to  place  at  your  highness' 
disposal  all  the  means  required  to  accom- 
plish this  great  task." 

These  passages  were  forwarded  by  Consul 


White  to  his  government  on  September 
23rd,  at  the  same  time  as  he  received  the 
ofticial  French  translation.*  But  they  had 
been  given  to  him  some  time  before  by  M. 
Mijatovich,  who  translated  them  for  his 
convenience  in  the  above  form,  in  order 
that  the  British  government  might  have 
early  information.  At  the  same  time  he 
told  Mr.  White  what  pressure  it  had  been 
necessary  to  bring  to  bear  upon  the  assem- 
])ly,  which,  by  the  way,  held  its  sittings 
with  closed  doors.  Why  did  not  Consul 
White  avail  himself  then  of  this  opportu- 
nity to  inform  government  how  matters 
actually  stood  ? 

No  doubt  Mr.  White  would  denv  all  this ; 
but  it  remains  a  fact  all  the  same.  In- 
ternal evidence  also  proves  that  the  above 
passages  were  not  written  by  an  P^nglish- 
raan.  The  translation  was  certainly  not 
made  by  Mr.  Henneage,  nor  by  Mr. 
Spooner,  nor  by  any  Englishman.  For  in- 
stance, "  secular  sulferinjjjs "  is  scarcelv  a 
translation  of  siecles  de  souffrances — cen- 
turies of  suffering — as  appears  in  the  official 
French  translation. 

Nor  does  the  passage,  "It  would  be  a  sin 
to  lose  the  smallest  portion  of  this  heritage 
of  our  fathers,  and  it  is  little  enough  to  our 
credit  that  we  add  nothing  to  it,"  accu- 
rately represent  what  was  really  said — i.e., 
"  It  would  be  a  serious  responsibility  to 
lose  the  least  of  what  our  fathers  acquired, 
and  unworthy  to  add  nothing  to  it."  Equally 
so,  the  phrase,  "These  disturbances  must 
be  tranquillised,"  is  scarcely  English. 

In  short.  Consul  White  did  not  make 
such  use  of  the  opportunities  offered  to  him 
as  might  have  placed  the  government  in  a 
position  to  appreciate  the  full  significance 
of  the  movement  which  was  in  progress. 
Or,  if  he  did,  government  has  success- 
fully kept  the  secret,  and  is  greatly  re- 
sponsible for  what  ensued. 

It  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1876  that 
Mr.  White  began  to  inform  the  govern- 
ment of  the  threatening  aspect  of  affairs. 
On  February  5th,  he  wrote  : — 

"  Although  the  echoes  which  reach  this 
place  from  Vienna  and  Berlin,  and  even 
from  St.  Petersburg,  are  extremely  pacific, 
and  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  political 
men  in  the  continental-  capitals  look  upon 
the  present  disturbances  in  Turkey  as  in  a 
fair  way  of  being  solved  in  the  sense  of 
Count  Andrassy's  project,  it  is  my  duty  to 

*  Turkey,  No.  2  (1876),  C-1475. 


report  to  your  lordship,  that  there  are  nu- 
merous indications  in  Servia  which,  unfor- 
tunately, point  to  a  contrary  result, 

"  The  preparations  which  have  been 
steadily  going  on  for  some  months,  and 
which  are  now  prosecuted  with  renewed 
vigour ;  the  extraordinary  powers  voted  by 
the  '  Skuptchina,'  and  demanded  by  the 
Servian  administration  ;  the  activity  of  nu- 
merous unofficial  agents,  whose  connections 
are  well  known — all  confirm  the  supposition 
that  something  important  is  in  contem- 
plation. 

"  With  the  return  of  spring,  a  supreme 
effort  will  probably  be  made  to  enlarge  the 
area  of  the  insurrection,  and  to  delay  a 
pacific  solution  in  the  Herzegovina,  by  im- 
porting into  the  shifting  sands  of  Elastern 
politics  a  Bosnian  and  Servian,  and,  pos- 
sibly, a  Bulgarian,  and  other  questions." 

This  despatch  was  followed  up  by  another 
on  February  1 7th,  which,  however,  con- 
veyed singularly  inaccurate  impressions  as 
regards  the  attitude  of  Eussia  towards 
Servia.     He  wrote  : — 

"  Ever  since  the  commencement  of  the 
present  disturbances  in  the  Herzegovina,  it 
has  been  apparent  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Prince  of  Montenegro  has  been  exercising 
an  influence  on  the  attitude  of  Servia,  and 
his  example  has  been  constantly  used  as  a 
reproach  to  Prince  Milan  in  the  Slav  news- 
papers published  in  the  Hungarian  do- 
minions, and  even  by  violent  partisans  of, 
the  *  Omladina  '  in  this  principality. 

"  The  connection  of  that  prince  with  the 
origin  and  duration  of  the  present  insur- 
rection is  generally  believed  here,  and  in- 
voked as  a  title  to  popular  favour  amongst 
Slavs. 

"  There  are  some  circumstances  in  which 
that  prince  has  been  particularly  fortunate, 
and  which  contribute  to  invest  him  with  a 
peculiar  reputation  of  success  in  the  na- 
tional cause. 

"  He  is  said  to  have  secured  a  loan, 
whilst  Servia,  with  superior  resources,  has 
hitherto  failed  in  contracting  one ;  he  ap- 
pears to  have  escaped  the  admonitions  of 
either  Russia  or  Austria  for  his  conduct, 
whilst  Servia  received  a  solemn  warning 
from  the  great  powers  last  October  ;  more 
than  that,  the  Imperial  Court  of  Russia  has 
given  Prince  Nicholas  several  indications 
of  its  sympathy,  whilst  Prince  Milan  has 
had  none  bestowed  upon  him  since  Count 
Soumarokoff  s  mission  here  at  his  marriage ; 
and  even  the  customary  presents  granted  by 


75 


CONSUL  WHITE'S  DESPATCHES.]      HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1875-76. 


'I 


the  Czar  on  those  occasions  have  been 
hitherto  withheld. 

"  Somehow  or  other  an  idea  has  got 
abroad  that,  sooner  or  later,  the  Prince  of 
Montene<rro  would  derive  actual  benefit,  in 
the  shape  of  an  accession  ot  territory,  con- 
currently with  the  termination  of  the  in- 
surrection. 

"  This  supposition,  though,  as  far  as  I 
can  see,  resting  upon  no  basis,  acts  as  a 
stimulant  on  the  excitable  politicians  of 
Belgrade ;  and  having  been  recently  re- 
peated, as  if  approaching  realisation,  pro- 
duced an  unusual  sensation  here,  by  giving 
the  war  party  a  most  welcome  and  conve- 
nient argument. 

"  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  inform  your  ex- 
cellency of  this  mischievous  report  on  the 
10th  instant,  at  7  A.M.,  by  telegraph,  and 
received  a  contradiction  of  it  in  reply  on 
the  14th  instant. 

"  In  the  meantime,  the  Prince  of  Monte- 
negro considered  it  his  interest  to  send  one 
likewise  to  Prince  Milan ;  and  I  see  from 
the  Tiifnes  newspaper  of  the  12th  instant, 
that  he  has  thought  it  worth  his  while  to 
get  a  similar  denial  published  in  a  tele- 
gram, dated  Cettigne,  February  11th,  dis- 
claiming at  the  same  time  'any  discourage- 
ment by  his  government  of  the  insur- 
rection.' 

"  The  despatch  of  a  new  special  envoy 
from  here  to  Cettigne  had  been  intended  for 
some  weeks  previously,  and  Colonel  Ranko 
Alimpitch  was  at  once  sent  off  in  that 
capacity,  with  instructions,  at  the  same 
time,  to  transmit  here  regular  information 
as  to  the  conditions  and  plans  of  tiie  in- 
surgent forces, 

"  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  an  ap- 
proaching pacification  is  not  anticipated 
here,  and  that  Servia  may  be  induced,  in 
the  long  run,  to  paticipate  in  the  struggle, 
unless  the  pacification  of  the  Herzegovina 
is  more  prompt  and  easy  than  people  here 
are  disposed  or  willing  to  believe."  * 

This  despatch  was  followed  up  by  another, 
of  which  the  following  extract  is  given  : — 

"  I  beg  to  assure  your  excellency  that  I 
have  been  assured,  from  a  source  which  I 
have  hitherto  found  reliable,  that  the  chief 
reason  which  has  prompted  Prince  Milan 
to  assume  a  bolder  and  quasi-martial  atti- 
tude, is  the  growing  suspicion  in  his  mind 
that  a  bait,  in  the  shape  of  an  accession  of 
territory,  was  about  to  be  offered  by  Aus- 

•  Turkey,  No.  3  (1870),  C— 1531. 
76 


tria,  on  behalf  of  the  Porte,  to  the  Prince 
of  Montenegro. 

"  This  opinion  is  strongly  entertained 
here  by  persons  who  are  supposed  to  be  well 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  relations 
which  have  existed,  during  the  last  two 
years,  between  the  Court  of  Vienna  and  that 
prince. 

"It  is  admitted  that  probably  Prince 
Nicholas  would  be  content  with  a  secret 
promise  to  that  effect  just  now,  and  would 
be  willing  to  wait  for  its  realisation  until 
such  time  as  the  insurrection  has  been 
completely  subdued." 

Now,  the  false  impression  conveyed  in 
these  despatches  is  produced  by  the  state- 
ment that  Russia  looked  upon  Montenegro 
with  more  favour  than  upon  Servia,  and  that 
there  was  a  jealousy  of  Montenegro  in  con- 
sequence. That  is  quite  incorrect.  The 
jealousy  of  Montenegro  existed  long  before 
this  period,  and  was  the  cause  of  Russia's 
displeasure,  not  vice  versa.  The  Russian 
agents — who  alone  were  believed,  official 
representations  being  very  properly  re- 
garded as  only  undertaken  to  keep  up  ap- 
pearances— had  incessantly  urged  Servia  to 
war;  and  it  was  the  hesitation  of  Servia, 
which  could  not  make  up  its  mind  between 
following  the  Austrian  lead  or  the  Russian 
desires,  that  led  to  the  disfavour  the  Czar  was 
induced  to  regard  Servia  with.  At  the  same 
time,  however,  Russia  had  no  special  interest 
in  Servia  at  all.  The  Serbs  were  not  a  race 
the  Russians  c  jred  about  benefiting.  They 
only  required  somebody  to  keep  the  fire 
going,  and  made  use  of  Prince  Milan  simply 
as  a  pis  aller — a  second  string  to  her  bow, 
in  case  Montenegro  should  succumb. 

This  was  perfectly  well  seen  through  at 
Belgrade;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  if 
Austria  and  England  had  combined,  Servia 
would  have  followed  their  counsels  instead 
of  those  of  the  unofficial  Russian  airents. 

But  instead  of  showing  how  affairs  really 
stood,  Mr.  White  talks  about  the  Omladina 
as  though  it  had  been  a  potent  factor  in  de- 
termining the  policy  of  Prince  Milan. 
Instead  of  endeavouring  to  effect  a  rap- 
prochement between  Servia  and  Austria  by 
showing  what  influences  were  at  work  to 
estrange  the  two  countries ;  instead  of 
showing  that  Count  Andrassy,  by  pooh- 
pooidng  Servia,  whilst  allowing  the  Croats 
to  do  what  they  liked,  and  by  persecuting 
the  Hungarian  Serbs  to  please  the  Magyars, 
was  really  doing  his  best  to  urge  on  the 
conflict,  and  inducing  the  belief  at  Belgrade 


A.D.  1875-'76.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


Tthe  omladina. 


that  Austria  was  thoroughly  opposed  to 
Servia,  and  thinking  only  of  the  annexation 
of  Bosnia ;  instead  of  showing  all  this — for 
which  he  had  ample  materials — Consul 
White  did  his  best  to  produce  the  im- 
pression that  the  movement  in  Servia  was 
a  national  movement,  fostered  by  jealousy 
of  Prince  Nikita  of  Montenegro.  And  in 
conformity  with  this  policy,  he  repeated 
the  platitudes  regarding  the  doings  of  the 
terrible  Omladina,  which  were  gravely  enu- 
merated by  Count  Andrassy  and  others, 
with  the  object  of  showing  that  society  was 
dangerously  threatened  by  this  and  other 
secret  associations,  which  were  solidarily 
united  with  the  revolution. 

The  Austrian  State  had  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  Omladina,  any  more  than  Russia 
had  anything  to  fear  from  her  secret 
societies.  It  suited  the  government,  how- 
ever, to  magnify  their  importance,  pretend 
that  it  was  endangered  by  them,  yet  at  the 
same  time  making  what  use  they  could  of 
them  both  ways.  They  were  allowed  to 
proceed  a  certain  distance  in  their  agitation, 
in  order  to  afford  the  government  a  pretext 
for  asserting  the  existence  of  the  question. 
But  at  no  time  was  the  Omladina  beyond 
the  control  of  the  government  authorities. 

As  for  the  influence  of  the  Omladina  on 
Prince  Milan,  it  was  nil ;  it  was  used  by 
him  and  his  advisers  as  it  was  by  the  Aus- 
trians.  But  in  itself,  and  as  an  organisa- 
tion, it  had  no  power  whatever  beyond 
what  was  publicly  known,  publicly  allowed 
and  sanctioned  by  the  authorities. 

All  this  was  so  well  known,  that  it  is 
simply  astounding  to  read  such  a  despatch 
as  the  following,  which  was  sent  by  Consul 
White  to  London  on  April  28th,  1876  :— 

"  In  the  political  events  which  are  either 
going  on  or  preparing  in  this  part  of 
Europe,  two  distinct  Slav  bodies  are  likely 
to  exercise  no  small  influence — viz.,  the 
Omladinists  in  Hungary  and  the  Slavonic 
committee  in  Moscow. 

"The  Omladinists  are  the  Slav  home 
rulers  of  Hungary ;  as  such,  they  are  hated 
and  despised  by  the  governing  (Magyar) 
class  in  that  kingdom;  and  hitherto  they 
had  shown  so  defective  a  political  organisa- 
tion, that  their  importance  arose  much 
more  from  their  supposed  connection  with 
certain  parties  at  Court  at  Vienna,  and 
on  account  of  their  actual  relations  with 
the  revolutionary  party  in  the  principality 
of  Servia,  than  on  account  of  any  immediate 
influence  as  agitators  in  Croatia,  Dalmatia, 

VOL*  IIL  U 


or  Slavonia.     Actual  events  are  foreshow- 
ing a  change  in  this  respect. 

"From  1849  to  July  1875,  these  Slavs 
were  chiefly  aiming  at  the  attainment  of  a 
recognition  of  certain  home-rule  preroo^a- 
tives,  by  means  of  their  opposition  to 
Magyar  or  Hungarian  supremacy.  With 
that  view  they  took  up  arms  under  Jella- 
chich  for  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  in 
1849,  opposed  the  restitution  of  the  ancient 
Hungarian  constitution  till  1867,  and  have 
carried  on  a  more  or  less  factious  constitu- 
tional opposition  to  the  dominant  party 
since  that  year. 

"  But  the  sympathies  which  the  Southern 
Slavs  were  able  not  only  to  set  forth  openly, 
but  also  to  which  they  could  give  practical 
efi'ect  during  six  months,  in  favour  of  the 
insurgent  Slavs  in  the  Herzegovina,  have 
modified  their  position,  and  the  aspirations 
of  that  race  have  acquired  fresh  vigour 
from  the  Adriatic  to  the  Brave,  and  from 
the  Drave  to  the  Theiss  and  the  Save,  by 
giving  them  a  cohesion  and  a  common  bond 
of  hope,  by  making  them  view  the  cause  of 
the  Turkish  rayahs  as  their  own,  and  their 
emancipation  from  Ottoman  rule  as  an  ob- 
ject of  primary  importance  for  Austrian 
Slavs,  by  which  they  can  attain  an  influence 
which  they  have  not  had  for  centuries,  and 
which  they  have  hitherto  sought  in  vain  on 
the  hustings  or  in  parliamentary  assemblies. 

"  Their  proximity  to  the  scene  of  the  in- 
surrection has  enabled  the  Croats  and  Dal- 
matians to  give  the  insurgents  far  more 
real  assistance  than  they  can  have  derived 
from  Servia,  and  the  public  men  of  the 
latter  principality  have  seen  themselves 
gradually  ousted  by  these,  and  by  the  Prince 
of  Montenegro,  from  the  leadership  of  the 
national  cause,  which  Servia  considered 
hitherto  as  its  peculiar  mission  and  attri- 
bute. 

"  The  Slavonic  committees  in  Russia, 
and  especially  the  central  one  at  Moscow, 
have  contributed  a  good  deal  to  propagate 
sympathy  for  the  insurgent  cause  in  the 
Russian  empire,  and  to  collect  funds  for 
the  support  of  that  cause." 

Consul  White  here  makes  the  surprising 
statement  that  the  Omladina  and  the  Croats, 
and  the  rest  of  the  Austrian  Slavs,  were 
working  together  for  one  object,  whilst,  as 
we  have  shown,  they  simply  made  use  of 
the  same  means  to  attain  different  objects. 

He  ought  to  have  pointed  out  that  the 
Omladina  differed  essentially  in  its  objects 
from  the  Croat  party ;  that  its  importance 

77 


'1 


»' 


SERVIAN   AGITATION.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1875-76. 


only  arose  from  whatever  connection  it  had 
with  Servia ;  and  that,  far  from  being  con- 
nected with  the  Court  party  at  Vienna,  in 
the  sense  of  being  supported  by  that  party 
for  the  attainment  of  its  particular  object, 
it  was  only  used  by  the  Court  party  in  so 
far  as  it  might  assist  the  Croat  and  Catholic 

movement. 

Consul  White  must  have  known  all  this ; 
and  certainly  he  was  aware  of  it  the  same 
day  he  wrote  the  above  despatch  ;  for  there 
is  another  despatch  from  him,  dated  the 
same  day,  April  28th,  in  which  the  follow- 
ing passages  occur : — 

"The  prince  takes  no  pains  to  conceal 
that  more  than  ever  he  considers  a  collision 
with  the  Porte  as  within  the  range  of  pos- 
sibilities ;  but  he  continues  to  disclaim,  at 
the  same  time,  any  intention  to  act  as  the 
aggressor.     He  pointed  out  to  me,  the  other 
day,  that  that  portion  of  Bosnia  which  is 
conterminous  to  Servia  has  been  entirely 
free  from  armed  bands  since  last  November, 
when  the  Papas  Zarko  was  repulsed  into 
Servia,   whilst    the    insurgents,    who   had 
within    the   last    few    weeks    made    their 
appearance   on   the   river    Unna,   between 
Bihatch,  Novi,  and  Kostainitza,  were  all  in 
proximity  to  the  Austrian  frontier,  and  he 
iiefied  ariy  one  to  shoiv  that  Servia  had 
been  instrumental  in  fostering  insurrec- 
tion  in  that  part  of  Bosnia,  though  he 
added  that  such  an   accusation  had  been 
made  somewhere,  evidently  alluding  to  Aus- 
trian authorities. 

"  Indeed,  it  is  generally  believed  here  that 
this  last  rising  in  that  part  of  Bosnia  which 
I  have  described  above,  and  which  is 
generally  known  by  the  name  of  Turkish 
Croatia,  owed  its  main  support  to  Austrian 

Slavs. 

"Whilst  the  above  are,  no  doubt,  the 
views  of  the  most  influential  persons  in  this 
principality,  corresponding  military  pre- 
parations are  carried  on  unremittingly 
with  immense  care  and  attention;  and 
although  the  purchases  of  stores  of  different 
kinds  are  contracted  for  on  a  scale  corre- 
sponding to  the  smallness  of  the  resources 
of  this  juvenile  State,  most  of  these  indicate 
by  their  nature  the  contemplation  of  a 
regular  warfare  at  no  distant  period,  and 
payments  for  them  have  well-nigh  exhausted 
the  small  supplies  of  cash  which  either 
existed  in  the  treasury  a  few  months  back, 
or  which  have  accrued  to  it  since.  It  does 
not  appear  that  any  means  have  succeeded, 
up  to  this  moment,  in  providing  for  a 
78 


mode    by    which    it    would     be     possible 
to   replenish    the    exchequer   before   it   is 
thoroughly  drained — a  moment  which  can-  . 
not  be  far  off. 

"  The  delivery  of  some  of  the  stores  will 
not  be  supplied  by  the  contractors  till 
May,  and  to  the  end  of  June ;  and  the  in- 
tended purchase  of  horses  in  Bessarabia 
having  turned  out  a  total  failure,  on  ac- 
count of  their  high  price,  these  are  brought 
daily  across  the  Danube  from  the  inundated- 
districts  of  Hungary  by  dealers,  and  those 
that  are  approved  of  are  bought  by  the 
war  department. 

"  All  these  facts  would  lead  one  to  sup- 
pose that  a  regular  campaign  was  in  contem- 
plation ;  the  militia  has  been  divided  in 
six  divisions,  and  all  the  arrangements  of 
this  new  organisation  are,  I  believe,  suffi- 
ciently advanced  to  enable  Servia  to  enter 
the  field  at  very  short  notice,  and  perhaps 
even  before  all  the  preparations  are  fully 
completed,  should  it  be  considered  advan- 
tageous to  do  so. 

"  In  conversation  with  the  foreign  repre- 
sentatives, persons  in  authority  tell  us  that 
all  these  preparations  have  a  purely  de- 
fensive character,  and  that  the  advent  of 
the  war  party  in  the  councils  of  the  Sultan 
might,  at  any  moment,  expose  Servia  to  an 
attack,  and  her  prince  to  the  merited  re- 
proach of  his  people,  were  he  to  leave  such 
a  danger  out  of  his  calculations. 

"  Thus  much  I  may  say,  that  I  have  not 
met  a  single  politician  of  any  note  in  Servia 
who  did  not  contemplate,  sooner  or  later, 
hostilities  with  the  Porte — not  with  a  view 
to  independence,  hut  for  the  purpose  of  the 
acquisition  of  Bosnia,  and  through  the 
deeply-rooted  desire  of  making  the  present 
principality  the  nucleus  of  a  larger  Sla- 
vonic State  under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Porte,  as  long  as  European  Turkey  forms 
a  ccmipact  State. 

"  All  are  unanimous  and  agreed  on  this 
subject  without  exception.  A  few  entertain 
a  faint  hope  that  the  same  result  might  be 
attained  by  negotiations  with  the  Porte  if 
any  of  the  great  powers  could  be  made  fa- 
vourable to  such  a  project ;  but  not  even 
these  exclude  an  appeal  to  arms  altogether 
from  their  calculations ;  so  that  it  may  be 
asserted  without  hesitation,  that  the  only 
differences  existing  amongst  Servian  public 
men  in  this  respect  are  as  to  time,  and  ap- 
preciations of  the  fittest  opportunity." 

This  proves  amply  that  it  was  well  known 
at  Belgrade,  in    all    circles    having    any 


A.D.  1875-76.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  omladinists. 


knowledge  of  the  facts,  that  the  two  move- 
ments,   the    Croat     and     the     Omladina, 
though   moving   side  by  side,  were  really 
opposed  to  each  other.     In  fact,  they  were 
rival  suitors  for  the  fair  lady  Bosnia,  whom 
they  were    equally   intent    on     delivering 
from  the  hands  of  the  Turk.     Now,  why 
did  not  Mr.  White  clearly  state  the  circum- 
stances long  before  ?     And  how  is  it  that 
be  did  not  state,  in  1875,  that "  not  a  single 
politician    of    any  note   in    Servia    wished 
anything  but    the  development  of  Servia 
under   the  suzerainty   of   the  Porte,"  but 
left  this  important  intelligence  till   1876, 
when  it  was  too  late?      He  cannot  even 
plead  ignorance ;  which,  though  it  would 
not  be  to  the  credit  of  his  employers,  would, 
at  any  rate,  absolve  him  to  a  certain  degree. 
He  was  repeatedly  informed   of  the  true 
state  of  affairs.     In  strong  contrast  to  his 
habits  in  Warsaw  during  the  Polish  insur- 
rection, when   he    kept   the   doors   of  the 
consulate      double-locked,      barred,      and 
chained,  in  Belgrade  he  kept  open  house, 
and  was  fully  informed,  from  hour  to  hour, 
of  all  that  passed. 

Now,  having  drawn  a  line  between  the 
Croats  and  the  Omladinists,  it  will  be 
easier  to  define  the  precise  relations  of  this 
terrible  body  to  Servia,  and  to  appreciate 
the  influence  it  is  said  to  have  exercised  on 
affairs  at  its  true  value. 

It  was,  in  fact,  a  three-headed  monster. 
The  one  head  was  Svetovar  Milatics;  the 
second  was  Karageorgevitch ;  the  third 
was  "  General "  Strati mirovitch.  Each  of 
these  three  despised  the  other,  and  repu- 
diated all  association  with  each  other. 

"  General  "  Stratimirovitch  is  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Patriarch  Stratimirovitch, 
under  whose  auspices,  a  couple  of  centuries 
ago,  a  large  number  of  Serbs  fled  from 
Turkey,  and,  seeking  refuge  in  Austria, 
formed  a  considerable  portion  of  the  an- 
cestors of  the  Hungarian  Serbs.  In  1848, 
Stratimirovitch  rendered  considerable  ser- 
vice in  the  campaign  under  Jellachich 
against  the  Hungarians,  and  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  general.  In  reward  for  this, 
and  for  services  to  the  emperor  of  a  more 
personal  nature,  he  was  presented  with  an 
estate,  and  granted  a  certain  sum  of  money. 
But  estate  and  money  soon  disappeared, 
owing  to  his  intemperate  habits  and  gam- 
bling propensities.  After  awhile,  circum- 
stances arose  which  resulted  in  his  being 
cashiered;  henceforth  he  was  never  men- 
tioned   bat    with     contempt,    and     with 


shrugging   of    shoulders,   which    is    more 
significant    than    words.       For    years    he 
dragged  on  a  hang-dog  existence,  always  on 
the    look-out    for    something    to    turn   up. 
That  "  something  "  appeared,  as  he  fondly 
thought,  in  the  shape  of  the  Bosnian  in- 
surrection  and    the    imminent    action   of 
Servia,   as    was    generally    expected.      So 
Stratimirovitch,    resuming     his     title     of 
general,  proceeded  to  Belgrade,  and  made 
the  most  tempting  offers  to  Prince  Milan 
and   his  ministers.     He  was  accompanied 
by   a    consummate    rascal    and    notorious 
brawler,  a  man  called  Rankovics,  who  was 
his  general  factotum,  his  "  gallopin,"  and 
called  himself   the  "General's"  secretary. 
Others  of  a  similar  stamp  followed  him  to 
Belgrade,  where  he  established  a   regular 
recruiting  bureau.     The  Servian  ministers, 
much  as  they  disliked  the  personal   cha- 
racter  of    the   man,   nevertheless   entered 
into   negotiations   with   him   as   much    to 
keep  him  in  sight,  and  prevent  his  doing 
any  mischief  elsewhere,  as  for  any  other 
reason.     At  the  same  time  they  had  a  sort 
of  idea  that  his  military  experience  might 
be  useful,  as  there  were  no  officers  in  the 
Servian  army,  of  his  rank,  who  had  had  any 
experience   of  actual  warfare.     The   com- 
mander-in-chief, General  Zach,  was,  first  of 
all,   an   aged   man,   a   very  amiable  man, 
indeed,   but    untried    in    the    field;    and 
secondly,  he  was  a  Bohemian,  and  not  a 
Serb.    So  Stratimirovitch  was  provisionally 
accepted    for  a    command,   and    supplied 
with  a  moderate  amount  of  money  to  en- 
able him  to  keep  himself  and  his  family  of 
several  children,  whio  had  accompanied  him 
to  Belgrade,  and  to  gather  round   him  a 
number  of  penniless  individuals  and  adven- 
turers from  all  the  four  quarters  of  the 
globe. 

The  second  Omladinist  chief  was  Kara- 
georgevitch.  This  person,  popularly  sup- 
posed to  have  caused  the  assassination  of 
Prince  Michael,  was  protected  by  the  Hun- 
garians and  Austrians  as  a  useful  card  to 
play  against  Prince  Milan  in  case  of  neces- 
sity. But  when  the  insurrection  broke 
out,  he  determined  to  play  a  game  on  his 
own  account,  and,  recruiting  a  body  of  men 
at  his  own  expense,  made  periodical  expe- 
ditions across  the  border  whenever  an 
opportunity  offered  to  raise  a  few  head  of 
cattle,  when  there  were  no  troops  in  the 
way.  His  chief  object,  however,  in  these 
expeditions,  was  the  distribution  of  a 
number  of  medals,  on  one  side  of  which 

79 


\ 


•  .  '^  '» 


THE  OMLADINISTS.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1875-76. 


>•  I 


was   his    own   effigy,   and   on    the    other 
the     motto,     "Liberty,     Fraternity,    and 
Equality."     With  these  medals,  and  a  pro- 
clamation  calling   upon   all   the  Slavs  to 
appear  at  the  unfurling  of  the  banner  of 
their  emancipation  on  the  plains  of  Kos- 
Kovo,  where  the  conquest  of  Servia  by  the 
Turks  was  accomplished,  Karageorgevitch 
expected   to  be  able  to  establish  a   great 
Servian  republic  on  the  ruins  of  the  house 
of  Obrcnovitch.     But  Kossova  was  unfor- 
tunately a  long  way  off,  and  right  in  the 
midst  of  the  Paynim's   territory,  so   that 
neither  medals  nor  appeal  were  sufficient  to 
rally  the  Servian  braves  round  the  banner 
which   Karageorgevitch    may,  or   may  not, 
have  had  ready  to  unfurl.     On  the  other 
hand,  both  medals  and  proclamation  fur- 
nislied  the  material  for  diplomatic  repre- 
sentations,  and   afforded   Count   Andrassy 
an  opportunity  to  direct  Sir  Andrew  Bu- 
chanan's attention  to  the  difficulties  which 
the  imperial  government  had  to  contend 
with.    What  with  the  Omladina,  what  with 
the  refugees,  and  what  with   Karageorge- 
vitch, the  poor  count  really  did  not  know  what 
to  do.     He  was  badgered  on  all  sides,  and 
even  Prince  Milan  called  him  to  account 
for   allowing   the   Pretender   to   pass   and 
repass   the    frontier   without    molestation. 
And  insult  was  even  added  to  injury;  for 
when   Prince  Wrede,  the  Austrian   consul 
in    Belgrade,    following    Count   Andrassy's 
instructions,  declared  that  the  Hungarian 
government   would   be   only    too   glad    to 
intern  Karageorgevitch,  as  they  had  Liubi- 
bratich,   if  they  could  only  find  him,  the 
Servian   authorities  offered  to  lend  Count 
Andrassy  one  of  their  own  detectives,  who 
was    able    to   follow   all    his    movements. 
However,     Karageorgevitch's     expeditions 
had  no  further  result  than  the  above  repre- 
sentations, and  a  despatch  from  Sir  Andrew 
to  the  Earl  of  Derby,  to  the  effect  that 
4,000  of  the  medals  had  been  distributed 
amongst   the    Serbs    in    Bosnia    and    the 
adjoining  districts  of  Servia.    Now  to  show 
how  small  beginnings  lead  to  great  ends  in 
the  diplomatic  world,  as  elsewhere  also,  it 
may  here  be  mentioned  that  these  famous 
medals  were  the  speculation  of  a  clerk  in  a 
mercantile  house  in  Karlova,  of  the  name 
of  Veslin.     Following  the  custom  in  the 
Niiremberg  and  Birmingham  trade,  of  pro- 
viding   buttons,    studs,    snuff-boxes,    &c., 
with   the  portraits  of  celebrated  men,  he 
had  had  a  number  of  these  counters  made 
on  the  chance  of  selling  them  amongst  the 
80 


admirers  of  Karageorgevitch,  wlio,  unlike 
the  "  unfortunate  nobleman,  had  no  brains 
but  plenty  of  money,"  and  was  himself 
Veslin's  chief  customer.  It  was  a  cheap 
and  facile  way  of  attaining  notoriety,  and 
of  bringing  his  name  before  the  general 
public,  as  well  as  within  the  Foreign  Offices 
of  the  European  capitals,  and  even  into  the 
numismatic  collections  in  the  museums  of 
Pesth  and  Vienna. 

This  is  probably  as  much  as  most  people 
will  care  to  know  about  the  proceedings  of 
the  Karageorgevitch  Omladina.  Still,  be  ifc 
remembered,  it  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
questions,  and  really  seriously  discussed  by 
statesmen  and  diplomatists  with  portentous 
gravity. 

The  third,  and  chief  of  the  Omladinists, 
was  Svetovar  Miletics,  one  of  the  Serb 
deputies  in  the  Hungarian  parliament,  and 
proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Zastava,  a 
Serb  paper  published  in  Neusatz. 

Neusatz,  it  may  be  mentioned,  is  a 
flourishing  little  town  opposite  the  frown- 
ing walls  and  ramparts  of  the  celebrated 
fortress  of  Peterwardein,  and  one  of  the 
great  centres  of  the  Serb  colonies  in  Hun- 
gary. It  drives  a  considerable  trade  in 
grain,  wine,  &c.,  and  is  altogether  a  pro- 
gressive place.  A  little  further  down  the 
river  we  come  to  Carlovitz — better  known 
to  the  British  public  through  Max  Greger's 
advertisements  of  the  red  wine,  grown  on 
the  slopes  of  the  hilh  which  surround  it ; 
but  of  high  importance  to  the  Serb  popu- 
lation as  the  seat  of  the  Serb  patriarch, 
and  as  surely  also  an  important  centre  for 
Serb  agitation.  Still  further  down  the 
river,  an  hour's  distance  by  steamer,  past 
Belgrade,  at  a  little  way  up  the  river 
Temes,  lies  Pancsova,  also  a  great  centre 
for  the  "Omladina,"  and  represented  in 
the  Hungarian  parliament  by  D.  Michael 
Polit,  an  intimate  friend  of  Miletics'. 
North-west  of  Pancsova,  and  on  the  rail- 
way from  Bosiasch  to  Pesth,  lies  Verschetz, 
the  fourth  focus  of  Serb  agitation.  The 
country  in  between  these  four  places  is  the 
home  and  birth-place  of  the  Omladina ;  and 
between  these  towns  and  Belgrade  and 
Semlin,  there  was  a  constant  communica- 
tion and  agitation  going  on.  The  agents 
of  the  Omladina  would  start  from  Neusatz, 
proceed  to  Belgrade  by  steamer,  thence 
continue  to  Pancsova,  on  to  Verschetz,  and 
then  across  country  back  to  Neusatz,  or  to 
other  minor  places  in  the  interior.  A  con- 
stant ferment  was  going  on.     At  Neusatz, 


r 
I '  * 


.'I' 


1^,-- 


•a.d.  187o-'76.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[polit  and  MILETICS. 


the  brother  of  Dr.  Michael  Polit,  a  hosier 
and  linendraper,  was  one  of  the  chief 
at'-ents  and  forwarders  of  goods,  circulars, 
proclamations,  &c.  He  occupied  in  Neu- 
satz just  the  same  position  as  his  fellow- 
hosier,  M.  de  Soubras,  the  Carlist  agent  at 
Perpignan,  and  sold  patriotism  by  the 
piece  or  the  yard,  and  sedition  by  the  bale, 
and  "  Miletics'  buttons  "  by  the  gross. 

All  throuGfh  this  retjion  there  was  an 
atmosphere  of  mystery  and  conspiracy ;  an 
oppressive  sense  of  something  always  going 
to  happen.  Men  gathered  into  knots,  and 
engaged  in  eager  conversation,  which  was 
immediately  hushed  on  the  approach  of 
other  groups.  First-class  passengers  in  the 
boats  conferred  mysteriously  with  steerage 
and  second-class  passengers;  and  mys- 
terious people  always  came  down  to  the 
landing-stage  when  the  boat  arrived  at  any 
of  the  stations,  and  held  more  mysterious 
commune  with  the  travellers.  In  short,  it 
was  a  perpetual  Guy  Fawkes'  day,  and 
everybody  expected,  or  affected  to  expect, 
that  there  would  be  a  tremendous  explosion, 
which  somehow  or  other  would  blow  up  all 
Hungary,  Turkey,  and  portions  of  Austria 
and  Roumania,  and  leave  all  that  was 
worth  leaving  in  the  shape  of  the  mighty 
Servian  empire. 

Of  this  state  of  things.  Count  Andrassy, 
M.  Ti.^za,  Count  Beust,  and  the  whole  host 
of  kindred  diplomaticuli  made  immense 
capital.  "  The  Omladina !  the  Omladina !  " 
was  their  perpetual  exclamation.  The  Poli- 
tische  Coi^espondenz  was  full  of  its  doings ; 
Lord  Beaconsfield  even  shook  his  head 
when  it  was  mentioned;  and  it  was  classed 
with  the  rest  of  the  secret  societies  which 
have  played  an  important  part  in  the 
world's  history. 

Yet  there  never  was  such  a  wind-bag  of 
an  association  as  this  same  Omladina.  As 
an  effective  political  body  it  had  no  more 
substance  than  a  pastrycook's  flour-bag, 
and  could  produce  no  further  practical 
result  than  one  of  these  same  bags  when 
little  Tommy  puffs  it  full  of  wind,  and 
explodes  it  between  his  hands,  highly 
delighted  with  the  consequent  bang.  The 
slightest  puncture  was  sufficient  to  make 
the  whole  concern  collapse. 

Still  it  was  pretended  by  the  heads  of 
the  State  that  it  was  a  most  dangerous 
society ;  and  this  impression,  owing  to  the 
childish  affectation  of  mystery  its  members 
observed,  rapidly  gained  ground,  fostered, 
as  it  was,  by  the  government  authorities 


and  the  Magyar  irreconcilables,  until  the 
excitement  became  so  great  as  to  allow  ot 
the  arrest  of  Dr.  Svetovar  Miletics  on  a 
charge  of  high  treason,  and  his  imprison- 
ment in  the  fortress  of  Buda  Pesth  on 
July  6,  1876,  a  few  days  after  the  declara- 
tion of  war  by  Prince  Milan  against 
Turkey.  Here  Miletics  remained  until 
January  8,  1878,  without  being  brought  to 
trial.  It  was  universally  acknowledged  at 
the  time  that  this  measure  was  one  of 
"  precaution."  The  government  had  played 
long  enough  with  the  Omladina,  and  had 
allowed  it  to  assume  the  proportions  of  a 
"  question,"  convenient  to  the  policy  of  the 
government ;  but,  having  accomplished  its 
work  in  this  sense,  it  was  decided  to  pre- 
vent any  chance  of  its  really  becoming, 
what  it  pretended  to  be,  an  association  of 
practical  importance. 

Now,  no  better  picture  of  the  Omladina 
exists  than  that  presented  at  the  trial  of 
Dr.  3Iiletics  on  January  8,  1878.  Be  it 
noted  that  the  whole  power  of  the  Hun- 
garian government,  the  whole  energy  of  the 
police,  and  the  services  of  a  host  of  spies, 
had  been  put  into  motion  to  obtain 
evidence  against  Dr.  Miletics,  and  that  the 
prosecution  had  over  eighteen  months  to 
prepare  its  case. 

The  accusation  against  Dr.  Miletics  was 
that  he  had  excited  hatred  amongst  the 
Serbs  against  Hungary,  and  enmity  against 
the  constitution  and  the  integrity  of  the 
State. 

The  first  witness  called  was  Greorge 
Rankovics,  who  stated  that  in  June,  1875, 
he  went  to  Belgrade  to  take  part  in  the 
war  which  the  Servian  government  was 
contemplating  against  the  Turks.  But 
as  the  Servian  government  could  not  make 
up  their  minds  as  rapidly  as  the  state  of 
Mr.  Rankovics'  finances  rendered  desirable, 
he  entered  the  service  of  Greneral  Strati- 
mirovitch,  as  "  secretary,  and  for  all  other 
services." 

He  declared  that,  in  June,  1876,  Dr. 
Miletics  arrived  at  Belgrade,  where  he 
made  a  speech  in  the  room  No.  9  of  the 
hotel.  King  of  Servia,  in  the  presence  of  a 
number  of  Serb  patriots.  In  the  course  of 
this  speech,  Miletics,  according  to  Ran- 
kovics, declared  that  there  were  20,000  to 
30,000  volunteers  in  the  Hungarian  dis- 
tricts of  Banat,  the  Bacska,  and  the 
Servian  military  frontier,  ready  to  take  up 
arms  and  assist  Servia  in  her  war  against 
Turkey;    that   in   order    to   enable   these 

81 


w- 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


.»§ 


MILETICS'  TRIAL.] 

volunteers  to  pass  into  Servia,  a  rebellion 
in  Hungary  would  have  to  be  arranged, 
and  that  for  this  purpose  Servia  would 
have  to  supply  money  and  arms — though, 
as  for  arms,  there  were,  perhaps,  enough 
already  in  the  country.  To  this  purpose 
Miletics  declared  that  all  present  would 
devote  their  whole  energies,  and  that,  if 
Servia  should  be  victorious,  she  would 
wrest  the  Serb  districts  from  Hungary, 
and  unite  the  Banat,  the  Bacska  and 
Syrmia  to  one  great  kingdom,  under 
Prince  Milan.  After  having  made  this 
speech,  Miletics  and  his  friends,  Professors 
Boskovicz,  Kassopinovich,  &c.,  went  to 
M.  Ristich,  and,  declared  Rankovics,  re- 
mained with  liim  in  conference  until 
3  A.M. 

In  reply  to  the  judge,  as  to  whether  he 
himself  was  present,  he  answered  in  the 
negative;  but  said,«"he  knew  it." 

"  Aod,"  asked  the  judge,  "  why  did  you 
leave  Belgrade  ?  " 

"  I  had  had  enough  of  the  beggary  and 
rubbish.  I  did  nothing  but  indulge  in  dis- 
sipation, and  I  saw  no  money  coming  in." 
He  then  went  on  to  say  that  the  Servian 
government  had  spent  30,000  ducats 
amongst  the  Omladinists;  and  on  being 
asked  by  the  judge  whether  the  Omladlna 
still  existed,  he  replied  that  he  had  doubted 
it,  but  that  now  looking  around  him,  he 
saw  that  all  the  witnesses  arrayed  against 
him  were  Omladinists.  "  How  do  you 
know  that?"  inquired  the  judge.  "Be- 
cause I  do  !  "  was  the  unanswerable  reply. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  Dr.  Polit  cross- 
examined  him,  and  asked  whether  Strati- 
mirovitch  was  a  friend  or  an  enemy  of  Dr. 
Miletics,  he  shouted,  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  "  How  do  I  know  ? "  and  when 
reproved  by  the  judge  for  his  violence, 
declared  that  he  could  not  help  it,  as  he  was 
naturally  violent,  and  not  responsible  for 
his  nature.  All  this  called  forth  loud 
bursts  of  laughter  from  the  Serbs,  so  that 
the  judge  was  obliged  to  interfere,  and 
threaten  to  clear  the  court. 

In  reply  to  this  accusation,  Miletics 
categorically  denied  everything  Rankovics 
had  said  about  the  alleged  meeting,  and 
that  he  had  never  seen  the  man  to  his 
knowledge;  and,  in  reply  to  the  judge, 
stated  that  he  went  to  Belgrade  to  assure 
the  prince  that  he  was  not  opposed  to  him, 
and  that  the  opposition  to  his  government 
was  dictated  by  conscientious  motives,  and 
was  by  no  mtans  antagonistic  to  Prince 
i52 


[A.D.  1875-76. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[dr.  miletics'  trial. 


Milan  personally,  nor  to  his  dynasty.  Aa 
a  matter  of  fact,  his  doubts  as  to  his  recop- 
tion  were  so  great  that,  at  first, he  intended 
to  sleep  in  Semlin,  but  that  ultimately  he 
went  to  Belgrade,  and  took  up  his  quarters 
at  the  Servian  Crown,  and  never  put  his 
foot  inside  the  Kin^  of  Servia,  where  he 
did  no  more  than  drink  a  glass  of  beer  at 
one  of  the  tables  outside  the  hotel.  Both 
these  houses,  in  fact,  are  on  the  promenade, 
just  before  the  citadel;  one  is  at  one  end, 
the  second  at  the  other  end  of  the  same  block 
of  buildings,  and  both  are  the  resort  of  the 
Belirrade  beau  monde,  which  assembles  at 
one  or  the  other  to  drink  beer  and  sup  to  the 
strains  of  the  gipsy  bands.  As  for  room 
No.  9,  in  the  King  of  Servia,  at  the  very 
time  when  he  was  supposed  to  be  holding  his 
seditious  speech,  it  was  occupied  by  Senator 
Gravitovics.  These  declarations  of  Mile- 
tics were  fully  confirmed  by  a  host  of  wit- 
nesses, who  swore  that  Miletics  was  never 
in  the  hotel,  who  accounted  for  all  his  time 
during  the  three  days  he  was  in  Belgrade, 
and  had  never  heard  of  the  alleged  meeting 
in  the  King  of  Servia. 

Rankovics,  however,  insisted  on  the 
truth  of  his  assertions ;  and  when  several 
witnesses  proved  that  he  had  declared  in 
prison,  where  he  was  confined  after  his 
escape  from  Belgrade,  that  he  had  threat- 
ened to  denounce  so  many  people  that  the 
prison  would  not  hold  them  all,  he 
shouted,  "  That's  a  lie  !  I  was  only  savage 
at  being  arrested  for  a  political  crime,  and 
at  being  shut  up  in  one  cell  with  1,000 
bugs  and  five  million  fleas !  *'  This  led  the 
way  to  some  inquiries  into  Mr.  Ranko- 
vics' antecedents,  when  it  was  established 
that  he  had  been  condemned  to  six  months' 
imprisoment  for  rape  and  assault,  and  had 
also  been  accused  of  forgery :  this  charge, 
however,  had  been  dropped  by  the  pro- 
secution, consisting  of  his  brother  and 
brother-in-law. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  authorities  of  his 
parish  stated,  officially,  that  he  bore  a 
very  bad  character,  had  always  lived  a  dis- 
sipated and  immoral  life,  and  had  fre- 
quently been  punished  for  breaking  the 
public  peace.  In  short,  he  was  an  un- 
mitigated scoundrel. 

So  much  for  George  Rankovics  and  his   . 
testimony. 

The  next  witness  was  a  certain  Kernel 
Jovanovics.  Mr.  Jovanovics,  a  book-keeper 
at  Beckskerek,  was  so  moved  in  his 
patriotic  soul  at  the  woes  of  the  Chrit»tiaus 


:ii  ; 


in  Turkey,  and  the  refugees  in  Austria, 
that  when  he  heard  that  Miletics  had 
returned  from  Belgrade,  he  went  to  ask  his 
advice  as  to  a  project  he,  the  patriotic 
Jovanovics,  had  conceived,  of  collecting 
funds  for  the  benefit  of  the  wounded  and 
refugees.  His  examination  and  cross- 
examination  throws  such  a  vivid  light  upon 
the  whole  affair,  that  it  will  be  highly  in- 
teresting to  read  it  in  extenso. 

President:  "What  was  the  object  of 
your  journey  ?" 

Jovanovics :  "  The  collection  of  funds  for 
the  benefit  of  the  refugees  and  the  Chris- 
tians in  Turkey." 

President :  "  Not  their  liberation  ?  " 

Jovanovics  :  "  No  ;  only  for  the  refugees 
and  the  wounded." 

President:  "Why  did  you  go  to  Neu- 

satz  ?  " 

Jovanovics :  "  I  had  a  brother  there, 
Dr.  Jovanovics,  and  I  went  to  him,  and 
other  acquaintances,  to  ask  them  for 
advice.  I  also  requested  them  to  get  up  a 
subscription  to  defray  the  expenses  of  my 
journey;  and  it  was  by  their  advice  that  I 
appropriated  100  florins  out  of  the  sub- 
scriptions I  received  for  that  purpose." 

Dr.  Lassky:  "In  your  preliminary  ex- 
amination, you  said  that  Dr.  Miletics  had 
recommended  you  to  undertake  your  sub- 
scriptionary  journey." 

Jovanovics :  "  During  this  inquiry  I  was 
very  ill  with  the  fever,  and  often  signed  the 
protocols  without  reading  or  understanding 
them.      They  are,  consequently,  incorrect." 

President :  "  You  also  received  a  visiting 
card  from  Dr.  Miletics,  on  which  we  find 
your  name  in  Miletics'  handwriting.  What 
did  he  give  you  that  card  for  ?  " 

Jovanovics:  "I  wanted  it  as  an  intro- 
duction to  people  I  did  not  know  per- 
sonally. I  did  not  tell  Miletics  so;  but 
simply  asked  him  to  give  it  to  me,  and  he 
complied  with  my  request."  ^ 

•     Judge  :  "  How  did  you  know  that  Servia 
was  in  want  of  money  ?  " 

Jovanovics :  "  I  read  it  in  the  Serbski 
Novine'^ 

Judge :  "  But  in  your  preliminary  ex- 
amination you  said  that  Miletics  had  told 
you  so,  and  that  he  had  promised  the 
prince  to  'place'  100,000  to  500,000 
florins  of  the  Servian  loan,  and  that  you 
were  going  to  get  it  taken  up  in  Hun- 
gary ?  " 

Jovanovics :  "  I  meant  to  place  more 
than  500,000.     But  Miletics  had  nothing 


to  do  with  it,  nor  did  he  tell  me  anything 
about  it." 

In  reply  to  a  question  by  the  judge  as  to 
the  object  with  which  he  had  written 
various  names  down  on  the  card  in 
question,  he  said  that  he  had  written  one 
because  the  person  in  question  had  been 
killed  in  the  war,  and  the  other  because  it 
was  such  a  very  funny  name.  The  rest 
were  those  of  people  who  had  "  fled  "  to 
the  Herzegovina. 

Called  upon  by  the  judge  to  explain  his 
connection  with  Jovanovics,  Miletics  said 
that  he  did  not  remember  giving  him  any 
card  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  certain  he 
had  not  done  so  ;  and  that  it  was  moro 
than  likely  that  Jovanovics  had  procured  it 
from  his  brother,  upon  whom  he,  Miletics, 
had  frequently  called.  Anyhow,  it  was 
publicly  notorious  what  part  Jovanovics 
was  playing ;  and  that  his  journey  was  no 
secret.  He  had  received  leave  of  absence 
from  his  chief  to  collect  subscriptions  and 
push  the  sale  of  a  book  he  had  written, 
when  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of 
agitation. 

Hereupon  the  examination  of  Jovanovics 
was  resumed,  and  Rankovics  confronted 
with  him.  He  denied  having  told  Ranko- 
vics, with  whom  he  had  been  imprisoned, 
that  the  Omladina  still  existed.  The  Om- 
ladina  was  dissolved.  It  was  a  literary 
society  established  in  Verschetz,  with  the 
sanction  of  the  authorities. 

Dr.  ^Miletics  :  "  I  beg  to  observe,  that,  in 
his  first  examination,  Rankovics  stated  that 
I,  and  not  the  Prince  of  Montenegro,  was 
the  head  of  the  Omladina." 

Rankovics :  "  Bosh  !  Jovanovics  said  that 
Miletics  was  the  head  of  the  Hungarian 
Omladina ;  but  that  the  Prince  of  Monte- 
negro was  the  head  of  the  whole  band." 

Jovanovics  :  "  The  Omladina  was  but  one 
society,  and  did  not  have  two  presidents. 
Also,  I  must  say  that  I  was  shut  up  with 
Rankovics  in  the  same  cell  for  six  weeks ; 
and  one  day,  whilst  looking  at  the  almanac 
over  his  bed,  he  said  to  me,  'I'll  just  tell 
you  something  in  confidence.  I  never  saw 
Miletics  in  Belgrade  at  all.  Why  doesn't 
he  get  up  a  revolution  amongst  the  Serbs? 
Hang  him!' — (Turning  to  Rankovics)— 
Confess,  did  you  not  say  that?" 

Rankovics  (laughing) :  "  Yes,  I  did." 

Jovanovics :    "  You  also  said,   '  What  a 

pity  it  is  that  General  Stratimirovitch  is 

arrested.     He  could  easilv  recruit  30,000  to 

40,000  volunteers  here.     Poor  devil !   to  be 

83 


P'l.   MILETICS'  TRIAL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


>♦ 


shut    up    just    now.' — Did    you  not    say 
that  ?" 

Rankovics  :  "  Yes,  I  said  all  that." 

Jovanovics :  "  You  also  said,  '  Now  I 
cannot  do  anything  but  betray  the  whole 
band,  or  go  into  prison.'  " 

Rankovics :  "  Yes,  I  said  that,  too." 

This  nonchalant  attitude  of  Mr.  Ranko- 
vics put  Mr  Jovanovics  into  such  a  state 
of  excitement,  that  he  could  not  proceed 
for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  accused  Ranko- 
vics of  being  bribed  bv  the  authorities  to 
give  false  evidence ;  stating,  amongst  other 
things,  that  he  always  had  plenty  of  money, 
and  smoked  nothing  but  "  the  best  cigars 
and  the  finest  'Sultan  Flor,'  which  he 
wasted  in  a  most  wicked  manner." 

In  reply  to  thit^,  Mr.  Rankovics  declared, 
*'that  it  was  well  known  that  he  always 
smoked  the  best  tobacco ;  and,  if  he  had  no 
money,  he  would  rather  smoke  none  at  all 
,  than  poison  himself  with  cabbage-stalks : 
finally,  that  he  had  managed  to  scrape  to- 
gether a  sum  of  867  florins  in  Belgrade; 
and  that  that  was  all  the  good  he  ever  got 
out  of  that  pigstye  of  a  town." 

And  this  was  all  that  Mr.  Jovanovics 
could  get  out  of  Mr.  Rankovics. 

The  next  witness  brought  to  confront 
Jovanovics  was  Pope  Peter  Pericz,  an 
Orthodox  priest  in  Bassahid.  He  stated 
that  he  had  known  Jovanovics  since  his 
youth,  and  had  met  him  in  June,  1876, 
when  Jovanovics  had  asked  him  what 
chance  there  was  of  getting  the  people  in 
his  district  to  take  up  the  Servian  loan. 
He  replied  that  the  harvest  had  been  so 
])ad,  that  there  was  no  chance  of  their  doinjr 
so  to  any  amount.  In  reply  to  the  ques- 
tion whether  Jovanovics  had  told  him  any- 
tliing  about  the  interview  of  Miletics  with 
Prince  Milan,  he  said 'No;'  and  that  he 
knew  all  about  it  before  he  saw  Jovanovics, 
as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  readinof  the  news- 
papers.  Hereupon  Pope  Peter  Pericz  was 
confronted  with  a  man  named  Lujanovics, 
which  gave  rise  to  the  following  delectable 
episode : — 

Judge:  "What  did  his  reverence  tell 
you  about  Jovanovics  ?" 

Lujanovics:  "I  called  him  out  into  the 
passage,  and  asked  him,  in  confidence, 
whether  Jovanovics  had  not  been  talking 
of  other  matters  besides  the  Servian  loan. 
He  then  said  that  in  case  war  should  break 
out  between  Servia  and  the  Porte,  a  revolu- 
tion might  break  out  amongst  the  Hun- 
garian Serbs." 
84 


Judge:  "Now,  Mr.  Priest,  what  have 
you  to  say  to  that?" 

Pericz :  "  I  can  state  upon  my  oath  that 
no  such  conversation  took  place." 

Judge  (to  Lujanovics):  "Say  it  to  his 
face.     Repeat  your  statement  to  his  face." 

Lujanovics  (turning  to  the  priest):  "If 
you  deny  that,  your  reverence,  you  are  a 
liar  I  " 

Pericz  :  "  You're  another ! " 

This  passage  of  epithets  led  to  some  judi- 
cial remonstrances,  with  no  further  result 
than  that  both  witnesses  adhered  to  their 
assertions. 

The  next  witness  was  a  Serb,  the  mayor 
of  Gross  Kikinda.  He  deposed  that  he  had 
been  invited  to  supper  at  M.  Majinski's,  a 
solicitor  of  Gross  Kikinda,  at  which  he  met 
Jovanovics,  who  said  that  Prince  Milan  had 
been  told  by  Miletics  that  30,000  to  40,000 
Serbs  in  Hungary  were  ready  to  join  him 
against  Turkey.  But  at  the  same  time  he 
did  not  understand  Jovanovics  to  say  that 
Miletics  had  told  him  so ;  he  only  related  it 
as  a  piece  of  news.  Altogether,  the  supper 
at  Herr  Majinski's  appears  to  have  been  a 
rather  jovial  affair.  At  another  supper,  one 
of  the  " seditious  speeches"  was  made  by  a 
certain  Markovicz.  His  niece  had  just  been 
presented  by  her  father  with  a  fine  horse, 
and  Markovicz  called  upon  her  to  promise 
this  horse  to  the  first  Servian  warrior  who 
should  take  a  Turkish  battery.  Mademoi- 
selle Markovicz,  however,  replied  that  she 
did  not  mean  to  give  her  horse  away  to  any- 
body— not  even  to  a  Servian  warrior. 

This  exhausted  the  Jovanovics  portion  of 
the  inquiry.  It  resulted,  from  this  in- 
quiry, that  Mr.  Jovanovics  decided  to  make 
a  tour  to  "collect"  subscriptions  for  the 
relief  of  the  wounded  and  refugees ;  that  at 
the  same  time  he  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  to  push  the  sale  of  a  book, 
written  by  him,  on  the  art  of  book-keeping; 
that  he  appropriated  a  portion  of  the  sub- 
scriptions to  pay  his  expenses;  that  he  en- 
deavoured to  place  shares  of  the  Servian 
loan  in  Hungary  ;  and  that  he  had, somehow 
or  other,  obtained  a  card  from  Dr.  Miletics. 

The  next  witness  was  an  old  friend, 
Veslin.  He  was  a  counter-jumper  in  the 
establishment  of  John  Polit,  hosier  audi 
linendraper,  and  being  thus  as  it  were  to 
the  manner  born,  had  had  a  number  of 
buttons,  studs,  and  medals  struck,  this 
time  with  the  portrait  of  Dr.  Svetovar 
Miletics,  and  the  motto,  "Czernagora, 
Bosnia,  Herzegovina,   Servia,  Croatia,  Sia- 


lyl 


1:4 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[MILETiCSl   SENTENCE. 


vonia,  Bacska."     The  sale  of  these  medals 
and  buttons,  said  the  witness,  he  had  re- 
garded as  a  matter  of  speculation.     It  was, 
he  declared,  just  the  same  thing  as  the  sale 
of  gingerbread    cakes  with    a  portrait   of 
Kossuth,  at  the  time  when  the  Hungarians 
rebelled  against  Austria,  and  were  put  down 
by  the  Serbs  and  Russians.     There  was  no 
secret  at  all  about  the  matter.     His  own 
initials,  J.  P.  V.,  were  on  the  medals ;  and 
far  from  Dr.  Miletics,  whom  he  had  never 
spoken   to,  approving  of  his   speculation, 
Le  was  very  indignant  at  it,  and  sent  him 
back  one  of  these  medals  made  of  gold, 
which  he  had  sent  for  his  acceptance.     He 
only  wanted  to  make  money  by  the  trans- 
action.    It   was  a   common   "dodge,"  he 
said,  and  numbers  of  similar  medals  and 
counters  were  about,  with  effigies  of  Serbs, 
Hungarians,  Austrians,  and  Italians  of  note. 
Finally,  he  declared,  and  his  evidence  was 
borne  out  by  the  testimony  of  the  director 
of  the  museum,  that  these  medals  had  been 
struck  years  ago,  and  had  circulated  with- 
out any  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  au- 
thorities. 

This  closed  the  evidence  for  the  prosecu- 
tion. The  prosecutor,  Dr.  Bock,  summed  it 
up  in  a  long  speech,  and  considering  that 
he  had  fully  proved  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner, 
oemanded  the  full  penalty  accorded  by  the 
law — death,  or  imprisonment  for  life. 

He  was  followed  by  Dr.  Polit,  who  tore 
the  arguments  of  the  prosecutor  to  shreds,  in 
a  magnificent  speech  of  several  hours'  dura- 
tion.    At  the  conclusion.  Dr.  Miletics  rose. 
This  concluding  incident  in  the  comedy  is 
tlius  related  by  the  Pester  Lloyd,  a  Hun- 
garian journal,  the  reputed  organ  of  Count 
Andrassy,  and  which,  therefore,  cannot  be 
suspected  of  partiality  towards  the  prisoner. 
"  I  am  glad,"  he  said,  "  that  the  light  of 
publicity  has  been  cast  upon  my  conduct. 
The  prosecutor  states  that  I  have  followed 
the  paths  of  high  treason  for  years.     Since 
when  ?     I  will  not  boast  of  what  Francis 
Deak  said  to  me  in  1860,  when  I  was  intro- 
duced to  him  :  'Vermes  szerb,  dejo  hazafi,' 
— a  sanguine  Serb,  but  a  good   patriot — 
but    it  is   due   to   all  whom  I   have   the 
honour  of  knowing,  and  who  have  honoured 
me  with  their  friendship,  that  it  should  be 
known  what  Deak  himself  said  of  me.     The 
prosecutor  seems  to  have  forgotten  every- 
thing  that   happened   between    the   years 
1860  and  1868. 

"They  were  years  of  trial  and  tribulation. 
We  all  know  how  necessary  it  then  was  for 
VOL.  m.  » 


all  nationalities  to  hold  together  and  com- 
bine to  obtain  constitutional  rights.  Al- 
though not  decisive — for  with  all  the  po- 
litical and  material  superiority  of  the  Hun- 
garians, they  were  unable  to  secure  their  - 
constitution  without  foreign  assistance — 
the  help  at  that  time  of  the  Hungarian 
Serbs  was  certainly  not  unimportant. 
Then  we  Serbs,  in  spite  of  the  reminiscences 
of  1848,  joined  in  the  demand  for  a 
constitution  for  Hungary:  then  I  was  a 
jo  hazafi,  a  good  patriot ;  but  now,  eight 
years  later,  because  I  wish  that  we  Slavs 
should  also  constitutionally  battle  for  our 
constitutional  rights,  I  am  called  hazad- 
rulo  and  felsegserto*  traitor  and  betrayer, 
and  placed  in  the  dock  as  a  criminal." 

At  these  words  Miletics  was  overcome 
by  emotion,  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears. 
He  then  entered  into  a  learned  discussion 
with  the  prosecutor  on  intricate  points  of 
law,  and  showed  a  most  wonderful  mastery  of 
the  laws  brought  to  bear  against  him.  It 
was  truly  a  strange  sight  to  see  this  old 
man,  his  emaciated  features  flushed  with 
excitement,  and  strongly  contrasting  with 
his  grey  beard  and  long  snow-white  hair, 
as  he  sat  before  a  little  table  and  turned 
over  the  pages  of  the  great  folios  his  coun- 
sel handed  to  him,  criticising  the  Latin  text 
word  by  word,  and  refuting  the  argument  of 
the  prosecution.  The  whole  scene  savoured 
rather  of  a  legal  discussion  in  ancient  times 
by  learned  scholars,  than  of  a  trial  in  a 
modern  court  of  law — even  of  a  tiial  for 
high  treason. 

But  it  was  all  of  no  avail.  The  next 
day,  after  a  six  days'  trial,  Svetovar  Mile- 
tics was  found  guilty  of  high  treason  on 
the  above  evidence,  and  sentenced  to  five 
years'  imprisonment. 

Comment   on   this  trial   is  superfluous. 
No  case  in  the  Turkish  courts  of  law,  cor- 
rupt as  they   may   be,  could  exceed  this 
in  point  of  flagrant  injustice  and  national 
hatred — contemptible,  mean,  despicable  be- 
yond expression.     On  the  unsupported  tes- 
timony of  a  notorious  scoundrel,  a  violator, 
a  forgerer,  a  pimp,  the  jackal  of  a  drunken 
general  who  had  married  the  cast-off  mis- 
tress  of   an   emperor,    Miletics   was   con- 
demned to  imprisonment  for  five  years  in 
the  cells  of  Buda  citadel.     After  eighteen 
months'  preparation,  this  was  all  the  evi- 
dence the  State  could  adduce  against  him ! 
This  was  all  they  could  prove  against  the 


*  Zese  Majesty. 


85 


BERLIN   MEMORANDUM.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


•  I 


Omladina.  On  their  own  showing,  the 
dreaded  society  consisted  of  a  Jovanovics, 
who  went  about  collecting  funds,  and  trying 
to  place  shares  of  a  Servian  loan ;  who  ap- 
propriated part  of -the  proceeds— perhaps 
the  greater  part — and  used  a  card  of  Mile- 
tics',  which  he  had  stolen  from  his  brother, 
to  give  an  air  of  importance  to  himself; 
and,  finally,  of  a  counter-jumper  at  a 
hosier's,  who  speculated  in  buttons,  and 
made  use  of  an  honest  man's  trade  to  put 
money  into  a  blackguard's  pocket.  After 
eighteen  months,  this  was  all  the  Austrian 
government,  police,  detectives,  and  spies 
could  find  out  against  a  literary  society 
whose  policy  was  represented  by  the  di- 
plomatists as  subversive  of  society,  and  a 
grave  danger  to  the  State. 

At  the  same  time,  however,  it  would  not 
be  accurate  to  say  that  the  Omladina  was 
not  a  political  body  also.     It  was ;  but  only 
in  the  same  sense  as  the  Reform  Club,  or 
any  of  the  Liberal  or  Conservative  associa- 
tions  in   England,   without   one-tenth    of 
their   organisation.     But  as   for   the  Om- 
ladina, as  a  body,  having  had  any  practical 
weight,  or   having   exercised  any  material 
influence  on  the  course  of  events,  it  is  per- 
fectly absurd  to  say  so.     That  individuals 
were   found   like  John    Polit,  Jovanovics, 
Rankovics,  and  Veslin,  to  embark  in  specu- 
lative adventures  under  the  cloak  of  patriot- 
ism, was  natural,  and  would  have  been  the 
case   without   any   Omladina  at    all;    but 
under  no  circumstances  could  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  Omladina,  or  its  active  help  to 
the  insurgents,  be  compared,  in  the  remotest 
degree,  with   the   activity   of    the   Carlist 
sympathisers  and  adventurers  on  the  French 
frontier.     Personal  experience,  in  fact,  and 
the  perusal  of  documents  written  in  1875 
by  Polit  and  Miletics,   now   lying  on  the 
table  whilst  these  lines  are  being  penned, 
assess  the  influence  of  the  Omladinists  still 


lower  even  than  appears  from  official  docu- 
ments and  the  great  trial  of  the  chief  of  the 
"  society"   himself.      Throughout,    90   per 
cent,  of  those  who  took  an  active  part  in 
the  agitation  were  animated  by  the  most 
sordid  motives  ;  they  were  the  black  sheep 
of  a  country  where  the  species  is  peculiarly 
abundant ;  and  scarcely  one  of  them  was 
there  who  might  not  have  been  arrested 
for   half-a-dozen   misdemeanours.     Yet,  in 
spite  of  all  these  notorious  facts,  we  find 
Lord   Loftus  writing  that,  "  in   regard   to 
Servia,  Prince  Gortschakoff  stated  that  the 
interest  of  the    Russians   was   to   support 
Prince  Milan  against  the  '  Omladina'  and 
the  violent  revolutionary  party  who  were 
plotting  his  overthrow ;  and  he  had  lately 
drawn    the     attention     of    the    Austrian 
cabinet   to   the    secret   workings    of    this 
party,  not  only  in  Servia,  but  in  the  ad- 
joining Austrian  provinces,  as  also  to  the 
intrigues     of     Karageorgevitch     and     his 
followers.    His  highness  had  recommended 
that  these  revolutionary  proceedings  and 
elements  should  be  carefully  watched,  and 
that    they  should    be   put  down   with   a 
strong  hand." 

What  Prince  Gortschakoff  really  was  - 
doing  was  exciting  Prince  Milan's  suspicions 
against  Austria,  and  preparing  the  way  for 
that  influx  of  Russians  which  was  soon  to 
give  quite  a  different  complexion  to 
affairs. 

With  this  we  may  conclude  the  Omla- 
dina incident  in  the  affairs  of  Servia.  It 
is  abundantly  plain  that  Servia  was  in  the 
hands  of  her  ministers — i.e.,  of  Ristich ;  and 
that  she  hoped,  by  skilful  manoeuvring  be- 
tween Austria  and  Russia,  to  be  able  to 
secure  enough  for  herself  to  counterbalance 
any  acquisitions  that  might  be  made  by 
Montenegro.  The  only  real  influence 
brought  to  bear  upon  her  was  that  exercised 
by  those  two  countries. 


CHAPTER  VIL 


THE   BERLIN   MEMORAXDUM. 


In  considering  the  part  played  by  Monte- 
negro in  the  local  scramble,  as  it  may  be 
called^  for  the  provinces  of  European  Tur- 
86 


key,  the  manifesto  of  Prince  Nikita,  issued 
on  May  8th,  1876,  is  worthy  of  the  fullest 
attention.     It  is  a  remarkable  document; 


.i 


A.D.  187G.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[nikita's  despatch. 


and  with  some  exceptions,  less  in  matters  of 
fact  than  in  matters  of  inference,  it  is  also 
remarkably  accurate,  and  worthy  of  being 
placed  on  record.  It  was  sent  to  all  the 
European  governments,  and  contained  one 
noteworthy  warning  which  we  have  reason  to 
know  was  due  to  Russian  initiation,  but 
which,  if  it  had  been  properly  appreciated 
and  acted  on  by  the  powers,  would  have 
probably  prevented  the  war  which  ensued. 

He  wrote  :— "  For  years  the  province  of 
Herzegovina  has  been  the  theatre  of  con- 
tinual disorders,  and  the  position  of  the 
Christian  majority  of  the  population  has 
been  rendered  intolerable.  The  reforms 
and  guarantees  accorded,  time  after  time, 
by  the  government  of  his  majesty  the 
Sultan,  with  a  good  faith  which  we  are  far 
from  suspecting,  have  not  attained  their  end, 
because,  in  this,  as  unfortunately  in  every- 
thing else,  the  authorities  charged  to  apply 
them  have  set  themselves  to  annul  their 
effect,  in  which  they  have  been  actively 
aided  by  the  Mahommedan  minority. 

"  This  minority,  in  concert  with  the  civil 
and  judicial  magistrates,  as  well  as  with 
the  military  leaders,  has  never  failed,  after 
the  publication  with  a  great  flourish  of  the 
decrees  of  the  Porte,  to  make  them  a  dead 
letter,  even  before  their  application  had 
been  attempted.  The  vexations  and  re- 
fusals of  justice,  in  great  as  in  small 
matters,  continued  as  in  the  past,  and  the 
rayah  had,  no  more  than  formerly,  an  hour 
of  security  for  himself,  his  family,  and  his 
goods.  Such  a  situation  would  exasperate 
the  most  gentle  populations;  much  less, 
then,  could  unlimited  patience  be  expected 
from  a  people  strangers  to  all  civilising 
influences,  and  whose  masters  themselves 
set  the  example  of  contempt  of  the  laws. 
Life  itself  had  become  insupportable; 
when  a  people  is  reduced  to  this  we  know 

the  result. 

"  A  striking  proof  of  the  despair  to  which 
the  Herzegovinians  were  reduced  is  the 
perfect  brotherhood  to  which  daily  suffer- 
ings have  led  two  hostile  religions.  To 
those  who  know  the  hatred  which  every- 
where in  the  East  divides  the  Roman 
Catholics  and  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church, 
this  fact  speaks  for  itself.  At  this  hour 
Catholic  priests  and  Greek  popes  fight  to- 
gether, mixed  up  in  the  same  ranks." 

(This,  as  was  pointed  out  in  another  place, 
was  owing  to  the  peculiar  relations  existing 
between  Prince  Nikita  and  Bishop  Stross- 
mayer,   and   other    leaders    of  the   Croat 


movement,  and  not  so  much  from  a  com- 
munity of  interests  or  sympathies.) 

"  During  the  year  1874,  the  misery  of  the 
Christians  having  reached  its  height,  there 
were,  in  various  parts  of  the  province,  move- 
ments precursory  to  a  rising,  to  which  the 
authorities  responded  by  doubling  their 
rigour,  and  by  the  summary  arrest  of  a 
certain  number  of  notables.  Others,  escap-  ' 
ing  pursuit,  took  refuge  in  Montenegro, 
asking  the  prince  to  give  them  an  asylum, 
and  even  to  help  them  to  shake  off  the 

yoke. 

"Prince  Nicholas,  faithful  to  international 
laws,  refused  to  listen  to  this  last  request ; 
but,  well  knowing  the  state  of  things 
which  had  necessitated  the  flight  of  his 
guests,  he  did  his  utmost  to  make  possible 
their  return  in  safety  to  their  homes.  At 
the  same  time  he  made  known  to  the 
powers,  by  a  memorial  dated  April,  1875, 
the  situation  in  which  the  neighbouring 
territories  were  placed. 

"  Then,  as  ever,  when  there  was  question 
of  a  good  action,  he  had  the  good  fortune 
to    obtain   the   powerful  assistance    of  the 
government  of  his  majesty  the    Emperor 
of  Austria,  which  was  ready  to  make  itself, 
at   Constantinople,  the   medium  for  com- 
municating his  highness's  wishes.   Thanks 
to    this    support,    the    Porte  granted  an 
amnesty  for  the  acts  of  agitation,  and  tor 
the  illegal  departure  of  the  notables.^    Be- 
sides this,  she  instituted  a  commission  of 
officials,  charged  to  receive  and  record  the 
claims  of  the  Herzegovinians.     As  soon  as 
the  emigrants  had  returned  and  the  com- 
mission   was    installed,    there    happened, 
what  always  has  happened  in  Turkey  since 
the  Sultans  have  undertaken  reforms,  the 
new  decrees  were  left  unexecuted  like   the 
preceding    ones,    and    the    delegates     did 
nothing  but  commence,  formally,  the  in- 
quiry with  which  they  were  charged.     The 
native   Mussulmans,    irritated,    redoubled 
their    acts    of    violence    and    molestation 
under  the  eyes  of  the  commission,  which 
was  either  powerless  or  their  accomplice ; 
and  the  Christians,   at   the   end   of  their 
patience,  listened  only  to  the  voice  of  de- 
spair. 

"  It  was  thus  that  the  present  insurrection 
broke  out,  without  any  preliminary  arrange- 
ment or  preparation. 

"  It  is  quite  useless  to  relate  the  history  of 
this  war  of  detail,  of  surprises,  of  small 
engagements,  which  has  only  been  sig- 
r.aUsed     by   the    animosity    of    the    two 

87 


f 


NIKITA  S  DESPATCH.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


>i 


parties,  and  by  the  vengeance  exercised, 
without  distinction,  on  entire  districts,  by 
the  Turks. 

"  Since  the  commencement  of  this  crisis, 
the  Christian  powers,  anxious  as  they 
should  be  to  circumscribe  the  incendiary 
focus,  in  order  to  prevent  it  from  becoming 
by  degrees  a  general  conflagration,  addressed 
themselves  to  the  Prince  of  Montenegro, 
whose  action  might  decide  or  arrest  the 
gravest  complications.  Entering  without 
hesitation  into  their  views,  and  moved  by 
the  same  sentiments  of  order  and  peace, 
the  prince  gave  his  promise  to  observe 
neutrality,  and  he  is  happy  to  be  able  to 
Bay  that  he  has  kept  this  engagement.  He 
even  wishes  it  to  be  remarked,  by  the  way, 
that  he  has  given  a  striking  proof  at  the 
game  time  of  his  fidelity  to  his  engage- 
ments, and  of  his  power  over  his  people, 
by  preventing  them  from  throwing  them- 
selves blindly  into  the  struggle,  as  they 
would  have  done  formerly.  This  fact 
shows,  as  it  is  not  useless  to  observe,  what 
progress  the  country  has  made  in  the  path 
of  order  and  respect  for  the  laws  during 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century." 

Then  recapitulating  the  endeavours  made 
by  the  powers  to  restore  peace  in  the 
revolted  provinces,  and  detailing  the  fero- 
cious measures  taken  by  the  Turks  to  sup- 
press the  rebellion,  the  prince  concludes 
with  the  passage  to  which  reference  has 
been  made. 

"  In  the  general  break-up,"  he  said, 
"the  Turkish  nation,  in  spite  of  the 
admirable  patience  which  characterises  it, 
driven  to  despair,  cannot  fail  to  call  upon 
its  courage  to  inflict,  to  the  utmost  of  its 
ability,  a  terrible  vengeance  upon  its  rivals, 
before  accepting  the  ruin  of  its  power. 

"  The  crisis  which  is  impending,  if  the 
last  moment  for  averting  it  be  not  seized 
upon,  cannot  be  circumscribed ;  the  whole 
peninsula  of  the  Balkan  will  be  enveloped 
in  it.  It  is  no  business  of  ours  to  deal 
with  what  concerns  Bosnia,  Servia,  and 
Bulgaria ;  but  we  cannot  be  blind  to  the 
evident  connection  of  all  that  is  going  on 
in  European  Turkey.  The  Mussulmans 
on  their  side  will  make  no  distinctions  ;  all 
Christians,  whatever  their  nationality  or 
religion,  are  fatally  included  in  the  number 
of  enemies  to  be  destroyed.  We  know  per- 
fectly well,  and  the  whole  world  ought  to 
know  with  us,  that,  as  the  normal  centre  of 
independence,  our  little  State  is  specially 
designed  for  implacable  vengeance;  also, 
88 


no  one  will  be  surprised  that,  whilst  pre- 
paring to  the  best  of  our  ability  to  defend 
our  existence,  we  should  take,  in  spite  of 
the  humble  position  we  occupy  on  the  map, 
the  initiative  of  an  appeal  to  Europe. 

"  We  do  not  pretend  to  point  out  what 
form  of  negotiations,  congresses,  confer- 
ences, or  correspondence  between  the  gov- 
ernments may  be  best  suited  to  attain  the 
desired  object,  and  still  less  to  bring 
forward  questions  which  do  not  affect  our 
country  alone,  or  the  provinces  that  sur- 
round it.  But  we  earnestly  intreat  the 
powers  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 
the  Porte  will  not,  cannot,  and,  indeed, 
from  the  Mussulman  point  of  view,  ought 
not  to  entertain  serious  projects  of  reform 
and  justice  towards  its  Christian  subjects; 
that,  had  she  such  projects,  she  is  powerless 
to  execute  them;  that  the  supreme  and 
inevitable  crisis  will  burst  forth  of  itself  by 
the  force  of  circumstances,  in  spite  of 
diplomatic  notes  and  fine  promises  of  the 
divan. 

"  Europe  alone,  by  acting  in  concert 
with  promptitude  and  determination,  can 
still,  by  interposing  her  will,  prevent  the 
horrors  of  a  war  of  extermination." 

Now,  there  appears  to  be  scarcely  any 
doubt  that  this  manifesto  of  Prince 
Nikita's  was  dictated  partly  by  his  own 
convictions,  and  partly  in  consequence  of 
Russian  advice,  in  view  of  the  conference 
about  to  be  held  at  Berlin  between  Prince 
Bismarck,  Count  Andrassy,  and  Prince 
Grortschakoff,  to  concert  fresh  measures  for 
forcing  the  Porte  to  grant  substantial 
reforms.  It  is,  in  fact,  impossible  to  resist 
this  conviction,  quite  apart  from  any  other 
information,  when  we  compare  the  follow- 
ing passage  in  a  despatch  from  Lord 
Loftus,  relating  to  a  conversation  he  had 
with  Prince  Gortschakoff  on  April  30,  with 
the  passage  in  the  prince's  circular  which 
we  have  italicised. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt,"  said  his  high- 
ness, "  that,  in  case  a  pacification  could  not 
be  accomplished,  the  insurrection  would 
assume  much  larger  proportions,  and  a 
flame  would  be  kindled  in  Bulgaria,  Epirus, 
Thessaly,  and  Albania,  which  the  Porte, 
with  its  weakened  resources,  would  be 
unable  to  extinguish ;  and  the  Christian 
powers  of  Europe,  awakened  by  publio 
opinion  to  the  call  of  humanity,  will  havo 
to  interpose  to  arrest  the  effusion  of 
blood." 

Nor  is   this  all.     For  when,  in   conse- 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[despatch  of  fleet. 


quence  of  Mukhtar  Pasha's  report,  that, 
when  proceeding  to  the  relief  of  Niksics, 
he  found  that  the  insurgents  were  largely 
composed  of  Montenegrins,  the  Porte 
seemed  decided  to  attack  Montenegro,  but 
assured  the  powers  that  nothing  beyond 
the  assembling  of  some  troops  at  Scutari, 
for  defensive  purposes,  had  been  discussed 
at  the  council  held  at  the  Porte,  and  Lord 
Derby  presumed  that  the  joint  action  of 
the  representatives  at  Constantinople  was 
no  longer  called  for.  Prince  Grortschakoff 
still  considered  that,  in  the  eye  of  Europe, 
as  well  as  of  the  Turks,  the  non-active  par- 
ticipation of  England  in  the  remonstrances 
made  by  the  five  powers  at  Constantinople, 
against  a  reported  intention  of  Turkey  to 
invade  Montenegro,  might  give  rise  to  mis- 
interpretation and  misconstruction,  and 
that  a  false  impression  might  be  deduced, 
from  the  apparent  silence  of  England,  that 
she  separated  herself  from  the   European 

concert. 

The  prince,  therefore,  asked  Lord  Loftus 
to  express  his  hopes  that,  in  some  form, 
her  majesty's  government  would  convey  to 
the  Porte  their  participation  in  the  opinion 
of  the  five  powers  on  the  occasion  in  ques- 
tion, and  their  satisfaction  on  learning  that 
the  Porte  had  no  intention  of  attacking 
Montenegro. 

But,  at  the  same  time.  Prince  Gortscha- 
koff  observed  that  the  Porte  had  not  aban- 
doned her  intention  of  concentrating  a 
force  at  Scutari,  and  he  considered  this 
measure  as  one  of  a  dangerous  nature ;  for, 
said  his  highness,  "c'est  une  etincelle  pres 
d'une  poudri^re." 

In  conversing  with  Lord  Loftus  on  the  at- 
titude of  affairs  in  the  Herzegovina,  the 
prince  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  nego- 
tiations could  not  be  carried  on  (as  Count 
Andrassy  apparently  hoped)  on  the  basis  or 
within  the  scope  of  the  proposals  accepted 
by  the  Porte,  and  remarked  that  the  Porte 
could  not  carry  out  the  engagements  she  had 
taken ;  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  do  so. 

"But,"  observed  Lord  Loftus,  "the 
European  powers  could  not  possibly  say  to 
the  Porte,  '  We  have  asked  you  to  under- 
take an  impossibility.' " 

"That  is  true,"  replied  the  prince,  "but 
at  the  time  those  proposals  were  made,  we 
conceived  that  the  Porte  had  more  re- 
sources, more  vitality ;  that  she  was  not  so 
powerless  as  she  has  since  proved  herself  to 
be." 

Now,  regarding  these  utterances,  whether 


by  the  light  of  subsequent  events  or  not, 
there  was  nothing  intrinsically  objection- 
able to  them  in  point  of  fact.  They  were 
consistent  with  the  facts  of  the  case,  and 
ought  to  have  furnished  a  sufficient  basis 
for  agreement,  no  matter  whether  Russia 
was  animated  by  ulterior  designs  or  not. 
The  facts  being  undisputed,  no  harm  could 
have  been  done  in  accepting  them,  and  in- 
sisting on  whatever  remedy  was  to  be  pro- 
posed, as  long  as  that  remedy  did  not  go 
beyond  the  exigencies  of  the  case. 

But  the  hesitation  of  the  English  cabinet 
(o  interfere  in  the  military  operations  of 
the  Porte,  coupled  with  the  outcry  in  Eng- 
land against  the  despatch  of  the  fleet  to 
Besika  Bay,  which  took  place  a  couple  of 
days  before  the  meeting  of  Prince  Bismarck 
and  Count  Andrassy  with  Baron  Jomini, 
produced  an  impression  in  Russia  as  well  as 
in  Turkey,  that  England,  as  heretofore,  in- 
tended to  assist  Turkey,  and  thus  make 
the  Porte  far  more  unyielding  than  wouid 
otherwise  have  been  the  case. 

But,  be  it  well  noted,  it  was  not  the 
despatch  of  the  fleet  in  itself  that  produced 
this  stubbornness  in  the  Porte.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  Turkish  ambassador  at  Vienna 
stated  plainly,  that  "the  outcry  and  op- 
position IN  England,  left  no  room  for 
doubt  that  the  government  intended  to 
protect  Turkey  ;  for,"  he  added,  "there 

CAN  BE  NO  question  BUT  THAT  THE  ATTI- 
TUDE OF  THE  opposition  AFFORDS  THE  BEST 
CLUE  TO  THE  REAL  INTENTIONS  OF  THE  GOV- 
ERNMENT. Who  is  to  say  what  the  cabi- 
net MEANS,  IF  NOT  THE  OPPOSITION,  WHICH 
IS  MOST  NEARLY  CONCERNED  ?  YoU  MAY  SAY 
WHAT  YOU  PLEASE  ;  Mr.  GLADSTONE  KNOWS 
PERFECTLY  WELL  WHAT  THE  GOVERNMENT 
INTENDS  TO  DO,  AND  SiR  HeNRY  ElLIOT 
MAY  SAY  WHAT  HE  PLEASES." 

This  was  the  view  generally  taken  in 
Turkey,  and,  it  may  also  be  said,  Russia 
likewise.  That  it  was  incorrect,  is  shown  by 
the  following  series  of  telegrams.  The 
answer  they  supply  is  irrefutable,  except  on 
the  supposition,  which  is  inadmissible,  that 
Sir  H.  Elliot  was  instructed  beforehand  to 
act  as  he  did.    On  May  9,  he  telegraphed  : — 

"  Great  uneasiness  prevails  here  amongst 
all  classes,  and  there  are  grounds  for  appre- 
hending serious  consequences.  Nothing 
certain  is  known  of  the  designs  that  may 
be  entertained,  but  for  some  days  the 
Mussulmans  have  been  buying  up  arms. 
My  colleagues  believe  that  the  presence  of 
ships  of  war  at  Besika  Bay  might  be  a  pro- 


IS 


><•■ 


eluot's  despatches.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A,D.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[BERLIN   MEMORANDUM. 


•  I- 


tection  to  the  Christians  lare,  and  give 
them  confidence.  I  entirely  agree  with 
them  ;  and,  as  our  squadron  is  now  at  Jaffa, 
I  have  telegraphed  to  Mr.  Eldridge  as 
follows : — '  Inform  Admiral  Drummond 
that  his  early  presence  here  might  be 
useful,  and  that  I  would  be  glad  if  he 
would  bring  his  squadron  to  Besika  Bay.' " 

The  following  day.  Lord  Derby,  fright- 
ened out  of  equanimity  by  this  telegram, 
replied  by  the  following  one : — 

"  Sir, — I  have  to  request  that  you  will 
explain  to  her  majesty's  government  more 
fully  your  reasons  for  requiring  the  pre- 
sence of  the  squadron  at  Besika  Bay." 

This  query  of  Lord  Derby's  provoked  a 
repetition  of  the  first  telegram,  in  so 
laconic  a  form  as  quite  to  preclude  any 
idea  of  collusion. 

"My  Lord, — I  have  the  honour  to  explain, 
in  reply  to  your  lordship's  telegraphic  des- 
patch, which  I  received  to-day,  that  I 
believe  that  the  presence  of  the  squadron 
at  Bcbika  Bay  would  greatly  conduce  to 
the  security  of  the  Christians  here,  who 
are  considered  to  be  in  much  danger  at 
present." 

This  "explanation"  was  followed  up  the 
same  day  by  another : — 

"  Every  day  the  state  of  things  here 
becomes  more  critical.  My  own  impression 
is  that  the  designs  of  the  Mussulmans  are 
directed  more  against  the  government  than 
against  the  Christians;  but  still,  in  case  of  a 
disturbance,  the  latter  might  be  placed  in 
great  danger  by  the  spirit  of  fanaticism 
which  prevails.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  army  could  be  depended  upon  to  act 
against  the  Mussulmans.  The  presence  of 
a  second  British  vessel  here  is  desirable, 
and  I  should  add  that  all  my  colleagues 
Lave  requested  their  respective  govern- 
ments to  send  an  armed  gun -boat  in 
addition  to  the  '  stationnaires.'  " 

This  telegram  left  Constantinople  at 
9.50  P.M.  At  10  P.M.  the  following  one 
was  sent  off: — 

"  Keports  received  from  Salonica  are  far 
from  satisfactory.  It  would  appear  that 
the  Turkish  force  there  is  insufficient, 
either  to  insure  tranquillity  at  the  public 
funeral  of  the  consuls,  or  to  permit  of 
arrests  being  made.  Both  our  consul,  Mr. 
Blunt,  and  the  commander  of  the  Bittern, 
consider  that  the  presence  of  two  iron- 
clads is  much  required,  and  they  have  tele- 
graphed to  the  admiral  to  that  effect." 

Now,  when  it  is  considfcred  that  it  was 
DO 


only  the  day  before  the  first  de&patcU 
arrived  that  Lord  Derby  had  heard  of  the 
murders  of  the  French  and  German  consuls 
at  Salonica,  and  yet  that  his  lordship 
wanted  "explanations"  before  ordering  the 
fleet  to  Besika,  it  must  either  be  acknow- 
ledged that  the  despatch  of  the  fleet  was 
not  due  to  any  preconcerted  plan,  or  that 
Lord  Derby  must  be  credited  with  an 
amount  of  Machiavelianism  which  there 
seems  to  be  no  grounds  for  attributing  to 
him. 

The  outcry  against  the  despatch  of  the 
fleet,  excusable  as  it  might  have  been  in  ark 
ignorant  mob,  was  unpardonable  in  the 
case  of  men  who  had  been  in  office,  and 
not  only  knew  the  byeways  and  crooked 
paths  of  diplomacy,  but  also  had  the  means 
of  acquiring  authentic  information  if  so 
disposed. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that 
the  Austrian  and  Russian  ministers.  Count 
Andrassy  and  Prince  Gortschakoff,  met  at 
Prince  Bismarck's  on  May  12,  1876,  and 
drew  up  the  famous  document,  subsequently 
known  as  the  Berlin  Memorandum.  After 
alluding  to  the  assassinations  at  Salonica, 
the  memorandum  went  on  to  state  that,  ia 
virtue  of  the  Andrassy  note  of  December 
30,  1875,  and  its  acceptance  by  the  Porte, 
the  powers  had  acquired  a  moral  right — 
that  of  watching  over  the  fulfilment  of  the 
reforms  granted  by  the  Porte ;  and  an  obli- 
gation— that  of  insisting  that  the  insurgents 
should  lay  down  their  arms  and  return  to 
their  homes. 

"  Nevertheless,"  it  continued,  "  this  pro- 
gramme of  pacification,  though  it  has  been 
adopted  in  principle  by  both  parties,  has 
encountered  a  twofold  obstacle. 

"  The  insurgents  have  declared  that  past 
experience  forbids  them  to  trust  the  pro- 
mises of  the  Porte  without  a  positive 
material  European  guarantee. 

"The  Porte,  on  its  side,  has  declared 
that,  as  long  as  the  insurgents  were  scour- 
ing the  country  in  arms,  and  the  refugees 
did  not  return  to  their  homes,  it  was 
materially  impossible  for  it  to  proceed  to 
the  new  organisation  of  the  country. 

"In  the  meantime  hostilities  have  re- 
sumed their  course.  The  agitation  engen- 
dered by  this  strife  of  eight  months  has 
extended  to  other  parts  of  Turkey.  Tlie 
Mussulman  populations  have  been  thereby 
led  to  conclude  that  the  Porte  had  only 
apparently  deferred  to  the  diplomatic 
action  of  Europe,  and  that  at  heart  it  did 


not  intend  seriously  to  apply  the  promised 
reforms.  Thence  arose  a  revival  of  religious 
and  political  passions,  which  has  contri- 
buted to  cause  the  deplorable  events  at 
Salonica,  and  the  menacing  over-excite- 
ment which  manifests  itself  at  other  points 
of  European  Turkey. 

"  Nor  is  it  doubtful  that,  in  its  turn,  this 
explosion  of  fanaticism  reacts  on  men's 
minds  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  as  in  the 
neighbouring  principalities. 

"For  the  Christians  in  these  countries 
must  have  been  keenly  impressed  by  the 
fact  of  the  massacre  of  the  European  con- 
suls in  open  day,  in  a  peaceful  town,  under 
the  eyes  of  powerless  authorities ;  how,  then, 
can  they  be  induced  to  trust  themselves  to 
the  good-will  of  Turks,  irritated  by  a  pro- 
tracted and  sanguinary  struggle  ? 

"Were  this  state  of  affairs  to  be  pro- 
longed, the  risk  would  thus  be  incurred  of 
seeing  that  general  conflagration  kindled 
which  the  mediation  of  the  great  powers 
was  precisely  intended  to  avert. 

"  It  is  most  essential,  therefore,  to  estab- 
lish certain  guarantees  of  a  nature  to 
insure,  beyond  doubt,  the  loyal  and  full 
application  of  the  measures  agreed  upon 
between  the  powers  and  the  Porte.  It  is 
more  than  ever  urgent  to  press  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Sultan  to  decide  on  setting 
itself  seriously  to  work  to  fulfil  the  engage- 
ments it  has  contracted  towards  Europe. 

"As  the  first  step  in  this  direction,  the 
three  Imperial  Courts  propose  to  insist 
with  the  Porte,  with  all  the  energy  that 
the  united  voice  of  the  three  powers  should 
possess,  on  a  suspension  of  arms  being 
effected  for  the  term  of  two  months. 

"  This  interval  would  enable  action  to  be 
brought  to  bear  simultaneously  on  the 
insurgents  and  the  refugees,  to  inspire 
them  with  confidence  in  the  vigilant 
solicitude  of  Europe ;  on  the  neighbouring 
principalities,  to  exhort  them  not  to  hinder 
this  attempt  at  conciliation ;  and  finally 
on  the  Ottoman  government,  to  place  it 
in  a  position  to  carry  out  its  promises. 
By  this  means  the  way  might  be  opened 
for  Qirect  negotiations  between  the  Porte 
and  the  Bosnian  and  Herzegovinian  de- 
legates, on  the  basis  of  the  wishes  the 
latter  have  formulated,  and  which  have 
been  deemed  fit  to  serve  as  starting-points 
for  a  discussion. 

"  These  points  are  as  follows : — 

"  1.  That  materials  for  the  reconstruction 
of  dwelling-houses  and  churches  should  be 


furnished  to  the  returning  refugees ;  that 
their  subsistence  should  be  assured  to  them 
till  they  could  support  themselves  by  their 
own  labour. 

"  2.  In  so  far  as  the  distribution  of  help 
should  appertain  to  the  Turkish  commis- 
sioner, he  should  consult  as  to  the  measures 
to  be  taken  with  the  mixed  commission, 
mentioned  in  the  note  of  the  30th  of 
December,  to  guarantee  the  bond  fide 
application  of  the  reforms,  and  control  their 
execution.  This  commission  should  be 
presided  over  by  a  Herzegovinian  Christian, 
and  be  composed  of  natives  faithfully  re- 
presenting the  two  religions  of  the  country. 
They  should  be  elected  as  soon  as  the 
armistice  should  have  suspended  hostili- 
ties. 

"  3.  In  order  to  avoid  any  collision,  advice 
should  be  given  at  Constantinople  to  con- 
centrate the  Turkish  troops,  at  least  until 
excitement  has  subsided,  on  some  points  to 
be  agreed  upon. 

"4.  Christians,  as  well  as  Mussulmans, 
should  retain  their  arms. 

"5.  The  consuls  or  delegates  of  the 
powers  shall  keep  a  watch  over  the  appli- 
cation of  the  reforms  in  general,  and  on 
the  steps  relative  to  the  repatriation  in 
particular. 

"  If,  with  the  friendly  and  cordial  sup- 
port of  the  great  powers,  and  by  the  help 
of  an  armistice,  an  arrangement  could  be 
concluded  on  these  bases,  and  be  set  in 
train  immediately  by  the  return  of  the 
refujrees,  and  the  election  of  the  mixed 
commission,  a  considerable  step  would  be 
made  towards  pacification. 

"  If,  however,  the  armistice  were  to  expire 
without  the  efforts  of  the  powers  being 
successful  in  attaining  the  end  they  have 
in  view,  the  three  Imperial  Courts  are  of 
opinion  that  it  would  become  necessary  to 
supplement  their  diplomatic  action  by 
the  sanction  of  an  agreement  with  a  view 
to  such  efficacious  measures  as  might 
appear  to  be  demanded  in  the  interest  of 
general  peace,  to  check  the  evil,  and  pre- 
vent its  development." 

Now  there  were  two  items  in  this  docu- 
ment which  were  clearly  objectionable. 
The  one  was  Article  3;  the  other  Article  4. 
"  Concentrating  the  Turkish  troops"  meant 
their  withdrawal  to  certain  specified  points, 
and  thus  allowing  Article  4  to  produce  its 
natural  result  of  fresh  outrages  on  both 
sides,  without  any  authorities  to  repress 
them.     On  the  contrary,  it  ought  to  have 

91 


LORD  derby's  reply.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ANaENT  BULGARIA. 


llJillf 


•  I 


s 


.;!..     V 


been  proposed  that  the  troops — regular 
troops  of  whom  no  complaint  is  ever  made 
— should  be  employed  in  keeping  order,  and 
both  Mussulmans  and  Christians  be  dis- 
armed to  prevent  any  conflict.  But  these 
objections  were  not  made  by  any  of  the 
powers  except  England  and  Turkey;  whilst 
Lord  Derby  fastened  chiefly  upon  the  last 
sentence,  and  stated,  in  reply  to  Count 
Eeust,  that,  in  considering  the  question  of 
an  armistice,  it  was  necessary  to  look  at  its 
effect  in  a  military  and  political  point  of  view. 
Unless  the  armistice  suggested  were  accom- 
panied by  proposals  that  seemed  to  hold 
out  a  reasonable  expectation  of  the  re- 
establishment  of  peace,  he  doubted  whether 
the  Porte  was  likely  to  accept  it,  for  three 
reasons. 

In  the  first  place,  he  said,  an  armed  in- 
surrection always  gains  strength  by  the 
mere  fact  of  continuing  to  exist.  The 
longer  it  lasts,  the  smaller  is  the  chance  of 
its  being  ultimately  put  down.  In  the 
next  place,  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  Turk- 
ish army  of  not  less  than  50,00j  men  on 
the  frontier  could  not  but  press  heavily  on 
an  exhausted  exchequer,  while  the  insur- 
gents, fighting  among  their  own  mountains, 
incurred  but  little  expense,  and  it  was  im- 
possible that  the  troops  should  not  become 
more  or  less  disorganised  by  being  kept 
inactive  in  the  face  of  an  enemy.  Thirdly, 
what  real  guarantee  could  be  given  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  armistice  ?  On  the 
Turkish  side  there  was  an  organised  gov- 
ernment to  deal  with,  and  the  generals  of 
the  Porte  would  not  venture  to  break  en- 
gagements into  which  they  had  been  ordered 
to  enter :  but  could  the  same  thins:  be 
buid  of  the  iusur;4ents  ?  Had  they  recog- 
nised chiefs  capable  of  enforcing  obedience 
along  the  whole  frontier  ?  And  if  they  had, 
could  those  chiefs  be  relied  on  ?  These 
were  considerations  which  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Sultan  could  not  overlook. 

Count  Beust  then  pressed  him  to  say 
that,  if  he  gave  no  support  to  the  pro- 
posal, he  would  at  least  abstain  from  oppos- 
ing it. 

92 


To  this  Lord  Derby  answered,  that  he 
was  quite  aware  of  the  responsibility  that 
would  be  incurred  by  any  government  that 
should  urge,  or  even  encourage,  the  Porte  to 
reject  advice  supported  by  so  general  an 
agreement  of  the  continental  powers.  He 
should  not  press  his  view,  nor  would  he  say 
that  the  objections  which  he  had  suggested 
might  not  be  got  over ;  but,  if  asked,  he 
could  only  state  them  for  what  they  might 
be  worth. 

Some  further  conversation  followed,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  told  Count  Beust 
that  he  had  no  plan  to  propose,  but  that  it 
seemed  to  him  idle  to  talk  of  putting  an 
end  to  the  war  as  long  as  the  prince  and 
people  of  Montenegro  were  allowed  to  give 
it  active  support  and  assistance,  as  they 
were  then  doing,  being  at  the  same  time 
guarded  by  the  intervention  of  the  powers 
from  all  fear  of  retribution  on  the  part  of 
Turkey. 

This  action  of  the  government  is  inex- 
plicable, except  on  the  hypothesis  that  they 
wished  to  precipitate  events  in  Turkey, 
and  see  an  end  put  to  the  Turkish  rule 
without  having  any  hand  in  it,  in  order  to 
profit  by  the  inevitable  collapse,  whilst  care- 
fully avoiding  any  grounds  for  suspicion  on 
the  part  of  their  Mussulman  subjects  that 
they  were  in  any  way  privy  to  the  dis- 
memberment of  the  Sultan's  empire.  It  is, 
at  any  rate,  certain  that  all  the  powers  offi- 
cially expressed  their  great  regret  that 
England  refused  her  co-operation.  Still  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  one  word  spoken 
often  outweighs  a  dozen  despatches,  and 
there  may  be  some  other  explanation  to 
account  for  the  hostility  to  the  memoran- 
dum which  the  cabinet  evinced. 

In  case,  however,  that  the  government 
were  determined  to  proceed  to  extremities 
should  Russia  do  the  same,  their  policy 
was  a  wise  one.  By  keeping  themselves 
free  from  all  entangling  engagements,  they 
put  themselves  into  a  position  to  inter- 
fere at  the  given  moment  with  all  the  fresh- 
ness and  vigour  of  a  strong  and  uncompro- 
mised  power. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


THE   TERROR  IN  BULGARIA. 


With  Bosnia,  the  Herzegovina  and  Mon- 
tenegro in  revolt — with  Servia  and  Rou- 
mania  on  the  point  of  declaring  war,  and 
teeming  with  insurrectionary  committees, 
which  sent  their  agents  swarming  over  the 
country,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that 
Bulgaria  would  long  remain  unaffected  by 
the  course  of  events  on  her  borders. 

Comparatively  unknown  until  recently,  the 
early  history  of  Bulgaria  is  that  of  a  series  of 
expeditions  against  Byzance,  until  the  dis- 
sensions in  the  House  of  Comnenus  enabled 
Asan  I.  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Greek 
Emperor  Isaac,  and  to  establish  his  rule  in 
the  district  known  as  the  Silva  Bulgaria,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  strong  places  which 
were   still  held  by   the   Greek    emperor's 
troops.    He  was  crowned  in  1 186  at  Tirnova, 
which  became  henceforth  the  capital  of  the 
Bulgarian    kings,    and    where,    in    1205, 
Baldwin   was   barbarously   murdered   after 
the   defeat  of  the  Crusaders  by  the  allied 
Greeks   and  Bulgarians.     The  rule  of  the 
Asanides  was,  however,  of  short  duration  ; 
and  in  1291  Bulgaria  fell  a  prey  partly  to 
the   contentions   of  its   own  rival  princes 
between  themselves,  and  to   the  intrigues 
and    attacks     of    the    Greek    and    Latin 
empires  at  Constantinople,  till  it  fell  more 
or  less  under  the  control   of  the  Servian 
kings  Urosh  III.  and  Dushan.     Over  this 
chapter  of  Bulgaro-Servian   history,  from 
the  death  of  Asan  I.  to   the   Mussulman 
conquest,  the  historians  pass  very  rapidly. 
In   fact,  the    little    they    tell    us    belongs 
rather  to  the  history  of  the  Greek  empire 
than  to  that  of  Bulgaria.     It  is  true  that  the 
authorities  for  this  period  are  of  doubtful 
historical  value,  and  partake  largely  of  the 
character  of  tradition  and  legendary  lore ; 
but  in  the  absence  of  well-authenticated 
facts,  traditions  and  legends  exercise  just 
as  great  an  influence  on  later  generations 
as  the  most  accurate  chronicle,  and  bring 
out  the  character  of  the  people  far  more 
than  any  scientifically  written  history.     It 
would  certainly  scarcely  be  fair  to  judge 
the  present  Bulgarian  by  what  he  was  in 
the  13th  and  14th  centuries,  if  the  country 
had  been  as  open  to  surrounding  influences 
as  the  nations  of  Western  Europe  were  to 
VOL.  III.  O 


each   other   during  the  same  period,  and 
since  then.     But  it  must  be  remembered 
that  Bulgaria  has  been  isolated  for  centu- 
ries;   and    events    have    but   too    clearly 
shown  that  the  rude,  fierce  passions  which 
animated  the  forefathers  have  been  inherited 
in  nearly  all  their  force  by  the  sons.     It  is, 
indeed,  a  dark  chapter  of  history,  a  story  of 
rival  claimants,  supported  now  by  the  Ser- 
vians, now  by  the  Byzantian  emperors,  and 
in  which  treachery  and  murder  succeed  each 
other   almost    without    interruption,    and 
clearly  shows  what  the  curse  really  is  that 
weighs  upon  the  populations  of  the  Balkan 
peninsula,  and  what  chances  the  Bulgarians 
have  of  being  able  to  bury  the  past,  and  in- 
augurating a  fresh  history  untrammelled  by 
the  bloody  legacies  of  former  ages.     The 
evil  destiny  of  the  Bulgarians  does  not  lie  in 
an  inferiority  of  race,  in  native  barbarity, 
and  inaccessibility  to  European  culture,  as 
their  enemies  say;  nor  yet  in  Iblam  and  Tur- 
kish oppression.     The  evil  is  more  deeply 
rooted  in  Bulgaria,  as  elsewhere  throughout 
Turkey;  it  is  Byzantianism.     It  arises  from 
the  contact  of  Western  with  Asiatic  ideas, 
and  the  endless  conflicts  that  result  there- 
from, not  only  as  between  race  and  race, 
but  also  in  each  individual  in  whose  mind 
the  rival  ideas  and  passions  are  continually 
struggling  for  the  supremacy.     It  lies  in 
the  struggle  for  the  posfccssion  of  the  gates 
of  Europe ;  for  the  possession  of  countries 
which  are  not  sharply  marked  off  by  geo- 
graphical  nor    by    ethnographical    limits, 
but  where  there  is  a  mixture  of  races  of 
various  degrees  of  intelligence  and  energy, 
divided  from  each  other  by  creed,  language, 
and    interminable  jealousies   and   hatreds. 
The  Bulgarians  succeeded  the  Greeks ;  the 
Turks  succeeded  the  Bulgarians ;  the  Rus-  , 
sians  have  been  trying  to  oust  the  Turks, and  i 
to  remove,  at  least,  one  element  of  discord  i 
from  the  blood-stained  scene.     The  Russian 
sees  plainly  what  other  nations  refuse  to 
see — though  he  does  not  seem  to  know  to 
which  category  he  himself   belongs — that 
the  line  of  contact   between   Asiatic   and 
European  must  be  moved  farther  back,  and 
a  rigid  division  made  between  the  two  by 
concentrating  the  European  elements  into 

93 


wwtWBBPffiBjwuayi'jiJI^ 


MIDHAT  PASHA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[BULGARIAN  CUSTOMS. 


i 


•  I 


t 


a  strong  phalanx.     Ilahent  sua  fata  enim 
regiones ;  and  the  evil  fate  of  the  Balkan 
peninsula  lies  in  the   fact   that  Asia  has 
always  had  one  foot  upon  Europe  from  the 
days  of  Xerxes,  through  the  various  phases 
of    Byzantian    empire,    to    the    days    of 
Abdul  Hamid.     Asia,  whether  Russian  or 
Turkish,    must  retire.     It  then  becomes  a 
question  as  to  the  division  of  responsibility 
for  the  protection   of  the  gates,  and  as  to 
Quia  custodiet  custodes  if  the  keepers  of 
the  gates  are  not  strong  enough  to  with- 
stand   the    onslaughts    of    their     Asiatic 
enemies.     It  also  becomes  a  question  as  to 
which    race   is    more    impregnated     with 
Asiatic  ideas,  and  which  is  more  likely  to 
be  able  to  emancipate  itself  from  the  By- 
zantianism  which  has  been  the  ruin  of  the 
peninsula.     In  short,  whether  the  Greek  or 
the  Slav  contains  the  more  fruitful  germs 
of    honest    political    life — not    the    more 
mobile  intellect — and  whether  a  preponder- 
ance can  be  accorded  to  either ;  or,  if  not, 
what  are  to  be  the  limits  dividing  the  two 
races.     In  coming  to  more  modern  times, 
we  must  bear  in  mind  the  difference  between 
Servia  and  Bulgaria,  and  how  the  Turks 
scattered   their    colonies    throughout    the 
country,   and    stifled   all    national  feeling 
amongst  the  Bulgarians,  who  were  left  to 
themselves     without     protection ;     whilst 
Servia,  regarded  as  the  bulwark  of  Christi- 
anity  against   the    Moslem,    received   the 
support  of  Austro-Hungary,  and  was  thus 
enabled  to  retain  its  national  pride,  and 
develop  the  strongest  patriotism  amongst 
its  sons.     The    Bulgarians,    however,    lay 
too  much  at  the  mercy  of  their  conquerors ; 
they   have   gradually    degenerated   into   a 
hopeless  state  of  resignation ;  and  thus,  in 
1828-'29,  it  was  only  the  mountain  popu- 
lation that  rendered  any  assistance  to  the 
Russians.     Still,  even  this  assistance,  small 
though  it  was,  caused  much  anxiety  to  the 
Porte,  as  well  as  the  subsequent  risings  in 
1837-'38  and   1841,  and  a  beginning  was 
made  to  introduce  some  few  reforms,  which 
were     still     further     extended     after  the 
Crimean   war.     But  meagre  though   these 
reforms  were,  the  Bulgarians   made  such 
good  use  of  them  as  to  prove  incontestably 
that  centuries  of  Asiatic  oppression  had  not 
converted   them   into    Asiatics;  and  after 
the  unsuccessful  rising  in   1862,  the  Porte 
was  80  thoroughly  awakened  to  the  import- 
ance   of    the   movement    progressing    in 
Buljraria,  that  Midhat  Pasha  was  sent  to 
pacify   the   province,  and  carry  out  such 
94 


reforms  as  were  imperatively  necessary,  as 
far  as  consistent  with  the  safety  of  the 
Porte.  But  Midhat  soon  saw  that  the 
slightest  reform  would  be  a  weapon  against 
the  Porte  in  the  hands  of  the  Bulgarians ; 
and  the  way  in  which  he  put  down  the  in- 
surrection of  1867,  which  was  instigated  by 
Servia  to  exercise  a  pressure  upon  the 
Porte  in  the  matter  of  the  Servian  for- 
tresses, clearly  shows  that  the  public  works 
he  constructed  in  Bulgaria  were  but  a  poor 
set-off  against  the  reign  of  terror  he  in- 
stituted. Fifty-four  of  the  insurgents  were 
sent  in  heavv  irons  to  Rustzuk,  where  ten 
were  executed,  and  the  rest  banished  to 
Diarbekir,  which,  however,  was  reached  by  a 
few  of  them  only,  most  of  them  dying  by 
the  way,  or  being  hanged.  Still  even  these 
"reforms"  caused  much  displeasure  in  Con- 
stantinople, and  Midhat  was  recalled,  to 
the  sorrow  and  yet  to  the  joy  of  the  Bul- 
garians. They  fully  appreciated  his  strict 
justice;  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  plainly 
saw  that  he  was  only  forging  stronger 
fetters  for  them,  and  that  he  was  the  most 
dangerous  enemy  to  their  political  regene- 
ration and  independence.  With  the  de- 
parture of  Midhat,  the  intrigue  of  the 
Servian  and  Panslavist  agitators  recom- 
menced ;  but,  with  the  exception  of.  the 
revolt  at  Sophia  in  1873,  the  country  re- 
mained outwardly  quiet.  The  movement, 
however,  silently  progressed,  till  Europe 
was  struck  with  horror  at  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted in  Batak. 

Many  travellers  in  Bulgaria  have  con- 
ceived an  idea  that  the  Turks  are  better  off 
and  more  civilised  than  the  Bulgarians. 
The  Turk  does  exhibit  more  taste  in  his 
surroundings  than  the  Bulgarian.  His 
house  is  more  prettily  situated  and  more 
picturesquely  built  than  that  of  the  Bul- 
garian. But  the  advantage  is  only  out- 
wardly in  favour  of  the  Turk.  Inside  the  Bul- 
garian house  there  is  much  more  neatness, 
order,  and  busy  life  than  in  the  house  of  the 
Moslem.  There  is  no  family  lite  in  the 
Turk's  house  as  there  is  in  that  of  the 
Bulgarian;  there  is  none  of  that  mixing 
of  the  sexes  which  distinguishes  the  Bul- 
garian from  the  Turk,  and,  in  many  in- 
stances, from  the  Greek,  whose  ancient 
institutions  were  not  so  foreign  to  the  idea 
of  the  Turkish  harem.  It  is  true  the  social 
life  of  the  Bulgarian  can  as  yet  scarcely 
be  called  refined ;  but  there  is  a  marked 
difference  between  the  tastes  of  the  Bul- 
garian and  the  Serb  as  compared  to  those 


of  the  Roumanian  or  Wallach.     The  latter 
tend  more  to  the  French,  the  former  more 
to  the  Saxon  modes  of  thought.    But  many 
and  many  a  year  will  pass  away  before  the 
Bulgarian  will   be  able   to   hold   his  own 
amidst  European  nations,  unless  stringent 
measures  are  adopted  to  free  him  from  the 
trammels  which  superstition,    assisted    by 
the  monks,  has   imposed    upon  his  mind. 
The   name  of   the   monks   in  Bulgaria  is 
lef^ion ;  they  are  infinitely  more  numerous 
and  ignorant  than  in  Servia ;  but  what  was 
done  in  Servia,  by  the  help  of  elenaentary 
schools,  could  also  be  accomplished  in  Bul- 
garia.    Perhaps  more   easily;  for,  on  the 
whole,  the  Bulgarian  is  far  more  agricul- 
turally inclined  than  the  Servian,  and  is 
not  so   much   attracted  by  the  intriguing 
town  life  of  his  neighbours  in  Belgrade. 
On  the  whole,  the  Bulgarian  is  essentially 
material  by  nature,  as  is  amply  evidenced 
by  the  numerous  superstitious  observances 
and     habits    to    which     he    is    addicted; 
though,    at    the    same    time,   it    may   be 
doubted  whether  these  superstitions  have 
more  influence  over  him  in  his  acts  and 
daily  life   than   similar   customs  in   other 
countries.      In    short,    it    is    a    question 
whether  the  Bulgarian  attaches  more  im- 
portance to   his   customs   than  we   do  to 
Guy  Fawkes'  Day,  to  the  Christmas  waits, 
or  the  pancakes  on  Shrove   Tuesday.     On 
the  whole,  it  would  seem   that   the  Bul- 
garian  observances   are   practised   to  give 
Vent  to  the  pent-up  animal  feelings  of  the 
people,  who  have  no  other  outlet  for  their 
superabundant  spirits.    January  6  seems  to 
be  an  especially  exciting  day  for  the  ma- 
jority, though  it  must  be  rather  the  reverse 
for  the  minority.    The  rites  are  commenced 
at  dawn  of  day,  by  the  mothers  suddenly 
rubbing  their  children  all  over  with  snow- 
balls;   whilst   the   adults   throughout   the 
village  lie  in  ambush,  to  souse  each  other 
with  buckets   of  cold  water.     The  young 
men  who  have  been    married  during  the 
year,  are  led  in  procession  to  the  river  or 
well,   and     are    there    similarly   treated; 
whilst  the  wife  is  led  by  her  step-father  to 
the  water,  and  obliged  to  get  into  it,  and 
kiss  his  hand  thrice.     Having  thus  satis- 
factorily soused  each  other,  they  take  their 
revenge  on  January  8,  by  disguising  them- 
selves in  fantastic  costumes,  and,  seizing  the 
first   best   old   woman   they   come    across, 
either  plunge  her  into  the  river,  or  souse 
her  also  with  divers  buckets  of  water.    Lent 
is  ushered  in  with  a  variety  of  ceremonies, 


such  as  a  universal  cleaning  of  pots  and 
pans ;  but,  strangely  enough,  the  dead  are 
exempted  from  observing  the  fast ;  for,  on 
the  second  Sunday  in  Lent,  food  and  drink 
are  placed  upon  the  graves  of  the  deceased, 
and  a  procession  formed  by  the  women, 
who  go  from  house  to  house  with  lighted 
tapers  in  their  hands,  to  give  their  de- 
parted relations  a  good  appetite.  Alto- 
gether, the  twenty-two  weeks  of  Lent,  the 
other  thirty  Fridays,  and  even  the  Wednes- 
days on  which  the  peasantry  also  fast,  re- 
present an  amount  of  corporal  castigation 
unknown  in  any  other  country. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  Bulgarian 
tries  to  make  up  for  his  enforced  digestive 
idleness  during  these  days  by  a  consider- 
able indulgence  on  the  others.     The  cere- 
monies  and   observances,   however,    which 
must  be  practised  by  those  of  both  sexes 
who   aspire   to   matrimony  are   peculiarly 
trying,   and  shows,  in  a  striking  manner, 
what   human   nature    is    prepared   to    go 
through  in  order  to  get  married.    The  pre- 
liminaries are  most  complicated,  and  when 
at   last  the   two  are  safely  married,   they 
silently  quit  the  festive  board,  accompanied 
by  the  midwife   of  the  village,  who   waits 
outside  the  nuptial  chamber  till  she  is  able 
to  return  to  the  assembled  guests  and  an- 
nounce that  the  bride  has  given  undoubted 
proof  of  her  honour.     The  happy  couple 
remain  invisible  in  their  house  for  several 
days,  after  which  the  bride's  first  walk  is 
to  the  well,  where  she  is  soused  with  water 
by  the  married  women,  into  whose  ranks 
she  is  then  worthy  to  enter.     Should  she 
not  rejoice  the  soul  of  her  husband  with  a 
son  and  heir,  or  at  least  a  daughter,  she 
has  to  be  exorcised,  and  submit  to  endless 
incantation  ;  and,  if  that  is  all  of  no  avail, 
she  sallies  forth  on  the  1st  of  May,  at  early 
dawn,  and  rolls  herself  naked  in  the  dewy 
grass.     If  these  are  some  of  the  difficulties 
in  getting  married — and  they  are  only  some 
of  them — it  may  be  imagined  what  are  the 
difficulties  in  getting  born   and   dying  in 
Bulgaria.     When  the  father  of  the  family 
feels  his  end  approaching,  he  sends  for  the 
priest   and   begins    to    bargain  with  him 
about  his  funeral,  and  settles  the  details  of 
his  "  wake."     Having  arranged  all  this  and 
his  other  worldly  affairs,  he  feels  comfort- 
ably prepared  to  leave  the  world,  and,  when 
his   agony  commences,  to  have  a  lighted 
taper  placed  in  his  hand,  his  jaws  bound 
up  with   a   cloth,  and   his  eyelids  closed. 
The  moment  his  pulse  has  stopped,  all  thd 

95 


H- 


if  ■' 


EYZANTIANISM.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  fanar* 


•  * 


pots,  pans,  jars,  kettles,  &c.,  in  the  house 
are  turned  upside  down  to  prevent  his  soul 
from  taking  refuf^e  in  one  of  them,  and  great 
care  taken  to  prevent  either  man  or  animal 
— especially  a  cat  or  dog — from  stepping 
across  his  body,  as  otlierwise  he  would  turn 
into  a  vampyre,  and  be  a  continual  nuisance 
and  a  danger  to  his  family  and  the  whole 
community.  A  few  hours  after  death  the 
body  is  buried  without  any  coffin,  in  a 
shallow  grave,  eighteen  to  twenty-four 
inches  deep,  and  left  there  for  three  years, 
during  which  time  many  offerings  of  food 
and  wine  are  placed  upon  it.  At  the  end 
of  the  third  year,  the  bones  of  the  dead 
man  are  dug  up,  carefully  washed,  put  into 
a  linen  bag,  laid  before  the  episcopal  throne, 
of  which  there  is  one  in  every  village, 
blessed  by  the  pope,  and  then  finally  buried 
for  good.  Thus  the  Bulgarian  is  well  taken 
care  of  after  his  death,  unless,  indeed,  there 
is  any  reason  to  believe  that  he  has  become 
a  vampyre.  In  that  case  the  grave  is  opened 
and  the  body  transfixed  by  a  stake,  or  a 
nail  is  driven  into  his  breast.  If  the  body 
is  very  well  preserved,  then  it  is  riddled 
with  pistol-shots,  and  the  earth  stamped 
down  firmly  upon  it,  or  sometimes  it  is 
burnt  to  ashes  by  a  fire  made  of  thorn. 

These  customs,  and  a  hundred  others,  are 
naturally  fostered  by  the  ignorant  monk- 
hood as  a  source  of  revenue,  which  they 
share  with  the  old  women  who  play  the  part 
of  doctors  and  exercisers.  But  it  must  not 
be  imagined  for  a  moment  that  the  Bul- 
garian allows  these  superstitions  to  inter- 
fere with  his  daily  work,  or  that  they  lead 
him  to  indulge  in  laziness,  as  would  be,  and 
is,  the  case  in  southern  climes.  On  the 
contrary,  when  it  is  remembered  what  a 
drain  upon  his  resources  the  claims  of  the 
priesthood,  the  monkhood,  and  the  Turks 
exercise,  it  is  wonderful  that  he  has  so  much 
left  for  himself  as  he  has,  and  that  he 
is  able  to  live  in  comparative  affluence. 
Nothing  short  of  the  most  unflagging 
labour  would  enable  him  to  do  so ;  and 
that  he  does  work  with  extreme  energy  and 
perseverance  we  have  the  word  of  such 
men  as  Kanitz,  one  of  the  contractors  for 
various  works  alongf  the  Danube. 

Now  with  these  people  the  Turks  were 
incapable  of  amalgamating  like,  for  in- 
stance, the  Normans  with  the  Saxons,  on 
account  of  the  great  barrier  interposed  by 
the  fundamental  differences  of  the  faiths  of 
]\loslem  and  Christian.  So  great  is  this 
ditterence  in  its  political  aspect,  that  those 
96 


Bulgarians,  as  in  Bosnia,  who  became 
Mussulmans,  grew  more  fanatical  than  the 
original  Moslem.  An  immense  gulf  thus 
separated  the  ruler  from  the  ruled,  and,  in 
a  similar  way,  the  Stamboul  Court  from 
those  of  Western  Europe.  This  gulf  was 
bridged  over  by  the  descendants  of  the 
Byzantians,  and  they — Greeks,  Armenians, 
and  Jews — rapidly  acquired  that  power, 
and  instituted  that  organisation  of  corrup- 
tion, and  all  the  vices  that  is  known  as  the 
Sublime  Porte.  The  strength  of  the  Turk 
thus  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  is  sitting 
between  two  stools — between  Slav  and 
Greek.  Both  parties  contended  for  his 
favour,  and  strove  to  acquire  the  ascendancy 
over  him.  In  the  struggle  that  ensued, 
Byzantianism  gained  the  day  over  Slavism, 
and  identified  itself  with  the  military  caste 
in  order  to  keep  a  firm  hold  on  the  whole 
country.  Clearly,  then,  if  peace  is  to  be 
restored  to  the  Balkan  peninsula,  the  ques- 
tion must  be  resolved  into  its  true  elements, 
and  the  fact  be  boldly  faced,  that  the  two 
great  factors  opposing  each  other  are  By- 
zantianism and  Slavism.  The  rest  is  but 
incidental.  The  Turk  at  Stamboul,  and 
the  Greek  at  Athens,  are  but  corollaries. 
Abolishing  the  Turk,  and  replacing  him  by 
the  Athenian,  would  leave  matters  exactly 
where  they  are  now,  if  Byzantianism  were 
not  abolished  with  him.  The  great  diffi- 
culty in  solving  this  question  is,  where  to 
find  the  necessary  administrative  powers 
outside  the  ranks  of  Byzantianism,  and  to 
draw  the  limits  separating  Greek  from 
Slav;  and  how  to  deal  with  Constantinople. 
Herr  Kanitz,  speaking,  in  his  work 
"Bulgaria,"  on  the  connection  between 
Bulgaria  and  Byzantianism,  or  the  Fanar, 
has  but  one  opinion  on  the  subject.  He 
insists  on  the  independence  of  Bulgaria,  in 
the  widest  sense  of  the  word,  as  the  first 
step  to  a  happier  state  of  things.  He  gives 
a  short  but  graphic  description  of  the 
events  which,  after  alternating  successes,  at 
last  laid  the  Bulgarians  pro>trate  under  the 
Emperor  Basilius  Bulgaroctonus — *'  The 
Slayer  of  the  Bulgarians."  Henceforth, 
till  the  Mussulman  invasion,  and  with  the 
exception  of  the  short  rule  of  the  Latir* 
empire  at  Constantinople,  the  Bulgarians  ' 
were  politically  and  ecclesiastically  subject 
to  the  Greeks  of  the  empire.  And  when 
the  Ottoman  forces  overran  the  country, 
after  a  short  injjlorious  stru;2f<J:le,  which  hHs 
been  invested  by  poets  and  romancists  wiiii 
a  certain  nimbus,  the  Byzantians  espoused 


the  cause  of  the  invader,  and  retained  the 
power  they  possessed  over  the  Bulgarians, 
who  now  had,  in  reality,  two  masters  to 
support — the  Sultan  in  all  his  luxury,  and 
the  Fanar  in  all  its   greed.     This  is  what 
Herr    Kanitz    says  of  the    Fanar  : — "  The 
ecclesiastical  traffickers  who   haggled  and 
bar<>-ained  for  the  episcopal  posts  in   Bul- 
garia, proceeded  from  the  '  Fanar '  (fena- 
yer),  the  Greek  quarter  of  Constantinople, 
in  whicli  the  rotten  remains  of  Byzantian 
corruption  blended  with  Turkish  and  Asiatic 
elements.     The  bishoprics  of  Bulgaria  were 
awarded  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  not  ac- 
cording to  the  intelligence,  piety,  or  per- 
sonal qualities  requisite  in  an  ecclesiastical 
ruler."     Such  vvas  the  community  at  whose 
mercy  the  Bidgarians  lay,  not  only  eccle- 
siastically but  also  fiscally,  and  who,  after 
satisfying  their  own  greed,  screwed  down 
the  unhappy  peasantry  to   the  last  turn  to 
•  meet  the  demands  of  the   Porte.     But,  as 
Herr  Kanitz  continues,  "  even  the  greatest 
•wealth  has  its  limits.     Such  was  also  the 
experience  of  the  descendants  of  the  Pro- 
phet; for  the  luxury  of  the  Sultans  and  the 
Pashas  soon  swallowed  up  the  tribute  and 
the  accumulated  riches  of  the  country.     In 
such  frequent  moments  of  financial  exhaus- 
tion   the    Sultans  sought   help   from  that 
quarter  of  Constantinople,  in  whose  filth  the 
loathsome    remains    of    Byzance's    former 
pride  had  found  a  refuge.     In  the  Fanar 
they  were  always  able  to  count,  not  only 
upon  the  rich  treasures  of  commerce,  but 
also  upon  the  enormous  wealth  sucked  by 
the  Greek  patriarchs  out  of  the  marrow  of 
their  flocks  ;  in  the  Fanar  the  most  usurious 
traffic  in  ecclesiastical  benefices  was  estab- 
lished, and  the  treasurers  of  the  Porte  can 
scarcely  be  blamed  if,  in  their  moments  of 
necessity,  they  derived  a  profit  out  of  the 
depravity  of  the  Fanariote  beneficemonger. 
In  the  first  year  of  the  Mussulman  conquest, 
the   price    paid   for   the    patriarchate,    by 
Simeon,  was  1,000  ducats.      In  the  second 
year  it  was  doubled;  and  in  1573  it  had 
risen  to  6,000  ;    and  by  1864  to  25,000." 
But  an  equal  sum  almost  had  to  be  paid 
away  in  bribery,  in  order  to  get  this  bid 
accepted,   so  many   w^ere  the  applications 
even  at  such  a  price,  which  restricted  the 
competition  to  a  few  of  the  richest  Fana- 
riote  families,    who    regarded   the   matter 
simply  as  a  business  affair,  and  a  specula- 
tion, to  carry  out  which  the  necessary  sums 
"were  borrowed  from  members  of  the  family 
and   money-lenders   at    usurious   interest. 


The  profit  had  been  derived  from  the  salo 
of  the  bishoprics,  which  brought  in,  on  an 
average,  about  4,000  ducats  a-3'ear.     The 
bishops,   on    their  part,  sold   the   various 
cures  in  their  dioceses  to  the  popes,  some  of 
the  richest  of  whom  would  sometimes  buy 
twenty  or  thirty,  and  resell  them  again  at  a 
profit.      These    popes,    without   education, 
ground  down  by  the  price  they  had  to  pay 
for  their  cures,  were  capable  of  performing 
nothinof  more  than  the  barest  ceremonies 
of  the   church.      Marriages,    christenings, 
and  deaths  were  frequently  registered  on  a 
stick  with  the  time-honoured  notches,  in- 
stead of  in  a  book.     The  re?t  of  their  time 
was  fully  occupied  in  following  the  plough 
and  feeding  their  pigs.      All  this  led  to  a 
state   of  affairs   which    even   the   Turkish 
authorities    considered   too   disgraceful    to 
last,  and  thev  insisted  that  the  Christian  as 
well  as  the  Mussulman  communities  must 
pay  more  attention  to  education,  and  erect 
the    necessary  schools.      A  beginning  was 
made,  but  all  progress  was  prevented  by  the 
Fanar.  "  What  do  you  want  with  schools  ?  " 
asked  the  Archbishop  of  Nisch;  "do  you 
want  your  children  to  become  unbelieving 
heretics  ?   Better  by  far  devote  the  money 
to  the  building  of  churches.     Great  roomy 
temples  to  the  honour  of  God  are  the  best 
schools."      Thus,  instead  of  schools,  great 
rambling    churches    were    built,    and  the 
prices    of    the    sinecures    proportionately 
raised.     Herr  Kanitz  relates  how  the  new 
church  at  Nisch  swallowed  up  all  the  funds 
of  the  community,  and  that  when  the  new 
archbishop    from   the    Fanar    opened   the 
church,  it  was  found   that  he   could   not 
speak  a  word  of  Bulgarian  ;    and  when  he 
received  the  notables  of  the  congregation, 
he  reprimanded  them  in  Greek  and  Turkish 
for  the  address  they  intended  sending  to 
the  grand  vizier.     "  Not  with  complaints,'' 
he  said,   "but  with  thanksgivings  for  the 
unmerited   benefits   of  Turkish    rule,   the 
rayah  ought  to  approach  the  representative 
of  the  Sultan."     This  astounding  piece  of 
advice  was  heard  by  Herr  Kanitz  himself, 
and  is  in  itself  sufficient  to  characterise  the 
system  under  which  Bulgaria  suffered  for 
so  long,  till,  owing  in  a  great  measure  to 
the  exertions  of  Hilarion,   Paisija,  and  As- 
entije,  Bulgaria  was  freed  from  the  yoke  of 
the  Fanariote  vampyre,  and  a  commence- 
ment made  to  inaugurate  a  fresh  epoch  of 
struggling   for  independence  and  national 
life. 

It  was  on  such  fruitful  soil  as  this  that 

97 


THE  panic] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  massacres. 


t ' 


^•l! 


the  seeds  of  rebellion  were  sown  broadcast 
by  Russian,  Serb,  and  Montenegrin  agents. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  irritation  of 
the  Turkish  populations  reached  a  pitch  at 
which  little  was  required  to  place  the  Chris- 
tians in  many  parts  of  the  empire  in  a  posi- 
tion of  the  greatest  jeopardy,  whilst  the  un- 
popularity of  the  Sultan  and  of  Mahmoud 
Pasha,  coupled  with  the  universal  distress 
arising  from  the  financial  state  of  the 
country,  gave  rise  to  deep-seated  and 
general  discontent  throughout  the  country. 
Tlie  effect  of  the  long-continued  insur- 
rection in  Bosnia  was  felt  by  every  class  of 
tlie  community,  whether  Christian  or  Mus- 
sulman ;  but  the  latter  regarded  them- 
selves as  sufferers  from  a  Christian  move- 
ment for  supremacy  countenanced  by  the 
Christian  powers,  which  allowed  every  kind 
of  assistance  to  be  given  to  the  insurgents, 
while  the  Porte  was  prevented  from  adopt- 
ing the  measures  considered  necessary  to 
put  it  down  by  attacking  it  at  its  source. 
At  the  same  time,  the  Salonica  castastrophe 
increased  the  prevailing  uneasiness;  and 
throughout  the  country  the  tension  was  so 
great,  that  the  least  spark  was  sufficient  to 
explode  the  pent-up  panic  of  the  Moslems 
and  cause  a  massacre.  An  Englishman, 
employed  by  the  Turks  in  one  of  the  in- 
land Bulgarian  towns,  stated  that  the  fright 
was  so  great  that  the  Christians  were  for- 
bidden to  walk  in  the  streets,  two  or  more 
together,  under  pain  of  imprisonment ;  and 
that  before  this  edict  was  promulgated,  a 
solitary  Turk  seeing  three  Bulgarians  ad- 
vancing towards  him  down  the  street,  and 
none  of  his  co-religionists  near,  without 
more  ado  shot  one  of  them  dead,  and  seri- 
ously wounded  another.  The  third  man- 
aged to  escape.  Now  the  curious  part  of  this 
business  is  that  the  Turk  in  question  was 
highly  esteemed  by  the  Bulgarian  popula- 
tion of  the  place,  so  that  our  informant  felt 
no  hesitation  in  asking  him  why  he  had 
attacked  the  unfortunate  men.  The  reply 
exactly  represents  the  state  of  mind  the 
Turks  were  in.  "My  God  Almighty,"  he 
said,  "  I  don't  know.  But  when  I  saw  them 
coming  towards  me,  and  there  was  no  other 
in  the  street,  a  great  lump  stuck  in  my 
throat  and  stopped  my  breath,  and  I  pulled 
out  my  pistol  and  fired  at  them  in  a  frenzy. 
God  is  very  great  I "  And  such  was  the 
feeling  throughout  the  land.  Both  parties, 
it  may  be  said,  were  bursting  with  that  sort 
of  apprehension  or  fear  that  is  as  powerful 
as  the  most  determined  courage.  Those 
98 


who  lived  through  the  Indian  mutiny  will 
well  be  able  to  realise  the  feeling,  ulti- 
mately resulting  in  the  grim  ferocity  of 
despair.  It  was  put  in  another  shape  by  a 
Bulgarian  correspondent — a  timber  mer- 
chant— who  is  well  known  in  one  of  the 
continental  towns.  He  wrote : — "  We  do 
not  fear  the  Bashi-Bazouks  and  Circassians 
so  much.  Tliey  are  a  rough,  brutal  set, 
but  on  the  whole  they  can  be  managed  by 
humouring  them  and  treating  them  well. 
They  are,  of  course,  a  great  plague ;  but  the 
Moslem  landowners  dislike  them  just  as 
much  as  we  do,  and  would  be  glad  to  get 
rid  of  them,  for  a  Tcherkess  does  not  stop 
to  ask  if  the  turkey-cock  he  steals  is  a 
Christian  or  a  Turk.  But  what  we  are 
afraid  of  more  than  anything  else  is  the 
fear  the  Moslems  have  of  our  rising  en 
masse^  and  massacring  them  all  at  some 
given  signal.  They  are  convinced  that 
such  is  our  intention,  and  never  know  when 
the  sun  rises  whether  they  will  see  it  set. 
The  suspense  is  killing  us  both  Ua  crainte 
nous  assomme  tons  les  deuxy^ 

This  accurately  describes  the  condition  of 
affairs  in  Bulgaria  towards  the  end  of  April, 
1876,  when  isolated  cases  of  revolt  con- 
vinced the  Moslems  that  the  moment  for 
their  massacre  had  arrived,  and  caused  an 
excitement  all  through  the  country,  that 
spread  from  day  to  day. 

These  revolts  were  treated  as  in  1867, 
when  there  was  a  strange  invasion  of 
Bulgaria  that  created  immense  local  excite- 
ment, and  no  small  alarm  at  Constantinople. 
A  countless  Russian  host,  not  of  soldiers, 
but  of  rats,  generally  supposed  to  have 
migrated  from  the  Ural,  swept  over  the 
province  up  to  the  Balkan.  Day  by  day 
their  movements  were  reported  by  telegraph 
to  Constantinople,  whence  the  most  strin- 
gent orders  were  sent  to  the  Vali  of  Rust- 
chuk  to  exterminate  the  vermin  forthwith. 
The  Vali  at  once  published  a  decree,  ad  hoc, 
calling  upon  the  people  to  carry  out  this 
order,  which,  however,  remained  as  usual  a 
dead  letter.  PVesh  and  peremptory  com- 
mands were  again  despatched  from  Stam- 
boul ;  whereupon  the  Vali  armed  himself 
with  a  stick,  armed  his  generals,  Muftis, 
Mollahs,  and  Cadis  with  sticks,  and,  sally- 
ing forth  from  village  to  village,  summoned 
the  people  to  arm  themselves  likewise  with 
sticks,  and  then  proceed,  viHhiis  unitis,  to 
prod  the  vermin  out  of  their  holes.  Such 
an  impulse  did  this  example  impart  to  the 
energy  of  the  people,  that  within  a  few 


days  the  luckless  invaders  were  all  irretriev- 
ably massacred. 

This  is  no  parable,  but  a  sober  fact,  and 
exactly  illustrates  not  only  the  method  by 
which  the  Bulgarian  revolt  was  stifled,  but 
also  that  by  which  the  Turkish  forces  were 
mobilised.  "  The  rank  and  file  formed  ex- 
cellent material,  and  some  of  the  superior 
officers  were  very  good  ;  but  of  the  inferior 
officers  and  the  administration  at  Stamboul 
it  is  hard  to  say  which  was  the  worst.  The 
War-Office  sent  its  orders  to  the  Valis  of  the 
Asiatic  and  European  provinces  to  collect 
as  many  men  as  they  could,  no  matter 
from  what  source,  and  to  unfurl  the  green 
flag.  An  immense  multitude  of  rabble  was 
thus  assembled  at  various  points  in  the  em- 
pire. The  scum  of  the  towns,  the  dregs  of 
the  prisons  (even  those  of  Egypt,  Tripoli, 
and  Tunis  were  impressed),  the  poorer  pea- 
santry— in  short,  all  who  had  nothing  to 
lose  and  everything  to  gain,  were  distri- 
buted amongst  the  towns  and  through  the 
districts  denuded  of  regular  troops.  Here 
they  were  the  terror  of  the  population,  and 
about  as  much  under  the  control  of  the 
Valis  and  Mutesarifs  as  a  wild  elephant  in 
the  hands  of  a  child. 

Under  such  conditions  it  is  not  surprising, 
as  Consul  Dupuis  states,  that  disturbances 
occurred  at  Karabounar,  between  Yamboli 
and  Eski-sagra ;  at  Kouleli  Bourgas,  and  at 
Tatar-Bazardjik,  where  a  complete  panic 
seized  the  place,  and  the  fears  of  a  general 
massacre  were  so  great  that  the  whole  of 
the  Christian  population  betook  themselves 
to  their  churches,  where  they  passed  the 
night,  while  the  Turks  were  parading  the 
streets  fully  armed.  At  Tatar-Bazardjik, 
an  eye-witness,  a  Polish  gentleman  in  the 
service  of  the  Porte,  said  that,  on  reaching 
that  place,  he  found  it  completely  aban- 
doned, all  the  shops  and  houses  shut  up, 
the  inhabitants  fled  or  hid  away,  and  com- 
plete disorganisation  among  the  railway 
servants,  in  consequence  of  the  reprisals 
threatened  for  the  massacre  at  Otloukeui 
of  five  zaptiehs  and  an  employe  of  the  konak 
by  insurgents;  for  the  local  authorities, 
fearing  an  attack  on  Tatar-Bazardjik,  col- 
lected together  an  armed  force  of  the  Mus- 
sulman inhabitants,  and  started  in  pursuit 
of  the  murderers,  who  immediately  fled  to 
the  mountains. 

But  though  the  murderers  had  fled, 
the  troops  which  had  been  gathered  to- 
gether in  the  manner  already  described — 
Circassians,    Bashi-Bazouks,    and    general 


riffraff — were  not  to  be  balked  of  their 
revenge  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  village 
of  Otloukeui,  who,  refusing  to  surrender, 
and  taking  refuge  in  a  church  or  monastery, 
were  bombarded  \>y  them  under  Hafous 
Pasha,  and  upwards  of  300  men,  women, 
and  children  slaughtered. 

This  was  the  signal  for  that  series  of 
massacres  by  Moslems  and  Christians  of 
each  other  (in  which  it  is  true  that  the 
Christians  were  worsted),  which  created 
such  intense  excitement  in  England,  where 
it  was  at  once  seized  upon  for  a  party  cry, 
and  gave  rise  to  that  agitation  which  has 
become  so  notorious  as  to  need  no  further 
allusion  to  it. 

But,  for  future  guidance,  it  may  be  well 
to  show  on  what  the  whole^le  denuncia- 
tion of  the  Turks  was  based,  and  who  were 
the  immediate  perpetrators  of  the  sickening 
outrages  which  thrilled  all  Europe. 

We  will  take  the  reports  of  the  journal 
which  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a  way,  not 
only  for  purely  political  purposes,  but  to 
regain  the  'vantage  ground  it  had  lost  as 
the  organ  of  dissent.  Here  we  find  Mr. 
MacGahan  writing : — 

"  When  the  insurrection  broke  out, 
regular  soldiers  were  at  first  sent  to  put 
it  down.  Turkish  soldiers  are  always  a 
rough,  undisciplined  lot ;  but  they  had  to 
deal  with  men  who  were  not  very  much 
better,  and  who  were  in  rebellion.  Leaving 
out  of  consideration  the  provocation  and 
justification  which  the  insurgents  had  for 
rebellion,  the  systematic  oppression  of  years, 
the  numerous  cases  of  individual  cruelties 
and  hardships,  the  long  imprisonment  in 
the  foul  dungeons,  which,  out  of  the  capital, 
serve  as  prisons  of  men  unconvicted  and 
untried,  but  suspected — it  may  be  admitted 
that  in  any  country  a  rebel  takes  his  life  in 
his  hands,  and  has  no  great  reason  to  com- 
plain if,  when  he  fails,  he  has  to  pay  the 
penalty  of  death.  Mercy  towards  bellige- 
rents was  never  expected,  and  has  certainly 
never  been  shown  in  Turkish  warfare.  But 
the  atrocities  complained  of  are  not  the 
work  of  soldiers,  but  of  Bashi-Bazouks, 
It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  the  Crimean 
war,  the  reputation  of  more  than  one  Indian 
officer  was  destroyed,  because  it  was  found 
impossible  by  men  even  with  Indian  expe- 
rience to  keep  order  among  these  irregular 
troops.  Military  organisation  or  discipline 
they  can  scarcely  be  said  to^have.  Com- 
posed of  the  dregs  of  the  Turkish  and 
Circassian  population,  with  Gipsies  and 

99 


•<mRi 


MR.  MACGAHAN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.b.  187G* 


I 


gaol-birds  let  out  for  the  purpose,  and 
under  no  responsible  command,  they  have 
been  let  loose  upon  a  large  portion  of  cen- 
tral Bulgaria  to  put  down  the  insurrection 
in  their  own  fashion.  The  result  is  what 
everybody  acquainted  with  the  materials 
composing  such  a  force  might  expect — the 
plundering  of  all  moveable  property,  the 
burning  of  the  houses  and  villages  of  the 
peasantry,  without  the  slightest  regard  to 
the  question  whether  the  occupants  have 
taken  part  in  the  insurrection  or  not,  and 
the  almost  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  old 
men,  women,  and  cliildren." 

In  another  report  we  read  the  following 
graphic  description.  Novo  Selo,  however, 
it  must  be  remembered,  is  the  name  of 
every  third  village  in  the  country,  so  that 
it  is  rather  a  vague  description  : — 

"  The  village  of  Novo  Selo  was  attacked 
by  Bashi-Bazouks  and  Circassians.  More 
tlian  400  women  and  children  took  to 
flight,  and,  worn  out  with  fatigue,  huddled 
themselves  together  in  the  open  fields  near 
Kalofer.  They  sent  to  the  head  men  of  the 
latter  village  for  food.  After  some  nego- 
tiations to  obtain  the  permission  of  the 
neighbouring  Mussulmans,  they  received 
permission  to  take  refuge  in  the  convent  of 
the  Holy  Trinity.  During  the  negotiations 
a  band  of  200  men  burst  in  upon  the  poor 
wretches,  took  from  them  everything  of 
value  which  the  Circassian  troops  had  left 
them,  and  carried  off  forty  of  the  young 
women.  These  men,  returning  to  their 
villiige  with  their  captives,  were  met  by  the 
Turkish  women,  who  objected  to  receive 
any  giaours.  They  were  thereupon  driven 
to  a  neighbouring  farm,  and,  after  a  scene 
which  the  Courrier  describes,  but  an 
English  paper  dare  not,  they  were  shut  up 
in  a  straw-loft  and  burnt.  Other  particu- 
lars are  given  by  the  CoiirHer;  but  these 
are  enough.  This  horrible  statement,  I 
repeat,  was  not  contradicted  here  by  the 
government,  nor  was  the  newspaper  sup- 
pressed professedly  because  of  its  publica- 
tion. Had  it  been,  and  the  accuracy  of  the 
statements  challenged,  the  truth  would  have 
been  made  manifest." 

This  reasoning  is  classic.  Because  the 
paper  was  not  suppressed  by  a  govern- 
ment which  habitually  suppressed  the  truth, 
therefore  the  charge  was  true. 

Again,  a  letter  from  Sliven,  May  29th, 
states : —        * 

"  In  the  market  the  soldiers  attacked 
Detcho,  the  tailor,  while  the  Redifs  fired 
100 


upon  him  and  killed  him.  The  same  band' 
of  soldiers  killed,  with  their  daggers,  a  boy 
sixteen  years  old,  and  mortally  wounded 
Thodoraki  Ahmakoff.  Four  men  are  lying 
in  bed  badly  wounded ;  but  those  who  are 
slightly  wounded  are  without  number.  The 
governor^  in  this  case,  shoived  a  great  deal 
of  prudence  and  energy.  The  moment  he 
was  informed  of  these  troubles  he  hastened 
to  the  place,  ordered  that  the  corpses  of  the 
two  killed  should  be  taken  away,  pacified 
the  people,  accompanied  himself  some  of 
the  wealthier  people  to  their  houses,  while 
others  he  sent  accompanied  by  his  men, 
and  commanded  the  Bashi-Bazouks  to  lay 
down  their  arms.  In  spite  of  all  these 
orders,  howewer,  the  Bashi-Bazouks  did  not 
lay  down  their  arms,  and  continued  to 
walk  about  armed,  so  that  the  people,  fear- 
ing lest  their  property  should  be  sacked, 
did  not  open  their  shops.  The  governor, 
observing  this,  ordered,  on  the  13th  (25th), 
the  public  criers  to  announce  to  the  people 
to  open  their  shops  ;  but  they  opened  only 
one  door  of  their  shops,  being  still  afraid 
of  the  lawlessness  of  the  Bashi-Bazouks. 
A  short  time  after,  the  Bashi-Bazouks 
and  the  troops  attacked  the  butchers'  and 
bakers'  shops,  plundering  all  the  meat, 
bread,  and  money  they  found,  so  that  the 
shops  were  again  closed.  The  governor 
again  ordered  the  Bashi-Bazouks  to  lay 
down  theii  arms,  and  the  Turkish  Muhtars 
and  Imams  to  tell  the  Turks  to  attend 
to  their  business.  Moreover,  he  appointed 
guards  of  soldiers  to  go  round  the  city; 
and  by  these  precautions  tranquillity  was 
established  again.  In  the  villages,  however, 
the  Bashi-Bazouks  go  about  freely  with 
their  arms,  and  commit  various  outraij^es,  so 
that  no  one  dares  to  go  out  of  the  city." 

In  the  same  letter  it  is  also  stated — 
"  Great  numbers  of  Bulgarian  children 
have  been  captured  by  the  Circassians, 
and  have  been  sold,  or  are  now  on  s<ale  as 
slaves.  So  large  is  the  stock  on  hand,  tliat 
I  am  informed,  from  a  good  source,  that 
young  girls  may  be  bought  for  three  or 
four  liras  each  at  Philippopolis.  I  have 
seen  an  official  report  from  a  consular 
agent  in  the  district,  who  has  apparently  no 
sympatliy  whatever  with  the  insurgents,  in 
which  the  estimate  of  those  killed — non- 
combatants,  that  is — is  fixed  at  12,000,  in- 
cluding men,  women,  and  children.  He  adds, 
that  the  country  is  full  of  armed  marauders, 
who  compel  all  the  wealthy  Christians  to 
pay  heavy  penalties,  under  the  threat  of 


i.D.  1876.] 


EUSSTAN  EMPIRE.         [specul  correspondents. 


being  denounced  as  insurgents."  It  is 
worthy  of  note,  that  even  at  this  early 
period  it  was  acknowledged  that  some 
Christians,  at  least,  were  wealthy  and  able 
to  pay  heavy  penalties. 

Then  we  read  again: — "Complete  an- 
archy reigns  throughout  the  towns  and 
villages  of  this  province  (Philippopolis). 
The  governor  seems  to  he  the  only  one  who 
has  at  heart  the  true  interest  of  the 
government,  and  he  is  unable  to  restrain 
the  fanaticism  of  the  Turks.  The  idea  is 
current  here  among  the  Turks,  either  to 
annihilate  or  to  materially  weaken  the 
Bulgarian  element,  so  that  they  may  rid 
themselves  of  every  fear  of  European 
intervention.  In  the  space  of  twenty  days 
more  than  100  villages  have  been  burned 
in  the  province  of  Philippopolis  and  of 
Tatar-Bazardj  ik." 

"  Bashi-Bazouks,  and  Circassians  and 
Gipsies : "  such  is  the  constant  refrain.  It 
was  not  the  regular  troops,  nor  even  the 
Moslems  as  a  class,  who  were  guilty  of  the 
excesses ;  but  only  the  scoundrels,  for  the 
most  part,  bounded  into  Turkey  by 
Kussia. 

It  was,  of  course,  highly  reprehensible 
to  make  use  of  these  ruffians;  but  when 
a  man  thinks  his  neighbours  are  about  to 
fall  upon  him,  and  massacre  him  and  all 
his  belongings,  he  does  not  inquire  too 
nicely  into  the  character  of  his  instruments 
to  defend  himself.  Besides  this,  the 
Moslems  were  better  aware  of  the  nature 
of  the  Bulgarian  than  were  correspondents, 
whose  only  preparation  for  their  task  was 
the  study  of  a  cheap  Turkish  grammar, 
purchased  at  one  of  the  second-hand  book- 
stalls along  the  Seine  during  their  journey 
down  the  Danube.  What  the  Bulgarians 
would  have  done,  had  they  not  been 
forestalled,  has  been  amply  proved  by 
subsequent  events.  That  they  had  cause 
for  fear  is  now  but  too  plain.  But  it  was 
well  known  even  then  what  was  preparing. 
It  was  known  as  far  south  as  Salonica. 
Here  we  find  Consul  Blunt  writing : — 

"Some  Servian  emissaries,  with  about 
thirty  insurgents,  made  an  irruption  into 
the  mountainous  district  of  Malish,  burnt 
some  Bulgarian  houses,  hoping  thus  to 
force  the  Bulgarians  to  rise,  and  massacred 
some  Mahommedans ;  but  they  were  dis- 
persed, and  I  now  hear  that  several  of 
them  have  been  apprehended. 

"The  governor-general  of  Salonica  in- 
forms   me    that  he  continues  to  receive 

VOL.  III.  p 


satisfactory  accounts  of  the  quiet  dis- 
position of  the  Bulgarian  peasants  in  his 
province. 

"I  am  also  informed  that  the  secret 
agents  of  the  authorities  have  discovered 
traces  of  a  *  Bulgarian  Comite'  in  this 
town,  under  the  direction  of  foreign  in- 
fluence, who  employed  emissaries  to  foment 
disturbances  in  the  interior." 

It  was  equally  known  in  Rustchuk ;  and 
Consul  Eeade  lost  no  opportunities  of 
impressing  the  fact  upon  his  superiors, 
but  with  little  eflfect.  He  wrote  on  May 
20th :—  ^ 

"The  state  of  things  here  has  improved 
since  my  last  report,  and  the  emissaries 
who  have  entered  the  vilayet  from  abroad 
find  it  daily  more  difficult  <o  stir  up  the 
Bulgarians  of  the  province. 

"  The  insurgents  from  the  Balkans  having 
faiUd  in  getting  the  Bulgarians  of  Selm 
to  join  them,  threatened  to  come  down  and 
punish  them.  Accordingly,  the  day  before 
yesterday,  I  believe  about  1,000  were 
collected  at  Ducheva,  a  spot  about  two 
hours  from  Selvi.  The  Selvi  people  im- 
mediately sent  off  to  Tirnova  and  Plevna 
for  assistance,  and  Nedjib  Aga,  governor 
of  the  latter  place,  at  once  hurried  off  with 
about  5Q0  men  of  the  reserve. 

"  On  their  arrival  where  the  insurgents 
were,  they  attacked  them  so  vi<rorously 
that  they  completely  routed  them  in  a  verV 
short  time.  The  killed  and  wounded  were 
about  200.  Nedjib  Aga  lost  two  killed  and 
nine  wounded. 

"I  saw  the  governor-general  yesterday 
just  as  he  had  received  this  intelligence. 
His  excellency  was  in  high  spirits,  and 
hoped  that  the  disturbances  here  would  soon 
cease,  as  the  insurgents  must  now  be  con- 
vinced that  they  cannot  do  anything  of  im- 
portance. Indeed,  I  have  myself  heard,  from 
other  quarters,  that  the  Bulgarians  them- 
selves say,  that  not  having  taken  advanta<^e 
of  the  moment  when  the  Turks  were  taken 
up  with  the  Herzegovina,  it  is  now  too  late 
to  hope  for  any  success  here. 

"The  so-called  Bulgarian  Committee  of 
Bucharest,  as  I  said  before,  are  moving 
but,  as  the  people  here,  I  am  told,  say,  too' 
late.  A  number  of  them  (from  100  to  120) 
are  on  the  opposite  coast,  between  this  and 
Widdin,  waiting  for  opportunities  to  cross  ; 
but  the  Turks  are  so  much  on  the  alert 
night  and  day,  that  as  yet  none  have  been 
able  to  come  over. 

"  In  this  town  several  have  been  arreste4 

101 


READERS  OPINIONS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[general  TCHERNAIEFF. 


for  going  about  endeavouring  to  stir  up 
the  Bulgarians  to  rise ;  but  they  have  not 
succeeded  in  one  single  instance.  The 
affair  altogether  is  contemptible,  and  I 
think  we  shall  shortly  hear  the  end  of  it,'' 

This  may  not  appear  to  have  been  a  very 
fortunate  prophecy ;  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  Consul  Reade  was  speaking  of 
the  country  north  of  the  Balkans,  where,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  scarcely  any  excesses  took 
place.  At  the  same  time,  he  writes  on  the 
following  day : — 

"  Many  of  the  revolutionary  Bulgarians 
in  Wallachia  are  said  to  be  entering  this 
vilayet,  and  some  have  already  been  dis- 
covered and  arrested. 

"  From  all  I  see  and  hear,  I  am  persuaded 
that  there  is  nothing  serious  to  fear  for  the 
moment,  nor  will  there  be  if  the  government 
acts  with  promptitude  on  the  occurrence  of 
any  disorder.  The  Porte,  however,  I  think, 
would  do  well  were  it  to  grant  the  pasha 
more  power,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  make 
examples  of  some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  in- 
surgents ;  for  I  am  persuaded  if  this  is  not 
done  the  natives  will  think  that  the  govern- 
ment is  weak,  and  the  disturbances,  which 
at  present  are  comparatively  insignificant, 
are  sure  to  increase ;  whereas,  if  a  few  ex- 
amples were  made  of  the  chiefs,  they  would 
serve  as  salutary,  and,  I  think,  successful 
lessons  to  the  rest." 

It  was  thus   clearly  Mr.  Reade's  opinion 
that  the  disturbances  were  chiefly  due  to 
foreign  agents;  and  in  advising  the  adop- 
tion of  severe  measures,  he  had  only  these 
people  in  view,  and  not  the  Bulgarian  popu- 
lation ;  for  Mr.  Reade  is  one  of  those  men 
who  refuse  to  see  good  in  a  Turk,  as  his 
subsequent  despatches  amply  prove — espe- 
cially the  one  that  aroused  Lord  Beacons- 
field's  ire  when  he  retorted  upon  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's "bag  and  baggage"    with  a  con- 
temptuous "coffee-house  babble."      Both 
phrases  were  equally  unfortunate — the  one 
because  it  conveyed  a  wrong  impression, 
the  other  because  it  was  true.     The  "  bab- 
ble" was  a  report  from  a  Mussulman,  who 
was  sent  by  Mr.  Reade  to  acquire  informa- 
tion, and  ran  as  follows : — 

"  This  morning  I  went  to  a  cafe,  where 
a  Mussulman  was  sitting,  in  company  with 
several  Mussulmans  of  Rustchuk.  He  was 
one  of  those  sent  against  the  insurgents, 
and  this  is  what  I  heard  him  say : — 

"  When  asked  whether  he  could  be  called 
a    Ghazi    (champion    of    the    Faith),    he 
answered,  '  I  will  not  speak  of  what  I  have 
102 


done;  but  when  I  tell  you  that  even  our 
schoolboys  killed  their  five  or  six  Bulga- 
rians, what  can  you  imagine  that  I  did  ? ' 

"  He  praised  the  Circassians  as  having 
done  great  things,  having  as  their  motto, 
'  Giaur  eulsun,  vurunuz  eulsun'  ('  Let  the 
Giaour  die — strike  him,  let  him  perish'). 

"A  Bimbashi  (major)  present  asked  him 
if  they  had  taken  rifles  from  those  that 
were  killed.  He  replied,  that  'they  had 
not  even  a  hoe  with  them,  much  less  rifles.' 
"The  Bimbashi  then  said  that  they 
must  have  killed  innocent  people.  He  re- 
plied, '  Yes,  very  few  had  arms.' 

"  Another  present  remarked  that  5,000 
or  6,000  must  have  perished  innocently. 
He  answered,  'If  you  had  said  25,000  or 
26,000  you, would  have  been  more  correct.' 
He  added,  '  It  is  a  great  loss  to  the  country, 
as  most  of  them  were  tax-paying  people.' 

"  He  also  said  that  at  Plevna  no  Christian 
could  go  to  his  field  or  vineyard  for  fear  of 
being  robbed  or  maltreated ;  and  that  the 
people  of  Nicopoli  and  Shumla  were  pre- 
paring letters  of  thanks  to  their  Kaimacams 
for  not  having  armed  the  Circassians  in 
their  districts." 

Similar  information  poured  in  from  all 
quarters,  and  it  was  all  to  the  same  efifect. 
The  burden  of  the  song  was  ever  that  emis- 
saries were  forcing  the  people  into  revolt, 
and   that    Circassians    and    Bashi-Bazouks 
were  employed  against  them.     Yet,  at  this 
very  period.  General  Ignatieff  was  the  very 
man  who  pooh-poohed  the  movement,  and 
stated  that,  according  to  his  information, 
the  disturbances  arose  simply  from  the  tur- 
bulent behaviour  of  the  Italian  navvies  on 
the  railway- works,  who  were  discontented 
because  they  had  not  received   their  pay. 
Naturally  the  wily  general  did  not  wish  it 
to  become  known  what  dimensions  the  agita- 
tion  and   massacre   were  taking.     All   he 
cared  was  that  the  Bulgarian  "question" 
should  arise   in   addition   to  the  Bosnian, 
Herzegovinian,  and  Montenegrin  questions. 
The  summary  measures,  however,  which 
the  Moslems  were  obliged  to  adopt,  would 
speedily  have  resulted  in  the  suppression  of 
the  revolt.     It  had,  in  fact,  been  already 
quelled  when,  chiefly  through  IgnatiefiTs  in- 
strumentality, the  massacres  of  Perustitza, 
Aorat,  Alan,  and  Batak  were  made  known 
to  the  world  through  Mr.  MacGahan  and 
Mr.  Schuyler.     He  saw  that  the  time  had 
come  for  adding  fresh  fuel  to  the  smoulder- 
ing flame,  and  found  the  above  gentlemen 
[willing  tools  in  his  hands  for  the  purpose 


of  creating  an  intense  excitement  through- 
out Europe ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
proceeded  to  stir  up  the  rebellion  afresh: 
this  time,  by  openly-avowed  emissaries  and 
foreigners— that  is,  by  inciting  the  Serbs 
to  declare  war,  and  carry  their  arms,  not 
into  the  districts  for  which  alone  they  had 
hitherto  expressed  their  sympathy— that  is 
to  say,  into  Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina, 
where   the    Christians    had    been    battling 


for   the   last  eighteen   months,  and  were. 


as  likely,  from  information  probably  volun- 
teered by  General  TchernaiefiF,  to  prove  a 
favourable  spot  for  the  preparation  of  a 
fresh  atrocity  report.  Be  this  as  it  may. 
General  Tchernaieff  and  Mr.  Schuyler 
were  fast  friends  in  Russia ;  Tchernaiefi"  was 
in  disgrace  in  Court  circles ;  Schuyler  went 
to  Constantinople,  became  an  intimate 
acquaintance  of  General  IgnatiefiTs;  and 
shortly  afterwards,  almost   simultaneously 


undoubtedly,  suffering— but  into  Bulgaria, 
where  the  most  diabolical  intrigues  and 
devilish  means  had  been  adopted  to  force 
the  people  into  rebellion. 

A  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Schuyler's  was 
chosen  to  carry  this  plan  out— a  man  who 
had  enabled  Mr.  Schuyler  to  make  his 
debut  as  a  sensation-reporter  and  atrocity- 
monger.  This  man  was  General  Tcher- 
naieff. 

Tchernaieff  was    one    of    those   restless 
spirits  who  are  consumed  by  ambition  and 
eaten  up  by  vanity.     He  had  commanded  a 
Russian   detachment   in   the   first   Central 
Asian   expedition,  under    General    Kaufif- 
mann,  and  had  conquered  Tashkend.     This 
turned  his  brain.    Henceforth  he  was  known 
amongst  his  friends  as  the  Mogul  of  Tash- 
kend.     General  Kauffmann,  however,  did 
not   attach    the   same    importance   to   his 
subordinate,  who  thoroughly  believed  that 
to  him,  and  him  alone,  the  success  of  the 
whole  expedition  was  due.    This  led  to  dis- 
putes between  the  two  commanders;  and 
General  Kauffmann — who,  some  people  say, 
is  the  Czar  of  Asiatic  Russia,  which  includes 
the   greater   portion  of  the  empire — suc- 
ceeded in  inducing  the  authorities  at  St. 
Petersburg  to  intimate  to  General  Tcher- 
naieff that  it  would  be  advisable  for  him  to 

resign. 

The  whole  affair  is  wrapped  up  in  some 
mystery.  Whether  General  Tchernaiefifs 
dismissal  was  due  to  his  having  furnished 
Mr.  Schuyler  with  the  information  regard- 
ing the  atrocities  committed  by  General 
Kauffmann  and  the  Russian  Bashi-Bazouks, 
or  whether  it  was  in  consequence  of  his 
dismissal  that  he  favoured  Mr.  Schuyler,  is 
not  quite  clear.  Certain  it  is  that  the  publi- 
cation of  Mr.  Schuyler's  report  on  the 
Asian  atrocities  led  to  such  strong  re- 
presentations on  the  part  of  the  Russian 
government,  that  he  was  recalled  from  his 
post  at  the  United  States  embassy,  and 
ordered  to  Constantinople.  Probably  Mr. 
Schuyler  suggested  Constantinople  himself. 


with   the    publication    of    the    Bulgarian 


horrors.   General    Tchernaieff    arrived    in 
Belgrade. 

This  may  all  be  a  fortuitous  concatena- 
tion of  events.    It  is  quite  possible  that  for 
once  fiction  has  been  stranger  than  truth  ; 
but  it  will,  at  any  rate,  always  remain  a  very 
remarkable  concatenation,  and  psychologi- 
cally enigmatical.     What  the  general  went 
to  Servia  for  appears  from  a  letter  which 
he  wrote  to  the  Russki  Mir,  the  journal  of 
which  he  had  become  the  proprietor  since 
he  had  exchanged  the  sword  for  the  pen : — 
"  I  proceeded  to  Servia  with  the  object 
of  making  myself  acquainted  with  the  real 
state  of  affairs  in  the  Turkish  territories,  in 
order  that,  in  communicating  information 
to  my  own  newspaper,  I  might  be  enabled 
to   appreciate    correctly    the    intelligence 
which    is    transmitted    to   Russia   chiefly 
through  the  Austrian  press,  which  is  hostile 
to  all  Slavism  generally.    I  chose  the  route 
by  way  of  Kisheneff  and  the  Danube,  along 
the  whole  course   of  which,   commencing 
from  the  Russian  frontier  to  the  Servian 
boundary,  committees  were  formed,  towards 
the  end  of  last  year,  for  organising   the 
plans  of  the  Bulgarians  in  their  approach- 
ing struggle  for  independence. 

"  Commencing  from  Bolgrad  (a  Bul- 
garian colony  which  fell  away  from  Russia 
and  became  incorporated  with  Roumania 
by  virtue  of  the  treaty  of  Paris),  I  every- 
where heard  the  same  thing,  which  was  to 
the  effect  that  all  had  been  done  that  was 
possible  by  the  people  for  the  impending 
struggle.  All  the  arms  that  could  be  found 
in  Roumania  had  been  bought  up ;  many 
rifles,  which  had  been  distributed  by  the 
Turkish  government  among  the  Mussul- 
man population,  had  been  obtained  by  the 
Bulgarians,  and  that  powder  was  being 
manufactured  in  many  places  by  the  people 
themselves.  Considerable  stores  of  provi- 
sions had  been  removed  to  the  Balkans,  and 
property  secreted  under  ground. 

" '  We  only  expect,'  I  was  told,  *  a  general 
signal  for  attacking  the  Turks,  after  first 

103 


\ 


■*  i 


tchernaieff's  crusade.]         history   OF  THE 


[a.d.  187G. 


A.T>.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  *'agence  russe.'* 


removino^  our  families  and  cattle  to  the 
mountaius ;  we  still,  however,  require 
leaders  and  unanimity.  We  are  keeping 
tlie  people  back  ho  as  to  avoid  useless  sacri- 
fices by  a  premature  rising ! ' 

"I  doubted  the  correctness  of  this  in- 
formation, and  particularly  as  regards  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  committees  being  shared 
by  the  Bulgarian  people  across  the  Danube. 
The    subsequent  outbreak,    however,    con- 
firmed the  statements  made  to  me.     At  the 
present  moment,  and  now  that  a  fortnight 
has  elapsed  since  the  first  commencement 
of  hostilities,  the  insurgent  Bulgarians  may, 
acconliug  to  information  possessed  here,  be 
numbered  by  thousands.     Their  movements 
are  regulated  by  a  fixed  programme.     The 
Bulgarian  military  organisation  is  based  on 
a  gradual   scale,   commencing  from  a  de- 
siatka   (ten  men);    ten  desiatkas  form   a 
cheta,  ten  chetas  a  voevodstvo ;  ten  voe- 
vodstvos  a  head  voevodstvo,  the  command 
over  which  will  be  intrusted   to   a   com- 
mander-in-chief.      Seniority    among    the 
commanders  will  be  reckoned  from  the  day 
of  their   taking  part  in  the  insurrection. 
Until  the  people  are  seasoned  under  fire,  all 
the  military  movements  will  be  confined  to 
partisan  attacks   on   the  communications; 
consisting   chiefly    in    the   destruction   of 
railways,      telegraphs,      interception       of 
couriers,  posts,  tfcc*  An  attack  of  TurJcisk 
detachments  will  only  he  alloived  under 
sjDecialli/  favourable  circumstances^  and 
U)uler     a     considerable     superiority     of 
strength  over  the  enemy.     The  first  acts  of 
the  insurgents  have  been  in  strict  accord- 
ance ivith  this  p7'ogramme. 

"  After  quitting  Bucharest  I  reached  Bel- 
grade, where  I  found  that  preparations  for 
war  were  being  pushed  forward.  As  is 
known,  the  military  force  of  the  princi- 
palities consists  of  militiamen  (of  regular 
troops  there  are  only  4,000  or  5,000),  who 
can  be  all  mustered  in  fourteen  days.  The 
Servians,  relying  on  Russia,  remained 
quiet  for  eleven  months,  enabling  the 
Turks  to  concentrate  along  their  extended 
frontier  about  60,000  men,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  Krupp  artillery,  and  to  form 
several  fortified  camps.  The  justice  of 
their  complaints  against  diplomacy  can 
thus  be  understood.  You  will  readily  per- 
ceive why  my  arrival  excited  such  sym- 
pathy. Not  only  at  Belgrade,  but  also 
during    my  excursion    into    the    interior 


•  The  etc.  probably  means  "casual  massacres. 
104 


»» 


(which  I  undertook,  with  the  sanction  of 
Prince  Milan,  for  the  purpose  of  examining, 
amongst  other  things,  the  state  of  the  for- 
tresses), did  I  hear  of  the  strong  hopes 
which  the  Bulgarians  placed  in  their  Rus- 
sian brethren.  This  feeling  of  sympathy, 
expressed,  may  be,  with  greater  strength  at 
the  present  critical  moment,  always  exists 
in  the  hearts  of  the  Servian  people,  as  is 
proved  by  the  presence,  in  every  peasant's 
hut  and  wayside  station,  of  the  portraits  of 
our  emperors  side  by  side  with  those  of 
their  esteemed  princes  of  the  House  of 
Obronovitch.  Wherever  I  passed  the  peo- 
ple shouted,  'Long  life  to  our  Russian 
brethren !  Long  life  to  our  Orthodox  Rus- 
sian Tsar ! ' 

"  On  my  return  to  Belgrade  a  proposal 
was  made  that  I  should  enter  the  ranks  of 
the  Servian  army.  All  vacillation  on  my 
part  would,  of  course,  have  been  misplaced; 
a  refusal  would  have  been  tantamount  to  a 
desire  to  avoid  the  danger  which  threat- 
ened a  kindred  country  from  all  sides. 
After  the  survey  made  by  me  of  the 
advanced  positions,  my  departure  from 
Servia  would  have  been  interpreted  by  the 
enemies  of  the  Slavs,  who  are  very  nu- 
merous, in  the  sense  that  I  had  become 
convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  the  con- 
templated struggle.  My  examination,  how- 
ever, of  the  real  state  of  matters,  assured 
me  of  the  contrary.  Servia  can  muster 
125,000  well-armed  troops,  with  200  rifled 
guns,  and  24,000  horsemen  for  scout  and 
outpost  duties.  In  addition  to  this  the 
country  is  able  to  command  100,000  armed 
men  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  their 
families  and  dwellings. 

"It  may  generally  be  said  that  Servia  pos- 
sesses many  natural  advantages  for  a  suc- 
cessful struggle  against  the  Turks.  Vic- 
tory, however,  is  in  the  hand  of  God.  The 
nation  is  fervidly  devoted  to  the  Obrono- 
vitch dynasty,  and  to  its  present  represen- 
tative. Prince  Milan.  Everything  that  we 
hear  in  Russia  about  the  Karageorgevitch 
party,  which  is  secretly  supported  by 
Austria,  proceeds  from  the  Austrian  press; 
and  every  true  Servian  regards  the  few  par- 
tisans of  that  party,  who  are  in  the  pay  of 
Austria,  with  the  greatest  contempt. 

"The  communistic  outbreak  at  Kragn- 
jevatz,  which  has  been  purposely  magnified 
by  the  Austrian  press,  was  a  childish  bid  for 
notoriety  by  a  few  hair-brained  young  men 
thirsting  for  notoriety.  I  conclude  this 
letter    by  expressing  the   hope  that   my 


countrymen  will  not  condemn  my  deter- 
mination to  place  myself  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Servians  in  the  impending  struggle  for 
the  emancipation  of  the  Balkan  Christians 
from  the  degrading  and  insupportable 
Turkish  yoke." — These  last  words,  the 
**  Balkan  Christians,"  left  no  doubt  as  to 
the  general's  intentions.  Yet  the  very 
next  day  we  find  Consul  White  writing  a 
pottering  despatch,  to  the  efifect  that, "  after 
hearing  most  conflicting  accounts  during 
the  day,  it  has  hitherto  been  always  possi- 
ble, in  the  end,  to  ascertain  that  these 
reports  are,  at  any  rate,  premature."  Then 
follow  a  number  of  "  probables  "  and  "  pos- 
sibles," "  likelys  "  and  "  unlikelys,"  varied 
with  a  few  "  said  to  be's,"  and  winding  up 
with  the  statement,  "  that  an  attempt  will 
not  improbably  be  made  to  open  new  centres 
of  insurrection  in  Bosnia."  Again,  on  June 
12,  he  writes  as  though  Bosnia  were  to  be  the 
scene  of  offensive  operations,  whilst  every 
stable-boy  in  Belgrade  knew  perfectly  well 
that  Bulgaria  was  to  be  the  scene  of  opera- 
tions, and  every  cobbler  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  Servia  to  take  any  action  in 
Bosnia  for  fear  of  Austrian  intervention, 
which  had  been  plainly  threatened. 

However,  on  Tchernaieff^s  return  from 
Alexinatz,  he  accepted  a  commission  in  the 
Servian  army  without  giving,  as  Mr.  White 
wrote,  time  to  the  imperial  government  to 
raise  any  formal  objection  to  this  act  on 
his  part.  Still  Mr.  White  did  express  a 
"  belief  "that  General  Tchernaieff"  had  been 
in  negotiation  with  some  parties  in  Bel- 
grade with  that  view  for  some  months,  and 
that  his  opinion  of  the  attitude  that  Russia 
would  ultimately  take  in  the  question,  had 
more  to  do  with  this  bold  act  on  his  part 
than  any  excessive  confidence  in  the  mili- 
tary resources  of  the  principality. 

One  of  the  parties  here  alluded  to  was 
M.  Kartzoff",  the  Russian  consul,  who  as- 
sured Mr.  White  "  that  this  act  of  General 
Tchernaieff^s  took  him  quite  by  surprise, 
and  that  he  considered  this  step  on  the 
part  of  the  Servian  government  as  wanting 
in  proper  deference  to  his  own  govern- 
ment." 

But  whatever  M.  Kartzoff  may  have  con- 
'Jidered,  his  government  showed  no  signs  of 
displeasure  worthy  of  any  attention,  and 
simply  couLerterl  itself  with  a  formal  denial 
that  General  Tchernaieff'  had  received  any 
military  command  in  Servia.  It  was  left 
to  the  A gence  Eusse  to  make  this  denial. 
This  Agence  Russe  is  a  news  and  telegraph 


agency,  supported  by  the  government,  in 
order  to  supply  the  foreign  press  with 
"  authentic  and  reliable  information  on 
Russian  affairs."  What  reliance  is  to  be 
placed  on  the  utterances  of  this  agency  ap- 
pears very  plainly  in  this  matter  of  General 
Tchernaieff.  The  Agence  Russe  said  (and 
its  sayings  were  reported  by  Lord  Loftus 
to  his  government  with  all  the  weight  of 
authority),  that  they  were  "  in  a  position  to 
affirm  that  M.  Tchernaieff",  who  was  a  re- 
tired general,  had  not  received  any  kind  of 
military  command  in  Servia,  and  that  he 
was  only  there  in  his  character  of  news- 
paper correspondent,  as  was  proved  by  the 
telegram  from  Belgrade,  signed  by  himself, 
and  which  was  copied  from  the  Monde 
Russe,  which  is  his  paper.  But  what  is 
true  was,  that  this  general  and  other  re- 
tired Russian  officers,  influenced  by  their 
sympathies  and  by  the  prospect  of  impend- 
ing conflagrations  in  Turkey,  had  left  for 
Servia  or  Montenegro,  and  that  probably 
they  were  not  the  only  ones  who  had  done 
so.  These,"  the  Agence  Russe  continued, 
"were  all  symptoms  of  very  imminent 
danger,  and  which  proved  that  not  a 
moment  must  be  lost  if  it  was  to  be 
averted." 

It  was,  however,  never  intended  that  the 
danger  should  be  averted ;  and  thus  the 
Servian  ministers  and  their  newly-made 
friends  went  on  with  their  military  prepa- 
rations with  as  much  energy  as  ever. 

Meantime  events  had  been  rapidly  cul- 
minating in  Constantinople  to  a  crisis.  For 
some  time  those  who  were  behind  the 
scenes  had  been  aware  that  some  movement 
was  in  progress  which,  from  its  depth  and 
extent,  was  calculated  to  lead  to  important 
results.  For  some  time  the  discontent  felt 
by  the  subjects  of  the  Sultan  at  the  way  in 
which  they  were  misgoverned  had  been 
increasing  in  intensity,  and  was  no  longer 
confined  to  the  Christians,  but  had  extended 
to  the  Mussulmans  themselves,  until  the 
matter  was  taken  up  most  seriously  by  the 
Softas,  who  may  best  be  described  as  the 
educated  youths  and  the  students  belong- 
ing to  the  upper  ranks  of  Moslem  society, 
and  may  be  regarded  as,  to  a  very  great 
degree,  representing  the  intelligent  public 
opinion  of  the  capital,  if  not  of  the  empire. 
These  Softas  were  animated  b"^  a  determi- 
nation to  obtain  the  entire  reform  of  the 
administration,  which  alone  coa  .1  save  the 
empire  from  the  total  and  speedy  ruin 
with  which  it  was  threatened,  especially  in 

105 


M' 


£ 


•J 


.1 


'  *.'■ 


I  »    ' 


■■   il 


THE  SOFT!  OONSPIBACY.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  sultan  deposed. 


consequence  of  the  conduct  of  Mahmoud 
Pasha,  who  was  looked  upon  as  directly 
responsible  for  a  large  share  in  the  despe- 
rate state  of  affairs.  It  was  he,  they  said, 
who  during  his  first  administration  en- 
couraged the  Sultan  in  all  his  caprices, 
being  only  anxious  to  retain  his  majesty's 
favour,  and  totally  indifferent  to  the  wel- 
fare of  his  country.  Mahmoud,  they  said, 
must  be  removed ;  for  the  Sultan  having 
once  been  taught  to  consult  nothing  but 
his  own  humour,  no  subsequent  minister 
was  able  to  restrain  him ;  those  who  at- 
tempted it  being  invariably  dismissed 
within  a  few  weeks.  Their  first  object, 
therefore,  was  to  procure  the  dismissal  of 
the  obnoxious  vizier,  and  the  nomination 
of  Midhat  Pasha,  who,  as  the  champion 
of  the  reforming  party,  was  the  only 
man  in  whom  much  confidence  was 
placed.  The  Old  Turk  party,  however,  pre- 
ferred Mehemet  Rushdi  Pasha,  who  though 
enjoying  general  respect  as  an  incorruptible 
and  patriotic  statesman,  was  not  supposed 
to  have  the  power  to  obtain  from  the  Sul- 
tan the  concessions  and  limitations  of  his 
authority  that  were  considered  necessary, 
and  which  might  possibly  still  preserve  his 
throne,  if,  indeed,  this  was  not  too  late. 
With  this  idea,  the  word  "  Constitution  " 
was  in  every  mouth,  without  there  being 
any  well-defined  understanding  what  it 
meant,  except  that  it  signified  the  estab- 
lishment of  some  popular  or  national  con- 
trol over  the  purely  arbitrary  will  of  the 


sovereign. 


The  Softas,  knowing  themselves  to  be 
supported  by  the  bulk  of  the  nation.  Chris- 
tian as  well  as  Mussulman,  in  calling  for 
this  control,  determined  not  to  desist  in 
their  efforts  till  they  had  obtained  it,  and 
texts  from  the  Koran  were  circulated  with 
a  view  of  proving  to  the  faithful  that  the 
form  of  government  sanctioned  by  it  is 
properly  democratic,  and  that  the  absolute 
authority  wielded  by  the  sovereign  was  a 
usurpation  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  and 
a  contravention  of  the  holy  law.  At  the 
same  time,  both  texts  and  precedents  were 
appealed  to,  to  show  that  allegiance  is  not 
due  to  the  sovereign  who  neglects  the  in- 
terests of  the  State.  These  views  met  with 
general  approbation ;  disaffection  ran 
through  every  class,  and  no  one  thought  of 
trying  to  conceal  his  opinion.  Even  among 
the  porters  in  the  streets,  the  boatmen  on 
the  Bosphorus,  and  pashas  who  had  filled 
or  were  then  filling  the  very  highest  posts, 
106 


civil  or  military,  the  same  language  was 
held,  and  not  a  single  quarter  could  be 
named  in  which  the  Sultan  could  with  any 
confidence  have  looked  for  support  against 
a  well-organised  attempt  to  depose  him. 
So  universal  was  the  feeling  against  the 
government,  as  carried  on  by  the  Sultan 
and  his  favourites,  that  the  highest  oflScers 
in  the  army  publicly  declared  that  neither 
they  nor  their  men  would  oppose  the 
Softas  in  any  movement  they  might  make. 
And  more  significant  than  all  was  the  un- 
derstanding that  existed  between  the 
Softas  and  the  Christians;  for  when  it 
became  known  that  a  vast  conspiracy  was 
being  organised,  the  first  thought  of  the 
Christians  naturally  was  that  it  was  to  be 
directed  against  them :  but  the  Softas  at 
once  declared  that  there  was  not  the  least 
intention  to  interfere  with  the  Christians. 
On  the  contrary,  they  would  only  be  too 
glad  if  the  Christians  would  assist  them  in 
their  plans,  at  least  by  not  opposing  them. 

A  painful  period  of  suspense  followed 
upon  this  action  of  the  Softas,  and  the  air, 
so  to  speak,  was  big  with  portentous  events. 
At  last  the  first  blow  was  dealt.  On  May 
10th  a  large  assemblage  of  Softas  met  Prince 
Izeddin  when  on  his  way  to  the  Seraskeriat 
in  Stamboul,  and  stopping  him,  bade  him 
return  and  inform  the  Sultan  of  their 
demands — viz.,  the  dismissal  of  the  Sheikh- 
ul-Islam  and  the  Grand  Vizier.  His  ma- 
jesty, on  receiving  the  message,  at  once  sent 
his  secretary  to  the  mosque,  where  upwards 
of  2,000  were  assembled,  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain more  precisely  what  it  was  they  wanted, 
and  by  the  next  day  at  noon  both  their 
wishes  had  been  complied  with,  so  great 
was  the  terror  at  the  palace.  But  this  was 
not  all  that  the  Softas  required.  They 
intended  to  require  the  Sultan  to  modify 
his  prerogative  altogether,  and  to  grant  a 
representative  and  constitutional  form  of 
government,  so  as  to  ensure  an  efficient 
control  over  the  finances  of  the  State ;  and  at 
the  same  time,  although  Mehemet  Rushdi 
Pasha,  the  new  Grand  Vizier,  was  univer- 
sally respected,  the  appointment  of  Midhat 
Pasha  was  still  to  be  insisted  upon. 

Had  the  Sultan  known,  or  been  able  to 
gauge  the  character  of  the  movement,  he 
might  have  avoided  what  was  to  follow  by 
complying  with  the  plainly-expressed  desires 
of  the  Softas,  and  appointing  Midhat  Pasha 
Grand  Vizier,  and  calling  upon  him  to 
frame  a  constitution  in  the  sense  demanded 
by  all  his  subjects  alike.     But  either,  as  is 


most  probable,  he  knew  nothmg  at  all 
about  the  matter,  or,  knowing  it,  he  felt 
strong  enough,  in  the  possession  of  his 
ironclads  and  the  army  he  had  organised, 
to  be  able  to  defy  his  rebellious  subjects. 
He  did  not  know  that  neither  his  army  nor 
his  navy  would  fire  a  shot  to  save  him. 

Thus  the  catastrophe  came.  The  Softas, 
led  by  Midhat  Pasha,  had  learned  their 
own  strength.  They  had  succeeded  in  in- 
timidating their  sovereign,  and  they  had 
learned  that  their  object  was  approved  of  by 
the  nation  at  large ;  and  now,  seeing  that 
the  Sultan  still  refused  to  comply  with 
their  wishes,  they  determined  to  strike  the 

final  blow. 

The  arrangements  for  ensuring  success, 
and  for  preventing  the  probability  of  dis- 
turbance, were  made  with  consummate  skill 
and  foresight ;  but  it  is  still  a  matter  of 
wonder  that  a  plot,  of  which  so  many  were 
in  the  secret,  and  the  existence  of  which 
was  indeed   generally,   although    vaguely, 
known    to    the    public,   should  not    have 
reached  the  Sultan  or  his  immediate  favour- 
ites.    It  can  only  be  explained  by  the  fact 
that  in  the  capital  there  was  hardly  a  man 
who   did  not  desire  his  overthrow,  nor  a 
friend  disposed  to  warn  him  of  the  dangers 
—not  even  Sir  Henry  Elliot,  who  was  ex- 
cellently informed  upon  the  subject.     But 
be  this  as  it  may,  the  Sheikh-ul-Islam,  the 
highest  authority  that  Mahommedans  can 
appeal  to,  declared  the  lawfulness  of  deposing 
the  sovereign.     The  two  following  questions 
were  submitted  to  him  by  the  Ulema  :-- 

« If  the  first  of  the  true  believers  gives 
signs  of  madness  and  of  an  ignorance  of 
political  matters ;  if  he  spends  the  public 
money  on  himself  in  excess  of  what  the 
State  or  the  nation  can  grant  him,  will  he 
not  thus  become  the  cause  of  troubles  and 
of  the  public  ruin  ?  Ought  he  not  to  be  de- 
throned ?  " 

To  this  the  Sheikh-ul-Islam  answered  by 
a  simple  "  Yes,"  and,  signed  by  his  name, 
"Hassan  Hairoullah,"  the  questions  and 
the  answer  became  a  "fetva,"  of  which  the 
authority  would  be  admitted  by  all  true 

Mussulmans.  .,      a  r^. 

Having  obtained  this  fetva,  the  Softas 
then  proceeded  to  lay  it  before  the  Minister 
of  War,  Hussein  Avni  Pasha,  and  the 
Grand  Vizier,  Mehemet  Rushdi  Pasha,  who 
at  last  gave  his  consent  to  the  execution  of 
the  project,  which  it  was  immediately  re- 
solved to  carry  out  at  once. 

By  this    decision    Mehemet  saved   the 


country  from  the  most  imminent  danger; 
for  the  public  exasperation  had  arrived  at 
such  a  height,  that  the  Softas  and  the 
people  would  undoubtedly  have  attempted 
a  revolution,  which,  in  their  hands,  would 
have  been  attended  by  all  the  evils  and 
dangers  of  a  popular  movement,  but  which, 
conducted  by  those  in  authority,  might 
pass  without  disturbance  or  even  uneasi- 
ness. 

It  is  true  that,  when  those  who  are  en- 
trusted by  their  sovereign  with  power,  turn 
that  power  against  him,  there  is  in  such 
conduct   an   appearance  of  treachery  that 
must  create  a  painful  impression;  but  in 
the   case  of  Mehemet   Rushdi   Pasha,  his 
conduct  was  guided  by  no  considerations 
but  those  of  the  purest  patriotism,  for  there 
was  not  another  Turkish   pasha  so  univer- 
sally regarded  as  incorruptible,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  free  of  all  suspicion  of  being 
actuated  by  motives  of  personal  ambition. 
Though  he  had  long  been  convinced  that 
the  personal  character  of  the  Sultan  ren- 
dered the  utter  ruin  of  the  country  inevit- 
able, still  he  shrank  from  the  act  of  violence 
to  which  he  was  at  last  driven,  when,  against 
his  own  wishes,  he  was  placed  in  the  high 
position  which  enabled  him  to  secure  the 
success  of  the   plot.     The  Minister  of  War 
and  Marine  also  acknowledged  the  authority 
of  the  fetva,  and  thus  we  have  the  singular 
spectacle  of  a   despotic  government  over- 
thrown by  the  law  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  the  people— by  the  people  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  law. 

Thus  the  consent  of  those  having  been 
gained  who  could  have  predicted  the  suc- 
cess  of  the  plot,  all  possibility   of  resist- 
ance and  risk  of  disturbance  were  prevented 
by  precautions   taken   by  the  Porte.     On 
May  30th,  the  palace  was  surrounded,  on 
the  land  side,  by  troops  before  daybreak, 
and   by  boats  from  ships  of  war   on   the 
other.     At  the  same  time,  the  heir  to  the 
throne,  Murad  Effendi,  was  taken  by  some 
of  the  ministers  to  the  War  Office,  and  there 
proclaimed   Sultan,  whilst   the    announce- 
ment  of  his   dethronement  was   made  to 
Abdul  Aziz  by  a  pasha,  who  convinced  him 
that  resistance  was  useless ;  and  in  spite  of 
his  fury  and  despair,  the  Sultan  was  taken 
in  a  boat  with  his  family  to  the  old  palace, 
which  he  was  to  leave  no  more  alive. 

At  break  of  day.  May  31st,  the  ac- 
cession of  Sultan  Murad  V.  was  joyously 
proclaimed  amidst  salvoes  of  artillery 
from   the    land   batteries    and  the    ships 

107 


■  * 

''41 


r-; 


(  i 


.^1 


ji 
i  ■ 


^l1 


DEATH  OF  ABDFL  AZTZ.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


of  war.     Throughout   the  empire  the   re- 
joiciDg  was     universal.      The  new  Sultan 
was  hailed  as   a  model  of  perfection,  and, 
assisted  by  Midhat  Pasha  and  the  good-will 
of  the  foreign  powers,  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  a  real  reform  might  have  been 
brought  about.     But  absolute  tranquillity 
would  have  been  necessary  for  this  as  well 
as  a  reorganisation  of  the  finances,  which 
•    some  sanguine  people  imagined  would  have 
been  considerably  assisted  by  the  money  it 
was  hoped  would  be  found  in  the  late  Sul- 
tan's  private   coffers.      Jiut   all   that   was 
found   amounted   to  no   more  than  about 
£100,000  in  cash,  £1,000,000  in  jewelry 
and  £8,000,000  of  Turkish  bonds,  repre-' 
senting  a  market  value  of  about  £320,000. 
As   for   Sultan  Abdul  Aziz,  although  the 
most  explicit  assurances  were  given  as  to 
his   safety,  and    the    Queen    herself  tele- 
graphed to  express  her  hopes  that  no  vio- 
lence would  be  done  to  him,  there  were  few 
people  who  did  not  believe  that  his  days 
were  numbered.     Wlien,  therefore,  his  de- 
cease was  announced  about  a  week  after 
bis  deposition,  but  little  surprise  was  ex- 
pressed, except  at  the  manner  of  his  death 
— suicide.     The  news  was  received  with  in- 
credulity, cases  of  suicide  amongst  Moslems 
being  extremely  rare.     But  an  inquest  was 
held    by   nineteen    medical   men,   amon^^ 
whom  were  Dr.  Dickson,  physician   to  her 
majesty's  embassy,  the  doctors  of  the  Aus- 
trian and  French  embassy,  and  others  of 
high    standing,  Turkisli,   Greek,  and  Ar- 
menian, who  all  certified  unanimously  tliat 
the  death  was  the  result  of  suicido,  and 
that  the  deceased  Sultan  had  opened  the 
veins  of  his  arms  with   a  pair  of  pointed 
scissors.    Dr.  Dickson  told  Sir  Henry  Elliot 
that  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  collea.rues 
entertained  a  doubt  that  the  act  was  voTun- 
tary.     It  was  also  proved  that,  since  the 
bultan  s  deposition,  all  arms  and   cuttinor 
instruments  had  been  kept  out  of  his  reaclf 
but  that  on  June  4th  he  asked  for  a  pair  of 
scissors  to  cut  off  his  beard.     A  small  pair 
was  given  him,  and  he  then  turnod  his  at- 
tendants out  of  the  room  and   locked  the 
door,  which   was   broken  open   by  his  ser- 
vants when    his   mother    heard    her   son's 
groans,  and  he  was  found  on  the   point  of 
death.     The  next  day  he  was  buried  in  the 
mausoleum  of  his  father.  Sultan  Mahmoud 
with  every  mark  of  respect.  ' 

These  startling  events  were  very  differ- 
ently interpreted  in  various  quarters.  In 
England  it  was  hoped  that  a  new  era  had 

lOo 


[a.d.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[SERVIA  DECLARES  WAR. 


dawned  for  Turkey,  and  that  Midhat  Pasha 
would  institute  a  series  of  reforms,  and  see 
that  they   were    carried   out  with   all    the 
energy  of  which  he  was  capable.     On  the 
other  hand,  the  Russians  were  exasperated 
by  what  they  considered  a  British  intri^juo 
and   followed   out   their   plans  with   more 
energy  than  ever.     In  Constantinople  itself 
the  ferment  was  kept  up,  so  that  serious 
reforms  were  almost  impossible.     The  ter- 
rible state  of  suspense  in  which  the  capital 
was  held,  was  considerably  increased  by  the 
assassination,  a  fortnight  later,  of  Hussein 
Avni  Pasha  and  Raschid  Pasha. 

A  certain  Hassan,  a  Circassian  by  birth 
and  who  some  years  ago  had  left  the  mili- 
,  tary  school  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  was 
appointed  captain,  to  be  sent  to  the  armv 
of   Bagdad.     For   certain   reasons   I,e  was 
retained  at  Constantinople,  and  employed 
m   various   posts;  but   when    he  was  ap- 
pomted  to  the  rank  of  adjutant- major,  and 
to  a   post  m  the  said  army,  he  advanced 
various  excuses  for  deferring  his  departure  : 
finally,  he  bluntly  refused  to  obey,  and  was 
therefore  imprisoned.     Being  released,  with 
a  view  to  his  departure  for  his  post,  and 
having  promised  to  set  out  for  Bagdad  the 
next  day,  he  proceeded  in  the  evening  to 
the  house  of  the  Seraskier.     Here  he  was 
informed  that  the  latter  was  at  a  meeting 
of  his  colleagues  at  the  residence  of  hil 
highness  Midhat   Paslia,  to  which    he  at 
once    proceeded.     The    sentries,    believing, 
him  to  be  still  an  aide-de-camp,  did  not 
prevent  his  entrance  into  the  council-cham- 
ber,  where  he  fired  point-blank  at  Hussein 
Avni  Pasha  with  the  revolver  wliich  he  had 
in  his  pocket,  and  killed  him  on  the  spot. 
p      u-A^  'f  ^  endeavoured  to  seize  him, 
Raschid  Pasha   Ahmed  Agha,  a  servant  of 
his  highness  Midhat  Pasha,  and  a  soldier, 
shared  the  same  fate,  whilst  the  Minister  of 
Marine,   as   well  as  another  soldier,  were 
wounded  so  desperate  was  the  resistance  of 
the  murderer. 

The  terror  in  Constantinople  at  this  san- 
guinary drama  was  intense;  for  that  one 
man  should  have  penetrated  into  a  council 
of  ministers  and  killed  seven  persons  and 
wounded  eight  others  before  he  could  be 
secured  is  an  act  for  which  scarcely  a 
parallel  could  be  found.  Everything 
proved  that  the  intention  of  the  assassiS 
was  to  kill  the  Minister  of  War,  and  then  to 
hght  his  way  out  and  effect  his  escape,  for 
winch  he  had  prepared  the  means  by  havin<r 
a  horse  at  hand  to  take  him  to  the  landing- 


place,  where  he  had  left  a  boat.  But  find- 
ing, upon  going  to  the  Seraskier's  house, 
that  his  highness  had  gone  to  the  council, 
and  as  he  was  himself  to  be  sent  to  join  his 
corps  at  Bagdad  the  next  day,  his  only 
chance  of  being  able  to  carry  out  his  design, 
was  by  endeavouring  to  force  an  entrance 
there,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing.  As 
for  the  unfortunate  Raschid  Pasha,  he  was 
present  at  the  council  by  what  may  be 
called  an  accident  or  a  fatality;  for  the 
ministers  invited  to  attend  this  night  coun- 
cil had  been  confined  to  those  whose 
country-houses  were  in  the  neighbourhood, 
while  his  was  at  some  distance.  Hearing, 
however,  that  the  Grand  Vizier  proposed  to 
hold  a  council,  and  a  part  of  his  family 
being  still  in  town,  he  determined  to  re- 
main after  office  hours  for  the  purpose  of 
attending  it ;  and  by  another  fatality  he 
took  the  seat  immediately  next  to  the 
Seraskier  Pasha,  Hussein  Avni ;  and  so  sud- 
den was  the  onslaught,  so  great  the  con- 
fusion, that  the  Grand  Vizier  could  not  say 
for  certain  whether  he  was  shot  imme- 
diately after  his  colleague,  or  whether  it 
was  after  the  Minister  of  Marine,  who,  dis- 
playing remarkable  courage  and  energy  for 
so  old  a  man,  had  seized  the  assassin  from 
behind,  round  the  waist,  and  prevented  his 
escape ;  for  from  that  moment  there  was  a 
scene  of  indescribable  confusion.  At  first 
the  ministers  were  under  the  impression 
that  they  were  attacked  by  a  band  of  con- 
spirators, and  tried  to  escape  to  the  adjoin- 
ing apartments,  while  the  murderer,  in  a 
state  of  frenzy — and,  as  is  thought,  partial 
intoxication — was  using  the  four  revolvers 
with  which  he  was  armed,  and  his  sword  or 
yatagan,  upon  all  who  were  within  his 
reach.  The  Minister  of  Marine,  who  dis- 
played such  courage  and  energy,  only  re- 
ceived severe  but  not  dangerous  flesh- 
wounds  from  the  assassin's  dagger ;  but  an 
aide-de-camp  and  an  attendant  who  went 
to  his  assistance  were  shot  dead ;  and  when 
the  soldiers,  who  arrived  from  a  neighbour- 
ing guard-house,  broke  open  the  door  of 
the  room  in  which  he  had  locked  himself, 
they  found  he  had  set  fire  to  the  room,  and 
before  they  could  run  him  through  with 
their  bayonets,  he  had  killed  and  wounded 
several  of  their  number.  The  next  day  he 
VOL.  m.  Q 


was  degraded,  and  hanged  early  in  the 
morning  in  an  open  space  near  the  Seras- 
keriat. 

In  the  midst  of  these  disturbances,  the 
Prince  of  Servia,  following  the  counsels 
given  to  him  by  his  foreign  advisers, 
addressed  to  the  Grand  Vizier  a  lengthy 
letter,  dated  June  22,  in  which,  after 
having  mentioned  some  unfounded  com- 
plaints, and  spoken  of  the  concentration  of 
troops  on  the  frontier,  he  finished  by 
declaring  his  resolution  to  co-operate,  by 
the  employment  of  the  military  forces  of 
Servia,  in  the  establishment  of  a  state  of 
things  favourable  to  the  common  interests 
of  the  empire  and  the  principality.  At 
the  same  time  he  had  the  audacity  to  beg 
the  Sublime  Porte  to  facilitate  his  missiou 
by  giving  to  the  imperial  authorities  the 
order  to  send  home  what  he  called  bands  of 
robbers  (alluding  to  the  irregulars),  and  to 
enjoin  on  the  imperial  troops  not  to  oppose 
his  efi'orts,  so  that  he  might  proclaim  loudly 
the  principle  of  the  integrity  of  the 
empire  I  Simultaneously,  in  a  despatch 
addressed  to  the  agent  of  the  principality, 
M.  Ristich  invited  him  to  propose  to  the 
Sublime  Porte  to  confide  to  the  government 
of  the  prince  the  administration  of  Bosnia 
in  return  for  the  annual  payment  of  a  fixed 
and  invariable  sum,  in  proportion  to  Bosnia's 
share  of  the  public  debt. 

This  cool  proposal  did  not  quite  recom- 
mend itself  to  the  Porte,  which,  however, 
proposed  to  reply  to  this  letter  of  Prince 
Milan  by  refuting,  one  by  one,  the  accusa- 
tions which  he  had  brought  against  them, 
when  the  news  was  received  from  the  civil 
and  military  authorities  of  the  vilayets  of 
Bosnia  and  the  Danube  of  the  entry  of 
Servian  troops,  with  their  artillery,  on 
the  1st  and  2nd  of  July,  upon  Ottoman  ter- 
ritory at  three  different  points,  which  causet' 
the  immediate  advance  against  them  of  the 
imperial  troops. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Prince  of  Monte- 
negro also  addressed  a  long  telegram  to  the 
Grand  Vizier,  and  declared,  for  his  part,  that 
the  equivocal  situation  must  now  yield  to 
the  more  clearly  defined  position  of  de- 
clared hostilities.  Thus  the  two  princi- 
palities put  an  end  to  their  equivocations, 
and  openly  declared  war  to  the  Porte. 

109 


t    I 


THE  SERVIAN  CAMPAIGN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [alexinatz  and  deligrad. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  SERVIAN  WAR  OF  1876. 


The  primary  object  of  the  war,  as  declared 
by  Prince  Milan,  was  to  have  been  the 
emancipation  of  the  Christian  Serbs  in 
Bosnia,  and  the  establishment  in  that  pro- 
vince of  a  new  state  of  things,  by  means  of 
mi  armed  occupation.  Following  this 
plan,  the  Serb  forces  were  to  have  entered 
Bosnia,  and  concentrated  all  their  energies 
on  this  special  object.  But  as  soon  as 
General  Tchernaieff  had  acquired  a  footing 
in  Belgrade,  this  plan  was  greatly  modified 
— in  fact  abandoned — and  the  chief  energies 
of  the  Servian  commanders  were  directed 
against  Bulgaria.  The  troops  entered 
Turkish  territory  at  three  points;  in 
the  south  under  Tchernaieff  himself,  in 
the  east  under  Leschyanin,  and  in  the  west 
under  Alimpich.  In  the  south,  G-eneral 
Tchernaieflf  concentrated  his  principal 
forces  about  Nisch,  where  he  kept  them  in 
comparative  inactivity  for  nearly  three 
weeks,  with  a  great  show  of  mystery ;  whilst 
the  troops  sent  into  Bosnia  did  not  act 
anywhere  in  a  sufficiently  large  body ;  they 
were  scattered  and  disseminated  from  the 
commencement,  and  failed  in  penetrating 
in  any  direction  so  as  to  produce  any 
encouragement  on  the  unarmed  rayahs,  or 
any  impression  on  the  native  Mahommedan 
population.  No  greater  success  attended 
the  offensive  movement  on  the  eastern 
frontier,  which  soon  had  to  be  abandoned, 
a  strong  Turkish  force  having  succeeded 
in  pushing  its  way  to  Kujarevatz,  when, 
after  some  hard  fighting,  the  line  of  the 
Timok  was  given  ^p,  and  Saitschar  was 
evacuated  by  the  Servian  troops,  by  an 
©rder  of  the  general,  without  any  serious 
attempt  to  retain  possession  of  that  im- 
portant line  some  days  longer,  which  was 
thus  left  to  the  mercy  of  Osman  Pasha, 
vho,  however,  did  not  consider  it  worth 
^hile  to  occupy  the  place,  or  seize  upon 
the  abandoned  line. 

In  the  rear  of  this  line,  and  between  it 
and  the  Morava,  the  Servians  continued  in 
the  possession  of  another  and  a  much 
stronger  mode  of  defence,  in  the  shape  of 
natural  mountains,  and  of  a  few  passes  or 
defiles,  which,  if  occupied  by  really  good 
troops,  might  have  rendered  acceso  to  the 
110 


Morava,  to  a  hostile  army  and  to  its  artil- 
lery, almost  impossible.  But  within  the 
short  space  of  six  weeks  there  was  sufficient 
evidence,  however,  that  the  untrained 
ploughmen  of  Servia,  although  in  appear- 
ance presenting  an  excellent  material  for 
forming  soldiers,  had  not  acquired  hitherto 
the  qualities  indispensable  to  fight  the 
battles  of  their  country,  and  that  in  the 
field  they  thought  much  more  of  their 
homes  and  farms  than  of  the  glory  to  be 
achieved  by  prowess.  Cases  of  self- 
mutilation  were  very  frequent,  and  the 
novel  effect  of  artillery  upon  them  was 
greater  than  is  known  to  have  been  exer- 
cised upon  any  other  soldiery. 

Thus,  beyond  having  burned  a  few 
villages,  such  as  Florentin  on  the  Danube, 
and  the  occupation  of  the  Babinaglava  chain 
of  mountains,  on  the  road  to  Pirot  and 
Sofia,  the  wonderful  plans  of  General 
Tchernaieff  came  to  nought.  He  could 
neither  advance  nor  hold  the  positions  he 
had  occupied  for  want  of  an  enemy  to 
defend  them,  and  as  soon  as  the  Turks 
advanced,  though  slowly — yavash,  yavash 
— according  to  their  phlegmatic  habits,  the 
Serbs  fell  back,  beaten  at  all  points  from 
the  positions  they  had  occupied  within 
Turkish  territory,  and  took  up  defensive 
positions.  Instead  of  invading  Turkey, 
their  great  anxiety  was,  by  the  middle  of 
August,  to  save  their  own  country  from 
invasion.  The  valour  and  genius  of  their 
soldiers  and  officers  did  not  at  all  seem 
sufficient  for  the  purpose  to  the  prince's 
government,  and  they  forthwith  centred  all 
their  hopes  upon  foreign  mediation,  for 
which  they  abjectly  clamoured,  and  en- 
treated the  powers  to  save  them  from  the 
"unspeakable  Turk,"  whose  just  wrath 
they  had  provoked.  Shelled  out  of  Saits- 
char by  Osman  Pasha,  Leschyanin  barred 
the  road  to  Banya,  which  threatened  the 
positions  at  Alexinatz  in  flank  and  rear; 
whilst  Generals  Zach  and  Tchernaieff  held 
the  heights  of  Alexinatz,  where  they  made 
their  first  stand  before  falling  back  upon 
their  second  line  at  Djunis  and  Deligrad. 

Alexinatz  is  a  small  town  close  to  the 
frontier,  some  little  distance  from  the  right 


bank  of  the  river  Morava,  and  is  on  the 
junction  of  two  high-roads,  one  running 
from  Nisch  to  Belgrade  northwards,  and 
the  other  eastwards  to  Kujarevatz  and 
Saitschar.  The  following  sketch  clearly 
shows  the  position  of  these  places : — 


The  opposition  of  the  Servians  to  the  ad- 
vance of  Ali  Saib  Pasha  down  the  left 
bank  of  the  Morava  was  very  slight.  Their 
intrenchments  were  insignificant,  and  their 
resistance  apparently  directed  to  ascertain 
the  strength  of  the  Turkish  force  in  their 
front ;  the  main  expeditionary  corps  under 
Ahmed  Eyoub  Pasha  being  at  hand  on  their 
flank.  This  corps  having  retraced  its  steps 
from  Kujarevatz  to  Derbend,  Osman  Pasha 
keeping  the  forces  at  Saitschar  well  em- 
ployed, had  thence  marched,  halting  two 
days  on  the  way,  across  very  difficult 
country,  via  Nisevatz,  along  the  skirts  of 
the  frontier  to  Alexinatz,  where  it  effected 
its  junction  with  Ali  Saib  Pasha  on  Mon- 
day, the  21st  August. 

The  strength  of  the  united  Turkish  ex- 
peditionary force  was  38,500  regular  troops 
of  all  arms,  with  188  field  guns  (including 
two  mountain  batteries  of  four  guns  each). 
That  of  the  Servian  army  was  estimated  at 
from  30,000  to  50,000  men,  who  were  distri- 
buted in  a  line  reaching  from  Alexinatz  to 
Deligrad,  across  the  heights  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Morava. 

Though  of  course  expecting  the  enemy 


to  make  a  stand  here,  the  Turkish  com- 
manders were  hardly  prepared  for  the 
formidable  character  of  the  fortifications 
they  had  in  view,  and  which  were  only  the 
outer  defences  on  the  southern  face  of  a 
large  intrenched  camp,  extending  to  a  dis- 
tance of  six  miles  as  far  as  Deligrad.  Far 
worse  troops  than  the  Servians,  and  less 
ably  commanded,  should  have  been  able  to 
hold  indefinitely  such  a  position  against 
any  odds  whatever ;  much  more  so  against 
the  Turkish  army,  unprovided,  as  it  was, 
with  engineer  department,  siege-train, 
bridge  equipments,  or  other  means  and 
material  generally  requisite  for  conducting 
effectively  the  attack.  The  engineering 
was  done  by  artillery  officers,  and  was  re- 
stricted to  the  construction  of  simple  in- 
trenchments with  sunken  batteries  for 
field  guns.  Against  a  position  naturally  so 
strong  and  bristling  with  works,  scientifi- 
cally planned  for  mutual  defence,  a  coup  de 
main  could  hardly  be  successful  without 
the  intervention  of  accidents  and  contin- 
gencies of  rare  and  exceptional  occurrence 
in  modern  warfare.  The  greatest  difficulty 
of  the  situation,  and  one  with  which  the 
Turkish  commanders  were  fully  impressed, 
consisted,  therefore,  in  the  loss  of  time 
involved  in  regular  approaches. 

Thus,  finding  that  the  Servian  works 
covering  Alexinatz  were  unassailable  by 
direct  attack,  Ahmed  Eyoub  Pasha  deter- 
mined to  cross  the  Morava  and  unite  his 
force  with  that  of  Ali  Saib  Pasha  on  the 
heights  bordering  the  plain  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river.  The  valley  here  is  three 
miles  wide,  narrowing  in  a  north-westerly 
direction  to  two  miles  opposite  to  Alexi- 
natz. Thence  it  appears  again  to  open  out 
in  the  direction  of  Deligrad,  and  the  course 
of  the  river  throughout  to  approach  the 
base  of  the  heights  on  the  right  side  of  the 

valley. 

The  passage  of  the  river  occupied  Tues- 
day and  Wednesday,  and  was  effected  by 
means  of  a  trestle-bridge,  and  a  bridge  of 
open  wooden  pontoons,  with  a  deepish 
ford  between  them,  without  the  slightest 
interruption  from  the  enemy.  Two  days 
were  occupied  in  re-examining  the  position 
of  a  Servian  division  strongly  intrenched 
on  heights  parallel  to  those  occupied  by  Ali 
Saib  Pasha's  corps,  which  corps  the  divi- 
sion in  question  had  repeatedly  assailed 
with  sufficient  effect  to  necessitate  its 
being  reinforced  by  seven  battalions  from 
Ahmed  Eyoub  Pasha's  army. 

Ill 


BATTLE  OF  ALEXINATZ.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[appeal  of  THE  SERR?. 


* 


The  first  important  action  consisted  in 
turning  the  right  flank  of  the  Servian  posi- 
tion, and  involved  a  considerable  detour 
round  the  head  of  the  ravine  (opening  on 
the   plain   of  the  Morava   Valley)  wliich 
separated  the  combatants.     It  commenced 
at  8.30  a.m.,  and  for  four  hours   was  re- 
stricted to  an  artillery  engagement  between 
the  batteries,  at   a  distance  varying  from 
3,500  to  4,500  metres,  the  preponderance 
of  metal  being  on  the  side  of  the  Servians, 
and  of  number  of  pieces,  three  to   one,  on 
the  side  of  the  Turks.     At  a  little  after 
noon  the  infantry  came  into  action  ;  their 
assault  was  spirited  and  well  sustained ;  but 
the  resistance  of  the  enemy,  availing  him- 
self of  the  woods,  and  fighting  behind  in- 
trenchments,   or   cover  commanding  open 
spaces,  was  sufficiently  steady  and  persistent 
to  protract  the  engagement  until  dark.     It 
was  9  P.M.  before  firing  ceased.     The  re- 
treat  of  the   enemy   within   the   lines   of 
Alexinatz  was  not  molested.     He  lost  one 
gun  and  three  prisoners  only.     As  to  the 
artillery  fire,  though  the  Servian  batteries 
appeared  often  to  be  temporarily  silenced, 
one  of  their  guns  only  was  dismounted, 
while  in  the  Turkish  batteries  hardly  a  man 
was  wounded.     The   little  effect  produced 
by  what,  to  observers,  appeared  to  be  ex- 
cellent  practice,    more   especially   on    the 
part  of  the  Turks,  is  to  be  only  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the   fire  being  direct 
from  batteries  crowning  heights,  and  the 
soil  being  black  loam,   the   shells,  armed 
with  percussion,  and  not  with  time  fuzes, 
instead   of    grazing,   invariably   imbedded 
themselves  and  burst  innocuously. 

The  Turks  commenced  the  action  four 
hours  too  late.  They  made  no  effort  to 
throw  up  batteries  in  advance  as  the  day 
progressed.  They  omitted,  as  was  perfectly 
practicable,  to  send  forward  guns  with  the 
infantry,  operating  to  turn  the  right  flank 
of  the  enemy's  position,  and  no  steps  what- 
ever were  taken  with  their  large  available 
reserves  to  engage  the  enemy's  supports  in 
the  plain,  and  cut  off  his  line  of  retreat. 
Yet  all  these  oversights  had  been  antici- 
pated in  the  plan  of  attack,  proposed  by 
the  chief  of  the  staff,  which,  had  it  been  fol- 
lowed, must  have  compelled  the  enemy  to 
retire  by  the  upper  road  to  Deligrad,  and 
Lave  isaued  probably  in  the  loss  of  all  his 
guns.  As  it  was,  the  victory  was  barren  of 
decisive  results.  The  enemy  was  safely  en- 
sconced behind  the  lines  of  Alexinatz-Deli- 
grad,  with  the  Morava  winding  near  the 
112 


base  of  his  position,  and  the  Turkish  army 
on  the  heights  which  bound  the  plain  form- 
ing the  valley  of  the  Morava,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  passed  four  days  idly 
observing  him. 

Thus,  after  six  weeks'  hostilities,  the  two 
chief  armies  had  been  brought  face  to  face, 
and  each  was  apparently  waiting  for  "  some- 
thing to  turn  up,"  which  would  give  one 
an  advantage  over  the  other.     Both  were 
bivouacked  in  their  respective  lines,  and 
while  fine  weather  lasted  they  operated  on 
equal  terms ;  but  if  the  defence  were  to  be 
protracted,  when  the  autumnal  rains  set  in, 
the  Servians  would  possess  this  advantage 
over  the  Turks — that  while  for  the  former 
shelter  would  be  provided  on  the  spot  for 
their    ambulances,   ordinance   stores,   and 
provisions,  &c.,  the  latter   would   be  de- 
pendent for   hospital  accommodation   and 
commissariat  of  all  kinds  upon  their  depot 
at  Nisch,  distant  sixteen  to  eighteen  miles, 
with  no  better  means  of  transport  than  the 
bullock-carts  of  the  country,  ill  suited  for 
heavy  traffic.     Thus  far  the  standing  crops 
afforded  an  ample  supply  of  forage  for  the 
whole  army  ;  but  as  the  season  advanced 
this    supply   failed,   and    the   intervening 
country,  not  here  only,  but  along  the  whole 
line  of  frontier,  from  six  to  eight  miles  on 
either   side,  so  far   as  villages  were  con- 
cerned, may  be  described  as  a  desert.    This 
was  owing  to  the  Servians,  who  began  the 
work  of  desolation  on  Turkish  soil  for  the 
purpose  as  well   of  harrying  the  Mahom- 
medan  inhabitants,  as   of  compelling  the 
Christians  to  quit  their  fields  and  join  the 
insurrection,  whilst  the  Turks  fully  imi- 
tated the  example  with  like  effect  on  Ser- 
vian territory. 

During  the  latter  part  of  August  several 
minor  engagements  were  fought,  resulting 
in  the  gradual  advance  of  the  Turks  to 
some  two  miles  on  the  heiglits  bordering 
the  valley  of  the  Morava  to  the  west,  thus 
bringing  its  left  front  opposite  to  the 
centre  of  the  Servian  position  on  the 
heights  bordering  the  valley  to  the  east. 
The  intervening  plain,  well  cultivated  with 
grain  and  studded  with  oak  plantations 
and  copse,  varied  in  width  from  three 
miles  at  Alexinatz,  to  five  miles  or  more  at 
Deligrad.  The  river,  after  leaving  Alexi- 
natz, approaches,  in  a  very  tortuous  course, 
with  short  reaches  and  deep  bends,  the 
base  of  the  Turkish  heights,  until,  beyond 
the  latitude  of  Deligrad,  it  turns  westward 
to  enter  a  defile  of  the  mountains.     Tbo 


Turkish  heights  partake  of  the  character 
of  parallel  spurs,  separated  by  deep  ravines, 
which  open  into  the  valley  of  the  Morava, 
whilst  the  Servian  heights  consist  of  a 
lower  continuous  range,  extending  in  one 
uninterrupted  line,  like  a  huge  glacis, 
sloping  gently  to  the  plain  from  Alexinatz 
to  Deligrad. 

Alexinatz  itself  lies  in  a  hollow  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  this  range,  and  is 
covered  southwards  by  a  spur  from  the 
mountains  in  the  rear,  which  gradually 
decreases  in  height  until  it  abuts  upon  the 
river.  This  spur,  strongly  fortified  and 
intrenched,  formed  the  southern  part  of 
the  Servian  position,  before  which  Ahmed 
Eyoub  Pasha's  force  was  bivouacked  some 
days,  but  which  was  found  to  be  unassail- 
able. Deligrad  is  a  mere  hamlet,  situated 
at  the  base  of  the  range  in  question,  at  its 
northern  extremity,  where  its  crest  becomes 
more  elevated,  and  unites  itself  with  the 
mountains  beyond.  The  Turkish  heights 
northward,  in  like  manner,  gradually  rise 
into  the  mountains,  which,  at  this 
point,  appear  to  close  the  valley  of  the 
Morava. 

The  Servian  heights  on  the  right  side  of 
the  valley,  more  especially  towards  and 
beyond  Deligrad,  were  fortified  with  bat- 
teries and  intrenchments.  On  the  left  side 
of  the  valley,  too,  a  strong  Servian  divi- 
sion daily  engaged  the  Turkish  flank  from 
batteries  of  position,  constructed  on  a  paral- 
lel and  more  commanding  range  of  heights 
to  cover  the  defile  of  the  Morava  as  well 
as  the  road  to  Krusevatz.  During  the 
day  these  batteries  were,  here  and  there, 
supplemented  by  field-pieces  pushed  for- 
ward on  prominent  slopes  and  peaks  in 
advance.  The  range  across  the  ravine 
being,  however,  extreme,  the  Servian  fire 
was  not  sufficiently  effective  to  dislodge 
the  Turkish  brigade  there  posted,  or  to 
inflict  upon  it  serious  loss. 

The  Turkish  plan  of  operation  was  to 
pierce  the  centre  of  the  Alexinatz-Deligrad 
position.  For  this  purpose  they  con- 
structed a  trestle-bridge,  put  together  by 
Bulgarian  carpenters,  over  a  bend  of  the 
river,  out  of  range  of  the  enemy's  guns, 
which  thus  enabled  them  to  threaten  either 
flank  of  the  Servian  position.  The  Ser- 
vians soon  became  aware  of  what  was 
intended,  and  made  several  fierce  attacks, 
during  which  the  Russian  officers  greatly 
distinguished  themselves.  They  led  tlieir 
men  to  within  300  yards  of  the  Turkish 


batteries ;  but  here  they  were  received  by 
so  fierce  a  fire,  that  they  had  to  fall  back 
with  great  loss. 

The  result  of  the  war  so  boastfully  begun 
was  thus,  so  far,  highly  discouraging  to  the 
Serbs;  and  diplomacy  was  called  in  to 
save  the  prince's  government  from  what 
his  own  men  and  his  Russian  friends  could 
not  save  him  by  force  of  arms.  The  old 
plea  was  put  forward — the  barbarity  of  the 
Turk,  and  the  disgrace  to  Christianity,  if 
Servia  should  be  left  to  be  devastated  by  the 
inhuman  enemy  against  whom  she  had 
undertaken  her  "  holy  mission." 

Thus  M.  Ristich,  on  August  24th,  ap- 
pealed to  the  powers  to  mediate  between 
Servia  and  Montenegro  and  the  Porte, 
Prince  Nikita  joining  in  the  appeal  with 
him.  He  supported  this  appeal  with  sun- 
dry documents  relating  to  the  barbarities 
of  the  Turks,  and  forwarded  a  report  from 
Colonel  Horvatovich,  giving  an  account  of 
what  he  saw  at  Kujarevatz  after  the  Turks 
had  withdrawn  to  concentrate  their  opera- 
tions in  the  valley  of  the  Morava.  Colonel 
Horvatovich  wrote — 

"  On  my  return  to  the  town  of  Kujare- 
vatz, I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  of 
the  following: — 

"  The  whole  town  is  burnt ;  hardly  one 
house  in  fifty  has  escaped  the  flames ;  and 
amongst  those  which  are  still  standing,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  one  that  has  not 
been  sacked  in  such  a  way  as  to  have  lost 
at  least  the  half  of  its  value. 

"All  Kujarevatz  presents  the  most 
melancholy  example  of  what  vandal  hands 
can  do.  A  few  chimneys  and  some 
blackened  walls  are  left  standing,  but  all 
the  lightly-built  houses  have  been  com- 
pletely destroyed. 

"  The  enemy  was  not  content  with  burning 
the  church  and  the  cabinet  containing  the 
imaofes  of  the  saints,  but  has  broken  the 
bells  in  pieces,  some  of  which  have  been 
found  at  the  other  end  of  the  town ;  carried 
the  clock  away,  and  fired  shots  through  the 
roof  and  at  the  sacred  pictures.  Many  of 
the  latter  have  been  found  in  the  streets 
torn  and  soiled  with  filth.  The  flags  which 
were  in  the  church  lie  scattered  in  pieces  in 
the  streets.  In  a  word,  they  have  profaned 
God's  sanctuary  in  a  manner  more  horrible 
than  it  is  possible  to  conceive. 

"  Everything  that  the  hand  of  man  could 
destroy  during  these  few  days  has  been 
destroyed  with  an  energy  and  activity 
which  must  astonish  every  one. 

113 


'  \ 


I 


M.  ristich's  despatch.]  history  OF  THE 


"Bodies  have  been  thrown  into  the 
wells,  and  wherever  there  was  drinking- 
water. 

"Every  ten  steps  one  comes  across  the 
remains  of  a  dead  pig  in  a  state  of  decom- 
position, and  half  consumed  by  worms 
and  flies.  Close  to  the  magazine,  the  burnt 
body  of  one  of  our  captains,  or  of  an  aide- 
de-camp,  known  by  the  distinctive  marks 
of  his  rank,  which  had  remained  intact, 
was  discovered  tied  to  a  tree. 

"In  the  ttraet  of  Djonitch  a  body  was 
found,  recognised  by  his  clothes  as  that  of 
a  citizen  of  the  town.  His  legs  were 
entirely  flayed  from  the  thighs  to  the 
feet. 

"The  body  of  a  man,  in  like  manner 
recognisable  from  his  clothes  as  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  town,  was  found  with  a  piece 
of  iron  in  his  body  in  the  cafe  of  Mita 
Yanochevitch.  An  examination  of  the 
body,  pierced  in  many  places,  shows  that 
the  Turks  had  tortured  him,  and  killed 
bim  with  a  red-hot  iron. 

"Petko  Vesselin  )vitch,  of  Kujarevatz, 
whose  leg  was  broken  before  we  left  Ku- 
jarevatz, had  remained  at  home.  We  found 
him  killed.  Grovko  Kaissio,  also  of  Ku- 
jarevatz, was  tortured  and  killed  in  his 
house  by  a  red-hot  iron.  In  the  bakery  of 
Ivrenka  Constantivovitch  was  found  the 
body  of  one  of  our  soldiers,  who  must  also 
have  been  tortured,  for  some  iron  spits 
were  found  near  the  corpse. 

"In  addition  to  the  numerous  bodies 
found  in  the  town,  some  have  been  found 
in  the  maize  fields :  I  am  going,  therefore, 
to  have  these  traversed  by  skirmishers,  who 
will  bury  the  bodies. 

"The  smell  of  all  these  corpses  is  so 
great  that,  from  fear  of  disease,  I  have  not 
ventured  to  let  my  troops  halt  for  a 
moment  at  Kujarevatz.  What  I  have  just 
related  can  only  give  you  a  faint  idea  of 
the  reality.  It  is  what  I  noticed  at  the  first 
glance. 

"  I  have  taken  measures  that  the  citizens 
who  have  returned  shall,  with  the  help  of  a 
battalion,  search  through  the  town  and 
neighbourhood,  under  the  direction  of  a 
trustworthy  person,  Milan  Atjimdvitch, 
bury  the  bodies,  and  draw  up  a  proces- 
verbal,  which  will  be  sent  to  me. 

"To  judge  from  the  stench,  which  has 
spread  as  far  as  half  a  league  from  the 
town,  and  the  myriads  of  flies  which  fill  the 
air  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kujarevatz, 
there  must  still  remain  a  great  number  of 


[A.D.  1876. 


human  bodies,  the  identity  of  which  cannot 
be  determined. 

"The  state  of  decomposition  of  the 
bodies  is  already  so  advanced,  that  even 
when  the  head  remains  it  is  impossible  to 
distinguish  the  features. 

"All  the  houses  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  especially  the  little  houses  built  in  the 
vineyards,  have  been  burnt ;  and  as  the>e 
houses  were  generally  surrounded  by  fruit- 
trees,  or  other  kinds  of  trees,  the  flames 
have  scorched  them,  and  the  surroundin<r 
country  presents  a  most  wretched  appear- 
ance. 

"  In  short,  I  am  unable  to  give  a  true 
description  of  this  afflicting  sight;  I  can 
find  no  words  to  describe  it. 

"I  will  forward  to  you  immediately  the 
further  information  which  may  hereafter 
reach  me." 

These  complaints  came  with  an  ill-grace 
from  a  government  whose  habits  in  peace 
were  about  the  same  as  those  of  the  Turks 
in  war.   When  M.  Ristich  speaks  about  the 
"profanation     of    God's     sanctuarv,"     he 
should  have  remembered,  first  of  all,  that 
no  more  blame  is  to  be  attached   to  the 
Turks  for  despoiling  a  Servian  church,  than 
to    Christian    troops   who    loot    a    pao-an 
temple,  and  sell  its  idols  to  the  curiosi'ty- 
dealers.     Secondly,  he  should  have  remem- 
bered  that   the   Servian   government  also 
"profanes  God's  sanctuary"  for  theatrical 
purposes,  in    direct   contravention   of  the 
treaty  concluded  between  it  and  the  Porte. 
According  to  this  treaty,  when  the  Turks 
evacuated  Belgrade,  the  mosques  were  to  be 
respected,  and   kept   in   repair.     But  not 
only  has  this  not  been  done,  but  one  of  the 
mosques  has  been  turned  into  a  gas-factory, 
to   supply  the   theatre  with   gas.     As  for 
"the  dead  pigs  half  consumed  by  worms 
and  flies,"  it  speaks  rather  highly  for  the 
Turks,  that,  in  spite  of  the  meagreness  of 
their  rations,  they  should  not  have  eaten 
them   themselves,  and  preferred  adhering 
to  the  tenets  of  their  religion,  which  for- 
bids them  to  eat    the  unclean  animal— 
doubly  unclean  in  Slavonic  countries  south 
of  the  Danube,  where  their  styes  are  built 
under  the  closets — whenever  such  an  insti- 
tution exists,  which,  however,  is  the  excep- 
tion in  Servia. 

As  for  the  charges  of  torture,  &c.,  they 
were  denied  in  toto  by  Sir  Arnold  Kemball, 
who  testified  repeatedly  to  the  good  dis- 
cipline and  good-nature  of  the  Turkish 
troops.     During  the  whole  of  his  stay  with 


A.D.  1876.J 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE.        [Russian  reinforcemenis. 


the  army  he  saw  no  cases  of  cruelty,  except 
on  one  occasion,  when  he  found  that  some 
of  the  dead  had  been  decapitated  by  Bashi- 

Bazouks. 

However,  the  Servians  having  discovered 
that,  instead  of  massacring  the  Turks,  the 
Turks  were  in  a  fair  way  to  massacre  them, 
the  application  for  mediation  was  made 
and  acceded  to  by  the  powers,  the  result 
being  a  suspension  of  hostilities  until  Sep- 
tember 25  th. 

This  suspension  of  hostilities,  granted  in 
hopes  of  a  peace,  or,  at  least,  a  longer 
armistice  being  arranged,  was  used  by  the 
two  principalities,  at  the  instigation  of 
Russia,  as  a  sort  of  political  and  military 
see-saw.  As  soon  as  Servia  had  agreed  to 
one  thing,  Montenegro  objected;  and  when 
Montenegro  accepted  any  condition,  Servia 
refused.  Meanwhile,  Russian  officers  and 
men  flocked  to  Servia  by  the  hundred. 
Committees  were  formed  in  Moscow  and 
other  cities,  and  recruiting  carried  on 
openly,  the  Russian  government  professing 
to  be  unable  to  restrain  the  warlike  ardour 
and  the  just  anger  and  indignation  of  its 

subjects. 

Thus  Colonel  Mansfield,  the  British  con- 
sul  at   Bucharest,    wrote,   on    September 
8th,  that  the  number  of  Russian  volunteers 
passing  through  Roumania  to  the  seat  of 
war  was   daily  on  the  increase;   and  that 
the  movement  was  organised  by  committees 
in  Russia,  who  had  permanent  agents  at 
Bucharest,  Galatz,  and  elsewhere,  to  receive 
the  volunteers  on  their  arrival,  supply  their 
wants,  and  forward  them  to  their  destina- 
tion.    Twice  a  day  they  arrived  in  batches 
varying  from  twenty  to  sixty — sometimes 
more,  sometimes  less ;  they  appeared  to  be 
drawn  from  all  classes,  and  very  many,  from 
their  gait  and  appearance,  had  evidently 
passed  through  the  ranks   of  the  regular 
army,  while  some  were  clearly  either  retired 
officers  or  officers  on  leave.     To   proniote 
this    movement,    the    railway    authorities 
in   Roumania   were   asked   by   persons  at 
Odessa,  whether  the  railway  would  convey 
300  Russian  workmen  to  Servia  at  reduced 
fares — a  device  of  which  the  object   was 
thoroughly  transparent.    Yet  Consul  Mans- 
field wrote,  that  though  it  was  reported  to 
bim  that  some  of  these  volunteers  crossed 
the  frontier  with   Bulgarian  Turkish  pass- 
ports, which  had  been  taken  from  Bulga- 
rian peasants,  who  flock  to  Southern  Rus- 
sia at  this  season  as  agricultural  labourers, 
he  was  disinclined  to  believe  that  the  Rus- 


sian government  authorities  would  relax 
the  very  strict  system  of  passports  and 
visas;  and  that,  as  there  could  be  no  ob- 
jection to  Russians  entering  this  country 
when  properly  provided  with  passports, 
there  would  be  no  particular  reason  for 
such  a  device,  except,  indeed,  for  those  who 
repair  at  once  to  Bulgaria.  But  as  there 
was  no  insurrectionary  movement  to  speak 
of  in  the  latter  (Bulgaria),  he  was  disposed 
to  look   upon   the   story  as   a  sensational 

rumour  I 

The  extraordinary  character  of  this  opi- 
nion, however,  is  quite  cast  into  the  shade 
by  the  following  remarkable  despatch,  ad- 
dressed by  Colonel  Mansfield  to  Lord  Derby 
on  September  26th  : — 

"  I  have,  early  this  morning,  transmitted 
to  your  lordship  a  telegram  as  follows: — 
'  Special  train  with  300  Russian  volunteers 
passed  yesterday ;  arms  scarcely  concealed ; 
disorders  at  railway  stations ;  Roumanian 
government  much  embarrassed.  M.  Bra- 
tiano  asked  my  advice.  I  recommended 
prudence,  and,  if  possible,  to  avoid  collision.' 
And  now  I  shall  have  the  honour  to  relate 
the  details  to  your  lordship. 

"  Last  night  I  was  spending  the  evening 
with  M.  Debains,  my  French  colleague, 
when,  about  half-past  ten,  M.  Bratiano, 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  was 
announced. 

"  M.  Bratiano  told  me  that  he  had  just 
been  to  my  house,  and  expressed  his  plea- 
sure in  being  able  at  the  same  time  to  con- 
sult both  the  French  and  English  agents 
on  a  matter  of  no  small  importance. 

"  It  appears  that  a  special  train,  convey- 
ing 300  volunteers,  arrived  at  the  Rou- 
manian frontier  from  Russia  on  the  18th 
instant.  Many  were  in  the  possession  of 
swords,  and  others  did  not  conceal  that 
they  had  revolvers  in  their  pockets.  One 
individual  was  spoken  of  as  General  Vasi- 
liefi",  or  some  similar  name;  and  others, 
although  all  in  plain  clothes,  seemed  to  be 
recognised  as  officers.  That  there  had  been 
disorders  at  various  stations,  and  notably 
that  the  train  left  Roman,  where  there  had 
been  a  dispute  with  the  station-master 
respecting  the  composition  of  the  train, 
amidst  the  howls  and  hisses  of  the  by- 
standers. 

"  M.  Bratiano  was  extremely  anxious  re- 
specting the  incident,  and  appeared  to  be 
inclined  to  telegraph  to  the  frontier  at 
Turno-Severin  and  stop  the  exit  of  the 
whole  party  from  Roumanian  territory. 

115 


m 

■■;< 
'111 

-I' 


BRATIANO  AND  MANSFIELD.]         HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


"  After  carefully  examining  every  point, 
I  indicated  to  M.  Bratiano  that,  although, 
of  course,  the  destination  and  object  of  the 
excursionists  was,  as  it  were,  openly  avowed, 
it  was  necessary  to  review  the  details  calmly 
and  on  technical  grounds^  so  as  to  give 
little  cause  for  remonstrances  on  the  part 
of  the  Russian  consul-general,  should 
the  matter  arrive  at  that  stage, 

"  I   pointed  out  that  excursionists  in  all 
countries  employ  special   trains,  and   that 
they   even   cross    the   frontiers    of   foreign 
countries;  that  excursionists  are  frequently 
under  the  direction  of  one  or  more  indivi- 
duals ;    that,    although    for    the   moment 
munitions  of  war  cannot  be  imported,  there 
is,  according   to   the    Roumanian    regula- 
tions, nothing  to  prevent  travellers  being 
ia  possession  of  a  pistol  or  a  gun;  while  a 
sword  is  looked  upon  as  part  of  a  uniform, 
with  which  many  persons  are  in  the  habit 
of  travelling ;  that  the  baggage  of  these  ex- 
cursionists must  have  been  examined  at  the 
frontier,  and  munitions  of  war  would  doubt- 
less have  been   seized;  that  it   would    be 
competent  to  the   government  to  issue  an 
immediate  order  to  prohibit  travellers  from 
introducing  any  arms,  but  that  to  telegraph 
that  very  evening  to  have  these  gentlemen 
etarched,  and  their  arms,  if  found  on  their 
persons,  taken  from  them,  would  be  a  retro- 
spective act,  and  likely  to  cause  inconveni- 
ence ;  that,  according  to  his  own  showing, 
the  Roumanian  force  at  Turno-Severin  con- 
sists of  a  couple  of  companies  of  the  regular 
army,  a  battalion  of  militia,  and  the  custom- 
house officers,  and  tliat  perhaps  the  officer 
commanding  might  be  wanting  in   tact  or 
judgment;    that   an    attempt    to    prevent 
tiiese  volunteers  leaving  the  frontier  mi  >ht 
cause  a  collision,  in  which  the  Roumanian 
force  might  be  overpowered ;  that  regret- 
table incidents  and  perhaps  bloodshed  must 
ensue. 

"The  next  result  would  be,  that  there 
would  be  renewed  disorders  at  the  passage 
of  Russians  through  this  country,  and  there 
would  spring  up  mutual  bad  feeling  between 
the  volunteers  and  the  Roumanians  at  the 
different  towns  and  stations. 

"It  was  true  that  there  had  been  dis- 
turbances at  Roman,  but  at  other  stations 
there  had  been  cheers  for  Roumania  and 
the  cause  of  the  Eastern  Christians. 

"  To  save  appearances,  it  would  be  well 
if  these  volunteers  could  leave  Severin  in 
small  detachments,  and  not  in  a  collective 
body. 

116 


"That  I  seriously  deprecated  any 
measures  which  might  lead  to  collision 
and  inevitable  consequences  of  a  deplorable 
character;  adding,  that  it  appeared  to  me 
most  desirable  at  the  present  time,  when 
the  other  powers  were  anxious  for  the 
cordial  co-operation  of  Russia  in  restoring 
peace,  and  also  at  a  moment  of  delicate 
negotiations,  to  aviod  any  cause  of  irritation 
or  even  comment. 

"  M.  Bratiano  urged  that  the  Porte  might 
possibly  remonstrate ;  to  which  I  answered 
that,  if  the  matter  was  properly  laid  before 
the  latter,  the  representations  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Prince  Charles  would  doubtless  be 
accepted  in  a  dispassionate  sense. 

"He  then  expressed  apprehension  lest 
the  guaranteeing  powers,  and  especially 
her  majesty's  government,  would  be  of 
opinion  that  this  government  had  not  been 
consistent  in  its  professions  of  neutrality. 

"31.  Debains  reassured  him,  as  far  as  the 
Due  Decazes  was  concerned;  and  I' replied 
that  his  (M.  Bratiano's)  evident  anxiety  on 
the  subject,  and  tlie  circumstance  that  he 
had  come  to  consult  M.  Debains  and  my- 
self, was  no  small  earnest  of  the  sincerity 
of  the  professions  of  the  Roumanian  govern- 
ment, adding  that  I  ventured  to  think  that 
your^  lordship  would  be  disposed  to  make 
all  just  allowance  for  the  position  of 
extreme  difficulty  in  which  this  government 
is  placed. 

"  Before  coming  to  see  me,  M.  Bratiano 
called  at  the  Russian  agency ;  but  Baron 
Stuart  was  absent,  and  the  vice-consul  in 
charge  had  expressed  a  hope  that  the 
volunteers  would  he  allowed  to  continue 
unmolested,  and  tried  to  explain  that  they 
differed  in  no  other  way  from  the  other 
volunteers,  except  in  respect  of  the  special 
train, 

"  M.  Bratiano  had  also  seen  Count  Alvens- 
leben,  the  German  consul-general,  but 
could  get  no  expression  of  opinion  from 
him. 

"  The  minister  also  informed  me  that,  on 
the  passports  of  the  Russian  volunteers  in 
general,  it  is  stated  that  they  are  Russians 
who  have  ceased  to  belong  to  the  Russian 
nationality,  but  that  he  did  not  know 
whether  the  last  batch  had  similar  pass- 
ports. 

"  I  beg  to  direct  your  lordship's  attention 
to  the  circumstance  that,  in  ordinary  times, 
no  Russian  is  allowed  to  change  his 
nationality  without  immediately  passing  to 
another  nationality,  and  having  the  whole 


A.D.  1876.] 


transaction  arranged  with  the  greatest  strict- 
ness ;  these  volunteers  would,  therefore,  ap- 
pear to  have  no  nationality,  and  the  whole 
system  is  evidently  conceived  with  a  view 
to  their  disavowal  "by  the  Russian  govern- 
ment if  convenient. 

"M.  Bratiano  left  us  at  half-past  11, 
in  order  to  telegraph  to  Severin  that  cir- 
cumspection was  to  be  observed  on  the 
arrival  of  the  special  train,  which  would 
be  due  at  the  latter  place  shortly  after 
midnight. 

"  M.  Bratiano  also  spoke  at  great  length 
on  the  embarrassment  of  this  country;  on 
its  position  between  great  and  powerful 
States;  its  weakness;  the  maintenance  of 
neutrality;  and  the  conscientious  discharge 
of  their  duties  to  the  suzerain  power ;  but 
I  hesitate  to  take  up  more  of  your  lord- 
ship's time  with  these  subjects. 

"  It  was  not  without  some  anxiety  that  I 
felt  myself  called  upon  to  offer  counsel  on 
so  delicate  a  subject  as  the  above:  and  I 
trust  that  your  lordship  will  believe  that, 
in  the  suggestions  which  I  put  before 
M.  Bratiano,  I  have  not  spoken  without  the 
maturest  reflection,  and  have  been  guided 
by  the  earnest  wish  to  recommend  what 
appeared  to  me  to  be  most  prudent  und^r 
the  circumstances." 

Thus  Colonel  Mansfield's  only  care  was 
lest  the  Russians  should  be  offended.  He 
seems  to  have  been  animated  by  a  perfect 
terror  on  this  head  ;  unless,  indeed,  it  was 
in  consequence  of  orders  from  London,  or 
from  an  idea  of  what  was  desired  in 
London— i6.,  to  precipitate  the  catastrophe. 
This  is  the  more  likely  solution  when  we 
consider  that  it  was  the  same  line  adopted 
by  Consul  White  in  Belgrade.  Anyhow, 
this  despatch  fully  shows  that  the  Rouma- 
nians were  abandoned  to  Russia  by  all  the 
powers;  and  it  seems,  therefore,  tolerably 
certain  that  none  of  the  powers  really 
desired  to  prevent  the  dispute  from  being 
worked  out  to  the  bitter  end. 

It  was  therefore  evident  that  the  appeal 
for  mediation  and  the  suspension  of  hos- 
tilities had  been  made  only  to  acquire  fresh 
assistance  from  Russia.  From  all  sides  the 
proofs  that  this  was  the  case  came  pouring 
in,  whilst  the  Russian  committees  con- 
tinued to  pay  their  attention  to  the  relief 
of  the  military  wants  of  Servia.  The 
deficiency  in  the  number  of  officers  was 
entirely  remedied  after  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember, at  which  date  there  were  already 
479  Russian  officers  in  the  Servian  army. 
VOL.  UL  H 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [renewal  of  the  war. 

TchernaiefF  then  turned  the  attention  of 
the  committees  to  the  fact  that  they  were 
in  urgent  want  of  educated  non-com- 
missioned officers ;  and  by  the  first  week  in 
September,  the  number  of  Russian  non- 
commissioned officers  in  the  Morava  army 
alone  amounted  to  592,  half  of  whom 
received  the  medal  for  "  bravery." 

The  next  gap  to  be  filled  up  was  in  the 
cavalry.  Accordingly,  1,800  Cossacks  ar- 
rived within  the  same  period,  some  of  themi 
splendidly  mounted,  and  quite  equal  to  the 
Turkish  cavalry,  even  to  the  notorious 
Circassians. 

Lastly,  the  artillery  was  taken  into  con- 
sideration ;  for,  though  it  was  well  worked 
during  the  war,  the  Servian  guns  were 
found  to  be  too  small  to  be  of  much  use. 
This  deficiency  was  also  partially  remedied. 
Two  batteries  of  mitrailleuses  and  two 
batteries  of  heavy  guns  arrived  from  Mos- 
cow, and  were  despatched  to  Deligrad, 
where  they  were  worked  by  Russian  artil- 
lerymen. A  heavy  battery  was  also  sent 
off  to  the  Ibar  army,  in  charge  of  two 
Russian  officers. 

The  Russian  Lieutenant  Mussin  Pusch- 
kin,  a  relation  of  the  celebrated  Russian 
poet  Puschkin,  who  had  greatly  distin- 
guished himself  by  blowing  up  a  bridge 
which  had  been  thrown  over  the  Morava  by 
the  Turks,  received  his  appointment  as  a 
captain  in  reward  for  his  services,  and  was 
also  appointed  commandant  of  the  sotnia 
of  Cossacks,  who  formed  the  prince's  body- 
guard at  head-quarters.  At  the  same  time. 
Count  Lewackoff  received  the  command  of 
the  cavalry  in  the  Drina  army.  Very  large 
quantities  of  ammunition  were  sent  through 
Roumania.  Even  during  the  formal  sus- 
pension of  hostilities,  twelve  cases  of  swords 
and  22,000  muskets  were  sent  in  the  same 

way. 

Thus  reinforced,  the  Russo-Servian 
leaders  thought  themselves  sufficiently  pre- 
pared to  renew  the  conflict ;  and  when  the 
first  week  of  the  suspension  of  hostilities  had 
terminated  (on  the  25th  of  September),  hos- 
tilities recommenced  on  the  Morava  Valley 
on  the  next  day,  by  a  general  attack  on  the 
part  of  General  Tchernaiefi's  army.  There 
was  considerable  slaughtf^r;  but  on  the 
29th  the  Turks  resumed  the  offensive,  and 
there  was  heavy  fighting  on  both  occasions; 
but  both  parties  retained  all  their  fortified 
positions,  so  that  the  only  result  of  these 
consecutive  engagements  was  a  large  and 
wanton  loss  of  life  on  both  sides. 


f 

;- 


I 

h 


117 


ALEXINATZ  AND  DJrNIS.J 


ITISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


The  attacks,  on  the  28th,  of  the  Servians 
and  their  Kussian  allies  were  prosecuted 
"with  unusual  resolution,  Horvatovich 
commanded  the  Servian  forces.  His  right 
wing,  which  was  opposed  to  the  Turkish 
right  rear,  defended  by  the  division  of 
Adyl  Pasha,  was  led  by  Tcholak  Antich ; 
and  his  left  wing,  opposed  to  the  division 
of  Suleyman  Pasha,  and  more  directly  to 
the  brigade  of  Hafiz  Pasha,  was  led  by 
Strikovich.  General  Tchernaieff  himself 
visited  the  ground  the  previous  day  on  each 
occasion,  but  returned  to  Deligrad  before 
the  advance  commenced. 

The  ground  over  which  the  Servians 
made  their  attack  was  the  same  precisely 
(distant  four  miles  from  the  original 
Turkish  position  on  the  heights)  as  that 
on  which  they  had  themselves  made  their 
last  stand  in  the  battle  of  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember. Then  the  combatants  on  both 
sides  had  ceased  to  be  supported  by  their 
artillery  respectively ;  now  the  superior 
elan  of  the  Turks  was  effectually  seconded 
by  the  well-sustained  fire  of  their  batteries 
on  commanding  positions  ;  whilst  a  counter- 
demonstration  made  by  tlie  Turks  in  the 
plain  between  Alexinatz  and  the  trestle- 
bridge,  more  than  answered  its  purpose  in 
recall inof  to  their  lines  the  four  Servian 
battalions,  with  twelve  guns,  which  had 
been  pushed  forward  on  the  high  road. 
The  Turkish  force,  consisting  of  three  bat- 
talions, six  guns,  and  1,000  horse,  had 
reached  the  river,  and  were  on  the  point  of 
crossing  it,  with  the  certain  prospect  of 
seizing  the  Servian  batteries  in  the  plain, 
as  well  as  the  batteries  covering  Alexinatz, 
which  were  almost  denuded  of  their  gar- 
risons, when  Ahmed  Eyoub  Pasha  stopped 
the  movement. 

His  motive  for  forenfoinor  his  advanta^re 
was  the  same  as  that  alleged  by  him  for 
abandoning  the  crest  which  had  been 
wrested  from  the  enemy  once  before — viz., 
deference  to  the  orders  of  the  Porte  against 
assuming  the  offensive ;  though  by  his 
generals  it  was  attributed  to  the  want  of 
enterprise  and  excess  of  caution,  which 
had  already  deprived  him  of  the  fruits 
of  his  victories. 

In  a  false  attack  along:  the  ri^ht  bank  of 
the  Morava  during  the  battle,  some  Ser- 
vian troops,  having  incautiously  passed  over 
the  stream,  were  very  severely  handled  by 
the  Turkish  detachments,  consisting  largely 
of  cavalry,  which  had  been  posted  under 
cover  to  watch  them ;  the  number  of  Ser- 
118 


vians  killed  and  abandoned  on  the  ground 
exceeding  300  men. 

Thus,  in  spite  of  all  that  Tchernaieff  and 
his  colleagues  could  do,  the  Servians  steadily 
lost  ground  ;  and  at  last  the  Turkish  com- 
mander decided  to  pay  no  more  attention 
to  politics,  but  to  endeavour  to  seize  the 
Servian  stronghold.  Broadly  speaking,  the 
Servian  lines  still  reached  from  Alexinatz 
to  Deligrad,  with  strong  works  and  outposts 
in  front  of  Djunis.  Alexinatz,  as  already 
said,  could  not  be  taken  from  the  east, 
west,  or  south,  without  extensive  mining 
and  siege  operations.  The  position  at  Deli- 
grad could,  however,  be  turned  by  the 
capture  of  Djunis  and  the  repulse  of  the 
Servians  across  the  Morava.  This  done, 
Deligrad  could  be  taken  in  the  rear.  To 
obtain  this  object,  Ahmed  Kyoub  Pasha 
gave  the  order  to  advance. 

The  attack  commenced  at  daylight  on 
the  morning  of  the  19th  instant,  by  a  gen- 
eral advance  of  the  Turkish  briirades  which 
had  hitherto  faced  the  Servian  position  in 
the  Turkish  rear,  when  considering  the 
Turkish  army  as  facing  Alexinatz,  but 
which,  from  the  change  of  the  point  of 
attack  from  Alexinatz  to  Djunis,  really 
formed  the  Turkish  front  line;  and  so 
completely  was  the  enemy  taken  by  sur- 
prise, that  his  advanced  defences,  consist- 
ing of  numerous  well-constructed  batteries 
and  redoubts,  which  constituted  the  main 
strength  of  his  position,  were  successively 
abandoned  after  a  feeble  struggle.  So  per- 
sistent was  the  assault  of  the  Turkish  forces, 
that  before  3  P.M.  they  had  carried  the 
whole  range  of  heights  opposed  to  them, 
except  only  the  crest  of  a  long  spur  on  the 
right,  running  down  towards  the  river, 
where  the  Servians  maintained  their  de- 
fence until  night  put  an  end  to  offensive 
operations.  The  occupation  of  this  crest, 
defended  as  it  was  by  a  redoubt,  and  com- 
manded by  a  battery  on  the  adjoining 
range,  being  essential  to  a  further  advance, 
the  whole  of  the  following  day  (20th)  was 
spent  by  the  right  brigade  in  the  attempt 
to  carry  it ;  but  by  this  time,  the  Servians 
having  obtained  reinforcements,  the  re- 
peated efforts  of  the  Turkish  troops  were 
unavailing.  Nevertheless,  the  progress 
made  by  them  both  along  the  ridge  and  on 
its  southern  slope  having  rendered  it  un- 
tenable against  a  further  attack  in  the 
morning,  and  the  Turks  continuing  to  hold 
the  ground  they  had  gained,  it  was  aban- 
doned  by  the  Servians  during  the  night. 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE.  [cAPTruE  of  alexinatz. 


■w 


On   the   21st,   the   general  attack  was  re- 
sumed with  scarcely  more  opposition  than 
on  the  19th.     The  Servians  were  supported 
only  during  the  later  part  of  the   day  by 
the   artillery  of  the   distant   batteries   on 
their  last  line   of  heights  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  valley  of  the  Djuniska,  and  the 
Turks  only  by  the  mountain  guns  attached 
to  their  several  brigades.     The  result  was, 
that  the  Servians  were  completely  driven 
off  the  intermediate  spurs  and  crests  up  to 
the  base  of  the  said  line,  and  left  the  large 
villacres  of  Kavnik  and  Yeliki  Siljegovatz, 
besid'e  other  minor  villages,  at  the  mercy 

of  the  Turks.  ^    ^  , 

Owing  to  the  character  of  the  country, 
winch    consisted   of    successive    ranges    ot 
heights,  varying   from    300   to   500   feet, 
covered  with  forest  trees,  the  inferior  Ser- 
vian troops  were  enabled  to  offer  a  more 
protracted   resistance   than   without    such 
shelter  could  certainly  have  been  expected 
of  them  ;  for  wherever  open  spaces  attorded 
a  dimpse  of  the  combat,  their  retirement 
before  the  Turks  bore  rather  the  appearance 
of  a  stampede  than  a  regular  retreat.     As 
usual,  the  Servians  succeeded,  by  their  rapid 
movements,  in  carrying  off  all  their  guns, 
which,  after  these  had  been  withdrawn  from 
the  shelter  of  the  batteries,  were  not  again 
employed;  nor,  indeed,  did  the  nature  of 
the   ground   admit   of    their   being   easily 
brought   into    action.     The   advanced    re- 
doubts were  protected  by  mines  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  200  yards  on  the  line  of 
approach,  which  was  here  further  defended 
hy  chevaux  de  frise  ^xiA  felled  trees.     The 
road  also  was  mined  between  Kavnik  and 
Siljegovatz  ;  but,  owing  to  want  of  time  or 
to   miscalculation,  these    mines  were    not 
sprung  at  all,  or  exploded  inopportunely, 
the  wires  connecting  them  with  the  electric 
batteries,  in  the  former  case,  being  after- 
wards discovered  and  cut  by  the  lurks. 

The  principal  feature  of  the  battle  un- 
doubtedly consisted  in  the  advance  of  the 
ri  >ht  and  centre  divisions  of  the  Turkish 
line  of  attack,  along  the  two  crests  leading 
to  the  superior  heights,  which  formed  the 
main  and  last  position  of  the  Servians  on  the 
left  side  of  the  valley  of  the  Morava,  over- 
hanging Deligrad.  These  crests  were  for- 
tihed  by  three  batteries  and  numerous  in- 
trenchments,  and  might  be  regarded  as  the 
outworks  of  the  enciente  behind.  On  the 
crest  to  the  right,  while  the  Turks  were 
employed  in  climbing  the  slopes,^  the  Ser-  , 
vians  were  enabled  to  deliver  their  hre  almost . 


unmolested ;  but  no  sooner  had  the  former 
approached  within  a  distance  of  200  yards, 
than  the  latter  abandoned  their  intrench- 
ments  with  the  utmost  precipitation,  and, 
in  lieu  of  retiring  to  their  main  works,  they 
fled  down  the  opposite  slopes,  and  across 
the  plain,  on  their  way  to  the  bridges  over 
the    Morava.      For    once,   Nedjib    Pasha^, 
chief  of  the  Turkish  staff,  who  commanded  • 
this  division  (for  the  day),  brought  up  his 
guns  to  support  the  attack  of  his  infantry, 
and  so  materially  contributed  to  the  result 
above  described.     The  further  advance  of 
the  two  right  divisions  was   characterised 
throughout  by  the  same  cowardice  of  the 
Servians.  Their  retreat  was  a  stampede,  and, 
before  2  P.M.,  they  had  abandoned  the  whole 
of  their  works,  with  eleven  guns  (seven  field 
and  four  mountain  guns)  into  the  hands  of 
the  Turks.     The  left  and  left-centre  divi- 
sions having  to  recover  the  ground  froni 
which  they  had  withdrawn  on  the  night  of 
the  21st  instant,  and  also  to  traverse  a  con- 
siderable tract  of  wooded  country  to  the 
left  of  the  valley  of   the  Djuni?ka  before 
thev  could  gain  the  base  of  the  Servians' 
position,  had  scarcely  reached  the  parallel 
of  Djunis  on  the  heights  beyond,  when  the 
success  of  the  right  division  put  an  end  to 
the  contest,  and,  by  cutting  off  the  retreat  ot 
the  Servian  right  towards  Deligrad,  neces- 
sarilv  compelled  it  to  fall  back  precipitately 
upon  Krusevatz  by  the  only  road  left  open 
to  it.    The  Servian  loss  was  chiefly  inflicted 
by  the   fire  to  which   they  were   exposed 
during  their  retreat  from  post  to  post.     A 
very  considerable  number  also  fell  under 
the  sabres  of  cavalry  posted  in  the  valley  of 
the  Djuniska  to  intercept  their  flight.    The 
loss  of  the  Turks  was  estimated  at  between 
30  and  40  killed,  and  300  wounded  only. 
The   attacking   force  was   between   15,000 
and  18,000  strong,  including  the  reserves. 
The  Serbs  had  the  same  number  of  men, 
but   lost    four    times    as     many    as    the 

Turks. 

Thus,  by  October  30th,  the  Turks  had 
succeeded,  with  immense  dash  and  valour, 
in   carrying   the   strongest   positions,   and 
held  all  the  country  between  the  valleys  of 
the  Morava  and  the  Djuniska,  as  well  as 
the  heights  commanding  the  high  road  to 
Krusevatz.       Of  course,   the   line   having 
been  turned,  Alexinatz  was  abandoned  by 
the  Servians,  and  occupied  the  same  day  by 
the  Turks.     Tchernaieff  fell  back  with  all 
his  troops  upon  Deligrad— the  last  strong- 
hold—and, from  a  military  point  of  view, 

119 


't 


I 


LIVADIA.] 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


[a.d.  1876. 


there  was   nothinor   to  prevent  the  Turks 
from  marching  to  Belgrade. 

But  at  this  moment  the  Czar  stepped  in. 
Official  Russia  came  to  support  unofficial 
Russia  when  it  found  unofficial  Russia 
getting  the  worst  of  it.  The  "  Divine 
Figure  of  the  North,"  though  absorbed  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  evanescence  of  even 
imperial  flesh,  judged  it  opportune  to  throw 
off  at  least  part  of  his  mask.  On  October 
30th,  Lord  Loftus  received  a  note  from 
Prince  Grortschakoff,  to  inform  him  that 
the  emperor  was  unable  to  receive  him 
that  day,  in  consequence  of  its  being  the 
anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  late 
empress. 

Lord  Loftus  had  met  Prince  Gortscha- 
koff  the  same  day,  and  inquired  whether 
his  highness  had  received  any  satisfactory 
intelligence  from  Constantinople.  His  high- 
ness replied  that  he  had  intelligence  to  com- 
municate, but  he  preferred  that  the  em- 
peror should  communicate  it  to  him  at  an 
audience,  which  was  then  fixed  for  the 
30th.  However,  Lord  Loftus  received  later 
from  St.  Petersburg  the  official  declaration 
published  in  the  Journal  de  SL  Peter sbourg, 


announcing  that  General  Ignatieff  had 
been  instructed  to  declare  to  the  Sublime 
Porte,  that  if,  within  a  delay  of  two  days, 
it  did  not  accept  an  armistice  of  six  weeks 
or  two  months,  and  if  it  did  not  give  im- 
mediate orders  to  arrest  military  operations, 
the  ambassador  would  leave  Constantinople 
with  all  the  members  of  the  embassy,  and 
that  diplomatic  relations  would  be  broken 
off.  This  was  the  intelligence  which  Prince 
Gortschakoff  preferred  should  be  communi- 
cated to  Lord  Loftus  directly  by  the  em- 
peror I 

The  Sultan,  Abdul  Hamid,  who  had 
succeeded  his  brother  Murad,  deposed  on 
account  of  his  "madness,"  acceded  to 
General  IgnatiefiPs  demands  without  more 
ado,  and  agreed  to  a  five  months'  armis- 
tice. 

Thus,  for  the  second  time,  the  Turks 
were  balked  of  the  fruits  of  their  victory 
by  Muscovite  diplomacy.  The  Servian 
war  was  thus  at  an  end.  Beaten  at  all 
points,  Tchernaieflf,  Russians,  and  Servians 
were  obliged  to  abandon  force  and  arms,  and 
resort  to  their  more  accustomed  weapons — 
the  pen  and  falsehood. 


CHAPTER  X. 


LIVADIA. 


Good  faith,  truth  and  honesty,  as  has  been 
seen,  have  not  characterised  Russian  di- 
plomacy since — let  us  say — 1870.  There 
was,  however,  a  popular  idea  that  there  was 
one  man  in  Russia  whose  word  was  as  good 
as  his  bond,  whose  honour  was  untarnished, 
•who  was  the  essence  of  integrity,  nobility, 
generosity,  and  all  the  other  virtues  com- 
bined. His  only  fault  was,  that  he  was  the 
Czar  of  all  the  Russias,  and  even  that 
was  His  misfortune  rather  than  his 
fault.  It  was  with  this  model  of  all 
the  virtues,  that  one  bleak,  cold  day  in 
November,  on  the  2nd,  Lord  Loftus  had  a 
special  interview  at  Livadia,  when  his  ma- 
jesty was  pleased  to  receive  the  British 
ambassador  "  with  his  customary  kindness 
and  cordiality."  After  some  gracious  in- 
quiries after  his  lordship's  family,  the 
Czar  at  once  opened  on  the  Eastern  ques- 
tion, and  stated  that  be  had  that  morning 
'       120 


received  a  telegram  from  Constantinople, 
announcing  the  probable  acceptance  of  the 
armistice,  and  another  telegram  reporting 
that  orders  had  already  been  sent  by  the 
Porte  to  their  commanders  to  suspend  mili- 
tary operations.  This,  the  Czar  observed, 
was  very  satisfactory. 

On  Lord  Loftus  observing  on  the  sudden  * 
change  which  had  taken  place  between  the 
Sunday,  when  he  had  seen  the  chancellor, 
and  the  following  day,  when  the  ultimatum 
was  despatclied  to  General  Ignatieff,  the 
Czar  said  that  this  had  been  caused  by  the 
intelligence  he  had  received  of  the  com- 
plete discomfiture  of  the  Servian  army, 
and  his  fear  that  it  might  be  followed  by 
similar  atrocities  as  those  which  had  re- 
curred in  Bulgaria.  He  had,  therefore, 
decided  on  addressing  an  ultimatum  in 
order  to  prevent  a  further  unnecessary 
effusion   of  blood;  and   he  observed  that 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  czar's  assurances. 


no  one  was  more  astonished  to  receive  this 
instruction  than  General  Ignatieff  himself. 

This  is  worthy  of  especial  note.  By  the 
word  of  the  Czar  himself,  those  are  convicted 
of  falsehood  or  culpable  ignorance,  who 
contend  that  General  Ignatieff  had  over- 
stepped his  instructions,  and  was  respon- 
sible for  the  subsequent  complications. 

The  bare  idea,  however,  of  any  Russian 
statesman  or  general  overstepping  his 
orders,  or  acting  in  any  way  on  his  own 
unsupported  responsibility,  whether  an 
Ignatieff,  or  a  Kauffman,  or  a  Schouvaloff, 
is  too  ridiculous  to  be  entertained  for  one 
moment.  Serfage,  amongst  the  nobility 
or  peasantry,  may  have  been  theoretically 
abolished ;  practically,  it  flourishes  as  much 

as  ever. 

The   emperor   then  expressed  very  ear- 
nestly his  wish  that  a  conference    should 
meet   with   the  least  delay,  and  that   in- 
structions should  be  immediately  sent  by 
the    several   governments   to    enable    the 
ambassadors  at  Constantinople  to  deliberate 
at  once  on  the  necessary  preliminaries  of  | 
peace  between   Servia  and  Turkey,  taking 
as  the  basis  the  proposals  which  had  been 
submitted  by  Lord  Derby.     Continuing  in 
thi-     strain,   the   emperor   entered    on    a 
retrospective  view  of  the  past  negotiations. 
He  stated  that  he  had  given  every  proof  of 
his  desire  for  peace,  and  that  he  had  done 
everything  in  his  power  to  aid  in  arriving 
at  a  pacific  solution  of  the  existing  compli- 
cations.    He  even  pretended  that  he  had 
supported  Lord  Derby's  previous   demand 
lor  an   armistice  of  six  weeks,  which  was 
refused  by  the  Porte,  and  was  followed  by  a 
mere  suspension  of  hostilities  for  ten  days, 
which   proved   wholly  illusory.     This  was 
true ;  but  the  emperor  did  not  state  that 
it  was  illusory  on  account  of  the  bad  faith 
of  the  Servians  and  their  Russian  accom- 
plices !     On  the  contrary,  his  majesty  con- 
sidered that  this  refusal  of  the  Porte  to  a 
collective  appeal  of  Europe  was  a  "  slap  in 
the  face"  given  to   the   powers.     He  had 
patiently   submitted   from   a  wish  not   to 
separate  from  the  European  concert,  and  had 
assented  to  the  proposals  to  serve  as  a  basis 
for   peace   proposed   by    Lord  Derby,   and 
which  had  been   equally  agreed  to  by  the 
other  powers. 

To  these  proposals,  however,  the  Porte 
had  replied  evasively,  declining  to  convey 
its  acceptance  in  the  form  of  a  protocol, 
and  notifying  that  a  wholesale  measure  of 
reform    was    under    consideration,    which 


would  be  applied  indiscriminately  to  the 
empire    at    large,   and   which   even   went 
beyond  the  demands  of  the  powers.     The 
Czar  then  observed  that,  on  this  refusal.  Lord 
Derby  had,  simultaneously  with  a  similar 
proposal   from    himself,  addressed   to   the 
Porte  a  demand  for  an  armistice  of  not  less 
than  a  month,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
the  powers  to  deliberate  on  the  conditions 
of  peace.     He  had  supported  this  demand 
in  conjunction  with  the  other  powers ;  and 
to  this  the  Porte  had  replied  by  a  counter- 
proposal,   offering    an    armistice    of    five 
months,  which,  under   the  circumstances, 
and  for  the  reasons  given   by  his  govern- 
ment, could  not   be  supported  or  recom- 
mended to  the  belligerent  parties. 

"  Thus,"  said  the  Czar,  "  the  Porte,  by  a 
series  of  manoeuvres,  had  rendered  in- 
effectual all  the  attempts  of  collective 
Europe  for  arresting  the  war,  and  for 
securmg  a  general  pacification  ;  and  that  if 
Europe  was  willing  to  receive  these  re- 
peated rebuffs  from  the  Porte,  he  could  no 
longer  consider  it  as  consistent  either  with 
the^'honour,  the  dignity,  or  the  interests  of 
Russia." 

At  the  same  time,  the  Czar  pretended  to 
be  anxious  not  to  separate  from  the  Euro- 
pean concert;  but  the  present  state  of 
things  was  intolerable,  and  could  no  longer 
be  allowed  to  continue ;  and  unless  Europe 
was  prepared  to  act  with  firmness  and 
energy,  he  should  be  obliged  to  act  alone. 

At   this   point   the  Czar  referred   more 
especially  to   his  relations   with  England. 
He  said  he  regretted  to  see  that  there  still 
existed  in  England  an    "inveterate"  sus- 
picion of  Russian  policy,  and  a  continual 
fear  of  Russian  aggression  and  conquest. 
He  had  on  several  occasions  given  the  most 
solemn  assurances  that  he  desired  no  con- 
quest;  that  he  aimed  at  no   aggrandise- 
ment, and  that  he  had  not  the  smallest 
wish  or  intention  to  be  possessed  of  Con- 
stantinople.    All   that   had  been    said    or 
written  about  a  will  of  Peter  the  Great  and 
the   aims    of   Catherine   the   Second   were 
illusions  and  phantoms ;  they  never  existed 
in    reality,   and    he   considered    that    the 
acquisition  of  Constantinople  would  be  a 
misfortune  for  Russia.    There  was  no  ques- 
tion of  it,  nor  had  it  ever  been  entertained 
by  his  late  father,  who  had  given  a  proof  of 
it  in  1828,  when  his  victorious  army  was 
within  four  days'  march  of   the   Turkish 
capital.     But  he  carefully  abstained  from 
saying  that  the  fctaLe  of  the  Russian  aimy 


i 


i 

It: 


1 ' 


I  1:1 


THE  czar's   promises.] 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1870. 


A.D.  1876-'77.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [the  Russian  conditions. 


-V 


at  that  time  was  such  that  Constantinople 
was  very  much  to  them  what  the  sour 
grapes  were  to  the  fox. 

However,  to  avoid  all  further  misappre- 
hension, the  Czar  "pledged  his  sacred  word 
of  honour,  in  the  most  earnest  and  solemn 
manner,  that  he  had  no  intention  of  ac- 
quiring Constantinople,  and  that  if  neces- 
sity should  oblige  him  to  occupy  a  portion 
of  Bulgaria,  it  would  only  be  provisionally, 
and  until  peace  and  the  safety  of  the 
Christian  population  were  secured." 

Continuing   the   line   of  argument,  the 
emperor     then      reverted      to     the     pro- 
posal  addressed  to   her  majesty's  govern- 
ment  for   the    occupation    of    Bosnia   by 
Austria,  of  Bulgaria  by  Russia,  and  of  a 
naval    demonstration    at     Constantinople, 
where,  he  said,  her  majesty's  fleet  would 
have  been  the  dominant  power.     This,  the 
emperor  thought,  ought  to  be  a  sufficient 
proof  that  Russia  entertained  no  intention 
of  occupying  that  capital.     True  it  might 
have  been,  had  it  been  understood  where 
Bulgaria  began,  and  where  it  left  ofif.     But, 
as  subsequent  events  proved,  Russia  looked 
upon  Turkey  as  nearly  all  of  it  Bulgarian ! 
However,  the  Czar  said  that  he  could  not 
understand,  when   both   countries    had   a 
common  object — namely,  the  maintenance 
of  peace  and  the  amelioration  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  Christians,  and  when  he  had 
given  every  proof  that  he  had  no  desire  for 
conquest    or    aggrandisement — why   there 
should  not  be  a  perfect  understanding  be- 
tween England  and  Russia — an  understand- 
ing based  on  a  policy  of  peace,  which  would 
be   equally  beneficial  to  their  mutual  in- 
terests, and  to  those  of  Europe  at  large. 

"  Intentions,"  he  said,  "  are  attributed 
to  Russia  of  a  future  conquest  of  India  and 
of  the  possession  of  Constantinople.  Can 
anything  be  more  absurd  ?  With  regard 
to  the  former  it  is  a  perfect  impossibility ; 
and,  as  regards  the  latter,  I  repeat  again  the 
most  solemn  assurances  that  I  entertain 
neither  the  wish  nor  the  intention."  He 
might  have  added,  "  nor  the  power." 

Then,  reverting  to  his  relations  with 
England,  he  deeply  deplored  the  distrust  of 
his  policy  which  was  manifested  in  England, 
and  the  evil  effects  it  produced ;  and  he 
earnestly  requested  Lord  Loftus  to  do  his 
utmost  to  dispel  this  cloud  of  suspicion 
and  distrust  of  Russia,  and  charged  him  to 
convey  to  her  majesty's  government  the 
solemn  asjsurances  he  had  repeated  to  him. 
Lord  Loftus  abbured  the  einpcror  that 
122 


her    majesty's  government  were   perfectly 
cognizant    of,   and    fully   appreciated,   the 
Czar's  pacific  intentions.     He  observed  that 
the  proposed   occupation   of   the   Turkish 
territory  had  worked  a  change  in  the  public 
opinion  of  England,  and  had  produced  alarm. 
Lord  Loftus  then   expressed  a  hope  that 
the  acceptance  of  the  armistice  would  enable 
the  powers  to  bring  about  a   satisfactory 
pacification,  and   that   it  was  of  essential 
importance    that     the    European    concert 
should  be  maintained.     At  the  same  time, 
he  remarked  that  the  question  of  autonomy 
appeared  to  him  as  likely  to  offer  the  chief 
difficulty;    and   that   as   it   more  directly 
affected  Austrian  interests,  care  should  be 
taken  not   to   exceed   those   limits  which 
could  be  accepted  by  Austria.     Continuing 
in  this  strain,  Lord  Loftus  then  referred  to 
the  reported   pretensions    of    Servia    and 
Roumania  to  be  erected  into  independent 
kingdoms.     Such  a  measure.  Lord  Loftus 
remarked,  would  be  the  first  step  towards 
a  dissolution  of  the    Turkish   empire   in 
Europe.     History,  he  somewhat  maliciously 
remarked,  recorded  the  existence,  in  former 
times,  of  a  kingdom  of  Bohemia,  a  king- 
dom of  Servia,  and  a  kingdom  of  Poland : 
they  had  all  disappeared,  and  their  dissolu- 
tion had  been   chiefly  caused  by  internal 
dissensions.     If  the  pretensions  of  Servia 
and  Roumania  should  be  now  admitted,  it 
would  be  the  creation  of  so  many  small 
Polands,  which  very  probably  would  drift 
into   republics— a    state   of    affairs   which 
would  not  conduce  either  to  the  peace  or 
security  of  the  neighbouring  States. 

Hereupon  the  emperor  said  that  there 
was  no  question  of  establishing  kingdoms 
of  Servia  and  Roumania,  and  that  it  would 
be  a  folly  to  do  so.  As  for  the  proclama- 
tion of  Prince  Milan,  as  King  of  Servia,  by 
the  Servian  army,  at  the  instigation  of 
General  Tchernaieff,  the  emperor  tho- 
roughly disapproved  of  it,  and  that,  in 
consequence,  he  had  advised  the  prince  not 
to  visit  the  head-quarters. 

Lord  Loftus,  however,  was  not  surprised 
to  hear  that  the  Czar  had  received  a  tele- 
gram from  the  prince,  excusing  himself  for 
not  obeying  his  majesty's  advice,  on  the 
grounds  that  "  duty  to  his  country  obliged 
him  to  go  to  his  army  under  the  present 
adverse  circumstances.'* 

The  Czar  then  made  a  passing  allusion 
to  the  exaggerated  reports  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  Russian  volunteers  in  the  Servian 
ranks;   to  which  Lord  Loftus   replied   bj 


observing  that  the  presence  of  these  men 
Itad  been  very  instrumental  in  producing 
the  feverish  excitement  in  Russia. 

To  this  the  Czar  replied  that  he  had 
permitted  the  officers  to  go,  provided  they 
left  the  Russian  semce,  "  and  that  he  had 
looped  by  so  doing  to  calm  the  agitation 
{de  Jeter  de  Veau  froide):'  But,  continued 
his  majesty,  a  great  many  Russian  officers 
had  fallen,  and  the  enthusiasm  for  the 
Servians  had  also  very  much  calmed  down. 

The  emperor  then  summed  up  his 
observations  under  three  heads ; — 

1.  The  armistice. 

2.  The  immediate  meeting  of  a  con- 
ference to  decide  upon  the  reforms  to  be 
introduced  into  Turkey. 

3.  That  the  Porte  should  give  effective 
guarantees    for    the    execution    of    these 

reforms. 

These  personal  expressions  of  opinions, 
views,  intentions,  and  principles  were  fol- 
lowed up  by  a  despatch  from  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff  to  Count  Schouvaloff ;  in  which,  to 
save  time — for  every  minute  is  wasted  that 
is  spent  upon  the  document — we  interpolate 
our  glosses  in  parentheses.     He  wrote : — 

"  I  see  with  profound  surprise,  by  your 
last  letter,  that  ideas  of  our  coveting  Con- 
stantinople and  of  the  will  of  Peter  the 
Great  continue  to  haunt  the  minds  of  some 
people  in  England.  I  confess  I  thought 
these  absurdities  were  out  of  date,  and  had 
been  dismissed,  together  with  the  conquest 
of  India  by  Russia,  to  the  domain  of  poli- 
tical mythology."  (Unfortunately,  these 
absurdities  are  nowhere  more  believed  in 
than  in  Russia.) 

"  How  often  have  not  the  Russian  em- 
perors publicly  asserted  that  no  territorial 
annexation  enters  into  their  policy  (quite 
true— hundreds  of  times;  and  they  kept  their 
word  by  annexing   Poland,  the  Caucasus, 
Khiva,  Khokand,  and  parts  of  Persia) ;  that 
they  would  be  much  embarrassed  by  it  (also 
true;  for  instance, in  Poland  in  1832  and-'63; 
in  the  Caucasus  and  in  Georgia) ;  and  that 
the  maintenance  of  the  status  quo  of  the 
East   was   the   best  combination   (against 
Russia).     In  our  form  of  government,  the 
word  of  the  sovereign  is  not,  like  a  parlia- 
mentary declaration,  revocable  at  the  will 
of  a  majority  (which  is  to  be  deeply  de- 
plored).    Their    personal    loyalty   (which 
is  worth  nothing)  is  at  stake.     How  many 
times,  moreover,  have  not  facts  confirmed 
this !     (Innumerable  times,  as  above.)     If 
Russia  had  these  desires  she  would  do  what 


annexing   powers   do.     She   would  quietly 
make  her  preparations,  and  act  on  the  first 
favourable  occasion.  (Yes  ;  but  other  powers 
do  not  hypocritically  proclaim  to  the  world 
that  they  have  "no  intentions,"  and  "pledge 
sacred   words  of  honour"  they  have  not  I) 
Had  she  not  such  an  opportunity  in  1829, 
in  1848,  and  1870,  when  the  attention  and 
the   forces  of   Europe  were  engaged  else- 
where ?     (No;  she  had  not.     In   1829,  it 
was  a  case  of  sour  grapes ;  in  1848  she  had 
enough  to  do  at  home  ;  in  1870  she  entered 
into  a  bargain  with  Prussia,  and  took  what 
she  could  get— i.e.,  the  abrogation  of  the 
Black  Sea  treaty.     She  could  do  no  more, 
for  she  had  Austria,  and  would  have  had 
England  and  Turkey  against  her.)     What 
proofs,  then,  is  it  necessary  to  give  English 
ministers  of  a  disinterestedness,  founded, 
not  on  political  virtue  (of  course  not!),  but 
on  reason  and  good  sense.     If  they  would 
just  forget  for  one  moment  that  they  are 
English  (which  they  certainly  will  not  do), 
and  place  themselves  at  a  Russian  point  of 
view  (which  is  impossible),  we  would  ask 
them  whether,  conscientiously,  they  would 
advise  the  imperial  government  to  seek  the 
possession   of  Constantinople.     (Decidedly 
they   would    if    the   Russian    government 
could  get  it  and  keep  it !     It  is  notorious 
that  Constantinople  is  coveted  by  all  who 
have  interests  in  the  East.     Its  possession 
would  be  invaluable  to  Russia.)    There  can 
be  no  doubt  as  to  the  reply.     Why  deny  us 
the   practical  good   sense  they  themselves 
have  ?     (As  we  have  shown,  they  do  not.) 

"  The  only  rational  combination  for  Rus- 
sian interests  is  to  leave  the  keys  of  the 
Black  Sea  in  hands  feeble  enough  not  to 
close  to  Russia  that  commercial  outlet,  nor 
to  menace  her  security.  The  Turkish  rule 
fulfilled  this  programme.  Is  it  our  fault 
if  the  Turks  have  taken  advantage  of  it  to 
render  their  sway  intolerable  to  their  Chris- 
tian subjects?  (Yes,  decidedly.)  Has  not 
the  EngiiEh  policy  contributed  to  the  abuse 
by  exciting  the  suspicions  of  the  Porte 
against  Russia  through  her  own  rivalry,  and 
in  assisting  her  to  make  force  the  sole  basis 
of  her  power?     (No;  it  is  false.) 

"It  is  really  painful  to  see  two  great 
States,  which  to-ether  (if  their  principles 
were  at  all  similar  !)  might  regulate  Euro- 
pean questions  for  their  mutual  advantage 
and  the  benefit  of  all,  excite  themselves  and 
the  world  by  an  antagonism  founded 
on  prejudices  or  misunderstanding.     (Say, 

justified  distrust.) 

^  123 


I 
4, 


!  i 
I 


1.       i 


I?- 


I 


i| 


RUSSIA  MOBILISES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


"  The  results  are  obvious.  English  pub- 
lic opinion  itself  has  been  aroused  fit 
always  is  against  tyranny  and  barbarity); 
and  much  more  so,  and  more  naturally,  the 
national  and  Christian  sentiment  of  Russia 
(as  exemplified  by  the  persecution  of  the 
IJvicts!);  for  we  are  too  near  to  these 
countries,  and  have  too  many  relations  with 
them,  to  confine  ourselves  to  merely  theore- 
tical sympathies.  (Very  true;  Tcher- 
naieff.) 

"This  imposes  on  the  emperor  duties 
from  which  his  majesty  cannot  shrink.  (On 
the  contrary!)  But  these  duties  are  shared 
by  all  civilised  Europe.  What  prevents  Eng- 
land from  fulfilling  her  part  by  joining  with 
us  for  the  protection  of  the  Christians,  and 
sharing  with  us  their  gratitude  and  sym- 
pathy ?  (Because  England  does  not  believe 
in  Russian  civilisation  or  good  faith.) 
The  Eastern  question  is  not  only  a  Russian 
question :  it  involves  the  repose  of  Europe, 
peace  and  general  prosperity,  humanity 
and  Christian  civilisation.     (Just  for  that 


reason    England    refuses    to    leave  it    to 


Russia.) 

"Surely  the  space  is  large  enough  for 
England  to  place  herself  side  by  side  with 
Russia  ?  (It  is  not ;  not  as  long  as  Russia 
is  what  she  is.)  Have  we  not  invited 
her  there  (where?)  by  inviting  in  the 
Straits  the  presence  of  her  squadrons? 
(  By  what  right  does  Russia  invite  England 
into  Turkey?  One  man  does  not  invite 
his  friend  to  another  man's  house  without 
his  permission.)  What  further  pledge  are 
we  to  give  of  our  having  no  pretension  to 
the  exclusive  possession  of  Constantinople  ? 
{ By  not  going  there !) 

"  The  emperor  has  just  expressed  himself 
in  this  sense  to  Lord  A.  Loftus  with  the 
precision  and  loyalty  of  his  sovereign 
words.  (Pie-crust  to  wise  men  ;  and  caviare 
to  the  multitude!)  The  English  ambas- 
sador will  most  certainly  report  them. 

"If  this  assurance  requires  to  be  re- 
peated, do  so,  my  dear  count,  in  the  most 
emphatic  terms.  You  will  be  certain  to  in- 
terpret faithfully  the  intentions  of  our 
august  master."  (That  is  much  to  be 
doubted. ) 

These  assurances  made  by  the  Czar  at 
Livadia,  and  repeated  to  Count  SchouvalofF 
in  London  by  Prince  Gortschakoff,  were  of 
course  hailed  by  the  peace-at-any-price 
party  as  eminently  satisfactory;  and, 
owing  to  diplomatic  usage,  they  had  to  be 
accepted — at  least  for  what  they  were  worth. 
124 


But  the  Russian   after-thought  was  not 

long    in     making     its     appearance.     The 

I  British    government    made    the    following 

proposals  for  the  basis  on  which  to  call  a 

conference  at  Constantinople  : — 

"  1.  The  independence  and  territorial  in- 
tegrity of  the  Ottoman  empire. 

"  2.  A  declaration  that  the  powers  do  not 
seek  for  territorial  advantages,  exclusive  in- 
fluence, or  commercial  concessions,  as  in  the 
protocols  of  Sept.  17,  1840,  and  of  August, 
I860. 

"  3.  The  terms  proposed  to  the  Porte  by 
Sir  Henry  Elliot  in  accordance  with  the 
Earl  of  Derby's  instructions  of  September 
21st,  1876." 

Prince  Gortschakoff  at  once  objected  to 
the    words     "territorial    integrity."      He 
stated  that  the  imperial  government  could 
not  accept  that  term,  as  it  would  exclude 
the  possibility  of  a  provisional  occupation, 
which,  in  the  interest  of  the  Ottoman  em- 
pire  itself,  he   considered   would   still    be 
necessary  for  the  security  of  the  Christian 
population,  and   for   the    maintenance   of 
peace   and  order  during  the  introduction 
of  the  administrative  reforms.     He  added, 
that  there  was  still  great  agitation  in  Bul- 
garia as    well    as    in     Bosnia,    and    tliat 
excesses,  with  loss  of  life,  were  still  being 
perpetrated,  and  that  nothing  but  material 
force  would  restore  peace  and  tranquillity. 
But,    he    repeated,  there  was  no   question 
of  disturbing  the  integrity  of  the  empire. 
He  stated  most  positively  that  Russia  did 
not  covet  an  inch  of  Turkish  territory.     If 
an  occupation  became  necessary,  it  would 
be    provisional,   and  would   only  continue 
until  the  administration  was  placed  on  a 
regular  and  peaceable  footing.    Ultimately, 
however,   and     on    considering     that    one 
quibble  more  or  less  was  of  no  importance, 
he  yielded,  and  accepted  the  invitation. 

A  few  days  later,  on  Nov.  15,  the  em- 
peror held  a  review  of  the  imperial  guards 
and  of  the  adjacent  garrisons  in  the  Champ 
de  Mars.  On  the  termination  of  it,  his 
majesty  addressed  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
Nicolaievich,  his  staff,  and  the  oflScer  of  his 
guard,  and  referring  to  the  mobilisation  of 
a  portion  of  his  army,  expressed  a  hope  that 
it  would  not  be  necessary  to  mobilise  his 
guards.  He  expressed  his  thanks  to  the 
Grand  Duke  Nicholas  for  the  efficient  state 
of  the  guards,  and  announced  the  appoint- 
ment of  his  imperial  highness  to  command 
the  active  army ;  adding,  that  his  imperial 
highness  carried  with  him  the  best  wishes 


H 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  conference* 


of  all  for  his  success.  This  speech  was  re- 
ceived by  the  troops,  and  a  vast  concourse 
of  eager  spectators  who  were  present  at 
the  review,  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm 
and  delight. 

Two  days  later,  the  Czar  gave  orders  tor 
the  immediate  mobilisation  of  160,000  men 


and  648  guns.  Thus,  whatever  the  peace- 
at-any-price  party  may  think  of  Lord 
Beaconsfield  mobilising  one  army  corps  to 
go  into  congress  with,  the  world  in  general 
will  remember  that  Russia  set  the  example 
when  she  mobilised  six  to  go  into  con- 
ference with  I 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  CONSTANTINOPLE  CONFEEENCB. 


Never  was  a  conference  intended  to  lead 
to  peace — at  least  ostensibly  intended  to 
restore  peace — ushered  in  with  such  re- 
markable demonstrations  as  the  Constanti- 
nople conference  of  1876-'77.  The  Rus- 
sians, as  we  have  seen,  prepared  for  peace 
by  arming  to  the  teeth  ;  Servia  was  in  a 
state  between  peace  and  war ;  Montenegro 
was  in  a  state  of  inactive  but  open 
hostility  against  the  Porte;  and  the 
Turks  themselves  were  quietly  but  steadily 
preparing  for  what  every  one,  who  had  any 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  question, 
knew  would  be  the  result. 

But  to  this  political  chaos  the   powers 
sent    their    representatives.— Turkey    was 
represented  by  Safvet  Pasha  and  Edhem 
Pasha,  the  former  of  whom  occupied  the 
position  of  president,  the  conference  being 
held  in  the  Turkish  capital.     The  French 
delegates   were  Comte  Francois  de  Bour- 
going,   the  resident  ambassador,  and   the 
Comte  de  Chaudordy.     Germany  had  but 
one  representative,  Baron  Werther.     Aus- 
tria sent  Count  Z.chy,  the  resident  ambas- 
sador, and  Baron  Calice,  consul-general  in 
Roumania  -,  Count  Corti  represented  Italy, 
and    General    Ignatieff  was    deputed    by 
Russia ;   whilst  the  representatives  of  Great 
Britain  were  Lord  Salisbury  and  Sir  Henry 

Elliot.  . 

These  gentlemen  were  accompanied  by  a 
numerous  suite  of  attaches  and  secretaries, 
amongst  whom,  as  is  the  custom  of  the 
species,  there  was  much  delight  at  the  pros- 
pect of  a  visit  to  Constantinople.  Mr. 
Philip  Currie  was  appointed  secretary  to 
Lord  Salisbury's  "Special  Embassy,"  al- 
though he  was  already  Lord  Salisbury's 
secretary,  and,  as  such,  in  receipt  of  a  hand- 


VOL.  III. 


S 


some  salary.  Besides  Mr.  Currie,  Mr* 
Henry  S.  Northcote,  a  pleasant-faced,  good- 
natured  boy,  Mr.  H.  A.  Lee,  and  Mr.  J.  H. 
C.  Hozier,  were  also  appointed  to  assist  in 
settling  the  ever-momentous  Eastern  ques- 
tion, and  to  look  after  the  luggage— of 
course  by  proxy. 

This  was  very  satisfactory  indeed  to  all 
these  gentlemen,  when  it  suddenly  struck 
somebody  that  a  journey  zig-zag  through 
Europe,   from  London  to   Constantinople, 
would  probably  cost  a  good  deal  of  money. 
The   young   gentlemen   drew   rather    long 
faces  at  this,  and  hints  were  made  to  their 
"chiefs"  that  a   holiday  without  pocket- 
money  could  scarcely  be  regarded  as  an  un- 
mixed pleasure.     The  scion  of  the  House  of 
Cecil  and  the  daughter  of  the  Aldersons 
agreed  with  this  view  ;  but  they  also  agreed 
that  the  House  of  Cecil  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to   furnish   this   necessary  pocket- 
money  ;  and  as  the  voyage  was  to  be  under- 
taken for  the  nation's  weal,  it  was  but  just 
that  the  nation  should  pay  for  it.     Even 
Lord  Derby  saw  the  force  of  this  argument, 
and  on  November  20th,  after  he  had  made 
the  appointment  of  these  gentlemen  in  a 
letter  to  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  he  in- 
dited a  second,  to  the  effect  that  all  the 
"travelling  and  other   expenses"   of   the 
journey  and  stay  in  Constantinople  should 
be  paid  by  the  public.     This  was  eminently 
satisfactory,  and  the  young  gentlemen  were 
highly  delighted,  and  set  about  arranging 
their    outfit.       Their     colleagues    greatly 
envied  them,  and  one  of  them — Mr.  Mar- 
wood  Tucker — gave  expression  to  his  dis- 
content, and  lamented   that  he,  too,  had 
not  been  included  in  the  holiday  party; 
and  as  Mr.   Marwood  Tucker  was  much 

125 


m 


I 


r 


I 


THE  SPECIAL  EMBASSY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1876. 


liked  by  his  friends,  pressure  was  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  to 
whom  it  was  represented   that  too  much 
work  would  seriously  diminish  the  pleasure 
of    a    holiday   trip,   even   with   unlimited 
pocket-money,    and    that    Mr.    Marwood 
Tucker,  mindful  of   his   friends'  comfort, 
would   be  very  glad  to  assist  in  the  work 
to    be   done.      The   soft-hearted    marquis 
agreed,  and  proposed  Mr.  Marwood  Tucker 
as  an  additional  private  secretary.     To  this 
Lord  Derby  assented ;  but  the  value  of  his 
consent  was  much  diminished  by  his  state- 
ment that  Mr.  Marwood  Tucker,  though  he 
would  be   considered  as   attached   to   the 
embassy,  would   receive  no    remuneration, 
and  that  his  expenses  would  not  be  borne 
by  the  public.     This  was  not  satisfactory  to 
the  noble  marquis  at  all ;  still  less  satisfac- 
tion was  there  at  the  receipt  of  a  reminder 
from  Lord  Derby,  that,  as  there  was  such  a 
large  staff,  it  was  but  fair  that  some  work 
should  be  done,  and  that  they  should  ad- 
dress  to   him   (Lord   Derby)   a   series    of 
despatches,  properly  numbered  and  dock- 
eted, during   the   course   of   the    mission. 
Mr.  Marwood  Tucker,  however,  had  gained 
his  point.     It  is  true,  some  bilious  critics 
aver  that  Mr.  Marwood   Tucker   was  ap- 
pointed to  do  all  the  work,  and  take  it  off 
his  colleagues'  hands,  and  that  it  was  on 
that  understanding  that  he  was  allowed  to 
form  one  of  the  party.     But  that  may  be 
as  it  may  ;  we  have  only  to  deal  with  facts  ; 
and  these  facts,  as  they  appear  in  the  Blue- 
Book  in    their   native   simplicity,  will  be 
found  to  run  as  follows : — 

No.  3. 

The  Earl   of  Derby   to    the   Marquis  of 

Salisbury, 

"  Foreign  Ofiice,  November  20,  1876. 


deem    most    beneficial    for   her  majesty's 
service. 

"  I  am,  &c., 

(Signed;        «  Derby." 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [lord  Salisbury  at  parts. 


No.  4. 


The  Earl  of  Derby   to   the  Marquis  of 

Salisbury. 

"  Foreign  Office,  November  20,  1876. 

"My  Lord, — I  have  to  inform  your 
Excellency  that  the  travelling  and  other 
expenses  of  your  Excellency's  embassy  will 
be  paid  by  the  public,  and  that  Mr.  Currie 
has  been  instructed  to  keep  and  render  the 
accounts  in  accordance  with  the  usual 
forms. 

"  I  am,  &c., 

(Signed)        "Derby." 


No.  5. 


The  Earl  of  Derby   to  the  Marquis    of 

Salisbury. 

"  Foreign  Office,  November  20,  1876. 

"My  Lord, — I  have  to  inform  your 
Excellency  that  Mr.  Marwood  Tucker  has 
been  appointed  additional  private  secretary 
to  your  Excellency  in  your  character  of 
special  ambassador  about  to  proceed  to 
Constantinople.  Mr.  Tucker  will  be  con- 
sidered as  attached  to  the  embassy,  but  he 
will  receive  no  remuneration,  and  his  ex- 
penses will  not  be  borne  by  the  public. 


(C 


"My  Lord, — I  have  to  inform  your 
Excellency  that  the  Queen  has  been  pleased 
to  signify  her  commands  that  Mr.  Philip 
Currie,  of  this  Office,  should  be  appointed 
secretary  to  your  Excellency's  special  em- 
bassy, and  that  Mr.  H.  S.  Northcote,  Mr. 
H.  A.  Lee,  and  Mr.  J.  H.  C.  Hozier,  of  this 
Office,  should  be  officially  attached  to  your 
Excellency  in  your  character  of  special 
ambassador.  Your  Excellency  will  accord- 
ingly consider  these  gentlemen  as  forming 
part  of  your  diplomatic  establishment,  and 
you  will  employ  them  in  the  business  of 
the  embassy  in  whatever  way  you  may 
126 


I  am,  &c., 
(Signed)        «  Derby." 


No.  6. 


The  Earl   of  Derby   to  the  Marquis  of 

Salisbury, 

"Foreign  Office,  November  20,  1876. 

"My  Lord, — I  have  to  request  your 
Excellency  to  correspond  with  this  Office, 
while  employed  on  the  service  of  your 
special  embassy,  in  a  series  of  despatches, 
numbered  and  docketed,  and  addressed  to 
her  majesty's  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign 
Affairs. 

"  I  am,  &c., 

(Signed)        "  Derby." 


Everything  being  thus  satisfactorily  set- 
tled, and  a  proposal  by  Mr.  Thomas  Cook 
to  "personally  conduct"  the  party  declined 
with  thanks,  the  excursion  left  England  on 
November  20th,  after  Lord  Salisbury  had 
received  his  instructions  in  a  lengthy  docu- 
ment,   of    which   the    following  was  the 

^  «  1     The  independence   and  the  terri- 
torial* integrity  of  the  Ottoman  empire. 

"2  A  declaration  that  the  powers  do 
not  intend  to  seek  for,  and  will  not  seek 
for  any  territorial  advantage,  any  exclusive 
influence,  or  any  concession  with  regard  to 
the  commerce  of  their  subjects  which  those 
of  every   other    nation  may  not  equally 

obtain.  ,, 

"  Such  a  declaration  was  made  on  the 
17th  of  September,  1840,  in  the  protocol 
for  the  pacification  of  the  Levant;  and 
again  on  the  3rd  of  August,  1860,  in  re- 
trard  to  the  pacification  of  Syria. 

"3  The  basis  of  pacification  proposed 
to   the   Porte  on  the  25th  of  September, 

"(a.)  The  status  quo, speaking  roughly, 
both  as  regards  Servia  and  Montenegro. 

"(6)  That  the  Porte  should  simul- 
taneously undertake,  in  a  protocol  to  be 
signed  at  Constantinople  with  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  mediating  powers,  to  grant  to 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  a  system  of  local 
or  administrative  autonomy,  by  which  is 
to  be  understood  a  system  of  local  institu- 
tions which  shall  give  the  population  some 
control  over  their  own  local  affairs,  and 
guarantees  against  the  exercise  of  arbitrary 
authority.     There  is  to  be  no  quebtion  ot 

a  tributary  State.  ,  •   ^   x^   -u^ 

"Guarantees  of   a   similar   kind  to    be 

also  provided  against  maladministration  m 

Bulgaria."  ,  _     ,, 

Admirable  as  were  these  demands,  they 
lost  much  of  their  value  from  the  absence 
of  any  provision  to  enforce  their  execution 
upon  the   Porte,   which   had  promised  to 
fulfil  such  and  similar  demands  time  alter 
time.     But  no  material  guarantees  were  to 
be  exacted  from  the  Porte ;  and  thus  the 
whole  document,  as  set  up  by  Lord  Derby, 
could  not  be  seriously  considered  as  more 
than  a  comedy,  except  under  one  condition. 
That   condition   was  the  supposition  that 
the  government  intended,  and  determined 
to  insist  on  the  independence  and  territo- 
rial integrity  of  the  Turkish  empire.     That 
was   a  policy  intelligible  to  all.     It  does 
not  signify  what  the  value  of  that  policy 


was,  nor  how  it  would  be  regarded  by  a 
portion  of  the  public.  It  was  at  any  rate 
a  clear  and  definite  programme ;  and 
coming  from  a  Conservative  ministry, 
whose  "platform"  was  the  sanctity  of 
treaties  and  the  re-establishment  of  British 
influence  abroad,  it  was  but  natural  to  be- 
lieve that  it  was  a  programme  which  would  ^ 
be  carried  out  to  the  letter,  as  far  as  lay  in 
the  country's  power. 

Lord  Derby,  however,  as  well,  it  must 
be  presumed,  as  the  rest   of  the  cabinet, 
judged  it   advisable   that  the  Marquis  of 
Salisbury  should    take  the  sense    of    the 
great  powers  on  this  programme  before  en- 
tering  the    conference.     Thus  it  was  de- 
cided that  he  should  call,  on  his  way  to 
Constantinople,  on    the  French,   German, 
and  Austrian  ministers  and  their  masters. 
Thus  there  ensued  that  remarkable  journey 
which  created  so  much  hilarity  on  the  con- 
tinent.   The  spectacle  of  a  British  minis- 
ter knocking  at  the  doors  of  all  the  chief 
cabinets  in  order  to  ascertain  the  opinion 
entertained  of  the  British  programme  was 
unprecedented.     And  it  was  as  senseless  as 
it  was  undignified.     For,  supposing  that 
the  governments,  especially  those  belonging 
to   the  Triple  Alliance,   should  demur  to 
the  policy  advocated  by  the  British  govern- 
ment, there  would  have  been  but  little  use 
in  proposing  the  conference. 

However,  Lord  Salisbury  arrived  safely 
in  Paris  on  the  20th  of  November,  and  had 
an  interview  with  the   Due    Decazes  and 
Marshal  MacMahon  on  the  following  day. 
At  this  interview  the  British  programme 
was  generally  approved  of;  but  stipulations 
were  made,   that,  at  the    conference,  no 
mention  should  be  made  of  Egypt  or  Syria, 
and    that    no    proposals    touching    these 
countries  should  be  discussed.     At  the  same 
time,  the  Due  Decazes  asked  the  marquis 
what  course  the  British  government  wou  d 
adopt  in  case  the  Porte  refused  to  comply 
with   the   demands  which   the  conference 
might  judge  fit  to  make. 

To  this  question,  as  we  are  able  to  state 
on  special  information.  Lord  Salisbury  re- 
plied, that  the  British  government  would 
not  be  prepared  to  adopt  any  coercive  mea- 
sures whatever  towards  the  Porte,  and 
would  confine  itself  to  a  declaration  that 
the  Porte,  in  such  case,  could  not  expect 
any  assistance  whatever  from  Great  Britain. 
"  Bon ;  je  comprends  r  replied  the  duke. 

,« I  understand!"  .    i  r.  t>    • 

I     The  same  night,  the  marquis  left  Pans 


i 

» 
J,, 


t! 


MELEGARI'S  OBJECTIONS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


en  route  for  Berlin ;    and  on   November 
23rd,  he  had  an  audience  of  the  Emperor 
William,  after  he  had  several    interviews 
with  Prince  Bismarck  and  other   persons 
of  note.     The    emperor  expressed  earnest 
hopes   for  the  preservation  of  peace,  and 
said  that  he  had^used,  and  would  continue 
to  use,  his  utmost  personal  influence  with 
the  Emperor  of  Eussia  for  that  purpose ; 
but  he  could  not  but  acknowledge  that  the 
course    taken  by  the  Emperor  Alexander 
was  imposed  upon  him  hy  circumstances, 
and  by  the  oppression  to  which  those  of  his 
own   religion    had   been    subjected   under 
Turkish  rule.     He  trusted,  however,  that 
by  the  concession  of  reasonable  reforms  in 
the    administration  of   the    Turkish    pro- 
vinces, combined  ivith  guarantees  for  their 
execution,  the  necessity  for  an  occupation 
of  Turkish  territory  might  be  avoided.     At 
the  same  time,  however,  the  emperor  con- 
sidered that  it  was  impossible  for   Europe 
any  longer  to  accept  the  mere  promises  of 
the  Porte,  and  that  it  was  indispensable 
that  satisfactory  guarantees  against   the 
continuance  of  the  evils  under  which  the 
Christians  in  Turkey  were  suffering  should 
be  arranged. 

In  reply.  Lord  Salisbury  stated  that  it 
was  the  full  intention  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment to  insist  on  the  provision  of  ade- 
quate guarantees ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
he  said  he  feared  that  an  occupation  of 
Turkish  territory  would  lead  to  war,  and 
that  the  limits  of  such  a  war  could  not  be 
foreseen. 

Thus  the  marquis  received  a  plain  check 
from  the  old  emperor.  Unlike  the  Due 
Decazes,  he  refused  to  "  understand  "  that 
the  conference  should  be  allowed  to  end  in 
a  farce,  and  gave  the  marquis  plainly  to 
understand  that  he,  for  one,  did  not  intend 
to  support  the  British  policy  against  his 
nephew's.  , 

At  Vienna  the  marquis  was  scarcely  less 
unsuccessful,  though,  owing  to  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  he  met  with  no  such 
decided  repulse  as  at  Berlin.  He  found 
both  the  emperor  and  Count  Andrassy  on 
the  horns  of  a  dilemma,  and  unable  to  choose 
between  them.  In  fact,  they  were  neither 
of  them  clear  in  their  own  minds  as  to  what 
they  did  want;  all  that  they  positively 
knew  was  that  matters  looked  very  gloomy ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  it  was  sufficiently 
evident  that  Austria  would  have  no  objec- 
tion to  changes  in  the  Turkish  empire  as 
long  as  those  changes  did  not  threaten 
128 


[a.d.  1876. 


Austria,  and  she  were  allowed  to  take  com- 
pensation for  them,  thou^^h  they  might  not 
prejudice  her.  At  this  Lord  Salisbury  be- 
came slightly  uneasy,  and,  in  reply  to  the 
emperor's  remarks,  that  the  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  a  settlement  were  almost  in- 
superable, he  could  only  repeat  the  old 
stock-in-trade  assurance,  that  peace  could 
only  be  seriously  menaced  if  an  occupation 
ot  lurkish  territory  were  insisted  on. 

What  claim  to  statesmanship  has  an 
individual  of  the  House  of  Cecil,  or  any 
other  house,  who  could  make  such  a  state- 
ment as  that  at  the  end  of  the  year  1876  ? 

These  were  terrible  blows  to  the  noble 
marquis ;  but  the  most  cruel  blow  of  all 
awaited  him  in  Rome.  Here,  although 
Signer  Melegari  objected  to  a  Russian  oc- 
cupation of  any  portion  of  the  Ottoman 
empire,  he  insisted  that  the  action  of  the 
powers  ought  not  to  be  derived  from,  or 
limited  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  but  that 
their  functions  were  rather  those  of  medi- 
ators, deriving  their  title  simply  from  the 
events  of  the  war  and  the  acceptance  of  the 
conference  by  the  Porte.  They  ought,  he 
considered,  to  be  unrestricted  in''  their 
search  for  a  solution  of  the  questions  to  be 
submitted  to  the  conference  by  any  obliga- 
tions imposed  by  that  treaty,  and  he  was 
not  prepared  to  admit  that  the  Porte 
would  be  at  liberty  to  reject  any  decision 
to  which  the  conference  might  come. 

That  is  to  say,  even  Signor  Melegari  was 
also  of  opinion  that  eftective  guarantees 
should  be  demanded  from  the  Porte,  and 
the  decisions  of  the  conference  be  en- 
forced by  the  powers,  should  the  Porte  re- 
fuse to  obey.  Thus  in  Berlin,  Vienna,  and 
Rome,  Lord  Salisbury  met  with  the  same 
reply—that  the  British  proposals  were  ad- 
mirable in  their  way,  but  that  no  means 
had  been  provided  to  enforce  their  exe- 
cution. 

In  short,  the  negotiations  from  which 
Lord  Salisbury,  and  those  who  did  not 
know  the  limited  scope  of  his  mind,  ex- 
pected so  much,  resulted  in  nothing.'  He 
was  rebuffed  on  all  sides,  except  in  Paris, 
where,  however,  assistance  of  a  practical 
nature  could  not  be  expected.  And  no- 
where was  the  amusement  at  the  noble 
lord's  political  peregrinations  greater  than 
at  St.  Petersburg  and  Constantinople, 
where  he  arrived  with  his  suite  on  board 
the  Austrian  and  Lloyd's  steamer  Aurora 
on  December  5th. 

Negotiations  were  first  commenced  in  a 


A.D.  1876.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  preliminaries. 


series  of  preliminary  meetings,  when,  as  was 
to  be  foreseen,  the  chief  difficulty  was  the 
question  of  guarantee  for  the  execution 
of  the  decisions  which  the  conference 
might  arrive  at. 

Two  methods  to  achieve  this  end  were 
proposed.     The  first  was  a  combined  naval 
demonstration  by  all  the  signatory  powers 
before  Constantinople  ;  the  second  was  the 
occupation  of  the  revolted  provinces  by  a 
foreign   force   belonging    to    some    minor 
State.     On  this    head.   General   Ignatiefif, 
unconditionally    dwelling   upon   the    pre- 
valence of  insecurity  and  danger  of  mas- 
sacre, stated  that  it   was  the   immovable 
determination  of  his  government  to  have 
some  sufficient   material  force  as  security 
for  the  Christians  during  the  introduction 
of  the  reforms,   and   for   the   commission 
which  would  have  to  be  appointed  to  watch 
over  the  execution  of  the  reforms.     Russia 
would  furnish  this  force  if  no  other  was 
forthcoming,  but  did  not  desire  to  do  so. 
Thereupon  Lord  Salisbury  stated  that  the 
British    consuls    did  not   believe  in    the 
danger;    whereupon    the    ambassadors   of 
each  of  the  four  other  powers  stated  that 
the  reports  from  their  consuls  were  in  the 
opposite    sense.      Beaten   on    this    point, 
Lord  Salisbury  then  urged  upon  the  ambas- 
sadors  tliat  Turkish  regular  troops  would 
be  sufficient,  and  Sir  H.  Elliot  pressed  the 
point   upon   them.     They   objected,   how- 
ever,  that   the  regulars  took  part  in  the 
masj^acres,  and  could  not  be  trusted.     The 
question  of  employing  Roumanian  troops 
was  raised ;  but  it  was  thought  that  this 
would   be   intolerable   to   the   Porte,   and 
their  efficiency  was  doubtful.     Besides  that. 
Lord  Salisbury  stated  that  his  instructions 
formally     forbade     him     to     accept     any 
military  occupation ;  that  any  employment 
of  Russian  soldiers  was  so  likely  to  lead  to 
bloodshed  that  it   was   absolutely   out   of 
the  question;  but  that  if  the   conference 
would  accept   English  soldiers,  he  would 
recommend  that  solution. 

To  this  the  Russian  ambassador  took 
strong  objection ;  and  the  German  ambas- 
sador said  that  no  troops  belonging  to 
guaranteeing  powers  could  be  accepted. 
At  the  same  time  all  protested  against  the 
idea  of  occupation  ;  but  said  that  an  escort 
of  3,000  to  5,000  men,  as  a  nucleus  for  a 
gendarmerie,  could  not  be  considered  an 
occupation. 

A  Belgian  force  of  this  size  was  then 
proposed,  and  it  was  stated  that  the  pro- 


posal had  the  assent  of  the  Belgian  govern- 
ment ;  but  to  this  solution  Lord  Salisbury 
objected,  that  he  could  give  no  opinion  on 
the  part  of  England,  as  such  a  suggestion 
had  not  been  contemplated  in  his  instruc- 
tions.   He,  however,  accepted  it  adreferen- 
dum,  and  recommended  its  adoption  earn- 
estly, because  he  did  not  believe  that  the 
conference   would   give   way   on  this,  and 
because  no  possible  political  danger  could 
result  from  it,  although  the  Turks  would 
probably  oppose ;  but  as  this  objection  would 
apply  to  all  suggestions  of  reform,  he  craved 
a  speedy  answer  from  the  government  at 
home,  as  the  further  continuance  of  nego- 
tiations  depended    upon    this    point.     In 
reply  to  Lord  Salisbury's  inquiries  on  the 
subject.  Lord  Derby  informed  him  that  the 
government  were  ready  to  assent  in  prin- 
ciple to  the  plan  proposed  by  the  prelimi- 
nary conference — viz.,  local  reforms,  with 
a  commission  of  supervision  for  one  year, 
and  such  commission   to  be  supported  by 
an  escort  not  exceeding  6,000  men  at  the 
utmost,   to    be   drawn   from    some   minor 
State,  such  as  Belgium.     But,  at  the  same 
time,  he  said  that  the  government  would 
reserve  absolutely  the  question  of  steps  to 
be  taken  in  the  event  of  refusal  by  the 
Porte;  and  furthermore,  he  said,  that  it 
would  be  advisable  to  present  the  proposal  as 
emanating  from  the  Porte  itself;  and,  also, 
that  it  should  be  accompanied  by  a  with- 
drawal of  the  Russian  forces  concentrated 
on  the  frontier. 

Interrogated  the  next  day  (Dec.  22),  as 
to  what  measures  were  to  be  taken  in  case 
the   Porte   refused    to   comply   with    this 
demand,   or   the    other    decisions   of    the 
conference.  Lord   Derby  roundly  declared 
that  the  government  would  not  assist  in 
coercive  measures,  military  or  naval,  against 
the  Porte ;  and  that,  in  case  of  the  Porte's 
refusal,  Lord  Salisbury  was  simply  to  leave 
Constantinople,  as  well  as  Sir  Henry  Elliot, 
and  inform  the  Porte  that  it  could  expect 
no  assistance  from  Great  Britain  whatever. 
From  this  declaration  the  Turks  argued 
that   England   was    resolved    not  to    act 
against  them ;  it  would  only  be  necessary 
for  them  to  let  things  come  to  the  worst, 
and  a  declaration  of  war,  in  order  to  secure 
the  alliance  of  Great  Britain  as  heretofore. 
Possibly,  this  assistance  would  not  be  given 
at  once,  but  that  it  would  be  ultimately 
forthcoming    they   entertained    no    doubt 
whatever. 

To  nobody  was  this  more  evident  than 

\2\i 


<  ■ 


THE  EUSSIAN  PROTOCOL.]  HISTOEY  OF  TIFE 


to   General  Ignatieff.     He   was    convinced 
that  the  Porte  would  refuse  any  series  of 
concessions  imposed  upon  them  by  the  con- 
ference ;  and  he  knew  that  war  would  ensue 
in    consequence.     He  also  knew  that  the 
conditions  to  be  imposed  upon  the  Porte, 
after   a   successful   war,   would  exceed   in 
severity  those  proposed  by  the  conference 
by    a    hundred-fold;     and,    consequently, 
knowing  all  this,  he  felt  perfectly  safe  in 
making   any  concessions,  on    the    part    of 
Eussia,  which  might  be  demanded  by  the 
conference. 

He  therefore  yielded  one  point  after 
another.  So  great  were  his  concessions  as 
to  cause  universal  surprise.  He  even  aban- 
doned the  idea  of  an  occupation  by  Belgian 
or  other  troops  to  look  after  the  execution 
of  the  reforms.  But  all  was  in  vain.  The 
Porte,  strong  in  its  conviction  that  it 
would  not  be  abandoned  by  England,  took 
little  heed  of  the  negotiations  during  the 
preliminary  meetings,  and,  under  Midhat 
Pasha,  calmly  set  about  framing  a  consti- 
tution after  its  own  fashion. 

This   constitution,  Midhat   Paska's   pet 
project,  was  announced  in  a  most  dramatic 
manner.     At  the  very  first  sitting  of  the 
conference,  under  the  presidency  of  Safvet 
Pasha,  the  plenipotentiaries  assembled  were 
suddenly   startled   by  repeated   salvoes  of 
artillery.     Some    of  the   plenipotentiaries 
turned  pale ;  all  looked  inquiringly  at  each 
other,   and    then   at   Safvet    Pasha,   who, 
evidently  enjoying  the  discomposure  of  the 
ambassadors,  kept   silence  for  a  moment, 
and   then  declared  that  these  salvoes  an- 
nounced the  promulgation  of  the  Ottoman 
constitution. 

"A  great  act,"  he  said,  "which  is  at 
this  moment  being  accomplished,  has  just 
changed  a  form  of  government  which  has 
lasted  600  years.  The  constitution  with 
which  his  majesty  the  Sultan  has  endowed 
his  empire  is  promulgated.  It  inaugurates 
a  new  era  for  the  happiness  and  prosperity 
of  his  people.'* 

Having  somewhat  recovered  their  com- 
posure, the  ambassadors  gave  expression 
to  their  opinion  on  the  matter,  and  Count 
Chaudordy  pointed  out  that  peace  was 
absolutely  necessary,  in  order  that  the 
constitution  might  produce  the  results 
expected  of  it,  and  that  the  agreement  of 
all  the  powers  in  the  conference  was  the 
essential  condition  for  the  efficacy  of  this  : 
solemn  act.  The  Marquis  of  Salisbury  was 
equally  glad  to  record  that  the  conference 
130 


[A.D.  1876. 


had  met  to  secure  peace,  which  Safvet  Pasha 
declared  was  ardently  desired  by  Turkey, 
with  the  object  of  realising  as  soon  as 
possible  the  benefits  of  the  constitution. 
To  this  General  Ignatieflf  drily  replied  that 
the  manner  of  application  of  the  new  in- 
stitutions would  be  the  real  test  of  their 
value,  and  that,  moreover,  peace  must  be 
secured  before  they  could  be  put  into  exe- 
cution. 

In  order  to  attain  tliis  much-desired 
object,  as  he  declared,  General  Ignatieflf 
continued  to  make  one  concession  after 
another  until  the  proposals  had  reached  a 
minimum,  and  were  embodied  in  a  protocol 
which  was  handed  to  the  Porte  for  accept- 
ance. It  was  divided  into  four  heads,  and 
contained  the  irreducible  ultimatum  of  the 
six    powers   assembled  in   conference.     It 


ran; — 


Montenegro^ 


"The  rectification  of  the  frontiers  of 
Montenegro,  together  with  the  annexation 
of  the  Baniani,  Piva  with  Nichsich,  Drob- 
niak,  a  part  of  Goranzi,  the  district  of 
Kolachin,  the  Kutchi-Drekalovitchi,  the 
Kutchi-Kraini,  the  Vassoievitchi  from  the 
Zievna  to  the  Lim,  the  Mali  and  Veli-Brdo, 
Spouz,  and  Jabliak. 

"An  international  commission  of  de- 
limitation ad  hoc, 

"Freedom  of  navigation,  and  the  neu- 
tralisation of  the  forts  on  the  Boyana." 

Sema, 


C( 


Status  quo  ante  helium  for  Servia,  to- 
gether with  the  settlement  of  the  diflScul- 
ties  concerning  the  boundaries  on  the  Bos- 
nian side  by  a  commission  of  arbitration 
in  conformity  with  the  Hatti-Cherif  of 
1833. 

"  P^or  the  two  principalities :  Evacua- 
tion by  the  Ottoman  troops  and  the  troops 
of  the  principalities  of  the  territories  be- 
yond certain  fixed  boundaries,  exchange  of 
prisoners  of  war,  and  amnesty  to  subjects  in 
the  service  of  the  enemy." 

Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  and  Bulgaria. 

"The  governors  -  general  of  the  pro- 
vinces to  be  appointed  for  the  first  five 
years  by  the  Porte,  with  the  previous 
agreement  ('  agrement  prealable  *)  of  the 
powers. 

"  The  sub-division  of  the  provinces  into 
sandjaks,  with  Mutessarifs  appointed  by 
the  Porte,  on  the  nomination  of  the  Valis, 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  POWERS  DISAGREE. 


for  a  fixed  period,  and  into  cantons 
(^nahies,  mudirliks)  of  5,000  to  10,000  in- 
liabitants,  with  the  cantonal  authorities 
freely  elected  by  the  population  in  each 
commune,  and  competent  to  deal  with  all 
questions  aflfecting  the  interests  of  the  can- 
ton. 

"Provincial  assemblies,  elected  for  a 
period  of  four  years  by  the  cantonal  coun- 
cils, in  accordance  with  the  system  notified. 
They  are  to  fix  the  budget  and  appoint  the 
provincial  administrative  councils,  which 
the  Valis  should  consult  in  cases  exceed- 
ing the  pure  and  simple  execution  of  the 
legal  and  administrative  arrangements,  and 
on  which  they  may  report  to  the  Sublime 
Porte. 

"Improvement  in  as^sessment  of  taxes: 
The  provincial  assemblies  and  the  can- 
tonal councils  to  have  the  apportionment 
and  collection  of  the  taxes,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  customs,  the  posts  and  tele- 
graphs, the  taxes  on  tobacco  and  spirits, 
and  the  'regie.'  The  complete  abolition 
of  the  system  of  tax-farming.  Remission 
of  arrears  in  taxes.  The  drawing  up,  every 
five  years,  of  the  budget  of  the  provinces 
according  to  the  average  revenue.  A  part 
to  be  applied  to  paying  off  the  public  debt 
and  to  the  requirements  of  the  central 
government,  and  the  remainder  to  those  of 
the  provinces. 

"Readjustment  of  justice  with  a  view  to 
the  greater  independence  of  the  magistracy ; 
the  appointment  of  judges  of  the  civil  and 
criminal  courts  by  the  Valis,  with  the 
consent  of  the  administrative  council,  and 
of  the  members  of  the  Court  of  Appeal  by 
the  Porte,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the 
Valis.  Sittings  and  judicial  inquiries  to  be 
public.  Exclusive  jurisdiction  for  ecclesi- 
astical authorities  over  special  cases  of  dif- 
ferent creeds. 

"  Entire  religious  liberty.  Maintenance 
by  the  communities  of  the  clergy  and  of 
public  religious  and  educational  establish- 
ments. Guarantees  against  forced  conver- 
sions. 

"The  language  of  the  country  to  be 
used  on  an  equal  footing  with  Turkish  in 
the  courts  and  administration. 

"  Complete  prohibition  of  the  employ- 
ment of  irregular  troops.  Formation  of  a 
Christian  and  Mussulman  militia  and  police 
in  proportion  to  the  population,  the  sub- 
altern officers  to  be  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernors-general. 

"  Interdiction  of  colonisation  by  Circas- 


sians. A  general  amnesty  to  Christians  sen- 
tenced for  political  offences. 

"Improvement  of  the  condition  of  the 
husbandmen  and  farmers  •  in  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina.  Facilities  for  the  acquisition 
of  State  land,  and  for  the  repatriation  of 
emigrants. 

"These  regulations  to  come  into  force 
within  a  fixed  period  of  three  months." 

Commissions  of  Control. 

"Two  commissions  of  control  shall  be 
named  by  the  powers  to  watch  over  the 
execution  of  the  regulations,  and  to  aid  the 
local  authorities  in  diflferent  measures 
affecting  order  and  public  security,  and 
they  shall  receive  special  instructions." 

Now  here  was  a  fine  opportunity  for  the 
Western  powers  to  gain  a  signal  diplomatic 
victory  over  the  Russian  government,  by 
uniting  to  coerce  the  Porte  into  accepting 
these  conditions,  which  represented  the 
minimum  which  Europe  demanded,  and 
which,  in  themselves,  were  the  least  that 
the  justice  of  the  case  demanded,  and  were, 
moreover,  the  least  that  could  be  expected 
from  Turkey,  even  had  Great  Britain 
agreed  to  assist  her  in  any  war  against 
Russia. 

But  the  powers  could  not  agree,  and  thus 
the  opportunity  to  take  Russia  at  her  word 
when  she  proposed  these  minimised  condi- 
tions passed  away  for  ever.  The  Turks 
made  a  counter-proposal  scarcely  differing 
from  one  which  had  already  been  declared 
unacceptable  by  the  powers,  and  this  pro- 
posal was  equally  declined.  The  ambassa- 
dors decided  to  sign  the  above  protocol, 
and  fixed  January  21st  for  the  ceremony. 
On  that  day  all  the  plenipotentiaries  as- 
sembled at  the  Austrian  embassy,  except 
the  Turkish  delegates.  They  had  promised 
to  come,  but  did  not,  and  did  not  even 
send  an  excuse  for  not  keeping  their  pro- 
mise. 

In  this  contemptuous  manner  the  Porte 
practically  dismissed  the  conference  ;  and 
on  the  following  day.  Lord  Salisbury  em- 
barked in  the  Austrian  Lloyd's  steamer 
Ceres,  to  return  to  London  via  Athens  and 
Brindisi. 

The  other  ambassadors  also  left  Constan- 
tinople ;  the  embassies  being  left  in  charge 
of  a  secretary  only;  and  thus  diplomatic 
relations  with  the  Porte  were  broken  off  as 
far  as  the  representation  of  the  powers  at 
Constantinople  was  concerned. 

131 


if 


OORTSCHAKOFF'S  CIRCULAR.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        ["golden  bridge"  period. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  PROTOCOL  AND   THE   MANIFESTO. 


The  Porte,    having    now  got   rid  of  the 
•    troublesome     ambassadors,    began    to    be 
anxious  to  conclude  peace  with  Servia  and 
Montenegro.     Exhausted  as  Servia  was  by 
the  recent  war,  and  more  or  less  in  disgrace 
at  St.   Petersburg  in  consequence  of   her 
failure  to  obtain  any  successes  against  the 
Turks,  there  were  no  great  obstacles  in  the 
way   of  coming  to  an    arrangement,   the 
more  so  as  the  terms  accorded  by  the  Porte 
were  generous  in  the  extreme,  when  all  the 
facts  of  the  case  are  taken  into  considera- 
tion.    Peace  was,  therefore,  concluded  on 
the  basis  of  the  status  quo  ante ;  that  is  to 
say,  of  the  relations  between  the  Porte  and 
the  principality  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  which  ended  so  disastrously  for  Servia. 
With  Montenegro,  however,  the  case  was 
different.     Though  the  Turkish  armies  had 
traversed  the  country  north  and  south,  they 
had  not  been  able  to  seize  the  capital,  oV 
to  capture  the  Montenegrin  armies;  and, 
practically,  the  country  was  as  unsubdued 
as    ever.      A    tremendously    mountainous 
country,  a  revolt  there  could  only  be  sup- 
pressed   by  the    occupation-force    of   the 
chief  cities  for  an  indefinite  period,  thus 
forcing  the  Montenegrin  bands  to  keep  to 
the   mountain-passes   and   fastnesses ;    but 
to  accomplish  this,  more  troops  were  neces- 
sary than  the  object  to  be  gained  was  worth. 
Advice  was,  of  course,  freely  tendered  to  tlie 
prince  by  the  powers  ;  but  Russia  favoured 
his  policy  of  procrastination  and  evasion, 
and  supported  him  in  his  demands  for  inde- 
pendence to  be  formally  recognised  by  the 
Porte.     In  fact.  Prince  Nikita  was  charged 
with  the  task  of  keeping  the  question  open. 
Under  these  circumstances,  and  the  con- 
ference  having    come    to  nothing.  Prince 
Gortschakoff    addressed  a  circular    to    the 
powers,  in  which  he  stated,  that,  though  the 
refusal  opposed  by  the  Porte  to  the  wishes 
of   Europe    having    involved    the  Eastern 
crisis  in  a  new  phase,  he  still   considered 
the  question  as  an    European    one,  which 
should   not   and  could   not  be  solved  but 
by  the  unanimous  agreement  of  the  great 
powers.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  exclusive 
and  personal  considerations  were  disclaimed 
132 


by  all  the  cabinets,  and  the  difficulty  re- 
solved itself  into  inducing  the  government 
of  Turkey  to  goveim  the  Christian  subjects 
of  the  Sultan  in  a  just  and  humane  manner, 
so  as  not  to  expose  Europe  to  permanent 
crises  which  were  revolting  to  its  con- 
science, and  endangered  its  tranquillity. 

It  was,  therefore,*  a  question  of  common 
unanimity  and  interest,  which  the  imperial 
cabinet    was  accordingly    endeavouring  to 
solve  by  bringing  about  an  European  con- 
cert.    With  this  object  Russia  had  come  to 
an  agreement  with  the  Austro-Hungarian 
government,  as  the  one  most  immediately 
interested,  in  order  to  submit  to  the  Euro- 
pean   cabinets    propositions   which    might 
serve  as  a  basis  for  a  general  understanding 
and  common  action,  and  which,  set  forth 
in  Count  Andrassy's  despatch  of  the  ^§th 
December,  1875,  had  obtained  the  adhesion 
of  all  the  great  powers,  and    also    of  the 
Porte.     The   want    of   executive    sanction 
having,  however,  rendered  this  agreement 
abortive,  the  cabinets,  with  the  exception 
of  the  British  cabinet,  were  placed,  by  the 
Berlin  memorandum,  in  a  position  to  pro- 
nounce  on  the    principle  of   an    eventual 
concert,    having    in    view    more    effectual 
measures  for  realising    their   mutual  aim. 
This  agreement,  however,  not  having  proved 
unanimous,   and    diplomatic    action  being 
thus  interrupted,  the  cabinets  recommended 
negotiations  in  consequence  of  the  aggrava- 
tion of  the  crisis  by  the  massacres  in  Bul- 
garia,   the    revolution   in    Constantinople, 
and  the  war  with  Servia  and  Montenegro. 
Thereupon,  through  the    initiative  of  th© 
English    government    a  basis  was   agreed 
upon,  and  guarantees  of  pacification  were 
proposed  to  be  discussed  at  a  conference 
to  be  held  at  Constantinople.     This  con- 
ference    arrived,    during    its   preliminary 
meetings,  at  a  complete  understanding,  both 
as  to  the  conditions  of  peace  and  as  to  the 
reforms  to  be  introduced.     The  result  was 
communicated  to  the  Porte  as  the  fixed  and 
unanimous  wish  of  Europe,  and  met  with 
an  obstinate  refusal. 

"Thus,"   continued    the   prince,  "after 
more  than  a  year  of  diplomatic  efforts  at- 


testing  the   importance    attached   by   the 
great  powers  to  the  pacification  of  the  East, 
the  right  which  they  had,  in  view  of  the 
common  welfare,  to  assure  that  pacification, 
and  their  firm  determination  to   bring  it 
about,  the  cabinets  again  found  themselves 
in  the  same  position  as  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  crisis,  wliich  had  been  more- 
over aggravated  by  bloodshed,  heated  pas- 
sions, accumulated  ruin,  and  the  prospect 
of  an   indefinite  prolongation   of  the   de- 
plorable state  of  things  which  hung  over 
Europe,  and  justly  preoccupied  the  atten- 
tion  of    both   peoples    and    governments. 
Still,  in  spite  of  all  this,  the  Porte  made 
light  of  her  former  engagements,  of  her 
duty  as  a  member  of  the  European  system, 
and  of  the  unanimous  wishes  of  the  great 
powers.     Far  from   having   advanced   one 
step   towards   a   satisfactory   solution,  the 
Eastern  question  had  become    aggravated, 
and  was  at  that  moment  a  standing  menace 
to  the  peace  of  Europe,  the  sentiments  of 
humanity,  and  the  conscience  of  Christian 
nations." 

Under   these  circumstances,  and  before 
determining  on  the  steps  which  he  might 
think    proper    to    take,   the   Emperor   of 
Russia  was  desirous  of  knowing  the  limits 
within  which  the  cabinets  with  whom  he 
had  till  then  endeavoured,  and  still  desired 
60  far  as  might  be  possible  to  proceed  in 
common,  were  willing  to  act.     He  pointed 
out  that  the  object  held  in  view  by  the 
great   powers   was  clearly   defined  by  the 
proceedings  of  the  conference,  and  that  the 
refusal  of  the  Turkish  government  threat- 
ened both  the  dignity  and  the  tranquillity  of 
Europe.  It  was  thus  absolutely  necessary  for 
Russia  to  know  what  the  cabinets  proposed 
to  do  with  a  view  of  meeting  this  refusal, 
and  insuring  the  execution  of  their  wishes. 
With      this     object     in     view.     Count 
Schouvaloff  had  an   interview  with   Lord 
Derby    on    Feb.    21.     He    said   that  the 
Russian  government  were  in  a  position  of 
considerable   difficulty;  and  that  the   ex- 
pense and  inconvenience  of    keeping    up 
their  armaments  on  a  war  footing  was  very 
great,  and   could  not  be  continued  inde- 
finitely.    On  the  other  hand,  unless  public 
opinion  could  be  satisfied  by  the  announce- 
ment of  some  specific  advantage  that  had 
been  gained  by  the  armament,  it  would  be 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  proceed  to 
demobilise    the   forces     which     had   been 
placed   on   a  war   footing ;  and  even   the 
Minister  of  Finance,  who  was  necessarily 

VOL.  III.  T 


most  alive  to  the  disadvantages  of  the 
situation,  would  prefer  a  speedy  campaign 
to  the  alternative  of  disarmament,  with  the 
possible  necessity  of  a  fresh  mobilisation 
next  year. 

Count   Schouvaloff   then    spoke   of  the 
proposal   made  by   Midbat   Pasha   to  Sir 
H.  Elliot,  that  a  fixed  time — say  a  year — 
should  be  granted  to  the  Porte  for  carrying 
out  the  reforms,  and  that  if  at  the  end  of 
that  period  it  were  found  that  fair  progress 
had  not  been  made,  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment would  be   ready   to   submit   to   the 
appointment  of  an  international  commis- 
sion, or  such  other  form  of  control  as  might 
be    held  desirable.     Of  this    idea,  Count 
Schouvaloff  seemed   to   think   favourably, 
and  to  believe  that  in  some  arrangement  of 
this   kind   the   groundwork    for   a   settle- 
ment might  be  found,  and  even  added  that 
he  did  not  consider  it  necessary  that  in  the 
reply  to  be  given  to  the  circular  of  Prince 
Gortschakoff  there  should  be  any  indica- 
tion of  an  intention  to  resort  eventually  to 
united   measures   of    coercion  against   the 
Porte.     It  would,  in  his  opinion,  he  said, 
be  sufficient  that  the  reply  should  be  so 
conceived  as  not  to  imply  that  Russia  was 
to  be  left  to  herself  to  secure  what  advan- 
tages she  deemed  necessary  for  the  Christian 
populations  of  Turkey. 

This  expression  of  opinion  on  the  part 
of  Count  Schouvaloff,  inaugurated  what 
may  be  called  the  "  Golden  Bridge"  period 
in  the  Anglo-Russian  negotiations.  It  was 
assumed — most  erroneously  assumed — that 
Russia  did  not  mean  to  go  to  war,  but  had 
determined  simply  to  make  a  great  military 
demonstration  for  the  purpose  of  intimi- 
dating the  Turks.  This  view,  contrary  to 
the  opinion  of  those  competent  to  judge, 
was  industriously  propagated ;  and  the  idea 
was  also  much  encouraged  by  the  Russian 
government  as  calculated  to  increase  the 
disinclination  of  the  Porte  to  yield,  anc 
thus  offered  the  Russian  government  an 
additional  excuse  to  proceed  to  extremi- 
ties. 

At  the  same  time,  however.  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff pressed  the  British  government 
for  a  reply  to  his  circular  and  a  declaration 
of  their  policy.  He  declared  to  Lord  Lof- 
tus  that  the  position  of  affairs  was  ex- 
tremely prejudicial  to  Russia;  that  the 
mobilisation  of  the  army  cost  13,000,000 
roubles  monthly;  and  that  a  prolonged 
delay  in  ascertaining  the  decision  of  the 
European  powers    imposed    on     Russia  a 

133 


THE  RUSSIAN  PROTOCOL.] 


HISTOKY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


costly  sacrifice.  Lord  Loftus  replied,  that 
he  must  admit  that  any  precipitate  action 
on  the  part  of  Europe  would  be  most  un- 
wise and  ill-judged  at  that  moment ;  for  if 
peace  were  happily  concluded  between  the 
Porte,  Servia,  and  Montenegro,  one  of  the 
objects  of  the  European  conference  would 
be  attained.  In  regard  to  the  question  of 
reforms,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  the 
Porte  could  put  them  into  execution  in 
twenty-four  hours.  The  greater  portion  of 
the  reforms  recommended  by  the  conference 
had  been  accepted  by  the  Porte,  and  har- 
monised with  the  constitution  which  had 
been  proclaimed,  and  it  was  but  reasonable, 
therefore,  for  Europe  to  grant  a  certain 
respite  to  the  Porte  to  enable  it  to  prove 
its  sincerity  in  the  assurances  given.  A 
period  of  twelve  months  would  enable  the 
Porte  to  give  evidence  of  its  determination 
to  carry  out  the  proposed  reforms.  Prince 
GortschakotF,  however,  replied  that  Kussia 
could  not  wait  for  twelve,  or  even  six 
months,  with  the  military  cost  she  was 
now  incurring.  The  reforms,  he  observed, 
could  be  perfectly  inaugurated  within  two 
months ;  and,  on  March  11,  he  instructed 
Count  Schouvaloff  to  present  to  the  British 
government  the  draft  of  a  protocol  pro- 
posed by  the  Kussian  government  for  the 
signature  of  the  six  powers. 

This  draft  was  brought  to  Paris  by  Gene- 
ral Ignatieff,  who  liad  been  making  a  tour 
through  Europe  "  to  obtain  medical  advice 
for  an  affection  which  he  was  suffering 
from,"  and  which  was  popularly  supposed 
to  be  "Constantinople  in  his  eye."  But 
the  diplomatic  nature  of  his  journey  was 
avowed  by  Count  Schouvaloff,  who  stated 
that  the  object  of  the  general's  journey  had 
been  to  furnish  explanations  as  to  the  real 
views  of  the  cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg,  and 
to  facilitate  a  pacific  solution.  He  said, 
that  after  the  sacrifices  which  Russia  had 
imposed  upon  herself,  the  stagnation  of  her 
industry  and  of  her  commerce,  and  the 
enormous  expenditure  incurred  by  the 
mobilisation  of  500,000  men,  she  could  not 
retire  nor  send  back  her  troops  without 
having  obtained  some  tangible  result  as 
regards  the  improvement  of  the  condition 
of  the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey. 
The  emperor  was  sincerely  desirous  of 
peace,  but  not  of  peace  at  any  price,  and 
anxiously  awaited  the  replies  of  the  other 
powers  to  the  Russian  circular.  The  Rus- 
sian government  would  not  express  any 
opinion  by  anticipation  on  these  replies,  but 
134 


I  they  foresaw  in  them  the  possibility  of  a 
great  danger.  For  if  the  replies  were  not 
identical,  what  would  be  the  position  of  the 
imperial  cabinet?  The  agreement  of  the 
powers,  so  fortunately  established  at  the 
conference,  might  be  broken  up  in  conse- 
quence of  the  shades  of  opinion  manifested 
in  the  replies  of  the  several  cabinets :  would 
not  that  be  a  determining  cause  to  induce 
her  to  seek  for  a  solution,  either  by  means 
of  a  direct  understanding  with  the  Porte, 
or  by  force  of  arms  ? 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  count  de- 
clared, it  seemed  to  the  Russian  government 
that  the  most  practical  solution,  and  the 
one  best  fitted  to  secure  the  maintenance 
of  general  peace,  would  be  the  signature  by 
the  powers  of  a  protocol  which  should,  so 
to  speak,  terminate  the  incident,  and  which 
might  be  signed  in  London  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  great  powers,  and  under 
the  direct  inspiration  of  the  cabinet  of 
St.  James's.  It  need  contain  no  more  than 
the  principles  upon  which  the  several 
governments  would  have  based  their  reply 
to  the  Russian  circular.  It  would  be  de- 
sirable that  it  should  affirm  that  the  pre- 
sent state  of  affairs  was  one  which  con- 
cerned the  whole  of  Europe,  and  should 
place  on  record  that  the  improvement  of 
tlie  condition  of  the  Christian  population  of 
Turkey  would  continue  to  be  an  object  of 
interest  to  all  the  powers,  whilst  the  Porte 
having  repeatedly  declared  that  it  engaged 
to  introduce  reforms,  it  would  be  desirable 
to  enumerate  them  on  the  basis  of  Safvet 
Pasha's  circular.  In  this  way  there  could 
be  no  subsequent  misunderstanding  as  to 
the  promises  made  by  Turkey. 

As  a  period  of  some  months  would  not 
be  sufficient  to  accomplish  these  reforms,  it 
would  be  preferable  not  to  fix  any  precise 
limit  of  time.  It  would  rest  with  all  the 
powers  to  determine,  by  general  agreement, 
whether  Turkey  was  progressing  in  a  satis- 
factory manner  in  her  work  of  regenera- 
tion ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  protocol 
should  mention  that  Europe  would  continue 
to  watch  the  progressive  execution  of  the 
reforms  by  means  of  their  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives. 

If  the  hopes  of  the  powers  should  once 
more  be  disappointed,  and  the  condition  of 
the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan  should 
not  be  improved,  the  powers  would  reserve 
to  themselves  to  consider  in  common  the 
action  which  they  would  deem  indispensable 
to  secure  the  well-being  of  the  Chriatiaa 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  ABGOrENT. 


w. 


population  of  Turkey,  and  the  interests  of 
the  general  peace. 

In  reply  to  this  proposal.  Lord  Derby  re- 
quested Count  Schouvaloff"  to  mention  to 
his  government  the  three  following  pro- 
visos, to  which  the  assent  of  her  majesty's 
government  to  the  protocol  must  be  held  to 
be  subject : — 

1.  That  some  formal  pledge  must  be 
given  of  the  intention  of  Russia  to  disarm 
if  this  protocol  were  signed. 

2.  That  it  be  understood  that  the  Porte 
would  not  be  asked  to  sign  the  protocol : 

and, 

3.  That  the  agreement  of  the  other 
powers  would  of  course  be  necessary  before 
the  terms  of  the  document  could  be  con- 
sidered as  settled. 

To  these  conditions  Count  Schouvaloff 
agreed,  and  matters  for  the  moment  ap- 
peared to  be  taking  a  favourable  turn. 

But  in  the  meantime  a  cabinet  council 
was  held,  and  at  this  council  it  was 
evidently  determined  to  make  a  cardinal 
question  of  the  first  condition,  and  to  refuse 
to  sign  the  protocol  until  Russia  had  given 
a  formal  assurance  to  demobilise :  for,  three 
days  later,  on  March  17th,  Lord  Derby 
wrote  to  Lord  Lyons,  saying  that  he  had 
communicated  privately  to  the  French  am- 
bassador a  copy  of  the  draft  protocol  on 
the  affairs  of  Turkey,  as  settled  between 
Count  Schouvaloff  and  himself,  and  ac- 
cepted by  the  count  ad  referendum  to  his 
government. 

He  also  stated  in  the  private  note  for- 
warding the  draft,  that  it  was  understood 
that  the  Turkish  government  would  not  be 
asked  to  sign  the  protocol ;  that  its  accept- 
ance by  her  majesty's  government  was 
subject  to  the  assent  of  the  other  four 
powers;  and  further,  that  her  majesty's 
government  could  only  agree  to  become 
parties  to  it  on  the  condition  of  receiving  a 
formal  assurance  in  writing  from  the  Rus- 
sian government  that  they  would  demobilise 
their  forces. 

Meantime,  General  Ignatieff  came  to 
London,  and,  with  Count  Schouvaloff,  con- 
tended in  the  first  place  that  the  bargain 
as  offered  by  Lord  Derby  was  not  a  fair 
.  one.  Turkey,  not  being  required  to  sign 
the  protocol,  was  in  no  way  pledged  to 
disarm;  the  recommendation  to  do  so, 
addressed  to  her  by  the  powers,  being 
merely  in  the  nature  of  advice.  It  was 
unreasonable,  they  argued,  that  Russia 
should  bind  herself  to  disarm  as  a  condition 


of  the  British  government  signing  a  docu- 
ment which  left  Turkey  free  on  that  point. 
They  objected,  secondly,  that  the  state  of 
war  still  continued  between  Turkey  and 
Montenegro  ;  that  if  the  Montenegrin  State 
were  to  be  attacked  and  invaded,  Russia 
would  be  bound  in  honour  to  interfere  for 
its  protection,  the  fulfilment  of  which  duty 
would  be  rendered  impossible  to  her  by  a 
promise  of  demobilisation.  Thirdly,  they 
argued,  that  as  a  question  of  dignity  it  was 
unsuitable  that  Russia  should  be  called 
upon  to  disarm  before  any  similar  appeal 
was  addressed  to  Turkey. 

Thus  it  was  the  Porte,  they  said,  which 
ought  to  take  the  initiative,  inasmuch  as  it 
was  not  before  Russia  alone,  but  before  all 
Europe,  that  she  was  called  upon  to  lay 
down  her  arms.  They  observed,  further, 
that  the  condition  of  the  two  armies  was 
essentially  different — the  Russian  army 
being  composed  of  regular  troops,  subject 
to  strict  military  discipline;  whereas  the 
Turkish  forces  were  to  a  large  extent  com- 
posed of  irregulars,  whose  remaining  under 
arms  was  a  perpetual  source  of  danger  to 
the  surrounding  population. 

In  continuation  of  this  argument,  they 
pointed  out  that  the  demobilisation  of  the 
Russian   forces  could  be  accomplished   in 
eight  days;    that  the  Turkish  troops,    on 
the  other  hand,  could  not  be  sent  back  to 
their  homes  under  a  period  of  many  weeks, 
or  perhaps  months  ;  and  it  was  only  reason- 
able, therefore,  that  the  latter  should  be 
the  first  to  begin  the  process.     In  connec- 
tion  with  this   subject.  General  Ignatieff 
observed,  that  so  large  a  part  of  the  male 
population  of  Asiatic  Turkey  had  been  with- 
drawn from  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  for 
the  purpose  of  being  placed  under  arms, 
that  unless  they  were  speedily  sent  home, 
famine  would    be    the    inevitable    result. 
Lord  Derby  then  asked  whether  they  could 
give  him  any  statement  as  to  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  Russian  government 
would  undertake  to  demobilise,  supposing 
always  that  they  were  ready  to  give  such 
assurances  on  any  conditions  and   in  any 
form.      In  reply,  Count   Schouvaloff   said 
that  he  was  not  authorised  to  speak  offici- 
ally on  the  subject ;  but  he  expressed  it  as 
his  opinion,  in  which  General  Ignatieff  also 
concurred,  that  the  emperor  would  be  will- 
ing to  disarm  on  three  conditions ; — 

1.  That  the  Porte  should  take  the  initia- 
tive. 

2.  That     peace    should     be     concluded 

135 


TERMS  OF  THE  PROTOCOL.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 

with    Montenegro    as    it    had    been  with ' 
Servia. 

3.  That  the  Turkish  reforms  should  be 
seriously  taken  in  hand. 

And  he  added  a  further  proviso,  that  it 
must  be  understood  that  demobilisation 
would  be  stopped  at  once  in  the  event  of 
fresh  massacres  being  perpetrated  on  the 
Christian  populations. 

Lord  Derby,  however,  remained  firm 
until  Count  SchouvalofF,  on  behalf  of  his 
government,  proposed  that  if  the  Porte 
should  accept  the  advice  of  the  powers  as 
contained  in  the  protocol,  the  Sultan  should 
send  a  special  envoy  to  St.  Petersburg  to 
treat  on  the  question  of  mutual  disarma- 
ment, to  which  the  emperor,  on  his  part, 
would  consent. 

On  this  condition  Lord  Derby  consented 
to  sign  the  protocol  in  the  amended  form 
agreed  to  by  the  various  powers  as  fol- 
lows:— 

"The  powers  who  have  undertaken  in 
common  the  pacification  of  the  East,  and 
have  with  that  view  taken  part  in  the  con- 
ference of  Constantinople,  recognise  that 
the  surest  means  of  attaining  the  object 
which  they  have  proposed  to  themselves,  is 
before  all  to  maintain  the  agreement  so 
happily  established  between  them,  and 
jointly  to  affirm  afresh  the  common  interest 
which  they  take  in  the  improvement  of  the 
condition  of  the  Christian  populations  of 
Turkey,  and  in  the  reforms  to  be  introduced 
in  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  and  Bulgaria, 
which  the  Porte  has  accepted  on  condition 
of  itself  carrying  them  into  execution. 

"  They  take  cognizance  of  the  conclusion 
of  peace  with  Servia, 

"  As  regards  Montenegro,  the  powers  con- 
sider the  rectification  of  the  frontiers  and 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Boiana  to  be 
desirable  in  the  interest  of  a  solid  and  dur- 
able arrangement. 

"  The  powers  consider  the  arrangements 
concluded,  or  to  be  concluded,  between  the 
Porte  and  the  two  principalities,  as  a 
step  accomplished  towards  the  pacification 
which  is  the  object  of  their  common 
wishes. 

"  They  invite  the  Porte  to  consolidate  it 
by  replacing  its  armies  on  a  peace  footing, 
excepting  the  number  of  troops  indispen- 
sable for  the  maintenance  of  order,  and  by 
putting  in  hand,  with  the  least  possible 
delay,  the  reforms  necessary  for  the  tran- 
quillity and  well-being  of  the  provinces,  the 
condition  of  which  was  discussed  at  the 
136 


[a.d.  1877. 

conference.  They  recognise  that  the  Porte 
has  declared  itself  ready  to  realise  an  im- 
portant portion  of  them.' 

"They  take  cognizance  speciallv  of  the 
circular  of  the  Porte  of  the  13th  "of  Feb- 
ruary, 1876,  and  of  the  declarations  made 
by  the  Ottoman  government  during  the 
conference  and  since,  through  its  repre- 
sentatives. 

"In  view  of  these  good  intentions  on 
the  part  of  the  Porte,  and  of  its  evident 
interest  to  carry  them  immediately  into 
effect,  the  powers  believe  that  they  have 
grounds  for  hoping  that  the  Porte  will 
profit  by  the  present  lull  to  apply  ener- 
getically such  measures  as  will  cause  that 
efi'ective  improvement  in  the  condition  of 
the  Christian  populations  which  is  unani- 
mously called  for  as  indispensable  to  the 
tranquillity  of  Europe,  and  that  having 
once  entered  on  this  path,  it  will  under- 
stand that  it  concerns  its  honour  as  well 
as  its  interests  to  persevere  in  it  loyally  and 
efficaciously. 

"  The  powers  propose  to  watch  carefully, 
by  means  of  their  representatives  at  Con- 
stantinople and  their  local  agents,  the 
manner  in  which  the  promises  of  the  Otto- 
man government  are  carried  into  effect. 

"If  their  hopes  should  once  more  be  dis- 
appointed, and  if  the  condition  of  the 
Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan  should  not 
be  improved  in  a  manner  to  prevent  the 
return  of  the  complications  which  periodi- 
cally disturb  the  peace  of  the  East,  they 
think  it  right  to  declare  that  such  a  state 
of  affairs  would  be  incompatible  with  their 
interests  and  those  of  Europe  in  general. 
In  such  case  they  reserve  to  themselves  to 
consider,  in  common,  as  to  the  means  which 
they  may  deem  best  fitted  to  secure  the 
well-being  of  the  Christian  populations, 
and  the  interests  of  the  general  peace." 

This  protocol  was  signed,  on  March  31, 
by  the  representatives  of  the  six  powers, 
and  was  accompanied  by  an  annexe,  to  the 
effect  that  if  the  disarmament  should  not 
take  place,  the  instrument  was  to  be  consi- 
dered null  and  void.  This  declaration, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  kept  secret,  was 
communicated  to  the  Porte  together  with 
the  protocol,  to  which  they  were  requested 
to  give  immediate  attention.  It  soon  be- 
came evident  that  the  Porte  was  disinclined 
to  yield  an  inch ;  and  Prince  Gortschakotf 
informed  Lord  Loftus,  on  April  6,  that,  in 
regard  to  the  intentions  of  the  Porte,  the 
intelligence    received    from     the    Russian 


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RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIA  DECLARES  WAR* 


charge  d'affaires  was  not  satisfactory.  The 
Porte  had  received  information  of  the  pro- 
tocol, as  also  of  the  declarations  annexed  to 
it.  He  regretted  that  Lord  Derby's  decla- 
ration should  have  been  known  to  the 
Porte,  as  he  feared  that  it  might  encourage 
its  resistance  to  the  protocol,  and  thus  neu- 
tralise the  good  effect  which  it  might  other- 
wise have  produced.  He  then  added,  in  an 
earnest  and  decided  tone,  that  if  the  Porte 
should  reply  verbally  or  in  unsatisfactory  or 
evasive  language,  the  imperial  government 
would  consider  the  period  of  negotiations 
as  closed,  and  the  time  for  military  action 
arrived.  It  was  impossible,  said  the  prince, 
for  Kussia  to  incur  any  longer  the  heavy 
pecuniary  sacrifices  which  she  was  now  bear- 
ing. The  mobilisation  cost  her  750,000 
roubles  daily,  and  it  had  continued  for 
several  months.  Russia  would  not,  there- 
fore, consent  to  renew  the  thread  of  nego- 
tiations, which  might  be  dragged  on  for 
months,  to  end  only  in  a  profitless  result. 
Finally,  he  concluded,  they  had  arrived  at 
the  eleventh  hour,  that  it  was  a  question  of 
days,  and  that  a  decision  one  way  or  the 
other  must  be  taken  by  the  13th  of  April. 
He  stated  that  the  emperor  could  make  no 
further  concessions,  and  that  his  majesty 
would  not  recede  from  the  position  he  had 
taken.  The  answer,  therefore,  of  the  Porte 
was  of  the  most  vital  importance,  as  on  it 
would  depend  the  question  of  peace  or  war. 

This  answer  came  on  April  9th,  in  the 
shape  of  a  long  despatch,  which  was  summed 
up  as  follows : — 

"Strong  in  the  justice  of  her  cause,  and 
with  confidence  in  God,  Turkey  declares 
that  she  ignores  what  may  have  been 
decided  without  her  and  against  her.  Deter- 
mined to  keep  the  place  which  Providence 
has  destined  her  for,  she  will  not  cease  to 
oppose  to  the  attacks  which  are  directed 
against  her,  the  general  principles  of  inter- 
national right,  and  the  authority  of  a  great 
European  compact  which  binds  the  honour 
of  the  signatory  powers  of  the  protocol  of 
the  31st  of  March,  which  last  document  has 
no  legal  validity  in  her  eyes.  She  appeals 
to  the  conscience  of  the  cabinets,  which  she 
is  justified  in  considering  as  animated  to- 
wards her  with  the  same  sentiments  of  equity 
and  friendship  as  in  the  past." 

All  hopes  of  peace  disappeared  with  this 
reply,  and,  on  April  23rd,  the  Czar,  after 
reviewing  his  troops  at  Kishineff,  addressed 
to  them  the  following  words : — 

"  I  have  done  everything  in  my  power  to 


avoid  war  and  bloodshed.     Nobody  can  say 

that  we  have  not  been  patient,  or  that  the 

!  war  is  of  our  seeking.     We  have  practised 

I  patience  to  the  last  degree ;  but  there  comes 

a  time  when  even  patience  must  end." 

I      On  the  next  day,  April  24th,  a  manifesto 

was  published,  of  which  the  following  is  a 

reproduction : — 

"  Our  faithful  and  beloved  subjects  know 
the  strong  interest  which  we  have  constantly 
felt  in  the  destinies  of  the  oppressed  Chris- 
tian population  of  Turkey.  Our  desire  to 
ameliorate  and  assure  their  lot  has  been 
shared  by  the  whole  Russian  nation,  which 
now  shows  itself  ready  to  bear  fresh  sacri- 
fices to  alleviate  the  position  of  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  Balkan  Peninsula.  The  blood 
and  the  property  of  our  faithful  subjects 
have  always  been  dear  to  us,  and  our  whole 
reign  attests  our  constant  solicitude  to  pre- 
serve to  Russia  the  benefits  of  peace.  Tiiis 
solicitude  never  failed  to  actuate  us  during*- 
the  deplorable  events  which  occurred  in 
Herzegovina,  Bosnia,  and  Bulgaria.  Our 
object  before  all  was  to  effect  an  ameliora- 
tion in  the  position  of  the  Christians  in  the 
East ;  but  having  now  exhausted  our  pacific 
efforts,  we  are  compelled,  by  the  haughty 
obstinacy  of  the  Porte,  to  proceed  to  more 
decisive  acts.  A  feeling  of  equity  and  of 
our  own  dignity  enjoins  it.  By  her  refusal 
Turkey  places  us  under  the  necessity  of 
having  recourse  to  arms.  Profoundly  con 
vinced  of  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and 
humbly  committing  ourselves  to  the  grace 
and  help  of  the  Most  High,  we  make  known 
to  our  faithful  subjects  that  the  moment 
foreseen,  when  we  pronounced  words  to 
which  all  Russia  responded  with  such  com- 
plete unanimity,  has  now  arrived.  We  ex- 
pressed the  intention  to  act  independently 
when  we  should  deem  it  necessary,  and 
when  Russia's  honour  should  demand  it. 
In  now  invoking  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
our  valiant  armies,  we  give  the  order  to 
cross  the  Turkish  frontier." 

War  was  thus  declared,  and  with  that 
step  the  treaty  of  Paris  and  the  result  of 
the  Crimean  war  openly  overthrown  by 
Russia.  Such  was  the  end  of  the  Constan- 
tinople conference ;  such  the  result  of  the 
vacillating,  invertebrate  policy  of  the  Bri- 
tish cabinet.  They  would  neither  actively 
intervene  to  insist  upon  peace  being  pre- 
served, neither  would  they  engage  in  war 
to  enforce  the  observance  of  a  treaty  which 
had  been  imposed  upon  Russia  twenty  years 
before. 


ft 


ROUMANUN  CONVENTION.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  IS77,] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


THE  RUSSIAN  GENERALS. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


THE   MARCH   ON  THE   DANUBE, 


Almost  until  the  Russian  troops  had  crossed 
the  frontier,  there  was  a  very  prevalent 
opinion  that  the  Czar  had  no  intention  of 
really  proceeding  to  extremities.  It  was 
thought  in  many  circles  that  the  Russian 
commanders  merely  intended  to  make  a  de- 
monstration, and  to  endeavour  to  overawe 
the  Turks  into  compliance  with  the  demjinds 
made  at  the  Constantinople  conference. 

But  military  men,  and  above  all  those 
who  had  been  at  Kishinetf,  and  had  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  to  what  an  extent 
the  Russian  preparations  had  been  carried 
out,  were  fully  convinced  that  Russia,  from 
the  very  first,  fully  intended  to  carry  out 
her  programme  by  force  of  arms. 

Least  of  all  taken  by  surprise  was  Rou- 
mania.     This   country  certainly  was   in   a 
peculiar  position.     Lying  between  the  two 
hostile  armies,  it  had  the  choice  of  remain- 
ing neutral  or  of  joining  the  ranks  of  one 
of  the  two  combatants.     As  to  tlie  inter- 
national duty  of  the  country,  it  was  per- 
fectly plain.     By  the  convention  of  August 
19th,    1858,   at   the   conference    of   Paris, 
wiiich  had  clearly  defined  the  position   of 
Moldavia   and   Wallachia,    Roumania   was 
placed  under  the  supremacy  of  the  Porte, 
and  formed  a  portion  of  the  Turkish  em- 
pire.     But  the  Turkish   government   had 
completely   alienated   the    Roumanians  in 
consequence  of  the  impediments  which  had 
been  always  opposed  to  the  free  develop- 
ment  of   the   country,  by   the   refusal   to 
allow   Roumania   to   conclude  commercial 
treaties,  and   by  vexatious  frontier  legisla- 
tion for  the  benefit  of  the  Turkish  pashas 
in  Bulgaria,  who  managed  to  get  the  laws 
passed   by  their  friends  in   Constantinople 
in  order  to  gain  bakshish  by  allowing  them 
to  be  evaded  by  those   who  paid  for  the 
privilege.     There  was  thus  no  love  for  the 
Turks;  and,  besides,  if  they  allied  them- 
selves  with   the    Porte,  they    would    have 
Russia  for  an  enemy,  Roumania  would  be- 
come the  battle-field  for  the  hostile  armies, 
and,   whether   Turkey  won    or   lost,  there 
would  have  been  nothing  for  Roumania  to 
gain.    On  the  other  hand,  by  allying  them- 
selves with  Russia,  the  battle-field  would 
be  transferred  into  Bulgaria — in  itself  no  i 
138 


small  advantage — and  there  was  no  doubt 
that,  at  the  least,  their  independence  would 
be  the  smallest  reward  for  their  help. 
Neutrality  would  probably  have  been  t he- 
best  course  to  adopt ;  for,  in  case  of  any 
territorial  changes  on  the  Danube,  it  was 
certain  that  Roumania  would  not  be  for- 
gotten by  the  powers  at  the  conclusion  of 
peace ;  and  the  country  would  have  been 
spared  much  odium  by  refusing  to  join  in 
the  bull-baiting  to  which  Turkey  was  beinc 
subjected  on  all  sides. 

It  soon  became  clear,  however,  that  Rou- 
mania did  not  intend  to  observe  any  r^al 
neutrality.  Opportunity  was  at  once  takm 
to  protest  against  Roumania  being  sub- 
jected to  the  new  constitution  which  had 
been  promulgated  in  Turkey,  and  according 
to  which  all  the  subjects  of  the  Porte  were 
to  be  henceforth  known  as  "Ottomans." 
After  much  deliberation  and  negotiation, 
the  Porte  at  last  declared  that  the  new 
constitution  did  not  apply  to  Roumania, 
the  relations  of  which  to  the  Porte  remained 
the  same  as  heretofore. 

Under  these  circumstances  there  was  no 
valid  reason  for  Roumania  openly  to  de- 
clare war  against  Turkey  by  an  offensive  and 
defensive  alliance  with  Russia ;  and  thus, 
on  April  16th,  1877,  the  Roumanian  minis- 
ter, Cogalniceanu,  addressed  a  circular  to 
the  powers,  in  which  he  asserted  the  inten- 
tion of  Roumania  to  observe  strict  neu- 
trality, to  preserve  peace,  and  injure  no 
national  interest  whatever. 

On  the  same  day,  however,  the  Russo- 
Roumanian  convention  was  concluded.  The 
Russian  armies  were  to  be  allowed  free 
transit  through  the  country;  the  railways, 
rivers,  roads,  post,  telegraph,  and  all  the 
material  resources  of  the  country  to  be 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Russian  com- 
manders, who  were  also  to  have  the  right 
to  establish  reserves  at  any  point,  except 
Bucharest,  in  the  rear  of  the  active  army ; 
and  to  take  all  necessary  measures  to  en- 
sure their  communications  with  their  basis 
of  operations  east  of  the  Pruth, 

This  convention,  though  scarcely  amount- 
ing technically  to  an  alliance,  would  cer- 
tainly be  regarded  as  such  by  the  Turks; 


and  measures  had  therefore  to  be  taken  to 
provide  against  a  coup-de-main  on  the 
part  of  the  Turkish  commanders  on  the 
Danube.  Consequently,  two  days  later, 
on  April  18th,  10,000  men  were  called  out 
to  concentrate  at  Bucharest,  which  is  only 
a  few  miles  from  the  Danube ;  and  on  April 
20th,  Prince  Charles  issued  a  decree  for  the 
immediate  mobilisation  of  the  standing 
army,  the  militia,  and  the/eserves.  At  the 
same  time  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
army  and  eighty  cannon  were  sent  to  Kala- 
fat,  opposite  Widdin,  where  the  Russians 
had  received  so  disastrous  a  check  during 
the  Crimean  war. 

These  military  preparations,  of  course, 
led  to  inquiries  by  the  Porte  as  to  their 
object ;  and  at  the  same  time  Safvet  Pasha 
called  upon  Prince  Charles  to  take  up  arms 
and  concert  measures  with  the  Turkish 
commanders  to  repel  the  impending  inva- 
sion of  the  Russians.  To  this  Cogalni- 
ceanu replied,  that  the  decision  of  the 
question,  whether  Roumania  should  take 
part  in  the  war  or  remain  neutral,  was  for 
the  chamber  to  pronounce;  but  that,  in 
any  case,  the  entry  of  Turkish  troops 
would  be  opposed. 

On  April  26th,  Prince  Charles  opened 
the  chamber,  and  said  that,  as  all  his  endea- 
vours to  induce  the  powers  to  acknowledge 
the  right  of  Roumania  to  remain  neutral 
had  been  fruitless,  all  that  he  could  now  do 
was  to  prevent  Roumania  from  becoming 
the  seat  of  war.  The  powers  had  not  pro- 
tested against  the  entry  of  the  Russian 
troops,  and  thus  Roumania  had  to  look 
after  her  own  interests.  Hereupon  the 
convention  with  Russia  was  ratified  by  the 
chamber  with  seventy-nine  votes  against 
twenty-five,  and  in  the  senate  with  forty- 
one  against  ten. 

Roumania  thus  practically  declared  war 
to  Turkey,  and  Prince  Charles  himself  took 
the  command-in-chief  of  the  army,  which 
consisted  of  38,000  infantry,  8,200  cavalry, 
and  120  cannon.  The  condition  of  the 
army  was  excellent ;  the  infantry  was  well 
armed,  and  the  artillery  consisted  entirely 
of  Krupp  guns.  The  army  was  divided  into 
two  army  corps,  each  consisting  of  two  divi- 
sions. The  chief  of  the  general  staff  was 
General  Slaniceanu  ;  the  commander  of  the 
first  corps.  General  Lupu,  and  of  the  second. 
General  Radovici.  Abandoning  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  country  to  the  Russian  army, 
the  Roumanian  troops  occupied  the  western 
portion  between  Krajova  and  Kalafat,  where 


thev  remained   on  the  defensive  until  the 
beginning  of  September. 

Sleantime,  on  April  24th,  the  same  day 
that  war  was  declared,  the  Russian  army 
crossed  the  frontier.  Six  corps  d'armee, 
the  7th,  8th,  9th,  10th,  11th,  and  12th, 
had  been  collected  on  the  Pruth  under 
Generals  Prince  Barclay  de  Tolly,  Ra- 
detzki,  Kriidener,  Prince  Woronzoff, 
Prince  Schahkoffskoi,  and  Wanoffski. 
Commander-in-chief  was  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas,  who  had  chosen  General  Nie- 
pokoitschitzki  for  his  chief  of  the  staflf, 
assisted  by  General  Levitzki. 

General  Niepokoitschitzki  was  a  short, 
square-set,  but  active-looking  man,  hale 
and  hearty,  and,  in  spite  of  his  seventy 
years,  looked  as  fit  to  make  a  campaign  as 
if  he  were  twenty  years  younger.  Of  Ger- 
man extraction,  his  original  name,  Unruh, 
was  translated  into  its  Polish  equivalent, 
signifying  "  restlessness  " — a  name,  by  the 
way,  singularly  inappropriate,  for  General 
Niepokoitschitzski  was  a  man  of  the  most 
placid  manner,  and  the  equanimity  of  his 
temper  proverbial  among  the  officers  who 
had  served  under  him.  A  classical  captain 
asserted  that  he  very  felicitously  combined 
the  suaviter  in  modo  with  the  fortiter  in 
re.  His  hair,  whiskers,  and  moustache 
were  snow-white ;  but  there  was  a  flush  of 
hale  colour  on  his  cheek ;  his  eye  was  not 
dim,  neither  was  his  natural  force  abated. 
He  wore  a  simple  undress  uniform,  with 
the  aiguillettes  which  distinguish  the  staff 
officer,  and  his  only  decoration  was  the  cross 
of  St.  George. 

The  general  had  seen  more  service  than 
most  of  the  Russian  leaders,  and  his  expe- 
rience of  staff  duty  in  particular  had  been 
long  and  continuous.  He  joined  the  army 
as  an  infantry  officer,  and  first  saw  active 
service  in  the  Caucasus,  where  his  merit 
was  so  conspicuous  that  he  speedily  re- 
ceived a  staff  appointment.  He  held  an 
important  and  responsible  office  on  the 
general  staff  in  the  army  which  Russia  sent 
to  co-operate  with  Austria  in  quelling  the 
Austrian  insurrection  of  1849;  and  in  the 
Crimean  war,  or  rather  in  the  war  which  we 
know  conventionally  by  that  name,  he  was 
chief  of  staff  to  one  of  the  corps  composing 
the  army  with  which  Gortschakoff  occupied 
the  principalities,  and  took  part,  under 
Paskiewitch,  in  the  memorable  siege  of 
Silistria.  Since  1855  he  had  seen  no  active 
service,  but  had  been  continually  in  mili- 
tary employment    of   one  sort  or  other, 

139 


CENERAL  SKOBELOFF.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  TURKISH   FLOTILLA. 


and  was  chosen  chief  of  the  staflfof  the  army 
of  the  south,  because  of  his  acquaintance 
with  the  region  of  the  Danubian  valley, 
derived  from  his  experience  in  the  campaign 
of  1854. 

General  Levitzki  had  seen  no  active  ser- 
vice, and  was  a  professor  at  the  military 
academy ;  so  that  both  lie  and  his  superior 
were  but  little  more  than  theorists  as  far  as 
the  science  of  war  since  1856 — '5S  was  con- 
cerned— a  drawback  which  was  destined  to 
make  itself  most  conspicuous. 

Of  the  men  who  had  seen  active  service 
in  all  its  phases,  there  were  few  who  had  had 
the  experience  of  General  Skobeloff,  a  tall, 
handsome  man,  with  a  lithe,  slender,  active 
figure,  a  clear  blue  eye,  and  a  large,  pro- 
minent, but  straight,  well-shaped  nose,  the 
kind  of  nose  it  is  said  Napoleon  used  to 
look  for  among  his  officers  when  he  wished 
to  find  a  general,  and  a  face  young  enough 
for  a  second  lieutenant  althoudi  he  was  a 
general — the  youngest  in  the  Russian  army. 
He  made  his  name  famous  in  Khiva,  under 
General  Kauffmann,  when  he  was  only  a 
colonel.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  of  the 
five  columns  which  marched  on  Khiva,  only 
four  arrived,  and  that  one  (that  of  Colonel 
Markosoff)  was  obliged  to  turn  back  in  the 
middle  of  the  desert  for  want  of  water. 
Kauffmann  wished  to  know  whether  it  would 
be  possible  for  Markosoff  to  reach  Khiva  by 
that  route;  but  the  Turkomans  with  whom 
he  had  been  fighting  had  all  fled  in  that 
direction,  and  to  have  explored  the  route  in 
question  with  safety,  it  would  have  been 
necessary  to  employ  a  strong  column,  which 
Kaufifmann  did  not  think  the  matter  justi- 
fied. The  only  other  alternative  was  for  a 
small  party  to  make  the  attempt  at  the 
risk  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Turkomans.  This  Colonel  Skobeloff  volun- 
teered to  do.  Taking  three  friendly 
Turkomans  with  him,  and  disguising  him- 
self also  as  a  Turkoman,  he  started  on  his 
perilous  journey.  He  did  not  return  for 
ten  days,  when  he  suddenly  turned  up  at 
Khiva  the  day  before  Kauffmann  evacuated 
the  town,  after  having  explored  the  way  to 
the  point  at  which  Markosoff  had  turned 
back,  measured  the  depth  of  the  wells, 
ascertained  the  amount  of  water  they  could 
supply,  and  proved  that  the  route  was  prac- 
ticable. But  SkobelofiTs  most  daring  feat 
was  his  attack  upon  the  Khokandians,  some 
7,000  to  8,000  strong,  when  they  were 
following  the  Russians,  after  they  had 
evacuated  Namagaa.  The  Russian  column 
140 


numbered  only  800  men,  with  about  400 
Cossacks;  they  had  still  three  days'  march 
to  the  frontier,  and  had  only  fifteen  car- 
tridges per  man  for  the  infantry,  and  three 
cartridges  a  head  for  the  Cossacks.  Under 
these  circumstances  General  Trotski  de- 
cided to  venture  a  night  attack,  and  con- 
fided his  plan  to  Skobeloff,  who  was  his 
chief  of  the  staff.  Skobeloff  at  once  caught 
eagerly  at  the  idea,  and  offered  to  lead  the 
attack  himself ;  but  going  on  the  principle 
that  a  night  attack  should  rather  be  in- 
tended to  terrify  the  enemy  than  to  inflict 
much  material  harm,  he  decided  to  take 
only  150  Cossacks  for  the  attack.  Skobeloff 
having  reconnoitred  the  ground,  perceived 
that  the  Khokandians  had  encamped  within 
a  mile  and  a-half  of  the  Russians,  in  an 
open  plain,  which  gave  every  facility  for 
the  manoeuvring  of  cavalry.  At  midnight 
he  took  his  150  Cossacks,  divided  them  into 
three  parties,  and  cautiously  surrounded 
the  enemy's  camp.  The  party  led  by  Sko- 
beloff himself  managed  to  pass  the  enemy's 
outposts,  who  were  sound  asleep.  Then  he 
gave  the  signal  for  the  attack  by  firing  his 
pistol,  and,  followed  by  his  150  Cossacks, 
he  rode  headlong  into  the  enemy's  camp  of 
six  or  seven  thousand  men,  shouting  and 
yelling  like  fiends,  and  cutting  down  every- 
thing in  their  passage. 

The  effect  was  tremendous.  For  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  the  plain  resounded  with 
shrieks  and  yells,  shots,  the  trampling  of 
horses,  shouts,  and  groans,  and  all  the 
uproar  of  battle.  Then  all  was  silence. 
Skobeloff  assembled  his  Cossacks,  and  when 
morning  came  he  found  that  the  whole 
army  of  the  enemy  had  disappeared,  leav- 
ing on  the  field  about  40  dead,  37  standards, 
2,000  turbans,  2,000  or  3,000  muskets  and 
sabres,  all  their  camp  material  and  baggage. 
But  what  was  his  astonishment,  on  calling 
the  roll,  to  discover  that  he  had  not  lost  a 
man  either  killed  or  wounded.  For  a  small 
affair  it  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  feats 
ever  recorded,  for  it  inflicted  a  most  disas- 
trous defeat  on  the  enemy,  saved  the  Rus- 
sian detachment,  and  enabled  it  to  reach 
the  frontier  and  its  base  in  safety.  These 
kinds  of  exploits  obtained  for  Skobeloff  the 
reputation,  even  among  the  Russians,  of 
being  a  kind  of  madman,  who  would  fling 
away  his  own  life,  and  those  of  his  troops, 
without  the  slightest  regard  to  conse- 
quences. General  Skobeloff  felt  rather  in- 
dignant at  this  view  of  his  character,  and 
it  did  him  a  great  injustice,  for  there  was 


/ 


method  in  his  madness,  or  rather  what  at 
first  appeared  madness.  For  instance,  attack- 
ing 7,000  men  with  150  was,  as  he  said, 
not  only  not  madness,  but  a  reasonable, 
well-conceived  plan,  with  the  requisite 
number  of  chances  on  the  side  of  the  at- 
tacking party,  and  one  that  must  have  had 
the  approval  of  all  military  men.  His  ex- 
planation was  as  follows : — Irregular  troops, 
even  of  the  very  bravest  and  best,  are  pe- 
culiarly subject  to  panics  when  attacked 
unexpectedly  or  from  an  unlooked-for  quar- 
ter. Now,  anybody  who  has  experienced  it 
knows  that  a  night  attack  is  a  most  terrible 
and  nerve-shaking  thing  for  the  army  at- 
tacked, even  when  composed  of  regular 
troops.  For  irregular  troops  it  is  certain 
destruction  and  defeat,  if  the  attacking 
party  can  penetrate  their  lines  before  they 
have  time  to  get  fairly  awake,  as  in  the 
present  case.  As  to  the  small  number  of 
troops  taken  by  Skobeloff  for  this  attack, 
he  says  that  the  object  of  his  attack  was 
not  so  much  the  hope  of  cutting  the  enemy 
to  pieces,  as  to  strike  terror  among  them 
and  create  a  panic;  and  for  this  purpose 
150  Cossacks  in  the  night,  when  their  num- 
ber could  not  be  seen,  were  quite  sufficient, 
as  they  could  make  as  much  noise  and  pro- 
duce as  great  an  effect  as  ten  times  their 
number ;  while  a  small  party  was  less  liable 
to  confusion,  and  to  the  danger  of  killing 
each  other — the  great  danger  of  a  night 
attack  for  the  attacking  party ;  and  finally, 
if  they  did  not  succeed,  and  should  all  be 
killed,  an  eventualitv  also  to  be  taken  into 
account,  the  loss  would  be  small,  and  such 
as  not  to  seriously  weaken  the  detachment. 
It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  it  was  not  such  a 
mad  business  after  all ;  and  the  result 
proved  Skobeloff  had  really  calculated  the 
chances  as  any  prudent  general  would  do, 
and  simply  found  that  they  were  on  his 
side.  Although  the  new  Khan  of  Khokand, 
after  this  campaign,  agreed  to  sign  a  new 
treaty  of  peace,  the  Russians  had  no  sooner 
withdrawn  from  the  country  than  he  again 
opened  hostilities,  and  Kauffmann  found 
himself  under  the  necessity  of  obtaining 
permission  to  conquer  and  annex  the 
country ;  and  this  task  he  entrusted  to 
Colonel  Skobeloff,  who,  as  commander  of 
an  independent  army,  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  general.  The  task  was  accom- 
plished with  rapidity  and  skill,  as  may  be 
readily  understood  when  it  is  stated  that 
when  the  khan  surrendered  to  General 
Skobeloff,  after  a  three  months'  campaign, 
VOL.  III.  U 


nearly  his  first  words  were,  "Before  we 
begin  to  talk,  let  me  sleep,  for  I  have  not 
had  a  night's  rest  nor  a  sound  sleep  for 
more  than  a  month." 

Of  the  other  generals  on  the  Danube, 
Dragomiroff,  an  accomplished  strategist 
and  tactician,  and  General  Gourko,  a  dash- 
ing cavalry  officer,  were  the  only  men  who 
enjoyed  a  modern  reputation.  The  order 
to  cross  the  frontier  having  been  given,  it 
was  carried  out  with  apparent  celerity  at 
first.  The  various  corps  had  been  in  posi- 
tion for  weeks,  and  had  only  to  lay  their 
hands  on  the  points  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  where  all  had  been  well  prepared 
and  there  was  no  enemy  to  encounter.  But 
the  march  on  the  Danube  was  executed  with 
a  delay  and  dilatoriness  which  soon  can- 
celled the  favourable  impression  caused  by 
the  promptitude  with  which  the  first  move- 
ments were  executed. 

From  Bessarabia  there  was  but  one  single 
line  of  railway  between  Ungheni  to  Jassy, 
whence  it  turns  southwards  to  Bucharest, 
via  Barboschi,  where  it  crosses  the  Sereth* 
In  consequence  of  the  rains,  this  railway, 
constructed  originally  in  a  very  flimsy 
fashion,  was  not  safe  at  many  points,  and 
the  roads  were  also  in  a  very  bad  state. 
These  impediments  might  have  been  con- 
siderably increased  by  the  Turks  had  they 
destroyed  the  bridge  over  the  Sereth  at 
Barbohchi  before  the  arrival  of  the  Russian 
troops.  The  despatch  of  a  few  of  the 
monitors  of  the  Turkish  Danube  flotilla 
would  have  amply  sufficed  to  overpower 
the  Roumanian  garrison  at  Galatz,  and  to 
have  completely  destroyed  the  bridge,  which 
was  only  thirty  kilometres  distant  from 
Mat  chin,  where  the  Turkish  flotilla  was 
stationed.  The  Turks,  however,  acting 
upon  their  old  traditions,  and  refusing  to 
believe  that  they  had  in  a  very  large  measure 
forfeited  the  sympathies  of  Europe,  still 
reckoned  upon  these  sympathies,  and  im- 
agined that  by  strictly  confining  themselves 
to  defensive  measures,  they  would  still 
further  secure  these  sympathies  and  cast 
still  more  odium  upon  the  aggressive  policy 
of  Russia.  Acting  on  this  principle  through- 
out, and  feeling  certain  that,  sooner  or 
later,  they  would  succeed  in  gaining  the 
assistance  of  one  or  more  of  the  Western 
powers,  they  neglected,  on  hundreds  of 
occasions,  to  make  use  of  the  opportunities 
literallv  thrown  at  their  feet. 

The  Russians,  however,  were  unfettered 
by  any  such  considerations,  and  let  no  scru* 

141 


THE  **LUTFI  DJELIL."] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


pies  stand  in  their  way.  Thus  General 
Skobeloff,  with  his  cavalry,  accomplished 
the  march  in  one  day  from  the  frontier  to 
Barboschi,  where  he  immediately  seized  the 
bridge,  and  held  it  until  the  infantry  and 
artillery  came  up,  and  definitely  secured 
this  most  important  point.  This  being  ac- 
complished, the  Russian  troops  slowly,  but 
deliberately,  began  to  spread  themselves 
out  along  the  Danube  without  any  hurry 
or  confusion,  without  any  molestation  from 
the  Turks.  This  behaviour  of  the  Turkish 
commanders  is  below  criticism.  They  had 
a  powerful  fleet  in  the  Black  Sea,  and  a 
strong  flotilla  on  the  Danube ;  whilst  the 
Russian  naval  force  in  the  Black  Sea  was 
still  in  embryo,  and  the  Baltic  fleet  was 
useless,  as  it  could  not  force  the  Dardanelles. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  all  this,  the  Turkish  fleet 
accomplished  nothing,  and  did  little  more 
than  common  transport  service,  which  could 
bave  been  done  cheaper  and  quicker  by  or- 
dinary merchant  vessels.  As  for  the  Danube 
flotilla,  the  men  and  officers  seemed  panic- 
stricken  by  the  energy  with  which  the 
Russian  commanders  erected  batteries  and 
laid  torpedoes  in  the  river,  at  Reni,  below 
Galatz,  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  arm  of 
the  Danube,  between  Braila  and  Matchin, 
where  the  Turkish  fleet  rode  at  anchor, 
and,  by  this  operation,  was  literally  caught 
in  a  trap.  On  May  11th,  one  of  these  ves- 
sels, the  Lutji  Djelil,  an  ironclad  monitor 
with  five  guns,  steamed  out  from  Matchin, 
followed  by  two  gun-boats,  and  at  half- past 
three  was  stationary  under  cover  of  the 
wooded  end  of  the  island,  with  its  three 
masts  visible  above  the  trees.  The  Russian 
gunners  from  the  batteries  close  to  Braila, 
below  the  Roumanian  barracks,  opened  fire 
from  their  light  guns,  the  range  being 
about  four  kilometres,  but  without  effect. 
The  general  officer  present  then  gave  direc- 
tions for  two  eight-inch  guns  of  position, 
mounted  in  the  battery,  to  come  into  action. 
The  first  shot  had  no  eff'ect.  The  second 
shot,  fired  at  a  high  elevation  with  a  low 
charge,  dropped  on  the  deck  of  the  turret- 
ship,  and  crushed  down  into  the  powder 
magazine.  Immediately  a  tremendous  flash 
and  glare  shot  up  from  the  interior  of  the 
doomed  craft,  followed  by  a  heavy  white 
smoke  which  hung  like  a  pall.  Through 
this  white  cloud  there  shot  up  to  a  great 
height  a  spurt  of  black  fragments  of  all 
shapes  and  sizes.  When  the  smoke  drifted 
away,  all  that  was  visible  of  the  turret-ship 
was  her  stem,  with  the  mizen-mast  stand- 
142 


ing,  whence  still  fluttered  the  Turkish  flag. 
The  ship  had  gone  down  by  the  head  in 
shallow  water.  The  fore  and  main  masts 
were  blown  out  at  once.  Two  Russian 
steam-launches  put  off*  from  Braila,  boarded 
the  wreck,  gained  the  flag,  gathered  some 
of  the  debris,  and  picked  up  only  two  men, 
the  fireman  and  the  engineer,  both  severely 
injured,  out  of  a  crew  of  200  men,  under 
the  command  of  Kezim  Bey.  Fragments 
of  the  wreckage  were  picked  up  down  tho 
stream  at  Galatz.  The  Russian  enthusiasm 
in  the  battery  was  intense,  and  the  officers 
embraced  each  other,  whilst  the  Turkish 
gun-boats  hurried  away  abruptly  on  the  ex- 
plosion of  the  turret-ship;  but  returned 
an  hour  later,  and  fired  on  the  Russian 
launches  engaged  in  looting  the  ship  as 
much  as  possible. 

This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  efficiency  of 
the  Turkish  fleet ;  but  the  Turks  and  their 
friends  consoled  themselves  with  the  asser- 
tion, or  belief,  that  the  destruction  of  so 
powerful  a  vessel  was  due  to  accident.  But 
a  fortnight  later  they  experienced  a  second 
disaster.  The  naval  officers  and  sailors  who 
had  been  sent  down  to  the  Danube  from 
the  Baltic  were  fired  by  the  ambition  to 
outdo  their  comrades  of  the  line,  and  make 
an  attack  on  the  Turkish  vessels  with  their 
torpedoes.  With  this  object  an  expedition 
was  arranged,  consisting  of  four  small  steam- 
launches,  two  of  which  were  to  make  the 
attack,  and  the  two  others  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  render  assistance  in 
case,  as  was  probable,  of  an  accident  to 
either  of  the  attacking  ones.  The  two 
launches  which  were  to  make  the  attack 
were  commanded  by  Lieutenants  Dubasotf 
and  Shestakoff",  and  manned,  one  by  four- 
teen, the  other  by  nine  men.  The  crews 
were  protected  by  an  iron  screen  or  awning, 
which  covered  the  boat  completely  over 
from  stem  to  stern,  and  which  was  suffi- 
ciently thick  to  stop  a  bullet.  This  screen, 
as  well  as  the  boat,  was  painted  black,  so 
as  to  be  scarcely  distinguishable  at  night, 
and  the  crew  were  thus  protected  against 
the  fire  of  small  arms,  exceot  the  man  at 
the  wheel,  who  directed  the  movements  of 
the  boat,  and  who  was  necessarily  exposed. 
The  crews  embarked  in  the  boats  a  little 
after  twelve  o'clock  on  Friday  night.  May 
2oth,  at  a  distance  of  about  seven  miles 
from  where  the  Turkish  monitors  were 
lying.  The  night  was  dark  and  rainy,  and 
the  clouds  completely  obscured  the  moon, 
which    nevertheless   prevented   the    night 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[torpedo  attack. 


from  being  one  of  complete  pitchy  dark-  j 
ness.     There  was  just  enough  light  to  en-  • 
able  them  to  distinguish  the  dark  masses  of 
the  Turkish  gun-boats  without  themselves 
being  easily  seen.     After  an  hours  steaming 
they  came  within  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  the  enemy's  flotilla.     The  engines 
of  the  launches  were  so  constructed  as  to 
make  very  little  noise,  and  when  they  were 
glowed  down  all  the  sound  they  made  was  a 
low  dull  kind  of  throbbing  noise  that  was 
almost  drowned  by  the  continual  croaking 
of  the  frogs,  which  are  very  large  and  very 
numerous  along  the  marshes  of  the  Danube. 
Nevertheless,  the  quick  ear  of  a  Turkish 
sentinel  caught  the  unusual  sound,  and  he 
cried  out,  "  Who  goes  there?"  in  Turkish. 
The  boats  advanced  without  replying     The 
sentinel  again   called    out,  and  again    re- 
mained without  an  answer.     He  called  out 
the  third  time,  and  as  it  was   becoming 
evident  that  the  ship  would   be  alarmed. 
Lieutenant  Dubasoff  replied,  in  Turkish, 
"Friends!"    and    continued    to    advance. 
The  sentinel,  however,  was  by  no  means 
satisfied,  and  after  calling  out  again  two  or 
three    times,  he    finally  fired.     Then   the 
Russians,  who  were  by  that  time  very  near 
the  doomed  monitor,  heard  a  noise  in  the 
ship.     There  was  a  scuffling   of  feet,  the 
rushing  about  of  sailors,  cries  and  shouts, 
and  the  voice   of  an  officer  commanding 
them  to  prepare  the  guns  for  action.     They 
heard  the  order  given  for  the  gun  in  the 
bow  to  be  fired.     They  heard  it  given  three 
times,  and  three  times  they  heard  the  click 
of  the  hammer,  showing  that  an  attempt 
had  been  made  to  fire,  and  that  the  gun 
had  refused  to  go  off".     Finally,  the  third 
time  the  order  was  given,  a  globe  of  flame 
leaped  over  the  side  of  the  gun-boat,  and  a 
shell    went    whistling    over    their    heads. 
They   were  evidently   seen  by  the  Turks. 
One  of  the  boats,  that  of  Shestakoff",  then 
drew  off",  while  that  of  Dubasoff"  continued 
to  advance.     Each   boat  was   armed   with 
two  torpedoes,  attached  to   the  end  of  a 
long   spar    that  projected   from   the  bow. 
These   spars   were   arranged   to   move   on 
pivots,  and  could  be  swung  round  so  as  to 
describe  a  half-circle.     The  torpedoes  were 
so  placed  that  they  could  be  detached  from 
the  spars  at  any  moment ;  and,  in  addition 
to  this,  long  light  chains  were  attached  to 
them  by  which  they  were  to  be  tied  on  any 
projecting  part  of  the  attacked  ship,  and 
they  were  connected   with   the  boat    by  a 
tine  flexible  wire  about  100  yards  long. 


The  officer  in  command  manipulated  a  small 
electric  battery,  carried  in  the  boat.   A  lively 
fusilade   had    by   this   time   been   opened 
upon  the  boat  by  the  Turks ;  but  in  spite 
of  this,  the  launch  of  Dubasoff  shot  under 
the  bow  of  the  monitor,  the  chain  which 
was  fastened  to  the  torpedo  was  flung  round 
a  chain  or  rope  that  was  hanging  from  the 
bow  of  the  ship,  the   torpedo  was  dropped 
from  the  spar,  and  the  current  of  the  river 
carried  it  against  the  bottom  of  the  ship. 
The  launch  then  shot  away  again  until  the 
full  length  of  the  electric  wire  had  been 
reached.     The    officer   applied    it  to   the 
battery    in    the    boat,  and  at    the    same 
instant  a  huge  volume  of  water  rose   up 
into  the  air,  which  half  filled  and  nearly 
swamped  Dubasoff's  launch,  and  a  fearful 
explosion   was    heard,    which    completely 
drowned  the  shouts  and  cries  and  firing  of 
the  Turks.     In  the   meantime  the   other 
monitors    became  alarmed,    and,   without 
knowing  the  cause,  fired  at  random,  and  a 
fearful  scene  of  terror  and  confusion  ensued. 
They     not     only     fired    on    the    Russian 
launches,  that  still  kept  dodging  about  like 
mosquitoes,  but  in  their  panic  and  confusion 
fired  into  each  other.     The  bullets  rattled 
over  the  iron  awnings  of  the  launches,  but 
did  them  no  harm.     They  were  not  once 
\  struck,  although  the  bow  of  one  was  pierced 
by  a  piece  of  a  shell  that  exploded  near  it. 
The  two  launches  were  now  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  doomed  ship.  Dubasoff  perceived  that 
the  monitor  was  sinking  down  by  the  head, 
but  very  slowly ;  while  the  Turks  continued 
to  fire  away  blindly,  but  incessantly,  both 
with   small   arms  and   cannon.     Dubasoff 
cried  out  to  Shestakoff  to   try  and  place 
another  torpedo  in  order  to  make  sure  of 
the  ship,  and  the  latter  slipped  in  under 
the  stern  and  put  down  another  torpedo  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  previous  one.     He 
then  shot  off  until  he  was  at  a  safe  distance, 
applied  the  electric  battery  in   the  same 
manner,  and  a  still  more  terrible  explosion 
followed.     Parts  of  the  ship  were  blown 
into  the  air,  as  was   very  soon  perceived 
when  a  large  plank  a  few  seconds  later 
came  down  endways,  driving  its  way  through 
the  iron  screen  into  the  boat,  between  two 
of  the  sailors  who  were  back  to  back  close 
to  each  other,  without  injuring  either  of 
them.     Then  the  monitor  sank  rapidly,  and 
after  a  few  moments  nothing  but  her  masts 
were  visible  above'  water.     The  crew  had  all 
either   been   drowned   or   had   escaped  by 
swimming.     Day  now  began  to  break,  and 

143 


THE   RUSSIAN   PLANS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


Ill 


the  position  of  the  two  little  launches 
within  the  near  range  of  two  other  Turkish 
monitors  became  very  critical.  To  add  to 
the  dan<i;er  of  the  situation,  the  screw  of 
one  of  them  got  fouled,  and  the  boat  be- 
came unmanageable ;  wliile  they  perceived 
a  Turkish  launch  from  one  of  the  other 
monitors  bearing  down  on  them.  They 
opened  a  fire  of  small  arms  on  the  Turkish 
launch,  which  veered  off  and  showed  no 
disposition  to  come  any  closer.  One  of  the 
sailors  got  out  into  the  water,  and  after 
several  minutes'  exertion  succeeded  in  clear- 
ing the  screw,  and  the  two  launches,  having 
accomplished  their  mission  of  destruction, 
darted  off,  passed  under  the  fire  of  the  two 
other  Turkish  gun -boats,  escaped  unharmed, 
and,  rejoining  their  two  consorts,  returned 
in  triumph  to  their  place  of  starting.  The 
grand  duke  received  the  news  within  two 
or  three  hours  after,  and  the  rejoicing 
among  the  Russians  was  very  great ;  the 
two  officers  and  the  crews  of  the  two  boats 
all  receiving  the  Cross  of  St.  George  in 
reward  for  their  daring  exploit. 

Within  a  month,  therefore,  the  Russians 
had  accomplished  all  that  it  was  possible  to 
do.  They  had  seized  the  Lower  Danube, 
and  imprisoned  and  partially  destroyed 
the  Turkish  flotilla  in  the  river,  which  was 
still  sixteen  feet  above  its  normal  height, 
and  prevented  the  construction  of  bridges 
between  the  two  banks.  This  is  a  fact 
which  must  be  well  borne  in  mind  when 
judging  the  campaign.  It  was  generally 
lost  sight  of  during  the  commencement  of 
hostilities — an  error  which  gave  rise  to  the 
unfounded  belief  that  the  Russians  were 
unprepared,  and  had  neglected  many  im- 
portant precautions.  Anybody  who  knows 
the  course  of  the  Lower  Danube,  with  its 
stretches  of  muddy,  swampy  banks,  espe- 
cially on  the  Roumanian  side,  will  not  be 
surprised  that  the  unusual  height  of  the 
river,  and  its  long  duration,  materially  im- 
peded operations. 

In  the  meantime  the  Russian  troops  were 
being  placed  in  position,  and  on  June  6th, 
when  everything  was  reported  to  be  in 
readiness  for  the  passage  of  the  river,  the 
Czar,  accompanied  by  Prince  Grortschakoff 
and  a  numerous  suite,  arrived  at  Ploesti, 
north  of  Bucharest,  where  the  Orand  Duke 
Nicholas  had  taken  up  his  quarters,  where, 
on  May  8th,  he  issued  orders  for  the  mobili- 
sation of  three  more  army  corps,  thus  bring- 
ing up  the  total  in  Europe  to  nine  corps. 
Of  these  nine  corps,  seven  were  set  up  on  the 
144 


Danube;  whilst  two,  the  7th  and  10th, 
occupied  the  coast  between  Odessa  and 
the  Crimea.  By  the  middle  of  June,  the 
disposition  of  the  troops  was  as  follows  : — 
The  14th  corps  occupied  the  line  between 
Galatz  and  Braila;  the  11th  was  concen- 
trated at  Oltenitza  and  Giurgevo ;  the 
8th  at  Zimnitza;  the  9th  at  Turn-Ma- 
gurelli;  whilst  the  12th,  13th,  and  14th 
formed  the  second  line  at  Saleasa,  Alexan- 
dria, and  Bucharest. 

This  disposition  of  the  troops,  which  was 
quite  well  known  to  the  Turks,  pointed  to 
an  intention  to  effect  the  passage  of  the  river 
between  Zimnitza  and  Turn-Magurelli  ; 
and  that  being  the  case,  the  general  plan  of 
the  Russian  advance  was  easily  foreseen, 
especially  when  the  position  of  the  Rou- 
manian troops  was  also  taken  into  account. 

It  was  clear  that  the  invading  armies  had 
been  so  disposed  that  Prince  Charles  and 
the  Roumanians  were  to  form  the  rio-ht 
wing  of  the  advance ;  that  the  8th  corps, 
under  General  Radetzki,  and  the  9th,  under 
General  Kriidener,  were  to  form  the  centre ; 
and  the  14th  corps,  imder  General  Zimmer- 
mann,  formed  the  left  wing. 

The  object  of  this  disposition  was  to 
allow  the  two  wings  to  engage  the  enemy 
so  as  to  leave  the  passage  free  for  tho 
centre  to  push  on  to  the  Balkans,  spreading 
out  right  and  left  till  it  was  able  to  take 
the  Turks  between  it  and  the  two  wings. 

The  8th  and  9th  corps  were  to  lead  the 
attack;  the  12th  was  to  protect  the  right 
flank  of  the  advance,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Roumanians,  against  Osman  Pasha  at 
Widdin ;  and  the  4th,  acting  with  the  12tl), 
was  to  protect  the  left  flank  of  the  advance, 
whilst  the  14th  harassed  the  rear  of  the 
Turkish  positions  in  the  Quadrilateral — at 
Rustzuk,  Schumla,  Silistria,  and  Varna. 
Strictly  carried  out,  and  barring  any  great 
mistakes,  this  plan  had  everything  to  re- 
commend it,  and  most  military  men  pre- 
dicted for  it  a  complete  success,  unless  the 
Turks  should  take  a  vigorous  offensive. 
Had  the  Turkish  commanders  been  able  to 
do  this — had  they  thrown  their  armies 
across  the  Danube  on  either  flank  of  tho 
Russian  armies,  the  course  of  the  war 
might  have  been  materially  altered.  Such 
action  might  have  afforded  them  some 
chances  of  success ;  and,  at  any  rate,  they 
would  have  gained  an  additional  line  of 
defence — the  Danube — which,  as  matters 
stood,  was  really  no  line  of  defence  at  all, 
butji  on  the  contrary,  a  source  of  weakness. 


A.D.  1877.] 

But  Abdul  Kerim  Pasha,  who  was  en- 
trusted with  the  command-in-chief  of  the 
armies  in  Bulgaria,  distinguished  himself 
only  by  endless  faults  of  omission  rather 
than  commission,  but  which,  in  the  face  of 
an  enemy  like  the  Russians,  could  not  but  | 
end  disastrously ;  for  though  he  might  en-  ' 
tail  serious  losses  upon  them,  still,  as  they 
had  practically  an  inexhaustible  supply  to 
draw  from,  the  loss  of  a  few  thousand  men, 
more  or  less,  could  have  no  lasting  influence 
on  the  course  of  the  campaign. 

His  mistake  in  allowing  the  Russians 
to  seize  the  Barboschi  bridge  we  have 
already  alluded  to.  From  Hirsova,  or 
JNIatchin,  he  could  easily  have  so  destroyed 
the  railway,  and  harassed  the  Russian 
communications  with  Kishineff,  as  to  have 
materially  hindered  their  operations.  Ope- 
rating from  Widdin,  he  could  easily  have 
taken  Kalafat,  and  left  to  Osman  Pasha  the 
task  of  advancing  to  the  Aluta,  as  Omar 
Pasha  did  in  1853.  Servia  was  then  not  in  a 
state  to  take  any  decisive  action,  and  might 
well  have  been  disregarded.  But  for  all 
this  Abdul  Kerim  did  nothing,  though 
he  was  repeatedly  warned  by  Blum  Pasha, 
a  Prussian  engineer  in  the  service  of  the 
Porte.  To  all  counsellors  he  replied  that 
he  had  a  "  secret  plan,"  an  infallible  plan, 
and  that  if  the  Russians  should  attempt  to 
cross  the  Danube,  they  would  be  ecrases — 
crushed. 

Doubtless,  Abdul  Kerim's  wonderful  plan 
was  simply  to  allow  the  Russian  centre  to 
cross  the  Danube,  and,  trusting  to  Widdin 
and  the  Quadrilateral  to  cover  the  rear  of  his 
own  and  Osman  Pasha's  armies,  to  fold  up 
the  Russians  with  them,  and  drive  them 
back  across  the  river.     Had  the  Turkish 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [passage  of  the  danubr 


armies  possessed  any  mobility  worth  speak- 
ing of,  this  plan  might  have  succeeded ;  but 
without  any  of  the  appliances  necessary  for 
the  rapid  movements  of  an  army,  it  was 
predoomed  to  failure.  As  it  was,  the 
Turks  were  concentrated  in  three  centres — 
at  Schumla  and  in  the  Quadrilateral  with 
about  80,000  men ;  at  Widdin  with  about 
40,000;  and  south  of  the  Balkans  with 
about  30,000  men.  These  were  regulars. 
In  addition  there  were  a  number  of  ir- 
regulars attached  to  the  regulars,  of  whom 
there  are  not  even  now  any  reliable  figures 
to  be  had.  But  the  total  of  men  which  the 
Turks  had  to  oppose  to  the  Russians  may 
be  put  down  in  round  figures  at  about 
160,000.  Thev  were  all  well-armed  and 
well  supplied  with  ammunition. 

Everything  was  ready,  on  the  Russian 
side,  for  the  advance  by  June  6th  ;  and  so 
confident  were  the  Russian  leaders  of  gain- 
ino'  a  speedy  victory,  that  on  the  8th  Count 
Schouvaloff  had  an  interview  with  Lord 
Derby  to  arrange  matters  in  case  the  Rus- 
sians should  force  their  way  across  the  Bal- 
kans, and  to  provide,  in  that  case,  for  a 
basis  of  peace.  The  answer  to  this  was 
that  England  would  be  obliged  to  consult 
her  own  interests  should  Constantinople  be 
threatened  by  the  Russian  armies ;  and  he 
also  refused  to  tender  any  advice  to  the 
Porte  to  the  efi'ect  that  they  should  yield  at 
the  last  moment  to  the  demands  of  the 
Constantinople  conference,  as  about  to  be 
enforced  by  Russia,  and  under  pressure  of 
the  Russian  armies. 

All  hopes  of  a  peaceful  solution  were 
herewith  destroyed.  Diplomacy  had  arrived 
at  the  end  of  its  task,  and  the  future  was 
left  to  the  decision  of  arms. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


THE  FIRST  PASSAGE  OF  THE   DANUBE. 


As  soon  as  the  Danube  had  sufficiently 
fallen.  General  Zimmermann  received  orders 
to  cross  the  river.  The  gros  of  his  troops 
lay  between  Braila  and  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Sereth,  where  a  bridge  had  been  con- 
structed across  the  river,  with  the  exception 
of  the  finishing  trestle  portion  across  the 
muddy  flats  lett  bare  by  the  receding 
waters.     This  bridge  had  been  constructed , 


in  full  view  of  the  Turkish  garrison  and 
troops  at  Matchin  without  any  serioua 
molestation,  and  it  was  universally  assumed 
— and  with  reason — that  by  this  bridge  the 
Russians  would  pass  over  into  the  Do- 
brudja. 

On  June  20th,  however.  General  Zimmer- 
mann proceeded  to  Galatz,  and  brought 
down  two  regiments  to   a  point   between 

145 


II 


Hi 


n 


I 


BATTLE  OF  MATCHIN.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


Galatz  and  the  mouth  of  the  Sereth,  oppo- 
site the  Turkish  village  of  Budjak,  where, 
on  the  neighbouring  heights,  the  Turks  had 
taken  up  a  position  in  small  numbers. 

The   position   on   June   20th  was  as  is 
shown  in  the  annexed  sketch  A. 

A — Position  on  June  20. 


Braila. 

o 


BridRre. 


Galatz. 


Danube. 


the  firing.  The  scene  was  a  most  interesting 
and  animated  one.  The  left  bank  of  the 
Danube,  at  Braila,  is  thirty  or  forty  feet 
high.  Below  lay  the  river  gleaming  brightly 
in  the  sunshine,  covered  with  boats,  ships, 
steamers,  and  barges,  which  were  unable  to 

B — Position  on  June  28, 


Braila. 

o 


Diinube. 


ryn     o   Budjak. 


Zizila. 


0  Matchin. 


Russians. 


Turks, 


Bridjre. 

=)(= 


Galatz. 


Danube. 


o   Budjak. 


Zizila. 


I 


Danube. 


o  Matchin. 


The  gros  of  the  14th  corps  was  concen- 
trated near  Braila,  at  the  head  of  the  bridf>'e : 
two  regiments  were  between  Gralatz  and  the 
Sereth ;  whilst  the  Turks  had  taken  up  a 
position  in  force  and  in  ambush  near  the 
Turkish  head  of  the  bridge,  on  the  road 
leading  to  Matchin ;  and  a  small  force 
occupied  the  heights  of  Budjak. 

During  the  night  of  June  21st  to  June 
22nd,  General  Zimmermann  ordered  the 
Kjasan  regiment  (Count  Moltke's  regi- 
ment) to  cross  the  river  in  open  boats.  This 
was  done,  and,  after  several  hours'  fighting, 
the  Turks  were  obliged  to  evacuate  the 
heights  and  fall  back  upon  Matchin.  The 
next  day,  June  22nd,  the  second  regiment 
crossed  the  river,  whereby  the  Turkish 
position  at  Matchin  was  turned,  and  oc- 
cupied on  June  23rd  by  General  Zimmer- 
mann, who  then  had  the  bridge  completed, 
and  brought  the  rest  of  his  troops  across 
without  further  opposition.  By  June 
28th  the  position  was  as  is  shown  in  the 
annexed  sketch  B. 

With  these  sketches  before  him,  the 
reader  will  be  able  fully  to  understand  the 
detailed  account  of  the  passages. 

The  news  that  the  Russians  had  already 
crossed  the  river  arrived  at  Braila  at  5  a.m., 
when  the  inhabitants  were  already  on  the 
alert,  gathering  in  crowds  on  the  river  bank, 
to  watch  the  fight  that  was  going  on  at  the 
other  side  of  the  valley,  which  could  be 
followed  very  dibtinctly  by  the  smoke  and 
14tJ 


■■     Russians. 

escape  during  the  time  of  grace  that  was 
allowed  to  them  after  the  declaration  of 
war,  and  which   the   Russians  seized  and 
turned  to  account  for  military  operations. 
Further  down  was   the  bridge,  lying  low 
upon  the  water,  stretching  far  across  the 
wide,  swiftly  rolling  stream,  and  losing  it- 
self apparently   among   the    marshes   and 
reeds    on    the    other   side ;    beyond    were 
marshes,  trees,  brushwood,  tall  grass,  wav- 
ing reeds,  and  rushes,  through  which  could 
be  seen  everywhere  the   gleam    of   water, 
showing  that  the  whole  valley  was  still  sub- 
merged ;  still  further  in  the  distance,  and 
nearly  ten  miles  away,  was   the   town  of 
Matchin,  lying  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain 
slope,  with  a  confused  mass  of  houses,  and 
two     tall    white     minarets     risinof     from 
amongst  them,  and  clearly  defined  against 
the  low  range  of  mountains  beyond.    Down 
the  river,  the  water,  growing  broader  and 
wider  and  deeper,  spread  over  the  entire  val- 
ley, until  it  seemed  to  take  the  dimensions  of 
a  lake,  where,  in  the  far-otf  distance,  lay 
Galatz,  dim  aad  indistinct  in  a  luminous 
haze,  looking  like  a  mirage  city  in  a  mirage 
ocean.     On  that  range  of  mountains  run- 
ning down  from  Matchin,  in  the  direction 
of  Galatz,  puffs  and  long  lines  of   white 
smoke    rose  up    from  the  mountain   side, 
and  were  borne  away   on   the  air  in  thin 
fleecy  clouds.     The    dull,   booming,  heavy 
sound  of  cannon,  a  distant  roar  of  artillery, 
and  the  continued  and  rattlin<r  crash  of  bmali 


■   Hi 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[battle  of  matchin. 


arms  were  borne  towards  Braila  in  a  softened 
kind  of  roll  on  the  still,  sunny  air.  It  was 
there  that  the  battle  was  going  on ;  the  Rus- 
sians were  already  on  the  other  side,  and 
were  attacking  the  Turks. 

General  Zimmermann,  as  we  have  already 
said,  had  gone  to  Galatz,  where  he  had  col- 
lected a  sufficient  number  of  boats  to  carry 
over  about  1,800  men  at  a  time,  and  at 
daybreak  on  Friday,  June  21st,  that  number 
of  troops  was  embarked  and  started  across 
on  the  perilous  adventure.  The  distance 
to  be  traversed  in  boats  was  nearly  three 
miles,  and  when  land  was  finally  reached  it 
was  not  terra-firma  at  all,  for  the  ground 
on  the  edge  of  the  water  was  a  mere  marsh 
overgrown  with  reeds  and  rushes,  with  the 
water  all  over  it,  too  shallow  for  boats,  but 
deep  enough  to  make  the  further  progress 
most  difficult  on  foot.  It  had  been  hoped 
that  the  boats  might  manage  to  cross  two 
or  three  times  before  the  Turks  received 
warning ;  but  the  latter  apparently  had  re- 
ceived correct  information  of  the  projected 
movement,  and  when  the  first  boat-load  of 
Russians  arrived  they  met  with  a  warm  re- 
ception. 

A  glance  at  the  sketches  will  show  the 
Danube  running  in  two  separate  channels 
from  Hirsova  to  Braila.  The  old  channel, 
the  one  on  the  right,  makes  a  sharp  turn 
just  opposite  Braila  at  Matchin,  and  runs 
at  right  angles  with  its  former  course,  until 
it  rejoins  what  is  now  the  main  stream, 
three  or  four  hundred  yards  below  Braila. 
It  was  just  below  the  point  where  the  two 
streams  unite  that  the  bridge  had  been  con- 
structed ;  the  road  from  Matchin,  running 
along  the  lower  banks  of  the  old  channel, 
reaches  the  river  at  this  point ;  and,  in  fact, 
the  bridge  had  been  built  on  the  spot  where 
the  crossing  is  usually  effected  by  means  of 
a  ferry.  The  whole  valley  of  the  Danube 
here,  as  well  as  this  road,  was  still  for  the 
most  part  under  water.  Behind  Matchin, 
supposing  the  observer  to  be  standing  at 
Braila,  will  be  seen  the  range  of  moun- 
tains or  hills  extending  from  Matchin  in 
the  direction  of  Galatz,  opposite  which  place 
they  diminish  to  a  low  narrow  point,  or  pro- 
montory, which,  rising  out  of  the  water, 
appears  to  be  considerably  higher  than  it 
really  is.  It  was  just  opposite  this  point  that 
the  Russians  landed;  and  here  the  Turks 
were  posted  on  the  narrow  range  of  hills,  in 
front  of  the  very  spot  which  the  Russians  had 
chosen,  and  as  soon  as  they  came  within  range 
the  Turks  opened  upon  them  a  well-directed 


fire.  They  had  only  two  pieces  of  artillery, 
however,  and  the  Russians  were  sufficiently 
well  protected  by  thick  plank  bulwarks  that 
had  been  constructed  on  the  side  of  the 
boats ;  and  it  was  not  until  they  began  to 
disembark,  and  wade  through  the  water  knee- 
deep,  that  the  fire  of  the  Turks  commenced 
to  tell.  Then  the  fight  became  a  close  and 
desperate  one.  The  first  1,800  Russians 
who  arrived  were  obliged  to  maintain  them- 
selves against  a  very  superior  number  of 
Turks  until  the  return  of  the  boats  with  a 
second  lot,  by  taking  shelter  wherever  they 
could  find  it,  by  advancing  part  of  the  way 
up  the  heights  and  taking  cover  behind 
rocks,  and  otherwise  availing  themselves  of 
every  advantage  which  the  ground  offered. 
It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  that 
this  inferior  force  of  Russians  was  not  over- 
powered and  driven  back  into  the  water  by 
the  superior  numbers  of  the  Turks  ;  but  the 
fact  is  that  they  managed  to  hold  their 
ground  until  they  were  reinforced  by  the 
return  of  the  boats. 

The  hardest  part  of  the  fighting,  and  the 
greatest  loss  of  the  Russians,  occurred  at 
this  time,  and  their  position  was  a  most 
critical  and  trying  one,  as  they  had  abso- 
lutely no  means  of  retreat ;  they  had  either 
to  fight  or  to  surrender.  The  Turks  charged 
them  with  the  bayonet,  and  the  fight  became 
a  close  and  a  hot  one,   though   the  small 
number   engaged  on  both  sides  accounts  for 
the   small   loss   suffered  by   the   Russians. 
Several  Russians  were  killed  and  wounded 
by   bayonets,  and   even   the  two   or  three 
hundred  Turkish   cavalry   charged,  or  at- 
tempted to  charge  them,  and  some  of  the 
wounded  had  sabre-cuts,  to  show  how  close 
had   been    the    contact    with   the    daring 
Turkish  horsemen.      These  latter  were  Cir- 
cassians,  and  fought   like    tigers.       They 
succeeded  in  isolating  and  surrounding  an 
advanced   detachment   of  some   fifteen   or 
twenty  Russians,  and  cutting  them  off  to 
the  last  man  ;  and  in  spite  of  a  fire  that  was 
poured  in  upon  them,  and  which  caused 
them  very  severe  losses,  they  got  down  from 
their  horses,  the  better  to  follow  the  enemy 
in  the  marshy  ground.     Even  the  Russians 
said  that  the  Turks  behaved  with  the  utmost 
bravery  and  resolution  ;  but  as  soon  as  the 
boats  arrived  with  a  second  lot  the  tide  of 
battle  began  to  turn,  and  the  Turks,  from 
acting  upon  the  offensive,  were  soon  obliged 
to    defend    themselves.      Altogether,  two 
regiments,  or  about  6,000  Russians,  crossed 
over  in  the  morning  with  four  pieces  of 

147 


•      SI 


4A 


PEFEAT  OF  THE  TURKS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


11  I 


r 


I  - 


artille'-y,  and  the  Turks  began  soon  to  give 
way.  The  Russian  artillery,  however, 
proved  to  be  useless,  owing  to  the  nature  of 
the  ground,  which  was  so  marshy  that  it  was 
impossible  to  bring  the  cannon  into  action 
until  it  was  no  longer  needed.  As  soon  as 
the  two  regiments  had  landed  they  began  to 
push  the  Turks  hard,  and,  climbing  up  the 
heights  on  both  sides,  soon  succeeded  in 
carrying  them.  But  the  Turks  only  re- 
treated to  the  next  hill,  and  again  made 
a  stand  till  tliey  were  pursued  by  the 
Russians,  who,  after  driving  them  from  hill 
to  hill,  at  last  gained  the  heights  above 
Zizila,  where  the  combat  ceased,  the  Rus- 
sians having  lost  200  men  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

Tlie  Turks  had  only  3,000  men,  with  half 
a  battery  of  artillery,  and  about  300  cavalry. 
The  Russians  advanced  no  further  than 
Zizila  on  Friday ;  but  it  soon  became 
evident  that  as  soon  as  they  wished  to 
advance  to  Matchin  they  would  meet  with 
little  or  no  resistance.  About  three  o'clock 
^the  Turkish  cavalry  and  artillery  fell  back 
from  the  last  position,  opposite  the  heiglits 
of  Zizila,downthe  hill-side  towards  Matchin, 
at  full  gallop,  and  in  the  night,  people 
coming  over  from  that  town  informed  the 
Russians  that  the  Turks  had  abandoned  the 
place,  and  during  the  night  the  Cossacks 
entered  and  took  possession.  Matchin  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  Russians,  and  the  pas- 
sage of  the  two  army  corps  stationed  about 
Braila  was  thus  secured.  Nothing  further 
of  any  interest  occurred  during  the  night 
at  Braila.  The  cafes  and  the  restaurants, 
and  the  cafe  concerts — for  there  is  a  cafe 
concert  in  every  hotel — were  full  of  people, 
Russian  officers  and  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  all  discussing  the  events  of  the  day. 
The  streets  were  alive  with  people,  the 
tread  of  troops  marching  through  the  town, 
on  their  way  to  the  bridge,  to  begin  the 
crossing  as  soon  as  the  bridge  was  ready 
for  the  operation.  There  was,  however,  a 
good  deal  to  be  done  before  it  could  be 
made  safe  for  the  passage  of  large  bodies 
of  men  or  of  heavy  war  materials ;  and 
in  the  meantime  General  Zimmerman n, 
on  his  return  from  Galatz,  took  with  him 
three  steamers  from  Braila  loaded  with 
men,  each  steamer  towing  two  barges, 
which  were  lashed  one  on  each  side  of 
it.  These  barges  were  protected  on  the 
side  opposite  the  steamer  by  huge 
wooden  bulwarks,  built  up  to  the 
height  of  a  man,  with  loopholes  through 
148  ^ 


them,  quite  thick  and  strong  enough  for 
protection  against  a  bullet.     But  a  shell 
striking  them    would    have    made    sorry 
havoc  among  the  men  on  board.     Besides 
these  three  steamers  and  six  barges,  there 
were   any  number  of  small   rowing-boats 
which  had  started  some  hours  before.     In 
all.  General  Zimmermann  took  over  on  this 
expedition   about   2,000   men,   with    four 
pieces  of  artillery.     No  caution  was  used 
in  coming  up  to  the  place,  as  Matchin  was 
already  full  of  Russian  troops,  and  Russian 
sentinels  were  overlooking  the  town  and 
the  river,  where  only  twenty  hours  before 
had  been  seen  the  Turks.     As  soon  as  the 
inhabitants   saw   the    boats   coming   they 
formed  into  a  procession,  and  came  down 
to  the  shore  to  meet  them  with  banners, 
holy  pictures  taken  from  the  churches,  and 
various   other    religious    emblems.     They 
were  led  by  three  priests  and  some  other 
church  dignitaries  in  full  canonical  robes, 
and  chanting  a  hymn.     General  Zimmer- 
mann took  otr  his  cap  and  kissed  the  little 
wooden  cross  that  was  presented  to  him, 
while  with  a  bunch  of  green  leaves  they 
splashed  any  amount  of  holy  water  over 
his  head,  and  in  fact  almost  drenched  him. 
Each  of  those  who  followed  were  treated 
with  the  same  copious  shower-bath  ;  and  as 
the  day  was  hot,  and  all  were  in  a  terrible 
perspiration,  the  ordeal  was  by  no  means 
an    unpleasant    one.      The    people    then 
greeted     their    new     friends     with    loud 
hurrahs,  and   marched  after  them,  mani- 
festing the  most  extravagant  joy,  especially 
the  boys,  whose  delight  was  as  unbounded 
as   it    was   troublesome.     Nevertheless,  in 
spite   of    something  that    was    grotesque 
about   it,  all   this   reception  of  the  con- 
querors by  the  conquered,  of  the  invaders 
by  the  invaded,  had  a  profound  political 
significance.    These  people,  instead  of  look- 
ing  upon   the   Russians  as   enemies,  and 
conquerors,  and  invaders,  and  oppressors, 
hailed  them  with  delight  and  satisfaction 
as  their  deliverers  from  a  degrading  and 
terrible  bondage,  which  Europe  had  con- 
doned and  sustained  too  long.     These  same 
people  would  have  hailed  Englishmen  with 
the    same   delight   as   the   Russians,   had 
English  help  but  come  in  time. 

The  inhabitants  remaining  in  Matchin 
were  all  Christians;  the  Turkish  popu- 
lation, who  were  in  a  small  minority,  fled 
soon  after  the  declaration  of  war,  carrying 
away  all  their  worldly  goods.  A  great 
part  of  the  inhabitants,  too,  were  Rubsians, 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


FeNTRY  into  MATCHINi 


of  the  sect  known  as  the  Old  Believers, 
who  emigrated  from  their  own  country, 
and  settled  here  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube 
more  than  a  hundred  years  ago.  They 
still  speak  Russian,  and  wear  the  costume 
of  the  Russian  peasant ;  but  they  were  by 
no  means  delighted  at  the  arrival  of  their 
countrymen.  The  rest  of  the  inhabitants 
were  Bulgarians  and  Wallachians.  The 
town  had  a  strange,  lonely,  deserted,  dilapi- 
dated look,  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  houses  formerly  occupied  by  the 
Turkish  population  were  quite  untenanted, 
that  the  shops  had  not  yet  been  opened 
after  the  previous  day's  scare,  and  partly 
because  a  Turkish  town  always  has  this 
dreary,  tumble-down,  unkempt  appearance. 
Looking  into  the  windows  of  many  of  the 
Turkish  houses,  one  saw  the  empty,  aban- 
doned rooms  which  had  so  lately  been  in- 
habited, and  which  looked  all  the  sadder 
and  more  melancholy  because  of  the  thought 
that  came  unconsciously  into  one's  mind, 
that  their  owners  would  never  come  back 
again.  The  doors  of  the  mosque  were 
wide  open  as  usual ;  but  the  floors,  strewn 
with  dirty  matting,  dust,  and  litter,  showed 
that  it  had  not  been  used  for  many 
weeks.  The  verses  of  the  Koran  were  still 
written  on  bits  of  board  or  paper,  and  hung 
round  the  walls  as  though  they  were  ex- 
pecting the  Mussulman  worshippers  of 
Allah  back  again;  but  high  up  in  the 
minaret  beside  it,  whence  the  mullah  was 
wont  to  call  all  good  Mohammedans  to 
prayer,  stood  a  Russian  sentinel. 

TheKonak,the  residence  of  the  Kaimakan 
of  Matchin,  was  rather  a  large,  fine,  well- 
looking  house ;  but  not  a  stick  of  furniture 
of  any  kind  had  been  left;  all  had  been 
carried  off  in  the  hurried  fliijht  of  the 
Turks.  The  floor  of  nearly  every  room  was 
almost  a  foot  deep  with  papers  written  in 
Turkish,  torn  to  pieces  and  trampled  about 
on  the  floor.  They  were  the  archives  of 
Matchin,  the  records  of  titles  and  deeds  of 
probably  all  the  property  in  the  district. 
The  Turks,  it  is  well  known^  keep  their 
archives  and  records  on  scraps  of  paper  in 
bags  that  are  hung  on  nails  around  the 
walls,  and  these  papers  bad  been  emptied 
out  here  on  the  floor  and  destroyed  for  the 
sake  of  getting  the  bags  in  which  they 
wexe  contained.  Everything,  in  factj  about 
the  place  looked  as  though  the  Turks 
themselves  had  gone  away  never  expecting 
to  come  back  again. 

The   Russian    goldiers,   however,   found 

VOL.  IIL  X 


something  which  pleased  them  mightily. 
This  was  a  room  filled  half-way  up  to  the 
ceiling  with  tobacco,  old,  musty,  and  partly 
rotten>  which  they  carried  off  in  armfuls, 
like  hay,  with  the  greatest  glee  and  satis- 
faction. 

By  June  26th,  the  bridge  was  com- 
pleted. It  was  a  fine  piece  of  workj 
strong  enough  to  carry  over  the  heaviest 
artillery,  and  was  evidently  made  to  last  a 
long  time.  The  first  1,600  feet  from  the 
Roumanian  shore  was  trestle-work,  built 
along  over  the  railway,  which  before  the 
inundation  ran  down  to  the  edge  of  the 
river,  where  it  was  met  by  the  ferry-boat* 
Part  of  the  railway  had  been  swept  away^ 
and  even  that  which  remained  was  still 
under  water,  and  the  bridge  some  five  feet 
higher  than  the  railway  track  under  it.  The 
bridge  was  made  of  immense  wooden  trestles 
on  benches,  exceedingly  strong  and  solid^ 
put  down  on  sleepers  which  lay  along  on  the 
'ground.  Over  this  was  laid  a  roadway  of 
planks  wide  enough  for  one  waggon  or 
cannon  to  pass.  At  the  end  of  this  trestle- 
work  came  the  bridge  proper,  not  constructed 
on  pontoons,  but  on  immense  rafts.  The 
length  of  this  part  of  the  bridge  was  1,750 
feet,  and  there  were  fifty  rafts  in  all.  These 
rafts  were  composed  of  long  pieces  of  beau- 
tiful timber,  whole  trunks  of  trees  from  60 
to  80  feet  long  and  from  15  to  20  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  large  end.  Each  raft  was 
composed  of  eight  to  ten  pieces  solidly 
bolted  and  fastened  together,  and  anchored 
with  strong  hemp  cables  to  heavy  iron 
anchors  dropped  in  the  bottom  of  the  river. 
The  roadway  was  laid  over  this,  as  over  the 
trestles.  At  the  Turkish  end  was  formerly 
the  village  of  Getchet,  which  is  a  village  no 
more.  It  was  a  place  of  twenty-five  or  fifty 
houses,  not  one  of  which  is  left  standing. 
It  was  first  demolished  by  the  Russian 
batteries  to  drive  away  the  Turkish  out- 
post that  was  stationed  there;  and  when 
Captain  Klemenka,  the  builder  of  the 
bridge,  began  his  work,  he  found  it  neces- 
sary to  continue  the  roadway  to  the  other 
end,  which  was  for  the  most  part  under 
waterj  in  the  best  way  he  could.  He 
simply  used  the  debris  and  rubbish  of 
these  houses  and  walls  to  make  a  road, 
which  was  built  right  over  the  foundation 
of  the  houses.  In  no  other  way  could  he 
get  a  sufficiently  solid  foundation  on  which 
to  build.  The  road,  therefore,  went  zig- 
zagging about  from  house  to  house,  with  a 
piece  of  bridge  here  and  a  piece  of  trestle- 

149 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  DANUBE.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 

work  there,  pieced  into  the  chaussee  in  the 
most  curious  manner.  Altogether  it  was 
a  most  creditable  piece  of  work  so  far,  and 
did  Captain  Klemenka  great  honour. 
Across  this  bridge,  then,  Greneral  Zimmer- 
mann  led  the  14th  corps  into  the  Do- 
brudja,  the  Turks  falling  back  as  the  Rus- 
sians advanced  without  offering  any  serious 
resistance,  and  abandoning  to  them  the 
towns  of  Isaktcha,  Tuldscha,  Babadagh, 
and  Hirsova,  until  they  had  gained  the 
line  of  Czernavoda-Kustendji  and  Trajan's 
Wall,  which,  however,  they  also  surrendered 
after  a  short  resistance,  and  abandoned  it 
to  General  Zimmermann. 

By  this  operation  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
Dobrudja  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Russians 
by  July  19th,  and  the  Turks  effectually  pre- 
vented from  pouring  in  troops  or  ammuni- 
tion by  way  of  the  Danube  or  Kustendji, 
had  they  even  tried  to  do  so  ;  which,  however, 
they    did  not,    preferring   to   follow    the 


[A.D.  1877. 


example  of  Omar  Pasha  during  the  Crimean 
war,  and  endeavour  to  effect  a  diversion  in 
the  rear  of  the  Russian  army  in  the  Caucasus 
and  Asia  Minor.  This  endeavour  was  as 
abortive  as  that  of  Omar  Pasha's,  and  from 
similar  causes.  A  reference  to  the  following 
sketch  C  shows  the  position  of  the  14th 
corps  under  General  Zimmermann  on  July 
19.  Trajan's  Wall,  Czernavoda,  and  Medji- 
dieh,  were  in  his  hands,  and  Kustendji  was 
effectually  blockaded.  Not  only  that,  but 
the  troops  in  the  Quadrilateral  were  also 
prevented  from  advancing  against  the  Rus- 
sians before  Rustzuk  and  on  the  Lom  ; 
so  that  although  General  Zimmermann  was 
unable  to  acquire  much  glory  on  the  field, 
he  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the 
success  of  the  Russian  arms  further  west. 
To  the  operations  in  this  direction  we  must 
now  turn  our  attention,  and  show  how  the 
second  and  most  important  passage  of  the 
Danube  was  effected. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE  SECOND   PASSAGE  OP  THE   DANUBE. 


Whilst  General  Zimmermann  was  success- 
fully carrying  out  the  plan  of  campaign  in 
the  extreme  eastern  portion  of  the  field  of 
war,  the  arrival  of  the  Czar  in  Roumania, 
and  the  increased  stir  and  bustle  amongst 
the  troops  echelonned  along  the  line  of  the 
Danube,  showed  that  an  attempt  to  effect 
the  passage  of  the  river  by  the  gros  of  the 
army  might  be  expected  at  any  moment. 
The  question  was,  where  ?     At  a  distance 
from  the  spot,  and  taking  into  consideration 
the  length  of  the  line  occupied,  it  might 
at  first  sight  appear  almost  impossible  to 
have  fixed  upon  the  spots  at  which  the  at- 
tempt would  perforce  have  to  be  made.  But 
on  the  spot,  and  knowing  the  peculiarities 
of  the  river  ;  and,  besides  this,  knowing  at 
which  points   the  Russians  had   collected 
their  pontooning  material,  it  was  not  diffi- 
cult to  say  with  absolute  certainty  that  the 
passage  would  have  to  be  effected  at  one  or 
two  of  half-a-dozen  points.     Still,  though 
this  was  known,  though  everybody  who  had 
followed  the  setting  up  of  the  Russian  troops 
knew  that  the  passage  would  have  to  be 
effected  within  a  certain  distance  of  Rahova, 
150 


Nicopoli,  or  Sistova,  it  was  yet  impossible 
to  say  .at  which  of  these  three  points  the 
real  passage  would  be  undertaken.     Owing 
to  the  way  in  which  the  Russian  and   Rou- 
manian troops  were  distributed,  and  owing, 
also,  to  the  large  numbers  of  men  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Russian  generals,  an  imposing 
feint  might  be  made  at  one  or  two  of  the 
above-named  points,  whilst  the  real  passage 
was  effected  at  the  third.     Herein  lay  the 
source  of  weakness  in  so  long  a  line  of  de- 
fence  as  the  Danube — a  weakness    which 
could  not  be  remedied  except  by  the  employ- 
ment of  as  large  a  number  of  men  as  pos- 
sessed by  the  enemy,  or  the  possession  of  a 
series  of  fortresses  commanding  the  inter- 
vening spaces — as,  for  instance  along  the 
line  from  Varna  to  Rustzuk,  with  its  strong 
positions  at  Schumla,  Rasgrad,and  Silistria. 
But  none  of  these  advantages  were  enjoyed 
by  the  Turks.     They  neither  had  the  men, 
nor  had  they  the  strong  places.     The   for- 
tresses which   they  did  possess,  Widdin  and 
Belgradjik  in  thewest,  and  the  Quadrilateral 
strongholds  in  the  east,  were  separated  from 
I  each   other  by  a  wide  expanse  of  difficult 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[zimmermann's  positions. 


C — Position  on  July  19. 


Kilia. 
o 


Galatz.    o 


Kilia  Arm. 


Sulina  Arm. 


I    L- 


o 

Isaktcha. 


o 

Tuldsha. 


o 

Sulina. 


St.  George's  Arm. 


Braila.    o 


<    Bridge. 
I  o    Matchm. 


a 
o 


3 


r- 


o 
OQ 

o 

9^ 


o   Uirsova. 


Czernavoda. 


o 


08 
O 

M 
o 

03 


I 


o 

Medjidieh. 


I 


Kustendji. 


7\)rpedoes* 


Russiant, 


151 


•*     m 


PLANS  OF  THE  TURKS.] 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


[A.D.  1S77. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


TZIMNITZA, 


and  practically  roadless  territory,  liable  to 
be  broken  into  at  any  of  the  points  already 
mentioned.  Yet  had  there  but  been  any 
tolerable  means  of  communication  between 
these  two  groups  of  fortresses,  had  the  Turk- 
ish army  possessed  any  degree  of  mobility, 
and  had  there  been  a  sufficient  number  of 
men — say  120,000  good  troops,  besides  the 
garrisons — the  Russians  might  safely  have 
been  left  to  cross  at  any  of  the  points  be- 
tween Rustzuk  and  Widdin,  whilst  the  Turk- 
ish field  army  held  a  central  position  midway 
between  the  two  points  of  support  at  Widdin 
and  in  the  Quadrilateral.  Or,  premising 
the  degree  of  mobility  necessary,  Abdul 
Kerim  Pasha's  plan  of  concentrating  his 
army  partly  in  the  Quadrilateral  and  partly 
at  Widdin,  in  order  to  march  on  either  flank 
of  the  invading  army,  was  not  badly  con- 
ceived. In  fact,  it  was  the  natural  defence  ; 
but  without  sufficient  material,  no  commis- 
sariat worthy  of  the  name,  scarcely  any 
means  of  transport  beyond  bullock-carts,  the 
ultimate  result  was  but  too  evident,  however 
much,  in  isolated  and  unforeseen  cases,  the 
onward  march  of  the  Russians  might  be 
impeded. 

Theoretically,  Abdul  Kerim  Pasha's  plan 
was  as  excellent  as  it  was  transparent.  It 
was  too  simple  to  bear  out  the  "  mystery  " 
with  which  he  enveloped  it.  His  centre 
was  south  of  the  Balkans.  Here  the  Balkan 
army  was  supposed  to  be  lying  in  wait  for 
the  Russian  army,  which,  as  soon  as  it  was 
engaged  in  the  mountains,was  to  be  attacked 
by  it  in  front,  whilst  Osman  Pasha  fell 
upon  the  Russian  right  and  the  Quadri- 
lateral forces  upon  the  Russian  left. 

Against  so  transparent  a  plan  it  was  easy 
for  the  Russians  to  make  their  dispositions. 
All  they  had  to  do  was  to  protect  their  right 
and  left  with  sufficient  forces,  and  send  for- 
ward their  offensive  army  across  the  Balkans 
in  sufficient  strength  to  overpower  the 
resistance  of  the  Balkan  army. 

This  resistance  might  have  been  rendered 
most  formidable,  and  could  have  been  ef- 
fected in  one  of  two  ways,  Which  would  have 
been  the  better,  depended  upon  the  number 
of  men  and  the  material  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Turks.  What  this  was,  is  not  even  yet 
known,  and  in  all  probability  never  will  be. 
But  the  alternatives  remain  the  same ;  and 
the  blame  for  not  adopting  one  of  these  two 
alternative  modes  of  defence — without  which 
Abdul  Kerim  Pasha's  plan  had  no  sense — 
^Iso  remains  the  same,  no  matter  on  whom 
^he  blame  may  rest. 
\52 


The  one  mode  was  to  occupy  the  passes 
of  the  Balkans  at  all  the  chief  points  where 
the  passage  of  an  army  with  its  baggage 
was  possible,  and  to  fortify  each  one,  from 
the  entrance  of  the  pass  to  its  debouchment 
in  the  plains  beyond,  with  a  series  of  earth- 
works, trenches,  and  redoubts  in  successive 
lines,  upon  which  the  defending  force  could 
fall  back,  step  by  step,  as  the  invading 
tide  rolled  on.  By  this  means  a  compara- 
tively small  number  of  men  might  hold  a  far 
greater  number  at  bay  for  a  long  time,  and 
inflict  tremendous  losses  on  the  enemy,  who 
would  gradually  become  entangled  in  the 
mountains,  and  run  considerable  danger 
from  attacks  on  either  flank;  and,  if  these 
flank  attacks  were  successful,  from  an  at- 
tack in  his  rear. 

This  plan  would  in  any  case  recommend 
itself,  unless,  indeed,  the  defending  army 
were  to  be  in  such  force,  and  so  well  pro- 
vided, that  it  would  be  no  risk  to  stake  the 
fortunes  of  the  campaign  on  a  single  battle. 

In  this  case  the  other  alternative  might 
have  been  adopted.  This  was,  to  allow  the 
enemy  to  traverse  the  passes,  virtually  un- 
molested, until  he  began  to  debouch  with 
his  van-guard  into  tlie  plains,  and  then 
attack  in  force  whilst  his  rear-guard  was 
still  entangled  in  the  mountains.  This  is 
certainly  the  most  eff'ective  way  of  de- 
fending the  barrier  formed  by  a  chain  of 
mountains,  if  the  defending  force  is  large 
enoufjh  and  warlike  enou*j:h  to  en<j:a2:e  lar^re 
bodies  of  men.  The  defenders  enjoy  all  the 
advantage  offered  by  a  position  in  the  plain, 
whilst  the  enemy  is  still  struggling  with  the 
difficulties  of  the  ground  he  is  traversing. 
Whilst  laboriously  descending  from  the 
heights,  and  forced  more  or  less  to  confine 
himself  to  one  detinite  road,  the  defenders 
can  concentrate  their  forces  on  any  point, 
and  throw  them  upon  the  more  or  less 
confused  mass  of  infantry,  provided  the 
cavalry  forming  the  advanced  guard  has 
been  effectually  thrown  back  or  cut  off. 
But  if  the  defending  force  is  not  present  in 
sufficient  numbers,  and  properly  handled, 
then,  of  course,  the  disaster  is  complete,  and 
a  strong  line  of  defence  lost  for  ever. 

With  a  small  body  of  men  such  as  the 
Turks  possessed,  they  should  have  adopted 
the  first  plan  of  defence,  and  have  contested 
the  passage  of  the  Balkans  at  every  step. 
Even  then  they  would  not  have  been  in  a 
much  worse  plight  than  they  found  them- 
selves after  the  Russians  had  gained  the 
Qrest  of  the  mountains^   and   they  would 


have  inflicted  far  greater  losses  on  the 
enemy. 

And,  even  with  a  far  larger  body  of 
troops,  they  would  have  done  better  to  adopt 
this  step-by-step  line  of  defence.  There 
would  always  have  been  time  afterwards  to 
strike  a  decisive  blow  if  the  opportunity 
offered,  and  to  have  routed  the  wearied 
enemy  in  the  plains  of  Roumelia. 

Such,  in  a  few  words,  is  what  the  Turks 
might  have  done.  We  will  now  let  the 
facts  speak  for  themselves,  always  keeping 
in  mind  the  fact,  that  the  attacking  army 
had  to  penetrate  the  Balkans  and  secure 
either  flank  from  attack ;  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand — having  lost  the  opportunity  of 
attacking  the  Russians  in  Roumania — the 
Turks  had  to  drive  in  both  flanks  of  the 
Russian  army  and  force  back  its  centre. 
Unless  this  could  be  done,  the  campaign, 
north  of  the  Balkans  at  least,  was  irretriev- 
ably lost.  A  reference  to  the  following 
sketch  D,  shows  the  main  positions  of  the 
Turkish  and  Russian  forces  on  June  26,  27. 
The  advanced  posts  and  isolated  detach- 
ments of  the  Turks  are  not  given.  They 
existed  in  greater  or  lesser  strength  at 
Sistova,  Nicopoli,  Rahova,  Nikub,  Biela, 
and  Tirnova,  at  Osman  Bazar  and  Eski 
Djuma  in  the  east,  and  at  Plevna,  Lovatz, 
and  Selvi  in  the  west.  At  Rustzuk  there 
were  also  several  gun-boats  of  the  Danube 
flotilla.  To  provide  against  these  vessels 
interferinor  with  the  brid<i:es  which  had  to 
be  constructed  west  of  Rustzuk,  it  was 
necessary  to  lay  a  line  of  torpedoes  in  the 
river.  The  place  selected  for  this  operation 
was  Parapan,  a  Roumanian  village  some  ten 
miles  west  of  Rustzuk.  The  indefatigable 
Skobeloif  was  selected  for  this  exploit,  which 
he  proceeded  to  carry  out  on  the  night  of 
June  20.  The  better  part  of  the  night  was 
spent  in  getting  down  through  the  marshes 
and  bulrushes  to  the  water's  edge,  and  the 
real  work  of  laying  the  torpedoes  did  not 
begin  until  daylight.  It  was  a  tedious 
process,  for  several  islands  at  this  point 
encumber  the  bed  of  the  stream ;  but  it  was 
successfully  carried  out,  and  for  a  time 
Skobeloff  and  his  little  party  stood  on  the 
Turkish  bank.  The  work  was  interfered 
with  by  the  lurkish  batteries  and  gun-boats 
which  had  steamed  up  from  Rustzuk,  and 
it  was  in  dealing  with  one  of  them  that 
Lieutenant  Stridlin,  in  a  tiny  steam-launch, 
displayed  conspicuous  gallantry  in  driving 
tliem  off".  After  his  dashing  attempt  the 
two  gun-boats  sheered  off  for  reinforcements, 


and  the  work  was  completed.  But  after  it 
had  been  done,  and  when  as  yet  Skobelofi^s 
men  had  not  got  out  of  range  on  the  island 
of  Crura  Kame,  a  couple  of  Turkish  field 
batteries  arrived  at  a  trot  from  Rustzuk 
and  opened  fire  on  them  from  the  opposite 
bank.  Their  tardy  arrival  did  not  indicate 
much  alertness :  at  the  latest  the  alarm 
must  have  been  given  by  daybreak,  and 
they  did  not  fire  their  first  shot  until  after 
two.  Owing  to  the  presence  of  the  gun- 
boats on  the  watch  lower  down  stream,  it 
was  thought  well  to  get  the  little  steam- 
launch  through  the  bulrushes  to  the  bank, 
and  to  bring  it  away  on  an  ox-cart.  This 
operation  had  to  be  carried  out  under  the 
fire  of  the  Turkish  field-guns,  and  the  ca- 
sualties were  one  officer  killed  and  seven 
men  wounded :  in  return  for  which,  the  river 
was  blocked  most  effectually  and  the  way 
barred  from  Rustzuk  westwards,  as  will  be 
seen  on  referring  to  sketch  D.  The  Turks, 
however,  imagined  that  the  Russians  had 
intended  to  seize  the  island  of  Gura  Kame, 
and  were  not  a  little  elated  at  their  sup- 
posed victory  when  they  saw  the  Russians 
fall  back  and  retreat  to  the  opposite  bank. 

These  precautions  having  been  taken,  a 
general  cannonade  was  commenced  all  along 
the  river  by  the  Russian  and  Roumanian 
batteries,  in  order  to  conceal  the  real  ad- 
vance, which  it  had  been  decided  should 
take  place  at  Zimnitza,  opposite  Sistova, 
lying  in  and  among  the  cliffs  which  here 
border  the  Danube  on  the  south.  Below 
Sistova,  for  a  distance  of  two  miles,  the 
bank  remains  steep,  the  heights  partially 
well  wooded  along  their  lower  slopes,  whilst 
the  crest  is  bare  and  denuded  of  vegetation- 
But  at  the  distance  of  two  miles  below 
Sistova  there  is  a  creek  in  the  line  of  cliff 
formed  by  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream 
which  here  falls  into  the  Danube. 

Above,  and  to  the  right  of  this  creek,  was 
a  small  camp  of  Turkish  soldiers,  fixed 
there,  doubtless,  in  consciousness  of  the 
weakness  of  the  point;  and  above  the  camp 
on  the  sky-line  was  a  battery  of  heavy  guns. 
Between  the  creek  and  Sistova  several  can- 
non were  disposed  under  cover  of  the  trees, 
and  immediately  on  the  proper  right  of  the 
town  was  a  small  open  earthwork,  armed 
with  a  few  field-guns.  Sistova  was  an  open 
town,  and  not  garrisoned  by  more  than  a 
brigade  of  Turkish  troops  ;  but  then  it  was 
not  distant  more  than  a  long  day's  march 
from  either  Rustzuk  or  Nicopoli.  So  much 
for  the  Turkish  side.     About  Zimnitza  the  / 

153 


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POSITIONS  ON  JUNE  27.] 


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[A.D.  1877. 


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154 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[passage  at  zimnitza. 


Roumanian  bank  is  high ;  but  between  it 
and  the  Danube  proper,  which  flows  to  the 
Turkish  bank,  was  a  broad  tract,  partly  of 
green   meadow,    partly  of  sand,    partly  of 
tenacious  mud,    the  whole  just  emerging 
from  inundation.  This  flat  was  cut  off  from 
Zimnitza  by  a  narrow  arm  of  the  Danube, 
so  that  it  was  really  an  island.     A  raised 
road  and  bridge   leading  from   the   town 
across  the  flats,  to  the  landing-place  on  the 
Danube,  had  been  wrecked  by  the  floods. 
It  was  necessary,  therefore,  for  the  Russians 
to  gain  access  to  the  flats  by  a  short  pontoon 
bridge.      These   flats   were   still   in   many 
places  imder  water,  or  scored  by  intersecting 
streams,   and  studded   with  impracticable 
swamps,  so  that  the  road  through  them  was 
difficult  and  tortuous.      They   were   quite 
bare,  except  that  at  the  lower  end,  exactly 
opposite  the  creek  on  the  Turkish  side,  there 
was  a  wood  of  willows  and  alders  of  consi- 
derable extent,  and  capable  of  aff'ording  a 
good  deal  of  cover.     The  Danube  all  along 
the  Sistova  position  is  about  sixteen  hundred 
paces  wide,  and  flows  very  rapidly.     The 
ground   on  the   Roumanian   side  shows  a 
sloping  face  to  the  higher  Turkish  bank, 
so  that  it  was  impossible  to  bring  troops 
into   Zimnitza   unobserved.     Hence,   pro- 
bably,  the   Turkish   readiness,  such  as   it 
was.  The  attempt  was,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
be  of  the  nature  of  a  surprise,  and  it  was 
necessary,  therefore,  to  postpone  the  disposi- 
tions till  after  nightfall.     The  Dragomiroff 
division  had  the  post  of  honour,  and  was 
expected  to  make  a  footing  on  the  Turkish 
side  by   early  morning.     The  Mirski  divi- 
sion, in  support,  was  to  make  a  night  march 
from  Lissa,  half-way  between  Zimnitza  and 
Turn-Magurelli,    and    be   in    position   at 
Zimnitza    at    7   A.M.,    to    follow    the    1st 
division  across  in  the  event  of  its  success. 
In  the  event  of  failure,  it  was  to  take  up 
the  fighting,   and  force  a  passage   at  all 
sacrifices ;  for  the  Archduke  Nicholas  had 
announced  that  the  river  should  be  crossed 
at  Zimnitza,  cost  what  it  might. 

With  the  darkness  General  Dragomiroff" 
had  begun  his  dispositions.  The  first  work 
was  to  plant  a  row  of  field-guns  all  along 
the  edge  of  the  flats,  to  sweep  the  opposite 
banks.  This  was  done  while  his  infantry 
was  being  marched  over  the  flats  down  into 
the  cover  of  the  willow  wood.  The  darkness 
and  the  obstructions  were  both  so  great  that 
all  was  not  ready  till  the  first  glimmer  of 
grey  dawn.  There  was  no  bridge,  but  a 
number  of  pontoon  boats,  capable  of  hold- 


ing from  fifteen  to  forty  men  each.     These 
were  dragged  on  carriages  through  the  mud, 
and  launched  in  the  darkness  from  under 
the  spreading  boughs   of  the  willow-trees. 
The  troops  embarked,  and  pushed  across  as 
the  craft  arrived,  under  the   command  of 
Major-General   Yolchine,     whose    brigade 
consisted  of  the  regiments  of  Valnisk  and 
Minsk,  the  53rd  and  54th  of  the  line.    The 
boats  put  off"  singly,  rowing  across  for  the 
little  creek ;  and  later  on  the  little  steam-tug 
Annette  was  brought  into  requisition.    But 
the  Turks  were  prepared  as  much  as  lay  in 
their  power.     Their   few   cannon   at  once 
opened   fire  on   the  boats,  on  the  hidden 
masses  among  the  willows,  and  on  the  co- 
lumns marching  across  the  flat.     Nor  was 
this  all.     From  the  slopes  above  the  creek 
there  came  at  the  boats  a  smart  infantry 
tire,  whilst  the  Turkish  riflemen  were  hold- 
ing the  landing-place.     Yolchine,  however, 
succeeded  in  landing  his  men,  and  bade  them 
lie  down  in  the  mud.     Several  were  down 
previously  with  Turkish  bullets.    He  then 
opened  a  skirmishing  fire  to  cover  the  land- 
ing of  the  boats  that  followed.     One  by  one 
these  landed  their  men,  who  followed  the 
example  of  the  first  boat-load.     At  length 
enough  had  accumulated ;  and  when  Sko- 
beloff  arrived,  Yolchine  bade  his  men  fix 
bayonets,  stand  up,  and  follow  their  officers. 
There  was  a  rush  and  a  cheer  that  rang 
louder  in  the  grey  dawn  than  the  Turkish 
volley  that  answered.     But  that  volley  was 
not  fired  in  vain ;  for  though  Yolchine's 
skirmishers  followed  them  doggedly  some 
distance  up  the  slope,  they  were  unable  for 
some  time  to  make  any  way.     Incessantly, 
however,  the  craft  moved  to  and  fro  from 
shore  to  shore.     The  Russian  guns  had  at 
once  opened  when  the  Turkish  fire  showed 
that  there  was  no  surprise  ;   but  they  could 
not  silence  the  Turkish  guns,  whose  shells 
kept  falling  in  the  water,  whistling  through 
the  willows,and  bursting  amongthe  columns 
on  the  flat.  One  shell  from  a  mountain  gun 
fell  into  a  boat  containing  two  guns,  their 
gunners,  and  the  commandant  of  the  bat- 
tery.    The  boat  was  swamped  at  once,  and 
all  on  board  perished.     This  was  the  only 
serious  casualty ;    but   numerous    Russian 
soldiers  were  falling  on  both  sides  of  the 
river.     Nevertheless,   the  work  was  going 
steadily  on,  and  soon  after  seven,  the  whole 
brigade  of  Yolchine  had  reached  the  other 
side,  and  Dragomiroff"  himself  had  crossed. 
The  Turks,  however,   would  not  give  in; 
and  in  spite  of  the  artillery  and  musketry 

155 


*rHE  FEINT  AT  NICOPOU.] '  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


PFIGHT  WITH  A  MONITOR. 


fire  poured  in  upon  them,  they  clung  to 
their  posts  and  their  guns  with  wonderful 
staunchness,  amidst  clouds  of  dust  thrown 
up  by  the  shells  which  burst  around  them. 
!Nor  were  their  single  pieces  among  the  trees 
wholly  quiet.  Shells  dropped  fast  among 
the  Russian  troops  on  the  flat,  and  made 
the  ambulance-men  hurry  about  with  bran- 
cards, or  plod  towards  the  ambulances  with 
their  heavy  blood-sodden  burdens. 

But  the  weight  of  metal  commanded  by 
the  Russians,  and  the  great  superiority  of 
numbers,  soon  began  to  tell  against  the 
handful  of  Turkish  troops;  and  whilst  Ge- 
neral Yolchine  gradually  pressed  them  back, 
Prince  Mirski  began  the  passage  with  his 
division,  consisting  of  the  33rd,  34th,  35th, 
and  36th  regiments,  and  soon  after  three 
P.M.  on  June  27th,  the  Russian  troops 
crowned  the  lower  crest  of  the  hills  south 
of  Sistova,  and  occupied  the  town  itself; 
the  Turks  falling  back  partly  to  Nicopoli, 
and  partly  to  Tirnova.  The  losses  of  the 
Russians  amounted,  according  to  the  official 
returns,  to  240  killed  and  410  wounded. 

Now,  although  the  garrison  of  Sistova  had 
not  been  surprised  by  the  sudden  attack  of 
the  Russians,  it  is  certain  that  the  Turkish 
commanders-in-chief  had  been  deceived. 
Whether  Abdul  Kerim  or  Osman  Pasha  is 
to  blame  for  having  been  thus  misled,  there 
are  as  yet  no  data  to  show.  But  it  remains 
a  fact  that  the  Turks  expected  the  real  pas- 
sage to  be  effected  at  Turn-Magurelli, 
opposite  Nicopoli ;  and  it  was  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  this  place,  between  it  and 
Rahova,  that  Osman  Pasha  was  lying  in 
wait  with  the  gros  of  his  army. 

The  report  that  the  passage  would  be 
pflfccted  at  Nicopoli  had  been  so  persistently 
t^pread  that  it  could  not  but  have  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Turks,  who,  as  we  have 
said,  concentrated  a  large  number  of  troops 
at  this  point.  The  Russians,  learning  this, 
still  further  kept  up  the  deception  by 
making  a  serious  demonstration  against 
Nicopoli,  which  they  would  have  changed 
into  a  real  attack  had  a  fair  chance  of  suc- 
cess offered  ;  so  that  up  to  the  last  moment 
it  was  uncertain  which  point  would  be  the 
real  crossing — Zimnitza  or  Nicopoli.  The 
emperor  and  his  staff,  and  the  grand  duke 
and  his  staff,  went  ostentatiously  to  Magu- 
relli — a  fact  which  soon  became  known  to 
the  Turks,  who  took  it,  together  with  other 
indications — the  building  of  a  bridge,  col- 
lecting a  large  number  of  boats,  &c. — as 
evidence  that  this  would  be  the  real  point ; 
156 


but  the  Russian  forces  had  been  so  placed 
in  the  villages  in  the  neighbourhood,  that 
they  could  with  equal  ease  fall  upon  Sistova 
or  Nicopoli ;  and  they  had  besides  collected 
a  large  number  of  boats  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Aluta,  a  little  way  above  Magurelli; 
and  as  there  was  a  spot  very  favourable  for 
passing  by  boats,  the  feint  would  have  been 
turned  into  a  real  attempt  had  it  not  been 
discovered  that  the  Turks  had  already  con- 
centrated 30,000  men  at  this  point  under 
Osman  Pasha,  thereby  necessarily  weaken- 
ing Sistova. 

That  the  Russians  meant  to  cross  at  Ni- 
copoli had  they  been  able,  and  had  not  the 
passage  at  Sistova  been  successful,  was  also 
evident  from  their  havin^:  commenced  the 
construction  of  a  bridge  of  very  much  the 
same  kind  of  work  as  at  Braila,  with  the 
exception  that  the  trestle-work  and  road 
were  constructed  on  the  Roumanian  side 
instead  of  on  the  Turkish.  The  materials 
for  the  bridge  were  collected^  and  on 
Wednesday  night,  at  the  same  time  as  the 
passage  at  Simnitza,  a  demonstration  was 
made  which  turned  out  to  be  only  a  demon- 
stration, but  which  had  all  the  appearance 
of  a  real  attack.  A  fierce  cannonade  was 
begun  in  the  afternoon,  which  lasted  till 
nightfall,  when  there  was  a  slight  pause  j 
after  which  the  firing  was  recommenced  with 
redoubled  fury.  Soon  the  darkness  was 
lit  up  by  the  red  flames  of  burning  houses 
on  the  opposite  shore  of  Nicopoli,  of  which 
there  were  several  standing  in  a  row,  each 
looking  in  the  distance  like  an  angry  burn- 
ing coal  ;  while  there  hung  over  the  town  ot 
Turn-Magurelli,  what  first  appeared  to  be  a 
monster  comet  with  its  head  on  the  horizon, 
and  its  tail  reaching  to  the  zenith,  extending 
across  the  sky  in  a  broad  flashy  white  light. 
It  was  an  electric  light  employed  by  the 
Russians  to  light  the  other  shore,  show  the 
position  of  the  Turks,  and  thus  enable  the 
Russian  fire  protecting  the  passage  to  be 
properly  directed.  Its  pure  white  light 
formed  a  strange  contrast  with  the  red 
glare  of  the  burning  houses. 

As  the  night  wore  on,  the  roar  of  artillery 
and  the  boom  of  guns  became  louder  and 
louder,  until  the  whole  valley  of  the  Danube 
rang  and  echoed  with  the  contending  fire 
of  the  Russians  and  Turks,  the  Russians 
firing  from  three  batteries  above  the  town, 
composed,  two  of  mortars,  and  one  uf  heavy 
breech-loading  24-pounders,  whilst  the 
Turks  answered  with  might  and  main,  sup- 
posing they  were  preventing  the  passage. 


while  this  passage  was  being  quietly  effected 
at  Zimnitza  with  scarcely  more  difficulty 
than  at  Braila.  Still  some  attempt  was 
made  to  throw  across  a  bridge  to  the  right 
in  front  of  Nicopoli,  which  bridge  the 
Turks  promptly  destroyed ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  a  move  also  was  made  above  the  town, 
as  if  to  cross  in  force  in  the  boats  collected 
there.  The  corps  marched  down  to  the  river- 
side, and  at  twelve  o'clock  four  batteries  drove 
down  to  the  road  opposite  Nicopoli,  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  infantry  having  pre- 
ceded them  earlier  in  the  evening.  But  all 
resulted  in  nothing.  The  Turks  showed  in 
such  force  on  the  opposite  side,  and  were 
evidently  so  well  prepared  there,  that  the 
risk  was  deemed  too  great,  too  serious  a 
sacrifice  of  life  being  required  to  effect  a 
passage.  It  was  thus  decided  to  wait  the 
result  of  the  affair  at  Simnitza.  That 
having  proved  successful,  the  9th  corps  re- 
ceived orders  to  march  from  Turn-Magurelli 
to  Zimnitza,  only  a  few  troops  remaining 
behind  to  protect  the  positions  and  batteries. 
A  footing  on  the  Turkisii  bank  having  thus 
been  gained  at  a  remarkably  small  expendi- 
ture of  life,  the  construction  of  a  bridge  at 
Sistova  and  Zimnitza  was  at  once  proceeded 
with.  This  operation  was  not  disturbed  in 
any  way  by  the  Turks,  except  by  the  com- 
mander of  one  of  the  Turkish  gun-boats 
which  had  succeeded  in  making  its  way  up 
the  river,  and  gave  the  Russians  a  good  deal 
of  trouble,  showing  an  amount  of  activity 
and  energy  very  unusual  with  the  Turks, 
continually  shelling  the  Russian  batteries, 
and  destroying  the  boats.  The  Russians 
.accordingly  determined  to  destroy  it. 

Four  torpedo  boats  were  prepared,  and 
sent  against  the  gun-boat.  Hiding  behind 
an  island,  they  laid  in  wait,  and  when  the 
vessel  was  steaming  past  they  suddenly 
darted  out  from  their  hiding-place,  and  bore 
down  on  her  in  broad  daylight.  This  vessel, 
it  soon  became  evident,  was  handled  and 
commanded  in  a  very  different  manner  from 
others  with  which  the  Russians  had  had  to 
deal.  With  wonderful  quickness  and  skill 
she  was  prepared  for  action,  and,  nothing 
daunted  by  the  fate  of  others,  made  a  suc- 
cessful defence  against  her  four  terrible  ene- 
mies, a  defence  of  which  the  Russians  spoke 
with  the  greatest  admiration.  Her  com- 
mander began  by  likewise  thrusting  out 
torpedoes  on  the  end  of  long  spars,  thus 
threatening  the  boats  with  the  danger  of 
being  blown  into  the  air  first,  at  the  same 
time  opening  a  terrible  fire  on  them  with 

VOL.  III.  X 


small  arms  and  mitrailleuse.  He  besides 
manoeuvred  his  boat  in  a  most  skilful  man- 
ner, with  a  dexterity  and  address  which, 
with  the  torpedoes  protecting,  made  it 
impossible  for  the  Russian  boats  to  approach 
sufficiently  near.  He  besides  tried  to  run 
them  down,  and  very  nearly  succeeded  in 
doing  so.  The  reason  soon  became  evident. 
The  commander  was  a  European,  and,  as  the 
Russians  believed,  an  Englishman,  who 
directed  the  movements  from  the  deck.  He 
was  plainly  visible  all  the  time,  and  was  a 
tall  man,  with  a  long  fair  beard  parted  in 
the  middle.  He  stood  with  his  hands  in 
his  pockets,  giving  orders  in  the  calmest 
manner  possible. 

The  torpedo  boats  continued  their  at- 
tempts for  more  than  an  hour,  flitting  round 
the  gun-boat  and  seeking  the  opportunity  to 
get  at  her,  but  without  success.  The  gun- 
boat was  equally  active  in  trying  to  run 
them  down,  avoiding  a  collision  by  quick 
and  skilful  movements,  backing  and  ad- 
vancing, turning,  and  ploughing  the  water 
into  foam  as  she  pursued  or  avoided  her 
tiny  but  dangerous  adversaries — a  lion  at- 
tacked by  rats.  At  one  moment  one  launch, 
in  rapid  manoeuvres,  found  itself  between 
the  gun- boat  and  the  shore,  with  no  great 
distance  between  them.  The  gun-boat's  head 
was  in  the  other  direction,  but  her  com- 
mander instantly  began  backing  her  down 
on  the  torpedo  boat,  with  the  intention  of 
crushing  it  against  the  bank.  Just  at  this 
moment  the  engineer  of  the  launch  was 
wounded.  There  was  some  confusion  and 
delay  in  starting  the  engines,  while  the 
current  carried  her  head  aground  in  such  a 
position  as  to  render  escape  impossible.  One 
of  the  crew  sprang  out  into  the  water  and 
pushed  from  the  ground,  while  another 
started  the  engines  just  in  time  for  her  to 
escape  ;  but  the  shave  was  very  close.  One 
Russian  officer  sprang  ashore,  and  seeing 
the  captain  of  the  gun-boat  coolly  standing 
on  the  deck  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets, 
emptied  his  revolver  at  him,  three  shots, 
at  a  distance  of  not  more  than  forty  feet. 
The  captain  of  the  gun-boat,  in  answer,  took 
off  his  hat  and  bowed,  not  having  received 
even  a  scratch.  Later,  however,  the  gallant 
fellow  seems  to  have  been  killed  or  wounded, 
for  he  suddenly  disappeared  from  the  deck. 
The  gun-boat  immediately  afterwards  re- 
tired precipitately  from  the  scene  of  action. 

Since  that  time  she  kept  out  of  the  way 
like  the  others.  The  Russians  supposed 
that  she  was  no  longer  commanded  by  the 

157 


■}5i 


RUSSIAN   NEGLIGENCE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


same  man.     The  fight  was  conducted  with 
wonderful  skill  on  both  sides.    The  Russian 
boats    were    commanded    by     Lieutenant 
Niloff,  and  the  attack  was  a  most  daring 
and  tenacious  one.     His  loss  was  only  four 
or  five  wounded,  in  spite  of  the  incessant 
fire  of  the  small  arms  and  mitrailleuse  which 
poured  into  them.     This  shows  how  well- 
handled  the  boats  were.     They  were,  how- 
ever, considerably  damaged  by  the  mitrail- 
leuse fire.     No  attempt  was  made  by  the 
commander  to  use  his  guns,  he  evidently 
believing  it  impossible  to  hit   such  a  small 
and  rapidly    moving   object    as   a   steam- 
launch.     That  the  boats  should  have  suf- 
fered so  little  loss  in  one  hour's  fight  shows 
how  difficult  it  is  to  hit  these  launches. 
They  were  fitted  out  in  the   same  manner 
as   those  which    blew   up  the  monitor  at 
Braila ;  but  this  attempt,  as  well  as  the  one 
at  Giurgevo,  was  made  in  broad    daylight, 
neither  of  which  succeeded.     This   vessel 
was  soon  afterwards  surrounded  by  torpe- 
does, as  well  as  all  the  others  on  the  Danube. 
The  crossing   having   been    successfully 
effected,  the  Russians  seemed  to  think  that 
the  best  part  of  their  work  was  already 
done,  and  exhibited  a  carelessness  and  7ion- 
chalance  that  eventually  cost  them  dearly. 
Having  driven  the  Turks  from  their  first 
position,  it  was  an  imperative  duty,  at  all 
cost,  to  keep  sight  of  the  retreating  enemy, 
to  ascertain  their  line  of  retreat,  to  learn 
whether  they  were  receiving  reinforcements, 
and  what  were  the  indications  of  their  line 
of  action,     This  course   was  not  pursued, 
and  it  was  not  before  June  30th  that  young 
Skobeloff,  with  a  sotnia  of  Cossacks,  went 
on  a  scouting  expedition  to  gather  intel- 
ligence of  the  whereabouts  of  the  Turks. 
This  tardiness  was  all  the  more  injudicious 
when  it  is  remembered  that  the  force  across 
the  river  had  opposition  on  either  flank, 
Rustzuk    andNicopoli.     An    advance   was 
rendered    precarious    by    the    consequent 
threatening  of  communications,  and  in  the 
absence  of  a  completed  bridge  there  was  no 
line  of  retreat  except  by  the  hazardous  re- 
course to  boats.     It  is  possible  to  despise 
an  enemy  too  much.     The  minor  arrange- 
ments, too,  of  the  Russians  were  somewhat 
faulty.  Access  from  Zimnitza  to  the  place  of 
embarkation  was  by  a  difficult  track,  which 
was  not  a  road,  down  the  bluff,  over  a  single 
pontoon  bridge,  and  by  a  tortuous  sandy  path 
through  swamps  and  shallow  patches  of  in-  i 
undatTon   on  the  flats.     No  attempt   was 
'  made  to  better  these  imperfect  communi-  ^ 
158 


cations.     The    Grermans   would   not   have 
occupied  a  similar  position  for  twenty-four 
hours  without    cutting  half-a-dozen   prac- 
ticable roads  down   the  face  of  the  bluff, 
throwing   at  least   two   bridges   over    the 
branch  of  the  stream,  and  making  a  good, 
straight,  and   firm  track    across  the  flats. 
They  would  have  thrown  up  and  fortified  a 
bridge-head    on   the    farther   side.     Their 
Uhlans  would   be  in  view  of  Rustzuk  on 
the  one  side  and  Nicopoli  on  the   other ; 
their  mass  would  have  been  on  its  march 
toward    whatever   objective   points  might 
have  been  decided,  instead  of  coquetting 
with  time  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  every 
hour  was  valuable,  if  the  campaign  was  to 
be  triumphantly  ended  before  the  winter. 
The  Germans  would  not  have  taken  three 
days  to  build  a  bridge,  the  appliances  for 
which    were    all   prepared   and   at    hand. 
Their  troops  on  the  other  side  would  not 
have  been  living  from  hand  to  mouth,  so 
that  a  general's  dinner  had  to  be  sent  to 
him  from  his  baggage  waggon  on  the  other 
side,  but  they  would  have  accumulated  in 
Sistova  a  depot  of  provisions  and  ammuni- 
tion, and  surrounded  this  virtual  base  with 
a  cordon  of  fortified  redoubts. 

But  most  culpable  of  all  was  the  neglect 
to  ascertain  the  movements  of  Osman  Pasha 
and  his  30,000  to  40,000  troops.  It  was 
assumed— why,  it  is  impossible  to  say- 
that  having  heard  of  the  successful  passage 
of  the  river  at  Sistova,  Osman  Pasha  was 
making  his  waybya  circuitous  route  through 
the  interior  towards  the  Quadrilateral. 

Far  from  doing  this,  Osman  Pasha,  leav- 
ing a  strong  garrison  in  Nicopoli,  called  up 
the  rest  of  his  forces  and  fell  back  upon 
Plevna,  where  he  at  once  commenced   to 
entrench  himself,  whilst  the    Russians  at 
once  pushed  headlong  forwards  as  soon  a3 
sufficient  men  had  crossed  the  river.    Owing 
to  a  storm,  which  sunk  many  of  the  pon- 
toons,  the  free-boards  of  which  were  too 
low,  the  bridge  was  not  completed  till  July 
2nd' ;  but  by  Ihe  end  of  the  second  week  in 
July,  the  8th,  9th,  12th,  and  13th  corps  had 
all  effected  their  passage  across  the  river, 
the  nth  and  4th    still   remaining  on   the 
Roumanian  shore,  as  well  as  the  Roumanian 
corps  at  Kalafat  and  opposite  Nicopoli. 

On  July  1st,  the  Russians  occupied  the 
town  of  Biela,  on  the  Yantra,  and  on  the 
high-road  to  Rustzuk.  On  the  7th  of  July, 
they  drove  the  Turks  out  of  Tirnova,  and, 
stili  pushing  forward  into  the  Balkans,  oc- 
cupied the  villages  of  Drenova  and  Gabrova 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[COURKO'S  ADVANCK. 


on  July  10th.  On  the  12th  of  July,  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas  took  up  his  head-quarters  at 
Tirnova,  and  was  followed  by  the  greater 
portion  of  the  8th  corps;  whilst  Prince 
Tcherkasski,  who  was  entrusted  with  the 
administration  of  Bulgaria,  also  accom- 
panied the  grand  duke  to  Tirnova. 

These  movements  had  been  prepared  by 
General  Gourko,  who  had  been  entrusted 
with  the  advance  guard  of  the  8th  corps, 
consisting  of  six  battalions  of  riflemen,  the 
Bulgarian  legion— for  local  purposes— and 
eight  regiments  of  cavalry  with  about  forty 
guns.  With  these  forces  General  Gourko 
cleared  the  way  to  Tirnova  and  Gabrova, 
which  they  held  till  relieved  by  other 
detachments  of  the  8th  corps,  who  also 
extended  their  outposts  on  the  right,  and 
occupied  Selvi  and  Lovatz. 

From  Tirnova  General  Gourko  turned 
south-east,  crossed  the  Hankoi  Pass,  made 
a  raid  upon  Yeni  Sagra,  scoured  up  the 
Tundja  valley,  occupied  Kezanlik  on  July 
17,  pushed  northwards  over  the  Schipka 
Pass,  and  joined  hands  with  Prince  Mirski 
on  July  1*9  ;  the  Turks  holding  the  pass 
having  escaped  during  the  night,  when  they 
found  themselves  taken  between  two  fires. 

Meantime  the  12th  and  13th,  and,  later 
on,  part  of  the  4th  corps,  were  taking  up 
their  positions  on  the  Yantra,  and  between 
the  Yantra  and  the  Lom,  towards  Rustzuk 
and  Rasgrad,  under  the  command  of  the 
Czarevitch  and  his  brother  Vladimir. 

On  the  other  side,  to  the  west,  it  was 
deemed  necessary  to  seize  Nicopoli.  This 
task  was  entrusted  to  General  Kriidener, 
who  commanded  the  attack  on  July  13,  and 
forced  Hassan  Pasha  to  capitulate  on  July 
16,  after  a  most  obstinate  resistance.  Six 
thousand  prisoners,  two  pashas,  forty  guns, 
and  two  gun-boats  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Russians.  Elated  with  this  success,  and 
hearing  that  large  bodies  of  Turkish  troops 
were  marching  on  and  into  Plevna,  General 
Kriidener  sent  General  Schilder-Schuldner 
to  take  the  town.  Schilder-Schuldner  ar- 
rived before  Plevna  on  July  19,  on  the 
same  dav  that  General  Gourko  had  joined 
hands  with  Prince  IMirski  in  the  Schipka 
Pass,  and  whilst  Russian  cavalry  were  scour- 
incr  the  country  between  Adrianople  and 
Philippopoli.  On  the  same  day  thearniy  of 
the  liom  advanced  to  Pirgo«  a^Td  Kndikoi, 
close  to  Rustzuk,  the  Grand  Duke  Vladimir 
even  pushing  on  to  the  railway  from  Rust- 
zuk to  Varna,  and  blowing  up  a  bridge  and 
part  of  the  line.     And  on  July  19,  also, 


General  Zimmermann  drove  the  Turks  back 
across  the  line  Czernavoda-Kustendji,  where 
he  took  up  his  position  along  Trajan's  Wall, 
and  swept  the  country  from  the  Danube  to 
the  Black  Sea. 

In  truth,  therefore,  the  19th  of  July 
was  a  memorable  day  for  the  Russian 
armies.  By  that  day — say  within  three 
weeks— they  had  effected  three  passages 
of  the  Danube— at  Braila,  Zimnitza,  and 
Turn-Magurelli ;  they  had  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  the  Balkans,  and  planted  their 
standards  in  the  plains  of  Roumelia  ;  they 
had  taken  Nicopoli ;  they  had  pushed  their 
advance  eastwards  almost  under  the  very 
walls  of  Rustzuk  ;  the  Dobrudja  was  at  their 
mercy;  and  they  had  hemmed  in  Abdul 
Kerim  and  his  armies,  east  and  west,  in  the 
Quadrilateral. 

A  comparison  of  the  following  sketch  E 
with  sketch  D,  shows  in  a  striking  manner 
the  impetuous  advance  of  the  Russian  forces. 
They  carried  out  the  first  part  of  their  cam- 
paign to  the  letter.  They  had  elbowed 
their  way  east  and  west  admirably,  and  had 
left  a  broad  lane  north  and  south  for  their 
choicest  troops  to  penetrate  through  the 
open  gates  of  the  Balkans  into  Roumelia. 
All  they  now  had  to  do  was  to  defeat  the 
forces  in  the  Quadrilateral,  to  annihilate 
Osman  Pasha,  and  push  forward  in  triumph 
to  Constantinople. 

But  before  proceeding  to  the  second  act 
of  the  great  drama,  we  will  fill-in  the  gene- 
ral picture  we  have  given  with  the  details, 
to  show  how  so  much  was  accomplished  in 
so  short  a  time. 

It  is  true  much  was  accomplished,  but  it 
was  against  very  little.  The  tempest  was 
very  violent,  but  it  only  swept  over  frail, 
bending  reeds.  A  bright  swelling  bubble 
was  blown  at  Sistova,  which  expanded  and 
expanded  across  the  Balkans,  across  the 
Lom,  and  across  the  Vid,  till  it  grew  thin- 
ner and  thinner,  and  suddenly  burst  at 
Plevna — burst  and  vanished  into  thin  air 
like  a  glorious  dream. 

Four  distinct  operations  had  to  be  carried 
out  for  the  Russians  to  gain  the  position  set 
forth  in  sketch  E. 

1.  The  Dobrudja  had  to  be  occupied  to 
secure  the  ports  on  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Danube,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  Turks  from  using  them,  and  also  in 
order  to  turn  the  Turkish  position  in  the 
Quadrilateral. 

This  first  operation,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
successfully  carried  out  by  General  Zimmer- 

159 


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GENERAL  POSITIONS,  JULY    19.]        HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


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A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


Tadvance  on  the  lom. 


mann,    because   he   met   with   no   serious 
opposition. 

2.  The  left  flank  of  the  advance  had  to 
be  protected. 

3.  The  right  flank  of  the  advance  had 
also  to  be  protected. 

4.  The  advance  southwards  had  to  be 
conducted  rapidly,  and  in  force,  whilst  the 
right  and  left  wings  fully  engaged  the 
Turkish  field  armies  north  of  the  Balkans, 
and  prevented  them  from  going  to  the  as- 
sistance of  the  Roumelian  troops  against 
the  advance,  whose  objectives  were  Adri- 
anople  and  Constantinople. 

All  this,  down  to  Kezanlik,was  apparently 
accomplished  on  July  19. 

The  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  had   success- 


fully followed  the  road  cleared  for  him  by 
General  Gourko  up  to  the  foot  of  the 
Balkans,  and  the  advance  guards  were 
eagerly  awaiting  his  appearance  in  the 
Roumelian  plains. 

The  Czarevitch  had  set  up  his  barrier 
against  the  Turks  in  the  east,  and  was 
eagerly  awaiting  the  signal  to  advance  and 
invest  the  fortresses  and  capture  all  the 
Turkish  armies  in  a  trap. 

General  Kriidener  had  seized  Nicopoli, 
and  had  bidden  General  Schilder-Schuldner 
to  go  up  and  take  Plevna. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  bubble  on  July 
19th.  We  will  now  show  how  it  was  blown, 
and  who  blew  it,  and  what  disastrous  con- 
sequences resulted  from  it. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE  RUSSIAN  ADVANCE  ON   THE   LOM   AND   OSMA. 


The  Czar  having  taken  up  his  head-quarters 
at  Zimnitza,  General  Arnoldi  was  sent  for- 
ward with  his  cavalry  to  prepare  the  way 
for  the  advance  of  the  12th  corps  in  the 
direction  of  the  Yantra,  Lorn,  and  Rustzuk. 
An  idea  of  the  scene  of  operations  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  sketch  F,  which 
covers  the  field  between  Sistova,  Tirnova, 
Rasgrad,  and  Rustzuk. 

The  force  commanded  by  General  Arnoldi 
consisted  of  the  Oldenburg  regiment  of 
Dragoons  (the  finest  dragoon  regiment  in 
the  Russian  service),  and  the  regiment  of 
Belgarski  Uhlans  :  he  had  with  him  only 
the  dragoon  regiment,  the  Uhlans  being  a 
short  distance  behind.  With  the  dragoons 
he  had  the  divisional  artillery,  consisting 
of  two  horse  batteries.  The  colonel  of  the 
dragoons,  who  rode  with  the  general,  was  a 
very  young  man,  barely  thirty.  Colonel 
Bilderling,  who  owed  his  early  promotion 
entirely  to  merit.  General  Arnoldi  had 
served  many  years,  and  had  retired  from 
active  military  employ,  but  came  back  in 
answer  to  the  summons  of  the  war. 

The  brigade  rode  away  up  the  green  slope 
and  over  the  breezy  uplands,  where  the  yel- 
low barley  waved  in  the  wind.  The  general's 
commission  was  to  occupy  the  town  of  Biela, 
where  it  was  believed  there  still  remained 
some  Turkish  soldiers.  The  Hussar  regiment 


was  still  in  front,  but  it  was  to  halt  in  sup- 
port  at  Kosua,  while   the   dragoons    and 
artillery  went  on  against  Biela.     The  time 
passed  swiftly,  although  the  pace  was  slow 
and  the  route  circuitous,  for  the  force  had 
to  follow  two  sides  of  a  triangle,  through 
Sarejar  and  Pavlo,  in  order  to   strike  as 
early    as   possible    the   chaussee    between 
Rustzuk    and    Tirnova,    on    which    Biela 
stands.      The   relative    position    of   these 
places  will  be  seen  on  referring  to  sketch  F ; 
the  high-road  from   Rustzuk    to  Tirnova 
running  by  way  of  Biela  and  Nikub,  past 
the  villages  set  down  in  the  sketch.    On  the 
way  they  passed  the  beautifully  situated  vil- 
lage of  Burunli,   lying  in  a    deep   grassy 
hollow,    where  the    Bulgarian  inhabitants 
crowded  out  with  joy  in  their  faces   and 
words  of  welcome  on  their  lips,  carrying 
brimming   pitchers   of    clear   cold  spring- 
water,  which  in  the  boiling  heat  was  pre- 
ferable to  nectar.     Here  in  a  camp,  knee- 
deep  in  natural  grass,  two  squadrons  of  the 
hussars  were  left  behind,  and  in  half-an- 
hour    more   the  main  force    was    on    the 
chaussee  and  in  sight  of  the  swift-flowing 
stream  of   the  Yantra,    overhung    by  dark 
umbrage.     A  patrol  galloped  out,  and  cut 
the  wires  of  the  telegraph  line  running  along 
the   chaussee,    thereby   interrupting  tele- 
sranhic  communication    between  Rustzuk 
^    ^  161 


1«0 


POSITIONS  ON  THE  LOM.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


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162 


II 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[advance  on  biela. 


and  Tirnova,  Nicopoli,  Widdin,  and  indeed 
the  whole  north-western  section  of  Bulgaria. 
If    General    Arnoldi   had    served  in    the 
American  war,  he  might   have  learned  to 
tap    the    wires   instead  of    cutting  them, 
and  then  perchance    he  might   have  gained 
some  intelligence,  which  was  wanted  badly- 
enough.     But  in  all  probahility  the  Turks 
bad  abandoned  the  use  of  the  line  before 
the  patrol  cut  the  wires.     At  the  junction 
with  the  chaussee,  between  Pavlo  and  Biela, 
all  the  hussars,  except  the  advance  guard, 
which  still  continued    in    front,  were   left 
behind,  and  the  way  then  lay  up  the  steep 
slope  of  a  ridge   which  shut  out  the  view 
beyond.    As  they  topped  it,  the  rich  valley 
of  the  Yantra,  waving  with  golden  barley, 
lay  at  their  feet,  intersected  by  the  spark- 
ling river;  and  in  the  mouth  of  a  little  cross- 
valley  on  the  other  side  of  the  Yantra,  were 
the  red-tiled  roofs  of  Biela  half  hidden  in  fo- 
liage.    Beyond  the  river,  flanking  Biela,  on 
its'proper  right,  rose  the  steep  marl  heights, 
with  abrupt  grass-grown  slopes  beyond,  of 
a  position  which  at  once  arrested  the  eye  of 
every  trained  soldier  in  the  little  band.     If 
it  were  defended  the  carrying  of  it  would 
cost  dear.  On  the  Russian  side,  on  the  gen- 
tle slope,  there   was  no  greater  cover  than 
that  afforded  by  a  casual  stook  of  barley. 
Then  the  river  would  have  to  be  crossed — 
it  would  be  necessary  to  search  for  a  ford — 
and  then  the  marl  heights  would  have  to 
be  stormed,  for  there  was  no  way  of  turning 
the  position.     It  was  a  sight  to  stir  the 
deepest  interest — the  loveliness  of  the  scene, 
the  gleaming  river  with  the  overshadowing 
masses  of  dark  verdure  above  Biela,  the 
dusky  red  roofs  recessed  in  the  little  valley, 
the  golden  slopes,  the  country  village  of 
Stirmana  across  the  river  on  the  left,  where 
the  marl  steeps  softened  into  green   slopes 
—all  this   delighted  the  eye  of   him   who 
looked  at  it  in  the  spirit  of  the  love  of  a 
sweet  scene.     And  then   how  different  the 
feelino-   of   him    who  looked  at  it  with  a 
soldier's  eye  !     If  there  were  Turks  on  that 
crest  opposite,  ere  it  be  taken  the  barley 
would  wave  over  many  a  corpse  ;  the  silvery 
sheen  of  the  Yantra  be  dulled  with  blood ; 
and  the    dazzling  white  marl  be  dabbled 
with  many  a  red  stain.  The  umbrage  might 
hold   sharpshooters;    the  pretty  Stirmana 
might  be  a  network  of  barricades;  the  bridge 
down  there  might  be  mined  ,  among  the 
red-roofed  houses  might  be  masses  of  in- 
fantrymen ;    and  behind  these  dark  objects 
•  on  the  slopes  might  be  Krupp  cannon. 


But  all  these  fears,  so  poetically  described 
by   the    correspondents,    were  groundless.     , 
For  a  while   General  Arnoldi   and  his  staff 
took  a  long  steady  look  at  it,  all  standing 
there  on   the   little  conical   knoll   on  the 
ridge — a  knoll  on  which  a  battery  had  begun 
to  be  built  evidently  not  a  week  before,  and 
a   flanking   shelter-trench    dug.       General 
Stahl  von   Holstein  had  come  on  thus  far 
with  General  Arnoldi,  and   the   two   held 
some  talk  apart,  and  then  the  former  went 
ofif  to  have  his  hussars  at  hand  for  support 
if  need  should  be.     And  so  Arnoldi,  taking 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  column,  gave 
the  word  to  march,  and  the  dragoons  began 
to  descend  the  straight  road  leading  through 
the  barley-fields  to  the  bridge.     Till  then 
it  seemed  that    the  duty  of  scouting  had 
been  very  much  neglected,   looking  at  the 
fact  that  the  men  were  marching  through  a 
country  presumably  hostile,  and   with  an 
enemy  known  to  be  close.    Till  then  Arnoldi 
and   his  staff  had  constituted  the  advance 
guard  ;  there  were  no  flankers,  and  patrols 
were  not   thought   of.     But   now   the  old 
soldier  pulled  himself  together  ;  out  on  the 
slopes,  to  right  and  to  left,  galloped  flankers 
to  peer  down  into  the  side  valleys.    A  patrol 
trotted  along  the  road  in  front.    There  was 
a  cloud  of  dust,   and  three  Cossacks  came 
galloping  up   from  the  right   front.     They 
had  poked  their  way  across   the  river,  but 
neither  into  the  town  nor  on  to  the  heights. 
The  only   information   they    brought   was 
that  some  Turks  were  reported  near  Biela  ; 
and  their  only  capture  was  a  Turkish  pony. 
Suddenly  a  wild  scared  Bulgarian,  galloping 
ventre,  a  terre,  with  a  gun  carried  by  the 
muzzle  across  his  shoulder,  came  with  the 
intelligence  that  there   were   some   Turks 
plundering   in    Stirmana,    whence  he    had 
come;    he   could   tell  nothing   about    the 
heights  or  about  Biela.     Half-a-dozen  Cos- 
sacks were  sent  scouting  away  to  the  left 
towards  Stirmana,  led  by  the  wild  Bulgarian 
with  the  gun  over  his  shoulder.  He  shouted 
and  gesticulated  with  the  maddest  energy  ; 
he  was  in  a  paroxysm  of  furious  rage   and 
crazy  terror,  and  yet  he  rode  straight  enough 
on  Ins  rat  of  a  pony.     Sweeping  down  at  a 
hand    gallop,  riding   straight  through  the 
standing  barley,  and  taking  the  banks  and 
ditches  at  a  stride,  still  the  Cossacks  were 
not  quick  enough  for  the  light-heeled  ras- 
cals of  Bashi-Bazouks ;  and  as  they  dashed 
into  the   stream,   all  they  caught  sight  of 
was  a  very  voluminous  pair  of  blue  unmen- 
tionables vanishing  round  the  corner  of  a 

163 


%i 


3r 


I 


CAPTURE  OF   BIELA.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


house.  The  river  turned  out  too  deep 
to  ford,  and  only  one  Cossack  swam  it; 
the  others  respectfully  declined.  So  they 
went  about ;  but  as  they  were  cantering 
back,  one  single  gun-shot  sounded  from 
above  the  village,  as  if  in  mockery. 

Still  it  was  reported  that  some  Turks 
were  prowling  about  the  heights,  but  not 
in  force,  and  the  informants  could  not  tell 
precisely  of  their  whereabouts.  Colonel 
Bilderling  then  rode  forward  to  the  bridge, 
but  only  found  by  the  wayside  there  a 
company  of  Bulgarian  people  who  had  come 
out  to  welcome  their  deliverers.  At  their 
head  stood  their  venerable  priest,  and  then 
commenced  the  obligate  performance  of 
sobbing  and  tears  and  kissing  of  hands, 
peculiar  to  the  tender-hearted  Kussian  and 
the  meek  Bulgarian. 

Ascertaining  from  the  people  that  the 
Turks  had  abandoned  the  town,  Greneral 
Arnoldi  sent  forward  a  detacliment  of  dis- 
mounted dragoons  across  the  bridge,  to  scour 
the  opposite  heights,  where  a  few  shots  were 
fired  to  keep  up  the  idea  of  war,  and  a  skulk- 
ing Turkish  peasant  taken  prisoner.  Out- 
posts were  then  set  up  round  and  in  part 
of  the  town,  whicli  was  occupied  in  the  early 
dawn,  when  the  rest  of  the  force  swarmed 
into  the  place  in  the  persistent  search  for 
schnapps.  They  further  diverted  them- 
selves by  hunting  for  hiding  Turks,  breaking 
open  the  shutters  of  suspected  houses  in 
these  endeavours.  Some  four  or  five  were 
thus  captured,  and  conveyed  as  prisoners  to 
the  Konak.  In  Biela  the  Sistova  example 
liad  been  little  followed.  Few  Turkish 
houses  had  been  wrecked  or  plundered. 
There  were  comparatively  few  Turks  in  the 
place :  the  great  mass  of  the  population 
was  pure  Bulgarian,  and  painfully  eager  to 
display  the  utmost  hospitality  towards  their 
new  friends. 

All  this  took  place  on  July  oth  ;  but  for 
two  days  General  Arnoldi  was  left  without 
any  infantry  to  support  him.  He  was  not 
a  little  troubled  in  consequence.  He  had 
expected  infantry  to  have  arrived  for  his 
support  long  betore  this  time;  the  infantry 
had  not  come,  and  in  his  front  the  Turks 
were  showing  in  very  formidable  force,  and 
threatening  an  immediate  attack.  This, 
with  a  handful  of  cavalry,  and  his  flank 
uncovered,  he  could  not  sustain,  and  he  had 
withdrawn  his  camp  and  baggage  and  the 
mass  of  his  brigade  behind  the  Yantra 
River,  which  he  had  crossed  the  day  before, 
and  there  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  infantry, 
164 


maintaining  a  sort  of  attitude  of  defence  on 
the  heights,  with  a  chain  of  pickets  and 
vedettes,  but  having  no  other  intention  or 
alternative  but  to  fall  back  immediately  he 
should  be  attacked.  He  had  definitely 
resolved,  with  perhaps  an  excess  of  caution, 
to  withdraw  altogether  behind  the  Yantra 
for  the  night,  if  the  supporting  infantry 
should  not  have  arrived  by  five  in  the  after- 
noon, when  indeed  some  of  the  33rd  division 
arrived  on  the  heights,  and  somewhat  re- 
lieved his  mind. 

Comment  on  this  cavalry  advance  on  to 
the  heights  above  Biela  cannot  be  of  a 
favourable  character.  The  advance  of 
Arnoldi's  brigade,  unsupported  by  infantry, 
could  etfect  no  good  purpose  that  was  not 
open  to  half-a-dozen  scouting  parties,  each 
consisting  of  an  officer  and  a  few  men  ;  and 
it  might  have  been  followed  by  very  unplea- 
sant consequences.  The  advance  of  Arnoldi, 
while  his  dispositions  by  no  means  included 
the  protection  of  the  town  of  Biela,  even 
while  he  camped  on  the  heights  close  to  it, 
compromised  that  place  in  a  manner  which 
its  inhabitants  would  have  had  occasion 
bitterly  to  realise,  if  the  retreat,  which  he 
regarded  as  almost  inevitable,  had  actually 
been  carried  out.  The  Turks  had  quitted 
Biela  without  working  there  any  injury; 
but  had  they  come  back — and  if  their  pres- 
sure had  led  Arnoldi  to  retire,  they  would 
of  course  have  come  back — they  would 
hardly  have  practised  the  same  moderation 
as  before.  They  would  have  found  some 
Turkish  houses  wrecked ;  they  would  have 
found  the  mosque  not  quite  in  the  state  in 
which  they  had  left  it ;  they  would  have 
learned  that  the  Bulgarian  inhabitants  had 
hailed  the  Russian  troops  with  enthusiasm, 
and  guided  Russian  soldiers  in  their  hunt 
after  Turks  who  had  remained  behind. 
Turks  are  certainly  human,  and  it  would 
have  demanded  more  than  human  self- 
restraint  on  their  part  if,  under  the  circum- 
stances, Biela  should  not  have  had  reason 
to  mourn  the  hour  that  Arnoldi's  cavalry 
rode  over  the  bridge,  without  first  making 
sure  that  infantry  supports  were  within 
easy  distance.  Thus  their  advance  compro- 
mised unjustifiably  the  safety,  if  not  the 
existence,  of  a  friendly  town. 

But  Biela  later  had  occasion  to  realise 
that  in  war-time  friends  are  often  nearly  as 
cruel  as  foes.  Indeed,  a  cynical  inhabitant 
of  Biela  might  say  that  he  had  found 
friends  more  cruel  than  foes,  for  the  Turks 
had  left  the  place  without  doing  any  mis- 


A.D.  1877.] 


RtrSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[outrages  in  biela. 


chief.  At  five  o'clock  on  July  7th,  when  the 
infantry  of  the  33rd  division  arrived  on  the 
heights,  Arnoldi^  leaving  his  forepost  line 
standing,  withdrew  to  his  camp  on  the 
Yantra,  and  the  infantry  and  artillery  took 
up  the  position  on  the  heights  he  had 
occupied,  and  also  on  others  covering  the 
town.  Biela  was  thus  safe  from  the  Turks ; 
but  there  was  nobody  to  defend  them  from 
the  Russians  except  the  special  correspon- 
dent of  the  Illustrated  London  News,  Mr. 
Villiers,  who  had  taken  up  his  quarters  in 

the  town. 

About   eight  o'clock   in  the  evening  a 
number  of  infantry  stragglers  were  buying 
bread  outside  a    shop  near    Mr.  Villiers' 
quarters.     They  were  not  supplied  with  the 
quickness  thev  desired,  so  they  broke  into 
and  plundered  the  shop.  This  was  witnessed 
by  Villiers  and  a  Russian  cavalry  officer  who 
was  sitting  conversing  with  him    at  the 
window  of  his  room.     The  officer  at  once 
went  and  drove  away  the  plunderers,  thrash- 
ing them    soundly  with   the    flat    of  his 
scabbard.     Another  cavalry  officer  joined 
the  first;  and  the  two,  with  Mr.  Villiers, 
walked  down  the  street.   A  Bulgarian  came 
up  to  them,  wringing  his  hands,  and  com- 
plaining that  his  house  was  being  robbed. 
They  heard  a  tumult  near,  and  shrieks  of 
women,  and  as  they  approached  a  number 
of  soldiers  jumped  out  from  windows,  and 
through   doors,   laden  with  portable  loot. 
The  officers  at  once  chastised  these  fellows 
with  all  imaginable  vigour,  and  each  took 
two  soldiers   prisoners ;  of  the   onlooking 
soldiers  they  organised  an  informal  police 
patrol,   and    all    plunderers    subsequently 
caught  they  handed  over  to  this  body,  after 
having  previously  thrashed  them  soundly. 
The  officers  took  their  prisoners,  who  were 
infantrymen,  to  the  cavalry  camp,  whence 
they  were   forwarded    to    their   regiment 
The  officers  in  the  cavalry  camp,  who  were 
made  aware  of  the  circumstances,  expressed 
great  anger  at  the  conduct  of  the  soldiers  ; 
but  the  precaution  was  strangely  neglected 
of  sending  protecting  patrols  into  the  town, 
probably  because  no  cavalry  soldiers  were 
concerned  in  the  mischief. 

About  one  o'clock,  Villiers,  sleeping  in 
his  room,  was  roused  by  the  noise  of  wood- 
work being  smashed  in  the  street  outside. 
Looking  out,  he  saw  by  the  light  of  the 
broken  pieces  of  blazing  wood  carried  torch - 
wise  by  the  soldiers,  that  the  work  of 
plundering  was  going  on  apace  to  right  and 
to  left.     Women  were  shrieking,    not  so 


VOL.  Ill, 


2 


much  because  of  any  violence   offered   to 
them,  but  because  of  the  ruin  to  their  pro- 
perty.  Men  were  revelling  in  a  liquor-shop 
whieh  had  been  broken  open,  and  wine  was 
running  from  the  casks.    On  the  other  side 
of  the   way   a   butcher's   shop   was   being 
oleared  out,  fellows  tearing  at  the  meat  to 
make  it  part.     The  women  of   the  house 
came  into  the  room  occupied  by  Villiers, 
and   with    tears   besought   his  protection. 
But  what  could  he  do  ?     There  was  no  au- 
thority in    the  place— no  man   to   whom 
appeal  could  be  made.    All  was  license,  and 
Villiers  sat  at  the  window,  for  a  long  time 
expectant  of  an  attempt  to  break  into  the 
house.     At  length  came  the  challenge,  "  Is 
that  a  Turkish  or  a  Christian  house  ?  "    The 
servant  replied  in  Russian  that  it  was  a 
Christian  house,  and  occupied  by  gentlemen 
accompanying  the  army.     The   soldiers  no 
further  attempted  to  gain  an  entrance,  and 
apparently  went  away.      But  presently  a 
knocking  was  heard  below,  and  the  people 
of  the  house  said  they  were  breaking  into 
the  cellar,   which,  as   in  most   Bulgarian 
houses,  had  its  opening  directly  into  the 
street.     Presently  there  was  a  wild  tumult 
about  the  door  and  a  hammering  for  admit- 
tance, which  quickly  brought  Villiers  down 
to  the  door.    Then  came  the  comic  element 
in  a  scene  that  was  surely  grim  and  lurid 
enough.    The  proverb  that  ill-gotten  goods 
never  prosper  had  come  home  to  the  Russian 
soldiers  with  more  than  ordinary  swiftness. 
As  Villiers  opened  the  door,    there   stood 
four  of  them  in  the  torchlight,  clamouring 
wildly,  with  bottles  in  their  hands,  a  strange 
blackness  about  their  lips,  and  a  curious 
smell  pervading  the  group,  which  was  cer* 
tainly  not  the  bouquet  of  any  potable  fluid 

known. 

The  owner  of  the  house  had  in  his  cellar 
a  number  of  bottles  full  of  vitriol,  used  for 
the  purification  of  wool  in  the  manufacture 
and  dyeing  of  woollen  stuff's,  which  was 
the  man's  business.  These  the  Russian 
soldiers,  who,  although  they  did  not  invade 
the  house,  took  the  liberty  of  breaking 
into  the  cellar,  promptly  annexed,  and 
having  extracted  the  corks,  began  to  drink. 
The  drink  did  not  exactly  meet  their  views ; 
on  the  contrary,  they  must  have  had  cast- 
iron  mouths  and  throats,  and  the  vitriol 
must  have  been  greatly  diluted,  or  they 
would  have  paid  with  their  lives  the  penalty 
of  their  lawless  conduct.  As  it  was  they 
had  fared  pretty  badly.  Their  lips  and 
mouths  were  burnt  black;   their  clothe^ 

16^ 


OTRANOE  DRINK   IN   BIELA.]  HISTORY   OF    THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


;  ♦ 


I  „  1 


1-^ 


i 


liands,  and  boots  were  burnt,  and  they  were 
half  mad  with  rage  and  pain.  They  had 
rushed  to  the  conclusion  that  the  house 
must  be  a  Turkish  house,  and  the  cellar  a 
Turkish  cellar ;  that  the  proprietor  had  pur- 
posely stored  a  quantity  of  devil's  drink  in 
wine-bottles,  wherewithal  to  poison  his 
Russian  enemies,  and  that  they  were  the 
victims.  They  insisted  on  regarding  the 
servant  as  the  Turkish  proprietor,  and 
strove  to  revenge  themselves  by  forcing  him 
to  drink  as  they  believed  he  had  brewed. 
With  wild  cries  and  threats  they  forced 
bottles  into  his  hands,  and  swore  that  ho 
should  drink.  But  he  objected  to  the  bev- 
erage in  the  most  emphatic  manner.  He 
imitated  the  unwilling  horse  in  that  they 
could  not  make  him  drink;  but  in  the 
struggle  he  got  his  hands  and  clothes  very 
much  burnt  with  the  vitriol.  Villiers  in- 
terfered, and  for  the  second  time  in  this 
singular  night  he  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Philistines.  Still  they  had  some  sense  of 
discipline  and  order  left.  They  would  not 
deal  condignly  with  Villiers,  although  they 
professed  to  believe  him  a  Turk  and  a  spy. 
They  whirled  him  up  to  a  solitary  under- 
officer  who  was  addressed  as  the  "patrol,"  and 
who  appeared  to  be  serenely  superintending 
the  operations  of  his  comrades.  The  patrol 
recognised  the  correspondent  badge  on 
Villiers'  arm,  and  ordered  the  soldiers  to 
unhand  him,  whereupon  the  victims  of 
vitriol  retired,  probably  in  search  of  a  less 
fiery  fluid  as  an  alterative. 

After  break  of  day  the  work  of  plunder- 
ing flourished  with  greater  vivacity  than 
ever.  But  now  that  there  was  daylight, 
and  that  he  could  see  whither  he  was  going, 
Villiers  determined  no  longer  to  let  the 
mischief  continue  without  an  elfort  to  stop 
it.  So  he  walked  up  to  the  infantry  camp  on 
the  heights,  found  the  colonel  in  command 
of  the  regiment,  reported  the  proceedings  to 
him,  and  asked  for  a  guard  to  prevent  fur- 
ther outrages.  The  colonel  at  once  granted 
the  request.  He  said  he  had  already 
heard  of  the  disgraceful  conduct  of  the 
soldiery  in  the  town,  and  was  taking  mea- 
sures to  stop  it  when  Villiers  came  with 
confirmation  of  the  discreditable  fact.  All 
his  officers  professed  much  disgust  and 
regret.  In  a  few  minutes  a  strong  guard 
was  marching  down  to  the  little  place  with 
Villiers  as  guide.  The  officers  CDinmanding 
it  at  all  events  did  their  duty  thoroughly. 
Every  marauder  met  on  his  way  to  the  camp 
fiom  the  town  was  searched.  If  his  panni- 
166 


kin  contained  wine  it  was  spilled  upon  the 
ground.  The  officer  thrashed  him,  and 
then  made  him  a  prisoner.  In  the  town  a 
strategic  mov^ement  bagged  the  plunderers 
of  a  whole  street,  some  thirtv-five  in  num- 
ber,  who  were  duly  searched,  thrashed,  and 
made  prisoners.  This  guard  then  remained 
permanently  on  duty,  a  police  officer  was 
appointed,  as  also  a  commandant  de  place. 
But  the  evil  had  been  wrought;  the  scandal 
stuck  like  a  blister.  It  is  true  there  was 
an  intention  to  give  compensation  for  the 
damage  done,  but  the  entente  cordiale 
between  the  Bulgarians  and  the  Russians 
had  greatly  suffered.  To  descend  to  parti- 
culars, the  Russian  soldier  may  take  credit 
for  being  quite  as  expeditious  and  sweeping, 
if  not  so  quiet  and  methodical,  a  plunderer 
as  the  French  "  forager,"  as  he  modestly 
prefers  to  be  termed.  When  the  Russians 
arrived  there  was  in  the  place  an  abundance 
of  bread,  meat,  coffee,  sugar,  tobacco,  cigar- 
ette-paper, writing-paper,  under-clothing, 
boots,  &c.  But  within  two  days  there  re- 
mained but  the  memory  of  these  products 
of  nature  and  art. 

Confidence  was,  however,  restored  when 
compensation  was  made  and  the  rest  of  the 
infantry  followed,  whilst  the  Czarevitch  and 
his  brother,  the  Grand  Duke  Vladimir,  took 
up  their  head-quarters  at  Pavlo.  By  this 
time  the  forces  on  this  line  had  received  their 
title  as  the  army  of  Rustzuk;  but  the  com- 
mander-in-chief was  certainly  in  no  hurry  to 
get  there.  Biela  was  first  reached  by  the 
cavalry  advanced  division  on  the  5th  July,' 
and  by  the  11th  there  had  reached  there, 
thus  far  on  the  road,  but  one  infantry 
division,  the  33rd,  belonging  to  the  12th 
corps.  The  12th  division,  belonging  to  the 
same  corps,  was  behind  a  few  versts  at 
Pavlo  with  the  Czarevitch.  Of  the  13th 
corps,  which  with  the  12th  made  up  the 
army  of  Rustzuk,  one  division,  the  35th, 
which  was  among  the  earliest  troops  to 
cross  the  river,  was  in  the  ilrst  instance 
sent  on  to  Ovca  Mojila,  a  village  in  a  south- 
westerly direction  from  Sistova,  had  to 
march  across  country,  and  reached  Kosna, 
which  is  close  to  Biela,  on  the  11th.  The 
1st  division,  the  other  division  of  the  13th 
corps,  was  in  a  valley  to  the  south  of  Pavlo, 
so  that  the  whole  infantry  of  the  army  of 
Rustzuk  was  then  within  a  few  hours'  march 
of  Biela.  Biela  is  two  days'  march  from 
Rustzuk,  but  many  days  elapsed  before  the 
infantry  pushed  onwards.  As  for  the  cav- 
alry  division,    the    head-quarters   of   the 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[positions  on  the  lom. 


division  general.  Baron  Driezen,  were  at 
Monastir,  about  eight  miles  in  advance  of 
Biela,  on  the  road  to  Rustzuk,  while  the 
brigades  Arnoldi  and  Stahl  von  Holstein 
were  more  forward,  and  spread  out  over  a 
considerable  extent  of  country.  Cossacks 
were  also  forward  to  the  east  and  north-east 
of  the  Biela  position,  sweeping  the  country, 
and  driving  in  the  scattered  handfuls  of 
Turks  who  had  been  lurking  in  the  woods. 

1'he  delay  may  be  attributed  to  several 
causes,  but  the  principal  reason  was  the 
necessity  which  was  believed  to  exist  for 
accumulating  supplies  to  feed  the  troops 
before  the  advance  began  in  earnest.  Pre- 
caution in  this  respect  was  wise,  but  it  was 
carried  to  an  undue  extent;  and  to  cart 
supplies  all  the  way  round  from  Zimnitza 
for  an  army  supposed  to  attack  Rustzuk, 
was  a  needlessly  roundabout  process,  when 
they  might  have  been  ferried  over  the  river 
in  the  rear  of  the  batteries  at  Slobosia,  the 
railway  station  at  Frateshti  offering  for  this 
purpose  a  convenient  basis  for  the  operation. 

At  last  the  infantry  gradually  dribbled 
into  its  positions  along  the  Yantra,  but  still 
no  move  forwards  was  undertaken.  This 
inactivity  naturally  created  great  dissa- 
tisfaction among  the  officers  eager  for  an 
opportunity  to  distinguish  themselves. 
Earnest  entreaties  were  persistently  sent  to 
the  head-quarters  begging  for  a  relaxation 
of  the  strict  injunction  that  the  infantry 
mass  of  the  army  was  not  to  cross  the  Yan- 
tra for  a  long  time,  but  without  efif'ect. 
Yet,  though  the  Czarevitch  and  his  brother 
Vladimir  were  among  the  supplicants.  Gene- 
ral Niepokoitschitzki  was  obdurate  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  prohibition  against 
anything  save  a  defensive  and  preventive 
attitude.  The  policy  of  this  attitude  was 
obvious.  While  two  corps  stood  lining 
the  road  of  advance  onTirnova,  no  attempt 
by  the  Turks  to  intercept  that  advance,  or 
to  disturb  its  communications,  was  likelv 
to  be  made,  as  the  Turkish  field  army, 
reported  to  extend  from  Rasgrad  to  Osman 
Bazar,  could  not  change  its  front  and, 
marching  to  its  left,  move  off  into  the 
Balkans  to  interfere  with  the  passage  of  the 
Russians  through  the  defiles  without  show- 
ing a  flank,  and,  indeed,  its  rear,  to  this 
threatening  mass  of  men,  purposely  motion- 
less for  the  time,  but  ready  to  march  quickly 
and  far  when  the  opportunity  for  doing 
good  by  so  doing  should  offer.  The  policy 
was  obvious,  but  it  was  cautious.  It  was 
not  in  accord  with  Prince  Frederick  Ciiarles's 


standing  orders — "  Find  your  enemy,  and 
fight  him  whenever  and  wherever  you  find 
him." 

The  restriction  against  crossing  the  Yan- 
tra was  at  last  removed,  head-quarters  were 
transferred  to  Biela,  and  the  whole  army 
sent  well  forward  toward  Rustzuk,  beyond 
Obertenik.  On  the  heights  above  Domo- 
gila,  a  villaQ:e  to  the  north-east  of  Obertenik, 
lay  the  white  tents  of  the  35th  division. 
At  Trstenik,  a  village  close  to  the  chaussee, 
about  six  kilometres  beyond  Obertenik, 
were  the  head-quarters  of  the  Archduke 
Vladimir,  commanding  the  12th  army 
corps.  The  infantry  had  pushed  on  the 
cavalry  a  few  versts,  and  Greneral  Driezen's 
head-quarters  were  moved  onward  to  the 
heights  within  four  miles  of  the  Danube,  at 
Pirgos,  due  north ;  and  just  over  the  crest 
of  the  slope,  on  the  reverse  side  of  which 
he  had  pitched  his  camp,  was  the  valley  of 
the  Lom.  The  forces  were  considerably 
crowded  down  in  this  corner  between  the 
Danube  and  the  Lom,  and  cavalry  and  in- 
fantry camps  were  mixed  up  anyhow.  A 
glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  the  main 
river  Lom,  the  Cerni  or  Black  Lom,  enter- 
ing the  Danube  at  Rustzuk,  flows  down 
through  Bulgaria  in  a  direction  nearly  due 
north,  bending  to  the  north-east  as  it 
approaches  the  Danube.  Along  its  western 
bank  was  the  position  of  the  Russian  army 
of  Rustzuk.  It  covered  a  broad  front, 
although  the  principal  concentration  was 
near  the  Danube.  The  right  flank  of  its 
cavalry  was  at  Polomarcha,  a  village  about 
forty  miles  south  of  the  Danube,  in  the 
direction  of  Osman  Bazar,  and  regiments 
were  studded  among:  the  villages  on  the 
western  bank  of  the  Cerni  Lom,  all  the  way 
to  Pirgos.  The  Beli,  or  White  Lom,  with 
a  north-wester! v  course,  flows  into  the  Cerni 
Lom  at  the  village  of  Kirsova,  and  the  tri- 
angular interval  between  the  two  rivers  was 
occupied  by  detachments  of  cavalry  belong- 
ing to  the  12th  and  8th  cavalry  divisions. 
In  all,  about  40,000  men  were  now  on  the 
Lom  by  July  19.  This  position  was  gained 
witliout  any  fighting  to  speak  of.  Thero 
was  a  trivial  cavalry  skirmish  on  the  height, 
and  a  few  dragoons  fell  in  clearing  the  crest 
of  the  Turkish  troops.  Two  d.iys  before 
there  was  a  more  serious  skirmisn  down  in 
the  Lom  Valley,  at  a  village  called  Kadikoi, 
about  midwav  between  the  Lom  and  the 
road  between  Rustzuk  and  Schumla.  Th'^ra 
was  reason  to  believe  that  Turkish  troops 
were   there  iu  some  force,   and  from  the 

1G7 


•    J 


¥-«■ 


ADVANCE  ON  NICOPOLI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE^ 


[a.d.  1877. 


fil 


f1 


(i  1 

11!      I 


heights  on  the  western  side  the  Lorn,  the 
Russians  opened  fire  with  one  gun,  with 
intent  to  provoke  reprisals  from  the  enemy, 
and  so  gain  some  idea  of  his  strength.  But 
tlie  Turks  were  wise,  or  at  least  wily  in 
tlieir  generation.  They  replied  with  one 
gun.  If  the  Russians  had  brought  two  into 
action,  no  doubt  they  would  have  followed 
suit ;  but  in  the  meantime  a  fair  exchange 
was  enough  for  them. 

Emboldened  by  this  seeming  weakness, 
a  couple  of  squadrons  of  Bilderling's  dra- 
goons were  pushed  across  the  Lorn  in  the 
direction  of  Kadikoi.    They  advanced  some 
distance,   but    not   to   glory.      They    had 
passed   through    a    swarm   of    Circassians 
lying  in  ambush,    and  suddenly   the  two 
squadrons  were  beset,  surrounded,  and  as- 
sailed with  great  fury.     It  remained  for 
them  but  to   fight  their  way  back,  which 
they  did  with  a  hard  hand-to-hand  struggle, 
losing  some  nine  men  killed  and  twenty-one 
wounded.     The  killed  were  brought  into 
camp  across  their  horses.     The  Circassians 
followed   the  dragoons    across    the    Lom, 
hanging  on  their  rear,  and  trying  to   cut 
off  detached  parties;  but  they  came  a  little 
too  far.  A  battalion  of  infantry  had  accom- 
panied the  cavalry  as  far  as  the  Lom.     So 
when  the  cavalry  came  back  thus  sore  beset, 
the  infantry  were  ready  to  cover  them,  and 
the  Circassians  found  themselves  exposed  to 
the  withering  rifle-fire  which  it  has  since 
been   ascertained    caused  them  a  loss   of 
twenty    men    killed    and    fifty    wounded. 
Subsequently,   appearances   indicated  that 
Kadikoi'and  its  vicinity  had  been  evacuated 
by  the  Turks  ;  and  to  make  this  certain,  a 
reconnalssance'was  conducted  in  that  direc- 
tion bv  the  Archduke  Vladimir  himself,  at 
the   head   of   a   squadron  of  dragoons,   a 
squadron  of  Cossacks,   and  a  battalion  of 
infantry.     He  penetrated  to  Kadikoi  with- 
out opposition,    and  found  it  empty  and 
deserted;    so   he  determined  to  take  the 
opportunity  that  offered,  and  make  a  bold 
dash  at  the  railway  between  Rustzuk  and 
Schumla.     His  Cossacks  rode  on  through 
Buzin,    and    struck   the    railway   at    the 
Ouvemli  station.      This  they   burnt,   and 
blew  up  with  dynamite  an  adjacent  bridge, 
thus  effectually  destroying  the  railway  com- 
munication between  Rustzuk  and  Schumla. 
Having   proceeded   so   for,   and    having 
established    themselves    in    the    positions 
shown  in  sketch  F,  the  Russians  were  satis- 
fied.    They  had   masked   Rustzuk  and  the 
field  aimy  which  still  preserved  its  inactivity 
168 


under  Abdul  Kerim,  on  the  White  Lom  and 
Solenik  Lom.  And  all  this  had  been  ac- 
complished almost  without  a  shot  being 
fired — certainly  without  any^erious  combat 
— beyond  the  little  skirmish  between  the 
Cossacks  and  Circassians  above  described. 

We  will  now  devote  a  few  words  to  tho 
advance  westwards. 

Simultaneously  with  the  advance  on  the 
Lom  and  on  the  Balkans,  an  expedition 
was  sent  westwards,  under  the  command  of 
General  Krtidener,  to  seize  the  fortress  of 
Nicopoli,  opposite  Turn-Magurelli,  when  an 
attempt  to  force  a  passage  was  undertaken 
on  the  same  night  that  the  Danube  was 
forced  at  Sistova. 

That  attempt,  as  we  have  seen,  was  un- 
successful, owing  to  the  determined  resist- 
ance of  the  Turks  and  their  presence  ia 
force.  The  passage  of  the  Danube,  there- 
fore, as  originally  planned,  was  a  failure, 
although  that  failure  was  hidden  and  re- 
deemed, by  the  successful  passage  at 
Sistova.  But  that  the  speedy  possession  of 
Nicopoli  was  regarded  by  the  Russians  as  an 
absolute  necessity,  is  evident  from  their  at 
once  sending  General  Krudener  westwards 
to  seize  it  in  the  flank  and  rear,  whilst  tho 
Roumanian  and  Russian  forces  and  batteries 
on  the  opposite  shore  assailed  it  in  front. 

General  Krudener,  believing,  with  the 
rest  of  the  staff,  that  Osman  Pasha  was 
making  his  way  down  across  the  Balkans, 
or  not  giving  the  matter  a  thought,  or  not 
coming  where  Osman  Pasha  was,  marched 
straight  upon  Nicopoli,  as  though  it  were 
the  only  place  in  the  universe  worth 
tliinking  about.  Supposing  that  Plevna 
was  held  only  by  a  few  detachments  of 
Turkish  soldiers,  he  neglected  to  send 
either  cavalry  or  infantry  to  that  place,  if 
only  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  his  flank. 

A  glance  at  sketch  G  will  plainly  show 
the  great  initial  error  committed  at  this 
early  stage  by  the  Russians.  Although  it 
was  certain  that  Osman  Pasha,  with  40,000 
men,  was  somewhere  in  the  country  west  of 
the  river  Osma,  the  Russians  not  only 
took  no  measures  ta  ascertain  precisely 
where  Osman  Pasha  was,  but  they  also 
neglected  to  secure  the  lines  of  the  Osma 
and  Vid,  as  they  had  done  on  the  Yantra 
and  Lom.  With  the  exception  of  General 
Kriidener's  force  at  Nicopoli— engaged  as 
they  were  with  the  attack  on  that  place — 
and  a  weak  detachment  at  Lovatz,  th© 
whole  line  of  the  Osma  and  Vid  was  left 
I  to  take  care  of  itself. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [lom  and  yantra  positions* 


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R.    Yantra. 


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CAPTURE  OF  NICOPOLI.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


However,  elated  with  their  relative  suc- 
cess— gained,  be  it  repeated,  because  there 
was  no  opposition — the  liussians  under- 
valued their  enemy,  and  neglected  the  most 
elementary  precautions  in  this  direction  of 
the  field  of  war. 

Thus,  unsecured  against  any  attack  on 
liis  left  flank    or  rear,   General   Kriidener 
commenced  his  attack  on  Nicopoli.     The 
action  was  opened  by  the  batteries  on  the 
opposite  bank,  which  by  far   outnumbered 
the  Turkish  pieces,  and  equally  far  exceeded 
them  in  weight  of  metal.     Breaches  were 
speedily  opened  in  the  crumbling  fortifica- 
tions ;    in  many  places  the   town   was  set 
ablaze,  and  on  the  third  day  the  assault  was 
ordered.      Advancing  from  all  sides,   and 
supported  by  the  redoubled  activity  of  the 
Russo-Roumanian    batteries,   several   out- 
works were   at   last   carried,    and   Hassan 
Pasha,  the  commander,  forced  to  capitulate 
for  want  of  ammunition  on  July   16,  and 
yield    himself    and    6,000   men  prisoners. 
This  success  was  purchased  with  the  loss  of 
about   1,500  Russians  killed  and  wounded. 
It  was  therefore  the  most  important  affair 
the  Russians  had  as  yet  sustained,  and  gave 
them  a  foretaste  of  what  was  to  come  as 
soon  as  they  really  felt  the  enemy.     Had 
they  been  wise  they  would  have  taken  more 
account  of  this  affair  than  they  did,  and 
have  arrived  at  the  conviction  that  it  was  one 
thing  to  advance  unopposed,  and  another 
when  the  road  was  disputed. 

Meantime  the  Turks  had  been  fortifying 
themselves  in  Plevna,  whilst  Osman  Pasha, 
hearing  that  Nicopoli  was  lost — or  perhaps 
'purposely  leaving  that  place  to  its  fate — 
was  calling  up  all  the  forces  at  his  disposal 
to  occupy  Plevna,  and  secure  his  communi- 
cations with  Sophia  by  the  Orkhanieh  Pass. 
(See  sketch  E.) 

Some  inkling  of  this  movement,  or  per- 
haps only  the  fact  that  a  larger  force 
was  at  Plevna  than  at  first  supposed,  caused 
General  Kriidener  to  send  General  Schilder- 
Schuldner,  as  already  mentioned,  to  seize 
Plevna,  before  which  place  Schilder-Schuld- 
ner  arrived  on  July  19th,  when  the  positions 
were  as  shown  in  sketch  G. 

During  the  attack  on  Nicopoli,  a  few 
miles  south  of  Sistova,  there  was  a  sudden 
alarm.  A  Cossack  rode  in  with  a  hurriedly 
scribbled  despatch  from  a  telegraph  clerk 
at  the  bridge  across  the  Danube,  to  the 
effect  that  the  Turks  were  marching  from 
Nicopoli  on  Sistova,  and  threatening  to 
sever  the  Russian  communications,  destrov 
170 


the  bridge,   and  compromise  the  safety  of 
the  emperor.     Immediate  steps  had  to   be 
taken.     One  brigade  of  the  11th  corps  was 
in  Sarevica.     The   other   brigades   of   the 
same  corps  were   forwarded.     Dispositions 
were  made  with  the  artillery  and  infantry 
covering  the  line  of  the  heights  protecting 
the  line  of  approach  from  Nicopoli.      The 
emperor  himself  assumed   the  chief  direc- 
tion of  affairs,  and  is  said  to  have  shown  at 
once  the  most  perfect  coolness  and  compe- 
tent military  ability.     The  scouts  sent  out, 
however,  brought  back  the  intelligence  that 
the  country  in  the  direction  of  Nicopoli 
was  quiet,  and  presently  there  arrived  in- 
telligence from  Baron  Kriidener,  respecting 
his  success  at  Nicopoli.     It   was  ultimately 
discovered  that   the   telegraph   clerk   had 
become  confused  and  alarmed  by  the  noise 
of  firing  at  Nicopoli  and  concern  for  the 
emperor's    safety.       The    incident    seems 
trivial,   but  shows  on   what   thin  ice  the 
Russians  were  treading  with  hostile  forces 
left  on  both  flanks. 

To  this  scare  succeeded  the  elation  pro- 
duced   by   the   capture   of   Nicopoli,   tho 
triumph  being  heightened  by  the  arrival  of 
Hassan  Pasha,  the  brave  defender  of  Nico- 
poli, of  whose  fighting  prowess  the  Rus- 
sians themselves  spoke  with  generous  ap- 
preciation.    As   he  fought   when   free,  so 
Hassan  Pasha  acted  when  a  prisoner,  bear- 
ing himself  before  the  Great  White  Czar 
with   true  Turkish  nonchalance.     When 
asked   why   he   capitulated,   he    said    his 
ammunition  was  all  gone,  and  he  had  been 
obliged  to  kill  with  his  own  hand  three  or 
four    soldiers   who    left   their  duty.     He 
spoke  as  rank  folly  of  the  conduct  of  a 
Russian   artillery   officer   who,   when   one 
position  was  barely  carried,  rode  his  guns 
in  among  the  still  undefeated  Turks,  and, 
unlimbering,    came    into    action    against 
other    positions    as    yet    uninjured.      So 
highly  did  the  Russian  staff  estimate  Ge-   ~ 
neral  Kriidener's  success,  that  they  con- 
sidered that  gain  of  the  fortress  freed  them 
from  the  threat  of  attack  on  their  right 
flank;    and  one   division,   the    31st,   was 
thought  sufficient,  on  the  line  of  Plevna- 
Nicopoli,  to  protect  communications  and 
guard  against  any  trouble  from  the  Widdin 
direction.     The   other,   the   5th,   was   in- 
tended to  form  a  portion  of  the  Balkan 
advance,   which   had   apparently  been   so 
brilliantly  inaugurated  by  General  Gourko. 
To  this  operation  we  must  now  devote  our 
attention. 


1 


I 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [occupation  of  tirnova. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE    FIRST    PASSAGE    OP    THE    BALKANS. 


"Whilst,  as  we  have  seen,  a  screen  was 
thrown  forward  on  either  side  to  protect  the 
flanks  of  the  advance  on  the  Balkans  by  the 
main  force,  which  was  to  pierce  its  way 
beyond  the  Balkans  into  Roumelia,  and 
dictate  tbe  terms  of  peace  before  the  walls 
of  Constantinople,  General  Gourko  was 
entrusted  with  the  task  of  clearing  the  way 
for  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  and  the  8th 
corps. 

But  though  the  passage  of  the  Danube 
was  effected  on  June  27th,  several  days 
elapsed  before  General  Gourko  was  well  on 
his  way  to  Tirnova  with  two  brigades  of 
cavalry,  and  field  artillery ;  and  it  was  not 
untilJuly  7th  that  he  effected  his  entrance, 
almost  unopposed,  into  Tirnova.  The  Rus- 
sian staff  therefore  allowed  no  less  than 
eight  days  for  a  cavalry  raid  on  a  place  not 
more  than  fifty  miles  distant  from  Sistova — 
a  rate  of  marching  of  six  miles  a  day  ! 

Tirnova  itself,  beautifully  situated  in 
the  valley  of  the  Yantra,  which  winds  tor- 
tuously through  the  town,  was  occupied  by 
about  1,500  Turkish  line,  who,  after  firing  a 
few  shots,  withdrew  over  the  hills  towards 
Elena,  as  they  were  unsupported  by  any 
large  forces  in  the  vicinity.  The  place  was 
not  fortified,  though  it  might  have  been 
made  of  immense  strength  ;  but  would,  in 
that  case,  also  have  required  a  very  large 
number  of  men  to  hold  it. 

The  news  that  Tirnova  was  denuded  of 
Turkish  troops,  and  that  none  were  in  force 
in  the  vicinity,  arrived  at  Sarejar  on  July 
8tb,  and  on  the  following  day  the  grand 
duke  and  the  greater  part  of  the  8th  corps 
started  to  occupy  it  in  force,  the  grand 
duke  intending  to  make  it  his  head-quarters. 
He  arrived  there  on  July  12th,  with  the 
greater  part  of  the  8th  corps,  and  there- 
with the  town  was  really  occupied  by  the 
Russians.  The  march  from  Sistova  was 
rather  like  a  military  promenade  or  a 
triumphal  procession  than  a  forced  march. 
Everywhere  the  people  came  out  to  meet 
the  army,  offering  bread  and  salt  and  the 
most  friendly  greetings ;  while  the  women 
and  girls  offered  fruit,  and  pelted  the  men 
with  flowers.     At  the  entrance  of  many  of 


the  villages,  arches  were  erected,  covered 
with  leaves  and  flowers.  Processions,  headed 
by  priests,  came  out  singing,  with  pictures 
from  the  churches,  standards,  and  banners. 
There  were  deafening  cheers,  and  the  most 
extravagant  joy.  They  insisted  on  shaking 
and  kissing  hands,  and  shed  the  cus- 
tomary tears.  At  the  entrance  of  the 
village  of  Zavada,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
gorge  that  leads  to  Tirnova,  a  rude  arch 
was  constructed  of  branches  of  trees.  The 
whole  population  of  the  village  gathered  at 
the  road-side  near  it.  The  soldiers,  without 
orders  from  their  officers,  uncovered  as  they 
passed  under,  to  the  great  delight  of  the 
people  ;  while  a  huge  bar  of  iron,  beaten  by 
a  mallet,  gave  forth  the  first  sound  re- 
sembling a  bell  heard  there  for  four  hundred 
years.  Just  inside  this  gorge  or  hollow  there 
were  two  very  ancient  monasteries,  built  one 
on  each  side  of  a  steep  mountain  side.  The 
priests  from  these  monasteries  came  down 
with  banners  and  pictures,  and  a  large 
beautiful  Bible,  which  as  many  of  the  sol- 
diers as  could,  kissed  as  they  passed,  the 
people  of  the  monasteries  hoisting  old  bells 
which  had  lain  hidden  in  the  basements  for 
four  hundred  years,  and  the  voices  of  which 
were  soon  heard  rolling  up  and  down  the 
hollows  and  gorges  of  the  mountains. 

The  reception  at  Tirnova  was  splendid. 
The  streets  were  full  of  women,  girls,  and 
children,  who  mingled  with  the  soldiers 
on  the  most  friendly  and  sociable  terms. 
The  windows  were  teeming  with  the  faces 
of  pretty  girls,  flags,  and  streamers.  The 
narrow,  crooked  streets  were  choked  up  by 
crowds  of  people,  soldiers,  horses,  and  wag- 
gons, and  the  whole  town  was  ringing  with 
excitement  and  joy.  Such  was  the  greeting 
the  invaders  received  at  all  hands.  The 
grand  duke  arrived  about  noon.  He  was 
met  at  the  usual  entrance  to  the  town  by 
priests  in  robes  chanting  prayers  in  the 
old  Sclavonic  tongue,  and  by  immense 
crowds  of  people.  With  deafening  cheers 
he  was  conducted  to  the  church,  where  he 
attended  a  short  service,  then  passed 
through  the  streets,  where  several  arches 
had  been  erected  with  the  inscription  upon 

171 


im^v 


I  ■! 


!(• 


1^     I 


'  ! 


in 


p 


i  ^ 


!  1 


•I 


i  1 


^BULGARIAN  EXCESSES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


them  of  "  Welcome,"  followed  by  a  crowd 
of  girls  singing.  The  women  and  girls  at 
the  windows  literally  covered  him  with 
flowers,  while  Christo  Ignatieff,  with  the 
enormous  moustache,  was  quite  buried  in 
the  carriage  under  the  leaves,  flowers,  and 
wreaths  showered  upon  him.  The  grand 
duke  then  went  to  the  quarters  already 
prepared  for  him. 

The  people  universally  opened  their 
houses  to  the  Russians.  There  was  no  trouble 
about  getting  billets.  The  officers  had 
only  to  inquire  at  the  first  house,  and  if  not 
already  occupied  they  were  sure  to  be  re- 
ceived. In  only  one  village  had  there  been  a 
cool  reception.  This  was  Akchair,  where  the 
people  showed  a  disinclination  to  sell  any- 
thing, either  because  they  were  afraid  the 
Russians  would  go  away  and  the  Turks 
come  back,  or  because  some  flying  band  of 
Russians  had  taken  things  without  payment. 
The  Turkish  population  fled  everywhere, 
and  several  villages  had  been  abandoned, 
the  Turks  carrying  off  all  their  efi'ects  that 
they  had  not  been  plundered  of.  Nearly 
the  whole  Turkish  population  had  also  fled 
from  Tirnova,  carrying  off  their  goods  and 
■chattels.  The  houses  of  those  who  fled  were 
more  or  less  damaged  by  the  Bulgarian 
population.  Windows  and  doors  were 
smashed,  as  at  Sistova.  The  most  needy 
part  of  the  population  helped  themselves  to 
what  the  Turks  left  behind,  which  was  not 
much.  These  acts  w^re  committed  during 
the  day  or  two  of  anarchy  which  followed 
the  departure  of  the  Turks  and  preceded 
Russian  rule.  They  were  repudiated  by  the 
better  class  of  Bulgarians,  who  expressed 
great  chagrin  at  them,  but  who  professed 
to  have  been  powerless  to  prevent  them. 

The  conduct  of  these  retreating  Turks 
xieserves  mention.  Though  there  were  iso- 
lated cases  of  outrage  and  murder  and  vio- 
lence, they  were  rare.  They  drove  off  all 
the  Bulgarian  live  stock— sheep,  horses, 
^nd  cattle— they  could  lay  their  hands  on, 
but  did  not  go  further. 

The  grand  duk«  was  thus  safely  installed 
in  Tirnova,  and  Prince  Mirski  was  sent 
forward  with  part  of  the  8th  corps  to  at- 
tack the  Schipka  Pass  in  front,whilst  Gene- 
ral Gourko,  who  had  left  Tirnova  the  day 
before  the  grand  duke  arrived,  was  to  try 
to  cross  the  Balkans  at  some  other  point, 
and  attack  it  in  the  rear. 

The  positions  of  the  Russians  and  Turks 
at  this  juncture—on  July  13-14--are  shown 
in  sketch  H. 

172   . 


At  Tirnova  there  was  the  grand  duke, 
his  left  flank  protected  by  Gourko's  cavalry 
till  relieved  by  a  detachment  of  the  8th 
corps  which  occupied  Slataritza.  His  right 
was  protected  by  another  detachment  at 
Novoselo,  and  still  further  west,  at  Selvi 
on  the  road  to  Lovatz  (see  sketch  F).  Prince 
Mirski  was  well  forward  with  his  forces  at 
Drenova  and  Gabrova,  scouring  the  country 
round  Elena. 

In  front  of  these  forces  lay  the  Balkan 
passes.  From  Tirnova,  the  road  to  the 
Schipka  Pass  led  past  Drenova  to  Gabrova. 
Midway  between  these  two  places  the  road 
split,  the  chief  one  going  on  straight  to 
Schipka,  and  the  other  to  Travna,  whence 
it  ran  southwards  through  a  difficult  pass, 
and  emerged  in  the  valley  of  the  Tundja, 
opposite  the  village  of  Maglis. 

West  of  Tirnova,  a  road  led  to  Novoselo, 
and  Selvi>,  and  Lovatz;  to  the  east,  one 
road  ran  due  east  to  Slataritza,  and  another 
south-east  to  Elena,  This  latter  road 
splits  at  Feda  Bey,  the  high-road  running 
to  Elena ;  whilst  the  other,  a  cross-road,  led 
to  the  Hainkoi  Pass,  a  difficult,  little  known 
pass,  seldom  traversed  by  either  Turk  or 
Bulgarian  except  for  local  purposes,  the 
great  traffic  between  the  northern  and 
southern  sides  of  the  Balkans  being  carried 
on  through  the  Schipka  or  Slivno  passes 
west  and  east. 

Of  these  three  passes,  two,  the  Schipka 
and  the  Hainkoi  passes,  have  become  re- 
nowned. The  third,  the  Travna  Pass,  has 
never  been  mentioned  during  the  war  ;  and 
yet,  as  we  shall  show,  that  pass  might  have 
been  turned  to  immense  advantage  by  either 
Turks  or  Russians  in  subsequent  combats, 
as  by  means  of  it  either  party  might  have 
outflanked  the  other. 

South  of  the  Balkans  and  its  passes  the 
river  Tundja  flowed,  from  west  to  east, 
through  a  broad  valley,  the  southern  boun- 
dary of  which  was  formed  by  the  Kara  Dagh 
mountains.  Thishill  approached  theBalkans 
opposite  the  Hainkoi  Pass,  and  forced  the 
river  Tundja  to  describe  a  wide  bend.  On 
the  southern  side  of  the  Kara  Dagh  lay  the 
towns  of  Eski  Zagra,  Karabunar,  and  Yeni 
Zagra,  near  which  ran  the  railway  from 
Adrianople  to  Yamboli.  The  Kara  Dagh 
is  also  pierced  by  two  comparatively  easy 
passes  leading  from  the  valley  of  the  Tundja 
into  the  plains  of  the  Maritza.  One  of  these 
passes,  the  most  westerly,  leads  from  Kezan- 
lik  to  Eski  Zagra,  and  the  other  from 
Maglis  to  Karabunar  and  Yeni  Zagra. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [positions  in  the  balkans. 


H — Positions  of  Turkish  and  Russian  Forces 
in  the  Balkans  on  July  13,  14,  1877. 


Voditza.    o 


I 


Eilidjilar.    o 


I 


KoereTO. 


Djutin.    o 


H 


I 


0  Novoselo. 


Drenova.    o 


Gabrova.    o 


o 

Travna. 


o 

Tirnova. 

Slataritza.    o  ll 
0  Feda  Bey. 

* 

Elena,    o 

1 

Behrova. 

"8 

Voinish.    o 

Raikovci.    o 

•  • 

ParovcL    o 

Scbipka 


.  I  Balkans.  . 

*         5  Travna  r  ^  Pass, 

y      I  Pass. 


Balkans. 


Hainkoi 


H 


Balkans. 


Konaro. 


Pass. 

o  Hainkoi. 


QQ 


o 

Eezanlik. 


o 

Maglis. 


Iflamur.    o 


R,   Tundja. 


Kara  Dagh  l    ^ 


Hills. 


Dalboka. 


Kara    Dagh 

Hills. 


< 


> 


Russians. 
Turks, 


Eski  Zagra. 

■i     Gourko's  Infantry, 
■  „         Cavalry, 


ti.  Tundja. 


i 


Teni  Zagra. 


Karabunar. 


!  Head-quarters, 


VOL.    III. 


2    A 


173 


v.) 


)  I 

.  1 


f 


I 
i 

hi 

n.' 


1 


ii 

i  i 


I  i 


I 


if;  I 


Ii 


r  . 


TASSAGE  OF  THE  HAINKGI.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


There  were  thus  three  distinct  sections  of 
country  lying  between  the  Russians  at  Tir- 
nova  and  the  great  Roumelian  plains.  The 
first  was  the  Balkans;  the  second,  the 
valley  of  the  Tundja ;  and  the  third,  the 
Kara  Dagh. 

Now,  liaving:  arrived  in  force  at  Tirnova, 
the  Russians  spread  out  like  a  fan,  as  shown 
in  sketch  H.  The  Turks  occupied  Schipka, 
Kezanlik,  and  Maglis  with  small  detach- 
ments, whilst  the  gros  of  their  forces  were 
south  of  the  Kara  Dagh,  at  Eski  Zagra, 
Karabunar,  and  Yeni  Zagra  ;  the  basis  and 
head-quarters  being  at  Adrianople,  even  as 
the  Russian  basis  was  at  Tirnova.  Should 
the  Turkish  basis  be  forced,  the  Turks 
would  have  to  fall  back  upon  the  lines  of 
Tchataldja  in  front  of  Constantinople  (see 
sketch  F).  Should  the  Russian  basis  be 
forced,  the  Czar  and  his  army  would  have 
to  fall  back  across  the  Danube  at  Sistova. 

In  these  few  lines  the  whole  gist  of  the 
Russo-Turkish  campaign  is  contained,  and 
the  object  of  Turk  and  Russian  succinctly 
•explained. 

The  first  thing  which  Greneral  Gourko 
had  to  do  when  he  left  Tirnova  on  July  11, 
was  to  ascertain  how  far  the  Turkisli  con- 
centration, said  to  exist  about  Osman  Bazar, 
was  in  force,  and  whether  the  alignment  of 
the  enemy  was  prolonged  from  Osman  Bazar 
in  a  southerly  direction  through  the  Balkans. 
Accordingly  General  Gourko  led  a  cavalry 
reconnaissance  on  the  road  in  the  direction 
of  Osman  Bazar,  and  pushed  it  home  with 
considerable  determination — driving  in  the 
isolated  detachments  of  the  Turks  till  he 
learned  that  there  were  some  6,000  Turks 
in  the  Osman  Bazar  district,  which,  however, 
constituted  the  left  flank  of  the  Turkish 
alignment  between  the  Danube  and  the 
Balkans.  Their  position  did  not  prolong 
itself  into  the  mountains;  so,  leaving  a 
detachment  of  the  8th  corps,  which  had 
followed  him,  to  watch  the  Turkish  position 
about  Osman  Bazar,  he  coolly  turned  his 
back,  wheeled  his  cavalry  round  from  east 
to  south,  and  headed  straight  for  the 
Balkans. 

At  Feda  Bey  the  expedition  struck  the 
road^to  the  Hainkoi  Pass.  This  pass  and  this 
road  were  discovered  by  Prince  Tserteleff, 
to  whom  had  been  confided  the  whole  busi- 
ness of  obtaining  information  about  the 
roads,  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  their 
numbers,  dispositions,  and  so  on.  He  soon 
ascertained  that  the  Turks  had  fortified  the 
blivno  and  Gabrova  passes  in  such  a  way 
174 


as  to  render  the  forcing  of  a  passage  at 
either  of  them  a  very  difficult  matter,  and 
he  determined  to  look  for  another.  Count 
Moltke,  in  his  book,  refers  to  a  pass  between 
those  of  Gabrova  and  Slivno,  but  speaks 
of  it  as  only  a  path  not  practicable  for  an 
army.  Prince  Tserteleff  decided  to  investi- 
gate this  pass,  in  the  hope  that  it  might 
lead  to  something.  He  soon  ascertained 
that  it  had  a  very  bad  reputation — a  place 
that  was  generally  frequented  by  brigands, 
and  rarely  used  either  by  Bulgarians  or 
Turks.  Among  the  Turks  he  found  it  had 
even  a  worse  reputation  than  among  the 
Bulgarians.  It  was  a  kind  of  tradition 
among  them  that  this  pass  was  in  the  clouds, 
that  the  defiles  leading  to  it  were  so  wild, 
so  savage  and  barren,  as  to  be  unfrequented 
by  either  bird  or  beast — a  kind  of  mountain 
desert  where  nothing  could  live.  Pursuing 
his  investigations,  the  prince  heard  of  a 
man  who  had  been  through  this  pass,  and, 
finding  him,  he  learned  that  he  had  been 
through  in  fact,  but  that  was  two  5'ears 
ago,  and  the  road  might  have  become  im- 
passable since  then.  But  what  made  the 
information  really  important  was,  that  he 
had  been  through  with  one  of  the  ox-carts 
of  the  country.  If  an  ox-cart  could  go 
through,  very  probably  a  cannon  might  be 
got  through  somehow,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined to  reconnoitre  and  explore.  Three 
days  before  the  arrival  of  the  grand  duke 
at  Tirnova,  General  Ranch  went  forward 
with  200  Cossacks  for  this  purpose,  taking 
with  him  Bulgarian  guides.  Withoutwaiting 
to  explore  the  road  to  the  end,  he  immedi- 
ately began  preparing  it  for  the  passage  of 
artillery — a  task  which,  as  far  as  the  pass 
itself  was  concerned,  turned  out  to  be  no 
very  difficult  matter,  as  the  worst  part  of 
the  road  was  on  the  south  side.  The  most 
wonderful  part  of  it  was,  that  although 
these  200  Cossacks  were  workinor  three 
days  on  this  road,  with  the  Bulgarian 
peasantry  coming  and  going  all  the  time 
freely,  the  Turks  never  got  a  whisper  of 
their  presence,  nor  any  intimation  of  tho 
evident  intention  of  the  Russians  to  try 
this  pass.  They  even  sent  three  battalions 
from  Kezanlik  to  Slivno  to  strengthen  the 
positions  before  the  latter  place,  and  these 
three  battalions  passed  by  Hankoi,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  pass,  the  day  before  the 
Russians  issued  out.  These  three  battalions 
were  just  where  they  ought  to  have  been 
had  they  but  known  it,  as  they  ought  to 
have  done,  and  they  could  have  prevented 


I- 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  hainkoi  pass. 


the  success  of  the  movement.  And  yet, 
although  the  whole  Bulgarian  population 
of  a  dozen  mountain  villages  knew  the 
Russians  were  there,  not  one  man  was 
found  amongst  them  to  inform  the  Turks. 
Such  is  the  advantage  possessed  by  an  army 
operating  among  a  friendly  population. 
The  Turkish  staff  either  did  not  know  of 
this  pass  at  all,  or,  knowing  it,  believed  it 
to  be  so  impracticable  that  they  did  not 
even  think  it  worth  while  to  place  a  corps 
uf  observation  to  watch  it.  A  small  body 
of  troops  had  been  there,  which  had  not 
even  been  placed  there  to  watch  the  place. 
They  were  merely  a  small  body  whose  re- 
treat had  been  cut  off  by  the  Russians  at 
Elena,  and  who  had  retreated  by  this  road 
two  or  three  days  before  the  Russians  came, 
without  thinking  it  worth  while  to  leave  a 
single  man  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the  pass. 

The  only  danger,  therefore,  that  the 
Russians  had  to  fear  was,  that  some  wander- 
ing party  of  Bashi-Bazouks  or  marauders 
should  pass  that  way  and  discover  what 
they  were  at,  or  that  the  noise  made  by 
the  Cossacks  in  repairing  the  road  should 
excite  the  curiosity  of  the  small  Turkish 
force  which  it  was  known  was  at  Hainkoi, 
at  the  outlet  of  the  defile.  They  did  not  dare 
to  use  powder  for  blasting  the  rocks,  by 
which  they  might  have  made  the  road  pass- 
able in  several  places  where  it  could  hardly 
be  called  so  for  artillery  in  the  condition  in 
which  it  was  left  by  the  Cossacks.  But 
Prince  Tserteleff,  who  had  greatly  distin- 
guished himself  during  the  passage,  and  to 
whom  must  be  given  the  honour  not  only 
of  discovering  the  pass,  but  of  conducting 
and  piloting  the  advance  guard  through  it, 
went  forward  continually  with  one  or  two 
Bulgarians,  reconnoitring  the  route  far  in 
advance  of  even  the  advance  guard.  He 
even  disguised  himself  in  a  Bulgarian 
peasant's  clothes,  and  went  forward  on 
foot,  anxious  to  see  if  the  road  were  really 
practicable  before  the  whole  column  should 
advance  to  what  might,  after  all,  be  only  a 
sheep-path,  over  which  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  take  artillery ;  and  he  was  the  first 
man  of  the  Russian  array,  and  his  the  first 
horse,  to  cross  the  summit,  and  the  first  to 
open  out  the  defile  at  Hainkoi. 

The  road  having  thus  been  decided  on, 
General  Gourko  collected  his  cavalry  round 
about  Elena,  and  started  southwards  without 
more  ado,  followed  by  his  infantry  and 
artillery  into  the  wild  country,  broken  up 
by  gorges  and  clefts,  which  lay  between  him 


and  the  entrance  to  the  pass.  He  passed 
through  the  villages  of  Voinish  and  Raikovci 
to  Parovci,  a  little  hamlet  made  in  a  gorge 
of  the  Balkans,  in  a  dark,  narrow  little  dell, 
whose  sides  were  so  steep  that  the  dozen 
houses  which  made  up  the  village  seemed 
to  be  holding  on  with  hooks  and  claws,  to 
keep  from  slipping  down  into  the  deep 
ravine  beneath  them. 

The  silence  usually  pervading  these  moun- 
tains,   rocks,    and    forests,     disturbed    at 
most  by  the  occasional   cry  of  some  bird 
startled  in  its  slumbers,  was  broken  by  the 
hum  of  voices,  the  impatient  stamp  of  the 
horses,   and  the  rattle   of    harness.     Just 
below  the  village  stood  a  battery  of  artillery ; 
and  extending  two  miles  further  up,  and 
three  or  four  miles  further  down  the  dark,, 
crooked,  rocky  little  hollow,  the  rest  of  the 
army  lay  asleep  on  its  arms,  without  fire  or 
supper,  waiting  the  first  ray  of  daylight  to 
resume   its  march.     It  was   impossible  to 
take  the  artillery  along  in   the  darkness, 
through  one  of  the  most  difficult  defiles  of 
the  Balkans.     Absolute  silence  in  the  weird 
stillness  of  night  was  absolutely  necessary 
also,  which  explains  the  absence  of  camp 
fires  and  supper,  and  the  usual  sights  and 
sounds  of  a   bivouac.     The  glare  of  camp 
fires  reflected  on  the  sky,  and  seen  from  the 
other  side  of  the  mountains,  might  have 
given  the  alarm  to  the  Turks ;  and  a  very 
small  force,  a  very  little  thing,  would  stop 
the  way,  and  even  result  in  the  destruction 
of  the  column.     They  were  less  than   ten 
thousand  men,  and  were  extended  along  this 
narrow,  crooked  defile  a  distance  of  seven 
or  eight  miles.   If  the  Turks  had  got  wind  of 
the  advance,  they  could  have  concentrated  on 
the  other  side,  and  cut  the  Russians  off  in 
detail  as  they  came  out,  as  easily  as  one  could 
catch  water  coming  out   of   a   bnnghole. 
There  were  other  dangers  to  be  thought  of 
too.     One  thunderstorm   would  have  ren- 
dered th«  road,  already  so  difficult,  quite, 
impassable.    Then  there  was  still  the  possi- 
bility, though  a  remote  one,  of  the  Turks 
rapidly  concentrating  twenty-five  or  thirty 
thousand  men,  and  crushing  them  before 
they  could  get   reinforcements.     It  was  a 
hazardous  undertaking,  but  one  which,  if 
successful,  would  ensure  the  passage  of  the 
Balkans  to  the  main  army. 

The  night,  however,  was  passed  in  safety ; 
and  in  the  morning  it  was  found  that  the 
road  from  Parovci  to  the  top  of  the  pass 
was  not  nearly  so  bad  as  had  been  supposed. 
Indeed,  the  road  all  the  way  up  to  this  point 

175 


I 


IK 


»S' 


^t^       1. 


-,..  iir 


f'!^ 


;i,t: 


* :  • 


"i 


!i : 


'  I . 


., 


i 


Mi 


1      ■ 


V: 


n. 


'i. 


SURPRISE  OF  THE  TURKS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1877, 


had  been  much  better  than  was  expected. 
It  had  been  rough  to  be  sure,  full  of  lioles 
and  stones,  in  some  places  passing,  for  a 
hundred  yards  at  a  time,  over  mere  heaps  of 
stones  that  covered  the  whole  bottom  of  the 
hollow  ;  at  other  times  through  the  fields  ; 
but  there  had  been  but  two  or  three  places 
as  far  as  Parovci  where  it  had  been  at  all 
steep.  With  help  from  the  men  in  these 
two  or  three  places,  the  horses  were  able  to 
draw  the  artillery  through  with  ease.  At 
Parovci  the  road  began  to  grow  steep ;  and 
to  the  summit,  a  distance  of  about  two 
miles,  the  men  had  to  help  the  horses  nearly 
the  whole  way.  But  even  here  the  great 
difficulty  of  mountain  roads,  their  narrow- 
ness, does  not  seem  to  have  been  encountered 
at  all.  The  road  all  the  way  to  the  summit 
was  made  wide  enough  for  the  wide-tracked 
artillery  waggons  without  any  difficulty. 
It  led  up  the  side  of  the  little  hollow,  whicli 
was  thickly  wooded  to  the  very  top,  and 
opened  out  on  a  long  narrow  ridge,  shaped 
like  a  saddle,  and  not  more  than  fifty  or 
sixty  feet  wide.  This  was  the  summit  of 
the  pass,  the  descent  on  the  south  side  being 
far  more  precipitous  than  the  ascent.  Here 
the  men  had  to  help  to  hold  the  artillery 
back  instead  of  pushing  it  forward. 

Two  hundred  Cossacks  were  drawn  up  on 
this  ridge,  with  their  horses'  heads  turned 
south,  looking  away  over  the  interminable 
labyrinth  of  mountains,  hills,  ridges,  valleys, 
hollows,  and  gorges,  through  which  they  still 
had  to  bore  their  way  to  the  valley  of  the 
Tundja  before  their  passage  could  be  assured. 
The  first  streak  of  day  was  just  growing 
visible  in  the  east,  and  a  long  flash  of  rosy 
light  climbing  slowly  up  the  sky.  Before 
and  beneath  was  a  dark  narrow  gorge,  still  a 
pool  of  blackness,  into  which  they  slowly 
descended  down  into  the  depths  of  the  dark 
defile.  The  first  three  or  four  hundred 
yards  were  very  steep ;  but  at  the  end  of 
that  time  they  had  come  fairly  into  the 
little  hollow,  and  the  descent  the  rest  of 
the  way  was  gentle  and  easy,  although  the 
road  was  rough.  The  hollow  was  narrower 
even  than  the  one  on  the  other  side,  and  the 
trees  were  large,  the  branches  completely 
uniting  over-head,  making  it  as  dark  as  a 
cavern. 

A  little  further  on,  in  a  narrow  valley,  the 
expedition  again  camped  for  the  night, 
being  then  about  half-way  between  the  top 
of  the  pass  and  its  outlet  at  Hainkoi ;  and 
as  the  Turks,  known  to  be  at  the  issue, 
were  but  five  or  six  miles  off",  no  fires  were 
176 


lighted.     At  break  of  day  the  force  again 
moved   forward  cautiously.  General  Rauch 
leading,  and  at  about  nine  o'clock  turned 
sharp  round  a  projecting  bluff  that  a  mo- 
ment before  seemed  to  completely  bar  the 
way,  and  found  the  defile  suddenly  open 
out  to  the  width  of  half  a  mile,  and  beheld 
beyond  the  valley  of  the  Tundja ;  and  here, 
not  more  than   half  a  mile  distant,  lay  a 
Turkish  camp.    General  Kauch  had  already 
learned  from  the  Bulgarians  that  there  were 
only   a   couple   of  companies   there ;    and 
counting  upon   the   effect  of  the   surprise 
and  the  certainty  that  the  Turks  could  not 
know  that  the  whole  Russian  army  was  not 
at  his  heels,  he  determined  to  attack  and 
clear  the  outlet  at  once  with  his  two  hun- 
dred   Cossacks.      They   at   once   began   to 
advance,  firing  to  drive  them  away.     The 
Turks  were  complelely  taken  by  surprise. 
It   is  not  a  little   remarkable   that    out- 
post   service    should    be     often   the   very 
last   thing  learned,    and    that    it   should 
never  be  learned  at  all  by  some  nations, 
as   by   the   Spaniards   and   the  Turks,   in 
spite    of   their   having   everything   else — 
arms,   equipments,    organisation  —  apper- 
taining to   modern   warfare.      A   Spanish 
army  will  march  boldly  within  the  enemy's 
lines,  billet  the  troops  in    a  village  in  a 
little  hollow  surrounded  by  hills  half  a  mile 
distant,    without    putting    out    a     single 
picket,  with  the  usual  result  of  surprise  and 
defeat.     The  military  history  of  Turkey  is 
full  of  surprises  and  defeats  caused  by  the 
neglect  of  the  outpost  service.    So  the  force 
here,  watching  a  most  important  point,  had 
put  out  no  pickets ;  it  was  taken   by  sur- 
prise, thrown  into  consternation  at  the  near 
approach   of  the   Russians,  and   instantly 
began  to  retreat — two  companies  of  infantry 
of  the  regular  army  before  200  Cossacks. 
I  could  hardly  have  believed  it  if  I  had  not 
seen  it.     They  fired  as  they  fled,  but  there 
was  little  harm  done  on  either  side,  the 
Russian  loss  being  five  or  six  wounded.   The 
Cossacks  drove  them  out  on  the  Slivno  road, 
beyond  the  village  of  Hainkoi,  whence  the 
fugitives  proceeded  to  Konaro,  where,  next 
day,  they  attacked  the  Russians,  but  were 
repulsed  after  some  sharp  fighting.     In  the 
course  of  the  day  General  Gourko  arrived 
with  six  battalions  of  Russian  sharpshooters 
numbering  about  2,000  men,  and  towards 
evening,    the  Bulgarian   legion,    the  dra- 
goons, the  hussars,  the  rest  of  the  Cossacks, 
and  the  artillery  arrived,  making  up   the 
whole    detachment,    and     the    outlet    of 


a 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [advance  on  kezanlik. 


the  defile  was  made  safe.     The  force  under 
General  Gourko's  command,  at  this  point, 
consisted  of  seven  battalions  of  Bulgarians, 
about  5,000  men;  six  battalions  of  sharp- 
shooters, about  2,000  men,  the  battalion  of 
sharpshooters  being  very  small ;  a  brigade  of 
dragoons,  1,000  men ;  a  regiment  of  hussars, 
500  ;  and  three  regiments  of  Cossacks,  2,500 
men ;  three  batteries  of  field-pieces  of  six, 
and    a    battery   of    mountain    guns  light 
enough  to  be  carried  on  horses — in  all  about 
11,000  men.     "With  this  force,"   as  the 
correspondent  of  the  Daily  Nexus  trumpeted 
forth,  "  half  of  which  were  raw  recruits  not 
yet  four  months  under  arms,  and  one-fourth 
more  (the  Cossacks)  irregulars,  the  Russians 
made  and  secured  the  passage  of  the  Bal- 
kans, one  of  the  most  formidable  bulwarks 
ever  raised  by  nature  for  the  defence  of  a 
country.     And  they  did  it  with  a  loss  of 
six  men  wounded.     For  the  passage  was 
secured  from  this  moment.     Even  had  the 
attempt   to    force    the   pass    at   Kezanlik 
proved  unsuccessful,  the  whole  army  could 
liave   crossed   this   pass  with  ease."     This 
outburst  of  mock  enthusiasm  on  the  part 
of  the    Daily    News   correspondent,  cha- 
racterises the  whole  tone,   with  some  few 
exceptions,   of  the   Daily  News  comments 
on  the  war.     As  we  have  seen,  the  pass  was 
quite   undefended.     Where,  then,  was   the 
glory  ?     Credit  may  be  given  to  the  Rus- 
sian leaders  for  their  astuteness  in  finding 
an  undefended  pass  across  the  Balkans  ;  and 
the  passage  may  be  regarded  as  a  pedestrian 
feat  on  the  part  of  the  men  ;  but  that  is  all. 
The  next  day  there  was  some  appearance 
of  the  Turks  concentrating  to  attack.     The 
three  battalions  that  had  passed  on  the  way 
to  Slivno  two  days  before  seemed  to  have 
returned,  and  made  a  show  as  if  they  would 
attack.    General  Gourko  took  the  dragoons 
and  started  to  meet  them,  giving  orders  for 
the  Bulgarian  troops  to  follow,  as  he  wished 
to  try  them  once  under  fire.    But  the  three 
battalions  of  Turks  retired  so  rapidly  before 
the  two  regiments   of  dragoons,  that  the 
Bulgarians  could  not  get  up  to  them.     The 
dragoons  drove  them  some  ten  miles  in  the 
direction  of  Slivno,  and  then  returned  to 
Hainkoi.    "This  retreat  of  three  battalions 
of  infantry,   2,000  to  3,000  men,    before 
1,000  cavalry,   was  almost  as  bad  as  the 
flight   of  two  companies  before  200  Cos- 
sacks."   This  sentence  again  shows  the  bias 
of  the  correspondent.      He  does  not  add 
that  the  1,000  dragoons  were  supported  by 
10,000  other  troops. 


The  next  day  after  this  aff*air,  or  the 
third  after  the  arrival  at  Hainkoi,  General 
Gourko,  leaving  the  Bulgarians  to  guard 
the  place,  took  the  rest  of  the  detachment, 
and  started  for  Kezanlik.  They  met  a 
small  force  a  short  distance  from  Hainkoi, 
which  fled  after  firing  a  few  shots.  This 
force  retreating  before  the  Russians,  proved 
to  be  a  most  unfortunate  circumstance  for 
four  or  five  Turkish  villages  on  the  way  to 
Kezanlik.  They  took  refuge  in  these  vil- 
lages, and  fired  on  the  Russians  from  the 
houses.  The  result  was  that  the  Russians  set 
fire  to  every  house  from  which  they  had  been 
fired  at,  and,  the  fire  spreading,  these  vil- 
lages were  for  the  most  part  destroyed. 

In  the  meantime  the  news  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Russians  had  spread  to  Kezanlik,  and 
the  Turkish    commander    there    detached 
three  battalions  from  the  force  guarding  the 
Schipka  Pass,  and  sent  them  to  meet  the 
enemy.     The  Russians  met  this  force  near 
Maglis,  about  two-thirds  of  the  distance  to 
Kezanlik,  and  the  fight  began  at  once.  The 
Turks  had  taken  position  in  the  gardens, 
and  opened  fire  as  soon  as  within  range. 
General  Gourko  then  marched  straight  on 
Maglis.     His  troops  formed   in    three  co- 
lumns, one  consisting  of  infantry,  close  to 
the  mountains.     The  middle  column  was 
cavalry  and  infantry,  and  the  left  column 
cavalry  only,  with  orders  to  cover  the  flank, 
and  if  possible  to  turn  that  of  the  enemy. 
At  Iflamur  he  was  stopped   by  a  strong 
position,  and  had  to  cope  with  the  Turkish 
artillery,  cavalry,  and  infantry.     When  he 
was  pushing  them  hard,  five  battalions  of 
Anatolian  Nizams  came  up    as   reintorce- 
ments,  and  behaved  very  well.     Their  fire, 
begun  as  it  was  at  2,000  paces,  caused  the 
Russians  considerable  loss.      The  Russian 
orders  were,  not  to  open  fire  till  within  600 
paces  of  the  enemy,  and  it  was  in  this  in- 
terval that  the  Russians  sufi'ered  most.  But 
when    their    distance  was  reached,    their 
superiority  in    numbers  allowed   them   to 
pour  in  a  fire  which  soon  compelled  the 
Anatolians  to  give  way,  with  a  total  loss,  at 
Maglis   and   Iflamur,    of  400   killed   and 
wounded,  many  of  whom  fell  at  close  quar- 
ters, sabre  and  bayonet  having  been  freely 
used  in  the  gardens  and  houses  of  the 
villages.     But  though  forced   to  yield  up 
their°  positions,  the  retreating  Turks  kept 
up  a  running  fight  all  the  way  to  Kezanlik, 
a  distance  of  six  or  seven  miles  ;  and  that 
they  fought  well  is  proved  by  the  Russian 
loss  in  this  running  fight,  which  was  some 

177 


■!  t 


I 


i! 


i 


:, 


^|J 


ATTACK  ON  THE  SCHIPKA.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


600  killed  and  wounded,  nearly  the  whole 
of  which  took  place  near  Maglis,  when  the 
Turkish  positions  were  first  carried. 

General  Gourko  and  his  forces  got  into 
Kezanlik  in  the  evening,  and  were  most 
enthusiastically  greeted  by  the  Bulgarian 
population.  The  Turkish  inhabitants  had 
withdrawn  into  their  houses,  frightened 
nearly  to  death.  They  had  been  kept  in 
ignorance  of  the  real  progress  of  the  Eus- 
sians  by  the  Turkish  papers,  which  had 
been  announcing  a  continued  succession  of 
victories  for  the  Turkish  arms.  Their  relief 
upon  finding  that  the  Russians  passed 
throuorh  the  town  without  molesting:  them 
was  very  great.  But  they  still  had  the 
lower  classes  of  their  Buljjarian  neighbours 
to  deal  with,  and  this  proved  to  be  a  far 
more  difficult  matter  than  appeasing  the 
Russians.  These  Bulgarians  had  many  an 
old  score  to  settle  up,  and  they  proceeded 
to  call  the  Turks  to  account  with  a  promp- 
titude and  decision  which  showed  how 
firmly  they  believed  that  Turkish  rule  and 
Turkish  domination  were  things  of  the 
past.  Getting  a  Cossack  or  two,  of  whom 
there  were  always  a  number  everywhere 
without  any  very  absorbing  occupation,  to 
go  along  with  them,  they  went  into  every 
Turkish  house,  and  rifled  it  of  as  many 
valuables  as  they  could  conveniently  carry 
off. 

Money  where  it  was  to  be  obtained, 
jewellery,  trinkets,  ornaments,  linen,  cloth- 
ing, carpets,  were  the  things  that  were 
seized.  No  house  was  as  yet,  however, 
thoroughly  pillaged  and  ruined,  except  a 
few  that  had  been  abandoned  by  their 
owners,  and  those  owners  were  men  who, 
owing  to  their  misdeeds  in  1876,  did  not 
dare  to  remain  and  allow  themselves  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Russians.  One  of 
these  was  a  Sadoullah  Bey,  a  namesake 
of  the  then  Turkish  minister  at  Berlin, 
whose  house  was  filled  with  plunder  taken 
from  the  Bulgarians  during  the  massacres, 
and  whose  fields  were  likewise  filled  with 
cattle  from  the  same  source.  This  man's 
house  was  thoroughly  pillaged  and  wrecked, 
as  were  the  houses  of  half-a-dozen  others  of 
the  same  class.  The  fault  of  it  all  must  be 
fixed  upon  General  Gourko,  who  for  two 
days  allowed  the  town  to  take  care  of  itself, 
so  intent  was  he  upon  carrying  out  the  task 
which  bad  been  entrusted  to  him.  Until 
the  pass  of  Schipka  was  taken,  his  position 
was,  of  course,  a  most  precarious  and  critical 
one.  With  a  small  force,  completely  cut 
178 


off  from  the  main  army,  and  separated  from 
it  by  the  Balkans,  against  which  the  Turks 
might  have  rapidly  concentrated  their  whole 
army  south   of   the   Balkans,    he  was,   of 
course,  justified  in  trying  to  get  possession 
of  the  pass,  and  thus  secure  his  own  safety,, 
before  looking   after   the  property  of  the 
Turks.     Still  there  appears  to  have  been  a 
method  in  this  system.    Almost  every  town 
occupied  by  the  Russians  was  left,  at  some 
time  or  other,  to  the  mercy  of  the  Bulgarian 
population,  to  do  the  work  for  which  the 
Russians  did  not  care  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility. 

However,  having  left  Kezanlik  to  tho 
Bulgarians,  General  Gourko,  after  recon- 
noitring the  positions  of  the  Turks  in  the 
Schipka  Pass,  determined  upon  an  imme- 
diate attack.  The  village  of  Schipka  is  some 
six  or  seven  miles  north  from  Kezanlik, 
right  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  A  pecu- 
liarity of  the  Balkans  is  that,  while  on  the 
north  side  there  is  a  long  series  of  hills, 
lesser  mountains  before  you  come  to  the 
main  range,  here  on  the  south  they  stop  off 
short,  without  any  foot-hills  at  all,  unless 
the  other  range  south  of  the  Tundja  Valley 
may  be  considered  such.  As  you  ride  along 
the  valley  of  the  Tundja,  you  see  those 
monster  masses  of  earth,  and  rock,  and 
forest  rising  abruptly  out  of  the  plain  with- 
out any  intermediate  hills  or  irregularities,, 
like  a  row  of  sugar-loaves  placed  along  a 
floor  and  rounded  off  at  the  top.  The  pass 
is  therefore  only  a  couple  of  miles  from  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  on  the  south,  and  the 
road  up  to  it  very  steep  and  difficult.  The 
Turks  had  fortified  it  in  the  most  thorough 
and  effective  manner ;  and  had  the  Russians 
been  obliged  to  attack  it  from  the  other 
side,  it  would  have  cost  them  a  fearful  loss 
of  life.  As  it  was,  it  cost  the  Russians 
something  like  four  hundred  killed  and 
wounded.  But  the  Turks  were  discouraged 
when  they  found  their  positions  were  turned, 
and  did  not  fight  with  any  hope  or  chance 
of  success.  A  Russian  force,  under  Prince 
Mirski,  had  advanced  on  the  Gabrova  side, 
and  it  had  been  arranged  that  a  combined 
attack  was  to  be  made  on  the  pass  from  both 
sides  at  once ;  but  owing  to  the  difficulty  of 
communication,  the  combination  failed. 
The  attack  from  the  Gabrova  side  was  made 
a  day  earlier  than  it  ought  to  have  been, 
and  the  one  from  the  Kezanlik  side  a  day 
later,  and  both  were  repulsed. 

It  had  been  designed  that  Gourko  should 
reach  Kezanlik  on  the  16th  of  July,  and  on 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [capture  of  the  schipka. 


the  17  th  be  free  to  assail  in  the  rear  the  Turks 
holding  the    Schipka    Pass,  while    Prince 
Mirskiwith  the  9th  division  attacked  them  in 
front.     But,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  delayed 
by  hard  fighting,  and  the  troops  were  too 
much  fatigued  to  move  further  on  the  same 
day  after  the  occupation  of  Kezanlik.     So 
there  was  no  co-operation  between  General 
Gourko  and  Prince  Mirski  in  attacking  the 
Schipka  Pass  ;  but  the  latter,  nevertheless, 
delivered  an  attack  on  that  position  march- 
ing  southward  from   Gabrova.      He   sent 
against  the  Turks  but  one  regiment,  that  of 
Orloff,  which  he  divided  into  three  columns. 
The   pass   was  strongly  fortified  with   six 
successive  tiers  of  intrenchments  and  bat- 
teries,  and    defended  by  picked    Turkish 
troops,    Circassians,   and  Egyptians.     The 
latter  fought  very  hard.    Of  Prince  Mirski's 
three  columns,  that  on  the  right  encoun- 
tered little  opposition,  and  went  on  some 
distance  till  it  missed  the  support  of  the 
centre  column,  fought  five  or  six  hours,  and 
then  made  good  its  lodgment  in  the  hostile 
lines.     The  left  column,  consisting  of  two 
companies,  missed  its  way,  and  was  beset 
by  twelve  companies  of  Turkish  soldiers, 
and  had  to  fight  a  retreating  combat  for 
four  hours   against  terrible    odds,    losing 
€ight  officers  killed  and  wounded,  and  about 
1 50  men.     It  was  brought  out  of  action  by 
the  only  officer  left  standing,  and  he  was 
wounded. 

On  the  18th,  General  Gourko,  his  men 
refreshed,  advanced  to  the  attack  of  the 
Schipka  position  from  the  rear.  Two  bat- 
talions of  rifles  formed  his  advance.  As 
they  neared  the  rear  of  the  position,  a  flag 
of  truce  came  out  with  a  parlementaire ; 
for  the  Turks,  though  they  had  laid  in  an 
ample  supply  of  provisions,  had  forgotten 
to  make  arrangements  for  a  supply  of  water, 
not  having  foreseen  that  their  rear  would  be 
attacked,  where  there  was  plenty  of  water 
to  be  had. 

As  soon  as  the  flag  of  truce  was  displayed 
the  Russians  at  once  halted,  and  an  officer 
acting  as  escort  went  forward  to  meet 
the  parlementaire,  \V  hile  negotiations  were 
going  on,  the  Russian  riflemen,  in  their 
curiosity,  quitted  their  extended  formation, 
and  drew  together  into  a  mass  behind  where 
the  officer  was  communing  with  the  parte- 
mientaire.  The  Turks  seeing  this  movement, 
imagined  that  the  Russians  were  going  to 
fall  upon  them  and  massacre  them,  and 
poured  volleys  of  rifle  fire  in  upon  them 
from  their  positions.    The  parlementaire 


took  to  his  heels  at  a  signal  which  the 
Russians  heard  but  did  not  comprehend. 
So  sudden  and  fierce  was  the  fire,  that  in 
their  two  battalions  the  Russians  lost  one 
hundred  and  forty-two  men  killed  and 
wounded  in  a  few  minutes.  The  survivors 
in  their  fury  waited  for  no  order  to  attack, 
nor  regarded  any  formation.  With  one 
common  impulse  and  with  yells  of  wrath 
they  rushed  on.  It  was  a  bad  quarter  of  an 
hour  for  the  Turks  ;  but  the  riflemen  finding 
no  signs  of  co-operation  in  the  attack  from 
the  north  by  Prince  Mirski,  contented  them- 
selves with  driving  back  the  Turks  some 
distance,  and  occupied  the  abandoned  Turk- 
ish camp  in  the  rear  of  the  fortifications. 
On  the  same  night,  in  reply  to  General 
Gourko's  summons  to  the  Turks  to  sur- 
render and  abandon  the  further  unavailing 
defence  of  the  pass,  there  came  a  letter 
from  the  Turkish  commander,  Mehemed 
Pasha,  offering  to  surrender.  Negotiations 
were  entered  into,  and  the  hour  for  the 
surrender  of  the  Turks  was  fixed  for  twelve 
o'clock  the  next  day.  An  armistice  was 
arranged,  and  early  on  that  morning 
the  sanitary  detachments  went  forward 
to  bring  in  the  wounded  which  the 
rifle  battalions  had  been  forced  to  leave 
behind.  They  sent  back  word  that  the 
Turks  had  fled  and  vacated  the  position. 
The  offer  of  surrender  had  been  a  ruse  to 
gain  time,  and  by  daybreak  the  Turks  had 
retreated  safely  toward  Sophia. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  18th,  Prince  Mirski 
had  remained  quiet,  waiting  for  further 
information  about  Gourko's  movements. 
But  on  the  19th,  young  Skobeloff,  taking 
some  troops  of  Mirski's,  had  pushed  for- 
ward Si  reconnaissance  into  the  pass  from 
the  north.  To  his  surprise  he  met  with  no 
opposition  as  he  passed  line  after  line  of  for- 
tifications, and  he  hastily  abandoned  Turk- 
ish camps,  with  fires  yet  burning,  rations 
half  cooked,  and  half-written  telegrams. 
At  length  he  reached  the  crest  of  the  pass, 
and  the  view  to  the  south  opened  before 
him.  Here  he  saw  the  tents  of  General 
Gourko's  camp  spread  out  before  him,  and 
within  an  hour  the  two  columns,  Prince 
Mirski's  and  General  Gourko's,  had  joined 
hands  across  the  Balkans.  The  Schipka 
and  Hainkoi  passes  were  in  the  power  of 
the  Russians.  This  took  place  on  July 
19th,  the  positions  then  being  as  shown  in 
the  following  sketch,  I. 

Thus  was  accomplished  the  march    of 
General  Gourko  across  the  mountains,  wbicb 

179 


';;,l!l 


f 


I:\ 


^ 


n 


1|    • 


I  ■: 


I  I 


POSITIONS  ON  JULY    19.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


Toditza.  o 


I — Positions  of  Turkish  and  Russian  Forces 
in  the  Balkans  on  July  1 9. 


Kilidjilar.    o 


Kosrevo. 
a 


o 

Djutin. 


I 


o 

Xuvoselo. 


Tiruova. 


Slataritza.    o  I 
o  Feda  Bey. 


Drenova.    o 


Bebrova.  o 


Elena,    o 


I 


Yoinisb.    o 


I  I 


.1  ^  V 


■   I' 


k.   ! 


I: 


'  \ 


I 


.  i 


Gabrova.    o 


Travna. . 


Raikovci.    o 
FaroTci.    o 


I 


Schipka 


\     \ 


Balkans. 

Travna  f  "{  Pass. 
Pass. 


Balkans. 


Hainkoi  \ 


Balkans. 


-■^^ 


Pass. 

0  Hainkoi. 


Kezanlik.  o 


Kara  Dagh. 


R.  Tundja. 


Teni  Zagra. 


«  Karabunar. 


£ski  Zagra.   o 


Russians, 
Turks, 


Gourko's  Infantry, 
f,         Cavalry, 


!  Head-quarters, 


180 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [panic  at  Constantinople. 


was  regarded  at  the  time  as  a  feat  for  which 
a  parallel  could  only  be  found  in  the  annals 
of  the  American  war,  which  treat  of  Stone- 
wall Jackson's  celebrated  cavalry  raids. 
But,  as  we  have  seen,  there  was  really 
nothing  remarkable  at  all  about  it ;  and  a 
study  of  sketch  I,  will  show  that  the  Russians 
were  guilty  of  such  stupendous  blunders, 
that  not  even  the  Seraskeriat  could  avoid 
takinsr  advantasre  of  them  in  some  small 
degree. 

Looking  at  this  sketch,  we  see  that, 
starting  from  Tirnova,  the  Russians  enclosed 
a  circle  which  ran  through  two  passes,  the 
Schipka  and  the  Hainkoi.  But  the  circle 
was  not  complete.  It  was  broken  by  the 
Travna  Pass.  Through  this  pass,  whilst 
engaging  the  two  others,  the  Turks  might 
have  pierced  the  very  centre  of  the  Russian 
alignment,  and  have  turned  both  the  Hain- 
koi and  the  Schipka,  whilst  Osman  Pasha 
advanced  from  the  west,  and  Mehemed  Ali 
from  the  east.  But  the  Turkish  commanders 
either  knew  nothing  of  this  pass,  or  they 
had  not  the  energy  to  make  it  practicable, 
as  General  Grourko  did  with  the  Hainkoi 
Pass.    This,  however,  does  not  excuse  the 


Russians  from  having  neglected  it.  At  a 
later  period,  as  we  shall  see,  this  neglect, 
had  it  been  availed  of  by  the  Turks,  might 
have  cost  them  the  whole  campaign ;  and 
had  any  other  staff  but  a  Turkish  staff  been 
entrusted  with  the  defence  of  the  country, 
it  is  morally  certain  that  it  would  have  de- 
manded all  their  exertions  for  the  Russians 
to  have  escaped  across  the  Danube. 

Such  was  the  military  position  in  Turkey 
on  July  19th,  1877.  Generals  Niepokoit- 
schitzki  and  Levitzki  had  successfully  blown 
their  bubble.  It  was  radiant  with  many 
colours.  The  blue  Danube,  the  yellow  corn- 
fields of  Bulgaria,  the  green  forests  of  the 
Balkans,  vied  therein  with  the  crimson  of 
Kezanlik  roses;  and  imaginative  enthu- 
siasts even  thought  they  could  discern  the 
glittering  waters  of  the  Bosphorus,  and  the 
sheen  of  the  crescent  on  the  dome  of  St. 
Sophia.  And  ever  more  gorgeous  grew  the 
colours,  and  grew  deeper  and  deeper  in 
intensity,  till  the  black  spot  began  to  ap- 
pear where  the  bubble  at  last  bursts.  That 
black  spot  in  the  Russian  bubble  was 
Plevna ;  and  it  was  to  burst  on  the  very 
next  day. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


THE    SITUATION    AT    CONSTAlTriNOPLE. 


The  news  of  the  passage'of  the  Danube,  the 
fall  of  Nicopoli,  the  advance  of  Russians 
to  the  Lom  and  beyond  the  Balkans — all 
within  three  weeks — caused  a  perfect  panic 
in  Constantinople.  The  fugitives  streaming 
into  the  capital  from  all  directions,  increased 
the  confusion;  and  at  Dolmabagtche,  the 
Sultan's  palace,  the  advisability  of  migrating 
to  Broussa  was  seriously  discussed.  The 
ministry,  of  course,  had  to  suffer  for  the 
misfortunes  of  the  Turkish  armies.  The 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Safvet  Pasha, 
who  already  began  to  talk  about  suing  for 
peace, and  Redif  Pasha, the  Minister  of  War, 
as  well  as  Abdul  Kerim  Pasha,  were  dis- 
missed the  day  after  General  Gourko  had 
joined  hands  with  Prince  Mirski  across  the 
Balkans.  Redif  Pasha  and  Abdul  Kerim 
were  banished  to  the  island  of  Lemnos.  The 
Sheikh-ul-Islam,  Hairullah  Effendi,  was 
also  dismissed,  and  succeeded  by  Kara  Halil 
VOL.  III.  2  B 


Effendi;  whilst  Mustapha  Pasha  was  ap- 
pointed Minister  of  War,  and  Mehemed  Ali, 
an  officer  of  Franco-German  extraction — 
Charles  Detroit  by  name,  and  born  in 
Magdeburg — was  nominated  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  of  the  Danube  in  lieu  of 
Abdul  Kerim.  Safvet  was  succeeded  in  the 
ministry  for  foreign  affairs  by  Aarifi  Pasha, 
Turkish  ambassador  in  Vienna.  South  of 
the  Balkans,  Reouf  Pasha  was  succeeded  by 
Suleiman  Pasha,  who  was  recalled  from  his 
campaign  in  Montenegro  to  take  charge  of 
the  armies  in  this  direction. 

Aarifi  Pasha  and  the  Sheikh-ul-Islam 
did  not  happily  inaugurate  their  tenure  of 
office.  Whilst  the  Sheikh-ul-Islam  excited 
the  Mussulmans  from  the  pulpit  by  the 
accounts  of  the  cruelties  their  brethren 
were  suffering  at  the  hands  of  the  Russians 
and  Bulgarians,  Aarifi  Pasha  addressed  a 
circular  note  to  the  European  powers,  draw- 

181 


•'OPINION  IN  EUROPE.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


r 
1. 


i 


;l 


' 


1 


ing  attention  to,  and  protesting  against  the 
"barbarities  perpetrated  in  Bulgaria  and  the 
Dobrudja,  and  repudiating,  on  behalf  of  the 
Sultan,  any  responsibility  if  the  Mussulman 
population  should  avenge  itself,  in  other 
parts  of  the  empire,  upon  the  Christians. 

This  despatch  was  a  ridiculous  blunder. 
Rightly  or  wrongly,  the  public  opinion  of 
the  masses  in  Europe  had  pronounced  sen- 
tence against  the  Porte  on  account  of  the 
massacres  in  1876  ;  and  naturally  this  last 
step  of  the  Porte  placed  it,  in  the  eyes  of 
that  same  public  opinion,  in  the  position  of 
the  wolf  who  accused  the  iamb  of  being  his 
enemy  and  oppressor. 

Even  Mr.  Layard  had  to  protest  strongly 
against  this  policy  of  the  new  minister ; 
and  still  more  plainly  did  Prince  Reuss, 
the  German  ambassador,  speak  on  the 
subject  to  Edhem  Pasha,  the  Grand  Vizier, 
and  protest  against  the  language  of  Aarifi 
Pasha's  note,  which,  he  said,  was  calculated 
to  incite  the  Mussulmans  to  reprisals  on 
their  Christian  fellow-subjects.  These  re- 
presentations, supported  by  those  of  all  the 
other  ambassadors,  were  so  strongly  urged, 
that  Aarifi  was  forced  to  resign  and  yield 
up  his  post  to  Server  Pasha.  At  the  same 
time,  the  agitation  in  favour  of  a  recall  of 
Midhat  Pasha  was  recommenced  ;  but  it  led 
to  no  result,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the 
intrigues  of  Mahmoud  Damat,  the  brother- 
in-law  of  the  Sultan,  who  was  persuaded 
by  him  that  Midhat  was  his  most  dangerous 
«nemy. 

Not  less  intense  was  the  excitement  in 
London  when  the  rapid  passage  of  the 
Danube  and  the  Balkans,  which  seemed  to 
presage  an  early  termination  of  the  cam- 
paign, became  known.  When  the  Danube 
was  passed,  Admiral  Hornby  proceeded,  on 
July  3,  to  Besika  Bay  with  nine  ironclads, 
followed  within  a  few  days  by  four  more ; 
and  when  Gourko  had  forced  the  Balkans, 
the  garrison  in  Malta  was  reinforced  by 
3,000  troops.  Sir  A.  Layard  proposed  to  the 
Porte  that  the  British  fleet  should  pass  the 
Dardanelles,  and  that  Gallipoli  should  be 
occupied  by  British  troops  in  order  to  assist 
in  keeping  order  in  case  of  any  outbreak 
of  the  Mussulman  population  against  the 
Christians.  But  the  Porte  replied,  that 
unless  England  was  prepared  to  enter  into 
an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with 
Turkey,  they  would  not  be  able  to  give  their 
consent  to  either  of  these  measures  ;  and 
that  if,  nevertheless,  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment should  insist  upon  carrying  them  out, 
182 


it  would  be,  at  the  least,  under  protest  on 
their  part. 

This,  however,  the  British  government 
was  not  prepared  to  do ;  and  in  the  debate 
in  the  House  of  Lords  on  July  19th — whilst 
Gourko^s  and  Mirski's  men  were  frater- 
nising on  the  top  of  the  Schipka  Pass — 
Lord  Derby  declared,  in  reply  to  a  proposal 
that  England  should  offer  her  mediation, 
that  he  did  not  consider  the  time  for  such 
a  measure  had  arrived  ;  and  that  as  for  an 
armed  intervention  for  the  protection  of 
British  interests,  that  could  be  best  effectu- 
ated at  the  close  of  the  campaign,  when  botli 
the  combatants  would  be  exhausted  by  the 
struggle,  but  England  be  fresh,  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  her  power,  and  unembarrassed 
in  any  way.  He  had  informed  Count 
Schouvaloff,  he  continued,  at  what  point 
British  interests  began,  and  which  would  be 
defended  by  force  of  arms;  and  Count 
Schouvaloff  had  thanked  him  for  his  frank- 
ness. But  till  those  interests  were  seriously 
threatened,  England  would  keep  free  from 
any  engagements  which  might  trammel  her 
hereafter ;  and,  for  the  present,  would  do  no 
more  than  keep  step  with  the  course  of 
events. 

As  for  the  other  powers  immediately 
concerned  in  the  fate  of  Turkey,  their 
action — or  rather  inaction — presents  no 
points  of  interest.  They  all  followed 
the  example  of  England.  In  Hungary,  the 
Magyars  clamoured  in  popular  meetings  for 
intervention  in  favour  of  the  Turks,  just 
as,  in  England,  popular  meetings,  under  the 
leadership  of  Mr,  Gladstone  and  John 
Bright,  clamoured  for  intervention  in  favour 
of  the  Russian  allies — Bulgar  and  Serb. 
These  demonstrations  had  no  effect,  in 
either  country,  on  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment. Austria-Hungary  was  aware,  that 
let  things  turn  out  as  they  might,  there 
was  not  much  to  fear  from  Russia ;  and 
that  if  they  let  things  follow  their  natural 
course,  Austria-Hungary  would  also  be  mas- 
ters of  the  situation  in  European  Turkey 
whilst  England  commanded  in  Asiatic  Tur- 
key. Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina  would  be 
there  for  them  to  take  or  leave  as  might  be 
most  advisable,  according  to  circumstances. 
Greece  was  in  the  peculiar  position  of  fear- 
ing the  Russians  more  than  she  feared  the 
Turks,  yet  had  not  the  heart  to  take  side 
with  the  Turks  nor  against  them.  Having 
seen  how  successfully  Italy  had  acquired 
fresh  territory  year  after  year  by  fighting 
and  being  defeated,  the  Greeks  thought  it 


I 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[BULGARIAN   PILLAGE; 


would  be  rather  a  fine  thing  to  try  and 
acquire  an  extension  of  their  positions  by 
not  fighting  at  all. 

There  was  thus  no  help  anywhere  for  the 
Turks  ;  and,  seeing  that  this  was  the  case, 
and  convinced  that  the  struggle  was  one 
of  life  and  death,  they  determined  to  do 
their  best  and  die  in  harness. 

On  this  point  they  were  unanimous  ;  and 
in  no  small  measure  were  they  justified  in 
regarding  the  struggle  as  one  of  life  and 
death,  in  regarding  the  war  as  one  of  ex- 
termination determined  upon  by  the  Rus- 
sians, when  the  accounts  came  in  of  the 
cruelties  to  which  their  brethren  were 
subjected  on  both  sides  of  the  Balkans,  in 
revenge  for  what  at  least  was,  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases,  but  a  sentimental  griev- 
ance, exploited  to  the  utmost  by  the  Rus- 
sians for  their  own  purposes. 

That  the  material  condition  of  the  Bul- 
garian peasant  was  very  good,  compared 
even  with  that  of  those  in  other  far  more 
favoured  countries  whose  intelligence  and 
moral  qualities  secured  them  a  social 
position  much  higher  than  that  af  the 
Bulgarian,  with  much  less  national  pros- 
perity, is  a  fact  acknowledged  on  all 
sides,  even  by  the  correspondent  of  the 
Daily  Neivs,  The  Thuringian  peasant, 
the  vintners  of  the  Tyrol,  of  the  Basque 
provinces,  the  clodhoppers  of  Suffolk,  en- 
joyed social  privileges  immeasurably  above 
those  of  the  Bulgarian,  with  a  quarter  of 
the  Bulgarian's  material  claims  to  con- 
sideration. But  then  the  Thuringian  pea- 
sant, the  vintner  and  the  clodhopper  were 
animated  by  a  very  different  sense  of  morals. 

The  character  of  the  Bulgarian  has  been 
well  drawn  even  by  his  friends ;  and  a  re- 
pulsive picture  it  is.  It  is  all  very  well  to 
talk  of  oppression  having  made  him  what 
he  is  ;  but  his  whole  history,  long  before 
the  Turks  ever  made  their  appearance, 
does  not  recommend  him.  The  other 
races  of  the  Turkish  empire,  Armenians, 
Greeks,  Jews,  Arabs,  have  all  been  subjected 
to  the  same  course  of  oppression,  but  none 
of  them  have  sunk  to  the  moral  depth  of 
the  Bulgar,  excited  to  the  full  exercise  of 
his  worst  qualities  by  the  civilising  Russ. 

We  have  seen  what  the  Russians  and 
Bulgarians  did  at  Biela  and  Kezanlik.  At 
Sistova,  between  the  period  of  the  flight  of 
the  Turks  and  the  entry  of  the  Russian 
troops,  the  Bulgarians  sacked  and  wrecked 
the  Turkish  houses  without  a  single  excep- 
tion.    The  pillage  and  destruction  were  as 


sweeping  and  universal  as  if  the  place  had 
been   sacked    by  a   victorious   army  after 
storming.     There  was  not  a  whole  pane  of 
glass  in  the  window  of  any  Turkish  house 
in  all  Sistova.     The  wrecked  interiors  pre- 
sented  an  indescribable  chaos  of  destruction. 
Cupboards  were  smashed,    floors  torn  up, 
shelves  torn  down,  stoves  broken,  in  search 
of  secreted  money.     The  floors  were  strewn 
with  miscellaneous  debris^  and  torn  books 
printed  in  curious  characters.   Judging  from 
the  number  of  these  in  the  better  houses, 
the  wealthier  Turks  of  Sistova  seem  to  have 
been  a  reading  people^    The  furniture  was 
broken  in  sheer  wantonness,  and  the  plaster 
shattered.     The  divans  were  broken  up  :  in 
fine,  the  ruin  was  thorough  and  universal 
so  far  as  the  interiors  of  the  houses  were 
concerned.    Nor  was  the  destruction  con- 
fined to  the  habitations.     There  were  eight 
mosques  in  Sistova,  and  all  were  wrecked. 
Their  interiors  were  scenes  of  indescribable 
destruction.    The  very  railings  were  broken 
into  small  pieces,  as  if  in  the  keen  zest  and 
gloating  enjoyment  of  laying  waste.     The 
few  Turkish   shops  and   stores   in  Sistova 
were  pillaged  of  everything  valuable,  and 
the  fixtures  of  the  interiors  were  smashed 
into   fragments    and    splinters.      Nothing 
Turkish  in  the  place  escaped  wreck,  and 
the  aspect  of  uninjured  dwellings  intermin- 
gled with  others  reduced  to  the  extremity 
of  dilapidation  was  strange  and  significant ; 
for  whilst  the  Turks  of  Sistova,  to  judge  by 
the  wrecks  of  their  residences,  appear  to 
have  been  a  thriving  people  in  a  lazy,  easy- 
going way,  the  Bulgarians  showed  few  indi- 
cations of  having  been  materially  oppressed, 
or  had  thriven  wonderfully  on  oppression. 
Many  of  their  houses  were  large  and  hand- 
some.  Paris  fashions  were  not  unknown  to, 
or  unstudied  by,  the  Bulgarian  ladies.     Ta 
excuse  their  conduct,  the  Bulgarians  asserted 
that  the  Turks  were  committing  atrocities 
in   the  interior  as   they  retired;    but  the 
correspondents  with  the  Russian  army,  who 
had  every  opportunity  to  satisfy  themselves 
on  the  point,  stated  that  the  conduct  of  th& 
Turks,  as  they  evacuated  Bulgaria  step  by 
step,  had  a  claim  to  the  admiration  of  the 
civilised  world.  They  heard  once  and  again 
of  isolated  acts  of  cruelty — there  were  two 
Bulgarians  with  broken  heads  in  the  hos- 
pital at  Zimnitza.    But  what  did  the  world 
anticipate  ?     Was  it  not  that  the  retiring 
Turks  would  make  Bulgaria  a  wilderness 
and  a  solitude?     And  how  was  this  an- 
ticipation justified?     In  Sistova  no  Turk 

18^ 


\ 


f 


{ 


I 

1 


1 


I  < 


ji 


• 


it 


^  TURKISH   MODERATION.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877^ 


touched  the  hair  of  the  head  of  a  Bulgarian, 
handled  no  scrap  of  the  property  of  a  Bul- 
garian.    In    the   intervening   villages    the 
Bulgarian   inhabitants   abode   under  their 
unharmed  roof-trees,  with  their  flocks  and 
herds  around  them,  fearful  only  in  the  ap- 
prehension of  the  visits  from  the  Cossacks, 
which  they  had  already  learned  were  not  sim- 
ple visits  of  politeness.  The  crops,  uninjured, 
waved  rich  and  ripe  in  the  fields ;  the  hay 
stood  in  cocks  in  the  fields ;  there  was  corn, 
and  wine,  and  oil,  and  meal  in  the  land. 
What  the  people  of  Biela  suffered  in  pro- 
perty was   at   the  hands   of  lawless   Rus- 
sian straggling  soldiers,   not  at  the  hands 
of  the  Turk,  *'  unspeakable  "  though  he  may 
be.    It  is,  indeed,  not  too  much  to  say,  that 
in  acting  thus  the  Turks  acted  erroneously, 
speaking   in   a   purely  military  sense.     If 
their  military  policy  was  that  of  retreat, 
the  complement  of  that  policy  was  to  have 
left  desolation  behind  them,  not  to  leave  a 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  for  the 
behoof  of  the  invader.     When  Kutusoff  and 
Barclay  de  Tolly  retreated  from  Minks  to  the 
Beresina,  and  from  Beresina  to  Smolensk, 
and  from  Smolensk  to  Moscow,  before  the 
legions  of  Napoleon,  did  they  leave  behind 
them   a   fat   land,    villages   teeming  with 
flocks  and  herds,  growing  crops  asking  for 
the  sickle,  granaries  for  the  replenishment 
of  the  provision  trains  ?     We  all  know  that 
they  left  desolation  and  ashes,  and  that  the 
desolation  and  the  ashes  have  counted  to 
Russia   for   heroism  and   patriotism,    and, 
what  is  more   to  the  purpose,   for  sound 
military  strategy. 


But  let  the  Turk  have  his  due.     If  defi- 
cient  in  the  legitimate    resources    of   the 
military  art,  he  for  once,  and  from  whatever 
motive,   erred   on   the   aide   of  humanity. 
But  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  Bulgarians 
appreciated  his  forbearance.     We  have  told 
the   story   of  the   wreck    of    the   Turkish 
quarter  of  Sistova.     Bulgarian  Biela  was 
not  quite  so  rough  on  Turkish  Biela,  but  it 
wrought  not  a  little  mischief  on  the  latter 
nevertheless.    The  Turkish  Bey  there  was  a 
good  man,  held  in  high  esteem  among  the 
Christians,    for  he   consistently   protected 
them   from   the   lawless   exactions   of   the 
Circassians  to  the  best  of  his  power.     The 
Bulgarian  inhabitants  besought  him  to  re- 
main, assuring  him  that  they  would  speak 
of  him  in  such  terms  to  the  Russians  that 
no  evil  could  befal  him.     But  the  Bey  did 
not  relish  the  outlook,  and  wisely  departed 
with    the   people   of  his   own    nationality. 
One  would  have  thought  that  the  least  the 
Bulgarians  could  have   done   would   have 
been    to   have   respected    the   good   man's 
house ;  but  not  only  was  it  sacked,  the  very 
floor   was  wantonly  broken    through.     So 
much,  then,  for   Bulgarian   promises    and 
gratitude. 

Hearing  all  this,  exaggerated  ten-fold, 
no  doubt,  by  the  fugitives  with  the  increase 
of  their  terror  and  the  further  they  got  on 
their  flight,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  a  fierce  determination  arose  among  the 
Turks  so  sell  their  lives  and  their  property 
as  dearly  as  they  could.  And  that  sale 
began  on  July  20th,  and  lasted  for  six 
months. 


I* 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


THE    FIRST    ATTACKS    ON    FLEVKA. 


1 


When  the  commander  of  the  9th  corps 
proceeded  against  Nicopoli,  he  made  the 
omission  of  protecting  his  flank  by  not 
sending  cavalry  to  occupy  Plevna,  then  only 
weakly  held.  Afterwards  an  easy  chance 
did  not  offer.  A  Turkish  column  from 
Widdin,  marching  too  late  to  succour  Nico- 
poli, turned  aside  and  occupied  Plevna. 
With  intent  to  repair  the  blunder,  General 
Kriidener  sent  three  regiments  of  infantry 
against  Plevna,  and  without  a  previous  re- 
184 


connaiasance.  These,  after  hard  fighting, 
actually  occupied  the  town.  They  had  laid 
aside  their  cloaks  and  packs  in  the  streets, 
and  had  quitted  the  fighting  column  forma- 
tion, believing  all  was  over,  and  were  sing- 
ing as  they  straggled  along.  No  patrols 
had  been  pushed  into  the  recesses  of  the 
town.  No  cavalry  had  been  sent  forward 
beyond.  The  whole  business  was  slovenly 
to  a  degree.  The  penalty  was  paid.  Sud- 
denly, from  a  hundred  windows  and  bal- 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[repulse  at  PLEVlSrA. 


conies,  a  vehement  fire  was  poured  into  the 
troops  straggling  along  the  streets.  They 
were  beset  on  all  sides,  and  had  to  retreat. 
One  regiment  left  its  packs  where  they  had 
been  taken  off  in  the  street.  During  the 
retreat,  more  or  less  precipitate,  2,771  men 
and  66  officers  were  lost.  One  regiment 
lost  nearly  2,000  men.  Thus  curtly  was 
the  first  repulse  of  the  Russians  before 
Plevna  made  known  to  the  world ;  and  it 
was  not  until  a  month  later  that  the  details 
of  the  affair  became  published. 

There  was  much  controversy  as  to  who 
was  to  blame  for  this  catastrophe ;  but 
though  it  was  generally  assumed  that  Krii- 
dener was  responsible  for  it,  yet,  consider- 
ing the  fact  that,  after  some  temporary 
relegation,  he  was  entrusted  with  the  com- 
mand of  his  corps  as  heretofore,  the 
assumption  is  that  the  staff  was  entirely 
responsible  for  the  mischance. 

It  was  said  that  Kriidener  had  orders  to 
occupy  Plevna  as  soon  as  he  had  crossed  the 
river.  But  it  is  clear  that  his  orders  were 
also  to  seize  Nicopoli,  and,  by  the  same 
process  of  reasoning,  Lovatz  also ;  and  it  is 
clear  that  he  had  not  men  enouo^h  to  carry 
out  this  triple  operation.  Kriidener  may 
therefore  be  identified  with  the  Russian 
staff,  and  the  Russian  staff  identified  with 
him.  Both,  no  doubt,  committed  mistakes ; 
and  if,  as  Kriidener  affirms,  he  could  not 
help  doing  so,  he  should  have  resigned  his 
command. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Greneral  Kriidener, 
occupied  with  the  siege  of  Nicopoli,  not 
only  did  not  seize  Plevna,  but  even  with- 
drew the  cavalry  that  had  been  sent  there 
for  that  purpose  to  Nicopoli.  As  cavalry 
could  hardly  be  used  for  the  storming  of  re- 
doubts, his  object  in  doing  this  can  scarcely 
be  conceived,  as  he  had  quite  enough  men 
to  prevent  the  Turkish  garrison  from  cut- 
ting its  way  out.  The  only  explanation  is 
that  he  had  some  inkling  of  the  presence  of 
the  Turks  on  his  flank,  and  wished  to  secure 
himself  from  attack  whilst  occupied  with 
Nicopoli.  Had  he  even  occupied  Plevna 
immediately  after  the  fall  of  Nicopoli,  all 
miffht  have  been  well.  Had  he  even  sent 
out  the  cavalry  to  asc2rtain  where  the 
Turkish  army  was,  and  give  warning  of  its 
advance,  all  might  still  have  been  well. 
The  neglect  to  occupy  Plevna  as  long  as  he 
positively  knew  the  Turkish  army  was  still 
far  away,  would  have  been  of  slight  conse- 
quence. But  he  did  not  send  a  single 
squadron  to  see  whether  that  army  was 


approaching  Plevna  or  not,  and  the  first  de- 
tachment of  his  army  marched  into  Plevna 
two  hours  after  the  Turks  had  arrived  there, 
without  having  thrown  out  a  scout  or  an 
advance  guard,  just  as  though  they  were 
marching  through  the  district  of  Moscow, 
This  in  the  enemy's  country,  within  ten 
miles  of  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men^ 
But,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  evident  that  no 
such  important  and  vital  measure  as  the 
occupation  of  Plevna  and  the  protection  of 
the  right  flank,  should  have  been  or  could 
have  been  left  to  the  care  of  one  man  already 
occupied  with  an  important  siege. 

The  man  who  should  have  looked  after 
this  matter,  and  have  ascertained  that  there 
was  no  possibility  of  the  Turks  seizing  the 
important  strategic  position  at  Plevna,  was 
Greneral  Levitski.  He  was  practically  the 
executive  officer  of  the  grand  duke's  staff, 
who  had  to  look  after  details,  see  that  orders 
were  executed,  find  the  best  way  of  execu- 
ting them,  and  who  was,  besides,  the  leading 
spirit  in  the  military  councils  for  the  direc- 
tion of  the  campaign  in  general.  Greneral 
Niepokoitschitzki  was  old,  and  did  not  take 
a  very  active  part  in  affairs,  so  that  it  was 
Levitski  who  was  the  real  chief  of  the  staff, 
and  mainly  responsible  for  the  direction  of 
affairs.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  a  word 
about  Greneral  Levitski  here. 

He  was  among  the  youngest  generals  of 
the  army,  and  was  appointed  to  his  high 
position  on  account  of  the  talent  he  dis- 
played in  the  peace  manoeuvres  at  St. 
Petersburg.  Here,  on  the  level  plains  about 
the  capital,  where  every  inch  of  the  ground 
and  every  road  was  known  to  him,  where 
the  fighting  was  done  with  blank  cartridges, 
and  there  were  neither  killed  nor  wounded. 
General  Levitski  succeeded  in  handling  an 
army  corps  very  well,  and  usually  won  con- 
siderable advantages  over  his  adversaries. 
Fighting  a  real  war  and  handling  an  army 
of  two  hundred  thousand  men  is,  however, 
a  different  kind  of  thing  from  directing 
those  peace  manoeuvres ;  and,  besides  the 
affair  at  Plevna,  there  were  tactical  faults 
in  the  distribution  of  the  army  for  which 
he  was  answerable.  The  army  had  been,  in 
fact,  disposed  of  in  the  most  unheard-of 
manner.  Divisions,  brigades,  and  even 
regiments  were  cut  up,  parcelled  out,  and 
sent  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  and 
dispersed  so  far  that  it  was  doubtful  whether 
they  would  ever  be  able  to  unite  again  dur- 
ing the  war.  The  14th  division,  for  in- 
stance, was  an  example  of  this.     There  was 

18J 


V.J 


\ 


RUSSIAN  BLUNDERS.] 


iriSTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  187T. 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.      [second  attack  on  plevna. 


a  part  of  it  on  the  road  to  Osman  Bazar,  a 
part  at  or  near  Elena,  a  part  at  Hainkoi,  a 
part  at  Selvi,  and  a  part  at  Tirnova — points 
that  had  no  tactical  connection  with  each 
other. 

All  this  confusion  arose  from  General 
Levitzki's  miscalculating  the  forces  required 
upon  given  points,  and  then  remedying  the 
mistake  in  a  hand-to-mouth  sort  of  way, 
by  seizing  troops  wherever  he  could  get 
them — a  battalion  here  and  a  regiment 
there — to  strengthen  the  respective  posi- 
tions. Then  when  news  was  received  of  the 
occupation  of  Plevna  by  the  Turks,  Lovatz 
should  have  been  instantly  seized  by  the 
Russians ;  and  for  two  very  good  strate- 
gical reasons.  In  the  first  place,  with 
the  Turks  at  Lovatz  it  was  just  as  impossible 
for  the  Russians  to  cross  the  Balkans  as  it 
was  with  the  Turks  in  possession  of  Plevna. 
The  possession  of  either  of  these  points 
effectually  checked  the  Russian  advance, 
and  Lovatz,  equally  with  Plevna,  was  most 
important  for  the  Russians  as  well  as  the 
Turks. 

But  even  this  was  not  all.     A  glance  at 
sketch    F   will   show  that  the  road  from 
Plevna  to  Sophia  passes  at  no  great  dis- 
tance from  Lovatz,  and  that,  consequently, 
had  the  Russians  seized  Lovatz  as  soon  as 
the   Turks   occupied   Plevna,    they  would 
have  threatened  the  Turkish  line  of  com- 
munications, and  their  best  line  of  retreat. 
The  possession  of  Lovatz  was  also  indis- 
pensable for  a  successful  attack  upon  Plevna, 
for  it  would  have  enabled  the  Russians  to 
completely  turn  the  Turkish  positions  on 
the  south,  and  to  have  brought  at  least  one 
more  division — the  9th,  then  at  Grabrova 
and   Selvi — to   the  attack.     In    fact,  the 
possession  of  Lovatz  was  so  necessary  to  the 
Russians  before  attacking  Plevna,  that,  had 
the  Turks  occupied  it  at  the  same  time  as 
Plevna,  the  Russians  should  have  taken  it 
before  attacking  Plevna  at  all.    Yet  a  week 
or  ten  days  elapsed  between  the  seizure  of 
'  Plevna  and  Lovatz  by  the  Turks,  and  the 
Russian  general-in-chief  never  thought  of 
profiting  by  the  opportunity  thus    offered 
him.     The  mistake,  therefore,  of  allowing 
it  to  be  seized  and  fortified  by  the  Turks, 
was  only  less  than  that  of  allowing  Plevna 
to  fall  into  their  hands.     The  capture  of 
Plevna  by  the  Turks  was  a  surprise — caused 
by  the  most  gross  and  culpable  carelessness 
and  stupidity,  it  is  true — but  it  was  still  a 
surprise  for  the  Russian   staff.     The  same 
cannot  be  said  of  the  capture  of  Lovatz ; 
lb6 


and  the  fact  of  their  not  having  forestall  d 
the  Turks  looks  as  though  neither  General 
Niepokoitschitzki  nor  General  Levitski  un- 
derstood the  importance  of  this  strategical 
point  until  it  was  too  late. 

Under    these    circumstances,    with    the 
Turks  in  force  at  Plevna  and  Lovatz,  orders 
were  issued  for  the  reinforcement  of  General 
Krudener's  troops.     Part  of  the  4th  corps, 
which  was  crossing  the  Danube  at  Zimnitza 
on  their  way  to  Tirnova,  were  ordered  to 
proceed  to  Karagatch,  where  they  were  to 
rendezvous  with  Prince  Schahoffskoi  and  the 
larger  portion  of  the  11th  corps,  which  had 
hitherto  been    engaged  in  the  futile   and 
thankless  bombardment  of  Rustzuk,  about 
which  so  much  ink  has  been  wasted.    Then 
crossing  the  river  at  Zimnitza,  the  corps 
had  marched   on  Tirnova,  and   hopes  rose 
high  in  its  ranks  that  for  its  soldiers  no 
more  would  be  the  function  of  hewers  of 
wood  and  drawers  of  water,  but  that  they 
would  cross  the  Balkans  and  see  fighting 
and  earn  glory  and  crosses  among  the  rose- 
gardens  of  the  Tundja  Valley.     These  hopes 
were  shattered.     A  day's  march  from  Tir- 
nova the  corps  was  ordered  to  bend  to  the 
east,  and  take  up  a  defensive  position  on  tho 
line  of  a  Turkish  march  from  Schumla  by 
way  of  Osman  Bazar  against  Tirnova  and  the 
Russian  communications  between  that  place 
and  the  Danube.     But,  on  the  20th  of  July, 
there  came  to  the  11th  corps  the  order  for 
yet  another  long  march  to  assist  Kriidener, 
and    it    accomplished   the   distance    from 
Kosarevatch,    some   twenty   miles   east  of 
Tirnova,  to  the  vicinity  of  Plevna,  in  six 
days,  and  that  in  the  intense  heat  of  the 
summer. 

At  the  same  time  the  Qth  corps  came  up 
from  before  Nicopoli,  under  General  Krti- 
dener,  who  sent  General  Skobeloff  to  take 
the  command  of  a  brigade  of  Circassian 
Cossacks,  with  which  he  was  to  operate 
against  Lovatz  and  protect  the  Russian  left 
fiank. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  Prince 
Schahoffskoi  and  his  head-quarters  moved 
from  Karagatch,  and  first  went  forward 
some  distance  on  the  direct  road  towards 
Plevna,  and  advanced  into  the  vicinity  of 
Grivitza,  without  seeing  anything  of  the 
enemy.  The  head-quarters  were  faithfully 
followed  at  a  very  short  interval  by  the 
whole  of  the  head-quarter  baggage  train. 
Now,  the  head-quarter  baggage  train  of  a 
Russian  general  commanding  an  army  corps, 
and  of  his  staff,  is  no  light  thing.     Lord 


Albemarle  tells  us,  that  in  1828,  in  the 
Russian  column  which  crossed  the  Bal- 
kans under  General  Diebitsch,  every 
general  officer  had  his  caleche.  With  the 
Russian  army,  it  is  not  alone  that  every 
general  officer  has  his  carriage — most  have 
more  than  one — but  the  larger  proportion  of 
field-officers  have  vehicles  also.  On  Prince 
Schahoffskoi's  staff  there  was  a  baggage  wag- 
gon between  every  two  officers,  and  a 
surprising  number  of  miscellaneous  vehicles 
besides.  The  chief  of  the  artillery  had  a 
travelling  chariot  drawn  by  four  horses, 
<lriven  after  the  manner  of  a  four-in-hand. 
Servants  swarmed ;  and  every  servant  con- 
trived to  find  a  place  in  or  on  a  vehicle  of 
€ome  kind  or  other.  The  staff  train  was 
lialf  a  mile  long  if  it  was  a  yard,  to 
say  nothing  of  escort,  suttlers,  and  the 
priest,  who  rode  in  a  vehicle  of  his  own. 
A  train  such  as  this  must  always  be  a  great 
embarrassment  and  impediment;  even  in 
an  advance  with  favourable  means  of  com- 
munication it  is  an  incumbrance ;  in  retreat, 
along  bad  roads,  it  must  be  a  nuisance  of 
the  most  abominable  character ;  and  here 
it  was  following  the  staff  beyond  the  out- 
posts, until  it  was  countermarched  with 
considerable  precipitation,  when  the  chief 
turned  his  horse's  head  and  rode  backward 
within  his  own  forepost  line,  to  the  bivouac 
ground,  near  Poradim. 

Here,  all  night,  the  troops  lay  on  the  grass, 
with  tents  struck  and  horses  saddled,  waiting 
for  an  alerte.  It  was  believed  that  it  was 
the  intention  to  make  the  attack  on  July 
30th,  and  that  the  preliminary  positions 
were  to  be  taken  up  under  cover  of  the 
•darkness.  Fires  were  made  up  as  if  the 
army  were  remaining  in  its  positions,  with 
intent  to  delude  the  enemy,  whilst  waiting 
for  orders  from  General  Kriidener;  but  they 
came  not.  About  midnight,  two  officers 
ffode  to  him  from  Prince  Scliahoffrfkoi,  and 
brought  back  instructions  that  he  meant  to 
delay  the  attack,  partly  because  some  of  the 
troops  had  not  come  up  far  enough,  and 
partly  to  rest  the  whole  after  their  long  and 
fatiguing  march.  So  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  troops  pitched  tents 
again,  unsaddled  their  horses,  and  lay  down 
on  their  cloaks  for  a  long  unbroken  welcome 
fileep,  for  the  troops  were  sorely  worn  with 
incessant  marching,  and  the  cavalry  horses 
were  almost  exhausted.  One  great  anxiety 
was  relieved.  Reports  were  brought  in  that 
no  more  Turkish  troops  were  marching  from 
Plevna  on  Lovatz.    This  removed  appre- 


hension of  a  flank  attack  in  force  from 
Lovatz  on  the  left  of  the  Russian  con- 
verging assault  upon  the  Plevna  position. 
Kriidener  and  Schahoffskoi  thus  considered 
themselves  free  to  concentrate  their  atten- 
tion on  the  latter  place,  leaving  Skobeloff 
and  his  cavalry  to  watch  Lovatz,  and,  indeed, 
if  possible  to  occupy  it. 

During  the  day  (July  30th)  the  outposts 
were  advanced,  and  the  whole  army  crept  up 
somewhat  closer,  the  reconnaissances  feel- 
ing the  Turks  at  Radisevo,  Tucenitza,  Bogot, 
and  Slatina,  whilst  Skobeloff  ascertained 
that  not  only  was  Lovatz  strongly  held,  but 
was  being  still  further  reinforced,  and  that 
the  Turks  also  held  the  line  of  villages  be- 
tween Plevna  and  Lovatz  with  detachments 
of  infantry  and  cavalry. 

In  the  afternoon  a  general  council  of  war 
was  held  at  Poradim,  at  which  were  present 
Baron  Kriidener,  Prince  Schahoffskoi,  and 
the  generals  of  division  and  brigades.  The 
colonels  of  regiments  and  staff  officers  waited 
to  receive  instructions  as  to  the  final  dis- 
positions. It  was  settled  that  the  action 
should  begin  next  morning,  July  31st,  at 
five  o'clock  by  a  general  concentric  advance 
on  the  Turkish  positions  in  front  of  Plevna, 
and  that  Prince  Schahoffskoi  and  the  general 
staff  should  move  forward  at  four  o'clock. 
Several  aides  of  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
arrived,  and  were  detailed  to  various  points 
to  make  observations,  and  after  the  battle 
to  carry  reports  of  the  results  back  to 
Tirnova.  The  gravity  of  the  task  before 
the  army  was  fully  recognised,  for  recon- 
naissances had  proved  the  Turks  to  be  in 
greater  force  than  was  at  first  believed. 
Twenty  thousand  regulars  had  come  from 
Widdin,  and  the  Turkish  positions  were 
known  to  be  strong  by  nature,  and  strength- 
ened yet  further  by  art. 

The  night  between  the  30th  and  31st 
was  very  wet,  and  troops  did  not  begin  to 
march  forward  before  six  instead  of  four. 

The  number  of  infantry  combatants  was 
actually  about  32,000,  with  160  field  cannon 
and  three  brigades  of  cavalry.  Baron  Krii- 
dener was  on  the  right  with  the  whole  of 
the  31st  division  in  his  fighting  line,  and 
three  regiments  of  the  5th  division  in  re- 
serve at  Karagatch.  He  was  to  attack  in 
two  columns,  a  brigade  in  each.  On  the  left 
was  Schahoffskoi  with  a  brigade  of  the  32nd 
division  and  a  brigade  of  the  30th  division 
in  fighting  line.  Another  brigade  of  the 
30th  division  was  in  reserve  at  Pelisat. 
The  Turkish  position  was  convex,  somewhat 

187 


'i*^ 


'      ;f 


•ii 


'II 


PLEVNA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[positions  at  PLEVNA. 


in  horseshoe  shape,  but  more  pointed. 
Baron  Kriidener  was  to  attack  the  Turkish 
left  flank  from  Grrivitza  towards  the  river 
Vid.  Schahofftekoi  was  to  assail  their  ri«i;ht 
from  Radisevo,  also  towards  the  river  Vid. 
On  the  left  flank  of  the  attack  stood  Skobe- 
lofi^,  with  a  brigade  of  Cossacks,  a  battalion 
of  infantry,  and  a  battery,  to  cope  with  the 
Turkish  troops  on  the  line  from  Plevna  to 
Lovatz,  and  to  hinder  them  from  interfering 
with  the  development  of  Schahoff'skoi's 
attack.  On  the  right  flank  stood  Lascareff, 
with  a  brigade  of  the  9th  cavalry,  to  guard 
Kriidener  from  a  counter  flank  attack. 

The  main  fault  of  the  dispositions  was, 
that  Kriidener  and  Schahoff"skoi  were  practi- 
2ally  independent  of  each  other,  that  the 
two  attacks  were  too  far  apart,  and  without 
a  connecting  link;  but  the  gravest  evil, 
which  did  not  rest  with  the  commanders  on 
the  spot,  was  the  weakness  of  the  assailing 
force-  After  the  previous  reverse  nothing 
should  have  been  left  to  chance,  and  it  was 
tempting  Providence  to  attack  the  Turks  in 
a  strong  defensive  position  with  inferior 
numbers* 

The  morning    was    gloomy,    which   the 
Russians  regarded   as  a  favourable  omen. 
The  troops  cheered  vigorously  as  they  passed 
the  general.     Physically  there  were  no  finer 
men  in  the  world.     In  the  pink  of  hard 
condition,  and   marching    without    packs, 
carrying  only   great-coat,    haversack    with 
rations,  and  ammunition,  they  seemed  fit  to 
go   anywhere  and  do  anything.     Schahoff- 
skoi's  right  column  marched  over  Pelisat 
and   Sgalince.      The   left    column    headed 
straight  for  Radisevo.     The  artillery  were 
pushed  forward  from  the  first,  and  worked 
independently.     Kriidener,    on    the    right, 
opened  the  action  at  9.30  A.M.,  bringing  a 
battery  into  fire  from  the  ridge  on  tlie  Turk- 
ish redoubt  above    the  village  of  Grivitza. 
At  first  it  seemed  as  if  the  Turks  were  sur- 
prised.    It  was  some  time  ere  they  replied ; 
but  then  they  did  so  vigorously,  and  gave 
quite  as  good  as  they  got  from  Kriidener. 
Meantime    Prince    SchahofFbkoi  bore    way 
towards  Radisevo,  the  position  at  this  time 
(half-past  nine)  being  as  is  shown  in  the 
following  sketch  {J,  No.  1). 

Plevna  lies  in  the  hollow  of  a  valley,  lying 
north  and  south.  The  ground  which  inter- 
vened between  the  Russians  and  this  valley 
was  singularly  diversified.  Imagine  three 
great  solid  waves  with  their  faces  set  edge- 
ways to  they  valley  of  Plevna,  and  therefore 
end  on  to  the  Russians  also.     The  central 


wave  was  the  widest  of  the  three,  and  a 
cheval  of  it  were  the  main  Turkish  positions, 
of  which  there  were  three,  one  beldnd  the 
other.  Although  the  broadest  wave,  it  was 
not  the  highest.  The  right  and  left  waves 
were  both  so  high,  that  one  on  the  crest  of 
either  could  look  down  across  the  interven- 
ing valleys  into  the  positions  of  the  central 
wave.  I3ut;,then  the  Turks  were  astride  of 
all  three  waves.  The  crest  of  the  ridge 
above  Radisevo  they  did  not  hold  in  force. 
Thus  far  Prince  Schahoffskoi  was  fortunate ; 
but  on  the  most  northerly  wave  of  the  three, 
that  against  which  Baron  Kriidener  was 
operatmg,  and  which  was  broader  and  flatter, 
the  Turks  had  intrenched  position  behind 
intrenched  position.  Both  on  the  top  of  this 
ridge  and  of  the  central  swell  stood  the 
camps  of  Turks  with  tents  all  standing  be- 
hind the  earthworks,  as  if  they  had  taken  a 
lease  of  the  ground  in  perpetuity. 

Baron  Kriidener's  cannon  had  opened  fire, 
not  only  in  front  of  Grivitza,  which  was  the 
toe  of  the  horseshoe,  but  against  its  northern 
flank  also.  The  return  fire,  however,  was 
so  heavy  that  he  made  no  way,  and  for  tlie 
time,  at  least  ,was  fast  held.  Schahofl'skoi's 
artillery  tried  to  aid  him  from  the  crest  of 
the  ridge  by  bringing  a  battery  into  action 
against  the  Grivitza  earthwork ;  but  the  tra- 
verse of  the  redoubt  was  so  high  that  it  did 
no  harm.  At  noon  the  whole  attention  of 
Schahoffskoi's  forces  was  concentrated  on 
Radisevo. 

This  village  lay  in  a  deep  valley  behind 
the  southern  wave  or  ridge  of  the  Turkish 
position,  and  there  was  another  ridge  behind 
this   valley.      On   that   ridge   the   Russian 
artillery,  placed  by  Colonel  Bischofi'ski,  chief 
of  Prince  Schahofi'skoi'd  statF,  were  firing  in 
line    on    the  Turkish    guns   on  the  ridge 
beyond  the  valley,  with  fine  ^ff'ect.     The 
infantry  went  down  into  the  valley  under 
this  covering  fire  and  carried  Radisevo  with 
a  trivial  skirmish,  for  in  the  village  there 
were  only  a  handful  of  Bashi-Bazouks,  who, 
standing  their  ground,]werc  promptly  bayo- 
netted.      The    Russian   infantry   remained 
under  cover  of  the  village  whilst  the  batteries 
prepared  the  way.     These,  firing  with  great 
rapidity  and  accuracy,  soon  compelled  the 
Turkish  cannon  to  quit  the  opposite  height, 
and  it  was  then  practicable  for  the  batteries 
to  cross  the  valley  passing  through  Radisevo 
and  come  into  action  in  the  position  vacated 
by  the  Turkish  guns.     Following  them,  the 
infantry  also  descended  into  the  hollow,  and 
lay  down  in  the  glades  about  the  village, 


I 


•4< 


J — No.  1. — The  Second  Battle  of  Plevna, 
Positions  at  9.30  a.m.,  July  31,  1877. 


I 


R.  Osma. 


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VOL.  IIL 


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89 


THE  ASSAULT  ON  PLEVNA.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


and  on  the  steep  slope  behind  the  guns  in 
action. 

Presently  the  five  batteries  were  ranged 
along  the  crest  of  the  ridge  beyond  Kadisevo, 
directing  a  converging  fire  on  the  Turkish 
guns  on  the  central  wave  or  ridge  beyond. 
^Notwithstanding  their  exposed  position, 
their  fire  was  heavy  and  steady  over  the 
village  of  Radisevo,  into  which  were  falling 
many  Turkish  shells,  which  flew  over  the 
ridge  occupied  by  the  Russian  cannon.  It 
was  strange  to  witness  the  peasants  standing 
in  bewildered  groups  in  front  of  their  houses 
with  the  children  playing  unconcernedly 
about  the  dust-heaps,  and  enjoying  them- 
eelves  without  misgiving  as  to  danger 
whilst  the  shells  were  crashing  into  the 
placeo  Still  not  a  single  peasant  was  injured 
by  the  shell-fire,  although  several  hundred 
fchells  must  have  fallen  in  the  village.  In 
the  Turkish  positions,  four  batteries  were 
defending  the  earthwork  about  the  little 
village,  which  seemed  to  be  the  foremost  of 
the  fixed  and  constructed  positions  on  the 
central  ridge,  It  stood  on  a  little  knoll, 
and  was  well  placed  for  searching  with  its 
fire  the  valleys  by  which  it  could  be  ap- 
proached. Beyond  were  more,  and  yet 
more,  earthworks  right  to  the  edge  of  the 
broad  valley,  where  the  roofs  and  church 
towers  of  Plevna  sparkled  in  the  sunshine 
from  out  a  circle  of  verdure.  The  place  had 
an  aspect  of  serenity  strangely  contrasting 
with  the  turmoil  of  the  cannon-fire  raging 
in  front  of  it.  It  seemed  so  near  that  a 
short  ride  would  have  brought  one  there  to 
breakfast ;  yet,  ere  it  could  be  reached,  much 
blood  would  have  to  flow.  Already  men 
were  dropping  fast  in  the  battery,  for  the 
position  of  the  guns  was  greatly  exposed, 
and  the  Turkish  practice  was  mostly  very 
good. 

Up  to  one  o'clock  the  infantry  had  nowhere 
been  engaged.  The  operations  hitherto  had 
been  confined  to  the  artillery.  Kriidener, 
on  the  right  flank,  had  scarcely  progressed 
at  all,  and  his  co-operation  in  a  simultane- 
ously combined  attack  on  both  flanks  was 
indispensable  to  success.  He  seemed  little 
farther  forward  than  at  the  commencement, 
whereas  Prince  Schahoffskoi  was  at  com- 
paratively close  quarters,  and  within  striking 
distance.  Kriidener  was  behind,  either 
because  his  attack  was  not  pushed  energeti- 
cally, or  because  he  was  encountering  ob- 
stacles which  the  left  wing  had  not  met.  But 
Kriidener  was  generally  regarded  as  a  slow 
soldier  and  an  unenergetic  man,  and  Scha- 
190 


hofFskoi,  in  his  impatience,  determined  to  act 
independently,  and  strike  the  Turks  single- 
handed.  If  Kriidener  was  slow,  Schahoff- 
skoi was  rash.  If  the  whole  force  was  too 
small  for  the  work,  how  much  more  so  was 
one-half  that  force  ?  Fearful  was  the  re- 
tribution exacted  for  that  error  of  judgment. 

About  half-past  two  the  second  period 
of  the  battle  commenced.  To  ascertain 
whether  the  artillery  had  sufficiently  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  infantry  to  act, 
Schahoffskoi  and  his  staff  rode  on  to  the 
ridge  where  the  batteries  were  firing,  and 
had  to  dismount  precipitately  under  a 
hurricane  of  shell-fire  which  the  Turkish 
gunners  directed  against  the  little  group. 
A  long  and  anxious  inspection  seemed  to 
satisfy  Schahoffskoi  and  the  chief  of  his 
staff  that  the  time  had  come  when  the  in- 
fantry could  strike  with  effect.  This  conclu- 
sion was  arrived  at  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that 
the  left  flank  attack  had  but  three  brigades 
all  told,  one  of  which  constituted  the  re- 
serve. In  other  words,  he  was  about  to 
launch  ten  or  twelve  thousand  men  against 
commanding  intrenched  positions  held  by 
an  immensely  superior  force,  and  no  whit 
crushed  by  preliminary  artillery  fire. 

Two  brigades  of  infantry  were  lying  down 
in  the  Radisevo  valley,  behind  the  guns ; 
the  32nd  division — General  Tchekoffs  bri- 
gade— on  the  right,  the  1st  brigade  of  the 
30th  division  on  the  left.  The  leading 
battalions  were  ordered  to  rise  up  and  ad- 
vance over  the  ridge  to  attack.  The  order 
was  hailed  with  gkd  cheers,  for  the  infantry 
had  been  chafing  at  their  inaction,  and  the 
battalions,  with  a  swift,  swinging  step, 
streamed  forward  through  the  glen  and  up 
the  steep  slope  beyond,  marching  in  com- 
pany columns,  the  rifle  companies  leading. 
The  artillery  had  heralded  this  movement 
with  increased  rapidity  of  fire,  which  was 
maintained  to  cover  and  aid  the  infantry 
when  the  latter  had  crossed  the  crest  and 
were  descending  the  slope  and  crossing  the 
intervening  valley  to  the  assault  of  the 
Turkish  position.  Just  before  reaching  the 
crest  the  battalions  deployed  into  line  at  the 
double,  and  crossed  it  in  this  formation, 
breaking  to  pass  through  the  intervals  be- 
tween the  guns.  The  Turkish  shells  whistled 
through  them  as  they  advanced  in  line,  and 
men  went  down  in  numbers ;  but  the  long 
undulating  line  tramped  steadily  over  the 
stubbles  of  the  ridge,  and  crashed  through 
the  undergrowth  on  the  descent  beyond. 
No   skirmishing  line  was   thrown  out  in 


A.D.  1877.] 

advance.  The  fighting  line  remained  in  the 
formation  for  a  time,  till,  what  with  im- 
patience and  what  with  men  falling,  it  broke 
into  a  ragged  spray  of  humanity,  and  surged 
on  swiftly,  loosely,  and  with  no  close  cohe- 
sion. The  supports  were  close  up,  and  ran 
up  into  the  fighting  line  independently  and 
eagerly.  It  was  a  veritable  chase  of  fight- 
ing-men impelled  by  a  burning  desire  to  get 
forward  and  come  to  cloao  quarters  with  the 
enemy  firing  at  them  there  from  behind  the 
shelter  of  the  trenches. 

Presently  all  along  the  face  of  the  ad- 
vancing infantry  burst  forth  flaring  volleys 
of  rifle  fire.  The  jagged  line  of  flashes 
sprang  onward  through  the  maize-fields, 
gradually  assuming  a  concave  shape.  The  | 
Turkish  position  was  neared.  The  roll  of 
rifle  fire  was  incessant,  yet  dominated  by  the 
fiercer  and  louder  turmoil  of  the  artillery 
above.  The  ammunition  waggons  hurried 
up  to  the  cannon  with  fresh  fuel  for  the  fire. 
The  guns  redoubled  the  energy  of  their 
cannonade.  The  crackle  of  the  musketry 
fire  rose  into  a  sharp  continuous  peal,  and 
the  supports  that  had  remained  behind, 
lying  just  under  the  crest  of  the  slope,  were 
pushed  forward  over  the  brow  of  the  hill, 
over  the  dead  and  the  severely  wounded, 
lying  where  they  fell  on  the  stubbles 
and  amid  the  maize.  Still  the  living  wave 
of  fighting-men  poured  over  them  ever  on 
and  on  until  the  Turkish  cannon-fire  began 
to  waver  in  the  earthwork.  More  supports 
streamed  down  with  a  louder  cheer  into  the 
Russian  fighting  line.  Then  there  was  a 
wild  rush,  headed  by  the  colonel  of  one  of 
the  regiments  of  the  32nd  division,  and  the 
rest  of  the  officers  waving  their  swords. 
The  Turks  in  the  shelter-trench  held  their 
ground,  and  fired  steadily,  and  with  terrible 
efi'ect,  into  the  advancing  forces.  The 
colonel's  horse  went  down,  but  the  colonel 
was  on  his  feet  in  a  second,  and,  waving  his 
sword,  led  his  men  forward  on  foot;  but 
only  for  a  few  paces ;  a  moment  afterwards 
he  was  killed. 

The  men,  however,  kept  on,  and  charged 
with  their  bayonets  over  the  parapet  and 
shelter-trench,  and  in  among  the  Turks  like 
an  avalanche,  and  with  this  rush  the  outer 
edge  of  the  first  position  was  won.  Still  it 
took  them  half-an-hour  from  the  shelter- 
trench  before  they  again  converged  and 
made  their  final  rush  at  the  main  earth- 
work. This  time  the  Turks  did  not  wait 
for  the  bayonet-points,  but  with  one  final 
volley  abandoned  the  work,  and  fell  back 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,      [repulse  of  the  Russians. 


in  a  huddled  mass  into  the  gardens  and 
vineyard  behind  the  position,  cramming 
the  narrow  track  between  the  trees  to  gain 
the  shelter  of  their  batteries  in  the  rear  of 
the  second  position. 

So  fell  the  first  position  of  the  Turks. 
Being  a  village,  it  afforded  ample  cover, 
and  Schahofskoi  would  have  acted  wisely 
had  he  been  content  to  hold  it  and 
strengthen  it  till  Kriidener,  on  his  right, 
should  have  carried  the  Grrivitza  earthwork, 
and  come  up  in  line  with  him.  But  the 
Grand  Cross  of  St.  George  dangled  before 
his  eyes,  and  tempted  him  to  rashness. 
Kriidener  was  clearly  jammed.  The  Turks 
were  fighting  furiously,  and  were  in  unex- 
pected force  on  that  broad  central  ridge  of 
theirs,  as  well  as  against  Kriidener.  The 
first  position,  in  natural  as  in  artificial 
strength,  was  child's  play  to  the  grim  stark- 
ness  of  the  second  on  the  isolated  mamelon 
with  the  batteries  on  the  swell  behind  it. 
But  Schahofskoi  determined  to  go  for  it, 
and  the  word  was  again,  '^  Forward  !"  The 
first  rush,  however,  was  out  of  the  men. 
Many  must  have  been  blown.  They  hung 
a  good  deal  in  the  advance,  exposing  them- 
selves recklessly,  and  falling  fast,  but  not 
progressing  with  much  speed. 

Still  Schahofskoi  kept  his  finger  well  on 
the  throbbing  pulse  of  battle.  Just  in  tlie 
nick  of  time  half  his  reserve  brigade  was 
thrown  into  the  fight  immediately  below, 
while  the  other  half  took  part  in  the  attack 
more  on  the  left  flank.  The  new  blood  told 
at  once.  There  was  a  move  forward,  and 
no  more  standing  and  craning  over  the 
fence.  But  the  Turks  on  the  flank  in  the 
earthwork  were  also  reinforced,  and  all  of  a 
sudden  the  white  smoke  spurted  forth  all 
along  the  lip  of  the  epaulement,  on  the 
swarms  of  dark-clothed  men  scrambling  on 
to  it.  There  was  a  short  but  sharp  struggle 
for  the  pussession  of  the  earthwork  on  both 
its  flanks,  till,  at  about  6  p.m.,  the  Turks 
pressed  forward  a  heavy  mass  of  infantry 
for  its  recapture.  Schahofskoi  took  a  bold 
step,  sending  two  batteries  down  into  the 
first  position  he  had  taken  to  keep  them  in 
check.  Here  Russians  and  Turks  were 
locked  awliile  in  a  deadly  embrace  (sketch 
J,  No.  2);  but  the  Turks  were  not  to  be 
denied,  and,  in  spite  of  the  most  determined 
fighting  of  the  Russians,  had  reoccupied 
their  second  position  before  seven.  The 
battle  was  lost. 

The  first    brigade  of  the  30th   division 
had  early  inclined  to  the  left,  in  the  dii'ec- 

lUl 


tr  ti 


POSITIONS  ON  JULY  31.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


J — No.  2. — The  Second  Battle   of  Plevna. 
Positions  at  6  p.m.,  July  31,  1877. 


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A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


r  TERRIBLE  SLAUGHTER. 


192 


tion  where  the  towers  and  houses  of  Plevna 
were  visible.  It  was  rash,  for  the  brigade 
was  exposinpr  its  right  flank  to  the  Turkish 
cannon  astride  of  the  central  ridge ;  but  the 
goal  of  Plevna  was  a  keen  temptation. 
There  was  no  thoroughfare,  however.  They 
would  not  give  up,  and  they  could  not 
succeed.  They  charged  again  and  again  ; 
and  when  they  could  charge  no  more  from 
sheer  fatigue,  they  stood  and  died,  for  they 
would  not  retire.  The  reserves  came  up, 
but  only  to  swell  the  slaughter.  And  then 
the  ammunition  failed,  for  the  carts  had 
been  left  far  behind,  and  all  hope  failed  the 
most  sanguine,  as  the  sun  sank  in  lurid 
glory  behind  the  smoke-mantled  field. 

Two  companies  of  Russian  infantry  did 
indeed  work  round  the  right  flank  of  the 
Turkish  works,  and  dodge  into  the  town  of 
Plevna  ;  but  it  was  like  entering  the  mouth 
of  hell.  On  the  heights  all  round  the 
cannon-smoke  spurted  out,  and  the  vine- 
yard in  the  rear  of  the  town  was  alive  with 
Turks. 

Schahofskoi  had  not  a  man  left  to  cover 
the  retreat.  He  had  staked  all  his  men  on 
the  game,  and  he  had  lost  them  at  the  game 
irretrievably.  The  Turks  struck  without 
stint.  They  had  the  upper  hand  for  once, 
and  were  determined  to  show  that  they 
knew  how  to  make  the  most  of  it.  They 
advanced  in  swarms  through  the  dusk  on 
their  original  first  position,  and  recaptured 
their  three  cannon  the  Russians  had  pre- 
viously taken  before  these  could  be  with- 
drawn. The  Turkish  shells  began  once 
more  to  whistle  over  the  ridge  above 
Radisevo  and  fall  into  the  village  behind, 
crammed  with  wounded,  the  streams  of 
whom  wending  their  painful  way  over  the 
ridge  were  incessant.  The  badly  wounded 
mostly  lay  where  they  fell.  Later  in  the 
darkness  the  Bashi-Bazouks  swarmed  over 
the  battle-field,  and  smote  and  spared  not. 
Lingering  there  on  the  ridge  till  the  moon 
rose,  the  staff  could  hear  from  down  below, 
on  the  still  night  air,  the  cries  of  pain,  the 
entreaties  for  mercy,  and  the  yells  of  blood- 
thirsty fanatical  triumph.  It  was  indeed 
an  hour  to  wring  the  sternest  heart.  They 
stayed  there  long,  to  learn,  if  it  might  be, 
what  troops  were  coming  out  of  the  Valley 
of  the  Shadow  of  Death  below.  Were  there, 
indeed,  any  at  all  to  come  ?  It  did  not 
seem  as  if  it  were  so.  The  Turks  had  the 
range  again  before  dark,  and  the  escort  and 
the  retreating  wounded  were  often  struck. 
A  detachment  of  cavalry  at  length  began  to 


come  straggling  up  to  take  over  from  the 
staff  the  forepost  duty  on  the  ridge ;  but  it 
will  give  an  idea  of  the  disorganisation  to 
say,  that  when  a  company  was  told-off  to 
cover  somewhat  the  wounded  in  Radisevo, 
it  had  to  be  made  up  of  the  men  of  several 
regiments. 

About  nine  o'clock  the  staff  quitted  the 
ridge,  leaving  it  littered  with  groaning  men, 
and  moving  gently  lest  they  should  tread  y 
on  the  prostrate  wounded.  The  staff  soon 
lost  their  way  as  they  had  lost  their  army, 
and  could  find  no  rest  for  the  soles  of  their 
feet,  by  reason  of  the  alarms  of  the  Bashi- 
Bazouks  swarming  in  among  the  scattered 
and  retiring  Russians.  At  length,  at  one  in 
the  morning,  having  been  in  the  saddle 
since  six  on  the  previous  morning,  they 
turned  into  a  stubble-field,  and,  making 
beds  of  the  reaped  grain,  commander, 
correspondent,  and  Cossack  alike  rested 
under  the  stars.  But  they  were  not  even 
then  allowed  to  rest.  Before  four  an  alarm 
came  that  the  Bashi-Bazouks  were  upon 
them,  and  they  had  to  rouse  and  tramp  away. 
The  only  protection  of  the  chief  of  what 
in  the  morning  was  a  fine  army  was  a 
handful  of  wearied  Cossacks.  About  the 
Bashi-Bazouks  there  is  worse  to  tell.  At 
night  they  worked  round  into  Radisevo, 
and,  falling  upon  the  wounded  there, 
butchered  them  without  mercy. 

Kriidener,  too,  sent  word  that  he  had 
lost  severely,  and  could  make  no  headway, 
and  had  resolved  to  fall  back  on  the  line  of 
the  river  Osma,  which  falls  into  the 
Danube  near  Nicopoli.  There  had  been  a 
talk,  his  troops  being  fresh,  of  renewing  the 
attack  the  next  day  with  his  co-operation  ; 
but  it  is  a  plain  statement  of  fact  that 
Schahofskoi  had  no  troops  to  attack  with : 
5,000  men,  out  of  three  brigades,  had  been 
lost,  besides  Kriidener's  losses. 

In  fact,  the  Russian  army  before  Plevna 
was  completely  broken  up  and  dispersed. 
The  regiments,  compacted  in  strong  posi- 
tions at  daybreak,  were  broken  up  into 
three  streams  of  fugitive  groups,  panic- 
stricken,  confused,  wearied,  harassed,  hur- 
rying away  through  the  dark  night  across 
the  broken  country  towards  Karagatch, 
where  they  had  started  from  confident  of 
victory,  and  further  on  still  to  Bulgareni 
on  the  Osma.  Skobeloff  also  had  been 
severely  handled,  losing  300  men  out 
of  one  battalion,  and  had  also  been  forced 
to  retreat  before  the  advancing  bodies  of 
Bashi-Bazuukb  and   Circassians.     The  fol- 

1U3 


THE  RETREAT.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


lowing  sketch  (J,  No.  3)  gives  a  graphic 
picture  of   the  field   during  the  night  of 
July   31st   to  August    1st;    and     it    also 
shows  how  ill-advised  the  Turks  were  not 
to  have  followed  the  flying  naovements  of 
the  Russian  army,  at  least  to  the  banks  of 
the  Osma,  and  then  have  intrenched  them- 
selves.  Had  Osman  Pasha  boldly  advanced, 
striking  blow  after  blow,  and   had  he   been 
supported  by  Mehemed  Ali,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded  Abdul   Kerim     on   the     Lom,  the 
Russians  might  have  been  crushed  on  the 
Yantra  and  forced  back  across  the  Danube. 
Not  a   Russian   soldier   stood    between 
Tirnova  and  the  victorious  Turkish  army 
in  Lovatz  and  Plevna.     Only  a  weak  divi- 
sion of  the  11th  corps  stood  between  Tirnova 
and  the  Schumla  army.   Thus,  north  of  the 
Balkans — the    8th     corps    being    already 
committed  to  the   mountains — there  was 
but  the  9th  corps  (already  roughly  handled, 
once  at   Nicopoli  and  again  previously  at 
Plevna),  one  division  of  the  11th  corps,  and 
the    Rustzuk    army.      But  if    the  Rust- 
zuk    army   were     marched    to    the    west 
against  Plevna,  then  the  Turkish  army  of 
Rustzuk  would  be  let   loose  on  the  Rus- 
sian communications  to  Tirnova,  and  the 
advance  over  the  Balkans  be  seriously  com- 
promised.    The  Russian  strait  was  so  bad 
that  the  scattered  detachments  were  called 
up  from  Roumania,  and  a  Roumanian  divi- 
sion, commanded  by  General  Manu,  ordered 
up  to  the  line  of  the  Osma  River,  whilst 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  precipitately  left 
Tirnova,  and   hurried   up  to  Bulgareni  to 
check  the  headlong  flight  of  his  shattered 
armies. 

The  following  letter,  from  the  Daily 
News,  describes  the  state  of  the  defeated 
Russians  the  night  after  the  battle: — 

"  Bucharest,  August  2nd. — It  was  the 
evening  of  the  battle  of  Plevna.  The  sun 
was  going  down  behind  the  smoke-mantled 
heights,  in  a  glow  of  lurid  crimson.  The 
dusk  was  fast  settlinor  on  one  of  the 
bloodiest  battle-fields  of  the  century — 
closing  in  round  the  batteries  whose  guns 
were  still  firing,  round  detached  parties  of 
Russian  soldiers  who  were  doggedly  main- 
taining the  fight  against  the  swarms  of 
Turks  who  formed  a  ring  around  them, 
firing  fiercely  into  their  midst — round  the 
dead  and  the  wounded  lyirg  thick  on  the 
stubbles,  on  the  grassy  slopes,  in  the  hol- 
lows among  the  maize  plants  and  the  oak 
copses — round  the  knots  of  wounded  who 
had  crawled  for  cover  to  the  leeside  of   the 

19-4 


grain-stacks   on  the  fields,    and   who  lay 
there  in  the  unspeakable  agony  of  waitin**- 
for  the  inevitable  doom  which  they  knew 
too  well  was  to  befall    them — round  the 
groups  of  miscreants  tramping  about  the 
battle-field  intent  on  wreaking  that  doom 
on  the  defenceless  wounded,  and  stoppino- 
ever  and  anon  to  perpetrate  some  barbarity. 
Prince  Schahofskoi  and  his   staff  stood  on 
the  summit  of  the  ridge  above  the  village 
of    Radisevo,   which   was    crammed    with 
wounded  men.     The  fate  of  the  battle  had 
hung  in  the  scale  for  some  time,  but  now 
all  hope  of  success  had  gone.     There  was 
no  reserve  among  us  in  the  acknowledo-- 
ment  that  the  attack  had  been  a  failure ; 
all  the  concern  now  was  to  do  what  was 
possible  towards  minimising  the  results  of 
that  failure.     There  was  no  conversation ; 
men's  hearts  were  too  heavy  for  talk.     We 
sat  about  on  the  knoll,  gazing  down  into 
the    pandemonium   below.      The   general, 
alone  and   apart,  paced   up  and   down  a 
little  open  space  in  the  oak  copse,  gloom 
settled  on  his  face.     All  around  us  the  air 
was  heavy  with  the  low  moaning  of  the 
wounded,   who,    having    limped    or    been 
aided  thus  far  out  of  the  fight,  had  cast 
themselves  down  to  gain  a  little  relief  from 
the  agony  of  motion.     There  was  not  even 
water  for  them,  for  Radisevo  is  all  but  a 
waterless  village,  and  what  water  trickled 
in  a  tiny  rill  from  the  fountain  behind  the 
village  was  struggled   for  eagerly  by  the 
parched  and  fevered  wounded  who  crowded 
around  it,  coveting   with  a   longing,  the 
agony  of  which  the  reader  can  never  know, 
a  few  drops  of  the  precious  fluid.     I  cannot 
tell  when  I  most  respect  and  admire  the 
simple    honest   Russian    soldier — whether 
when    he    is    plodding   along   without   a 
murmur  verst  after  verst,  under  a  burden 
just   double    in    weight   that    which    our 
soldiers    carry,   cheering   the   way   as    he 
tramps  with  a  lusty  chorus;  or  when,  with 
cheers  that  ring  with  sincerity,  and  with 
an   alacrity  which  is  genuine,  he  presses 
forward   into  the   battle;   or  when   he   is 
standing  stubbornly  confronting  his  enemy, 
conscious  of  being  over-matched,  yet  never 
dreaming  of  running  away ;  or  when  he  is 
lying  wounded  but  uncomplaining,  helping 
his   neighbour   in    the   same    plight  with 
some  trifling  act  of  tender  kindness,  and 
waiting  for  what  God  and  the  Czar  shall 
send    him,  with  a  patient,  unmurmuring 
calm  that  is  surely  true  heroism. 

"  The  darkness  closed  in  around  us,  and 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[positions  on  JUI.Y  31. 


J — ^0,  3. — 77ie  Second  Battle  of  Plevna, 
Positiom  at  9  p.m.,  July  31,  1877. 


lo 


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195 


THE  BATTLE-FIELD.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


I 


■I      s 


the  enemy  seemed  bent  on  following  the  ex- 
ample of  the  darkness.     We  had  been  on 
this  ridge  for  a  long  time  beyond  the  range 
of  the  enemy's  batteries;    but   now  these 
were   advanced,    and  we  were   once   more 
under  fire.    Through  the  darkness  we  could 
see  the  flashes  of  the  cannon-shots;  they 
must  be  back  now  in  the  position  on  the 
knoll  below — the  position  where,  four  hours 
ago,  the  Russian  soldiers  had  charged  home 
with  the  bayonet,  and  whence,  two  hours 
ago,  the  Russian  cannon  had  been  firing. 
A  second  more,  and  nearer  and  nearer  came 
the  whistle  of  the  shells,  with  a  swiftly  gra- 
dual crescendo  into  a  scream  as  they  sped 
over  us  and  crashed  down  into  the  village 
in  the  valley  behind  us ;   and  yet  nearer 
til  ere  was  the  flashing  of  the  musketry  fire 
in  the  darkness :  one  could  watch  the  streaks 
of  flame  foreshortened  down  in  the  valley 
there ;   and  nerves  tried  by  a  long  day  of 
foodlessness,  excitement,  fatigue,    and  ex- 
posure to  the  sun  and  the  chances  of  the 
battle-field,  quivered  under  the  prolonged 
tension  of  endurance,  as  the  throbbing  hum 
of  the   bullet  sped   through   or  over   the 
straggling  group.     No  man  dared  to  say  to 
that  stern  lowering  chief,  eating  his  heart 
there  in  the  bitterness  of  his  disappointment, 
that  it  was  a  bootless  tempting  of  fortune 
to  linger  longer  on  this  exposed  spot ;  nor 
did  any  man  care  to  quit,  for  the  sake  of 
greater    safety,  the    companionship   which 
had  endured  throughout  the  day.     So  we 
lingered  on  till  our  senses  became  dulled, 
until  some  dropped  off  into  slumber,  regard- 
less of  the  scream  of  the  shells  and  the  hum 
of   the  bullets.     It  was  a  humane  object 
which  so  long  detained   the  general  in  a 
position  so  long  exposed.     There  was  no 
force  available  to  line  the  height,  and  cover, 
to  ever  so  little  extent,  the  wounded  lying 
on  and  behind  it  from  the  Bashi-Bazouks, 
who  too  certainly  were   prowling   in   the 
vicinity,  and  ever  coming  nearer  and  nearer. 
An  attempt  had,  indeed,  been  made  to  get 
together  a  detachment  of  infantry  for  this 
purpose,    and  a  bugler,    at  the  general's 
order,  persistently  sounded  the  assembly; 
but  the  result  was  merely  to  gather  a  hand- 
ful of  stragglers  from  half-a-dozen  different 
regiments ;  and  although   but  a  company 
was  wanted,  that  trivial  strength  could  not 
be  collected ;  so  the  general,  his  staff,  and 
his  escort  took  up  for  the  time  a  kind  of 
informal  forepost  duty,  and  there  we  waited 
till  the  pale  calm  moon  rose  and  poured 
the  sheen  of  her  white  radiance  over  the 
196 


battle-field.  While  it  was  yet  dark  there 
had  been  no  cessation  of  the  firing,  both 
artillery  and  musketry;  and  now  that 
heaven  was  holding  a  candle  to  hell,  the 
fire  waxed  warmer  and  brisker.  Up  from 
out  of  it,  with  broken  tramp,  came  a  detach- 
ment, silent,  jaded,  powder-grimed.  There 
could  not  have  been  a  company  all  told  ;  a 
lieutenant  marched  at  its  head,  and  it  was 
the  remnant — so  far  as  could  be  gathered  the 
sole  remnant — of  one  of  the  finest  regiments 
of  the  32nd  division,  that  had  crossed  the 
ridge  over  which  its  debris  was  now  list- 
lessly trailing  itself  three  fine  battalions 
strong. 

"At  length  the  jingle  of  cavalry  accoutre- 
ments was  heard,  and  a  squadron  of  dragoons 
rode  on  to  the  heights,  and  extending  in 
skirmishing  order,  relieved  the  head-quarter 
staff.     It  was  a  poor  screen   to  interpose 
between  a  victorious  and  remorseless  army 
and  a  mass  of  wounded  men ;  but  nothing 
more  was  available.      The  general  had  lost 
an  army,  the  fragments  of  an  army  had  lost 
their  general.    We  turned  the  heads  of  our 
jaded  horses,  and,  silent  and  depressed,  rode 
down  the  slope  across  the  valley  and  up  the 
slope  beyond.     Our  pace  was  a  slow  walk, 
for  there  were  wounded  men  everywhere, 
limping  along  the  narrow  pathway  in  front 
of  us,  prostrate   on  the  grass  by  the  side 
of  it,  or  asleep  in    the  very  dust.     Occa- 
sionally we  struck  detachments  of  infantry 
who  had  scrambled  back  out  of  the  fight, 
and   were    lying  on  their  arms    in   utter 
ignorance  of  the  best  direction  in  which  to 
march.     Or  it  might  be  a  battery  of  artil- 
lery, halted  in  perplexing  dubiety  whether 
if  they  went  on  they  might  march  into  the 
bosom  of  the  Turkish  army.    I  believe  there 
existed  some  intention  that  we  should  go 
for  the   night  to  a  village   called   Bogot. 
But  we  got  confused  as  to  the  road,  and 
bewildered  by  the  crackling  spurts  of  mus- 
ketry fire  that  broke  out  all  around  in  the 
most  uncomfortable  fashion.       Were   the 
Turks  then  wholly  round  us,  that  we  heard, 
and  occasionally  felt,  fire  as  it  seemed  to 
north,  to  south,  to  east,  and  to  west  ?   Once 
such  was  the  confusion  that  we  were  fired 
upon  by  a  detachment  of  Russian  troops, 
halted  in  equal  bewilderment  with  ourselves, 
and  expecting  an  enemy  from  any  or  every 
side.     We  made  halt  after  halt,  but  there 
never  was  rest  for  us.     A  spurt  of  near 
firing  would  stir  us,   or  a  Cossack  would 
ride  in  with  intelligence  that  Bashi-Bazouks 
were  prowling  near  by;  and  through  all  this 


i 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[gourko*s  advance. 


harassment  there  yet  lingered  with  the 
most  sanguine  of  us  the  idea  that  the  battle 
would  be  resumed  next  morning,  we  afford- 
ing an  artillery  support  to  the  supposedly 
fresh  troops  of  Kriidener.  Where,  I  asked 
myself,  is  our  artillery  to  take  orders  for 
such  a  purpose  ?  We  did  not  know  where 
we  were  ourselves,  much  less  where  the 
army  was,  of  which  this  groping,  forlorn, 
dejected  band  were  the  head-quarters.  Of 
Kriidener's  experiences  or  whereabouts  we 
knew  simply  nothing.  It  was  useless  to 
despatch  aides-de-camp  or  orderlies  without 
being  able  to  give  them  a  direction  in  which 
to  ride.  All  we  knew  was  that  everywhere 
there  were  wounded  men  about  us,  and  that 
we  and  our  horses  were  dead  beaten. 

*'  Nature  will  assert  herself.  About  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning  we  turned  aside  into 
a  field  where  the  barley  had  been  reaped 
and  piled  into  small  stacks.  These  we  tore 
down,  shook  some  sheaves  out  as  fodder  for 
our  horses,  and  others  as  beds  for  ourselves, 
and,  throwing  ourselves  down,  fell  into  dead 
slumber.  But  there  was  no  long  rest  for 
us.  At  three  o'clock  we  were  aroused  by 
the  tidings  that  the  Bashi-Bazouks  were 
close  to  us,  and  the  near  firing  told  of 
the  accuracy  of  the  statement.  We  hud- 
dled a  number  of  wounded  into  and  upon 
some  carts  which  came  up  casually,  and 
started  them  off,  whether  in  the  right  direc- 
tion or  not  we  had  no  conception.  Ugh ! 
how  miserably  raw  and  chill  struck  the 


bleak  morn  just  before  the  dawn !  But  if 
the  rawness  of  the  air  struck  to  our  marrow, 
hale  and  sound  men  as  we  were,  what  must 
have  been  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  wounded, 
weakened  by  loss  of  blood,  faint  in  the 
prostration  which  follows  so  inevitably  the 
gun-shot  wound  ;  foodless,  without  water, 
lying  on  the  damp  grass  by  the  wayside  in 
their  blood-clotted  clothes!  Yet  happy 
they,  pitiable  as  was  their  plight,  in  com- 
parison with  their  fellows  who  had  littered 
the  battle-field,  and  had  been  left  behind  in 
Radisevo.  The  fate  of  the  former  we  knew 
from  what  we  had  ourselves  seen ;  of  the 
latter,  it  was  told  to  us  by  scared  messen- 
gers, that  the  Bashi-Bazouks  had  in  the 
dead  of  night  worked  round  our  left  flank, 
and  had  fallen  upon  them  and  butchered 
them  in  their  helplessness." 

The  reverse  of  the  Russians  was  thus  as 
complete  as  the  inability  of  Osman  Pasha  and 
Mehemed  Ali  allowed.  This  inability  per- 
mitted the  grand  duke  to  stay  the  tide  of  re- 
treating and  disheartened  troops  ;  and  after 
a  while,  with  the  assistance  of  reinforcements 
and  the  Roumanian  corps,  to  regain  posses- 
sion of  their  positions  before  Plevna.  Here, 
broken,  disallusioned,  we  leave  the  Russian 
army  of  Plevna  in  what  would  have  been  the. 
most  critical  position  had  the  Turks  been 
able  to  turn  their  success  to  advantage,  and 
will  now  turn  to  the  advance  forces  under 
Greneral  Grourko,  and  see  how  the  Plevna 
reverse  affected  operations  in  this  quarter. 


1-4. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


GENERAL  GOURKO's  ADVANCE  AND   RETREAT. 


Little  suspecting  what  a  terrible  blow 
was  awaiting  the  army  before  Plevna 
within  the  next  two  days,  General  Gourko 
was  ordered,  by  the  commander-in-chief,  to 
advance  with  three  columns  from  Kezanlik 
and  converge  upon  Yeni  Zagra,  in  order  to 
seize  and  occupy  the  district  south  of  the 
Kara  Dagh  mountains,  and  cut  the  line  of 
communication  of  the  Turks  with  the 
railway  at  Yamboli  and  the  western  por- 
tion of  Roumelia  towards  Philippopoli  and 
Sophia. 

Here  the  Turkish  government  had  placed 
Suleiman    Pasha,,  who    had    successfully 


VOL.  UL 


2D 


marched  through  Montenegro,  at  a  great 
expenditure  of  blood,  in  the  command  of 
the  army  of  the  Balkans.  Taking  up  his 
head-quarters  at  Adrianople,  he  ener- 
getically began  to  organise  his  troops  in 
view  of  the  impending  irruption  of  the 
Russians,  which  he  fully  expected,  and  to 
construct  intrenchments  and  earthworks 
at  the  most  important  points  to  delay  the 
advance  of  the  enemy. 

A  reference  to  sketch  D,  page  154,  will 
show  Suleiman's  general  plan.  It  was  to 
draw  together  the  forces  distributed  in  a 
circle  at  Sophia,  Philippopoli,  Adrianople, 

197 


...V 


% 


f ,. 


>'■' 


r.-- 


i*  . 


THE  BALKAN  PASSES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[positions  on  JULY  29. 


and  Slivno,  and  to  converge  with  them  at 
the  Schipka  Pass,  the  keystone  of  their 
position,  whilst  at  the  same  time  keeping 
his  communications  open  with  Osman 
Pasha  on  his  left  flank  by  way  of  the  Or- 
khanieh  Pass,  and,  on  his  right  flank,  with 
Mehemed  Ali,  by  way  of  the  Slivno  Pass. 

This  plan  was  good  strategy,  but  it  de- 
manded a  sufficient  number  of  troops,  and 
premised  the  certainty  of  forcing  the 
Schipka.  Unless  this  certainty  were  as- 
sured, the  strategy  was  faulty  ;  but,  taken 
all  in  all,  there  is  no  doubt,  as  the  course 
of  events  fully  proved,  that  had  the  Turks 
simultaneously  drawn  their  net  round  the 
Kussians,  and  that  had  the  commanders- 
in-chief,  Osman,  Suleiman,  and  Mehemed 
Ali  acted  in  full  co-operation  at  a  given 
moment  with  each  other,  the  plan,  as  it 
stood,  would  have  had  every  chance  of 
success.  Whether  the  means  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  Turks  warranted  the  plan,  is  a 
question  which  cannot  yet  be  decided,  and 
thus  it  is  not  possible  to  say  who  was  re- 
sponsible for  its  ultimate  failure. 

Hence,  General  Gourko  having  been 
ordered  to  advance  upon  Yeni  Zagra,  he 
at  once  took  the  necessary  dispositions. 

The  right  column,  consisting  of  the 
Bulgarian  legion,  two  batteries  of  artil- 
lery, and  three  regiments  of  cavalry,  was 
to  march  from  Eski  Zagra ;  the  central 
column,  under  Gourko  himself,  consisting 
of  the  rifle  brigade,  a  regiment  of  Cos- 
sacks, and  four  batteries  of  artillery,  from 
Kezanlik;  and  the  left  column,  of  five  bat- 
talions of  infantry,  two  batteries,  and  some 
Cossacks,  from  Hainkoi,  the  objective  of 
all  three  columns  being  Yeni  Zagra. 

As  will  be  seen  on  a  reference  to  the  fol- 
lowing sketch,  K  l,two  of  these  columns, 
the  one  at  Eski  Zagra,  and  the  other  at 
Hainkoi,  had  to  pass  the  river  Tundja,  and 
effect  their  passage  through  the  defiles  of 
the  Kara  Dagh.  These  mountains,  though 
much  lower  than  the  Balkans,  still  present 
considerable  difficulties.  They  are,  in  fact, 
the  out-spurs  of  the  Balkans,  and  at  one 
time,  no  doubt,  formed  part  of  the  mother- 
range  until  separated  from  it  by  land- 
slips and  the  action  of  the  Tundja.  Be- 
tween Slivno  and  Kezanlik  there  are  three 
well-defined  passes  and  a  defile  practicable 
for  mules  and  horses. 

The  first  of  these  passages,  from  Kezanlik 

eastwards,  is   the   Derbendkoi    Pass ;    the 

second,  the  Dalboka  Pass ;  the  fourth,  the 

Djinovo  Pass,  through  which  the  high  road 

198 


runs  from  Yeni  Zagra  to  Slivno.  The 
third  is  the  defile  above  mentioned,  and 
lies  nearly  due  south  of  the  Hainkoi  Pass. 
South  of  the  Kara  Dagh  lie  the  great 
Roumelian  plains,  through  which  runs  the 
railway  from  Adrianople  nearly  due  north 
as  far  as  Yeni  Zagra,  whence  it  turns  east- 
wards skirting  the  mountains  to  Yamboli, 
whence  a  high  road  also  runs  to  Slivno,  and 
another  to  Karnabad,  and  so  on  to  Schumla, 
Varna,  and  the  rest  of  the  Quadrilateral. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  tri- 
angle, Yamboli-Slivno-Eski  Zagra,  was  of 
high  strategic  importance.  Whoever  held 
it,  commanded  at  the  same  time  the  roads 
from  Adrianople  to  the  Quadrilateral,  and 
consequently  both  the  Russians  and  the 
Turks  devoted  all  their  energies  to  its 
possession.  To  defend  it,  Suleiman  Pasha 
called  up  his  troops,  and  taking  Slivno  and 
Adrianople  as  his  bases  of  operations,  dis- 
posed them  so  as  to  converge  upon  the  four 
passages  of  the  Kara  Dagh  above  men- 
tioned. He  had  a  column  at  Slivno, 
another  between  Slivno  and  the  Hainkoi 
Pass,  with  orders  to  move  forward  and  draw 
as  close  to  the  Russians,  and  menace  their 
left  flank  as  much  as  possible.  His  centre 
was  disposed  south  of  Djuranli,with  detach- 
ments guarding  his  right  at  Yeni  Zagra, 
whilst  his  left  was  working  up  towards  the 
Russian  right  at  Eski  Zagra. 

This  disposition  was  a  very  happy  one. 
It  enabled  him  to  offer  a  concentrated  front 
to  the  Russians ;  whilst  threatening  both 
their  flanks  whatever  route  they  might  ad- 
vance by.  If  they  had  all  passed  through 
the  Derbendkoi  and  Dalboka  passes,  his 
centre  could  make  front  against  the  Russian 
centre,  whilst  his  left  could  always  overlap 
the  Russian  right ;  and  his  right,  assisted  by 
the  reserves  at  Slivno,  overlap  the  Russian 
left.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Russians 
had  crossed  the  Kara  Dagh  west  of  Kezanlik 
to  march  upon  Adrianople,  he  could  have 
wheeled  his  left  and  centre  back,  pivoting 
on  Yeni  Zagra,  and  have  covered  the  line 
to  Adrianople  whilst  offering  a  full  front  to 
the  Russians  either  to  their  full  front  or 
concentrate  his  attack  upon  their  left  flank. 
At  the  same  time  the  Slivno  forces  pro- 
tected his  rear  and  right  flank. 

These  advantages  were  apparent  to 
General  Gourko.  He  saw  how  easily  he 
could  be  overlapped  on  either  flank,  and 
must  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
his  only  chance  of  success  lay  in  his  being 
able  so  to  extend  his  lines  as  to  outflank 


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ADVANCE  ON  TENI  ZAGRA.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877* 


even  Suleiman  Pasha's  extended  flanks — an 
operation  which  could  not  be  successfully 
performed  without  a  superiority  of  forces. 
Thus,  ordering  his  column  at  Hainkoi  to 
make  across  the  mountains  and  attack  the 
right  flank  of  the  Turks  at  Yeni  Zagra,  he 
also  commanded  the  column  at  Eski  Zagra  to 
demonstrate  against  the  centre  and  protect 
his  right  flank.  He  himself  determined 
to  force  the  Turkish  left  by  way  of  the 
Dalboka  Pass.  This  arrangement  of  General 
Gourko's  repeats,  on  a  smaller  scale,  the 
errors  committed  before  Plevna.  That  Su- 
leiman Pasha  was  commanding  a  large  force 
somewhere  south  of  Eski  Zagra,  Djuranli, and 
Yeni  Zagra,  could  not,  or  ought  not  to  have 
been  unknown  to  him.  Yet  he  took  no 
measures  to  prepare  the  ground.  Like 
Kriidener,  he  either  did  not  care  what 
Suleiman  was  doing,  or  he  simply  omitted 
to  ascertain,  by  his  cavalry,  how  near  the 
Turks  were  to  the  right  flank  of  his  advance. 
Before  advancing  on  Yeni  Zagra,  he  should 
have  pushed  forward  reconnaissances  on  his 
right  till  they  had  felt  the  enemy,  and  dis- 
covered whether  he  was  present  in  force 
within  striking  distance.  But  this  he 
neglected  to  do.  His  idea  was  to  seize 
Yeni  Zagra,  occupy  the  passes  through  the 
Kara  Dagh,  strengthen  his  position  at  Eski 
Zagra,  and  thus  hold  the  Kara  Dagh  from 
Eski  Zagra  to  Yeni  Zagra,  as  the  Balkans 
were  already  held  from  the  Schipka  to 
Hainkoi. 

This  idea  only  required  sufficient  forces 
to  carry  it  out,  in  order  to  make  it  a  very 
good  one  indeed.  Without  them,  it  was  a 
very  bad  one.  Still,  though  he  must  have 
had  some  misgivings,  he  set  about  it,  and 
started  for  Yeni  Zagra  from  Kezanlik  on 
the  29th  July,  with  a  terrible  march  of 
forty  miles  before  him.  Nevertheless  his 
troops  came  into  action  next  morning  on  the 
left  flank  of  the  Turkish  intrenchments  in 
front  of  the  railway  station  at  Yeni  Zagra  to 
support  the  attack  of  the  left  column  on 
their  right  flank.  The  Turks  fought  des- 
perately, and  the  bayonet-fighting  was  long 
and  strenuous,  but  after  mid-day  the  Rus- 
sians forced  the  position,  drove  out  the 
Turks,  took  Yeni  Zagra,  captured  three 
guns,  blew  up  the  railway  station,  and 
destroyed  an  immense  mass  of  Turkish 
ammunition  and  stores.  For  want  of 
cavalry,  no  pursuit  was  then  possible ;  but 
next  day  the  Cossacks  fell  on  the  retreating 
Turks  and  pursued  them  some  little  distance 
beyond  the  railway,  till  they  discovered  that 
300 


the  fugitives  had  found  a  support  and  were 
preparing  to  stand  their  ground  again. 

The  first  part  of  the  proi^^ramme  had 
thus  been  successfully  accomplished,  but  at 
a  considerable  loss,  and  Yeni  Zagra  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  Russians.  But  in  the 
meantime  Suleiman  Pasha  had  gradually 
been  drawing  his  forces  around.  The  co- 
lumns advancing  northwards  were  directed 
in  two  supporting  corps,  one  against  the 
Russians  and  Bulgarian  legion  at  Eski  Zao^ra, 
and  the  other  to  intercept  General  Gourko's 
route  to  that  place,  or  to  take  him  in  the 
rear,  whilst  the  forces  between  Yeni  Zairra 
and  Yamboli,  re-forming  under  Reouf  Pasha, 
assailed  him  anew  in  front. 

In  either  case,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  sketch,  K  2,  Gourko's  position  was 
highly  critical.  He  was  nearly  fifty  miles 
away  from  his  first  base  at  the  Schipka  Pass, 
and  had  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  of 
difficult  country  to  traverse  before  reaching 
his  second  base,  Hainkoi,  the  scene  of  his 
first  successful  exploit.  As  may  be  supposed, 
by  this  time  General  Gourko  began  to  feel 
uneasy ;  and  when,  in  the  afternoon  of  July 
30th,  there  came  tidings,  by  a  circuitous 
route  through  the  Dalboka  Pass  and  the 
defile  west  of  Yeni  Zagra,  that  the  right 
column  was  seriously  compromised  in  an 
attempt  to  force  its  way  from  Eski  Zagra, 
he  determined  to  march  westward  to  its 
succour.  That  night  (the  30th)  he  reached 
Karabunar,  where  he  arrived  in  darkness, 
and  found  the  whole  valley  was  illuminated 
by  blazing  villages,  showing  that  the  Turks 
must  have  acquired  the  upper  hand  and 
were  present  in  considerable  force.  But 
still  he  omitted  to  ascertain  properly  what 
forces  were  confronting  him ;  and  does  not 
seem  to  have  had  an  idea  that  Suleiman 
Pasha  "himself  was  present  with  his  veteran 
troops  from  Montenegro,  and  that  as  the 
Bulgarians  had  treated  the  Mussulman 
country  between  Eski  Zagra  and  Djuranli, 
the  Christian  villages  and  inhabitants  were 
then  being  treated  by  the  Turks.  Five 
villages  round  Eski  Zagra  had  been  burned 
by  the  Bulgarians,  and  their  inhabitants 
slaughtered  to  a  man — women  and  children 
also  suffering;  altogether  340  souls  in  one 
afternoon — and  the  Turks,  excited  to  the 
utmost  pitch  of  fury  at  the  ill-treatment 
their  comrades  and  co-religionists  had  met 
with,  took  a  dire  revenge,  and,  as  General 
Gourko  was  able  to  see,  the  whole  plain  was 
glowing  with  blazing  villages  and  hamlets. 
Under  these  circumstances  General  Gourko 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[positions  on  JULY  30. 


R.  Tnndjft. 


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OOURKO'S  RETREAT.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Pa.d.  1877. 


would  have  done  wisely  to  effect  his  retreat 
at  once;  but  next  morning  (July  Slst)  he 
marched  onward  upon  Djuranli,  on  the 
road  to  Eski  Zagra,  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  some  30,000  Turks  confronted  him, 
and  stopped  the  road  into  the  latter  place. 
The  Turkish  batteries  swept  the  road  with 
persistent  fire ;  nevertheless  Greneral  Grourko 
came  into  action,  sending  forward  five  bat- 
talions of  infantry  covered  by  artillery.  He 
had  forty-eight  horses  killed  in  one  battery, 
and  eight  in  another.  Later  the  Turkish 
masses  strove  to  turn  the  Russian  left.  The 
operation  was  resisted  by  the  Tirailleur 
brigade,  supported  by  two  regiments  of  the 
9th  division,  and  for  the  moment  the  attack 
was  repelled,  but  with  heavy  losses.  Still 
later  a  column  of  Circassian  cavalry  strove 
to  turn  the  Russian  right  on  the  mountain 
slopes,  and  the  attack  was  succeeding,  when 
there  appeared  on  the  scene  Leuchtenberg's 
cavalry,  which  had  cut  its  way  from  Eski 
Zagra,  and  which  repelled  the  movement  of 
the  Circassians  and  saved  the  right  wing, 
and,  as  it  turned  out,  secured  the  Russian 
retreat  through  the  Dalboka  Pass,  as  will 
be  seen  from  sketch  K  3. 

Here  (sketch  K  3)  we  find  the  Bulgarians 
at  Eski  Zagra  being  driven  back  towards 
the  Kara  Dagh  by  the  Turkish  forces,  which 
were  pressing  them  from  the  east  and  south, 
whilst  Gourko  was  surrounded  except  on 
the  side  of  the  Dalboka  Pass.  Had  the 
attack  of  the  Turkish  column  in  front  of 
Djuranli  upon  the  Russian  right  been  suc- 
cessful, the  whole  of  Grourko's  army  would 
have  been  put  to  the  sword.  From  this 
fate  it  was  saved  by  Prince  Leuchtenberg's 
cavalry,  which  had  left  the  Bulgarian  legion 
to  its  fate.  Even  at  this  staofe  Grourko 
would  have  done  well  to  follow  his  example, 
and  leave  his  interesting  friends  to  shift  for 
themselves ;  but  he  still  pressed  on,  hoping 
to  outflank  the  Turkish  left. 

This  view  was  all  he  was  to  have  of  Eski 
Zagra ;  for  he  had  scarcely  taken  his  bear- 
ings when  there  came  to  him  an  orderly  who 
had  evaded  the  Turks,  and  brought  him  in- 
telligence that  the  Bulgarian  legion  was 
beset  in  Eski  Zagra  by  a  force  of  Turks  es- 
imated  at  20,000  men.  Gourko,  small  as 
was  his  force,  for  a  moment  resolved  on  an 
attempt  to  succour  them,  and  in  the 
meantime  determined  to  maintain  his  posi- 
tion ;  but  his  resolution  quailed  before  the 
appearance  of  two  massive  columns  of  Turks 
marching  on  his  flank  and  rear.  He  had  to 
leave  the  Bulgarians  to  shift  for  themselves, 
202 


and  make  good  his  own  retreat  through  the 
difficult  and  narrow  Dalboka  Pass,  and 
thence  through  the  Hainkoi  Pass,  accom- 
plishing his  retreat  to  that  place  on  Thurs- 
day, 2nd  of  August,  amid  cruel  hardships. 
In  the  retreat  the  wounded  died  like  flies 
from  jolting  and  exposure.  Hale  men  suc- 
cumbed from  fatigue  and  sunstroke.  As  for 
the  Bulgarian  legion  composing  Gourko's 
right  column,  they,  after  advancing  from 
Eski  Zagra  ten  kilometres  towards  Karabu- 
nar,  found  the  enemy  and  were  driven  in, 
and  had  to  retire  into  the  defile  north  of 
Eski  Zagra,  and  thence  effect  their  retreat 
through  the  Schipka  Pass.  Of  the  severity 
of  the  fighting  a  judgment  may  be  formed 
from  the  fact,  that  of  the  Bulgarian  legion, 
which  began  sixteen  hundred  strong,  only 
between  four  and  five  hundred  ever  reached 
the  Schipka. 

The  completeness  of  the  dSrouie  will 
appear  from  a  glance  at  sketch  K  4.  The 
stream  of  panting,  panic-stricken  fugitives, 
hurrying  on  through  the  Derbendkoi  Pass, 
the  other  through  the  Dalboka  Pass,  were 
all  that  remained  of  the  army  of  the  Balkans. 
By  August  2nd,  the  Russian  cavalry  were 
all  on  this  side  of  the  Balkans.  The  Schipka 
Pass,  however,  was  strongly  fortified  and 
armed  with  twenty-eight  guns,  and  garri- 
soned by  a  regiment  of  the  9th  division. 
Two  regiments  held  the  Hainkoi  Pass,  which 
presented  a  series  of  formidable  defences. 
There  were  but  few  troops  at  Drenova  and 
Gabrova ;  and  only  one  brigade  of  the  14th 
division  at  Tirnova.  Reinforcements  were 
at  once  moved  south  to  strengthen  the 
detachments  holding  the  passes,  and  fresh 
cavalry  sent  against  Osman  Bazar.  In  the 
fighting  on  the  30th  and  3 1st  of  July,  Gourko 
lost  3,000  men,  excluding  the  Bulgarian 
loss — over  4,000  men  in  two  days ;  and  alto- 
gether, in  the  four  days,  over  7,000  men. 

Such  was  the  pitiful  ending  to  the  expedi- 
tion across  the  Balkans,  so  dashingly  begun. 
It  is  impossible  not  to  sympathise  with  the 
unfortunate  men,  and  the  no  less  unfortu- 
nate general  who  led  them  to  destruction  ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  no  words  are  too 
strong  to  stigmatise  the  conduct  of  the 
staff"  and  commanders-in-chief,  whose  pride, 
carelessness,  and  ignorance  caused  such  a 
sacrifice  of  life.  The  easily-earned  glories 
of  July  19th  were  utterly  wiped  out, 
blotted  out,  by  the  disasters  of  July  3l8t, 
before  Plevna  and  in  the  Balkans.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  strange  fatality  that  success  and 
disaster  on  both  sides  of  the  Balkans  should 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[positions  on  JULY  31. 


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\  ■ 


POSITIONS  ON  JULY  31.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


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Russia 
Turks, 

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204 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [the  Russians  checked. 


signalise  these  days;  and  the  Turks  may 
well  be  excused  for  seeing  therein  a  direct 
interposition  of  Allah  in  their  favour. 

The  Russians,  for  the  moment,  were  ut- 
terly crushed  in  their  advance  and  on  their 
right.  True,  it  has  been  said  that,  two  days 
after  the  defeated  attack,  the  Russians  had 
so  recovered  their  organisation  as  to  be  able 
to  renew  it.  It  was  for  them  of  paramount 
importance  to  do  so,  had  it  been  possible. 
But  it  was  not ;  and  they  stood  waiting  for 
the  necessary  reinforcements,  thankful  to 
fortune  that  they  were  not  assailed  in  their 
defensive  positions.  The  Plevna  and  Bal- 
kan reverses  altered  the  whole  plan  of  the 
campaign. 

No  more  reckless,  if  victorious,  raids 
were  dreamt  of,  and  no  more  advances,  re- 
gardless of  threatening  concentrations  on 
the  flanks.  The  Russians  virtually  aban- 
doned the  expectation  of  pressing  the  war 
successfully  across  the  Balkans  for  the  year. 
They  would  have  been  satisfied  to  know 
that,  during  the  three  months  still  available 
for  fighting,  they  could  sweep  Bulgaria  north 
of  the  Balkans  clear  of  the  Turkish  armies. 
The  Crescent,  they  felt  sure,  would  wave 
over  the  towers  of  Adrianople  and  the 
waters  of  the  Golden  Horn  for  yet  another 
winter.  They  might,  indeed,  continue  to 
hold  the  Balkan  passes  which  they  had  won. 
A  man  does  not  throw  away  the  keys  which 
open  the  door  of  the  treasure-chamber. 
But  the  orders  were  to  withdraw  from  all 
the  trans-Balkan  positions  occupied,  where 
they  had  not  already  been  forced  to  retire, 
and  to  draw  in  around  the  Schipka  Pass — 
this  from  no  direct  pressure  of  the  Turkish 
forces  beyond  the  Balkans,  but  because  of 
the  intrinsic  risk  always  attending  un- 
supported advances  when  they  cease  to  have 
a  definite  object. 

Now  to  speak  of  this  side  the  Balkans. 
The  paralysis  brought  about  by  the  Plevna 
reverse,  forced  the  Russian  attitude  for  the 
time  to  be  perfectly  passive  till  the  rein- 
forcements arrived.  Seven  fresh  divisions, 
not  formed  into  army  corps,  were  on 
the  march,  some  still  in  Russia,  others 
pressing  on  through  Roumania.  One  hun- 
dred thousand  men  more  were  wanted,  and 
were  forthcoming,  but  they  had  to  be 
waited  for.  The  first  brigade  of  reinforce- 
ments was  expected  to  cross  the  Danube  in 
a  few  days  ;  but  the  offensive  could  not  be 
recommenced  before  all  the  reinforcements 
were  to  hand. 
Meantime  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  was  in 
VOL.  UL  2  E 


Bulgareni,  in  rear  of  the  intrenched  positions 
of  Schahofskoi  and  Kriidener,  confronting 
Plevna.  Part  of  Mirski's  division  stood  be- 
tween Tirnova  and  Lovatz,to  hinder  a  Turk- 
ish advance  in  the  direction  of  the  for- 
mer important  centre.  Thus  shiftily  were 
stopped  the  gaps  through  which  was  threat- 
ened the  right  flank  of  the  Russian  com- 
munications ;  and  though  the  defensive  pro- 
tection was  perhaps  sufficient,  the  means 
were  utterly  inadequate  for  a  renewed 
offensive,  for  sixty  to  seventy  thousand 
Turks  stood  on  the  Lovatz-Plevna  line, 
and  were  prepared  to  take  a  deal  of  beating. 
^  On  the  left  flank  equally  a  strictly  defen- 
sive attitude  was  enforced  by  circumstances. 
There  were  available  for  holding  the  line 
from  the  Danube  to  the  Balkans  on  this 
flank,  the  two  corps  constituting  the  army 
of  the  Czarevitch,  and  the  1st  division 
of  the  11th  corps,  left  behind  by  Schahof- 
skoi when  he  marched  on  Plevna;  in  all 
about  60,000  men,  necessarily  attenuated 
over  a  long  front,  so  as  to  leave  no  gap  for 
the  Turks  to  creep  through. 

The  Turks  were  of  about  the  same 
strength,  but  they  had  the  advantage  of 
choosing  where  to  strike  if  they  cared  to 
strike  at  all.  Mehemed  Ali  Pasha  could 
concentrate  at  Rustzuk  or  Rasgrad,  or 
Osman  Bazar.  The  Russians  had  to  be 
ready  to  face  him  everywhere.  They  dared 
not  take  the  offensive  and  leave  tracts  of 
unguarded  flank,  and  were  not  strong 
enough  to  guard  a  continuous  flank  and 
take  the  offensive  as  well.  They  were 
obliged  to  remain  on  the  strict  defensive. 
The  investment  of  Rustzuk  had  to  wait. 
The  troops  designed  for  that  duty  were 
needed  elsewhere.  The  siege  cannon  were  not 
ready  even  if  the  troops  had  been  available. 
The  river  Lorn  still  virtually  constituted 
the  line  of  the  Rustzuk  army,  but  the 
head-quarters  of  the  12th  corps  had  been 
moved  beyond  it,  from  Trestenik  to  Kadikoi. 
The  head-quarters  of  the  Czarevitch,  with 
the  13th  corps  about  them,  advanced  from 
Obertenik  to  Kaceljevo,  thus  confronting 
Rasgrad,  while  between  Osman  Bazar  and 
Tirnova  the  11th  division  stood  with  its 
head -quarters  in  Kosarevatz. 

Zimmermann  was  no  further  than  Tra- 
jan's Wall.  It  was  a  stalemate  with  him. 
He  was  guarding  the  Dobrudja  against 
an  enemy  who  did  not  threaten  it.  He 
could  not  push  forward  with  his  30,000 
men  lest  enemies  from  Varna  and  Schumla 
should  converge  upon  hioL 

205 


/ 


ADVANCE  ON  KARS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[captctre  of  bayazet. 


At  the  same  time  the  Russian  army  began 
to  suffer  in  health,  owing  in  some  corps  to 
irregular  rations,  in  others  to  hard  march- 
ing, in  all  to  heat ;  but  the  greatest  pre- 
disposing cause  was  the  total  neglect  of  all 
sanitary  precautions.  They  never  buried 
dead  horses  or  oxen,  or  the  entrails  of 
slaughtered  cattle.  They  never  dreamt  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  latrine  system.  The 
result  was  a  general  tainting  of  the  air, 
■which  poisoned  men  predisposed  to  fall  ill 
by  reason  of  lassitude  from  over-fatigue  or 
long  abstinence  from  food,  although  men  in 
stalwart  health  escaped.  Strangely  enougli, 
the  greatest  proportion  of  illness  manifested 
itself  in  the  "personnel  of  the  imperial  suite, 
whose  members  were  comparatively  nursed 
in  the  downy  lap  of  ease,  and  fared  sumptu- 
ously every  day.  General  Ignatieff,  for  three 
days,  was  dangerously  ill  from  a  species  of 
gastric  fever,  and  Prince  Galatzin  was  also 
suffering  from  the  same  disorder.  The 
emperor  had  five  high  officers,  known  as 
general-adjutants,  on  personal  service  about 
him.  Of  these,  but  one  was  fit  for  duty ; 
the  other  four  were  ill.     Nearly  everybody 


was  more  or  less  sick,  squeamish,  and  out 
of  sorts.  The  reason  was  not  far  to  seek. 
The  air  was  tainted  thick  and  heavy  with 
filth  and  rotting  offal.  Even  tobacco-smoke 
and  brandy  were  powerless  to  avert  nausea. 
But  at  this  point,  where  the  errors  of  the 
Russians  culminated  in  disaster,  the  Turkish 
errors  began  in  a  glaring,  almost  irretriev- 
able manner.  Tuey  wilfully  threw  away 
their  opportunities.  A  vigorous  attack, 
simultaneously  carried  out  by  Osman  Pasha 
and  Suleiman  Pasha,  would  infallibly  have 
driven  the  Russians  upon  Sistova  and  Biela 
at  least ;  and  then,  with  the  co-operation  of 
Mehemed  Ali,  the  chances  were  that  the 
Russians  would  have  had  to  retire  across 
the  Danube,  or  have  intrenched  themselves 
round  the  bridge-head  at  Sistova.  But 
from  whatever  cause — jealousy  of  each 
other,  incapacity,  want  of  material — the 
Turkish  commanders  neglected  to  follow 
up  their  successes,  and  they  themselves 
entered  the  fool's  paradise  which  they  had 
driven  the  Russians  out  of.  Here  we  will 
now  leave  them,  and  turn  to  the  operations 
in  Asia  Minor. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  IN  ASIA. 


By  the  24th  of  April,  the  Russian  armies 
in  the  Caucasus  had  taken  up  their  posi- 
tions on  the  confines  of  the  frontier.  The 
commander-in-chief  was  the  Grand  Duke 
Michael.  He  established  his  head-quar- 
ters with  the  centre  and  main  army,  which 
was  commanded  by  General  Loris  Melikoff, 
and  stationed  at  Alexandropol,  on  the 
main  road  from  that  place  to  Kars.  The 
right  wing,  called  subsequently  the  Rion 
corps,  was  under  the  orders  of  General 
Oklobschio,  and  was  stationed  at  Ozurgeti. 
The  left  wing,  under  the  command  of 
General  Tergukassoff,  was  at  Erivan. 

The  Turks  were  in  force  at  Batoum,  at 
Kars,  and  Erzeroum,  with  reinforced  gar- 
risons at  Ardahan  and  Bayazet.  These 
places  formed  the  goals  which  the  Russian 
armies  were  to  reach  and  seize  with  all 
possible  expedition. 

The  object  of  this  disposition  of  the 
Russian  armies  was  to  enable  all  three  to 
20d 


converge  upon  Erzeroum  if  possible — that 
is  to  say,  in  case  Batoum  should  speedily 
fall,  as  was  expected. 

The  right,  or  Rion  corps,  in  this  case 
would  then  march  south-west  throujrh  the 
valley  of  the  Tcharuk  by  way  of  Tortoum, 
and  fall  upon  Erzeroum  in  the  north. 

The  centre,  or  Alexandropol  army,  after 
seizing  or  masking  Kars,  would  form  front 
against  the  Turkish  field  army  between 
Kars  and  Erzeroum,  supposed  to  be  about 
Olti  and  Deli  Mussa,  and  drive  it  back, 
falling  upon  Erzeroum  in  the  east. 

The  left,  or  Erivan  corps,  would  seize 
upon  Bayazet,  and,  advancing  along  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates,  would  join  with 
the  centre,  or  arrive  before  Erzeroum  in 
the  south.  If  it  should  not  be  possible  to 
obtain  speedy  possession  of  Batoum,  then 
the  task  of  reducinof  Kars  and  Erzeroum 
would  fall  upon  the  two  other  corps,  which 
would  then    become  the  army  of  the  ad- 


vance, and   would   also  operate   in  three 
columns;     the     right    against    Ardahan, 
striking  the  valley  of  the  Tcharuk  by  way 
of  Ardanudj,  whilst    the    centre  and  left 
followed    the    original    plan. — A   general 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  scene  of  operations 
is  afforded  in  sketch  L.     The  main  fault 
of  this  plan  was,  that  each  of  the  three 
corps  was   isolated    from    the    others  by 
the  difficult  country,  without  proper  roads 
or   accommodation   lying   between    them. 
Between  th'i  Rion  corps  and   the  centre 
corps  lay  the  terribly  mountainous  country 
formed     by  the    Kizil   Dagh,   .the  Yagli 
Dagh,  and  the  Adtschara  mountains.*  The 
Erivan  corps,  on  the  left,  was  also  separated 
from  the  main  corps  marching  on  Kars  by 
two  almost  impassable  mountain  ranges, the 
Ala  and  Kara  Dagh  in  the  north,  and  the 
Aghry    and  Perli    Dagh,  terminating    in 
Mount  Ararat  in  the  south,  the  intervening 
valley  being  traversed  by  the  Araxes.    Thus 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  in  which  the 
Erivan  corps  was  to  operate,  had  no  means 
of  communicating  with  the  centre  except 
through   the   difficult   pass  of  Kagisman, 
across^two  ranges  of  mountains  and  a  deep 
roadless  valley — a  distance,  be  it  noted,  of 
fifty  miles  between  the  two  most  accessible 
points  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  and 
the  vallev  of  the   Kars  Tchai.     As  long 
as  each  corps  was  strong  enough  to  stand 
on  its  own  feet,  and  required  no  assistance 
from  the  others,  there  was,  of  course,  no 
great   danger;   but  the  moment  that  one 
or  the  other  was  out-matched,  destruction 
or  a  speedy  retreat  was  inevitable. 

However,  the  Russians  were  as  confident 
of  success  in  Armenia  as  they  were  in  Bul- 
garia; and  on  April  25th  the  Rion  corps 
marched  on  the  points  agreed  upon. 

The  Rion  corps,  under  the  command  of 
General  Oklobschio,  after  leaving  Ozur- 
geti, was  divided  into  two  columns.  The 
right  column,  under  General  Scheremtieff, 
advanced  along  the  Atchmarum  road,  and 
felt  the  enemy  on  the  Kinhisch  river, 
whilst  the  left  column,  commanded  by 
General  Denibekoff,  performed  a  flank 
movement,  and  struck  the  Turkish  camp 
at  Muchaster  on  the  Khatzubani  heights. 
A  serious  engagement  ensued,  resulting  in 
the  flight  of  the  Turks  and  the  capture  ot 
their  camp  by  General  Denibekoff,  who  at 
once  fortified  the  heights  and  intrenched 
himself  in  a  strong  position.  The  right 
column  also  succeeded  in  establishing  a 

•  See  vol.  ii. 


footing  near  Anchaury,  on  the  river  Choruk, 
a  small  ■  it  deep  stream  north  of  Batoum.  . 
Meanwhile  the  centre,  under  Loris 
Melikoff,  also  advanced  in  two  columns, 
whilst  a  flanking  column  started  from 
Akhaltzik.  The  two  main  columns  fol- 
lowed the  high  road  from  Alexandropol 
to  Kars  together  as  far  as  the  village  of 
Toknis.  Here  the  road  splits,  the  main 
road  crossing  the  Kars  Tchai  at  Yamusehli, 
and  the  other,  a  branch  road,  further 
south  at  Pir  Ali.  At  Tiknis,  the  main 
column  followed  the  high  road  by  way  of 
Yamnohli,  and  proceeded  to  Kurukdara, 
the  second  column  taking  the  branch  road 
and  passing  the  night  of  the  28th  April  at 

Hadjivali. 

On  the  29th  and  30th  both  columns 
moved  forward;  the  main  corps  held  the 
northern  road,  running  through  Meschka 
and  Kalif  Oglu,  north  of  the  Yagni  Hills, 
whilst  the  other  column,  consisting  largely 
of  cavalry,  supported  by  twelve  battalions 
of  grenadiers  and  forty  guns,  proceeded 
from  Hadjivali    to  Vezinkoi,  as  shown  in 

sketch  M. 

Here  the  Turks  made  a  sortie  under 
cover  of  their  guns  in  the  fortress,  to  inter- 
cept the  cavalry,  which  was  making  for  the 
bridge  over  the  Kars  Tchai  at  Tasura.  This 
sortie,  however,  was  a  very  lame  affair,  and 
was  easily  repulsed  by  the  grenadiers  and 
artillery ;  whilst  the  cavalry,  scouring  the 
country  west  of  Kars,  after  successfully 
crossing  the  river,  actually  came  in  contact 
with  Mukhtar  Pasha  himself,  who  was  leav- 
ing Kars  with  eight  battalions,  on  his  way 
to  Erzeroum.  He  had  left  a  sufficient 
garrison — or  at  least  as  many  men  as  he 
could  spare— in  Kars,  and  was  then  pro- 
ceeding to  Erzeroum  to  complete  the  or- 
ganisation of  his  field  army.  After  these 
incidents,  the  Russian  infantry  and  Loris 
Melikoff  returned  to  Zaim  and  Mazra,  leav- 
ing the  cavalry  at  Vezinkoi  to  watch  the 
army  in  the  south,  whilst  a  reserve  force 
remained  in  Hadjivali. 

On  the  extreme  left  of  the  Russian  line. 
General  Tergukassoff  reached  Bayazet  on 
the  30th  of  April.  At  his  approach,  the 
Turkish  garrison,  some  1,800  men  strong, 
wisely  determined  not  to  attempt  to  defend 
the  tumble-down  citadal  and  crumbling 
fortifications  of  the  place,  in  the  teeth  of 
an  army  superior  in  numbers,  and  f(  11  back 
upon  Diadin  and  Hassan  Kaleh,  pickmg  up 
the  garrisons  in  these  places  as  they  went 
along.  The  same  day,  General  Tergukassoff, 
^  207 


POSITION   IN   ARMENIA.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.B.  1877. 


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RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[positions  on  APRIL  30. 


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209 


N' 


ADVANCE  ON  ABDAHAN.]  HISTORY  OF    THE 


rA.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[assault  on  ardahan. 


4'      1 


^1 


leaving  a  garrison  in  the  place,  and  send- 
ing out  a  few  detachments  towards  Van, 
continued  his  onward  march  along  the 
Euphrates  valley. 

The  plan  conceived  by  the  Russians  had 
thus  been  fully  executed  in  its  initial 
phases ;  and  General  Loris  Melikoff  at  once 
•  bagan  to  erect  siege  batteries  against  Kars. 
Under  cover  of  these  operations,  General 
Melikoff  undertook  an  expedition  against 
Ardahan. 

A  reference  to  sketch  M,  will  show  that 
the  valley  of  the  Kur  is  separated  from  that 
of  the  Kars  Tchai  by  the  Allah  Akbar  range 
of  mountains,  which  is  a  continuation  of 
the  Soghanli  Dagh.  From  the  Allah  Dagh 
two  spurs  branch  out,  one  the  Kizilah  Dagh, 
and  the  other  the  Boghaz  Dagh.  The 
former  attains  a  height  of  over  10,000  feet ; 
and  the  latter  is  close  upon  9,000.  From 
the  Boghaz  Dagh  a  high  ridge  stretches 
across  to  the  Kizil  Dagh,  10,500  feet  high ; 
and  it  was  across  this  connecting  ridge  that 
the  road  ran  from  Kars  to  Ardahan  by  way  of 
Mulkoi,  Matschik,  Omer  Aga,  and  Kamali. 
It  was  along  this  road,  which  he  com- 
manded as  soon  as  he  had  taken  up  his 
position  at  Mazra  and  Zaim,  that  Melikoff 
advanced,  and  thus  cut  off  all  communi- 
cation between  Kars  and  Ardahan,  except 
by  a  circuitous  route  over  the  Soghanli  Dagh. 

In  addition  to  this  expedition  under 
Melikoff,  Ardahan  was  attacked  from  the 
opposite  side  by  a  detachment  marching 
from  Akhaltzik  on  the  frontier,  which 
reached  Ardahan  at  the  same  time  as  the 
column  from  Kars.  They  were  before 
Ardahan  on  May  13th,  and  General  Loris 
Melikoff  immediately  began  making  recon- 
naissances and  combining  a  plan  of  at- 
tack. The  column  from  Kars  consisted  of 
two  regiments  of  grenadiers,  three  bat- 
teries of  artillery,  two  regiments  of  cavalry, 
and  a  company  of  sappers ;  in  all  about 
7,500  men,  under  the  command  of  General 
Dewel.  The  column  from  Akhaltzik  was 
composed  of  two  regiments  of  infantry,  two 
batteries  of  artillery,  one  battalion  of  sap- 
pers, half  a  battery  of  horse  artillery,  and 
three  regiments  of  cavalry ;  in  all  about 
8,500  men,  under  the  command  of  General 
Heimann.  The  commander-in-chief  of  the 
two  columns  was  General  Loris  Melikoff, 
under  whose  direction  the  attack  was  made. 

Ardahan  is  situated  on   the  river  Kur, 

the  same  which  runs   through  Tiflis  and 

flows  into  the  Caspian.     The  fortress  was 

comparatively  new,    and  did  not  exist  in 

210 


1854.  It  was  strongly  fortified,  defended 
by  eleven  forts  constructed  on  modern  plans, 
and  one  on  designs  drawn  up  by  an  Eng- 
lish engineer.  On  the  south  (as  shown  in 
the  following  sketch  N),  defending  the  road 
from  Kars,  distant  two  and  a-half  miles 
from  the  town,  was  the  fort  of  Guli-verdi, 
built  upon  a  mountain  and  armed  with  nine 
guns,  and  near  to  it  was  another  fort  armed 
with  three  or  four  guns,  on  a  hill  dominated 
by  Guli-verdi,  from  which  it  was  separated 
by  a  valley  only  two  or  three  hundred  yards 

N — Positions  Round  Ardahan  and  Forts, 
May  17,  1877. 


R.  Kur. 


Ramazan.   x 

LdE2 


Road  to  OUi.      Tchai.   x      Ardahan. 
O 

-)(-)( 


Makhrab.  x 


I 


X 

X 


Singer. 


IX 
Akhali. 


I 


Guli-verdi, 


Russians, 

Turks. 
X  X     Forts. 
)(  )(    Bridges. 

wide.  Near  the  town,  on  the  same  side  of 
the  river,  were  three  more  forts — on  the 
west  Makhrab-tabia,  in  the  centre  Akhali- 
tabia,  and  on  the  east  Singe r-tabia.  This  . 
latter  was  the  one  which  was  supposed  to 
have  been  designed  by  an  English  engineer, 
and  was  of  somewhat  curious  construction. 
There  were  three  lines  of  defence ;  the  es- 
carpments were  faced  with  stone ;  and  they 
were  built  in  a  triangular  shape,  with  the 
points  towards  the  attack,  and  each  line  of 
defence  rising  terrace-like  higher  than  the 
one  before  it.     On  the  north  side  of  the 


river  there  was  another  fort  called  Tchai- 
tabia,  which  was  connected  with  the 
southern  side  by  two  bridges ;  and  on  the 
north  of  the  town,  about  two  miles  distant, 
was  another  strong  fortress,  called  Ramazan- 
tabia,  built  like  that  of  Guli-verdi,  on  a 
Bteep  mountain  which  overlooks  the  town. 
The  garrison  destined  to  defend  all  these 
forts  consisted  of  about  6,000  men,  and  all 
the  forts  together  were  armed  with  92  guns. 
The  greater  part  of  these  guns,  however, 
were  of  small  calibre,  besides  being  old, 
and  quite  unable  to  compete  with  modern 
artillery.  There  were  only  two  24-pounders 
in  all,  the  rest  being  principally  12-pound- 
ers ;  and  there  was  very  little  ammunition 
even  for  these  guns,  such  as  they  were. 

General  Melikoff,  after  reconnoitring  the 
place,  decided  to  make  his  real  attack  on 
the  south  against  Guli-verdi,  while  the 
Akhaltzik  columns  made  a  feigned  attack 
against  the  fortress  of  Ramazan-tabia  on 
the  north.  In  the  first  place,  the  fortress  of 
Guli-verdi  seemed  more  accessible,  and  he 
besides  discovered  that  Ramazan-tabia  was 
not  armed  against  the  town,  and  that  the 
guns  of  this  fortress  could  not  be  directed 
against  an  attack  from  the  south.  On  the 
night  of  May  16th  he  succeeded  in  plant- 
ing four  batteries,  consisting  altogether  of 
sixteen  guns,  against  Guli-verdi  on  three 
different  points,  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
17th  the  batteries  opened  on  the  fort,  and 
poured  a  well-directed  and  destructive  fire 
into  the  Turkish  batteries.  The  Turks 
scarcely  replied,  partly  because  the  Russian 
fire  dismounted  their  batteries,  and  partly 
because  they  had  little  or  no  ammuni- 
tion. The  consequence  of  this  neglect 
was,  that  the  whole  Russian  loss  by  the 
Turkish  artillery  was  only  six  men  wounded. 
About  one  o'clock  the  Russians  began  to  per- 
ceive the  Turks  retreating  in  small  parties 
from  the  fort  to  the  town.  "  In  the  even- 
ing," says  the  Daily  News  correspondent, 
"  General  Dewel  led  three  battalions  to  the 
assault  of  the  heights  of  Guli-verdi,  and 
carried  them  without  losinsf  a  man  and 
without  firing  a  shot.'^  This  was  but  na- 
tural, inasmuch  as  the  fort  was  already 
abandoned  when  the  assault  was  made. 
The  Russians  found  several  of  the  guns 
dismounted,  and  the  gunners  lying  dead 
beside  them,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  fort.  As  soon  as 
Guli-verdi  was  taken,  one  of  the  Russian 
batteries  which  had  been  directed  against 
that  fortress  was  then  turned  towards  the 


town,  which  was  still  defended  bv  the 
forts  already  mentioned,  of  Makhrab-tabia, 
Akhali-tabia,  and  Singer-tabia. 

While  this  attack  was  being  directed 
against  Guli-verdi,  several  other  batteries 
had  been  planted  and  directed  against  the 
three  forts  defending  the  town.  By  half- 
past  five  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 
General  Melikoff  thought  that  the  assault 
might  be  delivered,  and  General  Heimann, 
who  was  operating  on  the  left,  against  the 
Makhrab-tabia,  sent  at  about  the  same  mo- 
ment to  ask  if  he  sliould  not  make  an  attempt 
upon  the  works  on  his  side.  The  assault 
was  ordered  all  along  the  line  a>^  the  same 
moment,  and,  although  the  fort  of  Singer- 
tabia  was  considered  the  stron^rest,  it  was 
the  one  which  fell  first.  The  others  soon  fol- 
lowed, although  the  Turks,  as  usual,  made 
a  very  desperate  resistance  on  the  walls ;  for 
though  so  badly  off  for  heavy  material,  tbey 
had  plenty  of  ammunition  for  their  small 
arms.  After  a  desperate  fight,  in  which 
the  principal  losses  of  the  Russians  occurred, 
the  Turks  were  finally  driven  across  the 
river  by  the  two  bridges  already  spoken  of, 
and  took  refuge  in  the  fort  of  Tchai-tabia, 
everywhere  hotly  pursued  by  the  Russians. 
When  the  latter,  headed  by  General  Hei- 
mann, were  a  few  yards  from  the  opposite 
bank,  the  bridge  gave  way  before  them ;  but 
nothing  daunted,  the  Russians  sprang  into 
the  water,  which  was  not  very  deep,  and 
continued  to  cross  by  wading.  General 
Heimann  himself  was  one  of  the  first  to  leap 
into  the  water.  The  Russians  had  thus 
obtained  possession  of  all  the  forts  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river ;  there  remained 
only  the  fort  of  Tcbai-tabia  and  the  fortress 
of  Ramazan-tabia  on  the  mountain.  The 
Russians  immediately  attacked  Tchai-tabia, 
and  the  Turks  were  so  discoura;;ed  by  the 
Russian  success  and  overwhelming  numbers, 
that  they  scarcely  made  any  resistance,  and 
fled.  In  fact,  they  had  already  begun  to  fly 
before  the  Russian  attack  began  ;  so  that  by 
dark  the  town  of  Ardahan  was  in  complete 
possession  of  the  Russians.  While  this  was 
going  on.  General  Dewel  was  occupying  the 
attention  of  the  garrison  in  the  strong  for- 
tress of  Ramazan-tabia  on  the  north  of  the 
town.  "  He  soon  succeeded, "  says  the 
official  Russian  report,  "in  silencing  the 
batteries  in  this  fortress,  which  only  fired 
three  or  four  shots  in  all ;  and  towards  even- 
ing, about  the  time  of  the  assault  on  the 
town,  he  Lkewise  ordered  an  assault.  But 
what  was  the  surprise  of  the  Russians,  upon 

211 


. 


n 


.  J' 


CAPTURE  OP  ARDAHAN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


enteriDg  the  fortress,  to  find  that  the  Turks 
had  all  fled.  They  had  evidently  become 
panic-stricken  when  they  perceived  that  the 
town  was  already  in  the  hands  of  the  Rus- 
sians, and  they  had  retreated  to  the  west 
by  the  road  towards  Batoum  and  Olti.'' 

A  finer    description    than  this,   of   the 
affair  at  Ardahan,  has  seldom  been  penned 
by  victorious   general   or   partisan  corres- 
pondent.    It  can  only  be  compared  to  the 
account   given  by  the  same  paper  of  the 
siege  of  Urgel  during  the  Carlist  war,   and 
the  assault  of  the  Torre  Solsona.  This  unfor- 
tunate town  had  been  bombarded  by  sixteen 
guns,  from  8  A.M.  till  12  p.m.,  witliout  any 
effect  upon  the  one  company  of  men  who  held 
it,  and  who  had  not  one  single  gun  to  reply 
with.    At  2.30  P.M.,  the  garrison,  seeing  that 
some  2,000  men  were  preparing  to  assault 
it,  took  their  precautions,  and,  holding  the 
place   till    3    p.m.,    then    quietly    retired. 
The  Alfonsists  then,  when  there  was  not  a 
man  in  the  place,  successfully  "  assaulted  " 
it,  and  not  unnaturally  captured  it.     The 
same  was  the  case  at  Ardahan.     There  were 
no  guns  of  any  size,  and  there  was  no  heavy 
ammunition.    The  Russians  bombarded  fort 
by  fort  without  drawing  a  reply,  and  then 
assaulted  all   round  in  such  numbers,  that 
the  Turks,  fighting  as  long  as  they  could 
do  any  damage  to  their  assailants,  wisely 
withdrew  to  fight  another  day. 

The  Russian  losses,  in   the  whole  affair, 
were   67  killed  and  293  wounded,  besides 
one  officer  killed  and  ten  officers  wounded ; 
making  altogether  370  killed  and  wounded! 
The  loss  of  the  Turks  was  70  dead    and 
200  wounded.     Among  the  wounded  in  the 
liospital  was  the  constructor  of  the  fort  of 
Singer-tabia.     He  was   found    by  Colonel 
Bulmering,  the  constructor  of  the  Russian 
batteries,  who  was  anxious  to  see  him  and 
talk  with   him,  but  the  poor   fellow  died 
almost  as  soon  as  he  was  discovered.     The 
Russians  captured  ninety-two  guns,  a  num- 
ber of  tents  and  camp  material,  and  a  lan^e 
supply   of    flour  and   provisions,    but    no 
ammunition  ;  the  Turks  had  little  or  none. 
There  were  very  few  prisoners  taken  ;  and 
those  of  the  Redifs,  or  reserves,  who  had 
been  forced  to  come  in  from  thesurroundinf>' 
villages,  were  immediately  released  and  al" 
lowed  to  return  to  their  homes ;  the  Nizams, 
or  regular  troops,  only  were  held  as  prisoners 
of  war.     Among  the  prisoners  taken   was 
General  Ali  Pasha,  commander  of  the  Turk- 
ish   left   wing,    and   several   Turkish   civil 
officials,  besides  many  officers  who  had  been 
212 


[A.D.  1877. 


wounded  or  otherwise  disabled.  The  inha- 
bitants, who  had  fled  during  the  attack, 
upon  being  assured  by  the  Russians  that  no 
harm  should  come  to  them,  began  to  return, 
and  in  a  very  few  days  the  town  had  resumed 
very  nearly  its  ordinary  aspect.  The  Turks 
taken  prisoners  had  a  feeble,  half-starved 
look,  which  showed  how  long  they  had  been 
on  short  rations,  and  this  in  spite  of  the 
large  supply  of  stores  and  provisions  which 
had  been  found  in  the  town. 

With  the  capture  of  Ardahan,  and  the 
rapid  advance  on  Kars  and  Bayazet,  the 
same  exultation  was  felt  by  the  Russians  as 
m  Bulgaria,  and  there  was  naturally  a  cor- 
responding depression  in  the  Turkish  ranks. 
But  the  disadvantages  of  a  too  rapid  exten- 
sion into  the  heart  of  a  hostile  country 
notorious  for  its  want  of  communications 
soon  made  themselves  felt,  especially  as  the 
Turkish  commander  adopted  the  same  Fa- 
bian tactics  as  his  colleagues  in  Bulgaria. 
The  Russians  were  perpetually  seeking  their 
enemy,  who  was  split  up  more  or  less,  and 
confined  himself  to  occupying  strong  posi- 
tions, which  the  Russians  were  not  strong 
enough  to  carry  and  at  the  same  time  keep 
a  sufficient  force  before  Kars. 

Thus,  after  the  capture  of    Ardahan,   a 
period  of  inactivity  set   in— the   Russians 
busied  with  the  preparations  for   the  siege 
of  Kars  and  Batoum,  and  the  Turks  with 
the     organisation     of    their     field     army. 
Isolated  attacks  and    counter-attacks    oc- 
curred   in  the  passes  and   defiles  between 
the  advanced   posts;    foraging  parties  and 
reconnaissances  starting  from  Kars  on  the 
one  hand,  and  from  the  Soghanli  Dagh  on 
the  other.     Small   detachments   of   troops 
and  irregular    cavalry  somewhat    harassed 
the  Russians ;  the  consequence   being  that 
both  corps,    Melikofi^s  and  Tergukassoff's, 
fell  somewhat  to  pieces,  especially  as  they 
had  to  leave  detachments  here  and  there  to 
occupy  the  places  and  strategic  points  which 
tell    into   their  hands    as    they  advanced. 
Added  to  all  this,  was  the  difficulty  experi- 
enced by  the  commissariat  and  transport 
services ;  so  that  the  grand  duke  was  prac- 
tically fettered,  and  did  not  know  what  to  do. 
Not  strong  enough  to  advance,  except   by 
venturesome  sporadic  raids  a  la  Grourko — 
whose  place  in  Armenia  was  filled  by  Tergu- 
kassoff— and  not  strong   enough  to  remain 
quiet  and   thoroughly   invest   Kars,    with 
:\Iukhtar  Pasha  on  the  Soghanli  threatening 
his  flank  and  front,  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
much  to  the  fortune  of  war  and  conceal,  by  a 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  ARMENIAN  PASSES. 


firework  display  of  activity,  the  real  weak- 
ness he  was  suffering  from. 

Thus,  to  keep  up  the  fiction  of  a  success- 
ful advance,  he  continued  the  investment 
of  Kars,  trusting  to  the  flanking  movement 
being  carried  out  by  Grenaral  Tergukassoff 
for  something  favourable  "to  turn  up," 
whilst  demonstrating  against  the  Turkish 
positions  in  the  Soghanli  and  the  defile 
leading  to  Erzeroum. 

Between  Erzeroum  and  Kars  and  Arda- 
han there  were  two  well-marked  lines  of 
defence.  The  first  line,  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Erzeroum  (of  which  a  sketch 
will  be  given  in  the  proper  place),  was 
formed  by  the  Palantuken  Dagh  and  the 
Karakaya  Dagh  in  the  south,  and  the  Deve 
Boyun  in  the  east :  on  the  north  the  ap- 
proach was  pretty  open  through  the 
valleys  of  the  Tortoum  and  the  Tcharuk 
rivers. 

The  second  line  of  defence  was  formed  by 
the  mountains  encircling  the  uplands,  at 
the  eastern  apex  of  which  lay  Kars.  The 
configuration  of  this  district  is  admirably 
shown  in  the  following   sketch  0. 

On  the  north  was  the  Allah  Akbar  range 
of  hills,  separated  in  the  west  by  a  wild, 
roadless  defile  from  the  Charpak  Dagh. 
This,  in  turn,  was  divided  from  the  Keshish 
Geduk  in  the  west,  again  by  a  difficult  val- 
ley, through  which  ran  one  of  the  roads  from 
Ardahan.  The  other,  the  main  road  from 
Ardahan,  passed  the  mouth  of  this  valley  on 
the  north,  and  ran  by  wayof  Pennek,Olti,  and 
Nariman,  near  which  it  was  joined  by  the 
first  road,  to  Erzeroum  and  Hassan  Kaleh. 
It  was  also  connected  with  the  first  road, 
or  Pertes  road,  by  a  traverse-path  running 
north  of  the  Keshish  Grediik. 

A  force,  thereforej  advancing  from  Arda- 
han had  a  choice  of  action.  It  could 
either  attack  the  rear  and  flank  of  any 
enemy  in  position  on  the  Soghanli  Dagh,  or 
it  could  advance  upon  Erzeroum,  or  demon- 
strate against  both.  The  keys  of  the 
defenders  would  then  naturally  be  at 
Pennek,  Olti,  Nariman,  and  Bardus. 

South  of  the  Allah  Akbar  Dagh  ran  the 
roads  from  Kars,  which  split  into  two 
branches  at  Beg  Mahmed  (see  sketch  0). 
The  northernmost  of  these  branches  ran  at 
some  distance  from  the  Allah  Akbar  Dasrh, 
but  close  along  the  slope  of  a  spur  of  the 
Soghanli  Dagh,  jutting  out  eastward 
parallel  with  the  Allah  Akbar  Dagh,  and 
called  the  Sarykamish  Dagh,  from  the  river 
flowing   along    its  southern   base,   till    it 

VOL.  III.  2  F 


entered  the  pass  on  the  Soghanli  Dagh, 
between  the  two  peaks  of  Kumri  on  the 
north  and  Chamar  on  the  south,  both  of 
them  over  9,000  feet  high.  Issuing  from 
this  pass  it  joined  the  road  running  south 
from  Ardahan,  between  the  eastern  slopes 
of  the  Akrak  Dagh  and  the  Soghanli,  to 
Erzeroum  and  Hassan  Kaleh.  Here  the 
keys  to  the  defenders'  position  frohi  this 
point  were  clearly  at  the  entrance  or 
debouchment  of  the  Chamar  Pass^  or  at 
Zevin. 

The  southern  branch  of  the  road  from 
Kars  skirted  the  southern  slopes  of  the 
Sarykamish  Dagh,  and  turning  southwards 
ran  through  Medjingerd  between  the 
Soghanli  Dagh  and  the  Sirpkatch^  or  Mount 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  a  rugged  peak  9,500 
feet  high,  and  surrounded  by  a  series  of 
difficult  slopes.  Thence  it  ran  between  and 
across  the  hills  forming  the  first  ascent  of 
the  Ala  and  Kagisman  Dagh  on  the  east,  and 
the  Soghanli  in  the  west,  till  it  reached 
the  valley  of  the  Araxes,  the  northern  bank 
of  which  it  followed  to  Khorassan  and 
Ardost.  On  this  road  the  key  of  the  posi- 
tion was  at  Medjingerd,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  defile  between  the  Soghanli  and  Mount 
of  the  Holy  Cross. 

South  of  the  Araxes  were  the  imposing 
mass  of  the  Aghry  Dagh,  rising  in  parts  to 
11,000  feet,  and  generally  averaging  6,000 
feet  above  the  sea.  This  range  of  moun- 
tains was  separated  on  the  south  from  the 
Scherian  Dagh  and  the  Kilid  Grediik,  also 
rising  to  an  average  of  6,000  feet,  by  the 
river  Scherian,  along  which  ran  the  road 
from  Bayazet  to  Erzeroum  by  way  of 
Diadin,  Toprak  Kaleh,  Zeidekan,  and  Deli- 
baba,  where  the  water-shed  between  the 
Scherian  and  the  Araxes  was  crossed,  Deli- 
baba  itself  being  already  in  the  basin  of 
the  Araxes.  From  Delibaba  the  road 
followed  the  southern  bank  of  the  Araxes, 
which  it  crossed  at  Koprikoi,  some  fifteen 
miles  west  of  Khorassan. 

Along  this  road  there  was  a  large  choice 
of  defensive  positions,  which  also  allowed 
of  flanking  attacks  against  an  advancing 
enemy.  Such  a  position  was  offered  by 
Toprak  Kaleh,  Molla  Suleiman,  and  Zeide- 
kan, east  of  which  the  Euphrates,  running 
southwards,  opened  a  lateral  approach  to 
the  valley  of  the  Scherian,  which  fell  into 
the  Euphrates  a  few  miles  south  of  Kara 
Kilissa,  and  through  which  a  force  ad- 
vancing from  Melashgerd,  Mush,  or  Bitlis, 
could  attack  the  right  flank,  or,  if  tha 

213 


iM 


POSITIONS  ON  JUNE  21-26.]  HISTOEY  OF  THE 


[i.D.  1877. 


Boad  to  Ardahan.  , 
Pennek.  o ; 


I 


Kaskish 
Geduk.  f 


■■     Russiang  attacking. 
*  »  *     Russians  retreating. 
Turks. 


ju«      7\trkish  Cavalry, 


Charpak 
Dagh. 

Pertes. 


Allah-Akbar    Dagh. 


on- 


Nariman. 


Bardufl.    o 


/ 


Akrak  Dagh. 


X3 
OS 

Q 

O 

§» 
CO 


/ 


Kumru  Dagh. 


0— The  Positions  on  June  26. 

•  Beg  Mahmed. 


S     %■ 


To  Kars. 


Karanoza. 
o 


Chaicar  Dagh. 

Sarjkamish  Dagh. 


I        To  Kars. 
•  I    • 


o  Delimusa.  * 


Positions  on 
June  25. 


-d  ArdoBt. 


— — o- 


/ 


Ala  and  Kaeisman  Dagh. 


Khorassan. 


K.  Araxps. 


■'J 

o  \  Delibaba 

!    )        o  Hadji  Kalil. 


[alias.  /  o— • : 


Eshek  Kalias.  /  o- 


Scherian  Dagh. 


Aghry    Dagh. 


Positions  on  June  21. 


Toprak  Knleh. 


I 


o > 

To  Bayuzet. 


'o  Zeidekan. 


o  Molla  Saleiman. 


Kilid 


214 


Sevik.         I      /■ 
Gedttk.    W 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[advance  on  zeidekan. 


defenders'  position  were  properly  chosen, 
and  well  held,  the  rear  of  the  advancing 
foe.  Not  only  that,  but  the  left  flank  would 
also  be  open  to  attack  froDi  any  force  ad- 
vancing through  the  pass  over  the  Kilid 
Gediik,  west  of  Zeidekan  (as  shown  in 
sketch  0).  A  fine  defensive  position  was 
also  offered  on  the  line  Delibaba,  Hadji 
Kalil,  and  Eshek  Kalias,  of  which  we  give 
a  sketch  on  an  enlarged  scaie  further  on. 

Such,  therefore,  were  the  roads  open  to 
the  Russians  to  choose  from,  the  immediate 
objectives  being,  in  all  cases,  Ardost  and 
Khorassan.  These  gained,  there  would  only 
remain  the  line  of  the  Palantuken  Dagh  and 
Deve  Boyun  between  the  Russian  armies 
and  Erzeroum,  the  capital  of  Armenia.  The 
plan  of  campaign  for  both  sides  was  thus 
clearly  dictated  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
country.  It  was  the  duty  of  Mukhtar  Pasha 
to  hold,  with  strong  garrisons,  the  line 
Pennek  and  Olti  as  a  first  defence,  and 
Nariman  and  Bardus  as  the  second,  against 
any  force  advancing  from  Ardahan.  This 
would  have  formed  the  left  of  the  position. 
His  centre  should  have  been  protected  by 
equally  strong,  or  stronger  garrisons,  at  the 
mouths  of  the  Chamar  Pass  and  at  Medjin- 
gerd.  His  right  should  have  been  held  in  the 
same  way  at  Zeidekan,  forming  the  first  line, 
and  at  Delibaba,  forming  the  second  line. 
His  active  army  could  then  have  taken  up  a 
central  position  between  Yenikoi  and  Zevin, 
ready  to  march  to  the  assistance  of  any 
of  his  garrisons  which  might  require  his 
help. 

Similarly  the  Russians  had  to  be  prepared 
to  make  a  series  of  simultaneous  feints  along 
all  four  roads,  two  of  these  feints,  at  least, 
being  carrit^d  out  with  forces  strong  enough 
to  turn  the  feigned  into  a  real  attack. 

The  only  practicable  way  to  have  done 
this,  supposing  that  Mukhtar  Pasha  kept 
to  the  plan  dictated  by  the  circumstances 
of  the  field,  would  have  been  for  them  to 
have  stationed  a  large  reserve  force  near 
Karamza,  whence  it  could  advance  either 
on  the  Chamar  Pass  or  on  Medjingerd. 
Had  they  done  this,  or  been  able  to  do  so, 
they  would  have  made  their  feints  on  Cha- 
mar and  Medjingerd  simultaneously  with 
an  attack  on  the  Turkish  left  from  Ardahan, 
and  on  the  right  from  Bayazet.  The  reserve 
could  then  have  converted  whichever  of 
these  feints  was  the  most  successful  into  the 
real  attack,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but 
that  one  of  the  two  would  have  succeeded. 
But,  whether  it  would  have  succeeded  or 


not,  this  was  the  only  rational  plan  :  and 
had  Mukhtar  Pasha  imitated  Osman  Pasha, 
he  might  have  inflicted  similar  disasters  on 
the  Russian  armies  in  Asia.  Mukhtar  Pasha 
was  bound  to  be  all  the  more  careful  as, 
unlike  Osman  Pasha  at  Plevna,  he  was  not 
assisted  by  a  force  hammering  at  the  Rus- 
sians in  the  south,  and  holding  them  in 
check  in  the  east ;  for  Kars,  at  the  most, 
rendered  him  no  more  assistance  than 
Rustzuk  did  to  Osman  Pasha. 

We  will  now,  however,  quit  criticism,  and 
proceed  to  facts  as  they  developed  themselves. 

Whilst  Greneral  Loris  Melikofif  was 
engaged  with  the  capture  of  Ardahan 
and  the  investment  of  Kars,  and  recon- 
noitring the  field  between  Kars  and  the 
Soghanli  Dagh,  General  Tergukassoff  was 
pressing  on  towards  Delibaba  along  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates.  He  occupied 
Diadin  without  any  serious  opposition,  and 
continued  his  march  to  Kara  Kilissa,  where 
the  Euphrates  turns  southwards,  and  the 
Scherian  valley  commences.  Here  he  was 
obliged  to  secure  his  rear  from  attack 
through  the  Chamar  Pass,  and  sent  a  body 
of  cavalry  forward,  which  soon  dispersed 
the  few  troops  in  Chamar,  and  then  occu- 
pied the  town  till  it  was  relieved  by  some 
infantry,  who  intrenched  themselves  there, 
whilst  the  main  body  continued  its  way  to 
Toprak  Kaleh  and  Zeidekan. 

Two  roads  led  to  Zeidekan  from  Kara 
Kilissa,  the  northern  one  running  via 
Toprak  Kaleh,  where  the  Turks  had  sta- 
tioned a  couple  of  battalions  for  its  defence, 
with  a  small  body  of  cavalry.  Sending  one 
column  along  the  northern  road,  and  pro- 
ceeding with  the  main  body,  also  divided 
into  two  columns,  along  the  main  road,  his 
right  wing  fell  upon  the  Turks  in  the  east, 
whilst  with  his  centre  he  barred  the  way 
to  Zeidekan,  cutting  oflf  their  retreat  on 
this  place,  and  with  his  left  he  watched 
Zeidekan  itself,  to  guard  against  any  sur- 
prise from  this  quarter. 

There  was,  however,  no  surprise  in  store 
for  him,  and  the  troops  in  Toprak  Kaleh 
were  soon  dispersed,  and  fled  across  the 
mountains  as  best  they  could ;  whilst  the 
detachment  at  Zeidekan  effected  its  es- 
cape southwards  and  westwards  on  Delibaba. 
Still,  in  spite  of  the  slight  opposition  he 
met  with,  General  Tergukassoffs  progress 
was  slow.  The  weather  was  execrable ;  the 
roads  almost  impassable ;  and  he  was  still 
further  troubled  by  the  reports  of  a  large 
cavalry  force  assembling  in  the  Van  district 

215 


MILITARY  POSinONS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


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MILITARY  POSITIONS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  ExAIPIRE. 


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[success  at  delibaba. 


on  his  left  flank,  which  obliged  him  to 
move  very  carefully  onwards,  and  leave 
detachments  here  and  there  to  watch  the 
approaches  to  the  valley  from  the  south. 
Thus,  at  the  end  of  May,  he  was  still 
engaged  in  strengthening  his  position,  and 
brinL(ing  up  stores  and  material  to  the  front, 
which  delayed  his  advance  till  towards 
the  middle  of  June.  Then  he  again  moved 
forward,  also  by  two  roads,  the  main  road 
running  direct  to  within  a  short  distance  of 
Delibaba,  and  the  other  by  way  of  Matok 
and  Hadji  Kalil. 

The  Turks  had  taken  up  a  position  on  the 
heights  east  of  Delibaba,  and  north  of 
Hadji  Kalil.  This  formed  the  left  of  their 
position.  The  centre  was  in  front  of  Deli- 
baba, facing  the  high-road  to  Erzeroum  ; 
and  the  right  was  stationed  in  inadequate 
force  at  Eshek  Kalias,  south  of  the  road 
from  Zeidekan.  On  June  IGth.Tersrukas- 1 
fioif  advanced  to  the  attack,  directing  his 
main  efforts  on  the  left  wing  of  the  Turks, 
whilst  cleverly  inserting  a  force  between  it 
and  the  right  wing  at  Eshek  Kalias,  and 
attacking  the  Turkish  centre  at  the  same 
time,  as  bhown  in  the  preceding  sketch,  P  2. 

For  some  time  the  combat  on  the  hills 
between  Delibaba  and  Hadji  Kalias  was 
fiercely  waged;  but  the  artillery  playing 
with  great  precision  on  the  Turkish  flank 
at  Hadji  Kalias,  the  Turks  began  to  fall 
back,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  right 
wing  at  Eshek  Kalias  was  also  driven  in,  and 
fled  along  the  road  to  Erzeroum.  Soon  after- 
wards the  centre,  in  front  of  Delibaba,  began 
to  waver,  and  the  reluctant  fallinof  back, 
step  by  step,  of  the  left  wing  soon  changed, 
when  they  saw  their  retreat  being  cut  off, 
into  a  precipitate  flight  on  Khorassan. 
With  this  battle,  therefore,  General  Tergu- 
kassoff  had  gained  possession  of  one  of  the 
keys  to  the  defence  of  Erzeroum,  and  only 
awaited  the  orders  and  co-operation  of  Loris' 
Melikoff  to  continue  his  advance. 

Meantime  Mukhtar  Pasha's   retrograde 
movement  still  continued.     Little  by  little, 
but  surely,  it  was  shortening  the  distance  ' 
between  his  army  and  Erzeroum.  From  Kars 
he  fell  back  rather  precipitately  to  avoid  I 
being  cut  off  by  the  formidable  flank  move- 
ment of  April  30th,  which  we  have  already 
described.     He  took  up  his  position  on  the 
crests  of  the  Soghanli.     Thence,   after  the  i 
fall  of  Ardahan,  he  fell  back  again  to  Deli-  ! 
baba  in  consequence  of  a  demonstration  by 
the  Russians  on  Olti  and  Nariman,  a  large  ■ 
body  of  Circassians  and  Kurds,  lately  added  ' 


218 


to  the  central  army  corps,  keeping  well  in 
front  to  prevent  a  surprise.  These  troops 
clashing  together  with  the  Russian  dra- 
goons forming  the  reconnaissances  of  Loris 
Melikoff,  imagined  that  the  whole  of  the 
Russian  army  was  advancing,  and  re- 
treated precipitately;  so  that  Mukhtar  Pasha, 
having  ascertained  that  thc-e  was  no  im- 
mediate danger  to  be  apprehended  from 
General  Tergukassoff",  and  that  the  advance 
on  Olti  was  only  a  demonstration,  took  up 
a  fresh  position  at  Zevin.  The  true  secret 
of  this  continued  retiring  was  the  paucity 
of  numbers  of  the  main  army. 

Though  considerably  swelled  by  re- 
inforcements, the  Turkish  central  force  did 
not  come  up  to  thirty  battalions,  and  many 
of  these  were  at  anything  but  their  full 
complement.  A  solitary  battery  repre- 
sented the  artillery  element ;  though  an- 
other was  at  Hassan  Kaleh,  a  day's  march 
to  the  rear.  The  slightest  flank  movement 
of  the  enemy  threatened  to  necessitate  a 
general  engagement,  and  was  accompanied 
by  a  rapid  packing  up  and  retiring  to 
a  new  rearward  position.  One  of  the  gene- 
rals in  command  explained,  however,  that 
the  retreat  from  Delibaba  followed  as  a 
necessary  consequence  of  the  falling  back 
of  the  Circassians.  On  the  left  flank,  and 
parallel  to  the  main  line  of  communications 
of  the  army,  the  Sarykamish  road  was 
covered  by  the  vedettes  of  the  irregular 
cavalry.  These  latter  once  retired,  the 
army  was  more  or  less  open  to  a  flank 
attack,  and  adopted  the  system  of  falling 
back  on  the  junction  of  the  two  roads  in 
front  of  Zevin.  So  far,  indeed,  the  central 
corps,  under  the  command  of  Mukhtar 
Pasha,  was  merely  doing  duty  as  a  corps  of 
observation,  or,  at  most,  retaining  nominal 
possession  of  the  ground,  and  preventing 
forays  of  Cossacks  in  search  of  provisions. 
Serious  impediment  to  the  advance  of  the 
Russian  forces  it  could  not  then  ofier. 
Even  as  it  was,  the  entire  ground  between 
Kars  and  the  position  of  the  Turkish  army, 
three  days'  march,  was  entirely  unde- 
fended, even  by  irregulars.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Russian  expedition  against  Olti, 
of  1,500  Cossacks  and  three  infantry 
battalions,  retired  before  an  equal  Turkish 
force  despatched  against  it. 

In  fact,  both  the  Turkish  and  Russian 
generals  were  playing  at  cross  purposes, 
each  wanting  the  other  to  think  he  had  the 
most  men,  whilst  ignorant  of  what  was 
going  on  in  the  other  parts  of  the  field. 

219 


■ii 


TERGUKASSOFP'S  RBTBEAT."]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


III' 


1 


r' 


The  great  drawback  for  the  Turks,  how- 
ever, was  their  want  of  cavalry.     Fifteen 
thousand  Cossacks,  hovering  like  a  cloud  in 
advance   of  the    main    Russian    columns, 
efifectually  screened  their   movements  and 
prevented   their    points    of    concentration 
from  being  known.     To  compete  against 
these,  a  few  hundred  mounted  Circassians 
and    a    squadron    of    Kurd    lancers    were 
hurriedly  organised  to  supply  the  necessary 
reconnoitring    element.       Their   vigilance 
and  intelligence  were  counted  on  to  com- 
pensate for  their  paucity  of  number ;  but 
the  Very  first  time  they  came  in  contact 
with  the  enemy,  they  proved  quite  inade- 
quate to  the  mission  assigned  them.     They 
were  surprised,  cut  up,  and  retired  on  the 
main     army>     behind     which    they    then 
camped — a  terror  and  a  nuisance  to  all  but 
the    enemy.       Mukhtar    Pasha   was    thus 
forced  to  have  recourse  to  another  means 
to  keep  himself  informed  of  the  Russian 
movements.    Upper  Armenia  had  ever  been 
infested  by  bands  of  Kurd  robbers,  who^ 
under  various  chiefs^  and  in  detachments  of 
from  ten  to  twenty,  lived  upon  the  country, 
exacting  blackmail  from  the  villages,  and 
pillaging  travellers ;  and  it  was  these  men 
whom  the  Turkish  general  had  to  fall  back 
upon  for  scouts. 

One  of  these  men,  popularly  known  as 
Tulu  Moussa,  or  Hairy  Moses,  enjoyed  an 
extensive  renown  for  his  successes  in  the 
brigand  line.  When  Mukhtar  Pasha  was 
governor  of  Armenia  some  years  before,  he 
had  in  vain  tried  to  lay  hands  on  this  bandit ; 
but  as  soon  as  the  war  broke  out,  Tulu 
Moussa,  stirred  by  patriotism,  entered  into 
negotiations  with  the  military  authorities, 
offering  his  services  in  return  for  a  free 
pardon.  His  offers  were  accepted,  and  he 
thus  became  the  pasha's  main  source  of 
information  as  to  the  doings  of  the  enemy. 
Accompanied  by  half-a-dozen  followers,  he 
scoured  the  country  in  front,  collected  in- 
formation, tracked  out  the  Russian  spies, 
and  even  ventured  in  disguise  into  the 
enemy's  camp.  He  was  a  tall  spare  man  of 
some  forty  years  of  age,  sallow-faced  and 
hollow-cheeked,  his  large  black  lustrous 
eyes  sparkling  with  energy.  A  heavy 
moustache  scarce  concealed  a  half-sup- 
presseid  humorous  expression  about  the 
comers  of  his  mouth,  and  a  dense  growth 
of  beard  vindicated  his  title  to  the  sobriquet 
of  "hairy."  His  attire  was  brigandishly 
picturesque  in  the  extreme.  A  long  tunic 
resembling  that  of  the  Circassians,  the  skirt 
220 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.T 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


fMASSACRE  AT  BATAZET. 


reaching  to  the  middle  calf,  of  a  dark  olive 
tint,  and  bound  at  the  edges   with  broad 
silver  lace,   was  confined  round  his  slender 
waist  by  a  belt  of  many  silver  pieces  with 
pierced   pattern.     On  either  breast  was  a 
double  row  of  silver  cartridge  tubes  elabo- 
rately chased   and  ornamented  with  green 
enamel.      His  sabre  and  broad-bladed  Cir- 
cassian   dagger,    masterpieces    of    carving 
and  enamel,  the  sheaths  and  hilts  massive 
silver^  were  set  with  coral  and  lapis-lazuli. 
Wide  trousers^  and  high  red-leather  boots 
turning  up  at  the   toe,  completed  his  cos- 
tume.   His  companions  were  attired  much  in 
the  same  manner,  though  less  richly.    They 
were  quiet,  resolute  men,  but  with  an  un- 
mistakably brigandish  air. 

Such  were  Mukhtar  Pasha*s  chief  of  the 
"intelligence  department"  and  his  aides, 
and  Moussa  was  well  worth  a  whole  regi- 
ment of  cavalry  to  him,  for  the  information 
he  brought  was  thoroughly  trustworthy. 

Thus  Tulu  Moussa  soon  discovered  that 
the  forces  under  Tergukassoff's  command 
were  by  no  means  so  formidable  as  his 
rapid  progress  would  seem  to  indicate; 
and  at  the  same  time  it  was  ascertained 
that  Loris  Melikoff  was  not  prepared  to 
force  the  Soghanli  Dagh  for  at  least  some 
days  to  come. 

Mukhtar  Pasha  then  determined  to  strike 
a  blow  on  his  right,  after  having  received 
remforcements  and  supplies;   and  leaving 
his   position  at  Zevin  to  the  care  of  Feizi 
Pasha,  he  moved  down  towards  Khorassan 
on  June  20th.    The  next  day  he  sent  Ismail 
Pasha  forward  with  twenty-three  battalions, 
and  Ismail,  advancing  his  centre  on  Delibaba, 
whilst  his  left  made  for  Hadji  Kalias,  and 
his  right  for  Eshek  Kalias,  soon  succeeded 
in  forcing  the  Russians  back  from  Delibaba. 
Tergukassoff,   seeing   both   his  flanks  out- 
marched, was  forced  to  retreat  precipitately 
upon   Zeidekan,   closely  followed    by    the 
Circassians   and   Kurds.      The  Turks  still 
advancing,  passing  on  like  a  torrent  through 
the  valley,  did  not  allow  him  any  rest  even 
in  Zeidekan,  and  he  was  forced  to  continue 
his  flight  to  Kara  Kilissa.      Here,  to  his 
dismay,  he  heard  that  the  road  to  Bayazet 
was  in  the  hands  of  a  large  number  of  Kurds 
and  Circassians,   and  sixteen  battalions  of 
Arabian  troops   who    had   advanced    from 
Van,  and  who  effectually  cut  off  his  retreat. 
There  was  only  one  means  of  escape  left — 
that  was  by  the  road  running  north-east 
from  Kara  Kilissa  across  the  Aghry  Dagh 
to   the   Russian   frontier   (see   sketch    P). 


Along  this  path,  leaving  the  greater  part  of 
his  baggage  behind  him,  Tergukassoff  fled 
with  his  forces ;  and  after  a  series  of  the 
most  difficult  marches,  at  last  succeeded  in 
reaching  Russian  territory,  and  arrived  on 
July  5th,  defeated  and  out-manoeuvred  and 
out-numbered,  at  Igdir,  whence  he  had 
set  out  a  little  over  two  months  before. 

Meanwhile,  as  may  be  imagined,  the 
Russian  detachments,  left  to  shift  for  them- 
selves between  Kara  Kilissa  and  Bavazet, 
had  a  bad  time  of  it.  They  were  driven 
in,  surrounded,  harassed,  hunted  down, 
and  but  few  escaped  by  the  wild  paths 
leading  over  the  Aghry  Dagh  ;  and  equally 
did  those  Christian  villages  suffer  which 
had  too  warmly  welcomed  the  Russian 
forces  and  given  them  any  assistance.  The 
same  events  took  place  here  as  occurred 
in  the  country  south  of  the  Balkans  when 
General  Gourko  retreated  and  left  the  villa- 
gers, whom  he  had  stirred  up  aq;ainst  their 
Moslem  neighbours,  to  the  reprisals  of  the 
Turks.  All  through  the  valley  the  Christian 
villages  were  sacked  and  burned,  and  most 
of  those  inhabitants  who  had  not  effected 
their  escape  were  massacred.  As  for  Bayazet, 
the  Russians,  thinking  only  of  Turkish 
regulars,  had  left  but  a  slender  garri- 
son of  some  500  men  there,  and,  as  we 
have  seen,  pushed  on  towards  Zeidekan 
with  their  main  forces,  with  the  intention 
of  trying  to  force  Mukhtar's  position  beyond 
Delibaba.  While  engaged  in  this  operation, 
a  horde  of  Kurds,  under  the  influence,  if 
not  actual  guidance,  of  Sheikh  Jelaledin, 
swept  down  from  the  Ararat  chain  of  moun- 
tains, and  surrounded  the  little  garrison  of 
Bayazet.  The  Russians  retired  within  the 
walls  of  a  mediaeval  building,  half  fortress, 
half  palace,  which  occupied  the  summit  of 
the  hill  above  the  platform  on  which  Ba- 
yazet stands.  Provisions  were  scanty,  water 
still  more  so ;  and  after  a  couple  of  days' 
blockade  the  Russians  offered  terms.  Round, 
and  in  Bayazet  at  the  time,  apart  from  the 
Kurds,  were  seven  regular  Turkish  bat- 
talions, under  the  command  of  Faik  Pasha. 
These  bad  arrived  subsequent  to  the  Rus- 
sian failure  to  carry  the  Delibaba  ridge. 
The  pasha  willingly  received  the  overtures 
of  surrender,  and  half  the  entire  beleaguered 
garrison,  without  arms,  marched  from  their 
stronghold.  But  before  the  regular  troops 
could  take  any  measures  for  their  security, 
which  at  the  time  no  one  had  any  reason  to 
doubt,  the  Kurd  horsemen  fell  on  the  dis- 
armed and  surrendered  prisoners,  massacring 

VOL.  in.  2  Q 


every  one  without  exception.     On  this  the 
gates   of  the   stronghold  were  closed,  the 
remaining    portion    of   the    garrison    re- 
fusing to  entertain  any  proposition   after 
the  untoward  event  which  had  just  taken 
place.      In  vain  the   Turkish   commander 
of  the   regular   forces   urged    on    the   be- 
sieged    the     expediency     of    surrendering 
rather  than  die  of  hunger  and  thirst.     The 
Russian  colonel  had  fallen  in  the  first  as- 
sault of  the  Kurds  on  the  town,  and  his 
wife,    within  the   beleaguered  stronghold, 
incited   the    soldiery  to  resistance,  taking 
her   share  in  the  defence  like  any  of  the 
troops.     Anything  was  better,  the  Russians 
said,  than  again  trusting  themselves  to  the 
mercy  of  a  faithless  horde  of  bloodthirsty 
savages.     And   so   several   days   went    by 
Water  was  falling  short ;  but  the  besieged 
bit   on   the   plan   of  mining   towards  the 
town,  and  thus  establishing  an  unseen  con- 
nection with   one  of  the  public  fountains. 
For  some  time  this  expedient  was  successful, 
the  adventurous  water-seekers  being  almost 
entirely  hidden  from  view  in  the  depths  of 
the  subterranean  opening.     But  in  an  evil 
day  some  stray  Kurd  observed  the  top  of 
a  Russian's   hat  protruding    in   an   unac- 
countable manner  from  the  soil.     He  ob- 
served,   and  soon  guessed  the  truth.     An 
ambuscade  was  prepared,  and  day  after  day 
the  thirsty  Russians  had  to  lament  one  of 
their  number  shot  through  the  head  at  the 
gallery  entrance.     Twenty-six  days'  siege, 
since  the  massacre,  had  gone  by.   Provisions 
had  long  since  run  exceedingly  short,  and 
the   besieging   enemy    had   over  and   over 
again  shouted  to  the  caged  foe  the  intelli- 
gence that  artillery  was  coming  up  to  drive 
them  from  their  refuge.     Help,  however, 
was  near;  and  suddenly,  on  July  15th,  as 
if  falling   from   the    clouds,    five  Russian 
battalions,  with  six  guns,  and  4,000  cavalry, 
attacked  the  Turkish  force.     General  Ter- 
gukassoff, having   received    reinforcements 
from  the  centre,  and  having  reorganised  his 
troops,  had  sent  these  men  from  Igdir  to 
relieve    the    beleaguered     garrison.       The 
struggle  was  short ;  for  though  the  regular 
battalions  resisted  bravely,  they  were  forced 
to  retreat,  leaving  over  1,000  men  and  three 
guns  in  the  assailants'   hands.     The  long- 
suffering    detachment    in    the    stronghold 
above   the  town  were  relieved,  and,  after 
passing  the  night  in  Bayazet,  retreated  with 
their  deliverers  as   rapidly  as   possible,  to 
escape  from  the  Kurds  and  Circassians,  who, 
as  usual,  were  not  where  they  were  wanted, 

221 


KIZTL  TEPE  ATTACKED.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


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but  were  hurrying  up  from  the  valley  to  the 
support  of  the  regulars. 

Such  was  the  end  of  TergukassoflTs 
advance.  By  July  19th,  there  was  not  a 
single  Russian  in  the  valley,  from  Bayazet 
to  Delibaba.  The  collapse  south  of  the 
Aghry  Dagh  had  preceded  the  collapse 
south  of  the  Balkans  by  a  day. 

Meantime,  when  Loris  Melikoff  heard  of 
the  successful  advance  of  Greneral  Tergu- 
kassofF,  and  knowing  how  much  he  stood 
in  need  of  help,  he  determined  to  effect  a 
diversion,   and  was   not  without    hope   of 
forcing  the  positions  of  the  Turks.     This 
determination  was   strengthened   when  he 
heard  of  the  disaster  which  had  befallen  the 
Erivan  corps,  and  how  they  were  in  immi- 
nent danger  of  being  cut  off  to  the  last  man. 
In  order  to  prevent  such  a  catastrophe, 
G-eneral    Heimann,    accompanied    by    the 
commander-in-chief,    Greneral  Loris   Meli- 
koff, was  detached  from  before  Kars,  and, 
encountering  Feizi  Pasha  at  Zevin,  attacked 
him   without   hesitation   on   the   rido-e   of 
rocks  where  he   had   intrenched  his  *army 
(as  shown  in  sketch  0).    Unhappily  for  the 
Russians,  the  means  at  hand  were  utterly 
inadequate  to  the  task  imposed  upon  the 
soldiers;    and   finally.   General   Heimann, 

after  having  experienced    severe  losses 

over  3,000  men  killed  and  wounded — was 
obliged  to  retreat  in  disorder  to  the  point 
from  which  he  had  come. 

After  this   signal   victory   over  General 
Heimann,    Mukhtar  Pasha  boldly  crossed 
the    Soghanli    mountains,    and    occupied 
strong  positions  commanding  both  the  roads 
to  Kars,  in  case  the  Russians  should  recover 
themselves  from  their  defeat  and  essay  to 
retrieve  their  position.     But  General  Loris 
Melikoff,  the  Russian  commander-in-chief, 
judging  his  army  too  weak  to  besiege  Kars 
and  resist  Mukhtar  Pasha  simultaneously, 
ordered  the  heavy  guns  to   be  withdrawn,' 
and  suspended  the  bombardment,  or  rather 
the  siege,   of  that   stronghold.     Then   he 
prepared  for  an  action  in   the   field,  and 
camped  at  Zaim,  where  he  decided  to   in- 
trench himself  in  formidable  positions,  and 
to  wait  for  Mukhtar  Pasha's  attack,  till  the 
expected    reinforcements    allowed   him   to 
push  forward  again. 

The  expected  attack,  however,  not  reckon- 
ing isolated  skirmishes  and  reconnaissances 
which  had  no  decided  result,  was  delayed 
from  day  to  day,  the  yavash,  yavash 
(slowly,  slowly,)  of  the  Turks,  as  usual, 
preventing  energetic  action  on  the  part  of 
222 


[A.D.  1877. 


Mukhtar   Pasha,   who  was  forced  to   lose 
much  valuable  time  in  waiting  for  stores 
guns,  and  munitions.  * 

On  August  25th,  however,  the  struggle 
began  again  on  a  larger  scale.     At  about 
three  o  clock  in  the  morning  the  Russians 
were    roused    by    the  roar  of  cannon  and 
volleys   of  musketry.     They   supposed,   at 
first,   that    only   outpost    skirmishing  was 
going  on  between  the  Cossacks  and  Circas- 
sians;   but  the  noise   growing  louder  and 
more  persistent,  it  soon  was  evident  that 
the  Turks,  contrary  to  their  usual  practice, 
had  attacked  in  the  direction  of  the  camp 
situated  some  eight  miles  off,  to  the  left  of 
the  Kurukdara  position  behind  the  Utch 
Tepe. 

The    Turkish    position    on    the   Aladja 
mountain  extended  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  ancient  city  of  Ani,  now  dismal  ruins 
on  the  Arpa  Tchai  River,  to  the  vicinity  of 
Kars,  from  which  fortress  the  supplies  were 
drawn.     The   main  force,    however,  rested 
Its  left  wing  on  the  mountain  spur  endin^r 
in  the  Yagni  hills  (as  shown  in  sketch  Q). 
Between  the  Aladja  Dagh  and  Kurukdara 
there  was  another  steep  hill,  the  Kizil  Tepe 
(Red  Hill),  which,  in  an  entirely  isolated 
position,    towered    above    the    Kurukdara 
plateau,  almost  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
military    positions.     On    this    remarkable 
eminence  the  commander-in-chief.  General 
Loris  Melikoff,  had  established  his  head- 
quarters on  August   17th.     It  was  usually 
occupied  by  a  single  battalion  and  four  field- 
pieces,  and  was  thus  considered  as  almost  im- 
pregnable.    On  account  of  its  commanding 
position  over  the  surrounding  flats  and  un- 
dulating grounds  it  was  well  worth  particu- 
lar attention,  and  the  Turks  determined  to 
carry  it  if  possible. 

It  was  a  bright  moonlight  night.     The 
Dciountains  and  plains  were  almost  as  dis- 
tinctly visible  as  in  broad  day-time.     Avail- 
ing   themselves   of  this   circumstance,    at 
two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
25th  of  August,  about  7,000  Turks  crept 
stealthily,   in   a  compact,   noiseless    mass, 
through  a  dark,  deep  ravine,  without  being 
observed  by  the  careless  Lesghian  picketl 
and  patrols,   till   they  arrived  at  the  very 
foot  of  the  Kizil  Tepe.     Here  deploying, 
they  made  a  sudden  rush,  savagely  yellino- 
their  "  Allah-il-Allah,"  on  the  eight  Russian 
companies   which   were   stationed    on    the 
summit.     These    men,    though   surprised, 
defended    themselves    courageously   at    the 
point  of  the  bayonet  without  yielding  an 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [positions  on  august  25. 


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223 


1 1 


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KIZIL  TEPE  CAPTURED.] 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


[A.D.  1877, 


inch.  Hundreds  of  Turks  who  a  few  seconds 
before  dashed  fiercely  on  with  the  rifle  in 
their  hands,  fell  to  rise  no  more.  At  last, 
however,  as  the  enemy's  fast-increasing 
force  threatened  to  outflank  and  envelop 
them  altogether,  tho  Russians  were  com- 
pelled to  retreat  to  the  camp,  protecting  and 
dragging  away  their  four  cannons.  Here  the 
alarm  was  given,  and,  as  quickly  as  possible, 
infantry  and  dragoons  marched  to  the 
rescue,  and  stormed  the  hill  with  dauntless 
courat^e,  in  the  hope  of  recovering  it  in  the 
way  in  which  it  had  been  lost.  In  spite  of 
their  heroic  efforts,  however,  they  were  re- 
peatedly repulsed  by  overwhelming  num- 
bers. The  whole  hill  was  like  a  beehive, 
thickly  thronged  with  enemies,  and  had 
they  persisted  in  their  gallant  attempt  they 
•would  have  all  been  exterminated.  In  the 
meanwhile  the  principal  Russian  forces 
encamped  at  Kurukdara  had  been  roused, 
and  battalions,  squadrons,  batteries,  with 
ammunition  carts  and  red-cross  waggons 
behind,  hastened  in  long  columns  into  the 
field.  At  first  utter  consternation  pre- 
vailed through  the  camp,  and  all  was  in 
confusion.  Orders  were  issued  to  strike 
tents,  pack  luggage,  and  load  everything  on 
the  numerous  commissariat  waggons,  as  the 
boom  of  the  artillery  thundered  louder,  and 
the  sharp  rattling  of  the  breech-loaders 
grew  sharper  still.  For  the  moment  the 
Russians  thought  that  they  were  being 
attacked  by  the  whole  of  Mukhtar  Pasha's 
army,  and  then  they  began  to  prepare  for  a 
retreat  across  the  frontier.  They  soon  saw, 
however,  that  the  attack  was  evidently  to 
gain  possession  of  the  Kizil  Tepe,  and 
regained  their  equanimity  somewhat  in 
consequence. 

Meanwhile  the  Kizil  Tepe,  or  Red  Hill, 
a  dwarfy  height  of  about  800  feet  above  the 
plain,  was  encircled,  top  and  bottom,  by 
two  girdles  of  smoke  and  flame.  On  its 
rocky,  bastion -like  summit  stood  thickly 
crowded  Turkish  soldiers,  under  the  cover 
of  the  opposite  slope,  and  fired  their  rifles, 
aiming  down  into  a  ravine  across  which  the 
Russian  Tiflis  regiment  struggled  heroically, 
but  in  vain,  to  reconquer  the  lost  position. 
The  very  steep,  rocky  slope  of  the  hill  on 
that  side  rendered  this  task  almost  impos- 
sible. The  Russians  distinctly  saw  how,  in 
the  Turkish  ranks,  an  Imaum,  with  turban 
and  flowing  gown,  lifting  his  hands  in 
fanatical  ecstasy  above  the  devoted  children 
of  the  faith,  seemed  to  be  inciting  them  to 
withstand  the  arms  of  the  Moscow  Giaour, 
224 


in  Allah's  and  the  Prophet's  name.  On 
some  other  parts  of  the  battle-field  Moham- 
medan priests  were  equally  observed  in  the 
foremost  lines,  apparently  animating  timid 
recruits  bv  fervent  words  of  faith.     One  of 

*  ■  — — — 

these  priests  was  shot.  The  Turks  meant 
evidently  to  crush  their  weakened  adver- 
saries by  a  general  attack,  and  so  they  em- 
ployed all  imaginable  means  to  secure 
success.  Many  battalions,  emerging  by 
scores  together,  and  thousands  of  irregular 
horsemen,  descended  the  mountain,  and  were 
broutrht  at  once  into  action.  The  whole 
long  line — twelve  miles — from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ani  up  to  Kabak  Tepe,  on 
which  lies  Meschka,  on  the  road  to  Kars, 
was  swarming  with  Mussulmans.  On  the 
summit  of  that  eminence,  situated  two 
miles  to  the  north  of  the  Yagni  Hill,  three 
new  battalions  and  clusters  of  cavalry 
appeared,  with  the  view  to  outflank  the 
Russian  army,  and  capture  their  camp  at 
Kurukdara.  Their  general  advance,  how- 
ever, was  checked  as  soon  as  the  Russian 
columns  of  combined  arms,  the  battalions, 
squadrons,  and  batteries  which  left  the 
camp  had  the  necessary  time  to  march  to 
the  enemy's  encounter  and  to  deploy  before 
him.  In  the  Russian  order  of  battle  the 
extreme  left  was  held  by  two  regiments  of 
dragoons,  then  followed  the  remaining  bri- 
gade of  General  Dowel's  division,  and  next 
to  it,  in  the  centre.  Colonel  Komaroff's  five 
valiant  battalions  which  had  seen  hard  work 
ever  since  Ardahan  fell.  Connected  with 
them,  and  directing  its  front  line  against 
the  Yagni  hills,  the  division  of  grenadiers 
operated  with  one  of  its  brigades  (General 
Cederholm),  while  the  other  remained  in 
reserve.  The  extreme  right  was  secured  by 
three  regiments  of  Caucasian  regular  Cossack 
cavalry  and  their  horse  artillery.  Numerous 
troops  besides  protected  the  camp. 

It  took  some  hours  before  those  masses 
were  all  able  to  meet  the  enemy's  lines,  on 
account  of  the  considerable  distance  which 
originally  separated  the  combatants.  In 
the  meantime  the  exposed  camp  was  broken 
up,  and  thousands  of  carts  and  waggons 
transported  the  tents  and  the  baggage  to 
Kurukdara.  The  straw  and  dung  were 
burnt  on  the  spot.  Again  and  again  the 
Russians  tried  to  reconquer  the  Kizil  Tepe 
by  storming,  while  shells  and  shrapnels 
were  showered  upon  its  ridge;  but  again 
and  again  they  were  repelled  by  the  de- 
fenders, who  stood,  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
behind  its  rocky  edge.    On  a  sudden,  shortly 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[battle  at  yagni  hill. 


after  the  last  assault,  which  was  supported 
and  followed  by  the  play  of  two  batteries, 
thick  white  smoke  rose  on  the  summit,  and 
a  long  flame  carried  it  to  the  skies.  Frag- 
ments of  carriages,  limbs  of  horses  and  men 
were  scattered  in  all  directions,  or  flew  up 
in  the  air.  It  was  clear  that  stores  of 
ammunition  or  a  powder-cart  had  exploded, 
ignited  by  a  Russian  shell.  Joy  and  satis- 
faction lighted  up  the  faces  of  the  ofl&cers, 
and  one  of  them  made  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
A  short  time  afterwards,  as  regiment  after 
regiment  entered  successively  the  line  of 
battle,  from  the  left  to  the  right,  in  full 
array,  and  advanced,  deployed  in  company 
columns,  preceded  by  the  usual  double  chain 
of  Tirailleurs,  with  field  batteries  between 
them,  the  roar  of  the  fighting  extended 
gradually  from  the  left  to  the  centre.  It  was, 
however,  obvious  that  before  the  Yagni  Hill 
the  fate  of  the  day  was  to  be  decided,  be- 
cause from  that  part  of  his  position  only 
the  enemy  might  have  had  a  chance  of 
forcing  the  camp,  as  it  was  quite  open  and 
unprotected  in  that  direction.  Yet  long 
ere  the  Tirailleurs  there  had  mingled  their 
fire  with  the  boom  of  their  cannon  and  the 
cracking  of  their  shells.  Colonel  KomarofiPs 
brigade  in  the  centre  was  engaged  in  sharp 
infantry  fighting.  Steadily  the  Russians 
gained  ground,  and  drove  the  Turks  over 
the  flats  and  the  undulations  till  they 
reached  the  broad  ravine  of  Subatan,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Aladja  mountain.  In  this  narrow 
valley,  studded  at  its  opposite  side  with 
intrenchments  and  batteries,  the  battle 
came  to  a  standstill,  the  Russians  feeling 
unable  to  advance  any  further,  and  the 
Turks  satisfied  with  the  advantages  they 
had  gained.  From  advancing  beyond,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  Mukhtar  Pasha's 
camp  might  have  fallen  into  Colonel 
KomarofiPs  hands.  All  energy  of  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  Turks  had  decidedly  been 
broken  ;  they  ceased  fighting,  and  retired  in 
disorder.  Their  dead  lay  in  rows  in  the 
valley.  In  consequence  of  this  mutual 
pause  on  different  grounds,  the  fighting 
died  out  there  at  half-past  one  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  Komaroff  was  twice  wounded, 
once  in  his  left  hand,  and  shortly  afterwards 
in  his  left  side.  Nevertheless,  he  continued 
to  exercise  his  command.  Prince  Tchadjew- 
adtze,  the  general  in  command  of  the  whole 
cavalry,  renowned  as  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  energetic  leaders  in  the  Russian  army, 
was  also  woimded  by  the  fragment  of  a 
shell,  which  struck  him  on  the  head. 


While  thus  the  struggle  was  going  on  in 
the  centre,  the  grenadiers,  under  General 
Heimann's  special  superintendence,  and  led 
by  General  Cederholm,  fell  in  with  the 
enemy.  After  a  brisk  cannonade  with  smart 
shell  and  shrapnel  practice,  the  deadly  rifle- 
firing  was  going  on  in  an  uninterrupted 
line  stretching  two  miles  on  either  side, 
front  against  front.  Like  a  light  morning 
mist  the  smoke  was  wafted  over  the  hostile 
forces,  and  prevented  them  from  taking 
good  aim.  The  Turks  had  evidently  brought 
forth  their  picked  men — several  Arabian 
battalions,  which  fought  with  resolute  stub- 
bornness, as  they  are  accustomed  to  do  on 
all  occasions,  thus  constituting  beyond  doubt 
the  Sultan's  best  troops.  Notwithstanding 
their  superior  numbers,  and  the  bravery 
they  displayed,  they  could  not  hold  their 
ground  for  more  than  a  single  hour,  and 
then  were  compelled  to  fall  back  to  their 
rifle-pits  and  intrenchments  at  the  foot  of 
the  Yagni  hills.  Worn  out  by  the  want  of 
food  and  water,  having  had  all  day  a  sun 
burning  like  a  red-hot  iron  over  their  heads, 
both  antagonists  were  at  last  satisfied  to  see 
themselves  finally  separated  from  each  other 
by  intervening  hillocks.  While  the  infantry 
rested,  completely  exhausted  by  the  heat 
and  the  work,  the  cannons  still  thundered 
continuously  over  the  whole  line,  but  with 
considerably  less  intensity  than  in  the  morn- 
ing. Finally  the  Turks  moved  with  three 
fresh  battalions,  and  over  1,000  horse,  down 
the  Kabak  hill  on  the  extreme  right  of  the 
Russians,  endeavouring  to  outflank  them. 
The  wild,  irregular  riders,  in  their  fantasti- 
cal garments,  galloped  down  until  they 
came  unexpectedly  in  sight  of  the  three 
Caucasian  Cossack  regiments.  Quietly  they 
stood  in  the  valley,  drawn  in  separate  lines, 
with  two  batteries  of  horse  artillery  in  the 
interstices,  whilst  the  Bashi-Bazouks,  one 
after  the  other,  as  they  rode  on  stopped  their 
horses,  fired  their  rifles  at  the  enemy,  who 
did  not  even  reply,  and  turned  back  at  full 
speed  in  order  to  give  to  their  expectant 
comrades  the  dismal  news  that  the  time  for 
plundering  the  Russian  camp  at  Kurukdara 
had  not  yet  come.  They  apparently  judged 
that  the  Russian  cavalry  was  more  than  a 
match  for  them,  and  in  this  conviction  they 
united  again  in  squadrons,  and  thought  it 
prudent  to  wait,  under  the  cover  of  a  con- 
cealed battery,  for  their  enemies'  onset. 
The  Russian  regiments,  however,  warned  by 
some  shells  from  above  that  they  were  likely 
to  fall  into  an  ambush  of  artillery  and  in- 

225 


POsmoNS  ON  AUGUST  26.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


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Soghanii   Dagh. 


r*i 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  ramazan. 


fantry,  did  not  stir.     So  the  fighting  ceased 
at  four  o'clock  P.M.  on  the  whole  line  in  the 
same  succession  as  it  had  begun,  from  left 
to  right.     The  result  was  a  complete  success 
for    the    Turks.      Although    the    Russian 
troops  had  repulsed,   with  great  slaughter 
and  remarkable  pluck,  the  general  attack  of 
the  Turks  to  cover  the  attack  on  the  Kizil 
Tepe,  and  had  remained  for  four  hours  on 
the  battle-field,  they  had  been,  for  all  that, 
unable  to  wrest  the  principal  position,  the 
Kizil  Tepe    Hill,  out    of    Turkish    hands. 
Mukhtar  Pasha  did  not   hesitate  to  avail 
himself  of  the  advantageous  position  which 
he  had  obtained,  and  shifted  next  day  his 
whole  camp  down  to  the  plain,  where  his 
soldiers  were  not  exposed  to  the  cold  night 
winds  as  on  the  mountain,  and  found  an 
ample  supply  of  water.     Here,  as  the  Turks 
had   systematically  done  during  this  war, 
they     began     intrenching    themselves    as 
strongly  as  possible,  having  one  wing  pro- 
tected by  the  Kizil  Tepe,  and  the  other  by 
the  Yagni  Hill.     The  force  which  the  Turks 
brought  into  action  consisted,  according  to 
trustworthy  estimates,  of  thirty  battalions 
of  infantry  and  8,000  irregular  horsemen, 
with  sixty  cannons.     The  Russian  army  was 
somewhat  inferior  in  number.     The  losses 
amounted  in  the  Russian  army,  according  to 
the  most  reliable  information,  to  280   men 
killed   and  667  wounded.      As  the  Turks 
were  this  time  the  aggressors,  it  is  evident 
that  their  losses  must  have  been  more  con- 
siderable.   Spies  and  deserters  affirmed  that 
they  lost  not  less  than  3,000  men.     Their 
skirmishing     lines     were     much     thicker 
manned  than  those  of  their  adversaries  ;  and 
when    they    retreated    over    the    Subatan 
ravine,  heaps  of  dead  and  wounded  encum- 
bered the  ground.     The  chief  gain  derived 
from  this  success  was  the  better  camping- 
ground    for    the    troops    in    view    of  the 
approaching  winter,  which  appears  betimes 
in  the  highlands  of  Armenia,  and  against 
the  cold  keen  winds  of  which  the  men  could 
not  have  contended  on  the  mountain  ranges, 
covered  with  snow  nearly  all  the  year  round, 
which  lie  at  the  foot  of  Ararat.     But  in  the 
plain  below,  sheltered  by  the  accentuated 
ridges    north    and    south,    the  conditions 
changed.     Water  was  abundant.     The  cav- 
alry horses  and  mule  trains  had  no  longer 
to  be  served  with  water  painfully  carried  in 
leathern  sacs  to  the  steep  heights  on  which 
the  Turks  had  been  camped,  but  could  drink 
in  the  abundant  streams  of  the  plain  below. 
The    failure    of  the    Russian   attempt  to 


occupy  the  valley  had  left  immense  quanti- 
ties of  uncut  corn  at  the  dispo^tion  of  the 
army ;  and  the  fatigue  of  transport  had  been 
in  no  small  degree  diminished  in  conse- 
quence. Still,  by  some  extraordinary  fa- 
tality, the  Turks  were  unable  to  make 
effective  use  of  the  advantages  they  had 
gained.  With  the  men  in  high  spirits  at 
their  successful  advance,  and  continued  de- 
feats of  the  enemy,  the  chances  of  success- 
fully dealing  a  decisive  blow  had  enormously 
increased,  especially  as  Ismail  Hakki  Pasha 
had  crossed  the  Russian  frontier  near  Igdir, 
with  the  object  of  making  his  way  up  north- 
wards and  cutting  ofif  the  Russian  retreat  on 
Alexandropol. 

But  with  the  cold  winds  of  September 
came  also  the  Mussulman  Lent — Ramazan 
— and  at  this  period  the  Turk  thinks  more 
of  fulfilling  his  religious  duties  than  any- 
thing else.     During  the  whole  of  this  period 
of  self-denial  and  mortification  of  the  flesh, 
the    Turks    fast   from    sunrise   to   sunset. 
From  the  moment  the  dawn   colours   the 
eastern  sky  until  the  Ramazan  gun  booms 
out  into  the  evening  air,  not  a  morsel  of 
food  crosses  the  lips  of  the  soldiers,  not  even 
a  drop  of  water.     And  each  of  the  many 
times  a  day  as  the  long-drawn,  wailing  cry 
of  the  Muezzin  rises  above  the  murmur  of 
the  camp,  soldiers  are  to  be  seen  hurrying 
eagerly  to  prayer  as  to  a  banquet,  and  un- 
happy seems  the  man  on  duty  who  cannot 
join  the  serried  rows  of  worshippers  who, 
in  company,  sometimes  in  battalion,  face 
toward  Mecca,  and  follow  the  orisons  and 
genuflexions  of  the  Imaum  who  stands  before 
their  centre.     Each  man  takes  his  place  in 
the  ranks,  his  hands  hanging  close  by  his 
sides.     Then  he  lifts  them  to  his  ears,  as  if 
to  shut  out  all  worldly  sounds.     Then  he 
lays  them  on  his  knees,  and  bowing  his  head 
forward  seems  lost  in  contemplation.     After 
a  few  seconds  he  sinks  to  his  knees,  and 
leans  back  upon  his  heels,  and  then  bowing 
with  his  forehead  to  the  earth,  exclaims,  or 
rather    chants,    "  Allah    Akbar "    (Grod  is 
great).      Three  times  he  thus    bows   and 
chants,  and  then  he  stands  up,  bowing  for- 
ward, chanting  three  times,   "  La  Illah  il 
Allah  "  (there  is  no  God  but  God).    The  re- 
mainder of  the  prayers  which  follow  con- 
sist principally  of  long  extracts  from  the 
"  Koran." 

In  all  his  simple  religious  exercises  the 
Turkish  soldier  is  devoutness  and  attention 
itself,  and  it  is  perhaps  most  in  privacy  that 
this    is    most    apparent.    Frequently    one 

227 


RENEWED  OPERATIONS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


comes    unexpectedly    upon    some    rugged 
soldier  in  one  of  the  wild,  lonely  ravines 
that  pierce  the  hill-sides  around,  standing 
before  the  ragged  over-coat  which  serves  him 
for  a  praying  carpet,  and  going  through  his 
rather  active  religious  motions  with  a  zeal 
which  would  do  credit  to   the  most   self- 
conscious  Pharisee.     The  stranger  who  for 
the  first  time  witnesses  the  united  prayer  of 
Turkish  soldiers  in    camp,  is  considerably 
puzzled  by  the  selection  of  heterogeneous 
articles  brought   forward  to  the  place    of 
worship  when  the  Muezzin's  call  has  con- 
cluded.   Religious  custom  requires  that  each 
man  be  provided  with  a  praying  carpet  of 
one  description  or  another,  and  that  he  take 
off  his  shoes  as  well.     One  man  brings  a 
jagged  sheep-skin,  another  a  goat-hide,  a 
third  the  saddle-cloth  of  his  horse,  a  fourth, 
mayhap,  his  jacket;  every  one  has  some- 
thing or  another  on  which  he  may  kneel. 
To  see  some  hundred  men  thus  hurrying  to 
the  spot  where  the  blue-robed,  white-tur- 
baned  Imaum  stands,  a  stranger  to  their 
ways  might  easily  be  led  to  imagine  them 
so  many  persons  eager  to  dispose  of  super- 
fluous garments,  and  taking  advantage  of 
the    fortuitous    presence    of    a    dealer    of 
Israelitish  nationality. 

The  Russians,  too,  seized  the  opportunity 
of  celebrating  national  festivals.     On   Sep- 
tember 9th  the  Turks  were  startled  by  the 
thunder  of  cannon  from  Karajal,  the  forti- 
fied hill   on  which  their  right  flank  rests. 
The  marshal's   long  brass  telescope  was  at 
once  put  in  position,  and  every  field-glass 
was  directed  against  the  frowning   heights 
along  which  the  heavy  white  smoke-clouds 
clung  in  the  morning  air.     But  they  looked 
in  vain   for    the   little   secondary   smoke- 
bursts  that  should  have  indicated  exploding- 
shells.     In  advanced  positions  men  ran  to 
their  arms,  and  the  parapets  were  black  with 
eager,  puzzled  soldiers.     But  it  was  only  a 
salute  of  twenty-one  guns  in  honour  of  the 
anniversary  of  the  Czar's  coronation.     "  May 
Allah   destroy  him  !"  was   the  appropriate 
Moslem  exclamation,  when,  after  due  search 
in  a  Russian  military  almanack,  the  cause  of 
the  salute  was  discovered  and  conveyed  to 
the   soldiery.     Three   or    four    days    after 
another  blank   salute  sent  them  again  to 
their  almanack.  This  time  it  was  an  imperial 
birthday,  that  of  the  Emperor  or  Czarevitch. 
Whichever  it  was,  the  object  of  the  salute 
had  the  same  Turkish  good  wishes  as  on  the 
former   occasion.     Sometimes  there  was  a 
light  cavalry  skirmish  out  in  the  plain ;  and 
228 


on  such  occasions  'a  good  deal  of  artillery 
fire  was  apt  to  take  place  as  the  combatants 
came  within  range  of  the  guns  on  either 
side.  As  a  rule,  some  five  or  six  men  were 
killed,  and  twice  as  many  wounded.  Rarely 
did  the  affair  go  further. 

Towards  the  end  of  September,  however, 
the  Russians  having  received  considerable 
reinforcements,  there  were  indications  of  a 
renewal  of  the  struggle.     These  reinforce- 
ments consisted  of  the  1st  division  of  the 
Moscow  grenadiers,  sixteen  battalions,  each 
fully  1,000  men  strong,  together  with  forty- 
eight   field-pieces,   and   two   regiments    of 
cavalry.      After   almost   equally  long   de- 
liberations, it  was  decided  to  make  a  general 
attack  on  Mukhtar  Pasha's  position  on  the 
Aladja  mountain  and  its   dependencies  of 
spurs  and  isolated  hills,  forming — from  the 
Arpa  Tchai  river,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Ani,    to    Kars — a    continuity    of    natural 
strongholds,  intrenchments,  and  batteries. 
October  2nd  was  fixed  for  its  commence- 
ment.     Although   deep    secrecy   had   ap- 
parently  been   kept  among    the   superior 
generals  on  the  subject,  enough  of  the  plan 
of  operations  transpired  beforehand  to  leave 
no  doubt  about  the  general  features  of  the 
impending  operations.      Everybody  in  the 
camp  knew  what  was  about  to  go  on,  to  the 
great  astonishment  of  the  staff".     At  last 
they  became  aware  that  a  man  of  certain 
consideration,    who   was   in   the   habit    of 
sneaking  through  the  camps,  without  pro- 
fessing to  follow  any  honest   vocation   or 
business,  had  disappeared  on  the  very  eve 
of  the  day  of  action.    Though  no  conclusive 
proof  of  his  guilt   was   brought   forward, 
public   opinion   adjudged    him    guilty    of 
being  a  Turkish  spy.     He  did  not  return, 
warned,  perhaps,  by  a  bad  presentiment  or 
some  accomplice. 

The  general  plan  of  operations  was  as 
follows  .-—General  Sholkownikoff",  who,  in 
the  absence  of  General  Dewel,  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  40th  division  on  the  left,  was 
ordered  to  turn  the  Aladja  Dagh  from  Ani 
with  five  battalions  and  a  battery.  He  was 
expected  to  reach  its  summit,  and,  descend- 
ing from  it,  to  fall  on  Mukhtar  Pasha's 
rear.  A  brigade  of  the  same  division  was 
to  keep  the  enemy  at  bay  on  his  right  wing, 
assisted  by  a  heavy  batter}  established  there 
some  days  before,  which,  as  a  mere  demon- 
stration, had  to  cannonade  the  Kizil  Tepe. 
Here  no  assault  was  premeditated,  and  the 
object  was  only  to  draw  the  enemy's  atten- 
tion to  this  point,  important  for  him,  but 


*-f 


A.D,  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [attack  on  little  tagni. 


not  for  the  Russians.  To  General  Heimann, 
with  the  Circassian  division  of  grenadiers, 
was  entrusted  the  task  of  closing  in  with 
the  enemy's  centre  and  main  force,  so  as  to 
prevent  him  from  withdrawing  his  troops 
from  Subatan,  in  order  to  reinforce  other 
positions  which  it  was  intended  to  take,  if 
possible.  To  his  right,  the  1st  division 
of  the  Moscow  grenadiers,  at  General  Loris 
Melikoff^s  direct  disposal,  had  to  act  against 
the  Yagni  hills.  The  Great  Yagni,  situated 
about  ten  miles  from  the  Russian  camp, 
was  a  very  regular  conical  hill,  with  a 
plateau  at  the  top,  towering  750  feet  over 
the  plains  and  smooth  undulations  stretch- 
ing from  Kurukdara  to  Kars.  A  direct 
assault  on  that  hill,  which  on  former  occa- 
sions had  cost  the  Russians  a  good  deal  of 
blood,  was  considered  as  likely  to  lead  to 
no  good  result,  and  in  consequence  its  cap- 
ture did  not  enter  into  the  original  disposi- 
tions. 

The  real  and  most  important  point, 
according  to  the  views  of  the  staff",  against 
which  all  efforts  had  to  be  concentrated, 
was  Little  Yagni,  an  entirely  isolated, 
bulky  elevation,  with  a  comparatively  ex- 
tensive platform  on  the  top.  Though  of 
considerably  less  height  than  its  namesake, 
its  sides  were  quite  as  steep,  while  a  rocky 
crest,  very  much  like  that  of  the  Kizil 
Tepe,  bordered  its  extended  summit.  This, 
however,  did  not  consist  of  a  uniform  level, 
but  was  separated  by  an  intervening  flat 
depression,  so  as  to  form  three  distinct 
terraces,  of  which  the  southern  one  was 
about  200  feet  higher  than  the  northern. 
This  hill,  situated  at  a  distance  of  about 
nine  miles  from  Kars  and  two  from  the 
Great  Yagni,  completely  stopped  the  road 
from  Kurukdara  to  that  fortress.  It  is 
very  probable  that  the  information  upon 
which  it  had  not  only  been  strongly  forti- 
fied and  garrisoned  by  Turkish  infantry, 
but  was  also  armed  with  twenty  cannon  of 
heavy  calibre,  was  received  from  spies. 
The  honour  of  taking  by  assault  this  com- 
manding point  was  conferred  upon  the  2nd 
brigade  of  the  Moscow  grenadiers,  under 
Major-General  Count  Grabbe,  and  eight 
battalions  detached  from  Ardahan  for  that 
purpose,  under  General  Komaroff",  who  had 
been  slightly  wounded  on  the  25th  of 
August,  but  had  since  recovered.  His 
fellow-sufferer.  General  Tshadtchewadze, 
wounded  on  the  same  day,  had  also  re- 
assumed  his  command  of  the  whole  cavalry. 
Three  battalions,  which,  as  a  rule,  garrisoned 

VOL.  Ill,  2  H 


the  fortress  of  Alexandropool,  had  also  been 
ordered  to  Karajal,  to  cover  the  camp  and 
head-quarters,  and  to  form  the  re>erve  of 
the  2nd  brigade  of  the  70th  division, 
which  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  check  an 
improbable  offensive  movement  of  the 
Turks  against  the  Russian  left  wing  oppo- 
site the  Kizil  and  the  Yagni  Tepes. 

The  general  object  apparently  was  to 
carry  out  a  complete  turning  movement  on 
both  hostile  wings,  either  to  surround 
Mukhtar  Pasha  entirely,  or  to  cut  off  his 
communication  with  Kars.  Could  tliis 
have  been  effectually  managed,  no  doubt 
he  would  have  been  compelled  to  surrender 
with  his  army  within  a  few  days ;  for,  his 
supplies  of  ammunition  and  provisions 
being  in  danger  of  immediate  exhaustion, 
he  must  either  have  broken  through  the 
Russian  lines,  or  tried  to  make  his  way 
with  disbanded  troops  across  the  Russian 
territory,  in  the  hope  of  joining  his  com- 
rade, Ismael  Hakki  Pasha,  who  was  still 
intrenched  before  Igfdir. 

The  troops  ordered  for  the  advance 
started  from  their  camps  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  of  October  1st.  At  three 
o'clock  precisely  the  next  morning  the  staff" 
followed,  riding  at  a  moderate  speed,  to  the 
south-west,  on  a  country  track  over  the  vast 
plain.  The  way  was  lit  by  the  waning 
moon  anjd  countless  stars  shining  with  in- 
tense brilliancy.  A  cold  wind  made  the 
trip  by  no  means  pleasant,  as  it  brought 
the  temperature  near  to  the  freezing-point. 
The  staff  consisted  of  about  fifty  persons — 
general  officers,  aides-de-camp,  and  ser- 
vants— escorted  by  three  sotnias  of  Cossacks 
from  the  Caucasus,  not  armed  with  lances, 
but  accoutred  and  dressed  like  genuine 
Circassians.  The  ground,  in  appearance 
almost  level,  was,  in  fact,  cut  through  at 
intervals  by  a  few  r^cky  ravines,  between 
which  lay  long-stretching  undulations 
rising  gradually  towards  the  south.  After 
two  hours  and  a-half  of  wearisome  riding, 
they  arrived  at  dawn  of  day  at  an  eminence 
some  150  feet  above  the  flat-topped  ridge 
of  the  rising  ground  called  the  Kabak  Tepe 
(Pumpkin  Hill), 

Hitherto  no  reports  of  fire-arms  had  been 
beard.  But  from  the  top  of  this  command- 
ing point,  at  half-past  five,  sharp  and 
general  firing  suddenly  began.  To  the 
right  and  left,  the  roar  of  the  cannons,  and 
the  sharp,  dry,  knocking,  rattling  of  the 
musketry  came  down,  sounding  in  the  dis- 
tance like  the  noise  produced  by  the  work 

229 


•», 


TEBTOUS  CANNONADE,] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


r 


of  some   hundred    road-makers,    breaking- 
flint- stones   in    a    re-echoing    hall.       The 
principal  object  of  attack,  the  Little  Yagni, 
.    rising  now  clear  in  sight,  frowned  over  the 
plains  of  Kars  like  an  impregnable  fortress. 
Its  summit  was   surrounded  with    breast- 
works,   ditches,    rifle-pits,    and    batteries. 
The  Moscow  grenadiers  and  the  Ardahan 
division    were  already   supposed    to    be  at 
work,  but  in  fact  they  were  not.     There 
were  only   some  forty  guns  firing,  with  a 
range  of  three  miles,  at  earthworks  which 
were  prudently  left  empty  by  the  Turks. 
Had  the  infantry  been  led  immediately  to 
the  assault  in   tirailleur   lines  before   the 
dawn  of  day,  without  firing  a  single  round 
they  would  have  carried  that  hill,  in  all 
probability,  within    half-an-hour.     In  the 
way  the  attack  was  conducted,  it  was  obvious 
that  the  enemy,  who  had  there  about  3,000 
men,  had  time  to  bring  all  his  available 
means  to  the  defences. 

^  As  it  was,  the  twelve  hours'  cannonading 
did  no  harm  whatever  to  the  earthworks, 
and   inflicted   only  trifling    losses   on   the 
garrison,  for  they  had,  for  the  most  part, 
retired  to  the  sides  of  the  hill  that  were  out 
of  range.      Meanwhile,  on   the  centre,  the 
impetuous   General  Heimann  had  already 
hurled   his   division   in    skirmishing   lines 
against    the    Aladja    mountain,     and     its 
northern    continuation,     the     Olya    Tepe, 
separated  from  it  by  the  upper  part  of  the 
ravine   running   down   to    Subatan.      The 
incessant  sharp  volleys  gave  evidence  that 
the  Turkish  main  force  had  been  concen- 
trated there.      It  was  soon  clear,  also,  that 
a  direct  assault  on  those  rocky  steeps  and 
terraces,    strengthened    by   numerous     in- 
trenchments  and  stone  barricades,  had  no 
better  chance  of  succeeding  than   on  pre- 
vious   occasions.      Within  the    first  half- 
hour  it  was  clear  that  the   carefully  elabo- 
rated plan  of  operations  again  combined  all 
the  faults   of  previous   tactics,  magnified, 
moreover,    by    the    absence   of  that  dash 
which,    at  the   beginning   of    the   present 
campaign,  was  characteristic  of  the  Russian 
army. 

Some  one  seems  to  have  suggested,  and 
brought  others  to  believe,  that  in  this 
breech-loading  time  an  assault  by  infantry 
is  obsolete  and  unnecessary,  and  that  all 
war  might,  with  less  eff'usion  of  blood,  be 
just  as  well,  or  better,  done  by  the  artillery 
alone.  Such  seemed  to  be  the  erroneous 
idea  at  head-quarters.  Yet,  of  all  the  shells 
fhed  during  this,  or  any  other  war  in  recent 
230. 


[a.d.  1877. 


times,  by  way    of  preparing   an    infantry 
attack,  but  very  few,   indeed,   ever  caused 
serious  damage.   During  the  battle  of  Aladja 
Dagh,  when  they  burst  in  the  earth,  it  was  at 
such  a  depth   that  their  weak  charges  were 
unable  to  overcome  its  resistance,  and,  con- 
sequently,  the  fragments  did   not   fly  off". 
They  only  exploded  properly  when  the  shell 
happened  to  strike  on  a  rock  or  other  hard 
substance;  whilst  at  the  ridiculous  distances 
of  above  three  miles  from  which  they  were 
fired,   they   produced  little  more  than  an 
harmless  shower  of  leaden  drops.     Anyhow, 
artillery  alone  was  not  capable  of  dislodginc' 
such  stubborn   soldiers  as  the  Turks,  and 
thus  the  cannon  still  boomed  at  the  rocks 
and   the   earth,    while   masses  of  infantry 
were  either  idling  as  reserves  in  the  depres- 
sions of  the  ground,  or  were  employed  in  a 
disastrous  but  useless  skirmishing  with  the 
enemy.     For  hours  each   tirailleur  lay  be- 
hind a  heap  of  stones,  which  he  had  pre- 
viously piled  up  for  his  shelter,  and  took  a 
deliberate  aim  at  some  similarly  protected 
adversary.      Such    fighting  only  kills   and 
wounds,    without    the    hope   of    a    useful 
result.     At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  this 
state  of  things  was,  on  both  wings,  as  clear 
as  the  rising  sun,  whose   rays  gilded   the 
glorious  white  crown  of  Mount  Ararat.     In 
the  centre  stood,  three   miles  off",   cutting 
the  blue  sky  with  its  regular  conical  profile^ 
Great   Yagni.       It   covered    the   front    of 
Mukhtar  Pasha's  centre  and  left  wing,  com- 
manding    the     plain     before    them,    and 
enjoyed   the  reputation  of  impregnability, 
smce    at   diff"erent   times   various   Russian 
assaults  on   its  sS-ep  slopes  had  been  re- 
pulsed with   considerable  loss.      From   its 
foot  to  its  top  it  was  covered  with  rifle-pits 
and  ditches  in   three  superposed  rows,  cut 
in   conformity    with   the   configuration    of 
the  ground  in   projecting  and  re-entering 
angles. 

The  prospects  of  success  there  appeared, 
indeed,  so  very  poor,  that  it  was  considered, 
by  the  Russian  staff,  useless  to  attempt  the 
conquest  of  that  natural  fortress.  There- 
fore, only  a  demonstration,  supported  by  a 
brigade  and  two  batteries,  was  intended 
against  it,  calculated  to  distract  the  enemy's 
attention  from  the  more  serious  attacks  on 
the  Little  Yagni.  But  on  examining  the 
Great  Yagni,  it  was  found  that  its  garrison 
was  exceedingly  feeble.  The  breastworks  on 
Its  base  and  its  middle  were  not  manned  at 
all ;  and  even  the  fortifications  bordering  the 
top  plateau  were   only  very  insufficiently 


?1 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [capture  of  great  YAGNf. 


armed,  as  was  proved  by  the  spasmodic  and 
unconnected  rifle-firing  and  the  apparent 
absence  of  cannon.  On  learning  this. 
General  Lor  is  Melikoff  ordered  a  general 
assault  on  the  hill.  From  three  sides  the 
troops  advanced  in  skirmishing  lines,  with 
supports  and  reserves,  cheering  as  they 
passed  their  commanding  general,  who 
spoke  to  them  some  encouraging  words. 
The  cannons,  redoubling  their  firing,  flung 
shrapnel  after  shrapnel  to  the  top.  An 
hour  afterwards  the  whole  hill  was  swarm- 
ing with  grenadiers,  who  steadily  climbed 
up  its  steeps,  despite  the  frantic  firing  of  its 
defenders.  At  eight  o'clock,  the  Turkish 
battalion  on  the  summit  of  the  Great 
Yagni  had  ceased  to  exist.  The  Russians 
had  entirely  occupied  the  impregnable  hill, 
and  were  waving  joyously  their  caps  and 
muskets. 

While  this  was  being  accomplished,  the 
indiff'erent  cannonading  on  the  right,  be- 
tween the  Russian  batteries  and  those  on 
the  Little  Yagni,  was  still  going  on.  It 
might  have  continued  for  a  century,  and 
nothing  would  have  come  of  it.  As  soon 
as  it  became  evident  that  the  men  on  the 
top  of  Great  Yagni  were  genuine  Russians 
and  not  Turks,  the  staff"  rode  off  in  order  to 
inspect  the  conquered  position,  and  to 
decide  the  further  course  of  operations  now 
possible  through  so  brilliant  a  beginning. 
The  hill  was  rather  too  steep  for  the  horses, 
and  they  rode  round  it  to  the  right,  over 
the  plain  two  miles  wide  which  separated  it 
from  Little  Yagni,  between  which  and  Kars 
one  of  the  Russian  infantry  regiments  had 
already  been  deployed  in  skirmishing  order, 
and  was  engaged  with  that  garrison,  whilst 
strong  bodies  of  cavalry,  commanding  that 
plain,  challenged  in  vain  the  Turkish 
irregular  horsemen.  All  their  ferocious 
Circassians,  disgusted  on  account  of  their 
receiving  neither  pay  nor  food,  had  left 
Mukhtar's  camp  in  a  wholesale  desertion  a 
fortnight  before.  Only  worthless,  cowardly 
Kurds  remained  fox  the  sake  of  murder  and 
plundering. 

Having  arrived  on  the  slopes  of  the  Great 
Yagni,  General  Melikoff  surveyed  the  field. 
Opposite  to  the  Great  Yagni  ran  a  high 
barren  ridge,  sloping  gradually  upward  to 
the  flat-topped  summit  of  the  Olya  Tepe, 
which  was  severed  from  the  Aladja  mountain 
by  the  Subatan  ravine,  about  two  miles  above 
the  village  of  Hadji  Velikoi.  This  com- 
manding point — the  most  important  of  the 
whole  Turkish  position,  and  subsequently 


well  fortified  —  was  literally  inaccessible 
from  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  Aladja, 
towards  which  it  fell  off"  some  1,500  feet  in 
a  succession  of  steep  gradients  and  perpen- 
dicular rocks.  At  its  base  the  Turks  had  con- 
centrated their  main  force ;  and  Mukhtar, 
relying  on  the  strength  of  Great  Yagni, 
had  neglected  to  occupy  the  summit  with 
the  necessary  troops.  This  fact  had  been 
ascertained  by  the  cavalry  patrols.  Two 
squadrons  of  Cossacks  had  even  remained 
for  two  hours  at  Vezinkoi,  a  village  situated 
to  the  south  of  that  elevation,  right  across 
Mukhtar's  only  line  of  retreat,  where  they 
met  not  a  single  Turkish  soldier.  The 
pasha,  moreover,  was  utterly  unable  to  send 
a  sufficient  force  quickly  enough  to  the 
Olya  Tepe,  because  he  was  closely  pressed 
in  front  bv  the  2nd  brigade  of  the  Cauca- 
sian grenadiers,  under  Major-General  von 
Schack,  a  Prussian  by  birth  and  education. 
Six  of  the  Russian  battalions  had  just 
descended  the  Great  Yagni ;  six  others  were 
near  at  hand  ;  and  had  they  been  momenta- 
rily withdrawn  from  the  attack  on  the  Little 
Yagni,  it  is  probable  that  they  would  have 
taken  the  Olya  Tepe,  almost  without  loss, 
from  the  side  of  its  totally  unoccupied  south- 
ern ridge.  Possibly  such  movements  did 
not  enter  the  original  plan ;  but  plans  are 
worthless  when  the  fighting  has  once  begun, 
and  all  depends  on  the  capacity  to  seize  the 
favourable  opportunity. 

It  seems  that  General  Loris  Melikoff' 
asked  an  officer  whether  he  knew  the  road 
to  Vezinkoi.  The  Olya  Tepe  was  obviously 
the  only  tactical  object  worth  storming  at 
any  cost ;  it  was  the  magic  point  from 
which  the  fate  of  the  day  was  suspended  by 
a  thread.  lis  occupation  by  the  Russians 
would  have  unavoidably  led  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Mukhtar  Pasha's  entire  army.  Its 
very  key,  the  Great  Yagni,  was  already  in 
their  hands.  But  at  this  moment.  General 
Heimann,  in  an  interview  with  Loris  Meli- 
koff, was  pleased  to  assert  formally  that  his 
troops,  advancing  from  the  Subatan  plain, 
were  quite  able  to  finish  taking  the  Olya 
Tepe,  as  they  had  done  with  the  Great 
Yagni,  and  that,  therefore,  the  available 
force  might  be  advantageously  employed 
against  the  Little  Yagni  and  the  garrison  of 
Kars.  This  strange  opinion  prevailed. 
General  Loris  Melikoff^s  genius  was  im- 
paired by  pernicious  advice.  His  whole 
staff  recognised  it,  but  nobody  ventured  to 
utter  an  objection.  General  Heimann,  of 
course,  did  not  take  the  Olya  Tepe  as  h^ 

231 


THE  OLYA  TEPE.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


had  proirised,  in  his  sanoruine  fashion,  but 
was,  on  the   contrary,    repulsed  with   con- 
siderable  loss;    while   the   three   brigades 
ordered  to  assail  the  Little  Yagni  had  no 
better  chance.     Even  had  the  Russians  had 
a   reserve  of  50,000  men  more,  they,  too, 
would  never  have  succeeded  in  the  attempt 
of  taking  those  fortifications  and  works  by 
assaulting  them.      This    was    conspicuous 
enough  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  and 
the  wisest  plan  would  have  been  then  to 
withdraw   the  troops,  for  the  opportunity 
had  been  missed. 

The  staff  turned  its  back  to  the  Olya 
Tepe,  and  followed  the  zigzags  of  the  road 
which  the  Turks  had  recently  made  for  the 
convenience  of  the  garrison  on  the  summit 
of  the  Great  Yagni.     Company  after  com- 
pany, as  they  descended  the  hill,  cheered 
the  commanding  general,  who  wished  them 
good  luck.     On  the  hill-side  lay  a  young 
grenadier,  moaning  as  he  tried  to  lift  his 
head  and  rest  on  his  elbow  to  answer  the 
questions  and  receive  the   consolations   of 
the  general.     Overcome,  however,  by  weak- 
ness and  pain,  he  fell  back  and  shut  his 
eyes,  while  the  blood  still  gushed  from  the 
wound  in  his  side.  Higher  up,  a  dead  Turk, 
stretched  across  the  narrow  track  on   his 
face,  compelled  the  staff  to  make  a  circuit. 
On  reaching,  at  last,  the  level  top  of  Great 
Yagni,  a  ghastly  sight   struck  their   eyes. 
All  the  pits  and  ditches  around  were  filled 
with  the  corpses  of  Turks.     The  dead  were 
almost  all  shot  through  their  heads,  because 
the   remaining  parts  of   their  bodies  had 
been  sheltered  by  the  parapets.     Here  they 
lay  as  they   fell,  on  their  backs  or  faces, 
side  by  side,  or  one  above  the  other.     A 
negro  with  grinning  teeth  hung  right  across 
a  white  soldier,  and  his  long  arms  stretched 
out  over  the  rocky  abyss.     Some  preserved 
the    ferocious    expression  which   they  had 
borne  when  still  alive,  and  lay  with  clenched 
lists  and  distorted  limbs ;  others,  calm  and 
quiet,  looked  like  stone.     In  a  pit,  opposite 
each  other,  sat  two  Softas.     Though  in  the 
uniform  of  soldiers,  they  were  easily  recog- 
nised as   religious  students  by  the  white 
muslin  band  tied  around  their  fezzes.     One 
had  his  skull  laid  open  by  a  shell-fragment, 
and  the  other  was  shot  through  the  temple. 
Both   had    obviously   been   killed   by   the 
same  shrapnel.    Some  hundred  dead  bodies 
encumbered  the  trenches  ;  others  lay  strewn 
over  the  hill-side. 

Meanwhile  General  Heimann  vainly  en- 
deavoured to  force  the  position  of  the  Turks 
232 


on   the  southern  bases   of  the  Olya  Tepe, 
and  soon  asked  for  reinforcements.     There 
could  not  be  spared  as  long  as  the  attack  on 
the  Little  Yagni  was  being  carried  on  :  and 
this  hill  the  Russians    erroneously  looke*l 
upon  as  the  key  of  the  position.     At  one 
moment  it   seemed  as  though  success  weie 
about  to  crown  the  endeavours  of  the  Rus- 
sians to  carry  the  Olya  with  success.     This 
was  when,  at  about  1  P.M.,  General  Schol- 
kownikoff's  brigade  appeared  on  the  heights 
of  the  Aladja,    in   the  rear  and   flank   of 
Mukhtar  Pasha's  position.     But  Mukhtar 
Pasha  had   taken  his  precautions,  and  had 
posted  a  force  on  the  Aladja  Dagh,  which 
not  only  effectually  checked    Scholkowni- 
koff's  advance,    but  also    forced    him    to 
retreat. 

With  this  failure  to  force  Mukhtar  Pasha's 
rear,  the  battle  was  practically  at  an  end. 

In   its  immediate  results  the  success  of 
the  Russians  was  a  barren  one,   as  will  be 
plainly  seen  on  consulting  sketch  S,  which 
represents   the  field  looking  from  Kuruk- 
dara  towards  Kars.      They  had  succeeded 
in    inserting    a    wedge   between    the    ex- 
treme  left    and  centre   of   the    Turks   on 
the   Great  Yagni;    but   were    there    con- 
fronted    by    the    positions    on    the    Olya 
Tepe,  and,  moreover,  exposed  to  the  fire  of 
the  Little  Yagni  and  the  battalions  on  the 
northern  slopes  of  the  Aladja  Dagh.     The 
position  was  clearly  untenable,  and,  if  tena- 
ble, useless  except  at  a  large  expenditure  of 
time,  and  trouble,  and  blood,  in  fortifying 
it  and  erecting  batteries  to  bear  upon  the 
three  positions   of  the   enemy   around  it. 
Consequently,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
Russians  should  have  withdrawn  the  troops 
who  had  occupied  it,  as  they  did  on  thb 
following  day. 

But  though  the  immediate  results  of  the 
day  were  barren,  the  indirect  gain  was 
great,  as  the  success  of  General  Scholkow- 
nikoff  in  gaining  the  rear  of  the  Turkish 
positions,  demonstrated  the  possibility  of 
dealing  a  crushing  attack  against  Mukhtar 
Pasha  m  this  direction,  if  carried  out  in 
sufficient  force. 

And  not  only  that.  It  had  also  been  dis- 
covered that  the  Olya  Tepe  was  the  best  key 
to  the  positions  of  the  Turks.  As  long  as 
that  remained  in  their  hands  they  could 
always  fall  back  upon  it  from  the  Aladja 
Dagh  and  the  Little  Yagni,  and  thence 
retreat  into  Kars.  But  the  Olya  Tepe  once 
m  Russian  hands,  the  retreat  to  Kars  would 
be  intercepted,  and  the  whole  Turkish  army 


'  A.D.  1877.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [attack  on  Russian  camp. 


be  surrounded  if,  in  addition  to  the  Olya 
Tepe,  the  Russians  should  also  gain  the 
rear  of  the  Aladja  Dagh  in  force. 

Mukhtar  Pasha  plainly  saw  the  danger 
of  his  position,  but  he  was  almost  power- 
less to  avert  it ;  for  whilst  the  Russians  had 
been  receiving  reinforcements  daily,  his 
own  army  had  been  growing  less  and  less. 
There  were  only  two  courses  of  action  rea- 
sonably open  to  him.    These  were,  to  take 


At  half-past  two  o'clock,  p.m.,  the  Rus- 
sians saw  three  strong  lines  of  Turkish 
tirailleurs,  one  behind  the  other,  advancing, 
rifles  in  hand,  at  a  quick  pace.  They 
occupied  a  front  of  at  least  three  miles  in 
length,  were  preceded  by  two  batteries,  and 
followed  by  compact  supports  and  reserves, 
all  arranged  in  perfect  order.  The  whole 
force  consisted  of  about  15,000  men,  having 
their  right  wing  covered  by  the  Elizil  Tepe, 


S— First  Battle  of  Aladja  Dagh,  October  2,  1877. 


S. 


1 


1 


N. 


Ears. 


Vezinkoi. 
Orlok.  o 


K, 


Aladja  Dagh. 


[ 


B 


Olya  Tepe. 


. 


L- 


R.  Arpa. 


Ani. 


Gt. 

r      "^ 

L. 

■J 

[8J 

Yagni. 

0    Kalif  Oglu. 


SI 

Hadjirali.    o 

S  I 

Subatan.    o 


I 


Kabak 
T. 


Utch  Tepe. 


{MP 


KizU  T. 


o    Eurukdara. 

I     I 


Russiam. 
Turks. 


R.  Kars  Tchai. 


o    Yamusbll. 


a   vigorous    offensive,    and    endeavour  to 
strike  a  decisive  blow  on  the  Russian  camp 
at  Karajal  and  Kurukdara,  or  to  fall  back 
with  his  whole  army  on  Kars,  and  contiuue  J 
his  retreat  to  Erzeroum. 

The  latter  would  probably  have  been  his 
best  course;  but  he  was  naturally  disinclined 
to  retreat ;  and  so,  on  the  following  day, 
October  3rd,  he  decided  on  making  an  at- 
tempt to  dislodge  the  Russians  from  their 
camp  on  the  Karajal. 


and  ready  to  make  a  desperate  attack  on 
the  Karajal  camp.  They  supposed  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  Russian  forces  had  been 
brought  over  to  the  right  wing.  They  were 
the  more  led  to  believe  this  as,  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  no  signs  of  troops  had  been  shown 
at  Karajal.  Greneral  Lazare tF,  however, 
with  the  40th  division,  backed  by  a  regi- 
ment of  the  garrison  of  Alexandropol  and 
numerous  horsemen,  lay  in  ambush  for  them 
during   the   course   of   that   dav;   for   the 


♦    i#l 


M: 


:  i 


I 


I 

hi 


FAILURE  OF  THE  TURKS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE  rA.D.  1877. 

Russians,  having  received  information,  I  slowly,  but  always  firing.  It  was  of  no 
through  their  spies,  of  the  projected  avail.  They  were  driven  back  irresistibly 
attack,  were  quite  prepared  to  receive  the  '  from  undulation  to  undulation,  till  at  last 


assaulting  foe.     Their   soldiers  lay  in  rows 
concealed  in   the  folds   of  the   ground,  or 
behind   pyramidal    heaps    of    loose  stones. 
Ostensibly,  only  two  battalions  and  a  bat- 
tery, together  with  some  cavalry,   leaving 
the  Karajal  position,  marched  to  the  fight. 
The  Turks,  encouraged    by  this   apparent 
weakness,  hastened  their  steps.     Their  bat- 
teries galloped  ahead,  and  opened  a  brisk 
shell-fire   on    those   of  the   Russians,  who 
replied  steadily  with  only  eight  guns.     At 
the  same  time  the  Kizil  Tepe  flung  shell 
after  shell  at  all  moving  objects  on  the  field 
— ammunition    carts,    red-cross     waggons, 
cavalry,  herds,  and  labourers — but  without 
hurting  anything  but  the  soil.     The  skir- 
mishers, too,  rattled  away  while  the  Turkish 
infantry  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  without 
firing  a  round.    They  dived  down  into  the 
ravines  and  reappeared,   always  resolutely 
advancing   against    the    Russian   cannons, 
which  had  in  the  meanwhile  been  reinforced 
by  another  battery  of  eight  pieces.    Although 
both  were  exposed  to  the  bullets,  they  made 
DO  preparations  for  limbering  up,  but  con- 
tinued  their    slow    firing.      The    Turkish 
batteries  were  soon  silenced  by  the  advance 
of  their  own  men,  who  masked  them. 

At   last   the   Turks   saw    the    sunbeams 
dancing  on  the  le^velled  rifle-barrels  peepin^- 


they   turned  their  backs   and  ran,  seekino- 
shelter  behind  their  pits  and  breastworks! 
But  again  and  again  the  Russians  followed 
and   dislodged    them   at  a   rush  with  the 
bayonet,  compelling  them  to  recede,  either 
step  by  step,  or  in  short  runs.     The  Turks 
became,  from  minute  to  minute,  more  dis- 
heartened.    Soon  they  had  had  enough  of 
the  game,  and  shortly  after  nightfall  were  in 
precipitous   flight    towards   their    fortified 
camp  around  Subatan.      General  Lazareff 
pursued  them  fast,  even  through  the  dark. 
His  lanterns  were  the  incessant  sparkling  of 
the  long  line  of  firing  rifles,  and  the  occa- 
sional broad  flash  of  the   cannons.     When 
he    had    lost    sight    and    feeling    of    the 
frightened  enemy  in  that  pitch-dark  night, 
the   firing   died,    when    they   took    reftige 
behind  their  intrenchments;  while  the  Rus- 
sians, after  having  thrown   up   breastworks 
and  pits,  passed  the  night  on  the  ground 
they   had   so   gallantly   conquered.     Their 
losses  were  severe ;  the  40th  division  alone 
losing  over  700  killed  and  wounded.     Alto- 
gether, the  two  days'  fighting  had  cost  about 
9,000  men. 

The  failure  of  his  attempt  on  the  Karajal 
positions,  coupled  with  the  intelligence  that 
the  Russians  were  still  receiving  reinforce- 
ments, decided  Mukhtar  Pasha  to  draw  in 


behind  stones  and  sods,  and  began  firing   his  lines;  and  at  the  same  time,  sending 

with  frantift   ramnifv.  hiif.    t\\c\    nrkf    olooL-cn     «^rl,^^o  *^  tj..i.i.:  t i  ^  :.       „       ^ 


with  frantic  rapidity,  but  did  not  slacken 
moving  ahead.  Only  stray  shots  from  sharp- 
shooters answered  the  challenge.  Finally, 
however,  the  Russians  lost  their  temper, 
and,  returning  the  fire  volley  for  volley, 
showed  a  line  of  battle  of  no  less  extent  and 
power  than  that  of  their  adversaries.  Then 
they  rose  together  and  faced  the  shower  of 
lead,  advancing  and  firing,  firing  and 
advancing,  line  after  line,  running  from 
cover  to  cover,  but  always  moving  ahead, 
right  down  on  the  enemy.     Every  soldier 


eyes  were  especially  fixed  on  him.  It  was 
refreshing  to  see  how  this  division,  in  con- 
trast with  the  monotonous  unproductive 
skirmishing  of  their  comrades  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  went  on  without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  with  admirable  and  matchless 
courage.  The  Turks  became  demoralised 
by  this  unexpected  resistance,  supported  by 
forces  quite  equal  to  theirs,  if,  indeed,  not 
superior.     Their  advance  was  checked,  and 


orders  to  Hakki  Ismail  to  recross  the  fron- 
tier and  fall  back  upon  Delibaba,  he  ordered, 
on  October  8th,  the  evacuation  of  the  Kizil 
Tepe  and  the  lines  at  Subatan.  This  was 
carried  out  with  complete  success ;  for  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th  October  the  Russians 
were  infinitely  astonished  at  the  nocturnal 
retreat.  Still  they  lost  no  time  in  taking 
advantage  of  it ;  and  towards  eight  o'clock 
the  entire  Russian  army  was  in  movement, 
advancing  straight  towards  the  abandoned 
positions.     Seven    squadrons    of    Cossacks, 


seemed  to  believe  that  the   grand    duke's    preceded    by  a   long  line  of  cavalrv  skir- 

eVPS  Wfirft    PRnfi/»inl]T7  fiver?     r^r.     ln'rv.  T*   «,^«     ^:«i n.    i.^    t         1       /.   ,,  ,*'. 


mishers,  came  first,  closely  followed  by  an 
ominous-looking  line  of  batteries.  It  was 
a  moment  of  intense  anxiety  for  the  Turks, 
who  believed  the  enemy  was  about  to  make 
a  general  assault.  The  Cossacks  entered 
Subatan,  and  five  minutes  after,  eight  guns 
were  in  position  on  the  ridge  above  the  vil- 
lage. Hadji  Veli  was  next  occupied,  and 
simultaneously  a  column  of  infantry  scaled 
the  isolated  hill  of  Kizil  Tepe,  the   capture 


came  to  a  standstill.   Soon  they  retrograded  i  of  which  had  earned  for  Mukhtar  Pasha  the 
234  ' 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[turning  aladja  dagb. 


title  of  "  Ghazi,"  or  "  Victorious,"  conferred 
by  the  Sultan,  together  with  a  sabre  of 
honour,  a  decoration  in  diamonds,  and  two 
horses  from  the  Padishah's  own  stables.  The 
Russians  at  once  opened  fire,  believing  for 
the  moment  that  the  whole  army  was 
retreating ;  but  by  the  evening  they  be- 
came aware  of  the  true  nature  of  the  move- 
ment. 

On  the  10th  all  was  still.  Not  a  shot 
from  either  side,  except  from  one  large 
position  gun  which  the  Russians  had  estab- 
lished on  Kizil  Tepe,  and  from  which  they 
threw  occasional  shells  against  the  redoubt 
on  Lakiridgi  Tepe,  a  conical  hill  on  the 
extreme  right  of  the  Turks.  Large  masses 
of  Russian  troops  moved  over  the  plain  by 
Kabak  Tepe,  ultimately  reoccupyicg  the 
greater  Yagni  Hill,  and  erecting  a  heavy 
battery  on  the  slope  commanding  the  Olya 
Tepe,  whilst  long  columns  were  seen  by  the 
Turks,  defiling  towards  their  right,  march- 
ing in  the  direction  of  the  ruined  city  of 
Ani,  on  the  banks  of  the  Arpa  Tchai  river. 
They  subsequently  disappeared,  and  the 
Turks  were  quite  at  a  loss  to  account  for 
their  destination,  till  in  the  afternoon  the 
marshal  and  his  staff  rode  to  the  summit  of 
Aladja  to  reconnoitre,  and  soon  divined  the 
nature  of  the  movement.  The  fact  was, 
that  General  Lazaretf,  with  twenty-six 
battalions,  forty-eight  field-pieces,  and  six 
regiments  of  cavalry,  was  directing  a  flank 
movement  from  the  south-east  on  Mukhtar's 
line  of  communication  with  Kars,and  even- 
tually Erzeroum  ;  General  Scholkownikoff  s 
experiences  having  demonstrated  its  prac- 
ticability. At  the  same  time  a  field-tele- 
graph line  was  established  without  inter- 
ruption from  the  Karajal  head -quarters  to 
General  Lazarefi's  division,  following  him 
all  along  his  circuitous  march  of  at  least 
forty  miles  through  a  mountainous,  hostile 
country,  completely  in  the  rear  of  the 
actual  Turkish  positions :  and  that  this  was 
accomplished  without  opposition  or  inter- 
ruption, fully  proves  that  Mukhtar  Pasha 
was  ignorant  of  Lazarefl"s  flank  movement. 
The  telegraphic  communication  was  indeed 
once  interrupted,  and  much  anxiety  was 
felt  about  it ;  but  within  two  hours  it  was 
re-established.  The  wind,  and  not  malicious 
Turks,  had  thrown  down  some  of  the  poles. 
This  shows,  therefore,  that  the  pasha's 
hasty  retreat  from  Subatan  and  the  Kizil 
Tepe  was  prompted  by  the  comparatively 
enormous  losses  he  had  sustained  from  the 
relentless  fighting  during  the  week  previous 


to  his  withdrawal,  from  wholesale  desertions, 
and  the  reinforcements  of  the  Russians, 
and  not  by  General  LazarefTs  intrepid  in- 
terposition. Had  his  valuable  Circassian 
scouts  not  disappeared,  driven  away  in 
despair  and  disgust,  they  would  have  as- 
suredly succeeded  in  fathoming  the  Russian 
design,  or  at  least  in  destroying  the  telegraph 
line,  which  enabled  a  simultaneous  move- 
ment of  two  columns  to  be  carried  out,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  envelop  Mukhtar 
.Pasha,  and  compel  him  either  to  starve  on 
his  barren  cold  summits  or  to  surrender, 
for  General  Lazareff  was  directed  to  attack 
and  occupy  the  Orlok  summit  and  Vezinkoi, 
while  the  main  army  attacked  the  same 
points  from  the  front. 

Meanwhile,  Mukhtar  Pasha  took  such 
precautions  as  he  was  able  against  the  turn- 
ing movement  being  carried  out  by  General 
Lazareff,  and  sent  Selim  Pasha  with  fifteen 
battalions  to  meet  him,  reinforcing  this 
body  of  men  subsequently  with  a  second 
division,  and  entrusting  the  whole  command 
to  Raschid  Pasha. 

Against  this  force,  however,  General 
Lazareff  was  marching  with  twenty-seven 
battalions,  forty  guns,  and  six  regiments  of 
cavalry.  His  march  across  the  mountains 
was,  of  course,  somewhat  hampered  by  his 
cannons  and  military  train,  which  com- 
pelled him  to  seek  and  follow  a  rather 
circuitous  carriage  road.  He  was  at  first 
guided  by  the  Arpa  Tchai  river  down  to 
Kotchiran.  P'rom  here  he  passed  over  to 
Dighur,  where  he  left  two  battalions ;  and 
then,  wheeling  round  to  the  north-west,  he 
chose  for  his  mark  the  Orlok  Hill  and 
Vezinkoi,  This  village,  strongly  in- 
trenched, secured  Mukhtar's  position  and 
his  communication  with  Kars ;  and  Raschid 
Pasha's  duty  was  to  prevent  their  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  Russians.  But  after 
a  sharp  engagement  on  the  12th  October, 
in  which  Raschid  was  overpowered  by  the 
superior  forces  of  the  Russians,  Lazareff 
occupied  the  Oghur  Hill,  in  the  rear  of  the 
Aladja,  on  the  following  day.  Then  he 
telegraphed  to  the  grand  duke's  head- 
quarters that  Mukhtar  w^s  before  him  with 
superior  forces,  and  he  urged,  therefore, 
that  a  simultaneous  attack  might  be  directed 
against  the  Turkish  lines  from  the  Russian 
front.  Tiiis  message  reached  the  grand 
duke  precisely  at  three  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  14th.  The  commander-in- 
chief  at  once  complied  with  Lazareff's 
request.     That  this  was  possible  was  solely 

235 


■  U 


BATTLE  OF  ALADJA  DAGH.]  HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


due  to  the  remarkable  circumstance  that  a 
field  telegraph  had  been  established,  with 
laudable  celerity  and  regularity,  throughout 
the  length  of  the  circuitous  line  of  opera- 
tions. 

The  necessary  dispositions  were  speedily 
taken,  and,  on  October  14,  General  Heimann 
was  charged  to  carry  the  Olya  Tepe  at  any 
cost,  and  had  for  that  purpose  the  division 
of  the  Caucasian   grenadiers  and  fifty-six 
cannon    at    his    disposal.       The    Moscow 
grenadiers,    posted    on    his   left,    received 
orders  to  refrain  from  acting  until  that  hill 
was  taken.     They  formed   the  reserve,  and 
observed   the   enemy's   movements   on  tlie 
Aladja  Dagh.      Opposite  this  mountain  a 
heavy  battery  of  24-pounders  had,  since  the 
12th,  bombarded  the  enemy's  camp  there 
night    and    day,    at    intervals    of    fifteen 
minutes,  in  order  to  disturb  it  and  harass 
the  Turks.     The  right  wing  was  covered 
by  the   Ardahan  brigade,   under    General 
Komaroff,  and  some  regiments  of  cavalry, 
which  were  intended  to  check  the  garrison 
of    Kars,   and   that  of  the   Little    Yagni. 
These  positions  are  shown  in  the  preceding 
sketch,   which  exhibits   the  plan  of  attack 
and  its    ultimate    result.      Early  in    the 
morning   of  October   15,  the  acfion  com- 
menced with  the  attack  on  the  Olya  Tepe, 
whilst  General  LazareflF  gradually  worked 
round  from  the  position  indicated  in  sketch 
T,  to  the  north  of  Orlok  and  Vezinkoi. 

Soon  the  Olya  Tepe  was  encircled  by  two 
broad  rings  of  white  smoke — one   around 
its  basis,  produced  by  the  incessant  firing 
of  fifty-six  cannons,  and  the  other,  on  its 
summit,  by  the  musketry  and  artillery  of 
the  Turks,  and  the  bursting  Russian  pro- 
jectiles.     This   time  the  Russian  gunners 
behaved    well.       They    had    placed   their 
pieces  at  the   reasonable  distance  of  1,800 
yards,  and  laying  aside  the  inefficient  shells, 
concentrated  a    shrapnel   shower   on  that 
part  of  the  enemy's  front  which  had  been 
selected   to   be   assailed   by   the   storming*- 
battalions.     Balls  of  white  smoke,  waving 
for   awhile   in   the  calm  air  like  balloons, 
indicated  that   th©  terrible   messengers  of 
death    and    destruction   had    burst   at  the 
proper  point   for   sending   fragments   and 
bullets  among  the  lines  of  the  defenders, 
whilst  three  strong  columns  of  grenadiers 
lay  in  clusters  on  the  steepest  parts  of  the 
northern  side  of  the  hill,  waiting  there  for 
final  orders,  in  comparative  security,  be- 
cause the    Turks   behind   the  breastworks 
were   unable  to   hit  them.      Seeing   this, 
236 


Mukhtar  Pasha  sent  a  strong  line  of  Turk- 
ish tirailleurs  from  the  Aladja  Dagh  oppo- 
site,   to    the    rescue    of  the    hard-pressed 
position.     But  before  they  could  even  cross 
the  ravine  their  advance  was  arrested  by  a 
Russian    line,   which    compelled    them    to 
withdraw.      At   the    same   time   the  three 
columns  of  Russian  grenadiers  told-ofF  for 
the  assault  on  the   Olya  Tepe  moved   on- 
ward up  that  hill.     These  troops  at  once 
swarmed    on    all   sides    over    the    yellow 
hill.     Steadily    they  climbed   towards    the 
summit,    always    firing,    in    face    of    the 
desperate    resistance    of   the    Turks,    who 
disappeared  in  the    smoke.      Onward    the 
Russians     stormed,    crowding    more     and 
more  together  as  they  approached  the  cone, 
towards  the  enemy,  while   their   batteries 
covered    the    top    level    with    shells    and 
shrapnels ;  till  suddenly   repeated  hurrahs 
sounded  through  the  air,  and  the  grenadiers 
jumped  in  crowds  over  the  enemy's  ditches 
and  parapets.     Then  the  Turks,  relinquish- 
ing all  hope,   ran   for  their  lives,  pursued 
by  bullets  and  bayonets,  and  the  first  posi- 
tion on  the  Olya  Tepe  was  won  at  last. 

The  next  fortified  plateau  to  the  south- 
west, situated  just  before  that  of  Vezinkoi, 
was  also  stormed  within   an  hour,  and  the 
white  smoke    rose    on    the  opposite    side 
of   that  village.      There    General   Lazaretf 
assailed    the    enemy    from   his   rear,    and 
barred  his  retreat  to  Kars.     The  batteries 
also   closed   in    with   the    scattered  Turks 
wherever  they  perceived  them,  and  covered 
them  with  a  hail-storm  of  projectiles.     The 
vanquished  foe  tried   to  rally  and  escape  in 
all  directions,  but  found  no  issue,  and  was 
soon  closely  hedged  in  by  infantry,  artillery, 
and  cavalry.     Here  it  is  said  that  Mukhtar 
himself  was   wounded   in    the  hand,   and 
sought  for  attendance  and  shelter  in  Kars, 
abandoning   thus  his    doomed   army.      In 
truth,    however,    he    had   not   received    a 
scratch.      He  had   commanded   the   battle 
from  the  summit  of  a  hill  to  the  east  of  the 
Olya   Tepe,   and    had  a  narrow  escape  to 
Kars  with  his  staff,  by  availing  himself  of 
the  opening  between   the   Russian   centre 
and  General  LazareflF. 

Another  party  of  Turks—the  bulk  of  the 
garrison  of  the  Olya  Tepe  and  its  environs- 
were  pursued  through  a  pretty  large  valley, 
which  is  formed  by  the  upper  part  of  the 
Subatan  streamlet  and  its  tributaries ;  but 
the  garrison  of  the  Little  Yagni  managed 
to  eti'ect  its  escape  with  all  its  guns  and 
stores.       Meanwhile,    the    troops    on   the 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[mukhtar's  flight. 


Aladja  Dagh,  and  a  great  number  of  those 
at  Orlok  and  Vezinkoi,  finding  themselves 
surrounded,  were  obliged  to  yield.  This 
wholesale  surrender  amounted  to  twenty-six 
battalions,  thirty-six  cannons,  and  seven 
pashas,  amongst  them  Raschid  Pasha  him- 
self; altogether,  about  12,000  prisoners. 
The  losses  in  killed  and  wounded,  on  the 
Turkish  side,  amounted  to  over  5,000  men, 
whilst  the    Russians   escaped  with   about 


force  even  insufficient,  it  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  it  would  long  remain  an 
impediment  in  the  way  of  Loris  Melikoff. 
Thus  the  campaign  in  Armenia,  for  that 
year  at  least,  had  been  decided  by  the 
battle  of  Aladja  Dagh. 

After  this  defeat  of  the  Turkish  field  army, 
and  the  flight  of  Mukhtar  Pasha  towards 
the  Soghanli  Dagh,  the  iron  band  round 
Kars  was  so  tightly  drawn,  that  no  living 


T—Second  Battle  of  Aladja  Dagh,  October  15,  1877. 


Dighor. 
o 


IS 
IS 
IS 


■      L 

^  I  Kars. 


Vezinkoi. 
Orlok.  o 


Hadjivali. 


o 

Subatan. 


Eabak 
T. 


Utch  Tepe. 


Kisil  Tepe. 


Eurukdara. 


o    TamusblL 
-)( 


2,000. — On  the  following  day,  October 
16th,  Mukhtar  Pasha  remained  at  Kars, 
where  he  left  11,000  men,  and  on  the  17th 
proceeded,  with  the  remnant  of  his  army 
(about  3,000  men),  towards  Erzeroum,  to 
efi"ect  a  junction  with  Ismail  Hakki  Pasha, 
who  was  threading  his  way  towards  Hassan 
Kaleh,  pursued  by  General  Tergukassoff. 
Kars  alone  blocked  the  way  to  the  Russian 
advance ;  and  held  by  a  defeated,  dis- 
organised, disheartened  force,  and  that 
VOL.  IIL  2  I 


Russian*. 
Turks. 
*     Turis  routed, 

being  could  go  out  or  in  without  being 
challenged  and  stopped.  Every  day  Turks 
and  Armenians,  trying  to  break  the  block- 
ade, were  arrested,  and  a  heavy  artillery  fire 
kept  up  day  and  night  from  the  batteries 
at  Metschka  and  Maghardjik.  All  this 
convinced  the  Turks  that  the  great  blow 
was  impending,  and  that  the  Russians 
meant  to  attack  Kars  in  all  earnest ;  and 
when,  on  November  5th,  the  Russian  army 
marched  from  Karajal  to  Vezinkoi,  Husseia 

237 


MSCRIPTION   OF  KARS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


', 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[fall  of  KARS.' 


1 1 


Hami  Pasha,  the  commandant,  made  a 
Fortie  with  ten  battalions,  but  was  repulsed 
with  such  vigour,  that  the  Russians  for  a 
few  minutes  actually  penetrated  into  Fort 
Hafiz  Pasha.  The  siege  batteries  were 
then  brought  closer  to  bear  upon  the  east- 
ern and  southern  faces  of  Kars  and  the 
girdle  of  forts  around,  and  the  cannonade 
renewed  with  increased  energy,  and  prepa- 
rations made  for  the  assault,  which  was 
lixed  for  November  13th. 

Now  Kars,  which  had  become  so  cele- 
brated from  the  stubborn  defence  in  1855, 
though  strong  enough  to  task  any  army, 
was  not  so  strong  as  it  was  during  the 
Crimean  war ;  for  after  its  capture  by  the 
Russians,  many  of  the  works  had  been  dis- 
mantled. 

The  Mukliss  works  in  the  north  had  not 
been  completed,  and  were,  besides,  so  con- 
structed that  they  did  not  sweep  the  whole 
of  the  declivity,  nor  command  the  paths 
that  led  across  the  river  to  the  Arab  Tabia. 
There  was  no  ditch  protecting  it,  as  there 
ought  to  have  been  according  to  the  plan, 
nor  had  the  works  been  constructed  which 
were  projected  for  the  highest  point  of  the 
range — about  200  metres  off — which  com- 
mands the  Mukliss. 

South  of  the  Mukliss  lay  the  Ingliz 
work.  It  was  a  closed  work,  with  one  issue 
from  its  base  on  the  south-east  towards  the 
town.  It  mounted  no  cannon,  and  was  only 
adapted  for  small-arms  fire,  but  was  protected 
by  a  trench  7  J  feet  deep. 

Veli  Pasha  Tabia  consisted  of  three  bas- 
tioncd  faces,  closed  up  in  the  throat  by  a 
crenelated  wall  and  defence  barracks,  and 
surrounded  by  a  trench  7|  feet  deep  ;  the 
parapet  had  a  height  of  nearly  30  feet. 
There  were  two  entrances  to  it — one  throu^-h 
the  barracks,  another  into  the  trench.  It 
had  no  powder  magazine. 

The  Tschim  was  simply  a  battery,  without 
any  trench,  but  protected  by  a  glacis  75 
yards  in  front.  It  contained  a  powder  maga- 
zine of  a  capacity  of  50  cubic  metres. 
.  West  of  the  Tschim— 1,200  metres  dis- 
tant—lay the  Takmash — better  known  to 
English  readers  by  the  name  of  Tahmasp. 
The  ascent  to  this  work  was  graduated,  and 
comparatively  easy — a  sort  of  mamelon.  It 
consisted  of  two  closed  and  connected  bas- 
tions containing  barracks  and  a  powder 
magazine. 

Tich  Tepesi— 500  metres  north-west  of 
this  work — was  a  closed  bastion  containing 
A  powder   magazine,    and    provided    with  ( 
238 


a  trench  and  a  battery  in  front  25  metres 
distant,  called  the  Ai  Tabia.  It  mounted 
eight  24-pounders.  The  breastworks  and 
batteries,  Laz  Tepesi,  commanding  the 
hamlet  of  Massad,  completed  the  line  of 
fortifications  west  of  the  river  Kars-Tchai. 

East  of  the  river,  the  defences  com- 
menced in  the  north  with  the  celebrated 
Arab  Tabia  on  the  top  of  the  Kara  Dagh, 
which  descends  in  one  unbroken  steep  de- 
clivity towards  the  river,  but  by  three  dis- 
tinct terraces  towards  the  valley  on  the 
east;  It  consisted  of  a  closed  bastion  with 
barracks,  a  small  bomb-proof  powder  matra- 
zine,  and  an  open  work,  the  whole  sur- 
rounded by  a  glacis  adapted  for  cannon  and 
rifle-fire.  The  earth  had  all  to  be  brought 
up  from  the  valley  below,  and  there  were 
no  trenches  or  traverses  protecting  the 
ramparts.  Lying  higher  than  the  Ingliz 
work  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  it  was 
an  important  support  against  any  rear  or 
flank  attack  upon  it. 

The  Kara  Dagh  group  consisted  of  two 
open  works,  the  chief  one  nearly  surround- 
ing a  plateau  of  solid  rock  20  ft.  high,  on 
which  the  Siaret  battery  was  constructed, 
commanding  the  whole  group.  The  chief 
work  contained  two  powder  magazines,  the 
outwork  only  one. 

Hafiz  Pasha  Tabia  was  the  strongest  of 
all  the  works.  It  was  closed,  the  wall  only 
pierced  by  one  gate  towards  the  town.  The 
whole  was  surrounded  by  a  deep  trench, 
contained  a  magazine,  and  was  protected  on 
the  south-east  by  an  open  outwork  called 
Echali. 

The  Chanly  Tabia  consisted  of  a  closed 
lunette,  and  two  advanced  redoubts,  pro- 
tected by  a  deep  rock-hewn  trench  and 
traverses.    It  contained  a  powder  magazine. 

Suvari,  an  open  work,  commanded  the 
road  leading  from  Erzeroum  into  the  town. 
It  contained  a  small  magazine. — So  much 
for  the  outworks.  The  citadel  was  built  of 
brick,  with  two  large  and  two  small  towers 
and  a  powder  magazine.  The  wall  sur- 
rounding the  old  town — no  other  exists — 
had  no  military  significance  whatever.  The 
bomb-proof  accommodation  in  Kars  was 
limited  to  shelter  for  3,000  men  in  the 
barracks.  Only  one  of  the  provision  maga- 
zines, holding  four  weeks'  food,  was  bomb- 
proof; but  there  were  five  bomb-proof 
powder  magazines,  protected  against  vertical 
but  not  against  direct  fire. 

The  armament  of  the  place  consisted  of 
150   rifled    24-pounders,     mostly   muzzle- 


loaders,  and  fifty-four  smooth-bore  guns  of 
the  same  calibre.  The  garrison  should 
amount  to  at  least  23,000  men ;  but  the 
number  actually  within  the  walls  did  not 
exceed  15,000,  with  eighteen  field-pieces. 
Water  did  not  exist  in  any  of  the  outworks 
beyond  what  was  contained  in  the  cisterns 
within  the  closed  works. 

Now  this  description  of  the  place  shows 
sufficiently  that  Kars  was  not  a  town  to  be 
taken  as  soon  as  looked  at,  especially  when 
the  fact  is  considered  that  the  rocky  nature 
of  the  ground  would  make  a  regular  siege 
with  parallels  and  zigzags  a  work  of  months. 
This  was  especially  the  case  with  the  key  of 
the  position — the  heights  of  Kara  Dagh, 
with  the  Arab  Tabia  and  the  Siaret  battery 
within  the  Kara  Dagh  group,  the  earth  for 
which  had  to  be  carried  up  from  the  valley 
below.  The  southern  defences  to  Kars  were 
consequently  of  smaller  value  :  with  the  fall 
of  Arab  Tabia  and  Kara  Dagh,  Hazif  Pasha 
in  the  south  and  Mukliss  in  the  west  would 
speedily  become  untenable. 

When  November  13th  arrived,  however, 
the  weather  had  made  the  ground  too  slip- 
pery for  the  attack,  which  was  then  post- 
poned to  the  night  between  November  17th 
and  November  18th. 

Referring  to  the  foregoing  account,  the 
assault  made  by  the  Russians  may  be  easily 
followed.  The  columns  appointed  for  the 
attack  silently  took  up  their  positions  as 
darkness  fell  upon  the  plain.  General 
Lazareff,  commanding  the  right  wing,  placed 
himself  before  the  Hafiz  Pasha  Tabia, 
situated  on  a  steep  valley  height,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  deep  ditch.  Count  Grrabbe, 
commanding  the  centre,  took  up  his  posi- 
tion in  front  of  the  Chanlv  Tabia,  a  closed 
lunette,  with  two  advanced  redoubts,  also 
protected  by  a  deep  trench.  Generals  Roop 
and  Komaroff,  commanding  the  left,  took 
their  places  between  the  Erzeroum  road 
and  the  river  in  front  of  the  Suvari  Tabia, 
the  open  work  commanding  the  Erzeroum 
road. 

The  leading  idea  in  this  disposition  of 
the  troops  was  to  carry  the  town  and  citadel 
from  the  south  and  east,  and,  by  obtaining 
possession  of  Hafiz  Tabia,  to  sweep  the 
rocky  heights  of  the  Kara  Dagh,  and  allow 
the  storming  party  to  scale  them.  The 
attack  being  carried  out  by  night  would 
prevent  the  artillery  fire  from  Takmash 
Tabia  and  the  Tschim  battery  from  flanking 
the  attack  on  Suvari. — Count  Grabbe  com- 
menced the  attack  in  the  centre   on   the  i 


Chanly  Tabia,  and  fell  dead,  pierced  by  a 
bullet  in  the  forehead,  whilst  storming  th© 
works,  which  were,  however,  successsfully 
scaled,  in  spite  of  the  ladders  being  a  little 
too  short.  At  the  same  time,  Suvari  was 
taken  with  a  rush,  the  men  pressing  onward 
through  the  town,  driving  the  Turks  before 
them  along  the  narrow  tortuous  streett^,  and 
carried  the  brick-built  citadel  and  its  four 
towers,  the  attention  of  Takmash,  Veli 
Pasha,  and  Tich  Tepesi  Tabias  being  en- 
gaged by  smaller  parties  from  the  investing 
lines  on  the  west.  Chanly  Tabia  and  Suvari 
having  thus  been  taken,  a  portion  of  the 
centre  was  able  to  co-operate  with  the  right 
in  the  assault  on  Hafiz  Pasha  Tabia,  which 
fell  towards  morning,  and  enabled  the  men 
to  scale  the  heights  of  Kara  Dagh,  which 
were  only  protected  by  the  guns  of  Hafiz 
Pasha,  and  assail  the  Kara  Dai^h  Fort  in 
the  rear,  and  force  the  gates  that  closed  it 
towards  the  town.  With  the  chief  fort, 
naturally  the  outlying  works  also  fell,  with 
their  open  bases  towards  the  guns  turned 
upon  them  by  the  Russians,  and  at  the 
same  time  upon  Arab  Tabia,  which  tlie 
Kara  Dagh  also  commanded.  The  resist- 
ance at  Arab  Tabia,  however,  was  stub- 
born ;  but  in  the  morning  it  was  overcome, 
and  the  guns  played  upon  the  Mukliss  and 
Veli  Pasha  Tabias,  which  were  consequently 
also  rendered  untenable,  Takmash  Tabia 
resisting  to  the  last.  Harassed  thus  on  all 
sides  in  the  darkness  of  night,  with  not  half 
the  men  necessary  to  man  the  works — to 
say  nothing  of  reserves — it  is  not  surprising 
that  Hami  Pasha,  the  commandant,  was 
bewildered,  or,  even  were  he  not  bewildered, 
was  powerless  to  resist  the  determined  on- 
slaughts all  along  the  line.  And  when  the 
dawn  appeared,  and  he  found  Chanly,  Hafiz 
Pasha,  and  Suvari,  with  the  citadel,  in  the 
hands  of  the  Russians,  the  want  of  traverses 
and  lines  of  communication  would  have 
prevented  his  concentrating  his  forces  upon 
any  one  point  even  if  he  had  had  the  men 
to  concentrate.  The  best  he  could  do  was 
to  defend  Veli  Pasha  and  Takmash  as  long 
as  possible,  to  secure  the  retreat  of  his 
forces  westwards.  This  he  did,  and  the 
troops  succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  town, 
but  only  to  be  intercepted  and  overtaken  by 
the  enemy's  cavalry,  and  brought  back 
prisoners  to  the  scene  of  their  defeat,  where 
they  were  set  to  work  to  accomplish,  under 
Russian  taskmasters,  what  their  own  leaders 
omitted  to  do — converting  the  various 
works,  strengthening  them,  digging  ditches^ 

239 


it: 

t 

I 


eSMAN  AT  BAY.J 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1877, 


i-S 


\h 


»' 


I 
■ «  • 

!i 

t  . 

'i  ( 

:     i 


erecting  breastworks,  and  carrying  out  all 
the  various  measures  which  the  Eussians 
determined  to  adopt  to  secure  them  the 
possession  of  Kars  for  ever — or  as  long  as 
•*  for  ever  "  in  such  matters  usually  is.  The 
fall  of  Kars  was  thus  accomplished  in  one 
single  night ;  and  naturally  there  were  the 
usual  tales  of  corruption  by  Kussian  gold. 

Yet  the  whole  proceeding  was  remarkably 
simple  and  easy  of  unbiassed  understanding. 
It  was  the  very  A  B  C  of  war ;  insufficiently 
manned  forts,  a  dark  night,  and  a  simul- 
taneoua  assault  without  any  premonitory 
warnings  in  the  shape  of  a  preliminary 
cannonade  to  clear  the  way — a  proceeding, 
by  the  way,  that  never  accomplishes  its 
object,  if  the  enemy  is  at  all  trained  to 
stand  artillery  fire.  The  key  to  the  whole 
mystery — if  a  matter  of  course  can  be  called 
a  mystery — lay,  firstly,  in  the  fact,  that  the 
outworks  and  forts  were  not  connected,  and 
for  the  most  part  not  furnished  with  ditches, 
whilst  the  parapets  were  ill-constructed. 
Secondly,  that  the  great  length  of  the  fire- 
line — nearly  8,000  yards — required  at  least 
a  garrison  of  24,000  men  for  its  adequate 
defence;  and  as  the  number  of  troops  in 
Kars,  after  the  defeat  of  Mukhtar  Pasha  at 
Vezinkoi,  was  barely  15,000  men  effective  for 
service,  it  was  abundantly  evident  that  the  I 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[fresh  RUSSIAN  LEVIES. 


place  could  not  hold  out  long  against  the 
forces  brought  up  by  the  Russians,  although 
the  latter  included  the  able-bodied  men  of 
Kars  in  the  estimate  of  their  prisoners. 

Undermanned  in  this  way — and  that,  too, 
by  at  least  partially  demoralised  troops— 
without  water,  without  traverses,  the  works 
cut  in  two  by  the  Kars-Tchai,  what  wonder 
that  a  previously  well-concerted  plan,  mi- 
nutely  settled    in  all    its   details,    should 
succeed,  when  carried  out  at  night  by  troops 
yet  flushed  with  their  recent  victory  ?    The 
wonder   is   that   the    Turks   withstood  the 
assault  for  so  long,  and  held  out  for  twelve 
hours  against  the  incessant  attacks  of  the 
Russians,    suffering    a    loss   themselves  of 
about  5,000,  and  inflicting  a  loss  on   their 
enemies  of  nearly  3,000,  according  to  their 
own   accounts.      The  disproportion  in  the 
number  killed  on  either  side  is  noteworthy. 
Had  it  been  reversed,  it  would  have  beei 
explicable.     As  it  was,  the  only  conclusion 
that  can  be  drawn  is,  that  the  Russians  gave 
but  little  or  no  quarter  that  night.     Nor 
can  they  much  be  blamed  for  it.     Night 
attacks  are  curious  affairs,  and    the    men 
generally  like  to  "  ma/c' sicker,''  for  there  is 
no  knowing  what  might  not  be  gathering 
together  in  front,  or  on  either  flank,  und^ 
the  cover  of  night. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


PLEVNA  AND  SCHIPKA. 


The  defeat  of  the  Russians  before  Plevna 
for  the  second  time,  and  the  consequent 
disarrangement  of  the  Russian  plans, 
would,  in  the  face  of  any  other  enemy  than 
the  Turks,  and  under  better  transport  ar- 
rangements, almost  certainly  have  resulted 
in  ending  the  campaign,  at  least  for  the 
year.  This  opinion  was  freely  expressed 
in  the  most  competent  military  circles ; 
and  it  is  even  said  that  Count  Moltke,  on 
being  asked  by  the  emperor  what  his  opinion 
of  the  situation  was,  replied  that  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Russians,  judged  with  a  full 
allowance  for  the  incapacity  of  the  Turks, 
was  highly  critical,  and  that  if  the  Turks 
were  at  once  to  assume  a  vigorous  ofi'ensive 
and  make  judicious  use  of  their  opportunities, 
the  Czar  would  have  to  retreat.  This  was 
240 


evident  to  any  one  ;  and  even  the  Seraskeriat 
was  convinced  that  a  vigorous  offensive 
would  suffice  to  crush  the  Russian  armies. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Turks,  their  idea 
of  a  vigorous  offensive  consisted  in  hard 
fighting  and  brute  force.  Capable  enough 
of  striking  hard  and  furiously  for  the  mo- 
ment, they  appeared  unable  to  take  the 
preparatory  steps,  and  assist,  by  vigorous 
strategy  and  tactics,  the  blows  which  their 
men  were  able  and  ready  to'  deal  on  the 
battle-field  itself.  Thus  they  were  glad  to 
listen  to  Suleiman  Pasha,  whose  successful 
march  through  Montenegro  had  excited 
their  admiration,  and  they  quite  believed 
his  assurances  that  he  would  be  able  to 
force  the  Schipka  Pass,  the  key-stone  of 
the  Russian  arch  resting  upon  the  Danube ; 


and  that  then  it  would  be  easy  for  Osman 
Pasha  and  Mehemed  Ali  Pasha  to  crush  in 
the  two  sides. 

Henceforth,  till  the  end  of  the  campaign, 
this  idea  dominated  the  authorities  at 
Stamboul;  and  all  exertions,  all  supplies, 
all  reinforcements,  were  devoted  to  Sulei- 
man Pasha. 

But  to  insure  the  success  of  this  plan, 
the  co-operation  of  Osman  Pasha  and  Me- 
hemed Ali,  by  joining  in  the  attack  on  the 
two  Russian  flanks,  with  an  equally  vigour- 
ous  offensive,  was  an  imperative  necessity. 
But  it  was  hopeless  to  expect  such  unani- 
mity of  action  on  the  part  of  the  Turks. 
Vanity,  contempt  for  their  enemy,  want  of 
mobility,  and  want  of  concert  between  the 
three  commanders,  prevented  it.  The  com- 
manders were  not  thoroughly  independent, 
but  had  to  refer  to  Constantinople  for  orders, 
and  for  the  sanction  of  their  plans  before 
they  could  act.  Not  only  was  time  lost  by 
this  roundabout  method  of  intercommuni- 
cation, but  the  execution  of  their  proposals 
was  either  delayed  by  the  consultations  held 
at  the  Seraskeriat  till  it  was  too  late,  or 
the  proposals  themselves  were  so  modified 
and  tinkered,  that  nothing  or  little  was 
left  of  the  originals. 

Meanwhile  the  Russians,  fully  aware  of 
their  critical  position,  lost  no  time  in  fill- 
ing up  the  gaps  which  had  been  cut  in  their 
ranks.  Nothing  was  more  significant  of  the 
fears  entertained  by  the  Russian  staff,  than 
the  retreat  of  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
from  Tirnova  to  Biela ;  and  subsequently, 
on  August  13th,  to  Gorni  Studen,  where 
he  was  soon  afterwards  joined  by  the  em- 
peror himself.  The  inhabitants  of  Tirnova, 
as  may  be  imagined,  were  terrified  at  this 
retrograde  step  of  their  liberators,  and  mo- 
mentarily expected  to  see  the  Turkish  host 
of  Bashi-Bazouks  and  Circassians,  regulars 
and  irregulars,  sweep,  like  an  avalanche, 
down  the  mountain  slopes,  and  crimson  the 
Yantra  with  Bulgarian  blood. 

But,  beyond  pushing  forward  a  cloud 
of  irregulars  to  Selvi,  Osman  Pasha  did 
nothing.  There  was,  of  course,  a  good  reason 
for  Osman  Pasha  not  to  advance.  In  the 
rear  of  his  left  flank,  and  immediately  on  his 
left  flank,  there  were  considerable  forces. 
At  Nicopoli  there  were  Russians  and  Rou- 
manians combined ;  and  at  Korabia  and 
Kalafat  there  were  also  strong  divisions  of 
Roumanians,  ready  and  free  to  cross  the 
Danube  at  any  spot  between  Widdin  and 
Nicopoli.      In    addition,    there  were    the 


Servians  in  his  rear,  who,  although  nomi- 
nally at  peace  with  the  Porte,  were  ready  to 
obey  the  orders  of  the  Czar  at  any  moment* 
and  cross  the  frontier  to  his  assistance. 
Had  Osman  Pasha  thus  moved  forward, 
there  is  no  doubt  but  that  in  a  short  time 
there  would  have  been  a  formidable  army 
in  his  rear,  ready  to  fall  upon  Plevna  the 
moment  he  left  it,  and  to  co-operate  with 
the  Russian  forces  confronting  him. 

But,  in  spite  of  this,  the  Turks  ought  to 
have  been  in  a  position  to  deal  a  decisive 
blow  before  Roumanians  and  Servians  could 
get  ready  to  carry  out  the  above-mentioned 
movements.  Three  or  four  days  of  a  rapid 
simultaneous  offensive  have  often  decided 
a  campaign.  In  fact,  every  campaign  is 
thus  decided  at  one  moment  or  the  other  ; 
and,  missing  this  one  grand  opportunity, 
the  Turks  never  had  another  equal  to  it. 

But  though,  for  many  reasons,  the  Czar 
did  not  wish  to  avail  himself  of  Servian  or 
Roumanian  assistance  till  the  very  last  mo- 
ment, the  critical  position  his  armies  were 
in  obliged  him  to  waive  all  such  considera- 
tions, at  least  in  the  case  of  the  Roumanians. 
Whilst  calling  up  the  two  corps  stationed 
between  Odessa  and  the  Crimea  to  the 
Danube,  mobilising  the  guards,  the  grena- 
dier corps,  and  calling  out  185,467  of  the 
reserves  and  militia,  he  also  issued  decrees 
for  the  levy  of  206,000  recruits ;  and  at  the 
same  time  concluded  a  convention  with 
Roumania,  after  much  negotiation  as  to 
the  precise  position  to  be  occupied  by  the 
Roumanian  army  and  Prince  Charles,  who 
insisted  that  he  should  retain  the  command 
of  his  forces.  For  some  time  no  result  waa 
obtained,  as  the  Russian  staff  objected  to 
an  independent  factor  in  their  arrange- 
ments; but,  at  last,  a  compromise  was 
arrived  at,  whereby  Prince  Charles  was 
invested  with  the  command-in-chief  of 
the  Russo-Roumanian  army  before  Plevna ; 
whilst  General  Zatoff  was  appointed  chief 
of  his  staff. 

Meantime,  whilst  these  arrangements 
were  being  carried  out,  the  campaign 
assumed  a  different  character.  From  taking 
the  offensive,  the  Russians  had  to  hold 
themselves  on  the  defensive,  and  concen- 
trated all  their  efforts  on  the  fortification 
of  their  positions  before  Plevna  and  at  the 
Schipka  Pass.  At  the  same  time,  it  was 
clear  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  cut 
off  Osman  Pasha  from  his  line  of  communi- 
cations with  Widdin  and  Sophia.  For  the 
former  purpose  the  Roumanian  troops  were 

241 


•  «■  I" 


Hi 

i 


skobeloff's  attack.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


11. ! 


!\ 


to  be  employed,  whilst  Greneral  Gourko  and  [ 
his  cavalry  were  to  accomplish  the  latter.  i 
But  before  either  of  these  steps  could  be 
effectually  carried  out,  it  was  necessary  to 
take  Lovatz,  which  blocked  the  way  to  the 
high-road  from  Plevna  to  Sophia.  With 
this  object  a  preliminary  reconnaissance 
was  executed  by  General  Skobeloff. 

Leaving  the  grand  duke's  head-quarters, 
he  took  five  battalions  of  infantry,  his  own 
brigade  of  cavalry,  and  two  batteries  of 
horse  artillery,  and  came  out  on  the  Selvi 
road,  half-way  between  Selvi  and  Lovatz. 
His  right  wing,  composed  entirely  of 
cavalry,  advanced  and  occupied  several 
villages  encircling  Lovatz,  from  the  Plevna 
road  to  the  Selvi  road.  He  then  advanced 
his  artillery  on  the  Selvi  road  to  the  heights 
a  mile  distant  from  Lovatz,  overlooking  the 
town,  opened  fire  with  sixteen  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  pushed  forward  his  infantry. 

It  was  evident,  however,  from  the  mo- 
ment the  heights  were   reached,  that  the 
reconnaissance  could  not  be  turned  into  an 
attack.      From   15,000    to    20,000    troops 
camped  in  and  about  the  town,  while  the 
low  hills  immediately  surrounding  the  town 
were   strongly   intrenched.      There   was    a 
strong  redoubt  on  a  low  hill  overlooking 
the  Plevna  road,  while  a  high,  steep  hill 
on  the  Selvi  side  was  covered  with  trenches. 
There  were  also  twelve  guns  in  position, 
and  a  considerable  number  in  reserve.     All 
this  was  apparent  to  General  Skobeloff,  who, 
nevertheless,  resolved  to    feel    the   enemy, 
and  the  hills  soon  resounded  with  the  roar 
of  artillery  and  the  noise  of  shells.     The 
Turks  replied  at  once,  and,  for  a  time,  there 
was  a  lively  artillery  fire.      The   Turkish 
artillery   practice   was    very    fair;    several 
shells  fell  near  the  Russian  guns ;  but,  as 
the  ground  was  very  soft— the  battery  being 
planted  in  a  vineyard—they  rarely  exploded, 
and    when    they    did    explode    they   only 
threw  up  the  earth  a  little,  doing  no  harm 
beyond  killing  one  man. 

The  same  was  the  case  on  the  right  flank, 
where  the  cavalry  advanced  within  point- 
blank  range  of  the  Turkish  guns,  and 
opened  fire  with  two  small  pieces  of  horse 
artillery.  The  Turks  replied,  and  shells 
fell  continually  among  the  horses  and  men 
of  the  battery  without  doing  any  harm, 
owing  to  their  not  exploding  until  too  deep 
in  the  ground.  There  was  a  panic  on  the 
Turkish  skirmishing  line  at  first ;  but  they 
soon  perceived  they  had  only  cavalry  to 
deal  with,  and  were  not  long  in  recovering 


[a.d.  187:^. 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[active  preparations. 


their  positions.     But  they  did  not  attack, 
nevertheless ;    whilst,    on    the    other  hand. 
General  Skobeloff  pushed  forward   bis  in- 
fantry.    From  where  his  guns   were   placed 
the  road  led  down  a  narrow  hollow,  whose 
sides  were  covered  with  woods,  down  to  the 
foot  of  the  steep  hill  which  was  occupied  by 
the  Turks  in  intrenchments.     The  infantry 
went  down  partly  under  cover  of  the  woods 
but  not  unperceived   by   the    Turks,   who 
poured  a  heavy  fire  into  the  woods.     The 
Russians  pushed  forward,   however,  and  in 
much  less  time  than  could  have  been  thought 
possible,  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill. 
They  announced  their  arrival  with  a  shout' 
and  began  to  dodge  up  the  hill  two  or  three 
at  a  time,   under  cover  of  the  bushes  and 
little    hollows    with   which    such   hills   are 
usually   covered,   till   the    reconnaissance 
began    to    look    like  a   real   attack.      The 
Turkish  fire  grew  heavier  and  heavier,  until 
it  was  one  continuous  roll,  far  more  terrible 
than   the  heaviest  artillery  fire,  because  a 
hundred  times  more  destructive. 

It  was  evident,  from  this  fire,    that  the 
Turks  were  three  times  as  numerous  as  the 
Russians.     An  assault  under  such  circum- 
stances would  have  been  madness ;  and  when 
Skobeloff  began  to  perceive  that  the  attack 
was  growing  far  too  serious,  in  spite  of  his 
orders,  he  went  forward  to  stop  it.     The  sol- 
diers were,  however,determined  on  an  assault, 
and  the  officers  maintained,  when  reproached 
by  Skobeloff,  that  they  could  not  restrain 
them.     Skobeloff  himself,  whilst  stoppino- 
to  give  an  order,  had  his  white  horse  shot 
under  him ;  and  his  escort,  which  had  been 
composed  of  six  Cossacks,  was  reduced  to 
three,  the  others  having  been  more  or  less 
seriously  wounded— one  mortally. 

The  fire  was  still  raging  along  the  Turk- 
ish  intrenchments,  and   the  Russians  were 
still  pushing  forward.     Skobeloff,  mounting 
another  horse— a   sorrel   this   time— again 
galloped  forward.     He  reached  the  foot   of 
the  hill  shouting  and  gesticulating,  while 
his  trumpeter  sounded  the  retreat,  at  last 
with   effect,   for  the  skirmishers  began  to 
withdraw.     Then    he    went    down    again, 
horse  and  man  together,  fairly  under  the 
Turkish   intrenchments,   and   within    easy 
range  of  the  Turkish  fire,  which  was  grow- 
ing   stronger    and    stronger.     They    were 
getting  reinforcements  from  the  other  side, 
where    they    were    only    threatened   with 
cavalry.     The   roar    was   continuous,    and 
rolled  up  and  down   the   hollow  like  one 
continuous  crash  of  thunder,  only  broken  by 


the  heavier  booming  of  the  artillery.  The 
bullets  fell  about  Skobeloff  like  hail,  but  in 
a  few  minutes  he  was  up  again  on  another 
horse,  fresh  as  ever,  coming  back  up  the 
road  at  a  trot.  He  had  not  received  a 
scratch.  The  reconnaissance  was  over. 
The  troops  retired  as  they  came,  through 
the  wood  under  the  Turkish  fire,  which  was 
not  very  effective,  for  the  whole  loss  of  the 
Russians  was  only  five  killed  and  twenty 
wounded  on  this  side. 

The  reconnaissance,  however,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  showing  that  Lovatz  would  have 
to  be  seriously  dealt  with,  and  was  not  to  be 
carried  during  a  cavalry  raid,  or  by  a  C02ip 
de  main  with  small  forces.  For  the  mo- 
ment, therefore,  action  in  this  direction  was 
limited  to  an  expedition  of  the  4th  corps, 
under  General  Gourko,  for  the  purpose  of 
stopping  the  communications  with  Sophia 
across  the  Balkans,  by  way  of  the  Orkhanieh 
Pass  (see  sketch  X,  p.  268),  preliminary  to 
the  complete  investment  of  Plevna,  and  its 
ultimate  conversion  into  a  Sedan  for  the 
Turks. 

Meantime,  whilst  the  Russians  were 
strengthening  themselves  and  their  posi- 
tions with  reinforcements  and  intrench- 
ments, the  Turks  began  to  exhibit  consi- 
derable activity. 

On  the  16th  of  August  there  was  a 
general  reconnaissance,  in  some  force,  by 
the  Turks  all  alouix  the  Russian  left  flank. 
From  the  Danube  to  beyond  the  Balkans, 
from  under  the  guns  of  Rustzuk,  from 
Rasgrad,  from  Osman  Bazar  towards  Be- 
brova,  and  at  half-a-dozen  intermediate 
places,  the  soldiers  of  Mehemed  Ali  Pasha 
beat  up  the  Russian  positions  confronting 
them.  There  was  not  much  hard  fighting, 
and  little  loss  on  either  side  ;  but  the  signi- 
ficance of  the  business  was,  that  the  Turks 
took  the  initiative.  On  the  same  day,  a 
column  of  Suleiman  Pasha's  force  attempted 
strenuously  to  force  the  Ilaiukoi  Pass,  and  a 
Turkish  column  did,  indeed,  force  its  way 
into  the  defile,  but  was  there  so  roughly 
handled  by  the  Russian  artillery  in  position 
and  by  a  regiment  of  the  9th  division  holding 
the  Pass,  that  it  was  compelled  to  retire.  A 
day  or  two  later,  a  Turkish  division  made 
a  threatening  demonstration  from  Grivitza, 
the  redoubt  in  front  of  Plevna.  The  Turks 
by  no  means  rested  after  this  work,  and 
continued  to  display  a  modified  activity. 
They  struck  out  from  Rustzuk  ;  and  the 
same  day  there  was  fighting,  although  not 
serious,  before  Osman  Bazar,  whilst  there 


was  an  artillery  skirmish  in  front  of  Skobe-> 
loff's  position,  near  Lovatz,  where  the  Turks 
began  the  ball;  and  the  Cossacks  under 
Skobeloff s  command  were  harassed,  day  and 
night,  by  forepost  work.  Meantime,  the 
2nd  division,  having  crossed  the  Danube, 
was  massed  there  preparatory  to  marching 
in  the  Plevna  direction.  Suleiman  Pasha 
was  threatening  to  attack  the  Schipka  Pass 
with  forty  battalions.  The  defenders  of 
the  pass  consisted  of  but  twenty  companies 
under  General  Stoletoff,  consisting  of  the 
relics  of  the  Bulgarian  legion,  and  three 
battalions  of  the  9th  Russian  division.  The 
2nd  division  had,  therefore,  been  diverted 
from  its  intended  destination,  and  was 
being  marched  on  Selvi  to  relieve  a  brigade 
of  the  9th  division  ordered  to  the  Schipka. 
On  the  Plevna  front,  few  reinforcements 
had  reached  the  Russian  troops  holding  it. 
Compared  with  before  the  battle,  there  was 
but  the  addition  of  the  Roumanians  and 
the  16th  division:  but  on  August  22nd, 
eight  thousand  reserves  crossed  the  Danube 
to  fill  up  the  gaps  made  by  the  war  in  the 
ranks  of  the  9th  corps,  which  restored  that 
corps  to  its  full  strength.  On  the  other 
hand,  Schahofskoy  marched  his  brigade  of 
the  32nd  infantry  division  back  to  his  ori- 
ginal position  at  Kosarevac,  confronting 
Osman  Bazar,  and  was  thus  relieved  from 
continuing  the  work  he  found  so  hard. 
Thus,  on  the  Plevna  front,  the  Russians 
were  to  have  two  full  army  corps,  the 
4th  and  9th ;  two  Roumanian  divisions  of 
infantry,  and  the  1 1th  cavalry  division; 
Skobeloff  s  detachment,  consisting  of  a  bri- 
gade of  Circassian  Cossacks,  with  some 
infantry  and  artillery  watching  Lovatz ; 
there  was  also  the  9th  cavalry  division  :  the 
whole  Russo -Roumanian  force  confronting 
Plevna,  thus  amounting  to  from  65,000  to 
70,000  men.  In  this  estimate  was  not  in- 
cluded the  4th  cavalry  division,  whose  line 
of  detached  operation  was  toward  the  road 
through  the  Balkans  from  Sophia. 

But  whilst  these  preparations  for  the 
capture  of  Plevna  were  going  on,  interest 
became  centred  in  the  Schipka  Pass,  which 
Suleiman  Pasha  was  preparing  to  attack. 
The  people  of  Tirnova  naturally  did  not 
feel  comfortable  under  these  circum- 
stances. The  grand  duke  had  ridden  into 
Tirnova  amid  the  plaudits  and  the  glad 
weeping  of  a  population  beside  themselves 
with  joy.  Flowers  were  showered  down 
from  the  windows,  and  strewed  his  path  ; 
priests  and  girls  struggled  for  the  honour 

243 


'  \ 


TIRNOVA  ALARMED.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


I 


I-  i 


i 


As 

41 1 


1 
'•A 


of  kissing  his  hand.     To  be  with  the  Rus- 
sians in  Tirnova,  then,  was  to  be  a  welcome 
guest,    for  every   door   stood   open.      The 
strains  of  triumphal  music  swept  along  the 
quaint  narrow  streets ;  and   the  precipices, 
amid  which  the  town  hangs,  rather  than  is 
built,    sent  back    a  melodious  echo.     But 
after  that  came  the  retreat,  and  strong  was 
the  contrast.     The  road  up  the  steep  into 
the  town  was  blocked  by  a  double  row  of 
vehicles,  one  driven  by  weary  and  somewhat 
irritable  Russian  soldiers,  the  other  by  sul- 
len Bulgarians,    who   had  found  out  with 
great  alacrity  that  they  had  rights  since  the 
Russians  came,  and  were  not  only  no  longer 
subservient,  but  even,  in  a  tentative  way, 
inclined  to   be  uncivil  if  they  could  but 
harden  their  nerves.     The  place  was  never 
clean,  but  it  had  become  fouler  than  ever. 
Above  the  entrance  stood,  gaunt  and  ugly, 
the  skeleton  of  a  triumphal  arch  with  just 
the  last  shred  of  decoration,  looking  like 
the  gallows  mourning  the  abolition  of  capi- 
tal punishment.     The  narrow  street  was  a 
disheartening    chaos    of    vehicles,     whose 
horses    scrambled    over  the   filthy  stones; 
of  miserable  fugitives  squatting  listlessly 
wherever  they  could  find  a  corner,  or  trying 
to  push  through   with  their  donkeys  laden 
with  clothes  and  children;    of  Bulgarian 
civilians,  foolishly  drunk  and  reeling  about 
over   the   stones,   amid    the   jeers  of    the 
Russian  soldiers;  of  limp  Bulgarian  lads  in 
uniform,  of  whom  the  Russians  persisted  in 
trying  to  make  soldiers — a  service  for  which 
they  lacked  alike   heart  and  stamina;    of 
time-worn  men  of  the  original  Bulgarian 
Legion,  who,  having  come  somehow  out  of 
the  pandemonium  of  Eski  Zagra  with  un- 
cut throats,  had  drifted  back  demoralised 
and  disgusted ;    of  German-Jew   chapmen, 
selling  everything,  from  bad  champagne  to 
rubbishing  boots ;    of  marketenders  seeking 
shops  whereat  to  replenish  their  waggons ; 
aud  of  Bulgarian  priests  walking  about  in 
long  petticoats. 

Nor  was  the  alarm  at  Tirnova  unfounded. 
On  the  19th  of  August,  Suleiman  Pasha, 
after  having  made  himself  master  of  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Tundja,  had  already 
occupied  the  village  of  Schipka  after  a  con- 
tinued struggle  against  the  advance  positions 
of  the  Russians,  till  they  had  fallen  back 
on  the  head  of  the  pass.  The  Schipka  Pass 
is  not  a  pass  at  all  in  the  usual  sense  of  the 
term.  There  is  no  gorge,  no  defile ;  there 
is  no  spot  where  300  men  could  make  a  new 
Thermopylae ;  no  deep-scored  trench  as  in 
244 


A.i>.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [attack  on  schipka  pass. 


the  Khyber  Pass,  where  an  army  might 
be  annihilated  without  ever  coming  to 
close  quarters.  It  has  its  name  simply 
because  at  this  point  there  happens  to  be 
a  section  of  the  Balkans  of  less  than  the 
average  height,  the  surface  of  which,  from 
the  Yantra  valley  on  the  north,  to  the 
Tundja  valley  on  the  south,  is  sufficiently 
continuous,  although  having  an  extremely 
broken  and  serrated  contour,  to  afford  a 
foothold  for  a  practicable  track,  for  the 
Balkans  generally  present  a  wild  jumble  of 
mountain  and  glen,  neither  having  any 
continuity.  Under  such  circumstances, 
such  a  crossing-place  as  the  Schipka  Pass 
afforded  was  a  godsend,  although,  under 
other  circumstances,  a  road  over  it  would 
be  regarded  as  impossible.  What  was  a 
naere  track  was  made  by  the  Russian 
pioneers  into  a  really  good  and  practicable, 
although  steep,  high-road.  The  ground  on 
either  side  of  the  ridge  is  depressed  some- 
times into  shallow  hollows,  sometimes  into 
cavernous  gorges ;  but  these  lateral  depres- 
sions are  broken,  and  have  no  continuity, 
otherwise  they  would  clearly  afford  a  better 
track  for  a  road  than  the  high  ground 
above. 

The  highest  peak  is  flanked  on  either 
side,  behind  the  lateral  depressions,  by  a 
mountainous  spur  higher  than  itself,  and, 
therefore,  commanding  it,  and  having  as 
well  the  command  of  the  ridge  behind,  as 
is  shown  in  sketch  U.  The  higher  one— 
that  is  to  say,  the  western  of  these  two 
spurs,  marked  A  in  the  sketch— raked  the 
road  leading  up  to  the  Russian  positions. 
These  spurs  break  off  abruptly  and  precipi- 
tously on  their  northern  edge,  and  therefore 
afforded  no  access  into  the  valley  north  of 
the  Balkans.  Their  sole  use  to  the  Turks, 
therefore,  was  in  affording  positions  whence 
to  flank  the  central  Schipka  ridge,  along 
which  ran  the  road  from  Gabrova  to 
Schipka.  It  was  possible  also  for  troops  to 
descend  from  them,  struggle  through  the 
intervening  glens,  and  climbing  the  steep 
slopes  of  the  Schipka  ridge,  give  the  hand 
to  each  other  on  the  road  which  runs  along 
its  backbone  to  its  summit,  where  the 
Russians  had  constructed  a  fort,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  Fort  St.  Nicholas. 
This  done,  the  Schipka  position  would,  of 
course,  be  turned,  but  the  advantage  would 
be  of  little  avail  till  the  road  had  been 
opened  by  carrying  the  fortified  positions 
on  it.  Without  the  command  of  the  road, 
an  enemy  might  indeed  send  bands  down 


the  road  on  to  which  he  had  scrambled,  into 
the  lower  country  about  Grabrova,  to  burn 
and  plunder;  but  unless  he  carried  the 
whole  of  the  road,  his  communications  with 
the  Balkans  would  not  be  secured. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  strength  of  the 
Schipka  position  ;  but  unless  strongly  held 
with  wide  extending  arms  of  defence,  it  was 
easy  to  be  attacked,  and  very  difficult  to  be 
held  with  any  security.  The  strength  of  a 
position  does  not  depend  wholly  on  its  ele- 
vation, or  even  on  the  difficulties  of  access 
to  a  direct  attack,  but  on  the  clear  range 
around  it  which  its  fire  can  sweep,  and  its 
ability  to  concentrate  its  fire  on  critical 
points.  Herein  lay  the  defect  of  the 
Schipka  as  a  defensive  position.  It  could 
not  search  with  its  fire  the  jumble  of  lateral 
valleys  and  reverse  slopes  which  hemmed  it 
in.  A  brigade  of  light  infantry  might  have 
massed  in  a  hollow  within  100  vards  of  the 
Russian  first  position,  without  exposing 
itself  to  the  artillery  fire  of  that  position. 

Such  being  the  positions,  the  Turks  began 
the  attack  on  the  21st,  pushing  on  directly 
up  the  steeps  above  the  village  of  Schipka. 
The  Russian  garrison  in  the  works  of  the 
pass  then  consisted  of  the  Bulgarian  legion 
and  one  regiment  of  the  9th  division,  both 
weakened  by  previous  hard  fighting,  and 
reckoning  little  more  than  three  thousand 
bayonets,  with  about  forty  cannon.  No 
supports  were  nearer  than  Tirnova,  a  dis- 
tance of  forty  miles — a  grave  omission. 
The  garrison  fought  hard,  and  hindered  the 
Turks  from  gaining  any  material  advantage 
beyond  forcing  the  outer  line  of  the  Russian 
shelter-trenches  on  the  slopes  below  the 
position  of  Mount  St.  Nicholas,  the  highest 
peak  of  the  Schipka  crossing,  and  marked 
E  E  in  the  sketch.  The  Russians  had  laid 
mines  in  front  of  their  trenches,  which  were 
exploded  just  as  the  head  of  the  Turkish 
assaulting  parties  were  massed  above  them, 
and  a  large  number  of  Moslems  were  blown 
up  into  the  air  in  fragments.  The  loss  to 
the  Russians  on  the  first  day's  attack  was 
but  200,  chiefly  of  the  Bulgarian  legion. 
On  the  second  day,  the  22nd,  the  fighting 
was  not  heavy,  the  Turks  being  engaged  in 
making  a  wide  turning  movement  on  the 
right  and  left  flanks  of  the  Russian  position, 
and  these  attacks  were  next  day  developed 
with  great  fierceness  and  pertinacity. 

On  this  day,  August  23rd,  the  Turks 
assailed  the  Russian  position  on  the  front 
and  flanks,  and  drove  in  the  defenders  from 
their  outlying  ground.     The  radical  defects 

VOL.  III.  2  k 


of  the  position  became  painfully  apparent — 
its  narrowness,  its  exposure,  its  liability  to 
be  outflanked  and  isolated.  Fortunately 
for  the  Russians,  reinforcements  had  ar- 
rived, which  averted  the  mischief  which 
had  otherwise  imminently  impended.  Stole- 
toff  hit  his  hardest ;  but  after  four  long 
days  of  intense  mental  and  physical  strain, 
he  could  not  perform  impossibilities  with 
30,000  men  thundering  on  his  front  and 
flanks.  But  there  had  come  to  him,  swiftly 
marching  from  Selvi,  a  brigade  of  the  9th 
division,  commanded  by  Greneral  Derozinski, 
and  this  timely  succour  had  been  of  material 
value  to  Stoletoff.  The  fight  lasted  all 
day;  and  at  length,  as  the  sun  grew  lower, 
the  Turks  had  so  worked  round  on  both  the 
Russian  flanks,  that  it  seemed  as  though  the 
claws  of  the  crab  were  about  momentarily 
to  close  behind  the  Russians,  and  that  tht 
Turkish  columns  climbing  either  faceofth* 
Russian  ridge,  would  give  a  hand  to  eacl 
other  on  the  road  in  the  rear  of  the  Russian 
position,  as  shown  in  sketch  U. 

The  position  was  critical  in  the  extreme ; 
but  the  two  Russian  generals,  Greneral 
Stoletoff  and  General  Derozinski,  expecting 
momentarily  to  be  environed,  liad  sent^ 
between  the  closing  claws  of  the  crab,  a 
last  telegram  to  the  Czar,  telling  what  they 
expected,  how  they  had  tried  to  prevent  it, 
and  how  that,  please  Grod,  driven  into  their 
positions  and  beset,  they  would  hold  these 
till  reinforcements  should  arrive.  At  all 
events,  they  and  their  men  would  hold  their 
ground  to  the  last  drop  of  their  blood. 

At  six  o'clock  there  was  a  lull  in  the 
fighting,  of  which  the  Russians  could  take 
no  advantage,  since  the  reserves  were  all 
engaged.  The  grimed,  sun-blistered  men 
were  beaten  out  with  heat,  fatigue,  hunger, 
and  thirst.  There  had  been  no  cooking  for 
three  days,  and  there  was  no  water  within 
the  Russian  lines.  The  poor  fellows  lay 
panting  on  the  bare  ridge,  reckless  that  it 
was  swept  by  the  Turkish  rifle-tire.  Others 
doggedly  fought  on  down  among  the  rocks, 
forced  to  give  ground,  but  doing  so  griml} 
and  sourly,  whilst  the  cliffs  and  valleys  sent 
back  the  triumphant  Turkish  shouts  ol 
"  Allah  il  Allah  ! " 

At  this  time  two  Russian  generals  were 
on  the  peak  which  the  first  position  hah 
encloses.  Their  glasses  anxiously  scanned 
the  visible  glimpses  of  the  steep  brown  roac 
leading  up  there  from  the  Yantra  valley, 
through  thick  copses  of  sombre  green,  anti 
yet  more  sombre  dark  rock.     Suddenly  the 

245 


•a 


l.r 


r 


1*^ « 

i, 


ij| 


1  ! 
i   t  ■ 

ti, 


I; 


[   I 

f  •  ' 

J' 


n 


li 
11 


TIMELY  HELP.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


head  of  a  long  black  column  was  plainly 
visible,  like  a  long  serpent  coiling  up  the 
brown  road.  Through  the  green  copses  a 
glint  of  sunshine  flaslied  and  danced  on  the 
glittering  bayonets,  and  such  a  gust  of 
Russian  clieers  wliirled  and  eddied  among 
the  mountain  tops,  that  the  Turkish  war- 
cries  were  wholly  drowned  in  the  glad  wel- 


were  flanking  the  right  of  the  Russian  posi- 
tion. At  the  same  time  a  column  of 
Russian  infantry  advanced  with  a  swift 
tramp  up-hill  till  they  got  within  firing  dis- 
tance of  the  Turks  on  the  right. 

They  were  a  battalion  of  the  rifle  brigade, 
hurried  up  on  Cossack  ponies :  the  brigade 
itself   was   not    three    kilometres    behind. 


U — The  Positions  in  the  Schipha  at  7  p.m.,  Aiujust  23. 


To  Gabrova, 

A 


o 

Khao. 


(s) 


I 


B 


W 


§ 


J 
SI 


I 


<  8 


§ 


B 


s 


8 


I — -, — I 


Russians, 
Turks. 

-f-      Batteries. 

(  )  Redoubts. 
Road. 


^> 


I 


I 


I-    :     •!• 


s 


s 

Is 

§ 


X 


l_- 


E 


CZ3 


o 

Schipka. 


come  which  the  Russian  soldiers  sent  to  the 
comrades  coming  to  help  them.  G-radually 
the  head  of  the  column  drew  near  the  little 
plateau  in  front  of  the  khan,  where  they  at 
once  brought  a  mountain  battery  into  action 
against  the  Turkish  artillery  on  a  wooded  ' 
ridge,  by  the  occupation  of  which  the  Turks  ; 
246 


They  were  led  to  the  attack  by  General 
Radetzki  himself,  who  thus  saved  the  day, 
and  then  left  the  attack  to  develop  itself. 
It  was  the  same  rifle  brigade  which  followed 
General  Gourko  in  his  victorious  advance 
and  chequered  retreat.  The  brigade  had 
marched   fifty-five  kilometres  straight  on 


M 
f 


HARD  FIGHTING.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


rA.D.  1877. 


end  without  cooking  or  sleeping,  and  now 
was  in  action  without  so  much  as  a  breathing 
halt.  Such  is  the  stuff  of  which  thorough 
good  soldiers  are  made.  Their  general,  the 
gallant  Radetzki,  accompanied  them,  and 
pushed  an  attack  on  the  enemy's  position  on 
that  wooded  ridge  on  the  Russian  right. 
But  Radetzki,  who  himself  marched  on  up 
the  road  with  his  staff  at  his  back,  ran  the 
gauntlet  of  the  Turkish  rifle-fire,  and  joined 
the  other  two  generals  on  the  peak,  hard  by 
the  batteries  of  the  first  position.  As 
senior  and  highest  officer  present,  he  at  once 
took  command,  complimenting  General 
Stoletoff,  whom  he  relieved,  on  the  excel- 
lence of  his  dispositions  and  stubbornness  of 
defence. 

In  the  night  there  was  a  renewed  attempt 
to  carry  the  Turkish  positions  threatening 
the  right  flank,  for  it  was  felt  that  there 
was  no  safety,  far  less  elbow-room,  for  the 
Russians  until  the  Turks  should  be  driven 
off  the  dominating  wooded  ridge  looming  so 
ugly  on  the  right  flank.  The  left  flank, 
which  the  Turks  assailed  the  previous  day, 
was  comparatively  safe. — The  next  day, 
August  24th,  the  fighting  began  at  day- 
break with  a  renewed  attack  of  the  Russians 
on  the  position  threatening  their  right. 
The  Bulgarian  peasant  boys  displayed 
singular  gallantry  in  the  same  work  as  that 
in  which  the  despised  Indian  bheestie  has 
so  often  done  good  service  to  our  soldiers, 
by  going  down  into  the  actual  battle,  right 
into  the  first  line,  with  stone  crocks  full  of 
water  for  the  fighting-men.  This  water 
was  fetched  from  far  in  the  rear,  along  a 
bullet-swept  road — for  there  was  no  water 
in  the  position  itself.  One  lad,  who  had  had 
his  crock  smashed  by  a  bullet,  wept,  not  for 
joy  at  his  fortunate  escape,  but  for  sorrow 
at  the  loss  of  the  article  which  enabled  him 
to  be  of  service. 

The  fighting  hung  very  much  in  the 
valley,  and  the  reinforcements  of  the  9th 
division,  sent  down,  effected  not  much  per- 
ceptible good.  About  nine  Dragomiroff 
arrived  with  two  reijiments  of  the  2nd 
brigade  of  his  own  division.  The  Podolsk 
regiment  he  left  in  reserve  near  the  khan ; 
with  the  Jitomer  regiment  he  marched  up 
the  road  to  the  first  position.  There  was 
no  alternative  but  to  traverse  that  fearfuU}^- 
dangerous  road,  for  the  lower  broken  ground 
on  its  left  was  impracticable,  and  reported 
besides  to  be  swarming  with  Bashi-Bazouks. 
The  Jitomer  men  lost  heavily  while  making 
this  promenade,  and   having   reached  the 


peak,  found  no  safe  shelter,  for  the  Turkish 
rifle-fire  was  coming  from  two  quarters 
simultaneously.  So  the  infantry  were 
stowed  away  till  wanted  in  the  ditch  of  the 
redoubt.  Radetzki  and  his  staff  remained 
on  the  slope  of  the  peak,  and  here  Drago- 
miroff joined,  and  was  welcomed  by  his 
chief. 

The  firing  in  the  valley  waxed  and  waned 
fitfully  as  the  morning  wore  on  to  near 
noon.  The  Turks  were  very  strongly  estab- 
lished in  their  wooded  position,  and  there 
was  an  evident  intention  on  their  part  to 
work  round  their  left,  and  edge  in  across  the 
narrowed  throat  of  the  valley,  towards  the 
Russian  rear.  About  eleven  the  firing  in 
the  valley  swelled  in  volume.  It  was  almost 
wholly  musketry  fire.  The  Russians  had 
their  tirailleurs  in  among  the  trees  of  the 
Turkish  slope,  where  the  battle  waged  to 
and -fro — now  the  Russians,  now  the  Turks, 
gaining  ground.  Occasionally  the  Russians, 
at  some  point,  would  be  hurled  clean  back 
out  of  the  wood  altogether,  the  Turks 
following  them  eagerly  to  its  edge,  and 
lying  down  while  pouring  out  a  galling 
fire.  It  seemed  an  even  match  ;  the  Turks 
and  Russians  alike  accepted  valiantly  the 
chances  of  battle.  The  Russian  tirailleurs, 
finely-trained  skirmishers,  looked  out  dex- 
terously for  cover ;  and  the  Turks  displayed 
fine  skirmishing  ability ;  but  the  soldiers  of 
the  Brianski  line  regiment  were  not  so  good 
at  finding  cover.  There  was  clearly  no 
thought  among  them  of  quailing,  but  they 
stood  up  in  the  open  and  took  what  came. 

Round  the  peak,  on  the  slope  of  which 
the  generals  and  staff  were  surveying  the 
scene,  bullets  were  singing  like  a  nest  o 
angry  wasps.  One  struck  on  the  right  knee 
General  Dragomiroff,  who  had  been  stand- 
ing calmly  in  the  face  of  the  fire,  looking 
down  upon  the  battle.  One  of  the  best 
generals  in  the  Russian  army  was  thus  hora 
de  combat 

Meanwhile  the  tirailleurs  and  Brianski 
regiment  were  not  making  headway  in  their 
difiicult  enterprise  of  attacking  direct  in 
front  the  steep  Turkish  slope,  with  its 
advantage  of  wooded  cover,  although  they 
foiled  the  efforts  of  the  Turks  to  work  round 
by  their  own  left  into  the  Russian  rear.  The 
Russian  staff  could  see,  on  the  sky-line,  the 
Turkish  reinforcements  as  they  came  up  out 
of  the  valley  by  the  road  close  to  their 
mountain  battery,  on  the  bare  spot  near 
the  edge  of  their  left  flank.  It  was  deter- 
mined,   at    twelve   o'clock,   to    deliver   a 

247 


GALLANT  GENERAL.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


;,„, 


i 


III 


counter  flank  attack  on  the  right  edge  of 
the  Turkish  ridge,  simultaneously   with  a 
renewed  strenuous  attack  of  the  tirailleurs 
and  the  Brianski  men  from   below.      The 
two   battalions   of  the   Jitomer   regiment, 
each  leaving  one  company  behind  as  sup- 
ports, emerged  from  the  partial  shelter  of 
the  peak  of  the  Russian  first  position,  and 
marched  in    company  columns  across   the 
more  level  grass  land  at  the  head  of  the 
intervening  valley.     They  bad  no  great  dip 
to  traverse,  and  their  way  was  good  march- 
ing ground;  but  the  Turkish  mountain  guns, 
from  the  battery  high  up  on  the  wooded  peak 
of  the  Turkish  position,  were  ready  for  them, 
as   also  was  the  Turkish  infantry   on  the 
Turkish    right   edge   of  the    ridge.       The 
fire  swept  through  them,  and  many  a  gallant 
fellow  dyed  the  grass  with  his  blood.     But 
the   battalions    pressed    steadily    on,    and 
dashed  into  the  wood  at  the  double.     The 
Russian  artillery  had   done  its  best  to  pre- 
pare the  way,  for  their  battery  on  the  peak 
had   fired  hard   while  they   were   crossing 
over,  and  a  reserve  battery  near  the  khan 
down  below  had  come  into  action.    But  soon 
the  artillery  had  to  cease,   for  there  was 
danger  in  blind  firing  into  the  wood  when 
the   men  were  in  it.     The  arbitrement  had 
to  be  left  to  rifle  and  bayonet. 

The  crisis  of  the  battle  had  arrived.  The 
fighting  of  the  infantry  on  the  Turkish 
front  and  flank  lasted  for  a  long  hour,  and 
raged  with  great  fury,  but  the  Russians 
gradually  gained  ground.  The  Turks  first 
withdrew  their  battery  of  mountain  guns 
near  their  right  flank.  Then  the  left 
battery  followed  their  example,  for  the 
tirailleurs  and  Brian^kis  were  gaining  the 
ridge  on  the  Turkish  left  also.  There 
remained  but  the  central  peak  of  the  Turk- 
ish position.  That  carried,  the  ridge  would 
be  in  the  hands  of  the  Russians,  and  their 
right  flank  set  free  from  the  dangerous 
pressure  on  it. 

The  fight  was  on  the  balance.  The 
Russians,  as  they  stood,  could  all  but  suc- 
ceed, but  not  quite.  It  was  an  intensely 
critical  period,  but  Radetzki  was  equal  to 
the  occasion.  The  Jitomer  battalions  had 
left  two  companies  in  reserve  when  they 
inarched  out  from  behind  the  peak. 
Radetzki  himself  took  one  of  these  com- 
panies ;  the  colonel  of  the  Jitomer  regiment 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  other ; 
and  thus  led,  the  two  companies  set  forward 
to  throw  themselves  into  the  fray. 

Thus  headed  by  their  favourite  leaders, 
248 


[A.D.  1877. 

the  Jitomers,  who  had  been  chafing  at  their 
inaction,  advanced  rapidly,  and  ringing 
cheers  rose  high  above  the  rattle  of  mus- 
ketry as  they  dashed  across  the  grassy  slope 
at  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  precipitated 
themselves  into  the  wood. 

Fortune,  thus  energetically  wooed,  yielded. 
There  was  a  concentric  rush  on  the  peak. 
Its    rude    breastworks    were    surmounted; 
there  was  some  hot  bayonet-work,  and  in  a 
short  time   they  had   reached  within   fifty 
yards  of  the  redoubt.      Here   they   found 
obstacles  which,  for  the  moment,  were  quite 
insurmountable.     The  Turks  had  cut  down 
the   trees  around  the  redoubt,   making  an 
abattis  over  which  the  Russians  found  it 
almost  impossible  to  pass.     They  gathered 
around  the  edge  under   cover  of  the  trees, 
and  suddenly  made  a  rush  for  it,  but  were 
driven  back  with  fearful  loss.     The  soldiers 
became  entangled  in  the  masses  of  brush- 
wood,  trunks,  and  limbs  of  the  trees  over 
which  they  were  obliged  to  scramble,  while 
the  Turks  poured  in  a  terrible  fire   upon 
them  at  this  short   distance,    and   mowed 
them  down  like  grass.     Of  the  first  assault 
launched  against  the  redoubt,  very  few  got 
back  under  cover  to  tell  the  tale.     It  was 
very  evident  that  the  assault,  under  such 
conditions,  could  not  succeed.      Only  one 
battalion   had    been  sent   to  attack.      The 
force  was  insufficient,  and  of  this  one  com- 
pany sent  to  the  assault    Was   nearly    de- 
stroyed.     Reinforcements    were     sent     by 
Radetzki,  who  had  returned  to  his  position 
on  the  central  peak.      The   attack   began 
again,  but  dispositions  were  made  to  place 
a  large  force  in  such  positions  that  it  could 
pour  a  heavy  fire  into  the  redoubt  to  cover 
the  assault  until  the  assaulters  were  almost 
up  to  the  parapet. 

This  attack  seemed  almost  on  the  point 
of  success,  for  the  colonel  in  command  said, 
that  if  reserves  were  given  to  him  he  could' 
take  it.  The  officer  in  command  of  the 
reserves  let  them  go ;  but  they  were  never- 
theless repulsed.  Then  Radetzki  mounted 
and  rode  to  the  ground,  followed  by  part  of  ^ 
his  staff".  The  chief  of  the  staff".  General 
Dimitriofsky,  on  foot,  bareheaded,  and  sup- 
ported by  two  men,  with  an  expression  of 
extreme  suff'ering  on  his  face,  had  put  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  battalion  to  lead  the 
assault.  A  shell  had  struck  the  ground 
beside  him,  covering  him  with  earth,  knock- 
ing him  down,  and  rendering  him  senseless 
for  a  few  minutes.  The  attack  still  went 
on.    The  tire  became  terrible.    Fromamono" 

o 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[SULEIMAN  REPUDSED. 


the  trees  rose  a  large  column  of  smoke, 
marking  the  place  of  the  Turkish  redoubt, 
which  was  dimly  seen  through  it,  while  the 
thick  woods  were  full  of  the  roll  of  the 
Russian  musketrv  fire. 

The  Russians  advanced  steadily.  They 
rushed  over,  or  through,  the  abattis ;  they 
even  got  into  the  battery,  and  actually  held 
it  for  a  few  seconds,  but  were  driven  out 
again.  They  surrounded  the  place  on  all 
sides,  pouring  into  it  a  terrible  fire,  but 
were  again  driven  back.  In  the  meantime, 
the  Turks,  to  support  the  defence,  began  to 
attack  in  front  and  rear.  Musketry  and 
artillery  were  heard  coming  up  from 
Scbipka,  mingling  with  the  nearer  din 
around  the  redoubt  in  a  most  sinister  way. 
The  wounded  came  trooping  steadily  back, 
with  wounds  in  their  heads,  arms,  and 
bodies.  Some  were  on  litters.  One  was 
carried  by  his  companions.  Some  were 
limping  along  by  themselves,  presenting  a 
most  pitiable  spectacle,  covered  with  dust, 
smoke-begrimed,  haggard,  wretched.  The 
fight  continued  until  late  at  night,  the 
wounded  coming  back  steadily  all  the  time, 
till  it  was  seen  that  the  capture  of  the 
redoubt  could  not  be  effected  that  day. 

Still,  though  the  redoubt  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Turks,  the  ridge  and  slopes 
on  the  Russian  right  had  been  cleared,  and 
it  was  no  longer  death  to  ride  along  the 
road  from  Grabrova  to  St.  Nicholas.  The 
conflict  was  continued  during  the  following 
two  days,  the  reinforcements  which  the 
Russians  had  received  enabling  them  to 
strengthen  the  grip  they  had  acquired  by 
the  timely  arrival  of  Greneral  Radetzki. 

The  redoubt  and  ridge  on  the  Russian 
right  was  abandoned  during  the  night  by 
both  combatants,  on  account  of  want  of 
water,  there  being  none  on  the  Russian 
side ;  and  the  road  to  it  on  the  Turkish  side 
having  been  threatened  by  the  Russian 
advance,  and  reoccupation  of  the  trenches  on 
the  southern  and  western  slopes  of  the  peak 
on  which  stood  Fort  Nicholas.  On  the  26th 
the  Turks  returned  ;  but  finding  the  way 
effectually  barred  towards  the  Gabrova  road, 
they  again,  and  for  good,  abandoned  the 
position  which  had  been  so  hotly  contested. 
On  August  27th  the  positions  were  as  shown 
in  sketch  V.  By  that  day  solitude  reigned 
amongst  the  woods  to  the  right  of  Fort  St. 
Nicholas  and  the  Gabrova  road,  where,  for 
days,  such  furious  fighting  had  raged.  The 
Russian  soldiers  at  last  could  walk  along 
the  road,  from  the  khan  in  the  rear  of 


Radetzki  s  position,  right  along  to  the  final 
peak  ot  the  Balkans  on  Mount  St.  Nicholas, 
and  thence  down  into  the  shelter-trenches^ 
without  once  hearing  the  whistle  of  a 
bullet,  where  once  the  air  vibrated  with  the 
hum  of  them. 

Suleiman  Pasha  had  had  enough  for  the 
time  of  the  Schipka  Pass.  For  fi've  days  he 
beat  out  the  brains  of  his  gallant  stubborn 
soldiers  against  its  defences  and  its  de- 
fenders, repeating,  on  a  smaller  scale,  ex- 
actly the  same  errors  he  knew  the  Russians 
had  been  committing  at  Plevna  during  their 
first  assaults  on  that  place,  in  the  face  of  su- 
perior weapons,  superior  men  and  defences. 
Terribly  had  the  Turks  struggled ;  but  their 
valour  had  proved  unavailing,  and  5,000 
Turkish  corpses  festered  in  the  blazing  sun- 
shine between  the  Schipka  village  and  the 
fringes  of  Mount  St.  Nicholas.  All  Suleiman 
Pasha's  Montenegrin  soldiers  had  been  re- 
moved ;  and  there  remained,  confronting  the 
Russians,  only  a  few  battalions  of  Egyptians, 
with  some  cannon  on  the  heights,  and  a  few 
more  miscellaneous  battalions  in  Schipka. 

The  Russian  losses  were  also  very  heavy, 
amounting  to  over  4,000  killed  and  wounded. 
They  had,  however,  just  managed  to  save 
themselves  from  the  danger  threatening 
them,  whilst  the  Turks  had  gained  nothin^r 
at  all. 

It  is  a  strange  feature  of  this  war  that 
the  commanders  all  struck  isolated  blows. 
Scarcely  had  Suleiman  Pasha  been  repulsed, 
when  Mehemed  Ali  commenced  an  attack 
all  along  his  line  confronting  the  Russian 
left.  From  August  28th  to  August  30th 
he  made  a  general  advance,  and  there  wai 
continuous  fighting  along  the  front  of  the 
centre  and  right  flank  army  of  the  Czare- 
vitch from  Nisova  on  the  White  Lom  south- 
ward over  Solenik,  Gagovo,  Sultankoi, 
Popkoi,  Mehemedkoi,  and  beyond,  in  front 
of  Osman  Bazar.  Here  Mehemed  Ali  Pasha 
was  personally  in  command.  Great  masses 
of  Turks  everywhere  drove  in  the  Russian 
forepost  line,  and  at  several  moments  it 
seemed  as  if  an  important  battle  was  im- 
minent ;  but  the  tactics  of  the  Turks  resem- 
bled those  of  the  combatants  in  the  Ameri- 
can ci  vil  war.  When  they  gained  any  ground 
they  sat  and  fortified  themselves  in  it  by 
intrenchments  before  moving  to  acquire  any 
more.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Russians 
abandoned  the  Popkoi  position  also  after 
having  intrenched  themselves  in  it.  The 
reason  was  stated  to  be  the  discovery  of  its 
ineligibility  as  being  commanded  by  higher 

249 


( 

'4. 
i 


I 


I' 


SUSPECTED  SPY.] 


HISTOKY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


ground  within  cannon  range,  whilst  the  new 
position  was  behind  the  old  one.  Here  the 
combatants  remained  looking  at  each  other, 
whilst  there  came  a  jparlementaire  from 
Mehemed  Ali  Pasha  on  the  subject  of  the 
treatment  of  the  wounded  and  the  Bulgarian 
civil  population.  He  was  singularly  inco- 
herent as  to  the  objects  of  his  mission,  had 


escort  myself  when  I  must    pass    through 
their  camp. 

With  this  the  attempts  of  Mehemed  Ali 
to  break  through  the  Kussian  left  came  to 
an  end,  and  Osman  Pasha  then  took  up  the 
ball,  and  directed  a  serious  and  well-sustained 
attack  against  the  Eussian  left  centre, 
almost  directly  in  front  of  Poradim. 


V — Tlie  Positions  in  the  ScJiijoha,  August  27. 


To  Gabrova. 
A 

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I 

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Khan. 


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I-  i   •!• 


I 


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CB3 


(  ) 


Russians. 

Turks. 

Batteries. 

Redoubts, 

Road. 


DEI 


o 

I 


Schipka. 


I 


no  definite  proposals  to  make,  and  there 
were  suspicions  that,  in  reality,  he  was  a 
Bpy.  On  some  subjects  he  was  charmingly 
frank.  Speaking  to  him  of  the  Bashi- 
Bazouks,  the  grand  duke  called  them  "  wild 
beasts."  "  Oh,"  said  the  envoy,  "  I  am  not 
expected  to  defend  them.  I  always  take  an 
250  ' 


At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  August 
31st,  a  large  force  of  Turkish  cavalry  ad- 
vanced beyond  the  Turkish  foreposts  be- 
tween Ivadisevo  and  Grivitza,  and  drove  in 
the  Russian  advanced  posts  on  the  line 
between  the  villages  of  Pelisat  and  Sgalince. 
This  done,  at  eight   o'clock    the  Turkish 


A.P.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[dogged  assault. 


leader  developed  a  regular  attack  in  force  in 
a  direction  already  prepared  by  his  cavalry. 
The  Turkish  infantry  engaged  were  esti- 
mated by  the  Russians  at  25,000  men,  with 
more  than  a  proportionate  quantity  of 
artillery.  The  Russian  force  engaged  con- 
sisted of  three  regiments  of  the  16th 
division,  which  was  not  engaged  in  the 
previous  Plevna  battle,  and  two  battalions 
of  the  30th  division  in  reserve,  which  divi- 
sion took  part  in  the  battle  of  the  30th  of 
July.  The  Uhlans  and  Hussars  of  the  4th 
cavalry  division  arrived  in  time  to  be  of 
some  service. 

The  Turkish  attack  was  in  some  degree  a 
surprise.  General  Zatoff  was  away  from 
Poradim,  making  a  formal  visit  to  Prince 
Charles,  and  in  his  absence  nobody  was  in  a 
position  to  make  comprehensive  dispositions; 
but  he  returned  in  time  to  take  the  direc- 
tion of  affairs  before  the  fighting  was  over. 
It  was  stubborn,  and  in  places  desperate. 
The  chief  struggle  took  place  between 
Pelisat  and  Sgalince. 

In  front  of,  and  beyond  Pelisat,  the 
ground  rose  in  a  lazy  incline  for  a  distance 
of  a  mile,  and  on  this  ground  stood  a  Rus- 
sian redoubt.  A  mile  and  a-half  to  the 
right  was  the  village  of  Sgalince,  the  Rus- 
sian centre,  before  which  was  another 
redoubt,  and  a  series  of  trenches.  Forward 
towards  Plevna  the  ground  still  rose  higher, 
so  that  the  Russian  positions  were  com- 
manded by  the  positions  taken  by  the  Turks 
in  their  forward  movement.  The  disadvan- 
tage could  not  be  avoided  by  the  Russians 
without  falling  back  several  miles.  The 
Russian  redoubt,  a  mile  in  front  of  Pelisat, 
was  taken  by  the  Turks  early  in  the  fight, 
and  the  Russian  left  wing  driven  back  on 
Pelisat,  in  front  of  which  trenches  had  been 
duj^:  and  lined  with  troops. 

Within  an  hour  the  Pelisat  redoubt  was 
taken  by  the  Turks,  retaken  by  the  Rus- 
sians, and  retaken  again  by  the  Turks,  who, 
encouraged  by  their  success,  then  went 
straight  at  the  Russian  trenches  before 
Sgalince. 

The  battle  here  was  terrible,  but  the 
Turks  were  repulsed,  and  again  they  re- 
treated up  the  hill.  It  will  hardly  be  be- 
lieved that  they  went  at  it  again  ;  and  yet 
they  did  so.  To  those  who  had  watched 
the  two  preceding  assaults  it  seemed  mad- 
ness, because  the  Russian  fire  never  slackened 
an  instant,  and  the  Russian  line  never 
wavered,  while  the  Russian  reserves,  which 
had  been  told-off  in  view  of  such  a  contin- 


gency, were  waiting  behind  ready  to  fall  in 
at  the  least  sign  of  wavering. 

The  scene  of  carnage  was  again  repeated, 
but  it  only  lasted  a  moment.  The  Turks 
completely  broken,  withdrew,  sullenly  firing^ 
and  taking  time  to  carry  off  their  wounded 
and  many  of  their  dead.  Still  they  held 
the  redoubt,  upon  which  they  fell  back 
apparently  with  the  intention  of  holding  it ; 
but  they  were  not  allowed  to  remain  long 
there.  The  attack  on  the  Sgalince  redoubt 
in  the  Russian  centre  had  been  equally  un- 
successful with  that  on  the  Russian  trenches 
on  the  left.  The  Russians  pursued  them  with 
a  murderous  fire,  and  then  six  companies 
went  at  them  with  the  bayonet  and  swept 
them  out  of  the  Pelisat  redoubt  like  a  whirl- 
wind. At  four  o'clock  the  Turks  were  in 
retreat  everywhere.  The  Russians  occupied 
the  whole  of  their  first  positions,  besides 
pursuing  the  Turks  a  short  distance  with 
cavalry.  The  Russians  were  about  20,000. 
Their  loss  was  estimated  at  1,800,  and  the 
Turkish  loss  at  2,000  killed  and  wounded. 

After  this  ineffectual  attempt  to  break 
through  the  Russian  line,  Osman  Pasha 
again  relapsed  into  inactivity,  the  Russians 
taking  advantage  of  the  discouragement 
always  following  a  repulse  to  deal  a  decisive 
blow  against  Lovatz.  The  Russian  force 
engaged  consisted  of  the  2nd  division  and  a 
rifle  brigade  which  had  returned  from 
Grabrova,  marching  ninety  kilometres,  with 
one  brigade  of  the  3rd  division  under 
Prince  Imeretinski,  and  Skobeloff  s  brigade 
of  Circassian  Cossacks.  None  of  the  Rus- 
sian troops,  except  the  last  brigade,  had 
been  previously  engaged.  Altogether  they 
numbered  about  22,000  men;  whilst  the 
Turks,  in  and  round  Lovatz,  had  no  more 
than  7,000. 

Skobeloff,  on  the  previous  evening, 
marched  from  Kakrind,  his  previous  defen- 
sive position,  and  carried  a  position  on  the 
north-east  of  Lovatz,  which  rendered  the 
place  virtually  untenable.  In  the  night, 
therefore,  the  Turks  fell  back  on  the  fortified 
range  of  heights  behind  the  town,  and  there 
awaited  the  attack.  This  was  begun  with 
artillery  at  sunrise,  and  the  Russians'  ad- 
vance was  so  conducted  that  their  artillery, 
passing  south  of  Lovatz,  took  up  a  posi- 
tion enfilading  the  range  of  heights  held  by 
the  Turks,  and  also  cut  off  their  retreat  into 
the  Balkans  over  the  Trojan.  Nevertheless, 
the  Turks  resisted  stubbornly,  and  were  only 
driven  out  by  hard  infantry  fighting,  which 
lasted  till  near  sundown,  when  they  tried  to 

251 


» 


1!^  i' ' 


I  '■■ 


RENEWED  ATTACK.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


lii .)    »■ 

i'  '• 


U 


If!' 


i: 


Ta.d.  1877. 


retire  upon  Plevna  ;  but  Skobeloffs  Cossack 
horse  artillery  stopped  the  way,  and  they 
went  away  due  west,  pursued  by  Skobeloff's 
Cossacks  and  part  of  the  imperial  escort. 

The  seizure  of  Lovatz  having  thus  pre- 
pared the  way  for  a  renewed  attack  on 
Plevna,  by  September  6th  there  were 
gathered  together  before  Plevna  a  total  of 
about  90,000  men,  supported  by  250  field- 
guns,  and  twenty  heavy  siege  guns. 

The  plan  of  the  attack,  which  was  fixed 
for  the  following  day,  differed  but  little 
from  the  previous  plan,  with  the  exception 
that  the  left  wing  was  no  longer  open  to 
attack  from  Lovatz,  and  consequently  secure 
against  a  deroute  like  that  of  July  31st. 

The  Russians  had  the  ground  to  the  left, 
the  ground  of  Schahofskoy  in  the  previous 
battle.  The  Roumanians  had  the  section  of 
the  environment  to  the  right  of  the  centre, 
being  the  ground  on  which  Kriidener  fought 
so  stubbornly,  although  inefi'ectually, "^on 
the  30th  of  July.  The  front  of  each  section 
was  of  about  equal  extent.  The  Turkish 
positions  opposite  the  Roumanian  section 
were  the  stronger  both  by  nature  and  art. 
But  there  were  only  28,000  Roumanians  to 
50,000  Russians,  although  it  was  decided 
that  they  should  hear  the  brunt  of  the 
attack  on  the  Grivitza  redoubt.  To  the 
left  of  the  Roumanian  right,  also  menacing 
Grivitza,  stood  the  Russian  5th  division^ 
prolonged  toward  the  left  flank  by  the  31st 


division.  On  the  downs  above  Sgalince  and 
Pelisat,  where  General  Krudener,  command- 
ing the  9th  corps,  made  up  by  the  two  divi- 
sions just  named,  had  his  head-quarters, 
the  alignment  was  still  further  prolonged 
by  the  30th  division  and  the  16th  division, 
reaching  from  the  touch  of  the  31st  division 
to  Bogot,  where  the  16th  division  was 
chiefly  massed,  and  where  Greneral  Kriloff, 
commanding  the  4th  corps,  had  his  head- 
quarters. Prince  Imeretinski,  from  Lovatz, 
detached  one  brigade  south  to  Trojan  to 
guard  against  trouble  from  that  region, 
and  then  marched  north  along  the  chaussee, 
in  the  direction  of  Plevna,  with  three  bri- 
gades—viz., one  brigade  of  the  2nd  division, 
one  brigade  of  the  3rd  division,  and  the 
Tirailleur  brigade,  whilst  Skobelotf  was  with 

his  Cossacks  reconnoitring  in  the  south-west 
of  Plevna. 

In  the  early  morning,  before  it  was  light, 
the  various  batteries  were  moved  forward, 
and  brought  to  bear  chiefly  on  the  Grivitza 
redoubt  and  on  the  works  above  Radisevo. 
The  tiring  began  at  half-past  six,  and  con- 
252 


tinued,  without  intermission,  the  whole  day, 
i^n  1?"^^^  repaying  leisurely ;  whilst  the 
270  Russian  guns  thundered  at  their  works 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  assault  by  the 
infantry,  who  were  lying  under  cover  before 
Grivitza  and  Radisevo,  awaiting  the  order 
to  advance.  Prince  Imeretinski  and  General 
bkobeloff  were  also  cannonading  the  Turk- 
ish positions  between  Krishine  and  Radisevo, 
both  of  these  positions  being  strono-ly 
supported  by  the  isolated  hill,  or  mamelon, 
south-east  of  the  town,  and  which  the 
Russians  considered  a  key  to  the  position. 

This  bombardment  of  the  outer  works  of 
Plevna,  during  which  each  gun  fired  once 
every    quarter    of  an   hour,   thus   makinor 
12,480  shots  during  the  day,  did  not  pro- 
duce much  effect ;  and  when  the  cannonade 
recommenced  the  next  day,  September  8th, 
it   was   not  easy  at   first  sight  to  recognise 
that  the  Russians  had  gained  any  advantage 
by    their    profuse    powder-burning.      The 
night  before,   the  parapet  of  the  Grivitza 
redoubt  had  seemed  a  good  deal  jagged  by 
the  Russian  shell-fire ;  but,  under  cover  of 
night,  all   its  defects  had  been  made  good, 
and  it  looked  as  trim  as  if  never  a  shot  had 
been    fired   at   it.     But   the  Russians  had 
been  at  work  also  during  the  night.     They 
had  gained   a  large  slice  of  ground  in  the 
direction  of  Grivitza ;  that  is,  their  working 
parties   had  been   pushed   forward    in   tho 
darkness,  and  a   battery  of  siege  guns  had 
been  built  and  armed  on  an  elevation  com- 
paratively close  to  and  overhanging  Grivitza 
village,  and  within  easy  battery  range  of 
the  irrepressible  redoubt. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  rose  that  battery  came 
into  action  against  the  redoubt,  supported 
by  isolated  big  guns.     Away  to  the  right, 
and  further  to  the  rear  on  the  left  in  rear 
of    the    advanced    battery,     the     original 
battery  of  siege  guns  sent  its  fire  sweeping 
down  the  valley,  and  over  traversing  undu- 
lations into  what,  in  the  previous  battle, 
was  called  the  Turkish  first  position,  the 
redoubt    and    intrenched    village    in    the 
central  swell.      This  position  was  also  re- 
ceiving the  fire  of  two  or  three  batteries  of 
field-guns  stationed  on  the  heights  beyond 
Radisevo,  the  height  where   Schahofskoy'a 
cannon  stood  so  long.     The  redoubt  could 
not  reply  to  the  siege  battery,  the  range  of 
the  latter  being  too  long,  so  it  accepted 
punishment  from  that  quarter,  and  pounded 
away  in  reply  to  the  field  batteries  on  the 
ridge. 

The  Russian  siege  battery  firing  into  the 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  bombardment. 


Grivitza  redoubt  made  admirable  practice  ; 
shell  after  shell  burst  in  the  parapet  or 
went  slap  into  the  redoubt.  Every  now 
and  then  the  guns  were  silent  for  ten 
minutes  or  so  at  a  time,  and  sanguine 
people  began  to  think  that  the  stubborn 
defence  had  been  abandoned,  and  that  the 
defenders  had  departed  bag  and  baggage. 
But  when  the  Turk  is  in  a  place,  and  means 
to  stop  there,  he  is  a  difficult  customer  to 
dislodge.  Tlie  pause  had  been  but  a  short 
interval  to  repair  damages,  and  presently 
the  Grivitza  gun-fire  would  recommence  in 
its  old  jaunty  fashion.  It  was  not  the  key 
to  the  position,  but  its  reduction  would  be 
a  valuable  gain  ;  and  instead  of  spreading 
their  fire  as  they  did,  the  Russians  should 
have  concentrated  upon  it  the  whole  weight 
of  their  bombardment,  and  made  it  unten- 
able by  dint  of  a  hailstorm  of  shells.  As  it 
was,  they  might  bombard  it  for  a  week, 
sacrifice  a  whole  brigade  of  infantry,  and 
then,  after  all,  not  succeed  in  taking  it. 
The  assault  was  intended  to  have  been  be- 
gun the  day  before,  at  five  in  the  afternoon ; 
but  owing  to  late  starting  and  delays  by 
the  way,  the  troops  were  not  quite  all  in 
position  by  the  appointed  time,  and  so  the 
attack  was  postponed.  Everywhere  on  the 
8  th,  however,  the  infantry  were  in  position 
waiting  for  the  word.  Behind  every  swell, 
in  the  hollow  of  every  depression,  lying 
down  behind  the  screen  of  Indian  corn,  were 
the  soldiers,  some  far  away  out  beyond  the 
butteries,  and  the  Russian  shells  and  Turk- 
ish shells  whistling  over  their  heads  without 
disturbing  them.  Others  were  snugly 
stowed  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  batteries, 
lying  on  the  reverse  slopes  so  as  to  be  clear 
of  the  hostile  shells.  All  round  the  edge  of 
tlie  horizon,  from  the  river  Vid  on  the 
north,  to  the  Lovatz-Plevna  road  on  the 
south,  rose  up  against  the  pale  blue  sky  the 
white  smoke  of  the  cannon-fire.  The  Turk- 
i^h  horseshoe  was  girdled  by  a  cincture  of 
cannon-fire  and  armed  men  ;  but  the  Turk 
hardened  his  heart  and  gave  back  shell  for 
shell,  as,  in  the  impending  fight,  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  return  cheer  for  cheer, 
rifle-shot  for  rifle-shot,  and  bayonet-stab 
for  bayonet -stab. 

Thus  the  bombardment  went  on  without 
doing  over-much  damage,  whilst  the  villa- 
gers of  Grivitza  down  in  the  hollow  between 
the  batteries,  with  shells  interminably 
whistling  over  their  heads,  were  actually 
eni(;iged  treading  out  their  barley,  on  the 
primitive  threshing-floor  of  hardened  mud, 

VOL.  111.  2  L 


the  men  shaking  the  straw,  the  women 
driving  the  ponies  in  the  endless  round. 

The  Roumanian  guns,  too,  were  firing 
steadily  into  the  Grivitza  redoubt  from  the 
position  at  the  corner  of  the  wood  on  Krii- 
dener's  right ;  but  it  was  a  long  range,  and 
the  shells  fell  short  of  the  redoubt  on  to  the 
slope  more  to  the  left  instead.  Near  them, 
in  a  little  valley,  and  on  a  little  hill,  was  the 
Russian  great  battery  of  the  right  flank,  a 
battery  containing  twelve  siege  guns.  The 
emplacement  in  which  these  were  lodged 
was  rough  enough,  but  strong.  This  battery 
had  three  faces  :  one  armed  with  six  guns 
looked  down  the  valley  towards  Plevna,  and 
gave  its  fire  to  the  redoubt  and  fortified 
village  known  as  the  Turkish  first  position. 
The  centre  face,  with  three  guns,  looked 
toward  a  Turkish  redoubt  behind  the 
Grivitza  redoubt,  and  connecting  it  with  the 
great  Plizitza  position  on  the  due  north 
flank  of  Plevna.  The  right  face,  armed 
with  three  guns,  looked  across  at  the 
Grivitza  redoubt  itself. 

Meanwhile  the  Turks  developed  a  wider 
range  of  artillery  fire  than  they  did  when 
Schahofskoy  and  Krudener  in  vain  dashed 
against  their  positions.  The  Turks  were 
very  careful  in  marking  time — fired  no 
harder  than  they  found  necessary,  but  re- 
plied steadily  and  deliberately  in  reply  to  a 
fire  which,  to  all  appearance,  was  not  ma- 
terially injuring  them. 

The  Turkish  camps  on  the  most  northerly 
ridge  were  full  of  men  all  the  way  back 
from  the  Grivitza  redoubt  to  the  Pli- 
zitza scarped  height.  On  the  central  swell 
masses  of  their  infantrymen  were  lying  in 
the  hollows,  having  turned  out  for  the  sake 
of  safety  from  the  shell-scourged  redoubts. 

Meantime,  whilst  the  Grivitza-Radisevo 
positions  were  being  ripened  by  the  shell- 
fire,  the  same  process  was  going  on  in  the 
south  and  south-west  of  the  Russian  line, 
where  Prince  Imeretinski  and  General  Sko- 
beloff  were  directing  the  attack.  On  this 
side,  from  the  hills  bordering  the  road  from 
Plevna  to  Lovatz,  a  fine  view  was  afforded 
of  the  line  described  by  the  Russian  and 
Roumanian  positions  round  Plevna,  which 
began  opposite  Bukova,  extending  nearly 
parallel  with  the  Sistova  road  until  beyond 
Grivitza,  then  curving  round  past  Radisevo 
until  within  two  miles  of  Plevna,  nearly 
on  the  Lovatz  road,  then  extending  along 
the  Lovatz  road  on  the  ridge  as  far  as  oppo- 
site Krishine.  The  line  thus  described  was 
exactly  in  the  form  of  a  reaping-hook,  with 

253 


r '  * 


DfrrERMINED  ATTACK.! 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


W 


w 


If  '.■ 


I'' 


h 


:,  1 


i .-' 


j 


. 


the  point  opposite  Bukova,  the  middle  of 
the  curve  opposite  Grivitza,  the  junction  of 
the  handle  close  into  Plevna,  and  the  end  of 
the  handle  at  Krishine.  The  point  nearest 
Plevna,  it  will  be  perceived,  was  near  the 
Lovatz  road,  at  the  junction  of  the  handle 
with  the  blade. 

In  tliis  direction  the  Russian  batteries 
were  within  a  mile  of  Plevna,  and  were 
shelling  one  of  the  redoubts  behind  Plevna 
in  a  corner  formed  by  the  course  of  the 
Sophia  road.  Columns  of  white  smoke  were 
rising  to  the  sky,  and  the  sharp  whip-like 
cracks  of  these  field-pieces  were  mingling 
angrily  with  the  dull  heavy  roar  of  the  siege 
guns  in  the  big  battery  above.  At  this 
moment,  about  4  P.M.,  Prince  Imeretinski 
considered  the  first  position  of  the  Turks 
ripe  for  preparations,  at  least,  for  an  attack, 
if,  indeed,  not  for  the  assault  itself,  and 
pushed  forward  the  infantry  towards  the 
first  Turkish  position  amongst  the  trees  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  stood  the  re- 
doubt, in  the  bend  of  the  Sophia  road, 
which  the  Russians  hoped  to  carry. 

The  fire  was  opened  on  both  sides  with 
much  vigour,  the  infantry  arriving  in  line 
and  beginning  the  attack.  The  Turks  were 
posted  in  the  trees  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  probably  half  a  mile  in  front ;  but 
the  Russians  gradually  advanced  down  the 
side  of  the  mountain  through  the  trees, 
driving  back  the  Turks,  part  of  whom  re- 
tired upon  Plevna,  but  the  greater  part 
upon  the  redoubt.  The  Russians  pushed 
down  to  almost  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  the 
Turks  retreating  up  the  smooth  slope  lead- 
ing towards  the  redoubt  by  hundreds,  and 
from  the  redoubt  ittielf  began  to  be  poured 
forth  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  Russians  on  the 
opposite  slope.  The  Russians  pushed  down 
steadily,  nevertheless,  in  loose  order,  firing 
as  they  went ;  but  as  they  neared  the  foot  of 
the  slope  the  Turkish  fire  became  terrible. 
From  the  parapets  of  the  redoubt  poured 
forth  a  steady  wave  of  flame,  and  the  re- 
doubt itself  was  soon  hidden  in  the  thick 
fog  of  white  smoke  that  rose  over  it.  The 
roar  of  this  tremendous  fire  was  simply 
fearful,  and  lasted  about  twenty  minutes. 
Then  the  Russian  skirmishing  line,  which 
had  already  reached  the  foot  of  the  slope, 
began  to  withdraw,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
they  had  retired  to  a  position  half-way  up 
the  slope,  where  they  halted,  and  the 
slackening  of  the  fire  told  that,  for  the  mo- 
ment, the  attack  upon  the  redoubt  had 
failed.  The  Turks  then  came  down  again 
254 


from  the  redoubt,  and  re-entered  the  woods 
at  the  foot  of  the  slope  where  the  Russians 
had  been,  and  likewise  those  who  had  re- 
treated towards  Plevna  came  out  again  into 
the  maize-fields,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ravine,  pushing  along  as  though  they  would 
turn  the  right  of  the  Russian  attack.  This 
was  impos^sible,  however,  because  the  Rus- 
sian infantry  were  lying  close  behind  the 
ridge,  and  would  have  etfectually  prevented 
any  movement  of  this  kind. 

During  all  the  time  this  fight  lasted,  the 
Russian  batteries,  which  had  been  advanced 
far  down  towards  Plevna,  were  quite  silent ; 
and,  encouraged  by  this,  and  seeing  that 
the  Russians  remained  in  the  positions 
to  which  they  had  withdrawn  on  the  slope 
of  the  mountain,  the  Turks  began  to  swarm 
out  of  the  redoubt  down  to  the  foot  of  the 
slope,  attacking  in  their  turn,  and  bent 
upon  driving  the  Russians  back  to  the 
point  which  they  had  originally  occupied 
in  the  morning.  But  the  Russians  had 
already  been  strengthening  their  positions 
by  digging,  and  poured  u  fire  from  the  line 
they  had  occupied,  which,  in  steadiness  and 
fury,  was  only  equalled  by  the  Turks  from 
their  redoubt.  The  Turks  had  already  ad- 
vanced a  considerable  way  up  the  slope 
before  the  Russians  opened  fire,  and  they 
did  not  stand  a  moment  under  it.  They 
retreated  through  the  trees,  and  again  up 
the  slope  to  the  redoubt,  hotly  pursued  by 
the  Russians,  who  followed  them  to  the  foot 
of  the  slope. 

The  fire  on  both  sides  then  became  dread- 
ful, and  the  Russians  having  received  a 
considerable  number  of  reinforcements,  their 
advance  was  far  more  steady  and  swift,  more 
self-confident  tlian  the  previous  one  had 
been.  They  swept  down  into  the  little 
hollow  between  the  opposite  slopes,  and 
then  poured  a  terrible  fire  on  the  Turkish 
redoubt  from  behind  the  trees,  and  under 
cover  of  the  banks,  stones,  earth,  and  any- 
thing they  could  find  to  shelter  themselves. 
This  time  the  attack  was,  moreover,  sup- 
ported by  the  batteries  on  the  right,  which 
now  advanced  still  nearer  Plevna,  and  con- 
centrated their  fire  on  the  Turkish  redoubt. 
At  the  time  the  Russians  were  advancing 
down  the  hill,  the  whole  valley  was  filled 
with  smoke.  The  town  of  Plevna,  as  well 
as  the  Turkish  redoubts,  and  even  part  of 
the  wood  where  the  Russians  were,  had 
become  invisible.  The  sun  was  just  setting 
behind  a  mass  of  clouds,  but  it  was  seen  for 
a  few  minutes  like  a  fiery  blood-shot  eye. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[fight  for  I^ADISEA'O. 


which  tinged  the  smoke  han  ging  over  every- 
thing with  the  colour  of  bl  ood.  Soon  after 
€unset  the  firing,  after  a  fe  w  sudden  spurts, 
ceased  for  the  night,  with  the  exception  of 
a  casual  alarm.  The  Russians  remained  in 
their  positions  at  the  foot  of  the  slope 
till  about  12  P.M.,  when  they  withdrew  to 
the  summit  of  the  wooded  hill  whence  they 
had  made  their  attack.  During  the  next 
day,  September  9th,  the  operations  were 
again  limited  to  artillery  fire,  the  batteries 
opposite  Grivitza  gaining  ground  a  little, 
as  well  as  the  heavy  siege  guns  in  front  of 
Radisevo.  September  10th  was  passed  in 
the  same  fashion — a  languid,  objectless  can- 
nonade, with  the  only  result  of  advancing 
the  batteries  a  few  yards.  The  fact  is  that 
the  staff,  wishing  to  compliment  the 
emperor,  had  commenced  the  bombardment 
on  September  7th,  the  anniversary  of  his 
coronation,  and  intended  to  take  Plevna 
on  September  11th,  the  anniversary  of  his 
saint's  day.  This  was,  no  doubt,  very 
pretty ;  but  the  expenditure  of  fireworks,  to 
say  the  least,  was  somewhat  costly. 

However,  on  September  11th  the  supreme 
effort  began.  The  attack  was  concentrated 
on  three  points — the  Grivitza  redoubt,  the 
Radisevo  ridge  leading  to  the  mamelon, 
and  the  outlying  redoubts  of  the  great 
Krishine  redoubt.  The  Roumanians  were 
entrusted  with  the  first  task.  General 
Kriloff  with  the  second,  and  General  Skobe- 
loff  with  the  third.  It  had  been  decided 
that  the  attack  should  be  ushered  in  with 
the  obligato  artillery  fire,  and  commence 
at  2.30  P.M.  A  skirmish,  however,  on  the 
Russian  left,  between  the  Turks  and  Skobe- 
loffs  forces,  suddenly  developed  at  11  A.M. 
into  a  regular  engagement,  which  soon  be- 
came general  along  the  whole  line. 

In  addition  to  this  contretemps,  a  thick 
fog,  which  lasted  the  greater  part  of  the 
day,  also  impeded  the  operations,  and  caused 
a  great  deal  of  confusion.  The  battle  thus 
began  on  the  extreme  left,  and  thence  ran 
round  to  the  right,  opposite  Grivitza. 

Skobeloflf  and  Imeretinski,  in  order  to 
begin  the  attack  on  their  side  upon  the 
redoubt,  had  to  advance  their  troops  on  to 
the  hill  immediately  fronting  the  redoubts 
in  the  bend  of  the  Sophia  road.  It  was 
from  this  hill  that  the  attack  had  been 
made  upon  Skobeloff  four  days  before,  and 
the  hill  had  since  been  abandoned  by  the 
Turks,  except  a  few  skirmishers.  Skobelofi" 
advanced  at  eleven  o'clock  to  take  possession 
of  this  hill.    The  Turks  immediately  opened 


fire  upon  him.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  Turkish  attack,  which  spread  from  the 
Lovatz  road  over  Plevna,  and  up  the 
Radisevo  ridge,  a  position  which  has  already 
been  described.  In  the  middle  of  this  ridge 
was  a  low  hill,  or  hump.  From  this  point 
down  to  the  end  of  the  ridge,  scarcely  a  mile 
from  Plevna,  the  Russians  had  planted 
twenty-eight  guns,  the  greater  part  of 
which  were  not  more  than  1,000  or  1,200 
yards  from  the  Turkish  redoubts  and 
trenches,  and  were  a  continual  menace  and 
danger  to  the  Turks,  who  suddenly  decided 
to  try  and  carry  the  Radisevo  ridge,  and  the 
attack  here  was  directed  principally  against 
the  above  hump  or  hill,  opposite  one  of  their 
own  redoubts.  It  was  impossible,  owing  to 
the  fog  and  smoke,  to  see  the  position  of  the 
combatants  on  either  side.  The  fight  lasted 
until  nearly  two  o'clock.  The  Turks  made 
three  attacks  upon  Skobeloff,  which  were 
successfully  repulsed,  and  two  on  the  Radi- 
sevo ridge. 

The  three  fights  with  Skobeloff  were 
short,  quick,  and  sharp,  neither  lasting 
more  than  five  or  ten  minutes.  This  was 
owing  to  Skobeloff's  manner  of  defence.  He 
ordered  his  troops  to  reserve  their  fire  until 
the  Turks  came  within  a  hundred  yards, 
then  to  open  upon  them  a  sudden  and 
terrible  fusillade,  against  which  no  troops 
could  stand  This  drove  them  back  almost 
immediately.  Three  times  they  came  to  the 
charge,  and  three  times  were  they  repulsed 
in  the  same  sudden  and  furious  manner. 

The  two  attacks  upon  the  Radisevo  ridge 
lasted  longer,  and  were  repulsed  with  less 
ease.  Not  until  about  two  o'clock  did  the 
fire  die  away,  showing  that  the  fight  for  the 
moment  was  over.  Then  the  fog  lifted 
slightly,  and  the  position  on  both  sides 
could  be  seen.  The  Turks  in  the  trenches 
down  towards  Plevna  were  trying  occa- 
sional shots,  distinguished  by  little  puffs  of 
smoke,  with  masses  here  and  there  in  the 
redoubts,  showing,  with  an  occasional  shot 
from  their  cannon,  t.hat  they  had  been  re- 
pulsed with  heavy  loss — 'how  much  it  is 
impossible  to  state ;  but  as  the  loss  of  the 
Russians  fighting  under  cover  was  more 
than  500,  that  of  the  Turks  must  have  been 
between  two  and  three  thousand.  The 
three  days'  artillery  fire  had  evidently  done 
them,  however,  very  little  harm,  and  it 
showed  how  strong  they  felt  themselves  to 
risk  a  repulse,  knowing,  to  a  certainty,  that 
it  would  be  followed  almost  immediately  by 
a  Russian  attack.     Indeed,  this  attack  and 

255 


y^ 


lit 

m  I 

"If  'i    f 


PLEVNA  VICTORIOUS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


r  i 


li 


If: 


i 


repulse  of  the  Turks  did  more  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  Russian  attack  than  the 
whole  three  days'  artillery  fire  had   done. 
They  had  suffered  severely,  and  must  have 
been    more  or   less    discouraged    and    de- 
moralised, as  troops,  even  the  best,  always 
are    at    such   a    moment.       It    was   most 
favourable,  therefore,  for  the  Russian  attack, 
which  was  begun  almost  immediately,  and 
exactly  at  the  time  originally  intended  ;  so 
that  the  fire  had  hardly  ceased  half-an-hour 
when  it  began  again  with  unexampled  fury. 
Whilst    General    Kriloff    attacked     the 
redoubts  down  near  Plevna,  there  was  little 
to  be  seen  along  the  crest  of  the  Radisevo 
ridge,  where   the  Russian   guns   could    be 
perceived   at    work,    with    figures    flitting 
round  them,  dimly  seen  through  the  smoke, 
strangely   magnified  by  the  intervention  of 
the   fog,  until  the   gunners  appeared   like 
giants,  and  the  guns  themselves,  enlarged 
and   distorted   by   the  same   medium,  ap- 
peared  like   huge  uncouth  monsters,  from 
whose  throats  at  every  instant  leaped  forth 
globes  of  flame.    There  were  moments  when 
these  flashes  seemed  to  light  up  every  thin  «• 
around  them.     Then   the  guns  and  gunner*s 
appeared  for  an  instant  with  fearful  dis- 
tinctness, red  and  lurid,  as  though  tinged 
with  blood.     Then  they  sank  back  again'in 
shadowy  indistinctness,     "^^e  uproar  of  the 
battle  rose  and  swelled  until  it  became  fear- 
ful to  hear — like  the  continuous  roar  of  an 
angry  sea    beating   against    a   rock-bound 
coast,  combined   with  that   of  a   thunder- 
storm, with  the  strange  unearthly  sounds 
heard  on  board  a  ship  when  labouring  in  a 
gale. 

This     continued,    without    ceasing,    for 
nearly  two  hours.     The  Russian  guns  were 
pouring  their  fire  into  the  redoubt,  and  the 
Russian   infantry   hailing    theirs   into   the 
trenches,  while  the  attacking  columns  were 
advancing  cautiously  under   cover   of    the 
smoke  and  fog,  and  standing  corn,  to  get  a 
position  as  near  as  possible  before  making 
the  final  rush.      At  about  five  o'clock  the 
smoke  lifted  again,  carried  away  by  a  gust 
of  wind.     At  this  moment,  close  before  tlie 
redoubt,    down    near    Plevna,    a  mass   of 
Russian  soldiers  rose  up  in  a  field  of  Indian 
corn,  and  pushed   forward    with   a    shout. 
The  Turkish  fire  just  then  seemed  to  have 
been  dominated,    nearly   silenced,   by    the 
terrible  storm  of  shot  and  shell  poured  in 
by   the    Russians.       The   moment   seemed 
favourable  for  the  assault ;  but  the  Russian 
shout  had  scarcely  died  away  when  there 
256 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[sKOBELOFF's  FURY. 


flashed  along  the  parapet  of  the  redoubt  a 
stream  of  fire  that  swayed  backwards  and 
forwards,  while  the    smoke  rose   over    the 
redoubt  in   one  heavy    white  mass.      One 
continuous  crash  filled  the  air  with  bullets 
from  which,  to  the  spectator,  it  did  not  seem 
possible  for  even  a  rabbit  to  advance.    And 
as  it  proved,  the  fire  was  too  heavy  for  the 
Russians  to  make  way.      There  were  not 
enough  of  them  to  overpower  the  Turkish 
fire— not  enough  to  suck   up  the  Turkish 
bullets  and  leave   sufficient  to   carry    the 
parapet.  A  few  struggled  up  on  to  the  glacis, 
where  they  soon  dropped,  and   the  whole 
force  remaining  was  repulsed,  and  had  to 
fall  back.     At  this  moment  General  Kriloff 
sent  two  battalions  to    pick    up   the    dis- 
comfited assailants,  and  lead  them  on  again  ; 
but   they    had   to  fall  back,  and  thus  his 
second  assault  was  also  repulsed. 

The  stupidity  of  this  method  of  attack 
was  simply  criminal.     It  was  a  mere  matter 
of  calculation.     If  a  thousand  men  attack 
another  thousand  at  close  quarters  for  ten 
minutes,    that  means    that,    with    breech- 
loaders, each  thousand  will  be  exposed  to  an 
initial  shower  of  4,000  bullets  per  minute. 
Two-and-a-half  per  cent.,  at  least,  of  these 
bullets  take  effect  upon  the  attacking  party, 
of  whom  100  men  drop  in  the  first  minute' 
whilst  the  defenders  under  cover,  at  most^ 
lose  only  5  per  cent.     During  the  second' 
minute  the  attacking  party  are  exposed  to 
3,800  bullets,  whilst  they   themselves  can 
only  fire  3,600.     This  time  they  lose  over 
10  per  cent.— say  11  percent.;  whilst  the 
defenders  lose  less  than  5  per  cent. — say  4^. 
Thus,  at  the  end  of  the  second  minute,  the 
attacking  party  lose  95  men,  reducing  their 
force  to  800  men,  whilst  the  defenders  lose 
only  43,  so  that  they  still  have  907  men  to 
oppose  to  800.      In   the  third  minute  the 
assailants  have  to  face  3,628  bullets,  and 
can  only  give   3,200.      This    reduces    the 
assailants  to  682  men,  and  the  defenders  to 
no  more  than  827.     In  the  fourth  minute 
the  assailants  can  only  give  2,728  bullets  to 
the  defenders'  3,308 ;  this  leaves  598  assail- 
ants to  756  defenders.     In  the  fifth  minute 
the  assailants  are  reduced  to  523  men;  in 
the  sixth  minute  to  447 ;    in  the  seventh  to 
337  ;  in  the  eighth  to  310;  in  the  ninth  to 
247 ;   and  in  the  tenth  to  187  men ;  whilst 
the  defenders  still  have,  at  least,  619  left. 
In  the  eleventh  minute,  the  assailants  would 
be  reduced  to  127;    in  the  twelfth  to  67 ; 
and  in  the  thirteenth  to  10,  against  585  of 
the  defenders. 


This  is  supposing  equal  numbers  face 
each  other ;  and,  at  first  sight,  it  would 
appear  necessary  for  the  assailants  to 
number  2,000  only  to  carry  the  position. 
But  this  is  a  fallacy,  because  2,000  men 
offer  a  better  mark  than  1,000,  and  3,000 
still  better ;  so  thut  the  loss  would  be  much 
greater  in  proportion.  To  fill  up  this  loss, 
and  render  it  harmless,  therefore,  a  much 
larger  number  than  2,000  men  would  have 
to  be  detailed  off  to  carry  the  position  held 
by  1,000.  Four  thousand,  at  least,  would 
be  necessary — and  perhaps  even  5,000. 
Likely  enough,  2,500  would  fall,  as  against 
the  1,000  assailed;  but  if,  as  we  have 
shown,  415  of  the  defenders  cost  990  of  the 
assailants,  the  bargain  is  a  fair  one.  But 
then  1,000  men  would  never  show  the  same 
front  to  5,000  as  they  would  to  1,000  ;  so 
that  the  loss  on  5,000  men  would,  probably, 
be  far  less  than  the  loss  upon  1,000. 

This  view,  however,  did  not  recommend 
itself  to  General  Kriloff;  and  whilst  he  was 
frittering  his  men  away,  Skobeloff  was  pre- 
paring the  ground  for  the  attack  on  his 
side. 

At  four  o'clock  he  brought  down  twenty 
pieces  of  artillery  to  the  spur  of  the  ridge 
overlooking  Plevna.  To  not  more  than  1,000 
yards  distant  from  the  redoubt  he  advanced 
his  artillery,  determined  to  make  a  desperate 
effort  to  capture  the  redoubt  in  front  of 
him.  This  was  a  double  redoubt  in  the 
bend  of  the  Lovatz  road,  down  near 
Plevna.  He  had  advanced  his  troops  down 
the  slope  of  the  mountain  to  within  easy 
range.  As  the  Turks  immediately  opened 
fire  upon  him  from  the  redoubt,  he  returned 
the  fire  with  steadiness  and  precision, 
putting  his  men  under  cover  as  much  as 
possible,  his  cannon  pouring  a  steady  stream 
of  shell  and  canister  into  the  redoubt  as 
well.  In  fact,  he  worked  his  cannon  so 
much  that  several  pieces  were  spoiled.  He 
had  determined  to  risk  everything  to  capture 
this  redoubt ;  and  if  Plevna  were  not  taken, 
it  would  not  be  bis  fault.  P'or  three  hours 
he  kept  up  this  fire  ;  and  just  after  KrilofTs 
second  repulse,  the  Turkish  fire  having 
somewhat  relaxed,  dominated  by  the  Rus- 
sian, he  thought  the  moment  had  come  for 
making  the  assault. 

He  had  four  regiments  of  the  line,  and 
four  battalions  of  sharpshooters.  Still 
keeping  up  his  murderous  fire,  he  formed, 
under  its  cover,  two  regiments  in  the  little 
hollow  at  the  foot  of  the  low  hill  on  which 
was  built  the  redoubt,  together  with  two 


battalions  of  sharpshooters,  not  more  than 
1,200  yards  from  the  scarp.  Then  placing 
himself  in  the  best  position  for  watching 
the  result,  he  ceased  fire  and  ordered  the 
advance.  He  ordered  the  assaulting  party 
not  to  fire,  and  they  rushed  forward  with 
their  guns  on  their  shoulders,  with  music 
playing  and  banners  flying,  and  disappeared 
in  the  fog  and  smoke.  The  advancing 
column  was  indistinctly  seen — a  dark  mass 
in  the  fog  and  smoke.  Feeling,  as  it  were, 
every  throb  of  the  battle,  Skobeloff  saw  this 
line  begin  to  waver  and  hesitate.  Upon  the 
instant  he  hurled  forward  a  rival  regiment 
to  support,  and  again  watched  the  result. 
This  new  force  carried  the  mass  farther  on 
with  its  momentum,  but  the  Turkish  re- 
doubt flamed  and  smoked,  and  poured  forth 
such  a  torrent  of  bullets  that  the  line  was 
again  shaken.  Skobeloff  stood  in  this 
shower  of  balls  unhurt.  All  his  escort  were 
killed  or  wounded,  even  to  his  little 
Kirghiz  servant,  who  received  a  bullet  in 
the  shoulder.  Again  he  saw  the  line  hesi- 
tate and  waver,  and  he  flung  his  fourth  and 
last  regiment,  the  Libansky,  on  the  glacis. 
Again  this  new  wave  carried  the  preceding 
ones  forward,  until  they  were  almost  on  the 
scarp;  but  that  deadly  shower  of  bullets 
poured  upon  them  ;  men  dropped  by  hun- 
dreds, and  the  result  still  remained  doubt- 
ful. The  line  once  more  wavered  and 
hesitated.  Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost  if 
the  redoubt  was  to  be  carried. 

Skobeloff  had,  however,  only  two  bat- 
talions of  sharpshooters  left,  the  best  in  his 
detachments.  Putting  himself  at  the  head 
of  these,  he  dashed  forward  on  horseback. 
He  picked  up  the  stragglers;  he  reached 
the  wavering,  fluctuating  mass,  and  gave  it 
the  inspiration  of  his  own  courage  and  in- 
struction. He  picked  the  whole  mass  up, 
and  carried  it  forward  with  a  rush  and  a 
cheer.  The  whole  redoubt  was  a  mass  of 
flame  and  smoke,  from  which  screams, 
shouts,  and  cries  of  agony  and  defiance 
arose,  with  the  deep-mouthed  bellowing  of 
the  cannon,  and,  above  all,  the  steady, 
awful  crash  of  that  deadly  rifle-tire.  Skobe- 
loff's  sword  was  cut  in  two  in  the  middle. 
Then  a  moment  later,  when  just  on  the 
point  of  leaping  the  ditch,  horse  and  man 
rolled  together  to  the  ground,  the  horse 
dead  or  wounded,  the  rider  untotiched. 
Skobeloff  sprang-  to  his  feet  with  a  shout, 
then  with  a  formidable  savage  yell  the  whole 
mass  of  men  streamed  over  the  ditch,  over 
the    scarp    and     counter-scarp,    over    the 

257 


TERRIBLE  LOSSES.] 


irrSTORY  OF  THE 


Hi 

II  I 


fi 


i; 


i 


parapet,  and  swept  into  the  redoubt  like  a 
hurricane.  Their  bayonets  made  short 
work  of  the  Turks  still  remaining.  Then 
a  joyous  cheer  told  that  the  redoubt  was 
captured,  and  that  at  last  one  of  the  de- 
fences of  Plevna  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Russians ;  but  at  what  a  sacrifice !  In  that 
short  rush  of  a  few  hundred  yards,  3,000 
men  had  been  left  on  the  hill-side  on  the 
glacis,  the  scarp,  and  the  ditch — one-fourth 
of  his  whole  force.  Skobeloff  himself  re- 
garded such  attacks  upon  such  positions 
as  almost  criminal,  and  disapproved  highly 
the  whole  plan  of  attack  on  Plevna ;  but 
he  believed  that  if  an  attack  was  to  be 
made,  it  could  only  be  done  in  this  manner, 
and  that  although  the  loss  of  men  might 
JDe  great,  as  we  have  just  shown  it  must  be, 
it  was  better  that  the  loss  should  be  incurred, 
and  the  victory  won,  than  half  the  loss  with 
a  certainty  of  defeat. 

But  having  gained  the  redoubt,  the  ques- 
tion was,  how  to  hold  it.    It  was  dominated 
by  the  redoubt  of  Krishine   on    the    left, 
exposed  at  the  Plevna  side  to  the  fire  of  the 
sharpshooters,  to  the  Turkish  forces  in  the 
wood  bordering  on  the  Sophia  road,   and 
open  to  the  fire  of  the   intrenched  camp. 
There   was  a  cross-fire  coming  from  three 
different  points.      At  daylight  next  morn- 
ing, September  12th,  the  Turks  opened  fire 
from  all  sides.     The  distance  from  the  re- 
doubt   at    Krishine   had,   of  course,   been 
accurately  measured,  and  the  guns  dropped 
shells  into  the  redoubt  with  the  utmost  pre- 
cision on  the  exposed  sides.     The  back  of 
the  redoubt  was  a  solid  rock,  on  which  it 
was  impossible  to  erect  a  parapet.     All  the 
earth   had   been  used  for  the  construction 
of  the  parapets  on  the  other  side.     It  was 
evident   that   the    position   was   untenable 
unless  the  intrenched  camp  on    the  other 
side  of  the  Plevna  and  Krishine  redoubt 
could  be    taken.      Skobeloff    renewed    his 
demand  for  reinforcements  made  the  even- 
ing before.     Although   his  losses  had  been 
great,   the  spirit  of  his  troops  was  so  good 
that,  with  another  regiment,  he  was  willintr 
to  undertake  to  capture  the  Krishine  re- 
doubt and  the  intrenched  camp,  or  he  would 
undertake  to  hold  the  positions  until  some- 
thing could  be  attempted    in  some  other 
quarter.     Could  one  or  two  more  positions 
be  carried  during  the   next  day,    say  the 
Krishine  redoubt  and  one  intrenched  camp 
on  the  same  ridge  as  the  Grrivitza  redoubt, 
the   fall    of   Plevna    might    be    considered 
certain.     But  at  sunrise  the  Turks  beijan  an 
258 


[A.D.  187r. 


attack  upon  the  captured  redoubt,  and  the 
storm  of  battle  again  raged  with  fury  there, 
while  all  was  quiet  everywhere  else.  The 
desperate  attack  of  the  Turks  was  repulsed. 
Another  attack  was  made  and  another  re- 
pulse ;  and  this  continued  all  daylong,  until 
the  Turks  had  attacked  and  been  beaten 
five  successive  times. 

The  Russian  losses  were  becoming  fearful 
General  Skobeloff  had  lost  2,000  men  in 
attacking  the  redoubt.      By  the  afternoon 
he  had  lost  3,000  more  in  holding  it,  while 
his   battalions   shrivelled    up    and  shrank 
away  as  if  by   magic.      One  battalion   of 
sharpshooters    had   been    reduced   to    160 
men,  and  one  company  which  had  been  150 
to  forty.    An  immense  proportion  of  officers 
were  killed  or  wounded.     Only  one  com- 
mander of  a  regiment  was  alive;  scarcely  a 
head  of  a  battalion  was  left.     Two  officers 
of  the  staff  were  killed,  one  of  whom  was 
Verastchagine,  brother  of  the  great  artist. 
Another    brother  was   wounded.      General 
Dobrovolsky,  commander  of  sharpshooters, 
was    killed.       One   officer    was    blown    to 
pieces  by  the  explosion  of  a  caisson.     Cap- 
tain Kurapatkin,  chief  of  the  staff,  standi ncr 
beside  this  officer,  had  his  hair  singed,  and 
suffered  a  severe  contusion.      Only  General 
fekobeloti  himself  remained  untouched     He 
seemed  to  bear  a  charmed  life.     He  visited 
the  redoubt  three  or  four  times  during  the 
day,  encouraging  the  soldiers^tcliing  them 
help  would  soon  arrive ;  Plevna  would  soon 
be  taken ;    victory  would  soon  crown  their 
efforts;    telling  them  it  was  the  final  de- 
cisive blow  struck  for  their  country  ;  for  the 
honour  and  glory  of  the  Russian  arms ;  and 
they  always  replied  with  the  same  clieerf 
shouts,  while  their  numbers  were  dwindlin(r 
away  by  liundreds.      He  again  and   a^^aiS 
sent  for  reinforcements,  and  again  and  a-airi 
informed  the  commander-in-chief  that  the 
position    was    untenable.       The  afternoon 
wore  away  and  no  reinforcements  came. 

General  Levitzki,  however,  formally  re- 
fused reinforcements,  either  because  he 
thought  the  position,  in  spite  of  General 
^kobeloff's  representations,  was  tenable,  or 
because  he  had  no  reinforcements  to  crive. 
General  Kriloff,  on  his  own  responsibility, 
sent  the  remnant  of  a  regiment  which  had 
attacked  the  redoubt ;  but  of  the  2,500  there 
were  barely  1,000  left,  so  it  was  utterly  in- 
capable of  going  into  action  that  day ;  and 
even  this  regiment  arrived  too  late.  General 
Skobeloff  had  left  the  redoubt  at  four  o'clock 
to  go  to  his  tent  on  a  woody  hill  opposite. 


A.D.  1877.1 


He  had  been  there  scarcely  an  hour  when 
he  was  informed  that  the  Turks  were  again 
attacking  the  right  flank  on  the  Lovatz 
road,  immediately  above  Plevna.  He  gal- 
loped forward  to  see,  and  was  met  by  an 
orderly  with  the  news  that  the  Turks  were 
also  attacking  the  redoubt  a  sixth  time. 
He  dashed  forward  towards  the  redoubt,  in 
hopes  of  reaching  it  in  time,  but  was  met 
by  a  stream  of  his  own  men  flying  back. 
They  were  exhausted  by  forty-eight  hours' 
incessant  fighting,  and  were  worn  out, 
hungry,  and  dying  of  thirst  and  fatigue. 
Owing  to  the  inactivity  of  the  Russians 
during  the  day,  the  Turks  had  been  enabled 
to  collect  an  overwhelming  force,  which  had 
made  one  last  desperate  effort,  and  had  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  Skobeloff's  force  out.  One 
bastion  was  held  to  the  last  by  a  young 
officer  with  a  handful  of  men.  They  re- 
fu.-<ed  to  fly,  and  were  slaughtered  to  the 
last  man. 

This  temporary  success  of  Skobeloff's, 
which  cost  him  three-quarters  of  his  forces, 
was  all  that  the  Russians  had  to  show  for 
their  endeavours  on  the  extreme  left.  In 
the  centre,  Kriloff  had  been  less  fortunate 
in  point  of  success,  and  but  little  less  un- 
fortunate in  his  losses.  The  great  attack 
had  been  signally  repulsed  along  the  whole 
Russian  line,  at  an  immense  loss. 

The  only  enduring  success,  purchased  at 
a  similar  cost,  had  been  obtained  by  the 
Roumanians,  assisted  by  the  Russians,  who 
carried  the  formidable  Grivitza  redoubt  in 
the  even  in  Of. 

At  halt- past  two  P.M.  the  attack  was 
made  by  tlie  Roumanians,  but,  by  some 
mistake,  the  Russians  arrived  half-an-hour 
too  late.  The  Roumanians  attacked  from 
the  east  and  south-east,  the  Russians  from 
the  south  and  south-west  by  a  line  of  skir- 
mishers, with  men  carrying  scaling-ladders, 
gibions,  and  fascines  among  them.  The 
latter  had  their  rifles  slung  on  their  backs, 
and  were  ordered  in  no  case  to  fire,  but 
merely  to  run  forward,  fill  up  the  ditch,  and 
place  their  ladders  behind.  Then  followed 
the  second  line,  in  company  column  forma- 
tion for  the  attack,  followed  by  the  third 
line  to  support  the  assault. 

The  Turkish  fire  directed  against  the 
assailants  was  incessant,  though  it  did  not 
do  so  much  damage  as  might  have  been 
expected,  owing  to  the  assailants  being 
more  or  less  under  cover  of  the  parapets. 
But  in  spite  of  this  the  assault  was  repulsed,  i 
and  the  storming  party  all  fell  back  except  j 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.     foRiviTZA  redoubt  captured. 


two  companies  of  infantry,  which  had  found 
cover  and  kept  up  a  brisk  fire  against  the 
redoubt. 

At  half-past  five  the  attack  was  renewed 
by  a  battalion  of  the  Roumanian  militia, 
followed  by  two  Russian  battalions  of  the 
17th  and  18th  regiments.  The  redoubt 
was  then  carried,  and  the  Turks  withdrew 
to  another  redoubt  in  the  rear  of  the  cap- 
tured one,  whence  they  poured  such  a 
withering  fire  into  the  Russo-Roumanian 
party,  that  before  reinforcements  could  ar- 
rive they  were  able  to  return  to  the  attack, 
and  drove  the  victors  out  of  their  newly  con- 
quered positions. 

Meantime,  however,  the  Russian  rein- 
forcements had  arrived,  together  with  three 
battalions  of  Roumanians.  Then  followed 
a  third  assault,  and  the  work  was  finally 
captured  at  seven  p.m.  Four  guns  and  a 
standard  were  the  trophies  of  the  feat  of 
arms.  More  than  once  during  the  night 
did  the  Turks  advance  with  shouts  of 
"Allah  !"  but  no  serious  attack  was  made, 
and  in  the  morning  the  Turks  in  Plevna 
saw  the  flag-staff  defiantly  exposing  the  Rou- 
manian flag  in  the  hitherto  dreaded  Gri- 
vitza redoubt.  Thus  the  capture  of  this 
redoubt  was  the  only  result  of  the  great  as- 
sault of  September  Uth,  which  cost  the 
Russo-Roumanian  forces  no  less  than  14,000 
men.  And  even  this  success  was  of  no  value, 
for  the  Grivitza  redoubt  was  commanded  by 
the  Plevnitza  redoubt  in  its  rear,  whence  an 
increasing  fire  was  kept  up,  against  which, 
however,  the  Roumanian  garrison  held  its 
ground  to  the  last. 

But,  like  Loris  Melikoff,  the  Russian 
commanders  in  Bulgaria  knew  how  to  derive 
service  from  their  experiences. 

The  success  of  the  Roumanians,  or  let  us 
say,  the  success  of  the  operations  at  Grivitza, 
showed  them  the  proper  and  only  way  to 
capture  Plevna.  They  had  worked  up  to 
the  redoubt  by  sap  ;  and  by  sap  and  starva- 
tion, Plevna,  they  at  last  saw,  could  only  be 
taken.  Plevna,  they  at  last  became  con- 
vinced, had  been  turned  into  a  vast  fortress, 
against  which  they  would  have  to  conduct 
operations  in  the  same  way  that  the  allies 
proceeded  against  Sebastopol,  or  the  Ger- 
mans against  Paris. 

And  in  these  circumstances  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  Russians  should  think  of 
the  veteran  general  who  had  rendered  them 
such  services  twenty  years  before — of  Gene- 
ral Todleben.  His  advice  was  plain,  simple, 
and  to  the  point.    It  was  to  invest  Plevna 

259 


A. 


?ii 


ATTACK  ON  SCHIPKA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [investment  of  plevna.' 


with  a  series  of  earthworks  and  redoubts, 
and  cut  off  Osman  Pasha  from  his  commu- 
nication with  Sophia  and  Widdin.  Instead 
of  going  to  Plevna  to  attack  Osman  Pasha, 
the  Russians  were  to  make  an  outer  Plevna 
of  their  own,  and  force  Osman  Pasha  to 
attack  them.  This  advice  was  not  heroic, 
but  it  was  sensible ;  and  having:  due  reofard 
to  the  probable  course  of  future  events,  it 
was  certain  of  success. 

This  was  so  clear,  that  every  one,  ex- 
cept Osman  Pasha,  foresaw 'the  end.  Or, 
as  it  may  not  be  fair  to  hold  Osman  respon- 
sible, we  may  say  everybody  except  the 
authorities  at  the  Porte. 

As  soon  as  it  became  apparent  that  the 
Russians  had  changed  their  plan  of  action 
— which  speedily  became  apparent  to  all 
the  world — Osman  Pasha  should  have 
changed  his,  and  have  evacuated  Plevna, 
which  had  done  all  the  damage  to  the  Rus- 
sians  wliich  lay  in  its  power.  What  Osman 
Pasha  might  have  done  is  of  course,  more  or 
less,barren  speculation.  But  it  is  conceivable 
that,  having  a  small  garrison  in  Plevna,  he 
might  have  withdrawn  all  the  forces  in 
Western  Bulgaria  with  him  across  the  Bal- 
kans, and,  uniting  with  Mehemed  Ali,  have 
offered  a  determined  front  to  the  Russians 
on  the  Lom,  and  taking  the  offensive  from 
Kezanlik  to  Rustzuk,  at  any  rate  have  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  the  Russians  further  back 
from  the  basis. 

However,  Osman  Pasha  did  nothing  of 
the  sort,  and  remained  in  Plevna  to  be 
smoked  out  like  a  badger  out  of  his  hole. 
The  Russian  errors  before  Plevna  lasted  from 
June  11th  to  September  Uth.  The  Turkish 
errors  in  Plevna  began  on  September  llth, 
and  continued  to  the  bitter  end.  Grivitza 
was  the  turning-point  for  both. 

But  if  Plevna  was  the  stone  wall  against 
which  the  Russians  ran  their  heads  in  vain, 
the  Schipka  Pass  was  equally  the  stumbling- 
block  of  the  Turks.  Here  the  endeavours 
of  Suleiman  Pasha  still  remained  barren  of 
results,  although  Fort  St.  Nicholas,  the 
high  rock  frowning  upon  tlie  mouth  of  the 
pass,  which,  to  the  Czar  and  Sultan,  was  of 
equal  importance,  had  an  exceedingly  nar- 
row escape  of  changing  owners  on  the  17th 
of  September.  At  one  time,  indeed,  soon 
after  the  attack  commenced,  which  was 
shortly  Vjefore  daybreak  ("  the  darkest  hour 
befoie  the  dawn  "  being  well  chosen  as  best 
for  all  night  attacks),  it  was  fully  believed 
that  it  had  fallen.  Had  the  attackinur  force 
veen  supported  by  the  efforts  of  those  up  >u 
260 


whom  devolved  the  duty  of  co-operation,  all 
might  have  been  well  with  the  Turks,  and 
the  standard  of  the  Prophet  have  again 
assumed  its  place  in  the  entire  range  of 
forts,  forming  so  insuperable  an  obstacle  to 
the  capture  of  the  celebrated  pass.  Sulei- 
man Pasha  had  waited  until  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  forming  as  handy  an  army  as  any 
of  his  brother  generals  could  boast  of;  and, 
from  all  that  can  be  gathered,  it  was  no 
fault  of  his  that  the  plan  he  had  formed 
was  not  crowned  with  success.  The  causes 
have  not  even  yet  been  fully  ascertained  ; 
but  there  can  be  no  doubt  it  was  in  no  way 
his  intention  to  dream  of  capturing  the 
Russian  positions  by  a  direct  attack  upon 
the  principal  one  of  them.  A  threatening 
demonstration  on  some  or  one  of  the  chain 
of  forts  in  the  rear  of  Fort  St.  Nicholas,  and 
parallel  with  the  main  road  through  the 
pass,  miglit  stand  a  very  fair  chance  of 
success  ;  and  this  would  appear  to  have  been 
intended  on  the  17th  of  September.  The 
troops  toM-off  to  commence  the  attack 
(nearly  ,3,000  in  number),  did  their  duty 
admirably,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
firm  foothold  upon  the  rocky  fort,  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  which  soon  fell  into 
their  possession.  Exposed  for  hour  after 
hour  to  a  galling  fire  on  their  front  and  on 
both  flanks,  it  is  marvellous  how  they  stood 
their  ground  so  long;  seeing,  with  their 
then  advantage  in  point  of  numbers  over 
the  enemy  in  their  immediate  front,  that 
they  could  not,  unless  a  diversion  were  made 
in  their  behalf,  hope  to  maintain  their 
ground  even  if  the  entire  fort  fell  into  their 
possession.  Upon  whose  shoulders  the 
blame  rests  (and  certainly  Suleiman  Pasha 
himself  ought  to  be  freed  from  it),  is  not  an 
easy  matter  to  ascertain.  The  only  reason 
which  can  be  assigned  for  the  failure  is,  that 
the  points  chosen  by  the  right  and  lett 
attacks  were  found  to  be  too  strong;  still, 
to  capture  them  was  one  matter,  but  to 
make  an  important  auxiliary  movement  was 
a  far  easier  one.  Very  feeble  flank  attempts 
were  made  by  the  generals  to  whom  the  duty 
was  assigned;  and  scarcely  credible  ac- 
counts were  bruited  about  of  the  inefficienc}^, 
and  even  absence  altogether  from  the  fight, 
of  the  officers  with  these  troops.  The  action 
lasted  until  nearly  mid-day,  when  the  un- 
supported troops  in  the  centre,  having  no 
hope  of  co-operat  on  from  the  east — for  in- 
stance, through  the  Travna  Pass — or  from  the 
west,  and  having  actually  seen  a  large  body 
of  the  enemy  rapidly  coming  up  to  attack 


them,  were  very  properly  ordered  to  retire. 
Disappointed  and  galled  as  they  were,   it 
was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  fled  in 
disorder  down   the  side  of  the  steep  rock 
which  it  had  co>t  them   so  much  to  gain. 
And  great  was  Suleiman  Pasha's  good  for- 
tune that  the  fear  occasioned  by  their  flight 
did    not  communicate  to  the  rest   of  his 
army.     A  useless  sacrifice  of  life  and  limb 
was   alone   the   result   of  the  day's  work. 
About    1,000   were   killed,    wounded,    and 
missing;  and  there  was  scant  hope  of  the 
Turks  finding  the  latter   taken  prisoners, 
the  bayonet  having  been  actively  employed 
during  the  retreat.     Still,  after  a  defeat, 
the  next  thing  naturally  to  be  expected  is  a 
panic  among  the  troops  to  whom  the  for- 
tune of  war  has  been  unfavourable.     Such 
was   the  case  on  the  night   following  the 
attack,  when,  from  some  unknown  cause — 
possibly  owing  to  the  soughing  of  the  wind, 
which  had  risen  high  as  the  sun  went  down, 
and  predisposed  the  nerves  of  the  pickets 
to     believe    every    crackling     branch     a 
Russian    footstep — the    alarm    was   given, 
and    the     greatest     excitement     prevailed 
amongst  the  horde  of  irregulars  who  formed 
the  rear  in  advance  and  the  van  in  retreat 
of  Suleiman  Pasha's  numt  reus  army.     They 
cared  not  to  wait  until  the  cause  could  be 
ascertained.     The  fact  of  the  alarm  being 
given  was  enough,  and  the  Russians  might 
be  on  their  heels.     At  every  step  as  they 
rushed  pell-mell  down,  generally  laden  with 
the  booty  they  had  succeeded  in  plundering 
on  the  march,  they  added  to  the  confusion, 
especially   amongst   the    swarm   of    camp- 
followers  and  the  great  numbers   of  Bul- 
garian  peasants,  who  were  enforcedly  em- 
ployed in  the  transport  service.     It  was  not 
for  more  than  an  hour  after  the  panic  had 
arisen  that  any  signs  of  its  being  allayed 
could  be  observed,  though  the   admirable 
conduct   of  the  regular  troops    in  calmly 
taking  up  their  assigned  positions,  should 


have  put  to  the  blush  even  such  poltroons 
as  those  who  had  been  the  first  to  fly.  A 
little  reflection  might  soon  have  convinced 
the  most  chicken-hearted  of  Bashi-Bazouks, 
with  his  waist  stuck  full  of  an  armoury  of 
pistols  and  daggers,  that  something  more 
than  a  few  strong  shots  would  herald  the 
Russian  advance.  He  did  not,  however, 
give  himself  the  time  for  thinking,  but 
joined  his  comrades  in  the  rush  to  the  rear, 
till  he  discovered  himself  to  be  alone  and 
without  a  following  even  of  the  class  who 
are  to  be  found  with  all  armies  in  the  field. 
Thus  more  than  a  month  had  elapsed  since 
Suleiman  Pasha  occupied  the  heights  which 
gave  him  such  a  powerful  advantage  over 
the  Russians,  who  were  cooped  up  in  the 
rock  and  behind  the  earthworks  which  lay 
across  the  pass,  and  yet  nothing  had  been 
effected  towards  the  capture  of  what  had 
become  a  veritable  stronghold.  His  tele- 
grams had  announced  the  closing  of  every 
inlet  of  the  besieged,  with  the  exception  of 
the  main  road  from  Gabrova  ;  and  why  this 
was  not  attempted  to  be  blocked  whilst  a 
sufficient  portion  of  the  army  kept  the 
garrison  at  bay,  waPbj  no  means  apparent. 

As  it  was,  Suleiman  Pasha  lost,  between 
August  20th  and  September  20th,  over 
10,000  men,  without  reaping  the  least 
advantage  beyond  prolonging  the  struggle. 

To  sum  up  the  state  of  affairs  after  the 
repulse  of  the  third  attack  upon  Plevna, 
the  campaign  on  both  sides  may  be  said  to 
have  resolved  itself  into  three  sieges.  There 
was  the  siege  of  Plevna  in  the  west;  the 
siege  of  the  Quadrilateral  in  the  east  by  the 
Russians;  and  the  siege  of  the  Schipka 
Pass  by  the  Turks. 

Henceforth,  operations  were  confined  to 
the  closer  investment  of  their  positions  on 
the  one  side,  and  attempts  to  cut  the  com- 
munications of  the  besieged  on  both  sides, 
whether  at  Plevna,  in  the  Quadrilateral,  or 
at  Schipka. 


CHAPTER   XXin. 


THE  INVESTMENT  OP  PLEVNA. 


As   soon   as   the  Russians  had  determined 
formally  to  invest  Plevna,  and  reduce  it  as 
Ihey  would  a  fortress,  Greneral  Kriloff  was 
VOL.  Ill,  2  M 


placed  in  command  of  the  cavalry,  and  sent, 
to  the  rear  of  Plevna  on  the  Sophia  road,  for 
the  purpose  of   cutting    off  the  Turkish 

261 


■-'>■': 


krtloff's  neglect.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


La.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


supplies.  As  the  Turks  had  few  cavalry, 
and  that  not  good,  General  Kriloff  should 
have  had  it  all  his  own  way.  The  country 
was  open,  well  adapted  for  cavalry  move- 
ments, and  an  active  leader  with  cavalry 
and  horse  artillery  sliould  have  been  able  to 
make  the  passage  of  convoys  difficult.  As 
the  Turks  had  about  50,000  men  in  the 
Plevna  position,  the  question  of  supplies 
was  an  urgent  one  with  them,  both  for  pro- 
visions and  munitions ;  and  the  magazines 
all  required  replenishing. 

News,  however,  was  received  at  Russian 
head-quarters  that  more  Turkish  forces 
were  coming  from  Sophia ;  but  it  was 
hoped  that  Kriloff  would  meet  and  drive 
them  back.  But  soon  the  Russians  were 
surprised  to  hear  of  Hifzi  Pasha's  arrival 
at  Plevna  with  a  small  escort.  It  was 
supposed  that  he  avoided  Kriloff  by  taking 
the  by-ways ;  General  Kriloff  himself  being 
somewhere  between  Lukovatz  and  Teliche. 

But  in  spite  of  General  Kriloff's  proxi- 
mity, the  Turks  succeeded  in  passing  two 
convoys  into  Plevna  under  his  very  nose. 
The  first  was  a  convoy  of  about  2,000 
waggons,  accompanied^  by  reinforcements 
for  Plevna,  consisting  of  ten  tabors  of 
infantry,  one  battery  of  artillery,  and  three 
regiments  of  cavalry. 

General  Kriloff  did  not  discover  the 
presence  of  these  convoys  until  they  had 
arrived  at  Teliche,  where  he  went  to  attack 
them.  He  found  them  already  intrenched, 
with  guns  in  poisition,  and  mounted  in  a 
battery.  An  artillery  fight  ensued,  which 
lasted  all  day,  with  no  result,  Kriloff  being 
unable,  of  course,  to  attack  so  large  a  force 
of  infantry  with  his  cavalry.  That  night 
he  retired  to  the  previous  position  he 
occupied  at  Dubnik,  on  the  Sophia  road, 
and  nearer  Plevna.  Next  day  the  Turks 
advanced  upon  Dubnik,  and  attacked  him 
in  turn.  Another  artillery  fight  ensued, 
which  lasted  all  day.  Towards  evening, 
however,  two  columns  of  infantry  came  out 
of  Plevna,  and  taking  Kriloff  in  the  rear, 
obliged  him  to  withdraw,  thus  leaving 
the  road  open  for  the  passage  of  the  rein- 
forcements and  convoy.  He  retired  upon 
Trstenik,  while  General  Lascaroff,  who  had 
only  then  succeeded  in  forming  a  junction 
with  Kriloff,  was  obliged  to  retreat  further 
back  across  the  Lovatz  road  to  Bogot.  The 
Turks,  therefore,  passed  the  convoy  without 
the  loss  of  a  single  waggon. 

The  whole  affair  was  very  feebly  managed, 
partly  because  General  Kriloff's  instructions 
262 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


were  unsuited  to  the  force  under  his  com- 
mand. He  was  told  to  hold  the  Sophia 
road  at  Dubnik,  a  thing  which  was 
manifestly  impossible  against  infantry, 
especially  at  a  point  so  near  Plevna,  where 
he  could  be  attacked  in  the  rear.  A  general 
in  command  of  such  detachments  should 
have  no  definite  instructions  except  to  do  as 
much  harm  as  possible  to  the  enemy, 
choosing  his  own  time  and  place.  Convoys 
should  have  been  attacked  forty  or  fifty 
miles  beyond  Plevna,  and  the  attack  kept 
up  if  necessary  until  under  the  very  guns  of 
the  place.  In  a  running  fight  of  this  kind, 
extending  over  forty  or  fifty  miles,  even 
with  a  convoy  protected  by  infantry,  the 
greater  part  of  the  carriages  would  be 
smashed  by  the  artillery,  the  draught  horses 
and  oxen  killed,  and  the  drivers  frightened 
away.  As  the  Turks  had  little  cavalry,  and 
that  only  of  the  very  poorest  kind,  the 
Russian  cavalry  could  have  scoured  the 
whole  district  between  Plevna,  Widdin,  the 
Danube,  and  the  Balkans  with  impunity, 
the  country  being  so  open  that  there  was 
not  the  slightest  danger  of  being  cut  off  by 
infantry.  But  General  Kriloff  was  not  a 
cavalry  man  at  all,  and  he  handled  cavalry 
as  if  it  were  infantry,  was  afraid  of  being 
cut  off,  and  thought  he  must  keep  his  com- 
munications open,  forgetting  that  cavalry 
in  a  perfectly  open  country  can  only  be 
cut  off  by  cavalry,  of  which  the  Turks  had 
none  worth  speaking  of.  General  Kriloff, 
instead  of  retiring  upon  Trstenik  "  to  keep 
his  communications  open,"  should,  on  the 
contrary,  have  cut  loose  from  the  Rou- 
manian right  wing,  and  advanced  on  the 
Sophia  road  to  the  Balkans  with  half  his 
forces  to  meet  the  next  convoy,  while 
the  other  half  might  have  moved  in  the 
direction  of  Widdin  to  meet  supplies 
coming  from  there. 

Upon  retiring,  Kriloff  left  two  regiments 
of  Cossacks  at  Etropol  to  watch  the  Sophia 
road,  and  another  convoy  slipped  through 
the  fingers  of  this  detachment  on  Septemlier 
24th.  But  Etropol  was  too  far  from  the 
Sophia  road,  in  the  first  place ;  and,  secondly, 
the  Russians  did  not  place  outposts  suffi- 
ciently advanced  to  give  warning  in  time. 
This  convoy,  besides,  did  not  come  along 
the  Sophia  road,  but  on  another  alongside 
it,  which  the  Russians  had  not  discovered. 
By  the  time  they  had  received  information 
of  its  coming,  and  had  reached  the  scene  of 
action,  the  convoy  was  almost  under  the 
guns  of  a  protected  bridge  over  the  Vid. 


[GOniKO's  SUCCESSES. 


But  had  they  charged  even  then,  they 
might  have  captured  the  greater  part  of 
the  convoy,  as  it  was  only  protected  by 
cavalry  that  ran  away.  They  waited,  how- 
ever, several  minutes  for  the  artillery  to 
come  up,  and  then  the  officer  in  charge 
lost  about  fifteen  minutes  in  writin^y  a  re- 
port to  General  Kriloff,  to  say  that  he 
meant  to  attack.  By  that  time  the  convoy, 
for  the  most  part,  had  got  safely  over  the 
Vid,  either  by  the  bridge  or  by  a  ford,  so 
that  the  report  was  superfluous.  The  Rus- 
sians threw  a  few  shells  at  them,  to  which 
-  the  guns  protecting  the  bridge  instantly 
answered.  Then,  as  it  was  quite  dark,  they 
retired  to  Etropol,  the  whole  spoil  being 
one  pair  of  oxen. 

It  was  perfectly  clear  that,  as  long  as 
Osman  Pasha  had  the  back-door  open,  it 
was  no  good  for  the  Russians  to  sit  down 
before  the  front  door  and  side  entrances.  It 
was  absolutely  necessary  to  close  the  ring, 
and  extend  the  sides  of  the  horseshoe  across 
the  river  Vid,  to  the  west  of  the  beleaguered 
place.  ° 

Meanwhile  the  Turks  had  been  fortifying 
the  road  from  Orkhanieh  to  Plevna,  and 
had  occupied  a  strong  position  at  Gorni 
Dubnik,  half-way  between  the  rivers  Vid  and 
Isker.  Here  they  had  erected  a  large  re- 
doubt, flanked  by  two  smaller  ones — the 
whole  held  by  twelve  battalions.  Further 
towards  the  Isker  the  Turks  had  another 
strong  position  at  Teliche,  and  a  third  be- 
tween Gorni  Dubnik  and  Plevna,  at  Dolni, 
or  Lower  Dubnik.  Practically,  these  posi- 
tions formed  part  of  the  PleVna  defences, 
for  without  them  Plevna  could  not  be  held! 
Once  in  the  hands  of  the  Russians,  Chebket 
Pasha,  who  was  commanding  the  army  of 
supply  for  Osman  Pasha,  could  no  longer 
throw  his  convoys  and  reinforcements  into 
Plevna. 

It  was  therefore  absolutely  necessary  for 
these  positions  to  be  in  the  power  of  the 
Russians.  Till  then  the  investment  could 
not  be  completed;  and  thus  General 
Gourko— Kriloff  having  amply  demons 
strated  his  incapacity  —  was  entrusted 
with  the  task,  and  the  command  of  what 
was  called  the  West  Army.  He  at 
-,  once  made  a  series  of  demonstrations 
against  all  these  positions.  On  October 
24th,  the  Russians  round  Plevna  opened  a 
furious  cannonade,  in  order  to  mask  what 
was  going  on  to  the  west,  and  to  prevent 
Osman  Pasha  making  any  sortie  against 
General    Gourko.      This     general,     after 


marching  in  force  against  Teliche,  suddenly 
wheeled  round,  leaving  a  division  of  the 
guards  to  attack  Teliche,  whilst  he  himself 
fell  upon  Gorni  Dubnik  with  twentv-four 
battalions  of  infantry,  one  regiment  of  cav- 
alry, and  sixty  guns.  The  attack  lasted 
from  six  in  the  morning  till  six  at  night, 
when  the  Turks,  utterly  exhausted,  hoisted 
the  white  flag  after  five  of  their  battalions 
had  escaped  to  Plevna.  The  remnants  of  the 
remaining  seven  surrendered.  The  guards 
at  Teliche  were  not  equally  successful,  and 
were  signally  repulsed ;  but  on  October  29th, 
Gourko  having  reinforced  the  assailants, 
Teliche  also  fell.  Thence  General  Gourko 
wheeled  back  again  upon  Dolni  Dubnik 
with  a  division  and  a-half  and  sixty-four 
guns,  before  which  the  Turkish  garrison  of 
5,000  men  at  once  retreated  into  Plevna 
during  the  night  before  the  attack  had 
commenced. 

With  this  operation  the  line  of  invest- 
ment round  Plevna  was  completed  by  a  cor- 
don of  infantry  and  artillery,  besides  the 
army  ot  the  west  under  Gourko  pushing  on 
towards  Sophia,  and  preparing  to  cross  the 
Balkans  far  to  the  west  of  the  force  check- 
ing the  Russians  at  Schipka. 

From  Grivitza  round  to  the  Lovatz  road 
the  line  was  just  where  it  was  at  the  moment 
of  giving  the  assault  at  the  last  attack  on 
Plevna.     The  artillery  occupied  the  ridge 
before  Radisevo,  with  the  guns    extended 
down  the  line  towards  the  Lovatz  road  to 
not  more  than  a  mile  from  Plevna.     On  the 
Lovatz  road  General  Skobeloff  was  not  so 
far  advanced  as  he  was  at  the  time  he  made 
his  assault.     The  Turks,  taking  advantage 
of  the  moment  after  the  battle  when  the 
Russians  had  withdrawn,  and  warned  that 
their  lines  were  not    invulnerable  in  this 
direction,  constructed  four  new   redoubts* 
so  that  Skobeloff,  instead  of  three  redoubts', 
had  seven  before  him.     When  Skobeloff  first 
attacked  here,  when  Kriidener  was  defeated, 
he  found  no  defences  at  all,  and  he  even 
entered  Plevna,  but  with  only  one  battalion. 
As  it  was,  his  line  had  been  removed  to  the 
front  of  a  village  called  Brestovetz,  on  a 
cross-road  to  Lovatz.     From  here  the  line 
extended  to  the  Vid.     It  then  crossed  the 
Sophia  road  about  a  mile  from  the  bridge 
over  the  Vid.     From  here  it  passed  parallel 
to  the  river  until  just  below  Opanes,  where 
it  again  crossed  the  Vid,  and  curved  round 
to  the  Grivitza  redoubt,  about  a  mile  in 
front  of  Grivitza.     The  Russian  line  of  in- 
vestment was  then  thirty  miles  long.     The 

263 


.•  »■ 


SKOBELOFF  AT  WORK.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


rA.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  CTRCT.E  CT.OSTNG. 


Turkish  position  measured  from  the  Gri- 
vitza  redoubt  to  the  bridge  over  the  Vid, 
eight  miles ;  from  the  Krishine  redoubt  to 
the  Bukova  redoubt  was  about  five  miles. 
The  line  was  of  an  irregular,  oval  shape,  with 
a  circumference  of  about  twenty  miles. 

With  the  force  the  Russians  had  in  the 
beginning  of  November  (120,000  men),  they 
were  able  to  fill  two  lines  of  continuous 
trenches  around  the  whole  line  of  investment 
as  full  as  it  was  convenient  for  men  to  lie  in 
trenches.  This  was,  however,  one  weak 
point  in  the  investing  lines  which  it  was 
necessary  to  strengthen.  This  was  the  posi- 
tion in  front  of  Erestovetz. 

After  the  battle  of  Plevna  it  was  thought 
unsafe  for  Skobeloff  to  remain  in  his  old 
positions  on  the  Lovatz  main  road,  and  he 
was  ordered  to  fall  back  on  Tucenitza,  com- 
pletely abandoning  the  Lovatz  road,  and 
placing  an  impassable  ravine,  which  runs 
parallel  to  the  road  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  distant  from  it,  between  him  and  the 
Turks.  When  he  again  advanced  to  occupy 
his  old  positions,  he  found,  as  above  stated, 
that  the  Turks  had  considerably  advanced 
theirs,  and  had  constructed  four  new  re- 
doubts. He  succeeded,  however,  in  occu- 
pying Erestovetz,  on  the  left  of  the  road, 
and  in  constructing  a  redoubt  in  front  and 
on  the  left  of  the  village,  and  the  line  of 
trenches  across  the  road  to  the  ravine 
already  mentioned.  The  Erestovetz  redoubt 
was  j  ust  opposite  the  Turkish  Krishine  re- 
doubt, from  which  it  was  distant  about  1,300 
yards.  Eut  this  Erestovetz  redoubt  formed 
a  kind  of  angle  projecting  into  the  Turkish 
lines,  and  was  somewhat  exposed  and  dan- 
gerous. It  became  necessary  to  strengthen 
it,  in  consequence  of  the  continual  casualties. 
This  could  be  done  by  seizing  the  small 
wooded  hill  immediately  in  front  of  the 
right  wing  between  the  Lovatz  road  and  the 
ravine  already  spoken  of. 

It  was  most  unfortunate  for  the  Russians 
that  these  positions  were  ever  abandoned, 
for  they  Were  about  as  high  as  the  Kri- 
shine redoubt ;  they  completely  commanded 
Plevna  ;  and  the  two  redoubts  captured  by 
Skobeloff  in  the  last  afifair,  and  fortified, 
would  have  rendered  the  Russian  positions 
here  much  stronger  than  they  could  after- 
wards be  made.  The  Turks  had  since  then 
constructed  a  strong  redoubt  on  the  summit 
of  the  hill  between  the  Krishine  redoubt 
and  the  Lovatz  road,  the  very  spot  where 
ISkobeloff  planted  two  batteries  during  the 
last  affair.  It  was  not  the  hill  with  the 
204  ' 


redoubt  which  Skobeloff  resolved  to  capture, 
but  one  between  the  Lovatz  road  and  the 
ravine.     It  was  defended  by  trenches,  and 
held  by  about  fourteen  tabors,  perhaps  7,000 
men,  though  Todleben  believed  there  were 
a  great  many  more,  as  the  position  was  most 
important.     The  combined  movement  was 
arranged    with    General  Gourko,  who  was 
to  open  fire  all  along  the  line,  and    like- 
wise advance  and  occupy  the  position   in 
front  of  him  towaids  the  bridge  over  the 
Vid,  in  order  to  shorten  his  line  likewise. 

The  attack  was  fixed  for  five  o'clock. 
Ey  that  time  it  was  so  dark  that  notliing 
could  be  seen  more  than  five  feet  off.  Sko- 
beloff reviewed  his  troops  that  were  destined 
for  the  attack— the  battalion  of  sharp- 
shooters. He  then  got  down  from  his  horse, 
went  about  among  the  men,  talked  to  them, 
told  them,  especially  the  under-officers,  just 
what  they  were  to  do,  and  finished  by  inform- 
ing them  he  would  lead  the  assault  in 
person.  This  regiment  was  one  which 
attacked  and  carried  these  same  heights 
during  the  last  affair  of  Plevna,  on  ''the 
second  day  of  the  bombardment.  The  regi- 
ment, having  taken  these  heights,  slipped 
out  of  the  hands  of  its  officers,  and,  as  will 
be  remembered,  pursued  the  Turks  to  the 
foot  of  the  glacis  of  the  redoubt  afterwards 
captured  by  Skobeloff,  with  the  result  that 
two-thirds  of  the  regiment  were  destroyed. 
It  was  the  recollection  of  this  event  that 
decided  Skobeloff  to  lead  the  attack  him- 
self. It  was  important  that  the  men  should 
be  stopped  at  the  right  moment  and  at  the 
right  place,  and  that  the  intrenchments 
which  he  intended  to  throw  up  should  be 
properly  laid,  as  a  little  mistake  easily  made 
might  end  disastrously.  It  was  not,  there- 
fore, mere  bravado  which  made  him  decide 
to  lead  the  assault  himself. 

At  half-past  four  he  mounted  his  horse, 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  and 
disappeared  in  the  fog.  At  five  o'clock  the 
fog  began  to  turn  dark,  showing  the 
approach  of  night.  The  Turks  must  have 
thought  there  would  be  little  call  for  further 
vigilance  that  day.  On  the  approach  of 
darkness  the  roar  of  eighty  guns  was  heard 
that  vomited  splashes  of  flame  upon  the 
murky  fog,  and  then  were  silent.  Then 
came  the  scream  of  eighty  shells  seeking 
their  destination  in  the  obscurity.  Then 
there  was  the  crash  of  the  infantry  fire  along 
the  whole  line,  except  on  the  point  of  the 
attack,  for  it  was  Skobeloff's  design  to  use 
the  fog  for  cover,  and  take  the°Turks  by 


surprise.  The  infantry  fire  rolled  along  in 
front  of  Erestovetz,  and  soon  the  bullets 
began  singing  overhead,  telling  that  the 
Turks  were  replying ;  but  there  was  little 
firing  on  the  right  wing,  where  the  attack 
was  to  take  place.  Finally,  after  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  there  were  two  or  three 
volleys  in  this  direction,  followed  by  a  Rus- 
sian shout,  and  the  position  was  carried. 

As  it  turned  out,  the  Turks  were  sur- 
prised, and  did  not  discover  the  approach  of 
the  Russians  until  they  were  within  100 
yards.  Ey  the  time  they  had  seized  their 
arms  and  fired  two  rounds,  the  Russians 
were  on  them  with  the  bayonet,  and  it  was 
all  over.  In  a  moment  those  who  did  not 
fly  were  bayoneted.  The  attack  was  led  by 
two  companies  of  sharpshooters,  followed 
closely  by  the  9th  battalion  and  the  Vladi- 
mirski  regiment.  Every  man  was  provided 
with  a  shovel,  and  immediately  began  mak- 
ing trenches,  as  indicated  by  Skobeloff.  In 
a  very  few  minutes  they  were  under  cover 
from  a  heavy  but  ill-directed  fire,  poured 
into  them  from  the  next  hill,  not  distant 
more  than  250  yards.  Skobeloff  stayed 
until  about  ten  o'clock,  when  he  thought 
the  men  had  made  the  place  secure,  and 
returned  to  Erestovetz  to  supper.  He  had 
bcarcely  washed  when  the  tire  broke  out 
again  with  fury  on  the  right  flank.  Skobe- 
loff mounted  again,  disappeared  in  the 
darkness  and  fog,  and  did  not  return  till 
mornino:.  He  found  the  Turks  makinor  a 
desperate  attempt  to  recapture  the  position, 
and  arrived  on  the  ground  in  the  nick  of 
time,  as  some  confusion  had  ensued ;  for  the 
reserves,  who  lost  their  way  in  the  fog, 
coming  in  the  wrong  direction,  got  fired 
into  from  their  own  side.  There  was  also  a 
report  that  Skobeloff  was  killed,  which  dis- 
couraged the  troops.  He  arrived  in  the 
middle  of  the  Turkish  assault,  one  fellow 
having  leaped  into  the  trench  with  the  cry 
of  "  Allah  I"  where  he  was  bayoneted.  The 
attack  was  repulsed  ;  but  the  Turks  made  a 
second  and  third  one,  and  each  time  were 
driven  back  with  ease. 

With  this  successful  movement  of  General 
Skobeloff  s,  the  circle  of  investment  was  now 
drawn  as  close  as  could  be  without  actually 
besieging  the  Turkish  positions.  Never- 
theless, in  only  two  places,  at  the  Grivitza 
redoubt  and  on  Skobeloff^s  position,  were 
the  combatants  within  speaking  distance  of 
each  other.  There  was  very  little  of  artillery 
fire  during  this  period ;  and  Todleben,  hav- 
ing abandoned    his   plan   of  concentrated 


volley-firing  upon  specified  points,  only  put 
it  in  practice  once  in  forty- eight  hours. 

The  Russian  lines  were  completely  con- 
nected by  a  telegraph  encircling  the  place, 
so  that  they  could  concentrate  immediately 
upon  any  point  of  the  circle  that  should  be 
attacked.  This  was  further  facilitated  by 
the  peculiarity  of  the  ground,  which  enabled 
the  Russians  to  see  every  part  of  the  Turk- 
ish positions  from  some  point  in  the  Rus- 
sian lines.  Any  concentration  of  the  Turk- 
ish troops  could  therefore  be  seen,  and  the 
numbers  estimated,  unless  such  concentra- 
tion were  to  be  made  at  night.  Even  then 
the  exact  numbers  could  be  seen  at  daylight 
as  soon  as  the  movement  began ;  so  that  it 
was  impossible  for  Osman  Pasha  to  gain 
time  by  making  feints.  If  he  wanted  to 
break  through,  he  would  simply  have  to 
gather  his  troops  together  during  the  night, 
and  throw  them  in  a  mass  upon  some  point 
of  the  Russian  lines  at  daybreak,  and  get 
through.  The  result  could  hardly  be  less 
than  disastrous ;  though  less  so,  perhaps, 
than  capitulation. 

Much  speculation  was  indulged  in  as  to 
the  direction  in  which  Osman  Pasha  would 
try  to  break  through.  It  seemed  scarcely 
likely  that  he  would  attempt  it  by  the 
Widdin  road,  where,  although  the  Russian 
line  was  weakest,  he  would  be  certainly 
thrown  back  upon  the  Danube,  and  taken  in 
flank  besides,  if  necessary,  by  the  Servians 
and  Roumanians,  still  at  Kalafat  and  on  the 
Danube. 

In  point  of  fact,  Osman  Pasha  had  lost 
all  chance  of  escaping  from  Plevna  as  soon 
as  General  Gourko  had  occupied  Teliche  and 
the  two  Dubniks,  and  the  infantry  had 
closed  round  to  the  west  of  Plevna.  Unless 
the  siege  of  Plevna  could  be  raised  by  an 
army  marching  to  its  succour,  it  was  doomed 
to  fall,  and  Osman  Pasha  and  his  army  pre- 
destined to  surrender. 

Eut  where  was  external  help  to  come 
from  ?  As  will  be  remembered,  the  Turkish 
commanders  were  incapable,  or  incapaci- 
tated from  making  any  simultaneous  move- 
ment. After  the  second  repulse  of  the 
Russians  by  Osman  Pasha  on  July  31st,  he 
quietly  sat  down  and  waited  for  "  something 
to  turn  up."  Then  Suleiman  Pasha  exe- 
cuted his  attack  on  the  Schipka,  August 
23rd.  This  was  repulsed,  and  then  Sulei- 
man Pasha  sat  down  and  waited  for  some- 
thing else  to  turn  up.  Thereupon  Mehemed 
Ali  also  made  a  series  of  attacks  along  the 
line  during  the  days  from  August  27th  to 

265 


It 

4 


OSMAN  PASHA  AT  BAY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


August    30th  ;    and,  having  gained  a  few 
yards  of  ground,  he  also  sat  down  and  waited 
for  something  more  to  turn  up.     Hereupon 
Osman  Pasha  suddenly  awoke,  and,  finding 
that  nothing  had  turned  up,  resolved  to  try 
and  turn  it  up  himself,    and  made  his  un- 
successful   sortie    on    August    31st.     This 
alarmed  Sukiman  Pasha,  and  he,  too,  went 
forth  to  find  the  will-o'-the-wisp  of  some- 
thing to  turn  up,  and  made  his  second  futile 
attempt  on  Fort  St.  Nicholas  September 
17th.     This  equally  alarmed  Mehemed  Ali, 
who  suddenly  discovered   tliat    there    was 
nothing  to   turn  up  on  the  Lom  lines,  and 
returned  to  his  old  positions,  much  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  Kus.vians  and   the  dis- 
gust  of  the   Seraskericit,  wliicli  marked  its 
displeasure  by  recalling  him  and  appointing 
Suleimiin  Paslia  to  his  plnce,  in  hopes  that 
he,  at  least,  would  try  and  do  sometiiing  to 
break  through   the   Czarevitch's  lines,  and 
thus    assist    Osman    Pasha.     But    neither 
Suleiman    Pasha  nor  Mehemed  Ali   could 
do  or  have  done  more  than   they  did   with 
the     means     at     their    command.      Thus 
Mehemed  Ali  insisted,  time  after  time,  on 
the  absolute  necessity  of  a  thoroughly  well- 
organised    telegraph    service   in    the    field, 
and   connecting    the    head-quarters    of  the 
different  armies  amongst  each  other,  as  well 


as  with  Constantinople.     Still,  in  spite  of 
all  his  endeavours,  the   Seraskeriat   would 
not   con>ent  to    this,  being  afraid  that,  it 
permitted,  it  would  place  too  much  power 
in  the  hands  of  the  commanders,  who  mi-rht 
be   tempted,  by  the  facility  of  communica- 
tions, to  conceit  measures  and  plan  attacks 
without    the    previous    permission    of   the 
authorities    at  Constantinople.     Then,  be- 
sides this  great  drawback,  there  was    the 
lax  manner  in  which  even  the  existing  tele- 
graph service  was  carried  out.     There  was 
not  only  an   insufficient  number  of   clerks, 
but  even   they  were,   with  very  few  excep- 
tions, incompetent  to   do  their  work  with 
the  exactitude  and  promptitude  requisite. 
This    was    perfectly    well    known     to    the 
authorities  ;    but  so  great   was   their  anti- 
pathy   and    distrust   of   foreign  assistance, 
that  they  preferred  exposing  their  country 
to  real  danger,  rather  than   run  an  imagi- 
nary  risk.     Battling  continually  and  ener- 
getically against   such    abuses    and    preju- 
dices,  it  is  not  surprising   that  Mehemed 
Ali    accomplished   so    little,   but    that   he 
accomplished   so  much,  and,  by  a  judicious 
display   of  the  forces   and    means    at    his 
command,  to  impress  the  Russsians  with  an 
idea  of  power  which   he   himself  was    far 
from  possessing. 


CHAPTER     XXIV. 


CLEARING   BULGARIA, 


After  having  been  closely  invested,  and  all 
the  precautions  taken  to  prevent  Osman 
Pasha  from  effecting  his  retreat  and  cutting 
his  way  out  through  the  Russian  lines,  the 
bombardment  of  Plevna  recommenced  all 
round  on  November  22nd,  the  Turks  reply- 
ing 'energetically  to  their  enemy's  fire. 
Already,  on  November  12th,  the  Russians 
considered  the  position  of  Osman  Pasha  quite 
hopeless,  and  on  that  day  summoned  him 
to  surrender.  Though  this  was  denied  at 
the  time,  good  authorities  still  contend  that 
it  was  the  case.  But  at  any  rate,  with  the 
capture  of  the  Montule  Verde — or  Green 
Hill — by  Skobeloff,  Osman  Pasha's  chances 
of  escape  were  reduced  to  a  minimum.  And 
these  chances  were  still  further  reduced  to 
zero  when  the  Roumanians  crossed  the 
266 


Danube  and  captured  Rahova  and  Dzibra 
Palanka,  driving  the  weakened  garrisons 
into  Widdin,  and  occupying  the  main  road 
from  Lom  Palanka  to  Sophia,  which  cut 
through  Osman  Pasha's  line  of  retreat. 

If  Osman  Pasha  had  seized  the  opportu- 
nities he  still  had  during  the  month  of 
October,  he  might  have  saved  his  army  of 
40,000  to  50,000  men.  But  from  whatever 
cause — whether  because  of  his  orders  from 
Constantinople,  or  because  he  wanted  to 
gain  time  by  engaging  and  holding  fast  an 
army  of  over  100,000  men,  in  order  to  allow 
the  Porte  to  form  a  fresh  army  south  of  the 
Balkans — he  omitted  to  do  this,  and  had 
no  further  chance  of  forcing  the  enemy's 
,  lines,  unless  he  heard  the  thunder  of 
[  Mehemed  All's  artillery  coming  to  the  rescue 


M 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[acttons  on  the  lom. 


whilst  Fazli  Pasha  on  the  Lom  line,  and 
Raouf  Pasha  at  the  Schipka,  engaged  the 
troops  of  the  Czarevitch  and  General 
Radetzki.  That  things  were  rapidly  ap- 
proaching a  crisis  was  apparent  from  the 
arrangements  the  Turkish  commanders  were 
making  at  the  last  moment.  Mehemed  Ali 
was  still  at  Sophia,  but  had  sent  forward  an 
advance  column,  which  reoccupied  Berkovt- 
cha.  Raouf  Pasha  opened  a  heavy  fire  on 
the  Russian  lines  in  the  Schipka  Pass ;  and 
Suleiman,  having  made  all  the  preparations 
he  could,  and  set  the  troops  going,  had  re- 
turned to  his  command  in  the  Quadrilateral. 

Here,  on  November  19th,  a  determined 
attack  was  made  by  the  Tiirk.^^,  fourteen 
battalions  strong,  under  the  command  of 
Salem  and  Dilaver  Pashas,  to  force  the 
Russian  positions  extending  from  Pirgos  to 
Trstenik,  along  the  high-road  from  Kustzuk 
to  Biela.  The  accounts  of  the  action  given 
by  the  Russians  and  the  Turks  differ,  but  it 
is  easy  to  reconcile  them.  The  Russians 
acknowledge  that  Pirgos  was  burned  to  the 
ground,  and  that  the  troops  liohling  it  had 
to  retire  to  Mctchka.  On  tlie  other  hand, 
the  Russians  stated  that  they  threw  the 
Turks  across  the  Lom,  and  pursued  them  ; 
and  this  is  borne  out  by  the  Turkish  state- 
ment that  the  Russians  attacked  Kadikoi, 
on  the  Rustzuk  side  of  the  Lom,  but  were 
repulsed. 

The  course  of  the  action  was  as  follows : — 
Salem  Pasha  advanced  with  his  infantry 
from  Lipnik,  and  crossing  the  Lom  under 
cover  of  the  guns  of  Sary  Bair,  fell  upon 
Pirgos  whilst  the  n  gular  and  Ciscassian 
cavalry,  under  Dilaver,  advanced  from 
Bazarbova  and  cut  the  lines  between  Trstenik 
and  Metchka,  thus  enabliug  Ibrahim  Pasha 
to  carry  the  heights  of  Metchka  until  the 
whole  of  the  12th  Russian  division  was 
launched  against  them,  and  forced  them  to 
retire  back  across  the  Lom,  pursued  in  turn 
by  the  Russians  as  far  as  Kadikoi,  where 
they  at  last  effected  a  stand,  and  the  Russians 
withdrew  to  their  old  positions.  The  attempt 
to  break  through  the  Russian  lines  was 
therefore  a  failure.  Nor  was  the  cannonade 
at  the  Schipka  Pass  productive  of  any  re- 
sult. 

This  was  on  November  19th.  On  the 
same  day  the  news  arrived  in  the  Russian 
camp  that  Kars  had  fallen.  Then  there 
occurred  one  of  those  episodes  so  highly 
characteristic  of  militarv  Christianitv.  A 
Te  Deum  was  sung  in  the  Tucenitza  redoubt 
before  Plevna,  in  the  presence  of  the  Czar, 


'  and  the  god  of  victories  satisfied   by  full 

salvoes  of  shot  and  shell  being  hurled  into 

I  the  town.     In  the  evening  the  victims  were 

compensated   for  their  wounds   by  a  grand 

display  of  fireworks  in  honour  of  the  event. 

Meanwhile,  pending  the  approaching 
doom  of  Plevna,  the  chief  interest  centred 
again  round  the  operations  of  General 
Gourko.  For  the  second  time  he  crossed 
the  Balkans  to  carry  the  war  into  Roumelia. 
He  accomplished  this  operation  in  the  same 
way  as  he  executed  his  first  march,  and 
with  much  the  same  object.  By  almost  un- 
known roads  he  secured  the  Hainkoi  Pass, 
with  the  intention  of  turning  the  Schipka 
Pass.  By  equally  difficult  and  scarcely 
known  roads  he  secured  the  Etropol  Pass, 
with  the  object  of  turning  the  Baba  Konak 
Pass,  and,  after  that,  the  Ginzi  Pass.  He 
failed  in  his  intention  at  Schipka  because 
he  was  not  supported.  But  this  time  he 
had  the  assistance  of  General  Schouvalofif, 
and  a  sufficient  number  of  men  to  secure  and 
hold  the  prizes  he  snatched  away  one  after 
the  other  from  the  grasp  of  the  Turks. 
Having  secured  the  positions  at  Lazeni  and 
l^tropol,  he  at  once  continued  his  advance 
from  Lazeni  on  Orkhanieh,  and  from  Etro- 
pol by  the  cross-road  leading  to  the  northern 
entrance  of  the  Baba  Konak  Pass.  At  the 
same  time  he  advanced  from  Etropol  by 
another  path.  This  road — very  little  known, 
except  to  the  Bulgarian  herdsmen — branched 
off  from  the  road  leaving  Etropol,  and  run- 
ning to  the  northern  entrance  of  the  pass, 
curved  round,  via  the  village  of  Strigli, 
into  the  high-road  south  of  the  Baba  Konak. 
And  simultaneously  he  pushed  forward  along 
the  road  from  Etropol  to  Zlatitza,  and  occu- 
pied the  defiles  leading  to  Kilissekoi  and 
Zlatitza. 

By  this  movement  he  turned  two  of  the 
Turkish  positions  at  the  same  time.  Whilst 
the  column  advanced  from  Lazeni  on 
Orkhanieh,  the  first  column  from  Etropol 
was  marching  by  the  cross-road  upon  the 
northern  entrance  to  the  Baba  Konak  and 
to  cut  ofif  the  retreat  of  the  Orkhanieh 
garrison,  who,  when  attacked  in  front  by 
the  Lazeni  column,  and  menaced  in  the 
flank  by  the  Etropol  column,  had  nothing 
left  but  to  retreat  across  the  Baba  Konak 
and  unite  with  the  bulk  of  the  forces  south 
of  Baba  Konak,  and  concentrate  between 
the  villages  of  Gorni  Komartzi,  Strigli, 
and  Dolni  Komartzi.  They  were  obliged 
to  renounce  any  attempt  at  holding  the  pass 
itself,  because  of  the  existence  of  the  road 

267 


ADVANCE  ON  ORKHANIEH.]  HISTORY     OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


leading  from  Etropol  to  Strigli,  to  which  we 
have  alluded,  and  could  do  no  more  than 
strongly  intrench  themselves  in  the  angle 
formed  by  the  junction  of  the  high-roads 
from  Orkhanieh  and  Zlatitza  to  Sophia  and 
at  Zlatitza  itself.  This  movement  also 
necessitated  the  abandonment  of  the  posi- 
tions at  Lutakovo  and  Novatchin,  and  also 
at  Liutibrod,  the  troops  of  which  retired  to 
the  Ogaya  Pass. 


ning  more  or  less  parallel  with  each  other, 
now  over  and  along  the  heights,  now  in  the 
valley,  and  more  or  less  commanding  each 
other.  Kanitz  made  use  of  one  of  them, 
but  his  visit  was  too  short  to  explore  them 
all.  At  about  four  hours'  march  from 
Liutibrod,  a  path  branched  off  southwards, 
west  of  Ignatitz,  and  debouched  in  the  road 
from  Novatchin  and  Lutakovo,  just  east  of 
the  Ogaya   Pass,   where  the  Turkish  garri- 


X — The  Oinzi  and  Bdba  Konak  Passes, 


o  BerkoTtcha. 


A — Action  Nov.  23. 
Russians. 
Turks. 


B— Position  Dec.  5. 
■MM     High-roads. 

Cross-roads, 

Passes. 


o  Vratza. 


r^Q 


)(. 


Ginzi 
Pass. 


Doruk  Khan, 
o  Bratiovtza. 


)( 


Tsariski  Khan. 


Opiatna. 
o 


o  Metschopoliana. 
Isker  Pass. 


o  Dramnitza. 


o  Liutibrod. 


To  Plevna  (70  m.) 

> 


o 

Siidol. 


Osenuvlak.  o 


Tcherepis. 

0 

Ignatitz. 


To  Plevna  (60  m.) 


Luiakovo. 


>»  Novatchin. 


Ogaya.  o 


Lukovo.  o 


•8- 


1 


o  I  Osikovo. 


can 


Orkhanieh. 


] 


To  Teteven  (15  m.) 

> 


Korila.  o 


on 

)( 


Vratshesh. 


Lazeni.  o  Pravetz. 


To  Teteven  (10  m.) 
> 


B 


-o  Etropol. 


Baba  Konak  j/ Pass. 

C 

G.  Komartzi.  u 


.8- 


I 


I 


trigii. 


Kilissekoi.  o 

I  o  Zlatitza. 


Sophia. 

Now,  referring  to  the  accompanying 
sketch,  which  has  been  compiled  from  the 
Kussian  staff  maps,  the  plans  of  Greneral 
Gourko  become  singularly  plain,  and  show 
to  what  an  extent  Sophia  was  threatened. 
At  almost  every  turn  the  Turkish  positions 
were  outflanked.  First  of  all,  we  find  a 
path  leading  along  the  Isker,  well  known 
to  the  Bulgarian  monks  of  the  Tcherepis 
monastery.  It  was  difficult  but  practicable, 
and  splits  up  into  a  number  of  paths  run- 
268 


o  o 

Saraatzi.    D.  Komartzu 


•B' 


sons  from  Lutakovo  and  Novatchin  haa 
taken  up  a  position.  Passing  through  the 
Isker  Pass,  the  road,  after  this  cross-path 
had  been  left  behind,  branched  off  westwards 
to  Opletna,  and  southwards  to  Ogaya. 
From  Opletna  it  ran  almost  due  south  to 
Lukovo  and  Sophia.  From  Ogaya,  the 
cross-road  curved  round  into  this  road, 
south-east  of  Korila,  where  the  Turks  had 
taken  up  a  position  with  an  advance  guard 
on  the  road  between  Ogaya  and  Korila. 


A.D.  1877."| 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[plan  of  advance. 


Now,  still  referring  to  sketch  X,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  Turks  did  not  occupy  any 
position  on  the  Sophia-Opletna  road.  They, 
however,  possessed  one  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Grinzi  Pass  on  the  road  to  Berkovtcha. 
But  this  pass  was  tapped,  so  to  speak,  in 
the  very  middle,  by  a  path  which  curved 
round  from  Opletna  and  Metschopoliana. 
At  the  same  time  the  Ogaya-Korila  road 
was  cut  through  by  a  road  running  from 
Vratshesh  to  Lukovo. 

Along  these  roads  the  Russians  pushed 
forward  as  the  Turks  retreated.  They 
pierced  through  to  the  Isker  Pass,  where 
the  Turks  had  occupied  no  position  in  any 
force.  They  advanced  by  the  cross-road 
past  Ignatitz,  by  the  road  from  Novatchin, 
and  by  the  road  from  Vratshesh,  on  the 
Turkish  position  at  Ogaya.  Thus  the 
Ginzi  Pass  was  threatened  from  Berkovtcha 
in  front  and  by  the  Isker  Pass  column  in 
the  rear,  whilst  the  Ogaya  position  was 
menaced  from  three  sides  likewise. 

These  columns,  conducted  by  Generals 
Gourko  and  Rauch,  were  therefore  cirry- 
ing  out  a  turning  movement  on  the  Ginzi 
Pass  and  Sophia,  whilst  General  Schou- 
valoff  was  engaged  in  operating  against 
the  positions  of  Mehemed  Ali  at  the 
southern  debouchment  of  the  Baba  Konak 
Pass. 

At  this  point  there  was  also  a  turning 
movement  in  progress.  Whilst  the  Baba 
Konak  was  threatened  by  the  columns  from 
Orkhanieh  and  Etropol,  a  third  column  was 
operating  against  Zlatitza,  so  as  to  gain  the 
high-road  to  Sophia,  and  take  the  Turkish 
position  in  the  flank  at  Dolni  Komartzi. 

With  this  general  view  before  him,  the 
reader  will  be  able  to  understand  the  de- 
tailed operations  of  the  Russians  in  thf  ir 
second  passage  of  the  Balkans,  and  their 
clearance  of  the  Turkish  forces  from  Bul- 
garia. 

On  Nove-nbor  16th,  General  Gourko 
started  from  Dolni  Dubnik  for  Yablanitza, 
which  he  reached  on  November  18th,  and 
immediately  sent  out  reconnaissances  to 
ascertain  the  strength  of  the  Turks  in  the 
Sophia,  Etropol,  and  Orkhanieh  districts. 

It  soon  appeared  that  the  enemy  had 
occupied  very  strong  positions  north  of  the 
village  of  Pravetz,  four  or  five  miles  east  of 
the  Orkhanieh  road.  Here,  before  entering 
the  valley  of  the  Orkhanieh,  it  passed 
through  a  very  narrow,  crooked  defile,  be- 
tween rugged  mountains,  whose  sides  along 
the  road  were  so  steep  in  most  places,  that 
VOL.  III.  2  N 


a  man  unencumbered  by  arms,  and  not  sub- 
jected to  the  fire  of  an  enemy,  would  find 
it  impossible  to  get  up.  To  take  such 
positions  by  an  attack  in  front  was  clearly  out 
of  the  question.  It  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  turn  them  ;  and  this  General  Gourko, 
with  his  experience  of  the  previous  passage 
of  the  Balkans,  and  knowledge  of  the 
strong  and  weak  sides  of  the  Turkish 
soldier,  was  all  the  more  inclined  to 
attempt.  It  was,  however,  no  easy  matter. 
A  reference  to  skeleton  sketch  Y,  however, 
will  show  by  what  roads  General  Gourko 
effected  this  operation,  and  also  shows  the 
roads  by  which  Osman  Pasha  would  have  to 
effect  his  retreat  if  he  succeeded  in  breaking 
out  of  Plevna. 


Sketch  Y. 


Dubnik. 
o 


Plevna. 
O 


Telisch. 


I 


I 


Krishine.  o 


Tschurmakova. 


Perdilovo.  o 


Solenik.  o 


Lovatz.  o 


Yablanitza. 


Sopot. 


Borima.  o 


Teteven. 
jo  Pravetz. 
o  Etropol, 


Trojan,  o 


ORG 


Zlatitza. 


Rachmanli.     Tekk". 


o 
Giopsa. 


269 


'jf ' 


RAUCH  AND  GOTJRKO'S  MARCH.]       HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


The  mountain  paths,  however,  leading 
from  Yablanitza,  so  far  from  being  passable 
for  artillery,  as  reported,  were  scarcely 
practicable  for  a  man  on  horseback,  and 
none  but  the  hardiest  riders  with  the 
surest-footed  horses  would  think  of  climb- 
ing these  steep,  slippery  paths  without 
diomounting.  Nevertheless,  General  Gourko 
resolved  to  make  the  attempt. 

The  Turkish  positions  were  nearly  all  on 
the  right  side  of  the  road.  Although  they 
had  occupied  the  other  side,  they  had  con- 
structed no  redoubts,  and  dug  no  trenches 
there,  judging  correctly,  that  if  they  could 
hold  the  heights  on  the  right  side  of  the 
road,  that  would  be  quite  sufficient  to 
bar  the  passage.  On  tliis  side  they  had 
constructed  two  small  redoubts,  encircled 
by  mountains,  every  point  commanding  the 
defile  with  their  formidable  trenches.  A 
glance  at  sketch  X  will  show  that  the  Sophia 
road  at  Pravetz  turns  abruptly  west  to 
Orkhanieh  at  right  angles  to  its  previous 
course.  Just  in  this  angle  is  a  mountain 
ridge  overlooking  the  road.  This  ridge  the 
Turks  had  chosen  for  their  positions ;  and  it 
was  by  reaching  and  attacking  the  ridge 
from  the  southern  side,  that  General  Gourko 
determined  to  turn  them.  He  accordingly 
despatched  General  Ranch,  with  the  whole 
of  the  advanced  guard,  to  execute  this 
movement  with  the  Simionowsky  regiment 
of  the  guard,  the  fir^t  and  second  battalions 
of  sharpshooters,  one  battery  of  horse 
artillery,  and  six  squadrons  of  cavalry. 

Rauch  started  from  Yablanitza  on  the 
2l8t,  with  orders  to  march  all  night,  as  the 
distance  was  only  forty  kilometres  by  the 
map.  It  was  expected  he  would  arrive  at 
noon  next  day,  in  time  to  attack.  This 
was  a  grave  miscalculation.  Mountain 
roads  cannot  be  measured  on  maps,  or  the 
distance  should  be  estimated  at  twice  or 
thrice  that  indicated,  and  the  time  required 
for  a  single  horse  to  make  it  should  be 
doubled  or  trebled  for  the  march  of  an 
army  encumbered  with  artillery.  Rauch, 
instead  of  arriving  on  the  22nd  at  noon, 
only  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  23rd. 
This,  however,  was  the  only  miscalculation 
in  the  whole  movement,  and  did  not  affect 
the  result.  His  road  was  from  Yablanitza 
to  Vidrar,  thence  down  the  Mali  or  Little 
Isker  to  Kalugerovo,  then  up  a  little  stream 
called  the  Pravetzka,  to  the  rear  of  the 
ridge  occupied  by  the  Turks.  The  road 
was  so  difficult  and  so  narrow  in  many 
places,  that  broad-track  artillery  carriage 
270 


could  only  pass  with  one  wheel  over  the 
side.  They  were  only  kept  from  tumbling 
over  the  precipices  by  the  soldiers  holding 
them  by  means  of  ropes  passed  round  the 
wheels.  The  heavy  munition  waggons  were 
worse  still,  and  caused  infinite  trouble. 
Rauch,  besides,  found  it  impossible  to  march 
at  night,  owing  to  the  dense  fog  which 
filled  up  the  valleys  nearly  every  night  at 
that  season  of  the  year,  and  rendered 
travelling  very  dangerous,  if  not  impossible. 
Meantime,  while  Rauch  was  strusfirlin'^ 

'  Oct  O 

on  against  these  difficulties,  General  Gourko 
advanced  to  Osikovo  (see  sketch  X),  and 
waited  for  news  of  him  with  much  anxietv 
before  beginning  demonstrations  in  front. 
His  hope  was  to  surprise  the  Turks,  which 
could  only  be  done  by  a  rapid  movement ; 
but  the  day  passed  away,  evening  came,  and 
with  it  word  from  Ranch  that  he  had  only 
got  to  Kalugerovo,  still  a  long  way  from 
his  expected  destination.  The  attack  would 
have  to  be  given  up  for  that  day  at  least  ; 
but  in  the  meantime  General  Gourko  Iiad 
not  been  idle.  The  Kuban  Cossacks  ad- 
vanced along  the  road  and  drove  the  Turks 
from  the  hill  in  front  of  the  main  position 
on  the  right  of  the  road.  The  Moscow 
regiment  was  sent  to  occupy  the  hills  on  the 
left  of  the  road,  opposite  the  Turkish  posi- 
tions, which  thev  succeeded  in  doing:  with 
the  loss  of  three  or  four  men.  One  battery 
of  horse*  artillery,  and  another  of  mountain 
howitzers,  were  also  brought  up  and  planted 
on  the  heights  immediately  overhanging 
the  road  opposite  the  Turkish  works,  and 
not  more  than  one  thousand  yards  distant ; 
and  another  battery  was  planted  to  the 
right  of  the  road,  on  the  hill,  at  a  distance 
of  about  two  thousand  yards  from  the 
nearest  Turkish  position.  These  were  the 
only  two  batteries  brought  into  action  on 
the  Russian  side.  They  were  put  in  posi- 
tion on  the  night  of  the  22nd,  and  opened 
on  the  Turks  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd, 
when  the  fog  cleared  away. 

The  Turks  answered  but  feebly  as  they 
had  but  two  guns,  and  these  were  poorly 
served.  They  did  not  fire  more  than  ten  or 
fifteen  times  all  day.  These  two  batteries 
pounded  away  at  the  Turks.  All  day  long 
sharpshooters  kept  up  a  lively  fire,  but  there 
was  no  infantry  attack. 

At  last,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. Ranch's  troops  were  suddenly  per- 
ceived on  the  top  of  the  high  mountain  and 
the  other  end  of  the  ridge,  on  the  range 
just  where  they  were  looked  for,  with  the 


*>  i 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[capture  of  PRAlTTTZ. 


■i 


Turks  flying  down  the  mountain  side  before 
them.  Rauch  had  seized  the  key  of  the 
Turkish  position  with  a  loss  of  twenty-nine 
men.  As  this  was  the  highest  part  of  the 
ridge  or  range,  it  was  impossible  for  the 
Turks  to  hold  the  positions  attacked  in  the 
rear  from  the  heights  that  commanded 
them.  It  was  evident  they  were  beaten, 
and  only  the  approaching  night  and  the  fog 
prevented  Ranch's  troops  from  continuing 
their  march  along  the  ridge  and  attacking 
at  once. 

The  Moscow  regiment,  on  the  left  of  the 
road,  then  began  to  descend  the  height  into 
the  valley  near  Pravetz,  and  the  Turks  on 
the  heights  on  the  .  other  side  of  the  road 
opened  a  spirited  fire  upon  them ;  but  as 
the  object  of  the  Russian  movement  was  to 
turn  the  Turkish  position  from  this  side  as 
well  as  the  other,  and  as  the  plain  was  wide 
enough  to  get  out  of  range  of  the  Turkish 
fire,  the  Russians  did  not  lose  a  man.  They 
quietly  occupied  Pravetz,  where  they  were 
likewise  stopped  by  the  fog  and  the  dark- 
ness from  joining  Rauch  and  cutting  off 
the  Turkish  retreat. 

The  Turks  were  thus  surrounded  on  three 
sides.      As   was   expected,   they    retreated 
upon  Orkhanieh  during  the  night,  abandon- 
ing the  whole   position.     They  had  enough 
men  to  protect  their  rear  ;  but  to  judge  by 
Ranch's  easy  victory,  they  did  not  fight  as  ' 
the  Turks  fought  at  Plevna,  or  the  victory  • 
would  have  cost  the  Russians  at   least  ten,  i 
or  perhaps  twenty  times  what  it  did  cost  i 
them.     The  whole  loss  was  only  about  sixty 
men  killed  and  wounded. 

If  we  were  to  judge  of  the  victory  by  the 
loss  of  men  it  would  be  but  an  insiiJfnificant 
affair;  but  military  events  are  not  to  be 
judged  in  this  way.  It  was  not  exactly  the 
passage  of  the  Balkans  that  had  been 
effected,  as  there  was  still  a  higher  range  be- 
fore the  Russians ;  nevertheless,  there  were 
several  passes  or  places  where  a  passage  could 
be  effected  for  making  a  turning  movement, 
and  the  Turks  had  not  troops  to  defend 
them  all.  It  was  only  a  question  of  time 
and  weather ;  for  these  passes,  though  diffi- 
cult, could  be  made  passable  if  the  weather 
permitted ;  and  the  weather  still  favoured 
the  Russians,  excepting  the  fog  at  night. 

The  Russians  had  thus  gained  the  valley 
of  Orkhanieh.  Their  advance  guard  was  at 
Lazeni,  between  which  and  Orkhanieh  the 
Turks  had  erected  two  redoubts.  Detailing 
a  force  to  watch  these  redoubts.  General 
Gourko  turned  his  attention  to  Etropol.  The 


capture  of  this  place  was  accomplished  with- 
out loss,  and  by  the  same  kind  of  move- 
ments, on  a  smaller  scale,  that  gained  the 
positions  at  Pravetz.  The  Turkish  earth- 
works were  constructed  on  the  pointed 
mountains  near  the  village ;  but  there  were 
left  unoccupied  the  summits  adjacent,  which 
commanded  the  whole  valley  and  the  lower 
peaks,  with  the  Turkish  redoubts.  To  get 
possession  of  one  of  the  highest  mountains 
was  the  work  of  many  hours  for  the  Rus- 
sians, who  dragged  up  and  planted  cannon 
there  by  the  aid  of  the  Bulgarians,  who 
brought  their  cattle  along  that  were  used 
to  mountain  work,  and  could  climb  where 
the  Russian  horses  were  helpless. 

The  first  position  was  gained  in  a  curious 
way.  It  was  observed  that  the  Turks  did 
not  stay  in  the  earthwork,  but,  in  perfect 
confidence  that  no  one  could  climb  the  hill, 
left  an  outpost  in  the  redoubt,  and  the  main 
body  remained  in  the  camp  back  on  the 
hill-side.  Some  volunteers  started  to  climb 
the  steep  at  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  23rd  November,  and  reached  the  sum- 
mit near  the  redoubt  at  half-past  seven, 
carrying  nothing  but  their  rifles  and 
ammunition.  When  they  came  within  sight ' 
of  the  Turkish  camp  they  were  perceived  by 
the  Turks,  who  rushed  immediately  to 
occupy  the  redoubt.  The  Russians,  com- 
prehending at  once  the  importance  of  first 
possession,  strained  every  tired  muscle  to 
reach  the  coveted  intrenchment  before  the 
enemy,  and  a  curious  race  followed  in  dead 
earnest.  But  the  Russians  climbed  the 
parapet  and  were  inside  just  before  the 
Turks  arrived, and  then  the  affair  was  settled 
in  short  order.  The  flankinor  movement 
first  mentioned  having  been  made,  the 
Turkish  force  abandoned  the  town  and  the 
positions,  and  withdrew  upon  the  Zlatitza 
Balkan  to  their  fortifications  between  that 
place  and  Kilissekoi,  leaving  behipd  three 
Krupp  guns.  The  next  day  the  place  was 
occupied  by  General  Gourko,  who  trans- 
ferred his  quarters  to  it  from  Osikovo. 

After  the  occupation  of  Pravetz,  the 
Turks  remained  in  force  for  two  davs  at 
Orkhanieh  and  at  Vratshesh,  a  village  at  the 
entrance  of  the  pass,  which  they  had  forti- 
fied with  a  large  and  complete  line  of 
earthworks  extending  into  the  plain  in  front 
as  far  as  Orkhanieh.  When  Etropol  fell 
into  General  Gourko's  hands,  these  defences 
of  the  entrance  to  the  pass  became  imme- 
diately untenable,  for  Etropol  lay  within 
a  dozen  miles  from  the  road  behind  Vrat- 

271 


ATTACK  O!^   BABA   KONAK.]  HISTORY     OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


shesh,    and    the    Russians    threatened    to 
intercept  the  retreat  from  the  latter  place. 
Hence  the  Turks  withdrew  precipitately  to 
the    summit  of    the   pass  into   their   forts 
there.  Thus,  without  anything  more  serious 
than  skirmishes,  General  Gourko  drove  his 
enemy  into  their  final  positions,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  establish  himself  at  once,  parallel 
to  his   line  of  offence  along  the  adjacent 
mountain  tops.     The  commanding  point  of 
the  Turkish  position  was  the  highest  peak  of 
the  watershed,  about  three  miles  east  of  the 
summit  of  the  pass,  the  largest  redoubt  occu- 
pying a  point  on  the  north-east.     The  line 
runs  from  here  south-west  to  the  highest 
point  of  the  pass,  just  above  the  baiting  sta- 
tion called  Baba  Konak,  and  was  held  by  four 
earthworks.     Between    the   road    and  the 
great  redoubt  and  the  two  earthworks  west 
of  the  pass,  two  ridges  led  up  to  the  Turk- 
ish position  from  the  north,  and  General 
Rauch  established  himself  on  the  ridge  to 
the  east,  while  General  Dondeville  imme- 
diately occupied  the  other.     Both  joined 
their  summits  to  the  shoulders  of  the  domi- 
nant peak ;  and  even  one  part  of  this  peak, 
the  smaller  of  the  three  elevations  which 
composed   it,    and   which    was     debatable 
ground  at  the  time  of  the  attack  on  the 
earthwork,  was  seized  by  the  Russians,  and 
cannon  planted  there  within  half  range  of 
the   great  redoubt.       General    Dondeville 
occupied  the  line  of  heights  parallel  with 
the  enemy's  line,  as  far  west  as  the  precipi- 
tous descent,    three   kilometres   from   the 
summit  of  the  pass.     Then  the  line  turned 
north-west  to  the  road,  which  it  crossed  to 
join  that  held  by  Count  Schouvaloff  on  the 
opposite  ridge.     Several  batteries  of  nine- 
pounders  were  placed  in  position  along  the 
Russian  line  and  cannonaded  the  enemy's 
works  almost  continuously.   General  Rauch, 
whose  guns  were  within  650  yards  of  the 
great  redoubt,  threw  shrapnel  alone. 

The  difficulties  of  bringing  heavy  pieces  up 
the  rough  mountain  paths,  at  the  best  scarcely 
practicable  for  horsemen,  were  overcome 
only  by  great  energy  and  the  severest  toil.  It 
is  impossible  to  render  full  justice  to  the  con- 
dition of  these  paths,  gullied  by  torrents  of 
mud  and  water,  paved  with  loose  boulders 
and  slippery  ledges,  and  mounting  in  zig- 
zags often  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees.  Four 
yoke  of  cattle,  and  from  150  to  200  men 
to  the  gun,  were  occupied  two  days  and 
nights  in  making  the  ascent.  The  caissons 
had  to  be  left  in  the  valley,  and  the 
ammunition  brought  up  by  hand,  200 
272 


or  300  Bulgarians  being  employed  in  this 
work.  The  prevalence  of  clouds,  which 
frequently  covered  the  mountains  with  a 
chill,  impenetrable  mist,  made  bivouacs 
behind  the  lines  anything  but  comfortable. 
Nevertheless,  drenching  vapour  was  prefer- 
able to  the  bullets  and  shells  which  fell  into 
the  camps  whenever  the  air  was  clear 
enough  to  permit  the  enemy  to  see  the  low 
lines  of  intrenchments  within  half  range  of 
their  rifles. 

The  Turks  had  but  fifteen  guns  in  posi- 
tion— less  than  half  the  number  mounted 
by  the  Russians,  and  of  much  smaller 
calibre.  They  worked  their  guns,  however, 
remarkably  well.  Except  an  attack  on  the 
great  redoubt,  there  was  but  one  engage- 
ment between  the  infantry,  and  that  was 
fought  on  December  3rd,  at  Count  Schou- 
valoffs  position,  west  of  the  road.  The 
Russian  line  here  was  so  situated  that  it 
commanded  Baba  Konak,  but  at  the  same 
time  did  not  occupy  the  highest  point  of 
the  ridge. 

The    Turks    began    demonstrations,    on 
December  3rd,  from  their  two  camps  near 
the  Baba  Konak  earthworks,  about  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  having  meanwhile 
sent   a  strong  detachment  around  behind 
the  mountain  that  dominated  the  Russian 
right.     This  detachment  shortly  after  ap- 
peared on  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  and 
charged  in  solid  lines  against  the  Russian 
sharpshooters.     Count  Schouvaloff  had  six 
guns  planted  on  the  highest  point  of  his 
position,  and  the  Turks  came  so  near  that 
he  sent  volleys  of  shrapnel  into  the  solid 
masses  with  the    greatest   effect,    causing 
them  to  break  and  scatter ;  but  still  they 
advanced  with  the  cry  of  "Allah!   Allah!" 
which  was  repeated   by  those  in  the  camps 
all  along  the  line,  evidently  to  encourage 
the  attack  and  to  give  the  impression  of 
great    numbers.      On    they   came    within 
pistol-shot  of  the  Russians,  facing  the  stag- 
gering volleys  from  the  Berdans  and  showers 
of  shrapnel.    At  one  time  they  were  so  near 
the  guns,  that  those  who  were  watching 
the  fight  from   General  Dondeville's  batte- 
ries believed  the  pieces  were  taken  ;  but  the 
charging  lines  were  seen  to  melt  away  and 
stream   backward   down  the  slope,  and  the 
first  fierce  attack  was  repulsed. 

Again  and  again  they  assaulted  with  des- 
peration. The  Russian  cannon  were  worked 
so  quickly,  that  five  out  of  the  six  pieces 
became  heated  and  unserviceable,  and  there 
was  no  water  for  the  sponges.    The  anxious 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [repulse  at  baba  konak. 


spectators  on  the  opposite  crests,  unable  to 
render  assistance,  believed  the  day  was  lost, 
when  the  hot  cannonade  dwindled  down  to 
sullen  reports  from  a  single  gun,  and  the 
lines  threw  themselves  against  the  very 
bayonets  of  the  defenders  of  the  rid'^e,  with 
the  cry  of  "Allah  !  Allah  !"  and\he  im- 
petuous rush  ;  but  every  time  they  came 
up  they  soon  broke  before  the  rifle-fire 
poured  upon  them  by  the  Russians  in  their 
trenches,  and  retreated,  falling  by  hundreds, 
while  they  were  running  back  down  the 
slope,  and  leaving  at  the  close  of  the  day, 
when  they  repeated  the  attempt  to  break 
the  Russian  lines,  the  mountain  literally 
black  with  dead  and  wounded. 

The  Turks  had  a  force  variously  estimated 
at  from  ten  to  twenty  tabors.  Prisoners  re- 
ported that  1,300  men  were  hors  de  combat, 
including  one  pasha  and  two  colone.s. 
Count  Schouvaloff  held  his  line  with  two 
battalions  of  tlie  Moskovisky  regiment,  and 
a  small  detachment  of  the  Empress  Tirail- 
leurs.    The  Rus^iaa  loss  was  about  3wO. 

The  attack  was  renewed  again  in  the 
morning ;  but  reinforcements  had  come  up 
to  the  Russians,  and  the  assault  was  not 
kept  up  long ;  but  still  the  Turks  kept  their 
position  close  to  the  Russians,  both  lines 
having  intrenched,  not  over  500  paccis 
apart,  conversation  and  the  noise  of  men 
working  being  distinctly  audible  across  the 
interval. 

For  the  moment,  all  forward  movements 
of  the  Russians  stopped.     The  Turks  still 


occupied  Lutakova,  a  town  at  the  base  of 
the  mountains  north-west  of  Orkhanieh,  and 
it  was  known  that  they  were  in  force  in  the 
mountains  there. 

Until,  however,  the  great  redoubt  in  the 
Baba  Konuk  Pass  was  taken,  either  by  as- 
sault or  by  a  flank  movement,  the  further 
progress  of  the  Russians  southwards  was 
effectually  barred.  But  the  Russians  had 
learned  to  be  cautious  in  attacking  the 
Turks  in  fortified  positions ;  and  Turkish  re- 
doubts were  to  them  especially  disagreeable. 
Genearl  Gourko,  therefore,  wisely  deter- 
mined to  obey  the  strict  orders  given  to  him 
not  to  undertake  any  rash  enterprises  ;  and 
with  his  experiences  in  the  Hainkoi  Pass 
and  the  plains  of  Kezanlik  and  Eski  Zagra, 
he  was  not  at  all  sorry  to  be  relieved  from 
the  risk  of  a  repetition  of  those  events. 

The  Porte,  however,  w^as  highly  dissatis- 
fied vvith  the  result  of  Mehem -d  Ali's  attack 
on  December  3rd,  and  recalled  him,  ap- 
pointing in  his  stead  Chevket  Pasha.  The 
fact  is,  that  Mehemed  Ali,  although  a  good 
organiser,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a 
good  lighting  general.  Had  he  been  asso- 
ciated with  a  man  like  Osman  Pasha,  the 
two  together  might  have  accomplished 
much.  But  as  things  turned  out,  neither 
was  of  anv  use  to  the  other. 

We  will  now  leave  General  Gourko 
waiting  for  reinforcements.  These  soon 
came  in  abundant  numbers,  for  within  a 
few  days  Pievna  was  to  fall  and  liberate  the 
armies  it  had  so  long  detained. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


Towards  the  end  of  November  it  had  be-  j 
come  amply  apparent  to  every  one,  that  as  I 
all  attempts   to  relieve  Osman  Pasha  had 
failed,    the   moment  of    his    surrender   or 
attempt  to  cut  his  way  out  of  Plevna  was 
rapidly  approaching. 

But,  in  truth,  his  position  was  hopeless. 
The  Turkish  armies  in  the  Quadrilateral 
could  not  force  the  iron  wall  drawn  across 
the  roads  to  Plevna  by  the  Czarevitch ; 
Mehemed  Ali,  Raouf  Pasha,  and  Chevket 
Pasha  were  unable  to  drive  away  the 
Russians  from  the  Schipka  or  Orkhanieh 


passes;  and  in  the  extreme  west  there 
were  tlie  Servians  panting  to  get  at  their 
old  enemy  who  had  taced  them  at  Saitschar, 
and  paralysed  all  their  attempts  to  gain  a 
footing  on  Turkish  territory. 

Still  Osman  Pasha  determined  to  attempt 
to  cut  his  way  out,  hoping  to  gain  a  start 
before  the  forces  north,  east,  and  south  of 
Plevna,  and  try  to  gain  the  Balkans  in  the 
rear  of  General  Gourko,  when,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  an  attack  by  Chevket  Pasha,  he 
might  possibly  succeed  in  passing  the 
Orkhanieh  or  the  Ginzi  Pass. 

2-3 


*  ii 


THE  SORTIE  FROM  PLEVNA.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 

1  


II   - 


f 


The  Russians,  bowever,  had  become  aware, 
by  spies  and  deserters,  that  Osman  was  pre- 
paring for  a  sortie,  and  on  their  part  made 
every  preparation  to  receive  him.  The 
.  trenches  were  kept  full  of  troops  day  and 
night,  divisional  and  regimental  command- 
ers were  advised  to  be  on  the  alert,  and  all 
the  posts  were  doubled  and  trebled.  These 
measures  were  taken  on  Friday  night  (De- 
cember 7th)  ;  but  Saturday  passed  without 
any  movement  being  discernible  amonff  the 
Turks.  ^ 

Sunday  (December  9th)  passed  in  the 
same  way.  The  Russians  were  anxiously 
on  the  watch  with  the  usual  amount  of 
artillery  fire,  to  which  the  Turks  had  not 
replied  for  a  long  time.  For  the  last  three 
or  four  days  the  weather  had  been  damp 
and  cold,  with  heavy  broken  clouds  threaten- 
ing rain,  and  about  noon  on  Sunday  the 
clouds  thickened,  and  the  dark  masses  dis- 
charged themselves  in  the  first  snow-storm 
of  the  season.  By  five  o'clock  the  ground 
was  quite  white,  and  the  appearance  of  the 
country  had  completely  changed. 

The  sky  was  dark  and  lowering,  but  the 
atmosphere  white  with  thickly-falling  snow, 
through  which  could  be  caught  glimpses  of 
Plevna,  with  many  little  columns  of  blue 
smoke  rising  over  it,    telling    of    cooking 
dinners,  and  giving  it  a  warm,  cosy  look", 
much  unlike  that  of  a    beleaguered    city. 
The  huts  of  the  Russian  soldiers  were  soon 
white,  the  soldiers  themselves  going  aLout 
joyously,  some  cooking  their  dinners^  others 
gathering  in  groups,  singing  at  the  top  of 
their  voices  a  welcome  apparently    to  the 
first  snow-fall.  Perhaps  it  reminded  them  of 
their  far-away  homes.     There  the  snow  had 
long  since  been  many  feet  deep.     Now  and 
then  the  boom  of  a  gun,  muffled  and   indis- 
tinct like  a  low  growl,  broke  the  stillness  as 
it  came  through  the  snow-laden  air. 

Across  the  ravine,  at  the  foot  of  the  Green 
Hill,  where  Skobeloff  had  built  an  excellent 
plank  bridge,  connecting  his  lines  with  Zo- 
toti's  and  Radisevo,  the  lights  of  Brestovatz 
were  barely  discernible  through  the  gloom ; 
and  here  at  Uzendol,  Skobeloff's  head- 
quarters, everybody  was  keenly  on  the  alert. 
On  Sunday  evening  a  spy  came  in  with 
the  news  that  Osman  had  issued  three  days' 
rations  to  the  troops,  150  cartridges,  a  new 
pair  of  sandals  to  each  man,  and  that,  to  all 
appearances,  the  concentration  would  begin 
at  once.  A  curious  detail  which  he  cited 
was,  that  each  soldier  received  a  small  por- 
tion of  oil  for  keeping  his  gun  in  order. 
274 


[a.d.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


At  ten  o'clock  another  spy  came  in,  wlio 
reported  that  Osman  was  coneentratin'^ 
near  the  bridge  over  the  Vid.  The  spy  had 
come  direct  from  Plevna,  and  having  given 
this  information  he  disappeared  a^^aTn  in 
the  darkness.  A  few  minutes  later  there 
was  a  telegram,  stating  that  from  the  other 
side  a  great  many  lights  were  seen  moving 
about  in  Plevna— an  unusual  thing.  Evi- 
dently there  was  some  movement  on  foot 
and  the  spies  were  right.  * 

The  night  wore  slowly  away.  The  snow- 
storm ceased,  and  was  followed  by  dark 
clouds  scudding  swiftly  across  the  sky,  with 
now  and  then  a  blast  of  sleet.  At  three 
o  clock  another  spy  brought  news  that  the 
men  of  SkobelofiPs  command  had  a  position 
on  the  side  of  the  Green  Hill,  and  that  the 
Krishme  redoubts  were  being  abandoned. 
He  was  very  sure,  he  said,  that  all  the  posi- 
tions along  SkobelofTs  side  would  shortly 
be  abandoned.  Would  he  go  along  and 
lead  the  way  into  the  Krishine  redoubts,  at 
the  risk  of  being  bayoneted,  if  his  words 
should  not  prove  true  ?  Yes,  he  would  ;  and 
orders  were  given  by  Skobeloff  for  the 
troops  to  begin  to  move  cautiously  forward, 
and  feel  their  way  with  care.  This  was 
done,  and  the  positions  were  taken. 

At  last  it  was  certain  that  the  Turks  were 
moving,  and  that  the  final  decisive  moment 
had  come.     Skobeloff  ordered  the  captured 
positions  to  be  instantly  placed  in  a  state  of 
delt^nce,  in  case  the  Turks,  repulsed  and  not 
yet  ready  to  surrender,  should  attempt  to 
re-capture  tliem.     The  grey  light  of  morn- 
ing came.     It  was  cloudy,  and  threatened 
more  snow.     Suddenly  there  was  the  boom- 
ing of  thirty  or  forty  guns  speaking  almoi^t 
together,  followed  instantly  by  that  stead  v, 
crashing  roll  the  Russians  had  learned  to 
know  so  well.     The  battle  had  begun.    The 
giant,  after  defending  himself  four  months 
hurling  thunderbolt  after  thunderbolt  upon 
his   enemies,    was   struggling   throu<>-h  the 
meshes  he  had  allowed  to  be  thrown  around 
him,  and  was,  in   his   turn,  attackincr  the 
trenches  and   earthworks    which    he''  had 
taught  his  enemies  so  well  how  to  defend. 
It  was  in  the  direction  of  the  bridge  over 
the  Vid,  on  the  Sophia  road,  that  Osman  had 
decided     to    break    through.      Here     the 
country   behind  Plevna    was  a   wide  open 
plain,  into  which  the  gorge  leading  up  to 
Plevna  opened   out   like   a   tunnel.      The 
plain  was  bounded  on   the  Plevna  side  by 
steep  rocky  bluffs,  or  cliffs,  along  whose  foot 
flowed  the  Vid.     From   these  cliffs,  for  a 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [repulse  of  the  sortie. 


distance  of  two  miles,  burst  here  and  there, 
in  quick,  irregular  succession,  angry   spurts 
of  flame,  that  flashed  and  disappeared  and 
flashed  out  aijain.     Through   the  covering 
of  smoke  could  be  seen  angry  spits  of  fire 
thick  as  fire-flies  on  a  tropical  night.     Now 
and  then,  through    an    irregular    curving 
stream  of  fire  were  bodies  of  men  hurrying 
to  and  fro,  horses,  cattle,  carriages  running 
across  the  plain,  and,  above  all,  the  infernal 
crashing  roll  of  the  infantry  fire,   and  the 
deep  booming  of  more  than  a  hundred  guns. 
Osman  Pasha  had,  during  the  night,  aban- 
doned all  his  positions  from  Grivitza  to  the 
Green  Hill,  and   concentrated  the  greater 
part  of  his  army  across  the  Vid,  over  which 
he  passed  on  two  bridges,  one  the  old,  and 
the  other  the  new  one  lately  constructed. 
He  took  part  of  his  artillery,  some  three 
batteries,    and    a    train   of  about    500  or 
(iOO  carriages  drawn  by  bullocks.     He  suc- 
ceeded in  getting   his  army,  the  artillery, 
and  part  of  the  train  over  by    daybreak. 
The  Russians  said,  that  to  have  started  with 
so  large  a  train,  is  a  proof  that  he  was  de- 
ceived with  regard  to  the  number  of  the 
Russian   forces,  and   that   he  believed  the 
Russian    line,    owing    to    the    absence   of 
General  Gourko, was  very  weak  on  the  Sophia 
road,  and  thought  another  road  along  the 
Vid  was  virtually  open.     But  this  train  was 
taken  to  serve  a  special  purpose  in  the  fight. 
Indeed,  the  first  thing  the  Russians  per- 
ceived when  daylight  broke  was  a  line  of 
waggons    drawn    by    bullocks,    advancing 
upon  them  in  close  order  across  the  plain. 
The  smooth  open  level  offered  every  facility 
for  such   a   manoeuvre.     The   Turks   were 
behind  these  waggons,  which,  piled  full  of 
baggage    and    eflfects    of    various     kinds, 
afforded  very  fair  protexition  from  bullets. 

The  attack  was  directed  against  the  posi- 
tions held  by  the  grenadiers,  north  of  the 
Sophia  road,  whose  lines  extended  from  the 
road  to  a  point  opposite  Opanes,  where  they 
were  joined  by  the  Roumanian  curving  line 
throuijh  Susurla, 

The  Turks  advanced  as  far  as  they  could 
under  cover  of  their  waggons,  while  the 
Russians  poured  in  a  terrible  fire  on  them 
from  their  Berdan  breech-loaders,  scarcely 
less  destructive  than  the  Peabody,  and 
opened  on  the  advancing  line  with  shell 
and  shrapnel.  The  Turks  then  did  a  splen- 
did piece  of  bravery,  only  equalled  by 
SkobelofTs  capture  of  the  two  famous  re- 
doubts. Probably  finding  their  cover  be- 
ginning to  fail  them,  owing  to  the  cattle 


»?: 


being  killed,  getting  frightened,  and  running, 
away,  they   dashed  forward  with  a    shout 
upon    the    line    of   trenches    held   by   the 
Sibrersky  or  Siberian  regiment,  swept  over 
them  like  a  tornado,  poured  into  the  battery, 
bayoneted    the    artillerymen,    officers    and 
men,  who,  with  desperate  heroism,  stood  to 
their  pieces  to  nearly  a  man,  and  seized  the 
whole    battery.     The    Sibrersky   regiment 
had  been  overthrown  and  nearly  annihilated. 
The  Turks  had  broken  the  first  circle  that 
held  them  in.      Had  they   gone   on   they 
would  have  found  two  more ;  but  they  did 
not  have  time    to    go    on,    for   the   Rus- 
sians rallied   almost    immediately;    whilst 
General    Strukoff,  of  the   emperor's   staff, 
brought  up  the  first  brigade  of  grenadiers, 
who,  led  by  their  general,  flung  themselves 
on  the  Turks  with  fury.     A  hand-to-hand 
fight    ensued,    man    to    man,    bayonet  to 
bayonet,  which  lasted  several  minutes,  for 
tlie  Turks  clung  to  the  captured  guns  with 
dogged    obstinacy.     They  seemed  to  have 
forgotten,  in  the  fury  of  battle,  that  they  had 
come  out  to  escape  from  Plevna,  and  not  to 
take  and  hold  a  battery,  and  they  held  on  ' 
to  the  guns  with  almost  the  same  despera- 
tion which  the  Russian  dead  around  them 
had  shown  a  few  minutes  before.     Nearly 
all  the  Turks  in   the   battle   were   killed. 
Those  in  the  flanking  trenches  open  to  the 
Russian   fire   had,   of    course,    very    little 
shelter,  and   were  soon   overpowered,    and 
began  a  retreat  which,  under  the  murderous 
fire  sent  after  them,  instantly  became   a 
flight.      Some    took    shelter    behind    the 
broken  waggons,  and  returned  the  fire  for  a 
time,  but  the  majority  made  for  the  deep 
banks  of  the  Vid,  where  they  found  ample 
shelter  from  the  Russian  shells  and  bullets. 
They  formed  there  behind  the  banks,  and 
instantly  began  to  return  the  Russian  fire. 

By  this  time  it  was  about  half-past  eight, 
and  the  Turkish  sortie  was  virtually  re- 
pulsed ;  but  the  battle  raged  for  four  hours 
longer.  The  losses  inflicted  from  this  time 
forward  were  nob  great  on  either  side,  for 
both  armies  were  under  covsr.  The  Turks 
were  evidently  apprehensive  that  the 
Russians  would  charge  and  drive  them 
back  in  a  mass  into  the  gorge.  The  Rus- 
sians were  resolved  to  prevent  another 
sortie,  and  so  both  sides  kept  it  up.  Indeed, 
there  seemed  at  first  every  probability  that 
the  Turks  would  try  it  again,  though  it  was 
evident  to  any  one  who  knew  the  strength 
of  the  Russian  lines  and  had  seen  this 
affair,  that  escape  was  hopeless  from  the 

275 


PLEVNA  suhrendered."! 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[OSMAN  CAPITULATES., 


\i  i^< 


first,   even  though  Osman  Pasha  had  had 
twice  the  number  of  men. 

About  twelve  o'clock  the  firing  began  to 
diminish  on  both  sides,  as  if  by  mutual 
agreement.  Then  it  stopped  entirely.  The 
rolling  crash  of  the  infantry  and  the  deep- 
toned  bellowing  of  the  artillery  were  heard 
no  more.  It  had  not  ceased  more  than  half- 
an-hour  when  a  white  flag  was  seen  waving 
from  the  road  leading  around  the  cliffs  be- 
yond the  bridge.  Plevna  had  fallen,  and 
Osman  Pasha  was  going  to  surrender. 

A  long,  loud  shout  went  up  from  the 
Russian  army  when  the  white  flag  was  seen, 
and  its  significance  was  understood — a 
joyous  shout  that  swept  over  that  dreary 
plain,  and  was  echoed  back  sonorously  by 
the  sullen,  rugged  cliffs  overhanging  the 
scene.  The  thrill  of  gladness  in  the  shout 
showed  how  deeply  the  Russian  soldiers  had 
dreaded  the  lonor,  weary  waiting  through 
''the  winter  months  amid  snow  and  mud 
round  this  impregnable  stronghold.  It  was 
clear  that  a  load  had  been  lifted  from  every 
heart. 

A  moment  later,  a  Turkish  officer  was 
seen  riding  over  the  bridge  with  a  white 
flag  in   his   hand.      He   rode    forward    to 
General    Ganetsky,    in    command    of   the 
grenadiers,  halted  a  moment,  and  then  rode 
back.     As  it  turned  out,  he  was  an  officer 
of    inferior    rank,    and    returned   because 
General  Ganetsky  instructed  him  to  send 
an  officer  with  the  rank  of  pasha  to  nego- 
tiate the  terms  of  capitulation.     Then  thirty 
or  forty  officers  and  correspondents,  headed 
by  General  Skobeloff,  who  had  been  placed 
on   the   Sophia   road,  rode  down  the  road 
towards    the    bridge,    within    point-blank 
range  of  the  T»irkish  rifles,  if  the  Turkish 
soldiers  grouped  in  masses  on  the  road  be- 
hind the  bridge  on  the  cliffs  overlooking  the 
Vid  had  chosen  to  open  on  them.     About 
fifty  yards  from  the  bridge,  and  seventy-five 
from   some  masses  of  Turks  on  the  other 
side,  they  halted.     General  Skobeloflf  and 
two  or  three    other    officers   waved   white 
handkerchiefs.      This  signal  of  amity  was 
answered  by  the  waving  of  a  piece  of  white 
muslin,  about  two  yards  square,  attached  to 
a  flag-staff.     Then  two  horsemen  came  for- 
ward,  each  carrying  a  white  flag.      They 
rode  across  the'  bridge  and  approached  the 
Russian    group.     There    was    a  moment's 
conversation  with    SkobeloflPs  interpreter, 
and   then   it  was   announced  that  Osman 
himself  was  coming  out,  and  the  two  horse- 
men galloped  back. 
.     276 


"  Osman  himself  coming  out !"  exclaimed 
all  with  surprise. 

"  At  any  rate  we  will  give  him  a  respectful 
reception,"  exclaimed  one  Russian  officer, 
in  the  gallant  spirit  of  true  chivalry. 

"That  we  will,"  said  another.  "We 
must  all  salute  him,  and  the  soldiers  must 
present  arms." 

"  He  is  certainly  a  great  soldier,"  ex- 
claimed another,  "and  he  has  made  an 
heroic  defence." 

"He  is  the  greatest  general  of  the  age," 
said  General  Skobeloff,  "for  he  has  saved 
the  honour  of  his  country.  I  will  proffer 
him  mv  hand  and  tell  him  so." 

* 

All  were  unanimous  in  his  praise,  and 
the  conversation  was  kept  up  about  inci- 
dents of  the  siege,  till  it  was  interrupted  at 
last  by  shouts  of  "  There  he  is !  He  is  com- 
ing !"  Two  horsemen  were  again  approach- 
ing with  a  white  flag,  the  bearer  of  which 
was  apparently  merely  a  common  soldier. 
He  wore  a  fez,  a  long  dirty  brown  cloak, 
and  very  ragged  foot-gear.  The  other  horse- 
man wore  a  bright  red  fez,  which  set  off  the 
officer's  blue  cloak.  He  was  clean  and 
natty,  and  had  on  fresh  gloves.  He  was 
comparatively  young,  with  a  round,  rosy 
face,  clean  shaved,  light  moustache,  straight 
nose,  and  blue  eyes.  He  did  not  seem  over 
thirty-five  years  old. 

"  This  cannot  be  Osman  Pasha,"  was  the 
general  exclamation.  In  fact  it  was  not  he, 
but  Tefik  Bey,  his  chief  of  staff.  Was  it 
possible  that  this  boyish-looking  face  be- 
longed to  Osman's  right-hand  man,  who 
must  have  played  so  great  a  part  in  the 
organisation  and  maintenance  of  Osman's 
mighty  defence  ?  It  seemed  strange,  but  iti 
was  true.  The  Turks  have  the  merit  at 
least  of  not  being  afraid  of  young  men. 
There  was  not  one  tottering  grey-bearded 
officer  in  this  captive  host.  Every  one 
saluted  as  Tefik  Bey  rode  up.  He  halted 
for  a  moment  and  was  silent.  He  then 
spoke  in  French  with  good  accent,  ana 
said,  "Osman  Pasha" — then  he  stopped 
fully  ten  seconds  from  his  emotion  before  he 
proceeded — "  is  wounded." 

This  was  the  first  intimation  the  Russians 
had  had  of  this  occurrence. 

All  expressed  their  regret. 

" Not  severely,  we  all  hope?"  exclaimed 
General  Skobeloff. 

"I  do  not  know,"  was  the  answer,  with  a 
pause  of  a  second  betw»  en  every  word. 

"  Where  is  his  Excellency  ?"  was  the  next 
question. 


(C 


There,"  was  Tefik  Bey's  reply,  as  he 
pointed  to  a  small  house  overlooking  the 
road  just  beyond  the  bridge. 

Then  there  was  a  pause  while  the  Russians 
scrutinised  their  strange  visitor,  and  he 
surveyed  them  with  the  most  perfect  calm- 
ness, but  obvious  curiosity.  The  pause 
became  embarrassing.  The  Turk  showed 
no  hurry  to  speak,  and  the  Russians  evi- 
dently felt  delicacy  in  asking  if  he  had 
come  to  surrender;  besides  which,  there 
really  was  no  officer  there  who  had  the  right 
to  treat  with  him.  The  situation  was 
critical,  and,  if  it  possessed  an  amusing 
element,  was  also  embarrassing.  Both  armies 
were  watching  the  little  group  not  more 
than  500  yards  apart,  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  for  the  Russian  infantry  had  gradu- 
ally moved  down  toward  the  bridge. 
Finally,  General  Skobeloff  stammered  out, 
"  Is  there  anybody  you  would  like  to  see  ? — 
[pause] — With    whom    did    you    wish    to 

speak  ? — Is  there  anything ? — [pause] — 

What  the  devil  is  the  matter  with  the  man  ? 
Why  don't  he  speak?"  blurted  out  the 
general  in  English,  turning  to  one  of  the 
correspondents  of  the  Daily  Neivs,  Tefik 
Bey  remained  impassive. 

"  General  Ganetsky  is  in  command  here. 
He  will  be  here  presently,  in  case  you  should 
like  to  speak  to  him,"  General  Skobeloff 
finally  observed.     Tefik  Bey  simply  nodded. 

"  Osman  Ghazi  has  made  a  most  brilliant 
and  glorious  defence,"  said  an  officer.  "  We 
esteem  highly  his  soldierly  character." 

The  Turk  gazed  steadily  before  him,  and 
gave  no  sign  that  he  had  heard. 

"We  look  upon  him  as  a  very  great 
general,"  said  another.  No  answer.  The 
Turk's  eyes  were  bent  in  the  direction  of 
Sophia,  as  though  looking  for  Mehemed  Ali 
Pasha.  There  was  evidently  no  use  trying 
to  converse  with  this  obstinately  silent 
man,  and  they  gave  it  up.  Fortunately, 
General  Strukoff,  of  the  emperor's  staff, 
soon  arrived,  with  powers  to  treat.  He 
asked  Tefik  if  he  had  authority  from  Osman 
Pasha  to  negotiate.  It  appeared  not ;  and 
the  final  result  was  that  Tefik  bowed  and 
galloped  away  back  across  the  bridge. 
Presently  General  Ganetsky  arrived;  and  the 
little  group,  led  by  Generals  Ganetsky  and 
Strukoff,  advanced  across  the  bridge  towards 
the  little  hut  where  Osman  Pasha  lay 
wounded.  The  officers  waited  outside, 
whilst  Strukoff  and  Ganetsky  went  in  to 
arrange  the  terms  of  capitulation. 
.  The  terms    of    capitulation  were  easily] 

VCL.  III.  2  o 


arranged.  The  surrender  was  uncondi- 
tional. Osman  consented  at  once.  If  sur- 
prise be  expressed  that  he  should  have  so 
suddenly  agreed,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
state  that  he  could  do  nothing  else.  In 
order  to  attempt  a  sortie,  he  had  to  abandon 
all  the  positions  in  which  he  had  defied  the 
Russians  so  long,  and  to  concentrate  his 
army  down  on  the  Vid.  These  positions 
once  lost  were  lost  for  ever,  because  the 
Russians  occupied  them  almost  as  soon  as 
he  left  them.  He  was  down  in  the  valley ; 
they  on  the  surrounding  hills,  with  an 
army  three  times  as  large  as  his.  He  had 
to  surrender  without  delay,  for  they  were 
drawing  the  circle  tighter  every  moment. 
His  position  was  like  Napoleon  III.'s  at 
Sedan.  The  disparity  in  numbers  was 
greater,  and  he  had  not  even  the  shelter  of 
the  village.  So  Osman  Ghazi  the  Victorious 
surrendered,  unconditionally,  the  gallant 
army  with  which  he  had  held  the  famous 
stronghold  for  so  long,  with  which  he  upset 
the  whole  Russian  plan  of  campaign,  and 
with  which  he  defeated,  in  three  pitched 
battles,  Russia's  finest  armies. 

The   terms    of    surrender    having    been 
settled,  Osman  Pasha  got  into  a  carriage  and 
drove  off  towards  Plevna.     But  he  had  not 
gone  far  before  he  heard  that  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas  had  arrived  at  the  bridge, 
and  turned   back  in  his  carriage  to  meet 
him.     Osman  Pasha  was  escorted  by  fifty 
Cossacks,  and  there  followed  him  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  Turkish  officers,  all  mounted 
on  diminutive  Turkish  ponies.     They  were 
all,  or  nearly  all,  young  men.     Scarcely  one 
among  them  seemed  over  thirty.     Most  had 
the   faces   of    mere   boy-students.      These 
were  the  lads  with  whom  Osman  Pasha  had 
accomplished   such    wonders!      The  grand 
duke  rode  up  to  the  carriage,  and,  for  some 
seconds,  the   two   chiefs   gazed   into   each 
other's   faces   without  the   utterance  of  a 
word.      Then   the    grand    duke   stretched 
out   his   hand,    and    shook    the    hand    of 
Osman     Pasha     heartily    and     said — "I 
compliment     you     on     your     defence     of 
Plevna.     It   is  one  of  the   most  splendid 
military  feats  in  history."    Osman  Pasha 
smiled  sadly,  rose  painfully  to  his  feet  in 
spite  of  his  wound,  bowed,  and  expressed 
his  acknowledgments,   and   then  re-seated 
himself.     The   Russian   officers   all    cried, 
" Bravo  1  Bravo!"  repeatedly,  and  all  sa- 
luted   respectfully.     There   was   not    one 
among  them  who  did  not  gaze  on  the  hero 
of  Plevna  with  the  greatest  admiration  and 

277 


ENTRY  INTO  PLEVNA.] 


HISTORY    OF  THE 


rA.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[after  the  siege. 


11  •• 


It     '*i 


sympathy.  Prince  Charles,  who  had  ar- 
rived, rode  up,  and  repeated  unwittingly 
almost  every  word  of  the  grand  duke,  and 
likewise  shook  hands.  Osman  Pasha  again 
rose  and  bowed,  but  this  time  in  grim 
silence.  He  wore  a  loose  blue  cloak,  with  no 
apparent  mark  on  it  to  designate  his  rank, 
and  a  red  fez.  He  was  a  large,  strongly- 
built  man,  the  lower  part  of  his  face  covered 
with  a  short  black  beard,  without  a  streak 
of  grey.  He  had  a  large  Roman  nose,  and 
black  eyes.  The  face  was  a  strong  face, 
with  energy  and  determination  stamped  on 
every  feature — yet  a  tired,  wan  face,  also, 
with  lines  on  it  that  hardly  were  graven  so 
deep  five  months  ago ;  and  with  a  sad,  en- 
during, thoughtful  look  out  of  the  black 
eyes. 

"  It  is  a  grand  face,"  exclaimed  Colonel 
Gaillard,  the  French  military  attache.  "  I 
was  almost  afraid  of  seeing  him  lest  my 
expectation  should  be  disappointed ;  but  he 
more  than  fulfils  my  ideal." 

"  It  is  the  face  of  a  great  military  chief- 
tain,** said  young  Skobeloff.  '*  I  am  glad 
to  have  seen  him.  Osman  Ghazi  he  is,  and 
Osman  the  Victorious  he  will  remain,  in 
spite  of  his  surrender." 

There  may,  perhaps,  have  been  some  per- 
sonal exaggeration  in  the  Russian  estimate 
of  Osman  Pasha.  History  will  judge.  But, 
thrilling  with  the  impression  of  the  great 
military  event  just  accomplished,  the  magni- 
ficent defence  ending  in  a  halo  of  disastrous 
glory,  there  was  not  one  who  did  not  echo 
Skobelofifs  words.  Be  it  remembered  that 
Osman  Pasha  cannot  be  judged  on  ordinary 
military  rules,  for  the  reason  that  he  had 
not  a  regular  army;  technically  speaking, 
not  an  army  at  all,  but  a  mob  of  armed 
men,  with  scarcely  any  organisation,  with 
no  discipline,  save  the  natural  and  passive 
obedience  of  the  Turkish  peasant,  and  only 
such  military  education  and  experience  as 
were  gained  in  the  trenches  and  on  the 
battle-field.  This  is  the  highest  form  of 
generalship — to  accomplish  mighty  results 
with  means  which  most  military  men  would 
have  regarded  as  hopelessly  inadequate. 
Osman  Pasha  had  scarcely  any  officers  of 
talent  and  experience  with  him.  He  had 
borne  the  weight  of  this  stupendous  defence 
on  his  own  shoulders — a  very  Titan,  defying, 
with  his  untrained  and  scanty  levies,  the 
serried  legions  of  one  of  the  greatest  military 
powers  of  Europe. 

After  his  meeting  with  Osman,  the  grand 
duke  rode  on  to  Plevna.     By  the  time  the 
278 


Russians  entered   the  town   it  was  nearly 
dark,  and  it  presented  a  most  miserable, 
wretched  appearance.     Not  that  there  were 
any  ruins  to  contemplate,  for  the  Russians 
did    not    probably   throw    above   a    dozen 
shells  into  this  part  of  the  town  during  the 
whole  time  of  the  siege — but  narrow,  crooked 
streets,  a  foot  deep  with  thin  liquid  mud, 
in  which  thousands  of  men  and  horses  were 
wandering  about  without  knowing  where  to 
go,  and  without  any  object;  lean,  cadaverous- 
looking  inhabitants,  who  stood  outside  their 
doors,  and  saluted  timidly,  as  though  not 
quite  sure  that  the  Turks  might  not  yet 
come  out  and  catch  them  at  it,  and  looking 
in  the  gloaming  more    like  spectres  than 
anything  else ;  houses  in  which  were  seen 
no  lights  nor  fires,  cold,  comfortless,  and 
deserted,   made   up  a   scene   that,   in   the 
gathering  darkness  of  a    bleak  December 
evening,  was  dreary  and  depressing  in  the 
extreme.     Whilst    General    Skobeloff    was 
riding  through  the  streets    on  the  way  to 
his  old    quarters   on    the  Lovatz  road,    he 
met  Tefik  Bey,  Osman's  chief  of  staff,  the 
same  who  had  come  over  the  bridge  with 
the  white  flag.     He  had  become  separated 
from    Osman,    and    was   wandering    about 
with  his  escort  through  the  muddy  streets, 
nobody  seeming  to  know  where  to  take  him 
or  where  to  go.     General  Skobeloff  imme- 
diately invited   him  to  dine  and   pass  the 
night  at  his   head-quarters  on  the   Lovatz 
road.     Tefik  Bey  at  first  hesitated,  as  he 
thought   he   ought   to   endeavour   to  join 
Osman ;    but  nobody    knew    where    Osman 
was.     It  seemed  then  probable  that  he  had 
accompanied    the    grand    duke    to   Bogot ; 
and,  at  any  rate,  if  he  were  in  Plevna,  the 
task  of  finding  him  might  be  one  of  hours 
in  the  darkness ;  so  that  General  Skobelotf's 
persuasions,  joined    to    those    of    Colonel 
Gaillard,    whom    Skobelofi"    had    likewise 
invited,  finally  prevailed. 

They  then  proceeded  on  their  way  up  the 
Lovatz  road,  and  passed  under  the  two  re- 
doubts taken  by  Skobeloff  in  September,  at 
last  silent  and  deserted,  up  across  the 
Green  Hill,  across  the  labyrinth  of  trencher 
and  works  where,  only  twenty-four  hours 
before,  the  Turks  and  Russians  were  still 
standing  foot  to  foot  and  bayonet  to  bayonet. 
All  now  was  silent  and  lonely.  Arriving  on 
the  top  of  the  hill,  a  short  gallop  brought 
the  party  to  Uzendol,  General  SkobelofiTs 
head-quarters. 

A  warm  fire  burning  gaily  in  his  mud 
hut,  a  glass  of  vodka,  and  bome  hot  soup 


at  once  thawed  their  benumbed  hands  and 
feet,  and  they  were  soon   enjoying  a  hot 
dinner,  with  the  appetites  of  men  who  had 
been  in  the  saddle  since  daylight,  with  not 
a  morsel  to  eat.     Tefik  Bey  seemed  much 
depressed  and  downcast.     He  spoke  little, 
and  was  at  first  almost  as  taciturn  as  he 
had  been  on  the  bridge.     He  brightened 
up,  however,  as  the  meal  progressed,  drank 
a  glass  of  red  wine,  a  glass  of  sherry,  and  a 
couple    of    glasses    of    champagne,    when 
General  Skobeloff  proposed  the  health  of 
Osman  Ghazi,  and  drank  to  the  brave  de- 
fenders of  Plevna.     A  merry  smile   broke 
over   his  face  when  Skobeloff  asked   him 
who   had   commanded   the   Turks   on   the 
Green  Hill,  and  then  it  occurred  to  him,  for 
the   first    time,    that    his    entertainer  was 
Skobeloff,  the  indefatigable,  restless,  daring 
spirit   with   whom    he   had   exchanged    so 
many  hard  blows  on  the  Lovatz  road  and 
Green  Hill.    Nobody  had  mentioned  Skobe- 
loff's  name  in  his  presence,  nor  had  Skobe- 
loff told  him  who  he  was ;  but  the  fact  that 
he   had  come  out  of  the  Lovatz  road,  to- 
gether with  Skobeloff^s  question  about  the 
Green  Hill,  was  quite  enough  to  enlighten 
him.     So  he  said,  with  a  smile,  "Ah,  it  is 
you   who   gave   such    tough    work   on   the 
Green  Hill  all  this  time.     You  are  General 
Skobeloff."     Skobeloff  laughed,   and   said, 
"  Yes."     "  That  was  a  very  good  attack  of 
yours  that  evening  in  the  fog  and  darkness. 
Very  well  done.     But  you  did  not  get  it 
all."     "No,"   said   Skobeloff,   "I  did   not 
want  it  all."    And  they  both  laughed.     But, 
after  this  momentary  fit  of  sunshine,  Tefik 
Bey  soon   again  relapsed   into  melancholy 
and  gloom.     It  was  partly  the  despondency 
and    sadness    natural    under   the   circum- 
stances, partly  the  reaction  on  the  extreme 
excitement  and   tension  of   nerves  during 
the  last  few  days  when  preparing  for  the 
sortie,   and   partly  extreme   lassitude   and 
fatigue.     The  others  had  hardly  swallowed 
their  coffee,  when  Skobeloff,  taking  pity  on 
him,  turned  them  all  out,  gave  up  his  bed 
to  Tefik,  had  another  hastily  made  up  for 
Colonel    Gaillard,   and    then    retired    and 
passed  the   night  in  a  hut  of  one  of  his 
officers ;  and  so  ended  this  eventful  day  of 
Plevna. 

The  state  of  the  town  and  its  immediate 
vicinity  after  the  Russians  had  entered  it, 
gave  a  terribly^ graphic  account  of  the 
misery  which  had  long  reigned  there. 

When  the  Turks  made  the  sortie,  they 
were  obliged  to  leave  the  sick  and  wounded. 


of   whom   there   were  thousands,   entirely 
without    attendants.      There    was   never  a 
regular  hospital  in  Plevna,  the  sick  being 
transported  to  Sophia;  and  the  small  ambu- 
lance corps  was  at  all  times  insufficient  to 
care  for  the  wounded,  even  before  the  town 
was  surrounded.     Of  course,  the  attendants 
at  the  hospital  were  ordered  to  accompany 
the  army  when  the  sortie  was  made,  and 
they  joined  their  lot  with  those  who  tried 
to  break  through  the  Russian  lines.     The 
day  and  night  of  the  battle  passed,  and  the 
sufferers  received   no   food  or  water,    and 
their  festering  wounds  were  undressed.   The 
following  morning  the  Russians  entered  and 
took  possession,  and  made  the  day  one  of 
rejoicing  with  the  visit  of  the  Czar  and  the 
imperial  staff;    but  this  celebration  of  the 
event,  however   short  it  may  have  seemed 
to  the  victors,  was  a  long  season  of  horrible 
suffering  for  the  wretched  helpless  captives, 
who  stretched  their  skeleton  hands  in  vain 
towards  heaven,  praying  for  a  bit  of  bread 
or  a  drop  of  water.     Neither  friend  nor  foe 
was  there  to  alleviate  their  sufferings,  or  to 
give  the  trifle  needed  to  save  them  from  a 
painful  death,  and  they  died  by  hundreds ; 
and  before  the  morning  of  the  third  day  the 
dead  crowded  the  living  in  every  one  of 
those    dirty,    dimly-lighted   rooms    which 
served  to  shelter   the   wounded   from   the 
cold    and    wet,   but   confined    them    in  a 
foul  and  foetid  atmosphere  of  disease  and 
death. 

It  was  only  on  the  morning  of  the  third 
day  after  these  wretched,  tortured  creatures 
had  been  left  to  their  fate,  that  the  Russians 
chose  to  find  opportunity  and  means  to 
begin,  first,  the  separation  of  the  living 
from  the  dead,  and  then  the  care  of  the 
former.  The  mosques,  the  largest  houses, 
and  many  of  the  small  dwellings  had  been 
filled  with  sick  and  wounded.  Overcrowded 
in  every  case,  and,  from  the  first,  without 
proper  attention,  these  temporary  hospitals 
were,  at  the  best,  most  filthy  and  pesti- 
lential, and  the  air  was  tainted  with  the 
stench  of  undressed  wounds,  and  the  corpses 
which  lay  unburied  in  the  courtyards. 

The  first  room  entered  in  one  of  these 
charnel-houses  contained  ninety  odd  Turks. 
Of  these,  thirty-seven  were  dead,  and  many 
others  on  the  point  of  death.  Piteous 
groans  came  from  between  rigid  lips,  and 
painful  cries  for  water,  and  some  made 
feeble  signs  for  food.  One  or  two  of  the 
strongest  raised  themselves,  and  fixed  their 
hideous,  sunken  eyes  with  such  a  beseeching 

279 


ft 


.  HORRORS  IN  PLEVNA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


1 


stare  on  those  who  had  come  to  free  them 
from  the  company  of  the  dead,  that  it  would 
have  softened  the  hardest  heart.    The  small 
room,  dimly  lighted  by  a  high  window  with 
one  pane  of  glass,  was  crowded   with  forms 
of  thirty  or   forty  ragged,    filthy,   human 
beings.     Many  of  these  forms  were  motion- 
less, and  scarcely  audible  groans  were  heard 
•    from    one  or  two  who    raised   with  diffi- 
culty   their  bony    hands  to  their  lips,  to 
signify   their    need    of  food.      There  were 
faint    whispers   of    "  Some   water  !    some 
water ! "  piteous  to  hear.      The  dim  light 
was  concentrated  on  the  half-naked  body  of 
an  old  man  stretched  across  the  entrance, 
whither  he  had  dragged  himself  in  the  last 
hours  of  his  agony  in  hope  of  succour,  or  at 
least  of  a  breath  of  fresh  air;  for,  in  the 
unventilated  room,  the  air  was  thick  with 
putrid  odours,  which  burst  out  when  the 
door  was  opened,  overpowering  strong  men, 
and  causing  them  to  turn  sick  and  faint. 
The  old  man's  hands  were  clutched  in  the 
rigour  of  painful  death  on  his  nude  and 
meagre  breast,  and  his  head  lay  against  the 
very  crack  of  the  door,  so  that  it  opened 
only  by  rude  force.     Living  and  dead  were 
lying  together  undistinguishable  along  the 
walls,   behind    the    door,    and  under   the 
window. 

This  room  was  one  of  fifty  where  a  similar 
spectacle  was  presented.  The  pavement  of 
the  mosques  was  covered  with  crouching 
forms,  some  moving  at  intervals,  others 
motionless  and  silent.  Here  and  there  the 
faces  of  the  dead  came  out  in  ghastly  relief, 
with  a  fixed  expression  of  great  agony. 

Nothing  was  done  but  to  drag  the  dead 
from  among  the  living,  let  in  the  light  and 
air,  and  give   water  and  nourishment    in 
hope  of  saving  some  of  those  who  remained 
alive.     Small  enough  was  the  force  of  men 
who  set  about  this  painful  task,  and  meagre 
enough  their  means.     Three  open  peasants' 
ox-carts  were  all  that  were  available  for  the 
removal  of  the  dead,  and  fifty  soldiers  to 
carry   the    bodies  from   the  rooms  to  the 
carts,  and  bury  them  in  the  ditches.     As 
fast  as  possible,  bread  and  water  were  dis- 
tributed, and   the  feeble  wretches  fought 
each  other  with  their  last  breath  in  their 
greed  for  the  nourishment.    Some,  propped 
up  against  the  wall,  slowly  ate  until  the 
unmistakable  pallor  came  over  their  faces, 
and  their  eyes  were  fixed  in  death.     Even 
the  effort  of  eating  the  long-needed  food 
was  too  great  for  their  waning  strength. 
The  living  clutched  at  the  remaining  morsel 
^80 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


in  the  dead  man's  hand,  struggled  for  it 
with  all  their  feeble  power,  and  cursed  each 
other  and  wrangled  over  the  spoil,  but  to 
fall  dead  themselves  before  they  could  eat 
the  bread. 

The  three  open  oxen-carts  began  the  re- 
moval of  the  dead  at  once.     The  hospitals 
daily  supplied  more  freight   of  this  kind 
than  the  slow-moving   teams   could  carry 
away  to  the  ditches  outside.     The  disinfec- 
tion of  the  hospitals  was  promptly  effected. 
As  fast  as  possible,  with  the  small  force  of 
men  at  hand,  the  rooms  were  emptied  one 
after  another.     After  a  day  or  two,  some  of 
the  Bulgarians  were  compelled  to  serve  in 
place   of  the  soldiers,   and  they  set  them- 
selves about  the  hated  task  with  a  brutality 
terrible  to    witness.      They    dragged    the 
bodies    down    the  stairs   by  the   fegs,  the 
heads    bumping   from   step   to   step   with 
sickening  thuds,  then   out  into  the  court 
through  the   filthy  mud,  where  they  slung 
them  into  the  cart  with  the  heads  or  legs 
hanging  over  the  side,  and  so  continued  to 
pile  up  the  load  with  a  score  of  half-naked 
corpses. 

It  was  horrible  to  hear  the  conversation 
of  the  men  who  did  this  work.     They   per- 
haps brought  out  a  body  still  warm,  the 
heart  still  beating,  and  the  flush  of  life  on 
the  cheek.      One  would  say,  "He  is  still 
alive,"  and  propose  to  leave  him  without 
stopping    to    decide    the    question.      The 
others  would  cry,  "Devil  take  him!    He 
will  die  before  to-morrow,  any  way.      In 
with  him."    And  so  the  living  went  in  with 
the  dead,  and  were  tumbled  into  the  grave. 
When  the  three  carts  were  full,  they  started 
away  through  the  streets  toward  the  ditches 
outside  the  town.     The  horrible  load  jolted 
and  shook,  and  now  and  then  a  body  fell 
out  into  the  mud,  and  was  dragged  into  the 
cart  again,  and  thrown  down  and  jammed 
in  firmly  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the 
accident.      This  heartless  proceeding  went 
on  in  the  public  streets,  crowded  with  the 
men,  women,  and  children  of  the  place,  the 
soldiers,  the  wounded  and  the  sick;   and 
after  so  many  days  of  the  same  spectacle, 
no  one  any  longer  paid  attention   to  the 
transport  of  the  dead. 

The  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  was 
now  rapidly  systematised.  The  few  Rus- 
sian doctors  that  were  detailed  for  the 
service  worked  very  hard,  and  also  the 
Turkish  surgeons  who  remained ;  but  the 
corps  was  not  one  quarter  large  enough 
to  properly  attend  to  the  patients.      Some 


[neglect  of  WOUNDED. 


of  the  hospitals  were  light,  airy,  and  well 
purified  ;  but  the  mosques  were  still  dark, 
foul-smelling,  and  crowded.  The  dead  lay 
for  many  hours  unattended,  and  the  horrible 
sights  and  sounds  defied  description.  In  the 
midst  of  this,  the  few  Rubsian  Sisters  of 
Charity  moved  about  quietly,  busy  from  day- 
break till  dark,  bringing  comfort  to  hun- 
dreds, whose  wounds  they  dreiised,  and 
whose  pains  they  alleviated. 

This  is  but  a  slight  outline  of  the  scenes 
that  passed  in  Plevna  for  days.      A  long 
detailed  account  alone  could  give  anything 
like  an  idea  of  the  climax  and  final  act  of 
the  drama  of  Plevna.     The  town  was  full  of 
similar  pictures.     Along  the  streets  were 
frequently  seen  one  or  two  wounded  who 
had  crawled  out  from  the  hospital,  and  lay 
dying  in  the  mud.     There  was  no  valid  ex- 
cuse for  this  wilful  disregard  of  human  life. 
The  cause  is  evident — namely,  lack  of  sys- 
tem.     The   Russians    knew    that    Plevna 
must  fall,  and  they  expected  to  find  thou- 
sands of  starving  men  there,  and  thousands 
of    badly-attended   wounded.      The   exact 
date  of  the  surrender  must  have  been,  as  it 
probably  was,  a  surprise;  but  the  day  before 
the  expected   event   was  not   the   time   to 
prepare  for  it.      There  should  have   been 
detailed,  long  before,  proper  officers  to  pre- 
pare everything  for   the  care  of  the   sur- 
rendered troops.      There  can  be  no  excuse 
for  the  fact  that  only  three  open  ox-carts 
were  found  to  transport  the  dead,  and  only 
a  score  of  Bulgarians  who  ran  away  at 
every  opportunity,  to  perform  the  duty  of 
burying  the  dead.     Out  on  the  plain,  near 
the  bridge  over  the  Vid,  were  bivouacked 
15,000    or  20,000   prisoners,    fighting  for 
bread,  miserable  beyond  description,  in  the 
cold,    with    hundreds    of    unburied    dead 
covering  the  ground  near  the  spot  where 
the  first  attempt  was  made  to  break  through ; 
and  day  after  day  passed,  and  their  condition 
did  not  change,  simply  because  there  can 
be  nothing  like  prompt  attention  in  similar 
cases  where  there   is   no   idea   of  system. 
The  story  of  the  hospitals,  of  the  prisoners, 


and  of  the  Russian  disasters,  all  hano-  on 
one  thread. 

But  the  horrors  of  Plevna  were  not  all  in 
the  town.  Some  were  in  the  valley  of  the 
Vid.  In  the  redoubts  which  the  Russians 
stormed,  hundreds  on  hundreds  of  still  un- 
buried bodies  lay;  the  whole  ridge  of  the 
wooded  mountain,  the  valley  beyond,  and 
the  hill  further  on  where  stood  the  two 
redoubts  overlooking  the  town,  taken  with 
terrible  loss  by  General  Skobelofi'  on  Sep- 
tember 30th,  were  still  strewn  thickly  with 
the  corpses  of  the  Russians  who  fell  on  the 
occasion.  Some  of  these  bodies  had  been 
partly  covered  with  four  spadefuls  of  dirt, 
but  most  of  them  lay  as  they  fell.  Not  all 
as  they  fell,  for  the  dogs  had  torn  away  the 
limbs  of  many,  and  the  birds  of  prey  had 
pecked  at  the  skulls.  In  the  pools  of  water 
lay  corpses  half  decayed;  pale,  withered 
hands  and  feet  stuck  out  of  the  soil  on  all 
sides;  and  horrible,  dead,  mummified  faces 
stared  at  one  from  every  little  hollow  in  the 
ground,  and  from  among  every  clump  of 
bushes.  Some  of  these  bodies  had  been  put 
in  graves  within  a  day  or  two  ;  but  still  the 
whole  region  was  strewn  thickly  with  these 
dreadful  mementoes  of  the  fight  there  nearly 
three  months  before. 

Around  the  redoubts  the  ground  was 
furrowed  and  dug  with  thousands  of  shells, 
and  tons  of  pieces  covered  the  earth.  It  was 
interesting  to  observe  how  few  shells  went 
into  the  redoubts,  or  struck  the  edge  of  the 
redoubts.  The  majority  plunged  into  the 
ground  just  in  front.  The  Turks  built 
great  traverses  across  the  redoubts,  and 
under  these  dug  deep  bomb-proof  shelters, 
where  they  were  as  safe  from  harm  from 
the  shells  as  in  Constantinople;  but  the 
whole  surface  of  the  hills  was  literally 
riddled  with  holes  large  enough  to  bury 
horses  in,  and  all  about  lay  great  unexploded 
shells.  Even  away  back  in  the  ravines, 
where  the  soldiers'  huts  were,  bullets,  frag- 
ments of  clothing  and  equipments,  covered 
the  ground;  in  short,  Plevna  and  its 
vicinity  was  one  vast  charnel-hcuse. 

281 


THE  COST  OF  PLEVNA.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Fa.d.  1877. 


CHAPTER  XXVL 


RESULTS  OF  THE  FALL  OF  PLEVNA. 


\ik. 


;> 


\  'H 


1 


When  an  adjutant  brought  the  news  of 
Osman  Pasha's  surrender  to  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  with  the  words,  "  Plevna  lies  at 
your  majesty's  feet,"  the  Czar  replied,  "  But 
the  war  is  not  yet  at  an  end  I  "  and  compli- 
mented Generals  Todleben,  Imeretinski,  and 
Ganetzky  with  the  words,  "  This  is  entirely 
due  to  your  exertions,  and  especially  to 
thine,  Edward  Ivanovitch  (Todleben  "). 

On  the  following  day  the  Czar  made  his 
triumphal  entry  into  the  City  of  Horrors, 
and  received  Osman  Pasha  whilst  at  break- 
fast in  the  house  of  a  wealthy  Bulgarian. 
He  restored  his  sword  to  Osman  Pasha 
whilst  complimenting  him  on  the  stubborn 
defence  he  had  made,  and  appointed  Char- 
kow  as  Osman  Pasha's  place  of  residence 
during  his  captivity.  Here  he  was  made  as 
much  of  as  though  he  had  been  victorious ; 
and  victorious  he  really  was,  when  it  is 
considered  that  he  had  done  more  than  the 
whole  of  the  Turkish  generals  combined  to 
oppose  the  progress  of  the  Russians.  From 
July  19th  to  December  10th  he  had  held 
Plevna,  and  cost  the  Russians  at  least 
30,000  men,  besides  keeping  the  whole  of 
their  active  army  in  check.  He  did  not 
surrender  until  his  supplies  were  exhausted, 
and  a  loss  of  4,000  men  proved  to  him  that 
all  hope  of  escape  was  vain. 

No  less  important  to  the  Russians  was 
the  fall  of  the  stronghold.  Their  imme- 
diate gain  was  ten  pashas,  2,000  subaltern 
officers,  128  statf  officers,  36,000  men, 
1,200  horses,  and  77  cannon.  But  the  indi- 
rect gain  was  the  greatest  of  all.  Not  only 
did  the  fall  of  Plevna  set  free  the  whole  of 
the  Russian  and  Roumanian  armies,  but  it 
also  liberated  the  Servian  army  which  had 
been  kept  in  readiness  to  fall  upon  Widdm 
and  Osman  Pasha's  army  in  the  rear,  should 
this  appear  necessary.  Had  Osman  Pasha, 
at  any  moment,  succeeded  in  escaping  from 
Plevna,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  if  he 
had  taken  the  route  towards  Widdin,  he 
would  have  been  met  by  an  army  of  20,000 
Serbs,  with  the  Roumanians  on  his  right 
flank,  and  the  Russians  in  his  rear. 

Much  speculation   was  indulged  in,  at 
the   time,  as  to  the  course    the  Russians 
282 


would  pursue.  Some  critics  imagined  that 
General  Todleben  would  insist  upon  the 
Quadrilateral  being  cleared  before  proceed- 
ing across  the  Balkans ;  others  held  that 
fear  of  England  would  keep  the  Russians 
from  marching  upon  Constantinople ;  but 
the  great  majority  held  that  the  Turks 
would  concentrate  their  forces  round  Adri- 
anople,  convert  it  into  a  second  Plevna,  and, 
if  ousted  from  this  position,  fall  back  upon 
the  Tchataldja  lines  in  front  of  Constanti- 
nople. 

But  neither  of  these  plans  were  adopted. 
The  moment  Plevna  had  fallen  the  interest 
in  the  campaign  ceased  to  be  of  a  predomi- 
natingly military  interest,  and  became  one 
of  political  interest  chiefly.  It  was  clear 
that  the  disruption  of  Turkey  had  com- 
menced, however  it  might  be  disguised 
under  the  names  of  autonomous,  feudatory, 
tributary  States,  frontier  rectifications,  or 
protectorates.  Turkey  had  practically  ceased 
to  exist  when  Osman  Pasha  was  sent  into 
captivity  in  Russia ;  henceforth  the  battle 
was  between  those  powers  whose  interests 
were  involved  in  the  fate  of  Turkey. 

First  and  foremost  in  this  struggle  was 
of  course.  Great  Britain.     Secondly,  there 
was  Austria.     Thirdly,    there  was  France. 
Then    came  Italy  and  the    minor  States, 
Greece,  Servia,  Montenegro,  and  Roumania. 
The  interests  of  all  these  States  were,  how- 
ever,  eclipsed  by  those  of  Great  Britain  ; 
and  for  many  weeks  after  the  fall  of  Plevna, 
all  the  world  was  on  tenterhooks,  waiting 
for  the  decision  to  be  taken  by  the  British 
government.    There  were  abundant  counsels 
proceeding,  chiefly  from  Germany,  but  also 
from  France,    to  the  effect  that  England 
should  draw  the  sword — if  not  in  favour  of 
the  Turk,    at  least  against  the  Russians; 
and  naturally,  nowhere  was  this  more  desired 
than  at  the  Porte. 

But  not  only  were  there  insuperable 
difficulties  which  prevented  the  British 
government  from  actively  interfering  on 
behalf  of  the  Porte,  but  it  was  not  to  be 
thought  of  for  a  moment,  seeing  that  the 
end  of  Turkey  had  been  decreed.  British 
interests  were  no  longer  centred  in  Turkey 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[BRITISH  INTERESTS. 


as  an  empire;  they  were  centred  in  Turk- 
ish territory. 

Bolstering  up  the  Sultan  would  simply 
mean  leaving  things  just  as  they  had  been, 
with  an  enormous  additional  influence  of 
Russia  upon  the  course  of  Oriental  politics. 
As  long  as  Turkey  remained  in  this  equivo- 
cal state  of  semi-independence,  both  Russia 
and  England  met  on  the  same  ground  of 
ostensible  benevolent  wishes  towards  the 
Porte.  That  was  a  fiction  which  would 
have  to  be  destroyed.  It  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  separate  British  interests  from 
Turkish  interests,  and  also  to  separate 
Russian  interests  from  Turkish  interests. 
As  long  as  Turkey  was  regarded  as  a  fully 
independent  State,  with  its  conglomeries  of 
tributary  States  and  provinces,  the  Russians 
could  always  say  to  England,  "Why 
should  we  disagree  ?  We  both  of  us  wish 
to  sustain  Turkey ;  we  both  wish  the  Otto- 
man empire  to  hold  the  territory  neither  of 
us  desires  the  other  to  have ;  and  we  both 
of  us  only  desire  that  the  Christian  subjects 
of  the  Porte  should  not  be  oppressed.  Our 
interests  are,  therefore,  identical.  Why 
should  we  quarrel  then  ?  " 

Herein  lay  the  absurdity.  British  and 
Russian  interests  in  Turkey  were  far  from 
being  identical— they  were,  in  fact,  diame-  I 
tricaliy  opposed.  But  it  was  impossible  to 
deny  any  of  the  above  statements  taken 
singly,  or  to  dispute  the  logic  of  the  whole 
as  a  statement,  as  an  assertion.  It  all 
depended  upon  the  truth  of  the  Russian 
assertion,  that  the  above  interests  were  the 
real  ones,  and  not  the  cloak  to  other  designs. 
But  to  ascertain  this  for  certain,  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  force  Russia's  hand,  to  oblige  her 
to  follow  suit,  and  play  out  her  trumps. 

To  accomplish  this,  it  was  also  neces- 
sary to  do  one  of  two  things.  Either  for 
England  to  lead  trumps  at  once,  or  let  the 
Russians  go  on  till  they  had  nothing  but 
trumps  in  their  own  hands,  and  would  be 
forced  to  lead  themselves. 

Unfortunately,  the  British  government, 
owing  to  agitation  at  home,  and  the  incon- 
gruous elements  in  the  cabinet,  decided 
to  adopt  the  latter  course,  and  force  the 
Russians  to  lead  the  trump  card. 

This  trump  card  was  Constantinople. 
The  British  government  had  declared  that 
England  could  not  afi'ord  to  see  Constanti- 
nople menaced  or  occupied  by  the  Russians 
without  taking  steps  to  secure  her  own 
interests  in  the  East.  On  the  other  hand, 
so  long  as  the  Turkish  government  remained 


intact  in  Constantinople,  and  replied  to  all 
proposals  for  peace  with  a  non  possumus^ 
the  Russians  could  not  wait  about  outside 
the  gates,  at  the  good  pleasure  of  the  Porte, 
and  refrain  from  dealing  the  coup  de  grace. 
They  were  obliged  to  bring  the  war  to  aa 
end  somehow  or  other;  and  there  was  no 
other  way  of  doing  so  than  by  striking  at 
head-quarters,  and  at  least  isolating  the  capi- 
tal completely  from  the  rest  of  the  country. 
This  was  evident  to  all  concerned ;  and 
towards  the  middle  of  December,  1877,  the 
advice  was  given  to  the  Porte  to  save  as 
much  of  its  armies  as  possible,  and  fall  back 
upon  the  defence  of  Constantinople  and  the 
lines  of  Tchataldja  only.     At  first  it  had 
been  intended  to  make  a  stand  at  Adrianople; 
but  it  was  pointed  out  to  the  Turks  that 
such  a  policy  could  only   delay  the  crisis, 
and  increase  their  difficulties  without  any 
corresponding  advantages.     Sir  A.  Layard 
insisted   that    it    would  be  impossible  for 
England  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  Turkey 
only.     She   could  only  do  so   if  her  own 
interests  were  menaced.     That  case  would 
not  occur  until  the  capital  was  menaced. 
Hence  the  best  method  to  enlist  such  sym- 
pathies and  gain  such  assistance  as  England 
was  able  and  willing  to  give,  would  be  by 

allowing  the  Russians — nay,  forcing  them 

to  advance  on  Constantinople  itself.  Then 
the  moment  for  British  interference,  as 
foreshadowed  by  Lord  Derby,  would  arrive 
and  the  question  no  longer  be  one  between 
the  Porte  and  the  Russian  government 
only,  but  between  England  and  Russia. 

To  this  view  the  Turkish  government 
gladly  subscribed,  and  were  delighted  at  the 
prospect  of  British  intervention  in  whatever 
shape  it  might  be  presented.  They  at  once 
signified  their  readiness  to  accede  to  the 
proposal,  and  gave  the  necessary  orders. 

All  this  occurred  between  December  15th 
and  December  20th.  As  early  as  that,  the 
future  policy  of  the  Turks,  as  carried  out 
to  the  conclusion  of  peace,  was  definitely 
settled  in  its  broad  outlines,  as  was  pointed 
out  at  the  time  in  an  article  published  in 
the  Examiner,  entitled,  "A  Bold  Project." 
This  article  appeared  on  December  22nd, 
and  ran  as  follows: — 

'*A  plan  of  campaign,  as  much  of  a 
political  as  of  a  military  character,  has  been 
communicated  to  the  Turkish  authorities, 
and  has  apparently  been  accepted  by  them. 
Into  the  origin  of  this  plan,  interesting  as 
the  inquiry  might  be,  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
fn  ..v«Tr.,n^      jn  whatevcF  fertile  brain  it 

283 


to  examine. 


M 


A  BOLD  PROJECT.'*] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


r"A  BOLD  PROJECT." 


may  first  have  arisen,  its  suggestion  to  the 
Turkish  government  removes  it  from  the 
field  of  fanciful  imagination  to  the  practical 
range  of  accomplished  facts.  Nor  does  it 
much  signify  what  motives  dictated  the 
proposal  of  this  plan.  Such  motives  can 
be  imagined  as  being  of  diametrically 
opposed  natures.  And  equally  diametri- 
cally opposed  may  be  the  possible  results. 
What  the  actual  result  may  be,  will  depend 
upon  the  energy  with  which  the  plan  is 
carried  out  by  the  one  party,  or  turned  to 
advantage  by  the  other. 

"  The  original  idea  of  this  plan  is  based  on 
the  conviction  of  the  Turks,  that,  under 
certain  circumstances,  they  would  be  able  to 
^cure  the  assistance  of  one  or  more  foreign 
powers  in  the  war  against  Russia.  The 
plan  itself  is,  that  the  Porte  should  concen- 
trate all  its  forces  at  its  disposal  in  the 
Quadrilateral  and  the  passes  leading  to  it, 
tiius  leaving  the  road  to  Constantinople  per- 
fectly open.  Constantinople  itself  would  be 
strongly  garrisoned,  and  the  Russians  practi- 
cally invited  to  come  and  take  it,  or  confine 
their  efforts  to  the  reduction  of  the  whole 
Quadrilateral,  with  its  fortresses  of  Rustzuk, 
bilistria,  Schumla,  Rasgrad,  Varna,  and  the 
lines  and  earthworks  which  could  be  thrown 
up  in  various  points,  and  defended  with 
the  energy  of  which  the  defence  of  Plevna 
has  shown  the  Turks  to  be  so  capable.  £ut 
the  situation  in  the  Quadrilateral  would  be 
very  different  from  that  at  Plevna.  Plevna 
tell  on  account  of  the  impossibility  of 
keeping  open  the  communications  with  it. 
But  in  the  Quadrilateral,  the  communi- 
cations with  the  capital  could  always  be 
kept  open  by  the  Black  Sea,  of  which 
the  Turks  have  the  control,  via  Varna, 
through  which  any  amount  of  the  material 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Turks,  from  all 
sources,  covert  and  overt,  would  be 
poured.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  form 
any  estimate  of  the  time  that  would 
be  requisite  for  the  Russians  to  end  the 
campaign  if  the  Turks  should  adopt  this 
plan.  The  transport  of  heavy  siege  material 
from  Plevna  and  elsewhere  would,  it  is 
true,  be  favoured  by  the  hardness  of  the 
roads  in  winter-time ;  but  this  advantage 
would  be  more  than  counter-balanced  by  the 
difficulties  of  constructing  siege-works  and 
trenches,  &c.,  in  the  frozen  ground. 

"  Nor  is  this  all.     The  matter  is  to  be  still 

further  complicated  by  fresh  reinforcements 

from  Egypt,  to  the  number  of  20,000  men, 

for  the    protection    of    Constantinople  .or 

284 


otherwise,  but  in  all  probability  for  Con- 
stantinople, if  certain  obvious  objections  of 
the  Porte  can  be  overcome.  Further,  the 
policy  thus  recommended  in  Europe,  it  has 
been  suggested,  should  also  be  extended  to 
Asia,  and  the  same  military  tactics  adopted 
there  as  in  European  Turkey,  with,  no 
doubt,  certain  modifications,  which  can 
easily  be  imagined. 

"This project  has  received  apparent  con- 
firmation already  from  two  quarters — from 
the  Russian  head-quarters,  and  from  Egypt. 
On  Tuesday,  the  Daily  News  correspon- 
dent at  the  Russian  head-quarters,  stated 
that  the  military  authorities  were  at 
first  strongly  in  favour  of  an  immediate 
advance  across  the  Balkans  to  Adrianople, 
'  but  that  another  course  has  been,  at  least 
temporarily,  dictated  by  the  more  diploma- 
tic element  of  the  imperial  head-quarters.' 
We  are  in  a  position  to  state  that  this 
course  was  dictated  in  consequence  of  the 
above  plan  having  become  known  to  the 
Russian  authorities.  The  second  confima- 
tion  is  contained  in  a  letter  from  the 
Daily  News  correspondent  at  Alexandria, 
in  which  he  states  that  the  Sublime  Porte 
had  sent  a  demand  to  the  Khedive  for 
20,000  fresh  troops,  and  that  a  contingent 
of  6,000  men  is  about  to  leave  for  Con- 
stantinople. These  facts,  still  further 
strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Suleiman 
Pasha  from  Varna  with  10,000  men,  must 
be  considered  not  so  much  as  confirmatory 
evidence  of  the  plan  we  have  mentioned, 
but  rather  as  evidence  of  the  rapidity  and 
energy  with  which  it  is  being  put  into 
execution ;  and  it  is  probably  not  too  much  to 
say,  that  the  same  considerations  which  dic- 
tated its  adoption,  also  dictated  the  meeting 
of  parliament  at  so  unusually  early  a  period. 

"  Now,  the  motives  which  induce  the 
Turks  and  their  friends  to  adopt  this  plan 
are  so  clear  as  to  speak  for  themselves. 
Either  the  Russians  will  be  obliged  to  let 
General  Todleben  commence  the  weary  work 
of  digging  the  grave  of  the  Porte  with  the 
spade  in  the  Quadrilateral — as  Todleben 
himself  had  already  advised — or  they  must 
be  prepared  to  risk  the  danger  of  the  war 
party  in  England  succeeding  in  entrapping 
the  country  into  war,  with  the  cry  of 
'  Constantinople  in  danger  1 '  And  lest  this 
should  not  be  sufficient  to  move  those  who 
refuse  to  believe  in  any  danger  to  Constan- 
tinople from  Russia,  the  renewed  assistance 
of  Egypt  under  these  particular  circum- 
fctances  has  been  determined  upon,  in  order 


to  force  the  Russians  to  identify  Egypt 
with  Turkey,  and  bring  on  demands  for  ex- 
planations which  might  result  in  a  casus 
belli,  or  the  fall  of  the  Beaconsfield  minis- 
try. Which  of  the  two  is  the  more  probable 
is  a  matter  of  serious  consideration. 

"  The  importance  of  this  momentous  ques- 
tion cannot  be  overrated.  It  speaks  for 
itself.  Equally  important  are  the  views 
taken  of  it  by  the  two  great  powers,  besides 
England,  who  are  most  deeply  interested  in 
the  settlement  of  affairs  in  the  East ;  and  no 
less  important  than  the  relations  existing 
between  these  two  powers  themselves — 
Austria  and  Prussia — and  their  respective 
and  mutual  relations  towards  Russia  and 
England.  In  effect,  the  German  government 
states,  emphatically,  that  it  cannot  separate 
itself  from  Russia,  or  refuse  to  endorse  any 
claims  Russia  may  choose  to  make,  as  long 
as  those  claims  do  not  injure  German 
interests.  At  the  same  time  the  German 
government  jiever  wearies  in  pointing  out 
that  it  is  the  interest  and  duty  of  England 
to  protect  European  interests  in  the  East, 
intensely  hopes  that  the  temper  of  the 
nation  may  be  roused  to  the  roar-pitch, 
and  incessantly  deprecates  the  idea  of  the 
Marquis  of  Salisbury,  that  Germany  would 
act  under  any  circumstances  against  Russia, 
as  a  fundamental  error.  That  the  marquis 
might  be  eliminated  from  the  cabinet  is 
their  sincere  desire.  If  that  were  accom- 
plished, they  are  convinced  that  Lord  Derby's 
constitutional  characteristics  would  prevent 
his  remaining  any  obstacle  to  the  policy 
they  would  speedily  see  Lord  Beaconsfield 
carrying  out.  In  short,  no  stone  will  be 
left  unturned  to  induce  this  country  to 
declare  war,  or  to  induce  Russia  to  make 
such  demands  as  we  have  already  alluded 
to,  and  thus  precipitate  the  catastrophe. 

"  As  regards  Austria,  her  views  as  to  the 
march  of  the  Russians  on  Constantinople 
are  rather  remarkable,  and  bear  different 
constructions.  The  Austrian  government 
has  signified  that  it  would  not  object  to  an 
occupation  of  Constantinople  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  German  occupation  of  Paris, 
in  order  to  satisfy  the  popular  and  military 
mind  in  Russia.  That  such  an  event  would 
be  regarded  as  eminently  dangerous  by  the 
military  element  in  Austria  and  England  is, 
of  course,  but  natural.  But  this  is  a  con- 
sideration which  must  yield  to  broader 
views.  The  question  to  be  answered  is, 
whether  Germany  and  Austria  would  remain 
passive  if  the  temporary  occupation  of  Con- 


VOL.  III. 


2  p 


stantinople  by  the  Russians  should  threaten 
to  become  permanent.  And  then  the  ques- 
tion is,  if  Austria  and  Prussia  should 
consent  to  remain  thus  passive,  whether 
England  could  not  secure  her  interests  in 
another  quarter  without  incurring  the 
expenses  and  horrors  of  a  war.  The  question 
as  to  whether  Austria's  consent  to  a  tempo- 
rary occupation  of  Constantinople  may  not 
be  the  result  of  a  trap  laid  for  her  by 
Prussia,  is  a  matter  for  her  own  private 
consideration.  Here,  again,  broader  consi- 
derations must  prevail ;  for  though  Austria 
might  disappear,  Germany  would  remain, 
and  it  is  immaterial  for  us  whether  it  is  A  or 
B  who  protects  those  German  interests  which 
Prince  Bismarck  has  declared  he  will  protect, 
and  which  also  protect  Constantinople.  It 
is  also  conceivable  that  Austria  might  be 
willing  to  allow  a  temporary  occupation  of 
Constantinople,  with  the  full  knowledge 
that  the  further  the  Russian  army  advanced 
from  their  basis  of  operations,  the  easier  it 
would  be  to  cut  their  communications. 

"  All  this  is  as  clear  to  the  advocates  of 
action  in  favour  of  the  Turks  as  it  is  to 
those  who  are  opposed  to  it.  On  public 
grounds  the  matter  does  not  allow  of  argu- 
ment. But  private  interests  have  found  a 
reply  to  the  opponents  of  such  action  which 
may  appear  very  plausible  to  those  in  whose 
hands  the  decision  may  be  imagined,  in 
some  circumstances,  to  lie.  It  is  said,  that 
much  as  Germany  would  like  to  oppose 
Russia  at  Constantinople,  she  has  no  option 
in  the  matter,  and  must  co-operate  with 
Russia.  It  is  also  pointed  out,  at  the  same 
time,  that  much  as  Austria  would  like  to 
oppose  Russia  likewise,  she  cannot  do  so, 
because  she  is  bound  to  Prussia,  and  that, 
therefore,  England — as  the  only  nation 
which  is  unfettered — must  play  a  bold  and 
spirited  policy.  This  is  a  very  plausible 
argument;  but  bold  and  spirited  as  the 
policy  of  England  ought  always  to  be,  it  is 
no  part  of  our  duty  to  assist  Germany  to 
keep  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  nor  to  protect 
Austria  against  Prussian  designs,  if  any  such 
designs  exist.  What  we  have  to  regard  are 
our  own  interests  in  the  event  of  Russia's 
exceeding  her  programme  of  emancipation ; 
and  we  have  to  consider  whether  our 
interests  in  the  East  can  best  be  consulted 
by  fighting  Russia  single-handed,  for  the 
possession  of  Constantinople,  or  by  establish- 
ing ourselves  in  a  position  which  would 
effectually  secure  our  interests  against 
attacks." 

285 


•    V 


SACRED  TREATIES.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


I 


: 


Thus  the  Examfiiner,  With  a  few  un- 
important modifications,  the  programme 
here  laid  down  was  carried  out  to  the  letter. 
The  existence  of  this  plan  was  communi- 
cated to  Count  Miinster,  and,  within  a  day, 
found  its  way  to  the  Russian  head-quarters. 
Count  Beust  was  also  made  acquainted  with 
it,  and  led  to  his  stating  what  the  views  of  the 
Austrian  government  were  in  respect  to  an 
occupation  of  Constantinople.  These  views 
were  as  expressed  in  the  Examiner  article. 

The  result  of  this  premature  disclosure 
of  the  plans  of  the  British  government  was, 
that  the  Russians  determined  to  accept  the 
challenge,  and,  whilst  not  neglecting  the 
Quadrilateral,  still  not  to  undertake  its  re- 
duction, but  to  follow  up  the  retreating 
Turks  and  dictate  their  terms  before  the 
very  walls  of  Constantinople,  and  thus  force 
the  British  government  also  to  show  its 
hand,  by  declaring  specifically  what  the  in- 
terests were  which  it  considered  of  para- 
mount importance  in  Turkey ;  and  also 
what  means  it  was  intended  should  be 
taken  to  secure  those  interests. 

The  Russian  diplomatists  calculated,  that 
if  Great  Britain  were  really  prepared  to 
support  its  interests  by  force  of  arms,  such 
a  proceeding  would  be  synonymous  with  a 
partition  of  Turkey,  or,  at  any  rate,  to  the 
commencement  of  such  partition  ;  and  if 
such  were  to  be  the  case,  then  Russia  also 
would  be  able  to  drop  her  mask  of  benevo- 
lent action  towards  the  Christians  in 
Turkey,  and  also  take  her  stand  upon 
*'  interests." 

The  fact  is,  that  both  the  governments 
at  St.  James's  and  St.  Petersburg,  as  well 
as  at  the  Ballhausplatz  in  Vienna,  could  no 
longer  refuse  to  face  the  fact,  that  the  days 
of  Turkey,  as  an  independent  power,  were 
counted,  and  that  the  first  great  blow  hav- 
ing been  struck  by  Russia  at  the  very 
foundations  of  the  empire,  they  would  have 
to  secure  what  each  considered  indispen- 
sable for  its  interests. 

It  was  for  this  reason  that  Lord  Beacons- 
field  did  not  allow  any  intervention  imme- 
diately after  the  fall  of  Plevna,  in  spite  of 
the  impatient  appeals  of  his  party  and 
the  Philo-Turk  party.  He  knew  that 
intervention  at  that  point  would  be  imme- 
diately construed,  by  the  Opposition  and 
by  the  Turks,  as  intervention  in  favour  of 
the  Turkish  government;  and  that  even  if 
successful,  that  intervention  would  only 
result  in  the  re-establishment  of  the  old 
order  of  things,  however  much  it  might  be 

286 


disguised.  Turkey,  he  said  plainly,  must 
be  utterly  broken  first,  so  that  the  clashing 
interests  of  Russia  and  England  be  brought 
face  to  face  without  the  interposition  of 
Turkey  in  any  shape  or  form.  He  saw 
that  the  end  of  Turkey  had  approached, 
and  was  determined  that  England  should 
not  suffer  by  the  catastrophe. 

This  view  of  the  matter  was  also  taken 
at  Vienna,  and,  there  is  little  reason  to 
doubt,  at  Berlin  also.  At  both  capitals  it 
was  recognised  that  the  apple  was  not  yet 
ripe  enough  to  be  shaken  down.  A  few 
more  blows  would  suffice,  and  then  the 
moment  for  intervention  would  arrive,  and 
the   division,  in  whatever  form,  of  the  spoil. 

Meantime,  however,  the  fiction  of  an  in- 
dependent Turkey  had  to  be  kept  up,  and 
also  the  fiction  of  the  sanctity  of  treaties. 
These  fictions  were  still  to  cost  a  vast  loss 
of  life,  and  a  vaster  amount  of  misery.  It 
is  in  consequence  of  such  fictions,  that  since 
the  close  of  the  American  civil  war,  Europe 
has  presented  the  aspect  of  one  vast  camp. 
Every  nation  has  already  armed  or  is  arm- 
ing to  the  teeth  ;  and  the  relations  of  one 
country  to  the  other  are  more  or  less 
framed  on  the  basis  of  war  in  abeyance, 
rather  than  the  basis  of  actual  peace. 
Practically,  there  is  but  an  armistice  be- 
tween the  most  important  powers,  and  a 
state  of  things  that  calls  to  mind  the  truces 
entered  into  during  the  Crusades.  But 
this  modern  peace  does  not  possess  the 
advantages  which  recommended  those  of  the 
dark  and  middle  ages.  When  the  Crusaders 
entered  into  their  truces  with  the  Paynim. 
it  was  perfectly  well  understood  that  such 
truces  were  to  terminate  at  a  certain  date, 
after  the  lapse  of  five,  ten,  fifteen,  and  even 
twenty  years.  When  the  term  agreed  upon 
had  expired,  war  recommenced,  or  the  truce 
was  renewed  on  the  same  conditions,  or 
with  certain  modifications,  as  the  caso 
might  be,  and  as  experience  had  judged 
necessary.  But,  under  all  circumstances, 
peace  was  actually  ensured  for  the  time 
determined  upon,  and  there  was  then,  at 
least,  so  much  confidence  in  the  word  of 
honour  given  by  either  combatant,  that 
there  was  no  fear  of  the  compact  being 
broken  before  the  period  had  elapsed. 

Now,  however,  the  sacred  character  of  a 
treaty  has  practically  disappeared,  chiefly, 
indeed,  in  consequence  of  the  rapidity  of 
the  changes  which  an  ever-advancing  civili- 
sation entails.  These  changes  are  such 
that  they  frequently  render  the  stipulatioos 


A.D.  1877.'| 


RUSSIAN   ExAIPIRE. 


[a  BALKAN  WINTER. 


of  peace  far  more  onerous  to  one  or  the 
other  party  than  they  were  ever  intended  to 
be.  The  natural  consequence  is,  that  the 
nation  upon  which  these  stipulations  bear 
with  undue  severity,  chafes  under  the 
restraint,  considers  itself  unjustly  treated — 
and  with  reason — and  seeks  eagerly  for  an 
opportunity  to  throw  off  the  fetters  which 
changing  circumstances  have  invested  with 
a  weight  far  beyond  the  original  burden. 

When,  for  instance,  the  treaty  of  Paris 
was  signed,  there  was  no  idea  of  the  Suez 
Canal  becoming  a  reality.  Railways,  tele- 
graphs, steam-ships,  have  increased  at  a  rate 
which  has  enormously  altered  the  relations 
of  one  country  to  another.  Fresh  centres 
of  commerce  have  been  opened  up,  both  for 
supply  and  demand  ;  the  emission  of  end- 
less loans  has  so  interwoven  the  interests  of 
one  country  with  another,  that  what  may 
have  been  fit  and  just  ten  years  ago,  is  now 
highly  antiquated,  out  of  place,  and  unjust. 

This  fact  has  been  fully  recognised  by 
practical  men,  by  the  mercantile  community 
at  large ;  and  it  is,  moreover,  so  self- 
evident,  that  treaties  regulating  the  com- 
mercial relations  of  one  country  with 
the  other,  are  not  concluded  for  a  theo- 
retical perpetuity,  but  for  a  certain  stipu- 
lated number  of  years,  at  the  end  of  which, 
either  party  can  give  notice  of  withdrawal 
for  the  purposes  of  confirmation,  revision, 
or  modification,  according  to  the  change  of 
circumstances. 

This  principle  is  undoubtedly  a  sound 
one ;  and  if,  when  sufficiently  tested,  it 
works  well  in  commercial  affairs,  where  the 
sharpness  of  self-interest  attains  its  acme. 


there  seems  to  be  no  valid  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  followed  in  purely  political 
treaties,  at  least  in  the  very  great  majority 
of  cases.  Here  and  there,  and  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  cases  might  arise  in 
which  it  would  be  advisable  to  make  the 
treaty  final,  as  far  as  finality  in  matters 
human  can  be  secured;  but,  generally 
speaking,  no  treaty  should  be  concluded  for 
a  longer  period  than  twenty-one  years,  in 
order  to  allow  the  coming  generation  to 
judge  of  their  fathers'  work,  and  allowed  to 
revise  it,  the  understanding  being,  that  at 
the  end  of  that  period  the  contracting 
powers  should  meet,  and  consider  whether 
the  contract  should  be  confirmed  or  sub- 
jected to  such  arrangements  as  might  be 
collectively  agreed  upon.  Not  only  would 
such  an  arrangement  be  best  calculated  to 
prevent  war  from  breaking  out,  but  it  would 
also  be  the  first  and  most  important  step  to 
the  establishment  of  an  international 
tribunal  for  the  regulation  of  international 
questions. 

It  would  have  teen  not  only  wiser,  but 
more  honest,  had  the  powers  concerned 
abandoned  the  fictions  of  the  treaty  of 
Paris  and  the  independence  of  Turkey,  and 
proceeded  to  start  from  entirely  fresh  lines, 
simply  considering  how  their  separate  in- 
terests could  be  secured  to  fall  in  with  the 
welfare  of  the  people  concerned,  whether 
Turks,  Jews,  or  Christians, 

As  it  was,  however,  the  war  was  decreed 
to  go  on  to  the  bitter  end,  and  thousands  of 
people  to  be  sacrificed  in  order  to  ripen  the 
apple,  which  so  many  claimants  were  wait- 
ing to  share  between  them. 


'  \ 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


"general   winter  "   IN  TBE  FIELD. 


Whilst  waiting  for  reinforcements.  General 
Grourko's  forces,  encamped  on  the  bleak 
ridges  of  the  Balkans,  within  range  of  the 
Turkish  batteries  and  rifle-fire,  had  a  hard 
time  of  it ;  but  still  were  not  in  so  deplor- 
able a  condition  as  their  enemies.  Great, 
however,  as  were  the  discomforts,  the  hard- 
ships, under  the  rule  of  "  General  Winter,  " 
were  not  so  severe  in  the  mountains  of  the 
Balkans  as  they   would   have  been  in  the 


plains  of  Roumania  or  in  Russia  itself,  where 
the  icy  east  blasts  across  the  uninterrupted 
surface  of  bare  ground,  chilling  man  and 
beast  to  death. 

In  the  Balkans  the  mountains  protected 
the  men  from  the  cutting  winds,  whilst  the 
forests  supplied  an  abundance  of  fuel,  and 
thus  fires  blazed  on  every  side  where  the 
soldiers  had  rigged  up  their  shelter-tents 
between  the  smooth,  straight  beech  trunks, 

287 


STRANGE  WOUNDS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


and  had  their  garments  all  hung  about  to 
dry ;  there  was  a  continuous  musical  ring 
of  axes  and   sabres  cutting  fuel,  only  inter- 
rupted  by   the   infernal    whizz    and  angry 
crack  of  Turkish  shells ;  rifles  were  stacked 
in   long   irregular   lines,  or  were  clustered 
about  the  large  trees  ;  and  crowds  of  soldiers 
were  gathered  about  the  kitchens  or  busied 
with  the  details  of  their  simple  toilettes. 
Some  of  the  bivouacs  were  continually  ex- 
posed to  rifle-fire;  not  that  they   were  in 
sight  of  the  Turkish  lines,  but  the   bullets 
went  over  the  crest  of  the  hill,  and  grazing 
the   earthworks,   came   dropping   into  the 
bivouac  in  the  rear,  chipping  the  trees  and 
wounding  men  and  horses.     They  were  not 
spent  bullets  either,  for  they  still  had  force 
enough  to  go  through  a  three-inch  sapling, 
and   then  stick   in    a   tree    beyond.      The 
soldiers  in  their  bivouacs   dug  great  holes 
in    the   ground,    pitched   their   tents   over 
them,  and  then  piled  the  earth  and  sods  up 
on  the  side  towards  the  enemy,  so  they  had 
a  very  good  shelter  at  all  times.     The  fires 
were  also  built  in  little  earthworks,  for  no 
one  liked  to  have  a  live  bullet  in  his  kitchen ; 
and  whenever  there  was  a  fusillade  nearly 
every  man  was  under  cover.     The  shells  and 
shrapnel  came  in,  but  the  men  took  the  risk 
of  these  projectiles,  and  attempted  no  de- 
fence against  them.     A  thin  cloud  of  blue 
smoke  from  the  fires  rising  out  of  the  tree- 
tops,  and  drifting  away  to   leeward,  marked 
exactly  where  the  bivouac  was  placed,  both 
to  the  eyes  of  friends  away  back  in  the  town, 
and  to  the  sharp  sight  of  the  enemy  near  at 
hand.     Thus  closely  together  lay  the  two 
armies  on  the  mountain  tops,  and  when  the 
snow  covered  the  ground,  the  picturesque- 
ness  of  the  mountain  bivouacs  was  without 
parallel.     The  tree  trunks  came  out  sharply 
with   their   deep   grey   colour   against  the 
pure  white,  and  every  figure  was  in  distinct 
silhouette.     Before  the  snow  fell,  the  grey 
over-coats  of  the  soldiers  harmonised  exactly 
with   the   colours   of   the    carpet   of    dead 
leaves,  and  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish 
the  men  from  the  ground  they  lay  on.     In 
the   snow,  too,  was   written   more  plainly 
than  with  words,  the  history  of  the  move- 
ments of  each  man  in   the  skirmish  line. 
One  could  follow  every  step  of  the  advance 
of  the  Russians  as  they  drove  the  Turks 
from  tree  to  tree  upon  the  open  summit, 
and  mark  just  where  each  soldier  sought 
shelter — the  means  he  took  to  get  nearer 
the    enemy;    and    one    could    even  judge 
accurately  the  state  of  the  soldier's  mind  as 
288 


he  dodged  from  tree  to  tree,  whether  he  was 
reckless  or  cautious,  enterprising  or  timid. 
The  tracks  of  the  Russian  boots  followed  up 
the  prints  of  the  Turkish  sandals,  just  as 
one  finds,  in  the  freshly- fallen  snow  in  the 
country,   the  track  of  a  cat  following  the 
trail  of  a  bird  as  it  goes  from  bush  to  bush 
in  the  garden,  and  then  a  few  feathers  and 
a  drop  or  two  of  blood,  which  marks  dis- 
tinctly  where  the  prey  was  taken.     Pink 
stains  on  the  white  ground  among  the  trees 
on   the  mountain  were  only  two  eloquent, 
and  here  and  there  a  pool  of  blood,  that  had 
flowed  warm  and  melted  the  snow  in  a  dark 
red  spot,  showed   where  men  had  been  hit 
hard,    and    the   impression    of  the    bodies 
where  they  fell,  the  tracks  of  the  comrades 
who  came  to  carry  them  away — all  was  there, 
unmistakably,  even  too  plainly  legible.    The 
Turkish  dead,  stripped  by  their  friends  for 
the  ragged  woollen  clothes  they  wore,  lay 
nearly  naked  on  the  spot  where  they  had 
fallen,  their  bare  legs  and  arms  half  buried 
in  the  snow,  the  ghastly  spectacle  all  the 
more  impressive  in  the  cruel  cold  and  the 
desolate  landscape.     Nothing,    in    all   the 
previous  battles  of  the  war,  was  so  impres- 
sive as  the  sights  of  a  short  hour  on  the 
mountain  the  afternoon  of  the  attack,  cap- 
ture, and  final  surrender  again  of  the  re- 
doubt on  the  summit  of  the  Baba  Konak 
Pass.     The  majestic  solemnity  of  the  moun- 
tain scenery ;  the  awful  mystery  of  the  wild 
forest ;  the  cold,  the  snow,  and  the   driving 
mist;  the  freshly  wounded  and  the  dead  in 
the   snow  close  by;    the  living  who  were 
telling   the  story    of  the  fight  with  their 
rifles  still  hot  in  their  hands — these  were 
surroundings  to  make  one  realise  the  full 
extent   of  the  horrors  of  the    war   in    the 
mountains.     As  for  the  wounded,  they  were 
almost  equally  badly  off  on  both  sides,  and 
with  the  advent  of  the  severe  weather  their 
sufl'erings  increased  tenfold.     Some  of  the 
wounds    were   wonderfully  eccentric.     One 
man  was  shot  through  the  lungs,  and  for 
some  days  he  actually  breathed  through  the 
hole  in  his  chest,  as  could  be  seen  by  hold- 
ing a  match  to  the  aperture,  when  it  was 
literally   blown   out  by  the  man's  breath. 
Another,  a  Russian,  was  wounded  just  above 
the  right  knee,  whence  the  bullet,   winding 
spirally,   cork-screw   fashion    up    his    leg, 
finally  lodged  under  his  left  shoulder-blade. 
A  third,  a  Turk,  was  struck   in  the   left 
cheek   by   one    bullet   which  also  traversed 
the  other,  and  at  almost  the  same  moment 
was  hit  by  a  second  in  his  right   cheek, 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE.         [sugar- sticks  and  candy. 


which  also  sped  through  the  left.  Still, 
though  the  cold  and  the  snow  severely  tried 
both  the  healthy  and  the  wounded,  they 
were  less  trying  than  the  sleet  and  rain, 
alternating  with  heavy  drenching  mists, 
which  saturated  everything  with  water,  and 
filled  rifle-pits  and  trenches.  At  these 
times,  when  a  thick  curtain  of  opaque  mist 
hid  the  enemy,  the  effect  of  the  talking 
and  bustle  in  their  lines,  as  it  was  magnified 
by  the  fog,  was  surprising.  It  seemed  as  if 
one  could  almost  touch  them  with  a  sword's 
point,  and  there  was  a  consequent  incerti- 
tude on  each  side  as  to  what  the  other  was 
doing  that  was  very  trying,  quite  apart  from 
the  difficulties  of  the  position :  for  bleak 
mountain  tops  are  not  favourable  spots  for 
bivouacs  ;  and  although  the  cold  had  not 
yet  been  very  intense,  the  men  had  had  a 
sufficient  degree  to  give  a  good  idea  of  what 
life  on  the  mountains  would  be  when  the 
winter  settled  down  in  earnest,  and  the 
snow  lay  three  feet  or  more  deep.  Even  as 
it  was,  the  mountain  landscape  had  quite  an 
Arctic  aspect,  peak  on  peak  as  white  and  un- 
broken as  the  summits  of  the  highest  Alps, 
and  the  plains  of  Sophia  in  the  distance 
completely  snow-carpetedo  But  the  soldiers 
accommodated  themselves  to  the  snow  and 
cold  very  well.  They  had  plenty  of  fresh 
meat  and  soup,  were  warmly  clad,  and,  con- 
sidering the  difficulties  of  the  campaign,  as 
well  off  as  could  be  expected.  Still,  as  may 
be  imagined,  they  were  eager  for  a  change 
of  some  sort,  and  great  was  the  joy  when 
the  news  of  the  fall  of  Plevna  reached  them. 
Officers  embraced  each  other,  soldiers 
cheered,  and  cheered  and  cheered  again, 
and  everybody  felt  free  to  give  way  to  the 
wildest  expressions  of  delight.  General 
Gourko  went  to  the  positions  with  his  staff 
to  tell  the  great  news  to  the  troops  in  the 
bivouac  there.  He  remained  with  Count 
Schouvaloff,  and  his  aides-de-camp  went 
up  into  the  intrenchments  with  the  tid- 
ings. The  cheers  in  the  bivouacs  had 
announced,  long  before  the  aides-de-camp 
arrived,  an  event  of  more  than  usual  im- 
portance, and  all  the  soldiers  were  curious 
to  know  what  had  happened.  When  they 
were  told  the  news  they  jumped  upon  the 
parapets  and  waved  their  caps  at  the 
astonished  Turks,  who  were  close  bv  on  the 
opposite  ridge,  and  gave  round  after  round 
of  hurrahs.  The  sun,  which  had  been  veiled 
for  days,  just  at  this  time  shone  out 
brightly,  and  the  mist  dissipated,  giving  the 
opposing  lines,  for  the  first  time  for  a  week, 


a  fair  sight  of  each  other.     In  the  batteries 
the  numbers  were  ordered  to  their  posts, 
and   then,  while  the  parapets  were   lined 
with     men,    all    waving    their    caps    and 
cheering  frantically,  volley  after  volley  of 
shell  was  thrown  into  the  enemy's  fortifica- 
tion, for  once  a    joyous    and    triumphant 
cannonade.     The  cheers  spread  Jike  a  wave 
from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  line,  down 
in  the  ravines,  back  in  the  woods — away  on 
the  summits  went  the  sound  until  it  became 
a  faint  hum  in  the  distance,  and  died  away 
and  was  renewed  again  with  repeated  energy 
for  a  long  while.     This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  fete,  and  that  day  nothing  that  could 
be  eaten  and  drunk  to  celebrate  the  tidinjrs 
was  spared,  especially  as,  fortunately  for  the 
banqueters,  a  sutler  arrived  with  an  im- 
mense train  of  waggons  laden  with  every 
kind    of    groceries,    delicacies,    and  small 
wares,  and  began  to  unpack  his  goods  in  an 
empty  shop  opposite    the  general's   head- 
quarters.    The  news  of  this  arrival  spread 
quicker  than  even  the  report  of  the  fall  of 
Plevna,  to  judge  by  the  crowd  of  officers  of 
every  rank  who  besieged  the  entrances  to 
the  shop  long  before  the  proprietor  had  any 
intention    of    opening    the    establishments 
The  covers  were  off  some  of  the  cases,  dis» 
closing  sugar,  preserves,  bottles,    and   sta- 
tionery ;  and  this  attraction  was  too  great 
to  be  resisted,  so   the   crowd   entered    tho 
shop  with   good-natured   shouldering  and 
hustling,  and  began  to  pile  up  the  articles 
they  wanted  with  a  recklessness  that  would 
have    broken   the    heart    of   a    methodical 
shopkeeper.      They   dived   into   the  great 
cases,  bringing  out,  with  shouts  of  delight, 
all  kinds  of  bon-bons  and  candies,  jams  and 
jellies,  which  they  laid  hold    of   with  tho 
eagerness  of  children,  and  began  to  eat  on 
the  spot.     The   sutler   and    his    assistants 
could    do    nothing   but    make    spasmodic 
attempts  to   regulate   the   distribution    of 
the  stores,  which  only  made  the  confusion 
greater,  and  the  happy  crowd  elbowed  and 
pushed,  and  continued  to  help  themselves 
in  abundance.     As  each  one  gathered   his 
stock  of  plunder,  he  was  as  impatient    to 
pay  for  it  as  he  had  been  to  get   hold   of 
it;  and  although  the   sutler  calmly    took 
four    times    the    price    of   the   goods    at 
Bucharest,  the  tariff  was  never  questioned, 
and  bright  new  gold   pieces    rattled   into 
his  canvas  bag  in  a  stream,  making  music 
that  would  have  delighted  a  miser.    Doubt- 
less   the   glitter   of  the  gold  blinded  his 
eyes  to  the  scene  of  indescribable  confusion. 

289 


•     V 


it '  ■•   'fC  Ki 


n 


MISERY  OP  PRISONERS.] 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


I 


It  was  really  ao  interesting  and  ludicrous 
spectacle,  this   merry  attack  on  the  sutler's 
fchop.     Colonels  and  captains,  staff  officers 
and  surgeons,  all  jostling  one  another  like 
so  many  children  at  a  table   full    of  bon- 
bons, burying  their  arms  deep  in  the  cases 
where  the  sweets  were,  loading  themselves 
with    bottles    and    parcels,    laughing    and 
talking  and  joking  all  the  time.      Officers 
splashed  with  mud,  their  faces  tanned  and 
roughened  with  exposure,  dipped  into    the 
pots  of  jam  and  broke  open  boxes  of  bon- 
bona  with  laughable  earnestness,  as  if  they 
had   been  denied  sweets  since  their  child- 
hood, and  their  early  taste  had  only  grown 
the  stronqrer  from  long  abstinence.     From 
the  bivouac  in  the  snow  on  the  mountain, 
where  black  hard  bread  and  sugarless   tea 
had,  perhaps,  been  for  days  their  chief  diet, 
to  a  shop  piled   full   of  delicacies,   was  a 
change   which    must  be  experienced  to  be 
realised  in  its  entire  extent,  and,  notwith- 
Btanding    the   ludicrous  aspect  of  the  per- 
formance, it  had  a  serious  side   which   no 
one  could  fail  to  remark  at  the  moment. 
This  was  the  absolute  necessity  for  supplying 
troops  exposed  to  the  severity  of  a  winter 
with  such  fat  and  warmth-producers  as  sugar, 
oil,  or  fat.    In  a  mountainous  country  suo-ar 
IS  the  best  stimulant  of  its  kind,  either  pure 
or    in    coffee    or   chocolate.     Chocolate    is 
especially  beneficent.     During  some  of  the 
long  Carlist  marches  under  Dorregaray,  a 
cake  or  two  of  chocolate  kept  the  men  in 
good  spirits  for  the  whole  day,  and  effectually 
staved  off  the  cravings  of  huno-er    whilst 
really  furnishing  nutriment. 
•  ^   Meantime,  trying  as  was  the  winter  with 
its  snows,  rains,  and  posts  for  the  Russians, 
it  was  still  more  trying  to  the  Turks  in  the 
field,  and  especially  to  the  prisoners.     The 
plains  of  Roumania  presented  a  vast  surface 
of  snow,  only  broken  by  the  bleak  telegraph 
poles  and  the  fluttering  of  carrion  crows. 
At  times  these  birds  of  prey  increased  in 
numbers,  making  almost  black  the  leaden 
skyc     Then  afar  off,  breaking  the  horizon, 
a  long  dark  line  would  come  slowly  moving 
in   caterpillar-fashion   along  the   road,  re- 
solving  itself  into   a   column   of  Turkish 
prisoners,  in  front  of  whom   gleamed  the 
bayonets  of  their  Dorobantz  guards  as  they 
plodded  slowly  forward  under  the  weight  of 
their  miscellaneous  kit.     Following  came  a 
few  Turkish  officers,  either  on  ponies  or  on 
foot.     Behind  them  marched  the  men  who 
once  kept  the  flower  of  the  Russian  army  at 
bay  round  Plevna.     Spiritless  and  broken 
290 


they  looked  as    they  trudged  wearily  along 
the  road  to  their  captivity.     Half-starved, 
almost  dead  with  fatigue  and   the  severe 
cold,  many  with  fever  burning  in  their  eyes 
— mere  stalking  bones  and  foul  rags — such 
had   become   the  brave  troops  who   made 
the  fame  of  Osman  Pasha.     Suffering  from 
typhus  and  small-pox,  many  fell  out  of  the 
ranks  to  lie  down  and  die.    "  One  poor  fellow 
has  thrown   himself  on  the  snow   by  the 
road-side ;  he  can  go  no  further.  A  comrade, 
loth  to  leave  him,  follows  and  tries  to  per- 
suade him  to  struggle  once  more  to  join  the 
line.    There  is  no  response.    He  has  swooned 
or  is  dead.    A  soldier  of  the  rear-guard  now 
comes  up  and   roughly  pushes  the   living 
man   back   to  the  ranks.     Then   he  kicks 
with   his  foot  the   bundle  of  rags  on  the 
ground.     There  is  no  sign.     With  the  butt- 
end  of  his  gun  he  turns  the  head  over  from 
the  snow.     The  eyes  glare  at  him  with  a 
fixed    stare.     He     is    dead.     The    soldier 
brutally  pushes  the  body  deeper  into  the 
snow,  shoulders  his  rifle,  and  joins  his  guard. 
"  Thousands  of  birds  of  prey  whirl  round 
and  settle  in  front  and  rear,  always  following 
this  grim   procession  like  sharks  round  a 
doomed  ship.     A  few  yards  further  on  lies, 
half-covered   with    snow,  a   nude   body  of 
another  dead  Turk,  stripped   by  his  com- 
panions for  the  little  warmth  of  the  rags  he 
wore.     A   crow    has   just   settled    on    his 
clenched  hand,  and  the  dogs  are  slinking 
round   their   victim.     A   few    paces    more 
brings  us  to  another  miserable,  lying  as  he 
died  with  upturned  face,  staring  on  heaven 
through  the  fast-falling  snow.     We   must 
now  be  near  a  village,  for  there  are  pigs 
about,  and  we  have  just  seen  a  skirmish 
between  these  swine  and  the  dogs,  to  see 
which  shall  be  first  at  this  horrible  carrion. 
It  is  the  village  of  Putenieu,  almost  lost  in 
the  snow  and  ice.    How  different  the  place 
looked  from  what  it  was  when  I  first  passed 
through  its  streets  in  the  early  summer! 
The  Russian  advance  guard  had  then  only 
just  gone  by,  and  I  was  in  search  of  Dragi- 
miroff  to  know  where  the  great  crossing  of 
the  Danube  was  to  take  place.     We  were 
then    suffering    from    mosquitoes,    intense 
heat,   and   blinding   dust.     Now   we   were 
shivering  in  our  furs  with  cold.     Putenieu 
has    become  a   place  of  great  importance 
since   those   days.     It   is  now  one  of  the 
resting-places  for  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
on  the  road  from  the  Danube  to  Fratesti, 
or  to  the  hospitals  at  Bucharest  and  in 
Russia. 


I « 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  CALLOUSNESS. 


« It  is  in  Putenieu  that  Dr.  H.  Sand- 
with  has  erected,  with  funds  from  the  Eng- 
land-Russian Sick  and  Wounded  Society, 
an  Etape  or  Hospice  to  shelter  one  thousand 
men.  Hundreds  of  the  Turkish  sick  passing 
through  to  Russia  also  find  shelter  and  com- 
fort within  its  walls  from  the  severe  cold 
weather.  The  director,  M.  le  Baron  de 
Benckendorff,  and  for  the  while  our  good 
host,  is  full  of  work.  Not  only  do  his  own 
sick  and  wounded  appeal  to  his  sympathy, 
but  also  the  miserable  Turks ;  and  they  pass 
through  in  thousands  daily,  dead  beat,  and 
weary  from  their  long  march.  '  Four  thou- 
sand passed  through  to-day,'  said  the  baron 
to  me  the  morning  I  arrived.  '  Our  little 
village  is  over-crowded  with  the  sick  they 
have  left  behind.  This  evening  four  thou- 
sand more  are  expected.'  A  loaf  of  bread  and 
a  pound  of  meat  are  given  to  each  prisoner 
just  before  entering  the  town.  Then  they 
are  billeted  for  the  night  on  the  inhabi- 
tants, choking  up  their  little  hovels,  breed- 
ing vermin  and  pestilence  wherever  they 
go.  It  is  indeed  hard  on  the  villagers  of 
Putenieu,  for  there  is  an  endless  stream  of 
prisoners.  No  sooner  has  one  column  left 
than  another  enters  the  village. 

"  Unfortunately,  through  this  bad  ar- 
rangement on  the  part  of  the  Russian  and 
Roumanian  authorities,  the  inhabitants  ex- 
pend their  annoyance  on  the  poor  prisoners, 
and  the  Roumanian  peasants  are  very  cruel 
and  brutal.  They  beat  these  poor  wretches, 
illtreat  the  sick,  and  after  the  darkness 
hides  their  cruelty  from  the  Russian  eyes, 
they  turn  them  out  into  the  cold  night, 
which  means  in  their  plight,  half  starved 
and  semi-nude,  certain  death,  for  the  ther- 
mometer registers  sometimes  twenty  degrees 
Reaumur  below  zero.  The  result  is,  that 
the  little  dead-house  opposite  my  lodgment 
is  well  tenanted  the  i  next  morning  with 
frozen  corpses.  Dr.  Sandwith  and  myself 
visited  this  charnel-house.  There  are  two 
rooms.  In  one,  ten  or  twelve  bodies  were 
lying  as  they  had  been  pitched  in  dead,  and 
others  must"^  still  have  had  some  life  left  by 
their  expression  and  the  position  of  their 
bodies.     In  the  other  room  four  Turks  had 


sought  shelter  from  the  bitterness  of  the 
night,  and  had  cleared  a  space  in  the  mass 
of  dead,  and  with  scraps  of  rags  from  the 
bodies,  and  some  sticks  of  straw,  had  lighted 
a  fire,  and  were  crowded  round  the  wretched 
smoulder  for  warmth.  One  poor  shivering 
wretch,  nearly  naked,  crawled  from  where 
he  was  thought  to  be  lying  dead  towards 
the  group,  and  feebly  struggled  with  the 
rest  for  a  place  at  the  fire.  Dr.  Sandwith 
remonstrated  with  them  in  Turkish  for 
their  un  kindness  to  their  miserable  com- 
rade, and  so  the  poor  creature  was  allowed 
to  huddle  in  with  the  cheerless  circle.  We 
asked  them  what  we  could  do  for  them. 
They  were  very  hungry,  some  not  having 
eaten  for  three  days.  Major  Baker  and  the 
doctor,  who  were  with  me,  sought  in  the 
village  for  food ;  but  nothing,  for  love  or 
money,  could  be  got  but  onions  and  bread. 
The  Russians  or  Roumanians  profess  to 
give  them  bread  and  meat  for  daily  rations ; 
but  there  is  no  doubt  that  many  in  some 
way  get  none,  and  there  are  hundreds  who, 
through  sickness,  cannot  eat  this  rough  fare. 
Soup  is  dealt  out  to  many  by  order  of  the 
kindly  baron,  but  only  the  stronger  who 
struggle  for  it  receive  il.  The  weaker  go 
to  the  wall,  and  die  neglected  from  sheer 
starvation,  as  their  poor  emaciated  bodies 
will  testify  in  the  little  dead-house.  The 
weather  has  been  more  than  usually  severe 
for  the  last  two  days,  and  the  mortuary  is 
crowded  with  dead  Turks  piled  up  several 
feet  high,  and  crowding  the  passage  leading 
into  the  street.  Every  morning  waggons 
cart  them,  unwashed,  uncovered,  to  the 
huge  pit  outside  the  village,  and  there 
these  brave  and  long-suffering  men  find  a 
last  resting-place." 

Such  is  the  description  given  by  the 
correspondent  of  the  Daily  News,  as  to  the 
way  in  which  the  Russians  treated  their 
prisoners  on  the  march.  Severer  still  were 
their  hardships  when  winter  set  in  with  all 
its  rigour,  and  the  thermometer  sank  down 
to  17  degrees  Reaumur  below  zero.  Taken 
all  in  all,  more  perished — men,  women,  and 
children — in  the  months  of  December  and 
January  than  during  the  whole  year, 

291 


til 


'     V':' 


Ik  . 


"-.17 


/ 

1 


.•I 


HARDSHIPS  IN  THE  BALKANS.]      HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


CHAPTER  XXVHI. 


PASSAGE    OP    THE    ETROPOL    BALKANS. 


, 


Not  until  Christmas-day — fiffeen  days  after 
the  fall  of  Plevna — had  sufficient  reinforce- 
ments arrived  for  General  Gourko  to  con- 
tinue his  advance. 

It  had  been  evident,  for  some  time,  that 
he  would   either   have  to  retire  from  the 
positions  he  had  taken  on  the  mountains 
near  the  Baba  Konak  Pass,  or  else  cross 
the  range  at  any  cost,  for  the  severity  of 
the  weather  made  it  almost  impossible  to 
bring   up   the   supplies   and    ammunition, 
and  life  in  the  bivouacs  on  the  mountain 
became    daily    more    and    more    difficult. 
Scarcely  a  night  passed  but  frozen  hands 
and     feet    were     counted     by    hundreds. 
Thirty  soldiers  were  frozen  to  death  durino- 
four  days  of  a  great  storm,  and  the  numbe'r 
of  sick  from  exposure  amounted  to  more 
than    2,000.     Before    the  snow-storm    the 
mountain  paths  had  been  rivers  of  mud, 
and    when  these  froze   solid   they  became 
quite  impassable,  and  steps  had  to  be  cut 
with  axes.     The  thin  shelter-tents,  torn  by 
the  wind,  and  with  difficulty  kept  fastened 
to  the  ground  in  the  gales,  were  exchanged 
for  rude  huts  covered  with  turf  and  logs, 
and  holes  dug  in  the  steep  banks  among 
the  trees.     The  transports  containing  warm 
clothing,  which  had  been  long  talked  of  as 
on  the  road  somewhere  between  Sistova  and 
Orkhanieh,  were  not  even  expected  to  arrive 
for  weeks,  and  the  soldiers  made  use  of  the 
skins  of  the  bullocks  and  sheep  they  slaugh- 
tered to  wrap  their  feet  in  and  to  make 
jackets  of;  but  with  such  meagre  resources 
there  was  little  enough  alleviation  of  the 
suffering  from  the  cold ;  and  then  the  men 
in  the  trenches  along  the  watershed  were 
constantly  exposed,  not  only  to  the  bullets 
of  the  enemy  near  at  hand,  but  to  the  in- 
sidious attacks  of  the  frost,  which  too  often 
proved  a  much  more  dreaded  foe. 

The  Turks  suffered  in  an  untold  degree  ; 
but  they  had  much  more  skill  than  the 
Russians,  not  only  in  constructing  earth- 
works, but  in  building  shelters ;  and  often 
the  miserably-clad  infantryman  behind  the 
breastworks  was  found  stowed  away  in  com- 
fortable little  huts  of  logs  and  straw,  where 
a  small  fire  kept  several  soldiers  warm :  and 
292 


for  the  time  he  remained  there  he  made 
these  huts  his  home,  and  defended  them  as 
such.     The  Russian   infantryman,  on    the 
contrary,  rarely  considered  himself  at  home 
in  the  trenches,  because  he  remained  but  a 
few  days,  and  then  was  relieved  and  sent 
elsewhere.     This    constant   rotation   added 
greatly  to  the  comfort  of  the  soldiers;  but 
for  actual  service  in  earthworks  it  was  a 
mistake,  for  the  soldier  who  lives  for  weeks 
in  a  breastwork  learns  every  foot  of  the 
ground  in  front,  and,  when  the  time  comes, 
will  advance  with  confidence  or  defend  his 
hut   with    desperation.     The    trenches    at 
Plevna  illustrated  perfectly  the  difference 
between  the  Turk  and  the  Russian  in  this 
respect.     So    in    the    Balkans,   while   the 
Russians  endured  every  discomfort  on  the 
mountain  tops,  the  enemy,  under  the  same 
conditions,  was  comparatively  comfortable. 
The  severe  cold  was  not  only  unexpected, 
but  was  quite  unseasonable ;  and  when  the 
reinforcements   arrived,  they  found   them- 
selves obliged  to  bivouac  in  the  snow,  be- 
cause every  foot  of  ground  in  the  town  of 
Orkhanieh  was  already  occupied. 

The  scenes  in  Orkhanieh  during  the  storm 
and  cold  surpassed  description.  Generals 
quartered  in  tireless  rooms  and  in  mud 
houses,  and  soldiers  sheltered  behind  piles 
of  snow,  or  clustered  in  groups  about  small 
fires,  were  patiently  waiting  day  after  day. 
Officers  came  in  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and 
night,  many  on  foot  from  Osikovo,  ex- 
hausted, half  frozen,  seeking  shelter  which 
money  could  not  buy.  Salt  failed,  and 
bread  became  scarce ;  fifteen  francs  being 
given  for  a  small  loaf.  Wood  was  a  luxury 
which  few  could  obtain  in  any  abundance ; 
for,  although  there  were  forests  in  every 
direction,  all  the  empty  carts  were  used  in 
bringing  wood  for  the  hospitals  and  ovens, 
and  so  there  were  many  cases  of  frozen  feet 
and  hands  in  the  town  itself. 

Before  daylight  on  Christmas  morning 
the  bugles  sounded  the  reveille  again  and 
again,  and  soon  the  infantry  crowded  the' 
streets  on  the  march  towards  Vratshesh.  It 
was  bitterly  cold  and  frosty.  The  fog  had 
settled  down  so  densely,  that  before  sunrise 


A.D.   1877.J 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  ETROPOL  BALKANS. 


the  darkness  was  absolutely  impenetrable ; 
and  even  after  daybreak,  objects  across  the 
narrow  street  were  vague  and  indistinct. 
The  fog  clung  to  the  houses  and  trees  and 
the  clothing  of  the  soldiers,  and  froze  there, 
covering  every  surface  with  a  glistening 
garment  of  pure  white.  At  nine  o'clock 
General  Gourko  and  his  staff  left  the  town 
for  the  bivouac  of  the  dragoons  on  the 
chaussee  just  behind  the  positions  there. 

It  was  a  rare  spectacle  this  group  of 
horsemen  as  they  moved  slowly  along  the 
ice-paved  chaussee.  The  aides-de-camp 
were  dressed  in  the  most  fantastic  costumes. 
Some  were  in  great- coats  of  dressed  skins 
ornamented  with  embroidery  and  buttons. 
Some  were  enveloped  in  Circassian  cloaks, 
all  doubled  up  with  the  weight  of  additional 
clothing,  and  with  capuchons  and  wraps 
about  the  head.  General  Gourko,  leading 
the  group,  was  alone  dressed  in  a  simple 
surtout,  without  mufflers  of  any  kind.  He 
rode  along  apparently  unconscious  that  the 
frost  was  turning  his  beard  white,  and 
coverinof  himself  and  horse  with  frozen 
crystals.  It  resembled  more  a  carnival  cav- 
alcade than  a  general  with  his  staff,  the 
effect  being  heightened  by  the  picturesque 
Kuban  Cossacks  in  the  convoy  with  their 
sheep-skin  hats  and  curious  weapons. 

Before  the  force  had  been  out  half-an-hour 
icicles  hung  from  the  men's  beards  and  from 
the  horses'  mouths,  and  like  a  procession  of 
so  many  Father  Christmases  they  rode 
into  the  defiles  through  the  chill  fog,  the 
view  being  limited  to  the  snow-laden  trees 
along  the  road-side.  The  soldiers  began  to 
straggle,  several  dropped,  overcome  with 
cold  and  fatigue,  and  some  were  injured  by 
falling  on  the  ice.  Shortly  after  passing 
Vratshesh  the  fog  became  thinner,  and  the 
white  mountain  tops,  glistening  in  the  sun- 
light, shone  through  the  mist  as  if  hung  in 
the  air,  for  the  oases  were  still  hidden  by 
the  vapour.  The  road  followed  by  Generals 
Gourko  and  Ranch  was  the  one  leading  from 
Vratshesh  to  Lukovo  (as  shown  in  sketch  X ), 
and  from  which  the  old  high-road  to  Sophia 
turned  off  shortly  after  leaving  Vratshesh 
and  crossing  the  Balkans  north  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Tchuriak.  This  road  was  the  prin- 
cipal thoroughfare  towards  Etropol  before 
the  chaussee  was  made.  It  had  been  disused 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  never  more 
than  a  narrow  neglected  bridle-path.  It 
was  almost  lost  among  the  trees,  was  gullied 
with  the  rain,  and  grown  over  with  bushes. 
A  few  days  before  the  advance,  two  bat- 

VOL.  ui.  2  Q 


talions  of  the  Praobrajensky  regiment  began 
to  work  on  the  path,  graded  it  somewhat, 
widened  it  nearly  the  whole  extent,  and  cut 
steps  in  the  ice  in  the  steepest  place  up  to 
the  summit.  A  portion  of  the  way  was  in 
full  sight  of  the  Turkish  redoubts  east  of 
Baba  Konak.  Therefore  work  could  be 
undertaken  only  at  night ;  and  when  the 
advance  was  made,  the  path  was  so  good 
that  it  was  believed  that  cannon  could  be 
brought  up  with  horses.  But  for  a  long 
time,  when  the  road  was  crowded  with  men 
and  material,  it  was  completely  blocked 
with  artillery^  and  infantry.  The  soldiers 
made  fires  along  the  path  and  cooked  their 
suppers,  taking  matters  very  easy.  Four 
guns-  and  their  caissons  were  hauled  up  by 
hand,  and  caused  great  delay.  The  ropes 
were  short,  permitting  not  more  than  sixty 
men  to  take  hold ;  and  even  this  number 
worked  with  exasperating  deliberation. 
They  were  soldiers  of  the  line  that  were  de- 
tailed to  bring  up  the  first  cannon — small 
men,  unused  to  such  work,  and,  after  a  long 
march  from  Plevna,  did  not  enter  with  any 
enthusiasm  into  the  novel  and  exhausting 
labour. 

General  Ranch  stood  half-way  up  the  first 
steep  incline,  encouraging  the  men  to  pull, 
and  spurring  up  the  officers.  The  whole 
night  long  he  climbed  up  and  down  the 
slippery  path,  endeavouring  to  communicate 
some  of  his  activity  to  the  officers  and  men. 
The  distance  up  the  mountain  was,  perhaps, 
four  miles,  and  the  entire  route  was  lined 
with  soldiers  sleeping  on  the  ice,  or  gathered 
around  small  fires  in  the  snow.  When  they 
were  awakened  and  ordered  to  move  on,  they 
never  showed  any  impatience,  but,  with 
their  inimitable  sang-froid,  got  up  and 
walked  a  few  paces  and  then  slept  again, 
dropping  down  like  dead  men.  Towards 
midnight  General  Gourko  came  up  the 
path,  followed  by  his  staff.  He  could  no 
longer  endure  the  delay,  and  his  sleepless 
energy  would  not  permit  him  to  remain 
inactive  in  the  rear.  A  Cossack  post  was 
found  on  the  summit  of  the  watershed,  and 
here  the  general  and  his  staff  lay  down  on 
the  snow  aroimd  two  fires,  which  were  kept 
low  that  the  enemy  might  not  notice  them, 
and  slept  like  the  soldiers.  The  Praobra- 
jensky regiment  had  advanced  into  the  vil- 
lage of  Tchuriak,  which  had  already  for  some 
days  been  occupied  by  the  dragooa  out- 
posts, and  with  them  part  of  the  train  of 
packhorses  had  descended  in  the  early  part 
of  the  night,  so  that  there  was  little  to  eat, 

293 


n 


P   i 


THE  KUBAN  COSSACKS.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


pi 

I! 


and  meagre  comfort  in  the  snow  bivouac. 
Officers  and  soldiers  lav  around  indiscri- 
minately  as  near  the  fires  as  they  could  get, 
for  the  icy  wind  was  blowing  across  the 
peak,  and  the  snow  was  freezing  hard. 

The  sun  rose  on  a  scene  of  wonderful  pic- 
turesqueness  and  a  landscape  of  serene 
beauty.  Generals  and  aides-de-camp,  some 
wrapped  in  bourkas  and  furs,  some  in  over- 
coats alone,  without  additional  covering, 
lay  there  in  the  snow  huddled  together 
about  the  fires.  Cossacks  and  dragoons  were 
already  busy  with  their  cooking,  and  hun- 
dreds of  horses,  tied  to  the  trees  about  the 
bivouac,  stamped  impatiently  in  the  snow. 
Southward  lay  the  great  plain  of  Sophia,  its 
pure  white  face  only  broken  by  little  dark 
lines  where  the  villages  were  ;  and  beyond, 
half  veiled  in  dense  clouds,  were  the  moun- 
tains further  south,  and  the  great  peak 
Vitosh  that  towers  over  Sophia.  Through 
the  trees  eastward  was  clearly  visible  the 
great  bare  peak  near  the  Baba  Konak  Pass, 
and  the  lines  of  the  Turkish  works  were 
drawn  on  the  snow  as  plainly  as  pencil- 
marks  on  white  paper.  General  Ranch, 
always  on  fool,  clambered  up  to  the  bivouac 
for  a  few  moments'  rest,  and  to  consult  with 
General  Gourko.  Then  both  General  Ranch 
and  General  Gourko  were  off  again  to  hasten 
the  movements. 

After  a  hurried  breakfast  the  men  airain  set 
to  work  at  the  jannon;  and  at  last, by  noon  on 
the  26th  of  iJecember,  four  4-poun(iers,  with 
caissons,  were  placed  on  the  watershed. 
News  had  come  from  the  column  on  the 
right  that  the  road  was  well-nigh  impass- 
able, and  nothing  whatever  was  heard  from 
Dondeville  on  the  left ;  but  the  guard  had 
started  up  the  mountains  near  Etropol,  and 
worked  with  a  will.  The  road  down  to 
Tchuriak,  being  in  sight  of  the  Turkish 
positions,  was  closed  by  patrols,  and  no  move- 
ment permitted  in  that  direction.  Every- 
where all  over  the  mountain  top  soldiers 
bivouacked  in  the  snow  in  picturesque 
groups,  cooking  their  food  and  drying  tJieir 
clothing,  under  little  shelters  constructed 
of  snow  and  branches. 

When  the  twilight  came  on,  the  whole 
force  started  down  the  mountain,  everybody 
on  foot,  for  the  path  was  so  steep  and  slip- 
pery that  no  horse  could  carry  a  rider  down. 
A  snow-storm  began  before  they  had  gone 
far,  and  doubled  the  difficulty  of  the  descent. 
Part  of  the  way  they  slid  down  like  so 
many  schoolboys,  and  afterwards  let  them- 
selves down  through  the  undergrowth,  for 
294 


the  road  was  one  solid  sheet  of  ice.  Two 
or  three  miles  of  this  work  brought  them 
to  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  over  the  Bal- 
kans, breathless  with  the  exertion  of  the 
descent.  They  paused  a  moment,  and 
shook  hands  in  the  darkness,  and  then 
pushed  on  to  the  village,  where  they 
slept  under  a  roof  as  peacefully  as  it 
the  Turks  were  twenty  miles  instead  of 
one  mile  away.  That  the  Russians  were 
thus  allowed  to  cross  the  Balkans  by  so 
difficult  a  path,  at  such  a  season  of  the  year, 
was  quite  inexcusable  on  the  part  of  the  Turks 
and  officers,  who,  by  their  carelessness  in 
looking  after  their  outpost  and  reconnais- 
sance services,  were  guilty  of  murder,  and 
doubly  so  when  they  had  such  self-sacri- 
ficing men  as  the  Turkish  commanders  had. 

Tchuriak  is  a  small  village  hidden  away 
in  a  gorge,  and  a  narrow  valley  winds 
through  the  hills  to  the  plain  beyond,  a 
couple  of  hours'  ride  distant.  At  daybreak 
on  the  27 th^  the  brigade  of  Kuban  Cossacks 
was  sent  down  the  valley  with  one  regiment 
of  infantry  to  the  left,  and  one  up  on  the 
height  to  the  right,  against  some  Turks  in 
a  little  rifle-pit  on  the  hill,  who  fired  four 
rounds  and  then  retired. 

The  enterprising  Kubans  pushed  ahead, 
and  saw,  out  on  the  plain,  a  long  transport 
train  slowly  moving  towards  Baba  Konak. 
They  received  orders  to  try  and  capture  it. 
About  three  o'clock,  two  squadrons — scarcely 
more  than  100  horsemen — dashed  down 
into  the  plain  and  cut  off  half  the  train, 
more  than  200  waggons  laden  with  provi- 
sions and  forage.  The  two  squadrons  of 
Turkish  regular  cavalry  and  Circassians 
retired  immediately  when  the  Kubans 
came  down  ;  but  finding  they  were  not  out- 
numbered, returned  and  gave  battle.  After 
a  short  sharp  fight,  in  which  ten  Turks 
were  killed  and  two  Cossacks  wounded,  the 
waggons  were  left  in  the  Russians'  hands. 
The  Cossacks  cut  the  telegraph  wires,  the 
infantry  took  up  positions  on  the  hills  near 
the  plain,  past  the  village  of  Potop,  and 
the  passage  of  the  Balkans  was  an  accom- 
plished fact. 

At  the  same  time,  a  part  of  the  column 
of  Dondeville  was  seen  descending  the  slopes 
on  the  left,  like  a  great  black  serpent ;  but 
it  was  a  part  only — the  rest  finding  it  im- 
possible to  get  the  artillery  over  the  heights. 
A  few  prisoners  were  taken,  who  reported 
that  the  movement  was  a  complete  surprise; 
which  seems  incredible,  considering  the  de- 
lays which  occurred,  and  the  impossibility  of 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[rcjssian  difficulties. 


finding  routes  which  were  not  in  plain  sight 
of  the  enemy,  especially  as,  on  the  26th 
December,  the  brigade  of  Cossacks  had 
raided  up  to  the  river  Isker,  surprised  and 
routed  various  bands  of  Turkish  Circassians, 
and  cut  off  part  of  a  large  transport,  es- 
corted by  two  squadrons  of  cavalry  and  a 
battalion  of  infantry,  gathered  over  600 
head  of  cattle  and  a  large  flock  of  sheep, 
and  returned  at  night  to  Stolnik,  having 
killed  three-score  of  the  enemy  with  a  loss 
of  three  wounded. 

In  addition  to  Dondeville's  column.  Gen- 
eral Weliaminoff's  column,  which  was  to 
have  operated  further  west,  also  descended 
into  the  plains  by  the  Tchuriak  road,  the 
descent  to  Zilava  having  proved  impracti- 
cable. These  troops  had  undergone  the 
most  severe  hardships,  and  reported  that  the 
storm  on  the  mountain  was  terrible.  Sol- 
diers who  paused  for  a  few  moments  became 
indistinguishable  from  masses  of  snow. 
Many  strayed  away.  All  suffered  from  want 
of  food  ;  and  when  they  arrived  at  Sarantzi, 
or  Tashkessen,  after  an  almost  continuous 
march  of  five  days,  and  for  thirty-six  hours 
without  a  halt,  they  were  drenched  and 
half  frozen  together. 

The  crossing  had  thus  far  cost  very  few 
lives,  and  it  was  accomplished,  too,  in  the 
face  of  unusually  severe  weather,  and  to  the 
complete  surprise  of  the  enemy.  The  re- 
sult of  the  operation  was  the  occupation  of 
the  chausse  in  force,  by  a  large  number  of 
battalions  of  infantry,  with  artillery  in 
abundance.  Therewith  all  communication 
between  the  forces  in  the  Baba  Konak  Pass 
and  Sophia  was  cut  off,  and  the  only  line  of 
retreat  left  open  for  the  Turks  was  that 
by  way  of  Zlatitza,  and  thence  to  Tatar- 
Bazardjik  and  Philippopoli ;  whilst  even 
along  this  line  there  was  danger  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  the  Russians  in  the  Schipka 
Pass  as  soon  as  General  Radetzki  forced  his 
way  through,  or  the  Turks  opened  it  for 
him.  Meantime  the  cavalry  scoured  the 
plain  of  Sophia,  two  regiments  circling  about 
as  far  eastward  as  Dolny-Kamarli,  south  of 
Baba  Konak,  and  every  day  prisoners  and 
captured  supplies  were  brought  in.  News 
came  in  that  Lutakovo  was  evacuated ;  and 
the  latest  reports  from  the  positions  in  the 
pass,  declared  that  the  Turks  had  with- 
drawn several  cannon  from  the  earthwork 
on  the  summit  of  Greota,  and  were  forti- 
fying somewhere  in  their  rear.  They  were 
found  to  have  built  three  redoubts  on  the 
hill  near  Tashkessen,  commanding  the  road 


at  that  point ;  and  the  first  movement  in 
force,  south  of  the  mountains,  was  to  drive 
them  from  that  position. 

The  attack  was  ordered  for  the  morning 
of  the  31st ;  and  as  this  move  was  planned 
especially  to  give  the  lead  to  Dondeville, 
and  so  complete  the  chain  about  the  Turks 
in  the  positions  near  the  pass,  the  tidings 
which  reached  the  force  in  the  evening 
before  the  attack,  that  Dondeville's  column 
had  failed  to  cross  the  mountains,  and  had 
retired  to  Etropol,  was  anything  but  encou- 
raging. The  failure  to  cross  was  bad  enough, 
but  he  had  been  obliged  to  leave  cannon  on 
the  summit,  and  the  artillerymen  who  re- 
mained with  the  guns  were  all  frozen,  and 
buried  in  the  driving  snow;  and  among  the 
infantry  the  losses  were  also  serious  ;  for 
there  was  no  shelter  on  the  cold  mountain 
sides,  and  the  snow  made  a  bivouac  there 
quite  impossible.  So  it  was  with  a  certain 
seriousness  that  the  force  went  forward 
through  the  narrow  little  valley  in  the  grey 
light  of  the  early  dawn. 

The  valley  was  crowded  with  reserves, 
and  the  artillery  was  struggling  along 
the  icy  road.  The  valley  and  the  moun- 
tains were  covered  with  snow,  the  masses 
of  pure  white  only  broken  by  little  dark 
spots  of  irregular  shape,  where  villages 
stood,  patches  of  forests  on  the  slopes,  scat- 
tered trees  along  the  road,  and  the  black 
straight  line  of  the  Russian  troops  as  they 
marched  to  attack  the  positions. 

Directly  over  the  little  village,  on  a  . 
sharp,  rocky  peak,  was  seen  plainly  the 
dark  line  of  redoubts,  and  little  camps 
with  tents  and  huts,  and  lines  of  infantry 
filing  down  the  mountains  toward  the  vil- 
lage. Every  man  could  be  seen  as  plainly 
as  black  on  white  could  be,  both  Turks 
and  Russians ;  and  the  smoke  from  the  first 
gun  was  waited  for  with  the  same  impa- 
tience as  one  watches  for  the  curtain  to  rise 
in  a  theatre,  though  a  drama  of  most  in- 
tense interest  was  about  to  commence, 
where  the  action  was  real,  and  the  perform- 
ers in  all  earnest,  and  the  stage  a  broad 
landscape  where  every  object  was  as  dis- 
tinctly visible  as  if  presented  on  a  mimic 
stage. 

The  Russian  forces  were  divided  into  four 
columns.  The  extreme  right,  commanded 
by  General  Kurloff,  was  to  cross  the  road  and 
flank  position  by  advancing  over  the  moun- 
tain near  where  the  village  of  Malkocevo  is 
situated.  The  next  column,  and  in  reality 
the  main  force,   was  to  rest  on  the  road, 

295 


•    V 


f 


RUSSIAN  SUCCESSES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


fA.D.  1877. 


5«    V 


to  demonstrate  in  front,  and  to  turn  the 
Turkish  right  flank,  near  the  village  of 
Danskioi,  with  five  battalions,  while  another 
column  was  to  cross  the  mountains  between 
Danskioi  and  Grorny-Kamarli,  and  the  force 
of  Count  Schouvaloff  was  to  advance  directly 
upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy. 

Shortly  after  daylight  two  batteries  got 
into  position  within  easy  range  of  the  re- 
doubt on  the  Baba  Konak,  and  began  to 
work.  General  Ranch's  column  concentrated 
behind  the  hill  to  deploy  right  and  left,  and 
the  sharpshooters  stolidly  climbed  the  hill 
where  the  redoubts  were,  and  toiled  slowly 
up  among  the  rocks  and  bushes,  whilst  the 
Turkish  riflemen  stood  waiting  just  in  front 
of  their  earthworks,  two  or  three  together. 
The  great,  square,  black  masses  of  infantry, 
that  stood  just  beyond  the  road,  began  to 
string  out  in  long  lines,  and  advance  against 
the  skirmishers  towards  the  Turkish  left ; 
while  two  brigades  of  cavalry,  that  were  sent 
towards  Dolny-Kamarli,  moved  along  in  a 
thin  straight  line  rapidly  eastwards. 

All  the  forenoon  the  artillery  was  ex- 
changing shots  with  the  two  Turkish  bat- 
teries. Scattered  musketry  was  heard,  and 
then  the  batteries  from  the  hill  in  the 
rear  of  the  Turks  began  to  fire.  Towards 
noon  there  was  a  brisk  fusillade  on  the  right. 
Shortly  after  it  began  there  came  the  news 
that  General  Mirkovitch  was  wounded  there. 
The  column  had  met  with  a  stubborn  re- 
sistance. The  Turks  in  the  rifle-pits  on 
the  mountains  defended  their  left  with 
determination.  A  caisson  exploded  in  the 
Turkish  battery  over  the  village,  giving  the 
signal  for  ringing  cheers  that  went  up  all 
along  the  line,  and  Ranch's  troops,  which 
joined  hands  with  Kurloff  on  their  right, 
began  to  move  up  the  hill  between  the  bat- 
teries and  the  village,  and  soon  were  on  the 
crest.  The  order  to  attack  was  given  them 
about  two  o'clock  ;  and  just  as  they  went 
forward  down  the  slope  towards  the  village, 
spreading  out  all  over  the  field,  there  came 
a  fog,  under  cover  of  which  they  rushed 
into  the  village,  the  Turks  running  away 
in  every  direction.  The  enemy's  batteries 
ceased  firing  from  the  hill,  and  in  a  few 
moments  the  musketry  dropped  away  into  a 
few  straggling  shots. 

The  Russians  entered  the  village  before 
four  o'clock.  There  were  a  few  stray  shots 
falling  into  the  place,  and  several  men 
were  wotmded  there,  for  the  Turks  were 
still  resisting  stoutly  at  the  Karaula,  half 
a  mile  up  the  road  ;  but  the  position  was 
296 


evacuated,  and  only  the  blood-stained, 
powder-blackened  snow,  and  a  score  or  two 
of  dead  men,  showed  where  the  fight  had 
been  so  hot.  In  the  village  were  herded 
hundreds  of  prisoners.  Soldiers  were  ran- 
sacking every  nook  and  corner  for  plunder. 
Infantrymen  were  frisking  about  on  cap- 
tured horses,  and  there  was  the  ghastly 
spectacle  of  dead  and  wounded  on  every 
side.  But  the  worst  was  not  in  the  streets, 
for  many  houses  in  the  village  were  filled 
with  dead.  There  was  a  station  of  the 
British  National  Society  of  the  Red  Cross 
here,  and  several  hospitals,  and  dead  and 
alive  were  found  lying  together  as  in  the 
charnel-houses  of  Plevna. 

At  dark  the  fight  ceased.  A  thousand 
fires  twinkled  all  over  the  white  slopes,  and 
the  Russians  slept  in  the  houses  where  fires 
lighted  by  the  Turks  were  still  burning. 
The  loss,  in  killed  and  wounded,  amounted 
to  about  300 ;  but  it  was  a  victory  cheaply 
gained ;  for  though  the  key  of  the  position, 
the  mountain  on  their  left,  covering  their 
retreat  from  Baba  Konak  by  the  road 
towards  Zlatitza,  was  still  held  by  the 
enemy,  pickets  pushed  up  the  road  to  tho 
Karaula.  The  Turks  had  resisted  with 
great  valour,  for  they  were  outnumbered 
three  to  one.  Their  communications  with 
Sophia  had  been  cut  four  days ;  they  had 
seen  the  Russians  pouring  over  into  the 
valley,  and  dragging  their  artillery  by  paths 
which  were  believed  to  be  impassable ;  they 
knew  their  only  hope  of  retreat  from  Baba 
Konak  was  by  the  Zlatitza  road,  and  they 
held  their  ground  like  heroes. 

One  of  the  first  things  picked  up  in  the 
village  was  a  despatch  from  Baker  Pasha, 
who  commanded  there,  to  Chakir  Pasha  at 
Araba  Konak,  dated  the  same  day,  telling 
how  eighteen  battalions  of  Russians  had 
descended  the  mountains,  and  twelve  were 
attacking  him,  and  that  he  was  surrounded 
by  a  circle  of  fire.  General  Gourko  did  not 
sleep  until  he  had  prepared  for  the  probable 
retreat  of  the  forces  from  Baba  Konak  by 
sending  all  the  cavalry  at  his  disposal  to 
Petricevo,  for  Dondeville  was  to  make  the 
crossing  to  Zlatitza  with  General  Brock's 
column,  and  thus  remedy  in  part  his  failure 
to  cross  to  Mirkova. 

New  Year's  morning  was  hazy  and  mild ; 
and  as  Gourko  and  his  staff  rode  up  the 
road  at  daybreak,  the  mountain  tops  were 
all  hidden  from  view.  With  his  ordinary 
escort  of  a  score  or  two,  some  dragomans, 
and  a  few  Cossacks,  the  general  rode  slowly 


A.D.  1878.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[retreat  of  the  TURKS. 


on,  passed  the  pickets  at  the  Karaula,  and 
down  the  hill  towards  the  triangular  valley 
south  of  Baba  Konak.  Half-a-dozen  Cos- 
sacks galloped  down  the  road  and  divided, 
part  following  the  road  towards  Araba 
Konak,  part  towards  Zlatitza.  There  was 
perfect  quiet,  and  every  one  in  the  small 
group  of  horsemen  seemed  to  feel  the  un- 
certainty of  the  imminent  future,  for  there 
was  little  conversation,  and  they  went  on, 
passing  a  dead  man  here  and  there,  tracing 
the  paths  by  which  the  wounded  had 
dragged  themselves  to  the  rear,  and  those 
who  had  fought  at  Tashkessen  the  day 
before,  had  hastily  retreated.  No  recon- 
naissance had  been  made  towards  Baba 
Konak;  in  fact,  General  Gourko  was 
making  the  reconnaissance  then,  riding 
along  as  usual  at  the  head  of  his  staff, 
with  only  a  handful  of  his  escort  a  short 
distance  ahead  of  him.  A  dozen  prisoners 
were  soon  brought  back,  and  one  or  two 
gathered  in  by  the  Cossacks  came  strag- 
gling along  the  road. 

Just  beyond  the  place  where  the  road 
divides,  the  route  towards  Baba  Konak 
comes  out  upon  a  little  knoll,  whence  the 
whole  of  the  triangular  valley  is  visible. 
Here  General  Gourko  halted,  and  anxiously 
looked.  Near  the  houses  at  Araba  Konak 
were  several  Turkish  cannons,  and  a  dozen 
Cossacks  were  galloping  towards  them.  All 
along  the  further  side  of  the  valley  were 
men  running  through  the  snow.  The 
Zlatitza  road  was  trodden  hard.  Cavalry 
had  passed  that  way,  and  much  infantry ; 
so  it  was  not  surprising  to  see  in  the  village 
of  Dolny-Kamarli,  whither  a  number  of 
waggons  were  hurrying,  the  unmistakable 
black  masses  of  infantry  filling  the  streets. 
Cossacks  of  the  escort,  who  went  in  that 
direction,  wheeled,  and  crossed  the  fields  to 
the  left.  Those  who  went  towards  Araba 
Konak,  rushed  off  after  the  flying  stragglers, 
and  one  by  one  headed  them  in.  It  was  an 
exciting  chase,  for  the  horses  could  not  go 
fast  through  the  deep  snow,  and  the 
fugitives  scampered  away  until  fairly  run 
down,  though  some  knelt  and  threw  up 
their  hands  whilst  the  Cossacks  were  yet  a 
long  distance  away.  Meanwhile  the  troops 
on  the  Zlatitza  began  to  crawl  up  the  hill- 
side behind  the  town,  clustered  like  ants 
altogether  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  then, 
quite  like  these  insects,  filling  up  and 
struggling  along  on  either  side  of  the  moving 
masses.  Six,  seven,  eight  tabors  were 
counted ;   but  the    rest  were  so    huddled 


together,  that  it  was  impossible  to  separate 
them  into  battalions.  Artillery  had  been 
ordered  up,  and  the  Russian  infantry  began 
advancing  along  the  mountain  which  had 
been  so  vigorously  defended  the  day  before, 
then  formed  on  the  road  below. 

As  the  great  black  masses  of  fugitives 
stretched  out  and  filled  the  road  that  zig- 
zagged up  the  hill,  it  was  clear  that  there 
were  from  10,000  to  15,000  of  them,  and 
that  they  were  moving  away  in  a  great 
hurry.  They  hastily  threw  up  trenches  on 
the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  by  noon 
scarcely  a  Turk  was  visible.  Two  Russian 
guns  were  quickly  got  up,  and  there  was 
some  shelling  and  a  little  musketry ;  but 
the- Turks  had  had  two  hours'  start,  and  the 
pursuit  went  on  over  the  hills.  Before 
they  were  out  of  sight,  the  thinnest  possible 
black  line  was  observed  winding  down  the 
White  mountain  flank  beyond,  and  above 
Araba  Konak.  They  halted,  and  then  the 
small  knot  of  horsemen,  and  the  skir- 
mishers in  front  of  them,  still  lower  down, 
hastened  up  to  the  main  body,  which 
speedily  formed.  Then,  for  a  few  moments, 
General  Goui  ko  doubted  whether  they  were 
not  the  Turks,  from  the  positions  there ; 
and  the  battery  of  9-pounders  which  had 
just  unlimbered  where  he  stood,  seemed  to 
have  arrived  in  the  nick  of  time,  when 
suddenly  the  soldiers  gave  a  hearty  hurrah, 
and  the  cheer  was  faintly  re-echoed  away 
across  on  the  mountain ;  the  line  descended 
once  more,  and  turned  out  to  be  the  Russian 
column  sent  to  operate  in  this  direction. 

At  this  moment  General  Gourko  turned 
round,  and  said  earnestly,  "Now  we  can 
say,  in  all  conscience,  that  we  have  crossed 
the  Balkans,  in  every  phase  of  the  un- 
dertaking ;"  and  he  shook  hands  warmly 
with  every  one,  congratulating  those  who 
counted  this  as  their  second  passage. 

There  was  certainly  cause  for  felicitation, 
for  the  fight  had  lasted  from  Christmas 
until  New  Year's  Day,  first  with  the  forces 
of  nature,  which  were  resisted  with  wonder- 
ful pluck  and  patient  endurance  by  the 
Russian  soldiers,  and  then  with  the  enemy, 
who  were  driven  from  their  chosen  posi- 
tions.— A  few  moments  later  the  column 
from  the  mountains  filed  into  the  valley, 
and  the  soldiers  distributed  the  rice,  bread, 
and  salt  found  in  the  Turkish  camp.  Near 
Araba  Konak  was  a  fine  large  tent  of  the 
Red  Cross  Society,  and  almost  the  first  man 
the  staff  met  was  the  chief  doctor  of  the 
British  National  Society,  Dr.  Leslie,  who 

297 


XH? 


»     V 


i    :   I 


INVASION  OF  ROUMELIA.]  HISTOKY    OF   THE 


rA.D.  1877-78. 


'P'  ( 


11:     ' 

u 

h 


\  ^ 


;l 


had  come  from  tlie  village  of  Strigli  to  ask 
for  a  guard  from  Greneral  Grourko,  because 
he,  with  six  other  doctors,  were  at  work  on 
the  Turkish  wounded  in  the  village,  and 
it  was  deserted  by  the  Turks,  and  not 
yet  occupied  by  the  Kussians.  Besides 
those  seven  doctors,  the  correspondent  of 
the  Illustrated  London  Nevjs  was  also 
there.  The  guard  was  promptly  furnished, 
and  the  last  heard  of  the  doctors  was,  that 
they  were  still  with  the  wounded.  The 
Turkish  surgeons  all  left  with  the  troops. 

With  the  capture  of  the  Baba  Konak 
Pass,  and  the  successful  passage  of  the 
Etropol  Balkans,  the  plains  of  Koumelia 
lay  open  to  the  invaders.  There  was  scarcely 
a  point  left  where  the  Turks  could  have 
made  a  stand  before  Adrianople,  even 
had  they  had  the  men  and  the  means 
to  concentrate  them.  Still,  all  the  work 
had  not  yet  been  done  by  the  Russians. 
The  Turks,  scattered  into  little  columns 
and  detachments  at  various  towns,  villages, 
and  passes,  thought  of  one  thing  only — that 
was,  to  resist  to  the  last,  and  inflict  as  much 
loss  on  the  enemy  as  they  could,  even  though 
sacrificing  their  own  lives  in  the  attempt. 

On  the  other  hand,  whatever  might  be 
the  losses  incidental  to  this  spasmodic  kind 
of  warfare,   the   Russians   knew   that  the 


game  was  all  in  their  own  hands.     Like  a 
great  net   they    were    closing    round    the 
Turks,   driving    them   towards   Constanti^ 
nople  and  the  ^gean.    In  the  extreme  west 
the  Servians  had  begun,  before  Christmas' 
to  cross  the  Turkish  frontier,  and  had  cap- 
tured Ak  Palanka,  on  the  road  between  Nissa 
and   Pirot,  on   December  24th,  Pirot  itself 
fallmg  mto  their  hands  on  December  28th 
where    they    waited   to  join    hands   with 
C^neral  Gourko,  and  thus  effectually  cut 
off  all  communication  between  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina   with   the   rest  of  the  empire 
except  by   way  of  Klek  in   the    Adriatic, 
whilst  even  this  part  was  as  good  as  closed 
to   the   Turks   by  the  jealous   attitude  of 
Austria.      In  the  east.   Generals  Padetzki 
and  Skobeloff  were  preparing  to  force  the 
bchipka,  and  clear  off  the  army  watchino- 
the  issue  of  the  pass  at  Kezanlik,  and   joiS 
hands   with  the  left  of  General  Gourko's 
command.       Thus,    from    Nissa    to    Eski 
Zagra,    there    was    soon    to   be  a  line   of 
Servians  and  Russians  joining  hands,  ready 
to   sweep  all   before  them  towards  Adria- 
nople and  the  capital ;  whilst,  north  of  the 
Balkans,  the  Roumanians  in  the  west,  and 
the  Czarevitch  in  the  east,  were  thoroucrhly 
clearing   Bulgaria,  and  consolidating  their 
power  and  administration  there. 


■;\' 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 


THE  INVASION  OF   ROUMELIA. 


"Whilst  General  Gourko  was  engaged  in 
clearing  the  Baba  Konak  Pass  and  defeating 
the  Turks  at  Tashkessen,  General  Weliami- 
noff  was  cautiously  feeling  his  way  towards 
Sophia.  At  Gorni  Bugarof  he  was  attacked 
by  the  Turks,  on  January  1st,  with  such 
fierceness,  that  within  a  couple  of  hours  he 
lost  nearly  300  men ;  but  the  Turks  were 
enormously  outnumbered;  and  this  fact, 
coupled  with  the  recklessness  with  which 
they  attacked,  caused  them  a  loss  of  500 
killed,  and  upwards  of  1,500  severely 
wounded.  The  region  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
village  was  thickly  strewn  with  corpses,  and 
for  days  afterwards  the  Bulgarians  con- 
tinued their  horrible  task  of  stripping  the 
dead.     The  greater  part  of  the  dead   lay 

within  100  feet  of  the  shallow  Russian  rifle- 
298 


pits,  testifying  to  the  heroism  of  the  Turks, 
who,  after  advancing  across  an  open   corn- 
field  for  half  a  mile,   ran  straight  up  the 
slope  within  bayonetting  distance  of  their 
foe,  and  held  their  ground  until  thinned  out 
by  the  terrible  fire,  and  at  last  turned  back 
with  the  Russians  upon  their  heels,  and  left 
half  their  number  on  the  snow  before  they 
formed  again  on  the  road.     After  the  fight 
there  was  an  armistice,   during  which  the 
wounded  on  both  sides  were  carried  off  the 
field,  but  only  the  Russian  dead  were  buried. 
The  following  afternoon,  January   2nd, 
General   Gourko   was   at   Gorni    Bugarof, 
having  left  Tashkessen  at  noon.  He  reached 
the  village  just  in  time  to  hear  the  first 
few  shots  of  a  sharp  little  skirmish  going 
on  near  a  covered  bridge  over  the  Isker. 


h   ■ 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[evacuation  of  SOPHIA. 


The  enemy  had  thrown  up  a  short  line  of 
low  earthworks  on  either  side  the  road  be- 
yond the  bridge,  and  with  a  detachment  of 
two  or  three  tabors  in  the  trenches,  and 
three  times  this  number  in  reserve,  they 
attempted  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the 
river.  The  Praobrajensky  regiment  crossed 
on  the  ice,  turning  the  Turks  by  either 
flank  ;  and  they  retired  after  brief  resistance, 
setting  fire  to  the  bridge  and  the  village  of 
Razdimne  as  they  left.  The  soldiers  reached 
the  bridge  before  the  flames  had  gained 
great  headway,  and  began  to  throw  water 
and  snow  upon  the  burning  timbers  with 
their  copper  pots,  and  extinguished  the 
fire  before  the  structure  was  damaged  to  any 
great  extent. 

General  Gourko  crossed  while  the  fire  was 
at  its  height,  making  his  way  with  his 
accustomed  coolness  through  the  flame  and 
smoke — the  first  one  to  pass  over  the  bridge 
on  horseback ;  and  his  staff  followed  in  mo- 
mentary expectation  that  the  flooring  would 
give  way.  If  the  bridge  had  been  blown 
up,  the  passage  of  the  river  would  have 
caused  no  little  difficulty.  As  it  was,  the 
whole  detachment  passed  over  in  safety, 
followed  by  the  rest  of  the  column,  and 
passed  the  night  in  Gorni  Bugarof,  about 
ten  miles  east  of  Sophia. 

The  next  day,  the  enemy  still  continuing 
to  show  a  bold  front,  a  strong  column  was 
sent  round  to  the  north  of  Sophia,  and 
General  Gourko  made  a  personal  recon- 
naissance in  that  direction,  approaching 
within  a  mile  of  the  city.  Great  camps 
were  plainly  visible  near  the  road ;  the  black 
lines  of  a  dozen  earthworks  crowned  the 
summits  of  the  hills  near  the  city  on  either 
side,  and  he  could  plainly  see  that  the 
fortifications  were  manned.  The  attack 
was  decided  upon  for  the  morning  of  the 
6th,  when  General  Gourko  expected  to  lose 
3,000  or  4,000  men  in  the  assault;  for 
although  he  had  so  disposed  his  forces  as  to 
attack  on  three  sides  at  once,  the  storming 
of  the  earthworks  would  have  cost  many 
lives.  On  the  3rd  he  moved  his  quarters 
again,  to  the  establishment  of  some  Turkish 
Bey  near  the  covered  bridge,  and  prepared 
to  await  the  arrival  of  the  troops  at  their 
designated  positions,  ready  for  the  attack. 

On  the  evening  of  January  3rd  there  were 
some  lights  visible  in  the  direction  of 
Sophia,  but  there  was  so  much  haze  that  it 
could  not  be  distinguished  whether  they 
were  camp  fires  or  burning  houses.  It  was 
an  hour  after  mid-day  on  January  4th  that 


a  Cossack  came  riding  in  with  a  report  that 
Bulgarians  had  arrived  at  the  outposts  with 
the  news  that  Sophia  was  evacuated.  Every- 
body had  been  nerving  up  for  the  battle  of  the 
next  day,  and  no  one  could  credit  the  truth 
of  the  rumour.  In  a  few  moments  a  second 
horseman  came  in,  after  a  hard  gallop, 
bringing  official  tidings  that  General  Ranch 
was  marching  into  Sophia  to  take  posses- 
sion. The  plan  proposed  to,  and  accepted 
by  the  Porte,  was  thus  at  last  being  carried 
out  at  an  immense  sacrifice  of  life  and  pro- 
perty ;  and  the  retreat  upon  Constantinople 
had  begun  with  the  evacuation  of  Sophia. 
The  occupation  of  this  city  is  fairly  de- 
scribed by  the  correspondent  of  the  Daily 
News,  who  writes  some '  wholesome  truths 
regarding  the  meek  Bulgarian.  When  he 
heard  of  the  evacuation  of  the  town,  he 
says : — 

"  We  were  mounted  and  off  at  quick  trot 
almost  before  the  courier  finished  his  re- 
port, and  on  the  road  we  overtook  a  brigade 
of  the  guard  marching  with  unfurled  banners 
towards  the  distant  mosques,  singing  as  I 
have  never  heard  them  sing  since  I  saw 
them  cross  the  bridge  at  Sistova  months 
ago,  every  man  of  them  walking  as  proudly 
as  if  he  alone  had  conquered  provinces. 
They  answered  the  salutation  of  the  general 
cheerily  and  heartily.  He  paused  only  to 
charge  them,  with  severity  of  expression  in 
his  voice  that  they  knew  meant  prompt 
execution  of  his  word,  not  to  raise  a  hand 
to  plunder  on  pain  of  severe  and  instant 
punishment,  and  galloped  past  to  the  city, 
already  occupied  by  Cossacks  and  the  ad- 
vance guard  of  the  column. 

"  The  excitement  of  that  half-hour's  ride 
was  worth  the  days  of  exposure  in  the 
mountains,  the  long  and  tedious  season  of 
waiting ;  still  I  am  not  sure  that,  with  all 
the  triumphant  feeling,  there  was  not  a 
tinge  of  disappointment  in  the  thought 
that  we  had  not  met  the  enemy,  for  the 
game  of  hide  and  seek  among  the  moun* 
tains  was  getting  wearisome.  We  had 
missed  the  opportunity  of  smashing  the 
Balkan  army,  and  it  had  slipped  away  to 
face  us  further  south.  As  we  neared  the 
town  the  road  was  crowded  with  peasants 
hurrying  in  to  have  their  share  of  Turkish 
loot,  and  scores  of  them  were  rummaging 
the  deserted  tents  in  the  fields  close  by,  and 
wrangling  over  the  rubbish  there, 

"A  crowd  of  several  hundred  citizens, 
led  by  priests,  with  banners,  crucifixes,  and 
lanterns,  and  bearing  a  salver  with  bread 

299 


■i- 


I.  ^ 


9  ■' 


*■-:  II- 


■I 


It 


'4l 


^'\ 


P     I 


ENTRY  OF  THE  RUSSTANS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


I*  » 


h 


'1 


ll  * 


In 


and  salt,  ofifered  these  traditional  symbols 
of  hospitality  to  General  Gourko,  and  then 
the  priests  and  attendants  headed  the  pro- 
cession that  filed  slowly  into  the  first  narrow 
street.     It  was  not  the  pictorial  aspect  of 
this  triumphant  entrance,  nor  the  conscious- 
ness that  this  was  an  historic  moment,  nor, 
indeed,  the  sense  of  relief  at  the  successful 
finish    of   the  first  great  step  of  the  cam- 
paign, that  for  the  time  fixed  my  thoughts, 
but  it  was  rather  the  lack  of  heart  in  the 
whole  business  of  the  reception,  the  total 
absence  of  anything  like  frank  and  spon- 
taneous joy   in    the   crowd   of  Bulgarians 
who    accompanied    us  into  the  town  after 
the  formal  welcome   at    the    gate.     There 
were    exceptions.     Old    men    and    women 
clasped  their  hands  and  wept  for  joy ;  in- 
telligent citizens,  of  evident  good  standing 
in  the  city,  showed  by  word  and  deed  that 
they  appreciated  the  change  the  arrival  of 
the  Russians  would  make. 

"  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  people 
were  not  unanimous  in  their  welcome  of  the 
Russian  army  ;  I  only  assert  that  the  con- 
trast between  the  reception  by  the  Bulgarians 
and  a  similar  welcome  by  any  other  people 
I  could  name  was  very  great.     A  race  with- 
out heart,  their  enthusiasm  has  scarcely  a 
spark  of  the  real  stuff  in  it ;  and  as  we  rode 
through   the   streets  that  day,  the  crowds 
gathered  and  gazed  and  hustled  about,  and 
looked  as  happy,  perhaps,  as  Bulgarians  can 
look ;  but  not  a  cheer  was  heard — not  even 
the  murmur  of  gratification  that  one  hears 
in  the  crowd  at  any  fete;  only  a  weary  kind 
of  listless  satisfaction  at  the  final  arrival  of 
the  long-expected  Russians  was  visible  on 
the  faces  of  those  who  welcomed  us.     What 
a  contrast  was  there  between  the  bronzed, 
sturdy  soldiers  of  the  guard  and  the  pale 
and  feeble-looking  men  of  the  town  I    What 
a  picture  it  made.  General  Gourko  and  his 
staff  following  the  banners  of  the  church, 
and  sweeping  along  throuu^h  the  crooked 
streets ;  the  aides-de-camp  in  the  fantastic 
uniforms  of  the  winter  campaign  ;  General 
Gourko  at  their  head,  trim,  straight,  and 
emotionless  as  ever ;  the  hustling  crowd  of 
men  and  boys  in  many-coloured  costumes ; 
on  all  sides  the  fez  and   the  Oriental  dress 
suggesting  heat  and  sunshine ;  and,  through 
this  flood  of  colour,    the   cold   grey  rigid 
column  of  men  whose  type  of  face,  whose 
dress,  whose  every  motion,  showed  them  to 
be  of  the  north.     On  the  one  side,  listless- 
ness  and  inactivity,  mental  and  physical ; 
on  the  other,  earnestness  of  purpose,  energy, 
300 


and  physical  strength.  There  is  little  in 
common  between  deliverer  and  delivered, 
except  some  similarity  of  language. 

"  Few  houses  on  our  route  were  not  barred 
and  shuttered,  except  those  whose  swinging 
doors  and  broken  windows  showed  them  to 
be  already  plundered.     Out  of  the  windows 
of  some  large  houses  were  showered  sprigs 
of    evergreen    from    the    hands  of  young 
women  ;    there  was  a  lively   rush   for  the 
church,  where  a  short  ceremony  was  per- 
formed, and  the  triumphal  entry  was  ended. 
The  order  in  the  town  was  perfect.     A  large 
patrol  of  soldiers  walked  the  streets,  pre- 
venting effectually  the  destruction  of  pro- 
perty  and   pillage.     The  Turkish   quarter 
had  already  been  completely  sacked  by  the 
Bulgarians   before   the  troops  came  in,  and 
most   of  the   loot  was   hidden  away ;    but 
whenever  any  one  was  found  with  plundered 
effects  he  was  promptly  arrested,  and  the 
goods  exposed  in  the  streets  under  guard  to 
be  claimed  by  their  proper  owners.    I  mado 
this  a  matter  of  special  investigation,  and 
scoured  the  city  in  search  of  plunderers  and 
loot,  and  found  not  a  single  soldier  with  any 
article  of  value   except  a  Kuban  Cossack 
with  a  small  carpet.     I  naturally  supposed 
that  this  legitimatised  brigand  would  sell 
his  prize ;  and  when  I  offered  him  a  round 
sum  for  it,  he  replied,  without  hesitation, 
that   he  had   taken  it   from   a    Bulgarian 
peasant,  and  was  carrying  it  to  deposit  with 
unclaimed  goods,  and  I  watched  him  throw 
it  on  the  pile  with  the  rest.     One  of  his 
comrades,    however,    was    proved   to  have 
stolen   watches  and    money    from    foreign 
doctors  and    citizens;    and,    by    order   of 
General  Gourko,  he  was  tied  with  ropes  and 
led  away  and  shot. 

"  This  is  not  the  first  time  that  I  have 
entered  a  city  with  victorious  troops ;  but  it 
is  the  first  occasion  in  my  experience  when 
order  was  the  rule,  plunder  the  exception. 
To  be  sure  the  shops  were  all  rifled  before 
we  came  in  ;  but  the  Bulgarians  had  to  be 
hunted  out  of  the  houses  on  all  sides. 
There  was  plenty  of  clothing  and  other 
articles  the  soldiers  were  greatly  in  need  of, 
which  were  collected  together  by  the  troops, 
not  distributed  among  them ;  and  the  dis- 
order, if  any  existed,  was  only  momentary. 
The  only  approach  to  anything  like  violence 
that  met  my  notice  was  the  knocking  the 
fez  from  the  heads  of  the  citizens  ;  and  in 
this  sport  of  doubtful  taste  I  saw  some 
officers  thoughtlessly  take  part. 

"The  church  where  the  religious  cere- 


A.D.  1878.] 


monies  were  conducted  is  next  door  to  the ' 
hospital  of  Lady  Strangford  ;  and  this  was 
the  first  place  General  Gourko  visited, 
simply  presenting  his  compliments  to  the 
lady,  and  assuring  her  that  she  would  be 
protected  in  her  work.  Beside  Lady  Strang- 
ford, her  four  female  nurses,  and  Dr. 
Stephenson,  the  surgeon  of  the  hospital, 
there  also  remained  at  their  posts  Doctors 
Wattie  and  Busby  of  the  Stafford  House 
detachment,  and  Ruddock  and  Macpherson 
of  the  Red  Crescent,  with  dressers.  From 
these  I  learned  many  interesting  details  of 
the  evacuation.  The  town  had  been  in  con- 
siderable disorder  for  several  days,  for  the 
Russians  were  expected  to  arrive  a  week 
earlier  :  in  fact,  the  first  question  put  to  me 
by  the  doctors  was,  '  Wiiy  were  you  so  long 
on  the  road  ?' 

"  Suleiman  Pasha  had  made  a  flying  visit 
here  about  Christmas  time;  but  no  one  knew 
he  was  here  until  he  was  gone.     From  the 
day  the  road   was  cut  there  was  no  longer 
any  idea  of  defending  the  town,   and  the 
troops  formed  their  battalions  in  the  streets 
on  the  evening  of  the  3rd,  and  left  quietly. 
The  signal  of  the  evacuation  of  the  troops 
was   also  a  signal  for  the  flight  of   those 
Turkish  families  who  had  not  yet  departed  ; 
and  the  clumsy  arabas,  laden  with  human 
beings  and  household  goods,  piled  in  pro- 
miscuously, creaked  over   the   frosty   snow 
toward  the  line  of  retreat,  which  took  the 
direction    of    Radomir.     There    were    few 
enough  transports  for  provisions  and  am- 
munition, so  the  wounded  were  ordered  to 
quit  the  town  the  day  of  the  retreat ;   and 
such  of  the  poor  wretches  who  could  crawl 
away,  left  the  hospitals  and  dragged  them- 
selves towards  the  hills.     Terror   inspired 
by    the    tales    that    the    Russians    would 
massacre   all   their    prisoners,    gave   them 
strength  to  begin  their  journey.     Between 
5,000  and  6,0^)0  thus  fled,  the  majority  of 
them  probably  to  die  in  the  snow  before  the 
next  day. 

"There  were  less  than  1,000  wounded 
left  in  the  town  after  this  wholesale  evacua- 
tion, so  the  surgeons  in  the  Turkish  service 
drew  lots  to  decide  which  ten  of  their  num- 
ber should  remain.  This  was  a  large  pro- 
portion, as  there  had  been  but  about  thirty 
in  charge  of  the  thousands  here.  Among 
the  ten  who  remained  are  one  Englishman, 
one  American,  and  two  or  three  Germans. 
It  is  said  on  all  sides  that  the  order  had 
been  received  from  Constantinople  to  burn 
the  town,  and  blow  up  the  mosques  which 

VOL.  III.  2  R 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [conduct  of  Bulgarians. 


iif 


were  stored  with  powder.  I  do  not  know 
whether  this  is  true  or  not ;  I  only  am  sure 
tliat  a  prmted  order  was  issued  to  each 
Bulgarian  family  to  leave  the  town,  accom- 
panied with  the  verbal  message  that  they 
took  upon  themselves  the  responsibility  of  re- 
maining. There  was  no  systematic  attempt 
made,  however,  to  burn  the  place;  and 
although  the  Bashi-Bazouks  set  it  on  fire  in 
several  places,  but  few  houses  were  burned. 
Some  of  the  shops  had  been  deserted  long 
ago  by  their  proprietors,  and  the  rest  of 
them  were  gutted  and  the  loot  distributed 
during  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops.  Every- 
body took  whatever  he  could  lay  his  hands 
on,  the  magazines  were  broken  open,  and 
the  Bulgarians  all  armed  themselves,  and 
did  not  hesitate  to  use  their  new  toys. 

"  The  fears  of  the  wounded  Turks  were 
not  altogether  without  foundation;  fordur- 
mg  the  night  many  of  them  were  murdered 
while  the  Russians  were  still  miles  away ; 
and  the  same  fiends  who  cut  the  throats  of 
the  helpless  victims,  welcomed  the  next  day 
the  Russians  with  an  innocent  smile,  and 
called   them    brothers.      Household    goods 
and  provisions  strewed  the  streets,  trampled 
into  the  snow  by  the  passers-by,  and  it  was 
a  night  of  confusion.     The  Europeans  who 
remained  in  the  town  feared  alike  Circassian 
and  Cossack,  and  prepared  to  defend  them- 
selves  against  the  irregular  soldierv.      At 
daybreak   there    was    scarcely    a    Turkish 
soldier  in  the   town  ;   and   the  Bulgarians, 
assembled  from  the  neighbouring  villacres, 
completed  the  desolation  that  had*' begun  in 
the  night.     The  morning  passed  slowly,  and 
still   no  Russians  in  sight.      The  English 
doctors   gathered  as  many  of  the  deserted 
wounded  as  they  could  care  for,  and  carried 
them  into  their  hospitals.     Finally,  shortly 
after  ten  o'clock,  a  single  Russian  officer, 
accompanied  by  two  Cossacks,  rode  alon^r 
the  road  towards  the  town.    His  first  inquiry 
was,    'Have   you   any  sugar?'   and,    beino^ 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  rode  into  the 
town  about  as  calmly  as  if  he  had  come 
solely  m  search  of  the  much-desired  luxury 
It   was    four    hours    later    before  General 
Gourko  came  in,  as  I  have  described  above 
and  order  was  already  restored.  * 

"  We  had  been  hearing,  all  the  way  down 
from  Plevna,  reports  of  the  great  numbers  of 
sick  and  wounded  in  Sophia.  What  would 
have  become  of  them  if  the  foreicrners  had 
not  stuck  by  them  I  dislike  to  conjecture, 
ilie  soldiers  had  been  on  short  rations  for 
days,   and  bread  was  a  necessity  for  them. 

301 


'i 


:V 


CAPTUTIE  OP  PIROT.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Immense  quantities  of  flour  and  meat,  both 
salt  and  fresh,  and  other  provisiontJ,  were 
found  in  the  stores  here ;  but  the  public 
ovens  that  made  bread  were  too  few  to 
supply  the  demands  of  the  soldiers  ;  and  no 
measures  were  taken  to  requisition  private 
ovens ;  consequently,  the  bakers  wlio  had 
furnished  the  hospitals  refused  to  take  any 
orders  from  them,  afraid  of  compromising 
themselves  with  the  Russians  ;  and  up  to  the 
evening  of  the  third  day  of  the  occupation 
the  wounded  were  without  bread.  The 
majority  were  supplied  with  food  enough  to 
sustain  life  out  of  the  private  stores  of  the 
doctors :  many  suffered  from  hunger  ;  a  few 
died  from  insufficient  nourishment ;  and  the 
Bulgarian  attendants  having  deserted  almost 
to  a  man  immediately  after  the  occupation, 
it  was  only  with  great  difficulty  that  the 
wounds  were  dressed.  These  wretches  of 
attendants  took  the  opportunity  of  robbing 
the  wounded  of  all  their  money  and  valu- 
ables before  they  deserted,  thus  adding  one 
of  the  most  brutal  of  crimes  to  their  cowardly 
desertion,  and  completing  the  list  of  das- 
tardlv  acts  which  I  am  obli^red,  in  strict 
justice,  to  enumerate. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  of 
occupation  rations  were  distributed  to  the 
wounded  ;  the  Russian  doctors  had  already 
begun  work,  and  the  hospitals  were  taken 
in  hand.  It  is  possible  that  the  sufferings 
of  the  wounded  have  been  exaggerated ;  but 
as  eighty  died  in  the  Konak  in  a  single 
night,  it  appears  to  be  proved  that  they 
were  neglected.  The  question  of  what 
should  be  done  with  the  foreigners  found 
working  for  the  Turks  was  not  settled  in  a 
hurry.  No  one,  in  fact,  seemed  to  know 
what  would  become  of  them.  Up  to  date, 
those  who  were  actually  in  the  Turkish 
service,  serving  under  contract  for  the  war, 
are  still  in  ignorance  of  their  fate.  Lady 
Strangford  has  been  treated  with  every  con- 
sideration and  respect,  and  would  have  been 
provided  with  means  of  transport  if  she  had 
decided  to  return  to  the  Turkish  lines  again. 
She,  however,  with  her  entire  suite,  will 
continue  her  work  here,  and  the  surgeons 
of  the  Stafford  House  and  Red  Cross  also 
remained  with  her." 

The  day  before  the  evacuation  of  Sophia, 
and  its  occupation  by  the  Russian  troops. 
General  Gourko  decided  to  open  communi- 
cation with  the  Servians  at  Pirot,  and  sent 
Prince  Tzeratleff  to  General  Horvatovitch's 
head-quarters.  He  found  the  main  body  of 
the  detachment,  the  Timok  corps,  still  at 
302 


[a.d.  1878. 

Pirot,  but  about  to  move  southward  upon 
Vranya.  The  capture  of  Pirot  had  been 
attended  with  little  or  no  disorder;  the 
Turkish  property  had  been  confiscated,  and 
the  army  was  living  on  captured  provisions, 
and  had  plenty  for  a  number  of  weeks. 
Pirot  was  taken  after  a  fight  of  a  whole 
day,  with  the  loss  of  250  men;  twelve 
cannon  were  captured.  Being  assured  from 
attack  in  his  rear  through  the  presence  of 
the  Servians,  General  Gourko  did  not  lose 
any  time  in  Sophia  ;  but  after  a  stay  of  four 
days,  during  which  he  re-formed  his  troops 
and  took  measures  for  the  security  of  the 
forces  remaining  in  Sophia,  he  left,  on 
January  9th,  for  Philippopoli — the  same  day 
that,  further  east.  General  Radetzki  and 
General  Skobeloff  effected  the  capture  of 
Schipka  in  consequence  of  a  turning  move- 
ment which  took  the  Turkish  army  in  the 
rear,  and  forced  it  to  surrender  after  a 
sanguinary  contest,  during  which  the  Rus- 
sians lost  5,500  killed  and  wounded,  whilst 
the  Turks  lost  32,000  prisoners  and  ninety- 
two  gUUF. 

Skobeloff,  the  second  day  after  the  battle, 
marched  for  Hermanli,  the  junction  of  the 
Philippopoli  and  Yamboli  railways,  forty- 
five  miles  from  Adrianople,  with  two  divi- 
sions— the  16th  (his  own  division),  and  its 
twin,  the  39th  of  the  fourth  corps,  to- 
gether with  two  brigades  of  eight  battalions 
of  sharpshooters.  Brigades  of  cavalry  of 
the  3rd  division,  under  the  command  of 
General  Kartsotf,  marched  upon  Philip- 
popoli by  way  of  Kalofer  and  Karlovo. 
Radetzki's  corps,  to  which  the  15th  divi- 
sion had  been  added,  followed  Skobeloff  as  far 
as  Eski  Zagra,  and  marched  upon  Tchirpan, 
east  of  Philippopoli,  evidently  with  the  in- 
tention of  surrounding  that  place,  in  co- 
operation with  the  3rd  division,  marching 
by  the  Karlovo  road ;  and  thus  to  cut  otf 
the  Turks  at  Ichtiman,  defending  that  pass 
against  General  Gourko. 

The  Turks,  by  this  movement  of  Radetzki 
and  Skobeloff,  had  the  whole  valley  of  the 
Maritza  cut  off  behind  them.  In  this  way 
the  retreating  army  of  Sophia,  as  well  as 
the  Philippopoli  forces,  had  no  escape  but 
by  throwing  themselves  into  the  Rhodope 
mountains,  where  there  were  no  roads,  and 
where  they  were,  at  any  rate,  certain  not  to 
be  seriously  molested  as  long  as  the  Rus- 
sians were  engaged  in  their  advance  on 
Adrianople. 

Meantime,  whilst  Skobeloff  and  Ra- 
detzki were  capturing  the  Schipka  army, 


A.D..1878.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[major  zeki. 


General  Gourko  set  out  from  Sophia,  his 
forces  following  the  three  roads  which  lead 
from  Sophia  to  Philippopoli.  General 
Kriidener  was  sent  along  the  road  skirting 
the  base  of  the  Balkans  to  Zlatitza,  where 
he  found  no  Turks  left,  all  having  fled  after 
the  disaster  at  Schipka.  General  Welia- 
minoff  was  despatched  along  the  road  which 
runs  southwards  to  Samakovo,  and  thence 
south-east  via  Banya  to  Tatar-Bazardjik, 
where  it  joins  the  central  road  from  Sophia, 
which  winds  through  the  Ichtiman  Pass 
and  Trajan's  Gate.  Along  this  latter  road 
General  Schouvaloff  was  sent  in  advance, 
Generals  Gourko  and  Ranch  following  on 
tiie  next  day  by  the  same  road.  It  was  in 
this  Ichtiman  Pass  that  the  Bulgarians 
attacked  and  murdered  Baldwin,  Earl  of 
Flanders,  during  the  Crusades.  This  time, 
however,  the  Bulgarians  had  not  had  the 
opportunity  of  exercising  their  peculiar 
talents ;  for  when  the  Russians  arrived, 
pillaged  shops,  smouldering  ruins,  and 
empty  houses  welcomed  them  to  Ichtiman. 
Many  of  the  largest  buildings  had  been 
burned  by  the  Turks;  not  a  shop  but  was 
sacked  and  gutted,  and  very  few  of  the  in- 
habitants remained.  Here  the  Russians 
learned,  much  to  their  surprise,  that  the 
Turks  had  evacuated  their  positions  in  the 
pass  called  Trajan's  Gate,  and  were  retreat- 
ing southward,  pursued  by  the  dragoons  ; 
also,  that  WeliafninofTs  column  had  been 
fighting  for  a  whole  day  north  of  Sama- 
kovo, driving  the  enemy  from  one  little 
earthwork  to  another,  until  he  was  stopped 
by  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  from  the 
Turkish  lines  with  a  despatch  from  Con- 
stantinople, announcing  an  armistice.  The 
Turkish  outposts  had  refused  to  fire ;  the 
men  had  approached  and  shaken  hands 
with  them,  and  the  Turks  had  called  them 
brothers,  believing  that  peace  was  declared. 
Such  was  the  report  of  the  armistice,  and 
it  was  further  strengthened  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  Major  Zeki,  the  chief  of  staff  of 
Suleiman  Pasha,  who  had  come  with  a 
sealed  despatch  addressed  to  the  grand 
duke,  declaring  also  that  an  armistice  had 
been  agreed  upon.  General  Weliaminoff 
had  replied  to  the  Turkish  proposition  for 
cessation  of  hostilities — "  If  you  don't  want 
to  fight,  leave  Samakovo;  for  my  men  can't 
stay  up  here  in  the  mountains ; "  and  the 
Turks  quietly  went  away.  But  before  the 
messenger  whom  General  Gourko  had  sent 
to  telegraph  for  instructions  regarding  the 
armistice  could  have  arrived,  a  courier  came 


in  with  a  message  from  the  grand  duke, 
saying  that  there  were  false  rumours  of  an 
armistice,  and  that  the  army  was  to  push  on 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  truth  was,  that 
the  armistice  was  agreed  to,  but  had  not 
been  actually  signed,  the  Russians  not 
wishing  to  stay  their  progress  towards  the 
capital ;  and  then  succeeded  a  consequent 
stage  of  indecision,  which  was  scarcely  war, 
though  quite  as  bad.  Thus  Major  Zeki 
was  told  that  there  was  to  be  no  halt  in 
the  movement.  It  was  rather  an  odd  sight 
to  see  the  two  Turkish  dragoons  who 
escorted  Major  Zeki,  with  their  Winchester 
rifles  slung  on  their  backs,  fraternising  with 
the  Cossacks  ;  and  it  puzzled  the  few  Bul- 
garian spectators  to  see  a  Turkish  bimbashi 
in  full  uniform,  with  his  sword  on,  on  easy 
terms  with  the  Russian  ofiicers,  who  invited 
Major  Zeki  to  dine  in  their  mess.  He  had 
the  frankness  to  say,  when  he  was  served 
with  plain  boiled  rice  after  the  cabbage 
soup — "  I  had  imagined  the  officers  of  the 
Russian  army  lived  in  much  greater 
luxury." 

Some  one  replied — "  It  is  only  by  your 
kindness  in  leaving  plenty  of  stores  behind 
you  that  we  have  even  these  provisions." 

Tliis  was  Zeki's  first  experience  among  the 
Russians ;  and  doubtless,  from  this  little 
incident,  he  understood  what  it  was  to  be 
with  a  great  army  cut  loose  from  its  base  of 
supplies,  and  began  to  comprehend  the 
happy-go-lucky  way  the  Russians  had  of 
doing  everything. 

A  day  or  two  later,  Major  Zeki,  who 
gained  many  friends  from  his  sympathetic 
disposition  and  pleasant  manner,  received 
instructions  from  the  grand  duke  to  present 
the  despatch,  the  contents  of  which  had 
already  been  transmitted  by  wire,  in  person 
at  the  head-quarters  in  Kezanlik,  whither 
he  went  with  his  two  dragoons,  escorted  by 
an  officer  of  the  staff  and  two  Cossacks,  to 
the  complete  mystification  of  the  people 
they  met  on  the  road.  One  thing  Major 
Zeki  remarked  with  a  great  deal  of  justice, 
that  the  Bulgarians  treated  the  Russians 
with  actual  disrespect,  and  paid  no  regard 
whatever  to  their  requests  or  demands,  while 
to  the  Turks  they  were  all  attention.  It 
was  curious  to  observe  how  the  natives 
sprang  to  wait  upon  the  Turkish  officer, 
even  while  he  was  in  company  with  the 
Russians. 

Continuing  their  march  after  the  de- 
parture of  Major  Zeki,  the  Russians  lite- 
rally scrambled  all  the  way  over  Trajan's 

303 


•    V 


'   i\ 


m 


f    Id 


RUSSIAN  NEW  YEAR'S  DAY.]  HISTORY     OF    THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


Gate.  The  road,  which  mounts  the  northern 
declivity  in  a  succession  of  steep  zigzags, 
was  as  smooth  as  a  skating-rink,  and  was 
filled  with  infantry  and  artillery.  Men 
slipped  and  slid,  horses  fell  with  their 
riders,  the  heavy  caissons  swung  from  one 
side  of  the  road  to  the  other,  often  in 
imminent  danger  of  dragging  the  horses 
over  the  precipices.  From  the  summit  of 
the  pass  the  view  was  very  wide,  embracing 
the  valleys  of  Ichtiman  and  Banya  no  one 
side,  and  a  large  portion  of  the'  Rhodope 
range  of  mountains  to  the  south,  beyond 
the  plain  of  Philippopoli. 

The  whole  descent  was  a  series  of  dan- 
gerous slides.  Occasionally  the  horses 
would  slide  for  many  yards,  only  bringing 
up  against  the  bank  on  the  side  of  the  road, 
or  among  the  bushes.  The  limited  supply 
of  iron  bad  obliged  the  farriers  to  put  on 
the  smooth  flat  plates  used  by  the  Turks 
instead  of  the  European  shoes  ;  so  that  the 
horses,  unaccustomed  to  their  new  shoes, 
skated,  awkwardly  enough,  wherever  the 
ice  was  smooth. 

At  last,  towards  evening  on  January  12th, 
the  Russian  New  Year's  Day,  the  tired  and 
worn-out   forces    reached    Vietrena,    about 
fifteen  miles  from  Tatar-Bazardjik,  already 
burning  in    the    distance.      At   the    same 
time,  a  black  line  of  troops,  retreating  before 
General    Weliaminoff,    was    seen    moving- 
rapidly    along   the    Samakovo    road    from 
Sophia,  towards  Tatar-Bazardjik.     No  in- 
fantry had  come  up,  so  it  was  out  of  the 
question  to  attempt  immediate  pursuit,  and 
the  advance  guard  celebrated  in  rather  a 
mild  manner,    for  the   material    means   of 
merry-making  were  decidedly  meagre,  the 
Russian  New  Year's  Eve.    A  distinguishing 
feature  of  the  celebration  was  a  mass,  con- 
ducted in   General  Gourko's  head-quarters 
by  the  priest  of  one  of  the  regiments,  the 
staff  officers  contributing  the  vocal  music 
and  sonorous  responses.     It  was  clear  and 
frosty,  and  until  long  after  midnight  the 
cannon  rattled  and  jolted  heavily  down  the 
rough    street,    and  the    infantry   tramped 
wearily  past  to  find  out  but  little  better 
halting-places  in  the  plain  than  those  who 
were  obliged  to  bivouac  away  up  the  road 
in  the  pass. 

About  half-way  from  Vejtrenova  to 
Tatar-Bazardjik,  the  highway  crosses  a  low 
hill,  the  last  notable  interruption  of  the 
level  line  of  the  road  for  many  miles  east- 
ward, and  this  hill  terminates  in  a  rocky 
knoll,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  the 
304 


A.D.  1878.] 


plain.      A  more  advantageous   position  to 
witness  a  battle  could  not  be  imagined,  for 
the  whole  plain  for  miles  lay  belo°w,  like  a 
plan  of  the  surface  in  black  and  white  ;  and 
when   at   daybreak    the   Russians   saw  the 
Turkish  army,   drawn  up  in  perfect  battle 
order  across  the   road   between   them  and 
Tatar-Bazardjik,  still  burning  in  a  dozen 
different  places,  they  could  scarcely  wait  for 
the  infantry  to  get  up ;  indeed  it  did  not 
get  up  until  after  the  firing  began,  for'a 
couple  of  9-pounders  were  sent  down  the 
road  far  in  advance  of  tlie  outposts,  with 
only  a  handful  of  Kuban  Cossacks  as  a  sup- 
port, and  began  to  throw  shrapnel  into  the 
group  of  Circassians  gathered  there. 

The  Kubans  scattered  out  right  and  left 
and  trotted  away  to  meet  the  Circassians^ 
who  were  ready  to  welcome  them.  For  a 
few  moments  there  was  a  lively  little  fire, 
and  then  they  began  to  stop  and  look  at 
one  another.  The  whole  plain  about  Tatar- 
Bazardjik  seemed  alive  with  Turkish 
cavalry  ;  large  squads  were  moving  here  and 
there;  long  lines  were  filing ofi"  to  the  right 
and  left;  and  besides  these  movements, 
preparatory  to  receiving  the  expected  attack' 
the  infantry  strung  out  in  long  double  lines 
of  skirmishers. 

The  Russian  infantry  soon  came  over  the 
hill  in  small  detachments,  marched  ri^ht 
up  to  within  gun-shot  of  the  Circassia'ns, 
who  hesitated  and  drew  back  at  their 
approach,  and  then  the  riflemen  lay  down 
in  the  ditches.  But  no  serious  attack  was 
made,  General  Gourko  preferring  to  wait  for 
the  arrival  of  General  Weliaminoflf  by  the 
Samakovo  road,  to  goading  the  Turks  into 
a  desperate  fight.  Thus  the  day  passed 
away. 

The  only  break  in  the  monotony  of  the 
day  was  the  sending  of  a  flag  of  truce  into 
the  Turkish  lines  with  a  letter  which   had 
been  sent  by  Major  Zeki  to  Suleiman  Pasha. 
Prmce  TzereteJeff  was  chosen  to  carry  the 
letter ;    and,  accompanied  by  a  trumpeter 
and  a  Cossack,  who  carried  on  his  lance  two 
handkerchiefs  tied  together  by  a  corner,  he 
rode  down  the  road.      As  Tzereteleff  had 
been  fired  on  last  summer  near  Kezanlik 
while  on  a  similar  mission,  and  had  barely 
escaped  being  killed,  the  Russians  watched 
with  great  interest  the  little  group  draw 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Turkish  outposts, 
until  they  were  within  a  few  rods,  and  then 
at  last  they  saw  three  horsemen  come  out 
to  meet  them. 

It  was  perfectly  evident  that  the  open 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        [the  biVouac  at  adAkoi. 


preparations  for  resisting  an  attack  along 
the  road,  were  only  to  cover  the  retreat  of 
the  army;    and,  just  as  expected,  by  day- 
break on  the  14th  the  town  was  completely 
evacuated.      The   bridge  on  the  road  was 
broken,   but  not  seriously  injured  ;  but  the 
one  over  the  Maritza,  between  the  town  and 
the  railway  station,   was  entirely   burned. 
Two  or  three  wretched-looking:  Buljjfarians 
fawned  on  the  Russians  as  they  entered  the 
city ;  but  the  streets  were  otherwise  almost 
entirely    deserted,    and     barricaded     with 
broken    cases,  shutters,  and   the    confused 
debris  of    the    shops;    so    that    had    the 
Russians  not  wisely  refrained  from  attacking 
the  night  before,  they  would  have  incurred 
very  serious  losses.     Every  house  was  open 
and  gutted.     Bedding,  groceries,  furniture, 
small  wares  of  all  kinds  fairly  paved  the 
streets  leading  toward  the  railway  station, 
marking  the  flight  of  the  Moslem  popula- 
tion.     The   bright    sun,   shining   through 
clouds  of  smoke  from  a  hundred  burning 
houses,  lighted  the  scene  of  destruction  and 
devastation  with  a  reddish  glare ;  and  here 
and  there  a  dead  body,  with  pools  of  blood 
still  fresh    about   it,   completed  a   perfect 
picture  of  war  in  its  most  tragic  aspect. 

Before  the  Russians  had  been  in  the 
town  half-an-hour,  the  ox-carts,  with  the 
household  goods  and  families  of  the  Bul- 
garian citizens,  began  to  pour  in  from  the 
fields,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
gathered  a  great  crowd  of  fugitives  waiting 
to  be  ferried  back.  The  railway  station  was 
crowded,  and  thousands  were  swarming  all 
about  it,  half  wild  with  fright.  The  Turks 
had  forced  all  the  families  to  leave  the 
town,  in  view  to  a  possible  attack  by  the 
Russians,  and  they  were  all  hustled  to  the 
railway  station  ;  such  as  there  was  time  to 
take  were  carried  off,  many  were  compelled 
to  follow  the  army,  and  not  a  few  took  their 
own  direction  in  the  confusion,  and  returned 
when  they  heard  of  the  Russian  occupation. 
Some  three-score  prisoners  were  gathered 
tip  in  the  town,  many  of  them  wounded  by 
the  sabres  of  the  advance  guard  of  cavalry, 
who  followed  close  on  the  heels  of  the  re- 
treating enemy.  There  was  one  rather 
amusing  capture  while  the  Russians  halted 
in  the  town.  A  priest  of  one  of  the  regi- 
ments went  into  a  house,  and  had  a  fire 
lighted  to  make  some  tea.  As  the  house 
was  not  entirely  plundered,  he  thought  he 
might  find  some  sugar  in  a  cupboard  near 
the  fireplace  ;  but  instead  of  sugar  he  found 
a  Turk  with  his  rifle  across  his  knees,  curled 


up  in  the  small  space  between  the  door  and 
the  wall.  Mutual  surprise  and  mutual 
fear !  But  the  priest  recovered  first,  and 
ordered  the  Turk  to  give  himself  up,  which 
he  promptly  did.  While  he  was  drinking 
his  sugarless  tea,  it  occurred  to  the  priest 
to  look  in  another  cupboard,  and  an  exactly 
similar  result  followed,  and  he  had  the 
honour  of  turning  over  two  prisoners  to  the 
guard  ! 

That  evening  the  camp  fires  of  the  re- 
treating army  blazed  on  the  hill-sides 
beyond  the  railway,  exactly  opposite  to  the 
Russian  lines  and  the  Maritza,  and  perhaps 
a  couple  of  miles  of  rice-fields  separated  the 
two  armies  from  one  another.  The  night 
was  bitterly  cold,  and  a  piercing  wind  was 
blowing  ;  but  it  was  decided  that  the  river 
must  be  forded ;  so  Count  Schouvaloff 
crossed  with  several  battalions  of  infantry, 
and  started  immediately  in  pursuit  of  the 
rear-guard  of  the  Turks,  which  was  still 
moving  on,  followed  by  a  long  line  of 
stragglers.  The  river  was  full  of  ice,  and 
the  current  was  so  rapid,  that  the  men, 
breast-deep  in  the  water,  could  scarcely 
keep  their  feet.  In  their  drenched  and 
freezing  garments  they  formed  battalions 
on  the  right  bank,  and  pushed  on  cheerfully 
after  the  enemy  until  late  in  the  night,  when 
they  bivouacked  in  the  village  of  Adakoi. 

The  columns  of  Schilder-Schuldner, 
Kriidener,  and  Weliaminofi',  had  all  de- 
scended into  the  plain  during  the  day,  the 
latter  somewhat  behind  its  assigned  posi- 
tion, and  the  detachment  of  Count  Schou- 
valoff, which  was  intended  to  be  the  central 
column,  in  reality  leading.  Although  the 
Turkish  army  was  so  near,  it  was  playing 
such  an  active  game,  that  it  was  extremely 
difficult  to  keep  up  with  it.  Of  course, 
General  Gourko  did  not  intend  to  attack 
it,  because,  as  it  was  evidently  demoralised, 
its  end  was  certain,  and  it  would  have  been 
foolish  to  sacrifice  two  or  three  thousand 
lives  to  accomplish  a  result  which  time 
would  bring  about.  When  Count  Schouva- 
loff s  detachment  moved  out  of  the  village 
of  Adakoi  just  before  .daybreak,  prepared  to 
follow  the  Turks,  who  were  supposed  to 
have  fled  in  the  night,  it  ran  plump  upon 
the  enemy  quietly  waiting  there  in  posi- 
tion between  Karatair  and  Kadikoi,  ad- 
mirably protected  by  a  little  stream  which 
had  cut  a  narrow  but  deep  channel  in  the 
earth,  quite  impassable  for  any  troops. 
The  Turkish  right  rested' on  the  road  in  the 
village  of  Ahrianli,  so  that  the  hill  behind 

305 


41 


RUSSIAN  LOSSES.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


Kadikoi  was  really  the  centre  of  their  posi- 
tion. With  this  voluntary  movement  on 
the  part  of  the  Turks,  the  object  of  Schou- 
valotf's  movement  was  accomplished;  the 
enemy  Jiad  paused  in  his  retreat,  and  the 
thing  to  do  next  was  to  keep  him  busy 
while  a  column  had  time  enousfh  to  turn 
him  by  his  right  flank,  thus  blocking  his 
retreat  towards  Philippopoli. 

Count  Schouvaloff   got   his   men   under 
such  cover   as   the   nature  of   the  ground 
afforded,  and  began  a  lively  demonstration, 
and  a  hot  musketry  fire  was  interchanf^ed. 
Just  about   the  time  this  began.  General 
Gourko,  who  had  started  away  from  the 
village  of  Doghankoi,  where  he  had  passed 
the  night,  long  before  daylight  reached  the 
point  where  the  river  and  the  road  almost 
meet,   very  near  the    village    of   Ahrianli. 
Whilst  the  staff  were  watching  the  smoke 
rise    from    Philippopoli,    and   the    troops 
as    they    marched    along    the    road,    three 
horsemen    rode    out  of   the    grove    upon 
the     opposite    bank    of    the     river ;     one 
of  them  drew  his  revolver  and  deliberately 
fired    it    three   times   in    their    direction, 
and     then     turned     and    quietly     trotted 
away,    followed    by  the   second,  while  the 
third  remained  there  still   looking  at  the 
Russians.      He  was  dressed  in  the  Circas- 
sian costume,  and  there  was  a  brief  moment 
of  doubt  whether  he  was  not,  after  all,  one 
of  the  scouts  of  Schouvaloff  s  column  ;  but 
in  an  instant  the  Kuban  Cossacks,  who  had 
an  instinct  for  distinguishing  the  enemy, 
were  kneeling  along  the  bank  and  banging 
away  at  the  Circassian.      When    the   fire 
began  he  saluted,  wheeled  his  horse  round, 
and    slowly   retired,    evidently   caring    no 
more  for  tlie  buzzing  of  bullets  than  for  the 
singing  of  so  many  mosquitoes,  and  chuck- 
ling all  the  time  at  the  wild  firing  of  the 
Russians,  who  certainly  did  not  distinguish 
themselves  on  that  occasion,  although  the 
mark  was  not  half  rifle-shot  away. 

It  soon  became  clear  the  village  opposite 
was  full  of  Turks,  who  clustered  like  bees 
about  the  houses  there.  It  was  a  raw, 
blustering  day,  and  it  seemed  a  pity  to 
order  the  men  to  wade  the  river,  which  was 
rushing  along,  covered  with  bits  of  floating 
ice  ;  but  a  ford  was  found  a  couple  of  hun- 
dred yards  above  the  Russian  position,  and 
a  battalion  waded  across  and  got  in  and  at 
work  in  a  few  moments.  After  this  opera- 
tion, General  Gourko,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Captain  Scalon,  of  his  staff,  ordered  the 
dragoons  of  his  escort  to  take  the  horses  of 
306  ' 


the  officers  and  carry  the  rest  of  the  soldiers 
across  the  stream  on  horseback.  When 
they  rode  down  the  200  yards  towards  the 
ford  for  this  work,  the  bullets  were  already 
falling  fast.  The  road,  which  had  been 
crowded  a  short  time  before,  had  been  well 
cleared ;  a  battery  was  at  work  a  little  fur- 
ther on,  and  the  Turkish  shells  began  to 
plough  up  the  rice-fields,  the  muzzles  of  the 
Martinis  pumping  out  the  bullets  like  hail. 
The  lead  knocked  up  the  snow  all  around, 
and  there  was  a  buzzing  in  the  air  that 
made  the  men  involuntarily  quicken  their 
steps.  The  firing  was  not  very  heavy,  but 
it  was  effective,  for  ten  out  of  the  sixty 
horses  which  carried  over  the  last  two  bat- 
talions, were  wounded  in  the  space  of  about 
an  hour. 

When  these  two  battalions  got  into  the 
village,  the  music  of  the  fight  took  a  higher 
key,  and  there  was  a  constant,  ceaseless 
rattle  all  day  long.  Late  in  the  day 
General  Schilder-Schuldner  came  up  to 
consult  with  General  Gourko,  who  had  been 
for  hours  anxiously  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
the  column  entrusted  to  the  former,  which 
had  been  ordered  early  to  cross  the  stream 
below,  to  make  an  attempt  to  turn  the 
enemy's  left.  Hours  were  lost  in  waiting 
for  this  detachment ;  and  at  last,  instead  of 
the  infantry,  there  only  came  the  old 
general  himself!  But  the  delay  was  shortly 
ended,  and  the  troops  came  past  at  quick 
step.  One  or  two  of  the  soldiers  were 
wounded  in  sight  of  General  Gourko,  for  the 
bullets  were  still  flying  about  promiscuously, 
and  the  squadron  of  dragoons  that  was  de- 
tailed to  carry  three  battalions  across  the 
ford,  lost  three  or  four  horses  and  men 
during  the  passage.  The  entire  loss  of  the 
day  was  about  300,  a  large  proportion  of 
SchouvalofTs  command. 

Kriidener's  detachment,  which  had  gone 
towards  the  town,  had  met  with  little 
resistance ;  but  arriving  on  the  bank  of  the 
Maritza,  found  the  bridge  completely  de- 
stroyed. A  couple  of  old  brass  muzzle- 
loading  cannon,  on  the  rocky  hill  in  the 
centre  of  the  town,  blazed  away  the  whole 
day  at  the  Russians,  and  there  were  a  score 
or  two  of  Turks  sitting  on  the  hill  and 
firing  lazily,  with  little  effect,  and  others  in 
the  streets.  But  though  the  loss  in  Krii- 
dener's column  was  only  six,  not  a  man  of 
his  force  got  into  the  town. 

The  same  squadron  of  dragoons  of  the 
guard  which  had  carried  three  battalions 
over  the  river,  returned  to  General  Gourko ; 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [cAPruRE  of  philippopoli. 


and  Captain  Bourago,  who  commanded  the 
squadron,  reported  that  the  men  were  wet, 
hungry,  and  cold,  the  horses  fatigued  and 
without  food,  and  asked  for  further  orders. 

"  Go  and  join  your  regiment,"  said 
General  Gourko. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  find  the  bivouac  in 
the  night,  your  Excellency,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Then,  suppose  you  go  in  and  occupy 
Philippopoli;  you  will  find  good  lodgings 
there,"  suggested  the  general,  more  than 
half  in  jest. 

"  Is  that  your  order  ?"  eagerly  asked  the 
captain, 

"It  is!"  came  promptly  back  in  reply, 
and  the  captain  saluted,  mounted  quickly, 
and,  forgetting  fatigue  and  cold,  led  his 
squadron  towards  the  zone  of  the  enemy's 
bivouac-fires  all  along  the  plain  between 
the  river  and  the  mountains,  and  went 
away  at  a  trot. 

The  adventures  of  this  little  band  are 
worth  relating.  When  they  came  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  fires  they  halted,  and 
scouts  were  sent  forward  to  report  on  the  pro- 
bable number  of  the  enemy ;  but  they  re- 
turned, in  the  course  of  an  hour,  with  the 
news  that  the  bivouac  was  empty,  and  that 
the  fires  were  left  burning  to  deceive  the 
Russians.  Then  the  squadron  trotted  away 
in  the  darkness  towards  the  black  mass  of 
the  lesser  one  of  the  two  granite  hills  that 
tower  over  Philippopoli — landmarks  in  the 
unbroken  plain  for  many  miles. 

Nt-ar  the  town  another  bivouac  barred 
the  path — this  time  in  a  field  enclosed  by 
a  ditch  and  bank  of  earth.  Leaving  the 
horses  to  be  led  in  groups  of  six  to  a  single 
man,  Captain  Bourago  and  the  rest  of  his 
force  reconnoitred  on  foot  up  to  the  bivouac, 
and  peered  over  the  wall  to  hear  the  last  of 
the  Turks  go  away  in  the  distance.  The 
fires  were  only  deserted  a  few  moments 
before  the  dragoons  arrived.  Mounting 
again,  the  dragoons,  with  the  platoon  of 
singers  at  their  head,  marched  into  the 
streets  of  Philippopoli,  waking  the  inhabit- 
ants with  the  unaccustomed  music.  Every- 
body was  of  course  surprised  and  delighted 
at  the  arrival  of  the  Russians,  and  half  the 
population  turned  out  in  their  night- 
dresses. 

One  of  the  consuls  met  Captain  Bourago, 
and  begged  him  to  enter  his  house  and  take 
a  cup  of  tea.  Over  the  tea  he  put  the 
natural  question — 

"  How  many  men  are  here  ?  " 

•'  Oh,  very  many — an  immense  force." 


"  But  I  mean  here  in  the  city,"  repeated 
the  consul. 

"  Why,  we  have  got  a  whole  squadron  of 
dragoons !  " 

"  Then,  if  you  value  your  lives,"  said  the 
consul,  "  you  will  lose  no  time  in  trying  to 
escape,  for  you  are  surrounded  on  all  sides." 

With  only  a  moment  of  hesitation, 
Bourago  ordered  his  men  to  mount,  and 
marched  away  towards  the  station,  where  the 
enemy  was  reported  to  be  strongest. 

It  was  then  past  midnight;  the  great 
piles  of  stores  and  several  houses  were  burn- 
ing at  the  station,  and  just  beyond  could  be 
plainly  distinguished,  by  the  light  of  the 
fires,  a  great  mass  of  Turkish  soldiers  in 
some  disorder.  In  the  same  formation  as 
before,  the  dragoons  advanced  with  great 
precaution,  and  reached  a  ditch  within 
short  range,  concealed  themselves  in  it,  and 
opened  a  scattering  fire,  cheering  and 
shouting  with  all  their  might. 

Volley  after  volley  answered  their  fire ; 
but  the  bullets  passed  over  their  heads,  and 
they  began  to  shoot  with  all  possible 
rapidity,  taking  careful  aim.  The  terrific 
fire  of  the  Turks  grew  weaker  and  weaker, 
and  finally  melted  away,  and  sounded  fur- 
ther and  further  off.  Then  was  the  moment 
to  charge,  and  the  squadron  mounted  and 
went  away  at  a  gallop  after  1,500  retreating 
Turks,  sabring  those  who  did  not  imme- 
diately give  themselves  up,  and  captur- 
ing over  fifty  prisoners.  Surrounding  the 
burning  station  with  a  guard,  Captain 
Bourago  entered  it,  and  found  three  consuls 
there  with  several  of  the  railway  employes^ 
and  learned  that  a  short  quarter  of  an  hour 
before,  three  pashas  were  standing  there, 
waiting  for  a  supper  to  be  prepared.  It 
need  hardly  be  remarked  that  the  oflScers 
of  the  squadron  enjoyed  that  supper  very 
much.  Count  Rebender,  who,  with  Lieu- 
tenant PijofF,  had  been  very  active  through 
the  whole  affair,  was  given  a  platoon  to 
clear  out  the  nest  on  the  hill,  which  he  did 
in  short  order,  and  the  squadron  slept  in  the 
town. 

Philippopoli  was  in  a  frightful  state. 
For  just  one  week  there  had  been  a  reign 
of  the  greatest  confusion.  On  the  8th  of 
January  a  telegram  had  been  received  from 
Suleiman  Pasha,  ordering  the  city  to  be 
evacuated  of  all  its  inhabitants,  because  he 
intended  to  burn  it  on  the  approach  of  the 
Russians.  On  the  following  day,  news  came 
from  the  same  source  that  an  armistice  of 
two    months    had    been    arranged.       The 

307 


PANIC  IN  PHiLTPPOPOLi.]  HISTORY  OF   THE 


Christian  schools  began  again,  and  business 
was  to  some  extent  resumed,  but  only  a  few 
shops  were  opened  for  fear  of  the  Circassians 
and  Bashi-Bazouks.  The  Turkish  families 
continued  to  flee,  transporting  all  their 
household  effects  to  the  station,  to  be  sent 
to  Constantinople.  Frequent  trains  were 
run,  carrying  thousands  of  passen^rers, 
loading  the  roofs,  the  steps,  and  even" the 
buffers  of  the  carriages  with  a  living 
freight.  Provisions  were  thrown  away  o7 
sold  for  trifling  sums.  A  yoke  of  oxen  only 
brought  one  Turkish  pound ;  a  cow  ei<rht 
piastres  (Is.  4d),  and  a  sheep  four  (StZ.) 

On  the  10th  of  January  the  last  passeno^er 
train    went   away;    but  immense   piles^of 
goods  and   household  effects  still  remained 
at   the    station.       Orders    came   from    the 
medical  director  at  Constantinople  to  re- 
move all  the  sick  and  wounded  (numbering 
8o0)  to  the  station,  to  await  a  train   which 
would  be  sent  to  carry  themawav  ;  and  this 
order  was  executed    with  as    little  stir  as 
possible,  for  fear  of  augmenting  the  dis- 
order.      The     consuls,     English,    French, 
Italian,  Greek,  and  Austrian,  met  and  con- 
sulted about  the   best  measures  to  protect 
the  inhabitants,  and  decided   to   stay,  and 
to  pay  no  attention  to  the  order  to  evacuate 
the   town,   which   had  been  repeated.     The 
Circassians     and     Bashi-Bazouks     havino- 
begun   promiscuous  plundering  as  early  a's 
the    12th,    the   authorities   in    the    Greek 
Church  issued  150  muskets  to  the  citizens 
of  that  nationality,  to   protect  themselves 
from  the  irregular  soldiers  ;    but,  of  course, 
there  was  no  authority,  civil  or  religious, 
which   could  stop  plundering,    or  pi^vent 
incendiary  fires.     On  the  14th,  before  day- 
light,  the   bazaar  was  in    flames,   and  the 
Russian  cavalry  being  near,   the  bridge  was 
burned,  to  prevent  them  entering  the  town. 
The    story  of  the  next    day    has    been 
already  told.   When  the  Russians  entered  on 
the    16th,  it  was  a  picture  of  ruin  and  de- 
struction all  along    the   streets  where  the 
shops  were,   and  was  smoking  in  a  dozen 
places.     It  was  rather  a  ridiculous  sio^ht  to 
see  a  wholo  army  corps  wasting  precious 
hours  idly  watching  the  smouldering  timbers 
of  the  bridge,  and  the  rushing,  ice-choked 
stream  that  separated  them  from  the  oppo- 
site shore,  where  thousands  of  Bulcrarians 
were  frantically  shouting  and  gesticulating. 
I  he  staff  rode  down  to  the  river  bank,  and 
there  halted,  waiting  for  a  small  leaky  boat 
that   was  coming  across,    when,    whether 
in  derision  of  the  inaction  of  tbe  soldiers, 


[a.d.  1878. 


or  whether  due  to  the  impulse  of  a  half- 
cracked  brain,  a  sturdy  Bulgarian  stripped 
and  plunged  into  the  icy  water,  and  half 
waded,  ha  f  swam,  across  to  the  Russians, 
blowing  like  a  porpoise.  He  had  nothin<^ 
particular  to  say,  so  he  was  wrapped  up  iS 
a  rug,  and  sent  away  to  warm  himself. 

Prince   Tzereteleff   crossed    over   in  the 
skiff  to  arrange  about  the  bridge,  and  in  a 
few  moments  there  was  a  rope  sent  across, 
and  a  rude  ferry  established.  •  Mr.  Petline 
the  delegate  of  the  Princess  Imperial  Red 
Cross  Society    was  the  only  engineer  who 
happened  to  be  present,  and  he  undertook 
immediately   the  building  of  a  solid  struc 
ture  out  of  railway  iron  and  planks.     The 
Bulgarians  were   in  a  state  of  the  greatest 
excitement ;  most  of  them  were  armed,  and 
those  who  came  over  in  the  skiff  so  far  lost 
their  heads  as  to  rush  down  to  the  water's 
edge  and  take    deliberate   aim   at   Princo 
Izereteleff,  who  was  walkino-,  in  hjs  Cir 
cassian  costume,  among  the^people  on  the 
opposite  shore,  and  they  would  have  fired  if 
they    had  not    been  suddenly   brought  to 
their  senses       This  was  the  first  time  the 
Turks  had  taken  the  trouble  to  hinder  the 
Russian  advance  by  burning  a  bridge,  and 
the  Bulgarians  began  to  construct  a  foot- 
bridge on  the  bases  of  the  piers,  and  a  few 
enterprising  boat-builders  soon  began  ham- 
mering away  in  a  lively  manner  on  some 
scows  they  were  making  to  serve  as  a  ferry. 
One  ford  was  tried  ;   but  several  men  got  a 
ducking,  and  one  horseman  was  swept  down 
s  ream.     Before  long,  however,  a  shallower 
place   was   found,   and   the  crossing  was  at 
ast  effected,  with  the  ice  knocking  against 
the  horses  shoulders  and  the  saddle-flips. 

When  Prince   Tzereteleff  came  into  the 
town,  he  found  only  two  or  three  maraudin.^ 
soldiers  there  for  the  dragoons  were  alread? 
off  to  new  fields,  and  he  constituted  himself 
a  special  police  force  to  stop  pillaging  until 
enough  soldiers  crossed    to  form%  patrol. 
In  the  Stafford  House  hospital  there  were 
two  of  the  Stafford  House  committee-men, 
neither    of    them     Englishmen,    and   two 
young  English  doctors  in  the  Turkish  ser- 
vice.      Ihe    hospital    was    nearly   full   of 
wounded  Turks,  and  all  the  available  force 
was  employed  in  bringing  them  up  from  the 
station    where  they  had  been  starving  for 
days     huddled    together    in   a   temporary 
wooden  building,   without  attendant.^  with 
neither  food  nor  water.     Many  of  them  had 
died  of  starvation  and  neglect,  and  the  rest 
were  m  a  miserable  state  altogether.    The 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[BULGARIANS  AGAIN. 


single  word  "ekmek"  (bread)  caused  a 
general  cry  of  joy.  A  hundred  bony  hands 
were  stretched  out ;  sunken  eyes  glittered 
with  delight ;  those  strong  enough  to  move, 
raised  themselves  on  their  elbows,  and 
begged  for  a  morsel.  While  the  biscuit  was 
circulating,  one  after  another  of  the  poor 
wretches  held  out  a  water-jug  or  a  canteen, 
for  there  was  not  a  drop  of  water  in  the 
place,  and  had  not  been  all  day. 

The  sound  of  wrangling,  and  blows  of 
axes  close  by,  betrayed  to  the  experienced 
ears  of  the  Daily  News  correspondent,  that 
the  beautiful  Bulgarians  were  at  their  usual 
work.  There  was  a  whole  crowd  of  them, 
who  had  got  into  the  store-room  of  the 
hospital,  where  medicines  in  bulk  and  a  few 
provisions,  like  rice  and  butter,  were  kept, 
and  were  smashing  things  right  and  left, 
and  fighting  among  themselves  for  the  loot. 
They  scattered  when  the  correspondent 
came  upon  them  in  the  twilight,  but  he 
halted  there  as  many  of  them  as  he  could 
surround,  and  herded  them  into  the  hospital, 
loaded  them  with  jugs  and  canteens,  and 
started  them  for  water. 

There  was  considerable  firing  still  going 
on  at  no  great  distance,  just  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  spring,  and  the  Bulgarians  were 
not  ambitious  to  distinguish  themselves 
under  fire ;  but  having  noticed  the  muzzle 
of  an  easy-acting  revolver  looking  for  some 
one  in  their  vicinity,  they  thought  the 
safest  plan  was  to  bring  the  water,  and  did 
so  in  haste.  But  one  of  them  had  a  half 
revenge  later  in  the  evening ;  for  as  the 
correspondent  was  passing  an  open  space  in 
the  street,  he  heard  a  splutter  and  a  bang, 
and  then  a  whiz  close  to  his  head,  and  it 
was  evident  that  some  one  had  sighted  him 
with  an  old  flint-lock.  He  did  not  find  the 
fellow,  and  thought  it  prudent  not  to  make 
too  careful  a  search  for  him,  for  there  were 
probably  a  couple  of  horse-pistols  and  a 
yataghan  in  the  would-be  assassin's  sash, 
and  he  had  the  advantage  of  being  in 
ambush. 

Meantime,  after  the  Turks  had  abandoned 
Philippopoli,  they  took  up  a  position  under 
Fuad  Pasha,  a  few  miles  south  of  the  city, 
to  cover  their  retreat  to  join  the  fugitive 
armv  of  Suleiman  Pasha,  which  had  sue- 
ceeded  in  effecting  its  escape  along  the 
Stanimaka  road  into  the  Rhodope,  or 
Despoto  Dagh. 

The  battle-field  was  not  more  than  an 
hour's  ride  distant  from  Philippopoli,  and 
from  a  neighbouring  mound  the  fight  could 

VOL.  UI.  2  S 


be  plainly  seen.  The  Turks  were  firing 
from  the  vineyard  terraces  at  the  foot  of 
the  hills,  and  waves  of  musketry  swept 
from  one  end  of  the  line  to  the  other.  But 
the  rifle-fire  was  not  the  hottest  where  the 
sharpest  work  was  going  on,  for  the  Turks 
charged  impetuously  down  the  slopes,  and 
bayonets  and  sabres  were  crossed  in  hand- 
to-hand  fight.  In  point  of  fact,  the  Turks 
were  fairly  at  bay ;  for  after  slipping  away 
between  the  columns  of  Schilder-Schuldner 
and  Weliaminoff,  they  had  halted,  completely 
exhausted,  on  the  hill-sides  south  of.the  city. 
Dondeville  had  hurried  up  across  the  Ma- 
ritza  and  flanked  them  on  the  right,  Schou- 
valoff  and  Schilder-Schuldner  were  pushing 
them  in  front,  and  Weliaminoff  was  crowd- 
ing them  on  the  left.  Behind  them  were 
the  bleak  mountains ;  on  three  sides  of  them' 
an  enterprising,  fearless,  tireless  enemy ; 
and  they  resisted  in  their  last  ditch  with 
desperation,  fighting  like  lions  in  their 
lairs. 

The  whole  of  January  16th  the  fight  con- 
tinued without  intermission,  the  Russians 
gradually  gaining  ground  as  fresh  forces 
came  up,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  eigh- 
teen cannon,  through  a  flank  movement 
carried  out  by  General  Dondeville,  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  January  I7th.  The  Turks 
charged  down  the  slope  with  the  bayonet  in 
a  mad  endeavour  to  recapture  the  eighteen 
cannon  left  in  Dondeville's  hands  the  day 
before.  One  of  the  commanders  rushed 
into  the  thick  of  the  fight  with  Dondeville's 
troops,  was  surrounded,  and  is  reported  to 
have  killed  and  wounded  seventeen  Russians 
with  his  own  sword  before  he  was  finally 
cut  down.  But  this  headlong  assault  was 
stoutly  resisted.  General  Krasnoff  especially 
distinguished  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
brigade  of  the  3rd  division ;  and  that  day 
twelve  additional  cannon  were  abandoned 
by  the  Turks  as  they  retreated  sullenly 
from  one  terrace  to  another ;  and  when, 
after  a  most  heroic  and  hopeless  resistance, 
the  disorganised,  exhausted,  famished,  half- 
frozen  remnant  of  an  army  could  hold  a 
bold  front  no  longer,  it  broke  up  into  small 
bands,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  dispersed 
back  in  the  mountains,  leaving  the  remain- 
ing twenty  cannon  on  the  field. 

This  was  the  last  stand  made  by  the 
Turks  aoainst  General  Gourko's  victorious 
forces.  Further  east.  General  Radetzki  and 
Skobeloff,  hearing  of  the  proximity  of 
General  Gourko  to  Philippopoli,  had  turned 
their  backs  upon  that  city  and  proceeded 

309 


.  ' 


THE  VALLEY  OF  DEATH.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


rA.D.  1878. 


\ 


to  Adrianople,  which  was  occupied  by  their 
forces  on  January  20th. 

The  news  of  the  collapse  of  the  Ottoman 
army  soon  spread  over  the  country;   and 
abandoned  to   the    mercy    of  Eussian  and 
Bulgarian — Christians — the  Moslem  popu- 
lation, knowing  that  they  would  seek   for 
justice,  pity,  or  generosity  in  these  quarters 
in  vain,  thought  but  of  escaping  from  their 
invaded  homes.  All  the  way  from  Philippo- 
poli  to  Hermanli,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles 
on  the  road  to  Adrianople,  the  road  was 
strewn  with  the  household  goods  of  many 
thousand    families    and     many    thousand 
bodies.     It  was  one  ghastly,  sickening  pano- 
rama of  death  in  every  form,  and  of  such 
colossal  proportions  and  horrible  character, 
that  it  was  quite  impossible  for  any  one 
who  had  not  witnessed  part  of  it,  to  conceive, 
in  the  most  moderate  degree,  the  nature  of 
the  diabolical  drama. 

It  was  along  this  road    that  the   great 
mass  of  the  Turkish  families  fled  from  the 
villages  at  the  approach  of  the  Russians. 
Fugitives  from  the   entire  territory,  from 
Plevna    to   Philippopoli,   were  for   weeks, 
and   even   months,  endeavouring  to  make 
their  way  to  Constantinople,  the  haven  safe 
from  the  pursuit  of  the  Muscovite.     How 
many  thousand  families  had  gained  the  vi- 
cinity of  Stamboul  before  the  rapid  advance 
of  the  Russians  it  is  impossible  to  estimate. 
It  is  certain  that  the  long  trains  of  fngitives 
blocked  all  the  roads  of  the  Turkish  retreat, 
and  seriously  hindered  and  even  stopped 
the  march  of  the  troops.     After  the  invest- 
ment of  Plevna,  and  even  before,  there  was 
a  general  exodus  to  the  southward  from  all 
the  towns  threatened  by  the  Russians,  and 
hundreds  of   trains   concentrated  by  con- 
verging routes  in  the  valley  of  the  Maritza, 
the  tide  being  naturally  directed  towards 
Constantinople.   As  the  Russians  advanced, 
they  never  found  any  Turkish  families  in 
any  of  the  villages;  and  it  had  been  a  long- 
unanswered  question  what  had  become  of 
the  population ;    but  a  journey  along  the 
road  from  Philippopoli   to  Hermanli,  de- 
picted,   in   part,    the   sufferings   of  these 
people,  and  furnished  some  adequate  idea 
of  the  multitude  of  the  Mussulman  inhabit- 
ants  who    fled   panic-stricken   before   the 
Russians  and  Bulgarians. 

As  the  Russians  left  the  rocky  hills  and 
picturesque  city  of  Philippopoli  on  the 
morning  of  the  23rd,  and  rode  eastward 
along  tlae  road,  the  first  thing  that  met 
their  eyes  was  a  number  of  bodies  of  Turk- 
310  * 


ish  soldiers  lying  in  the  road,  crushed  by 
the  wheels  of  passing  artillery,  and  trampled 
into  the  mud  by  the  feet  of  many  horses. 
Before  they  had  gone  half-a-dozen  kilome- 
tres, the  corpses  of  peasants,  both  Turkish 
and  Bulgarian,  were  to  be  seen  lying  on  the 
snow,  and  some  of  them  had  already  been 
exposed  to  the  weather  for  two  or  three 
weeks.     Some  had  blood-stains  still  fresli 
on  their  garments.     Dead  horses  and  cattle 
blocked  the  path  at  every  few  steps,  averag- 
ing two  to  the  distance  between  the  tele- 
graph posts ;  and  as  one  went  further  and 
further  away  from   the   city  the  number 
rapidly  increased,  and  hundreds  of  aban- 
doned arabas  stood  in  the  road,  and  choked 
the  ditches  alongside. 

The  road,  too  narrow  for  the  immense 
trains  that  had  passed  over  it  in  hasty  flight, 
was  supplemented  by  beaten  tracks  through 
the  rice-fields  on  each  side;  and  there  were 
traces  of  bivouacs  in  the  snow,  which  be- 
came more  and  more  frequent,  until  these 
side-paths  were  almost  literally  carpeted 
with  the  debris  of  camps,  and  lay  between 
rows  of  dead  animals,  broken  arabas,  piles 
of  rags  and  cast-off  clothing,  and  human 
bodies,  for  thirty-five  miles  of  the  whole  of 
the  first  day's  ride  from  Philippopoli. 

There  were  bodies  of  Bulgarian  peasants 
with     terrible    wounds    in   the   head   and 
neck,  sometimes  mutilated  and  disfigured ; 
women  and  infants,  children  and  old  men[ 
both  Turkish  and  Bulgarian,  fallen  in  the 
fields  by  the  road-side,  half  buried  in  the 
snow,  or  lying  in  pools  of  water.    It  seemed 
to  have  been  one  long  battle  between  the 
peasants  of  both  races,  in  which  the  dead 
were  counted  equally  for  each  ;  but  while 
many  of  the  bodies  bore  marks  of  violence 
and  showed  ghastly  wounds,  the  great  pro- 
portion of  the   women    and  children  were 
evidently  frozen  to  death,  for  they  lay  on 
the  snow  as  if  asleep,  with  the  flush  of  life 
still  on  their  faces,  and  the  pink  skin  of 
their  feet  and  hands  still  unblanched.     Side 
by  side  with  these,  many  corpses  of  old  men, 
full  of  dignity  even  in  death,  lay  stark  by 
the  road-side,  their  white  beards  clotted  with 
blood,  and  their  helpless  hands  fallen  upon 
their  breasts.     From  the  muddy  water  of 
the  ditches  tiny  hands  and  feet  stretched 
out,  and  baby  faces  half  covered  with  snow 
looked  out  innocently  and  peacefully,  with 
scarcely  a  sign  of  suffering  on  their  features. 
Frozen  at  their  mothers'  breasts,  they  were 
thrown  down  into  the  snow  to  lighten  the 
burden  of  the  poor  creatures  who  were  strut^- 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,    [russo-bulgar  christianttt. 


gling  along  in  mortal  terror,  but  soon  after- 
wards to  be  frozen  to  death  in  the  severe 
weather,  for  they  had  been  travelling   in 
miserable  arabas  without   food  or  shelter, 
and  with  half-starved  oxen.     Miles  of  these 
araba  trains  were  passed  on  the  road,  human 
beings  and   household  effects  jumbled  in 
promiscuously.      Upon    the   jolting    carts 
bedding  and  utensils  were  piled.     Women 
and  children  upon  donkeys  and  cattle  fol- 
lowed alongside;  and  behind,  for  miles,  was 
a  long  trail  of  wretched,  weary,  half-dead 
stragglers ;  old  men  and  women  bent  double, 
crawling  along  with  the  aid  of  crutches  or 
sticks;     mothers    with    infants    at    their 
breasts,  scarcely  moving  one  foot  before  the 
other — all  this  after  long  months  of  flight, 
constant   exposure,     continuous    dread    of 
marauders,     and    the     hated    Muscovites. 
There  was  one  mother  leading  along  a  sick 
child  of  perhaps  ten  years,  a  mile  or  more 
behind  one  of  these  trains.     The  poor  girl 
could  with  difficulty  balance  herself  on  her 
naked,  half-frozen  feet.    Night  was  coming 
on,  and  the  cold  wind  that  chilled   even 
men  in  their  warm  clothing,  blew  about  the 
rags  from  the  suff'ering  creature,  disclosing 
emaciated  limbs  and  skeleton  body.     The 
mother  was  in  quite  as  pitiable  a  condition. 
Her  face  and  head  alone  were  well  wrapped 
up.     The  araba  train   was  moving  slowly 
out  of  sight  on  the  distant  hills.     A  night 
on  the  road  meant  death  to  both  these  un- 
fortunates,   and   their    straggling    friends 
could  give  them  no  assistance,  because  they 
were  for  the  most  part  in  a  similar  state  of 
misery.     The  mother  dragged  her  little  one 
along,  fast  losing  patience  as  the  darkness 
came  on,  and  finally  pushed  the  sick  child 
into  the  snow  by  the  road-side,  and  hurried 
on  without  looking  behind  her.     This  was 
one  of  a  series  of  similar  scenes  that  were 
enacted  before  the  very  eyes  of  the  Russians. 
At  Kuru  Tchesme,  half-way  to  Hermanli, 
there  was  nothing  but  a  collection  of  empty 
buildings  and  barn-yards.     Like  the  rest  of 
the  towns  and  villages  on  the  road,  it  had 
suffered  first  from  the  exodus  of  the  fugi- 
tives, who  had  pillaged  on  all  sides ;  next 
from  the   Bashi-Bazouks  and    Circassians, 
who  had  plundered  and  murdered  ;  and  last 
from  the  Russian  cavalry,  who  had  pretty 
well  eaten  the  place  bare.     Few  inhabitants 
remained  in  the  village.    All  was  despoiled. 
Even  the  priest,  who  always  had  something 
if  there  was  anything  in  the  town,  lived  be- 
tween bare   walls,   had    no   carpets,  rugs, 
bedding,  or  provisions.      But  priests  and 


Bulgarians  were  on  the  look  out ;  and  when 
the  head  of  a  long  train  of  returning  Turkish 
refugee  families  appeared  in  the  main  streat 
of  the  village,  there  followed  a  scene  which 
is  painful  in  the  last  degree  to  describe. 
The  Bulgarians  gathered  on  the  side  of  the 
street  in  knots  of  three  or  four,  waited 
calmly  until  the  miserable  train  had  got 
well  into  the  village,  when,  from  every 
direction,  they  pounced  upon  the  exhausted, 
defenceless  Turks,  and  began  to  carry  off 
their  household  effects,  and  even  the  cattle 
from  the  carts. 

One  poor  woman,  leading  an  ass  piled  up 
with  bedding,  and  a  child  on  the  top,  found 
her  property  distributed  among  half-a-dozen 
stahvart  ruffians  in  a  twinkling,  and  the 
little  infant  on  the  ground  in  the  mud.  The 
old  men  and  women  clung  to  their  only 
treasures,  while  the  Bulgarians  dragged 
them  away.  Children  yelled  with  fright, 
and  panic  reigned,  which  started  the  slowly- 
moving  caravan  into  a  quick  march.  All 
this  went  on  before  Greneral  Grourko  was  out 
of  sight  of  the  town.  So  much  for  Russian 
protection  ! 

From  Kuru  Tchesme  to  Haskoi  the 
corpses  were  more  numerous,  if  anything, 
than  on  the  route  of  the  day  before.  The 
village  was  full  of  dead  Turkish  peasants  ; 
and  on  asking  the  Bulgarians  who  killed 
them,  they  replied,  with  a  great  deal  of 
effusion  and  fiendish  pride — "  We  did  it. 
We  and  our  friends  did  it." 

In  Haskoi  there  were  bodies  of  Turkish 
soldiers  in  the  streets  nearly  buried  under 
heaps  of  stones  and  bricks,  suggesting  that, 
after  being  wounded  and  unable  to  move 
away,  they  had  been  stoned  to  death  by  the 
peasants ;  and  here  also  were  hundreds  of 
Turkish  families  who,  without  arabas  or 
beasts  of  burden,  had  taken  shelter  in  the 
deserted  houses. 

Inquiring  of  one  of  these  families  where 
they  had  come  from,  they  said  that  they  had 
left  Plevna  five  months  ago,  and  since  that 
time  they  had  been  on  the  road,  and  for  the 
past  few  weeks  in  a  great  camp,  further  on 
towards  Hermanli.  For  many  days  they 
had  been  entirely  without  bread  or  even 
Indian  corn,  and  had  existed  solely  on  the 
flesh  of  the  cattle  that  fell  on  the  road. 
When  some  bread  was  given  to  them,  they 
ate  it  like  starved  creatures,  crying  for  joy. 
The  grandmother,  father,  and  mother  with 
an  infant  at  the  breast,  and  a  small  boy  of 
ten  years,  had  not  a  single  shoe  between 
them,  and  their  only  baggage  consisted  of  a 

311 


p «- 1 


»JS 


.•  \\ 


\ 


4  H 


"  DAILY  NEWSIANTTY."] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


few  old  torn  bed-quilts,  and  a  kettle  to  boil 
meat  in.  They  were  in  great  distress  of 
mind,  because  the  house  they  occupied  did 
not  belong  to  them ;  and  not  having  any 
means  of  transport,  they  were  unable  to  pro- 
ceed further  until  fine  weather  should  begin. 

At  every  step  beyond  Haskoi,  General 
Gourko  met  new  and  more  horrifying 
scenes  on  his  triumphal  march ;  man  and 
wife  lying,  side  by  side,  on  the  same  blanket, 
with  two  children  curled  up  on  the  snow 
near,  all  frozen  dead ;  old  men  with  their 
heads  half  cut  off;  and  on  each  side  of  the 
road,  broad  continuous  bivouacs  deserted  in 
haste,  strewn  with  household  effects.  For 
many  miles,  carpets,  bedding,  and  clothing 
had  been  trampled  into  the  mud.  The 
highway  was  literally  paved  with  bundles, 
cushions,  blankets,  and  every  imaginable 
article  of  household  use.  Broken  arabas, 
too,  began  to  multiply ;  and  near  the  little 
village  of  Tirali,  on  either  side  of  the  road, 
there  was  a  perfect  forest  of  wheels,  reach- 
ing to  the  river  on  the  right,  and  spreading 
away  up  the  hill-sides  on  the  left.  Several 
dead  Turkish  soldiers,  and  one  or  two  Rus- 
sians, showed  that  there  had  been  a  little 
skirmish  there ;  and  the  general  and  his 
staff  rode  into  the  midst  of  the  great  deserted 
bivouac,  the  horses  walking  on  rich  carpets 
and  soft  draperies,  all  crushed  and  trampled 
in  the  mud. 

The  scene  was  at  once  unique  in  its 
general  aspect,  terribly  impressive,  eloquent 
of  suffering  and  disaster  to  innocent  people. 
Hundreds  of  acres  were  covered  with  house- 
hold goods.  The  bivouac  reached  all  along 
the  river  bank,  following  the  windings  of 
the  road,  over  the  hill,  and  across  the  fields 
where  the  road  made  a  sharp  turn,  for  a 
distance  of  at  least  three  miles,  and  of  vary- 
ing width.  Over  this  great  tract  the  arabas 
stood  as  closely  as  they  could,  with  their 
oxen  placed  together. 

The  frames  of  the  carts  were,  in  most 
cases,  broken  to  pieces.  Sick  cattle  wan- 
dered listlessly  about  among  the  wheels. 
Corpses  of  men,  women,  and  children  lay 
about  near  every  araba,  and  the  whole 
ground  was  carpeted  with  clothing,  kitchen 
utensils,  books,  and  bedding. 

It  was  a  pitiable  sight  to  see  an  old, 
grey-bearded  Turk  lying  with  his  open 
Koran  beside  him,  splashed  with  blood 
from  ghastly  gashes  in  his  bared  throat. 
Bundles  of  rags  and  clothes  nearly  all  held 
dead  babies.  Crowds  of  Bulgarians  swarmed 
in  this  great  avenue  of  death  and  desola- 
312 


[A.D.  1878. 

tion,  choosing  the  best  of  the  carts,  and 
carrying  away  great  loads  of  copper  vessels, 
which  lay  about  in  profusion,  and  mud- 
soiled  bedding,  with  no  more  respect  for 
the  dead  than  for  the  rags  they  lay  on. 
These  scavengers  would  drive  their  carts 
across  the  heads  of  dead  women  and  old 
men  without  even  a  glance  of  curiosity  at 
the  bodies  ! 

At  least  500  dead  lay  in  the  bivouac ; 
no  less  than  15,000  carts  had  halted  there, 
large  as  the  number  may  seem  ;  and  at  least 
75,000  people  had  deserted  the  whole  of 
their  possessions,  and  had  run  away  with 
only  what  they  could  carry  in  their  hands. 
Even  General  Gourko  and  his  staff  were 
sickened  by  the  continuation  of  the  ghastly 
panorama  for  so  many  hours,  and  rode  on 
to  Hermanli,  not  leaving  the  last  of  the 
horribly  mutilated  corpses  until  they  reached 
the  very  edge  of  the  village. 

At  Hermanli  they  learned,  for  the  first 
time,  the  story  of  the  bivouac.     It  seems 
that  the  advance  of  the  cavalry  had  been 
checked,  at  different  villages  on  the  roads,  by 
the  very  determined  resistance  of  the  armed 
population,  who  fought  with  fury.     There 
were  seven  repetitions   of  the  little  scene 
which    occurred    near    Philippopoli,  where 
the    inhabitants     fled    with    the    Turkish 
soldiers,  and  men  and  women   fired  volleys 
upon  the  Russians.     The  correspondent  of 
the  Daily  News  describes  this  little  scene 
as  follows :— "  At  Derbent,  a  short  distance 
on  the  road  between  Philippopoli  and  Her- 
manli,  when  the  Russian  cavalry  entered 
after   a    sharp    little   skirmish,  they   were 
fired  upon,  and  several  killed  and  wounded, 
from  a  little  stone   house.     All   efforts  to 
parley  with  the  Turks  concealed  there  re- 
sulted in  loss  of  life;  and  at  last,  after  several 
peasants  had  been  shot  in  the  attempt  to 
persuade  the  inmates  to  surrender,  cannon 
were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  house,  and 
shells  exploded  inside,  which  set  it  on  fire. 
The  defenders  were  driven  out,  and  advanced 
upon  the  mass  of  soldiers,  firing  as  they 
came.     Of  course,  they  were  shot  immedi- 
ately."— From  this  description  one  would 
think  that  at  least  some  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  had  thus  been  keeping 
the  Russians  at  bay.    But  the  corresponden't 
goes  on,  in  the  most  innocent  way,  to  say — 
"  There  were  only  three  peasants  in  all  who 
made    this    desperate    resistance    in    their 
fortress.      This   incident   shows   the   spirit 
that   animated    the    Turks    to    resist    the 
advance  of  the  Russians ;  and  the  history  of 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [advance  on  erzeroum. 


the  great  bivouac  proves  the  extent  and 
force  of  the  panic  which  seized  those  who 
ran  away."  He  then  continues  to  describe 
the  attack  made  on  the  bivouac  :— "  When 
the  Russian  cavalry  came  in  sight  of  the 
bivouac  there  were  one  or  two  battalions  of 
Turkish  infantrv  stationed  there  as  rear- 
guard,  but  they  dispersed  and  retired  with 
little  attempt  at  resistance,  and  a  squadron 
was  sent  into  the  great  assembly  of  waggons 
to  find  out  what  it  was.  They  rode  on 
without  receiving  a  single  shot  until  they 
were  right  alongside,  and  within  a  very  few 
paces  of  the  train  of  arabas  occupying  the 
road,  when,  from  behind  these  waggons,  out 
from  under  the  rude  coverings,  and  from  all 
sides,  came  a  rattling  volley,  which  emptied 
some  saddles.  Then  it  became  evident  that 
a  ferocious  resistance  was  to  be  made,  so  this 
squadron  retired,  and  preparations  were 
made  to  attack  the  collection  of  waggons, 
for  it  sheltered  not  only  the  rear-guard,  \)\it 
also  no  one  knew  how  many  armed  peasants ; 
but  before  the  attack  began  in  earnest  the 
panic  caught  in  the  bivouac  and  spread  like 
wildfire.  The  immense  band  of  refugees 
ran  away  with  the  soldiers  to  the  mountains, 
leaving  cattle,  carts,  and  all  their  movables 
which  they  could  not  seize  upon  at  the 
moment."  It  need  only  be  pointed  out 
that,  in  one  breath,  it  is  stated  that  the 
rear-guard  had  retired  from,  and  in  the  uext 
that  it  had  taken  shelter  in,  the  bivouac ! 
He  then  continues : — "  The  cause  of  the 
panic  was  the    appearance    of  SkobelofiPs 


cavalry  in  the  valley  of  the  Maritza,  in 
front  of  the  bivouac.  The  result  of  it  was 
doubtless  the  death  of  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  Turkish  peasants,  who  are  now  in  the 
mountains  without  clothing  or  food.  Still, 
another  result  of  the  flight  is  the  enrich- 
ment of  all  the  Bulgarians  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, for  the  smoke  of  the  first  firing 
had  not  cleared  away  when  these  ever- 
watchful  individuals  pounced  down  upon  all 
the  cattle  the  soldiers  did  not  drive  off,  and 
carried  away  hundreds  of  carts  laden  with 
plunder." 

This  description  is  a  model  of  disin- 
genuousness  and  unscrupulous  partisanship. 
There  were  over  500  dead  lying  in  the 
deserted  bivouac  when  the  correspondent  of 
the  Daily  News  was  there ;  yet  he  states 
that  only  a  "  few  saddles  of  the  Russian 
squadron  were  emptied,  and  that  before  the 
attack  began  in  earnest,  the  panic  caught 
like  wildfire,  and  the  refugees  ran  away  into 
the  mountains  with  the  soldiers."  How, 
then,  does  he  account  for  the  500  dead 
bodies?  Comment  is  rendered  superfluous 
by  the  report  of  the  official  commission  in 
August,  1878,  which  entirely  bears  out  the 
view  we  have  taken  of  the  affair.  In 
short,  of  the  75,000  people,  only  a  few 
thousands  with  their  arabas  were  turned 
back  towards  their  homes  by  the  Russians. 
The  rest  escaped  from  the  horrors  of  the 
road  between  Philippopoli  and  Hermanli, 
which  should  bear  for  all  time  the  name 
of  the  Road  of  the  Dead. 


V 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


THB  ADVANCE  ON  EEZEROUM. 


After  the  battle  of  Aladja  Dagh,  as  already 
recounted,  Mukhtar  Pasha  ordered  Ismail 
Pasha  to  fall  back  from  his  positions  at 
Igdir  and  Bayazet,  and  join  him  at  Hassan 
Kaleh,  in  order  to  assist  in  the  defence  of 
the  Deve  Boyun  Pass,  leading  to  Erzeroum. 
Ismail  at  once  complied  with  this  order, 
and  set  off  with  his  Kurds,  followed  step 
by  step  by  General  Tergukassoff,  whilst 
Mukhtar  Pasha  himself,  with  the  remnant 
of  his  troops,  was  pursued  by  General 
Heimann,   who  effected  his  junction  with 


Tergukassoff  at  Koprikoi,  five-and-tweiity 
miles  east  of  Erzeroum. 

The  Russians  lost  no  time  in  following 
up  the  track  of  the  Turks,  and  found  them 
intrenched  in  very  strong  positions  on  the 
Deve  Boyun  heights,  guarding  the  pass  to 
Erzeroum  from  the  east.  But,  strong  as 
were  the  positions,  the  Turks  were  not  in  a 
state  to  defend  them.  Mukhtar  Pasha's 
and  Ismail  Pasha's  men  were  thoroughly 
demoralised  by  their  precipitate  flight  and 
the    disaster  at  Aladja  Dagh,   whilst  the 

313 


<V.,i 


THE  RETREAT.! 


HISTORY  OF  TRE 


fresh  troops  from  Erzeroura  were  more  or 
less     panic-stricken    by    the     exaggerated 
accounts  of  the  hopeless  condition  of  things. 
And  scarcely  had  they  heard  of  the    full 
extent  of  the  catastrophe  when  they  found 
the  Kussians  already  upon  them  at  their 
very  gates.     All  this,  apart  from  the  fact 
that  men  never  fight  so  well  in  the  open 
when  they  know  they  have  stone  walls  and 
their  houses  behind  them,   contributed  to 
make  the  defence  of  the  Deve  Boyun  a  for- 
lorn hope.     Not  that  the  men  did  not  fight 
well  and  hold  their  ground  bravely  enough 
when  face  to  face  with  the  enemy ;  but  "as 
soon  as  they  saw  that  they  were  being  out- 
generaled, as  usual,  and  their  flanks  turned, 
as   usual,   they  lost   heart;    and  after   an 
obstmate    combat,    as   long   as    it   lasted. 


[A.D.  1877. 

closed  by  the  heights  of  the  Deve  Boyun 
which  curve  round  in  the  south  into  the 
Palentuken   Dagh,   a  range   of  mountains 
much  cut  up  into  ravines  and  defiles,  run- 
nmg  south  and  west.     North  of  the  valley 
are  the  Kara  Kayalar  Dagh  and  the  Dumly 
i^5^>i.^°^  i"  the  west  are  the  heights  of 
feogudli    separated  from   the   crest  of  the 
^?^^."^.'^,H^^  I^agh  by  two  deep  ravines  south 
otfeogudli  and  Ozbek  respectively;  whilst 
on  the  north-east  lies,  in  a   commanding 
position,  the  village  of  Ilidja,  on  the  high- 
road from  Erzeroum  to  Trebizonde,  Tokat 
and  Erzingian,  and  opposite  to  it,  on  the' 
slopes  of  the  Kara  Kayalar,  the  village  of 
Cxbushni,  m  a  similar  position. 

Now  the  Kussians  were  in  this  difficulty  •— 
They  had  not  sufficient  men  to  surround 


Kara  Kayalar  Dagh. 


Domly  Dagh. 


L 


To  Tokat    ^        < 1 


o  Ghushni. 
To  Baiburt.  Mudurga.  o 

River  Euphrates. 


I 


r   -i 


< 


}- 


To  £r»ingian, ^_ 


o  So^dli, 
Ravine. 


s 


o     Ilidja. 


Gian.  o 


I 


-O- 


Erzeroum. 


■■  A^ 


8 


(ft 


a 

9 


o  Zerdige. 


Ozbek.  o 
Ravine. 


I 


Palentuken  Dagh. 


I 


1  — Deve  Boyun  Pass, 
—  ■  ■'  Roads. 

Mukhtar  Pasha  was  obliged  to  give  up  the 
pass  and  fly  to  the  town  behind  him,  leav- 
ing nothing  on  the  east  between  him  and 
the  victorious  Russians  but  the  crumbling 
walls  of  Erzeroum  and  the  forts  on  the  Top 
Dagh,  between  the  town  and  the  Deve 
Boyun  Pass. 

This  took  place  on  November  4th,  and 
Erzeroum  literally  lay  at  the  feet  of  the 
Kussians.  But  between  that  and  entering 
It  was  a  long  step,  and  this  step  was  not  so 
easy  to  take,  for  many  reasons. 

The  above  sketch  gives  a  graphic  pic- 
ture of  the  town  and  its  surroundings. 
Erzeroum,  it  will  there  be  seen,  lies  some- 
what south  of  the  river  Euphrates,  in  a 
swampy  valley,  through  which  onlv  a  few 
good  roads  run.  In  the  east  this  valley  is 
.       314  ^ 


on     Tttrks. 
^S    Russians. 

Erzeroum,  nor  even  to  attack  it  simultane- 
ously north,  east,  and  south.     They  mi^ht, 
mdeed,  have  succeeded  in  carrying  it  by 
assault  from  one  point,  but  it  would  have 
been  at  a  great  loss,  and  the  instructions 
both  commanders  had  were  not  to  risk  any 
great   loss   if  avoidable.     But,  apart  from 
this  and  supposing  they  had  succeeded  in 
capturing  the  town,  they  had  not  sufficient 
men  to  hold  it  and  carry  on  active  opera- 
tions in  the  field  at  the  same  time  against 
the  army,  which  would  have  left  the  town  by 
the  western  gates  as  soon  as  they  entered  it 
by  the  eastern  gates,  and,  in   truth,  have 
beset  them  themselves  in  Erzeroum— thus 
besieging  the  victorious  enemy,  in  turn,  in 
the  very  scene  of  his  success.     Kars,  it  must 
be  remembered,  had  not  yet  fallen,  so  there 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[ERZEROmr. 


was  no  knowing  wlien  the  reinforcements 
could  arrive  which  were  held  in  check  by 
this  Asiatic  Plevna  in  miniature. 

If,  however,  it  had  been  possible  to  carry 
the  town  by  a  cowp  de  main  with  a  small 
force,  and  oblige  Mukhtar  Pasha  to  abandon 
it  with  his  army,  the  Russians  would  have 
been  able  to  move  the  whole  of  their  forces 
westwards,  and  camp  at  the  key  of  the 
western  approach  to  Erzeroum,  at  Ilidja, 
or  even  follow  up  Mukhtar  to  Erzingian  or 
Baiburt,  or  to  whatever  other  point  he 
might  fall  back  upon.  In  short,  the  only 
feasible  project,  under  the  circumstances, 
was  for  the  Russians  to  frighten  the  Turks 
out  of  the  town  by  a  surprise,  and  follow 
them  up  whilst  the  panic  lasted.  This  was, 
in  fact,  the  plan  they  adopted,  in  spite  of 
the  reports  and  rumours  industriously  set 
afloat,  both  in  Europe  and  in  Asia,  to  the 
effect  that  Mukhtar  Pasha  intended  to 
convert  Erzeroum  into  a  second  Plevna. 

But  to  have  done  this,  other  than  dis- 
organised troops  were  requisite ;  and  the 
simple  matter  of  fact  is,  that  the  defeat  of 
the  Turks  in  the  action  on  the  Deve  Boyun 
on  the  4th  November,  resulting  in  the  loss 
of  thirty-six  cannon,  was  scarcely  less  disas- 
trous than  the  defeat  before  Kars.  A  com- 
plete panic,  with  the  consequent  losses,  took 
place,  and  was  not  allayed  till  the  fortifica- 
tions round  Erzeroum  inspired  the  fugitives 
with  a  certain  sense  of  safety.  Everything 
was  in  the  most  fearful  confusion.  The  only 
person  who  kept  his  senses  at  all  about  him 
was  Sir  Arnold  Kemball.  Regarding  Sir 
Arnold  Kemball,  by  the  way,  a  story 
obtained  currency,  which,  true  or  not  true, 
was  believed  in  by  the  Russians  at  the  time. 
It  is  said  that  Sir  Arnold,  seeing  the 
disastrous  result  of  the  engagement,  rode 
off  in  all  haste  to  Baiburt,  to  inform  the 
commander  of  the  troops  hurrying  up  from 
Trebizonde  o  f  what  had  occurred,  and  to 
prevent  him  from  coming  up  to  Erzeroum, 
thus  enabling  him  to  secure  Mukhtar  Pasha's 
line  of  retreat  should  it  be  necessary  for 
him  to  abandon  Erzeroum. 

Thus,  after  the  action  on  the  Deve  Boyun, 
Erzeroum  was  held  by  one  portion  of 
Mukhtar  Pasha's  and  Ismail  Hakki's  forces ; 
the  rest  were  at  Ilidja  and  Ghushni ;  whilst 
the  reinforcements,  such  as  they  were,  from 
Trebizonde,  had  been  placed  in  positions 
which  would  enable  them,  in  conjunction 
with  Mukhtar  Pasha's  army,  to  bar  the 
enemy's  advance  further  west,  and  prevent 
him  from  descending  into  the  plains  west 


and  north  of  Erzeroum — that  is  to  say,  until 
he  had  seized  the  heights  of  the  Palentuken 
Dagh  and  the  adjoining  hill  up  to  Ilidja,  and 
had  also  occupied  the  slopes  of  Dumly  Dagh 
and  Kara  Kayalar  Dagh  as  far  as  Ghushni. 
The  possession  of  these  two  points,  completely 
commanding  the  road  from  Erzeroum,  was 
absolutely  necessary  before  the  Russians 
could  have   ventured  upon  any  advance. 

Defence  and  attack  were  thus  clearly 
prescribed  by  the  natural  features  of  the 
field.  In  no  case,  perhaps,  could  they  have 
been  more  stringently  laid  down.  A  wide, 
straggling  town,  commanded  east  and  south 
by  high  hills,  protected  in  the  west  and 
north  by  a  belt  of  swampy  ground,  stretch- 
ing for  about  eight  miles  in  either  direction, 
Erzeroum  would  have  required  for  its  in- 
vestment a  far  larger  body  of  troops  than 
the  Russians  disposed  of.  A  line  of  invest- 
ment, to  be  effectual,  would  have  to  stretch 
over  more  than  forty  miles.  Hence,  as  an 
attack  from  the  west,  where  the  town  was 
quite  open,  with  the  exception  of  one  re- 
doubt, would  have  been  impossible  as  long 
as  there  were  sufficient  troops  in  the  rear  at 
Ilidja  or  Baiburt,  it  could  only  be  taken 
from  the  east,  south,  or  north  ;  and  it  was 
Justin  these  directions  that  the  defences — 
redoubts  and  bastions — had  been  erected, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  sketch. 
In  the  north,  barring  the  roads  from  Gian, 
Sheikhmetz,  and  Suk-Tchermuk,  there  were 
three  works — Kavak  Tabia,  Nishan  Tabia, 
and  Medjidieh  Tabia.  In  the  east,  on  either 
side  of  the  road  which  comes  winding  down 
from  the  Deve  Boyun,  and  commanding  it 
for  a  considerable  distance,  were  the  Azizieh 
and  Ahali  Tabias.  These  were  flanked  in 
the  south  by  some  other  works — all  open — 
which  are  not  shown  in  the  sketch — situated 
on  the  terraces  of  the  Palentuken  Dagh.  In 
the  south-west,  where  the  stream  which 
traverses  Erzeroum  enters  the  town,  there 
was  the  Keremen  Tabia ;  and  in  the  west, 
commanding  the  road  from  Trebizonde  and 
Erzingian,  the  Djahabane  Tabia.  Nearly  in 
the  centre  of  the  town  stood  the  citadel,  the 
whole  surrounded  by  an  old  wall,  dating 
from  the  Genoese  occupation,  where  it  had 
not  been  patched  up  by  the  Turks. 

The  course  of  the  combat  on  the  9th  to 
the  10th  of  November  can  be  clearly 
followed  when  bearing  this  situation  in 
mind.  An  attack  from  the  north  was  not 
advisable,  as  General  Komaroff,  demon- 
strating through  the  Tortoum  valley,  had 
other  objects  to  attend  to,  and  would  thus 

315 


ifH 


f 


/^ 


REPULSE  OF  THE  RUSSIANS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


if 


i 


[A.D.  1877. 


have  necessitated  a  change  of  front  on  the 
part  of  Generals  Heimann  and  Tergukassoff, 
which  could  not  be  thought  of.  The  attack, 
therefore,  had  to  be  conducted  on  the  east 
and  south  against  the  Azizieh  and  Ahali 
redoubts.  A  detachment  was  sent  by 
General  Heimann  to  advance  against  the 
Azizieh  redoubt,  and  another  by  General 
Tergukassoff  against  the  Ahali  position. 
But  owing  either  to  one  of  the  columns 
losing  its  way,  as  the  Russians  say,  or  to  the 
determined  defence  of  the  Turks,  the  attack 
was  unsuccessful.  The  course  of  the  action 
was  really  very  simple.     The  eastern  column 


failure  of  the  southern  column  to  carry  out 
its  share  of  the  operations.  Possibly  it  lost 
its  way ;  but  it  is  much  more  likely  that, 
flushed  with  their  success  on  the  Deve 
Boyun,  the  Russians  imagined  that  the 
Turks  were  so  demoralised  that  a  handful 
of  troops  would  suffice  to  carry  the  town, 
force  Mukhtar  J^asha  to  retreat,  and  enable' 
them  to  drive  him  before  them  and  clear 
the  whole  plain  of  his  forces.  But  they 
were  mistaken.  Mukhtar  Pasha  knew  per- 
fectly well  that  the  Russians  had  not  the 
men  to  invest  the  town  completely,  or  cut 
off  his  retreat  to  Ilidja,  and  that  for  some 


Flan  of  Erzeroum  and  Forts. 


Tchenuuk , 


A     >4 


I 

Deve  Boyun. 


>  5 


1 


>  6 


Road  to  Hassan  Kaleh. 

I 


I 


o  Tophale. 


1 — Djahahane  Tabia. 
2—Kavak  Tabia. 
3 — Nishan  Tabia. 
A—Medjidieh  Tabia, 
6 — Azizieh  Tabia. 

successfully  attacked  the  Azizieh  redoubt, 
occupied  it,  and  made  a  number  of  prisoners  ; 
but  the  southern  column — which,  if  any 
column  lost  its  way,  must  have  been  that 
one — failed  to  carry  the  Ahali  position 
which,  flanking  the  Azizieh,  rendered  it  un- 
tenable for  the  Russians,  who,  therefore, 
withdrew  at  dawn  in  the  presence  of  the 
reinforcements  which  had  been  hurried  up, 
and  which  followed  the  retreating  Russians 
till  they  were  thrown  back  on  their  main 
forces  on  the  Deve  Boyun.  In  so  far,  there- 
fore, the  Turks  could  justly  claim  a  victory. 
The  repulse  was,  no  doubt,  due  to  the 
316 


6— Ahali  Tabia. 
7 — Keremen  Tabia. 
8 — Citadel, 
■  Russians. 
Ihtrks. 


time  to  come  his  line  of  march  westward 
would  be  secure.  He  therefore  naturally 
determined  to  throw  as  many  impediments 
in  the  way  of  the  Russians  as  he  could  with- 
out compromising  himself.  At  any  time, 
supposing  the  Russians  attacked  in  force 
from  the  east,  south,  or  immediately  north 
of  Erzeroum,  he  could  fall  back  on  the  posi- 
tions he  had  prepared  in  the  west.  By  this 
means  he  gained  time  for  "something  to 
turn  up." 

Meantime  the  alarm  in  Erzeroum  itself 
was  great.  Cavalry  soldiers,  going  wildly 
about,  informed  the  public  that  the  Russians 


A.D.  1877.1 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  bombardment. 


had  taken  the  Azizieh  Fort.  At  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  enemy  had  stormed  the 
advanced  work  on  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  Top  Dagh.  It  seems  they  surprised 
the  garrison,  and  even  entered  into  the  great 
stone  barracks  amid  the  work ;  for,  after- 
wards, the  Turks  saw  the  broad  scaling- 
ladder  they  had  left  in  the  fosse.  They  had 
surprised  the  sleeping  sentinels  and  got 
into  the  place  before  any  one  was  rightly 
aware  of  what  was  going  on ;  and  it  was  even 
said  that  the  assailing  force,  some  two  com- 
panies of  grenadiers,  wore  fezes  in  order  to 
deceive  the  defenders.  Anyhow,  the  Azizieh 
Fort  was  taken;  and  it  was  only  towards  day- 
break that  Mehemed  Pasha,  the  same  officer 
who  carried  the  Kizil  Tepe,  succeeded  in 
retaking  it.  Had  it  been  known  what  was 
really  going  on  at  the  time,  a  most  dis- 
astrous panic  would  probably  have  ensued. 

As  it  was,  the  troops,  armed  citizens  in- 
cluded, remained  steady  at  their  posts. 
Shortly  after  daybreak,  the  din  of  com- 
bat got  further  and  further  off,  for  the 
Turks  had  already  assumed  the  aggres- 
sive, and  were  fighting  down  at  the  western 
end  of  the  Deve  Boyun  Pass.  A  long  line 
of  cavalry,  supported  by  heavy  reserves,  was 
halted  across  the  valley  mouth,  whilst  a 
heavy  infantry  engagement  went  on  away 
up  the  pass,  where  the  Turkish  troops  were 
pursuing  the  Russians,  who  had  failed  to 
hold  their  own  in  the  Azizieh  Fort,  until  a 
body  of  Russian  troops  pushed  along  the 
mountain  slopes  which  gird  the  plain  south 
of  Erzeroum,  to  sweep  the  Turkish  line  of 
retreat.  Then  the  Ottomans  began  to  retire 
precipitately,  fearing  lest  this  demonstration 
might  develop  into  a  real  attack,  and,  in 
case  of  success,  cut  off  their  retreat.  Before 
this  sudden  retreat  there  was  considerable 
disorder.  The  armed  townspeople,  who 
had  made  a  sally,  had  allowed  themselves  to 
be  drawn  too  far,  and  when  the  enemy  re- 
assumed  the  offensive,  withdrew  with  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  haste ;  but,  for  the  moment, 
the  danger  was  over.  The  conflict  had, 
however,  been  very  severe,  and  Russian  and 
Turkish  dead  covered  the  ground  within 
and  without  the  ramparts  of  Azizieh ;  the 
former,  as  usual  under  such  circumstances, 
entirely  stripped  of  their  clothing.  Some 
of  the  townspeople,  in  a  spirit  of  uncom- 
promising hatred,  were  maltreating  their 
dead  enemies — one  man  jumping  with  both 
heels  on  the  still  fresh  body  of  a  Russian,  a 
gurgling  cry  escaping  from  his  mouth  with 
^ach  concussion.     The  bodies  were  buried 

VOL.  III.  2  T 


as  quickly  as  possible,  by  order  of  Mukhtar 
Pasha.  The  Turkish  loss  was  nearly  700 
hors  de  combat,  and  that  of  the  Russians 
about  900.  On  November  12th,  at  dusk, 
the  Russians  made  another  attempt  on 
the  Medjidieh  and  Azizieh  forts,  but,  for 
the  second  time,  without  success,  ancj  with- 
out inflicting  much  damage  or  loss  of  life 
on  the  defenders  and  population  of  the 
town.  In  spite  of  the  din  and  roar  outside 
the  places  and  along  the  ramparts,  the 
streets  were  quiet  enough.  The  Armenian 
population,  like  so  many  rabbits  in  a 
burrow,  sought  the  furthermost  shelter  of 
their  rickety  houses ;  whilst  the  Moslems, 
the  privileged  warriors,  were  all  at  the  ram- 
parts. Nasty  troops  of  wolf-like  dogs,  who 
belong  to  nobody,  cowered  on  the  rubbish- 
heaps  at  the  corners,  and  showed  their 
glimmering  teeth  at  the  few  passers-by, 
called  outside  by  the  circumstances,  or  at 
the  half-drowned  soldiers,  heavily  laden  with 
clot-like  bread  packed  in  their  sodden 
blankets.  Poor  fellows !  they  took  it  all 
calmly  enough.  There  was  Allah,  and  the 
Padishah,  and  Mukhtar  Pasha,  who  bade 
them  go ;  and  used  as  they  were  to  obey  every 
nod  of  a  nameless  pasha,  far  off'  in  a  pro- 
vince it  would  take  a  gazetteer  to  find  out, 
how  could  they  dream  that  victory  was  not 
chained  to  their  standards  ?  And  yet  the 
battle  of  Aladja  and  the  capture  of  Deve 
Boyun  were  not  so  remote.  One  of  the  best 
characteristics  of  British  troops  is  that  they 
don't  know  when  they  are  beaten.  Turkish 
soldiers  possess  this  quality  to  a  rare  ex- 
treme, and  thus  they  were  ready  to  defend 
Erzeroum  in  spite  of  all. 

Towards  midnight  the  attack  was  repulsed 
along  the  whole  line,  and  all  was  silent  till 
the  dawn  should  bring  in  its  usual  accom- 
paniment of  shells  and  rockets.  These  latter 
projectiles  made  more  noise  than  they  could 
do  harm  in  an  eai  th-roofed,  stone-built 
town  like  Erzeroum.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  whizzing,  followed  by  a  blazing 
glare  of  red  light,  and  a  thundering  detona- 
tion. At  first  these  missiles  frightened  the 
Turkish  soldiery  immensely ;  but  they  were 
not  long  getting  used  to  them,  and  con- 
sidered them  no  worse  than  shells.  It  was 
curious  to  go  out  into  the  streets  after  the 
attack.  Every  one  was  still  at  his  post. 
The  liquid  mud  which,  on  the  occasion  of  a 
rainfall,  takes  the  place  of  water  in  Erze- 
roum, duly  fumbled  its  heavy  way  down 
the  ill-paved  precipitous  streets ;  the  uneasy 
dogs  still  felt  inclined  to  snap  at  the  untur- 

317 


4 ' 

Ifi 


* .. 


BLOCKADE  OF  ERZEROUM.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


baned  stranger ;  and  from  away  out  in  the 
plain  came  the  pattering  fire  of  the  obstinate 
Muscovites,  unwilling  to  abandon  their 
attack  even  though  repulsed. 

Thus  far,  the  fighting  of  the  population 
of  Erzeroum  was  immensely  superior  to  that 
of  Kars.  Old  Moslems,  with  long  white 
beards,  and  brass-ringed  octagonal-stocked 
muskets  of  another  age,  stood,  hour  after 
hour,  in  the  advanced  forts,  awaiting  the 
attack  with  a  bravery  that  might  have  been 
an  example  to  younger  men.  A  little 
way  further  on,  one  saw  men  bearing  some- 
thing muffled  in  a  dusky  blanket.  It  was 
a  wounded  man.  Then  came  many  more 
such.  Smothered  fires  gleamed  along  the 
rear  of  the  ramparts.  They  were  lit  to 
enable  men  perishing  in  the  bitter  cold 
night  to  stand  the  biting  temperature. 
Ever    and     anon    a    bugle  was    sounded. 


followed  by  many  another      The  sonnerie 
was  "  Long  life  to  the  Padishah !"  and  wild 
cries,  far  from  cheerful,  replied  to  the  call. 
But  all  the  devotion  and  endurance  of 
the  Turkish  troops  in  Erzeroum  could  not 
check  the  course  of  events  outside,  and  on 
November  20th    Mukhtar   Pasha   was   in- 
formed of  the  fall  of  Kars,  and  summoned, 
for  the  second  time,  to  surrender.     He  re- 
fused; and  by  November  23rd,   already  a 
large  body  of  troops  was  added  to  General 
Heimann's  forces,  and  henceforth  the  hopes 
of  the  defenders  of  Erzeroum  were  centred, 
not    without    some   reason,   on    "  General 
Winter ; "  and,  it  may  be  added,  on  a  still 
more  powerful  ally  who  speedily  put  in  an 
appearance—"  General     Disease."       These 
two  grim  officers  exacted  more  victims  in 
Asia  than  in  Europe,  and  caused  Russia  the 
loss  of  some  of  her  best  officers. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

THE  END  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  IN  ARMENIA. 


In  the  beginning  of  December,  a  caravan 
of  camels  from  Persia  was  passed  throuf^h 
the  Russian  lines  round  Erzeroum.  When 
it  came  to  the  Russian  camp,  the  head  man 
was  asked  what  his  goods  consisted  of,  and 
he  replied,  carpets,  and  that  they  were  con- 
signed to  an  agent  in  Erzeroum,  to  be 
forwarded  to  England.  The  Russians  took 
three  or  four  carpets,  and  gave  the  man  a 
note  to  the  agent,  saying  they  hoped  he 
would  not  charge  too  much,  and  that 
they  would  pay  him  in  a  few  days  when 
they  came  to  Erzeroum.  Those  few  days, 
however,  were  spun  out  to  eighty,  for  it  was 
not  until  February  22nd  that  the  Russians 
entered  Erzeroum ;  and  then  only  in  con- 
sequence of  the  signature  of  the  armistice. 

It  is  true  that  the  tenacity  of  the  Turks 
in  holding  their  positions  in  Asia  Minor, 
had  only  an  indirect  influence  on  the  course 
of  events,  and  that  when  the  European 
armies  collapsed,  the  fate  of  Erzeroum  was 
interesting  chiefly  to  the  inhabitants  only. 
Indeed,  the  wisdom  of  the  Turkish  com- 
manders in  attempting  to  defend  Asia 
Minor  with  a  field  army  at  all,  may  be 
doubted,  and  the  question  be  asked,  whether 
it  would  not  have  been  better  for  the  Porte 
318 


to  have  concentrated  all  its  forces  in  Euro- 
pean Turkey.  There  would  also  have  been 
political  wisdom  in  this  step ;  for  the  Porte 
might  have  felt  assured,  that  however 
indifferent  to  the  fate  of  Danubian  Turkey, 
the  British  government  could  by  no  means 
afford  to  ignore  the  fate  of  Asia  Minor ; 
and  that,  come  what  might,  England  would, 
in  all  circumstances,  take  care  that  the 
Russians  should  not  acquire  a  preponde- 
rating influence  south  of  the  Black  Sea. 

However,  all  these  considerations  do  not 
alter  the  fact  that,  until  December  27th, 
when  he  went  to  Constantinople,  Mukhtar 
Pasha  held  his  ground  against  the  Russians 
in  Erzeroum,  whilst  stout  old  Dervish 
Pasha  did  the  same  in  Batoum. 

Though  within  cannon-shot  of  the  town 
since  the  battle  of  Deve  Boyun,  the  Russians, 
with  the  exception  of  the  two  attempts  to 
storna  Erzeroum,  remained  almost  entirely 
inactive,  at  least  as  far  as  hostilities  were 
concerned.  Still  they  had  been  steadily 
pushing  their  way  down  the  Olti  valley, 
and  behind  the  Palentuken  mountain  south- 
east of  the  town,  both  columns  gradually 
converging  to  a  point  of  union  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ilidja.     Both  forces  were  thus 


in  alarming  proximity  to  the  Trebizonde 
road,  and  it  was  only  a  matter  of  a  few 
days  at  the  furthest  for  the  town  of  Erze- 
roum to  be  completely  blockaded.  For 
some  days  past  the  Turks  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  see,  from  the  ramparts  of  the  town, 
the  Cossacks  leisurely  marching  from  one 
village  to  another,  requisitioning  corn  and 
forage,  only  three-quarters  of  an  hour's 
march  from  the  Olti  gate  of  Erzeroum. 
The  guns  on  the  Kop  Dagh  opened  fire,  and 
succeeded  in  forcing  the  Cossacks  to  retire 
after  they  had  asked  about  forage,  and 
whether  any  Turkish  troops  were  concealed 
in  the  village. 

The    Russians,    however,    were    rapidly 
closing  round  Erzeroum;  and  on  January 
1st,    when   Edhem   Pasha,   who   occupied 
Ilidja  to  watch  the  fords  and  bridges  of  the 
Euphrates,  started  on  a  patrolling  expedi- 
tion towards  Pernacaban,  the  Cossacks  who 
occupied  the  village  of  Usni,  an  hour  and 
a-half's  march  distant,  took  advantage  of  the 
circumstance    to   try  and   surprise  Ilidja. 
At  half-past  four  o'clock  they  were  already, 
to  the  number  of  some  eight  or  nine  hun- 
dred, so  close  to  it,  that  the  advanced  guard 
could  be  counted  without  the  aid  of  a  glass. 
At  this  juncture  the  Turkish  cavalry,  warned 
of  the  danger,  hurriedly  returned  to  Ilidja, 
but  only  just  in  time  to  prevent  its  capture. 
The  Russians  advanced  up  to  the  banks  of 
the  river ;  but,  finding  they  could   not  ar- 
rive at  the  village  before  the  Turks,  they 
drew  off  to  their  camp  at  Usni.     The  situ- 
ation had  become  critical  in  the  extreme, 
for  to  maintain  their  communications  with 
Trebizonde  open,  the  Turks  required  a  much 
larger  force  at  Ilidja  than  they  possessed. 
The  Kara  Su,  half-way  between  Ilidja  and 
Erzeroum,  expands  into  an  elongated  sheet 
of  water,   known  as  the   Ilidja  Su.     It  is 
here  crossed  by  two  bridges,  its  depth  ren- 
dering it  unfordable.     While  these  bridges 
were  held,  a  formidable  obstacle  intervened, 
during  the  summer  and   autumn,  between 
the  Russians  and  the  Trebizonde  road,  which 
runs  more  or  less   parallel  to  the  stream ; 
and  some  flying  columns  of  cavalry  amply 
sufficed    to   prevent   parties  of  the  enemy 
from  molesting  the  traffic.   In  winter,  how- 
ever, matters  became  greatly  changed.   The 
intense  cold  froze  the  river  to  a  depth  of 
eighteen     inches ;     and    cavalry    and    ox- 
waggons  could  pass  across  it.    It  practically 
ceased  to  be  an  obstacle ;  and  the  Russians 
did  not  neglect  to  take  advantage  of  the  cir- 
cumstance to  possess  themselves  of  the  road 


[TURKISH  CARELESSNESS. 

on  its  southern  bank  leading  to  Trebizonde, 
and  on  January  4th,  at  about  ten  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon,  six  battalions  of  Russian 
infantry,  preceded  by  two  regiments  of 
cavalry,  boldly  crossed  the  Kara  Su,  and 
took  possession  of  Ilidja.  Their  first  act 
was  to  cut  the  telegraph  wires,  and  to 
throw  out  vedettes  in  the  direction  of  Bai- 
burt ;  whilst  Edhem  Pasha,  supposing  that 
he  saw  only  the  advanced  guard  of  a  whole 
army  corps,  immediately  fell  back  hurriedly 
upon  Aschkale. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Daily  News  was 
quietly  reclining  on  the  floor  of  his  oda  at 
Aschkale,  the  best  in  the  miserable  village, 
that  of  the  local  magnate  or  Bey,  when 
Edhem  Pasha,  looking  like  King  Christmas 
white  from  head  to  foot  with  hoar  frost, 
rushed  in,  and  divesting  himself  of  his 
numerous  fur  coats,  and  head  and  face 
wrappers,  threw  himself  on  a  mattress  at 
the  fire  opposite  that  occupied  by  the  cor- 
respondent. He  seemed  greatly  perturbed 
in  spirit.  He  gave  several  orders  in  rapid 
succession  about  outposts  and  vedettes,  and 
then  his  servant  produced  a  large  wicker- 
covered  gallon  bottle  of  rhaki. 

He  turned  abruptly  to  the  correspondent, 
and  asked  what  his  countrymen  were  about. 
England  seemed  going  to  sleep,  he  said. 
"There  is  Erzeroum  completely  blocked; 
its  last  avenue  of  communication  with  the 
outer  world  cut  off;  all  the  same  as  lost." 
And  he  continued  pouring  out  his  dis- 
satisfaction in  the  same  strain  for  about  an 
hour. 

The  "Special"  felt  glad  that  he  had 
taken  the  rather  emphatic  hint  of  the  Cos- 
sacks on  the  previous  evening,  and  left 
Ilidja  there  and  then.  Edhem  Pasha  seemed . 
divided  in  opinion  as  to  whether  he  should 
retreat  on  Erzingian,  or  merely  push  for- 
ward to  Pernacaban.  "You'll  have  the 
Russian  cavalry  here  to-morrow,"  he  said 
"  and  there  is  no  knowing  how  we  may  be 
cut  off."  ^ 

He  asked  if  General  Kemball  was  still  at 
Pernacaban,  and  on  being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  proposed  going  to  him  the  next . 
day. 

The  evening  wore  on  with  such  talk,  and 
orderlies  and  officers  coming  and  going  con- 
tinually on  one  business  or  another,  when, 
at  about  half-past  nine  in  the  evening,  an 
orderly  arrived  with  a  despatcli,  to  the 
effect  that,  the  same  afternoon,  Mehemed 
Pasha  had  made  a  sortie  from  Erzeroum  in 
connection  with  a  flank  movement  led  by 

319 


i 


':! 


i 


/ 


ERZEROUM   INVESTED.] 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


'[A.D.  1878. 


si 


Ismail  Pasha,  and  that  the  Russians,  after 
a  brief  cannonade,  had  evacuated  the  vil- 
lage, and  retired  across  the  river  again. 
The  pasha  thereupon  somewhat  regained 
his  composure,  and  immediately  issued 
orders  for  the  entire  force  to  be  ready  to 
march  back  to  Ilidja  within  an  hour. 

Then  followed  a  scene  of  confusion  such 
as  has  been  rarely  witnessed.  Bugles 
sounded  and  re-sounded  in  vain.  There 
was  no  response  save  on  the  part  of  the 
local  guard  and  a  couple  of  dozen  Kara- 
kalpaks,  or  irregular  horsemen.  The  pasha 
stormed  and  raved,  despatched  his  second 
in  command  and  his  aides-de-camp  hither 
and  thither,  but  all  in  vain. 

"  Where  are  the  officers  ?  where  are  the 
men  ?  " 

"In  the  different  villages,''  was  the 
reply. 

In  fact,  the  thing  was  only  reasonable, 
inasmuch  as  no  orders  had  been  given  on 
the  subject.  Aschkale  was  a  miserable 
tumble-down  hamlet  of  a  few  dozen  cabins 
crowded  by  an  excessive  population.  It 
was  impossible  to  find  quarters  for  1,600 
men  and  horses  there  ;  and  the  subordinate 
officers  had  given  carte  blanche  to  their 
men  to  find  lodgings  where  and  when  they 
could. 

The  night  was  bitterly  cold,  and  a  kind 
of  sniothering  smoke  like  frozen  mist  filled 
the  air,  rendering  a  man  invisible  at  fifty 
3^ards.     Just  the  sort  of  weather  for  a  sur- 
prise, had   the  Russians  been  in  a  position 
to    effect   one.      The   soldiers   accordingly 
went   off  in  scattered  parties  to  different 
villages,  some  two,    three,   and   four,   and 
even  ten  miles  distant.     This  may  seem  in- 
. credible;  but  it  is  positively  true.     Some 
came  as  far   as  Pernacaban,  ^  three   hours' 
ride  from  Aschkale.    Orderlies'  were  at  once 
sent  ofif  to  the  surrounding  villages  to  order 
the  men  in ;  but  notwithstanding  every  effort, 
not  more  than  five  or  six  hundred  could  be 
got    together  by   midnight.      There   were 
fragmentary    squadrons    without    officers, 
and  officers  without   men.      Possibly  this 
scattering  of  the  troops  was  the  only  avail- 
320 


able  means  of  finding  the  cover  so  impera- 
tively necessary,  for  it  was  almost  certain 
death  to  attempt  bivouacking  on  such  a 
night ;  but  with  the  enemy  in  such  supposed 
dangerous  proximity,  it  was  courting  cer- 
tain destruction. 

The  pasha,  having  seen  this  fraction   of 
his  command  on  their  way  back  to  Ilidja, 
went  to  bed ;  but  started  himself  long  before' 
daylight  in    the  same   direction.     He  did 
not,  however,   remain  long  in  Ilidja.     On 
January  8th,  he  suddenly  put  in  an  appear- 
ance at  Pernacaban,  on  the  road  to  Baiburt, 
announcing  that  the  Russians  had  occupied 
Aschkale  with  a  considerable  force,  he  him- 
self narrowly  escaping  being  made  prisoner. 
^    He  owed  his  escape  to  the  timely  warn- 
ing of  his  host,  who  informed  him  that  the 
Russian  cavalry  was  advancing  its  flanks  to 
surround  the  village.    The  bulk  of  the  Zap- 
tieh  cavalry  and  Karakalpaks  were  stationed 
at  Karabuyouk  Khan,  two  hours  and  a-half 
distant   along  .the    Erzeroum   road.      The 
Cossacks,  moving  stealthily  along  the  oppo- 
site bank  of   the  frozen   Kara  Su,    under 
cover  of  the  dense   snow-fog,  and  crossing 
on    the   ice,  succeeded   in    surprising    the 
Turks,    some   600  strong.     There   was  no 
fighting.     The  Ottomans  fled  in   disorder. 
Those  who  were  well  mounted  fled  across 
the  plain,    scattering   in    every  direction ; 
and    those  whose   horses  failed  them  were 
either  cut  down    or  made  prisoners.     The 
Russians  then  immediately  advanced,  occu- 
pying  Aschkale,   and   pushing  a  force  to- 
wards   Pernacaban,     three    hours'    march 
further  on. 

With  this  evacuation  of  Ilidja  by  the 
Turks,  the  investment  all  round  Erzeroum, 
by  the  Russians,  could  no  longer  be  pre- 
vented; and  henceforth,  neither  army  nor 
garrison  did  anything  but  keep  in  its  posi- 
tions until  the  town  was  entered,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  terms  of  the  armistice,  which 
was  signed  on  January  31st.  Batoum,  how- 
ever, still  held  out,  and  resisted,  success- 
tuUy,  a  determined  attack  by  the  Russians 
on  January  30th,  the  day  before  the  armis- 
tice was  signed. 


t 


I 

m 


f' 


"♦  *i 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  BRITISH  FLECT. 


1  i 


2 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 


THE    ABMISTICE, 


With  Adrianople  in  the  bands  of  the  Rus- 
sians, and  their  armies  converging  in  every 
direction  upon  Constantinople,  it  became 
clear  to  the  Turks  that  the  supreme  mo- 
ment had  at  last  arrived ;  and  that  what- 
ever diversity  of  opinion  might  prevail  as  to 
the  course  of  action  to  be  ultimately  adopted, 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  stay  the 
advance  of  the  Russians.  As  this  could  not 
be  done  by  force,  there  was  nothing  left  but 
to  submit  to  the  Russian  conditions  for  an 
armistice,  which  armistice,  however,  was  to 
depend  upon  the  agreement  as  to  the  bases 
of  a  definite  peace.  True,  at  one  moment 
it  seemed  as  though  there  was  another  way 
out  of  the  difficulty.  That  was  when  the 
British  fleet,  under  Admiral  Hornby,  sud- 
denly arrived  from  Besika  Bay  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Dardanelles  on  January  25th. 

Crowds  lined  the  shores  on  both  sides  of 
the  Hellespont.  The  enthusiasm  amongst 
the  Turks  was  at  its  height.  ^'  At  last," 
they  said,  "the  English  are  convinced 
the  Russians  are  not  fighting  for  the  Bul- 
garian Christians,  and  are  coming  to  help 
us."  But  when  the  flag-ship  of  Vice- 
Admiral  Hornby,  the  Sultan,  was  abreast  the 
Castles  of  the  Dardanelles,  a  boat  put  ofi" 
from  the  shore.  Presently  the  fleet  came 
to  a  standstill  in  mid-channel,  the  ships 
blowing  off"  steam.  H.M.S.  Sultan  saluted 
the  Turkish  flag,  and  the  salute  was  immedi- 
ately returned  by  Fort  Sultanieh ;  then, 
right-about-face,  the  whole  of  the  vessels 
steamed  outside  the  Straits  again,  whence 
they  had  so  recently  come.  This  was  in 
consequence  of  a  telegram  from  Mr.  Layard, 
to  the  effect  that  the  Porte  refused,  in  virtue 
of  the  treaties,  to  allow  the  fleet  to  pass  the 
Straits.  It  had  been  presumed  that,  as  the 
Porte  had  given  the  requisite  permission  to 
pass  the  Dardanelles  on  a  previous  occasion, 
this  would  remain  valid,  or  that  no  difficulty 
would  be  found  in  obtaining  fresh  permis- 
sion, and  Mr.  Layard  was  requested  by  Lord 
Derby  to  obtain  the  necessary  document. 
The  Porte  refused,  alleging  that  the  cir- 
cumstances had  changed.  The  preliminary 
conditions  of  peace  and  the  armistice  liad 
been  agreed  to,  though  not  yet  signed ;  and 


the  advance  of  the  fleet  would  be  construed 
as  hostile  to  Russia.  The  allegation  as  to 
the  protection  of  the  lives  and  property  of 
British  subjects  was  admitted  on  all  hands 
to  be  insufficient,  the  condition  of  the 
capital  having  improved,  and  the  danger  of 
disturbances  having  become  immensely  less 
since  the  armistice  and  the  presence  of  the 
Russian  army  in  virtual  possession  of  the 
lines  of  Constantinople.  The  Turks,  more- 
over, pointed  out,  that  if  the  fleet  entered 
with  permission,  the  Russians  would  pro- 
bably occupy  the  city;  and  it  was  even 
asserted  that  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  had 
telegraphed  to  this  eflfect  on  hearing  of  the 
proposal.  Whether  true,  or  not,  that  the 
grand  duke  uttered  this  threat — probably 
not,  as  otherwise  Lord  Derby  would  cer- 
tainly have  made  mention  of  it  in  one  of 
his  tattling  moments — it  is  certain  that  the 
Russians  took  credit  to  themselves  for  this 
sudden  flight  of  the  British  fleet ;  and,  on 
the  following  day,  a  placard  was  posted  up 
on  the  gates  of  the  British  embassy,  and  at 
other  places,  on  which  were  printed  the 
words,  in  large  type — "  Lost,  between  Besika 
Bay  and  Constantinople,  an  ironclad  fleet. 
Any  one  giving  information  will  be  hand- 
somely  rewarded." 

But,  though  the  fleet  failed  to  accomplish 
its  ostensible  object,  the  real  object  of  its 
despatch  to  the  Dardanelles  had  been 
attained.  This  was,  to  hurry  on  the  negotia' 
tions,  and  relieve  the  minds  of  ministers 
and  the  public  as  to  their  nature. 

On  January  27th  the  Grand  Duke  Nicho- 
las arrived  at  Adrianople,  accompanied  by 
the  Turkish  ambassadors,  who  had  been 
sent  to  arrange  the  terms  of  the  armistice 
and  the  bases  of  the  future  peace.  Little 
progress  was  made  at  first,  however,  for  two 
reasons,  both  of  the  same  kind.  The  Rus- 
sians wanted  to  gain  time  for  their  armies 
to  reach  the  points  they  had  determined  to 
reach  in  order  to  consolidate  their  position  ; 
whilst  the  Turks  also  desired  ardently  to  gain 
time  in  hopes  of  "  something  turning  up  " 
in  their  favour.  To  attain  this  object  they 
both  adopted  the  simple  plan  of  referring 
to  head -quarters — that  is   to   say,   to   St. 

3^1 


1, 1 


HI 


THE  NEGOTIATIONS.  J 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


Petersburg  and  Constantinople.  Hence 
endless  delays,  real  confusion  amongst  the 
Turks,  and  a  well-calculated  confusion 
amongst  the  Russians  in  the  matter  of  orders 
sent,  or  not  sent — as  best  suited  the  purpose 
— to  the  commanders  of  the  different  armv 
corps  and  detachments. 

At  the  same  time,  both  the  grand  duke 
'  and  M.  Nelidoff  professed  to  have  no  power 
to  discuss  conditions.  They  simply  offered 
their  terms,  and  gave  the  Turks  the  alterna- 
tive of  acceptance  or  refusal.  After  two 
days'  negotiations  the  Turks  decided  to  re- 
fuse, although  the  grand  duke  and  M.  Neli- 
doff used  every  argument  to  persuade  them 
to  accept,  informing  them  that  the  march 
of  the  armies  would  be  stopped  the  moment 
they  consented,  and  that  their  refusal  was 
the  destruction  of  the  Turkish  empire, 
which  Russia  had  no  wish  to  bring  about. 

They  were  informed  that  Adrianople  and 
Philippopoli  were  taken,  the  army  of  Sulei- 
man completely  destroyed,  and  that  the 
Russians  would  continue  to  march  upon 
Constantinople  unless  they  accepted. 

Namyk  Pasha  exclaimed,  "  Well,  then,  if 
the  Ottoman  empire  must  perish,  let  it 
perish  by  force.  We  will  never  sign  our 
own  death-warrant.'' 

He  was,  however,  induced  to  reconsider 
this  decision,  and  he  and  Server  Pasha  asked 
two  hours  for  reflection.  At  the  end  of 
this  time  they  answered  that  they  could  not 
accept. 

Both  the  Russians  and  the  Turks  declined 
to  tell    any    one    the    conditions,    but  Sir 
A.    Layard  was  able  to    obtain    them   in- 
directly, and  to  communicate  their  general 
drift   to    his   government   at  home.     The 
Turks  objected,  more  or  less,  to  all  the  con- 
ditions ;  but  the  one  which  prevented  the 
agreement    was   the   Bulgarian   autonomy. 
They  were  ready  to  yield  every  other  point 
but  this,  which  they  considered  equivalent 
to  the  destruction  of  the  Turkish  power  in 
Europe.     They  were  willing  to  grant  auto- 
nomy, as  provided  for  in  the  programme  of 
the  conference.     The  Russians   replied   to 
this,  that  the  programme  of  the  conference 
was   the  minimum   reduced   to   the    most 
slender  proportions  in  order  to  avoid  war. 
As  this  object  was  not  obtained,  they  must 
now  demand  a  far  more  efficient  kind  of 
autonomy,    something    like  that  of  Servia 
and    Roumania,  with   Bulgaria   extending 
very  near  Constantinople  on  one  side,  and 
to    Salonica   on   the   other.     This    was,  of 
course,    equivalent    to    the    extinction   of 


[A.D.  1878. 


322 


Turkish  power  everywhere  in  Europe,  except 
merely  Constantinople.  This  they  would 
not  accept.  They  were  willing  to  cede  Kara 
and  Erzeroum,  willing  to  grant  the  com- 
plete mdependence  of  Roumania  and  Servia 
the  free  passage  of  the  Straits  to  the  Rus- 
sian fleet,  and  a  war  indemnity,  but  not 
the  autonomy  of  Bulgaria. 

It  was  just  on  this  point,  however,  that 
the  Russians  were  the  most  rigid.     They 
left  all  the  other  questions  for  ulterior   dis- 
cussion, apparently  recognising  the  fact  that 
all  those  questions  concerned  Europe,  and 
not  Russia  and  Turkey  alone.     On  the  one 
question   of  Bulgarian  autonomy  only  were 
they  inflexible.     There  was  no  question  of 
the  cession  of  the  Turkish  fleet ;  thoucrh,  of 
course,  that  might  arise  in  ulterior  discus- 
sions on  the  question  of  a  war  indemnity. 
The  whole  course  of  the  negotiations  showed 
that  Russia  wished  to  conclude  a  direct  and 
separate  peace  with  Turkey,  however  much 
the  conditions  of  that  peace  might  be  after- 
wards discussed  and  modified  by  Europe. 
These  conditions  were,  a  cession  of  territory 
in  Asia,   the  question  of  the  Straits,  and  a 
war  indemnity.     Although   she  meant  to 
force  the  Turks  to  consent  to  these  things 
m     principle,     she     expected    Europe    to 
sanction  their  confirmation  and  application. 
In  this  way  Russian   diplomacy  offered  no 
hold  to  the  English  government  to  seize  as 
a  pretext  for  war ;    for  England  could  not 
declare  war  to  prevent  Bulgarian  autonomy, 
the   only   question  on  which  the  Russians 
professed  to  be  inflexible. 

At  last,  however,  the  Turks  yielded,  and  on 
January  31st  the  armistice  was  signed  at 
Adrianopl(i,  and  Count  Keller  was  sent 
by  General  Skobeloff  from  Tchataldja  to 
Mukhtar  Pasha  at  Kadikoi,  to  arrange  the 
lines  of  demarcation  and  the  neutral  ground 
between  the  two  armies  during  the  armis- 
tice. General  Skobeloffs  head-quarters  were 
to  remain  at  Tchataldja  until  the  signature 
of  peace.  His  cavalry  arrived  there  on 
February  6th,  and  ho  himself,  with  the 
head  of  his  infantry  column,  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  General  Gourko's  advance  guard 
arrived  in  Silivri,  on  the  coast  of  the  Sea  of 
Marmora,  on  February  7th  also. 

There  was  some  difficulty  in  getting  the 
Turks  to  evacuate  the  ground  stipulated  in 
the  protocol,  though  it  was  agreed  that  tliey 
should  evacuate  all  their  positions  by  Febru- 
ary 6th.  It  was  to  see  if  they  meant  to  do 
so  or  not,  as  well  as  to  arrange  the  lines  of 
demarcation,   that   Count   Keller  went   to 


A.D.  1878.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [tchataldja  evacuated. 


Kadikoi ;  in  fact,  Mukhtar  Pasha  had  not, 
until  a  late  hour  at  night,  received  any  in- 
formation about  the  terms  of  the  armistice 
from  Constantinople,  and  thought  the  two 
armies  were  simply  to  remain  where  they 
were  at  the  moment  the  armistice  was 
signed,  and  he  was  surprised  to  find  the 
Russian  troops  continually  advancing. 

Thus  when  General  Strukoff,  of  Skobeloffs 
cavalry,  arrived  on  February  5th  at  Silivri, 
he  found  the  Turks  still  there ;  and  they  at 
first  refused  to  leave  the  place,  as  they  had 
had  no  orders  to  that  efi'ect.  It  was  not 
till  he  brought  up  a  battery,  and  threatened 
to  fire  on  them,  that  they  finally  consented 
to  leave.  It  was  stipulated  in  the  protocol 
that  the  Russian  lines  should  be  from  Buyuk 
Tchekmedje,  on  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  along 
the  right  bank  of  the  Kara  Su  river  to  the 
Lake  of  Derkos,  on  the  Black  Sea ;  and  the 
Turkish  line  from  Kujuk  Tchekmedje,  on  the 
Sea  of  Marmora,  to  the  village  of  Ak  Bunar, 
on  the  Black  Sea,  leaving  a  space  of  about 
seven  miles  between  the  lines  as  neutral 
ground.  The  village  of  Derkos  was  on 
neutral  ground,  as  was  also  the  whole 
Turkish  line  of  defence,  and  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Buyuk  Tchekmedje.  The  Turks 
really  abandoned  their  last  line  of  defence, 
and  left  Constantinople  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Russians,  with  the  line  of  Kujuk  Tchekmedje, 
not  fortified,  nor  were  they  allowed  to  work 
on  them  by  the  terms  of  the  armistice. 

In  consenting  to  this  arrangement.  Server 
and  Namyk  Pashas  must  either  have  been 
completely  panic-stricken,  thinking  that 
the  only  way  to  keep  the  Russians  from 
Constantinople  was  thus  to  throw  them- 
selves on  the  generosity  of  the  grand  duke, 
or  else,  having  abandoned  all  hope,  they 
wished  to  give  the  Russians  a  proof  of  their 
sincerity  in  thus  needlessly  abandoning 
their  last  line  of  defence.  The  fact  is,  the 
Russians  could  not  have  attacked  these 
lines  for  fully  two  weeks,  as  they  would  not 
have  had  up  enough  infantry  to  do  so,  for 
the  positions  were  amongst  the  most  formid- 
able in  the  world. 

The  valley  of  Kara  Su,  far  above  Tcha- 
taldja, is  nothing  but  a  marsh,  crossed  by 
one  or  two  causeways,  over  which  no  troops 
could  have  passed  for  fully  two  months; 
and  it  was  further  shortened  by  the  Lake 
of  Derkos.  The  possible  line  of  attack  was 
not  over  seven  or  eight  miles  long,  not 
more  than  a  third  of  the  length  of  Osman's 
lines  at  Plevna,  and  Mukhtar  had  30,000 
.or  40,000  men,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent, 


with  whom  he  might  have  held  this  line  at 
any  hazai;d,  and  the  Russians  could  not 
have  insisted  on  its  evacuation,  for  the  reason 
that  they  could  not  be  ready  to  attack  for 
two  weeks.  In  their  possession  this  line 
would  have  put  the  Turks  on  a  much  better 
footing  for  the  peace  negotiations.  How- 
ever, they  abandoned  all  idea  of  holding  it, 
and  Mukhtar  received  orders  to  give  it  up. 
He  only  asked  for  a  delay  of  three  days  to 
remove  his  heavy  artillery  and  stores,  and 
promised  to  evacuate  the  line  by  February 
1 0th.  General  Skobeloff  informally  granted 
that  delay,  while  reserving  to  himself  the 
right  to  watch  the  proceedings  step  by  step, 
and  see  that  they  were  really  carried  out. 
He  informed  Mukhtar  that  unless  he  saw 
that  the  evacuation  was  taking  place,  he 
should  consider  himself  authorised,  by  this 
continued  violation  of  the  armistice,  to 
occupy  the  neutral  ground,  and  seize  what- 
ever war  material,  cannon,  &c.,  he  might 
find  there.  As  Skobeloff  had  not  yet 
enough  troops  up  to  attack  these  formidable 
positions,  this  threat  was  what  the  Ameri- 
cans call  a  game  of  bluff.  The  grand  duke, 
however,  considered  it  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance to  have  these  positions  evacuated 
at  once,  and  Skobeloff  tried  to  get  it  done 
by  means  of  threats  and  bluster  in  lieu  of 
force,  which  he  had  not  yet  got  at  his  dis- 
posal. 

The  reason  for  this  anxiety  to  obtain 
possession  of  the  coveted  lines  was  evident. 
Peace  was  not  certain  until  it  was  signed. 
Meantime  the  Russians  had  the  possibility 
of  English  interference  continually  before 
their  eyes — an  event  which  a  discussion  of 
the  conditions  of  peace  might  still  bring 
about.  But,  with  the  lines  of  Buyuk 
Tchekmedje  in  their  possession,  as  they 
virtually  would  be  when  the  Turks  evacuated 
them,  Constantinople  was  practically  as 
much  in  their  hands  as  if  there  were 
sentinels  at  the  doors  of  St.  Sophia. 

Meantime,  however,  both  Turks  and 
Russians  tried  hard  to  deceive  each  other. 
The  Turks  assured  the  Russians  that  they 
had  85,000  men  behind  their  lines.  The 
Russians  assured  the  Turks  that  they  had 
100,000  ready  to  attack  upon  a  moment's 
notice,  and  were  only  restrained  from  doing 
so  by  consideration  for  them. 

On  February  10th,  however,  true  to  his 
promise,  Mukhtar  Pasha  completed  the 
evacuation  of  the  neutral  territory.  All 
his  army  retired  behind  the  lines  of  Buyuk 
Tchekmedje;    but  the  heavy  artillery  still 

323 


P 


pi 


•  '.i 


N 


1 


THE  BRITISH  FLEET.] 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


A.D.  1878.] 


remained  in  position,  and  a  good  deal  of 
war  material  was  still  on  neutr^il  ground, 
because  the  Turks  could  not  remove  it. 
Skobeloff  told  Mukhtar  to  at  least  remove 
the  guns  from  their  platforms.  Constan- 
tinople was  thus  virtually  in  the  hands  of 
the  Russians,  just  as  much  as  if  they  were 
already  in  the  place.  They  had  the  sense 
not  to  enter,  that  was  all.  Skoheloff,  while 
going  over  the  lines  of  delimitation,  was 
near  enough  to  see  the  place.  He  and  the 
whole  of  his  staff,  with  the  escort,  sat  on 
their  horses  and  gazed  on  the  capital  for 
some  minutes.  There  was  some  disappoint- 
ment expressed  that  they  should  not  have 
been  allowed  to  march  in  ;  but  all  were  in 
general  very  glad  the  war  was  over. 

There  was  still,  however,  considerable 
alarm  lest  a  conflict  should  arise  between 
England  and  Russia;  for,  with  the  occupation 
of  the  Tchataldja  lines,  Russia  had  played 
the  first  of  her  trump  cards.  Constan- 
tinople was  threatened.  With  this  threat 
the  necessity  for  action  to  protect  British 
interests  had  arisen ;  and,  in  spite  of  dis- 
sensions at  home,  and  in  spite  of  the  pro- 
tests of  the  Porte,  the  British  fleet  was 
ordered  to  pass  the  Dardanelles,  and  take 
up  any  position,  within  easy  distance  of 
Constantinople,  that  might  appear  suitable 
to  the  admiral.  If  necessary.  Admiral 
Hornby  was  to  force  an  entrance.  The 
Porte,  however,  contented  itself  with  a  pro- 
test, and  Admiral  Hornby  arrived  with  his 
fleet  in  the  Sea  of  Marmora  on  February 
14th,  and  anchored  off  Princes'  Islands. 

The  movement  was  dictated,  not  so  much 
by  the  presence  of  the  Russians  so  close  to 
Constantinople,  as  by  the  knowledge,  which 
had  been  allowed  to  leak  out,  of  the 
conditions  of  peace  which  the  Russians  laid 
down.  These  were  such  that,  if  insisted 
on,  war  between  England  and  Rus^sia  was 
inevitable.  It  was  therefore  absolutely 
necessary  that  a  force  should  be  on  the 
spot  ready  to  keep  the  Straits  open  in  case 
of  necessity. 

Meantime,  pending  the  signature  of 
peace,  both  Russians  and  Turks  lost  no  op- 
portunity of  strengthening  their  positions, 
in  view  of  a  possible  resumption  of  hos- 
tilities. Rustzuk  was  given  up  to  General 
Todleben  on  February  21st ;  the  Turks  were 
retreating  to  Schumla  and  Varna,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  terms  of  the  armistice; 
whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the  lines  of  Bulair 
stretching  across  the  isthmus  of  Gallipoli, 
and  Gallipoli  itself,  were  strongly  garrisoned 
324 


by  the  Turks,  and  Mukhtar  Pasha  and  Me- 
hemed  Ali  were  indefatigable  in  strength- 
ening the  lines  before  Constantinople, 
from  the  Black  Sea  down  to  the  extreme 
limit  of  the  neutral  zone  by  San  Stefano. 
The  Russians,  on  their  side,  held  the  whole 
country  west  of  Constantinople,  along  a 
line  drawn  from  Derkos  on  the  Black^Sea 
to  Buyuk  Tchekmedje  on  the  Sea  of 
Marmora,  as  well  as  the  northern  coast  of 
the  Sea  of  Marmora,  whence  a  neutral  zone, 
two  miles  either  side  of  Examile,  was  drawn 
to  the  Gulf  of  Enos,  north  of  the  isthmus 
of  Gallipoli,  and  separated  the  Russian 
lines  from  the  lines  of  Bulair,  which 
stretched  across  the    isthmus    from  sea  to 


sea. 


Already,  by  the  middle  of  February,  the 
Turks,  if  it  had  been  necessary,  could  have 
made  a  stronger  resistance  on  the  Gallipoli 
fortifications  than  was  generally  supposed^ 
Though  Constantinople  was  virtually  in  the 
hands  of  the  Russians,  Gallipoli  was  far 
from  being  similarly  situated  without  a 
severe  struggle.  Twenty-two  thousand 
Turkish  troops  were  in  the  lines  of  the 
fortifications,  with  fifty  Krupp  cannons  of 
large  calibre  on  the  modern  system,  and 
thirty-six  on  the  old  system.  Ammunition 
trains  were  constantly  leaving  for  the  lines, 
notwithstanding  the  probability  of  the  pre- 
liminaries of  peace  being  speedily  signed ; 
whilst  three  ironclads  of  the  British°fleet, 
with  Vice-Admiral  Commerell  on  board, 
were  watching  the  Straits.  The  Flamingo 
was  at  Rodosto,  and  three  other  vessels  of 
the  fleet  in  the  Gulf  of  Ismid,  with 
Admiral  Hornby ;  whilst  three  more  were 
cruising  between  Enos  and  the  north- 
western coast  of  the  Gallipoli  Peninsula,  in 
the  Gulf  of  Saros,  watching  the  movements 
of  the  Russians. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  negotia- 
tions for  the  definite  signature  of  peace 
were  carried  on.  All  three  countries,  Eng- 
land, Turkey,  and  Russia,  were  quietly  but 
actively  preparing  for  the  worst,  and  in- 
trigue, diplomacy,  and  war  were  mixed  up 
in  a  conflict  for  the  supremacy,  to  a  degree 
which  made  this  period  one  of  intense 
excitement  and  anxiety.  All  three  countries 
were  trying  to  find  a  way  out  of  the  wood ; 
but  the  worst  of  it  was,  that  even  supposing 
a  way  was  found,  it  by  no  means  followed 
that  it  would  suit  all  three  ;  so  that,  in  fact, 
three  roads  had  to  be  cut  out  of  the  densest 
undergrowth  of  political  brushwood  that 
ever  perplexed  a  craftsman. 


\ 


Thus  no  one  was  surprised  to  hear  that 
the  Russians  took  the  opportunity,  when  the 
British  fleet  arrived,  to  reply  by  a  counter 
move.  On  February  21st,  General  Gourko 
suddenly  left  Adrianople,  his  staff  receiving 
only  two  hours'  notice  of  his  departure ;  and 
next  day  it  was  known  that  the  whole  of  the 
head-quarters'  stafif.  General  Ignatieff,  and 
the  Diplomatic  Chancery,  were  to  start  on 
the  following  morning  for  San  Stefano,  close 
to  the  south-western  gate  of  Constantinople, 
and  there  was  a  forward  movement  of  the 
Russian  troops. 

This  sudden  change  of  plans  was  coinci- 
dent with  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Server 
Pasha ;  and  it  was  this  which  seemed  to  have 
decided  the  movement,  although  it  had 
evidently  been  in  contemplation  before,  as 
an  answer  to  the  coming  of  the  British  fleet. 
The  coming  of  the  fleet  was  the  second 
trump  played  out  to  follow  the  Russian 
first,  and  the  coming  of  the  Russians  to  San 
Stefano  was  their  reply. 

However,  General  Ignatieff  was  very  glad 
of  a  good  pretext  for  getting  nearer  Con- 
stantinople. The  negotiations  had  been 
going  on  slowly,  although  Safvet  Pasha  was 
supposed  to  have  full  powers  to  treat.  But, 
in  fact,  he  continually  refused  to  accept 
point  after  point  without  orders  from  Con- 
stantinople, and  telegraphic  communication 
was  constantly  mysteriously  interrupted. 
He  was  three  or  four  days  getting  an  answer. 
It  was  the  same  with  the  telegrams  to 
General  Ignatieff.  They  were  four  or  five 
days  en  route. 

Then  Safvet  Pasha  was  taken  ill,  and  it 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  General 
Ignatieff  could  get  him  to  go  on  with  the 
work.  He  wanted,  from  the  first,  to  await 
the  arrival  of  Saadoullah  Bey  from  Berlin. 
He  had  completely  forgotten  the  whole  pro- 
gramme of  the  conference,  and  had  to  be 
continually  referred  to  it.  Again,  he  did 
not  know  the  lines  of  delimitation  agreed 
upon  in  the  armistice,  and  had  no  map. 
He  had  to  accept  whatever  the  Russians 
told  him  on  this  head.  One  day  he  com- 
plained to  General  Ignatieff  of  the  depre- 
dations of  the  Circassians  in  some  village 
south  of  Sophia,  and  asked  if  the  Russians 
could  not  stop  it.  General  Ignatieff  showed 
him  that  this  village  was  on  the  Turkish 
side  of  the  neutral  ground,  and  therefore  it 
was  the  business  of  the  Turks  to  keep  order, 
but  offered  to  send  Russian  troops  there  if 
he  wished  to  punish  the  Circassians.  Under 
such  circumstances  it  was  most  diflScult  to 

VOL.  IJI.  2  U 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [Russians  in  san  stefano. 


push  the  negotiations  rapidly.  General 
Ignatieiff  said  the  end  of  it  would  be,  that  he 
would  have  to  deliver  an  ultimatum  in 
order  to  get  peace  signed. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  these 
delays  were  caused  by  the  natural  and 
ordinary  unreadiness  of  the  Turks,  or  by  a 
wish  to  gain  time.  General  Ignatieff 
thought,  or  professed  to  think,  that  the 
knowledge  of  the  views  of  the  powers  during 
the  conference  had  much  to  do  with  it,  and 
that  the  Turks  imagined  that  no  peace  signed 
under  such  circumstances  could  be  final 
and  conclusive — a  view  borne  out  by  sub- 
sequent events.  Then  came  news  of  the  fall 
of  Server  Pasha,  and  Safvet  said  that  the 
negotiations  must  be  suspended  until  fur- 
ther orders. 

This  was  the  last  straw  on  the  camel's 
back.  It  was  immediately  decided  to  go  to 
San  Stefano,  the  consent  of  the  Turks  to 
that  step  having  been  previously  obtained. 
The  Turks  also  agreed  to  abandon  the  last 
line  of  defence,  Kujuk  Tchekmedje.  All 
these  delays  gave  General  Ignatieff  the 
very  pretext  he  wanted  to  get  nearer  to 
Constantinople — a  step  which  he  insisted 
upon  most  strongly. 

The  grand  duke,  hereupon,  left  Adrian- 
ople on  February  22nd,  with  the  head- 
quarters' staff.  It  was  a  .beautiful  day. 
Everybody  was  in  the  best  spirits,  delighted 
at  the  exchange  of  the  muddy  streets  of 
Adrianople  for  the  pretty  village  of  San 
Stefano,  on  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Mar- 
mora. 

They  arrived  at  Tchataldja  about  six  in 
the  evening.  Here  General  Skobeloffs 
corps,  and  part  of  the  guards,  were  drawn 
up  to  receive  the  grand  duke.  He  reviewed 
them,  and  found  the  troops,  having  had  a 
rest,  in  excellent  condition  ;  but  when  on 
the  point  of  continuing  the  journey,  he  was 
accosted  by  Tahir  Bey,  the  Turkish  officer 
appointed  for  regulating  the  lines  of  delimi- 
tation, who,  for  some  days,  had  been  at 
Skobeleff's  head-quarters.  Tahir  said  that 
Mukhtar  Pasha  had  had  no  orders  to  with- 
draw his  troops  from  Kujuk  Tchekmedje. 
He  could  not,  therefore,  allow  the  Russian 
troops  to  occupy  these  positions,  nor  to  go 
to  San  Stefano. 

This  was  news  indeed,  and  of  the  most 
serious  nature.  The  Turks  were  refusing  to 
do  what  they  had  agreed  upon,  and  were 
stopping  the  grand  duke  after  allowing  him 
to  come  as  far  as  Tchataldja.  Had  the 
Turks  held  out,  there  could  have  been  only 

325 


k 


..1 


THE  GRAND  DUKE'S  WRATH.]       HISTORY     OF    THE 


[\ 


one  result — the  assault  of  the  Turkish  posi- 
tions next  morning  at  daybreak. 

The  moment  was  an  exciting  one,  and  for 
a  couple  of  hours  the  two  enemies  seemed 
again  on  the  brink  of  war.  The  telegraph 
was  set  going,  but  nothing  seemed  to  come 
of  it;  and,  finally,  the  grand  duke  grew 
very  angry  and  indignant.  He  thought  he 
was  being  trifled  with.  The  spirit  of  his 
father  rose  within  him ;  and  as  he  walked 
up,  his  resemblance  to  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
was  striking,  and  it  was  still  more  evident 
when  he  called  Tahir  Bey,  and  said  to  him, 
with  an  energy  that  made  the  latter 
tremble — "  Go  and  tell  Mukhtar  Pasha, 
that  when  I  give  an  order  he  must  obey 
it,  and  at  once,  or  it  will  be  the  worse  for 
him.     Go." 

There  was  a  dead  silence  for  a  moment. 
Everybody  felt  the  gravity  of  the  situation. 
Tahir  withdrew  precipitately,  sprang  upon 
a  locomotive,  and  in  a  moment  was'' flying 
through  the  darkness  down  over  the  line  to 
Kujuk  Tchekmedje,  as  fast  as  steam  could 
carry  him.  It  was  then  known  by  all  the 
officers  present,  that  unless  the  Turks 
abandoned  the  positions  instantly,  they 
would  be  attacked  at  daylight.  The  situa- 
tion was  considered  very  critical.  Peace  was 
trembling  in  the  balance,  and  yet  there  was 
not  the  slightest  desire  expressed  at  head- 
quarters for  the  continuance  of  the  war 
under  any  circumstances  whatever. 

Mr.  Gladstone  seemed  to  fear  the  danger 
of  the  army  escaping  from  the  control  of 
cooler  heads  at  St.  Petersburg.     There  was 
not  the  slightest  danger  of  this.     There  had 
not    been    a   move   without    orders.      The 
British  fleet  had  done  its  work  most  eff"ectu- 
ally,  and  the  Russians  knew,  best  of  all,  how 
critical  their  position  was  in  spite  of  their 
apparent  advantages,  and  that  they  had  no 
chance  in  a  war  with  England.     The  aver- 
sion of  the  grand  duke  for  the  continuation 
of  the   war    was    shown   in    a    somewhat 
amusing    way.       While    waiting    for    the 
result  of  Tahir's  mission,  the    question  of 
what  was  going  to  happen  was  criticised  in 
an    animated   manner.      The  grand   duke, 
who  was  excited  and  indignant  at  the  situa- 
tion, asked  Skobeloff",  it  is  said,  what  he 
thought  of  it.     The  latter,  with  the  reck- 
less indifiference  which  characterised   him, 
replied — 

"  For  my  part,  Monseigneur,  I  think  we 
shall  have  to  fight  England." 

"  Oh,  but  you  are  a  madman,"  exclaimed 

the  grand  duke  in  a  half-angry  manner, 

326  b  ^  J 


[A.D  1878. 

turning  from  him,  and  spitting  as  every 
Russian  peasant  spits  when  anything  dis- 
pleases him. 

Finally,  after  two  hours,  news  came  that 
the  positions  were  being  evacuated  by 
Mukhtar,  and  that  the  Russians  were  march- 
ing in.  At  midnight  the  train  was  again 
in  motion,  and  at  two  o'clock  on  Sunday 
'morning  the  grand  duke  was  in  San  Stefano. 
The  line  Kujuk  Tchekmedje  was  abandoned 
completely  by  Mukhtar,  who  withdrew  his 
forces  behind  the  little  creek  that  empties 
itself  into  the  Marmora,  half-way  between 
San  Stefano  and  Yedi  Kuleh. 

The  Russians  were  delighted  with  the 
pretty  little  place.  San  Stefano,  though 
not  a  Dutch  model  of  cleanliness  at  any 
time,  appeared  quite  clean  and  bright,  after 
Bulgaria.  The  weather  was  delicious,  and 
the  quay  and  sea-shore  presented  a  very 
animated  appearance,  lined  with  oflScers  in 
brilliant  uniforms,  ladies,  and  the  popula- 
tion walking  up  and  down,  listening  to  the 
music  played  all  day  long.  It  was  very 
pleasant  to  watch  the  glimmer  of  the  sun- 
shine over  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  with  Mount 
Olympus  in  the  misty  distance.  Numerous 
boats  and  caiques  gave  animation  to  the 
scene  close  at  hand,  and  picturesque  groups 
of  Cossacks  bathing  their  horses  were  con- 
tinually seen.  General  Ignatieff"  inhabited 
a  pretty  villa,  whose  walls  were  washed  by 
the  waves,  and  from  the  windows  of  which 
the  minarets  of  St.  Sophia  were  plainly 
visible.  It  was  here  that  peace  was  to  be 
signed. 

As  regards  the  progress  of  the  negotia- 
tions, no  point  had  been  touched  upon  but 
questions  relating  to  Bulgaria,  and  little 
advance  had  been  made  even  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  frontiers.  True,  the  outlines  h'ad 
been  generally  arranged,  but  the  details  in 
no  case  had  been  settled ;  and  it  was  just  on 
the  details  the  Turks  made  their  chief  stand. 

When  General  Ignatieff,  to  induce  Safvet 
Pasha  to  hurry  the  negotiations,  told  him 
that  the  Russian  military  expenses  were 
2,000,000  roubles  daily,  and  that  for  every 
day's  delay  this  sum  would  have  to  be 
added  to  the  war  indemnity,  he  exclaimed 
— "But  this  sum  is  enormous  I  Why  do 
you  spend  so  much  on  your  army  ?  We  do 
not  spend  a  tenth  of  this  sum  on  ours. 
You  pay  your  officers  too  much.  Your 
army  is  too  expensive ;  and  it  is  not  right 
we  should  pay  for  it." 

Then  Safvet  objected  to  Rasgrad  being  in- 
cluded in  Bulgaria,  because  it  was  a  Mus- 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


Fpeace  signed. 


*.,'( 


Bulman  town,  although  in  the  middle  of  a 
Christian  country.  General  Ignatieff  could 
only  reply---"  If  you  will  pick  up  Rasgrad, 
and  carry  it  bodily  out  of  the  country,  we 
shall  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  it ;  but  we  can- 
not allow  it  to  remain  under  Turkish  rule 
as  long  as  it  is  where  it  is." 

Then  the  Turks  continually  harked  back 
to  the  condition  of  things  before  the  war,  and 
denied  that  there  were  ever  any  massacres 
in  Bulgaria  to  the  extent  asserted  by  the 
Russians,  and  maintained  that  Edib  Effendi's 
report,  whicli  Mr,  Schuyler  and  Mr.  Baring 
called  a  tissue  of  falsehoods,  was  quite 
correct  and  truthful.  This  shows  how  in- 
corrigible the  Turkish  officials  were.  Even 
after  all  the  disasters  brought  upon  them- 
selves, they  still  clung  to  the  old  story,  and 
refused  to  see  that  there  was  any  cause  for 
complaint,  or  any  necessity  for  reform. 

If  General  Ignatieff  had  been  contented 
to  go  back  over  the  old  ground,  and  dis- 
cuss questions  which  had  been  settled  long 
ago,  the  peace  negotiations  might  have 
lasted  a  year.  He  was  continually  obliged 
to  recall  them  to  the  subject  in  hand,  and 
pin  them  down  to  it.  At  last,  however, 
what  with  threats,  cajoling,  promises,  and 
appeals,  the  terms  of  the  proposed  peace 
were  agreed  to  on  March  3rd. 

In  General  Ignatieffs  quarters,  in  a  little 
house  by  the  sea-side  at  San  Stefano,  shaken 
by  the  increasing  gale  that  tore  across  the 
Sea  of  Marmora,  were  busy,  all  night  long, 
the  secretaries  of  both  diplomatic  bodies, 
copying  and  arranging  for  the  signatures 
the  treaty  of  peace,  the  result  of  the  con- 
cluded negotiations.  All  night  long  Prince 
Tzereteleff'  dictated  the  treaty  to  his  col- 
league, Chebachoff,  who  wrote  and  wrote 
through  the  long  hours  until  the  document 
was  finished.  Although  wearied  by  con- 
tinuous labour,  these  two  secretaries, 
appreciating  the  value  of  their  work,  kept 
at  their  task,  only  stopping  for  refreshment 
and  to  listen  to  tlie  scratch  of  the  reeds  of 
the  Turkish  secretaries  in  an  adjoining 
room,  busy  with  their  own  copy,  until  the 
dull  dawn  found  them  still  at  the  table, 
Countess  Ignatieff  herself  looking  in  every 
now  and  then  to  see  that  they  were  not 
neglecting  their  work.  Then,  the  last 
word  being  on  paper,  they  slept  amid 
the  confusion  of  documents,  maps,  and 
Volumes. 

Scarcely  was  it  daylight  when,  notwith- 
standing the  storm,  there  was  an  unusual 
movement   in    the   village.     There    was    a 


general  idea  that  peace  was  to  be  signed  that 
day.  The  steamers  from  Constantinople 
came  rolling  along  through  the  rough  sea, 
overladen  with  excursionists  attracted  by 
the  review  which  had  been  announced  to 
take  place  in  celebration  of  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  Czar's  accession  to  the  throne. 
Greeks,  Bulgarians,  Turks,  and  Russians 
crowded  the  little  village,  besieging  the 
restaurants,  swarming  about  the  doors  of 
houses  whence  were  supposed  to  issue  some 
of  the  great  personages  who  were  to  become 
famous  in  history,  all  impatiently  awaiting 
the  hour  of  2  p.m.,  the  appointed  time  of 
the  review.  The  horses  of  the  grand  duke 
and  his  staff  were  gathered  about  the 
entrance  to  his  quarters,  and  keen-eyed 
spectators,  ready  to  interpret  the  slightest 
movement  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
formed  unbroken  ranks  around  the  group 
of  horses  in  the  street. 

One  o'clock  passed.  Two  o'clock  passed, 
and  still  no  movement.  People  began  to  grow 
serious,  began  to  feel  that  something  was  in 
the  air — were  sure  that  this  was  the  decisive 
moment — that  peace  and  war  were  trembling 
in  the  scale;  and  one  said  to  the  other, 
"  This  is  an  event  in  history  ;"  and  each  be- 
lieved himself  an  actor  in  the  scene— such 
was  the  impressiveness  of  thehour.  At  length 
word  was  given  out  that  the  review  was  post- 
poned until  three  o'clock;  but  that  hour 
came  and  went,  and  brought  only  another 
postponement  for  an  hour.  Later,  rain 
fell,  but  the  people  remained  at  their  posts. 

At  last  their  patience  was  rewarded. 
About  four  o'clock  the  grand  duke 
mounted,  and  rode  to  the  Diplomatic 
Chancery,  where  he  asked  at  the  door,  "  Is 
it  ready  ?"  and  then  galloped  towards  the 
hill  where  the  army  was  drawn  up.  Here 
he  halted  again  for  a  few  moments.  Finally, 
a  carriage  came  whirling  out  of  the  village. 
General  Ignatieff  was  in  it;  and  when 
he  approached,  he  rose  and  said  — "  I  have 
the  honour  to  congratulate  your  imperial 
highness  on  the  signature  of  peace." 

There  was  a  long  loud  shout.  Then  the 
grand  duke,  followed  by  about  100  officers, 
dashed  forward  to  where  the  troops  were 
formed  on  rising  ground  close  by  the  sea- 
coast,  just  behind  San  Stefano  lighthouse, 
and  began  riding  along  the  lines.  As  he 
passed,  the  soldiers  did  not  know  that  peace 
had  been  signed,  as  it  was  still  unannounced ; 
but  soon  the  news  spread,  and  the  cheering 
grew  louder  and  more  enthusiastic.  There 
were  Schouvaloff^s  and   Ranch's  divisions, 

327 


'51 


I 

I 


«4 


.  m 


GRAND  REVIEW.] 


/ 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


"with  the  sharpshooters  of  the  guard,  and 
cavalry  and  artillery  in  line,  and  the  grand 
duke  passed  between  the  ranks  in  review. 
Very  different,  indeed,  was  the  appearance 
of  these  soldiers  then,  and  that  of  the  same 
men  months  before.  During  their  interval 
of  rest  they  had  patched  and  cleaned  their 
clothes,  repaired  and  polished  their  boots, 
washed  and  brushed  up  generally,  so  that 
they  looked  as  trim  and  neat  as  could  be. 

After  riding  between  the  lines,  the  grand 
duke  halted  on  a  little  eminence,  whence  all 
the  troops  could  be  seen,  and  formally  made 
the  announcement  of  the  peace : — 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  inform  the  army 
that,  with  the  help  of  God,  we  have  con- 
cluded a  treaty  of  peace." 

Then    another    shout    burst    forth  from 
20,000  throats,  rising,  swelling,  and  dying 
away.     There  was  a  general  feeling  of  reliel" 
and  satisfaction.     Still,  the  news  of  peace 
was   not   greeted    with    anything  like  the 
wild  excitement  and  enthusiasm  caused  by 
the  emperor's  proclamation  of  war  at  Kis- 
cheneff.     There  stood  the  famous  regiment 
of  Peter  the  Great,  the  Praobrajensky,  often 
the   first  to    attack   in   many    of  the  late 
battles  of  the  war.     There  were  the  troops 
who  had  faced  the    enemy   on    the    bleak 
summits   of  the    Balkans   at  Baba  Konak 
for  a  long,  cold,  and  terrible  month.     There 
were   the    men    who   had   toilod    over  the 
slippery  mountain  paths,  scantily  fed,  thinly 
dressed,    dratrging  the   heavy   guns   across 
into  the  valley,  finding,  after  their  struggles 
with  cold,  hunger,  and  fatigue,  a  desperate 
enemy    to    resist    them   on  every  hill-top. 
These  were  the   same  brave    fellows    who 
had  made  the  long  march  from  Sophia   to 
Philippopoli,    who  had  run    that  race  for 
enormous  stakes  with  Suleiman's  army,  and 
finally  thrown  their  great  force  against  the 
wall  of  the  Khodope  mountains,  and  smashed 
it  to  pieces.     These  were  the  men  whose 
courage,  devotion,  and  unparalleled  endur- 
ance will  go  down  to  history. 

And  there,  gathered  scarcely  more  than 
a  rifle-shot  away,  was  the  enemy  they  had 
found  worthy  of  their  steel.  For  on  the 
crest  of  the  neighbouring  hill  stood  the 
Turks  in  groups,  interested  spectators  of  the 
scene — those  very  fellows  who  had  kept  the 
snowy  ridge  of  Shandarnik,  defending  gal- 
lantly the  great  gate  of  Eoumelia;  an^d  who 
at  last,  after  a  memorable  retreat,  had 
fought  like  heroes  on  the  hills  of  Stanimaka. 
These  two  armies  stood  looking  at  each 
Other  at  this  moment  of  final  peace :  like 
328 


[a.d.  1878. 

true  soldiers  they  had  learned  to  respect 
and  esteem  each  other,  and  welcomed  peace 
as  an  honourable  finish  to  the  fight  which 
they  cared  not  to  prolong.  It  was  the 
beginning  of  a  new  friendship  formed  on  the 
basis  of  actual  experience  of  qualities  that 
had  hitherto  been  unrecognised. 

After  the  review,  gathering  his  officers 
about  him  where  the  priest  stood  ready  for 
the  Te  Deum,  the  grand  duke  spoke  briefly 
and  emphatically,  saying — 

"To  an  army  which  has  accomplished 
what  you  have,  my  friends,  nothing  is  im- 
possible." 

Then  all  dismounted,  uncovered,  and  a 
solemn  service  was  conducted,  the  soldiers 
all  kneeling.  A  few  ladies  were  present  at 
this  ceremony  ;  among  them  Madame  Igna- 
tieff,  kneeling  on  a  fur  rug  beside  her 
carriaofe. 

All  the  generals  except  Skobeloff  were  in 
attendance.     He  was  back   in   Tchataldja. 
Baron  Loenhausen  and  Captain  Bella,  the 
Austrian  military  attaches,  the  former  wear- 
ing the  Cross  of  St.  Vladimir,  received  for 
coolness  under  fire  ;  the  latter  with  the  St. 
George,  for  acting  as  Skobeloff^s  aide-de- 
camp on  the  day  he  took   the  redoubts  on 
the    Lovatz    road;    Colonel    Gaillard,  tho 
l<rench  attache,   who  had   been  with    the 
grand  duke  ever  since  the  army  was  mobi- 
lised, eighteen  months  back,  decorated  with 
the  St.    Vladimir  around  his  neck;  Major 
Liegnitz,  the  Prussian  attache,  with  the  St. 
George,  for  services   at   the   Grivitza    re- 
doubt;   Lieutenant  Green,    the   American 
attache,  wearing  the  St.  Vladimir  for  the 
last  Balkan  campaign ;    and,    finally,    two 
bwiss  attaches,  who  had  arrived  Justin  time 
for  the  Te  Deum, 

The  religious  ceremony  over,  the  grand 
duke  took  his  stand,  and  the  army  began  to 
hie  past  with  a  swinging  rapid  stride,  in 
torcible  contrast  with  the  weary  pace  with 
which  they  used  to  drag  themselves  slowly 
along  at  the  end  of  their  long  and  exhausting 
marches,  scarcely,  at  times,  able  to  put  one 
foot  before  the  other.  The  night  was  fall- 
mg,  and  darkness  settled  quickly  over  the 
scene;  but  the  grand  duke  sat  immov- 
able on  his  horse  whilst  the  troops  were 
still  passing,  and  listened  to  their  joyful 
shouts  ringing  in  the  air,  and  the  measured 
tramp,  tramp  going  off  in  the  darkness. 

And  it  was  fit  that  the  ceremony  should 
end  in  darkness ;  for  the  instrument  just 
signed  was  the  signal  for  a  period  of  dark- 
ness and  general  anxiety  that  has  not  been 


A.D.  1878.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


fSERVIA— -MONTENEGRO. 


equalled  since  the  great  wars  of  Napoleon  I. 
After  the  usual  preambles,  this  document, 
known  as  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano,  ran  as 
follows : — 

Art.  1. — In  order  to  put  an  end  to  the 
perpetual  conflicts  between  Turkey  and 
Montenegro,  the  frontier  which  separates 
the  two  countries  will  be  rectified  conforma- 
bly to  the  map  hereto  annexed,  subject  to 
the  reserve  hereinafter  mentioned,  in  the 
following  manner  : — From  the  mountain  of 
Dobrostitza  the  frontier  will  follow  the  line 
indicated  by  the  Conference  of  Constanti- 
nople as  far  as  Korito  by  Bilek.  Thence 
the  new  frontier  will  run  to  Gatzko  (Meto- 
chia-Gatzko  will  belong  to  Montenegro), 
and  towards  the  confluence  of  the  Piva  and 
the  Tara,  ascending  towards  the  north  by 
the  Drina  as  far  as  its  confluence  with  the 
Lim.  The  eastern  frontier  of  the  princi- 
pality will  follow  this  last  river  as  far  as 
Prijepolje,  and  will  proceed  by  Roshaj  to 
Sukha-Planina  (leaving  Bihor  and  Roshaj 
to  Montenegro),  Taking  in  Bugovo,  Plava, 
and  Gusinje,  the  frontier  line  will  follow 
the  chain  of  mountains  by  Shlieb,  Paklen, 
and  along  the  northern  frontier  of  Albania 
by  the  crests  of  the  mountains  Koprivnik, 
Babavik,  Borvik,  to  the  highest  peak  of 
Prokleti.  From  that  point  the  frontier 
will  proceed  by  the  summit  of  Biskaschik, 
and  will  run  in  a  straight  line  to  the  lake 
of  Tjiceni-Hoti.  Dividing  Tjiceni-Hoti 
and  Tjiceni-Klastratijit  will  cross  the  lake  of 
Scutari  to  the  Boyana,  the  thalweg  of  which 
it  will  follow  as  far  as  the  sea.  Niksich,Spuss, 
Gatzko,  Podgoritza,  Jabliak,  and  Antivari 
will  remain  to  Montenegro.  A  European 
commission',  on  which  the  Sublime  Porte 
and  the  government  of  Montenegro  shall 
be  represented,  will  be  charged  with  fixing 
the  definite  limits  of  the  principality, 
making  on  the  spot  such  modifications  in 
the  general  tracing  as  it  may  think  necessary 
and  equitable,  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  respective  interests  and  tranquillity  of 
the  two  countries,  to  which  it  will  accord  in 
this  respect  the  equivalents  deemed  neces- 
sary. The  navigation  of  the  Boyana  having 
always  given  rise  to  disputes  between  the 
Sublime  Porte  and  Montenegro,  will  be  the 
subject  of  a  special  regulation,  which  will  be 
prepared  by  the  same  European  commission. 

Art.  2. — The  Sublime  Porte  recognises 
definitively  the  independence  of  the  prin- 
cipality of  Montenegro.  An  understand- 
ing between  the  imperial  government  of 
Russia,  the  Ottoman  government,  and  the 


principality  of  Montenegro  will  determine 
subsequently  the  character  and  form  of  the 
relations  between  the  Sublime  Porte 
and  the  principality  as  regards  particu- 
larly the  establishment  of  Montenegrin 
agents  at  Constantinople,  and  in  certain 
localities  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  where 
the  necessity  for  such  agents  shall  be 
recognised, the  extradition  of  fugitive  crimi- 
nals on  the  one  territory  or  the  other, 
and  the  subjection  of  Montenegrins  travel- 
ling or  sojourning  in  the  Ottoman  empire 
to  the  Ottoman  laws  and  authorities,  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  of  international  law 
and  the  established  usages  concerning  the 
Montenegrins.  A  convention  will  be  con- 
cluded between  the  Sublime  Porte  and 
Montenegro  to  regulate  the  questions  con- 
nected with  the  relations  between  the 
inhabitants  of  the  confines  of  the  two 
countries  and  with  the  military  works  on 
the  same  confines.  The  points  upon  which 
an  understanding  cannot  be  established  will 
be  settled  by  the  arbitration  of  Russia  and 
Austria-Hungary.  Henceforward,  if  there 
is  any  discussion  or  conflict,  except  as  regards 
new  territorial  demands,  Turkey  and 
Montenegro  will  leave  the  settlement  of 
their  differences  to  Russia  and  Austria- 
Hungary,  who  will  arbitrate  in  common. 
The  troops  of  Montenegro  will  be  bound 
to  evacuate  the  territory  not  comprised 
within  the  limits  indicated  above  within 
ten  days  from  the  signature  of  the  prelimi- 
naries of  peace. 

Art.  3. — Servia  is  recognised  as  indepen- 
dent. Its  frontier,  marked  on  the  annexed 
map,  will  follow  the  thalweg  of  the  Drina, 
leaving  Little  Zwornik  and  Zakar  to  the 
principality,  and  following  the  old  limit  as 
far  as  the  sources  of  the  stream  Dezevo, 
near  Stoilac.  Thence  the  new  line  will 
follow  the  course  of  that  stream  as  far  as 
the  river  Raska,  and  then  the  course  of  the 
latter  as  far  as  Novi-Bazar.  From  Novi- 
Bazar,  ascending  the  stream  which  passes 
near  the  villages  of  Mekinje  and  Irgoviste 
as  far  as  its  source,  the  frontier  line  will 
run  by  Bosur  Planina,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ibar,  and  will  then  descend  the  stream 
which  falls  into  this  river  near  the  village 
ofRibanic.  The  line  will  then  follow  the 
course  of  the  rivers  Ibar,  Sitnitza,  and  Lab, 
and  of  the  brook  Batintze  to  its  source  (upon 
the  Grapachnitza  Planina).  Thence  the 
frontier  will  follow  the  heights  which  sepa- 
rate the  waters  of  the  Kriva  and  the  Veter- 
nitza,  and  will  meet  the  latter  river  by  the 

329 


n 


I 


HI 

4 


»« 


BULGARIA.] 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


t^    ^ 


shortest  route  at  the  mouth  of  the  stream 
Miovatzka,  which  it  will  ascend,  crossing 
the  Miovatzka  Planina   and   redescending 
towards   the    Morava,    near  the  village  of 
Kalimanci.     From  this  point  the  frontier 
will  descend  the  Morava  as  far  as  the  river 
Vlossina,    near   the    village  of  Staikovtzi. 
Keascending  the  latter  river,  as  well  as  the 
Linberazda,  and  the  brook  Koukavitze,  the 
line  will  pass  by  the  Sukha  Planina,  will 
•    run  along  the  stream  Vrylo  as  far  as  the 
Nisawa,  and  will  descend  the  said  river  as 
far  as  the  village  of  Kronpatz,  whence  the 
line  will  rejoin  by  the  shortest  route  the  old 
Servian  frontier  to  the  south-east  of  Karaoul 
Bare,  and  will  not  leave  it  until  it  reaches 
the   Danube.     Ada-Kale  will  be  evacuated 
and  razed.     A  Turco-Servian  commission, 
assisted  by  a  Russian    commissioner,  will, 
within  three  months,  arrange  upon  the  spot 
the  definite  frontier  line,and  will  definitively 
settle  the  questions  relating  to  the  islands 
of  the  Drina.     A   Bulgarian  delegate   will 
be  admitted  to  participate  in  the  work  of 
the  commission  when  it  shall  be  engao-edon 
the  frontier  between  Servia  and  Bulgaria. 

Art.  4.— The  Mussulmans  holding  lands 
in  the  territories  annexed  to    Servia,  and 
who  wish  to  reside  out  of  the  principality 
can  preserve  their  real  property  by  having' 
them  farmed  out  or  administered  by  others. 
A  Turco-Servian  commission,  assisted  by  a 
Russian  commissioner,  will  be  charged  to 
decide  absolutely,  in  the  course  of  two  years, 
all  questions  relating  to  the  verification  of 
real   estate  in  which  Mussulman  interests 
are  concerned.     This  commission  will  also 
be  called  upon  to  settle  within  three  years 
the  method  of  alienation  of  State  property 
and  of  religious  endowments  (Vacouf),  as 
well  as  the  questions  relative  to  the  interests 
of  private  persons  which  may  be  involved. 
Until  a  direct  treaty  is  concluded  between 
Turkey  and  Servia  determining  the  charac- 
ter of  the  relations  between  the  Sublime 
Porte  and  the  principality,  Servian  subjects 
travelling  or  sojourning   in  the   Ottoman 
empire  shall  be  treated  according  to    the 
general  principles  of  international  law.    The 
Servian   troops  shall  be  bound  to  evacuate 
the  territory  not  comprised  within  the  above- 
mentioned  limits  within  fifteen  days  from 
the  signature  of  the  preliminaries  of  peace. 
Art.  5.— The  Sublime   Porte  recognises 
the  independence  of  Roumania,  which   will 
establish  its  right  to  an  indemnity,  to  be 
discussed  between  the  two  countries.     Until 
the  conclusion  of  a  direct  treaty  between 
330 


fA-D.  1878. 


Turkey  and  Roumania,  Roumanian  subjects 
will  enjoy  m  Turkey  all  the  rights  guaran- 

Poiers''  '"^  **''^'    ""^  ^^^^^   European 

Art.  6.— Bulgaria  is  constituted  an  au- 
tonomous   tributary    principality,    with    a 
Christian  government  and  a  national  militia. 
Ihe  definitive  frontiers   of  the   Bulgarian 
principality   will    be    traced    by    a    sl)ecial 
Russo-Iurkish  commission   before  the  eva- 
cuation of  Roumelia  by  tlie  imperial  Rus- 
sian    army.      This     commission    will,    in 
working  out  the  modifications  to  be  made 
on  the  spot  in  the  general  tracing,  take  into 
account  the  principle  of  the  nationality  of 
the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  border 
districts,  conformably  to  the  bases  of  peace 
and  also  the  topographical  necessities  and 
practical  interests  of  the  intercommunica- 
tion of  the  local  population.     The  extent  of 
the  Bulgarian  principality  is  laid  down  in 
general  terms  on  the  accompanying  map, 
which  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  definitive 
fixing   of  the   limits.      Leaving    the    new 
frontier  of  the  Servian  principality,  the  line 
will  follow  the  western  limit  of  the  Gaza  of 
;^  rania  as  far  as  the  chain  of  the  Kara  Dagh. 
Turning   towards   the   west,    the   line  will 
^llow  the  western  limits  of  the  Cazas  of 
Koumanovo      Kotchani,    Kalkandelen,    to 
Mount  Korab ,  thence  by  the  river  Welest- 
chitza  as  far  as  its  junction  with  the  Black 
l^rina.     Turning  towards  the  south   by  the 
Drma,  and  afterwards  by  the  western  limit 
of  the    Caza  of  Ochride    towards    Mount 
Linas,  the  frontier  will  follow  the  western 
limits  of  the  Cazas  of  Gortcha  and  Starovo 
as  far  as  Mount  Grammes.     Then  by  the 
lake  of  Kastoria,  the  frontier  line  will  re- 
join the  river  Moglenitza,  and  after  having 
toUowed  Its  course,  and  passed  to  the  south 
of   lanitza  (Wardar  Yenidje),    will  so  bv 
the   mouth  of  the    Wardar,    and   hy    the 
Galhko,  towards  the  villages  of  Parga  and 
of  Sarai-keui;  thence  through  the  middle 
of  Lake  Bechik-Guel  to  the  mouth   of  the 
rivers  Strouma  and  Karassou,  and  by  the 
sea-coast    as    far    as    Buru-Guel;    thence 
striking  north-west  towards  Mount  Tchal- 

\T'  .1  ^^^  f^^'°  ^^  Rhodope  as  far  as 
Mount  Krouschowo,  by  the  Black  Balkans 
Kara-Balkan),  by  the  mountains  Eschek- 
koulatchi,  Tchepelion,  Karakolas,  and 
Tschiklar,  as  far  as  the  river  Arda.  Thence 
the  line  will  be  traced  in  the  direction  of 
the  town  of  Tchirmen,  and  leaving  the  town 
ofAdrianopletothesouth,by  the  villages 
of  Suguthon,  Kara-Hamza,  Arnaout-keui, 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


Akardji,  and  Enidje,  as  far  as   the   river 
Tekederessi.     Following   the  rivers   Teke- 
deressi  and  Tchorlouderessi  as  far  as  Loule- 
Bourgaz,  and  thence,  by  the  river  Soudjak- 
dere  as  far  as  the  village  of  Serguen,  the 
frontier  line  will  go  by  the  heights  straight 
towards  Hakim-tabiassi,  where  it  will  strike 
the  Black  Sea.     It  will  leave  the  sea-coast 
near    Mangalia,    following    the     southern 
boundaries  of  the  Sandjak  of  Toultcha,  and 
will  come  out  on  the  Danube  above  Rassova. 
Art.  7.— The  Prince  of  Bulgaria  shall  be 
freely  elected  by  the  population,  and  con- 
firmed   by   the  Sublime    Porte,    with    the 
assent  of  the  Powers.     No  member  of  the 
reigning  dynasties  of  the  great  European 
Powers   shall  be  capable  of  being  elected 
Prince  of  Bulgaria.     In  the  event  of  the 
dignity  of  Prince  of  Bulgaria  being  vacant, 
the  election  of  the  new  prince  shall  be  made 
subject  to  the  same  conditions  and  forms. 
Before  the  election  of  the  prince,  an  assem- 
bly of  Bulgarian  notables,  to  be  convoked  at 
Philippopoli  (Plowdiw)  or   Tyrnowo,  shall 
draw  up,  under  the  superintendence  of  an 
imperial  Russian  commissioner,  and  in  the 
presence  of  an  Ottoman  commissioner,  the 
organisation  of  the  future  administration, 
in  conformity  with  the  precedents  estab- 
lished in   1830  after  the  peace  of  Adria- 
nople,  in  the  Danubian  principalities.     In 
the  localities  where  Bulgarians  are  mixed 
with  Turks,  Greeks,  Wallachians  (Koutzo- 
Vlachs),  or  others,  proper  account  is  to  be 
taken  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  these 
populations  in  the  elections,  and  in  the  pre- 
paration of  the  .organic  laws.     The  intro- 
duction of  the  new  system  into  Bulgaria, 
and   the   superintendence   of  its   working, 
will  be  entrusted  for  two  years  to  an  imperial 
Russian  commissioner.     At  the   expiration 
of  the  first  year  after  the  introduction  of 
the  new  system,  and  if  an  understanding  on 
this   subject  has  been  established  between 
Russia,  the  Sublime  Porte,  and  the  cabinets 
of  Europe,  they  can,  if  it  is  deemed  neces- 
sary, associate  special  delegates  with    the 
imperial  Russian  commissioner. 

Art.  8. — The  Ottoman  army  will  no 
longer  remain  in  Bulgaria,  and  all  the 
ancient  fortresses  will  be  razed  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  local  government.  The  Sub- 
lime Porte  will  have  the  right  to  dispose,  as 
it  sees  fit,  of  the  war  material,  and  of  the 
other  property  belonging  to  the  Ottoman 
government,  which  may  have  been  left  in 
the  Danubian  fortresses  already  evacuated, 
in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  armis- 


[PRINCE  OF  BULGARIA. 


tice  of  the  If^  January,  as  well  as  of  that 
in  the  strongholds  of  Schoumla  and  Varna. 
Until  the  complete  formation  of  a  native 
militia  sufl[icient  to  preserve  order,  security, 
and  tranquillity,  and  the  strength  of  which 
will  be  fixed  later  on  by  an  understanding- 
between  the  Ottoman  government  and  the 
imperial  Russian  cabinet,  Russian  troops 
will  occupy  the  country,  and  will  give  armed 
assistance  to  the  commissioner  in  case  of 
need.  This  occupation  will  also  be  limited 
to  a  term  approximating  to  two  years.  The 
strength  of  the  Russian  army  of  occupation, 
to  be  composed  of  six  divisions  of  infantry 
and  two  of  cavalry,  which  will  remain  in 
Bulgaria  after  the  evacuation  of  Turkey  by 
the  imperial  army,  shall  not  exceed  50,000 
toen.  It  will  be  maintained  at  the  expense 
of  the  country  occupied.  The  Russian 
troops  of  occupation  in  Bulgaria  will  main- 
tain their  communications  with  Russia,  not 
only  through  Roumania,  but  also  by  the 
ports  of  the  Black  Sea,  Varna,  and  Bourgas, 
where  they  may  organise,  for  the  term  of 
the  occupation,  the  necessary  depots. 

Art.  9.— The  amount  of  the  annual 
tribute  which  Bulgaria  is  to  pay  the  Suze- 
rain Court,  by  transmitting  it  to  a  bank  to 
be  hereafter  named  by  the  Sublime  Porte, 
will  be  determined  by  an  agreement  between 
Russia,  the  Ottoman  government,  and  the 
other  cabinets,  at  the  end  of  the  first  year 
during  which  the  new  organisation  shall  be 
in  operation.  This  tribute  will  be  calcu- 
lated on  the  average  revenue  of  all  the  terri- 
tory which  is  to  form  part  of  the  principality. 
Bulgaria  will  take  upon  itself  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  imperial  Ottoman  government 
towards  the  Rustzuk  and  Varna  Railway 
Company,  after  an  agreement  has  been  come 
to  between  the  Sublime  Porte,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  principality,  and  the  directors 
of  this  company.  The  Regulations  as  to  the 
other  railways  {voies  fei^ees)  which  cross 
the  principality,  are  also  reserved  for  an 
agreement  between  the  Sublime  Porte,  the 
government  established  in  Bulgaria,  and  the 
directors  of  the  companies  concerned. 

Art.  10.— The  Sublime  Porte  shall  have 
the  right  to  make  use  of  Bulgaria  for  the 
transport,  by  fixed  routes,  of  its  troops, 
munitions,  and  provisions  to  the  provinces 
beyond  the  principality,  and  vice  versa.  In 
order  to  avoid  difficulties  and  misunder- 
standings in  the  application  of  this  right, 
while  guaranteeing  the  military  necessities 
of  the  Sublime  Porte,  a  special  regulation 
will  lay  down  the  conditions  of  it  within 

331 


f  '" 


til 


•■'I 

1 


1 


Ill 


1 


!f 


!' 


THE  DANUBE  AND  CRETE.]  HISTORY  OF   THE 

three  months  after  the  ratification  of  the 
present  Act  by  an  understanding  between 
the  Sublime  Porte  and  the  Bulgarian  gov- 
ernment. It  is  fully  understood  that  this 
right  is  limited  to  the  regular  Ottoman 
troops,  and  that  the  irregulars,  the  Eashi- 
Bazouks,  and  the  Circassians  will  be  abso- 
lutely   excluded    from    it.     The    Sublime 


Porte  also  reserves  to  itself  the  right  of 
sending  its  postal  service  through  the 
principality,  and  of  maintaining  telegra- 
pliic  communication.  These  two  points 
shall  also  be  determined  in  the  manner, 
and  within  the  period  of  time,  indicated 
above. 

Art.   11. — The   Mussulman   proprietors, 
or  others,  who   fix  their  personal  residence 
outside  the  principality,  may  retain  their 
estates  by  having  them  farmed  or  admin- 
istered by   others.     Turko-Bulgarian  com- 
missions shall  sit  in  the  principal  centres  of 
population,  under  the  superintendence    of 
Russian  commissioners,  to  decide  absolutely, 
in  the   course  of  two  years,   all   questions 
relative  to  the  verification  of  real  property 
in  which  either  Mussulmans  or  others  may 
be    interested.      Similar  commissions    will 
be   charged  with  the   duty    of  regulating, 
within  two  years,   all  questions  relative  to 
the  mode  of  alienation,  working,  or  use,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  of  the 
property  of  the  State,  and  of  the  religious 
endowments  (Vacouf),     At  the  expiration 
of  the  two  years  mentioned  above,  all  pro- 
perties which  shall  not  have  been  claimed 
shall  be  sold  by  public  auction,  and   the 
proceeds  thereof  shall   be  devoted    to    the 
support  of  the  widows  and  orphans,  Mus- 
sulman as  well  as  Christian,  victims  of  the 
recent  events. 

Art.  12. — All  the  Danubian  fortresses 
shall  be  razed.  There  shall  be  no  strong- 
holdg  in  the  future  on  the  banks  of  this 
river,  nor  any  men-of-war  in  the  waters  of 
the  principalities  of  Roumania,  Servia,  and 
Bulgaria,  except  the  usual  stationnaires  and 
the  small  vessels  intended  for  river-police 
and  custom-house  purposes.  The  rights, 
obligations,  and  prerogatives  of  the  inter- 
national commission  of  the  Lower  Danube 
are  maintained  intact. 

Art.  13. — The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes 
to  render  the  passage  of  Soulina  again 
navigable,  and  to  indemnify  the  private 
individuals  who  have  suffered  loss  by  the 
war  and  the  interruption  of  the  navigation 
of  the  Danube,  applying  for  this  double 
charge  a  sum  of  500,000  francs  from  the 
332 


[a.d.  1878. 

amount  due  to  the  Sublime  Porte  from  the 
Danubian  commission. 

Art.  14. — The  European  proposals  com- 
municated to  the  Ottoman  plenipotentiaries 
at  the  first  sitting  of  the  Constantinople 
Conference  shall  immediately  be  introduced 
into  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  with  any 
modifications  which  may  be  agreed  upon  in 
common  between  the  Sublime  Porte,  the 
government  of  Russia,  and  that  of  Austria- 
Hungary.  The  payment  of  arrears  of  taxes 
shall  not  be  required,  and  the  current 
revenues  of  these  provinces,  until  the  1st  of 
March,  1880,  shall  be  exclusively  applied  to 
indemnify  the  families  of  refugees  and  in- 
habitants, victims  of  recent  events,  without 
distinction  of  race  or  creed,  as  well  as  to  the 
local  needs  of  the  country.  The  sum  to  bo 
received  annually  after  this  period  by  the 
central  government,  shall  be  subsequently 
fixed  by  a  special  understanding  between 
Turkey,  Rnssia,  and  Austria-Hungary. 

Art.  15. — The  Sublime  Porte  engages  to 
apply  scrupulously  in  the  island  of  Crete, 
the  Organic  Law  of  1868,  taking  into 
account  the  previously  expressed  wishes  of 
the  native  population.  An  analogous  law 
adapted  to  local  requirements  shall  likewise 
be  introduced  into  Epirus,  Thessaly,  and  the 
other  parts  of  Turkey  in  Europe  for  which 
a  special  constitution  is  not  provided  by  the 
present  Act.  Special  commissions,  in  which 
the  native  population  will  be  largely  repre- 
sented, shall  in  each  province  be  entrusted 
with  the  task  of  elaborating  the  details  of 
the  new  organisation,  and  the  result  of 
their  labours  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Sub- 
lime Porte,  who  will  consult  the  imperial 
government  of  Russia  before  carrying  it 
into  effect. 

Art.  16.— As  the  evacuation  by  the 
Russian  troops  of  the  territory  which  they 
occupy  in  Armenia,  and  which  is  to  be  re- 
stored to  Turkey,  might  give  rise  to  con- 
flicts and  complications  detrimental  to  the 
maintenance  of  good  relations  between  the 
two  countries,  the  Sublime  Porte  engages 
to  carry  into  effect,  without  further  delay, 
the  improvements  and  reforms  demanded  by 
local  requirements  in  the  provinces  inhabited 
by  Armenians,  and  to  guarantee  their  se- 
curity from  Kurds  and  Circassians. 

Art.  17. — A  full  and  complete  amnesty 
is  granted  by  the  Sublime  Porte  to  all 
Ottoman  subjects  compromised  by  recent 
events,  and  all  persons  imprisoned  on  this 
account,  or  sent  into  exile,  shall  be  imme- 
diately set  at  liberty. 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[war  INDEMNmr. 


Art.  18.— The  Sublime  Porte  will  take 
into  serious  consideration  the  opinion  ex- 
pressed by  the  commissioners  of  the 
mediating  Powers  as  regards  the  possession 
of  the  town  of  Khotour,  and  engages  to 
have  the  works  of  the  definitive  delimitation 
of  the  Turco-Persian  boundary  carried  into 
effect. 

Art.  19. — The  war  indemnities  and  the 
losses  imposed  on  Russia,  which  his  majesty 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  claims,  and  which 
the  Sublime  Porte  has  bound  itself  to  re- 
imburse to  him,  consist  of — 

(a.)  900,000,000  roubles  for  war  expenses 
(maintenance  of  the  army,  replacing  of  war 
material,  and  war  contracts). 

(h,)  400,000,000  roubles  on  account  of 
damag3  done  to  the  south  coast  of  Russia, 
to  her  export  commerce,  to  her  industries, 
and  to  her  railways. 

(c.)  100,000,000  roubles  for  injuries  in- 
flicted on  the  Caucasus  by  the  invasion ; 
and, 

(d,)  10,000,000  roubles  for  costs  and 
damages  of  Russian  subjects  and  establish- 
ments in  Turkey.  Total,  1,410,000,000 
roubles.  Taking  into  consideration  the 
financial  embarrassments  of  Turkey,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  his  majesty 
the  Sultan,  the  Emperor  of  Russia  consents 
to  substitute  for  the  payment  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  moneys  enumerated  in  the  above 
paragraph,  the  following  territorial  ces- 
sions ; — 

(a.)  The  Sandjak  of  Toultcha,  that  is  to 
say,  the  districts  (Cazas)  of  Kilia,  Soulina, 
Mahmoudie,  Isaktcha,  Toultcha,  Matchine, 
Babadagh,  Hirsowo,  Kustendje,  and  Med- 
jidie,  as  well  as  the  Delta  Islands  and  the 
Isle  of  Serpents.  Not  wishing,  however,  to 
annex  this  territory  and  the  Delta  Islands, 
Russia  reserves  the  right  of  exchanging  them 
for  the  part  of  Bessarabia  detached  from  her 
by  the  Treaty  of  1856,  and  which  is  bounded 
on  the  south  by  the  thalweg  of  the  Kilia 
branch  and  the  mouth  of  the  Stary- 
Stamboul.  The  question  of  the  apportion- 
ment of  waters  and  fisheries  shall  be 
determined  by  a  Russo-Roumanian  commis- 
sion within  a  year  after  the  ratification  of 
the  Treaty  of  Peace. 

(6.)  Ardahan,  Kars,  Batoum,  Bayazet,  and 
the  territory  as  far  as  the  Saganlough.  In 
its  general  outline,  the  frontier  line,  leaving 
the  Black  Sea  coast,  will  follow  the  crest  of 
the  mountains  which  separate  the  affluents 
of  the  river  Hopa  from  those  of  the  river 
Tcharokh,  and  the  chain  of  the  mountains 

VOL.  III.  2  X 


to  the  south  of  the  town  of  Artwin,  up  the 
river  Tcharokh,  near  the  villages  of  Alat 
and  Bechaget ;  then  the  frontier  will  pass 
by  the  peaks  of  Mounts  Dervenikghek, 
Hortchezor,  and  Bedjiguin-Dagh,  by  the 
crest  which  separates  the  affluents  of  the 
rivers  Tortoum-tchai  and  the  Tcharokh,  by 
the  heights  near  Zaily-Vihine,  coming  down 
at  the  village  Vihine-Kilissa  to  the  river 
Tortoum-tchai;  thence  it  will  follow  the 
Sivridagh  chain  to  the  pass  {col)  of  the 
same  name,  passing  south  of  the  village  of 
Noriman ;  then  it  will  turn  to  the  south- 
east and  go  to  Zivine,  whence  the  frontier, 
passing  west  of  the  road  which  leads  from 
Zivine  to  the  villages  of  Ardost  and  Horas- 
san,  will  turn  south  by  the  Saganlough 
chain  to  the  village  of  Gilitchman  ;  then  by 
the  crest  of  the  Charion-Dagh  it  will  arrive, 
ten  versts  south  of  Hamour,  at  the  Mourad- 
tchai  defile  ;  then  the  line  will  follow  the 
crest  of  the  Alla-Dagh,  and  the  summits  of 
the  Hori  and  Tandourek,  and  passing  south 
of  the  Bayazet  valley,  will  proceed  to  rejoin 
the  old  Turco-Persian  frontier  to  the  south 
of  the  lake  of  Kazli-gueul.  The  definitive 
limits  of  the  territory  annexed  to  Russia, 
and  indicated  on  the  map  hereto  appended, 
will  be  fixed  by  a  commission  composed  of 
Russian  and  Ottoman  delegates.  This  com- 
mission, in  its  labours,  will  take  into  account 
the  topography  of  localities,  as  well  as  con- 
siderations of  good  administration,  and  other 
conditions  calculated  to  insure  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  country. 

{c)  The  territories  mentioned  in  para- 
graphs (a)  and  (6)  are  ceded  to  Russia  as 
an  equivalent  for  the  sum  of  one  milliard 
and  one  hundred  million  roubles.  As  for 
the  rest  of  the  indemnity,  apart  from  the 
10,000,000  of  roubles  intended  to  indemnify 
Russian  interests  and  establishments  in 
Turkey— namely,  300,000,000  of  roubles— 
the  mode  of  payment  and  guarantee  of  that 
sum  shall  be  settled  by  an  understanding 
between  the  imperial  government  of  Russia 
and  that  of  his  majesty  the  Sultan. 

(d)  The  10,000,000  roubles  claimed  as 
indemnity  for  the  Russian  subjects  and  es- 
tablishments in  Turkey,  shall  be  paid  as 
soon  as  the  claims  of  those  interested  are 
examined  by  the  Russian  embassy  at  Con- 
stantinople and  handed  to  the  Sublime 
Porte. 

Art.  20.— The  Sublime  Porte  will  take 
effective  steps  to  put  an  amicable  end  to 
the  law-suits  of  Russian  subjects  pending  for 
several  years,  to    indemnify  the    latter  if 

333 


(If 


*.,..   !«• 


EVAC?UATION  OF  TURKEY.]  HISTORY    OF   THE 


need  be   and  to  carry  into  effect,  without 
delay,  all  judgments  passed. 

Art.  21.— The  inhabitants  of  the  districts 
ceded  to  Russia  who  wish  to  take  up  their 
residence  out  of  these  territories,  will  be  free 
to  retire  on  selling  all  tlieir  real  property, 
for  this  purpose  an  interval  of  three  years 
IS  granted  them,  counting  from  the  date  of 
ratification    of  the  present  Act.      On    the 
expiration  of  that  time,  those  of  the  inhabit- 
ants who  shall   not   have   sold    their   real 
property  and  left  the  country  shall  remain 
Kussian  subjects.     Real  property  belonging 
to  the  State,  or  to  religious  establishments 
situated  out  of  the  localities  aforesaid,  shall 
be  sold  within  the  same  interval  of  three 
years    as  shall    be    arranged   by  a    special 
Kusso-iurkish  commission.    The  same  com- 
mission shall  be  entrusted  with  determinincr 
how  the  Ottoman  government  is  to  remove 
Its  war  material,   munitions,  supplies,  and 
other  btate  property  actually  in  the  forts, 
towns,  and  localities  ceded  to  Russia,  and 
not  at  present  occupied  by  Russian  troops. 

Art.  22.— Russian  ecclesiastics,  pihrrims, 
and  monks  travelling  or  sojourn  in  cr  in  Tur- 
key m  Europe  or  in   Asia,  shall  enjoy  the 
same  rights,  advantages,  and  privileges  as 
the  foreign  ecclesiastics  of  any  other  nation- 
ality.    The  right  of  official  protection   by 
the  imperial  embassy  and  Russian  consulates 
m  lurkey  is  recognised,  both  as  regards  the 
persons  above-mentioned,  and  their  posses- 
sions, religious  houses,  charitable    institu- 
tions    &c.,    in    the    the  Holy  Places  and 
elsewhere.     The  monks  of  Mount  Athos,  of 
Kussian  origin,  shall  be  maintained  in  all 
their  possessions  and  former  privileges,  and 
shall  continue  to  enjoy,  in  the  three  con- 
vents belonging  to  them,  and  in  the  adjoin- 
ing  buildings,  the  same  rights  and  privileges 
as  are  assured  to  the  other  religious  estab- 
lishments and  convents  of  Mount  Athos. 
.  Art.  23.— All  the   treaties,  conventions, 
and  agreements  previously   concluded   be- 
tween   the   two    high   contracting  parties 
relative  to  commerce,  jurisdiction,  and  the 
position  of  Russian  subjects  in  Turkey,  and 
which  had  been  abrogated  by  the  state  of 
war,  shall  come  into  force  again,  with  the 
exception    of   the  clauses    affected  by  the 
present  Act.     The  two  governments  will  be 
placed  again  in  the  same  relation  to  one 
another,  with  respect  to  all  their  engage- 
ments and  commercial  and  other  relations, 
as  they  were  in  before  the  declaration  of 
war. 

Art.  24.— The  Bosphorus  and  the  Darda- 
334 


rA.D.  1878. 


nelles  shall  remain  open  in  time  of  war  as  in 
time  of  peace  to  the  merchant-vessels  of 
neutral  States  arriving  from  or  bound  to 
Russian  ports.  The  Sublime  Porte  conse- 
quently engages  never  henceforth  to  estab- 
lish at  the  ports  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
Sea  of  Azov,  a  fictitious  blockade  {blocus 
\Pf^^fh  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
declaration  signed  at  Paris  on  the  Ath  of 
April,  18o6. 

Art.  25.— The    complete  evacuation  of 
Turkey  in  Europe,  with  the  exception   of 
Bulgaria,    by  the  Russian  army  will  take 
place  within  three  months  after  the  con- 
clusion  of  the  definitive  peace  between  his 
majesty  the   Emperor    of  Russia   and   his 
majesty  the  Sultan.     In  order  to  save  time, 
and   to  avoid   the   cost  of    the  prolonged 
maintenance  of  the  Russian  troops  in  Tur- 
key and  Roumania,  part  of   the  imperial 
army  may  proceed  to  the  ports  of  the  Black 
bea  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora,   to  be  there 
shipped  in  vessels  belonging  to  the  Russian 
government  or  chartered  for  the  occasion. 
The  evacuation  of  Turkey  in  Asia  will  be 
effected  within  the   space  of  six   months, 
dating  from  the  conclusion  of  the  definitive 
peace,  and  the  Russian  troops  will  be  en- 
titled  to  take  ship  at  Trebizond,  in  order  to 
return  by  the  Caucasus  or  the  Crimea.    The 
operations    of  the    evacuation    will    berrin 
immediately  after  the  exchange  of  ratifica- 
tions. 

Art.  26.— As  long  as  the  imperial  Rus- 
sian  troops  remain 'in  the  localities   which 
in  conformity  with  the  present  Act,  will  be 
res  ored  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  the  adminis- 
tration and  order  of  affairs  will  continue  in 
the  same  state  as  has  existed  since  the  occu- 
pation     The  Sublime  Porte  will  not  par- 
ticipate therein  during  all  that  time,  nor 
until  the  entire  departure  of  all  the  troops. 
Ihe  Ottoman  forces    shall    not   enter   the 
places  to  be  restored  to  the  Sublime  Porte, 
and  the  Sublime  Porte    cannot   be^in    to 
exercise  its  authority  there,  until  notice  of 
each  fortress   and    province    having    been 
evacuated  by  the  Russian  troops  shall  have 
been  given   by    the    commander   of  these 
troops  to  the  officer  appointed  for  this  pur- 
pose by  the  Sublime  Porte. 

nir  ^^'T^^'  ^"^^^°^^  ^^^^^  undertakes 
not  to  punish  m  any  manner,  or  allow  to  be 
punished,  those  Ottoman  subjects  who  may 
have  been  compromised  by  their  relations 
with  the  Russian  army  during  the  war.  In 
the  event  of  any  persons  wishing  to  with- 
draw  with  their  families  when  the  Russian 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[naval  operations. 


troops  leave,  the  Ottoman  authorities  shall 
not  oppose  their  departure. 

Art.  28.— Immediately  upon  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  the 
prisoners  of  war  shall  be  reciprocally  re- 
stored under  the  care  of  special  commis- 
sioners appointed  on  both  sides,  who,  for 
this  purpose,  shall  go  to  Odessa  and  Sebas- 
topol.  The  Ottoman  government  will  pay 
all  the  expenses  of  the  maintenance  of  the 
prisoners  that  are  returned  to  them,  in 
eighteen  equal  instalments  in  the  space  of 
six  years,  in  accordance  with  the  accounts 
that  will  be  drawn  up  by  the  above- 
mentioned  commissioners.  The  exchange 
of  prisoners  between  the  Ottoman  govern- 
ment and  the  governments  of  Roumania, 
Servia,  and  Montenegro,  will  be  made  on 
the  same  bases,  deducting,  however,  in  the 
account,  the  number  of  prisoners  restored 
by  the  Ottoman  government,  from  the 
number  of  prisoners  that  will  have  to  be 
restored  to  that  government. 

Art.  29.— The  present  Act  shall  be  rati- 
fied by  their  imperial  majesties  the  Emperor 
of  Russia  and  the  Emperor  of  the  Ottomans, 
and  the  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged  in 
fifteen  days,  or  sooner  if  possible,  at  St. 
Petersburg,  where,  likewise,  an  agreement 
shall  be  come  to  as  to  the  place  and  the 
time  at  which  the  stipulations  of  the  present 
Act  shall  be  invested  with  all  the  solemn 


forms  usually  observed  in  treaties  of  peace. 
It  is,  however,  well  understood,  that  the 
high  coiitracting  parties  consider  themselves 
as  formally  bound  by  the  present  Act  from 
the  moment  of  its  ratification. 

In  witness  whereof  the  respective  pleni- 
potentiaries have  appended  their  signatures 
and  seals  to  the  present  Act. 

Done  at  San  Stefano,    the  "'""""i*"  Fesrn«ry, 

one  thousand  eight  hundred  and"  seventy- 
eight.  ^ 


(Signed) 


C'*-  N.  Ignatiew. 
Nelidow. 
Safvet. 
sodoullah. 


-    Final  paragraph  of  Article  11  of  the  Act 

^^y»  *  Kh^l:  1878,  which  was  omitted,  and 
which  should  form  an  integral  part  of  the 
said  Article :—  or 

The  inhabitants  of  the  principality  of 
l^ulgaria,  when  travelling  or  sojourning  in 
the  other  parts  of  the  Ottoman  empire, 
shall  be  subject  to  the  Ottoman  laws  and 
authorities. 

(Signed)        C'«-  K  Ignatiew. 
Neijdow. 
Safvet. 

o        o     .  SODOULLAH. 

San  Stefano,  ^•^^i,^l,>|;  1878. 


111 


t 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE     NAVAL    OPERATIONS    AND    DESCENT    ON    THE    CAUCASIAN    COAST. 


Though  the  naval  operations  of  the  Turks 
and  Russians  during  the  war,  as  well  as 
the  descent  on  the  Caucasian  coast,  were  so 
utterly  insignificant  in  their  extent  and 
results  as  to  make  it  unadvisable  to  break 
the  thread  of  the  narrative,  some  mention 
may  now  be  made  of  them  in  order  to 
complete  the  picture  of  the  war. 

Still,  insignificant  as  were  the  results  of 
the  operations  of  the  Turkish  and  Russian 
navies,  the  very  fact  is  of  considerable  in- 
terest, as  showing  what  small  results  are  to 
be  expected  from  so  expensive  and  dan- 
gerous an  institution— dangerous  to  friends 
more  than  to  foes— as  an  ironclad  fleet. 

Without    entering    into     any    learned 


technical  discussion  as  to  the  relative  merits 
of  ironclads,  wooden  vessels,,  torpedoes,  &c., 
and  the  claims  of  those  interested  in  their 
manufacture,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a 
layman  not  to  endorse  the  assertion  of 
frince  Bismarck— made,  it  is  true,  in  refer- 
ence to  another  matter-that  whales  cannot 
make  war  upon  elephants. 

The  duties  of  a  navy,  and  what  is  ex- 
pected from  a  fleet,  differ  very  much  now- 
a-days  from  what  they  were,  and  what  was 
expected  from  men-of-war  in  the  days  when 
the  naval  supremacy  of  England  was  at  its 
height.  Then  ships  made  war  upon  ships- 
fleet  was  pitted  against  fleet— cruisers 
scoured  the  seas,  chasing  the  enemies'  trans- 

335 


n 

in 


•if 


^ 


THE  TURKISH  FLEET.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Ta.d.  1877. 


ports,  convoys,  and  merchantmen ;  and  it 
•was  only  on  rare  occasions,  comparatively 
speaking,  that  a  fleet  was  pitted  against  land 
defences. 

Now,  however,  the  idea  seems  to  be,  that 
if  the  enemy  possesses  a  mighty  fortress  by 
the  sea,  a  still  mightier  floating  fortress,  in 
the  shape  of  an  ironclad,  is  to  be  steered  up 
to  it  and  be  pitted  against  it;  whilst,  to 
protect  his  land  fortress,  the  enemy  follows 
suit,  and  constructs  his  ironclads  likewise. 
They  mostly  go  to  the  bottom,  however,  or 
are  blown  up,  or  otherwise  suddenly  dis- 
appear— especially  in  times  of  peace — like 
tlie  Captain^  the  Vanguard,  and  the 
Grosser  Kurfurst  At  most  they  have 
hitherto  been  saved  by  carefully  remain- 
ing at  home,  like  the  celebrated  Popoffkas  ; 
and  when  they  are  expected  to  begin  to 
do  their  work,  they  unaccountably  blow 
up  like  the  Lutfi  Djelil  In  fact,  so  far, 
the  moral  to  be  deduced  from  the  fable  of 
the  earthenware  pot  and  the  iron  kettle,  does 
not  at  all  apply  to  the  case  of  ironclad 
versus  wooden  ship. 

These  doubts  and  fears  were  very  gene- 
rally diffused,  not  only  amongst  the  public, 
but  also  amongst  naval  men  and  scientific 
constructors ;  and  when  the  war  between 
Turkey  and  Russia  commenced,  the  world 
expected  a  fine  and  interesting  display  of 
skill,  and  a  higlily  instructive  course  of 
naval  warfare. 

As  usual,  tlie  world  was  disappointed,  and 
all  the  results  were  of  so  negative  a  character, 
that  the  way  has  been  paved  to  the  ques- 
tion, which  is  sure  to  arise  on  the  first 
failure  of  the  fleet  to  accomplish  its  mission 
— whereunto  is  an  ironclad  fleet  good  ?  And 
the  reply  to  that  question  will  raise  the 
consequent  one — namely,  whether  it  will 
not  be  better  to  revert  to  the  old  system, 
and  keep  ships  to  fight  against  sliips,  and 
not  against  stone  walls  on  dry  land  ?  It  is 
said — indeed,  it  is  a  fact — that  during  the 
Abyssinian  war,  the  ironclad  squadron  was 
ordered  to  proceed  to  Gondar,  or  as  near  to 
it  as  possible.  But,  as  that  interesting 
place  was  some  300  miles  inland,  on  the  top 
of  a  high  mountain  in  the  heart  of  Africa, 
the  squadron  punctually  obeyed  orders  by 
steaming  to  Massowah — the  nearest  point 
possible — which,  however,  happened  to  be 
300  miles  away  from  Gondar.  Ridiculous 
as  this  incident  was,  it  is  not  more  ridiculous 
than  to  expect  a  fleet  to  successfully  compete 
with  land  fortifications,  on  which  cannon  of 
any  calibre  necessary  to  pierce  an  ironclad 
336 


can  be  mounted,  and  destroy  it  before  it 
even  comes  within  range,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  torpedoes  which  can  safely  be  launched 
against  it. 

It  is  true  that  the  Turks  might  have 
made  much  more  use  of  their  fleet  than 
they  did,  had  it  not  been  for  two  circum- 
stances. But  as  these  circumstances  were 
unavoidable,  and  are  sure  to  recur  in  any 
war,  the  results  of  any  future  operations  by 
ironclads  will  probably  have  also  to  be 
described  with  a  "  might  have  been."  These 
circumstances  are :  firstly,  the  terror  of 
torpedoes,  which  more  or  less  paralyse  the 
men ;  and,  secondly,  the  aversion  to  risk 
the  loss  of  ^uch  costly  articles  of  naval 
luxury.  In  fact,  like  many  other  articles  of 
luxury,  the  ironclad  seems  to  be  more  calcu- 
lated for  show  than  for  use.  In  this  respect, 
in  daring  of  men  and  commanders,  and 
general  handiness,  the  Russians  showed  to 
much  better  advantage  than  the  Turks. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  the  Turks  had 
a  flotilla  on  the  Danube  consisting  of  the 
following  vessels: — Fethi  Islam  (Moslem 
Victory),^  Burywidelan  (Heart-piercer), 
Semendria,  Scodra,  and  Podgoritza.  These 
five  vessels  were  small  craft  about  115  feet 
long,  fitted  with  80-horse  power  engines, 
and  carried,  each  of  them,  two  80-pounder 
Armstrong  guns  in  a  battery  protected  by 
2-inch  armour.  In  addition  to  these 
armoured  gun-boats,  there  were  two  of  recent 
construction,  and  much  more  formidable  in 
every  respect,  the  Isher  (Lion)  and  Saiffee 
(Sword).  They  each  carried  two  80- 
pounder  Krupp  guns  in  revolving  turrets 
on  the  upper  deck,  protected  by  3-inch 
armour,  and  a  belt  of  the  same  thickness 
was  placed  round  the  water-line.  Their 
length  was  120  feet,  and  the  horse-power  of 
the  engines  100.  These  seven  vessels,  how- 
ever, did  not  form  the  whole  of  the  naval 
force,  as  there  were  several  wooden  steamers 
armed  as  gun-boats ;  and  soon  after  the  war, 
the  two  large  sea-going  monitors,  Lutfi- 
Djelil  and  Hiftzi  Rahman,  were  sent  up 
the  Sulina  branch  into  the  main  river. 
These  last-named  ships  were  a  most  valu- 
able addition  to  the  defence,  and  gave  great 
trouble  at  first  to  the  Russian  batteries, 
until  one  of  them  came  to  an  end,  as  we 
have  already  related,  in  a  somewhat  inex- 
plicable manner — by  accident,  the  Turks 
say  ;  by  the  effect  of  their  artillery  fire,  the 
Russians:  and  thus  the  affair  remains  in 
dispute.  The  evidence  inclines  in  favour  of 
the  Turkish  view,  for  the  Luffi-Djelil  had 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[loss  of  TURKISH  SHIPS. 


been  out  of  action  for  nearly  an  hour  when 
the  catastrophe,  by  which  so  many  human 
beings   were   killed,    took    place.     At    all 
events,   the   fruits  of  victory  were  to  the 
Russians,  even  though  they  had  been  in  no- 
wise instrumental  in  her  destruction.     Up 
to  this  time  nothing  had  been  seen  of  the 
Russian  torpedoes,  though  a  good  deal  was 
said  about  the  Danube  having  been  mined ; 
and  Hobart  Pasha  was  supposed  to  have  run 
the  gauntlet  of  all  sorts  of  dangers  in  the 
Rethymo :    but   the  manner  in  which  the 
Turkish   ships   moved   about,  is    sufficient 
evidence  that  nothing  in  that  way  had  been 
done  at  that  time  to  the  main  river. 

When  war  was  declared  the  Russians  had 
nothing  afloat  on  the  Danube,  though  they 
had  a   steam-launch   or    so  at   Ismail   or 
Vilcova,  on  the  Kilia  branch,  and  had  some 
eight  or  ten,  all  ready  for  launching,   at 
Galatz,  to  be  used  as  torpedo  boats.     Their 
first  care  was  necessarily   the  bridge  over 
the  Sereth  ;  and  to  protect  this  against  the 
Turkish  gun-boats,  a  number  of  torpedoes 
were     unquestionably     placed    across    the 
channel    where    its    waters   flow    into  the 
Danube.     In  a  short   time,   however,    the 
Russians  were  prepared  to  take  the  ofi'ensive 
with  their  torpedo  launches,  and  the  first 
fruits   was  the  destruction  of  the  gun-boat 
Saiffee,     The  batteries  erected  along  the 
Roumanian  shore  soon  put  a  stop  to  the 
circulation  of  the  Turkish  gun-boats,  and  the 
flotilla  was  shortly  afterwards  blocked  up 
in  various  places  by  lines  of  torpedoes  laid 
across  the  stream.     The  Turks  themselves 
assisted  to  this  end  by  keeping  the  greater 
number   of  the  vessels  moored   under  the 
fortifications  of  Widdin,  Silistria,  Nicopoli, 
and  Rustzuk,  instead  of  making  them  move 
up  and  down  to  gall  the  Russian  workmen 
with  their  fire,  and  .thus  impede  the  erec- 
tion of  the  hostile  batteries.     The  conduct, 
at  this  period,  of  those  charged  with  the  de- 
fence of  the  Ottoman  empire  is  really  inex- 
plicable.    They  acted  as  if  it  had  never  been 
their  intention  to  defend  the  Danube  at  all ; 
not  the  slightest  opposition  was  off'ered  to 
the  progress  of  the  enemy's  works  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  no  provision 
at  all  was  made  for  the  movements  of  the 
gun-boats. 

There  was  no  depot  of  coals  at  any  of  the 
above-named  fortresses ;  and  it  was  only  by 
an  arrangement  with  the  Varna  Railway 
Company  that  a  small  quantity  of  fuel  was 
obtained  at  Rustzuk.  The  supineness  of 
the  Turkish  naval  authorities  in  this  respect 


is  extraordinary ;  for,  properly  made  use  of> 
this  flotilla  would  have  delayed  the  Russian 
passage  for  weeks.     There  was  an  admiral 
sent  to  command  the  gun-boats  at  least  a 
fortnight  before  the   war,  and  the  «tate  of 
the  coal  depots  must  have  been  known  weeks    i 
before  the  hostilities  actually  commenced. 
Hobart  Pasha   is  in  nowise  responsible  for 
what    occurred,    for  Abdul  Kerim  delibe- 
rately refused  to  allow  him  in  any  way  to 
interfere  with  the  arrangements  that  had 
been  made  for  the  disposal  of  the  squadron. 
When  the  Russians  crossed  at  Sistova  there 
was  a  gun-boat  looking  on  quietly,  and  as  if 
regarding  the  passage  of  a  friendly  army, 
instead  of  hostile  foes  bent  upon  the  destruc- 
tion of  Turkish  power;    and  after  a  time 
she   steamed  away  to  report  the  news  at 
head-quarters.     The  meaning  of  all  this,  as 
well  as  the  general  neglect  of  the  Danube 
line  of  defence  in  the  first  instance,  we  shall 
never  know,  for  the  Turks  are  very  lenient 
to  military  and  political  offenders  ;  and  such 
are  the  ramifications  of  their  intrigues,  that 
once  an  examination  were  opened,  no  one 
could  say  where  it  could  be  decently  closed 
without  allowing,  perhaps,  the  most  culpable 
ofi'enders  to  escape.     Of  the  armoured  gun- 
boats forming  part  of  the  flotilla,  three  in 
addition    to    the  turret-vessel  Lutfi-Djelil 
were  lost  by  the  Turks — namely,  the  Saiffee^ 
destroyed  by  a  torpedo,  and  the  Podgoritza 
and  Scodra,  which  fell  into  Russian  hands 
at  the  taking  of  Nicopoli.     These  two  small 
craft  were  put  into  working  order  to   bo 
made  use  of  for  attacking  the  others.  Besides 
the  vessels  above  named,  the  Turks  lost  four 
wooden  vessels — the  Sulina,  a  regular  60 
horse  power  gun-boat  of  the  old  type,  de- 
signed for  the  Baltic  during  the  American 
war,  and  three  river  steamers  of  no  particu- 
lar value  as  fighting-ships — the  first-men- 
tioned by  a  contact  torpedo,  and  the  others 
by  the  fire  of  the  Russian  batteries. 

To  return  to  the  Russian  offensive  opera- 
tions. Their  next  move  was  of  a  far  bolder 
nature — no  less  than  an  attack  upon  the 
ironclad  squadron  lying  off  Sulina,  under 
the  command  of  Hassan  Pasha — the  block- 
ading fleet,  in  fact,  designed  to  keep  the 
Russian  steamers  shut  up  in  Odessa  and 
Sebastopol.  A  number  of  steam-launches, 
fitted  with  pole  torpedoes,  to  be  exploded  by 
electricity,  came  down  at  night  from  Kilia. 
Hobart  Pasha,  who  at  that  time  held  no 
special  appointment,  and  was  therefore 
without  authority,  had  pointed  out  to  the 
admiral  in  command  the  exposed  position  of 

337 


<■>! 


I 


■**l 


•     ''I 


TORPEDOES  V,  IRONCLADS.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


f 


i 


,    'I 


■."I 


;,     1 


the  Turkish  ships,  suggesting,  as  a  defence 
against  torpedo  attacks,  a  cordon  of  boats 
with  ropes  or  small  chains  between  ;  but,  as 
usual,   the    advice    was   not   followed,    the 
Turks  contenting  themselves  with   keeping 
a  good  look-out  on  board  of  each  ship,  and 
having  a  guard-boat  or  so  rowing  round. 
Besides  this,  a  certain  amount  of  signalling 
with   flashing  lights,    which    preceded    the 
attack,  aroused  the  attention  of  the  Turks, 
so  that  they  were  found  on  the  alert.     All 
the  men  were  at   their  quarters,  the  guns 
loaded  and  run  out,  and   the  ships    were 
engaged  in  slipping  their   cables   when  the 
enemy's  boats  came  up.     The  Idjlalieh,  an 
ironclad  corvette,  was  the  ship  singled  out 
by    Lieutenant   Poutsliakine,   who  led  the 
attack ;  and  had  he  been  ably  seconded  by 
the  other  boats,  in  all  probability  that  ship 
would  have  been  destroyed.     He  successfully 
brought  his  little  craft  under  the  bows  ;  but 
his  torpedo  "  got  foul  "  either  of  the  spur  or 
the  cable,  and  so  exploded  without  effecting 
any  injury  to  the  enemy's  vessel.     The  water 
thrown    up    probably    swamped    his    boat, 
though  she  was  supposed  to  have  been  sunk 
by   the   Turkish   fire.     She    had,  however, 
advanced  too  close  to  the  Idjlalieh  for  that 
vessel's  guns  to  have  produced  any    such 
effect,    for    the  gunports   of  a   man-of-war 
allow  of  but  very  little  depression,  and  the 
Turkish    man-of-war   undoubtedly  escaped 
more  by  accident  than  by  good  manai^ement 
or  a  carefully  planned  defence.     The  Russian 
attack  should  have  been  more  concentrated; 
it  failed,  and  the  Turks   have,   therefore, 
every  right  to  claim  the   victory.     In  the 
meantime  the  Russians  had  been  fitting  up 
several  swift  merchant    steamers   and   the 
fast-steaming  yachts  of  the  emperor ;  and 
shortly  after  this  the  Turks  were  much  dis- 
gusted   at    hearing    of  the  destruction  of 
several  of  their  collier-brigs ;  but  it  did  not 
occur  to  them,  apparently,  that  it  might  be 
worth  while  trying  to  prevent  it. 

This  was  a  game  the  Russians  could  well 
play,  having  such  secure  places  for  retreat 
asSebastopol,  Odessa,  Balaklava,and  Kertch. 
The  run  from  any  one  of  those  ports  to  the 
Turkish  coast  is  very  short,  so  that  it  is  not 
surprising  that  they  managed  to  avoid  cap- 
ture. No  real  blockade  of  the  Russian  ports 
was  ever  instituted,  so  that  there  was 
nothing  to  prevent  their  free  egress  or  in- 
gress ;  and  the  only  wonder  is  that  the  raids 
were  not  more  frequent.  So  slightly  were 
the  regulations  with  regard  to  blockade 
maintained,  that  Greek  ships  arrived  at 
338 


[a.d.  1877. 


Constantinople  with  corn  from  the  Russian 
ports.     The  Russian  cruisers  were  specially 
well  fitted  out  for  their  work.     Painted  an 
"  invisible  "  grey,  lying  low  in  the  water, 
with  nothing  but  pole-masts  visible  above 
the  deck,  and  burning  smokeless  coal,  the 
lumbering  Turkish  ironclads  had  not    the 
smallest  chance  against  them  in  the  game 
of  «  hare  and  hounds."     The  latter  could  be 
seen  miles  ofT,  their  approach   betrayed  by 
the  dense  cloud  of  black  smoke  given   out 
by  the  Heraclea  coals;  and  thus  the  light- 
heeled  enemy,  by  a  change  of  course,  always 
managed  to  avoid  a  rencontre.     Throughout 
the  war  the  Russians  made  no   use  of  "their 
Popoffkas.     They  were  kept  well  within  the 
harbour  of  Odessa  ;  for  as  fighting-ships  they 
have    proved    a    complete     failure.      The 
Russian  navy  had    not  made  the  progress 
that  was  expected,  and  had  really  no%ery 
efficient  sea-going  men-of-war.     The  officers 
and  seamen  of  the  Black  Sea  fleet,  however, 
did  great  service  in  the  way  of  torpedoes 
and  individual  exploits  of  considerable  dar- 
ing.    Thus  the  encounter  between  the  Vesta 
and  the  Fethi  Bulend,  which   occurred  on 
the  22nd  of  July,  1877,  was  a  very  spirited 
contest  between  an  unarmoured   vessel  and 
an  ironclad,  and  the  Russians  deserve  great 
credit   for   having  thought  of  escaping  in 
any  other  manner  than  by  steaming  away 
at  the  highest  rate  of  speed,  the  Vesta  hav- 
ing kept  up  a  running  fight  before  a  stern 
chase    for    several     hours.      The     Russian 
torpedo  attack  at  Soukhum-Kale  was  aimed 
at  the  Arsari  Shefket,  an  ironclad  corvette 
which  was  lying  on  guard  at  that    place, 
towards  the  end  of  the   evacuation.     The 
Russian   steamer   Constantine,   which  was 
specially  fitted  up  for  torpedo  work,  brought 
down  some  four  torpedo  launches,  and  sent 
them  in  on  the  night  of  the  24th  of  August, 
1877,  when  the  eclipse  of  the  moon  seemed 
to  offer  special  advantages  in  the  obscurity 
which  naturally  ensued.     The  attempt  to 
destroy  the  corvette  was  foiled  in  a  great 
measure  by  the  guard-boats,  as  any  one  of 
the  launches  got  close  to  her,  and  the  torpedo 
being   fired  at  a  distance  from  the  ship's 
side,  produced  no  other  effect  than  throwing 
a  quantity  of  water  upon  her  decks.     The 
Russians,  however,  managed  to  make  good 
their  retreat,  and  retired  under  the  impres- 
sion that  the  Arsari  Shefket  was  done  for, 
the    torpedo    having,    as    they    imagined, 
blown  such  a  hole  in  her  bottom  as  would 
send  her  speedily  below. 

A  very  skilfully-planned  attack   against 


1-! 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[contact  torpedoes. 


!      '-I 


the  Sulina  squadron  only  resulted  in  the 
destruction  of  a  small  wooden  gun-boat. 
The  attack  was  of  a  twofold  nature — the 
enemy  were  to  be  lured  over  ground  pre- 
viously prepared  with  contact  mines ;  or, 
failing  this,  the  ironclads  were  to  be  sunk 
or  driven  out  of  the  harbour  by  mortar- 
firing,  or  guns  pointed  with  extreme  eleva- 
tion. The  Russian  flotilla  safely  passed 
Sulina,  and  entering  the  St.  George's 
branch  (which,  with  their  usual  want  of 
foresight,  the  Turks  had  neglected  to  close), 
proceeded  leisurely  to  Tuldsha,  and  from 
thence  descended  the  Sulina  river,  seeking 
for  torpedoes  as  they  came.  Stopping  at 
the  sixth  mile,  securely  hidden  from  view  by 
a  bend  of  the  river  and  the  tall  reeds  of  the 
neighbouring  swamps,  the  torpedo  lighters 
were  sent  ahead  during  the  night  to  lay  the 
mines,  which  was  most  successfully  done, 
though  the  Turks  poured  in  a  hot  fire. 
The  guns  of  the  latter,  however,  did  not 
range  more  than  3,500  yards,  so  that  their 
ammunition  was  only  thrown  away  to  no 
purpose. 

The  next  morning  the  Sulina  was  sent 
out  by  the  Turks  beyond  the  protecting 
chains  to  assist  the  little  Cartal  tug-boat, 
which  had  previously  gone  up  to  recon- 
noitre. From  the  latter  having  safely 
passed  the  suspected  ground,  the  Turks 
seem  to  have  thought  that  the  Sulina 
might  do  the  same  with  impunity,  not 
taking  into  consideration  the  difference  in 
their  draught  of  water.  The  consequence 
was  that  the  Sulina  struck  upon  a  torpedo, 
and  was  instantly  destroyed.  The  Russian 
contact  torpedoes,  used  on  this  occasion, 
show  to  what  perfection  the  art  of  submarine 
mining  is  now  being  brought.  They  com- 
bined in  their  construction  both  the  ele- 
ments of  safety  in  placing  them,  and  the 
certainty  of  explosion  when  struck  by  a 
passing  body.  Small  bichromate  of  potass 
batteries  are  placed  all  round  the  case, 
screwed  into  small  cylinders,  and  each  of 
these  are  placed  in  circuit  with  its  regu- 
lators, with  a  fuze  inserted  amongst  the 
gun-cotton.  The  whole  chain  of  these 
electric  circuits  are  not  completed  until  the 
mine  is  placed,  and  every  one  has  retreated 
to  a  safe  distance,  when,  the  main  wires, 
being  joined,  the  affair  is  ready  for  action, 
the  batteries  not  working  until  the  plates 
are  acted  upon  by  the  bichromate  of  potass. 
The  solution  of  bichromate  of  potass  is 
placed  in  a  glass  tube  hermetically  sealed , 


and  protected  from  accidental  fracture  by  a 
thick  lead  covering.  When  a  ship  or  other 
passing  object  strikes  this  arrangement, 
which  projects  outside  the  torpedo  case,  the 
glass  tube  is  broken,  and  the  solution  com- 
ing in  contact  with  the  zinc  and  carbon 
plates,  a  current  of  electricity  is  immedi- 
ately generated,  and  the  torpedo  explodes. 
After  the  destruction  of  the  Sulina  there 
was  not  the  slightest  chance  of  getting 
another  vessel  to  mount  the  stream,  and  so 
the  Russians  had  to  fall  back  upon  the 
other  part  of  their  plan,  and  commence  the 
bombardment.  This  they  did  from  a  safe 
distance,  far  beyond  the  range  of  the  Turk- 
ish guns,  and  from  first  to  last  poured  in 
some  200  shells.  No  great  damage  was 
inflicted  on  the  town,  and  none  at  all  on  the 
shipping.  The  latter  escaped  as  by  a 
miracle ;  the  shot  and  shell  fell  all  around, 
but  the  two  corvettes  at  the  booms  were 
never  struck  once ;  though  had  only  one  of 
the  shots,  fired  with  so  high  a  trajectory, 
but  fallen  upon  the  deck  of  an  ironclad,  it 
would  probably  have  placed  her  hors  de 
combat,  by  sending  her  to  the  bottom  of 
the  river. 

The  descent  on  the  Abchasian  coast,  and 
the  attempted  raising  of  the  mountain 
tribes  against  the  Russians,  was  even  less 
productive  of  results  than  the  abortive  ex- 
pedition of  Omar  Pasha  during  the 
Crimean  war.  Beyond  somewhat  delaying 
the  march  of  the  Russian  troops  southwards, 
and  causing  much  misery  amongst  the 
inhabitants  who  rose,  the  Porte  gained 
nothing  at  all  by  the  expedition. 

Hussein  Pasha,  the  Turkish  admiral,  did 
nothing  with  his  ironclads  but  threaten  the 
coast,  cannonading  the  stations,  and  landing 
predatory  bodies  of  Circassians,  who  burned 
the  villages  and  devastated  the  country 
lying  along  the  shore  on  an  extended  scale. 
Sukhum  Kaleh  was  bombarded  and  burned 
to  the  ground,  and  several  attempts  were 
made  to  bombard  Poti,  but  without  any 
success.  Altogether,  the  movement  was  a 
complete  failure ;  and  the  only  benefit  which 
the  Turks  derived  from  their  navy  was,  that 
it  prevented  the  Russians  from  despatching 
stores  and  reinforcements  by  sea  from 
Odessa  to  the  Danube.  And  even  this  was 
but  a  very  poor  result,  and  did  not  hamper 
the  Russians  in  any  way,  as  they  commanded 
the  lines  of  railway  from  Russia  to  the 
Danube.  The  only  inconvenience  they, 
suffered  was  a  slight  increase  of  expenditure. 

339 


i 


I'. 


:« 


>.»■' 


GREEK  NATIONALITY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1877. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 


THE   GREEK   QUESTION. 


\" 


Before  entering  upon  the  troubled  period 
ushered  in  by  the  San  Stefano  treaty,  some 
account  of  the  attitude  of  Greece  during  the 
war  is  necessary  for  the  complete  compre- 
hension of  the  vexed  questions  to  which  the 
Russo-Turkish  conflict  gave  birth. 

There  was  a  time,  and  not  so  very  long 
ago,  when  the  Hellenic  factor  in  the 
Eastern  Question  was  the  chief  factor  in 
that  very  complicated  problem.  The 
Greeks  were  then  synonymous  with  the 
Eastern  Christians,  and  from  them  pro- 
ceeded all  the  movements  towards  emanci- 
pation from  the  Turkish  yoke.  But  in 
recent  years  all  this  has  changed.  The 
Slavs  emerged  from  their  long  obscurity, 
and  thus  the  Eastern  Question  was  rendered 
much  more  complicated  than  it  was  before. 
The  Bulgarians  and  other  members  of  the 
Slavonic  race  had  discovered  that  they  had 
a  nationality  of  their  own,  and  began  to 
show  political  aspirations  inconsistent  alike 
with  Turkish  and  with  Greek  supremacy. 
Even  if  they  had  stood  alone  their  numbers 
would  have  made  them  a  very  important 
factor  in  the  problem ;  but  they  did  not 
stand  alone.  They  found  a  powerful  ally 
in  Russia,  who  advocated  their  cause  in 
order  to  extend  Russian  influence,  and,  if 
possible,  to  plant  the  Russian  eagle  on  the 
banks  of  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles. 
The  Slavonic  Question  was  thereby  identified 
with  the  question  of  Russian  extension. 

The  Greeks  had  not,  however,  forgotten 
their  own  political  existence,  such  as  it  is. 
If  they  had  been  silent  during  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war,  it  was  not  because 
they  had  given  up  their  aspirations,  and 
were  indifferent  to  what  was  taking  place  in 
Turkey.  Never,  perhaps,  had  they  watched 
with  more  intense  interest  the  current  of 
daily  events.  They  believed  that  at  last 
the  sick  man,  who  had  for  centuries  been 
such  a  burden  to  them,  was  really  approach- 
ing his  latter  end,  and  they  thought  more 
than  ever  about  his  inheritance.  But  with 
profound  disgust  they  observed  that  their 
claim  as  heirs  was  no  longer  so  strong,  and 
60  likely  to  be  regarded  as  it  once  was.  They 
found  that  there  were  no  longer  Philhellenes 
340 


in  Western  Europe,  and  that  this  class  of 
enthusiasts  had  become  as  extinct  as  the 
mammoth  and  the  megatherium,  and  that 
if  any  happened  to  come  forward,  they 
would  be  powerless  anachronisms.  The  dis- 
cussions about  the  possibility  of  Greek  re- 
generation had  given  place  to  the  cry — 
"L'avenir  est  aux  Slaves  I"  All  this  was 
very  saddening  to  the  Hellenic  heart. 
"  Why,"  asked  the  Greeks,  "  have  we  been 
thus  abandoned  by  Western  Europe  ?  Have 
we  not  proved  ourselves  able  to  govern  our- 
selves, and  shown  ourselves  a  respectable 
member  of  the  European  family  of  nations  ? 
Our  government,  we  are  quite  ready  to 
admit,  is  not  all  that  could  be  desired.  We 
are  cursed  by  a  class  of  youths  and  full-grown 
men  who  call  themselves  politicians,  and 
aspire  to  become  Prime  Ministers ;  and  as 
we  have  not  places  and  money  enouo^h  to 
satisfy  the  aspiration  of  all  these  place- 
hunters,  many'  ministries  are  overthrown, 
and  the  regular  administration  greatly 
hampered  by  personal  rivalries  and  in- 
trigues. Besides  this,  too,  we  do  not  pay 
our  debts.  If,  therefore,  you  compare  our 
government  and  our  country  with  the  more 
advanced  nations  of  Western  Europe,  you 
will  certainly  form  a  low  opinion  of  us. 
But  such  a  comparison  is  grossly  unfair.  To 
judge  us  justly,  you  should  compare  us  with 
what  we  were  before  our  emancipation  ;  and 
if  you  do  that,  you  cannot  fail  to  be  struck 
by  the  enormous  progress  we  have  made  in 
half  a  century.  If  your  memory  does  not 
go  back  so  far  as  that,  and  if  you  doubt  the 
written  testimony  on  the  subject,  you  can 
still  make  the  comparison  for  yourself  by 
visiting  the  northern  provinces  of  the  king- 
dom, and  then  passing  into  the  purely 
Greek  portions  of  Thessaly  and  Epirus. 
What  the  Greek  villages  and  towns  in  these 
two  provinces  now  are,  the  villages  and 
towns  of  the  kingdom  were  before  the 
emancipation.  Compare,  for  example,  the 
Piraeus  with  Salonica.  The  natural  posi- 
tion of  the  two  towns  is  equally  good ;  but 
what  a  diff'erence  in  the  history  of  the  two 
towns  during  the  last  fifty  years  I  Fifty 
years    ago    the   Piraeus    was  a   miserable 


V-, 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[greek  complaints. 


village ;  now  it  is  a  flourishing  town  with 
about  twenty  manufactories  of  various 
kinds,  and  is  every  year  increasing  in  pros- 
perity. And  what  has  been  the  history  of 
Salonica  during  that  period  ?  On  a  small 
scale,  the  history  of  the  Turkish  empire  in 
general — that  is,  gradual,  inevitable  decay. 
If  it  has  made  some  little  progress,  it  has 
to  thank  the  Greek  inhabitants,  who,  in 
spite  of  Turkish  misrule  and  oppression, 
have  to  a  certain  extent  improved  their 
condition.  If  only  some  serious,  conscien- 
tious Englishman  would  go  and  live  for 
some  time  in  the  kingdom  of  Greece  and 
the  Greek  provinces  of  Turkey,  and  then 
give  the  results  of  his  investigations  to  the 
world,  the  British  public  would  have  truer 
notions  as  to  what  the  Greeks  are,  and  as  to 
what  the  emancipated  Greeks  have  done. 
We  should  then  have  true  Philhellenes— not 
generous  sentimentalists,  who  loved  and 
admired  us  because  of  the  heroic  deeds  and 
artistic  genius  of  our  forefathers,  but  cool- 
headed  practical  men  who  can  appreciate 
and  admire  the  material,  intellectual,  and 
moral  progress  of  a  young,  struggling 
nation.  We  do  not  ask  you  to  remember 
Pericles,  or  Phidias,  or  Demosthenes,  or 
even  the  heroic  men  who,  within  living 
memory,  fought  and  died  for  their  country. 
Forget  if  you  will  all  our  glorious  past,  and 
look  on  us  as  we  are.  If  you  observe 
closely  and  accurately  what  is  before  you, 
and  compare  it  with  what  was  fifty  years 
ago,  we  have  no  reason  to  fear  your  de- 
cision. 

On  these  and  similar  grounds  the  Greeks 
asserted  that  they  were  being  most  unjustly 
neglected.  At  a  moment  when  the  Eastern 
Question  was  about  to  be,  at  least,  tem- 
porarily solved,  they  were  hardly  spoken  of. 
They  did  not,  however,  intend  to  sit  quietly 
still  and  be  left  out  in  the  cold.  If  there 
was  to  be  any  distribution  of  the  sick  man's 
goods,  they  were  determined  to  have,  if 
possible,  a  share.  These  ideas,  industriously 
propagated  by  the  politicians,  naturally 
caused  a  good  deal  of  excitement  in  Greece, 
and  considerable  military  preparations  were 
made  in  view  of  possible  contingencies. 
The  Greek  argument  was,  that  having  taken 
up  arms,  Russia  would  not  lay  them  down 
till  she  had  humiliated  the  Turks;  and 
that  when  she  had  done  that,  there  would 
be  a  congress,  or  something  of  the  kind,  to 
decide  upon  the  arrangements  for  the  future. 
In  these  arrangements  the  interests  of 
Russia  and  the  Slavs  would  be  first  con- 

VOL.  Ul.  2  Y 


sidered.  If  Greece  had  taken  part  in  the 
struggle,  her  claims  would  also  receive 
attention ;  but  if  she  remained  quiet,  no  one 
would  think  of  giving  her  anything. 
Plainly,  then,  her  best  policy,  it  was 
argued,  was  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  sick 
man  whilst  the  life  was  still  in  him.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  striking  of  this  blow, 
in  view  of  distant  prospect>7e  advantages, 
might  lead  to  direct  consequences  of  a  very 
disagreeable  kind.  The  Turkish  fleet  was 
still  at  large,  and  Hobart  Pasha  might  think 
it  his  duty  to  bombard  at  once  the  Piraeus, 
Syra,  Patras,  and  all  the  other  important 
towns  on  the  sea-coast.  Enormous  loss 
could  thereby  be  inflicted  on  Greece  with- 
out withdrawing  a  single  regiment  from  the 
Danube  or  Asia  Minor. 

Thus  Greece  was  animated  by  two  dia- 
metrically opposed  motives.  She  would 
very  much  have  liked  to  fight,  but  she  per- 
ceived clearly  the  dangers  she  would  expose 
herself  to  by  entering  on  the  struggle.  As 
might  naturally  be  supposed,  the  irrespon- 
sible part  of  the  Greek  public  were,  for  the 
most  part,  advocates  of  decided  action, 
"  This  is,"  they  said,  "  a  question  of  life  and 
death,  and  we  must  be  content  to  run  a 
certain  risk.  The  risk,  however,  is  not  so 
great  as  it  appears.  Surely  England  would 
never  allow  Hobart  Pasha  to  bombard  peace- 
ful unfortified  towns  containing  a  very  large 
amount  of  English  property.  If  England 
will  not  interfere,  we  will  find  means  of 
defending  ourselves  as  our  forefathers  did  in 
the  War  of  Independence ;  and  if  we  should 
be  unsuccessful,  Europe  will  certainly  not 
allow  Turkey  to  eat  us  up  altogether." 
Such  were  the  sentiments  of  a  very  large 
section  of  the  Greek  public.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  ministry  were  more  peacefully 
inclined,  and  strove — or  at  least  professed 
to  strive — to  calm  the  public,  who  clamoured 
for  an  invasion  of  Thessaly  and  Epirus, 
where  the  Greek  population  were  waiting 
for  the  signal  to  rise  and  inaugurate  a 
spectacle  similar  to  that  in  Servia,  when 
Russia  helped  the  insurgents  without  de- 
claring war  against  the  Porte.  The  most 
difficult  position  of  all  was  that  of  the 
king.  He  wished  to  preserve  peace;  but  he 
also  knew  that  if  he  tried  to  stem  the  flood 
of  popular  feeling  too  long,  his  fate  would 
be  that  of  Otho. 

As  it  was,  it  was  loudly  insisted  on  in 
Athens  and  Syra,  that  if  King  George  de- 
sired to  retain  his  crown,  he  must  do  some- 
thing.    So  far,  he  had  done  nothing  to 

341 


1 

r 


■'•'I 


H 


I 


1 

■m 


■m 


*''i 


n», 


THE  RIVAL  MINISTERS."! 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


ii 


justify  the  expectations  the  Greeks  had 
formed  from  his  connexions  in  London  and 
St.  Petersburg.  His  journey  to  England 
raised  these  hopes  for  a  time,  and  it  was 
thought  that  he  would  come  back  with  some 
valuable  consideration  in  return  for  the 
"loyalty"  the  Greeks  had  evinced  in  their 
relations  with  the  Porte,  and  their  self- 
denial  in  not  complicating  matters  by  an 
intervention  in  the  Turco-Servian  conflict* 
But  when  he  returned  empty-handed — 
when,  above  all,  it  was  found  that  the  con- 
ference had  only  busied  itself  with  the  Slav 
question,  and  that  this  question  had  even 
been  transferred  to  the  Mediterranean  side 
of  the  Balkans,  then  the  Greeks  began  to 
lose  their  patience,  and  discovered  that  the 
great  friends  of  the  Vikings'  son,  and  the 
Vikings'  son  himself,  were  animated  by 
other  interests  than  those  of  Greece.  They 
complained  that  their  king  was  a  Dane, 
their  queen  a  Russian ;  and  that  the  chil- 
dren of  the  royal  pair  were  in  a  fair  way  of 
becoming  Germans,  their  education  being 
entrusted  to  a  Prussian — Dr.  Liiders.  They 
felt  themselves  also  highly  aggrieved  that 
the  former  secretary  of  the  queen — M.  Dom- 
boffski — had  been  replaced  by  M.  Tatisefif, 
in  consequence  of  an  imperial  Russian 
ukase  ;  and  obstinately  refusing  to  see  that 
this  ukase  had  reference  onlv  to  M.  TatisefTs 
position  as  a  Russian  subject  and  within  the 
Russian  empire,  they  insisted  that  it  was  an 
impertinent  interference,  and  an  attempt  to 
extend  Russian  administration  into  the 
Greek  kingdom.  Thus  there  gradually 
arose  a  party  which  had  its  chief  seat  in 
that  especially  revolutionary  centre,  Syra, 
which  became  louder  and  louder  in  its  de- 
mands that  King  George  should  really  prove 
himself  an  Hellene,  and  not  a  marionette 
pulled  by  Russian  or  British  strings ;  whilst 
throughout  Greece  generally  there  was  a 
very  strong  feeling  that  something  must  be 
done. 

This  state  of  things  was  made  use  of  by 
the  two  rival  ministers,  Koumoundouros  and 
Deligeorgis,  each  in  his  own  fashion.  Kou- 
moundouros wished  to  obtain  what  Greece 
claimed  by  an  alliance  with  Russia  and  in 
concert  with  the  Russians.  Deligeorgis,  on 
the  contrary,  wished  to  attain  the  same 
object  by  arrangement  with  the  Porte. 
Between  these  two  stood  Charilaos  Tri- 
koupis,  who  insisted  on  a  united  and 
frankly-declared  national  policy,  and  was 
strongly  opposed  to  unofficial  war,  either  in 
a  military  or  a  political  sense.  This  pro- 
342 


gramme  had  the  advantage  of  satisfying  the 
Greeks  of  all  parties,  with  the  exception  of 
the  tufthunters  and  intriguers — a  rather 
numerous  race  in  Greece — who  found  his 
Spartan  patriotism  impregnable  against 
their  little  plans  of  personal  advancement. 
Among  these  three  men  King  George  had 
to  choose ;  and  in  view  of  the  strong  feeling 
against  the  Slavs,  it  was  foreseen  that  his 
choice  would  be  limited  to  Deligeorgis  or 
Trikoupis.  Deligeorgis  was  a  popular  man, 
and  idolised  by  the  educated  youth,  on 
account  of  his  wonderful  power  of  oratory. 
Thus,  in  popular  esteem,  both  Deligeorgis 
and  Trikoupis  held  about  equal  places  ;  but 
Deligeorgis  was  a  man  of  more  varied  re- 
sources; and  his  policy  of  coming  to  an 
arrangement  with  the  Porte  regarding 
Thessaly  and  Epirus  must  be  read  between 
the  lines.  For  Deligeorgis,  the  Porte  was 
in  this  case  the  Phanar  and  not  the  Divan ; 
and  it  was  just  possible  that  the  interests  of 
the  Greeks  of  the  empire  might  become, 
through  his  exertions,  identical  with  those 
of  the  Greeks  of  the  kingdom.  The  in- 
dependence of  Cis-Balkan  Bulgaria  would 
greatly  promote  such  an  understanding; 
but  the  extension  of  an  independent  Bul- 
garia beyond  the  Balkans  would  render  it 
a  certainty.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact 
was  an  additional  reason  for  the  Russians 
confining  their  chief  efforts  for  future  terri- 
torial acquisitions  in  Asia  Minor.  They 
knew  perfectly  well,  that  unless  they  could 
manipulate  Greece  through  the  agency  of 
Koumoundouros,  Germany  and  England 
would  support  Greece;  whilst  there  could  be 
no  two  opinions  in  Europe  as  to  whether  the 
Slav  or  the  Greek  race  is  better  adapted  for 
the  promotion  of  civilisation  and  the  de- 
velopment of  commerce  and  agriculture  at 
Constantinople  and  south  of  the  Balkans. 
On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  seemed  at  one 
time  as  if  Trikoupis's  independent  national 
policy  had  the  best  chance  of  success. 

But  the  great  impediment  to  an  indepen- 
dent national  policy  lay  in  the  constitution 
of  Greek  society,  in  the  feebleness  of  the 
nation,  and  its  exposure  to  an  attack  by  sea. 

When  we  find  that  the  employes  and 
their  families  form  no  less  than  one-twelfth 
of  the  population  of  Greece,  we  can  easily 
understand  that  the  financial  and  economic 
condition  of  the  country  must  be  highly 
unsatisfactory.  Still  more  serious  does  the 
matter  appear  when  we  remember  that  the 
country  was  burdened,  at  the  outset  of  its 
career,  by  a  debt  it  could  not  pay — by  a 


1... 


i 


A.D.  1877.] 


«':^'. 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  greek  capital. 


legacy  of  passions  that  formerly  found  a 
vent  against  the  Turks,  but  since  then  have 
caused  the  formation  of  numberless  factions; 
and,  finally,  by  being  saddled  with  a  king 
of  foreign  extraction,  whose  only  chance  of 
founding  a  dynasty  depended  upon  the 
force  of  arms,  or  the  consolidation  of  a  con- 
stitutional monarchy.  Besides  all  this, 
there  exists  the  fact,  which  it  is  useless  to 
ignore,  that  the  people  are  over-educated 
for  their  means,  or  possess  too  much 
mobility  of  intellect  to  be  able  to  devote 
themselves  to  manual  labour.  The  mode 
of  life,  the  climate,  permit  them  to  dis- 
regard those  conditions  of  existence  which 
the  inhabitants  of  less  favoured  countries 
cannot  afford  to  disregard.  The  conse- 
quence is,  that  though  the  population  of 
Greece  has  increased  from  710,000  in  1832, 
to  1,600,000  in  1876,  the  resources  of  the 
country  have  not  been  developed  in  propor- 
tion to  the  powers  of  this  increase.  Thus 
there  arose  the  same  cry  in  Greece  that 
was  heard  in  Dalmatia — more  territory  and 
a  greater  working  population. 

These  sentiments  pervade  all  classes  of 
Greek  society.  Even  the  Greek  peasant 
is  more  ambitious  and  enterprising  than 
the  rest  of  his  kind  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.  Agriculture  is  not  all  the  world 
for  him,  as  it  is  for  the  Bulgarian  ;  and, 
unlike  the  latter,  his  whole  family  is  not 
chained  to  the  soil  as  the  one  business  of 
life.  The  sons  and  daughters  go  out  to 
seek  their  fortunes,  and  generally  succeed 
in  making  them.  The  Greek  peasant  is, 
moreover,  a  clever  fellow,  and  not  ill- 
educated.  He  takes  a  keen  interest  in 
politics,  reads  the  village  newspaper  with 
avidity,  and  listens  with  enthusiasm  to  the 
history  of  his  country,  and  the  deeds  of  his 
ancestors  told  in  stirring  song.  He  is 
eloquent,  too,  and  can  debate  excellently 
over  the  coffee  or  raki,  or  state  his  case 
with  perfect  sangfroid  to  the  consul  or 
other  authority,  when  the  Bulgarian  would 
hardly  be  able  to  utter  an  intelligible  word. 
The  Turkish  Greek  is,  moreover,  intensely 
patriotic ;  he  is  proud  of  free  Hellas,  and 
is  confident  that  some  day  he,  too,  will  be 
free.  He  is  more  luxurious  than  the 
Bulgarian,  his  dress  less  coarse,  his  food 
better  served,  bis  house  better  built,  his 
school  better  organised,  his  wife  and 
daughters  more  refined  and  better  dressed. 

In  conceding  all  this,  it  must  also  be 
confessed  that  the  material  progress  of 
Greece,  since  its  independence,  has  been 


very  great ;  and  nowhere  is  this  progress 
more  evident  than  in  the  capital,  though, 
as  we  have  seen,  it  is  also  noticeable 
amongst  the  rural  population. 

There  is  enough  that  is  enjoyable  in 
Athens,  and  far  more  than  the  traveller 
will  find  in  Constantinople.  Go  out  for  a 
walk  on  a  fine  evening  to  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde,  where  the  band  of  the  king's 
guard  plays  in  the  afternoon;  join  the 
crowd  of  promenaders  on  foot,  on  horse- 
back, and  in  carriages  on  the  fashionable 
northern  avenue  to  Patissia,  past  the  cafes^ 
where  hundreds  of  motley  idlers  lounge  in 
chairs  at  round  tables  cumbering  the 
spacious  side-walks;  look  back  to  the 
south,  where  the  stupendous  rock  of  the 
Acropolis,  with  its  shattered  temples  and 
crumbling  mediaeval  walls,  sits  like  a 
diadem  on  the  brow  of  this  fair  Hellenic 
queen ;  turn  to  the  west,  where  the  rays  of 
the  setting  sun  dart  from  the  crests  of  the 
^galeos  and  the  Parnes,  gilding  on  the 
opposite  side  the  dark  masses  of  the 
Hymettos  and  Pentelikon,  revealing  and 
relieving  their  rugged  ravines  and ''their 
bold  outlines,  which  stand  out  distinctly 
as  if  carved  in  the  deepening  blue  of  the 
sky ;  walk  about,  or  sit  and  muse,  or  listen 
to  the  easy  chat  of  those  idle  groups,  and 
one  cannot  but  half  wonder  at,  half  envy 
that  happy  vacuity  of  earnest  thought  and 
incapacity  of  sustained  action  which  make 
up  so  large  a  part  of  this  blessed  Eastern 
existence,  yet  .not  the  whole  of  it.  For, 
after  looking  at  Athens,  with  its  50,000 
good-looking,  intelligent,  sensitive,  aspiring 
people,  their  schools,  museums,  and  libra- 
ries, all  improvised,  yet  all  thriving  and 
promising,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
conjure  up  the  cluster  of  wretched  hovels 
which  bore  the  name  of  Athens  under  Otto- 
man rule  fifty  or  sixty  years  since.  Com- 
paring this  little  oasis  of  European  civili- 
sation with  Volo,  or  Larissa,  or  Janina,  or 
any  of  the  hotbeds  of  Turkish  sloth, 
especially  with  that  horrid  Pera-Galata, 
that  sea  of  deep,  foetid  mud,  out  of  which 
emerge,  like  islands,  the  sumptuous  palaces 
of  their  diplomatic  Excellencies,  produces 
the  most  emphatic  evidence  of  the  utter 
impotence  of  these  same  Excellencies  to 
work  out  any  material  good^  even  at  their 
very  doors. 

But  that  there  are  drawbacks  to  all  these 
good  things  at  Athens,  that  there  is  some- 
thing rotten  in  this  new  state  of  Greece,  no 
one  will  deny.   There  are  some  incurable  and 

343 


1 
I 


•  ,»i 


PI- 


ATHENIAN  DRAWBACKS.] 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


[A.D.  1877. 


H 


11 


some  not  easily  mended  faults  in  the  soil 
and  climate ;  for  the  mild  and  sweet  early 
days  of  May  are  soon  over,  and  before  the 
end  of  the  month  the  torrid  heat  sets  in, 
and  the  glare  of  the  sun  in  the  inju- 
diciously broad  thoroughfares,  with  the 
reflection  of  the  smooth  flasr-stones  and 
white  walls,  is  dazzling  and  blinding ;  and 
the  dust  rises  in  huge  dense  clouds  at 
every  breath  of  wind,  and  chokes  you  at 
every  step  if  you  venture  out  of  doors,  and 
creeps  through  the  windows  that  you  dare 
not  open,  and  covers  the  table  you  are 
writing  at  and  the  very  bed  you  sleep  on. 
There  is  no  such  scourge  in  the  world  as 
Athenian  chalk-dust ;  for  all  the  new 
streets  are  macadamized,  and  for  one 
house  that  is  rising  from  the  ground  the 
foundations  of  a  score  of  others  are  laid ; 
and  in  spite  of  political  anxiety  and 
financial  distress,  the  chipping  of  the 
stonemason's  chisel  is  heard  at  all  hours  in 
every  quarter,  whilst  the  wind  sweeps 
through  the  rubbish-heaps  in  the  open 
spaces,  and  Athens  has  scarcely  one  drop  of 
water  to  slake  tlie  thirst  of  her  burning 
streets  and  squares. 

This  is  all  owing  to  the  centuries  of 
human  unthrift  and  stolidity  which  has 
made  of  Attica  a  torrid  desert  for- six  or 
seven  months  in  the  year.  There  was  a 
time,  as  Sophocles  tells  us,  and  as  the 
guide-books  translate,  when  '*  beautiful 
fields  bloomed,  when  nightingales  sighed 
and  lamented  among  the  groves  of  Colonus, 
along  its  green  hedges  and  walls  mantled 
with  dark  ivy."  Days  are  mentioned  when 
the  Cephisus  and  Ilissus  were  streams  of 
water  and  not  beds  of  arid  stones  as  they 
aro  now ;  when  people  could  talk  of 
"sacred  foliage  teeming  with  fruits  in 
shady  coolness,  nourished  by  gentle  breezes, 
untouched  by  storms."  The  ravages  of 
man  have  done  away  with  all  that.  Men 
still  living  in  Athens  remember  the  fires 
with  which  the  last  strips  of  forest  in  the 
glens  of  Hymettus  and  Pentelicus  gleamed 
round  Athens  night  after  night,  as  they  do 
now  incessantly  in  the  gorges  of  the  moun- 
tains of  Albania,  visible  from  Corfu.  The 
savage  cultivators  of  the  soil  in  these 
regions  burn  their  woods  to  fertilise  the 
fields  with  their  ashes.  By  the  destruction 
of  trees  of  many  ages'  growth  they  insure  a 
paltry  crop  for  one  season.  But  the  ex- 
periment cannot  be  twice  made  ;  the  havoc 
is  now  complete ;  the  mischief  can  no 
further  go.  With  every  trace  of  vegeta- 
344 


tion,  every  vestige  of  moisture  vanishes 
early  in  the  spring  from  the  Attic  land,  and 
before  the  end  of  May  all  is  parched,  burnt, 
pulverised,  bare,  scorched,  and  desolate. 
No  one  plants  trees ;  no  trees  planted  would 
have  any  chance  of  living;  and  where 
nature,  by  the  inexhaustible  strength  of  her 
recuperative  energies,  puts  forth  here  a 
bud,  there  a  bulb,  where  a  chance  seed 
dropped  from  a  bird,  or  wafted  by  the 
wind,  might  be  the  means  of  again  cover- 
ing the  land  with  trees  and  blessing  it 
with  new  verdure  and  moisture,  the  goat 
comes  browsing,  crops  up,  tears  up,  the 
very  rock  to  which  the  roots  cling  with 
unavailing  vital  instinct.  Nowhere  in  the 
world,  perhaps,  is  the  proportion  of  goats 
to  all  other  cattle  so  great  as  it  is  in  Athens 
and  the  surrounding  territory.  The 
niggardly  boor  of  Attica  cherishes  a 
quadruped  that  gives  milk  and  eats 
nothing — eats,  that  is  to  say,  what  costs 
its  owner  nothing,  but  what  is  in  reality 
"  the  heart  of  the  land."  This  improvi- 
dence, let  it  be  repeated,  is  not  peculiar  to 
Athens  or  to  other  parts  of  Southern 
Grreece.  But  no  country  has  sinned  on 
this  score  more  grievously  than  Attica,  no 
town  more  bitterly  rues  the  consequences 
than  Athens,  and  no  country  or  town,  to 
all  appearance,  is  less  alive  to  the  enormity 
of  the  evil,  or  less  earnestly  inclined  or 
determined  to  devise  a  remedy.  That 
woods  could  be  planted  everywhere  around 
Athens,  that  the  mountains,  if  protected 
from  the  goats,  would  again  teem  with 
vegetation  up  to  the  highest  rocks,  and 
that  verdure  and  moisture  would  again  be 
as  plentiful  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  the 
great  tragedian,  no  one  will  doubt  who  sees 
in  how  few  years  the  king's  garden  and 
other  plantations  have  sprung  up  to  the 
greatest  luxuriance.  And  barren  as  is  the 
country,  by  the  fault  of  the  governing 
classes  more  than  by  the  fault  of  the 
people,  just  as  barren  are  its  politics — no 
doubt,  in  a  great  measure,  owing  to  the 
relations  of  Greece  with  and  towards  the 
Greek  provinces  of  Turkey.  Besides  the 
associations,  or  clubs,  to  which  we  have 
alluded  on  an  earlier  page  (p.  11)  there  was 
a  crowd  of  newspapers  expounding  the 
views  of  these  clubs  and  the  various 
parties. 

But,  in  spite  of  all  the  intrigues  of  the 
societies,  the  exertions  of  the  politicians— in 
spite  of  the  popular  clamour,  and  notwith- 
standing the  noisy  patriotism  of  Leonidas 


A.D.  1877.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


fCABINET  OF  COMPROMISE. 


Bulgaris — or  perhaps  in  consequence  of  all 
this,  on  the  principle  that  too  many  cooks 
spoil  the  broth,  the  long-expected  "  action  " 
did  not  go  beyond  the  ostentatious  concen- 
tration of  Greek  troops  on  the  frontier ; 
whilst  Leonidas  Bulgaris,  styling  himself 
president  of  the  insurrectional  comite,  issued 
a  proclamation,  calling  upon  the  people  of 
Thessaly,  Macedonia,  and  Epirus,  to  take  up 
arras.  Photiades  Bey  made  energetic  re- 
presentations to  the  Greek  ministers  on  the 
subject,  and  called  upon  them  to  arrest 
Bulgaris,  but  without  success,  the  ministers 
alleging  that  they  could  not  take  such  a 
measure  without  endangering  their  existence 
as  a  Cabinet. 

Meantime  the  ministers  exhibited  much 
activity  in  their  diplomatic  negotiations 
with  England,  Turkey,  and  Rouraania  ;  and 
towards  the  end  of  July,  1877,  Trikoupis 
had  a  long  conversation  with  the  English 
ambassador,  Mr.  Stuart,  who  assured  him 
that  the  interests  of  the  Greeks  would  not 
be  lost  sight  of  by  England.  This  has  been 
interpreted  as  though  Mr.  Stuart  was  allud-r 
ing  to  the  interests  of  the  Greek  govern-r 
ment  in  Athens.  Such  was  not  the  case. 
The  conversation  referred  only  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  Greek  subjects  of  the  Porte, 
in  view  of  any  extension  of  the  privileges  of 
the  Slav  subjects  which  might  be  pre- 
judicial to  them.  In  the  same  sense  must 
the  notes  be  considered  which  the  Greek 
Cabinet  addressed  to  its  agents  at  foreign 
Courts.  This  attitude  was  rather  at  vari- 
ance with  the  expectations  entertained  by 
the  Greeks  from  the  Cabinet  of  Compromise, 
at  the  head  of  which  was  Canaris,  and, 
whose  raison  d'etre  lay  in  its  being  supposed 
to  represent  the  universal  national  wish ; 
and  it  was  also  at  variance  with  the  military 
preparations  that  were  rapidly  approaching 
completion^  At  the  same  time,  the  excite- 
ment throughout  Greece  became  so  great, 
that  it  was  feared  that  if  the  Cabinet  did 
not  abandon  its  temporising  policy,  it  would 
be  forced  to  resign,  and  make  way  for  a 
more  resolute  one.  The  national  enthu- 
siasm exhibited  itself  in  considerable  con- 
tributions of  men,  arms,  and  money ;  and 
the  men  of  the  first  extraordinary  reserve 
were  welcomed  everywhere  by  processions  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  bands  of  music,  and 
the  customary  festal  virgins.  They  were 
all  at  their  posts  even  bejfore  the  appointed 
time,  so  that  the  increase  of  the  army  to 
27,000  men  was  now  an  established  fact 
by  the  beginning  of  August,  1877. 


And  yet  matters  still  remained  in  the 
same  undecided  state.  The  fact  was,  that 
the  Greek  government  were  sufi"ering  from 
a  plethora  of  advice.  It  was  an  open  secret 
that  they  had  been  formally  assured  by  the 
German  government  of  its  fullest  sympathy ; 
but  this  assurance  was  somewhat  diminished 
by  the  proviso,  that  such  sympathy  could 
not  practically  extend  beyond  the  limits 
imposed  by  Great  Britain.  But  as  to  what 
these  limits  were,  the  Greek  government 
had  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  In  no  case 
had  the  promises  of  the  British  ministers 
gone  beyond  the  general  assurance  that  the 
interests  of  Greece  should  not  sufi'er  in 
favour  of  any  other  nationality  subject  to 
the  Porte ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  was 
pointed  out,  that  any  premature  action 
would  forfeit  the  good  wishes  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain,  and  prevent  any 
interference  with  such  maritime  dispositions 
as  the  Turkish  government  might  see  fit  to 
adopt.  This  language  made  a  decided  im- 
pression upon  some  members  ot  the  Athens 
Cabinet,  who  found  themselves  opposed  by 
the  more  independent  members,  whose  idea 
was  in  favour  of  co-operation  with  Russia — 
or,  to  use  the  more  exact  phrase — of  parallel 
action  with  Russia,  independent  of  Russian 
control,  but  still  en  rapport  with  St. 
Petersburg.  Canaris,  however,  was  opposed 
to  this,  as  indeed  to  any  war  at  all,  until 
the  success  of  the  Russian  arms  appeared 
assured  beyond  all  doubt.  So,  too,  was  the 
Phanar  opposed  to  any  action ;  and  when 
certain  occurrences  in  the  Russian  monastery 
of  Pantaleimon,  on  Mount  Athos,  in  con- 
nexion with  intrigues  in  the  Bulgarian 
monasteries  there,  seemed  to  point  to  an 
attempt  to  Slavonicise  the  peninsula,  the 
Fhare  du  Bosphore  called  upon  the  Porte 
to  vindicate  its  rights,  and  banish  the 
Russian  and  Bulgarian  monks.  The  Porte 
would  have  consented,  but  Prince  Reuss 
protested  against  the  measure,  and  it  was 
not  carried  out.  Again,  the  Phanar  ren- 
dered important  services  to  Turkey  during 
the  war.  Thus,  the  banking  firm  Sarifi 
advanced  £300,000  to  the  Porte,  in  addition 
to  former  sums  advanced  by  the  same  firm, 
and  by  Messrs.  Negroponte  and  Stefano- 
vitch.  The  Phanar  also  had  the  chief  con- 
tracts for  the  supplies  of  the  Turkish  army. 
There  was  thus  a  great  division  of  interest 
between  the  Greeks  of  the  kingdom  and 
those  of  Constantinople,  and  part  of  the 
Greeks  of  London  and  Vienna.  But  the 
people  of  Greece  felt  very  stronglv  that  the 

345* 


/ 


I 

Id 


;: 

1  I 


tl 

1*1 


I 


SAN  STEFANO  TREATY.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


jackal's  part  was  not  a  worthy  one  to  play, 
especially   not   for   such   a   nation   as   the 
Greek,  and  had  besides  a  shrewd  idea  that 
it  was  a  dangerous  game  to  play.      It  is 
true,  the  Greek  Cabinet  was  prepared  to 
enter  into  an  alliance  with  Russia  on  certain 
conditions.      These    conditions  were,    that 
Russia  should  formally  engage  to  renounce 
for  herself  and  the  Slavs  any  claim  to  the 
country    south    of  the   Balkans;    that  the 
occupation  of  towns  largely  inhabited  by 
Greeks,  such  as  Adrianople,  should  be  tem- 
porary   only;     and    thirdly,    that    Russia 
should  sell  her  ironclad  fleet  to  Greece  in 
order  to  secure  the  services  of  the  30,000 
sailors  Greece  was  prepared  to  furnish  I  The 
little  kingdom  had  thus  no  small  idea  of  its 
importance.       But,    extravagant    as  these 
demands  may  appear,  it   might  have  been 
wise  on  the  part  of  the  Russians  to  have 
acceded  to  them.       Greece    must  not    be 
measured  by  the  Morea  and  the  Pelopon- 
nesus.     There    is    a    larger    Greece — the 
Greece  that  has  kept  the  Porte  on  its  legs 
for  many  centuries,  and  which  was  capable 
of  keeping  it  oa  its  legs  still  for  many  a 
year  to  come. 


However,  the  result  of  all  the  commotion 
was,  that  the  government  took  no  action 
itself,  and  regarded  the  exertions  of  Bul- 
garis  and  the  clubs  to  raise  an  insurrection 
in  Thessaly  with  a  lenient  eye,  the  ministers 
assuring  the  Turks  and  the  foreign  govern- 
ments that  the  movement  was  not  dan- 
gerous, and  was  of  great  use  as  a  safety- 
valve,  and  eminently  calculated  to  save 
troubles  and  complications  between  the 
government  of  Greece  and  its  hard-beset 
neighbour. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  immediately 
preceding  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano.  The 
Greek  government  was  waiting  to  pick  up 
whatever  crumbs  might  be  dropped  by  the 
great  powers,  and  the  Greek  people  were 
occupied  in  watching  the  course  of  the  in- 
surrection, and  finding  a  vent  for  their 
superabundant  excitement  in  denunciation 
of  the  Turks,  .England,  Russia,  France, 
Germany,  and  the  rest  of  the  world  in 
general — not  even  forgetting  Italy,  whose 
example  of  acquiring  provinces  without 
fighting  for  them,  or  even  by  a  series  of 
defeats,  they  were  all  so  eager  and  ready  to 
follow. 


HI 


CHAPTEK    XXXV. 


THE  TREATY  OF  SAN  STEFANO  BEFORE  EUROPE. 


Although  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  was 
signed  on  March  3rd,  it  was  not  officially 
communicated  to  the  British  government 
until  March  20th.  Probably  this  was  due, 
in  some  measure,  to  the  Russian  govern- 
ment desiring  to  allow  some  of  the  excite- 
ment it  caused  to  subside  before  its  official 
presentation,  but  chiefly  in  order  to  gain 
time  and  allow  the  military  authorities  to 
take  the  strategic  steps  also  permitted  by 
the  treaty  before  any  foreign  government 
could  interpose  on  the  basis  officially  pro- 
vided by  the  treaty  itself. 

The  wisest  thing  about  the  whole  treaty 
was  its  qualification,  "  preliminary."  This 
qualification  was  wise  for  two  reasons. 
First  of  all,  because  it  opened  the  way  for 
a  peaceable  abrogation  of  the  articles,  which 
England  for  one — and  probably  the  whole 
of  Europe — would  declare  inadmissible  and 
contrary  to  previous  treaty  obiiijations. 
346 


Secondly,  it  was  wise  from  a  Russian  point 
of  view,  because  it  also  opened  the  way  to 
a  period  of  anxiety,  indecision,  and  tension 
which  could  not  but  act  more  or  less  un- 
favourably to  trade  and  commerce  gene- 
rally, and  England's  commerce  especially. 
By  this  means  it  was  hoped  that  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  Beaconsfield  ministry  would 
be  engendered  in  England,  and  pave  the 
way  to  the  accession  of  a  Liberal  Cabinet, 
with  which  the  Russian  government  ima- 
gined it  could  more  easily  deal. 

In  fact,  the  San  Stefano  treaty  inau- 
gurated a  policy  which  was  consistently 
carried  on  all  through  the  year  1878.  The 
mot  (Tordre  of  this  policy  was  harassment, 
and  it  extended  from  the  Adriatic  to  the 
Afghanistan  frontier  of  India. 

But,  in  spite  of  the  damage  done  to 
business — in  spite  of  the  indubitable  desire 
of  the  British  people  for  peace — even  at  a 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  [anglo-austriax  policy. 


moderate  sacrifice — it  was  acknowledged  on 
all  sides  that  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano 
could  not  be  allowed  to  stand.  This  opinion 
Europe  unanimously  expressed  as  soon  as 
the  text  of  the  treaty  had  been  published. 

But  even  some  time  before  its  publica- 
tion, the  ministers  and  ambassadors  of  the 
difi'erent  powers  were  made  aware  of  the 
general  character  of  the  document ;  and,  in 
reply  to  their  objections,  the  Russian  diplo- 
matists replied  that  really  it  did  not  much 
matter  what  was  signed  between  Russia  and 
Turkey,  as  the  treaty  would  be  laid  before 
the  powers,  and  have  to  receive  their  sanc- 
tion before  it  became  a  definite  agreement 
with  full  international  force. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  preliminary 
arrangements  for  an  armistice — to  be  fol- 
lowed at  once  by  negotiations  for  peace — 
had  been  signed.  Count  Andrassy,  the 
Austrian  Minister  for  Foreign  AfiFairs, 
addressed  a  despatch,  on  February  5th,  to 
all  the  great  powers,  in  which  he  stated 
that  Austria  had  always  reserved  her  right 
to  exercise  her  share  of  influence  over  the 
definitive  regulation  of  the  conditions  of 
the  future  peace.  The  imperial  govern- 
ment of  Russia,  to  which  he  had  communi- 
cated this  point  of  view,  had  fully  appreci- 
ated it ;  and,  as  preliminaries  of  peace  had 
just  been  signed  between  Russia  and  Turkey, 
the  moment  appeared  to  have  come  to 
establish  the  agreement  of  Europe  on  the 
modifications  which  it  may  become  neces- 
sary to  introduce  into  the  treaties  of  1856 
and  1871.  The  most  suitable  means  to 
bring  about  this  agreement  appeared  to  the 
Austrian  government  to  be  the  assembly  of 
a  conference  of  the  powers  signatory  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris  of  1856,  and  of  the  protocol 
of  London  of  1871.  Count  Andrassy  there- 
fore begged  to  invite  the  Cabinet  of  St. 
James's  to  be  good  enough  to  join  in  a 
conference  of  the  powers  signatory  of  the 
above-mentioned  international  acts,  and 
hoped  there  would  not  be  any  objection  to 
the  assembling  of  the  conference  at  Vienna. 
As  soon  as  the  acceptance  in  principle  of  this 
invitation  by  the  Cabinets  invited  should 
be  signified,  he  would  hasten  to  propose  to 
them  the  manner  and  the  date  of  meeting. 

To  this  despatch  Lord  Derby  replied  on 
February  7th,  accepting  the  Austrian  invi- 
tation, which  was  also  accepted  by  the 
other  powers. 

Meantime,  however,  between  the  signa- 
ture of  the  armistice  and  the  signature  of 
the  San  Stefano  treaty,  a  better  knowledge 


of  the  probable  character  of  that  instrument 
had  been  acquired,  and  the  chief  result  of 
this  better  knowledge,  as  far  as  England 
was  concerned,  was  the  demand  by  the 
Beaconsfield  ministry  for  a  credit  of 
£6,000,000,  in  order,  should  the  conference 
proposed  meet  at  Vienna,  to  be  prepared 
for  extreme  measures  if  no  agreement  were 
arrived  at.  This  credit  parliament  voted 
by  a  large  majority,  especially  as  the  public 
were  in  an  intense  state  of  excitement  at 
the  critical  state  of  affairs.  For,  notwith- 
standing the  ratification  of  peace  at  St. 
Petersburg  and  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Russian  embassy  and  consulate  at 
Constantinople,  the  relations  between  Eng- 
land and  Russia,  and  the  mystery  which 
overhung  the  precise  conditions  of  peace, 
made  the  situation  most  serious.  The 
evacuation  by  the  Turkish  troops  of  various 
points  between  Buyukdere  and  Kilios  on 
the  Black  Sea,  and  the  uncertainty  whether 
the  points  thus  evacuated  were  or  were 
not  to  be  occupied  by  Russian  troops,  of 
course  added  to  the  gravity  of  the  phase  of 
the  "  Eastern  Question  "  through  which  the 
world  was  passing.  Naturally,  at  such  a 
moment,  the  most  wild  and  extravagant 
rumours  were  circulated,  not  only  in  Pera 
and  Stamboul,  but  also  in  London  and 
Paris,  as  to  a  further  advance  of  the  Rus- 
sians towards  Constantinople.  There  was 
considerable  reason  for  such  apprehensions; 
for,  day  by  day,  the  Russians  gradually 
drew  nearer  to  the  capital  and  the  shores 
of  the  Bosphorus.  Between  Daoud  Pasha 
and  Belgrad,  the  line  occupied  by  the  Rus- 
sians ran  from  San  Stefano  throusrh  the 
villages  of  Nymphis,  Aipas,  Kalfa,  Ayo 
Ghiorghi  (St.  George),  and  thence  on  the 
north-west  of  the  forest  of  Domonadere, 
through  Istenia  to  Boghazkeui,  and  to  the 
Black  Sea  coast. 

Belgrad  itself  not  only  was  evacuated,  but 
Kilios  also.  Kilios  is  a  fortress  with  forty- 
four  guns,  in  charge  of  which  but  a  small 
number  of  troops  was  left.  In  fact,  Demir- 
jikoi,  Ferikoi,  Sekeriyehkoi,  and  all  the 
villages  where  Turkish  troops  were  stationed, 
were  being  evacuated  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
and  the  troops  pouring  into  Stamboul  and 
elsewhere.  This  evacuation  left  open  to  the 
Russians  all  the  fortresses  between  Belgrad 
and  Roumelia  Pharanaki  (Lighthouse),  the 
extreme  point  on  the  European  side  of  the 
entrance  to  the  Bosphorus  from  the  Black 
Sea.  The  forts  between  that  point  and 
Buyukdere     were  —  Papas    Point,     with 

247 


.41 


m 


i 


a' 

! 


i 


MINISTERIAL  MANCEUVRES.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


i» 


eleven  guns ;  Fort  Karibjeh,  with  seventeen 
guns;  Bujuk  Liman,  where  there  were  a 
powder  magazine  and  twenty-two  guns; 
Kavak,  with  batteries  containing  twenty 
guns  ;  and  Sariyeri,  about  two  miles  from 
Jiuyukdere,  which  contained  a  battery  of 
eight  24-pounders. 

Thus,  at  that  moment,  before  the  Turks 
had  had  time  to  recover  from  the  blows 
they  had  received,  or  to  secure  whatever 
positions  remained  to  them  before  the 
capital,  the  Russians  could  easily  have 
seized  Constantinople,  and  have  obtained 
the  control — for  a  time  at  least — of  the 
Bosphorus. 

Against  such  a  step  the  British  fleet  was 
practically  powerless  to  interfere  for  a  time. 
Admiral  Hornby  would  have  had  quite 
enough  to  do  to  hold  the  Dardanelles  and 
assist  the  Turks  to  hold  the  lines  of  Bulair 
and  Gallipoli.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
there  was  never  any  fear  amongst  the  mili- 
tary authorities  in  London  that  the  Rus- 
sians would  take  such  a  step.  They  knew 
perfectly  well  that  Russia  was  playing  a 
game  of  brag ;  and  there  is  little  doubt,  too, 
that,  as  far  as  immediate  contingencies  were 
concerned,  the  British  government  was 
playing  the  same  game. 

Still,  even  a  game  of  brag  costs  money. 
It  cost  the  Russians  a  large  sum  of  money 
daily  on  account  of  their  army  ;  and  it  cost 
England  pretty  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
:g6,000,000  before  the  game  was  played  out. 
It  may  not  be  very  dignified  to  acknowledge 
this ;  but  facts  are  facts,  and,  as  there  was 
considerable  danger  of  Russia  obtaining 
what  she  wanted  from  the  Turks  by  bully- 
ing them,  and  bragging,  it  was  wiser  for  the 
British  ministry  to  talk  still  bigger,  and 
play  a  still  bigger  game  of  harmless,  though 
expensive  brag,  than  to  plunge  into  the 
miseries  of  war.  At  the  same  time  the 
game  was  a  safe  one  to  play ;  for  should 
brag  have  been  insufficient,  there  were  the 
means  at  hand  to  render  it  grim  earnest 
indeed.  Still,  we  repeat  it,  we  have  the 
very  best  authority  for  saying,  that  at  no 
period  after  the  capture  of  Adrianople,  and 
the  entry  of  the  British  fleet  into  the 
Dardanelles  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  was 
there  the  slightest  apprehension  at  the  War 
Office  that  the  Russians  would  occupy 
Constantinople.  All  the  excitement  and 
tension  following  the  signature  of  the  treaty 
of  San  Stefano,  up  to  its  modification  by 
the  Berlin  congress,  might  have  been 
fipared  had  there  but  been  a  rational  system 
348 


for  conducting  foreign  afl'airs  by  open  dis- 
cussion and  parliamentary  means,  instead 
of  in  a  hole-and-corner  fashion  round  a 
dozen  green  tables. 

But,  in  addition  to  these  matters  of  fact 
which  precluded  the  occupation  of  Con- 
stantinople, there  were  good  military  reasons 
at  that  moment — ^.e.,  as  long  as  the  British 
fleet  was  in  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  and  had 
its  communications  open  through  the  Dar- 
danelles, as  well  as  the  central  of  the  Asiatic 
side  of  the  Bosphorus. 

A  reference  to  the  sketch  of  Constanti- 
nople will  show  that,  as  long  as  the  sea  and 
Scutari  were  held  by  the  Turks  and  English, 
the  retention  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Russians,  even  if  they  succeeded  in  occu- 
pying the  whole  of  the  European  coast  of 
the  Dardanelles,  would  have  been  rendered 
impossible  except  at  an  immense  expendi- 
ture of  blood  and  treasure,  as  the  city  was 
open  to  bombardment  throughout  its  length 
from  south  to  north,  and  east  to  west,  by 
the  fleet  and  by  batteries  on  the  Asiatic 
coast,  and  at  Scutari.  For  tliis  reason  the 
Russians  never  dreamt  of  occupying  Con- 
stantinople itself.  What  they  contemplated 
was  the  encircling  of  the  city  with  a  series 
of  strong  earthworks  along  the  Tcha- 
taldja  lines,  and  thus  prevent  any  communi- 
cation with  the  interior.  This  plan  would 
have  entailed  much  more  trouble  and  loss 
of  life  on  the  Turks  and  English,  in  case  of 
a  war,  than  any  other,  as  it  would  have 
obliged  them  to  fight  their  way  by  land, 
and  disembark  troops  more  or  less  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy.  In  two  words,  Con- 
stantinople was  never  in  any  danger  of 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Russians?  But 
that  this  was  the  case,  was  due  only  to  the 
foresight  and  determination  of  Lord  Bea- 
consfield,  who  insisted  upon  sending  the 
fleet  before  the  very  walls  of  the  city,  and 
thus  created  the  situation  which  prevented 
the  Russians  from  capturing  the  city.  Had 
he  not  sent  the  fleet,  there  is  very  little  doubt 
but  that  not  only  Constantinople  would 
have  been  seized,  but  Scutari  and  the 
Asiatic  side  of  the  Bosphorus  as  well.  And 
then  England  and  Europe  might  have  pro- 
tested as  long  as  they  chose,  or  have  com- 
menced hostile  operations  against  the  Rus- 
sians under  the  most  unfavourable  circum- 
stances. 

But  though  Constantinople  itself  may 
not  have  been  in  any  immediate  danger, 
there  was,  nevertheless,  considerable  danger 
of  war  breaking  out  for  many  reasons— 


n., 


A.D.  1878.'| 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[agitation  in  INDIA. 


reasons  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  here, 
but  of  which  one — the  deciding  one  in  fact — 
was  the  attitude  taken  up  by  Russia  in 
Central  Asia  against  India  and  British  rule 
and  influence  on  the  north-western  frontiers 
of  the  Punjaub  and  Scinde  and  Cashmere. 

Already,  during  the  summer  of  1876, 
secret  Russian  agents  had  been  sent  to 
Cabul  to  secure  the  favour  of  the  Emir 
Shere  Ali,  the  ruler  of  Afghanistan ;  and 
this,  coupled  with  other  indications  of  a 
similar  character,  pointed  clearly  to  an  in- 
tention, on  the  part  of  Russia,  to  prepare  a 
course  of  agitation  in  India  and  the  outly- 
ing principalities,  similar  to  that  in  Servia 
which  preceded  the  Russo-Turkish  war. 

Against  this  state  of  affairs  it  was  neces- 
sary to  take  precautions ;  and  as  there  is  no 
military  organisation  in  England  like  those 
of  the  other  continental  powers,  which 
permits  the  mobilisation  of  a  large  army  at 
a  few  days'  notice,  it  was  necessary  to  take 
steps  long  before  any  immediate  cause  for 
action  arose. 

Thus,  for  divers  reasons  of  a  military  and 
strategic,  as  well  as  a  political  character, 
it  was  determined  not  only  to  call  out  the 
reserves,  but  also  to  despatch  a  body  of 
Indian  troops  to  the  Mediterranean.  On 
this  determination  being  arrived  at  by  the 
rest  of  the  cabinet.  Lord  Derby  resigned  his 
post  as  Foreign  Secretary,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury, 

This  defection  of  Lord  Derby's  was  quite 
in  accordance  with  what  we  have  already 
said  of  his  character  long  before  he  so  fully 
justified  that  opinion  by  his  subsequent 
conduct.  At  the  same  time  it  caused  no 
slight  embarrassment  to  the  ministers,  for 
it  had  been  intended  to  land  the  Indian 
troops  at  Alexandretta ;  and  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  that  Lord  Derby  threat- 
ened to  divulge  this  plan  if  persisted  in. 
In  consequence  thereof,  it  was  decided — 
weakly  decided  in  our  opinion — to  land 
them  at  Malta  instead.  The  necessary 
orders  to  prepare  for  this  step  were  sent  to 
India.  These  orders  were  followed  up  by 
the  order  calling  out  the  reserves ;  this 
order  Lord  Derby  stating  to  have  been  one, 
though  not  the  chief  of  his  reasons,  for 
resigning. 

Now  all  these  steps  placed  England  on 
the  verge  of  the  boundary  which  separates 
peace  from  war  ;  and  it  was  necessary,  not 
only  to  state  clearly  what  would  be  the 
cause  of  such  war,  but  also  to  justify  the 
steps  taken.     With  the  first  object,  Lord 

VOL.  III.  2  z 


Salisbury  addressed  a  despatch  to  all  the 
English  embassies  abroad ;  and  with  the 
second.  Lord  Beaconsfield  moved  an  humble 
address  to  the  Queen,  thanking  her  for  the 
message  of  April  1st,  calling  out  the 
reserves  in  order  to  afi'ord  government  an 
opportunity  to  justify  its  action  and  take 
the  opinion  of  parliament  on  the  subject. 

The  following  is  the  despatch  which 
Lord  Salisbury  addressed  to  Lord  Loftus 
and  the  other  ambassadors : — 

"Foreign  Office,  April  1,  1878. 

"My  Lord, — Sir, — I  have  received  the 
Queen's  commands  to  request  your  Excel- 
lency to  explain  to  the  government  to 
which  you  are  accredited  the  course  which 
her  majesty's  government  have  thought  it 
their  duty  to  pursue  in  reference  to  the 
preliminaries  of  peace  concluded  between 
the  Ottoman  and  Russian  governments,  and 
to  the  European  congress  which  it  has  been 
proposed  to  hold  for  the  examination  of 
that  treaty.  On  the  14th  January,  in  view 
of  the  reports  which  had  reached  her 
majesty's  government  as  to  the  negotiations 
for  peace  which  were  about  to  be  opened 
between  the  Russian  government  and  the 
Porte,  and  in  order  to  avoid  any  possible 
misconception,  her  majesty's  government 
instructed  Lord  A.  Loftus  to  state  to  Prince 
Grortschakoff'  that,  in  the  opinion  of  her 
majesty's  government,  any  treaty  concluded 
between  the  government  of  Russia  and  the 
Porte  affecting  the  treaties  of  1856  and 
1871  must  be  an  European  treaty,  and 
would  not  be  valid  without  the  assent  of 
the  powers  who  were  parties  to  those  trea- 
ties. On  the  25th  January  the  Russian 
government  replied  by  the  assurance  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  settle  by  themselves 
('isolement ')  European  questions  having 
reference  to  the  peace  which  is  to  be  made 
('  se  rattachant  a  la  paix'). 

"Her  majesty's  government,  having  learnt 
that  the  bases  of  peace  had  been  arranged 
between  the  Turkish  and  Russian  delegates 
at  Kesanlik,  instructed  Lord  A.  Loftus,  on 
the  29th  January,  to  state  to  the  Russian 
government  that  her  majesty's  government, 
while  recognising  any  arrangements  made 
by  the  Russian  and  Tufkish  delegates  at 
Kezanlik  for  the  conclusion  of  an  armistice, 
and  for  the  settlement  of  bases  of  peace  as 
binding  between  the  two  belligerents,  de- 
clared that  in  so  far  as  those  arrangements 
were  calculated  to  modify  European  trea- 
ties and  to    affect   general    and    British 

349 


•    1 


I 


1 


SALISBURY'S  DESPATCH.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


n» 


interests,  her  majesty's  government  were 
unable  to  recognise  in  them  any  validity 
unless  they  were  made  the  subject  of  a 
formal  agreement  among  the  parties  to  the 
treaty  of  Paris.  On  the  30th  of  January 
Lord  A.  Loftus  communicated  this  declara- 
tion to  Prince  GortschakofiL  and  his  high- 
ness replied  that  to  effect  an  armistice  certain 
bases  of  peace  were  necessary,  but  they 
were  only  to  be  considered  as  preliminaries 
and  not  definitive  as  regarded  Europe ;  and 
stated  categorically  that  questions  bearing 
on  European  interests  would  be  concerted 
with  European  powers,  and  that  he  had 
given  her  majesty's  government  clear  and 
positive  assurances  to  this  effect.  On  the 
4  th  of  February  the  Austrian  ambassador 
communicated  a  telegram  inviting  her  ma- 
jesty's government  to  a  conference  at 
Vienna,  and  her  majesty's  government  at 
once  accepted  the  proposal.  On  the  5th  of 
February  his  Excellency  addressed  a  formal 
invitation  to  Lord  Derby,  stating  that — 
*  L'Autriche  -  Hongrie,  en  sa  qualite  de 
puissance  signataire  des  actes  interna- 
tionaux  qui  ont  eu  pour  objet  de  regler  le 
systeme  politique  en  Orient,  a  toujours 
reserve,  en  presence  de  la  guerre  actuelle, 
sa  part  d'influence  sur  le  reglement  definitif 
des  conditions  de  la  paix  future.  Le  gou- 
vernement  imperial  de  la  Russie,  auquel 
nous  avons  fait  part  de  ce  point  de  vue,  I'a 
pleinement  appreciee.  Aujourd'hui  que  les 
preliminaires  de  paix  vieunent  d'etre  signes 
entre  la  Russie  et  la  Turquie  le  moment 
nous  semble  venu  d'etablir  I'accord  de 
I'Europe  sur  les  modifications  qu'il  devien- 
drait  necessaire  d'apporter  aux  traites  sus 
mentionnes.  Le  mode  le  plus  apte  a  amener 
cette  entente  nous  parait  etre  la  reunion 
d'une  conference  des  puissances  signataires 
du  traite  de  Paris  1856  et  du  protocole  de 
Londres  de  1871.'  Austria,  as  a  signatory 
of  the  treaties  referring  to  the  East,  has 
always  reserved  its  share  of  influence  in  re- 
gulating the  future  treaty  of  peace.  This 
has  been  acknowledged  by  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment ;  and  thus  the  Austrian  govern- 
ment, now  that  the  preliminaries  of  peace 
have  been  signed,  proposes  a  conference  of 
the  powers  who  signed  the  treaty  of  1856. 
On  the  9  th  instant  the  Austrian  govern- 
ment proposed,  that  instead  of  the  confer- 
ence at  Baden-Baden,  as  previously  con- 
templated, a  congress  should  be  assembled 
at  Berlin.  Her  majesty's  government  re- 
plied th^t  they  had  no  objection  to  this 
change,  but  that  they  considered  'that 
350 


it  would  be  desirable  to  have  it  understood, 
in  the  first  place,  that  all  questions  dealt 
with  in  the  treaty  of  peace  between  Russia 
and  Turkey  should  be  considered  as  subject 
to  be  discussed  in  the  congress ;  and  that 
no  alteration  in  the  condition  of  things 
previously  established  by  treaty  should  be 
acknowledged  as  valiji  until  it  has  received 
the  assent  of  the  powers.'  On  the  12th 
March  Count  Beust  was  told  that  her  ma- 
jesty's government  must  be  perfectly  clear 
on  the  points  mentioned  in  the  letter  to  him 
of  the  9th  instant,  before  they  could  de- 
finitively agree  to  go  into  congress.  On 
the  13th,  her  majesty's  government  ex- 
plained further  the  first  condition : — '  That 
they  must  distinctly  understand,  before  they 
can  enter  into  congress,  that  every  article  in 
the  treaty  between  Russia  and  Turkey  will 
be  placed  before  the  congress,  not  neces- 
sarily for  acceptance,  but  in  order  that 
it  may  be  considered  what  articles  re- 
quire acceptance  or  concurrence  by  the 
several  powers,  and  what  do  not.'  On  the 
14th  the  Russian  ambassador  communicated 
the  following  telegram  from  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff: — 'Toutes  les  grandes  puissances 
savent  deja  que  le  texte  complet  du  traite 
preliminaire  de  paix  avec  la  Porte  leur  sera 
communique  des  que  les  ratifications  auront 
ete  echangees,  ce  qui  ne  saurait  tarder,  II 
sera  simultanement  public  ici.  Nous 
n'avons  rien  a  cacher.'  All  the  great 
powers  know  that  the  complete  text  of 
the  preliminary  treaty  will  be  communi- 
cated to  them  as  soon  as  the  ratifications 
have  been  exchanged.  It  will  be  published 
here  at  the  same  time.  We  have  nothing 
to  conceal.  On  the  17th  Lord  A.  Loftus 
reported  that  he  had  received  the  following 
memorandum  from  Prince  Gortschakoff : — 
'  In  reply  to  communication  made  by  Lord 
A.  Loftus  of  the  despatch  by  which  Lord 
Derby  has  replied  to  the  proposal  of  Count 
Beust  relating  to  the  meeting  of  the  con- 
gress at  Berlin,  I  have  the  honour  to  repeat 
the  assurance  which  Count  Schouvaloff  has 
been  already  charged  to  give  to  her  ma- 
jesty's government — viz.,  that  the  preli- 
minary treaty  of  peace  concluded  between 
Russia  and  Turkey  shall  be  textually  com- 
municated to  the  great  powers  before  the 
meeting  of  the  congress,  and  that  in  the 
congress  itself  each  power  will  have  the  full 
liberty  of  its  appreciations  and  of  its  action.' 
In  a  despatch  received  on  the  18th,  Lord 
A.  Loftus  stated  that  Prince  Gortschakoff  had 
said  to  him  that  of  course  he  could  not  impose 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.        Fthe  Salisbury  despatch; 


silence  on  any  member  of  the  congress,  but 
be  could  only  accept  a  discussion  on  those 
portions  of  the  treaty  which  affected  Euro- 
pean interests.  Lord  Derby  having  asked 
Count  Schouvaloff  for  a  reply  from  Prince 
Gortschakoff,  his  Excellency  informed  him, 
on  the  19th,  that  he  was  '  charged  to  re- 
present to  her  majesty's  government  that 
the  treaty  of  peace  concluded  between 
Russia  and  Turkey — the  only  one  which  ex- 
isted, for  there  was  no  secret  engagement — 
would  be  communicated  to  the  government 
of  the  Queen  in  its  entiret}^  and  long  be- 
fore ('  bien  avant ')  the  assembling  of  the 
congress.  The  government  of  the  Queen,  in 
like  manner  as  the  other  great  powers,  re- 
served to  themselves  at  the  congress  their 
full  liberty  of  appreciation  and  action. 
This  same  liberty  which  she  did  not  dispute 
to  others,  Russia  claimed  for  herself.  Now, 
it  would  be  to  restrict  her,  if,  alone  among 
all  the  powers,  Russia  contracted  a  preli- 
minary engagement.'  On  the  21st,  Lord 
Derby  replied  that  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment could  not  recede  from  the  position 
already  clearly  defined  by  them,  that  they 
must  "distinctly  understand,  before  they 
could  enter  into  congress,  that  every  article 
in  the  treaty  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
would  be  placed  before  the  congress,  not 
necessarily  for  acceptance,  but  in  order 
that  it  might  be  considered  what  articles 
required  acceptance  or  concurrence  by  the 
other  powers,  and  what  did  not. 

"Her  majesty's  government  were  unable 
to  accept  the  view  now  put  forward  by 
Prince  Gortschakoff,  that  the  freedom  of 
opinion  and  action  in  congress  of  Russia, 
more  than  of  any  other  power,  would  be  re- 
stricted by  this  preliminary  understanding. 
Her  majesty's  government  therefore  desired 
to  ask  whether  the  government  of  Russia 
were  willing  that  the  communication  of  the 
treaty  en  entier  to  the  various  powers 
should  be  treated  as  a  placing  of  the  treaty 
before  the  congress,  in  order  that  the  whole 
treaty,  in  its  relation  to  existing  treaties, 
might  be  examined  and  considered  by  the 
congress.  On  the  26th  Count  Schouvaloff 
wrote  to  Lord  Derby  that  the  imperial 
cabinet  deemed  it  its  duty  to  adhere  to  the 
declaration  which  he  was  ordered  to  make 
to  the  government  of  the  Queen,  and  which 
was  stated  in  the  letter  which  he  had  the 
honour  to  address  to  him,  dated  the  19th 
of  March.  As  different  interpretations  Ijad 
been  given  to  the  *  liberty  of  appreciation 
and  action  '  which  Russia  thought  it  right 


to  reserve  to  herself  at  the  congress,  the 
imperial  cabinet  defined  the  meaning  of  the 
term  in  the  following  manner  : — '  It  leaves 
to  the  other  powers  the  liberty  of  raising 
such  questions  at  the  congress  as  they 
might  think  it  fit  to  discuss,  and  reserves 
to  itself  the  liberty  of  accepting  or  not  ac- 
cepting the  discussion  of  these  questions.* 
"  Her  majesty's  government  deeply  regret 
the  decision  which  the  Russian  government 
have  thus  announced.  How  far  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  would 
commend  themselves  as  expedient  to  the 
judgment  of  the  European  powers,  it  is  not 
at  present  possible  to  decide.  But  even  if 
a  considerable  portion  of  them  were  such  as 
were  likely  to  be  approved,  the  reservation 
of  a  right,  at  discretion,  to  refuse  to  accept 
a  discussion  of  them  in  a  congress  of  the 
powers,  would  not  on  that  account  be  the 
less  open  to  the  most  serious  objection.  An 
inspection  of  the  treaty  will  sufficiently  show 
that  her  majesty's  government  could  not,  in 
a  European  congress,  accept  any  partial  or 
fragmentary  examination  of  its  provisions. 
Every  material  stipulation  which  it  con- 
tains involves  a  departure  from  the  treaty  of 
1856.  By  the  declaration  annexed  to  the 
first  protocol  of  the  conference  held  in  Lon- 
don in  1871,  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the 
great  powers,  including  Russia,  recognised 
'  that  it  is  an  essential  principle  of  the  law 
of  nations  that  no  power  can  liberate  itself 
from  the  engagements  of  a  treaty,  nor 
modify  the  stipulations  thereof,  unless  with 
the  consent  of  the  contracting  powers  by 
means  of  an  amicable  arrangement.'  It  is 
impossible  for  her  majesty's  government, 
without  violating  the  spirit  of  this  declara- 
tion, to  acquiesce  in  the  withdrawal  from 
the  cognizance  of  the  powers  of  articles  in 
the  new  treaty  which  are  modifications  of 
existing  treaty  engagements,  and  inconsis- 
tent with  them.  The  general  nature  of  the 
treaty,  and  the  combined  effect  of  its  several 
stipulations  upon  the  interests  of  the  signa- 
tory powers,  furnish  another  and  conclusive 
reason  against  the  separate  discussion  of 
any  one  portion  of  those  stipulations  apart 
from  the  rest.  The  most  important  conse- 
quences to  which  the  treaty  practically 
leads  are  those  which  result  from  its  action 
as  a  whole  upon  the  nations  of  south- 
eastern Europe.  By  the  articles  erecting 
the  new  Bulgaria,  a  strong  Slav  State  will 
be  created  under  the  auspices  and  control 
of  Russia,  possessing  important  harbours 
upon  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the 

351 


i 


1 
i''<{ 


'  i* 


<I 


I 

f 


THE  SALIS^tTRY  DESPATCH.]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


i 


I 


1* 


Archipelago,    and    conferring    upon    that 
power  a  preponderating  influence  over  both 
political  and  commercial  relations  in  those 
seas.     It  will  be  so  constituted  as  to  merge 
in  the  dominant  Slav  majority  a  consider- 
able mass  of  population  which  is  Greek  in 
race  and  sympathy,  and  which   views  with 
alarm  the  prospect  of  absorption  into  a  com- 
munity alien  to  it  not  only  in  nationality, 
but  ir\  political  tendency  and  in   religious 
allegiance.     The  provisions  by  which  this 
new    State  is  to   be  subjected   to  a  ruler 
whom   Kussia  will  practically   choose,   its 
administration  framed  by  a  Russian  com- 
missary, and  the   first  working  of  its  in- 
stitutions commenced  under  the  control  of 
a   Russian  army,  sufficiently  indicate    the 
political  system  of  which  in  future  it  is  to 
form  a  part.     Stipulations  are  added  which 
will  extend  this  influence  even  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  the  new  Bulgaria.     The  pro- 
vision, in  itself    highly  commendable,    of 
improved  institutions  for  the  population  of 
Thessaly  and  Epirus,  is  accompanied  by  a 
condition  that  the  law  by  which  they  are 
to  be   secured  shall   be  framed  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Russian  government.     It 
is  followed  by  engagements  for  the  protec- 
tion  of   members  of  the   Russian  church, 
which  are  certainly   not  more   limited  in 
their  scope  than  those  articles  of  the  treaty 
of  Kainardji  upon  which   the  claims  were 
founded   which   were    abrogated   in    1856. 
Such    stipulations   cannot  be  viewed  with 
satisfaction  either  by  the    government  of 
Greece  or  by  the  powers  to  whom  all  parts 
of  the  Ottoman  empire  are  a  matter  of  com- 
mon interest.     The  general  effect   of  this 
portion  of  the  treaty  will  be  to  increase  the 
power  of  the  Russian  empire  in  the  coun- 
tries and  on  the  shores  where  a  Greek  popu- 
lation predominates,  not  only  to  the  preju- 
dice of  that  nation,  but  also  of  every  country 
having  interests  in  the  east  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea.     The  territorial  severance  from 
Constantinople  of  the  Greek,  Albanian,  and 
Slavonic  provinces,  which  are  still  left  under 
the  government  of  the  Porte,  will  cause 
their  administration  to  be  attended   with 
constant  difficulty  and  even  embarrassment ; 
and  will  not  only  deprive  the  Porte  of  the 
political  strength  which  might  have  arisen 
from  their  possession,  but  will  expose  the 
inhabitants  to  a  serious  risk  of  anarchy.    By 
the  other  portions  of  the  treaty  analogous 
results  are  arrived  at  upon  other  frontiers  of 
the    Ottoman    empire.      The    compulsory 
alienation  of  Bessarabia  from  Roumania,  the 
352  ' 


rA.D.  1878. 


extension  of  Bulgaria  to  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea,  which  are  principally  inhabited 
by  Mussulmans  and  Greeks,  and  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  important  harbour  of  Batoum, 
will  make  the  will  of  the  Russian  government 
dominant  over  all  the  vicinity  of  the  31ack 
Sea.     The  acquisition  of  the  strongholds  of 
Armenia  will  place  the  population  of  that 
province  under  the  immediate  influence  of 
the  power  which  holds  them;    while   the 
extensive  European  trade  which  now  passes 
from   Trehizond  to  Persia  will,  in  conse- 
quence  of  the   cessions   in   Kurdistan,   be 
liable  to  be  arrested  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
Russian   government     by   the    prohibitory 
barriers  of  their  commercial  system.     Pro- 
vision is  made  for  an  indemnity,  of  which 
the  amount  is  obviously  beyond  the  means 
of  Turkey  to  discharge,  even  if  the  fact  be 
left  out  of  account  that  any  surplus  of  its 
revenues  is  already  hypothecated  to  other 
creditors.     The  mode  of  payment   of  this 
indemnity  is  left,  in  vague   language,  to 
ulterior  negotiations    between    Russia  and 
the  Porte.     Payment  may   be   demanded 
immediately,  or  it  may  be  left  as  an  unre- 
deemed  and  unredeemable    obligation    to 
weigh  down  the  independence  of  the  Porte 
for   many  years.      Its   discharge   may   be 
commuted  into  a  yet  larger  cession  of  terri- 
tory, or  It  may  take  the  form  of  special 
engagements  subordinating  in  all  things  the 
policy  of  Turkey  to  that  of  Russia.     It  is 
impossible  not  to  recognise  in  this  provision 
an  instrument  of  formidable  efficacy  for  the 
coercion  of  the  Ottoman  government,  if  the 
necessity  for  employing  it  should  arise. 

"Objections  may  be  urged  individually 
against  these  various  stipulations;  and 
arguments,  on  the  other  hand,  may  possibly 
be  advanced  to  show  that  they  are  not  in- 
dividually inconsistent  with  the  attainment 
of  the  lasting  peace  and  stability  which  it 
is  the  highest  object  of  all  present  negotia- 
tions to  establish  in  the  provinces  of  Euro- 
pean and  Asiatic  Turkey.  But  their  sepa- 
rate and  individual  operation,  whether 
defensible  or  not,  is  not  that  which  should 
engage  the  most  earnest  attention  of  the 
signatory  powers.  Their  combined  effect, 
in  addition  to  the  results  upon  the  Greek 
population  and  upon  the  balance  of  mari- 
time power  which  have  been  already  pointed 
out,  is  to  depress,  almost  to  the  point  of  en- 
tire subjection,  the  political  independence 
of  the  government  of  Constantinople.  The 
formal  jurisdiction  of  that  government 
extends  over  geographical  positions  which 


'»■ 


\  i 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.         [the  saltsbuiiy  despatch. 


must  under  all  circumstances  be  of  the 
deepest  interest  to  Great  Britain.  It  is  in 
the  power  of  the  Ottoman  government  to 
close  or  to  open  the  Straits  which  form  the 
natural  highway  of  nations  between  the 
^gean  Sea  and  the  Euxine.  Its  dominion 
is  recognised  at  the  head  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  on  the  shores  of  the  Levant,  and  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Suez 
Canal.  It  cannot  be  otherwise  than  a 
matter  of  extreme  solicitude  to  this  country 
that  the  government  to  which  this  jurisdic- 
tion belongs  should  be  so  closely  pressed  by 
the  political  outposts  of  a  greatly  superior 
power,  that  its  independent  action,  and  even 
existence,  is  almost  impossible.  These  re- 
sults arise,  not  so  much  from  the  language 
of  any  single  article  in  the  treaty,  as  from 
the  operation  of  the  instrument  as  a  whole. 
A  discussion  limited  to  articles  selected  by 
one  power  in  the  congress  would  be  an 
illusory  remedy  for  the  dangers  to  English 
interests  and  to  the  permanent  peace  of 
Europe  which  would  result  from  the  state 
of  things  which  the  treaty  proposes  to 
establish.  The  object  of  her  majesty's 
government  at  the  Constantinople  confer- 
ence was  to  give  effect  to  the  policy  of 
reforming  Turkey  under  the  Ottoman 
government,  removing  well-grounded  griev- 
ances, and  thus  preserving  the  empire  until 
the  time  when  it  might  be  able  to  dispense 
with  protective  guarantees.  It  was  obvious 
that  this  could  only  be  brought  about  by 
rendering  the  different  populations  so  far 
contented  with  their  position  as  to  inspire 
them  with  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  make 
them  ready  to  defend  the  Ottoman  empire 
as  loyal  subjects  of  the  Sultan.  This  policy 
was  frustrated  by  the  unfortunate  resistance 
of  the  Ottoman  government  itself,  and, 
under  the  altered  circumstances  of  the  pre- 
sent time,  the  same  result  cannot  be  at- 
tained to  the  same  extent  by  the  same 
means.  Large  changes  may,  and  no  doubt 
will,  be  requisite  in  the  treaties  by  which 
south-eastern  Europe  has  hitherto  been 
ruled.  But  good  government,  assured  peace, 
and  freedom  for  populations  to  whom  those 
blessings  have  been  strange,  are  still  the 
objects  which  this  country  earnestly  desires 
to  secure.  In  requiring  a  full  consideration 
of  the  general  interests  which  the  new 
arrangements  threaten  to  affect,  her 
majesty's  government  believe  that  they 
are  taking  the  surest  means  of  securing 
those  objects.  They  would  willingly  have 
entered  a  congress  in  which  the  stipulations 


in  question  could  have  been  examined  as  a 
whole  in  their  relation  to  existing  treaties, 
to  the  acknowledged  rights  of  Great  Britain 
and  of  other  powers,  and  to  the  beneficent 
ends  which  the  united  action  of  Europe  has 
always  been  directed  to  secure.  But  neither 
the  interests  which  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment are  specially  bound  to  guard,  nor  the 
well-being  of  the  regions  with  which  the 
treaty  deals,  would  be  consulted  by  the 
assembling  of  a  congress  whose  deliberations 
were  to  be  restricted  bv  such  reservations  as 
those  which  have  been  laid  down  by  Prince 
Gortschakoff  in  his  most  recent  communica- 
tion. 

*'  Your  Excellency  will  read  this  despatch 
to  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  and 
give  him  a  copy  of  it. — I  am,  &c., 

(Signed)        "  Salisbury." 

This  despatch  naturally  caused  intense 
excitement  in  Russia  and  amongst  the 
Liberal  party.  It  was  objected  to  on  the 
score  that  it  was  calculated  to  lead  to 
war,  as  it  was,  more  or  less,  a  defiance  of 
Russia,  and,  moreover,  contained  no  defi- 
nite proposal,  but  was  confined  to  criticism. 

These  objections  were  true  and  untrue. 
The  despatch  certainly  did  contain  a  defi- 
ance of  Russia,  but  only  in  case  Russia 
should  object  to  yield  in  conformity  with 
the  criticisms  contained  in  the  document, 
and  all  of  which  resulted  in  one  very  defi- 
nite proposal,  or  rather  demand — namely, 
that  Russia  should  undertake  to  lay  the 
whole  treaty  of  San  Stefano  before  the 
powers  in  congress,  in  order  to  allow  those 
powers  to  determine  how  each  article 
separately,  or  in  conjunction  with  all  or 
any  of  the  rest,  affected  the  previous  treaties 
of  1856  and  1871. 

Nothing  could  be  plainer  or  simpler  than 
this  position  of  the  British  government ;  but 
so  many  quibbles  were  made  use  of  on  all 
sides,  in  England,  amongst  the  office- 
seekers,  as  well  as  in  Russia,  that  weeks 
were  wasted  in  refuting  the  most  puerile 
arguments. 

That  the  position  taken  up  by  Lord 
Salisbury  in  his  despatch  was  warranted  by 
the  course  of  events,  and  that  his  defiance 
of  Russia,  such  as  it  was,  was  also  justified, 
is  amply  proved  by  a  retrospect  of  the 
course  of  the  negotiations,  and  the  relations 
between  England  and  Russia  since  the 
commencement  of  the  dispute  in  the  East. 

Lord  Derby,  in  his  reply  to  the  circular  of 
Prince  Gortschakoff,  announcing  and  vindi- 

353 


:P 


"'  1 


I  ■ ; 

J 


4 


■^   a 


RUSSIAN  ASSURANCES.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


'!■ 


m 


eating  the  commencement  of  the  war  be- 
tween Kussia  and  the  Porte,  had  urged  many 
reasons  and  considerations  why  he  could 
not  agree  with  the  circular ;  why  he  thought 
the  Russian  government  had  made  out  no 
case  whatever  for  their  belligerent  conduct ; 
and,  finally,  after  having  urged  many 
reasons  of  that  kind,  he  concluded  with  this 
paragraph — "The  course  on  which  the 
Russian  government  has  entered,  moreover, 
involves  graver  and  more  serious  considera- 
tions. It  is  in  contravention  of  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  1856,  by 
which  Russia  and  the  other  signatory 
powers  engaged,  each  on  its  own  part,  to 
respect  the  independence  and  territorial 
integrity  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  and  the 
conference  of  London  of  1871,  at  the  close 
of  which  this  stipulation  was  affirmed  by 
the  Russian  plenipotentiary,  who  signed  the 
declaration,  affirming  it  to  be  an  essential 
principle  of  the  law  of  nations,  that  no 
power  can  liberate  itself  from  the  engao-e- 
ments  of  a  treaty,  or  modify  the  stipulations 
thereof,  unless  with  the  consent  of  the  oon^ 
tracting  parties,  by  means  of  an  amicable  set'- 
tlement.  In  taking  action  against  Turkey  of 
its  own  accord,  having  recourse  to  arms 
without  further  consultation,  the  Emperor 
of  Russia  separated  himself  from  the  Euro- 
pean concert  which  had  been  maintained, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  departed  from  the 
course  to  which  he  himself  authoritatively 
recorded  his  assent." 

This    announcement    was   made   at  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  as  far  back  as  May 
1st,  1877.     It  was  upon  the  principles  of 
that    declaration    that    Lord    Beaconsfield 
founded  his  policy ;  and  had  not  the  above 
engagement  been  entered  into  by  the  Rus- 
sian emperor,  if  it  had  not  been  held    a 
solemn  one  in  the  face  of  Europe,  no  policy 
like    that    would    have   been   adopted    by 
England.      Consequently,  these   principles 
"Were  acted  upon  when  government  received 
private  information  that  negotiations  were 
about  to  commence  between  the  belligerent 
powers.     No  sooner  had    the    information 
reached  them  than  the  Secretary  of  State 
addressed  to  her  majesty's  ambassador  at 
St.  Petersburg,  instructions  to  state,  that 
in  order  to  avoid  possible  misconceptions, 
and  in  view  of  reports  which  had  reached 
her  majesty's  government,    they    were    of 
opinion  that  any  treaty  between  Russia  and 
the  Porte,  affecting  the  treaties  of  1856  and 
1871,   must  be  a    European   treaty,    and 
would  not  be  valid  without  the  assent  of 
354 


the  powers  who  were  parties  to  those  treaties. 
On  the  23rd  of  January,  having  received  no 
answer   from  Russia  with  respect  to  these 
representations.    Lord    Derby  telegraphed 
to  Lord  Loftus,  pressing  for  an  answer;  but 
on  the  24th  of  January,  ten  days  after  the 
original   representation.    Lord    Loftus   an- 
nounced, that  though   he   had  received  no 
answer    himself,    he   believed   that  Prince 
Gortschakoff  accepted  his   original  repre- 
sentation   regarding   the    opinion    of   her 
majesty's  government,  which  did  not  neces- 
sarily require  an  answer  ;  but,  if  an  answer 
was  required,  it  would  probably  be  given  by 
his  majesty's  ambassador  in  London;  and 
accordingly,  on  the  day  after,  a  message  was 
received   by  Count  Schouvaloff,  and  com- 
municated to  Lord  Derby  in  the  shape   of 
an  extract  from  the  telegram  from  Prince 
Grortschakoff:— "We  repeat   the  assurance 
that  we  do  not  intend  to  settle  by  ourselves 
European  questions  having  reference  to  the 
peace   that  is   to    be   made."     Meanwhile, 
information    reached    government   of    the 
negotiations  that  were  taking  place  between 
Russia  and  the  Porte  at  Kesanlik— -nego- 
tiations  which    were  conducted    with    the 
Utmost  secrecy  and  mystery.     Lord  Derby, 
therefore,  on  the  29th  of  January,  addressed 
the  following  despatch  to  Lord  A.  Loftus  : — 
<'  I  have  to  instruct  your  Excellency  to  state 
to  the  Russian  government,  that 'her  ma- 
jesty's    government,    recognising     in    the 
arrangement  made  by  the  Russian  govern- 
ment   with    the    Turkish    government   at 
Kesanlik   the  conclusion  of    an    armistice 
and  the  basis  of  a  peace,  declare  that  so  far 
as   those   arrangements   are  calculated    to 
modify  European    treaties,    and    to   affecti 
general  and  British  interests,  they  are  un- 
able to  recognise    in   them    any   validity, 
unless  they  are  made  a  subject  of  a  formal 
agreement    between    the    parties    to    the 
treaty  of  Paris."     At  the  same  time.  Lord 
Derby  sent  a  circular  in  identical  language 
to  her  majesty's   ambassadors   at  all    the 
Courts,   ending  with    this  additional   sen- 
tence : — "  Her  majesty's  government  enter- 
tains the  hope  that  the  view  of  the  case  as 
we  have  stated  it,  which  is  entirely  based 
upon  the  treaties,  and  more  especially  upon 
the  treaty  of  London  of  1871,  will  receive 
the  assent  of  the  powers  who  were  parties  to 
that  treaty."     On  the  30th  of  January,  the 
following  reply  was  received  from  the  Rus- 
sian government  in  a  despatch  from  Lord 
A.    Loftus: — "I  received   your   lordship's 
despatch  yesterday,  containing  declarations 


I 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[negotiations. 


relative  to  the  validity  of  the  treaty  of 
peace,  and  I  have  this  morning  communi- 
cated them  to  his  highness.  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff stated,  that  to  effect  an  armistice 
certain  bases  of  peace  were  necessary,  but 
that  they  were  only  to  be  considered  as  pre- 
liminary. He  stated  categorically  that  the 
questions  therein  of  European  interests 
would  be  concerted  with  the  European 
powers,  and  gave  an  assurance  to  that 
effect."  To  the  same  effect  were  the  state- 
ments of  the  Russian  amhaasador  in  Lon- 
don; and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Count 
Schouvaloff  made  no  representation  to  her 
majesty's  government  which  he  was  not 
justified  in  making  by  the  instructions 
which  he  possessed. 

This  is  the  diplomatic  history  of  the 
month  of  January,  the  month  in  which 
parliament  assembled.  The  above  declara- 
tions by  the  Russian  minister,  which  her 
majesty's  government  were  induced  to  be- 
lieve satisfactory,  were  also  deemed  satisfac- 
tory to  the  Austrian  government ;  because, 
immediately  after  their  receipt — that  is,  in 
the  early  days  of  February — a  formal  invi- 
tation was  received  from  the  government  of 
Austria  to  a  conference  to  be  held  at  Vienna 
— a  communication  made  with  the  know- 
ledge of  Russia,  and,  to  use  the  language  of 
the  despatch,  "appreciated"  by  Russia. 
A  distinct  understanding  ('*  reglement  defi- 
nitif  ")  was  to  be  arrived  at  with  regard  to 
the  general  affairs  touched  by  the  war,  and 
in  which  all  necessary  modifications  might, 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  signatory 
powers,  be  effected  in  the  previous  treaties, 
to  harmonise  them  with  the  present  situa- 
tion. Thus  it  was  avowedly  as  a  signatory 
to  the  treaties  of  1856  and  1871  that 
Austria  sent  the  invitations,  and  it  was  in 
their  character  as  signatories  that  the 
powers  received  them.  The  month  of 
March  was  not  rich  in  diplomatic  docu- 
ments, but  it  was  not  an  uneventful  month. 
During  the  whole  of  that  period  Austria 
was  busy  in  conferring  with  the  different 
Courts  of  Europe,  and  making  arrangements 
for  the  meeting  of  the  congress.  There  were 
many  suggestions  made.  There  was  the 
project  that  the  congress  should  assemble 
at  Vienna ;  but  objections  were  made  by 
some  powers  to  the  meeting  being  held  in 
a  capital  city.  Then  there  were  discussions 
as  to  the  presidency,  to  the  locality,  and  to 
the  name  of  the  meeting — whether  it  should 
be  called  a  congress  or  a  conference,  both  of 
which  are  exactly  the  same — and  whether 


it  should  be  presided  over  by  a  Secretary  of 
State,  or  by  some  other  minister.  All  these 
were  discussions  which  occupied  many 
minds ;  but  they  did  not  occupy  the  mind 
of  the  British  government :  that  government 
never  made  the  slightest  difficulty  on  those 
hands.  There  were  persons  mentioned, 
perhaps,  of  whom  they  did  not  highly 
approve  as  presidents  of  the  conference — as, 
for  instance,  Prince  Grortschakoff ;  they  did 
not  always  approve  of  the  locality  which  was 
suggested  ;  but  they  never  made  any  objec- 
tion of  any  kind.  They  thought  that  the 
interests  of  peace  were  of  too  vast  a  magni- 
tude to  weigh,  for  a  moment,  with  these 
comparatively  petty  considerations ;  and  so 
far  as  government  were  concerned,  as  to 
whether  it  was  to  be  a  conference  or  a  con- 
gress that  was  to  be  held,  whether  it  was  to 
assemble  at  Vienna  or  at  Berlin,  or  who  was 
to  be  the  president  of  the  conference,  or 
matters  of  that  kind,  no  difficulties  at  all 
were  made  by  them.  Grovernment  were 
anxious  that  this  congress  or  conference 
should  meet,  and  they  held  that  its  meeting 
was  the  only  means  then  attainable  by  which 
the  peace  of  Europe  could  be  obtained. 
Thus,  early  in  March,  an  invitation  arrived 
from  Austria  to  meet  the  congress  at  Berlin. 
The  objections  which  had  been  made  to 
Vienna  as  being  a  capital  city  seemed  to 
have  been  waived,  and  a  congress  at  Berlin 
was  invited.  Without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion government  accepted  that  proposition, 
and  asked  no  reason  why  Berlin  should  be 
favoured  instead  of  Vienna.  All  that  was 
wanted  was  a  meeting  of  the  congress  ;  but, 
in  order  that  there  should  be  no  delay,  and 
remembering  the  most  critical  events  that 
had  taken  place  in  February,  when  Austria 
was  carrying  on  these  preliminaries  for  the 
minor  purposes  of  the  negotiation,  and  re- 
membering that  (juring  the  whole  of  that 
time  secret  negotiations  were  carried  on 
between  Russia  and  the  Porte,  and  that 
during  those  negotiations  the  Russian  armies 
were  advancing,  and,  if  not  occupying,  en- 
circling Constantinople — and  remembering, 
also,  that  they  had  felt  it  their  duty  to 
advise  her  majesty  to  send  her  fleet  to  the 
Sea  of  Marmora,  government  considered 
that  it  was  very  important,  that  when  they 
assented  to  a  congress  at  Berlin,  the  policy 
of  her  majesty's  government  should  be  again, 
in  an  unmistakable  manner,  expressed. 
Accordingly,  the  Secretary  of  State,  on  the 
4th  of  March,  wrote  to  Count  Beust,  that 
"her  majesty's  government,  however,  con- 

355 


^ 


It-' 


4 


I 


M 


"  LIBERTY  OF  APPRECIATION."]        HISTORY    OF     THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


,i  . ' 


m 


►I* 


sidered  that  it  would  be  desirable  to  have 
it  understood,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
whole  question  of  the  treaty  between  Rus- 
sia and  Turkey  should  be  considered  a  sub- 
ject to  be  discussed  in  the  congress,  and 
that  no  alteration  in  the  condition  of  things 
previously  established  should  be  acknow- 
ledged till  it  had  received  the  consent  of 
the  powers."  Therefore,  notwithstanding 
the  eventful  and  the  perilous  circumstances 
that  were  occurring,  government  were  con- 
sistent in  maintaining  the  great  principle 
which  they  vindicated  before  the  war  com- 
menced, which  they  repeated  on  other 
occasions,  and  of  which,  when  the  congress 
was  about  to  meet,  they  felt  it  their  duty 
to  remind  the  other  powers.  A  day  or  two 
afterwards.  Lord  Derby — uneasy,  probably 
from  some  rumours  that  may  have  reached 
him,  or  some  slight  indications  of  the  Rus- 
sian policy — wrote,  on  the  13th  of  March  : — 
"  With  reference  to  my  despatch  of  the  8th 
instant,  I  have  to  request  your  Excellency 
to  inform  Count  Andrassy,  that  in  order  to 
avoid  any  misapprehension  as  to  the  mean- 
ing of  their  recent  declaration  contained  in 
my  note  to  Count  Beust  of  the  9th  instant, 
her  majesty's  government  desire  to  state 
that  they  must  distinctly  understand,  before 
they  enter  into  congress,  that  every  article 
in  the  treaty  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
will  be  placed  before  the  congress,  not 
necessarily  for  acceptance,  but  in  order  that 
it  may  be  considered  what  articles  require 
acceptance  or  concurrence  by  the  several 
powers,  and  what  do  not."  After  some 
slight  delay,  government  received  the  fol- 
lowing communication  from  Prince  Gorts- 
chakotf,  dated  the  17th  of  March  : — 

"In  answer  to  the  communication  by 
Lord  Augustus  Loftus  of  the  despatch  in 
which  Lord  Derby  has  answered  the  pro- 
posal of  Count  Beust  respecting  the  meeting 
of  a  congress  at  Berlin,  I  have  the  honour 
to  repeat  the  assurance  which  Count  Schou- 
valoff  has  already  been  instructed  to  give  to 
the  government  of  her  Britannic  majesty — 
namely,  that  the  preliminary  treaty  of 
peace  concluded  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
will  be  textually  communicated  to  the  great 
powers  before  the  meeting  of  the  congress, 
and  that,  in  the  congress  itself,  each  power 
will  have  the  full  liberty  of  its  apprecia- 
tions and  of  its  action  ('  la  pleine  liberte  de 
ses  appreciations  et  de  son  action  ')." 

Now,  of  the  meaning  of  "  liberty  of  its 
appreciation  and    of  its  action,"   different 
interpretations  may,  no  doubt,  be  furnished ; 
356 


but  it  was  an  expression  of  classical 
obscurity,  in  which  Delphi  itself  could 
hardly  be  more  perplexing.  Then  comes  a 
note  which,  on  the  21st  of  March,  the 
Secretary  of  State  addressed  to  Count 
Schouvaloff : — 

"Her  majesty's  government  have  con- 
sidered the  communication  which  you  were 
authorised  by  Prince  Grortschakoff  to  make 
on  the  19th  inst.  Her  majesty's  govern- 
ment cannot  recede  from  the  position 
already  clearly  defined,  that  they  must  dis- 
tinctly understand,  before  they  enter  into 
congress,  that  every  article  of  the  treaty 
between  Russia  and  Turkey  should  be  placed 
before  the  congress,  not  necessarily  for 
acceptance,  but  in  order  that  it  may  be 
considered  what  articles  require  acceptance 
or  concurrence  of  the  other  powers,  and 
what  do  not.  Her  majesty's  government 
are  unable  to  accept  the  view  now  put 
forward  by  Prince  Gortschakoff,  that  the 
freedom  of  opinion  and  action  in  congress 
of  Russia,  more  than  every  other  power,  may 
be  restricted  by  this  preliminary  understand- 
ing. Her  majesty's  government  further 
desire  to  ask  the  government  of  Russia 
whether  the  communication  of  the  treaty 
in  its  entirety  to  the  various  powers,  shall 
be  treated  as  a  placing  of  the  heads  before 
the  congress,  in  order  that  the  whole  treaty 
may  be  considered  and  examined  at  the 
congress." 

To  this  government  received  a  conclusive 
answer.  "  I  lost  no  time,"  said  Count 
Schouvaloff,  "in  communicating  to  Prince 
Gortschakoff  the  tenor  of  the  letter  you  did 
me  the  honour  to  address  to  me  on  the  21st." 
As  different  interpretations  had  been  given 
to  the  "  liberty  of  appreciation  and  action  '* 
which  Russia  thought  it  right  to  reserve  to 
herself  at  the  congress,  the  imperial  cabinet 
defined  the  meaning  of  the  term  in  the 
following  manner: — "It  leaves  to  the 
other  powers  the  liberty  of  raising  such 
questions  at  the  congress  as  they  might 
think  it  fit  to.  discuss,  and  reserves  to  itself 
the  liberty  of  accepting,  or  not  accepting, 
the  discussion  of  these  questions''  Now 
this  simply  meant  that,  though  any  of  the 
powers  might  raise  objections,  Russia  re- 
served her  right .  not  to  discuss  them  I 
Thus,  however  ambiijuous  the  laniruao^e  was 
in  previous  instances,  however  various  may 
have  been  the  expressions  used,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  correspondence  between  the 
two  Courts  ended  in  a  refusal,  on  the  part 
of  Russia,  of  that  which  England  believed 


'%■ 


1 .  i 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE.         [dangers  of  the  treaty. 


to  be  a  just,  a  necessary,  and  an  absolutely 
indispensable  condition  of  her  entering 
into  the  congress ;  and  which,  as  was  con- 
tended by  all  Europe,  Russia,  by  her  pre- 
vious engagements  as  one  of  the  signatories 
of  the  treaties  of  1856  and  1871,  was  bound 
to  comply  with — viz.,  to  submit  the  treaty 
of  San  Stefano  for  discussion  in  the  congress. 
That  treaty  consisted,  as  we  have  seen,  of 
twenty-nine  articles,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  mere  technical  ones,  every  article  was  a 
deviation  of  some  sort,  if  not  a  violation. 
It  was  for  this  reason  that  it  was  negotiated 
in  secrecy,  and  encircled  in  mystery  from 
the  beginning  to  such  a  degree,  that  the 
Porte  was  commanded  by  Russia  not  to 
allow  a  single  stipulation  to  be  known  to 
the  neutral  powers — not  even  to  the  neutral 
powers  who  were  the  allies  of  Russia,  and 
without  whose  neutrality  Russia  could  not 
have  accomplished  its  purposes,  and  who 
would  never  have  adopted  that  policy  of 
neutrality  unless  they  had  believed  that 
Russia  was  bound  by  the  treaties  of  1856 
and  1871.  In  the  first  place,  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano  entirely  abrogated  and  abolished 
what  is  called  Turkey  in  Europe — the 
dominion  of  the  Ottoman  empire  in  Europe. 
It  created,  in  the  first  place,  a  large  State 
which,  under  the  name  of  Bulgaria,  is 
inhabited  by  many  races  who  are  not  Bul- 
garians. It  reached  to  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea  ;  it  seized  upon  the  ports  of  that 
sea ;  it  extended  to  the  coasts  of  the  ^gean, 
and  it  appropriated  the  ports  of  that  coast. 
It  provided  for  the  government  of  this  new 
Bulgaria  by  a  prince  who  was  to  be  selected 
by  Russia;  its  administration  was  to  be 
organised  and  supervised  by  a  commissary 
of  Russia ;  and  this  new  State  was  to  be 
garrisoned  for  an  indefinite  period  of  years, 
but  certainly  for  two  years,  by  Russian 
troops.  But  it  was  not  merely  this  vast 
district — this  vast  extent  of  country — which 
was  taken  from  the  Porte,  and  in  which  the 
government  of  Russia  was  substituted  for 
that  of  Turkey ;  but  by  provisions  and 
stipulations  in  the  treaty,  the  distant  pro- 
vinces of  Greece,  of  Epirus  and  Thessaly, 
and  Bosnia,  were  almost  entirely  cut  off 
from  Turkey,  and  were  invested  with  privi- 
leges— that  is  to  say,  new  laws,  which  were 
to  be  devised  and  supervised  by  Russia :  so 
that  it  may  be  fairly  said  that  the  whole  of 
the  dominions  in  Europe  of  the  Ottoman 
Porte  were  taken  from  it,  and,  for  its  power 
and  administration,  those  of  Russia  to  be 
substituted.  The  case  was  similar  in  Asia. 
VOL.  III.  3  A 


The  arrangements  with  regard  to  Asia  would 
have  converted  the  Black  Sea  almost  as 
much  into  a  Russian  lake  as  the  Caspian. 
The  harbour  of  Batoum,  which  had  not  been 
acquired  by  conquest,  and  was  still  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Porte, was  seized  by  Russia.  All 
the  strongholds  of  Armenia  were  seized  by 
Russia.  The  same  process  which  was  to  be 
applied  to  European  Turkey,  was  also  to  be 
applied  to  the  province  of  Armenia  ;  and  the 
rest  of  that  great  province,  which  was 
nominally  left  to  Turkey,  was  to  be  subjected 
to  laws  devised  and  supervised  by  Russia. 
Then,  besides  all  this,  there  were  the  claims 
of  Russia  on  that  district  of  Bessarabia  of 
which  she  was  deprived  after  the  Crimean 
war.  This  was  not  a  trifling  matter,  or  one 
in  which  a  mere  local  interest  was  at  stake. 
The  clause  in  the  treaty  of  Paris  with 
regard  to  the  cession  of  the  district  of 
Bessarabia  was  a  clause  upon  which  Lord 
Palmerston  placed  the  utmost  stress  and 
importance.  It  involved,  he  said,  the 
emancipation  of  the  Danube;  and  it  was 
Lord  Palmerston,  and  not  a  local  interest, 
that  insisted  upon  the  insertion  of  that 
clause  in  the  treaty  of  Paris.  It  was  in- 
serted in  the  original  preliminaries.  An 
attempt  was  made  by  Russia  to  evade  the 
fulfilment  of  that  article  ;  and  Lord  Palmer- 
ston considered  it  of  such  importance,  that 
even  the  congress  of  Paris  was,  at  one 
time,  nearly  broken  up  because  of  the 
efforts  to  evade  the  carrying  of  that  cession 
into  effect.  Therefore,  this  closing  of  seas 
and  of  rivers,  this  securing  of  the  freedom 
of  the  Danube,  which  was  the  great  boast 
of  the  congress  of  Vienna,  and  was  almost 
the  only  remaining  achievement,  was  a 
matter  of  European  interest  which  was  of 
great  moment,  for  it  also  concerned  the 
navigation  of  the  Black  Sea  and  British 
commerce  there.  Again,  if  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano  had  been  sanctioned  by  Europe, 
British  commerce  carried  on  from  Trebi- 
zond,  a  mere  roadstead,  through  Persia  and 
Central  Asia,  would  be  stopped  through  the 
cession  of  Kurdistan.  It  concerned,  also, 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Straits  ;  because 
if  this  treaty  were  carried  into  effect,  one 
consequence  would  be  that  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey  would  be  reduced  to  a  state  of  abso- 
lute subjection  to  Russia.  It  was  impossible 
to  reconcile  that  either  with  the  freedom  of 
the  Straits  or  the  opening  of  the  navio-a- 
tion  of  the  Black  Sea,  or  all  those  rights 
and  privileges  which  Europe  had  hitherto 
enjoyed  with  regard  to  those  waters,  because 

357 


it 


I 


■  '   1 


fi 


liH 


RUSSIAN  MEMORANDUM.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


\Hi 


r 


4 


they  were  in  the  possession  of  a  nominally 
independent  sovereign.  It  simply  meant 
the  subjugation  of  Turkey,  and  leaving  Con- 
stantinople in  the  hands  of  a  power  so 
enfeebled  and  so  subjected  to  Russia,  as  to 
virtually  and  practically,  in  the  long  run, 
place  the  command  of  that  fine  situation  in 
the  hands  of  Russia,  and  Russia  only. 

All  these  considerations,  which  had  more 
or  less  found  expression  in  Lord  Salisbury's 
despatch,  were  sufficient  to  induce  parlia- 
ment, by  a  large  majority,  to  approve  of  the 
action  which  the  government  had  taken ; 
and  on  the  following  day,  April  2,  the  pro- 
clamation calling  out  the  reserves  was  pub- 
lished in  the  London  Gazette,  and  posted 
up  in  the  usual  places,  where  it  attracted 
large  crowds,  who  generally  approved  it. 

How  imprudent  it  would  have  been  for 
government  to  rely  upon  such  vague  terms 
as  "  full  liberty  of  appreciation,"  &c.,  was 
proved  by  a  slight  but  remarkably  charac- 
teristic incident.  Sir  H.  Elliot  had  in- 
formed his  government  that  Prince  Grorts- 
chakofF  had  declared  that  he  would  not 
allow  the  Bessarabian  question  to  be  dis- 
cussed at  the  congress.  In  the  ^  published 
correspondence,  the  authority  for  this  state- 
ment was  mentioned  as  a  "  trustworthy 
person ; "  and  the  Opposition,  thinking 
they  had  got  the  opportunity  to  cast  dis- 
credit on  the  government  sources  of  infor- 
mation, vehemently  insisted  on  knowing 
who  this  trustworthy  person  was.  It  turned 
out  to  be  the  Roumanian  agent  at  Vienna, 
who  had  received  the  following  despatch 
from  the  Roumanian  minister,  M.  Cogal- 
niceano,  and  had  communicated  it  to  Sir  H. 
ElUot  :— 

"  Bucharest,  March  16,  1878. 

"  At  my  request,  Greneral  Grhika  has  had 
an  explanation  with  Prince  Grortschakoff  on 
the  question  of  Bessarabia  and  the  inten- 
tions of  Russia  with  regard  to  it.  Prince 
Gortschakoff  declared  to  our  agent,  that 
notwithstanding  our  clamouring,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  the  Russian  decision  was 
irrevocable  ;  that  she  would  not  bring  this 
question  before  the  congress,  because  it 
would  be  an  offence  to  the  emperor ;  that  if 
another  power  wished  to  do  so,  she  would 
not  be  a  party  to  it ;  that  it  was  with  us 
that  she  wished  to  treat ;  that  if  she  could 
not  succeed  in  making  us  give  in,  she  would 
take  Bessarabia  from  us  by  force ;  that  if 
we  made  an  armed  resistance,  it  would  be 
fatal  for  Roumania." 

It  is  true  this  was  denied  by  the  Russian 
358 


government;  but  the  only  result  of  the 
denial,  as  far  as  government  were  con- 
cerned, was  that  Lord  Salisbury  declared 
that  he  was  very  glad  he  did  not  feel  called 
upon  to  express  an  opinion  as  to  which  of 
the  two  parties  spoke  the  truth. 

After  this  exposure,  and  the  decided  steps 
taken  by  the  British  government,  the  Rus- 
sian Chancellor  thought  fit  to  reply  without 
delay  to  Lord  Salisbury's  circular ;  and  on 
April  19th,  a  memorandum,  dated  April  7th, 
was  published  by  the  Times  in  a  special 
edition  late  at  night;  Sir  W.Harcourt  enter- 
ing the  House  of  Commons  quite  breathless, 
triumphantly  bearing  aloft  several  dozens 
of  the  paper  still  reeking  from  the  press. 
The  memorandum  itself  was  couched  in  the 
following  terms  : — 

"  First.  It  is  not  the  case  that  the  treaty 
of  San  Stefano  creates  a  new  Bulgaria,  or  a 
strong  Slav  State,  under  the  control  of 
Russia.  Bulgaria  existed,*  although  op- 
pressed. Europe  acknowledged  this,  and 
wished  to  remedy  it.  The  conference  of 
Constantinople  indicated  the  measures 
which  it  considered  necessary  in  order  to 
obtain  this  result.  In  suggesting  them  the 
plenipotentiaries  certainly  had  no  intention 
of  rendering  them  ineffectual.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  their  object  was  to  endow 
Bulgaria  with  a  national  existence  and  real 
administrative  self-government.  In  such  a 
case,  a  State  of  Bulgaria,  though  divided 
into  two  powers,  would  have  been  consti- 
tuted in  embryo,  and,  developing  under  the 
protection  of  Europe,  would  have  led  to  the 
result  which  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  seeks 
to  arrive  at.  The  refusal  of  the  Porte,  and 
the  war  which  followed,  prevented,  accord- 
ing to  the  admission  of  the  Marquis  of 
Salisbury  himself,  the  return,  pure  and 
simple,  to  the  programme  of  the  conference 
of  Constantinople.  The  treaty  of  San 
Stefano  has  simply  rendered  the  consent  of 
the  Porte  obligatory  to  a  more  complete, 
precise, and  practical  programme  of  reforms; 
but  the  fact  that  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano 
is  merely  a  preliminary  one,  indicates  that 
the  Russian  cabinet  only  wished  to  estab- 
lish the  principle  without  prejudicing  its 
definitive  application,  which  necessitated 
technical  investigations,  an  exact  apprecia- 
tion of  geographical  necessities,  and  the 
conciliation  of  numerous  interests.  This  is 
why  many  of  the  articles  are  drawn  up  in 

*  This  was  absurdly  untrue.  Bulgaria,  before  tha 
war,  only  extended  to  the  Balkans,  and  not  to  the 
^gean,  absorbing  halt'  Roumelia. 


k 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  MEMOR/LNDUM. 


vague  terms,  leaving  room  for  future  under- 
standing upon  the  modifications  deemed 
necessary. 

"  Second.  The  treaty  of  San  Stefano  does 
not  place  the  new  State  under  the  control 
of  Russia.  The  Russian  cabinet  has  done 
what  it  did  for  Moldo-Wallachia  in  1830. 
Experience  shows  that  the  work  accom- 
plished then  in  the  principalities  was  useful, 
and  contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  those 
provinces.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  Eu- 
ropean equilibrium  has  in  any  way  suffered 
from  this  measure,  or  that  Russia  has  gained 
any  preponderating  influence  through  it,* 
It  may  be  added  that,  if  Moldo-Wallachia, 
which  owes  its  existence  to  Russia,  that 
borders  it,  has  succeeded  in  rendering  itself 
perfectly  independent  of  her,  we  may 
a  fortiori  reckon  upon  the  same  result  for 
Bulgaria,  the  territory  of  which,  in  a  cer- 
tain anticipated  contingency — the  cession 
of  the  Dobrudscha  to  Roumania — would  be 
separated  from  Russia. 

"  Third.  The  maximum  term  of  two  years 
was  fixed  for  the  provisional  occupation  of 
Bulgaria,  because  that  lapse  of  time  was 
judged  necessary  in  order  to  maintain  order 
and  peace,  and  protect  the  Christian  and 
Mussulman  populations  against  reciprocal 
reprisals,  reorganise  the  country,  introduce 
national  institutions  and  a  native  militia, 
and  also  because  if  the  occupation  had  been 
indefinite  it  might  have  been  looked  upon 
as  a  preliminary  to  taking  possession  of  the 
province,  which  in  no  way  entered  into  the 
views  of  the  imperial  cabinet.  It  need  not 
be  said  that,  the  term  being  approximative, 
the  imperial  cabinet  is  quite  ready  to 
abridge  it  as  much  as  possible  without  in- 
juring the  success  of  the  difficult  work  that 
had  to  be  accomplished  in  the  interests  of 
the  general  peace, 

"  Fourth,  The  delimitation  of  the  State  of 
Bulgaria  was  indicated  only  in  general 
terms.  The  sole  fixed  principle  laid  down 
is  that  of  the  majority  of  the  population, 
and  certainly  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  one 
more  equitable  or  more  rational.  It  meets 
the  objections  deduced  from  the  difference 
of  race  of  the  minority,  the  interests  of 
which  have,  moreover,  been  guaranteed  by 
express  stipulations;  but  the  application 
of  that  principle  has  been  reserved  for  the 
mixed  commission,  the  local  investigations  of 
which  can  alone  dispel  all  the  uncertainty 
gurrounding  these  disputed  questions.  It  has 

It  enabled   the   Russians  to  march  their    armies 
safely  through  Roumania  into  the  very  heart  of  Turkey. 


been  objected  to  the  preliminary  treaty  that 
it  assigns  to  Bulgaria  ports  on  the  Black 
Sea ;  but  the  Constantinople  conference  it- 
self judged  that,  without  outlets  upon  the 
sea,  that  country  could  not  prosper.  As  to 
the  ports  on  the  ^gean,  the  commercial 
development  of  Bulgaria  was  alone  in  view ; 
and  certainly  Russia  would  not  profit  by 
that  development,  but  England  and  the 
powers  whose  Mediterranean  commerce  is 
much  more  active  than  that  of  Russia,  and 
which  will  always  be  a  powerful  agent  for 
the  maintenance  of  their  influence. 

"  Fifth.  The  preliminary  treaty  in  no  way 
places  Bulgaria  under  the  domination  of  a 
ruler  chosen  by  Russia.  It  is  formally 
stipulated  that  the  ruler  shall  be  elected 
by  native  administrative  councils,  with  the 
confirmation  of  the  Porte  and  the  assent  of 
Europe,  and  that  the  members  of  the 
reigning  dynasties  shall  be  excluded.  It  is 
not  easy  to  see  what  better  guarantees 
could  be  given  for  the  freedom  of  the  elec- 
tion. As  to  the  organisation  of  the  princi- 
pality, it  is  confided  to  an  assembly  of 
native  notables.  The  Russian  commissary 
has  merely  to  exercise  the  right  of  surveil- 
lance, in  concert  with  the  Ottoman  com- 
missary. Moreover,  an  understanding  be- 
tween the  great  powers  and  the  Porte  is 
expressly  reserved  in  order  to  assign  to  the 
Russian  commissaries  special  delegates, 
pending  the  provisional  measures  taken  by 
the  authorities.  The  Russians  have  no  in- 
tention, as  is  affirmed,  of  making  Bulgaria 
enter  the  Russian  political  system.  Scarcely 
anything  has  been  changed  in  the  institu- 
tions to  which  the  country  is  accustomed. 
Attention  has  merely  been  given  to  the  exe- 
cution of  the  law,  which  was  defective. 
Some  new  arrangements  have  been  intro- 
duced— the  abolition  of  exemption  by  pur- 
chase from  military  service ;  the  abolition 
of  the  tithes,  and  their  replacement  by  a 
more  normal  impost;  the  abolition  of  the 
farming  of  the  taxes,  the  principal  source 
of  abuses ;  and  finally,  the  right  assigned 
to  the  Christians  in  mixed  localities  to 
challenge,  during  the  elections,  such  Mus- 
sulmans as  are  known  to  have  been  guilty  of 
acts  of  fanatical  persecution  against  the 
Christians.  In  addition,  the  state  of  siege 
in  which  the  country  was  placed  during  the 
war  rendering  indispensable  the  nomination 
of  Russian  governors,  Bulgarian  vice-gover- 
nors were  everywhere  assigned  to  them,  in 
order  that  after  the  peace,  and  as  tranquillity 
became  re-established  in  the  country,  the 

359 


'hi"  I 

i 


II 


(A 


4 

ill 


\:.L,i 


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I 


H* 


.    *, 
I  •» 


RUSSIAN  MEMORANDUM."] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


rA.D.  1878. 


latter  might  be  substituted  for  the  Russian 
governors,  without  interrupting  the  regular 
course  of  the  administration  of  the  country. 
The  exclusive  object  of  all  these  preliminary 
measures  was,  to  protect  the  national  de- 
velopment, and  render  possible  the  meeting 
of  the  first  Bulgarian  assembly  summoned 
to  settle  the  institutions  of  the  princi- 
pality. 

"Sixth.  The  assertion  that  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano  would  extend  Russian  influence 
beyond    the   limits  of  Bulgaria   by  stipu- 
lating for  improved  institutions  in  Epirus 
and  Thessaly  cannot  but  occasion  surprise. 
If  Russia   had   made   no    stipulations    in 
favour  of  these  provinces,  she  would  have 
been  accused  of  sacrificing  the   Greeks  to 
the  Slavs.     If  she  had  stipulated  for  the 
vassal  autonomy,  that  is  censured  in  the 
case  of  Bulgaria,  she  would  have  been  ac- 
cused of  entirely  destroying  the  Ottoman 
empire,   and   of   establishing   Russian   in- 
fluence there.      The  imperial  cabinet  has 
always  understood  the  mission  assigned  to 
it  by  history  as  protector  of  the  Christians 
in  the  East,  without  regard  to  race  or  sect. 
If  it  has  made  more  complete  and  more 
precise  stipulations  in  favour  of  Bulgaria,  it 
is  because  that  country  was  the  principal 
cause  and  scene  of  the   war,  and  because 
Russia  had  acquired  positive  rights  as   a 
belligerent ;  but  in  confining  herself  to  sti- 
pulate improved  institutions  for  the  Grreek 
provinces,  she  reserved  to  the  great  powers 
the   faculty   of    claiming    more    extended 
ameliorations.     It  is  equally  incorrect   to 
say   that   the   treaty  of  San   Stefano   has 
stipulated     that    those    institutions    were 
traced  in  a  Russian  direction.     The  general 
type  to  which  they  have  been   assimilated 
by  the  treaty  is  that  of  the  Cretan  settle- 
ment— which  was  agreed  to  by  the  Porte 
under  the  influence   of  the  great  powers. 
The  treaty  stipulated  that  the  application 
of  these  arrangements  should  be  carried  out 
by  a  special  commission,  in  which  the  native 
element  would  be  largely  represented.     It 
is   true   it   compels   the  Porte  to  consult 
Russia  before   executing  the  stipulations, 
but  does  not  prohibit  it  from  also  consulting 
the  representatives  of  friendly  powers. 

"  Seventh.  The  subsequent  clause  respect- 
ing the  protection  of  the  members  of  the  Rus- 
sian church  must  have  been  quite  misun- 

*  But  only  in  order  to  break  up  a  strong^,  or  at  any 
rate  a  moderately  strong-,  Turkey  into  a  series  of  small 
powers,  whose  antagonisms  would  prevent  them  from 
opposing  any  serious  resistance  to  Russia, 

360 


derstood  to  be  assimilated   to  that  of  the 
treaty  of  Kainardji,  abolished  1856.     The 
clause  of  Kainardji   concerned  the  Greek 
orthodox   religion,  and  might  embrace  all 
the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan  profess- 
ing that  religion.      The  clause  of  the  treaty 
of  San  Stefano  mentions  exclusively  monks, 
priests,  and  pilgrims,  either  Russian  or  of 
Russian    origin,    and    stipulates    in   their 
favour  only  the  same  rights,  advantages,  and 
privileges  which  belong  to  ecclesiastics  of 
other  nationalities.     After  this  it  is  impos- 
sible to  consider  the  assertion  just,  that  the 
stipulations,  as  a  whole,  of  San  Stefano  are  of 
a  nature  to  increase  the  power  of  the  Rus- 
sian empire  in  countries  where  the  Grreek 
population  predominates,  to   the  prejudice 
of  that  nation,  and  of  all  the  countries  hav- 
ing interests  in  the  East  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 

"  Eighth.  The  assertion  is  at  least  exagge- 
rated  that   the    San   Stefano   stipulations 
respecting  the   retrocession  of  Bessarabia, 
the  extension  of  Bulgaria  to  the  Black  Sea, 
and  the  acquisition  of  the  port  of  Batoum, 
would  render  the  will  of  Russia  predominant 
over  the  whole  of  the  districts  of  the  Black 
Sea.     Russia  powerfully  contributed  in  the 
past  to  emancipate  Grreece  and  Roumania.* 
It  is  not  easy  to  see  in  what  manner  her 
power  has  more  profited  thereby  than  that 
of  other  States.     The  retrocession  of  Bes- 
sarabia  by  Roumania  would   be   simply  a 
return    to   the   order   of   things,   modified 
twenty-two  years  ago,  for  motives  which  no 
longer  have  any   existence,  legal  title,  or 
even  pretext,  since  the  liberty  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Danube  has  been  placed  under 
the  control  aud  guarantee  of  the  interna- 
tional commission,!   more   especially   from 
the  moment  when  Roumania  proclaims  her 
independence  and  Europe  seems  disposed 
to  recognise  it.     It  should   be   remarked, 
moreover,  that  this  retrocession   does  not 
include  the  whole  of  the  part  of  Bessarabia 
ceded  in  1856.     The  delta  of  the  Danube 
is  excluded,  and  the  proposal  of  the  Russian 
government  is  to  restore  it  to  Roumania, 
from  which  it  was  taken   in   1857.     This 
circumstance  considerably  reduces  the  im- 
portance   of   the    retrocession    demanded, 
from  the  point  of  view  of  its  influence  upon 
the  navigation  of  the  mouths  of  the  Danube. 
"  Ninth.  Batoum  is  the  only  good  port  on 

+  This  did  not  prevent  Russia  from  blocking  up  the 
river  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Austrian  frontier,  stop- 
ping all  navigation,  and  doing  serious  damage  when  it 
suited  her  in  '76  and  '77. 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[RUSSIAN  MEMORANDUM". 


this  coast  which  suits  the  commerce  and  the 
security  of  Russia,  withdrawing  from  a  war 
which  she  has  carried  on  by  herself,  and  at 
her  exclusive  cost.  It  is,  therefore,  by  no 
means  a  gratuitous  concession ;  it  is  far  from 
being  the  equivalent  of  the  pecuniary  in- 
demnity which  it  would  represent.  As  to 
the  acquisitions  in  Armenia,  they  have  only 
a  defensive  value.  It  is  possible  that 
England  would  prefer  to  see  these  strong 
positions  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks ;  but 
from  the  same  motives  Russia  attaches  value 
to  their  possession  for  her  own  security,  in 
order  not  to  have  to  lay  siege  to  them  in 
every  war  that  may  take  place,  as  with  the 
fortress  of  Kars,  wliich  she  has  had  to  take 
three  times  in  the  course  of  half  a  century. 
Cessions  of  territory  are  a  natural  conse- 
quence of  war.  If  England  had  wished  to 
save  Turkey  from  them,  all  she  had  to  do 
was  to  join  Russia,  as  was  twice  proposed  to 
her,  at  the  time  of  the  Berlin  memorandum, 
and  again  during  the  mission  of  Count 
Elstow  Sumarakow  to  Vienna,  with  the 
view  of  exercising  a  collective  mari- 
time pressure  on  the  Porte,  which  would 
probably  have  been  sufficient  to  attain  the 
results  now  gained  at  the  cost  of  so  much 
bloodshed.  The  English  government,  hav- 
ing refused  these  proposals,  ought  not  now 
to  deny  to  Russia,  who  has  shed  her  blood, 
the  right  to  demand  the  establishment  of  a 
condition  of  things  which  will  henceforth 
relieve  her  from  the  necessity  of  similar 
sacrifices,  or  at  any  rate  will  render  them 
less  burdensome.*  It  is  wholly  impossible 
to  understand  the  consequences  which  are 
attempted  to  be  derived  from  these  recti- 
fications of  frontier,  as  regards  the  freedom 
of  European  commerce,  from  Trebizond  by 
way  of  Persia.  These  assertions  are  in  contra- 
diction with  those  more  than  once  advanced 
by  different  members  of  the  British  cabinet, 
according  to  which  the  actual  possession  by 
Russia  of  Erzeroum  and  Trebizond  would  in 
nowise  endanger  English  interests.  The 
rectifications  of  frontier  in  Asia  stipulated 
in  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  are  far  from 
having  this  extent.  It  is  to  push  distrust  to 
extravagance  to  affirm  that  they  place  Russia 
in  a  position  to  impede  by  prohibitive  bar- 
riers the  commercial  system  of  Europe, 

"  Tenth,   The  complaint  which  has  been 
made  respecting  the  indemnity  claimed  of 

*  The  government  refused  to  act  thus — above  all,  be- 
cause it  would  have  been  contrary  to  treaty  arrange- 
ments, and  would  have  premised  an  alliance  with 
Russia,  and  an  identity  of  interests  which  did  not  and 
could  not  exist. 


Turkey  in  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  is  cer- 
tainly unfounded.  The  amount  of  this  in- 
demnity bears  no  proportion  to  the  oppres- 
sive burdens  which  the  war  has  imposed  on 
Russia.  It  may  be  that  the  amount  exceeds 
Turkey's  present  means  of  payment,  and  in- 
creases the  difficulty  she  experiences  of 
satisfying  her  creditors.  But  it  should  be 
remembered  that  Turkey  failed  in  her 
obligations  to  her  foreign  creditors  before 
the  war,  and  in  consequence  of  the  disorders 
caused  by  her  bad  administration.!  It  may 
be  hoped  that  if  peace  is  established  on 
those  reasonable  bases  which  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano  has  in  view,  and  to  which  the 
sanction  of  Europe  would  give  a  durable 
and  solid  character,  there  would  result  for 
Turkey  a  diminution  of  expenditure,  and  an 
increase  of  resources  which  would  place  her 
in  a  position  to  respond  to  the  claims  of  her 
foreign  creditors.  It  was  in  view  of  these 
possible  results  that  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  relative  to  the  in- 
demnity were  left  in  the  vagueness  which  is 
now  made  a  ground  of  complaint.  If  the 
amount  of  the  indemnity  is  criticised,  much 
more  would  have  been  the  requirement  of 
immediate  payment.  No  precise  mode  of 
payment  had  been  insisted  on  :  we  might 
have  encroached  upon  some  source  of 
revenue  already  hypothecated  to  the  foreign 
creditors  of  the  Porte,  In  the  treaty  of  San 
Stefano  this  has  been  avoided  by  reserving 
the  mode  of  payment  for  ulterior  settle- 
ment. It  is  true  that  by  taking  this  pre- 
caution we  are  exposed  to  the  suspicion  of 
designing  to  paralyse  or  to  dominate  Turkey 
for  a  series  of  years,  or  else  to  commute  the 
indemnity  for  new  territorial  acquisitions. 
It  would  have  been  more  simple  J  and  natural 
to  suppose  that  the  design  was  to  consider 
the  interests  of  Turkey,  as  well  as  those  of 
Europe,  and  to  uphold  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment in  the  path  of  a  faithful  observance 
of  its  engagements,  and  of  pacific  relations 
profitable  for  all.  But  against  suspiciou 
and  distrust  no  remedy  avails. 

'*  Eleventh.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  des- 
patch of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  we  learn 
with  pleasure  that  the  object  of  the  govern- 
ment of  her  Britannic  majesty,  and  its  desire, 
are  always  to  ensure  the  good  government, 
peace,  and  liberty  of  the  populations  to 
which  these  benefits  are  wanting.    We  see 

+  And,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  consequence 
of  General  IgnatiefTs  evil  advice  to  the  Sultan,  which, 
after  due  allowance  for  party  feeling  and  exaggerated 
reports,  can  no  longer  be  doubted. 

+  Excessively  simple  ! 

361 


-  < 


!'t 


ft 


*Wi 


■■(■ 
'i 

'  *i 
.'A 

I 

/ 


h   * 


I   i» 


RUSSIAN  MEMORANDUM.] 


HISTOEY  OF  THE 


with  equal  satisfaction  the  admission  frankly 
made  that  this  policy  has  been  frustrated 
by  the  unfortunate  resistance  of  the  Otto- 
man  government   itself;   that  in  presence 
of    the    modified     circumstances    of    the 
present   time,    the   same   result  cannot  be 
obtained  to  the  same  extent  by  the   same 
means— that  is,  the  programme  of  the  con- 
ference of  Constantinople — and  that  great 
changes  may,  and  no  doubt  will  be  necessary 
in  the  treaties  by  which  the  south-east  of 
Europe  has  hitherto  been  governed.     If  we 
add  to  these  considerations  that  the  reite- 
rated refusals  of  the  English  government  to 
associate  itself  to  a  material  collective  pres- 
sure to  be  exercised  upon  the  Porte  have 
prevented  Europe  from  obtaining  pacifically 
the  results  desired  by  the  London  cabinet 
itself,  we  cannot  but  recognise  that  the  war 
and  the  peace  of  San  Stefano  have  responded 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  that  the 
Marquis  of  Salisbury  has   explained   with 
great  frankness    and    much    elevation    of 
ideas.     That  situation  may  be  thus  summed 
up : — The  existing  treaties  have  been  suc- 
cessively infringed  for  twenty-two  years- 
first,  by  the  Turkish    government,  which 
has  not  fulfilled  its  obligations  towards  the 
Christians ;  then  by  the  united  principali- 
ties ;  by  the  French  occupation  of  Syria ; 
by  the  conference  of  Constantinople  itself, 
which  constituted  an  interference  in  the  in- 
ternal affairs  of  the  Ottoman  empire.     The 
Marquis  of  Salisbury  has  himself  recognised 
that  great  changes  must  and  ought  to  be 
made.*     Under   present   circumstances   we 
have     yet     to    learn     how     his     lordship 
means     to     practically     harmonise     these 
treaties,    and     the    rights    recognised     by 
Great  Britain  and  other  powers,  with  the 
friendly   desire   towards  the  realisation  of 
which   the  united   action  of    Europe    has 
always  been  directed,  of  good  government, 
peace,  and  liberty  for  the  populations   to 
which  these   benefits   have  hitherto    been 
wanting.     It  remains  also  to  be  made  known 
how,   without   the  preliminary   bases    laid 
down  by  the  San  Stefano  treatv,  his  lord- 
ship means  to  attain  the  object' desired  by 
all  while  taking  fairly  into  account  the  rights 
acquired  by  Kussia  for  the  sacrifices  she^'has 
borne — and  borne  alone — in  order  to  render 
the  realisation  of  them  possible.     The  des- 
patch of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury  contains 
no  reply  to  these  questions.!     This  is  why 

*  But  the  dispute  was  as  to  the  means  by  which  those 
Changes  were  to  be  effected. 
t  This  is  not  true.     The  xMarquis  of  Salisbury  plainly 

«50a 


[A.D.  1878. 


it  seems  that  the  considerations  it  contains 
would  have  more  naturally  found  an  entire 
liberty  of  appreciation  and  of  action,  had 
the  objections  been  accompanied  by  practical 
propositions  of  a  nature  to  ensure  an  under- 
standing for  the  solution  of  the  actual  diffi- 
culties in  the  general  interest  of  a  solid  and 
durable  pacification  of  the  East." 

Now,  although  this  reply  of  Prince  Gort- 
schakoffs  was  excessively  colourless,  and  left 
no  clue  as  to  his  future  intentions— whether 
he  meant  to  accede  to  Lord  Salisbury's 
demands  that  the  whole  of  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano  should  be  considered  as  having 
been  laid  before  congress,  still  it  raised  hopes 
in  the  best-informed  quarters  amountino* 
to  conviction,  that  Russia  would  ultimately 
yield,  and  only  wanted  to  gain  time  to 
exercise  all  her  influence  and  persuasion 
upon  other  powers  to  assist  her,  or,  at  any 
rate,  not  to  oppose  her. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  Prince 
Grortschakoffs  way  was  the  attitude  of 
Austria,  If  he  could  have  been  sure  that 
Austria  would  allow  herself  to  be  com- 
promised by  an  occupation  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina,  and  thus  take  part  in  a 
practical  division  of  Turkey,  his  course  of 
action  would  have  been  clearly  marked  out. 
But  he  was  not  sure  to  what  extent  Austria 
could  be  involved.  There  were,  it  is  true, 
many  factors  on  which  he  could  rely  ;— on 
the  discontent  of  the  Hungarians,  on  the 
ambition  of  the  Italians,  the  desire  of  Ger- 
many to  interfere  in  Austrian  affairs,  &c., 
&c, :  but  all  the  factors  were  more  or  less 
uncertain — almost  as  uncertain  as  the  in- 
tentions of  the  British  government. 

It  was  therefore  absolutely  necessary  to 
ascertain  exactly— or  as  exactly  as  possible 
—what   were   the    minimum   demands   of 


Austria  and  England  to  be  put  forward  at  a 
congress.  This  was  also  the  opinion  of 
Prince  Bismarck,  who  stated  roundly  and 
plainly,  that  unless  the  respective  cabinets 
could  agree  as  to  the  minimum  demands 
and  the  maximum  concessions,  it  would  be 
useless  for  him  to  issue  invitations  or  fix  the 
day  for  congress  to  assemble. 

Prince  Bismarck  therefore  advised  the 
three  cabinets  of  London,  Vienna,  and  St, 
Petersburg,  to  negotiate  separately  on  these 
points ;  and  when  an  understanding  was 
arrived  at,  he  would  be  prepared  to  name  the 
day  for  congress  to  assemble. 

stated  that  the  object  desired  could  be  obtained  by  a  con- 
gress, before  which  Russia  should  agree  to  lay  the  prQ- 
liminary  treaty  which  she  concluded  at  San  Stefano. 


tti 


t 


^      ll 


A.D.  1878.] 


EUSSIAN  ExAIPIRE. 


This  was  ultimately  agreed  to;  and 
whilst  General  Ignatieff  took  the  sense  of 
the  Vienna  cabinet  on  Austro-Russian 
questions  and  interests.  Count  Schouvaloff 
acquired  from  Lord  Salisbury  exact  and 
precise  information  as  to  what  Great  Britain 
would  demand,  and  what  she  would  concede. 
With  this  information  Count  Schouvaloff 
proceeded  to  St.  Petersburg,  the  stipulation 
on  all  sides  being  that  the  negotiations 
should  be  kept  strictly  secret. 

While  all  this  was  going  on,  however,  the 
military  preparations  continued  on  all  sides. 
Austria  had  partially  mobilised  her  troops, 
and  had  also  taken  a  credit  of  £6,000,000. 
Russia  kept  her  armies  in  readiness  to 
resume  hostilities  at  any  moment,  and  took 
measures  in  Roumania  to  secure  her  flank 
and  rear  against  any  Austrian  attack  ;  and 
the  British  government  displayed  the  utmost 
activity  in  naval  and  military  preparations, 
and  kept  a  strict  watch  upon  all  the  Rus- 
sian movements. 

Consequently,  though  the  chances  of  a 
congress  meeting  had  really  greatly  in- 
creased, it  was  only  behind  the  scenes  that 
this  was  known.  Otherwise  matters  were 
apparently  of  a  nature  eminently  calculated 
to  inspire  alarm.  But  the  least  disquieting 
incident  was  the  sudden  information,  pub- 
lished on  April  17th,  that  the  British 
government  had  ordered  the  following  troops 


^[THE  INDIAN  TROOPS. 

frona  India  :-The  9th  Bengal  cavalry,  the 
1st  Bombay  light  cavalry,  the  2nd  Ghoorkas, 

0.!.,^^,^]'/°^   ^^'^  ^^"^^^  regiments,  the 
25th   Madras   regiment,  two  regiments  of 
Bombay  native  infantry,  two  field  batteries 
ot  artillery  from  Bombay,  two  companies  of 
sappers  and  miners  from  Bombay,  and  two 
from  Madras.— This   step  was  hicrhly   ap- 
proved of  by  the  great  majority  of  °the  pub- 
lic, especially  as  the  Russians  had  announced 
their  intention  of  fitting  out  a  fleet  of  vessels 
to  prey  upon  British  commerce  in  the  event 
of  war,  and  were  bringing  an  enormous  pres- 
sure to  bear  upon  the  Porte  to  induce  it  to 
surrender   Varna,   Schumla,   and   Batoum. 
To  this,  however,  the  Porte  refused  to  con- 
sent, alleging,  with  much  force,  that  as  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  only  preliminary 
and  had,  according  to  the  Russians  them- 
selves, to  be  sanctioned  by  Europe  before  it 
became  valid,  they  could  not  be  expected  to 
fulfil  its  provisions  until  this  sanction  had 
been  obtained.     Thus  for  the  moment  there 
was  a  pause  in  the  great  drama  pending  the 
decision  of  the  Czar  as  to  the  congress  ;  and 
in     the    meantime    Roumanians,    Turks, 
Greeks,    Serbs,  Lazes,   Armenians,    Kurds' 
Albanians,  Pomaks,  and  Bosnaks,  all  went 
more    or    less    their    own    peculiar  ways 
endeavouring  to  acquire  a  position  which 
would  entitle  them  to  a  hearing  or  considera- 
tion at  the  congress. 


!    H 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

THB  FIGHT  FOE  THE  SICK  MAN*S  lEGACy. 


From  the  Adriatic  to  the  Caspian,  from  the 
Danube  to  the  iEgean  Sea,  all  the  rival 
races,  tongues,  and  nationalities  had  been 
thrown  into  a  flutter  of  excitement  by  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano.  Everybody  hated 
everybody  else,  and  nobody  trusted  the 
other.  It  was  a  very  whirlpool  of  conflict- 
ing passions;  and  round  this  whirlpool 
stood  frowning  and  forbidding  the  hard 
granite  rocks  of  Russia  and  England,  and 
at  the  foot  of  these  rocks  lay  the  shifty, 
shifting,  graceless  quicksands  of  Austria— a 
danger  to  friends  as  well  as  to  foes,  but 
deservedly  swept  partially  away  by  the  tur- 
bulent flood  washing  their  treacherous 
borders. 

Everybody  was  more  or  less  disenchanted 


with  his  proteges  and  fiiends.  The  Hun- 
garians began  to  lose  their  admiration  for 
the  Turks  as  soon  as  they  saw  that  the  tide 
of  war  had  set  in  irrevocably  against  the 
Porte,  and  that  probably  they,  the  brave 
and  valiant  Magyars,  would  have  to  fight 
their  own  battle.  In  England,  even  Mr. 
Forbes  announced  that  he  felt  obliged  to 
confess  that  the  Bulgarians,  in  American 
parlance,  were  a  big  « fraud ; "  whilst  in 
Russia,  one  of  the  prominent  journals  pub- 
lished the  following  account  of  the  course 
of  events : — 

"July,  1876.— Wild  enthusiasm.  Com- 
plete enchantment  with  the  Servians.  De- 
sire for  war, 

^'October,  1876.  — Despondency.     Dis- 

363 


r ; 


\ 


THE  "SALISBURY  COAT."]  HISTORY    OF    THE 


J! 


l1 


enchaDttnent  with  regard  to  the  Servians  ; 
hostility  towards  them  ;  and  regret  for  what 
has  been  done  for  them. 

"November,  1876. —  Enthusiasm  for  a 
war  in  the  interest  of  the  Bulgarians.  Pity 
for,  and  sympathy  with  them. 

"April,  1877.— Complete  ecstasy.  Bro- 
therly love  for  the  Bulgarians.  Dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  Servians. 

"August  and  September,  1877.  Des- 
pondency in  consequence  of  failures  (before 
Plevna  and  elsewhere).  Silent  irritation 
against  the  Bulgarians.  Readiness  to  aban- 
don the  whole  thing  if  only  a  way  could  be 
found  out  of  it. 

"December,  1877.— Intoxication  from 
success.  Desire  to  carry  the  thing  out  to 
the  end.  Bad  feeling  towards  the  Bul- 
garians. 

"February,  1878.— Wild  delight  at  the 
peace  and  the  yielding  disposition  of 
Turkey.  Sympathy  with  Turkey  and  cor- 
responding coolness  towards  the  Bulgarians. 
Passionate  determination  to  insist  on  the 
acquisition  of  Batoum.  Consciousness  of 
the  necessity  of  this  acquisition.  In- 
difiference  to  the  question  of  England  and 
Austria. 

"May,  1878.— Complete  disenchantment 
on  the  score  of  the  Bulgarians.  Suspicions 
of  insincerity  on  the  part  of  the  Turks. 
Talk  about  Batoum  not  being  so  necessary 
for  us  as  it  had  formerly  seemed.  Some- 
thing like  disgust  with  the  Eastern  Ques- 
tion. Talk  about  getting  the  thing  finished 
anyhow." 

This  is  a  very  fair  picture  of  the  actual 
state  of  Russian  opinion.     There  was  onlv 
one  sentiment  which  remained  unchanged— 
that  was  hostility  to  and  hatred  of°Eno-- 
land  and  everything  English.     This  feeling 
was  even  extended  to  the  matter  of  coats. 
Amongst  the  enterprising  speculators  who 
arrived  at  Buyukdere  during  the  presence 
of  the  Russian  officers  was  a  ready-made- 
clothes  dealer,  who  hoped  to  make  money 
by  supplying  a  civil  costume  to  the  Russian 
officers.     A  Russian  officer  did  come  to  him 
one  day,  and  he  wanted  a  coat ;  and,  after 
looking  at  several,  he  found  one  which  he 
said  he  would  buy,  as  it  fitted  him  as  well 
as   if  it  had    been   made    for  him.     The 
tailor    agreed   with    him,    of    course,    but 
thoughtlessly  remarked,  in  descanting  upon 
the  qualities  ^f  the  garment,  that  it   was 
the  latest  style  worn  in  London,  and  was 
known   as   the   "Salisbury   coat."      "The 
what  coat  ?  "  asked  the  Russian,   The  dealer 
364 


[a.d.  1878. 


repeated  that  the  coat  was  named  after 
Lord  Salisbury,  and  the  Russian  im- 
mediately pulled  it  off,  picked  up  his  uni- 
form, and  walked  out  of  the  shop. 

Another  matter  which  greatly  disen- 
chanted the  Russians,  was  the  expenditure 
caused  by  the  prolongation  of  negotiations, 
and  which  amounted  to  more  than  the 
amount  spent  during  the  actual  hostilities. 
This  was  but  natural,  inasmuch  as,  during 
active  operations,  there  was  never  any  ques- 
tion of  payment  for  stores  captured  and 
contributions  levied  on  the  Turkish  towns 
and  villages.  With  the  cessation  of  hosti- 
lities, however,  payment  to  a  certain  extent 
had  to  be  made,  so  that  between  the  13th 
of  March  and  the  27th  of  May,  1878, 
the  paper  money  in  circulation  increased 
by  more  than  69,000,000  roubles,  and 
100,000,000  of  exchequer  bonds  were 
issued.  Thus,  in  the  space  of  two  months 
and  a-half,  the  national  debt  had  been  in- 
creased, in  round  numbers, by  170,000,000 

that  is  to  say,  by  considerably  more  than 
2,000,000  a  day,  whilst  during  the  war  the 
monthly  cost  was  not  more  than  30,000,000. 
The  probability  of  this  heavy  daily  expendi- 
ture being  continued  during  several  weeks, 
and  perhaps  months,  was,  of  course,  not  a' 
pleasant  prospect,  especially  for  those  who 
believed— and  their  name  was  legion— that 
the  congress  would  end  in  a  new  war.     In 
addition  also  to  their  troubles  abroad,  the 
Russian  government  had  its  hands   full  at 
home  with  Nihilist  and  Socialist  conspira- 
cies  and   riots,  the   excitement   in  conse- 
quence reaching  its  height  when  General 
Trepoff,  the  Minister  of  Police,  was  fired  at 
and  severely  wounded  by  a  woman  named 
Vera  Sassulitch  ;  and  the  would-be  assassin, 
though  she  confessed  her  crime,  was   ac- 
quitted by  a  jury  in  St.  Petersburg. 

The  whole  story  is  too  characteristic  of 
Russian  society  to  be  omitted  here.     Vera 
Sassulitch's  attempt  was  connected  with  a  ^ 
trial  of  certain  Nihilists,  which  lasted  for  a 
considerable  time,  and  which  ended  finally 
in  the  acquittal  of  the  majority.     Amongst 
those  who  had  previously  been  convicted°of 
an  attempt  on  the  security  of  the  State, 
and   of  plotting  against  the   government, 
was  a  man  named  Bogoliuboff,  who,  before 
being  sent  to   penal   servitude,  had   been 
kept  for  some  time  in  a  House  of  Detention 
of  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  used  only  for 
persons   under  arrest.      Now,   in    Russia, 
since  the  new  legal  enactments,  the  internal 
regulations  of  the  law  courts  and  other  legal 


"'*>! 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[vera  sassulitch. 


establishments    were    independent   of    the 
ordinary  police  agents  and  gendarmes,  who 
have    not    even    access    to    these    places. 
General  Trepoff  having  proceeded  to  this 
house,  and  having   seen    that  Bogoliuboff 
was  taking  a  walk  in   the  yard,  with  se- 
veral   persons    under    arrest,   pointed   out 
this  breach  of  the  regulations,  and  ordered 
the  man  to  retire.     Bogoliuboff,  not  know- 
ing who  the  general  was,   answered   with 
rudeness,  keeping  his  cap  upon  his  head 
and  refusing  to  remove  it,  for  which  acts 
General  Trepoff  gave  orders  to  the  authori- 
ties  that   he  should    receive    twenty-four 
strokes  with  a  birch  as  a  punishment.     Al- 
though  Bogoliuboff  had  already  forfeited 
his  civil  rights,  this  order  was  nevertheless 
arbitrary  and  illegal.     There  was  a  kind  of 
insurrection  in  the  prison  in  consequence, 
and  the  fact  soon  became  known   to   the 
Nihilists  outside,  who  corresponded  among 
themselves  throughout  the  empire.    Mdlle. 
Vera  Sassulitch,  also  a  Nihilist,  and  in  love 
with   Bogoliuboff,   swore   to   avenge    him. 
She  accordingly  watched  for  General  Tre- 
poff, and  as  he  was  coming  out  of  a  con- 
fectioner's shop,  held  the  muzzle  of  a  re- 
volver close  to  him  and  fired,  placing  his 
life    for    several    weeks    in    danger.      On 
April  12,  she  was  brought  to  trial  and  was 
acquitted   by   the  jury,  although   she  ad- 
mitted before  that  body  and  the  judges,  that 
in  attempting  the  life  of  General  Trepoff 
she  had  been  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  re- 
venge and  with  the  premeditated  intention 
of  killing  him.     It  must  be  admitted  that 
an  acquittal  under  such  circumstances  as 
these  was  scarcely  to  be  expected.     Still, 
the  verdict  was  received  with  applause  by 
the  people  in  court,  composed  in  a  large 
measure,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  of  adhe- 
rents of  the  accused  woman.     There  were, 
meanwhile,  in   the   reserved   seats  several 
eminent    personages  —  among   others    the 
Chancellor  of  the   Empire,  Prince   Gorts- 
chakoff,  who  held  General  Trepoff  in  high 
esteem.     Without  waiting  for  the  departure 
of  the  crowd  of  Nihilists  and  students  who 
blocked  up  and  surrounded  the  building  in 
which  the  court  sits,  the  Chancellor  imme- 
diately caused  Mdlle.  Sassulitch  to  be  set 
at  liberty.     Scarcely  had  she  set  foot  in  the 
street  when  she  was  loudly  cheered  by  the 
mob— so  great  was  the  indignation  at  Gen- 
eral Trepoff  having  inflicted  corporal  chas- 
tisement on  Bogoliuboff;  and  the  curious, 
who  always  assemble  on  such  occasions,  be- 
gan to  follow  her,  shouting  all  the  time. 

VOL.  III.  3  B 


Seeing  this,  a  local  functionary  showed  her 
into  a  vehicle,  that  she  might  return  home 
in  peace.  But  immediately  the  boldest 
ot  the  students  endeavoured  to  mount  upon 
the  vehicle  and  take  the  place  of  the  driver. 
Being  prevented  from  doing  this,  they  fol- 
lowed for  some  distance,  and  at  last  the 
mob  became  so  dense  that  the  vehicle  was 
obliged  to  stop.  Mdlle.  Sassulitch  alighted 
from  it ;  then,  the  police  endeavouring  to 
restore  the  circulation,  an  affray  took  place, 
amidst  which  two  shots  were  fired  one 
striking  a  student  in  the  forehead  and 
stretching  him  on  the  ground  stone  dead, 
and  the  other  wounding  a  woman.  Mdlle' 
Sassulitch  herself  re-entered  her  residence 
safe  and  sound  ;  but  the  next  morning  she 
had  already  disappeared,  and  successfully 
baffled  the  police  in  their  attempts  to  re- 
arrest her;  so  that  Prince  Gortschakoff's 
stratagem  of  setting  her  at  liberty  com- 
pletely  failed  in  its  treble  object. 

Then,  besides  being  troubled  at  home  by 
conspiracies  and  outbreaks  of  Nihilists  and 
Socialists,  the  Russians  were  also  harassed 
by  insurrection  in  the  rear  of  their  vic- 
torious armies.     The  remnants  of  Suleiman 
Pasha's  armies  who   had  escaped    to   the 
Rhodope   made   common    cause   with   the 
Pomaks  inhabiting  that  region,  and  took  to 
arms  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  consi- 
dered necessary  to  send  a  commission  to  in- 
quire into  their  grievances,  and  the  general 
condition  of  Thrace.     In  reply  to  the  com- 
missioners, the  Pomak  delegates  declared 
that  they  were  driven  to  arms  by  the  abomi- 
nable   cruelties   practised   upon   them    by 
Bulgarians,  who  had,  they  alleged,  hunted 
them  down  like  wild  beasts.     Some  exag- 
geration it  was  natural  to  expect  in  their 
account,  but  there  were  many  patent  facts 
which  substantiated  the  complaints  of  the 
Thracian    Moslems     and     rendered    their 
despair  intelligible.     From  Adrianople  to 
Phihppopolis  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but 
the  blackened   ruins   of  deserted  villat^es. 
The  Mahommedans  of  that  region  who  had 
not  time  to  fly  before  the  Russian  advance 
overtook  them  were  pillaged,  slaughtered, 
or  dispersed  as  soon  as  the  Russians  entered 
the  district.     The  attention  of  the  Russian 
commanders  was  absorbed  in  military  ar- 
rangements, and  while  they  were  thus  oc- 
cupied the  Bulgars  improved  the  shinin<r 
hour  and  enjoyed  a  glorious  feast  of  blood"! 
rape,  and  plunder ;  and  this  condition  of 
affairs  lasted  for  some  time  after  the  signa- 
ture of  peace.     There  were,  indeed,  Bul- 

365 


v; 

■i-J 


.  "I" 

I.  Hi 


*     r'<M 


BULGARIAN  ATROCITIES.]  HISTORY  OP'  THE 


Ta.d.  1878. 


garians  who  took  no  part  in  these  acts  of 
ferocity;  but  the  great  majority   pursued 
the    Moslem    with    fanatical    hate,  .bent, 
seemingly,  on  his  extermination.     The  first 
act  of  Kussian  organisation  in  new  Bulgaria 
was  to  place  the  police  and  the  magistracy 
in  the  hands  of  the  Bulgars,  and  to  disarm 
all  the»Mahommedan  population.    Thus  the 
Bulgars  were  invested  with  powers  which 
enabled  them  to  follow  up  the  persecution 
.  of  the  Moslems  with  telling  effect,  using  the 
law  as  their  instrument  of  oppression.     "  I 
have  seen,"  said  Wassa  Etfendi,  one  of  the 
Turkish  commissioners,  "  a  Mahommedan's 
house  sold  over  his  head  by  decree  of  a 
Bulgar  magistrate  for  a  paltry  sum,  and  the 
buyer  forthwith  destroy  it  and  sell  the  ma- 
terials."    The  Mahommedan  fugitives  who, 
furnished  with  Russian  passes  from  head- 
quarters at  SanStefanOjhad  returned  to  their 
former  homes,  were  not  permitted  to  take 
possession  of  their  property.  The  Bulgarian 
police  entirely  ignored  the  Russian  permit. 
It  is  true  that  a  Russian  officer  presided  over 
every  tribunal;  but  as  he  did  not  understand 
Bulgarese,  he  could  exercise  no  real  check 
over  the  proceedings  on  the  Bench.    Bulga- 
rian delinquents  thus  enjoyed  a  very  wide 
liberty,  and  were  never  convicted  on  the  ac- 
cusation either  of  Moslem  or  Grreek.  Round 
about  Philippopolis  the  commissioners  saw 
camped  in   the   marshes  several   thousand 
Mahommedan  refugees  literally  rotting  away 
with  miasmatic  diseases.     They  were  only 
permitted  to  encamp  in  these  pestilential 
spots,  not  being  even  suffered  to  depart  and 
join  their  brethren  in  the  mountains.     A 
ration  of  three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  bread 
was   allowed    by  the   municipality  to  the 
children,  and  that  body  also  offered  work  on 
the  roads  to  the  men.     But  the  able-bodied 
men  were  so  few,  the  wages  so  small,  and 
the  payment  so  tardy  that  few  found  relief 
in  this  manner.     When  the  commissioners 
expostulated  with  General  Stolepine,  com- 
manding at  Philippopolis,  on  the  careless- 
ness, indifference,  and  incapacity  displayed 
by  the  Russian  officers  in  the  execution  of 
civil  functions,  his  Excellency  replied  that 
there  was  nothing  astonishing  in  the  fact. 
The   officers    so   employed   were,  he   said, 
all  military  men,  totally  untrained  for  civil 
employment,  and  for  the  most  part   very 
ignorant ;  had  they  been  capable  men  they 
would  have  been  retained  for  civil  employ- 
ment in  Russia.     In  the  town  of  Philippo- 
polis the  police  compelled  the  Mahommedan 
residents  to  sweep  the  streets.      While  the 
366 


commissioners  were  in  Philippopolis  a  raid 
against  the  fez  worn  by  all  Ottoman  sub- 
jects except  the  Bulgars  was   made   by  the 
Bulgarian  populace,  and  for  two  days  this 
symbol   of    allegiance  to    the  Sultan    was 
snatched  from  the  head  of  every  wearer  who 
dared  to  appear  with  it  in  the  street,  and  then 
torn  and  trampled  under  foot.     The  third 
day  the  fury  calmed   down,  Greeks,  Catho- 
lics, and  Jews  who  were  fez-wearers  before 
having  sought  peace  under  shelter  of  that 
shaggy  shako  of  sheepskin  which  Bulgarians 
wear,  and  which  is  called  a  calpak.     "  If  we 
suppose,"  says  Wassa  Effendi,  "  that  Greeks 
and  Catholics  fare  much  better  than  the 
Moslems,  we  are  certainly  under  a  delusion." 
While  the  commission  was  sitting  in  Philip- 
popolis the  Bulgarians  attacked  a  Catholic 
institution  in  a  suburban  village,  stripped 
the  cure  of  the  church  naked,  and  in  his  pre- 
sence violated  the  sisters  of  the  institution. 
"My  note-book," added  Wassa  Effendi,  "is 
full  of  cases  of  cruelty,  injustice,  or  outrage 
which  from   day  to  day  came  within  the 
range  of  my  own  observation."     With  re- 
gard  to    the    mission   with   which    Wassa 
Effendi   and  his   colleague,  Samih  Pasha, 
were  charged,  it  was,  as  the  Russians  who 
asked  for  it  knew  it  would  be,  an   utter 
failure.     No  amount  of  persuasion  would 
induce  these  unfortunate  people  to  surrender 
themselves  to  the  Christian  mercies  of  the 
Bulgars.      The  commissioners  invited  the 
chiefs  to  come  and  confer  with  them,  but 
the  chiefs  refused.     A  deputation  composed 
of  Turkish  and  Russian  officers  was  there- 
fore despatched  to  the  mountain  to  hold  a 
parley  with  the  commanders  of  the  militia 
of  the  Pomak  nation,  the  style  assumed   by 
the  combatants  of  the  Rhodope.      The  de- 
putation was  received  at  the  Pomak  out- 
posts, and  conducted  to  the  tent  of  the  chief, 
who  spoke  to  them  as  follows  : — 

"  We  are  here  solely  to  protect  ourselves 
from  the  Bulgars.  All  through  the  war  we 
were  hunted  and  massacred.  After  the  war, 
misled  by  false  promises  of  the  Russians,  we 
went  back  to  our  homes,  where  we  were 
again  hunted  and  massacred.  You  your- 
selves have  seen  our  ruined  villages.  We 
saw  that  our  extermination  was  planned, 
and  we  prefer  fighting  for  our  lives  to  being 
butchered  like  sheep.  We  will  molest  no 
one,  but  we  will  defend  ourselves  against 
attack.  We  shall  not  descend  into  the 
plain,  for  we  are  not  insurgents  ;  we  are 
not  here  to  attack,  but  only  to  defend.  We 
will  listen  to  no  advice,  nor  believe  any  pro- 


m 


1 


<  *;. 


'I 


•I 


f 


r  \. 


The  lUustraMons  by  ii.WarreD;*!  ICngtavod.   by  J. Kifecaot 


TlieMAp,  lh:avm  ^-iLxL^iavBd  iy  J.RapVau 


A.T>.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[the  pomaks. 


mises.  We  will  not  lay  down  our  arms ;  in 
our  greatest  agony  we  appealed  for  help  and 
protection  in  vain.  We  have  only  ourselves 
to  trust  to.  We  have  no  political  project, 
no  ideas  of  revolt." 

The  deputation  wished  to  see  another 
chief  superior  to  the  author  of  the  fore- 
going declaration,  but  the  Pomaks  would 
not  consent  to  take  the  Russian  officers  to 
him.  At  first  the  Turkish  delegates  refused 
to  be  separated  from  their  Russian  col- 
leagues ;  but  on  the  Pomaks  pointing  out 
that  on  their  own  ground  it  was  for  them 
to  make  their  own  rules,  the  Turkish  officers 
consented  to  go  without  the  Russians  to 
the  presence  of  a  leading  member  of  the 
provisional  government  of  the  Pomak 
people.  The  big  chief  held  much  the  same 
language  as  the  little  chief  outside  had  be- 
fore held,  but  added  : — 

"  We  have  no  serious  cause  of  complaint 
against  the  Russians.  From  time  to  time 
they  have  even  protected  us  against  the 
Bulgars,  but  they  are  quite  powerless  to 
give  us  efficacious  and  constant  protection. 
They  have  not  the  means  to  do  so.  The 
Bulgars  have  massacred  us,  are  massacring 
us,  and  will  massacre  us ;  so  we  will  listen 
to  no  promise,  to  no  advice.  We  will  not 
lay  down  our  arms  ;  and  now  that  you  have 
heard  that,  go  to  your  homes  and  come 
here  no  more." 

The  officers  of  the  deputation  stated  that 
the  Pomaks  occupied  strategic  points,  and 
were  organised  and  encamped  as  an  army 
in  time  of  war.  Another  deputation,  des- 
patched later,  was  turned  back  by  the  out- 
posts. They  saw  abundance  of  cattle  and 
of  agricultural  implements ;  also  great  num- 
bers of  women  and  children.  It  was  the 
belief  of  the  commissioners,  that  if  the  Rus- 
sians had  been  at  all  equal  to  the  task  they 
undertook,  and  had  made  any  serious  effort 
to  protect  life  and  property  and  maintain 
justice  between  Christian  and  Mussulman, 
the  subsequent  difficulties  would  not  have 
arisen.  There  was,  however,  strong  reason 
to  believe  that  General  Ignatieff  planned 
the  expulsion    oj:    extermination    of   the 


Mussulmans ;  as,  it  will  be  remembered,  the 
first  decision  regarding  the  fugitives  was 
that  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  return 
to  their  homes.  When  this  decision,  against 
which  Austria  protested,  was  revoked,  it 
was  already  too  late.  Most  of  the  mischief 
had  been  done,  and  the  Bulgars  had  broken 
loose  from  the  control  of  their  liberators. 
The  position  of  the  Pomaks  was  most  piti- 
able. The  commission  was  held  and  it 
failed,  but  its  failure  gave  to  the  Russians 
a  warrant  for  attacking  the  Pomaks  in  their 
mountain  refuge  ;  so  that  those  who  escaped 
getting  their  throats  cut  had  only  to  look 
forward  to  being  shot  by  the  Russian 
troops. 

Much  the  same  state  of  things  prevailed 
on  the  Greek  frontiers  in  Thessaly,  in 
Albania,  along  the  Montenegrin  frontier, 
and  in  Crete.  All  parties,  the  Turks  in- 
cluded, expected  wonders  from  the  Berlin 
congress;  and  interesting  to  the  partici- 
pators in  all  these  local  struggles  as  their 
individual  deeds  might  be,  Europe  did  but 
little  more  than  shrug  her  shoulders  and 
say,  "  I  told  you  so."  In  fact,  everybody 
triumphantly  said  to  everybody  else,  no 
matter  to  what  phase  of  the  question  he  re- 
ferred, '^  I  told  you  so."  And  the  strange 
part  of  it  all  was,  that  almost  every  one  of 
these  vain-glorious  persons  was  right — such 
was  the  diversity  of  interests,  and  such  was 
the  multitude  of  possibilities  and  probabi- 
lities which  allowed  persons  of  the  most 
divergent  opinions  to  be  right  on  some 
point  or  other  of  one  and  the  same  question, 
the  said  point,  of  course,  appearing  to  the 
arguer  to  exhaust  the  whole  subject. 

Meantime,  however,  the  negotiations  for 
the  assembling  of  the  congress  had  gradu- 
ally come  to  a  conclusion.  Each  of  the 
cabinets  concerned  had  at  last  found  a  me- 
thod of  arranging  the  basis  upon  which  each 
thought  it  could  successfully  dupe  the 
other;  and  thus  at  last  the  grand  news 
gradually  leaked  out,  towards  the  end  of 
May,  1878,  that  all  difficulties  had  been 
smoothed  away,  and  that  the  congress  would 
meet  in  Berlin  on  June  13, 1878. 

367 


( 'I 


/^ 


■1  ^41 


■■  n 


•I 

vi 

'Vri  I 


/ 


•ii 


/ 


THE  CONGRESS.] 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[the  RABZIWILL  PATJlCfE. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 


THE  BEELIN    CONGRESS. 


For  many  days  after  it  had  been  definitely 
settled  that  the  congress  was  to  meet  at 
Berlin,  this  city  was  highly  excited.  For, 
although  the  attempts  of  Hoedel  and 
Nobiling  on  the  old  emperor's  life  had  cast 
a  certain  gloom  over  the  town,  the  buoyant 
spirits  of  the  Berliners  could  not  long  be 
damped,  especially  as  the  choice  of  their 
town  for  so  important  a  meeting  was  a 
direct  homage  to  the  new  position  of  glory 
which  Grermany  had  attained  in  consequence 
of  her  successful  war  across  the  Rhine. 

Great,  also,  was  the  excitement  in  all  the 
other   capitals — least   of  all,    perhaps,    in 
Paris,  which  considered  itself,  somehow  or 
other,  defrauded  out  of  the  congress ;  and  in 
St.  Petersburg,  where  hopes  were  low,  and 
fears  were  high.     In  London,  on  the  other 
band,  there  was  almost  a  paean  of  expec- 
tant   victory    rising    above    the    subdued 
murmur  of  the  Liberal  malcontents,  and 
entirely  drowning  the   hoarse  wail  of  Mr, 
Gladstone,   when   it   was  known  that  the 
modern  Dick  Whittington  of  politics,  Ben- 
jamin Disraeli,  Earl   of  Beaconsfield,  was 
;  about  to  cross  the  seas  and  enter  the  lists 
against  the  wily  Chancellor  of  the  White 
Czar.     No  pains  were  spared  duly  to  im- 
press this  fact  upon  the  world  at   large. 
The    newspapers — above    all,   the    Times, 
popularly  supposed  to  have  been  specially 
purchased  by  the  Queen  for  the  private  use 
of  Lord  Beaconsfield  and  Prince  Bismarck — 
sent  hosts  of  correspondents  to  the  city  on 
the  Spree,  and  opened  enormous  accounts  at 
the  Berlin  bankers  for  ordinary  and  extra- 
ordinary  expenses.     There  were  there  M, 
Blovitz,  a  Franco-Bohemian,  the  ordinary 
correspondent  of  the  Times  at  Paris,  and 
who  afterwards  became  known,  for  a  short 
time,  as  M.  de  Blovitz.     There  was  Mr. 
Mackenzie  Wallace,  who  was  special  corre- 
spondent at  St.  Petersburg ;  and  there  was 
M.  L.  Abel,  a  talented  Prussian,  who  was 
the  standing  correspondent  at  Berlin.  Then 
there  was  M.  E.  Simon,  of  the  Memorial 
iJiplomatique  of  Paris;  Herr  Skreijschow- 
ski,  of  the  Folitik  at  Prague ;  M.  Etienne, 
of  the  Neue  Freie  Fresse,  and  about  100 
more,  all  ready  to  chronicle  word  and  deed, 
368 


and  say  what  ought  to  be,  what  ought  not 
to  be,  and  what  might,  could,  and  should 
have  been. 

As  for  the  plenipotentiaries  and  diplo- 
mats, with  or  without  a  seat  at  the  green 
table,  their  name  was  legion.  Great  BHtain 
was  represented  by  three  plenipotentiaries 
— Lord  Beaconsfield,  Marquis  of  Salisbury, 
Lord  Odo  Russell.  Secretaries — Mr.  Mon- 
tagu Corry,  Mr.  Philip  Currie,  Mr.  Henry 
Neville  Dering,  Mr.  Hertslet,  Mr.  Algernon 
Tumor,  Mr.  Austin  Lee,  Hon.  J.  Bertie, 
Hon.  Eric  Barrington,  Mr.  Charles  Hop- 
wood,  Mr.  E.  Le  Marchant  Gosselin,  Mr. 
Arthur  Balfour,  Lieutenant-General  Sir 
Lintorn  Simmons,  Captain  Edwards,  Cap- 
tain Ardagh,  and  Captain  Fitzgerald. 

Germany .  —  Prince  Bismarck,  Under- 
Secretary  of  State  Von  Biilow,  Ambassador 
Prince  Hohenlohe  Schillingfiirst.  Secre- 
taries— Privy  Councillor  of  Legation  Bu- 
cher.  Envoy  Von  Radowitz,  Councillors  of 
Legation  Busch  and  Baron  Holstein,  Secre- 
taries of  Legation  Von  Biilow,  Count 
Herbert  Bismarck,  and  Count  Rantzan. 

Russia,  —  Plenipotentiaries  —  Ambassa- 
dor Count  SchouvalofF,  Ambassador  Baron 
D'Oubril,  Prince  Gortschakoff.  Secretaries 
-—Privy  Councillor  Baron  Jomini,  Coun- 
cillor of  State  Baron  F'redericks,  Secretary 
of  Legation  Count  Adlerberg,  General 
Anjutschin,  Colonels  Bobrikoff  and  Bogo- 
lubofif,  and  Councillors  Sorokin  and  Toonoff. 

Austria, — Plenipotentiaries — Count  An- 
drassy.  Ambassador  Count  Karolyi,  Privy 
Councillor  Baron  Haymerle.  Secretaries — 
Chief  of  Section  Baron  Schwegel,  Envoy 
Herr  von  Teschenberg,  Councillors  Baron 
Hiibner,  Von  Kosiek,  Doczy,  Von  Ascher, 
Secretary  Von  Peachy,  Baron  Mayer,  and 
Baron  Pasette. 

France.  —  Plenipotentiaries  —  M.  Wad- 
dington.  Ambassador  Comte  de  St.  Vallier. 
Secretaries  —  M.  Despres,  Directeur  dcs 
Afifaires  Politiques ;  M.  Duclerc,  Sous  Chef 
de  Cabinet;  Secretaries  of  Embassy,  Comte 
de  Mouy,  Fourchon,  Paul  Despres  de  la 
Motte,  Attaches  Comte  Montalivet,  Vicomte 
de  Beaucaire. 

Italy, — Plenipotentiaries  —  Count  Corti, 


AmbaFsador  Count  Launay.  Secretaries — 
Councillors  of  Embassy  Curtopassi  and 
Chevalier  Tosi,  Secretaries  Marquis  Bialbi 
and  Marquis  de  Malaspina. 

lurkey. — Plenipotentiaries  —  Alexander 
Caratheodori  Pasha,  Ambassador  Sadoullah 
Bey,  General  Mehemed  Ali  Pasha.  Secre- 
taries —  Parnies  Efi'endi,  Conseiller  du 
Ministare  des  Afi*aires  Etrangeres;  Feri- 
doun  Bey,  Chef  de  Departement  au  Minis- 
tere  des  Afiaires  Etrangeres;  Secretaire 
d'Ambassade  Oban  Bagdadlian  Efifendi ; 
Hatchik  Effendi,  Navum  Effendi,  Chefs  de 
Bureau  au  Ministere  des  Afiaires  Etrangeres. 

Besides  these,  there  were  in  Berlin,  but 
without  any  right  to  a  seat  at  the  congress, 
the  Roumanian  ministers,  MM.  Bratiano 
and  Cogalniceano ;  the  Montenegro  Se- 
nators, Petrovitch  and  Radonitsch ;  the 
Servian  premier,  Ristics;  and  the  Greek 
minister,  M.  Delyannis. 

The  Radziwill  Palace,  shortly  before  pur- 
chased by  the   German   government,  and 
assigned  to  Prince  Bismarck  as  his  official 
residence,  immediately  after   being   taken 
possession    of    by    the    new    tenant,    was 
destined    to    become    the    scene   of    this 
most    distinguished   diplomatic   assembly, 
The  palace,  an   old-fashioned  structure  in 
the  flat  renaissance  characteristic  of  the 
later  style  of  the   18th  century,  occupies 
three   sides   of  a   quadrangle,   the  fourth 
being  taken   up  by  a  paved  court,  with  a 
garden  in  front.     Unpretending  in  size  and 
design,  the  building  has  yet  an  aristocratic 
air.      The  large  windows    of   the  central 
section  betoken  noble  halls ;    the  low  side 
wings   indicate  indiff'erence  to  the  use  of 
space ;    while  the  obsolete  architecture,  and 
the  time-worn,  discoloured   bricks  of  the 
roof,  combine  with  the  new  pointing  of  the 
walls    to  show  antiquity  in   an   excellent 
state  of  repair.     The  interior  of  the  build- 
ing is  in  keeping  with  the  front  view.     A 
wide  hall  and  a  spacious  staircase  lead  to 
the  central  circular  saloon,  which  was  the 
appointed  home  of  the  congress.    All  the 
apartments    are    in    white     stucco,    with 
Grecian  columns,  perhaps  a  little  bare,  but 
noble  in  their  chaste  and  lofty  simplicity. 
There  is  a  special  entrance  to  the  wing  in- 
habited by  Princess  Bismarck,  guarded  by 
well-proportioned  statues  of  Germania  and 
Borussja,     Close  to  the  saloon,  the  ceiling 
of  which  is  decorated  with  the  escutcheons 
of  the  various  German   States,   is   Prince 
Bismarck's  study  and  a  reception-hall,  fur- 
Dished  in  gorgeous  Persian  taste.   All  these 


rooms,  with  several  adjoining  chambers  ap- 
pointed as  bureaux,  were  allotted  to  the 
congress.  From  the  first  three  rooms  large 
folding-doors  open  upon  a  splendid  old 
park,  the  umbrageous  recesses  of  which 
might  be  visited  by  the  plenipotentiaries 
either  for  private  tete-a-tetes  or  for  recrea- 
tion after  the  fatigues  of  the  exhausting 
debates.  In  accordance  with  the  taste  of 
the  prince  and  princess,  the  furniture  of 
the  house,  especially  in  the  sitting-rooms, 
is  very  unpretending.  The  prince  himself 
was  in  good  health,  the  excitement  of  the 
grand  meeting  acting  as  a  tonic  upon  his 
poor  susceptible  nerves.  So  that  there  was 
no  further  talk  of  his  resignation,  which  had 
been  spoken  of,  as  it  always  is  when  things 
go  wrong— that  is,  not  exactly  to  his  mind. 
But  though  Prince  Bismarck  was  nomi- 
nally the  central  planet  round  which  the 
rest  of  the  brilliant  galaxy  revolved,  Lord 
Beaconsfield  was  a  star  of  more  than  the 
first  magnitude,  difficult  as  it  may  be 
to  imagine  such  a  dimension. 

The  reception  given  to  Lord  Beaconsfield, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  Prince  Gortschakoff 
on  the  other,  ofi'ered  a  significant  contrast. 
Lord  Beaconsfield's  journey  from  the  Ger- 
man   frontier  to   Berlin  was    a    veritable 
triumph.     Curiosity  and  enthusiasm  every- 
where prevailed,  and  people  thronged  to  the 
station  to  see  him.      At   Cologne,  where 
there  was  two  hours'  notice  of  his  approach, 
the  station  was  invaded  by  Germans,  who 
greeted    him  with    hurrahs  ;  and   had   he 
looked  round  him,  he  might  have  seen  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Oldenburg,  who,  not  wish- 
ing to  make  himself  conspicuous,  took  off 
his  hat  like  the  rest  of  the  crowd.     On  re- 
entering   the    saloon,    Lord    Beaconsfield 
found  it  decorated  with  flowers ;  and  when, 
on  starting,  he  expressed  his  thanks  for  this 
attention,  and  sent  a  rose  to  the  lady  who 
superintended    these    arrangements,   fresh 
cheers  greeted  this  act  of  gallantry.     At 
Berlin  there  was  the  same  eagerness ;  and 
here,  in  the  Kaiserhof  Hotel,  the  Crown 
Princess  prepared  a  mark  of  distinction  by 
a  present  of  flowers  and  strawberries  from 
the  new  palace  nurseries  at   Potsdam— a 
present  which  gave  rise  to  many  pleasant 
remarks  that  a  dukedom  was  waiting  for 
the  successful  earl.     Nothing  of  the  kind, 
however,  was  there  for  Prince  Gortschakoff. 
He  knew  that  the  man  against  whom  he 
had  so  long  been  pitted  was  receiving  the 
homage  of  Germany,  which  was  indifferent 
about  himself.     His  arrival  made  no  stir, 

369 


m 


'  •  ill 


ANGL0-RUS3IAN  AGREEMENT.]        HISTORY   OF   THE 


[a.d.  1878. 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.       [anglo-russian  agreement. 


nor  disturbed  the  usual  solitude  prevailing 
around  the  Russian  embassy.  Here,  how- 
ever, was  the  very  danger  which  engaged 
the  attention  of  all  the  prominent  members 
of  the  congress.  The  simultaneous  pre- 
sence of  Lord  Beaconsfield  and  Prince 
Gortschakoff  was  one,  and  perhaps  the 
principal,  cause  which  might  derange  all 
calculations.  The  latter  was  in  a  state  of 
health  which  made  him  nervous.  He  felt 
that  he  was  nearing  his  end,  and  he  would 
not  have  liked  to  sink  below  the  horizon 
without  leaving  behind  him  a  ray  of  glory. 
He  would  not  have  liked  to  end  with  a 
defeat.  Lord  Beaconsfield,  younger  and  in 
better  preservation  than  the  prince,  was  at 
the  pinnacle  of  his  career,  and  aspired  to  a 
crowning  triumph.  Between  the  two  men 
any  question  might  become  a  personal  one, 
and  reason  would  then  no  lon<rer  suffice  to 
solve  it.  The  great  and  only  chance  of 
averting  this  danger  lay  with  Prince  Bis- 
marck, who,  for  many  reasons,  did  not  at 
that  moment  desire  to  see  a  conflict  break 
out  that  might  have  involved  himself,  as  it 
undoubtedly  would  have  done  had  the  con- 
gress dissolved  without  agreeing.  What 
might  happen  afterwards  did  not  so  much 
matter. 

Punctually  at  the  appointed  time,  June 
13th,  at  two  o'clock,  the  first  sitting  of  the 
congress  was  opened  by  Prince  Bismarck  in 
the  grand  hall  of  his  new  official  residence. 
An  hour  before  the  meeting  ^  crowd  as- 
sembled in  the  Wilhelmstrasse  to  see  the 
plenipotentiaries  alight.  The  first  to  arrive 
were  the  Italian  ambassadors,  Count  Corti 
and  Count  Launay,  in  grand  uniforms 
covered  with  gold  lace  and  embroidery. 
They  were  speedily  followed  by  Count 
Andrassy,  dressed  as  a  Honved  hussar,  and 
Count  Karolyi,  conspicuous  in  the  furred 
cloak  peculiar  to  the  Hungarian  magnate. 
Then  came,  in  official  garb,  Prince  Gorts- 
chakoff and  Baron  D'Oubril,  Baron  Hay- 
merle,  Count  Schouvaloff,  M.  Waddington, 
Count  St.  Vallier,  and  the  German  and 
British  plenipotentiaries.  The  first  sitting 
was  entirely  taken  up  with  the  exchange  of 
credentials  and  other  indispensable  pre- 
limiparies. 

The  moment  of  the  opening  of  the  con- 
gress was  marked  by  the  hoisting  of  the 
German  standard  on  the  flag-staff  of  the 
Chancellor's  mansion.  Prince  Bismarck 
invited  the  members  to  take  their  seats  at 
the  semicircular  table  placed  in  the  centre 
of  the  spacious  hall,  where  they  sat  ac- 
370 


cording  to  the  alphabetical    order   of  the 
names  of  the  countries  represented  by  them. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  sitting,  as 
pre-arranged,  Count  Andrassy,  in  the  name 
of  all  the  members  of  the  congress,  ex- 
pressed the  hope  that  the  health  of  his 
majesty  would  soon  be  restored,  and  men- 
tioned the  unanimous  anxiety  of  Europe 
for  his  prompt  recovery.  Count  Andrassy 
also  expressed  the  satisfaction  of  the  pleni- 
potentiaries at  the  reception  Germany  had 
given  them.  Prince  Bismarck  replied, 
expressing  his  belief  in  the  success  of  the 
congress,  and  his  particular  desire  to  see 
perfect  harmony  established  among  the 
eminent  representatives  of  Europe.  The 
appointment  of  secretaries  to  the  congress 
was  then  proceeded  with,  Herr  Bucher  and 
M.  de  Mouy  being  chosen.  Deputy-secre- 
taries, in  case  of  their  absence,  were  also 
nominated.  Prince  Herbert  Bismarck  was 
among  the  latter.  The  secretaries  were  then 
immediately  introduced  and  officially  pre- 
sented to  the  congress  by  Prince  Bismarck. 
Prince  Bismarck  then  solicited  secrecy  for 
the  deliberations.  The  members  present 
agreed  to  this,  but  no  promise  or  oath  was 
demanded.  Lord  Beaconsfield  then  ad- 
dressed the  congress  upon  the  advisability 
of  withdrawing  the  Russian  and  British 
forces  from  before  Constantinople;  but 
Count  SchouvalofF  objected  on  the  score  of 
the  danger  of  an  outbreak.  Here  the 
matter  dropped,  and  it  was  then  resolved 
to  adjourn  till  Monday,  in  order  to  give  the 
members  time  to  become  personally  better 
acquainted  with  each  other,  and  to  negotiate 
between  themselves  as  much  as  possible 
before  the  divers  subjects  were  broached  in 
congress  itself. 

The  day  then  wound  up  with  a  grand 
dinner  at  the  palace;  whilst  the  Crown 
Princess  invited  Lord  Beaconsfield  to  a 
domestic  tea,  Lord  Salisbury  remaining  at 
work  in  the  English  embassy. 

So  far,  therefore — that  is,  for  twelve  hours 
— everything  had  passed  off  most  happily. 
So  did  the  first  twelve  hours  of  the  follow- 
ing day  ;  but  then  there  came  a  thunderbolt. 

The  very  day  after  congress  had  met,  and 
its  members  pledged  themselves  to  secrecy, 
the  Globe  printed  the  text  of  an  agreement 
between  the  governments  of  England  and 
Russia,  signed  at  the  Foreign  Office«on  the 
30th  of  May.  The  agreement  comprised 
two  memorandums.  The  title  of  the  first 
memorandum  was,  "Project  of  a  Memo- 
randum determining  the  points  upon  which 


an  understanding  has  been  established  be- 
tween the  governments  of  Russia  and 
Great  Britain,  and  which  will  serve  as  a 
mutual  engagement  for  the  Russian  and 
English  plenipotentiaries  at  the  congress.*' 

After  a  preamble,  expressing  the  desire 
of  the  Russian  and  English  governments  to 
establish  an  understanding  that  may  obviate 
the  settlement  of  the  Eastern  Question  by 
the  sword,  the  memorandum  runs  thus : — 

"1.  England  discards  the  longitudinal 
division  of  Bulgaria,  but  the  representative 
of  Russia  reserves  to  himself  to  point  out 
the  advantages  of  it  to  the  congress,  pro- 
mising, nevertheless,  not  to  insist  upon  it 
against  the  definitive  opinion  of  England. 

"  2,  The  arrangement  of  the  boundaries 
of  Southern  Bulgaria  should  be  modified  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  remove  them  from  the 
^gean  Sea,  according  to  the  southern 
delimitation  of  the  Bulgarian  provinces 
proposed  by  the  conference  of  Constanti- 
nople. This  does  not  concern  the  question 
of  the  frontiers  so  much  as  it  refers  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  littoral  of  the  Korean  Sea — 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  west  of  Lagos.  From 
this  point  to  the  coast  of  the  Black  Sea  the 
discussion  of  the  frontier  will  remain  free. 

"3.  The  western  frontiers  of  Bulgaria 
should  be  rectified  upon  the  base  of  nation- 
alities so  as  to  exclude  from  that  province 
the  non-Bulgarian  populations.  The  western 
frontiers  of  Bulgaria  ought  not  to  pass  in 
principle  a  line  traced  from  close  to  Novi- 
Bazar  to  Koursha  Balkan. 

"4.  The  Bulgaria  replaced  in  the  limits 
which  are  mentioned  in  the  points  2  and 
3  shall  be  divided  into  two  provinces — 
namely: — The  one  to  the  north  of  the 
Balkans  should  be  endowed  with  political 
autonomy,  under  the  government  of  a 
prince ;  and  the  other  to  the  south  of  the 
Balkans  should  receive  a  large  measure  of 
administrative  self-government  {autonomie 
administrative) — for  instance,  like  that 
which  exists  in  English  colonies — with  a 
Christian  governor  named,  with  the  ac- 
quiescence of  Europe,  for  five  to  ten  years. 
'  "5.  The  Emperor  of  Russia  attaches  a 
peculiar  importance  to  the  retreat  of  the 
Turkish  army  from  Southern  Bulgaria. 
His  majesty  does  not  see  any  security  or 
guarantee  for  the  Bulgarian  population  in 
the  future  if  the  Ottoman  troops  are  main- 
tained there.  Lord  Salisbury  accepts  the 
retreat  of  the  Turkish  troops  from  Southern 
Bulgaria,  but  Russia  will  not  object  to  what 
is  enacted  by  the  congress  respecting  the 


mode  and  the  cases  where  the  Turkish 
troops  would  be  allowed  to  enter  the 
southern  province  to  resist  an  insurrection 
or  invasion,  whether  in  a  state  of  execution 
or  in  a  state  of  menace.  England,  never- 
theless, reserves  to  herself  to  insist  at  the 
congress  on  the  right  of  the  Sultan  to  be 
able  to  canton  troops  on  the  frontiers  of 
Southern  Bulgaria.  The  representative  of 
Russia  reserves  to  himself,  at  the  congress, 
complete  liberty  in  the  discussion  of  this 
last  proposition  of  Lord  Salisbury. 

"  6.  The  British  government  demands 
that  the  superior  officers  {chefs  superieurs) 
of  the  militia  in  Southern  Bulgaria  should 
be  named  by  the  Porte  with  the  consent  of 
Europe. 

"7.  The  promises  concerning  Armenia 
stipulated  by  the  preliminary  treaty  of 
San  Stefano  should  not  be  made  exclusively 
to  Russia,  but  to  England  also. 

"  8.  The  government  of  her  Britannic 
majesty  taking,  as  well  as  the  imperial 
government,  a  warm  interest  in  the  future 
organisation  of  the  Greek  provinces  of  the 
Balkan  Peninsula,  the  Article  15  of  the 
preliminary  treaty  cf  San  Stefano  shall  be 
modified  in  such  a  manner  that  the  other 
Powers,  and  notably  England,  may  have, 
like  Russia,  a  consulting  voice  in  the  future 
organisation  of  Epirus,  Thessaly,  and  the 
other  Christian  provinces  resting  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Porte. 

"  9.  In  so  far  as  the  war  indemnity  is 
concerned,  his  majesty  the  emperor  has 
never  had  the  intention  of  converting  it 
into  territorial  annexations,  and  he  does 
not  refuse  to  give  assurances  in  this  respect. 
It  is  understood  that  the  war  indemnity 
will  not  deprive  the  English  government  of 
its  rights  as  creditor,  and  it  will,  in  this 
respect,  remain  in  the  same  state  that  it 
stood  before  the  war.  Without  contesting 
the  final  decision  which  Russia  will  take 
with  respect  to  the  amount  of  the  in- 
demnity, England  reserves  to  herself  to 
point  out  to  the  congress  the  serious  objec- 
tions which  she  sees  to  it. 

"  10.  As  to  the  valley  of  Alashkert  and 
the  town  of  Bayazid,  that  valley  being  the 
great  transit  route  for  Persia,  and  having 
an  immense  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  Turks, 
his  majesty  the  emperor  consents  to  restore 
it  to  them;  but  he  has  demanded  and 
obtained,  in  exchange,  the  cession  to  Persia 
of  the  little  territory  of  Khotour,  which  the 
commissioners  of  the  two  mediatory  Courts 
have  found  just  to  restore  to  the  Shah. 

371 


I 


« I 


ANGLO-RUSSIAN  AGREEAIENT.]      HISTOEY    OF    THE 


[A.D  1878. 


IS 


"11.  The  government  of  her  Britannic 
majesty  would  have  to  express  its  profound 
regret  in  the  event  of  Kussia  insisting 
definitively  upon  the  retrocession  of  Bessa- 
rabia. As,  however,  it  is  sufficiently 
established  that  the  other  signatories  to  the 
treaty  of  Paris  are  not  ready  to  sustain  by 
arms  the  delimitation  of  Roumania,  stipu- 
lated in  that  treaty,  England  does  not  find 
herself  sufficiently  interested  in  this  ques- 
tion to  be  authorised  to  incur  alone  the 
responsibility  of  opposing  herself  to  the 
change  proposed,  and  thus  she  binds  herself 
not  to  dispute  the  decision  in  this  sense. 
In  consenting  not  to  contest  the  desire  of 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  to  occupy  the  port 
of  Batoum  and  to  guard  his  conquests  in 
Armenia,  the  government  of  her  majesty 
do  not  hide  from  themselves  that  grave 
dangers,  menacing  the  tranquillity  of  the 
populations  of  Turkey  in  Asia,  may  result 
in  the  future  by  this  extension  of  the 
Russian  frontier.  But  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment are  of  opinion  that  the  duty  of  pro- 
tecting the  Ottoman  empire  from  this 
danger,  which  henceforth  will  rest  largely 
{d'une  TKiesure  speciale)  upon  England,  can 
be  efifected  without  exposing  Europe  to  the 
calamities  of  a  fresh  war.  At  the  same 
time  the  government  of  the  Queen  take 
cognizance  of  the  assurance  given  by  his 
imperial  majesty  that  in  the  future  the 
Russian  frontier  will  be  no  more  extended 
on  the  side  of  Turkey  in  Asia.  Her 
majesty's  government  being  consequently 
of  opinion  that  the  modifications  of  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano,  approved  in  this 
memorandum,  suffice  to  mitigate  the  objec- 
tions that  they  find  in  the  treaty  in  its 
actual  form,  engage  themselves  not  to  dis- 
pute the  articles  of  the  preliminary  treaty 
of  San  Stefano  which  are  not  modified  by 
the  ten  preceding  points  if,  after  the  articles 
have  been  duly  discussed  in  congress,  Russia 
persists  in  maintaining  them. 

"It  may  be,  that  during  the  discussions 
in  congress  the  two  governments  may  find 
it  preferable  to  introduce,  of  a  common 
accord,  fresh  modifications,  which  it  would 
be  impossible  to  foresee ;  but,  if  the  under- 
Btanding  respecting  these  new  modifications 
be  not  established  between  the  Russian  and 
English  plenipotentiaries,  the  present  me- 
morandum is  destined  to  serve  as  a  mutual 
engagement  in  congress  for  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries of  Russia  and  Great  Britain. 

"  In  faith  of  which  this  document  has 
been  signed  by  the  Russian  ambassador  at 
372 


London  and  the  principal  Secretary  of 
State  of  her  Britannic  majesty. — Done  at 
London  the  30th  of  May,  1878. 

"  SCHOUVALOFF. 

"  Salisbury." 

The  second  memorandum  forms  an  annex 
to  the  first,  and  was  signed  by  both  pleni- 
potentiaries on  the  same  date.  It  runs  as 
follows : — 

"Besides  the  stipulations  of  the  pre- 
ceding memorandum,  the  British  govern- 
ment reserve  to  themselves  to  point  out  to 
the  congress  the  following  points  : — 

"(a)  The  English  government  reserve  to 
themselves  to  demand  of  the  congress  the 
participation  of  Europe  in  the  administra- 
tive organisation  of  the  two  Bulgarian 
provinces. 

"(6)  The  English  government  will  dis- 
cuss  in  congress  the  duration  and  the 
nature  of  the  Russian  occupation  of  Bul- 
garia and  of  the  passage  through  Rou- 
mania. 

"(c)  The  name  to  be  given  to  the 
southern  province. 

"  (d)  Without  touching  on  the  territorial 
question,  the  British  government  reserve  to 
themselves  to  discuss  the  questions  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Danube,  in  which  matter 
England  has  rights  by  treaty. 

"(e)  The  English  government  reserve  to 
themselves  to  discuss  in  congress  all  ques- 
tions relative  to  the  Straits.  But  the 
Russian  ambassador  at  London  takes  cogni- 
zance of  the  verbal  communication  which 
he  has  made  to  the  principal  Secretary  of 
State — that  is  to  say,  the  imperial  cabinet 
stands  by  the  declaration  of  Lord  Derby  of 
the  6th  of  May,  1877,  and  notably :—' The 
existing  arrangements  made  under  Euro- 
pean sanction  which  regulate  the  navigation 
of  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles 
appear  to  them  (the  British  government) 
wise  and  salutary ;  and  there  would  be,  in 
their  judgment,  serious  objections  to  their 
alteration  in  any  material  particular.'  And 
the  Russian  plenipotentiary  will  insist  at 
the  congress  on  the  status  quo. 

"(/)  The  English  government  will  ad- 
dress to  his  majesty  the  Sultan  a  request  to 
promise  Europe  to  protect  equally  on 
Mount  Athos  the  monks  of  other  nation- 
alities. «  SCHOUVALOFF. 

. "  Salisbury." 

This  memorandum  was  received  with 
very  mixed  feelings  in  all  quarters.  It  was 
profoundly  displeasing  to  that  faction  at 


A.D.  1878.] 


St.  Petersburg  which  thought  even  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  too  mild,  and  which 
would  have  risked  a  conflict  with  England 
rather  than  have  allowed  the  government 
of  Constantinople  to  escape  from  a  state  of 
vassaldom  to  the  Czar.  It  was  equally  dis- 
pleasing to  a  large  party  in  England. 
Expectations,  it  will  be  remembered,  were 
spread  before  the  conference  of  Constanti- 
nople. A  small  section  of  the  public  was 
afterwards  as  much  annoyed  as  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  was  gratified  by  the 
moderate  spirit  of  the  instructions  which 
Lord  Salisbury  carried  to  the  Turkish 
capital,  and  by  the  proposals  which  he  him- 
self made  for  the  improvement  of  the 
Ottoman  empire.  Precisely  the  same  kind 
of  surprise  came  to  many  people  again. 
The  ministerial  plans  for  the  future  of 
Turkey  were  found  to  be  national  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  term,  short  of  delaying 
war,  and  hence  they  were  disappointing 
alike  to  an  active  party  which  would  cancel 
all  the  Russian  conquests,  and  to  another 
equally  active  band  which  would  clear 
away  the  whole  of  the  Ottoman  administra- 
tion. What,  it  was  asked,  has  the  govern- 
ment gained  by  obtaining  the  vote  of  credit 
for  six  millions,  by  bringing  the  Indian 
troops  to  Malta,  and  by  constituting  itself 
the  champion  of  international  law  ? 

The  answer  is  very  simple.      In  the  first 
place,   if  government  had  not   used    firm 
language  and  made  military  preparations — 
played  the  same  game  of  brag,  in  fact,  to 
which  we  have  already  alluded— the  Rus- 
sians might  have  done   much   more  than 
enforce  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano.     They 
could  have  found  a  score  of  pretexts  for 
entering   Constantinople   itself.      In  fact, 
the   blundering  and   the   rashness  of  the 
Turks  would  have  given  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas  some  such  excuse  every  forty-eight 
hours.     Perhaps  he  might  have  taken  up 
and   expressed   his   purpose   of  holding  a 
strong  position  on  one  side  or  other  of  the 
Bosphorus,   and   thus   the   action   of    the 
Russian   troops   would  have   made   it  in- 
describably difficult  to   prevent   the  out- 
break of  another  war.      But  the  firm  front 
of  the  government  did  much  more   than 
prevent  the  Russian  army  from  passing  be- 
yond San  Stefano.     It  also  brought  about 
some  highly  important  changes  in  the  con- 
ditions of  peace.     The  first,  as  the  agree- 
ment between  the  two  powers  shows,  was 
in    the    administrative    arrangements   for 
European  Turkey.       The    treaty  of  San 
VOL.  III.  3  c 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,      [objections  to  agreement. 

Stefano  virtually  included  the  whole  of 
that  country  within  the  limits  of  one  great 
Bulgaria.  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  were, 
indeed,  left  to  the  Porte  ;  but,  as  they  were 
cut  oflf  from  Constantinople  by  the  new 
province,  the  connexion  between  them  and 
Constantinople  could  not  have  lasted  for  a 
month,  though,  at  the  same  time,  there 
cannot  be  the  least  doubt  that  the  treaty 
presupposed  the  annexation  of  these  pro- 
vinces by  Austria,  to  whom  they  were 
offered,  and  by  whom  they  were  virtually 
accepted.  The  Greek  provinces  were  also 
left ;  but,  as  they  were  also  to  be  separated 
from  the  capital  by  Bulgaria,  they  would 
also  have  fallen  away.  A  strip  of  territory 
along  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Mar- 
mora was  to  remain  under  the  direct 
authority  of  the  Porte  ;  but  it  was  to  be  so 
small  that  it  would  have  afforded  little 
revenue  and  slender  military  protection. 
Thus  the  government  of  Constantinople, 
whatever  the  future  character  of  it  might 
be,  would  have  had  a  formidable  neighbour 
in  the  new  State  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  say 
what  would  have  been  the  strength  or  the 
tendencies  of  such  a  province.  That  danger 
was  prevented  by  the  agreement  of  the  two 
governments.  Thus  Constantinople  was 
emancipated  for  the  moment,  at  least  from 
influences  which  might  have  been  fatal  to 
its  independence.  It  was  to  be  left  in  pos- 
session of  territory  not  only  considerably 
larger  than  the  portion  which  was  specified 
in  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano,  but  stretching 
along  the  coast  of  the  ^gean,  and  oflfering 
an  unimpeded  passage  to  all  the  provinces 
which  were  still  connected  with  the  Porte. 
Another  great  change  was  the  division  of 
Bulgaria  into  two  parts.  The  Northern, 
stretching  from  the  Danube  to  the  Balkans, 
was,  it  is  true,  to  be  virtually  independent 
of  Constantinople  ;  but  such  a  change  had 
been  made  inevitable  by  the  war.  The 
Southern  Bulgaria,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
not  to  receive  much  greater  powers  of  self- 
government  than  those  suggested  by  the 
preliminary  conference  of  Constantinople. 
The  Sultan  would  be  able  to  appoint  the 
chief  officers  of  the  local  militia,  and  the 
congress  had  liberty  to  provide  that,  in  case 
of  emergency,  he  might  garrison  the  strong 
places  of  the  province.  The  two  Bulgarias 
together  were  not  to  be  so  large  as  the 
one  mapped  out  at  San  Stefano.  That  to 
the  south  of  the  Balkans  was  not  to  touch 
the  ^gean  or  go  so  iar  to  the  west  as  in 
General  Ignatietf  s  bold  draught,  and  was 

373 


(( 


TENPENCE  AN  HOUR."] 


HISTOKY  OF  THE 


rA.D.  1878. 


in  some  respects  smaller  than  that  which 
■was  sketched  at  the  conference.  Thus  the 
Slavs  were  to  be  prevented  from  swamping 
the  Greek  communities  on  the  shores  of  the 
^gean  Sea  and  towards  the  west  of  Turkey. 
Government  also  stipulated  that  it,  as 
well  as  Russia,  should  have  a  share  in  de- 
termining the  administrative  arrangements 
of  the  Balkan  peninsula.  Both  the  Bul- 
garias  were  to  be  fashioned  by  the  congress 
instead  of  by  Russia  ;  and,  so  far,  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  repealed.  Nor 
had  Russia  made  good  her  claim  to  decide 
what  kind  of  self-government  was  to  be 
given  to  the  Greek  provinces.  She  was  to 
share  that  power  with  England  and  the 
rest  of  Europe.  The  memorandum  of 
agreement  showed,  therefore,  that  govern- 
ment had  gained  much,  even  in  European 
Turkey  ;  but  still  more  important  were  the 
stipulations  with  respect  to  the  Asiatic 
provinces.  The  relinquishment  of  Bayazid 
and  the  valley  of  the  Alashkert  was  in 
itself  a  considerable  change.  It  was  trivial, 
however,  in  comparison  with  the  arrange- 
ments foreshadowed  by  some  short  phrases 
in  the  memorandum.  The  government, 
after  stating  that  it  would  not  prevent  the 
Czar  from  occupying  Batoum  and  keeping 
his  conquests  in  Armenia,  added  that,  in 
consequence  of  such  an  extension  of  the 
Russian  frontier,  the  tranquillity  of  the 
populations  of  Turkey  in  Asia  would  pro- 
bably be  menaced  by  grave  dangers.  Hence 
it  took  note  of  the  assurance  given  by  the 
emperor,  that  the  frontiers  of  Russia 
should  not  in  future  be  extended  further 
into  Turkey  in  Asia.  That  was  the  record 
of  a  highly  important  pledge.  It  was  a 
promise  made,  not  to  a  weak  government 
like  the  Porte,  or  to  the  European  powers 
collectively,  but  to  England  individually. 
Thus  Russia  recognised  the  special  right  of 
England  to  protect  the  Asiatic  part  of  the 
Ottoman  territory.  To  free  that  point  from 
the  slightest  ambiguity.  Lord  Salisbury 
inserted  a  still  more  significant  phrase. 
The  duty  of  guarding  Turkey  in  Asia  will 
henceforth,  he  said,  "rest  in  a  special 
manner  on  England."  Thus  Russia  put 
her  seal  to  a  document  which  unequivocally 
stated  that  England  may  assert  a  right  of 
guardianship  over  Asia  Minor. 

But  having  said  so  much,  all  that  can  be 
said  in  favour  of  the  memorandum,  or  the 
policy  which  dictated  it,  is  exhausted. 

Though  it  was  condoned,  belauded,  and 
exalted  as   a    clever    work,    meeting    the 
374 


exigencies  of  the  moment  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  there  was  a  o  jep  concealed  feeling 
against  it.  It  was  felt  unworthy  of  England^ 
and  people  were  glad  to  forget  it,  and  glad 
when  it  was  merged  in  the  decisions  of  the 
congress  and  buried  out  of  sight,  it  was 
hoped,  for  ever.  In  two  words,  it  was  felt 
that  this  memorandum,  which  practically  re- 
sulted in  a  partition  of  Turkey  and  a  share 
of  the  spoil,  and  in  defiance  of  former 
treaties,  ill  became  a  country  whose  boast 
had  been,  up  to  the  last  moment,  that  it  was 
prepared  to  defend  those  treaties  at  any 
cost,  and  had  fraudulently  appropriated  the 
applause  of  Europe  on  that  score  at  the  very 
monaent  its  government  was  violating  its 
cherished  principles  and  treaties. 

Henceforth  it  was  easy  to  foresee  that  the 
decisions  of  the  congress  would  be  closed 
more  or  less  on  the  principles  and  condi- 
tions laid  down  in  this  document.  It  was 
equally  evident  that  some  similar  arrange- 
ment had  been  arrived  at  between  Russia 
and  Austria ;  of  which  arrangement  England 
was  as  well  aware  as  Austria  had  been  aware 
of  the  Anglo-Russian  agreement. 

That  Austria  was  aware  of  the  arran^-e- 
ment  is  proved  by  one  small  but  significant 
fact.  ^  That  is,  that  when  asked  in  the 
Austrian  chamber  whether  tlie  document 
published  by  the  Globe,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  a  writer  paid  at  the  rate  of 
lOcZ.  an  hour  for  copying  it,  was  authentic, 
Count  Andrassy  replied  in  exactly  the  same 
terms  as  his  British  colleague,  the  Marquis 
of  Salisbury — that  the  document  in  question 
was  unauthenticated  and  "  unworthy  of  your 
lordship's  confidence." 

What  the  Anglo-Austro-Russian  agree- 
ment was,  became  evident  from  the  sitting 
on  June  28th. 

The  sitting  might  well  be  entitled  the 
morganatic  marriage  of  Bosnia  with  Count 
Andrassy.  It  might  be  said  that  the  con- 
gress, after  having  occupied  itself  with  the 
Bulgarian  drama,  had  now  proceeded  to  the 
high  Bosnian  and  Herzegovinian  comedy. 
It  was  a  patent  fact,  that  ever  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  insurrection  in  Turkey, 
Austria  had  cast  longing  eyes  towards  this 
province,  the  cradle  of  the  insurrection 
which  resulted  in  the  meeting  of  the  con- 
gress.^ Count  Andrassy's  persistent  coquetry 
had  finished  by  triumphing  over  time  and 
difficulties ;  but  even  at  the  last  moment  he 
had  not  the  courage  to  lead  the  object  he 
coveted  publicly  to  the  altar.  Congress  was 
kind  enough  to  facilitate    a    morganatio 


A.D.  1878.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


fAUSTRO-BOSNIA. 


marriage  between  them.  But  though  Count 
Andrassy  only  married  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina with  his  left  hand  for  the  moment, 
it  was  quite  well  understood  that  it  would 
not  be  long  before  the  hand  changed.  In 
short,  congress  decided  unanimously — the 
Turks  excepted — that  Austria  should  pro- 
ceed to  the  military  occupation  of  Bosnia, 
and  have  charge  of  the  administration  of 
that  country.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
sitting.  Count  Andrassy  rose  and  read  a 
Tnemoire,  which  might  be  called  an  indirect 
demand  of  marriage.  He  showed  that  for  a 
whole  year  Austria  was  alarmed  at  the  in- 
surgent condition  prevailing  on  her  fron- 
tiers, and  at  the  agitation  which  crossed 
them  and  spread  into  the  interior  of  the 
Austrian  empire.  He  pointed  out  that 
Austria  had  150,000  Bosnian  refugees  on 
her  hands,  who  refused  to  return  to  Bosnia 
while  it  remained  under  Turkish  domina- 
tion, which  could  afford  them  neither  exist- 
ence nor  security,  and  that  they  would  pre- 
fer to  support  the  misery  and  humiliation 
of  exile  and  Austrian  charity  to  returning 
to  their  homes,  either  already  devastated  or 
threatened  with  being  so  later.  Count 
Andrassy  showed  that  Turkey  was  not  in  a 
position  to  maintain  tranquillity  in  this 
province  ;  that  it  would  remain  in  a  state  of 
misery  and  revolutionary  agitation  against 
the  domination  of  Turkey ;  that  this  re- 
volutignary  agitation  would  infallibly  reach 
the  adjoining  Slav  populations ;  and  that 
congress,  if  it  allowed  such  a  state  of  things 
to  exist,  would  have  serious  responsibilities 
as  regards  the  future  tranquillity  of  Europe. 
Count  Andrassy  added  that  he  did  not  ask 
public  marriage  with  Bosnia — that  is  to 
say,  he  did  not  ask  that  the  province  should 
be  annexed  to  Austria — he  only  begged  the 
congress  to  come  to  some  solution  ;  and  if 
this  solution  appeared  to  him  practical  and 
acceptable,  Austria  would  be  the  first  to 
adhere  to  it. 

The  Marquis  of  Salisbury  then  rose,  and 
following  the  example  of  Prince  Bismarck, 
constituted  himself  the  honest  broker  of  the 
indirect  union  of  Bosnia  with  the  Austrian 
empire.  The  Marquis  of  Salisbury  also  read 
a  memoire.  In  it  he  declared  that  England 
was  penetrated  by  the  justness  of  the  obser- 
vations of  the  first  Austrian  plenipotentiary ; 
and  as  his  noble  friend  rejected  public 
appropriation,  and  contented  himself  with 
left-hand  annexation,  he  proposed  to  the 
congress  to  decide  that  Austria  be  charged 
to   occupy   Bosnia  and    Herzegovina,  and 


administer  them  ;  that  it  was  of  public  in- 
terest for  Europe  to  place  these  provinces 
under  the  direct  protection  of  a  powerful 
State ;  that  this  State  could  only  be  the 
empire  of  Austria,  which  was  the  immediate 
neighbour  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  ;  and 
that  it  was  on  this  empire  that  the  task 
devolved  of  bringing  the  insurrection  to  an 
end. 

M.  Waddington,  acting  as  first  witness  of 
the  proposed  union,  then  begged  to  be 
heard,  and  declared  that,  after  having 
listened  to  the  two  papers  which  had  just 
been  read,  he  thought  Lord  Salisbury's  pro- 
posal should  be  adopted  by  the  congress  in 
the  interest  of  Turkey  herself,  seeing  that 
the  continued  possession  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina  would  constitute  for  that 
power  a  weak  point,  imposing  on  it  sacri- 
fices out  of  proportion  either  to  its  own 
resources  or  those  of  Bosnia,  and  would 
expose  it  on  that  side  to  fresh  troubles  and 
fresh  claims.  He  concluded  by  saying  that, 
in  the  name  of  France,  he  adhered  to  the 
proposal  just  submitted  to  the  congress  by 
the  Marquis  of  Salisbury. 

Count  Corti,  without  formulating  precise 
restrictions,  put  several  indirect  questions, 
to  which,  however,  he  called  for  no  answer. 
He  agreed,  but  without  any  great  hearti- 
ness, with  the  proposal  submitted  to  con- 
gress, and  no  doubt  thought  of  a  future 
j  morganatic  marriage  between  himself  and — 
say,  the  Italian  Tyrol ! 

Prince  Gortschakoff  adhered  purely  and 
simply  to  Lord  Salisbury's  motion  without 
any  further  remarks. 

Germany,  in  the  person  of  Prince  Bis- 
marck, who  presided  over  the  congress,  kept 
silent,  and  a  moment  of  suspense  followed. 
It  was  naturally  expected  that  the  mother  of 
the  brood  whose  fate  was  in  question  should 
also  express  her  opinion,  and  perhaps,  that 
in  recalling  all  the  trouble  caused  her  by 
the  province,  Turkey  would  show  herself 
delighted  at  the  idea  of  getting  rid  of  jt  in 
any  way  whatever.  But  the  maternal  heart 
contains  unsearchable  mysteries.  At  last 
the  Turkish  plenipotentiary  rose,  and  he, 
too,  read  a  memoire,  Turkey,  he  said  in 
substance,  could  not  possibly  consent  to  the 
separation  demanded  of  her.  She  was  only 
bound,  he  said,  by  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano, 
and  the  demand  in  question  exceeded  the 
limits  of  that  document.  Turkey  herself 
was  in  a  position  to  protect  and  administer 
Bosnia,  and  what  the  powers  proposed  to  do 
for  her  she  could  take  upon  herself  to  accom- 

375 


'\ 


CYPRUS.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


rA.D.  1878. 


plish.  Apart  from  this,  however,  the  Turk- 
ish plenipotentiaries  had  formal  instruc- 
tions which  forbade  them  to  consent  to 
this  concession  ;  and  without  wishing  to 
hamper  the  work  of  the  congress  or  shirk 
the  obligations  imposed  on  them  by  the 
decisions  of  this  assembly,  they  declared  they 
could  not  agree  to  the  proposal  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Salisbury, 

Hereupon  Lord  Beaconsfield  rose,  and 
declared  that  England  could  not  but  adhere 
to  the  motion  she  had  made — that  Bosnia 
and  Herzegovina,  if  left  in  the  keeping  of 
the  Porte,  would  unnecessarily  tend  to  break 
up  that  cohesive  state  of  the  empire  deemed 
essential  to  her  by  the  friends  of  Turkey 
themselves,  and  by  those  who  wished  to  pro- 
cure for  Europe  a  lasting  peace.  He  called 
to  mind  in  a  trenchant  manner  how  Turkey, 
even  before  the  war,  and  when  still  in  the 
plenitude  of  her  power,  was  not  able  to  get 
the  better  of  an  insurrection  which  had 
broken  out  in  Herzegovina,  and  stated  that, 
consequently,  it  was  impossible  for  Europe, 
in  a  still  worse  state  of  affairs  in  Turkey,  to 
confide  to  the  Porte  the  security  of  these 
provinces,  which  must  call  forth  the  solici- 
tude of  Europe.  He  concluded  by  calling 
for  the  adoption  of  the  motion  before  the 
congress. 

Finally,  Prince  Bismarck  rose,  and  ex- 
pressed his  astonishment  that  the  Turkish 
plenipotentiaries  hesitated  to  yield  to  the 
unanimous  opinion  of  the  congress.  He 
reminded  them  that  the  congress,  by  efforts 
"which  had  been  uninterrupted,  and  by  in- 
cessant mutual  concessions,  had  determined 
to  restore  to  Turkey  provinces  far  more  con- 
siderable than  those  in  question,  and  which 
she  had  renounced  by  the  treaty  of  San 
Stefano.  With  regard  to  the  restrictive  in- 
structions referred  to  by  the  Turkish  pleni- 
potentiaries, he  urged  them  to  ask  for  new 
directions  at  once  which  would  permit  them 
to  give  their  adhesion  to  the  views  of  the 
congress. 

The  proposal  of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury 
was  then  submitted  to  and  adopted  unani- 
mously by  the  members  of  the  congress, 
except  Turkey  and  x\ustria,  who  abstained 
from  voting.  Thereupon  the  bridegroom, 
Count  Andrassy,  rose  and  declared  that  he 
accepted  the  bride  presented  to  him  by  the 
congress  for  better,  for  worse. 

But  whilst  this  morganatic  marriage  of 
Count   Andrassy  with  the  fair  Illyria,    or 
Bosnia,  was  being  consummated  in  a  matter- 
of-fact  prosaic  manner  before  a  number  of 
376 


more  or  less  amused  witnesses,  nobody 
thought  that  the  sedate  widower,  the 
essence  of  all  the  proprieties,  one  of  the 
bulwarks  of  the  State,  and  a  pillar  of  the 
church — perhaps  even  a  warden  of  the 
parish  church  at  Hughenden — had  actually 
contracted  a  clandestine  marriage  with  a 
lady  of,  to  say  the  least,  the  most  doubtful 
mythological  antecedents.  Yet  so  it  was. 
The  aged  Earl  of  Beaconsfield  had  actually 
wedded  the  ever  youthful,  though  somewhat 
notorious  Cyprian  Venus.  With  this  fair 
lady  he  had  actually  been  secretly  passing 
his  honeymoon  at  Berlin,  jealously  screening 
her  charms  and  beauties  from  the  gaze  of  the 
vulgar  herd,  until  at  the  last  moment  when 
that  delectable  period  was  about  to  end,  he 
led  the  fair  damsel  forth  from  her  place  of 
concealment,  and  proudly  introduced  her — 
not  to  the  profane  criticisms  of  a  congress — 
but  to  the  elite  of  the  world  assembled  at  Ber- 
lin— introduced  her  to  them  as  his  youthful 
bride,  whom  all  were  to  admire,  but  none  to 
approach  with  undue  familiarity. 

On  July  9th — a  few  days  before  the  signa- 
ture of  the  treaty  of  Berlin — parliament  was 
presented  with  a  correspondence  containing 
the  terms  of  a  convention  between  Great 
Britain  and  Turkey,  concluded  on  June  4, 
1878,  and  setting  forth,  in  the  following  des- 
patch by  Lord  Salisbury,  some  of  the  reasons 
for  such  a  convention  ; — 

No,  1, 
The  Marquis  of  Salisbury  to  Mr.  Layard. 

"  Foreign  Office,  May  30th,  1878. 

"  Sir, — The  progress  of  the  confidential 
negotiations  which  have  for  some  time  past 
been  in  progress  between  her  majesty's 
government  and  the  government  of  Kussia, 
make  it  probable  that  those  articles  of  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  which  concern  Euro- 
pean Turkey  will  be  sufficiently  nudified  to 
bring  them  into  harmony  with  the  interests 
of  the  other  European  powers,  and  of 
England  in  particular, 

"There  is,  however,  no  such  prospect 
with  respect  to  that  portion  of  the  treaty 
which  concerns  Turkey  in  Asia.  Is  is  suffi- 
ciently manifest  that,  in  respect  to  Batoum 
and  the  fortresses  north  of  the  Araxes,  the 
government  of  Eussia  is  not  prepared  to 
recede  from  the  stipulations  to  which  the 
Porte  has  been  led  by  the  events  of  the  war 
to  consent.  Her  majesty's  government  have 
consequently  been  forced  to  consider  the 
effect  which  these  agreements,  if  they  are 
neither  annulled  nor  counteracted,  will  have 


A.D.  1878.1 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[CYPRFS. 


upon  the  future  of  the  Asiatic  provinces  of 
the  Ottoman  empire  and  upon  the  interests 
of  England,  which  are  closely  affected  by 
the  condition  of  those  provinces, 

"It  is  impossible  that  her  majesty's 
government  can  look  upon  these  changes 
with  indifference.  Asiatic  Turkey  contains 
populations  of  many  different  races  and 
creeds,  possessing  no  capacity  for  self- 
government,  and  no  aspirations  for  indepen- 
dence, but  owing  their  tranquillity  and 
whatever  prospect  of  political  well-being 
they  possess  entirely  to  the  rule  of  the 
Sultan.  But  the  government  of  the  Otto- 
man dynasty  is  that  of  an  ancient  but  still 
alien  conqueror,  resting  more  upon  actual 
power  than  upon  the  sympathies  of  common 
nationality.  The  defeat  which  the  Turkish 
arms  have  sustained,  and  the  known  em- 
barrassments of  the  government  will  pro- 
duce a  general  belief  in  its  decadence,  and 
an  expectation  of  speedy  political  change, 
which  in  the  East  are  more  dangerous  than 
actual  discontent  to  the  stability  of  a  govern- 
ment. If  the  populations  of  Syria,  Asia  Mi-r 
nor,  and  Mesopotamia  see  that  the  Porte  has 
no  guarantee  for  its  continued  existence  but 
its  own  strength,  they  will,  after  the  evi- 
dence which  recent  events  have  furnished 
of  the  frailty  of  that  reliance,  begin  to  cal- 
culate upon  the  speedy  fall  of  the  Ottoman 
domination,  and  to  turn  their  eyes  towards 
its  successor, 

"  Even  if  it  be  certain  that  Batoum,  and 
Ardahan,  and  Kars  will  not  become  the 
base  from  which  emissaries  of  intrigue  will 
issue  forth,  to  be  in  due  time  followed  by 
invading  armies,  the  mere  retention  of  them 
by  Russia  will  exercise  a  powerful  influence 
in  disintegrating  the  Asiatic  dominion  of 
the  Porte.  As  a  monument  of  feeble  defence 
on  the  one  side,  and  successful  aggression 
on  the  other,  they  will  be  regarded  by  the 
Asiatic  population  as  foreboding  the  course 
of  political  history  in  the  immediate  future, 
and  will  stimulate,  by  the  combined  action 
of  hope  and  fear,  devotion  to  the  power  which 
is  in  the  ascendant,  and  desertion  of  the 
power  which  is  thought  to  be  falling  into 
decay, 

"It  is  impossible  for  her  majesty's 
government  to  accept,  without  making  an 
effort  to  avert  it,  the  effect  which  such  a 
state  of  feeling  would  produce  upon  regions 
whose  political  condition  deeply  concerns 
the  Oriental  interests  of  Great  Britain. 
They  do  not  propose  to  attempt  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  object  by  taking  mili- 


tary measures  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
placing the  conquered  districts  in  the 
possessisn  of  the  Porte.  Such  an  under- 
taking would  be  arduous  and  costly,  and 
would  involve  great  calamities,  and  it  would 
not  be  effective  for  the  object  which  her 
majesty's  government  have  in  view,  unless 
subsequently  strengthened  by  precautions 
which  can  be  taken  almost  as  effectually 
without  incurring  the  miseries  of  a  pre- 
liminary war.  The  only  provision  which 
can  furnish  a  substantial  security  for  the 
stability  of  Ottoman  rule  in  Asiatic  Tur- 
key, and  which  would  be  as  essential  after 
the  re-conquest  of  the  Russian  annexations 
as  it  is  now,  is  an  engagement  on  the  part 
of  a  power  strong  enough  to  fulfil  it,  that 
any  further  encroachments  by  Russia  upon 
Turkish  territory  in  Asia  will  be  prevented 
by  force  of  arms.  Such  an  undertaking, 
if  given  fully  and  unreservedly,  will  prevent 
the  occurrence  of  the  contingency  which 
would  bring  it  into  operation,  and  will,  at 
the  same  time,  give  to  the  populations  of 
the  Asiatic  provinces  the  requisite  confi- 
dence that  Turkish  rule  in  Asia  is  not  des- 
tined to  a  speedy  fall. 

"There  are, however, two  conditions  which 
it  would  be  necessary  for  the  Porte  to  sub- 
scribe before  England  could  give  such  assur- 
ance. 

*'  Her  majesty's  government  intimated  to 
the  Porte,  on  the  occasion  of  the  conference 
at  Constantinople,  that  they  were  not  pre- 
pared to  sanction  misgovernment  and  op- 
pression ;  and  it  will  be  requisite,  before 
they  can  enter  into  any  agreement  for  the 
defence  of  the  Asiatic  territories  of  the 
Porte  in  certain  eventualities,  that  they 
should  be  formally  assured  of  the  intention 
of  the  Porte  to  introduce  the  necessary  re- 
forms into  the  government  of  the  Christian 
and  other  subjects  of  the  Porte  in  these 
regions.  It  is  not  desirable  to  require  more 
than  an  engagement  in  general  terms,  for  the 
specific  measures  to  be  taken  could  only  be 
defined  after  a  more  careful  inquiry  and  de- 
liberation than  could  be  secured  at  the  pre- 
sent juncture, 

^'  It  is  not  impossible  that  a  careful 
selection  and  a  faithful  support  of  the  in- 
dividual officers  to  whom  power  is  to  be 
intrusted  in  those  countries  would  be  a 
more  important  element  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  the  people  than 
even  legislative  changes  ;  but  the  assurance 
required  to  give  England  a  right  to  insist 
on  satisfactory  arrangements  for  these  pur- 

377 


( 


I 

4 


•I- 
'I 


CYPRUS.! 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


t 


. 


poses,  will  be  an  indispensable  part  of  any 
agreement  to  which  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment could  consent.  It  will  further  be 
necessary,  in  order  to  enable  her  majesty's 
government  efficiently  to  execute  the  en- 
gagements now  proposed,  that  they  should 
occupy  a  position  near  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor  and  Syria.  The  proximity  of  British 
officers,  and,  if  necessary,  British  troops, 
will  be  the  best  security  that  all  the  objects 
of  this  agreement  shall  be  attained.  The 
island  of  Cyprus  appears  to  them  to  be  in 
all  respects  the  most  available  for  this 
object.  Her  majesty's  government  do  not 
wish  to  ask  the  Sultan  to  alienate  territory 
from  his  sovereignty,  or  to  diminish  the 
receipts  which  now  pass  into  his  treasury. 
They  will,  therefore,  propose  that,  while  the 
administration  and  occupation  of  the  island 
shall  be  assigned  to  her  majesty,  the  terri- 
tory shall  still  continue  to  be  part  of  the 
Ottoman  empire,  and  that  the  excess  of  the 
revenue  over  the  expenditure,  whatever  it 
at  present  may  be,  shall  be  paid  over 
annually  by  the  British  government  to  the 
treasury  of  the  Sultan. 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  whole  of  this  proposal 
is  due  to  the  annexations  which  Eussia  has 
made  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  the  conse- 
quences which  it  is  apprehended  will  flow 
therefrom,  it  must  be  fully  understood  that 
if  the  cause  of  the  danger  should  cease,  the 
precautionary  agreement  will  cease  at  the 
bame  time.  If  the  government  of  Russia 
should  at  any  time  surrender  to  the  Porte 
the  territory  it  has  acquired  in  Asia  by  the 
recent  war,  the  stipulations  in  the  proposed 
agreements  will  cease  to  operate,  and  the 
island  will  be  immediately  evacuated. 

"  I  request,  therefore,  your  Excellency  to 
propose  to  the  Porte  to  agree  to  a  conven- 
tion to  the  following  effect,  and  I  have  to 
convey  to  you  full  authority  to  conclude  the 
same  on  behalf  of  the  government : — 

" '  If  Batoum,  Ardahan,  Kars,  or  any  of 
them,  shall  be  retained  by  Russia,  and  if  any 
attempt  shall  be  made  at  any  future  time 
by  Russia  to  take  possession  of  any  further 
portion  of  the  Asiatic  territories  of  the 
Sultan,  ^s  fixed  by  the  definitive  treaty  of 
peace,  England  engages  to  join  the  Sultan 
in  defending  them  by  force  of  arms.  In 
return  the  Sultan  promises  to  England  to  in- 
troduce necessary  reforms  (to  be  agreed  upon 
later  between  the  two  powers)  into  the 
government  of  the  Christian  and  other  sub- 
jects of  the  Porte  in  these  territories  ;  and, 
in  order  to  enable  England  to  make 
378 


necessary  provision  for  executing  her  en- 
gagement, the  Sultan  further  consents  to 
assign  the  island  of  Cyprus  to  be  occupied 
and  administered  bj  England.' — I  am,  &c., 

"  Salisbury." 

No.  2, 

Sir  A.   H.   Layard  to    the  Marquis   of 

Salisbury, 

"  Therapia,  June  5,  1878, 
"My  Lord, — I  have  the  honour  to  en- 
close the  convention   of  defensive  alliance 
between  England  and  Turkey  to  secure  the 
Sultan's  territories  in  Asia  for  the  future 
against  Russia,  signed  yesterday  at  the  im- 
perial palace  of  Yeldiz  by  his  Excellency  Saf- 
vet  Pasha,  the  Turkish  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  myself,  as  her  majesty's  ambas- 
sador extraordinary  and  plenipotentiary. 
"  I  have,  &c., 
(Signed)         «A.  H.  Layard." 


(Enclosure  in  No.  2.) 

Convention  of  Defensive  Alliance  hetiveen 
Great  Britain  and  Turkey,  signed  June 
4,  1878. 

"  Her  majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
Empress  of  India,  and  his  imperial  majesty 
the  Sultan,  being  mutually  animated  with 
the  sincere  desire  of  extending  and 
strengthening  the  relations  of  friendship 
happily  existing  between  the  two  empires, 
have  resolved  upon  the  conclusion  of  a  con- 
vention of  defensive  alliance  with  the  object 
of  securing  for  the  future  the  territories  in 
Asia  of  his  imperial  majesty  the  Sultan. 

"  Their  majesties  have  accordingly  chosen 
and  named  as  their  plenipotentiaries,  that 
is  to  say :— i- 

"  Her  majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
Empress  of  India,  the  Right  Honourable 
Austen  Henry  Layard,  her  majesty's  am- 
bassador extraordinary  and  minister  pleni- 
potentiary at  the  Sublime  Porte ; 

"  And  his  imperial  majesty  the  Sultan, 
his  Excellency  Safvet  Pasha,  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs  of  his  imperial  majesty ; 

"  Who,  after  having  exchanged  their  full 
powers,  found  in  due  and  good  form,  have 
agreed  upon  the  following  Articles : — 

"Art.  1.— If  Batoum,  Ardahan,  Kars, 
or  any  of  them  shall  be  retained  by  Russia, 
and  if  any  attempt  shall  be  made  at  any 
future  time  by  Russia  to  take  possession  of 
any   further    territories    of    his    imperial 


mm» 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE,     [anglo-turkish  convention. 


majesty  the  Sultan  in  Asia,  as  fixed  by  the 
definitive  treaty  of  peace,  England  engages 
to  join  his  imperial  majesty  the  Sultan  in 
defending  them  by  force  of  arms. 

"In  return,  his  imperial  majesty  the 
Sultan  promises  to  England  to  introduce 
necessary  reforms,  to  be  agreed  upon  later 
between  the  two  powers,  into  the  govern- 
ment, and  for  the  protection  of  the  Chris- 
tian and  other  subjects  of  the  Porte  in  these 
territories :  and  in  order  to  enable  England 
to  make  necessary  provision  for  executing 
her  engagement,  his  imperial  majesty  the 
Sultan  further  consents  to  assign  the  island 
of  Cyprus  to  be  occupied  and  administered 
by  England. 

"  Art.  2. — The  present  convention  shall 
be  ratified,  and  the  ratifications  thereof 
shall  be  exchanged,  within  the  space  of  one 
month,  or  sooner  if  possible. 

"  In  witness  whereof  the  respective  pleni- 
potentiaries have  signed  the  same,  and  have 
affixed  thereto  the  seal  of  their  arms, 

"  Done  at  Constantinople,  the  fourth  day 
of  June,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-eight. 

(L.S.)        "A.  H.  Layard. 
(L.S.)       "Safvet." 

No.  3. 

Sir  A,   H,  Layard  to  the  Marquis   of 

Salisbury, 

(Received  July  8.) 

"Therapia,  July  1,  1878. 

"  My  Lord, — I  have  the  honour  to  en- 
close the  original  annex  to  the  convention 
entered  into  between  England  and  Turkey, 
for  the  occupation  of  the  island  of  Cyprus 
by  the  former,  signed  this  day  by  the  grand 
vizier  and  myself. 

"Your  lordship  will  perceive  that  I 
have  made  the  alterations  in  Articles  3  and 
4,  as  instructed  by  your  lordship,  to  pre- 
vent the  Porte  from  claiming  as  average 
revenue  under  the  third  clause  the  yield  of 
land  which  it  has  let  or  sold  under^the  fourth. 
The  grand  vizier  insisted  upon  inserting  in 
Article  3  the  amount  of  surplus  of  revenue 
over  expenditure,  but  it  is  provided  that  the 
sum  mentioned  is  to  be  verified  hereafter. 

"The  Article  providing  that  Turkey 
shall  not  be  called  upon,  in  case  of  the 
evacuation  of  the  island,  to  pay  for  im- 
provements, &c.,  was  withdrawn  from  the 
annex  on  the  assurance  given  by  me  to  the 
grand  vizier  that  your  lordship  would 
cause  a  revised  Article  to  be  framed  in  the 


sense  desired  by  his  highness,  but  at  the 
same  time  meeting  the  objections  put  for- 
ward by  your  lordship. 

"  I  have,  &c., 
(Signed)        "A.  H.  Layard." 


(Enclosure  in  No.  3.) 
Annex  to    the  Convention    of  Defensive 
Alliance    between   Great  Britain   and 
Turkey ,  signed  June  4,  1878. 

"The  Right  Honourable  Sir  A.  H. 
Layard,  G.C.B.,  and  his  highness  Safvet 
Pasha,  now  the  grand  vizier  of  his  mnjesty 
the  Sultan,  have  agreed  to  the  following 
annex  to  the  convention  signed  by  them,  as 
plenipotentiaries  of  their  respective  govern- 
ments, on  the  4th  of  June,  1878  : — 

"  Annex. — It  is  understood  between  the 
two  high  contracting  parties,  that  England 
agrees  to  the  following  conditions  relating 
to  her  occupation  and  administration  of  the 
island  of  Cyprus : — 

"  1.  That  a  Mussulman  religious  tribunal 
(Mehkemei  Sheri)  shall  continue  to  exist 
in  the  island,  which  will  take  exclusive 
cognizance  of  religious  matters,  and  of  no 
others,  concerning  the  Mussulman  popula- 
tion of  the  island. 

"2.  That  a  Mussulman  resident  in 
the  island  shall  be  named  by  the  Board 
of  Pious  Foundations  in  Turkey'(Evkaf),  to 
superintend,  in  conjunction  with  a  delegate 
to  be  appointed  by  the  British  authorities, 
the  administration  of  the  property,  funds, 
and  lands  belonging  to  mosques,  cemeteries, 
Mussulman  schools,  and  other  religious 
establishments  existing  in  Cyprus. 

"  3.  That  England  will  pay  to  the  Porte 
whatever  is  the  present  excess  of  revenue 
over  expenditure  in  the  island  ;  this  excess 
to  be  calculated  upon  and  determined  by 
the  average  of  the  last  five  years,  stated  to 
be  22,936  purses,  to  be  duly  verified  here- 
after, and  to  the  exclusion  of  the  produce 
of  State  and  Crown  lands  let  or  sold  during 
that  period. 

"  4.  That  the  Sublime  Porte  may  freely 
sell  and  lease  lands  and  other  property  in 
Cyprus  belonging  to  the  Ottoman  Crown 
and  State  (Arazii  Miriye  ve  Emlaki  Hou- 
mayoun),  the  produce  of  which  does  not 
form  part  of  the  revenue  of  the  island  re-» 
f erred  to  in  Article  3. 

"5.  That  the  English  government, 
through  their  competent  authorities,  may 
purchase  compulsorily,  at  a  fair  price,  land 
required  for  public  improvements,  or  for 

379 


.! 


'I 


/ 


ADVANTAGES  OF  CYPRUS.]  HISTORY    OF  THE 


I 


other  public  purposes,  and  land  which  is 
not  cultivated. 

"6.  That  if  Russia  restores  to  Turkey 
Kars,  and  the  other  conquests  made  in 
Armenia  during  the  last  war,  the  island  of 
Cyprus  will  be  evacuated  by  England,  and 
the  convention  of  the  4th  of  June,  1878, 
will  be  at  an  end. 

"Done  at  Constantinople,  the  1st  day  of 
July,  1878.  ^ 

(Signed)        «A.  H.  Layard. 

"  Safvet.'* 


rA.D.  1878. 


This  convention  was  a  plain  declaration 
to  the  world,  that  for  the  future  England 
meant  to  put  an  end  to  all  miscnievous 
ambiguities   regarding   Turkey.      Grovern- 
ment  would  no  longer  be  entangled  in  the 
snye  of  a  common  engagement  for  an  un- 
certain object,  such  as  the  seventh  clause  of 
the  treaty  of  Paris  of  1856,  regarding  the 
guarantees  for  the  integrity  of  the  Turkish 
empire.     As  the  proceedings  of  the  con- 
gress proved,  England  did  not  abandon  her 
right  to  make  her  voice  heard,  if  it  should 
seem  necessary,  in   respect  to  changes  in 
European  Turkey.      But  the  military  gua- 
rantee  for   which   she  became  responsible 
would  be  henceforth  one  and  simple — t.e.,  to 
resist  by  force  of  arms  any  future  attempt  by 
Russia  to  take  possession  of  any  further  ter- 
ritories of  the  Sultan  in  Asia  as  fixed  by  the 
definitive  treaty  of  peace ;  and  an  undertak- 
ing thus  fully  and  unreservedly  given  could 
not,  as  Lord  Salisbury  urged,  but  tend  to 
"  prevent  the  occurrence  of  the  contingency 
which  would  bring  it  into  operation." 

There  was  certainly  much  to  fire  the 
imagination  in  the  bond  which  practically 
added  Cyprus  to  the  possessions  of  the  Eng- 
lish Crown.  Cyprus  is  a  type  of  the  islands 
and  the  provinces  which  make  up  the  loose 
fabric  of  the  Ottoman  empire.  The  old 
records  of  our  civilisation  begin  in  those 
lands,  and  the  technicalities  of  the  Eastern 
Question  are  blended  with  the  most  familiar 
names  of  Biblical  story  or  classic  legend. 
Cyprus  has  gone  through  the  usual  vicissi- 
tudes of  places  over  which  conquest  after 
conquest  has  rolled.  The  Greek,  the  Roman, 
the  Saracen,  the  Crusader,  the  Genoese,  the 
Venetian,  and  the  Turk  have  all  in  turn 
been  its  masters  and  woven  its  name  into 
the  literature  of  Europe.  They  have  all 
used  it  for  purposes  of  conquest,  and  for 
little  else.  The  idea  that  the  masters  of  a 
dependency  should  look  to  the  welfare  of 
its  people  is  a  modern  addition  to  political 
380  ^ 


morality,  and  the  light  of  it  has  never  shone 
on  Cyprus.     The  Crusaders  employed  it  as 
a  restmg-place,  the  Italian  republics  as  a 
source  of  wealth,  and  the  Turks  as  a  place 
for  the  production  of  revenue.     As  the  Ot- 
toman empire  has  made  little  change  in  its 
fiscal  practices,  Cyprus  lived  under  a  system 
admirably  fitted  for  stifling  human  energy 
and  the  island  is  in  much  the  same  state  as 
It   was    generations   ago.     But  henceforth 
everything  will  be  changed.     The  strength, 
the  quietude,  and  the  security  of  British 
rule  will  bring  capital  to  the  place  and  offer 
a   rich    field    for    commercial    enterprise. 
Harbours  will  be  deepened  or  constructed. 
Ihere  will  be  a  naval  station,  and  thus  the 
constant  bustle  of  English  activity.     If  a 
railway  should  ever  be  made  from  any  port 
of  the  Levant  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  Cyprus 
may  become  a  place  of  some  commercial 
importance.     In  fact,  the  best  news  which  it 
has  ever  heard  in  the  course  of  its  long  his- 
tory is,  that  it  has  passed  under  the  rule  of 
England.     The  Mussulman  as  well  as  the 
Christian  part  of  the  population  did  not  fail 
to  rejoice  over  the  arrival  of  an  English 
governor,  as  nations  do  when  delivered  from 
foreign  occupation.      Cyprus  will   now  be 
able  to  profit  by  some  of  the  prosperity  that 
has  come    to   Western   lands    which  were 
peopled  by  wandering  tribes  when  it  had  al- 
ready a  considerable  place  in  history. 

To  England  the  possession  will  be  of  much 
maritime  importance.  It  might  have  seemed 
that  Mitylene   would   have  been  a  better 
naval  station,  because  it  is  within  easy  sail 
of  the  Dardanelles  ;  but,  in  truth,  it  would 
always  be  easy  for  the  greatest  of  maritime 
powers  to  close  that  narrow  passage  without 
permanently  lying  in  wait  at  the  entrance. 
If  Constantinople  is  in  some  ways  an  in- 
comparable port,  it  has  the  disadvantage  of 
being   more  easily   sealed   up   than   many 
naval  stations  even  of  the  fifth  and  sixth 
magnitude.     Cyprus,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
much   better  adapted   for   protecting  the 
most  important  link  in  the  chain  of  British 
communications  with  the  sea,  since  it  is  the 
nearest  island  to  the  Suez  Canal.     Short  of 
a  position  in  Egypt  close  to  the  Canal  it- 
self,  Cyprus  is  the  best  place  that  England  • 
could  have  occupied.     But  for  many  reasons 
the  taking  of  Egyptian   territory  was  im- 
practicable, and  the  possession  of  the  island 
IS  attended  with  certain  special  advantages. 
It  will  enable  British  ships  to  be  always  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Canal,  and  it  will 
put  an  end  to  the  fear  that  the  passage 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN    EMPIRE. 


[peace  signed. 


could  be  stopped.      At  the  same  time   it 
practically  m:ikes  England  the  master  of 
Syria.     It   has   sometimes   been  predicted 
that  Russia  would  gradually  steal  through 
Armenia  until  she  should  reach  the  Gulf  of 
Alexandretta,  and  thus  make  herself  a  Medi- 
terranean power.     In  still  bolder  flights  of 
fancy  it  has  been  supposed  that  she  would 
push  through  the  Syrian  Desert  until  she 
should  reach  Egypt,  and  cut  off  the  route 
to  India.     These  are  not  very  wise  specu- 
lations.    But,  even  if  they  were  once  high 
probabilities,  they  need  now  cause  no  alarm. 
Cyprus  closes  the  Gulf  of  Scanderoon,  the 
point   to   which    Russia   would    naturally 
come  if  she  should  meet  with  no  resistance, 
and  the  port  of  the  same  name  could  at  any 
time  be  occupied  by  British  ships.     It  is 
one  of  the  finest  natural  harbours  in  the 
world.     Indeed,  some  enthusiastic  witnesses 
maintain   that   it    is    the   finest.      Others 
qualify  the  description  by  saying  that,  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year,  the  violence  of 
the  winds  makes  the  anchorage  uncertain. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  at  least,  that  the 
place  is  made  terribly  unhealthy   by  the 
marshes  with  which  it  is  surrounded.    Still, 
if  the  port  were  to  become  necessary  for  any 
of  the  purposes  specified  in  tho  engagement 
with    Turkey,    those    marshes    might    be 
drained.      Batoum,  which  was   once  very 
unhealthy,  is  said  to  have  lost  its  bad  repute 
since  the  draining  of  the  marshes  behind 
the  town.     And  such  is  the  configuration  of 
the  coast,  that  the  power  which  commands 
any  one  part  of  the  way  can  bar  the  whole 
of  the  coast-road  to  Egypt.     The  space  be- 
tween the  mountains  and  the  sea  is  so  nar- 
row that,  sallying  from  Cyprus  or  Alexan- 
dretta, a  naval  power  could  cut  it  at  any 
point.     As  for  the  idea  that  an  invading 
army  could  gradually  creep  towards  Egypt 
through  the  Syrian  Desert,  it  is  enough  to 
say  that  England  must  first  of  all  have  to 
lose  the    command  of  the  sea,  and  there- 
fore  the  power  of  sending  troops  to  posi- 
tions which  could  be  easily  held  by  a  small 

force. 

Cyprus  is  thus,  on  the  whole,  the  best 
station  that  could  have  been  chosen.  The 
Porte  will  now  be  expected  to  develop  the 
vast  natural  resources  of  its  Asiatic  empire, 
or,  at  least,  to  let  that  task  be  done  by 
others.  The  country  must  now  be  opened 
up  by  roads,  and,  perhaps,  by  railways. 
Something  more  will  doubtless  be  heard  of 
the  scheme  to  construct  a  railway  through 
the  Euphrates  or  the  Tigris  Valley— a  pro- 

VOL.  111.  3d 


position  which  the  select  committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons  investigated  in   1872, 
and  to  which  it  gave  a  qualified  assent.     A 
good  many  facts  and  opinions  may  then  be 
culled  from  the  evidence  of  the  witnesses 
against  as  well  as  for  the  project.     To  con- 
struct a  line  through  more  than  900  miles 
of  thinly  populated  and  sometimes  desert 
country  would  certainly  be  a  bold  enter- 
prise.    But,  if  the  government  should  think 
that  such  a  railway  is  necessary  to  insure 
the  safety  of  British  communications  with 
India,  the  starting-point  would  in  any  case 
be    commanded   by  Cyprus.      That   island 
will,  in  fact,  be  an  admirable  naval  station, 
whether  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the 
Suez  Canal,  securing  a  second  road  to  India, 
or  giving  Great  Britain  the  requisite  au- 
thority in  its  relations  with  the  Porte. 

With  this  convention,  the  Anglo-Russian 
agreement,  and  the  Austro- Hungarian  com- 
mission to  occupy  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
interest  in  the  doings  of  the  congress  cul- 
minated  for  the  moment,  and  the  subse- 
quent negotiations  were  hurried  over  with 
but  a  scant  show  of  decency ;  and  on  July 
13th — ^just  one  month  after  the  assembling 
of  congress — the  Berlin  treaty  of  peace  was 
signed  in  the  Chancellor's  mansion  at  Berlin- 
To  perform  the  solemn  act  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries appeared  in   uniform,  attended   by 
their  secretaries  and  staffs.     The  ceremony 
was  opened  by  Prince  Bismarck  thanking 
the  plenipotentiaries  for  the  zeal  evinced  in 
promoting  the  pacific  result  of  the  debates, 
and  for  the  assistance  they  had  kindly  given 
him  in  accelerating  the  prompt  and  satis- 
factory  despatch    of   business.      Dwelling 
upon   the   mutual    concessions    made,  the 
prince  regarded  them  as  a  good  omen  for  the 
future,  and  was  fain  to  hope  that  the  con- 
ciliatory attitude   assumed   by  all   parties 
concerned  would  have  permanent  results  for 
the  consolidation  of  peace. 

The  seven  copies  of  the  treaty,  printed  on 
parchment  and  bound  in  red  morocco 
leather,  were  then  placed  on  the  table  and 
signed  by  the  plenipotentiaries,  the  seals 
having  been  previously  aflSxed  by  the  secre- 
taries. The  parting  scene  had  now  arrived. 
The  French  name  of  his  country  beginning 
with  an  A,  Count  Andrassy,  according  to 
the  alphabetical  order  of  precedence  observed 
by  the  congress,  rose  to  deliver  the  fol- 
lowing address  to  the  president  of  the 
assembly  : — 

"  Gentlemen, — At  this,  the  moment  when 
our  efforts  have  resulted  in  a  general  under- 

3«1 


1| 


I 


I'  M 


•FRESH  WAR.1 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


I 


standiDg,  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  not 
to  render  homage  to  the  eminent  statesman 
who  has  directed  our  labours.     He  has  in- 
variably aimed  at  assuring  and  consolidating 
peace.     With  this  in  view,  he  has  devoted 
all  his  endeavours  to  reconcile  differences, 
and  put  an  end  as  speedily  as  possible  to 
the  uncertainty  which  weighed  so  heavily 
on  Europe.     Thanks  to  the  wisdom  and  the 
untiring  energy  with  which  our  president 
has  guided  our  labours,  he  has  contributed 
in  a  high  degree  to  the  prompt  success  of 
the  work   of  pacification  which  we   under- 
took in  common.     I  feel  sure,  therefore,  of 
meeting  with  the  unanimous  assent  of  this 
august  assembly  in   proposing  to   offer  our 
warmest  thanks  to  his  most  serene  highness 
Prince  Bismarck.     And  while  we  are  now 
about  to  separate,  I  think  I  shall  further- 
more best  respond  to  your  feelings  by  utter- 
ing our  respectful  gratitude  for  the  gracious 
hospitality    we    have    received    from     his 
majesty  the  German  emperor  and  his  august 
imperial  family." 

All  the  members  rose   to   signify   their 
recognition  of  the  services  rendered  by  the 
German  Chancellor  in  directing  the  debates. 
Prince  Bismarck  said  a  few  words  of  thanks, 
and   all  was  over.      The   sitting  occupied 
nearly  an  hour.    When  the  plenipotentiaries 
left  the  palace  there  was  a  large  concourse 
of  people  in   the  Wilhelmplatz,  waiting  to 
profit  by  the  last  opportunity  of  seeing^he 
diplomatic  celebrities.    Prince  Gortsch'akoff 
was  carried  down-stairs.     Lord  Beaconsfield 
seemed  in  good  health,  and  looked  grave 
and  gratified  as  he  entered  his  carriage  to 
drive   to   the  Crown   Prince's   palace.     M. 
Waddington  had  a  private  interview  with 
Prince  Bismarck  after  the  sitting.     Count 
Schouvaloff  had  his  little  son  with  him,  the 
boy  having  apparently  been  taken  to'  the 
entrance-hall  to  give  him  an  opportunity 
of  remembering  the  event.     Princess  Bis- 
marck, Countess  Bismarck,  and  a  few  other 
ladies  looked  down  upon  the  ceremony  from 
a  box  in  the  hall,  while  Herr  von  Werner, 
the  painter,  whose  brush  was  to  perpetuate' 
the  congress,  sat  at  the  table  with  the  pleni- 
potentiaries. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Crown 

382  V 


[A.D.  1878. 


Prince  and  Crown  Princess  entertained  170 
persons,  including  the  plenipotentiaries,  am- 
bassadors,  envoys,  and    entire   diplomatic 
statt,  at  a  grand  dinner  in  the  White  Hall 
of  the  old  Schloss.    All  the  princes  and  prin- 
cesses of  the  royal  family  were  present.  After 
the  second  dish  his  imperial  highness  rose 
and  proposed  the  following  oflScial  toast  :— 
Ihe  hopes  with  which  a  month  a^o,  in 
the  name  of  the  emperor,    I  greeted    the 
Illustrious  statesmen  assembled  in  couirress 
have  been  happily  realised.     The  work  of 
achieving  peace,  so  much  desired  by  Europe 
has  just  been  crowned  by  their  efforts.     As 
interpreting   the   feelings    of    my    august 
lather,  I  rejoice  to  render  homage  to  the 
wisdom  and  the  spirit  of  conciliation  which 
have  brought  about  this  great  result.     The 
understanding  which  has  just  been  estab- 
lished will  be  a  new  pledge  of  peace  and 
public  weal.     The  assistance  of  Germany  is 
secured  beforehand  in  all  tending  to  assure 
and  preserve  these  great  blessings.     In  the 
name  of  his  majesty,  I  drink  to  the  health 
ot   the  sovereigns  and  governments  whose 
representatives  have  signed,  on  this  memor- 
able date,  the  treaty  of  Berlin." 

Thus  ended  the  first  act  of  the  great 
drama  which  began  in  1876,  when  the  cur- 
iam rose  upon  the  wild  mountains  and 
forests  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  lurid 
with  the  gleam  of  fires,  and  re-echoing  with 
the  clang  and  clash  of  war. 

For  two  long  years  the  sanguinary  scenes 
shifted,  now  to  8ervia,  now  to  Montenegro, 
to  Bulgaria,  to  Asia,  till  the  curtain  felf  at 
rJerlin. 

Yet,  scarcely  was  the  ink  dry  with  which 
the  treaty  of  peace  was  written,  when  the 
curtain  rose  again  for  the  second  act,  after  a 
stornay  overture,  upon  the  selfsame  scene 
which  opened  the  first  act— upon  the  wild 
mountain  lands  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina 
upon  the  same  lurid  conflagrations,  and  the 
same  clang  and  clash  of  war. 

Such  was  the  first  practical  commentary 
upon  the  treaty  of  peace,  which  required  the 
umted  labours  of  ninety  diplomatists  for 
thirty  days  to  conclude. 

Consequently  it  fully  deserves  a  chapter 
to  Itself.  ^ 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[treaty  of  BERLIN. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 


THE    TREATY    OP    BERLIN. 


The  following  despatch  from  the  Marquis 
of  Salisbury,  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  treaty 
signed  at  Berlin,  July  13,  1878,  was  pre- 
sented to  parliament  on  July  19,  1878. 

The  Marquis  of  Salisbury  to  her  Majesty's 

Frincipal  Secretary  of  State, 

(Received  July  15.) 

"Berlin,  July  13,  1878. 

"  Sir, — I  have  the  honour  to  enclose  a 
copy  of  the  treaty  which  was  signed  to-day 
at  Berlin  by  the  seven  signatory  powers  of 
the  treaty  of  Paris. 

"  The  treaty  is  one  of  unusual  length, 
and  enters  fully  into  the  various  questions 
raised  by  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano,  so  far 
as  they  affect  the  dispositions  of  the  treaty 
of  Paris.  The  alterations  which  are  made 
in  the  preliminary  treaty  are  very  large, 
and  extend  to  nearly  all  the  articles  of  that 
instrument.  Their  general  effect  has  been 
to  restore,  with  due  security  for  good 
government,  a  very  large  territory  to 
the  government  of  the  Sultan,  and 'they 
tend  powerfully  to  secure  from  external 
assault  the  stability  and  independence 
of  his  empire.  Provisions  having  for 
their  object  to  insure  entire  equality  of  all 
religions  before  the  laws  have  been  applied 
to  all  the  territories  affected  by  the  treaty. 

"The  policy  which  has  received  the 
sanction  of  the  congress  of  Berlin  is  gene- 
rally coincident  with  that  which  has  been 
sustained  by  her  majesty's  government  since 
the  treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  published, 
and  which  was  indicated  in  the  circular  of 
the  1st  of  April.  A  statement  has  been 
made,  and  constantly  repeated,  especially 
upon  the  continent,  that  the  views  set  forth 
in  that  despatch  have  been  abandoned  in 
the  subsequent  action  of  her  majesty's 
government.  To  obviate  the  continuance 
of  such  a  misconception,  it  may  be  well  to 
point  out  in  detail  how  far  the  decisions  to 
which  her  majesty's  government  have  as- 
sented in  the  congress  of  Berlin  correspond 
with  the  language  of  the  circular. 

"  The  essential  contention  of  the  circular, 
that  the  articles  of  the  preliminary  treaty, 
as  being  a  departure  from  the  treaty  of 


Paris,  must  be  discussed  by  congress  as  a 
whole,  has,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say, 
both  in  theory  and  practice,  been  admitted 
to  the  largest  possible  extent.  Of  the  de- 
tailed objections  made  in  the  circular  to  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano,  the  first  and  the 
most  important  is  couched  in  the  following 
terms : — 

"  The  roost  important  consequences  to 
which  the  treaty  practically  leads  are  those 
which  result  from  its  action  as  a  whole  upon 
the  nations  of  South-Eastern  Europe.  By 
the  articles  creating  the  new  Bulgaria,  a 
strong  Slav  State  will  be  created  under  the 
auspices  and  control  of  Russia,  possessing 
important  harbours  upon  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea  and  the  Archipelago,  and  con- 
ferring upon  that  power  a  preponderating 
influence  over  both  the  political  and  com- 
mercial relations  in  those  seas. 

"  It  will  be  so  constituted  as  to  merge  in 
the  dominant  Slav  majority  a  considerable 
mass  of  population  which  is  Greek  in  race 
and  sympathy,  and  which  views  with  alarm 
the  prospect  of  absorption  into  a  com- 
munity alien  to  it,  not  only  in  nationality, 
but  in  political  tendency  and  religious 
allegiance. 

"  The  provision  by  which  this  new  State 
is  to  be  subjected  to  a  ruler  whom  Russia 
will  practically  choose,  its  administration 
framed  by  a  Russian  commissary,  and  the 
first  working  of  its  institutions  commenced 
under  the  control  of  a  Russian  army,  suflfi- 
ciently  indicates  the  political  system  of 
which  in  future  it  is  to  form  a  part. 

"  It  will  be  seen  that  all  these  objections 
have  been  removed  by  the  treaty  of  Berlin. 
It  has  radically  changed  the  disposition 
of  the  vast  region  to  which,  in  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano,  the  name  of  Bulgaria  is  given. 
Nearly  two-thirds  of  it  have  been  replaced 
under  the  direct  political  and  military  rule 
of  the  Sultan  :  and  in  this  re-transfer  are 
included  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  in  which 
the  Greek  populations  affected  by  that  in- 
strument are  almost  exclusively  to  be  found. 
Bulgaria,  speaking  generally,  is  now  con- 
fined to  the  river  barrier  of  the  Danube, 
and,  consequently,  has  not  only  ceased  to 

383 


('  El 


'f? 


If 

I 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN."] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


[treaty  of  BERLIN. 


possess  any  harbour  on  the  Archipelaj^^o, 
but  is  removed  by  more  tlian  100  miles 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  that  sea.  On 
the  Euxine  the  important  port  of  Burgas 
has  been  restored  to  the  government  of 
Turkey ;  and  Bulgaria  retains  less  than 
half  the  seaboard  originally  assigned  to  it, 
and  possesses  no  other  port  except  the  road- 
stead of  Varna,  which  can  hardly  be  used 
for  any  but  commercial  purposes.  The  new 
Slav  State,  therefore,  is  no  longer  strong — 
no  longer  merges  in  a  Slav  majority  any 
considerable  mass  of  Greek  population,  and 
will  certainly  not  confer  upon  Russia  any 
preponderating  influence  over  either  the 
political  or  commercial  relations  of  those 
seas. 

"  The  events  of  the  late  war  must  for 
many  years  secure  to  Russia  a  great  au- 
thority in  this  State,  which  will  be  assisted 
by  affinity  of  language  and  similarity  of 
religion.  But  the  influences  under  which 
its  institutions  were  to  have  been  formed 
and  to  have  commenced  their  working,  will 
no  longer  be  specially  Russian.  The  Rus- 
sian and  Ottoman  commissaries,  who  will 
supervise  the  election  of  the  prince  and  the 
selection  of  a  constitution  by  the  'notables,' 
will  be  placed  under  the  authority  of  the 
conference  of  ambassadors  at  Constanti- 
nople, acting  through  a  consular  commis- 
sion upon  the  spot ;  and  the  retirement  of 
the  Russian  army  from  the  province  must 
take  place  before  the  period  at  which  the 
working  of  the  new  institutions  is  to  begin. 
Its  administration,  therefore,  will  be  framed 
by  others  besides  a  Russian  commissary, 
and  the  first  working  of  its  institutions  will 
not  be  commenced  under  the  control  of  a 
Russian  army. 

"The  territorial  severance  from  Constan- 
tinople of  the  provinces  left  under  the 
government  of  the  Porte  by  the  extension 
of  Bulgaria  to  the  ^Egean,  was  another  of 
the  results  indicated  by  the  circular  of  the 
1st  of  April,  as  tending  to  weaken  the 
political  strength  of  the  government  of 
Turkey.  The  restriction  of  Bulgaria  to  the 
valley  of  the  Danube  has  necessarily  re- 
stored the  continuity  of  the  dominions 
remaining  to  the  Porte.  The  special  pro- 
tection which  is  stipulated  for  ecclesiastics 
of  the  Russian  religion,  and  for  Russian 
monasteries  on  Mount  Athos,  and  the  power 
reserved  to  the  Russian  government  of 
shaping  the  institutions  to  be  given  to  the 
rest  of  European  Turkey,  were  objected  to 
by  her  majesty's  government  as  tending  to 
384 


increase  the  power  of  the  Russian  empire 
in  the  countries  and  on  the  shores  where  a 
Greek  population  predominates. 

"  These  exclusive  stipulations  have  been 
entirely  abandoned.  The  treaty  contains 
large  provisions  for  securing  religious  liberty 
to  all  .'persons,  natives  or  foreigners,  living 
within  the  Ottoman  dominions ;  but  no 
special  privileges  are  created  for  the  mem- 
bers of  any  single  nation.  Improved  in- 
stitutions will  be  given  -to  Thessaly  and 
Epirus,  but  their  form  will  be  determined 
in  the  last  resort,  not  by  the  government  of 
Russia,  but  by  a  European  commission. 

"The  pecuniary  indemnity,  to  which 
many  objections  were  taken  by  her 
majesty's  government,  has  been  excluded 
altogether  from  the  treaty  of  Berlin.  The 
congress  declined  to  revise  a  contract  which 
was  no  infraction  of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  and 
which  it  was,  therefore,  within  the  compe- 
tence of  two  independent  powers  to  con- 
clude. But  declarations  were  made  in  con- 
gress, and  are  recorded  upon  the  protocol, 
which  profoundly  modify  its  practical 
effecto  The  Russian  plenipotentiaries  de- 
clared that  Russia  would  not  seek  to  annex 
territory  in  satisfaction  of  the  indemnity, 
and  that  they  would  not  contend  that  it 
should  be  preferred  either  to  debts  guaran- 
teed by  other  governments,  or  to  debts  in 
respect  to  which  Turkish  revenues  had  been 
hypothecated.  The  English  plenipoten- 
tiaries declared  that  they  could  not  recog- 
nise in  the  indemnity  any  claim  of  priority 
over  the  debts  of  any  kind  which  were 
anterior  to  it  in  date.  It  results  from  these 
declarations  that  Turkey  is  not  inter- 
nationally bound,  and  cannot  be  compelled 
to  pay  any  portion  of  the  indemnity  until 
the  claims  of  the  creditors  of  loans  anterior 
to  the  war  have  been  paid  in  full.  If  the 
prosperity  of  Turkey  should  ever  increase  to 
such  a  height  as  to  satisfy  this  condition, 
then  the  indemnity  may  be  undoubtedly 
demanded.  But  in  such  a  contingency  it 
will  no  longer  be  a  disproportional,  or  even 
a  heavy  burden  upon  the  finances  of  Tur- 
key. The  stipulation  must  be  regarded  as 
one  which  in  its  actual  form  is  not  con- 
trary to  international  law,  but  of  which 
the  performance  must,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  be  postponed  to  a  period  infinitely 
remote. 

"  The  replacement  under  Turkish  rule  of 
Burgas,  and  the  southern  half  of  the  sea- 
board of  Bulgaria  on  the  Euxine,  and  the 
strictly  commercial  character  assigned  by 


the  treaty  to  Batoum,  have  largely  obviated 
the  menace  to  the  liberty  of  the  Black  Sea 
which  was  contained  in  the  original  pro- 
posals. The  retrocession  of  the  district  of 
Bayazid  necessarily  removes  all  apprehen- 
sions of  any  obstacle  being  interposed  to 
arrest  the  European  trade  from  Trebizond 
to  Persia. 

"  So  far,  the  congress  has  applied  an 
adequate  remedy  to  all  the  dangers  which, 
in  the  judgment  of  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment, were  threatened  by  the  treaty  of  San 
Stefano. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  provisions  of  the 
treaty  of  Berlin  have  not  withdrawn  from 
Russia  any  of  the  Armenian  strongholds 
which  had  been  acquired  in  the  late  war, 
though  a  portion  of  the  annexed  district  has 
been  surrendered, 

"  Her  majesty's  government  have  already 
provided  by  arrangements,  external  to  the 
action  of  the  congress,  suitable  precautions 
against  the  dangers  threatened  by  those 
annexations, 

"  This  completes  the  list  of  the  detailed 
objections  advanced  against  the  treaty  of 
San  Stefano  in  the  circular  of  April.  With 
the  exception  of  those  last  named,  which  are 
dealt  with  by  the  recent  convention  with 
Turkey,  these  objections  have  all  been  met 
by  the  treaty  of  Berlin, 

"  But  in  that  circular  it  was  emphatically 
declared  that  it  is  not  to  any  of  those 
details,  taken  separately,  that  the  opposi- 
tion of  England  was  chiefly  directed, 
'  Their  separate  and  individual  operation, 
whether  defensible  or  not,  is  not  that  which 
should  engage  the  most  earnest  attention  of 
the  signatory  Powers.  Their  combined 
effect,  in  addition  to  the  results  upon  the 
Greek  populations,  and  upon  the  balance  of 
maritime  power,  which  have  been  already 
pointed  out,  is  to  depress,  almost  to  the 
point  of  entire  subjection,  the  political  in- 
dependence of  the  government  of  Constan- 


same  territorial  arrangements  have  the  effect 
of  attaining  the  essential  aim  which  in  their 
recent  negotiations  her  majesty's  govern- 
ment have  had  in  view — the  independent 
existence  and  action  of  the  government  of 
Constantinople.  The  political  outposts  of 
Russian  power  have  been  pushed  back  to 
the  region  beyond  the  Balkans,  and  its 
opportunities  for  establishing  influence  in 
the  reduced  Bulgaria  have  been  materially 
diminished. 

"  The  Sultan's  dominions  have  been  pro- 
vided with  a  defensible  frontier,  far  removed 
from  his  capital.  The  interposition  of  the 
Austrian  power  between  the  two  inde- 
pendent Slav  States,  while  it  withdraws  from 
him  no  territory  of  strategical  or  financial 
value,  offers  him  a  security  against  renewed 
aggression  on  their  part  which  no  other 
possible  arrangement  could  havo  furnished. 
Rich  and  extensive  provinces  have  been  re- 
stored to  his  rule ;  at  the  same  time  that 
careful  provision  against  future  misgovern- 
ment  has  been  made,  which  will,  it  may  be 
hoped,  assure  their  loyalty,  and  prevent  a 
recurrence  of  the  calamities  which  have 
brought  the  Ottoman  power  to  the  verge  of 
ruin. 

'*  Arrangements  of  a  different  kind, 
but  having  the  same  end  in  view,  have 
provided  for  the  Asiatic  dominions  of 
the  Sultan  security  for  the  present,  and 
the  hope  of  prosperity  and  stability  in  the 
future. 

^'Whether  use  will  be  made  of  this — pro- 
bably the  last^opportunity  which  has  been 
thus  obtained  for  Turkey  by  the  interposi- 
tion of  the  Powers  of  Europe,  and  of 
England  in  particular,  or  whether  it  is  to 
be  thrown  away,  will  depend  upon  the  sin- 
cerity with  which  Turkish  statesmen  now 
address  themselves  to  the  duties  of  good 
government  and  the  task  of  reform. 

I  haye,  &c., 

"  Salisbury." 

To  facilitate  future  reference  we  give  the 


(( 


tinople.     It  cannot  be  otherwise   than   a 

matter   of    extreme    solicitude    that    that   official  English  text  of  the  treaty. 

government  should  be  so  closely  pressed  by  ' 

the  political  outposts  of  a  greatly  superior 

Power,  that  its  independent  action  or  even 

existence  is  almost  impossible.' 

"  To  these  three  cardinal  objections  the 
congress  of  Berlin  has  supplied  an  entire 
remedy.  The  Greek  populations  no  longer 
fall  within  the  boundaries  of  the  autono- 
mous Slav  principality;  and  all  Russian 
influence  has  been  removed  to  a  distance 

from  the   shores    of    the    iEgean    Sea.      The    tions  raised  in  the  East  by  the  events  of  the  last  years 

*  385 


(Translation.) 

**In  the  name  of  the  Omnipotent  God. 

**  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kino^dom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Empress  of  India,  His 
Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  King  of  Prussia,  His 
Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  King  of  Bohemia,  &c.. 
Apostolic  King  of  Hungary,  the  President  of  the  French 
Republic,  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy,  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  and  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  the  Ottomans,  desiring  to  regulate  with  a 
view  to  European  order,  conformably  to  the  stipulations 
of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  of  30th  of  March,  1856,  the  ques- 


.'■'I 


r  I 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


f 


and  by  the  war  terminated  by  the  preliminary  Treaty  of 
San  Stefano,  have  been  unanimously  of  opinion  that  the 
meeting  of  a  Congress  would  offer  the  best  means  of 
facilitating  an  understanding. 

"  Their  said  Majesties  and  the  President  of  the  French 
Republic  have,  in  consequence,  appointed  as  their 
Flenipotentiaries,  to  wit : 

"Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Empress  of  India,  the  Rieht 
Honourable  Benjamin  Disraeli,  Earl  of  Beaconsfield, 
Viscount  Hughenden,  Peer  of  Parliament,  Member  of 
Her  Majesty  s  Most  Honourable  Privy  Council,  First 
Lord  of  Her  Majesty's  Treasury,  and  Prime  Minister  of 
England  ;  the  Most  Honourable  Robert  Arthur  Talbot 
Gascoyne  Cecil,  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  Earl  of  Salisbury, 
Viscount  Cranborne,  Baron  Cecil,  a  Peer  of  Parliament. 
Member  of  Her  Majesty's  Most  Honourable  Privy 
Council,  Her  Majesty's  Principal  Secretary  of  State  for 
J  oreign  Affairs  ;  and  the  Right  Honourable  Lord  Odo 
William  Leopold  Russell,  Member  of  Her  Majesty's 
Privy  Council,  Her  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and 
Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  King  of  Prussia; 

'*  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  King  of 
Prussia  Otho,  Prince  Bismarck,  His  President  of  the 
Council  of  Ministers  of  Prussia,  Chancellor  of  the 
Empire;  Bernard  Ernest  de  Bulow,  His  Minister  of 
State  and  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  ;  and 
Chlodwig  Charles  Victor,  Prince  of  Hohenlohe-Schil- 
lingsfurst,  Prince  of  Ratibor  and  Corvey,  His  Am- 
bassador Extraordinary  and  Plenipotentiary  to  the 
French  Republic,  Great  Chamberlain  of  the  Crown  of 
Bavaria ; 

"  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  King  of 
Bohemia,  &c.,  and  King  Apostolic  of  Hungary,  Tules, 
Count  Andrassy  of  Csik  of  Szent-Kiraly  and  Karasna- 
Horka  Grandee  of  Spain  of  the  First  Class,  Privy 
Councillor,  His  Minister  of  the  Imperial  Household  and 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  Lieutenant  Field-Marshal  in  His 
Armies;  Louis  Count  Karolyi  of  Nagy-Karolyi,  Cham- 
berlain and  Privy  Councillor,  His  Ambassador  Extra- 
ordinary and  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court  of  His  Ma- 
jesty the  Emperor  of  Germany,  King  of  Prussia  ;  and 
Henri,  Laron  de  Haymerle,  Privy  Councillor,  His  Am- 
,  bassador  Extraordinary  and  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court 
of  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy  ; 

TT^^^^r^TI''"^^"^  °^  ^^^  ^'■^"^^  Republic,  William 
Henry  Waddington,  Senator,  Member  of  the  Institute 
Minister  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  ;  Charles 
Raymond  de  la  Croix  de  Chevriere,  Count  de  Saint- 
Valher,  Senator,  French  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and 
Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  King  of  Prussia  ;  and  Felix  Hippolvte 
Desprez  Councillor  of  State,  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
of  the  First  Class,  charged  with  the  direction  of  Poli- 
tical Affairs  at  the  Department  for  Foreign  Affairs  • 

'•  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy,  Louis,  Count  Corti, 
Senator,  His  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  ;  and  Edward 
Count  de  Launay,  His  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and 
Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  King  of  Prussia ; 

'•  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias.  Alex- 
ander, Prince  Gortschakoff,  His  Chancellor  of  the 
Empire;  I'eter,  Count  de  Schouvaloff,  General  of 
Cavalry,  His  Aide-de-Camp  General,  Member  of  the 
Council  of  the  Empire,  and  His  Ambassador  Extra- 
ordinary and  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Court  of  Her 
Britannic  Majesty  ;  and  Paul  d'Oubril,  Privy  Councillor 
His  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and  Plenipotentiary  at 
the  Court  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Germany. 
King  of  Prussia  ;  ^ 

-And  Ilis  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  the  Ottomans, 
A  exander  Caralheodory  Pasha,  His  Minister  of  Public 
Works;  Mehemet  AH  Pasha,  Mushir  of  His  Armies; 
and  ^adouliah  Bey,  His  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and 
1  lenipotentiary  at  the  Court  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  King  of  Prussia  : 

386 


[a.d.  1878. 

aJ2I^?t  ^^^°'^'"S:  to  the  propositions  of  the  Court  of 
Austria-Hungary,  and  on  the  invitation  of  the  Court  of 
Ge  many,   met  at  Berlin   furnished   with  full  powers, 
^%hlch  were  found  m  good  and  due  form.  ^ 

An  understanding  having  been  happily  established 

ktions?!       '  '^'^  ^"''  ^^'"'"^  ^°  '^^  ^«^^°^^-i"g  ^''P"- 

and  ^HW^^  I.— Bulgaria  is  constituted  an  autonomous 
fml  1  "^^  Pnnc'pality  under  the  suzerainty  of  his 
impend  majesty  the  Sultan  ;  it  will  have  a  Christian 
government  and  a  national  militia. -2.  The  princiSv 

frontier    follows    on  the  north    the  right   bank  of  the 

Danube  from  the  former  frontier  of  Servia  up  to  a  p Jint 

to  be  determined  by  a  European  commission  to  the^elst 

;u    r»'f'  ^"^  ^^^"^^  """"s  to  the  Black  Sea  to  the 

t"^  Th  'ir  1%"';^'  '^  ^"^^"^^^^  ^"  Roumanian  teri! 
L J;  n  ^u""^  ^^u  -?'"'^'  ^^^  ^^^'^'•"  boundary  of  BuL 
garia.  On  the  south  the  frontier  follows  upwards  from 
Its  mouth  the  rnid-channel  of  the  brook  near  which  aS 

theDe     fe  ^"^"^'    "°'T  obliquely   the  valley  of 

and  nirtt  nT  M '/"''"u  r^^°^^"''^^  ^"^  Kemhalik 
and  north  of  Hadzimahale  after  having  crossed  the 
Deli-Kamcik  at  2^  kilom.  above  Cenget;  reaches  the 
Brelf  '  P?'9t«Huated  between  Tekenlik  and  A  dos' 
Bredza,  and  follows  it  by  Karnabad  Balkan,  Prisevica 
Balkan    Kazan  Balkan  to  the  north  of  Kotd  as  far  as 

Great  Balkan,  the  whole  length  of  which  it  follows  up 

L  pT""'/^  ^^;^"^-  ^^''^  ''  J^av^s  the  crest  of 
the  Balkan,  descends  southwards  between  the  villages 
ofPirtopandDuzanci,  the  one  being  left  to  Bulgaria 
and  the  other  to  Eastern  Roumelil  as  far  as  the 
brook  of  Tuzlu  Dere,   follows  that  stream  to  its  junc^ 

meets  the  Smovskio  Dere  near  the  village  of  Petricevo 
leavmg  to  Eastern  Roumelia  a  zone  with  aTaZs 
of  2  kilom.  above  that  junction,  ascends  between 
the  brooKs  of  Smovskio  Dere  and  the  Kamenica 
following  the  line  of  the  watershed  so  as  to  t;^n 
to  the  south-west  at  the  level  of  Voinjak  and  reach 
directly  the   point    875   of   the    Austrian   s'aff    r^ap 

Jf  fh  T      Y  ^r"i\'"''  ^^^"-'^'  ^"e'^^  t'^e  upper  basm 
of  the  brook  of  Icht.man  Dere,  parses  between  Bogdina 
and  Karaula,  so  as  to  rejoin  the  line  of  the  watershed 
separating  the  basins  of  the  Isker  and  the  Marica    be- 
tween  Camurli  and  Hadzilar,   follows  that  line  by  the 
summits   of  Velina  Mogila,   the     'col'    53,,  Zmailica 
Vrh,  Sumnatica  and  adjoins  the  admini.tra  ive  boun! 
daiy  of  the  Sandjak  of  Sofia  between  Sivri  Tas   and 
Cadir  Tepe.       From  Cadir  Tepe,  the  frontier   taking 
a  south-westerly  d  rection,   follow^  the    watershedN^? 
tween  the  basins  of  the  Mesta  Karasu  on  the  one  sS^e 
and  the  Struma  Karasu  on  the   other,  runs  along      e 
crests  of  the  mountains  of  Rhodope  called  Demir  Kap7 
Iskoftepe,   Kadimesar  Balkan,   and   Aiii  Gediik  m/tA 
Kapetnik  Balkan,  and  thus  joi'ns  the  former  ad ni in iLl- 
nve  frontier  of  the  Sandjak  of  Sofia.     From  Kapltnik 
Balkan  the  frontier  is  indicated  by  the  watershed  between 
the  va  eys  of  the  Rilska  reka  and  of  the  Bistrica  leka 
and  follows  the  ridge  called  Vodenica  Planina  descend- 
ing into  the  valley  ot  the  Struma  at  the  junctfon  of  this 

ITrXi'^  f^'  "^^'  'r'''^^  '\'  village  o^fBlrlk 
to    lurkey.       It   ascends  then   south  of  the  village  of 

Jelesnica,  and  reaches  by  the  shortest  line  the  chdn  of 
Golema  Planina  at  the  summit  of  Gitka,  and  rejoins 
of'snfi.  l"'""''''  -/^"^inistrative  frontier  of  the  Sandjak 
of  Sofia  leaving,  however,  to  Turkey  the  whole  of  the 
basin  of  the  Suha  reka.  From  Moun^Gitka  the  we  tern 
fron.er  goes  towards  Mount  Crni  Vrh  by  the  mountains 
of  Karvena  Jabuka,  following  the  former  a7m hS  ve 
limit  of  the  Sandjak  of  Sofia  in  the  upper  part  of  he 
basins  of  Egnsu  and  of  the  Lepnica,  ascends  with  it  he 
crests  of  Babina  Polana,  and  i-each^sMount  C  n i  Vrh 
trom  Mount  Crni  Vrh  the  frontier  follows  the  waterl 
shed  between  the  Struma  and  the  Morava  by  the  sum 


■^rprntr-r^rrTT'i."' 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN    EJMPIRE. 


[TREATY  OF  BERLIN. 


mits  of  the  Streser,  Vilogolo,  and  Mesid  Planina,  rejoins 
by  the  Gacina,  Cma  Trava,  Darkovska,  and  Drainica 
Plan,  then  the  Descani  Kladanec,  the  watershed  of  the 
High  Sukowa  and  of  the  Morava,  goes  straight  to  the 
Stol,  and  descends  from  it  so  as  to  cut  the  road  from 
Sofia  to  Pirot,  1,000  metres  north-west  of  the  village  of 
Segusa.  It  ascends  in  a  straight  line  the  Vidlic  Planina 
and  thence  Mount  Radocina  in  the  chain  of  the  Kodza 
Balkan,  leaving  to  Servia  the  village  of  Doikinci,  and 
to  Piulgaria  that  of  Senakos.  From  the  summit  of 
Mount  Radocina  the  frontier  follows  towards  the  west 
the  crest  of  the  Balkans  by  Ciprovec  Balkan  and  Stara 
Planina  up  to  the  former  eastern  frontier  of  the  princi- 
pality of  Servia,  near  to  the  Kula  Smiljova  Cuka,  and 
thence  that  former  frontier  as  far  as  the  Danube,  which 
it  rejoins  at  Rakovitza.  This  delimitation  shall  be  fixed 
on  the  spot  by  the  European  commission,  on  which  the 
signatory  Powers  shall  be  represented.  It  is  understood 
—a.  That  this  commission  will  take  into  consideration 
the  necessity  for  his  imperial  majesty  the  Sultan  to  be 
able  to  defend  the  Balkan  frontiers  of  Eastern  Roumelia. 
—d.  That  no  fortifications  may  be  erected  within  a  radius 
of  10  kilom.  from  Samakow. — 3.  The  Prince  of  Bulgaria 
shall  be  freely  elected  by  the  population,  and  confirmed 
by  the  Sublime  Porte,  with  the  assent  of  the  Powers. 
No  member  of  the  reigning  dynasties  of  the  great  Euro- 
pean Powers  may  be  elected  Prince  of  Bulgaria.  In 
case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  princely  dignity,  the  election 
of  the  new  prince  shall  take  place  under  the  same  con- 
ditions and  with  the  same  forms. — 4.  An  assembly  of 
notables  of  Bulgaria,  convoked  at  Tirnova,  shall,  before 
the  election  of  the  prince,  draw  up  the  organic  law  of 
the  principality.  In  the  districts  where  Bulgarians  are 
intermixed  with  Turkish,  Roumanian,  Greek,  or  other 
populations,  the  rights  and  interests  of  these  populations 
shall  be  taken  into  consideration  as  regards  the  elections 
and  the  drawing  up  of  the  organic  law. — 5.  The  follow- 
ing points  shall  form  the  basis  of  the  public  law  of  Bul- 
garia : — The  difference  of  religious  creeds  and  confes- 
sions shall  not  be  alleged  against  any  person  as  a  ground 
for  exclusion  or  incapacity  in  matters  relating  to  the 
enjoyment  of  civil  and  political  rights,  admission  to 
public  employments,  functions,  and  honours,  or  the 
exercise  of  the  various  professions  and  industries  in  any 
locality  whatsoever.  The  freedom  and  outward  exer- 
cise of  all  forms  of  worship  are  assured  to  all  persons 
belonging  to  Bulgaria,  as  well  as  to  foreigners,  and  no 
hindrance  shall  be  offered  either  to  the  hierarchical  or- 
ganisation of  the  different  communions,  or  to  their 
relations  with  their  spiritual  chiefs. — 6.  The  provisional 
administration  of  Bulgaria  shall  be  under  the  direction 
of  an  imperial  Russian  commissary  until  the  completion 
of  the  organic  law.  An  imperial  Turkish  commissary, 
as  well  as  the  consuls  delegated  ad  hoc  by  the  other 
Powers,  signatory  of  the  present  Treaty,  shall  be  called 
to  assist  him  so  as  to  control  the  working  of  this  provi- 
sional regime.  In  case  of  disagreement  amongst  the 
consular  delegates,  the  vote  of  the  majority  shall  be 
accepted,  and  in  case  of  a  divergence  between  the 
majority  and  the  imperial  Russian  commissary  or  the 
imperial  Turkish  commissary,  the  representatives  of  the 
signatory  Powers  at  Constantinople,  assembled  in  con- 
ference, shall  give  their  decision. — 7.  The  provisional 
regime  shall  not  be  prolonged  beyond  a  period  of  nine 
months  from  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  pre- 
sent Treaty.  When  the  organic  law  is  completed  the 
election  of  the  Prince  of  Bulgaria  shall  be  proceeded  with 
immediately.  As  soon  as  the  prince  shall  have  been 
installed,  the  new  organisation  shall  be  put  into  force, 
and  the  principality  shall  enter  into  the  full  enjoyment 
of  its  autonomy. — 8.  The  treaties  of  commerce  and  of 
navigation  as  well  as  all  the  conventions  and  arrange- 
ments concluded  between  foreign  Powers  and  the  Porte, 
and  now  in  force,  are  maintained  in  the  principality 
of  Bulgaria,  and  no  change  shall  be  made  in  them  with 
regard  to  any  Power  without  its  previous  consent.  No 
transit  duties  shall  be  levied  in  Bulgaria  on  goods  passing 


through  that  principality.  The  subjects  and  citizens  and 
commerce  of  all  the  Powers  shall  be  treated  in  the 
principality  on  a  footing  of  strict  equality.  The  im- 
munities and  privileges  ot  foreigners,  as  well  as  the  rights 
of  consular  jurisdiction  and  protection  as  established  by 
the  capitulations  and  usages,  shall  remain  in  full  force 
so  long  as  they  shall  not  have  been  modified  with  the 
consent  of  the  parties  concerned. — 9.  The  amount  of  the 
annual  tribute  which  the  principality  of  Bulgaria  shall 
pay  to  the  Suzerain  Court —  such  amount  being  paid  into 
whatever  bank  the  Porte  may  hereafter  designate — shall 
be  fixed  by  an  agreement  between  the  Powers  signatory 
of  the  present  Treaty  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  the 
working  of  the  new  organisation.  This  tribute  shall  be 
calculated  on  the  mean  revenue  of  the  territory  of  the 
principality.  As  Bulgaria  is  to  bear  a  portion  of  the 
public  debt  of  the  empire,  when  the  Powers  fix  the 
tribute  they  shall  take  into  consideration  what  portion 
of  that  debt  can,  on  the  basis  of  a  fair  proportion,  be 
assigned  to  the  principality. — 10.  Bulgaria  takes  the 
place  of  the  imperial  Ottoman  government  in  its  under- 
takings and  obligations  towards  the  Rustchuk-Vama 
Railway  Company,  dating  from  the  exchange  of  the 
ratifications  of  the  present  Treaty.  The  settlement  of  the 
previous  accounts  is  reserved  for  an  understanding  be- 
tween the  Sublime  Porte,  the  government  of  the  princi- 
pality, and  the  administration  of  this  company.  The 
principality  of  Bulgaria,  likewise,  so  far  as  it  is  con- 
cerned, takes  the  place  of  the  Sublime  Porte  in  the 
engagements  which  the  latter  has  contracted,  as  well 
towards  Austria-Hungarj'  as  towards  the  company,  for 
working  the  railways  of  European  Turkey  in  respect  to 
the  completion  and  connection,  as  well  as  the  working 
of  the  railways  situated  in  its  territory.  The  conventions 
necessary  for  the  settlement  of  these  questions  shall 
be  concluded  between  Austria- Hungary,  the  Porte, 
Servia,  and  the  principality  of  Bulgaria  immediately 
after  the  conclusion  of  peace. — 11.  The  Ottoman  army 
shall  no  longer  remain  in  Bulgaria;  all  the  old  for- 
tresses shall  be  razed  at  the  expense  of  the  principality 
within  one  year,  or  sooner  if  possible  ;  the  local  govern- 
ment shall  immediately  take  steps  for  their  demolition, 
and  shall  not  construct  fresh  ones.  The  Sublime  Porte 
shall  have  the  right  of  disposing  as  it  likes  of  the  war 
material  and  other  effects  belonging  to  the  Ottoman 
government  which  may  have  remained  in  the  fortresses 
of  the  Danube  already  evacuated  in  virtue  of  the 
armistice  of  the  31st  January,  as  well  as  of  those  in  the 
strongholds  of  Scimmla  and  Varna. — 12.  Mussulman 
proprietors  or  others  who  may  take  up  their  abode  out- 
side the  principality,  may  continue  to  hold  there  their 
real  property,  by  farming  it  out,  or  having  it  adminis- 
tered by  third  parties.  A  Turco-Bulgarian  commission 
shall  be  appointed  to  settle,  within  a  period  of  two  years, 
all  questions  relative  to  the  mode  of  alienation,  working, 
or  use  on  the  account  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  of  property 
belonging  to  the  State  and  religious  foundations 
(Vakoufs),  as  well  as  of  the  questions  regarding  the 
interests  of  private  persons  engaged  therein.  Persons 
belonging  to  the  principality  of  Bulgaria,  who  shall 
travel  or  dwell  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Ottoman 
empire,  shall  be  subject  to  the  Ottoman  authorities 
and  laws. — 13.  A  province  is  formed  south  of  the 
Balkans  which  will  take  the  name  of  •Eastern  Rou- 
melia,' and  will  remain  under  the  direct  political  and 
military  authority  of  his  iaiperial  majesty  the  Sultan, 
under  conditions  of  administrative  autonomy.  It  shall 
have  a  Christian  governor-general. — 14.  Eastern  Rou- 
melia is  bounded  on  the  north  and  north-west  by 
Bulgaria,  and  comprises  the  territories  included  by  the 
following  line  :— Starting  from  the  Black  Sea  the  frontier 
follows  upwards  from  its  mouth  the  mid-channel  of 
the  brook  near  which  are  situated  the  villages  of 
Hodzakioj,  Selam-Kibj,  Aivadsik,  Kulibe,  Sudzuluk, 
crosses  obliquely  the  valley  of  the  Deli  Kamcik,  passes 
south  of  Belibe  and  Kemhalik,  and  north  of  Hadzimahale, 
after  having  crossed  the  Deli-Kamcik  at  2^  kilom.  above 

387 


\ 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


Cengei ;  reaches  the  crest  at  a  point  situated  between 
Tekenlik  and  Aidos-Bredza,  and  follows  it  by  Karnabad 
Balkan,  Prisevica  Balkan,  Kazan  Balkan  to  the  north  of 
Kotel  as  far  as  Demir  Kapu.  It  proceeds  by  the  prin- 
cipal chain  of  the  Great  Balkan,  the  whole  length  of 
which  it  follows  up  to  the  summit  of  Kosica.  At  this 
point  the  western  frontier  of  Roumelia  leaves  the  crest 
of  the  Balkan,  descends  southwards  between  the  villages 
of  Pirtop  and  Diizanci — the  one  being  left  to  Bulgaria 
and  the  other  to  Eastern  Roumelia,  as  far  as  the  brook 
of  Tuzlu  Dere,  follows  that  stream  to  its  junction  with 
the  Topolnica,  then  the  latter  river  until  it  meets  the 
Smovskio  Dere  near  the  village  of  Petricevo,  leaving 
to  Eastern  Roumelia  a  zone  with  a  radius  of  2  kilom. 
above  that  junction,  ascends  between  the  brooks  of 
Smovskio  Dere  and  the  Kamenica,  following  the  line 
of  the  watershed  so  as  to  turn  to  the  south-west  at  the 
level  of  Voinjak  and  reach  directly  the  point  875  of  the 
Austrian  Staff  map.  The  frontier  line  cuts  at  right 
angles  the  upper  basin  of  the  brook  of  Ichtiman  Dere, 
passes  between  Bogdina  and  Karaula,  so  as  to  rejoin  the 
line  of  the  watershed  separating  the  basins  of  the 
Isker  and  the  Marica,  between  Camurli  and  Iladzilar, 
follows  that  line  by  the  summits  of  Velina  Mogila,  the 
*col'  531,  Zmailica  Vrh,  Sumnatica,  and  rejoins  the 
administrative  boundary  of  the  Sandjak  of  Sofia  between 
Sivri  Tas  and  Cadir  Tepe.  The  frontier  of  Roumelia 
leaves  that  of  Bulgaria  at  Mount  Cadir  Tepe,  following 
the  line  of  the  watershed  between  the  basins  of  the 
Marica  and  of  its  affluents  on  one  side,  and  of  the  Mesta 
Karasu  and  of  its  affluents  on  the  other,  and  takes  the 
direction  south-east  and  then  south  along  the  crest  of  the 
Despoto  Dagh  Mountains,  towards  Mount  Kruschowa 
(whence  starts  the  frontier  line  of  the  Treaty  of  San 
Stefano).  P>om  Mount  Kruschowa  the  frontier  is  the 
same  as  the  line  laid  down  by  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  chain  of  the  Black  Balkans  (Kara 
Balkan),  the  mountains  Kulaghy-Dagh,  Eschek-Tsche- 
pellii,  Karakolas,  and  Ischiklar,  from  whence  it  descends 
due  south-east  till  it  reaches  the  river  Arda,  and  follows 
the  mid-channel  of  this  river  up  to  a  point  close  to  the 
village  of  Adacali,  which  remains  to  Turkey.  From 
this  point  the  frontier  line  ascends  the  crest  of  the 
Bestepe-Dagh,  which  it  follows,  then  descends  and 
crosses  the  Maritza,  at  a  point  situated  5  kilom.  above 
the  bridge  of  Mustafa  Pasha  ;  thence  it  takes  a  northerly 
direction  by  the  line  of  the  watershed  between  Demir- 
hanli  Dere  and  the  small  affluents  of  the  Maritza  to 
Kiideler  Bair,  whence  it  runs  east  to  Sakar  Bair ;  from 
this  point  it  crosses  the  valley  of  the  Tundza  in  the 
direction  of  Biijiik  Derhend,  which  is  left  to  the  north, 
as  also  is  Soudzak.  From  Biijiik  Derbend  it  regains 
the  line  of  the  watershed  between  the  affluents  of  the 
Tundza  on  the  north  and  those  of  the  Maritza  on  the 
south,  up  to  the  level  of  Kaibilar,  which  is  included 
in  Eastern  Roumelia,  and  passes  to  the  south  of  V. 
Almali  between  the  basin  of  the  Maritza  to  the  south  and 
the  various  streams  which  flow  straight  into  the  Black 
Sea,  between  the  villages  of  Belevrin  and  Alatli ;  it 
follows  to  the  north  of  Karanlik  the  crests  of  Vosna 
and  Zuvak,  th^  line  which  separates  the  waters  of  the 
Duka  and  those  of  the  Karagac-Su,  and  rejoins  the  Black 
Sea  between  those  two  rivers. — 15.  His  majesty  the 
Sultan  shall  have  the  right  of  providing  for  the  defence 
of  the  land  and  sea  frontiers  of  the  province  by  erecting 
fortifications  on  those  frontiers,  and  maintaining  troops 
there.  Internal  order  is  maintained  in  Eastern  Roumelia 
by  a  native  gendarmerie  assisted  by  a  local  militia.  In 
forming  these  corps,  the  ofificers  of  which  are  nominated 
by  the  Sultan,  regard  shall  be  paid  in  the  different  locali- 
ties to  the  religion  of  the  inhabitants.  His  imperial 
majesty  the  Sultan  undertakes  not  to  employ  irregular 
troops,  such  as  Bashi-Bazouks  and  Circassians,  in  the 
garrisons  of  the  frontiers.  The  regular  troops  detailed 
lor  this  service  must  not  in  any  case  be  billeted  on  the 
inhabitants.  When  they  pass  through  the  province  they 
shall  not  make  a  stay  there. — 16.  The  governor-general 

388 


shall  have  the  right  of  summoning  the  Ottoman  troops 
in  the  event  of  the  internal  or  external  security  of  the 
province  being  threatened.  In  such  an  eventuality  the 
Sublime  Porte  shall  inform  the  representatives  ot  the 
Powers  at  Constantinople  of  such  a  decision,  as  well  as 
of  the  exigencies  which  justify  it. —17.  The  governor- 
general  of  Eastern  Roumelia  shall  be  nominated  by 
the  Sublime  Porte,  with  the  assent  of  the  Powers,  for  a 
term  of  five  years. — 18.  Immediately  after  the  exchange 
of  the  ratifications  of  the  present  Treaty,  a  European 
commission  shall  be  formed  to  arrange,  in  concert  with 
the  Ottoman  Porte,  the  organisation  of  Eastern  Rou- 
melia. This  commission  will  have  to  determine,  within 
three  months,  the  powers  and  functions  of  the  governor- 
general,  as  well  as  the  administrative,  judicial,  and 
financial  system  of  the  province,  taking  as  its  basis  the 
various  laws  for  the  vilayets  and  the  proposals  made 
in  the  eighth  sitting  of  the  Conference  of  Constantinople. 
The  whole  of  the  arrangements  determined  on  for 
Eastern  Roumelia  shall  form  the  subject  of  an  imperial 
firman,  which  will  be  issued  by  the  Sublime  Porte,  and 
which  it  will  communicate  to  the  Powers. — 19.  The 
European  commission  shall  be  charged  to  administer, 
in  concert  with  the  Sublime  Porte,  the  finances  of  the 
province  until  the  completion  of  the  new  organisation. — 
20.  The  treaties,  conventions,  and  international  arrange- 
ments of  any  kind  whatsoever,  concluded  or  to  be  con- 
cluded between  the  Porte  and  foreign  Powers,  shall  apply 
in  Eastern  Roumelia  as  in  the  whole  Ottoman  empire. 
The  immunities  and  privileges  acquired  by  foreigners, 
whatever  their  status,  shall  be  respected  in  this  province. 
The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes  to  enforce  there  the 
general  laws  of  the  empire  on  religious  liberty  in  favour 
of  all  forms  of  worship. — 21.  The  rights  and  obligations 
of  the  Sublime  Porte  with  regard  to  the  railways  of 
Eastern  Roumelia  are  maintained  in  their  integrity. — 
22.  The  strength  of  the  Russian  corps  of  occupation  in 
Bulgaria  and  Eastern  Roumelia,  which  shall  be  com- 
posed of  six  divisions  of  infantry  and  two  divisions  of 
cavalry,  shall  not  exceed  50,000  men.  It  shall  be  main- 
tained at  the  expense  of  the  country  occupied.  The  army 
of  occupation  will  preserve  its  communications  with 
Russia  not  only  through  Roumania,  in  accordance  with 
arrangements  to  be  concluded  between  the  two  States, 
but  also  through  the  ports  of  the  Black  Sea,  Varna,  and 
Bourgas,  where  it  may,  during  the  period  of  occupation, 
organise  the  necessar}'  depots.  The  period  of  the  occupa- 
tion of  Eastern  Roumelia  and  Bulgaria  by  the  imperial 
Russian  troops,  is  fixed  at  nine  months  from  the  date 
of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present  Treaty. 
The  imperial  Russian  government  undertakes  that 
within  a  further  period  of  three  months  the  passage  of 
its  troops  across  Roumania  shall  cease,  and  that  princi- 
pality shall  be  completely  evacuated. — 23.  The  Sublime 
Porte  undertakes  scrupulously  to  apply  in  the  Island  of 
Crete  the  organic  law  of  1868,  with  such  modifications 
as  may  be  considered  equitable.  Similar  laws  adapted 
to  local  requirements,  excepting  as  regards  the  exemp- 
tion from  taxation  granted  to  Crete,  shall  also  be  in- 
troduced into  the  other  parts  of  Turkey  in  Europe 
for  which  no  special  organisation  has  been  provided 
by  the  present  Treaty.  The  Sublime  Porte  shall  depute 
special  commissions,  in  which  the  native  element  shall 
be  largely  represented,  to  settle  the  details  of  the  new 
laws  in  each  province.  The  schemes  of  organisa- 
tion resulting  from  these  labours  shall  be  submitted 
for  examination  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  which,  before 
promulgating  the  Acts  for  putting  them  into  force, 
shall  consult  the  European  commission  instituted  for 
Eastern  Roumelia. — 24.  In  the  event  of  the  Sublime 
Porte  and  Greece  being  unable  to  agree  upon  the  rectifi- 
cation of  frontier  suggested  in  the  13th  Protocol  of  the 
Congress  of  Berlin,  Germany,  Austria- Hungary,  France, 
Great  Britain,  Italy,  and  Russia  reserve  to  themselves 
to  offer  their  mediation  to  the  two  parties  to  facilitate 
negotiations. — 25.  The  provinces  of  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina shall  be  occupied  and  administered  by  Austrisl- 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[treaty  of  BERLIN. 


Hungary.      The  government  of  Austria-Hungary,  not 
desiring  to  undertake  the  administration  of  the  Sand- 
jak  of  Novi-Bazar,  which  extends  between  Servia  and 
Montenegro  in   a  south-easterly  direction  to  the  other 
side  of  Mitrovitza,  the  Ottoman  administration  will  con- 
tinue to  exercise  its  functions  there.     Nevertheless,  in 
order  to  assure  the  maintenance  of  the  new   political 
state  of  affairs,  as  well  as  freedom  and  security  of  com- 
munications,   Austria-Hungary   reserves    the    right    of 
keeping  garrisons   and  having  military  and  commercial 
roads  in  the  whole  of  this  part  of  the  ancient  vilayet  of 
Bosnia.      To  this  end   the  governments    of    Austria- 
Hungary  and  Turkey  reserve  to  themselves  to  come  to 
an  understanding  on  the  details. — 26.  The  independence 
of  Montenegro  is  recognised  by  the  Sublime  Porte  and 
by  all  those  of  the  high  contracting  parties  who  had 
not    hitherto    admitted    it. — 27.  The   high  contracting 
parties    are  agreed   on  the  following    conditions : — In 
Montenegro  the  difference  of  religious  creeds  and  con- 
fessions shall  not  be  alleged   against   any  person  as  a 
ground  for  exclusion  or  incapacity  in  matters  relating  to 
the  enjoyment  of  civil  and  political  rights,  admission  to 
public   employments,    functions,   and   honours,  or    the 
exercise   of  the   various   professions   and  industries    in 
any  locality  whatsoever.     The    freedom   and    outward 
exercise  of  all  forms  of  worship  shall  be  assured  to  all 
persons    belonging    to    Montenegro,    as    well    as    to 
foreigners,  and  no  hindrance  shall  be  offered  either  to 
the  hierarchical  organisation  of  the  different  communions, 
or  to  their  relations  with  their  spiritual  chiefs. — 28.  The 
new   frontiers  of  Montenegro  are  fixed  as  follows: — 
Starting  at  Ilino-brdo  to  the  north  of  Klobuk,  the  line 
descends  to  the  Trebinjcica  towards  Grancarevo,  which 
remains  to   Herzegovina,  then  ascends   the    course    of 
that  river  up  to  a  point  I  kilom.  below  its  confluence  with 
the   Cepelica,    and    from   thence  passes   by  the  most 
direct    line  on  to  the  heights  which  border  the  river 
Trebinjcica.      It   then   proceeds   in    the    direction    of 
Pilatova,  leaving  that  village  to  Montenegro,  and  con- 
tinues along  the  heights  in  a  northerly  direction,  main- 
taining as  far  as  possible  a  distance  of  6  kilom.  from   the 
Bilek-Korito-Gacko  road,  up  to  the  '  col '  between  the 
Somina   Planina  and  Mount  Curilc,  whence  it  proceeds 
in  an  easterly  direction  by  Vratkovici,  leaving  this  village 
to   Herzegovina,   up  to  Mount  Orline.     Starting  from 
this  point,  the  frontier,  leaving  Ravno  to  Montenegro, 
goes  straight  to  the  north-north-east,  crossing  the  sum- 
mits of  the  Lebersnik  and  of  the  Volujak,  then  descends 
by  the  shortest  line  on  to  the  river  Piva,  which  it  crosses, 
and   rejoins  the  river  Tara,   passing  between  Crkvica 
and  Nedvina.     From  this  point  it  ascends  the  Tara  to 
Mojkovac,  from  which  place  it  passes  along  the  crest 
of  the  ridge  as  far  as  Siskojezero.     Leaving  this  point, 
it  coincides  with  the  former  frontier  as  far  as  the  village 
of  Sekulare.     From  there  the  new  frontier  passes  along 
the  crests  of  the  Mokra  Planina,  the  village  of  Mokra 
remaining  to  Montenegro ;  it  then  reaches  the  point 
2166  on  the  Austrian  Staff  map,  following  the  principal 
chain  and  the  line  of  the  watershed  between  the  Lim  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  Drin  as  well  as  the  Cievna  (Zem) 
on  the  other.     It  then  coincides  with  the  existing  boun- 
daries between  the  tribe  of  the  Kuci-Drekalovici  on  one 
side,  and  the  Kucka-Krajna,  as  well  as  the  tribes  of 
the  Klementi  and  Grudi,  on  the  other,    to  the  plain  of 
Podgorica,  from  whence  it  proceeds  towards  Plavnica, 
leaving  the  Klementi,  Grudi,  and  Hoti  tribes  to  Albania. 
Thence  the  new  frontier  crosses  the  lake  near  the  Islet  of 
Gorica-Topal,  and,  from  Gorica-Topal,  takes  a  straight 
line  to  the  top  of  the  crest,  whence  it  follows  the  water- 
shed between  Megured  and  Kalimed,  leaving  Mrkovic  to 
Montenegro,  and  reaching  the  Adriatic  at  V.  Kruci.    On 
the  north-west  the  frontier  will   be    formed  by  a  line 
passing  from  the  coast  between  the  villages  of  Susana 
and  Zubci,  and  terminating  at   the   extreme  south-east 
point  of  the  existing  frontier  of  Montenegro  on  the 
Vrsuta  Planina. — 29.  Antivari  and   its    sea-board  are 
annexed  to  Montenegro  under  the  following  conditions  : 

VOL.  III.  3  E 


— The  districts  situated  to  the  south  of  that  territory, 
in  accordance  with  the  delimitation  above  laid  down, 
as    far  as    the    Boyana,  including  Dulcinjo,   shall    be 
restored  to  Turkey.     The  commune  of  Spica,  as  far  as 
the  southernmost  point  of  the  territory  indicated  in  the 
detailed  description  of   the  frontiers,  shall  be  incorpo- 
rated with  Dalmatia.     Montenegro  shall  have  full  and 
complete  freedom  of  navigation  on  the  Boyana.     No 
fortifications  shall  be  constructed  on  the  course  of  that 
river  except  such  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  local  defence 
of  the  stronghold  of  Scutari,  and  they  shall  not  extend 
beyond  a  distance  of  6  kilom.  from  that  town.     Mon- 
tenegro shall  have  neither  ships  of  war  nor  flag  of  war. 
The  port  of  Antivari  and  all  the  waters  of  Montenegro 
shall  remain  closed  to  the  ships  of  war  of  all  nations. 
The  fortifications  situated  on  Montenegrin  territory  be- 
tween the  lake  and  the  coast  shall  be  razed,  and  none 
shall  be  rebuilt  within  this  zone.      The  administration 
of  the  maritime  and  sanitary  police,  both  at  Antivari 
and  along  the  coast   of  Montenegro,  shall  be  carried 
out  by  Austria-Hungary  by  means  of  light  coast-guard 
boats.     Montenegro  shall  adopt  the  maritime  code  in 
force  in  Dalmatia.     On  her  side  Austria- Hungary  under- 
takes to  grant  consular  protection  to  the  Montenegrin 
merchant  flag.     Montenegro  shall  come  to  an  understand- 
ing with  Austria-Hungary  on  the  right  to  construct  and 
keep  up  across  the  new  Montenegrin  territory  a  road 
and  a   railway.     Absolute  freedom  of  communication 
shall  be  guaranteed  on  these  roads. — 30.  Mussulmans  or 
others  possessing  property  in  the  territories  annexed  to 
Montenegro,  who  may  wish  to  take  up  their  residence 
outside  the  principality,  can  retain  their  real  property 
either  by  fanning  it  out,  or  by  having  it  administered 
by  third  parties.     No  one  shall  be  liable  to  be  expro- 
priated otherwise  than  by  legal  process  for  the  public 
welfare,    and   with  a  previous    indemnity.      A  Turco- 
Montenegrin  commission  shall  be  appointed  to  settle, 
within  a  period  of  three  years,  all  questions  relative  to 
the  mode  of  alienation,  working,  or  use,  on  the  account 
of  the  Sublime  Porte,  of  property  belonging  to  the  State 
and  religious  foundations  (Vakoufs),  as  well  as  0/  the 
questions  regarding  the  interests  of  private  parties  engaged 
therein. — 31.  The  principality  of  Montenegro  shall  come 
to  a  direct  understanding  with  the  Ottoman  Porte  with 
regard  to   the  establishment  of  Montenegrin  agents  at 
Constantinople,  and  at  certain  places  in  the  Ottoman 
empire  where  the  necessity  for  them  shall  be  admitted. 
Montenegrins  travelling  or  residing  in    the    Ottoman 
empire  shall  be  subject  to  the  Ottoman  laws  and  authori- 
ties, according  to  the  general  principles  of  international 
law,  and  the  customs  established  with  regard  to  Mon- 
tenegrins.— 32.  The  Montenegrin  troops  shall  be  bound 
to  evacuate  within   twenty  days  from  the   date  of  the 
ratification  of  the  present  Treaty,  or  sooner  if  possible, 
the  territory  that  they  occupy  at  present  beyond  the  new 
limits  of  the  principality.     The  Ottoman  troops  shall 
evacuate  the  territories  ceded  to  Montenegro  within  the 
same  period  of  twenty  days.     A  supplementary  period 
of  fifteen  days  shall,  however,  be  granted  to  them,  as 
well    for  evacuating  the  fortresses  and  withdrawing  the 
stores  and  material  of  war  from  them,  as  for  drawing 
up  inventories  of  the  implements  and  articles  which  can- 
not be  immediately  removed. — 33.  As  Montenegro  is  to^ 
bear  a  portion  of  the  Ottoman  public  debt  for  the  new  ' 
territories  assigned  to  her  by  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  Powers    at    Constantinople  shall 
determine  the  amount  of  the  same  in  concert  with   the 
Sublime   Porte  on  an  equitable  basis. — 34.  The  high 
contracting  parties  recognise  the  independence  of  the 
principality  of  Servia,  subject  to  the  conditions  set  forth 
in  the  following  Article. — 35.  In  Servia  the  difference  of 
religious  creeds  and  confessions  shall  not  be  alleged 
against  any  person  as  a  ground  for   exchsion  or  in- 
capacity in  matters  relating  to  the  enjoyment  of  civil  and 
political  rights,  admission  to  public  employments,  func- 
tions, and  honours,  or  the  exercise  of  the  various  pro- 
fessions and  industries,  in  any  locality  whatsoever.     The 

389 


1 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN.] 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


[A.D.  1878. 


freedom  and  outward  exercise  of  all  forms  of  worship 
shall  be  assured  to  all  persons  belonginij  to  Servia,  as  well 
as  to  foreigners,  and  no  hindrance  shall  be  offered  either 
to  the  hierarchical  organisation  of  the  different  com- 
munions, or  to  their  relations  with  their  spiritual  chiefs. 
—  36.  Servia  receives  the  territories  included  in  the  fol- 
lowing delimitation  : — The  new  frontier  follows  the 
existing  line  ascending  the  mid-channel  of  the  Drina 
from  its  confluence  with  the  Save,  leaving  Mali  Zwornik 
and  Sakhar  to  the  principality,  and  continues  to  follow 
the  former  boundary  of  Servia  as  far  as  the  Kopaonik, 
leaving  it  at  the  summit  of  the  Kanilug.  From  that 
point  it  follows  at  first  the  western  boundary  of  the 
Sandjak  of  Nisch  by  the  southern  spur  of  the  Kopaonik, 
by  the  crests  of  the  Marica  and  Mrdar  Planina,  which 
form  the  watershed  between  the  basins  of  the  Ibar  and 
Sitnica  on  one  side,  and  that  of  the  Toplicaon  the  other, 
leaving  Prepolac  to  Turkey.  It  then  turns  to  the  south 
by  the  watershed  between  the  Brvenica  and  the  Med- 
vedja,  leaving  the  whole  of  the  basin  of  the  Medvedja 
to  Servia  ;  follows  the  crests  of  the  Goljak  Planina  (which 
forms  the  watershed  between  the  Kriva-Rjeka  on  one 
side,  and  the  Poljanica,  Veternica,  and  Morawa  on  the 
other),  as  far  as  the  summit  of  the  Poljanica.  It  then 
follows  the  spur  of  the  Karpina  Planina  as  far  as  the 
confluence  of  the  Koinska  and  the  Morawa,  crosses 
this  river,  and  ascends  by  the  watershed  between  the 
Koinska  brook  and  the  stream  which  falls  into  the 
Morawa  near  Neradovce,  to  reach  the  Sv.  Ilija  Planina 
above  Trgoviste.  Thence  it  follows  the  crest  of  the  Sv. 
Ilija  as  tar  as  Mount  Kljuc,  and  passing  by  the  points 
marked  1 5 16  and  1547  on  the  map,  and  by  the  Babina 
Gora,  it  reaches  Mount  Crni-Vrh.  From  Mount  Crni- 
Vrh,  the  new  delimitation  coincides  with  that  of  Bul- 
garia, that  is  to  say  : — The  line  of  frontier  follows  the 
watershed  between  the  Struma  and  the  Morava  by  the 
summits  of  Streser,  Vilogolo,  and  Mesid  Planina, 
rejoins  by  the  Gacina,  Crna  Trava,  Darkovska,  and 
Drainica  Plan,  then  the  Descani  Kladanec,  the  water- 
shed of  the  High  Sukowa  and  of  the  Morava,  goes 
straight  to  the  Stol,  and  descends  from  it  so  as  to 
cut  the  road  from  Sofia  to  Pirot,  1,000  metres  north- 
west of  the  village  of  Segusa.  It  ascends  in  a  straight 
line  the  Vidlic  Planina,  and  thence  Mount  Radocina 
in  the.  chain  of  the  Kodza  Balkan,  leaving  to  Servia 
the  village  of  Doikinci,  and  to  Bulgaria  that  of  Senakos. 
From  the  summit  of  Mount  Radocina  the  frontier  fol- 
lows towards  the  north-west,  the  crest  of  the  Balkans  by 
Ciprovec  Balkan  and  Stara  Planina  up  to  the  former 
eastern  frontier  of  the  principality  of  Servia,  near  to  the 
Kula  Smiljova  cuka,  and  thence  that  former  frontier 
as  far  as  the  Danube,  which  it  joins  at  Rakovitza. — 37. 
Until  the  conclusion  of  fresh  arrangements  no  change 
shall  be  made  in  Servia  in  the  actual  conditions  of  the 
commercial  intercourse  of  the  principality  with  foreign 
countries.  No  transit  duties  shall  be  levied  on  goods 
passing  through  Servia.  The  immunities  and  privileges 
of  foreign  subjects,  as  well  as  the  rights  of  consular  juris- 
diction and  protection,  as  at  present  existing,  shall  remain 
in  full  force  so  long  as  they  shall  not  have  been  modi- 
fied by  mutual  consent  between  the  principality  and  the 
Powers  concerned.— 38.  The  principality  of  Servia  takes 
the  place,  so  far  as  it  is  concerned,  of  the  Sublime  Porte 
in  the  engagements  which  the  latter  has  contracted  as 
well  towards  Austria- Hungary  as  towards  the  company 
for  the  working  of  the  railways  of  Turkey  in  Europe,  in 
respect  to  the  completion  and  connection,  as  well  as  the 
working  of  the  railways  to  be  constructed  on  the  terri- 
tory newly  acquired  by  the  principality.  The  conven- 
tions necessary  for  ettling  these  questions  shall  be  con- 
cluded, immediately  after  the  signature  of  the  present 
Treaty,  between  Austria-Hungary,  the  Porte,  Servia, 
and,  within  the  limits  of  its  competency,  the  principality 
of  Bulgaria. — 39.  Mussulmans  possessing  property  in 
the  territories  annexed  to  Servia,  who  may  wish  to 
reside  outside  the  principality,  may  retain  their  real 
property,  either  by  farming  it  out  or  by  having  it  admin-  I 

390  * 


istered  by  third  parties.  A  Turco-Servian  commission 
shall  be  appointed  to  settle,  within  a  period  of  three 
years,  all  questions  relative  to  the  mode  of  alienation, 
working,  or  use,  on  the  account  of  the  Sublime  Porte, 
of  the  property  belonging  to  the  State  and  religious 
foundations  (Vakoufs),  as  well  as  of  the  questions 
regarding  the  interests  of  private  persons  engaged  therein. 
— 40.  Until  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  between  Turkey 
and  Servia,  Servian  subjects  travelling  or  residing  in 
the  Ottoman  empire  shall  be  treated  according  to  the 
i^eneral  principles  of  international  law.— 41,  The  Ser- 
vian troops  shall  be  bound  to  evacuate  within  fifteen  days 
from  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present 
Treaty  the  territory  not  comprised  within  the  new  limits 
of  the  principality.  The  Ottoman  troops  shall  evacuate 
the  territories  ceded  to  Servia  within  the  same  term 
of  fifteen  days.  A  supplementary  term  of  an  equal 
number  of  days  shall,  however,  be  granted  to  them 
as  well  for  evacuating  the  fortresses  and  withdrawing 
the  provisions  and  material  of  war  as  for  drawing  up 
the  inventory  of  the  implements  and  objects  which 
cannot  be  removed  at  once.— 42.  As  Servia  is  to  bear  a 
portion  of  the  Ottoman  public  debt  for  the  new  terri- 
tories assigned  to  her  by  the  present  Treaty,  the  repre- 
sentatives at  Constantinople  shall  fix  the  amount  of  it 
in  concert  with  the  Sublime  Porte  on  an  equitable  basis. 
—43.  The  high  contracting  parties  recognise  the  in- 
dependence of  Roumania,  subject  to  the  conditions  set 
forth  in  the  two  following  articles.— 44.  In  Roumania 
the  difference  of  religious  creeds  and  confessions  shall 
not  be  alleged  against  any  person  as  a  ground  for 
exclusion  or  incapacity  in  matters  relating  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  civil  and  political  rights,  admission  to  public 
employments,  functions,  and  honours,  or  the  exercise 
of  the  various  professions  and  industries  in  any  locality 
whatsoever.  The  freedom  and  outward  exercise  of  all 
forms  of  worship  shall  be  assureil  to  all  persons  belonging 
to  the  Roumanian  State,  as  well  as  to  foreigners,  and  no 
hindrance  shall  be  offered  either  to  the  hierarchical 
organisation  of  the  different  communions,  or  to  their 
relations  with  their  spiritual  chiefs.  The  subjects  and 
citizens  of  all  the  Powers,  traders  or  others,  shall  be 
treated  in  Roumania,  without  distinction  of  cieed,  on  a 
footing  of  perfect  equality.— 45.  The  principality  of 
Roumania  restores  to  his  mnjesty  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
that  portion  of  the  Bessarabian  territor}'  detached  from 
Russia  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  of  1856,  bounded  on  the 
west  by  the  mid-channel  of  the  Pruth,  and  on  the 
south  by  the  mid-channel  of  the  Kilia  Branch  and  the 
Stary-Stamboul  mouth.— 46.  The  islands  forming  the 
Delta  of  the  Danube,  as  well  as  the  Isle  of  Serpents,  the 
Sandjak  of  Toultcha,  comprising  the  districts  (cazas)  of 
Kilia,  Soulina  Mahmoudie,  Isaktcha,  Toultcha,  Matchin, 
Babadagh,  Hirsovo,  Kustendje,  Medjidie,  are  added  to 
Roumania.  The  principality  receives  in  addition  the 
territory  situated  to  the  south  of  the  Dobroutcha  as  far 
as  a  line  starting  from  the  east  of  Silistria  and  termina- 
ting on  the  Black  Sea,  south  of  Mangalia.  The  frontier 
line  shall  be  determined  on   the  spot  by  the  European 

commission  appointed  for  the  delimitation  of  Bulgaria. 

47.  The  question  of  the  division  of  the  waters  and 
the  fisheries  shall  be  submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  the 
European  commission  of  the  Danube.— 48.  No  transit 
duties  shall  be  levied  in  Roumania  on  goods  passing 
through  the  principality.— 49.  Roumania  shall  have 
power  to  make  conventions  to  determine  the  privileges 
and  attributes  of  consuls  in  regard  to  protection  within 
the  principality.  Existing  rights  shall  remain  in  force 
so  long  as  they  shall  not  have  been  modified  by  the  mutual 

consent  of  the  principality  and  the  parties  concerned. 

50.  Until  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  between  Turkey  and 
Roumania,  fixing  the  privileges  and  attributes  of 
consuls,  Roumanian  subjects  travelling  or  residing  in  the 
Ottoman  empir.-  and  Ottoman  subjects  travelling  or 
residing  in  Roumania,  shall  enjoy  the  rights  guaranteed 
to  the  subjects  of  other  European  Powers. — 51.  With 
iCgard  to  public  works  and  other  enterprises  of  a  like 


A.D.  1878.] 


RUSSIAN   EMPIRE. 


[treaty  of  BERLIN. 


nature,  Roumania  shall  be  substituted  for  the  Sublime 
Porte  as  regards  its  rights  and  obligations  throughout  the 
ceded  territory. — 52.  In  order  to  increase  the  guarantees 
which  assure  the  freedom  of  navigation  on  the  Danube 
which  is  recognised  as  of  European  interest,  the  high 
contracting  parties  determine  that  all  the  fortresses  and 
fortifications  existing  on  the  course  of  the  river  from  the 
Iron  Gates  to  its  mouths  shall  be  razed,  and  no  new 
ones  erected.  No  vessel  of  war  shall  navigate  the 
Danube  below  the  Iron  Gates  with  the  exception  of 
vessels  of  light  tonnage  in  the  service  of  the  river  police 
and  Customs,  The  *  stationnaires '  of  the  Powers  at 
the  mouths  of  the  Danube  may,  however,  ascend  the 
river  as  far  as  Galatz. — 53.  The  European  commission 
of  the  Danube  on  which  Roumania  shall  be  represented 
is  maintained  in  its  functions,  and  shall  exercise  them 
henceforth  as  far  as  Galatz  in  complete  independence  of 
the  territorial  authorities.  All  the  treaties,  arrangements, 
acts,  and  decisions  relating  to  its  rights,  privileges,  pre- 
rogatives, and  obligations  are  confirmed. — 54.  One  year 
before  the  expiration  of  the  term  assigned  for  the  dura- 
tion of  the  European  commission  the  Powers  shall  come 
to  an  understanding  as  to  the  prolongation  of  its  powers, 
or  the  modifications  which  they  may  consider  necessary 
to  introduce. — 55.  The  regulations  respecting  naviga- 
tion, river  police,  and  supervision  from  the  Iron  Gates 
to  Galatz  shall  be  drawn  up  by  the  European  commis- 
sion, assisted  by  delegates  of  the  Riverain  States,  and 
placed  in  harmony  with  those  which  have  been  or  may 
be  issued  for  the  portion  of  the  river  below  Galatz. — 
56.  The  European  commission  of  the  Danube  shall 
come  to  an  arrangement  with  the  proper  authorities  to 
ensure  the  maintenance  of  the  lighthouse  on  the  Isle  of 
Serpents. — 57.  The  execution  of  the  works  which  have 
for  their  object  the  removal  of  the  obstacles  which  the 
Iron  Gates  and  the  Cataracts  place  in  the  way  of  navi- 
gation is  entrusted  to  Austria-Hungary.  The  Riverain 
States  on  this  part  of  the  river  shall  afford  every  facility 
which  may  be  required  in  the  interest  of  the  works. 
The  provisions  of  the  0th  Article  of  the  Treaty  of 
London  of  the  13th  March,  1 871,  relating  to  the  right 
of  levying  a  provisional  tax  in  order  to  cover  the  cost 
of  these  works,  are  maintained  in  favour  of  Austria- 
Hungary.— 58.  The  Sublime  Porte  cedes  to  the  Russian 
empire  in  Asia  the  territories  of  Ardahan,  Kars,  and 
Batoum,  together  with  the  latter  port,  as  well  as  all  the 
territories  comprised  between  the  former  Russo-Turkish 
frontier  and  the  following  line  : — The  new  frontier 
starting  from  the  Black  Sea,  and  coinciding  with  the 
line  laid  down  by  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  as  far  as  a 
point  to  the  north-west  of  Khorda,  and  to  the  south  of 
Artwin,  continues  in  a  straight  line  as  far  as  the  River 
Tchoroukh,  crosses  this  river  and  passes  to  the  east  of 
Aschmichen,  going  in  a  straight  line  to  the  south  so  as  to 
rejoin  the  Russian  frontier  indicated  in  the  Treaty  of  San 
Stefano,  at  a  point  to  the  south  of  Nariman,  leaving  the 
town  of  Olti  to  Russia.  From  the  point  indicated  near 
Nariman  the  frontier  turns  to  the  east,  passes  by 
Tebrenec,  which  remains  to  Russia,  and  continues  as  far 
as  the  Pennek  TschaJu  It  follows  this  river  as  far  as 
Bardouz,  then  turns  towards  the  south,  leaving  Bardouz 
and  Jonikioy  to  Russia.  From  a  point  to  the  west  of  the 
village  of  Karaougan,  the  frontier  takes  the  direction 
of  Medjin^ert,  continues  in  a  straight  line  towards  the 


summit  of  the  mountain  K:  ssadagh,  and  follows  the  line 
of  the  watershed  between  the  affluents  of  the  Araxes  on 
the  north  and  those  of  the  IHIourad  Sou  on  the  south,  as 
far  as  the  former  frontier  of  Russia. — 59.  His  majesty 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  declares  that  it  is  his  intention  10 
constitute  Batoum  a  free  port,  essentially  commercial. — 
60.  The  valley  of  Alaschkerd  (arranged  in  detail  by 
commission,  subsequently)  and  the  town  of  Bayazid, 
ceded  to  Russia  by  Article  19  of  the  Treaty  of  San 
Stefano,  are  restored  to  Turkey.  The  Sublime  Porte 
cedes  to  Persia  the  town  and  territory  of  Khotour,  as 
fixed  by  the  mixed  Anglo- Russian  commission  for  the 
delimitation  of  the  frontiers  of  Turkey  and  of  Persia. — 61. 
The  Sublime  Porte  undertakes  to  carry  out,  without 
further  delay,  the  improvements  and  reforms  demanded 
by  local  requirements  in  the  provinces  inhabited  by  the 
Armenians,  and  to  guarantee  their  security  against  the 
Circassians  and  Kurds.  It  will  periodically  make  known 
the  steps  taken  to  this  effect  to  the  Powers,  who  will 
superintend  their  application. — 62.  The  Sublime  Porte 
having  expressed  the  intention  to  maintain  the  principle 
of  religious  liberty,  and  give  it  the  widest  scope,  the 
contracting  parties  take  note  of  this  spontaneous  declara- 
tion. In  no  part  of  the  Ottoman  empire  shall  difference 
of  religion  be  alleged  against  any  person  as  a  ground  for 
exclusion  or  incapacity  as  regards  the  discharge  of  civil 
and  political  rights,  admission  to  the  public  employments, 
functions  and  honours,  or  the  exercise  of  the  various 
professions  and  industries.  All  persons  shall  be 
admitted,  without  distinction  of  religion,  to  give  evidence 
before  the  tribunals.  The  freedom  and  outward  exercise 
of  all  forms  of  worship  are  assured  to  all,  and  no  hindrance 
shall  be  offered  either  to  the  hierarchical  organisation  of 
the  various  communions  or  to  their  relations  with  their 
spiritual  chiefs.  Ecclesiastics,  pilgrims,  and  monks  of 
all  nationalities  travelling  in  Turkey  in  Europe,  or  in 
Turkey  in  Asia,  shall  enjoy  the  same  rights,  advantages, 
and  privileges.  The  right  of  official  protection  by  the 
diplomatic  and  consular  agents  of  the  Powers  in  Turkey 
is  recognised  both  as  regards  the  above-mentioned  per- 
sons and  their  religious,  charitable,  and  other  establish- 
ments in  the  Holy  Places  and  elsewhere.  The  rights 
possessed  by  France  are  expressly  reserved,  and  it  is  well 
understood  that  no  alterations  can  be  made  in  the  status 
quo  in  the  Holy  Places.  ,The  monks  of  Mount  Athos, 
of  whatever  country  they  may  be  natives,  shall  be  main- 
tained in  their  former  possessions  and  advantages,  and 
shall  enjoy,  without  any  exception,  complete  equality  of 
rights  and  prerogatives. — 63.  The  Treaty  of  Paris  of 
March  30,  1856,  as  well  as  the  Treaty  of  London  of 
March  13,  1871,  are  maintained  in  all  such  of  their 
provisions  as  are  not  abrogaied  or  modified  by  the  pre- 
ceding stipulations. — 64.  The  present  Treaty  shall  be 
ratified,  and  the  ratifications  exchanged  at  Berlin  within 
three  weeks,  or  sooner  if  possible.  In  faith  whereof 
the  respective  plenipotentiaries  have  signed  it,  and 
affixed  to  it  the  seal  of  their  arms. — Done  at  Berlin,  the 
thirteenth  day  of  the  month  of  July,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-eight — (Signed),  Beaconsfield, 
Salisbury,  Odo  Russell,  V.  Bismarck,  Biilow,  Hohenlohe, 
Andrassy,  Karolyi,  Haymerle,  Waddington,  Saint- 
Vallier,  H.  Desprez,  L.  Corti,  Launay,  Gortchakow, 
Schouvaloff",  P.  D'Oubril,  Al.  Caratheodory,  Mehemed 
Ali,  SadouUah." 

391 


111 


|i 


THE  END. 


INDEX. 


Abel,  Dr.  Carl,  on  Slav  tongues,  ii.,  298. 

Abdul  Aziz,  deposition  of,  iii.,  107  ;  death  of,  iii.,  I08. 

Adrianople,  capture  of  (1829),  ii.,  65. 

Agence  Russe^  the,  iii.,  105. 

Agram,  iii.,  55. 

Agreement,  Anglo-Russian  (1878),  iii.,  371, 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  congress  of,  ii.,  45. 

Aksakoff,  M.,  ii.,  300- 

Aladja  Dagh,  first  battle  of,  iii.,  233  ;  second,  iii.,  237. 

Alexander  I.,   accession  of,   i.,    379;   treaty  of,  with 

England,  i.,  380;    declares  war  to  France,  i.,390; 

invades  Turkey,   i.,   413;    annexes  Finland,  ii.,  5; 

pursues  Napoleon  I.,  ii.,  36  ;  death  of,  ii.,  47. 
Alexander  II.,  accession  of,  ii.,   170;   declares  war  to 

Turkey,  iii.,  137. 
Alexinatz,  battle  of,  iii.,  112;  capture  of,  iii.,  119. 
Alexis,  son  of  Peter  the  Great,  i.,   177;  his  trial,  i., 

183  ;  death  of,  i.,  186. 
Alliance,  Anglo-French,  ii.,  1 16. 
Allies,  landing  of  the,  at  Gallipoli,  ii.,  127. 
Alma,  battle  of  the,  ii.,  133. 
Andijon,  assaults  on,  ii, ,  282. 
Andrew,  of  Suzdal,  accession  of,  i.,  31 ;   attempts  to 

consolidate  Russia,  i.,  32  ;  murder  of,  ibid. 
Anna  (Duchess  of  Courland)  succeeds  Peter  II.,  i.,  210 ; 

her  death,  i,,  217. 
Anne,  Princess,  becomes  Regent,  i,,  219;  her  deposi- 
tion, i.,  221. 
Antichrist,  the,  in  Russia,  ii.,  217. 
Aral,  Lake,  ii.,  263. 
Ardahan,  capture  of,  iii.,  210. 
Armenia,  ii.,  293. 
Arnou,  the  basin  of  the,  ii.,  264  ;  changes  of  the,  ii,,  265  ; 

life  on  the,  ii.,  267. 
Artel,  the,  ii.,  198. 
Auerstadt,  battle  of,  i.,  395. 
Austerlitz,  battle  of,  i.,  391. 
Azoff,  Peter's  capture  of,  i.,  13S;  restoration  of,  i.,  168. 


Baba  Konak,  iii,,  272. 

Balaklava,  battle  of,  ii.,  1 37. 

Balkans,  passage  of  the,  by  Diebitch  (1828),  ii.,  64;  by 

Gourko,  iii.,  159;  his  retreat  across,  iii.,  197. 
Baltic,  operations  in  (1854),  ii,,  146. 
Batorsch,  battle  of,  ii.,  358. 

Bayazet,  capture  of,  iii.,  207  ;  massacre  at,  iii,,  221, 
Bender,  siege  of,  i.,  279. 
Benningsen,   General,   i.,   369;  i.,  379;    i.,   397;  i.i 

403. 
Beresina,  passage  of,  ii.,  34. 

Berlin  congress,  the,  iii.,  367  ;  treaty  of,  ii.,  385. 

Biela,  outrages  in,  iii.,  165. 

Biren,  Ernest  von,  i.,  211  ;  fall  of,  i.,  218. 

Bismarck,  Prince,  ii.,  333. 

Black  priests,  the,  ii.,  213. 

Black  Sea  treaty,  abrogation  of  the,  iii.,  19. 

Bokhara,  disputes  with,  ii.,  239;  treaty  with,  ii.,  247. 

Boluinski,  i.,  217. 

Bomarsund,  bombardment  of,  ii.,  147. 


Boris  Godunoff  murders  Dmitri,  i.,  S3  ;  enforces  serf- 
dom on  the  peasants,  i.,  85  ;  is  elected  Czar,  i.,  87  ; 
becomes  despotic,  i.,  89  ;  his  sudden  death,  i.,  96. 

Borodino,  battle  of,  ii.,  25. 

Bosnia,  iii.,  63. 

Braila  (Brabilov),  capture  of  (1828),  ii.,  62. 

British  fleet,  despatch  of  to  Besika  Bay,  iii. ,  89. 

Bryce,  Professor,  on  Armenia,  ii.,  292. 

Bulgaria,  agitation  in,  iii.,  93  ;  customs  of,  iii.,  95  ; 
massacres  in,  iii.,  99, 

Buriats,  the,  ii.,  271. 

Burnaby,  Captain,  ii.,  258, 

Byzantianism,  iii.,  93. 


Catherine,  i.,  228  ;  her  lovers — Soltikoff,  1.,  229  ; 
Poniatoftski,  i.,  230;  Orloff,  i.,  241;  conspiracy 
against  Peter  III.,  i.,  242;  sole  ruler,  i.,  249; 
coronation  of,  i.,  254;  code  of  laws  of,  i.,  278;  her 
patronage  of  science,  i.,  275  ;  declares  war  to  Tur- 
key, i.,  276 ;  her  favourite  Panin,  i.,  287  ;  makes 
peace  with  the  Sultan ;  fresh  favourite  of,  i .,  293 ; 
conspiracy  of  Pugatscheff  against,  i.,  295  ;  Potemkin, 
her  favourite,  i.,  297  ;  her  court,  i.,  303 ;  her  death, 
i'>  331  »  character  of,  i.,  332. 

Cavour,  Count,  manifesto  of,  ii.,  l6l. 

Caucasus,  the,  ii.,  88  ;  war  in,  ii.,  93  ;  subjugation  of, 
ii.,  94. 

Censors, Russian,  ii.,  307. 

Central  Asia,  Russians  in,  ii.,  231 ;  historical  sketch  of, 
ii.,  263. 

Central  Asian  trade,  origin  of,  ii.,  270. 

Charles  XII.,  i.,  154;  his  invasion  of  Russia,  i.,  158 ; 
his  death,  i.,  190. 

Chudojar  Khan,  ii.,  285. 

Circassians,  the,  ii.,  92  ;  war  against,  ii.,  93. 

Citate,  battle  of,  ii.,  no. 

Citonisca,  the,  ii.,  303. 

Clergy,  Russian,  ii.,  209, 

Commerce,  ii.,  222. 

Communia,  the,  ii.,  363, 

Conference,  the,  of  Constantinople,  iii.,  125. 

Congress,  the  Panslavonic,  ii.,  297 ;  iii.,  5. 

Congress  of  Berlin,  iii.,  367, 

Constantine,  proclamation  of  as  Emperor,  ii.,  52;  his 
renunciation,  ii.,  51. 

Convention,  Russo- Prussian  (1863),  "•>  3^8;  Anglo- 
Turkish  (1878),  iii.,  376. 

Copenhagen,  battle  of,  i.,  368.  '' 

Correspondents  of  the  Times,  iii.,  6. 

Cossacks,  history  of,  ii.,  228. 

Crimea,  invasion  of,  by  Marshal  Munich,  i.,  213 ;  by 
the  allies,  ii.,  130. 

Customs,  Russian,  i.,  203. 

Cyprus,  cession  of,  to  England,  iii.,  376. 

Czartoriski,  Prince,  ii.,  350. 


Danish  fleet,  seizure  of,  by  England,  ii.,  3. 
Dantzic,  capture  of,  by  the  French,  i.,  400. 


y 


\ 


-M 


394 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


395 


Danube,   first  passage   of,  iii.,    145  ;    second  passage, 

iii.,  150. 
Dardanelles,    passage  of  the,    by    British  fleet  (1806), 

i.,  414;  secret  treaty   regarding  the,  ii.,  86;  conven- 
tion regarding  the,  ii.,  87. 
Daschkaw,  Princess,  memoirs  of,  i.,  241,  256. 
Delibaba,  battles  of,  iii.,  219. 
Dissenters,  Russian,  ii.,  217. 

Djakovo,  Mr.  MacCoU  and  Canon  Liddon  at,  iii.,  67. 
Dmitri  Donskoi,  accession  of,  i„  44  ;  his  conflicts  with 

the  Prince  of  Twer,  i.,  45  ;  his  defeat  of  the  Tartars, 

i.,  4.6 ;  death  of,  i.,  48. 
Dmitri,   the  Pretender,  ascends  the  throne,  i.,  99  ;  his 

marriage  to  Marina  Mniszek,   i.,   102  ;    his  murder, 

i.,  103. 
Dolguriki,  i.,  209. 
Dorpt,  siege  of,  i.,  153. 
Dyen^  the,  ii.,  301, 


Education  in  Russia,  ii.,  182. 

Elizabeth,  Princess,  i.,  220;  Empress,  i.,  223;  deatt 
of,  1.,  234. 

Endurance,  Russian,  ii.,  207. 

Erfurt,  meeting  at,  ii.,  7. 

Erzeroum,  advance  on,  iii.,  313. 

Eski-Zagra,  battle  of,  iii.,  202. 

Eupatoria,  battle  of,  ii.,  167. 

Europe,  gates  of,  iii.,  45.  ,' 

Extortion,  Russian,  ii.,  253. 

Eylau,  battle  of,  i.,  399. 


Fairs,  Nijni-Novgorod,  ii.,  223. 
Famine  in  Russia,  i.,  89. 
Fanar,  the,  iii.,  97. 
Favre,  Jules,  iii.,  29. 

Feodor  Ivanovitch  succeeds  Ivan  the  Terrible,  i.,  81  : 

he  dies,  i.,  86. 
Feodor,  son  of  Alexis,  accession  of,  i.,  124 ;  death  of. 

i.,  127. 
Ferghana,  the,  ii.,  281. 
Finland,  annexation  of,  ii.,  5. 
Finns,  the,  ii.,  202. 
Fiume,  iii.,  47. 
Frederick  Augustus,  i.,  212. 
Friedland,  battle  of,  i.,  403. 

Gagarin,  Prince,  governor  of  Siberia,  i.,  191. 
Galitzin,  Prince,  i.,  129;  banished,  i.,  132. 
Georgia,  annexation  of,   i.,   384;    historical  sketch  of. 
u.,  286. 

Ghengis  Khan,   character  of,  i.,  33;  invasion  of  Cau- 
casus by,  i.,  34. 

Golden  Horde,  establishment  of,  in  Russia,  i.,  37. 
Gorden,  General,  i.,  133. 
Gortschakoff  and  Earl  Granville,  ii.,  250. 
Gothard,  passage  of  the,  i.,  361. 

Gourko,  General,  iii.,    159;  defeat  at  Eski-Zagra,  iii. 
202  ;  successes  of,  iii.,  263.  ' 

Greece,  war  of,  against  Turkey,  ii.,  60;  agitation  in 
in.,  340.  ' 

Greek  newspapers,  iii.,  11.  •• 

Grivitza,  capture  of,  iii.,  257. 
Grusia,  ii.,  287. 
Gus^avus  Adolphus,  i.,  316. 


L** 


IL   li  \ '.ITS  and  customs,  ii.,  205. 

H^mkoi  Pass,  passage  of,  iii.,  175. 
'    Heilsburg,  battle  of,  i.,  402. 

Helena  reigns  in  place  of  her  infant  son,  i.,  66. 

Hellas,  iii.,  11. 

Holstein,  Duke  of,  i.,  205. 

Holy  Alliance,  the,  ii.,  45. 

Holy  Sepulchre,  disputes  concerning  the,  ii.,  104. 

Hungary,  revolution  of  (1848),  ii.,  loi. 


Icons,  the  Russian,  ii.,  209. 

Igor,  accession  of,   i.,   10;    his  expedition  to  Greece. 

I.,  II  ;  assassination  of,  i.,  12. 
Igor,  of  Suzdal,  seizes  Kieff",  i.,  31. 
Imperial  Alliance,  the,  iii.,  i. 
Independence,  Greek  war  of,  ii.,  60. 
India,    proposed   invasion   of,   by  Russia  and  France 

>•»  yi^ ;  ii.,  7.  ' 

Inkermann,  battle  of,  ii.,  140. 

Insurrection  at  Moscow,  i.,  116. 

Isiaslaf,  accession  of,  i.,  25  ;  wars  of,  i.,  26  ;  protection 

of  by  Poles,  i.,  26;  death  of,  i.,  27. 
Ismail,  fall  of,  i.,  321. 

Ivan  I.    wealth  and  cunning  of,  i.,  42  ;  death  of,  i.,  44. 
Ivan  II.,  1.,  44.  >     »  H^ 

Ivan  III.,  accession  of,  i.,  51  ;  his  crafty  policy,  i.,  52  ; 
his  annexation  of  Novgorod,  i.,  54 ;  causes  his 
brothers  death,  i.,  57;  his  invasion  of  Lithuania, 
1.,  58 ;  he  adopts  the  title  of  Czar,  i.,  58  j  erects  the 
Kremlin,  1.,  60;  death  of,  i.,  63. 

Ivan  ly.  (the  Terrible),  miserable  youth  of,  i.,  67 : 
ferocity  of,  1.,  68;  his  revenge  upon  his  old  tormentor. 
Ibid.  ;  he  abandons  Moscow,  i.,  71  ;  frightful  mas- 
sacre at  Novgorod,  l,  75  ;  his  favourite  son's  death. 
»•»  79. 

Jena,  battle  of,  i.,  395. 

Jews,  oppression  of  the,  in  Russia,  ii.,  362 ;  in  Servia 
".i  363- 

Karageorgevitch,  Prince,  iii.,  14. 

Karakalpaks,  the,  ii.,  269. 

Kars,  capture  of  (1829),  ii.,  64;  defence  of  (1854),  ii., 

149;  surrender  of  (1855),  ii.,  155;  attack  on  (1877), 

ni.,  222  ;  capture  of,  iii.,  237. 
Kasbek,  Colonel,  ii.,  288;  description  of  I^es,  Schaw- 

schwelhi,  and  Armenians,  ii.,  290,  et  sea, 
Katkoff",  M.,  ii.,  301,  305. 

Kauff"mann,  General,.attacks  Khiva,  ii.,  243 ;  concludes 
treaties  with  Khiva  and  Bokhara,  ii.,  245,  247 

Khiva,  expedition  against,  ii.,  95,  233  ;  advance  on 
(i»70),  u.,  241  ;  capture  of,  ii.,  243;  treaty  with,  ii., 
244. 

Khokand,  description  of,  ii.,  284 ;  Khan's  palace  at. 
u.,  285. 

Kieff  and  Novgorod,  i.,  4. 

Kinburn,  battle  of,  i.,  315. 

Kolin,  battle  of,  i.,  227. 

Kolkol^  the,  ii.,  296. 

Kosciusko,  i.,  327;   imprisonment  of,  i.,  329:  release 

of,  1.,  338. 
Kossuth,  ii.,  loi. 
Kovanskoi,  Prince,  i.,  129. 
Kunersdorf,  battle  of,  i.,  231. 
Kurds,  the,  iii.,  41. 


Langiewicz,  ii.,  344. 

Lazes,  the,  ii.,  287. 

Lefort,  the  Genevan,  i.,  133;  death  of,  i.,  147. 

Leipsic,  battle  of,  ii.,  27.  ^ 

Levitzki,  General,  iii.,  140. 

Lewenhaupt,  i.,  155. 

Liddon,  Canon,  simplicity  of,  iii.,  61. 

Liegnitz,  battle  of,  i.,  233. 

Light  Brigade,  charge  of,  ii.,  139. 

Ligny,  battle  of,  ii.,  43. 

Literature,  Russian,  ii.,307. 

Livadia,  iii.,  120. 

Lom,  advance  on  the,  iii.,  161. 

London,  treaty  of,  iii.,  17. 

Louis  XVIII.,  restoration  of,  ii.,  40. 

Lubomirski,  Prince,  ii.,  353. 

MacColl.,  Malcolm,  absurdities  of,  iii.,  61. 


Macgahan,  Mr.,  expedition  of,  iii.,  99. 

Magazines  and  reviews,  Russian,  ii.,  213. 

Marghilan,  description  of  trade  of,  ii.,  281. 

Mar  Shanium,  iii.,  35. 

Matschin,  battle  of,  iii.,  147. 

Mazeppa,  i.,  159. 

Mehemet  Ali,  ii-,  83.  ...      „        r,      •        /  a     -i 

Memorandum,    the    Berlin,    ni.,    87;    Russian    (Apnl, 

1878),  iii.,  358  ;  Anglo-Russian,  m.,  371. 
Mentschikoff",  i.,  138;  fall  of.  i.,  209.  .     ,x^    c 

Michaelowitch,  Alexis,  accession  of,  i.,  US;  death  ol, 

i.,  123.  ... 

Michael,  Prince,  of  Servia,  murder  of,  111.,  15. 

Midhat  Pasha,  iii.,  94- 

Mijatovich  and  Ristich,  MM.,m.,  73. 

Miletics,  trial  of,  iii.,  81.  ,  j     ,u    f 

Mirovitch,  conspiracy  of,  1.,  263  ;  failure  and  death  ot, 

i.,  265.  .     . 

Moldavia,  invasion  of,  by  Russia,  1.,  413. 

Momonoff,  Count,  i.,  324. 

Monks,  Russian,  ii.,  213. 

Mortality  in  Russia,  ii.,  205. 

Moscow  Gazette,  the,  ii.,  305-  ...       ^ 

Moscow,  capture  of,  ii.,  27  ;  burning  of,  u.,  2». 

Mouravieff",  General,  siege  of  Kars  by,  n.,  151.      ^      ., 

Mozafifer-Eddin,  Khan  of  Bokhara,  defies  Russia,  u., 
239  ;  defeats  General  Tchernaieff,  ii.,  240  ;  is  defeated 
by  RomanofTski,  ii.,  240;  concludes  treaty  with  Rus- 
sia, ii.,  247. 

Munich,  General,  i.,  212. 


Namangan,  attacks  on,  ii.,  283  ;  trade  of,  tbid. 
Napoleon  I.,  first  invasion  of  Russia  by,  1.,  396;  at 
Tilsit,  i,  408;  second  invasion  of  Russia  by,  ii.,  20; 
at  Moscow,  ii.,  27  ;  his  retreat,  ii.,  31  :  defeat  at 
Leipsic,  ii.,  37;  deposition  of,  ii.,  40  ;  leaves  Elba, 
ii.,  42  ;  exile  to  St.  Helena,  ii.,  44. 

Narishkin,  Peter,  i.,  133. 

Narva,  battle  of,  i.,  147  ;  siege  of,  1.,  154. 

Navarino,  battle  of,  ii.,  61. 

Nelson,  Admiral,  i.,  367. 

Nestorians,  the,  iii.,  37- 

Nevsky,  Alexander,  i.,  39- 

Nicholas  I.,  accession  of,  ii.,  53 ;  insurrection  against, 
ii.,  53  ;  coronation  of,  ii.,  57  ;  declares  war  to  Persia, 
ii  59;  declares  war  to  Turkey  (1828),  11.,  62  ;  his 
cruelties  in  Poland,  ii.,  80 ;  alliance  with  Turkey, 
ii-,  85;  proposes  a  partition  of  Turkey,  ii.,  97; 
invades  Turkey,  ii.,  107  ;  death  of,  ii.,  168. 

Nicon,  the  patriarch,  introduces  reforms  into  the  Russian 
church,  ii.,  216.  .. 

Nicopoli,  attack  on,  iii.,  156:  capture  of,  111.,  170. 

Niemen,  interview  on,  1.,  406  ;  passage  of,  u.,  20. 

Nientschantz  Fort,  capture  of,  i.,  151. 

Niepokoischitzki,  General,  iii.,  139. 

Nihilism,  ii.,  208. 

Nijni-Novgorod,  fair  of,  ii.,  223. 

Note,  Vienna  (1855),  ii.,    159?  the  Andrassy  (1876), 

iii-,  57- 
Novi,  battle  of,  1.,  357* 


Obriad,  the,  ii.,  209. 

Odessa,  bombardment  of,  ii.,  145*  ..       1 

Oleg,    Regent,  i.,  7  ;   invasion  by,  of  Constantinople, 

1.,  8;  death  of,  i.,  9.  ^^i.  •  .•        •     ,, 

Olga,  accession  of,  i..  12  ;  becomes  a  Christian,  1.,  13  ; 

resigns  to  Sviatoslaf,  i.,  14. 

Oltenitza,  battle  of  (1853),  ii.,  107.    

Omladina,  the,  ii.,  305 ;  the,  in  Servia,  ni.,  77. 

Orkhanieh,  advance  on,  iii.,  268. 

Orloff,  Alexis,  i.,  281. 

Orloff,  Count,  (1854),  iii.,  19-  r  •      o       ^    «u     f 

Orloff",  Gregory,  i.,  241 ;  disgrace  of,  1.,  287;  death  ol, 

i.,  309- 


Osman  Pasha,  iii.,    185  ;   his  sortie  from  Plevna,  iii., 

274;  surrender  of,  iii.,  276. 
Ostermann,  Count,  i.,  209. 
Ostrolenka,  battle  of,  ii.,  77* 
Otchakoff,  capture  of,  i.,  318. 


Pahlen,  Count,  i.,  369  ;  exile  of,  i.,  381. 

Panisaufka,  battle  of,  ii.,  357. 

Panslavism,  sketch  of,  ii.,  296. 

Paris,  capture  of,  by  the  allies,  ii.,  39,  45. 

Patkul,  i.,  156. 

Patriarchate,  abolition  of,  i.,  192. 

Paul  I.,  accession  of,  i.,  335  ;  eccentricities  of,  i.,  339 ; 
finance  of,  i.,  345  ;  alliances  of,  against  France,  i., 
351  ;  designs  on  Malta,  i.,  352  ;  declares  war  to 
France,  i.,  352;  alliance  with  England,  i.,  364; 
alliance  with  Denmark  and  Sweden  against  England, 
i.,  366 ;  conspiracy  against,  i.,  371  ;  assassination  of, 

i.,  371. 
Perjfski,  General,  his  expedition  against  Khiva,  ii.,  235. 
Persia,  war  with  (1796),  i.,  321  ;  scrange  end  of,  i.,  350 ; 
war  with  (1804),   i.,    416;    invasion  of,   by   Russia 
(1826),  ii.,  57. 
Peter  III.,  accession  of,  i.,  235;  his  seizure  of  church 
lands,  i.,  239  ;  conspiracy  against,  i.,  241  ;  abdication 
of,  i.,  248  ;  assassination  of,  i.,  251. 

Peter  the  Great  (Narishkin),  i.,  133;  conspiracy  to 
murder,  i.,  137  ;  conquers  the  Swedes  under  Charles 
XII.,  i.,  160  ;  his  victory  at  Pultowa,  i.,  163  ;  engages 
in  war  with  Turkey,  i.,  166  ;  his  defeat  of  the  Swedish 
fleet,  i.,  170  ;  his  second  visit  to  Europe,  i.,  172  ;  he 
abolishes  patriarchism,  i.,  192;  death  of,  i.,  198; 
anecdote  of,  i.,  201. 

Peter  II.  (Alexievitch),  accession  of,  i.,  208  ;  death  of, 
i.,  210. 

Petersburg,  St.,  foundation  of,  i.,  152, 

Plague  in  Moscow  (I77i)>  i.s  283. 

Plevna,  first  repulse  at,  iii.,  185;  second  attack  on, 
iii.,  187  ;  second  repulse,  iii.,  191  ;  bombardment  of, 
iii.,   253;   investment  of,  iii.,  261;  capture  of,  iii., 

276.  .     , 

Poland,   Poniatowski,   king  of,   i.,    261;     Catherines 

interference  in,    i.,  267  ;    first  partition  of,  i.,  2^9  ; 

second  partition  of,  i.,   329;    insurrection  of  (1830), 

ii.,  70  ;  rebellion  of  1863-4  in,  ii.,  314  ;  progress  of, 

ii.,  344;  suppression  of,  ii.,  359. 
Poles,  the,  in  London  and  Paris,  ii.,  349. 
Poletylo,  massacre  at,  ii.,  326. 
Police,  secret,  in  Russia,  ii.,  199. 
Pomaks,  the,  iii.,  366. 
Poniatowski,    Stanislaus,    i.,    230;    King    of  Poland, 

i.,  261. 
Popes,  Russian,  ii.,  215. 
Potemkin,  Count,  i.,  297  ;  death  of,  i.,  326. 
Praga,  capture  of,  i.,  329. 
Press,  the  Russian,  ii.,  300. 
Press,  the  Servian,  iii.,  71. 
Project,  a  bold,  iii.,  283. 
Protocol,  the,  iii.,  132. 
Pruth,  battle  of  the,  i.,  166. 
Pruth,  passage  of  {1812),  ii.,  62. 
Pugatscheff",  conspiracy  of,  i.,  295. 
Pultowa,  battle  of,  i.,  152. 
Pultusk,  battle  of,  i.,  297. 
Pustowojtoff,  Mademoiselle,  ii.,  347. 


Races  of  Russia,  ii.,  200. 

Raskol,  ii.,  216. 

Red  Cock,  the,  ii.,  208. 

Ristics,  despatch  of  M.,  iii.,  II4. 

Roads  and  railways,  ii.,  219. 

Romanoff",  Michael,  accepts  the  crown,  i.,  II2. 

Rosen,  Dr.,  and  M.  Kartzoff",  iii.,  73. 

Rural  Russia,  ii.,  205. 

Rurik  the  pirate,  i.,  5  ;  death  of,  i.,  7. 


396 


INDEX. 


Russell,  Earl,  despatch  of,  on  Polish  affairs,  ii.,  335. 
Rustzuk  (Roudschouck),  siege  of  (iSlo),  ii.,  13. 
Ryswick,  battle  of  the,  i.,  320, 


Salisbury,  despatch  from  Lord  (April,  1878),  iii.»  349. 

Sardinia  declares  war  to  Turkey,  ii.,  161. 

Save,  the,  iii.,  60. 

Schamyl,  ii.,  93  ;  death  of,  ii.,  94. 

Schawscheti,  the,  ii.,  291. 

Schipka,  capture  of,  179  ;  battles  at,  iii.,  245,  250. 

Schouvaloff,  Count,  Minister  of  Police,  ii.,  199  ;  ambas- 
sador to  England,  ii.,  249. 

Schumla,  siege  of  (1810),  ii.,  12  ;  do.  (1828),  ii.,  62. 

Schuyler,  Mr.,  report  of,  ii.,  251. 

Scio,  battle  of,  i.,  280. 

Sebastopol,  siege  of,  ii.,  135  ;  second  bombardment  of, 
ii.,  165  ;  third  bombardment  of,  ii.,  171  ;  fall  of, 
ii.,  173  ;  anecdotes  of  siege  of,  ii.,  174. 

Segur,  Count,  memoirs  of,  i.,  31 1. 

Serfs,  liberation  of,  ii.,  195. 

Servia,  disputes  of,  with,  iii.,  9  ;  agitation  in,  iii.,  70  j 
declares  war  to  Turkey,  iii.,  107. 

Silistria,  capture  of  (1829),  ii.,  64;  siege  of  (1854),  ii., 
120. 

Sinope,  massacre  at,  ii.,  108. 

Skobeloff,  General,  iii.,  140. 

Skorzynecki,  General,  ii.,  75. 

Slavonic  dialects,  ii.,  297. 

Slavs,  legends  of  the,  ii.,  238;  dissensions  of,  ii.,  341  ; 
the  Austrian,  ii.,  243;  the,  at  home,  iii.,  69  j  cus- 
toms of,  iii.,  71. 

Soltikoff,  i.,  229. 

Sophia,  i.,  127. 

Staroshte,  the,  ii.,  197. 

Steppe  campaigning,  ii.,  261. 

Stralsund,  capture  of,  i.,  172. 

Straniki,  the  sect  of  the,  ii.,  217. 

Strelitz,  insurrection  of,  i.,  129;  conspiracy  of  the,  to 
murder  Peter,  i.,  137. 

Strossmayer,  Bishop,  iii.,  63. 

Sugar  industry,  ii.,  227. 

Suleiman  Pasha,  repulse  of,  iii.,  249. 

Suomi,  the,  ii.,  202. 

Superstition,  Russian,  ii.,  208. 

Suwarrow,  General,  i.,  315  ;  character  of,  i.,  319;  dis- 
grace of,  i.,  353;  restoration  oi^ibid,  ;  in  Italy,  i., 
354;  in  Switzerland,  i.,  358;  reverses  of,  i.,  362; 
disgrace  and  death  of,  i.,  363. 

Sviatopolk  succeeds  Vladimir  I.,  i.,  22 ;  defeat  of,  by 
Yaroslaf,  i.,  23  ;  death  of,  1.,  23. 

Sviatopolk  II.,  accession  of,  i.,  28 ;  death  of,  ibid. 

Sweden  declares  war  to  Russia  (i74i)»  »•»  219;  do., 
i.,  316. 

Synod,  the  Russian,  ii.,  210. 

Syr-Daria,  Russia  on  the,  ii.,  275. 


Tamerlane,^  invasion  of  Russia  by,  i.,  49. 

Tartars,  invasion  of  Russia  by,  i.,  35  ;  second  invasion, 
i.,  37  ;  burn  Moscow,  i.,  47  ;  defeat  of,  by  Dmitri 
Donskoi,  i.,  46  ;  invasion  under  Tamerlane,  i.,  49. 

Tchernaia,  battle  of  the,  ii.,  173. 

Tchernaieff,  General,  iii.,  103. 

Tchesme,  battle  of,  i.,  280. 

Tchin,  the,  ii.,  197. 

Tea-trade,  ii.,  225. 


Tirnova,  occupation  of,  iii.,  171. 

Todleben,  General,  ii.,  135. 

Tolstoi,  Count,  works  of,  ii.,  311. 

Torpedoes,  Whitehead's,  iii.,  49. 

Treaty  of  Belgrade,  i.,  215 ;  of  Kutschuk-KainardjI, 
i.,  291;  of  Constantinople,  i.,  309;  of  Varela,  i., 
319;  of  Jassy,  i.,  325;  of  Presburg,  i.,  392;  of 
Tilsit,  i.,  408;  of  Bucharest  (1812),  ii.,  14;  of 
Paris  (1814),  ii.,  41  ;  Bccond,  of  Paris  (1815),  ii., 
44;  of  Adrianople  {1829),  ii.,  65  ;  of  Unkiar-Skelessi, 
ii.,  85  ;  of  Paris  (1856),  iii.,  25  ;  of  London,  iii.,  17  ; 
of  San  Stefano,  iii.,  346  ;  of  Berlin  (1878),  iii.,  385. 

Trebbia,  battle  of  the,  i.,  355. 

Tsak,  the,  ii.,  198. 

Turcomans,  raid  on  (1873),  ii.,  253. 

Turkey  declares  war  to  Russia  (1787),  i.,  315  ;  war 
against  Russia  (i 810),  ii.,  12;  invasion  of,  by  Russia 
(1828),  ii.,  62  ;  alliance  with  Russia,  ii.,  85  ;  invasion 
of,  by  Russia  (1853),  ii.,  106  j  by  Russia  (1877),  iii., 
137. 

Ukraine,  Cossacks  of  the,  i.,   117;   insurrection  of, 

under  Bogdan  Chmielnicki,  i.,  119. 
Ultimatum,    Russian,   to  Turkey,   ii.,   105  ;  British,  to 

Russia,  ii.,  iii. 


Valtelina,  battle  of,  ii.,  23. 

Varna,  siege  of  (1828),  ii.,  63. 

Vassily,  accession  of,  i.,  48 ;  death  of,  i.,  49. 

Vassily,    Vassilievitch,  succession  of,  i.,  50;  blinded  by 

his  cousin,  the  son  of  Yury,  i.,  51  ;  death  of,  i.,  51. 
Vassily,   Ivanovitch,  accession  of,   i.,   64 ;    his  contests 

with  the  Tartars,  i.,  65  ;  his  death,  i.,  66. 
Vatican,  the,  and  Russia,  ii.,  359. 
Vienna,  congress  of  (1814),  ii.,  42  ;  conference  of  (1854), 

ii.,  119. 
Vladimir   I.   seizes  Kieff,  i.,    18;  adopts  Christianity, 

i.,  20  ;  death  of,  i.,  22. 
Vladimir,  Monomachus,  accession  of,  i.,  28  ;  testament 

of,  i.,  29 ;  death  of,  i.,  30. 

Wallace,  Mackenzie,  on  Russian  superstition,  ii.,  197. 

Warsaw,  capture  of,  ii.,  79. 

Waterloo,  battle  of,  ii.,  44. 

Weeping,  Russian  capacity  for,  ii.,  320. 

White,  Consul,  vagaries  of,  iii.,  74. 

White  priests,  the,  ii.,  214. 

Wielopolski,  Marquis,  ii.,  3 1 5. 

Williams,  General,  surrender  of,  at  Kars,  ii.,  155. 


Yagni  Hill,  battles  of  the,  iii.,  225,  230  ;  capture  of, 

iii.,  231. 
Yaroslaf,  accession  of,  i.,  23  ;  wars  of,  i.,  23  ;  code  of 

laws  by,  i.,  24  ;  death  of,  i.,  25. 
Yaxartes  (Syr-Daria),   the,  ii.,275;  navigation  of,  ii., 

277  ;  trade  on,  ii.,  279 ;  life  on,  ii.,  280. 
Yury,  of  Moscow,  i.,  41  ;  accession  of,  i.,  42. 


ZiMNlTZA,  passage  at,  iii.,  155. 

Zorndorf,  battle  of,  i.,  231. 

Zuboff,  Count,  i.,  324  ;   disgrace  of,  i.,  350 ;  his  con* 

spiracy  against  Paul,  i.,  370. 
Zurich,  battle  of,  i.,  360. 


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